TOPICS OF THE TIMES.
A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER
ESTINQ ITEM8.
Conniali and Criticism Dastd TJpo
Ik UapptnlDK of til Bjr HUtori
rat d Naw Notts.
Dressmaker' bills are the root of
many divorce iulf.
A man' auccent depends on what lie
doe with Ills failure.
A successful man root while his
unsuccessful brother stands nround
and squeals.
When an old maid gets married In
leap year It gives everybody a chance
to say Biiiart thing.
A woman Is wIIHiik to take the bene-
lit of the doubt and let man havo tho
doubt of tho benefit.
College athletics are deadly. This
Is proved by tho fact that most men
who play croquet aro old.
It Is not easy to decldo which 1
the greater nuisance, a South Ameri
can republic or a North American des
potism. ,
Somotlmes a man loses his Job be
cause he doesn't know enough and
sometimes because he knows too
much.
Tho Ill-fated steamer General Slo
cum had an unlicensed first mate per
haps the other officers had permits to
take human life.
If the millennium Is postponed until
a mother admits that her own children
aro 111-beha.ved and those next door are
cherubs It will never arrive.
Just about the time the boll weevil
gets up a good appetite for the cotton
'plant along comes the red ant and
finds that the boll weevil Is good eat
ing. Tho Japanese people do not swear
is do those of the West, but In an
emergency the name of General
Kodama ought to serve all practical
purposes.
Some scientist has discovered that
the burning of Incense will keep away
mosquitoes. Most men will, however,
cling to tho Idea that tobacco smoke Is
Just as good.
Now comes a bulging-browed profes
sor and tells us that anthracite coal
I a luxury. Perhaps he will next tell
us that Georgo W. Bacr Is a piece of
reckless extravagance.
The housekeeping of Mr. Roosevelt
has been-criticised by the Daughters
of the Revolution. Daughters who
have time to criticise their mothers and
sisters should be careful about Invit
ing comparisons.
A- Philadelphia chemist claims to
have discovered a process whereby
he can reduce the price of radium
from 10,000,000 to less than $500,000
a pound. With meat and almost ev
erything elso soaring skyward this
must be welcome news to the strug
gling poor.
If matters go wrong In the English
House of Commons a convenient ex
planation would be to attribute the
fact to the "sophisticated air" which
the members breathe. According to
the London Guardian, the winds of
heaven are not suffered to visit too
roughly the Interior of tho Talace of
Westminster, for they are "filtered
through cotton-wool, and wanned by
passing over hot pipes, and then the
dead and oppressive product Is forced
through gratings In the floor of the
House, where It picks up the mud from
honorable members' boots."
Medical colleges aro responsible for
the horde of failures who parade ns
doctors and do what they can to men
ace the public health. Some of the
medical schools are get-rlch-qulck
schemes, taking every applicant who
comes along with tho requisite fees.
They spoil hundreds of good farmers,
mechanics, shoemakers and black
smiths, Issue sheepskins atid leave the
medical profession to struggle with
the reproach. Every decent doctor
should Join htm and pursue the fakirs,
grafters and moral perverters until It
Is made too warm for them to con
tinue In the profession. A medical
diploma ought to be beyond purchase
by anyone not fitted In every way for
the responsibilities of a physician.
From the common school of the coun
try district to the highest university In
the land, tho fundamental Idea of
American education Is to make Ameri
can citizens. There Is no thought of
making soldiers or officeholders or mer
chants or traders or Inventors! make
citizens first, then let each young
American choose for himself the Hue
of life he deems best suited to his ca
pacity; he docs choose, and that com
monly without bias what he shall he,
for your young American has Ideas of
his own and Is ready to air uioin, too,
on appropriate and even sometimes on
lnapproprlato occasions. After all,
however, tho best method of Judging
of any system of education Is In Its re
sults, and, without saying a word In
disparagement of tho people of any
other nation, It may be said that In
every essential quality tho American
citizen has demonstrated His efficiency
In life and action the value of his
training.
TTVirMfrn rrltlpa frOflllentlV declare
that Americans are living at too high
a pressure, that they have a straineu,
nervous expression, tuke llfo too seri
ously and have no time to converse
,..! nnlnv themselves. Now. Is not
the exnet opposite of this the actual
case? Look at tho blograpmcai SKeicn
ei lu magazines and newspapers of
' the most successful men and are they
not all longer-lived than their doctors?
Are not the captains of Industry, all
..oil ntruit- In rears, still In harness,
, hala and hearty aiid traveling about
the couutry attending to a trcmenuous
amount of business? Why is not
overwork killing them off? Simply
becauso with all their business carca
they are shrewdly dividing their tlmo
Ui ucli manner that tbey have suf-
Detent to spare In which to look after j
the preservation of their healtn.
