davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1903-05-24

took it for a bullet and bolted for their
bullet proof cellars. Suits for damages
were brought against the State, and the iron
fence was built as sort Of bullet fender
Don't shut your eyes" is the first ad-
monitiou of the corporal coach taking
a tenderfoot under instruction. Hold
your gun steady. Yes, If the target
was in the sky you would probably score a
but it isn't. It's there right in front Of your
nose. Steady. steady; keep your gun down.
Don't try to shoot around corner until you
qualify on the thousand-yard range. Ann
low"
In this way the novice is ridiculed, threat
ened and coaxed along until finally he
turns in his score and marches proudly
away with his first marksman's badge.
Some men develop an aptitude for shoot
ing at once, and there are cases on record
in which man on his first visit to the range
has run the gamut from marksman to
sha rpshooter in one day; but this sort Of
shooting Is rare.
From the lO0-yard range those making
a score Of Is or more out of possible rs
move down to the 2OO-yard range, where
the position Is knaeling. A score OF Is
points or more at this range takes the man
to ths So)-yard range. where he shoots
lying prone. and another Is points or more,
making a total Of IS as a minimum. quail
fies him for a marksman's badge.
To qualify as a sharpshooter the marks
man mist SORE a minimum of 2? points
at 500 yards and 20 points at 800 yards.
making a total OF AZ: while the expert class
dsn,nis a score Of 20 at TOO yards and 20
at 40 wards Last Of all are the distin-
guishe1 experts. who are men who can
score 10 out Of a possible 80 at 900 and 900
yards.
Soma idea Of the excellence OF the target
practice Of the Guardsmen may be obtained
from the figures of last year, which show
that nineteen men in the Seventy-hrst
Regiment qualified as distinguished ex-
The sun., 1903-05-24

1at.,ev rnactcs Is unoer fuii swing at
the State rife range at Creedmoor. Every
week day from now until the end Of the sea-
son will find National Guardsmen there
seeking fame and medals in the black disk
OF distant elusive target.
Bright and early in the morning they
set out from this city wearing their service
uniforms. Regiments from Manhattan
cross the Thirty-fourth street ferry to
Hunters Point, where they board special
train on the Long Island Railroad for Creed
moor. Troops from Brooklyn embark on
the trains at some convenient point in that
borough. The State regulations provide
that none but Guardsmen in uniform may
shoot on the range, and the sprinkling OF
civilians among the blue and khaki uni
forms on the trains is supplied by the scorers
employed by the State to keep tally.
Breaking ranks, the men pile aboard
the train, their rifles and accoutrements
clanking, and as the train goes whring
through the green landscape Of Queens
cards and smoking articles are produced.
Hundreds of business men are numbered
among the members of the Guard, and
many Of these having business to attend
to, bring along bundles of documents,
which they scan on the journey to and
from Creedmoor. Altogether they are a
The sun., 1903-05-24

their victims. flourish. Here. too, the
important work of watching the bar gold
and coin that goes to Europe through the
m lis. and COM from Europe here, de-
vo.y upon the p'st Office inspectso;sss' s;s
cult work in detecting depredations on the
One Of the commonest crimts In this
district is tho robbing Of mail boxes. In
the financial and business districts the mail
to steal letters from them, and for a long
time gang fiourished here who did nothing
else.
They abstracted hundreds Of letters
containing checks. generally, for large
sums, but only in few cases did they dare
tn present the checks for the ir face value.
They reduced the amount and were thus
able to collect on the checks without exc,t-
ing suspicion. The local post office in
spe ctors broke up this gang, sending sew
eral OF the more important members to
Jail for long terms.
One Of the great sources Of strength OF
the inspect ion service Is the fact that the
dishone ri postmaster or clerk never knows
The inspector drops in on him without
notice. and there IL nothing TO do but give
him the books at once.
Mr. Bristow's report for last year gives
some idea OF the enormous volume OF work
done in twelve months by these inspe ctors.
II shows that 1872 705 cases were referred
to inspec; ors diving the year and that Of
tn, sc i75. .42o were satisfactorily disPos 81 OF.
One he usa nd seven hu, DIR, d and TIVE nty-
one arrests were made. OF these ll2 were
postmasters. rs assistant postmaste II, "a
clerks, IL railroad post Office clerks, 70
letter carriers, n mail carriers and ls
persons occupying minor posts in the
postal service. The remainder were per-
sons not connected with the postal service
at all, 2s7 Of them being post Office bur-
glars.
or those arrested, I ,l9l were taken into
court and 7l9 convictions were obtained
or the balance l47 were discha rged by the
Grand Jury, il5 were rel, ased on pr, lin
mary examination, rs were acquittt d and
the rest were dispt sed Of by suspe nded
sentences. death and lenient judge 8.
Like the men Of the United States Secret
The sun., 1903-05-24

