davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1909-12-11

without delay. All OF us, the mem.
bers Of your honorable body az well
as the members Of the executive and
administrative branches OF the mum.
cipal government, ought to be inter.
ested in having the work OF this com.
mission done a. thoroughly a. pos.
sible and as quickly as IL consistent
with searching work to the end that
we may get a report which will In
fairness and completeness Justify the
! undertaking.
II appointed this commission on
municipal expenditures by your au.
thority. Three Of it, members are
members of your honorable body. Aid.
erman Merriam. Alderman Snow. and
Alderman Finn. The other members
are Walter H. Wilson, controller Of
the city Of Chicago; David r. Forgan.
A. G. Bartlett, Frank I. Bennett, vii.
liam A. Tilden, John w. Alvord,
George q. Tunell and Walter L. Fish.
or. I appointed these men because
had confidence In their integrity, their
judgment. their fairness and their
ability to make an inquiry of this
kind.
Some Of them agreed to serve only
at my earnest personal solicitation.
For this reason. II for no other. !
would regret to zee any action taken
by your honorable body which might
be construed by prejudiced minds to
look like disposition to hamper the
commissions operations.
But the main reason for being lib.
eral with this commission Ia that we
all want the inquiry into municipal
expenditures to be as thorough as pos.
sible.
II hope II will 60 into the expen.
ditures Of every department and bu.
reau Of the municipal government
every pumping station. every engine
house. every police station. every nook
and Granny. It should cover not only
the work Of the various departments
and bureaus today. but the work OF
these departments and bureaus In the
past.
1T should develop the loose prac.
tices and customs that have grown
up with the years Of shifting admin
istrations. Il should concern itself
with all the transactions of the re-
spective departments. not merely with
scattered incidents. It should concern
itself with getting at the facts-all
the facts-concerning each depart
ment."
| Here's another good reason fol-
abolishing the purchasing agents Of
fee:
During the last eleven years about
$250.000 worth of city property has
been sold illegally. The sales Of junk
and unusable material by city bust
ness agents since that ofilce was Great
ed In 1893 have been contrary to thu
State law.
BY coincidence alone and not as ar
effect Of the attack on the methods Of
the present business agent. Howard
W. Hayes. assistant corporation coun
sci, who Is revising the city code, re
Gently gave an opinion that the city
council has no statutory power Il
delegate its powers Of sale to any ON
cial.
The opinion was given Nov. 3-tha
ID. before the expose Of the Cumming
foundry affair and other matters II
connection with the department O
supplies-'but It now Is given addet
importance because the sales Of junl
and old Notwithstanding to $50
. 151. In 190S-have begun to receiv,
the same attention given. to the pur
|, chases by the same once.
Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1909-12-11
RECOMMEND VACATION OF
STREET.

The vacating of nearly half mile
Of North Kedxie avenue, between Pc.
terson and Bryn Mawr avenues. was
recommended Monday by the council
committee on streets and alleys west.
In consideration Of the vacation Of the
property the Peterson's nursery peo.
pie agree to open North Spaulding ave.
nue., between Peterson and Bryn Mawr
avenues, and the sanitary board agrees
to pave sixteen feet Of the street. which
Is 66 feet wide. The drainage board
wants the property for docking priv.
leges.
Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1909-12-11
To pp0rrCr THE BRIDGES.

TO PROTECT THE BRIDGES.
Upon the recommendations Of Har-
bormaster Scott the council committee
on wharves, bridges and harbors Mon.
day condemned the practice Of wind
ing" vessels in the river, and an or.
dinance doing away with this practice
was recommended to the council. Mr..
Scott said Il was the practice Of mas
tiers Of large vessels to jam the nose
Of their boat into one Of the middle
piers Of the bridges and let the wind
and the current swing It around. I'm.
der the ordinance recommended boats
will have to 80 to the turning basis
before turning around.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
His Job,

