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BY RENE BACHE.
VfASHIXGTOX. Sept. 14. (Special
Correspondence.) The new pen
w lon law has markedly stimulat
ed the widow market. For, while adding
considerably to the number of old vet
erans on the roll. It augments by a total
of 130,000,000 the annual stipend of a
multitude of old soldiers already draw
Ins; allowance from the Government
This renders them by so much the more
desirable as husbands those of them,
that is to say, who are. not yet at
tached matrimonially.
But the chief attraction of the vet
erans, apparently, from the viewpoint
of the young women who are constant
ly marrying them, is the widow's pen
sion which 'Will be theirs for Ufa after
the old soldiers have departed from
this world. 80 thoroughly is this busl-
nesa organized that women, many of
them hardly more than girls, camp out
in the vicinity of Soldiers' Homes, and
literally lie in wait for the inmates of
those institutions- The more aged the
pensioner the more desirable be is as
a husband, because the prospect of be
coming his widow Is so much the near
er. If especially on or about "quarter
day," when the Intended victim is more
or less likely to Indulge In a little
Jollification he can be enticed into
the presence of a parson or a magis
trate, it is all that is required. The
bride is willing enough to allow him to
return to the home, herself secure In
the possession of a marriage certifi
cate, which, when exhibited later on,
will guarantee her a small but per
manent income.
To show how this widow enterprise
works out. It may be mentioned that
Ksther S. Damon died at Plymouth
Vnlon. Vt, November 11, 1906. aged 92.
She was the last surviving widow of a
soldier who fought In the Revolution,
and she was still drawing. a pension for
her husband's services In that conflict
a century and a quarter after It came
to an end. It is estimated that there
will be at least 1000 Civil War widows
alive and on the pension roll In 19S8.
and quite a number of these will sur
vive the beginning of the twenty-first
century. Which fact will be more
easily understood when it is realized
that at least a few of the destined
Civil War widows are not yet born.
The Government exercises a remark
able liberality In its treatment of
ROMANCE THE RISE OF MARGIE SMITH
bring a quick rebound. This was one
of them. The young woman who bad
Introduced Miss Smith told Mr.
Schneider what that refusal meant to
Miss Smith, and then, in a tone of tear
ful entreaty, said to him:
"Won't you be responsible for what
Miss Smith needs? Please do."
Schneider looked at the two women
just a moment, and then took them
'back to the credit man. When they
left -a few minutes later they, fig
uratively, were walking oa air. Mar
guerite M. Smith had a cherlt of $300
with H. B. Claflin & Co., and William
F. Schneider stood responsible for the
sum.
At that time Claflin & Co. sold ma
chines as well as all sorts of dry goods.
Miss Smith bought several. She also
purchased such dress material as she
needed. Then she engaged three girls
and put them to work making up the
goods en the order she had from the
department store. She worked herself.
So did her sisters. The back parlor of
her home in Bayonna was turned Into a
workshop. It took what little she bad
left of her $70 capital to pay the girls'
wages that first week, but she deliv
ered the order on time.
This was ber start. She did not
know an idle hour thereafter. Every
minute of the day she was active. She
bad to go from store to store to show
ber samples. She bad to continually
evolve new ideas. She constantly was
pressed for money. Sometimes she had
to watt a long, long period before her
bills were paid. Sometimes orders came
slow; sometimes her designs did not
meet with the approval she expected.
It was struggle, struggle, struggle,
but she never lost heart. Somehow
she kept the machines In the little
beck parlor buy every day. Somehow
she bridged financial gulfs that would
It. Occasionally she ot unexpectedly
b'.g orders, but she could not hoil
fhem because she did not have the cap
ital or the credit. For a year and a
half she struggled along, making
widows. For Instance, there Is one
woman now on the pension roll who
has had three husbands, the first of
them a soldier in the Civil War.
Neither the second husband nor the
third was a soldier. But, having lost
both of these, she is enabled under the
law to draw a regular stipend as the
widow of her first husband. Another
case is that of a half-breed Indian
woman In North Dakota, who killed
her husband, and who gets a pension
as his relict. H was drunk, and she
slew him in self-defense, so that she
was held to be justified.
Equally remarkable in its way Is the
well-known Roscommon case, bearing
the number 282,562 on the roll, in
which a woman married two old
soldiers successively, being divorced
from the first. Having secured a pen
sion as the widow of the second, she
went back to live with the first hus
band, without formality of marriage.
He also was a pensioner, and conse
quently, at the present time, this
precious couple draws two pensions.
