Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-02-08

the command Oh f1uInpflTltS.
(To be Continued).
GEOGRAPHICAL NOVELTIES.
Where Imaginary Lines Make Differ
enees In the. Laws. ~
There are. a number Of cases where
unique situations have developed In
cities that happened to be divided by
state lines. These oddities are the re-
suit of differences in law. The boun-
dairy between Texas and Arkansas runs
along the main street Of Texarkana,
and formerly, II a fight occurred. on
one side Of the street, the contestants
merely had to cross over to the other
sidewalk to be out Of the jurisdiction
Of the authorities governing the terri
tory where the disturbance had taken
place. The two sides Of Texarkana
did, not develop equally, because the
administration of one state was more
enterprlsing than the other.
Bristol Is located on the state line
betw cen Tennessee and Virginia One
Of these states has a regulation pre-
venting colored people from occupying
the same street car seats with whites,
and the other has not; consequently
the colored people have merely to stay
on one side of the car on the boundary
street, to sit where they please. The
dividing line between Missouri and
Kansas is State street in Kansas City.
Missouri is wet and Kansas is dry, so
one side of that particular avenue Is
literally lined with First" and Last
Chance" saloons. This locality is sup
posed to have been the birthplace Of
this original form Of saloon advertise
ment. o..
North Dakota has prohibition law,
pnd Minnesota has not. The Red riv-
er of the north is the boundary. and
1t separates the two towns Of Fargo
and Morehead. Each saloon keeper In
Morehead has little blackboard, and
these vehicles are sent for anyone on
the other side of the river who wants
drink. When a citizen Of Fargo be-
gins to have a dry feeling In his throat
he merely telephones the bartender who
keeps his favorite brand Of liquor, and
TO- and behold, he is given free. ride
both ways for the price Of his drink.
Such enterprise is certainly novel, IL
nothing else.
Undoubtedly the most extraordinary
boundary complications are those re-
sulting from what are known as the
international stores. These places are
scattered all along the line between
the United States and Canada from
Vancouver to New Brunswick. Most
of them are maintained with the In
tention of evading the laws of both
countries. especially in the sale OF
spirituous liquors. One OF the most
noted of these Is located near Fort
Covington. The boundary line runs
diagonally through the store and splits
the bar right half In two. When a
customer appears the bartender sets
the bottle on his side Of the boundary
line and the patron draws 1t across
the counter, thereby taking 1t out OF
the country, which relieves the barten-
der Of any fault. The proprietor or
this place is a genial fellow, who has
been conducting his business for TWEEN
ty years without interruption. In or
der to secure conviction the govern
ment making the prosecution must
have an accurate survey made and
prove beyond doubt just the exact
spot where each man stood and where
each bottle was placed. That this Is
almost an impossibility the govern
ments of both countries have found to
their sorrow on several occasions.
The goods on the shelves Of the store
are kept on the side belonging to the
country where they are bought. In
the course Of day hundreds Of dol
lars worth Of merchandise Is disposed
of, part from Canada and part from
America. The proprietor commands a
large trade and secure greater prof.
1t than ordinary merchants doing
business on either side Of the line. He
does not insist upon his customers
telling him where they are from, mere
ly requiring that they pay cash and
take their purchases away with them.
Little attempt Is made by the ofi-
cials to stop the traffic, for the reason
that 1t is almost impossible to prove
Just where the goods were bought A
varia ton Of one or two inches In
where a customer was standing would
change the whole status Of any given
case. However, there was one occa-
sion when the Canadian government
secured a conviction. A careless clerk
left a can of American spices on the
Canadian side Of the counter for
minute while he turned his back to DO
something else. Just then Canadian
customs officer happened in and found
the dutiable goods on the kings de-
main. For this one instance Of care
lessness on the part Of his clerk the
proprietor had to pay a fine Of $40.
The twin cities Of st. Paul and
Minneapolis are the result Of peculiar
geographical conditions. They are
both located in Minnesota, are within
ten miles of each1 other and are con-
nected by street car lines belonging to
the same company. The separation OF
these cities is due to the Falls OF 81
Anthony. st. Paul is the Oldest ana
was established below the falls ror
the convenience of shippers. Minne-
apolis was located above them to take
advantage of the water power.
The first reason for locating the
Twin Cities still predominates, one
being a jobbing town and the other
a manufacturing center. Minneapolis
is the largest but st. Paul Is the most
important from a political standpoint,
especially in its relation to North Da-