davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
CURIOUS THINGS FROM CHINA
The Most Magnificent Beds Ever Seen
Are Part of The Celestial Empires
Worlds Fair Exhibit.

The Chinese exhibit at the Worlds
Fair is filed with pleasing surprises.
Some of the most magnificent articles
of furniture are q part of this wonder
full display. The carving and inlaying
of ivory, bone and wood illustrate the
marvellous skill of the Chinese.
Models included in this interesting
exhibit show the homes and home life
Of the Chinese, their weddings and
funerals, Chinese tea house, restau-
rant and shop, Chinese weaving and
some of the beautiful silks and wear
ing apparel of the Chinese and their
methods of manufacturing them.
One feature OF the exhibit is two
magnificent Chinese beds, each of
which has the appearance of being
small house of great beauty. One is
summer bed, the other for winter. The
summer bed is hand carved and inlaid
with ivory and bone figures and land
scapes exquisitely carved and so
skillfully joined as to appear a part of
the wood. The bed and furniture are
of carved bamboo. The bed consists of
an anteroom, with tables, chairs and
tea stands, and in an inner room, which
is the sleeping apartment, there is q
couch with coverings of gauZy silks.
The winter bed IS still more elabo-
rate. 1t consists of three compartments.
The first contains four chairs, tea poy
and chest of drawers. This is the sit
ting apartment. The second is the dress
ing room. and the third is the sleep
ing apartment, or the couch itself. The
furniture is of rosewood inlaid with
ivory carving of birds, flowers and
trees. The couch is covered with silks
of the finest texture and in gaudy col
orS. The sleeping compartments are
lighted with Chinese lanterns of silk
hung at the outer entrance, while the
light enters through gauze panels, hand
painted and in forms of rosewood in
laid with ivory figures.
A table and dish made of highly pol
ished ash, with eXquisitely carved
figures inlaid, are shown. The
work is so artistically done that each
article seems to have been made OF
one piece of wood.
There is also a large display Of Chi
nese lanterns made of silk, gauZe and
other light material and some made Of
beads artistically arranged with glass
centers The silk and gauZe are beau
tifully hand painted
There are models of some of the
arches, showing elaborate carving in
wood and ivory and two large elephant
tusks exquisitely carved.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07

The United States Government build
elevated site just south of the main
picture of the Exposition. The great
central dome of the Government build
ing Is visible from the very center Of
the Fair, looking across the picturesque
sunken garden that lies between the
Palaces of Mines and Metallurgy and
Liberal Arts.
The hill slope In front of the Gov
ernment building is terraced with
broad stairways almost completely
covering the slope. The building Is 800
feet long by $50 feet wide and is the
largest structure ever provided at an
exposition by the federal government.
is distinguished from all the other
large buildings at the Exposition by
the steel truss construction, the entire
roof being supported by steel arches,
forming a splendid domed ceiling.
In this building are installed the ex-
'hibits of all the executive departments
Of the government The building is a
vast stOrehouse of an endless variety
Of treasures dear to the heart of every
true American. Precious documents
are to be seen here, and the autographs
OF our great men OF the past are on
display. Relics of famous statesmen
and soldiers, carefully preserved
through generations. are exhibited.
Each governmental department has in
stalled an exhibit showing its official
character and mode of operation.
Entering the Government building
from the eastern end. the visitor sees
at his left a railroad postoffice car.
This is not a mere coach standing idle.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07

to make it fmpcrishablc. led General
Sheridan, when he had seen it under
the guidance Of General Meigs. to re-
mark: Yes, Meigs, It is a fine build
ing. 1t has only one great fault. 1t Is
unQuestionably fircproof."
Although ugly. it serves its purpose
we'll and is not too large for the ex-
elusive use of the bureau. When it
was built it was generally regarded as
too big, but there was no expectation
that the additions to the pension list
would be over 24G,GOO in Il single
year, which was the case in 1892. more
than Il quarter of a century after the
close of the civil war
Eugene L. Ware of Kansas, the man
selected by President Roosevelt for
pension commissioner, is a native of
Connecticut, but moved to Iowa before
the war At the age of nineteen, on
the afternoon of the day that Fort
Sumter was fired on, Ware enlisted.
He served in the army five years and
three months, attaining the rank OF
captain. After his discharge he set
tied in Fort Scott, Kan, where he
lived for about twenty-five years, re-
moving to Topeka in 1898. Mr.. Ware
is one of the great lawyers of the west.
He has also won some fame as writ
or of poetry under the nom de plume
of Ironquill.
When Mr.. Ware took charge of the
pension bureau, he evolved Il system Of
promotions for the bureau based en-
tirely on merit, and that system pre-
walls today. In letter Of instructions
sent to the head of the departments at
that time he concluded as follows:
"Give no precedence to political pull
and do not let religion or nativity cut
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
GREAT PROJECTS AFOOT.
Current Year VIII BE Memorable In
History of Engineering.

