davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
.ALES OF THE
{. CHRISTMAS GREENS

B. CHRISTMAS GREENS
L "And they found written in the law
: Go forth into the mount and
fetch olive branches, and pine
branches, and myrtle branches. and
palm branches, and branches Of thick
trees to make booths
+ In the days of Joshua the custom Of
using green's for midwinter festivals
was popular among the Hebrews-in
fact, it was obligatory. And the use
OF mistletoe by the old Oruids and of
holly by the Romans were customs al
ready centuries old when Christianity
adopted them. The use of Christmas
greens began before Christmas.
Now you are preparing, doubtless,
to decorate your home, to Irvine ivy
about the paintings in the drawing
room or parlor, to hang on walls and
in windows holly wreaths and suspend
mistletoe from chandeliers and door
frames. But do you know the legends
of these greens, of the Significance. of
the ivy, the holly and the mistletoe?
Holly was used by the Romans in
the feasts of Saturn, to whom 1t was
dedicated. 1t was an emblem of peace
and good will. When the early Chris
tians began to celebrate the birth OF
CHRISTI, holly became the symbol OF
resurrection. Even the Persians re.
garded this plant as sacred and be-
lieved that 1.-The sun never Swallowed
the holy tree They would drench
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
GROWTH OF THE RAILROADS
Enormous Increase in Passenger and
Freight Traffic Shown in
One Decade.

The American railroad system
changes while you wait. You can see
it grow. A decade ago the railways
received only billion and a quarter
dollars from the patient people, hard
ly more than our annual national ex.
penditure. Now they receive-with
fewer thanks-$2,500,0O0,000. Then
the passenger traffic amounted to only
1873 billions of miles for one passen-
ger; now it amounts to 295 billions
of miles.
In other words, if one passenger
were carried each week day from Des
Moines, Ia, to the sun, his journeying
would fairly represent the distance
daily Travelled by passengers on Amer
lean railroads.
Our freight traffic, too, is bigger. In
one year we carried 1,000,000,OO0 tons
of freight an average of 240 miles
each. If each man, woman and child
in this country hauled each day 500
pounds of freight a distance of 81
miles, they would not accomplish in
he year the vast amount of carrying
that the railroads perform.
The next ten years will show still
greater progress. Many railroads will
be rebuilt; others will be electrified.
New roadbeds, new tracks, new sta
tons, stronger locomotives, bigger
and better cars-al of these are in
the estimates of the next decade. And
if the people stay awake and demand
their rights, the whole vast engine OF
progress will be equitably and eff
GENTLY administered in the interest.
not of stock jobbers, but of investors.
employees, passengers and shippers
Success Magazine.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
RAJ ROAD BUILDING IN INDIA
Extension Of Arteries Of Commerce
Being Pushed in British
Dependency.

A blue book embodying tho admins.
tration report on railways in India
fol. 1908 has just been issued at Lon.
don.
During the year GIG miles of line
were opened to traffic, bringing the
total mileage open up to 3O,576 miles.
There were 643 miles of line sane
toned during the year. Up to the
end of March, 1909, the mileages
were: Lines open, 3O,S09; lines under
construction or sanctioned, 1892. The
actual outlay (including premia for
the purchase of companies lines)
from the commencement on all lines,
open and under construction, amount
ed at the close of 1908 to Rs, 42,067
lakhs s2SO,000,O00). The sum Of
e10,000,o00 has been provided for ex-
penditure for 19O9.1O.
The financial result of the working
of the state railways for the year was
net loss to the state of 23,364 lakhs
of rupees 1,553, 000), after meeting,
in addition to the expenses of work
ing, all charges for interest on CAPT.
tai outlay by the state, and on capital
raised by companies, and also the an
nuity payments for railways pur-
chased by the state, including both
interest and the portion that repre-
sents redemption. of capital. An ap-
pendix to the report states that the
paralysis in trade, the total failure of
all the wheat export trade from Ka-
rachi, famine, and the rise in the price
of coal are among the principal
causes of the loss. 1t is added: THE
results of working of the year 1905
1909 will have a retarding effect on
the steady progress that was being
! made in bringing the railways of
India to higher state of efficiency"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
ON EARLY RAILROAD LINES
Passengers Tickets Were Practically
WaybiIls-How They Were FILLED
Out and Used.

