The Oregon daily journal., January 15, 1904, Page 4, Image 4

PORTLAND, OREGON
FRIDAV, JANUARY 15, 1904
THE OREGON DAILY
AK
C ft. JACKSON
Published every evening (except Sunday) at .The Journal Building, fifth and
A BEGINNING, BUT MUCH MORE NEEDED.
ATHE MEETING held last evening admirably met the
I? v. temporary exigency In the public schools and to
' this degree acquitted itself . well. It did better
than there wad reason to hope for a few weeks ago, but
at the same time it may be said that it has only scratched
the surface. The big broad question of what must be done
to save the public schools, or. to even
plane with those of our neighbors to the north and south,
It still with us as insistently as It ever was.
We have now reached a stage in :Portland when tt is
ndTbngeF$os"sT5
ter. Wrapped up In the solution of the question, before us
is , the future of the schools themselves. It is a matter
iwhlch affects directly or remotely every man, woman and
child in Portland and' it is a matted which concerns the
future welfare of every minor in out whole population. In
the Judgment of The Journal, in a direct local sense, it is
! the most vital question which the city faces. No one
Should be satisfied with what was done at last night's
meeting.-That at best only meets the immediate pressing
conditions. To fully meet the real issue it is necessary to
go a much longer and harder road,
. The necessary steps should not be lightly undertaken.
lAs a preliminary we should first get our bearings. What
do the public schools require to bring them up to the
highest standards that have been attained elsewhere?
(What do we need in he way -of- well-built and well
equipped schools and open air playgrounds? What do we
need in the way of added facilities for extending and bet
tering our' educational system, say in the matter of kinder-,
gartena and manual training school, not to mention -detailed
improvements in the extstlhg methods? These and
Buch as these are the questions which we must face. To
face them a commission is needed to make a close study
of our existing system and a still closer study of the
systems in vogue elsewhere and which are becoming to be
recognized as models of excellence and efficiency. From
this point the matter of -cost will come up for considera
tion and how to meet it. The only outlet, if wa are to do
tne tning rignt, is tnrougn me wsuance
this report has been prepared and fully
should be submitted to the people for
, .. . . .. Jt J U. 1. i. 1 1 1 1 3
. Portland to have a proud standing
Vtorld, if we propose to do the patriotic
.which circumstances have thrust upon
one way to do it and that is the right
timent should Insist upon the appointment of a commis
sion composed, of real live men and those' who have the
good of the public schools at heart should not rest until
this is accomplished.
A PRACTICAL" RESULT. OF
MEETING.
'A CCEPTING their .own freely made expressions as
A proof those who attended the National Livestock
association meetings are glad they came to Port
land. They are pleased with what they have - seen and
they, are delighted with the cordial reception which has
been accorded ? them- on every hand.. The .business of
entertaining national 'conventions I is somewhat new to
Portland In comparison with some of , the interior cities of
the continent. It is not so centrally situated as to appeal
to the interests of many special classes and to some it is
so far west as to be outside of what might be called their
bailiwick. But In a fashion not. exactly tumultuous, and
not nearly bo spectacular as the stockmen have been used
to in some cities in which they have met,- Portland has
jnade them feel that they were entirely welcome and there
jvaa a cordiality and .warmth about the reception which
left nothing to be desired. , I i .' (
' So far as the special livestock Interest is concerned cir
cumstances transpired to make of the convention one of
the most important that has ever been held. The cattle
and sheep men, are closer together, than' ever before In
all history. The matter of range rights is better under
stood and its equities better appreciated than ever be
fore. Besides all this it has opened to the view of the
Btockmen themselves a vast region which has never
figured very much in the calculations of the national range
men. They nave discovered that here, too, stock raising
U a matter of very great interest and involved In it are
come of the same problems which have confronted it else
where. They have observed, too, economic features ' of
the business which hitherto have escaped them. Aa an il
lustration they have discovered that this section is al
ready drawing even east of the Rocky mountains for some
of its supplies and that here is an opportunity for the
erection of a great packing plant which can no longer,, be
overlooked. They do 'not see the good business sense of
carrying beef products 2,000 to 2,500 miles, after having
cent them 1,000, 1,600 or 2,000 miles on the hoof. They
realise that there Is not alone this immediate market to
cover, but there is the still greater market across the
XA2TT KX.EBT AT BOMB.
Divorce Xwyer Bays Trom BOO to 1,000
- Wedded Couple Do Hot Speak.
From a New York Special.
