Lincoln County leader., February 22, 1901, Image 2

TUUiDO ..OREGON.
The greatest book of the century, says
an exchange, Is the check book.
Now that even telephoning without
wires is spoken of, there's certainly
something in the air.
It must be quite unhealthful to live
over 100 years, Judging from the way
persons above the age are dying off.
The general impression seems to be
that the .world's nineteenth-century
run was a very fair accomplishment.
A vaudeville trust has been organ
ized, but there Is little reason to hope
that it will throw out any of the old
jokes.
Does Ignatius Donnelly know abso
lutely now whether there really was a
Baconian cipher in Mr. Shakspeare's
plays or not? r
Instead of giving the expression a
bicycle flavor by remarking a man has
wheels, the up-to-date terms Is he's off
on his automobile.
The man who lnveuted the photo
graphic film died the other day In New
Jersey. To the uninitiated this may
. - , . .- 1.,.. 9 .. ...
Fcoplc are so Impressed with the
wondrous possibilities of the new
century they are asking where will they
end. About the only answer at hand Is
they'll end in precisely a hundred years
from date.
It conveys a rather striking idea of
the growth of the country In popula
tion to consider that the two States of
Iowa and Minnesota contain together
more inhabitants than did the country
over which Washington became Presi
dent In 1780.
With a man dead from being hanged
In a joke and a woman killed by alt
ting down at a chair that was pulled
away, we do not need a dldu't-know-lt-was-loaded
case to remind us that some
folk are getting just too funny for any
thing but the penitentiary.
The first American deep-sea cable
was laid lost summer across one of the
broad Alaskan bays, and the work of
continuing the connecting land line up
the Yukon valley is now going forward.
Iron masts are used in place of timber.
A hole Is chopped In the eternal Ice,
and the pole soon tlnuly set by pouring
a little water around It Into the hole.
This rapidly congeals, and unless dis
turbed In some other wny will remain
frozen forever. Evidently, "unstable as
water, thou shalt not excel," was not
spoken of Alaska 1
Heredity does not determine courage,
or Its opposite, but the constitutional
tendency may be clearly marked
through generations. A recent rescue
of shipwrecked persons off Grand Ma
nun is the subject of a report from our
consul at St, John, New Brunswick.
During a period of more than seventy
five years, grandfather, father and sons
of a certain family hav repeatedly
saved life or piloted vessels out of dan
ger. It Is said that the Canadian gov
ernment Is to give the rescuers suitable
testimonials. The whole world Is a
debtor to Its heroes of peace. To
strengthen the courageous purjKwe of
others by brave doing or enduring Is
to fulfill one puriose of living.
It cannot possibly "make a man" or
a boy to pour a peppery sauce down his
throat; to pour hot grease on his feet;
to pull him at ulght out of bed Into the
dirt and mire of the street; to compel
him to persist lu a gesture or movement
till ho faints '"tmi ngouy; to make him
stand on his ucad In a bathtub; or ride
logs and slug senseless verses; to goad
him Into offensive replies and then
challenge him to fight a higher-class
man of more experience, with the re
sult of being knocked out by a blow
in tho stomach and dlsilgured with cuts
about the face; to bedevil him night
and day so that his nerves shall be un
strung and study and success in exam
inations will become Impossible, caus
ing him to be expelled finally.
An Illustration of the present eager
ness of practically all nations for
oceanic Islands Is furnished by Trance
In Its attempt at Introducing sheep-rals
ing on Kerguelen Island, about half
way between Africa and Australia
Theso new sheep-raisers will be nearer
tho south polo than any other Pacific
Islanders and the most southerly people
on an oceanic Island. The Island of
Kerguelen for many years was claimed
by both British and French geogra
phers, but as It was not supposed to bo
of any special value no steps were
taken by either government for the for
mal occupation of tho lonely Isle. In
185)3 France formally annexed tho Is!
and, owing to accounts from tho
French Island of Reunion. Inhabitants
of the latter found that Kerguelen had
an abundance of fish, that It was a ro
sea lions, valuable on account
oil; that there were a number
harbors, that lignite for fuel
.n found. Moreover, as the lsl--.
