davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
Most of Them Are Honest Men. but Some Don't Let
Much Stand in the Way of Increasing Their
Profits on Side

owner for moment sat speechless and theh
broke out: What in thunder is the matter!
Don't know came the imperturbable responses
shall have to look round He looked round
gave little tap here and a wrench there tnen
with n wise. look said, Try her now, SIR and
of course, the power being on, she went This
thought the chauffeur, had worked splendidly'
and was too good a lesson not to repeat, so ne
inst stopped her again This time the owner
went as limp as rag; his beautiful car. in
which he had invested a small fortune. began
to look to him like so much old junk. Ihe
chauffeur acted precisely in the same way as
he had done on the first occaSton-looked rounQ'
looked yyise-and when asked what the trouble
was solemnly informed his employer that tne
motor was getting too much air; the air slide
had Jared open-but think she - all right now
sir. lump in He smiled up his sleeve as he
said this, but the next minute (and mere comes
the funniest part of the whole farce) ne recog-
nized that the laugh was on hlm-1or the car
refused to bulge
"Tf onIv his employer could have read his
thoughts at that moment He had to get out
now and busy himself in earnest. But try as
he would (the boss quit the scene in dtsguSt)
for several hours he could not determine the
nature of this real trouble, and the play ended
with the ignominious towing home of the ma
chine That particular chauffeur had learned d
lesson under the head of how to enhance his
own importance Don't cause trouble when out
In automobile"
The practice Of allowing commissions to chauf-
feurs is generally admitted and defended
What are you to do?' said one agent running
a fashionable automobile mart uptown, when
1t is case of prospective purchaser especially
one Just taking up with the hobby being con-
fronted with a half-dozen cars of equal merit
and price? He naturally looks to his chauffeur
for advice, and the agents very naturally, too,
look to the same individual to advocate their
highest inducenent buys the advocate. It's a
business proposition pure and simple. No
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
They Learn Hebrew for Hours in Private Ghetto Semi
nares After Public Schools Have Let Them Out.

1t is rather jolt on the Christian when the
Jewish estimate of the Christians part in the
Old Testament is borne IN upon him. only the
Jew can really possess the Old Testament an
instructor in one of the cheders said to the re-
porter. "Other people may read and have faith
In it, but it is as when Englishman studies
italian. He may learn to speak Italian and read
Italian literature, but he never possesses 1t as
the born Italian does"
Mr Michaelson says the great fault of the
Cheders is the disregard of hygiene in them, or
rather ignorance of it. The children are cooped
ton, and often, too, when they have been at
public school all day, and should be exercising.
But one lack in the Russian Jew is his indiffer-
ence to the development Of the body. I have
had a gymnasium put in the rear of the Indus
trial School for Girls but the girls will be found
athletics. The cheders sadly behind the
times, too in their pedagogic methods, or lack
of them. But for all that one can't help feeling
that there is something very wonderful in the
spirit that lies under them"
Abraham Cahan, who has written stories OF
the New York Ghetto, telling the reporter
one day his recOllections Of the very beginning
of his education in Russia Il remember" he
said, "how when 1 was a little fellow of four
my father wrapped me up in talith. or prayer
shawl and carried me to the cheder in the syna-
gogue I remember l had some honey to eat
torah. or law, sweet. And as the child
studies his alphabet bits of sugar and now and
then coin are dropped down him from
above to reward him. and the little fellow
studies away and looks up for his sugar, which
he is taught to believe that the angel of the
clever enough to suspect that it is his father
who is doing II.
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
CHAMPIONS OF CHAUFFEURS.