A. H. Hummel, who has . been em
ployed as an attorney in many divorce
suits, in discussing matrimonial troubles
today, said: "From my experience as
a lawyer in cases of matrimonial , in
felicity I should say there were between
COO and 1,000 homes in this city where
absolute silence reigns between husband
and wife. It may be that the husband
and wife eat et the same table and see
each other frequently, but for all that
passes between them one might as well
be a dweller at the north pole and the
other live at the south pole. Completely
out of sympathy with each . other,
hating, in truth, each other's presence,
they yet continue to live in the came
house for the most part to avoid scan
lal, but vast stretches of land and sea
could not separate them more than they
are veparated now In very fact
1 '"The caan, therefore, of Mrs. Arthur
L. J. Smith,, who Is. suing for a legal
separation, and charges that for months
her husband, the millionaire real estate
dealer and clubman, has refused to
vpeak to her. Is not at all unusual. ; Mr.
and Mrs. Smith continue to live together
In their Mansion at 110 Prospect Park
West. Brooklyn, , but for a long time
their 9-yesr-old . son has had to carry
messages between them whenever it has
boea strictly necessary for them to com
munlcatsW .. ' - .'"
"It may be asked why a woman with
any pride continues to submit to such
treatment? ; The answer in Mrs. Smith's
rase. is that she is absolutely dependent
on her husband for support, and would
have no other home to go t,o should
ithe leave his and I imagine that is also
true of many other women whose hus.
imnds nre, treating; them ss absolute
Krsngera1- The)r necessity 'compels
ihm to awatlow their pride.; or It. may
In some of the cases that never reach
ih -olihs limt the wiffl continues to
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHED BY JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
OFFICIAL, PAPER OF THB CITY OF
Pacific ocean which
tage ground. As
Ishlng success, one
of them at Portland.
place them "upon a
S'
OMB of the
of the ill
or Donas, wnen
digested then It"
consideration. If
tM I-
In the educational
and humane duty
us, there is only
way. Public sen
THE STOCK
stockmen, but all
in contact.'
SOME
P
ORTLAND can
period the
footed a total of
cannot be finished
local sense is the
as the figures indicate it. The total amount of money rep
resented by the
the buildings as a
' The effect of the
the growth of the
remarkable rapidity
Itself, The present
the past year In the
from appearances
own in the relative
reason that her pride will not permit
her to leave it.
- Supposing, for Instance, that she has
married against the wishes of her par
ents or that tt wta a match which was
disapproved by her friends, or that she
has done a little boasting of what a fine
husband ehe had won, it is easy to
understand that it would take a great
deal to compel her to admtt openly that
her marriage has been a failure.
"In many cases the husband shuts his
mouth along with his heart against his
wife because he fancies or has reasons
to believe that Bhe has been unfaithful.
Dreading a scandal for his children's
sake or. for some other reason, he con
dones her conduct to the extent of per
mitting her to continue to occupy his
house, and even provides liberally for
her various needs; but and there draws
the line sharply and distinctly she
must not speak to him.
"In nearly every bouse of silence, I
suppose, there must eventually come a
crash. Perhaps the wife Is only wait
ing to establish a good case of cruelty
against her husband that will enable
her to leave him and get alimony, and
perhaps the husband ie waiting to col
lect the evidence that he hopes will en
title him to an absolute divorce.
"And even in those cases where pride
and the dread of a scandal hold the
couple together,' it is not to be sup
posed that the unnatural, silence can last
forever. Sooner or later it will get on
the man's or the woman's nerves or on
the nerves., of both,. and then will come
an explosion and, perhaps, sensational
revelations."' "
. : ; ' Xessev JBvU.
: From the Omaha World-Herald.
A merchant at Friend, Neb., was given
his choice between the penitentiary and
a horsewhipping. He quickly compared
the probable nunsber pf stripes in the
one cafe with those In the other and
chosa the horsewhipping.
Z2i":r " -
- The production of coins dated 104' la
nowiunder way. But the goods are no
better for being fresh.
JOURNAL,
JNa F, CARROLL
Yamhill streets, Portland, Oregaa.
PORTLAND
they could best reach from this van
It appears to them there would be big
money in three' great packing plants on the Pacific coast
-J-one at San Francisco, already established and a flour
at Los Angeles and the greatest of all
All of these conclusions based upon expert opinion and a
realization "of the needs give; an entirely new aspect and
practical Value to the question so far as It relates to
Portland. It Is one of those questions which should re
ceive immediate attention and consideration. :,.'' j
But in the meantime The Journal wlsnes to tender the
Qua sessions which it has held here and the signal ability
displayed by the members individually and in the mass in
handling the knotty questions which, came before them.
They have well deserved the high compliment paid them
by President E. Benjamin; Andrews of the .Nebraska state
university, who marveled at their readiness in debate, their
keen understanding and the capacity which so many of
them displayed for genuine oratory. We hope they will
all go away well pleased with Portland, as. Portland has
been delighted with them, and that we will see them again
in the good old summer time of 1905 when the. big show
is on.
