Newspaper Page Text
DEFECTS of warships
NeW port Conference Substanti
ated Capt. Keyes’ Charges.
secrets are made public
r„ n feren Decided That Very Few
C Defects CouH Be Remedied In ths
North Dakota and Deleware.
D. C.—ln view of the
0 f the secretary cf war revoking
or<U l vnhibition he recently placed
tllf • officers who attended the New
a£ai:i'(onterence from discussing its
P o! ' . on officer who was prominently
a;: T,pd with the entire proceedings
-V; conference, has stated that it
ci / Substantiated the charges of de
, ■ pointed out in Commander
tyV ] e tter on that subject with a
K e -miner exceptions. This office has
i eNV fnr . in ost in his denunciation of
rl, conference decided, he stated,
t , f, w of these defects could
tha ! eVdicd ill the North Dakota and
j!? . v ., ro which are now 40 per cent
1.1 dieted, imt. suggested that if prac
col . l i‘ e additional case armor of about
nc ” / ,'. s {,<> placed around the smoke
10.1 up-takes to protect them
l’ ll *. , sl) iinters. The armor now be
aS„a .’ve" inches, the additional armor
in? ■ i increase the protection to eight
: w " 1 ' They recommended that if
!incticable, an additional fire control
placed forward of the smoke
ir,u cn ‘that in case the vision from
Tikr muf is obscured by smoke, a
1 jp', r ‘.jew could be secured from the
nther position.
conference also hesitated about
‘ k i r „ extensive changes in the plans
f rVn‘Florida and Utah, as the plans
(, f ' t 1,000 vessels renuired five or six
"months for their preparation and any
change that would involve a change
rf 1 weight to any considerable extent
would require reconstruction of the
1/1 As*’ now designed the two aft tur
ret's on the Florida and Utah type are
on fne same level, and it was proposed
If practicable to raise the second tur
ret f r om aft. so as to allow’ it to fire
over the aft turret. This is proposed
because in the event of the aft turret
as now designed being disabled in cer
tain positions, the firing from the sec
ond turret would be limited. The
weight so added to the second turret
from aft could be counter-balanced by
lowering the middle turret.
On the important subject of what
ought to be the type of the next
battleships to be designed, the kind of
battery they should carry and their
aimor. the conference has not yet
made a decision.
CORSETS COMMENDED BY DOCTOR.
Women Are Told That Their Torso
Muscles Need Support.
Los Angeles, Cal. —Dr. L. E. Land
one. whose plan to improve the hu
man race by applying Luther Bur
baik's theories in the training of chil
dren by selection, has brought consid
erable attention from the scientific
world, commends the modern corset.
Addressing the members of the Hun
dred Year Club, the leading woman’s
organization of Los Angeles, he said:
‘‘Corsets, the sort w’orn today, are
good for the reason that the torso
muscles have been weakened for gen
erations until now the average fe
male form will not stand without
them. -
"In the time of Queen Elizabeth,”
continued Landone. ‘‘they wore steel
corsets tightly buckled in back and
front. They were instruments of tor
ture. From them are evolved the
comfortable corsets of today. I doubt
if the torso muscles of women could
be supported in their weakened condi
tion after a generation of corset-wear
ing except for some artificial prop.”
CHECirrREASIJRfBOOKS.
Millions in Vaults To Be Counted By
Experts.
New York City.—-Following the res
ignation of Hamilton Fish as assis
tant treasurer of the United States,
In charge of the sub-treasury here, a
corps of bookkeepers under the direc
tion of United States Treasurer
Treat have begun checking over the
°ooks of the office. The counting of
lire cash in the vaults will be taken
a P as soon as the checking of the
hooks has been completed. There is
the vaults approximately $173,000,-
WQ in gold coin, $17,000,000 in cur
acy and $80,000,000 in silver coin,
a nd all of this must be counted and
trifled piece by piece. The work will
■probably require at least a month. The
counting is only done when an assis
am treasurer leaves the office. Mr.
. h resigned as assistant treasurer
n order to accept a nomination for
congress. -
USE sand" asjiertilizer.
Richer Says It Increases the Fer
tility of the Soil.
