davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
Something Doing In Panama?

Things are looking up along the 18TH
mus Of Panama. The natives seem to
have heard that some big move is on.
In and about Colon, the bad smells are
dissolving; and from one end OF the
line to the other the bull alligators
have sheathed their trumpets and taken
refuge in the deepest mud. The canal
authorities are getting ready to do
something. The members Of that SOL
emn and mysterious body Known as
the commission have emerged from
the caves in which they habitually
undergo their intellectual parturitions,
and a reverent whisper circulatss 10 the
effect that they are now determined at
all costs to begin digging the canal by
contract.
Some eighteen months ago it was an
nounced in clarion tones that all had
been arranged, all obstacles to imme-
date achievement swept away. II was
of with your coat, spit upon your hand
and make the dirt fly far and wide.
There had been too much delay, too
much ornamental tableaux business.
Twenty months or more had been wasted
in tedious and expensive confabulation.
Now had dawned the era Of hard knocks
and a~rtless, simple accomplishment. Sit
straight and look out for the clods as
they shall be scattered by the horny
handed heroes Of the lev regime. And
so on. The summer passed. We heard
all sorts Of halcyon declarations and
prOgnostications-chiefy ~prognostica-
tons. But the noise of the transforms
and the bowling torrents OF the Chagres
dulled all other sounds, and we waited
for a pause in the uproar and prattled
to ourselves of the roseate revelations
that would shortly pierce the mists.
And so it vent. Another winter came
along and we were amused with fairy
tales of great things TO be done imme-
diately, If not sooner. There were no
more mosquitoes, and naturally no more
diseases. The Canal Zone had been
transformed into a health resort calcu-
lated to drive Newport and the North
Shore out Of business. Our officials were
doing wonders in the way Of getting
ready to begin. And any who re-
fused to become grateful and vOciferous
over such a prospect was not entitled to
respectful notice. SO it went, and the
base wretch who could not bundle UP his
gratitude and spill it at the front door
steps should be consigned to the deepest
dungeon beneath the castle moat and
beheaded at the first opportunity per-
mitted by the weather.
Now we learn that the Canal Commiss
sioners have decided to take up canal
work on the contract system. No one
previously suspected it, Of course, and the
announcement, sven at this late date, is
bound to extort from us a humble graft
tude. There is much TO do, We hear,
before this novel project can be reduced
to action. Nobody eve thought Of the
expedient before. II will be necessary,
therefore, for the Canal Commissioners
TO sit upon the nest for many months TO
come. and salaries will run while they
hatch out the detailed scheme. But We
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
A Troubled subject Of Edward VII.

To The EDIToR OF THE SUH-,Str: Isn't a ia
maican just as much an Englishman asa CanadLanI
I como from Jamaica. ! am proud 10 be a loyal
subject OF his most gracious and imperial royalty
King Edward VII. At the same time want 10 give
due credit TO President Roosevelt because | am
making a living In New York.
The people OF Jamaica are the best educa ted and
most cultured and renned black people In the world.
We are the most polite. having excellent tanners
especially when In attendance on the ladies'. In
which we are superior TO most OF the white people
OF the world.
The other day I heard a man Boosting that he was
an EnglishmAn: which was right, but the su rround
ings didn't happen TO be suspicious at The time and
he was called down by a meddlesome fellow who
was far gone with liquor. ! went to the rescue OF
my fellow Englishman and said ! was proud OF him,
because I was one too. With that he turned on me
most cruelty and abruptly and exclaimed: Why
you amt no Engiishman. you re a Niger"
With that ] saw the light. Beg pardon, sir" I
said, dlgnined. but were you born In EnEIand,-
lie hesitated, half apolOglzed and said: VI was
born in Montreal" Were your parents born in Mon
treali" said I, "They were. " said he, and I'm A
gentleman" That aln't the question: said I. MS
ar, you English"
Al this he gave me more Scorn by way Of answer.
We LEFT Il TO an Englishman I knew and be said:
You're a pair of damned Colonials.
Nov what are We. EngIIshmen or not1
MILTON JOHNSON.
New York. October 10.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
shskrsp.sr. and IrI.hm.n.