THEY MADE A FINE IMPRESS ION.
trouble of the world and very much
will which is frequently aroused be
tween individuals is directly traceable to the
fact that one or both sides is under a false impression
with reference to the other. If each were fully acquainted
with the real purposes of the ' other, there would very
often be plain sailing and happy accord instead of sus
picion, recriminations and discord. Mr . ; 5. 1 t ,
Hence it was an exceedingly wise move on the part of
the government to send to the convention two men who
come into closer contact and at more conflicting points
with the stockmen than perhaps any other representatives
of the administration. These . two men are Gltford Fin
chot, head forester, and Mr. Newell, at the head of the
geologic survey under whose control are the governmental
projects for the reclamation of the government's arid
lands. It is not too much to say that both these gentle
men produced a profoundly favorable impression upon all
of those whom they met. The purposes of the department
in both of these important directions were made frankly
plain. It is not "after',' any of the stock interests but
simply proposes after proper study has been given to
individual projects, to carry them through on scientific
Ind businesslike lines for the benefit of the whole section
in'-which they have been projected. . Their purposes are
not political; they are not tied to any machine or faction,
but wishTlcrdearwltlitheaifficult questions before them
so as to accomplish the greatest possible good to the j
greatest possible number There are three irrigation proj
ects under consideration in Oregon and it Is possible,
if all the conditions prove favorable, that work upon one
of them may be begun before the close of this. year.
The visit of these two officials has therefore done much
for the cause which they seek to serve, and they have
advanced that cause most amazingly, not only among the
the people with whom they have come
-'
EXPRESSIVE FIGURES.
well afford to let tne figures speak
for themselves during the year 1903. During that
building permits taken out in this city
$4,281,056. Much of that work has beeq
practically completed, ' the most notable exception being
the government work in progress at the postofflce which
for a year and a half yet
But the most striking feature of the figures in a purely
relative growth on each side of the river
permits for. the year on the east side
amounted to $1,585,186 and on the west side $2,695,870.
The total number of buildings for which permits were taken
out was 1,028 on the east side and 610 on the west. side.
The .average costof,the former, was $1,643 and of the
latter $4,419. The average on the west side of the river
is, however, considerably Increased by the big amount of
money which Is going into public buildings. It is quite
evident that the growth of the city has been much greater
on the east side than the west side, though the quality of
'general rule Is much less costly.
figures will prove very stimulating to
east section, which is developing with
even beyond the confines of the city
year promises to beat the record of
number of new buildings erected and
the east side will more than hold Its
growth.
"court rzAjrasT" roa saxtz.
President Alexia Xlres a Sfew York Ve
gro at a Big Salary.
From the New York Sun,
A great honor has been thrust upon
Ford Davney, a negro piano player of
Washington. He has been engaged as
pianist to President Nord Alexis of
Haiti. Davney will create the part, so
to speak, for he will be the first official
pianist at what is being called by his
friends and associates the "Haitian
court."
The engagement is for a period of
four months, and the salary Is an
nounced to be $6,000. Davney was en
gaged through Joseph Jefford, a special
envoy of Haiti to this country. Davney
delighted Mr. Jefford by playing "Under
the Bamboo Tree,'" and 'Tell Me, Dusky
Maiden." at a hotel in Fifty-third street
where both were staying.
'1 think the president of Haiti would
be pleased to hear you plays" said Jef
ford tb Davney, bne day last week. "He
Is very fond of I music. I'll write him
about you."
On Saturday he told Davney:
"The president wants you to come to
Haiti at once. You are to be special
court pianist for four months at a sal
ary of $6,000." ;
Davney accepted and the pair are to
sail for Port au Pf Ince 'tomorrow.
Davney played once for the late presi
dent McKinley at the White House. He
has been playing recently at private
parties given by white folk. He says he
expects to play only classical music "at
the court of Hattt." Ragtime will be
barred.
Is It Self. Defense
From the Chicago News. , ;
The unwritten law of society consider
every, man guilty until he Is proved lnno.
cent. 'v. .. :
: A, Social Tip.' V
-From the -Atchison G!ob..;
i Be good to your neighbors; they' know
all about your family skeleton, and can
tell some entertaining stories about it.
;v: TBB JATATCSB SAKVBAX
Inherited XafiueaoeS Which Are Back ,of
By birth ell Japanese officers belong
to tne old fighting class of the Samurai;
the proportion is Indeed so overwhelm
ing that the word "all", is not mislead
ing. And the Samurai, with the rest
of the feudal system, lasted in Japan
right up , to the, revolution of ; 167;
tnererore every Japanese officer of more
than 36 actually began life- under the
old conditions. In many parte of tha
country the old state- of things lasted
beyond 1867,, and in more stlU the old
training , remained even when the old
conditions were altered. And so it hap
tens that every senior officer in the
Japanese army or navy was trained
with the training of the 'Samurai, while
the, younger men share that training by
the blood which they inherit. It is just
this training, tyfeig as it does at the
back: of each officer, and forming ' in
some sort the stuff out of whioh each
mart, and therefore the whole army,: is
made, that becomes of paramount im
portance at such a. crisis as this.
