Rock Island Argus., December 23, 1913, HOME EDITION, Page 4, Image 4

About Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920

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THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1913.
4
37
THE ARGUS.
;! Published dally at ltZt Second ave
r: ace. Hock Island. 111. (Entered at the
!; potwlct as 'second-class matter.)
! Rack bl4 Xrmkrt f the Associated
BY THE Z. W. POTTER CO.
TERMsT.n r.Bt. r week bx car -
. r'er. In Rock Inland.
Complaints of delivery service should
. be made to the circulation department.
which should also be notified In every
Instance -where It is desired to have
, FTr C continued, as carriers have no
' authority in the premises.
All tommuclcilloci of ara-aoentatfve
character, political or relia-ious. must
have real tiame attached for publlca
:. Men. No ajcii articles will te printed
ox er fictitious signatures.
Telephones In all departments. Cen
tral Union. HocSc Island 1145 and
1145.
Tuesday, December 23, 1913.
The Christmas like mantle is appre
ciated, regardless of how long it lasts.
It is surprising that as smart a man
M Senator Root cannot manage forae
"sow to be cheerful about it.
"New York has a police station for
ale." Apparently it has given up all
attempt to arrest the gunmen.
Now that the income tax is in effect,
most of us can sit back and let the
other fellows do the worrjlng.
There is on good thing about thej
new styles, anyhow-. You can't tell
college boy from a business man.
Huerta. with Zapata approaching
from th south, tells what he. intends
to do to the country to the north.
The astronomers may as well keep
the news of that comet to themselves
ontll the Halley fiasco is forgotten.
Not one printer in the Joliet i
prison." a press item says: and thatswork Jf h adIierP!, to i,is present pur-
mark for other lines to shoot at.
; The wrecks of politics all about him
London is a little ahead of New,due to compromise or well-meaning
fork in the matter of population, but j mpI1 wftn ttle. powers of bossism and
w York has a strong lead in auto-1 privilege warn him thit he must not
Jtnoblle accidents. I De afraid to say "No" to the profes-
. . ' sional Job-seeker and to oppose the
1 Even the women are getting to be powers of privilege.
rnony-inad A New York girl has Who knows but that Mitchel may
"cheerfully forfeited a $3,000,000 estate ( pome day be governor of New York?
lo marry a plumper.
An Ohloan Is to get $.1,000 damages
because he can no longer wear high
collars and ttiff hats. Most men would
ell the privilege for less than that.
A.m. - - " - - . -. .........
vallev for a w ater work reservoir, per-1
h.n. -i-.n,i oniH u the vo-
f- - -- - -
t-emlte for sewage disposal purposes.
A shortage in Cincinnati's water sup
ply has gien rise to intin a'!ons from
various quarters that few Cinrinnatiajig
will notice i. All the same, dozens of
gallons of wa'er are drank in Cincin
nati every year.
The British newspapers regret the
decision of the cabinet not to provide
an offcial pavilion at the I'anama-r-;ric
Exposition. realitlnK that It
M.uld be enjoying a privilege instead
of bestowing a favor.
The weather pros.notirator admits I
that he ts not qutte certain w netner !
Christmas win be cold or warm, calm j
or stormy, but he Is morally certain i
that there will be some sort of change
between now and then.
-- - i the present attorney general of the
A Chicago youth has been arrested ; i n.ted States. Hi pronounced hostil
for misuse ft the mails In the sale ofi ;tr , the dissolution decrees approv--Thlrteen
Ways for Flirting" It is ed bv the courts In the casts of the
surprising that any one should r !
such a feeling of insufficiency as
pay for such instruction.
to
Lincoln Beachy has looped the loop
In an aeroplane without having his
hands on the control. About the best
and safest method cf looping the loop
in an aeroplane in to have both feet
on the it round and let the other fel
low do lt
A Chicago Judge before whom a ball
player was brought charged with
crime asked the prisoner his batting
average. The defendant proudly ad
mitted he hit .2S7 lat year. The
court discharged him. If you are
haled into court, don't forget to say
how hard you hit the ball last season.
It may win you clemency.
One hundred Californians have
agreed to pay $1,000 each for copies
of a handsomely illustrated work
describing the birds of their state.