There Is almost a touch of person
ality in the way American cities have
moved In relative position during tbo
nineteenth century. Their changing
fortunes are full of suggestlveness.
Now York, which had become the
largest city by 1700. has held Its placo
In front In every census up to the
present time, and now, with a popu
lation more than double that of Its
next competitor, Is not In Immediate
danger of losing pre-eminence. Chi
cago first appeared ou the list In 1SSO
as the twenty-fifth American city. At
each census It made a long stride and
passed many competitors, until It
reached second place In 1SP0. St
touts appeared one decade earlier
than Chicago, and by IKiO had Jump
ed to the eighth place, a sensational
advance. Philadelphia started In the
second place, has never been below
the fourth, and Is today the third
American city, Boston started as the
third, and stands to-day the fifth.
Charleston, the fourth city In the orig
inal list, lost steadily In relative. posi
tion, until In 1SS0 It appeared for the
last time among the first fifty. Haiti
more has kept Its place very evenly.
Northern Liberties, the sixth city In
the first census, and Southwnrk, tho
tenth, are now parts of Philadelphia.
It Is Interesting to study tho Intln
ences that make elttes powerful the
world over. The greatest gathering
of the Chlnee Is at Canton. Hong
kong Island, at the mouth of the Can
ton HIver, was well-nigh deserted un
til European commercial Interests
found their way into Asia, formed a
new center of population, and found
ed a city which Is already great. Euro
pean cities have not had so many up
and downs as those of America, al
though the population of Home has
shown extraordinary fluctuations.
Careful estimates put It at more than
two million In the fourth century, and
at less than one hundred and forty
thousand In the eighteenth. It Is now
about half a million. For many cen
turies London nnd Paris have been the
largest cities In Europe. St. Peters
burg, Berlin and Liverpool are coin
paratlvely modem. For the dwellers
In the town left behind in the race. It
Is well to remember that quality, and
not quantity. Is the important consid
eration. I VOLTAIRE, THE PHILANTHROPIST
Forney-Voltaire Is the name of a lit
tle bamlet near Geneva, Switzerland.
It was here that Voltaire, sometime
skeptic and scoffer, proved himself the
first great practical philanthropist of
his century. He purchased there an
estate which bore the name of the
bamlet He Immediately became In
terested In the poverty-stricken people,
and although then past 70 years of
age. began to help the people by tench
lug them to help themselves. In "The
Life of Voltaire" S. G. Tallentyre
writes of Voltaire's work, which does
not answer to the unkindly memory In
which Voltaire is held in English
sneaking countries.
In 1707 he could write that he had
formed a colony at Feruey; that he
had established there three merchants.
several artists and a doctor, ami was
building houses for them. In 1700 he
recorded with an honest pride that he
had quadrupled the number of the
parishioners, and that there was not
a poor man among them; that he had
under his Immediate supervision two
hundred workers, nnd was the means
of life to every one round him.
From the first Voltaire had culti
vated silkworms. He was never the
man for an Idle hobby. Why should
no use be made of the silk? Before
1700 the I'erney theater was turned
Into a silkworm nursery. From busy
Geneva came stocking-weavers, glad
to colonize In the place.
Voltaire, always alive to the advant
ages of a good advertisement, sent to
the Duchesse de Cholsel the first pair
of silk stockings ever made on his
looms. If she would but wear them
tbey must be the mode. What stock
ing would not look beautiful on n foot
so charming? The lady accepted his
stockings nnd his compliments, showed
both to her friends, nnd thus put fcome
fifty to a hundred people out of the
way of want
Voltalro established Geneva watch
makers at Ferney, and Forney was
soon sending watches to China, Spain.
Italy. Husia, Holland, America, Tur
key, Portugal and North Africa, be
sides carrying on a considerable trade
with Paris.
As If he found weaving nnd watch
making Insufficient for his energy, by
177:! he had startod a lace-maklng In
dustry. If he wanted a reward for all thl
trouble he had it. The miserable ham
let had become a thriving village, and
tho desert place bloswmed like a rose.
Tho master's com fed his people. His
bees produced excellent honey and
wax. and his hemp and flax made
linen.
Here dwelt together as one family
Catholics and Huguenots. When Gex
was devastated by famine in 1771 Vol
taire Imported corn from Sicily, nnd
soli! it much under cot to the poor
people of the province. Their suffer
ings and sorrows were ills own. It
might well warm his old heart to see
his little colony firm on "those two
great pivots of the wealth of a slate,
be It little or gret, freedom of trade
and freedom of conscience."