-heH8aimHlrsh-'ftghtlnglas8r
necessarily placed the highest value on
eourage and fortitude; and ; the little
boys and for that matter the little
girls, too were brought up from the
earliest age with a Spartanlike endur
ance which left even the " Spartans
themselves far behind. In order to
train the body to hardship, young fchil
dreh were made to get up before sun
rise for their -lessons, or they were
sent, before, breakfast, to walk with
bare -feet through the winter snow to
their teachers. It was usual for par
ents to gather a party of children to
gether, perhaps as often as twice a
month, before such festivals as those
of the God of Learning, in order that
they should 'pass the whole night with
out sleep, while they read aloud In
turns. Sometimes they were made to go
without food, and taught that a Samurai
should be ashamed to be hungry. The
little boy prince of Hendai in one of
the most pathetic of Japanese plays-
speaks the Samurai thoughts when he
says to his page as the two starved
children watch a sparrow feeding Its
young:
'Look at those tiny birds, how wide
their yellow bills are open, how eagerly
they eat; but for a' Samurai, when his
stomach is empty, it is a disgrace to feel
hunger." . '
After hardening the body, the Samurai
training sought to toughen the nerves,
and children were frequently sent to
graveyards and haunted houses. Small
boys, .after being taken to see an exe
cution would be sent out alone and at
night to find their way back to the
spot, to touch the body, and to leave a
mark of their visit on the severed head.
Even the crylng babies were hushed into
silence by mothers who called them
"cowards to cry for such a tiny pain,"
asking them "what they would do if
they cried so much for a little ache when
their arms were cut off in battle or they
were called on to commit hara-kari"
(suicide by disemboweling). The ut
most infliction of pain, endured without
tear or a groan, Was Imposed as an
ideal on all children. Even death, a
self-tnfltcted deeth-wae, under-certain
conditions, regarded as the' plainest duty,
and boys and glty alike were taught
how to take their own lives with calm
ness and dignity. . Self-control was in
deed the keystone of the Samurai char
acter, and this not only from the side
of endurance and fortitude, but also
from that of politeness, -which, required
that a man should pot spoil another's
pleasure by any expression of 'his own
pain. A Samurai must show "no sign
of joy or anger;" and this iron control,
imposed on men and women alike, has
entered deep Into the national charac
ter. "To bear what you think you can
not bear," say the Japanese, 'Is really
to bear." . ,
Inseparably bound up with the duty of
courage was the duty of loyalty. A
perfect loyalty required a perfect cour
age, and loyalty has always been the
primary human duty of the Japanese.
Between affection, even natural affec
tion, and loyalty, a Samurai must never
hesitate He was taught to sacrifice
wife and child if loyalty demanded it
The story of Oenso, who cut off the
head of his own son and took it to the
enemy of his lord in order to save the
son of that lord, la not at all an isolated
Instance in Japanese history. And the
story as it goes on tf telli how Oenso,
returning home that night, called to his
wife as he entered the house: "Rejoice,
my wife, our son has proved of service
to his lord" touches one of the deep
est fibers in the Japanese character. , It
was never required of a Samurai to sac
rifice his conscience to - his loyalty,
merely himself which in the Japanese
mind included his family but both his
family and himself he 'must be ready to
offer VP- His conscience was his own.
Many a Samurai who sincerely believed
his master wrong would remonstrate
with him, use every' endeavor to per
suade him, and, falling, make the last
supreme appeal of bis own life's blood.
It was this duty of utter loyalty which
Involved the duty of revenge. Revenge
was justice justice executed on the
wrongdoer; and no man might ' shrink
from carrying out justice on those who
had wronged his lord. His own wrongs,
lncudlng injuries to his wife and child
ren, he was taught to forgive, but sins
against loyalty demanded justice, not
forgiveness. - . -
If a Samurai was taught to forgive
his own injuries, ha was also taught to
defend his own honor, at all times and
at all hasards; and as this, to a warlike
race, was the easier commandment of
the two, he naturally gave it precedence.
To protect his na (name) from all as
persions was his continual care; and
the most powerful' appeal which could
be addressed to him, whether as a boy
or - man, was the one: ' "Are you not
ashamed f" IV was customary for a
Samurai to pledge his honor In a manner
more literal than our term implies. The
form 'of agreement would run thus: "In
default of repayment of the sum lent
me, I shall say nothing to being ridi
culed in public;" or, "in case I fall to
pay you back, you may call me a fool"
(baka the one term of Insult in Japan);
and such pledges were considered the
surest of guarantees. . Honor was . the
pearl of great price, to the Samurai,
the prize of his earthly existence... And
so to shun shame or to win for himself
a name among man, the Samurai boy
was ready to undergo any suffering or
privation.- It was fatne. not; wealth, not
knowledge, for which, they strove. , Life
waa lightly laid down for honor's sake.
It was the overestlmatlon of this honor,
or rather the confounding, of the' appar
ent with the real, which produced most
of the excesses of the Samurai. For
their code was not without its teaching
of patience and long suffering, as the
sayings of Ogawa, the great Tye'yaau,
and many others can testify.. Kama
sawa taught: "When others blame thee,
blame them not; when others sre angry
with thee, return hot anger. . Joy Com
eth only as passion and desire part."