Toward the middle Of the afternoon men
who have qualified on the marksmens
range 60 pouring toward the chief scorers
Office for badges, or new bars to be added to
their old badges. Those qualifying for
the first time get the regulation State badge
AS they qualify in each succeeding year the
bar of the year preceding ia taken of the
medal and another with the new number
attached. 30 that man who has qualified
two years gets badge with bar bearing
the figure 49," and SO on.
-Where's your badge?" demands the
scorer as the beardless Guardsman thrusts
in his score which serves as voucher for
his Workmanship.
Lost IL. is the reply.
Guess you gave IT to your glrIn' ana 1t
Those who served during the Spanish,
American War; and in consequence failed
to qualify on ths range that year, get an
extra bar on their badges which bears this
Inscription. -ls-U. s. V.-0s.'
More than one hundred and forty acres
Is now included in this rang,, which is one
OF the fl lest in this country. The ranges
run due east and west, with the, targets In
the east. This gives thu merksmel the
benefit Of having the afternoon sun on their
backs.
An ideal day for shooting, according to
the range vernacular, s a gray sky and
9 o'clock wind Ry means Of hand
shifted around on disk painted with nu :
HleTdlS HiNeT tHt HlHlt VI q tioSN
ton of the wind IL indicated, and when the
hand points to g clock" the wind Is blow
ing directly toward the targets.
From being a barren field a few years
ago the grounds to-day are dotted with
regimental clubhouses with number OF
Others In course OF construction. The
finest clubhouse on the grounds is owned
BY the Seventh Regiment. 1t is fitted up
with all clubhouse appointments, including
sleeping rooms and baths.
The Twenty-second Regiment has a
fine clubhouse, and the clubhouse Of the
Seventy-flrst Regiment adjoins that of the
Seventh. Across the way the Twelfth
course Of construction.
Cornelius Vanderbilt is Lieutenant in
this regiment, and it is said that when the
proposition Of building a clubhouse was
brought up at a meeting Of the officers,
and each man pledged himself to subscribe
a certain amount toward the cost, several
OF the officers clubbed together. Lieut..
Vanderbilt among them, and decided to
toss a cent to see who should pay the as
sessr,ent OF the group. Lieut.. Vanderbilt
lost and his check was promptly forth
coming for the amount. This clubhouse
will cost quite 5000.
The Thirteenth, Twenty-third and Forty
seventh regiments also have clubhouses in
course Of construction.
The sun., 1903-05-24

