davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

full of them. but he guards the "oor jeal-
ously.
Not every book is taken from the mails
because it is improper. however. O.ten
1t stirs up dangerous public sentiment.
An official who refused to be quoted said
that 'if somebody had had the fore
thought to expel Uncle Toms Cabin
there might not have been any civil war.
Volumes about which there is uncer-
tsinty. Mr.. Ash explained. pass in turn
through all the many divisions, until. II
need be. the Attorney General takes them
up.
Mr.. Ash deplores the tendency during
the past ten years toward an immortality
as displayed in the presumably better
class of books.
Before that he explained, stories
were trashy or maudlinly sentimental in
nature and were at once recognized as
such, because only the cheaper grade OF
American authors wrote them. But now
books by clever writer's, with much OF
real merit in them, cause us no end OF
trouble"
Mr.. James r. Young. superintendent OF
the post Office. seemed especially con-
cerned with the subject Of improper post
cards. He declared that people away at
the summer resorts seem to temporarily
forget their sense of fitness Of things and
mail cards that would greatly mortify the
recipients even If 1t did them no harm.
They mean no real HARM" he explain
ed, but such a card would often place
the receiver in very embarrassing POSI-
ton. People are not allowed to dun on
post cards either. We have twelve men
in the dead letter Office to whom such
Objectionable matter Is sent. These men
merely read and destroy all day long.
Often q man ignorant of the law writes
a postal saying what he will do II he
is not paid money by certain date THIS
constitutes threat and is not maiiabie.
The postmaster of the Office where 1t
was mailed sends it here, or destroys 1t
IL he is certain of its nature. When such
a threat of libel Is received in sealed
letter and sent on to the post office by
the victim. every effort is made to To-
cate and deal with the guilty one
There is a bureau of identification con-
nected with this section. where records
are. kept of arrests made by the postal
inspectors. Recently this staff has been
far more busy than ever before, as the
new penal code. enacted by Congress at
the last session. greatly widens the scope
of matter prohibited in the mails.
Mrs. Georgia Lee, chief clerk to the
chief inspector, used to handle such
cases.
THE average American citizen has but
slight knowledge of what is proper and
what improper for mailing" she said.
THE department has learned to be very
careful in arresting presumable Offenders
without more definite proof than the
word of a complainant. There have been
cases where a person having a grudge
against another deliberately mailed
postal to himself containing malicious
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

THERE are about 5000 claims on
file at the pension office srowins
out Of the Spanish war. The widow
of an American officer killed In CUBA pu
in her application the other day. and with
in twenty-four hours was awarded pen
sion. Claimants whose papers have been
on file five or six years will doubtless see
in this an evidence Of favoritism or a
sign that the private soldier is elbowed
to one side in the interest of the man who
commanded him. Neither charge has any
thing to stand on. All the pensions in
cidental to the Spanish war are likely to
be disposed of more promptly than those
growing out Of the civil war. because the
machinery was in full operation at the
time the claims accrued. The events or
the Spanish war are recent enough to do
away with all difficulty in finding wit
nesses; the records of examining surgeons
and of the field hospitals have been care
fully kept from the start.
All the conditions are favorable to a
prompt examination and adjudication of
these claims. The widows will proba bly,
have the right Of way. not simply on the
place-aux danes theory, but because IN
most cases they represent a rather urgent
need; moreover. the proof required TO es-
u
scription-proof of death, of marriage
and other details which can he procured
easily from the public records. Finally
officers widows are likely to have an
easier time than the widows of the aver
age Of enlisted men because the COM
parative publicity of their lives makes a
large number of persons competent wit
nesses to those details for which outside
af1idavits are required.
Widows claims have always been an
interesting subject in the pension ONCE.
These that are filed a good many years
after the loss of the husband or II that
loss has been recent have to be examined
with great particularly on account of the
many ms and outs involved. The widow
business has. in fact, sometimes develop
ed into a highly organized industry. One
such instance which has received very
measer notice sin the press deserves a
good deal more. In border state there
* Il cemetery in which are buried q
large number Of negroes who were In the
t'nion INV. One huR0red ana SIX claims
for widows pensions came to washington
from one source, all of them being from
the widows Of colored soldiers In that
general neighborhood. Suspicion was
aroused in the minds of the examiners.
who began an investigation. rms had not
gone far before they found that 1t would
be necessary to put a handful OF skilled
detectives on the scent. 1t was difficult
to make Roadway for some time until a
clue was obtained which pointed to the
fraudulent character of one or the claims.
and the alleged widow was required to
produce more satisfactory proof of her
marriage A negro who posed In the at
f1davits as her brother-in law was PIN
ned down with cross-questions. and final
~ admitted that his memory Of the cir
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
/. A Wit.

