The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-17
IN HOTEL CORRIDORS.

This automobile craze is taking the
entire country said Ed Myers at the
National yesterday evening, land it is
not only the pleasure loving people who
have got the fever. was out in Cali
fornia last week and saw the automo-
bile used in a business way that is cal
culated to make the railroads think con-
corning their future. Getting their out
put from the mines to the railroad in
southern California has always been a
serious problem with the operators, but
the automobile will solve it sure as fate.
A big mining concern out there which
has been compelled to haul their stuff
miles over the desert with great wagons
TO which are hftched 40 mules, decided
to adopt the automobile and had one
built which is a wonder 1 suppose you
would call it an automobile but it is
really a gasoline truck which is of 10
horse power and will have five tons OF
material and an additional five tons in
a trailer, making ten tons the machine
will haul from the mines to the railroad.
The truck is 20 feet in length and feet
wide and with an average of 20 gallons
of gasoline a day will haul ten tons
from so to so miles. The tires are ten
inches wide and the machine makes it's
own road. It would not surprise me if
the automobile would revise the bust
ness of the country. At any rate, If they
improve the construction as they have
in everything else, and reduce the cost
OF the macnlne at the same time, the
only business left for the railroads will
be long hauls and they will have to re-
duce the rate on that"
There are a great many stories told
of Governor Eskridge," said a newspa-
per man at the Copeland last night,
land suppose there is truth in many of
them. He was very vindictive and if he
once disliked a man he never overcame
n Sz iC1i be f7r all IN rn41II to
get even. He was Lane man in early
days of Kansas and he thoroughly
hated Chas. Robinson and his friends.
He used to go to great lengths in the
local political fights in Emporia and
would accuse his opponents OF most
anything and in a number of cases
proved it. His enmity of Senator
Plumb, Major Hood, 1. E. Lambert and
w F. Ewing was always cropping out
in his paper ana was the result of po-
htical fights that had been forgotten by
mosS people 1 was in his office one day
and he got confidential as he sometimes
did. Do you see that safe?' he inquired.
That safe contains the history of lot
Of fellows around this town and when
they get too smart 1 will spring some
thing on them. l have got their history
from away back before they ever
dreamed of coming to Kansas and LOT
of it will make mighty racy reading 1t
was true and he held many a man in
check who would have gone contrary to
his past would be printed. For the past
eight years, however, he did very little
fighting and had no use for mis- ancient
history which he had sailed in an early
day.
"a great number of men lost money
on eggs last year." said a produce man
who was talking with a friend at the
Throop. ''They started in early to buy
eggs for the purpose of storing for spec
eXnPctln market
but they made a great mistake and 1t
seems to me any ordinary business man
should have known better. Eggs were
selling all the year at about II cents, the
price remaining there becaues the spec
ulatOrS were buying all the time and
storing. You know an egg can be stored
a year and then be as fresh as it was
the day it was put in. 1t costs about 2A
cents to candle, handle, and store eggs
and when you add that to the II cents
they paid, you can see how they came
out. And that doesn't include the in
terest on the money, for most of it was
borrowed capital. Eggs are reasonable
now and it is probable that the firms
that are storing will make some money.
Did you ever learn what the egg buyers
do with their dirty and misshapen
eggs? You know they don't pack that
kind. Nothing but the clean well shaped
egg is packed. Say that eggs are bring
ing cents on the market, the packer
will sell his dirty eggs to the grocer for
6 cents and the grocer can make money
by selling at s cents. This is why you
frequently see some grOcerS selling eggs
at cents while others are charging 10
cents. OF course the packer is losing a
little, but he can't use the dirty eggs in
his business and the fact that they are
selling at certain grocery store for 8
cents will keep the farmer from asking
more than that for his. It's very cute
scheme on the part Of the packer and
there is more money in it than there
would be in trying to wash the eggs or