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FOUR j The Weekly News THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1912. WEEKLY NEWS, Issued two times a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, one year SI.OO THE MORNING NEWS, "very day in the year, by mall S.OO THE MORNING NEWS, .daily without Sunday 6.00 ADVERTISEMENTS. Display advertisements 70 cents an Inch each insertion. Discount made for contract advertising, depending cn space and length of time adver tisement is to run. Local and Reading Notices. 20 cents a line. Marriage, Funeral and Obituaries SI.OO per Inch. Legal Advertisements of Oridnaries. Sheriffs and other officials inserted at the rate prescribed by law. Remittances can be made by Post office Order, Registered L.tter or Express at our risk. CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence coliclted; but to re ceive attention, letters must be ac companied by a responsible name, net for publication, but as a guar antee of good faith. All letters should be addressed to MORNING NEWS, Savannah, Ga. Registered at the Postofflce in Savannah as second-class mail matter. TO ADVANCE DAIRYING The value of the butter and cheese which the South buys from other parts of the country is very large, running into the millions of dollars; yet there appears to be no good and sufficient reason why the South should send away from home for either butter or cheese, in view of the excellent graz ing and feeding facilities that we have at our doors. Maybe we of the South have not paid more attention to the production of butter and cheese be cause other things have been thought more profitable. The time has come, however, when dairying in the South Is becoming an important industry. We have had milk all along, of course, but there are other profitable products from the dairy besides fresh milk. In following its policy of educating the people along Its lines to make their lands more profitable, the Southern Railway is this season operating a “dairy instruction car," equipped with all the modern apparatus for making the most of milk and what may be de rived from it. The car has commenc ed a tour of all of the Southern's ter ritory. It will spend two weeks at least in North Carolina, as much time in South Carolina, probably three Jfl»rey l weeks in Georgia, and then pass | ‘lnto other states that offer pos- I COr ltles of dairy development. The E cc f.nal Department of Agriculture and fate departments are co-operat- H the railway company, so that v4 ry sure the dairy school will be an 0 . in this section relatively Ohutter for the market and no We have not paid a great ~W Wii attention to butter, and we Krot'itlMW h'6«r to make cheese. We HuJ&fcft those things to Illinois. New ■Hrindiana and other Western and NBHhern states, which are actually less situated than we are for B production of these articles. They Eve had the enterprise, which we bg.ve lacked apparently, to take up Hh business and make money from it. Bid we have contributed in no small ®ay to their wealth. Now, the idea and purpose is to Interest our home people in dairy and creamery products and to show them the processes by which those products may be turned out most economically. The “dairy car” is equipped with all modern ap pliances and the lecturers accompany ing it are experts. The tour of the car ought to be followed by results that will mean increased business for the railroad company and increased bank acounts for the farmers who at tend the "school” and profit by its in formation. ANCIENT OR MODERN? The superintendent of the normal school at San Francico has sent out a pamphlet to the high school teachers of the state in which he pungent) y asks: “Are we living A. D.. or B. C.?” Hereafter, he wishes it to be under stood. his institution will examine on questions that "are now in the melting pot of public discussion” rather than on ancient or medieval history It has given him no little concern, he says, to find that while high school graduates coming up to him for ex amination have been able to give a fair account of the activities of Cas sius and Brutus and some of the oth er insurgents who lived before the time of trousers, they didn’t know anything about La Follette, and Diaz end the men who are making history. They could tell of the siege of Troy, but they were deficient when asked what important legislation had been enacted during the administration of Cleveland, Harrison and Roosevelt, and they didn't know the first living thing about the tariff question. It t 3 the suggestion of the superintendent that the high schools devote some time to the study of the daily news papers and the magazines, paying especial attention to articles dealing with current topics and men of the day. If the California high schools are In a position to switch from and to such studies as they please, they must be operated under a very liberal law, and one which would seem to promise a change of studies with each change of administration of the schools. As a rule, public schools are told what they must teach; their work is cut out for them, and they are not permitted to go beyond the line of demarkation. It may be, and doubtless is, true that there is