davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1905-09-28
NOtaL del dfa

pagan Cl oS Qo NOC SOAouuO
habran podido yer, en- estos
dias. que ha venido muy turbia
y con un marcado sabor de
aqua sucia.
ESQ mismo ocu1re con mucha
frecuencia, cuando llueve.
cuando no llueve y siempre que
hay alguna perturbation atmos'
ferica por ligera que sea.
Y no obstante esos reiteradOs
avisos que estames recibiendo
casi a diario, nuestro Ayunta-
miento Sc empefia en- 10 del Gle
rre de los aljioes, con una ter
Quedad que serfa muy plausi-
BILE aplicada a una obra de be-
nefclo pu blico.
Ell mejor dia nos quedaremos
sin aqua. Todas las senales, to
dos los augurios indican que Sc
aproxima Ell cumplimiento de
esta inquietadora profecia, pc
TO nuestros gentiles pretores no
han creido o2ortuno conmo-
verse.
va parece que es question de
honra ell empeno de cerrar los
aljjbes. Y ell acuerdo mogrebi
no, algo modiicado despues de
las campaflas de la prensa y de
las prOteStas de los propietarios
sera sometido al veto de la con-
gregacion reverenda, para po-
nerlo enseguida en- vigor.
Por ESQ hemos evocado en-
los primeros parrafos de este ar
ticulo Ell test,monio de los Illus
tres gorrones que gastan ell
aqua sin pagarlas para que ellos
digan 81 es possible que una ciu-
dad como la nuestra, pueda que
darse sin los aljibes, mieutras
Ell acueducto sea el mlsmo que
tenemos en- la a,tualidad.
La respuesta deberia ser un
no, como una casa. Un no de
funcionario, seco y rotundo, Co
mo aquellas formidables mega
twas que oponian siempre al pro-
yecto de emprestito para ell cafe.
No pueden ser tapiados los al
jibes. Hacen mucha falta, son
indispensables en- San Juan.
Green nuestros ediles que la
gente puede beber ell aqua fan
gosa del acueducto, cuando CO
mo estos dias viene mezclada
con barro Y otras materias me-
nos lImpiasP .:
Ell mismfsimo Pasteur ha fra
casado aqui. Su iltro es para
limpis.r ell aqua. pero no es un
colador de fargo.
Y nuestros concejales, como
81 nos Quejaramos de vicio. CO
mo 81 10 one estamos diciendo
no Sc 10 bubleran dido decir a
todas las personas, como 81 ellos
mlsmos no pudieran comprobar.
10 todo, insisten v sc obstinan
en- que una medida de alta hi
giene, no comprendida por ell
pueblo nj por nosOtros, nj por
los bacteriologos, nj por nadie
en- Puerto Rico, impone la clau.
sura Immediate, raptda inevita
BILE y radical de todos los aIi-
bes de la poblacion.
Bravisimo empefo del que no
hemos logrado disuadirles con
to1os los razonamientos de que
hemos hecho alarde. con todos
los argumentos que hemos te-
nido, nj con las protestas que
hemos recogido de la poblacion
en- general.
No pueden. nj quieren negar-
10, son tozudos. Y ocurra 10 que
hemos vaticinado, 8 dele de
ocurrir por una verdadera Chi
ripa, ellos han de salirse con la
Suya.
Los aljibes Sc cierran!
Despues cue venga Mr. Taft
y los abra; va que ha de
ser obra filipina eI conseguir
aqua para los aliibes, en- Ell
BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1905-09-28