To THE EDITOR or THE SUN-Sfr: With a large
audience l was a well pleased and interested lis
tener last evening TO a lecture on Shakespeare by
Dr. T. Carney Taane-a member, I believe, Of
the star OF the City College. In this DR.. Taane
stated that Shakespeare was probably Indebted
70 an InShman, one John Dowland. for the local
color regarding Denmark IN Hamlet" Dowiand.
he said, was appointed q lptanlst TO the King OF
Denmark In November, 1898, and returned to Eng
land in 1901 and then Impaired the information to
Shakespeare.
Isn't there anything left for us that some Irish 70
man didn't do, | was always under the Impression
that the only lrshman mentioned in all Shakespeare
isa most unattractlve swashbuckler In Henry ""
Who ever heard Of this annex that DR.. TaAfe has
dug up HENRY WIXHAM.
NEW YoRK. October0.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
CORPORATION Hearst.

The Hearst newspapers can find abso-
lutely nothing to say against CHARLES
f. HUGHES except that in his capacity
Of lawyer he has occasionally defended
a corporation. Why corporations, like
individuals, should not be permitted
when attacked to employ lawyers for
their defence is not clear. That is not
the point, however. The point, as
brought out by Mr.. HUGHES, is that
HEARST himself unites three or four
corporations in his own person. Not
content, moreover, with hiring lawyers
to defend him in his several corporate
capacities he is insisting upon placing
them on the bench, believing that there
he can use them in his business.
Mr.. HUGHES has shown that the New
York American is published by the Star
Publishing Company; the New York
EUeninO journal by the New York Even
ing Journal Publishing Company, and
DGs MOrgen journal by Das MOrgen
Journal Association. What are these
corporations organized for?
According to the Hearst newspapers
the legitimate, serviceable corporation
is one thing and the predatory corpora
ton another. There is no doubt that
the three Hearst corporations just named
are serviceable, but serviceable to whom
and for what? Mr.. HUGHES has shown,
from the records of the courts and Of the
New York city tax office, that the Hearst
corporations are organized for two pur-
~poses-to evade the payment of taxes
and to escape liability for damages
claimed for libels perpetrated or in
juries inflicted upon citizens.
In the Werner ease the plaintiff, a
poor woman who had been run over
and injured by a delivery wagon Of the
New York Evening journal, sued w. X.
HEARST and was non-suited by the
Court Of Appeals, up to which HEARST
had carried the case, on the ground that
the New York Evening Journal was not
owned by HEARST, but by a corporation.
Whether the Star Publishing Com
pany. which. according to HEARsr's
lawyer, CLARENCE J. SHEARN, publishes
the New York American. is the same
corporate entity as the Star Company,
G. which =. ). CARvALHo is treasurer,
Mr. HUGHES did not know, but y
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
CALVTNISTIC PRESBYTERIANS.
A Scotchman Wonder How There Can Be
Any IN the Sunny south.

t. -,u EnVr,n ~. Truz Co. c.. II
10 THE LDIIoE OF SuN-'>lr' IN =
fashion the letter from A Predestinated Pres-
by terian- in THE sun of October J gives me
much 0leeful satisfaction becauSe n oss,rs.
mo r., 5000 ontsIdo 80 a L,no.to .|rL,n,
me .nrS reon,e HuiaIue ,una.rY asyru
are voluntarily INDUCING In the pure Call
whistle belief In which ] was nurtured aud
tortured Your correspondent saya that In
- Sau,.a p-osSr,os"n Ch,-aL a.. -.
'he ooutneIn IIeSOE ERA" ChuIch they h@Ns
a great loyal army OF dyed in the wool. true
blue Calvinistic PTesbvterians who ~nelega
in nredestinat;on oreordina,iop e,o,t;o,
Ill ,ha Sh",.r Catonhtsu, -, 80.
IIee M'h' '"e ono'',i NaSeN".sm' we isIE'.
King James version Of the Bible. These peo-
rIo = % bo conuratnIatad nv chair can,oJtv
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
Manners on the Bench.

