davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
NOBLE AMBITIONS.

n the Baltimore American.
| want to be MILDLY.
Down in Annapolis;
| want to see them hazing-
'Tis lots of fun, / wis.
l want to have them haze me.
To know just what it's like.
And be the bravest freshie
That e'er came down the pike.
| want TO sit like they do.
On thin edge of my chair,
And underneath the table
OF dessert eat my share
want to get an order
To tumble out of bed.
And fifty times or more SO,
To stand upon my head.
want to fall unconscious
q ne'er had chance to faint.
want code of honor,
To show what honor amt.
want no time for studies
'Twixt hosnital and haze;
For service in the navy,
Ones not here spending days.
want to be court-martiaIed,
And look like thirty cents
When fool things must tell Of
Rouse public wrath intense.
Now--do want dismissal?
Mothers my whaling stays;
want to stay and ret my channo
- eo1n5ng psebeo - ha1es
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
A Further Explanation

why do you think that Mars is inhab-
ited?"
Because" answered the popular astron-
omer. that theory is better calculated to
produce interesting magazine articles than
any other yet discovered"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

The Chippewa. Indians who want a large
section of swamp land in Minnesota re-
deemed may be led to cherish some vague
and illogical hopes because the President
of the United States has joined the Order
of Red Men.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

on leaving for Porto Rico Morales will
see the advantage of the change so clearly
that he will hardly indulge in any pathetic
illusions to exile from his native land. He
will not wave his hand and say farewell
with patriotic pathos. He will simply get on
board and heave a sigh Of relief.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Pittsburg politicians are confident that
the stringency with reference to railway
passes will relax. A Pittsburg politician
may have less dehcacy In applying the
mailed hand than a man who enjoys the
dignity of being representative of the peo-
pie in Congress.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
SHOOTING STARS.
A Warning.

eff I had my way" said the reformer
every CRATER would be in the peniten-
tiary."
Yes" answered the chronic obiector
and you would have to enter into so
many hasty contracts for more peniten-
tiaries that you would open the way for
more graft"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

These hints that President Roosevelt is
on the threshold Of an era of unpopularity
have not caused w. ]. Bryan to hurry
home in the hope Of getting up another
boom.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
No Certainty.

The dictionary is immense,
OF words 1t holds lot.
Combined they frequently make sense,
But often they do not.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Tom Lawson was not on hand to take
shorthand notes of II. H. Rogers testi-
mony. He probably suspected Mr.. Rogers
would not say much.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

And even now Mrs. Chadwick doubtless
fails to see that she is much more culpabe
than some of the directors who have manip-
ulated trust funds.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Some of the western legislators would not
object so strongly to Wall street as a. gam
bling club if they believed the game was
on the square.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

A Standard Oil witness can be depended
on to realize that answering questions is
an enterprise that seldom pays dividends.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

The trial for hazing may yet be considered
regular part of the course at ANNAPOLIS
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Chauncey NJ Depew does not condescend
10 reply to Albany requests for his resig-
nation with even an anecdote.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

The loquacity of the life insurance solicit
tor is in strange contrast sometimes to the
taciturnity of the director.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Secretary Shaw is fortunate in keeping
his resignation rumors entirely under his
personal control.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

1t would confuse Venezuela a little to find
French diplomacy reaching for a big stick.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

Temptation said Uncle Eben, sis allus
a coward. If you fights 1t in dead earnest
it's boun' to rum"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
The Chosen.

Some men," remarked the assumptive
citizen, ARE born to lead"
Yes" answered the cautious person:
but the trouble is that every man who
feels a Discrimination to do actual work
takes it for granted that he is one OF those
men"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
Possible
Danger,