The son of rich father quit college.
He was in love, he explained, and
couldn't keep his mind on his books.
He wanted TO go to work and make a
place for himself in the world So his
father got him on the payroll of a
bank in which he was a director. The
young mans sweetheart-in her second
year at Vassar-kept writing him how
proud she was over his independence
and asking just what position he held,
so she could tell the other girls. The
young man sidestepped the question as
to his prominence in the banks organ
ization until finally his intended
wrote him a peppery letter saying that
If he didn't give her the information
by return mail she would be real an
cry Then, after much thinking. the
youth wrote her this:
"I've wanted all along to tell you
about my position and would have
done so before If had known myself
About all do here is to raise a win
dow when 1 come in the morning and
put 1t down when leave in the after
noon. The rest of the time l read or
watch the others< work. l don't know
Just what you could call my job. Bet
ter tell the girls that I'm the draft
clerk. That will come the nearest to
describing my duties" New York
Press.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
ANCIENT GUNS.
Remarkable Weapons That Were Used
by the Turks and Chinese,

Remarkable Weapons That Were Used
by the Turks and Chinese.
At the siege of Rhodes the Turks
constructed mortars by following out
cavities in the solid rock at the proper
angle, and in the arsenal at Malta is a
trophy of the long and glorious defense
of Valetta in a Turkish gun, about a
six FOUNDER, composed of a copper tube
coiled over with strong rope and Jack
eted" with rawhide. In the same col
lection are some antique "quick firers,"
breechloaders, with small bores and
immensely long barrels, like punt guns.
The Malay pirates put great trust in
the long brass swivel guns called
"lela" and in Borneo these lelas were
used as a kind of currency, large sums
being estimated in guns.
The Chinese cast excellent bronze
guns (there is a fine specimen of them
in Davenport dOckyard), but so little
did they understand gunnery that in
the so called "opium war" the forts of
the Bocca Tigris, defending the Can
ton river, had the guns built immova-
bly, into the walls. The Sikh gunners
opposed to England in the two Punjab
wars, though they loaded with amaz-
ing recklessness, shoveling in the pow
der from open boxes, stuck to their
guns to the last. The blood of the first
man killed was smeared on the gun,
and the whole detachment died beside
it sooner than retreat - Chambers
Journal.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
ByCourier
Copyright. 1906. by Mcclure. Phillips q Co.
By o. HENRY

F IT was neither the season nor
the hour when the park had
frequenters, and it is likely
- that the young lady who was
seated on one Of the benches at the
side of the walk had merely obeyed a
sudden impulse to sit for awhile and
enjoy a foretaste of coming spring.
A tall young man came striding
through the park along the path near
which she sat. Behind him tagged a
boy carrying a suit case. At sight of
the young lady the mans face chang
ed to red and back to pale again. He
watched her countenance as he drew
nearer with hope and anxiety mingled
on his own. He passed within a few
yards Of her, but he saw no evidence
that she was aware Of his presence or
existence.
Some fifty yards farther on he sud
denly stopped and sat on a bench at
one side. The boy dropped the suit
case and stared at him with wonder
took out his handkerchief and wiped
his brow. 1t was a good handkerchief,
a good brow, and the young man was
good to look at. He said to the boy:
81 want you to take a message to
that young lady ON that bench Tell
her am on my way to the station to
leave for San Francisco, where l shall
join that Alaska moose hunting expe-
dition. Tell her that since she has
commanded me neither to speak nor to
write to her l take this means of
making one last appeal to her sense of
justice for the sake of what has been
Tell her that to condemn and discard
one who has not deserved such treat
ment without giving him her reasons
or a chance to explain is contrary to
her nature as believe it to be. Tell
her that l have thus to a certain de-
gree disobeyed her injunctiohs in the
hope that she may yet be inclined to
see justice done. Go and tell her
that"
The young man dropped half dol
lar into the boys hand. The boy
looked at him for a moment with
bright, capny eyes out of a dirty, in
telligent face and then set off at a
run. He approached the lady on the
bench little doubtfully, but unembar
raised. He touched the brim of the
old plaid bicycle cap perched on the
back of his head.
Lady" he said, dat gent on de
oder bench sent yer a song and dance
by me- If yer don't know de guy and
he's tryin' to do de Johnny act say de
word and I'll call cop in tree min
utes. If yer does know him and he's
on de square, wy, I'll spiel yer do
bunch OF hot air he sent yer"
The young lady betrayed a faint in-
terest.
"a song and dancer she said in a
deliberate, sweet voice that seemed to
clothe her words in a diaphanous gar.
ment of impalpable irony. "a new
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
Bats Inside Bamboo.

