davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
ACTRESSES AND THEIR DRESSES.

The actresses of Berlin have, accord
ing to a telegraph report, organized a
society known as the Central Associa-
ton of the Actresses of Germany, the
object of which is to provide for their
stage costumes Out of meager salaries
they are now obliged to provide in al
most all cases elaborate and costly
dresses. The drain upon their re-
sources is tremendous, and little or
nothing is left, when once they are
dressed, to meet their daily expenses.
The association proposes to appeal to
women of society, begging for court
and ball dresses that would otherwise
be discarded, to be donated outright to
the actresses or sold at low prices.
The wife of William |. used to give her
dresses to the women of the stage, and
the custom now prevails among the
rich Of BudaPesth. In our own coun-
try many young actress Of slender
means has dressed herself in clothes
once worn by women of the world.
These are often donated and many
times sold. A well known woman in
town used to tell that, unknown to her
husband, she had once been tempted
to sell her old garments to an agent,
from whom variety actress pur-
chased them. Among these clothes
was pretty cloak which the lady had
worn when her husband first saw and
fell in love with her. One night, some
months after the sale, this husband
and wife went together to a downtown
theater, and there on the stage before
them, much to the amazement of the
husband, was this cloak. A soubrette
wore it over her shoulders. The wife
had forgotten it, but the man proved
the vitality of his sentiments by recog-
nizing the garment at once, and re-
senting the dissertation of old associa-
tons. -Harper's Bazaar.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

Seattle Angles, SaXons, and Jutes.
The dialects of these tribes were much
alike, and were gradually woven into
one language, called Anglo-Saxon at
first, and afterward Old English (from
the most powerful tribe-the Angles).
But surely, when we study Latin
and French, we find large number
Of words that look like English words
Of the same meaning. Where did
these come from? English has always
been great borrower; and just as
England has colonies all over the
on the Queens dominions, so English
has words taken from all languages.
We have noticed that some Of the
Roman soldiers words were left in
common use among the Britons of the
fifth century; these were adopted, in
turn, by the Anglo-Saxons; and as the
Romans said strata via for a paved
way, SO the Anglo-Saxon said straet,
and we say street l wonder if
Caesar would recognize the word! In
597 some Christian missionaries went
over from Rome, and many more
Latin words were adopted by the
Saxons-"priest, church." psalms; +"
also words for plants and animals
lilly" pea" lobster trout"
In the ninth century the Danes in
vaded England, and left some Of their
| words.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

Building a ten mile canal is a small
matter these days, and never amounted
to much as a mechanical feat, but for
272 years the citizens of the bay
state have been talking, arranging,
surveying and legislating to accom-
plish that puny project, and today they
are as far distant from a realization of
the scheme as ever. Every few years
the talk dies out, and after consid-
cradle lapse begins again.
The necessity of the canal appealed
to the Pilgrim fathers and to all Of
the intervening generations, just as it
does to the people of today. That it
is a necessity no one has ever doubted;
the scheme has never been antagO-
nized publicly or privately; the en-
thusiasm of the people for the canal
has been wonderful and long enduring;
the needed money has been on tap sew
eral times, but the fiend of delay has
permeated the scheme with some pc
culiar brand Of witchcraft which eff
fectually interrupted the work.
Now for the history of this unpar-
alleled case in the most progressive
state in the most progressive country
in the world. Vessels bound from
points on one side of Cape Cod to
points on the other side are forced to
make long voyage around the cape,
one of the most dangerous peninsulas
along the Atlantic coast. In width the
peninsula varies from two to twenty
miles, and at various points small
rivers intersect it. To build the canal
would require merely the Improvement
of one of these rivers and its extern
sion to the open sea, the actual eXca-
waiting to be done being about three
or four miles, according to the place
selected. Right here it should be
stated that there has never been any
dispute about the location of the canal
all the people want is a canal. The
line of the canal most generally men
toned for the past two and half
centuries runs from the head Of Buzz
cape, to Barnstable bay, on the north.
The first talk of a canal began in
1925, when the Pilgrims at Plymouth
were forced to round the cape in their
small boats to purchase food supplies
of the Indians to the southwark. Sew
eral of their boats had been wrecked
in the tempestuous seas off the cape,
just as small boats are wrecked today.
For upward of fifty years the Ply
mouth settlers contented themselves
with talking, and then some brave
spirits actually mapped out route
as is evidenced in the records of Sam
/ uel Sewall, who says that in October
| 1876, Mr. Smith of Sandwich rode
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

