THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, tUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 14, HO.
Government Office Place
of Rest
IT ku lone Been a mystery to the
average ottlMn aa to where revo
lutlontsta sat run and ammuni
tion. The quaatton la easily an
swered. Like everything alaa In the
world of value, they are found In Broad
way, Now York. Bo the treat prob
lem of many governroente ta a simple
matter of everyday buelneaa and mer
r hand lee. There la a bit; atore down
Broadway with ever floor packed full of
military supplies, from rapid-Are Run
and cannon to aaddles and uniforms,
which anybody baa a riant to purchaee
If he haa the money to pay for them, f
aay the New York Herald.
Fifty or sixty mllea up the Hudson,
In plain sight of Weat Point, li a lovely
little leland of It acrea In the center of
the river, nsstltng between Storm Kin
and the frowning- mountain erase op
poalte. On thla leland are atorad am
munition cartridges, gunpowder, dyna
mite, cannon and Immense quantltlej of
military auppllea, aucb aa uniforms,
saddles, gun carrlagaa, rifles In fact,
everything needed to fit out a govern
ment or a revolution. Iona leland, the
United States government's ammunition
and dynamite atorage headquarters, ta
at thla end of the Highlands. Just above
reekaklll. Between tba two is West
Point, turning gifted young Americana
Into array officers and military gentle
men to manage the country in the fu
ture. An Old, Old Story.
The story of a vast business of sup
plying countries and revolutions with
war material In a legitimate way la in
teresting. The atory beglna 40 years
ago. at the close of the civil war. when
the late Francis Bannerman Sr. of
Brooklyn returned home from aervlce in
the United States navy, and with his
eon, attended the auction eales of naval
atorea at the Brooklyn navy yard. It
occurred to them that there might be
money in buying war material and sell
ing It again to foreign governments.
The venture proved a success, and for
30 years a thriving business was done
over there. In Atlantic avenue. Next
came an establishment In Broad atreet,
near Front, and Anally Broadway, near
Broome street, was occupied with the
business, where It now flourishes.
It la well known that the govern
ment sail Its surplus war auppllea from
time to time. Thus It was that when
fifty thousand of the old Springfield
rifles ware put up at auction the Banner-mans
bought them. One day a man
came along and purchased them for a
foreign government, ha said How to
gat them out of the country was easy
enough, though the Bannermana do not
deliver cannon and ammunition outside
of the -United States,
Arsenal in Broadway.
How the agent managed to reach
South American revolutionists with the
guns Is another atory. The usual way
la to make a bluff of shipping them to
Germany or elsewhere and later trans
ferring them to whatever part of South
America they are moat needed. Thus
the business of selling war material in
New York has) thrived, and the present
young par. Bannerman, a Princeton
graduate, who la actively in charge of
the business, says they are obeying the
laws to tba letter.
1 la an amazing spectacle to enter a
Broadway store and And yourself In
a veritable arsenal of war weapons of
every kind. In Brooklyn the Banner
mana' two acrea of atorage briatlea
with cannon,, guns, shot, shell and other
war material, while the Broadway es
tablishment is not only devoted to
samples of war Implements for sale,
but contains a collection of ancient and
modern arms covering every country
and age alnca the Crusades. At the en
trance figures In armor, helmeted and
COTTON, KING OF OUR EXPORTS - -
(Continued from First Psga of this
Section.)
in lilt, and 43 per cant In 1891. Tba
next cenaus will probably show tha
center of production as having, for the
first Urns, crossed beyond tha father
of waters."
Nor ia the supremacy of the south in
cotton growing likely to be threatened
by foreign competition. India and the
East Indies, in 1104. produced
1.110.000 bales; Egypt, 1.117,000; Bra
all and other South American countries,
216.000 As against these crops tha
United States grew 18.566.686 bales.
Russia alao produces some cotton. .
In tha opinion of the late Edward
Atkinson, the high pampas of tha Ar
gentine Republic and other sections of
central South America alone are capa
ble, because of climatic and soil con
ditions, of ever becoming a serious
competitor to tha cotton fields of
Dixie.
AS civilisation advances, and as the
population of the world Increases, tha
demand for cotton must grow natur
ally. Tha United Statea department of
agriculture estimates that of the
world's population of 1,600.000,000,
about 600,000.000 wear clothes regu
larly; 750,000,000 go partly clothed and
the remaining 160.000,000 feel little need
of raiment and are content with the in
herited fig leaf or less.
