davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
GETS PENSION AT LAST
TOLEDO MAN WAITS FORTY YEARS
BEFORE MONEY COMES

was an infant Ny mother remarked.
her second husbands s name being Davis.
l enlisted under my real name Of Will
inns. but as ] was brought up by my
stepfather all the boys called ne Davis.
AIter the war I married and moved
West. but iii luck seemed TO follow me
wherever I went. I started a little candy
store and cobbier shop In East ST. Louis
and was making d fair living when the
tornado came on about thirteen years
ago. / was over I'm the western part Of
the city when the tgister' came out OF
the Missouri plains. 1 rushed 10 my hOms
and found my house and store in ruins
and my daughter dead in the wreck. ny
vile never recovered from the mental
shock and she has been a great care 10
me ! moved from St Louis after this
and went 70 half a dozen other places
doing odd jobs and a little cobbiing, but
things went from bad 70 worse, and final
ly / came 20 Toledo. I always hoped that
some day my luck would change and
would get the pension. IN all my troubles
1 never resorted 10 drink or dishonesty
as you may see from the fact that Ford
Post took an interest in me and kept me
0ut Of the pOOrhOuse."
VIII Seek To Recover Fortune.
Williams says that his father owned
some vacant property il Troy. y. Y. and
that when he died he willed this to his
children. The property is now in the very
heart OF the business district and he IS
going to spend some Of the $500 in an
effort to find out If he can recover IT,
The old man has been living On squalor
and fighting desperately against fate. He
has q cObblcr shop in q back room Of his
little oue-st0ry cottage, and here he pegs
away 1T his last for an hour or two each
day
I can't work long al a time he said.
because my eyes give out. have prom
ised 20 have a pair Of shoes ready for a
man tomorrow morning. but / can't I'm
ish them tonight I VIII have TO get Up
at a. II. and complete the work
AS the reporter was leaving a far-away
look came into Williams eyes but this
was soon followed by q smile that wreath
eG his whole cOuntenance
u was just thinking that, after all, God
was good said the old man. Ny tr0u-
bles are over. and am glad I met them
all the best I knew how ] think ] viii
go back 20 New York State. where l have
sister, and spend the last Of my days
there"
The old man VIII sleep little tonight.
Tor he is building castles with the 5000
which the Pension Bureau has awarded
him
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
YANKEE OF THE EAST
BARON TAKAHIRA is A BRIL- LIANT
DIPLOMAT

be sharp competition in certain fields OF
commerce, the presence and labors Of
euch viii aid the other II America de
vclops the Philippines and Hawaii. Ja-
pan viii be benefited 10 "A large extent
If Japan on the other hand, more eX-
tensvely opens up FoTmOsa and other
parts Of the empire to trade, the Unit
ed States must reap its share of the
harvest. Both, it is clear must benefit
by the development Of China. for which
both are now striving. The japanese
are greatly desirOus Of American products
and ideas We want the latest mechan-
zeal devices. the most advanced theories
and principles of industry and manufac-
ture, and we feel that we can get them
from America This was not true "a few
years ago when the friendliness began
with the visit of Commodore Perry to
our shores. which let in a great flood Of
new light from the West and 1t has in
creased as American ingenuity has short
ened the distance, measured I'm hours
Of travel between the two countries It
has also been very greatly increased and
deepened, ] am sure, by the association
Of the armies of the empire and Of the
republic in the movement 10 safeguard
the highest interests of civilization in
the East. This association revealed. in a
striking way, the fact that the United
States is now an Eastern power. and that
the interests of America are very close
ly related % those Of Japan. II was the
beginning, I believe, Of a new impulse in
the development of a far greater trade
TN the Pacific and of warmer feelings OF
friendship.
Japan especially welcomes this pros
II
has shown a more earnest desire for the
Improvement Of commercial relations
with other countries than has Japan.
While we have shown this desire with
respect to an countries alike. we have
been particularly anxious 10 better our
relations with the United States. l shall
give some specific reasons for this fur
ther on, but shall say here that Japan
feels more and more convinced that, for
trade, she must eventually look 10 the
shores OF the Pacific, and that the great
est Of waters must be dominated In the
near future by the merchant vessels OF
the empire and of the United States"
lIr- Takahira is remarkable man per
sonally, aside from his diplomatic record.
Sixty-three years Of age, he is stll hale
and hearty, being Of the short but sturdy
Japanese type, with the burly physique
that IS associated with Japanese soldiers.
His tastes and reCreations, oddly enough.
are all literary \ student not only Gf
japanese and Chinese, he has mastered
the literature of most of the countries in
which he has sojouTned
man Of strong personality, Mr.. Taxa
hira, while IN Washington. earned the
reputation of being an exceedingly skill
fal dipiomatist who was extremely posi-
tive in pressing negotiations in which his
country was Interested. Baron TaFahira
is said 10 have been on exceedingly good
terms with President Roosevelt. His title
of nobility was conferred upon him after
the signing Of the treaty of Portsmouth
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26

