davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1909-01-03

r. T. Camp. Confederate Veterans.
Will mold q meeting lu lee Camp Han
tomorrow evening The various commit
tees having IN charge the celebration Of
the birthday Of Genera! Lee on January
9 ain make their reports.
The Washington times., 1909-01-03

Tile annual meeting OF tHe AoHuS
Mems s0daIlIy I4yceum will Zoe held 81
tbelr han. iu Duke street. nest Tuesday
evening. when the Officers tgr tHr en-
suing wear viii be elected.
The Washington times., 1909-01-03

Elisha j. Butler, one OF the oldest eu-
glueaus ON JAe Southern railway. ulen
al his home, 40 South Payne street. al
6 o'clock this morning tT. Butler was
seysltv-siN years OF age. and iS survived
Bv 70 widow and one son. William But
Ter gle had been UI for four days.
The Washington times., 1909-01-03

The a4aersI ~ tue lage MIS- $40.
Nails VIII be- held from ner nome. .".
-.arr Patrick street. tomorrow a.Tn"-
noon q. . O'Clock E-Ha. WIS. ue .H
H--a=. t-EererE.
The Washington times., 1909-01-03

Wood S Electric a ave. l. zE T.. l. ~
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06

cracks In the earth's surface water rcachc,
the seething furnaces far down. Is trans
formed into steam and causes an explosion
which results IN the surface upheayaL
Some theorists contend that earthquake
are always OF volcanic origin, while others
hold to the opinion that they are cu,|r...
disconnected with volcanlc action,
The French astronomer and scientist.
F1ammarion, declares that there ate So
many different causes OF earthquakes thai.
each occurrence must be studied separated
and by an investigation OF its particular
phenomena. He believes the Calabriau
and Sicilian earthquake to be OF volcanI.
origin. lie bases his opinion chiefly upo.
the fact that tho whole district included
in the catastrophe is dominated by Aetna,
Stromboli and Vesuvius and is OF essen.
TALLY volcanic constitution. It has been u
region of earthquake disasters from tho
earliest historic period.
1t is certain that the latest Sicilian up.
heaval will be studied by seismic students
with a closeness of research that will leave
no bit OF evidence unconsidered Perhaps
from a piecing together of the suggestions
to be gathered from wreck and ruin that
has been made the entire problem involy-
ing the cause or the chain Of causes may
eventually be worked out.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
PERSONAL NOTES.

Congressman Burton of Ohio is now PROP
ably more reconeiled than ever to his de-
feat for mayor Of Cleveland.
Los Angeles is carrying a load OF debt
now close to 100000, and an unfeellng To-
cal paper is discussing the coming pay
day"
Governor-elect stubbs OF Kansas, has
given 1t out that no female clerks, stenog-
raphers or typewriters shall have jobs in
his immediate office.
J. ]. Hill is going into the ranch business,
and as a starter has secured 100000 acres.
BY buying out a neighbor occasionally he
may ultimately have a stable farm.
A New York man was arrested Will,
beating a lamppost with his cane, and is
regarded as eccentric. Had he merely en-
braeed the post in an exuberance OF affec-
ton doubtless ne would rave been con-
sidered normal.
Miss Sasha Kropotkin. daughter Of Prime
Kropotkin, has inherited many OF her
fathers ideas upon the subject of govern
ment. She is a student Of University col
lege in London, and does not ask for suf-
frage, she says, because she does not be.
llcve in any form OF parliamentary govern.
ment.
A movement is on in Kansas to Civ
Frank d. Coburn, commissioner OF agri-
culture, a vacation of a year and a trip to
Eunope. with salary and expenses, so thai
he might Investigate farming in the old
world and return to the bleeding common
wealth refreshed and trained to sing the
praises Of Kansas In all the old tongues
of Europe. The idea is well worth try
ing and Coburn needs a few more new-Old
notes 10 diversity his melOdlOus repertory,
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
WHY THE EARTHaUAKEr
Hitherto Futile Attempts to Solve the
Mystery.
Baltimore American.

