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THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JULY 10, 190
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The Democratic Nominee for the Presidency
Alton Brooks Parker, Jurist With a Notafcle Career, Successful
Campaign Manager, and the Architect of His Own Fortunes
(The- following appreciative sketch of Alton
Brooks Parker Is abridged from" a lone article
In the Brooklyn Eagle, an Independent-Democratic
newspaper, and one of bis warm sup
porters.) LTON BBOOKS PARKER -was born
la Cortland, Cortland County,
State of Now York, on May 14,
1S52, consequently la in the very prime of
manhood, being1 in bis 53d year, and In
is case it is the prime of a vigorous and
healthy manhood. The stock from -which
he sprung, on both sides, is all English.
His great-grandfather, John Parker, was
born at "Worcester, Mass., in 1751. He
was a farmer, and left his plow in 1776
to serve in tho patriotic army under
Washington as a private, and so con
tinued until the American Republic was
established, when he returned to his
farm, where he lived out his life, re
spected by his neighbors as a man of in
dependence, intelligence and industry- He
reared a family, of which, however, lit
tle Is known except of one son, also
named John, who. in 1SQ3. came into this
state and bought a farm at Cortland
the same farm which at this day Is In the
possession of Alton Brooks. This John
was recognized by his neighbors as a
highly educated man of great intelligence
and public spirit Ho was heavily han
dicapped in the struggle of life by a farm
on which rested the burden of debt, a
largo family and ill health. Himself a
man of education, duly appreciating the
advantages of culture and truly measur
ing the lack of it, until the day of his
death it was a source of bitterness with
him that he had not been able to give to
his sons and daughters the advantages
he himself had enjoyed. Early tho bur
den of the conduct of this Cortland Coun
ty farm fell upon the shoulders of his son
John, the third In direct line. His life
was a struggle, and he carried the burden
of it with him to the grave. Of little
scholastic training, this John third was
a studious man, who read widely and
deeply, and who preached in his family
the truths of the value of an education
until ho bred in his son Alton, at least, a
burning desire for learning.
The Birthplace.
On this farm, lying midway between
Blnghamton and Syracuse, Alton Brooks
was born, and on it he labored as soon
as his young limbs were fit, until he was
12 years old, during the last three of
which, in the Winters, he attended the
district school of the vicinity. In his 13th
year he entered the Cortland Academy,
the same one In which another distin
guished son of Cortland, Daniel Scott La
mont, acquired the rudiments of his edu
cation. And it is fact, which should be
noted as having its Influence on young
Alton's developing character and as mak
ing for that self-reliance which is a dis
tinguishing characteristic, that tho tui
tion fees required at this academy were
earned by him by work wherever he could
obtain it, without recourse to his father
for aid.
His Education.
Beyond the academy was the normal
school, with Its higher branches of study,
and the Albany Law School, goals to be
reached in that struggle to enter the
ranks of lawyers of the state. When acad
emy days were done there was money to
be earned to meet the expenses of at
tendance upon them. So for four years
he Is found teaching school, beginning at
"Virgil, Cortland County, at the age of 1C.
There is a story that Is characteristic
At Virgil there was a scholar so much
older than tho new teacher that he de
clined to submit to rule and authority,
and when force was attempted rebelled
and struck out st "the new teacher,"
who promptly knocked tho recalcitrant
down, and collaring him, tooTc him homo
to toll his parents what he had done.
The episode established his undisputed au
thority thereafter. From Virgil he went
to Blnghamton, In Broome County, where
he taught In the public school and be
tween the two places earned money suf
ficient to carry him through the desired
term at the Normal school. Then he mi
grated to Ulster County and taught school
in Rochester, of that county, where he
earned tho money at 3 per day to give
him the desired two years' course at the
Albany Law School. Here at Rochester,
too, he won a brido in the person of Mary
Lee Schoonmaker. With the completion
of his term at Albany and his graduation
in 1372, he was admitted to practice at the
bar. His days of teaching were over. Set
tling in Kingston, he became first a clerk
and subsequently an associate, with the
firm of Schoonmaker & Hardenberg, the
leading law firm of that section 'of the
country, and entered industriously and
enthusiastically Into the practice of the
law, as he had determined when a boy
of 13. It had been done, this translation
from an aspiring boy to a full-fledged
lawyor. in seven years a period of strug
gle, of privation, of incessant labor with
head and hands, but' never with lessening
of purpose, rather with eye firmly fixed
on the goal, each obstruction In the way
an Incentive to increased endeavor and
greater energy.
Entrance Into Politics.