concerns which operate through the mails
and doing a thousand and one other things
that make their description as the eyes
and ears Of the service fitting one.
A post office inspector must be q good
detective. but to be that alone does not
At him for the work he has to do. He must
be an expert accountant familiar with
all the ins and outs Of the postal service.
resourcsful, tactful and courageous. for he
has to do with the cleverest as well as the
most dangerous criminals.
The records OF the Post Ofice Depart
ment show an amazing amount OF work
done each year by these apparently tireless
men some Of wlom travel an average OF
100 miles a day the year round. At all
times the inspectors are the personal repre-
sentatives Of the Postmaster General, and
they have unlimited authority.
They are Under the direction Of Fourth
Assistant Postmaster General Bristow, and
there is a head inspector in each Of the fif-
teen districts who directs To certain ex-
tent the work OF the men in his district. In
this district the head inspector Is E, Fl
Thorpe, and the. measure Of business here
being larger than in any other part of tho
country, the work is the most important.
1t is in the New York Post ONCE that
the bulk OF the irregulariv addressed let
ters are received. A corps Of inspectors. who
call themselves blind readers. sorts them
and manages to get 90 per cent Of them to
their proper destination. A letter which
once arrived addressed to John Smith,
Fulton street, United States was sent
around the country for two years before
1t reached it's rghtf,Il owner He was
finally found In small town In Iowa, where
he kept small store on the main street
of the town. known as Fulton street
In no other dist rict have the inspectors
broken up 80 many swindles az they have
In this district, where get-rich-quick con-
Germs, green goods men, makers Of bogus
medicines. m swindlias a.trolose5s and 9the
The sun., 1903-05-24
then out into the open field toward the 100

then out into the open field toward the 100
yard range.
Red signal flags Are huttering every
where, denoting to 'soorers, guarelsmen
and workmen that the range Is not yet
open for practice. mob Of scorers sur
round the one-story frame building In
which the chief scorer has his Office. As
each scorer sings out his name and number
he receives red Aag score blanks and books
and is assigned to his station for the
day.
In the meantime the regiment has spread
out in front of the l0O!yard range In skir-
mish order. The bugle sounds. red flags
flutter at different points, while a great
crimson flag flaps lazily from tall pole
on the embankment back of the butts.
The target keepers are safe in their under
ground bullet-proof stations, and practice
is begun.
With full regiment at practice the scene
presented falls short OF the spectacle Of
actual warfare only by the absence Of an
enemy. There Is the sharp cracking Of
rifles, the clouds Of smoke the excitement,
the hurrying and distributing Of ammuni-
ton, the long, struggling line, the irregular
firing and the swishing Of the bullets as
they cut through the grass and bring up
against the embankment in the rear of the
The sun., 1903-05-24
BOARD on HOUSEBOATS.
Accommodations OF Two Kinds Offered u
New Workers This Summer.

The fact that board can now b. gct
on houseboats near New York puts the
bachelor maid and the single man boardef
in position to test new order OF domestic
accommodation.
Two sorts of houseboats offer summer
accommodations to boarders. First, there
is the boat OF comparatively primitive
description which does not rent for lar1S
sum, on which the boarder gets mercy
a berth and locker and all the furnish
ings in the various departments are OF the
simplest and panest.
Then there is the houseboat Of high olass
English pattern, with all modern house
convenieices, antique fittings. library,
staterooms. &c. and liberal amount Of
deck room. The rates of board on the
two kinds correspond with the accom-
modattons offered.
The water facilities for houeeboating
within twenty-five miles OF New York are
such as to arouse enthusiasm for this sort
OF summer lodging. Doubtless, in additk,in,
to houseboat boarding colonies there VIII
soon he houseboats offering furnished
rooms and apartments to the pubic and
others 4 ting n specially OF prov1ding
meals 70 y ,e neighboring roomers
The sun., 1903-05-24

happy crowd, and for the time being clerks
and milionaires rub elbows. At Floral
Park the train is switched from the main
track to the single line of road that runs
direct to the range.
All ashore!" sings out voice as the
train comes to a halt.
Every man tries to be the first out, and
there Is considerable confusion as a result.
The bugle sounds, the order is given Fall
In, and all bosterous conduct stops almost
instantly.
Down the broad, shaded roadway leading
into the range they 20, swinging past the
row of new regimental clubhouscs that are
giving the grounds more attractive look,
The sun., 1903-05-24
BUSY POST OFFICE INSPECTORS
VARIETY or THE DUTIES THEY
HAVE TO PERFORM.
Expert Account ants as Well as Detectives
watch on Post ONCE BurElars-WOrk
That the Public Hears Little OF
Eyes and Ears OF the Depart ment.

