davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

When Stephen Sears, of New Haven,
Conn, made his will he was without
children and he left all his property
to his wife, with the proviso that in
case of issue the will was to be revoked.
When he was SO years old a child was
born to him, but he forgot all about
his will and died without making an
other, and now, though his child lived
only 20 hours, letters OF administration
have been issued 10 a relative as If no
will had ever existed.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
THR PRTNcIPAL IssUE.
Az the Democratic Platform says Z
Is Imperialism, and Not
18 to /.

The democratic convention wasright.
and wise in declaring that 'sthe burning
issue Of imperialism" is "the para
mount issue of the campaign"
It is the way Of the American people
to settle one issue at a time. In the
war of 1861 the one object Of the north
was to save the union. Everything else,
as Lincoln so often said, was a side is
sue. In 1898 the one object of the ma
ton in going to war with Spain waa
to free Cuba. Other consequences were
not considered.
In all our presidential elections n
issue has been ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ing. In 1860 it was to stop the extern
sion of slavery into the territories. In
1864 it was to sustain the government
in prosecuting the war, In 1868 it was
to ''preserve the fruits of the war;" In
1876 it was reform-the battle cry Of
Tilden. In 1884 the election turned
mainly upon the political character Of
James G. Blaine. In 1892 the dominant
issue was the odious Mckinley tariff,
In 1896 it ives, of course, free silver at
Is to 1.
This year, as the Kansas City plat.
form truly declares, "the paramount is
sue" is "the burning issue of imperial
ism, involving the very existence Of the
republic and the destruction of our free
institutions" Surely nothing can be
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
more paramount or mor fundamental

more paramount or more fundamental
than this.
Why, then, is there any question
that this is the matchmaking issue?
Why did Mr.. Mckinley in his speech Of
acceptance so promptly accept the
challenge of the 16-to-1 plank in the
democratic platform and seek-to make
that again the paramount issue? Is
it not, as the Brooklyn Eagle so acutely
says, because honest money Is a uni
Versal interest 2" Is it not because the
shrewd republican managers know
that ten hesitating voters will vote to
protect their money and property to
one who will vote upon so splendid an
abstraction as equal liberty and a re-
public true to itsideals?
With Mr.. Bryan himself rests the de-
termination of the question whether
"the paramount issue" shall be in fact
paramount. Mr.. Mckinley, by his
frank declaration of the republican
purpose to hold and to rule the Philip
pines by supreme oassfae
the constitution-regardIess of the eff
feet of this poisonous graft OF. empire
upon the healthful stock of the repub-
lic-renews the inestimable o~pportun-
ity to make "the burning issue of i'm
perialism' the pivot of the election
N. Y. World,
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
POINTS N OPINIONS.

One of the most grateful results
of democratic victory this year will
be the elimination of Mark Hanna as
a dominating figure in American pub
lie ife.--St. Louis Republic.
Every list of killed and wound
ed that m TO us from the Phil
ippines is a record of unjustifabIe cru
city to our WI sons and adds to the
longchapterof dishonor with which the
Mckinley administration has darkened
our national annals.-Atlanta Journal.
Mr.. Bryan is a dangerous man.
He is a man Of the people, and that
sort of a man should not be allowed to
go at large these times. He might
intrude himself in some rude way upon
the palatial repose Of a protected mo-
nopoly and smash some of its crock
ery.-Coiumbus CO., Press-Post.
There is every reason to believe
that the south will be solid for BRYAN
and Stevenson in November. Ken
lucky, Maryland and West Virginia.
will follow North Carolina In giving An
increased democratic vote %suficient 20
place them again firmly in the demo-
cratic column.-Buffalo Courier.
Democracy is not making a cam
paign of apology and explanation thia
year. Apologies and explanations are
the chief products of the republican
machine in this campaign. The repub-
lican machine has a patent on that sort
Of thing now, and democracy has no
disposition to infringe upon it.-0maha
WOrld-Eorald
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06