This and many smaller incidents
seem to Justify the statement that
present interest In birds Is greater
than at any time since Audubon's
day. And this is due to a persistent
campaign of education and to
creased knowledge of the value of
birds rather than to sentiment.
Wisconsin Is exper.enclng some
unforeseen difficulties in enforcing the
eugenic marriage law. The Medical
society says that it would take from
four to six months to make the tests
required by the law. and its mem-
bers decline to do the work required i
for $3. The doctors are Justified in!iunlor 'r of a Broadway broker-
thelr protest. To make four Wasser
inaa testa and one Nogucht test of
the blood of every male applicant
for a marriage license, and these
yielding a negative result, then to re
move a portion of the brain through
a bole ln the skull and examine tt
along with a sample of the spinal
cord, la MurtCj woni more than S3.
Moreover, it Isn't likely that the can
didate for a license w-fll submit to
any such tests, unless he would as
lief take chances on dying as on con
tinuing single.
PARCEL. POST GROWnC.
Fostmaster General Burleson has
asked congress for another million
dollars to help take care of parcel post
! extension wvrk. the regular appro-
priation being about exhausted with
more than six months of the fiscal
year yet to run.
But do not get the impression that
the parcel post is running behind in
i finances. The money the service earns
and collects must first be appropriated
by congress before it can be used by
the department.
The emergency appropriation now
asked means only that the extension
of the parcel pott service has proved
a bigger thing than was anticipated.
A Ti OPPORTrSITT.
One of the yoHBgest mayors in Amer
ica is John Purroy Mitchel. mayor of
American's greatest city. He was
elected as an independ?nL. but he is
democratic not only in his national
partisan alliances, but in his character,
purpose and politics.
Speaking of the duty of the new of
ficial regime in New York, Mayor
Mitchel recently said:
We were elected, not to do the
work of any party, but to do the
work of the whole citizenry of
the city. We were elected by the
citi-ens of New York to give a
business administration of the
city's affairs without regard to pol
itics, and that, insofar as I have
the ability and the power, I pro
pose to do. ,
He has a big job on h's hands. May
or Mitchell will have a great pack of
political wolves constantly antagon
izing him. The powerful, prlvilege-
i seeking forces of "big business' w ill
! try to discredit and to crush him. The
Tamraanv tiger will crouch threaten-1 aence 01 ns memoers n.u
inglv. readv to spring upon him from t That this feeling is based
the Jungles of boss politics. Pn something more than faith is
But these menacing conditions willt"hown by the utterances of leading
not hurt this young man If he. adheres J members of the party. It is an expres-
I to his platform, epIomized in the above
quotation. He knows that to com
I promise with the plunderband .will
I ruin him.
Oreater honors await this young
lr,anv,r,nor ,ire tn trow n his future
j pose.
,,nKt,
INK TKI.KPHOXK TRt'STS SI K
RKMIKH. The American Telephone & Tele-
j graph company, or th; telephone trust,
i defendant in an action for its dissolu
tion Instituted by the federal govern-
! ment. In consideration of Attorney
( en ' , MCnevnolds' agreement not to
.Mcite? noius agreement not t' ,
rorce dissolution, nas aizreea uj uis-i
pose rromptly of its holdings in hethe PQbstaDce of another. Answering
Western Fn:on Telegraph company so .ho ,ish,d ,o Dlace the party
that each concern shall be under dis-,
tinct manaeement and entirely inde-l,, r,rintipie, Sherman Granger of
pendent." and as to the future that "it ohio epitomised the gospel of calam
wlll not hereafter acquire control fjtv and standpatism in the words:
other telephone companies and where -nemocratic legislation and the con
con'rol cf telephone companies hAiitionB we n0w have la the country
. bee-n acquired but no actual physical i
union ha been effected, the American political organization that delib
Telephone & Telegraph company wi!l!eratey ejects to become a mere tide
submit the course it is to pursue to alter and beach comber may prop
the Interstate commerce commission j erjy i,e described as a party of panic,
and the department of Justice. Tbe,jtB hopes rest upon public misfortune,
company will promptly make arrange-1 ef its prayers are addressed to
ments by which all other telephone t th od of mischief. For such a party
companies in the Vnited States shall j
access to it toll lin
Th,s agreement is a notable step
forw,r(j ln tn. relations cf the federal
,n th trusts It would
government
hardly come under any other man than
standard Oil and tobacco trusts car-
ried assurance that a dissolution which
he should insist upon in the case of
the telephone trust would not be such
as to scandalize the Instruments of
Justice and leave the holders of stock
In dissolved trust rejoicing over what
happened to them.
