LINCOLN COUNTY LEADER
CHA8. F. St ADA K. SOCLE, Pubs
TOLEDO OREGON
Others are bad enough, but a coffin
trust is like working the idea to death.
It is not the woman with the most
gold In her teeth who lias the dearest
smile.
The boy who causes the most trouble
doesn't always grow up to be the great
est man.
Considering what it lias got various
folks into, that Chinese open door has
eome of the qualities of a trap door.
Mosquitoes, it is said, will not bite a
lerson who takes sulphur into his sys
tem. Making the air sulphurous in the
vicinity where they work does no good.
The New York woman who began the
study of the Greek testament on her
100th birthday must have read of Cato
and the enterprise of his eightieth
year.
These Chinese towns have perfectly
ridiculously names. , Why can't they
call themselves something sensible,
tike Showhogau, for instance, or Punx
sutawncy, or Caucomgamoe, or Kala
mazoo? Inside of eighteen months every ele
vated railway engine In New York will
have been displaced by electric motors.
How long will It be before the same
thing will be true of every steam loco
motive In the country?
It Is reported that Joel Chandler Har
ris has resigned his editorial position on
the Atlanta Constitution because he
wants more time to piny with his
grandchildren, if the report is true, we
,4-ongratulate the grandchildren.
What little reform gets Into Turkey
usually slips In by the back door. Re
port has It that the only dynamo now
In Constantinople passed the custom
house as a washing machine; and thus
the feeling of the authorities were
spared.
The Delaware & Harltau Canal Com
pany Is said to be mustering Its mules
out of service, and harnessing up the
automobile to do their work on the
tow-path. If this sort of thing Is al
lowed to go on till the beasts of burden
and of draft nre let off from their pres
ent tasks, the Society for the Preven
tion of Cruelty to Animals will be
tempted to relax Its vigilance.
A short time ago Prof. Harry Thurs
ton Peck made the statement that wo
men had never taken part lu any gi
gantic enterprise such as the construc
tion of steamships, railroads, etc.
Kvldeutly he had not heard of the na
tive women of India, who make up a
large proportion of the laborers In the
department of public works. Em
ployed all over India are women and
girls, said to be quite as efficient as
men, digging canals, making reser
voirs, working on roadways and build
ing railroads.
Poison recently ended the life of a
20 year-old Connecticut woman who
was not only remarkable lu herself,
but also In the peculiar quality of hus
band she possessed. It was while she
was Indulging In her eighth consecu
tive elopement with other men and the
tcventh case of forgiveness on the part
f her better half that the latest and
finishing phase of her fate overtook
her. There Is nothing lu the occur
rence, however, to affect Connecticut's
historic claim to being the Land of
Steady Habits, for anything more
titeady than her elopement practice and
bis lu the way of pardoning Is rather
bard to realize.
lu the six ltocky Mouutaiu States of
Colorado, Idaho, .Montana, Nebraska,
I'tah and Wyoming, agriculture is
largely dependent on Irrigation. The
distribution of the water supply ts reg
Hat til by law, and costs about one dol
lar per acre. Nebraska and Wyoming
have water commissioners, who re
ceive all applications and determine all
controversies. In I lie other four
States there Is much litigation. Hut
when the ranchman's water rights are
once established, he thinks himself far
more sure of regular crops than the
farmer lu "the humid States." where
there Is always liability of drouth or
excessive rainfall, while he has the
exact amount of moisture he needs
Just when he wants It. and at no other
time--unit always on tap.
A couple of years ago x it old gcnth
11111 n who has great common sense re
marked: "Don't wake up the Chinese.
They can live on nothing; they can
work for nothing; there are millions of
them. If they once learn our system of
manufacturing we cannot compete.
Don't wake up the Chinese." It begins
to look as If this statement were true
with regard to military matters. The
problem which the foreign powers have
to solve Is an Intricate one. The Chinese
lave been laylug In great stores of am
munition, guns, etc. If their soldiers
Art drilled lu modern tattles It would
seem an Impossible task for the foreign
powers to subdue them. ,.If China re
mains a united empire the task will be
Impossible. If it is split into several
kingdoms, each independent of the oth
er, there may be some chance for for
eign powers to establish governments
on a modern civilized basis.. The con
sequences of "waking up" 350,000,000
people may be serious.
