davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1907-02-23

had one daughter, who, If we mistake
not, is married and still living in that
State.
The funeral services were conducted
from the First Baptist Church, of this
city, on Monday morning, Rev. DR..
M. B. Adams officiatihg, and the re.
mains were laid away in the family
lot in our cemetery.
Capital Lodge, No. G, Odd Fellows
and Dexter Lodge, No. so. Knights of
Pythias attended the funeral in body
and marched to the cemetery. the
Odd Fellows conducting the burial
rites over the grave of their dead
brother.
Having for years worked by his side
at the case and later, whens with
changing administrations, he would
lose his position upon the police force,
he would enter our employ. we learned
to know him as few people did, and
take a mournful pleasure in testify
ing to his worth as a man. citizen
and as soldier
Soft be his sumbers and gently rest
the sod above him.
The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1907-02-23
A GALLANT VETERAN ANSWERS
THE LAST ROLL. CALL.
Death of Capt. c. w. Merchant.

After a lingering illness of many
months, Capt. Caleb w. Merchant died
at his home in this county on Satur
day morning. Feb. 10th. 1907. in the
18th year of his age.
OF a modest. retiring disposition, 60
ing quietly in and out among us. but
few people knew or realized that "Cale
Merchant" as he was Familiarity
known, Lad carved out history which
falls to but few men and to which his
children and grandchildren will point
with pride in the years to come. From
wild boy in neighboring city he de-
yeloped into the gallant soldier. serv-
ing his country long and well. then
laying aside the implements of war to
become the steady, honest and peace
loving citizen he was.
Caleb Wesley Cloud Merchant was
born in Lexington, Kentucky, August
3Ist, 1892, being named for Dr. Caleb
W. Cloud, who was prominent physi.
elan in that city 20 years ago. He
learned the printers art in the office
of the Lexington Observer and Re-
porter, edited by the late Col. D. c.
Wickliffe. but in 1855 enlisted in the
United States Army, being assigned to
the Fourth Cavalry, and serving with
that organization for ten years. The
Of
upon the western frontier during
which time the officers of his regiment
were men who afterwards wrote their
names high upon the roster of fame
during the Civil Wal, Gen. Ro5crt f..
Lee being at one lime his Licutcnaut
Colonel, Gems. George and ]. E. B.
Stewart, of the Confederate Army,
Captains, as were also Gems. Geo.
b. Mcclellan, Thos. J. Wood and s..
B. Sturgis, of the Federal Army, and
General Sumner his Colonel Capt.
Wood was in command of his COM
pany for some time before the break
ing out of the Civil War and up to the
time he was commissioned as a
Brigadier General of Volunteers. Gen.
Wood, being a Kentuckian, held all
Kentuckians in high esteem, promoted
Mr.. Merchant to the position of First
Sergeant of his company, and urged
him to apply for commission, which
ne did, but this application was re-
Jected on account of the opposition
OF an officer whose enmity he had in.
Cured.
In 1856, while serving temporarily
as Quartermaster Sergeant in charge
OF the wagon train of Gen. Harney's
command, which was marching across
the plains, Sergeant Merchant rode out
IN front of his wagon-the troops be-
ing some miles in advance-and
when about mile away from
the train six Kiowa Indians
suddenly came up out of a ravine,
circIed around and began an attack
upon him. They wounded his horse,
behind which he shielded himself as
much as possible, and opened fire up
on them, with his Sharp's carbine,
Killing one and wounding too others
so that they could not get away, but
not before one of them had thrown a
lance which struck him in the face
and laid open his left cheek, an ugly
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

er Of the modern torpedo boat de-
stroyer, a fighting engine born of the
necessity Of finding a means to cir
cumvent the submarine.
There is no such thing as seeing
ahead under the water.
Thus far the best means of taking
observations has been found to be in
the use of the "periscope." a funnel
shaped arrangement, which projects
eight feet above the water, when the
body of the boat is submerged fifteen
feet. By looking up into this the
navigator sees surrounding objects
much as the photographer locates
his camera.
But the periscope will not avail
when it comes to a final test, the
launching of a torpedo boat at the bot
tom of the enemy's battleship. With
the ship stationary, the Eperiscope
might give definite information, but
with both the submarine and battle
ship under way, the movement would
be too rapid to permit effective aim,
without coming to the surface.
In all the models of submarine boats
which Uncle Sam has under considera-
ton the torpedo is so placed that at
the moment of firing it is directly in
line with the enemy's keel. Surprising
it hits, if only .glancing blow, nothing
can save the mighty craft. 1t is the
story IF David and Goliath oil ovor
again. The ship is just as helpless be-
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