It Is understood, of course, that when
a widow marries again she loses her
pension. Nevertheless, it is undoubted
ly a fact that thousands of pensioned
widows in this country are married
again secretly, thus perpetrstlng a
fraud which has to be backed up by
a false oath every quarter. Every now
and then a case of the kind is brought
to light, but the detectives of the Pen
sion Office, as a rule, do not bother to
Investigate such matters. They are
too busy running down fictitious
widows that is to - say, women who
falsely Impersonate the surviving wives
of veterans.
The manufacture of such widows has
been for many years a profitable in
dustry. Dishonest attorneys and claim
agents have made a business of study
ing the records of National cemeteries,
finding out the names and services 01
the men there buried, and employing
women to represent themselves as their
widows. It Is not an easy thing for
the Government to disprove a marriage
that is alleged to have taken place 30
or 40 years ago.
Not long after the close or tne uivn
War three brothers, named McGindley.
built up a large and profitable business
in supplying bogus widows at Quincy,
IlL They manufactured widows for dead
bachelor soldiers, employed women to
personate them, executed the vouchers
themselves, and forged the indorse
ments on the pension checks. Even the
seal of the court was forged.
The
CONTINUED FROM PACE 5
progress all the time, but always re
stricted, always hampered by reason
of the smallness of her capital.
She was getting an experience, how
ever, that was valuable. She felt sure
of herself and reasonably sure of the
future. Then one day. in the Fall of
1903, she went to Mr. Schneider again.
Thia time she requested him to visit
her home. He went there, and at her
suggestion he made a thorough exami
nation of her books. She is a thor
ough business woman, and she kept a
strict and accurate account of all her
work. Mr. Schneider went over all
those books with as much care as
would an expert accountant, and when
he finished he was satisfied that there
was a profitable future for the par
ticular line Miss Smith was working
on. He had some money and ha had
a fair amount of courage. He had
been with the bouse of Claflin Co.
more than 20 years. He determined to
give up his position and put his money
into the business with Miss Smith.
It was In the closing days of 1901
that Miss Smith and Mr. Schneider in
corporated the M. M. Smith Company.
They rented a floor In a loft building
at No. 124 West Twenty-fifth street. In
the heart of the manufacturing dry
goods district. In January. 1904, and
from the first day they went In there
they bad plenty of orders. In 1903
Miss Smith' total business bad
amounted to $9000, and she bad em
ployed five operatives. In the year
1904 the new company did a business
of $80,000 and employed 40 bands. The
business grew so fast that they bad
to take another floor and double the
number of operative. In 190 the busi
ness still continued to Arrow, its total
volume for that year being $150,000.
In 190T the company had 175 opera
tives and did a business of more than
$200,000. In the ' busy season Miss
Smith worked from T:$0 in the morn
ing until 10:30 at night. She was boss
of everything. She looked after the
designing, the cutting, the selling, and
she bad charge of all the workers. The
experience she got In those days of
her struggle stood ber In good stead.
She knew m.e'rlal. she knew men. she
knew the puolie seeds, she wa won
THE SUNDAY
eldest of the brothers, James H.. looked
like Horace Greeley, and his benevo
lent countenance was a great help in
the enterprise.
A curious case Illustrating the laxity
of Government methods was that of
Jane Hill, a negress, who in 1893 ap
plied for a pension as the' widow of
Edward Hill, formerly of the Four
teenth Colored Heavy Artillery. The
sum of $2200 was allowed her as ar
rears. But at Just that time Edward
Hill himself sent in an application for
a pension, being very much alive, and
Jane's money was held up. Did this
little circumstance prevent her from
getting itT It did not. Congress at
this very Juncture passed a bill for
bidding the bureau to hold up payments
in suspected cases, and the cash was
handed over to Jane.
A less successful fraud, where a real
widow of a soldier was the victim,
was operated by a man who kept a
small store in an Indiana town. Learn
ing that a woman in the local alms
house was expecting a check for $1200
from tne Pension Bureau, ne per
suaded her to come and live with him,
to take care of bis mother. When the
check arrived, he Intercepted it, forged
the Indorsement, and put the money in
his pocket. Meanwhile, however, the
pensioner was making a great to-do
about tha non-receipt of the cash to
which she was entitled. Exposure im
pended, and the man, -as the best
means of settling the whole problem,
set fire to bis house, after himself
swallowing a fatal dose of paris green,
andsburned his mother and the widow
No veteran is too Tar hovuiot
derfully thorough. She examined ev
ery dress before It left the shop. 8hs
wanted to establish a reputation that
would be of value to her in the future.
