davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Globe-republican., 1908-12-31

one on each side Of an imitation fireplace.
Santa Claus appeared ID time to distributs
candy to tho little folks. The older
members OF the Sunday school and
church contributed food, clothing and
other articles which were distributed
among the pooron Christmas morning.
The following program was given on
Christmas evening:
The Globe-republican., 1908-12-31

'''''''''''' '''''''''''''' " II OFuHtO
Song-We Three Kings
Reading-Jesus' Plan of Christmas
Song-Light Of the World is Jesus
lNhnir
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-19
CHAPTER XXXIII. The Figh ting Serb.

The explanation which James Kahn had had with his master had not sep arated them.
 What can I do?n Jacob Remer had argued with himself. "McKill Is a wind bag, and Grinding a whiskey- cask Young Calmont knows little andSis on the mems side at any rate. Good work may be done with a tool that has fallen and fouled itself in the mire. It would be no gain to me if James Kahn should carry all the secrets of the firm with him e1sewhere-or erhaps-who knows set up for himself?"
 Mr. Jacob Romer was far-seeing His subordinate had regarded both these possibilities in the face. But Mr. Kahn's chief reliance was on the fact that now the master of millions knew that he had an heiress in the flesh, he would never allow her to marry any one who would not prove an worthy successor of his own. James Kahn was that man.
 He grew certain that the old man would not pass his daughter by. Blood will tell" said the Serb, sententiously. who in his own country had several unsatisfied blood-feuds awaiting his re- turn. Having made his fortune, he would go back to no inglorious ease. but with the certainty of spending his declining days in the excitement of continual long g-distance rifle practice among the Balkans. To such an one human life did not count-not even his own.
 It is hard to convey the impression which such a man took on of life in the southwest of Scotland, with it's alternate "douceness" and "dourness, {" it's general kindness in deed and equal ly general inciyility of word-espe- cialIy of the tendernesses of its relig- ous life, which were as the foolish plays of bairns to him.
 Profoundly superstitious by nature. James Kahn boasted among his cro- nies at the "Caravanserai" that such a man as he had no use for religion" And, indeed, it was true at least of the land of his temporary adoption. He understood neither MT. Lamont's easy going, kindly ways, nor the sternness of Benjamin Irongray's historic faith.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-19
CHAPTER XXxv.

The Tn hird Joint stock FareHt'
 Now there were certaih nuiio of nersons who made 1t their business to keen themselves abreast of the do- ings upon Portogarten Moor. They knew why young calmont had resign ed. They knew what he was dolne over there. And they laughed--iaugn- ed at the ex-lighth thouseman ana ms rule of thumb engineer-because they were so simple as. to think that, to bring a pit to the paying point. IL was only necessary to buy the lana apou. the pit-mouth and make deep enoush hole in the ground.
 Chief of those who laughed was James Kahn. He and Casimir made ex- ceedingly merry. So, after their kind'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18
Bor EAr1oUo 9CR4r MuERo

they kept coming in countless numbers.
The United States was long exempt
from the visitations of the sewer rat.
which seems to withhold his visits till
cities have grown to the size that there
will be ample shelter and abundant food.
1t was about the time that the United
States had ended its civil war Of 1S61-1S65
that the rat decided to become an Ameri-
can citizen. He had to make long trip
across the ocean. but that presented no
problem. for the rodent is as skillful in
the water as on land.
Dhe docking Of ships at the wharf is a
favorite time for him to embark. but even
II ship lays cut at anchor quarter Of
mile 1t is by no means safe from taking
on unwelcome passengers. r..eS
In such cases Mr.. Rat takes advantage
of his skill as swimmer makes his way
out to the boat. Climbs swiftly UP tho
anchor chains and gets into the hold. the
operation being performed SO. swiftly
under cover of night that not often are
sailors able to catch the intruder.
Along the coast and In various seaports
the rat made his appearance in the
United States In 1855. It took five years
to get out as far west as Missouri. In
ten years he had made his way to the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