something in the nature Of an occupa-
ton, suited exactly to the child's
capacity, will hold his attention for
All almost indefinite period. Such
occupations as pulling out the stopper
OF an empty vial and putting it III
again, taking pins out of pincushion
and sticking them in, winding and I'M
winding a spool of thread. emptying
and reilling dish with sand or water.
will give pleasure for half hours at d
time and for many hours in the ag-
gregate. The instinct for classify
ing and arranging is very early
awakened, and small objects are
placed in rows or in piles; pebbles and
shells assorted by size or color:
beads and buttons strung upon wires
or strings with never-failing enjoy
ment. Thu toys may be largely dis
pensed with to the child's positive ad-
vantage, and what he really needs is
a supply of play material, such as
sand, blocks, pebbles, seeds, small
boxes and bottles, paper and string.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
THE PEASANT OF PORTO RICO.

The life Of the peasant, the peon, of
Porto Rico is not dream of ease and
luxury; neither has he ever passed
through the nightmare of wretched
hunger and biting cold which adds so
vitality to the hardships of the poverty
stricken of northern chimes. In squalor
and filth, in crudity and ignorance, the
larger number Of the inhabitants go
through their comparatively short
lives; for one does not see many aged
people among them. They ole off
from fevers, contagious diseases, and
troubles handed down from sickened
forefathers, at comparatively early
age. At no period of the poor mans
existence can he suffer the fortunes of
starvation because his job of work has
given out, for, while during whole
months of the year he may not earn
a single centavo, he still has his little
plot of vegetables on the hill; then, if
worst comes to worst, or the land-own-
er turns him out, he may live on the
profusion of fruits and roots of the
forest, or, as is common practice of
the country, upon the fruits filched
from his more opulent neighbor. In
the dry season he complains of the
cold of early morning, yet he needs
but the merest rags to cover his naked
ness, for on no day in the year is it
colder than our mildest of autumnal
weather. Shoes are a useless burden
to his bare and sole-leather lined feet,
which have tro6den the rocky, briery
trails in their nakedness from infancy;
and hat, if he must have it, he makes
in his own house from the grass grown
around the doorway. The house in
which he is domiciled he builds in few
short days from poles and thatch and
bark rolls of the royal palm; and
good house it is, in spite of its primi-
tive appearance, for it screens him
from the colder winds of night, and
sheds the water Of the driving rains
like ducks back. -Harper's Weekly.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

