I Topics of 1 I the Times I It Is tlnre for the vine growers of France to pay some attention to the olive branch. A fish trust Is merely a logical proc ess of evolution. In nature the big fish eut the little ones. What Is the use of Pullman porters organizing? Aren't they already work ing the public for the full scule? The fact that comparatively few per sons are run over by automobiles speaks well for the agility of the hu man family. Mark Twain probably wears that white cult to match his hair. That In volves less trouble than changing the color of the hair. Because he inherited $40,000 a young man committed suicide In an eastern city a few days ago. He was probably expecting at leust $75,000. The Intimation comes from Russia, that the Czar has lost patience with his disaffected subjects. Henceforth he Is going to crush aud fwsslbly to crash. An Ohio man laughed so hard tli.'it lie hud to undergo a, surgical opera tion. He must have been reading the cabled report of one of Mark Twain's Loudon jokes. The man who was married the other day and applied for a divorce two hours later must have forgotten that married people are supiK-sed to repent at leisure instead of lu haste. In Germany It is against the law to photograph a man without his permis sion. The German snap-shotter may vow be classed with those who refuse to believe that this is a time of general prosperity. A New Jersey horticulturist claims to have produced a strawberry nearly as large as a potato. He might have beeu a little more explicit and de scribed It as being almost as larte as a lump of coal. A Pennsylvania prophet predicts that the world will come to an end wlthlu a few months. Nevertheless the man who has his next wluter's sup ply of coal In and paid for may con sider himself- lucky. In Denver there Is a Judge who lias decided that It Is cruelty on the part of a husband not to kiss his wife at least once a day. lie does not hold, however, that a man Is mean merely because ho delivers his kiss the Brut thing after getting up In toe morulug, thus having It over with. Salvador has sent a sensible man to represent it In Washington. Tho new minister said the other day Unit tho Salvadoreans and the citizens of the other Control American countries are getting tired of war. They realize, he says, that if all tho money spent for slaughter and the gratification of self ish ambitions of some Individuals bad been turned to the building of good roads, schools and other Instrumentali ties, Central America would comprise one united, prosperous and happy na tion to-day. A tramp ha beaten all known rec ords' by swimming twenty-seven miles In thirty minutes. "He did not mean to do It. Ho merely tried to steal a ride from St IjouIs to Chicago on the rear of a locomotive tender. When the train started ho fell over bAckward, through the open manhole, Into the water-tank. The noise of the train drowned his cries for help, and he was obliged to swim until the first stop was reached, at Alton. When taken out he was nearly dead, but the engineer was so unfeeling as to call his atten tion to the fact that the water was only four feet deep, and he might have stood up. The conductor, also unfeel ing, asked 1)1 in for his ticket, but the tramp said he had not come by rail, but by water. One of the Yale professors has been making a study of the occupations of Yale graduates by classes. He finds, among other things, that a constantly lessening number are entering the min istry, aud a steadily Increasing num ber are studying law. The law now claims more than twice as many as any ottior profession. Next to It comes finance. Ieas than one-twelfth of the graduate enter the ministry, In splto of tlie fact that one of the purposes for which Yale was founded was uto train godly young men for the Chris tian ministry." But, side by side with tliese facts, It Is also noted that char itable and philanthropic work the giv ing both of money and of service Is yearly claiming a larger share of the Interest of educated men and won ten. Perhaps that Is where the "godly young men" of to-day are going. Before the great Pennsylvania rail road bridge can be built across the Bast River at Hell Gate, the plans must be approved by the art conmils- sion of New York. . Thus Is In accord ance with provisions In the charter of the city that no bridge, statue or. pub lic building may be erected without first passing the scrutiny of men of taste and Judgment The commission has condemned many proposed works to Hie satisfaction of the people of taste. Tbe new bridge, according to the pictures of the architects,, will be a dignified