davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Irish standard., 1901-06-22
UNCLE SAM 5 MOVE NEXT
Rests with United States Whether
Tariff War with Russia Is
to Continue.
SECRETARY GAGE RAISES A QUESTION.
Rights of the United States Under
Treaty May Have Heen lnfrinHed
by Russia Thus lnvalidatinE It,
Russia Ambnsnnsl 10 r Does Not Think
Affair VIII Amount to Much.

Washington, June 20.-The situation
is to the retaliatory tariff war be-
tween the United States and Russia
is such that the next move must be
made by the United States, if the con-
test is to be pursued. Secretary Gage,
in his letter, raises the question
whether the Russian government has
not infringed upon the rights of the
United States under treaty. Article
S, Of the treaty of commerce with Rus
Sia of 1882, reads:
mo higher or other duties shall be i'm
posed on the importation into the United
states of any article, the produce or manu-
facture Of Russia; and TO higher or other
duties shall be imposed OF the importation
INTO the empire of Russia Of any article.
he produce or manufacture of the United
States. than are. CT shall be, payable on the
ike article being the produce or manufac-
lures of any foreign country"
BY levying maximum duties on Unit
ed States bicycles, resins and machin-
cry, and specially designating them
as United States products, the Russian
government has, it is not doubted,
made just such discrimination as is
provided against in this article of the
treaty. The question is raised, how
ever, whether, by our action in levying
duty on Russian petroleum and spec
cially describing il as such, the United
States has not also violated this ar
ticle. There is no penalty article in
the treaty, but under the common
practice of international law coun-
Try may denounce the whole of a
treaty where it is satisfied that one of
its provisions has been purposcly
broken. If such extreme action is
taken in the case there will be no trade
treaty between Russia and the United
States, and as far as Russia is con-
cerned the maximum tariffs, which
are practically pr"hibitive, would APP
ply to all imports from the United
States. On the other hand, if such
action by Russia is regarded as dis
elimination. HE United States govern
ment may by existing law exclude any
or all imports from Russia.
Not Considered Grave.
Washington, June 2O.-Count Cas-
Gun, the russian ambassador, in dis
rnssing Wednesday the latest phases
of the tariff issue which has arisen
between Russia and the United
States, said that the issues do not
seem to him to be very grave, and he
is hopeful that they will be satisfac-
torily adjusted. He said that the ac-
ton of Russia is an economic move
pure and simple and is quite certain
that it is due to no antagonism
against the United States.
Count Cassini said that no political
significance could attach to matter
of purely commercial nature. He
said he knew nothing of any Euro
pean movement against American
products.
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
ONE OF THE SELF-MADE.
A Comparison of Pictures in Human
Frames.
CFrom the Manchester, n. H., Cnion.)

fErom the Manchester, n. H., lnion.)
Once upon a Time there was Boy on
the Farm. He could not help ii, as he
was Born That Way, but he kecnly Felt
his Position. He was n large, healthy
boy. with good Knee action, and Perfect
Faith in the Stories told him by the
Hired Man. In the Winter he went to
the District School, where he learned
number of Things and some Arithmetic.
In the summer his Father. whom he
thought a Hard Man, gave him Tasks to
Perform, which made him Perspire Free
ly
When he was eighteen years old and
could Lick the Hired Man. he made up his
Mind that the Farm was no place for him,
and so did his Father; so one fine morn
ing his Mother gave him box of Liver
Pills, his Father gave him Ten Dollars.
Way in the World. When he reached the
city his appearance attracted so much At
tention that everybody smiled on Him,
and asked him When he Came Down.
AS he always gave the Exact Date, he
got such a reputation for being truth
full lad that kind man gave him Job
in dry good Store as a porter. By dill
gent labor he soon came to be the Man
ager OF the Store. and wore a Diamond in
his Shirt front with all the Grace of a
Faro Dealer. He never Paid his Father
the Ten Dollars which he had let him
have but Every Summer he used TO visit
the Farm with his family, and tell the
Neighbours Boy how he Wished he had
Stayed at home and lived Free, Happy
Country Life.
When his Parents died and left the
farm TO his Sister. he Broke the VIII,
because ne was so fond of the Dear
Old Place. and his Sister had to go some
where Else. after which he sold the Farm
for Good Money, while his Sister Re
manned Somewhere Else. He died quite
rich, but nobody ever Liked Him very
much. because he was n Self-Made Man
and liked to Talk about 1t.
The two Pictures show him when he
was a Boy on the Farm and when he
was a Self Made Man. There is not
Much Choice Between them, do You
think there is?
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
KIFOURI'S WHIRLING ART.
Trained by Priest Until He Could
Dance Two Hours.
(From the New York Evening Post.)