The post office inspectors, like other
Government detectives, work for the Gov
eminent first, their salaries next and fame
last of all. Much of the work they do each
year is kept secret by the Department,
and the general public has little idea of
what they accomplish, but those who do
know their work know that to it. more
than to any other one thing, is due the
evenness of the mail service of the country.
The post Office inspectors have been
described as the eyes and ears of the postal
system. If there is hitch in the service
anywhere an inspector is sent TO clear it
up. If there is a mixup in the accounts
OF postmaster, an inspector mas to
straighten it up and afterward decide
whether it was due to dishonesty or stu
pidity.
II letters go astray the inspectors have
to find them. II a mail clerk or a letter
carrier is suspected Of dishonesty, the in
spectors have to watch him. If a safe in
rural post Office is blown op en-, a mail
stage or mail train held up, in fact il any
crime against the Post Office Department
" committed, it is the inspectors who must
bring the guilty TO justice
These are a few Of the duties of the post
office inspectors. When they are not other
wise employed they are supposed to be
floating around the country. dropping in
unexpectedly on postmasters to look over
heir accounts, watching the fraudulent
The sun., 1903-05-24

furnish him the necessary reference. n
correspondent answered promptly:
i am an undertaken and have bean y
business here many years.
The agent, to quote him, has been throw
ing fits ever since. He doesn't want 70
offend his correspondent, who has acted
upon every suggestion he has made, By
refusing to place his advertisement, ~
he feels that II he offers the advertisement
to any Of the publications it will be thrown
out, for the fact that an undertaken IL ID.
vertising for a doctor is susceptible Of
several constructions. none Of which would
be entirely agreeable to doctor. save - .
story at a banquet where only doctors werS
present.
AT last accounts the agent had taken "
his belt three holes.
The sun., 1903-05-24

ting the range scour the surrounding wood
land for wild flowers and others loll around
in the shade and doze unmindful Of the
sounds OF skirmish close at hand. While
a fine clubhouse is maintained inside the
grounds where meals and other refresh
ments are provided, many Of the Guards
man wander outside, and upon extremely
battered growlsr is produced and soon a
festive party is enjoying a sort OF ofimpromptu
pi onic But despite the liberty allowed
the privilege is seldom abused.
Years ago certain regiments at times
brought their refreshments, liquid and
otherwise. to the grounds. As they were not
allowed to bring the stuff inside the State
The sun., 1903-05-24

targets with a sharp crack. like the blow OF
a hammer on piece Of metal.
Close in the rear Is mustered the hospital
corps with surgeon and atretchers. One
Of the rules Of the range is that practice
shall not begin until the surgeon is on the
ground.
1t is the first one hundred yards that tries
the new recruits most. Standing is the
position defined by the regulations for this
distance, and under the coaching Of several
comrades the beginner, " ith his rife wab-
bling az If he were suffering from an attack
OF Long Island chills, tries his luck at
scoring on the black disk which but few
seconds before seemed the size OF full moon
The sun., 1903-05-24

Col N. B.. Thurston, formerly Dspusy
Police Commissioner under Col, PaYtridre.
i In charge Of the range. as' Inspector OF
the field from one range to the other mounted
on a black horse.
One point of interest to visitors Is tho
small building from which floats the Red
Cross flag. This Is the field hospital. A
short distance away Is the arsenal, lo6
brick structure
In the allotment made by the State eveey
The sun., 1903-05-24

reservation. It was set up outside, and thus
the regiment maintained two firing lines
during the days practice-one at the range
with rife and the other at the rear with
schooners. OF late years this custom has
been abolished
On the extreme east and west sides of the
field are the pistol ranges. where officers
are supposed TO qualify. The ranges are
at26, 80 and rs yards. and In qualifying each
points at each range.
The sun., 1903-05-24

instead of due east the direction in which
the targets lie.
Before the erection OF the iron fence the
Hendrickson family and other farmers In
the neighborhood passed anxious moments
during the Creedmoor season. Every time
a bee or fly hummed within earshot they
The sun., 1903-05-24

but now has shrunk and is cutting up
fantastic capers.
That the beginner needs a guardian,
sheet iron fence ten feet high and about one
hundred feet long which fianks the north
side of this range bears testimony, as
does Farmer John Hendrckson's house
The sun., 1903-05-24
QUANDiRY OVER AN "AD..
Puzzle Of the Undertaken Who Wants .
Doctor to Settle In Ills Town.

