davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
is LARGEST FLOATING DOCK

of the dock, run from end to end of
the two lateral cases.
Its keel and fundamental arrange
ments are such as to accommodate the
greatest merchantmen or heaviest
warships afloat.
Blohm & Voss, who made the dock,
will shortly launch Germany's first
cruiser ship-of-the-line, a type or ar
mored vessel called forth by England's
building of the Dreadnought class and
inaugurating a new building period for
the category Of German armored
cruisers. She will be driven by tur-
bines, not by the reciprocating steam
engine. She is costing German tax
payers So, 165, 1000.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
BEWARE OF TEACHING DECEIT

fare. If 1t is not a straight steal, it
is a sneaking business, which is just
as bad.
1t is a mighty poor education many
parents are giving their children, in
practicing or conniving at these lit
tie deceits. There is nc way they a
do their children more harm. How
all these little incidents should be
made use Of to teach honesty instead
of fraud! Had that mother sent that
boy who received a nickel of false
change, back to the grocery with it,
that little act would have been worth
more than a thousand nickels to that
boy. 1t would have helped to build
up his integrity and make him a re-
liable man.-EXchange.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
HOW TO APPLY FOR A POSITION.

The general manager of one of the
largest publication Offices in Chicago
has said that he advises all applicants
to answer blind advertisements in
newspapers when applying for a posi-
ton by writing simply, II feel I am
just the person you want. Please
grant interview" He says the inter-
view seldom fails to materialize.
Some persons a present their case
better by letter than in an interview,
while others know they can't write a
good letter and are likely to spoil
their chances if they attempt it.
When you know you can't write a
good letter, by all means write a
brief application like that suggested
above. But a well-written letter often
does more to get a good situation
than any interview.
A former advertising manager Of
Marshall Field & Co. was occupying a
humble position in the state of Ne
braska, when he conceived the idea of
writing to the big city firm stating
just how he believed he could be USE
full. He was encouraged to go to
Chicago to see the manager, a place
was made for him, though no vacancy
then existed, and he gradually rose to
be head of the advertising depart
ment.
An application for a position should
never be written on scraps of paper,
with a poor pen, or in a slovenly-look-
ing hand. Any hint Of s%elf-conceit or
generalization of self, is particularly
obnoxious to the employer, yet an
honest analysis of self, and a frank
statement of worthy ambitions are es-
sential to making an impression.
What the business man wants more
than anything else Is facts. Tell him
what you have done, tell him if you
can what others say of you, and don't
talk about salary until you are asked.
Frankness about the qualifications
really important to the business man
in his business, and a fine reserve on
all other points, please the busy bust
ness man best of all. Some say too
much, many do not say enough; but
there would be little trouble about
knowing what to say If you could put
yourself in the place of the business
man and consider just what he wants
to know. In this way you really show
him how we'll you understand the re-
quirements of the position for which
you apply.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
THE SIGNATURE.

The old style required some member
of the firm to sign all letters with the
firm name. without any indication as
to who was the actual writer. The
handwriting was supposed to indicate
the Official character of the signature.
Now firm names are almost univer-
sally typewriter, and the actual
writer of the letter signs on the line
below after the word "By." The old
word was per-" but as it is objection.
able to mix Latin and English. and
''by" is just as good if not better, care
full writer's now taboo per" except in
connection with Latin words as in per
annum."
In mail order houses, where thou
sands of letters are handled every
day, on a regular system, and the per-
sonality of the writer cuts no figure,
the writer of the letter is usually in
Dictated only by the initials at the left
hand side either above or below the
letter. The rubber stamp for sigma
lures Of letters is going out Of favor.
Somebody takes the trouble to sign a
letter with ink, as a sign of courtesy
and consideration. Even circular let
tiers are best signed with ink, as a
man can be hired to write the name at
very slightly higher cost than that of
any of the imitation processes, which
Immediately betray the circular and
make it look cheap.
1t is the duty Of every woman to in
dictate in writing to a stranger whether
she is married or single. This is done
by writing her husbands name after
Mrs" in parenthesis, or prefixing
Miss or Mrs" to her signature, al
ways putting it in p~arenthesis. To
omit the parenthesis is considered vul-
gar, to sign the name without indicat-
ing the condition is really discourte-
Gus, and to sign initials as a man does
is ridiculous. OF course when a woman
writes to a person or firm where her
condition is well known there is no
need to keep or inserting the Mrs"
or Miss" This is only for strangers,
and in letters to large business firms,
to all of whose employees one person
cannot possibly be known.
In a contract letter, or letter con
veying a credit order, a typewriter
signature is not loked on Is legally
binding Though as a matter of fact it
is), and the omission of all ink sigma
ture is disliked. Sometimes the type
written signature is vised by an ini-
tial in ink, but this looks cheap. If the
name Is NOT printed on the letterhead
it should be so written that it will be
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21

