1
I Topics of
the Times
Contraband of war U stuff shipped
by a nation with a amaU navy.
It a man la bard on hit children he
It usually an easy mark, for hla grand
children, -- " " a r i
An Eastern man baa sold nineteen
chickens for $3,400. That la something
Co crow over.
0..
A German, scientist has discovered
that the- bit of the ratttesnak will
knock out leprosy. So will a pun. i
V -. : ! i. Yl t . i! ...-V.
Russia baa placed an order for.
S0O,Um) tons ot coal, ao we know where
'Tresldent Baer's sympathies will be
hereafter.' " i" '
The gatherings of the belleTers la:
universal peace are the finest things In;
the world; splendid optimism under
difficulties.
The feathers on a ben were counted
the other day. There were 8,120 of
them. Score another triumph In the
great onward march of human knowl
edge. In three month the railroads of the
United States have klVled nearly 1,000
persona. Traveling 4a becoming al
mos as dangerous aa celebrating the
Fourth.
The statement telegraphed from
Newport that Harry Lehr k suffering
from brain fag la puullng. It la easy
to understand where the fag came
from, but where and when did Harry
get the brain?
A London doctor advance the the
ory that a greet deal of the prevalent
baldness la caused by smoking. , We
are skeptical about tills. The lndlg
i nant wife of a smoking husband may
be tempted to Jerk him bald beaded,
hut ahe seldom doe it
A Chicago firm will Install a, tele
phone system in St Petersburg. It Is
to be hoped that some scheme may be
devised to prevent the , crossing , of
wires.' A collision ' on the wire be
tween Peter Januskevkt and Fred
Csenwockl would be too horrible to
contemplate.' ' ,
It Is easy to take a proverb and turn
It upside down or put a tail on it so
that It shall contain new nonsense or
new wisdom, Mr. Thomas A. Edison
has' done the trick rather cleverly In
making an American version of an old
saying, "AH things," he .observes,
"come to those who hustle while they
w . - " ' ....
v That wheat is .taking the place of
rice as the principal article of food in
Japan and China Is a conclusion ar
rived' at by consultation of statistics,
and the reason Is to be. found In the
development of wheat fields hitherto,
left to the growth ot grass, as.in Can
ads, Australia and Russia, The more
wheat Is raised tha.more will be used,
the, ( larger yield keeping , the ; price
down, and as it la the finest grain
grown it is bound to take the place of
another. . r u m ; -a ,'.t tr,-
Are balloon torpedoes, to ,be. the
next? If, so,' what t preparation has
been made for destroying the balloon
torpedo The submarine destroyer and
now the aerial , ship pouring nitroglyc
erin and other explosives, Into a fort
or city!, But, of course, matters can
not remain at this stage of the game.
Inventive' mankind must again "get
even"' somehow and destroy the de
stroyers. For war has come to be
merely the power to destroy armies,
navies, cities, nations. How beautiful
Is this science of extinction t '
Grandmother's garden was gay with
peonies, which she called "plnles;" but
younger folk thought the big, sprawl
ing blossoms vulgar, and got them out
of sight whenever they could. Grand
ma has her revenge now, for the peony
which is even larger than It used to
be, and aspires to have a perfume
has become a fashionable flower, and
figures instead of the rose at "pink
weddings."; .There were other blooms
which the old lady cherished that de
serve' to take a turn at popularity.
Blessed be the fashion that shall re
vive her berb garden also! That did
not always pretend to beauty, but it
was grateful and comforting, and con
temporaries who disdained it and went
farther to the apothecary's, for in
stance frequently fared worse.
It must have taken considerable
courage in Andrew Carnegie to post
his antl-tipplng placards in Skibo Cas
tle, for tipping In Great Britain Is on
as stable a foundation as monarchy
and la as little likely to be overturned
by, the example of one man.. .If Mr.