Spokane. Wash. —Frank Rose, a
anther in Columbia county, south of
Pokane, is experimenting with sand
s a fertilizer of clay so-il, and the
es n-t is being w r atched with interest
: “ is neighbors as well as the heads
stat(l agricultural colleges in the
, nv ? st The purpose of the sand,
J 1C;1 being spread over the land
u • there is clay, is to increase
*Jh ’l iiity of the soil. Mr. Rose
v efi this in a small way last fall and
tp„ >a / s the results in larger and bet
jn ‘ t' r °ps w’ere such as to warrant him
vj the sand mixture over
1118 entire holdings.
he declinkTresidency.
'-‘ary Wilson Will Not Head Col
crado Agricultural College.
son n J er ' —Secretary James Wil
iS r ' President Roosevelt’s cabinet
0 { ported to have declined the offer
rionu I)res ihency of the Colorado Ag-
I* 0 "l lUral College at Fort Collins,
v. Vln " this declination it is stated
ricnit lnember °* the state board of ag-
G ll n! ;D Ur l e that the Rev. Dr. Frank W.
Uot ( :r J ! us Chicago, one of the most
is v. . cler gymen in the United States,
' considered for the place.
LATE NEWS NOTES.
Mrs. Lillian M. N. Stevens of Port
land, Maine, was unanimously re
elected president of the National
\\ oman s Christian Temperance
Union at the annual convention of
1 ! ' af organization neld in Denver, Col.
Other officers elected were as fol
lows: Vice president-at-large, Miss
Anna A. Gordon, Illinois, re-elected;
corresponding secretary, Mrs. Francis
P. Parks, West Virginia; recording
secretary, Mrs. Elizabeth Prestcn,
Anderson, North Dagota, re-elected;
treasurer, Mrs. E. P. Hutchinson, Kan
sas; general branch secretary, ivxiss
Rhena E. G. Mosher, New lork, re
elected; Loyal Temperance League
branch, Miss Margaiet Winiringer, Il
linois, re-elected.
President Roosevelt celebrated his
fiftieth birthday on October'27, in tne
midst cf a political campaign viiicn
he is directing with ail the force of
ms strenuous nature. He was born at
23 East Twentieth street, New York
City, on October 27, Uso. The old
house still stands, and is usually tne
scene of some kind of celebration on
his anniversary. The president
cio sses tire half century mark
vigorously as a man of uiirty.
Jn an endeavor to establish his con
tention tnat ail persons connected
WKii ihe night riders’ usoocmnon are
lespcnsibie ter ravages maue oy any
member of the organizaaon, Henry
Bennett cf Louisville, Ky., Iras hied a
suit for SIOO,UOu damages in me Unit
ed States circuit court. The plain
tiff, on February 4, was set upon and
terribly beaten with clubs and ihcrn
ed switches by a band ot uignt riders.
At the same time his steinmery and
Tobacco factory and otner large and
valuable buiid.ngs were destroyed by
the night riders.
Prince Hemy of Prussia, brother of
Emperor William, made an ascension
in ihe reconstructed airship oi Count
Zeppelin. A great crowd witnessed
me start of the flight.
Deprived of his honeymoon clothing
and rigged out in the uniform of a
musician of the United States navy,
in -which he first met and fell in love
with Miss Ada Gorman, daughter of
the late Senator Arthur Pue Gorman,
Charles J. Magness, dubbed by liis
companions as “Millionaire Musician,”
is chafing in the brig of the receiving
ship Lancaster at the Philadelphia
nacy yard charged with desertion.
While plowing, Jasper Welch, a
farmer of Sergent, Ky., unearthed
SBOO in silver coins, some of which
are rare specimens. The place was
onca. occupied by a miser.
Nearly a hundred cottages of Salis
bury, Mass., a seaside resort were de
stroyed by fire. The loss is SIOO,OOO.
Union county, South Carolina, again
veted for prohibition by a three hun
dred majority out of one thousand
five hundred votes cast. During the
pats three years of prohibition the ar
rests for drunkenness have decreased
fifty per cent and property valuation
in the county is said to have increas
ed $2,000,000.
The result of the recent election in
Canada shows that the Lauriier (Lib
eral) government has been sustained
with a majority of fifty, with seven
elections yet to be held. All the min
isteres were re-elected, while sevn
of the opposition’s chief lieutenants
were beaten.
Charged with conducting the most
extensive matrimonial agency swindle
ever unearthed in Pittsburg, James L.