much as Dead Sea fruit. The country
was in fact dried and dead sea. The
Sa]ton Sink was described by scient-
lists as crystalline chloride of sodi-
unl.' which is mostly salt, and the I'm
perial valley was the undisputed home
of the horned toad and the diamond
back rattlesnake
Some curious persons, biologists or
others, Investigating all this dry-as-
dust land saw that the valleys were
really deposits of SALT left there ages
before when there was river flowing
through, capable of the richest harvest
if only water could be obtained for it.
Rain was out of the question, and they
suddenly realized that right at hand
was the supply, all they wanted and
more.
Nature had kindly arranged the New
river, branch of the Colorado river, so
that it could be made to transform
the entire district without any trouble
worth the mentioning. 1t had depos-
tied the silt over it all, and the very
act had raised it's bed higher each
succeeding century until it was above
the level of the land about it. All that
was needed therefore was to tap the
river intelligently, locate the canals
and the things would be done.
The first tap was made in 1891 and
the result was as expected. That part
of the country affected began to bios
som. Settlers began to come Two
years later company was organized
to take charge of the project. q
Without taking thought of the NOR
row, they put in flimsy dams, strung
a few canals. over the surface and sold
water rights to settlers.
In the spring of 1904 the demand
for irrigation was so great that an
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
MIGHTY LONDON.
Its Million Houses and Hundreds Of
Millions of Income.

Its Million Houses and Hundreds of
Millions Of Income.
The six and half million people IN
Greater London live in 92S,008 houses.
The population 100 years ago was
just one-fifth what it is now. Though
the number of births was nearly dou-
BILE the number of deaths in 1904, the
birth rate is steadily declining.
The postal figures show that in
1905 there we're 1923 postofices in
London, and 2,435 public telephones
working. The total imports at Lon
don in 1904 amounted to $849, 0S6, 900,
and the total exports 1892, 200, 900.
Some idea of London's wealth is
shown by the assessed income tax
value in 1904 in the administrative
county, houses representing $780,
264,000, trades and professions, 1884,
045,0O0, profits Of companies and other
interests $698,514,000, salaries (cor-
porate bodies) $115,O44,OOO, salaries
(army and navy $103,674 900.
In 1905 there were 1898 motor cars
and 1852 motor cycles in London. L.
censes to: drive were granted to SOTO
people, the fees received amounting to
36;80O.-Statistfca1 Abstract.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

one Of the shiftiest, slyest, and most
treacherous rivers that ever ran.
The original scheme to reclaim the
Imperial valley represented design
upon one of the richest sections of
soil in the world-a region with which
the valley of the Nile can alone COM
pare. No wonder that in the effort to
protect this region for future genera
tions, the president of the United
States has thought enough Of it to
send to congress a special message on
the subject.
This valley will some day be the
home of above 100000 persons on hun
dreds of thousands of acres of truly
garden farm lands if intelligent meth
DDS ara employed. With population
of something like 10000, property
there is estimated to be worth in the
neighborhood of $5,OOO,O0O to-day, and
some day it is thought it will be worth
seven times more at least There
were nests Of little farm houses to be
saved, tiny hamlets or settlements,
small villages and larger towns clean
up from the Mexican border and the
Imperial valley above the town of VII
ma and the government works at La
guna dam. There were hundreds of
! miles of railroad to be saved. main
line and branch line, with their
bridges, trestles, sidings and stations );
there are salt works and other indus
tries-surely prize in itself worth
the fighting for.
It was not SO many years ago that
the Salton district, with the Imperial
valley, so-called, was regarded as very
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

