davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

he would AVE averted the tragedy of los
ing the only girl he ever loved because they
couldn't agree on the style of the furniture .
THAT, incidentally, is the advantage Of
the instalment plan. You get everything
at once and you get it to match.
buy your household goods piece by
piece and what do they look like when you
get through Perhaps one year you're
working for a big salary and you plunge
heavily, buying some real old mahogany.
Next year trouble comes and the dining
room table is painted pine or the curtains
are imitation instead Of real lace.
~Once establish your good name with a
house and when you slow up on payments
why they don't make any fuss. They've
got their eyes on you and as long as you
don't attempt to be dishonest it's all right.
Among our customers are many bachelor
girls who find out that by the coopera-
tive scheme they can live better and
cheaper. In nine cases out of ten these
households are formed through the violent
likes young girls take for each other after
eating cold stew at some boarding house or
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

was to follow in the next year and take
him back.
The summer Of 1921 was an eXcep.
~tionally mild one. The relief ship made
the rendezvous with little difficulty. His
And at it's mas st head was elung a broom
the symbol Of victory in those lines.
The men OF the America broke into
loud cheers. 1t was a thrilling moment,
comparable only, in the estimation Of
those days, to the moment when the cele-
brated Venetian explorer Americus first
set eyes upon America. A new world
was Won.
Presently men clad in skins came across
the snow to meet them-and first and fore
most came Webb. He confirmed the news.
4 have grasped the Pole lie said. And
that phra se became a watchword in the
world for the next two years.
The story was soon told. 1t was a simple
one. BY means Of an ice ri'ing automo-
bile with a special arrangement for climb
ing hummocks he had reached the shores
of the open Polar Sea. A special swift
motor boat had been dashed to the auto
mobile.
Leaving the rest of his companions
70 await his return on shore, he had struck
out into the unknown ocean,, accompanied
only by a sailor, Boatswain Tibbetts Of the
United States navy. The weather was
calm. They reached land, as he expected,
at a point about thirty miles from the geo.
graphical location of the North Pole.
at was an even, mountainless island.
Even the ice and snow lay fiat, without
ridge or hummock. The intrepid ex-
plorers drew up their boat at a safe point.
packed a few provisions and instruments on
their backs and started.
1T was a journey of thirty-siS hours,
with few difficulties. On the afternoon
Of the day which would have been July %,
il there had been any division OF day and
night in those ATTITUDES, they stood at the
point which, their instruments showed,
was the true Pole.
All the way north the sailor Tibbetts
had taken in his pack a six foot stake. This
was set up in the eternal SHOWS, the plate
was affixed to it and the explorer formally
took possession in the name OF the United
States and the Continental Congress, which
was the formula adopted by all American
explorers in that remote time. With a
small hand camera they photographed
one another standing by the take which
marked the Pole.
THE return voyage, although tiresome,
was made without incident, The Pole
was discovered at las.
sin the records OF the fame and glory that
followed / find one persistent fact. The
financial profits Of the Undertaking were
fabulous. Contemporary chroniclerR Of the
twentieth century, money mac - ths
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

were, dwell with special emphasis on that
aspect.
The simple photographs OF these two
men standing on the exact pole of the earth
sold to a magazine for a price unprece-
dented in the history OF publication. The
magazine, which had the audacity to form
asyndicate for the purchase Of those photo
graphs, was well repaid; for its circulation
rose Immediately to l0,0Oo,o 900 copies. SO
great was the demand Tor his appearance on
the lecture platform that his annual income
in the first year after his return was equa!
to that of those singular figures of the time
known as trusts
Wherever he went the sailor Tibbetts,
an u~neducated man, went with him. lib
belts took no part in the lectures except to
act as a kind Of exhibit. At the conclusion
Of the speech the explorer, Webb, used to
introduce him to the audience as his COM
! panion in the daring dash to the Pole.
"There is no record that Tibbetts took
any great share Of the financial profits Of
this undertaking. Perhaps that had some.
thing to do with the singular state Of mind
into which this seaman seems to have
| fallen and which led to the climax OF this
singular affair.
A year after his return, and following
an unprecedented our through the country,
Webb lectured in Madison Square Tower,
an old auditorium of som kind In New
York. During that day the reporters, who
! always thronged about a man of short
lived prominence in that time. noticed that
the sailor Tibbetts seemed nervous and
morose. He muttered to himself; he walked
about with his eyes cast down.
THE lecture, nevertheless, produced n tre-
mendous ovation. 1t came TO its climax
when sailor Tibbetts was introduced to
the audience as a representative Of the
American navy.
when the torrent Of cheering had died
down il was noticed that the sailor still
stood there, "a though he wanted to say
something. The chairman raised his hand
for silence. At that moment Webb stepped
forward as though to draw Tibbetts back.
The sailor threw him off and shouted at
the top Of his voice:
It's a lie. We never found the Pole.
Them photographs was taken up in Franz
Josef Land, only six miles from the ship.
We buried the blame plate
Il have tried TO reproduce his language
as he spoke in the quaint dialect OF the
American lower class Of that age.
There was instant turmoil in the house.
The chairman, seeing that trouble might
follow, closed the meeting and the police
cleared the hall. Webb made another
effort to reach the sailor. but before he
could do so a dozen reporters had seized
Tibbetts aud were fighting for the pos
session Of his body.
In broken sentences be told the whole
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