The cutting down of a clump of
bamboos in the royal botanical gar
dens, Singapore, shows that the hol-
lows in the stems Of these plants may
afford a dwelling place for bats. On
the splitting of a joint three bats flew
out, and it was perceived that others
were within. Care was taken to pre-
vent further escape. and later exami-
nation of the joint revealed the pres
ence Of twenty-three bats in the hol-
low. -Four of these were adult females
and nineteen young ones. Other bam-
boo joints were also found to contain
a number Of bats. The species is
known as Vesperugo pachypus.-Lon-
don Scraps. ~
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
ALL NIGHT BAkERlES.
Where New Workers Can Have Wants
Supplied at Any Hour.

Among the many places of business
of one and another sort that in a great
city are kept open all night are bak-
cries.
The bakery is a peculiarly domes-
tic business establishment, supplying
mostly home wants, and as most peo-
pie work days and sleep nights 1T
might be supposed that there would
be no occasion to keep bakeries open
nights, but here, where with the city's
manifold industries there must be
large number Of people working at all
times to keep things going, there are
bakeries that do keep open and find
trade at all hours.
Some of these all night bakeries
have lunch room attachments, where
people stop in to eat going to or from
work, while others do a bakery bust
ness only. At either customers come
in at all hours of the night to buy
things to carry away, just as people do
at any hour Of the day, for the people
who go to work at midnight or at 1, 2
or o'clock in the morning want bread
and bakery stuff before they go, just
the same as do those who begin their
labors at Z, 8 or 8, and there is likely
to be in their neighborhood an all night
open bakery where they can regularly
supply their wants.
From 2 to a. m. are the hours that
mark low ebb in the all night bakery
trade, but customers are dropping in
all night long.-New York Sun.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
Too Much of a Tonic,

When Mr.. Chinchin returned home
from Chinchin & Chinchin's the other
day he found his wife lying worn out
upon the sofa.
Nothing wrong, / HOPPER he ex-
claimed.
I'm afraid l shall have to stop that
tonic the doctor prescribed for Tom
N.Y." Mrs. Chinchin family murmured.
"Why? Isn't he any betterY' asked
Chinchin.
"Oh, yes, but l think the tonic must
be too invigorating. Why, he has slid
down the banisters six times this
morning, broken the hall lamp, two
vases, water jug and looking glass,
tied a tin can to the cats tail and
scrubbed his name on the drawing
room paper. OF course it's very graft
flying but l don't feel l could stand
much more, so l think I'm stop the
tonic"
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

vuI ,iOrvIuIIy, apI,I I5ius LuUlIi tiIuL .ncJ
were not entirely beyond the reach of
the harbor. Durant wondered If the
houseboat were still floating or If
some transatlantic leviathan had blind
ly crashed into 1t and sunk it. And
the girl-what of her?
About 10 o'clock everybody started
to his feet-every man aboard had
been instituted as lookout-and there
was noisy, glad rushing around. The
fog had commenced to lift.
Little by little the damp, gray,
smothery substance receded, until 1t
finally rose altogether like a great cur
tain. With the disappearance Of its
trailing, ragged edges there broke to
view what was visible of the night.
Off to shorewards lighthouses blink
at the shore resorts there appeared
blazing, fantastic displays. After
awhile the moon and stars shone out
clear and unobstructed.
Near by and at varying distances
ships were anchored-big ships that
LOU nv Nol GU NChIulC llIO pun anu
others that had decided to pause rath-
er than to risk disaster outside. 1t
was like a beautiful panorama sudden
ly stopped.
When Larned in manipulating the
searchlight caught the houseboat in it's
rays it lay so close that the white,
strained face of the girl, who was
clinging dejectedly to the roof, was
plainly observable.
She wasn't at all the Amazonian,
athletic variety of girl, capable of en-
during perils at sea on a raft, then
coming out with a shout of "Hoorayw
She was just an ordinary girl, not very
big. not very little, and she was all
sobby and scared half to death. She
raised herself and, resting her weight
on one hand, looked wonderingly at
them.
1t was as much as ever Durant could
do to persuade her to let him carry her
from the roof to the launch, and even
then he had to assert masculine au-
thority. He picked her up bodily see
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
A Eamou, All Potato Rannu.t