The trust's surrender Is a tribute of:
respect to the pa'rio'.ism and ability of;
Attorney General McReynolds. the j
significance of which will not be lost :
upon other combinations existing in
violation cf the Sherman law. nor upon
those observers who expected. In view
of Mr. McReynolds action in with
drawing from the tobacco trust litiga
tion under the Roosevelt administra
tion to protest against its course in
relation to the dissolution, some such
acknowledgement as this that it couM
no? be swerved from proceeding Just
ly even as against the biggest of big
business.
Lowden Farm Game Preserve.
Freeport. LU Dec. 23. The first of
the 102 county game preserves to be j
established in Illinois by the state !
rime an fish commission Is in S'e
phenson county. It Includes four sec-
in-;tions of land in the township of Buck-
eye. north or tnis city, wnicn win De
stocked next spring with ring-necked
pheasants, quail, prairie chickens and
other game Llrds. The Ogle county
preserve mill include Colonel Frank
O. Lowden's Sinnlssipt farm and the
farm cf Henry S. Dixon, which adjoins
the Low den place.
New York William E. Edwards.
age firm, has been arrested in connec
tion with the federal suit pending
against officers of the Sterling Deben
ture company and the Oxford Linen
Mills com ran y. who are accused "f
using the mails in an alleged conspir
acy to defraud Investors of the Oxford
company, which has mill a: Brook
field. Xacs.
I.
Capital
BY CLYDE
Congressman frm
fSpecial Correspondence of The Argus.)
Washington. Dec. 20. In March.
1907, the congress enacted a measure
known as the hour3 of service act,
which forbade rail
roads working their
employes more
than 16 hours at a
stretch. That law
is being most fla
grantly and will
fully violated, ac-
cording to a report
Just issued by the
interstate com
merce commission,
which has been,
studying the mat
ter.
The report show s ,
that In the past '
vear C1 33" rail-'
jear ,
road em p loves,
were reauired to !
work longer than
CLYDE H.
10 hours at a
stretch, and some
of them as long as
TAVCNNER
C5 hours at a time. Every one of
these violations of the hours of service
act could have been avoided, accord
ing to the report. In its ineffectual
effort to enforce this law- the commLv
sion has collected $156.0oO in fines, a
THE HOPE OF
f?t Louis Post-Dispatch.)
More powerful than anything else
in shaping the policies of the national
republican committee was the confl-
j sion also of a hope, fervent and poten
tial.
"The country is already in the midst
of a financial and industrial panic,"
said Representative Mann, republican
lder of the house, th
day before
tn committee assembled.
"The lever of prosperity lias re
versed." exclaimed Joseph G. Cannon
on his arrival at the capital. "Silent
wheels, smokeless stacks and suffer
ing ppople w ill speak louder than any
declaration of principles that we can
make." was the argument of Reed
Smoot. "The lumber industry, in my
state is prostrated." was the testimony
of Congressman Humphrey of Wash
ington. "Repeated references were made at
the committee meeting to business
depression "under democratic adminis
tration." says one report; smokeless
i chimneys, dinnerless pails and crowd
ed soup houses were predicted by most
of th-5 speakers.
. . . ,...! . . .1 rt
lorelyT
cratjc administration rather than upon
nc-w declarations of DribclDles" was
cn record with reference to progress
these are your platform."
h I only a step from the w ish to the
deed. The evil passions that men
secretly cherish develop later into no
torious wrongs that afflict the earth.
When a political organization devotes
'The Young Lady
The young lady across the way
should refuse to use Red Cross seals
a much a what rou'd oUierwi have
Ml
r
Comment
H. TAVENNER
the Fourteenth C 'strict.
sum which the railroads willingly for
feited for the privilege of disregarding
the law.