a good deal of useless stuff in the curriculums; but if the schools give the pupils a good grip on the his tory of Greece and Rome and medie val Europe, they build for a better un derstanding of modem politics. It is an excellent idea to have the news papers read in the schools, but whether they are or not it to pretty certain that the young people cf the schools are going to do a good deal of reading on their own hook. They want to, know •bout the people at their own times and they know pretty well where to get the information. It seems, though, that there might be a modification of the matter, by means of which the pupils would get a little less of the old-time insurgents who went bare-legged and stabbed in the back with daggers, and more about the modern, trousered Insurgents who wield spears thut know no broth er or strike only with daggers of speech. THE UNITED CONFEDERATE VETERANS. The sympathetic heart of Dixie will turn to-day to Macon, where the great reunion of the United Confederate Veterans will be convened. It is be lieved that the gathering will be one of the most notable ever held under the auspices of the organization. The attendance upon it will be drawn from all parts of the South, and literally tens of thousands of veterans and their descendants and friends will be pres ent. It has been predicted, indeed, that the population of the city will be considerably more than double during the reunion. It is certain that abundant arrange ments have been made for taking care of the visitors. One thousand govern ment tents have been pitched for the old soldiers on the encampment grounds, where an efficient commis sary department—free—has been set up. In addition to that, private resi dences in all parts of the city have been thrown open to the heroes of the sixties, so that they will not lack in the least for all of the creature com forts. The high-water mark of Confederate reunions has already been passed, for the very conclusive reason that the veterans are dropping out of the ranks so rapidly by the natural process of elimination. The war ended forty seven years ago, wherefore one who was only big enough to tote a musket and many boys did—must be now a man well past the meridian of life and whose head is ripening for the reaper. Each reunion witnesses the pathetic sight of thinned ranks and a host of heroes moving inevitably to that bourne from which no traveler ever returns. Since the last roll-eall there are many absentees, and when it is called again there will be no response to many of the names that will be marked “here" at Macon. The pathos of it is pitiable, but the veterans face the “last enemy” as they did the tang ible enemy on the field, unafraid. But their excellent organization will preserve their history in Its truth and accuracy, and the Sons and Daughters, through their societies, will keep alive the memories of the glorious days when the Stars and Bars floated over armies as brave and daring and true as ever went forth to battle for prin ciple. LIFE SAVING SERVICE ON GOV ERNMENT TRANSPORTS. Congress is making a very searching Investigation as to the cause of such a large loss of life in the Titanic ilto aster and whether that ship was prop erly equipped with life-saving service. The understanding Is that it will ap hear that there were not enough life boats and life rafts to accommodate half of the passengers and crew. It is expected that legislation will fol low, making it imperative that steam ship companies sailing to and from American ports shall be fully equipped with life-saving boats and rafts. A question that presents itself is this; Why is U that Congress hasn't provided sufiicient life-saving boats and rafts on Us own steamers running between home ports and the Philip pines? A cavalryman stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, Dodge, Ga., writes to the New York Sun a letter in which <he hope Is expressed that while Con gress is requiring better life-saving equipment on steamers plying between this country and Europe it will adopt measures requiring better life-saving service on government transports. A part of the letter Is as follows: The ships are old; were not new when the Spanish war obliged the gov ernment to purchase anything it could get at the time. Not one-third of the passengers and crew could be accom modated In the number of boats car ried, even If they are seaworthy, which is a matter of grave doubt. In addi tion the route of these vessels does not correspond with that of the liners and steamships crossing the Pacific; and even If they are equipped with a wireless a transport would burn or sink long before any vessel copld come to Us assistance. . Periodically the question of changing the cuvse of the transports comes up, but nothing is ever done. And so for the sake of saving a few tons of coal this government goes on endangering the lives of hundreds of troops, offi cers of the army and their families. It 1s only a question of time when the country will be again horrified by an other wholesale sacrifice of human life. Why not act now Instead of after it has happened? It is evident from the foregoing that our government has been even more careless, in so far as