davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

of ali the readers. anticipations, is as
satisfying a tale of mystery and its
solution as the most insistent disciple
Of Gaboriau or Conan Doyle could wish
for
There is one feature of the story
which the author might have omitted
with profit and that is the somewhat
wearisome incident about the unpleas-
ant Rama Ragobah. the bloodthirsty
Brahman who was just itching to re-
venge himself for the love that was
stolen from him. With long excerpts
from native Indian testimony concern
ing this same precious Ragobah and
with accounts of improbable hypnotic:
influences the author wanders a con-
siderable distance from his story and
can only get back again by the very
timely and highly convenient suicide
Of his Brahman. With his detective
away from the mysterious East. how
ever, and working out a very intricate
synthetical solution to the problem.
Severy is far more satisfactory The
climax of the story is meet recompense
for the lag in the Indian episode.
(Dodd, Mead & Co., New York; illus
trated: price 81 50.)
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

ocean, an insignificant affair SO far as
royal territory went, we modestly an
ticipated no royal receptions. If the
monarchs, the brothers of my royal
master, gave him a brief audience and
shook his hand it would be, we thought
after the manner Of rich and powerful
men who greet an obscure relation by
extending two fingers of the hand, and,
IL generous, serve him some refuse
meat in a side chamber. We were
ready to be satisfied If we received the
slightest greeting, and in order to avoid
embarrassment had our incognito dress
at hand, so that we could quickly jump
into it,
What befell this cavalcade of royalty
the author recounts with amusing
frankness.' Sometimes they were
snubbed or merely overlooked Coun-
tries which had friendly interest,"
rare diplomatic term that-in the af-
fairs Of the Hawaiian state Wed with
one another to do the dusky monarch
honor. In Japan he was entertained
by the Emperor as a mark of personal
regard. China didn't know that such a
person as Kalakaua 1 existed-official-
ly that is. and hesitated not to mani
"
Prince of Wales, took the royal visitor
at his true worth and made him the
lion of the social swim during his stay
in England. Germany, Spain and
Portugal all accorded him generous
hospitality.
Without hurt to the memory of this
last of kingly race, Mr.. Armstrong
livens his narrative with a sly lifting
OF the curtain from off royalty, show
ing the childlike naivete and the old
foibles of his late royal master. When
he was doubtful about his reception
kalakaua was very near common born
democracy; when he was all aglow
with the lavish Establishments of a
fellow monarch the Hawaiian King
could carry the mien of Olympian
Jove. The idea of the divine right of
kings impressed him as being just the
thing to fill long-felt want in Hawaii.
Kings playthings in uniform delighted
him as child. This part of the au-
thor's story. this good natured dissec-
ton of a monarchial ego. is the best
part of good book
Of. A. Stokes & Co., New York;
illustrated.)
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
Uhen q Monarch
GirdS the Globe

IT HEY carried the royal Hawaiian
standard in little tin box, timor-
ously, modestly. When they thought
that they might not be snubbed
they hoisted it to the masthead and
stood in Napoleonic pose, while the
thunder Of the nations warships did
them honor They dined with Emper-
ors and Princes, or else they took their
meals at restaurant when invitations
were not forthcoming. They were given
audience by the Pope and back talk by
a Philadelphia jehu. OF this, and much
more that is overflowing with a rich
humor and genial fun, read in William
n. Armstrong; "reminiscences of King
Kalakaua's tour of the world. He calls
it Around the World With King"
There were his Majesty himself, black
as halter and genial good fellow:
Colonel Judd. Lord High Chamberlain;
Mr. Armstrong. Minister of State
worthy officials both-and Robert. an
ex-German Baron, then serving as
valet to the royal person. This was the
imposing muster of notables that set
forth from the balmy isles of the Pa
cific to receive the homage of an awe
struck world. But they were not so
sure of the homage adjunct to their
trip. Says Armstrong:
But because our country was only a
few dots or elevations in the Pacific
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