The railroads, of course, plead that
emergencies made it necessary to work
their employes illegally. Some of the
various excuses offered were:
Taking or running for water, by
cleaning fires, by poor coal, by bad
water,, by leaking engines, by collis
ions, by derailments, by track defects
1 and obstructions, by landslides, high
water and fire, by adverse weather
conditions, by congestion of traffic, by
station work, waiting for orders, and
meeting trains, by -wire troubles, by
air troubles, by hot boxes, by coupler
and drawbor defects, by sickness.
death, and personal injury, ana dj j ma teiiin' pa. last n'.jrht;
miscellaneous causes. And pa said he was sadder yet I guess
This wowld all be very fine, and per- j ,l- I""1 'or W-
. . , , . . ,, . Then ma she scolded pa tome more and
haps the commission would be gulled, afler that comm(inc.e!l to rTy
bv these excuses, except for -the sig-iAnd threw her new hut on the floor and
I nificant fact that certain railroads sue-1
ceeded in obeying the law almost to
the letter. Certain roads managed to j
escape the floods, derailments and sud-;
den death that afflicted the offending !
roads like a plague of locusts. L
me answer is. or course, max iu?
the law. They took their chances on
J drawing fines instead.
THE "OUTS"
Itself to panic it becomes an active
agent of panic.
Through this committee of de-,
throned bosses we thus learn the state
of mind of monopoly and privilege,
which for the first time in a generation
have been challenged. It is more than
vengeful. It Is rebellious. Its hos
tility is not confined to an administra
tion or a policy. It is aimed at a na
tion.
,1
There is not a republican leader w ho
does not know that financial- disquiet i
Is universal. If these who wax upon ;
distress are as familiar w ith foreign
markets as thev are with Wall Street,
thev know that consols in London'
, , I
reached the lowest price ever record-
ed ror them Saturday, and tney Know
that in every continental capital!
there is commercial caution and un
certainty. Can a free nation tolerate
a political party that is in open and j
shameful alliance with the piratical
speculative interests that find profit!
in disaster which they engineer? j
Oppostion to the democratic party I
la Haclrahlo hut nnt Mit-rhrnat ntnnnKt. !
tion. Everv majority Is benefited by
intelligent criticism but not by the i
knives of assassins or the bludgeons!
of builies. '
Burglar Pardoned 'by Dunne. '
Springfield. 111.. Dec. 23. A pardon ;
from the state penitentiary at Joliet i
is Daniel Beckum's Christmas gift '
the recommendation of the state board
of pardons, the governor today com- j
uuit-u L-t mini M-inci'io citi.c
O I II. .. nMM..fn4.J 1 1 -n 1
no was umuucu m nuuj
county In 1836 of the crime or bur
glary and larceny and given an inde
terminate sentence.
Marshal Hitch Is on Trial.
Paris. 111.. Dec. 23. The trial of
United States Marshal C. P. Hitch on
a charge of being Interested in the
illegal sale of liquor at an amusement
park began today before Judge Max
well. A jury, however, was not se
lected. State's Attorney Hickman is
being assisted in the prosecution by
Archie Gillette, representing the Illi
nois Anti-Saloon league.
Across the Way"
s.y she doesn't see why anybody
especially as they don't cost even
to nay for regular postage stamps.
it
HENRY" HOWLAND
IUCKT m m
THAT TIT MET
I heard
aaid she wished that she could die.
I
Pa said that he was Just a slave and
hadn't any right to live.
The more he earned, the more he srave.
the more ma wanted him to give;
"I never get a chance to play: I'm Just a
drudge, that's what 1 am."
! Pa
said, and then he went away, and
gave the door an awful slam.
i.
)en T was gMtW ,nto bed an(J ma bent
down to hear my prayers
She cried some more and turned her head
, and said her life waa full of cares:
I m snrrv for them hoth. and yet 1 m itlad
thev ra.t b, free
Because If they had never met. why I
would be a norphun. then.
Billy's Complaint.
"Men are queer animals."
"I know it; but what prompted you
to make the remark?"
"You know Buttles, don't you?"
"Billy Buttles? Sure."
"He was complaining this morning
! complaining bitterly."
"What's his trouble?"
'He paid $500 several years ago for
00 shares of mining stock which has
turned out to be utterly worthless.
"Well, that's enough to make al
most anybody complain."
