davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
A BATHROOM WAR.
Rich New Workers Vie in Magnificence of
Swimming Pools.


Swimming Pools.
A tank tea is to be one of the Lent,n
diversions of metropolitan society. says a
New York letter to the Pittsburs Dis
patch. This is a legitimate successor of
the famous vegetable dance. and it's lust
as novel and trihe more irregular and
daring. A woman whose talents enable
her to penetrate the inner circle says that
Mrs. Henry Sloane is the leader who is
going to give society Tubing in real
Croton. l. seems that just now societys
fancy runs to bathrooms, and the more
gorgeous and elaborate this one apart
ment in Il nabOb'S house can be made the
more are they satisfied There is quite Il
rivalry in these apartments and the Van
derbilts, Sloanes, Whitneys and others
are at present waging fierce bathroom
war. The eN-secretary of the navy has
ordered $4,000 bathroom for his new
house. and he is to have. besides. a SWIM
ming pool and Il Russo-Turkish establish
ment complete with attendants In fact.
it is the Russian bath which is the fash
ionablc craze just at present. and it is in
this form that the parties are to take
place. Everyone who is having large
house built is having it fitted up with the
complete apparatus for such esta blish-
ments and others are instantly having
them added to their mansions The au-
thority quoted states that Mrs. Ogden
Mills, who has already bar and bar
tender ut her mansion. will add the Turk
ish bath and swimming pool arrange
ments very shortly. 1t is in these private
bath drawing rooms where the teas and
dances will be given. The fixtures are of
silver and the basin of the pool marble
and onyx. George Eanderbilt's bathroom
is said to be dream, but it isn't ar
ranged to accommodate crowd. The
tank tea is a London fad, and before
the Lenten season closes IA certain set of
very smart society women in this town
will give swimming tea parties that prom
Use to approach the limit in novel social
functionS
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
To Construct a Hotbed.

Flower-growers who enjoy bringing
into bloom different varieties of flowers
earlier iii the season than their less ambi-
t1ous friends will find in hotbed of mod
crate size Il great help. In it seed may
be sown direct, and the plants allowed to
remain until sufficiently large and ma
tured to transplant into the open ground
or to pot. =-* =. >: : 80 :
First select location where the sur
face of the soil is well drained, and where
the bed may have southern, sunny ex-
posture: Then a frame must be construct
ed of dimensions to suit the maker, but
governed largely by the size and number
Of sash to be used ON top. The height of
the frame at the back should be thirty
six inches, and at the front, thirty inches,
the sides slOped to suit, 50 that the SASH
when laid on the top, will fit the edges
closely and be at Il good slant to shed
the rain. This frame may be constructed
ct very ordinary, cheap, rough lumber, as
little or no part of it is exposed to view
When the frame is completed, from Il
stable haul a quantity Of good, fairly dry
manure, and fill the bed with it. After
the bed is filed, tread the ma nure down d s
solidly. as possible, which should reduce
the pile to "a depth of about eighteen
inches. II necessary add more manure to
ma ke the pile in the bed eighteen inches
all over. and level it as well as possible.
lt is quite necessary that the manure be
packed salidly ia the bed, and Il Us better
10 hare y moderately dry, ~ the heat
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
HE ATE 228 OYSTERS.
Afterward Mr.. Greene Ate Dinner at the
Expense of Bis Friend MIR, Coe


