davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
Power Admitted
By His Opponents.

one source OF this mans power would
seem TO have been inoorn He il a
diplomatigt by instinct. The press agent
OF the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Com
pany said as much when he told a
group Of newspaper men:
This is no skate labor man. We've
found that out, all right. The bulletins
he issues are masterpieces Of diplomacy.
Wen have to admit that"
But the most convincing sign of this
talent to reporter lies in his ability to
treat with newspaper men. II never
gave a reporter a bum steer in my life,"
he said 10 me. And it is A moral GER
tainty he told the truth But that does
not mean that he ever told one of the
craft thing he did not intend TO
tell He has the poise of an expert
enced statesman in his talks with rs.
That ne trusts the craft goes without
saying. But il is also true that in
weeks of contact with news gatherers
in seasons when they were almost be-
side themselves for tips he has yet
to make his first mistake or be quoted
to the disadvantage of his cause.
Now TO what advantage for himself
are all these talents put? To the ad-
vantage of S. a day, cut Of which he
must pay ali MS expenses save railroad
fares alone No local" for which he
a strike is ever allowed to pay
him a cent. His salary is covered in
the assessment of 70 cents a month per
member for the general expenses Of the
Anna lgamated Union. In Salt Lake the
men raised $500 for him. In ozder to
get II into his possession they had to
convert it into a wonderfully chased
gold watch, which now he carries with
iustifable pride. Another city is repre-
sented by a scarfpin with a tiny dia-
mond. That Is the total OF his ma
-erial rewards above IS a day.
But he has a reward that he counts
beyond the gauge of the cashiers Of
ice Unconsciously he voiced his feel
ng as 10 it one afternoon IN the course
CONTINUED on Fifth Page1
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
Made New Use
Of Material At Hand.

So it is here. Pratt has made a new use
Of the materials at the labor leaders
hand for the Improvement of the work
men. He has adopted the methods en-
ployed by the great corporations 10 sex-
tend their power-and something more.
he has had TO deal with men TO make
his labor fructify; they had first to be
enlisted and then heaFtened mainly
through his efforts The manager OF a
merger deals with property chiefly; ne
differs from Pratt. rallying these men
In Philadelphia, as the click Of the tele-
graph differs from Phil Sheridan's cry
at Winchester
II this strike In Philadelphia had been
managed Ike the teamsters' strike in
Chicago, or the recent national tele-
graphers' strike, there would have been
40 need for the politicians and a news
paper 10 exert themselves. We au
know the stages of such tie-ups-everv-
body talking. everybody out at the very
nrst: gradual weakening Of the striking
forces as the men go back one by one:
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
Pratt Becomes
Almost Indispensable.

By this time perennial organizing and
managing hao made Pratt Indispensable
to street car strikes all over the coun-
try. He founE his home harder and
harder to reach Once he rode into
WeIshfeld at in the morning. At last
he would have a little time with his
boys and his baby girl and their mother
Mrs. Pratt met him a the coor.
s'Poppie," she said al she stood with
lamp in her hand. here's telegram
I was goin' to destroy. But knew that
wouldn't be right"
In relating the incident to me, Pratt
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
First Steps TO Prominence
in Labor Circles Against
His Will.
DRAWS So PER DAY
FOR HIS SERVICES
BY His Method Chaos Develops
Into q Campaign Managed With
Military Exactness.

added. quietly, 1t was an urgent sun,-
mons to Nashville, and almost before We
could nave breakfast | was of again.
Ihis Is the service in which THIS man
Is enlisted Not only does il rob him of
ms home life. but 1t Is shOrt-circuitine
MS education. Il don't know anvthinz
but rnionism,' he says. and precious
little about that. I read when 7 can
emerson mostly. But I read what I can
get my hands on about workinsmen ana
social conditions. I know Prof. Eiv.s
books. and Prof jerks and Carroll ID
"rights. But I haven't any reaf-eau-
cation l know that as well as you do. -
Men come TO be intimate when they
ilVe together through days like those in
Philadelphia this past week In that
time there came 70 me two revelations
or this leaders thirst for the things of
literature. Once he quoted a motto he
had seen in an office:
Never Explain. Your Friends none
Need It, and Your Enemies Won't Be
lieve IT.
At another time. when our car was
spinning past idle carmen and we were
waving our hands al them and the
crowd was stepping oack Ia let is
through, he began to say. IS though 10
himself:
'Distrust that man who tells YOU to dis
he takes the measure of his own small
ana thinks the world no larger.
nc VINO PIRATES Of human natures :
baseness and deceit
LOOKS IN the mirror Of his heart
And finds himself therein reflected"
do you know who wrote that? I
didn't at first And L thought it NOT
without its revelation of this mans
reaching for better things Of the mind
Wilcox.
The Washington times., 1909-06-06