It Is customary to say that the young
lawyer entered politics In an endeavor to
idvance tho political career of his friend
Mid patron. Judge Augustus Schoonmak
er, Jr. While there Is no question that
he was so engaged, it cannot be called
his first entrance Into politics. Young
lawyers in country towns and inland cities
take to politics as naturally as do ducks
to water. Indeed, circumstances force
them into the affairs of the parties of
their faith. And so young Parker was
no sooner in the possession of his sheep
skin than he was with others Immersed
la tho politics of the Democratic party
of Ulster County. Participation In poll
tics early made him clerk of the board
of supervisors of that county. Five years
after his graduation, when he was 25
years old, he was chosen Surrogate of the
county, after a hard political battle. In
which ho was the only one of his ticket
who was elected, testimony to the popu
larity and the reputation ho had so early
acquired. Six years later he was re-elected
with Increased majority. There Is no
question that that which brought him in
to conspicuous notice within his county
was the organizing work done by him In
behalf of Judge Schoonmaker for State
Senator. Mr. Schoonmaker had been
County Judge, serving acceptably as might
be expected of a man so able and of
such high character. But by some trick
ery ho was deprived of a second term and,
disheartened, the Judge regarded his po
litical or public career at an end. Young
Parker did not. He conceived the idea
of securing the nominatloa for the State
Senate for the Judge and set about or
ganizing the county for Schoonmaker, and
with suoh brilliant success that Schoon
maker was not only nominated for tho
office but triumphantly elected. The young
lawyer Parker had buildeds better than
he knew, for in his single-hearted and
unselfish devotion to the cause of his
friend he had so impressed himself on
the county that he made friends in all
parts of it, as was manifest two years
later, when he was nominated for Surro
gate. During the years he was a hard
worker in his profession and gaining tri
umphs at the bar which advanced his
reputation as a lawyer for even when Sur
rogate he practiced, as is permissible In
the counties when there is not business
enough in the Surrogate's court to absorb
the time of tho Surrogate. In 1B77, the
year he was eleteed Surrogate, he im
pressod himself on the leaders of that
day. TiWen. Mannln. Lamont t i hv
the manner in which ho conducted the
canvass of his friend Schoonmaker for Attorney-General,
who was elected that year
to that high office. In 1B84 HIU slipped
Into tho Gubernatorial nomination by a
bare majority. Up to thia time there had
been .no consideration of candidates for
!su1n&nt-Govercior. But bo soon as the
Gubernatorial nomination was made, and
under the clroumstances, the Hill people
felt the necessity of the nomination of
a conspicuous name to strengthen the
ticket. RoBwell P. Flower was nominated
and promptly declined, but not until after
the convention had adjourned. It fell to
the state committee to fill the vacancy.
The Republicans had nominated a popular
soldier in the person of Joseph B. Carr
and HIU regarded the nomination of one
who could divide the soldier vote of the
stato as essential, and not only desired,
but made a strong effort to persuade Gen
eral Slocum to take the nomination. This
General Slocum declined and with some
heat, and after no little discussion Gen
eral Edward F. Jones, of Blnghamton,
was taken. Now In all of these events
Alton B. Parker was with his Ulster
County people and their allies in tho up
state counties who were -for Hill, and
at that time he had not tho acquaint
ance of Hill.
A Brilliant Campaign.
Tho situation on the Democratic side
after the adjournment of the nominating
convention was singular. The contempt
uous refusal of Flower to accept the
nomination, tho no less contemptuous
declination of General Slocum to fill the
vacancy, the refusal of others to come
to the rescue, gave such a blow to the
Democratic campaign in the beginning
that it was believed that the battle was
lost before it was even begun. This was
followed by a long list of refusals on the
part of those who had been solicited to
take the management of tho campaign.
No one seemed to bo willing to ally or
identify himself with what seemed to be
ncessarily a losing campaign. In this
juncture, when the organization of the
campaign, nono too long in time, was
being delayed for tho want of organizing
means, Robert A. Maxwell, then State
Treasurer, ever a pronounced Cleveland
man, Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General
under the second Cleveland Admin
istration, suggested the name of Alton
B. Parser as ono eminently fitted for the
duties if he could be persuaded to assumo
them, coupling tho suggestion with tho
assertion that such assumption of duty
was not in line with the counso of life
Parker had laid out for himself. At
Hill's solicitation. Maxwell hastened to
Parker at Kingston, and persuaded him
to meet Hill on the Hudson River train
that afternoon. The proposition made
was not received favorably by Parker.
It was not in lino of his endeavor. It
was an Interruption In his career as a
practicing lawyer. Ho modestly doubted
his capacity for that sort of work, and
vexpressed tho opinion that a person more
familiar with the details of tho politics
of the various counties should be chosen.
But when, the appeal was made to his
chivalry and when it was presented to
him that appeal to him was the last re
coursein the nature of a forlorn hope
he yielded, and you will find in this inci
dent an Insight into the man. He ac
cepted the place. What followed is now
history. He was a masterful leader, wag
ing not only a brilliant, but a most suc
cessful, campaign. As an organizer he
discovered a rare ability. As an aggres
sive battler, he was quickly recognized
by his opponents. He changed the char
acter of the opponents' campaign from
that of the offensive to the defensive In
ten days, and kept It on the defensive to
the end. And this ho .did without those
abundant means which have usually
been the possession of the successful
campaign managers. It was a campaign
of discussion and persuasion. It had to
be, for he had no other means to em
ploy. The campaign which began in Oc
tober under the black shadow of impend
ing defeat ended in November under the
bright shining sun of victory. And
among those who accredited the brilliant
young manager with the sole triumph
none was more emphatic than the candi
date himself, who accorded him a degree
of gratitude latter-day politicians deny
it Is In his composition to feel. And
when the shouting was done Parker went
back to his law books, asking nothing
at the hand? of the man he had piloted
to Ictory. Subsequently, however, there
occurred by reason of tho death of Judge
Theodorlc Westbrook, of the judicial dis
trict of which Ulster County is a part,
a vacancy on the Supreme Court bench,
which it fell to the lot of Governor Hill,
In the discharge of his duties, to fill by
appointment. And he appointed Alton
B. Parker, who was then 33 years old.
Stories that Parker hesitated and debated
over this appointment are Idle. "It was
quite within the line of his aspirations.
