davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
The Decline Of Sunday Sch ools.

One of the most startling phenomena
of the time is the great decrease III the
number Of children attending Sunday
schools. n safe estimate shows a falling
off of $4,000 scholars in one year. The
shrinkage is not more marked in one
body than in another. The Church of
England equally with the other Prot
estant churches has to lament a loss, and
the loss is greater in reality than the
mere numbers show, for the population
naturally increases every year and the
increase ought to contribute it's ever
growing quota to the Sunday school.
That it fails to do so suggests an in
Quiry probably Of greater momen than
many social questions that make much
noise in the world: Why should the
Sunday schools have ceased to attract?
The most obvious answer is that the
days of what was practically compulsory
attendance are over. That means, of
course, that the churches are losing some
of their moral hold upon the parents.
The inference seems to agree with the
facts. In ceasing to be dogmatic and to
WELD pains and penalties, social and eter-
nal, the churches nave laid aside one
weapon without attempting to replace it
by anothcr.-London Outlook.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
UNCLE SAM'SCOALSU SUPREMACY

This Countr Leads the World in Pro-
acknowledgements in Reserve.
The United States has the most album
dant, the easiest mined and the cheap
est coal Of any nation. The proof Of this
Of her coal lands, the size and a~ccessi-
billy Of her coal deposits and the pres
cnt price Of her coal. The area of the
coal lands of western Europe is less than
10000 square miles, and practically all
this area has been opened to mining. The
available Goa area Of the United States
at the present time is $4,000 square
coal is now produced from six states,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, HI
nois, Alabama and Iowa, and the coal
bearing lands which they contain by no
means represent our total resources. Coal
is found in twenty counties in Virginia.
Kentucky contains tWo large coal fields,
the western being $500 square miles in
area: The Missouri coal fields embrace
2>,OOO square miles, and the. coal is gen
orally Of good quality. Northern 4Arkan-
Sas contains a good-siZed coal field. and
Texas has 4 collaborating area of 10000
Square miles. The entire Rocky noun
tain: region ab>unds in coal; Wyoming
having 10000 square miles of coal lands,
Colorado $4,000 square miles. and Mon
tana 10000 square miles, while large
deposits are found in other states and
territories. Abundance Of coal is found
in Washington.
The production of Great Britain from
1870 to 1898 increased 50 per cent, Of
Germany 11G per cent, of France 12S
per cent, of Belgium 81 per cent. and Of
lhp United States G20 per cent. In 9TH
tr words, the United States, while draw
ing upon only a portion of her available
deposits, increased her output during
twcnty-eight years six times as rapidly
as the average of her four competitors,
who have taxed their entire resources to
supply their needs. This rapid increase
Of American coal production over the
production of Europe is due primarily
to the greater abundance of our coal de-
posits. and secondarily to the greater
thickness of the veins in our country
Tho EOrrm.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
WITH The OJIBWAY INDIANS.
Clever Woodworkers Who Worry
Along Without Unions.