Expense of His Friend MIR. Coe.
In the interests of science and to prove
what noble organ the human stomach
is. Ill its prime, Thomas q. Greene, Il
Wall street insurance man, who claims
to be the champion oyster eater of the
insurance business. stored 22S oysters in
bis interior On Tuesday evening in thu.
space of half an hour. The oysters were.
of the blue point variety and of average.
size The occasion Of this feat was a bet
| offered by George Y. Coe. another Wall
| street man. Mr.. Coe is a member of the
Calumet club, which is said to consume
more raw oysters per month than any
other social organization in this city. H..
mad seen oysters eaten in considera ble.
quantities, but when his friend Greene
asserted his ability to down ten dozen
blvalyes in given time Coe offered to
pay for the oysters, the dinner and thu.
doctor if success crowned the experi
ment.
oe'eral witnesses were invited to see
the performance at the Eastern hotel
near South Ferry Mr.. Greene had
some lemons cut ::,:'n quarters and or
dercd five dozen oysters for a starter.
| The waiter brought them and the con
sumer got to work 4 squeeze of lemon
over each specimen was the only nra,,a-
ration. In eight minutes the shells
were empty.
Bring some MORE said Greene to the
| amazed waiter. about six dozen"
Up came the six dozen and down they
went. short pause followed owing ia
the oyster openers collapse from over
work. 1t had taken only little mare
than nine minutes for the second install
! ment to go.
| hurry. up: hurry up" cried Greene.
| licking his lips. lin hungry
Gee said the waiter. bis astopisb-
| ment getting the better of his training
| Your legs must be hollow like couple
| of kegs
The next consignment was four dozen
1t took eleven minutes to consume them.
More said Greene placidly. ALWAYS
room ut the top
| Still another four dozen arrived. The
champion ate these dozen and four of the
last dozen. Then he called for time
| ''IWenty-nine Minutes sad the nm
pire.
We'll. I'll just finish this dozen.'' said
he. and he did. making 22S oysters in all.
Alter this he ate Il diner paid for hy
MIR. Coe AS ballast. Yesterday afternoon
when Sun reporter saw him he said he
was feeling first rate. Mr. Greene is u,
tall man with the outward signs of con
siderable capacity and the pink coIoriny
OF a gentleman whose digestion is per
formed on mechanical principles ID to
date the feat of Tuesday night is his best
| recOrd,-NeW York SIM
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
New Fisheries Onened

Some three years ago Louis Mendelson
of San Diego. Cal. secured a concession
from the Mexican government, giving him
control Of the waters OF the coast for
fishing purposes from the Mexican line to
the 26th latitude, over 400 miles down
the Lower California coast. Mr. Mem
delson's idea was to organize Il big syn
dictate to dry and pack portion of the
vast schools oe fish which inhabit that
coast. Difficulties, however. prevented
him from carrying out his project. and
some time ago he had to abandon what
promised to become a concession of great
value.
The Mexican government has just made
official announcement that those waters
are open to the world, and as a result. the
fishing companies with headquarters in
San Diego are preparing to send fleets
into those hitherto ''unfished'' waters,
which are known to be fairly swarmins
with barracuda, Spanish mackerel. rock
cod, pompano and dozen other varie-
ties of the finest fish in salt water
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
THE ENGLISH OFFICE SEEKER.
He Makes His Own Little Platform ant
Runs on It.

He Makes His Own Little Platform and
Runs on It.
Let us suppose that the Birmingham
Liberal association, for instance, is anx-
ious to secure candidate to contest one
of the parliamentary divisions of the
city. The members of the committee,
most of them solid business men who are
i'll politics "for their health" and who
neither ask for nor desire any reward,
meet to discuss the situation. If it han
pens that any local liberal of prominence
and good standing is available, an in
vitation is sent to him TO stand for the
constituency. If not, conference is held
with the central association in London.
on whose books are the names of most
of the aspiring liberals in the country.
The candidate arrives in Birmingham
and issues his address to the electors.
Here, again, one notices contrast with
the cast-iron rigidity of the American
system. candidate for Congress or a
state governorship is supposed to have
no private opinions whatever. He is put
forward as the party's representative
and has to swallow the party's pro-
gramme, whether he likes it or not. An
English candidate is not called upon to
sacrifice SO much to his country's vel
fare. He is allowed a certain latitude of
independence. Our Birmingham candi-
date, for instance, knows, of course,
what are the main tenets of the liberal
faith; but he need not necessarily suh-
scribe to all it's articles. With the gre
garious instinct of politicians, the odds
are that he will not differ from them on
any material point. But he may, and
still be the party candidate.-Chau-
tauuuan
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25