n. L. Ragne, who discusses many
facts in connection with the Chinese
on .eoo5n that are of inter-
est just at present,
Chinese thinks the Chinese
Sunday school should go, and in the
Chicago Times-Herald tells why;
sThe Chinese Sunday school class in
American churches will probably be.
abolished-it should never have been
instituted. The youngest and pretti-
est or most charming Of American so
ciety girls were the instructors, and
each Chinaman must have a teacher
to himself. He made handsome pres
ents to his instructor, fell in love
promptly and bestowed his attentions
until father or brother interfered and
stopped further demonstration. Their
education proceeded as far s reading
a verse from the Bible in an unknown
dialect. After Sunday school they fin
ished the day playing poker-they
were heathens, A lady who had seen
one of the celestials in gorgeous
clothes at the G Street church called
at his laundry to have him send to her
hotel for the weekly wash, when this
dialogue ensued: you stlangerP"
Eyes" Then bling pHceman-he
know you-me not"
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
SOW HAD THE ADVANTAGE.
ais Reputation as an Athlete MADE
Him better known Than his
studiOus Father Was.

William Scott, Of Pittsburgh, who has
been brought SO prominently before the pub
lie recently through being Mr. G~arnegteB
lawyer in the famous NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
controversy" between Frick and Carnegie
asked one question too many the other day.
Everyone interested in legal affairs knows
how the two millionaires V always con-
suited the same law firm because their IN
terests were identical, and that when the
split came this firm, Of which Judge Reed,
president Of the Lake Erie railroad, is the
head, refused to take sides with either client
and that new attorneys had to be chosen,
Mr.. Carnegie chose Mr.. Scott, a brilliant and
weIl-known Princeton alumnus Of the class
Of '69, saws the Philadelphia Post.
On June9, at the opening of Nassauss COM
mencement, when Princeton took the base
ball championship from Yale and young
King Scott, Mr.. Scott's son, had the honor
of being substitute pitcher for H%ldebrand,
Mr.. Scott was among the favored guests.
Mr.. Scott is fond of getting evidence from
people. and when a freshman who idolized
King Scott came up to shake hands with the
father after the game Mr.. Scott asked him
what he thought was the best thing IN coll
lege life.
6Athietics, sir" was the freshman's eager
answer. cts the greatest thing Of all. 1t
does a fellow no end of good
"And why athletics?" insisted MIR: Scott:
"Well, sir" was the answer, tit Just this
way: / guess you were a good student here
Mr.. Scott, and read a heap e books-but
nobody has ever heard Of you, and the whole
world knows about King"
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
gometbInr Tor AM seasona,

ing a story at the expense of the wife of one
Of the members man who had suddenly
arisen from poverty to comparative af-
auence through a garbage contract. A new
house had been purchased in a good neigh
borhood, and the wife spent many busy days
in furnishing it. When she reached the
item Of mattresses she went to a big depart
ment store or Market street and made
known her wants to a polite salesman. 81
presume, madam" ne said, that you waut
the best spring mattresses" mot at ALL"
was the quick retort. 'YOu needn't think
because I'm rich I'm easy. A spring mat
tress, indeed! Sure, ] want mattresses you
can use in spring, summer, autumn and
winter. I'm not buying a mattress for every
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
a Renub1Lcan subterfure.

The managers of MI. McKinley's can
vass for a second term apparently are
planning "a business scare as the
most convenient means to the end
which they have in view. For the pur-
pose of forcing large contributions to
the campaign fund in the first instance
and of stampeding the voters ultimate
" they seem to be striving to excite
the public mind anew on the silver
question. There is manifest a DISPOSE
ton among them to divert political
discussion from the concrete problems
Of the hour to what is at present an
idle and untimely abstraction. In
other words they are doing their Ut
most to make the country believe that
the free coinage of silver Is involved
In the result of the election in Novem-
Der, and are employing premises and
conclusions which are equally Rcti-
tioUs-Boston Globe.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The door of a big safe in the Ken
lucky state treasurer's office became
damned in some way and several skilled
mechanics vainly tried for days to open
it. Then a messenger was sent to the
penitentiary and came back with a
gentleman whose ability to open safes
had procured him board and lodging ut
the states expense for e heightened
period. In just two minutes the door
stood open and the successful expert
was allowed to grin at the mechanics
who had failed.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
intelligent stage Drivers.