ceipts are triple those Of the more fash
fonable side with all its deadheads, own
ers. club members and their wives and
families. And in those days when bet
ting as the appanage Of a few nod-and-
finger sports the paying fashionable side
receipts likewise fell lamentably.
In the name Of Partisan prosperity"
therefore. they called back NJ. Oller. He
was ready with a new invention called
the counting Tickets good thing for
him. because today the privilege Of max
ing it is all that's left him.
With the counting ticket" mutual bet
ting could expand to the needs of Pari-
sian democracy to blow its hard-earned
money. Paris mutuels' don't mean
Paris mutuals. "Pari' means bet;
''mutuel'' mutual-mutual betting. Only
because Of the "s." tagged on for plural.
''pari" becomes paris like the name
of the town where 1t flourishes.
These counting tickets by ingenious
order numbers, show at glance the race.
the horse, the number of unity bets sold
on them to its issue, be it race or place.
A glance at the top ticket of the unsold
block in each booth will permit immedi-
ate calculation when the race is run of
the total unity bets on all the horses
as upon the winner. and the rest is a sim
pie matter Of division. after deducting the
rake-off.
In word, each bettor bets a dollar Cor
two dollars or ten dollars or twenty dol
lars-there are different booths for all
these unities). When you bet a dollar
you just buy a dollar ticket. All the
others betting on the various horses OF
that race buy dollar tickets.
The bettor wants to have an idea in adj
vance Of what this or that horse will pay
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18
nIqBooT1tc.
M{E6E Is Draw
THeR Wlnalnd5

him for his dollar should it win. He has
but to glance at the biggest number on
each exposed unsold ticket to know how
many dollars, up to that moment have
been placed on each horse in the race. 1t
is. OF course. "a mere average. He can't
run ana calculate Al all the many booths.
but. he gets an idea, because mutual
betting simply means the winning tick.
cts divide the price Of the total, losing
up among themselves.
In the first year-1SSS-the paris mu-
fuels took 100000 francs receipts. NJ.
Joseph Oller pocketed S.O0OO0O francs.
less what he had to give back-a mystery
to the race societies. But they were
glad to have his system in the early
years and dealt tenderiy with him.
Once again it vas too good. Poor NJ.
Oler, He who built the Moulin Rouge
and lost it: the father of the Jardin de
Paris. the Olympia, the Casino and the
swimming baths of the rue Cochechouard,
has always erred by doing things too
WELL, In 1891 the French parliament.
edited by the perfectly correct function
ing of his paris mutuels, complimented
NJ. Oller, authorized all race societies to
use his system-and then took 1t from
him.
Yes. the French state authorized the
system on condition that itself should
handle and distribute all its profits.
What these profits were last year you
may calculate for yourself. They were
8 per cent on 294 432. TO francs, the total
amount OF money bet in the paris mutu-
els around Paris, and decomposed as
follows:
Longchamps. 62.245,o40; Chantilly. TO-
AGO, $40: Auteuil. 74.6S1, 345 francs; st.
Cloud, 1851, 145 francs; Vincennes, H.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

coast, and hundreds of thousands OF his
kind undoubtedly met death in the San
Francisco earthquake and fire.
Now the rat has completed his do
minion Of the North American continent.
and stretches over II all the way from
Panama to the permanent ice belt.
The outlying islands Of the new world
have been favorite working place for
the rodent, and there they have wrought
almost incredible devastation. In the
West Indies. in the Azores and in the
Cape Verde Islands hundreds OF thous sands
of dollars worth Of coffee. banana. sugar
and orange plantations are falling a vic
tim to the rapacity of the rat
One island Is instanced that was once
completely covered With rich grass.
which kept in good condition all the year
around 1900 cattle. Although the island
is half mile from the mainland the day
came when the rats picked il out as a
suitable place Tor pitching their TENS.
BY swimming they reached the island
and took possession. That was fifteen
years ago. Today there is not blade of
grass left on the island. A pair OF rab-
bits could not ind nourishment on what
was once an ideal stretch of grazing land
The whole island has been so abso-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18
bETWEEn4Axnq And booTE5- O15ERE Tie fhmq