ODD BITS OF KNOWLEDGE, CLEANED FROM
VARIOUS PARTS OF WORLD.

On an average thirty-one people lose
their lives yearly by accidents in the
Alps
For feat OF dexterity and nerve it
would be difficult TO surpass that Of the
Bosjesman Of South Africa. who walks
quietly up 10 a puff adder and deliberate
ly sets his bare foot on its neck. IN
its struggles to escape and attempts to
bite its assailant the poison gland Sc
cretes a large amount OF venom. This
is just what the Bosjesman wants. XIII
ing the snake, he eats the body and
uses the poison for his arrows.
The latest use OF the telephone is in
locating shoals Of fish. The electric ap-
paratus is a German patent. A micro
phone, inclosed I'm a water-tght case,
connected with an electric battery and
telephone, is lowered into the water. So
long as the telephone hangs free no sound
is heard but on its coming in contact
with a sh0aI Of fish the constant tapping
Of the FISH against the microphOne case
produces a series Of sounds which at
once betray their presence. The cord at
tached 70 the mlcrophone is marked. so
that the exact depth Of the shoal is
designated.
The title lieutenant comes from the
words signifying holding the place"
Thus, a lieutenant colonel holds the
place Of a colonel in the absence Of the
latter, and the lieutenant holds the place
of a captain.
In the manufacture of knives the d.
vision Of labor has been carried to such
an extent that one knife is handled by
seventy different artisans from the mo-
ment the blade is forged until the in
strument is finished and ready for the
market
An iceberg often lasts 200 years, it is
declared by scientists.
One sudden death occurs among women
TO eight among men.
The smallest. simplest and best pro-
tected post-OffiCe in the world is in the
Straits of Magellan, and has been there
for many years. It consists of a small
painted keg or cask, and is chained 20
the rocks of the extreme cape In man
ner so that it floats free opposite TERRA
del Fuego. Passing ships send boats TO
take letters out and put others I'm. This
curious p0st-Ofiice is unprOvided with a
postmaster, and Is, therefore under the
protection Of all the navies of the world.
The coolest period of the day is said to
be few minutes after sunrise. This is
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26


A little touch Of sentiment was injected
into the ordinary prosaic stamp sale at
the Freeman Building in Philadelphia,
when an old local provisional" stamp Of
the early sos was sold for 5000 says
the Cincinnati Enquirer, providing money
for the future trousseau OF little
tweIve-year-old glrl of Alexandra, Va.
The stamp was taken from one Of the
love letters written by her grandfather
70 her grandmother.
The Fawcetts, of Alexandria, are one Of
the oldest families in Virginia, and were
well-to-do before the war. They have be-
come so poor of late years that Mrs. ia
nette Fawcett seventy-siX years old. has
been in despair Of keeping her promise
of providing the wedding OUTFIT Of her
little granddaughter, Janette.
Just before Christmas, in going through
some things i'm an old trunk, she came
across a bundle Of letters. on one of the
envelopes was and old PROVISIONAL
stamp. She realized that it was valuable.
ard il was taken 70 Philadelphia by a
friend and placed on sale, and, 10 the
surprise Of every one, a collector from
Cleveland paid S3.o09 for IT,
Very few of the provisional stamps
were issued and this particular stamp is
different from any others that have come
20 light. It was issued by the postmaster
of Alexandria in 1877 and IS printed in
black ink on light blue paper. All the
other stamps of the kind that are known
10 be extant are printed in black on buff
paper The stamp is circular in shape
and the size OF a half dollar. In the CEN
ter is the word Paid, with "a 80 un-
derneath This Is encircled with tha
words Post Office. Alexandra" and
around the whole is a circle Of stars.
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
On a Cross-channeI stenmer.

