davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

strikes me often now how curious IT Is
that I should be hring just across the
street from where L once spent weary
hours in prison in company with many
distinguished suspects and hostages
among whom was The famous Belle
Boyd. the Confederate spy Many
time have 1 sat a. a window and
watched the Baltimore and Ohio trains
coming in and going out, and thought
up plans for getting to one and max
ing my escape.
Paroled and Sent North.
Finally Mr.. stanton decided TO let
me go on parole. upon condition that
would go North and not come farther
South than New York while the war
lasted I was rated as a dangerous
character because Of my knowledge OF
telegraphy and familiarity with the
troops in the field. 1 was glad TO get out
at any cost, even though 1 was exiled
TO locality far from the pretty little
fredericksburg girl who was .he cause
OF the trouble
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

entire handling of which he has as
sumcd the responsibility and which he
merely cites in order that his co-work-
ers may have inside information which
may guide them should any echoes Of
the matter reach their departments; but
more frequently the Cabinet member
invites discussion in the hope that ten
heads will prove better than one in
finding solution.
Reading Draft cf Messages.
The President usually reads 70 his
Cabinet preliminary drafts OF his mes
sage to Congress. and important pub
lie addresses. and how wide is the scope
os these semi-weekly examinations in
TO the state Of Uncle Sans affairs may
readily be appreciated from the fact
that. as a rule. all important Presiden-
tiaI appointments are canvassed very
thoroughly by the men gathered in the
Presidents working quarters ere the
nomination IS sent TO the Senate OF
course. the great mass OF appointments
are determined by the President in con-
ference with the particular Cabinet
member within whose jurisdiction lies
the Office to be filled. but when a man
is to be selected for a position Of ma
tional prominence all the members of
the Cabinet are usually given an op-
portunity 70 discuss the merits and de-
merits Of the candidates for the place
When a group of important appointees
are TO be selected. as viii be necessary,
} for instance. TO make up the new Pan
anna Canal Commission. it is customary
! for ,he President to take up and weigh
/ individually with his advisers the quail
| iIcations OF each eligible.
No Voting on Questions.
/ Questions which come before the Cab
| met are never decided by an aye and
no vote. because after all the Presi-
/ dent has the deciding power. The Cab
/ met conferences are designed more tr
bring out the ideas OF the respective
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

safe 10 predict that the occasions will
be few and far between when the Presi-
dents advisers will admit even leaders
Of Congress to their charmed circle.
Meetings Very Informal.
Despite their deep significance. how
ever. these Cabinet meetings are in
reality very informal and unpretentious
affairs. They occur Tuesday and Fri
day of each week, being called to order
at IL o'clock in the morning and con-
tinuing in session until / o'clock, or fire.
quently later. Every member is. as a
rule, very punctual and. indeed. sew
eral of the heads of departments may
usually be seen entering the White
House Office building fifteen or twenty
minutes in advance of the time set
for the meeting. In some instances a
Cabinet member calls early in order
that he may have a little preliminary
chat with the President with reference
to the affairs of his particular depart
ment ere his colleag gues appear.
There are no traditions to be observed
as to the manner in which a member
of Uncle Sans board OF directors shall
journey to the White House. and while
some of the Presidents chief lieutenants
come in the fun glory Of perfectly ap-
pointed official equipages with liveried
attendants, others walk with total dis
regard of the opportunity to impress
the bystanders. Secretary of State Hay,
although he has merely to cross the
street TO reach the White House from
his Office, almost invariably comes to
the meetings in "A shining carriage
drawn by a pair of prancing chestnuts
On the other hand, Secretary Shaw Of
the Treasury, who has three times as
great distance to traverse. usually
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

A Peep Behind the Scenes at the
White House When the Presi-
dents Official Family Is in
Semi-Week1y Council = How
Gravest Problems of State Are
Discussed and Disposed of at
the Secret Meetings, of Whose
Proceedings No Record Is Kept.
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

