davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
PENSIONS OF OLD SOLDIERS.
Notice From the Pension Agent Here Cause
NisaDprchension Among Them.

To THE EDITOR or THE SUN-.Str: Congress
granted pensions to soldiers wounded or disabled
In the service and made the payment quarterly.
The pension agent for New York city has sent
out on his vouchers notice to the effect that II
mistake is made In properly nlling out the voucher
It will be retained until the end OF the quarter for
correction. Previous agents returned the voucher
Immediately to the pensioner and called his atten
ton to the error.
by keeping them six months out OF their pensions
II they make an error. OLD SOLDIER.
old Soldier is laborng under a misappre-
hension that is worrying number Of the 81 900
pensioners of the local office, and causing
lis no end of trouble" said United States
Pension Agent Michael Kerwin yesterday.
on account, of the vast number OF vouchers
that come here incorrectly signed. | had
printed on the vouchers notice that the in
correct vouchers would be held up, until the
end Of the quarterly payment, which is never
the quarter. That is done so that we can
get the correct vouchers paid and then de-
vote our whole attentio ion to the incorrect
ones. The latter vouchers are never paid
later than three or four days after the others,
spondent thinks.
The pensioners Of this Office have no cause
to complai in, for within the last four years we
have worked a revolution here" continued
az the, office. That resulted in many Of the
old soldiers coming three or four days before
payment was to begin and camping out in
the neishborhood Of the office; The eA-
come, Besides, the old Office at Canal street
and West Broad way was surrounded by dozens
OF dives and low class saloons where the
they didn't spend they were robbed, Now
every pensoner is paid by mail"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21

TO THE EDITOR OF TIE SUN-,Str: In protesting
against ncentious exhibitions In Central Park. the
thought furthcst from mind was that there
necessity for the multiplication Of humanty-a
prevention OF race suicide" Perhaps We do need
more people In the word-perhaps: yet It Is Of far
greater import that those who are here should
learn that the decencles OF life are more profitable
and more palatable than the vulgartics
II Is all too pathetic, no doubt. that everybody
has not one enthusiastic correspon dent averrcd
airy stoop a coscy paror on which or In which
the tender passion might be stirred and avowed
but that part OF the question may well be allowed
to solve Itself. while the proper regulation and
conservation OF public places to the legitimate
uses of the people is maintained. more con-
sentative writer In THE sun OF this morning truth
fully says that marriages not promoted In parks
where restraint Is cast 70 the winds but when the
coocrs coo under the watchful supervision OF the
parental orbs Those who watch and know realize
that the Park Is promoting vice and run and tina,
decent people who go into 1t at night are reminded
on every hand OF the fact while this lndiscnmnate
scnsualsm is permitted
The correspondent signing English Woman
ls evidently. protcstatons TO the contrary notwth.
standing. either a past spooner OF Central Park or
q present worker In other vineyards Earmarks
NEW YORK, May 20. ROBERT Nov.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
THE HUMAN PINCUSHIOE.
Hardships Of Being . Hypn ottst's Fakir
BY One VINO Knows.
From he Chicago Irter Ocea