When the State Of New York is about
TO elect upward OF twenty new Judges.
II In well to consider the question Of
judicial manners in making a selection
from among the rival candidates. Bad
manners have sometimes been tolerated
on the bench by reason Of the great
ability Of an uncivil Judge; but other
things being equal, a Judge who is habit
ually courteous and urbane is certainly
to be preferred.
To those pessimists who are ecu
toned to revere the good old times as
compared with the present day, we COM
mend the following picture from the
jamestown Evening journal Of a scene
in court in western New York nearly
half a century ago:
- At the last term Of court q Ohautauqua county
lawyer sent a post card containing a picture OF the
Man Vile Court House 20 a lawyer who had been
a student In this county nearl half q century ago.
and received the following In reply. The answer
discioses q standard OF dignity on the part of the
bench SO far below anything that would be toler-
ated In these times that We are almost forced TO
admit that the world is improving:
Thank you for the picture OF the Chautauqua
Court House. Ny nrst visit to Il was about forty
seven or forty eight years ago. Judge GRoRos
Barker. then a practising lawyer. went to May
Vile on Monday and on Wednesday | followed.
The nTSt thing ! cav upon the bench as l entered
the court room was a pnir OF muddy boots near the
end OF the desk. and a moment later a round face
looking like . full moon Sppea red near the other
end. The whole outht belonged to Judge MARTIN
GROVER. He vas really sitting upon his backbone
with his heels on the bench. He had got on some
Joke and laughing had sunk SO low In his chair that
he had quite diss ppeared. and now was gradually
rising. We became good friends later on. and I
learned. too. the unwiSdom or judging by appear
Ances, but as a boy l WAS not much impressed by
what I saw then"
At the period 10 which this story re-
lates Judge MARTIN GROVER was a Jus
tice OF the Supreme Court in the Eighth
buffalo Judicial district. He was sub
sequently elected a Judge of the Court Of
Appeals upon the reorganization of that
tribunal under the amended Judiciary
Article OF the State Constitution prepared
by the Constitutional Convention Of 1857.
Even in the court of last resort he was
HOtCu iOI iuH RIui uCIlcdHuT, OUT the oar
overlooked his bad manners in consider
alton Of his good law.
1t will be a boon to the legal profession
and the public il there shall be found
among u twenty new Judges As able
a lawyer as was MARTIN GROVER; but
there ought to be no difficulty in choos-
ing twenty men with more suitable ideals
Of judicial dignity and decorum.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
AN AMERICAN FEAST,
The Ideal Host Found Among the Pueblo
Indians,

SNN~pNs
To rHE EDITOR or THE sUN-.str: Two days
before the feast Of st, Jerome I met Gold Tooth
John on the highway. who invited me in a lArre
day.
Il have two ships tsheepl. I have venison:
have mucho.-
on sunday I went. There was John. naked
except as to his breech clout. a lot Of paint and some
feathers In his hair. He stood In line with about
sixty other indian gentlemen similarly adorned.
or unadoned. who were contending In a relay race
against an equal number OF opponents. an immemo-
rial custom.
After the race, the dance and the chant OF victory.
mine host FASTENED home and got into his CAV
blanket and moccaslns, and was ready for his
guests. There WAS a bureau. such a. your great
grandmother used 10 have, before which stood the
host.
Again the Hora tIan manner: Il have A cosk n,
Albanian wine, exceeding IN age the ninth year. I
have some whiskey, some wine and some beer.
what will you Gentlemen drink before you eat,-
The ships" were roasted to q turn: the venIson
looked good. but I passed II by: the other viands
cabbage. potatoes. &c. were home grown. but the
apples. served In several ways. and the nee were no,
The bread. home baked. and butter were exceiIent
while the rhubarb pie and raspberry Jam. all home
made, were approved in the Lord"
But what impressed me most was the WAY in
which gentle manners ind their way even into a
Pueblo Indians home, as Gold Tooth John showed
when he stood. easy and self possessed. saying.
What will you gentlemen drink"
Even as black care boards even the hr.,.n
ships. and sits behind the horseman,- so the ante
prandlal snlfier makes its way everywhere; Its
odors warm the heart. now OF a Roosevelt. now of
a Pueblo Indian. PosEY S. WuaoN
TAOS. ". NJ, October O.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
Senator TIIIman's Opportunity.