A New York visitor returned recently
from Newport full of admiration for the in
telligence Of the stage drivers who undertake.
to show strangers the sights of the town. He
was driving about in one of the vehicles de-
voted to the entertainment of those who I'M
dertake to see the sights of the town mex
pensiyely. The driver stopped before one Of
Smith-Jones' villa" said the driver, as he
turned to the passengers, "and the lady in
the red hat by the corner of the piazza is
the younger Miss Smith-Jones, whose en-.
gagement to Mr.. Brown was announced yes
terday." The New York visitor had never
before met stage drivers so anxious to have.
their patrons enjoy themselves.--N. Y. Sun.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

An association Of Chicago bachelors
has been formed to establish a home Of
this description: Home should mean
a nice, neat and comfortably furnished
fat or house, which a man may call his
own, at least for the time being, where
he can make a racketif he desires with
outbeing afraid of disturbing anybody
else, and where he can throw of col
lars, cuffs and Shoes and stick his feet
on the parlor table without shocking
q lot Of silly prudes."
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Judge Finn Of the first municipal
court, New York, is one of the coolest
poker players on Manhattan Island.
A case was before him the other day
IN which the defendant refused to pay
a poker debt Of $s2, The judge asked
what poker was, and five lawyers,
with all Of whom he has often played,
d~ihdently opined that it was played
with cards. rs it a game of chance? %
inquired the court. "That depends
altogether on how good a player the
other fellow is" answered n of the
lawyers, mildly. After much consul
tation the court gave a verdict for
plaintiff.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The good fellow" girl Is here.
There Is no doubt about that. She
wears short skirts with hip pockets in
them, heavy yellow shoes and she says
"d-n." She has a mannish stride,
takes long steps, swings her arms and
wears a polka-dot four-in-hand neck
scarf and a white fedora hat, says the
Boston Herald. She talks horsey,
awnings a golf club, gets anut-brown tan
on her arms, and has command Of the
entire vocabulary of sporting talk. She
knows all about men, but wouldn't
know how to hold a baby If her life de-
pended on it. She does all this to earn
the title Of good fellow" under the
impression that It makes her more pop
ular with men She feels that she must
allure men from their clubs, and in or
der to do this and enjoy his comrade-
ship she must be as near like him as pos
sible.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Thirty-seven yearsag Henry Thomp-
son, now living in Smith Center, Kan,
mailed from the camp Of his regiment
in Missouri a letter to his brother in
Iowa. Last week this letter was re-
turned to him from the dead letter Of
fee at Washington, and in a matter-of-
course way, as though the letter had
just been received, the department in
formed MI. Thompson that his brother
could not be found. Mr.. Thompson is
at a loss to know how the department
procured his Kansas address, unless it
was taken from the records Of the pen
sion Office.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

A recent number Of a popular society
journal says that according to the Al
or..... ,,r R,.n manacA de Gotha,
there are IN Europe
II unmarried prime
eesses Of the blood royal and only ~
princes Of manageable age, and adds
that this affords "a chances for rich
Americans to start royal families Of
their own. This information is inter
esting, says the Chicago Tribune, and.
the rich Americans will doubtless be
grateful for the kind feeling that
prompts it, but it is safe to predict
that not even the specious sugges-
tion Of starting royal families Of
their own win incite Americans to
action. They know too well that
starting royal families Of their own
means the being grated on to and
eventually swallowed up, identity and
all, by the parent stem, and rather than
accept m end 80 ~inglorious they will
stop at home and be proud heads Of
proud though unroyal families. AM
other factor that enters too largely in
70 the matter to be ignored is the homo
market. So far g has all that the most
fastidious could desire. and II the "a
luchless p-rinCesses would catch rich
American husbands they win have to
throw out far more alluring and sub
atantial bait than that Of the estab-
fishing Of royal families.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Under a patent recently granted the
handles of forks and knives are utilized.
for the storage Of salt and pepper, each
handle being formed Of a tube, which
has spring clips to hold It on the
shank, with an internal reservoir for
the salt or pepper, which is shaken
through the ends.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

To all who have been seasick come
tidfngs Of encouragement. The Sax
onia, with more than a thousand pas
sengers aboard, recently steamed into
Boston harbor on her maiden trip. The
health officer climbed aboard. "A clean
bill" said the captain, "and not a soul
seasick," Many of us can now put to
yea without a tremor.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
g25,OOO For Flying Machines.