from me ChtcdQo INFER ocean.
There ia little pleasure and little money In
being human pincushion. There is still less
OF the former but little more Of the latter.
in submitting to the ordeal Of being crucifed.
1t is not a delightful occupation to be a car
bolic-acid drinker.
That is what one professional fakir thinks
about it. and he knows. Perhaps many
more think the same thing. II is not often
one can be found who will say anything about
his business. These fakirs are what are
known as horses" They travel about with
so-called professors. and submit to being
punctured with hat pins. stabbed with dirks.
nailed to q cross. and made to eat and drink
poison.
One Of these "horses"-perhaps the best
known one living-drifted into Chicago the
other day. In the presence OF a writer for
the Sunday Inter Ocean this man. Tom j.
Minnock. exposed a number of his fakir
tricks. He pierced his cheeks and arms with
hat pins, slowed or accelerated his heart
action at will, and told OF the various swind-
ling methods he has used during his career
as horse" for hypnotists quacks. faith
hea lers, and others OF their ilk.
With two large hat pins pier cling his cheeks,
and with the blood trickline down his face,
Minnock talked away. apparently oblivlous
Of any pain.
Yes. it hurts to do thing like this" he
j
it. II practise it daily it does not pain at
all. have been at the business all my
life and don't mind 1t.
In Detroit ! was once 'doinR a sleep when
the pa pers began to howl about the cruelty OF
the exhibition. The OF ofessor' was arrested
and four policemen were sent to wake me No.
They tickled my feet. raped me over tho
knuckles. an pounded my back and finally
called in doctors. They said was certainly
I W lno do1 int hula
and taken to the police court The Judge
promised to release the professor II he would
wake me and leave Detroit within eight
hours.
to. We had received lots Of advertising and
we went to New York The pEofess9r had
been Te en 0 nan et ba
hair grow long and became doctor OF sue-
eestive therapeutics while l acted as the
IN New York we went to the ONCE Of a
we'll .kn own man we had seen On other occa-
so oEe We the in Fl.
forta bic chair when We went in and a sked him
to back us for road tour.
o ana er wss s q see pe4
anee; After had feiened TO forget my name
and had to sleep and Let the hyp stick
The professor started rubbing the fel-
at s ses droR me
Ter, slowly, slowly The man had been up
all night, and in about ten minutes went into
nal. / unfastened one Of his shoe iaoes and
the. hyp' unbuttoned his coat and vest.
In an instant the man awoke. We were
both laughing. DO you know what you were
doing" shouted the hyp.' You were up on
the top Of your desk about to dive OF and
River, Look! Your shoes and vest are
loosened'
cnr a nav in ny.n IN hNfa IND
backed us to 20 on the road. The show broke
and he lost all his money. Idon't know where
it went, for the professor said all he got
out of the venture was dress suit and his
expenses. / got nothing"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
y
SHARKS TO BE MADE USEFUL.
Americans Propose TO Turn Nicaraguan
Monsters Into Soup and Canes.

Commerce proposes now to convert the
sharks Of the bay OF San Juan del Norte
| in Nicaragua into factory products
Americans have been led by the vast
! number and size Of the sharks Gown there,
and the ease Of catching them. into study
ing possible uses for the monsters, and they
find that there is a lot of money in sharks,
Indeed. there hardly Is part Of the brute
that cannot be utilized for something
Shark fms furnish jelly that makes
a delicious soup There Is an excellent
market for it wherever there are Chinese
and If 1t were once offered as an American
product it might not be long before Ameri-
cans and Others would relish it as much as
| the Chinese do now
The livers Of sharks produce clear
oil that is very valuable. being In great
demand for Watches clocks and fine guns.
IT Is held in almost as much estimation as
the oil obtained from porpoise and dog
fish liver. which is the finest animal oil
| there Is.
The skin of sharks is of a beautiful bur-
nished gray or blush color. 1t looks like
finely grained leather because it is full OF
| tiny prickles. all set one way Under the
name of shaRreen it has variety of uses.
Even the bones Of sharks are useful.
| The backbone is In constant demand by
walking-cane manufacturers. The teeth
and jawbones are salable to collectors and
| tourists.
When the American business man gets
after the sharks in the bay Of San Juan del
Norte there will be dismay in the tropical
fish world, for the natives have left the
monsters practically undisturbed for CEN
turtles and the result is that from Greytown
north and south the sea is thronged with
sharks Of all species, ranging in size from
two feet to fifteen and even more.
Among them are the swift blue sharks,
the savage striped tiger sharks. spotted
leopard sharks, hideous hammerheads,
tbreshers. or swingle-tails, and the immense
but lazy basking sharks, which often grow
so large that they have been mistaken
for whales
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
The Road to Harmony

