davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
RICHEST WOMAN IN BRITAIN.
Miss Emily Charlotte Talbot Of Wales
Has DISTINCTION.

1t will probably surprise most PEG.
pie to learn that at the present mo-
ment the wealthiest British woman
living is a Welshwoman: more, that
she is single. Miss Emily Charlotte
Talbot was one of the three children
of Mr.. Christopher Talbot, a popular
M. P. of the mid-Victorian era The
only son died in early youth, and Miss
Talbots sister, somewhat younger
than herself, became the wife, just 40
years ago, of Mr.. Fletcher of Saltoun.
Miss Talbot remained at home, keep
ing house for her father at beautiful
Margam Abbey, Glamorganshire. and
on his death, which took place some
1t years ago, his devoted elder daugh-
ter found herself left his sole execu-
trix, and owner of all the Talbot real
estate, valued at about million and
half sterling, as also of a reversion!
ary interest in huge trust fund I'M
consols.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
SEE WHAT YOU BUY
DO NOT TAKE THE CATALOGUE
STATEMENT FOR IT.
CASE OF A MAIL-ORDER BUGGY
The Purchaser Was Ashamed to Use
It and Sold It to His Hired
Man-It Pays to Buy
at Home.

Copyright, by Alfred C. Clarke
The East End of London is an ex-
ample of what the city does for hui
mainly in creating poverty, misery,
disease, drunkenness and crime. JET
ferson was right when he said: "Great
cities are great sores upon the body
polite" Is it any wonder that lovers
of their kind are horror-stricken at
the grinding of these gigantic mills
whose grist is the bodies and souls of
men?
But there is another movement con-
nected with this current setting CITY.
ward which, like it, is full of grave
menace to the welfare of humanity.
This is the dry rot now invading thou
sands OF villages and towns. It is not
lack OF capital or business energy in
the towns, or discrimination in
frelghts or exhaustion of the soil in
the surrounding country that is bring.
ing about this change, but a new and
dangerous form of competition, and
the caprices of those who buy. Go
into these towns and you will find
them at a standstill or going back
ward. Inquire of their business men
or commercial travellers and you will
learn that business is not as good as
formerly and that the prospect is for
a continued shrinkage in trade. An
observant commercial traveller said
to the writer: II believe the day of
the village and town is over. The big
fish are everywhere eating up the lit
tie fish. A few small lines of business
that cannot be done by mail, such as
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05

timekeeper than that famous watch
Of Capt, Cuttle's. Another friend
bought buggy at $34 and was elated
over his purchase until It came and
he saw that the top was very ordin-
airy article of oil cloth, instead of
leather, and he was SO ashamed of it
that he sold it at loss to his hired
man and bought better one in a
neighboring town. A lady and her
two daughters bought shoes from the
catalogue and when asked why they
had trouble with their feet said it was
because of ill-fitting shoes But such
instances of the bad effects of buy
ing sight unseen" are daily occurring
all over the country. It is only natur-
al and inevitable that such things
should happen.
Let us see what will be the effect
of this formidable diversion of trade,
if carried to it's logical conclusion.
Nearly all the business houses of the
smaller towns will become bankrupt,
the value of town property will de-
cline, churches and schools will re-
ceive feeble support and the towns,
instead of being centers of business
and social activity, will almost cease
to exist. The country in general will
become like many portions of the
south where the large plantations, by
getting their supplies in the cities,
have kept the neighboring towns
down to the crossroads type-dreary,
implanted little places of half dozen
ramshackle houses. The evil effects
of this loss of trade and destruction
of the value of town property will re-
act upon the value of farm property
by cutting off the home market. They
will add to the taxes on lands by re-
ducing taxable values in the towns.
Surely it is not to the interest of any
body, except the bloated corporations
carrying on the mail order business,
to see the towns and villages fall into
decay. A live town is not only of
value to the lands surrounding it, but
it's we'll stocked business houses are
convenience and benefit to the
buyer. Even if money could, in the
long run, be saved by ordering every
thing from the city, the inconvenience
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
COAL MINING UNDER SEA

Up in Cape Breton Island, where
there are great number of colleries
digging out coal from under the sea,
the submarine area thus undermined
now amounts to about 16 ordinary
farms of 100 acres each. The outer
end of the hole is something over a
mile from shore. Strange as it may
seem, the workings have never been
invaded by sea water streams, al
though fresh water streams have been
encountered flowing out in the strata
under the ocean bed The thickness
Of the strata over the mines varies
from 500 to LAO feet. About $780,
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
Didn't Suit Him.


