davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
HE NEVER GRUMBLED.
Secret of schwabs Rise from obscurIty
to Wealth and Fame.


A story is told about President
Charles M. Schwab, of the United
States Steel Corporation, which will
show good many persons who may
not know why President SchWab be-
came what he is, says a Pittsburg cor
respondent. The tale was told by an
engineer for whom Mr. Schwab, as a
boy, carried the chain. Everybody
down here knows how Mr.. Schwab be-
gan life as a grocery clerk at Brad
dock Next he carried chain at
Homestead and later draughtsman in
the Carnegie works. While holding
that place young Schwab came under
the notice Of Capt. William r. Jones
who was general manager of the Car
negie plant and whose name is synon-
ymous here with everything good and
manly. Capt. Jones was killed at
Homestead by accident few years
ago.
The story is that Capt. Jones at that
time needed the services of an expert
draughtsman. He applied to the head
of the draughting department for a
man, asking for the best man in the
place
Il have no best man" said the chief.
They are all good.
Capt. Jones went awayThe next day
an order was issued that to complete a
certain piece of work all of the
| draughtsmen should work two hours
overtime each day for several weeks
| without pay. All of the draughtsmen
grumbled except one man. Capt. Jones
came along the next day and said to
the chief of the draughting depart
ment: How do the men like that or
der?"
They don't like it and are all grum-
bling except one man." was the reply
"Who is that man." asked Capt
Jones.
"Schwab."
Give me schwab," said Capt. Jones
From that day the young draughts-
mans success began. The man who
told this story was asked what he
thought of President Slhwab He said:
Charlie Schwab has no equal as an
executive in the steel world to-day"
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
AN ANCIENT SHRINE.
THAT STANDS I'M TIE HEART OF
ST. LOUIS.
Was Built in 1880 One of Its Founders
Is Still Alive-she Is Called tho
Mother of Methodism in tho South
west.

The oldest Methodist church in st.
Louis, Mo-, is the Centenary Church.
founded in 1899. The old structure is
now undergoing renovation at a cost
of 100000. When October comes. and
the work is finished a bishop is to at
tend, or perhaps several bishops. and a
rededication ceremony will take place.
which is intended to be the most mem
orable that the denomination has
ever held in that section.
One of the founders of Centenary
Church is still living in ST. Louis
Mrs. Mary Gordon Goodfellow. She is
in her S1st year, is in perfect health
and vigor and is known as the Mother
of Methodism in the southwest. In
Centenarys early days Mrs Goodfel-
low was a leader in the Female Cen
tenary Society, which accomplished a
great deal for church work. The So
cletY raised 1000 a year for many
years. 1t was done by sewing and by
large annual fair and festival. She
says that there was a greater readiness
to contribute money 80 years ago than
now In this connection she tells a
story of the evangelist, John Newland
Maffitt This minister, who was one
of the most eloquent preachers of his
day, had made a glowing appeal for
funds for Centenary in 1899, and he
promised his st. Louis congregation
that if they would do their part he
wOuld himself contribute $500 He was
not a rich man, and it is doubtful il
all his possessions We're so much as
$500. He left st. Louis to go to New
Orleans, taking one of the elegant
steamers which piled the river in those
days. The boat was filled with wealthy
planter, and John Newland Mafiitt
preached to them. They could not es-
cape from him, even had they wished
to do So and when, the tears rollins
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Reformed.

Many young ladies have found it
necessary to improve, or rather to al
ter, the spelling of the names with
which they were originally blessed.
Babel becomes Babelle, Jessie becomes
Jessica, Mary becomes Marie. and SC
forth. A brother lately received a let
ter from his young sister at a fashion
able boarding school. 1t was signed
Jessica He answered: Dear Sister
Jessica-Your welcome letter received.
Papaica and mammaica are WE'LL Aunt
Maryca and Uncle Georgia. started for
Buffaloca yesterday. | have bought a
new horse. You ought to see it; it's a
beauty. It's name is Maudica. Your
affectionate brother, Samica." The sis
tiers next letter was signed Jessie.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Human Prey of Wild Animals.