NO LAURELS LOST AT VANCOUVER
Corvallis Still Has Confidence in Sprinters "Williams and Smithson
CORVALLIS. Or., July 9. (Special.) It
Is not believed here that Joe Pearson
can, under equal conditions, defeat
Floyd Williams, the O. A. C. sprinter. In
the 440-yard run. The men have the same
record In the event, to-wlt, 512-5 seconds,
mado by Pearson this Summer on the
Berkeley track and by Williams recently
at Forest Grove. With reference to
Pearson's victory In the Vancouver meet
when Williams appeared for Multnomah,
Williams had had practically no training
since the meet with the University of Ore
gon at Eugene, June 5. Williams Is a
heavy-muscled man, who loses far more in
speed by lack of training than does a
man of lighter build or nervier disposi
tion. That Williams In the Vancouver
meet was badly out of condition, is proved
by the fact that Smlthson took a place
over him In the 220-yard dash, for the first
time in his life.
It has been learned here that in tho
Vancouver meet, threo watches caught
Smithson's time In one of the heats of
the 100-yard dash at :Q9 4-5. The develop
ment of this speed, as well as that of
Williams Is the result of the superior work
of W. O. Trine, physical director at the
college. Williams has a record of 101-5,
and Smithson, after one year In col
lege, has a record of 10 flat, being the
first Oregon man to make that record.
Cadlgan, of California, has mado the dis
tance In 10 flat. In Oregon, but he was
developed in California. Six other Ore
gonlans. all developed by Director Trine,
have 101-5 seconds, and each Is believed
In his time to have been capable of a 10
flat record. If emergency had required.
These are: Hlgglns, Overholt, Kelly, Kuy
kendall. Bishop and Heater, all University
of Oregon men. In the case of Heater,
for Instance, he was only beaten by a
face by Cadlgan when the latter made
the distance In 10 seconds In the Uni
versity of California and University of
Oregon meet at Eugene. It is the an
nounced opinion of Director Trine that
with proper training, Williams can not
only defeat Pearson in the 440. but that
he can best any other man now In that
event on the Coast, or, that Smlthson,
with proper care can defeat any 100-yard
man on thesoast
A fty&sourl Horse-Buyer.
Macon Republican.
Billy Hall, the Lancaster horseman,
visited Bloomfield, la., recently, and In
five hours bought 303 horses, giving
less than a minuto to the inspection
of each animal. The prices ran all
the way from $100 to 4180 a head. Tho
total amount paid out was 545,000. The
buildings of the towa'were decorated,
the band played and .the ladles of the
church served dinner. It was a regu
lar circus aay.
It was within the line of his pro
fession, and he accepted it promptly
ani gladly. Nor in this day shall
any one rise to say -it was not an
eminently fit appointment Whether the
motive of Governor Hill was that of
gratitude or a desire to pay a political
debt, the fact Is that in the result a
young man of high legal attainments and
of the highest moral character, of strong
and forceful mentality, was elovated to
the bench. There were those at the time
who insisted that the appointment should
have gone elsewhere in the district, but it
belonged to Kingston, and Kingston got
it A year later he was nominated for
a full term of 14 years, and let this be
thoroughly understood; the opposing par
ty made no nomination against him.
Judge Parker was chosen by a practically
unanimous vote of the district, thus con
firming In a most positive way the wis
dom of Governor Hill's appointment.
For 12 years Judge Parker sat on the
bench of the Supreme Court. In 1SS3 a
second division: of the Court of Appeals
was brought Into existence for tho pur
poso of clearing up the choked and en
cumbered calendar of the court. It was
provided that this second division should
be appointed, from the members of the
Supreme Court bench, and tho 6electlon
was to be made by the Governor. Among
those selected was Judge Parker, and at
tho time he was but 38 years old. Four
years later the second division having fin
ished the work it was appointed to do,
was dissolved, and its members returned
to their courts. By Governor Flower he
was almost Immediately appointed to the
general term of the First District, that
Is to say, of New York City, and was
appointed by Governor Morton later, and
so continued to serve until the general
term Kas abolished and the Appellate
Division came into existence. In 1S97 he
was nominated to be Chief Justice of the
Court of Appeals, and was elected by a
majority exceeding 60,000. The previous
year the stato had gi'an the Republican
Presidential candidate a plurality of 212,
000. The election of Judge Parker the
following year involved a reversal In plu
ralities of 272.000. It Is explained by those
who seek explanations on the ground
that, through a blunder of Republican
management, Judge Werner, his oppo
nent, was deprived of votes he otherwise
would have had. This Is speculation,
however, and the fact remains that the
State of New York, which In 18S6 went
Republican for McKlnley by 212,000, went
Democratic for Parker by CO.000 In 197.
Urged for the Governorship.
It is insisted that In 1891 powerful lead
ers offered the nomination for Governor
to Judge Parker and that he declined.
