1
P A "Dm tv mrv nwiTr-rim
A DASHING ARMY OFFICER IN A
PRISON GARB.
Handsome and Brilliant Government
Employs Loses Ula Identity and I
Known Simply as 2094-Case of Cap
tain Oberlin Carter.
It Is but a short time since the -whole
coTintry was Interested In the case of
Oapt Oberlin M. Carter, of the United
States army, who on trial was proved
to have stolen from the Government
which honored and protected him "more
than a million dollars. Now the erst
wLile dashing and handsome captain
naid brilliant engineer is paying the
penalty of his wrongdoing and Is
drinking the bitter cup of humiliation
which his dishonesty brewed. Shorn
of the honors of his profession, his
commission revoked forever, his for-
CAPTAIN CARTER 121 PRlSOW GARB.
mer companions forbidden to speak to
Jilm; stripped of his uniform of blue
and gold and clad In the rough garb
of the convict, he has lost his Identity,
ven, and Is known as No. 2095. He
will spend the next five years behind
the bars of the Federal prison at Fort
Leavenworth. By the Irony of fate
he Is competed to occupy a narrow cell
n a prison which he designed and
built, and, worse still, the only window
In this cell overlooks the ballroom and
"banquet hall where he led the dance
and Indulged his epicurean tastes while
officer of the post a few years ago.
Carter was considered one of the
brightest men ever turned out by the
nation's school for soldiers, and from
boyhood fortune seemed to grudge him
nothing that ambition could dictate.
He was made a cadet at West Point by
special appointment by President
Hayes, after having tried unsuccess
fully In the regular way, and was a
model student and soldier, completing
the four years' course with a higher
Average of scholarship than had ever
been obtained before, and his record
has not been equaled since.
From the day that he graduated until
the day that he was summarily order
ed back from London to stand trial be
fore a court martial he seemed to have
the ear of the War Department, and
was advanced rapidly In rank, and In
the Important character of the work
Intrusted to him.
Early In life he married the daughter
of a millionaire, Thomas S. Westcott
of New York, and his father-in-law's
purse was at his disposal from that
time on. Fortunately for her, his wife
riled before his sins found him out.
Just before the discovery of his enor
mous peculations while be was mili
tary attache of the American legation
In London he was named one of the
three members of the Nlcaraguan com
mission, and there was hardly a man
In the army who did not envy the dis
tinctions showered upon him.
Military prisoner No. 2094 Is a vastly
different person. The prison barber
took him In hand within a few min
utes after his arrival at Fort Leaven
worth and removed the gracefully curl
4d mustache and waving locks which
Jiad contributed much to his distin
guished appearance. Then his hat,
clothes and1 shoes, each article made to
order and of the finest material, were
taken from him and he was given a
ult of dark gray homespun with the
figures 2094 stamped In large red let
ters on the front and back of the coat,
and each leg of the trousers, under gar
ments of heavy cotton stuff, rough
shoes fastened with buckles, and a big
straw hat
Like almost every other noted crim
inal, Carter persists In declaring him
self Innocent of the charges upon
which he was convicted and for which
he Is Incarcerated. He has been given
very opportunity to explain what he
did with the vast sums of public
money that were traced to his door,
but has not done so. He simply de
clares that he did not steal the money,
and asks that his declaration be be
lieved.
jVltbln a dozen rods of his cell are
'the
the homes of a number of army offi
cers, who know him well, but to them
Capt. Oberlin M. Carter Is dead i
any army officer of high or low rank
who dared exchange one word with'
No. 2094 would be court martlaled and'
cashiered In short order. Since he has
become a part of the great penal ma
chlse Carter has stoutly declined to dis
cuss his case and has gone about his
work as bookkeeper is the factory de
partment of the penitentiary with ap
parent Interest and zeal.
FITTING A PRINCE TO RULE.
Rigorous Training of the Future Em
peror of Germany.