People who patronize the cars rum
ming out to Forest Hills are familiar
with Conductor Crowley, the man who
wears six service stripes on his
sleeve, says a writer in the Boston
Herald. 49,.
On the afternoon of election day i'm
November one of his passengers was
an OLD man who had been imbibing
enough to make him go to sleep in the
corner of the car. ..t - =. =,
Just before it reached Dudley street
the conductor announced with his
usual rich roll of the +, "Cir-r-cuit and
Guild" .:%a7 %s rs 8 / ~. - :
Yer a liar! It's John B. Moran!'
shouted the sleepy one, waking up
suddenly. ,Z:=Z 81. Is. & -. =.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05

barbering, blacksmithing or the serv-
survive, but such lines of trade can
not sustain a decent town." The
cause of this widespread loss of bust
ness is the aggressive and destructive
competition of the catalogue houses
in the big cities. It has been possible
for 40 years or more to buy of some
houses in the cities, if one felt that
the merchants of his town were ex.
acting too much profit, but this effort
of the mail order houses to cut the
retailer altogether is new thing, the
growth of the past few years. Start
ing with a few lines of trade, this
form of competition has'come to cover
a country town and it is even asserted
that savings bank department is to
be added by one of the catalogue
houses.
The claim that the mail order
houses of Chicago are doing an an
nual business of over $200,000,00O may
seem large, but one house alone has
sold goods to the amount of $29,000,-
900 in the past six months and is now
incubating new plan to increase it's
'en0rmo1s business by selling shares
of stock to thousands of people in the
hope of making them regular GUS
toners.
The skillfully worded advertisement
and the big catalogue, with its pic
lures of articles in hundred lines of
trade. are very alluring to buyers,
most of whom are not familiar with
prices. and qualities. Some of the
ARTICLES below the usual prices are of
al inferior quality, while the average
price is usually fully up to what would
be paid to the home dealer. AS was
shown last winter in a speech in con-
gress, articles for the mail order trade
are often misbranded at the request
of the mail order people with DELHI
crate intent to deceive. One of the
instances given by this congressman
was of some thousands of finger rings
stamped fourteen carats'' when they
were in reality only ten.
The buyer who orders from his
catalogue, or from an advertisement,
does not see the articles till they
come and is often disappointed in the
quality of the most of them, but there
is no redress as there would be if he
bought at home. He does not like to
own that he is disappointed, so he
makes the best of it and tries to per-
suade himself that he has saved
money. In many instances he is not
well enough informed in values to
know that he could have bought as
cheaply and selected much more sat-
isfactorily at home. On rural route
with which l am familiar and over
which most of the incoming letters
are from mail order houses and the
outgoing ones carry back money or
ders, lives a friend of mine who
bought a watch from the catalogue at
what he considered q rare. bargain.
The watch came, to be sure, but it did
not 60, that Isl at the right speed,
and, although money enough was
spent on It to bring the price up to
q good figure, it was no better % .
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05

and uncertainty of it would always
make such shopping unsatisfactory.
Ordering from a catalogue is a leap
in the dark, except in the case of a
few articles whose color, shape and
quality are always the same.
To the man who can soberly look
on both sides of the question and who
can put himself in the place of **the
other fellow" the query will come:
Is it best from mere whim, or even
for certainty of saving from one to
half dozen dollars in year to turn
my back on the old, convenient ways
of doing business, and to do my part
toward running the business of my
old acquaintances and friends, and of
destroying the value of property in
the town where my friends live?
+. B. MILLER.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
New Metric Chart.

