davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
The Case of DR.. Briggs.

The controversy which has been pro
voked by the attempt Of Dr. Briggs to
secure ordination into the ministry Of
the Protestant Episcopal church has
assumed some personal aspects which
are deplOrablt, as. for example, the ac-
cusation of Il western bishop that DR..
Briggs is a loud mouthed fellow" etc
When bishops descend to this plane of
controversy it is unfortunate; never
thcless the principle involved in the
discussion over DR.. Briggs seems To
us Ia h. most vital and upon il hinges
in large measure the whole future Of
a great religious denomination.
Without pretending TO theological
knowledge or Suhtlety the issue APP
pears from a standpoint of common
sense t0 present directly for Christian
answer the question. is the Bible a
dirinely nspired book, to be accepted
by mankind as the Word of Cod, abso-
mtcly and without appeal; or is it q
book of human origin. containing for
each person only such a message oC
in"pired truth as that persons intellect
is capable of graspinE?' DR.. Briggs,
If we understand the drift OF his teach
ings and belief. holds the Bible to be
only in part divine aud reserves for the
individual sinner the right to choose
which part he wishes 10 accept as di.
vine. 1t is as IL the criminal were u
ask Cor an option as To which statute
he should obey.
Putting the foundations of the Chris,
tian religion upon an intellectual basis
Wholly puts that religion upon paral-
lei with other subjects If mental cXer-
cte concerning which the greatest
minds win differ radically. 1t is wor,
thy of note that throughout the worlds
history intellect alone has done moth.
ing TO make for human progress. In
tellect rs cold, dispassonate, Gnalyti.
cal, It's whole tendency Is negative
Back of it must be a motive power if
results are to be achieved. Intellect
backed by the sentiment of attachment
to country, becomes patriotism. Intel.
lect, backed by loSe, reverence an,
faith, becomes religion and leads mer
TO untold lengths in their endeavors Il
benefit their fellow men. Intellect with.
out these warming influences is as tn,
moon compared with the sun-an orl
that is dead.
In attacking faith, however con,
scientiously: in moving for the substi
tuition Of purely intellectual insteaC
OF intellectual and emotional stand
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

to the theatcr and dancing and amuse-
ments generally, says the bishop. "we
are heartily in sympathy with st.
Paul, who says all things are lawful for
me. but all things are not expcdicnt.'
Holy things for holy men, Is the safe,
sound principle. The theater is ordinar-
lily. no place for the priest of Christ, not
because IT is indecent, or lewd, or i'm.
moral for IL IL be such It is no place for
any one, but because IL is unsuted to mis-
vocation who ministers the saCraments
and whose offices are needed by the bed
side Of the sick at the hour of death and
by the open grave. For the same rea-
sons the priest ought to take no part
In the social dance. II Is not bentting
the dignity and sobricty which become
him who breaches the blessed Gospel aud
celebrates the holy eucharist. our plea
Is not for the theater. or dancing or
amusemcnts, but for the Young, that they
may not he misled as to the distinction
between good and evil, and so plunge
recklcsly into sin, and for our people,
that they may not have their moral vis-
ion confused and so lose their way be-
tween right and wrong"
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
ADJUSTMENTS AND MORALS.

From Champaign, ILL.,, Dispatch 20 the
St. Louis Globe Democrat.
The Rt, Rev. George +. Seymour, bishou
OF the diocese Of Springfield, has just
put through the press here, for distribI-
tion among the parishes In his diocese
a pamphlet on "Amuscments in Their
Relation to Religion" The bishop says:
at is not necessarily wrong 10 sing, to
laugh, to make merry with our friends,
20 play games. These things may be
wrong because We make them wrong,
but In themselves they are not wrong. -
Summing up the case of dancing. he says;
Dancing is not inherently evil any
more than money is, or the drama Is, or
music Is, 1t may he, and often is,
abused There are lasCiyous dances and
there are bad people who dance, and
there are occasions when one ought not
10 dance. So, precisely, are there lcwd
songs, and improper plays, and vile pur-
poses to which money II put but these
are not arguments against the legitimate
use of music, or the drama, or money.
So, precisely, with dancing, II comes un-
der the same category, and one can no
more consistently condemn dancing tElu
he can condemn money or music, or he
drama.
LAS regards the clergy in their relation
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
American Tea.