efforts Of the Arctic explorers Of the nine
teenth and the earlier twentieth century,
dwelling upon the crudity Of their methods,
the great waste of life, the gradual advance,
degree after degree, and the records Of
Peary, Nansen and Fiala. He continued:
The hero of three Of the most famous
polar attempts was j. Wycherly Webb. In
the years 1911, 1915 and 1921 he made sue
cessive efforts to conquer the Pole.
Other explorers Of the time stated that
their object in polar exploration was the
mapping Of the region and the collection Of
geographical data. Webb alone made no
secret Of the fact that his one main object
was to reach the Pole itself.
In the expedition Of 1915. he made, or
said that he had made, a northing Of about
IS degrees, or the farthest north at that time.
II is but justice to all sides to state hat this
record was questioned.
HE had reached the open Polar Sea. 80
called at the time, and had sailed from there
in an open BOAT. He declared that a storm
which arose drove him back; but not before
he had registered IS degrees and some
minutes on his log. But he sailed alone, leav-
ing his men to wait for him on the shore; and
there we're not wanting those who said that
he had never ventured far from land, or had
sailed to another shore and waited there
for several days in order to allow time for
bis supposed record.
The true Arctic enthusiasts, who we're
paying for the expedition, dismissed this
as carping. The income Of Webb rose to
fabulous sums from the proceeds Of his lee
lures and his magazine writings. He be-
came at once one OF the great figures Of
the world.
yet his popularity waned, as popularity
had a way OF doing in those feverish and
unhealthy times, and by the year 1920 he
was 80 far forgotten that people, it is said,
asked who he was when the newspapers
made the announcement that he had raised
funds from a successful manufacturer of
~phosphates and was prepared to make
another dash for the Pole.
Yet once again Webb became a world
figure. He YES toasted and honored from
one end of the United States to the other,
for the people Of that century dearly loved
a sensation. Finally, the Arctic Club, to
show their confidence in his success, ar
ranged a grand banquet for him in New
York, and presen ted hin witha ma gni icent
gold plate, appropriately engraved, which
he wa TO set upon the North Pole when
he discovered it. For in that time men
had reached the conclusion that the Pole
was situated on land; and they believed
that he could find a spot on or hear the
Pole to put up this record OF his achieve.
ment for later explorers to see.
He started north in the early part Of
the year 1920. 1t was arranged that a
relief expedition in the steamer America
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01
THEATRE FIRES.
7E&
Experiments Indicate That "Firepr0OfS
Curtains Are Not F%treproof.

