davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1908-01-11

19O2-19O6. LIS. and Prussia, 19O0-13o4, 2.U1,
are the rates.
Confronted by these figures. mine owners
deny that in the American industrial
scheme human life is held any cheaper
than abroad. They point to enormous
sums Of money put into devices and sys-
TENS meant for safety. Thus the mine
at Monongah was considered to be one of
the safest In the country. and 1T was ar
gued that every precaution that human
knowledge could suggest had been
utilized; yet In an instant, in one roar
Ing blast of gas and coal dust. a messa ge
of horror was told that gave a fiendsh
jeer to what had been done to protect the
miners.
In the House. Representative Nc
Henry of Pennsylvania has just intro
duced bill which calls for the estab-
lishment in the Department of Com
merce and Labor of bureau OF mines
and mining. whose duty 1t shall be to
investigate all coal mine accidents and
supply monetary relief to sufferers, to
De supplied out of fund to he raised
Dy imposing tax of one cent on every
ton of coal mined in the United States
IN, This . looks to temporary relief. The
bill introduced into the Senate by Mr. Scott
or West Virginia goes even further
in Its aims. He asks the appointment
OF committee of investigation, three
senators and three representatives, who
shall not only investigate the recent
horrors and try to place the blame, but
also confer with experts in the hope
of finding some new system that will
reduce the danger in the future.
Authorities on the subject say that
the accidents result from unfamiliarity
with explosives used in mining. the
problem raised by dust and gas, and the
fac. that As the mines are bored deeper
AMI deeper into the earth the difficulties
of ventilation increase proportionately,
with the resulting likelihood of explosions.
The geological survey at Washington
wants to establish stations. where can
be tested the various explosives used in
the blasting of coal to determine their
safety in the presence of fire damp and
coal gas.
The explosives. will be projected by
mortar into vast boiler plate cylin.
der filled with gas. and their effects
carefully noted.
Ihere will also be experiments in rescue
work. One part OF a station will be fitted
as miniature mine and miners and
operators will be taught how to save
lives. 1t Is declared that hundreds OF
lives could be saved were 1t possible for
the rescue party to enter the mines imme-
diately. AS it is now fire damp often
their comrades are being suffocated or
burned to death. Government experts
have found an apparatus In Europe which.
worn by rescuers. enables them to en-
ter where there is gas. The use OF the
apparatus will be demonstrated.
appears. it probably falls far short Of
exposing the total number OF the deaths,
for 1t is only the big accidents that get
attention. Minor catastrophes. taking
OF only couple of men, are daily incl
dents of American coal minii.G. and
born }iHT iS' i H'"s ~ W WIi't i'sisiSase s'sae
Evening star., 1908-01-11

lean, skinny black Bedouins from interior
Arabia, who believe in Mahomet, ana
go through their prayers five times day.
There are black MohammedanS from So
maitland and black Christians from Abys-
ssinia. In addition there are Parsees. Hin
docs and Indian Mohammedans of various
shades of yellow and brown. A few OF the
Africans are woolly-headed. but more OF
them have wavy hair, and the hair OF the
women hang down in cork-screw curls on
both sides of their faces. OF these people
neither sex wears much clothing. The men
have a rag around the waist, and the
women wear only skirts which reach to
the feet.
The East Indians are everywhere. They
do the most of the retail business and
trading. and they are found peddiing on
every street corner. They dress accord
ing to their caste and religion. The Par
sees, who are fire. worshippers. wear black
preacher-like coats and tall hats OF the
style of an inverted coal scuttle. The In
dian Mohammedans wear turbanS and the
Hindoos wrap themselves up in great
sheets of white cotton. In addition there
are many Greeks and Italians. and not
few Persians. The English dress in white
and wear big helmets to keep off the sun.
Camels and Caravans.
This is the land of the camel. Caravans
are coming in and going out of the city
every day. They bring in bags of Mocha
|
goods and other supplies to the various
oases. There is a considerable trade with
Yemen and also with the tribes of south
eastern Arabia. There are always camels
lying in the market place, and one sees
them blubbering and crying as they are
loaded and unloaded. They are the most
discontented beasts upon earth. and are
as mean as they look. One hit at me this
afternoon as I passed 1t. and l am told
that they never become recOnciled to
their masters. Nevertheless. they are the
freight animals Of this part of the world.
and the desert could not get along with
out them. They furnish the greater part
of the milk for the various Arab settle
| ments. the people make their tents of
| camel's hair, and they are, in fact, the
eowa OF the desert. They are of many
, different breeds. and they vary as much
| in character as horses. There are some
| breeds that correspond to the percheron,
and the best among them can carry
half ton at load. There are others
| fitted only for riding and passenger travel.
| The ordinary freight camel makes only
| about three miles an hour, and eighteen
miles ia a good days work. The best
racing camels will travel twenty hours at
stretch. and will cover 100 miles in a
day. Seventy-flve miles in ten hours is
not an uncommon journey for dn Arabian
racer, and much better speed has been
made. AS to prices, an ordinary freight
Evening star., 1908-01-11