Leclair and Miss Lena Miller are pris
oners at Pittsburg, Pa. More than two
thousand letters from men and wom
en were confiscated, and the police
say close to five thousand, from every
state in the union, paid a dollar after
being promised to be introduced and
wedded to an affinity.
vThe Statue of Liberty, which illu
minates New York harbor and wel
comes the immigrants who seek the
lands cf the free, was twenty jofais
old October 28. The gigantic young
woman —for Liberty iis always \oung
—is as ,-faithful and beau ufitlsagkq
—is r *>'*outhful and beautiful as she
always. The work of Bar
thsftii, the celebrated French sculptor,
Miss Liberty was unveiled October
28. 18S7. President Cleveland and his
cabinet, the governors of many states,
Americans noted in every walk of
life, and manv distinguished French
men and ether foreigners attended
the bronze young woman’s debut.
Washington.
The Spanish debt of $599,850 award
ed to certain citizens of this country
under a treaty of February 17, 1834,
with Spain, has been finally liquidat
ed, according to the annual report of
the registrar of the treasury. Spain
has been paying annual interest on
the amount since the treaty, and this
year the Spanish government trans
mitted $570,000 in liquidation of the
debt. The principal has been paid
over three times in inteiest.
The civil service commission has
decided that there was no foundation
for the charges that custom inspec
tors of New York are compelled to
see a Mr. Plummer in the office of
Treasurer Sheldon, of the republican
national committee, at No. 2 Wall
street and there contribute $25 each.
It was charged that the four hundred
and fifty inspectors were assessed
that amount to help the republican
campaign, that many had already con
tributed. Commissioner Greene went
to New York to investigate, examined
forty or fifty employes and reported
that he had no traces of coercion or
assessment, or even of a very general
systematic voluntary payment of con
tributions to the campaign fund.
A total of $1,297,263,420 in new mon
ey W as printed and circulated by the
bureau of engraving and printing dur
ing the fiscal year, according to the
annual report of Director Ralph.
Inspector General Garlington of the
armv in a report exonerated Chair
man Goethals of the isthmian canal
commission of the charges made by
President Brothers of the Balanced
Crane Cable company of New York,
who claimed that unfair treatment
was accorded him in the award for
furnishing and erecting cable ways at
Gatum, on the isthmus.
ALL GERMANY AMAZED
At Autocratic Manner in Which
the Kaiser Acts
VON BUELOW’S BESIONATION
Refused—Chancellor Responsible for Al
lowing aa Interview Which In
furiated five Nations.
Berlin, Germany.—Chancellor von
Buelow’s position appears to be al
most untenable. Far and wide through
out the empire the newspapers of all
parties discuss with varying degrees
of mockery, amazement and regret the
government’s explanation of how what
purported to be enormously important
utterances of the emperor, affecting
three great powers, passed through
the hands cf the chancellor and a
long line cf foreign officers without
seemingly having been considered by
any of them or read by most of those
responsible for the delicate foreign
relations.
in addition to the semi-official ac
counts already published, it is learn
ed that the emperor handed the manu
script of the interview, which appear
ed in the London Daily Telegraph, and
the authorship of which is still undis
closed, to Baron von Jenisch.
The chancellor described the note
from von Jenisch, which accompanied
the manuscript, as referring to the
enclosure as an article, not as an in
terview, so that the chancellor did not
consider it necessary to give it his
personal attention. The manuscript
consisted of a number of small, flimsy
like sheets, the handwriting being dif
ficult to decipher, and the chancellor
referred it to Herr von Mueller, the
minister at The Hague, who was act
ing as the chancellor’s private secre-
tary.
The latter, in his turn, and without
examining the document, sent it to
the foreign offices, where, in the ab
sence of Herr von Schoen, the escre
tary for foreign affairs, it was read
by subordinate officials who did not
attach importance to its contents, and
returned through the proper channels
without further examination until
transmitted by one of the imperial
secretaries of England, where, as the
Tagliche Rundschau, one of the news
papers that is read in court, aristocrat
ic and military circles, describes it
“emerged gaily into the world, infu
riating the French, Russians, Dutch
and Japanese, chilling the British, ex
citing bitterness and nervous irrita
tion on the part of our own people
and undermining our neighbors’ be
lief in our reliability.
London—The expiring frame of sen
sation started by the Daily Tele
graph’s published interview with Em
peror William has been fanned to
fiercer heat than ever by the an
nouncement of Chancellor von Bue
low’s resignation and the emperor’s
refusal to a-ccept it.
