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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1908)
THE OREGON ' SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTL AND. -SUNDAY MORNINO. AUGUST 16, 1908 CIPRIANO CASTRO, CASTLE BANDIT OF THE ANDES Dictator of a Lawless Element, He Holds Sway, Calling Himself Supreme Ctief-HM Firm' Grip on the Government Unit nown to Fame Only a Few Yean Ago V.neiuela Is a nation with a population equal to the combined popu lation of Ilia slates of New York and New Jersey It" ; rea,nr th" th. combined area of the German empire, the BrltlMh Isle, and Japan. It has an export trade of U5.000.000 and an import commerce of about $9. 000.000. It national debt 1h about $ ir.o00,oo5 and Its national wealth a DO enormous that no statistician has ov.-r computed It- For nine years thla rich and populoua nation has beer, under the rule of the moa p cture.oue autocrat that ever defied the nation- of the earth. Just now he la at odds wthtolland and a Tutch licet Is reporte.) as, be ng on It. way to U tern mere remarkable than Clprlano Castro. - n. ... . ? ., n , 1 , u r , ' Th. auich f him which frill.-ws was written by one who had been afford ed uJwMl opporTunltle. of ...nkliig a clu.. study of thla "Porcupine of th. . Andes." B tn A to .. 1. .... 1.4 if ' liHiiv way to remove Don t-iprini.u . ...l- .1,1. ,f U-llO. tro, the Andean for years, has maintained hlm-elf a dlctetor of unhappy It will have accompll-hed more In the cause of civilisation and law and order than oil The Hague conference, have accomplished thua far. The relation between Holland i- n.'Mnr Iv clrse ari' ' eiiellt:i - - , K. portant. because of the vicinity of th r...h oinle of Curacao end Surinam to the coast of the ...oat 'J'"'., a political sense, of '1I!,nl;A,mei0 i.nnHlr. These relations time find prove himself and 1m- . ...7. t.,o nredecesaor or tne J'mlnl.t-r who left Caracas last ek under every circumstance or in renui iic-b. '-. ..t,,t and h.n -tra ned to ine ureuiw.... '";-; - three JDutcl ., weea imoc. ""'.'.,:,, ,h fertile nit iknrt conirmyi ,i .martnationoi --he reck- Castro planned and couio.CTimn.j7 , Xr(rafi, worked for a union of capable of maintaining, Ujjalnst all enemies from wtthl Tin- taag Anilines, of whom hla armiea ur al.noat exclusively com pnned. ndore tlit-lr repulsive robber chief. At all events, he does not rob them, they aver, and thin assertion Is un doubtedly true. ("astro Is exceeding ly geiieroiiM with his brigand followers, and, while of course retaining: the lion's slmii' of - the loot of his country for himself, he sees to It that 1.1s soldlf rs ; "o more comfortable and have mora nmney ttyiii Venezuelan soldiers ever had before. He has not wearied of the cares of office, possibly because he tikes hla responsibilities so lightly, and the charms of Paris do not appeal to htm. The money that he has begged, bor rowed, and stolen Is not hoarded up In Paris against the day of downfall and exile, sa was the almost Invariable habit of his predecessors, but Is ready in nis strong ooxoa lor use in tne day Bt Miraf oes worKeu ior n union or tne nori leas dictate. -In his , Puingnanner republics of South America under ?ndJir.T,P1fine.iA,fhlen treated bv Caa- dictatorship, but failed. Hla unsucc tro's henchmen In the foreign orrice. Aftlr all your excellency should be.; your officials to remember that .... rorannnl UnWOrthlneSS, I th repr.aeWtiv.of the low coun trlf t ..Id Castro curtly, aa he n his heel, "would have you assiduously the northern hla cess- ful Invasion of Colombia was the most open manifestation of this plan, from which he has never awerved. His diplo matic plots to bring about thla result have also failed signally, leaving the dictator an embittered man and ready for anv enterprise however .darlna- and hazardous If It but contain the slight-. turned upon jus , chief t promise of the grandloaa result remember that I am tne supreme mmi ,h.c K. . 1 of the high countries. The Value of Ignorance, Recently he has characterised hla re gime as the Qoblerno Restaurador, or tne Teatorative government. , In ex- ... i . !,. le- planatlon of this term he haa announced He cena.niy in, .u in many public jdocumenta and apeechea merits among his fellow-countrymen that wnne Bolivar conquered and drove Sv. on several occasions signally away the Spaniards, the cosmopolitan . .. . . w,, Th. truth of the companies and the fprelgn buslneis failed to unseat Kim. The truth oi in- men haye floclte(J to v&etueU and tak- ' matter la, the very fact that Castro is en control of the country, imposing a. " without education, conscience, or ecru- oke ( as hard to bear as that of the pies brings him In closest sympathy p0$y re much better armed Btronr. with a great number of hla fellow er jn raen an(j money than were the - emintrvmen of mixed blood and utterly enemies of Bolivar." is one of the dlo- oountrymen or miu tator a most recent utterances, "but I lawless antecedents. Bhail drlve tnem out and not re8t con. i T rnanv VMin RDV CSStTO