davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

We have now in hand enough orders to
keep us busy until the eEd of 1910. and we
are receiving more every day. Indeed, It
will be a long time before China can keep
pace with her own needs I'm such materials,
We are building new furnace as rapidly as
we can, ard are already increasing our
capacity. We have a scheme of expansion
which will keep ~ busy for five years to
come, and when that is done we shall be
turning out 1000 tons Of steel per day.
Even then we shall have more han we can
do to supply our own wants"
What kinds OF steel are you makingT'
w make sheets, plates, angles, beams
and bar steel, as well as all sorts OF struc-
tural steel and steel rails. We make frogs,
spikes, nuts and bolts, and our rails run
from fifty to a hundred pounds to the
yard, All this is by the Siemens-Niartln
process, and tina so well made that IT will
stand the tests OF the British Lloyds, the
German Lloyds and the British board OF
trade. Indeed, we are manufacturing as
good steel as can be made anywhere
Little American Machinery Used.
As we walked through the plant and I
saw new machines being Installed I asked
as to whether much of the imports came
from America.
Not a great deal said the technical
director. we use your locomotives in our
yards, and we have some American
machines in our steel works, but we find
that we can buy better and cheaper in
England and Germany, and that the terms
they offer are easier than those OF the
United States. As It is now we have three
Slemens-Martin urnaces In operation, two
under construction and five under projec-
ton. Our daily output of steel is go tons,
and we shall soon be making 800 tons
more"
As we walked about I was surprised at
how the new and old methods Of working
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

told that II they got along we'll with their
fall work all OF them would be at the polls
and cast their votes for father. 1t then
occurred to father that he had heard that
The boys father had died a short time be-
fore and he said to the farmer, Let's see,
your father is dead. isn't he?" Yes, sir, "
the farmer, assuming a very
solemn tone and expression, The died here
last summer, right in haying time, when
we were just as busy as we could be-
National Monthly.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
Low Wages for Chinese.

What kind of wages do you pay?'
Our Chinese mechanics and mill men
get from $40 to $50 Mexican per month, or
from 81 to S32 per month, or from 81 to s.
gold per week. This is high in comparison
with the wages throughout the country,
the common laborer outside receiving only
about 10 cents a day"
What are your hours?"
They are twelve, on all days except
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

Mark Twain was talking about the fam
Gus robbery in his beautiful country house.
Had / stil been living In Hartford, he
said whimsically, some OF my Hartford
friends would certainly have accused me Of
robbing myself. They had a poor opinion Of
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
The PLANT IN a Nut.hcII.

Inc unit IN NhAAhNAAH
Before leaving the works l asked Mr..
Rupert TO give mo an outline story OF the
plant in a nutshell. Here Is the gist Of his
reply:
The Hang Yang works were founded in
1883 by Chang Chi Tung, the installation
plant being ordered through the Chinese
ministry at London OF English and Belgian
firms. This consisted of three blast fur
naces Of sixty tong capacity each, a Bes-
semer plant with two converters OF five
tons each, a Siemens-Martn furnace OF
ten tons capacity, twenty pudding fur
naces with one bloom mill, a plate-and-bar
mill and one rail mill of $500 horsepower
To this installation were added the foun-
dry and the shops for general repairs.
THE works were started in 1894 and at
the same time were built an imperial ar
senal for making firearms and ammunition,
crucible steel and also a plant for the man
u~facture OF powder and explosives. Until
1897 both the arsenal and iron works were
under one management, and then the iron
works went into the hands Of his excel
lency, Sheng Kung Pao.
1T was under Sheng that the new plant
was built. Everything was then modern
lied and plans were instituted which will
eventually result in giving us 1000 tons OF
finished steel per day.
"At present the works comprise two old
blast furnaces producing 40 tons per day,
and two new ones, one being now under
construction, each OF which will produce
fifty tons per day.
THE steel works now have three Sic
mens-Martin furnaces Of thirty tons each,
and one Of ten tons. with two more under
construction and five under projection.
There is a metal mixer of $50 tons capac-
ity, a rolling mill with ingot-heating fur
naces, which has a gogging mill Of 1900
horsepower; a beam mill Of 1850 horse
power. a plate mill Of 1900 and a rail mill
of $500 horsepower, together with several
bar-and-speed mills of 1JO horsepower each.
In addition to this we nave a chemical lab
oratory and testing works, large office
buildings and all the other appliances of
an up-to-date steel-making plant"
FRANK G. CARPENTER,
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
Father NIiEht Hars waited.