To clothe all the people of the earth
would require 42,000,000 bales of cot
ton. Thla amount is not likely to be
demanded for many years, yet students
of tha subject ssssrt that the south
win furnish 21,000,000 bales or more
as soon as she la called upon to produce
that vast crop.
There sre two ways by which any
crop -may be increased to enlarge the
acreage and to secure larger yields from
the existing acreage. At the present
rata of yield, the south haa available
enough Idle land to bring Its production
of cotton up to 10,000.000 hales.
The imagination of persons living In
other sections of the country usually
pictures the arable land of the Southern
states aa Being given over entirely to
cotton culture miles and miles of
fields stretching away In unbroken line,
their snowy billows uninterrupted.
It is not generally known that In the
cotton states only one sore In seven
teen l planted In cotton, and In ths
purely cotton counties of those states,
only one acre In eleven.
As a matter of fact, "only two fifths
of the farm lands of the south sre yet
Improved for any sort of s crop."
This economic neglect moved Sidney
Lsnler to protest, when gazing on an
"old deserted Georgian hill,'' that
erarTMpaw I IP . a? v.. w-?rjtaBflBB2UIV I Ks
TtMTr rmruMi - -ti SBr -g" "j tSSV IVHHv wl I I tf
Hudson V2SfLf415Mfe
equipped with battle axes, pikes, swords
and shields, greet you. Around them,
In vivid contrast, are rowa of shells,
from K-lndh monsters to little cart
ridges for rapid-fire machines. Then
there are wagon loads of miscellaneous
guns and pistols, from tbs bell-mouthed
blunderbusses of Shakespeare's day to
the long, highly ornamented guns of
the Bedouins and Madagascar pirates,
supplemented with the up-to-date gov
ernment rifles used by every nation
Mausers. Remingtons, Hannllchers and
doxens of other breechloaders.
(The army of flint lock weapons from
little fellows not six inches long to the
big horse and dueling pistols of Colonial
and Mississippi days Is most Interesting.
There are enough of these weapons from
the old English match locks to the big
lt-lnch guns aa long aa a railroad car
to fill the Museum of Natural History.
Archaic Weapons in Stock.
That such a collection of war material
could exist in the heart of the city un
known to. the average visitor Is amazing.
One of the old-time pistols Is a baby
hint of the perfected revolver of the
present day. It la of .brass and has
three barrels.
You pull the trigger three times, and
when your last barrel Is empty yaw
pull the fourth time, and out leaps a
little steel dagger, a foot long that In
stantly transforms the pistol Into an ef
fective stiletto. As for the American
revolutionary guns, there are thousands
of them. First, we have the flintlock,
then the little wheel trigger affair that
fires the powder by friction, then the
pill gun a bit of fulminate of mer
cury about the also of a mustard grain;
then the percussion cap, then the old
paper cartridge, and finally the Im
proved metallic cartridge, which has
revolutionised the wsrfare of the world
and made peace and prosperity possible
even among civilised nations. The ar
ray of rapid fire guna Is not only Inter
esting but educational. You see the
original old time (first model) Oatllngs,
followed by guns of the present day.
During the last insurrection in Gaute
mala It was reported that thla Broad
way establishment supplied both tba
government and the revolutionists. The
same was said during the war In Nicar
agua, and similar reports are now cir
culated as to the arms received by the
Cubans, government and revolutionists.
It Is a fact that the discarded anna
which the American government haa
sold at auction were at the time good
enough for American marksmen In the
field. Bo It Is not difficult to Imagine
that the agents who bought these arma
In New York for shipment to foreign
countries had no difficulty In supplying
the revolutionists In South America and
elsewhere with superior weapons of
war.
The ordinary reader haa little Idea of
the various-kinds of material Included
under the name of "munitions of war,"
beginning with the harness for the ar
tillery, field guns and all tha accoutre
ment for fitting out the artillery. A
few government aucttona meant the sell-
Bares to the sun his piteous, aged crest
and seamy breast.
By restless-hearted children, left to lie
Untended there beneath the heedless sky,
As barbarous folk expose their old to die.
