The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-04-17
TOPICS.
House-Cleaning in ST. LOuis-Har-
rowing Feats of the Circus.

Despite the obstacles which the trusts
place in the way of the advancement of
honest industry, some persons still do
manage to lay by enough of this
worlds goods to provide for their old
age. The Massachusetts bureau Of
labor statistics has recently made an
investigation of the persons who put
retired" after their names in the city
directory. According to the bureaus
last bulletin, there are in Massachu-
sets 2S,121 men and 1863 women who
nave retired from industry with a COM
petence. These fortunate old men and
women seem to be distributed pretty
generally among the various vocations,
including many which are generally
considered improbable. Perhaps the
most interesting feature of the table
is that it IS headed by farmers. There
are $3.50 farmers who are now drawing
their support from property acquired
during a life of industry. This speaks
we'll for New England farms, though
he farmer is doubtless satisfied with a
less sum of money than the dwelter in
even a small city. Second on the list
are the merchants, of whom there are
1924. After the merchants, come, GU
riouSly enough, the men of the build
ing trades. The small manufacturer"
cherished of the protectionists. is not,
in the language of the track, 'One,
two, three" Massachusetts should be
a fairly representative state as regards
the distribution of the prizes of re
tirement' among the various profess
SionS and business of it's citizens. If
anything, the showing would probably
be less favorable to the farmer than in
the majority of states. In respect to
another point G upon in the re-
port, the several states would doubtless
show wider differences. Sixty-nine per
cent. of the Massachusetts retired cit
liens" are native born of native pa
rents; 3 per cent. are native born of
foreign parents, and the rest foreign
born. 1t is u~ndeniably a good showing
for the immigrant.
Interest was displayed all over the
country this winter when a brief news
paper dispatch announced that a Utah
legislator had proposed a plan for a
sort of public house cleaning once a
year. Almost every newspaper which
commented on the subject at all COM
mended the idea of making Health
Day" a legal holiday n inducing all
citizens to join in doing good for the
SoilIlllOh" wealth. "ndl lIey OlO lnQ!Vlu-
ually for their own homes-make
everything tidy and sweet with broom
and dust cloth once in so often. I'm
spite of this awakened interest it was
a safe prediction hat nothing would
be done, at least by public authority.
Even Utah rejected the bill. The plan
is now, however, to have a trial by a
sort of Unanimous consent in st.
Louis. II is, of course, very important
for the citU 70 ha nrozanfah 1a 111rir~
h Worlds Fair. 1t is regarded as so
important, in fact, that arrangements
are being made for a veritable carnival
Of municipal additions. For three
Civic cleaning days" the citizens will
revel in cleanliness, just as a conscien-
tious country housewife does in the
spring of the year. Here is the pro-
programme, as the Civic Improvement
League has proclaimed it:
Every man, woman and child is re-
quested to devote April "a to putting
the cutters alleys, yards, vacant lots.
ETC., in order in their own localities.
April % will be proclaimed a legal holi-
day by the y and to emphasize
the significance of the movement,
badges and flags will be displayed.
Sunday, April &c, all clergymen are
requested, in connection with their reg
ular service, to emphasize the import
ance and benefits to be derived from a
more healthful and attractive local en-
vfronment."
Now the question is whether the peo-
pie of st. Louis will consider that put
tering around cutters and vacant lots
is a suitable or reasonable way to
spend the holiday thus generously
given to them.
1t was about three years 6 that the
circus performers passion for making
a human gyroscope of himself became
an acute mania In most of it's fea-
lures. the circus today is the same as
the circus depicted on the Assyrian
monuments. There has been, however,
one innovation in the asst half decade.
1t is absolutely necessary now for every
! frSt-claSS circus to contain some Pc
culiarly hair-raising feat performed
with wheels or some sort of Whirling
things or some elaborate piece of appa-
ratus which can be built up in the mid
die of the ring. First, it was the de-
scent of "a long fight of steps on A
bicycle; next, the ascent of a narrow
spiral without any han rails on a
single wheel: then the thrilling loop
the loop; then the riding of a bic ycle
around the inside of a vertical cylinder.
For the first e a newly invented
feat is usually n mans property,
being so difficult that no one else can
90 H. Inc second year there are SchOolS
to teach them the act, and every third
rate circus can put on the great act.
if it cares to. Danger-loving young
men in every quarter of the globe now
spend their winters in i%nventing new
sensations for the circuSeS of coming
years. Two additions to the stock of
feats have already been announced
this spring. First comes a mar who
proposes to loop the loop on roller
skates. This should be an interesting
act to watch because of the likelihood
that the man will fall on his head when
he gets hal way round. The lorna
do" Is yer more spectacular. There is
a scaffold fifty feet high for the start,
two wire ropes to serve as a track lead