Clever Wood workers Who Worry
Along Without Unions.
\ class of woodworkers who have ncv-
or been organized into unions, perhaps be-
cause no business agent knows their Ian
guage, is the Chippewa, or Ojibway In
dlans. In the forests of Minnesota and
of northern Michigan these primitive
WoodWorkcrS live. An Ak and a draw
knife, al awl and a pocketknife complete
thelr fullest set Of tools. With these
they produce wooden articles Of beauty
and utility. The genius Of these work.
ers is of wide scope, their work ranging
from the graceful Sailboats of %uneuualtd
speed. in which they fish for food or race
tor pleasure, to the carved crosses which
mark the graves of their children. From
the handling OF a forest giant in the
lumber camp to the carving Of an arrow.
the Ojibway Indian shows his peerless
skill as 4 Woodworker.
The arrows of the other Indian tribes
nave sharp, pointed heads. and require
feathcrlng to makrt them go true. and to
carry them pOlnt-On to the object aimed
at. The arrows OF the Pueblo and other
southern Indians have delicately-pointed
tips OF steel or flint. which clrave the air.
The OjibWay's arrows differ from these.
Of wood; from this blunt head. broader
than the face of a half-loliar. the arrow
tapers, conc-likc. to a narrow stem. which
gradually dimin;shcs in size to the
notchcd end. This arrow looks awkward.
with its broad head. heavy enough to
crush the skull OF Il deer. but scientists
say It is the ideal form OF projtctile. The
Macklnac boats of the OjibwayS are built
On the lines Of their arrrwS-broal Of
boW and taprring gracefully aft.
These Indian men are not tho only
skilled WoodWorker> Of the northern for
eSts. The women and children make ba>-
kctS Of hin strips Of the ironwrul. and
various kinds OF fancy work from the
tough birch bark. To ornament the ba>-
kets and toy birrh-bark canorS. quilts u
the porcupine stained in bright co]orS ar.
used to embroider pictures If stars or
flowers upon the bark. With such n!cctv
90 the Indian women and children weave
the baskets Of bright -cnlorvd strips Of
wood that many visitors to MarkinHr
island and the other Northern summer
resorts fail to appreciate the worth OF tnr
Indian wares. installing them f,r the
product of machinery in city facturirS.-
Chica so Journal.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
How Russia Advances Her Frontier

a solmn Thanksgiving service, attended
by the principal civil and military au-
thorities and a large concourse of people,
has been held on the right bank of A,nur
on the site of the Chinese village of SAX
hahn, o. reduced to ashes. In com-
memoration Of the capture Of the village
by Russian troops its name was changed
to that of 1linsk Post. The ecclesiastic
who oficiated at the ceremony delivered
an address in the course of which he
on the bank of the Amur, which yester-
day was in possession Of the Chinese.
Muravieff Amurski foresaw that this
bank would be ours sooner or later
London Mail.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
CUTTING STEEL,
An Operation Made Possible by a
New hardening Process.

An Operation Made Possible by a
New Hardening Process.
In the large machine shop of the Beth
lehem Steel company at Bethlehem, Pa,
within about a year and a half the out
put of all the machine tools has been al
most uuadrupled by the use of what is
tool steel treatment, devised by Messrs.
Il. w. Taylor and Maunsel White, and
owned by the Bethlehem company. What
the process consists of is net told beyond
this, that it embraces the use Of a steel
OF special composition. and apparatus also
for heating the tool to uniform and read
lly-co1trOlled temperatures.
The amount of metal cut by a tool is
clearly Indicative of it's working value,
and as to this the Bethlehem shop records
show that since the tests were COM
menceG, about eighteen months ago, the
weight of metal removed per hour DER
tool increased from BIB to 1888 pounds,
representing a gain of about $40 per cent.
Within that time the main lines Of SHOP
shattinS have been speeded up from 80
to 23O revolutions a minute, and further
changes have been made in countershafts
to speed up individual machines. The
cutting speeds Of the tools have been in
creased lS3 per cent, the depth of cut 80
per cent, and the feeds 81 per cent
These figures speak for themselves.
The underlying virtue of the Taylor
White process is that it gives to the steel
the exceptional property Of retaining a
high degree of hardness even when heat
ed to a visible red heat, and it is thus
possible with one of these tools to cut
steel at a speed SO great as to heat up the
point Of the tool to redness and have it
continue to cut for several minutes at this
speed and still leave a comparatively
smooth finish on the work. But cutting
metal in a lathe with a tool ut red heat is
something which the skeptic must see in
order to believe. Opportunity for this,
however. has nc"n given and is daily
available at the Bethlehem works.-Cas-
sier'S MataZ:nn
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Took Him for the Angel Gabriel.