This seems fair and forceful enough state
rnent Of the case for the prosecution, but the
big and rapidly growing body Of chaufeurs the
world over. and particularly in this city may
solace themselves with the reflection that trick
sters form only a small proportion of their num-
bers. and that champions of their side of the
question abound among those who know them
and the conditions OF their work best.
One of these seen by a Tribune reporter said:
"Of course there are few chauffeurs with wings
or qualifying for canonization, but as matter
of fact it would be the height Of folly for
chauffeurs TO resort TO most Of the tricks here
charged TO them, for these would only recoi on
themselves. Actuated by Spite a chauffeur could
play the childish prank Of mixing water with
the gasolene and thus putting the car tempo
rarily out of business, and with the aid OF sand,
as suggested, he could work damage costing
hundreds of dollars 10 repair. but the chances
of his escaping detection and punishment are
remote As for breakages and flaws. he would
need TO be an extra smart chauffeur, with an
employer more than ordinarily dull, to get away
with fakes The latter would naturally at the
first opportunity consult the agent from whom
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
HOW THEY STUDY.

When the reporter visited it the other day
and was led into one Of the classroons by
oignifed person in a skull cap who may
have been the janitor but who looked like di-
rector, the room. except for the chairs and ia
bles, might have been some Oriental temple of
learning; every student going it on his own
hook, and no sign OF a pedagogue. Here was
open Talmud a high stand. and before It
stood budding rabbi in a wide nat weaving
his body back and forth, his eyes squeezed shut
intoning away in Hebrew at the top OF his
voice. Dotted around the room were other Tai
muds and other embryo rabbis also intoning
loudly and the din was extremely confusing
TO one not accustomed 10 that manner of study
ing.
The digniied person in the skull cap must
have been a radical He said he did not blame
the boys VINO struck" They wanted better
teachers" he said. and more of the learning
which will pay as you say in this country
and we would give them better teachers, but
we have not the money" II is clear that West
ern notions are making entering wedges IN the
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
Y Some Tricks That Crafty Delight to Play

I know more than one Of them who exchanged
the dress suit of the waiter for the coat and
goggles Of the chauffeur They simply got In
touch with compatriOts holding places and
learned about as much as the graduate OF the.
School Of AutOmObiling' of to-day-with the ad-
ditional recommendation that they could tickle
their employers ears with the melifuous speech
Of the bOulevards! 1t was the thing you know.
to employ Frenchmen. and / not sure but
the fashion still survives.
"HarlVing back for moment TO my state
ment that years ago manufacturers were practi-
caily IN the dark as TO how an automobile was
to be made to 60 under some conditions. had
peculiar experience myself once in Brooklyn.
and this illustrates that men who control such
things should be brought up with them, not
pitchforked 10 them, for it is not enough that
a would-be chauffeur should have had expert
in turning a lathe or tinkering with
sewing machine to lead him TO suppose thar
he possesses the groundwork OF the knowledge
he will need in this business The properly
trained man comes TO act tnstinctively. and thas
Is why L hold that the modern owner WITH
the modern car. Is as independent Of the moderr
chauffeur as he may care TO be. But To my
story. was making some slight repairs 70 my
motor bicycle when accOsted me and
asked if understood how TO make an automo-
bile go. I replied that 1 thought 1 did, and
forthwith he conducted me TO his warehouse and
pointed out small machine which he said he
had Just brought from Paris, but which neither
he nor his engineer could persuade 70 go.
would not conduct my investigation bv the poor
gaslight. but made an appointment for 10 next
morning. I was there at ., and inside OF a few
minutes had located the trouble (it was very
simple) and got the thing to move satisfactorily
I asked one Of the men saw about how long
they had been trying 10 make 1t go. Two weeks
was the reply. / next asked what kind OF man
his employer was in paying for services Charge
him So was the reply, and he will think you
don't know your business; charge him $50 and
you're a star artist I made UP my mind 70
compromise between the two. When the big
man appeared and saw what had been accom-
plished, he was delighted. And now the prfce%
he said Twenty-Five dollars replied con-
fdentIy. But that seems lot for what you
saw was only a few minutes work What
would II cost I retorted. for another two
weeks Of your time and that Of your engineer
TO do the job? There was a big smile, and no
further trouble about my fee He had over
looked the fact that he was paying for the ex-
perience OF a lifetime"
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
PATHETIC SACRIFICE.