them by legislative means. The vari-
Gus antitrust bills in England and this
country are aimed at one form of the
cornering game; but not the worst.
The monoDolization of the Steel oil,
light and fuel markets and of the
shares in railway and ship owning
corporations that provide the sole
means of transportation between large
populations and which lead to the
continuous fleeing of the people pro-
duce evi1A that are patent to every one.
Their extent, however, is Insignificant
in comparison to that produced by the
cornering of the raw products. of the
manufac acturing industries and of the
various metals and foodstuffs by ex-
change gamblers, and it is singular
fact AS Smith points out that, al
though every nation excepting Amer
.ca and Great Britain possesses strong
enactments against gambling in fu-
lures, these two leading nations of the
cay onenly suffer the fragrant prac-
tice of what is clearly q most sub
versive and depressive hindrance to
commercial expansion.
The author believes that this per-
nioious evil is susceptible of easy cur
tailment or even complete suppress
sion by simple means and he. asserts
the opinion that all a government has
to do is to enact that bear operations
of fictitious dealings are illegal and
that all exchange gambling differ
ences'' are irrecoverable at law, like
horse race gambling debts. Then
trade will quickly regain normal
healthy conditions
Smith exhibits good mastery of
polemical advocacy and treats his sub
ject in strenuous, convincing man
ner His work contains large amount
of matter that throws a new light
upon various economic issues relating
to the effects of the cornering of mar
kets and industries. 1t will afford in
terest to those who seek to follow the
latest developments in the higher
branches of economic and financial
legislation and are desirous of gain
ing a clear insight into the stupend
Gus, far-reaching revolutions in finan
cial methods now in progress in Eng
land that the followers of Chamber
lain are so vigorously endeavoring to
oppose.
Up. vs.. King & Son, London; price
2S 6d.o
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
Noteworthy Book
on Trade .Abuses

HARLES w. SMITH, a noted
English writer on economic and
financial topics, some months ago
addressed a polemical letter to
Mr.. Chamberlain denouncing his
new protection scheme and attributinS
the British financial troubles, not to
free trade, but solely to the gambling
propensities that have been so extern
sively developed among financial men
during the past few decades. which
have led to wild struggles in gambling
in futures" or the buying and selling
of hypothetical goods without any tam
gible security. This letter was ignored
by Chamberlain, SO the author has
published it in book form, with numer-
Gus addenda and appendices, together
with outlines of the laws of various
countries relating to such speculations.
Dealing in futures is not, as some are
inclined to believe, a modern method of
gambling. Smith quotes M. Vercamer,
celebrated French writer on econom-
les, who has shown in his book on
Gambling on Change and Term
Transactions" that the Egyptians,
Phoenicians. Romans and Greeks in
dulged in it to an extent that rendered
legislative interference necessary, and
he quotes copious extracts from the
Justinian Code and the writings of
Cicero and Tacitus referring to the an
cient methods of suppression, that show
a wide grasp of the perniciousness of
the vice. But to-day the evil has
rQQphnd onorr,o,,o x>~ovor+;o,e cd ;c
seriously imperiling the commerce of
the leading nations. Smith very plaus-
IDLY Shows that the decline of certain
English industries and the depression
In the cotton manufacturing centers
are, to considerable extent, If not en-
tirely, due to gambling in futures after
the manner of those exchange manipu-
lations that recently landed Sully and
his New York associates in serious
financial embarrassments.
There can be no doubt that the run
ming up of values of commodities like
wheat, copper, iron, tin or cotton to
ngures altogether out of proportion to
those required by the simple economic
laws Of supply and demand must be
far reaching in Its economic effects.
Neither the producers nor the consum-
ers are benefited in the least de-
gree by the exchange manipulations,
as they are purely settled as differ
ences." like the insurance on overdue
ships or bets on horse races. Their eff
fects on trade are generally exceeding
ly complex.
The iniquities Of this canker in
commercial circles are becoming recog-
nizedN by the more enlightened econo-
mists and politicians. and many en-
deavors are being made to remedy
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

marriage VOW an oath taken once and
forever, leads her to keep green the
love OF her husband the calls of flesh
and bloou which LED the hus-
band away are strong for the moment
only and then fall before tho higher
beck Of the soul. This is rentHrkable
study of the primal instincts in9human-
ity which the author makes here The
contest between the spiritual and the
fieshly she bodies forth with a search
ing penetration The Christening of the
soul by the promptings OF the heart is
the change worked in both the man and
the woman of this story.
The story has a lesson to teach This
object of its being negatives any
province of mere amusing, for it can
not amuse. The book is moving one.
narrowing one it may be to those of
tender sympathies;, it is written with a
keen, nervous energy; but yet there is
still that jarring note.
(McClure. Phillips & Co., New York;
price 81 SOD
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
II J0mber Study
of Human Hearts