pensive apparatus came back and were
tolerated ten years. But democracy
doesn't like to trust its cash to an I'M
known man with an umbrella, who may
WEIGH of: and bookmaking scandals at
last brought about the Goblet circular in
1887
All gambling was prohibited on the
Partisan tracks. First there were riots.
then attendance at the races fell OF SO
alarmingly that the influential race So
cieties. horse breeding and agricultural
syndicates Of all France Joined in a petit
tion to the government to re-establish
mutuel betting.
Note that bookmaking had reformed
itself already-for the rich When the
storm came the honorable members Of the
corporation formed the club that still
has its place on the Boulevard below
the Madeleine.
The bookmakers had become gentlemen.
No money passed upon the track. There
was no betting ring-and Is none now.
The gentlemanly bookmakers Just loung-
ed at ease beneath the mushroom
matched pavilion of the swell pesage side
of the Longchamps race track and took
bets by mods and fingers from known
sports. At night bookmakers and sports
met at the club of the Boulevard and
settled. So they do today.
But this did not bring back the en-
trance-paying multitudes The democratic
pelouse entrance price is only 40 cents.
the swell pesage 81. yet even on the
social event Grand Prix this year the
cheap entrances ran up to 1.45O. 900
francs. against 1.O4O. 900 for the pesage.
This is as 1t should be. The cheap public.
by its numbers. Is the true Parisian mich
COW, and on ordinary race days its re-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

lutely honeycombed by the rats that to-
day it cannot be reclaimed by cultiva-
ton. There 1t lays in the ocean. useless.
an eyesore, a sample of what mans foe.
the rat. can achieve in the way Of de-
struction.
The rat will eat anything. On one OF
the channel islands it was known that an
army of rats had their home. Curiosity
was aroused as to what they lived on.
for the island had been stripped clear Of
ev.n a blade of grass. scientist made
an examination and dug out the holes OF
a number of rats. To his anna cement he
found in them crabs-liye crabs. They
had not come of their own will. for each
crustacean had his legs cut of.
Investigation showed that the willy rats
were in the habit of doing their crab
bling at low tide. To make sure that the
crab would do no harm. he was swiftly
de prived OF his claws. Then dragged to
the hole of the rat. the crab was q food
supply to be drawn on whenever needed.
!, The damage that rats do to the cargoes
of ships and In warehouses has been esti-
mated at tens OF millions of dollars. Rat
insurance has become a necessity OF busi-
ness since that rodent got hold In this
country.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

betting on the track, as lesser evil-and
in the name Of Partisan prosperity!
Years ago they learned that mere spec
tacular horse racing appeals only to the
rich-and not too much to them. This
was as long ago as 1887, when the ia
nous Goblet circular stopped short all
betting. Long before, tnnumerable book
makers. with their only certain capital Of
a big advertising umbrella. failed to meet
the growing needs of the democracy for
betting.
Up there rose genius. Oller, the in
ventor of the Paris mutuel. called in the
a great omnibus booth hauled to the
track. with numerous dials to indicate the
number of fiat bets put on each horse.
When the race was run they totaliZed
the dollar bets on all the losers and di-
vided them among the total dollar bets
upon the Wineries 10 per cent to NJ.
Oilers pocket.
The democracy had confidence In the ex-
pensive omnibuses. Oilers success was
SO vast that he lost his head and commit
ted error. In the full Boulevard du Ital-
lens he set up the great "Agence Oller, :"
where no matter who-the young clerk.
unprotected as Of Sundays by his girl.
and in particular the middle-aged trusted
employe-could put his dollar or his thou
sand on horse while passing by to lunch
It was too much.
I'VE can't have public gambling in mid
Paris was the general sentiment: and
the judicial apparatus promptly declared
NJ. Oilers expensive totaliZers technical
game Of chance" in town and on the
track.
1t was a heavy blow to democratic gam
bling. The bOokmakers, .risking no ex-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