Both the provinces of Tangier and Alge-
ciras, which latter is in the department of
Andalousia, are in a turbulent state. There
is a strike among porters and boatmen at
Tangier resulting in great inconvenience to
foreign commerce, while in the province OF
Andalousia acts of brigandage are on the
increase. NJ Figueroa, near relative of
Count de Romanones and a rich land pro-
prietor, while on a visit to his country es-
tates in Andalousia, was seized by bandits
and is actually held by them for ransom
of $4,000 These incidents may explain
the preference of the European delegates
for Madrid, and, it should be added, the
cynical preference of the sultan for Tangier
or Algeciras. If matters should not go
well either for the sultan or the German
kaiser it would prove a fine coup d etat
to have the brfgands of Andalousia under
the leadership of the supposed rebel pre-
tender, Rogui Bou Hamara, rallied by the
cry of "Raisouli!' and "Perdicarisn' cap
ture the conference
We have been so often warned of the YER
satility of the sultan and the kaiser it
would be well to be prepared for such an
untoward denouement. On the eve of the
Moroccan conference the delegates, as the
spectators. feel frresistibly nervous. The
situation may be likened to the .caricature
of a parent who rebukes his son for the
careless handling of a revolver: But, pa
pa it IS not ioaded!'' 1T makes no
difference" replies papa, you must not
initiate the Emperor of Germany: never
play with firearms!' CHAILLE-LONG.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

The streets of Washington were file
with sleighs of all descriptions in thos
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14
FIFTY YEARS Ago
In THE STAR

A heavy snow5sorm descended upon Wash
ington half century ago, gave great de-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-14

We know with what art and consummate
subtlety the Japanese concealed from all
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
The Supe Agency Graft.

An yet these poor, down-trodden.
shiftless, and helpless human be-
ings, strange as it may seem, are
the means of making fortunes for
others. New York, with all of its
culture and refinement" produces
men who make their sole living off
just such poor devils as these. 1t
is openly boasted by several men.
who conduct super agencies that
they have made a quarter of a mil
lion dollars out of the business-and
New York being a land feted and
raised on hollow boasts. does not go
below the surface, and ask such
men how they came to be, but ac-
cepts them as they seem to be-pros-
porous, representative citizens. They
have made their money by supplying
the demand at a far below market
rate and hedging around the stage
door barrier that says that unless
these friendless, starving men who
receive so cents a night for their
work, pay to the agency" 10 cents
they cannot go to work Supers
used to get 81 performance without
paying to the agency. But, as moth
ing can exist In New York without
one foot In the graft pen these en-
ughtened days, the supers get only
so cents performance and are com
PEELED tt-s pay over one-ffth of that
TO men v no do nothing but try to
keep the poor devils from rising
above the level OF degradation that
they occupy.
Typical ofathe lives that many of
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

man toward his brothers that it is
a wonder that he has not become
more pessimistic even than old An
tisthenes himself. But he has not,
he Is broadly philosophical, reads
all the papers and magazines he can
pick up-fOr TO spend a cent would
be luxury. He is content TO go the
rest of his days now, at the small
sum he is receiving, and does his
own cooking that he may not eat
up all of the paItry $500 that he
earns. And, strangest of all. this
man manages to save little from
this meager wage.
Il will be old pretty soon,' he
says. with grim humOr, "and then
I viii need what money [ have saw
ed / do my own cooking. What's
the use of paying or cents for a
cup of coffee when I can make al
most twenty cups for that I get a
good pigs foot for cents and that
is the kind of stuff I want There's
some sense IN buying one. 1t is
solid food. ="
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

cents" breaks in second super.
dressed in the gorgeous robes of a
grandee, -and you can't beat the
Bowery for beef stew for cents"
Then follows a general discussion
of the matter in which cavaliers.
lords, soldiers, and pages join voci-
ferousIy.
It has long been one Of the sad
old saws of life that zone half the
world does not know how the other
half lives" And the gay, pleasure
seeking crowd in the theater audi
torium never fmagines that the
group of goTgeousIy atttred cavaliers.
or crowd of kneeling Egyptians, or
line Of soldiers in aTmor who pass
silently before their eyes, contains
many super who is on the verge
OF starvation and many who have
lived for days on a single 10-cent
meal of hash. beans, coffee, and
''sinkeTs."
In a certain play. produced on
Broadway recently, a restaurant
scene was witnessed. Ali the viands
belonged TO the property mans stock
OF stuffed goods, except a single loaf
of bread This loaf was real bread.
At the end of the act twenty or
thirty supers We're standing in tna
wings. One Of the actors. moved
perhaps by a sympathetic knowIedge
OF how the supers live, brought ont
the real loaf after it had served IT'S
purpose, and breaking it into pieces.
passed 1t around. At first some Of
the men took 1t shamefacedly, but
others reached out eagerly. After a
night or two the supers threw aside
all pride and crowded each other TO
receive pieces Of the bread. The one
loaf was not enough TO go around
and finally the actor to give every
body a chance broke il up and tossed
the pieces to the crowd. All ths
supers grabbed for it, some in fun
and some with desperation aImost
wolfish.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