.es liear the sailing route between
Australia, the East Indies and Ch'nese
waters, t would be a good place for a
supply station. Although the annual
temperature ts only 10 or 12 degrees
above the freezing point there Is a strip
or zone of grass oa the Island, and
now the attempt will be made to begin
the sheep-raising lnductry. If this can
be combined with the other advantages
there will at leas! he a chance for hardy
colonists to make a living on this other
wise desolate isle.
A novel case has leen decided by a
New York court. A passenger brought
suit against the New York Central
Railroad for being deprived of his seat
In the car. The question involved was
whether a man, when he puts his valise
or any hand baggage Into a seat, there
by reserving It for his own occupancy,
is legally and morally entitled to It.
The court decided that when a passen
ger buys a ticket he presumes that he
Is to get a seat, and unless there is
some unusual condition he Is legally en
ttlled to It. If he enters an ordinary
coach where no seats are reserved and
there Is no trainman to usher him to a
seat. It Is the custom of railway com
panies to allow the passenger to choose
his own seat. This practically amounts
to a regulation of the company. There
fore, the court ruled. If a person occu
pied a seat and then for any reason
Jf t without v. soTTic wny marking
It as reserved by himself and returned
to find It occupied by another passen
ger, he has no right to ask that passen
ger to give up the seat. If. however,
he leaves his cane, umbrella or hand
bag in his seat when be goes to the
platform to buy a paper, or for any
purpose, and finds his baggage moved
and the seat occupied by another, he
has a legal right as well as moral right
to that seat. The court further held
that a passenger was entitled to but
one seat, and could not reserve one
seat In an ordinary coach while occu
pying another seat In a smoking car.
This decidos a point which has been
raised thousands of times on railway
train 8.
In its broadest statement the prob
lem of the world's economy Is to de
velop and give scope of Individual orig
inality, the beuetits of whose exercise
are registered In Individual character
as well as lu objective results. The
English economist, Marshall, however,
declares that one-half of the power of
human Initiative Is suppressed by the
present social order, and It is not diffi
cult to accept the statement. The hap
py Instances where Individuals manipu
late circumstances so as to bring out
striking results are rendered the more
conspicuous by the number of other In
dividuals who entirely fail not only of
such achievement but of anything com
parable thereto. And yet It is known
that these others grade only somewhat
below the first In capacity. Of all the
stupendous waste exhibited In the
physical and moral world this Is per
haps the most tragic In character aud
consequences. Yet It Is enacted unob
trusively and with little dramatic ef
fect It Is typified by the circum
scribed career of the working class boy
who, at 14 years, passes from the influ
ence of the 'graded" system of educa
tion to 'teud a machine" for ten hours a
day. The lot of the few who enjoy
more elastic and extended educational
opportunities and a more adequate field
of action thereafter is more In the pub
lic eye. Theirs, however, Is ut the lot
of "the great majority." Among the
latter there Is uo Inconsiderable pro
portion whose power of ludlvlduai Ini
tiative Is but meagerly developed nad
whose potential contribution to the
world's enterprise Is never realized.
There can be no doubt that the domi
nant aim of the ceutury which has Just
closed has been commercial rather than
humanistic. It has been the century
of wealth-making. It has launched an
entire series of world's fairs. It ha
established free public schools and
alollshed slavery, both of which acta
ntcan accelerated material develop
ment. It has built great cities with
their lack of art. It has gone haltingly
forward with Its uewly dmanded fac
tory laws. It has neglected persons as
conscious objects. It has trusted for
salvation to the Instinct of gain. It has
jH'.rhaps with some twinges of con
science assured all meu that the cur
rent waste of tlesh and brain was In
evitable and that there could be no bet
ter way. The problem of this century
Is to work out that higher economy lu
which there shall not only be a still
butter ddmted effort to effect material
saving but In which the emphasis shall
be shifted from the material product to
tho human agent In which social ad
vauoe rather thau the Instinct of profit
making or even of vast organization
Khali more effectually dictate action.
This does not moan the retarding of
material progress. Quito the contrary.