twice as high as Mount Washington. and
the tablaland of Mid is on the averags
more than a half mile above the sea.
South OF Mecca there are mountains over
5000 feet high, and the hills here at Alden
are about as high as the average elevation
of the Blue Ridge in Virginia.
Yemen. northeast of Alden, running
along the Red sea, has a fairly good rain
fall and climate. The same is true of
Oman and Muskat. The valley of Mcso-
potamia is watered by the Euphrates. and
is as fertile as Egypt; but the greater part
of the peninsula is as barren as the Sa-
hara.
The Land of Mocha Coffee.
The very best of our Mocha coffee is
shipped from Alden to the United States.
1t comes here on camels from the prov
'nce of Yemen. 1t is raised there by the
natives, each family having few bushes
about its house, and producing only enough
for home use and a little for trading
There are no big plantations and no cof-
fee factories. The berries are gathered
when ripe and dried in the sun. After this
they are put up in bales. and carried on
camelback over the hills to this place.
They are hulled between millstones
turned by hand and are then winnowed
and sorted for shipment. The latter work
Is done by the women, who look over each
grain carefully and take out the bad ones.
Labor is cheap, but the coffee has to go
through many hands. 1t pays toll to
the chiefs of the tribes who own the
country through which it is carried, and
as a result it must be sold at high prices.
For this reason We have limitations of
Mocha coffee from all parts of the world
During my stay on the plantations of
Brazil l have seen them label bags as
Mocha; and Guatemala and other coffees
are sold under the same name. Just now
they are bringing coffees from Ceylon and
Java to Alden and transshipping them
here. They lie in the warehouses for
few weeks, and then go forth remarked,
and perhaps rebagged, as Arabian Mocha.
The English at Alden.
This port of Alden has belonged to John
Bull for something like sixty-eight years
He took possession of it in 1889. and later
on gobbled up the island of Perrin in the
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb That island is
about hundred miles from here, and the
two places practically control the entrance
to the Red sea and the SueZ canal. AS
for Alden, it is the Gibraltar of this part
of the world, as we'll one of the great
est of the British coaling stations. Some
thing like 5000 steamers and native craft
call at it every year. The harbor is ex-
cellent, and the outer entrance is more
Evening star., 1908-01-11
Bluing Of Lumber.
rom American Industrie.

FROM American Industries. :
The forest service has undertaken OK.
periments at Bogalusa, La, with the OBJ
ject of rendering lumber immune from
the attacks of bluing. thereby stopping
what at present is a serious loss
Bluing Is due to the growth OF low forms
OF fungi. all of which probably belong to
the genus Ceratostomella- This plant IS
too low In the scale OF life to produce true
seeds, but as a substitute 1t produces MI
croscopic. organisms called spores, which,
when ripe are carried away by the wind
in countless numbers.
The air of forests. and especially around
many lumber yards, is so infested with
such spores that when timber is placed IN
the yard to dry it Is infected with them.
If the timber happens to be moist and
possesses necessary food to support the
life OF the plant the spores Immediately
germinate and send little threads, or hy-
phae, into the tissues.
Their action decomposes the sap and
causes the wood to become discolored
The deterioration in value OF lumber on
account of this pest amounts to thou
sands OF dollars each year.
Evening star., 1908-01-11
The People of Alden.

This is my second visit to Alden. My
first was sixteen years ago, when l stop
ped here on my way around the world.
do not see that the town has changed
and | doubt whether it has any more peo-
Evening star., 1908-01-11

was edouble that of 1905 and that the
total for 1907 will fall not far short or
tripling ii.
Putting the proposition in another way.
it is found that the death list for the
last six years is greater than Tor the
preceding eleven years.
This increase Is not only absolute, but
Evening star., 1908-01-11
Written for The Star.