It is rather pathetic to think OF the poor Yid-
dish parent pinching to save few cents week
and paying them out to have his child taught
bad Hebrew. 1t is to be hoped that this is not
often the case, and that most of the teachers do
speak good Hebrew.
1t is curious that in city where there are so
many Jewish schools there should be but one
Jewish kindergarten 1t Is fiourishing kinder
garten. though, or gan yeladim. the Hebrew
has it-garden of children. To this gan yeladim.
which has just moved to No. 94 Madison street
from East Broadway. about hundred and
thirty children, between the ages OF three and
six go daily to learn how to cut out paper kit
tens in Hebrew. to speak, and TO learn the
rudments of Hebrew orally. and the Jewish
customs appertatning TO young children"
The prospectus Of this gan yeladim sets forth,
In quaint English how Its object is 10 rescue
the little children OF Israel from the moral
conditions confronting them in New York,
where like tender saplings. they are slowly but
surely sundered from the parent tree, our faith,
ana become strangers to our religion not even
knowing now TO pray TO the God OF Israel IN
our molly Hebrew tongue. the only heritage pre-
sehted unto us or all our former splendOr-nOt
TO speak OF 1sraePs customs. OF which many OF
the Jewish children here have no idea whatso-
ever. In contrast thereto they have initiated
religious customs from strange sources II
makes the heart of the Jew bleed within him.
the prospectus adds, when ne considers in
what condition he finds his children and feels
that they must remain strangers to the religion
for which he has fought his entire life; and he
a4Ss himself II nothing can be done to make his
children loyal TO Judatsm?'
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
BABIES LISP HEBREW.

Certainly strong effort is being made at this
gan yeladim. All the exercises are in Hebrew
and 1t Is very curious TO hear this strange and
sonorous speech rolling out from such small
lips. When tho reporter visited the gan yeladim
the babies were playing game called haam
whayeladim. or the mother and the child. One
tiny mite with dark curly hair took her stand
in front OF the class, cast her apron to the
ground with gestures of despair and burst forth
into walling flood OF Hebrew She had lost
her children, and could not find them; she was
wee Rachel weeping for her children. and
would not be comforted. because they were not"
Finally one child appeared. and then another
and there were many rejoicings and explana-
tions in Hebrew. with many gestures Then
the children complicated matters by losing their
toys. but found them again. and then stood in
a row and sang a song IN Hebrew swinging
their toys back and forth, till toy rooster few
out OF its basket and hit the teacher in the
face. and broke up the game
Then IA small boy recited poem in Hebrew
which sounded so imposing that II was quite a
surprise when, the teacher having said Now
you Will recite 1t in English" II proved TO ba
nothing more than an account OF how Jack went
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
FEW PECCADILLOES.

Among those consulted on the subject was one
of the best known professional automoblists In
thu country a successful participant in the race
for the VaderbiIt Cup last season, who said:
INV experience Of the peccadilloes Of chauf-
feurs is that they few-generally merely IN
competence. 1 cannot say that impressed
with the utility of the so-called schools of au-
tomobilng All they can do in the time Is 10
teach their pupils how to avoid rocks, snaVe
corners and maybe q few characteristics OF au-
tomobieS in general, such as to keep the WdIeL
out OF the gasolene and spray the oil INTO ttlO
right holes The business IS all right LOT t4e
tutors of course. When one reflects. tnat q
modern automobile is a more complex pleCe ot
work than a locomotive and that a man must
be in the sere and yellow leaf before ne. Is III III
trusted with the full charge Of the latter IL my
be inferred in what relation stand many OF the
chauffeurs we see to the big handsome cars they
control Happily for them experience anu
science have enabled manufacturers OF lale
wears to render their creations largely auto
matte, and thus eliminate the Importance OF !lle
drivers natural skill and personality A dozen
years ago a could not drive an auIoIIloDlIo
as many miles without or more tanullznS
and inexplicable breakdowns. To be a chauf-
feur then meant to possess some native aDlllty.
When a clever chauffeur came along manu-
facturers priced him, for he was generally the
Moses thanks to his experience and observa-
tions) to point out 10 them the way into the
promised land Of learning how to deal with this
material monster
II mentioned the personality Of chauffeurs.
and I had in mind when l used the word the
fact that not so many years ago people used to
regard the chauffeur as being as big a wizard as
the maker Of the machine himself-Often more
so. In the early days there was little Of the
state of the demi-god for the chauffeur especial
ly If he CHANGED as was usually the case TO be
a Frenchman. Bright young men Of that ma
tionaIty over here soon fell to the situation, and
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01