"But it wasn't the worthlessness of
the stock that he complained about. It
eeems that he had been renting a safe-
tv dennsit hov in whtrh tn keen the
Moclt and tne fact that lt nad cogt
hlrn the price of two tons'of coal made
him bitterly declare that he was eorry
.
ne llad ever made the Investment."
Strength.
I would be utronir. hut I have no defrtre
For strength such as a tyrant would '
display
Tn seeking to cause others to admire.
Or through his wish to have unbridled
sway.
Such strenrth may come throug-h acci
dents of birth.
Or he the poor result of circumstance.
To be destroyed or robbed of all Its worth
By some unlucky word or evil change.
I woul le stronir in heart and stroay tn
trus-t.
I would have strenjrth when all Is dark
to strive.
To thrust away temptation, to he lust.
To face disaster, keeping hope alive.
I would have strength to stand out for
the rlirht.
Though all my friends turned blindly to
the wrong: t
To be undaunted ln a losing flirht.
To keep my splrft clean, I woild be
strong-.
A WEAKLING.
I am 60rry to say," remarked the
young wife, "that my husband seems
to lack initiative
and decision."
"What ha
caused you to
think so?" her
friend asked.
"I have to sug
gest it every time i
when he asks for :
a raise in salary, and then he hesitates
for a long time about doing it."
Remarkable, Indeed.
"How well Mr. and Mrs. Grasswld
eeem to get along together."
"Yes. lt is quite remarkable, the
more so because she wears a necklace
that was presented to her by her first
husband and he keeps a picture of
bis first wife In his watch case."
Easy far Him.
"It Is unfortunate." said the
poet.j
"that there's no rhyme for silvejv"
"There ain't?" replied the popular
song writer. "What's the matter with
builder and Hilda and pilfer? Gee, you
ought to take a few lessons in th!a
rhymin" thing."
Swindled.
T saw you and your husband at the
play last night. Mrs. Wedgecomb
How did you like it?"
"Im sorry we wasted our money or.
It. Several people told me I would be
tit-faed. but I wasn't."
The Professor's Compliment.
"The professor paid me a compli
ment that I don't know whether to like
or not."
"How is that my glrir
"He says I am so interesting that be
Is going to name a germ after me."
Pittsburgh Vomx.
3
The Daily Story
7 TILLOTSON' S BIG MYSTERY BY CLARISSA MACKIE.
Copyrighted. 191S. by Associated Literary Bureau.
Mr. David Tillotson elevnted hi
neatly shod feet to the top of his desk
nnd, leaning bis head against the leath
er cushioned back of his chair, per
mitted a smile to trickle around his
straight cut, matter of fact mouth.
"Mystery?" he sniffed scornfully.
"I've often wondered why the diction
ary makers give that much abused
word any space in tbeir dreary vol
umes.. There is no such thing as a
mystery, my dear Fanning. There is
a perfectly good and entirely simple
explanation for every so called mys
tery." Egbert Fanning smiled in a superior
manner, and. tossing the eud of his
cigar into the waste paper basket, he
calmly proceeded, to light another.
"I must go now." he said, rising find
reaching for his hat. "but Jet me tell
you, old man, that you may run across
a mystery within the next twenty-four
hours that even your cleverness can
not solve. This is not a threPt. but a
plaiu. matter of fact prediction of
what Is likely to happen to a scoffer
of unknown forces."
"Fiddlededee likewise tommyrot!"
ejaculated David as the door closed
behind his smiling friend.
Dismissinc the discussion of the last
half hour thus lightly, Mr. Tillotson
plunged iuto his afternoon mail wltli
a mind untrammeled by thoughts of
perplexing questions. His pleasant
voice dictated letter after letter, while
his quiet little stenographer took dinvn i
! his words with flying pencil and the
j rustle of turning leaves as her note-
book filled up.
"That is nil. Miss Dickson." said Da
vid at last, and he swung his chair
to the window as the girl passed into
the small inner office that was her
own especial sanctum. The inner of
fice possessed one window, opening on
the courtyard ten stories below, and
only one door, the one leading into
David Tlllotson's private office.
David swung idly in his chair for
awhile, debating whether he would go
for a spin in his fast motorcar or
spend the remainder of the afternoon
at his club.
