davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

By FRED c. KELLY.

Down in Arkansas they pay their gov
ernor only 5000 a year. When Senator
Jen Davis was governor, he found II
extremely difficult to save any money ou
of that figure, and when he started tc
make his last campaign for governor he
found himself without enough ready
money to buy a meal at a dairy lunch
He could turn a little property he hac
| into money sufficient for campaign ex-
penses, but that would take little time
and he had to get into action at once
Another plan would have been to draw
on some friend, and it is said that he had
plenty of friends who would have staked
| him for the full amount OF his campaign
| expenses, but he didn't like to borrow in
amounts large enough to cause any one
serious financial embarrassment.
So here is how he worked it:
Let US say that he started his campaign
from Little Rock On his way to the
train, he stopped at the bank and made a
sight draft for s25 or so on some friend at
Batesville, where he was going to make d
speech. AS soon as he reached Bates
vile, he drew for slightly larger amount
on a friend at Yellville. left enough
money at the bank to take care OF the
draft on his friend there. and used the
rest to pay hotel bill and buy a rail-
road ticket. When he got to Yclfville
he Immediately made a draft on friend
al Fort Smith. used the money to square
I'D at the Yelville bank. pay all eX-
penses incurred to date and purchase a
ticket TO MorrilltOn. Each draft had to
be slightly larger than the one preced-
ing, but as it took banks a day or so
to get around to collecting the money.
the governor had the money on deposit,
usually, before his friend was obliged
to take care of the draft. BY the time
his campaign was over he had realized
on some private investments and squared
up things Immediately with the last friend
he had drawn on. BY this plan. he went
several weeks on borrowed money that
none Of his friends was without use OF.
Several ol-teaChers were members
of an excursion party taking in the sights
Of the Capital the other day, and one of
them knew the Congressman from her
districts we'll enough to get an intrOduC-
ton to Joey Cannon and few other
greater or lesser lUminaries.
'T have a modest little grade Of only
20 pupils" she remarked to the Speaker
when she met him. and they are really
very trying at times. l can imagine what
task you must find it TO keep that great
House in order"
"Oh. it isn't so difficult as one might
think" replied Uncle joey. IF anybody
misbehaves l make him remain after the
others have gone home for an evening
or two. and deprive him of the privilege
OF wetting the spongcs or dusting the
blackboard. If he still seems incOrrigible
I make him take his slate and pencil
and sit out in the cloakroom."
Col. Cecil Lyon, general manager OF
the State of Texas. here recently, had an
awful experience on a train last summer.
A friend here in Washington had asked
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
Mountain Climbing Fatalities.

FINN the Consular Reports
The number of fatalities due to noun
tain climbing in Switzerland has rapidly
increased during recent years. According
to an authentic compilation. ninety deaths
were due to mountain climbing in the
Swiss and Italian Alps during the year
ended December /. 1910 To the above
figures must be added eighty serious ac-
cidents, four of which had fatal effect
The causes Of the accidents were: AS
ccndinS mountain peaks without a guide
landslides, defects in the ChalteseiD rope.
and sudden setting in of fogs. For many
years the English have had the greatest
number of victims to lament; this year
however. the Swiss are at the head OF
the list, followed by the Germans, Eng
lish, Austrians. and Italians, respectively.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

of the domestic labor in the home was
performed by the wife or daughter"
Prof. Laughlin errs in regarding the
individual as a class. Women, as a
general rule, are not rich. More than
this, the majority of women are distin-
guished for activity in economic re-
forms; they are the motive power of
humane societies, and their good deeds
shine There are multitudinous homes
of worthy ideals and of refinement. 1t
is easy to rail at the new-rich, and
imagine that they are debasing Ameri-
can life, but they are in small minority.
They are merely the exceptions that
prove the rule.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
Can Poverty Be Abolished ?