Every garment that .was made In that
establishment was from her design, so
everything that went out of that place
was practically her creation. She was
not content with her designing, the
cutting, the selling and the supervision
of the workers, but she even attended
to the shipping. She must be a kindly
boss, for she never has had a strike or
a serious difference with ber employes.
The business grew so fast that she
hardly oould keep up with it. In 1905.
1906 and 1907 it was Impossible for ber
to handle all the orders which poured
in on ber. In each one of those three
years she bad to reject orders that
meant tens of thousands of dollars of
work. In the last five years her busi
ness baa averaged about $200,000 a
year. She is not rushed so much now
as she used to be. She has three of
her sisters assisting "her. She has
moved to New York, and baa ber fam
ily In a handsome home In the city.
She goes to Europe twice a year. She
is up to date In everything. Her trips
abroad are not for pleasure, but for
business. She goes there to study the
styles and to get new Ideas. Inci
dentally she gets rest and recreation
on those transatlantic Journeying:.
Ten jears ago she practically was
unknown. Today everyone In the dry
goods business knows Marguerite
SmltB. head of the M. M. Smith Com
pany. In these ten years -Miss Smith
has accumulated a private fortune of
between $60,000 and $75, COO. n She is
Just as ambitious today-as she was
the day she started out for herself.
She is 41 years old, and has yet to
reap the real harvest of her work. She
has given a wonderful exhibition of
what ambition and determination on
the part of a woman can do in this
city from bumble beginning. Mr.
Schneider, the man who stood respon
sible for that $300 credit with H. B.
Claflin at Co, has had a pretty good
reward for his kindness and his con
fidence. He has had no reason to re
gret leaving Claflin A Co. He looks
after the office affairs of the M. M.
OREGOT:AlV, PORTLAND,
Business of Marrying Old Soldiers Re
ceives a Stimulus Through the New Pen
sion Law, Which
Mgibles "Widow
JLp
-
age or decrepitude to be sought as a
husband. It Is a matter of record that
many- old soldiers have been married
by young women when suffering from
senile debility In its last stages or
from total breakdown of the mental
faculties. In no way very extraordi
nary was the case of Francois Delalr,
a French Canadian, who crossed the
border for the sake of the bounty and
enlisted as a private in the Eighteenth
Illinois Volunteers. Most of his after
life was spent in Montreal as a blind
beggar. At 89 years of age, only four
days before his death, he married a
woman of bad repute. She applied
for a pension as his widow, and re
ceived $12,648 arrears.
On the pension Toll today Is a
negress calling herself Hannah Turn
er. Before the war, on a plantation in
Mississippi, she was acquainted with
a colored man named Dave Turner,
who enlisted in the Union army Just
before the fall of Vicksburg, and ateo
a few months later of pneumonia. It
was not until 80 years had passed by
that Hannah, who had long been
known as the wife of a man named
Johnson, suddenly recalled the fact
she had been married to Turner, The
preacher alleged to have Joined them
In wedlock was dead, but her sister
and a friend swore that they had been
present at the ceremony; and the sis
ter, in explanation of the Johnson mar
riage, declared that it was "Just a
4v " Tha claim was allowed, and
htM his salarv and
his dividends bring a handsome return
to him. Not only that, but ho gets
$15 000 year from the county of New
York, for he is the present County
Clerk.
Occasionally Miss Smith, on her way
to or from her office, passes the es
tablishment of Gus Lurie & Co., which
is one block away from her business
place. It is a far different Margie
Smith who passes the doors of Gus
Lurie & Co. today, who left there ten
years ago discharged becau se the
other designers demanded her dismis
sal. She has Teason to feel oeepiy
grateful for what she then tnougni a
disaster. Had she not been discharged
ten years ago she probably never
would have been heard of as the head
of a business concern. The door of
opportunity sometimes opens who
what seems to be a misfortune
(Copyright 1912. by Richard Spillane.)
Adobe Ramparts of Assyria.