Father was running on the democratic
ticket for district attorney in Greene
county, New York, In the fall OF 1904. and
his canvass for votes took him TO one of
the river towns among the farmers. He
found In the field. ploughing, a hard work
ing farmer, one OF several brothers, who
took much more interest IN the subject
OF agriculture than in politics. Father
preached the subject OF his candidacy 10
uhe farmer, requesting him TO come out
b election and asked TO be remembered He
then spoke about the other boys and was
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
TOOK Time by the ForeIock.

The family were 10 leave town on the
2 p. m. train, so the mother said, as she
was hurryins along the preparations in
the Brooklyn home.
Now, children, set ready to go before
luncheon. Don't leave anything to be done
al the very last minute"
And the children said they wouldn't, ac-
coTding to the New York Globe. Luncheon
ended, they hurried into their wraps and
started. In the hall the mother said:
Edward, you didn't brush your teeth"
Yes, ma'am, / did"
But you couldn't" she said" you
didn't have time. Why, you just this min
ute got up from the table"
Il know that" said Edward; but We
were in such a hurry that l brushed 'em
before 1 ate.'
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

But let me tell you about the steel plant
itself. 1t lies on the north bank OF the
Yangtse, in the city OF Han Yang, just
west of Hankow, being separated from II
by the Han river. There are three great
cities at this point. Hankow, where l am
writing, has a population Of over 1,0OO,O 900.
1t is the present terminus Of the Hankow-
Pcting railroad; it is the chief tea shipping
city OF China, and Is a great Industrial
center. 10 as an open port, and has several
foreiLn colic.ssions Inhabited by Europe
ans. On the opposite bank Of the Yangtso-
Kiang, which Is here a mile wide, is MI
chang. arother great Chinese city. This
is about half as big as Boston, and covers
a much greater space. 1t is the vice regal
capital OF HIgCh and Human, two thriving
Industrial states, both containing millions.
Han Yang extends far up the Yangtse
above Hdnkow, the three sister cities COM
bined exceeding Chicago In size.
The steel plant lies on a strip OF iowland
at the junction Of the Han and the Yangtse.
OPP to a few years ago the ground on which
It stands was a swamp, but the yioeroy'
Chang Chi Tung, having decided that China
ought to build its own railroads and make
its own steel, chose this as the place. He
was viceroy of the Hukwang provinces at
the time, and his capital city was Wuehang.
which lies in plain sight across the Yang
tse-Kiang. He first raised embankment
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

the landlady Of the quaint Stratford inn:
Madam, ! am going to give you a
lesson in astronomy, Have you ever
heard OF the great ~platonic year, when
everything must return to its first con-
dition? Listen. madam. In $1,000 years
we shall all be here again, on the same
day and at the same hour, eating a din
ner precisely like this one, viii YOU give
US credit till them
Gladly the landlady replied. 1t is
Just 5000 years since you were here be
fore, though, and you left without pay
ing then. Settle the old bill and I'll trust
YOU with the new "-London News.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
TroubIes OF a HumOrist.

Mark Twain once approached a friend, a
business man, and conflded the fact that
gems OF thought were forming in his brain
with such rapidity that they were even be-
ginning to sparkle in bis eyes, and that he
needed the assistance Of a stenographer'
II can send you one, fine young fellow
the friend said. HE came to my office
yesterday in search OF a position, but l
didn't have an opening. / am sure you will
find him all right"
HAS he a sense Of humor2' Mark asked
cautiously.
"Oh, l am sure he has-in fact, he got
off one or two pretty witty things himself
yesterday" the friend FASTENED 10 assure
him.
sorry, but he won't do, then" the writer
said, with a disappointed shake Of his head.
why, er, why not7" was the surprised
query.
The wouldbe employer assumed a conf
Dental air.
I'm tell you" he said. "You see, I had
one once before with a sense OF humor, and
Il interfered too much with the work. !
can't afford to pay a man s. a day for
Laughing. New York Times.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

the absence of the very torrid sauces ana
spices to which he had become accustomed
in the far east. Fortunately he had brought
with him a supply Of his favorite condi-
ments, and by arranging with the head
water these were placed on his table. one
day another guest saw the appetizing bot
tie on his neighbours table and asked the
waiter to give him some OF that sauce
I'm sorry, SIR said the waiter, but 1t
is the private property of this gentleman"
The minister, however, overheard the
others request and told the waiter to pass
the bottle.
The stranger poured some OF the mixture
on hts meat and took a liberal mouthfuL.
After a moment he turned with tears in his
eyeslto the minister,
you're a minister Of the gospel2'
Yes. sir"
And you preach the doctrine Of ever
lasting flre3"
Yes" admitted the minister.
well, you're the first minister I ever
met who carried samples"-Detroit News,
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
a ReroIutio1arr Hero.

