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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1909)
TIE ROMANCE OF AMERICAN EXPANSION N one of the wall spaces of the National Capitol there Is a ri I large painting by Emanuel Leutze which depicts In such splr k I lted fashion a phase of AVestern settlement that It hardly needs SS Ji Vi nvnlnnntlnn fflitan rtn Ha initial tYiflPcIn n Ulalinn RorlrolAV'a lilt; CApiauaiiuu giTiu wii uiv .ii.i.e,... '"""j line: "Westward the course of empire takes Its way." The official guide who conducts Bight-seers through the building Invariably explains that the oftener the picture Is examined the more there 13 to see In it. There Is undoubted truth In his remark anent this particular picture, "Westward-Ho." for In the immigrant train which the artist has pictured as wending Its weary, turbulent way through the passes of snow-tipped mountains toward a fair country to which the leader points encouragingly, Is epitomized the spirit which In all ages has urged man'to shake off the rule of the fixed, the known, the tried, and to seek his destiny in the undiscovered and the new. From Asia to Southern Europe, from Europe across troubled waters to the Atlantic coast of a new continent, from thence in successive waves across that continent to the racific, many have passed under the spell of the mys terious, the lure of the hidden. "With them, as this picture shows, they have taken along their women, sober, sad-faced, doubting, but following the men whose children they bear In their arms. To all of them the spirit which drives them forth has given some concrete object on which to fix their immediate hopes, the desire Tor gold, for land, for bread, for religious freedom, for glory, for adventure. In his latest book, "The Romance of American Expansion," H. Addlng ton Bruce tells how the expression of this instinct has led to the territorial growth of the United States. For each Btage of growth in this country he has selected some dominant central figure who ha3 played a determining role In the movement from sea to sea. Daniel Boone, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Thomas Hart Benton, John Charles Fremont, William Henry Seward, William Mc Klnley these are the eight men whom he has selected from the many who participated In the great events through which this nation has developed. Will any question the wisdom of his choice when the events are considered In relation with each? Boone and the opening up of the West by means of the Wilderness road, leading men from the coast across the Alleghenles; Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchr.se, by which men were given land on which to settle; Jackson, devoid of constitutional scruples, wresting from Spain the Florida coast, which the nation needed; Sam Houston, lifting him self above the Ignominy of the epithet, "Drunken Sam," to the presidency of a Texan republic, which when It became a part of the United States made him Senator and Governor and placed his statue In statuary hall of the National Capitol as one of two men whom It Is permitted to honor In such wise; William Henry Seward, forcing a people to accept reluctantly his folly, Alaska; McKlnley, President when the nation reached across the sea and possessed Itself of new Islands. In his perface the author, writing of the true nature of the American advance, says: "It was no fortuitous development. Its roots struck back to the early colonization of America, and it was the logical result of the genesis, on a largely unoccupied continent, of an exceptional, virile, pro gressive and ambitious nation. The Instincts and needs of that nation irre sistibly Impelled It to territorial enlargement. It did not always expand without conflict with other nations, yet Its record, however sharply criticised, Is singularly free from blemish. Even the so-called spoliation of Mexico proves, on close examination, by no means so blameworthy as has generally been believed. From beginning to end there Is little to regret and much to admire In the story of American expansion." "The first migratory movement across the Alleghenles," the book states, following necessarily from economic stress and the genesis of a bold, en terprising and restless people, was certain soon or late to give rise to a struggle for mastery of the Mississippi, the great mid-continent waterway. In good season a peaceful solution for the problem thus created was found In the Louisiana Purchase, transferring from the French to the American nation not only the Mississippi, but also the enormous ien to the westward watered by the Mississippi and Its affluent. Then, and equally of necessity, was presented the question of acquiring the one-piece territory to the east of the Mississippi still held by alien hands, and constituting a serious menace to the welfare of the United States. This again was happily settled by the Florida purchase, though only after the use of lntlmldi'.tlve methods. Texas came next, an acquisition not in Itself necessarily Inevitable, but rendered ao by the stupendous folly of the Mexican authorities in permitting the col onization of that outlying and practically unoccupied province by the rep resentatives of an adjacent nation