De los $40 900 40 asignados para la
construction de I6 kilometres de carre.
terra entire Humacao y Yabucoa Sc han
gastado desde Io. Noviembre 1904 4
IS de Ag ,sto pr6ximo pasado 10 692 6s
construyendose II Kilometres. III ira
bajo en- general costo $17 oI5z7; el
material no empleado y gastos de mis-
celaneas $I366,SS y la irspeccion
ST. $4,000. Probablemente Sc termi
nara esa carretera en- Diciembre pro-
ximo. r.:
Esta mafIana particip6 el captain
Fernandez Mater, que salia las 8 y
Is para Humacao con los ind vfduos
Anselmo. Antonio y Candido Acosta,
y Biviano Alicea autores del asesinato
cometido en- Ia persona de don Tomas
Caballero seg1n resulrado de las in
vestigaciones practicadas por I'll Fisca!
sefior Aponte, Tanto la policfa de
aquel puesto como los detectives y cabo
Rodriguez de Juncos trabajaron con
intereS en- ell case.
Ell Fiscal Aponte fe'icita la polic1a
Y detectives por ell resultado obte enido
Han llegado al Departamento de
Instruction los contratos hrmados en-
tre los maestros y las juntas escolares
de Arecibo, Lares y Aguas Buenas.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

martial against the surviving prin-
cipal in pistol duel. That was in 1880,
and the code of dueling in vogue in
that day has to all intents and pur-
poses descended upon the present day
and generation, about the only ap-
probable difference being that fists
instead of pistols are used, although
the former are in some cases appar-
emily as deadly to-day as the more
dangerous weapon used to be.
The story of Midshipman Charles
G. Hunter is peculiar and in some
respects a sad one. The affair of
honor into which he was drawn and
which resulted in his killing his man,
followed him all his days, like an
evil nemesis, and he died with the
words on his lips: "My life has been
embittered, and all my happiness
wrecked by the sight of that man
lying dead on the bank of that little
creek in Delaware-killed by my pis-
toll shot-and a man I had met only
twice before we stood facing each
other on that fateful Sunday morn
ing"
The Trivial Beginning.
The duel grew out of a trivial in
cident, and the men who finally met
each other on the field of honor were
not the original principals in the af-
fair. Henry Wharton Griffith and R.
Dillon Drake, two society men of
Philadelphia, in company with some
friends sauntered into billiard par
lor at Third and Chestnut streets on
the afternoon of Friday, February II,
1880, and Drake, angered by an i'm
piled imputation upon his skill with
the cue, struck Griffith in the face.
Before friends could interfere Drake
had severely whipped his companion.
That evening a message was sent to
New York to Passed Midshipman
Charles H. DHryee, Of the United
States navy, asking him to come i'm
mediately to Philadelphia. Duryee
arrived on the following Tuesday and
the next day carried a challenge from
Gr1mtn to Drake, who refused to en-
terrain any message.
81 will have no affair or intercourse
with a person of his reputation" was
brakes contemptuous retort. "Tell
him he is beneath the notice of gen.
tlenan."
"ls that your answer" demanded
Duryee.
"Tt is" replied Drake. Take your
letter back to him"
Burning with indignation Duryee
strobe out and at once sought Com
mander Philip F. Voorhees,, of the
navy, who sent him back to Drake
with insistence that satisfaction be
given to Grifnth for the insult.
81 refuse to accord meeting to a
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

But be that as it may, the conditions
along the strip are surprisingly free
from disorder and crime. A newspaper
correspondent, who made the trip
among the labor camps at night re-
Gently, reported that Notwithstanding
the fact that it had been pay day at
many points there was almost an entire
absence of drunkenness and carousal.
At Corozal there were few lights in
the big hotel where the white employees
live, and fewer among the laborers'
quarters near by. There was no noise
and apparently everybody was asleep.
At Miraflores there was not a light,
and at Pedro Miguel and Paraiso,
where there are hundreds of men, only
sound now and then from an accordf-
on or note of negro song could be
heard. At Culebra, populous camp,
most of the quarters were as still as
death, and it was only nine o'clock. At
Empire, one of the largest camps on
the line, a few laborers were taking
a parting drink at the canteen, which
the proprietor seemed anxious to close
up. They were well-behaved, though
somewhat noisy At Bas Obispo, Mata-
chin, Gorgona, Barbacoas and other
camps of unsavory memory from the
French days there were now and then
life and music and laughter, but no
disorder or unseemly scenes.
Such a condition of affairs reflects
much credit upon the chief of the zone
police force, Capt. George R. Stanton,
whose qualifications and training seem
to have peculiarly fitted him for the
task required of him. He was formerly
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

