davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

as Miss Keller's preparation for col
lege was not. of course, dreamed OF. Yet.
Laura Bridgman was taught things as
difficult as anything which Miss Keller
has learned. She wrote her own let
ters. kept her own journals. and did
many kinds OF Homework. There are in
existence bits of fancy work done by
her which would tax the ingenuity and
eyesight of a woman with ali her senses.
One OF these is a lace collar, knit with
the finest thread. on the finest needles.
and rivaling in its daintiness the lace
work OF Europe An Intimate friend of
Miss Bridgman says that one OF her
most striking characteristics was neat
ness. On being taken 10 her room she
would investigate shelves and tables for
any trace of DUST. and If she found the
least evidence that the room had not
been busted that day she insisted ON
laying a paper down TO protect her be-
longings.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
ffr. AIDE and a Bore.

The latest story of George AIDE shows
him in a mood which, while 1t may seem
ungallant. will be deemed excusable ~
all busy people who have been bored by
untalented aspirants. Mr.. AIDE is never
a bore, but he knows what boredom is
He was taught this by a compa-
triot from Lafayette, Indiana lady
who had literary aspirations. and re-
garded him as a sort OF encyclopedia for
genius in distress. Once she stayed away
from his Office so long that he
really began 10 hope she had died, or
been married. or something, and pos
sibly he didn't care which. But she ap-
peared once more. in course OF time,
and of course he had to be polite ard
ask her where she had been.
why, don't you know" she said. Il
had fever for three weeks. and IL has
taken me six weeks to get on my feet. :"
six weeks?" asked Mr.. AIDE in sur
prise.
Yes, indeed. six whole weeks
Well" he said. 81 have always heard
that Chicago women had large feet, but
l didn't suppose they were quite go
large as that"
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Meredith and Browning.

In Chesterton's Browning" there is
this clever analysis of the style Of the
poet as compared with the equally OBJ
scure style of Meredith:
Meredith is really a singer produc-
ing strange notes and cadences difficult
TO follow because of the delicate rhythm
Of the song he sings Browning is sim
ply a great demagogue. with an impedi-
ment in his speech: If Browning and
George Meredith were each describing
the same act. they might both be OBJ
scure, but their obscurities would be en-
tirely different. Suppose, for instance,
they were describing so prosaic and ma
terial an act as a man being knocked
downstairs by another man 10 whom he
had given the lie Meredith's descrip-
ton would refer to something which an
an ordinary observer would not see. or
at least could not describe. 1t might be
sudden sense of anarchy in the brain
OF the assaulter, or a stupefaction and
stunned serenity in that of the object
Of the assault He might write: Vain
woods men vary in veracity" brought
the baronet's arm up. He felt the doors
of his brain burst. and Wainwood q
swift rushing of himself through air ac-
companied with a clarity OF the ami
hilated.' Meredith, in other words. would
speak queerly because he was describ-
ing queer mental experiences. But
Browning might simply be describing
the material incident of the man being
knocked downstairs. and his description
would run:
What then? "You He!'' And doorn,,t bo,o,,
stairs
Takes bump from back
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
ABOUT AUTHORS
Real Magnanimity.

II is unusual for an author 10 concede
frankly the superiority OF another person
In his own line of work. but the pub
fishers vouch for one instance at least
When Harold MacGrath's novel, This
Grey Cloak" appeared last spring, two
other novels dealing with precisely the
same period appeared in the same fort
night The author OF one of these came
into his publishers Offices one day with
the remark, II have just been reading
book that deals with the same material
as mine. and it's a much better story"
The remarkable feature of this incident
is that it was not Mr.. McGrath's publish
ers who told the literary editor the
tale, but the other mans.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