structure. The main span, a thousand feet long, will be supported from two ornamental piers, built of granite and concrete. It will carry four tracks, two for passenger and two for freight cars, and will be a hundred and forty feet above the water at high tide. The bridge Is to connect the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad with the Penn sylvania system by way of the tunnels unuur me cast ana iiuason rivers, s tim.t it may not be necessary to carry trains round New York on ferry boats. When completed It will be the fifth bridge crossing the Bast River from Long Island. The others are the old Brooklyn bridge, the Williamsburg bridge, the Manhattan bridge, now building near the Brooklyn bridge, and the Blaekwell's Island bridge, still un finished. The suggestion once made by a naval engineer to build low bridges with draws to accommodate shipping does not meet with approval. In fact, each new bridge Is a little higher than the last The Pennsylvania bridge Is five feet higher above the water hn the Brooklyn bridge. Theodore P. Shonts, railroad man, canal builder limited and head of a family, has been giving excellent ad vice to girls. He has daughters of his own, and speaks with feeling and con viction. His gospel may seem rather dry and prosaic, but that Is because of a few unguarded and sweeping expres sions. In reality, It Is not devoid of poetry and Idealism quite the contra ry. Mr. Shonts warns girls against marrying men solely on account of their positions, personal appearance, clothes or other "externals." He tells them that Impulsive and purely senti mental unions are rarely nappy. He would have them Judge men from mor al and Intellectual points of view, and assure themselves of the sincerity, manliness, strength, esential nobility of. those who asplro to their hands. The man who Is handsome and fasci nating to boot will always have a nat ural advantage over the worthy and nice man whose physical qualities and other "externals" ore below par, ond far be It from Mr. Shonts to depre ciate distinction of manner or beauty of person. But the admirable Shonts gospel Is ratber one-sided. It Ignores the young men. Women from the be ginning of history have admired pow er, courage, ability and sincerity In men, and have Instinctively subordi nated "externals" to moral and men tal qualities. If they hadn't, what would have been the fate of millions of useful but not ornamental speci mens of the rougher sex? But men, aud men of all ages, alas! have never shown much discretion In their affairs of tho heart. Beauty has drawn them by a single hair. A pretty face, a dim ple, a fine figure, an arch way and all considerations of prudence and sense are thrown to the winds. Mr. Shonts should have Bald something to young men lu behalf of the sweet' modest, quiet, brave, unselfish girls whose for tunes are not in their faces and fig ures. Sincerity, goodness and amiabili ty sliould be cherished by men In wom en, and the race should not always be to the brilliant and good looking girls. Surely Mr. .Shonts does not Imagine that men need no advice as to how to discover charm and gifts In the girls of their acquaintance. HU Omly Earaip. There la a story often told to Illus trate the manner In which President Lincoln was besieged by commission seekers. Hearing that a brlgadler-gen-eraWand his horse had been captured, and the general taken to Richmond, be asked eagerly about the horse. "The horse !" exclaimed bis Inform ant. "You want to know -about the horse?" "Ye," said Lincoln. "I can make a brigadier any day, but the horse was valuable." To this day John Russell Young, In his memoirs, adds a similar tale. He was calling upon Lincoln one day at the White House. , "I met So-and-so on the steps," be re marked. "Yes," replied the President "I have Just made his son a brigadier." "A general 1" exclaimed Mr. Young. In astonishment "Yes," said Mr. Lincoln, with a great weariness. "Yon know I must have some time for something else." Marriage Is sometimes a failure be cause a man Is unable to think of th right excuse at the right time. V;:: t. flfoVk?