AMERICAN SAYINGS.
Phrases Originated in This
Which W ill Live.
HEN the first water of the
great Chicago drainage canal
topped over the big bear-trap
«lain at Lockport, to moat residents of
the vicinity It signalized the end of a
titanic undertaking—the sanitary wa
terway bad been completed, and there
ended the Jof>. When that water first
plunged, hissing and writhing, down
the valley of the Desplales to Its Junc
tion with the Illinois River on its way
to tbe "Father of Waters,” men who
watched the work felt that a great les
son was ended.
An offertory of some $.'13,000,000 had
been poured out by Chicago, ostensibly
to purify the water supply, vitiated by
a thousand sewer conduits. But the
real service had not commenced, for
the sanitary feature of the mighty
«lilial was and is but a subsidiary ele
ment. The real object sought to be
attained when th«* work was under
taken was and is tile beginning of n
ship canal to unite tbe chain of Inland
seas with the salt tide-water of the
delta of th«* Mississippi River, some
1,200 miles away.
The opening of the mammoth chan
nel. over 200 fret wide and deep enough
in all Its thirty miles to float the heavi
est warship, was really the opening
wedge of a project which lias been
HOW A PLANT FEEDS.
Van
Belmont's Interesting K«.vw-1‘
ment Hhowina llow a Tree (frown.
It is more than 2,000 years since phil
osophers began to ■|M*cillate about the
food of plants ami what we may term
their "digestive" processes, but It Is
only during th«* latter half of this cen
tury that really clear and definite no
tions concerning the food supplies of
the vegetable world have been gener
ally accepted by scieutlttc men. As far
as Is known, says a writer In Knowl
edge. the first twtaulcal experiment
ever perform«*«! was conduct«*«! by Van
Helmont. He placed In a |s>t 200
pounds of dried earth, aud In It lie
planted a willow branch which weigh
ed live pounds. He kept the whole cov
ered up and dally watered the earth
with rain water. After five years'
growth tin* willow was taken up ami
again weighed, and was found to have
gained 104 pounds. The earth In the
pot dried and weighed, ami had lost
only two ounces.
Knowlegi* was not yet sufficiently ad
vanced to enable Van Helmont to Inter
pret theseatrlklngresults correctly, and
lie cam«* to th«* erroneous conclusion
that the Increased weight of the plant
was due to the water which had beeu
supplied to the roots. He therefore
looked upon this experiment as sup-
portlng the theory which he had ad
vanced. vis., that plants required no
food but water. Stephen Hales ad-
vanced the subject a gr«*at step by In
dicating that much of the Increase In
weight of plants was derived from
carbon dloxtd«« In the air.
Vegetable cells «*ontaln a liquid
known as “cell sap.” which Is water
holding In solution various materials
which have ls-en taken up from with
out by the roots and leaves. These ma
terials are thus brought In contact with
th«* protoplasm, which causes them to
untlergo chaugea iu composition which
prepare them to b<* added to the sub
stance of the plant. Thus It la In the
protoplasm of the living cells of th«*
plant that those "digestive" pnweaaea
an* carried on which Aristotle believe«!
to occur In the soil. We s«*e, then, that
the living cells are microscopic labors
torles In which the digestion of the food
of the plant la carried on.
OCEAN GOING FREIGHTERS LOADING IN CHICAGO.
dreamed of, legislated upon and striven that means something more than 4,000
after for half a century. It means that ton of cargo. Brief work in the line
the expressed fears of Federal engl done on the canal and an ocean high
neers, of communities dreading water way is opened up for Chicago and the
contagion, of shippers anticipating a West, in meats, in grain, In all those
loss of commercial prestige, the deple commodities that now go to Liverpool
tion of our lakes, have all been set at by other aud more expensive routes—
rest. It means that the Hennepin canal for water carriage Is much cheaper
Idea—the father of the sanitary canal— than rail carriage, and farmers who
Is In a fair way of accomplishment, grow grain in Kansas, Nebraska and
and by the use of a grand natural wa Iowa are to-day in a measure at the
terway the largest chain of fresh water mercy of the rail lines. Ocean rates
on the globe unites with one of the from Galveston aud New Orleans
largest rivers In the world, piercing a would enable them to beat the sea
mighty nation down Its middle.