Mora careful selection of seed Is now
being urged upon the planter. Say the
authors of Cotton:
"There is abundant reason for be
lieving that the average cotton yield
per acre could be Increased one fourth
by only five years' wise selections of
seed. We know s farmer who, by se
lecting the seed from the most thrifty
stalks, and having the seed ginned sep
arately. In two years so Improved the
crop from the selected seed that the
Improvement became a matter of com
ment by persons passing on'the road.
"We know another farmer who by a
few years' seed selection has Increased
the yield of cotton from 400 t poo
pounds, while seed selected In the old
way, grown on Similar land and under
similar conditions, still makes Its bare
400 pounds sn acre. Fifty per cent In
crease from four years' selection of
aeedl"
Cotton growers are either owners of
the land, share tenants or cash tenants
those who pay a stipulated cash
rental. In 1900, census reports show,
41.1 per cent of the farms in 10 states
were tilled by the owners, 20.1 per cent
by cash tenants and 11.4 per cent by
share tenants.
Compared with the preceding decade,
this showed a decrease of II per cent In
the proportion operated by owners, on
the other hand, cash tenants had In
creased It par cent and ahare tenants
11 per cent.
Low prices prevailing for a number
of years discouraged many owners, who
leased their lands to tenants and re
moved to towns
White farmers In 1100 were found to
be operating 141,000 of the 1,411.000
farma growing cotton; they cultivated
14,(11,000 acres as against 1,660,000
acrea cultivated by negroes Labor upon
the farms of the whites was done
largely by negroes, however. .Of nesrly
(00.000 negro tsrmers, aoout uu,uu are
tenants.
OP recent yesrs a more general spirit
Of thrift has animated many of the
negroes these people who. as Mr.
Dooley says, are "light-hearted, good
natured and alaly lynched." Mora and
more they are buying the land they till.
One negro cot Km -grower of Georgia,
who 20 years ago was a struggling
renter, now owns 2.000 acres of pro
ductive land and haa tenants under him.
Labor In the cotton fields hss to be
dor largely by hand. The Hem og pick
ing alone costs the growers 1100,000,000
a year.
? '' ,' ,
izr
Ing of 100,000 guns. 10,000 revolvers,
10,000 saddles, lt.OOO swords, 10,000
canteens. 100.000 belts, (0,000 cartridge
boxes, 20. 00.000 cartridges, 50.000 stir
rups, 160,000 gun stocks. 176.000 new
uniforms, sold when the fashions
changed: also hundreds of tone of gun
barrels, "parts" aad equipments. Oatllng
guna of all klnda, cannon from the old
Parrot guna to the late armor penetrat
ing guns of modern expansive make.
Has Dewey's Battle Flags.
"There Is alao a surprising lot of
flags and ensigns,'' says young Banner
man. "All the flags used In decorating
our store, are regular government flags
worn out In service, Spanish battle
flags, British flags from South Africa
riddled with' Boer . snot, French flags,
flags from the battle of Seven Pines.
All the signal flags from the Olympla
were sold to us by the United States
navy department after the famous bat
tle of Manila bay, and which were uasd
by Admiral,. Dewey In giving orders to
the fleet to 'Engage the enemy,' 'Haul
off for breakfast.' 'Renew battle,' 'Re
member the Maine,' eta --
"The collection has Admiral Dewey's
bamboo chair and hla flag, which was
originally a rear admiral's flag and al
tered oil board the Olympla when con
gress revived the rank of admiral. This
la the first admiral's flag alnoe Farra
gut's and Porter's. There are the choic
est specimens of antique armors, repro
ductions from originals in European
mueeums collections of helmets and
ancient head coverings. Lamps and lan
terns used in military service, from the
old-time watchman's horn lantern down
to the present day electrio lights on bat
tleships. Battle gongs and rattles, as
used on all warships before tha era of
steam.
Shells From Warships.
"Collection of pistols' and revolvers
from the ancient match lock, wheel look,
flint lock down to the latest product of
American armories Also sheila from
teh warships of Santiago and Manila
bay.
"From the battleship Maine we have
the capstan, wire cable. mm. magazine
rifles, Springfield rifles, a sis-Inch rifle
shell, the only shell recovered from the
Maine that the government has offered
for sale.
Our chief prises for tba yesr have
To pick a crop of 11,000,000 bales, at
an average of 1(0 pounds of seed cotton
a day per picker, meana that for a sea
son of three months, consisting of 20
working days each, something over
1,110.000 people must be kept at work.