Evening Up.
"Why are you M haughty and over
bearing toward )oung operatic aspi
rants' Don't you know that some of
them may one day become great prlmn
donnaa?"
"Well." said the lmnressarlo, calmly,
"that's all rleht If they ever become
great prima dqnnas, they will be more
haughty and overhearing than I am."
Washington Star.
Holloing n Philanthropist.
Willie Pa, what Is a phllunthooplst,
Pa A philanthropist, my son, Is
merely a man who has mora money
than ho can possibly uso hlinsjlf.
Philadelphia j.euger.
f Opinions of
Wage-Earning by Morrlcd
f? 111-; American prejudice hktiiiisi n ni;c-i-;iriioi,
I I by married women appears In the effort occa
sionally mane lo mane mi- t-uiiiiuj ui.-i.i ...
teacher In the public schools terminate with
marriage. Hut thousands of American married
women do earn wage, thousands more would
gladly do so If they could, and other thousands
would be happier and belter oft If they did. The prejudice
against It seems disadvantageous. American men. ns a
rule, prefer to support their wive If they can. If an
American married woman works for pay, It Is either be
cause It gives her pleasure or because her husband's In
come Is Insufficient. She does not do It as a matter of
course. How long she can keep It up depends uhiii what
the wmk Is, and upon other circumstances. If she has
children, that, or course. Interferes with her wage-earning
If It does not slop It Altogether, and general acceptance of
a custom which would restrict or discourage child hearing
Is not to the public iulv.int.ige. Marriage tends, and should
tend, to withdraw women from wage-earning, hut It need
not slop It per so and abruptly. To make marriage a Imr
to future wage-earning by a woman operates In rest ra
tion of marriage, and that Is at least as much agalni
public policy as restriction of child-bearing. It will alwa)
depend on circumstances whether a
woman who manic had letter go on
Dr. Patten seems to be right In holding that it Is often
best that she should do so. and that It Is often better
that she should marry and still earn wages than not marry.
Prejuaice should not determine conduct In these matters.
There Utonld be a freer choice. Harper's Weekly.
Waste Lands and Criminals.
ASSACHUSETTS is about to try a new experi
ment in the Industrial management of Its con
vict. Instead of employing them In manufac
turing goods to compete .with the products of
iiou-crlmlnal labor. It Is proposed to establish
industrial camps and set the convicts to re
claiming waste and worthless land, of which
MJ
In- lta State possesses enough to keep them at work for
generations.
The plan Is a tentative one. the first camp having Just
been established near Hutlnnd, but on the face of It the
scheme appears to possess two merits. It furnishes out
door work for the convicts without subjecting them to the
humiliation of constant public observation, as would be
the case If they were employed on the streets nnd high
ways, and the work performed will be useful work. If
they are able to make two blades of grass grow where
one or uone grew before there Is authority for the claim
that they will be transformed from malefactors Into bene
factors. The experiment will he watched with a good deal of
Interest for various reasons. Whllo no sane person would
advocate the maintenance of criminals in Idleness, no one
has as yet found a way of employing them that Is entirely
satisfactory. The farming out of convicts which has been
practiced In some of the Southern States has been shown
to be subject to glaring abuses. These abuses could be
minimized if not entirely avoided If the State did the
farming under wise nnd honest management. Every State
has an abundance of waste lands, which would be worth
reclamation, and which. If reclaimed, would add to the
public wealth. Philadelphia Bulletin.
Automobile, Nuisances.
UK wife of n railwnv magnate In New York
& U I has been nearly killed by a
le.iu wnue ruling in an auiomoune. ine l oiu-e
Commissioner, discussing the event, says: "The
mtomoblle people must be protected. This mat
ter of hatred that has been growing among the
mob gangs of the lower and upper East Side
has got to stop If I have any power."
no possible excuse for such nn action as throwlug a stone
at a lady's head, but we wonder If It has occurred to Police
Commissioner MeAdno that there are other people besides
the automobile pecple. who need protection; that there
ust be a cause for the hatred between the automobile
people and the gangn. At the present
4 LACKED JUST WHAT HE WASTED. I
v-: -:-i--:H-i-!-i--M-i"i' i"i i ih-h-h
The agent for the "Inexhaustible
Cyclopedia, In Twelve Hurts," ap
proached .Mr. Hansom with a light and
springy step, and was greatly cheered
when he reiolved an Invitation to
"drawr up an show your wares," and
the other rocklng-chulr on the shady
porch was pushed towards him.