When Ameer Abouhamad supports ten
men on his shoulders. and the rest Of his
Arab troupe are turning surprising somer-
saults. at the Wild West Show, Alexander
Kifouri, the whirling dervish.' goes
round and round on board platform
dance the moment the Arabs dismount
from their horses The audience gives a
short laugh of amusement at the absurd
figure he makes; then waits expectantly.
But he does not change, and the eyes
of the spectators turn TO Abouhamed and
his troupe. kifouri goes round and
round.
When the tumbling and acrobatic con-
tortions have taken up their allotted fif-
teen minutes, Kifouri whirls faster and
with outstretched arms He does not fall
from exhaustion, but turns "cartwheels
over the tanbark, out through the canvas
up to the stables, where he discards his
flowing white skirt for scarlet breeches
and mounts horse, 10 ride in the race
of nations.
When Kifouri goes out to walk, he is
dressed in English clothes and wears a
flaming red eravat and n derby hat
rakishly tilted on one side of his head.
Sometimes he will talk about his employ
ment.
81 learn to whir when l was leetle
boy-so high-eight years old. tkifouri is
only nineteen now.) The priest of the
church take me. l had three brothers,
two sisters. ] was the strongest. First
/ turn Just a lettle; then more-and so
sick my head go faster than me. Every
day in the mosque. three times, while the
priests say their prayers. No, not sick
long. Legs get strong quick as do the
head Not dizzy now. Can turn two
hours now just as well as fifteen minutes.
beat on drums, people Shrek, dance till
YOU fall down, tired. So. This, easy"
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21

front of the skull We're cut off together
and strung in sums for the taXgatherer
and the product of the night divided ac-
cording to the size of the party formed.
Sometimes the great party of shooters
were hired for the night and received no
share of scalps, only having their ammu-
milton provided by their employers. 9th
er parties We're formed by friends ana
neighbors, who dubbed for the ammuni-
ton and shared equally in the result.
During hard winters the crows suffer Sc
verely and perish in considerable num-
bers from hunger, though they endure
wonderful degree of abstinence without
much injury. When starved out the poor
birds will swallow bits Of leather. rope,
rags, in short. anything which appears to
promise the slightest relief.
GATHERING THE sHELLFIsH.
Many times crows have been seen in the
act of lifting clans, mussels, and other
shellfsh high in the air and dropping
them on hard objects in order to break
the shells and get at the contents. An
observation on this subject illustrates the
acuteness and Intelligence of the crow.
Some years ago a flock of crows were
seen flying out to an island just off the
shores of Puget Sound. The tide was ebb-
ing. Each crow was seen to seize some
object i'm its bill and, flying to the rocky
shore, drop ii on the rocks ana then
descend to feast upon it. Investigation
showed that the objects were mussels.
which would have cost time and labor,
the crows in order to get at the contents,
resOrted to the easy and expeditions mode
of letting the musSelS fall on the rocks.
No doubt the trick was learned by acct
dent. as many an important invention of
man has been. a flying crow accidentally
dropped n mussel ON the rock, and noting
the result, repeated the experiment to his
own and his observing relatives profit,
and so in time through Inheritance doubt
less the habit became fixed among crows.
Another instance of the acuteness of
crows illustrates their shrewdness in get
ting other agents to find food for them.
A herd of hogs were roofing in the beach
along the seashore and flock of crows
were flying about them n few feet above
the ground. To the amaZement of the OBJ
server they flew one to each pig and
perched on the head between the ears.
From this outlook each crow kept a bright
watch on the hogs snout evidently on the
qui vive for whatever of food should turn
up, and not for a moment was his atten-
ton diverted.
Presently one of the hogs rooted up a
razor clam. when Immediately down
pounced the alert but unprincipled crow.
seized the prize, and made off to devour
his ill-gotten prize at leisure. The stupid
but honest Woodworking porker renewed
his labors apparently with no sense of his
loss; at all events. with no visible signs
of resentment against the robber.
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
A SENATOR'S AUDIENCE.
No Listener of Lesser Rank Than the
Vice President.
(From the saturday Evening Post.

