davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
LentiI Cure For nnIdnenr.

New remedies for falling hair are
continually cropping up, and by the
hopelessly bald these remedies are
adopted with confidence. The lentil
cure is the latest according TO the
Pittsburg DispatcA's New York CORE
spondent. The lentl cure is applied
internally-the lentils are eaten. Mar
velous results are obtained, according
TO reports. if the cure is followed for
six months. Lentils are rich in iron,
and hence are good not only for the
hair, but for the blood as well Pale
and thin haired folk after a course Of
lentils become rosy and robust and
their hair grows vigorously. Special
lists Of religious bent point to the BlbIi-
cal character of Esau. II young man
VIGOROUSLY fond Of Ientihs and notori-
ously hairy. Lentils look like split
peas. Though they are admitted to be
the most highly nourishing food in the
world. their taste is gratifying TO but
few people.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
To Burn Pauper Dead.

Despite the unpopularity of munic-
ipal crematories in cities wheEe they
have been tried, the national capital is
to have a place for burning the bodies
of the pauper dead of the District of
Columbia, says Washington dispatch
to the New York Tribune. The Dis
trict commissioners are now having
plans prepared for suitable building
and plant on the grounds of the Wash
ington asylum, and within years
time the crematory will be in opera
ton, taking the place largely of the
usual potter's field, where the bodies
that come into the custody of the Dis
triet government are now buried.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
THE
FUTURE AMERICA

The following view OF the United
States and England is taken from the
London Truth:
The new Bank of England is Amer
lea. II we propose TO build railway
we have to go to the United States for
the necessary capital. If we wish to
develop some Industrial concern we
apply to an American financier for as
sistance II we have to sell a large
property. a valuable picture. rare
work OF art or a celebrated race horse
we offer it to an American millionaire.
If any well known bachelor among us
Is In pecuniary difficulties it is to the
United States that he hurrieS to find
bride with a fortune. If a more OBJ
scure Englishman is unable to earn
living in this country 1t is to the Unit
ed States that he generally crosses to
obtain employment,
1t Is probable that at the very least
America will have twice as much
wealth and power in twenty years
hence as she has acquired in the past
twenty years. If so, what country will
then be her equal? The Future of the
United States" would be a useful sub
ject for some essay writer to deal with,
for an America that is twice as rich,
as powerful and as populous, that has
double the feet of men-of-war and
merchantmen and that does double the
trade with the outside world that the
America of today has and does Will be
q monster among nations.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
STEADY
COMPANY CLUB

twenty young women eligible for
matrinony have organized a secret
cluB-for mutual protection at Sterling
H., says a dispatch from that place.
The STEADY company" Of each menu
Der OF the club must be passed upon by
a majority Of the members.
The moral, financial and companion
ship qualities of the young man will be
discussed. and If he be found eligible
TO be in the running" n majority vote
Will give the young woman permission
to go ahead. If he be found wanting.
he will be blackballed. After the fair
one is permitted TO proceed If the
young man is disposed TO trife thO
woman, at the Lehest of the club, must
bring him to time.
When proposal Of marriage is made
the club will calmly discuss it and take
last vote on the destiny Of the young
man. If his conduct during the court
ing period be found to he all that a
good woman can stand for, then the
club member Will be given her last GER
tificate. The object of the club. the
girls announce, is TO encourage matri-
mony, but as twenty heads are better
than one in Judgment of character they
have bound themselves to abide by the
majority rule.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

Drought great maJeriaI results 10 the
world, but has done the more impor-
tant work of training men. Among the
list of those who have graduated from
his college of hard work are such
noted scientists as Nikola Tesla and A.
L. Kennedy. president of the Institute
OF Electrical Engineers Other noted
electricians that were trained by Edi-
son are Charles Bachelor. the late
John Krusie and s. Il. Bergman. who
has become the largest manufacturer
Of electrical apparatus in the United
States. Frank J. Spragise, editor Of the
Sprague electric system, and the late
Frank MacGOwen. the explorer, were
also Edison pupils.
1t is thus seen that Mr.. Edison has
not only invented or improved practi-
cally all the things that have TO do
with men, even to the houses they live
in, but that he has cOBtrived TO invent
or improve quite a number of very,
bright men themselves.
]. a. EDGERTON.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
Put B,oom on MiI1ion Acres.