into the feasibility of the plan, seem
ingly a needless work as it's feasibility
had been proven half a dozen times
during the previous century. This
committee was a notable one, however,
consisting Of the great John Hancock,
Thomas Russell, Azore Orne, William
Sever and Thomas Davis.
Two engineers, John Hills and
James Winthrop, were employed to
make surveys, and their report called
for canal fifteen feet deep and four
rods wide, with three sets of double
locks and two food gates, it's outlet to
be in Buzzard's bay, at the mouth of
the ManOmet river, and it's course to
follow the course of the river to the
present village Of North Sandwich;
then to continue to the head waters of
the Scusset river, and from there to
Barnstable bay. The estimated cost
was placed at 971OO0, or about $780,
900.
At this point in the history of the
canal the general court offered to
grant the charter to a company of
private individuals. Money was very
scarce, and no one came forward until
1898, when James Sullivan, afterward
governor, made petition, which, how
ever, seems to have been ignored. In
1903 an effort was made to induce the
legislature to offer some substantial
encouragement to private enterprise,
but nothing came of this and the
scheme languished. Next came the
war of 1872, and that caused further
pOStpOnement.
In 1918 the project was again re-
vived, and another survey confirmed
the findings of the engineers of 1871,
but nothing more was done until 1924,
when the matter was brought to the
attention of the national government,
and both houses of congress concurred
in resolution calling for new sur
vey by Maj. Perault of the United
States Typographical engineers and
the result was a second confirmation
of the plan of 1891. Then, in 1923,
the national board of internal i'm
provement visited the scene and rec
commended the Perault survey. But
the presidential election of 1928
changed the policy of the government
and gave death blow to the canal.
After this disappointment there was
such a slump in canal enthusiasm that
the scheme was not revived until 1860
when commission of energetic bust
ness men was appointed, and it really
looked as if the canal would become a
and that stopped everything.
Since then the talk has been re-
yived again and again, but the 272
year-old hoodoo seems to be as full Of
life today as ever.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
SOME VERY OLD WORDS.
The Debt of the English Language to
the Greeks, Romans, etc.

A Short Story Of the English Lam
guage is the title Of a page Of the
May ST. Nicholas, written by Jessie A.
Chase When Caesar went to Britain,
in So B. c. (and that is the first time
that we hear Of the Britons in his
tory, there was no such thing as the
English language. No; it is only
about twelve hundred years old. And
for the first hundred years or so it was
baby language! For it did not grow
to look and sound at all as it does
now until after 1000 A D. But where
and when was it born?
The Romans, from Caesars time on,
ruled large part of Europe. Spain
ruled a large part of Europe. Spain
and Portugal and France are still
called Latin" countries, as we'll as
Italy, because in all these regions the
Latin race and the Latin language be-
came supreme.
Not so with England. In the fifth
century the Roman soldiers gave il
adopted some of the Latin words. but
the language of the natives was old
Celtic. This, however, was not the
mother-tongue of English: the modern
forms of Celtic are Scotch-Gaelic
Irish, Welsh, Manx.
No; our English is the child neither
Of the Latin nor of the Celtic, but i:
| descended from an ancient Germani,
language brought TO Britain in tn,
fifth and sixth centuries by som.
| tribes from the shores of the Balti,
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

with me and showed me the place
which some had thought to cut for to
make a passage from the south sea to
the north
The agitation for the canal was evil
IDENTIFY kept at fever heat for the next
twenty years, for in October of 1897
the, general court Of Massachusetts,,
which had been petitioned about the
canal, passed the following resolu-
ton:
whereas, it is thought by many to
ton of men and estates, and very prof
table and useful to the public, if a
passage be cut through the land at
Sandwich from Barnstable bay, So
called, into Manomet bay, for vessels
to pass to and from the western part
of this country; ordered, that Mr.. John
Otis of Barnstable, Capt. William Bas-
set and Mr.. Thomas Smith of Sand
witch be and hereby are appointed to
view the place and make report to
this court, at their next session, what
they judge will be the general conven-
fences and inconvenience that may
accrue thereby, and what the charge
of the same may be, and probability
Of effecting thereof"
Unfortunately the canal advocates
rested on their oars after making this
progress, and never did anything to
prod the commission in its wark, al
though it was sadly in need of prod
ding, as there is no record of its ever
having made report.
After the lapse of many years, when
the settlers at last awoke to the fact
that the commission had accomplished
nothing, the agitation was renewed, as
IS shown by various entries of the fact
in the journals kept in those times.
There was nothing really done, how
ever, until 1776, when the colonial
government was in force and the con-
tinental army in the field. Those were
not propitious times for such an I'M
dertaking, but the enthusiasm of the
canal advocates was unaffected by the
adverse conditions.
A committee was appointed by the
general court, consisting of James
Bowdoin, William Sewers, Col. Free
man, Brig. Godfrey and a Mr.. Cush-
ing, and these gentlemen at once en-
ployed Thomas Machlin, the most
noted engineer of the time, to make
the needed surveys. Unfortunately
for the canal, Mr.. Machlin was at that
time in the service Of the army, and he
had hardly begun the work when he
received an order from Gen. Wash
ington recalling him to New York.
The continuance of the war blocked
further effort, and nothing more was
attempted until 1871, when another
committee was appointed to inquire
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