There are two ways of looking AT any
thing. and the way wit of Washington
explained certain lack of audience in the
Senate when Southern Senator made a
speech was certainly the most deilGhtfCl
way of defining n somewhat ehil lug Incl
dent
1t has passed into history that iitIA
Wilkinson Call of Florida, thou-h for
three terms United States Senlto~ and
highly honored by his State. did net make
a great impression On the Senate as i
speaker. and that he thus disappointed all
those who have Ike tradition in II err
minds that Ill Southern statesmen are
orators.
Senator Call. it IS said, once arose to
make a speech when tte Senate Chamber
was rather empty. AS lie spoke tie few
men oers Of the Senate who ycrs there
filed out to get luncheon. No one en- aimed
on the floor to listen to the speech; ut
the President of the Sellte SIN sat in
his place. digni.ied and ca nj.
The galleries wore also rather empty
and the Incident became the subject of
Washington gossip. At dinner party
where a Southern politician. WAS a guest
IL was asked what he thought 4 the
Southern Senator's audience when he
made his speech in the Sene,e that m-tn-
ing
Then came a clever answer. for the
Southern man laid with Il grave face sc
thought ii very distinguished audience.
There wastno person there of less rank
than the Vice President of the United
States"
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21

China, likewise near the gutta-percha belt.
because the average temperature is too
low and the changes too sudden.
Gutta-percha trees have been trans
planted to a score or more places where
they have failed. although the Dutch have
succeeded In establishing several planta-
tions in their East Indian pc sessions
which give promise OF success. The ex-
pertinent lie by no means complete as yet.
In 1898 the French explorer Raoul col
lected about fifteen hundred plants gath
cred at the foot of the trees, where they
had sprung up from seeds that had been
dropped. These he put out in the con-
servatortes at Marseilles, and after a time
one-third of them We're taken to the
Congo and put out in plantations and an
other third We're distributed among the
planters of the West Indies and in French
Guiana. In 1897 NJ. Jacquet. Inspector of
Agriculture in Cochin China. carried away
100 plants from Singapore 100 of which
in 1899 were in a fair conditio.
IL remains for the future to determine
what the results in the Congo. the West
Indies, and in French Guiana will be, al
though those who have studied the tree
and know the very exacting nature of its
demands in regard to soil and climate are
by no means hopeful.-New York Sun.
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
TAILoR-MADE COMIC OPERA.
The Important Influence of the Star
Upon the Composer.
(From the New York Evening Post.