Written Tor The Star.
- INCREASING in frequency. in horror
and in the number o. victims that
each Gins, mine accidents have
~ reached the point where they vir-
tually defy human precautions.
Man has learned how to make ocean
travel safe. He has constructed ships
that will keep afioat even after a rock
has rent huge gap in the hull. He has
safeguarded railroad travel SO that the
number of fatalities is slight considering
the volume of travel. He can go up in
balloons and still return in safety to earth
TO tell about his trip. Everywhere there
Is progress In the protection of human
life save in mines.
The man who goes down into the bow
els of the earth TO earn his livelihood is
no better off than he was a century ago;
in fact. the increase of horrible fatalities
indicates that he undefgoes greater dan
ger.
Seventeen days in December of last
year saw four mine accidents whose total
harvest of death was $40.
First came the catastrophe at Fayette
City. Pa, where thirty-four were sacr-
feed. Four days later the entire country
shuddered at the horrible news from Mo
nongah. w. Va, where 334 miners, caught
Dy All txpiSSiOIi. gave up HE III
ible tortures. Atop o. that came the Bir-
mingham. Ala. incident. where sixty
more unfortunates were shifted suddenly
into the great beyond. and while res
cuers were dragging out the dead bodies
fro,l this underground charnel house, an
other explosion took place, this time at
Jacobs Creek. in Pennsylvania. This last
horror addeu 2lo TO the death list for sew
enteen days.
The most discouraging feature of this
frightful series of slaughters is the fact
that all took place in mines where every
effort had been made 10 protect the men
and where IL was supposed the danger
had been reduced to a minimum.
Pennsylvania. Alabama and West Vir-
ginia. all important mining centers. each
has laws drafted by experts with the
purpose Of guarding the lives of the
miners. II. in spite of these protective
measures. disasters of such terrible con-
sequences could occur. II Is fearful to
think what will continue to happen N
and no considerable efforts have been
made TO less IN its perils.
Worst Conditions Here.
Conditions seem TO be worse in the
United States than anywhere else in the
world. In this country the percentages
of death have steadily mounted In the
last few years. whereas abroad they show
a steady decrease.
Exact information is possible on this
point, for in the horror of recent trage-
dies, and actuated by desire to find a
remedy, Secretary Garfield of the Interior
Department assigned George OTIS Smith,
director of the geological survey; Joseph
Holmes. chief Of the technologic branch.
and Walter o. Smelling to find out the
Evening star., 1908-01-11
RipING CAr1EIo WHICH Go 100 TILES A DAY

than three miles wide The inner waters
have been SO dredged that steamers OF
twcnty-siX feet can go everywhere, ana
there is room enough for all the vessels
tha. pass through the canal to anchor
here at one time.
Alden is strongly fortified. The town
stands on a volcanic isthmus, and it is
guarded by broad ditch. which has been
cut out of the solid rock. 1t has gar
rison of 5000 or 1900 men, guns of the
latest pattern, and no one knows how
many subterranean and submarine mines.
A Desert City.
1 wish 1 could show you the town as
it lies before me. 1t is the sorriest city
l have ever seen. There is nothing to
compare with it, except Iquiqu, on the
nitrate coast of South America. and
Iquiqui is a Paradise to it. Imagine a
great harbor of sea green water. the
shores of which rise almost abruptly into
ragged mountains of brown rock and
white sand. There is not blade of grass
to be seen, there are no trees, and even
the cactus and sage brush of our Ameri-
can desert are absent. The town is With
out vegetation. 1t is as bare as the bones
of the dead camels in the desert behind
it. and it's tropical sun beats down out
of a cloudless African sky. Everything
is gray and dazzling white. The houses
on the sides of the hills are white, the
rocks throw Edck Inc rays VI lllC sun,
AMI the huts upon their sides are of the
same gray color as themselves.
The city looks thirsty and dry. 1t Is
dry. There is only a well or SO in the
place. and these, / am told. the English
bought of their owners for something
like 81 100000. Almost all of the water
used is condensed from the sea, and fresh
water always brings it's price. There ara
no streams anywhere within miles. The
towr is situated in the crater Of an ex-
tinct volcano, and there is one great de-
preston nearby in which some famous
stone tanks were made thousand or
so years ago. These tanks are so big
that if they were cleaned out they might
hold 3O,OOOO0O gallons of water. AS It is,
they have now a capacity of only 100000
gallons. The water is caught when it
rains. and is sometimes auctioned out to
the highest bidder. The receipts go to
the English government, and a good rain
may bring in fifteen or twenty thousand
dollars or more.
The People of Alden.
This is my second visit to Alden. My
first was sixteen years ago, when l stop
ped here my way around the world.
do not see that the town has changed
and l doubt whether it has any more peo-
Evening star., 1908-01-11