the right to make a betting
The Partisan dope sheet includes vast
material. Every daily paper has its great
race service. indicating winners for each
race-with reasoned causerie or chat
rot talk of past performances, of horse
and jock. of stable. trainer and proprie-
tor. Of weather track conditions, all ma
terial for going daffy.
Then come threeSspecial dailies. suited
to the understandings Of plain tough
sports, cozy family sports and Kilded
sports-all want a sign.
Next. after these, there are two spe-
cial dailies tabulating the data OF all the
others!
How could any workingman 20 wrong !?
II he is smart. he pays a dollar and q
half for the Turf Annual. SO that, at
night. he can make calculations OF his
own. When the grand averages agree
with his, he can't go wrong. Should the
horse lose. there's been a pulling Quick
he bets upon the winning stable!
Minors, young clerks? There's no room
for them in game patronized and guar
anteed by government!
The true Paris mutuels players are the
solid Paris social fabric. fathers,
mothers Of family from the working
class up to the retired bourgeois; bust
ness men Of every class who take a quiet
day off: skilled artisans and factory fore
men, trusted clerkS-and even men we'll
up. who don't want to be seen. and lose
themselves In the vast democratic crowd!
When gambling game, more or less
illicit; when you must pass bars to get to
1t; when its doubtful profits go to OBJ
scure SPECTATORS the adventurous o0ly-
and with them the young-will patronize
1t. In a word. a special mentality.
But when the gambling game is open,
authorized and honest, run and guaran-
teed by the authocities, you see a queer
thing happen. In rush to its chances the
Woodworking. the respectable, the solid.
And their losses are by far the bitterer
and deeper reaching!
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

I'll. 100 francs; St. Ouen 32,S4S. $50 francs:
Maisons- Lafitte, 3SOS3,65O francs; En-
ghien. IL, 793. $50 francs; LIE Tremblay,
Eight per cent the French state raked
on last year from almost 10000 OOO francs.
Iwenty-four million francs, almost So
10000, 1t took from the pockets of Pari-
slams only-not all France, just Paris
Just to hold their stakes for them ten
minutes!
What does the French state do with
these great sums wrung from race-track
betting? Much is said of charity and hy-
giene. Well. hygiene gets 1 per cent;
charity gets per cent: per cent goes
to breeding prizes. and per cent is
handed over to the race society whose
track produced the money for its ex-
with NJ. Joseph Oller.
Yes, poor M. Oller has his part still in
the rake off. He has kept the right to
print the tickets!
Paris at the races! A few weeks ago
showed you the Powered paddock of the
Grand Prix. where a palace In creamy
stone extends on. on. till 1t is lost in
stairways fit delicious women beyond
counting. in their creams and roses,
mauves. pearls and pale blues. lit up by
plumes of wild green, orange. carmine.
purple, black and white! Splendid
creatures in long nantes of white lace
or of strange fabrics, oriental tinted,
That end Is. no horse race, but high
jinks in New Jerusalem, where no un-
clean thing enters!
Come to the horse race end-in the
burning Longchamps meadow! On Grand
Prix day its public was a full half mil
lion! Every race day of the week,
through the whole Longchamps sea SON
sixty. eighty. ninety thousand persons
pay their francs entrance to it.
Forty cents to enter-and see horses
running? Think you? Think again.
Apart from isolated tourists, every man
and woman paying entrance does 1t for
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

more terrible destroyer than all the war
fare OF the same period.
1t Is as native Of Persia and East
India that the migratory rat first gets a
place in history's pages, and it is not
until the eighteenth century that he
makes his debut In Europe
The rat got good start in Europe, and
throve immensely for a time, but then
came widespread famine.
To large degree the rat had been re-
sponsfble for the wasting of the food
sources for he had In his greed devoured
the crops of the field. and his foulness
had spread disease among the CATTLE
Having spoiled one ,favorite haunt the
rat began to spread all over the world
The famous crossing OF the Volga in 1927
Is an incident thoroughly authenticated.
Millions OF rats swarmed over the
river into Europe. Twenty-three years
later they made their appearance in
Prussia. and three years later the French
kingdom was made the unwelcome host
Of the rodents
Even at that early stage Paris was
aroused to the dangers OF the rat in
vaston. and met the newcomers with q
determined warfare. Within a week
more than 10000 rats were slain, but still
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18
Special Corresponderce of The Star.
PARIS. July 10. 1908.