The department has now ruled that
which was good enough for the other
war-like powers, ought to be of value
at home, hence the important move
ment toward assembling the world s
most powerful fleet of these mysteri-
Gus protectors for the United States.
Many congressman fought against
authorizing two new twenty-thousand
ton battleships, each superior to the
British "Dreadnaught," but not a
word of protest greeted the plan to
put Uncle Sam in the forefront of the
submarine owning navies. This is a
straw which shows how legislators
have been educated to the value of the
submarine.
AS lover Of peace. the United
States has ever been opposed to any
naval and military plan that involved
a large outlay of public money with
the idea Of provoking conflict with any
nation. But that policy which meant
only protection was ever heartily sup
ported and will continue to be.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

other tap was made just south of the
first one. The second one had scarce
ly been completed when both taps
were filed up by silt washed in by the
river
To relieve the situation, in July,
1904, a third tap was made farther
down the river, about four miles inside
the Mexican border. The location was
chosen because it would give a greater
drop to the canal and it was believed
that the increased velocity of flow
would keep the channel clear.
This tap caused the trouble. They
had simply opened hole in illuvial
soil forming the bank of the river
Floods in the fall of 1904 caused the
mouth of this third opening to wash
considerably, and at each succeeding
flood the channel to irrigation canals
kept growing larger until in June, 1905,
almost the entire discharge of the riv-
er flowed into the Salton Sink, where
a lake was formed which had an area
of about 400 square miles.
Slowly it began to back up and flow
back toward the Imperial valley.
Farmers were compelled to leave,
farms were inundated, miles and miles
of railroad track and development
went under water. The country be-
came a wilderness of water.
Heroic efforts were made to stop the
flood. The railroads equipment and
facilities were used and considerable
progress made; but the fall floods
washed out part of the work, only to
have it rebuilt
On Nov. 4, 1906, the break, which
had been 1900 feet wide, was closed,
and on Nov. Is all leakage of water
through the dam had been stopped. 1t
seemed as if the battle had been won,
but another flood followed, and on Dec.
water worked it's way under the
levees south of the dam. By noon on
the following day nearly the entire
Colorado river was emptying into the
Salton Sink. The president of the
United States took a hand. He and
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

ril-channel the depth Of the wateS
ives thirty-four feet
But not only has the break been
closed; the Southern Pacific engineers
are determined that such a break shall,
not occur again. Additional material
is being added at the rate of 5000
cubic feet each twenty-four hours.
When completed the dam will contain
100000 cubic yards of material, $4,000
yards of which will be rock and the
balance gravel and clay.
The maximum amount of water con-
tended with during the construction of
the dam appropriated 10000 secons-
feet. In a period of little more than
two weeks structure of rock. gravel
and clay was built across the channel
The top of the dam is now four feet
above the level of water It's vertical
distance from the top to the base is
sixty feet. The dam will be raised
five or six feet higher. in order to be
safely above highest known water, and
it is to be padder on the upstream side
with clay until it shall become entirely
impervious.
A great railroad corporation. with
abundant rolling stock, alone could
have achieved this feat. The entire
equipment of the Southern Pacific was
at the command of the engineers dur
ing the period of the work. At times
even the locomotives on passenger
trains in transit we're diverted to haul
rock to the scene of the accident and
quarries hundreds of miles distant
contributed materials to close the
Break.
Temporarily, at least, the Colorado
Las been conquered, but, like the Mis-
sissippi in it's delta region. it will bear
watching always. The Colorado is
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
IS BEING RESTORED"
NEEDED REPAIRS BEING MADE
IN sTATUARY HALL.
This Justly Famous Feature of the
National Capitol Building Now
Undergoing Thorough
Rejuvenation.