Nearly akin to Egyptian house build
ing methods were those of ancient As
syria, where the stiff clay of the val
leys of the Tigris and Euphrates fur
nished the rude mud walla of the low
liest shelter, and the mass of the walls
of the city and its palaces, temples and
ramparts. While there are no lack of
gigantic statues and symbolio mono
liths, stone stairs and paved approach
es and the remains of the alabaster
and syenite facings, which covered the
plainer masonry, the real strength of
Babylon and Nineveh lay in the masses
of .brickwork which. In mighty Baby
lon It Is recorded, formed the lofty
towers and ramparts which for 42
miles girdled a district five times as
large as modern London with a great
wall, whose summit, embattled, and
forming a continuous chariot way. rose
from 300 to $50 feet above the fertile
plain.
One hundred gates with brazen
hinges are said to have poured out its
legions in war and its millions in
peace; the' great river, bridled and par
apted. flowed In, through, and out of
the city under massive bridges, over
ample tunnels, and through huge water
gates which no fleet might force or
engine of war lay low. Surely never
before or since, in the history of the
world has the plummet, hammer and
trowel of the bricklayer played so im
portant a part in securing the safety
and promoting the magnificence of a
great city. isauonai au-gasine.
rr If -r
ibc' in; 'Wf
SEPTE3IBER 15, 1913.
Also Swells Last of
Trade" Recorded.
Dave, drew down a neat little bundle
amounting to $4600 arrears.
EasyT Why, the "softest" Individual
on earth is your Uncle Sam, when it
comes to widows, real or bogus. If it
were asked what is the best imagin
able means to encourage - frauds in
pensions, the fairly obvious answer
would be the keeping of the roll and
everything thereunto pertaining se
cret. But this is exactly what is done.
Nobody is allowed to see the roll, and
there is always the guarantee of "no
publicity" to help encourage the fraud
ulent applicant.
The most remarkable widow , case,
and In its way wholly unique, was that
in which a woman named Newby, who
had been the wife of a soldier re
siding at Carmi, IM., was persuaded to
recognize as her husband a man who
turned up in Che town 80 years after
he was supposed to have been killed
and buried. - .
William Newby, the husband, was
burled on the field of Shiloh. Accord
ingly, many people were surprised
when, after the lapse of more than a
quarter of a century, he turned up at
his own home. At first Mrs. Newby
failed to recognize him, but he soon
convinced her, as well as his alleged
mother, of his identity. Old-time
neighbors were easily satisfied, after
talking over with him many ante-war
incidents of a local character with
which no stranger oould yery well
hm heeTi acouainted. His explana
tion of what had happened was that.
- 7W' I V
1
FT .TRTS DEFENSE OF THE
heart's content-her faculties zor juuS-
fufu?. KWff5S.
XUIU1B HUDLJ.I . . -
1 i. o-nH ah mls-ht have re
jected him at the last moment, thus
avoiding possible scandal and divorce.
t v. n.rrl. tn pscane the
. HMn,-Tv nri nnt findinflc in
BVIfilUa i-wv, . j
her partner the man rational choice
suggests and Imperatively demands, di
vorce was thrust upon her. Whether
she brought suit herself or was sued
makes no difference.
Some men liken the girl-flirt's at
tempts at rational choice to "slime on
the water." Quite the contrary. Her
playing at courtship is evidence- of re
finement. When a man begins to make love to
a girl he naturally puts on his best
colors. If neatness is not part of his
nature he affects fastidiousness with
the aid of barber, masseur, tailor and
haberdasher. If his appetites are gross
he plays the epicure for the time be
ing. If he Is mean be assumes gen
erosity; if lacking in tact, be does his
utmost to mark the fine gentleman.
And provided he acts his part well he
may succeed in making the desired
agreeable Impression and capture the
girl temporarily.
BUT the attraction, he arrogates to
himself today he is bound to de
stroy on the morrow by some act of
unexpected and unsought for disillu
sion occasioned by the trivial details
of less formal intercourse. A red nose,
the result of a cold, soiled- clothes, due
to careless carriage wheels, a mani
curing missed, a cocktail too many,
are liable to dissipate the borrowed
glamour, causing the flower of poetry,
which is the essence of love, to wither
and die.
Good for her if she breaks the en
gagement. Let them call her a flirt.
It's better than the name of a divorcee
and less expensive.
Flirt Indeed! when it is an Indisput
able fact that the average girl is most
tardy about accepting offers of mar
riage and as a matter of self-defense
deliberates long and earnestly ere
choosing among her admirers.
As the worst liirx 01 aii iu sin
' fl " , - - i , f II
Ifv ;
being wounded In th6 head, he had
been left for dead on the field of bat
tle. The story of hla burial, by com
rades was a mistake. Partly deprived
of reason by his wound, he had spent
many years wandering about, and fi
nally had landed In the almshouse at
Taylorsvllle, IlL, where he remembered
who he was.