The real origtn'of the greatest fake hero
story ever told has come to light In a
scrap book owned by an old resident Of
Washington.
A group OF revolutionary heroes were
standing before an old bar In Washington,
and from the lips OF each there fell wond-
rous stories Of what he had done In the
shock OF battle or the frenzy OF the
charge. Finally one old fellow with long
white whiskers remarked:
Il was personally acquainted with George
Washington.
Il was lying behind the bresstworks one
day, pumping lead into the Britishers,
when l heard the patter Of a horses hoofs
behind me. Then came a voice:
HI, there, you viii the deadly aim!
Look here a moment
Il looked around and saluted. recognizing
General Washington. and he said:
What's your manner
Hogan 1 said.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
The chicago of China.

Hankow has been called the Chicago OF
china 1t will eventually be the Pittsburg
and Birmingham as well. The smoke
stacks Of It's factories are already pol
luting the air, and 1t has all the natural
resources Of q great manufacturing center.
1t has coal and iron on all sides, and de-
posits Of limestone almost equal to Carrara
marble in purity lie in its back yard.
Take the ore which the steel plant Is
now using. 1t comes from a solid noun
tain Of iron about sixty miles down the
Yangste. The company has something
like thirty-five square miles Of iron de-
posts and upon this are hills 300 feet high.
1t is estimated that more than $50. 200, 900
tons are already in sight, and that the
mountain which is now being mined con-
tains over 6 100000 tons. The ore is 6s
per cent pure. 1 am told 1t is 10 per cent
better tina our best Lake Superior and
equal to the highest grade Of iron Of swe-
den.
The coal which this steel plant uses now
comes from about 200 miles up the Yangtse,
and its mines are so situated that II can
easily be loaded and brought down by
water. 1t makes excellent coke and there
are now about 200 ovens on fire at the
mines. The present coal output is about
1900 tons daily; and, with a little extra ma
chinery, this can be increased to 1900 tons.
Both the coal and iron deposits belong TO
the steel company, although the iron mines
have been mortgaged to Japan by a long
time contract which furnishes so much ore
per year at a low price per ton.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

when they are twenty-four. We
work day and night. and ave day and
night shifts. on Sunday we change the
shifts. and for that reason they have douhl@
hours. This twelve hours includes one
hour off for lunch, with double that time
or more on Sunday"
do you have many strikes?"
I'VE nave never had one, and have never
had to shut down on account OF labor
troubles We treat our men well, and they
are attached to us. We have tenement
houses which we rent to them at low rates;
and also a first class hospital with Euro
pean doctors, We expect to establish a
library and reading rooms, and also a tech
nical school"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

The Governors Governor.
Governor Wilson Of Kentucky had the
misfortune some time ago to strain a ten
don in his leg, necessitatinE the temporary
removal of his office TO the mansion,
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
A CIergyman's Samples.

MINISTER who had been do
ing missionary work in India
recently returned to this eoun-
try for a visit. He was a guest
at a well known hotel, where
everything pleased him except
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

4" Your first name?'
d" Pat, sir-Pat Hogan
"'Well, Pat he said, go home. You're
killing too many men
- think I'd better get q few more, Cen
eral,' ! said. kline of apologize,
mo he said; you've killed too many.
It's slaughter. And, Pat, don't call me Gen
eral; call me George Washington Post.
%
Not Yet,
A Missouri clergyman had in his pas
toral flock a member who was reluctant
about meeting the contribution basket. The
pastor had thrown out many broad hints,
but all to NJ avail.
One day the member fell i'll and was
taken to the Ellsworth hospital. When the
clergyman arrived the man was delirious,
While the pastor was sitting beside his
bed a wild yell Of Fire! Fire!' came from
across the street.
The sick man drew himself up on his
elbows. "Where-where am II" he asked
eXcitedly.
Calm yourself, brother soothed the
pastor, with just the faintest twinkle I'm
his eye. You are stll at the EnsW orth
hospital Magazine.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