And the term bushi no nasake, the "ten
derness of a - warrior." was a , living
phrase to the grim old Samurai.
That this teaching ' was not , merely
theoretical, but was carried into dally
practice, the life of the late Count Katsu
can testify.: Count- Katsu lived through
one of the most turbulent times, in Jap
anese history, when assassination's and
suicides ware of dally occurrence.- Many
THE HAZARDOUS LIFE OP THE RAILWAY MAIL CLERK
: ;i' i From the Chicago Tribune.. '
Out of 373 accidents to postal carl
in the United States railway mall ser
vice last year came 22 deaths to clerks,
7S serious injuries, and, 393 hurts that
were more or less slight in comparison,
Looking t at these figures,; it iss not
enougn ror tne postal cjerK to-' Da re
minded that in this fiscal year the cars
of the service ran over 3,935 separate
routes, ' aggregating 193,863 miles, and
that virtually 10,000 clerks were in the
service.. :t.y'v.;.';'s.;;-5V'''..'fv .s-ivj a,
. In the opinion of the National Asso
elation of Railway Postal Clerks, this
death and accident rate has been out
Of all true, and necessary ; proportion,
even when it is recognised' . that the
hazard of railroading In any' form must
be accepted, f President KMwell of , the
national association In a recent speech
echoed the sentiment of (he association
"It Is no exaggeration when I say that
one-fourth of these men would have
oeen-alive to4ay-if-th-cars :werere
quired to be built of steel, or even with
steel sills, ribs and ends. The fact that
trunk lines are running cars that have
been in service so long that the floors
nave worn out ana new ones era a neces
sity, and the sill are so rotted that the
new floor, must be laid over the old one
in order to find something that nails will
hold in, should convict with ho further
evidence.. But without statistics '. fur
ther than that, cars have been in con
stent service for 35 years, we believe
we have made a case that will "easily
show that the lives of clerks are en
dangered dally, while the railroad com
panies profit by it" 7
W. 8. . Shallenberger, the second as
sistant postmaster-general, , has made
Inquiry into the condition of-the rail
way mail service with .reference to
what he terms "the large number of ac
cidents which have occurred to trains
carrying railway postofflces in the last
fiscal year.'.' Investigations are under
way to discover If there be a possibility
of a perfected steel car that will be a
better buffer In a train than are some
of the cars referred to by President
KMwell.
"For," as the assistant postmaster
general says, "the position of the postal
car in the train and the fact that our
clerks are constantly engaged, with least
opportunity to protect themselves in
the event of a Collision,' have justified
this office in demanding of railroad com
panies the strongest : construction, as
well as. the most convenient' arrange
ment, that it la possible to give to these
cars. i -: ,
As to the position of the postal car in
the train, the department will make ex
planations enough. It has been found
that with the ordinary train the station
platforms are' not long enough to admit
of the mail bags' falling as they should
to the hand of the receiving postofflce
men tf these cars were to be attached to
the rear of the trains. As to why a
baggage car with one man in it should
not be coupled next the engine, however,,
instead of a postal car with perhaps five
or six men In it is not so easy of ex-planatlwant-peclallyaalhe
..bag
gageman, having so little to do, and so
many more -chances to escape by Jump
ing, , probably would enter .into selfish
objections to the change.
For in most cases it is tne engine
ahead that Is the menace to the clerks
In the? poster car coupled close up to.
the 'tender. Whether from .a head-on
collision, 3 from -leaving the track, or
from the application of the emergency
brakes of the newest pattern, the postal
earnext the engine is the chief sufferer.
Two wrecks in the last year stand out
with striking distinctness. The first
was that of February 38, When in: a
head-on collision between two Big Four
trains at Berea, O., four postal clerks
were killed, and the bodies of three of
them burned to ashes the whole crew
being annihilated.
The other awful disaster was at Dan
ville. Va., when the fast mall on the,
Southern road plenged from a high
trestle at .a sharp curve, falling 43 feet,
and continuing for 171 feet in the line
at which It left the rails. Four of the
11 clerks, on the train were Instantly
killed, and every other man of them
was injured. The locomotive was re
duced to scraps. Fast running down
grade against all warning signals was
given as the cause of this accident the
locomotive striking the nine degrees
trestle curve at the rate of 90 miles an
hour. ; ' ' " ;;- J
x Speed has come to- be the bugbear of
the service. . A slight accident at 0 or
70 miles an" hour means more than an
old-time collision at 35 miles. At 80
miles an hour the application of a mod
ern' emergency brake is something to
make the postal clerk In a modern car
wince when regarding it as a possi
bility. ' This brake , Is constructed to
bring the Car wheels to the verge of
sliding In the fraction of a second, and
this, without any wsrnlng Of a' lookout
for the postal clerks in a fast mall
train on a modern railroad, is only a
little short" of the horrors of the colli
sion that It may be called upon to avert
. The msn who ordinarily makes his
attempts were made on his life, and
though he was himself at one time pos
sessed of almost absolute power, he
never tarnished his sword with blood.