While he pondered this Important
question he was sootlied almost to som
nolence by the muffled clicking of Miss
Dickson's typewriter behind the closed
door of her office. Some men would
have objected to the noise of the ma-
rliinn not- rnviil Tillotson. ITe
1 . . i . i i. .i . nM.n in 1.1.
big. strong body.
At last he realized that the clicking
had ceased, nnd. having decided to
take a ride, he telephoned for his car
to be brought around and then pressed
the button for Miss Dickson.
She did not respond to the stimmons.
Again he pressed the button, and,
meeting no response from the usually
prompt and businesslike young wom
an. David went to tne door or ner or
j fico and looked in
The room was empty.
The neatly typed letters were on her
desk awaiting bis signature. Her hat
was on its accustomed hook, and one
of her dainty handkerchiefs was on
the floor.
But there was no sign of Elsie Dick
son. David was disturbed, ne bad not
heard Miss Dickson pnss through his
office, as she necessarily must in order
to reach the outer door. He was un
usually keen of hearing, and even her
light footfall would have attracted his
I attention, for It was a fact that quite
unknown to himself David Tillotson
was deeply interested in the quiet,
dove eyed girl who had so long and
faithfully served him.
He did not realize that many of his
cleverest transactions bad been inspir
ed by Elsie Dickson, ne would have
scoffed if any one. Fanning, for in
stance, had hinted that be was ln lovo
with his stenographer, but it was quite
true that her presence always exerted
a soothing influence upon her employ
er. He felt entirely contented if he
knew that she was in the next room,
nnd the delicate fragrance that clung
to her little handkerchief was sweet
Incense to his critical nostrils.
As David, unsuspecting bachelor
that he was. did not have an inkling
of the state of his wayward heart, he
could not In the least account for the
violent tb-jmping of that organ when
he discovered that the window was
wide open and that Elsie Dickson bad
disappeared.
In two strides be was at the window
and peering fearfully down Into the
courtyard. It was quite empty save
for the Janitor's boy. who was sweep
ing the cement pfiremcnt.
He drew back atid on 'e more search
ed the room, but there was no sign of
Lis missing secretary. With assumed
nonchalance he went into the outer of
fice and spoke to one of the clerks.
"Is Miss Dickson here?" he arked
Irritably.
The man glanced at him In surprise.
"Why, no. sir. She Is in her office,
I believe. I talked with her over the
pbone a moment ao."
David returned to his own room
more disturbed than he cared to ac
knowledge He clancod Inside Miss
Dickson's offi'-e. but she was not there.
pitting down at h's desk, he hesitated
j with the telephone receiver in bis
band.
I Pracfje person that lie was. he
could not imagine what had become
, th girl. All he knew was that a
half hour ago she w.-is in her office.
David found that be could no louger
think ck-arly. connectedly. Mingjcd I
" nil Ml u ill. n LiivrO .'1 .) U'ti uiiu 111 . j
t . I. 1.1. . .-I , 1 t ( n,l hnr.
pened to Lisle Dickson were a VHgue
terror and nn unaccountable depres
sion of spirits.
Sudden'y bis fingers closed tightly
around the telephone, and he lifted
the receiver to bis ear. He called Eg
bert Fanning number and lu five
minutes that astonished young man
was beside him listening to h!a story.
"It's a mystery." declared David em
phatically. "You show a glimmer of
sense now and then. Bert. Tell me
what you think of the matter."
"O ho a mystery'" crowed Tannine.
"My" dear David, why stir yourself up
over such a simple matter? The girl
has probably stolen a few moment
to chat with the clerks in the outer
office, and. fearful of your displeasure,
they are shielding her absence."
"Miss Dickson is not that sort." re
torted David hotly. "She is quite free
to come and go as she chooses, but
but" His face was quite pale now.
and the amusement died out of Fan
ning's gleeful countenance.
"Just let me look around her office
I'm something of a detecttve. you
know. Perhaps I can solve the niyst
tery." "Go ahead, my dear bov. Of courso
there is a solution to the myst prob
lem of her disappearance, but I'm too
stupid to work it out now."
"Too rattled:" commented Fanning,
with n keen glauee at his friend.
Tillotson had turned back to the win
dow and was staring at the wall -f
the opposite building with unseeing
eyes.