A new metric chart representing
graphically measures of the inter
national metric system Of weights and
measures has been prepared by the
l bureau OF standards Of the department
OF commerce. and labor, and will be
furnished free to any school teaching
the system.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05

600 tons of coal have thus far been
taken from these submarine workings.
and there is as yet no indication of
failure of the beds.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-04-05
Firmly Established.

"Of course you're going to Palm
Beach this winter?"
NO"
mo? I thought your position in
society was such as to make it alb
solutely necessary for you to CO." & !.
"Our position in society now Is
such that we don't have to 90 any.
where SIS: ys.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
RESUME OF THAW TRlAS.

Evelyn Nesbit Thaw broke down
and wept when District Attorney Jer-
ONE made her confess that her reia-
lions with White continued for sew
eral months, and drew from her other
admissions damaging to her own
character. It was intimated that
Jerome would have Mrs. Thaw In
dicted.
Mr.. Jerome cross-examined Mrs.
Evelyn Thaw all day, asking especial-
iy about her poses for photographs,
her earlier men acquaintances and
the letters she received from stan
ford White. She admitted that IN
1902 she received $3.50 from
White.
Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw entered
upon the ordeal Of her cross-examina'
ton, and before District Attorney
Jerome had had the witness in charge
for half an hour he had secured from
the court a ruling which opens the
way for bringing into the trial OF
Harry X. Thaw all manner OF EVIL
dence which may tend to discredlt the
defendants wife. This will be intro
duced to disprove the truth OF the
story she told Thaw. MIR. jerome
brought out that in 1902 some one
gave Mrs. Thaw $25 week. and that
she wrote to White from Boulogne
after Thaw had proposed to her.
DR.. Britton D. Evans testified that
MI l.. IL hn
last August that he didn't want to stay
White, but that the killing was an act
of Providence. Thaw's will and coil
ell were put in evidence. In the latter
provision was made for several al
legged victims of White.
The principals in the Thaw trial
had day of rest. Mrs. Thaw, nearly
i'll from her ordeal, visited her nus
baad in prison.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
MISCELLANY ouS.

The Pennsylvania 18-hour train
west bound was derailed near Johns
town, Pa, and three cars were hurled
into a shallow river. Many passen
gers were hurt but none killed.
Washington's birthday was cele
brated generally in America and in
American embassies in foreign lands
State Representative Taft of Utah
and Clinton Leigh, a newspaper man
were killed in railway collision.
Honduras declared war on Nicara
qua and President Bonilla advanced
on the enemy.
A woman and three children broke
through the ice in Buffalo park anc
all drowned.
The founding of trust fund OF
s250,000, the income to be devoted tc
the cause of young women of the
United States, was announced by ]. G.
Schmidlapp, president of the Union
Trust company of Cincinnati.
State Representative Barker OF Ma
con county, Mo-, has smallpox.
Mrs. John Grimshaw and her infant
son were burned to death near ROYAL
Oak, Mich.
Assistant Paymaster w. e. Syphe,
has been dismissed from the navy on
account of technical embezzlement
lie was unable to account for $1,000 O.,
funds intrusted to him.
The federal grand jury at New York
indicted the Great Northern railway
for paying rebates.
Senator Bailey testified in his own
behalf before the legislative investi
eating committee and explained the
Gibbs ranch deal as plain business
transaction.
More than hundred miners, mostly
Japanese, were killed in disaster al
Las Esperanzas, Mexico.
The plant of the Alpena (Mich,)
Portland Cement company was burned
the loss being 100000
C. N. Anderson of Atlanta, Ga, wal
fined $1,000 for bucket-shopping.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS.