providing against loss of life at sea is concerned than thin great steamship companies. Its trans ports, carrying many passengers bessc.es troops and their crews, are woefully lacking in lifeboats and life rafta, and have been taking a route in gr/ng to and coming from the Philippines that is particularly dangerous siaiply to save a few tons of coal. If one- of these transports should meet wiDi disaster and there should be great loss of life because of the lack of '/feboats and rafts Congress would be :j#bout as much to blame as the stear.fship company to which the Titanic 'belonged is for the lose of life in the/Titanic disaster. This fact will proba/jly be brought to the attention of th* ; public when the new legislation tore the safeguarding of life at sea comr s up In Congress for consideration. THINGS THAT: MR. BRYAN HEARS If he is tqr be credited in matters purely political, Mr. Bryan hears some strange things these days. For In stance, in /his speech at Chillicothe, 0., on Mondiiy he said, in the course of a speeci?. he delivered there, that he "heard/' that the Underwood delegates chosev t n Georgia and Florida were in reality Harmon men. Why does Ua uerjrood run fur Harmon in about six THE WEEKLY HEWS (TWO-TDCES-A WEEK) THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1912, states 'in the South and Harmon run for Underwood in a few in the North?” In Washington yesterday Mr. Under wood denied that he was running for Harmon. He stated that he was run ning for himself and no one else. It pleases Mr. Bryan to throw dis credit on Mr. Underwood's candidacy whenever he can. The reason is evi dent. Mr. Bryan, although not a can didate in the primaries, is believed to be trying to bring about a situation in the Baltimore convention that will enable him to get the nomination him self. That is beginning to be the im pression among Republican politicians in Washington, and there are Demo crats of prominence who have the same impression. No delegates have yet been named in Georgia. How then could Mr. Bryan have heard they were Harmon men. Mr. Bryan is beginning to see that there isn’t much if a chance for either Mr. Clark or Gov. Wilson, and tHat if he is to get the nomination he must defeat Mr. Underwood and Gov. Har mon. That is the meaning of his at tack on those two candidates at Chilli cothe. He is trying to turn away vot ers in Ohio from Harmon, and in some other states he will try to turn them away from Mr. Underwood, as he did in Florida. It is true that Just now Gov. Har mon doesn’t seem to have much pros pect of getting the nomination, but so shrewd and far-sighted a Democrat as Gen. Roger Pryor of New York, In an Interview in the American of that city on Monday, said that he believed that Gov. Harmon would get the nom ination and that he would be elected. There is a tremendously large element in the Democratic party in the North ern states that thinks that Mr. Under wood will be the nominee. It is ap parent therefore that Mr. Bryan has very good grounds for endeavoring to lessen the importance of the Under wood and Harmon campaigns. I-le is beginning to see that in order to get the nomination himself he must de feat Mr. Underwood and Gov. Harmon. He is playing politics to the best of his ability. If he is rightly understood he believes that the Republicans will nominate Col. Roosevelt and he has faith in his ability to beat him, al though he Is reported to have admitted that he doubts if he could beat Mr. Taft. NO SECOND CHOICE INSTRUCT IONS. The Atlanta Journal puts forth the claim that the Georgia delegation at the Baltimore convention Is Instruct ed to vote for Gov. Wilson as Its sec ond choice, in the event it finds that Mr. Underwood cannot get the nomi nation. We do not recall that there Is anything in the rules of the State Democratic Committee under which the primary was held that sustains this claim. It seems to us that as good Democrats desiring the success of the party in the presidential campaign the members of the Georgia delegation, after fulfilling the obligation imposed upon them by the primary will be free to support the candidate that ap pears to have the best chance of suc cess. At the convention the situation is likely to undergo rapid changes, and the delegates will have an opportunity to hear views of party leaders from every part of the country expressed, and hence will be in a position to .de termine what is the wise thing for the party to do. Unless, therefore, the state conven tion gives the delegation instructions as to a second choice there will be no obligation resting upon it to sup port Gov, Wilson as its second choice. The argument that because Gov. Wilson ran second In the primary the delegation must support him as Its second choice Isn’t a sound one. It Is fair to assume that Georgia voted for Mr. Underwood because he stands for certain policies, and not because of a iiklng for him personally. If this is the correct view why should Georgia be compelled to support doctrines it doesn't approve simply because its choice of candidates failed to get the support of a majority of the Baltimore convention? I there should be other candidates before the convention that stund for the doctrines approved