Lincoln County leader., December 21, 1906, Image 2

LINCOLN COUNTY LEADER
Is no limit to the fertility of humanity
In the matter of excuses.
It
l"lfHtltH'lltfHliWtH"H
MOBBED BY BEES.
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Bees abound In certain parts of
Abyssinia, and, as the land Is almost
waterless In tbe dry season, tbe In
sects suffer much from thirst In "The
Source of tbe Blue Nile" Is an Interest
ing account of the manner In which,
on bis Journey, the author was mobbed
by bees, which were after his drinking
water.
Every drinking vessel was crowded
with them. Our boys drank from cal
abashes, and when they were put upon
the ground, bees clustered on the edges
and crawled toward the liquor. Im
patient successors thronged upon the
first comers and pushed tbem Into tbe
water, so that In a few minutes tbe Bur
face was a mass of "struggle-for-llf-ers."
In spite of the beat we had to
keep moving; for when we settled, so
did the bees all over us.
We halted for luncheon In a small
ravine, and the bees did not find us
till we bad nearly finished tbe meal.
We smoked them with cigarettes, ci
gars, and a bonfire, to no purpose.
Then we shifted our quarters, but they
followed. All of us were stung, and
we were not quit of them till we
mounted our camels and outdistanced
the swarm.
They get their honey from the flow
ers of the mimosa-tree. We camped
that night among tbe mimosas, think
ing that we had been delivered from
the plague of Insects, but we were mis
taken. A host of the honey-seekers
thronged and crawled on one's candle,
one's book, one's face and one's bands,
adding Insult to Injury by stinging us.
It was more than twenty-four hours
before we were free from them.
Bllnerva of the Kettles.
A happy solution of the servant girl
question may evolve Itself from the
manual twining school connected with
tbe New York Juvenile Asylum, the ma
jority of whose charges are the chil
dren of Immigrants. In the dining
room some of the olaer girls wait on
the table, and young bands do the
work In the kitchen below. A descrip
tion of the Institution In the Metropoli
tan Magazine contains the following
Illustration of the wisdom of the young
pupils:
Each pupil Is put through an exact
training In preparing the food and serv
ing It Lists of food classified accord
ing to diet value are memorized from
neat copy books In which have been
entered tried receipts. The little maids
are greatly In demand, and are often
more proficient In culinary science than
their older mistresses.
One girl who was sent into the home
of a family la the country was request
to prepare a certain dish for tea.
"I am afraid It would not be appro
priate," the youthful Minerva of the
pots and kettles ventured. "It Is more
proper for breakfast, it requires such
awfully long digestion."
Old maids have a lot of rules for
wives.
c r. souir. Publisher
TOLEDO OREGON
It worries a woman terribly not to
Lave anything to worry over.
When money does not talk too much
It may properly be termed a modest
sum.
J. J. Hill's favorite hymn, "One
sweetly solemn thought comes to me
ore and ore."
Spelling reform will probably become
popular in penitentiaries If It proves to
shorten the sentence.
John D. Rockefeller Is earning his In
come by telling tbe plain people how
to behave themselves.
The unfortunate thing about a di
vorce Is tbat It seldoms cures tbe par
ties of the marrying habit
To the Russian terrorist It Is proba
bly immaterial whether he blows his
victim to pieces or scares him to death.
A good dinner produces tbe same
state of spiritual exaltation In a man
tbat u sight of a bargain produces In a
woinuu.
Surgeons found a gold nugget in tbe
appendix of a Colorado man. Of course
they announced that the operation was
a success.
A Joint debate between John D.
Rockefeller and William J. Bryan
would make an Interesting campaign
diversion.
. Upton Sinclair, author of "The Jun
gle," Is to go on the stage. It remains
to be Been whether he'll make good In
packing houses.
A Philadelphia court has ruled that
divorcees shull not marry the co-respondents
In their cases. That's one
way to check the divorce evlU
As another evidence of prosperity at
tention might be called to the freedom
with which the people Invest their
juoney In souvenir post cards.
Will that London alienist who Is sell
ing emotions In cupsule form please
send over a few that will make a fellow
In hard luck feel like a winner.
