davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

writer found a vast crowd OF boys en-
joying the luxury of river bath. for
many of these lads work in the steel
plant adjacent. and after their work is
over for the day plunge into the cool
ing waters of the Potomac is very re-
freshng and luxury well deserving or
the name.
At Giesboro point the water is very
deep. and the daring of some of the swim
mers is nerve-racking, as scores of these
hardy youths and in many cases lads
barely in their teens. swim out over
half mile from shore and there meet the
rollers from the big boats, which bury
them from sight for. apparently, cou-
pie of minutes at a time. Their COM
rades on shore seemingly think nothing
Of the recklessness of their mates, though
it is plain to the onlooker that a rescue
would be almost Impossible il need should
require it,
One of the enjoyable stunts from
spectators point of view, at the Giesboro
swimming ground is a game called Keep
the pot a-boiling,' which is played by
about Fifty or seventy-five boys, who. rap
idly following one another in succession.
run up on a high springboard and dive
into the river.
There is rare fun in this game. for the
board being wet and slippery from SO
many bare feet pattering up ii, frequently
serves 10 make the runner slip of the
side into the water. His disappearance Is
greeted with shouts of laughter from his
merry comrades. Again, a boy is too
slow. and the elf behind him will push
him overheard before he has a chance to
spring, but amid all the laughter. noise
and confusion every lad keeps up con-
slant cry to Keep the pot a-boiling.'' and
no crowd of kids, before or since, ever
worked at anything with SO much fervor
as do these Giesboro point boys in their
efforts to keep the pot a-boiling."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19
PHo6

water, and some of the little fellows
have become so proficient in the art
that while in the air they can turn
one and two complete somersaults before
hitting the water. They do these stunts
with such consummate grace that their
WORK frequently wins applause from the
envious grown-ups and from their youth
full associates.
While the bathing beach Is the mecca
for the majority OF youths of Washing
ton. still such famous swimming places
as Rock creek, along the Potomac and
about the various wharfs and out in the
Eastern branch and as far down the
river as Giesboro Point receive their full
quota of youthful Washingtonians in
search of a convenient place to swim.
The upper Potomac swimmers have only
one thing to watch. and that is the hated
police boat, and this nifty little craft the
argus-eyed kids can see a mile. Some
say the lads can tell it by the smoke
coming from the funnel, even though 1t is
a mile distant. AS they keep their clothes
hid on the Virginia side OF the river, all
they have to do Is to get on the Old DO
minion shore and the police have no au-
thority to make an arrest.
An amusing thing in connection With the
police boat and the kids swimming in q
state Of nature up the Potomac occurred
some time ago. when, much to the sur
prise of the policemen themselves, they
made a sweep down on three lads who
appeared to be wholly unconscious Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19
Full Load Of Baled Rags.

then small pieces can be picked out. Most
of these are old electric and gas fittings. :
with an occasional caster from some chair
or even at times a brass statuette. whose
former owner has grown tired or.
And other Kinds of Trash.
or course. there is large amount Of
trashs that even the thrifty ones at the
picking plant can find no use for in
commercial way They can make an
economic use of it. however, by turning
it all into their furnaces and using the
power derived to operate the whole plant.
There is power here enough to run sew
eral plants of the same size. so conse-
quently a great deal of il goes to waste.
During the first few months OF the OPP
Grafton of the picking plant the con-
tractors had a hard time to keep the
drivers of the various carts from taking
the first pickings of their loads and APP
propriating them to their own US. but
by the means of inspectors they think
that they have finally succeeded in put
ting a stop to this means Of petty graft.
Now and then at the plant real find Is
made. 1t is by no means rare thing
for some servant to carelessly drop in
the trash can along with the things
that are supposed TO go there silver
FORK or spoon. All of these come to
light when the busy pickerS get TO work,
and as there is no way to tell to whom
they belonged il means an additional
source Of revenue to the plant. Various
other things Of value often are unearthed,
things which no one on earth would
imagine to be in a trash can. Sometimes
the find is a lOng-lost pocketbook con-
tanning money in large or small amounts;
at others ii is valuable papers which
were left in pockets of garments thrown
away. In some instances these have
been restored to their owners when their
loss has been made public. but more often
the owner has never been discovered
The trash heap Is the supposed end OF
everv useful thing. The "song of the
shirt" has sung it's last refrain before
it ever reaches here; the old clock has
chirred it's last chime and the scrap Of
paper has borne its last love message
but the trash heap is only collecting
ground from which everything is rejuve-
mated and resurrected and made to serve
q new life of usefulness.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19
CL1n5InG Up For A DIvE