"You say there's everything anybody
wants to know In It," said Mr. Hansom,
genially, when the agent's flow of con
versation had ceased for a moment ind
he looked hopefully at tils h6,t. "Well,
1 guess I shall haie to buy It. Lawzee,
yes, I can see how easy the pay
ments'll be. Hut now I Just want to
make sure o' one or two things before
I pay ye down the fust money.
"Le's tee, what parts have yo got
with ye? 'Vol. One, A to Com;' that's
at Irlglit. Now you find me the placo
where It tells about ant-hills, and the
best way to rid your dcorynrd of 'cm.
I've tried more'n forty different ways
a'ready."
Mr. Hansom leaned comforlnbly
back In his chair and rocked with a
loud creak while the agent benrched
tho pages of "Vol. One," with an anx
ious face.
"It doesn't tell about them," he
btatnmcred at last. "You see " Hut
Mr. Hansom raUcd his hand In prutest.
"It's too bad," he said, "but prob
ably that sllppid their minds. Jest turn
over to the b's, nnd find 'butter.' Now
see how you can make It come when
It's contrary, same as It Is sometime
when you're In a huny to get through
churning."
Again ho regarded the agent's red
dening face with a calm and genial
gaze.
"Not there!" he said, when tho re
sult of the search was reluctantly ad
mitted. "That stems cur'ous, don't It?
Hut still I'll give 'em another chance.
Now you turn over the c's till you
come to 'cats.' There, you've got lt.
Now how do they undertnko to keep a
Malty cat from shedding all over vis
itors' clothes and the furniture, so the
whole family won't be picking an' eat
ing gray hairs tho enduring tlmo?"
Tho agent shut the book with u slam
nnd rose abruptly, In spite of Mr. Han.
soul's benevolent smile.
"Y'ou tan' thero a minute till moth
er fetches yo a glass o' lemonade; It's
n warmish day," said Mr. Hansom, cor
dially. "Hut as to the book you'ie
peddling, why, mother's got a 'Helps
to tho Handy' that her mother had bo
fore her that you'd ought to take a
Great Papers on Important bubjects.
Women.
not n highly
m
young wnge-eanilng 11( (l44.lHMtii are forced to share the penally with hlin, or
with her work, but
.ii.1c.mI in lienr ull of
to hang the Innocent
his heirs a sum of
ishment ror mimicr.
the guilty shall be
heirs deprived of the
paid premiums.
stone thrown at her
Of course there Is
ward to business
time some of the
look at somo time. What with tlat
an' the World's Atlas an' the diction
ary, I guess mother an' I'll make out to
get along without nny cyclopedy?
young man."
ARE WE OLD AT 30?
I'robjrterlan Oenerat Atucmblr
lfui
l'ut that Limit oil loutli.
When you are 30 you are no longer
young, according to a decision reached
by the United Presbyterians In gen
oral assembly In Pennsylvania a short
time ago. Following this ruling, all
persons over 30 years of age were re
quested to withdraw from the "young
people's societies" of tho church. This
Is gloomy Intelligence for Presbyter
Inns, and withal Interesting to tho tin
regenerate. To be old at 30, shelved before tho
crucial third of a century, recognized
the world over as life's prime, sug
gests to all of us tho plaintive Inquiry:
"If I was to be so soon done for, why
was I ever begun for?" It Is dreadful,
but with all duo respect to tho lurking
shade of Cnlvlli, bo It asked, Is It true?
A question tho present generation Is
apt to ask Itself about anything too
uncomfortable to be believed In.
So far as tho country of which tho
statement was made Is concerned, It Is
certainly ridiculously untrue. For at
30 tho average American man nt least
In the Eastern States Is apt to con
sider himself as Just marriageable, and
to bo so considered by tho mothers of
eligible daughtcrH.
Nor Is the American woman of 30, If
still unmarried, ready to bo classed ns
an "also ran" In tho matrimonial
sweepstakos. It seems, Indeed, that
while a woman's chances of marrying
aro numerically lessened after she
reaches 30, she Is then apt to marry
hotter from a worldly point of view, If
she married at all, than If she had been
led to tho altar from tho school room.
Tho sensationally successful marriages
that one reads of dally In tho news
papers aro rarely entered Into by young
girls a statement which, though It Is
generally heard from ladles who are
no longer young, Is nevertheless true.
The American woman seldom reach
es full mental and physical maturity
before tho ago at which tho fiat of the
Pennsylvania Presbyterians would rel
egate her to tho dead past. And tho
American man before 80 well, really,
ho can scarcely bo considered as quite
grown up.
