The times., 1898-09-23

ence in the East. AS one British states
man is credited with saying, lit is worth
more to England than the whole of At
rica."
''The ways of some of the army sur
geons are queer indeed, said Franklin 5.
Johnstone. business man from Omaha,
who is stopping at the Shoreham. last
night In one of the Nebraska volunteer
regiments there is an officer who was re-
Gently rejected by the army physicians for
alleged physical disability, but who sub
sequently, upon convincing the War De-
partment that he was sound IN every re-
spect. was given his commission. When
this fellow was examined by the surgeons
they pronounced his eyeSight defective.
Now. it happened that this particular
young man was an expert rifle shot, and
you can appreciate the keenneSs of his
vision when / tell you that it was no
trick for him TO plug dime with a bullet
from his gun at twenty-five or thirty
yards. When the army doctors told him
that his eyesight was defective he was as
tonished. He demonstrated with them.
but in vain. Just 10 prove to his own sat
isfaction that his sight was all right he
went to a shooting gallery In Omaha and
tested himself. He shot for five or ten
minutes, breaking glass balls and clipping
off the clay pipes, and he never missed
a shot After this trial he was convinced
that there must have been something
wrong with the eyesight of the examining
physician. He returned to headquarters
and told them what he had done, with
signed statement from the proprietor of
the place and some of his friends who
had witnessed his performance, but they
still declined TO admit him into the ser
vice. Finally, however, he induced some
of his friends in the city here TO lay the
facts before Secretary Alger. Gen. Alger
viewed the matter a huge joke, and
readily issued an order for the young
mans commission. So far as / have
heard from the young fellow his eyesight
has not interfered with the proper per
formance of his duties as officer
1.-The keepers of some of the gambling
houses in Chicago have recently adopted
an ingeniously built gambling table
which is about the smoothest article in
the gambling line that has ever come
under my observation said William H
Casey, drummer for a billiard table
mandatory, at the Arlington last night.
This table, when not in action, is to
all appearances regular billiard table
1t has those heavily built legs of the bill
lard table with a full set of ivory balls,
rubber cushions, rails, etc, together with
a stack of cues. When IN action, how
| ever the worries are laid aside, the rails
| and cushions are detached and nothing
! remains but a smooth table with the
| regulation green cloth. 1t can be utilized
| for any form of gambling. The idea in
| the peculiar construction of the table is
| to provide against a surprise by the
| police. If the coppers happen to drop in
| suddenly on the establishment the table
| can be quickly placed in readiness for
| billiards. The cushions can be slapped
| on, the cues got out, and the balls set
| in motion while the crowd just engaged
| in betting their coin can be gathered
| around the rails as witnesses to the bill
! lard game. ] have not yet heard of q
! case where the device was called into
! use to deceive the police. but it would be
a convenient thing to have in case of a
| raid