One G: the late Gen. Palmcr's expert
ences which he never tired of laughing
over was the time when he was mis-
taken for Il parsonage higher even than
the President Of the United States. re-
lates the New York Post. "While l
Was military governor Of kentucky,'
said he. "a disturbance occurred in some
town in the interior. I was at a dis
lance, but was needed at the scene.
There was 40 train, no carriage, no bug
Gy to be got: the only vehicle available
was Il big %ilded circus chariot left by
some stranded show company. I didn't
like it, but there was nothing else to
DO, so got in. You may imagine, l cut
a great dash as | drove through Il small
town. People turned out in drovcS to
see me pass. When I left the town he
hind and reached the plantations, the
negroes saw me and started with open
mouths. They followed me at a respect
fui distance, until presently they were
joined by an old white-haircd preacher.
who. on seeing me in my magnificent
chariot. raised his eyes and his arms on
high. and. in a voice that stirred all with
IN hearing. cried:
"RrcSS dc Lord, de day Of Judgment
am cum. an dis gemman am de angel
Gabriel his$elf. Rrcdrcn, down On yo'
knees and pray, TO yo' hour am hyar."
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
An Old Maids Tea.

The Boston Journal relates the alven-
lures of an old maids tea: An old maid
auntie is supposed to be the %origina-
tor, out she does not admit her part ct
the arrangement in telling Of the novel
tea recently given by her f@avorite niece.
But this particular niece-one Of the sea-
sons budS-SurpriSed all the other buds
recently by inviting them to an old
maids tea unique in the history of
girliSh fcastS. When the old maids ar
rived, not one Of whom could claim Il
score of birthdays Of her own. they
found a sunny table, al in purr>t white
service. with a great porcelain bowl in
the center hcaped with white daisies, set
IN 4 fringe Of white lavender and
thyme and rue: But such metamnr-
phosed. odd daisies. eacn one Shorn Of
the round yellow ctntrrS seemed like a
lonely face set in a cap rutiltd with
white and tied with two white strings
beneath the hin. The effect of so many
crowded together like a host of old
maids was amusing indeed. And as they
all sat slipping tea and chatting toSeth-
or as only girls can chatter, eating the
served in lieu Of bonhonS. il servant
brought the favors, which apparently
were too elaborate to be placed on the
table. TO each girl an exquisite little
~workbaSket was given. S;lkrn lined and
covered, with a great futtcriny bow of
yellow on the handle. There were obs
and abs of delight. and then simultanr-
ously the covers were lifted and Shrill
shriekS filled the room. for in each baSk-
ct rested Il little live kitten, who added
its piercing 'meauw' to the general up
roar. There is rather a distressing Sc
quel to this novel ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS one
of those girls could be persuaded TO car
ry Il kitten home, for fear it should prove
an i'll omen of matrimonial success. and
there are still many cOnjecturrS as to
what has become Of those dainty >ptci-
mems of kittenhOOd.'
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Schools in Porto Rico, Good Results

The total result of the American inhu-
cnce eXerted Of the school system of Por-
to Rico has been wonderfully broadened
and beneficial, and were we to withdraw
from the island today it would certainly
endure. Nearly 100000 modern Amcri-
can textbooks in Spanish have dissent
mated information throughout the land.
Teachers examinations, conducted in
writing and without the possibility of ia
voritism being shown. have set new
standards of attainment before both
teachers and pupils. The separation Of
the schools from the teachers residence
though the schools still occupy rented
buildings-has introduced a higher ideal
Of school organization and has tended to
emphasize the school as a distinct %institu-
ton. The progress at first may be very
slow, but the educational process that is
going on is affecting not only the children
but their elders as well.'-The Forum.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Japs Are Labor Agitators III Hawaii.

Of late Japanese labor in the Hawaiian
islands is assuming a phase unsatisfac-
tory to the employers. Compared with
the placid Chinaman the Jap is a good
deal of an agitator. He is apt to preach
discomfort. form unions and resort to
strikes. This makes him dangerous in
the sugar industry, as cane must be cut
and crushed promptly when ready or the
crop is a loss, and the planters have be-
gun to turn toward the Portuguese
again. On the LIST of July last two Of
them left Honolulu for New Orleans to
enlist negroes.-Ainslee's Magazine.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Use is Life, Neglect is Death.