ing begin at the foot Of the table with
the round OF discussion. In all these
proceedings official titles are observed
religiously. the members Of the Cabinet
being addressed as Mr.. Secretary of this
and that. Mr.. Postmaster General Mr..
Attorney General. etc.
Everything Talked About.
And what do these men talk about at
these little gatherings behind closed
doors? Nearly everything. it might be
answered which affects or is likely 10
affect the interests of the nation or any
considerable portion Of it's people Much
time is, of course. devoted to questions
of national policy at critical junctures,
such as on the eve OF the Spanish
American war. during the Boxer revolt
or at the time Of the recent cOmplica-
tions in Panama: but these men OF ripe
judgment also turn their attention on
many occasions to questions which
might. appear almost trivial in the eyes
of the average citizen, not I'm a position
TO look below the surface and see the
hidden causes and possible consequences
which give them pOrtent.
Papers and Documents.
The President may bring up subject
for discussion or the friendly debate
may be precipitated by some member Of
the Cabinet. Each of the counselors
comes 10 the Cabinet conference with n
/ capacious leather portfolio containing
memoranda, reports, and correspond
ence bearing upon the matters within
! his jurisdiction which are lisely to prove
! national in their scope or influence.
/ When it is his turn to be heard he
draws forth these documents one by one
and gives his fellow-servants of the
/ Government an insight into the particu-
/ larly puzZling problems with which he
IS graphing. Occasionally Cabinet
members contribution to the confab is
merely report upon something for the
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

perience. the announcement. Excuse
me, gentlemen. the Cabinet is in ses-
sion. and the President can see no one, -
which temporarily blasts the hopes of all
,allers
Official Cabinet Chairs.
Each member of the Cabinet has a
large leather upholstered chair at his
particular place at the big mahogany
table. which occupies a large portion
Of the room. and a private drawer. in
which he keeps important papers. In
the seating OF the members about the
council board the rule of priority is rig
idly enforced, and rank. as fixed by law
Of Congress, is closely observed. The
President has, of course. the seat at the
head of the table. On his right is the
Secretary of State and on his left the
Secretary of the Treasury. Then. rang.
ing along one side OF the table, are th
Secretary Of War, the Postmaster Gen
eral, and the Secretary of the Interior
with opposite them the Attorney Gen.
eral. the Secretary Of the Navy. and the
Secretary of Agriculture, while near the
foot OF the table. with no balancing Of
ficiaI sits the occupant of the newest
Cabinet office. the Secretary Of Com
merce and Labor.
Eleven O'Clock the Usual Hour.
With perhaps few general remarks
the President calls the meeting to order
Just as the hand Of the clock points 10
II. Turning to the Secretary OF State
he asks il he premier has anything e
present. and after this official has re-
counted the subjects on which he wishes
to eulighten his colleague, or. mayhap
TO seek advice. each of the other mem
bers OF the Cabinet is in turn given q
hearing in like manner. Occasionally s,
many matters require discussion thai
the Presidents roll-call does not extenc
to all the members Of his official family
and when such has been the case it /.
usually customary to. at the next meet
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

- NE Of the interesting landmarks
OF Washington Is the old Capt.
~ tol Building. on the corner Of
First and A Streets northeast.
1t was erected in 1917 for the use OF
Congress after the Capitol had been
destroyed by fire. and was occupied by
the national legislators until the Capt.
tol was rebuilt Subsequently additions
and alterations were made. and it be-
came a fashionable boarding house, and
was patronized by Congressman and
others who. had business at the Capitol
In this building John c. Calhoun died.
and in the yard in the rear. wirtz. the
Andersonville jailOr. was hanged. Dur
ing the civil war it was used as a prison
By Secretary stanton for the conhne-
ment OF spies and suspects whose
liberty the Federal Secretary Of War
thought best TO restrain.
The Washington times., 1904-01-03

safe TO predict that the occasions viii
be few and far between when the Presi-
dents advisers will admit even leaders
Of Congress to their charmed circle.
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
"Lest We Forget"