Whoever imagines that the famous iron
curtains in theatres, which are lowered
and raised with such solemnity at stated
times Inc are made the subject Of all kinds
OF municipal regulations, are any real
protection against fire would do well, eays
the Grand Meg zine, to study the account
OF certain experiments recently carried
out in Vienna.
4 theatre was constructed in the most
approved modern fashion, the auditorium
furnished with the usual galleries and pit
and the stage with scenery. Lamps OF
every system-electric, gas and oil-were
placed in great numbers and in the walls
certain spy holes were provided through
which the commission of engineers and
architects who were conducting the ex.
periments might see what went on within
the building.
In the first experiment a fire was lighted
on the stage and the ordinary curtain
dropped, the ventilators in the auditorium
being open and those on the stage closed.
After the lapse of a minute or two the OBJ
servers saw the curtain bulge out toward
the auditorium, allowing the flames and
| smoke to rush forth at the bottom with
such volume that the entire theatre was
en- veloped in an instant.
The gas lamps were e~xtinguisbed i'm
mediately and were soon followed by the
disappearance Of the oil lights. As for the
electric lamps, though they did not 20 out
at once, they became quite invisible by
reason Of the dense smoke. In a quarter
of an hour a temperature Of 720 degrees
Fahrenheit was registered in the theatre.
Next time the same experiment was
repeated under Identical conditions except
that on this occasion the iron curtain vi
lowered. Its protective powers, however,
proved quite illusory.
The flames burst forth into the auditorium
with greater violence, if possible, than
before; the thermometer registered a tenn
parature bordering upon that OF the electric
oven, and an analysis of the air disclosed
the fact that it contained more than 8 per
cant. of the deadly carbonic ox1oe gRb-
that Is to say, far more than Sufficient 70
a~sphyxiate whoever had not been burned
to death.
4 third experiment showed that the au-
dienco can only hope to escape II the actors
consent to sacrifice themselves, which they
can hardly be expected to 10. II was FOUND
that if the stage was set on fire and both
curtains kept up the ventilatorso on the stage
being open and those in the auditorium
quite closed, the stage became transformed
into a chimney as it were, while the II.
ditorium remained intact. as the flames and
smoke were carried away from It.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

to start with than the other, and SO she
makes the larger payment. When the first
payment is due No. 1 comes in and pays 1t
next tine probably No. ? pays. and some
times they come in together and divide
up.
They live together a few months and
then quarrel, and the inevitable separa-
ton ensues. / might speak, perhaps, Of these
divorces as the tragedies Of the instalment
life.
Naturally, they have lost the receipts
for their payments, and they have forgotten
which month No. 1 assumed the credit and
which month No. 2 did her share. They
come down here and expect us to straighten
1t all out for them.
1T has frequently happened that 1.-The
affairs vera so complicated that they de-
cided to go right on living together rather
than pursue the investigation. II they
haven't quarrelled about a man they are
pretty sure to end that way"
How do we protect ourselves against
fraud?7 repeated the head Of another large
house. Considering the fact that in eighteen
years the business has jumped from a profit
OF about twenty thousand a year to the
million dollar mark and that we have hun
dreds of branches all over the country, II
goes to prove that we have found out some
way to obviate that difficulty.
Vet there never was a place where more
hard luck stories are told than the Office
Of an instalnent house. The collectors
learn to know the real from the false.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

get through and the lunch would take about
half an hour. Then came the job Of APP
portioning the expense properly.
"They invariably borrowed a pencil OF
the waiter and began figuring. One girl
would have O third Of the chicken pie, a
fourth of the soup and a half Of the maca-
roni, and they would try to adjust things.
Every time when I left the four heads were
together and the waiter used to tell me
that they'd frequently spend the better part
OF the afternoon over the sum and then
quarrel before they finished.
well, when two bachelor girls buy on
time they present a spectacle something
like that luncheon table.
Casually one Of the two has more money
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

"Lookl' and he pointed at a demure little
woman. Il never saw her before, but she
has housewife written all over her, and
whatever she buys you may be sure it Is
something for the comfort and convenience
Of her husband"
As he spoke the little woman stopped
before a baby carriage and asked it's value,
in instalment payments.
Didn't I tell you?' said the dealer, rub
bling his hands. SIM great on reading hui
man nature. You can't fool little Willie.
Now, there"
This time the door opened to admit a
plethorio gentleman who stalked into the
room with his hand between the second
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

borrowing each others curling tongs In
lodgings.
Some day they both get sick Of the game
and say they want to have a little home,
and without knowing one solitary thing
about each other in regard to essential
qualities, off they go to an instalment house
and purchase the furnishings of a fat.
Il might, said the manager, as he shifted
his feet back to the Oriental rug, illustrate
these households and the way they are run
by telling of a restaurant where I used to
get my lunches. Once every week four
young women would come and eat together,
always at a certain table right in my line Of
vision.
They ordered any and everything they
fancied and then used to divide what they
ordered. They were always in a hurry to
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

the territory Of Manhattan that is free
from the instalment collector. Up on Fifth
avenue in some of the SWEETEST apartment
hotels we have customers. 1t is no lnfre-
quent thing TO have a five thousand dollar
purchase made; ONE Of the rugs are priced
at six and seven hundred dollars.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01

buy furniture in the usual way they would
never get anywhere. So they come here,
pick out the very best furniture we have
and give the impression that they are in a
hourishing condition.
Don't imagine that there is any part OF
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01
Where He Excened.