Music publishers of this city are ex-
pecting to see several new comic operas
produced next season. and they predict
that American authors will write them.
One publisher said that there were no
European writers left who could compare
with the Americans who have come up
in the past ten years; before that time
an American writer of prominence was 1t
rarely. American comic opera, he said.
has now for its strongest competitor
English musical comedies
And those operas that are now being
written, he continued, ARE done by the
men who have created a demand for their
music in the past ten years. We seldom
can make use of anything submitted by
what you call an unknown Not that ii
is not good work and oftentimes artistic
but because most of Il is written with no
particular cast.
You see. these days. the managers of
the various companies carry their differ
ent stars each with his or her hobbies
and peculiarittes. and the music has TO
be written accordingly. If the star of a
company is alto. then alto has the lead
ing role and the top note in the finale
although, probably, there are sopranos in
the troupe whose voice could be used
to more advantage in the rousing finale
for the curtain. In one troupe now sing
ing where there are four stars. an en-
trance has to be managed for each be-
sides. probably. two solos. and duets and
concerts as they will Writing an opera
takes more than a musical mind or edu-
cation. Here Is where those who have
first night and who know the work is
cut out for them, profit by their expert
ence and are of use to the managers
The managers have not the time nor ma
thence to spend upon 1.-THE productions of
young authors who have not familiarized
themselves with the makeup of their
c0mpanies.
THE whims of the star have to be
more respected than those of the author
or writer. There is an opera closing a
weeks run in town tonight which has
been so mutilated that the author has re-
fused to hear its last singing in New
York The prettiest music has literally
been chopped out in chunks because the
star objected that he was too long on
the stage. while it was being PLAYED
without anything to do. In its place, the
star has introduced II song filled with
'swipe' or 'barber-shop' chords with
which he is able to catch quite a few
laughs
''The star nowadays. may almost be
considered as having as much to say
about the construction of an opera az
the man who writes it.
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
ONCE A BADGE OF SHAME.
A Period When Gentlemen Declined
to Wear Mustnches.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat)
Back I'm 1850" remarked New Orleans
professional man, chatting about old
times "a mustache was regarded with
great suspicion all through the Missis-
sippi Valley. 1t was supposed to be the
mark of either a military swashbuckler
larry if he wanted to go into society.
shaved smooth. Boards were looked upon
as an unclean foreign affectation, and
recall curious incident based on that
prejudice. charming young English
gentleman. who was near relative of
a distinguished man of science, was Wis
iting at river town noted for its aristo
cratic and punctilious society. He was
fine specimen of physical manhood, and
following a fashion which mad just obtain
ed foothold in London, he wore
heavy blonde nustache and a set OF lux
uriant, curly whiskerS-much after the
style of our old friend Taffy in Trilby.'
Nowadays he would be envied the pos
session of such superb ornament, but
the good ladies' OF the town were greatly
perpexed. and after much consultation
they finally decided that they could not
countenance such "a barbarous custom
and would have 10 decline 20 receive him
unless he shaved The Young English
man realized that he had to choose be-
tween whiskers and ostracism, and, being
a plucky chap, he packed his trunk and
went back to London on the next boat
To revert to the mysterious connection
between gamblers and mustaches, a
matched upper lip eventually became such
a well recognized badge of the trade that
card sharps who wanted to avoid suspic-
ion were forced to shave clean. One not
ed professional. who worked the big river
boats. looked a great deal like a sancti-
monious deacon when his mustache was
removed, and he used to make point
of dressing In a long-tailed, rusty black
coat, with a white cravat. Going up to
Vicksburg one night was sitting in ear
shot when he attracted the attention of
a group of gay young gentlemen playing
poker in the main saloon. He was seated
by himself reading book. and was evil
IDENTITY unknown 10 the party. IN bet
that old rascal plays poker on the sly
said one of the crowd Ask him to join
us said another as a joke. and the first
speaker acted on the suggestion. The
stranger was very reluctant at first but
finally said he Calculated he wasn't too
old 10 learn and took hand. A couple
Of hours later he got off at a landing with
every dollar in the crowd. remarking cas-
ually that he would now give his mus
tache a chance
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
TAGS ON GOLDFISH.
The Fish Commissions Means of
Identification.

(From the Portsmouth. y. H., Journal.)
II seems rather an odd idea to fasten
metal tags to marine fishes and then let
them loose In the ocean with the idea of
identifying them as individuals in case
they happen to be caught at a future
time, but this is what the United States
Fish Commission is doing just now with
cod !. $50 of which have been duly tagged
and released this yes 2. No two tags are
alike. the markings on them being stamp
ed In a series of letters and numbers,
record of which is kept In book in such
a manner that If a tagged Goldfish turns
up a moments reference to the memoran-
da will furnish the history Of that par
ticuar specimen. with date of liberation.
weight and so forth. For example, tag
with the raised inscription IS 100" has a
complete Identification card, so that she
can not be mixed up with any other fish
entered IN the Commissions ledger.
Only brood fish',-that is. spawning
females-are tagged. They are bought
from fishermen, stripped of their eggs at
Woods Hole, Mass, and liberated after
having tags attached to them. The tag
fastened by "A wire passed through fin
fear its junction with the body. During
the last few months the Fish Commission
has distributed a circular along the coast
OF New England, requesting that when
ever cod with tag comes into the
hands Of a fisherman or other person, he
shall remove the piece of metal and send
1t to the Commission station at Wood S
Hole. with a brief statement of the date
on which II was captured, its weight be-
fore dressed, its length, and the condi-
ton of its roe.
The object of the tagging is to ascer-
tain the rate at which a cod grows. the
frequency of its spawning. and the ex-
tent OF its travels in the ocean. Knowl-
edge of this kind has an obvious bea ring
upon fsh-cultural problems. and there is
every reason TO believe that the future of
the cod fishery on the New England
coast must depend mainly upon artificial
Matching. The Matching of cod eggs and
the planting of the fry have been car
ried on for several years, and already the
fishery shows notable improvement,
apparently due to this work.
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
TRADING WOODEN LEGS.
Results of an Exchange Between a
Preacher and Driver.