&im m&iVliik&Wfm tnP9JT - mm mmmrnmmaaj tew: I flip ELIHU BOOT. HONORABLE FUNCTION OF THE. POLITICIAN. -By Ellhu Root, Secretary ol State, We often hear remarks made which Indicate an Impression that politicians are rather a low set of fellows, with selfish alms and cor rupt practices, who manipulate party politics for their own ad vantage, and that the less self respecting gentlemen have to do with them the better. If that le ever the case, and It undoubtedly Is the case at some times and in some places, It Is always because at such times and In such places polLtlcal control Is allowed to go by default. Another reason or excuse for not taking part In polit ical affairs is the direct reverse of those that I have mentioned ; It Is that the party management Is satis factory ; that matters go along very well, and that a man does his duty to his party If he supports its ticket with his vote, and perhaps contributes his fair share toward the payment of Its expenses. This position can never be maintained. None of these reasons for not taking part In party politics Is ordinarily the real reason. The real reason Is that men are unwilling to spend the time and the money and the labor necessary for the due perform ance of their duties as citizens ; that they prefer to attend to their professions, their business, their pleas ures, and allow others to govern them, rather than to take part In governing themselves. They are willing to pursue a course which, If shared In by the rest of their countrymen, would bring our constitutional government to an Immediate end, wreck our prosperity and stop our progress. HOW WOMEN MAY RETAIN MEN'S RESPECT. By Carmen Sylva, Queen of Roumanla. Women should never forget that they stand on a superior level, and when they place themselves on an equality with man they do but descend from those heights. It Is the natural Instinct of man to venerate woman, first in the person of the mother who bore hliu, next In that of his wife, then again .of his daughter, or It may be of the sister or sisterly friend who watches over his children. It is not too much to say that, in all times and places, aud under all circumstances soever, a truly womanly woman will hardly fall to obtain proper deference from men. In the hour of trouble, in sickness and fatigue, our husbands and our sons seem to us Just such dear spoilt children, whom we must do our best to help and comfort, however Inordinate the claims may be which they make on our sympathy and Indulgence. Young girls" cannot too soon begin to prepare them selves for the hours of loneliness life must Inevitably bring, and they should resolve from the first that when ever left thus rhey will spend the time profitably lu: acquiring useful knowledge, In enlarging their iuental horizon so as to be able to share their husbands' pur suits and understand their alms, to become their worthy companions In every enterprise. For this no tremendous, display of learning is requisite, that would ofteu rather weary a man than not, Instead of giving him the sensa tion of repose he seeks. One of the friends of my youth,, an unmarried woman, whose skill with her needle was uurivaled, always had a book open before her while she worked, and whilst executlug some lovely piece of em broidery of such graceful design and In such delicate colors that It looked like a water color sketch, she would, learn all the finest passages from her author by heart Thanks to this system, she was able to relate storlea without end to young people without ever having to. refer to a book. RAILROADS AND THEIR EMPLOYES. By Chauncey M. Depew. While the railroad employes form ed but a small proportion of tbe elec torate at the time I became associated' with the railroads forty years ago,, when you add to the one and-a half millions directly upon the pay rollsv the men who dig out the ore from the mines and those who turn the ore Into rails, fishplates, and spikes, and those whose finished,, product coiffes- In the form of the cars upon the tracks, there are at least one-fifth of senator defew. the voters dependent upon the rail ways for their living. The demand upon the railroads of the country Is now greater than they can answer. Conditions of ten years ago have changed, and the farmers who are now revel- " lug In prosperity need more railroads to transport the fruits of their labor. The railroad plant Is insufficient to meet the demands of fhe country, and the country is growing more rapidly than railway mileage or equipment construction. I am not one of those who fear that socialism, or advanced, radicalism, or untried theories put Into unwise prac tice are to be carried Into effect to such an extent as produce financial or Industrial paralysis. I believe that these great corporations should be under the rigid super vision of the States and of the general government. Because of the present marvelous development the Amprlnnn nennlo vnnt pntln'iiva htillt u i that those who take the risks should have a fair return upon their money. The millions of people who make direct Investments or Indirect ones through their depos- Its In savings banks and other