A New York monkey Jumped on a
live third rail a few days ago and was
Instantly killed. Sometimes a monkey
exhibits a lack of Intelligence tbat Is al
most human.
Chinese women are giving up the
practice of compressing their feet Civ
ilization Is making rapid strides. Some
of these days they will begin wearing
tight corsets.
President Roosevelt's spelling made
him say tbat we have "past" a pure
food law. This is unfortunate, but
perhaps If we sit down and wait a
while It will catch up with us.
The Canadian banking system Is be
ing adopted In Chicago. One of the
chief features of the system Is the fact
that when tbe depositors put money In,
it belongs to tbe depositors and not the
president
One of the latest portraits of Rud
yard Kipling Is a snapshot taken by
his wife. It shows him as he looks
while on his farm, but is fatal to his
reputation as a hard working farmer.
His trousers are creased.
Three years ago an old man became
111 on a Pennsylvania railway train. He
was kludly cured for by the candy
butcher.' A few days ago the old man,
who was a wealthy- manufacturer of
Coatesvllle, Pa., died and left $8,000
to the candy butcher. Always be kind
to old people who are traveling.
So far as It has been figured up at
Tokyo the' total money cost of the war
with Russia amounts to $1,100,000,000.
This does not Include the Interest on
tbe war debt to be paid hereafter. It
cost Great Britain little, If any, less
than that to conquer the small Boer re
publics of South Africa some $700,
000,000 being added to the principal of
England's public debt alone. Little less
amazing than Japan's overwhelming
of Russian power In eastern AbIs Is
the comparative smallness of the
money cost
When Alexander wept for more
worlds to conquer he could not of
course, have thought of the Arctic re
gions. A movement is now under way
In more than one country to lay claim
to tbe possession of portions of the vast
polar territory. The gluttonized mod
ern nation has to satisfy Its land hun
ger with these frozen sops. Canada
has sent a cruiser to the far north to
establish the Canadian title to much
of tbe land lying within the Arctic
circle Canada lays stress upon tbe
explorations of Hudson, Franklin, Mc
Keuzle and tbe many successful En
glish explorations which revealed tbe
north passage and all the land south
of tbe Arctic circle. But to say that
therefore the half-revealed territory In
tervening between these well-marked
channels and tbe pole should be col
ord red on tbe British maps Is to pre
sume too much. Tbe task of delinea
tion Is so hopeless and seemingly so
profitless that tbe suggestion to submit
the region to an International owner
ship as Is tbe high seas seems the most
sensible suggestion yet made. Tbe re
gion should continue to be named "No
Man's Land."
Tbe Chicago fruit dealers who have
been under censure for selling fruit In
baskets which do not hold the right
quantities have made a confession.
They have declared, what many a
householder discovered long ago. that
there Is a difference between a "bush
el" and a bushel. Cue of these terms
refers to a measure long since aban
doned, by all good dealers. The other
refers to a unit of price. The Britisher
who talks of the guinea knows well
that there Is no coin of that denomina
tion. In like manner, when the grocer
or fruit dealer speaks of a "bushel" he
has no reference at all to that old
fashioned measure mentioned In the
arithmetic. The dealer says that be Is
the Innocent victim of the basket
maker's deception. This latter Individ
ual makes a nice round basket with
splendid handles. The fruit looks well
In It when a bit of netting covers It
But when the purchaser proceeds to
remove the contents a big dent Is found
In the bottom of the basket and tbe
bushel Is discovered to be only a
"bushel" and the half-bushel nothing
but a "half bushel." One Is a unit of
measure. The other Is a unit of
price. There Is not a bit of doubt that
the basket makers reduce the capacity
of the measures they make. But a few
stiff fines Imposed upon the dealers
would soon put a stop to that. If every,
basket made by a certain firm was to be
rejected there would be a change In
methods in a remarkably short time.
The "bushel" basket Is not alone. It has
plenty of company. Not long ago a
Congressman from Chicago found, on
examination, that many a "pound" ar
ticle contained much less than a pound.