As we understand the press report
through the medium Of which the utter
ance was given TO the public, Senator
TILLMAN proposes a revival Of n OF the
old slave time customs regulating the
movements of negroes. OF course, il
will come to nothing. for the sentiment
OF the best white classes at the South,
which, by the way, is not always in tune
with Mr.. T1LLMAN, will speedily bury It
beneath an avalanche Of opprobrium.
The former shareholders do % wish to
restore slavery in any of it's forms.
But in 80 far "a Mr.. TILLMAN contem-
plates the enaction and the strict, i'm
partial execution of vagrant laws
throughout the Southern States, he will
receive the applause and the ardent
cooperation of the whites who represent
property and progress and civilization.
Mr.. TILLMAN's postulate Of incurable
improvidence and idleness among GER
tain elements of the Southern population
will hardly be contradicted by n seri-
Gus person who happens also to be well
informed. No one can travel at the
South without realizing the plague of
drones, the ~incalCulable mischief Of idle
ness. You see it at every railway sta
ton. The blight parades itself in every
crossroads town, and in the slums and
byways of the city. Mr.. TILLMAN has
the facts all with him when he proposes
a dispensation under which the vicious,
the idle and the shiftless can be made
to move on"
1t is not difficult, now, to differentiate
the drones from the workers. The South
is developing a wonderful and splendid
progress. 1t begins to blossom with the
fruits Of honest and enlightened indus
try. Its opulence is real, the product
OF brains and courage and we'll directed
enterprise. So it happens that the line
Of demarcation between the agents Of
the South's astonishing advance and the
drags upon it's hurrying wheels is evil
dent to the dullest mind. Mr.. TILLMAN,
OF course, perceives the facts and is at
no loss to distinguish the useful factor
from the parasite and derelict. But
surely he does not seriously propose to
cure the evil by ejecting the black
loafer and permitting the white loafer
TO monopolize the field of vice and mis-
chief. The senior Senator from South
Carolina is mo mans fool, /" as the South
ern saying goes, and he needs nobody to
tell him that the white peril is as ominous
as the black. He knows the sand
hitler" and the -cracker"--who knows
them beforehand he fully understands
that Southern civilization has as much
TO fear from the one class as from the
other. If the negro riffraff commit the
uncomfortable infamy, the white riff
raft furnish the lynchings and the muir
derous riots. The choice between them
is not so very great.
Senator TILLMAN, however, can make
an enviable fame for himself by de-
handing a vagrant law which will apply
equally TO all classes, colors and races.
The enemies of civilized society al the
South do not all bear the same stamp
Of birth, origin and previous condition.
Nor does any n know this better than
Mr.. TILLMAN himself.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11

Wstsr. with . silver two anna piece I'd,
inside. and . bunch Of oooanut lsaves and
oleander flowers In the mouth, surrounded
by a sheaf OF mango leaves. all tied together
by the tender shoots Of the p~lantain tree
and then decorated with lowers and a small
silver umbrella stuck on the top. In other
villages an earthen pot with q looking glass
placed against Il represents the deity. aud Ia
others again simply q lighted lamp. One
very common symbol Of the villa &c deittes
Is q stick or spear. In the Tamil ountr 1t Is
very common TO see one or more iron spears
stuck up under q tree 20 represent some vii
lage deity. and In the Telugu country Potu-
RaEu IL nearly always represented by a wooden
stick RI ughly carved At the top, like an at
tenuated bedpost.
In many villages the IRE walking ceremony
forms a curious feature in the festival Of the
village deity. At one shrine near Bangalore
IL takes place every year. A trench ID dug
in front OF the shrine. about thirty feet long.
FIVE feet wide aud one and . half feet deep.
About thirty ssers Of boiled rice are then
brought on the NTH day OF the festival and
offered to the goddess before the trench. IL
Is all put into the trench and n large quantity
Of curds 10 poured over II. and then dis
tributed to the people, who eat some on the
spot and some at home. A CARLOAD OF fire.
wood is then spread over the trench, set
ali9ht and left to burn for about three hours.
till the wood becomes q mass OF red hot en-
bers. When all IL ready. the people assemble
and the pujari whose turn II is to conduct
the worship FIRST bathPs TO purify himself
and then. amid the deafenlnR din Of trumpets.
tom-toms and cymbals. and the clapping OF
hands. walks with bare feet slowly and de-
liberately over the glowing smbers. the whole
enRth Of the trench, toward the shrine Of
the seven Goddesses. After him about thirty
or forty women walk over the red hot embers
with lighted lamps on their heads. Such 10
the power Of the goddess. the people told me.
that no one is injured. The puJsri OF the
shrine declared positively that the people put
no oil or anything else on their feet when
they walk over.
At Mysore city. where the FIRE walking
ceremony Is also performed. I asked three
men who had Wake over the trench why
they were not hurt. Their reply was that
people who were without sin were never hurti
I can only say that in this case their faces
sadly belied their characters.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
FATHER OF SHORTHAND.
Andrew >. Graham Supplied NunsOR with
Inspiration and Materials.

