Evening star., 1900-10-06

OF the many thousands of persons who
have business to transact at the city hall
during the course Of the year probably at
least 96 per cent know Mr.. r. j. Meigs. the
genial assistant clerk of the Supreme Court
OF the District of Columbia. Mr.. Meigs'
connection with the court dates back many
years he having been assistant to his
father, the late Return ]. Meigs. who for
a long time previous to his death several
years ago was clerk of that tribunal.
The suggestion made to Mr.. Meigs
by a Star reporter day or two since
that n he would sign legal documents with
his full surname he would probably be more
talked about than any other man in the
District Of Columbia Il have no doubt
that is true was Mr.. Meigs' rejoinder.
"aud by the way 1 suppose you have heard
that mythical story to how the name
Return got into our family.
The reporter admitted that he had heard
of the reported Incident, but without wait
ing for the latter to relate what he had
been told the subject, Mr.. Meigs con-
ttnuing. said: 1T is absolutely untrue that
back in the early part of the century, when
one of my ancestors, whose surname was
Jonathan. was paying his addresses to a
young lady she refused him, and tnat after
he had turned to go away she relented and
said: Return Jonathan, / will have thee
LAS a matter of fact the name Return
has been in our family for more than
hundred years, ana the T6COTuS SHO" lHdt
previous to that period there was jury IN
Devonshire England. one of the members
of which bore the remarkable surname or
Return damned, II an examlna-
tion be made Of a certain book in the Con-
gresslonai Library 1t will be found that
couple of centuries or so ago there was a
very remarkable set of names used
The reporter did as suggested by MT
Meigs and found among the jury lists In
1916 there was one which contained the
following names: Search -the-scriptures
n-cyift
Mabbs. Increase Weeks. Restore Weeks
Kill-sin Pemble, Elected Mitchell. Faint
not Hurst, Renewed Wisberry. Return MIL
ward. Fly-debate Smart Seek-wisdom
Wood Much mercy Cryer. Ffght-the-good-
fight Faith White, Small-nope Biggs'
Earth Adams. Repentance Aris and The
peace-of-God Knight
The method used in the United States
navy for the economical training of the
gunners is very interesting. 1t is a we'll
known fact that the cost of firing one OF
the large guns used in the navy is very
great amounting sometimes to sl,ooo or
more To save this expense a very simple
method is employed. In the case OF the
large guns an ordinary Remington rifle Is
secured in the breech of the gun and di
rectly In the center of the bore. so that
when ii is fired its bullet takes the same
direction that of the regular proJectlle.
The large gun is sighted in the usual man
ner On account of the lesser velocity OF
the small bullet the target IS placed close
TO the ship and is made correspondlngly
small.
The method used for the siX-pOunder or
other small guns is slightly different as IN
stead of the small rifle wooden or dummy
cartridge the same size as the regular car
fridge is employed. Through the center
of this wooden cartridge runs rife barrel
which is loaded with a forty-four caiiber
cartridge. This latter method has the ad-
of civ
practice in loading we'll as flring-
"If history as It is often wont to do,
repeats itself" said one of the best-knoWn
and best-informed residents of Washington
to a Star reporter day or two since, this
country will have next year the greatest
wheat crop that it's farmers and grain deal
ers have ever known
My reconections on the subject go back
TO 1854 at which time 1 was a resident OF
east Tennessee, that portion Of the south
which Is now, as il has been for at least
forty years, rock-ribbed in its republican
ism. and where / was born about nineteen
wears before the time 10 which L rerer.
During 1854 we had just such long hot
summer as We experienced this year The
pasturage was all burned up by the heat
of the sun, and in order 10 have something
green upon which their cattle could feed
the farmers so / was told, early in the
fall plOwed their fields and sowed them with
wheat. As soon as the growing wheat be-
came tall enough 10 permit of 1t the cattle
were turned in upon 1t. OF course, the
wheat blades above ground were soon de-
voured and the roots were tramped down
into the earth and the fields cut up by
the hoofs of the cattle TO make it appear
to the uninitiated though the growing
crop was entirely destroyed. Indeed. such
was also the opinion of many of the farm
ers themselves.
Judge of their surprise when at the
opening Of warm weather the blades Of
wheat again came peeping through the
ground, but more luxuriantly than they had
ever before been seen and when the golden
grain was harvested in the following sum-
mer the result showed more bushels to the
acre than had ever been known up TO that
time. Some twenty-seven years later the