One OF the most remarkable menus
ever drawn up must have been that Of
the feast in Paris TO which Benjamin
Franklin. Lavoisier. the founder Of
modern chemistry. and other distin-
guished men sat down as guests Of
Parmentier Every dish at this ban
quet was made Of potatoes. and even
the brandy and liqueurs were the prod
uct OF the same vegetable. This was
Parmentier's fnal proof 10 his skep
teal fellow countrymen that potatoes
were not poison. as they persisted in
believing. Louis XVI. himself was one
Of Parmentier's earliest converts.
granted him land on which to grow his
plants and did not disdain 20 wear the
potato flower as a buttonhole. Then
Parmentier cleverly posted guards
round his potato fields by day and
withdrew them by night. 50 that peO-
pie were tempted to come then. steal.
eat and be convinced. The all potato
banquet was the climax Of the great
campaign.-ChicagO News
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

idea-in the troubadour line, suppose.
fused TO know the gentleman who
sent you. so think it will hardly be
necessary to call the police. You may
execute your song and dance. but do
not sing too loudly
"Aw," said the boy, with a shrug
down the length OF him. yer know
what l mean. lady. 'Tain't a turn;
fits wind. He told me to tell yer he's
got his collars and cuffs in dat grip for
a scoot clean out TO Frisco. Den he's
goin' TO shoot snow birds in the Klon-
dixie He says yer told him not to
send round no more pink notes nor
come hangin' over de garden gate. and
he takes dis means Of putin yer wise.
He says yer refereed him out like a
has-been and never give him no chance
10 kick at de decision. He says yer
Bwiped him and never said why
The slightly awakened interest IN
the young lady's eyes did not abate.
Perhaps It was eaused by either the
or the audacity OF the snow
bird hunter In thus circumventing her
express commands against the ondi-
nary modes Of communication She
6xed her eye on . statue standing dis
consulate In the dsheveled park and
spoke into the transmitter:
Tell the gentleman that need not |
repeat to him q description Of my /
deals. He knows what they have been /
and what they stfl are. So far IS they /
touch on this case. absolute loyalty |
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

tub was being logged into the covert 1t
collapsed right under their noses.
The girl and Durant were sitting out
on the point when it foundered, and
without rhyme or reason they laughed
like two uproariously happy children.
Why should they care If 1t did sink
now? They wouldn't have minded if
the whole old world had turned turtle!
Indeed, the universe might have col
lapsed and it would not have mat
tered, since they had become engaged.
81 suppose we ought to feel sorry to
see it CO." said Durant. "for if it
hadn't been for that precious craft I
should never have found you, my
sweet girl, and that beautiful love
light in your eyes!' And he kissed her
face all over right IN broad daylight.
The girl smiled happily. frankly up
at him, and Durant. still looking at
her. commenced to realize what it was
that had been lacking in the social
meringue of which he was wearied
and how much more delightful it was
to have had the opportunity of striv-
ing for that essential instead of hav-
ing it thrust on him.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23
Geographical Knowledge In 1892.

But very little was known in regard
to the extent OF the world in Arts
totle's day. In the fourth century be-
fore Christ and but very little more
was known about 1t 1900 years later,
in the time Of Columbus. In 1000
years the world had in reality retro
graded rather than advanced. 1t was
the popular belief in the time Of Co
lumbus that the world was fat, though
many contemporary scholars thought
differently. The great civilizations of
the world at that time were grouped
around the Mediterranean sea. al
though England was a considerable
power and the Scandinavians were
great maritime people. But Europeans
at that time knew but little Of Asia
and but little OF Africa. and America,
Of course. was undreamed Of. Even
after Columbus had discovered the lat
ter continent he was perfectly oblivi-
Gus Of the fact. He thought Haiti was
Cipango or Japan and for long time
regarded Cuba as a part Of the main
land Of Asia.
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