by the majority of Georgia Democrats why shouldn't the Georgia delegation support one of them? In fact, if there is a second preference obligation it is to a candidate tint stands for the same things as does the candidate for whom the delegation As instructed. The Georgia delegation to Baltimore will take its instructions from the con vention that names it and not from the supporters of Gov. Wilson, though, as far as we are able to see, there is no good reason why the Wilson supporters shouldn’t submit their ad vice as freely as they want to. The convention will no doubt receive It as Information, particularly if it Is insist ed, that the second preference shall be Gf>v. Wilson. We don’t know what oourse the state convention will pur , sue, but the wise course would be to let the delegates exercise their judg ment after they have done all it is possible for them to do to carry out the will of the people of Georgia as expressed in the primary. However, we assume that the convention will feel itself entirely, able to deal with the situation. CHANCE WROUGHT BY THE WEEVIL. According to Mr. H. M. Cottrell, ag ricultural commissioner of the Rock Island Railroad lines, the boll weevil has largely changed Louisiana from a cotton to a corn growing state. Now the money crop there is corn. Before the weevil made its appearance it was cotton. And it has been found that corn pays better than cotton did. And what is worth noting is that other ctops than cotton have come with corn. The farmers have sud denly found out that there are crops their rich lands will produce that are much more profitable than cotton ever was. It took them a good while to find it out, but now that they have made the discovery Louisiana is to be, in fact is, a state in which di versified farming flourishes. In the days when cotton was about the only .crop corn was planted to a limited extent, but sa little attention was given to its cultivation that the yield was very small. Twenty bushels to the acre was thought to be a good crop. Now, with improved seed and careful cultivation, fifty bushels are considered an average yield. It Is a common thing to see great fields of hundreds of acres that yield as much as sixty bushels to the acre. Yields of seventy and seventy-five bushels are common and last year thirty boys av eraged 100 bushels to the acre and one grew a little more than 158 bushels on an acre. And much attention is being given to hay, and with hay stock of a fine grade is making its appearance. It seems therefore that the boll weevil 'was a sort of blessing in disguise. While the farmers in this state are moving in the direction of diversified farming slowly they are making pro gress. And they will be glad that they have given it attention when the boll weevil reaches the state. They won't be panic stricken because they under stand that if they cannot grow cotton they can grow corn and hay and raise stock. But because they are finding out what they can do by diversified farming they ought not to cease to make prepaiations for the coming of the weevil. It is pretty certain that we shall never have slx-cent cotton again. The Roosevelt. Republicans of Penn sylvania in making their platform the other day said that the guiding spirit of the American people raised up Lin coln to destroy special privilege in his day and that the same power had rais ed up Theodore Roosevelt to destroy special privilege in our day. The greatest special privilege in this day is that enjoyed by the tariff barons. It would be interesting to know what Col. Roosevelt, during his seven years in the White House, did to destroy this special privilege. The Roosevelt Re publicans of Pennsylvania must have been dreaming when they wrote the foregoing in their platform. They cer tainly couldn’t have remembered that Col. Roosevelt called off the prosecu tion of the Harvester trust and that he permitted the Steel trust to gobble up its chief rival. A cruiser built for the Chinese gov ernment was launched at Camden, N. J„ a few days ago. The craft is de scribed as being "up to the minute" in speed and equipment. The daughter of the Chinese minister at Washington was sponsor, and the ship was assert ed by experts to be a fine specimen of r.aval architecture. It was not by chance or for sentimental reasons that this vessel was constructed in the United States. The builders entered into competition and were able to name figures more attractive than those of foreign contractors. And yet it is deemed necessary that our ship builders shall have protection. London is not pleased because Amer ican visitors to that capital spend only $7,500,000 a year, while they spend not less than $15,000,000 in Paris. The London Standard says the reason Is that Parts eaters to Anufrlcan favor, white London does not. "Yarik seeks to please; London expects the visitor to take things as they are found and be thankful for the privilege. “Amer icans are sensitive and like to be hos pitably treated,” says the Standard; “and if they can’t get what they want in England they will go where they car. get it.” In this very connection it seems not inapropos to sound the note, ‘See America first.’i The versatility of "Tony” Drexel Biddle of Philadelphia continues to as tonish his friends. Not only has he made himself an expert at golf and polo and other athletic sports, includ ing boxing, but Mr. Biddle is now a Sunday-school teacher. He has stood in the ring with such celebrities as Fitzsimmons and O’Brien and given a good account of himself. His ambi tion now, it seems, is to be at the head of a Bible class of 10,000 pupils. He has already 3,400 on his rolls and is sure that he can get the others to make his desired quota. It is worth speaking of when society men go in for that sort of thing. Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma have outlawed the common drinking cup, the common comb and brush and the common towel in hotels. Under the new laws there must be individual service in each instance. A confer ence of hotel men and representatives of boards of health is to be held in Kansas City on May 20 for the pur pose of drafting a set of model regu lations for hotels. The landlords de clare that they are as much Interested In the fight on germs as anybody else and that they will do what they can to aid it. This reform seems to be a step in advance of the nine-foot sheet law. > After a search of five weeks In New York, Elise Nicholas, a young cousin of the late John W. Daniel of Virginia, has been found by the police. The young woman went from Virginia to New York, to take up the study of trained nursing. She found conditions exceptionally hard —harder than she could stand —so that she was found in a faint in a hallway at an early hour in the morning. Too often young girls go to New York with the idea that they will reach the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, only to meet with sorrow, disappointment and not infrequently death. For some reason or other nobody seems to be paying much attention to the nomination for the vice presidency, and yet the office is a most important and honorable one. It occurs some times that men in second place are suddenly called to take the first. The American of New York thinks that Senator O’Gorman of that state would be a good running mate for Speaker Clark. Col. Roosevelt did lambaste the political bosses In his Mary land speeches. The speeches elic ited little applause, but excited a good deal of wonder, since his audiences re called that when in power he was about the biggest political boss the country had ever known. It is im possible for some people to see them selves as others see them. Milton Spinney is a mariner who knows every tea on the map—wheth er it is charted or uncharted. For fifty years he had been a mariner, and never once lost his way on the face of the briny deep. But the other even ing in Brooklyn Milton went ashore without his chronometer and sextant, and the indications are that he did not patronize the hydrant exclusively. At any rate, at about eight bells, in the middle of the night, he was hope lessly lost in the streets. Every tack that he went upon seemed to be a wrong one, so he hailed a pilot In the police uniform and requested to be taken into dock. How will fish life at and near the two ends of the Panama canal, and in between, be affected by the open ing of that great waterway? Gov ernment experts are now making a study of the matter. There are dif ferences in the varieties of fish on the Atlantic side and on the Pacific side, and there are still other varieties in the fresh waters of the higher reaches. It is regarded as practically certain that many fishes will go through, from either side, and that there will be a commingling, but the experts are not yet in a position to say that there will be any change of species. Once on a time cotton bales proved a good defense for New Orleans, when “Old Hickory" got hi 3 men behind them and fought Packenham to a standstill. It may be that cotton bales will again prove of a saving service to the city. A dispatch says that cot ton and hay, in bales, are being used to reinforce the levees. Cotton would seem to be a rather expensive sort of levee material, but when the floods are raging the people do not usually stop to count the cost. It is a matter of life and death and great property destruction. Maurice Maeterlinck is going in for boxing. He has had a regulation ring constructed in his home and is going to have bouts with some of the clever professional. Os course M. Maeter linck will be expected to exemplify the poetry of motion as he dances about the ring and swings and jabs. Bottled gas Is the invention of a Pittsburg man. Happily, It Is not to be used for campaign purposes, but merely for lighting and heating. The natural gas of the campaign orators will continue to be without rival. It is noted In the exchanges that Des Moines, la., has the largest birth rate in the country. Des Moines has the commission form of government. Is there campaign material In this for the commission boomers? PERSONAL —Frederick Townsend Martin has contracted to write a play which he promises will be “unconventional and shocking.” Society is to be the sub ject and the victim of the shock. —John Samuel, said to be the Inven tor of the Mason jar, is dead in St. Louis, Mo. He was 95 years old. Sam uel was the founder jmd first presi dent of the