The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-20

coffers of these people every year Some times they come remarkably close in their guesses, and if they even approximate the truth by the veriest guess work they make an immense impression. and their fame Is greatly augmented. It should be against the law for such people to defraui the public by their nostrums, their recipes for long life and success in business, and their revelations of the future, but they are hard to reach, and so long as there is grain of superstition in the human com position there will be quacks and fakirs in abundance.
 A man of origlnal ideas has been evolved in New York, the home of so many new crazes. This person thinks 1t would be a fine thing for all of us to return to the primitive garb of our progenitors Indeed, he would discard clothes altogether but not all at once. He deems it advisable to lead up to this stage of undress by de- grees, descending through the toga to nothing at all The mans name is MT. Salomonson-not Solomon-and he is quite patriarchal in appearance He predicts that the time will come when people will cease to wear clothes at all and will run about in the woods with all the freedom and delight in natures charms that char acterlze young fawns. We will not be quite so graceful, perhaps, but we will be quite klttenish.
 MT. Salomonson himself is not so inter esting as his theories. If everybody ceased to wear clothes a great many peo- pie would not have anything to do, as they would be deprived of the never end- ing dutis of dressing themselves or buy ing the goods for their approval Tailor bills would be only memories, there would be no more padding. or sham figures, and every man would be taken at his face value. Nor could a well dressed person snub one who was not well dressed, for neither would be clothed. If everybody would keep clean there would be no dis functions to be made in crowd. Of course it would be rather awkward at first but we would soon get over that and afterward 1t would be cool in summer although cold in winter Tn fact the win ter would be hard proposition. It is all very well to talk about not wearing z are waving our locks but winter blast Is not encountered without protection. Perhaps we could become acclimated so that in course of time we could endure cold weather without clothes almost as well as in summer. But there would sure ly be trickeries and deceit practiced some way and patches of smooth, white, arti- ficial skin to cover up physical blemishes would soon come into use
 Here of late the sordid life of street gamns has not figured so often or so, extensively in print as heretofore. Surely 1t is not because they have become less interestin gor enjoy more comforts now than they did ten years ago. In spite of charitable societies and other organiza- tions that have endeavored to uplift him and improve his surroundings the fact re- mains that the average street gamin. who Is often a newsboy. is but little bet ter than he was decade ago. It is true that his chances of getting something to eat and a place to sleep are better for both of these has become cheap, but mor- ally and physically he is the same creat- ure today that he was yesterday and will be tomorrow. When philanthropist has once been relieved of all his valuables. has overheard the vile little wretches cursng. quarreling and fighting as they bend low over greasy deck of cards or a pair of dice, he somehow gets the idea that as rule they are not so heroic as certain story tellers would have us believe.
 The newsboy seems fixity and so iong as he continues to exist under his present surroundings the indications seem to point to but little improvement.
 P. c.