Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-15

and shifted uneasily in his seat.
What's the matter?' asked Mr., Elkins.
"O-h-h, no-nothing." said Mr.. Widener.
"A few minutes later" says Mr.. Elkins.
Peter clapped a hand over his mouth and
rushed wildly for the door. The conductor,
taking In the situation. wildly signaled the
motorman, who, thinking someone had
Jumped from the car. suddenly stopped it,
with the result that Peter was thrown into
my arms. Tenderly l helped him to the
ground. and, some time after he had found
his legs, he said TO me, plaintively;
"'Bill, why can't a man. when he's able
to buy UP a trolley system, enjoy a ride on
1t. too?'"
II is needless to add that Mr.. widener
hasn't tried a second time to reach mis-
office by trolley.
Flowers Are w. l.. EIkins Hobby.
Mr.. Elkins experiences no discomfort In
a trolley car, but he is miserable when
his valet forgets to place a flaming red
csrnation or an orchid Of the same color in
his coat lapel every morning. 1t is said
that such an untoward event has not hap
pened since a certain day, several years
ago, when a new valet Inadvertently forgot
this most important duty, with disastrous
results to himself.
BY reason of this hobby Mr.. Elkins is a
marked man whenever he walks Philadel-
phia's streets, and many a promoter. un-
able to gain entrance into the fnancier's
private office, has waited for him at the
foot of the elevator, spotted him by the
flower. and importuned him in public to
take up with this scheme or that.
Mr.. Elkins' passion for these two flowers
in particular, and all flowers in general, is
so strong that at his beautiful country
home In Elkins-a picturesque Philadelphia
suburb which bears his name and has been
developed by him-he has no less than a
dozen big greenhouses filled with ali sorts of
blooming plants. His ~favorite flower for
his dinner table is the American Beauty
rose, and costly vases filled with selected
buds are always to be found in the great
dining room.
Charles NJ. Schwab, as a musician, Is not
very well known to the world at large, but
among his intimate associates the president
Of the United States Steel corporation is
considered a singer and a pianist Of no
mean ability.
Mr.. Schwab, as a boy in Loretto, the lit
tie PENNSYLVANIA mountain town from which
he went into the world to make his for
tune, was taught music by the Sisters o!
Mercy, who have a convent at that place,
For years he sang in the church choir. and
when he went down to Braddock to work
in the steel mills his voice aided him IN
forming new acquaintances readily.
The story is frequently told il Braddock
that his accomplishment was, in large
measure, responsible for schwabs gaining
the good will Of Andrew Carnegie. Be that
as it may, this is what Braddock folks say.
1t seems that while Schwab was still in q
very minor position in the mill his fellow
workers, knowing his ability as a singer
asked him to sing at a certain social gath
ering of the mill employees. Schwab con-
scented, and, at the appointed hour, APP
peared clad in Highland costume and SANG
a typical Scottish song. He was just in
the midst OF IT. and the audience was CIV
ing him close attention, when the door
leading into the room opened and--lo and
behold-who should the unexpected new
conner be but Andrew Carnegie himself. II
is said that Mr.. Carnegie enjoyed both the
song and the singers evident confusion
and 1t is further said that the iron master,
who had already heard something OF
Schwab, was led TO inquire further about
his commercial abilities. with the result
that he was given wider and wider oppor-
~tunities.
Mr.. Schwab particularly delights in in.
dulging in his love Of music when at his
summer home in Loretto. He plays on the
piano. many times a day. and those of his
former %playmates now remaining in the
town OF their boyhood believe that there is
no pianist alive h can equal Charlie
schwab in playing "~ragtime."
CarneEie's Admiration of Tall Men
Mr.. Carnegie likes to talk to tall men
Pittsburg friends say that they have known
him to deliberately scrape up acquaintance
with representatives of the six-feet-and
over class for no other season in the worlt
than to ask them how they managed u
grow tall. Mr.. Carnegie has never go
over his boyhood ambition to be a big man
physically. He once said TO a FRIEND
apropos of this disappointment:
people tell me I'm a big man. But In
not as big as I'd like to be. Look at me-
George GOuId's Charity Basket.
Mr.. and Mrs. George j. Gould coming
out from Georgian Court on a cold winter
day to distribute charity from a big AM
bullying hamper tc needy residents of Lake
wood and Whereabouts is a far from I'm
common sight.
Mr.. and Mrs. Gould believe in personally
relieving any suffering that may be within
the shadow of their magnificent countr
seat in the pines, and, as a result, an!
person in Lakewood who gets into difficult!
is now accustomed to look for aid from thi
Goulds.l
Residents of Lakewood say that thii
winter the Goulds have supplied many toni
Of fuel to poor families, Mr.. Gould fire.,
quently experimenting its delivery.
IF there is a single case of unrelieveC
restitution in this township" said a promi
nent citizen of the resort recently, ut 4
because the Goulds have not heard OF Il
And II any one will be good enough to tel
them of It, in less than an hours tim
wen see them making for the place witt
a big basket occupying the better par
OF their trap,
"Mr. Gould has told me that nothing
gives him so much pleasure as to help
deserving neighbor, and he is so modest an,
unostentatious and diplomatic about IT tina
the person helped never feels as II he wery
a dependent"
E~x-speaker Reeds Elephant.
Thomas Bracket Reed never read tn
things printed about him with very nue.
attention. He was intensely interested
though, In cartoons which took up hi1
or his schemes. He used to presery
caricatures OF himself, and the first 4
which he figured had a place Of honor Il
his library, framed, much to the distres
80 Mru Dad uThn onul1 not Aaor q, L.