davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

Perhaps no reigning monarch of mod ern times owes more to the all-pervad- ing press agent and that hard-worlxing Individual and social scavenger, the spe- eial correspondent, than Emperor Mutt suhito, under whom Japan has In sin gle generation leaped. in so far as ex- ternals go. the dark chasm separating national barbarism from at least the outward forms and paraphernalia of what we are pleased to call twentieth
 century civilization. Yet while Japan
 and its Emperor have, by a united ef-
 fort of the British press. filled innumer-
 able columns In the great dailies and in
 the less frequent periodicals of the occi-
 dental world, as a matter of fact. the
 true personality of the Europeanized Mikado and his personal habits, once he bows stiffiy to the visiting occidental and wlthdraws to those mysterious apartments whither no European has ever Ventured, and whence only one or the outside world the knowledge of the true Mikado, are comparatively un- known. Nevertheless, the unsuitable de- mand for inside information can at last be satisfied. and at least a fair study given of the Mikado. shorn of his West traditional kimona. straw sandals and paper hat.
 In the heart of the city of Tokio rises an imposing fortress which, with It's gi- gant1c walls, oVertowers the sea of houses that are necessary for its 2,00O.- ooo inhabitants to dwell in. Accustomed as one Is 10 the tiny wooden and paper houses of the Japanese cities. one is amazed al the monster dimensions of this edifce which has only few equals on the globe in point of impressiVeness. lt is from 100 to 140 feet in height. some-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

turous element among the British tars. These men are employed principally in the unromantic work of making such re- pairs as may be possible under water to the hulls of the British warshlps. Where this can be done the enormous delays and expenses attached to putting l5. 000-ton battleship in drydock can be avoided. thereby saving several millions of dollars each year to the British naval funds
 The work, of course. is more or less hazardous. The slender rubber and wire woven air pipe. which alone connects the diver with the air. Is always more or less apt to become twisted and clogged, bruised or cut in some manner. and nature would mean death in several minutes to the unfortunate diver.
 Yet despite the fact that 1t Is one or the most risky duties a sailor in the British Navy is called on to perform, there Is never a dearth of men to under take the position of divers, Jack being always anxious to earn the extra pay attached to this department.
 Cruisers, battleships, torpedo-boa de- stroyers, all have their complement of trained divers aboard. In fact. every vessel in the Navy Is now compelled to carry certain number of men experi- enced in this form of work.
 Jack IS by no means compelled or urged to join the diving classes, which Davenport, on the English Coast. Vol unteers only are taken, and even then a most severe medical examination has 10 be undergone, as the one essential point Is to be sound of wind and limb To demonstrate the precautionary meth-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

and the other a guest register of for eigners After a long wait the court marshal leads the way through a long, winding corridor into very lofty hall of medium size which opens on to an exquisite bit of true Japanese landscape gardening filled with artificial rocks and fountains. This is where the foreign ambassadors are presented to the Mi- kado.
 A small throne; the floor is waxed to q high polish with a small but priceless rug in the center and before the throne. Otherwise not even a chair is visible in the apartment. The walls are uneov- cred, but the ceilings gleam with satin drapery and costly jewels. The throne room proper is next the reception hall; the other to the mysterious private apartments of the Emperor where no European has yet entered. And, despite the boasted oecidentalisrn of the Japs, every Japanese. from the Emperor down. wears in privacy the traditional kimoso and other native garments of the old Japan.
 The Emperor still sleeps in a room with paper walls on q mattress of dried sea grass and dimes by himself squatted to greet his visitors he walks with the air of a general reviewing his guards Foreigners now merely bow to His Majesty. and the personal interpreter of the Emperor, Count Ito, an adopted son of the late Marquis Ito. explains the meaning of the visit, Count Ito was ed lcated Tn NI0IIIduy dnu Spe8kS every European language fluently.
 Emperor Mutsuhito Is a superbly built man for a Japanese. He is very tall for a Jap, graceful in his movements when not walking. and his complexion is in- tensely yellow His eyes are large. very black and piercing. Despite his bearing. 1t cannot be denied that the Mikado is very ugly. The nose Is fleshy, beard and moustache thin. like his more ple- beian countrymen and are very stiff and bristling. The Mikado has pair of protentously bushy eyebrows. and he wears his hair very long even for Jap.
 At a recent interview the Mikado wore a uniform much resembling that of the higher officers In the French artillery service. braided with black silk aigrettes. He wears invariably the golden star of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and beneath this two small crosses of lesser Japanese orders. The Emperor re- ceives his visitors without a motion of his face and looks on the polished floor ing It is for the Emperor to speak the first word by murmurng in Jap few words of formal welcome. 1t is noticea- ble that despite the ready talent of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