Current Year VIII BE Memorable In
History OF Engineering.
The year 1904 promises to be one OF
unusual Importance in the annals of en-
cheering progress on the North Ameri-
can continent. In all human possible
~ we will see inaugurated during the
year several great engineering works,
great not only in the magnitude of tho
operations involved, but in their pro-
spective influence upon commerce and
industry, both national and interna-
tional.
The first of these great tasks to be
undertaken is the construction of the
isthmian canal. The dimensions OF
this problem are vast as measured by
similar enterprises in other parts of the
world, and the opportunity will now
be given to American engineers and
American contractors and builders OF
machinery to utilize all that knowledge,
skill and experience in conducting pub
lie works that have already done so
much to make our own country great.
The economical %ution of the problem
calls for mechanical appliances to a de-
gree almost unprecedented, and for this
machinery we confidently look to our
own engineers and to our own shops.
Another great engineering enterprise,
already started, but to be energetically
pushed this year, is the plan Of the
Pennsylvania Railroad company to con-
meet its system with the cities of New
York and Brooklyn by tunneling under
the Hudson and East rivers. Here.
again, IS n problem that in it's solution
includes new and practically untried
engineering methods.
In the state of New York the popu-
lar vote technically approves of the eX-
penditure of Il hundred or more mill
lions upon the thousand ton barge ca
nal connecting the great lakes with the
Atlantic seaboard.
In many of the inland states the COM
panies controlling the great railway
systems have an enormous volume Of
work either in progress or contemplate
ed which has for its object the crea-
ton of new works to take the place OF
those planned and executed by n past
generation of engineers.
The enormous traffic developed by
the growth OF our domestic commerce
has brought into use heavier locomo-
tives larger cars and stronger bridges,
and the resulting saving I'm operating
expenditures now warrants an outlay
for reduction in distances, gradients
and curvature that would have been
deemed wasteful extravaganza by the
generation.
Northward, in the Canadian posses
siOns, the coming year will doubtless
see a notable beginning made in what
will become another great transconti-
mental railway. This Grand Trunk
Pacific railway will be nearly 1000
miles long and will connect the At
lantic seaboard at Halifax with the
shores of the Pacific ocean at Port
Simpson. 1t will be the most north
erly railway line of Importance on the
continent, practically following for
much of it's length the great divide
the waters of the st. Law
renee basin from those of Hudson bay.
Its purpose is to open up to population,
trade and commerce vast areas of
wheat land, timber land and mines
that are now valueless by reason Of
the lack of transportation facilities.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
THE WOMAN MINISTER.
She Has Come TO Stay In the Con-
RreEatiOnal Church.


The woman minister has come to
stay in COngregationalism. While
other denominations. like the Metho-
dists and Episcopalians. refuse TO or
dain women, the Congregational de-
nomination, In most sections of the
country at least, seems willing to ap-
prove well qualified women or to ex-
tend to them the same opportunities
in the Congregational ministry that are
offered to worthy and well educa ted
men. The divinity schools of the de-
nomination admit women to their
courses, and some of them, like Hart
ford Theological seminary, make q
speciality of the opportunities offered
women. - -..--.---
And yet II is not likely that there will
be such a pressure from the feminine
side of the house into the ranks of the
ministry as to crowd the men to the
wall Here and there a man of mod
crate ability may be set one side for
brilliant, attractive woman, but that
would be his fate when he came into
competition with a man possessing the
same qualifications.
And at any rate, as In the case Of the
law and medicine. it win probably only
be the occasional woman in coming
years who will choose the ministry
for her profession. But it seems GER
tain that, provided they possess the de-
sirable natural and acquired qualifica-
lions, women will be welcome in the
Congregational ministry at least and
find an importnt work to do for their
fellow men and women.-Boston Tran
ScriDt
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07

MoRMoNIsM's HISTORIAN.
Andrew Jensen and His Revelations
Concerning Latter Day Saints.