The problem of good roads, a cause
championed for many years by the
people of the rural and outlying dis
tricts of the United States, often with
misdirected zeal, and the problem OF
prison labor, in which organized tree
labor has been arrayed in a bitter fight
against state and prison officials.
would not have seemed to have a close
and vital connection a few years ago.
But a general movement, now we'll
launched In many states and steadily
growing in strength means that the
solving of the one problem will BIO the
partial solution of the other, says
Francis M. Buzzell in Popular Mechan-
les. This movement is the building of
good roads by convict labor.
The movement has not been devoid
of strife, nor has the opposition come
only from convict" brokers and con-
tractors. Criticism has come from
public officials, and even from voters,
who, although demanding better roads,
fought the convict labor proposition
SIlCuuOuOly. ia thO otoSS vi IAAoOeNih0,
for instance, the use Of convict labor
upon roads was, and still is, being
fought with bitter opposition and the
severest criticism, but opposition can
not long stand before the reasons In
favor of the movement.
According to experts who have stud
led the problem of good roads and the
problem Of prison labor jointly, the
building of public works which could
not otherwise be undertaken is the
sole occupation in which convicts can
be employed which will not encroach
upon free labor, and which will actu-
ally i~mmeasurably increase the de-
mand for the services of free labor,
benefiting at the same time the Grim
inal and the free man. No influence
more destructive upon human charac-
ter can be imagined than enforced idle
ness, while to allow the activity of the
convict to be employed in making
products for sale at prices below the
normal market Is degrading to Amer
lean labor. Not only are these asser-
lions made by those who have studied
the subject, but also that there is no
branch of public improvement Of such
general Importance to all the people
as the making of improved highways.
The activities Of the convicts in the
United States constitute in the aggre-
gate an enormous force, and how to
use these activities most effectively
in constructing highways Is a vital
question.
The list of. states now using convict
labor on the highways is too long to
mention in detail, but Colorado, New
Mexico and Wyoming are using such
labor to construct a great highway
which will run through the three
states, and Washington, Oregon, North
Carolina and Georgia, as well as sew
eral other states, have gangs at work.
Illinois is using a number of her con
victs in crushing stone for the roads,
believing this one of the most practi-
cal ways of employing such labor in
road construction, although not as
beneficial for the prisoners, perhaps,
as actual road work.
The fact that it takes prison-con-
fined men, be they petty or hardened
criminals, into the open country where
they gain a closer companionship with
nature, is not The least important
phase of the problem.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21

HOW TO ADVERTISE A Small
GROCERY BUSINESS.