The Crown Prince of Germany, who
recently attained his majority, is one
of the most popular young men In Ber
lin. Notwithstanding his rank, he Is
"hail fellow well met" with the young
men of the capital and Is always a wel
come addition to any party of merry
makers. He has been carefully reared,
however, and is not at all given to dissi
pation, and there is little of frivolity In
his composition. The training of the
Prince and his brothers was not left
wholly to his tutors. Ills mother, a
woman of rare discretion, exercised a
personal supervision over it. His future
station In life was kept constantly In
view, and those studies and sports that
were best suited to his preparation for
the duties that may In time devolve
upon him were especially chosen.
For many years the Prince's mother
made It a point to be present at all the
Indoor lessons. No matter what the
hour may be of her return to the palace
or the conclusion of this or ttmt festiv
ity or ceremony she does not retire
without having gone the rouud of all
her children's rooms. Ordinary boys
do not work on their holidays. Wllhelm
II.'s boys are not indulged In that way.
During certain seasons the teaching is
relaxed; not sufficient, however, to
please the lads, If we may judge by
Prince Eltel Fritz's answer to his Eng
lish governess ssme years ago. "You'll
soon have your holidays," said Miss At
kinsoD. "I don't mind mine so much.
Miss Atkinson," was the answer. "I
wish they would give you some." The
princes' riding lessons usually are su
perintended by the Emperor himself,
and the reward for proficiency Is a
pony for a birthday present.
Naturally military studies occupy a
foremost place In the curriculum, but
Prince Adalbert, the Emperor's third
son, Is destined to be the high admiral
of the future German fleet. There Is at
the new palace, near Potsdam, a minia
ture fortress, the construction of which
has cost a considerable amount ol
money. Its .walls are three metres
high, it Is provided with casemates and
moats and real Krupp guns. ' This It
practically the only plaything of th
young princes, for even during theli
most tender age toys, In the strict occu
patlon of the word, were and are far
and few between. On their birthday,
when the pony Is not yet due or has
been given, the parents' presents con
sist of useful things, a bicycle, a violin
two of the young princes play that
Instrument books, and even wearing
apparel. Frivolous gifts do not find a
place In Wllhelm's educational system.
On such a day there Is an entire cessa
tion from work. There are seven chil
dren, hence seven of such days, which
the Crown Prince described as the
"seven fat klne, swallowed, alas! by
the 350 odd lean ones."
Floeting Slaughter-House.
The Hamburg liner Burton, trading
to Boston, has Inaugurated a new de
parture In the foreign meat trade. She
shipped eighteen oxen from Denmark
and to avoid the regulations with re
gard to the Importation of live cattle
Into the United Kingdom, carried three
German butchers, who slaughtered the
cattle on the voyage and dressed the
carcasses, which were forwarded to
London on the steamer's arrival. Tho
experiment having been found to en
swer, will be continued on other steam
ers of the Hamburg line to Boston.
Insects In Cages.
In Japan men sell caged locusts, sing
ing crickets and other noisy Insects la
the streets of cities.
It's a poor piano that never won a
first prize at some count fair.
OEBMAN BMPRROR AND HIS BON.
German army authorities are now ex
perimenting on a cotton stuff as a ma
terial for balloons. It Is treated with
;ubber before being used. The fabric
Is said to have great strength, and Is
better than silk, which is aDt to cener-
Ite electricity.
M. Mercadier, a French Inventor.
Itatea that he has solved the problem
bf seuding a number of dispatches sim
ultaneously on a single wire. Messages
have been transmitted between Paris
and Pau. Twelve Independent message
currents were sent on the circuit at
nce In either direction, making a total
of twenty-four telegrams.
A new light-ship of novel design Is
soon to be moored in the stormy waters
of the dreaded Diamond Shoals off
Cape Hatteras. It has been found im
possible to place a lighthouse there,
and the light-ships moored on the spot
have, one after another, been torn from
their fastenings. The new ship is to be
propelled by steam, and furnished with
electric flash-lights to be displayed
from her masts, fifty feet above water.
