Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-12
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.-rbe small boy and his sister will have
plenty of entertainment this summer, ex-
nla,rca n waIl-known amusement manager
to a S.ar reporter ''for the number of tent
shows already out and soon to start on
the road will he ten times as many as
during any previous summer In my recol-
lection This IL one of the results OF the
circus trust and the syndicate manage
ment of amusements. Last summer the
thing began. and as 1t was found TO pay
hundreds have embarked In II this season.
Since the circus trust began to get It's
work In times have been rather hard on
circus performers and those who nave 10
exist in the tented show business. Salaries
were cut down to the minimum, and If
they were not accepted ii meant no WORK
The performers had no appeal, for the
management of hall shows could only
handle a small percentage Of them and
only employed those who would work at
bedrock salaries. During the winter these
performers got their heads together ana
planned for the summer season on their
own hooks. OF course it was difficult to
get the capital together to purchase out
fits. tents wagons horses and other neces-
sarieS. but many succeeded. Most OF the
small shows will play for an admission OF
10 cents. with an extra charge for reserved
seats But some of them which are more
pretentious will charge - cents for gen
eral adniss.Cn. AS they are small and
comparatively easily lifted about the coun-
try they can work in small cities, towns
and villages and reach class of people
who since the decline of the old-fashioned
country circus have enjoyed nothing of the
sort. These sn all shows will, as a rule.
travel by read though they will occa-
hn in
which are generally made on Sundays. The
country and town boys will get some bene-
fits under the circumstances. for if it were
not for the trI st the small places would
not get any shows at ALL"
): y
Speed is by no means the most neces-
sary thing in shorthand writing" explain
ed experienced stenographer to Star
reporter. but with some teachers 1t Is
.oade the great consideration, often at the
expense of everything else. The big thing
In shorthand is legibility, for there are
many who can write fast enough. but who
are unable to tell what 1t all means after
1t has grown cold. l have been a stem
ographer, depending entirely on 1t for my
living. for twenty-five years During that
time / have. of course, picked up some
knowledge on the subject 1 have been the
stenographer for two cabinet officers, four
dSSlSldHl SttItttrlcS anu lEIee VI loui
senators. Incidentally. l worked for a year
as the private secretary of one of the big
bank presidents in New York city. All of
this experience has proven one thing very
cunclusiyely, and that is that there is no
necessity for any stenographer who does
amanuenSis work to write over 40 words
a minute. and in 80 cases out of 1U no ne
cessity to write over 100 words a minute.
Indeed, | know of at least twenty-five stem
OIrIyhnrS who Cra wing the largest
kind Of salaries as private secretaries who
have assured me that they have never
been required to average as much as
ninety words. Under these circumstances
it seems strange that some teachers OF
stenography will excite pupils to write 13l
to 300 words per minute. and endeaVor &c
make them believe that such railroad
speed is a necessity. Such a practice does
actual injury. for 1t disCourages many from
even learning a moderate speed. There
have been instances where 1t may have
been necessary for stenographers to be
able to write over 200 and more words
minute and there is q legend hanging
about the Senate chamber that Gen. Haw-
ley for ten or twelve minutes, in speech
once spoke 225 words minute The aver.
age speed of senators in speeches does not
reach 10 words, and in debating letters
rarely reaches 100 words"
THE experience in the Joplin district ir
mining and searching for zinc writes 9
sC4tHtlllC investigator wiz 10 SDHiiONtSN " ~
government geological work to a Star re-
porter is not much different from that IT
the gold excitenents in the Black Hills
Creede. Cripple Creek. the Klondike and
other places, though the people who are
hunting for zinc are somewhat slower thar
the gold hunters. The age Of the average
gold hunter was about thirty, while 1 think
the average age of the zinc hunter IS about
fifty. There are no wild excltements or re-
ports of tremendous finds of jack. the name
given TO zinc but there is a steady pursuit
and a great deal of hard work is done. The
Comparative prices for the two metals may
explain the differences as far as the seeker.
are concerned, for while jack brings 2 cents
per pound, gold brings $3.50. Zinc mining
can be compared somewhat better to Goa
mining. ton Of zinc bringing about wha
twenty tons of coal are sold for at the mines
But much more money has been made II
zinc than during some OF the many gold ex
elements. In the past six months the Jop
lin district has sent over Sl5.UO0,OOD wortf
IF zinc to the market. The entire surround
ing country presents 2 peculiar appearance
reminding me somewhat of the prairie dos
houses out In your Geological Park. I dc
not think there is one acre In the entire
district. ten or fifteen miles square il
which hole has not been drilled in the
hunt for zinc The apparatus used Is tn.
same as that used for drilling the artesiar
wells in Washington. The work is neces
sariy slow and somewhat expensive bu
so far there is no other way to find zinc or.
than to drill for it. If the dirt shows jacl
to any extent there is u further develop
ment by shafts and the usual mining out
fits. But in the great percentage of cases
there is nothing done except to drill Tina
shows that there is nothing to show a.
the Jack hunters say. The result is tina
there are small piles of rock and borings
scattered all over the country, looking like
the prairie dog houses on an enlarged scale
Frequently there are many as three Dor
!ngs to the acre. but ordinarily they are no
so near to each other Nine out of ever,
ten persons one meets are prospectors
though they adopt all kinds OF methods Il
conceal it, The holes left by some of tht