The earliest railroad tickets DIFF
1ered entirely from those now in Use.
The booking clerk was furnished with
volume, the pages of which were
divided down the center by a perforat-
ed line, the outside half of each page
was again divided into slips about four
inches long by an inch and three-quar-
tiers in width, on each of which was
printed the name of the issuing sta
ton; spaces were provided in which
the clerk had to write the destination,
passengers name, date of issue and
the time the train was due to depart.
One of these slips, duly filled in, was
detached from the book and handed
over to each would-be passenger in ex-
change for his fare.
The traveller, having thus obtained
his ticket, was passed on to the guard
of the train by which he desired to
travel. This official was provided with
a kind of waybill on which he entered
particulars of all his passengers in
much the same way that a parcel is
served nowadays.
Incidentally, the similarity Of treat
ment did not always end there. the
third class passengers had to travel in
an open carriage, frequently nothing
more than goods truck attached to
a train which carried both passengers
and goods, more or less indiscrimin-
ately.-Railway Magazine.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Railroad Receives Conscience Money

Railroad Receives Conscience Money
Letters from two conscience-strick.
en- former passengers of the Clover
Leaf railroad were found in the morn.
ing mail of General Passenger Agent
George j. Charlton. One writer, on
stationery of the Moody Bible insti'
tute, inclosed a money order for $25
and wrote:
During the past, in a wild period OF
my life, have stolen rides over your
road and now want to pay for them.
Since that time l have accepted Jesus
Christ as my Saviour; in other words.
l am right with God and my fellow
men,"
The other letter came from Wyan-
dotte. Mich, and inclosed $2.25 in
stamps, which, the writer said, is 1.-The
amount you refunded me in 1908 on
ticket which l claimed was unused"
I'VE get good many conscience let
ters," said Mr. Charlton, "but seldom
two in. one mail. Tribune.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
SORTING r1AIL
AT US. DEAD LETTER OFFICE

jewelry Indeed, it is from the wreckage Of
the holiday postal rush that the dead letter
sale OF the following year is chiefly recruited
At the holidays many persons who are not ia:
m1l1ar with the preparation of parcels for the
mails make use of this service with the to.
be-expected sequel of improperly wrapped par
GELS, missing addresses etc. Thus, too it is
during the Christmas holidays when the vo-
ume OF mail Is heaviest that the greatest pro-
portion OF wrappers are accidentally torn from
parcels In transit, thus creating waits of the
mails. Finally there Is less tracing of packages
lost at Christmas than at other seasons for the
reason that many prospective recipient of
Christmas gift, unless independently advised,
has no means OF knowing that parcel has
been mailed to his address, whereas the giver
unless an Acknowledgement is requested, has
no means CT knowing that the gift failed to
reach Its destination. Doubtless many heart
burn has been caused by the failure to deliver
the articles that have place in Uncle Sans
huge auction stock.
The annual auction sale of postal odds and
ends having been so largely derived from
Christmas postal derelicts 1t is peculiarly an
propriate that the articles should be sold at
the holiday season when these self-same ar
t1cles can be made to second time do serv.
Ice as gifts. There Is no doubt that this is the
disposition to which many of the purchases are
put. Then too, it is genuine bargain sale.
Uncle Sam has no reserve price" and he new.
er bids in an article The articles are sold
In regular order, numerically, as they are list
ed IN the catalogue, and each lot in turn is
knocked down to the highest bidder without
reserve, and without regard to how Inadequate
the price may be as compared with the real
value Of the article
Although the annual postal sale is conduct
ed untler the direction and supervision Of the
officials of the Dead Letter Office, the actual
barter is in the hands Of private auctioneer-
this task being bestowed by contract upon ths
lowest bidder-that is, the auctioneer who is
willing to sell the postal stock on the lowest
percentage OF commission. The terms are
strictly cash. Uescle Sam usually derives gross
receipts in excess of $4,000 from this sale.
deductlnS for the cost of catalogues and other
expenses, msans at least $4,000 net profit. This
Is turned ever to the United States treasury
However. If at any time within three years q
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