The bettor the man the better his prod
uct. And a century whose conscious
effort shall be to make all existing prog
ress convergo upon the development of
Its people and upon Insuring scope to
their capacities will realize a peculiar
quality aou profusion of productive expression.
lffvention
Telephonic communication has been
established between St Michael and
Nome by means of a temporary sub
marine cable. The toll Is $2 for ten
words. j
It has been demonstrated by actual
experiments, observes Science and In
dustry, that many of our wild forest
plants produce seeds that when burled
In the earth retain vitality for ten to
thirty years.
Recently an Institution was opened
in Belgium for the alleged cure of tu
berculosis by the exclusive raw meat
diet. After a trial of a few months the
experiment was abandoned, as it was
found that there was no efficacy In the
Iilchet cure.
Various scientific departments in En
gland recently held a conference in
which they sought to obtain govern
ment powers for protecting the delicate
Instruments in the Kew and Green
wich observatories from any magnetic
disturbances that arise from the work
ing of electric tramways and railways
in their vicinity.
The huaimlng noise produced by the
bees and tiles expresses a musical no
tation. Thus the common bouse fly
often produces the sound F. In order
to do this the creature must vibrate
times a second. The honey bee fre
quently produces the sound A, and
vibrates Its wings 20,400 times a min
ute or 440 times a second. In this way
one can ascertain the number of vibra
tions the little creatures are produc
ing with their wings by finding out
what note they are humming.
The Rev. J. M. Bacon, F. R. S., pro
poses to make a billoon ascent during
one of the thick, impenetrable fogs
which visit London during the winter
months. He proposes to ascend to the
higher limits of the fog and to explore
scientifically Its constitution. He also
proposes to discharge small cartridges
of guncotton at great heights, in order
to ascertain whether the concussion
will dislodge or disperse the fog In any
way. ne has carried out several ex
periments with similar cartridges for
acoustical purposes, at varying alti
tudes. Mr. E. N. Buxton, in discussing the
question of the preservation, of ' big
game In Africa, points out the great
difficulty of protecting elephants, on
account of the high market value of
their tusks, aud then avers that per
sonally he Is opposed to the destruc
tion of elephants at all, on the ground
that, valuable as they are for their
Ivory, they might be still more valuable
as weight carriers. The Idea of em
ploying elephants as domestic animals
of burden is not new, and many have
testified to the patient and effective
manner In which they apply their enor
mous strength In the service of man.
An age as great as 5,000 years has
sometimes been ascribed to the giant
trees of California. Prof. Charles E.
Bessey, of the University of Nebraska,
regards this estimate as very much ex
aggerated. He says that be once
counted with great care the rings of
growth of a tree felled In 1833. and
which was fully 24 or 25 feet In diame
ter, so that Its stump served as the
floor of a dancing pavilion. The rings
numbered 1,147, and that number
would represent the age of the tree In
years. Prof. Bessey adds that he
gravely doubts wliether any of the ex
isting trees approach the age of 2,000
years.' w '
TOLD BY THE OLD CIRCUS MAN.
Olant Has a Little Fun on Ilia Own Ac
count with liootblacks.
"Sometimes," said the old circus man,
"the greatest of all giants would have
a little fun on his own account; niebbe
with the bootblacks. I don't suppose
that anything ever feazed a bootblack,
probably he'd offer to black the boots
of a man tall as a church steeple and
with shoes as big as the meeting house
if one came his way; but, anyhow, the
bootblacks used to offer to black the
giant's shoes wheu the great man took
his walk through the town. Just as
they would offer to black any man's,
"Sometimes the giant would look
down on the boy aud then at his own
shoes, and then back up against the
sldewall of some building somewhere,
where there was room and no awnings
In the way, aud get his shoes blacked
The giant always considered It a sort
of Joke on the boys to accept their of
fer, but the boys never appeared to be
put out by It; on the contrary, they
were always ready, as they would have
been, as I said. If he had been twice as
big. And It was more fun than you
could slink? a stick at to see the way
they went at It, aud the glaut enjoyed
this as much as anybody.