CONTINUED on Fifth Page.)
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
New Power Changes Aspect
of Fight Between Labor
and Capital.
LEADER DISPLAYS
HIS GENERALSHIP
Victory for Philadelphia Car Men
Is Latest of Long List
for Him.

CONTINUED from First Page)
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
Story of Fight
Made In Knoxville.

A certain Colonel Powell controIIaa
the street railways in that citv He
would not see Mr.. Pratt on raiIroad
business. If Mr.. Pratt called he would
not forget the hospitality of a lifetime
and turn him away But II he lid call
II was with the distinct understanding
that the conversation should have to do
with one of three subjects-the weather,
politics. or religion.
Colonel" began Pratt when the two
The Washington times., 1909-06-06
Did Not Boast
Of Their Victory.

His face looked more like that Of
Lawrence Barrett than ever. His voice
was quieter than usual He did not
once say. ''Wen. we've won" What he
did say, after a silence of full minute,
was:
The conditions of this settlement
have all got to be approved by the men
themselves But, / tell you, there is a
mighty lot of satisfaction in feeling
that maybe you've done something for
your fellow-men.''
That Thursday afternoon and the next
morning he met with the selected rep
resentatives of these msn. Theywere sat
isfied with the settlement except that it
seemed to exclude Pratt and did not in
vOlve the immediate advance in pay
from q cents an hour TO . cents. Be
fore they left their conference they had
accepted his view-as they were sure to
do. They came 90 see, as he saw at
every crisis, that it was not Pratt's
fight, but theirs, not what they wanted
so much as what they could get with
out alternating the powerful ally they
had in the people Of Philadelphia.
Who is this man that develops strik-
ing into a science2 Is ne the typical
walking delegate? Is he some foreigner
appealing TO the passions of American
workmen? Is he a low brow agita-
ing of the new power he has introduced
into our industrial equation il he an
swer those questions.
The Washington times., 1909-06-06

being held at the barn half again as
Ions.
A means Of arbitrating other differ
ences.
The Washington times., 1909-06-06

various lesser conditions, such as oe-
ing required TO purchase their uniforms
at : fixed price from a selected dealer.
ODDS Saeua5
The Washington times., 1909-06-06

every day the employing company holds
out, day nearer defeat COT the men:
desertions and charges .of Lreachery not
impcded, TO put it mildly. by the cor
poration's agents; finally, in nearly
every case, desperation. Iaw1essness.
and return 10 work on any conditions
Walkouts of this nature have won
at times. But they win as the commune
wen ia Paris, noJ as .ir.,nc won at
EiC lHmond The secret Of this victory
Of the maH in Philadelphia. lay in tie
ability of their leader 10 strike at each
succeeding stage harder than he had
struck beforehand, as far as his men
were concerned, 10 strike within the
law. II other workn.en with grievances
shall follow this same course the ad-
vantage iii power will no longer lie
generally with the employers. 1t will
be more often with the force
rode with Pratt most of the way 10
the conference at the home of State
Senator McNichOl, which assured this
commander his victory 1 rode with
him from the McNichOI home TO his
next meeting with his men We both
realized what had happened We both
knew that Pratt's victory over odds In
Chicago in 1905 had been surpassed by a
victory over greater odds in Philadel-
phia in 1900 Yet Pratt was not so much
moved-outwardly-as the reporter who
sat by his side.
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09

