The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1905-04-22
OLD SOCKS LAuNDEREp


y0zmmes In New Dress Yearly
A large room On the Grst hoor of ths
Chicago Public IabraTy building r.
minds one of q laundry with solled
clothes at one end and washed and
frOned ones al the other. Two or fAares
long, wide tables are covered with
books. torn, frayed and dirty. Other
tables and rows Of shelves are filled
with volumes Just from the blndery, in
apiek. span. new clothes. with black
blue, green, purple, maroon. OF red
backs; not Sc gaudy y as gilty AZ 10
their original stray. but far more
solid and substantial
Last year 1900 volumes were re-
claimed and reciad, and this year 900
win be. Most OF them are noveial an
occasional history or work on practical
arts feeling as lost In the tattered rank
Of fctsOn Is q pedigreed dog among
ours Of the pound The original bind
| ing seldom Lasts more than six months.
But stout boards In piace Of cloth =
substituted, and the leather backs in-
stead of cloth ones. The thread y
much stronger, and each token or
cluster OF pages ID sewed separately,
Il 40 that the renovated book OF this
grade and sort lasts four or Eve times
40 long as 1t did in its original cor
ers. Each new book costs an average
Of s5 cents, and its new suit % cents
, or, taking into account lts longer en-
6urance, about Q cents.
The chief damage done IL the tear
J ing az the leaves. the tearing Of the
covers from the leaves, the soil, ana
/ the writing In them. The writing
4 mainly consists OF comment upon tho
1 book, either in praise or blame Love
3 " book" Zine story BE sure and
read IT." Isn't she Just lovely" III
4 think Reginald tn a splendid fellow
|. -Just too fne for anything" Adverse
! judgments are briefeg and less ex-
q pncit. Bum" and mo good" sums
& II UP.
These comments have all TO be eraS-
ed. which Ia sometimes made Imposes.
Bic by their being written ID indeli-
q BILE ink. Occasionally the character u
n the book provokes controversial IN
Z scriptions. Books In favor Of secession
y excite emphatic protests from UnicT
y readers. The history OF ~Belie Boyd,
the spy, has been fearfuIiy marked NJ
with frank opinions OF her secession
procllritlea Protestants aud Catholics
4. also give vent TO their sentiments Il
regard 10 each others creed and con
~ duct. So do those Of sociaitst1c o
~ anarchists beliefs. when the rar
u chance Of their presence In netioI
:. Offers Frequently these voluntAE.
AZ commentators are satisfied to draw
- lire under the obnoxious text and %
question or interrogation mark 1
the margin. These expositiona are ger
ri. orally in poor writing, bad spellins
q. and bad English. Occasionally the
are bitter, and even profane.
Two or three damaged books a
kent as curiosities One Is q hiseOE.
by Senator Lodge Of Massachusett
II was run over by the wheel Of
II. street ear and hundred odd pages 9
-. sheer across dlaEonally. Another
20 a COPY Of the United States 0alcl
AZ Register, from which some enc viii
avn in the library was able undetected
les. cut over 400 pages containing the i
ga Of posfofHces and postmaEters In {
!. United States. probably for a mailll
list. Many Of the books are bad
stained with the compound of ~
al and scot that overlays Chicago stree
If when = book has been defRced
,rn damaged, but Is not yet far 60
raj. enough for reminding, the one -
ain draws It from the library after the
fectz have been seen. IL protected
n stamped lire reading: Pages 14o
ISs OF this book were cut out previe
eye 10 June ID. 1904" or whatever the d
VT; may have beeR-
,ond OF Dickens works David Copp
1.so aeld" Is most frequently rebought .
rebound; ''Ivanhoe" Of SCOTS OF
ems. more modern books Marx Twain's
bloc noeents Abroad" ..Roughing It. .
eys. TON Sawyer; ChurchilI's ''Richi
cks. sarvei" and The Crisis. though =
SOC Hurs beats them All in the length
time during which Il has been repia
cwt; On the shelves Sometimes the pul
$50 fools the library oEnciAls az Il does
PUBLISHERS. or the seventy I'VE col
alta OF Klpling'a kim" ehlrty-nve are
the shelves 40 coed a. new. and q
kane are forty such ot Wear Mitch,
per aFEugh wynne. me supply Of Jal
Lane AlleR's Reign Of Law" hksy
exceeds the demand. The last auE
Of David Harams is not yet exha
-. "A ayhlcawo Tribune