The most peculiar feature Of the Ka-
tahdin is her concealment under water.
Only her smooth turtle-back, covered
with armor-plate and surmounted simply
by small coming tower and smoke
stack. are visible. The tower is made Of
steel IL inches thick, and unless sQuarely
hit by a heavy shot at close range, is
proof against any attack. Aside from
the dangerous sharp beak of steel aud
her covering Of armor plate, the Katah-
din is equipped with slight means of Of
fensive or defensive character. She car
ries four 6-pounder rapid-tire guns, which
are intended as defense against torpedo
boats and boarders Her speed is low,
but With her tremendous weight and
propelling force behind a sharp steel PROV
the Katahdin is calculated to do a lot of
mischief. The ram. being situated below
the water line, is directed at the most
vulnerable part of a battleship OF cruiser.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
a Rattlcsnake Trust.

The mountain ranges of New Jersey
and Pennsylvania abound in rattlesnakes,
which are turned by the natives to yari.
Gus commercial uses, and, though the
reptile does not pay well, his residuary
substances have some selling value. For
instance, his skin, if a large one, is worth
81, and if sold to the summer boarder
brings. Oh an average about $3.50. 1t is
made into belts, pocketbooks, slippers and
other articles Of like sort, and is of a
delicate ornate texture, with curious in
terlacings and imbrica tons showing how
finely the original serpent was jacketed.
It's oil is very costly and has various
uses, and it's venom, still more costly, is
administered in cases Of scarlet fever.
The market rate per ounce of the rattle
snake venom is not precisely given, but it
is high up OIL the schedule, and that is
probably one reason why Hiram Skate of
Pike county, Pa, wants to organize q
rattlesnake trust to regulate prices and
control output. The scheme is in har-
mony with current commercial tendencies
and. as was said of one of the reptiles
which had swallowed frog too large for
its constitution, there may be something
in II - -<E -
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
REGAINlNG HER SPEECH.
A Girl Felt on Her Head Years Ago and
Lost the Power 10 Talk

GIRL Fell on Her Head Years Ago and
Lost the Pow TO Talk.
Beatrice Griffith, the 11-year-old daugh-
ter Of John Griffith, farmer living at
Adrian. Mich, left Emergency hospital
ut Detroit recently in a fair way to
recover the faculty of speech of which
she was deprived when but 4 years of
age.
One day seven years ago she was on a
wagon with her father driving through a
street in Adrian when her hat blew off.
She turned quickly to watch it and losing
her balance on the seat of the wagon fell
off
The fall caused Il depression in the
childrs skull and few weeks afterward
she became speechless. The cause was
apparently the pressure of the depressed
skull upon the "soeech center" of the
brain. In succeeding years the child be-
came nervous and would run and jumn
wildly.
Two weeks ago Beatrice was brought
to Emergency hospital and DR.. Hal. G.
Wyman performed very successful
operation upon her skull, trephining it
and taking out a strip of bone about five
inches long and three-Guarters of an inch
wide, extending from the frontal bone on
the right side of the head to the occipital
bone
The child recovered from the operation
and the pressure being removed from the
speech center of the brain she seems in a
fair way to regain her speech. Although
but two weeks have elapsed since the
operation was performed she had already
begun to make sounds when she left the
hospital to be taken hack home
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
The Ram X atahdIu.

The great ram Katahdin, about to be
placed in commission at League island,
is almost as little like the old ram Mer-
rimac as she might have been if the
ed by hundred years. The KatahdiI,
was the idea Of Admiral Daniel Amme1,,
now retired, and she is regarded as d
sort Of monstrosity in naval construc-
ton. She was built at Bath, Me-, in
:. 1852. The vessel has a length on the
or ram, which is below the water line,
gives her an extreme length Of about 254
feet. Other statistics of the vessel are:
displacement under normal coal supply.
2155; tonnage, $50; extreme breadth. 43.5
feet: mean draught, Is feet; indicated
horsepower, 5O68: speed, 1911 knots:
capacity OF coal bnnkers. 1920 tons.
The Katahdin 10 propelled by twin
screws. Hen full Implement consists Of
ninety men. sss.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
A Wonderful Blind Man.

