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."