stupor-and only one who knows the
full meaning of "rate" among mid
shipmen can have a correct apprecia-
ton of what that announcement from
a "plebe" to an upper classman car
ried-the rating" demanded: mid
shipman, do you want to fight?"
That's what I'm looking for" was
the bold reply. The fight was ar
ranged, and then followed series Of
humiliating defeats for upper class
men, and there is no telling just
where the affair might have ended if
the academy authorities had not got
wind of what was in progress, and
put stop to further encounters in
that particular series. But it is said
that the "plebe" boldly informed the
officials that he could whip the whole
upper class"
Hazing and the Code.
Most of the encounters in the acad-
envy come from hazing the "plebes,"
although the unknown lady" and
other things often figure as the casus
belli. An upper classman resents a
lower classman being too attentive to
his "best girl" and any "galliness,"
or forwardness in a lower classman
is sure to bring the offender to issue
with the offended upper midshipman
Midshipmen have been known to fight
their way through the academy with
out submitting to hazing. Any re-
sistance to an unauthorized order
that an upper classman gives a
"plebe" results in fight.
But the code does not always bring
the results that the midshipmen de-
sire or expect, as was the case a
dozen years ago when Midshipman
Craig proved much more than match
for the customs Of the code. Two
midshipmen of the graduating class
along toward the end of the year en-
tered the quarters of the "plebes" to
give them a touch of hazing, because
the 'plebes' were not getting enough
Of It." They attacked Midshipman
Craig and his roommate in a vigorous
manner, when Craig, who had just
come in from skating and had his
skates swinging from a strap on his
shoulder, unlimbered and brought the
shining bits of steel down upon the
heads of his assailants with such tell
ing effect as to leave deep marks
there. It dazed the upper classmen
when they contemplated the situation
Ia 'plebe" daring to leave a mark
of a weapon upon the sacred brow
of first classman. Craig was sent a
challenge to fight. He knew what
this meant-shut up in a room of one
of the upper classmen with a giant
to maui him to pieces. Craig re-
turned answer that he would fight,
but in the omen. This did not Snit
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

rough rider, having been captain Of
Troop G, Torrey's rough riders, and
having been reared in Wyoming, he
has had touch of ranch life and pos
sesses all the skill of the cowboy with
gun and lasso and can ride anything.
He used to be with Buffalo Bills Wild
West show, and was known as the
king of the cowboys" His giant sta
ture-over six feet of sturdy American
manhood-together with his known
skill at "gun play" and "broncho bust
ing" command profound respect.
His force of men numbers at pres
emit 1855, but with the increase of labor
ers he is going to ask for ESQ., he says.
These 1876 men are principally negroes,
and, according to the judgment of
Capt. Stanton, they make better po-
licemen than the whites, that is, for
duty in the canal zone. On this point
he says:
"The necessity of black policemen
was clear at the start Their fitness has
been proved. I am proud of their de-
pertinent. Only Jamaicans and Barba-
dams are employed. The zone is heav-
lily populated with Jamaicans, Barba-
dians, Martiniques, Fortune Islanders
and black Colombians. Our black po-
liceman has had from three to ten
years experience among these people.
The English laws, especially those of
the constabulary are about the same
as those that regulate the zone. Our
black officer has them by heart. He
can read, write and speak English and
Spanish, and many of them understand
French. They know when and how to
make an arrest and, what is by far
more important, when not to make
one. That is my test of a good man.
You can lead these negro laborers,
quiet and orderly as they seem, into a
riot in quick time.
In speaking of the freedom from
crime which marks the district, he de-
clared that he believed that "life and
property are safer on the zone than in
New York city. We have never had a
months. One was of {. black found in
the bush, and the other was of the
keeper of the canteen at Culebra, who
was robbed. / shall get the slayer Of
the last man. If Lad dogs I would
have him now. 1 have sent for six
dogs, and they will be Of future SER
vice, for we shall have more crimes Of
this nature There are no gambling on
the zone and no opium joints. You can
stake your life there won't be. The
crimes we have had are petty, stupid
forgeries of pay checks, sneak thiev-
ing and drunken assaults. We are
watching the known bad characters.
There are professional crooks among
them, but active police strung along
the line, well guarded ports and the
great, black, impenetrable forests On
both sides keep them quiet"
The thing which Capt Stanton fears
most is that gambling may get start,
but with characteristic grimness that
means something he said: "Bat St It
does, will have a hand in it, and
don't think it will run long"
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