It was all highly circumstantial. Tet
the only item of truth In the story was
that which related to the Taylorsvllle
almshouse. Having been domiciled in
that institution, he metthere a pauper
named Joseph Newby, who was a
brother of the soldier William. Joseph,
a garrulous old man, filled him up with
information about the history of his
family, happenings to old neighbors,
eta, and incidentally mentioned the fact
that William, if he were still alive,
would have $20,000 coming to him from
the Pension Bureau. Whereupon, hav
ing learned all he could, the vagabond
disclosed himself to Joseph as his long
lost brother!
Obtaining his dismissal from the
almshouse, the bogus William Newby
walked into Carmi In ragged clothes
and without a hat. Having established
his identity to the satisfaction of pretty
nearly everybody, he applied for the
pension due him, with special reference
to the $20,000 arrears. Undoubtedly he
would have got the money, and would
ha on the roll today but for accidental
recognition pt him by an ex-oonvlct who
had met him as a leiiow prisoner in 1
penitentiary at Nashville, where he was
known as "Rickety Dan" Benton.
Further investigation by the Govern
ment -authorities proved that this was
correct. The man, born in Tennessee,
had- been known from boyhood as
"Rickety Dan." He had a wife and son,
both of whom recognized him. Sixty
witnesses supported these allegations.
But meanwhile a greaf many people
had come to believe that the man was
really William Newby. Much feeling
was stirred up on the Bubject, and,
when the caBe came to trial, the defense
brought a whole tralnload of witnesses.
There was almost a Tlot in court, and
McBride, the Government officer who
had found out the facts, was obliged to
take refuge from the mob in the judge's
room. Later on he was hanged In ef
figy. Nevertheless, "Rickety Dan" was
convicted, and was sent to Jail for a
long term.
- Applications for pensions are some
times made on very strange grounds.
One man, not long ago, asitea lor a pen
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
engagement or
- Bhe does
postpones
formal
why. she is
. t. ...). ..nnuette
Has it ever occurred to those who
never swept before their own doors
that a girl has a right, to love her lib
erty as much as a man? Each post
ponement stands for a month or more
of freedom, of lingering in a sphere of
of freedom, of lingering in a spnereoij because his tailor pro
her own, among girl friends and comrom a man ne
panlons,' which to leave means endless
regret to ber. a severance of ties that
were the delight of her young days.
Besides, she knows quite well that
her empire of the husband-to-be ceases
soon after marriage, that though the
word "obey" may be erased -from the
marriage ceremony "he" will no longer
l v- wir a r, H na.ll: that there is
little time for praise of a wife's beauty.
her natural gme, in mumw -home.
Why, then, begrudge a few ex
tra weeks of sultanashlpt
. Women worship the successful man,
but the girl-flirt is more partial to
him than others, because choosing and
weighing have become second nature
to her. .
Must a man have money 10 De con
sidered successful? Not at alL In-
- -. . ...j.i, l.wlOTnAnt rnmrnsTnl of
self, devotion to duty and speculative
genius count as nigm.
Tha ertrl-flirt. in particular, is wooed
, . w k.- arm I3ia wnnta tn hAli.r
til I UUR" " J- " , "
what the fellow has to say for himself.
Desdemona was wooeo. inrougn nci
ears, why not Annabelle or Juanita?
. . TV. iB tii.H a thlnsr as
pleasing a girl-flirt at first sight, yet
it s quite dinereni xrom iove i .noi.
sight. '. .
t thai latter eventual!? the girl is
often to be pitied. Her love, unable to
increase, must cecrease. w uat. uc
sought was man, but in these love-at-
. ,i.h. aff.fr. ci-l more often
encounters a stick or a brute than even
a mere male, tiranteo. mi
love she was asleep, that she Mves only
because she loves, yet to be alive does
not necessarily signify happiness.
On the other hand, in the less violent
process of being pleased with a man
at first-sight there is a large mental
reservation.
Suppose be be as good looking as a
IW MEI3GE.NA&Y
WiEN LIE IN WAIT
'cDEICBEPID
VETEPAN 5.
slon because his teeth were decayed.
Another applied because his hair was.
getting thinyet anotner because of in.
digestion Incurred by using his teeth
to bite cartridges: and still another be
cause his eyes had failed in old age,
compelling him to wear spectacles. Ons
would-be pensioner complained that
his feet had been disabled by corns at
tributable to long marches; another
based his claim upon "obesity" having
got fat "on account of habits acquired
In the Army."
