THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND. OCTOBER 18, 190S
- . ' ' ' - - - g - "
"i
SEE where- there's a barber over
on Broadway that's goin to turn
manager and take a show out
troopin'." said the House Detective of the
St. Reckless. "I spose he'll be putting
on Bay Rum and Witch Hazel for his
afterpieces."
"Pray ceai your ill-timed jesting.
I.arrv." said the Hotel Clerk. "I've seen
managers before now that I thought
ought to make fair barbers, with a
little training, and the way some of the
barbers have taken cents away from
me for an egg shampoo and a hair singe
when all I wanted when I came In was
a quick shave once over, has convinced
me they've got the making of good man
agers In them, and really ought to be on
the road with a 50-cent show getting
JJ for It. Besides anybody can take out
a Fhow. It s getting it back intact that
really shows the true managerial
ability."
Thty tell me the seasons opened up
purty rough." said the House Detective.
There's a lot of companies closed al
reariv." "Well." said the Hotel Clerk. "It used
to be that a non-successful metropolitan
success could be nursed through the
Winter, like an ailing calf, and maybe
not drop off until the Spring was well
advanced. But now they get the ans
wer quicker. After the third perform
ance., the ambitious producer nearly al
ways knows whether it's up to him to
buy more paper or a ticket home. These
times we want action In our drama and
If the actors can't furnish it the audi
ence will by getting up and walking out.
I d hate to tell you how many produc
tions they've already been where the
zealous and capable performers delivered
their lines at the close of the first act
to many red plush seats and an array of
broad, intelligent human backs that filled
every aisle leading to an exit. We don't
have near as many hung juries In the
theater as we do in the Courthouse.
"To be sure they've been some con
spicuous successes. George Cohan has
once more let us know that the name of
that other and scarcely less illustrious
George. I refer to George Washington
shall not be forgotten as long as he's
able to turn out a song number in which
the chorus can simultaneously raise the
Grand Old Rag and the right leg to
the height of the left shoulder. I sup
pose by now there must be as many as
3509 or SOOO Salomes exposing themselves
to the dangers of our uncertain . climate
In all parts of the Nation. In the border
states the Southern Hams, Vigglnia style,
ran still make the old reliable war drama
Ftand up If there Isn't too much moving
picture opposition: and the illustrated
song balladist who comes out In a pretty
near dress suit and announces that he
v.lll ren.ler She Died In the Springtime by
Request, Is reasonably sure of winning
the commendations of the inland popu
lace providing he's there with the newest
colored slides and a good carrying voice.
Many of them do have voices that can
carry almost anything except the tune
at that.
"Bat there's been very little of the
llngering-around and hanging-on thing
here in the home of tiie American
drama. I can't remember the time
when so many coming dramatists found
they'd come entirely too soon. Quite a
number of new stars have also been
prematurely, discovered. And yet we
keep on demanding more and more of
the producers, too. It used to be. in
bygone years, that an E. P. Roe hero
could lead a Louisa M. Alcott heroine
out on the stage and sit her down on a
golden oak plush velour sofa, loaned by
the Daisy Installment House, for two
regular comps, and they would swap
copy-book maxims and groat palpltat
lng truths like you find in Barriers
Burned Away for half an hour at a
stretch, and the audience would stick
all the way through It, knowing that in
good season the housemaid in the frilled
anron and the comedy butler would ap
pear and exchange a few lines of
sprightly repartee. Now. you've got to
hand them atfhnsphere and shock and
novelty and all the clothes In the world.
or no clothes' at all, as the case may be
and solve the great economic and politi
cal problems In time for the commuters
present to catch the 11:05 on the Phoebe
Snow or the 11:05 on the vuaicer uais,
or else many people will create a scene
bv sroing out to the box-office and car
rying on, demanding their money back.
This goes. Larry, for serious work, and
if it's a musical show there must be a
distinct and noticeable shock or jar
every 30 or, at most. 40 seconds. If not
after about the second week an Au
tumnal picnic is observed on the way
up Cemetery Hill and the -manager is
the cold meat in the front wagon.
"Still, they're a remarkably hopeful
lot. those managers. Christian science
has nothing on them. I was talking to
one that came in here yesterday. He
had one of those mother of onion
breaths that did not seem to draw me
to him closely, but he was all right
otherwise. He must have money, be
cause he wore a fur overcoat that was
onlv slightly moth-eaten about the col
lar and the diamond In his tie couldn't
be worth a cent less than $200,000 if It s
real. He's going to take out The Devil
Company. No. 2007. He has swell book
ings, too country rights for the entire
Texas Panhandle and one whole Con
gressional district in Northern Arkansas.