The problems which have arisen in
connection with the building of the
Panama canal are many, and all do
not relate directly to the kind of a
canal to be built or how it is to be
built. In other words, there are 9TH
ers besides the members of the canal
commission who have knotty tangles
to unravel. Just now it is Gov. Ma
COON, who presides over the ten mile
strip along the canal route, and which
is American territory according to the
treaty made with the republic Of Pa
mama, who is having troubles, and
when one considers the varied charac-
ter of the people who go to make up
the population of the district it is not
to be wondered at.
With the peculiar racial habits and
tendencies to be found among these
people it is not at all strange that
questions should arise which require
more than ordinary discretion and
judgment in deciding. 1t must be ad-
mitted that the same standard of eth
les which would be used in determin-
ing matters of conduct in the United
States cannot be applied with inf1exi-
BILE risor in such a district as the canal
zone, and just now Gov. Magoon is
face to- face with a condition which
makes him realize that this is true.
Some few weeks ago when the news
papers throughout the United States
published the report that shipload OF
women had been carried to the 18TH
mus for immoral purposes it created
something of sensation, and steps
were at once taken to ascertain the
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29
Why PugilisIn Is Rampant in
the Annapolis Naval
Academy
REVELATIONS OF BRANCH-MERIWETHER AFFAIR
What the Code Is and the Finish Fights Which
1t Constantly Gives Rise to-HazinG the
Most Fruitful of Primary Causes
Stories of Some of the Fights
Duel of Former Years.

and fierce that the most strenuous
mill between professional prize fight
ers is but tame in comparison. The
finish comes when one of the COM
batants fails to respond to the call
of time after the lapse of the inter-
val between rounds. No one at the
academy can recall a single fight
which has not been finish affair, for
it would never do for a man to stop
until it was finished. To stop short
of that would disgrace man in the
could never look them in the face
again.
How One Fight Came About.
Here is the story of how one fight
was brought on, and is illustrative of
the rough-and-ready style of the mid
shipmen and their eagerness for the
fray. A third classman had accosted
"plebe," or fourth classman with
the admonition: Hold up your
head" Indignant at this attempt to
run" him-for graduation day was
near at hand, and both we're prepar-
ing to step up class, and this pro-
motion would, under the customs Of
the academy, take the "plebe" out Of
the grade of the hazed and relegate
the Office of hazer TO the succeeding
"youngster" or third classic replied,
defiantly: Mind your own business!"
The third classman stood aghast be-
fore such audacity on the part of a
"plebe," and as soon as he had re-
covered sufficiently from his astonish-
ment to speak, he demanded:
'You want to fight, do you?"
Eyes," replied the "plebe," who re-
allied that there was no other way
Of settlement than in accordance with
the recognized code Of honor, although
in comparison with the upper class
man he was a veritable Zaccheus in
stature. But Midshipman McEntee,
the "plebe," was no coward, in fact
there is no room for the man who
shows the white feather in the acad-
envy, and he began to strip for the
fray, and right then and there in the
open daylight, in secluded spot of
the academy grounds, the two mid
shipmen went at it. There was no
referee and no seconds, but it was a
fight to a finish nevertheless, and
while the clever fists of the little
'plebe found landing places on the
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