Some of the stronger boys have to be
called down for the way they handle the
younger bathers in the matter of duck
ing" them, which, as most everybody
knows, is gentle process of showing
some unsuspecting persons head as far
under the water as possible. Needless to
say, it is a shock, indeed. to a poor little
kid who is just learning how to swim
and is at the point where he can venture
out "over his head" He is congratulate
ing himself upon how well lie is doing
when all of a sudden some one comes
down on his head with a thump. and the
next moment he Is several feet below the
surface of the water trying to breathe
and keep from strangling at the same
time.
Very often he no sooner reaches the
top of the surface again than another
swimmer, not knowing, or caring. per-
haps, for his recent experience below the
water, gives him another push and down
he goes again.
"Ducking,'' though prohibited by the
rules of the beach. is a sport that is
secretly INDUCED in by the lads. and
will continue to be a boyish practice
Just as long as swimming is in vogue,
which is equivalent to saying that it will
be INDUCED In as long as there is enough
water to go swimming in.
The springboard, which the kids dive
from. is constructed in such a manner
that when a boy leaps from the con-
traption he Is thrown away out In the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

their being in the neighborhocd. As the
lads did not whimpei or put up any hard
luck story or pretend to make excuses
the "cops" were much puzzled. Though
they questioned the three of them they
could get nothing much in the informa
tion line from them.
BY the time the boat reached George
town the lads had all finished dressing.
Then they politely informed the officer
in charge of the launch that they were
the sons of a prominent foreign minister
to America. Upon inquiring, the officers
found that what the boys stated was true,
and. of course, the three batherS had to
be liberated at once. When this was done
they admitted that they had allowed
themselves to be captured on purpose SO
as to enjoy a free steam-launch ride back
to the city.
The majority of the boys swimming in
Rock creek at the present time-that Is.
up around the Massachusetts, avenue
bridge-are the sons of the well-to-do
residents who have handsome homes all
over Washington Heights, but this bunch
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

doesn't seem much chance Of any further
usefulness for the old shoe after q great
many people get through with it. but there
is. An old shoe may be all in as far as
immediate use Is concerned, but generally
1t Is only the sole that Is completely worn
out The uppers are usually in a pretty
fair condition. The uppers may be sold
to a man who makes 1t his business to
put whole soles on them and sell the fin
ished product at very low rate. But
even the worn-out soles may be used
prof1tabiy. The .soles and other bits OF
leather that are not even ft to make over
into washers are put In a large vat and
stewed until they lose all semblance OF
the original leather. and after they are
put through many different processes they
emerge in the form of gelatine. This.
however need not alarm the many users
Of gela tine, as. after the first couple Of
cooks through which it. passes, it is
ready for the remainder of the process.
which is clean and sanitary, gelatine
having been made for many years out of
horses hoofs.
which rubber is SO much in demand every
little piece has it's value and nothing that
even looks like rubber Is allowed to es-
cape the watchful searchers at the pick
ing plant. Cast-off rubber overshoes.
short pieces of garden hose, perhaps now
and then an old bicycle tire or even
broken rubber balls that the children
have thrown away are among the bits
that fall to one mans lot. great ma
jority of these scraps find their way to
the large rubber factories and are made
up into the automobile tires which have
formed the largest single demand for rub
Der articles during the last three or four
years.
Bottles always find a ready market. as
they are always useful until they are
broken and then they are no good except
to be thrown on the dump heap. A bottle
is never worn out any way until broken
and it may be used over and over again
without the user being any the wiser.
Perhaps the single article which has the
highest value Of all and is therefore the
most eagerly sought and incidentally the
hardest of all to find is brass. Brass is
worth nearly 80 cents pound from any
dealer and SO very little finds its way
into the trash can. However, now and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