The Old World policy seems to be tc
accept widespread poverty as an estab-
lished fact, to regard it with some de-
gree of complacency, and be content with
providing means for its relief In all
European countries, popular discomfort
and intelligent altruism appear to be
satisfied with old-age pensions, employ
ment insurance, and other forms of
government relief, more or less dis
guised, with hardly a thought for the
determination of the causes of de-
tendency and of means for its eradica-
ton. With all the recent distribution
of government funds in Great Britain,
dependency is on the increase there,
Millions have been given in old-age pen
sions, with scarcely any dininution of
the demands on the direct relief funds
There are signs in the United
States of movement in the same direc-
ton 1t is easier to tap the never-failing
resources of the government than it is
to discover why it is that men and
women, after years of productive capac-
ity, have not the means with which
to care for themselves during the non
productive years of later life Causes
which have been operative for years tend
to make simple relief imperative in Old
World countries, and to make the prob
lem of remedy and cure more difficult.
The evils in our economic and social
system are not so long established. 1t
is easier for lis to reach the roots of the
problem and to work out real solution.
A little more of the faith of Prof.
Hollander, of Johns Hopkins University,
that poverty can be abolished, is needed.
Whether or not the optimism OF the
Baltimore economist ultimately may be
achieved, his theory of working out the
social and industrial problems of poverty
is to be commended, at this time, when
there is tendency to regard dependency
as the predestined fate of the majority
In seeking to eliminate poverty we
shall be pretty sure to find some way of
reducing it, even if we cannot abolish it
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
The Increased House.

The Senate, as a matter of course,
will concur with the action of the
House which passed the Crumpacker
bill increasing the membership of the
lower House from 3oI to 433, allowing
two additional seats to Arizonq and New
Mexico on their admission as States.
The effect OF the new apportionment
will be to increase materially the power
in the House and in the electoral COL
lege of the Middle States in the East
and of the Mountain and Pacific States.
In the far West, California will gain
three seats, Washington two, Idaho,
Colorado, Oregon, and Utah one each,
the representation in these States being
increased exactly so per cent. New
York Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
will gain eleven seats (from seventy-four
to eighty-fve), or IS per cent.
New England will have three new seats,
two going to Massachusetts and one to
Rhode Island Southern and South
western States Will gain nine seats, as
follows: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
and Florida, one each; Texas two, and
Oklahoma three. In the Middle States
and Northwest, Illinois will gain two,
Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North and
South Dakota, one each. In normally
Republican States the increase will be
thirty-one, in normally Democratic
States ten, with Montana in the doubt
ful column.
One change of the Crumpacker bill
will be a tendency to lessen the evils of
gerHnandering. 1t will allow an ap-
portionment to be framed by the voters
directly through the initiative and refer
endum, in States having that system in
force, and thus annul the power of the
State legislature representing minority
of the voters to arrange the Congress
sional districts so that minority may
elect d majority Of the States delega-
ton at Washington. Such is the case
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
Sunday and the Letter Carriers.

The effort on the part of the letter
carriers to decrease the amount of Sum-
day work is one that receives the ap-
proval of the postal authorities, pro-
vided, however, that the reform can be
accomplished without serious detriment
to the public The question as to the
amount of inconvenience which would
be caused is still undecided.
Under the present system, letter car
riers are required to be on duty for an
hour and half on Sunday morning in
order to deliver mail to such persons
as may call at the post-ofice Statistics
which have been gathered in this city
show that the privilege appeals to an
average of $500 people, or less than 1
per cent of the entire population. 1t is
asserted, on behalf of the carriers, that
90 per cent of this small aggregate
visit the post-ofice merely as a matter
of habit and as an excuse for morning
exercise, and that no serious harm
would result if the mail were not de-
livered until Monday morning. In sup
port of this assertion, they point to the
fact that when the afternoon opening of
the post-ofhce on Sunday was discon-
tInued, on the ground that it was merely
stimulus to the gathering of idle
crowds Of young people, the deprivation
was accepted without a murmur
In his testimony before the House
Committee on Post-oficeS and Post
roads, the First Assistant Postmaster
General testified that in Detroit the de-
livery of mail through the letter car
riers' windows on Sunday has been dis
continued, and the general delivery win
dow is kept open for an hour only. He
said that this action has elected nothing
but praise, and that practically all of the
carriers in Detroit are now given a day
of rest on Sunday This, Of course, is |
the great desideratum. The carriers are
entitled to this consideration, and If pub
lie or private business is not jeopardized, |
or even seriously injured, they ought |
to get it. This, as we have already |
stated, is the doubt which the postal
authorities are trying to resolve into a
certainty.
The movement has naturally received |
the Endorsement of all religious bodies
and of some commercial organizations.
Its success is Largely a matter of public
education The letter carriers are doing
all in their power to invite facts and
discussion, and they are not without
hope that in the near future they will
receive official authority to enjoy a day
Of rest.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