As has often been observed. nothing
makes man so unbearable as exemp-
ton from seasickness. Some three years
ago, writes W, L. Alden in the Idler 7
was crossing from Newhaven TO Dieppe
and. being very hungry. 7 went down
into the cabin. where there were. bv
actual count, thirty-one men who were
deadly seasick. besides seven who had
apparently died; and I made a hearty
meal of cold ham and porter Just be-
fore the train left Dieppe, a gaunt Amer
lcan w-passenger came to him and
said, 1 suppose, sir, you are an English
man. amt your To which I replied
with charming humor. that 7 was n
japanese. "All right" he continued. 1T
don't make a cents worth of difference
what you are All I want to say is that
If ever you come TO the States. and make
q voyage on one OF our Lake boats and
eat ham IN the face of the suffering
public, you'll be missn' when that boat
comes to land. ia have drawed on Won
myself this afternoon if I hadn't been too
sick TO reach my gun. You hear me?"
Since that day I have never eaten ham
IN the presence Of seasick people.
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
FOR MINERS
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST ACCIDENT IN
THE ANTHRACITE PITS.

Recent disasters in bituminous coal
mines have called attention anew 10 the
dangers TO miners and to the necessity OF
adequate safeguards.
Safeguards in the anthracite mines Of
Pennsylvania are many, and increasing
every year Statistics gathered by the
Pennsylvania department Of mines show
that accidents in the anthracite mines are
decreasing in number and seriousness.
Accidents which it is impossible 20 avoid
are those resulting from recklessness or
.carelessness on the part of the miners
themselves. This class Of accidents. ac-
eordlng to official State report. is greater
than any other, says the New York Even
ing Post
Pennsylvania, it is said, employs as
many inspectors 10 look out for her mines
as are employed in all England, Scotland,
and Wales. To supplement the state reg
ulatioHs, the anthracite mining companies
have instituted competitive examinations
concerning protective measures among
the employees
The Delaware, Lackawanna and West
ern collieries, for example, have been d.
vided into four districts for this purpose.
Examinations in each district are carried
out separately. A board, consisting of
the general manager, his assistant and
the chief engineer, holds the examination.
Every mine foreman. fire boss, barn boss,
and driver boss must have a certain
knowledge of the State laws and the
companys s rules
When the examinations are over, the
answers of each man are marked for
relative merit A trophy is awarded to
the district which makes the highest av-
erage and the district that wins three
times in succession keeps the trophy.
Another preventive measure is the test
ing of mine elevators. The shafts vary in
depth from 200 20 200O feet The test con-
sists in dropping a loaded elevator to
make sure that all the safety catches are
in good working order. Reports Of the
tests are filed for reference and eXamina-
ton by the State mine inspectors.
Gables supporting the elevators vary in
size with the depth of the shaft. The
usual diameter is an inch and a quarter,
or an inch and a half. 1t is said that
long before the ropes begin 10 show signs
of wear they are replaced by new ones
Last year one company spent $4,000 for
new ropes.
Chemical engines have been introduced
for iighting fire in the anthracite mines.
water played upon a mine fire. is almost
instantly converted into steam, and the
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26