Carnegie could really abolish tipping
or start a reformation which would ul
timately abolish it he would easily be
the most sninlng character of the twentieth-
century, but he ": cannot do It
There are' certain evils that have come
to stay and certain problems that can
never be solved. Among these Is the
tipping practice. When every library
that Mr. Carnegie1 has founded Is for
gotten and when every idea contained
In all the, books In these libraries has
become obsolete the servants In Scot
land will still fee demanding" and re
ceiving tips. '' - -
,Dld you ever hear of John Henry
Brodribb? Few persons have. , you
know him as Sir Henry Irving, the
greatest living actor, . There Js ; com
fort and hope for struggling young
f
I the Times i
mea tn the career ef this nan who
came op from a junior clerkship la a
London shop to be the foremost tra
gedian of the Victorian era. He was
bora John Henry Brodribb and poor.
It was only after be bad made a great
name for himself that Queen Victoria
made him the" first actor knight Here
la the encouragement to young men in
the life of this Illustrious actor and
scholar: When he made his first at
tempt to act a part U a local lyceum
he flanked. Stage fright prevented hla
opening his mouth. He retired In dis
grace without speaking a word. Worse
still: When he engaged to play a part
In "The Winter's Tale- he was liter
ally hissed off the Stage. That would
have settled It with most young men.
But this young man knew what waa in
him and he waa bound to give It ex
pression. He studied constantly and
spouted In his room before a mirror.
He drenched himself In Shakespeare.
And he would take any part however
low, In the cast to get a chance on the
stage. Finally Dion Bouclcault discov
ered the genius that was In blm and
the rest was easy. The story la the
story with variations of every man
who has got on In the world. Men
make themselves great by persistence.
In recent years, aa most persons
know, there haa been a great increase
In the site of classes graduated from
the higher Institutions of learning.
This la true both of the colleges and
of the professional and technical
schools, and the newspapers have
found the fact a fruitful topic tor dis
cussion. How long can the country
stand It? they ssk. How long can
these large numbers of college gradu
ates continue to be "absorbed " The
pessimistic speculation, and, indeed,
the question Itself, Is really a survi
val of the curious old notion that col
lege graduates are different from other
young men; that paths which are open
to ordinary youths are closed to them,
and that the struggle tor success must
be Increased by the Increase in num
bers. The fallacy lies In the survival
of the old view of the purpose of a
college course. Preparation for law,
medicine or the ministry, or perhaps
for teaching, was once regarded aa the
only good reason a boy could have for
Incurring the expense of a college
course. Now the purpose Is recognised
as a training of the faculties for what
ever the young man chooses to under
take, whether It be fanning, business,
ship-designing or one of the so-called
learned professions.' In a sense Mils
has always been the view of educa
tors, but K has seemed not to be the
view of the people at large. It la re
ally the graduates themselves who
have brought about the change. Their
readiness to enter new callings has put
the matter of education tn a truer light
and robbed the newspaper comments
and jokes of much of their signifi
cance. The college graduate ef to-day
Is ' most often merely a young ' man
ready to go to work and looking for a
chance; a young fellow with a health
ier body and . a better-trained mind
than' some of his fellows, but other
wise not different from them. There
Is no' Mmlt to the country's capacity
to "absorb" this kind of youth, and
there never will be any. Really, this
Is the only kind that is ever "ab
sorbed."'
SOAPSUDS "AS A DRINK.4
Millions of Classes of It Dispensed at
. . Soda Fountains.
A ' qrbwd of fashionably dressed
men, women and, children, four or five
deep, stood .before the elaborate bar
of a soda , fountain in , one of New
York s finest drug stores on a hot day,
waiting impatiently for the dispensers
to serve them with .foaming .tumblers
of ice cream ,oda. "A physician who
had just entered the store remarked
to a 'reporter for the Commercial:
"Just look at those foolish people
drinking soapsuds. You smile! You
don't believe It Well, that's Just
what it Is soapsuds merely sweet
ened, carbonated soapsuds.
Of course everybody has noticed the
resemblance of soda water fount to
soapsuds, but the general impression
is that the foam Is produced entirely
by the action of the carbonic acid gas
with which the water Is charged Ac
cording to the word of this reputable
physician, the popular belief Is erron
eous. "Customers want the" foam, because
It looks nice and they Imagine It adds
piquancy to the flavor and makes the
drink more effectual in quenching the
thirst," he resumed. "Of course, the
addition of foam Increases the profits
of the seller of the drink. In order to
Increase the amount of foam some
druggists use a formula composed of
four ounces each of qulllaja, alcohol,
and glycerine, and eight ounces of
water. This Is made into a tincture,
and from two to five drams of It 'Is
added to a gallon of syrup. The qull
laja and glycerine form a soap which
Is diluted by the water and alcohol.