In extreme southern countries, whero
women were reigning belles or even
mother at 10, they aro apt to bo old at
30. And tho South American or Span
streets of Montreal and the suburban roads are Infeslei!
with automobiles. In the possession of a lot of howilnt
Yahoos, who go out of their way to be nlTonslie to peoplt
who do not happen to like the smell of gasoline. They do
llbrrately try to frighten horses; to scare pedestrians, anil
to splash them with mud. It would lo Interesting to know
how some of the cads come to t In even temporary pos
session of the machines. They certain!) do not belong tc
the class that can afford to own or to hlro such luxuries
It would be worth tho while of nil respectable people whr
aro Interested tn nutoinobllliig to make a combined effort to
suppress this nuisance. Anybody walking along a highway
frequented by nutouiolilllsts can readily understand why
hatred has grown up between the Hast Side gangs and the
New York nutomoblllsts. Montreal Star.
The Insurance of n Man llnngcd.
Y tho ruling of a Pennsylvania court an In
surance company has been freed from the
necessity of paying the policy of a man hanged
for crime. The man. of course, was beyond
ilio possibility of having any concern In
tho matter. Ills lielr.s were not. and
ih,.r lirw tho ones who must suffer. In
civilised country, tho relatives of
It. Iii case of the criminal's escape.
I ho courts of Pennsylvania may understand law and
h.ue tho ability to construe It. To such credit lis they
aro entitled for acumen, purity and fearlessness they are
heartily welcome. And doubtless ou the lofly plane which
they operate In the Interests of Justice they aro above feel
lug a pang of discomfort at the Intimation that the Chinese
theory, roll net) nnd modified and made presentable by a sot
tine of wonls. atmoars In this decision. It would bo unfair
wife of a murderer, or send his dill-,
dren to prlsou. It Is not more daizllngly fair to siarvo
Ihetn or send them to the poor house.
Nobody desires the Insurance company to ho deprived of
any legitimate protection. As a rule. It does not suffer
much. Generally the rare swindler Is caught and a heavy
penalty exacted.
Policies carried for a certain tlmo become "Incontest
able." That Is to say, the company will not contest them
unless through some circumstance, probably a technicality.
It sees n reasonable chance of beating tho claim of tho
heirs. If It has agreed to pay a certain sum upon tho
death of a certain man. and the man. havlug fulfilled Ills
sharo of the contract. Is dead, nothing remains but the
payment of the sum or a dishonorable attempt at evasion.
In the Instance under consideration the man had com
mitted murder. This was the business of the company only
as it wis the concern of all law-abiding citizens. It Is a
folly to nssumo that he committed tho murder with the
purpose of getting himself hanged, aud thus securing for
money. The law prcserines ine pun
it st.pu.aie ui i-, ,..., .... .
hanged. It does not add and his
Insurance upon which ho may have
.ew lork American.
Educated Business) Men.
ITDE.vrS of the history of education are fa
miliar with the tltno when the object of the
collegiate foundation was ainoit solely to train
young men for tho priesthood or the ministry.
Then the desirability of general scholastic cul
ture as a preparation fur entry Into the law
was recognized, nnd lastly, us a preparation ,
for entry Into medicine. The ministry, the law aud modi
elne these nlmost up to our time have been the three ,
learned professions. Except for the comparatively small
number attracted by the notion that an nrmlcmle education
was fitting to gentility, the vast majority of academic pu
pils were destined, In the order named, for the surplice, the
robe ond the chnlse. From the three typical American
universities the greater number of graduates now look for
carccra or to technical pursuits which are
closely related to business. The business man of tho filluro
Is plainly to be n man of scholastic education. This ten
dency Is likely to have an effect on business as It already
has an effect on our universities. New York (Hobo.
Ish or Italian husband of that ago !
often a plodding, patient, "spiritless
creature, wilh a tendency to corpulency
nnd nn excessive Intcn-st In his mcnla.
Hut precisely III these countries, where
tho curfow of youth Is sounded nt 30,
aud where tho Presbyterian fiat might
do somo good, the shade of Cnlvlli has
never penetrated. And so the shape
less, mustachioed ladles of tho 1-iitin
race mny go on feeling young Just ns
long as they like, and tho American
woman, Just reaching the full bloom of
her beauty, must bo shelved.
Not only does the woman of Anglo
Hnxou race att.iiu a physical perfection
at 30 which sho has never before
known mentally and temperamentally
sho Is softer and moro rounded. In
Franco poets, novelists and artists have
always been unanimous In recognizing
her supreme chnrin. And lu lucent
years sho has sticcfonfitlly Invaded
Amerlciin and English fiction, previous
ly dedicated to celebrating the charms
of tho sweet young thing.