For the man who Inventa a satis
factory and comparatively cheap ma
chine for picking cotton, a colossal for
tune Is waiting. The bolls on s stalk
do not ripen at the same time, hence
the difficulty of mechanical picking.
Recently a machine for picking cot-
Lton has been seen at work In the fields,
and It overcomes natural difficulties In
quite sn Ingenious way, by means of
arms that are guided by men. Four
Operators and a driver are necessary
with each machine, and It Is asserted
that the apparatus can do the work of
10 average hand pickers.
Then, too, the genius who success
fully puts to rout the pests that roecece
the growing crop will earn the undying
gratitude of millions. Most dangerous
of tbeae Is the Mexican boll weevil,
which has already extended over a vast
area of Texas, Is threatening Louisiana
and Arkansas, snd has done damage
that reaches fsr Into the millions.
The vast Importance of the cotton
erop Is not measured by the value of
the fleecy product alone; by the wealth
It brings the farmers and the employ
ment afforded to hundreds of thousands
of fsctory workers tn north snd south.
That this country sells to foreign lands
11,270.000 of cotton goods for every day
In the year Is but one Item.
Within s comparatively recent .best,
cotton aeed waa thrown away. Many
old mills, in 'fact, wars built on streams
so thst the supposedly worthlees seed
would be carried off by the cut rent.
Now, the value of raw cottonseed to
the extent of nearly 1100,000.000 a yeatS
la added to the right side of the ledger.
Thla single item is of wonderful va
riety and extent. Fre,m the hulls of
cottonseed are secured food for cattle,
a fiber that la converted Into high-grade
paper and fertilizing material.
Feed and fertiliser are produced from
the meal, while the oil Is used for eosp
stock, aalad dressing, cotton' lard, oot
tedene snd oil for the lamps' of miners.
Everywhere In the south the hulls
are fed to cattle and mules
they furnish Ingredients thst go to
make heat and fat. Comparatively
speaking, their feedfhg value may be
ranked aa about half of ordinary grass
hay.
Aa a feed for beef and dairy cattle,
cottonseed meal le especially popular
Considering the digestible nutrients It
contains. It la the cheapest feeding staff
on the market today. Consequently,
cattle fattening and dairying have hod
a pronounced Impetus la the cotton sec
1 J '
been the purchase of the collection of
army clvu war projectiles collected by
the late Colonel Silas Crispin of tha ord
nance department. United States army,
himself a noted expert in ordnance, who
waa for many years In charge of the
sales of ordnance stores, and therefore
had a splendid opportunity to gather
together this fine collection, which came
near 'being sold aa old' iron and metal.
We have in it upward of 200 rare pieces,
giving us, along with the United States
navy collection and those we have col
lected Individually, what we can truly
say ia the most complete collection cf
America nproJect lies."
As charges of violating tha law in re
gard to supplying revolutionists with
arms nave been sometimes made and
bitterly discussed I asked Mr. Banner
man what he had to ssy about It. He
thus replied:
"Vve are law-abiding Americana proud
of our country and Its flag, and, like
other merchants, we're In business hon
estly and have conducted our affairs on
the lines of strict legitimacy. Hare Is
what the editor of the Army ana Navy
Journal has to say under thla head,
which covers the whojo ground;
Repels the Insinuation.
" 'When was charged that the United
btates government Instigated and en
couraged the revolution In Panama
which led to the secession In that state
from Colombia it was reported that
thousands of rifles suspiciously like the
Manser, canturerl frnrn h. B..nl.h
LI""'"! " "Psnisn
rorees in Cuba had Been placed in the
hands of the revolutionists, the lroDll-
cation being that they had been supplied
with the consent of the authorities at
Washington. Representative Hardwlok
of Georgia Introduced s resolution In
the house calling for Information re
garding this charge.
" Tn reply the secretary of war sub
mitted a statement which shows thst of
the 21,154 rifles and carbines captured
tn Cuba and Porto Rico 20,110 were
aold at auction, one gun dealer, Francis
Bannerman of Broadway. New York,
taking 18,200. His last purchase was
made after the revolution In Panama,
and his latest previous purchase wis
nade 10 months before the1 revolution.
What he did with the weapons the gov
ernment haa no means of knowing, but
the insinuation that It knew thsy were
to be used In the revolt In Panama is
both ludicrous and contemptible.
tions since this feed began to be used.