An old soldier wrote: "I claim a
pension for vertigo got chasing Lee."
This was disallowed, with the official
comment- "If claimant had asked a
pension for vertigo got from being
chased by Lee, it might have been al
lowed: but it was not necessary for him
to chase Lee so hard as to cause verti
go. When he began to feel dizzy, he
should have sat down until his blood
recovered Its equilibrium."
The dry files of the Pension Bureau
are full of,nuggets of humor. On one
occasion, not so verjr long ago, the
bones of a mans leg were sent to
Washington to prove that the limb
had been lost in battle. The sender
made special request that they be re
turned. There was an Instance where
a man pensioned for deafness was ao
tually found operating a telephone ex
change. But the most remarkable fea
ture in this case was that the telephone
exchange in question was that of-the
Pension Bureau.
It has been said, and with truth, that
the pension roll Is the "National roll of
honor." Those who fought bravely for
the Union get none too much money
from a grateful Government in consid
eration of past services. But It is not
to be denied that many frauds have
been successfully operated at the ex
pense of the system. False personation,
manufactured evidence, and all sort of
Ingenious tricks devised by unscrupu
lous attorneys and lalm agents have
cheated the Pension Bureau in a mul
titude of instances. One man, detected
finally by merest accident, had put in
21 applications for as many pensions,
being In every case his own principal
and witnesses. A pension agent in the
city of Providence drew 19 pension
for years, helped by M. clever forger
named Draper.
George B. Howard, whose photograph
Is preserved In the large album which,
contains the rogues' gallery of the
Pension Bureau, served in the Navy In
the Civil War. He afterward person
ated no fewer than eight of bis former
comrades on the same ship, collecting
pensions for all of them. A negro vet
eran named Laws, In Philadelphia,
drew four pensions himself and one
for his wife, the persons represented
being dead soldiers and a defunct
widow. The, sum of $13,332 arrears
was paid In one lump to the attorneys
of "Blind Patterson," a drunken btu
gar, who for many years was led about
the strets of Elmira, N. T., by a d-fc.
It was claimed that he had been stn eK
blind on picket duty, and on this ac
count a pension of $72 a month was
granted, but the whole case was based
upon perjury and false affidavits. The
Government recovered $11,000 of the
money, but was compelled to give it
back to the attorneys, owing to some
legal technicality.
Most remarkable in its way, how
ever was the case of a man who,
fraudulently personating a soldier, got
a pension of $36 a month for a lost
arm. He bribed the surgeon who ex
amined him. and wore an empty sleeve.
Later on he got Senator Blair to pro
cure for him a clerkship in the Pen
sion Bureau, where he served 15 years,
up to the time of his death. When his
body lay In its coffin his two arms were
crossed over his breast the under
taker had found one arm tied behind
him. His wife was a fat negress.
RENE BACHE.
GREAT SPORT
I matinee hero: suppose without paint
ana wig ne mei ,
picture of his silly admirers, and sup
pose when he opens his mouth after
the first "how do you do?" be put his
foot in it?" ' ,
Is a coarse person to be tolerated
because bla mustache has a lovely
turn?
Must one suffer unsurreraDie ennui
Suppose ne sits a oorse iie cen
taur and talks and acts like a moon
calf, shall he monopolize a girl's at
tention after she has found him out?
Certainly not.
The President of Switzerland.
The president of Switzerland is so
hedged about by the constitution that,
except for official purposes and to
facilitate the exchange of courtesies
and of amicable understandings with
foreign nations, he has no more stand
ing than the other six members of the
council of which be forms a part. He
is elected for one year, bas no official
residence, and his chief business Is to
sign the documents of the bundesrat or
council of seven. His salary in our
money is equal to about $3600 a year,
and there Is no provision for private
expenses, such as traveling or enter
taining. He is expected to live in the
capital of the country during the year
he holds office. His associate members
in the bundesrat get $3000 a year and
they are elected for three years, their
votes having the same force as that of
the president.
As a rule, the president of Switzer
land Is before election a member of
this council and is elected to tne higher
office without opposition; but In 1883
he had a rival, and though he won in
the election he was unable to support
what in his country Ib looked upon as
an affront and committed suicide be
fore his inaugurstlon.
In this connection It might be well to
note, too, that Switzerland Is the one
country on the globe where It costs
nothing to die; as in certain cantons
rich and poor are burled at the ex
pense of the state. Harper's Weekly.