in their utter recklessness when it came
to diving.
The bathing beach is the mecca where
the majority Of the youthful pilgrims who
travel oyer the hot asphalt of this hot
city rake for and along about 2 or 3
o'clock of an afternoon the place resem-
bles a miniature Atlantic City.
Boys from all sections of the city as
semble here, and the poor boy, middle
class boy and the lad OF wealthy parents
all appear to mingle freely together, for
when 1t comes to swimming in the same
.'old swimming hole" class distinction Is
completely eliminated. for every one is
having too good a time to think Of any
thing like caste.
They seem never to tire of listen
ing to the guard as he entertains them
with stories of his adventures while at
sea, for, added to his other charms. Is
the fact that he was once a sailor. This
alone is sufficient to make the younger
lads cape with wonder as the tattooed
gentleman unwinds few tales of what
occurred to him while sailing the briny
deep.
4 guard at the beach must needs be
watchful person. for boys with their
recklessness. are always likely to get into
trouble; and then, again, the little rascals.
in order to fool one another, will shrek
Justify for help. and in SO doing arouse
the entire beach. When they are about
to be rescued they give a sarcastic grin
and swim rapidly to shore themselves.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

of youngsters are a clean. manly set Of
little tykes if there ever was any, and
they will not stand for any "moilycod-
dies butting in" on them.
One can Journey by trolley to the east
ern confines OF the city and there, not a
stones throw from the jail, and within
plain sight OF that frowning institution.
can be found over a hundred boys of all
ages and all compilations. having the
time of their lives in the blue waters of
the Eastern branch. Here. too. in many
cases the bathers swim in a state of ma
ture. while others have costumes of all
sizes and descriptions
At this point some days ago the on
lockers witnessed regular life-saving
stunt that was pulled off by two boys ap-
parently in the neighborhood OF eighteen
years of age. They went bravely out
into midstream in order to rescue a pale.
manufacturing youth whose strength
gave out and who would have undoubt-
eddy drowned had 1t not been for the
quick work OF the plucky life savers.
Down the river at Giesboro point the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19
Bottles and Junk Ready for Market

of each trash cart after it has gathered all
of the rubbish that it can hold The
buildings are not very prepossessing on
the outside and still less SO on the inside,
for the contents of all of the trash cans
in the city are dumped there, and the
sight of these is not a very attractive
one to the casual observer. But the work
that is carried on in these buildings is a
very interesting one.
Every cart that comes uD with its col
lection of trash goes up a long incline
main building. Here the loads are
dumped and two men with pitchforks
load it on a long belt which runs the
whole length of the building
On either side Of the belt Is long
line of men Each stands on a little plat
form that brings the belt up to the mans
waist And each man has beside him
chute which runs down to the floor be-
low. A different kind of picking is as
signed to each man. One pulls out OF
the mass that hurries along all of the
brown paper. Another takes the other
kinds of paper. The next has assigned to
him all of the bottles that pass his way.
Still another picks out each old shoe and
every piece of old leather. Then there is
a man who gathers up all OF the rags He
puts the linen. cotton and wooden rags
down different chutes as each kind has
different market. Rubber has very
high value, SO there is man who does
nothing except search out old rubber
overshoes and pieces of hose that have
outlved their usefulness. Brass has, per-
haps. the highest market value of any
thing that comes in the building and con-
sequently is the most diligently sought for
of any.
The romance that is contained in many
of the objects salved in the picking plant
is a thing which the dusty workmen never
give a thought. To them each rag or
old shoe is only means to their weekly
pay check. Nearly everything that lands
in the dump, If it were able to tell its
story. could relate many things that
would besm interesting. Here as in
no other place do the belongings Of the
poor meet on common ground and in
close proximity. The pair of shoes which
the debutante wore at her coming-out ball
are huddled up against those of the
washerwoman; the coat that perhaps
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