In crude form, sold at 20 eents a gal
lon, cottonseed oil produces s revenue
of 114,210,000 a year. And this, too,
from only one third the crop, as the
remaining two thirds does not go to the
oil mills, but bsck on the farm for feed
and fertiliser.
With the Southern Cotton association
organised to prevent over-production, to
promote Judicious distribution and
maintain prices, with the planter adopt
ing Improved methods and ualng his
by-products for stock and dairy pur
poses, and one billion 'of the human
race awaiting to be clothed, fully or in
part, it-would seem that King Cotton,
undoubtedly, has come Into his .own,
and that the scepter of supremacy will
be firmly kept within his hands
BIRD MIGRATIONS
The birds that are surest and swiftest
of wing, as the swallows, do not hesi
tate to travel by day. Those less strong
of wing and of conspicuous plumage
dare not risk the daylight.
But the night migrations have their
special dangers, too. The gas and elec
tric lights of cities snd towns, with
the network of wires In their vicinity,
to say nothing of church spires and
lighthouses, are the censes of msny
bird disasters during migration time.
These same' lights prove a friend to
many of our night foraging birds dur
ing the Insect season, when a good meal
la always easily secured in their vi
cinity. Many screech owls have been aeen
.round 'these light. In town the present
,, .. B , u..,,,.
it?.? -Kf"yK,.W.rlin. ""i?: '
Thelr whereabouts during the dav was
alwaya easily traced by the excitement
of the birds In that locality.
One morning we were awakened by a
clamor among our birds, the special
cause of trouble seeming to (Sinter In
two large maple trees. This continued
all day and do the beat we could noth
ing could be discovered to warrant such
a tumult. Tbs mystery was explained
when dusk came on and a number of ,
screech owls began making tnvestlga-
tlons In our blrdhouses.
We raptured one of the owls snd kept
It long enough to observe some inter
esting things, chief of which waa the
double set of lids with which nature
has provided these particular birds.
The under lids look aa If they might
have been made from mica and are
edged with a little dark line. These
serve to subdue the strong light of
day which le so trying to owl eyesight.
The outer lida close only In sleep.
From the Philadelphia Record.
When a girl begins to call a fellow
by his first name It generally Indicates
that aba haa designs on his last
1(1 1
By R. F. Tate.
(Copyright la Giest Britain sad the Catted
mates By Ourtli Brows. All RlgiiU Strictly
Reserved.)
IT is rather an odd coincidence that
on either side of the English
channel an Iron-handed, masterful
man ia earning the admiration of
taxpayers and Incurring the enmity of
officialdom by efforts to Introduce ef
ficiency Into s great government de
partment which, until the advent of the
strong one, had been conducted In a
fashion more suggestive of a rest cure
than an Important branch of the public
service.
The man on the English aide of tha
"sliver streak" is John Burns, the me
chanic and fiery socialist orator of
other adays who la now president of the
local government board and' the hardest
working member of the British cabinet.
The man on the French side Is Georges
Clemenceau. the Warwick of French
I politics and the maker and breaker of
govarnmenta, who, as minister or tna
interior, is demonstrating hta capacity
W-lgld disciplinarian.
. Between him and John Burns is a
strong physical aa well aa a mental re
semblance. Rather berow than above
middle height, with a squarely built,
strong, but elastic figure, a fine head
and capacious forehead, with coal-black
ayes of almost dassllng brilliancy,
Oeorges Clemencesu, with his close
cropped hair, Is veritably a French
edition of John Burns.
Little waa known of the go-easy
methods snd general heedleaaness of
discipline which were the order of tha
day In the ministry of the Interior when
Clemenceau took office and which still
holds sway In other departments of the
public service In Paris. Hardly a day
passes that some fresh discovery of of
ficial shirking Is not brought to light
by the "terrible" minister who haa said
he will not rest until he has ousted a
goodly proportion qf the drones and
parasites who fatten on the public ex
chequer. All on Sick Leave.
I Quite recently M. Clemenceau found a
j surprisingly large number of junior
I clerks away on "sick-leave," and he
I promptly demanded doctors' certificates.
! None was forthcoming. Then he asked
to see the two physicians who are at
tached to the Interior department. Both
proved to be off shooting. Then M.