>Y some indefinable lack H. A.
I8 Mitchell Keays' novel He That
- Eateth Bread With Me- falls just
short of being very powerful
book. Perhaps it is that the reader
is repelled by the very unusual de-
velopment of the plot-revolted might
be a word more specific-and is thus
prejudiced against recognition of the
strength and the tremendous didactic
spirit with which IL is instinct. Per-
haps, this very plot concept seems
so unnatural, so opposed to all one ex-
poets to find in human nature, that it
fails to convince. For herein the author
gives us woman, divorced, who sees
her husband marry again and become
apparently enthralled by the charms
of his new love, yet who keeps place
for him in her suffering and shamed
heart as steadfastly as If he were yet
hers, and is willing, nay happy, to de-
light in that mans vagrant affection
when he brings 1t remorsefully back to
his first hearthstone. Out of this situa-
ton the author makes undeniably
strong material, she develops the emo
tional strength and intellectual strug-
giles inherent with a wonderful vigor,
but her very premises seem strained.
Has the woman no pride that she
should welcome this erring affection,
come back at second hand? Has any
man OF the least modicum of moral
strength the absolute lack of honor
that will prompt him to such a servile
fawning as this man of Keays' story?
Yet ii must be admitted that even with
this outre order of things the story has
the power to impel the sympathetic at
tention of the reader so nightly that
1t is only when the last page is turned
that he pauses and seeks to discover
just what that thing is which has made
this book fail of real worth.
Upon the order of some of Hall
Gaines novels is He That Eateth
Bread With Me-" in that its whole
tenor is one of terrible tragedy-the
tragedy of grief sitting in the heart
night by night without surcease.
Caine sought in THE Manxman" to
ply the fiery whips of the nemesis born
of love beyond the law: in this novel
Keays pictures the tragedy OF an Illicit
love sanctioned by the divorce court.
With terrible earnestness there is por-
trayed the agony of a wife forsaken
and the bitter regrets of the husband
penitent. The high, spiritual tone Of
the wife's affection. which sees in q
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
New Books ReceiDed.

A WOMAN'S WILL, Anne Warner;
Little, Brown Co., Boston; illus
trated; price 81 so.
BY THE GOOD SAINT ANNE,
Anna Chaplin Ray; Little, Brown & Co.,
Boston; price 81 25.
WHERE THE TIDE COMES IN,
Lucy Meacham Thurston; Little. Brown
& Co., Boston; illustrated; price 81 So
THE STORY OF KING SYLVAN
AND QUEEN AIMEE, Margaret Sher-
wood; the Macmillan Company. New
York: illustrated.
STONY LONESOME. Arthur j.
Russell; Rand. McNally & Co., Chi
cago; illustrated; price 81.
EVEN THY AFFAIRS. G. j. r.; the
Nunc Licet Press, Philadelphia; price
IS cents.
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
'DdrrOW Enigma"
Is q Thriller

WEN six persons sitting in a
darkened room of a peaceful sum-
~ mer's evening. but one exit from
that room is open and within
plain view Of all, every window but
one is closed and that exception is
raised a few inches only; suddenly one
Of these persons leaps to his feet with
the wild cry that he has been stabbed
and within three minutes he is dead,
with only a slight scratch upon the
neck to show where the assassin's blow
fell; how would you solve that mys-
terry? That is the puzzle offered in the
opening chapters of The Darrow
Enigma" by Melvin Severy. Surely no
detective story ever had a more
striking inception. Even the bloody
word 'tRache," which gave the only
clew to Sherlock Holmes in his Study
in Scarlet" was something more tangi-
BILE and ready of explanation than this
sudden murder dropped into the midst
of room full of people.
A detective story, when il is good, is
a strong tonic to the satiated taste of
the omnivorous reader. The unraveling,
bit by bit, Of seemingly inexplicable
mystery. the clever inductive reasoning
which builds up from trivial circum-
stances a convincing scheme of proof,
the false clews, the blind gropings after
lost threads in the mystery which keep
the reader nerved up to a tension-these
are the charms of the detective story
which have fascination. THE Darrow
Enigma" is one OF these 1t is well
very evenly sustained and a denoue-
ment startling in it's sudden subversion
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24
Present Needs
of Philippines

