!
JUST COMMON FOLKS,
If only sweetest bells wee rung
How we should miss the minor ehimea
If only grandest poets sung,
There'd be no simple little rhymes;
The modest clinging vine adds grace
To all the forest's giant oaks,
And 'mid earth's mighty is a place
To people with just common folks.
Not they the warriors who shall win
Upon the battlefield a name
To sound the awful din;
Not theirs the painter's deathless fame;
Not theirs the poet's muse that rings
The rhythmic gift his soul invokes;
Theirs but to do the simple things
That duty gives just common folks.
Fate has not lifted them above
The level of the human plane;
They share with men a fellow love .
In touch with pleasure and with pain.
One great, far-reaching brotherhood,
With common burdens, common yokes,
And common wrongs and common good
God's army of just common folks.
ft
:
An Unconscious Matchmaker.
O tell me, old fellow, how on
earth It is possible for such a
metamorphosis to have taken
place. Not a month ago we sat here,
two hardened bachelors, determined to
remain so to the end of our days, and
now I find you transformed into a most
devoted husband."
A hearty laugh was the immediate
answer to this outburst, and Dr. Tren
ton, to whom it was addressed, took a
puff at his pipe before replying.
"Well, you see, Jim," he said, "I
thought it would be fun to surprise you
thoroughly for once. But Delia shall
tell you the story, and you may be sur
prised to learn that you yourself, un
consciously, I admit, made up the
match."
"I suppose it is for penance, Will,
that I am to narrate my own mistakes
and misdeeds to Mr. Allison. Two
months ago I was a stupid little coun
try girl. My eldest brother had sent
for me to keep his house. Our parents
have been dead many years and I had
lived with an aunt. Henry, my brother,
had written me that it would be impos
sible for him to meet me at the depot,
and that I should drive to the Tudor
Plats, where he was living on the
fourth floor. My poor brain was cer
tainly in a whirl after my long drive
through the noisy streets. When I ar
rived at the Tudor Flats I walked
bravely up the stairs.
"I know you will laugh at me dread
fully, Mr. Allison, but you must remem
ber that I had never before seen so
many stairs. In my ignorance I was
unaware that the entresol does not
count; therefore, when I arrived at a
landing where a door was ajar and an
old man servant replying to an inquirer
the the doctor would not be home until
2 o'clock, I naturally concluded that I
had reached my Journey's end, for my
brother also bears the title doctor. To
old James' astonishment I walked
calmly in, saying:
" 'The doctor expects me. Please have
my luggage seen to.'
" 'But, Lliss, I don't know,' he ven
tured, T have the strictest orders never
to allow any one to enter my master's
study during his absence.'
" 'I am the doctor's sister, and he him
self arranged my coming,' I answered,
condescendingly.
"With that he admitted me, mutter
ing: 'Never heard about a sister,' into
the smoky, dusty apartments, which I
assumed to be my brother's.
"Much to James' consternation, I set
to work and dusted furniture and
books, spread a clean cloth on the table,
and prepared a lunch (though James in
formed me 'Master never eats at home')
of fresh butter, home-made bread,
cheese, ham and apples; then decorated
the room with roses and honeysuckle
brought from home.
"To pass away the time, I took up a
book and began to read. A note fell out
of this book. My eyes fell on the first
words and my attention was instantly
attracted. It was signed Charlie Alli
son, and read:
" 'Dear Old Man: So you have decided
to install that awful creature In your
house, though you acknowledge that all
hopes of peace and comfort of your life
will be gone. My dear fellow, do be ad
vised and give up this preposterous
idea. At any rate, don't be surprised if
I cut your acquaintance for the present.
and leave you to enjoy the company of
Miss Delia. Your friend,
"CHARLIE ALLISON."
"My dear lady," interrupted Charlie
"you don't mean to say it isn't possible
that any misunderstanding arose out of
that? My dislike and
"I do mean to say so," she replied
laughing; "it was quite possible in
deed, natural I should assume that
those words referred to me. I was at
first highly indignant and then began
to cry. My resolution was soon formed
I would go away at once and not ever
see the heartless brother who had dis
cussed me in such a manner before my
rival.