The American government is to devote
$4,000 to the purpose of experimenting
with flying machines to ascertain their prac-
.ticablity for use in the army. This is q
large sum to use for an experiment, and yet
it cannot compare with that spent uselessly
by those who experiment with various so.
called dyspepsia cures. Take Hostetter'R
Stomach Bitters and avoid expense and un-
certainty. 1t is made expressly to cure cone
stipation, dyspepsia, and all stomach disor~
dare
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

One Of the bulletins of the depart
ment of agriculture mentions a sim
pie Australian remedy for ~cockroach-
es. It consists in feeding the insects
upon a mixture of -four and plaster Of
paris which, it is said they greedily
devour. The plaster Of paris "sets"
after they have swallowed it, and that
Is the end Of them.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06
Ten
Years
Pain

~ am a school feaOhar,
Rave suffered agony
EfoRfllly for ten years.
"My nervous system
was q wrecks Suffered
with pain In my SIDE and
bad almost every m
known B8ad Taken GFsaf-
E1anf from q number or
Observation-Disclosures
no relief
Gone specialized SAID ma
naGd6GLDO GOULD help nae,
IA M5Naf 8Wbn1h Ia an
operation
~ wrote "a Mrs Pink
hagRlg aRpP
E9o9aNGa q PFOlR1pG nanlWy
took Lydia e. RRkdbamSSR
Vegetable 0ORspOUne9 angF
1DllOW68 M9 advice WFWam
me- ana now 4 suffer 40
E1DH9s ~ any one cares
Go KNOW more about naw
0as8g Z va OhaePfvVv
answer all y.
Mss EDNA Ellis HIG-
GAI9pOFE Ohio
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The census enumerator at vine1and,
N. J., T. W. scull, did not anticipate
when he entered the service Of the gov
eminent that his duties would include
the naming Of babies. Such Is the case,
however. Some of the prosperous but
Woodworking farmers and their wives
evidently do not concern themselves
much about the naming Of their chill
dren. In several instances Mr.. Scuu
found that after the father had called
his children together. as II they were
q brood Of chickens, some Of the young
est had no Christian names. Then for
the first time the fond parents saw the
need Of early naming their offspring,
and the census man was asked to give
each a name, which he did.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The town Of somerville, No, is for
sale to the highest bidder. No taxes
have been paid for years and the prop
erty valuation Of the place has dwin-
died from 100000 in 1880 to $4,000
in 1900 Good chance ror the fellow
who is trying to acquire the globe to
get a start.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

A New England critic remarks that
the people Of the west like books pos
sessing "a red-blooded obiectivity." If
that means literature with real merit
and live interest the opinion is correct.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The golf walk is the very latest. It
Is described as a l~oose-iointed stride;
Tapping arms, a "poked" neck and
head, and a queer fat-chested car
rage are its leading characteristics.
You T nobody, Of course, unless you
have it.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Copake, N. Y, had a decided novelty
in the way of social diversion recent
Iy. The citizens organized a "tomb-
stone bee" and, going to the graveyard,
Strengthened up all the topping mon
uments and headstones. Following
out their original streak, they then
returned to town and wound up. the
evening with a dance.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Reports from Paris indicate a disas-
trous financial outcome for the expo
dtion- Besides the meager patronage
of the ''side shows" foreshadowing
heavy losses by the proprietors, it is
said the daily attendance is not more
than half Of what the management
counted on. The truth is, the EXPOSE
ton business has been overdone in re-
cent years, and ever worlds fairs are
becoming an old story.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