Institutions, and that vast army of labor, comprising one-fifth of our electorate, "" who are dependent upon railway prosperity for their liv ing, are the substantial bJs of the safety of the present and the growth of the future.' HOW HORSES ARE TORTURED. If you will stop to notice the char acter of the bits used on the horsss you will get another view of the cruel ty done to our faithful servants. And I you could make an. examination of these bits and headgea', ycu would be more astonished than ever. s It would be Impossible to esttmato the suffering thjt horses undergo from hUxh checking and from the weight of metal brought to bear on their frail under Jaws. ' '-tyv The modern fashlonaiua bit weighs twond. a lialf pouudsXlM-welebl of that bit rests on the loweaw, where tue Done is the frailest, in the whole anatomy of the horse. There are do teeth to prevent the big, heavy bit from bruising the tender Jawbone. At that point there Is only a tusk. I have seen that lone tooth so sore and tender from where the heavy bits hit It that the horse could hardly be bridled at alL, Besides this two-and-a-balf-pouud bit, there Is another bit In the horse's mouth, one to which tbe check rein Is fastened. Tbe latest fashionable check works on a pulley. Then, with a mar tingale fastened to tbe noseband and belly band, the horse can't evro toa hit head higher. If It was a physical possi bility, to get the temporary rest that that would afford him. But we seem to be getting worse In stead of better. Tbe latest Invention Is a bit wth a tremendous paw run ning back and squeezing the horse's tongue down so that he cannot move It This last effort of fashion, of course, Is to keep the horse's tongue from loll ing from his mouth when he li checked so high that In his Rgony he lets the tongue out to try some change to re lieve the pain. Though the bulldog lu tbe seat of the carriage may have his tongue hanging out without showing bad form, still for the hot, prancing horse to do It Is simply Intolerable I If you want to Imagine something of the agony of the modern fashionable carriage horse, go to any swell harness store and lift the head stall with tho bits In place. And any homo will go better with a -plain snaftle bit Its weight la one-tenth that of the other, and the horte obeys the rein quicker. But the objection to the snuffle bit Is that a horse will act naturally t ha will look around aud nju his work. It be can. The bit doesn't hurt him, and he does not appear excited. But the trouble with drivers of "sty lish" horses is that they do not under stand how these things decreed by fashion torture the horses. I belle ve I know human beings as well as I know horses, though men and women; are the harder to understand. I have no doubt If this matter could be seen. In Its proper light we would not be content to ride behind horses with maimed tails and half broken Jaws to attract attention without hiring a man with a megaphone. Mankind Is vain, but not intentionally cruel.-Homer Davenport In the Chicago American. A Sllsht Gap. A genealogist, like a poet, must be born, not made. The naive statement offered by persons wihose one desire Is to show a lineage which will secure theiit admittance to some exclusive or ganization drive the real genealogist to rage or tears. . "I don't see why I can't Join the 'Daughters of the Early Founders.'"' said an Indignant young woman to a friend. "My line Is perfectly clear ex cept In one place. It's so absurd 1" "What Is the troublesome place?" asked the genealogist JlOh. It's in the eighteenth century said the young woman, with much Irri tation. "They Just failed to keep the records, of course. Of all foolish things I nhy, I can remember back to grandfather, you see, and mother re members two more generations, and we're perfectly sure our ancestors cam over from England In the seventeenth century. The name Is spelled a little different but of course It's, they, be cause Wiey must have come. And Just because I haven't been able to connect them with grcat-great-grea grandfath er in the eighteenth century, they won't lot me in. It's so-so paltry!" Wun't Aakiasr MBh. A florist of Philadelphia was one day making the rounds of his properties, near that city when he was approached by a young man, who applied to him for work. " "I am sorry," said the florist "bat I nave an rue neip i need. I have noth ing for you to do." "Sir an 1.1 M.. I .j- v.., Mm ll JVUUg U1IU, wiu m pollts bow, "If you only knew how very little work It would take to occupy me I"- Success Magailne. A short man doesn't consider It a compliment to be called "a nice Uttle man."