"While repacking my bag I came upon
a photograph of myself. A sudden im
pulse made me write a few words on
the back of it and leave it on the table.
Then I heard steps outside. It was
Henry, I thought. He should not find
me there. Seeing the door of a small
room open, I slipped in and closed it
behind me."
"Let me tell the rest," interrupted the
doctor; "I fancied I was dreaming as
I became aware of the Invitingly spread
table; then I noted two covers !aid as
If for a delightful tete-a-tete, and upon
my napkin a photograph of the sweet
est face I had ever seen. Listen to what
was written under it:
" 'As I am so ugly; as I destroy your
peace and drive away your friends, 1
leave you to lunch alone and shall find
a home elsewhere.'
"While puzzling about what this
might mean, I heard a terrific yell from
Delia, my parrot; I opened the store
room door and Delia, my wife, fell into
my arms.
"After explanations had been made
I restored her to brother Henry as
housekeeper, but claimed her in five
weeks for my own. Now do you be
lieve that you are a matchmaker?'
Boston Post.
The American Is Vulgar.
"We must all agree that the American
has beyond other men an innate respect
TWO POOR BOYS WHO
THEIR
MAR. US DALY'S MONE,Y.
Capital represented by him. .$100,000,000)
His personal wealth 22,000,000!
Copper interests represented 75,000,000'
First price paid for his cop
per mine 35,000 1
His annual wage roll paid.. 8,000,000'
His horses cost l,000,00ti
His works of art cost 300,000 .
His private car cost 40,000
His hotel cost 200,000 j
His personal living cost per
annum 5,000'
His annual income was ap
proximately 2,500,000 ;
Marcus Daly graduated from digging potatoes to digging copper and accumu
lated a fortune of $50,000,000. Henry Villard rose from reporter to railroad
president, became a Napoleon of finance, lost two enormous fortunes, and died
a millionaire.
for women and for helpless things,"
writes "An American Mother" in the
Ladies' Home Journal. "He has usu
ally, too, a wide acquaintance with the
world which hinders him from intoler
ance and vanity. He has also a tact
too fine to blurt out unpleasant facts to
his companions, as does the English
man, who, quite unprovoked, hurls dis
agreeable truths at you with a ferocity
and a gusto that is Indecent A week
with your dearest English friends is
enough to make you in love with lying.
The dearer you are to them the more
likely are they to talk incessantly of
the mole on your nose, or your vulgar
kinsfolk. The American has a vivacity
almost French: he gives himself easily
to the occasion: he is ready to weep and
laugh with you, and Is sincerely inter
ested in your new bicycle or baby. At
the same time he has something of the
phlegm of the Asiatic, and seldom frets
or grumbles. He sniffs the odors of
foul drains, quaffs typhoid germs In
his water, sits in overheated steam cars
and stands In overcrowded street ears
year after year with imperturbable good
humor.
"Why, with all these qualities why
is he not a more agreeable fellow? Why,
with all the traits that go to make up
a courtly gentleman why is he vulfear?
Simply because he is not certain of his
own position. He asserts himself every
moment lest you may mistake him for
an inferior. This uneasy self-assertion
is the explanation of all our bad man
ners. 'I'm as good as you!' is the secret
thought with which too many of us
meet every fellow-creature."
RUSHING INTO THE CITIES.
Young Men Invite Failure by Kisay
ing Untrie 1 Fields.
Some published fragments of the new
census statistics are very depressing to
the old-fashioned, yet very sensible,
people who have been hoping that the
movement of villagers and country peo
ple to the large cities had been checked.
What is the meaning of the continu
ous rush to the cities? The old expla
nation was that farmers' sons and
daughters wearied of work that was
never finished; they had heard of city
demands for labor and of city wages,
payable always in cash and at stated
dates. They had also heard of city
pleasures, some of which were said to
cost nothing, while others were very
cheap. But young people do not con
stitute the whole body of people who
are crowding into the cities, for me
chanics and artisans of all kinds are in
the throng, for in the villages and coun
try districts employment is irregular
and pay uncertain. The more aspir
ing of them hope for the larger oppor
tunities and recognition that the coun
try dares not promise; they know, too,
that such of their children as incline to
study may become fairly, even highly,
educated in the city without special
cost to their parents. Of the "seamy"
side of city life they know nothing,
for their acquaintances who "went to
town" have not returned to tell of it;
few of them could return if they would.
