Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1903-10-30
|noekabcat : Ilotss
&1 PERSONS AND THINGS *s
AS Seen by Gath.

handed Gath the other day: MARY
is "a years old. Mary is twice as old
Sam was when Mary was as old as
Ann is now. How old is Ann7 The
gentleman who handed us the puzzle
is q good friend, otherwise, we would
suspect some diabollcal plot to de-
throne the small quantity of reason
which we possess. Or had it come
from that beautiful young lady who
was tired of hearing of ou1 good
looks, the same reason might have
appeared. But from a friend. we are
unable to assign any reason. How
ever, the gentleman will give a sack
of candy to the person who solves it.
A gentleman who was sitting in an
Office near that of Edwards Wood &
Co., heard the operator constantly
calling for Northwood the point from
which telephone market reports are
sent out and after listening Tor some
time said: "That fellow must be
stuck on Nora he is always calling her
and saying hello" That reminds US
Of a story told on n of Pennsylvan-
MAS soverelgns-the state where every
year power to levy a tax for school
purposes must be voted upon by the
people. Ballots for this purpose are
m srked "For Levy" or Against
Levy" This voter came to the polls
and after carefully examining his
ballot inquired Of a bystander, "Who
is this man Levi who has been on the
ticket for years."
There used to be a piece of poetry
about The taking down of blinds and
putting up of stoves" That's this
season of the year. Did you ever
try to put up a stove and attempt to
put together two pieces Of pipe each
of which is larger than the other Z
Try to put one in the other and the one
to be inserted is the larger. Reverse
the process and the other one becomes
the larger. You remember what you
said then if you we're possessed of
enough of that peculiar ability to do
the subject justice. If you are not you
gritted your teeth and said nothing.
But after all your breaches of moral
ity. a timer appeared on the scene and
Just as easily as you can adjust your
-lecktie or a woman he1 gloves after
she has started to church he puts those
stove pipes together and needs no
especial prayers the next Sunday.
Comes from knowing your business.
That's what he does. Knows just how
to hold the ~obstreperous parts and to
push them together. He can't do
tat and practice law. or run a bank
Tor be a merchant or run. a newspaper.
1T would take a lifetime as long as
Methuselah's to be proficient in every
thing that has to be done in a year
and so trades and professions have
developed.
III Ns":4Fa r Il 4
Gath: There has been a question
g8pof was constitutes literary ability in
our circle since reading your "note"
on the budding literary genius of
Ramsey county end quite N interest
ing debate is on. Please tell us
something about it. Reader" We
do not pose as a literary critic, in
fact don't know much about it
Literary ability simply defined is the
power to influence your readers. This
does not mean the ability to use we'll
chosen words alone. ever to use them
in their strongest and best relations.
It means the ability to so rivet the
attention of the reader that the style
of the writer is lost in the perusal OF
the language. McCauley is the best
example of this we can call to mind.
Goldsmith's polished language fail!
to hold the attention like that of Nc
Cauley. When we read Hood W,
tread on intellectual nettles constant
ly, expecting something sharp to turf
up. We are amused, but the styl'
does not fix itself in our minds lik'
that of McCauley. Shakespeare i
great in the portray of characters ant
events, but we learn Shakespeare il
spite of his style. The strong point
in all these writers are blended II
McCauley and we have possibly tn
greatest literary ability the world ha,
ever seen. This is our idea Of liter
airy ability.
We don't believe in the method
pursued by a number of newspaper
OF always nagging the business peopl
because they do not advertise. Mos
people are in business for profit, an
if that profit can be increased b
spending money in advertising. the
will do 1t. Occasionally a measl
soul is found who doesn't kno,
enough to see the difference betwee,
dead business and a progressive one
but thew are like the nroverhial lau