She will be anchored on the shoals with
strong mooring tackle, and in case she
Is torn loose by a gale can take care of
herself with the aid' of hor
engine.
L. M. Loomls, the California ornithol
ogist, who has been studying the ques
tion of bird migration on the Pacific
coast, concludes that those which he
has observed shape their course by
landmarks, and possess no mysterious
superhuman faculty for determining
direction, such as some persons have
Imagined that birds are endowed with.
When a fog prevails the birds are be
wildered and lose their way. In brief,
Mr. Loomls thinks that bird migration
Is a habit evolved by education and In
heritance, and owing Its origin to the
failure of food In winter.
An ingenious arrangment to prevent
vercrowdIng of both elevators or
jtairways Is In use In Scranton, Pa.
The time of entering and leaving a cer
tain building is regulated by clocks on
each of the five floors. On the lower
Boors the clocks are set correctly, but
on the upper floors they are a few min
utes slow, so that the enmloves on th
lower floors are at their work before
those on the upper floors are due, and
of course those on the UDDer floors do
not leave their desks until several min
utes later, thus avoiding all confusion.
A bridge In the form of ,. an .aerial
ferry has been opened at Rouen on the
River Seine. In order to avoid Inter
ference with shipping, it was deter
mined to place no structure in the
stream, or near Its surface. Instead of
a bridge In any of the ordinary forms,
a horizontal flooring, sustained by steel
towers and suspension cables, was
stretched across the river at an eleva
tion of 167 feet. On this flooring run
electrically driven rollers, from which
Is suspended, by means of steel ropes,
a car which moves at the level of the
wharves on the river banks. The car
Is thlrty-slx feet wide and forty-two
feet long, and Is furnished, like a ferry
boat, with accommodations for car
riages and foot-passengers. The ropes
that carry the hanging-car are Inter
laced diagonally in such a manner that
the support Is rigid, and a swinging
motion is avoided.
PENKNIVES AS GIFTS.
Used to Be a Mark of Esteem and
Friendship Between Men.
"la the brave old days when calf
skin boots and crinolines were still In
fashion," says a veteran New Orleans
clubman In the New Orleans Times
Democrat, "a penknife was considered
a very proper gift for one gentleman
to make to another. The standard
knife for the purpose had a pearl han
dle and four blades, one of which was
always a file blade. Just why that
particular kind of a knife came to be
generally adopted as a token of esteem,
or how the custom Itself originated, I
am not able to state, but thirty-five
or forty years ago It was a very com
mon thing for one friend to say to an
other: 'Let us step Into this store; I
want to give you, a penknife.'
"The gift was one that no gentleman
ever felt any hesitation In receiving,
although the line was drawn very
Btrlctly on almost everything else ex
cept hats. Hats were also iopular as
presents among men, but they some
how lacked a certain fine sentiment
that attached to a penknife. When a
man was presented with a penknife In
those days he could rest assured that
the donor held him In sincere and af
fectionate regard.
.' "A popular character back In the
!60s would accumulate enough cutlery
'In the course of a year to stock a small
hardware store, and If you'll take the
jtrouble to look over some of the old
i wills that were probated around about
that period you will find a number of
'instances ra which executors were re
quested to purchase 'fine pccket knives'
'to be distributed as keepsakes to sor
rowing friends.
"Nowadays the good o'.d custom has
entirely died out; lj fact It la no longer
considered the correct thing among
men to make or accept casual gifts,
and, moreover, the superstition that a
knife 'cuts friendship' has become very
prevalent. What brought the subject
to my mind was a little incident that
occurred the other day. I was walking
up Canal street when, very unexpect
edly, I encountered a retired river cap
tain from Memphis whom I used to
know intimately but hadn't seen for
nearly twenty years. He is a delight
ful old gentleman, now getting close on
to 70 years, but still sound as a dol
lar, and we had a long talk over the
auld lang syne. When we were about
to part be took me by the arm and led
me Into a nearby store. 'John,' he said,
'it isn't likely I'll ever see you again,
and I want to give you a nice little pen
knife to remember me by.' He picked
out an old-style, fbur-bladed knife with
a beautiful pearl handle, and I
wouldn't part with it for Its weight In
greenbacks. It remluds me of all sorts
of pleasant things."