versity and traffic expert with the
waterways commission now in Europe
gathering data for congress.
German rolling stock within it's
limitations is quite good" he went on.
The carriages on the continental
lines for the most part, however, still
cling to the form of the traditional
stage coach, and the freight cars are
very small compared with those of
the United States. Instead of 40 and
5O-ton cars the average capacity in
France and Belgium is ten and fifteen
tons, and there are a few cars in Ger
many carrying as much as 20 tons.
The Germans say that large cars
would force many manufacturers to
readJust their plants, whose loading
and unloading facilities are adapted to
the smaller cars.
by keeping the cars down to the
level of the small shipper they are
hampering the enterprising and pro-
gress1ve producers. Small cars, how
ever, keep up transportation charges,
for a 40-ton car can be hauled at a
cost not greatly in excess of that of
hauling 15-ton car. German officials
admit that their railroad rates are
higher than those of America.
In other words, the Germans hold
back railroad development to the
needs of the average business man,
while in America the tendency is to
reduce the unit of cost of production.
This Is aided by the use of large cars,
and small shippers are forced to ad-
Just their business accordingly. To
handle the great volume of traffic in
America the railroads have had to re-
sort to immense coal and ore cars,
grain cars, furniture and meat cars
1T is just this reducing of the unit
cost with the most improved machin-
cry which allows America to pay the
highest wages while obtaining the low
est cost of production. If the great
American establishments were brought
suddenly to do business on railroads
such as those of the continent, they
would be suffocated.
The net income from the railroads
pays one-flfth of the Prussian budget
Inc Germans cannot afford to reduce
the rates, and they cannot afford to
put their railroads on par with those
OF America because of the tremendous
outlay OF capital that would be needed.
while the continental nations boast
mat there is no discrimination be-
tween shippers on the government
railroads, the free competition among
water craft allows such discrimina-
ton, as the water craft are allowed
TO charge as much as they can get"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

the disposition of his property Because of
this responsibility it is necessary for the gov
eminent officials to keep an accurate detailed
record of the transactions at each sale, with
the notation as to the sum received for each
article Sold
There is always plenty of amusement for
the vast throngs that crowd each dead letter
auction sale. For all that each lot offered is
comprehensively, though briefly described in
the catalogue there are Invariably numerous
bidders who through failure to consult the cat
alogue or because they are carried away by
the spirit OF the occasion, purchase on the
"rlg In poke" plan, and the dismay that re-
suits when some of these "sight unseen" par
cells are opened, is sufficient to recompense
those spectators who have come to the SAY,
merely for the fun that is provided for the on
locker.
Inc average price, per "lot" brought at the
DEAD letter sale is well above 81. The lowest
prices recorded usually for the parcels Of
vocal and instrumental music which go for 80
or 40 cents per "lot" whereas the top-notch
prices are derived of course, from the jewelry
Sales notably the diamond rings. A solid gold
ring set with diamond weighing slightly
more than half karat sold for $5O-a decid-
ca bargain at the prices at which diamonds
were then selling. All the packages contain
Ing JeWelry OF value are sealed, but the post
office officials supervising a sale will usually
break the seals and display in advance any
designated pieces of jewelry If requested to do
GO by bonafde bidders. Not all the parcels
offered at the postal sale are such as can be
carried home by the purchaser. Many "lot'
Is contained in huge wooden box. In this
years sale one item is represented by pack
ing case, as large as piano box, filled with
souvenir cards. Another almost as large holds
a miscellaneous assortment of cheap jewelry.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