Andrew Jensen and His Revelations
Concerning Latter Day Saints.
One of the most interesting witnesses
in the senate hearing of the Reed
S1oot case was Andrew Jensen, as
sistant historian of the Mormon church,
who contributed much information as
to the organization of the Latter Day
Saints.
In the course of his testimony Jen-
sen said there are fifty-three stakes and
700 wards in Zion, n president being at
the head of each stake and Il bishop of
the wards. A stake is about the size
Of county usually, but with the in
crease of the population 1t has been
necessary to make as many as three
stakes in some of the counties. There
are from five to thirty wards in each
stake.
Three men constitute the first preSi-
dency over the whole church, and each
stake has a presidency of three per-
sons. The president of the stake is
appointed by the head of the church.
and he in turn selects his own counsel
ors. The bishops are also chosen by
the president of the whole church. The
people send up name or list of names,
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
ANDREW JENSEN.

and he selects one. There are other
officers, called teachers, who are Sc
Iected by the bishops.
Jensen described the duties of teach
ers, who are required to instruct and
reprove members who violate the rules
of the church. No officer, even the
president of the church, is above the
bishop and teachers of his ward in
matters concerning moral conduct in
the ward.
In answer to questions 3ir. Jensen
said that he had never known of q
prosecution of polygamist who. con-
tinued to live with plural wives hes had
married prior to the manifesto oft1S90
and said that If any Mormon should
inform against a pOlygaIh ist under
such conditions - against President
Smith, for instance - such infTmer
would be OdioUs to most members Of
the church. Through his testimony
Mr.. Jensen made it clear that theipres-
ident of the Mormon church is abso-
lutte dictator of its affairs, spirituakand
temporal.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
WHARFAGE FREE AT ST. LOUIS
Twenty Miles of River Front For Wa
ter Craft at Worlds Fair City.


Free wharfage will be given TO all
boats landing at st. Louis during the
Worlds Fair. Traffic Manager Hill
leary of the Exposition and Joseph z.
Whyte, harbor and wharf commission
er of st. Louis, have decided on the To-
cations assigned to the various kinds
of boats.
Yachts. steam launches and all boats
propelled by their own power have
been assigned wharf space between
Choteau avenue and Biddle street.
These streets, running east and west.
form the boundary lines for the cen
trail business district of the city.
House boats have been assigned
wharf space north of Biddle street
and south of ChOteau avenue.
st. Louis has n river front of TWEEN
ty miles. The Broadway line of the
Transit company parallels the river
from the city limits on the north to
Jefferson Barracks on the south. At
no point are the cars more than five
blocks from the Mississippi river. The
Worlds Fair may be reached for one
fare by transferring to any Of the
eight lines that cross Broadway and
reach the Exposition grounds.
No charge will be made for wharf
age. Application for space should be
made to the harbOr and wharf COM
missioner at the City Hall, on Twelfth
street, between Market street and
Clark avenue
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07

eSIltnale Is lot lHe J. L. DAVENPORT.
lowest figure. for
the order provides that after the vet
Grams become siXty-fve years they shall
receive IS Il month, after sixty eight
so and after seventy 'S12.
Few persons realize what enormous
sums are required annually by Uncle
Sam to pay the pensions of the veteran
soldiers and sailors who have risked
their lives in their country'S service.
From 1861 to June 80, 1908, the sum
of $2,9T9,93S, 153 was paid out in pen
sions, and at the close of the last fiscal
year there We're 996,545 pensioners on
the roll.
The pension building covers nearly
two acres of ground in the northern
portion of Judiciary square, Washing
ton. and is 400 feet long and 200 wide.
The building is constructed around
a vast court. the roof of which is sup
ported by eight massive brick columns
overland with Stucco stained to repre-
sent marble. These columns rest on
foundations eighteen feet below the
floor and from floor to roof are eighty
five feet in height. Each column Is
said to contain 10000 bricks.
This great pile. built by General
Meigs with the most scrupulous effort
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
ANCHORING SAND DUNES.
Covered Them with Vegetation to
PreserVe Arabic Land. y