Mr.. NoRMASE, MACK S rejoinder to Mr..
BRYAN's friend METCALFE, on the sub
ject of practicable routes to Harmony
is in some respects as consclentlously
minute, or AS infinitely conscientious. as
BAEDEKER 1t is an able production,
vet somehow it seems to miss one broad
fact Of the situation.
That fact is this: The silver question,
the question of standards, the question OF
ratio between the metals, the question of
sixteen to one, has no more necessary
relation TO the Democratic platform of
1904 than any other issue that has passed
into political history 1t is true that
Democrats are yet thinking about this
question, and thinking differently about
it; but there are also Democrats who
yet hold contradictory opinions on the
abstract question of the right Of a SOW
ereign State TO secede.
THE ingenuity which the New York
member OF the National Committee de-
votes to the consideration of money
plank, fourteen months or so before the
national convention of his party, pro-
ceeds from radical misconception. He
assumes that somebody has got to draw
beforehand a money plank which will
afford common ground, for those who in
the campaign of 1s96-the last campaign
in which the question of the standards
was the real issue-differed irreconcila-
bly, in that particular. In other words,
Mr.. MACK appears to think that united
action will depend chiefly upon the sue
cess of the verbal architects in con-
structing a makeshift of phraseology,
rather than upon the impulse of COM
mon hope in the presence OF a common
opportunity under new and changed
political conditions.
How firmly this idea is fixed in Mr..
MAcK's mind is shown by the illustration
he uses to emphasize the necessity Of
compromise money plank:
Frankly. I think 1t would be very unw,se to
construct platform without a financial plank. for
finance Is the bone and slnew OF the Government,
a, domestic virtue {, thai Of The nation"
Is the circumstance that domestic vir-
tue is the bone and sinew Of the nation
sufficient reason for insisting that there
be in the Democratic platform of 1904
domestic virtue plank so artistically
framed that neither the saint nor the
sinner Of past years can take offence?
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
Greatness and Side Nhiskers.

A problem Of serious import in an
thropology and to the students of Success
energies from this letter:
ITO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN-str. In order to
decide bet between two old readers OF THE Sun
will you please state whether not any really
great man ever wore and cultivated side whiskers'
A maintains that It Is possible. though he cannot
light upon any favorable instance b holds that
the quality Of mi nd that would lead man TO take
pride In side whskers is not compatible with true
greatness. OF course, you will understand we are
discussing only the genuine full, flowing. volup
tuous side whskers Sdcboards. chops and
full boards are barred SP.C
BETHLEHEM. Pa"
bet upon so high matter and we have
a great mind to refuse to answer our
correspondent. Still, considerations of
science must override mere personal
feelings. The department of whiskers
is Of the mouldiest; and every scribbler
with a dimpled chin can pluck hair
from the collections of his elders. We
must arise above the present fashions,
forget the massive impossible smooth
faced Gibsonian striplings of to-day and
return to the forest primeval And what
was the forest primeval? Palpably an
imitation Of the hair that clothed our an
cestors, arboreal or on the ground floor.
Without whiskers, there would have been
no Parthenon, no HERMEs of PRAXITELFs,
no Gothic architecture, no DANTE, no
SHAKESPEARE, no TRIGGs Whiskers in
their widest sense were the shield of early
man and the palladium of civilization.
Well, early man with his stomach full
of cave-bear steak and his face full of
whiskers began to look about him, to
find that he was pretty big hill of beans,
after all, to enter upon the conquest of
nature" He came out of the cave and
off his perch on the pile dwelling. He
gazed darkly at the woods and saw that
they were violating his copyright or
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21

Navy Department, at Algiers, not far from
New Orleans, has a superb floating dock
which lies most Of the time in the mud.
There Is difficulty for vessels In getting to 1t,
difficulty for the dock in sinking deep enough
to take In the ship and always the POSSIBLE
ity that. once in, the vessel may be detained
an uncertain length of time before she can
be got out again into deep water. Dry docks
are needed in peace as well as in war, and
dry dock that cannot be reached by ships
that 1t was built to hold is of less than no
value to q navy
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
THE OLD BLIND CHAPLAIN.
Got His Appointment by Rcbuking q Party
OF COnEressmen.
From Everybody s Magazine