the faces of babies with water in which the
bark was saturated. In France it was hung
outside of houses to protect them from light
ming.
Ivy which lent itself to the decoration OF
houses, was the vine of Bacchus. Whence the
old proverb:
Nay, Ivy, nay. it shall not be- I wys:
Let Holly hafe the maystery the maner vs..
Holly stud the halle. fayre to behold:
Ivy stood without the doore: she is full cold
Holly preferred, but ivy became popu
lar in the course Of time. Mistletoe has al
ways shared with Ivy the popularity of Christ
mas. Mistletoe is more rare and more asso
ciated with myths.
OF old the Druid priests at their yearly ce]e
brations were wont to send out persons to dis
cover the newest of the mistletoe growth at
season when the voice of cuckoo was first
heard. Only that which grew on an oak tree
was acceptable. When it was found, great
sacrifices we're prepared.
On the day appointed, when the moon was
six days old, there were led to the place two
white bulls; a white-robed priest would as
cend the tree and cut the mistletoe with
sickle of gold. The sickle was never used for
any other purpose; all the fragments of the
plant were gathered, and with great rejoicing
where the sacrifices were made and particles
of the plant distributed.
It was believed that the mistletoe brought
with it the good will and blessings Of the f:1-
ries, for, it is said, they sought protection with
in it during the winter when all other trees
were leafess
In Sweden for many years it has been re-
garded as cure of epilepsy and an antidote
for poisons. In southern Wales it is worn
about the neck as a protection against snake
bites. The belief of the old Druids that the
possession Of 1t guaranteed children is believed
in many parts of England to this day.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Holu to Make Sand Tarts

The newest revival in the eating
way for entertaining friends is sand
tarts." Nobody knows why sand
and why "tarts," for the delicacy as
made has nothing to do with either
But it is the real thing and the new
thing to have of an evening, and can
be served with coffee, or a cooling
drink. The one trouble is that a
hostess who establishes them as a
specially never can make enough of
them.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

The sand tart is half a cake and
half Q wafer. 1t is about the size of
graham cracker, is very crisp and
breaks easily. It has an indescribable
taste. and fairly melts in the mouth.
Hostesses who never have heard of
them can accept this rule, which
comes from q clever New York wom-
an who has scored great success
and now has to keep them constantly
on hand.
Take cup of lard" she says, two
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

the starch to dextrine. Thai, in fact,
is what the brown color in toast in
dicates-that the starch is gone and
dextrine has taken its place. The stuff
is predigested.
$50 We feed our invalids on toast.
dish as thoroughly predisested as
any of the most famous breakfast
foods.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

cups of flour, one of milk, a quarter
of a teaspoonful of baking soda and
half teaspoonful of almond extract.
Mix these, roll out very thin, cut in
squares, and put half an almond in
the center of each tart If you want
to know what good is, then start in
to eat"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Good But Unpopular Habits.


We are sure that the Bishop of Chi
chester was very right in his remark
that 1T is the man who sings over his
work and the boy who whistles who
work best" But it makes US extreme
ly unpopular with the rest of the
staff; and the boy has been violently
dealt with at the second line of Il
used to sigh for the silvery NOON
London Globe.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
cast as Medicine.

did you ever wonder why toast is
recommended for invalids?" said a
doctor. 1.-THE reason is that toast is
predigested bread.
What makes fresh bread trying
for invalids is the starch in it.
Starch is very hard to digest. It
needs a good STOMACH to take hold
OF the soggy starch IN bread and
change it to Strengthening, stimulat-
ing dextrine.
But when you cut bread thin and
toast it brown, the fire itself changes
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Earliest Railroad Charter.