Daniel D. Lerch of the firm of Bright
4 Lerch, who died in Reading, Pa, Il
few days ago, had been totally blind for
about fourteen years. He, however, pos
sessed an extraordinary constitution and
an indomitable will and energy, and.
With resolution to keep to business, he
so well succeeded that he became the
marvel of the city, and the manner in
which he personally conducted the bust
ness of the firm astonished not only Read
ing people, but the commercial men who
visited there from every section of the
country.
He did all the buying for the house.
and probably no man in the business any
where was better posted in the values of
the goods carried by large hardware
store. He could thoroughly judge de-
fects by" the touch. while in his mind he
retained at all times a perfect under
standing of the exact state of any line Of
goods carried i'll stock. On one occasion
a customer asked for particular make
OF saw, and clerk responded that ''they
were out of that brandt Mr.. Lerch at
once stated that the clerk was mistaken.
that "there were two saws wished in
stock vet, and they would be found in
drawer so-and-so," and they were found.
Many of his customers he knew by
their walk. In conversation he was
bright, reliable and original. Mr.. Lerch
was a member of the Reading school
board for many years. He served as a
delegate to the Democratic county CON
vention that nominated the late Hester
Clymer for Congress, and took a promi-
nent part in his election. He also attend
ed IL Democratic national convention as a
delegate, and was at the time of his
death president of the local Hardware
Dealers association.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
Tho Newest CarDeta.

A round among the carpet shops reveals
the fact that there is decided tendency
toward darker floor colorings than have
been the fashion. at is a question of
monotony," said one dealer. "Persons get
tired of seeing, on their own floors and
those of everybody else, those negative
delicate colorings." To cater to this de-
mand for variety the manufacturers have
put out, within the last two seasons, an
increasing number of dark carpets, which
have met with considerable favor.
A customer. shopping here the. other
day. quoted some authority in favor of a
dark carpeting, as being on the lire of
natures taste. Her most effective scenes
show the dark green or wood brown carr
pet. shading UP through sunlit tracery Of
leaves and branches to the light vault of
sky above. The customer selected rich,
dark: green carpet, which was to so in d
room whose walls We're yellow, dashed
with white, the frieze and ceiling: .toning
gradually into a yellowish white. AS the
room was a library, with dark woodwork,
the scheme sounded attractive, and doubt
+,,pn,,o.1 or,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
English and American Manners.

There is such an endless discussion al
ways going on as to the points of differ
ence between American and English man
ners or English and American education
that the mere ipse dixit of any given wri-
ter can scarcely be looked on as shedding
the light of authority on the matter. But
it does seem to me as if most of those en-
gagged in the discussion, which, by the
way, has been going on for years, were
missing the most salient point. Some
Englishman writes Of the disgusting hab-
its and uncouth speech in vogue here and
then proceeds to compare it with the
stately manners and gentle, courteous
speech of his own countrymen. Or some
American writes of the higher education
and more perfect enunciation of his little
world. Now, it is all a matter of degree.
What is the use of comparing the habits
and speech of the average American
crowd with that of some quarter of a
million !Englishmen, or less, representing
the cultivated and educated 'classes?'
Why not compare like with like? The
average American grocer is better both
in speech and education than the average
English grocer, and so is the average
American traveller.
Then. again, the average American
workingman and his family are better
barians who pose as such. On the other
hand, in the professions the Englishman,
as rule, has the advantage, both in
breeding and education, and so, too, in
the lines Of life Of merchant princes is
the advantage probably with the English
man. misunderstanding, America is
very like England. minus the extremes at
the top ana bottom. In other words, on
the whole, America Is thoroughly bour-.
geois, only not so much 30 as 1niddle-
class England. As to the gentry of
England, well, at their best, q gentleman
Of degree is the same, be he Spanish.
French, Russian or German, with, Of
course, some national characteristics crop
ping out here and there. As to those
who talk and write SO much about Eng
fish manners and speech, let them ask
some Of the European nations what they
think of John Bulls consideration, tact
and courtliness. John Bull, however,
does, as rule, possess decent ideas on
the subject of cleanliness and seemly hab.
its at table, which European nations do
not-I am now speaking Of the crowd
and, fortunately, America has and is as.
similating them. a gentleman is the:
ssarae the world ever, and as a. class tksy
are even 50 Ia their vices,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
Saved by His Bravery.