stronger than theirs and difi'erljg from theirs In race, Institutions nnd points of view. Meanwhile, and likewise under the secondary, stimulus of secti'Lal In terests, agitation had begun looking to anticipation of the Inevitable by carrying the westward movement still further forward across the Rocky mountains and down to the shores of the Pacific. As yet the nation had not fully entered Into Its own, and v.ast expanses of internal territory were still to be occupied. "Less Thau Kin," a uovel by Alice Duer Miller, has for Its central motive a decidedly amusing situation. The hero, Just returned from South Amer ica, la welcomed as a prodigal son by a New York family of entire stran gers. Alfred Noyes is looked upon as one of the coming English poets. Ilia "Drake," a work in twelve books, which he calls "An English Epic," will be published next fall. Sometime ago Swluburue wrote to Mr. Noyes, con gratulatlug his "noble, patriotic, histo rical poem. I congratulate you on the completion of so high and so grand a task." Rudyard Klpliug said: "The tale Itself held me yesterday evening from one end to the other." Clement Shorter is responsible for the following story of Trollope: "Sit ting In an obscure comer of his club one evening, he heard two men talk ing about his books, and one of thorn was actually yawning over Mrs. Proudle and expressed the brutal wlsli that the author 'would kill that wo man off.' Trollope went home deject ed and made Mrs. Proudle die. We, who never knew him," continues Mr. Shorter, "but love so much In his writings with a peculiar affection, think that we could not have too much of Mrs. Proudle, and wish that An thony Trollope had kept her alive through many a volume." "Barchester Towers," and "Dr. Thorne" are the favorites among publishers for new editions of Trollope's works. Some of tho other novels are out of print and out of copyright, and first editions are rare and expensive. Still another new edition of "Barchester Towers" and "Dr. Thorne" has been brought out In library size in England. "From the point of view of pure lit erature," the best letters In the Car lyle correspondence, says the Specta tor, are those written by Miss Welsh. The epistolary form requires aptitude of a very peculiar nature for Its suc cessful development, and these apti tudes Carlyle was altogether without. "The qualities which go to the making of an Ideal letter," according to the writer, are "lightness of touch, ease of expression, brllllauce which Is never forced and amiability which Is never exaggerated and never forgot ten." The line letter written by Miss Welsh to her aunt Just before her mar riage contains the following passage: "He possesses all the qualities I deem essential to a husband, a warm true heart to love me, a towering Intellect to command me, and a spirit of Are to be the guiding star of my life." netuedled. The Maid Were you ever disap pointed In love? The Man Ouly once. The Maid And what did you do about It? The Man Oh, I got a divorce. SOMETHING FOE EVERYBODY People would be less suspicious of others It they didn't know themselves so well. The tidal movement in the Petitco diac river at Amherst, N. S., repre sents three million horse power a day. A proposition is being considered to harness it. - Tests show that the wind movement of fifteen miles an hour against the side of a building will force 185 cubic feet of air through a one-slxteenth-Inch crevice in an hour. The largest movable bridge yet built In Asia Is a double leaf roller lift affair, with an opening two hun dred feet wide, erected by a Chicago company for a railroad in Burma. "The Ragman Rolls" were a series of documents recording the progress of Edward I. through Scotland In 1296, with the names of the nobles and others who did homage to him. .Tentorium, a substitute for glass, is prepared by applying a varnish to a finely meshed Iron wire fabric. The varnish consists principally of good linseed oil, In which the vertically hanging wire fabric Is repeatedly dip ped up to as many as twelve times. A tank car of 163 barrels of cotton seed oil recently shipped from Ken tucky for the Seacoast Canning Com pany is said to have arrived at East port this wek In good condition. This being the first attempt to ship oil east in other than barrel packages, the ex periment was awaited with much in terest. Kennebec Journal. The Paris critic, Martin, once only had taken his chocolate In a place other than the Cafe Foy, and he then found it not good. This happened at the Regence, and the young woman at the desk to whom he expressed his displeasure, said: "You are the only one to complain. All of the gentle men of the court who come here find It good." "They also say, perhaps, that you are pretty," he replied, slow ly. Years ago Mark Twain, who has re cently celebrated his seventy-third birthday, used to be fond of telling this story: At the dinner table one day there was a party of guests, for whom Mark was doing his best in the way of entertaining. A lady turned to the daughter of the humorist, then a little girl, and Bald: "Your father is a very funny man." "Yes," re sponded the child, "when we have com pany." A little girl who had a live bantam presented to her was disappointed at