Despite repeated and unquestionable
proof of its poisonous nature, the sale
of the cigarette is increasing. If it ia
not to become a prolific cause of phys
ical and moral degeneration, especially
among the young, more efficient and
more general means must be exerted
against Its use. It is known to pro
duce In children disorders of the nerv
ous system ending in hopeless im
becility. The insane asylums have had
to open' a new column of statistics for
Its victims. Its deleterious effects are
not transitory, but easily and ineradic
lly .become constitutional.. Many cor
porations, especially those dealing with
human life, tolerate among their ser
vants no one who drinks Intoxicating
liquor while on duty. The effects of
the cigarette upon the brain are worse
than the effects of alcohol. One great
Chicago corporation has announced
that it will carry on Its pay rolls no
one who uses the cigarette. General
opposition of this practical nature may
check the sale of the poison. Moral
and scientific protests have proven In
effectual. That the remarkable growth of out
door sports In the last twenty years Is
the salvation of those who are unfor
tunate enough to be handicapped by
wealth and fettered by leisure Is ap
parent to even the most casual ob
server. A man does not need to be an
athlete or a tenuis player or a wheel
man to note the marked effect of these
outdoor pastimes upon those whom
stern necessity has not condemned to
ordinary physical employments. Nei
ther does one need a vivid Imagination
to picture the condition of these classes
If they were denied participation in
outdoor sports. "Twenty years ago,"
says Casper Whitney, in the Indepen-.
(lent, "the popular set at the various
clubs consisted of those young men
who sat In the windows with their feet
on the railings and glasses by their
sides. Now the glasses hae been ban
ished and the young men of Influence
are active in yachting, hunting, polo,
foot ball." base-ball, rowing, golf, and
so forth." This marked change for the
better is not confined to the club
world, however. It extends through
out the whole 1'nlted States, and the
result la seen lu the glorious physical
development of the young men and
women whom we meet everywhere.
The wonderful physical hardihood of
our soldiers, many of whom came from
offices urn! stores, which excited so
much comment during the war with
Spain, Is attributed by Mr. Whitney to
the growth among us or those outdoor
sports which, strange as it may seem,
have been fostered by the wealthy ami
fashionable classes. It Is Mr. Whit
ney's belief that the rise of outdoor
sports is not a craze that will present
ly subside and "leave us cooped up In
doors again with our flannels and our
grog and doctor's prescriptions." We
are outdoors to stay. Our Anglo-Saxon
instincts draw us toward tills stimula
ting, muscle-building play. The ap
parent subsidence of Interest In cer
tain outdoor sports Is really the Indica
tion of ii more rational enjoyment of
It. One might get the Impression from
looking about the streets that bicycling
had declined. If you go Into the coun
try, however, you will Mini that this
Is not the case. The bicyclists have
found that riding a wheel In the city
Is nerve-racking, hazardous and un
satisfactory, ami now they ride In the
country. One of the good tilings that
golf has done, says Mr. Whitney, lias
been to provide outdoor amusement for
people of middle age. Previous-to the
advent of golf there was no outdoor
game for them that could be properly
characterized as sport. The craze fea
ture has now gone out of golf and it
has settled down as a "systenilzed con
stitutional." Along with growth of
sports among us there has also been a
growth of the true sportsman feeling
sport for sport's sake, ami not merely
to win over a competitor. The grow
ing tendency of Americans "to play
the game for the sake of the game" is
the most hopeful sign In the Held of
outdoor sports In this country.
Ilncterln as Purl tier.
At the last meeting of the Society of
American Bacteriologists Prof. Kinnl
cut gave an account of the change of
opiuloti now occurring lu England In
favor of the purification of the sewage
of cities by means of bacterial growth,
disseminated through It, rather than by
chemical treatment, as heretofore em
ployed. The bacterial system, lie
thought, offered the cheapest and most
effective method of purifying the sew
age so that It may be discharged Into
rivers without polluting them.
Spain to Have a Hotter Navy.
The Queen ltegent of Spain has sign
ed a decree ordering the sale of a large
number of obsolete men-of-war and
providing for the reorganization nnc'
modernization of the other vessels.
Speak but little and let that little bo
the truth.
8AURIAMS ARE HUGE.
AUSTRALIAN CROCODILES GROW
TO IMMENSE SIZE.
Possesses Enormous Strength and
Are Things of 'terror to Fish and
Animals Large Bullock Stands No
Chance in Fighting One of Them.
