Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-25
SOME FEATS OF HASTE.
RecOrd-BreakinE Achievements In
Widely Divergent Pursuits.

Widely Divergent Pursuits.
From the London Globe.
When the pessimist is DESTROYS of sue
cinctIy matchmaking the age in which
we live he describes the present as IAN
age of hurry" and apparently considers
that in so doing he has to all 1ntents and
purposes consigned 1t to remote corner
in the lowest level yet attained by those
who delve in the pit of Tophet. That the
pessimist is, as usual, entirely wrong in
his structures any one possessing normal
digestion does not require to be told, for 1t
is obvious to all but those afflicted with
dyspepsia that. thanks to the inventor and
his various labor-saving devices, this is an
age of human lethargy. We send by the
agency of wire and electricity in a few sec
onds "a message distance Of several hun
bred miles, but there is no hurry in this
action, for the human element is dispensed
with: were we to send message mile
and a half by the ordinary messenger boy,
who, we are inclined to believe. notWith-
standing his general resemblance to the
sloth. must satisfy the anthropological def
milton of humanity, in less than half an
hour, should have an instance of hur-
rying, but no danger Of such thing hap
pening is to be apprehended.
A couple Of years ago Mr.. John Filing
wood OF Alexandria, Ind, was granted
divorce at o'clock one morning, and at
$40 am. he had received a marriage
license. and at 9:15 was welded to Miss
Louisa Smith Of Anderson. We mention
this pitful exhibition of matrimonial hustle
merely to emphasize to what low ebb the
art has fallen when such an artificial in
stance of hurrying is quoted as a remark
able illustration of end -the-century
haste. Probably Mr.. Ellingwood was
was married by the same magistrate with
out leaving the room. This obviously is
not genuine case of hurrying, and yet in
this age of decadence 1t is actually COM
gva1r NIT, he -
performed by those of our predecessors
who raced irate parents and guardians
along the roads leading to Gretna Green.
rev weeks ago most amusing claim
for record in hurrying was not only put
forward in the Newmarket district, but
actually accepted by some people who
ought to have been better informed. The
record that was attempted was over the
very favorite Field of Flour course. and
although we do not approve of these short
scurries. being of the opinion that the only
legitimate distance to qualify for record in
this particular branch of the art is the full
Field of Loaf" course, we give the details
in order to emphasize the enormity Of the
claim. A farmer living near Newmarket, 1t
appears. cut small field of red wheat in
the morning, thrashed it in the afternoon
and sold it at % shllings the quarter to
milling firm, which ground 1t that evening
and delivered the flour in the morning, a
performance that actually claims to be a
record! About gear ago throughout the
length and breadth of this country it was
announced that Mr.. Prosser of Erdington
had broken the record for the full distance
by Transforming growing wheat into bread
in the space Of about eight hours, feat
that quite puts in the shade the above
Newmarket record" But although Mr..
Prosser's experiment was most laudable
instance of an attempt to revive the art of
hurrying. 1t cannot be allowed that he suc-s
ceeded in establishing new record. Mr..
Prosser. who started operations at 10 a m,
was admittedly at a disadvantage in not
having steam thrasher at hand, but this
was almost compensated for by the near
proximity of Newhall mill, which adjoined
the field, where the grain, which was hard
and dry, thanks to the exceptionally fine
weather and the easterly winds, was
promptly converted into -four. which was
taken to the would-be record breakers
bake house. and by O'Clock in the evening
was placed the table in the form of a
number of -one-pound leaves of bread. one
of which was, We believe, submitted to her
majesty's inspection.
All things considered, Mr. Taylor of
Buckley in Worcestershire. must. we
think. be regarded as the record holder, his
feat of converting growing wheat into
bread, which was eaten by the reapers just
sixty minutes after 1t had fallen to their
shears. eclipsing the very fine performance /
of Mr.. Joseph Stanford of Edenbridge.
Kent, who IN the late sixties cut some
wheat in the morning. had 1t thrashed and
cleaned, taken to the mill, ground and
in time for the market dinner at the Green
Dragon Hotel. at Croydon. Notwithstanding
the fact that 1t had to be carried sixteen
miles to its destination. We have no desire
to discount the efforts of the miller of to-
day, but, with the exception of Mr.. Taylor