davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The herald., 1896-01-24
drumming FOR DIVORCES.

"Oklahoma Towns Put Out Solicitors
for Eastern Business.
"The competition between Guthrie,
Oklahoma City, and other centers in
Oklahoma territory for the divorce
business of the East, has become so
keen that drummers are now out on
the Santa Fe railroad looking for GUS
toners. At Arkansas City, the last
stop on the railroad before the train
enters the Territory, very energetic
man is maintained by persons in Okla
homa City. The train stops at that
place for thirty minutes, and q dapper
little chap. who singles out matrimo-
NAL repenters as if by instinct, does
his work. He is helped by the train
men, who tell him where the passen-
gers are bound.
IF he thinks they are likely to be-
come patrons, he hands them a card
upon which is printed: You are guar
anteed absolute seclusion in Oklahoma
City, and freedom from inquisitive re-
porters and others during residence
there; and divorce DEGREES are never
published
''He claims to have diverted thirty
seven individuals to Oklahoma City
who had intended to go to other places
In the Territory. 1t is said he gets a
good salary and fair commission, but
he will not tell who employs him. 1t
is understood. however, that law firm
and hotel are his principals. In cases
where travellers are happily mated and
simply passing through the country, he
The herald., 1896-01-24

clan and an excellent vocal teacher Very
soon from twelve to fifteen ladies. claim
ing to come from Milwaukee, st. Paul
Minneapolis, Chicago, even Philadelphia,
and New York, appeared in the town as
her pupils. For awhile no one suspected
anything wrong, but it was soon rumor-
ed and verified that they were there for
divorce.
Five years ago Sioux Falls was -four
ishing, bustling town. To-day, her bus
mess blocks are empty, her imposing
Court House mockery, her lawyers
(those who have remained there) impe-
cunious, her judges idle. The handsom-
est houses in town can be bought for a
song. sold to pay the interest on the mort
cages The dry-goods stores are closing,
the hotel is bankrupt, the boarding
house keepers look in vain for boarders.
And why? Because the Colony no
longer exists! The men and women who
supported the town have fled to places
where the term of residence is shorter,
| and Sioux Falls stands to-day a living
| example of what the divorce business
will do for town which fosters it.
What Sioux Falls was five years ago,
Oklahoma Territory towns are to-day.
They vie with each other in raking in
the greatest possible amount of divorce
trade: they send out circulars expatiat-
ing at length on the peculiar advantages
which they can offer.
Oklahoma is credited with going even
further than Sioux Falls in it's la Sity in
granting divorces. 1t has been asserted,
and may yet be proved. that you can OBJ
tain divorce there without even the
formality of going to the Territory to
obain the necessary residence The mis-
cry and degradation resulting from such
a perversion of the divoce laws, is ap-
palling.
Men of great ability are seriously agit.
ating this question: if there were a Uni
verSal Divorce Law for all the States.
not so stringent as that in vogue in New
York nor so lax as those of North and
South Dakota. Illinois, Rhode Island.
Delaware, California, Oklahoma. and
those newborn States which are bound
to make time for gaining a residence as
short as possible for the purpose of aug
menting the population. how much scan
dal sin and crime could be avoided.
If, in the present condition of society.
divorce is a necessity-which certainly
seems to be the case-then Net it be so
uniform in its causes that those intent
upon availing themselves of it may not
be tempted to seek the desired release
by the demoralizing and nefarious prac-
ticeS now In vogue.
The herald., 1896-01-24
REELING SILK FROM THE RELUC
TANT SPIDER.

