davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
CamphOr

How about the camphor monopoly? 1
understand hat Japan supplies the world
with that drug
THAT is true and it is also true that
most of the supply comes from Formosa.
Within the last year or so camphor for
ests AVE been discovered in China, and
there is prospect of competition from tina
country. At present we have a monopoly
of the worlds trade and the government
has control Of the manufacture and sale
in order to protect the industry. When we
took possession Of the island we found the
camphor blsiness in a precarious state. Ne
efforts were made to spare the trees and
the crudest methods were employed in the
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Sugar, Rice and Tea.

SIS Formosa a rich island?'
"Yes,' replied Baron Goto. ut has much
excellent soE and 1t produces large crops
of tea, rice, sugar and hemp. Almost any
thing that will grow in the Philippine
islands will grow there. Sugar is proving
especially valuable. Some time ago the
government imported seven American mills
TO crush the cane and a number OF new
manufacturing firms have been established.
Sugar has been raised there for hundreds
of years and it is stnl the chief crop. The
yield is now from 10000 to 10000 pounds per
acre.
A to rice, we are trying to improve
the product in quantity and quality. The
people are now raising two crops a year
I'm most parts of the island. We expect to
better the tea also and give back to 1t the
high standing which it formerly held in
the American market. The chief variety
is known as Oolong. 1t was first sent to
America in 1867, when It WAS worth more
than 81 a pound. The annual exports now
amount to about 100000 pounds, Of which
Oolong constitutes about one-third of the
whole. l understand the tea is very popu-
lar in America, and that its sale there
might be still greatly increased"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Big Changes in Formosa.

What other improvements have you
made?"
"A great many. We are practically max
ing a new island Of Taiwan,' said DR..
Goto. And what is more we are now
making the island pay it's own expenses,
and ii will in time pay for all its i'm
provemenis. We are putting roads every
where. We ave introduced postoffices
into all the towns. In 1896 there were only
forty-five places where postage stamps
could be bought. There are now 600 or
700. About 100000 letters and post cards
and about 100000 other postal packages
60 through the mails every year. We
have money order offices and postal saw
ings banks with tens of thousands of de-
p~ositors. We have something like 1000
miles of telegraph wire and about 800, 900
messages are sent over them every year.
Our telegraph receipts are more than 1,O00.-
900 yen per annum and they yield a profit
to the government. We have a good tele-
phone system established. There are sew
eral hundred miles of lines and the tele-
phone calls run up into the millions a
year. We are using wireless telegraphy
in some districts into which the ordinary
lines have not been extended"
How about your connections with Japan
and China?"
They are very good. The Osaka shosen
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

slant fall all the year round sufficient to
generate electricity for the road and at the
same time not affect the irrigation Of the
country below"
Tell me something about the railroads,
your excellency."
When we took possession of the island
we found a little road sixty-two miles long
running from Kelung to Shinchiku. II was
In bad condition and the route selected was
SO inconvenient that we planned out this
line running from one end of the island to
the other. We began work at both ends
and pushed forward night and day in order
to complete 1t at the earliest possible time.
In places we employed light railways tenn
perRrily, using Chinese coolies to push the
cars. Some parts Of the road were very
difficult to construct. We had to carry
the track across valleys on bridges and
to make some very long tunnels, but we
kept at 1t and the road is now complete.
II was our original intention to take ten
years to build the road, but it has been
done in much less than that"
What did the road cost?'
I'm the neighborhood of S14,OOO,OO0 or SIS
100000. We shall build branch roads here
and there and shall open up the whole of
the settled part Of the island through
railways"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