The few who go back to the old home
steads are the men who have succeed
ed, and in any village such a man in
effect resembles a gold-laden miner
from Cape Nome or the Klondike his
example threatens to depopulate the
town.
Nevertheless the rural districts are
jiot going to be depopulated, except
when their soil Is very poor ana their
malaria overrlch. A countryward
movement started in some cities a few
years ago and It has been Increasing in
volume, It may be almost Invisible in
some localities, for 3,000,000 square
miles is an area so great that any city's
overflow might be lost in it. The men
who are trying scientific farming are
all from the cities and they have car
ried their city ideas with them. As a
rule, city brain and city money are
suggesting and backing the rural at
tempts to have good roads, pure wat
er, perfect drainage, high farming,
high-grade schools, free libraries and
many other ameliorations of old-time
conditions. Yet in one respect the city
man in the country is a disappointment
to all classes of the dissatisfied, for
when they talk of going to the city he
persistently says, "Don't," and he sup
ports his advice with a dismal array
of facts and figures. Saturday Even
ing Post.
White House Is Rickety.
"In the plan for building a new house
for the President elsewhere than on the
present site it has been proposed to
utilize the present mansion for offices,"
writes Col. Theodore A. Bingham, U.
MADE
MARKS IN THE WORLD.
HENRY VILLARD'S DEEDS.
Reported the Lincoln-Douglas debate
Reported the first Lincoln campaign.
War correspondent, the Civil War.
Foreign correspondent of American
newspapers.
Ih 1801 owned New York Evening
Post and Nation.
In 1875 president Oregon Steamship
Company.
Receiver of Kansas Pacific Railroad
Company.
Completed in 1883 the Northern Pacific
Railroad.
President Northern Pacific Railroad
Company.
President Edison General Electric Com
pany. Chairman in 1889 of the Northern Pa
cific directory.
S. A., in urging the adoption of Mrs.
Harrison's plans for enlarging the
house, in the Ladies' Home Journal.
"One plea therefor has been that the
historic building should be left as it is.
This is certainly to be insisted on. But
it is said the mansion is too pure a
piece of architecture to be marred by
additions. This, however, is a specious
argument, since the original design con
templated side additions, and if the
building in its present state were used
as offices it would be wrecked in five
or six years. Those who have no ex
perience with public buildings or with
this building In particular, have no con
ception of the wear and tear on a Presi
dent's office. It surpasses that on any
other office In the country. The present
Executive Mansion was lightly built,
and is already expensive- to keep in
proper repair. Its 'floor beams are not
strong enough to endure office use.
Great difficulty has arisen in the past
with the few rooms now used as the
President's executive offices, and great
watchfulness has to be constantly ex
ercised. Several times the floors have
threatened to break through. The stairs
have already broken down, one flight
being now supported by a chain. Still,
to remodel for office use only, the whole
Interior of our historic Executive Man
sion, would be not only a very expen
sive matter, but would fail to meet the
requirements of the case, and also, it is
believed, the approval of the country at
large."
An Epitaph for Ruskin.
The London Academy has awarded a
prize of one guinea to J. R. Anderson,
Lairbeck, Keswick, for the best in
scription suitable for the proposed me
dallion or John Kuskin in Westminster
Abbey. Mr. Anderson's epitaph is as
follows:
He Taught Us
To Hold
In Loving Reverence
Poor Men and Their Work
Great Men and Their Work
God and His Work.