The average small grocery store
merely sits still and waits for business
to come. If there are enough people
in the neighborhood who can't con-
y~eniently trade anywhere else the bust
nesss will be a moderate success. Most
small grocery stores depend on the
mere single advantage of location. A
little effort would extend the business
and make it grow until it yields far
more than a mere living.
The first thing is to have something
to advertise. Try every brand Of can
ned tomatoes, canned corn, etc., till
you know you have the best. Then tell
your people about it in a handful dis
tributed from door to door.
Every time you get a bargain, every
time you have a fresh shipment, a good
load of potatoes, an extra nice run of
sweet corn, fresh tomatoes at a very
low price, send out the good news, and
write it up just as enthusiastically as
you can.
1t is al excellent thing to have a lit
tie hand printing press of your own
that will print a sheet 6x9 or Sx12. Put
the biggest piece of news you have in
tell your most important news story in
a few enthusiastic, well-chosen, simple,
homely words, such as you would use
in talking to those who call.
Below that give six or eight real bar
gains-common articles at special low
prices for one, two or three days only.
Don't count your profit, count the num-
Der of new customers who com to
your place to trade, or the increased
business that old customers do.
Then hire a faithful man at a dollar
a day to take your handbills around
and leave one at every door in your
nelghborhood.
Don't do it once and stop. Do it at
least once a week. Get out an extra
big bill just before every holiday. Hard
work along this line will surely build
up a business. Many manufacturers
will gladly furnish you with printed
matter about their specialties which
you a distribute to advantage along
with your OWE bills.
If there is a local newspaper that
goes to about the same list of people
that you want to reach, you will find
that space in the newspaper will be
cheaper than handbills. People may
not respond very well at first. But
try to get something fresh that will
interest them, and keep IN for at least
three months. Before the end of that
time you'll surely be glad you started
TO advertise.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
DO YOU ANSWER EVERY LETTER
YOU RECEIVE?

It would seem as if out Of courtesy
any business man would reply in
some form to every letter he receives.
Surely no business man would allow
customers to stand around his store
Indefinitely without attention, and go
away without being attended to-.
But it is a fact that many business
letters are wholly neglected.
In a certain well-known New York
publication the advertisements are
followed by inquiry coupons which are
perforated so they a easily be torn
out and sent to the advertisers. The
writer filled out some thirty of these
and mailed them to the advertisers,
all well-known business concerns that
were paying high prices for this ad-
vertising. Only 40 per cent. of them
made any reply. One followed up the
first letter with a second, and one fol-
lowed up the first letter with a second
and a third.
Other experiments show that hun
dreds and thousands of letters to bust
ness houses are actually dropped in
III WdOlCUdohCL ~ AOfCl LII WClCus
The houses that have built up bust
ness by mail, however, make it a rule
that every letter, of whatever kind,
shall be answered, and if possible an
swered the same day it is received.
One firm receives about 10, 0 0 letters
a day, and about 10000 orders. The
orders are acknowledged by postal
card and filled in due course, and
every letter is answered within a few
hours after it is received. Another
house receives about 10000 letters a
day, and 10000 pieces of mail in all,
and gives the same prompt and scrup-
ulous attention to every piece. 1t is
the man who receives few letters who
is most negligent.
You never know whether an in
quirer is important or not, or when
the unimportant inquirer will become
important. Any business man who
neglects his correspondence is taking
grave chances. When he thinks ST.
lence conveys the idea, II am not in
terested in what you write" he for
gets that he is a gentleman, and that
somebody is waiting patiently day
after day for an answer to his civil
inquiry. A printed circular letter may
safely be thrown aside, for it's very
form indicates that it is general ad-
vertising and not a personal letter.
Yet when the advertiser asks for a
specific reply, or specific information,
1t should be given as a business
courtesy.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
FEW 0ARESSES III HER LIFE
Infinite Pathos In Remark Made BY
Little Philadelphia Child Of
the sIums.