The report of the government of In
dia for 1899 shows that for that year
25,5S7 human lives fell a prey to wild
animals. By far the largest number
24,621-were killed by snakes. Tigers
were responsible for S99 deaths, wolves
for 1888, leopards 325 and 1,402 were
killed by elephants, hyenas, jackals
and crocodiles together. The deaths
due to serpents were much more nu-
merous than during preceding years.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
cry town in Texas without having
been molested,

cry town in Texas without having
been molested.
Corbett's farm is about eighteen
miles from Concordia. in Cloud coun-
ty. He owns eighty acres of land, only
about eighteen acres of which is fit
for cultivation. The returns from the
farm are seldom more than suff :icnt
to pay the taxes When Corbett was
committed to the asylum an effort was,
made to secure guardian in Cloui
county, but his neighbors were all
afraid of him, and refused to take the
job. George A. Huron was then ap-
pointed. and has since looked after
his interests. Corbett drew a pension
of IS month. Following the govern
ment custom, his name was stricken
from the rolls of the pension office
after he had been missing three years,
but if he were restored to citizenship
he would be reinstated. and the gov
eminent would owe him in the neigh
borhood of $780,
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Rich Mines, But No Railroads.

There are few localities in the world
where railroads could do so much to-
ward opening rich country as in
Northern Mexico. The ore is there,
and it is we'll known by capitalists, but
the great problem is that of transport
tation. The difficulties of getting a
railroad across the mountains from a
Pacific coast port to the mining re-
gions have, up to the present time,
discouraged every capitalist who has
thought of it. Several railroads are
being built through the country west
OF the Sierra Madre, but hardly neal
| enough to the mineral district to b,
| very valuable.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
BECOME Blind at NIGHT.

A st. Petersburg dispatch relative to
night blindness in south Russia saws.
This is one of the queerest diseases
known to medical science, and is one
of the camp followers of the famine"
Night blindness, however, is no new
disease. 1t has always been more or
less common in armies where men
have been forced to sleep without
cover. The cause is usually referred to
the moon, and the sufferer is said -
be moonstruck, although it has been
supposed that the glare of the sunlight
upon sand beaches is sometimes the
cause of it. AS is said of the disease
in Russia, the sufferer can see nothing
after twilight, even though the moon
is at the full and the sky clear, but it is
somewhat remarkable that he can see
by candlelight. 1t is not unlikely that
the Russian night blindness is directly
traceable to exposure in the open air
and that it is only indirectly due to the
famine. n.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
"BosToN" GoRBET1,.

that members of the Booth family
were following him with the intent to
murder him. and it was almost worth
claim, or to walk across the street
directly toward him.
Corbett was sent to the asylum as
the direct result of cleaning out the
house of representative of the Kansas
legislature during the session of 1878
He was serving as assistant sergeant
alarms of the house and had charge
of the ladies' gallery. One morning
shortly after roll call he appeared in
the gallery with a revolver in his
hand. He began shouting and gestic-
ulating and the house Immediately ad-
journed without delay, some of the
members crawling under the seats, and
others boiling through the doors and
into the committee rooms. A detail
of police was called, and after some
maneuvering, Corbett was surrounded
and captured. His trial on the charge
of insanity followed. He was given
considerable freedom at the institution
and was allowed to circulate at liberay
about the grounds. One day the son
of Superintendent Eastman rode out
on horseback from Topeka to the
asylum. Corbett was observed shortly
after standing near the horse, but no
especial notice was taken of him. A
little later an attendant saw him
mount the animal and disappear down
the road burning the wind as he went
The officials and attendants who
chased him never caught sight of him
afterward. Three weeks later Super
intendent Eastman received a letter
stating that the horse was at Neve-
desha awaiting orders Corbett was
reported to have gone to Mexico, from
which country apparently reliable
news of his death came back to the
Kansas officials.
Enlisted In Boston.
The slayer of John Wilkes Booth
served during the war in a Massachu-
sets regiment enlisting in Boston. He
was halter by trade. His real name
was John Corbett but year or two
before the war he was converted at
big revival meeting in Boston, and to
commemorate the event took the name
of the town in which it occurred. The
winter he spent in Topeka he was the
.oudest shouter at the Salvation Army
meetings and never failed to take part
in the street exhibitions of the organ
ization.t For some years after he left
the asylum he travelled under the name
Of John Corbett. Recently he has
again assumed the name of "Boston."
He worked for the Gavitts a long time
before they associated him with the
man who shot Booth. Finally they
suspected his identity and he acknowl-
edged tht he was Boston" Corbett in
a letter written to the, firm some
months since. W. w. Gavitt says he
4 is. an excellent salesman and that he
has always made money for himself
and the firm. Many Texas towns bar
patent medicine peddlers by ordinance,
/ but Corbett pays no attention to ordi-
nances. and has worked practically ev-
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
A Friend to the Fruit Grower.