can the United States raise its own
tea? This is question which just now
Is receiving the earnest attention Of the
agricultural department at Washing
ton. Our importations of tea average
100000 pounds each year, and rep
resent an expenditure of from $4,000,
900 to $4,000. 900, not counting railroad
froightS and the profits of the middle
men and retailers. If this money or
good part of it could be kept ut home,
it would obviously be considerable
adNantaae.
Secretary Wilson, We learn from a
Washington letter printed in the
Times Herald, recently returned from
a visit tn the tea farm of DR.. Charles
4. Shepard at Summerville, 5. G., and
he has been convinced by the success
of that experiment that the United
States can grow its own tea. These
plants We're introduced by the Agri-
cultural department under Commits
sioner J.e Due, but no effort has been
made by the government to spread the
industry. Dr. Shepard has about fifty
''N 10 III va t'ldllNS1 Il'lll NblCh I'VE 50
cured $500 pounds Of superior black tea
last year. lie does not attempt To
compete with the cheap products Of
the Orient, but produces tea that
sells readily for 81 a pound. He util-
izeS negro labor and Incidentally main
tains school for the black children.
Secretary Wilson's Investigations con-
vince him there is a zone of territory
through the South well adapted to the
culture of tea. 1t will be his work to
import choice varieties CT plants from
| China, and to get men of learning to
study the industry with a view TO
giving American planters thorough
knowledge o. tea culture. lie will try
to persuade southern land owners ia
embark in tea growing. ami he wfll
also strive to enlist capital by practi.
| cal demonstrations of the profitable
! ness OF the now field OF endeavor.
II Is nos the secr5tarys expectation
tsat American grown tea will be able
| to compete with the cheaper grades
/ Of the imported product, but he be-
| lieves thai the finer grades can be
grown as successfully in the southern
states az in China. It. is to be hoped
| that his confidence will be justified By
results.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
An Instructive Biography

The present tour of the Buffalo Bill
Wild West show, announced 10 be the
last 50 far as the people of America
are concerned, the final exhibitions TO
be given in Paris during the Paris eX-
position after which Colonel Cody will
permanently retire from the entertain
ment field, calls to mind the fact that
an accurate biography of this cele-
bratcd pIainsman and scout has at last
been written. 1t is the work of his sis
ter. Mrs. Wetmore, of Duluth; and 1t
separates the facts in Colonel Cody's
evcntful career from the innumerablc
fictions which have accumulated
around his well-known name.
VIM L. Cody, apart from his per-
sunal merits. is Of interest TO Ameri-
cans and especially to the younger
generation. ON account of the fact that
hc is the most conspicuous embodiment
Of an era in American development
which, though fast receding into the
distance, is nevertheless deserving or
attentive study. 1t will soon become
merely memory--those pioneer days
| Of the stage coach, the Indian trail,
the Canvass-topped caravans of home
seekers crossing the unpeopled ex-
pansc of the Great American Desert,
the buffalo herds and the Indian war
| partics-a memory needing an accurate
/ biography of such man as Cody TO
| keep it vivid and preserve it for the
| future.
| Our western plains have succumbed
! to civilization. our new frontiers have
been established far out to sea. The
| Codys of the future will do their
| hazardous pioneer work in Porto Rico
Cuba and and the Philippines, under
now conditions and wholly different
! surroundings. But while Cody is with
! us we can still honor the men and the
| spirit of the men who conquered our
own great waste space and linked its
natural wealth to the plough, the
steam engine and the electric motor
These men were the first American
eHpansionists.
L.. l. 4.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
Fish or Cut Bait.

