The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-12-05
ddSt a Word or TWo
OF CdslaI Mention

Tears-large. sad, salty tears-fowed in
such abundance about the criminal court
room yesterday that those. not in high
places, mat Is. those who were on the
ieVei OF the court room floor. will possibly
all today be suffering from colds brought
ON by wet feet. John r. Martin was the
Moses, his pathetic appeal for his client
was the rod and the adamantine jury was
the rock. 1t was an effort that would
rouse envy in the usually unselish bosom
OF the bars champion weeper, ex-Judge
ward, and the courts official crer, Jake
Snyder. 1t was Mr.. Martins first cry
ana was surprise to his colleagues who
knew not nor never suspected that he
possessed this happy faculty of calling
up the ''welling flood" Mr. Martin was
warmly congratulated on his tearfulness
and urged by his friends to make it a
permanent part of his stock in trade
o
one good story always suggests another.
Here IS one that was brought up by the
Alinocka's insurance story contributed
to this column by one of our b. Y. M.
Wednesday: When the grave yard insur-
ance craze was at its height a most prom
ising subject was discovered down near
Moscow. She was "plastered" to possibly
the extent of $2O.OOO and dozen or SO rail-
road men started in paying good-sZed
monthly payments. Day after day and
week after week they inquired. as they
passed through Moscow. how their woman
was. The station agent. after a time, be-
came so tired answering the query tnat he
adopted the time and patience saving plan
of pasting a bulletin, announcing her con-
diton. The bulletin was eagerly scanned
every day and frequently wired along the
line for the information Of the various
investors. But the anxiously- -looked-fOr
bulletin failed to materialize. She re-
fused to die. In fact she seemed to be
getting stronger as each payment was
made on the $4,000 worth of insurance.
The investors were growing desperate.
Some of them We're ready to give up in
despair and We're about determined to al
low their policies to go by default. But
at last good news came. The bulletin
one day announced. and truly, too. that
your woman was struck by train:
thrown thirty feet down into No. l6 fill.'
There was-we won't say joy-but the in
quiries which had been made daily were
now being made hourly. Sudden riches
We're in sight; in fancy those policy hOll-
ers had the thousands safely slowed in
their inside pockets. They We're winners.
But it was all not to be. The next day
the woman was seen by the policy holders
themselves picking coal on the tracks and
carrying II In bags on her head mile
and a half to her hut on the side Of the
mountain. 1t is unnecessary to say those
dozen or more policies lapsed.
General Manager Silliman, of the Trac-
ton company, confesses to two weakness
es. He is ball crank in summer and an
admirer of the manly art in winter His
peculiarity in both instances is his as
tonishng silence. He watches plays AMI
passes mot Traction passes) with the in
tentness of an eagle. and let's never a
sound escape him. But this deep silence
vanishes when he IS brought into social
Intercourse. for heHe he Is geniality Itself.
Mr. Silliman. by the way, Is a retiring
man. attentive to business and engrOssed
in his work. 1t Is only when one catches
him off guard that his affabilty reveals it.
self. During business hours he is strictly
a man of business.
o
The skating season is here and has been
formally opened at Johnsons pond. on
Washington avenue: the brick yard, in
Hyde Park, and at the brick yard in Minoo-
ka also. At hte other place Mr.. John
j. Coyne and several other public-spirited
citizens of that neghborhood have fitted
UP a miniature lake without any expec-
tation of recomoense and solely for the
purpose of giving the boys and girls of
MlHOOkd an VI tiiS
graceful sprt during the coming winter
months. Thursday night, at JOhnsOn's
pond. there were no less than six mishaps
in the nature of involuntary cold baths
and the number for tonight will probably
far exceed that II there Is not added an
other inch or two to the one and one-half
inch crop that now covers the waters of
this popular skating resort Mountain
lake has been in past years the skating
rink for South Siders and has also been
frequently patroniZed by the people from
the central city. Messrs. Jordan Il Hanna
are now the proDrietors of Mountain lake
and they propose to provide accommoda-
tions for skaters this winter that will be
sufficient inducement to attract the
young folks from every seciOn of the city.
1t is rumored that the Driving park will he
again utilized as a rink. This is very
pleasant news for the great majority Of
lovers of this nastime and on the other
hand will be the cause of much disaD-
pointmtnt II 1t be not true, since no place
in the city Is SO convenient for everybody
Schwenk's park, on South Washington
avenue. has been flooded by Frank Noel
Ter, proprietor of Central park, and that,
too, will be scene of enjoyment this win
ter.