davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
Where He,d BE Safe.

A lawyer was talking about the late
Samuel G. t. Dodd, the Standard Oil
lawyer, whose salary from the great
corporation was 100000 year.
Mr.. Dodd," said the lawyer, "had
an excellent legal talent. He it was,
you. know, who organized the Stan
dard Oil Trust. What further endear-
ed him to Mr.. Rockefeller were his
strict views on the observance Of the
Sabbath.
They tell story about Dodd when
he was struggling practitioner in
Franklin.
There was Franklin minister
who went cunning good deal, and
altogether rather sporting char
acter.
"At little church supper one night
the minister was boasting about his
knowledge of horses and hunting, his
Workmanship and so on, when Dodd
interrupted him.
" You're good sportsman, are
your he said.
" Well said the minister, not sus-
recting any trap, i am not bad
sportsman, if do say 1t myself
Yet said Dodd, If were bird,
l could hide where there'd be no dan
ger of your potting me-
% Where would you hide?' asked
the minister.
I'D hide, Dodd answered. in your
study" Washington Star.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12

large hotel, constituting solid OBJ;
struction, held out for while, but in
little while the sand wave built up a
short distance In the rear until the
level of the hotel roof was reached.
Then the wave advanced and the build
ing was engulfed. In this region the
land gained on the sound $50 feet in
ten years A fishing village on the
northern end of Hatteras Island was
buried in the same way, and what, at
the time of the Civil War was "The
Great Woods" is covered by sand and
not stick shows where the island for
est was.
.The checking of these moving
Dunes" according to Professor Cobb,
presents problem of increasing i'm.
portance, not only to the inhabitants of
these sand keys, but to the navigators
of the inland waterways as we'll, and
1t is of interest to know that its solu-
ton Is at hand, and that the encroach-
ment of the sand upon the land and
upon the sounds may be effectually
stopped"
Owing to the fortunate chance that
the north winds which pile up the sand
here blow only in the winter, and that
the spring rains are usually of light In
tensity, especially on Hatteras Island,
the solution of the problem is rendered
comparatively easy. In 1886, Professor
Cobb began his experiment. He found
it simple matter to plant grasses and
shrubbery in the late winter and early
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12

Without glasses, he, cuts his friends
in the street. On this point he be-
comes very sensitive. Beyond these
inconveniences he does not suffer, in
low and moderate degrees of vision at
least, and in compensation he dis
2enses with glasses for resuIsfs n old
age, which he would have been forced
to wear If his sigh. had been normal
The wonderful old lady of ninety that
one reads about, who can read the
finest print without spectaoles, is no
miracle at all, but simply a myope
In hypermetropia the eye is too short
In young life, In low and moderate
degrees All least, there is no short
sight. Objects can be seen at great
er distance than normally. The pa
tent is long sighted. But, alas! here
his advantage ends. In nearly all
cases there Is pain or headache un-
less glasses are constantly worn, and
reading with the naked eye is diff
cult Or impossible
In the third class, astigmatism,
the eye is irregular. The cornea. the
transparent part in front, Is more
curved in one direction than in an.
ether. All objects, far or near, are
blurred. Like the hypermetrope, the
astigmatic patient usually suffers Sc
verely when without glasses.
What is the outlook for these I'M
fortunate people, who, under the con-
dit.ons of modern life, are becoming
ssmore and more numerous? Fortunate
1 ly,s a remedy has been found. Err
rors OF refraction, as we have seen,
are due to a misshape Of the eye. Can
! this malformation be reetified? 1t
cannot. The eye is an elaatic ball,
Isflled with semi-fluid. The shape
4 could no more be changed than could
be the shape of a tennis ball.
Nevertheless, there is another way
of accomplishing the desired object.
In the normal eye rays of light focus
naturally on the retina, the sensitive
pant at the back. In the abnormal
eye the retina does not correspond in
position to the focusing point. Though
hit is not possible to shift the position
of the retina, 1t is possible to alter
the position of the focusing point.
kThat trlis can be done depends on the
| fact that just behind the pupil is a
ilittle body called the lens. The lens
is modifiable in shape, and on that
shape depends the position of the
focus.