citizens who favor prompt and et-
fcctiye street repairs citizens VIM
are tired of paying big repair pll's OH
vehicles and tired of hiring two horseS
and. two drivers to do the WORK that
one horse, with one driver. could 90 IL
the streets were in proper condition;
citizens who are unwilling to nave
thoir interests trinrd with by means
OF futile cement patches lasting day
and a night. business men VINO want
this paving question settled on ec"no-
mic busincss principles, By means "l
long-term, irunCiad contract with
responsible contractor. pIedginE con-
tinuulIs and effective care of the as
phalt, and who do not favor dragging
tltis question into Wastciul local poll
tics by means of n city repair plant
orbra.cd internationally in the interest
of ward statesmen and their relatives
and dcpcnlcnts.-cvery taxpayer OF
Scranton who can rise above small
pl1iudicVs ana take broad view "l
this messing issue should DE all means
attend the mass meeting called to as
of the Eoard Of Trade.
'Thc question Of street repairs has
got to a point where the city officials,
and more especially the mayor, must
fish or cut bait. Two years nave been
spent in useless fencing and puihbling
MeunWhie the streets have steadily
grown worse until today they are in
,1u nj a hb If, = l.
iohed corduroy roads that our pioneer
forefathers used to construct by telling
loss at right angles to the driveway.
This abominaLle condition of the
streets is "A sample of what councils
would be likely 10 do if put in control
of city plant. Judging by the past
repairs would be made by fits and
jerks and between times the public
could so hans.
The drmaSDGiCa. assertion Of oraCl"S
Of the brick paving trust that the con-
tract executed by the city with TIL.
Barber Asphalt company, the low bid
ders in the recent ODcn competition
is eXtravagant has been uvcrWhclrl.
ingly retutcd by plain facts and figures
lbhfh lIulll bIilCltl lcpOllS. W. Illdh'
the assertion now in full knowledge o
the conditions prevalent in other cities
and challenge contradiction, that AT tn,
pric" agreed upon in that contract
namely $17,5@J a year for ten years -th,
city at Scranton gets Il bargain in pay,
ing renewal and continuous repair,
better than that Uf any municipality
in the United States in tbs
same latitude, present condition al
its pavement taken into due ac
count. Il remains simply for the city
to enforce that contract and hold I'll,
contractors rightly to its rXactint
terms.
Unless this is done. and done prompt
ly, nobody can tell when the asphal
will be repaired, for if it is not Gon,
litigation vii! follow ard delay vii
follow upon delay.
When it comes to sclf-praise tn,
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
SCRANTON. MAY 1S, 1899.

If the West side board of trade has
trustworthy figures TO prove lhat
city repair plant would under existing
conditions involve an economy in the
necessary treatment Of the dislhle-
grated asphalt streets of our city II
should make them public without de-
Law. If it has these it has something
f,r which the entire country has for
years been searching in Naln'
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

Both New York and San Francisco
have put forth so many reasons why
Dewey should first land at their ports
that it may he necessary for the adj
miral to land at New Orleans and sail
up the Mississippi for a distance in
order to avoid trouble.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

1t will be observed that Admiral
Dewey has not accepted any OF the dim
ncr invitations Internationally. He re-
serves the right to take TO the woods
before the condition of his digestive
organs makes him a mark for the
patent medicine photographers.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
REXFORD'S.-
May I3.

way I3.
Now that delicious strawberries
are with u.s. again. have yon tea
spoons plenty The reason we
ask is that two ladies came in yes
terday in great haste, saying :
Company with us and our spoons
look horrid." Plenty here at Rex
ford's. Satisfactory prices.
Sterling silver, six for $3.50.
Rogers & Bro, six for Soc.
Berry Forks.
Derry Servers.
Berry Bowls.
THE REXFORD CO.,
1872 Wyoming Ave.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

1t is but fair to Governor Thomas,
of Colorado, to say that he repudiates
the interviews which credited him
with threatening to sue the national
administration for its tardiness in mus
tering out the Colorado volunteers.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13
The Ethics of Silk Weaving.

