Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-01-05

Human interest is the keynote of
Frank Leslie's popular monthly. Its
stories and its articles followas close
ly as may be the lines of genuine
human experience. Its editors do
not reject romance; indeed. they
seize upon a good story whenever
they find it; but they try to give the
magazine, as whole, the flavor of
reality. The reader feels instructive
ly that most of the stories are tran
scripts from life; not the common
place existence too familiar to
most of US, but the life of energy
and experience. Take for example
the January number. 1t opens with
a singularly dramatic article. The
Reign of Soapy Smith," the notorious
boss of Skaguay. The article is de-
scriptive of occurrences inc, edible
almost, yet actual, written by man
who took a prominent part in the
long fight against Smith and his ring.
The story is more than the extraordi-
nary history of bad man. 1t per-
fectly illustrates the development of
city bossism, reduced to it's simp-
lest terms in the primitive
civilization of a mushroom town.
From the point of view of the Ameri-
can citizen, there could scarcely be
more important magazine article at
this time than the unprejudiced story
of Cuba's national convention, writ
ten for Leslie's January number by
two intelligent special correspondents
and copiously illustrated. Other con-
tributions which must interest every
man who works with hand or brain
are: Trading in Locomotives.
vivid account of a remarkable indus
try, and AN Unexpe etc d Result. +"
the second of S. A. Nelson's series
of Wall street stories. This last takes
up an ethical question of business and
puts it in an unusually dramatic
form. Like ali Mr.. Nelson's stories,
it represents business as business
men know it. This is the first num-
Der of Leslie's Monthly which repre-
sents the new century, and it may
fairly be taken as establishing the
high-water mark of mechanical ex-
cellence in magazine making in
an inexpensive form. The editors
are conventional enough to believe in
appearances and they wish to call
especial attention to the looks OF the
monthly-the printing, the paper, the
illustrations and the general make
up" The illustrations show the best
results yet achieved by 10cent maya
zines. The paper is Opaque; the
print is single column, big and clear
the best print for weak eyes which
any illustrated magazine of today
has to show.
The North American Review begins
the new century with a numbtr
which, by the Importance and diver
sity of the subjects discussed in it and
by the ability, celebrity and repre-
sentative character of its contribu-
tors, more than maintains the high
reputation it has won as the greatest
and best review Pu blished in the Eng
lish language. Ex-President Harri
son, in the opening article, treats of
the constitutional Status of An
nexed Territory and of Its Free Civil
lized Inhabitants, pleading for an
adherence, in our policy, to the old
American thought of man as crea-
ture of God, endowed with ''inalien-
able rights" M de Blowitz. in
paper entitled Past Events and
Coming Problems" glances at the
things that have happened dur
ing the past century. especially
in France, and the task that lies be-
fore the nations in future years. Gen.
r. A Alger, formerly secretary of
war, writes of 1.-The Food of the Army
During the Spanish War;" arraigning
Gen. Miles for his memorable attack
upon Gen. Eagan and the commits
sary department. Sir Robert Hart,
inspector-general of the imperial Chi
nese customs and posts. in .Cbina
and Her Foreign Trade tells how
the Chinese regard the attempts of
foreign nations to cultivate CONNER
cial relations with them. Alfred
Harmsworth, editor and proprietor of
the London Daily Mail. fortells the
character and methods of "The Sim
ultaneous Newspapers of the Tween