Clemenceau's Iron hand descended. The
Junior clerks were reprimanded. The
twd doctors are medical attendants of
the department no more and their pleas
ant billets have been abolished. In
reality, however, the cases just men
tioned sre ones of efficiency snd con
scientiousness itself compared with
other "gyafts" which have been un
masked. It. Clemenceau had been installed In
office only a few days when the staff
of the ministry of the Interior la the
Place Bureaux wars thrown Into a state
of consternation by the following circu
lar, signed by their chief himself:
"The offices of tha ministry of the
Interior are open from 8 a. m. to noon
and from 1 p. m. to 7 p. m.
"All functionaries belonging to the
central administration muat be at their
posit at tha opening of the offlcea and
must remain until cloalns time.
L"h ;m L, 7 th. P..t
exception COUld be. made CO the nlB
The order went on to state that no
' , " h ,h. .rmla.lon of fh.
i r" n ts.t .
" . -
A?.tton7 ai.
"Prlmand, degradation and. finally, dls
to
missal
The American reader will doubtless
fall to perceive anything partlcuarty
startling or revolutionary In that order.
To enlighten htm on the subject I must
make a digression.
A Place of Rest.
The civil service has at all times had
a strong attraction for French fathers
and mothers, who like to see their
young hopefuls "fonctlonnal'res." The
work Is not excessive. The pay la not
excessive either (It must be sdded) for
the commencing salary is but 1.100
francs (11(0) a year, and If promotion
does not come. It remains at that fig
ure. There is, however, a small pension
at ths end and it sounds well to say.
"My son Is st this or thst ministry,''
snd this Is a title to consideration when
the young man Is an aspirant to the
hand of a young lady.
The consequence Is that the public de
partments, the ministries especially, are
crowded with officials, young and old
whoee only "ralson d'etre" appeere to
be to draw their salary regularly and
help to swell an already enormous bud
get The staffs could probably be re
duced by one-third or even one-half
without the public service being any
the worse from ths point of view of
work accomplished.
New, it le not to be eupposed that
these civil servants and "attaches."
these "chair-warmers.'' as they are Ir
revently termed, sre Inferior In mental
and intellectual capacity to their breth
ren who have chosen other careers.
They are the product and the vlotlms of
a bad system which consists In setting
two men to do tbe work of one, both
being underpsld In consequence
Hundreds of them turn sn honest
penny In snd out of office hours. This
worthy paterfamilias haa no sooner
reached his little home In the suburbs
than he develope Into sn accountant or
a copyist. That correct ministerial
functionary (who would suspect Itf)
rises at 4 a. m. and la an inspector at
the central market Las Hallos until
7 a- m. Another sits In the box office
of a- theatre and acta aa "coQtroleur"
artd'eo on.
Private Work on Public Par.
The general public knows, of course,
very little of the servants of the repub
lic, who are popularly supposed to
judge from caricatures to sit slumber
ing all day Ions amid piles of papers.
",r Hon. are hlv- where
state administrations are nivas wnere
the arts, physical culture and Intellec
How different Is ths reality! The
tual games flourish. Civil servants are
often artists of real talent. If yon
could peep behind the closed doors of
this or thst ministry, you would often
seen a painter hard at work on a can-
vns. whilst a friend Is preparing the
i frame. In another room a dramatist
i will be reading his latest piece to a
I select audience of his colleagues. In
I KnAft,A tvn "ehn nsnnnlers " noet and
,cl win lnterpretlng the next
or vaIll. for Montmartre cafe-
sons
concert, and all Paris, tbe raldlnettes
especially, will be humming It In a few
days.
Certain "bureaux" of the ministry of
finance are decorated with beautiful
mural paintings, the work of function
aries. This ministry. In spite of the
columns of dry figures In which Its
members are supposed to be Immersed,
furnished the most formidable literary
and artistic competitors for the prises
offered by vnrloua great dallies.
BOautlful cm von drawings of mytho
logical subjects adorn the walls of the
education department at the Hotel de
Vllle. The prefecture of police Is fa
mous for Its chess-players At . the
ministries of oommeroe, publto works
MR-
JH W
fT HltS DESK
and the colonies are excellent account
ants (sub rose) ana even commercial
travelers who manage to be absent the
greater pert of the year from their min
isterial dutlesl
"Private" Card' Room
In an Important municipal office, four
Incorrigible card-players have had the
audacity to poet up a notice "Private"
on the door of one of the rooms, in or
der that they may remain undisturbed.