Reed Smoot, Mormon apostle, won
his long fight before the senate OF
the United States. BY vote of 20
10 AZ the senate refused to adopt the
resolution declaring that Mr.. Smoot
is not entitled to occupy a seat in
that body as a senator from the state
of Utah.
A heated controversy which at one
time seemed to threaten a personal
encounter between Mr.. Macon OF Ar
kansas and Mr.. Fitzgerald OF New
York, occurred on the floor of the
house when the house had under con-
sideration the post Office appropria'
ton bill.
Following the adoption by the house
of the immigration bill, the basis OF
the agreement to settle the Japanese
San Francisco school affair was an
nounced as follows: Japanese children
are to be admitted to the white
schools of San Francisco under Ger.
tain restrictions; skilled and unskilled
laborers coming from Japan are to be
barred from the mainland Of the
United States, and American laborers
skilled and unskilled, are to be ex
cluded from Japan.
A bill drawn by the general staff
providing for the raising of a volun
teer army during actual or threatened
war was introduced in congress.
1t was conceded by senators IL
charge of the agricultural appropria
ton bill in the senate that the graz
ing lease provision would be eliminat
ed from the bill on point of order.
The house condemned the doings O
the interior departments specia
agents and limited their power by re
stricting the use of the $4,000 appro
priation for their salaries.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
Members Clash Over Measure.

The first wordy clash between
house members this session occurred
Thursday over the discussion of the
senate bill having to DO with the SER
vice Of original notices in case of
merging of companies. Representa-
tive Kelly challenged the bill declar-
ing he thought that 'it was colored
gentleman in the wood pile" Repre-
sentative Sullivan asserted that
Kelly's opposition was prompted by
Partially to railroad interests, which
the latter warmly denied. The bill f.
nally passed. 1t provides that when
two companies merge proceedings
which might have Eeen begun against
one can be served on the new COM
pany.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
Marshal Bill In.

Senator Durham Wednesday offered
the marshal bill originated by tho
state marshal clubs, at whose head is
A. C. Rankin.
The measure differs in no material
particular from the ones introduced
n former sessions. 1t provides for
i've marshals with power to name
deputies.
1t went to the committee on sup
preston of intemperance. Mr.. Ran
kin is confident of the outcome Of the
bill at this session.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
No Opposition to 2-cent Fare.

All opposition to the bill to reduce
passenger fares in Iowa, as in other
states, appears to have disappeared.
This morning Senator Hopkins, chair
man of the railroad committee had
the senate set next Tuesday at p.
m. for special consideration of the
bill that is on the calendar with fav-
orable report. 1t is learned that
there will be no opposition. Sena.
tors who had previously indicated In
tention of making fight, stated they
will not oppose it.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
To Exempt The Newspapers.

1t has been discovered that the
Peterson bill, which prevents corpor-
atoms from contributing either money
Or labor to political campaign, might
suppress the political activity by
newspapers that are incorporated.
The house committee on judiciary
Thursday reported an amendment
which provides that the liberty of the
press is not to be restrained by the
law. With this amendment the bill
was recommended for passage.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
Swine Pavilion Almost Certain.

The state fair people made good
showing before the appropriations
committee of the senate on the bill to
appropriate $4,000 for swine Pa
vilion at the state fair. The persons
Interested especially in swine breed
Ing showed the great advantage to the
state in having Iowa hold the greatest
swine show on earth, and they de-
clared this to be possible if the state
would provide for suitable place of
exhibition. The committee was given
statistics to show that in the FL years
since Iowa has had the fair at Des
Moines the state has expended s179,-
900 on the fair, and the property is
now worth s353,000. 1t is not in any
sense Des Moines institution and
the state should make regular appro
priations to care for 1t.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
Anti-Firecracker Bill.


Despite appeals to patriotism and
persistent lobbying upon the part OF
the pages, the OfIill anti-firecracker
bill passed the house yesterday with
81 votes for 1t and IA against. The
bill was the last number on the cal.
endar taken up yesterday. and it stir,
red the quiet of the session like real
firecracker explosion
The opposition to the bill was lead
by the Oldest member of the house,
d. w. Dow of Franklin county, who
in speech that brought the applause
of the house, galleries and pages
benches, appealed to the members to
remember their own boyhood.
The bill as passed forbids the use
or sale of toy pistols or revolvers,
dynamite caps and firecrackers that
exceed five inches in length and three
fourths of an inch in diameter.
Mr.. Offill has urged the bill In the
last three general assemblies.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
proud OF the University.