In connection with this competition it
Is interesting to quote what Ruskin
himself said on epitaphs: "Take care
that some memorial is kent of men who
deserve memory In a distinct statement
on tne stone or brass of their tombs,
either that they were true men or rascals-wise
men or fools. How beauti
ful the variety of sepulchral architec
ture might be, in any extensive place
of burial, if the public would meet the
small expense of thus expressing its
opinions in a verily instructive manner,
and if some of the tombstones accord
ingly terminated in fools' caps, and oth
ers, instead of crosses and cherubs,
bore engravings of cats-o'-nine-tails as
typical of the probable methods of en
tertainment in the next world of the
persons not, it is to be hoped, reposing
below.
Key to the Working-Girl's Success.
"Whatever vocation the girl wage
worker Settles upon she may as well
accept the fact, first as last, that slip
shod performance and Inadequate
equipment will win no favor, will not
even secure a foothold," writes Marga
ret E. Sangster in the Ladies' Home
Journal. "The ranks are everywhere
crowded, and the second-rate work
must go to the wall. In most fields the
supply is well ih excess of the demand,
and only the capable, the efficient, the
competent and the trustworthy may
hope to find their niche. As a grain of
satisfaction let it be added that those
possessed of these desirable qualities,
those who are ready for service and
are responsible in their work, are sure
to be appreciated and will never cease
to be wanted."
Barter.
"I should like to subscribe to your
paper. Would you be willing to take
it out In trade?"
Country Editor Guess so; what's
your business?
"I'm the undertaker." Brooklyn Life.
Cities that Grow Most Rapidly.
The census bulletins confirm the
truth of the statement that the growing
American cities are those where rnanu"
faeturing can be carried on economi
cally. Guards on European Royalty.
Every royal palace in Europe has its
special private police, who, in one guise
or another, are always on the lookout
for suspicious persons.
English Public Buildings.
The public buildings of England alone
are valued at a sum approaching
$L250,2u0,000.
DESTROY BIG TREES.
CALIFORNIA GIANTS ARE RUTH
LESSLY CUT DOWN.
Necessary Waste of Lumbering; Mam
moths Over Fifty Per Cent Forestry
Department Demanl That Efforts Be
Made to Save Few Remaining Groves.
Gifford Pinchot, United States fores
ter, has issued a pamphlet concerning
the big trees of California which has
created no little comment through its
endeavors to state clearly and emphat
ically the necessity for the preservation
of the California mammoths. The
WriteT protests against the rate at
which the big trees are being destroyed
by private owners, pointing out clearly
that the chances of a renewal of the
wonder growths are to be little consid
ered. "Most of the scattered groves of big
trees are privately owned and, there
fore, in danger of destruction," he
writes. "Lumbering is rapidly sweep
ing them off; forty mills and logging
companies are now at work wholly or
in part upon big tree timber. The
southern groves show some reproduc-
i'r.M.ISG A BIO THEE.
tion, through which there is hope of
perpetuating these groves. In the
northern groves the species hardly
holds its own."
In introducing a history of the big
trees, with facts concerning each of the
groves now existing, the writer says:
"At the present time the only grove
thoroughly safe from destruction Is the
Mariposa and this is far from being the
most interesting. Most of the other
groves are either in process of or in
danger of being logged. The very finest
of all, the Calaveras grove, with the
biggest and tallest trees, the most un
contaminated 'surroundings and prac
tically all the literary and scientific as
sociations of the species connected with
it, has been purchased recently by a
lumberman, who came into full posses
sion on the 1st of April, 1900.
"The Sequoia and General Grant Na
tional parks, which are supposed to em
brace and give security to a large part
of the remaining big trees, are eaten
into by a sawmill each and by private
timbering claims amounting to a total
of 1,172,870 acres. The rest of the
scanty patches of big trees are In a fair
way to disappear In Calaveras, Tuo
lumne, Fresno and Tulare counties,
they are now disappearing by the ax.