Papers have been filed with the state
engineer of Colorado for the redemp-
ton of nearly a million acres of arid
land, the largest irrigation proposition
ever undertaken by private capital.
Frank J. Mccarthy, civil engineer, is
drafting plans for a reservoir to cover
twenty-four square miles, have an av-
erage depth of thirty-tive feet and use
the entire surplus water of the Platte
river. 1t has been estimated that 49,
115,O00,000 cubic feet of water was
wasted yearly from the Platte river.
The estimated cost will be about S4,-
100000.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

/ the south wing Is divided into mez
| canine stO&0S for research work.
Animals used in these departments
are kept in a special animal house, anC
rooms and pens are provided to &C
| commodate various animals, from cows
| and sheep to birds and frogs. The
rear end of the basement of one build
| ing is devoted to photography. lin the
! hygiene and pharmacology building a
| complete museum of food products,
models of appliances relating to the
public health, etc, are given Il special
section. Comparative pathology forms
a separate and distinct department in
this building.
The administration building faces a
quadrangle 90 feet wide and $50 feet
long and is situated upon a high ter
race overlooking the approach between
the four laboratory buildings The
style of architecture in this, as in the
other buildings, is an adaptation from
the Greek. In this building the right
wing is given up to the offices of the
school, faculty room, committee room,
etc. The left wing contains rooms for
students and alumni, a reading room
and smoking room, etc. The basement
is fitted up for Y ray work, bandaging
instruction, lockers, etc. This base
ment floor connects with the basement
of the other buildings by corridors in
which additional locker accommoda-
tons are provided.
The second floor is devoted to lecture
and class rooms. AM amphitheater oc-
cupeS the left wing and is so arranged
that the students enter from the sec
ond floor, while the lecturer with his
lecture material is admitted from an
intermediate floor below. on which
there is preparation room connected
with the elevator from the receiving
room in the basement and the Warren
museum in the upperI portion of the
building. This museum occupies the
entire upper portion Of this building
and has a floor spaceS Including gal
leries, of over $4,000 sqhare feet
The remaining fifteen acres are to be
utilized for the construction of hospi-
tails. etc Harvard has always been
handicapped in the choice OF her teach
ers on account of the lack of direct con-
troll over the hospitals used for clinical
teaching purposes.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
SUMMER HOME FOR WAITER
Denver Bankers Present to Old New
York Hotel Employee.

Denver Bankers Present to Old New
York Hotel Employee.
David H Moffat, the banker and
railroad builder OF Colorado, whose
particular friend is Thomas Gay, eX-
head waiter of the Fifth Avenue
hotel, New York, desires Gay to live
near him and as the first step in that
direction has purchased 1J3 acres in
Routt county, Colo, near Steamboat
Springs, on which he is erecting a
commodious summer home for Gay,
says a Denver dispatch.
The land will be fenced and will
have an artificial lake, golf links, a
tennis court, etc, making a place
where Gay can spend his summers and
entertain Mr.. Moffat. Good fishing
and hunting can be had within q few
miles.
The news of Mr.. Moffat's latest gift
to "Old Tom Gay. waiter and head
waiter of the Fifth Avenue hotel for
the last forty-three years, occasioned
only mild surprise to his friends in
New York. The Denver banker has
taken "Old Tom with him twice to
Europe, has carried him around the
United States in his private car and en-
tertained the veteran waiter in his own
home. Their friendship is of many
years standing.
Thomas Gay is a man Of considerable
education and has known all the great
men of two generations.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
Merely n Few Reminders.