DaS "HU .,, ... ,. ,, . . ",Vi.7. ..hi Mnn.es ieni unm me economic me as wen no relations with the respectable classes tht) utlcal ajministration of the country Is In native hands. My dream tnnnir Mis reiiow-counvry incii, c.k- those which the Jailer haa with his prisoners and the burglar with thoae whom he robs. One after another the Kuropean and the South American pow er have at the instance of self-respect been compelled to sever all relations with the T'bad man" of Caracas. The representatives of Colombia, Chile, the ! United States, and France recently withdrew, and now ev,en the stolid, long-suffering Dutch minister haa gone, until today the diplomatic officers re maining in Caracas can easily be trans ported in a four-seated barouche. The domestic enemies of the Andean dictator, such as they were, have gone the1' -way of the foreign envoys. Senor Matos. who found from a very bitter svriArlenoa that a revolution In vene- ls to regenerate the republics of the north of South America by uniting them against the barbarians of Europe and the other America." This is rather ungrateful of the man whom five years ago, unwisely it has always seemed to me, we saved from the consequences of his high-handed acts and saw to It that he had his div In the hz court of The Hague, with Mr. Bowen, the able American minis ter, as his advocate. But is charac teristic of the man who went down upon his bended knees to secure Mr. Bowen's services, and then when the matter had been an-enged inspired ft scurrilous campaign In the Caracas press against the man and the country he had publicly acclaimed, and with the eipenrnuB n '.v. f.""", , He nad puonciy acciaimea, ana nmli i not the kid-gloved affair it ,,.Vi .,., ,... had been in the days of his youth. one as hls benefactor and the other hl seems to be living happily and fairly OUiWark:. contented In Paris. He may yearn for some things, but another struggle with . . Twr.;rt nf .,...-. Castro for the spoils of the dictatorship lypical Of Country. would not seem to De among inein. General Hernandes, once the beloved 'PI KlnnMn" or "The Maimed One. have recOTtty- tost nt would aegni Tfi former prestige and popularity. Treatment of a Rival. When the European powers instituted their blockade of the Venezuelan ports the unfortunate Hernandez as the re sult of a revolution against Castro so abortive that the general could claim with much show of evidence that it never was begun, was languishing in the curiously misnamed fortress-prison of the Liberator in Puerto Cabello. Fran his practically submarine cell, bent with rheumatism and prematurely aged by the sufferings of his confine ment, Hernandez appealed to Castro to - be given a chance to die fighting the common foe, the foreigners, i Castro saw the point that was to bo falned and gave Heranadez partial reedom. but when the fear of the for eign fleets was passed he put an end to all danger on the score of Hernan dez' former popularity by compelling , h:m to accept the post consul in fhiiadeipnia. There is another and more vigorous claimant to the supreme chieftainship, and that is General Rolando, who was iiatm'H fighting lieutenant, and who acquitted himself with credit, while un successful. Rolando was in New York a very few days ago, and this time was apparently plotting a revolution on hU own personal account. I am inclined to think, however, that while the better elements of the country would welcome P.olando if successful, they wil not stir :" a finger in his behalf, and that as long as Castro retains his health and vigor, both of which should long ago, accord- ing to the rules of ordinary men, have been shattered by the life of ease and debauchery which he leads, ho will It Is undoubtedly a mistake to char acterize Castro as a South American type. He Is fortunately an exceptional man in any continent and under every dispensation of civilization or want of it. Ten years ago, when the present dic tator of Venezuela, who bo often be fore, as today, has succeeded in en dangering the peace of the world, was 40 years of age. there were at least five score self-styled generals in the republic more prominent than he. ig noring the etiquette of the revolution ary game, by assassinations, exiles and imprisonments, he has thinned out the ranks of his competitors, and for the moment at least rues supreme over a subjudlcated people. In 1898 Castro was not only unknown to fame, but his first appearance in public life as senator to the federal congress from the Andlne state of El Gachira had been a distinct failure. His uncouth manners were remarked upon in a by no means conventional or august assembly. He made no mark upon the legislation of the session, and . all that is remembered of his of Venezuelan parliamentary activity is tne lact tnat ins unirammeiea ieei reiusea 10 oe en- casedn leather for more than 10 min utes a time, and that he was as "sockless" as Jerry Simpson in his early days. Castro returned to the Andes with a great hatred of Caracas, which he de nounced as a Europeanized capital, and of its society, by which he had been overlooked and snubbed. He detested the men of the Guzman Blanco and Ma tos school, by whom he had been ignored. I here touch upon the real strength of Castro's 'position outside of his brig andish independence, of the restraints of law and the properties, and his un doubted courage. He eats like a pig ' UiWW?w& fit (Mil ill-.