he bought the machine. experienced men would
be sent to overhaul it and the fake would be
Immediately revealed. If he wants to retain his
position IL is absolutely essential that he go
straight and look for no more trouble than the
automobile will provide for him in its everyday
life"
Asked to whether 1t were not possible Tor
a chauffeur to do comparatively harmless things
to a machine whereby he could enhance the
services of his class in the eyes of an owner
especially one inclined to plume himself on his
ability to manage for himself, he replied:
Yes A very dron incident of this kind occurs
to me now: a prominent financier in the city,
one whose passion for automobiling is well
known had a chauffeur who began to experience
uneasiness with respect to the probable length
of his engagement. He confided to me that 'the
boss is getting a bit too wise, and I'll have 10
find some way of raising the price of my STOCK
and this is the way he did It, The owner was
in the front seat driving, and he sat behind.
Immediately in the rear of the front seat ana
of course staring him in the face was the pipe
supplying gasolene to the carburetter. On the
pipe was a stopcock. l suppose while seated
behind he had plenty of time to brood over MS
big trouble, and in casting about for strawS 10
save himself his hand wandered TO the little
piece of mechanism one turn of which he knew
was able to put period to the dream OF power
and mastery evidently being INDUCED In by the
in front.
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
MANY MAINE TEACHERS.

Bangor Me. March 80 (Special).-The state OF
Maine has moro school teachers to the square
inch. or. rather. more school teachers to the
years, than any other state IN the Union. with
the possible exception OF Nevada. according TO
some statistical tables received at the executivs
department. There are 259 teachers in Maine
to every 10000 persons A large proportion OK
the teachers appear to be IN the three northern
New-England States. while In no one OF the
other three New-England States are there more
than two teachers to each 100 persons OF teach
able age.
The proportion OF teachers to population ot
teachable age in the North Is twice as great as
are more elderly teachers In Maine and New
Hampshire than in any OF the other states BY
elderly teachers IL means those OF fOrty-tVo
years or over. There are Iii per cent OF the
entire number OF the so-called elderly teach
ers OF the United States in the North Atlantic
States.
The tables lust received show 247.611 chill
dren OF school age in Maine and 6.+34 teachers;
The number OF pupils in Maine cities OF 2o,OvV
population Is 16;6SS. and IN the
country districts 23092S. the report call
Ing for convenient computation all places
under $4,000 population the country. There are
SO1 male teachers in Maine and b523 female.
The proportion OF males has been steadily de-
creasing In this and neighboring states. ths
smallest proportion now being IN Vermont.
In Maine ana other Northern States the sup
ply or teachers outside the large cities -
greater than within them. The Inference Is
drawn that where effective educational sSs-
tenn Is OF recent growth II has developed more
rapidly In the cities, but where IL has been ss-
tablished for generation or more Il has estao-
lshsd larger ratio OF teachers to population
IN the slowly growing rural districts than "a the
rapidly growing eitoa
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01