DR.. Herman L. During, superintend.
emit of the Philadelphia City mission.
has for many years devoted his life
to the poor. Dr.. During Is the in.
ventor of the pretzel test for street
beggars. When a street beggar pleads
starvation, you buy him a big German
pretzel at the nearest stand. II he
eats the pretzel, he is honest: II he
refuses It, he Is a fraud.
DR.. During in his work among the
poor has learned many odd, quaint
things that he relates superbly. for he
is a born st%ory-teller. In an address
at Bala, apropos Of the hard, rough
lives of the children of the poor, he
related a dialogue between two little
girls in Rum alley.
Maggie, wuz ye ever kissed?' said
the first tot.
"'On'y wunst In me life wot I kin
remeraber.' said the second. When I
wuz IN de Honnyman hospital wild q
broken arm one o. de lady muses.
kissed me, an I blushed like Q
child"
ONE
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
Team of Insane Players.

A baseball team composed of pa.
tients and attendants at the Northern
Indiana hospital at Logansport, Ind,
for the insane has issued a challenge
to any similar team in the-~United
States. The team has as its star
pitcher a patient committed fro1l
South Bend who was once one of the
most noted players in the Centrsj
league. Proceeds from the games will
60 to the entertainment fund" Of the
hospital patients.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
Everybody swears by Him.

Everybody Swears by Him.
Who's the best-known man in this
township" queried the advance agent
for the medical show.
well, young feller," answered
Uncle Silas Seaver, slowly, as he care
fully packed the tobacco in his black
pipe, Jake Seymour holds that record
about now, by eatin' the fust new POI
tatoes from his own garden, tho Hank
Calkins is a close second with his
new peas. Aunt Sarah Stanton is at.
tractin' considerable attention with
her flock of Is light Brahmas, with
an egg record of IL dozen in eight
days, the same bein' writ up in the
Smithville Banner. An Wallis Weav.
er's buildin' a ley hip-roof barn. But
I guess, everything c%onsiderin', Squire
Hamilton's about the most popular
man about these parts. Everybody
seems to swear by the squire, seems
he's jest been elected assessor"
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21

The convict road-gang at work In
the southern part Of Colorado toll
peacefully through a magnificent val
lev near the New Mexican line, and
the glorious beauty of their surround
ings makes it almost in%conceivable
that among them are criminals whose
names have been bywords in the Grim.
inal history of Denver, Pueblo and 9TH
er towns in Colorado. Still more In.
congruous is this fact when it Is real.
lied that these men wear no distin.
gushing badge in the way Of clothing,
and that no armed guards are to be
seer anywhere. If a man wishes to es-
cape from such a camp it is conceded
that he can easily do SO, but that he
may be overtaken elsewhere follows
as a matter of course, and the penalty
one which Is dreaded by any convict
who has a taste Of open work-means
that activities will from then on to the
prison walls. Only five officers are In
charge of the camp, which is com.
posed of tents. The convicts sleep in
one big tent, and during the day are
divided into five gangs, each officer
having charge of a gang. Eight hours
Of road work constitute a days labor,
and the men must go to bed promptly
at nine o'clock every night except Sat
urday, on which they are allowed an
additional hour. Amusement Is al.
lowed to all in the camp. Some 1T the
convicts W and are able to play mu-
steal Instruments. Cards are also al.
lowed. Some spend their time pitch
ing quoits, and a baseball game Is usu-
ally played every evening before dark
ness sets in.
The method of guarding the con.
victs working on the roads in the state
of Washington is a little more strict,
but amusements are just as numerous.
Tho work selected to be done there
was the building of a wagon road
along the face of a nearly perpendicu-
lar bluff, the work involving the hand
ling of a large amount of dynamite by
the %convicts. The character of the
rock encountered was extremely hard,
making drilling very slow. Neverthe.
less, the average daily work accomp-
lished by each man amounts to 2.42
cubic yards of solid rock moved and
1 cubic yard of earth and loose rock
moved. AS the lowest bid received for
moving the rock was $3.50 per cubic
yard and for loose rock and earth 40
cents, the average daily work Of a
convict was valued at $4.03. The
camp established for the care of the
prisoners consisted of a stockade, 80
by 1875 feet, inside of which was erect.
ed a barracks. 10 by 48 feet. On the
outside of the stockade and adjoining
it, was built the guard-house.
The building of good roads in Geor.
gia by convict labor was brought about
not because of an irresistible popular
sentiment for good roads, but because
of the recent overthrowing of the
Convict lease" system. There had
developed in Georgia a system where.
by the ~convicts were leased to CON
vict brokers'" at a nominal sum. These
brokers, in turn, leased out the con-
victs to the owners of mines, but the
abuse Of this system became SO pro
nounced that an influential Atlanta
newspaper started a crusade which re.
suited in an extra session of the legis-
lasure and the humiliation Of the
statute.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
Catarrh Cannot Be Cured