--. 1 ,JMt ; & remembered my opportune contribution .the astonished capital with th., In vl.w of ammunition and cash, but he said of hla acta, almost sacrilegious word that 'Peplto,' hla caAintryman from th. "God - and th. Federation'' amblaaoned Andes, had set hia heart on th. place, upon hla yellow banners, he haa ruled and to avoid friction and troubl. I had '' country according to.-th. dictate, better et him have it at hi. price. or his personal caprice and for th. "I did It. I gave Peplto th. title deeds greatest profit to himself and hl An and he gave me hla pogorlto or promise dean eomradea. to pay th. absurd purohaaa price at Several of th. half-hearted defender, soma future day. Bine, then I have J the Castro regime, and a few such never heard from Peplto, and ioim of hv are, say that after all th. friction my frionda tell me I am fortunate. which has resulted In th. almost oom tYou North Aroerloans 'think that I P''e ostracism of Castro by th. civil and those of my class who submlfto Led world has arisen over th. claim, uch treatment ar. cowards. Some, of or foreign conce Ipji hunters, whoa, your countrym.n hav. told ni. as much, morality and observance of th. law but you do us an Injustice, I think. A " . mon .dmlrable than thos. of man who ent.rs into a struggle where th. Andean dictator. After all. it Ja as he knows he will not have fair play, frif these, wen Invested their mon.y where be will b. stabbed trom behind J" tn' .c,ountry with full knowledge of by som. bandit hired for th. lob at the conditions obtaining there, snd aev- about 25 cents a murder, isnot, in our fi. r, n advance committed auuui 1U Will IIIUIUVI, IP' IIU4, 111 vut , . , V --- ' ..I'lil III i I icu opinion, a brave man, but a thoughtless, ne.nJ!e,vf. t0 th poaltlon of promts careless fool. I oav tribute to Castro ,n. 19 Beelc no redress for their vrnn nd to his sub-cnl.fi. pay trlbut. to Caatro l"."5elt r.dr.sg for their wrongs, ii.fi. I submit to It r?al ?' reeled, except at th. hands ol all as pleasantly as 1 can; mey ear i u"u" Oieae advo- am a good fellow and not proud. Ilk. f CMtro, or at least of non-inter- some of my peers, and as a result I I-n i-!uU ff c wh,h have fed my children and kept som. of ?L?Yff bMh? old sxtpm of int.r- my stat.s Intact r ?e.to? hiV-whh' !eud" .tV.te in- "Two members of my family have i,'"0'. or take .the conae- gone into politics In the last JO y..rs. UB??1. nf r ,- , ana ooin ox tnera were muraerea. in v i. i miiniii wen, my Judgment they simply wasted th.ir when h a tJ.t.ocord wlth. the fct- llv.B. Castro cannot livs forer.r; per- vflf0".. eonco.slons which haps soma day a man vhfc. wlf. or sis- SSted Z- 2fon',cted or "r '- ter or daughter ha. suffered th. last fc.rt2 -nS din6re 7'2r coprt. in Indignity at hi. hands, a. hav. so many XSaSm trT'h". ?!!!!dB WUSi T:?"ld !! be.better, becaus. l&f Xrrl,h;. ,V won, UIWUIO lUCJf tUU.U Ottl DOBBIDir hoan In K.. " - Vi Bun. " " -"s "i me counirv rnr a give this picture' of affair. in.V.ne- KlZZT! JJ,hA ', 9 sueia as viewed from the inside, be- tnn' k ,7r."5t ""X" i cause it has seemed to me the truest ifl i investigate the er.ndiitc!v.JaU thut na- li.j t i... ,t ir. " m. conditions there. be worse.1 I cuela aa viewed from tbe inside, be turn waa cvwr pniuiau, auu l K1VB u Thv - - . . the more readily becaus. th. thought oallfn M...r" f l0. P P" that what would happen to mv Inform ant, whose identity would be easily rec- and women wr. fnnitj U" ,...V5 ant. wnose identity would be easily rec- there under condition. ,hiVTu . V. ognlsed. does not deter me. The last lrT.? cn..iUon' whicn Chines. malls from Veneiuela brought the news It was found that ion of his escape by death from a position coLoJ crlm Inals who had bi"rt, J which, in view of all the conditions, I committed to th.JalTby Sentence of U . will not qual.y. courts, had been allowed "to i walk out , t t j wn,.U ve'00 wen wore found In prison Ways Of a Brigand against whom no charge had ever been LVr"; "nemoers or the court wer. Castr and asset of great value, and he exploited denly they found themselves removed it. These mountain men of Los Andes """ ""': iewoinces oy a presidential and Trujillo had been robbed for gen- ni,. Wh,Ch WM of oourM wholly eratioos by officials who were sent to The bar association of Caracas met, them from the capital with orders to a"d after verifying the facts as BtateH enrich themselves and their patrons as ot t'o Vocept "th? ToonwhinlfT quickly as possible. Castro (n th. sea- Seen vaca?eTlnthsue0 antl.'eh'Chnlad U.. J. J I a. v. . .. " . nnr iaf iim(1 ti Kt naHwe. hlsrltlaHrlei o found hit hatred of th capital nd under tha conditions prevailing thf those who dwell therein a political Vffn.'S S?!?'