When. Lieut. Henderson was captured
recently by the natives of the Gold Coast
Hinterland they got into wordy discus
sion as to how they would kill him. The
victim listened a while till he was weary
of it. ooh, well,'' he said. Il can't be
bothered with your arguments. I'm very
sleepy; let me know when you have made
up your minds" and off to sleep he went.
The unexpected performance saved his
life. His calm Indifference persuaded
Samory's men that they had to do with
someone of immense importance. Tn
willing to take on themselves the respon-
sibility for his death, they sent him I'M
harmed to Samory's court, in the Jimini
country. Once again Lieut.. Henderson
saved himself by like exhibition of cour-
age. lie found SamOry on throne. sur
rounded by 1000 warriors. yet when mo-
toned to do homage on his hands and
knees he did nothing of the sort. He
simply sat on the throne beside Samory.
shaking that monarch warmly by the
hand. Thanks to this, and to nothing
else, he was accepted as the representa-
tive of great sovereign, instead of a
captive doomed to death. He talked to
Samory of the Queen. and Samory talked
to himself. Thus !: mission which might
have ended, as so many African missions
have ended, in terrible silence and a
suspicion of unspeakable horrors. did in
fact end in valuable basis of future re-
lations between Great Britain and a Ma.
hometan power.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
Abandoned Their Whisky Mine.

Gale Henson and his syndicate of Holt.
Mo, citizens have abandoned the hunt for
the whisky supposed to he in the hold of
the steamer Arabia, which sunk in the
Missouri river near Parkville forty-one
years. ago. The hull of the lost steamer
was located after Il long search, but a
succession of mishaps to the ma chinery
and the inability to operate the caisson
which was sunk to the deck of the boat
twice resulted in the final abandonment
OF the search for the liquor after all the
capital of the syndicate had been exhaust
ed. A few hats and boots of no value
and barrel of ham bones were the re-
ward Of the search, which has been
steadily continued for nearly three
months
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
Like Fashions Of Long Ago.

On looking over a rare old book con-
tanning fashions of 12O years ago, it is
noted that many of the modes of the
present time are almost identical in fea-
ture with those of long ago. says n writer
in the New York Post. For instance, we
find the circular skirt with ruches,
flounces, frills and other horizontal trim
mings, round-waisted bodices finished
with jeweled girdles, clasps and chate-
laine ornaments, the lego mutton sleeve
rather small in outline, and laced or but
toned half way up the length of the arm,
and poke bonnet, with its very ornate
decorations, etc. These fashion prints
likewise show styles. to some of the pres
ent methods of arranging the hair
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
The Wife OF De LONE.

The President has just turned away the
Spanish minister, who had exposed HIM
self in a line of duplicity. This minister
had no occasion to be springing any
mines, and yet he was doing just that
government to which he was accredited.
He Was calling for propa ganda and de-
scribing the President as q two.faced be.
ing who wanted 10 curry favor with the
rabbi, and ret leays Z hole open By
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-03-25
Spanish Popular Elections,

"A correspondent III Malaga writes:
The ministry of the day resigns, and the
incoming party apportions the seats in
each constituencies you two, and two
for me, too. In the rare instances Of OBJ
jection to this exceedingly simple method
of obtaining ministerial majority, the
election. if fought, produces the same re-
suit. The electors, if by any fortunate
chance their names appear on the vot-
Ing list, know too well what a farce it
all is to take the trouble to record their
votes. They hazard a guess, too, which
ID not very far from the truth, that all
government creatures are voting as or
dered, and several times over, under
different alialss;; besides which, any mum.