daughter She told him that her family
was unkind to her, it was said, and
she asked the ensign to come to her
aid. With Mr.. Osborne, the young
man went to Syracuse. He arranged
to meet and marry Miss Condo.
Ioung Mr.. Condo learned of the
plan, and notified Stone to be on his
guard, as he would exert force if
necessary to keep his sister from elop-
ing. Then Stone received letter
warning him to go armed. The en-
sign laughed. He said that this was
a palpable attempt to have him arm
himself, in order that the police might
arrest him for carrying concealed
weapons.
The ensign and his friend made
their plans again. Then they made a
sudden effort to carry them out. 1t
failed. The whole affair got into the
newspapers, and the Condos were in
furiated.
In New York the Condos desired to
meet the best people. They saw in
this affair bar to social advance
ment. They suddenly returned to
New York, and in few days a COM
plant was lodged against Stone at the
navy department.
Mr.. Stone laughed when he heard
it. He remarked to friends that the
Condos seemed to have il in for
him. Mr.. Condo was determined.
He pressed his complaint before the
secretary Of the navy, and young
Stone was asked to explain.
He did. Mr.. Condo insisted upon
court-martial, and the basis of the
charges was that the ensign and his
companion had been guilty of conduct
unbecOming officers and gentlemen.
When this court-martial was launched
the Condos sailed suddenly for Europe,
taking Miss Condo with them.
Ensign Stone was honorably ac-
quilted by the court They found that
he had acted with discretion. Mr..
Condo was condemned in some quar-
ters for having complained against
him, and then the incident was closed.
On Feb. %, 1898, the engagement of
Miss Condo was again announced.
This time the newspapers cautiously
went to her parents before publishing
it. Mr.. Condo said it was true, she
was engaged to Lebbeus Harding
Rogers, Jr., a wealthy young man
Ensign Stone, to all intents, was for
gotten.
The young couple were married May
II, 1898. The ceremony was perform
ed in the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian
church, and Rev. DR.. John. Hall Off
eating. 1t was highly fashionable in
detail, the bride appeared like any
other bride, and there was no sugges-
ton of the romance that had gone be-
fore. But all remembered young
Stone, who at that very moment was
lying off the Cuban coast waiting for
a sight of Cervera's fleet
After the ceremony Mr.. and Mrs.
Rogers travelled. A short time ago
she went to her fathers home at No.
West Fifty-sixth street. Two
daughters were born to her and she
died. linus ends her romance. Both
children will live.-New York World.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
DEATH ENDS ROMANCE.
Young Woman Whom Ensign Stone
so Ardently Wooed and Lost.