With even the pro-German radical
papers emphasiing the impossibility of
a British entente with a “personal au
tocracy” imbued with Bismaickian
tradition,” it is plain that Anglo-Ger
man friction will be renewed more
fiercely than ever in consequence of
the latest developments in^ylin.
LITTLE COTTUN IN MBS.
Picayune Report*/Says All Will Be
Ginned tfy November 15.
New Oriels, La—The Picayune
says: Very little cotton remains in
the fiMd, and it is said mat all will
have been picked and ginned by No
vember 15. The damage from tin.
boll weevil in some sections is reflect
ed in the short yield, many of the Red
river lands producing only a bale to
six acres. Those planters who have
decided to cultivate cotton anonthei
years are adopting heroic measures in
an effort to allay the ravages of the
oest. These precautions include the
early burning of all stalks in the
field in order to destroy places for hi
bernation, as well as a thorough turn
ing over of the soil and preparations
to°plant an early maturing variety of
the staple.
BURNED GOVERNOR IN EFFIGY.
The People of Larkinsville, Ala., Aro
Indignant at Gov. Comer.
Scottsboro, Ala. —The people of Lar
kinsville, a small village near this
place, bad a meeting there and burn
ed Governor Comer in effigy. Their
indignation was aroused over the re
fusal of the governor to appoint Mr.
Walker McCutcheon, son of the late
Judge W. W. McCutcheon, to the pro
bate judgeship,. made vacant by the
death of Judge McCutcheon.
Probably two hundred people, work
ed up to a high pitch of excitement,
participated. Larkinsville had been
almost unanimously for the appoint
ment of McCutcheon, but Governor
Comer named J. J. Williams of Sec
tion as his appointee,.
Navel Memorial Park.
Washington. D. C Secretaries
Wright and Metcalf have approved a
site and design for a naval memoi ial
in Vicksburg national military park,
and congress, which authorized the se
lection last May, will be asked at next
session to appropriate $200,000 for the
project, that being the maximum con
templated by congress. The memorial
design is for a granite obelisk, two
hundred and two feet high, with four
bronze statutes of heroic size at the
base and four descriptive tablets on
wing pedestals. The statues
will represent the famous naval
squadron commanders, Farragut, Por
ter, Foote and Davis.
Tom Twas Consecrated.
New Orleans, La. —Several thou
sand representatives of confederate
organiations took part in the exer
cises attendant upon the consecration
of the tomb at Metairie cemetery, m
which the body of General George
Moorman .founder of the United con
federate Veterans, is to repose Gen
eral Moorman was the originator of
the idea of forming the United Con
federate Veterans, and calied the flrst
convention which met as a Confede
ate reunion.
CONDEMNS NIGHT RIDING.
Statement Made by President Barrett of
the Farmers Union.
New Orleans, La. —Night riders and
their depredations will be taken up
at the meeting of the National Farm
ers’ Union in New Orleans, Novem
ber 11 and 12.
The price of cotton must go up,”
says President C. S. Bairett of the
union, in a statement given the As
sociated Press, “but the union repucu
ates the insinuation that it in any
manner countenances the deeds of
night riders which may seek to shield
themselves under our name.
“The National Farmers’ LRiion ut
terly condemns such scoundrelism as
the so-called night riding,” says Mr.
Barrett further. “The union has an
economic fight to wage, but it must be
done in the open and within the law.
Should any of our members be dis
covered as night riders, we would be
the first to turn them over to thu
law. We will deal with this at our
forthcoming meeting at New Orleans,
which, however, is primarily for the
purpose or devising ways and means
for getting a better price for our
cotton.
“The Progressive Union and com
mercial interests of New Orleans
have assured us they would rally to
the support of the growers of the
staple, and New Orleans has been
chosen for the place of meeting on
this account and because of its im-
I portance as a cotton market. We ex
j pect a large attendance of delegates,
| representing over 2,000,000 members
!in every state in the cotton belt. ’
CHINAMAN HAD TWU WIVES.
Was Forced to Send One Wife Back
to China.
San Francisco, Cal. —When Robert
Hutong Bosnian, the Hong Kong mil
lionaire, arrived from China on the
steamship Korea he defied the laws
of the United States which distinctly
provide that this country is no place
for any person who believes in poly
gamy.