1t is now several years since DR..
.Darier, OF Paris, showed that the lens
hcould be made more convex, thus
Throwing the focus. further forward
and curing hypemetropia. In 1904
the opb,halmic surgeon of the Bat
tersea Park Hospital London, went
further, and exhibited a score of cases
OF all kinds of error of refraction in
persons who had been completely
cured of glasses.
AS the cure is now an accomplish
ed fact, and as the process is pain
less and safe, there Is hope TO the
great army of spectacle wearers. That
is to say, for those who use glasses
because Of errors of refraction, myo-
pia, hypermetropia and astigmatism.
For the weakened focusing power of
age nothing has yet been done.-Pall
Mall Gazette.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
DIFFERING DIETS.

One Mans Food Costs Some $4,000
in Seventy Years.
A mixed diet makes things a great
deal better all around. Oneapound Of
bread, one-third pound of lean meat,
and one-sixth of pound of butter
daily would supply almost the exact
ideal proportions. In seventy years.
$4,000 pounds of meat, and 1900
pounds of butter-62OO0 pounds in
all. costing, say, $4,000, says st. Mich
olas. i.
If man lived wholly on fish, he
would require eleven pounds a day,
or 275,0OO pounds in lifetime-say
a fish 10 feet long by 30 deep by 10
thick. If he lived on rice alone, he
would have to eat three pounds a
day, or $4,000 pounds in a lifetime
an amount which would furnish him
with about so per cent. more heat
than he had any use for. By combin-
ing fish and rice, however, as the
Chinese do, in the proportion of one
pound of the former and two OF the
latter, he could five very well. The
relative cost in this country would be
about 100000 for fish alone, $4,000
for rice alone, and $4,000 for the two
combined.
His hardest time, however, would
be when he tried to live on green
vegetables or fruits alone, avoiding
bread and beans, both of which play
such part In vegetarian bills of fare.
OF ordinary vegetables, such as beats,
cabbages. tomatoes. and the like, he
would have to eat twenty pounds dali
ly. OF fruits he would have to eat
thirty pounds daily, and even of po-
tatoes fifteen pounds daily.
On the other hand, two pounds Of
rye bread, two pounds of potatoes,
and a taste of fat, either animal or
vegetable. makes very cheap, we'll
balanced ration, costing only about
$1,000 in lifetime. Thousands of
Russian peasants live on just such a
diet
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
Tree. that Arc n Mystery.

California has one tree which is the
personificatlon of mystery. Found no
where else in the world, it had a mys-
FERROUS origin and thrives in region
of mystery.
The Mojava yucca is vegetable
freak, which has developed into spe-
cies. 1t has the characteristics of sey-
eral plants, to which no relationship
can be traced.
1t Is an endogen, yet its bark shows
concentric rings such as characterize
the eXogenous stems. 1t lives and
thriyes in great numbers In region
early devoid of vegetation, In a land
Of heat and thirst and barrenness.
Another tree in California which has
a peculiar personality is the creeping
oak of Monterey.
Nowhere In the vegetable kingdom
can be found so true representative
of monopoly. This tree is of gnarly
growth. Its limbs, like those of the
sycamore, bending aud twisting IN all
directions.
Wherever branch touches the earth
1t takes root and becomes, as it were,
another trunk, though still branch of
the main stem, drawing nourishment
both from the parent stem and from
the new source. In this manner the
tree is spread till it has taken posses
sion of five acres of ground and it is
still advancing.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
behind the rim..

The Weather Bureau forecasts have
become n national joke. In Washing
ton the clerks in the departments, when
they read In the morning paper that the
weather will be fair, very generally take
their umbrellas and rubbers with them.
for they expect rain. If the probabIli-
ties say warmer" they take their over
coats and wraps. Meanwhile the chief
Of the Weather Bureau strictly attends
to his social duties and can daily he
seen in the carriage provided by pa.
ternal Republican government or riding
in full hunting costume on a horse
which is kept at the Weather Bureau
stables. Graft would seem to have the
upper hand Of work In that department
of the government.