Life under such conditions Is evidently
tolerable. Indeed, there Is on record the
case of a functionary who came Into
a comfortable fortune at the death of
a relative, and forthwith asked and
obtained leave of absence sine die. A
year afterwards, one fine morning, ha
turned up at hta office. Hla aston
ished colleagues asked him the reason
of hla return.
"Well, you know, I was bored to
death," be said. "I did not know how
to fill up my time. The fact Is, this
Is the only place where you can enjoy
yourself " And he stayed!
No wonder, then, that M. Clemen
ceau's ctreular spread consternation
among the staff of the ministry of the
Interior. Loud protestations were raised
against the arbitrary methods of this
"republican" minister who, as tha op
position papers gloatingly pointed out,
was preventing the "braves fonctton
nalres" from earning their dally bread.
But M. Clemenceau held firm.
"When I am at my office." he said,
"it Is not too much to require the min
isterial staff to be st their posts.
Seven hours' work Is not excessive st s
time when the eight-hour day la de
manded. The gentlemen who are re
ported absent from duty will take the
oonsequencea.
The utmost that the mlntater could
be Induced to concede was that the
afternoon hours should be from 2 to (
insieaa OK irum w I.
In order to insure that the new regu
latlon was being complied with, pres
ence sheets were handed around from
time to time,, each official being re
quired to append his signature.
Just Drew His Pay.
It was then that astonishing abuses
came to light. It was discovered that
one functionary had never set foot In
the ministry except to draw his salary.
He had been earning 1.000 francs s
year (tl.iOO) as an Inspector of the
Parts mutuel (the only form of public
betting allowed by law) aad, or course,
had no time to' devote to his minis
terial duties. He was promptly dis
missed and accepted his misfortune
without a murmur. Another truant only
escaped a similar fate by proving that
his chief hsd begged him to stay away,
"as there was nothing for him to do."
That M. Clemenceau le not Insensible
to the humorous side of the situation
Is apparent from a little incident which
happened the other day. The terrible
minister suddenly walked Into one of
the offices and surprised an attache
fast ssleep.
The culprit's colleagues hastened to
arouae him to consciousness, when M.
Clemenceau waved them back with tha
words: "Don't wake him; he might
go away!"
Even when the minister waa at
Carlsbad taking tbe waters he did not
forget his circular. He sent s cipher
telegram to the ministry 'one day or
dering the presence sheets to be passed
around. Not a functionary waa absent.
Days off for burying grand-aunts and
christenings have become regretted
memories of the past.
o Officials Were There.
If. Clemenceau's reforming seal haa
extended even to the prisons. Hta flrat
visit was not encouraging. The porter
of St. Lasare prison In the Rue du Fau
bourg St.- Denis opened the gate one
morning to a little old gentleman. The
following dialogue took place:
"What do you wantt"
"I wish to visit the establishment."
"Have you the prefect's permission T"
"No; I am the minister of the In
terior. Go and call the governor."
The porter stood aghast. Finally he
stammered: "Monsieur le Dlrerteur has
gone out." Monsieur le Mlnistre."
"Well, then call the chief warder."
Again cam the stammering reply that
the chief warder was out also.
The same was the case with the sis
ter superior, end finally M. Clemenceau
Interviewed the clerk. For weeka the
governor, chief warder and elster su
perior hardly ventured outalde the
prison gstes for fear of another sur
prise visit from the terrible minister.
It Is Impossible to crowd into the limits
of an article the sensational doings of
M. Clemenceau during the short period
be hss held the portfolio of the In
terior. It begsn with courrierea The awful
mining catastrophe by which over 1.000
Uvea were sacrificed occurred, aa will
be remembered. In March, almost imme
diately after the formation of the Sar-
rten ministry. Between (0.000 and
70.000 miners under the Influence of
revolutionary agitators struck work, and
for a time the situation waa extremely
grave. M. Clemenceau repaired post
haste to Lens, the headquarters of the
Basly and Brnutchoux syndicates, the
latter was open by revolutionary. The
minister first of all Interviewed the
Baslyltes. whose leader la the mayor
snd parliamentary represents live ef
Lena, and then, to the utter dismay of
prefect, meyor, police and all official-
torn, announced his Intention of inter
viewing the Broutchoutlsts. A minis
ter In the revolutionary court: Never
had Such a thing been heard of. What
If an anarchist outrage were commit
ted T What If his excellency were
seised snd held hostage?
In the Lion's Dsn.