Give me some idea Of the Chinese OF
Formosa, What kind OF people are they,
and how big a proportion of the popula-
tion?"
They form the most OF the inhabitants.
There are something like 100000 of them
and only a few thousand savages. The
Chinese own all the cultivated lands. They
populate both town and country and they
are the real working part of the islands.
They are mostly farmers, over 100000 of
them being engaged in agriculture. There
are about 100000 merchants and $1,000 fish
ermen. The laborers number something
like 10000, and those engaged in manufac-
ture about 10000"
Have you many Japanese?'
1--WE have 10000 or So"
What are you doing to educate the
peopleT'
1--WE are establishing schools and trying
to make the use OF the Japanese language
prevalent throughout the island. We have
a central language school at Taipeh in or
der to teach Japanese to the natives and
the native language TO the japanese. This
school has a normal branch which is train
ing japanese teachers for the native pri-
mary schools. 1t has a language branch
where students are trained for the civil
service. We have railway and telegraph
sections We lave also some schools for
girls. We have established primary schools
for native children all over the island and
they are largely attended"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

not include isolated plants or plants that
are idle or In course of construction.
h total lumber OF establishments in
1907 was Ana. an increase of sO.2 per cent
over 1902 These plants gave employment
to S4,Gs wage earners and developed 5.s5S,-
ia.eeo kilowatt hours. These central sta
tions supply current for b55, s21 arc lamps
and n,sO7,9 "a incandeseent lamps. The
total horsepower capacity of the stationary
motors served was l,s4s,O2s The increase
in lighting during the five years has been
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

track is not continuous for more than 1O
miles. On the Seattle-T coma line the track
has been finished from Black River juno
ton to Summer, Wash. East of Seattle
the road is completed for a distance of
seventy-five miles. and work over the
S~noqualmie pass of the Cascades is being
rapidly pushed. On one division there are
at least sixty fills to be made OF an aver
age depth of seventy feet. and the road
between Black River and the tunnel will
cost probably $4,000 a mile.
Through the st, Paul pass, in the Bitter
Root mountains. work is further along; the
grading is completed and the bridges are
built. In Seattle the terminal work is
scarcely begun. In view OF the fact, how
ever, that the greater part OF the extension
has been done during a time Of financial
depression. the work in general is a marvel
In the annals of railway construction.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

1891 as quietly as / coulu on a pier
table with Miss Amanda Shurlds, who aft
erward became my brother Johns wife.
We tried to be seen and not heard but l
fear we succeeded in being heard more than
anybody else. At any rate, ! have since
learned it from the lips of Cadmus Wilcox
(afterWard General Wilcox that ! was the
most pestiferous little nuisance during the
whole wedding; that / was under his feet
all the time when I was not under some
body else's feet, and that he had most
heartily wished me in bed. No doubt We
were both as ubiquitous and chittering as
most small girls are apt TO be on such
occasions. But. at least, l sat still long
enough to admire my big sisters extreme
prettiness as she stood in her bridal dress
beside her quiet. self-possessed soldier.
Captain Grant was as cool under the fire
OF the clergyman's questions as he had
been under the fires Of the Mexican ar
tillery. He did not look as II he were
ashamed or afraid TO be there, as / have
seen some other ~bridegrooms look"
Mrs. Casey also makes an important con-
tribution to the controversy about Grants
early habits:
perhaps / ought TO have said before
though Il will apply equally as well here
that during all the time | knew Grant. be-
tween his return from California in 1854 TO
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Quaint Features of Everyday Life

ranger at the trial of a member. broke up
the meeting and forced him to go home
and addressed him as imp" and Indian"
George p. Gillette, of Spokane. was granted
a divorce from Anna Gillette.
They were married In st, Lawrence
county. New York. January IL. 1895, and.
Gillette declared in his petition. immedi-
ately afterward his wife began abusing
him, continuing until life became unbear-
able. He was finally forced to leave their
home in New York. following the lodge
room episode, TO escape the ridicule Of
~neighbors and members of the order.
BY taking him home, the complaint adds,
she broke up the trial and he was forced
to resign his office, as It was likely his wife
would come for him at any time during
lodge meetings.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