The tansy bed Is whitening,
The slippery "elum' bark
Sticks tighter than a burdock to
dogs tail in the dark;
The crickets cuddling closer to
The doorstep than before;
The leaves are getting raspy, and
The summer days are Ger
The tabby's fur is growing thick,
The wood piles growing, TOO;
The cellar bins are groaning with
The store that's good to view;
The cattails clutter in the sedge.
The wild goose sails before
Phe night wind; trouting seasons lone:
The summer days are Ger
The silver mist arisss from
The river flats below;
The fox fires glimmer in the swamp
With pallid. ghostly glow;
me small boy hustles through the corn
With Towser to the fore;
The nights are fit for coonfng. and
The summer days are DER.
Horace Seymour Keller in New York
Sun.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

, At another time he tried to make
! some gun cotton, but muttered that it
was no good and placed it on the back
of an old stove. Several months Litter
when fire was started in the stove
there was an explosion. sit was good,
wasn't it?' said Edison sententiously.
Cared Little For Money.
This sort of thing went on till Edison
made his first leap into fame by in
venting the stock ticker This brought
him in $4,000, and he was so unused
to handling money that he did not
know how to get the check cashed.
Edison never did care very much for
money, though he has plenty of it now.
II is one of the anomalies of life that a
penniless boy should invent the stock
ticker that is now the rich mans Office
pet throughout the land.
After that he invented pretty much
everything. The few things he over
looked he still has time for. At one
time he said he intended to cOntrive q
cradle that would be rocked by lung
power-that is, by the baby's cry. The
harder the little sinner squalled the
faster the cradle would rock
The great inventor has quite a vein
of adry fun. He is also a practical
joker upon occasion. y genius can do
things with impunity for which other
people would be put in jail.
Photograph joke on a Quaker.
At one time Edison hid some phono-
graphs about the guest chamber of
his house. One night a Quaker was
visiting him and was awakened from
his slumber by hearing Il metallic voice
swearing horribly. He turned on the
lights and looked carefully, but could
find no one. Every time he dropped
asleep the thing was repeated. Final
ly, when he could stand it no longer,
he called Mr.. Edison and said the
house must be haunted by a tribe of
the most blasphemous ghosts that had |
ever broken loose from the neither re
gions. Edison was the picture of in |
nocence and helped his guest search |
for the source of the profanity, but |
without success. Finally lie explained |
that it must be the monographs that
broke forth at rather unexpected |
times. That may be a joke, but homi-
eide has been committed on less prov
ocation.
To a youthful friend who once APP
piled to him for advice Edison tersely
said:
Young man, the best advice 1 can
give you is never look at the clock"
To 4 persistent lightning rod agent
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

| who once asked him II he approved OF
lightning rods the great inventor re
| Piled:
1t depends upon the building"
But is it any good in any case;
Would you advise their use on church.
es, for instance?" ventured the rod
| man
well" replied Edison. with Il twin
| kle, they might Ee OF use on churches.
1t does look as though Providence were
bit abSentminded at times"
When in New York one day Mr. Edi-
son remarked to a friend on leaving:
Il want to go back to the quietude
of my own workshop | can't stand
New York. You are too glaring and
noisy over here, one of the chief rea-
sons being that-y0u are using so many
of my contriv3Qces.
Everybody has called Edison wiz
ard, and for that reason / refrain.
Most wizards are fakirs, and Thomas
A Edison is genuine
Strange as it may seem, this most
practical of the worlds inventors loves
such imaginative authors as Edgar Al
Ian Poe and Jules Verne. 1t is also
said that he Is a spiritualist and that
he ascribes maRy of his discoveries TO
spiritual agencies. Certain il is that he
was for many years a member of the
TheosOphical society of New York.
Edison is an inveterate smoker and
is so absentminded he never seems to
know how many cigars he does burn.
Once he complained to his tobacconist
of the rapid1ty with which his cigars
disappeared and could not believe he
smoked them all himself. The dealer
agreed to makeaSome faxed cigars"
III fix 'em with horse hair and hard
rubber" said he. '"Then you'll find
there will not be 50 many missing"
Several weeks later Mr.. Edison saw
the tobacconist again and said
Look here! 1 thought you were go
ing to fix me some faxed cigarsv'
why, did!' exclaimed the other In |
hurt surprise. Don't you remember |
the box with Il green label-cigars tied |
with yellow ribbOnf'
Edison smiled reiectiveiy. Il smOk-
ed those cigars myself" he said
A guest once noticed that Mr.. Edison
lighted great many matches to keep
his cigars going and placed the burned
back in the box with the I'M
lighted ones. He explained the habit
by waving the stub of his cigar at
Mrs. Edison and saying:
'She won't let me drop 'em round
Trainer of Electricians.
Thomas A. Edison has not. only
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