In brief, the majority of the big trees
of California, certainly the best of
LOGGING RAILROAD
them, are owned by people who have
every right and in many cases every
Intention, to cut them Into lumber."
cientific Va'.ne of Big Trees. -Further
along these same lines the
value of the big tree is thus considered:
, "The big trees are unique In the world
i the grandest, the oldest, the most ma
: jestically graceful trees and If it were
i not enough to be all this, they are
j among the scarcest of known tree spe
cies and have the extreme scientific val
'. ue of being the best living representa
I tives of a former geologic age. They
are trees which have come down to us
through the vicissitudes of many cen
turies solely because of their superb
qualifications. The bark of the big tree
Is often two feet thick and almost non
combustible. The oldest specimens
felled are still sound at the heart and
fungus is an enemy unknown to It Yet
with all these means of maintenance
the big trees have apparently not In
creased their range since the glacial
epoch. They have only Just managed
to hold their own on a little strip of
country where the climate Is locally fa
vorable." Everyone who is Interested In the big
trees, as everyone must be either from
curiosity, a natural love of the forest
or for scientific reasons, mnst deplore
the destruction of these forests. Every
one who has visited a forest in any part
of the world will regret the destruction
of these Jungles of beauty. Every
thoughtful American Is waking to a
realization of the criminal carelessness
with which the forests of this country
have been wiped out. The lumbering
of the big trees, with Its accompanying
waste and devastation, seems a partic
ularly unnecessary and almost immoral
proceeding.
Forester Pinchot says of It: "The
lumbering of the big tree Is destructive
to a most unusual degree. In the first
place, the enormous size and weight of
the trees necessarily entails very con
siderable breakage when one of them
falls. Such a tree strikes the ground
with a foree of many hundreds or even
thousands of tons, so that even slight
inequalities are sufficient to smash the
brittle trunk at its upper extremity into
almost useless fragments. The loss
from this case Is great, but It Is only
one of the sources of waste. The great
diameter of the Jogs, and, in spite of the
lightness of the wood, their enormous
weight make it Impossible to handle
them without breaking them up. For
this purgsse gunpowder is the most
available means. The fragments of
logs blown apart In this way are not
only often of wasteful shapes, but un
less very nice judgment is exercised In
preparing the blast a great deal of
wood itself is scattered in useless splin
ters." "At the mill, where waste Is the rule
in the manufacture of lumber In the
United States, the big tree makes no
exception. This waste, added a It Is
to the other sources of loss already men
tioned, makes a total probably often
considerably In excess of half the total
volume of the standing tree, and this Is
only one side of the matter.
"The big tree stands as a rule In a
mixed forest, composed of many spe
cies. The result of sequoia lumbering
upon this forest is almost ruinous. The
destruction caused by the fall of enor
mous trees is in itself great, but the
principal sourse of damage is the Im
mense amount of debris left on the
ground the certain source of future
fires. This mass of broken branches,
trunks and bark, is often five or six or
more feet in thickness and necessarily
gives rise to fires of great destructive
power, even though the big tree wood Is
not specially inflammable. The devas
tation which follows this lumbering Is
as complete and deplorable as the un
touched forest is unparalleled, beauti
ful and worthy of preservation. As a
rule it has not even had the advantage
of being profitable. Very much of this
appalling destruction has been done
without leaving the owners of the big
tree as well off as they were before it
began."
Series of Pamphlets to Be Issued.
The pamphlet which was published
by the forestry division of the Depart
ment of Agriculture Is one of a series
which will be issued in behalf of the
big trees. The report was prepared for
the information of the Senate Commit
tee on Public Lands, which was at the
time considering the preservation of the
Calaveras and Stanislaus big tree
groves. It is the first document on the
subject which has ever been published
by the government, strange as the fact
may seem. Prof. W. R. Dudley, of
Stanford University, who aided wltjj
the work, is now preparing a more de
tailed account of the big trees and the
big tree groves, which will be published
by the government forestry office. The
pamphlet now out contains an excellent
map of the forests of California, con
taining big trees, together with a de
tailed account of each of the larger
groves.
MISSING OF GREAT THINGS.
People Who Have Stubbed Their Toes
Asainst Big Fortunes Unaware .
"I dare say every great Invention, be
fore it Is finally hit upon," remarked a
New Orleans lawyer to a Times-Democrat
man, "has been within a hand's
reach of dozens of men who were un
aware how near they stood to fortune.