II seems, says financial writer, that
anybody ought to get rich nowadays.
Never. were there so many methods, or
SO much advice-as 10 which method to
adopt, II ever there were any secrets in
the art OF money-making they must now
all be known Wherever one turns one
sees opportunity upon opportunity to win
fortune. There are advertisements
which tell how to invest in this land or
that stock. There are books selling for
nickel or u dime which explain methods
of accuInulattAg millions of dollars. Reg
ular periodicals are printed which .,pur-
port to unvcil all the mysteries of Wall
Street and every prominent newspaper
teens with advertisements giving assur-
ances that the person who will take the
hints of these experts may buy and sell
stocks and get wealth.
There arc opportunities to make money
in Wall Street in times like this when
the country IS prosperous ana when
stocks are rapidly advancing, but it is
a dangerous game TO play. Those who
:
/ study of financial questions and business
situations, and especially of particular
railroad or industrial properties. may buy
and sell stocks TO advantage just as the
merchant buys and sells goods. but tyros
who go into Wall Street to "play the
Wall Street game" win be about as apt
10 lose their money as the man who
plays the Shell game with falsir. 1t is
quite clear that the speculative craze
IS again taking possession of the people,
50 soon do We forget tho lessons of the
past q few years ago the whole coun-
lry went wild over stocks and men bought
with surprising recklcssncss. Prices We're
doomed up sky high and all that was
necessary 10 see Il profit was to buy some
stock That had not been taken in hand i"
j was beautiful 50 long as The boom con-
4 tiilued. but wien The slsyrocket had gone
as high as its momentum Would carry
IT, II exploded and came down as rapid
Il - rs It went up; ana those who had fire
paper profits" saw them all dwlndle
AWAY in a might limo.
Another boom is ON aud stocks arc go-
Ing M and everything looks beautiful,
but the boom vii! NOT continue forever and
We give a word of warning in season 10
men OF small means and little experience
who think that fortunes arc 10 he made
In a day by dabhliug into stock. Wall
street is calling for ahe llmbs and when
he flock Is sufficiently large tho shear
i ing process Is sure 10 begin, The lambs
should not forget their lat" experiences.
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
The Instal1nent Plan.

son contemplating natrinony)--Father
dtd YOU furnish your house on the install
mont plan when you and mother were
married?
lcather--Ycs, we bought few dishes
ana a couple OF chairs tho first year, car
pets the next and curtains the year after.
Oh, yes, we furnished on the instalment
plan--that is, In small deposits.
This was written for a joke, but there there
is a practical point,i IN it. It may he an
Piled in various directions, but we de-
sire to make the application to the pro-
posal to establish a public library In
Richmond. The library is coming, for
the demand for It Is growing, and by and and
by the demand win be Overwhelming But
full-ncdged library cannot be Matched
out in a nighttime. The beginning must
be III a small way, and the beginning
should be as soon as possible. Rooms
should be rented temporarily and a col
lection OF books secured. This would be
Il small beginning, but 1t would be the
nucleus for greater things to come. and
the cost would be so small that the city
could we'll afford to make the appropria-
don. In this way we would secure a
library on the "instalmcnt plan" With
tho nucleus once formed, the growth
would be sure, for a library, however
small develops q taste for books, und
grows by It's own accretion.
The time is coming when there will be
a fine building thoroughly stocked with
choice books, and Richmond Will rejoice
in one Of the best public libraries in the
land. we make this prediction in per-
feet confidence; but the need Of a public
library is so pressing that The Times
Dispatch is unwilling to wait for the big
building In behalf of the school children
Of Richmond. we urge that a. public
library on a small scale be started at the
earliest possible moment, and that 1t be
made a part of the public school system
OF Richmond
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
Steel Mail Cars.

Some time ago The Times Dispatch
printed ali article from The Arena" on
tho cause and cure of graft. Tho writer
Of this article pointed out the conditions
in tho postal service to-day as ono ex-
ample Of graft in our government. me
cars used for malls. az Is we'll known,
nre owned by the railroads and rented TO
the government. Mt a price far beyond a
fair return onithe market valuc Of the
equipment. These cars are antiquated
and nearly always finsy and unsubstar-
tlal. AS n result tho railway mail clerks
are put III continual and utterly ,nneces-
sary Jeopardy. But now that q steel COM
4pnny has designed aud built an nll-steel
cur adapted especially to the handling OF
mail, the question naturally arises, what
will the government do7 VIII 1t force the
railroads to furnish modern. safe and
capacious mail coaches at reasonable
rental. or will tho government buy It's
own ears? Certainly the railroads Will do
no more than they are compelled to and
equally certainly the overnment should
mako every possible effort to protect tho
lives Of the mail clerks, The postal cars
arc always next the engine, and are
thereby more dangerously placed than
tho passenger coaches; they should, there
fore, be built In the strongest and safest
way possible, But to do so will require
new equipment, and that costs money,
1T is interesting to see what the outcome
will be. DO the railroads control the pos
tai authorities as successfully as the eX-
press companies control Congress?
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER H. 1901
snlu+;on Of the Trust Problem.