glassbltXers' union and was borr\ in Swansea/tVales. —Daniel Sell, who was probably the smallest man in Pennsylvania, died In Gettysburg, aged 69 years. He was at one time a member of the Gettysburg Fire Department. For yeurs he attend ed the Firemen's State Convention, and always captured the prize for be ing the smallest man tn the parade. He was 45 inches in hlght. —Ellsworth, Kan., is thought to be the only city In the country that does not own its own sewer system. Ed ward Wellington, a resident, built the sewers and rents them to the city. The sewer taxes in Ellsworth are said to be lower than in any other city of its size In the state, while the sys tem is as good, if not better, than oth ers. —William C. Christine, a carrier on one of the rural routes out of Wash ington, N. J„ puts In his spare time raising chickens, and he says he has developed a hen that lays yolkless eggs. Christine says this hen has laid half a dozen eggs of that variety. It is his ambition to supply yolkless eggs to bakers and caterers for use In icing takes. BRIGHT BITS —"How did he succeed so long in fooling his creditors into believing that he was wealthy?" “He had every member of his family operated on for appendicitis.”—Buffalo Express. —“The products of petroleum are very numerous,” said the professor. “Can you name one of the most im portant?" "Yes, sir,” replied the pupil, “Money."—Washington Star. —“Paid a thousand marks for the dog. did you? It ought to be well bred at that price.” "I can tell you that I wish I had a pedigree like hte, that's all."—Flie gende Blaettcr. CURRENT COMMENT The Syracuse Post-Standard (Ind.) says; “The presidential campaign runs long enough without the preference primary. It extends the period of dis turbance and adds to the volume of It. It adds to the bitterness of contests within the party and there is no com pensating gain. It is the foe to com promise. We don't want the presi dential preference primary in New York." The New York Times (Ind.) says: “Canada’s rejection of reciprocity and our rejection by the amendment of the fisheries arrangement being counter parts. The matters are not related, but it might be a happy settlement if bot! bargains should be ratified by an exchange of courtesies in good faith rather than by an exchange of such back-handed compliments as are now flashing over and under seas, to the greater entertainment of the dear friends of both nations than of them selves.” The New York World (Dem.) says: “Mr. Taft was not the first to find Mr. Roosevelt dangerous to the people in his repudiation of his third-term pledges. Mr. Roosevelt preceded him. It was Mr. Roosevelt who emphasized the 'wise custom' which limits the President to two terms. It was he who placed stress upon 'the substance and not the form of this wise custom. It was he who called for judgment as a friend of republican Institutions in re lation to this traditionary custom in the republic. And in now finding him dangerous to the people Mr. Taft mere ly renders a Judgment which Mr. Roosevelt himself Invited. He to con demned as such out of his own mouth.” s. Greens By Wait Mason. The pampered gourmet wishes for fancy kinds of dishes, kinds fit for kings and queens; but to the humble diner there's naught on earth that's finer than good old-fashioned greens. For months my soul was sighin’ for spinach, dandelion and other whole some yarbs; they are the sign and token that winter's back is broken— the harbinger that harbs. Oh, greens! There's nothing beats ’em! The man who daily eats ’em has better grub, by jing, to still his stomach’s groanin' than ever yet was known in the pal ace of a king! Oh, greens! Our moth ers stewed ’em, our fathers gladly chewed ’em, and hence those rugged sires who cleared the woods and prairie and scrapped with wild beasts hairy to guard their cottage fires. Note all those famous creatures whose proud and handsome features appear in mag azines; if you but knew their story, you’d find they rose to glory through having eaten greens. All garden sass is splendid, and never may be ended the fame of peas and beans; maj naught decrease the numbers ol squashes and cowcumbers—but best of all are greens! Copyright, 1912, by George Matthew Adams. Swelling the Goat. The boy was leading a goat down the avenue In Washington, and there were other boys following, as boys usually do, says the National Maga zine. Strolling along that way was a congressman, who had in his pocket a letter from home stating that his “fences" were in good condition, and that the boy scouts had received their new uniforms and were for him. As long as the other fellow had not "got his goat,” the Joyous legislator Intended to talk to these boys about their goat. “Well, my lads,” he said In the be nign tones of a man who has things coming his way, “what are you doing with the goat?” “Why, we are leading the goat. He has Just ate up a crateful of sponges,” "Sponges! Does he—er —have an ap petite for sponges?” “Dunno. But he just swallowed ’em.” “And where are you going to take him now?" “We’re going to take him down to the water trough and give him a drink.” “What do you think will happen?” said the congressman, amused. “He'll swell up into the size of