me in that town.
Marshall ewett. the ex-governor used
to take up the collection in our Hartford
church. They never asked me to take II
up. fretted a good deal over this matter.
" Sec here, Jewett,' l said one day, they
let you take up the collections every Sun
day, but they would never let me do it,
"'Oh. yes, they would said Jewett-
that is, with a bellpunch like the horse
car conductors use. Boston Herald.
Loses TO LRndlRdy.
An editor was talking about the famous
English astronomer, Sir Robert Ball, who
has recently declared that. radium proves
the earth to be SOO,O 600, 600 years old. ST
Robert Ball is as full of fun as Of learn
ing" said the editor. "Once l dinsd with
him and a half dozen other scientists al
Stratford. At the end Of the dinner Sir
Roberts eyes twinkled and he said tc
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

are carried on side by side. The ore
comes down from the mines in great
barges towed in by steam and It Is un-
loaded by coolies who carry out the Jumps
OF iron stone In little rope baskets as big
around as a wash basin. A half dozen or
more chunks OF red ore are piled up in
each basket, and the coolie has two Of
these slung to the ends OF a pole which
rests on his shoulders, his load weighing
perhaps 100 pounds. This is dropped into
cars and is thus carried to the smelling
furnaces a half mile farther on. The coolies
who land the ore each receive 1 cent per
hour. Near where such work was going
on / saw modern cranes operated by steam
engines lifting great castings and carrying
them from one end Of the yards to the
other; and farther on, inside the shop
travelling cranes handling pieces OF iron Of
fifty tons each. In the same place they
were casting steel ingots and not far away
the lngots, blazing hot, were passing
through one set Of rollers after another
until they became writhing, flaming boa
constructors. and finally steel rails Of the
cold blue color which they have when
first laid on our railroad tracks.
Chinese ~ Steel Workers.
I asked MIR. Rupert as to the Chinese
as steel workers. He replied:
AT the start they are not equal to Euro
peans, but we can train them to be as
good, man for man, as any of the world.
l nave been employing Chinese for seven
teen years. and have used thousands right
in these works. They are quick to learn.
III we need to do Is to put a trained
man over each new hand for a couple Of
weeks and after that the amateur can be
relied upon to do the work for himself.
This is 30 even with complicated machin-
cry. Take our new electric travelling
cranes. II I have an employe who under
stands them ! can let a Chinese coolie
work with him for six days and after that
the coolie will handle the machine. All OF
our operations in making every class OF
structural steel are perfected by Chinese.
They do their work honestly and well.
All that is necessary is TO have a good
foreman In charge of each shop and this Is
chiefly TO keep the men from going to
sleep, We prefer to use foreigners for fore
men and now have something like eighteen
or twenty in our employ as such. They are
chiefly Germans or Belgians."
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

TO show how IT looks. A rail which
can stand that kind Of a test could not
possibly break with the cold. It is as
tough as wrought iron and can be bent up
like a rope without cracking.
Iron Rails for Chinese Trunk Lines.
AS we went through the works I saw
great piles Of steel rails, weighing eighty
five pounds to the yard, which are now
making for the Ca~nton-Hankow road. They
are being turned out at the rate Of several
hundred per day. Mr.. Rupert tells me
that the most Of the rails for the Chinese
roads OF the future will be made at Han
yang. The government is granting all its
new concessions. with the proviso that the
rails must be purchased Of this Chinese
factory. unless the bids of foreign firms
are at least 8 per cent cheaper, the quality
being the same. The Hanyang Steel
Works has furnished all the iron for the
Hankow-Peklng trunk line. which is over
$50 miles long. 1t supplied the rails for the
railway from Marking to Shanghai, and It
is under contract to furnish those for the
road now building from Kowloon, the port
opposite Hongkong, to Canton. There is no
doubt but that the Chinese can make their
own railroad materials. and Mr.. Rupert
tells me that they are now making steel
rails and all sorts Of structural steel at a
profit.
Chinese Iron for the United States.
During my walk through the rolling mill
I asked Mr.. Rupert whether he ever OK
pected to export steel to the American
market. He replied:
Most certainly not, At least not dur
ing the present generation. We have al
ready shipped considerable pig iron to San
Francisco and TO Japan, and we have sent
one shipment TO New York by the Suez
canal and sold 1t just to show that we
could do so and make money. As for the
present and for years to come. we can do
better by supplying the Chinese demand.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

