Russia of Today
THE TWO
THUMB-PRINTS
ALIKE
By B E R R Y P H IL L IP S
(Copyright, by \V. G. Chapman.)
HE case against Richard iial-
stein wus damning, und it hung
on one fact. That fact was the
thumb-print. Here it Is:
Lewis llaistein had adopted his
nephew Richard in infuncy. He was
a queer old character; he had brought
i the boy up in idleness, alleging that
work was beneath the dignity of a
! gentleman.
That alone shows that
Lewis Halstein was decidedly eccen
tric. At twenty-four, when Ids nephew
left college, lie came home to find his
uncle, a millionaire and more eccen
tric than ever.
Remember, Richard
had never been trained to work. He
was about us capuhle of earning a
living ns a Polynesian set down in the
streets o f New York. Less so, for th“
Polynesian could go on exhibition as
the Wild Mon o f Borneo and earn ids
two dollars a »lay. Richard Halstein
could not.
He looked the ordinary
type o f better-class American, and
there was nothing about him that
would make nny man look ut him
twice in the street.
Richard Halstein came home to fail
in love with Mildred James, the daugh
ter of his uncle’s neighbor. When he
heard of the engagement lie was furi
Girls of Today.
ous. He turned his nephew out of his
home penniless.
and the fur Inside; clerks In glossy
Richard seems to have had a rather
leather jackets; olficials with beaver
hard time. However, it wus the unde
collars, brief cases under their arms;
who took the initiative.
He asked
women In felt boots; girls in slippers,
him hack, ami the butler testified that
with bundles, babies, and carts, were
he heard the two quarreling all the
tramping through the slush.
evening in the old man’s library. He
Beggars and Robber Gangs.
listened, ns a servant will do, and
Begging is a lucrative profession In heard Lewis Halstein order his nephew
Moscow except for the few days of out o f the house for good. Following
sporadic police round-ups.
Beggars this, Richard Halstein stamped out in
are o f all types and both sexes, from a rage. At nine the next morning
Infants who toddle underfoot while an Lewis Halateln was found lying dead
older head directs them from the side in his library, upon the floor. He had
lines, to husky rascals faithful to a evidently fiAlen from his chair when
n shot fired from behind entered his
vow o f “ I won't work.”
brain. Upon the table were pen and
Differing from the whining beggars
ink and paper, and it was surmised
are the 200,000 to 300,000 homeless
that he had intended to alter his will,
children, pariahs o f the social order,
which was found to be in his nephew’s
ragged, sooty-faced from sleeping In
fuvor.
the embers o f street repair gangs’ fur
Upon the polished mahogany back
naces, dirty, diseased, dope-poisoned,
of the chair on which he had been
and desperate. They run in pucks.
seated was found a thumb-print. It
A gang straggles through the gate, was Richard's. Thut was the one fact
hugging tlie curb, eyes alert, the world against him.
a potential enemy, its plan o f action
The thumb-print could not have been
decided. The leader grabs a woman's made earlier in the evening, because
hundbag, a man's fur cap, ipid over the butler testified that after Rich
turns an unwary peddler's basket o f ard's departure he had heard the old
apples. The basket is picked clean, mnn drag the chair from the living
and with wild screams the gang is room ; it was a high chair, such as he
gone, scattering through the streets,
used when writing ut a table instead
policemen und pedestrians In vain pur
o f at his desk.
suit.
Richard was arrested and placed on
In several cities homes are main trial. There was no other evidence
tained by the government for these against him, hut n thumb-print is al
young vagabonds— heritage of war and ways a thumb-print. Duly Miss James
revolution,
hut
augmented
every believed in Ids innocence— unless Ids
month by wanderlust— with baths, lawyer, Tom Fellowes, did.
clean cots, clothes, food, and a care
Fellowes was a queer card. He had
taker to give them Instruction and ad studied medicine before law, and had
vice. Personal liberty goes umiss with been expelled from the medical school
tills social group, too young to ap for some prank. He had not .he best
preciate civic responsibility even if reputation as a lawyer. He was f id
they had been taught it. Police and of tuckling dubious cases; hut he won
social workers periodically round up
them. Perhaps he was the best law
the wild, untamed children and put
yer Richard could have had. At any
them In the homes.
rate, he struck a stroke In court which
The crowds elhow through the (1 was one of the Jurymen) dum-
white-painted brick gates, in and out founded us and everybody. He pro
o f tlie lted Square, between a gaunt duced One-Lamp Ike.
let o f venders. Baskets and clumsy
One-Lamp Ike was a local character,
little wagons nre on the curb; also
half-witted, against whom the worst
flabby, brown, frozen apples for a cent known was robbery, petty thieving
and fat ones, carefully sheltered under which hud landed him repeatedly In
blunkets, for 40 cents; stunds o f cig
Jail, and had more often still secured
arettes, each with one and a quarter
him a thrashing and nothing more.