That he was urged by certain leaders to
permit the use of his name Is no doubt
true and that he respectfully declined is
no doubt as true. But It is also true that
those who urged him to this course could
no more guarantee hl3 nomination than
they could his election. The urgency was
only made by certain leaders to Herve
their own ends and strengthen their own
positions before the party. In fact, there
had been a chango of control. A combi
nation between the elements represented
by Edward Murphy. Jr., And Richard Cro
ker had been made, and the control
wrested from David B. Hill. That com
bination controlled a majority of the del
egates and was from the first affirmative
ly for Roswell P. Flower. Tho campaign
for delegates had been a vigorous one and
on tho Murphy-Croker side waged on tho
means furnished by Flower. Judge Par
kor appreciated the situation and would
bo no party to an undignified scramble
for delegates when party sentiment was
not calling for his nomination.
In 1902, however, there was such a de
mand within his party for his nomination
as Governor as was never made before in'
its history. Had he said one word indic
ative of his willingness to accept such
nomination at any period of the cam
paign up to the moment of nomination,
no other name would have been heard in
the convention. That his voice and in
fluence was exerted to the contrary prior
to the convention there can be no doubt.
That tho influenco of the control of the
convention -was exerted to the prevention
of a stampede of it for Parker there is
no doubt. Nor now is there any doubt
that If that convention had been stam
peded for Parker he would have accepted.
Nor Is there any doubt In the light that
followed that ho would have been elected
Governor.
Judge Parker, a man of 52 years last
May, does not look his age by ton of
them. He is a handsome specimen of J
"M.M.M,M,
' irttiiititito7
TWO FLEET-FOOTED OREGON ATHLETES
;; "
of a second of the Northwest college rec- fMpt'liEv." f' " j$S&l
I)rrest Smlthson, of Oregon Agricultural ym& i, "Mr ! !!
College, Is the only Oijegon fnon with a IIJmDHp "& fltL
record of 10 seconds Hat In the 100-yard sa-. iB&w
dash, made at Eugene, Or., June 4. In the igK9(H&HGI
, meet between Oregon Agricultural Col- 1MK''"HKM'ip
, lege and University of Oregon. He haa a fKtS !!
1 record .of 0:23 in the 220-yard dash, and
0:05 2-5 in the Co-yard dash, and 0:23 4-5 ' '
! in th 220-yard hurdle., Tom Smltfasoa, ',
manhood, standing 6 feet in his shoes.
His hair Is a reddish color, his eyes a
hazel brown with a reddish tinge, his
face wears the tarnished livery of the sun
with the same reddish tinge. His nose is
aquiline and aggressive, and his chin is
aggressive in its breadth and thrust for
ward. This high color first attracts atten
tion, then his chin, which conveys" the im
pression of great will power, dogged ad
herence to a purpose once made and de
termination to carry forward the enter
prise agreed upon. The nose claims at
tention, with Its showing of force and
Investigative power. The coarse, red
mustache between chin and nose tells you
of virility, and by this time you are be
ginning to think, perhaps, that the animal
qualities predominate, until the eyes en
gage your attention, when those windows
of the soul tell you that if there are
animal qualities- in the make-up of the
man they arc in control and are tempered
by a kindly disposition and an acute In
telligence that Is wide awake and cogni
zant of all that Is transpiring within
their ken Above rises a high, broad,
smooth, white forehead, which Is sym
metrical in Its slope, preserving the full
ness of tho Intellectual part without mln
imlzinsr'that of penetration and observa
tion. If you are a phrenologist, you will
say that he is a man who is fond of music,
that ho is a good guesser of weights, and
in his youth had an Inclination toward
athletic sports, especially of a gymnastic
nature, with a fine sense of color ana tne
quality of telling the time of the day
without consulting the watch. And you
will also determine from that high, broad,
white forehead that he thinks without
effort, with unusual powers of concentra
tion; that with little difficulty he removes
his mind from one consideration to an
other without friction; that he ha3 won
derful nervous endurance and can labor
for longer hours with less fatigue than
most men. You shall also discover that
the morai faculties are fully developed and
that reverence and conscience play their
parts even in the small things of his life.
In short, you will determine that you have
been observing a very strong man, men
tally and physically, who Is well balanced,
not easily swayed, tenacious of his own
conclusions, well nigh resistless In his en
ergy, combative. If not pugnacious, ac
knowledging no master but himself,
wholesome, kindly, courteous and abun
dantly enjoying life in the mere matter
of having existence. And on acquaint
ance and observation it will be found that
the qualities suggested are all a part of
his make-up.
The Judge Is learned In the philosophy
and origin of law, as his address before
the law schools and legal Institutions
abundantly provo, and in the lighter forms
of literature Is fond of a good novel, with
a strong predilection for Scott, Thacke
ray and Dickens. He is a farmer in his
recreation and deeply interested in the
scientific side of agriculture and in tho
breeding of cattle. His home life Is un
ostentatious, simple and dignified, tho
conveniences of civilized life being ob
served without pomp or affectation, and a
generous hospitality tho abiding rule. His
family consists In these days only of him
self and wife, but his mother Is a fre
quent visitor under his roof, and his
daughter, Bertha, the wife of the Rev.