Some Of our state exchanges arc in
the throes of editorial controversy
upon the moral influence of the silk
mill, and the question as to whether
;he weaving of silk has tendency to
make q young man or woman immoral
Is being discussed with considerable
gravity. As an outlet for deep thought
| that might otherwise become tangled
upon subjects Of more complicated
nature. the morality or immortality of
the silk mill is probably as useful a
! theme for consideration as any other.
| The editorial thinker who can define
the heXagonal whereabouts of the hex
| amera vhereness of the unseen can
doubtless find much in the way of men,
! tai gymnastics i'm celebrating upon
| the morals of the rising generation.
| 1t may be that the silk worm of today
once sported in voluptuous luxury in
/ ages past. as an attendant OF
| Cleopatra OF a lady friend OF
/ King Solomon. and has started
anew on the road of theosophical pro-
| sression preparing TO some day again
| appear on earth in regal splendor ar
| rayed in the fabric that ii now so IN
dustriouslv spins. 1t may be that the
/ tiny inhabitant of the cocoon imparts
| to the almost invisible thread the sub
| tie influence Of IA past existence OF
vice which is unconsciouslv absorbed
| by the weary attendant at the spindle
ami causes her to forget the hum and
clatter of machinery and dream OF
| lotIs blossoms and red wine. Who
knows But it would seem to the ordi
nary visitor TO a silk mill that the
awful racket made by the revolving
wheels and the odors of bleaching acids
and grease would be sufficient prompt
| ly to subduo any such influences, should
! they put in an appearance. The pro-
found editors throughout the state may
demonstrate that it is otherwise. If
| they do not they may at least sue
ceed in exhibiting their own folly.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

but common sense is safer remedy
The sufferer from headache who
wants 10 take drugs had better go
directly to n competent physician and
have the drugs administered intelli-
usnt1N
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

the Potter committee. and unavailable
for the more prominent Republicans,
so well that he made his mark where
ali the house could see It. From that
time on he climbed. slowly. but stead
lily to the leadership ot the house. The
great intellectual force appeared first
in committee work, aud then as he be-
gan TO take part in debate his master
ful personality impressed the house,
which saw in him perhaps the most
effective debater of our time. His Wis
dom. so solid and substantial, his par
liamcntary learning, so comprehensive
and concise; his wit, SO quick and
keen. all employed with such deNtcrity
and grace, gave him an early mastery.
--O--
In ten years he had reached the fore
front Of the battle. His election as
speaker was simply the ratification of
the natural selection of the house, even
though he had none Of the popular
ways of his rival, Mr.. Mckinley. Al
though it is ten years since the begin
ming of his first speakershir. it was
so remarkable that it is s,lll familiar.
Speaker Reed reformed the business
methods of the house so thoroughly
the next congress by the men who had
denounced them. and although there
has been a movement for decreasing
the power of the speaker, it is not so
much directed against the Reed rules
as against that rule adopted years be-
fore, In the Forty-sixth congress, civ
ing the speaker absolute control Of
the question as TO who shall have the
tn l. Iy, fDnE
was the manner of the man in doing
the thing 81 autocratic. naughty and
contemptuous, the fierce courage which
rose with opposition and fought ire
sistibly that made his rules seem more
arbitrary than they were and mad
dened the opposition to blind fury. Mr..
Reed did not plan it all in advance, as
is generally supposed. and he would
nave gone at it in more conciliatory
fashion and with less sweeping results
II 1t had not been for the way he was
Fought from the floor. The Democrats
showed from the first a disposition to
take undue advantage of the very
small Republican majority. and this
reused Reeds Indignation and widencd
his purpose.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

The friends of Brigadier General
Funston who insist upon dragging that
intrepid soldier and fighter into poll
tics are more to be feared by him than
Aguinaldo's entire army. Let us not
forget that few good soldiers have
made shining success in politics.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

Four men were killed during the set
tlcment of a doctors bill at Okolona,
Miss. The bills of Mississippi doctors
seem TO he more dangerous than their
medicine.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

1t is now gravely stated that the
cruiser Chicago was not sent to Tan
cier to demand payment OF American
claims against the government of Nor
occo. The cruiser simply stopped there
On a trip around Africa, and the ap-
feel liberal.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

Before Scranton undertakes TO en-
tertain Admiral Dewey 1t had better
repair its streets otherwise the gal
lana admiral might imagine himself
in Il Spanish city.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