an Investigating committee record, sure.” Not Hard for Polly. The late Ned Harrlgan of Harrigan and Hart fame, was a great story teller, and liked nothing better than to gather a congenial lot about him In some rathskeller and entertain them, says the St. Louis Globe-Demo crat. His parrot story Is one of the best. "An Irishman by the name of Burke ran a bird and goldfish store In the Bowery and was noted for his wit and the funny things he taught his par rots to say. One day a man came in who stuttered very badly and says to Burke: “ ‘I w-w-want t-to-o b-buy a p-p-p --ar-r-ot!' i ” 'All roight. sin,’ says Burke. FI hev a,' folne bl-r-d here sos twinty J|»llar*. “ ’C-a-an he t'-t-a-alk?’ asked the man. “ ’Well, be gorry,’ says Burke, ‘lf he culdn’t talk better than ye can I’d cut his d head off.’ ” Big Bunch. Vincent Astor, at a luncheon in New York, says the Tribune, praised the neatness of the American man’s dress. "In the past,, I have been told,” he said, “the American was careless—a little careless as to shaving, polishing his boots and brushing his clothes. But he is now as neat as his English brother, who Is acknowledged to be the neatest man on earth. “Apropos of the unbrushed clothes of the past, there was an actor of the old school type who appeared one morning on the Rialto with a red rose in his dingy coat. “ ’Where do you suppose I got this?’ he asked another actor, lifting the la pel proudly. “ ‘Oh, dear knows!’ the other an swered, determined to escape a mash tale. ‘Dear knows—unless it grew there.’ ” Somewhat Sutpieiout. Condemning the extortion practiced by a certain class of lawyers. Fran cis L. Leland, the banker who has given $1,000,000 to the Metropolitan Museum, said at a dinner in New York, according to the Philadelphia Ledger." “I heard the other day of an old man who broke his arm, by falling down an open manhole. A ’shark’ lawyer sued for him, and a verdict was re turned for SSOO in his favor. But of this sum all that the shark gave the old man was a miserable $lO bill. “ ’But—but where’s the rest?’ the old fellow asked. “ ‘The rest,” the lawyer, blandly an swered. ‘has gone in costs.’ “The old man studied the $lO bill. He turned it over and over. Then he looked up and muttered: “ ‘Say mister, what’s the matter with this? Ain’t it good?’ ” Using the Right Word. The question of using just the right word in a pending bill came up In one of the Senate committees. Senator Page insisted that one cannot be too careful about using precisely the word that applies, says the New York Sun. “You may have heard.” he said, “about the lawyer up In Vermont who died. The editor of the local paper wrote in his obituary that he had ‘amassed a large fortune from his le gal practice.’ But the typesetter added an ‘s’ to the word ’practice’ and then the obituary wag vastly more accur ate than the editor had intended it to be.’’ He Made a Note of It. The American host had given a re ception for the distinguished foreigner, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Suddenly the advancing line broke and in a moment the room was emp ty. "Wh-what is wrong?” stammered the guest. “Why, nothing.” replied the host. “Then why do they all run out?" “The refreshment room doors have Just been opened,” replied the host. Whereupon the amazed foreigner made a note of It. A Little Brain of Ite Own. An inexperienced colored girl had just been installed as housemaid, says the Ladles' Home Journal. Having eyed a patent bottle with much curi osity for some time she asked her mistress: “And what sort o* thing Is dat, ma'am?” "That.” replied madam, “is a bottle that will keep things either hot or cold.” “Land sakes, honey!” exclaimed tha astonished darky, "how is it gwlne to know whether you want it to keep thine* hot or cold?” STEAMSHIP SCHEDULES Ships sail on Central Tima, one horn slower than city time. For New York. • Steamships City of Memphis. Chat, tahoochee. City of Macon and Talla hassee carry only first eabitf passen gers. . „ City of St. Louis, May 14 ‘” 23 - City of Montgomery, May ; 9, is, 28. City of Savannah, May 11) 21, 30, City of Atlanta, May 7, 16, 25. Steamers to Jacksonville Wj'-l sail ai 6 p. m., Central Time. The Wlltlniore and Philadelphia steamers will fall ai sp. m.. Central Time. Subject to change without notice. £.' ' For Baitimora. -V Merrimack, Thursday, Bay 9. Suwannee, Saturday, May 11. Cretan, Tuesday, May 14. For Philadelphia. Quantico, Friday, May 10. i* Froderick, Sunday, May 12. f » Berkshire, Tuesday, May 14| For Jacksonville. Steamers daily, except Wednesday and Sunday, 6 p. m„ Central Time. The Invisible Detective. From the May Technical World. Two litalians were recently arrest ed in Pennsylvania for the murder of a paymaster. Although morally cer tain that they had the right n»ert the detectives lacked the necessary legal evidence to secure a conviction. A hurry call for a dictagraph was turned in, then the two suspects were placed together in a cell in which the instru ment was concealed. Their lawyer, suspecting the very trap that was laid, warned his clients against it. To be on the safe side he told them not to speak at all. For nine days and nights the jailers listened, but not one word did the