Baltimore American.
1t seems to be now conclusively deter
mined that the earthquake disaster that
has overwhelmed the Calabrian district of
Italy and the Ionian coast of Sicily is the
most disastrous OF such calamities that
has occurred during times of which history
has preserved any record. There were
greater uphesvals undoubtedly when the
earth was younger. There are signs to be
read in every mountain range and along
every rock-walled coast that are almost
as plain in their meaning as the pages Of a
printed book which speak of enormous nat
uraI forces engaged in a work Of throe and
upheaval that was vastly constructive as
well as destructive. But that turbulent
era. we are led to believe, was before the
beginning OF man. AS to the causes OF the
quake at this stage of the earth's history,
biologists are not in agreement. OF theo-
ries concerning the causes OF earthquakes
there Is a very large variety. But abso-
lutely demonstrated fact thSfe Is none as
TO the cause OF any one Of the overwhelm-
ing disturbances that has brought death
and ruin TO some spot on the globe. One
seismic expert will assure us that there
are faults or c~revices beneath the eartll's
crust. walled on one side by rocks. and
that earthquakes are caused by the sliding
OF these subterranean rocks to a lower
level. Another explanation 10 that through
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
A MODERN KNIGHT-ERRANT.
The Apostle of Pure Food, the
mock of Fakirs.

Philadelphia North American.
First and last, then and now, against
the odds of rldicule, money and political
influence, DR.. Harvey w. Wiley has been
the crusader for honesty and health.
Neither the Beef trust nor the Gamers
could overthrow him. 1t seems probable
now that the liquor men-not the makers
of pure whisky, but of poisonous and fraud
ulent compounds and i~mitations-may sue
coed. For the benzoate of soda contro-
versy is only a pretense and 1t will be a
victory of the rectifiers If Wiley fails.
But IL rebuke and retirement be his por-
ton through a presidential blunder, he will
have, at least, the reward of the esteem
and admiration of millions OF his country
men.
We know from personal experience that
whenever our local laws against food adul-
iteration broke down there always has been
one man to whom we could look for coun-
sci and efficient aid.
We know that the good work Of all the
boards of health of the different states
would have been impossible but for the
high standards set by Wiley and the ever
ready cooperation OF the federal author
tiles.
We know that since power was given to
him prisoners for the first time feared to
disregard state restrictions. Because for
the first time they knew that an appeal to
federal authority would subject them to a
still more rigid insistence upon right
dealing.
Those are the reasons why the fight has
been made against Wiley. who IL needed
more than ever by the government at this
time, when the reactionaries are about to
make their last stand in all matters of ma
tional moment, of which pure food unques-
tionably is one.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06

Efforts Of GeneaIOsists 60 an
Imposing Family Tree.
New York World.

New York World.
Two eenealogists. one American and the
other English, have compiled The An
cestry OF Abraham Lincoln which pro-
fesses to trace the family back for ten gen
~erations and 20 follow Lincoln's English an
cestry -four generations further back than
It has ever been carried before
Perhaps the work was worth doing, al
though we doubt II Lincoln himself would
nave been greatly impressed by It. He
never manifested a very keen interest as TO
his antecedents.
In a little biography written in his W
hand for Jesse w. Fell In 1859 Lincoln said
his parents were OF neutrality-suspicious.
haps / should say second families" his
mother coming 'of a family OF the name OF
Hanks" When John Locke Scripps went to
him in 1880 for materials for a campaign
life, Lincoln replied. why. scripps, 1t IL a
great piece OF folly to attempt TO make
anything out of me or my early life. 1t
can all be condensed in a single sentence.
and that sentence you will find in Gray's
Elegy-
The short and simple annals Of the
poor.
That's my life. and that's all you or
any one else can make OF it,"
He also communicated certain informa-
ton to scripps which was not to be used
at that time. and which was never used or
alluded to. scripps regarded 1t as wholly
confidential. and left no memorandum of It
among his papers.
Lincoln, however, once expressed the
opinion to Herndon that his ability came to
him through his mother and not through
his father, a theory which people who
knew Thomas Lincoln seem to have had
no difficulty in accepting.
Various biographers have undertaken to
give Lincoln an imposing family tree, trac-
Ing a relationship between the Rockingham
county Lincoln and the Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts, Lincoln. and making much
of a not over-striking similarity Of bap-
tismal names. Whatever the actual facts
may be, no genealogical researches will
ever explain Abraham Lincoln. or account
for his t"ranscendent genius. Like Napoleon,
he was This own ancestors"
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06


The Board of Fire and Police Commits
sloners should be composed of men OF
character and ability. Such men are much
more likely to be secured through the open
election than through the secret influences
which often control the, appointing power
whether vested I'm the hands OF governor
or mayor.-World-Herald
Is this intended to mean that
Omaha's present Board of Fire and
Police Commissioners is not composed
"of men of character and ability?" Is
it intended to mean that the personnel
of the board as it now stands would be
improved by making the commission
elective instead of appointive? Or is
it simply intended to charge subservi-
ency to "secret influences" upon the
incoming democratic governor and the
incumbent democratic mayor?
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
NO MERGER OF YELLOW pERns.