"The two active principles of soap
bark, qulllalac acid and sapotoxin, are
Violent local Irritants, and In sufficient
quantity are poisons. Some soda dis
pensers will not use soap . bark., on
this account, but others say that there
la no danger In Its use, because such
an Infinitesimal amount finds Its way
Into a glass of soda that It Is harmless.
Still the fact remains that the foam
on soda water dispensed In many of
the drug stores throughout the United
States is composed largely of soapsuds.
New York Commercial.
His Information.
She He has five marriageable
daughters, has he not?
; He Well,' I know he has five hug
gable daughters. Yonkers Statesman.
! His wife's tight shoes have caused
many a man to regret having given up
mingle blessedness.
s; TV ----- j
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
Country and City.
PAPER rttthlUhed nMt thai
f of XlUsourt speaks ot the
2 i l'ruir ot Uie tetephoo
a sxa '.
wmbcvu. jwe improvement u is remarked,
"places city and couutry In Immediate com
auntcation. render! nr nnaecessarr four-fifths
ot u iriue that have been made on eounrr? roads" inh.
ways may be muddy and weathr stormy, but the wqrid
can do rung up according to uie nceltlea of the mo
ment facilitating business and social life, and saving an
Immense amount of time and effort
of the age Is to bring the country Into closer touch with
the centers of population Electric roads are multiplying
end make their way Into neighborhoods that could not
hope for steam lines. Rural free delivery of the malls is
moving onward with great strides. Over
In operation. Missouri alone has 1,200.
letters and the dally newspapers delivered almost at their
doors. Each day's events reach the country promptly, and
the old rural Isolation Is disappearing. Means of ready
travel grow better and keep on extending, and the good
roads organisations gain constantly In active support
Within a doien years electric transit In the cities has
more than doubled the area suitable for town residences.
Cities themselves are spreading farther Into the country,
of which suburban sections are a pleasing modification.
Labor on the farm has been rendered easier by Ingenious
machinery. All whose memories stretch back to pioneer
days can boar witness to the enormous advance toward
bringing country and city closer together. Progress In
that respect proceeds at an accelerated pace. Going to
the city or taking a run Into the country Is a common
place Incident How far the space between will eventually
be annihilated Is beyond the range of conjecture, but the
old lines of separation are disappearing In so many ways
that the future relations ef country and city are full of
hopeful. Interest
There Is a reflex side to the drift of the population
to the cities. Love of country life Is a natural and general
feeling. The merchant whe comes to the city as a youth
to make his fortune often returns to the country .when be
retires, and dreams ef doing It all through bis business
career. He would hardly be willing to admit the deep
tenderness of the memories of ths old farm. All the re
moteness of that quiet nook has passed away. You can
"Hag up" the farmer of to-day and find that be Is abreast
with the cuirent news and that be has It in printed details,
thanks to the rural delivery carrier. St Louis Globe-Democrat
Leap Year Over Half
- " ' uvi niau IV UI B UJTVUO JO IUO BOO, pre-
AT Iclpitate action, but It Is our duty to call the
yy I attention of young ladles, and. Indeed, of all
unmamea isaies, to tne exceptional privileges
which Immemorial custom allows them In the
quarternary period through which we are so
rapuiiy passing. The number of weddings shows no In
crease over ordinary years, and It Is to be feared thst ths
feminine world has not realized bow
mere is in water wnicn Has passed the mill The decay of
the peculiar customs of Leap Year Is strongly evidenced by
the almost complete lack of Jokes on . the subject In th(
newspapers, since It la well known that topical humo
lingers long after the vanishing of its cause.
So far from Leap Year sinking Into noxious desuetude,
it might be expected that Its peculiar' privileges would
be more widely used than ever before, now our young
women are becoming more adventurous and also much
harder .to -suit The requirements for admission to mat
rimony Imposed on the young men .by the opposite sex have
risen as rapidly as the standard of scholarship In the "uni
versities, and a young man whose attainments a few years
ago would have been considered sufficient to qualify him
for the position of master of a household would nowadays
have to be content with his' degree of bachelor, , ,
, .Really, it is not at all certain that women do not do
most of the proposing every year. Very little Is known
about this , mysterious though Important topic, anyway.