their health of Il diet Of corned beef
ham, etc, prepared with generous
quantities of saltpcter he hopes to be
able to tell the world in Il short time
just what saltpeter will do to the hui
man system.
DR.. Wiley maintains that the poison
squad has recently received a vindi-
cation for its labors in the meat 'inspec-
ton regulation prescribed by Secre-
tary Wilson prohibiting the use of pre-
servativeS in meat products. The squad
has for three years been fed on diet
of foods in which boraX, salicylic acid,
sulphide. fOrmaldehyde, etc, were
used The full report of the investiga-
tons has not been made public, but to
Secretary Wilson were submitted the
reports made by DIR. Wiley, and the
facts contained therein convinced the
secretary that none of these preserva-
tives should be allowed. He therefore
made the important ruling that the
meat inspection regulations must spe-
officially forbid their use.
The test to be made with saltpeter
deals with practically the only chem
ical preservative or colOring matter. not
prohibited now by the regulations The
preparation is used generally for corn
ed beef In all meat packing establish
ments and often by domestic hotel
keepers. 1t is regarded as probable
that the work of the squad will clearly
demonstrate that saltpeter is deleteri-
Gus to the human system, in which
case the regulations will be amended
r. prohibit It's use.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
MAN HIS OWN MOTOR BOAT
Paris Engineer Has Continuance to
Strap on to the Body.


strap on to the Body.
The Academy of Sciences in France
is considering the invention of a Pari-
sian engineer, who has conceived the
idea of adapting the petroleum engine
to the propulsion of the human body in
the water, says Paris cable dispatch
to the New York Globe.
The device consists of a petroleum
tank and motor, with a saddlelike ar
rangement and water tight box de-
signed TO keep the operator afioat. A
propeller much like those in use on or
binary motor boats completes the ap-
paratus.
All that is necessary in order to put
the machine into operation is to turn
diIninutive crank, sling the motor box
over ones shoulder and get into the
saddle. The speed attainable is said to
be forty miles an hour.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
His Venture In journalism.

this man, the making OF barrels is an
Industry which is not followed by
many, and coopers in the cheap barrel
line are becoming scarcer each year,
and people wanting barrels for their
winter apples have TO depend upon
burlap sacks or pay double what the
other receptacles are worth. In the
near future barrels-that is, stave bar
rels-are going to become too scarce
and too dear to burn. The scarcity OF
barrels promises to end the barrel
gangs. Nothing else is likely to do 1t.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

enr from themselves. Edison slept
about as little then as now, spent all
the time out of office hours working on
inventions and often arrived at the Of
fee late through his preoccupation
over some big problem. He spent all
his money for tools and apparatus and
patroni4ed the free lunch counters
when he wanted anything to eat. As
for clothes, he seemed unconscious of
what he had on and for the most part
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

wv THEN in some future age the
NM world looks back at the real
w ly great figures OF the nine
teenth and twentieth cen
turtles it is not impossible that the per
spective Of time will make Thomas A
Ellison appear the largest of the group
His activities have been so multifari-
Gus and his inventions have been so
startling, so numerous. and have SO
covered every field OF human activity
that 1t is impossible for us to take in
the real dimensions of the man or to
measure the widespread effect Of his
work on the progress of the world.
Among his inventions may be men
toned the automatic repeater in teleg-
raphy, the quadruplex telegraph, the
printing telegraph, the carbon tele-
graph transmitter, the megaphone, the
photograph, the kaleidoscope, the mime
ograph and the incandescent light sys-
tenn. His patents run into the thou
sands. There is scarcely a field OF hu-
man endeavor that has not been en-
rched by them. Now he proposes to
revolutioniZe the architecture of the
world by the erection OF concrete
houses made in a few hours by the
pumping OF the concrete into molds.
By this means the great inventor be-
neyes that within few years it will
be possible for practically every man
to own his home, as these concrete
structures can be reared at a cost so
much less than is now needed for
brick, frame or stone houses as to be a
trifle In comparison. Already he has
brought light, music and entertainment
TO the poor. and now II he can give to
each toiler that greatest OF all bless
ings. q home, no benefactor OF the hu-
man race will have wrought more
powerfully for the happiness and pros
perity Of the race than this man, who,
starting as a poor boy himself, has
done so much to transform the face OF
the world.
Works Days Without Food or Sleep.
Perhaps the greatest secret of Thorn
as A Edison's power IS concentra ton.
For hours, aye. for days at a time, he
will shut himself in his dark room
and without sleep or food will devote
himself TO the working out of some
intricate chemical or mechanical prob
lem. His own mental world is so COM
plete within itself that he can live In |
II and become unconscious Of all the |
world outside. This is not only true |
other affairs Of life, even In his read
ing 1t is said of him that he scarce
ly ever reads a book unless it is called
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
Barrels Too Dear to Burn