ing-were not SO we'll suited to manu-
featuring purposes as ! had fondly hop
ed. In fact, they had glued themselves
together so firmly that was never able
to unwind them from the spool; and my
invention, though highly interesting, did
not prove remunerative-a lucky thing
for the spiders.
There were other experiments that l
tried with these ungainly pets,-some of
them too cruel, as l now realize, but
l was quite unconscious of it then. For
example often waited flies against
large fresh web, and in this way
presently discovered that the Or
dinary spider, though he has eyes with
numberless facets, is really almost blind.
He does not trust to sight at all. He
stands waiting at the centre of his web,
his feet elutching the strands. When
fly strikes against the meshes, the spi-
der gives the whole fabric sharp shake.
If the fly remains still the owner of the
web seems unable to locate him, but la
he buzzes or struggles Mr.Spider is down
on him In an instant, and hastily encas-
ing him In winding sheet of silk, bears
him back and hangs him up to be devour-
ed at leisure.
Once, l remember, l presided at an
encounter between spider and humble
bee. The bee, Of course, buzzed loudly;
the spider rushed upon him, was stung,
and hastily withdrew Again the bee
buzzed; and again the spider, unable to
resist his instincts, rushed to the attack
with the same result. At last, how
The herald., 1896-01-24

are even more surprising. His studies
of Old Testament manuscripts have
been prosecuted with vigor, and he and
Renan coresponded for fully year be-
fore the latter's death, having been
brought together by their labors in the
same field. Should Mr.. Elkins be elect
ed TO the chief magistracy, he will un-
doubtedly be the most scholarly presi-
dent we have ever had.
Senator Elkins is really a territorial
magnate. He owns a railroad nearly
200 miles long, which runs for half that
distance over his own coal mines. His
horses are of the very finest breed, but
Mrs. Ellkins is the member of the fami-
ly most addicted to their use. The Sena-
tor himself, like most very rich men, is
very transformations in his way of living.
In the middle west-tAe movement in
favor of the Senator's nomination is very
strong. He has been careful to concili-
ate public sentiment in all possible
ways.and he has avoided contests of any
description. He is not an avowed
candidate for the presidency. On the
contrary. he has gone to the length of
saying that there are many candidates
preferable to himself; but for all that
it is believed that he would be intensely
gratified by the nomination. He does
not go out of his way to attract public
attention. He likes his post in the SEN
ate and knows that he can remain there
indefinitely.
The West Virginians believe he will
secure the nomination, owing to his own
marvellous talent, as practical politi-
t. lit.
about Blaine's nomination in 1884. He
was the controlling influence in the nom-
ination of Harrison four years later. He
is sagacious in making political deals,
and so far. not a single failure has di-
minished the lustre of his record as a
tactician.
Mrs. Elkins is potent factor in the
success of her husband. She is leader
The herald., 1896-01-24

Senator is a stockholder in numerous
southern railways. He has large sums
invested on mortgage in New York and
Pennsylvania. He is a banker on a very
large scale.
The Senator. some twenty years ago,
married "Hallie" Davis, daughter of
Senator Davis, of West Virginia. This
lady is one of the most beautiful men,
bers of the official set at Washington.
1t was she who planned the princely
home called Halliehurst at Elkins. West
Virginia, which is the most superb pri-
vate residence in the South. not exceed
ed even by George Vanderbilt's Biltmore
in splendor This private residence is
one of the show places of the South.
1t is situated in the centre Of vast
stretch of mountain and tableland. The
grounds for miles around are laid out
The herald., 1896-01-24

There is an abomination tolerated in
our land which is disgrace to civili-
xation. 1t is carried on under the
forms of law, but it is in reality an in
sidious attack upon the very framework
Of our social organization-an attack
upon the home, the family. Most peo-
pie, probably, know something of the
nefariouS divorce traffic carried on
within the limits of the United States,
but few have any adequate idea of it's
scope and system, and the brazen eff
frontery with which it is conducted. 1t
ID high time that this iniquity be
brought to light. 1t is intolerable, and
1t cannot long survive full exposure.
The following paragraph, which ap-
peared recently in a western newspa-
per, first drew my attention to the
vile business, openly pursued, of drum
ming up trade for divorce lawyers:
The herald., 1896-01-24

settle could disabuse the natives mind
Of the idea that their mission was di-
vorce, until they had resided there for
two or three years and made no move in
that direction. II a new face
was seen ON the streets it
was rumored through the town
that a new member for the Colony had
arrived. A man started a grocery store
on one of the main streets; a lady claim
ing to come from Chicago opened fash
ionable dressmaking establishment; one
of the drug stores sold out to Il fine look
ing stranger, who at once fitted the
place up in grand style and did good
business among the men of the town; a
doctor opened up swell office in one of
the business blackstone and all were
regarded as members of the Colony and
one and all turned out to be just what
they were suspected of being. The larg-
est hotel changed hands recently; the
new proprietor's wife was fine musi-
The herald., 1896-01-24