Each person's experiences are limited to a comparatively
few ' Instances, and these' are always regarded by both
parties as exceptional in all respects. Novels are alto
j--H"t"H "l i H I i H i r M
"AND YE VISITED ME."
"l"H"l 'l"H I 1 I 1 1 1 I H i l I H 1 i
"Your letter brought tears to my
eyes," wrote the invalid to her friend
of former years, as she lay in bed and
painfully used her lead pencil. "I havb
been out of sight so long. You can
never know how good It seems to be
looked up and visited."
, Julia Graham that was what every
one called her who remembered her
had married and gone West "Mrs.
George William Osgood" was the name
on her visiting card. But she returned
for "Old Home Week" after an alh
sence of nine years, and the return was
far from being an unmixed pleasure.
A pleasure it was, in many ways great
er than she expected; but the changes
were many, and some of them sad.
No one can revisit the scenes of child
hood or youth, or any locality where he
has spent much of his life, without
this mixed experience the joy of re
newing acquaintances which were
pleasant, and the sadness of finding
those whom he loved less prosperous
or less strong or happy. So It was
with Miss Graham. The "week" was1
only a week for her, and It was a full
one. There were relatives to visit, old
friendships to be renewed, and din
ners to be eaten. ' But the thing which
Julia Graham did that endeared her
to some old friends was the looking
np of those whom she had known in
other days who were unable, or timid
ly disinclined,' to look her up. The
letter was from one of these. Julia
had learned that this old friend lived
In another town, and was bedridden.
It cost her. a whole day to go to her,
but she came back saying over to her
self the words which her friend had
said, "I know now why our Lord
blessed those to whom He said, 'I was
sick, and ye visited meF"' '"
There was another old friend, a
schoolmate, who had married a drunk
ard, and who did hot appear at nny
of the' festivities of the 1 week, "l
shouldn't call on her: she micht k
'sensitive," said Julia's cousin. But
DDnTdDDfflALS
aVMlthatPfi KAitsJaMi
great ad vintages to
w&ere It has been In-
.
A marked tendency
20.000 routes are
Farmers get their
woman. Sew York
HEN a
A r I begins
yy I letters
thing
soon
fraud order may
Cone,
duty which every
aa to himself. Youth's Companion.
little potential energy
Invention. Their
their own. Their,
and. In some of Its
Japanese Invention.
future methods of
the Japanese carry
A RUSSIAN
MRS. E. W. VORONOBA.
Mrs. E. W. Voronoba, wife of the commandant of the maritime province
dragoons, haa organized at her own expense a transport system for the
wounded. She has also Joined the Sisters of Mercy during the war. She has
even signified her willingness to go to the front and serve in the Red Cross
ranks. Her purse ,1s always open to any demand having for its object the
promotion of deeds of mercy In connection with caring for wounded Rus
sian soldiers. .... ; i - i
Julia went to her In ber poverty and
sorrow, and her visit was like a ray of
sunshine to her old friend. ,
Most pathetic of all was her looking
np an old manfeeble jiow and obliv
ious of most that had happened recent
ly, but with a mind that came back
when recalled by suggestions of former
years, and whose life was brightened
for many a day afterward by his mem
ories of the visit of "little Julia Gra
ham." "The pleasantest things about Old
Home Week," said Julia to her hus
band, "were those which I . was most
reluctant to undertake. It cost mo. a
real struggle to do it, and there were
gether unreliable, and the government has hot added ques
tions concerning the methods ot matrimonial negotiation!
to the census queries, although many more personal au4
less Important vital statistics are procured. It may evec
he doubted whether matrimonial engagements are neoee
sarlly or evsa commonly preceded by formal declarations,
any more than are military engagements.