the smallness of the first egg laid by the bird. Her Ideal egg was that of the ostrich, a specimen of which was on a table in the drawing-room. One day the ostrich's egg was missing from Its accustomed place. It was subse quently found near the spot where the bantam nested, and on It was stuck a piece of paper with the words: "Some thing like this, please. Keep on try ing." In recent years the most prosperous city in Germany has been Nuremberg, where the consumption of fresh meat for 1908 was more than 38,000,000 pounds. This was an annual per cap ita consumption of a fraction over 121 pounds, or about one-third of a pound a day for man, woman and child. The population of Nuremberg is largely of the wage-earning class. In many of the manufacturing towns of England the working people do not eat beef once a week. Breaking away from the time hon ored program of essays and recita tions, the graduating class of the Os wego (N. Y.) high school decided upon a novel plan of celebrating the com mencement season. The students some time ago set about raising funds to take the entire class on a sight-seeing trip to Washington, which was all the graduation festivities they had. As one paper puts It, "They propose to learn how the government Is run, In stead of telling how It should be." Sausage has even from very early times been a popular table delicacy. Aristophanes was familiar with It, in Roman days the sausages of Lucanla were in high esteem. They were made from pork and the nuts of the stone pine, flavored with bay leaves and other things more familiar. Bologna was celebrated for Its sausages long before the German sausage had even thought of Invading the rest of the world, and until quite lately It was commonly called In England a "polo ny." In the United States the great po tato State is New York, with 42,000, 000 bushels; In 1907. Michigan follows with 27,000,000; then Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with about 23,000,000 each; Maine, 17,000,000; Minnesota and Illinois about fourteen each; Iowa and Ohio, twelve each; New Jer sey, eight to nine; Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, California and Nebraska about seven. The rest run from Washington and Kansas, wth six each, down to Montana and Texas, with from two and a half to three. Judge Strout, of the Bucks County (Pa.) court, was placed In an embar rassing position wh'.le presiding at a gambling trial recently. In charging the Jury the Judge said: "While many apparently overlook the fact, under the laws of this state every game play cd for a stake is gambling, whether It Is progressive euchre, bridge whist, dominoes, checkers or dice, and is a violation of law. and the participants are liable to be Indicted and compel led to face the jury." Counsel for the defense, producing a local newspaper containing an account of a bridge par ty at which Judge Strout's wife had 'drawn a prize, aroused a hearty laugh la wbiclt the court joined. ARGENTINA'S FLOOD OF IMMIGRANTS. mim-l875 8Q1 J 897 90$ 9QQ Growth of Immigration Into Argentina. People who think that all the immigrants who leave Europe make a bee line for Canada or the United States will be surprised to learn that Argen tina received more immigrants in 1908 than the United States did in 1897 or 1898. In 1908 Argentina received 255,750 . strangers. This was about one third the number the United States received that year, but in proportion to population she Is far ahead of the United States as a promised land for Europeans who leave home. A glance at the reference books in which these figures appear shows, however, that the rest of South America must not be Judged by Argentina. Brazil's immigration is falling off and Chile's is in significant. From the 76,292 foreigners who settled in Brazil in 1901, the number of annual additions to the population has dwindled until the last census, in 1904, gives but 12,447. In the five years including 1901 and 1905 Chile records a total of only 14,000 Immigrants. One of the main reasons why Argentina is so eagerly picked out for set tlement lies doubtless In the determined efforts of the government to popu late the island districts. As soon as the immigrants land they are pro vided with good food and comfortable shelter for five days. The National Bureau of Labor finds places for them, if they are laborers or mechanics, and they are dispatched to their destination and supported for ten days free of charge under the direction of an agent of the bureau. If after arriving at his original destination "the immigrant wishes to continue his journey still farther by another railroad, he Is provided with a ticket and conducted to the station by the agent." As to the number of immigrants, Argentina received in 1865 11,767 immigrants; in 1875, 42,066; in 1885, 108,722; in 1897, 135,205; in 1905, 221,622; in 1907, 209,108; and in 1908, 255,750 immigrants. Naval officers and artillery ex perts have more than a passing In terest in the an nouncement that Captain Edmund Louis Gray Za linskl, the invent or of the pneu matlo dynamite gun, has passed away at his home in New York City. For a num ber of years the Zalinski method of firing safely shells loaded with dyna mite, gun cotton or other high explos ives