JAMES A. PATTEN. at dinner in Chi
J cago. advocated temperance ardently.
Hereafter 1 shall help the prohibition
movement all / can said the noted
financier. Drink is an evil that takes
an incredible hold on its victims. For
Instance
Mr.. Patten smiled.
"A temperance lecturer he said. ''onco
displayed to his audience two geraniums.
The first watered i'm the usual way, was
a beautiful and vigorous plant. But the
other had been dosed with alcohol and
its foliage was shrivelled and sparse. its
stem twisted and it's vitality decayed.
Now, ladies' and gentlemen cried the
lecturer. what can you say To a demon
stration such as this?'
Its all right and IL I were a ger
anium.' said a shabby man i'm the gallery,
I'D stick to water exclusively, but T sm
not q geranium,'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
JINGLE .SAn&sCeNS0R
!';;::- 0mAlLSe.4nQRAlS

FRAUDULENT Schemes
l. and Questionable Publ
cations Declared From the
Mails-Like Threads of a
Spiders Web the Post Office
Department System of In
spection Reaches Out to
All Parts of the Country
Recent Raids Indicate Vigor-
Gus Campaign Against Get
Rich-Quick" Concerns-The
Men and Women Who Ac-
tually Decide What Novels
Are Ineligible for the Mails
Inner Workings OF Uncle
Sans Great System for
Guarding His Mails.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

fuses or FAKE mines, OIL STOCKS tIidl IuIe
with promises of colossal dividends. lot
terry schemes so yelled that they seem
not to be what they are and any and
everything of an obscene nature.
AS the censor of public mails and morals
he strives to protect the pocketbooks Of
his citizens from "get-rich- quick
schemers and their minds and homes
from questionable literature spread
broadcast among them by INSCRIPTIONS
publishers. And he accomplishes his pur-
pose simply by refusing to let them ped
die their wares through the mails. More
than that. to show that he means what
he says. he fines and imprisons them for
so doing.
If band of sharpers discover a hole
in the ground. form themselves into a
company with a high-sounding name
and mail neatly printed pamphlets. tell
ing just why you should invest every
cent you can beg or borrow in their Won
derful mine rest assured your Uncle
Sam will eventually run them to EARN
and show that there is nothing in their
mime but hole.
Or IL q perverted publisher or individual
mails a book. post card or "a picture
that may be classed immoral the long
arm of the government reaches out and
stops him, incidentally inflicting a fine Of
not more than $1,000 or Imprisonment not
exceeding five years, or both.
When Postmaster General Hitchcock
swooped down on a nest of alleged fake
promoters and "get-rich-quick" concerns
in New York city several weeks ago, he
bore with him as the authority for his
action the allegation that the accused
were making fraudulent use OF the mails.
On that ground, he further declared,
Uncle Sam will drive from the country
every wildcat scheme to separate quiz
ihle investors from their money and that
investigations and prosecutions will pro-
coed with all possible vigor until the
swindling of the public through the use
of the mails is brought to an end Like
the ancient Grecian philosopher who de-
clared he could move the whole world
II given a place to stand on. the postal
chief hopes to move the world of bogus
promoters because he has place to
stand on-their using of the United states
mails to defraud.
But the Postmaster General does not
intend to simply stand still on that point
of leverage, as was more or less the
custom in the past. The old method was
TO DENY the use Of the mails to firm
caught transacting illegal business. 1t
failed to produce results. for the nrm
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

he perused the Smart publications con-
fiscated and placed in Uncle Sans varied
library for such works he would be
Then you do read them?"
why, I-you see." as If he had dis
covered some way out, 'only those pub
locations about which there is any doubt
come to me. I am the court of last re-
plainly that it belongs to the indecent
class it is discarded without appeal to
this Office for an opinion. But when it is
SO we'll written or subtly handled that
one man might be of one idea concerning
it. and second Of another, it. is sub
mitted to us, and we decide-according
to the law"
But rarely more than glance at these
books" he insisted. 1.-THE man you want
to see is the real reader. He has been
reads them all and he can tell you all
about it,
And he called messenger to conduct
the writer to where Mr.. James r. Ash
the man who has kept the mail atmcs-
sphere of this country pure for more than
a quarter Of century-sat at his desk.
Il do not think when I read such
books" he said. II am acting as an
agent for the government, and / construe
as it would have me do according to the
standards set here.
"The lawyers and the courts and Con-
gress set that standard. The Attorney
General usually decides any knotty point.
but we keep within the prescribed. laws.
1t isn't what l or some other man might
think: 1t is only that we are permitted
certain range Of judgment within the
laws, just as q magistrate has choice
of sending prisoners accused of the same
offense to jail for anywhere from a week
to thirty days. 1t all depends on the
circumstances
After having been sampled and found
unpleasing to the taste the copies of al
debarred books are sent up to the library
on the top floor Of the building for cata-
loguing. Uncle Sam has q whole room
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