The agitation in Germany against the
listing of American railway shares on
the Berlin stock exchange is a sign OF
the times. The minister OF finance, Herr
Delbrueck seems to believe that some
restriction is necessary to protect home
interests The Berlin banks and the
stock exchange have already agreed to
admit the Chicago, Milwaukee and St.
Paul shares. and how the Prussian gov
ernment will be able to prevent invest
ment of German capital in foreign enter
prises is not SO easy to comprehend, con-
sidering the daily International bourse
transactions
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

Editor The Washington Herald:
There appeared in your issue of the
14th instant an item from Chicago, stat
ing that Addison G. Proctor. of st. Jo-
seph, Mo, in addressing the Hamilton
Club upon the anniversary Of the birth
of Lincoln, stating that he is the sole
survivor of the ''split rail- convention
that nominated Lincoln. This statement
is an error. Col. Edward Daniels. of
GunstOn Hall, Va, was not only a dele
gate to that convention but is the sole
survivor of the committee that went
down to Springfield to notify Lincoln of
his nomination.
After the inauguration of Lincoln he
organized the Frontier Guards, in this
city, composed largely of members of
Congress from the West. Few were ever
closer to Lincoln than he during the war.
He organized a regiment of soldiers from
Wisconsin, and rose TO distinction in that
memorable conflict.
After the war he settled in Richmond
Va, where he edited the first Republi-
can paper in that city. If not in the
State. Later he purchased Gunston Hall.
the estate of George Mason. the friend of
Virginia He still retains possession of
most of it. Although more than three
score years and ten, he is still as active
as at fifty, and is deeply interested in
all the great public questions of the day.
GEORGE c. SMITH.
Washington. February l6
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
CLEOPATRA FIRST HoBBLER,
But of Course She Did Most of Her
JourneyfnE in a Barge.

From the New York Press.
Scientific research has disclosed that
Cleopatra was the first woman to wear a
hobble skirt. Hieroglyphs on the newly
excavated building blocks in Egypt show
the famous queen in a gown drawn so
tightly about her ankles that one won
ders how she walked at ALL
Come to think. of it. Cleopatra didn't
do much walking. She accomplished
most of her journeying in a barge. with
rugs strewn carelessIy over the deck and
attendants lolling about in poses that
made the royal craft look like a Turkish
bath turned inside out.
One cannot blame the attendants, per-
haps. for taking advantage of every op-
portunity to loll, for Antony's sweetheart
was a fault-inding housekeeper and gem
orally kept Charmion and her other at
tendants on the jump.
The theory that Cleopatra committed
suicide because Octavia sported hObble
skirt tighter than hers is open to debate.
Anyway. Cleo created the role of the
hobbler.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

now IN Missouri, which the Republicans
carried for President in 1908, though
getting only six Congressmen out of
sixteen The Missouri gerry1nander is
the most fragrant now in existence, and
the provision for a recourse to the
people, as against the legislature, was
put into the apportionment act at the
demand of the Republicans of that State
1t may have beneficial influence also
upon other States afflicted by gerry
manders, or would-be gerrymanders.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

clay china
woods nd OF
publisher. Davis the editor, the bug
he
his as a omen
is
will
notpe mos MT innate riends
d., mi
ection
ingsp
W. COCHRAN n educated
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
VIE WS AND
INTERVIEWS
Luxury National Vice.