- HE Philippines and Far East"
So by Homer c. Stuntz, is one of
the latest works dealing with
the American occupation of the
islands and some of the more important
political questions arising from their
retention.
The author is missionary in the
Philippines, attached to the Methodist
church. He writes with strong religious
bias. and devotes a large portion of the
book to eulogies of the various
Protestant missions and denunciations
of their inveterate opponents, the
priests and friars of the Roman Catho-
lie church, who have long been settled
in the islands, and are nov actually
feeling the effects of the competition of
the hustling Protestant missionaries,
and the Filipino Catholic church that
Is advancing to the front under the
leadership of Aglipay and other apos-
tate Roman Catholic priests. Notwith-
standing these palpable defects, the
work is not without considerable in
terest to the general reader.
The book opens with a general ac-
count of the islands, their history and
people. Then follow chapters relating
to the Roman church. the friar land
question, the resources Of the islands,
the government and financial institu-
tions, commerce and international re-
lations Stuntz puts in his best work
when dealing with problems relating
to the education of the natives. It
was clearly recognized by the
early American officials that the
Philippines can only become satis-
factorily civilized by means Of q
thoroughly efficient system Of state
education; but as there are over seven
ty different tribes in the islands, speak
ing as many different tongues, the
educational problems were unusually
complex and difficult. The author.
however, believes that the Government
has grappled with them in most capa-
BILE manner and he pays a tribute to
the system of state schools that has
been successfully introduced.
There are now over eight hundred
American teachers in the Philippine
state schools. and they are ably assist
ed by 5000 Filipino teachers, who were
especially prepared for the work The
primary schools number 1000. and they
have a daily attendance of more than
100000 native children. Visitors to the
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

factory character of the surlng fiction
is the one mentioned in the foregoinp
Introductory paragraphs, The Rain
bow Chasers," by John H whitson.
BY his first book, Barbara, a Woman
of the West" MIR. Whitson gave prom
ise of doing good work in the typical
Western story. but his latest story has
shot beyond the mark of that promise;
II is as vigorous, as stalwart, a story
Of the plains as any similar novel writ
ten, excepting neither those of Owen
Wister nor Of Hamlin Garland. 1t has
a strong, pulsing life to it and a GER
tain fine reflection of the largeness and
fruitfulness of the country il depicts
which make ii a story that holds not
only through incident but by its at
mosphere.
Whitson lays the opening scenes of
his story in the great woods of Arkan-
sas. Dick Brewster, young hotheaded
giant, is forced into a murderous quar-
rel with the county bully through his
love for a weak little comely faced girl:
a fight ensues. Dick believes that he is
guilty of his rivals murder and soon
finds himself sentenced to a life i'm
prisonment Through the kindly offices
of fellow prisoner in his place of tenn
porary detention the young hero es-
capes from Jail and Immediately sets
forth TO lose himself in the Nation
where no questions are asked of any
man. Ii is in following the ensuing
fortunes of Dick Brewster that the au-
thor puts his tale into the great. broad
swing of the Western prairies. Dick is
whirled into the great land boom which
swept over Western Arkansas twenty
years ago, and there in the hurry and
rush Of this wild life of speculation on
the wind-swept prairies Dick Brewster
under an assumed name, tries to live
down the blot which he feels to. be tar
nishing his soul. 1t is not until he has
gained the love of the daughter Of
the very Judge who sentenced him
that the gathering shadow of exposure
at the hands of rascally fellow who
had recognized him is suddenly dis
PEELED by the confession of the man
whose stealthy knife thrust had put
the stamp of murder upon the hero.
With Dick Brewster freed from all blot
and stain and happy in true love the
story ends.
In his delineation of cowboy charac-
ter Whitson is particularly happy. Jim
Prethro, the squaw man and rowing
son of the plains, is refreshingly
breezy individual-true cowboy. a type
which has been greatly contorted and
exaggerated in recent fiction. he is pic
tured by Whitson with none of the
hackneyed fantasy of drawing that has
made the genus a modern harlequin
in many recent books. In stirring Incl
dent the story is not lacking The fight
between Brewster. Prethro ard his
squaw, squatting behind their broncos.
and the desperadoes under Stone Face
is intensely vivid and thrilling with
dramatic force. The well-drawn pic
ture OF the blizzard is another feature
which makes this story one of sus-
tained interest.
(Little. Brown &, Co.. Boston; illus
trated; price 81 SOD
The San Francisco call., 1904-04-24