refuge is the synagogue. Some OF the greatest
artists in Russia have been Jews; take Rubin
stein Though they are repressed there. they
find avenues in Russia, as elsewhere The lib
eral Jew is perhaps more typical than the ortho-
dox Jew, and think II will not be long BEFORE
the liberal Jew in America will bring about some
reforms here in our cheders."
young Jew who is a radical now, but who
was educated partly in a rabbinical school, told
the reporter how he used to hate the long
PRAYERS And the boys who go to the cheders
now hate them" he added And they do not
always learn good Hebrew, either. Many Of the
men who teach, especially in the private ched-
ers are brokendown fellows who have failed IN
everything else, and sometimes their Hebrew IS
no more like pure Hebrew than darky dialect
Is like good English"
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
[ last stage OF hls ineenulty is generally wOrse

last stage OF hts ingenuity is generally worse
than his first
Attend TO the gssolene yourself, then OF some
fine night when a hundred miles from nowhere
YOU viii find your $4,000 machine pull UP short
and stand there I'm the rnidle of the road, lookng
like 10 cents, with not another kick IN V'
Water is in the gasolene. II YOU know how eA-
anime the motor: probably it is torn TO pieces
sand is in the lubr;cating oil! You may ASK
What fool did this No fool sr-simply one
who should never be permitted TO see water out
side Of bathtub or sand unless when having
his oIfactory organ rubbed into it-that tricky
chauffeur of yours, 10 whom you were indiscreet
enough to give notice of the termination OF MS
engagement instead of firing him bodily the
moment susnicion crossed your mind"
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER.

'"The hours at that cheder In Russia where I
learned my Hebrew alphabet, were from until
and from until S. in the summer, and from
until in winter After the alphabet I
studied reading in the Hebrew prayerbook and
then the Pentateuch In Hebrew. and 1 learned
to translate the Pentateuch into Yiddish, Just
as in some cheders here In America the pupils
translate it into English. Yiddsh is really Ger
man. the speech inherited from our forefathers
who settled around Frankfort; but as we speak
it In Russia it has many Russian words Just
as In America 1t has many OF your words The
Jew is assimilative: he takes the words he
wants from the people around him. The Jewish
girls OF my time" Mr. Cahan went on had
little education. but my girl cousin, who was
born ten years after me, was sent to the Russian
school. though she could not be sent to the
cheder. Had she been born ten years before she
wouldn't have been sent to any school. and
what she might have minded more, she wouldn't
have been allowed 10 wear a hat; she would have
had to wear hldeous. queer sort OF fiat bon
net.
THE important thing-one important thing
in the cheders. then, were the prayers Mr.
Cahan added. "and it is the same to-day
Prayers an important part OF the orthodox
Jews life Every orthodox Jew is supposed to
home he puts his prayer shawl and lhylac-
try. If ha happens Ia be out working he do
without those but he stands up in the corner
wherever he Is and prays for ten minutes In
the cheders hours spent the long
prayers. Nevertheless. the religious Jew isn't
exactly the typical Jew. I do not see either,
why any one should hold that in Russia his only
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
A JOLT FOR CHRISTIANS.

Settlement worker tells story Of an aged
Jewish dealer in old clothes who Vas walking
along Grand street with her, and he was nearly
run over by a streetcar. AS he stumbled TO the
sidewalk his lips moved. and she heard him
murmuring: When I said. my foot slippeth,
Thy mercy. o Lord. held me up"
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01

special hardship is worked on any side. SO long
as owners are constituted as they are, so long
will they depend their chauffeurs. and these
latter work in conjunction with the agents.
What commission do agents pay? Well. have
known 5000 to be paid on $1,000 outfit. Dut
this varies according to circumstances. The ois
imported cars are, of course, more popular with
chauffeurs. for they cost twice as much as most
of those of American make"
New-York tribune., 1906-04-01
YIELDED TO TEMPTATION

THE temptation too much-his hand
frightened and turned and, instanter. the big
tonneau was glued to the road! OF course he
sprang out Immediately. but before doing so ne
took the precaution to again turn on the gaso-
lene Thus arrested in his proud career the