He said in his own quaint way
"I've a great dislike to killing people,
o I never killed a single man. I don't
like chopping off heads. I release the
men instead. A friend of mine said to
me one day: i 'You don't kill enough.
Don't you eat pepper and gg plantar
That man was killed himself. Now, I
had the hilt of my sword fastened so
firmly to the scabbard that I couldnt
draw it without difficulty. I made up
my mind people might cut at me. X
wouldn't cut at them. Yes, yes, some
neoDle truly are like tnosqultos and fleas
they bite. but. what's that It Just
Itches a bit, that's all. it aoesn i am.
: Most Samurai, Jt is true, did not rise
tn m magnanimity of a Count Katsu;
they erred more on the side of killing
tnn much than of kHUn too little, but
the killing did not come from a thirst
ror plOOO, DUl irom a wno "i
oversensitive at times from the daring
of courage, and from the sternest sense
of duty and loyalty. . .. '
The whole' training Of v the Samurai
went to the building up of his charac
ter not to the cultivation of his intel
ligence, or his tastes as such. Religion
and theology vere .left to the priests,
Science was outside his sphere. Litera
ture was to him a naatlme. while phtlos-"
ophy he regarded only as a practical aid
In th formation oi character. i ne (sam
urai was a man of action, and so his
training was chiefly In fencing, archer-.
jujitsu. horsemanship, and the use of
the spear. He learned calllgrahpy, eth
ics, literature and history. .But a mind
stored with Information was not greatly
admired. The Samurai valued declaim-,
of character, not sperlorlty of intelli
gence; and all their education and train
ing, had this practical end so much In
view that the Samurai became the. best
fighting unit of the Orient, If not of
the world., ' Ills code might almost be
summed up in the words of one of them,
for It was, Indeed, to know "how to die
when It was right to die; how to strike
when it was right to strike,1 for which
the "Samurai strive. Thla Is the-spirit
which, handed down through genera
tions of dead 1 warriors, f ottos today the
trips by rail in a sleeping car or parlor
car has .little idea of the sensations of
speed in a postal train under fast
schedule a schedule which with possi
bilities of delays and the hardships of
making up time may force running at
times ta 90 miles an hour, t
The cars making up No. 15 had been
under the sheds of the Northwestern
station In Wells street since 10 o'clock
the night , before. They were a letter
car, one paper car, and a storage car,
which were scheduled to make the 320
miles into Cedar Rapids,? Ia. in 385
minutes, including the seven stops two
for water and one for a -. change of
en sines and train crew.
Clerk H. S. 'Mann 'in charge, with
Clerks Frank klauk, A. M. Brandage, H.
E. Teachout, H. Kobbe,, E. , W. Frye and
H. C. Settle, had been toiling with mall
pouches, heaps of letters tied in
bunches, plies of Christmas boxes, and
wrappers overflowing, the tables and the
aisles of the cars ever, since 6 o'clock In
the evening, and It wass2:30 o'clock in
the .morTSrof"wnejr Uw.... writer for f. tha
Sunday Tribune passed into the car
with the heaping gray mounds of the
newspaper mail hUls of it from the
eastern trains: and mountains of it a
little later from the Chicago newspaper
omcea, v-.
For nine hours in the stuffiness and
dust of the letter and paper cars the
postal crew had been slashing mall in
the endeavor to have it "worked"? before
the newspaper mail at the last should
swamp them. " With the paper wagons
came the conductor of the train, Arthur
E. Bassett, and out of the gloom ahead
loomed the black outlines . of John
Allen's locomotive, No. 1091, into which
Fireman Dysart shoveled coal through
its double furnace doors.
Beyond Wells street and .the bridge
and the black intersections of the cross
streets south and north of the river
might have been thoroughfares for tha
dead, save as an occasional newspaper
wagon rumbled through them, waking
the silences. Wells street station was
asleep, save for the watchman; for one
to buy a ticket from the sleeping agent
behind his closed window necessitated
a hammering at glass and woodwork
that was strongly out of keeping with
the surroundings. "
Outside it has been driving snow until
the whole earth is white. The wind is
rising and the cold is keener and more
penetrating. A tower clock already has
struck 3. Conductor Bassett la walking
up and down the platform In some im
patience, .when suddenly a ' belated
wagon dashes up, half a dosen sacks
of paper mall are thrown to the plat
form and almoat without striking are-l
shot Inter -the -open-door -of the-car.
There is a signal to the engineer and
the fast mail is moving out of the sheds
and over the north branch of the river
with an abandon and ease that would
be new to the passengers on a day
train.
A
These cars, are 80 feet long and of the
"mule end" type that is, without plat
forms. Close up to the engine tender
with its mighty weight of steel and Its
load of coal and water is the letter car,
and in the blind" forward end Of this
forward car are the racks and pigeon
holes and tables for the sorting and
sacking of the, flrstclass mall matter.