asty which dates back to the goddess of the sun. Amida.
 He who has had personal contact with him is charmed by his personality. Sell dom has q ruler been so mis1udged as the Emperor. In the first place. the title Is wrong. Alikado means the same as he should therefore be called emperor. Ills own people call him Tenno. l. e.. Son of Heaven. Like his predecessors, the Emperor was not educated in state craft nor in military matters He grew up in utter ignorance of the resources of hls own country and of foreign lands. He passed the time with the Empress to walk when he became a constitutional monarch; previous to this the Emperor had always ridden. He retains to this day a certain stiffness and an uncer- tainty in his walk.
 Only the highest nobles saw the mon- embroidered costumes, and on seeing the Emperor dropped on their knees and crept toward him.
 Those foreigners who see the Emperor talk through an interpreter, who reads questions that have been previously written down. As a result of the Elm peror sending one of his nobes-Sanno- a scheme for court entiquette for his newly manufactured court the polite re- gime in Toltio now is modelled strictly after the frozen and sumptuous manners of the old Spanish-AuStrian. Few audi ences are granted by the Emperor as perial order summons to his court. not only his native nobles. but the very highest representatives of the nations of Western Europe
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

Japs for foreign languages. the Mikado speaks no other tongue but his native one. He once started to study French. years ago, but quit in disgust
 The palace is decorated in mixture of Japanese and European furniture and art. The palace, however, is heated by a system of steam radiators, which was imported dozen years ago from Amer lea and was installed by American work fngmen. It is now, however. run by en- gineers educated in Japan.
 The Empress, Wno, by the way, IS closely related to the Mikado and is probably a half-sister of that monarch, although no positive information as to this can be had from reliable source, is charming little woman, who, unlike her husband. has been able to learn E French thoroughly. and can even chat ter slightly in delightful but uncertain English. The Empress also has her formal court costumes, modelled in her case after gowns probably created in the first place for some celebrated French actress. In her private apartments the Empress wears the comfortable and un- deniably more becoming costume of old Japan. She. in imitation of Queen Vic toria, who she has been taught, was the greatest of modern royal ladies, tries to take keen interest in charity. and with a due regard to its effect on the Western world has even been pho tographed scraping lint which was aft erward supposed to soothe the anguish of wounded Japanese soldiers.
 As a matter of fact every unpreju- diced and clear-sighted visitor to Japan who has had an opportunity to study the hastily veneered court etiquette of the Mikado's household has never yet failed to perceive that the entire court play as presented in Tokio IS decidedly anna teurish, largely distasteful to the impe- rial actors and actresses themselves, In fact it humorously suggests the long hair persistently worn by every callow gentleman with q fierce determination to write poetry. None the less the Japa- nese have accomplished a feat perhaps never before enacted on the worlds stage in adopting and adapting, inside of what would be a short lifetime for an individual. the most useful results of Western civilization. However. Jal m has not yet had time to thoroughly di- gest this enormous absorption of Vest ern machinery chemistry, etiquette and clothes It only remains for the supreme triumph of the Japanese intelligence to throw away those nonessential and more spectacular phases of Western life. which are altogether unnecessary to the true and perfect development of the real Japanese nation.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

