The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-07-17

1 ne ledn1QX tower was 1lTSt 10 go,
| And when it hit the floor below,
The havoc was appalling!
At once another crash occurred.
And then, alas! we knew we heard
l. The Campanile falling!
see its shattered remnants yet.
| Twas half our wedding dinner set
| The other half was Pisa
Ny chatelains her protest filed.
For Pelion on Ossa piled
| Would be your next, louisa"
I-Earle Hooker Eaton in Harper's Weekly.
Idle Gold in Banks
The house of commons gave first
reading yesterday to Mr.. Bottomley's
| bill to make banks give return to the
1 state of unclaimed balances and valu-
ables which have been undisturbed In
| their possession for six years or more
and hand them over to the public trus-
| tees.
| THE object" he said, "is to bring
into the possession and control of the
| state the vast amount Of wealth which
is at present lying dormant and entire
ly unproductive in the vaults and
| strong rooms of the various banking
institutions of the United Kingdom"
Banks would have to make return
! OF the money securities, Jewelry. ana
plate which had been in their posses
sion unclaimed for six years. and which
1 was the property of persons who had
not operated their account during that
period. They would also have to ac-
count to the state for all old bank
notes or other obligations which there
! was reason to believe had by the
effluxion Of time become obsolete.
The theory of the bill was that these
| banks had from various causes, deaths.
removals abroad, the extinction OF
families, and the carelessness of testa-
tors, accumulated vast sums and hal
been In the habit every six years OF
writing off, these dormant balances.
There is over a million pounds to-
day." said Mr.. Bottomley, lin the shape
Of unpaid dividends in the possession
Of the joint stock banks.
There was joint stock bank which
a few years ago had as customer an
eccentric old lady who had 92S00o In
the bank. Once in every year she
would drive up to the bank, ask for the
manager, draw a check for the entire
sum, count the notes. check the in
terest, and then pay it in again and
disappear for another twelve months. =
For seven years past that lady had
not been seen. That G28,000 with its
accumulated interest was still lying in
the bank. He could give the name OF
| the bank to the chancellor Of the ex-
cheQuer. Was there a doubt that the
old lady had ceased to exist? What
about the poor dependents of the old
lady who were deprived of the money:
| wealthy personal friend with mon
| GY on deposit IN VARIOUS UdlhS wa
killed in a railroad accident. The fam
lily were now living in absolute want
because they were unable to find out
| where the money was. They had gone
from bank to bank, and the banks had
said they could give no information
London Daily Mail.
Half Price.
II A well known actor was taking din
|. ner at a fashionable Chicago hote
II during the recent Republican con-
, vention when a young man came in
and sat down at the same table. He
apparently recognized the actor, fol
after gazing at him intently for g
couple of minutes he pulled 50 bill
. ostentatiously from a large roll, and
: showing 1t across the table. remarked
1T always feel as if I had to pay
) to see a famous man, don't yor
l know"
Z The famous man. calmly tore the
) 50 bill in half and returned one Sec
ton to the young man.
Y Children half price, he observed
: composedly.-New York Times.
A Musical Spider.
The extraordinary musical sensi
Z. tiveness of spiders has several time
: been proved. Every one has heard
I of Pellisson's spider. CONSIDER of thu
unfortunate prisoner, it persisted be
CduSc IL uSleHtu tOO ClOSSly " III
, captive's violin. The jailer saw i
l and crushed it brutally.
!; Gretry, the composer, speaks of
! favorite spider which descended alon,
it's thread upon his piano as soon a.
he played it. When giving recital
at Brussels Rubinstein saw larg,
spider issue from the floor of tn,
platform and listen to the music. H,
gave three concerts at the same hall
and on each occasion the spider ap
peared.-Paris La Revue.
!, "Beautified'' Meats Didn't Go.
Butchers tried last year to introduc
beautiful meats. They sold blue chops
green steaks, purple pork, and so on
, But the idea didn't take
The speaker, a meat exporter, smile.
, | and went on:
ut was in Vienna, that splendid lit
tie city, that the idea arose. In Wen
? nese restaurants, for a month or more
the waiter asked you if you preferre,
your meat natural or 'beautified.' II
, never forget, there in Vienna, tn
, shock 1 had on cutting into a juicy
grass-colored sirloin with an edging O
| violet fat.
! NO, the idea failed. The people dom
want their meat beautified. Thei
, houses, their parks, their streets, thei
own persons you may beautify to you
, | hearts content, but you must leav
: their meat alone."-Minneapolis Jour
nal.
QUAKER NEGOTIATIONS.