W. SN AEG6CU M
General Kuropatkin, who is attempt
ing to achieve a distinction in the
magazines which he failed to get on
the field of battle. is painting a gloomy
picture of the future, in which he sees
trouble for all the world when the
Chinese and Japanese form an alliance
for ruling the east and then turn their
attention to the west. The general
directs attention to the fact that the
Japanese have taken absolute posses
sion Of Manchuria and declares that
the Chinese army is now dominated by
Japanese. He predicts that Japan will
in a few years dominate the affairs of
China and then. with Chinese aid and
support, will be in position to control
all Asia. He mildly urges other a
tions to take cOgnizance Of the situa-
ton and to do whatever is possible TO
prevent the merger of the yellow perils
OF the orient.
All this might alarm, particu-
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
FOR CONSULAR REFORM.

The senate committee on foreign
relations has made a favorable report
upon a bill which provides for a
marked reform in the consular service
and Is calculated to make more cffec-
tive some of the plans followed by
President Roosevelt and his secretary
OF state for some years. The measure,
II enacted, would incorporate into the
law the present practice by which de-
sirable consular posts are filled by
promotion from the service and the
lower ranks recruited from applicants
sifted out by competitive examinations.
This proposed reform was included
in the original Lodge bill, which be-
came a law in 1906, but was stricken
out by the senate and the competitive
examination required only for consular
appointments in the class that received
81, 900 or less per n Under the
system now in effect, the young man
who passes an examination and secures
an appointment as consul has assur-
ance Of promotion to the better paid
posts. President Roosevelt and Secre-
tary Root have followed the promotion
plan very generally, in the absence of
a law requiring recognition of the
merit system, and 1t is the purpose OF
the pending bill to make their example
hereafter obligatory.
The consuls general service as at
present organized is divided into seven
classes, from Glass l, enjoying 8 salary
of $4,000 a year, and including only
London and Paris, down to Glass 7,
the salary of which is $4,000. In this
are included such cities as Athens
Copenhagen and Christiania. The con.
suls are graded into nine divisions, the
highest of which, at Dublin, pays
$4,000 a year, while the others range
down to $4,000, with eighty-five posi-.
tions in the last named class. The
new bill proposes to place the service
entirely on the basis of demonstrated
ability.
Marked improvement has beer
shown in the consular service in thu
last few years and the American con
sui is now recognized abroad as a rea
business agent of the government In
stead of a politician given a soft bertl
in recognition OF party work. Thu
proposed bill is designed further Il
strengthen the service by making
more attractive as a profession will
the prospect Of advancement on merit
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
SCORE ANOTHER FOR STANDARD OH

