Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-20

L see you nave started PUBIC suDscrip-
ton to erect an auditorium" said man
from a western town who was in Wash
ington for a few days. We haven't built
any million dollar audltoriums out our way.
but our town isn't in that class. Any way.
the talk have heard and what 1 have seen
in the newspapers about public subscrip-
tion had a real honey sound TO me.
You know out our way" he went on.
we have that sort of thing pretty frequent
1t IS regular system with us and when we
want money to buy piece of land TO give
to some manufacturing company or 10
bring some attention to the place or. IN
fact. to do anything that is recognized as
calculated to help along the business OF the
town and the community generally, why
committee is sent around with paper and
we get the money.
Every citizen Is expected to give accord
Ing to his means. and IL the latter are not
correctly sized up by the committee, all
the citizen whose resources are overesti-
mated has to do is to say so and the
amount expected from him Is reduced OF
course that Is all right in a small COM
munity. but the point is that whatever the
burden OF such public spirited undertaking
may be. II is equally distributed Every
body is expected to do his part and that is
what generally happens.
The giving Is not confined to those that
are plainly directly benefited, for the argu-
r1ent is that sooner or later every one will
be helped. and so the benefits are general.
whether direct or indirect Our people take
pride in their home town and stand ready
to lend helping hand to advance its ma
terial interests. There may be self interest
at the bottom of 1t. but in q large number
OF cases 1t is hard to find any motive
Cept that feeling of local pride which has
done SO much toward adding to the facili-
ties and the attractiveness of towns in all
parts OF the country.
1t was on one of the excursions about
Washington that were arranged for the ben
eft OF the international railway congress
that bunch of storytelling transportation
mlgnates came together for a real old-fash-
Toned yarn fest. They were all Americans.
from every section of America, including
British Columbia and Panama, and they
had all had experiences.
AS for me-" declared bronzed veteran
OF the days when the driving of spikes was
accompanied by the splitting of bullets in
Winnipeg and Manitoba. give me the Ca
muck when 1t comes to endurance and alb
solute nonchalance as far as the weather Is
concerned. Those old "Blue-nose" fisher
men Off the eastern coast are the hardest
lot of humans that ever happened along the
right of way. They have faculty of see
Ing things a great way off. and that Is no
figure OF speech, either. l never saw any
class Of men with the sight those fellows
have, one time some years back after
hard season on the road up in the wheat
country, | was ordered to take a long rest.
l jpurueyed east as far as Nova Scotia in
search of a good place to lie down and take
u easy. | was in St. Johns when an old
fisherman friend of mine was getting ready
to make a voyage to New York, and | took
a sudden notion to go with him. The
weather was raw and foggy all through the
passage, and when entered the sound
and started in to New York harbor the fog
was SO thick YOU couldn't see the companion
way on the old schooner from the wheel. |
never saw such a fog. l was on deck with
the old man the day we entered the sound.
He was standing at the wheel. Suddenly
l saw him lean over and bawl, 'Sloop
a-hO-O-y.' l didn't hear Il thing to indi-
cate the proximity of sloop or anything
else except the fog. The old man gave his
attention TO the wheel and after a minute
or two of waiting, it seemed an hour to
me, l heard a faint cry off in the fog.
schooner a-ho-o-o-oy.' The old man
Strengthened up and bawled is tha-a-t tn
two and then faint and weak came the an
swer, Aye. aye. Is that tn Mandy Jane?'
Aye. aye. bawled our skipper and he Twill
ed the wheel. He never looked my way
and for a time l thought he was unconscious
OF my presence. But presently | found |
was mistaken. After fifteen minutes of
onpiete silence he suddenly turned to
with an emphatic nod of his head toward
that section of the fog from which the an
swerlng hail had come, That was me
brother Bill. | amt seen him fer year
And then he went with his steering as
though nothing had happened