Covered Them with Vegetation to
Preserve Arabic Land.
So much attention has been directed
to the work that is being done in re-
claiming the arid and semiarid lands of
the west that the reclamation work
along the Atlantic coast is almost en-
tirely overlooked. The familiar sand
dunes, characteristic of the coast from
Cape Cod to Cape Fear, while perhaps
artistic, constitute q menace to ada
cent cultivated lands and are useless
in themselves Massachusetts. at con-
siderable expense, has been endeavOr
ing to reclaim the sand dunes that
form so large n part of the F'Province
lands" on Cape Cod.
1t has been found that sand is readi-
Iy bound together by grass roots, and
that if sturdy varieties of grass, suita
BILE for sandy soils. are planted and
cared for while obtaining Il fOothold
and maturing they will gradually cover
large areas, transforming them from
shifting, worthless lands into veritable
fertile cultivabEe fields. Many years Of
forestry work in Europe have shown
that after the grasses have made a
start trees can be successfully raised
on these erstwhile sand piles, which
may thus be made to yield n revenue.
Some of the most extensive and mobile
sand dunes in the United States, how
ever, are found in the west, and it is
the ambition of the bureau of forestry
to cover these with permanent forest
growths Along the Columbia river in
Washington the sand is very light,
owing to the large proportion of mica
it contains, and consequently is easily
blown about by the winds.
In a part of the lower Columbia riv-
er valley great orchards have been
actually ingulfed with the shifting
sands. and the railroads have expert
enced great difficulty in maintaining
their tracks in this district in passable
condition. In order TO make n practical
test as to the best method of treating
these dunes, q strip of land on the Co
lumbia river between Willow creek
and the John Day river has been set
aside by the government for extensive
experiments. based on the work done
in Massachusetts, referred to above.
In the east tree planting plans for
owners of sandy tracts are being pre-
pared. thus extending the scope Of the
practical cooperation begun by the bu-
reau of forestry. -Philadelphia Record. |
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
LOUISIANA PURCHASE MONUMENT, WORLDS
FAIR.

but is one of the most improved mail
cnrs, in which men attached to the
United States railway mail service are
actively engaged In Throwing the
mails. Here you Will see the postal
clerks at work, just rs they work while
speeding along a railroad track.
a curious collection OF old time rel
ics from the pOstoffice museum at
Washington illustrates as no verbal
description can do the crude begin
nlngs of the postal system. One OF
these relics Is an old fashioned stage
coach that once carried United States
mails through a portion of the LOuisi-
ana purchase territory. President
Roosevelt, who once inspected it. ex-
amined with a rough riders interest
the bullet holes which stage robbers
and mountain brigands shot through
its stiff leathern curtains. Generals
Sherman and Sheridan and President
Garfield rode In this old coach during
the strenuous days Of frontier life.
Among the collection of documents
showing the primitive postal methods
I'm vogue I'm the early days is to be
seen the old book OF accounts kept by
the first postmaster general, Benjamin
Franklin. all written by hand. There
is n rare collection OF stamps. includ-
ing ancient Filipino, Porto Rican and
Cuban stamps. The postoffice depart
ment's exhibit occupies 12.469 square
feet.
Across the aisle, at the right. is the
exhibit of the new Department OF
Commerce and Labor. occupying 1866
squire feet This exhibit shows what
the new executive department stands
for and what ii is accomplishing. Mr..
Carroll ID. Wright. United States Com
missioner of Labor. had charge of the
preparation OF the exhibit Charts ar
ranged by him. showing the rapid
growth OF the nation in agriculture,
arts. manufacture. population. etc, are
of special interest to Sociologists and
all students of the labor problem. The
Census Bureau exhibit Is made in this
section. 1t shows the tabulating ma
chimes used in compiling the census re-
ports. The Lighthouse Board. also OPP
Grating under this department, shows
the great revolving lenses in light
houses. with other interesting appIi-
anceS.
The space in the projecting north
west corner of the building is devoted
Co the Library of Congress. The edi-
fee which houses this library ut Wash
ington is held by many architects to
be the most beautiful building in the
world. Its interior decorations. by FL
mer Ellsworth Garnsey. furnish one
OF the chief delights OF visit 10 the
national capital A large model of this
splendid building is a feature Of the
exhibit The decorative features OF
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
THE MONEY QUESTION.
A Hard Problem with which Many
XINea Have to Wreatle.