SCORE ANOTHER FOR STANDARD OIL.
The refusal Of the supreme court of
the United States to review the case
against the Standard Oil company, in
which a fine of $~29,240,000 was i'm
posed by Judge Lands in the federal
court at Chicago, doe not finally dis
pose of the case, although it cores a
coveted victory for the Standard. The
result of the supreme courts ruling
will be a rehearing of the case under
the old indictments or new proceed
ings along similar lines.
The findings of Judge Lands we're
reversed by the circuit court of APP
peals on three grounds of error: 1)
That the prosecution should be re-
quired to prove that the defendant
had knowledge of the published rate
on oil when it accepted a lesser rate
from the railroad company; CD that
the test of the offense was not the
number of carloads of oil shipped, but
the number Of transactions between
the railroad company and the oil com-
pany; (3) that the fine was excessive.
The supreme court now restores the
case to its original status in the fed @ral
court at Chicago, where it may be re-
tried, subject to the restrictions on
tanned in the findings of the circuit
court of appeals. The cardinal issue,
then, whether the oil company received
unlawful rebates from the railroad, is
still unsettled. The requirement Of
the circuit court of appeals that the
prosecution furnish legal evidence of
guilty knowledge of the published rate
when the lower rate was accepted will
probably be the difficult task of the
government at the new trial. The
company employs a large corps of ex-
to know the published and secret rates
of all of the transportation companies
with which the Standard has relations.
The fact that the rate was published
by a road that did a big carrying bust.
ness for the Standard would ordinarily
be accepted, as Judge Lands held, az
a prima facie showing of the Stand.
ards knowledge of the rate. The
proof Of the contention by admissible
evidence may, however, be a more
difficult matter.
This case has been regarded as one
of the most important brought by the
government in its efforts to break vi
the system Of rebating. Shippers and
the public generally will be glad tC
know that the case is still open fol
final hearing and adjudication. Owing
to bitter interchange of personalities
during the trial of the original case
and to Judge Grosscup's criticisms o.
Judge Lands and the Department o.
Justice in reversing the findings o.
the Chicago court, It is quite probable
that Judge Lands may send the retria
to another federal Judge, but no mat
ter what judge tries 1t, the public in
terest will continue until the CLOSING
decree.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
Horrors piled on Horrors
Philadelphia Record.

IHIIWNNFPNHW NFNNVFWs
Cities destroyed by earthquakes have
rarely remained desolate wastes. Sooner
or later the sites have been r~epopulated
and new cities built on the ruins. Mes
slna may be one OF the few exceptions
and become one vast tomb for 49, 900 OF
it's late inhabitants. The bodies OF most
of them are recoverable. and there Is
little hope of rescuing those who may
stilI be alive and buried in the debris. It
is proposed to pulverize the wreckage OF
the city by cannon shot from the warships
and thus cover up the dead more COM
pletely lest their fostering eorpses dis
seminate injection. on horrors piled on
horrors this would set the crown
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
ARMY RETIREMENTs IN 1909.
A Few Civil War Veterans Must Give
Up Active Duty.
BostOn TranscrIpt

Boston Transcript.
Every officer OF the army must 60 on
the retired list on attaining the age of GA.
Officers under that age may be re-
tired on their own request after over thirty
years service, or for disabilities incurred
in line of duty, In the navy So is the
age limit. From all these causes there
will be numerous changes in the person.
mel of the two services during 1909. and Of
ficers with whose names the public has
long been familiar will enjoy the COM
irritable well-paid seclusion the retired list
grants. or the fifteen army officers who
will leave active service under the age
limit, the best known is Lieutenant Gen
eral Macarthur. who will be 81 June 2,
ond whose record includes gallant service
In the civil war. He came in from the
volunteers" His first commission of any
dates back to August 4, 1862, when
he was commissioned first lieutenant and
adjutant of the Twenty-fourth Wisconsin
infantry, the regiment of which he sub.
s~equently became lieutenant colonel. His
first commission in the regulars was
dated February g, 1856, so It will be seen
that he Will ave on his retirement more
than forty-six years service as an officer
to his credit. Major General Weston, who
also goes on the retired list, is likewise
a civil war veteran. The naval officers
booked for retirement on account of age
number twenty-five, among them being
Admirals Sperry ana Goodrich. Such re-
tirements make more room at the top
the juniors all taking a step upward.
In m OF peace the younger men inch,
along, and second lieutenants solace them.
selves with the reflection that IL they live
and behave themselves they may retire
as colonies. while ensigns look forward to
at least captaincies.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
A T PLAY.