The visiting committee. reporting
given, but that 1t be given as spec
ial appropriation, and suggests that in
on the Iowa State university. recon-
mends cutting down the askings or
the university from $4,000 to $254.-
600. $4,000 is special appropria-
ton for additional support The com.
mittee asks that by all means this be
short time the support Of the uni.
versity must come from millage tax.
The present annual appropriation as
! fixed by law. amounts to s205, 900.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
For Shorter Hours.

The house committee on railroads,
in accordance with the program which
was decided upon last Saturday.
heard arguments for and against the
bill to limit the hours of work for
trainmen. The railroad employees are
in favor of this measure but the
railroad companies do not care to
have it adopted. The bill to require
examination and certification of tele.
graph operators was also discussed.
and bill to provide for reconsign.
ment Of freight while in transit. In
accordance with the program as an.
nounced before the joint rate bills
will be taken up next Tuesday.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
What They Would Be.

"If Washington were alive today he
would be a standpatter, Lincoln
would be a Cummins republican, and
Jefferson would be for Bryan de.
clared Senator DeWolf, democrat.
speaking at the Joint session of house
and senate this morning in common.
Grafton of the birth of George Wash.
ington. Representative Inman made
the prayer at the joint session and
addresses were delivered by Senator'S
Crossley, Gillilland and DeWolf, and
by Representatives Van Houten, Hard
ing and Swift.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
No Insurance Commission.

1t is now reasonably certain that
at least one of the chapters of the
legislative program will fail, for II
has been practically decided that there
will be no creation of the position Of
insurance commissioner. Instead It
is proposed to remove the banking
department from the office of auditor
of state and place it with the state
treasurer, thea to take some other de-
parments out and give them to tho
secretary of state, which would suffi.
ciently relieve the Office of auditor OF
state so that he could be In fact the
insurance commissioner. This Is like.
ly to be done.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
Peddler Contracts.

A bill to prevent annoyance to the
victims of canvassers and smooth
tongued agents Is before the senate,
fathered by Allen. 1t amends the law
as to contracts by adding that amy
contracts for the delivery of property
or the payment Of money obtained by
any agent, canvasser or solicitor, for
himself or any person or persons, firm
or corporation, shall, by it's terms.
state such fact, and shall be enforci.
BILE by suit only in the county of the
residence of the debtor" That would
cut off lot of business Of question.
able character In Iowa.
Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1907-02-28
70 Give Hourly Election News.

4
Des Moines.-There will be no more
| waiting up all night for Iowa election
returns If bill which Representative
Clarke Of Jefferson introduced In the
house Tuesday morning becomes a
law. Instead of the night vigils and
the hours of suspense, the newspapers
Of the state, according to the Clarke
plan, would be able to publish Eek
tras" every hour of election day tell
ng "all about the election" The
clarke bill provides that count Of
the ballots is to be made every hour
election day. In order to make this
| aourly canvass possible Mr.. Clarke
also introduced another bill this
morning to double the number of cleo
tlon officers. Thus instead of three
election judges he would have six, and
In place of two clerks the Clarke bill
provides for four. After the first
hour, while one set of election officials
are canvassing the vote Of the prev
lous hour, the other officials will pre-
side at the ballot box taking in the
new votes. Thus at any hour of the
day the progress of the battle of bal
'0to may Uc dSCeTIdlHeQ. WHEN tuS
polls close 1t will be necessary to
count the ballots of the last hour to
determine the result of any precinct.
Prohibits Bogus Mining Pamphlets.
The bogus mining and oil companies
operating in distant states will have
to change the style of their literature
circulated in Iowa, under the Saun-
ders bill, which passed the senate
unanimously Thursday.
The bill makes it penitentiary Of
Tense for corporations to publish
false and exaggerated statements
when such publications shall have a
tendency to give less or greater APP
parent value to the shares, bonds or
property than that which they really
possess.
Senator Saunders said he believed
the state was badly in need Of law
which would give protection from
corporations working among upso-
phisticated and unwary farmers Of the
state, who were led to believe by pic
lures of ten-story buildings on the
stationary that the same was the
property of corporation which could
hardly afford to rent one of it's attic
offices.