The breeding of ladybugs has be-
come an important New England in
dustry, and not one Of these useful in
sects can be spared for expectation at
present. The production of fruit would
be sadly curtailed if these diminutive
but energetic and diligent creatures
fell off in numbers. Few eaters Of
peaches, plums and pears are fully
aware of the debt of gratitude they
owe to the atomies which STAY count
less hosts of the parasites that work
mischief in the orchards.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
What 1t Costs to LIGHT Paris.

The lighting of Paris is a work o,
magnitude to which the ordinary way.
farer perhaps seldom gives a thought
There are no less than $4,000 lamps
and it takes 5000 men to attend them
The cleaning alone occupies no fewer
than 1858 men, and the cost of this
any of lamplighters. cleaners and at.
PENDANTS is nearly 25,OOO,0OO francs g
year.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

Pope Leo XIII. is still addicted to
the habit of taking snuff 1t is not
generally known that the snuff used
Ey the head OF the Roman Catholic
church is made especially for his use
in America. This particular kind is
the highest priced made anywhere in
the world, and before being packed is
favored with the costly altar of roses.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

woman conspicuous in the ranks
of temperance workers in England,
Mrs. Arthur Bertrand Russell, has head
ed mofement to raise funds for the
establishment of chair of temperance
in London University, as set-off to
the brewing professorship at Birming-
ham University.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
ROYAL EINANClERS.-
European Crowned Heads who Have IN
vestmcnts in America.

vestmcnts in America.
Many European royalties have in
vestments in this country. The En-
peror OF Russia is stakeholder in the
Pennsylvania, the Northern and Cana
dian Pacific, the New Jersey Central
and the New York Central Railroad
Companies to the amount of $6,000000
the most of it invested in the last four
years on the advice of well-known
American diplomat. On it he draws
an average of 100000 annually, or
eight per cent interest on his money.
King Edward VII has found means
to put $5,000,G00 in American indus
tries. They are said to average him II
per cent a year-something simply gil
gantic in view of the low European
rate of interest. 1t is even told how
he borrowed a large part of this cap
ital to make these investments.
The Duke of York, the Kings of Italy
and Greece, Denmark and Belgium, the
Sultan and the Shah of Persia have
sailed down great sums from their pri-
vate fortunes in the American securi-
ties which gives such large returns
and are SO safe and far away from
pppan cUnTprTrftJTUns.7- p ae.,.
SPAIN. e.. the rich Queen Regent
figures on the list for 100000. The
Kaiser has S3,0O0,0O0 invested in Atch-
ison & Topeka, Illinois Central Louis
vile G Nashville, and Union and
Northern Pacific Railroad Companies
stocks. The Empress Augusta Vic
toria had 100000 and the princes of
the house of Prussia have $1,000 in
the same securities
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
ONE OF UNCLE SANS srRosGHo1ps

VNE OF UNCLE SANS STKONGHOLDS.
1t is not generally known that
within eighty miles of Victoria, and
forty-six miles inside Puget Sound.
there is nucleus of a navy yard which
is destined to be one of the most i'm
portant-if not the most important
in the United States. Ten years ago
a wilderness, it now teens with life.
Its situation is ideal. 1t is absolutely
landlocked, its shortest approach being
narrow, winding channel six miles
long, heavily fortified and mined. Its
longest approach is fourteen miles,
with an entrance so narrow an enemy's
ship would stand no chance of getting
through.-Harper's Weekly.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

Ih Hshville IN CO. Citizen says:
Those who have read of the recent
deeds OF violence committed by ne
groes in Louisiana while banded to-
gether under the pretense Of beins or
gained for religious and benevolent
purposes are not surprised to learn
fthat negro malta is about to be start
ed The negroes in that vicinity have
been becoming very insolent and self.
important and seem to have the idea
that secret organization is all that
lis necessary to enable them to accom-.
plish their purpose of dealing out
death to every white man who NAV
strike a negro or become an object of
.their malice The new order is said
TO be under the leadership largely of
negro preachers, who, having no use
for the ordinary virtues that are sun
posed to be advocated from the pulpit.
have been devoting their questionable
talents to the preaching of lawless-
ness.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Hohenlohe's Memoirs.