career, the night life, and the gay
crowds that are all about him, and
1t inevitably gets into his bones that
he thinks he was born to be a great
actor and he determines to hang on
until chance for discovery" hap
pens and he Will get a ''one-line
part" He writes glowing letters
home of his progress and In some
cases where parents are poor he even
tries TO send home a little money
now and Their. But the chance that
he has waited for never comes, and
after while the ambition that was
strong and young is beaten down
by the lessons OF the cruelties that
are heaped upon the men around
him, and his pride and hopes die In
disappointment. He does not see
Rn opening in any other walk In
life. so he plods along hopelessIy
and finally drifts into the inevitable
paths OF the underwood, drawn there
through the influence OF the men
around him who are of necessity
forced into an impecunious and i'm
proyident life
At night the supers take their
little parts in the play; In the day
time they wander around the streets.
Joining the great army of the un-
employed The only friencs thew
have left are among the supers.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
a Tragedy in a TRAGEDY.

Often the exit OF the super is more
tragic than the play that is being
performed. A melodrama with 4
great battle scene, in which half a
hundred supers as soldiers fought
desperately, was running IN Brook
lyn- One OF the sUpers had the part
OF veteran soldier" He had been
selected by the stage manager out of
the crowd that had stormed the door
at the opening rehearsal. because
he had long white whiskers and
would not have to put on false ones.
The play had been running success
fully half a week One night the
battle scene had bean carried off the
same as usual with firing Of guns.
hurrahs, and waving of flags. The
curtain went down amid great an
piause, with the supers lying around
to represent the dead.
Hold it Hold it! shouted the
stage manager, meaning for the
supers TO keep their places In the
scene as the curtain went up for A
call. =" Then as the curtain finally
came down he shouted. Clear" All
the supers jumped to their feet and
made for the cellar to get off their
costumes. All except the old man
with the white whiskers; he Law
alone in the same pose he had taken
at the close of the battle.
Get up there" bawled the stage
hands Think you're playing Rip
Van Winkle.'
But the old man did not move. He
was picked up unconscious. At the
hospital the surgeon rocked at the
weak and emaciated features and
said.
Starvation He won't live two
hoursi"
The mimic battle had been the real
battle for life to the old man.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

these impoverished men lead is that
of Christian Mathew Johnson. who
has been q super for twenty years,
He lives on the Bowery in small
TOom-fOur by six feet, built in a
space that was given up 10 an air
shaft when New York was not
crowding itself so much for room.
He has a rude couch. a chair, what
was once a wash stand, and q box
that supports his combination lamp
and cook stove.
:. -
Lives and SaUeS on SO a Week.
He is one of those countless poor
men, frank. honest, and humble,
whose lives have been so full of the
vicissitudes and hardships Of the
daily battle for bread that it is
wonder they have any heart left TO
take up the burdens of the morrow
His narrow world has been a bitter
one and he had seen and felt so
much OF the cruelty Of his fellow
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

above him; a fourth is a young me-
chanic on a strike: a fifth. a bust
Ress-like former hotel clerk; a sixth.
an insurance agent: and a seventh. a
typical Bowery loafer, who proudly
boasts that it has been fourteen
years since he had his last STEADY
job"
Then there come the large ma
jority of the super sang" who make
1t a professional business and earn
their sole livelihood by it all tbe
year round. And such livelihood
1t is! At best s3.20 a week If thev
are industrious ami manage TO Eli
in at every performance. Among
the professional sppers are MANY
youths who come into the city from
the country to seek their fortunes.
and in the quest find only poverty
instead of riches.
This phase is one of the most pa
thetic of the business, for In the ma
tural order OF things a youth drifts
into d path that means only a sue
ceSsful man. The fortune-hunting
lad, willing to begin at the bottom
and work his way up to the top by
years OF hard effort" sees the allur-
ing advertisements; Fifty men
wanted at the stage door; good pay!"
he goes to the stage door and finds
not fifty men, but two or three
hundred of al sorts and conditions
there before him.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
Beef Stew for Three Cents.