DOdIU VI
Plaouemines Parish East Bank
Levee District, that in accord
ance with the provisions of Sec
tion 10 of Act I of 1902, there &c
andis hereby levied for the year
1909 a local assess nent or forced
contribution Of 30 cents on each
square supersicial acre OF lanq
proportionately on fractions OF an
acre of the land of tais district
to be protected from inundat'on1
by the levee of this district and
lying. between the line OF th ne
Cuff Coast Levee and the line OF
J the. Mississippi River levee.
Be # further resolved etc: thai
the ASSESSOR of the Parish OF
:. P~laquemines, Hon, Marc Cogne'
, yich, he requested to make sep Yep,
arate rolls for that part OF 1nI
Parish Of P%laquemines emoracsa
within the limits OF this district
. and to extend said taxes on sal'
:, assessment rolls for the year lso3
and the Sheriff and Ex:ottlcl'
Tax-Collector Of the Parish o
:, plaouemines, Hon. F. c.. Movers
! he andis hereby authorized am
!! required to collect said taxes !,
= same Mariner as other State take
= = are collected, and that he noun
!, common carriers Of the provision
, of section II Of 1902.
Bills to1he amount OF 'pl3.z
were oodered raid.
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
Corn In Egypt

In recounting. when. Joseph
went to Egypt some $500 or more
years ago and cornered the grain
market by his advanced informa-
ton as to the. seven lean years,
the King James version Of the
Bible uses the Word corn" We
suppose, however, that this was
in the English sense, the word
corn being commonly: used for
grain, and referring to all edible
grain. In Egypt the grain produc-
ton is largely Of some varities OF
millet.
Now comes to hand the re-
port from Consul General Lewis
Morris Iddings at Cairo that he
has been informed by MIR. G.. P.
Foaden Of the Khedivial Agricul-
tural Society at Cairo, Egypt,
that the area under corn in Egypt
lis 1,261,186 acres. As in Egypt
everything possible is taxed, i
49, tG 1NfNfal
seems likely that these measure
ments would be comparatively
accurate and our only doubt is as
toa whether Indian corn o.
maize, is what is referred to,
Mr.. Iddings says, however. thai
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
Ii - ls<'--1 "a SATURDAY 2 - Y. -

no statistics are available. to
show the average yield, but that
it is probably about 36 bushels
per acre, the best lands giving 60
1t is harvestedpy cut
ting by hand, removing. the cobs
by hand and exposing to the sun
to dry. All of this would be a
fair description of the old fash
ioned ways of threshing and Win
moving small grains, but the
small grains do not furnish any
cobs. He says, further, that the
seed is generally beaten out by
sticks and sometimes by a sheI-
Ter, There is no export trade.
In fact, corn is imported from
the United States in some sea-
sons. 1t constitutes the staple
bread food of the lower classes.
It's price locally varies and in REG.
ent years it has been about "
per sack of 51-2 bushels OF shell
corn. As our consul in Egypt
may not know how to speak Ara
bic and as that is probably tht
mother tongue of his informant
we fear that some conclusion ha'
crept in to these statistics an'
especially SO when we remembe
that the average corn crop OF tn
United States is less than s
bushels per acre.
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09

,yba6- .-,eu rains set in,
he topped 71t every stalk Of his cot
ton. This, together with the eul-
tural methods employed by him
produced the results stated. The
alluvialIand cotton planters are
delighted to harvest an average
of q bale of cotton per acre ana
the hill lands of Georgia are SAID
to average only about enc nun
dred pounds of cotton per acre,
or one-fifth of a bale, and yet
Mr.. Wheels produced a bale per
acre by a process Of topping the
plant, with which we presume all
of the cotton plants are familiar,
and doubtless secured a forced
maturity in this was that enabled
him to secure his harvest before
the boil weevil developed. Inc
Times moralizes alittle over the
situation and says that men like
Wheels are doing the state a
splendid service; that they are
proving to the timid and pesslm'
istic that there is no occasion t(
disappear and to the discouraged
that there is no reason for aban'
doning Louisiana with her resour
ces and her opportunities 10:
other sections of the countr!
where hardships and difficulties
are certain to be encountered
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
The Earthquake Disaster in South
erfl Italy.