With nature and God one law is mex
orable-he who disuses or misuses a fac
ulty must lose it. TIL traveller tinds in
the Mammoth cave fish which appear at
the first glance to have perfect. eyes, but
which are discovered to be totally blind.
In every realm nature Withdraws her
gift from him who ~neglects or misuses it..
Neglecting vision, the mole is punished
with blindness; neglecting wings, the n.y.
ing fish finds these members hanging
feebly by the side; neglecting to use sap,
the branch withers and dies. Use is life:
neglect is atrophy and death.-Rev. New
ell Dwight Hills in Success.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Yokohama to London, 20 1-S DAYS.

Transcontinental runs in the United
States have bursts of wonderful speed,
but the average is necessarily much low
er on account of the mountains to be
crossed. But already the mail is only
four days from New York to San Fran
cisco, and the present generation will
probably see it reduced to three. In
Canada the Imperial Limited makes a
run between Montreal and Vancouver,
29N6 miles, in 100 hours, and once this
run was made in a little over ninety-ivc
hours, and the mails which the train car
ried were only twenty and one-half days
from Yokohama to London. a record per-
Torrance in the transportation Of the
World.-Saturday Evening Post.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
South Magnetic Pole Not Discovered

1t now appears that Borchsrevink's
South Polar expedition did not reach the
South magnetic pole in the Antarctic win
ter OF 1899. contrary to the first pub
lished reports. The party calculated the
position of the magnetic pole, but their
attempt to reach it by sled proved I'M
successful. They found the ice quite diff
fcrcnt from that of Greenland. In Vic
toria land enormous GLACIERS. varying in
height from 5000 to 1900 feet, barred
advance by sled. Capt. Borchgrevink
therefore. after several futile efforts to
push overland from Cape Adarc, sailed
on into Ross bay until latitude IS de-
grees 30 minutes was reached. Here he
took the sled again and managed to ad-
vance to IS degrees 80 minutes, the near
est approach to the South pole yet made.
National Geographic MAGAZINE.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Buried Riches.

The Maine people always have an eye
out for the main chance. The raising
Of water-soaked logs from the bottom Of
the Kennebec river is a thriving business
in Maine. By the use of wide, fiat boats
the logs are drawn up to the surface,
towed to landings and split up into cord
wood. In this manner a hundred cords
Of wood are annually reclaimed from
the river bed between Westbrook and
Madison Falls alone.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19

Spanish explorers, who planted it in
might prove a cheap food for the starving
peasantry, says Il Roman correspondent
Of a London newspaper. Instead Of that,
the beauty of it's flowers attracted the at.
tention Of the rich, and in 1900 some
specimens were taken to Paris. From
this time the dahlia became. one Of the
slories of European gardens. It als3
then first received a name, adapted from
that of Dahl, the leading b%otanist of the
dlV.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
English Soldiers MetamOrpho5isc.

What our soldiers will look like in fut-
ure is a question which few care to con
template. The pipe~clayed belt is said IL
be doomed, the scarlet tunic canno sur
viye, the helmet is to go the way Of the
tunic and the belt, the valiSc-most alb
surd of all a soldiers many encum-
brances-is no longer to incommodp him.
and, finally, the great coat rolled around
his chest to prevent his breathing prop.
crly is likewise regarded as done away
With.-The Scotsman.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
"HellO :" in China.

When two Cinnamon meet each shakes
his head. Instead Of inquiring after one
another's health, it is etiquette to say:
Have you eaten your rice? Where ar.
you going? What is your business there?
What did Q pay for YOU shoes? How
old are you?"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Animals Without Food.

A horse will live twenty-five days
without solid food, merely drinking wa
ter. A bear will 90 for six months. while
a viper can exist ten months withot~
food. a serpent in confinement has been
known to refuse food for twenty-one
months.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Spiders Bother Electric Wires.

Small spiders play havoc with the teIe-
graph wires in the Argentine Republic.
They build long cobwebs on the wires,
and as soon as dew or rain falls the
fine threads operate as conductors Of the
electric current. The effect is practically
to stop the operation of some of the lines.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Indigo Production in Java.