Doctor to Settle In His Town.
An agent in this city is in a quandary
Part of his business is to place advertise
ments in various medical publications.
Not long azo he received a letter from an
inland town not very far from New York,
asking il he knew Of any doctor who would
like to settle in town such as the writer
described in which there was no physician.
The agent perhaps knew Of number,
but he looked at the matter entirely from
the business end and. replying to the
writer, suggested that the latter advertise
for a doctor. The suggestion was quite
sician, and he prepared his advertisement.
Then the ageat, being the representative
OF publishers who required guarantees.
wrote TO his correspondent and suggested
very automatically that the correspondent
The sun., 1903-05-24

parts, fifteen in the Seventh Regiment,
fourteen in the Twelfth Regiment, fourteen
in the Thirteenth Artillery, while the Sixty
ffth Regiment from up the State had nine
teen, the Seventy-fourth Regiment twenty
one and the Second Battalion fifteen.
To many of the Guardsmen rife prac-
tice means holiday. Squads after quit
The sun., 1903-05-24

year fifty rounds of ammunition are pro
vided for each man, and it Is estimated that
in the course of a season 200, 900 rounds
are expended on this range, After the
shooting is over in the fall gangs Of labor
ers are set to work on the earth embank-
The sun., 1903-05-24

about one-fourth OF mile outside the
range.
This house has been wounded and SCARED
in several places by bullets sent wandering
over the Long Island landscape by youthful
""ardsmen who pointed their guns north
The sun., 1903-05-24

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1900 l.. no, ,h,,
Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-01
NO MORE SMALL FEET.

/ It is pleasant to have something tu record of China other than wars and rumors of wars. The present news Is that an agitation has been started to protest against the barbarous GUS tom of bandaging the feet of the Ce- lestial girl babies and thus making ar tificial cripples of the mothers of the Chinese race. There are many ab- surd and idiotic fashions in the world but this Is perhaps the most idiotic of them all. There are great hopes of en- listing the active sympathies of the empress dowager in the movement, not only because as Manchu, she her. self never submitted to this torturing deformity, but also because the Man. chus have opposed the custom of foot binding all along, and have again and again issued edicts against it. but
 hitherto all in vain. It is said that the prime mover in the campaign fs the reformer Kang-Yan-Wei of Canton, who has added example to precept and being the father of fair daughters. has refused to send them hopping and hob bling through life. and has further pre- vailed on numbers of his personal friends to follow his example. This IS ulG true UIC III China as well as elsewherea and doubt less the pioneers will have to pass through the same stages of social os- tracism as did the strong-minded and enlightened persons in India who be- gan the campaign for the remarriage of infant widows-of girls, that is
 who,l having been betrothed before they were born. were bereaved of their lords and ma asters while still mere chill dren, and who, under the interpreta- ton of Manu's law. were held to be widows, deprived of the right of re- marriage, and doomed to perpetual servitude, privation and hardship We may well compare their lot with that or their sisters in China, who are tortured and maimed by the bandag. ing of their feet in infancy. It is pleas ing to find the initiative in this reform being taken by the Chinese themselves That is the true and healthy path of national progress. Outside forces can never accomplish genuine reforms as was shown for instance, in the re- peated failure of the Manchu dynasty to abolish that very evil. The Man. chus, by the way. are responsible for the introducing the pigtail into China they made the conquered nation wear it as sign of loyalty. Weekly