The death Of William Henry Mlburn. for
many years famous as the Blind Chaplain
recalls the romantic and heroic incidents con-
nected with his first election as a chaplain
Of Congress In ls45. When Milburn was %,
very slight figure. his left eye entirely blind.
his right eye having but one little trans
parent point not so big as the head Of pin
he was travelling BY Ohio RIVER steamer fron;
Cincinnati to Wheeling. W Va. He was
then Pc entirely ,t nnkdpown to the TGrd except
whom he had been preaching In the back
woods for year
houses. who were on their way to Washing
ton for the opening of session, Milbprn
but was soon hooked at their profanity,
their gamblinS, and their drunkenness
The Ohio River was low. and fogs coming
breakfast committee Of passengers invited
o to spd tbs ns Of
brief sermon. to the astonishment of all he
bowed to the men before him and said:
=, Il understand, that you are members Of
you are or should be the representatives not
only, of the political opinions. but also of the
intellectual. moral and religious condition Of
seen men Of your YOU class fet on au co 5s55
aboard this boat q 9atursl interest 70 hear
be to e y99
to no other conclusion than that it Is com
and drlnkards. Suppose there should be-
an intelligent foreigner on this boat. travel.
ling through the country with the intent OF
forming a well-considered and unbiased
opinion as to the practical working. OF our
free notwithstanding you and learning
Inevitably, that our experiment is a failure
and our country ts Fastening to destruction"
The Coneressmen were plucky lot. and
prea cher, and they at once besto we'd a purse
upon him, and on arriving In Washington
secured his election as Chaplain. He held
tho position for hfty-eight years.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
New Kind Of ufe-savins by a Dog.
From the Kansas City Journal,


Frank Mullen. Joplin wood hauler. has
his faithful dog to thank for his life, He
was hauling wood from Shoal Creek. near
Joplin, one day last week. when his wa eon
partially broke down under a big load. He
had to crawl under the was to make re-
pairs He knew it was dangerous, but he
took the risk While he was work king ,thS
wagon completely gave way. and Mulle3
was not hurt. but was imprisoned so he could
not escape. 4
He, was, in a secluded part Of the woodS
and his chances seemed good for. starving. I'd
death Finally he bethought him OF hiS
dog, Calling himI'Go home. Bruno ~
ing after the accident occurred Mrs. Mullenl
who had worried all night a bout her husbands
absence. was attracted to the door by. the
animals scratching and h9ylins. When
cut on one Of his shoulders. He bad been
hit there by. a stick from the falling load
Mrs, Mullen, Immediately got a buggy,
and. ordering the dog to return to his master,
directly to where Mullen was. several miles
distant. and, with the aid Of the man who
accompanied her, Mrs. Mullen was able to
extricate her husba nd. He was half starved.
but unhurt.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
The Poet Reporter.

From The Alma Enterprise.
At George Tenycks we had dance
The boys were dressed In their Sunday pants:
Most OF the 6, rls were dressed In white,
And Comstock. the fiddler. received what's right
He bought a gasoene engine--J. Hiner
AZ saving wood he Is an old timer
They have a tho usand cords engaged
Al the State Agricultural College
Wilson, the blacksmith. was visiting here
Al j. liners and the engineer
Helped and assisted the engine 10 start
Wilson. as mechanic. knows his part.
That critque thinks we're very young,
To raise mustache We haven't begun.
II we are young we're already weaned
Surely did natter us In Sleeps clothing esteemed,
II. Diepcnbrock and wife. OF Alma way
Were visiting at John Sennes the other day,
Also visited with her mother.
And Mr.. Heine, her stepbrother.
Did YOU read that In the SsarI
M. Reporter. show Us who you are.
We will surely make you cough.
Charles Funk has shaved his mustache on.
Grandpa Pair Is selling sand
To McFarlanditcs to beat the band.
Art Pugh bought buggy with a top
For hundred dollars and cash on the spot.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
The P1ckpocket Trust.
From the CHICAGO Inter Ocean