friendship cultivated. no kind word
spoken; were they to live for years in
that town, the mere fact of their hav-
ing once belonged to the colony" os-
tracised them completely. The men
were more favorably received; they
were encouraged by some Of the west
ern girls, but were mathematical by
the men-except such as made a trade
of this detestable sale of indulgences.
What has given this divorce traffic so
bad name has been the shameful and
devious ways the candidates have re-
sorted to. aided and nbetted by the
men of law, and the fragrant behavior
which many INDUCED In. Whether they
felt that, being so far from home, no
one would know them and they could
do as they pleased, or, their own
innate depravity saw no crime In
their Illicit relations-be tnat as 1t may,
they We're vile, and tainted the whole
colony. They stigmatized every man
The herald., 1896-01-24

of Washington society. Her fame as a
hostess has spread over the whole South
When she married Mr.. Elkins he was a
young representative in Congress, and
she the belle of Washington, for her IA
ther was serving in the United States
Senate. The rise of Elkins has been
steady ever since.
The Senator owns entire towns in
West Virginia. They are built on the
most approved sanitary principles, and
are sold for sums that appear ridiculous
ly low to Fasteners. Every business
enterprise with which Mr.. Elkins has
concerned himself. has proved
amazingly successful. There seems to
be no end to the development of his re-
sources. The Senator is not fond of
having his great wealth adverted to, for
he fears it may injure him politically,
but there can be no getting over the
fact that he is to-day the richest aspir-
ant to the Presidency of the United
States
The herald., 1896-01-24

strongly advises them to try an Okla
homa divorce.-for, as he sa VS., however
comfortable they may be, they might
better themselves if they discarded
their present husband or wife and
looked around
That such state of affairs can eX-
ist in any part of this country seems
hardly credible. Yet it has for some
time been pretty generally known that
a person seeking divorce could go to
South Dakota. and now to Oklahoma,
and remain a week or two, and then by
hiring a room. leaving a trunk in it.
and paying six months in advance, re-
turn to his native place. and only re-
appear in the town selected for the pur-
pose in time to begin proceedings in
the divorce case. And we have even
heard of men and women disappearing
from the haunts which knew them and
bobbing up again in a few months
time, with not only a decree of divorce
In their pockets. but a new wife or
husband in their train: and though be-
hind their backs, queries as to the
validity of the new union may be whis-
pered, no open suspicion is allowed to
reach their ears.
It is not my intention to go into any
details of the many prominent divorce
cases in the past. which made Sioux
Falls famous-or infamous. To prove
what l want to, it is only necessary
for me to show what Sioux Falls was
five years ago, what it is to-day, and
what has killed it; for dead it now is.
The population of Sioux Falls as Civ
en- out by the statisticians is 10000. But
this seems an impossibility, even count
ing in the outlying suburbs, for one can
easily walk over the whole town
in a mornings stroll. But in this
population, circle within a cir
Gle, yet as distinct as the oil
that floats on top Of the water,
Is another population a colony of
men and women who fit in amidst
these people, live their short period of
enforced exile among them, and then,
like gust of fetid wind, fit out again,
leaving no trace of their presence ex-
cept, perhaps, a bad flavor in the
mouths Of the more pious inhabitants,
a few more dollars in the pockets Of the
storekeepers and hotel proprietors, and
some hundreds in the hands of the
corrupt lawyers who serve and encour-
age them.
These men and women for a time
kept the town alive; yet ultimately they
proved it's ruin. The coming of these
men and women was like an immigra-
ton Of lepers; they formed a distinct
class among themselves and to touch
them was pollution. To the women no
6ocial courtesy was extended, no
The herald., 1896-01-24