A very important project which is
now engaging the attention of Uncle
Sans architects and builders involves
the restoration" of famous statuary
hall at the United States capitol at
Washington. That any undertaking
having to do with this significant
chamber should prove of concern to a.
large portion of the public is but nat
ural, since nearly every visitor to- the
nations legislative headquarters at
Washington pronounces this improvis-
ed gallery of art the most interesting
and most beautiful portion of the
great white-domed building. But, aside
from it's architectural attractions, sta
tuary hall is notable for it's historic as
sociations,
In the old days, when what is now
the national statuary hall was the
meeting place of the United States
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

fore the torpedo of the little boat as
the giant Of the Bible was before the
stone from the sling of the Jew.
Perhaps the prime advantage of the
torpedo boat is that she needs only
great offensive power. A battleship
must combine both. She must be
able to deal death blows, and to resist
the shells of the enemy.
But the submarine is ever immune
from danger of being hit, or nearly so.
When under water the sea compasses
her around as a perfect shield. The
shell that hits within five feet bounds
and skips from the water, harmlessly
as the stone a boy sends Swimming
over a millpond.
The periscope is placed in tiny
column, which can only be seen from
short distance, and then is target
SO small as to be very hard to hit.
One noted expert has said that a
small fleet of torpedo boats could
have thwarted Farragut's achieve
ments at New Orleans and Mobile BAY.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

Atlantic and Pacific coasts; as we'll as
those on the Gulf Of Mexico and at
the mouth Of the Mississippi.
In providing for the purchase of the
submarine, the lawmakers specified
that they must be equal to the best
class of that kind of boat now in the
United States navy, which is another
way of prescribing that the new under
water warriors will be not less than
Cd feet in length and IL feet in width,
displacing, when submerged, about 125
tons Of water
There are many problems to be
grappled with, not the least of which
is the difficulty of devising a method of
underwater navigation, which shall en-
able the captain of the craft. when
submerged, to know to a certainty
what is happening on the surface
True, he always has the power to
come to the top and find out, but by
doing this he locates himself to the
fire of the enemy, a danger made
greater in view of the increasing pow
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

Romance and Realty.
For two years Katharine hunted
for her IDEAL"
indeed"
yes, she searched everywhere for
a chap with a waxen mustache, pink
cheeks and luminous eyes. At last,
she found him. !"
All! And he is now her husband 3"
ooh; no. After she found her aes-.
thetic ideal she turned right around
and accepted the homeliest chap in.
town because he was real man. = Z II
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
TO HAVE GREATEST FLEET
OF SUBMARINE. FIGHTERS
Uncle Sam viii Build Eighteen Nev Boats at Cost
of 49, 600, OOO
of So, 900, 900.

70 the tiny submarine torpedo boats
has been delegated lions share of
the work of protecting Uncle Sans
great seacoast from attack.
Somewhat slow at first to adopt the
newest and most radical of devices for
combat on water, the United States
has suddenly developed into an en-
thusiast, and no measure passed by
the recent congress was more impor-
tant than that which placed three
millions aside for use in building of
submarines.
Lewis Nixon, the we'll known naval
constructor, who has figured very
largely in the building of American
underwater fighters, calls the subma-
rine steel fish, with human brains
and incalculable power to inflict dam
age. '.
Navy officials were taught lesson
of appreciation by the purchase of
American built submarines by both
Japan and Russia in the recent war
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
DUEL BETWEEN ENGINEERS
AND COLORADO RIVER
The Break "a; Been Stopped, but 5000 Cubic Feet
q Day Are Being Poured Into Dam,

Il was asked by the interstate com
merce commission what regarded as
the greatest achievement of my rail
road experience. My reply was that
considered the closing of the break in
the Colorado river on the afternoon of
Feb. II as the most remarkable
achievement of recent history. In the
handling of rock ana stone our engi-
neers made a good 9srecord which is
likely to stand for. many years to
come. Statement by E. H, Hartman
in Washington, D. G., March 6.
When Persistent Roosevelt demanded
that the Southern Pacific company
take steps to save. the Imperial valley
of California by stopping the break in
The Colorado river, the prospect was
gloomy. For years a duel had waged
between nature and science, and, so
far, nature had won't
To-day it is different The break
has been closed, closed within a period
which has astonished the engineering
world. The feat was thus described
by Mr. Hartman:
The time actually consumed in MAX
ing the closure, dating from the dump
ing of the first rock, was fifteen days
and two hours, during which interval
1900 cubic yards of material, IS per-
cent of which was rock, the balance
gravel and clay, were handled The
difficulties which confronted the engi-
neers will be better appreciated when
it is recalled that the Colorado river,
with a flow Of $4,000 seconds-feet, was
rushing madly through a break 1,100
feet long in soft earth banks In the
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
Houdini's Statue of Washington