A "quart" bottle seldom holds a quart
A "pint" rarely Is a pint The custom
has become general In trade to scale
and cheat a little everywhere. Even
weights which are supposedly accurate
are found on testing to be faulty. The
shrinkage generally Is on the side of
the dealer. One never bears of the cus
tomer paying 20 cents for "a quarter."
The United States government Is work
ing toward a uniform system of
weights and measures. For a hundred
years things have run along haphazard.
The trusting public has been cheated
by dealers until It Is expected. No one
but a city Inspector hopes to get a
bushel for a "bushel." But a splendid
equipment has been provided at Wash
ington for the study of such matters,
and tbe time is not far distant when
tlie laws of the United States will cov
er coses of fraud In this direction. The
bureau of standards has already done
much during the short period of Its ex
istence. Its influence is sure to be felt
everywhere before many years.
Curious excuses are sometimes made
by lawbreakers and criminals for their
misdeeds. Thus, the late Jesse James
declared tbat he robbed banks and held
up trains because members of bis fam
ily had been cruelly treated during the
Civil War. The non sequltur Is amus
ing, but It Is not more so than the plea
of a Chicago young man who says that
be was so moved by the accidental
shooting of his brother some months
ago that be has since found no solace
save in stealing automobiles. There
MINGLING OF THE RACES.
Unman Life Much Like Plant Organ
isation, It Is Asserted.
In the course of many years of In
vestigation Into the plant life of the
world, creating new forms, modifying
old ones, adapting others to new con
ditions and blending still others, I have
constantly been Impressed with the
similarity between the organization
and development of plant and human
life, says Luther Burbank In the Cen
tury. While I have never lost sight of the
principle of the survival of the fittest
and all that It Implies as an explana
tion of the development and progress
of plant life, I have come to find In
the crossing of species and In selection,
wisely directed, a great and powerful
Instrument for the transformation of
the vegetable kingdom along lines that
lead constantly upward. The crossing
of species Is to me paramount. Upon
It wisely directed and accompanied by
a rigid selection of the best and as
rigid an exclusion of the poorest, rests
the hope of all progress. The mere
crossing of species, unaccompanied by
selection, wise supervision, Intelligent
care and the utmost patience, Is not
likely to result In marked good, and
ntay result In vast harm. Unorganized
effort Is often most vicious in its ten-
rial
TO HAZE SAFE THE MONEY IN BANKS.
By W. W. Newberry.
Do you ever worry about the safety of the
money you have deposited in tbe bank? Do
you realize tbat such a small sum as 43 cents
per annum would Insure against loss $1,000
deposited in a national bank?
We approach so closely to making absolutely
safe money deposited In banks and there Is
so much to be gained at such a comparatively
small cost It seems reasonable to suppose that
at no distant day the final steps will be taken and the
safety of deposits made certain.
The moral effect of a bank failure, which reaches far
beyond the financial sufferer, Is to be dreaded more than
the actual financial loss. The commercial disasters,
which usually follow In Its wake, are caused more by
delay In the depositors receiving what Is due them than
by ultimate loss, which, as a matter of fact, Is extremely
small. In order to counteract the moral effect of a bank
failure It sometimes becomes advisable for the clearing
house association of a city to go to the assistance of a
crippled bank or take over the assets and pay depositors
of a failing one. In view of the facts would It not be
good business to extend tbe above principle and the
American Bankers' Association Include all Its members?
This association now has a membership of over 8,000,
Including the largest financial Institutions In the country,
all banks and trust companies In the United States being
eligible to membership..
The American Bankers' Association should act for Its
members and by assessment create a guaranty fund with
which to meet losses through failures. Certain require
ments and restrictions unquestionably would be necessary
for members. Tbe association should have Its own corps
of examiners, eta Ways and means could be devised
readily for the organization of a guaranty department,
which would be upon tbe mutual plan.
DO Y0TJE CHRISTIAN DUTY.
By Juliet V. Strauss.