islands now find that wherever the
American school teacher has carried
on his good work. more natives speak
or understand English than Spanish,
and 1t is only question of few more
years when man may travel through
every island in the group and converse
with the natives everywhere in Eng
lish.
In a work ostensibly written with a
view to forwarding the operations Of
the Protestant missionaries and par
ticularly those of the church in which
the author is employed. it may be ex-
pected that those who do not follow
religious affairs will come in for criti-
cism as well as the churchs ecclesias-
tical opponents. In the chapter de-
voted to an enumeration of the diff
culties confronting mission work the
reader will find the author scoring the
American residents in Manila In the
most caustic language he can COM
mand. Stuntz's vehemence here de-
feats his object.
Jennings & Pye, CINCINNATI; illus
trated; price 81 75.)
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-09-22
WATER IL! | WANT WHlSKY!"

The following is a Van Buren, spe-
cial to the Fort Smith Times:
Governor jeff Davis passed through.
the city Saturday evening en- route to
who will enter the university at the
beginning of the term. The governor
was accompanied by his usual thirst.
for whisky and dim recollection OF a
saloon having once occupied the cor
ner room of the Bowlin block. now oc-
cupied by Goldsmith and Buchanan as
q wholesale grocery house. The gov
ernor jumped from the coach as soon
as IT stopped and without speaking to
any one hurried to Main street. never
speaking until he had entered the Of
flee of the wholesale house. Messrs
- T. Goldsmith, a member of the
firm. BOokkeeper Dave Matlock, City
Salesman Frank Jones and Nathan,
the 15-year-old son of Mr. Goldsmith,
were busily engaged in the office
V iICIl NoNttIoI 1dN 10 cilitit tu HUI lCi-
ly with the remark, Boys, want
something to- drink" Now the firm
keeps good big keg of ice water in
a secluded spot in their sample
room and Mr.. Matlock, scarcely look.
| ing up from the row of figures in
| from of him, said NAT, show the gen
fls,n hnr1 ~, LII, n,
The governor was led back through
the office into the dimly lighted SAM
! lie room. but he had not gone far be-
| for he blurted out Say, kid, where
III the hell are you taking me?" By
! this time the boy had reached the wa
ter cooler and in reply to the COVER
nor's uncouth remark replied, "Why,
back to get you a drink of ice wa
ter. Water, hell remarked the ex-
| ecutive with strange light in his
eyes, 81 want a drink of whisky" and,
without seeking further, rushed out
| through the Office and to the train.
followed by the shouts of laughter en-
anatlng from the wholesale house, for
he had been recognized as he left by
| che or two of the Office force. Master
Nat Goldsmith says that he will not
try to act the part of Ganymede to-
wards any more governors if thev
cuss like Davis does. for the youth
was frightened by the words of Davis
as well as by his looks of rage when
nc was proffered cup of cold water.
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1904-09-22
COTTON OUTLOOK IN TEXAS.
Boil WeeviI Is Doing Heavy Damage
No Prospects of Top Crop.

Galveston Tex. Sept. 22.-The Tex
as section of the United States Ge-
partment of agriculture has issued its
climatic and crop bulletin for the
week ending September 19. Snn'ma-
rized, the conditions in Texas 10" the
past week are as follows:
Heavy rainfall occurred over the
southwestern and coast divisions on
the 18th and 18th. and good showers IL
the eastern counties on the same dates.
The following places report r1irtaII
in excess of two inches: Blanco, 262 :,
Corpus Christi 4.70: Cuero,z 3..%%S !;
Galveston, 2.33: San Antonio, so.
and Wharton, 1922 inches. a cCol
wave overspread the state on the Eth
and 10th, but the average temperature
for the week was just about no.rrai.
The plants have generally tal;na On
second growth. but there is no pI 0s-
pect for top crop. Boil weev,ls
are doing as much damage in the
southwestern coast. central, eastern
and number Of northern counties as
the advancement of the season VIII
permit The boIls cnotinue to open
rapidly.
Picking was delayed in the south
western and coast divisions by the
rains, but elsewhere progressed rapid
ly as the scarcity of pickers would
permit. The yield is generally much
below the average. but is proving
somewhat better than expected in the
northern portion. The staple now be-
l}g picked has suffered little or no
damage from the rainfall
The picking of early corn is pro-
crossing slowly. The rainfall DELAYED
the harvesting and the thrashing OF
rice. The rainfall was beneficial TO
sugar cane, and the crop is maturing
nicely. Pastures and ranges are il
good condition and considerab,e
plowine was done for fall sowing.