house of representatives and res0und-
ed to the oratory of Webster, Clay,
Adams, Calhoun and other giants of
the republic, it was generally conced-
ed to be the most beautiful legislative
hall in the world. AS time went OH,
however, and repairs became neces.
sary, motives of economy or misguid-
ed Judgment, caused some Improve
ments" to be made that did not justi-
fy the name. To undo some of this
work is the object of the present task
for which congress at it's last session
provided funds.
Accordingly, for weeks past the
marble figures in statuary hall have
been boxed up and the big apartment
has been filled with scaffolding, while
dozens of wOrkmen have been busily
engaged in restoring this part of the
capitol to the state, even as to details,
originally intended. Incidentally it
may be remarked that there is ito be
corresponding removal of the OBJ
noxious paint from the crypt under
the great dome, which was designed
to be the tomb of George Washington,
but was never used for that purpose.
Here also are stately pillars colon
made of Doric columns with groined
ceiling, which will take on a new dig
nifty when relieved of the disiguring
coats of paint applied during long
succession Of years.
But the restoration of the meeting
place Of the house of representatives
during most important period of the;
nations history will not end with the
restoration of the pristine glory of the
semicircular walls. Two of the old
stairways which led from the legis1a~
tive hall to: what was formerly the
mems gallery and the womens gallery
have been rediscovered and opened,
and the mems gallery will be restored
to the original condition which char
acterized it when more than half
century ago it was daily crowded with
visitors who gathered to hear the
most memorable debates of the anti
slavery crisis and other exciting peri
DDS. The steps of this old stairway
are of solid blocks of sandstone and
of rather quaint design, and in each
step, little to the left of the middle,
a distinct depression has been made
by the trod of the countless visitors
who passed up and down in the olden
times
Probably the most interesting
statue in the entire collection in statu-
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

Here rests the value of the subma-
rine. It is prominently defensive in
it's purpose. The wonderful little
fighters of the Lake and Holland type,
now in Uncle Sans navy, could not
cross the Atlantic to levy war against
England or France. The furthest dis
lance the best of them can travel is
500 miles-250 coming and going. I'm
der water. they can-only go about fiji
teen miles each way. This limits their
sphere of action to the home coasts
and ports.
The new feet, to amass which So
100000 is to be expended, will supple
ment the monitors and shore batteries
that now would have to bear the
brunt of defense against attack.
The United States now has one doz-
en- submarines, and with the ones just
authorized, will soon boast of a fleet
of thirty, a respectable force that
ought to make it possible to take
ample care of the principal ports of the
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

The Small Boy Again.
a child at dinner with his parents in
Cork turned to his mother and said.
N ANNA, where were you born?"
AT Glasgow, darling
But / was born in Dublin, wasn't
Yes, dear
" And father, where was he born %
In Brentford, Middlesex.''
The little fellow looked gravely from
one tn the other.
Isn't It funny" he said, chat We
should all meet like this Y
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
No ofense.

No offense.
First Stranger ION train do you
ever quarrel with your wife?
Second Stranger Never.
First StrangerHave any, trouble
with the hired girl
Second Stranger-Not me.
First Stranger Don't your children
worry you at times?
First Stranger No, indeed.
4 First Stranger-Say. don't like to
call you a liar, but
Second Stranger Oh, that's all
right I'm bachelor.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08

kilograms in discussion as to the
best course to be pursued. It was a
rather delicate task for the govern
ment to undertake because an interna-
tional question was involved. While
the damage was being done in the Uni
ted States, the break was in Mexico.
The upshot Of it was that the Southern
Pacific was pledged to do the work.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
Poor Chap.

Dva-That Miss Flirter turned down
twelve young men and accepted the
thirteenth. Do you think it unlucky.
JackI should say so-for the
young man.
The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1907-06-08
Queer Sex.

Queer Sex.
Girls, remarked the thoughtful
thinker, are queer propositions"
What's the explanation 81 asked the
dense young man.
One will try to keep It a secret
that she is engaged" replied the T. r.
sand another tries to keep it a secret
that she ism to