.." mtkJL.rr .on niAOA hi. living hv Bamnllnr nnrrp r " - r, -t "iiiiuuo u.a mem nonor. out In the beans for a German firm in Maracalbo, sequel proved quite unnecessary Cs.t and from this connection springs, It Is filled the vacancies with his cronies said, his intense hatred of the Ger- men for the most nart withnnt th. mans. He also hadit this time a small cattle ranch at Ban Cristoval. Castro was decidedly averse to ptvylng taxes on these cattle, possibly because, as a wit among his neighbors remarked, anyone couia see rrom tne Drana marks they slightest legaT training or standing In the community. One was n h.i-h,- an other a mule driver. When summoned to preside over the Oiighost courts In the land they purchased law books for the first time. During the blockade of bore that the cattle didn't really belong the Venezuelan ports in the winter of n., ii,.,.. lion mo w-i.v, i-nmc iiii.v hv, audits uiiemiiness was manifested his neighborhood Castro drove his cattle In . Washington as to the fairness and line into Colombia, and so as In the way of the tax- CIPRIANO CASTRO MISRULER OP VENEZUELA "CATTLE BANDIT OF THE ANDES." than a horse. His hair is always un kempt, and hia clothing far from clean ly or neat. He was born a man of the people, and such a one he has remained. He has not risen In the social scale with his political advancement. He has with out success tried to learn to play, bil liards, but otherwise he has left the Parisian veneer, so dear to many of his predecessors, severely alone. When the cattle herders from the Co lombian frontier or the Orinoco plains call upon him and find their dictator wallowing In the, mud and filth to which so many of them are accustomed at home, they like it, and take a very len ient view of Castro's crimes and blun ders, which, as they take but short views of the situation, they do not see can ever affect their personal fortunes, and this of course Is tljeir principal concern. . To the cattlemen and the peons of Venezuela the South American states men of the school of Blanco and Matos are as much strangers as we gringos from the north, and, indeed, perhaps more so. These men have acquired their education in France or in Eng land, they wear foreign clothes, avoid the black beans of the country as though they contained arsenical poison, and are called "moosins" by their hum ble fellow-countrymen, like any other foreigners. Poor But Cultivated Citizens. In Caracas, Valencia, and in Puerto Cabello I have frequently met with men who had achieved university honors at Oxford, In Paris, or at Heidelberg and and makes more noise when drinking Bonn. They were still well-read, charm ing conversationalists and companions, but without any exceptions, at least that have come to my notice, they were most ineffective citizens. My relations with one of these cosmopolitan citizens of Caracas were such that on one oc casion I ventured to point out that, aftpr all, ae they made not the slightest effort to 'bear the burdens of citizen ship, he and those who remained inac tive with him probably deserved no better fate than was theirs, that of be ing ruled with great cruelty and se verity by successive crews of barba rians. "I think conditions are quite different down here, and your criticism Is un just," was his reply. "In the United States the voter who sometimes can neither read nor write cancels by his ballot the vote of the college president or some other leader of great parts, and I could acquiesce in that. But down here the periodic revolutions take the place of your presidential elections, and according to your ideas of civic virtue I should allow myself to- be pitted against the bare-footed bandit of the plains and see that my bullet goes home. "I say the struggle is an unfair one and decline the challenge. The bandit is a better man than I am in the Jungle and in the mountains, and I admit it. Consequently I have adopted a ' policy which is simply one of self-preservation. In so far as that is possible, I stand in with all parties. Whenever a revo lution is started I send presents as rich as I can afford to the new chief, who may prove a winner; at tha same time I strengthen mvself with the ac tual chief by as stout a contribution as my strong box affords. So the new men come and go, they rob me and deprive me of my best farms, but I survive, and a change may come, but not initiated by us. We want the Intervention of some civilized power. One of my cous ins praj'S every day for intervention, even the Intervention of the devil, as he puts it; but, after all. the Monroe doctrine stands in the way of any civ ilized people taking pity on our plight, and we are surely drifting back to a level of Hayti and the Congo. "Forty years ago my grandfather owned lands which covered an extent of territory greater than several of your smaller states. On these lands 10,000 people lived, and our coffee was fourht for on the Amsterdam and the London