due 10 the fact that, when the sun first
strikes the earth it causes the evapora-
ton Of a chilling moisture.
One OF the strangest prizes offered by
the French Academy Of Sciences is S20,0C0
for the person who discovers a method OF
communication between planets
Locomotive engineers in Germany re-
celve a sum OF money and a gold watch
for every ten years served without an
accident
Insects, as a general rule. have little or
no sense of sound. The ant is the insect
with the best developed hearing organs.
An English authority declares that the
most remarkable bridges in the world are
the kettle bridges. Of which Cossack sol
diers are expert builders. The materials
Of which they are constructed are the
soldiers lances and cooking kettles.
Seven Of eight lances are passed under
the handles of a number of kettles and
fastened by means of ropes TO form
raft. A sufficient number Of these RATS.
each OF which Will bear a weight of half
a ton, are fastened together. and in the
space of an hour q bridge is formed on
which an army may cross with confidence
and safety.
Il is scarcely credible but il is a fact
that a glass can be broken by the voice
If You strike a thin wine glass while you
hold it by the stem it will emit a certain
note-in most cases a pretty deep one
On moving the glass rapidly to your
mouth and shouting into it the same note
as loudly as possible, the vibrations of
the glass being thereby extended, it will
be shiyered into fragments. This used to
be favOTite experiment Of Lablache. the
renowned singer, who would thus break,
one after the other. as many glasses as
were handed to him
Great Britain has longer seacoast line
than any other nation in Europe 1t
measures over 5000 miles. Italy coming
second with 2,f12 Russia ranks third, and
France fourth.
In one unbroken nocturnal fight the
European bird known as the northern
bluethroat has been proved to travel from
Central Africa TO the German Ocean. a
distance OF L69O miles, making the jour
ney in nine hours.
The sunflower crop is one Of the most
profitable harvested in Russia. A good
crop is worth, as it stands in the field.
$50 an acre. The seeds are sold by the
farmer for 81 TO $3.50 pound; then the
merchants salt them and retail them for
S a pound. Al every street crossing in
Russian provincial cities are stands and
peddlers with baskets selling to the pass
ers-by the salted product OF the sun
flower, which forms a favorite food.
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
THE LONG AND THE SHORT.
stamp Windows and Persons beau
tified with the Back Bay Intellect.

tifed with the Back Bay Intellect,
Pray. tell me. why was this? In the
Back Bay p0st-oflce there exist two
stamp windows, equally accessible and
equally entcing. before one Of them,
during the pre-h0liday rush. stood line
Of thirty people, before the other a line
OF only five. and il was with something
like grim determination that the new
conner added himself 20 the thirty In
stead Of 10 the five. Meanwhile. less than
half a parasang away, a certain express
office provided two receiving clerks, Of
equal beauty. equal alacTty. and equal
tenderness in their handling Of thiEgs
fragile. in front Of one clerk stood nine
teen B0st0uiaus. in front Of the other
only seven; and again you saw the new
conner join the nineteen rather than the
seven. says the Boston Transcript
This induced !n nae "a most singular per
plexitv You would have said -W0uljn't
y0u-thay persons beatifed with Back
Bay inteIlects would have jumped for
express clerk or stamp ycnder by the
quickest route. Yet n was otherwise.
Were those patient souls euamorade Of
delay. or governed by sheer Sregart-
ousnCss. or were they too tagged mentally
by Christmas shopping t9 choose that
better part which involved "a less ardu-
ous struggle? or were they. perchaule.
uuconsciously controlled by a conviction
that the most freQuented clerk must
somehow possess superior charms? So
Ci4l suggestion to be sure, has rare po-
teucy. once brand a book as a best sell
Ter. and off IL goes like the hot cakes Of
legend; once establish the reEusncy of
oue particular clerk, and the wlOle world
runs after him, no matter how bewiJCh-
Ing his colleague. Nothing succeeds Ike
success.
To me. however, such solutions leave
the problem stiU formidable ] prefer
to think that Back Bay Christmas givers
are inspired hy a nobler passion. Indeed,
] suspect that we had here "a recrudes-
cence of Purtanism, "a revividcatiou Of
the old-time genius for asceticism and
s6lf-imm0lay0n. Having t0iled and
fought and E3sped ana all but bied and
died 70 secure those Yuletide gifts the
vletors scorned 10 send them forth by
primrose paths Of daIlianCe. instead, they
exclaimed with Browning. II was ever
a fighter, so. one fight more Besides.
It's sweet 20 ache for ones friends, the
longer the ache, the sweeter the sweet
ness. Accordingly. no ignominous short
cut for intrepid souls eager 10 crown a
service with it's last diadem Of worth
Thus they added To active hcr0ism that
less vehement bravery celebrated by
John Milton when he wrote. They also
serve who only stand and wait"
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26