For several years before his death
the late Prince Hohenlohe was occu-.
pied with preparing selection from
his memoirs for the press. and had .ad.I
vanced SO far with his wufEV
publication of first installm|
soon be expected.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

tn : R prlzs Of 5000 marks presented to
Maronis d. academy ", of Science by the
n 1na.iu's ae chasseloup Partisan. of
modern VII sa .cah descent, for the best
has haan "ork on American history,
phoda en awarded to James Ford
hrnthe s, d native of Cleveland and a
p nna of Senator Hanna. Mr..
he alI; was SO honored on account of
t tl,s c als1ory Of the United States from
the Compromise of 1870 ~
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

Italian 'front.' NTH. walks across the Swiss
near Maslian ,er Of girls of seminary
aroused the 1, says Rome dispatch,
officars wh, 'esplclous of the customs
sion If 40 ~ ~ M, nnally stopped a process
ascertained WAIKIKI. walking two by two, and
. alinr aine d. that each girl was SNUG.
gate value was $4,000 ''' ine assre-
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
CAMPFIRE SKETCHES.
GOOD SHORT STORIES FOR THE
VETERANS.

The Tragic Romance of an American
Soldier and a Camarine Girl as Re-
lated by Lieut. w. j. Wiley-Lovers
Buried Together.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
GENIUS AND HIGH LINEAGE.

"The puppies fight WE'LL" exclaimed
Wellington as he saw the tops and
dandies of the guards Drawing the
French fire and dying like men. Blood
will tell exclaimed the British nation
when the names of the noble and COM
missioned dead appeared in the Gazette
after Waterloo Their meaning was
that noble ancestry begets noble
brood; that line OF gentlemen for
forefathers gives a man a certain spir-
it, stamina and courage which the yeo-
man and the shopmen lack; that the
thoroughbred man, like the thorough
bred horse, is superior to the common
mustang or cart horse. 1t is true that
the traditions of noble family have a
certain influence on the saions there
OF and keep them up to certain idea S
especially in the matter of physical
courage. Moreover, wealth, education
and generous habits of living, with
which most men of good blood are IA
miliar from birth, have tendency tt
| create keen sense of honor and per.
sonal pride that have a strong iniu
ence upon conduct. Yet examples prov
that blood has little advantages owe
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

resident of Springfield, Ohio, was
sessntly robbed of SIS, and one Dan
SULLIVAN was arrested. When the man
8 was searched the money could not be
FOUND. The officers were confident
.ney nad the right man, and after
Matcnlng him for short time noticed
lsns.s ian was carefully guarding his
s,' pipe He had it in his mouth,
'hlied with tobacco, but it was not light.
g. ana, striking match, Lawless put
y 20 the pipe and told Dan" to enjoy
liinseii' lie obeyed the order, but af-
rei smoking a few seconds weakened
anu eo,o the other that the money was
eoncealed IN the bottom of his pipe.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

ST. LOUIS.
(Who is the Mother of Methodism in
the Southwest.)
down his cheeks. he besought them to
give of their abundance to this pioneer
church, money was poured out at his
feet. He filled his engagement at New
Orleans, and returned to st. Louis with
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
! rs ) : Reporter

ss isas sa5d TIA that autono5iies have .
that wheat COW a',lense California fields
actual cost H. ,a De raised there at less.
public. 'ne Argentine Re
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