with LOCAL APPLICATIONS. as they cannot reaca
the seat Of the disease. Catarrh Is q blood or constt
tutional disease. and In order to cure It you must take
internal remedies. Halls Catarrh Cure Is taken In
ternally. and acts directly upon the blood and mucous
surfaces. Halls Catarrh Cure Is not O quack medi.
cine. It was prescribed by one of the best physiciane
In this country for years and Is . regular prescription,
It Is composed Of the best tonics known. combined
with the best blood purifiers. acting directly on thu
mucous surfaces. The perfect combination Of the
two ingredients Is what produces such wonderful re-
suits In curing catarrh. Send for testimonials. free.
F. ]. HENEY Il CO.. Props. Toledo, O
Sold by Druggists. price 75c.
Take Halls Family Pills for constipation.
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
HOW TO WRITE TO A SUPERIOR.

There is scarcely n of us who
does not have occasion more or less
often to write important letters to our
superiors, and we find it difficult to
get just the right tone.
Excessive brevity in letters from
his subordinates is annoying to a
business man. He wants to know the
facts about his business. and all the
facts. OF course he doesn't want
wordy letters, but he wants full de-
tails and plenty of information.
He wants suggestions, but he doesn't
want dictation. Subordinates should
act like subordinates and not like the
boss. Modesty and reserve are ap-
preciated, but hesitation and timidity
only annoy and irritate. Some SUBJ
ordinates in their fear of giving of
Tense, beat around the bush, vaguely
hint, and seem afraid to say anything
clearly, definitely, and frankly. They
tantalize and annoy until they lose
their positions.
Try to strike the happy medium be-
tween an offensive freedom and a
cringing reserve. Success usually
comes from a real interest and abb
sorption in the business. That natural
enthusiasm for the work is what a
business man usually likes to see
best of all.
To learn to write letters to superiors
with the proper tone, it is n excel.
lent idea to try several different ver-
sions of an important letter, and
choose the best one. To form the
habit now and Of writing an i'm
portant letter over several times, let.
ting 1t lie over night, and coming to it
fresh after a rest, helps to develop
the moderate and medium style. Yet
such letters will lack the spontaneous
enthusiasm which is the best element
of all, and so usually should be laid
aside as mere exercises. They give
the ability of free and satisfactory ex-
preston, they develop the proper
habit and command of language; but
in the end the spontaneous enthusi.
asm of a quickly-written letter, die
tated by genuine interest, will beat
any studied form all out of the field.
Yet we must study so that when our
enthusiasm is on us we do not let it
run away with us. The studied letter
is the finest possible preparation for
the correct and effective spontaneous
letter when occasion calls it out.
Copyright. 1908. by Joseph B. Bowles.)
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
PhiIanthropic.

Elderly Bachelor-Mrs. Burnside,
will you marry me?
Attractive Widow-Mr. Wackford,
are you forgetting that I have six
children?
Elderly Bachelor-Not at all. l
want to help you train up the young
sterS-darn 'eml
The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1909-05-21
The ~scrubwoman's Lunch.

II used to let my scrubwoman get
herself a little lunch" said the city
fat dweller. TITS the nice thing to
do, I know, and I like to do 1t, but /
had to quit in self-defense. She took
an hour to get her lunch and a 1t
and charged me extra for the time
she put in"