Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-01-29
OF CURRENT

the amount of gold jewelry. old plate, ard
trinkets. says Director of the Mint Preston.
at the government -n.ints- Dur
ing the period of extreme depression the
amount of metals purchased by the govern
ment reached high figures. but III the past
year 1t has dwindled considerably. AT the
approach of the holiday seasons the Jew
elry sent to the mints TO be sold increases
IN large proportion compared 10 the guam
ti,y sold in the dull season. Soon after New
Years there is usually a heavy installment
at The assay offices and minis. Within
the past week a pair OF gold bracelets.
Wfich cost $50, were sent to the mint bull
reau to be sold for the gold in them.
Their owner said he could not keep them.
as ne required the money. and asked Dr.
rector Preston to dispose OF them at what
ever value they might bring. The brace
lets. on being melted down, were shown TO
contain SlI worth of pure metal. From -SI3
uoWh 10 last year the amount of money
paid out by the government for old gold,
plate, and jewelry has steadily increased. |
The high water mark was reached in
1871. when the government paid out for
plate and jewelry SECS. 40. The Philadel- |
phia mint melts nine-tenths of the plate |
and 1ewelry presented to the government. |
aymen is generally made in gold when |
the jewelry is of that metal.
Or. Depew was particularly happy on
Sunday night in his stories of Commodore |
Vanderbilt and DR.. Deems. u New York |
paper says. but he failed 10 mention the
formers famous chandelier. y friend called
or the old gentleman in his Washington
place home and gaZed upon a fearful and
wonderful contrivance that hung from the
ceiling in the commodore's private room.
We'll. do you like it?' he asked. 1T is
utterly unlike anything I ever saw BEFORE
was the diplomatic reply. The commodore
wanted his friends to like whatever he
had. and would readily give away an arti-
Gle appreciated. The chandelier was of his
own designing. He had gone to Mitchell.
Vance & Co.'S and selected his own fittings
from a hundred or more completed fixtures,
taking from this a burner, from that 4
curved tube. from the other a cluster OF
lights. and so forth. Having chosen what
his fancy dictated, he had the several parts
put together and hung in his room. 1t was
the only thing of the sort ever conceived.
Fat men must be on their guard when
travelling on French railroads. A 3i0-pound
citizen of Lille who had bought a third
class ticket, after failing to wedge through
the doors of a third class and of a second
class carriage, entered a first class COM
partment and rode to his place of destina-
ton. The railroad sued him for the differ
ence in the fare, TO which his defense was
that. having sold the ticket. the company
was bound to provide doors to the third
class carriages wide enough to admit him.
The court. however, held that he must have
known his W girth and the size of car
riaGe doors, and should have bought Il
ticket admitting him to a wide enough
compartment. 1t refrained from making
him pay for excess weight.
The following fable from the apanese is
a neat hit at woman's capacity for overdo-
ing pretty much everything that she under
takes. Once upon a time a man discovered
the fountain of youth. Thanks to its magic
he returned young. strong and hearty to
the land from which but a short time be-
fore he had departed an old and feeble
man. The first person he met after his
return was an old woman and he told her
about the fountain. The woman knew Il
good thing when she heard it, and she at
once set off to seek the regeneration upon
her own account. The mex day when the
man again repaired to the fountain he
found by its side a few days old babe
1t was the woman She had overdone it.
Once upon a time a printer brought to
Booth for inspection the proof of a new
poster, which after the manner of its kind.
annouced the actor as 1.-The eminent TRACE
dian. Edwin Booth Mr.. Booth did not
fully approve of 1t. relates the Boston Jour-
nal. i wish you'd leave out that eminent
tragedian' business. I'd much rather have
1t simple Edwin Booth" he said. Very
good, sir" The next week the actor saw
the first of his new bills in nositiop His
request had heen c.rri.d ont 20 ,ba ,o,,or
Tho noster .rno,,,coS ,,a oom,aanaana
mon, ~ "S;mnIs Ed,,i, poo,hn
u,,.,
go. 49,. ns ~ s'oies Zen
60 uic'a'e au'eFtis-
ne ".' Nv newspapers .hefe ana
their demands, the small stores took adj
vantage of the boycott and began to ad-
vertise. They got immediate results, one
house having to call for police to keep back
the crowds. while the large places were
practically empty. A little dry goods firm
that had never been heard of before turned
away a thousand people for want OF room
to receive them inside. The moral Is OBJ
-
Joseph Jefferson earned more than 500. 900
In old rip Van Wrinkle alone. His grounds
adjoining former President Cleyeland's. in
Massachusetts,, are worth twice that
amount, and he owns other valuable pron-
critics throughout the United States. JEFF
ferson is probably the richest actor on the
American stage to-day. Every night he
appears in public he is maid enough "a s,s-
year.