Joseph T. Talbert, formerly a Chicago
banker and now vice president Of the
National City Bank of New York, who
was seen at the New Willard. in speak
ing of luxury. the national vice, said:
The fact that the manufacture OF auto
mobiles grew by leaps and bounds during
the years following the panic constitutes
powerful commentary upon the heed
leSsness Of our expenditures and our lack
OF thrift. 1t seems" he said that
neither wars nor panics have power to
check, far less to stop. our wastefulness."
This heedlessness, he maintained, is
grounded in the very American nature
and cannot be easily eradicated. In the
matter of individual expenditures it is the
fashion now to be extravagant to the
point of waStcfulness. and the fashion is
running riot. Individual thrift is consid-
cred not merely miserly boarding, but is
looked upon as a vice and thing to be
dcspisCd. 1t is said that this is not a
day of small things, and that wealth. as
wealth goes now, may no. longer be ac-
Cumlated by the slow process OF savings
and economies.
This may he true If we shall meas
ure wealth only by millions and hundreds
Of millions, but just as surely as there
ever existed virtue in economy or con-
tentment and independence in frugality,
they are there to-day; and just as surely
as individual and national extravaganza
ever led TO a day of reckoning, they are
doing so to-day. Among nations and
among individuals permanent wealth and
material progress are the results not so
much of rich natural resources as they
are tho products of economy and thrift:
not alone economy in the arts of produc-
ton, but economy of use"
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
Austrian Railways.

In Austria and Hungary, according to
Prof. Logan G. Mcpherson, lecturer of
Johns Hopkins University, who was seen
in this city recently. there has not been
great deal of canal construction, but
turbulent rivers, which in earlier days
caused much damage by erosion and DEL
uges, have been walled into well-regu-
lated channels and are now available for
navigation. But the railroads are now
the most used means of transportation
The first steam railway in Austria
was opened in 1885, he SAID. 1t ex-
tended from Vienna into Galicia. This
and other lines up to ninety miles were
constructed by 1910 by private capital
and the government, perceiving that capi-
tai could not be relied upon for the build
ing of an adequate railway system,
adopted in 1Su a programme for the con-
struction of a network OF state railways,
and about 1919 the policy of taking over
all the railroads was determined on.
But their receipts did not meet expec-
tations, and the government was soon
under the necessity of obtaining addi-
heightened the duration of private con-
CessiOns from fifty to ninety years. This
led to the formation of a number of new
companies, largely with the aid of for
eign capital. and in 1858 private companies
took over the state lines, aggregating al
that time LASS miles. And even as it is
to-day, the railroads Of Austria show an
annual deficit. They have never been 4
financial success"
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

the colonel to bring him a rattlesnake s
tail the next time he was up this way.
So one afternoon the colonel rode horse
back out to prairie dog village and shot
a rattlesnake. he took the tail home and
put it away in a grip that he had packed
ready for trip to Washington and other
points up this way.
When he got on the train to come here,
he had forgotten all about the rattles
| tucked away in his valise. His berth was
made up, and he started to take his nightie
out Of the grip. preparatory to getting
| some sleep out of his system. As he un-
| furled the garments. he heard the whirr
of the rattles in his grip. For the mo-
| ment, he thought an adult rattler might
] have got in his grip in some way, and
before he recalled the request of his
friend for some rattles, he had showed
| the grip and part of his clothes through
an open window at the opposite side Of
his berth. Then he faced the possibility
of having to go from the train to his
hotel in a barrel, but other passengers
came to his rescue. His friend hasn't re-
! ceived the rattles yet.
For a man who has little to say in the
Senate, and who is as mild in his man
ner as the preacher at a christening,
Senator Overman, of North Carolina,
once had about the most remarkable
campaigning experience on record
When he was a member of the State
legislature, Overman backed up a meas
Ure providing that all farms should be
fenced in, and a lot OF people were sore
to. At a big meeting in the midst OF a
heated campaign, about half the audi
ence began to yell and gibe when Over
man began to speak. intending not to al
low him to be heard at all.
Overman drew a large. mans size re-
vOlver out of his pocket and laid it on the
table in front of him as casually as IL
it were a glass Of water.
The uproar ceased for a moment and
Overman said There are a number of
people here who came because they de-
sired TO hear me speak. l purpose that
they shall not be disappointed. Any one
who does not wish to hear what I have
to say may now withdraw quietly. And
the first man to make a disturbance is
going to hear from me in way that will
not be relished by either himself or his
family"
Thenceforth the meeting was as orderly
and pleasant as a Presbyterian rummage
sale.
When Senator La Toilette vas district
attorney in Dane County. Wis, he no
ticed a funeral procession starting from a
Catholic church up the street as he was
The first man he saw was the Irish jani
tor. and thinking the deCedent might be
some friend of the janitor, he remarked:
I'm sorry TO see that some one in
your church has died. Mike. Who is it
they're burying?"
Il suppose" replied Mike, that it's the
;p he ~
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