He said he anticipated probably the most
successful season In the history of the
drama on this continent. The only de
Distinctive Railroad Rates as Effecting
Portland's Commerce
Xew Center Must Develop Soon and TraMc Must Double
Every Ten Years.
BT LOGAN G. McPHERSON.
THE commerce of a city or of a traffio
district naturally divides Into three
classes: First, the commodities
which it produces for market elsewhere:
second, the commodities which It must
bring from elsewhere for consumption
within Its limits: and third, the commodi
ties for which it is a distributing center;
tliat Is the commodities which both come
from elsewhere and are marketed else
where. The freight rates affecting the first
class are by far the most Important, for
If a community cannot market that which.
It produces. It cannot obtain the where
withal to secure that which It needs. The
products of Oregon, which largely pass
through Portland on their way to the
markets, are In great measure of theH
soil, the fruits and vegetables that must
have quick transportation in order that
they may not perish en route, and low
rates In order that they may be sold In
competition with the similar products of
other sections. Low rates are also forced
by the fact that at no time in any mar
ket can a price be secured for these
products of the soil that will enable the
railroads to charge a high rate and at
the same time yield sufficient resurn to
the growers to encourage them to con
tinue in production.
In co-operating with the farmers in
extending the cultivation of the farms,
the orchards and the groves. It Is nec
essary that the railroads leading from
the Pacific Coast obtain the participation
of practically all of the railroads of the
I'nlted States In the througn rates that
are requisite to market Its product.
Their traffic managers are in continual
communication with the traffic officers
of about four hundred other railroads to
this end. This, of course, is that their
lines may secure an Increase in traffic,
but It is also an inestimable benefit to
the producers. The result is a system of
freight rates not paralleled by that en
Joyed by any other traffic region of the
United States.
On deciduous fruits the rate from the
orchards of Oregon to Chicago is $1.25
per ion pounds by the carload, with a
minimum load of 24.000 pounds. The
rate to Cincinnati. Pittsburg. New York
and Boston Is $1.60. There is. in addi
tion a refrigeration charge, which is
$ per car from Portland to Chicago,
and in proportion to other markets. The
fact that owners of apple orchards in
the Hood River district have recently re
fused $100 per acre for their land, and
that the return to them at the orchard
Is $3.1- for a 52-pound box. out of which
their expenditure for picking and pack
ing Is but 50 cents. Is sufficient indica
tion that the transportation charge per
mits the profitable marketing of this
fruit, which goes to ail parts of the
world.
On the dried apples .and prunes, of
which Oregon markets hundreds of car
loads every year, the rate Is $1 per 100
pounds to all places In the United States
east of the Missouri River. Canned sal
mon, canned peaches, pears, plums and
cherries are also carried at a rate which
Is the same to all places east of the Mis
souri River. This transportation charge
on canned goods is 75 cents per 100
pounds, and is termed, like similar
chaiKOS of broad application, a blanket
rate, because it extends like a blan
ket over the vast region that reaches
from Omaha and Kansas City to Boston.
Jacksonville and New Orleans. There
seems to be no controversy over the fact
ihat the rates on the products of the
Oregon soil permit their widest distri
bution with ample remuneration to the
jjrnwers.
There Is. however, friction between the
shippers and the railroads over the rates
on lumber. The clash in regard to this
commodity is not confined to the Pacific
Coast, but exists In the South and South
west, and every region whence lumber
Is shipped. In each place the conflict has
the same basis. The railroads claim that
In the earlier years when the forests of
the interior states were the principal
source of supply for the markets of the
East It was necessary to grant rates on
lumber from the remote region that
were unremuneratlve. In order to enable
it to enter the markets at all. They claim
tnat as the farests of the interior have
feeea cut away the remote re;aa have
become the chief source of supply, the
prices advancing manifold: and that
therefore they are entitled to compensa
tory rates for the transportation. The
iumber men In the South and the South
west, as well as on the Pacific Coast
have bitterly contested the advances, and
in one form or another the various cases
are now before the Commissionrs or the
Courts.