Charles Mercer Hall, rector of the Epis
copal Mission Church of the Holy Cross,
at Kingston, is frequently at her father's
home, with her two children. The Judge
Is a vestryman of this church, over which
his son-in-law presides. The Judge's
mother, Harriet Stratton, is yet alive, In
her SOth year, and resides with a married
daughter, Mrs. James A. Miles, In Derby,
Conn., not a little alarmed that all the
honors showered on her son will make
him worldly and self-sufficient, a result
against which she contends by frequent
letters of admonition. His brother, Fred
W. Parker, Is engaged in the Insurance
business In New York City, and his name
ends the roll of the family.
Blessing Her Patrons.
Chicago Tribune.
Young photographers have queer fan
cies There are many young women
among the artists of country towns, and
wnile they keep up their regular business
In portrait work they develop some odd
preferences in 'the matter of subjects. A
pretty-faced Indiana girl with a whole lot
of romantic ideas, and who shares a gal
lery with her' brother, has made a great
hit In the work of "taking" no less ro
mantic girls In tho act of having taelr
fortunes told by a wandering gypsy wom
an. She nas already made several of
these pictures, and artists who have seen
them give her a great deal of credit for
the work.
Appearances Are Deceptive.
La Grange (Mo.) Tribune.
You can't tell by the looks of a mouse
how far It can make a woman jump.
4
An Old-Fashioned Wooing-By Ellsworth E. Kelley
The
(Copyright by S. S. McClure & Co.)
JAMES BENJAMIN SAUNDERS he
was called Jim Ben on the farm
where he had been "hired hand" for
the last ten years came up on the back
porch, wiped his face on the roller towel
that hung by the door, stepped to the wln-dow-pano
that possessed the quality of
dimly reflecting a countenance before It,
carefully combed his hair, and then
stepped into the spacious room that
served the double purpose of kitchen and
dining-room. Before he reached his ac
customed chair la the corner he paused
in open-mouthed astonishment. There was
a new hired girl in the kitchen.
Now, during the last ten years, Jim, Ben
had seen hired girls come and go from, the
Weaver kitchen by the score. There had
been a long procession of tall girls and
short girls, fat girls and lean glrjs, maids
and widows, girls with complexions like
peaches and cream, and girls with no com
plexion whatever. The new girl had freck
les and red hair.
"Je-rusaleml! exclaimed Jim. Ben.
"Don't you daro come swearin 'round
my kitchen!" admonished the red-headed
girl, " 'cause I won't stand it not a bt of
it!" Her tone was severe, but a comical
smllo played around her mouth. Not be
ing a society man. Jim Ben was at a loss
for reply. He compromised by shuffling
on toward his chair.
"For tho land sokes! I don't know what
yer name Is" Here Jim Ben volunteered
the desired Information. "Well, then, Jim
Ben, you, go straight out and clean them
boots. Look-ee at ye, a-trackln up my
clean floor In that style!"
That was the beginning of it.
After dinner Jim Ben did an unexpected
and wholly unprecedented- thing. Of his
own motion ho took the empty pall from
the bench by the kitchen door, went to
the well, manipulated the heavy old
"sweep," returned with the pall brimming
full of water, and set it carefully on the
bench.
"Look-eo at ye now! If you haven't
spilled some water on my clean floor, you
great, big, awkward hulk! I've a notion
to" and she grabbed a dipper, and only
the hasty exit of Jim Ben In the direction
of the barn saved him a liberal sprink
ling. Jim Ben smiled to himself occasionally
as he plodded along behind the plow that
afternoon. When he and Mr. Weaver
stopped to rest at the turning row, Jim
Ben sat on his plow beam and indus
triously whittled a clod of moist earth in
a preoccupied way. When he had fash
ioned It Into a cube ho turned to Mr.
Weaver and asked:
"Say! Who Is she?"
"Who's who?"
"Wy, her; the new hired gal!"
"Oh! That's Randy Hlgglns. Her folk3
live down on Scatter Creek. You know
old man Higgiris him 'at's got the saw
mill r
Jim Ben nodded assent. Then he said:
"Gosh! Ain't she freckled? Sort o' red
headed, too. I bet she's got a temper!
The red-headed kind always has."
Randy utterly Ignored Jim Ben at the
supper table, although he went so far as
to ask, "What's them?" when she passed
him tho plate of blscut that gave outward
evidence of the inward presence of a
superabundance of soda. After supper he
further violated all precedent by getting
the kindlings for tho morning flro and fill
ing the box with wood.
When he had performed this work of su
perorogatlon, he sat down Just Inside the
kitchen door and watched, while she
washed and wiped the dishes. She handled
them deftly and swiftly, and moved about
with light foot. Her sleeves were rolled
to her shoulders. Jim Ben would have
been les3 than human If he had not be
Many Curious Facts AboutSees
How Creature Goes About Stinging- Lore and Superstition.
New York Sun.
EE culturists have for a long time
been endeavoring to produce a sting
less bee. They expect yet to accom
plish this by crossing American bees with
the Italian.
Much In this direction has been accom
plished in Arizona, where the noticeable
strain of the native stock is disappearing
under careful breeding. Tho native bee la
pugnacious, but Is not rated so good a
honeymaker as the Italian.
The new bee that has been developed Is
not so pugnacious, and Is less Inclined to
resent any Interference by stinging; and
at the same time ho is almost as good a
honeymaker as his Italian forbears.