The death Of a woman in Allegheny
county from the effects of headache
powder" has suggested that more
stringent ls-Hs be passed to guard the
sale of such nostrums.- II is possible
that there is need OF such legislation;
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

1t has been proposed to set apart one
day in Washington's peace jubilee to
be known as Sampson dav. in honor
of the successful commander Of the
North Atlantic squadron. The sug-
gestion merits Endorsement. Admiral
Sampson unquasrionably has not yet
received due popular recognition of
his efficient work in the war with
Spain.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

The crisis came suddenly one day
when he saw that he must take the
new course on the question then pend
ing in the house or abandon all his
hopes for improving the rules and prac-
ticc in the house. He had not had time
to talk with a few Republicans whom
ne considered doubtful on the uues-
tiOn. and three of whom could change
the majority and defeat him, but he
felt That he was right and that they
would soon see it, and anyway that
party loyalty would probably bind
them to support him. So he sprang the
new ruling on the surprised house met
the tremendous uproar on the Demo-
cratic side unflinchngly. and so COM
mitted the Republicans that not one
of them could escape. From that time
on Speaker Reed was absolute master
or the situation, and lie went farther
than he had intended in developing
his reforms. II was a most character
istically American thing that Mr.. Reed
had done, and ii was not strange that
IL gradually mauc him presidential
candidate. although his popularity has
always been of very different sort
from that of President Mckinley. II
mas been greatest among the more in
tellcctual classes, and greatest of all
among newspaper men. who are at
once the best and severest critics OF
statesmen.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

1t is not too much to say that Mr..
Reed was tho most intercstin man in
Washington, as well as the greatest in
telleCtually. by the confession of his
associates in public life and that no
one will ever take his place. All the
candidates for the speake rship put to-
gethcr would not equal him. although
they are all men of more than average
ability and attainments, and some Of
them of long and successful experience
in congress. But they would be the
first to recognize that Mr. Reed stands
unique. There is a great deal of hui
man nature i'm Mr.. Reed. and he has his
weak points like everybody else. but
his strong qualities are those that most
men admire most greatly and include
some of the finest traits of our race.
Just because he is human, however
he doubtless acted from mixed motives
in leaving Washington for New York,
and 1t is amusing to see the eXplana.
tlons furnished for him, even by those
who know him, on the theory that IL
was some one reason which determined
ms course. He is 1!or man, as he
himself has said over ana over again.
even though he has had a comfortable
ilCoIle lOI the last year or two, and
without doubt the opportunity to Sc
cure modest fortune for his wife
and daughter, to whom he Is devoted in
a way that cannot be put into cold
print. was an important consideration.
Doubtless, too, he felt that he had
done all that he could hope To do as
speaker of the house under present con-
ditions, and that he was weary of A.
situation in which he was forbidden
both by party etiquette ana parliament
tary precedent to speak on the lloor
or even through articles in the maga-
zines or interviews in the newspapers
against party policies which he strong
ly disapproved. Doubtless, toe, he
realized that New York city was n
very much better place for a presl-
| dental candidate than Portland Me-,
| and that ii was quite possible that i'm
1904, if not sooner, the lightning might
strike him in his new law offices.
Ii is not difficult to imagine a sud
! den and now unexpected turn of cir
| cumstances which would make him a
| formidable presidential candidate next
! year, and 1t is entirely easy to see him
in Imagination the Republican candl-
date four years later, for at g. he will
| be as young as most men at "a, with
! his splendid constitution. spirits and
| habits. The only thing to emphasize
| is that he has left Washington trium-
| phant and not defeated.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

An elderly seaman, living Parkman Street. in
Dorchester. Mass has struck his due share of shadows
and mseres. 81 am old man-of-war's man. he saws
"sixtythree years old, and with very bad stomach
have tried Rpans Tabues and found great relief there
FROM but can not afford to buy those put up in bottles SO
please send me two dozen cartons in paper packages for
which ncose ninetysix cents. They do r1ore good
than anything have struck"
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-13

Those who think that holes in the
asphalt can be durably repaired by
the use of concrete are recommended
to study carefully the object lessons
supplied on Linden street. Facts are
always more convincing than theories.