On the second class of commodities,
those which it is necessary to bring from
elsewhere for consumption- within her
limits, the city of Portland enjoys a
freight rate adjustment that eeems to
meet Its needs. On its supply of meats
Portland, unlike many other cities, does
not have to pay1 a transportation charge
from the cattle-raising grounds to remote
packing-houses, and from thence to her
kitchens, the packing-house adjoining the
city filling its requirements. At certain
times of the year It Is necessary to bring
butter and eggs and even poultry from
the Missouri River Valley: the rates on
these products are so low as not to be
the source of complaint.
When Portland became a mercantile
center Its stocks of dry goods, hardware,
of many kinds of groceries, of tools, of
the smaller appliances and bits of mech
anism in general were obtained by ves
sel from San Francisco, whence they had
been brought by clipper ships around the
Horn. When the first trans-continental
railroad was opened the rate per 100
pounds on merchandise from New York
to San Francisco was $. Competition
with the water routes gradually reduced.
this rate to Its present level, the railroad
companies charging somewhat more than
the vessel lines because of the interest
saved by the shorter time In transit, the
marine Insurance and the general benefit
of the quicker service. Thte status contin
ues on the through traffic to the present
day. Competition with the clipper ships
around the Horn ceased long ago. but
competition with the steamship service by
way of Tchauntepec and Panama are
still active. Aa the more recently con
structed trans-continental lines reached
other termini on the Pacific Coast, the
desire of each railroad that Its ports have
the same rates as those accorded the ter
mini of other lines, and the other phases
of commercial rivalry, have led to the ap
plication of the same rates from the At
lantic seaboard to the Pacific terminals.
San Diego. San Francisco, Portland, Ta
coma and Seattle.
Insofar as the obtaining of merchan
dise from any place east of the Mis
souri River is concerned. Portland has
therefore the same rates as San Fran
cisco. The rate on cotton goods from the
mills In New England via the Hawaiian
American steamship line is 2 cents,
while by the all-rail route it is 90 cents
to $1 in carloads. Similarly the rate In
less than carload lots on drygoods in
bales Is $3. on blankets $1.40. on calicos
$1.50. on earthenware $1.30. on ordinary
furniture In carloads $1.10 to $2.20. on
drugs and chemicals In carloads $1.40. on
agricultural Implements in carloads $1.25.
and on woodenware In carloads $1.25 to
$1.35. The rates on merchandise 'of the
first class are $3 per 100 pounds, of the
second class $2.60, of the third class $2.20.
and of the fourth class $1.90.
In no one of these cases Is the ratio of
the transportation charge to the con
sumer's unit materially greater than it
Is from the Atlantic seaboard to the Mis
souri River. That Is. for Instance, al
though the rate on dry (roods from Bos
ton and New York Is twice as much to
Portland as to Kansas City, being $3 in
the one case and $1.43 In the other, the
difference amounts to but a fraction of
a cent per yard. On the heavier com
modities, such as machinery and wooden
ware, which largely come from the Ohio
and Mississippi Valley the transporta
tion charge beans a somewhat hither
ratio, but it very seldom. If ever, will
Justify more than an Insignificant addi
tion to the retail price of any commodity.
These commodities that under the class
ification set forth in this article are of
the second class when sold by the retail
dealers for consumption in Portland, are
commodities of the third class when sold
by the wholesale merchants of Portland
to the retail dealers of other cities.
There is. probably, no one thing so con
spicuous in the commercial development
of the United States as that redistribution"
of the distributive function which is con
tinually In process. Many years ago the
city of New York bitterly resisted the ef
forts of the merchants of Burralo to oo
a wholesale business. Chicago and St.
Louis were in bitter rivalry for many
years, and then entered into conflict with
J OUT
4. SOOT
TAKE
THS "
DEVIL.
turn enlisting in mercantile combat with
Lincoln. Neb., and Wichita. . Kan., the
competitive wholesale area gradually ex
tending to include Denver and Salt Lake.
The larger cities not only have had to
struggle in a fight with the distant com
mercial centers of other regions, out es
pecially in the more densely populated
states of the interior and the Bast, with
the smaller distributing centers that have
arisen every 100 or 200 miles: for example,
because of the growth of Dubuque and
Des Moines and other similar cities, even
Chicago cannot at this time wholesale
the great staple articles of general use,
such as sugar, flour, nails, wire and the
more common kinds of dry goods, farther
west than the Mississippi River, although
its distributive area of these products
once extended to the Rocky Mountains.