The crocodile of the Nile differs very
little from that of the northern rivers
of Australia, which is generally termed
alligator," though in reality a true
crocodile. The head of a true alligator
is broader and shorter than that of the
crocodile. There is also considerable
difference in the teeth and their dispo
sition in the jaws. The teeth of the
alligator are unequal, and the larger of
the lower canines enters a cavity in the
upper jaw, while that of a crocodile
simply tits Into a groove on the outside
of the upper jaw, leaving the tooth
clearly visible when the mouth of the
monster is closed. There are also dif
ferences in the webbing of the toes and
the form of the legs, though to the gen
eral observer there is little or no differ
ence. Crocodiles seem equally at home
In salt or fresh water, while alligators
do hot appear to relish, and rarely visit,
salt water. Crocodiles no doubt feed
largely upon fish, but as they grow old
er and stronger and require great quan
tities of food, they will, when hungry,
Attack uujluiiig from a sheep or a kan
garoo to a bullock, a big crocodile mak
ing short work of a bullock weighing
over half a ton.
Some crocodiles measure as much as
twenty-seven feet in length and possess
immense strength, besides wonderful
cunning and patience. They will lie in
watit at a watering place frequented
by animals, hardly distinguishable
from a log of wood, so still aud passive
have they become. The unwary victim
coming down to drink Is suddenly
seized in the crocodile's huge jaws and
drawn Into the water and drowned. At
other times the tail is used to sweep
the prey into deep water, where, even
though it be a heavy bullock. It has
little or no chance against Its enemy,
which Is specially provided by nature
with an arrangement that prevents the
water rushing down its huge throat,
even though the Jaws are fully distend
ed through holding Its prey. Thus,
after a few brief seconds the uuequal
struggle Is over and the saurian takes
the carcass in tow to some favored lo
cality, where he can enjoy It at his
leisure.
Crocodiles at night time low and bel
low Just like cattle, especially like
bulls, and I have spent some nights In
an open boat lu Cambridge Gulf, north
western Australia, where the whole
place seeuied to be alive with them, and
what with their splashes and cries, the
weirdness of the whole scene, and their
close proximity as they at times rocked
the boat, sleep was impossible, for
there are several instances on record
where crocodiles have taken or have at
tempted to take men from out of camps
and boats. A poor fellow named Keed,
the mate or second mate of the Guluau,
had gone in his vessel to some river in
Carpentaria Gulf. The vessel was at
anchor near the mouth of the river.
The mate, Heed, had been dispatched
In charge of a watering party, aud was
some distance up the river in a large
open boat. Water had been obtained,
aud they were all ready for a return to
the ship. All being made snug, the
tired fellows turned In, having made
their camp in the boat. The night was
a very fine one, the moon shining
brightly, when toward midnight the
sleeping camp was aroused by some
terrific shrieks. These were the cries
of poor Heed, who, enveloped in his
bsddlug and mosquito Curtains, was
being borue off by a crocodile. It Is
said by those who kuew hi m well a. id
accompanied him on this and other pre
vious trips that he had a habit of sleep
ing with his foot on the gunwale of the
boat, and no doubt this afforded the
crocodile au easier opportunity of seiz
ing him.
The crocodile has a remarkable eye.
It can arrange the pupil to a vertical
or horizontal position at will to suit its
requirements by day or ulght. It.has a
special natural protection to the eye.
and through a "duct" escapes the fluid
when the "monster weeps. In fact, he
Is a peculiar brute altogether, with
many special gifts besides his huge
Jaws that help to make of him. the
terror that he Is. The crocodile lays a
large number of egg's, which are re
markably small for so large a reptile,
being Just a shade larger than those of
the domestic duck. Its nest Is a huge
mound of long grass, leaves, reeds,
flags and a kind of broad-lcafod grass,
built to the height of four or five feet,
with a circumference of from thirty to
forty feet, and" always near water. The
northern crocodile lays its eggs in Jan
uary or February. Neither parent does
any sitting. The eggs are deposited to
the number of forty or fifty near the
top 'of the mound, which looks just like
an ordinary haycock. The rain and It
rains at this time of the year every day
and the hot sun create a great heat
In the mound, which hatches the eggs.
Sydney Mall.
Carious Facts Atxnit Children.
Am interesting paper by Dr. Macdon
ald, of the Washington bureau of edu
cation, discloses sjvae novel facts con
cerning children that will cause general
surprise. Children with long heads are
not as bright as those with broad ones.