south OF Peking, and as far west OF
the Pacific as Cleveland is west OF the
Atlantic. 1t is in the very heart Of the
empire accessible by water transportation
to a population Of over 100, 0 10000, and at q
point where railroads will eventually con-
verge as they do at Chicago. The Yangste
kiang is said to carry one-third OF all
the Of China, and by It the big
gest ocean steamers can come right 70
these steel works during the greater part
OF the year. Boats from half a dozen diff
ferent provinces which contain coal and
iron mines each reach Il I'm any month Of
the twelve and its products can be sent By
water to the edge Of Thibet or on the
Nangtse tributaries down to Yunnan, the
great province which borders on Burmah.
Hankow, which adiolns Han Yang, al
ready has a trunk line Of railroad to
Picking, and others are projected to Nan
king and Canton.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
Wang, the Big New Steel Plant in Heart of the Chinese Empire
Copyright, 1909. by Frank G. carpentsr)

isO9.-(Speclal Core
spondence Of The Bee)--I write
Of the biggest steel plant on the
mainland Of the Asiauc CONT
nent. Il lies here at Hankow, In
the interior Of China, 700 miles
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28

A C~annibSI Bishop.

The queen Of Denmark once paid a visit
TO the Danish colony of Iceland, where the
good old bishop exeTted himself to the
utmost TO show her everything that was
worth seeing. The queen paid many com
pliments TO her host and having learned
that he was a family man graciously in
quired how many children he had.
II happens that the Danish word for
children is almost Identical in sound with
the Icelandio word for sheep and the wOr-
thy bishop promptly answered, Two nun
bred"
Two hundred children!" cried the queen.
How can you possibly maintain such a
NUMBER
Easily enough, please your majesty, 30
replied the prelate, with a cheerful smile.
In the summer / turn them out upon the
hill to Craze and when the winter comes l
kill and eat them"-M. A. p.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-28
A Kick Twenty-Five Years Long.

A Kick Twenty-Five Years Long.
II was a midsummer evening in the trou-
blous year Of 1864. relates a writer in the
American Magazine, that Joseph Pulitzer,
a tall, lean. ~fair-haired boy Just from an
immigrant ship at Boston took lodgings in
a cheap hotel in the German quarter Of
New York. The landlord assigned him TO
a room and changed a 9O-frane piece with
which the boy paid hin.
That 2O-frano piece was all the money the
boy possessed. It was gone before he
found a Job. An empty wagon, a park
bench, became his bed; the sky his blanket.
II was natural that the war c~ontagion
should seize upon this lad. The spirit Of
adventure had turned his back on his home
I'm a little village near Budapest. Hungary,
where he was born April 10, lSi7, the son
OF a Jew father.
Joseph Pulitzer went to war as a pri-
vate dragon in the First New York cav
The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1909-11-18
HILLION-DOLLAR COTTON.

If present prices prevail through
the crop season, II is possible that
the cotton crop this year Will be
worth to the south $500, 100000 to
crop was valued at $500, 0O0,0 900, not
Including the seed, and If to this be
added the value of the seed, it was
about $4,000, zoe. With cotton
selling at about present prices, and
the fine grades of long staple sell
ing in many cases as high as Is or
20 cents and over. 1t is possible that
this years crop, counting the seed,
which are selling relatively as high
AS cotton, may yield 100000 to
5000, 100000 in excess Of last years
value
WOnderfl l. indeed, are these fig
ures II realized, as it now seems al
together probable they win be, this
years cotton crop Will be worth
largely more than double the worlds
production Of gold, great as il is; or,
stated in another way, 1t will exceed
in value the aggregate capital Of all
the national banks IN the United
States.
The high price now ruling for cot
ton means that the farmers of the
southwest, whose cotton crops were
short. viii receive for the smaller
yield equally as much as they receiv-
ed last year and in some cases even
more, and thus be fully compensated
by the Increased value. The farmers
Of the central south, however. where
the cotton crop is as large as II was
last year, will reap such harves,
Of prosperity a. they have never
known. In Georgia the increased val
ue of the cotton crop this year over
.sst, should PRESENT prices hold, win