I put In a good deal of time pity
ing people who go to church seeking
tbe consolation of religion, and do
not find it They can't go to the fine
1 fi-S. ivOi
wSf H cnurcnes, tne elegance of It all scares
them away; besides they are Imbued
to?
j 1 x'-ftiTi"""'
with the American Idea (fallacious In
deed) that there Is In some way an
3J equality between man and man, so
they flock to some poorer sanctuary,
where, a pitiful company of God's
great family, they Indulge In Invective
mbs. stsavss. against the rich and proud, and seek
to ease their sore hearts In uncouth song and strange,
Incoherent prayer.
Every now and then one runs up against a person who
has religion, and It Is Just fine when one does. I went
one day, to the home of an old woman to ask her to
take care of a poor erring girl who was sick In my care.
She didn't want to do It very much, but finally she said,
with a look of genuine religious fervor on her old face:
"Well, I will do It, for somebody must, and we live In a
Christian land."
How often I have wished that everybody realized as
she did his responsibility as a citizen of a "Christian
land." But the trouble Is, we mistake the duties of
that responsibility. Tbe most Important ones are so
small that we overlook them. We continually forget that
our duty to God Is through his children. Remember
"Abou Ben Adhem," who bad never thought about loving
God. He hadn't time to think about It; he was busy
loving his fellow men.
Did you ever notice In a family of children there Is
sure to be one -who will hustle around and keep trying to
attract attention? He will tell on the others and persist
ently show off, and boast about what be has done. But
the parent holds In her heart of hearts the child who.
goes steadily on doing little helpful things as a matter of
course, scarcely thinking It worth while to mention tbem.
It Is puerile and silly to strive for a good standing with
God, for He knoweth our frame, He remembereth tbat we
are dust Better, much better, to seek to please our
selves, to follow our own highest Ideal to do tbe thing
that make us feel easy with our consciences, no matter
what others may say, for as Elbert Hubbard somewhat Ir
revently puts It, "Let God shift for Himself."
ATHLETICS IN HIGH SCHOOL LIFE.
By Prof. Fassett A. Cotton
The tendency on tbe part of tbe high schools
to ape college life Is to be discouraged always,,
for tbe reason that most frequently the least
desirable phases are copied. Secret societies
have no place In tbe high school and should
not be tolerated. Class yells and class colors
and excessive class spirits are very frequently
breeders of rowdyism.
It Is not the intention at all to convey the- -
impression that there is to be no fun or Joy in the high
scliuul. Oil the contrary, every day bhuuid be full of joy
and cheer that come with doing good work and living for
something that Is worth while. Class "scraps," hazing
and rowdyism are neither humorous nor conducive to
real manhood and womanhood.
Athletic work has assumed a place In the school world,
that Is simply out of all proportion to Its merits. It has
taken possession of our colleges and universities to such
an extent that In the student world an Institution Is:
Judged by Its athletics. But there Is a tendency Just at
present on the part of some colleges and universities to
throw off the yoke. This Intense athletic spirit has
taken hold of some of our high schools and In some In
stances seems to be the dominant force.
nowever, every high school should be equipped with,
a good gymnasium and the boys and girls should have
constant systematic training In physical culture. This
training should be supplemented with play. Iuterclass
games can be made healthful and helpful sport and can.
be kept secondary to the real purpose of school life.
CURSE OF TOADYING TO WEALTH.
By Rev. Dr. S. P. Caiman
There Is a natural tendency among men of
great wealth to ossify. They regard them
selves as apart from the people, as great and
afar off, and hold themselves as immune not
only from their fellows, but from the opera
tions of the laws that have been formulated
for the protection of all. That Is the result
with all men who toady to money or who be
long to the aristocracy that depends not unon
birth, culture or attainment but upon the possession of
vast sums of money. One of the greatest curses with
which we have to contend arises from the adulation of
any particular class that leads us to forget equality.
The true American would as soon read the history of
a goodly washerwoman as that of the greatest society
leader that ever lived. Franklin never asserted equality.
He took It as his own natural life and said nothing about
It It was the average man from whom Franklin came.
He couldn't rise, for he never had fallen, and he couldn't
sink because that quality wasn't In him.
"WHEN THE LEAVES BEGIN TO FALL
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