Inches o f tobacco and three inches o f
The counsel for the state had pro
paper mouthpiece; oranges for 70
duced evidence to show that the finger
cents; cheeses, cut and weighed while
print remains through life. Fellowes
you w a it; candies collecting dust;
w h s cross-examining his last witness.
dried sunflower seeds, two cents a
"You say that only two cases in a
glassful.
hundred million are to he found of
Phase« of the Social Movement
similar thumb markings on different
The goal which Soviet Itussia has men,” he said. "Are there a hundred
set Is to Industrialize the country un million finger-prints in the world?”
” 1 don't know,” responded the wit
til it can supply Its domestic needs.
It will then he Independent o f the out ness testily. " I haven’t counted them.
side world. The United States Is taken There are a good many.”
“ Name the two cases in which the
as a model, not the countries o f Eu
rope, which have developed Industry thumb or finger-prints were found to
by colonies and foreign trade. Until be the same.”
"I don’t know of any two. I believe
that goal is reached, or abandoned, no
wars o f Russia's making need be an there are none.”
“ Then what Is your ground for the
ticipated.
statement
that two cases occur in u
The social movement In Russia may
be divided into three phases: First, hundred million?“
“ I suppose that merely means that
to arouse the workers to a revolution;
second, to Instill the Idea In their it only occurs In an Im;>osaibly large
minds that tljey were the rulers of the number,” retorted the witness uneas
country; third, to impress them that uy.
“ You admit, then, that you were
they must produce.
speaking looaely?”
The third stage has now been
Famous Minor Poet
“ I say that there are no two men In
reached. More and more emphasis is
lesa than a hundred million with sim
One of the best-known short poems j
laid on the fact that the worker must
ilar finger or thumb-prints.”
In tlie English Innguai»- Is “ Old Arm- !
produce results and devote less time
“ I will call the man known as One- chair,” written by Eliza Cook, who Is
to theorizing and talking. Stalin re
Lsmp Ike,” said Mr. Fellowes.
called the poet o f domestic afTectlons.
cently In one o f his rare speeches de
The court was a g o g now. Fellowes' She was born In Southwark, l-ondon,
clared too much time was given to
purp°** became evident, and there was England. In 1818. She early achieved
celebrations, meetihgs, and anniversa
a breathless silence as he produced sucoewi In '.ie comparatively humble
ries. As practical Illustration he cited
a sheet o f paper, a ¡«*>< coated with literary path she laid down for her
that the marketing o f the grain was
lamp-black, or some similar sub self, and her articles snd poems main
costing 13 kopeck« • pood when It
stance, and a magnifying glass.
tained her In comfort. She died in
should coat &
“ One-Lamp Ik«,’’ aald Mr. Fellowes, 1889.
T
Russian School
(P re p a r e d by tha Nation al Geog raphic
Society. Washington. D. C.)
IT T L E has been noticed o f the
real test which is going on in
side Soviet Russia in recent
years because the clamor of
theory and proclamations lias filled
the ears o f the world. Theories have
been meeting individualism which is so
universal In humanity, unwritten rules
o f life and trade which have developed
through the ages, and world laws
which centuries have formulated for
nations.
Itussia is the world's largest coun
try, stretching across two continents,
and when theory and prnctlce reach a
balance, the test o f a new system of
government will liute world wide e f
fect.
Politically, it Is divided Into six con
stituent republics; they in turn com
prise 33 autonomous units, each dif
fering ethnnlogicully and culturally.
Most o f them have their own lan
guage, their own customs and cps-
tumes, and the babel o f tongues be
comes even greater from the tribes
who are as yet too backward for self-
government.
Cities and villages string along the
railroads and rivers over all that vast
territory. As one rides over the Si
berian steppes the plains seem un
ending. Then a peasant's enrt Is seen
in the distance, the Invariable dog
trotting behind. Soon appear other
carts, all going In the sang* direction.
Then a village o f log houses, with
perhaps a public building and n de
parted aristocrat’s brick house, al
ways painted white, and the ever-pres
ent church, with Its five Turkish
shaped towers, the large one In the
center for Christ and the smaller ones
on the corners for the four Gospels.
The train vanishes again over the un
ending plains, varied only hv stretches
o f forest or hills, which seem to come
and go as suddenly as the villages.