At the present time the United
States have nor warship tonnage I'M
der construction than ever before in
the history of the country in time Of
peSce. TIE new vessels building or
authorized include 10 Of all classes, 12
Of which are battleships, six a r
mored cruisers, nine protected tor.
pedo-boat destroyers, Is torpedo
boats, seven submarine gunboats and
one lake gunboat.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Business is booming in Severance,
Kan, to judge from an announcement
in the News of that place. The editor,
after gleefully calling attention to 'the
vast press Of advertising in our coll
umns," adds the following: "No room
for politics this week. viii simply an
nounce that Bryan and Stevenson were
nominated by the democrats for presi-
dent and vicepresident." Another Kan
a editor, creme in the impregnability
of his own r%ectitude, prints this para
graph: Our readers a safely turn
a deaf ear and a blind eye to what our
damnable contemporaries say Of u.s."
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

When a bolt Of lightning knocked
the Rev. Shepard Knapp, a Congrega-
tional preacher, Of New Haven, of the
wooden horse of a merry-go-round,
from which he was endeavoring to Sc
cure the brass ring, the capture Of
which would entitle him to another
ride free, he remarked, according to a
local exchange, as he picked himself
up, unhurt and somewhat startled
that he regarded the phenomenon as a
divine warning against playing games
Of chance.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

A respondent New Yorker spent his
last cent in paying his fare to Coney
Island, intending to jump off the pier
and drown himself. He was so cheered
by the sights Of gay Coney that he
walked all the way back, spent the
night in one Of the parks, got a job
next day and is now happy.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

A clever Arizona woman who cleared
over $500 the past a on the olives
which she herself prepared for market
has invented a special treatment which
bids fair to open a new Industry, Be
sides the olives prepared in the usual
anner she put up a large number,
using the same formula as for mustard
pickles These found a ready market,
the demand being far ahead OF the
supply. With the gathering Of the crop
Of October she is planning to make a
speciality of this new departure in
olives.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

In a Northampton CMass.) paint shop
the other day a bolt of lightning struck
the roof Of the building, and, flying
to the room where the painter was
painting a window, set it afre without
at all injuring the painter, who put the
fire out with his brush.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

An excursion party Of 1T persons
lately visited New York and it's
neighborhOod for two weeks at the
expense of their employer, W.. s..
Witham, who owns 80 banks and some
cotton mills in Georgia. Those m
ployes will hardly ever go out on a
strike.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The latest estimates indicate that tie
Kansas corn crop will amount to 1907
100000 bushels. 1t wiz be worth, at
the least calculation, $~6O,OOO,OOO. If
the sum realized from the sale Of the
crop should be divide@per capita, every
man, woman and child in the state
would receive $40. When this crop Is
shipped it win require 100000 box cars
to transport Ct. Divided into trains
OF IS cars the number would be over
$4,000. II it were possible to run all
the cars in n train they would make
a continuous string over 1900 miles in
length, reaching from Buffalo to To-
peka,
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Borrows-Easy, is hef
Graphter-Wel, I should say. I wrote
TO him once and asked him to lend me two
dollars. 1t seems I spelt 1.-TWO" I double o,
and forgot to cross the t, He sent me $780,
Philadelphia Press.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

a weu-to-do New York lawyer has
gone into training under a profess
aonal pugilist and wishes that after
q bit his instructor win hit him
Knockout" The lawyer has been re-
tanned in several cases where the
meaning Of Knockout" has been in
question and wants to obtain per-
sonai knowledge Of such a visitation.
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

The Japanese government through
an agent has just made very large
purchases of shoes, cloth anu iron for
the Japanese army in St. Louis, Mo.
Said the agent: "Our men will wear
American shoes and boots in China
and when they reach Pekin will hang
American shirts on the walls to drY.n
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Swinging a seythe is fine exercise
Just after sunrise, IL you can avoid ev-
erything save the grass, says an east
ern contemporary, who probably
knows The legs and feet seem to
have q quiet knack Of getting in the
ways and tie bad Tor them
The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1900-10-06

Iowa has an octogenarian a~ssocia-
ton, about so members of which re-
Gently attended a picnic, in Union
park Des MOines. No man under so.
Is eligible to membership in the So
ciety. The oldest member is N. A.
Bacon, of Des Moines, who is in his
lOlst