From the Travel Magazine
Barring the bath. and perhaps the beds,
Japanese hotels are delightful Al dur
ing your stay In their spotlcss precincts
you are made 10 feel that YOU are an
honored guest japanese etiquette Is Law
ishec upon YOU. and when You depart
YOU are always given a token 20 rencm-
ber your visit usually a white, coarse
cotton towel with blue pictures printed
on IT, You must thank the little maid
for this with an elaborate bow when you
so, and the chorus of "Sayo Uaus"
from an The hotel force gathered in the
doorway win seem to have in il not only
the regret Of go0d-hy. as We interpret the
words. but the deeper feeling which they
really mean, If ii must be thar we
must part
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
Cautious scot

Frm Illustrated BIS.
cone wretched. blustery day" said a
man. Il had "a cap with ear tabs on
when ! me- Mr. Carnegie i'm the street.
He joked me about my ear tabs RE
said there was an old Scot who always
used 10 CuTi-you know the game-u ear
tabs, but one bitter day ne appeared on
ti,e ice minus the tabs, and d friend said.
HullO, whaur's yer auld lug warmers|
On" was the reply. I've never worn
them since my accident Accident
What accident A man offered me a
drink, an wi the dashed flaps I didna
hear him %
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26

for a day or two more. and then come
back to the camp in a dying state More
than once-possibly more than hundred
times-a systematic trade ia blankets has
been found to be going on between the
pdupers and a dealer in the bazaar who
paid a trine for the blankets as often as
they were brought to him, and then sold
them again at fell price 20 the camp at
thorities. The camp servants eonnive at
this trade. and sometimes one Of them l.
himself the dealer.
Rob the Dying.
"AI this is not the worst that the
paupers do They rob the dying OF food
and blankets; they throw away food
given to them if they see something
better given to the sick. Mothers snatch
thei.' infants. or they take away all
their children and give them to the
jackals unless they are allowed TO eat
with them and share their special food.
Other instances Of this callousness are
recited by Mr. Aitken. On one occasion
he was visiting a certain camp. The
morality Of adults at that camp he
writes. was from thirty TO forty daily,
and / saw nineteen bodies burned on one
pyTe.
I'VE went into the hospital shed where
some two hundred men and women were
lying, nearly all OF whom were TO die
within seven DAYS. Swarms Of flies were
crawling over their faces. Some of the
poor sufferers raised hand now and then
10 drive off the flies. others could only
move their heads uneasiiy, others again
with fixed eyes and open mouths, could
do nothing: they were nearly dead
Two men whose duty It was 70 attend
on the sick were absent. There were
several servants idling about, but IT
would not have been etiquette TO ask
them TO do other mems work. As for
any Of them, or any Of the hundreds of
idle paupers. volunteering 70 keep the
flies from tormenting the patients on
their death beds, only simpleton would
imagine such a thing
The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
OLD Coins Coming on

Fram the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
I've been wondering if some Of these
people who rlve been boarding money
haven't lo0sonCd up considerably" re-
marked "a street car conductor. Maybe
it just happened SO and dosent mean
anything. but I was counting over some
coins the other dag and I found about
two dozen coins that looked almost new
hadn't been used much YOU knoW-an6
yet they bo~e old dates running away
back thirty or fourty years ago. I'd lust
like 10 know where these coins have
been"