ILVY TORK- SICKNESS" is NAL
wv ady that is peculiarly
prevalent these hot days.
It is remarkable disease. and indicates
what some men and women will suffer to
avoid regular employment. Hospital ply
gicians tell of strange cases that come
under their notice where persons under
90 agonizing pain because Of their aver
sion for work. Such cases are most
common in prisons. but they frequently
are found IN the city hospitals. SOL
diers and sailors. too. often resort TO
an extreme expedicnt 10 get a week or
. month or a year Of the easy. pampercd
lii in a hospital ward.
The ailments most frequently feigned
are fits. paralysis, imbecility, pains IN
the chest or back. splitting OF blood.
and bleeding at the nose. Sometimes a
leg is twisted or retained IN peculiar
position for a length Of time. result
ing in she loss OF power of using II
again. Some men have been known 70
cause a limb 20 swell and tester by
pricking a sore with a copper wire; TO
cause innltration Of the air beneath. the
skin by running a sharp instrument into
the lung; 70 keep the end Of a stump
OF an amputated limb from healing by
torturing means
Physicians say that among those who
sham a disease 10 avoid work, overacans
Is the commonest failing that leads 20
the detection OF impostors. The make
believe paralytic. though he shows no
difficulty IN protrueing his tongue, viii
turn IL a trile too much 10 one side; the
spurious lunatic viii be much too incon-
seQuential in his ideas and actions; the
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
THE STORY or CORPORATION

the first place. He then argues that tho
men who developed the company's re-
sources were men of extraordinary acu-
men and shrewdness, alert to seize
every advantage, far-seeing, resource
full, and sagacious. Such men. he
thinks, must have won success even
without the accidental favoring of cir
in their favor IL was impossible that
they should not succeed.
This is no new argument, but the ar
ray of facts and figures with which it is
supported is interesting. 1t is q more
compact statement OF the history of the
other works on the subject, and certain
ly more comprehensive than much OF
the campaign literature dealing with it,
In short, il is a condensed argument
which covers practically the whole field.
This kind of argument is acceptable to
busy folk.
The summing up of the first part OF
the book. discussing the causes of the
success of the Standard Oil Company,
Is as follows:
by early developments of its refining
capacity, the Standard Oil Company had
succeeded in 1870 in controlling per
cent OF the production of the oil re-
gions By 1871 1t had so availed itself
of the competition between the trunk
lines as 10 enjoy rates equal to those of
the ref1ners at Pittsburg. In the de-
preston of 1872 1t had unsuccessfully
essayed, with other refiners, to act as
'evener' for the railroads. Frustrated
in this attempt, IL had returned to its
policy of concentration-purch
refineries, uniting with large ones, and
exacting of the railroads discrimina-
lions proportionate to its size. By 1874
the capital of the Standard Oil Company
of Ohio had been increased to s.. 500. 900.
The control of the Standard alliance
had been extended over more than halt
the refining industry, and the combina-
ton was ready to enter upon the pur-
chase of pipe lines. The railroads had
not conspired 10 cause this development
neither could sharp practice in competi-
ton account for it. This remarkable
increase since 1870 in Industrial eficien-
cy must be due to superior ability and
capital. This still more striking in
crease in advantages of transportation
must be due to the same causes, coupled
with Speculiar opportunities OF geo.
graphical location and railway condi-
tons"
In short, Mr.. Montague's explanation
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Of Interest TO Authors.

These Literary Notes from the
Reader for August are Of interest rath
er as suggestions than as news:
by request. Charles G. D. Roberts has
eliminated the explosive initials in his
name, and will hereafter be known as
Charles Roberts.
Miss Josephine Dodge Daskam, has
also consented to abolish both the Dodge
and the exclamation point, and now signs
herself Josephine Daskam.
Mr.. John Burroughs says he will
write the Introduction 10 Mr. Ernest
Seton saws he won't.
Miss Carolyn Wells, the Railway
Wonder. is making her annual pilgrim
age 10 Limerick"
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
CURRENT LITERARY NOTES

still in him that magnetism which made
him, to his friends. a man worth the
knowing. Why. then, rake up all the
disagreeabIe things which might as well
be forgotten? Why endeavor TO look at
him from the point of view of
those who detested him? 1t is not
charged against him that he has mis-
represented other people 10 their hurt;
why. then. misrepresent him? 1t is GER
tainly misrepresentation to point out a
mans faults TO the exclusion of his vir-
tues. And whatever defense might have
been offered for Mr.. Henley's action had
he taken it during Stevensons life. the
world is likely always TO see il for what
1t was-a mean and contemplate attack
on the dead
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
~ ~ VAR AND ITS EVILS ~ 4:

is sweet and fitting that men should die
for their country when that country is
threatened by another power. One might
as we'll argue that the right would al
ways prevail among boys IL the righteous
ones could not defend themselves as 10
argue that nations would always come
to peaceful agreement IL civilized ma
lions had no armies. The code OF inter-
national morality is still in large meas
ure that of the playground. though that
OF individuals may have advanced far
beyond this stage. and writer's OF today
have generally agreed to recognize the
fact that Ii Is sometimes necessary TO
fight for peace.
But Channing's Independence OF
thought, plainness Of speech, and IN
swerving idealism are still of use, for
the military ideal, as such. is anything
but admirable, and we are not likely to
be benefited by the adherence to the
doctrine that might makes right. (Bos-
ton: CHM & Coz
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

carnations-two white and two scarlet
1t was there that the quarrels of Morse
men were settled, either by the white.
passiOnless verdict OF the law. or the
more deep tinged decision Of the sword.
Here in Lithend grows Halgerda-a
fiercely flaming tiger-lily. in her baleful
beauty-and I have for want of anything
better made the sage, cool-headed Nal
at Bergthorsknoll a hoary. bloomless
everlasting. thrown into picturesque re-
lief by his crimson-petaled wife, Berg
thora, in whom the blood runs with more
passionate vigoT."
The map idea might be interesting for
some gardeners of today to carry out as
an experiment.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

grapes TO the acre is common yield in
Ger trail Asia. and as the American vine
is free from parasites il is being intro
duced everywhere the world over. from
South Africa 10 Northern China and
Japan. We still export tobacco plants
to Russian Asia, so that the Russian
tobacco, grape. Gotten, and wheat crops
are all American. once removed.
No Oriental fable is stranger than the
accomplishments OF the up-to-iate
Yankee drummer. In Bagdad. the home
of Aladdin. he offers new American
lamps that burn either Russian or Ohio
oil for the old battered bronze taIlow
burners OF the Bagdad housewife. and
as these time-wOrn Oriental lamps ind
a ready sale in New York the enterpris-
ing drummer who introduced ths
American lamp TO Bagdad was well re-
paid for his trouble. Now. however.
American lamps are becoming a drug
in the Bagdad market, and the supply %
old lamps is rapidly giving out as cur
trade with Turkey increases.
A Connecticut Arm manufactures sa-
cred scarabei for the Egyptian tourist
trade. The little charms are carved.
and even Clipped by machinery. oolored
in bulk TO simulate age. and shipped
in casks 20 the Moslem dealers. at
Cairo. The Arabian guides are the chief
buyers. many of them being adopts a.
Sailing the sands at the base OF
Pyramids. or about the sacred temu
where they artfully discover these
rabei before the very eyes of the
kee tourists. and sell him for an An
can dollar an article manufactured
a cost of less than cent, perhaps WI
In a stones throw of his own home. F6fy
enterprise IL beats the wooden nutmegs.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

of the matter is practically the same IS
that which the rough old merchant
sailor, Sir Anthony Gloster. gave of his
own success in crushing out rival lines
of freight steamers; first, that he took
the chances they wouldn't, and now
they're calling it luck second. that he
knew more about the business, and had
holder and more inventive mind than
they.
They copied all they could follow, but they
couldn't copy my mind,
And left EN- swearing and stealing year and
a half behind.
His motto was:
the Scripture text,
You keep your light shining little in front
o the next!
The question is not yet settled, how
ever, how far business is to be allowed
to become war; how far 1t is right 20
go in the direction OF running one com
munity. that a dozen other communities
may profit by 1t. This. and not the sue
cess or failure of one firm OF another.
is the real question at issue. A trust
may, II it sees At, destroy the entire
Industrial basis of three towns, that a
hundred may buy their goods at slight
reduction, or that the trust itself may
have Increased capital with which TO
meet difficulties. This creates feeling
of unrest and discomfort among the
working classes, and a general insta-
bility of position among the middle class
60 fhafr inCn00
more or less on the prosperity of the
town In which they live. IL makes en-
tire independence of thought and feel
ing almost impossible. since opposi-
ton to the trust may mean ruin. These
are the evils which large combinations
different form, attended the rise of feu-
dalism in the middle ages. and almost
the same arguments could have been
advanced then in favor of feudalism, IL
men had not been too busy fighting TO
waste breath in talking.
1t will be remembered that strong as
the barons were, firmly as their power
was established, the rise Of the cities
in course of time destroyed the feudal
system. Some analogous movement may
be looked for to diminish the power of
the corporation II cannot be regar led
as anything but a phase OF national de-
velopment. But as such. it should be
studied carefully and thoroughly. and
Mr.. Montague appears to have studied
1t in that way. (New York: Harper &
Bros.)
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
SHAM ILLNESS TO AVOID WORK