The tiny weapon of defense has always
proved a great menace to the apiarist, and
there are many Instances In which it haa
proved fatal to man and beast.
A flight of locusts got In among tho bees
at Mahableshwar, India, the other day,
and the result was somewhat alarming.
A swarm of angry bees surrounded Mr.
and Mrs. Atkins, who were driving past
tho apiary. They were both severely
stung and the ponies that were hitched
to the vehicle died as a result of the at
tack made upon them by the bees.
A valuable horse belonging to William
Mendlesohn, of Ventura, Cal., was stung
to death by angry bees. Mr. Mendlesohn
had located his bees on a ranch near the
town, and while absent had tied his horse
near the hives. The bees attacked the
animal In swarms and he -died soon after
ward In agony.
Bud Summers, of Huntsville, Mo., was
driving along a country road the other
day, when he and his horse were attacked
by a swarm of beea. The attacks was so
effective that Mr. Summers fled to the
nearest nouse.
His horse tore the buggy and harness
to pieces, and fell down helpless and
bleeding. He died an hour afterward.
Mr. Summers thinks ho would have been
stung to death but for the help given him
by the family In whose houso he sought
refuge. As it was, he was terribly disfig
ured. "Stinging is not the Impulsive and furious
action on the part of the bee that many
persons think," said a bee culturist. "I
have often watched bees sting, and they
all go about It In the same way.
"Take them, first. In a slow and careful
sting, where they have plenty of time.
Here they study the ground that is to be
punctured with minute attention.
"They have a pair of Instruments called
palpi wonderful Instruments full of fine
hairs, each hair terminating In a delicate
nerve and with these palpi they will
sound the piece of flesh as perfectly as a
physician will sound a patient's lungs.
They can tell precisely in this way
whether or not their sting will penetrate
without meeting any obstruction or com
ing to any harm.
"Tho bee. If It seems good to her, at
the end of hr examination, turns, darts
in her sting and at the same time Injects
Into the wound a tiny drop of clear, pale
green venom. If she has time she with
draws her sting, circling around and
around the wound, screwing out the little
weapon as a carpenter screws out a bit.
"But If sho has not time. If her life is
In danger, she flies away at once, leaving
both poison and sting. Thus maimed, she
dies In an hour or two.
"It Is only upon the drones of the hive
that the average bee uses her weapon not
one bee In a million ever stings a human
being or an animal and when she attacks
a drone It Is easy to withdraw her sting
again, and thus no harm comes to her.
"When she stings a man, though, therq is
mora daxuter: but even, here she reconnoi-
Sunday Oregonian's Selected Fiction
stowed sly, admiring glances on her white
and shapely arms. She turned on him
suddenly and caught him fairly.
'What you gawkln at me for?'
"I wasn't gawkln! It was Just wonderin
if they hurt."
"What? My arms?"
"No, ma'am. Them freckles."
For answer she clouted him about the
ears with the wet dishcloth, but when ha
had lnglorloualy fled from her province
she gave Utterance to a series of delighted
giggles.
Jim Ben kept clear of the hired girl's
kingdom for three days, mealtime always
excepted, of course. Randy confided to
her mistress, that of all big. awkward,
clumsy stand-up-and-fall-downs, he was
tho very worst she ever did dee. It made
her laugh, to look at him. Perhaps that
was why she would look at him with a
twinkle in tho tall of her eye, whilo he
was stolidly eating his meal and answer
ing her questions In curt monosyllables.
Then, womanlike, she began to make ad
vances. Jim Ben had lifted a barrel of salt, un
aided, from the wagon to the ground.
Randy, who was on her way from the
woodyard with an apronful of chips,
stopped to watch this athletic feat. When
he had set the, barrel on the ground with
apparent ease she complimented him. She
said :
"My! It must be awful nice to be that
strong." Then she ran toward the kitch
en, saying: "I b'lleve I smell my cookies
burnln'!"
Jim. Ben followed. He asked tho queen
regent of thj Weaver kitchen If he might
have a cup of fresh buttermilk. She
filled for him a quart tincup. When he
had drunk it all ho wiped his mouth with
tho baoc of his hand and said:
"Most gals lets the cream, sour too
long afore they churns. I call that there
buttermilk, tip-top stuff.-lf you did churn
It." '
Randy smiled at this frank praise, and
to show him that It had not fallen on
unappreclatlve ears, brought forth a roll
of yellow butter, solid and sweet, with
little curved decorations marked on It
with the butter paddle. "How do you
like the looks o' that?" she asked
"That's the genuine truck, shore
enough! I bet you're the best hired gal
that's been In this kitchen for the last
ten year!"
"La, I bet my cookies is burnln this
time, for shore !" She hurried to the oven
and withdrew therefrom a pan of ccoklca
that were done to a turn. The odor came
tantallzlngly to Jim Ben's nostrils. He
hesitated a moment and then remarked
tentatively:
"I used to sort o like fresh cookies
like them."
Randy listened a moment.
"I thought I heard Mis' Weaver callin "
she explained. "No, she ain't a-callin.
She's Just'a-slngin' out on the front porch.
She's doln' some sewin out there." She
gave Jim Ben a cooky.