MISTAKE OF A SMART LAWYER.
Mulcted His Partners in a Deal, but
They Afterward Got Even.
This Is so true that it is interesting
very much so. A well-known Maine
attorney Is especially noted for his
keenness In looking out for the best
end of every bargain and for his abil
ity In getting hold of that end. It has
made him uupopulnr in some circles
has that trait of his!
"n deal not long ago he was la wii.li
a couple of friends men of wealth and
standing. Business was good the first
year. There was a generous division
of profits. But the lawyer wasn't sat
isfied with what was coming to him,
share and share alike with the others.
After receiving his proper whack as a
partner, he exacted $500 more for
"counsel fees." He said that as a law
yer he was worth that much more to
the deal. This was a new way of look
lug at the matter, but the bill was re
slguedly allowed by the friends.
They were pretty good business men,
understand. In a little while they saw
that the venture wasn't panning out
very well. So the shrewd men of af
fairs quietly unloaded without saying
anything to their partner. Then a lit
tle later came the crash.
The lawyer hurried around to hold a
consolation meeting with the other
two.
"Gracious, isn't this too bad," moan
ed he. "I lost so-and-so. How much
did you fellows drop? You must have
been hit pretty hard."
"You're wrong, old boy," came the
cheerful duet. "We never lost a dollar;
no, we never lost a cent. Tra la."
"What-t-t!"
"Never lost a dollar! We saw It com
ing two months ago. Had a tip. Un
loaded. AH out!"
"Well, then, why In the name of all
that's square and above board, didn't
you tell me?"
"Well, we could have, had you al
lowed us $500 counsel fees when you
took yours. See?" Lewlston ( Me.)
Journal.
CHAMPION JEFFRIES' FATHER.
Rev. Alexander C Jeffries Has Two
Sons In the King.
Much comment has been made upon
the fact that the father of James J.
Jeffries, the champion pugilist of the
world, who recent
ly knocked out
James J. Corbett
in 23 rounds, after
what many regard-
WtMt'L battle ever fouirht
in this country, Is
SV'-ll4 imuisier or me
cMvffO gospel. Bev. Alex-
not only the sire of
REV. JEFFRIES. one pugilist, but
he has another son, Jack Jeffries, who
recently made his first appearance lu
the ring.
Rev. Mr. Jeffries has been a preach
er for eighteen years. He Is an evan
gelist and has preached the gospel in
the streets of San Frauclsco, Los An
geles and other California cities for
many years. His Ideas on pugilism are
Interesting. After James J. Jeffries
became champion by knocking out Boh
Fltzslmmons, the preacher father said:
"I am opposed to prize fighting. I
don't believe in It, but Jim will keep it
up until he gets thrashed. Then he'll
quit. But Jim's a good boy. He Is no
worse than the rest of them. He will
keep on with his devilment until he
gets licked, and then he will find his
way to the Lord. He Is making a
short cut through the prize ring to
salvation."
An Impenetr b!e Inner Clrcln.
The Japan Dally Mail said recently:
"To eat with choiMtlcks and sit on
mats and wear big sleeved coats do not
bring a man any nearer to genuinely
intimate Intercourse with the Japanese
people. The language Is also needed.
Yet, even when the language Is added
something still remains to be achieved,
and what that something Is we have
never been able to discover, though
we have been considering the subject
for thirty-three years. No foreigner
has ever succeeded In being admitted
to the Inner circle of Japanese Inter
course." It li a rare woman who can clean
house without a row with her husband.
mi
SWITCH THE GIRLS THEY LOVEJ
Practices Indulged In by .he Tonne
People in Pennsylvania.