fear of the brute biting through the rubber pipe which supplies the air. which means certain and horrible death to the unlucky man.
 The duties the naval divers are called on to perform In the recovery of dead bodies from wreclSs, is certainly most gruesome. At the time of the Eurydice and Victoria disasters many divers were engaged at this task, and the tales they related concerning the appearance Of the bodies were appalling
 Many attempts have been made to in- vent some sort of deep-sea diving mechanism of the detached nature. causing chemical reoxydization. of the water in connection with the plan Of carrying a reservoir of compressed air, which the diver may breathe. So far nothing of any practical value, or, at least. nothing which has ever been made use of to any extent has been found.
 However, the idea of the deep-sea diver carrying along tank filled with compressed air and chemicals Inside his breathing apparatus to absorb the inn purities such as lime to take up the ex- cess of nitrogen, appears perfectly reas- ible when figured out on paper. With such an outfit-which, by-the-by. was described 90 years ago by Jules verne in his ever marvellous tale of twenty Thousand Leagues Under the sea '[tne deep-sea diver of a hundred years ron 1 now might be expected to boldly don ms suit. strap on and adjust his alr reser- voir, slide down to the bottom of the sea and be at liberty to carry on his iIie vestigation for at least from 10 lO hours It is true, oe course, that even under these circumstances the diver cannot afford to be entirely out or toucn with some ship or point on shore, as le is practically impossible to make certain the direction at any depth. and once iost in the mazes of the sea floor the un- fortunate explorer would simply wanosr about until his temporary air suppiy was exhausted and then die In ms armor. .,,, 4.
 However such adventures are st.l Ine property of the writers of fiction. lne deep-sea diving companies and the new ly formed, but already thoroughiy sue cessful diving department or the brl.- b- ish Navy. are the only two practicaIiy workings of deep-sea diving at this tlme. The Navy Department at Washington has had the workings of the Brlllsn oe- partment closely observed, and Captain Thalnann, who has been studying the Operations at Portsmouth Of the diving brigade. has written enthusiastically of the value of such an addition to tho American naval resources. So far, how ever. the matter has been one of purely departmental discussion. but Secretary Moody, 1t is thought, will take active steps in this direction by the first of the year.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12
THE THE YOUNG DIVER SEEN ABOVE PICTURE TOUCHED INFLATED AND BEFORE REALIZED HAPPENE
 

Deep-sea diving is no longer an art since 1t has become a profession. The going down into the deep in ships of scripture times has now changed to mans clutching the treasures of the ocean bottom while enveloped In an im- penetrable armor of rubber reinforced by metal.
 The first deep-sea diving was that done in the South Sea Islands of the Pacific by the natives of the Malay Archipelago who used the simple mechanism of tying a bag around the middle and a huge stone to the big toe These primitive deep-sea divers sought only the pearl oyster in the shore waters or the Pacific and presented to the att tacks of the sharks, which infested these attitudes, merely the blow of a long Knife which they carried ready for ac- ton between their teeth. These pearl fisheries are still conducted in just this manner, and modern scientific deep-sea diving has never been applied to the in- dustry of pearl fishing.
 In fact. modern deep-sea diving. with the rubber and metal mechanism has until the past year been used only by T few daring professionals These men are employed almost entirely by the big deep-sea wrecking companies which have been retained in such cases as the raising of the battleship Maine in Havana harbor, in searching the death- laden hull of the burnt steamer Slocum in North River, New York. and in simi- lar cases where marine disasters have landed some important vessel in com paratively shallow waters.
 However. the British admiralty has within the last F months created a school of deep-sea diving for the ven-
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

