Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-08-29
GLEANlNGS AND GOSSIP

IGNiNiSSO AMI OOSStP,
Joseph A. Shirley of Indianapolis is
reported to have just received from
his son, Foster c. Shirley, the pen used
by Aguinaldo just before his capture.
The penholder is whaIebone of extra
ordinary length.
The government of British Column
bla is about to throw open i41 acres
of land in Burnaby for settlement as
small holdings. The property is sit
uated about one mile on the Vancou-
yer side of the Royal Oak.
Bishop Potter's fearful complaint
is that the newspapers of today are
altogether too big. So are some SER
| mons, says the Baltimore American.
The bishop ought not to be the one to
kick. Papers are usually edited: SER
mons, rarely.
The work of oiling some of the
principal roads in Ventura county. Cal
lfornia, is to be pushed in earnest. 1t
is stated by the OXnard Courier that
the Standard oil company will furnish
the oil, already heated at the Ventura
works of the company A heating
tank is now being built.
A Massachusetts man has been in
| dicted on 2S2 counts and stands a
good chance of having his board bills
paid by the state for the rest of his eX-
istence. Another pleasant thing about
the matter is that his friends will
never have to worry about his where
abouts nights.-Cleveland Plaindealer.
| Louis Wilkins is now arousing great
| interest in the scientific circles of Eu-
rope. Wilkins was born on a farm
near st. Paul, in 1874. When but 10
years old he measured six feet in
height, and now has grown to the ire
mendous height of 107A inches-just
! three-quarters of an inch less than
nine feet-and weighs 364 POUNDS.
Elenora Duse, the actress, was born
a wagon near Venice, and being taken
to church for baptism according to
local custom, in glass cradle orna-
mented with gold, when detachment
of Austrian soldiers came along. Re-
garding this sumptuous cradle as
shrine full Of holy relics, they respect
fully presented arms. This mistake
delighted the father.
There has just been engraved on the
base of the Flora Mcdonald statue on
in Gaelic, which in English reads: so
long as a flower grows on the field the
fame of the gentle lady will last" I'M
mediately underneath there is the fol
lowing quotation: "The preserver of
Prince Charles Edward Stewart will
be mentioned in history, and, if cour-
age and fidelity be virtues, mentioned
with honor"
| The white birch forests of Maine
are threatened with obliteration by
! the ordinary little spool on which
thread is wound. White birch is the
| only wood much used for making them
and so great is the consumption that
the trees have a hard time to supply
the demand. The spool mills now use
IS, 600, 900 or 100000 feet of birch
timber every year, turning out 8OOj-
100000 spools. Somebody has figured
out that enough thread could be
wound on these spools to reach around
the earth at the equator $500 times.
Besides the immense quantity of the
timber used here 100000 or 10000
900 feet of it is shipped to Scotland
in the form of spool bars.-Boston
Transcript.
The Hartford Courant has looked up
the ages of number of statesmen be-
ing more or less mentioned for the
successor of President Mckinley This
is the result: When the republican
national committee meets, three years
from this summer, to pick out the next
president, Shelby M. Culfom will b.
LIS; John G. Spooner will be 81;
Charles w. Fairbanks will be 81; Mar
Gus A. Hanna will be CT; Joseph B.
Foraker will be ST. William H. Taft
will be AZ; Theodore Roosevelt will be
46; Benjamin B. O'Dell, Jr., will be
so; Orville H. Plat will be II, and
Henry Cabot Lodge will be "a. Thus
far no man over 70 has been elected to
the presidency and only five men ever
6O-John Adams 81, Andrew Jackson
62. William Henry Harrison 60, Zach
airy Taylor 65, James Buchanan 90.
President Washington was 81 when
Iinaugurated; Jefferson was SO, Mad
ison So, Monroe SO, John Quincy Ad-
ans So, Van Buren, 55, Polk 80, Pierce
40. Lincoln 50, Grant AZ, Hayes 81, Car
field AZ. Cleveland 48, BENJAMIN Har-
rison So and William Mckinley 90.