davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
SOME AWKWARD RESULTS.

So many men have inadvertently found them
selves unlimited guests during the progress OF
g dinner party when they attempted 10 pay
duty call in the evening that the practice OF
making such calls has ceased In New YORK. ull-
less men are on a sufficiently intimate footing
with a hostess to telephone in advance and ASK
whether she will be at home to receive them
Social usages also kindly permit busy mar
Yied man to pay most his calls by means or
card in his wife's hands. and excuses are maze
for the elderly bachelor who pays few Fislrs'
especiaIlv il he IS known to be something OF
bore.
The man who is scrupulously punctIlous IN
having his calls is as much the exception in
America as he is the rule in Europe Tor here
law men take advantage of the excuses OF busy
ones and pffuIiy neglect their social obligations.
IT is no uncommon thing to hear an exasperated
hostess complain of the utter want of considera-
.ion shown to her girl guests Of the night pre-
yious, when young men invited to dance with
Shem elected to chat together or bestowed all
their attentions upon other girls that pleased
their fancy more This rudeness toward a
hostess is so often practised that young men
canable of it fail 10 its significance any
more than they see their breach of courtesy IN
calling upon some attractive new acquaintance
made at the dance instead Of upon the hostess
who entertained them.
Many a visit is paid by women friends over
the telephone, many invitation extended and
accepted in this informal manner by men and
women alike and through this kindly medium
men are wont 20 insure themselves the certainty
Of finding at home the women whose hospitality
they wish TO acknowledge.
While the telephone proves ready ally in
many respects il is also source of disquietude
,1t-1a 10 nav n
rer call upon an unmarried hostess He is pos
sessed of the uncomfortable feeling that his in
cuiry by telephone might suggest 10 her a par
sicular urgency on his part TO see her, aD>. that
she might expect from him a far different decla-
ration than that he had enjoyed himself
50 much in his life as at her dinner party. She
would probably he feels certain, if she wished
70 hear and perhaps assent to a proposal of mar
riage from him, have everything pleasantly
ready TO assist him in the undertaking No
chaperons would inopportunely appear TO cut
short his eIoquence. and other prospective Wis
? ttors u ould have been warned away by the in
1elIjgence that she would not be at home Under
such conditions a young man takes down the
teler -oceiyer with fear, and his feelings
whe ngs il up depend upon the tones of
the ntIo voice at the other end Are they
fracs I'd indifferent he looks forward TO
q ple evening. Are they tender and coy
all his otaI forces are gathered together in
skirr1ish. line to meet ambushed enemy to his
liberty and peace
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
HOURS FOR CALLING.

Hours for calling vary in different places, but
the man in jeans who expresses his fine sense
of obligation and enjoyment Of q pleasantly
remembered supper, over the medium of his hos
,ess's fence at 10 O'Clock in the morning is
sctrated by the same feeling in taking his de-
,larture before his hostess must prepare her
MONDAY meal inlpeis man calling in urban
society TO depart before $50 O'Clock, when he
knows his entertainer cannot longer delay dress
ing for dinner
A man who dimes out frequently and has other
things 10 occupy his thoughts and time needs
TO keep q dinner calendar within view, for no
kindliness can excuse the discourtesy OF not
paying q dinner luncheon call within one or
two weeks after has been entertained,
although defections in the making of personal
calls in acknowledgment of every invitation re-
gfful-
sixsys keep I'D with his obligations In such a
city of great distances New York, in which
case he win make point of calling il response
frst dinner end will send cards. perhaps
flowers. when he is unable to make personal
customs prescribe.
men ,n the matter of fulfilling social obligations
which he is not supposed to acknowledge with
q call Is afternoon tea, which is far less for
nal affair than the afternoon reception, with
which IL is not to be confounded.
A woman ard a man not long since set out
each in the same sort OF vehicle-to pay after
ncoa calls. Later comparison of experiences
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
RuRToN HOLINESS "TRAvELoGUEs.

