The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-10-28
Queer Passion That Proved
the Undoing Of a Rich
Trenton Baker.
IT'S THE NOISE He LIKES
The Only Substitute For His
Cracker Factory IN His
Hours Of Ease.

driven him from several swell clubs and
ostracised him from society. He is only
permitted to enter the theatres condition
ally, Is invited to. leave the trolley cars,
is told that he is not again wanted at a
church, and is ordered out Of the Saliva
ton Army barracks. At several places Of
amusement he Is fatty refused admission
under any circumstances. and the park
guards have orders to keep him away
from the monkey cages at the zoo, and
his queer penchant Is compelling him to
close his cracker factory. But the urchins
love him for his peanuts, ready shelled,"
and the ewsboys follow him for squares
| when they see the left-hand pocket of
his over coat bulging out. for they know
! that a peanut feast is In store for them.
What makes his friends marvel still
the more at his strange passion is the
| fact that MIR. Hollis declares that he has
| never eaten a peanut in his life and
| could not tell what they taste like. Mr..
| Hollis frankly admits that he has tried
| innumerables schemes and contrivanees
| suggested by his friends in a vain en-
deayor to find a less conspicuous substi-
tute for his unexplainabie passion. But
he loves the music produced by the
| crunching, cracking n the dull thud OF
the peanut shell between his thumb and
fingers, and confesses that he can ind
| nothing to take its place Mr.. Hollis
| estimates that he shells and gives away
a full peck OF peanuts every day OF his
life.
Mr.. Hollis Is AZ years of and pos
| sesses considerable wealth. Consequent
ly he is not, in a measure, disturbed by
| the criticisms heaped upon him because
of his passion. Stranger than the pas
| sion is the. strange manner Of acquiring
ii. Some years ago Mr.. Hollis conducted
a cracker bakery in Philadelphia His
| factory produced the little hard, brown
crackers so frequently found on the ta-
BILE of the first class oyster houses and
cafes. A Yankee economist from down
East happened along one day and sug-
\ gested that the crackers of the baton
that was so badly burnt hat it became
mere waste because its sale was impossi-
| BILE. might be turned into profit by grind
ing it into cracker dust. Packed in pref
| tily labeled boxes, 1t will sell readily,
said the shrewd Yankee M so from this
| suggestion cracker dust became a house
\ hold staple. Mr.. Hollis stood by ana
watched the Yankee develop his sugges-
| ton to utilize the waste, and all day long
| the crunching of the stone hard cracker
would ring In his ear. Go where he would
and try as he would at hight, he says,
the sound of the ~crunching Of the little
| brown cracker followed him. Money
| poured In upon him from the sale OF
| cracker dust. and soon improved machdn-
cry took the place OF the wooden hand
| roller. But not a sound would It pro-
duce. He had found difficulty In con-
| tenting himself when away from the mus
ic of the wooden roller at night, but now
| that even this was gone Mr.. Hoilis
| craved the sound
AS a lark some one at the ciup, one
| night, suggested that the party attend
| the opera from the peanut gallery,
and the cracker-baker joined the party.
| They took seats amid q group OF urcnlns
who were crunching peanuts pet"ee1
| wells. Mr.. Hollis at first started, and
| when his friend inquired the cause. the
/ nervous cracker-baker explained that the
| noise of the ~erunehing of the peanuts was
music to his ears, because It reminded
him of the sound of the erunching OF the
| little brown cracke by the old wooden
| roller. For several successive nights fol-
having M Hollis was found in the pea
nut gallery" and distributing peanuts 70
the urchins, simply that ne might near
| them crushed. His actions became notice
able and he was Obliged TO abandon the
peanut gallery and take to the peanuts
himself. And this heidi with a ven
| geance.
.Haye some peanuts" was his query
to. every one he met, whether at the ciub,
In the church, On the street, at the Motel
ar in the cracker bakery. At first the
| club members did not decline the offer
mar. the church folk took the peanuts
because they liked to eat them, and the
friends and acquaintance mel on me
streets and elsewhere took the pro1eIed
neanuts BECAUSE they were ready snelieq
and toothsone. But it finally reached
the point hat to meet Mr.. HOLLIS was
mis- and as a steady diet some folk
object to peanuts. While the cruncning
and cracking and the dull thud was as
music to the ears Of MI. Hollis. the IN
cessant cruncling of the peanut shell
became a great annoyance to the mem
hers of the club. Mr.. Hollis was a regu-
lar nightly visitor at the elup. 50 We're
At each visit he found his way in to
the whist room, but not since the first
visit to the peanut gallery at the opera
ia ha taken a hand of cards. Instead he
wnrt5 Mace himself behind a players
ehair and there would be a constant
cruncfring and cracking OF the peanut
much to the ~annoyance, OF the members.
The steward would also be obliged to
keep BY his side, broom In hand, to
rafher the shells. Mr.. Hollis and his
lanefh the CAPITAL City Club adopted
resolutions fixing a fne of rs cents upon
anyone who crunched peanuts in the
crunched on. The offense was then made
n,,nishable by dismissal. Mr.. Hollis fell
Under the ban and was dismissed from
the club. Other organizations followed
suit.
always accompanied by his pocket of pea
nuts. and while In the parlor his fingers
would neryousiy crunch them, HIS frienn
house objected to the shells on the car
pet, and he would promise not to offend