exchanges. Today, with the exception of a few near-by farms, this vast es tate Is a wilderness in which wild ani mals and still wilder men have their lairs. "I would no more think of showing myself on those lands where my grand father ruled than I would think of tak ing prusslc acid. The only safety for a landed proprietor is when his are grown up with weeds and brush then the new flight of pdve ers which follow every successive su preme chief will not ast covetous eyes upon them. "When Castro came In I had a sug gestive misadventure of this kind. One of his Andino lieutenants liked the looks of a little hacienda which I kept in fair shape near the city. I had contributed money and ammunition to the Castro campaign fund, and when this fellow came and offered me about one third what the place was worth I declined curtly. "Then Castro intervened. He was more amiable than he has often shown himself to be on similar occasions. He over the prospered dodger. But one year, a date frequent with much disaster to Venezuela the tax collector of the frontier district In Venezuela and his colleague In Colom bia got together and planned a simul taneous drive against the tax dodders. Castro was caught between two fires, several of his men and neighbors who also found the payment of taxes irk some were killed, and their herds were confiscated. Having now left to him no other means of support, Castro raised the standard of revolt. He proclaimed a short-swjord war against the outlanders from Caracas, and within three weeks, supported by the cattlemen, he entered the capital of the Andean state and was proclaimed president of the mountain province. Andrade, a well-intentioned but weak man, was president of Ven ezuela at the time and mint unpopular. All the politicians of the capital wanted to get rid of him, because in the few months he had- held office he had shown himself to be surprisingly honest and self-respecting. Savior of the Country. The political Junta about this time heard of Castro and they tipped him the wink to come on and save the country. Castro came, starting with eighty men, and though he opened all the Jails he came across In bis hard ride to the cap ital, he probably bad only BOO or 600 men with him when he won the fight at Valencia, and Andrade, disgusted by the treachery with which he was sur rounded, left the country. He fled to the legality of this court, against which the powers had protested repeatedly be fore they were compelled to take forci ble measures for reckless. Castro saw that he must act quickly to bolster up the prestige of his court, and he did so In a clever, characteristic way. Running the Courts. An American claim for breach of con tract against the Venezuelan govern ment had been before the courts for 10 years. The claimant was long sine, dead, and the claim was regarded as without value. But Castro fished It out of the dockets and cabled Washington that the full damages, with interest, had been awarded three days before. The supreme court, obedient to the dic tator's will, had rendered this decision. These Incidents, which might easily be duplicated a thousandfold, will suffice, I think, to Justify the extreme want of confidence which nil foreign litigants show inrthe integrity of the Venezuelan courts as at present constituted. The other charge which the partisans of Castro bring has much more founda tion in fact. The accusation is that during the Matos rebellion all the for eigners aided the Matos forces with men, money, arms and information. These charges have never been proved by evidence that would stand scrutiny, but here at least there Is some basis In fact. In three years Castro had ham pered and. Indeed, in mapy Instances, as in the asphalt concession, absolutely ruined every enterprise in the land con ducted by foreigners. Then Matos. an honest man of good antecedents, and with the best blood In Ut country flowing through his veins, made his bid for the presidency in the Hayti on the leaky gunboat which then as It is now, was about all there was revolutionary way. the only way. owing afloat of the Venezuelan navy. When to the utter defiance of the electoral estates gunboat back to Caotro with the advice was open to him. Matos failed because jungle t0 have It immediately and thoroughly he was not a man of war, and during ventur- overhauled, aa he would heed it and the last four years Castro has devote! neea it oaaiy at an eariy aay to make nimself to the Indian punishment of his own exit from the difficult position those whom he suspects, undoubtedly he had attained with such astonishing with some reason, of having aided or ease. abetted his unsuccessful rival. But Andrade was mistaicen, as were all the political prophets who had been of the opinion that once he had done the bloody butcher's Job for them the political Junta of the capital would make snort work or tne little Anaean cattle thief. they made. as a result tne commerce of the ofiuntrv has dwindled to notHing: the bountiful crops are not harvested be cause there