Three-fourths of tha rear portion of
the car are given over to the racks for
tha bags into which th paper mall is
shot, ready for the unfastening, the
tying, and. at tne proper station! Tor tne
swinging open of a jammed door, the
careful sighting into the dark of the
station and its platform, and then, with
the train moving 60 to 70 miles an hour,
for the clerk to swing the bag out into
the night trusting that he has struck
at least within the corporation bounds
of the village. .--;.
A postal car, from an interior point
of view, is not reassuring. With a cross
continental portion of mall from the
East that has to be worked in 600 miles,
together with a Saturday night grist
of the local postofflce- and of the Chi
cago newspapers, a postal car such as
Is coupled close up to No. 1091 on the
borderline of telescoping at the slight
est collision, is breast high with pouchee
and bags at the-side doors. For hslf
an hour probably not a single door could
be slid back, because of the jam of the
mall. At least one end of the car is as
blind as a rat trap and down the sides
of. lc are little railed windows out of
which It would be impossible for a full
grown man to aqueece in case of acci
dent . .
There are bottles of fire extinguish
ing liquids, the axe, saw, and hammers
of the regulation, emergency .box. and
overhead en each side of the car, just
under the ventilators are . swung the
"life rods" high enough for a clerk
whose car is making 70 miles an hour
to jump and seise one of them, hanging
suspended till the crash comes provided
he have any knowledge of the crash be
fore it does come.
Heads of departments In the railway
mall service will tell you of the time
when they worked in stuffy cars only 40
feet long, heated by dangerous stoves,
and using coal oil lamps 'that smoked
and sputtered high up under the car
training at the back of the Japanese Of
flcer. Chicago Tribune. .
TACTS ABOUT OOLOKBIA.
From Harper's Weekly.
Some facta about Colombia which
come by way of Washington are in point
Just mr. Colombia, not counting Pan
ama, is as large as California and Texas
combined, and has over 10 times the
population "of Panama; an estimate made
lh 1881 puts the figures at 8,600,000, ex
clusive of the people of Panama. Bo
gota,, its capital, has been called "the
Athens of South America." t Its popu
lation, Is 126,000; the national univer
sity is located there, and the city, has
an excellent library of 60,000 volumes,
a picture gallery, an observatory and a
number of learned institutions. Twelve
days are required to get from the coast
to the capital. . One lands at Baran
qullla, at' the mouth of the Magdalena
river, goes up the river by steamer to
Honda 692 miles from T'tbe coast;
then by rail Tor 32 miles to La Dorado,
by mule Journey .for 45 miles to Fa
catativa.' and from there by rail again
to Bogota,. '$ 4 miles.
Traits of loonomy.
From New York Mall and Express.
. The steel trust's little- economies will
save $43,000,000 a year. That's right
save the millions, boys, and. the billions
Will take care of themselves. .
'.- Left Wothlng Worth While,
From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
Burglars broke Into a West Virginia
jail the other day and carried away
everything of value. ... They left' the
Jailer.
i v; , .i, ,
- ' That Psyohe Knot ' ' " r
From the Pittsburg. Dispatch.
Cholly Is she a good looker? i '
; . Clarence She's a Psyche not ... .
I Cholly I've noticed that - she wears
one. .'.-( '
The SfaMve Tailing.
Frdtrt the Detroit News. ' :
..If Senator Gorman were from Missouri
he could hsrrtlv be "more persistent In de
manding that they show him. :
roof.' Now they speak of the steam heat,
the Ptntsch gaslights, and the six-truck
cars, built the . regulation 60 feet In
length. "
"It Is well enough to bear in mind that
the average postal clerk in the service
Is unduly pessimistic," was the comment
of one of these department heads who
had grown white hatred in the service.
"Htswork makes him so." ; "
' On, the other hand, however,, admit?,
ting the equipment of 35 years ago,
the postal clerk today; will ask you In
reply If any of these old-time men in
the service ever tossed mall In a car
making 70 miles an hour? If you sug
gest to him that there is a lessened dan
ger, from fire in case of accident yotf
get ' the answer that to be - scalded to
death by steam Is hardly to be chosen
before death by 'fire,, while, as a matter
of' fact, with a fast mail train leaving
the track or colliding head on with an
other tratn, there is little else left for
either steam or fire to do. .; ' ;
" You may even remark that the type-
reading addresses much easier than It
once was, but even here you will meet
the inevitable reply that while it has
done so it has made 10 times as many
addresses to read.; . ".'.'-': ..;-. ,
' Looking about the train for, the causes
for pessimism in the work., they - are
easily to be guessed. To have worked
nine hours before the train starts Is
something toward the end; at 3 o'clock
in the morning to be whirled out, Into
the teeth of a bllssard at a rate that
scarcely allows the clerk to keep h la
feet without an effort, and there for an
other four hours and a half ; to ' toll
harder than ever to diminish the heaps
of bags and pouches that piled high and
higher at the last moment of starting:
and in every moment of these dark
plunglngs and reelings of the cars to
know that a snapped s rail, a turned
switch, a crippled train ahead any one
pf a dozen mistakes may mean eternity
In a moment . ' ' .-,'?