The proposal endorsed by the dem
ocratic Legislative caucus to contest
the judicial appointments made by
Governor Sheldon is plainly a political
play. The ground upon which the
move is sought to be justified is that
the canvass Of the vote on the consti-
tutional amendments should be made
by the legislature and not by the state
~canvassing board, and that the APP
pointments to be made under the
terms Of the amendment within ten
days after the declaration of its adop-
ton should therefore be vested in the
incoming governor rather than in the
outgoing governor.
That this beautiful explanation is
simply an a~fter-thought is conclu-
sively proved by the course Of the
democrats with reference to the
amendment. It is claimed now that
before they gave a party endorsement
to the amendment the democratic
bell wethers exacted from Governor
Sheldon an assurance that he would
give favorable consideration to demo-
cratic applicants for one or more
places on the bench. II Governor
Sheldon had no right to appoint, why
should the democratic campaign IAN
ayers have gone to the trouble to seek
this assurance as the price of their en-
dorsement of the amendment?
When Governor Sheldon anne TO
consider the judicial appointments he
found himself beset by nearly as many
democrats as republicans in quest Of
preferment. He found himself, fur
thermOre, supplied with a list contain
ing ten names Of democrats and repub-
licans alike, made up by the State Bar
association, composed of attorneys of
both democratic and republican per-
suasion. Had Governor Sheldon &C
ceded to the demands Of the democrats
for two of the four places his right to
make the appointments would never
have been questioned by a democratic
caucus Indeed, we have had the re-
markable spectacle of one eminent
democratic attorney publishing over
his signature a learned disquisition
arguing against the present governors
right to appoint. and then within a
few weeks making a pilgrimage to the
executive office, asking for the appoint
ment for himself.
1t Is not a question. then, of princi-
pie, but Of politics, that the democrats
are trying to raise. A few shifty poll
ticians think they can manufacture po-
litical capital by embarrassing the SUI
preme judges through legal proceed
ings involving the titles of their col
leagues on which tie judges would
have to pass. Such serpentine politics
arc characteristic of the democratic
leadership. but can only disgust intel
ligent people.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
Need of Giving Quickly.

new 1ork IrlDune'
For weeks to come Italy's most urgent
need will be food. clothing and shelter for
the homeless. II, as is not improbable,
10000 lives ave been lost, the number of
survivors whose distress calls for prompt
relief must be twice or thrice as great.
Both In Sicily and Calabria there are UNI
doubtedly scores of small towns in which
the dwellings a been almost as COM
pletely wrecked as those OF Messina and
Reggie. The mental anguish caused by the
loss of friends and property only time
can alleviatei but food and clothing can
be supplied by money, and money can be
transmitted by cable.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
southern Hospitality.
New York sun.

All Georgia ANTS to heap the board at
the banquet to Mr.. Taft at Atlanta on
January Is with roast. 'possum and sweet
potatoes, and Mr.. Harry g.. Fisher Of
Newman, who is known as the 'possum
king. rhapsodizes:
give us a 'possum-loving president, and
the White House viii ring with peace and
prosperity and Joy for years to come"
What with bronze turkeys from Rhode
Island. 'possums from Georgia and an
vasbacks from Maryland, not to speak Of
the immortal Virginia hams, Mr.. Taft.
who Is rapidly getting the reputation OF
an eplcure, will be killed with kindness II
he doesn't plead Indigestion.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
''senatOr burton" Looks Good.

IHIIdueIpIId NtNUTu.
The country at large, as we'll as Ohio in
particular. is to be congratulated on the
prospective election of Theodore e. Bur-
ton OF the United States senate. Mr..
Burton has been a most painstaking and
efficient member OF the lower house of
congress. He has earned the advance
ment his state has bestowed upon him, and
will no doubt further add to the prestige
Of past service in the next six years. Mr..
Burton was 81 years old December 20, and
is in the ripe ~fullness of his powers.
Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-06
THE BAFFLED CHAMPION.

w. d. Nesbit in Hsrper's Magasin".
l could be champeen of our town
I've licked about a dozen;
/ started in on Alfred Brown
An Alfred's city cousin;
I've licked 'em all exceptin' one.
There's nothin' hat I'd ruther
Be dom than TO get II done
But Fudge is Rosy's brotlIcr.
Fudge Jones Is Ntwicet as big as me.
But just the same I'd whip MIN,
ia lead my left, then bend my KNEE
An whirl my foot an trip him.
But when Fudge double-darcs ne q"
l always hat to mosey-
| sometimes wish I'd never knew
That he was kin to Rosy.
Aw' no, She amt my girl at all.
l sec her at tn parties.
Them other fellers has their g.g..
Tn crazy bunch o. smartics'
You bet I've licked 'em every one.
My left swing Is a twister.
An long ago I'd made Fudge run.
But-Rosy ia, his sister,
Aw, pshaw! Doggone II, now. ! am MOI
l amt at all her feller.
TIL last boy told me that, he got
A whack right on tn smeller'
I've whipped lots bigger bows n me
Some run an old my mother.
An i can whip Fudge Jones-but lie
Well, he Is Rosy's brother.