L
Moscow a Huge Village.
Moscow, metropolis and capital o f
Itussia, Is the largest village In the
world. Moscow has Its trolley cars,
electric lights, tall buildings, theaters,
stores, motor busses, and other out
ward metropolitan manifestations, but
at heart It Is a village. Leningrad,
Odessa, and even some o f the cities
o f the Interior have an appearance
and nn atmosphere of western Europe;
Moscow Is the heart o f itussia and It
changes slowly.
Moscow Is sprinkled with what Is
new, but everywhere It speaks o f age.
from the wcathen-beaten walls o f the
Inner City tb battleinented monas-
taries on the outskirts. Broad thor
oughfares radiate from Its center, hut
around each corner the streets are
narrow, with sidewalks no wider than
footpaths.
Fires have wiped It away. Invaders,
from Tatars to Napoleon, have de-
si royed it, governments have come and
gone, but Moscow, stubborn and dull,
has persisted. It symbolizes Itussin.
it is only a step from Moscow,
overcrowded and teeming with Its
peoples o f many races, with rules for
every movement and police to en
force them, into the wild, wide-open
spaces. Wolves and bears still roam
In the Moscow district, and when the
dull winter dusk comes at 2 o’clock in
the afternoon and the connfry Is nnder
Its white mantle o f snow, hanger
drives them to prey on mankind.
In daylight hours a constant hnman
stream Jostles through the towered
Iherian gate In Moscow In the wall
between the Red Square and the Place
o f the Revolution outside the KItal Go-
rod (Fortified C ity). Men In sheep
skin coat*, the greasy leather outside
“ you have never hud your ituger-priiu-
taken before?”
“ No, your honor,” answered the im
becile, grinning.
“ You didn't happen to murder Mr.
Ilulstein, 1 suppose?” Fellowes con
tinued.
One-Lamp scratched his head. “ I
6 B ellan s
don't remember o f it, sir," he said. "1
Hot water
was drunk at the time.”
Sure
Relief
“ Your memory is not very good, I |
think?"
"No, your honor.”
It was ail tlie typical conjuror's pat
ter. Nobody took much notice of it.
254 and 754 Pkgs.Sold Everywhere
We were leaning forward in the Jury-
box, while Mr. Fellowes, huvlng com
pleted his preparations, took One-
FOR
I.ump's thumb, stuck it to the pad and j
pressed It down hard on the paper.
“ Now," he suid to the court, “ I i
claim to show that the last witness I
was mistaken, or else that here we
have the two men in a hundred mil
lions with similar thumb-prints. I sub
mit this evidence to the court.” And i
he handed it up, together with the re- '
SUCCESSFUL FOR CO YE A R S
production o f Richard’s thumb-print,
3 0 c & 9 0 c A t a ll D r u g g is ts
und the magnifying glass.
The court looked at it for full five
Farmers in Co-Operation
minutes, turning the gluss this wuy
At the end of 192f> co-ope .-stive
and that. Theu he had it submitted
to the jurors. We scunued it. There | farm associations reportlug to the
was no possibility of mistaking thut \ Department of Agriculture had on
their membership rolls 2,700,000 pro
the two prints were ideutical.
“ I propose, your honor,” said Fel- i ducers. In view o f the fact, however,
(owes, “ that the thumb-print of the that some farmers belong to more
prisoner be taken again and superim than one association, and allowing for
Inactive members, It is estimated that
posed photographically upon this.”
The court adjourned in the greutest approximately 2,000,000 farmers In
excitement. Next day, when It recon this country are now engaged In co
vened, the two prints were found to operative marketing. The total busi
coincide exuctly. They had been mag ness of these associations for the year
nified a dozen times; tlie great web of 1025 amounted to approximately $2,-
tracings upon the paper, looking like 400,000,000.
a maze, wus perfectly distinct. There
was tike one and only pattern. And, DEMAND “BAYER” ASPIRIN
examined separately, not the smallest ■
divergence could he found between the T a k e T ablets Without F e a r If You
thumb-prints of Richard Halstein and
See the Safety “ Bayer Cross.”
those o f Oue-Lamp Ike.
There was only one thing to do.
W arning! Unless you see the name
Here were two men, one of whom “ Bayer” on package or on tablets you
must have committed the murder. are not getting the genuine Bayer
There was no possibility o f collusion. Aspirin proved safe by millions and
There wus no further evidence. We prescribed by physicians for 26 years.
acquitted tlie prisoner by direction of
Say “ Bayer" when you buy Aspirin.
tlie court, and lie left the courtroom
Imitutloua may prove dangerous.—Adv.
a free man.