is no money in th. land; people are starving In what was ao- It was a grave mistake black death travels from deSm-teii nnrt Three at least of the to grass-grown Caracas, inflicting th. Junta paid for their miscalculations last touch to a gloomy picture the Ilk. with their lives, and the others have of which has not been since the die had years In exile to repent of it. tator Francia converted smiling Para From the day when Castro entered guay into a deserted wilderness. HE MURDERED OPPORTUNITY-By John An- By the Amkteur GanWr MME. FARM AN WOULD FLYTells of Her Ex periences and Ambitions as an Aeronauts Wife , derson Jayne The next 20 years of this young man's life is a record of rambling and gambling, such as few would believe, weie it not proved to them. He became a veritable globe trotter. One week he would be heard of in Cincinnati, Ohio, then tn an almost Incredibly short time he would be heard of in Portland. Or. Sowehow, and In some way, duri.rg his rambles, possibly having a natural ap titude for mechanics,' he had learned to do work on what was known as a belt knife machine in a tannery, a Job that in those days paid remarkably good money. He went to South Amerl- "' L CSZt wm hv recent and 'a. mace great jumps to Australia a .u in. noii. h.p lifo Africa, and round hlmseir atlrirt in tne example the ways of the higher life, j ,,, ooean and wa. rescued wnen at The mother, one oi n. trum the point of death by a passing bark prB.iDfoi.it u.i. . . "'"- carrying the flag or 1 was as loyal to her sons interests as ' , FIFTY YEARS AGO, In an old town In Massachusetts, there was born to a well-to-do couple their first and, as after events proved, their only son. From the very begin ning of his career the young lad was surrounded with every privilege that Intelligence, industry and love could devise His father, a faithful member of one of the strong Puritanical rh-.ireb.es. sought to train hia boy in the waya of righteousness and charac ter While demanding of his boy' obedi ence to paternal commands, he was not hard harsh and strict aa men even to ilav count harshness. He reasoned with was the father. 8he did not do. as do too many mothers, seek to ehleld her sons dertttctions rrom me .noicun of the father, but a second Eunice Brazil. During these 20 years he had mar ried a girl In Cincinnati, from a good family, but Buch was his treatment of her that she lived with him but a few he traced him well in the principles months and arterwara secured a oi- of life then so well understood by tbe vorce. He returned to his native town wethers of her day and generation. one night under cover of darkness. In when the war broke out, th. ragged and destitute, and succeeded In father enlisted aa s private in the wrestling from his mother -money with Volon army, and. such was hia courage which he fixed himself up, and then and heroism, at the close he came horn, presented himself at the doors of toe (mm th. mar lth t ha tltla or CM.D- IteSl nOIJieB, tlUlllI lllIIIBVll. B IHUIUCII veins flowed the spirit of the "wander lust." whose life had been spent in action, getting, however, nowhlther. Just before he left the city he said to the preacher: "I have murdered my opportunity. I have made shipwreck of life. I have had and lost, and now have nothing. I am but flotsam and Jetsam on the ocean of life. You may tell my story if you will, but If you tell it, tell it for the purpose of warning other young men. Tell young men that ildeii tiousness does not pay; that .wickedness brings despair, disease and disgrace. Tell them to listen to their father's advice. If they have a decent father, and forsake not the way of their mother. Ten them the way of the . transgressor Is hard, hard, hard." This Is the simple, true story of a man. who, by his own statement, and to the knowledge of his friends, mur dered opportunity. It's a story that can' be duplicated thousands upon thou sands of times. But In the hope that some young man will catch the warn ing and heed the message the story of this particular young man who mur dered opportunity Is told today. In Vienna It Is necessary for a man to get bl wife's consent before he may ascend In a balloon. I notice In my gardening The soil is somehow hardening. I rake it, But, plague take It! It jUjSt crumbles Into dust. Plain mud I make by soaking It, It's got beyond all Joking, it Just fills me And chills me With a feeling of disgust My lettuce Isn't flourishing, My cabbages want nourishing. Manuring Isn't curing; It is only breeding files. My corn Is dry and yellowing. My beets are far from mellowjhg; Potatoes And tomatoes Neve? will get any size. It may be sheer stupidity. Humidity, aridity. The weather- Altogether I can't see reason clear, The causes I'm divided on. But one thing I've decided on: 1 11 stop It, Simply drop It, And I'll buy my stuff next year. Chicago News. WHILE Henry Farman is busy with his airship at the Brigh ton Beach race track his wife Is steadily reminding him that he has promised her at th. outset of his aeronautic