Rer.rdtnr the word "trsveIogue-" used ny Bur
ton Holmes to designate his particular i"EIi -
.a-aI Isctu-es many remarks have been rnaas'
b,t mona more amusing than the questioning oi
small how in the streetcar. who saw ohiooas'
Announcing the coming season OF traNeiosuss =
this CITY and said his father: Dad VIA sou
sTrayeIosus' mean7' It means "IraVei-i ar, sr,
A sVsbt pause and then the younsster salu; salu;,xrrs;
~ travelogIie means trayel-talk, does Ca'A4's-
mean cattle-taik' -, 49, Work i've
nev lectures in which he viii snow tne <.,r-
NJ Paris London. Berlin and vienna 70 vi 70
nine patrons in his audiences. While .o .nsrtIl
tbosa interested in city government ths oppt art-
nity to study the architectural beaunest ne,tszsu
va 1d anpearances. THE condition OF tns 80 ot
and the administration of the analrs ,,o OF vlsnns
Tba Great cities OF the Old World-Bernah ssar;rsI
par;s ondou and F'ez- the MooTfsn ss.,r,es Sts,s
where the so-called civilization IS thdi oi So
a., A. r-;rciosI person.
,.sS 81 sach country, street scenes, parsusS CO..
n9he functions, horseraces and ooauns; 70 Srs,v
feSts and there will also be a prolus0n, - last
coiored still pictures. taken oy M. TO-. sxastly
summer He will give two p5raiiel ,s cuua at Car
ILL., In New York five Sunday evenings, ~. shs
negie Hall and five Monday afteinosnaIi. Iau.
Iycem theatre, heSinnins'
uary Il and i3tn
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
CARD ETIQUETTE.

Men who pay many calls are glad that custom
does not now require the leaving of more than
two cards at house after the first call while
one card often proves sufficient If man did
much calling upon Southern families, for IN
stance and continued the fad for leaving his
pasteboard for each member OF the family
nothing less than decks of cards would serve
him on visiting day. especially as. in America,
cards are left for the young women OF the mouse.
a married man, however, still permits his WIFE
10 indicate that she is the better half in the
marital partnership by leaving two of his cards
10 every one of her own. except when she calls
upon a widow. while unmarried men possessed
OF mother or sisters permit them to leave
cards where etiquette does not compel per-
sona1 visit
OF course there are men who leave their duty
cards the week after they have been entertained
on a day when they know their hostess Is not
at home-a bit of finesse which woman wouid
not dare allow herself without excellent excuse
This is better than to be in the plight OF a Ne"
York man who removed his topcoat at the
same time another man did, remarked to HIM
what a great bore the affair was, received an
emphatic assent and preceded him to their
hostess only to have her turn to the man VINO
followed and present him as her husband
New Years Day has ceased 10 be a date When
all the men 10 city pay their social debts,
going from house TO house in perfect moos and
awakening on the second day in the year with
bad headaches and unhappy recolections OF
decoctions mixed by unskiIled fingers and hand
ed to them with q smile. few years ago
man who desired to make the acquaintance OF
a family calledN6n New Years Day. Now few
follow this old custom and almost as lew Keep
open house on New Years Day to friends new
old or prospective who would assemble TO drink
their health.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
MAKING CALLS;
LEAVING CARDS
MEN INCLINED TO SHIRh
THIS SOCIAL DUTY.
Ills Much More Strictly ObserOed
IN England than m Nezc
York NoUodGys.
Ry NJ ". Mount.

The custom of calling is to-day measured pS
-,uor the same standards as those WHICH oo-
,sine5 I'm the days when cur great-granonolnels
indicated the social regard in Wnich they heio
the neighbors upon whom they caned oy ihe
Number of horses which drew the Iafnhy coach
,,non occasion of formal visiting SIX horses
proclaiuled the visited one to be person en-
titled TO much distinction while four horses were
evidence of little less consideration and merely
q pair showed either a great degree OF intimacy
hetyvean hostess and guest intimation on
the part of the latter that such lntlnacy "aS
not deemed wholly desirable
The family coach. with its enbazoned paneis'
SIS stems for slow and stately descent and Its
.bree pairs of prancing horses, has faded INTO
,ha Y,ists of the past and its functions nave
heen us,,rDed by bits of pasteboard used with
such skill as to serve the same purpose IN iliah
tng social distinctions did equine tours ana
SKIES in the long ago.
Yet notwithstanding greater freedom III 'he
use of cards and the assistance of the teiephohe
IN making intimate visits. formal calls are pald
with the same punctiliousness To-Day as unes
we're when man paid his ceremonial calls ac-
oornpanied by his outriders or a booyguard-
American men have in more recent years ac-
,uired the reputation Of being less careful in
resnect TO paying duty calls than are men OF
other nafionalities but for this state OF
affairs are found which relieve q large proper
,ion Of them from the slITr Of being rude Ihere
Is here a small leisure class. so that the pre-
ronderance Of social obligations lies with men
whose time is so occupied as TO make after
noon calling at the accepted hour, between and
6 O'Clock weIlnigh impossible The EFFORT 10
nav such calls in New York is made ADDITION
slly difficult by the great distances 10 be ira
-ereed from one place TO another. Formerly
busy man paid his calls in the evening at ABOUT
Q o'clock or on Sunday afternoons Now an
occasional Sunday afternoon is all the opportu-
,,,,,- most ,,en have for paying social obga-
Sons
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
"REDEEMED" FOR SLOW DEATH.