These struggles that have been eo
marked In the East are paralleled by
like conflicts between the wholesale
dealers of the various cities of the Pa
cific Coast. San Francisco and Los An
geles are at logger heads for the trade
of the San Joaquin valley. There is no
one In Portland who does not know of
the rivalry between that city and Spo
kane. The distributive area of Port
land, which once included all of Mon
tana and Idaho, is even being circum
scribed by Helena and Boise City. It
Is no purpose of this article to go Into
the details of this rivalry. The mer
chants of each city ever struggle to
hold their markets, and to extend their
markets. The traffic officers who are
bound to protect fhe interests of the
railroads, are buffeted between the con
tentious competitors. The result in
other regions has been, as It doubtless
wlll be In the growing West, to decen
tralise the distribution of the great
staple commodities, leavmg to the larger
cities the wholesaling of Uie higher
grade specialties which are not consumed
In such large quantity by the various
communnlties, and the distribution of
their manufactures. A leading manufac
ture of Portland Is furniture, which Is
marketed throughout Oregon, Washing
ton, Montana, Idaho and California.
'penetrating as far eastward as Grand
Junction. In Colorado. Its lactones fur
nish boxes for use not only in the orch
ards and truck farms of Oregon and
California, but throughout the Missouri
and Mississippi Valleys. Condensed milk
from the factories of the Willamette
Valley Is marketed as far East as the
Atlantic seaboard, as far bouth as Tex
as, and through the Orient-
Throughout the entire controversy as
to railroad rates one underlying fact
must be borne in mind. The freight traf
fic of the United States Increases on an
average 100 per cent every ten years.
During the last score of years by the
introduction of more spacious freight
cars, larger and more powerful locomo-
'wnn. C&X. e"H Omaha; Lhasa cUiea la Jlvea, and. variou improvements Sa meth
ods of operation, the railroads have ef
fected radical reductions In the cost of
transportation.
These, however, during the past two or
three years, taking the country over,
have been more than offset by their ad
vanced expenses in other directions. Pro
vision for a 100 per cent Increase In tho
traffic of the country during the next
ten years will mean much more near
ly an advance of 100 per cent in facilities
than during any previous decade. It has
been reliably computed that to keep the
railroads of the United States abreast
of the demands upon them It will be
necessary to expend an average of $?00,
000.000 a year for the next ten years in
the extension of their plants and equip
ment. This means large issues of stocks
and securities, which cannot be sold if
capital is hot allowed a return approxi
mating that to be obtained from invest
ments in other fields. This is the prime
consideration beside which the jealousy
of competing manufacturers and of com
peting wholesale dealers pales. In cases
their contentions may have just founda
tion, and in other cases they may not
have any foundation at all. Oregon
n'erts. above all, an extension of her
transportatien facilities. To this end It
is necessary not only that the railroads
be fair to Oregon, but that Oregon be
fair to the railroads.
The Proper Way to Water the Flowers
THERE are but three ways to water
flowers, two wrong ways and one
right one. Many people adhere to the
plan of frequent application of small
amounts of water. Thus the soil about
the top of the opt is constantly moist,
but the lower two thirds of the soil Is
entirely dry. By this method the upper
roots are nourished, while the lower
roots, which demand water, soon die and
the plant Is continually In an unhealthy
condition.
Directly opposite to this Is the plan
of overwaterlng which many persons
thoughtlessly follow. They water their
plants thoroughly today. Tomorrow they
apply the same amount, and so they go
from one day to another. The result is
that the soil Is kept saturated with mois
ture. It is In the condition of mud all
the time, a condition that suits only
aquatic plants, and one in which the ordi
nary plant will soon become diseased.
The stagnant water will sour the soil
and the roots will begin to decay. By
and by the plant dies. Either of the
above-mentioned methods are equally de
structive to healthy plants
There is only one right way. When
you water a plant do it thoroughly; In
fact, be sure every particle of soil is wet.
Then do not apply any more until the sur
face of the soli is really dry. As long as
the surface of the soil looks damp you
may rest assured that the rest of it con
tains sufficient moisture. Enough should
be given, as stated above, to completely
saturate all the soil in the pot. If proper
drainage Is given all surplus water, that
is, all water that the soli cannot take up
and hold will run off at the bottom of the
pot through the hole provided for this
purpose. By proper drainage we mean
that something must be placed In each
pot to keep the soil from washing down
and stopping up the hole.