PARIS. July TO- 1908
RI ONT Paris parents want the
government to prevent MI
nors betting on the races?"
inquired an American. i've
seen them
1T il rather Paris minors who want to
prevent their parents wasting money on
the ponies" was the answer that made
him wise to Partisan betting evils that
make ours seem-minorish
In Paris II Is not so much young clerks
who 90 wrong; their sweethearts are
strong against money-wasting vice and
claim the Sunday and the surplus. 1t Is
their good father and dear, patient mother
who go out and lose the family wad Mon
day, Tuesday and Wednesday, =
The evil. its palliation and the failure
OF the palliation are found in these words
The pallation is to prevent non-track
betting. with view to make it difficult
Tor those who can't afford IL to lose
money. To this end the French govern
ment has veritable secret service army
hunting down vast combinations of clan
destine bookmakers. without books, pay
ing Paris mutuels prices. pocketing, with
out expense or calculation, theAS per cent
rake-on. Here morality and governmental
interest work together. Why? Because
the clandestine rake-off Is DETECTED from
governmental charities, hygiene. prizes to
breeders, a free stallion service for farm
ers and the expenses of the race societies
that make for Partisan prosperity.
In a word. the French government itself
administers the Paris mutuels system Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18
MH14E BATS KEpT AS pET5

survive long journeys. their pernicious
and perilous tendency to carry disease
are all given as reasons for the universal
warfare now planned on rodents.
1t will not be with the dulcet strains
of a piper that the rodents will be lured
to their doom as on another occasion
noted in history. Science is practical.
and believes that poison properly admin
istered Is good deal more efficacious
than music to wipe out a pest.
The offering Of bounties on rat tails, the
adoption Of methods to keep them from
travelling from point to point, on ships
and railroad cars. and the employment of
professional rat killers all over the word.
are some of the methods by which the
pests will be wiped out.
1t is now becoming nothing uncom-
mon for cities to inaugurate rat-kiiling
campaigns as a means of putting an end
to plaques.
The case of Port Of Spain is an excel
lent instance. Plague broke out and ex-
tended in spite OF efforts to check 1t.
Then experts fell on the idea that rats
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

were carrying the infection from place to
place.
Rat killing on wholesale scale was
ordered and in a couple of weeks the
work bore such excellent fruit that no
new cases were reported.
1t is to be distinctly understood that
not all rats are harmful Every country
has certain species which do no damage.
but in many cases have certain utility.
The rat that makes the trouble is the
migratory one. otherwise known as the
sewer rat, which has been evolved by
civilization, and follows man wherever he
may go.
Rats Of the harmless breed have been
known ever since history began to take
a record Of things. but the dangerous
sewer rat is distinctly modern evolu-
ton. whose history cannot be traced back
for more than three centuries.
That three hundred years of activity Is
a record of terrible misdeeds. and the
amount OF property destroyed by the
sewer rat in that time ana the number
Of lives taken through the spreading Of
disease have probably made the rat e far
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-18

ATS and their disease-spreading
qualities form the subject mat
~ ter for a special report by DR..
L George Mccoy. passed assist
ant surgeon Of the marine hos
pital service, to Surgeon General Wyman.
In the report 1t Is asserted that rodents
may transmit disease TO human beings.
Especially is 1t possible for them to do
so. the report asserts. I'm cases OF lepro-
sy. with which many rats have been
found affected. All the symptoms OF the
human disease are found. in the leprosy
from which rats have been suffering.
Unless an international Pied Piper Of
Hamlin can be found to lead all the
rats into the sea. the entire human race
may become their victim.
The high authority Of noted French
scientist. Dr. A. Calmette Of Paris. backs
this assertion.
The increasing number Of rats. the
marvellous hardihood with which they