He married Mildred James the next
Curse on a Name?
day, and they went West, where they
Eight men in the prime o f life have
are reported to be doing well. Oue-
met violent deaths during the lust few
Lamp ike came into a lot o f money in weeks at Ulster Aegert, a village in the
some mysterious fashion a little while Swiss canton o f Zug. Each man bore
later, and was found drowned In a the Christian name Joseph, and super
horse-trough, Into which he hud fullen
stitious villagers are offering prayers
while intoxicated.
fo r the removal of the curse which
I was frankly puzzled by tlie co
they nre convinced has been put on
incidence. That some trick had been that name.
played seemed more probable to me
than that the two men In a hundred
Anoint the eyelids with Roman iCye Unl
earn at night and nee how refreshed and
million had really been found in tlie strengthened
your eyes are In the morning.
same town. It was about five years Bend now to 372 Pearl Bt„ N. Y. Ad*.
after that, being then n resident in a
Minus the Brogue
southern town, I met Fellowes, who
was practicing in some other place.
“ I’ve been cheated,” said the Irate
We became intimate, and in a burst young housewife.
o f confidence lie told me the facts.
“ How?” asked the grocer.
“ Richard Halstein did kill ids uncle,”
“ I ordered Irish potatoes, and my
he said ; ‘but It wus only homicide, j husbnnd says the ones you sent me
Murder is what you would have found were grown In Michigan.” — The Pro
in your verdict.
The appearances gressive Grocer.
were so much against him that it
would not have been sufe for him to
have told the truth.
A harmless vegetable hutter color
“ Lewis Halstein hud sent for him, j
in tlie hope of inducing him to give up i i s i m I by millions for 50 years. Drug
Mildred James. The uncle had be stores and general stores sell bottles
come almost insane over the matter; o f “ Dandelion” for 35 cents.— Adv.
his quarrel with Janies had been a hit
Objection Removed
ter one, and his mind was prohnbly
Arthur— Darling, will you marry
weakening from old age. He drew a
revolver and threatened to kill his me?
Olive— Nothing stirring.
nephew.
Arthur— Oh, that’s all right— you
“ Richard grusped It, and the men
fought in silence for several seconds. won’t have to do the cooking.
Then his uncle, who was a strong old
D o n 't II- nuflirnrpil.
man, got ills finger upon the trigger,
K e e p C o le 's C a r b o lls a lv e In th e house.
Richard swung tlie revolver round I t sto p s pain fr o m bu rn o r cu t q u ia k ly
Just In the nick o f time. Lewis Hal en d lo-sls w ith o u t scars. A t a ll g o o d
d r u g g is ts , 30c and 80c. o r J. W . C o le Co.,
stein pressed the trigger, but the bul 127 S. E u c lid Ave., O ak P a r k , III.— A d v .
let went into his own brain.
"Horrified at his action, Richard
Save Much Trouble
went away hurriedly. He wavered be
“ Father, what is politeness?”
tween confession and denial. That
“ Politeness Is the art o f concealing
was a fatal policy, for It brought the j from other people wiiat you think of
rope within h i inch o f his neck.”
them.” — Stray Stories.
“ And the thumb-print?” I asked.
He shot a keen look at me. "Quite ,
Criticism there must be, but not
simple," he replied.
" I don't mind more than 60 |>er cent.
telling you now. One-Lamp Ike wasn’t
such a fool as he looked, and he was j
quite willing to risk his neck for twen
ty thousand dollars. You know, I used
to study medicine? Well, all that was
necessary was to remove the outer
•vary little while. The
cuticle from Richard’s thumb, remove’
exclueive menthol blend
■
the same thing from Ike's, and graft
«rill soothe the irritation
the cuticle from Richard's thumb upon
•n d b rin g quick relief.
that o f Ike. O f course, in time tlie
pattern would reassert Itself, but not
till the cuticle had become connected
/MENTHOL
with the fiesh beneath. Meanwhile,
- Z C O U C H DROPS
Richard's had grown again. That's
all— but If ever such a trick was Justl- I
fled, I think it was to save an inno
cent man.”
Sure Relief
ELL-ANS
FOR INDIGESTION
C o u g h s d“ *1
» C o ld s
B O S C H E E ’S
SYRUP
“ DANDELION BUTTER COLOR”
5 c LUD ENS
PASTOR KOENIGS
N E R V IN E
'
Sleeplessness.
Pf}ICE$150 AT YOUR DRUG STORE
Wnte (orfret Booklet
KOENIG MEDICINE CO
?04S N WE.UA ST CHICAGO.U-L