There should be at least one- inch of
flmlnig?- placed la all four, or fiva-incJi
pots, and from one to three inches used
In. larger pots. The best material to use
for drainage is old bits of broken flower
pots or broken bricks. Use small pieces,
not much larger than a marble. Many
people are careless about this drainage
or ignorant as to its value, but no one
can grow plants successfully without lt-
Bonie reader may ask: "How can I tell
when I have given enough water to per
meate all portions of the soil?'" Well, in
answer let me say there Is only one sure
way and that Is to notice the drainage
hole in the bottom of the pot When we
see the water trickling through that we
know It Is time to stop.
Some plants have roots that enable
them to make use of much more water
than others. Then, again, some soils part
with moisture much more rapidly than
others. Some rooms are kept so warm
that evaporation takes place rapidly.
When all these things are considered It
will be seen that there can be no. regular
time for watering plants.
Water must be given when the appear
ance of the soli shows need of it; not
until then.
Use ordinary hydrant water. Use It
just the temperature you draw it from
the hydrant; neither chill it nor heat it.
By following the above directions you
should be very successful with the aver
age plant.
The Way of It.
Baltimore American.
Proud Traveler I have had such ex
periences with the bandits In Italy and
Spain. Have you ever had an experi
ence In the least like it?
Stay-at-Home Citizen My dear sir, I
can surpass your experience. There was
a time of my life when I never went out
that I was not held up by force of arms.
P. T. Good gracious! How was it?
S. A. H. C It was when I was a baby
Pn .my auras took ma put lor aa airing.
tail worrying him at present was where
he was going to get the money to pay
the fares to the town where they open.
After I had convinced him that it would
be Impossible for me to do anything for,
him at this Immediate time, owing to
the present stringent condition in- the
stringency market, it suddenly occurred
to him that he knew the very man. and
So he turned his cuffs and went away
to look for him. as full of bright and
hopeful prospects as a double-yolk egg
in a patent incubator. He wasn't wor
rying, so far as I could see, about the
fares coming back: they never do, which
is all right, too. when you come to think
It over, because any town that a bunch
of actors get into they can get out of.
That's been proved time and again."
"I see some parties Is blamln' things
on the syndicate." said the House De
tective. "And there's others that says
It's the critics that put so many shows
In the graveyard."
"From where . I sit the syndicate
merely looks like any other benevolent
asslmilator." said the Hotel Clerk. "All
business these times is run on the
principle of the prairie dog's house
keeping arrangements. When night
comes the prairie dog. the ground owl
and the rattlesnake go into the same
hole together. Hold on a minute: it's
no nature fake I'm handing out to
you. Naturalists and others have seen
em do it. Into the same hole at dewy
eve goes the trustful prairie dog, the
unsuspecting squlnch owl, and the dig
nilied rattlesnake. Do they all come
out again in the morning? They do.
They come out practically together;
that is to say. the rattlesnake starts
out first. Then the other two come
out, one after another. You can tell
where they are by the lumps in the rat
tlesnake's waist line. He's picking his
teeth and has a happy smile on his
mobile countenance. I'm not blaming
the rattler for abusing the sacred
name of hospitality, either. Any prai
rie dog that'll retire Into the same
apartment with a rattlesnake deserves
to be eaten. And anyway, if the rat
tlesnake didn't eat him. he'd eat the
rattler. That's human nature, whether
It's the banking business or prairie
dogs or a theatrical syndicate.
"I don't think it's the critics, either.
I never saw anybody that paid much
attention to a critic unless 'twas an
other critic. There're more than 11,000
critics in this country that can tell you
how to write a successful play, and
they do tell you how every few morn
ings, but you can count up the critics
that have- written strong, successful
plavs on the fingers of one hand and
never get past the first finger. But
when one of their own number does
find time to write a play the otners all
rally to him. I'll say that much for
RVIH S.COBE
them. They proved that here tha
other day when one of our best llttla
critics put on a piece of his own." .
"Did they stand by him?" asked tha
House Detective.
"Those that couldn't find room to
stand on him stood by him." explained
the Hotel Clerk. "They couldn't have
had a better time with him if he had
been a rank outsider. And after they'd
wiped his mangled remains off their
feet and put the dulled and dented
assegais back Into their hip pockets,
they glanced at one another as If to
say that they'd all be glad to furnish
another demonstration of the corpse du
esprit prevailing in their profession if
some one present would kindly volun
teer to be the corpse."