ods adopted to obtain only the healthiest
 men of a crew for this work, 1t Is only necessary to add that if Jack is en- dowed with too florid a complexion or a short neck he will find it impossible to gain an entry into the diving schools
 The what Is termed .closed" diving
 dress, now in general use, was perfected
 by MT. Siebe, the notable submarine engineer, in 1887. To the dress, which is composed of sheet india-rubber, GOV cred with tanned twill. a hose supplying air and a signal lne.' by which means messages are conveyed to those in the boat. Is attached. The helmet Is made of timed copper In which are fitted three strong plate-glass windows, pro- tected with guards. A diving apparatus. including the dress, costs. roughly speak ing. about $700.
 In order to keep the person employed in the operations al the bottom, tho weight is naturally considerable the shoes weighing 40 pounds while two l6- pound weights are hung around the neck. When diver is fully equipped for a descent he has something like l60 pounds of weight in clothes to carry
 The tank used to start lessons Is the one situated at the Whale Island Naval Gunnery School, and after the novice is sufficiently accustomed to the cumber- some apparel to be able to breathe freely it is In this that he makes his debut doing submarine work. The divers sensations on first entering the tank are never forgotten by him. and he has | scarcely become accustomed to the tank |
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12
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merged parts of the ship.
 noint of interest Is: What are depths trained diver can work at and how long he can remain submerged! With the diving dress the most wonder f,iI feat that has yet been recorded was one performed while removing the cargo frc-1 the wreck of the Cape Horn, off the South American coast. A diver then made seven descents to depth of 20l feet. at one of these remaining sub merged for over 40 minutes Another splendid accomplishment, but which pales after the one selected above, was when two divers descended to repair d mp at the Scharley zinc mines in Siberia. They reached a depth of S5 feet, remaining from periods of a quar- ter of an hour to two hours. The usual rate of descent for the experienced diver is two feet second for depths not over 80 feet. Deeper than this greater care has to be taken. the diver descending very cautiously.
 As an illustration of what risks are run by working under water at high pressure, the case of the building of the St. Louis bridge across the Missis- sippi in 1870 may be called to mind, ing under pressure, 30 were seriously affected and 12 cases proved fatal.
 AS one would expect from d blue jacket who has been engaged in diving work in foreign waters, many interest," ing and exciting yarns are forthcoming. Sharks are the divers worst foes, and an amusing. but startling, story of T diver who was sent down to recover a quarter of beef is related. The affair took place in Jamaica. and when the diver descended he found a shoal of these water police eagerly devouring ti.s beef. With .shaTp, tug at his sig nal rope he was hauled up in double quick time. but only just quick enough to avoid the jaws of one of the mon is there the danger of the sharks at- tacking the man himself. but the dual
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

IS by way of a modern stone bridge With bronze candelabra leading over the White ditch which is nearly hidden by myriads of lotus flowers. At the bridge end is a sentinel. who Is forewarned of every person who has the right of en- trance, and such are simply saluted by the guard at the gate. Unauthorized attempts to enter the palace lead to a death that is swift and painless, name ly, decapitation Servants attend the wants of visitors attired in the regula- dark blue froelS coat with yellow epau- lets bearing the imperial arms, the 16- leaXed chrysanthemum in raised em- broidery, a red waistcoat of silk, dark
 blue velvet lsniclerboclSers and white
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

silk stockings This livery. which strongly resembles that of the old Hapsb burg regime, merely serves to em- phasize the dwarfed stature of the Japs and their swarthy coloring.
 The court chamberlains wear European uniforms, with side weapons and feather baretta, and look much like Spanish or Italian noblemen. These men. all speak English. German and French fiuently and are perfect in European court eti- quette. In fact. each has been stationed at one or more European courts for the express purpose of running the Tokio regime smoothly
 The reception-room of the Mikado is thoroughly European in its furnishing. with a mahogany table in the center on which are two books. one for native
The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-12

Jack. after having been properly dressed by his shlpn' ties. is let over the side of the vessel and slides to the bot tom of the sea by means of rope. But when he is still new at the work he can do little more than get to the bottom and back, as the tremendous suction of t, e deep water naturally tells on him. and considerable training Is needed be- fore he Is an adept at crawling along the bottom of the sea without getting at using tools to repair any of the sub
The state herald., 1904-08-12
SORT or A SLOW ROAD.

II missed an important engagement
through the slownsss OF tho scll /
Won't say which road II wha. but II was
one that runs into Louisviils today,
and was reminded ot line that runs
through Arkansas hnd ia Noted Tor being
the slowest road In creation" nhid Al. J.
Folloua Of Dubuque, Ia.
This road was 10 slow that tho hogs
IN the little county tosns would bea, IL
TOO, races. and one day one Of ita trains
stopped out In the wilderness ot an Ar
kantan eorhaeld aud did not move for
nearly an hour, n gs blazing bot
day. and the passengthl were In u por
feet iidgot Finally tho conductor came
into the ohr, looked cautiously about
and aingling ont passenger, want up 10
him and stealthily whispered
"'iiaye you got piece oi string u.
boat you, sir' We've broke down, and
I want to iis the engine" LonisaIle
Herald.
The fellow who ~rote Tho above had
certainly not Travelled oret aotae hncs of
'nhi In me grsl,
The state herald., 1904-08-12
HAXTUN.
Haxtup, s