Bosnian not only publicly proclaim
ed himself to be a polygamist, but
emphasized the fact by bringing two
wives with him. The local board de
nied him a landing and he threatened
to appeal to Secretary Taft, whom he
claimed as a personal friend and who
had partaken of Bosnian's hospitality
in Hong Kong. Wires were pulled and
Commissioner North allowed him to
land, accompanied by his two wives,
Margaret and Clare, and their two
children.
Later word came to Commissioner
North to allow Bosnian and a portion
cf his family to remain for six months
longer. He was to give a bond of ssoq
that they would return at That time.
The dispatch also instructed that one
of the wives must return to the Ori
ent immediately. Bosnian selected
the younger one and Margaret, wife
No. 1, goes back to Hong Kong. Wife
No. 2 is to remain. It is true that
she, according to the laws of the
United States, is not a wife, but she
is permitted to remain and pose as
such. Under the laws of California
she is liable to arrest.
SOCIEffUFIpTYIOSMED.
Representatives From a Number of
States Were Present.
Indianapolis, Ind.—The Farmers’
Society of Equity was organized here
at a convention of representatives of
a number of states. The constitution
of the society embodies practically all
of the basic principles of the Ameri
can Society of Equity, the only chang
es being some few of minor import
ance that will remedy defects, the
principal change being that all dele
gates to the society must be produc
ing farmers. The following officers
were elected:
J. A. Averitt of Indianapolis, pres
ident; W. E. Greilick of Travic City,
Michigan, vice president; J. C. Rous
of Indianapolis, treasurer. The direc
tors are: N. M. Ashby of Sebree, Ky.;
J. A. Myers of Ramsey, N. J.; I. S.
Herd of Kecsauka, Kas.; L. H. John
son of Attica, Ind.; and F. W. Morris
cf Rochester, Minn.
STUDENTS BRANDED COMRADES.
Initiatory Ceremonies of Los Angeles
High School Fraternity.
Los Angeles, Cal.—Six students of
the Pclytechhnic high school have
been suspended and three others are
in danger of sharing the same fate
because they had branded the fore
heads of two students of the Los An
geles high school with nitrate of sil
ver during the initiation ceremonies
of the Kappa Delta fraternity, a for
bidden high school secret society.
The boys who were branded and
whose condition for a time alarmed
their parents, are Frank Rouse and
Edgar Lusk. On Lusk’# forehead the
letters “K. D.” were branded. On
Rouse’sa forehead were the figures
“ ’o9.’’ Ugly red scars were made,
but it is not believed they will be per
manently disfigured.
VIRGINIA GULONTAL DAMES.
The Restoration of Old Washington
Graveyard Reported.
Richmond, Va —At a meeting of the
Society of Colonial Dames in the state
of Virginia held here the complete
restoration of the old Washington
graveyard at Wakefield, in \\ estmore
land where are interred the
father and grandfather of George
Washington, was reported.
Relic hunters had committed many
depredations which have been cor
rected, as far as possible, and the
yard is now inclosed by a concrete
wall with iron gates and is in charge
of a caretaker, the society in Virgin
ia bearing the expense.
HALLMAN RDYSfERERS.
Cause Costly Fire —Ten Thousand
Bales of Cotton Burned.
Belton, Texas—Fire started by Hal
lowe’en roysterers totally
the Belton compress and 10,00 b bales
of cotton. The loss will exceed $250,-
000, which is covered by insurance.
Twenty residences were damaged, by
the fire and water and seventeen
loaded freight cars burned, which will
increase the total loss by SIO,OOO.
SELF-RELIANCE. }
- -r\
Myself did make my yesterdays.
And this I truly know, !
To all my morrows I shall bring
Their store of joy or woe.
Each run these lips of m.ne shall drink,
It shall be filled bv me;
For everv door that I would pass.
These hands must mould the key.
If e’en on yonder shining height
A larger life I own,
Though throb my brain, though ache my
feet, _
Its slope I climb alone.
No more along a darkened way,
I, doubting, blindly grope;
No more i shame my sold witii fear,
Nor yet with yearning hope.
But knowing this that I do know,
And seeing what I see.
I rest in this great certainty
All may be well with me.
—Janet Yale, in Harper's Bazar.
A PAYMASTER’S FLIGHT.
By ALEXANDER ELY.