"If you wui goln" to put out a show
would you start In by makin friends
with the critics?" said the House De
tective. "I'd start in by chucking a large,
spangled bluff," said the Hotel Clerk.
"In almost any line of endeavor you
can win out by being a consistent poser
from Posey County, but it's far better
to be the champion bluffer of Bluffton.
on the Bluffs. A fellow can stroll
through this hotel lobby with his face
full of scars and nobody'll know
whether he's one of those German duel
ists or merely a party that's learning
to shave himself, but if his bluff Is
sufficiently massive it won't be 15 min
utes until we begin calling him Herr
Von. and inquiring how things were at
Heidelberg when he came away. And
I don't know any business where a
good bluff can travel as far on its re
sources without any other visible
means of support and still bring home
the spinach as the theatrical game.
That's one reason why a certain party
at Washington naming no names,
Larry, but he lives In a place called
the White House would be one grand
success in the theatrical business. I
love to think what a hit he'd make of
it if he'd only, abandon his present
plan of going to Africa after next
March and chasing big game in the
vicinity of the original Uncle Toms
cabin. He ought to stay at home and
run a show. He would do wonders
with a Wild West outfit, and I don't
believe there'd be his equal In the
country at staging a grand entry."
"Wot would you take on the road if
you wuz this here barber?" asked the
House Detective.
"I'd take my kit of tools." said tha
Hotel Clerk. "By Thanksgiving day
there ought to be veteran theatrical
managers riding in on every eastbound
through freight, but there's always a
demand In the country districts for a
finished haircutter."
Poisons Which, Even If Detected, Would
Be Impossible to Affirm
Deadly Draughts That Leave Xo Sign Even to Skilled Ana
lytical Chemists.
THE rare alkaloid, which I am not
even going to name, and which,
when detected, it would be Impos
sible to affirm "
Those words are not quoted from any
novelist's romance in which an effect
of mystery is attained by calmly dis
regarding scientific fact- They are the
words, of Sir James Crichton Browne,
F- R. S., and were uttered during a lec
ture to students of pharmacy, says the
London Saturday Journal.
In spite of oft-repeated assertions
that science knows no poison which the
analyst cannot detect, there is a sub
stance which would baffle even Pro
fessor Pepper, the Home Office analyst,
whose name has become famous in
connection with the many murder mys
teries he has unraveled.
Sir James Crichton Browne was
blamed for saying even as much as ha
did! A London coroner publicly de-
nlored the fact that at a lecture to
which the press were admitted, "it
should even be "mentioned that there
were organic poisons well known to
medical men which could be used
without even the slightest fear of de
tection. " A connoisseur of poisons
could slaughter hundreds of persons
without the slightest fear of his crime
coming to light."
A very small dose of the poison is
sufficient to cause death; but having
done its work. It decomposes immedi
ately into various harmless substances
such as are found in every human body
after death. To convict the author of
a crime perpetrated by such means
would be well-nigh impossible.
Curiosity is -frequently aroused by
occasional coroners' Inquests that give
a verdict, after a post-mortem exam
ination, of "cause of death unknown."
Very often the cases in which such
verdicts are given are open to very
curious speculation.
But since the mere fact that a secret
poison exists is now known to the gen
eral public, it is impossible not to
reflect that there may be poisoners at
large and enjoying complete immunity
from discovery. Knowledge of the
poison referred to is, luckily, confined
to a small class of men, whose general
education and great knowledge lift
them out of the ordinary channels of
criminality. Still, it would be idle to
deny that even among this select class
occasion might find a man capaore oi
committing murder to serve some pri
vate end.
The nubile may derive some consola
tion from the very extraordinary fact
that when medical men stoop to mur
der they usually employ the quite
easily detected poisons. Indeed, the
writer cannot find on record a case
In which a medical poisoner has gone
beyond the common poisons included in
schedule A. Palmer used strychnine,
Smethurst used antimony, Lamson used
aconite.
It i verv fortunate that the common
poisons, such as cyanide of potassium
and arsenic, leave traces that are quite
unmistakable, and also that such drugs
are very difficult to buy. It is true
that they are largely used in manufac
turing processes, and the former even
enters Into the equipment of the
photographer; but you cannot buy
them as you would cough lozenges.