At Shamokin, Ta., some queer cus
toms have survived the march of pro
gress among the Poles and Hussions.
One of these observances Is "switching
day." It is a favorite day for bashful
lovers, for swiftness of limb, rather
than eloquence of tongue, captures the
belles of the community.
For days the man has been in train
ing for the run of his lift, while tho
maids adjure corsets and rub Unament
ou their kneecaps every night ere woo
ing slumber. Finally the morning of
"switching day" arrives. The man
sees before him all the maidens of his
village. He may take his pick. All ha
must do is to catch and switch and
duck with water the one of hls choice
the maid whoiu he would have for
his wife. If she Is fleeter of foot than
he and escapes she is free. If the man
is beloved of his quarry she seldom
gets away, though his feet are clad In
leaden shoes.
"Switching day" at Shamokin la
Easter Sunday, when all the lads and
lasses of the country round about gath
er at the town for the annual meeting.
A girl's starting to run Is accepted as a
token that she Is not averse to her pur
suer. The youth's start Is accepted as
a proposal, and no matter what mis
fortune may befall his quarry he must
provide for her all the days of his
future life.
Pathetic indeed was the Illustration
of this fact in the case of Susan Man
bok, who was by nil odds the haudsoni
est girl In the Russian colonies for-
OUKER CUSTOM IN PENNSYLVANIA.
many miles about. She was tall and
slender and her eyes were azure blue.
She was crowned with golden haar,
which grew In dainty ringlets close
upon her head. Miss Manbok had
more suitors than she could accept,
and she was very coy. Fleet of foot,
the maid had, since arriving at a mar
riageable age, passed one "switching;
day" In safety without the giving of
her promise.
Miss Manbok until noon on the lat
est festival occasion had succeeded in!
outdistancing all her pursuers. Man
were the races she had run, but never
had a switch or a pall of water com
within reaching distance of her petite
form. It was then that Andrew Ko
blusky, a shrewd young man, who had
purposely waited until Miss Manbok
had become fatigued, gave chase. Off
darted tho maid, and after her sped the
rursuer.
Down the railroad track they rushed,
11 unheeding. So excited were both
contestants the man running for a
wife, the girl for liberty that the ap
proach of a train was unnoticed. The
engine tooted shrilly and at Its blast
Miss Manbok, affrighted, stumbled and
fell upon the rail. Both of her legs
wero cut off below the knees. And
Koltlnsky, regardless of her being a
cripple, declares that he will wed her..
The Oldest Postal System.
We find the first recorded postal sys
tem In the Persian Empire, under Oyni
the elder; but It Is clear that Rome of
all the ancient states possessed the best
organized system of transmitting let
ters through its numerous provinces.
All along the great Roman roads
houses were erected at a distance of
five or six miles from each other. At
each of these stations forty horses were
constantly kept, and, by the help of re
lays, It was easy to travel 100 miles a
day. These services were Intended for
the state only, It being Imperative to
secure the rapid interchange of official
communications.
In the time of Julius Caesar the sys
tem was so well organized that of two
letters the great soldier wrote from
Britain to Cicero at Rome the one
reached Its destination In twenty-sir
and the other in twenty-eight days.
Private citizens had to trust to the ser
vices of slaves, and it Is not till the end
of the third century that we hear of the
establishment of a postal system for
private persons by the Emperor Dio
cletian, but how long this system re
mained history does not say. New
York Evening World.
Itedlaads' Ultnt Mowing Machine.
Redlands, Cal., has a giant mowing
lng machine which cuts a strip of,
wheat fifty feet wide.
A St Louis undertaker advertises
that he can furnish everything requi
site for a first-class funeral. He Is evi
dently a doctor as well as aa undoxr
taker.
lin. -far