,,-no, tho caravans of shackled slaves reach
oos+ ,bev are redeemed" one phllo-
sonbicaI agent of the government descrloea 'he
nrosess of making contracts WIN 'he hd'i'e9-
This agent portrayed the picture OF d Pi'Sus
government buying up slaves through speciai
ogents In order to save them from HE OF
slavery and ''redeemins" them by converting
49,, into contract Iaborers' for service in St
Tbomas There would be no slave trade or
.t,,,as tn redeem It Is alleged, IL Portugal
baa not been willing 10 redeem" them in this
fashion.
Tbis Is the way the redemption is accom-
n,,shed. according to Mr.. Nevinson: "A day or
tuo before the steamer Is due TO depart for ST.
Thomas a kind of ripple seems TO pass over the
etagnant coast town. Officials stir, clerks oeSin
to crawl about with pens. the long. low building
called the Tribunal opens door or two. win
dow or two and looks quite busy. Then. early
one morning the Curador arrives and takes his
seat IN the long, low room as representing the
henefcent government of Portugal. Into his
presence the slaves are herded in gangs by the
official agent They are ranged UP, and in ac-
cordance with the decree of January -. 1898,
they are asked whether they so willingly as
laborers to st. Thomas. No attention is paid to
their answer. In most cases no answer is given
Not the slightest notice would be taken of a re-
fusai. The legal contract for five years labor
ON st. Thomas or Princes Island Is then drawn
out and also, in accordance with the decree.
each slave receives tin disk with his number,
the initials of the agent who secured him and
in some cases the name of the island to which
he Is destined. He also receives In tin cylin-
der q copy Of his register, containing the year
Of the contract, his number and name. his birth
place his chiefs name, the agents name and
observations of which last 1 have never
any.
Exactly the same ritual is observed for the
women as for the men. The disks are hung
around their necks, the cylinders are slung at
their sides. and the natives believing them to be
some kind of fetch white mans ju-ju.' are
rather pleased. All then ranged up and
marched out again, either to the compounds.
where they shut in or straight to the pier
where the lighters which to take them to
the ship lie tossing upon the waves"
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
CRUEL WHITE SPECTATORS.

ct have heard many terrible sounds" Efr
Nevinson added TO his account, "bu- never
anything hellish the outbursts o. IaGgh-
ter with which the ladies and gentlemen Of the
first class watched that slave worsan's strug-
giles up the deck.
"A couple OF days later. while the steamer
anchored off Ambr1z. one OF the slaves
tried 20 escape. Soon We could see his black
head as he swan clear of the ship and struck
out southwark. apparently trusting to the cur
rent to bear him toward the coast For he
was q native of village near Ambriz and
knew what he was about The sea was full Of
sharks and 1 could only hope that they might
devour him before man could seize him again
Already boat had been hastily dropped into
the water and was in pursuit, manned by two
black men and white They rowed fast over
the oily water and the swimmer struggled IN
vain The chase lasted barely ten minutes and
they were upon him. Leaning over the side OF
the boat. they battered him with the oars and
sticks till he was quiet. Then they dragged
him into the boat and laid him along the bot
tom He brought to the gangway and
dragged. dripping and trembling. up the stairs.
The doctor and the government agent, who ac-
companies each shipIoad of slaves. took him
down into the hold. and there he chained
up to a post staple so that he might cause
no trouble again.
Once the island the slave looks forward
to the end of the five years period for which
his "coT act calls. and the repatriation which |
he inlagnes may follow its termination. but il !
he survives the period il is only discover that
the contract is to be renewed" and that
there never is any repatriation.
In the dripping forests Of the islands and
the almost inaccessible mountains the slaves
constantly trying to escape \ planter
told me that many of them do not realize what
island is They hope TO be able 10 make
their way home on foot When they discover
that the terrible foams all around them
they turn into the forest and build little huts.
from which they continually moving away
Here and there they plant Ii lie patches OF
maize or other seed which they steal from the
plantations which - secretly conveyed 10
them by the other slaves.
Women well escape from time to
time and Join these fine indicators Of freedom
in the woods but. chiefly owing TO the deadly
climate and the extreme hardship Of their life,
the people do not increase in numbers The
cotton cloths in which they escape so TO pieces
very soon and they all live in entire nakedness.
except when the women take the trouble 10
string together few plaintain leaves as aprons
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29