Annapolis ,Md.-The recent revela-
lions of fistic encounters among the
midshipmen of the United States
naval academy here growing out OF
the death of Midshipman Branch
after finish fight with lower class
man named Meriwether are Of most
sensational character. The curtain or
secrecy has been raised, revealing a
state of affairs in the inner life OF the
academy little dreamed of by the cit
tzens of the country.
Judging by the reports, the chief
business of the midshipmen is pun
melting each other in accordance with
the liberal Interpretation of the Mar
quis of Queensberry rules. Part OF
the equipment of every man is evil
IDENTIFY the belligerent chip. And he
wears it in such a reckless manner
that it fiops off at the slightest touch
of the aggressive code.
The "code?" What is it? Nobody
seems to know. They say it is not
written, so that it is not in docu-
mentary form. And nobody seems to
be able to explain just how this much
honored "Sir Code acquired a resi-
dence in the academy, or just how he
attained such an ascendancy over the
young men being trained there for
Uncle Sans navy. But certain it is
that he is there, and that he just
dotes on fights which are sometimes
more than bloody, as was the case
when Branch went down and out All
fights are to a finish, and that word
finish frequently means more than
was intended or expected when the
quarrel was in the making, and the
challenge was being sent
Years ago there used to be occasion
al fights among the midshipmen on
the spur of the moment, and once in
awhile formal bout arranged for the
settlement of some wrong, real or
fancied. But there were no recog-
nized rules governing or creating such
affairs, and there was no regularity of
their occurrence. But with the pas
sage of the years the present honor
system grew up, and with the inven-
ton of this fight factory" for such
1t is, pure and simple, the fistic en-
counters became more frequent. 1t
is SAID that the officers of the academy
do not recognize the existence of this
code of honor, even though they may
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29
is largest field of operation.

its largest field of operation. Tne
personal encounter between two mid
dies as the result of an insult or 9TH
er affront which leads to a challenge
being sent and the two meeting in the
ring to settle the affair is one thing,
and the resistance of "plebe" when
being hazed is quite another. and calls
code. This is what is known as the
"class fight"
The offending "plebe" must fight
the man the upper class picks out.
To be sure, it will give the ''plebe" a
man Of his own size, but good care is
taken by the third classmen that the
chances are all on their side by
choosing for their champion one of
their strongest and cleverest pugilists.
AS a rule, of course, the underclass-
man Is badly punished, and after 15
or 20 fierce and bloody rounds fails
to come to the scratch, but sometimes
the tables are turned and the upper
classman is the one who gets groggy
and at last is unable to respond to the
call of time by the referee, and is
counted out. Then the victorious
'plebe" has to fight another Of the
youngsters" and so on until he is
himself whipped.
A "Plebe" Who Wasn't Whipped.
Years ago, it is said, that "plebe''
practically cleaned out an entire
class of "voun psters " and IL was then
discovered that he had been a prize
fighter before his admission to the
academy. 1t seems he went to one
Of the upper classmen and said:
"See here, I don't like the way my
class is being treated" The upper
classman was nearly surprised out of
his wits, but recovered from his
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-12-29

the autocrats Of the academy, for
Craig would then have the eye of au-
thority upon the whole transaction.
So one day after dinner, as the
corps emerged from the mess hall into
the corridor Craig was seized and an
attempt made to carry him bodily
upstairs to make him fight. But
Craig made such determined resist
ance that the attention of the officer
in charge was attracted by the dis
turbance, and following the investi-
CATION which was made came court
martial and dismissal for the two Of
tending upper classmen on the charge
Of hazing.
It has been said that fights never
occur because one midshipman in the
line of duty reports another, but this
would not seem to have been true in
the case of the Branch-Meriwether
fight. for it appears that incidents
leading up to that encounter were the
official inspection OF Meriwether' S
! room by Branch and the expected re-
port on the same. Meriwether called
Branch a sneak and coward because
Branch had opened the wardrobe of
Meriwether, and finding there cit
izen's suit, took it out and laid it on
Meriwether's bed. This kind of In.
spection is considered extra official
| and is said to have led Meriwether to
use the insulting language attributed
| to him.
A Pertinent Page from History.
A singular coincidence in .connec
ton with affairs of honor between
midshipmen of the academy and re-
sultant fatalities is that an ancestor
of Midshipman Branch, in his official
capacity as secretary of the navy once
| confirmed the judgment of court