Nevertheless the sweet young thing
need not worry. Tho hud of Itl can
always be 30 there is lots of tlmo
but tho siren of 30 can never, never bo
ID. Sho doesn't want to bo? Oh, yes,
sho does. Why, else, tho mania she so
often develops for 10'h sweet simplici
ty of attire for tho muslin nnd bluo
ribbons that when sho wears them sug
gest Hint somehow they aro never so
becoming ns when they huvo ceased
to bo appropriate? For tho woman of
30 can wear even these and miiko them
appear clinniilng. New York World.
Italy's Distinction.
In Invention, scholarship, scientific
research, and large enterprise, and lu
national prldo (without which no
country can claim tho respect of for
eigners), Italy lias an cuvhihlo dis
tinction. It honors lis Intellectual
men Intelligently, not by mi Ignorant
notoriety, nnd money does not tnko
precedence of mind. If Its plastic urt
has suffered a commercial eclipse, Ita
ly Is not unique lu this experience,
whllo In dramatic art It still lends tho
world with Tommasn Halvlnl and Elo
onorn Duse. In music and literature
there Is much activity and a far from
complaisant public opinion. Century.
Trunin on tho Huez Cunnf.
In splto of tho reduction of trans
portation chMgcg of 10 cents n ton,
tho receipt from the trulllc of tho
Suez canal for tho year 1003 aro only
a little less than thbso of tho previous
year, so a further considerable in
crease of traffic can bo stated. The
receipt were $20,700,000, or $20,000
lea than In 1002.
PASTIME OP AMEHICAN3.
llu.ch.tll, the Hume Which U Our Trite
.Nntloiiiil Hpoit.
I Coining down to the lest of a nntlou
1 nl sport, how ninny Americans cnunot
I tell you tho dlfferetico between '
"home run" and a "bao lilt;" between
an "iiulsboot" nnd a "hot liner to
short?" Not one In a thousand I" a
conservative bet. Indeed, this genera
tion of )oitlh knows bnsobnll by In-tiim-t.
II has become n heritage by
right of American birth. How elso will
)ou explain the Indisputable fuel unit
a tl year old boy knows Iho game so
much heller than the lessons he Is be
ginning to linvo poked Into him In tho
schoolroom? 'I he Hist game In this
counti has been Imcod back TO yearn,
anil the first club of that misty era to
Philadelphia. "Parties of it durei! or
more used tn gather of an afternoon
niiw n week on the field adjoining tho
upper part iff Market street, near
wtiere the Episcopal Church now
stands, to play Iho old gnine, and nth
era ngnln would go over to tho Cam
den fields to enjoy the sport. An old
resident of Camden used to say that
the pla)er were laughed at In thnso
days Tor playing ball, tho prejndlco
against wasting tlmo In that way being
icry prcwilent In the (Juaker City of
that ttcrlnd
The microbe did not spread until
IKIUI, nnd thou II went through tho
couutry, sweeping nil before It. Tho
rise of professional Imsetmll Is nn oft
told story, but back of Its history Is
the most Interesting epoch of lis evo
luilou. when the "primitive game of
rounders" wns hammered Into sumo
thing like. Its present form, a gamo
which had room for skill and scientific
development. Thero were four banes
Instead of three, nnd the. base rilnner
was put mil by throwing the bull at
him. In these days ho would, Indeed,
bo "down nnd out" If such a prm-tleo
were permitted, and one league game
would tally as ninny called ambulances
I as "culled bulls." Eien an late as the
,..,.;,
The luilsiiniii could bo put out oil
nny fulr hit or foul ball that wns
caught on tho first ImhiiiiI. I'hore wait
no rule to punish wild pitching, and
the rulo governing called strikes was
such as to allow tho batsman utmost
enttro freedom from out on strikes.
One hntsmnn In a game between the
Mutual and Atlantic clubs allowed
moro thati 60 ball to pass him before
ho struck at a single ball, no strikes
being called cveu then. "The pitcher
could only sond tho ball tn y
square pltiir or toss, and not by any
kind of a throw.
Now. Kcaicvly n year has patsed
, slnco tho crude and liiininpleins code
of the early 'CDs Unit distinct Itnpmve
inents have not been made In tbe
game of busobnll along the lines of III
,.rpnm, .temand for skill and agility
bg tmHn nMir
w, KMmu
. .......tan, American. nm why It
Is becoming more popular every your.
The Inventive talent, tho utii-easlug
Itch to do things In n better and moro
H-leuttfie nnd cc.ihiuul.it I way. Is fount
In over)' department of American In
dustrlal and commercial life. lllus
trated Sporting News.