The most startling disaster in
the history Of the world since its
occupation by man has occdrred
in Southern Italy. The Hebrew
scriptures have given us the old
traditions Of the loss Of Sobom
and Gomorrah with all of their
inhabitants by earthquake action
and, but a few years back the city
Of St. Pierre, in the French West
Indian island by Martinique,
with all its 40, 900 inhabitants
was destroyed apparently within
ten minutes Of time. The explo-
son Of Mount Pelee and the re-
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
Weather Review of December l"Oo

LIZ. l WI. OllllS VI VAN ~
Weather Bureau in New Orleans
has issued his review Of the
weather during December just
past. It's mean, or average tenn
nature was 59.S degrees F.,
against a mean tempurature for
this month during the last 80
years Of Sc F., making December
1908 about four degrees warmer
than the normal, with only four
other years within the records
giving as high temperature. The
records indicate 81 f.. for De-
cember, 1875; 60 F. for Decem-
1879; 60 F., for December 1883
and GA F. for 1889. 1t will be
recalled that the year 1890, fol-
lowing the warm December OF
1889 was the bestcane year that
the present generation has seen
in Louisiana, whether it was ow-
inc to the warm December Of. the
previous year, or. to the absence
of Severely freezing, weather du-
ring the entire winter, or to the
summer rains Of that year, it
is somewhat difficult to deter
mine. Let us hope that l9o9
will respond similarly to the
mild December weather. The a'
erage maximum temperature re-
{ corded during December was g.
: F. the LIST Of December indicat
ing SO F. the 18th 81 F., the
: 18th and 18th 50 r. as maxlma
The lowest maximum temperature
recorded was 81 F. on Decembe:
. 22nd. The average minimum
t temperature was 51.8 F., with 8
f.. as the lowest recorded OF
December g.. and Al, F., tn
d next lowest recorded on Decem
# Der Bird. The highest Decem
Der temperature recorded was 8
!, F., on December LIST, and the
:. temperature has been the absolut
: maximum temperature for tn
A month for the past thirty-fiv
- years. The lowest temperature IT
:, = corded 3S F., on December
is far above the absolute min
mum for this month, the Decen
:. Der records having shown a ten
perature of q F. For the ye'
1908 the accumulated amount
excess of temperature was $50 d
grees, or an. average of one d
gree per day.
The average December rainf'
: during thirty-eight years h
. been 4.50 inches. December -
- stands as a dry month, with
: rain fall Of but 1.79 inch
against 6.88 last year and IA.
81 inches in 1906. The least Decel
Der rainfall recorded was that
= O.67 Of an inchinD epember l3s
Tue prevailing wind was fro
the north, with total moveme
of 63O6 miles for the month.
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09

LOWER COAST GAZETTE ~
!. c.nrvERs. Pres: s::saEvERs' s1fy.
: poIsrE-A-lA-HAcHE, LoulslANk
FERNS: 100 Per Year in Advance
-Annl;oation for entry as second eiAss
matter at the post office at P0'nte-
a-la-Hache pending.
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
iaiuing destruction Of tie CIT

dIlQ tCI1O1o wv w.
he famous cities gf Sodom and !
1omorrail. A few years earlier (
han the disaster at Martinique a I
great explosion occurred-at Java !
the western extreminlty
# the island Of Jsza'. Its phys1- ]
,al effects were more eXtraordl-
nary than those in Martinique,
out the loss Of life was probably
less. The great earthquake at
San Francisco, that destroyed
that magnificent city, fortunate
" resulted in a very limited loss
Of life. although the property less
exceeded any loss yet previously
from earthquake or vol
canic action. The literary and
scientific world thought that the
acme of volcanic eruption and
loss of life Was reached in Mar
Unique; that the eruption and
earthquake action at Java Hesd
with us engulflng phases reach
ed the limit of possible disaster
that direction and that at San
Francisco. earthquake action DID
its WORST and humanity suffered
most from incidental Industrial
disaster, q city of hundreds OF
thousands OF people being de-
stroyed by earthquake and tire
within a Few hours.
The climax of disaster has now
surely come When IN one OF the
most thickly populated portions
of Europe, the island OF Sicily
and over on the mainland OF Italy
in the province Of Calabria, vol
canic and earthquake action have
resulted in the destruction OF
some zoo, 600 lives; in the physl-
cal injury OF many thousands
more, and in the loss OF untold
millions of dollars in property.
Old Homer, three thousand years
ago, in describing in the Odyssey
the wanderings Of Ulysses, traced
his course around the Island OF
. Sicily and through the present
straits of Messina where the an
Gent rock on one side and the
!, whirlpool on the other, known as
. Scyly, and Charybdis, made then
so extremely dangerous that the
8 whirlpool became identified II
tradition with monsters and were
= much feared by tradition witt
u local monster is and much feare'
hv marines. Three THOUSAND
: years haze passed and now tn
{ Straits of Eesina have been twist
ed out of shape and whether 0
not the famous rock and WhirI
~ pool have yet disappeared is nc
yet reported. The Liparl Island
- lust north of Sicily with $500
~ ~ people are said t ohave disappear
y. ed in the sea. All records HAY
= been broken. When Homer wro'
= that there were no traditions eve
Of any such disaster in the, pa
- and let us hope that no such eli
aster will occur again in the i
-. ture anywhere.
m The civilized world has ris'
in masses to aid the Italians
on heir great distress, Our gre
difficulty has existed until now
n getting the supplies to the see
M of the disaster, hut a few ola
SO will very likely bring more or K
lgt relief to the suffering Italians.
lite Some Of the best families in 6
his parish are Of Italian decent a
i've a very large fraction Of our re
re- dents are from just across I
8, Adriatic from Italy, in southe
nj Austria. The sympathy Of I
M people of the parish Of Plaq'
M mines goes out to the Italians
ear these hours of their great distr
OF and we shall hope day by day
de- hear news of increasing relief
de- stricken Italy.
tall Corn In Egypt
Lower coast gazette., 1909-01-09
SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, l9o9'
Jntenser Agriculture.