Very long heads Indicate dullness, des
pite the ancient saw, Bright'boys have,
the advantage of dull boys in height
and weight. White boys of American
parents show more nervousness than
their colored and foreign-born associ
ates. White boys of non-laboring par
ents have the poorest eyesight. Colored
children have the best. Girls who at
tend private schools are not as strong
as girls of the public schools. G.irls
as a general thing, however, can endure
more pain than boys, but the boys are
not as sensitive to petty annoyances.
POOR PICKINGS OF AUTHORS.
Cash Comes in Most Cases After Pub
lisher Gets It in Hand.
Iu a brief chat with one of our lead'
lng booksellers the other day it was
very curious to hear him speak in a
purely commercial way of books which
we have all read aud enjoyed, discuss
ing the sales of this or that volume in
the same way that a wholesale grocer
or commission merchant would d'.scuss
barrels of flour or bags of potatoes.
Every now and then a rumor becomes
current that some writer has received
vast sums for his work. As a matter
of fact, there is a certain regular per
centage which is all that ever readies
even the most successful. When any
one who is not entirely unknown, and
mny even, perhaps, a!i-adj lme some
literary reputation, brings his man
uscript to a publisher, the writer usual
ly is given an advance ranging from
$1,000 to $10,otK), the largest in recent
years having been given to an English
author within the past three months.
When the novel Is finally published the
writer will receive 15 per cent, of the
actual selling price of each copy, in
cluding the advance money, which on a
book selling at $1.50 would amount to
'22 cents for each copy sold. Let us
suppose flu the author had received
$10,000 it would be necessary for the
publisher to sell about 22,000 copies be
fore he got his money back, because It
costs him about $1.05 to put the book
on the market. Then for the next 22,
000 Issued he would make about 45
cents on each book, until the author's
total royalties had equaled the advance
copyright, at which point the publisher
would again be obliged to pay the
writer the 22 cents for each of- the
books sold.
It will be readily seen from the above
figures that even the greatest selling
books do not make their authors and
publishers millionaires at one Jump. Of
course, only a very few and fortunate
of the many writers ever receive any
advance on their copyrights, as no pub
lishers are going to take the risk ef
paying out money without feeling very
certain that they will eventually get It
back. Occasionally some well-written
story remains imprinted' for a long
time, but all publishing houses are eng.
erly keeping watch for novelties and
the possibility of discovering new au
thors Is ever lu their thoughts; there
fore when one hears young -writers
complaining that they cannot get a
hearing it Is safe to surmise that their
wares are not of any value. Philadel
phia North American.
WHAT THE CHINESE EAT.
Rice Is Not the Principal Diet of tnt
Common People.
It Is the popular belief iu this coun
try that rice Is the chief diet of the
lower classes of China. This is erro
neous, for rice is a luxury from their
point of view, because too costly foi
every -day consumption. They eat much
pork, which costs little for hogs of
razor-back breed are plentiful every
where, and the pig Is the domestic ani
mal par excellence. She sleeps In the
living room, recognizes her name aud
displays iu her Intelligence the Inherit
ed results of centuries of training. Sh
Utters twice a year, aud of her offspring
the inivles are fatteued while the fe
males are sold or kept for breeding. The
household porker Is a pet; she Is fed
at every meal of the family, foraging
for herself at other times In the streets
aud fields. And It should be remem
bered that the pig Is decidedly a clean
animal when properly kept.
Hew Dr. Williams, lu his "Middle
Kingdom." says that the Chinese In the
vicinity of Canton, from whom are re
cruited nearly all of the pig-tailed Im
migrants to this country, have a re
markable appetite for cats. One fre
quently sees pussies hanging, nicely
dressed, In the butchers windows, the
meat looking so white aud clean as to
be almost appetizing. They are kept
alive In the shops, too, lu cages ready
for killing. Hecause they are so pro
lific and find so much of their own food,
they can be raised profitably. Cats'
eyes are considered a great delicacy by
the rich, those of black cats being re
garded as choicest and commanding the
highest price. Hats and mice are sel
dom eaten, except In ease of famine;
they are too hard to catch to be cheap.
But among the Chinese there Is an old
Joke about an Imaginary dih called
"honey and squeak." made by Inclosing
a live mouse In a piece of honeycomb.
Giving a girl a musical education
ofteu means only that she has an addi
tional place to loaf-a music store
where she "tries" new pieces.
WHAT THE CHINESE WORSHIP. '
Their Religion Is a Mere Form, Their
Deities Are Indefinite.