Too much zeal Is miiuetlmci mora to
bo feared than too little. Old Mrs.
Ilrown was an energetic philanthro
pist but there were linns when It
seemed as If her energy was misdirect-
ed. The well-meaning old ludy In
Ileved Hint there was no ailment Hint
cnntur oil would nut cure, no xirtlon of
the human frame that It would tint
reach. The meml ors of her own fam
ily grew chary of mentioning aches
nnd pains, for they knew the penal
ty, but Matilda, the Swedish cook, had
not learned discretion. One day thu
mi 1.1 gave n graphic description f !ho
trouble her brother wns having wilh
rheumatism In his right elbow.
"He softer to lots she's can't do no
vork," said Matilda.
"Bring him to me," responded Mrs.
Brown, her eye fired with tho light
of Imttln. ' I'll g.ve him wimo medi
cine that'll make his nrin well In no
tlmo. It'll euro anything."
That evening Mrs. Ilrown heard
voices In the kitchen. "Is that your
brother, Matilda V" Mio nuked, culling
Iho maid to the door.
"Yes, ineosls," replied Miitlldn.
Mrs. Ilrown, armed with bottlo aud
upoon, appeared n moment later In (ho
kitchen.
"Open your mouth," she said, paus
ing In front of the M'lilrcl visitor, and
pouring out n generous spoonful,
"Oh, mccHls!" began Matilda.
"Not a word from either of you!"
coinmiiuileil Mn. Ilrown, selz'ug tho
astonished Swede's sunburned nos.i be
tween thumb and forefinger with Iho
case of long pnuih e. "Take this rH-ht
down without a word,"
Nutiirojly the inn n was obliged to
open his mouth In order to breathe.
As he did so, In went thu oil,
"Thero!" exclaimed Mrs. Ilrown, lu
a loiin of deep satisfaction, "you won't
havo any further tiiiublo with that el
bowl Now, Matilda, what were you
going to say? Y'ou tuny nny It now."
"Veil, ineesls," said Matilda, with a
broad smile, "1 tank tot lor pooty
late. It vol' initio odder bruder uit
have tho sick on heo elbow."
Youth's Companion.
Hllcnt Aiiuilon.
To n Hlrauger u Chlneso auction Is
a most curious spectacle. Tho auc
tioneer leans over n slightly elevated
counter and exhibits his wares. Ho
say nothing, neither dues Iho bidder,
who merely steps forward to tho auc
tioneer and runs his finger up his
sleevo, mnklug pressure ou tho sales
man's arm, thus Indicating how much
ho will pay for tho article. Then an
other and another repent tho action,
until tho ono signifying tho highest
price receives the nrllclo without a
word being exchanged on cither side.
Only tho auctioneer and thu success-
ful bidder know Iho prlco offered and
accepted.
Lot of worthy people are not popu
lar. There' your case, for example.
Y'ou will ho wise If you keep out of
omo scraps.
Tho Chlmno have twico sacked Mos
cow, onco In 1237, and again In I2H3.
Plus X. has adopted a whlto
dove, which wn oliu of tho pets of his
predecessor.
rwelvo veiirs ago thero wero J.tHio
Japuiioso In tint United Hlates. To-
day Ihetn aro 2l,aw.
dlrls dressed ill gnihly red, black
and wiillo uniforms ntii selling butter
and rhoeso III the streets of Berlin for
a new coiupiiiiy.
Norwnv's coast lluol,7ll miles III
a trntght line--becomes 12,IX) miles
If followed round tjio fjotds. Ill llies.i
fjords mo over IfsMH) Mnnil".
The coffee tiro reaches Its maximum
of production In about twelve years.
and should continue in run iiennng mr
fifty years, though soma tiers aro
known to bo n old n eighty-two
)iiirs.
A vard of rnlii-to ho pri-c i, J11.M
Inches Is the rccoided downfall of
the last enr In London. It has been
an exceptionally wei year cn-n .i ..."
Ilrlttsh Islos. Tbo record Is live Inches
ahoie the highest previous Intnl. that
of IN70.
When we rend of thu men who In
hnbllid tho caves of Kurupo nt n Hum
when inniuiliolhs dwelt on that eonll
nent. wo seem to have gone back
it iM-rlod so liniiiensuinbly remote thin
we enn hardly picture in ine iiiimi
eyo the appeiirunre which Iho repr-
entntlves of our rneo then pn ited
Yet, ne.iir.llug to Prof. E. H Tylor, tie.
untiles of Tasmania "remained wilh
lu tho present century repie.enlallies
or tho Immensely ancient Paleolithic
period." Ilecenl studies of tbe ictl.
of the Tnsiiiiinlans, who became ex
tlnct when brought Into touch Willi
modern clt Illicit mail, show thai tho
workmanship of tln ir rude Implmiien s
wns below that exhibited by Iho "drill
nnd cavo men" of Paleolithic times
The Chinese doctor sets up a le rl
bio racket when culled to treat Ho'
sick Tills Is supposed to drive rill
pints away, and tt Hiiqiiell.iiinl.'y
acts well In a grout many cases '!
lllMitton demands rest and quleti ull
notM) ts lmrr.il from Itm tck room.