There is nothing more singular in fact
than the way people can skate around
some huge idea without seeing IL
"I had an experience of that kind
once myself. It occurred to me that a
revolving bookcase would be a handy
thing for office use, and I had one built
to order. It proved a success, and on
IN A BIG TREE FOREST.
several occasions I thought vageuly of
having the device patented, but I dis
missed the scheme as 'not worth while.'
Nearly two years afterward a more in
telligent gentleman up in New England
did what I wouldn't do, and to-day he
is rolling in riches. I have been obliged
to buy one of his cases since, and I nev
er hated to give up money so badly in
my life. Several other instances in the
same line have come under my personal
observation.
"I have a friend, for Instance, who
stumbled upon the principle of the Bell
telephone long before the war. He was
at college at the time, and he and a
fellow student actually went so far as
to construct an experimental line, over
half a mile long. They had it in suc
cessful operation for several weeks,
when it was discovered and destroyed
by a cantankerous professor, and -thus
vanished what might have been one
of the biggest fortunes In the world.
The incident had almost faded from my
friend's mind when Prof. Bell launched
his invention on the public.
"Another gentleman, who was for
merly a client of mine, anticipated the
pneumatic tire years before somebody
else patented it. He is fond of horses,
and away backln the 70's he had a light
road cart made that was almost the
exact counterpart of the modern pneu
matic sulky. The big, clumsy-looking
tires excited great merriment among
his friends. They dubbed them 'sausage
wheels,' and he has told me more than
once that that foolish joke was the
thing that caused him to abandon the
experiment Pneumatic tires have since
made half a dozen big syndicates rich.
"Still another acquaintance figured
out the exact mechanism of the self
binding reaper nearly ten years before
the machine was covered by patents.
Not being a farmer, he failed to appre
ciate the importance of the thing. It
impressed him-as being chimerical, and
he pigeon-holed his drawings to gather
dust until he awakened to the fact that
he had fortune by the throat, only to
let go again. His comments on the inci
dent wouldn't sound well at a prayer
meeting."
In the Darkest South.
"But there was no evidence against
the man who was lynched," protested
the stranger.
"No evidence?" said the citizen.
"Why, he was as black as the ace of
spades !"Puck.
WHAT A ROORBACK IS
MR. DOODLESAP EXPLAINS TO
LITTLE FRANCIS.
Owing to Difficulty in Giving the Lad
a Correct Impression He Relates a
Harrowing Domestic Kxperience of
Recent Occurrence.
"Pa," said little Francis, "what's a
roorback ?"
"Well," Mr. Doodlesap replied, I
don't know as I can explain it so you'll
understand exactly, but may be you
can get an Idea of what it Is from a lit
tle story I'll tell you. About two weeks
ago I received a-letter from a lady who
asked if I could get her a half-fare tick
et on a certain railroad. Before an
swering her or taking any steps In the
matter I thought I would tell your
mother about it. So, when 1 came home
from the office that evening I said to
your mother, says I:
" 'Mamma, I got a letter from a lady
to-day who wants me to get her a half
rate railroad ticket. She knows I have
opportunities to do this, and I suppose
she thought she might as well save the
; money as not If I would help her.'
" 'Show me that letter, Tom Doodle
sap!" your mother demanded.
i " T put it in a pigeon-hole in my
desk,' I told her, 'or else I threw it in
the waste basket. I don't remember
which.'
"Well, Francis, your mother was not
amused. She Informed me that the
woman who had written the letter was
a brazen thing, and wanted to know if
I had ever seen her. I had. I told your
mother so. In fact, I had known this
woman before your mother and I were
married, Francis. Your dear, fond
mother jumped up and down several
times, and said things to me that I am
going to try to forget. I may not suc
ceed in doing this, but I am going to
try. She told me that If I had not en
couraged the woman in some way she
never would have dared to write to me
as she did. I protested that I had nev-
. r, to my knowledge, given her a word
of encouragement at least not since
your mamma and I have been husband
and wife. Before that I had tried to be
kind to her had, in fact, done all in
my power to win her favor. I admitted
this openly, but it did not seem to
strengthen or renew your mother's con-
j fldence In me. She denounced me as a
sneak and a deceiver. She said she
j didn't believe I had told her half, and
flatly Informed me that if I ever had
any more to do with this woman our
happy home would go to smash like a
cold storage egg upon the cheek of a
political candidate, or words to that
effect.