Jim Ben munched the cooky and feasted
his eyes on the neat, graceful form of the
red-headed girL He was not given to day
dreams. Still, as he sat there, he con
jured up a homely vision of domestic bliss
In tho log house on the lower eighty. Mr.
"Weaver had talked of renting out the
lower eighty next year. If
"Now, Jim Ben you toddle along out o
here. How you s'pose I'm ever goln' to
get my work done up, an you all the time
foolln' around In the way?"
Not being able to answer this very
pointed question, he slouched out and
went to mend the fence around the hog
pasture. He was In such a high humor
that he never swore once, not even when
a strand of the barb wire broke, much to
the demoralization of his "overhalls."
When ranking time came, Jim Ben suck
led the calves, as he was accustomed to
do, and then which he wa& not accus
ters with her palpi first and finds time In
many cases to get out her sting and es
cape uninjured."
Many quaint delusions prevailed In olden
times about everything relating to the bee
and honey. The source and composition
of honey were subjects for many Ingenu
ous (speculations.
Belief In the celestial origin of honey
runs through all the old treatises on api
culture, from Virgil down. It was sup
posed to be a kind of manna from Heaven,
and Its quality depended greatly on the
favorable, or unfavorable Juxtaposition of
the stars at the time of its descent.
The existence In each hive of one bee
much larger than all the others was gen
erally recognized, but it was believed to
be merely a ruler or king over the rest.
That this large bee was actually the
queen of the whole colony never seemed
to have occurred to any one until recent
times.
The situation of the beehive was In old
times a matter of importance. It was
placed alivays on the south side of a
stream of water and never In a place
where there were echoes, as an echo was
held to be injurious to bees.
Honey appears to havo been held In
extraordinary favor as a universal spe
cific for human ills. It was largely rec
ommended as a hair-restorer.
If dead bees were dried, pounded and
worked up into a thick pasto with the
honey. Its hair-producing capabilities were
much enhanced. For weak eyes it was
recommended to take a handful of the
heads of bees, burn them, and mingle
with the honey gathered In the dog days.
The eyes were anointed liberally with the
mixture, and clearness of vision was the
supposed reward.
-Among the Dutch it is supposed, to bring
ill luck to sell bees. If a neighbor wants
to get hold of some of a friend's bees, he
must go like a thief in the night and steal
them, leaving the money for them, in some
handy place.
Malays always revere the bee; and
whenever a swarm visits their abode they
mako room for them. The coming of
the bees is considered a good omen and
signifies that the Inmates will be pros
perous. One of the suggestions mado for utiliz
ing the bee is that of a Western man, who
would mako them carriers of military dis
patches. The homing instinct of the bee, ho says,
is intensely strong, stronger even than
that of tho pigeon; and, on account of
their size, they are less likely than pigeons
to be shot by the enemy. Transferred by
micro-photography to a minuto piece of
paper, this man says, a great deal of
Information could be conveyed on a bee's
back.
Bees sometimes swarm in strango
places. A swarm recently came from off
the shore and installed Itself In and about
one of the ventilators on the upper deck
of the British warship Diana as she lay
alongside the Mole of Gibraltar.
One of the seamen, with tho aid of an
old soap box and a boarding pike, quickly
hived the bees, and was afterward fortu
nate enough to dispose of his capture ad
vantageously. Soma workmen upon fixing their ladders
high on the south -wall of the Council
chamber at Abington, England, found a
swarm of bees. As no one appeared will
ing to remove them, the Mayor ascended
the ladder himself, hxed a hive over the
bees, and after occupying his uncomfort
ablo position for an hour, came down with,
the whole swarm nicely hived. His con
stituents had assembled to watch the op
eration, and loudly cheered bis descent.
At Dorchester, England, a large hive of
b?ea Bwarmed into the brake van of the
Southwestern. Express from. Weymouth, to
tomed to do gallantly offered to milk tha
Holsteln cow, a notorious hard milker.
He sat on a stonl under thA TTnlst!n and
milked with both hands while Randy was
miiKing tho Jersey. They kept up a run
ning flro of repartee "sayln smart
things" In the vernacular. They wera
having quite an enjoyable tlme.untll Jim
Ben, somewhat deficient In finesse, mad
the pretended error of mistaking her au
burn tresses for the setting sun. A stream
of mite shot across the Intervening space.
It tnnV- him fftlrlv in thft fnr anrt h fln I
in sheer terror, fearing the bucket of mlU
wouia loiiow. jeur iwo aays ne was in
disgrace, and then came the singing
school.
When the supper was done and th
dishes washed that evening, Jim Ben
made his appearance In tho kitchen, clean
shaved and clad in Sunday raiment. As
Randy looked at him she could not help
thinking he was a really manly-looking
fellow, though his mouth was too large
to permit of his being called handsome.
She did not tell him so. She only re
marked: "Land alive! What's the little boy go
in to do now?"
"Nothin much. Nothin but take the
hired girl to tho -singln' school! Run
along, sissy, an git on yer things, an
don't keep- me waltin."
Strange to say. the hired girl obeyed.
Singing school was over, and they had
reached the front gate on their way
home. The stars were abashed and pala
In the presence of the resplendent full
moon. The couple stood by the gate in
silence for a moment, paying involuntary
tribute to the glory of the night. They
sat down on the horso block by the gate.