couldn't catch
clearly all they said-was drifting out
10 sea with some one aboard. Wouldn't
be go to the rescue, they begged.
There was no question about his
going so far as he was concerned.
Durant's first thought was of the tide.
il was at full ebb. and he realized that
II anything afioat was to be snatched
from fits mighty carrying powers IL
could be done only by the hastiest pos
sible action.
He ran forward. Larned, the cap
tain. was IN the wheelhouse taking 20
Hughes. the mate. who had the wheel.
"Get up steam quick-qulcker than
we have ever got it'up beforeT' Durant
called
where away, siry' inquired Larned
as the bells In the engine room rang in
response TO his notice for increased
steam.
Durant shaded his eyes seward;
but. failing to discern anything other
than the usual quota OF ocean liners.
he grabbed a glass. and there soon
came into its focus a dark object Of
peculiar shape.
Straight TO starboardr' be answered
quickly. Get her on fun head soon as
you can! There's something out there
we've got TO eatchF'
Larned went over TO the ran. and
Durant handed him the glass. shes
. good ten mile out. whatever she Is"
he said. and we've not much more
coal than viii get rs mp the bay.
thought I'd load tomorrow. with no
company aboard
what No cOalr' roared Durant
e1citedly. IF there isn't coal enough.
thea burn up the furniture. Burn ev-
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

ing she couldn't stand for trembling
and in less than no time they had her
aboard the Wolverine.
He wrapped her up in something
warm, and he made her eat and drink
some hot coffee. Then the color came
back to her cheeks, and he noticed
how tremendously pretty she was.
After awhile she looked around on
the royal splendor of the dining sa.
loon. Walls, ceiling and furniture were
in mahogany heavily carved in heral.
die designs. There was a profusion OF
ornate silver, cut glass decanters rang.
ed along the sideboard in glittering
array, and, following out a within OF
Durant's father in the line of decora.
ton, a collection of Captain Kiddish
looking cutlasses and bowie knives
were mounted in every available
space, held in position by big brass
knobs.
Durant, who was sitting easily at
one end of the table, watched the girl
amusedly. But the girl was not one
bit amused. She suddenly fastened her
big, dark eyes on him, backed away
hurriedly and asked:
Are you a pirate%
Durant wanted to shout, but he saw
that she wouldn't understand, so he
merely smiled and explained that he
was nothing but an ordinary decent
citizen OF New York and that the VOL.
VERNE was only a floating house be-
longing to his father.
While they were hurrying over to
Long Branch to put the girl ashore
Durant and Larned showed her over
the yacht.
81 never imagined one of these pri-
vate yachts could be so sumptuous,"
she commented IN amazement. This
one must have cost lot Of money"
81 believe father paid something like
$4,000 for her." Durant replied in
differently.
"Why, our place down in Kentucky
sost only 50 500" she exclaimed in sim
pie frankness. 'and it's a dearr rails
ing her head proudly. Then she added,
with a pretty little laugh. and as IL by
way Of comparison. and my rowboat.
Dandy. cost only 500"
Durant. who was looking at her, was
Inclined just then to be almost jealous
OF Dandy.
He sent her into his mothers state
room and told her to take whatever
she wanted. She was glad enough TO
avail herself Of a long coat for the
trip ahead Of her. When she reap
peared. refreshed. her hair done and
her face alight over the prospect Of
getting back to her mother and her
friends, Durant was immeasurably /
taken with her looks and her pretty /
ways. About all be could think OF |
then and for the rest Of the journey /
was that he had met two wonderfully |
fascinating new eyes.
He hired an automobile when they |
landed. lifted her into the tOnneau.
and in less than an hour be had r.
stored her TO her own
One might imagine that when Du-
ant had been overwhelmed with
thanks by the girl, by her mother and
by the whole Kentucky colony that
was houseboating along the Jersey
covert that would have ended the
episode. Bu< Durant had TO take Il
into his head for some reason or other
to personally see that the bOuseboat
which the Wolverine had toved back
10 Long Branch. vas restored % its
original moOrings. This task Involved
trips over to the Ken
irlrLw colony Then affcr III nhrrsf a I
month later when the trOublesome Old
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

for several sec
onds been gazing
at their objective
point, when he
turned his eyes
to the horizon
beyond.
at looks nasty
out there" he
o b s we'd to
Larned. "What
do you suppose
it's going to do?"
Fog, sir, and
it's coming on
tonight to bootw
The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-07-23

Bordelais-My dear sir, here in our
barracks we have the tallest soldier
ever seen. Marseillais-The tallest?
How tall is he? Bordelais-Six feet
nine inches. Massachusetts feet nine
inches? That is nothing. In our
barracks we have a sergeant who is
so tall that he is compelled to kneel
Lippincott's.