~. Wa W NNNGN
Queer old secret tunnels. built sixty or
seventy years ago, and leading from one
Of Clevelsnd's oldest residences TO arti-
ficial caves in the hillside above the Cuya-
hoga river, have been discovered in the
demolition OF the old w, ], Gordon home
stead, on West Ninth street, opposite Lake
side avenue. W. J. Gordon, who gave
Cleveland's largest park 10 the city. was
the grandfather of Daisy Gordon Hanna
Patton OF New York. divorced wife OF Dan
r. Hanna.
Secret stairways and hidden closets
abounded throughout lhe building. and
were located on every flcor. secret cab
inets being found even IN the garnet near
chimneys. Just what purpose the tunnels
and strange compartments served nobody
seems to know,
Gordon was always considered eccentric.
but his oddities IN the construction of his
home and grounds were never brought to
light. He was for years one OF the largest
wholesale liquor dealers in the central
west
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

is used in some parts OF China. When
we took possession OF Formosa there were
eighty-nine native and foreign firms en-
gagged in importing the drug. There were
sixty or seventy different medicines con-
tanning opium which the people bought
when the drug ran short and opium was
used by all classes. At first the officials
favored the policy Of prohibition, but / OBJ
jected to that on the ground that It would
be injurious to the people to suddenly stop
the smoking and that such a prohibition
could not be enforced. The result was our
present policy"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

the robbers to believe they were sur
rounded. Beck forced them to return
H,eO0-all OF his money they had left-and
then attempted to bring them to Musko-
gee to Jail.
Learning that their capture had been
effected by one man, the men made a
dash and escaped, but not until Beck had
wounded two Of them. A sheriff's posse
today is searching the mountains for the
robbers.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Fighting the Natives.

Altogether, 1t Is doubtful whether Japan
has lost more men in handling her savages
than we have lest with ours at the Philip
pines. Since 1896 there have been fourteen
big fights and several thousand skiririshes.
In these 22 japanese and about 1900
friendly Formosans have been killed, while
about 100000 has been spent in defending
the boundary line. This line runs along
the third mountain range. and there are
five or six men in each guardhouse. The
houses were formerly rooted with thatch,
but the savages set them on fire with burn
ing arrows, and they are now covered with
sod. The aborigines heve firearms and are
excellent shots. They are becoming more
and more quiet, and it is believed that they
will eventually be civilized.
FRANK @. CARPENTER.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

In the San Bols mountains. s~ingle-handed
and In the dark. James Beck, a farmer
living near Stigler. okl., captured five
bandits who had robbed him OF 5000, re-
covered part OF the money and made a
gallant but Intellectual attempt 10 land his
game in jail. Two were wounded, but all
escaped.
Sunday morning the men broke into
Becks' house and stole his money. Armed
only with a revolver. the farmer started
In pursuit and trailed the robbers day
and night until at dusk Thursday he saw
them enter the San Bots mountain. sew
enty miles southwest OF Muskogee, He
lay In walt until dark, and when the quin-
tet fell asleep Beck approached yelling
Hands upl Cover them. boys!" leading
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

current. a total increase of 27e.5 per cent.
o
Building n Railroad with Electricity.
One OF the greatest undertakings in the
history OF railroading is the Pacific ex-
tension of the st. Paul road. More than
500, COO, 900 will be expended on this new
line, which will reach from Chicago to
st. Paul and across Montana to Seattle.
over the 800 miles Of mountain stretches
electricity is to be used as the motive
power; aO-ton electric locomotives will
haul the trains. Down the sides of the
Bitter Root mountains are pouring a suf-
ficient number OF streams to furnish album
ldant power for all the electric motors
which the St. Paul will need to handle its
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
what Formosa Costs Japan.

us Japan spending much money on
Formosa?"
mot now" replied Baron Goto. 9TH
island is s~elf-supporting. 1t is not only
paying all of its running expenses, but It
has a surplus every year which we can
devote to public Improvement. We intend
to develop the island as much as we can
and to spend in Formosa the taxes col
lected there. In addition to what / have
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