counterfeit deaf mute fails not only 20
recognize sounds, but even the vibra-
tons of the sound waves produced by
striking a resonant body on which he
may be standing. 10 which a real deaf
mute never is insensible.
Doctors say that such malingering is
but an accentuated form of the malin-
gering seen on every hand every day:
the cold that prevents a patient from
seeing an unwelcome guest; the throat
trouble that keeps him from delivering
a speech, and the mysterious complaint
Frequently reported in the case of a
Chinese statesman) that units the sub
iect for signing official documents.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Tue Greatness.

Any perplexed student of current lit
erature who desires test Of greatness
is counseled TO note only those writer's
who have arrived at that stage in which
a man Is known as Brown instead OF
as John Robinson Brown. There was a
time, for example. when a certain Hoo
sier poet was known as J. W. Riley;
that was when his fame was purely To-
cal; then he got into the magazines and
publishing houses, and, as he says. ''un-
coupled his name" and became James
Whitcomb Riley; the assuredness OF his
fame is now shown by the fact that he
is generally spoken OF as Riley.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

w Sta. :;'' '. @:'' @,': :;'' 81. to ,. s::
wheat TO compete with our
own product in the markets OF the
world, says Golfers Weekly" To plant
cultivate. reap, and harvest her own
half our total exports of agricultural
machinery. This year we have already
shipped some SO, 900 tons of these i'm
plements TO the land of the Gar
In former years all this passed through
the ports OF New York and Philadelphia,
but a fractional increase In freight
rates between the lakes and the East
has diverted the trade TO Southern
ports. while experiments are being made
in direct shipments from Chicago, by
way OF the lakes, the st. Lawrence
River. and the Atlantic Ocean.
The cotton plant first came 10 America
from Asia: now the greater part of the
Central Asia crop is grown from Ameri-
can cottonseed. American cultivators
till the soil, which is watered by ar
American irrigation system.
Yankee gins clean the fiber. American
compounds press the cotton into bales
wrapped with American bands. and
finally the cotton finds its way 10 Mos
COW over railroad built with American
capital, and is turned into cloth by
secondhand machinery from an Amer
lean cotton factory. TO compete abroad
with American crtnts.
Another regular article of export to
Central Asia is the Ohio grapvine cut
ting. The vineyards of Central Asia are
all offshoots from American vines, and
the fruit is priced abeve all others in
Russia proper for its delicacy and iavor.
Twenty to thirty tons Of American
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
1.-THE RISE AND PROGRESS
OF THE STANDARD OIL
COMPANY" by Gilbert Hol-


COMPANY" by Gilbert Hol-
land Montague, is a book OF no great
size, but of much interest to the stu
dent OF economies. It is study of the
history and methods of the Standard oil
Company, from its beginning. in 1865, 10
the present time.
Less has been said about this Ic-
remarkable corporation during recent
years than was said at the time of the
Bryan agitation. and for some years he
fore and after that movement, It was
then taken. not unjustly, as a type of
the modern combination of capital, ard
all sorts OF things have been charged
against il. some of which are doubtless
true. 1t was cited as an excellent
proof of Nthe truth of the saying that
example of the dishonesty, greed, and
evil effects of monopolies. On the other
hand. its defenders argued that the evils
were inseparable from the good; that
both were the consequences of great
and the inevitable movement toward the
Capitalization OF industry. and that in
the end the people, as q whole, would
gain more than they lost by It's RISE
1t was, In practical form, the same phil
osophy which Pope voiced a century and
half ago in his sententious couplet:
All discord, harmony not understood,
All partial evil, universal good.
But the victims of this corporation did
not share in the good. and it was hard
for them to accept their misfortunes
phiIosophically. The men who were
wrecked by the superior strength and
weight of the corporation were Inclined
to ask whether a more moderate form of
progress would not have been better; in
which nobody would have been ground
under the wheels. This question is not
yet settled. in connection with either
the Standard OIL Company or with the
various other corporations which control
the production OF necessities Those who
are trying to settle 1t by looking at the
origin and history OF these corporations
in a dispassionate way will find Mr.
Montague's little book interesting
Mr.. Montague is inclined TO take the
| side of the company. He points out
that, in the first place, the early pros
perity of the company was due largely
to the rate war between the railroads
a war which II did not create, and for
which it was no more responsible than
1t was for the existence of petroleum in
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
The Inevitable Word.