From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
Pocketpicking Is the latest industry ia
pass into the hands OF the octopus. accord.
ing to Chief Of Police O'Neill. That a reeu-
larly organized syndicate exists In the pro-
fession, with branches extending thr oushout
the entire country, the Chief says the police
have had occasion to learn to their cost in
the prosecution OF hundreds OF cases against
members of the fraternity.
Convictions OF this class OF criminals ars
almost impossible" he asserted yesterday,
IF necessary, the organization will spend
$4,000 to protect its humblest member.
That's the reason so few pickpockets ara
it?
The syndicate's methods in the protection
OF its members are many, continued the
Chief. False albis play a prominent part,
These are seconded by. "A liberal buyine-oH
Of compliments and when the evidence has
are hired to do the rest
The use OF straw bonds is. resorted Il,
when. everything else fails. II necessary
good bonds are given and jumped.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
One Year Of Cuban Independence

A year old and doing quite as we'll as
could be expected. So might run Cuba g
message to the world. 1t is true that
sundry dark clouds which overhung
her cradle have not all disappeared, and
that she has not escaped various ills to
which self-governing communities are
always subject. But she can at least look
back upon year Of peace and order,
broken only by one brief incident, and
can point to very cheerful little balance
in her national treasury Her record
for the first year presents much that is
deserving of commentator and little
that justifies criticism.
Independent Cuba has survived for a
twelvemonth and is even developing a
little set of teeth which she shows from
time to time, not aggressively, but with
gentle midness, just to prove that she
has them.
One or two disorders have made them
selves manifest in her body polite, and
while they are not Immediately serious,
they are a cause Of uneasiness To avoid
dreaded Capitalization Of power in the
hands Of her national organization, her
Constitution provided for a system Of
provincial government and prescribed
the duties and the functions Of the minor
organization. This established a cum
bersome and unduly expensive system,
and recent attempts to make it effective
have encountered protest and opposition
from nearly all except the immediate
benehciaries. As matters now stand, it
would seem that Cuba must either let
whole chapter of her Constitution lie
practically dead or risk some sort of
internal CONFUSION. 1t is probable that
the former course will be adopted.
The other difficulty appears in a now
growing apprehension TINT it will be
necessary to defer the proposed pay
ment Of the soldiers of Cuba's so-called
liberating army. While these men did
not actually liberate the island from
Spanish control, they undoubtedly did
make it possible for the United States to
step in and do the work At any rate,
thousands Of them fought, bled and died
for their country on many a field, bloody
and otherwise, and now want a little
bunch Of pesos for their services, just as
other patriots have done all over the
world. The demand is popular, the
people in general approve it and the
Cuban Congress and President have
Endorsed it by legislative and executive
act. But there is hitch in the proceed
ings, and the payment is now little short
OF certain to be indefinitely delayed.
Had the veterans of the War Of indie
pendence received less of encourage
ment in their hope for speedy payment,
it is probable that they would now be less
impatient and that sundry hotheads
would not have issued their recent call
to their old comrades to take to the
mamgud, which is local form for a
threatened uprising. This movement is
not at all likely to prove popular. Those
who might dare to participate in it would
quickly run afoul of such men as Gen.
MAKING GOMEZ, not yet too old to fight
Tor the peace and honor of his country,
and Gen. JESUS RABI of Santiago, the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-21
.r THO. JENHER. Recorder.
Exam. DER, A. NICOLAS
Expansion OF Fourth Of Univ

To THE EDITOR OF THE SrN-.St,: A time no nored
Jest Is. What day OF the month docs the Fourth OF
July come on" We might ask the question now
however in all seriousness, 1t used TO begin abou,
the list Of July. as the 'recrackcrs and torpcdocs
reminded us. II has been getting earlier and earlier
every year. however.
Now dn Brooklyn at leasD they start up before
the middle OF May. I am lover OF my country
and not nimlca To the small boy, as rule but there
Is limit 10 everything. and Is not two months Of
the Glorious Fourth" cxcessive7 As understand
It. the explosion Of fireworks within the limits Of
Greater New York is illegal without special per
nit and the violations OF the law the Fourth are
ignored in accordance with a perfectly proper
public sentiment.
The thin side OF the wedge Is In, but our young
friends must not drive II In to the broad one. The
police should do something In the interest OF law
abiding citizens who have prediction for a
quiet life. ANTI BOOMER.
BROOKLYN. May 10.