" 'But my dear,' I said to your moth
er, 'suppose that I get the ticket and
you send It to her? There would be
nothing improper about that.'
" 'What!' your dear mother an
swered, 'would you pull your wife
down to this person's level! No! And
you shall not get the ticket! You bring
that letter home to-morrow! You know
where it is, and you know, too, that It
I hasn't been put In the waste basket
j Don't you come home to-morrow with
out It!"
" 'And,' says I to your mother, 'you
won't reconsider about the ticket?'
"I will not repeat the answer I re
ceived, Francis. Your mother was firm
In her decision that the lady must re
ceive no further consideration from me,
and so the matter was dropped until
the next day, except that I received
some looks which were calculated to
make my clothes a great deal too big
for me.
"Well.-Franeis, the next evening I
brought home the letter. It was from
your Grandma Paddleford, who wished
to come and pay us a visit, and thought
I might send her the half-rate ticket as
well as not. When your mother had
read the letter' she was up against
about the nearest thing to a roorback
that I am able to describe." Chicago
Times-Herald.
Russia's Pioneers.
The Cossacks are the arms and legs
of Russia, while the moujik is the back
bone. The Cossacks won Siberia for
Russia when they were the daring
fringe of her population, grown adven
turous and warlike by their frequent
conflicts with the Tartars who crowd
ed Russia's borders. In them is con
centrated the enterprise and aggressive
ness which the moujik lacks. They
cut the path and the moujiks followed,
and the descendants of these hardy
pioneers live throughout Siberia to-day,
forming a hereditary military caste. So
strict are the laws of heredity among
the Cossacks that it is almost Impossi
ble for an officer who was not born one
to obtain a commission in a Cossack
regiment.
Reunited After Awful Experience.
Though separated by the storm and
washed in different directions, all the
members of the Stubbs family at Gal
veston were rescued. Father, mother
and two children were on a floating
roof that broke In pieces. The father,
with one child, went one way. The
mother went another and the remain
ing child went in still a third direction.
A day or two later all four were re
united. Near Enough.
"Got that job o' cards done fur Doc
Pillem?' 'asked the Jayville editor.
"Yes, It's done," replied his foreman.
"Joey made a leetle mistake a-settin'
It up. Mebbe doe'll kick, but I reckon
it ain't so fur wrong."
"What is it?"
"Joey made it 'Prescriptions Careful
ly Confounded.' "Philadelphia Press.
A Discerning Woman.
"Oh, yes," said young Mr. Blackstone,
"I have been admitted to the bar, but I
am not practicing regularly at it."
"Indeed!" murmured Miss Gooph, "I
thought you practiced very often."
And the young, man wished that he
had not placed so much reliance in
those cloves. Baltimore American.
Tea in Siberia.
Siberians as a rule are not great con
tainers of lemons, nor do they use them
In tea as much as may be the custom
In Central Russia, cream having come
Into general use by the Importation of
condensed milk from the United States,
France and Switzerland.
Many a man's originality is due to a
defective memory.
ONLY ONE LIKE IT EXTANT.
Omaha Man Greatly Prizes a Sixty
Dollar Bill He Owns.
The most unique piece of legal tender
In the city, outside of the Byron Reed
collection, is a $60 bill, in the posses
sion of A. K. Rhoades, 2582 Spalding
street, says the Omaha Bee. Mr.
Rhoades brought the bill with him
when he left Maine for the West in
his early youth and it has been treas
ured among the family archives for
forty-three years. It would probably
have remained far from the" public eye
had it not been for the boast of a Spo
kane paper that a resident of that city
possessed the only $60 bill in existence.
Mr. Rhoades wishes Omaha to have the
credit of a similar possession.