ever, the spider managed to get his silk
en- shroud about his formidable prey,
and bore him off in triumph.
He was not so fortunate, however,
with large black ant which 1 treacher-
ously dropped upon his web. The ant
began to struggle, and down came the
spider; whereupon the ant cody bit of
one of his legs. The spider withdrew
in dismay; but being a ravenous old fell
low of great size, the destroyer of un-
numbered flies, he could not forbear
second attack. He strained his mandi-
bles without effect on the hard armor
of the ant, who meanwhile nipped OF
another leg.
In the third attack the ant began to
operate on his enemy's abdomen; and
the spider, escaping with difficulty. re.
treated utterly discounted. Then the
ant proceeded to break the meshes, and
fell unharmed to the floor. Thus were
tne Lies avenged. G. KAY. Z,
The herald., 1896-01-24
SHE TRIED TO RUN A BANK.
But Reckless Extravaganza Burst II
and She Died in Abiect Poverty.

Dut hecAleso GAtTdfdSduce burSC II
and She Died in Abject Poverty.
A woman died at Munich recently,
penniless and destitute, after having
handled millions Of dollars. This wo-
man, Adele Spitzeder, became notorious
In the early seventies, when she found
ed the "Dachauer Bank" pretending to
be assisted by the clergy Of Bavaria,
She took advantage of the wild stock
speculations of these years, and, by
promising depostors large interest for
their investments, she had at first inn
mense success. For some time she paid
large dividends, and every one of her
customers praised her as the greatest
financial genius of the time. Within
eighteen months deposits in her bank
amounted to 100000 forms, equivalent
to about S3,500,0O0. The senseless spec.
ulation and the almost incredible prodi-
gality of the woman were the causes Of
the break which occurred inth early
part of 1873. When the crash came
some 10000 depositors mourned losses
varying from few forms to hundreds
of thousands. Being arrested under the
bankruptcy law, she was sentenced on
July 20, 1873, for fraudulent bankruptcy
to three years in state prison. After hen
discharge she started ladies' orches-
ira, which she conducted under the alias
of de Vic. At her debut with this orches
ira she was hissed from the hall by stu
dents of Wurzburg. She then disap-
peared for several years, but some years
later she again began the banking busi-
ness In her old style. finding more VIC
tins. Her new efforts resulted in an-
other sentence of Imprisonment. Since
then she was heard from, from time to
time, but few years ago disappeared
again srom the surface.--Chicago Trib-
una
The herald., 1896-01-24

and woman going to Dakota for a di-
vorce as being such as they were; and
some who went there from the most legi-
innate reasons and with the purest mo-
tives were thus made to suffer untold
torments.
These colonists divided themselves in
to three distinct classes; those who lived
in the hotels. those in the boarding hous-
es. and those hiring cottages. The first
We're loose in their morals and bold in
their manners. They became the boon
companions OF the bachelors of the town,
and generally managed to spend their
six months exile very pleasantly. driv-
ing and riding on the prairies. and play
ing cards and giving wine parties in their
The herald., 1896-01-24

rooms Ill the evenings, with their lawyer
and his particular chums.
The second were the respectable wo-
men, who led the lives of nuns. and new
er left the bosom of the family with
which they were residing.
The third were the men and women,
who went to South Dakota with their
lovers, hired a furnished cottage, and
lived together in open defiance of Gods $
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS invoking
mans law to unloose the sacred bonds
which bound them to the absent, and
thus leave them at liberty to legalize the
unholy bonds which united them to a
new lover. The man Goodwin, who was
shot by the boOkmakeP in the Percival
Apartment House about three years ago
had just returned from visit to Sioux
Falls, where Mrs. Snyder, the woman
whom he intended to make his wife as
soon as her divorce was granted, lived.
He had brought her there, hired a cot
tage for her and settled her in it comfor-
tably and had made her two visits before
the shooting that Sunday afternoon.
The lawyers We're good, bad and indif-
ferent Intellectually; morally, with two
or three exceptions they were rotten.
They bled their clients unmerci-
fully. The work they did,
unless in contested cases, was
merely nominal, and their charges were
exorbitant. A woman was often drawn
into a compromising, though perfectly
innocent, intimacy with her lawg from
the fact of her isolation and loneliness,
and the feeling that he was a man to
whom she had been obliged to tell her
inmost thoughts and secrets, and that
she must trust him.
Under the new law which went into
operation, on the first of March, 1893, a
residence Of six instead of three months
was required in South Dakota,-though
North Dakota still holds to the old law
of ninety days sojourn making a legal
residence. This extension in South Da.
kOta is due to the combined and tireless
efforts of the Episcopal and Catholic
Bishops. These two worthy men, recog-
niZing the terrible stain resting on their
State and town, endeavored by prolong.
ing the time to put stop to the nefar.
ious traffic; but unfortunately their ef
forts in the beginning proved futile. As
the Students" as they are called In the
adjacent towns, were by law forced to
remain longer, instead of benef1ting they
injured the place. OF course the dreary
six months required for gaining a resi-
dence, and the torturing seventy-twc
days following the service, were more
than compensated for by the laxity OF
the divorce laws and the numberlest
causes for which a release could be OBJ
tanned.
No strangers going to Sioux Falls tt
The herald., 1896-01-24

