The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1902-01-24
IN idle MOMENTS.

| CANTON has lot ofsnow horses and
~ their owners have been aching for
u chance to try them out. There are
some nags that can go faster on the
snow than upon the ground, while
others are anchored when they attempt
to get footing in the beautiful" All
this winter the boys have been boast
ing what they are going to do when
the sleighing gets good, and they are
in hopes that the present snowfall
will be added to until there is a
good bed of snow.
The roads are in ideal condition and
1t would not take very heavy fall to
make excellent sleighing. II it comes,
some one will have to take snowballs;
in their faces.
The local superintendent Of one of
the largest life insurance companies
stated the other day that in the Can
ton district the last year the business
had more than doubled. This indicates
that while people are making and
spending money, they are also look
ing out for the future. 1t is the Gus
tom now with many to insure every
member Of the family, husband, wife
and children, for small amounts, 80
that If there is a death in the family
there is something for funeral ex-
penses.
The country correspondent, cele-
brated in ancient and modern lore,
sometimes gets indignant when some
body in newspaper Office has bit OF
fun at his expense. But he shouldn't
For the experience always does him
good. For instance, the writer of the
following gem, which arrived at the
News-Democrat Office yesterday from a
rural town, ought to take warning and
not do it again. The gem reads:
"A small boy belonging to Alfred
James had a narrow escape from death
recently by being almost run down
by locomotive. He stepped from the
track just in time to avoid being crush
ed to death by the grim monster. No
blame rests on the engineer"
Since the boy escaped, one natural
ly wonders what blame could rest on
the engineer.
But the country correspondent Is
not the only writer who tells things
sideways and backwards, sometimes.
There is a paper around these parts
that is very much afraid of making an
assertion on its own responsibility.
Every statement in any way affecting
a PERSONS character must be qualified,
or stated on somebody else's authority,
and the result of all this timidity is
often slightly funny.
One day last week the journal in
question published police item over
which some people laughed. 1t was the
story of an irate woman who had re-
fused to surrender to the police when
they attempted to arrest her, standing
off several officers for 20 minutes.
Finally she was captured and loaded in
p certain red wagon. The reporter OF
the over-cautious paper concluded his
account of the capture with this para.
graph:
"The officers say that several hun
dred people We're attracted to the
scene"
He had to quote the officer for this
statement.
The newspaper boys have a fund Of
legend about this eccentric journal. 1t
is related that young mentor con-
venience we will call him Clarence
Blank-was taken in by the police a
recent evening, and found to have
sweet-scented skate" on, roll of bills
and some wheels buzzing about in his
Uranium. He said his name was Clar-
ence Blank. The police knew him, and
they said his name was Clarence
Blank. Yet the afraid-of-your-shadow
journal came out with the very def
mite announcement:
1T is said his name is Clarence
Blank"
So you see, dear correspondents, fun
ny bulls" get into print, written by