"Of course, no one box would support
the giant's foot, unless he balanced It
on It very carefully, and the boy that
got tho Job always. Invariably, called
In other boys all the bootblacks In
that town were sure to be right around
there, and I've often seen five boot
blacking boxes under one of the giant's
feet at one time, and live boys at work
on that one shoe. They'd get the giant i
to raise that foot, and then they'd put'
four boxes under the sole and one by
itself under the heel. And then they'd i
get at It. The boy with the heel box'
would stay at that end and black the
heel and rear end of the shoe. The
boys, one on each side, with the two
boxen under the sole nearest the shank
of th shoe, would work on the sides
of the shoe from the shank up, and
the two boys with the boxes at the
forward end, one of these always be
ing1 the boy that bad struck the job,
would bang away on the upper.
"With so many of 'em at it at once
they'd make a fairly quick job of It.
notwithstanding the si.e of the giant's
shoes, and when they'd got through
the four boys that had been called in .
would shoulder their kits and step
away, unconcerned as could be, and
the boy that had got the job would
shoulder his kit and wait for his pay.
Three cents was the price of a shine
In those days this was before the war ,
and I don't doubt the boy would have
taken 3 cents for this job and never
said boo. But there was not anything
mean or small about the "giant. He(
ciuin t give the noy ft cents ana pass
on, nor 3 cents to bother him a little,
and then give him a quarter; but he'd
just hand him down five passes to the
show, one for each boy.
"Of course, he couldn't have done
anything that would give the boys
more pleasure. And the whole busi
ness was a great experience for them.
They got passes to the show, and they
got them from the giant, and they were
easily the star bootblacks In the town,
for they had just successfully com
pleted the greatest job In their line
that anybody had ever heard of. It
was fun. all this, for the great giant.
but I don't believe any of us could
compute. If we tried, the deep-down
Joy It gave the bootblacks." Chicago
Inter Ocean.
AMERICANS ARE FAR AHEAD
Machinists of This Conntry Have No
Equals in Any Other Land.
One of the greatest obstacles to the
general Introduction of American ma
chine tools Into continental Europe Is
the Ignorance of the average European
machinist. This Is especially true of
the higher classes of machine tools,
The Intelligence which euables an
American mechanic to understand and
operate a machine seems to be dor
mant or entirely wanting In bis Eu
ropean brother. The American Manu
facturer quotes the sales manager of
one of the leading manufactories of
machine tools in this country as say
ing: "Install A fine mnchlnp In n shnn fin
tho onntin.ni .t nniu ft, m.l
has sent with It from the works an ex
pert to break the dunderheads Into the
using of It the chances are three to
one that the perfect mechanism will
be a wreck Inside of forty-eight hours
after the power Is applied to It. Ac
customed, to work with tools that are
crude and simple, compared with the!? Io.8 bi t ? f01)'? knw lh,at 1
Ingenious and Intricate American in
ventions, the operating machinists of
Europe are slow to comprehend the
latter and often do them a lot of dam
age by stupid handling. These facts
are so well recognized by our machine
tool builders that when giving an esti
mate on any considerable amount of
work care Is had to add enough to the
price to cover the sending of a man.
or men, to install the machines and
stay with them until they have proved
their merits."
Conundrums
What Is higher and handsomer when
the head Is off? A pillow.
When Is a lady's arm not a lady's
arm? When It Is a little bare?
What Is that which cats have that
nothing else has? Kittens.
When may a chair be said to dislike
you? When It can't bear you.
What sort of countenance Is welcome
to an auctioneer? One that Is forbid
ding. What does a lamp-post become when
the lamp Is removed? A lamp lighter.
Where was Napoleon going when he
was 39 years old? Into his fortieth.
What letter in the alphabet Is most
useful to a deaf woman? A. because
It makes her hear.
Why Is a clock a symbol of modesty?
Because It covers Its face with Its
hands and runs down Its own works.
What nation does a criminal dread
most? Condemnation.
Why was the first day of Adam's life
the longest ever known? ' Because It
had no Eve.
What did the spider do when he came
out of the ark? Took a fly and went
home.