"Have I your permission to Investi
gate In all departments?' asked Fan
nine briskly.
"Yes. Anything. Only find her!"
"Y gods:"' muttered Fanning as he
entered Miss Dickson's office. "My
good David lias struck the greatest
mystery in the world If he only knew
it. Poor beggar! Woman and her
reasons for doing things!
"Now, let me see. Letters nil tyred,
handkerchief on floor and hat on nail.
These are my clews. Let lie thin;
i and prowl anl ponr.er!'
n hour later Egber. Fanning ceas
ed his trotting x nnd fro from office
to ofllce. from room to corridor and
back again.
He came into David's presence mop
ping his heated brow with n snowy
handkerchief and wearing a trium
phant smile.
"Well, what luck?" asked David,
turning around.
"Mystery is solved," said Fanning.
"You're at the bottom of It. Tillotson."
"Me? How?" stared the other.
'In the first place, for your careless
methods in trying to maintain two
lines of thought at one and the same
time. When a man is dictating under
such circumstances there is every like
lihood that his lines of thought will
become crossed and emit electric
sparks that are"
"Cut out nil the funny business. Fan
ning!" interrupted David. "Can't you
see that I"
"Of course any one can see that you
are ridiculously in love with that pret
ty, shy Miss Dickson!" put in Fan
ning. "Otherwise why should you dic
tate three out of ten letters to her to
day and open them with 'Dear Elsie
instead oC Dear Sir? Answer me
that."
"I never was guilty of such wretch
ed blunders," protested the crimson
Tillotson. But Fanning was quite re
morseless now.
"Listen to the result of my investi
gations. On top of the pile of type
written letters, which I may assure
yon Miss Dickson had properly ad
dressed, was an open letter to you. I
read lt. Here It is:
"Dear Mr. Tillotson If you will take
the trouble to have my notebook examined
by an expert you will learn that for the
past week you have dictated many let
ters which began tn a very Coffensive'
scratched out; 'David' and 'unaccount
ablo' substituted) unaccountable manner.
Today's experience is mora than I care to
repeat; consequently I herewith tender my
resignation as your secretary, name to
take effect at once.
"Thanking you for many courtesies re
ceived ln the past and regretting the ne
cessity for the step, very truly yours.
"ELSIE DICKSON."
"Impossible: Incredible:" cried Til
lotson, red with mortification and vex
ation. "Here is the report of the expert. I
had mercy on you, old fellow, and took
the book to the public stenographer in
the next building, l'ou are convicted
of ten 'Dour Elsies' and four 'Dearest
Elsies." and I may as well confess. Da
vid, that you called me Elsie twice
yesterday."
"How did Miss Dickson get away
without my observing her';" interrupt
ed Til lotsgn.
"1 traced that mystery out. too."
chuckled the amateur detective.
"Found an empty bandbox In her of
fice and concluded Miss Dickson h:id
just purchased a new bat. which she
wore home, leaving her old one here.
Smith, your clerk at the outer tlo.ir,
now confesses that he wns absent
from bi pr,Kt n half hour this after
noon, and it was during that period
that Miss Db-kson went away, quite
unconscious that her sudden departure
was to form the nucleus of one of the
most Interesting mysteries that"
"I wonder where Miss Dickson
lives:" broke in David, pacing the floor
restlessly.
"She thoughtfully left her address at
the bottom of her letter in cae you
waiited to send an apology, dear boy!
Atid don't forget your bat. David.
' Your motor it down at the curb, and"
I Fanning smiled ns the door slammed
behind his friend.
"An the greatest mystery of it all
is that the becgar didn't know be was
in lore wltli her all the time!" be es
elalmed. Dec. 23 in American
History.
ITS-' Birth of Thomas Vacdonough,
hero of a brilliant victory over th
British on Lake Chamilaiii, Sept.
11, 1SU; died General Wash
ington resigned from the army,
taking "leave of all the employ.
n:ents of public life."
ll I General Andrew Jackson mailt
I. Is first attack on the Briti ;h linei
below New Orleans.
1S8 Henry Wood fin Grady, editor
and orator, lender of the "x:ew
south." died; born 1?.j0.
All the
Argus.
news ail th time The