The Weather Bureau has now been
organized about thirty-six years, and IL
any scientific discovery about meteor
ology has been made the forecasts Ger.
talnly do not exhibit 1t.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12

The Colorado Desert, at the base of
the Sierra Nevada, like the Sahara,
bears signs of being the bottom of an
ancient sea or lake. These arid lands
of the United States are found In Utah,
oregon. California. Nevada and Art
iona. The Coast Mountains effectuol-
ly shut out from them the moisture
which otherwise might be precipitated
over these wastes. The lightest annu-
al rainfall in the United States is to be
found in this region, particularly in
Southern Arizona.
While these desert lands are NOT so
great in area as the Sahara, they are
OF sufficient size and Importance to
make their reclamation desirable. With
this end i'll view, the Federal Govern.
ment is spending millions in inaugu
rating one of the most extensive irri
CATION systems ever proposed. That
part of the Arizona desert upon which
the experiment has been tried has Civ
en- most encouraging results. Contem.
plating the immense fields now under
cultivation In some of the desert val.
leys the visitor finds it difficult to be-
lieve that once this WAS region Of
waste sands, superheatea air and prac-
tically rainless.
Digging out Railroads.
Difficulties with the sandy wastes
are encountered by the railway compa-
MES whose lines run through or skirt
the Western deserts. To the engineers
of these roads. 1.-THE sand seas present a
problem very different from that which
they show to the Agricultural Depart
ment. The railroads cannot, of course,
hope to cope successfully with the In
roads the sands make each year by
means of irrigating canals.
The winds keep the sand seas in con.
slant motion. In the course of year
this motion is very perceptible. The
yearly movement averages about eigh-
teen feet. Frequently the roads have
to be dug out of the sandy accumula-
ton, otherwise in the course of year
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
the railroad would be seriously OBJ
structcd


Some experiments made by Collier
Cobb, professor of geology in the Uni
Nerslty of North Carolina, show what
can be done to prevent damage by sand
ana wind. Professor Cobb selected
for his experiments some of the sand
reefs on the North Carolina coast, and
the result of his investigation was
hopeful. The investigations, however,
We're only experiments. naturally on a
diminutiye scale, but sufficiently illu-
minating to lead to a belief that with
governmental aid much of the wastes
on the North Carolina coast could be
made to flower with the prodigality of
the semi-tropics.
Along the Atlantic Coast.
During the winter the strong north
winds pile the sands up into great
dunes, which are moving steadily
southwark. These says Professor
Cobb. ARE best developed along the
Currltuck Banks, from Virginia as far
south as the Kill Devil Hills. These
wind ripples. started In sands exposed
by the removal of a strip of forest next
the shore, have grown in size to great
sand waves, which are advancing on
forests, fields and homes. AS the sand
wave has advanced it has taken up sew
eral feet Of the loose soil over which
1t has passed, undermining houses, lay
ing bare the roots of trees and expos
Ing the bones of the dead in the Gene
teries."
He relates that at Nag's Head, a
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
~~~oo

One Of the most difficult of the, prob
lens which confront modern engineers
are the menacing oceans Off sand
which in different parts of the world
are converting fields into deserts.,What
'errinc ravages can be caused by Il
vast sea of sand is perhaps best seen
IN Africa, but in England to small
extent and in the United States to IL
serious degree, there may be found
demonstrations of the sand plague
winch are, to say the least, disquIeting.
A grain of sand, torn away from the
granite rocks countless years ago by
tie great glacial drift, seems such an
lnhniteslmal object that proyerbially
II is the least visible thing in the
world, vet when it is united with in
Vulnerable other grains, and the whole
propelled by the winds, it becomes al
most impossible to stop the progress OF
the shifting mass. 1t pours down. over
a country, slowly, relentlessly, laying
waste everything. Buildings are under.
m'1ed, roads are obliterated and its
gruesome work once begun never
ceases ,,sr q
Egypt Not Away. Waste.