latter figure is rarely paid. however In tho
case of particularly attractive young woman
whose fate is not likely to be that of enforced
outdoor labor. the price Is according to her at
tractiveness- 1t costs about $50. including all
taxes and fees, to get the slaves 10 the islands
The planters on the islands pay the dealers
from s130 to $3.50 a head delivered in good con-
dition The slave ships. which also serve as
mail boats. make two trips a month between
the islands and the coast In the course OF the
year more than four thousand contract labor
eTs" are separated from their families or friends
and taken to the islands against their will
On the steamer which Mr. Nevinson went
10 the cocoa islands We're 273 slaves besides
their small children They We're received at two
or three different ports along the coast. where
the steamer stopped AT Novo Redondo a batch
of eighty was taken The sea was a little
rough. and the tossing Of the lighter made the
slaves sick that they had to be dragged to
the gangway and assisted in getting their fsAr
upon 1t from the gunwaIe of the lighter rising
and falling alongside The assistance was
sometimes in the form Of blow Among the
slaves was woman who held in her arms a
baby two or three days old She was so weak
from her experience of two or three days prevf-
ous combined with the seasickness, that when
the lighter rose to the foot of the ladder she
was never quite able TO catch it. and time after
time was thrown violently back again into the
lighter. AT last the men managed to haul her
up and set her foot on the ladder. Then they
struck her sharply to make her mount Tight
ening the cloth that held the baby to her back
and gathering UP her dripping blanket over one
arn she began the ascent on all fours. Almost
at once her knees caught in the blanket and shs
fell fiat against the sloping stairs. In that po-
sition she wriggled up them like snake. clutch
ing at each stair with her arms above her head.
At last she reached the top. bruised and bleed
ing. soaked with water her blanket lost. most
of her gaudy clothing torn off hanging in
strips On her back the little baby squeaked
feeb1y like a blind kitten. But, swinging il
around TO her breast, the woman walked mod
estly and without complaint to her place in the
row with the others
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
FLETCHERISM EXTOLLED.

The man who more than any one else has insist
ed on the value of thorough masticaton is Horace
Fletcher. At Yale two years ago a band OF nine
students volunteers, undertook experiment 10
test the virtues OF Mr. Fetchers rules Of thorough
mastcation. The rules which the men followed
were two: First, thoroughly 10 mastIcate every
morsel of food, with the attention however not on
the masticatton itself but upon the taste and en-
toyment OF the food. The direction OF the attention
on enjoyment rather than the mechanical act of
mastcation is more important than might appear
first. for II has been shown by actual experiment
made by Pawlow with dog in St Petersburg that
appetite Is the principal Means Of exciting gastric
juice Consequently those who make a bore OF
eating by counting the ''chews'' timing them
selves or aytidcIaIy holding the food in the mouth
beyond the time it would naturally be swallowed
gain not benefit, but injury, from the practice The
nine men were warned to make effort to prevent
swallowing as much they warned not 20
bolt their food. Thus swallowing became. like
breathing purely involuntary act. The second
rule was TO follow absolutely and implicitly the
leadngs of appetite, both to the amount of food
eaten and the kinds of food chosen.
The experiment lasted five months. and during
this period the almost doubled their physical
endurance as shown by tests made by DR.. Ander-
son in the Yale gymnasium. AS the men regarded
themselves as perfectly well and healthy specimens
to start with, such unsupported increase in
efficiency a startling to them IL TO
and others who watched the experiment But that
the improvement real is, think. not ques-
toned by any who observed the experiments
AS the reason for the improvement in
durance there many possible explanations. It
probably largely connected with the change
in the character of the food eaten. The practice
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
Too MUCH MEAT EATEN.

