The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-12-18

animal. but a Gopher is a bird, and
don't YOU forget it. Authorities on
natural history say that in Illinois and
Canada the name of gopher is applied
to a gray burrowing squirrel, in Wis
consin to a striped squirrel and In
Missouri to a burrowing pouched rat
Down in Georgia a gopher is a snake,
while in Florida a gopher is turtle.
But the mostv important Gopher or
all is the Minnesota variety, which is
q man or woman, girl or boy, re-
spectively, according to sex. And
that's the sort of Gopher that is to
meet at the Waldorf Astoria tonight,
the occasion being the annual feed OF
the Minnesota Society of New York.
Some of the most distinguished rail-
road presidents, educators. clergy
men, lawyers, doctors, editors and IL
nanciers of the metropolis hail from
Minnesota, and these gather once
wear and tell each other about what a
glorious state Minnesota is, and now
thew love it. and how superior it is to
anv other commonwealth of the union,
and all that sort of thing. You know.
And then. after it is all over, and the
casual visitor is thinking seriously
Of going out and getting religion, In
the hope that he may go to Minnesota
when he dies eX-GOphers go back
to their burrows in little old New YORK
and prepare to stick around for an
other year. And that's the sort OF
mammal a Gopher is. Always Dragging
about Minnesota and knocking New
York. and steering clear of Minneso-
ia, and hanging around New York.
pest upon these Gophers and their
eternal Boosting about where they
came from. They peeve us. Kansas Is
a better state than Minnesota any day
of the year. for money, marbles or
chalk
The usual invasion of Christmas
grafters are in town, and many OF
them are reaping a rich harvest. Some
of their ''Way that are dark and tricks
that are vain" are thus described by
James Forbes, director of the Nation
al association for the precention OF
mendicancy and charitable impOsture:
"A man representing himself as
with the American Express company
asks personal aims and eXcites SYM
rathy by stimulating heart failure.
He can control one valve Of the heart
and can faint at the proper moment In
the most approved fashion, saying az
terward that the cause was lack OF
food. He has a sick wife at home, OF
course. but if anyone offers to go
home with him he makes excuses. The
man is an old hand at this game and
has practiced it in different guises ror
years.
"One of the most successful beg
CARS in the city now is an alleged for
mer policeman who gaes about asking
aims. He tells moving story how he
was broken by Devery and Bingham.
He selects his victims carefully, and IL
is because of this that he is still at
large.
o..
ing the rounds introducing novel
method of emphasizing his affllctlon
He waits in front of some well-to-
do woman's house until she comes
out to take her carriage, then steps up
to her and tells how he lost his eye
through an accident in a building her
husband owns BY the way of further
explanation he will take out his glass
eve and show her all about it, This
generally cinches the thing and sthe
woman generally will give him some
thing to get rid of the spectacle.
From every quarter of the country
men of this stamp are coming into
New York for the Christmas season.
In nine cases out of ten persons APP
rlying for aims are imposters; the
really deserving seldom beg. All beg
CARS should be sent to societies who
make a business of Investigating ana
will look out for worthy applicants.
TREASURY STATEMENT.
WASHINGTON Dec 17.-The con-