hHNtun, S'll-Ul.
A. II. Patterson arrived from Grand
Island, Neb., Thursday Of last week.
Frank Olson came home from months
stay in Denver Saturday evening.
Miss Emma Anderson arrived home
from Greeley Saturday evening.
Minnie and Lille Peterson left for
Denver Saturday evening after weeks 3
visit at home.
Steve Meakin and family left Monday
evening for an extended visit with rela-
tives in Nebraska and Minnesota.
S. c. Yeager OF Hastings is visiting
old acquaintance in thus vicinity this
week.
A. +. Lindon and brother-in-lnw Baily
Hawkins lett on a business trip in east.
ern Nebraska Tuesday evening.
A pleasant company OF young people
enjoyed themselves at the home Of J. II,
Oson's Sunday afternoon.
II, Sutherland and family visited IN
this vicinity the iirst OF the week.
YANKEI Bill.
The state herald., 1904-08-12
TEACHEls' EXAMINATION.

The next regular examination for tea.
cheers IN Philips county, Colo, will be
held at the school building in Holyoke,
the third Thursday and Friday, August
18th and 10Th, beginning at 0 n. IN. cen
tral time. Opportunity will also be CIV
en- at the same time aud place to nppli.
cants desiring TO take the Academic part
OF the examination Tor admission to the
bar II any who take the examination
desire to have their paperh sent to any
other county for grading, according to
the regulation OF the state superintsnd,
ont, they must notify the Huperin,end.
ent OF said county in writing one week
before the taking Of said examination.
The regular fee Of 81 will be collected
from each applicant applying for tea
cber'H certificate.
MADGE A. CRowSER, 20. Sup'L
The state herald., 1904-08-12

Mr. @, u TImbcrlake IL 10 receipt u
another letter from Mrs. Timberake,
giving description u tho gay city ot
Paris. Mrs. Tlmboflake says that while
there are many fascinating ana interest
log historical sights to view, they do not
aa n rule, compare With tboH. Of LondolI
IN point oi interest. That Ia the iudsl
mcnt Of nearly all travellers. formed per-
baps from the fac, that after viewing
westminis,or Abbey. other objects are
apt to be judged by II, aud IN consequ.
cnee appear inilh,ismAl In comparison|
S,-r..as Adyncate.
The state herald., 1904-08-12

The Phillips County Fair Association
offers s25 in premiums for precinct col
lection exhibits. Precincts that con-
template making an exhibit al the coun-
ty fair this fall should commence at once
to collect grain and grasses for that pur-
pose. All grain on the stalk shonld be
put up in small bundles Ind carefully
wrapped in paper and when it ls opened
up after curing it will present almost as
nice an appearance as when taken from
the field
The state herald., 1904-08-12

VIM. Mckinney, accompanied by hla
daughter, Miss Berry, left Holyoko
Monday evening for short stay ut Col.
orado Springa Mr. Mckinney went to
that place u. delegate from tho Iiol
yoke X. +, Lodge to tho Grand Lodge
which meet- there his wssk.
The state herald., 1904-08-12

Usual services nt ths pre-by terisn
church next Sunday Aug. 10th both
morning aud afternoon, TO whioh n oor.
dial invitation IL extended 10 ALL The
themes for confederation ar Ms follows
"Our Mission" At tho merhing service
At tho O'Clock service "why Should
We Attend Code Home Your pres.
once viii do uu good We will try and
dn ynn good s.h 'rkat p,s'pr
The state herald., 1904-08-12
Nlair nm OLn EnLra.

ono fare plus a. for tho round trip
10 many points In Ohio, Indiana aud
Kentucky, Tickets on sale September
q, 10, 20 a., aud October II Good VIA
81, Lous aud Tor stopo,sr at ihe great
Exposition Final limit 30 dsys.
See me fot inll particulars NJ write 10
l.. W. wakrley dcuoral Passenger
Agent, Omaha
e. NusuY Tirtel AssBi
The state herald., 1904-08-12

Gust Carlson came up from llolyoke
Wedp sday on business trip. lie has
the VI 1 Tor the Phillips county court
house about half completed. Gus, says
the crop utlook in that county is mag
niilcent ind that homeseekors are com.
ing in on every train. He will return to
holyoke this evening Sterling Demo.
crut. =