All American physician tells of a pn
tlent who hnd sunk Into n coma pic
.filing dentil. "Some one In Iho nest
homo struck up Iho 'Anvil Chorus'
from 'II Trovntnre' I was very line ii
annoyed and distressed, aud tried l
stop It. Suddenly tlm pulsation at
wrist began again, the patient grade
nlly opened hl ci. and motioned t
his sister. She bent low. and bo wills
prred In her rar: 'To dmn to ilea, that
b my favorite tune.' said he lie '
cuperated nnd enllrely rrcoierrd."
CHILE'S MINEIIAL WEALTH.
(lrnl (oilier of This Hoillll Ameri
can Country.
The famous coal minus of Uln and
Coronel hsio an annual yield of l,i.
(j) tons and employ some U.' l.it r
ers, nccorilltig to the Engineering Mag
azlne. ThU not only supplies Chiles
needs, but alsoioals iienily ail the l.u
ropean slcami-rs loin lung the bord.-r
The conl Is what l termed "sort, mil
It Is of good quality. The country Im
port some hard conl. The most Im
porlant mineral Industry Is. or conr.
tho nllrnte of until. Chile nt pieo-iit
has over Id) nitrate work". The crud i
mnterlal (called cslhhc) ts found un
der conglomerate, in beds larylng
from n few Inches to twelve fret In
thirkne. The process of extraction
Is ono of teaching and refining by rr
tnlllzatloti. AlHiut l.Hyi. meirlc
ton of 2,2H pounds ouch are minimi-
ly reduced, estimated to be woilh s.'.l.
pOO.Ii In Europe. Alxiilt foui-llflh
of all the nitrate exported g.ei to Hug
land and the continent, iire.it Britain
nlono taking one third and tlermnny
a Utile less. A large numunt of Brit
ish capital l Invested lu the nltra'o
fields, sixteen of the largest compa'nles
alonii representing a capitalization of
mora tlinii flO.UsU"1". 'Iho Chlbnii
government exacts a duly of $ll.f2 .1
ton ou nil nitrate exported.
hi metal mining copper come first,
both us In present output and fiirtbe.
opportunity. The country needs mod
em iiietnllurgle.il pro. coos and kimwl
edge of successful mctluds of hnmlllug
low grmlo ores. The prccnt produc
tion Is about IKMXio tons of copper an
nually. Manganese Is iilso an Impor
tant Industry. Sllier, once v. ry high
ly profitable, lias drelln d; 74,00 kilo
grams of sllier were exported In llsl.
Promising gold deposits exist, is, oe'iil
ly In Southern Chile; flu.OS) Itl gold,
gold ores and matte have been oxpor.
ed In Iho Inst ten years.
ICnrim tli Pathway nr Nation.
Nothing encourage the study of ge
ography like war. It was In 1H71 Unit
Americans begnn lo look up Korea on
tho map. for ut that time we were ut
war with her; tint there was only ono
battle, and lu Unit baltlu only ono
man was killed on our side. So thu
geographies were soon put buck ou
tho shelf. In 1KIII Korea ngnln caiiio
lo the front, hut the fhlucHii tied no
precipitately before the Japanese that
before thu geographies wero fulrly
open thu tide of war swept across tho
Y'nlu and left Korea ngnln Iho "Lnnd
of Morning Calm." Anil now ngnln lu
this year of grace sho Is to bo made,
(hough much against her will, tho
chessboard for another game. In
1228 she was swept-from north to
south by thu Mongols lu their effort to
get nt the Jupuncso. In IMI2 sho wn
swept from south to north by tho
Japanese, film hn been verily tho
pnthwny of nations, trodden of every
foot. Century.
Tho Jlluaii '1 fling.
Dorothy Havo you tckeii advantago
of leap ycur?
Mlguonutlo Yes, I proposed to
Charlto last January, nnd now ho Is
suing mo for breach of promise. De
troit Freo Press.
Occasionally n man gets reckless and
toll hi wife tho truth, and then sho
fliida out what a brute she ha mar
ried. Most peoplo get the spring out of
their walk during June, July aud August,