coast rates from New York by from
Neverslnce the first hasty $50,000 sur 10 to 20 cents on a bushel.
vey was made In the shallow Illinois
It is saitl that nothing but money and
has the general government been able the authority to go ahead is needed in
to rhl Itself of the Idea that the frui the work south of Lockport. Half or
tion of the plan would encompass the $25,000,000 would make the lower chan
triumph of th«* grandest scheme of in nel adequate. There is a great deal of
terunl Improvement ever undertaken in boring and dredging to do; docking,
this laud. The first great step to con and the straightening out of crooked
summate all this Is the proposed turn courses; but competent engineers have
ing over of the Chicago River to the been looking over the field, and tbe plan
drainage canal trustees, to enlarge, to Is simple when understood.
Improve, to change, on the same prin The lower Mississippi problem Is one
ciple that can make of the veriest cr«*ek of the worst to the canal project. Many
In the land that would not float a skiff millions of dollars have been lumped
a channel wide enough and deep Into that river by succeeding Con
enough to float a warship of the first I gresses and engineering boards without
class with a draft of twenty-eight feet. substantial Improvement. The river
Without a particle of improvement the has depth sufficient for present com
Chicago River can to-day carry vessels merce, and no decided effort has been
which haul 100,000 bushels of grain— made to deepen it at certain “cross
that trout are also famous Jumpers.
On the Beaverkill is a three-foot dam,
with four Inches of water on the breast,
aud a gentleman sat near and watched
the trout go up. In many Instances a
first attempt falle«l, owing, however,
more to an apparent want of judgment
than lack of physical ability In the fish
to accomplish the feat; the smaller fish,
as a rule, falling to get over In the first
attempt. The larger fish made a dean
Jump into the smooth water altove the
aprou of the dam. These fish were en
abled to swim straight up this down
pour of water by the great muscular
power they possessed; there was no
trick about It, but pure streugth which
Is evidently centered in the tall and
tall tin. The query naturally arises:
If a ten-lncb trout can swim up such
a fall, what Is the capacity of a forty
inch salmon under similar conditions?
When Crowds Are Useful.
Quite a brisk business exists in the
crowd line, sal«l a well-dressed man to
the writer, and I make a fairly good
living by supplying them. All sorts of
people find a crowd useful at times. 1
For Instance, a young man who is
altout to make his debut as a lecturer
or musician can, by romlng to me,
make sure of having not only a—nu
merically speaking—r«*«pectnble, but
highly appreciative, audience. Again,
a big crowd outside the pit and galh*ry
doors of a theater creates tn the minds
of passers by the idea that the piece
must be worth seeing to attract so
many patient waiters. A few shop-
keepers, too, have found out that half
a «l«»zen well-dressed people, gazing In
tently Into a shop window, k*ads others
to do the same thlug, au«l <*onstltutes a
far better "draw” than anything put
In the window Itself. 1 have even sup-
pllevl spectators for a wedding. In a
ease where the bridegroom was a
wealthy parvenu who had a great de
sire for popularity. An artist once
hired from me about a dozen well-at-
tir«d |M*ople to stand lu trout of bls
picture at an exhibition, the conse
quence being that his painting attract
ed considerable attention. Where do I
get the people? Oh, there Is no diffi
culty about that. Some of them are
sandwich men In the daytime, and
work for me at night; others work for
me In the day. and appear on the stage
as "supers" In the evening. I pay
them so much per hour. an«l fln«l tbe
clotli«*s. I have a most elaborate stock
of garments, and can turn out quite
an aristocratic looking crowd.
ings” where sand has piled up and tbe
lightest vessels run danger of striking
the bottom. Engineers of national rep
utation are a unit that the Government
should begin tbe work of improvement,
substituting docks of masonry for
wooden wharfs.