Archbishop's Apt Hetort,
The archbishop of Dublin recently
performed a marriage In the family of
a wealthy Irish distiller. After the
breakfast tne distiller thanked the
" : : ll, T ,n
luu..,. ,.,, , ir m. soare or
IVhT've "The ,h Zuu
took his leave. The Lord be with
you." "And with thy spirit," Is report
ed to have been the rejoinder,
A wise old tiller of the soil sueaklns
of the' relative value of grains fays
grains of common Bcnse are the most
valuable. .
When a woman discloses a secret It Is
always with telling effect
YOUNG VIOLINIST.
Little Chicago Girl Who P ays the
Most I ifficntt Music at sight.
Little 7-year-old Mabel Woodworth,
of Chicago, Is something of a musical
prodigy. She plays the violin and plays
it in a manner to cause some profes
sionals of three times her years to won
der and envy. Mabel Is small for her
age, really appearing to be not over 5,
and she performs on a little violin that
was made to order, so that her tiny
Angers could manage all the strings
easily. Recently her parents have rec
ognized the child's marked musical abil
ity and are now giving her the advan
tages of Instruction under one, of the
best professors In the city. Mabel has
already played a good deal in public,
particularly at church and lodge con
certs, and she never falls to elicit the
plaudits of her audience. She. reads
the most difficult music at sight and
will be a wonderful player not many
years hence if she continues to practice
as faithfully as she does now.
Gravedigger Lost His Job.
"When I was a boy," said the vet
eran, as be puffed on his strong cigar
after dinner, "I remember there was
an awful scandal in our town a little
country place because a temporary
gravedlgger, who had been hired to do
j the work wnen 0,e regular hand was
111, burled a man with his feet to the
I west Ours was a religious, as well as
a superstitious, town. Among the older
people there was a well-grounded be
lief that a person must be interred with
his feet to the east, so that when Ga
briel's trumpet should sound for the
final awakening the dead should be
able to face the angel on arising. This -new
gravedlgger couldn't have known
tradition, or he would' not have
flown In the face of superstition and
buried his victim with his feet to the
west. The thing made such a scandal
that they actually disinterred the body
and turned the coffin around so that
the dead man should rest In the right
position. Of course, the new gravedlg-
UUTt; UlUUftUI Ul IUC lUUUl'Ul 1U1 It lUUg
time, until I had to go to Woodlawn
cemetery a short time ago to attend
the bnrlal of a friend. Then, for the
first' time, It dawned on me that there
had been a change In the superstition,
and that it bad probably been wholly
lost to sight, as have so many of the old
ones. I noticed that the direction In
which bodies are burled now seems to
be settled by the direction of the path
In front of the plat you own; that Is,
that Interments are made with the feet
pointing toward the path, no matter In
what compass direction they may
point" New York Times.
Bad tor the Counsel.
The fair plaintiff's counsel in the
breach of promise case thought that he
would make life a burden to the unfor
tunate young man who was the unwill
ing defendunt.
"Do you mean to say," he asked after
a lot of embarrassing questions, "that
after you had been absent for an entire
month you did not kiss the plaintiff, to
whom you were engaged to be mar
ried, when you first saw her on your
return?"
"I do," responded the defendant
firmly.
"Will you make that statement to
the Jury?"
"Certaluly, If necessary."
."Do you think they would believe
you?"
' "One of them would, I know."
"Ah. lndeedl Why should he?"
"Because he was piesent when I first
saw her. He was at the gate when I
rode up, and she stuck her hand out of
the feeeond story window, and I asked
her, 'How d'ye do?' and said I'd be
back to supper In half an hour. I'm no
giraffe." New York World.
Divorce Laws In Canada.
In Canada the man or woman who
wnt er the bonds of matrimony
, mst go before the dominion parlla-
When the cml"e divorce
n th Rpnnt t.b.
- - ...Mid iuc vaae auu
goes over the details very thoroughly,
and If, In the opinion of the commit
tee, the testimony warrants the grant-
j of a divorce, the report to that
; cffect '9 made and both houses concur
In a bill giving the required relief.
Lost wealth may be recovered, but
j lost time never.
MM
MABEL WOODWORTH.
i