-OKIO, 19O9.-(Special Correspond
liza ence OF The Bee.)-I want to
tell you what the japanese are
- doing in FormOsa. Uncle Sam
41S6dtMN Is much interested in that
1 island, and Secretary Taft re-
Gently sent a commission of the War de-
partment to go through It and report to him
with a view to improvements in our policy
in managing the Philippines. Japan got
Formosa at the close of its war with
China, just about five years before the
Philippines came to us. The island was
then In the throes OF rebellion, and 1t was
looked upon as about the poorest piece of
property in the far east. 1t had practically
been offered to France and Great Britain
and refused. It's inhabitants were thought
to be only pirates and savage head hunters,
miXed with the lowest grade opium-smok-
iIt Chinese, and 1t was turbulent to an
extreme. 1t was, If anything, in a worse
condition than the Philippines when we
took hold of them. After the island was
ceded to the japanese they had to fight
their way from one end of it to the other
to conquer it. and they kept a military es-
tablishment there for five or six years.
.
FormOsa in 1909.
Al the same llHle lHey began TO make
improvements and to reorganize the coun-
try. The island was put under a civil ad-
ministration within less than two years
after its requirement, and now. at the end
OF thirteen years, IL is a fixed part of
the japanese empire, paying Its own finan-
cial expenses and rapidly improving along
the lines of modern civilization. In these
letters of mine on the awakening of Asia
It is thus fitting that at least one should
be written on the awakening Of Formosa.
In order to tell you how this nation
Of a and semi-barbarians has been
quiekened into modern life, 1 called this
morning on Baron Shimpee Goto at his
officiaa residence near the Shinbashi rail-
road station here in Toxic. Baron Goto
is now one of the cabinet OF the emperor.
He Is the minister of communications; and
as such has charge of the railways, tele-
graphs, shipping and other transportation
problems of Japan. 1t is now over ten
years since he was made the civil gov
ernor OF Formoss, and it was largely due
TO him that that island has been so rapidly
and efficiently reorganized and rejuve-
mated. He was for almost ten years In
charge Of Its development, and no one car
speak better as to it's present situation and
its future.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14


stand the fuss that was made about him
after he had saved Mildred's life. The lit
tie girl fell from a dock into the mud OF
Norwalk haTbor. and would have sunk
and been suffoeated in the slime II Johnnie
had not jumped in after her and held her
head up until help came. But. as Johnnie
said. when Mfdred's mother kissed him,
how could any maxwell. any boy-have
done less for the girl he was going to
marry.
The tide was out when Mildred fell from
the dock. and the little girl landed in mud
so soft that she sank almost out OF sight
in 1t, and 50 thick that It held her In the
grip OF a quicksand. Johnnie landed beside
her e moment later with n glorious splash,
hut he spread himself so artistieally in his
fall that he kept his W head above the
slime. and was able to raise Mildred's face
20 that she was able to breathe, But the
mud was too yielding to allow the children
70 make their way TO shore, and I, was not
until William A. Benedict and Edward
Webb, attracted by their cries, ran out a
double line OF planks that II was possible
to pull the children TO safety.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
EIectrio Power PIantn,

He director of the census has is
sued a preliminary report on the
electric light and power stations
OF the United States. The sta
tistics relate 10 the year ending
December 81, 1907, The totals do
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

Kaisha has three or four steamers q month
via Moji. The passage takes about four
days. There is a regular service of steam
ers around the coast Of the island and
regular connections with Fuchan, Annoy,
Swatow and Hong Kong. As a result of
the steamship communication and our i'm
provements in the island the
with japan is steadily increasing and a
large proportion of the foreign goods comes
from here. The imports of the Island now
amount to in the neighborhood of $4,000, 900
yen and the exports are considerably more
than that. More than one-half of the inn
ports come from Japan and more than half
of the exports go there"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Harneasing the SUMS Rays.