However that may be, we do not recommend oui
maidens, no' matter bow desirous rhey are, and should be,
to obtain the beat meu for husbands, to adopt the conven
tional form of proposal. Breaking the Ice Is a dlsagreeabU
process. It la better to thaw It And let no on absta
from such maidenly maneuvers as she can advantageoualj
use for fear lest the man should, through gallautry, accept
her unwillingly. It Is rare that a man la persuaded lute
doing anything he really docs not want to do; much mon
rare than women think. A man's. affection for the ojpo
site sex la lu the beginning general and diffuse. A no
Is naturally so altruistic that he normally loves all women,
and on which one of them he ultimately focuses the full
force of his affection depends on clrcuuutauces aud ou tht
Independent
Fraud Orders.
business concern In ths t'nltsd fitstoi
suddenly to receive a Urge numeer ol
dally. It may be sure that, although bc
'H'fv UB" utaiurvcu iu sunni-p, (juit'l in
vestigation Is going on, aud If there Is any
dishonest about the business a notice will
appear from the postmaster, to the effect
that the Department at Washington has ordered the reten
tion ot all letters addressed to that man or company.
The dishonesty which Is held to justify the Issuing of a
not be a mere barefaced attempt to steal
an effort to get something for nothlug. The charging
ot aa excessive profit, or misleading advertising, has called
forth such an order. A recent case In point Is that of a
company which advertised to furnish seed for an agricul
tural product and to buy the product at market prices.
The order against ths company was Issued because It was
learned that It sold In small quantities, for a total of iOOO,
seed which It bought in bulk for 13; and because It repre
sented the product as easy to raise, when, in fact. It is
difficult
This fearless attitude and action of the Government Is
of the greatest possible benefit to the country at large In
two ways. It checks. Indeed It stops absolutely, one kind
of fraud, and It protects Innocent persona from loss through
that fraud. The thing on which stress should be laid Is tht
availability of this strong arm ef protection.
There Is always a large number of fraudulent schemes
afloat, dependent upon the publicity which they get through
advertising. When one's attention la attracted by such an
advertisement, he has only to call the attention of bis
postmaster to It, and to ask him to notify the Department
at Washington. To do this in every suspicious esse Is a
honest man owes to bis neighbor as well
Japanese Inventiveness.
T has long been supposed that the eapadty
for Initiation Is the characteristic of Western
nations alone. According to sobs leading an
thropologists, as one goes from West to East
he finds this capacity disappearing and the ca
pacity for Imitation taking Its place. The Chi
nese and Japanese are Imitators, not inventors.
But the present war between the Russians and the Jap
anese is rapidly proving the idea to be mere assumption.
It Is the Eastern rather than the Western people which, In
this contest, are exhibiting the capacity for Initiation and
strategy Is almost faultless, and It Is
artllllery Is astonishingly destructive,
most deadly features, Is the product of
Their naval tactics have been so un
expected and successful as to promise a revolution In the
naval warfare. When peace comes and
their genius Into the Industrial world.
they will demonstrate perhaps In a more telling way that
the capacity for initiation does not diminish as one travels
toward the rising Sun. Church Standard. . ,
HEROINE.
so many things I wanted to do. I'm
afraid I did It just because it was my
duty. But I received a greater bless,
ing than I gave." . ,
The experlenceof one woman may be
a suggestion to other people, returning
for Old Home Week. Theirs, too, may
be the blessing of Hlrn who said,;"In
nsmuoh as ye haye done It unto one
of the least of these, ye have done it
unto me." Youth's Companion.
When a woman puts on a black silu
dress - she hasn't worn In ,. months,
somehow It doesn't, create the sensation
she. expected; 1Mb full of creases, and
doomt bang right
A DUKaOMD k(0!URCti
In bis "Frontier Sketches," James
Fteelo, writing of the days when the
luflalo stlil roamed the plain, tells,
of a pathetic incident of which he
the witness. Mr. Steele, resting oit
t little bill at no great distance from
a . feeding herd, notla-d a scarred aud
shaggy old buffalo, which stood ou
the outskirts of ths group.
lis was a big old fellow, the hero
of many a fight but It was e!lcut
that now he had been defeated Ic
battle and that his rule waa ended.
Reluctant to accept the fact be hung
about bis former subjects, pretending
to eat The herd was buny cropplug
the grass with a continual, rasping
sound, and utterly Ignoring the pres
ence of their former king. .