"Rogers-On May 6, 1899, at 6
West seth ST., Marie Condo Rogers,
wife of Iebeus H. Rogers, Jr., and
eldest daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. Swits
Condo. Services at house, Sunday,
May Z, at p. N. Burial at Oswego.
N. Y" Here in this simple notice
of death is hidden the final chapter
of a romance. Many will remember
Marie Condo Rogers, for, much against
her will, her marriage and the events
that led up to it bordered upon the
dramatic. In the spring of 1897 a
plainly worded announcement Of en-
gagement was sent to all the New York
newspapers. 1t was published stimuli
taneously in all Of them, and was in
effect that Marie Dorcas Swits Condo
would marry Ensign G.. L. P. Stone,
attached to the monitor Puritan. The
letters to the newspapers bore the
Swits Condo address and appeared
authoritative. On the following day,
however, Mr.. Condo descended upon
the newspapers with an emphatic de-
NAL
Up to that time Ensign Stone had
been welcome at the Condo home, No.
6 West Fifty-siXth street. But the
notice ended this. He was ordered to
keep his distance, and bit by bit the
facts leaked out that Mr.. Condo had
declared his enmity to the young En-
signs suit. The Condos left town.
They retreated to their summer home
at Oswego and were forgotten-for the
| while Then suddenly there was
fine row one night at Syracuse hotel,
and the principal characters in it were
Tom Condo, the young woman's broth
er, and Ensigns Stone and Osborne.
With this the whole story was told.
Ensign Stone had wooed and won Miss
| Condo. AS any other honorable man
would have done, he went to her
father. Mr.. Condo was enraged. He
| told the young man that he must cease
his visits, and that Miss Condo was
promised to another But the Ensign
persisted.
| Soon after the Condos left for Os-
wego he received a note from the
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
TO AMUsE A VERY YOUNG CHILD.

1t is the common experience Of all
who have had to do with babies of
three months old and upward that
they tire quickly of toys which can
only be looked at and handled, while
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
COST OF GOVERNMENT.

The United States, says the Provi-
dence Journal, has now become one of
the most extensively governed coun-
tries in the world, perhaps, indeed, the
most extensively governed of all.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

"Is Tommie any relation of yours?"
asked a gentleman of Bobbie Gle has
the same name as yours"
eyes," said Bobbie. "His papa mar
ried my mamma"-Harper's Bazaar.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18
AS TO QUAYS CASE
PROBABLE SEATING OF THE
PENNSYLVANIA APPOINTEE.
POPULAR IN SENAT

But Precedent is Strongly Against
Him, Yet Nothing Seems to be Set
tied in Our House of Lords, Ex-
cept That Nothing is Settled, De-
clares a Correspondent.
Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-18

The steamer Nashville has arrived
at st. Louis.
The record-union., 1899-10-27
HIGH SCHOOL PAPER.
Initial Number Issued by the Pu-
pills of That Institution,

THE High School Review" is the
title of a very neatly printed paper of
IA pages. the first number of which
has just appeared. The contents are
very creditable to the young people who
have undertaken it's publication, and
give promise Of even better things to
come. The Review" has very few of
the amateurish features so apparent in
most school publications, excellent
Judgment being shown in both it's Sc
lected and original matter. 1t will be
issued monthly.
The staff is as follows: Chief editor,
NJ. L. Van Norden, class of 1900; liter
airy editor, Alice L. White, 90; local
department, Orlando McCraney, 100;
exchanges, Miss Belle Coolidge, 90;
society editor, Miss Edna McClatchy.
'Ol; athletics, Otto Grau, '01; class re-
porters-Miss Meta Breckenfeld, 'O3. F.
l.. Griffin, '02, F. Biewener, 'O1, John
Miller, 90 business staff-Edward
Gerber, manager, and Harry Cotton and
George T. Beard assistants.
The record-union., 1899-10-27
A SEALED DOCUMENT.
Does It Contain an Order to Hang
Winters?

Governor Gage, accompanied by his
wife and Prison Director r. T. Devlin.
went up to the Folsom Prison yesterday
and spent last night there. The Gov
ernor had a long private consultation
with Acting Warden Murphy Before
retiring to rest the Governor delivered
to Clerk Brainard F. Smith a sealed
envelope, indorsed with direction that
it shall be delivered to Acting Warden
Murphy early this morning Presuma-
bly, its contents relate to the hanging
of Harry Winters, who is under SEN
tence of death to be executed to-day.
The question has arisen whether in the
face of vacancy in the Wardenship
there is any duly constituted person to
carry out the sentence and execute the
prisoner. Whether the sealed docu.
ment contains instructions upon this
question is purely a matter of specula
tion, the Governor making no express
sion upon the subject