The Thanksgiving barrel burning is
doomed, according to the Norwich
Comm Bulletin. The day is not SO far
distant when barrels will not be OBJ
tainable. Those who harvest the crops
in the fall realize more than others
how difficult 1t is to get barrels for the
purpose. a barrel hunter in a neigh
boring state said the other day it is a
shame for people to break up and burn
their barrels when they are so scarce.
He said he has chased all day for only
afsw barrels as q result. According to
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

, to his attention by his wife or some
friend. Mrs. Edison tells one story
that illustrates this popularity. No.
ttcing one night that her husband was
becoming distracted over some prob
lem, she asked him If he had read
1.-The Count of Monte Cristo." He
said he never had and asked If it was
good. On being assured on this point
he said:
"All right l guess I'll read 1t now
The problem was laid aside, and the
world was forgotten till that book was
finished When the last word had
been devoured Edison glanced at his
watch and found it was in the morn
ing He thought il too late to go to
bed, so he went to his workshop and
toiled on for twelve hours without food
or sleep. A man who has as much
concentration as that IS bound to win
nn+
Persistence is another of the Edi-
sonian traits. In his invention of the
incandescent light he made failure aft
er failure in his efforts to discover the
proper material. Never daunted, he at
last struck upon the thing seemingly
by accident. 1t is said by inventors
that nine-tenths of the great discover
les are made III Just that way. "Acci-
DENTS" we call them, yet that much
abused word may be only cloak to
hide our ignorance, so little do we know
Of the secret springs that move the
universe. In the divine nomenclature
they may have a more Ineligible and
appreciative name. 1t IS hard to think
Of an accident" in a system SO per-
fectly adjusted as that of nature.
Moreover, IL is a comforting thought
that after a man has tried to solve a
problem for months and even years
one of these accidents" happens
along. clears up his difficulties and
makes his pathway open and plain to
the goal of success.
His Venture In Journalism.
Thomas Alva Edison was born in
Ohio nearly sixty years ago. He re-
ceived little schooling except the in
struction given him by his mother. At
the age of twelve he was a newsboy on
the Grand Trunk railroad. 1t was here
that he ventured into journalism. Gath
ering together a handful of type and a
very small and very old job press, he
printed q diminutive paper called the
Grand Trunk Herald The railroad
men gave him an old smoking car for
an Office, and after a time he had a cir
of 500. Edison not only edited
the little sheet, but set 1t up, printed it.
1t and solicited the ads"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21
Belts For Men. $50.

One of, the little luxurles a man may
indulge in this time OF year as a part
of his wearing apparel is a belt costing
$50, says the New York Press. These
cEclets are usually made OF the finest
kind Of black leather. but that is not
where the expense comes in. The buc-
kles are made Of gold, as are all OF the
mountings, and, though there is moth
ing garish about them, they have the
appearance Of elegance, and that Ia
what many persons appreciate.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-21

and subscriptions. In Il word, he was
the whole editorial. business and me-
chanical staff.
The careers of men often turn on
events so tritinS that the world again
calls them accidents" With such a
start as the Grand Trunk Herald 1t
would seem that fate had cut out
Thomas A. Edison to be shining light
as an editor. But the lads mind was
so keen for Investigation that he tried