prisoners utter. Their silence becoming intolerable at last, they be gan discussing their crime on the tenth night In tones meant to be too low to reach the ear of the mysterious eavesdropper. They did not stop un til they had sealed their own death warrants. Some time ago the Illinois Centra! Rr.ilroad management became convinc ed that it was the victim of an ex tensive , swindle in the matter of car repairs. The road’s own secret serv ice operators were ordered to investi gate, but they could Jlnd out noth ing. Then an outside detective agency was called in which proved to be equally helpless. When the ease was referred to a second outside agency its operative concealed a dictagraph iti his room at a hotel with the receiver in an adjoining room. Summoning two of the suspected men to his room he said Just enough to create the impression that he could tell a great deal afcout car repair graft If he wanted to, then excused himself and went out. He hurried into the next room where he picked up the receiver of the dicta graph and listened. “What do you think he knows?” ask ed one of his callers. "Oh. he doesn't know anything.” "He is on to something, all right.” “Don't you believe It. Let me talk to him and I’ll fix things up.” Thereupon ensued a discussion of the story to be told. In ten minutes the dictagraph had accomplished some thing that had baffled the shrewdest detectives in the country for ten months; for when the amiable host re turned he knew enough about the af fair to warrant the arrest of a num ber of people. At the preliminary hear ing a conspiracy was uncovered which Involved a number of railroad em ployes ranging all the Way from yard men trt a vice presiflflfit. The had plundered the company of atWM a mlllidn and a half of doMfitta erf It not been for the dictagraph the gang might still be operating. Utilizing Surplus Potatoes. From the Scientific American. An overproduction of potatoes in Germany in recent years has led tha industrial community of that country to make great efforts to devise means of utilizing the surplus of the erbp. This problem is being solved success fully in two ways; first by stimulat ing the use of potato spirits as a fuel and illuminant, and second by a groat extension of the various processes of drying potatoes, for use both as a food and in the arts. According to a re cent consular report there are now 436 plants established in Germany for drying potatoes, with an estimated an nual production of 110,230 to 165.345 short tons, or 3,647,000 to 5.511,500 bushels. Os these plants 550 Are for the production of potato flakes, while tn 86 the potatoes are dried by the hot air process. Potato flakes can be used for feeding stock, for distilling alcohol, for making starch and for other pur poses for which natural potatoes are used; or they can be ground and bolt ed to make potato flour. This “our is a yellowish white product, rich in carbohydrates, and is used principally by bakers for adding to rye and wheat breed. It Is claimed that the addition of potato flour gives the bread a good flavor, makes it more digestible and keeps it fresh for a comparatively'long time. It is also used to some extent In thickening soups and sauces. The potato flour Industry has also assumed large proportions latterly in the Neth erlands, most of the factories being in the province of Groningen. The same country disposes of its surplus pota toes to a large extent in the manufac ture of dextrine. Which Is the Weaker Sex? From the Washington Herald. From the earliest recorded time wom en have been spoken of as the weaker sex, as frail, delicate creatures. Emi nent writers have asserted that aside from their natural constltutionc|l frail ty women were Invalids oi the time. Yet the dawn of the Twen tieth Century finds us with abundant proof of woman's physical saperiority over man when tested by lefcgth of years, the power to endure suffering and resist disease. In 1890 the United States census showed that there were at that time 3.981 centenarians in the country, of whom 2.583 were women and 1.398 were men. Out of elghty-nlne centenarians who died in England during She year 1833. seventy-nine were woman and ten were men, while out of twenty-one cen tenarians who died In Scotland In 1893 sixteen were women and five were men. The mystery of this tenacity of life in woman still remains a secret. At birth boys are slightly larger, both In hight and weight! and con tinue in the lead until 12* then the girls pass them, both in hight and weight for about two years, when the boys again take the lead and complete their growth at about 23 or 24. while girls complete their growth at 19 or 20. w ith this brief exception .males excel In hight and weight throughout life. Reveals Sex by Fainting. From the Washington Herald. Erie. Pa., May 2 —After masquerad ing as a man for two years, and per forming arduous tasks In coal mines, machine and boiler shops and paper mills, Alexandra Kozlcwska. who for ,! j e . past rtx months has been employ ‘ in three Erie manufacturing con rev ealed her sex while at her hoarding house by the simple process of fainting. She now savs she's going I°. “y, a real maidenly maid and has abandoned masculine work.