career that he would take her along with him on -on. of his flight, through .th. air. Madame Farman Is small and foreign-looking, with bright auburn hair and brown eyes. She speaks with ani mation and active gestures. Her admi ration for her husband's pluck and ability Is unbounded. "It is now a year ago," she said, "that my husband turned hie attention from automobiles to airship. Ever since then he has been experimenting continually. "He leaves our house at Paris about 10 o'clock every morning, gets to work with his airship, and does not leave It until 10 o'clock at night, sometimes, even later. Since he began UlB experi ments tn aerial navigation he has mad. 6,000 flights." "What"' exclaimed the reporter, fear ing that he had misunderstood. But itaa. Knowing that long absence from home had giver, his s-n more liberty than h otherwise micht have bad. the father bn winning the boy's confl ' denoe anew. and. at the aa of 12. father and son were th- best of friends wanderer, who had made a "strike out tn the Black Hills. Under prom ise of reformation, he married again, this time one of tbe best girls of his former Bet. Upon her at the time of the marriage was settled a large sum THE OLD ORDER PASSETH-By Cara Reese ft Intimate chums This happy rela- of money, which he Immediately confis- iwwumip continued until the lad was IS. whs, suddenly, almost without a rnomrat's warning, he took the bit In M. tth and. like a voung colt ran way with himself. lie broke Ionta freni the restraint of his bnmt, refused study la u aoadetay which he was ttiio. - sunt, associating with the ' w n in. vuttous of hla bsUt cated. and when It was well-nigh spent disappeared, while sb. died of a broken heart. When th. Ppanlsh-Amerlcan war broke out. though he was above age, he wa. known to be on Iewey"s flag ship at Manila bar. In some way ha secured a discharge from the Olyropla nil itht.lnMl m a I ii. 1 1 (in In Inffw1 tow, fcrooclit sorrow te his another's States government office, where. In rt. ir--4 to his father, and heraa some myeterloua manner, considerable - - m ' r.- w igimil a rmr. m mn that - - a,1 thmiirh ha haiula to his fingers. Con- unsettled in the Phillp- f ir-w' .tirtO) is that cf JXTst Vt - rrXuTTl- ,vh h4 s few days sgo h. was la Pltts- ' l,r? while she. rr t the debonair manner lingering la his . .i-f. bro..- heerl for hln. s.d 'ste earrtag,. , Hut Uk " ho Chirac! ' rr i ",. era.s tr tn th ta-e weald know hir. tohtt ...;. tUit t fead fied th. tews. soldier of fertBss. sTma T U. whoso - " - v .. the sfW yrs were to be le-j. remained Blued 1.1 .srvMs of ertmo. and dts-ase. -dittoes hln u At. tn. age ! II h married, tinnn ninm. sad thr , .hint. ,..J '. V? W" thst he was a thief and forger, he was MITBE the other folks hay. not changed so Tnuch as you are different your-elf. It Is not always a one-elded experience this thing of old time friends looking and seeming unlike themselves when you meet them after a lapse of years. There is a continuous changing about of particles in both organic and inor ganic substsnces, and you, as a repre sentative of tbe former, are not exempt. But It la not in the phye-ical being that tbe changes are marked so much as In the status f the intellectual growth. That la. ths old-time friends seem far ahead, fir vice v-ra; they seem su perior In some ren-scts. or rte. versa; thev hav. gained In soma Indescribable manner, or lost, or the mea.re la above or below that which you had expected. Oh. yes: years hav. passed and pro cesses have been slow, 'perhaps, and ag. baa snad. Inroads. la other words, th. cottage In wMch Tt passed your, childhood, and whoso eoaadaries seemetl UanlUsss and living faowK BpaetoUi. and the memory of which you hav. cherished during all your years of wanderings In foreign lands, and to which you return at last to look upon with awe and reverence has ill ruck to pigmy slxe and you are bewildered, disappointed. Where you had fondly hoped to meet appreciative and congenial comradeship after the lapse of time, you find the sroiiing infant still, howbelt in adult guise: or vie versa, you meet the pity ing glance, "of the Intellectual giant who was once your Inferior In bookish ways, your puny pinafore pla; -'ste. To meet old friends Is not always the un alloyed pleasure of which the sentimen talist sings. And family reunion, and gatherings of th. clans are not always joyous. IJres thst have ben lived apart are al ways different; the points of contact ar lost, tbe Insidious process ef change hars wrought transforms Hon. never SvgalB will the' old days return: never again ths old confidences r th. old Interchange of thought and feelings. Saddening, is It aot? Astd yet. per. haps the other folks are not changed nearly bo much aa you are different yourself. The pouting, petulant ways of childhood are now confirmed habits and you are a whining, disagreeable person. Tour willful tendencies sre now downright antagonistic and you are an Irritant, Instead of an attractive, sprightly child, petted and shielded. You have