use to which these bits of old carpets
and other bits of old wool are put is in the
making of felt hats and similar articles.
At a casual glance old tin can
would seem about the most useless for
any unitarian purpose unless it were melt
ed up and made entirely over again. but
some ingenious mind got to work on the
subject and conceived an idea by which
it Is not necessary to send the cans to
foundry to be made over. The cans are
put in a machine which cuts the ends off
and strafghtens them out into an oblong
piece. These pieces are put in a press
and that most useful object, the head Of
a beer bottle, is stamped from them. Beer
bottle heads are worth about 3 cents
pound. and as there are many tons Of
old tin cans collected during the year
there is quite a nice revenue from these
alone.
Gelatine From Sole Leather.
WORKOUT shoes and pieces of leather
what do they do with these? There
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

adorned the shoulders OF an eminent
statesman is cast aside with that which
was no longer of any use TO wandering
Weary Willie. The plebeian beer bottle re-
poses in the same pile as it's aristocratic
champagne prototype. Perhaps in this
same dump heap is the fall overcoat or
old cap that some husband with blood in
his eye viii be searching for as the days
get cooler.
Baling Old Paper.
What Is the ultimate disposal Of all of
the trash that finds its way to the picking
plant? There are many uses to which
the various finds are put. Paper is per-
haps the largest accumulation made dur
ing the day. Something like fifteen tons
a day are baled up and sent back to the
large paper factories to be made into a
cheaper grade of paper. The paper falls
from the chute right into the bale. and
as soon as one bale is filled it is tied up
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

and another is put in its place. There is
no chance to make large collection of
bales. for one wagon Is kept busy all the
time taking the bales to the freight sta
ton and loading them on the cars for
shipping.
Linen and cotton rags, too. are also sent
to the paper factories. but these are used
exclusively in making fine writing and
printing papers. These rags are rather
scarcer than paper, and SO not more than
three or four bales day can be sent
away. Many an old collar and shirt thus
find their way from the wsarer back to
his desk.
Wooden rags are found in about the
same proportion as the others. but they
are devoted to an entirely different pur-
pose. After carefully separating them
from the others they are baled up and
sent to a manufacturer of shoddy cloth.
This shoddy is perhaps not the best ma
terial out OF which to make clothes, but
il has a great many uses to which it can
be put advantageously. The principal
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

. w Contractors Collect the
. Waste and Arrange to Make
Money Out of It-Disposing
; of Wornout Shoes, Hose and
. Old Clothes With an Eye to
the Dollar Value Gelatine
) Out of Shoe Soles-Bottles
of All Degrees From the
Aristocratic Champagne One
to the Plebeian Holder of
Beer-Scme of the Valuable
Things That Find Their
Way Into the District Waste
Heap.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

\AA manfully in their endeavors
wv to keep the larder well stock
ed these redhot days their
healthy and fun-lovins boys are simply
having the time OF their care-free lives.
disporting themselves in the cooling wa
ters of the broad Potomac river. and the
creeks and ponds in the nearby vicinity OF
this sizzling city.
All the young Washingtonians who are
not actually bedridden can be found en-
gagged in pursuits fish-iike In character
and health-g giving in general. The merry
shouts of these little chaps. together with
the cooling and seductive splash OF the
water, causes many a weary and heat
oppressed "grown-up' travelling by TO
wish with all his heart that he were
boy once again and could throw respon-
sibilities ASIDE and take a cooling plunge
In the water as he used to in days OF
yore.
This was the wish of the writer as he
stood the other day down at the bathing
beach watching the kids as they made
merry in the water with not care or
thought OF more Importance than to Guido
enc ano ncr ia their skill in swimming or
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-19

z" HASHINGTON'S old trash is no
N.Y. longer piled in the public
ANx dump and used to fill in waste
w lands. Every little piece Of
rubbish that the householders
Of this city place in their trash cans-every
piece of paper. every old shoe. tin can. bit
OF rubber. bottle or rag; each has its
monetary value and each is searched for
as diligently as the miner searches for
flakes of gold in placer mine. OF course
the rubbish that comes from a single
house Is not very valuable in itself but
in the words of the popular song:
Every little BIT added to what you've got
Makes Just little bit more.
And so the rubbish Of all the houses in
Washington. which amounts to nearly
nineteen tons q day, is quite a valuable
find.
A collection of frame buildings at 23d
and Seaton streets northeast is the goal
The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-05-23
Milk Eight Cows SimuItane ousIy