The bill was issued during the first
session of the Continental Congress in
1779, and is a document of peculiar
appearance. The paper is of a faded
yellow material and is coarse and
heavy. It Is cut almost square, four
inches by three. The promise to pay Is
worded as follows: "The bearer is en
titled to receive sixty Spanish milled
dollars or an equal sum in gold or sil
ver, according to a resolution of Con
gress of the 14th of January, 1779." At
one side is an engraving of the earth,
with the motto "Deus regnat, Exultet
Terra" ("The Lord reigns, let the earth
rejoice"). On the obverse of the bill
are sketches of two leaves, resembling
a mint leaf and a sprig of pine, with the
printers' signature, "Hall & Sellers,
1779."
The Byron Reed collection contains
an $80 bill and several samples of con
tinental currency of other denomina
tions, but has no duplicate of Mr.
Rhoades' treasure. Neither does the
rich library on numismatics in the col
lection have anything to say regarding
the history or value of the document.
The bill bears every evidence of being
genuine, however, and is undoubtedly
worth far more than its face value.
Mr. Rhoades values the bit of paper
very highly, both as a curio and as a
keepsake, and has never made any ef
fort to ascertain its commercial worth.
Otto Fiechtl, of the Coeur d'Alene, is
said to have been offered $1,000 for his
specimen spoken of by the Spokane
paper, but preferred not to part with
it. He submitted the currency to the
Treasury Department and after an
examination it was reported that the
bill was legal; such an issue Is known
to have been made In the year men
tioned. The official signature inscribed
In ink is that of George Rond.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen gained 3,700 new members in
the past year.
Laborers are so scarce In S itzerland
that they have to be imported not only
from Italy, but from Bohemia and
Silesia.
The new United States census will
show that nearly 1,000,000 fema'es are
employed in the factories of the United
States.
Edison's plan to cheapen electric
power by abolishing dynamos will
throw hundreds of mechanics out of
employment
Fifty-two thousand five hundred dol
lars has been spent by the United Hat
ters' Union in the past two years in ad
vertising its label.
The 100 local unions of the textile
workers in the South are about to start
a movement for a ten-hour day in all
the Southern mills.
Judge Halloran, of Des Moines, Iowa,
recently rendered a decision that a
trades union is a pool or trust, and in
violation of the laws of that State.
It is stated that 100,000,000 of the
population of China, or one-fourth of
the people, are connected with the vari
ous branches of raising and marketing
tea.
The average daily compensation of
the general officers of the various rail
ways in the United States is $7.47 per
day, while the average of the working
employes is $1.00.
Kansas City, Mo., is now the second
flour-making city in the United States,
having made 48,420 barrels in one day
recently, and eclipsing all records ex
cept that of Minneapolis, Minn.
The Minneapolis flour mills in the
past year surpassed all previous per
formances in the history of the city's
great industry with an output of 14,
500,000 barrels of flour. The mills used
up between 62,000,000 and 65,000,000
bushels of wheat during the year.
The Baldwin Locomotive Works,
Philadelphia, has received an order
for twenty-two heavy freight locomo
tives for use on the Government rail
roads In New Zealand. The first American-made
locomotive to be used in Ire
land was shipped by the same company
a few days ago.
Biggest of Toy Factories.
The largest toy factory In the world
is in New York, where playthings in tin
are manufactured literally by the mill
ion. It stands five stories high, and
turns out 1,607 distinct varieties in tin
toys. No. 1 Is a tin horse, No. 1,607 a
tin menagerie. The output of circular
tin whistles Is 2,000,000 per annum. To
make a tin horse twelve inches long
dies have to be cast costing f 15. The
children of different countries have
different tastes, but tin swords are
wanted all over the world, the military
instinct being as universal in the nur
series as in the courts and cabinets of
the world.
Phonographic Reminder.
An ingenious Austrian Inventor has
just patented a speaking clock which
he claims will be of the greatest value
to persons of forgetful and irregular
habits. It consists of a clock phono
graph combination. In place of the
usual striking attachment is a phono
graph, which can be set to speak a sen
tence at any time desired, thus becom
ing an unfailing reminder to its owner
j of the duties of each successive hour.
Somehow, it always shocks people to
I see a woman smile while wearing
I mourning.
! Every man works at a lot of schemes
he knows there Is nothing in.