While there is serious question whether HiaIi
was originally or ought TO be absolutely Veee-
tartan, modern science has made 1t clear tnat ne
eats far too much ntrogenous food, such as meat
and eggs This is particularly true III Aniciica'
That reduction in the of meat ana eggs is
Enthusiastically right beneficial has been thor
oushlv shown by Professor Chittenden in his eN-
nerinent with United States soldiers ana falo
students. Professor Chittenden's work has put
the science cf dietetics on an entirely new DaS.S'
1t has however nothing in common Win INC
vegetarian cult. except that it advocates a feouc
ton in the of flesh foods This result is di-
rectly at variance with the common practice IN
America.
We have all been taught that meat gives
strength and trainers for athletic events nave al
ways given a great deal of beef to their men. IN
order to test the correctness OF this opinion and
to test the comparative endurance of those VINO
meat and eggs in abundance and those "io
used them spartngly not at ALL an experiment
was made with forty-nine subjects. about half Of
whom were Yale students and half other persons
in various parts of the country. These tests were
gymnastic tests OF various kinds the most str1k-
ing being. perhaps, what is called deep knee pehu
ing, which consists in stopping and raising one s
self again. without stopping, as often as possible
1t was found that those who used meat and eggs
freely could ir few cases do the deep knee bending
more than five hundred times In fact, some or
them tainted before this figure could be reacheo.
and others found themselves physically unaoie 10
rise 10 the standing posture after reaching
much smaller figure SO fatigued were they that
they had TO be aided in descending the gymnasium
stairs after the test, for the first step when
their knees bent strength left was insufficient
10 prevent their falling.
Though the heavy meat and egg caters except
In two or three cases, were usually unable TO do
the deep knee bending more than five hundred
times the case altogether different with
the other group who these foods sparingly
None Of the latter believed themselves injured by
the test and not only most OF them able
10 exceed the five hundred mark. but large NUM-
Der exceeded one thousand. One Yale student VINO
had eaten no meat all for two years did the
deep knee bending eighteen hundred times, after
which instead of having to be assisted downstairs.
as did his meat eating competitors, he ran sew
eral times around the gymnasium track and walked
I'D East Rock and back.
New-York tribune., 1907-12-29
FIVE THOUSAND BENDS.

Another subject did the deep knee bending twen-
ty-four hundred times without injury. ThiS was
until recently the record, but a few weeks ago
another man. who had practised thorough masti-
cation and had abstained from meat and the
cessive of eggs. accomplished the almost in
credible record OF five thousand times
Few persons realize whether their endurance is
great small until 1t is actually tested. We are
far more conscious Of our strength than of
endurance. and strength and endurance must not
be confounded- The subjects in the experiments
which have been mentioned were not in general
any stronger by reason OF the thorough mastica-
ton and the lowering OF the consumption OF meat
and eggs. but their endurance conspicuously
greater To distinguish strength and endurance
may say that the strength OF muscle is
measured by the utmost force it can exert once.
Most OF us are far more interested In improving
endurance than in improving strength.
We do not care be Sandows, but do wish
be workers A workngman in factory in New
Jersey who had taken up the practice of thorough
mastcaton. wrote 10 me that instead of suffer
ing the fatigue at the end of the day which his
fellow yqorkmen felt, he left the factory practi-
caJly as fresh as when he went to it
The benefits which workingmen might obtain
from the practice of rational detetics as we'll as
other hygiene. in ridding themselves OF fatigue
and sickness, incalcuabIe
Incaicuable too, would be the total saving to
the working people resulting from general adop-
tion OF diet principles which tend TO the dimin-
ished of the more expensive foods and to the
reduction in quantity Of all foods.
The workinSman, therefore, more perhaps than
any other person in the community, should take
an active interest and active part in the modern
great movement TO improve the national health.
President Roosevelt has said, "Our national health
is physically. greatest national asset. TO pre-
the national vlgor should be q matter of
patriotism
Copyright 1907. by Charities and The Commons New
York;