nature and causes of the disasters in the
United States and compare them with the
reports from aoroad
The report just submitted shows the
shocking fact that despite ell the new
PR cautions taken by mine owners and the
enactment of safeguarding laws, the
number of deaths from accidents in 1906
Evening star., 1908-01-11

it is also relative. showing that despite
new remedial laws the risk upon work in
the mines is increasing in leaps and
bounds. until. taking into account the
number of men employed in mining it is
infinitely more dangerous than, for In
stance, railroading or working in the big
steel mills, both of which are call
Evening star., 1908-01-11

plack total for 1907 is reached it cannot
be less than 4.5O
Thus In France. from 1901 to 1908, the
percentage was 81. though when the COM
putation for 1906 is obtainable and the
Calais disaster with its record of l.06U
deaths is included the total will ascend.
For Belgium. 19O2-1906. 100; Great Britain,
Evening star., 1908-01-11

ings where a high rate OF insurance is
exacted.
A comparison of the figures shows a
constant increase. In 1895 the perez Mt
age of deaths for each one thousand
men employed in the mines was 2.6. In
1906 it amounted to $40, and when the
Evening star., 1908-01-11
Copyright, 1907, by Frank G. Carpenter)

ADEN, Arabia.
r AVE you ever heard what some
one said to the Englishman
who boasted that the sun never
set on John Bulls possession?
Evening star., 1908-01-11
Different View.

From the Baltimore American
Weather Sharp-"I don't believe we are
going to have any severe frosts this
year"
Actor Friend-"I bet you haven't been
trying it on the road lately"
Evening star., 1908-01-11

pie than it had then. The population is
about 10000, and it is made up of all the
nations and tribes common to the Indian
ocean, 1t contains Arabs, Africans, Jews,
Portuguese and East Indians There are
Evening star., 1908-01-11

about 1000 Europeans, and in this num-
ber are the merchants, officials and SOL
diers.
The majority of the people are Arabs and
the prevailing color is black. There are tall,
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05
Lucky In One Way.

"The late Nalerian Gribayedoff," said
a Chicago art editor, was one of the
first American newspaper sketch art
lists. On that account he leaves be-
hind him a famous name. AS Gribaye-
doff said himself the last time l Wis
tied him in Paris. his fame was due
not to his great artistic skill. but to
his luck in coming first. And he added,
with laugh, that it was always lucky
to come early and avoid the rush, in
stancing the case of a restaurant on
the Boule Mich. in the Latin quarter,
where Il young poet had Il large tureen
of soup spilled over his coat one even
ing. The waiter, in response to the
savage outcries of the poet, said good
naturally:
"'Oh, well. you needn't alarm your
self, sir. There's no harm done. Our
soup never stains after half past -"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05
Thinks It Saved His Life.

Lester M. Nelson of Naples, Maine,
says in a recent letter: 81 have used
DIR. Kings New Discovery many years,
for coughs and colds, and l think it
saved my life. have found it re-
liable remedy for throat and lung CON-
plants, and would no more be without
Ia bottle than would be without
food" For nearly 40 years New Dis
covery has stood at the head of throat
and lung remedies. AS a preventive
of pneumonia and healer of weak
lungs it has no equal. Sold under
guarantee at all druggists. SO cents
and 81. Trial bottle free.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05
All In Red.

The playwrights over their supper of
lobster boosted. Il" said the greatest
of them, with a complacent glance az
the two pure pearls in his shirt front,
decree the color of every actress
frock."
THAT is carrying the regard for de-
tail too far" said playwright who
had failed.
"Not bit of it." said the other. "Ii
didn't decide on the color Of the
dresses the stage manager would
Why, that must always be done. 9th
erwise, In their oyermastering desire
to draw all eyes to themselves, every
actress would wear bright red. In my
first play the frocks were forgotten in
the general excitement, and at the first
dress rehearsal all six actresses came
on in the discovery scene in scarle!
gowns. New York Press.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05