When I was a sergeant in the Uni
ted States cavalry in the Far West I
was detailed one day to command
eight men acting as a guard to Major
8., who had paid off the force at our
post and was going to pay those at
the next. He was a small, baldhead
ed. lean man, except a round stomach,
which begins to protrude upon some
people after they pass forty, with a
crafty eye and a silent tongue. The
only words he spoke were directions
as to handling his safe, a small af
fair that could easily be lifted by two
men and for which a place was ar
ranged on a buckboard wagon which
the major always used to transport
the treasure. His clerk drove the
horse, while the paymaster sat be
side him, the safe between his legs.
The country through which we es
corted the paymaster contained a
wild and lawless people. I thought
at the time that eight men, though
drilled soldiers and well armed, were
a small guard for such a purpose.
Whether the major thought so or not
I didn’t know at the time, for he
said nothing about it. I learned af
terward that the colonel commanding
wouldn’t give him any more, and the
paymaster entered on the trip under
protest.
We were crossing a part of what is
called the Great American desert or
alkali plains, with nothing there
higher than a man's waist. I rode
a couple of hundred yards in advarfce,
keeping a sharp lookout in every di
rection. For more than half a day
not a living thing except the mem
bers of our party and gophers was
in sight. But suddenly in turning to
look to our right and rear I saw on a
rise far in the distance a mounted
figure looking at us. I judged from
the general outline of horse and man
that he was an Indian. After what
appeared to be a careful survey of us
he disappeared on the other side of
the risel - •*•'!'*'£***'**•-* >*♦•**.•. •
I felt a bit uneasy. Turning, I di
rected each man to see that his arms
and ammunition were in order and
notified the paymaster of what I had
seen. It didn’t seem to trouble him
much. We jogged on for a few mjles
and when emerging from low ground
suddenly heard a mingling of yells
and saw r on our right a motley crew
several times as large as our own
coming down on us. They were evi
dently a mixture of road agents and
cowboys, with a sprinkling of Indi
ans. Their leader rode in advance, a
revolver in each hand, the only one
of the lot who was not yelling.
I had just time to draw my men up
in line between the cnccmers and the
buckboard before they came within
close range, and I told each man to
pick one in front of him as nearly as
he could estimate. My men were
armed with repeating rifles, while the
attacking party had some guns, but
mostly revolvers. I waited till they
came within COO yards before I gave
the order to fire. Nearly every one
of my troops brought down his man.
The gang hesitated, and I gave a sec
ond order to fire. This halted them;
but rallied by their leader, they came
on, bringing us within range of their
revolvers, and my men began to get
hurt. For some minutes there was a
continued firing on both sides, several
of my men being put out of the fight,
though but one was killed. My ef
fective force was reduced to four
men besides myself, Major 8., and his
clerk. It began to look as though
the robbers were going to get the
safe.
Suddenly I was astonished to see
Major 8., who had stood in the buck
board using a rifle, jump down from
the wagon, cut the traces, spring on
the horse’s back, and away he went
like an arrow. The act demoralized
my force so that they broke. J failed
to rally them, and we were all soon
tumbling after the paymaster. His
clerk mounted the horse of the man
who had been killed and joined in
the flight.
Never have I been so incensed in
my life. The paymaster, a commis
sioned officer, by his cowardly act had
cast discredit on me and my men. I
had the mortification to see the ban
dits ride down on the safe and caper
joyfully about it. All I could do was
to help the wounded men of my com
mand along, supporting them by turn
in their saddles.
But what surprised me was the
fleetness of the major's horse. lam
no judge of horseflesh, and I had mis
taken the animal that drew the buck
board for a mere beast of burden.
Looking ahead, I could see the pay
master miles in advance, fleeing as
for dear life, and in time he disap
peared altogether. For once in my
life I placed money before human
life and wished he were in the safe
and the funds were on his horse. I
thought with some satisfaction how
I would prefer charges of cowardice
against him as soon as we reached
the post we were making for.
The bandits, having secured the
safe, paid no further attention to u r *
and we rode on to our destination
What w r as my astonishment on riding
into the garrison to see Major B. sit *
ting coolly smoking before an extem
porized desk with heaps of bills be
fore him paying off the enlisted men.
His belly was gone. It was plain
that he had taken it off and placed
it —a heap of money—on his desk.