Nothing daunted, the little msn, In
bowler and lounge suit and unattended,
walked iato the Broutchoutlsts' deav
heedless of scowling, suspicious glances,
and announced hla Intention of address
ing the miners.
"Bonjour, oltoyens. Bonjour, cttoyen
minis tre."
And then, when silence had been ob
tained. M. Clemenceau told the miners
that he had come to inquire into their
caae, and exhorted them to be calm and
avoid disorder, promising them that if
l! jjjjWflpkBMpl
I
f' ILjL i
. t - i aar
RIGHT-HAND w
there were no disorder no foroe would
be used
"And what will you do, citizen." cried
a miner, "If there Is disorder?"
In that case." was the bold, unhesi
tating reply, "the government will en
force order and proteot the mines, but
I promise you that you ahall not see a
single soldier. They shall be brought
Into the district by night and posted
within the works, and if there le no
disorder not a single pantalon rouge
(red trousers) shall be seen in the
streets."
It was s perilous game to play, but
the miners were visibly overawed by
the minister's undaunted attluda and
he waa cheered as he left the hall. M.
Clemenceau kept hla word- Thousands
of troops were brought Into the north
ern departments by night and posted
about the mines Unfortunately there
waa disorder, the military were fre
auentlv seen In the streets of Lens and
J throughout the mining districts, and M.
Clemenceau was severely cnuciasQ oy
his opponents for parleying with revo
lutionaries. The echoes of Courrierea had Scarce
died away when all France waa thrown
Into a panto by Oie approach of May
day. It waa firmly believed that the
country waa on the eve of a terrible
socialist and anarchist upheaval. Here
again the energy of the minister of the
interior waa apparent. Five thousand
troops preserved order In Paris and the,
good citizens who had laid in stores of
ham, sausage and biscuit agalnat a
siege were none the worse for their
fright, except that they had to eat oold
victuals for a fortnight.
Influence of America.
Clemenceau's right hand man at the
ministry - of the interior is Albert Bar
raut, the under secretary, aad when a
while ago M. Sarraut fought a duel
with M. Pugllesl-ContL the Liberal dep
uty, his famous chlsf acted aa hla sec
ond.
For a Frenchman Indeed M. CI era an
ceau'a energy ia quite, abnormal. There
Is something distinctively American
about it. Perhaps that la due to the
fact that he epent four yeara la Amer-
When he was only It ha waa
thrown Into prison for shouting "Vive
la Republlque" at a medical students'
meeting. He waa kept three months In
jail and the experience left an Incredi
ble Impression on his powerful and re
bellious character. Aa soon aa be was
releaaed he made tracks for the bond of
the free.
He might have extent the rest of his
days there snd perhaps by this time
have been a 'United Statea senator but
for the Franco-German war and the
break-up of the empire. Theee events
brought back to Paris from many a
distant corner of the earth the men who
fought the empire In Ite days of glory
snd omnipotence. They caused Clemen
ceau. to pack up hla portmanteau and
bid a lifelong farewell to America.
Once back In the capital he abandoned
medicine he la a full-fledged doctor
for Journalism and polltlos. He has an
Intellect as keen as a razor, a will as
hard as the granite cliffs of hla own
native I -a Vend. To these qualities
he unites dauntless courage, moral ana
intellectual no leas than physical.
For nigh 40 years he has been bat
tling In French politics with voice and
pen, sword and pistol and yet It la
only within tba lost six months that he
has had the opportunity of revealing
some of his greatest qualities to the
world. Hla enemies say that he Is 111
and old he Is on the shady aids ef
(6 and therefore In a hurry. If that
la so the republic would be all the bet
ter for a few more "Invalids" spurred
on by age and debility.
The Unhappy
From the Cleveland Loader.
"That waa a great game tn RnsTBa-
the 24 Inning one."
"Yes. But I kr.ow what would have
hsppened If they had played ft sere."
"Whatr
"One of our chronic kickers would
have got' up when they reached the ?0th
inning and sked if he wasn't entitled
to a rain obf l in onss the game was
called oa eeeaunt of dsrknesa" -
a.
From the Chicago Tribune,
The Maiden It Is easy to see, M.
Hklnimerhorn, In spile i
tlons, 'hat t am net tl
have ever proueead ta
our asjswawsjs
The stan w ny w
The Ma U Inn -You
as you could from II
there in the corner
I
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f tsis.'iTTs mUm m