From the Washington Star,
That tenor gets 81 900 for every perform.
auce." said the musician. H lie indeed .
e"He's better than that" answered Nr.
Cumrox. Hes q good business man.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01
ON THE INSTALMENT PLAN

This Is About Young Housskeepsrs Bachelor Girls and Othsr, Who
Have to Do Finsncuains to Make a Show Of to Establish a Home
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-01
The Word Of the Explorer

A Future Lecturer Of the Twentypevenh Century Recalls the Romantic
Episode Of J. WycheHy Webb IN the Search for the North Pole
The San Francisco call., 1906-12-28

individual sales were small a rule The
California Gas s. Electric General Mortgage D .
sold at $SS- There was sale or Presfdio q
Ferries R. R. shares at $50 Alaska Packers
higher at. $47.50 and Contra Costa Water
certificates higher at $60.75. This exchange
will not be in session Monday. December 81, and
Tuesday, January /.
The mining stocks as rule were featureless
and uninteresting. The Comstoeks were fairly
steady on the day, though the closing quotations
for several were below those Of the preceding
day. The Southern Nevadas were generally
weak, and the few variations were narrow and
Inclined toward lower values There will be no
sessions OF the San Francisco Stock and Elk
change Board on Monday and Tuesday next
The Savings and Loan Society has declared a
regular semi annual dividend to depos1tors AZ
the rate Of 315 per cent per annum on all de-
posits. payable January 2; Metropolis Trust and
Savings Bank. at the rate OF 3-65 per cent
on all deposits. payable January 2; Security
Savings Bank, 315 per cent on all deposits, jan
uary 9; Swiss-American Bank, 800 per cent on
term and 31a per cent on ordinary deposits.
January 9
On the Sth of january the First National Bank
will hold meeting to vote upon proposition
to increase the capital stock OF the bank from
81 500. .0oo divided into $1,000 shares Of the
par value Of 500 each. to So. 100000. divided
into 1000 shares of the par value OF 500 each
thus increasing the capital stock OF the corpora
tion in the sum of 81. SOC. 600; and also for the
purpose of voting upon proposition for board
of fifteen directors. instead OF nine
The San Francisco call., 1906-12-28
To. AnreIe. Markets

Los ANGELES, Dec. 27.-Business was more
active than Yesterday, yet market conditions to-
holding firm in the face of heavy receipts This
created considerable comment, as it was not
known on the market that n potato trust has
been formed and has the situation completely
there was practically change Ten tons of
butter and 5000 sacks of potatoes were among
the days receipts.
ranch, candled, 3ec; fresh Eastern, 36c; Sc
lected storage, 2Sc.
BuTTER@Local z creamery; 771ae; valley
50@7211c; coast dairy, choice, 60@75c; cooking,
22@24c
CHEESE Northern fresh. 17c; anchor large,
17c; anchor, Young America, 1Sc; anchor, hand,
l6@161ac; Eastern Cheddars, 16@16lAc; East
ern. longhorns. 171ac:a Eastern dairy. 1T1kc:
Swiss imported, 2s@29c; Swiss domestic, 2oc;
PoULTRY-Buyng prices. live weight, a
pound: Hens. live weight. 14c: young ROSTERS,
l6c; fryer. 16c; broilers l7c: old ROSTERS, Sc;
squads, 81 dozen. Selling price dressed a
pound-Hens. 19c; young roosters, 20c; fryers
2oe @ broilers o 22c old ROSTERS l2c turkeys 2se:
POTATOES Ia cwt.)-Idaho rurals, 81 .65;
ssS s esas % sa.as
watsonville. $1.s5@1.9o; Nevada, So; Oregon
oTIovs-Yellow Danvers, s1.o5: Northern.
Slips; garlic, &c; chilis, green. Sc; evaporated'
175ac; sun dried. 171hc; ground 121hc; Mexi.
can. bulk, 12la @l5c: Northern. 81 .25
BEANS Ia cwt Pink No. $275@3; No. 2.
S290@3; Lady washington, small white, No. 1.
$360d3.75: blackeye. $3.75@4; Garvanzas 81 25
@45o; lentils. 9@l0c pound.
light amber, i4c: comb white I4c; extracted
water white, 6O-pound cans, 75@Sc; extracted
The San Francisco call., 1906-12-28