Is it strange if the railway postal
Clerk at times Is disposed to brood t
i Save for the swing and sway of the
car, there are slight indications of the
speed to be marked by the novice. The
Windows into the dark ara beyond the
vpossiouuy oi an ouuoox. only by lia-
tvuing may one gee an intimation OI
the rate at which the train is moving.
The ordinary river bridge is a short
harsh, hollow note of sound that is lost
in the fraction of a second;, a culvert
seems a discordant blow struck s if
by a hammer; passing another train
under full head on the other track leaves
a meteorlike trail and the shriek of the
contending suctions; a sleeping village
In. the Irack is a mere echo that is gone
In a second.
One may look for the reassuring con
fidences In the air brakes. These heavy
postal cars are fitted with a new type
of brake which, under emergency appli
cation, closes upon the wheel at a pres
sure of 110 pounds to the square inch.
This Is the first grip; as the speed slack
ens from it the pressure reduces auto
matically until the normal 60 pounds is
reached. Ordinarily anything above 60
pounds will slide a wheel and flatten it.
but -wltftrrthe new - brake applied to
wheels running at 60 miles and over,
its tension relaxes before the sliding
point, and from these high speeds It re
laxes still aa they, are reduced until
the train moving at 60 miles an hour on
a level track may be brought to a Stand
still in 400 yards,. u h: -.i-.ht-i j -.
;But practically the mall clerk Is al
most as much afraid of the application
of the emergency "air", as he is afraid
of a head-on collision. ".The first lurch
caused by the emergency, brakes- will
throw a heavy man half the length of
the postal car if he be working in the
rear end of it. If his letter racks be in
the. front end of the car, he may not be
surprised If he goes on through the
mule end" of thevehicle, racks and
all. Working rapidly, blind as a mole ss
to all indications of danger that may be
ahead, his feet co(d from the Icy floor
of the car, and the dust in clouds at
times making the car perspective dim
this Is the postal clerk on board a
fast mail out of Chicago on a winter's
morning. ' - - ' . '
Six days on and six- days off are the
measures of the postal crews' time. At
Chicago one day begins at 6 o'clock in
the evening and ends at Cedar Rapids
at 7:86 o'clock the next morning; there,
after a hasty breakfast the crew gets
to bed as soon as possible' and to sleep.
to be awakened at Z o clock in the after
noon and report at the train at 3:30
o'clock to "work" the western mails
back, arriving at Wells street station-
at 9:56 o'clock in the evening; there,
after a 20-hour interval, to' take up the
work again at 6 o'clock the next even
ing.' ;: : '
As for the six days "off" well, the
clerk may study his "scheme" and rest
and study bis schema some more, and
then some more, and prepare in general
ror tne examinations designed to catch
any one napping in ways and means for
facilitating the malls.. .
And all under government ownership.
too. with an annual deficit in the depart
ment , . . , ' .- ' ' .
T. Z.OTTXS WHi BXAT OB20AOO.
. From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The usual methods of indicating the
proportions of the Chicago and the St
Louts world's fairs is by comparing
their expansiveness in territory and
buildings, a comparison greatly in favor
pf the St Louis enterprise,. A compari
son fully as significant is that between
the appropriations -of foreign countries
for the Chicago fair and the appropria
tions . of the same countries for St
Louis, thus:,
Chicago.
Germany , $690,000
St. Louis.
$1,000,000
.. 1,000,000
700.000
, 800,000
260,000
100,000
, 100,000
; so.ooo
80,000
. 60,000
France ............ 733.000
England ........... 390,000
Russia, ............. 31,000
Mexico" ............ 60,000
Belgium ,. ... 68,000
Italy 60,000
Ceylon .,.,,..,,,. 66,000
Cuba 25.000
Peru .............. 40,000
Befleotlons of a Bachelor. T
. From the New York Press. " ' !
The only remedy for baldness is a
wig.
, It takes more courage to admit one is
afraid of his wife than to pretend hot to
be. ,
It's very foolish of a woman to lace so
tight that when she, gets' hugged it
doesn't seem any different
What worries a girl almost to death Is
what people think about the things they
ought not to think about
-You couldn't get woman to to 6n a'
north pole expedition with out a low-cut
gown, in case 'she had to go to a recep
tion there. . ' .' -i .... : ; .
Vanished.
Ffom the Washington Star. "-
A few years' ago no one would have
believed that Agulnaldq would not be'irt
demand for at least sn occasional mag
azine article. - , .........
Tha Beat Issue. -
From the Springfield t'nlon.
The datnaae thnt th mil s,,ii
to cotton.no longer, interests us. Whst
we Wish to know it what win
the boll weevil.