CCCy OLNbS JOf fHf % OCHbOs
As he spoke he sat before his hum
BILE cup of coffee and pigs foot. He
had only a plate. cup. and knife.
''You will pardon me for receiving
you in this room," he said with i'm
pressive suavity, but it is best
I can offer. If you will also pardon,
1 will have to eat without a fork.
hope to be able TO get one next
week"
Among the supers down in the Gel
lar under the stage where are their
dressing rooms. there is one main
topic OF conversation. From group
TO group it is all the same.
Lend me a quarter, Paddy" says
one to the super captain, 81 want TO
get a meal"
''Aw, come of, answers Paddy,
what's the matter with 10 cents.
Where do you eat, at Delmonico's s?''
But Eighth avenue is where you
get the most Drowned hash for
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

Some are in rags, some are un-
sbaven. some are mere dandies seek
ing a nights sport" He surveys
the crowd and has nothing but pity
for most of the men in it, but in his
desperation and ambition to get
along, he mingies and by the merest
chance is taken as. perhaps, the last
of the fifty men-he succeeds in one
chance out of four or five
He goes into the super room"
where there are bundles of spears,
helmets, armors, quaint head-dress,
boots, leggings, and all the other
million and one appurtenances to a
big production It Is all q novelty
to him and he begins to think that
1t is not at all half bad and that his
so cents night will help him along
until he can get start at something
else
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

4
so many bad habits, has
no well distinguished
Bohemia. There are struggling art
lists in the metropolis. hundreds of
them, but there is no Latin quarter:
there are threadbaTe musicians. but
they live in any boarding house
from the East Side to Harlem; there
may be starving poets, but there are
no longer atties for them TO starve
in. Bohemian life in New York is
dissolved in murky commercial
Ism, and down at bottom Of the cup
is a sediment, a class OF nomad
Thespians of supernumerary actors,
~ho live strange phase of life
midway between the under world
and what would be Bohemia.
These semi-Bohemians are not
what they are from fad or choice.
They are the motley class of men Of
all ages and degree, who form the
mobs, the armies, the living back
grounds in the big theatrical pro-
ductions. Their feeding ground is
the lowest round in the historic lad
der, and in the rude parlance of
American business they are dubbed
supers.' 1t is not a romantic
name, but to the ranks of the
'supers' come those of artistic tenn
permanent who are adrift on The sea
OF life or have been beaten down by
the battle Of the world, among them
many of the self-same struggling
young artists, the thread-bare
musicians, or starving poets, who
nnd 40 cents a day more acceptable
than starvation, even II the word
supers' is most opprobrious cog
nomen.
One week these men are the
French revolutionists who clamor
for the fair head OF Madam Du Rar-
~; the next they are the Capulets
and Montagues. who fight for the
houses of Romeo and Juliet: the fol-
lowing the Egyptians and the Ro-
mans, who gather around the throne
OF Cleopatra; the next. mere nm
kempt, ragged. aud disappointed
driftWood on the Bowery. who find
S-cent meals palatabIe.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
1.-THE ALL IGATOR,"
A BOwery Home Of the SuperS

that is sold. there is no evidence
against the keepers of the establish
ments- In some places milk is sold
which will keep fresh for two
months, even in moderately warm
temperatures. It has been so doc
tored with formaldehyde that 1t
would last the same length of time
in the tropical region. Bread may
be bought in 1-cent quantities, and
it is wholesome.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

They have no such tnlng as a COM
panionship with the actors; they
are no concern to the managers,
only mechanical properties that are
used for a few hours each night and
then turned out into the world to
drift or go TO the dogs until the
next call for the curtain is given;
they are a desoIate class.
From hand to mouth they live
They seek the cheap restaurants Of
the Bowery and Eighth avenue.
where for 10 cents they can live
whole day. Beef soup, stews, broth,
wherein there is enough to warm
the stomach and stimulate the brain
into guessing wILa he stuff Is made
Of. can be had fJr 8 cents; coffee
can be had for cents; milk, such
rs 1t is, can be had for ] cent a
glass The feeding ground sought
by these men is not much disturb
ed by the pure food advocates and
so long as none die from the milk
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
The Men BeloqV the Stage
BY CHRISTIAN MATHEW JOHNSON
a Super for Twenty Years.)