Mr. William L. Douglas, Democr'.o
co,,ornor.olect OF Massachusetts IN
statement to the public concerning MS
campaign, said:
IT made tic fight solely on the nrono-
s,t;on that We should have RECIPROCITY
and that the trusts, which sell thclr plo-
ducts abroad cheaper than We cAil IVY
them here. should not be. permitted "
enjoy protection. gave ti,si1i y, =
examples Of the working Of the tarlt.
There is the whole trust question ~ y
& nutshell Corporations arc necessary ~
carrying on the great work OF TINS PIP
4 cressiye age of steam and clcctrcity, ana
no sane man thinks of trying to abolish
them. A corporation is not criminal
trust" because it is large. 1t may DO as
large as the largest and still be Goou'
II may be as small ms the snlallest ana
still be bad. There are many differences
), rf4 opinion rs to what should be done IN
law 10 restrain and regulate the corpora
tions, but with fuirminded men there can
be no two opinions on this point-that
tho government should not favor them
and foster them and enable them 10 levy
tribute upon the people by giving them
the benefit OF il; high protective tariff.
There must be no sort OF partnership
between the corporations and the govern
inent. Democracy demands that there
Shall be fair field and no favors or
discrimination. The corporations should
not be given the benefit OF a high pro-
Stective tariff on the one hand and on the
other hand they should not be allowed
TO trcspass upon the rights Of others
Whenever we shall have. Il system of laws
that will prevent the government from
bcstowlng favors upon the trusts and that
a will at thc same time prevent the trusts
from committing trcspass VIC shall be as
close is. possible 70 a solution Of the trust
question
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
G,,e !, ol 6 J; Il.
n ike .cnnd

Atlanta Journal: 53a
From Vera Cruz to Manznnillo on me ,,,
Pacific Ocean is nearly spanned ~ It t,lI
roads and when we think of tho 3dlslanGs,S;
from Nav York 10 San Francisco we Will Will
see II Is but Il step, SO TO Speak, ir ~
tho Gulf of Mexico to tho Gsllt q -
across tho continent IN MeNl-
co. Some day there will 10 an open wa
.terwayt between those two CULTS 10 ulSlao
profits with the Panama cAnal, ana tlth
M cxico viii become ~ world power COM
the trade OF nations aHd ler
good fortune will begin as soon as tllo
T,annn,n canal is finished, II
Memphis Scimitar: j.,
mot n single religious problem OF my
Importance has been solved by the t!lco.
logical Summaries OF the United states
in tlfty years., says President Harper OF
tho University of Chicago, + Ibis .po
true. Int Is about lime for the semlnnrlea
to shut UP shop and get busy,
Florida Tlmes-unlon;
r Consumption OF Southern cotton mas
never Yet Quite reached, II .00u 600 bales,
though It would have passed TINT figure
both last year and tho year before, u the no
mills hud not closed down on account oI
ll}fayolrlblo conditions, Il Under nort.aaii
conditions The mills OF, the World Wol11 VIC
now take slightly more than LUo1 IVY oalga
nor nnnllm Of cotton from the south y. ~
his probable that this year consumptlolt
will 70 beyond al 100000 bulcs. alld NOT
that It wlll reach l2,QoQ,uD
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
Asthma Can &c Cured

The statement Of Mr.. j. j.. Holman, 20
~ Adams St, Chicago proves that the
worst cases. Of Asthma In tho world are
not only relieved, but are readily cured
by Or. Schiffmanns Asthma Cure He
says; Asthma kept me In terrible mis-
cry for Urn years Until used your
Asthma Cure. fAter the first trial ! was
1. changed man. went to sleep that
nivht and awoke next day much relieved
and I have gotten entirely over the iAstll-
ma. ii ID now nine years since was
cured"
Sold by all druggists at soc, and $l,0O
send &c. stamp Ia Or. II. Schlffmam. Box
set st. Paul. Mimi, fora free trial lppck-
ago.
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
tho words verbatim. but ! give the opep.