From the Youngstown Telegram.
The upper berths have come down
but only in price.
Frum the Atlanta Georgian.
Robin. the skyrocket financier, says that
a State bank examiner of New York &C
cepted a $1,000 bribe. This is a case
where the examiner ought to be exam
ined.
From the st. Louis Post, Dispatch.
Politicians in Washington are panied
to earn that the tariff question refuses
to be lodged.
From the New Bedford Standard.
The appropriate place to celebrate the
opening of a canal is where the canal is,
not some hundreds of miles away.
Frun the Boston Transcript.
Why raise pOlicemen's salaries at a
cost of $4,000 when they can so easily
be allowed to augment their incomes on
the New York plan?
From the Baltimore Sun.
Had Gov. Wilson forgotten all about
Charlie Murphy when he said What
we need is audacity?"
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal
We continue to preach peace and plan
war. The two do not go we'll together.
From the PittsburE Dispatch.
May it not be an international issue for
Mr.. Garfield to get caught in the Mexican
civil war zone after President Diaz's
government has advertised that there
isn't any?
Prom the Toreka Capital
Pictures of Horace Greeley suggest the
thought that the country has made great
progress since his day. One sees no such
whskers now.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

A Boston girl who sues lawyer for
breach of promise admits he gave her
more than 300 presents, including diamond
rings and tickets for the Yale-Harvard
football game. She asks $4,000 more.
Has the poor fellow really that much
left?
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
A LITTLE NONSENSE.
THE AWAKENING,

In maple, beech. and even fir,
The sluggish sap begins to stir.
The sap, alike a sleeping thing.
Awakens at the touch of spring.
In all the timber on the map
We see tho signs Of running sap.
And indications tell US that
'Tis stirring in the baseball bat
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

The porous sock seems destined to be-
come the sign of woman's emancipation.
A Georgia cnur: has decided that wives
are not obliged to stay at home to darn
socks and cook
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

The Persian parliament has voted to
engage FIVE American financial advisers.
How can any American with first-class
financial ability be induced to live in
Persia with the opportunities which
await him in his native land?
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

Just as everybody was hoping that the
necessaries of life were getting cheaper
We read that Nine. Eames is paying
100000 for a husband.
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

Ground Hog Day. Lincoln's Birthday,
Valentine Day. and washingtons Birth
day. How is that for the shortest mon h
in the year?
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

The annual apprehension about the
health of the Kaiser has arrived on sched-
ule time
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17
The Canadian view of II.

Rogers s. Ford. Of Winnipeg, who is at
the New Ebhitt, discussed the proposed
tariff agreement between the United
States and Canada Yesterday. and said
Theories of effects which will arise
out of the adoption of the list as given
cut-an unlikely thing, perhaps-vary
with men. politics, and occupation or
business. and it will require actual Oper-
alton to determine what will happen IL
out
Whatever the outcome of the tariff
agitation" said Mr. Ford, business men
agree that 1911 has all the earmarks OF
a great year for the West In spite OF
crop somewhat diminished by drought.
1910 broke all records for business and
growth in Western Canada. and the indi-
cations at all points are that the cities,
towns. and country are going to break
the 1910 mark and over. OF 625 miles OF
railway built in Canada in 1910. 519 miles
were in the four western provinces, and
next year will see a big cleanup OF
roads that are under construction to the
extent of 1900 miles in Canada and very
largely in the West. Estimates of the
wheat crop that may be too sanguine,
but which are made by men thoroughly
we'll posted, place the probable return
from the land under the pIow at the close
of 1910 at 2OO.COO.OOO bushels of wheat
alone A % per cent falling off from this
estimate will leave the country the big
gest wheat crop ever harvested: and in
dications are that that is just what is on
the crop slate for the West"
The Washington herald., 1911-02-17

Kansas seems never happy unless in
some sort of trouble Now il is going
to vote on woman suffrage.