die In such way that could make it
rotate with great speed by means Of
band running from wheel-about eight
inches in diameter-which 1 turned with
crank. To this spool l attached the
end of the thread, and set my machine
in motion. 1t was great success. The
spindle sang like a humming-top as it
spun on its bearings, reelng his precious
silk from that Disguised spider until the
glistening thread covered the spool as
with a sheet of varnish. An angrier in
sect. ! fancy, never lived; but what
could he do about it? And afterwards
/ fed him well by way of compensation.
Thus far my plans had worked to per-
fection; but when l endeavored to util-
ize the material so unscrupulously OBJ
tanned, like many another thief became
involved in difficulties. found that the
adhesive strands-so perfectly ADAPTED
to the owners own business of ffiy-catch-
The herald., 1896-01-24
AROLAND FOR AN OLIVER

Husband (reading Sunday newepaper)
MARY. here's something new in the
household line. have had your bakers
and grocer's homemade bread, pies and
chocolate; here is whole column about
home made desolate." thinks he is
funny)
Wife-"You needn't read it. You can
get the receipt at your favorite bucket
shop
The herald., 1896-01-24

private individual in this country. 1t
comprises 25,000 volumes, and the Sen
ator reads most of the time. He is ac-
complished in Greek-he taught Greek
for living once. He is also very
clever Horatian scholar, and was the
first to call attention to the cleverness of
Eugene Fields translations Of the odes
of the Sabine bard. When the Senator
was nineteen he won a prize for the best
Latin verses In imitation of the Carmen
Saeculare of Horace. The Senator also
edited an edition of Sappho, and another
of the first book of Thucydides publish
ed for the use of schools some years
ago.
In Hebrew the Senator's attainments
The herald., 1896-01-24
STEPHEN Il. ELKINS

- ~ iiL-N ID. lIl<Nl-NS
in parks and gardens, ponds and water
falls. The preserves are stocked with
game of every description. Once year
the Senator invites a party Of friends to
Halliehurst, and the festivities continue
for weeks. The entrance hall of this
palace is the most spacious in America.
The largest open fire place ever built
is on one side, and an oaken and brass
staircase is on the other. The illumina-
ton is by means of wax candles.
Although the Senator is a self-made
man, he is what many self-made men
are not-a scholar. His library Is the
finest collection of books ever made by q
The herald., 1896-01-24

A fossil insect twenty-seven inches
long has been found in the coal meas
ures of Community, France. 1t has been
classed as dragon-ly, but the French
scientists are evidently unfamiliar with
the contemporaneous entomology Of New
Jersey. Truth.
The herald., 1896-01-24
AGRBAT NATIONAL SCANDAL.
Osteetable Traffic in Divorces Now Car
risd on in Oklahoma.
DIVORCE DRUMMERs ON TRAINS.

Braxen Insolence of the Methods
used-DtvorceC Colonies and Their
Pfomoters-A Ncfarious Bust.
ness That Booms Towns,
But Means Ultimate
Ruin.