The pace has been set by the drain
age canal. It has been demonstrated
to tbe world that ship highways can
be constructed inland wide enough and
deep enough to float any warship on
tbe high seas. The West now offers the
finished product of Its efforts to that
higher authority which alone can exe
cute one of the grandest projects of in
ternal Improvement ever presented to
a nation.
In this project every farmer In the
West Is vitally Interested. Tbe agricul
turists of this section ship through
Chicago nearly 40,000,000 bushels of
grain a year. Upon this, should the
transportation be made by the pro
posed route, the saving would be some
thing enormous. Aside from the strict
commercial Interpretation, there Is the
problem of making tbe great lakes a
useful body of water for defense. No
outlet to the sea now exists, but Can
ada and Great Britain have an Inlet
which is controlled by them. The Mis
sissippi project would be purely of the
country and for the country, involving
a new grand highway.
"Don't swear; tight!’’ The pbrasr
has the ring of sound metal.
The American army of invasion ad
vancing upon Suutiago de Cuba was
I preceded by a body of rough riders.
Suddenly the Spaniards, who were ly-
| ing in ambush, tired a deadly volley,
and tbe startled rough riders replied
with an outburst of curses. "Don't
swear; tight!” called Col. Wood. The
phrase still lives.
America is a big country; it is des
tined to become a great country, tor
there is manliness aud vigor iu the
memorable phrases coined by cele
brated Americans.
It was Stephen
Decatur who originated tbe toast, “Our
country, right or wrong.” Henry Clay
said, "Sir, I would prefer to be right
than be President.” The last words of
Nathan Hale were, "I only regret that
I have but one life to lose for my coun
try.” William Peun coined the phrase,
“I prefer the honestly simple to tbe in
genuously wicked.” And it was Ileury
Ward Beecher who uttered the words,
“The mother's heart is the child's school
room.”
When nations become artificially re-
tined tlie phrases which their great men
coin are generally either cynical or flip
pant. Thus to Talleyrand is attributed
the phrase, "Mistrust first impressions,
they are always good." Voltaire de
clared that "Ideas are like beards;
children and women never wear them.”
To which might be added, "except when
they are monstrosities.” Antoine Ri-
varole said, "It is an Immense advant
age to have done nothing, but oue
should not abuse it.” Samuel Rogers
sai, “When 1 was young I said good-
natured things and nobody listened to
me: now that I am old I say ill-natured
things, and everybody listens to me.”
To Sidney Smith we are indebted for
the following ungracious description of
a fashionable woman: “Do not mind
tbe caprices of fashionable women.
They are as gross as poodles fed on milk
and muffins.”
Whether Col. Wool uttered them or
not, the words, "Don't swear; but
fight!" will ring for long in the mem
ories of many generations.—I.ondott
Truth.
Highest Temp r«ilire».
It Is very curious that the great ob-
stancle encountered in tunneling under
the snow-covered Alps is the excessive
ly high temperature. In the construc
tion of the Mont Cenis tunnel the high
est temperature recorded was 86 de
grees Fahrenheit, which was reached
at a point near the center of the tun
nel. The St. Gothard was still hotter,
a temperature of 95 degrees having
been observed In the center for several
days. Such a heat, in a moisture-laden
and impure atmosphere, could be en
dured but five hours a day for two days
In three; and so prostrating was the la
bor at Mont Cenis aud St. Gothard that
the physician wlio attended the work
men ten years reports the number of
invalids to have been as great as sixty
to the one hundred. Stranger still was
the appearance of a tropical disease-
due to intestinal parasites—that is
known only in the hottest regions of
tbe earth. Even greater rock tempera
tures are expected in the great tunnels
projected in recent years—those of the
Simplon. St. Bernard and Mont Blanc-
experienced engineers predicting that
under Mont Blanc a heat considerably
greater than 100 degrees—possibly
above 125 degrees—will be reached. Im
proved methods of ventilating, cooling
aud working will all contribute, how
ever, toward overcoming tbe difficulties
of working.
gence; bright golden hair, of a rich,
d«*ep color and of a crisp ami waving
texture, growing thickly on the head
aud somewhat low on the brow, shows
an ardent, poetic and somewhat artis
tic temperament. It Is the slgnaturs
of Apollo, the sun. People with red-
brown hair which Is very thick, and
redder over the ears and at temples
than on the head, are courageous and
energetic. This sort of hair gives sense
of color In painters, force of language,
and eloquence In poets, aud power in
musical composition.