“Thanks, sergeant,” he said, “for
your fine defense. I have reported
you for gallantry, and you’ll hear
from it. The robbers got the safe
with nothing in it. I’d rather rely
any time on that mare of mine than
a safe. Sorry any of your men got
hurt. Next!” And, having paid off
the man before him, he devoted him
self to the next in line. —New Haven
Register.
2000 ACRES OF FLOWER GARDEN
Something About the Town Which
Ships Beans to Boston.
Writing from Weimar, Consul Wil
liam L. Lowrie says that Erfurt, a
thriving commercial city of Southern
Prussia, with more than 100,000 in
habitants, is known throughout Ger
many as the “flower city.” It has
a world-wide reputation for flower
and farm seeds and plants, the trade
in which the Consul portrays as fol
lows:
“The declared exports of these pro
ducts to the United States in the last
ten years amounted to $5 61,741, last
year's shipments being worth $53,-
888.
“The origin of the industry dates
from the tenth century, and it was
developed by the monks of the Peters
monastery. The growth to the pres
ent large proportions is of much more
recent date. Since 1880 the business
of raising flow r ers and garden seeds
and plants in Erfurt has increased
rapidly, until it is now five times as
large as it was a quarter of a century
ago. When the land failed to pro
duce good wino grapes the people
turned their attention to the seed in
dustry as a mean of saving their
waning fortunes. In former years
the hills about Erfurt and Jena were
famous for their vineyards. The
wine was sold mostly at Weimar,
about half way of the distance be
tween those two cities, giving this
place its original name of Wein
markt, which was changed later to %
Weimar.
“The soil about Erfurt is especially
adapted to the culture of vegetables
and plants. It is deep, rich and well
watered. The annual rainfall is
heavy, and the surrounding hills
afford good protection from the cool
winds which sometimes sweep down
from the Thuringerwald. There are
108 concerns engaged in the seed in
dustry, also thirty-five seed exporters
and twenty-four florists. An idea of
the extent of this business may be'
gained from the area of glass em
ployed. The total is 113,735 square
meters (square meter equals 10.764
quare feet), of which 30,867 square
meters cover propagating houses, and
52,55 8 square meters are used over
specially fertilized beds. Nearly
3000 people are employed in various
capacities. ,**/*.
“While there are no statistic:*
available in regard to the total an
nual output of the Erfurt seed and
plant concerns, a single firm produces
each year 70,000 to 80,000 cyclamen,
400,000 lilies of the valley, 60,000
apple sprouts (in pots), 20,000 pear
sprouts, 10,000 plum, apricot, peach
and quince sprouts, 30,000 straw
berry plants, 300,000 short stemmed
and 40,000 long stemmed roses.
“About 20 00 acres of land in the
city and the immediate vicinity are
devoted to gardens. This land is
owned by the Crown, the city and
private individuals. It is leased to
the various concerns at rentals de
pending on the location and on the
productiveness of the soil. Owing to
the rapid growth of the city, which
rivals the percentage of a Western
boom town in the United States, quite
an area of the best garden land has
been plotted into city lots and is fast
being covered with fine villas and
houses.
“The cultivation of the gilly flower
in Erfurt dates from ISIO. It first
appeared in the window of a citizen,
and from this one pot hundreds of
thousands of these flowers have been
promulgated. The estimated annual
production is 680,000 plants. To the
same extent, or nearly so, is the cul
tivation of the calceolaria, verbena,
petunia, gloxinia, zinnia, pansy, car
nation, balsam, phlox, hollyhock, pe
largonium, fuchsia, azalia, etc., in
almost endless variety, it is esti
mated that the annual output of
flower seeds is not much under
1,000,000 marks ($238,000).
“Vegetable and farm seeds are cul
tivated in large quantities and in
great variety. Among them are in
cluded 101 kinds of peas, 168 of
beans (700 bushels shipped this year
to Boston to help make up the deficit
in its staple food), 269 varieties of
kitchen herbs, thirty-four of onions,
etc., sixty-five of grass for fodder,
thirty of clover, 32 0 species of pota
toes. There are 1542 varieties of
vegetable seed cultivated in Erfurt.
—Washington Correspondence Mil
waukee Sentinel.
Try It on the Dog.
“Cultivate a pleasant tone of voice
by practicing on the dog,” says a
Kansas man. '“He doesn’t care so
much what you say, but he is very
particular how you say it.” —Kansas
City Journal.
A million silver dollars weigh fiven
ty-nine and three-seventh lons.