College Station, Texas.-Prof.
&c. H. Alvord. who has general
superintendent of the college
dairy, has installed system OF
milking machines which will milk
a cows four teats at a time, each
machine being attached to two
cows. Four machines can be oper-
ated by one man, and thus eight
cows, or thirty-two teats. are being
MIXED by one man, where former
ly hired man, or possibly some
cadet, pulled away with one hand
on a single teat.
Prof. Alvord states that the ma
chimes are proving a distinct sue
cess. They milk the cows clean as
we'll as rapidly. One difference
worthy of remark is seen in the
fact that machine extracted milk
stays sweet longer than that ex-
tracted by hand.
The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-05-23
Brownsville Is not Jealous.

The Brownsville doctors, who
attended the Corpus Christi con.
vention. report that it was great
success. Nearly every town and
county in the state had a repre-
sentative present, and the work
was both profitable and interest
ing. They are loud in their praises
OF the royal hospitality extended
to the visiting medicos by the city
of Corpus Christi. Brownsville
HERALD.
The above kind words so gra-
ciously uttered by the Brownsville
HERALD are greatly appreciated by
the people of this city. The more
so because, coming from neigh
boring town, it shows the friendly
feeling and absence of jealousy and
envy in the growing and progress
sive communities of this wonderful
gulf coast.
And this is as it should be. This
part of Texas is not for the few
but for the many, and none of us
should try to exploit one particu-
lar section at the expense of our
neighbors. Legitimate, fair and
honest competition is proper at all
times, but when one city tries to
build up by undermining neigh
Dor, it degenerates into common,
vulgar quarrel which ends by in
juring both and doing nobody any
oood -Norr,,c Chricti peratd
The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-05-23
DErIED THE JUDGED.
Susan B. Anthony Fined for Voting. Re-
fused to Pay the Fine


1t has been SO many years ago
that most people have forgotten
that the late Susan B. Anthony
was fined 500 or a year. S imprison-
ment for having dared to vote for
General Grant for president, .
said Judge F. H. Meyers of
Chicago at the Stafford.
Miss Anthony was as brave as
she was intellectual, and asked to
be allowed to speak word in her
own behalf. Permission being
given, she told the court of the
struggle she had in keeping little
newspaper going, from which she
made her living. : Your honor,
she said. holding up her right
hand, I am due my creditors not
less than $1,000. This money l
expect to live to pay. but am
willing this arm shall wither from
my body before I will pay the 500
you have so uniustly assessed
against me-.
The court realized the deep
seriousness of Miss Anthony's de-
claration, and though she could
have been ordered to Jail for nom
payment of the fine his honor did
not have the nerve to enforce the
extreme penalty. Miss Anthony
lived for many years after its i'm
position, but the fine was never
paid. Baltimore American.
The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-05-23

THE first carload of water
melons shipped from Texas this
SEASON was shipped out from
Calvin on the Brownsville road
As soon as this section gets pro-
perly at work on the melon bus
iness, it will be supplying the
country with all the watermelons
it can consume in May and June
Preparing the freight will not
trouble these melon shippers,
either, as they will know that they
are reaching the market before 1t
can become glutted or the price
get so low as to make their product
improbable.
The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-05-23

TEXAS deer are fighters. Wit
ness the big stag which disputed
the road with a train on the South,
ern Pacific road near Victoria the
other night, wrecking the train.
Thestag succeeded in butting theen-
CINE off the track into the ditch, but
he thrown off the track himself,
despite his valiant stand for his
rights, and suffered the loss of his
left forefoot and splendid antlers.
He only weighed 1000 pounds.