: Z
of Pompey in the old Roman times.
Leslie Trevor made the presentation
address.
In the class prophecy Ella Dingel
dein saw Rock Island so years hence
and nearly all the boys of the class of
'0S settled here in business one way
or another. Nothing concerning the
whereabouts of the girls of the class
was discovered, though. until the sup
position that they had all changed their
names was acted upon, and then the
matter was easy.
The presidents address took up the
decline of athletics in the school, and
the fact was much bewailed. School
spirit, it was declared, is fast disap-
pearing and the fame of the school in
the world of play is going with it. The
solution of the problem as found by
the president is fer every member of
the school to get interested in athlet-
les if only by joining and boosting the
athletic association.
The last number ON the program was
scene from Midsummer Nights
Dream" given by six boys The parts
were well taken, and the spectators APP
plauded almost continually during the
performance. The other numbers on
the program included readings and
music, both vocal and instrumental
First in Country.
The commencement exercises held
yesterday at the WATERFOWL hospital,
when ii graduates received their GER
tificates from the training school for
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05

Ginley, George Temple, Guy Williams.
Goldie Young, Alan Duncan. Esther
Carlson, Harry Zierke. Eva Hide
brandt, Esther Carlson, Orrin Sprague.
Harry Zierke. Marjorie Graham, Edna
Olson, Edwin Johnson. Helen Leaf q
years.. Margaret Kerr, Vaughn Will
liams, Frank Miller, Waldo Huber,
Thankful NSprague. Ray Williams, Ell
mer Benson. Maurice Duncan, Bernice
Ely. Mabel Leaf. Mary Lindstrand
Nellie Dye, Hiding Anderson, Sadie
Mckinley.
Horace Mann school.
William Emplse &c years.. Eunice
LOBBY q years., Albert Kasch, Will
Whistler, Bertha Whitmore, Clara An
derson. Wilma Bohman e years.
Julia DePover, Henrietta Ellis, Violet
Ellis. Mable Hamilton, Frank Hermann,
Fred Ormon e years., Willie De
Power. Leona Ellis, Rosa Subron, Fay
eta Baughman, Louise Fivey, Annie
Hoffman, Nellie Anderson, Alice SUI
bron. Ray Sutherland g years., Mabel
Bohman, Guy Hamilton, Francis
OBrien, Marie Breecher, Frances
Huber G. years., George Clark, Ger
trude O'Brien, Herbert Holmquist
Ella Smith.
Grant School.
Eddie Schweiss, Robert Ague, Clar-
ence Carlson, Albert Sommer, James
Danler, Clyde Milan e years. Doro-
thea Murrin, Caroline Geiger. Albert
Rehn, Francis Mcdonnell q years.
Arthur Behn. Jack d. During. Rich
ard Hen, Eva Miller, William Maui
schultz, Lloyd Tallman, Blanche Ague,
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05
Reuben Pealstrom, Virginia Pearson
Gertrude Schultz, Carl Schmidt.
LUNGS and Iono Life.


One of the most remarkable cases of
longevity on record was that of an
Englishman born in 1883. whose deli
cate appearance made all the doctors
give him up when he was in the era
die. His chest was SO narrow, says
the report, that he seemed to have diff
ficulty in breathing. Well, this young
moribund, condemned by the doctors
to die in short order. died in 1901 at
the age of 1863. He saw the reign OF
ten kings. Secundi Hango. consul of
Venice at Smyrna. measured only fif-
ty-seven centimeters around the chest.
and one of his lungs was diseased.
Nevertheless he lived to the age of
115 years. He was married five times
and had forty-nine children. When he
was 100 years old he got his wisdom
teeth. When he was 40 his hair
turned black again. At 112 his eye
brows and his beard turned black.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-06-05

The program has always in the past
consisted of readings, orations, essays
and other numbers, by the members
of the graduating class. This, to-
gether with the class day program
has required much work in the prep
aration. and the students have found
that the strain is too great. The
seniors this year petitioned that the
school authorities secure some able
speaker to deliver the address of the
occasion, and that the usual form of
the program be abandoned.
Class Day Program.
The annual class day exercises held
at the high school yesterday afternoon
attracted a large company of friends
of the students. and the assembly
room was packed to overflowing. The
most amusing feature of the afternoon
was the presentation of the present to
the junior class. Fred Slaughter, on
behalf of the seniors, gave the class in
line huge bottle of soothing syrup,
telling them that the strange sounds
which had often been heard coming
from their room had at last been at
tributed to the fact that the juniors
were cutting their wisdom teeth. The
presentation was made with such hu.
NOR that it caused considerable mer-
riment among the audience.
Add Piece to Frieze.
The custom of adding to the frieze
on the west wall of the assembly room
was continued by this class, and the
present to the school consisted of sew.
eral new slabs illustrating the triumph