Egypt was not always the sandy
saste the modern tourist finds 1t. Yet
II the visitor to the Nile country makes
journey to the Sphinx he Willy find
mat remarkable piece of sculpture has
been partly obscured by the sand
waves which now cover upper Egypt.
Inc Sahara, the greatest desert In
the world, was. according to the best
scientific opinion, once an immense in
land sea. In the time of that sea the
climate in upper Africa, indeed the
whole surface of the northern part OF
the continent, was very different to
what 1t now is. At present the Sahara
makes the climate for the Mediterra-
mean and Central Europe, and while
this is agreeable enough, the gradual
expansion of the great ocean of sand,
which is by degrees tapping the valleys
OF Algeria. threatens to lay waste final
~ to the coast. The Atlas Mountains
alone appear to have held the monster
In check.
Various propositions have been made
concerning the African desert, and one
of them, scheme of inundation, is al
most too chimerical, if in effect it
would not be mishievous, to deserve
serious attention. To stem the tide of
sand In this vast ocean by ordinary
means is impossible, and probably ma
ture will be left to repair her damage
In her own way.
1t is the struggling vegetation on the
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12

+
edge of the desert which Is responsible
for the tardy strides of the sand. And
1t Is from SO casual hint that sue
cessful experiments have been made
with brush and grass on the North
Carolina coast, where the sand enemy
has grownto be as terrible as night
mare, only far more potent of destruc-
tion. ~
foundation mt Southport.
While parts of the English coast are
being washed away and eaten up by
the sea, other parts are being added to
with rapidity. Although the inroads
of sand may be natures way of max
Ing compensation for what she has else
where deprived the country, the inhab-
itants of Southport, for instance, do
not view the Situation with any salts
faction.
Within the last few years some mil
lions of tons of sand have accumul; ted
on the shores at Southport. The wind
is mainly responsible for the over
whelming character of the sand. AT
recent meeting of the Southport
Chamber of Commerce it was stated
that unless q new channel was cut al
most Immediately the town would in a
very few years be four miles from
deep water. So far as the filling IN of
the channel is concerned, the blame
must be put upon the sea. However,
1t will cost 100000 to dredge this new
channel, and the necessity for the work
Is apparent. The pier ut Southport is
nearly a mile in length, but with deep
water receding at the present rate the
pier soon will become useless. s
Esplanade Overwhelmed.
But this is a matter OF commerce.
With the overwhelming of the espla-
made, or seawalk, at the same place,
which has been accomplished by the
sand and wind in a very thorough
manner, an equally serious problem is
encountered. This cannot be gotten rid
of by such simple means as dredging
channel. The sand must be removed,
and very pretty problem it presents.
In some places the magnificent rallied
esplanade lies under five or six feet of
sand. Not only has the hayward sand
covered the walk, but has accumulated
In dunes between the esplanade and
the sea, effectively shutting out the
view.
Some Imaginative geographers have
Affected to believe in gfrdle of des-
rerts around the world. BY means of a
specially drawn map this phenomena
is apparent. Following curved line
1T Is seen that the great deserts of
ASIA Africa and the lesser sandy
wastes of North America seem to bear
geographical relation to each other.
Like Lavater's great circle of fire
around the Pacific Ocean, this semi
circle Of deserts at first sight is very
convincing, but that it is more than a
remarkable coincidence remains to be
established.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12

"How do you like my new hat.
Louise?"
81 think 1t is beautiful, Lucy"
II am SO glad you like 1t. You have
such excellent taste"
"Yes but er-I think that pink bow
would look more chic on the right side
instead Of the left"
Really, L"
"And white bird would be much
more becoming than a gray bird"
"a white bird? How odd you talkl
Why"
And those beads! In my opin-
bn--'
: Never mind your opinion. 1 don't
care to hear it. If didn't know any
fore about millinery than you do, I
could wear sunbonnet. So there!"
And now people wonder why Lucy
find Louise don't speak when they
rreet.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
DETECTIVE SIGHT.
Malformations Of the Eye Cause Many
Defective Visions.