The ouly religious worship the aver
age Chinaman performs, aside from an
cestral rites, is a prostration and an
offering "to heaven and earth" on the
first and fifteenth of each moon, or la
some cases on the beginning of each
uew year. No prayer is uttered, and
after a time the offering is removed,
and, as in other cases, eaten.
What is it that at such times the Chi
nese people worship? Sometimes they
affirm that the object of worship is
"heaven and earth." Sometimes they
say that it is "heaven," aud again they
call it "the Old Man of the Sky," (lato
ti'icu yen). The latter term has led to
an inference that the Chinese do have
ft real perception of a personal deity.
But when it is ascertained that this
supposed "person" is frequently match
ed by another called "Grandmother
Earth" (ti mu nal nai) the correctness
of the inference Is open to serious ques
tion. The word "heaven" is, it is true,
often used in the Chinese classics iu
such a way as to convey the idea of
personality and will. But It is like
wise employed In a manner which sug
gests very little of either. "Heaven is
a principle" the vagueness of the term
Is obvious. To this ambiguity in clas
sical use corresponds the looseness of
nuanlng given to It in every-day life.
The Chinaman who has been worship
ing hen yen upon being pressed to kuiv
what he means by "heaven" will fre
quently reply that It Is the blue ex
panse above. Ills worship Is, there
fore, in harmony with nature, either In
dividually or collectively. His creed
may be described inEruersouian phra
ics as "one with the blowing clover and
the falling rain." Iu other words, he is
i pantheist.
HIS FIRST FIRE ASSIGNMENT.
Excuse of a New Reporter for Neglect
ing Duty.
"fay, hustle down to the stock yards
right away," said the city editor to the
new reporter. "There's a fire down
i here. It may turn iuto something big,
hut even if It doesn't we want a good
little story on It anyhow."
The new reporter shot out of the
door, with perspiration starting at
every pore. The fire did not turn out
to be a great conflagration, so no more
reporters were sent down to the yards
to take crfre of it. The city editor de
pended upon his new man for the story.
But for some unaccountable reason the
reporter failed to return to the office
and the paper had to go to press with
out the account of the fire.
The next day about noon the new
man strolled leisurely Into the office
entirely unprepared for the thunder
storm that broke over his head as soon
s the city editor caught sight of him.
"Say, what the dickens Is the matter
with you anyhow?" said the editor.
"Why didn't you write up that fire that
1 told you to?"
"Why," gasped the youth, "there
wasu't any use to write It up, every
body was there and saw it." Chicago.
Chronicle.
Primitive Methods la Corea.
Individual missionaries and mechan
ics have trained Corea n carpenters in
the use of American tools, but as a rule
they prefer their old-style planes,
which they draw toward them In plan
lug, and like best to use their own
saws, which necessitate the employ
ment of two men sitting opposite each
other on the ground aud operating the
saw ou the stick or timber, which Is
held lu place by the feet of the opera
tors, lu spite of these apparently
clumsy methods the Corean carpeuters
do very fair work.
Long-Kange Pliot ogra phy.
Captain Geutilll, an Italian oflicei
who has been experimenting iu long
distance photography, has discovered s
means of taking photographs at a dis
tance of many miles. By this means it
has been possible to photograph for
tresses from a distance of eleven miles
and masses of troops at a dlstauce of
eighteen miles. Captain Gentilli's In
vention is likely to become of consider
able Importance from the military point
of view.
An Klement Instead of a Virtue.
Sincerity is no single virtue to be
classed with others and ranked above
ami below them. It Is rather an ele
ment running through character and
life, as the sap runs through the tree,
giving life and vigor to every branch
and a tender beauty to every leaf and
blossom. Let us cherish It as the deep,
est principle of our hearts and the most
vital element of our lives.
Coinage of Gold Pieces.
The 1'nlted States never coined gold
pieces of a higher denomination than
f'.'O. Some years ago a Jeweler at San
Fra-iclsco struck gold pieces of the
value of $50, but that was on private
iccount.
lteinarkably J,khI.
"I saw the bishop sprinting for a car
to-dny with a bag of golf clubs on his
arm. Does he play a good game?"
'Oujul? Yon bet It's good! goody,
good. Why, 'Pshaw: Is about his limits-Puck.
With the waning of the honevmnnn '
the Ulisculdcd mnn Aa,.n,.r.
' ----- - u.vvt-ao IU kUW
coming woman has arrived.