What finding sense, what instinct sure,
Informed the master Sons Of rhyrnef
What magic made their words endure
Above the noise and dust Of time?
Through stately speech and thrilling song
Their words inevitably leap,
AS countless springs TO ono stream throng
And in communion onward sweep
The bold for long may strive 10 match
The worlds long-tested. singing lines,
And vet q careless tavern catch
Among their best unrivaled shines.
And scholars grave. With s.udiou< care.
Oe'rlook what untaught men have found
Beside the common thoroughfare
In harsh, untitled, forbidding ground.
Alert and strong the martial thought
In marching cadence wheels and climbs.
And hymns OF faith, but crudely wrought,
Ring in the heart their deathless chimes.
And whether Chance appoint the way,
Or Skill direct and guide the pen.
The laurei's won II men shall say,
Thought need not trace this path again.
Meredith Nicholson. in The Bookman.
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Mrs. Ward as a Speaker.

Mrs. Humphry Ward is exceedingly
avcrse 10 making speeches, and when
through the insistence of weIl-meaning
friends she is obliged to do so. she talks
in so low tone that most of her audi
enee cannot hear her. A dinner was
given in her honor not long ago by the
New Vagabond Club in London, and
Jerome X Jerome introduced her in
characteristic speech. Mrs Ward began
her response by saying that. while she
might not know much about the feelings
of three men In a boat. she knew very
well how II felt TO be one woman in q
fright
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Ruskin's Cashbook.

Somebody has unearthed Ruskin's cash
book. and finds. as might have been ex-
pected. that il was not much like the
account books of ordinary folk. Most of
1t was taken up with the diary of a
Continental tour undertaken with Mr..
Col!ingwood in 1882. One entry was as
follows;
Perfect light on the Dorons. and the
Varens miracle OF aerial majesty.
- happy in more solemn way than
of Old"
The Washington times., 1903-08-30

A NEW edition of William Ellery
n channins's "DiseOurses on War.
with an introduction by Edwin
D. Mead. has appeared. and will be of
interest to those who are interested In
the men who helped TO make history
seventy-fve years ago. Claiming was.
IL will be remembered, prominent
member of the Massachusetts, Peace So
ciety, one OF the nrst OF It's kind: and he
argues uncompromisingly that war is an
evil which should, for the honor OF
Christianity. be abolished.
While this point of view is not shared
by many people at the present day. the
arguments which Claiming advances
have their value. for ali that. II is nee
essary that standing armies be main
tanned to enforce international law. as
a police force is maintained to enforce
the laws of cities; and now, as ever
since the history of the world began. it
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
DIR. HOMES FAMOUS PUPIL

A LIFE of Laura Bridgman is soon
"A to be published. entitled, Laura
Bridgman. DR.. Howe's Famous
Pupil; and What He Taught Her" 1t Is
the work Of Maude Howe and Florence
Howe Hall. and is illustrated with por-
traits and drawings. The case OF Helen
Keller has aroused much interest In the
possibilities of the education OF the
blind, deaf and dumb. and although Miss
Keller has gone much further In her
education than Laura Bridgman did. the
case of the latter is OF unique impor-
lance as the first experiment ever made
In that direction. Laura Bridgman had
only one of the senses. that Of touch,
and her education did not begin until
she was seven or eight years old. In that
day the higher education of women was
as much an experiment as the teaching
of deaf mutes. and such an enterprise
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
Mr.. Blake's Drawings.

Numerous original drawings by Will
Ham Blake are on exhibition in the Mu-
scum OF Fine Arts in Boston. Those
who know Blake's work are aware that
his conceptions OF costume were. 10 put
II mildly. startling in simplicity. which
perhaps accounts for the fact that
curtain is hung over the drawings of
Adam and Eve
The Washington times., 1903-08-30
A New Juvenile Book.

A new book by Laura E. Richards Is
among the fall publications announced.
II VIII be called ''The Golden Windows
and is "a series of fables for old and
young" Each fable has moral. of
course. but Mrs. Richards teachings are
never unpleasantly obtrusive.