followed your own bent; no hallmark of the schools, no disciplined mind, no encouraged traits such as lor. for books, for music and art. and for the finer things of life. Tou are a chsd, perhaps, while th. old-time friends hav. blossomed, put forth frultag.; hare followed ever higher leading and hav toiled both eariy and lata in the master's vineyard. Well, a pansy s waits you both, over time work or scanty measurs; a penny await. yoQ, as well as 'the other, pro viding that yoisvlah. hold now In oarn t and draw yourself up to proper or der; develop yowr- faonltieo and strrr to pat something Into this rood world, and not always fes sueeiJng out th. Jules. Be wisel ' - - - - - Madame Farman smiled reassuringly and reiterated her statement. "Yes, 5,000 flights," she said. "He Is flying all the time. Besides being exceedingly plucky, he is very careful and. calculating. Cellular Aeroplane. TTfa sirahin ) of the cellular aero plane type, built along the Unea of the machines of Langley, Chanut and Llllen thal with sp-me distinctive devices of my husband's own invention. "I have seen my husband fly twice only, th. second time being when he won the Deutsch prise of $10,000 last January." "Did you feel nervous on those occa sions V Madame Farman was asked. "At first I did not. But when I Jooked at the faces of the people in the crowd nnd heard their comments about --the danger to which my huBband was ex posing hlmBelf in his flight. I became quite uncomfortable. "Has your husband had any serious accidents T" .... . "One. That was last March. You know he usually flies his airship very close . to th. ground, which, though Mfer-if th. motor gives out high up, you aro don. for 4. much more dlffi- J . . . . ... . . . wa,Bt ltlllM cull ".nan iims " a-- , Near the ground, you see, there are cue rents of air coming up from the earth, and others coming down meeting them, nd others coming crosswise. "Well, my husband wbb Tying at great velocity quite near the earth, when an unexpected current of air sud denly turned his machine completely over, throwing him violently to th. r"Hedwsa at once taken to hla mother's house, which was fortunately near. There he lay unconscious two hours. "I am glad that I wasn't thera I re ceived a wire immediately, but when I get to his mothers house he was all right, though his face oh. It was dread ful "Previous to hit present trip to Amer ica he hss always experimented for hira--lf. never as public performer. At first. In spit., of th. yery tempting offer to cpBB. here hels te ret about tie 000, I understand a. hesitated, owing to th. tct thst his three months' stay in this country would set him back la his .Bperi-nents for Improving his mschlnew At Paris, ha I said. h. Is con tinually tnsklng improvement a and he has been experimenting recently with sjew saetor far stronger and better thafl the on. he now has. In fact, the trouble with his machine at present is the motor It Is not really adapted for carrying more than one person et time in the machine. Build Many Airships, "Eventually my husband hopes t build a number of airships and sell them, for you will understand that ths expenses of his constant experimenting are enormous. The Deutsch prize of $10,000, won by him in January, and another of $2,000 have only served te cover his recent expenses. "One source of heavy expense is th. high pay he has to glv. his mechanic, Herbster. An airship mechanic, you must know, Is an engineer willing to da the dirty urork, which most engineer will not do. Herbster we always call him Maurice has been with my hus band from the start and thoroughly understands the machine. He cam. from the Automobile Palac. at Parts, the big sjsraga run by my husband and his brother. "Another point about his flights her. in America, which will b dlfterent from the conditions under which he has been accustomed to work at Paris, will be that he will probably undertake to fly sometimes when wind snd weather are not quite satisfactory, since he will not want to disappoint those who gather to see htm do It. But I am glad to say that those who brought him over her. re intelligent men, who understand -perfectly well that an aeroplane cannot fly to order; that certain conditions re necessary to make a flight a suc cess. And the crowds thst go to Brighton expecting to see my husband fly must use their own Judgment be fore starting as to whether or not thes. conditions may be fulfilled and not ex pect to see him fly Just because they have come out wjth that end In view. "And there will be another difference here In the United States the Sunday. If weather conditions permit, my hUB band w 111 fly st Brighton Beach on Sun 6ay aa well as on week days. '"Now, In Paris h. never takes hlalr ship vp on Sundays That day be keeps for me. At th. outset of his airship ex periments ho promised me that ho would do so and he has never even once broken th. rule. ' "But here, of course, with th. crowds coming to s htm fi. he will be obliged to go on Sundays, too." A"1 Farmaa elghod" r.grt- ) i.