tho words verbatim. but give the onep-
Ing lines here, as written by Rnndolnh,, (.
I desire to8niako a statement, when
should be done IN Justice to Inncs Ran
'lolpll, and which may be of interest 70
some, as Randolph lived in Richmond at
one. time. He'was a,newspap per man: poet,
sculptor and somewhat of q musician 81
l5loquence,'' in the volume. devotcd..,ito
anecdotes. ETC., the fish story Is ascribed
to Rev. Henry Van Dyke, and Is tod IN
1--WE find ourselves in the position OF
7the-negro WHO was fishing on the g coast
Of Florida, when q tarpon caught mold OF
came to the surface and sputtered out:
What wan to know Is dis Niger a.
tishin.or dis fish aniggerin.
as telling the story as he heard it,
But the story belongs to Randolph, as
told in his celebrated Fish story The
hiishiling on tic coasts n Of Florida. The old
&darkey WIS fishing on tho York River,
4 IN Virginia: he tied his lines to his legs,
took up his fiddle and played himself to
sleep. Then It was that the fish called
a nsh Of wonderful beauty. and force; =,
That ,,, bites h IKE steel trap and pulls
came along. and bit at old Uncle Ned's
hook, pulling him in, and fish and negro
We're both badly entangled in the fishing
jiThey were washed ashore by the heav-
And tIe fishermen found them side by
In a common death and together bound
In the line that circlcd them round and
So , j, 5pah and nd tangled together
That theIr tate was involved in a dark
& mystery 81 Al - so.
As to which was the catcher and which
the catchce, IS. -. III 55r5, q 7,
For the fish was hooked hard and fast
by the gill, y, y,
And tho darlSey was assocd .i around Nd the
And each each had died by the other.
And the. fishermen thought It could never
ss be known,
After all their thinking and figuring.
Whether the niger a-tishlng had gone,
e Or the fish had gone a.-niggering.
Mark Twain, In an article Qhe Private
History Of the Jumping Frog Story,),
says DR.. Van Dyke claims that the
jumping Frog" S two thousand years
old that 1t is a Greek story and goes
cnain his humorous way about the "pri-
waite history" Of that story. So this fish
story Is an old one, and, of course. Or. Van
Dyke told it as he had heard It; but It had
[ time 1t reached him, and no wonder, for
the poem was published in some Virginia
paper years, ago. and has .been almost
h forgotten, save the words about 1T was
never Known whether the Niger went
a-hshing or the fish wentta-nlggering.
BY the way Dr.IVan Dyke is ono OF
K the most charming writers IN America
tto-day, rs all of us know, and he IS one
Of the most modest and charming OF men
ERNEST T., BOLLING.4
y II ~ 3
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-15
The South's Progress.

Mr.. S. N. Inman has written q letter
to Colonel Dudley NJ. Hughes, president
OF the Georgia Agricultural Society, CIV
sources OF the South.
After pointing out that the South
furnishes nearly 50 per cent. of the
worlds supply OF raw cotton, Mr.. Inman
says that II we keep out Of debt and
market this crop wisely. We ought to
benefit enormously as time goes on from
this great treasure. He shows that this
years cotton crop, including the seed,
sold for s650,Ooo,0oo. and besides furnishing
the mills North and South with all they
used, we exported enough to bring about
1910, 0oo,00 in gold to this country, being
one-quarter as much gold as California
has produced since the discovery of the
yellow metal there.
Proceeding on the same line, MI. Inman
says:
six hundred anu fifty million dollars
was enough to buy every bushel OF wheat
raised in the United States ana leave
sl5o,00o,oD to tho good.
1T was enough to buy and pay for hal
tho corn crop Of Ewo AID rnN-lOurth
billion bushels grown in the United States.
The corn crop Is tho only one OF the
great crops that exceeds in value the cot
ton crop.
Iowa Is the greatest corn growing
State IN the world, and produces one
eleventh Of the total corn crop OF the
| United Suites; set this year, after grow
| Ing her corn ana wheat crops, Georgia
| sold her cotton crop for sS0O0CVy, enough
| 10 pay cash for every busbcl OF corn
I grown IN Iowa,
| 1T should encourage as to feel that
| back Of us we have this imperial money.
| producing crop; perpetual inheritance
| hCdged about by climatic conditions aid
| protected from world competition which
threatens the other crops. Once free
| from debt. let us stay out OF deb. and
control our OWL product. ard We will
see no more five or six cent cotton crops
Then. giving the discussion another
term, Mr.. Inman addressed himself TO the
question why does nat Inc South al.
vance more rapidly In wealth." His re-.
| ply IS that our people are advancing, and
| that the increase has bean great dnrina
| The past three years. and that this adj
vance Is in the face o. {. tremendous
4 drain which Is not apparent Ia every
| one. He says that through the operation
of the tariff and internal revenue ii I,
4 estimated that the South pays s3obJD.W4
year toward government pension bills
and that this sum Is transferred, I'm tn,
4 main. TO the Northern sla1c4. very Iitt,t
OF 1T 'inoins 81 way bafk 10 Tho South
II 1T were paid. by the states "a direc
tax saNs no. It would proha b IS raise /
poli'i'al revolutions hui me drain zoe,
ION 40 silently. that mapy are ~, asari