The indigo production in Java is rapid
~ falling off. Many of the planters are
growing tobacco instead. The artificial
product is steadily displacing it. \ new
process is being used, however, which
permits Of obtaining a higher percentage
Of c%oloring matter from the leaf and also
produces 4 Durer indigo.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Regulations OF London Sandwichmen

One section Of impoverished Londoners
the melancholy sandwichmen-look for.
ward to the advent Of the general cleo
ton with keen delight, as there is plenty
of business for all, with a possible in
crease in their meager pay. Also work
for the rival candidates will be a "baccy'
job, which WILL. of course. constitute a
consolation. When the knights of the
boards are set to exhibit posters of a
religious order or of some artistic or
social attraction, they are expected to
eScheW the incongruous pipe. They can
not afford to decline employment, as 4
rule, but feel the deprivation Of the weed
throughout the long day rather severely.
London Telegraph.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
The Century of the Dahlia.

Florence, the city of flowers, is about
to celebrate a floral centenary-that Of
the dahlia, which was first imported to
Europe from Mexico in 1880 by three
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Patriotism Needed in Times Of Peace.

a college education as we see it today
is not enough to insure a good c%itizen.
Something more is required. This some
thing is unseldsh patriotism. But cannot
this be made one of the results Of educa-
ton? Certainly it should be. If the state
educatcs men it should educate them 10y
ally to conserve her own interests. The
movement to teach patriotism in our COM
mon schools is a good one. Care must be
taken, however, that the right sort Of pa
triotism be taught. The young American
must not come to believe that patriotism
consists solely in the risking of life to re-
pei invaders. He must be taught that
it consists no less in guarding the inter-
ests of the state in time Of peace.-Sat-
urday Evening Post.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Halloween Love Tests.

The most common and most peculiar
ways of making matrimonial forecasts is
by means of roasting nuts. Two nuts
are placed side by side, and named for
the person trying and the preferred lover
or 'loveress.' If they burn quickly and
brightly it means sincerity and affection:
cracking and jumping away means incon-
stancy; if they burn together a happy
marriage is indicated. Another trial is
to name two nuts and then throw them
into the fire; if one of the nuts should
burst the person for whom it is named
is not sincerely a~ffectionate; but if it is
reduced to ashes a warm feeling is be-
tokened. says the Home Companion.
P~erpleXity comes to the poor maiden
whose two nuts have burned to ashes.
unless her feelings help her to give the
preference.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
Finest Silver Service

The silverware belonging to Queen Vic.
toria's table is valued at $12, SOC, 600.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19
IN GAY MI YORK.
Sc:nes and Incidents Of Everyiay
LIE in the Paris Of America. X

Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney will close
her Newport. cottage this month. Alfred
G.. Vanderbilt and Reginald Vanderbilt,
her brothers, are now her guests.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19

Every weekday morning at . O'Clock
q handsome young man, tall. erect and
room of Brown Bros. & Co. on Wall
street and takes his position behind a
desk with a score of other clerks. In a
few minutes he is immersed in the bust
ness Of the big firm. If this young man
were a resident Of Scotland, where his
ancestors lived, he would be addressed
as "'your lordship." Here in New York
he is simply Mr.. Fairfax. In reality he
is the only American citizen who can
rightfully use the title lord. He is Al
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19

Weber & Fields have decided to ADAM
don the sale of all liquors hereafter in
their music hall at the Tuesday after
noon matinees, and they also propose to
prohibit the men attending these per-
formances from smoking. This new rule
will go into effect next Tuesday. Mr..
Weber said last night that they have
little time, and had only arrived at a de-
cision yesterday. He said they are
prompted in taking this action not be-
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-19

Mrs. Herman OelrichS and Mrs.
StuyvcSant Fish will leave early in the
week for 4 short stay ut Virginia Hot
Sprays. Mrs. Oelrichs is in town for IL
few days. o