descriptions showed some revision in the direc-
tion OF higher prices The feature OF the days
fresh Eggs selected shooting up SC per dozen
on bids OF 55c, while irsts were advanced from
4uc to o0c There was actual shortage Of
fresh Eggs, but in the opinion of most handlers
the scarcity was only temporary and due to the
recent storm, which hampered deliveries at ship
ping points.
Fresh extra Butter was marked up &c. and
there was fractional advance in California
storage extras Supplies of fresh extras were
limited, the bulk of the arrivals Of fresh
stock from nearby districts being rather OF in
cows.
Fancy new Young America Cheese went up &c.
ana an advance was asked for new fancy fats
Business on the Exchange was as follows:
Butter-20 cases fresh creamery extras at 35c.
Eggs-10 cases fresh selected at sic; close,
Cheese-25 fancy new Young Americas at
l5asc; new fancy fats. lac bid and 15c asked.
Receipts We're 1880 Tbs Butter, 5000 lbs
me following were the official quotations as
estaplshed by the sales. bids and offers on the
nopT PTrTTrp 81 the Dairy Dairy EXCHANGE: ;,
steady do frsts. Soc, steady; seconds. 26c. firm
packing stock, firm at 21hc for No. and 21e
lot TOT No 2; Eastern extras. 30c, hrm; do frsts.
tras. 2sAc. firm; frsts, 27isc, firm; seconds 25c.
extras 2sc. frm Eastern stern ladies', % frm at 2ic
Tor extras and 21c for frsts
CHEESE-Fancy California. new fats, 1415c
Americas fancy, 15ssc steady; = Eastern. fancy,
17c. firm; Western fancy, 15c, firm. Storage
goods-Fancy California fats. 14c. firm: do 1rsts,
d5c' M 1rn n1 fancy Eastern, lie. firm; fancy West
EGGS-california, fresh selected. 55c per doz..
erm er nrsts, 5oc firm; seconds. nominal; Cali
nrm; ; Eastern storage selected, 25c, firm; frsts,
age, drm; seconds, 20c firm.
The San Francisco call., 1906-12-28
CHICAGO BOARD of TRADE
Future Grain and Provision.

CHICAGO. Dec. 27.-Trading in wheat was
quiet previous to the posting of the world s
visible supply statistics, but when it was known
that the supply as shown by Bradstreets had
decreased $500, 900 bushels, compared with an
increase of 2664 900 last week. shorts COM
menced 10 cover Offerings at the time were
not liberal. and this caused a firm condition in
the market Country offerings from the South
west were reported as being more free than for
several days. The market closed firm, with
prices at the highest point of the day. May
opened shade higher at 77sc, sold of to 77% c
and then advanced to 7SAc, where 1t closed
sc to lac net higher
Trading in corn was quiet and prices were
firm all day Wet weather throughout the corn
belt and small local receipts were the chief
sources of strength. The close was firm May
opened M@Ac higher at 43A @43%c. sold be-
tween 43Ac and 4315c and closed " up at 1885
@4315c.
The estimate of a trade paper that the total
crop of oats in the United States is about
100. 600 900 bushels less than the figures an
nounced by the Government caused firm market
and strong close. May opened a shade to Ac
higher at 357k @36c to 36c, advanced to 36kc,
where IL closed &c higher
Sentiment bullsh in provisions throughout
the day and the volume of trading was large.
At the close May pork up 1715c to 22c, lard
15c higher and ribs were up 15c-
The leading futures ranged as follows:
The San Francisco call., 1906-12-28
EASTERN MARKETS
New York Money Market

NEW YORK. Dec 27.-Close: Money on call.
z6l1 per cent? ruling rate. per cent; closing
bid per cent: offered at 4iz per cent
Time loans. easier; sixty days, ~ 10
months G TO 655 per cent
Prime mercantile paper, 6Q6R per cent;
Sterling exchange, weak, win aet1sl puslness s
sn bankers bills at S4.S270G4 .S2F6 for demand,
snd 81 1860 77To for sixty-day bills.
Posted rs tes 81 79@4. 1914 and $4S4o4 o4-e4 y.
Commercial bills $z.7Ia2-
Bar silver. 69%c-
Mexican dollars. 50 &c
Government bonds, easy Railroad oonos' II
regular