The movement for the preservation
II British scenery resulted in the
formation of the National Trust for
Places of Historic Interest and Natu-
raj Beauty. A London editor suggests
y that the trust profit by few of the
asuperfiuous millions" of MIR. Andrew
Carnegie by inducing him to buy Ex-
moor, or the English Lakes, or the
y River Thames, or the Snowdon Dis
trict, or the Trossachs. The trust
| would see to it that builders and adj
vertising firms did no injury. There
are tracts without number in our own
country, the beauty of which ought to
be guarded for the benefit of genera
4 Eions to come, which invite the atten-
tion of men between whose overflow
sS5 ing purse and philanthropic purpose
VI no great gulf is fixed. Nature has her
rightsNas 1u,c'' as man, and it is wan
ton Invasion II them to mar and de-
stroy unnecessarily what God has
{ made beautiful and health-giving
At Afragola, a village near Naples,
v = young sailor, disappearing of the
courtship Of his/ ter by an undesir-
able lover, and g in vain tried
II to put a stop to- affair, followed
/ the couple the 9th day in the coun-
try lanes. and as ,on as he caught
sight os them fired two shots at them
from his revolver. His sister, slightly
Honnted IN the neck, tainted away
~ - -,
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Old Theory Reversed.

1t is reported by the Indian commis-
sioner's office that the 100000 Indians
of the country are peaceable and CON
tented and that they are giving the de-
partment no trouble. This is re-
versal of the former theory that in or
der to be good an Indian must neces-
sarily be defunct.
Krupp, the Germ IN gunmaker, has
fortune of nearl! $5O 900 900. an in
come of s4,ooo,o 900 d a payroll Of 50.
900 persons.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19

,,o. $ 9, Writer , in the London Spectator
a aesnapers to have seen the border
country of Suffolk and Essey 1igbted
ansa s ai'ef night with blazing. ricks,
nlsu as protest against the introduc-
Ign q thrashing machines. Where,
ao.uay' he asks, is the man under fifty
49,, 49, san use a fail? The question is
uniy an emphatic way of referring to
lapof-savlng machinery. Imagine for
s noineh' an attempt to harvest West.
ern crops without a reaper.
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Was Always Peculiar.

Corbett is now 62 years old. He was
always peculiar. From the time he
enlisted in the army the trend of his
mental idiosyncrasy was toward relig-
ious fanaticism. He was intensely re-
ligious and was always considered
dangerous by his neighbors in Cloud
county. Corbett never married and
up to the time he was sent to the
asylum lived alone in shack on his
claim in Cloud county. He always
went armed and his shack was fortified
and equipped with every brand of
shooting iron" known to the western
trade. He labored under the delusion
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
BOSTON" CORBETT.
SLAYER OF JOHN WILKES BOOTH
NOW A DRUMMER.
Works for Topeka Firm-He Was Re-
Gently Reported Dead but Had Only
Escaped from an Insane Asylum-Was
a Religious Fanatic.
(Topeka letter.

When Boston Corbett, the SLAYER
of John Wilkes Booth, escaped from
the Topeka insane asylum in 1888, he
was marked dead" on the records of
the institution, and legally, if not lit
orally, passed out of existence. The
conclusion on the part of the asylum
officials that Corbett was dead was ac-
cepted by the public without question.
The newspapers commented briefly
upon the mysterious disappearance,
and Kansas speedily forgot the eccen-
trio character who was the active in
stfument in avenging the assassina-
ton Of Abraham Lincoln.
And now, after thirteen years, Cor
bett has been resurrected. For more
than four years past he has been a
travelling salesman for w. w. Gavitt
& Co., who conduct proprietary med
ictne concern in Topeka. Both his
employers and his guardian have in
recent times used every effort to in
1uce Corbett to return to Kansas. He
has property interests in Cloud coun-
ty, and the government owes him over
$1,000 back pension, not a cent of
which he will ever be able to draw
until the fact that he is alive is estab-
lished by his own affidavit to that eff
feet. 1t has been represented to him
that his sanity will be easily estab-
lished, and his release from the asylum
legally secured, but Corbett is willy
and suspicious and refuses to set
foot on Kansas soil. He lives in and
travels through Oklahoma and Texas,
and for long time had headquarters
at Enid, where he owns some property.
George A. Huron c. Topeka is his
guardian. He wrote Huron some
weeks ago that he never expected to
return, to Kansas and that the govern
meat was welcome to his pension
MONEY!
The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-09-19
Negro Homc-Owners.

OF 1,41o,769 negro heads Of M
throughout the United States, 4
own their homes and farms, Il
146,4S1 are tenagNs In Geo.
the negroes ina genera
ed possession of o.
land.