George s.. Cove, a well known Boston in
%ventor, has perfected an apparatus for
storing the suns rays and utilizing the heat
energy thus developed to generate an cleo
trio current sufficiently brilliant to light
his workshops. In two days OF sunshine
the device generates and stores enough
electricity to last six days.
The apparatus consists OF a framework
placed where is receives the direct rays OF
the sun, This framework of thin steel is
divided into squares, each of which contain
sixty-one plugs. These project from &C.
ment. and come in contact with !. thick
glass through which the sun strikes. Filled
In around the plugs is a body OF heat alb
sorbing material. The plugs are connected
in series by strips OF metal. The differ
enee IN temperature of the two ends of the
plugs generates the electric current.
%
Electric window and shutter.
An ingenious device for opening and shut
ting windows at will has recently been
patented by William b. Strong OF Wash
ington and Easthampton. Mass. By means
Of Mr.. Strong's invention, II appears posi-
BILE not only for the invalid in bed to con
troll absolutely the windows of the sick
room, but also for the hundreds or even
thousands Of windows in modern sky
scrapers. and the shutters protecting them,
70 be controlled from a single point by
a single operstOr-whleh might c~onceivlbly
De OF great advantage In case Of fire.
Avoiding the details Of a too echnical OF
involved description. the Invention consists
in revolving drums placed beneath the sill
OF each window. These drums having
passed around them pulley cords by means
OF which their CONFERENCE.-The. ordinary
window sashes. are held balanced In the
desired position when raised or lowered
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14

manufacture. Now factories have been
established in Formosa and Japan, and the
most of the product goes abroad. either
direct or through Japanese ports. II used
to go by way Of Hong Kong"
How much camphor does the world use
in a Year,"
about 100000 pounds. Our revenue from
II amounts in the neighborhood OF $500, 900
a year. We restrict the production ac-
cording to the demand n are thus en-
abled to keep Up the prices. The camphor
trees of Formosa are said to cover an
area of many square miles and we prob
ably have enough to supply all that the
world will need for a century to- come"
Formosa and the Opium Evil.
TIL conversation here turned to the
opium question. The japanese do not allow
opium to be used anywhere except in
Formosa. None is smoked in Japan proper
and the authorities believe that they have
adopted a policy which will eventually
wipe out the practice in Formosa. This
policy was largely originated by Baron
Goto, who is noted as a physician and as
a sanitary scientist, as well as a states
man. Said he:
II had had much to do with opium pa
tents prior to my going to Formosa, and l
knew that It was a physical impossibiiity
to successfully prohibit the opium smoking
among those who had been addicted to
the habit for years, Indeed, 1t is almost
impossible to stop the use OF the drug even
when the man himself is anxious to do
so. The only way to handle the situation,
II seemed to me, was to have a registered
list OF those addicted to the practice and
to have a certain amount OF opium sold
through the government to them by
licensed officials. It is a crime to sell
opium to those who are not SO registered,
and against the law for any one to import
or manufacture 1t. All this busines is a
government monopoly and Infringement
of the law subject one to a fine not ex-
ceeding 5000 yen, or to imprisonment with
hard labor up to five years. The govern
ment grants special licenses to habltual
smokers, and any one who smokes without
a license is liable to be imprisoned for as
long as three years or fined up to S,0O1
yen. As 1t is now. the government inn
ports and manufactures all the opium
used. The list of smokers is gradually de-
creasing by deaths, and in time we hope
to entirely abolish the evil"
do you think that China can abolish
it's opium evil by it's recent prohibitory
laws?"
mo. 1t is an impossibility. You can
Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-14
Ont of the Mouths of Babes.

o.
Ont OF the Mouths of Bahe..
II certainly was a remarkable thing
mat none Of the wise people at the national
capltal awoke TO the fact that Senator
Knox was Ineligible for a cabinet place
until his selection has been made. said
ex-Judge ChTistianoy OF New York. quoted
py the Baltimore American.
Al reminded me OF an incident tnat han.
pehed In Albany a number OF years ago.
When was a member Of the legislature.
one day for some reason a member wanted
10 verify a certain passage from the ten
commandments. but when the Bib,e was
handed him he did not know where 10
look Neither did any OF his oolleaeues
Know, Nearly everybody was aware mai
the divine laws were somewhere hide,
away In the old testament, but this was the
END OF the combined knowledge ~ the
assembly AT this juncture a meek. faced
little page a youngster OF some p sum
mers. piped up that II the gentleman would
look In the twentieth chapter OF Exodus
ne would find the commandments. II was
a rather diseoncertlng thing that a cham
Der OF grown men had to acknowledge the
superior of a child