Presently a youtu calf came nut
toward the solitary grater; a minia
ture and foolish slip of a buffalo, with
Ms little black homo all wet urn!
wrinkled. Curiosity riuI Inexperience
liml moved htut to come to liU fat'ur.
and the two touched uo-tea Hinleably.
As If encouraged, the veterun edited
a little nearer the herd. Then a MrotiK
young hull made a sudden appt'a h,
giving utterance to certain ominous
groans and snorting. The solltury
one stopped chewing and the antag
onists faced.
The old boy straightened out hla
whlsp of a tall to a line with h.s nam,
gathered bis four black hoofs together,
arched bis spine aud stood shaking his
bugs front He was old and lame,
but be never faltered. The young bull
came on slowly, twisting his tall In
circles as grand as that small organ
could compass. Ills eyes rolled In
redness and his nostrils were distend
ed. Whack I The two cur'y foreheads
came together. There was a long,
straining push In which every tendon
seemed stretched to the utmost The
vigorous thrust was followed by aa
easing off for another collision.
8uch dead set of strength could not
last long. The old crusader's foot
slipped. There waa a sudden lunge, a
spring forward, and the horn of the
young bull raked upward through hla
antagonist's flank. Again and Again
the buffalo tried to make hla old ward
of bead to bead, but in vain. With
the agony of defeat In his eyes and
the blood flowing from his wounds, ho
still refused to be conquered. Finally,
with falling strength, openmoutlied.
with hanging tongue and pitifully
panting, he stood motionless, unable
to tight, unwilling to retreat The
others came about him and added their
acornful snorts snd digs to his humil
iation. There he stood, whipped and
sullen, but still obstinate.
Theotherhuff aloes gradually dropped
away, leaving blmxonce more nlone.
Then the little calf pounced up with
arched back and elevated tall, and
gave his venerable parent to under
stand In plain tortus that he held him
self in readiness to give blm a tre
mendous drubbing. It was elabor
ating to see this young milksop Imi
tate Its seniors. The poor old vetrai
did not so much as look at him.
Then his calfahlp poked his foolish
head with a consldernhle tluinp
against the old one's nose. But It
hurt him and he ambled off to his
mother.. The old buffalo stemed not
to notice his babyish persecutor, but I
suspect It broke his heart. He turn
ed sorrowfully, and slowly limped
away.
Took the First Tow.
The late John II. llnmline, of Chi
cago, was one of the foremost advo
cated of civil service reform In tlmt
city, says the Outlook, and whs In
strumental in securing the passage of
the law that established the merit sys
tem there. Although the mayor who
appointed the first civil service com
mission was notoriously hostile to the
measure, and planned to render It use
less, Mr. Hamline did not heiltute to
accept a place oh It
"How can you compromise with the
opposition," he was nsked, "by jretllnc
on a commission like that, which will
have no power?"
"When I am going anywhere," be
replied, "I do not wait for a star. I
hitch my cart to anything which Imp
pens to be going my way."
It Is worthy ofl note that bavins
climbed aboard bis cart he managed,
to the mayor's amazement, to keep It
straight in the path of municipal re
form, and made tho law effective
despite all opposition.
Miss Gentry's Curious Hat.
. Miss Gentry has In her collection a
Indies' hat which Is strictly an agri
cultural product The body of the hat
is vegetable cream lace; the trimming
Is flowers made of grass rope and corn
husks, partl-colored, and ribbons ot
cotton batting, natural color, the
whole ornamented with peacock feath
ers. The gourd takes a beautiful fin
ish, and Miss Gentry has varnished
and ornamented her collection so as to
make It exceedingly attractive as well
as Instructive. She has a banjo made
out of a gourd and covered with buck
skin, and on a large sugar gourd Is a
bar of music of tho old negro reel,
"Sugar In do Gourd." One who is
familiar with the old-time negro
would associate with It "Rabbit in do
Pea Patch," and the old-time cotton
picking and corn shucking and the
dance at night in, the cabin , on tho
puncheon floor, or the summer time
negro dances in the moonlight on the
lawn, .
It is unfortunate that this faith a
woman has In a worthless husband
can't be cashed at a grocery store.
Tf VA11 Oil f nnpn n tha mm
v- wV, uyu,i ag
gravate your offense by mixing mua.
tache up in it.