trom frank Ieslies Popular Monthly.)
Trading legs?" | exclaimed do you
mean to say that n wooden leg is an ar
ticle of barter and eXchange?"
WAL. some do an some don't I'm
one of the kind that does went on the
driver. dryly. 1t IS only human natur' to
got anything to trade with, an when /
run acrost a chap who's got peg1eg that
looks as if it might fit me leetle mite
better than the one I'm wearin' at the
time | eener'ly stump him fer trade be-
fore ! let him git away.
Sometimes we make a swap of 1t, an
sometimes we don't. Depends on whether
the other feller's got any game in him or
not. It's a sorter resky business, tradin'
legs. same as swoppin' bosses, an some
folks amt got the rekiste sand to do it
I'll never forgit the first trade | made.
Teller | snapped with was one of these
travelin' exhorters-a shoutin Methodist
or Second Adventist, or suthin' in that
line-an', b'gosh. don't keer durn
whether yoU blieve me or not, but /
hadn't bin wearin' that wooden leg of his
week before | quit swearin' at the
HOSES an raisin' Sam Hill when any
thing didn't go right, same as / alters
ulster do, an commenced eXhorttn' the
passengers an pintin' out the error of
their ways TO them in any case where
seen il was necessary.
WAL il want very long before COM
plants begun to come in against me. You
see. to begin with, ! couldn't make time
over the road without rippin' out at the
bosses wunst in a while The plaguy crit
tiers noticed the difference in me right
off an they took advantage of II TO lazy
along an do jest about as they pleased
An then, besides complainin' of me fer
bein' behind time, the passengers said |
was preachin at them an miXin in af-
fairs that was none of my special biZness
an by gravy, it begun to look as If /
was goin to lose my job, when that air
shoutin' Methodist, or whatever he was,
come along back ag'in an kicked up a
rumpus because that leg of mine had Jest
about ruined his business; said il had bin
travellin' straight trds the bottomess pit
with him ever since he owned it, an now
to swear right out in the pulpit without
thinkin'. an he allowed that unless
traded back with him he'd sue me fer
The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
CURIOUS FADs OF COLLECTORS,
Irish Potato Rings Which Bring s5
an Ounce.

The rage for antique silver is fairly
notorious; perhaps the least accountable
feature of the business is the high val
uation of old apostle spoons. A great
many have been sold in recent years, but
in most cases only single specimens are
obtainable. In 1898 an Elizabethan spoon
dated 1888 was sold by auction in London
for e19. and others realized from 81 to
Ell each. Mr.. Butler a well-knoNn Lon
don aUctioneer, estimates that a complete
set of fourteen would realize little short
Of loo guineaS A set of eight. dated
1877, was sold in 1890 for e252; and two
skies in 1892 for Goo The record price
was reached in 1898, when Messrs.
Sotheby. the London auctioneers, sold
seal top spoon of the sixteenth century
for $40 les. This weighed one ounce six
pennywsights, and was intrinsically
worth little over shillings The Avery
collection of spoons in the United States
is probably the finest in existence. in
Guiding 1t does 800 specimens of all
ages. Old Irish potato rings are also
much sought after by collectors; at re-
cent sales they have sold for nearly e5
an ounce.
Although less valuable than antique sill
YER Sheffield plate is much priced by
Connoisseurs. This is combination of
copper and silver, a thin sheet of silver
being welded upon a thick piece of cop
per and then rolled out to the required
size for manufacturing. Its value depends
largely upon the condition of the surface.
as 1t is a sine qua non among collectors
that Sheffield plate must remain in its
original state
One of the more recent hobbies for
which the dealer caters is the collection
Of old picture watch dials. These are
sometimes genuine enamels, and occa-
sionally land not less valued hand paint
ed Scriptural episodes We're very COM
monty selected for treatment by these old
dial-painters. The earliest specimens of
enameled dials date from the seventeenth
century; but the majority of those to be
found in the shops are probably at the
hlfn nj hityt,
prices are put upon the small mourning
brooches so commonly worn by our
grandmothers; those containing centre
piece for hair and a surrounding border
of pearls are chiefly in vogue. Two or
three guineas are often obtained for good
specimens.