6VISSktNS ViolOIos
Advanced civilization brings its
penalties, and defective eyesight in
an ever-increasing proportion is one
OF them. There are 100000 people
I in England who wear or should wear.
glasses, and this number >does not in
clude the detective sight Of age. Mod
ern science. more especially in this
country, France and America, is COM
ing to the rescue. 1t has been found
that a large percentage of what is
technically known as errors Of refracs
ton can be cured. The defect de-
ponds on a misshape of the eyeball.
n myppia the eye is too long. The
sufferer is short sighed and also
near sighted. That is to say, he can
see fine print ait very short distance
and much more distinctly than per-
son with normal vision. Beyond a
certain distance the world is to him
perpetual fog. People, II he sees
them at all, are misty, liks ghosts.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
! IN Tru. Hunter. Born.

r.
Pierced BY the Masm Of q bitter cold
day,
Facing the gale on lone, bleak
shore,
Oramped in your blind on reed.
marged bay,
While from afar sound the oceans
wild roar.
Weary and dreaw and lone and for
lorn,
Yet loving it a1i-At true hun. er-born.
Stationed alone in wilderness drear,
Watching a trail thro the gloom OF
dawn,
Chilled to the marrow, your eyesight
ablear.
Watching and waiting for buck, doe
OF fawn.
Watching and waiting and praying for
morn.
Yet loving it ail--if true hunter-born
Thxashing about through the frost,
bronzed brush, -z
Hampered by bush, bricr, tangle and
log,
watchful. expecting each moment a
flush.
Striving to keep wary eye on your
dog,
Mailing your luck. But2a ng for your
soorn,
You're loving 1T all--if true hunter
born.
xviii cumback Ludlow in Forest and
Stream.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
Two Of a Kind.

Rustic-well. Miss, be fair maze.
ed wi the way o that ere fisherman
that be!
Parsons Daughter-why is that,
Carver?
Rustic-The ovid fool has been sit
tin there fur the last six hours and
hasn't caught nothin'.
Parsons Daughter-How do you
know that?
Rustic-I'ye bee a.w.tchin' O he the
whole time-Punch.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
The Expected.

The waitress in California restau-
Pant had been informed that her little
ainlng investment had panned out
issillion.
"Are you surprlsed?' they asked her.
Not at ALL" she responded, laying
upide her apron. "That's what I was
sHalting or."-Philadelphia Ledger.
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
spring and have them gain firm foot
ting before the strong winds came.
Trees as Wind Breaks.

Trees as Wind Breaks.
He planted the seed of the loblolly
pine on the back of dune and covered
the area with brush cut from nearby
road in process of making. The brush
served not only to break the wind, but
to conserve the moisture in the sands,
To-day, he says, from that modest be-
ginning of 81 years ago, there is for
est of several acres. The European
plan of building barrier dune by
means of wind breaks, he says, has
been tried along the coast, but always
without success.
1t having been proved that the sand
seas may be conquered, it may be re-
garded as certain that. in time human
ingenuity will reclaim every large arid
waste in the world. In another genera
ton, perhaps, there will not be des.
ert within the boundaries of the United
States. When once the way to solve
the problem has been shown, enterprise
will probably attempt to conquer the
Sahara and perchance even the great
GObl,
Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
The. Trusts ana Railways,

The report of the Commissioner of
Corporations on the petroleum Industry
to President Roosevelt has Just been
made public. Through the evidence OBJ
tanned the fact is arrived at that the
Standard OIL Trust, Through scandal
Gus railway determinations" and 9TH
err unlawful devices, has secured and
maintained an Exclusive domination
Of the petroleum industry" The trust
controls, 1t is said, not only the whole
sale, but also the retail trade in oil.
There is nothing new In this, as Tor
years the evidence has been In posses
sion of the Department of Justice, fur
nlshed by those who tried to compete
with the trust. The wonder Is that,
knowing the guilt of the trust, there
has been no attempt until lately to
break up this unlawful combination,
and even now the criminal section of
the antitrust law Is Ignored by the
administration. One of the trust mag
mates in jail would do more to break
up this plunderlng Of the people than
all the fines they can be made to pay