The great truck garden indus
4,v that is bulling up the Lower {
Coast is teaching every one coh-
versant with it Of the necessity
If an intenser cultivation in any
kind of culture we may ADOPT
The old style of rough and tum-
Bile cultivation in cane, corn or
rice will nc longer win a profit to
the tilIers of the soil. The whole
scheme of culture must be care,
fully considered and worked
down in the best manner posi-
bic,
Much poor cultivation in this
uarish. and presumably in every
other parish inrthis state, is the
result of over cropping for the
resources that the %cultivator has
at his hand. Just here is where
good Judgment comes IN ana
the commonest belief is that 1t IS
better to cultivate one-half OF any
GOOD tract of land and produce a
first class crop thereon, than to
cultivate the whole tract and 10
produce thereon a half a crop.
The temptation to every planter
and farmer is to get all OF MS
lands into his, favorite crops and
/, in doing this we feel justified IN
taking some chances as to gooa
seasons and the probability that
the venture will win out any way
in the end. Experience shows
that agriculture is one OF the
most. uncertain industries IN
which men engage. Were it not
for the vast area in the United
States and the resulting average
production that is thus reached,
we would find trouble in agrlcul,
A. -
tural circles every year. AS II
is. our crops Of cotton, cane, corr
wheat, rice, etc, begin to strike
a general average result. Inc
ouantitp varies more or less up
ward or downward each year
but it is only occasionally that
very large crop or a very small
crop Of any great staple is pro
duced.
I. It is stated that during tn
last season the cabbage crop Q
the greet west failed, because 0
the prevailing drought, and tina
cabbages will command extreme
ly high prices this spring.
Cabbage culture Is hardly a ST.
pie crop and yet some OF OF
friends were disposed to engae
in it to the extent Of from 5 to :
acres each, and securing wh'
seemed very satisfactory propo
ais from some promoters Of tt
culture, they ventured in ar
planted out many thousands
young cabbage plants.
These plants, delayed in tran
it and half read, striking our pc
iod Of drought here, had to
watered to keep them alive.
little bed Of cabbages might
watesed, but when one comes
Of 10 acres, it is far more d
a ficult a proportion and to prosel
water 20 acres would seem almt
impossible with such resourt
as we have. Yet, with inter
culture, water would have be
provided in these instances a
the plants would have been I
ancially satisfactory.
The Shreveport Times has
Gently taken the matter up ra
err seriously because OF the IN
sion of the boil weevil inthe Y
FEY Of the Red River and thror
the alluyial lands all the way
n er to the Mississippi River
even across the river. into
state Of Mississippi. The cot
planters Of the alluvial lands Sc
somewhat paralayzed and Sc
scarcely to know how to m
their lands give any reven
Cane culture seems rather
doubtful alternative industry
with tr,1ck gardening the cot