Randy took off her broad hat and her
glossy hair reflected the moonlight in a
shadow way, until something very like
poetry awoke in the heart of Jim Ben,
and he thought of the halo about the
head of -the Madonna that hung on tha
wall of the best room. He pondered for
a moment and then said:
"Randy, Til take back what I said
t'other night about your hair, you know.
It's mighty purty hair. If It Is red."
She gave him a grateful little glance.
"I've never went with a gal afore," ha
went on. "Never keered to, someway.
None of 'em come up to what mother
used to be. She's dead, you know. Mother
was an awful good cook, though some
times she'd get a leetle too much sody
In the biscuits. She was neat a3 a pin
about her housekeepin. too. I tell you,
she 'used to make me walk chalk when
I come in the kitchen with mud on my
boots! You put me In mind o her in lota
o' ways. That's why I brought the water
and got the klndlln's and sort o' wait on
you, like And her butter and yourn
tastes adzactly alike."
" 'Taint everybody that knows how to
make good butter," shyly admitted
Randy.
"You bet it ain't!" fervently responded
Jim Ben. "And I've always said, when I
did get married, I was goin to hev a
wlfo that could come up with her at but
termakln' and housekeepin'."
Randy's hat slipped from her lap to tho
ground. Both reached for it, and, aa
they stooped, they bumped heads.
"Shore sign we'll be together this time
nex year," observed Randy. For an
swer, Jim Ben's big hand closed gently
on her slender, unresisting fingers.
"Randy" his heart was thumping so
loud he felt sure she must hear it
"Randy I that is Tve got $600 laid up.
Next spring I'm thlnkln of buying a
span o' hosses and rentln the lower
eighty. I'll do It and we'll go Into busi
ness fer ourselves If you Just say the
word! Will you?"
The red-headed girl turned her face to
his with a happy smile, and said, as ho
kissed the patch of freckles on her
cheek:
"Um-hUh! but I hfit T tkuVa vnn tVilnlr
1 of yer ma more'n once, Jim Ben!"
London. The guards were compelled to
fight the insects until the train reached
its destination, when an apiarist camo to
tho rescue and hived the whole swarm.
One swarm a few days ago took posses
sion of a big tree In the center of a
pleasure park at Kansas City. Mo., and
formed an interesting attraction of the
place. Of the hundreds that saw them
no ono made any attempt to hlvo them
until a farmer, named John Alcorn, came
along.
"Whafll you give me to take tho bees
away?" he asked the manager of the
park.
"The bees," was tho reply, and a bar
gain was struck right there.
Alcorn climbed up to the swarm, and
swept all the bees he could into a nail
keg. Ho must have got the queen with
the first handful, for tho beea did not ob
ject to the treatment After he had got
tho bulk of them in the keg, he turned it
upside down on tho ground and placed a
stick under one side.
Then he beat on a tin pan. and the re
mainder of the bees left the tree and
swarmed Into tho keg. Alcorn gathered
up the keg and its buzzing occupants, and
started for home.
With the GIn'rals.
Llpplncott'a.
The late General John B. Gordon and
Governor Candler, of Georgia, were to
gether in a hotel In Atlanta recently,
when Governor Candler asked the General
If he had ever known a witty darky.
"Yes," said the General, "one. When
General Robert E. Lee was fighting
Grant in 'the last days an old darky be
sieged headquarters with requests to see
'the gin'ral.' He was turned away a
dozen times. But one day ho succeeded
In reaching tho guard Immediately In
front of General Lee's tent, and almost
got Into the -tent Itself before he waa
stopped. The altercation which followed
was overheard by General Lee, who called
out: 'Let that man como In-' Then into
the tent came the fellow, a raw-boned,
shambling, gray-headed, gnarled old
darky, who scraped the ground with his
foot and kept turning his hat around
nervously in his hand.
'Well, whpre do you belong?" demand
ed General Lee.
'I b'longs to yr company, Gln'raL re
turned the darky.
" 'No, you don't,' declared tho General
sharply. 'Everybody In my company haa
been shot H6w Is it that you haven't
been?'
'.'The darky scratched his head. Then
from his twisted mouth came a confiden
tial whisper: "Well, yo see. Gin'ral, It's
this way. I ain't been shot 'caze when
deys a light goln on I always stays with,
the GIn'rals. "
Talent Promtpiy Recognized.
Chicago Tribune.
The businesslike young man approached
the man at the desk.
"I'll ask only a minute of your time,"
he said. "I want to know if you wouldn't
like to subscrlbo for a copy of this book
J've sold 150 of 'em in thl3 building in the
last three days."
The man at the desk took the book and
looked at it. He noted its utter worth
lessness from a literary point of view,
Its tawdry binding, and the cheapness of
the paper on which it wa3 printed. Then
he said:
"Young man, do you mean to tell me
seriously that you have sold 150 copies of,
that book in this one building?"
"Yes, sir. Here's my order book. You
can look at the signatures yourself.
Every one of them is genuine."
"I see. Young fellow, I don't know how
much you are making out of this busi
ness, but I'll give you twice as much,
whatever It Is, if you'll take hold of a
patent nose ring for hogs I waa fooj,
enough to drop a lot of money in a few
years ago and help me to dispose of a
stqck or 2000 dozen of 'cm I've atill got on
h&nf
tj
.-MS