has been under experiment by the United States and other nations, with the result that experts seem to be of the opinion that for coast de fense, at least, the gun may have per manent and great value. Zalinski was born in Prussian Po land, Dec. 13, 1849. With his parents he came to the United States when he was 4 years old, and he grew up in the village of Seneca Falls, N. Y. When the Civil War broke out, though only 14 years old, he entered the army as a volunteer ald-de-camp to General Nelson A. Miles. In February, 1865, he was given a commission as second lieutenant In the Seconu Now York Heavy Artillery because of gallantry displayed at the battle of Hatcher's Run, Va. In September, 1865, he was mustered out of the volunteer service and in the following February wa3 given an appointment In the regular army as second lieutenant of th Fifth United States Artillery. A year later he was promoted to be first lieu tenant and In this rank he served nearly twenty-one years, when he wai appointed captain. Lieutenant Zalinski turned his time to profitable experimenting. From 1880 to 1889 his time was almost wholly given to the development of the pneumatic dynamite gun. Other Inventions Included an in trenching tool, a ramrod bayonet, a telescopic sight for artillery and a system of range and position finding for sea coast and artillery firing. In 1894 he retired from the army and ten years later was given honorary promotion to the rank of major. The Zalinski dynamite gun is oper ated by compressed air. Dynamite, it is well known, Is easily exploded by a sudden shock, and because of this fuct It cannot be fired from an ordi nary gun or cannon. The gun is about fifty feet long and is fifteen Inches in terior diameter. Three such guns form the equipment of the dynamite cruiser Vesuvius. The Vesuvius received a test of her effectiveness In actual warfare before the harbor of Santiago, when Cer vera's fleet was bottled up by the blockading vessels of the United States navy. Under cover of darkness one night she stole up to within 600 yards of the Spanish fortifications and discharged three shells loaded with gun cotton. Two of the three shots exploded on the hill with ter rific effect, but nothing further was attempted and the Vesuvius rejoined the fleet.' " Owing to the high trajectory of the dynamite gun's fire the three tubes on the Vesuvius are set pointing up Into the air at an angle of eighteen degrees from the horizontal The tubes extend to the bottom of the vessel, and the loading Is done there with the magazine carried along the keel so as to be safe from explosion by a shot received from the enemy. Though the experts are not yet con vinced that the Zalinski gun Is cer tain of being useful In future war fare, they see In it possibilities and probably will continue to experiment with it. At the least, the invention is conceded to have been useful in dem onstrating the possibility of firing large charges of high explosives for a long distance by means of compressed air. MILK, ITS CARE AND USE. Clean Vessel Necessary Pasteuriza tion Lime Water. Vessels used for milK must be thor oughly cleansed. Tins should be rinsed in lukewarm water and washed with hot water and soap; then rinsed in boiling water and sunned two or three hours if possible. Milk should not be covered tightly; use muslin or cheese cloth for covers, which keeps the dust out and lets the air through. The little pasteboard covers that come in milk bottles are for that pur pose. Milk should be kept in a clean, cool place; It absorbs odors very quickly. Milk becomes sour through the ac tion of bacteria. Pasteurizing destroys the disease germs, but it does not de stroy the spores. Boiling the milk will kill the spores, but that makes the milk indigestible for a child. There Is even a question regarding the di gestibility of pasteurized milk. If it Is necessary to pasteurize milk for a child, a tablespoonful of orange Juice should be given through the day, this furnishing an organic acid which is destroyed in the heating of the milk. Fill sterile bottles or jars nearly full of milk, cork them with baked cotton, place on rings In a deep pan and. fill with cold water, so that the water may be as high outside the bottles as the milk Is inside; put the pan over the fire and heat until small bubbles show around the top of the milk (this tem perature Is about 155 degrees Fahren heit) ; remove to the back of the fire and allow the bottles to stand there fifteen minutes, then reduce the tem perature as quickly as possible, and when the milk is cold remove the bot tles from the water and keep In a cold place. In summer milk should be Pas teurized twice a day for babies. If a child's stomach is acid, lime water should be used with the milk. Put a piece of unslaked 11ne the size of a walnut into an earthen vessel. Cover It with two quarts of water, stir ring it thoroughly; allow It to settle, then pour off the water; add two quarts of filtered water, stir, and when it settles pour the clear solution Into a bottle. More water may be added. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. THE NEW BONNET. St Nicholas. Positive Reasons. The Minister Mackintosh, why don't you come to church now? Mack intosh For three reasons, sir. First ly, I dinna like yer theology; secondly, I dinna like yer slngln', and, thirdly, it was In your kirk I first met my wife. Dundee Advertiser. coooooooooooooooooooo&ooea jj A POSSIBLE PRESIDENT, jj tXXDCOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOXCOOOO Those on whose early life fortune has not smiled may find encourage ment in a story which the New York Sun prints. With one dollar and twen ty cents in his pocket and a black dog as hi3 companion, a 14-year-old boy was found wandering about the streets of a Connecticut town not long ago, seeking a home and a living. Although his supplvof worldly goods was lim ited, the lad, 'wSoaename is Frank, uuu ii.vu vi iiuaiawici, auu lias i U UUCi the home. , He was born in New York City. When 8 years old his .father died. , His mother moved to a Connecticut town, where she bought a small farm, and secured stock, tool3 and furniture on mortgage to start with. The boy helped on the farm. As the result of hard work and considerable privation, they accumulated enough money to pay the mortgage on six cows and the farming tools, leaving an other on the horses and furniture. A few months ago the mother died. After the funeral Frank was told that a man had been appointed to settle his mother's affairs.. A little later he re ceived two dollars and fifty cents, and was told to take his dog and make his own way in the world. An official of a near-by town offered him the choice of going to the county home or being bound apprentice to a man who, although called "doctor," did no doctoring. The boy declined both offers, for good reasons, he says, and started from one farm to another look ing for work. The only condition he set on being I taken to work was that his dog be al lowed to live with him. The dog was old, and a mongrel at that. "But," said Frank, "he is all I have In the world to love, and I'm going to stand by a dog that has been my playmate for years." He drifted to a small city, and there the police gathered him in. When they fed boy and dog, the boy did not begin to eat until he had selected the best piece of meat on the plate and given it to the dog. He slept with his dog beside him in the hospital room of the police station. Dog and boy were up early the next morning and went to the railroad sta tion, where the farmers congregate to ship milk to Boston. He asked for a chance to work, but none of them need ed him. He was sent to a farmer on the outskirts of the city, but this man was in no need of help. Frank and his dog returned to the police station and spent another night there. But the story of his search for work had spread about, and had got to a well-to-dd farmer, who came to the city the next morning and had a talk with the boy. He was attracted by Frank's Intelligence and grit, and en gaged him. "Now,", said the farmer, "I'm going to fit you out with new clothes." But Frank demurred to this until he was told that he would have a chance to earn the clothes. "All right," said he. "I'll take them, then." Now the farmer reports that Frank is capable and always at work. He is happy, his employer is satisfied, and the black dog 'Is happiest of all. In this there is nothing fanciful. Frank stuck to his dog, and he stuck to his purpose to seek work till he got it. It is one example, of many, no doubt, thatshows what a boy can achieve by his native strength, with no advant ages of birth or environment. BEAVERS' HOMES. How the Ingenious Little Builders Construct Their Houses. When the beavers' dams are com pleted, the animals separate Into small companies to build cabins or houses for themselves. These are constructed upon piles along the borders of the pond. They are of an oval shape, re sembling a beehive, and they vary from five feet to ten feet in diameter, according to the number of families they are to accommodate. These dwellings are never less than two stories high, generally three, and sometimes they contain four apart ments. The walls of these are from two feet to three feet thick, formed of the same materials as the dams. On the inside they are made smooth, but left rough without, being rendered Im penetrable to rain. The lower story Is about two feet high, the second is formed by a floor of sticks covered with mud, and the upper part terminates with an arched roof. Through each floor there Is a passage, and the uppermost floor la always above the level of the water. Each of these huts has two doors, one on the land side to admit bf their go ing out and seeking provisions that way, another under the water and be low where it freezes to preserve their communication with the pond. Eng lish Magazine. The Sycamore. The sycamore has been called the Egyptian fig tree. The date of its be ing planted In England is not known. but it was very early. Mary Queen of Scots brought over from France a young sycamore, which she Dlanted in the gardens of Holyrood. and from this have sprung all the beautiful groves of sycamoits now to be seen in Scotland. Bt James' Gazette. A Previous Specimen. He If I'd known how sarcastic you were I never she have married you. She You had a chance to notice It Didn't I say, "This is so sudden," when you proposed to me after four years courtship? Boston Transcript