| BY CHRISTIAN MATHEW JOHNSON.
"a Super for Twenty Years.)
/ Supers are divided into five
ClaSSeS-men who are tempor-
arily out of employment; old
men living on their families;
young men living on their fami-
lies without money and who
want a few dollars for cigar
cites; young men coming to
this city 10 seek their fortunes
and finding nothing but ill-luck
and harsh treatment, and broken
down actors and circus men.
used to be quite successful
as a character actor, but now |
am getting old. Ii was often said
that | looked ike Sir Henry Irv-
ing.
The stage is bright and cheer
ful on the top, but the rough
associates meet down in the
theater cellar, and bad dressing
accommodations, make suping
diSagreeable-but still one has to
make living.
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
"OHCe a LEADING Man.

There are nearly 10000 of them
in this city and as varied as are the
parts they play on the stage are
their callings in life. One among
them is a graduate physician whose
practice has fallen off to the starva-
ton point; another a young art stu
dent attending a New York acad-
envy, who finds the 40 cents paw OF
a nights performance a help to fhe
pursuit Of his studies: a third is a
broken down actor, who has once
been leading man on the very stage
The Washington times., 1906-02-18

The Chance That NoUeY Comes.
When 1t comes time for receiving
his pay he is surprised when only
40 cents is handed hfm-"10 cents
for the agency" is the explanation,
He accepts with a slight murmur of
disappToval, but is CURLY told that
If he does not want to work for that
there are plenty Of others VINO do.
So he stays IN the company. For
> time he is fascinated with the
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
"HATS OFFEH

When 1t comes to selling goid-bricks
On a most colossal plan,
The bunco steerer's hat comes of
At sight of Colonel Mann.
Cincinnati Commercial rrsriI,,,za
The Washington times., 1906-02-18
New York Nomad Thespians, Who, From
Necessity, Not Choice, Live A Strange
Phase Of Life Midway Between the Un,
der World and Bohemia " ~ ~

New York, Feb. Il.
EW YORK, unlike the
great cities of the Old
World, which taught us
50 many bad habits, has
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-06-17
When Two RniMbovva Are Seen

When two rainbows are sometimes seen al once. one outside the otber. tho Inner or primary bow, as it ,s called. is always tue brighter, and the red ba nd of color is always OH it's outside. The outer or secondary bow Is much fainter il, color. and the rts! hand is always on it's inside This 's 'aca',at. in the primary bow the suns rays ana only reflected once. while in he s,ss> ondary bow they are reflected twis~. which makes them fainter in color ana turns them upside down. iu one rain. bow we see the rays of the sur enter ipg the raindrop. at tho top aud r~ footed 10 the eye from the bottom. while in the other we see the rays es- tsriu. t!c raindcops at the bottom ana fedected from the top, whence they reach the eye.
Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-06-17
----.--.
 rAluveu and Bibles.

Dfhsss ars xaid by detectives o bs more rarely stolen than any other ot- jscts This aA not because Biblea ars worthless tc a thief, but ln.canse few criminals are sufficiently depraved to steal the good book. A detective said recently tbat tn an important case which he had followed mp some years ago a thief had entered the house. stoleu solns valuable jewels and left untouched q Bible bound in wlute chicken skin and studded with pearls. The detective caught the thief, and ths man who had been robbed, dealer in curios. visited his despoiler in jail, took an interest in him bees use he had Tot taken tue Bible and eventually reform ed him and got him good job.
 Il knew" the thief said, that IT took that Bible it would do me harm and if l didn't take 1t it might do ns good. I let it alone, and now, thank heaven, I'm an honest and righteous man"
 The detective added that in another case where thief had stolen Bible the book had been returned. "Auoth"f thing few thieves will take" ne added. ..is a child's savings bank. "--Ch1cago Tribune.