Hook an«! I,adder Episode.
Offside Play.
Boney—Unable to Increase Hawley’s
salary, and not desiring to lose bls ser
vices, the Sharpe« have taken him into
tbe flrm.
Sklunie—That’s great!
Boney—But then the flrm Is losing
money
dally.—Philadelphia
North
American.
More Ornamental than Useftil.
Dorothy—Papa, we girls have a new I
name for those men wbo call on us, but
Character in Red Hair.
never take us out anywhere.
Red-l»alr«*d women are anient and
Papa—What ts It, daughter?
vivacious, especially If they have with
“We call them ’flrcslde compan
It hazel eyes. In which case they have ions.’ "—Life.
a bright an«l quick intelligence. They
have a great deal of natural felicity for
Nearly every man. when he goes to
study and good memories. Red hair a strange town, has a better under
with blue eyes shows the same warmth standing of why a king travels In
of character, but not so much Intelli cognito.
CHINESE THE MOST WIDELY SPOKEN LANGUAGE.
The new motorman was strong and
willing, but he hadn’t been in a city
very much. He had done farm work
up in northern Aroostook.
The other motorman was instructing
him.
"If a tire alarm rings in,” said the old
hand, “remember that tbe department,
the tire engine and the rest have the
right of way. Hold right up and let
'em past. If you don't they'll run you
down.”
The second day an alarm of Are was
rung iu. The car was near a cross
street where the department must pass.
“Hold up.” said the Instructor.
Over the electric track tore the hose
teams, then the tire engine spouting
flame ami smoke. The new hand cast
a look up tbe street and then spun his
controller lever. Tbe car started.
“You infernal fool, what are you do
ing?" howled the old hand. He Jumped
and the new man Jumped and the hook
and ladder truck tore the front plat
form off the car and disappeared In a
cloud of dust and with its men yelling
like flends.
“Why didn't you wait?” howled the
instructor.
"Ba gar.” replied his pupil, white and
gasping, "1 no t'ink we have to bodder
for dat gang o’ drunk house painters,”
—Lewiston Journal.
The Finest Diamond.
i
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Against the Carrest.
It is well known that aalmon can
swim against a strong current, and
leap up falls, bnt It is not so well known
Coantry
Tb« relativ« proportion of person« speaking th« chief languages of th« world is represented by this aerie« of national
type« Tb« total population of th« world to 1.452,000.000. The language« not represented in th« aber« illustrations in
clod« Javaoeon, Turkish, Brasilian, «te.—all with 1ms than 85,000,000.
Mrs. William Astor has a collretlon of
diamonds worth a fortune. But the
finest dlmanml in the world belongs. It
Is said, to Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt
It is a tiny affair, weighing one karat.
yet ft cost her husband $5.000. As the
value of the diamond increases In an
Increasing rath» with Its weight, up to
s moderate size, this Vanderbilt brill-
lant. if as large as the Koh-I-Noor
(102*4 karats» would be worth about
$3.800.000. Mrs. Vanderfblt’s marvel-
ous gem came from Sumbulpoor or Gol-
renda.
---------—--------------
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Mormon.
At a recent conference of the Mormou
church. George Q. Cannon complained
that there never was In the history of
tbe church such an absence of respect
fur its authority as now.
A general strike for higher wages in
tbe pottery trade lu England now in
volves 29.000 men aud is causing great
distress and inconvenience.
The art glass workers of Indianap
olis have effected an organization.
There are now eiglity-tive local unions
of tbe trade in the United States, and
arrangements are beiug made to form
a uatioual association.
The carpenters at St. Louis have
practically wou their tight for the
eight-hour day at 45 cents an hour aud
a half-holiday on Saturday without
pay. The Contractors Association has
gone to pieces by the withdrawal of
many of tbe leading firms.
The Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners now has 438 local unions, with
nearly 65,000 members. The eight-hour
day is now firmly established iu 105
cities and towns, and nine hours pre
vail in 427 cities. The brotherhood
gained 15,000 members iu 1899.
The much-condemned walking dele
gate observed a rift in the clouds that
usually darken his horizon, when he
discovered that the American Publish
ers’ Association has an official whose
duties are similar to that of the busi
ness agent, but whose title is that of
"commissioner.” A well-known St. Paul
publisher tills the office at present. The
Master Printers’ Association also lias a
"business representative” who resides
in Chicago, with like responsibilities.
Tlie
Cigarmakers’
International
Union does uot seem cast down or in
timidated by the recent sweeping in
junction of Judge Freeman, and iu the
Official Journal President Perkins, In
denouncing the injunction, says: "The
people affected by this monstrous at
tempt on their liberties know their
rights, and any man or woman, official
or member, who is molested will be
protected to the fullest extent of the
resources of the International union.”
Arrangements are being made be
tween tbe Board of Delegates and the
Building Trades Council of New Y’ork
City, whereby more harmony will ex
ist than heretofore. The proposition is
that all business proposed or accom
plished by the Board of Business
Agents be submitted to the Building
Trades Couucll for their consideration.
In other words, make the Building
Trades Council tbe parent body. If
this can be brought about it will be
tlie means of adjusting many diftict.’-
ties that heretofore have caused a great
ileal of dissatisfaction between th»to
two bodies.
The vast increase in manufactured
products on tlie continent of Europe
lias uot resulted in much benefit to the
working classes on account of the great
increase iu the cost of living. In Ger
many the number of hands employed
in its Industries has increased in fifteen
years from 7,340,000 to 10,900,000, or
nearly 29 per cent. But in that period
food, provisions and house furnishings
have become much dearer, meats have
increased in prices from 20 to 40 per
cent., aud teas, coffees, sugar aud flour
in relative proportion, and while the
German worker pays the extra high
prices noted for food be gets but 33
per cent of the American worker’s
wages.
For Inspection.
A peculiar custom prevails among the
Roumanian peasants with regard to
marriage, writes W. W. Long. When a
Roumanian girl is of marriageable age
her trousseau, which has beeu woven,
spun and embroidered entirely by her
mother and herself, is placed in a point
ed wooden box. When a suitor pre
sents himself lie is allowed to open th«
box. which is always kept in a promi
nent place, and examine its contents.
If he is satisfied with tbe quantity and
quality of the dowry, he formally pro
poses to the girl's parents; but if the
trousseau does not answer his antici
pations he may retire without being
considered to have committed himself
In any way. The wedding ceremony H
made a scene of great rejoicing, the
bridegroom's parents driving the bride
home in a cart wreathed with garlands
of flowers and drawn by four oxen. The
all Important box containing the trous
seau is placed on the front of the cart,
while one of the bride's relations fol
low on foot carrying her dot, tied up
In a handkerchief at the end of a long
pole.
Strangers.
They were very fond of each other,
an«! had been engag«*d: but they had
quarreled, and were too proud to make
It up. He called afterward at her house
to see her father on business. She was
at tbe door.
“Ah—Miss Blank. I believe?” said he.
"Is your father in?”
"No, sir,” she replied, “father is not.
at present. Do you wish to see him
personally?”
“Y'es." was the bluff response of the
visitor, who felt that his former swret-
heart was yielding—”1 want to see him
on very particular business’’—and be
turned away haughtily.
“I beg your pardon,” she called after
him, as he reache«! the last step, "but
who shall I say called?”—Tit-Bits.
Heavy Sale«.
Eastern capitalist—See here. When I
bought these corner lots of you you told
me you had sold $600,000 worth of real
estate In this section in one year. I
can't find a customer for a foot of my
land. Did you really sell that much In
that length of time?
Western man—Yes. sir. You see, I
was tbs sheriff —New York Weekly.