The earliest charter for a railroad
antedates the employment of steam in
propulsion. The earliest charter of
which record appears is found in a
private act of the parliament of Great
Britain in 1901, Incorporating the Sur
reg Iron Railway Company to build
and operate way with rails between
Croydon and Wandsworth in the OUT
skirts of London. Draught animals
were the motive power.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
New Ocean Route Likely.

With the extension and develop
ment of the railroads of the eastern
part of Canada, the prospects grow
brighter for the establishment of a
new ocean route between the eastern
and western continents. The terminus
on this side will be Green Bay, New
foundland, and the other will be some
convenient port of Great Britain,
and the projectors claim that this will
possibly shorten the transatlantic
trip by SO hours between the United
States and England. But little rail-
road construction is required to make
the Green Bay readily accessible from
any point. A great point in favor of
this route is that it is claimed to be
practically free of fog, and at all sea-
sons of the year vessels may ply this
water with speed and safety.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
HELPLESS Victim Of q Locomotive.

Helpless Victim OF . Locomotive.
John Larter, an engineer on the Erie
& Jersey railroad. was killed at Co.
shan, N. Y, by train while making
IN effort to signal the engineer
Whether Larter had been assaulted by
some enemy in the darkness or had
been struck AID severely injured by
another train is not kn3wn. but when
a train on the Montgomery branch of
the Erie was nearing Goshen it's engi-
neer was startled to see man partly
rise from the track just ahead and
signal him to stop. Every effort was
made to stop the train, but it was too
late, and the locomotive crushed Lar
ter to tdeath.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

and make room for the
years accumulation of
unclaimed parcels.
However, there are
several circumstances
which make the holi-
day season an especial
ly appropriate time for
this governmental bar
gain sale. In the first
place a surprising pro-
portion Of the articles
contained in the sale
are such as the aver
age person prefers to
give as Christmas gifts
- gloves, Christmas
cards, handkerchiefs,
dolls, toys, books and
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

Greece Country Without Coal,
Greece has practically no coal de-
posts. Whatever electric power it has
comes from waterfalls.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Fad Too Expensive.

A woman in Worcester, Mass, was
surprised at receiving extra large bills
for gas used the last two months and
on investigating the matter found that
her new maid was keeping teakettle
singing on the gas stove all day long.
In answer to her query as to the rea-
son the maid informed her that she
felt more like working while the kettle
was singing. The maid now works
without accompaniment.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

those of the CONT
nent; the Amer
i c q n railroads
have nothing to
learn from Eu-
rope"
This Is the opin-
ion expressed by
L. G. Mcpherson,
lecturer at the
Johns Hopkins uni
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

Most Railroads Carry Mail.
In the United States the percentage
of railroads which are not engaged
In carriage of the mails Is very small
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Largest Pin Factory.

Birmingham, Eng, has the largest
pin factory In the world, manufactur.
ing an average Of $1,000. 900 q day.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
AHEAD OF EUROPE
81 -
AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION "a
clLIT,Es THE BEST.
Traffic Expert Declares This Nation
Has Nothing to Learn Abroad
German System Holds Back
Railroad Development.

The people of the United States
would not tolerate such railroads as
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
Adds to Beauty.

Adds to Beauty.
What makes girl pretty is the way
she can look when you tell her she IL.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04
The Valued Word Of Praise.

Vd10S0 vvOIO
What more inspiring than a word
Of praise from those we love? It
never breeds vanity; it just makes us
want to be more worthy.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

pc son shall
prove that any ar
ticle disposed of
at the sale, was
his erty
when lost in the
mails, the govern
ment will restore
to that individual
the sum derived
at the sale from
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1910-02-04

This year the sale opened on Mon
day, December II, and continued all
week. 1t is an auction sale and Just
about the liveliest sort of an auction
sale that could possibly be imagined.
Each day the proffering and bidding
begins at ten o'clock in the morning
and continues with very brief inter-
ruptions until dark. Then at seven
o'clock In the evening the auctioneer
resumes his oratorical efforts, and the
sale progresses until, say II o'clock,
when an adjournment is taken until