Perhaps the first difficulty young
wives have to encounter, as we'll as
the last that old wives have still to
wrestle with, is the question of money.
Most women are by nature economical
They watch outgO more carefully than
men do and plan expenditures more
closely. The extravagant women are
usually those whose lives have not
been allowed to develop naturally. who
have been forced into an economic de-
pendence and taught the joys of spend
Ing with none of the counterbalancing
difficulties of earning. But even such
women have economical streaks in the
midst of their lavishness - sort of
spasmodic reversion to type. In spite
of this there is In most masculine
minds 4 deep seated distruSt Of wom-
ans financial ability, and the conse-
Quence is that the world is full Of
careful, industrious wives nagged and
hindered by careless, impulsive hus-
bands, who take to themselves the
credit of the wlfe's savings and throw
upon her the blame of their own loose
methods. Few of these women like to
assert themselves badly as their hus-
bands financial superiors - some of
them even aid him in his joyful career
of self deception-and when in desper
alton they are driven TO take the reins
into their own hands it hurts them
worse than ii does the husbands.-Har-
per's Bazaar.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
TOILET TIPS.

1t is said the towel is an enemy to
beautiful face. for 1t breaks the It's
sues.
IL Is SAID tnat the Romans used
skeins of silk after the bath instead of
towels to keep the skin nice
An ounce OF Glove pink petals infused
in three-quarters of pint of pure al
cohol with a few verbena leaves is a
refreshing odor for the bath.
Don't despise the humble lemon.
With the juice of a lemon and the
beaten white of an egg milady, brush
In hand. may touch up her freckles in
the seclusion of her boudoir and no
one be the wiser.
If your hair is thin and oily an ex-
cellent hair tonic is made of bay rum
and jaborandi, one pint Of the former
to a quarter of an ounce Of the latter.
Massage it into the scalp every night
The hair should be fluffy next day.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
UNCLE SANS WONDERS.


Che interior are reproduced in their
original colors.
The next exhibit on the right hand
side of the central aisle is that of the
Interior Department, occupying 1892
square feet. In this large space the
visitor finds so many things OF COM
polling interest that he is loath TO
leave. The Patent Office exhibit be-
longs to this section. There are mod
els of many machines that have borne
an important part in the development
of the nations industries. The earliest
form Of every device of human inven-
ton, so far as possible, Is shown here
For instance, you may see the actual
sewing machine that was the first con-
trivance of its kind every constructed;
1t was patented In 1916 by Elias Howe.
The first typewriter. patented by c.
Thurber in 1912: the model of the first
cast iron pillow. patented by Charles
Newbold in 1891; the first screw pro-
peIler, invented by Robert Hook in
1850; and many other first things
are to be seen. The model of Abraham
Lincoln's celebrated device for lifting
steamboats, off shoals Is shown here.
The first harvesting machine, made in
the year $50 B. c., IS one of the most
ancient exhibits at the Exposition.
There is also a model of the first steam
engine, made in Egypt in the same
year.
Every foot of the 100000 feet of
floor space in Uncle Sans Worlds
Fair building IS occupied by exhibits
of surprising interest, and every phase
of the peoples welfare is shown.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
PROFITS of Literary Piracy.

The octogenarian Mr.. Charles Henry
Clarke, Just dead. netted a clear f1S,-
600 out of Uncle Toms Cabin" That
was In the evil old days when literary
piracy was rampant on both sides Of
the Atlantic and moral rights" were
OF less value than waste paper. But
Mr.. Clarke, having ideas of his own.
took the liberty OF anticipating copy
right conventions by sending Mrs.
Beecher Stowe n thousand guineas.
Had he acted within the four corners
Of the law the authors check would
have been drawn for precisely 20 0s.
od-London OutlocS.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
4 Grnve Error.

Johnsing-Mistah Henpeck's wife
done made Il scene at her muddah's
funeral yistahday.
Smif-ShO! Go way!
JOhnsing-Yessah. He done ;fo'gts
hisself an lets er onion drap outtob his
hand Observation-Disclosures.