The age-herald., 1898-01-29
STRAY GOSSIP
 OF STREET AND HOTEL

who earns a livelihood by travelling. "Yet
 they must read; at least. they must pre-
 tend to read There Is lots of sham about | Americans in all things. You see many
 a girl buy a book which she never reads. Many a man on a train purchases book. 1 glances over the pages and throws it aside. People who suddenly acquire wealth are possibly the most disgusting in this par | ticular, and their orders sent in to book
 concerns for a library outfit oftentimes
 causes much amusement. They mechan- | ically send in an order for so many run ming feet of library without regard for the l class. Bellies lettres, this never enters their
 mind. And sometimes they go so far as | to order the covering of the books to cor
 respond with the upholstery and carpet 1 ing
 1 "The hotels prepare for the reading pub | lie. Of course, sort of library is pre-
 pared for the guests which Is rarely taken
 advantage of by them but instead is mo-
 nopolized by gang of loafers. The palace
 car companies even go so far as to pre-
 pare for the travellers who desire to be
 amused while whrling across the country.
 This brings up an interesting problem, of 1 how to cater to so many classes. The se- 2NSSAOAA
 then. must be task with serious difficult | ties attached. Yet there is a large sum
 spent in this direction yearly The Pullman
 company alone spends 1000 for these It.
 tie libraries floating about the country. There are several classes of travellers, but
 the most intelligent, whether of those who | ride for pleasure those business, oc- cupy the Pullman cars. These train n- I .-ta -;+f l The books forming the school of romance l of the Anthony Hope, Conan Doyle stripe
 are in the majority, followed by numerous 1 collections of short stories embracing all varieties One thing that always appeared singular to me is that there are in-
 structive books of travel and of historic nature provided. But the bookmakers only | strive to place on the market wares that | will not prove a burden, just those in l other vacations. People abuse books, they
 abuse newspapers for what they print, yet
 all catering to a demand. If you
 don't want 1t, don't take it.
 | Many are the Imaginable stories related at the expense of Private John'' Allen of
 Mississippi but it remains for a gentleman l who accompanied the wit to Florida to tell
 one of the best
 John Allen of Mississippi arrived at the
 Ponce de Leon, St. Augustine, registered and was assigned to room," said the gentleman "He had never seen apartments so extravagantly furnished. Expensive oil l paintings hung the walls. The bed
 stead was of mahogany and hand-carved. | Carpeting a half foot thick covered the
 flooring. There were vases filled with l oh a;r Iao
 tains, beveled mirrors, and all the other l appliances of modern convenience and lux
 ury. John became alarmed He figured it | out that that room would cost much per
 day his salary as a congressman would | amount to in half a week. He called a bell
 boy, gave him s2 and told him to quetly | find out the tariff on that room. John
 didn't like to ask the clerk himself. He was | a big man, and that would look little. The
 boy returned presently and informed the l guest that the price was $50 per day. Allen
 went downstairs laid down a dime and | called for cigar. They didn't sell any
 thing but two-bit cigars He put down a | nickel on the news stand and picked up a New York paper. Twenty cents more, please said the clerk. He got a drink
 and rendered 15 cents Where you been | stopping-at the Windsor? asked the bar | keeper. Drinks here are a quarter. That | settled it with Allen. He went to his room, gathered his grips and took himself l downstairs Then he called for his bill. l Why, what is the matter, MT Allen? We | thought that you were going to spend some | time with us,' said the clerk. Very sorry | replied MT. Allen, but have just received
 a telegram that calls me away The clerk | reached out his hand to tell him goodbye. | But the bill?' inquired Allen. There isn't | any bill. You are the guest of the man. ager.' But Allen had to make the bluff | good, and he left on the evening train.
 "The south is deeply interested in the New England cotton situation" said a | well-posted gentleman yesterday" Not | only is every one interested in the strike | situation, but on tine outsome depends to a | great extent the future of the cotton in- i dusry in the south. If the present difficult | tes mark the beginning of a decline in | northern mill operations there will be a | number of important changes in one of | the greatest industries of the country The
 curtailment of cotton manufacturing in the northeastern states means at once a l shrinking in the demand for raw cotton | anu UudC SulfLflkdBe Hify De great enough l to materially affect prices, and reduce to a | minimum the already extremely light prof | its of the planter. Well-posted cotton | growers buyers and manufacturers agree | that any considerable reduction in the | present marketable value of the raw | product would make cotton growing un- | profitable in many sections of the south 1 in fact, it is believed by many that any l marked reduction of prices would compel ! all but the wealthiest and most able plant | CTS in tine richer districts to abandon the | industry. Yet there is hope for supremacy l in time. It is believed by far-sighted men | in the south that ultimately the cotton | growing states will manufacture very | large shane of their raw product within | their own borders, and that the day will 1 come when the New England mills will be l compelled to abandon tine manufacture of