To THE EDITOR OF The SUS-SIr! Apropos
Of the recent death Of James +. Munson. I
hope / may be pardoncd for recalling the fact
that Mr.. MunsOn received his start and the
practical knowledge he acquired in short
hand from Andrew J. Graham. the greatest
shorthand author and writer that ever lived.
Mr.. Munson was in Mr.. Graham's employ
for quite while and when he left it he sta Fted
the book on the subject which afterward
became the greatest competitor OF his for
mer employers publications. The fact must
be stated that Mr.. Munson's book in very
handbook. published In 1853 for the first
time.
Having been an ardent student Of both
systems and OF the history OF shorthand for
a lifetime, aud desiring only that
proper credit should be given at this time to
one who was an intellectual giant and in
vented most OF the labor and time saving
devices OF the modern system Of writing
shorthand, ask that credit be given TO An
drew j. Graham.
am aware that | am reading on ground
that may appear delicate, and that those
who idealize Isaac Pitman and his brother
are sensitive on the subject OF Mr.. Graham's
position in tho shorthand world. The truth
is that both OF them protted from Mr.. Gra-
hams great work. While the monument of
remembrance Is being erected TO Mr.. Mum
son there should be no failure to recognize
the achievement and worth of the one from
whom he derived the greater part OF his
inspiration and most OF his materials.
NEW YORK, October o. A. p. b.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11
Wireless TeIegraphy and Geography

Telegraphy was never used as much
as il is to-day to ascertain the longitude
Of places in the lesser known parts Of
the world. A few months ago, for ex-
ample, Al expedition started inland from
the port Of Lagos, West Africa, follow
ing the telegraph line to the far interior
and also lines branching off from the
main route. The longitude of Lagos
being known, the party was able to fix
the longitude of other places by the
accurate and comparatively easy method
Of comparing the time of the two places
by telegraph. During this journey Of
1900 miles. the l~ongitudes Of fifteen i'm
portant points in the interior we're thus
fixed.
II is easy to find the latitude Of a place,
but astronOmically to determine it's lOngi-
tude is a more complicated and difficult
matter. The rapid extension Of tele-
graph lines, so that the time at one place
may be compared with that at another,
is therefore facilitating more ccurate
mapping.
But as soon as wireless telegraphy is
perfected there will be no need Of tele-
graph wires for comparing the time of
any two places. A number Of men are
now trying TO place the determination
Of l~ongitudes by wireless telegraphy on
a practical basis. This effort will sue
coed some day, and then wireless teleG-
raphy will give a great impetus to the
making of better maps.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11

To The EDITOR or THE SUS SIR. The polics
are Justly liable TO censure for failing to IDENTIFY
lost children for whom alarms have been sent ogi,
but they have a defence and eNaignatlon worthy
or consideration. The number ~ alarms, orders
and the like read to each outgoing platoon Is -
large that cleverer persons than tho average po.
liceman would be excused for forgetting SoHr Of
them. Then. too. lost children are not a NOVELETTE,
the police. and they are overloaded with alarms
coming from excited parents whose fears are
groundleSS.
A curious thing has frequently been noted ~
policemen In respect to lost child notices. I'
parents practically never inform the ~aIthoHus
when children return to their homes. although
they are quick to call for aid when they disappear
] knew a policeman who saw a child answering
the description OF a Strayed yOungSter for whom
search had been made for four days, and took het
IN the station. The parents were notified ana
expressed great Indignation. for their child hd
been at home for two days. Imagine, too, me
plight Of my friend when he faced the family OF
the child he had picked upi FIREMAN
NEW YORK. October 10.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-11

The schooner yacht Frolic, with her load Of
Chinese and her smuggler crew, provides a
romance Of the sea most unusual in these
prosaic days. The story Of her wanderings
along the coast, with name concealed, decks
Uttered with fishing gear, and her passengers
herded below to escape observation, while the
revenue cutters searched for her, would make
a'thriller' worth reading. Nor would IL lack
an effective conclusion. Apparently most Of
the unwelcome immigrants were landed sue
cessfully, under the noses Of the officials, the
approved and happy outcome for a sea adj
venture OF this kind.