In the rare cases when by means ot
false pretenses chemists are Induced to
part with poisons to persons wno medi
tate crime, detection and conviction
nearly always follow. This was the
case in the St. Neots murder. , Hors
ford would probably have escaped had
not the chemist in selling the strych
nine faithfully observed the regula
tions. Strychnine, bruclne and aconitine are
familiar alkaloids. The ptomaines
which are sometimes set up in decom
posing foods are a modern discovery,
and are alkaloids. Nicotine, an alka
loid with which all smokers are said
to be more or less poisoned, has been
given with malice aforethought in only
one known case that of the Count
Bocarme. who killed his brother-in-law,
Fougnies.
The ancients had no knowledge of
ptomaines, and evidence points to the
fact that most of their renown as poi
soners was achieved by the simplest
means, Je know, that powdered glass
was used with dire effect. Arsenic un
doubtedly was prime favorite with
wicked Italian and French court ladies.
It should be remembered that until the
second quarter of the 19th century
arsenic could not be .Identified with
certainty in the body of one who died
from it. Now It is the most easily
recognized of all poisons. Taffanla,
the notorious Italian female poisoner,
used arsenic. She gained large sums
of money by the sale of mysterious
preparations which were merely solu
tions of arsenlous acid. These were
sold In small phials bearing the image
of a saint.
To detect the presence of a poison an
analytical chemist may spend many
days with test-tube, watch-glass, re
agent and microscope. Even If death
has been caused by a poison- whose
mere smell has been fatal, truth will
out: and there is more than one poison
of this subtle kind. For Instance, oil
of almonds which is used for making
toilet soaps and also for increasing
the scent of lavender sold In the streets
If Inhaled sufficiently, causes death
by nitro-benzole poisoning.
But the cause can be unerringly as
certained in a post-mortem examina
tion. And no less certain of detec
tion are poisons injected by hypoder
mic syringe.
Extraordinary is the power of analy
sis that modern science has placed In
the hands of the chemist, and few sub
jects are more Interesting than the pro
cesses he employs. In the silence and
secrecy of the laboratory many a
dramatic experiment is worked out.
Take Marsh's famous test. Hydrogen
is, generated in a flask, and the sus
pected liquid is poured in. If arsenic
be there the hydrogen seizes on It and
forms a gas that will burn. Now watch
the analyst as he holds a clean porcef
lain dish against the flame for a
moment. Does a brown spot appear
in the middle? That is poison arsenic
or antimony. If close to the flame and
on both sides of It a notched spot
It is antimony. If deposited at a little
distance from the flame. It Is arsenic.
Again, chloride of lime dissolves the
stain of arsenic, but not that of anti
mony. On the other hand, protochlo
rlde of tin dissolves the antimony, but
not the arsenic. Mistake Is Impossible.
And there are scores of similarly un
failing, precise experiments.
The clever chemist and pathologist
could, undoubtedly, deliberately Inocu
late with some fatal disease, and, in a
way that no analyst could detect. The
victim would simply die of one of the
common maladies of mankind. But
happily the necessary knowledge for
such experiments is very uncommon,
and the people who possess it are not
in the least likely to use it improp
erly. A Similarity.
Washington Star.
"What do you think of the Darwinian
theory?" asked the girl who is improving
her mind.
"The Darwinion theory." answered
Miss Cayenne, "is very much like good
advice. It seems all right enough for
people in whom you're not interested, but
doesn't Help much for personal use."
The Music In the Parlor.
Chicago Record -Hera Id.
There's a heap' of satisfaction, when tbe
nights are growln long.
And the lark has ceased to wake you In
the mornln' with a eons.
When the leaves are turnln' yellow and a
blaze is In the grate.
When there Isn't anybody in tha whole
world that you hatf.
To sit dreamln' a you're smokln , with
jour wife beside your chair
And your daughter In the parlor, gladly
slngin' something there.
There's a heap of atlfactlon when thare
ain't no debts to pay
And you've got a llttlo money laid up for
tho rainy day;
When there lint any mortgage that'll
soon be comln' due.
And you know that there's nobody who
can blame his woea on you.
To ait back and take It easy, with your
feet up on a chair
And your daughter In tha parlor, alngin
"Annie Laurie" there.
There's a heap of satisfaction, as I've
mentioned heretofore.
When you needn't worry over makin pay
ment any more.
When you're wearin' easy slipper ana the
nights grow long and cool
And your girl ain't get tin' ready to go oft
somewhere to school.
To it back and hear her gladly trlllln"
mir Knme sweet air
To the well-to-do young fellow with her