upward again. The cables begin to move
and with the terror gone, one realizes
that the brief halt in the climb was
merely to permit other passengers at the
foot Of the mountain to climb into one
of the baskets as it swung around into
the station shed on the endless chain
On and on and upward the basket
moves over ancient backgrounds OF
winds and storms and elemental furies.
where huge powders lie in heaps as evil
dence OF the tremendous upheavals OF
nature in times gone by. AS the climb
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

ed bowl" At first the trees are but a
few feet below you. but presently. as the
climb up the mountain proceeds, the bas-
ket swings out over a yawning canyon.
You lock back and downward and sud-
denly there comes a sensation of help
Iessness. for there stretching far below
is only thin air and at the bottom a mass
of cruel looking powders all jumbled to-
gether and seeming to invite the pas
sengers swinging and swaying above in
the basket to jump to false safety.
Suddenly the basket stops its upward
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
Thrilling Trip to the Clouds in Basket

Backward and to one side the aerial
Noyager sees the gigantic mountains,
with raging torrents leaping down the
steep sides i'm silver bounds. while all
along the mountain sides appear little
mounds with holes above them boring
directly into the great hill-burrows in
trepid men have dug, through which to
bring forth the vast fortunes in gold
which have been SO long secreted in the
massive hills.
And then the aerial traveller looks d.
rectly down-and shudders. For there be-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

cumstances of the marriage was very de-
fectve The woman meanwhile was evi-
IDENTIFY growing more and more nervous
from day to day. and at last she invited
one Of the detectives to her cabin, where
she locked and bolted herself in and in
terrified whispers confessed her share In
the great conspiracy. She not only had
never been married to the man whom
she claimed as her husband. but she did
net even know him. She was one OF a
group Of women who had been hired
to act as widows for a corresponding
number of negro soldiers whose bodieS
Law in the cemetery.
The attorney who organized the con-
spiracv had gone to work In a most bust
ness like way. He had taken down from
the headstones in the cemetery the
names OF the men. All the negroes
whereabouts belonged to some mutual
benefit lodge of their own race. and from
the lodge records the swinder had sifted
the list SO as to retain on il only the
names of unmarried men. the widows of
those actually married being perilous to
approach with such business. lest some
of them might already be drawing pen
Sions and give the pension office warning.
Each dead bachelor was provided with a
re"dy-made widow from among the local
colored population: the same set of wit
nesses were called into play for the whole
a.ch of cases: and a colored preacher
was used. by virtue of his cloth. for the
necessnrv testimonials as to the credi-
biity Of the witnesses. The preacher. who
in some respects was the most dangerous
Of the gang. vas arrested and locked up.
but broke. Jail and diappeared and has
only recently been recaptured i'm another
state. OF the log cases. lO2 have been
thrown out for fraud. The other four
were granted.
X X
The rule which makes seven years alb
sence a presumptive proof of a soldiers
death has sometimes come into the
widows pension cases in a peculiar way.
A man committed murder and disappear
ed After seven years his widow finding
no trace of him anywhere. asked the PEN
sion Office to treat this case of presump,
tive death. The office had to make a
ruling that man who was a refugee from
justice would necessarily disappear from
view and hence that to this the
reasoning from long absence would be in
applicable.
The cases of dependent mothers fur
nish some troublesome questions for the
pension Office to deal with. A woman
who had been for years drawing pen
sion as the dependent mother of a soldier
was reported by one Of the field agents
as having remarked. When taxed with
the fact, the woman defied the Office to
prove the remarriage. The ONCE couid
find no trace or document beyond the
the name of the man with whom she was
living and treated by her neighbors ana
the tradesmen with whom they dealt as
his wife The Office then proposed TO
strike her from the roll under the act OF
1850. on the ground that she was living
in unlawful relations. 1t was evident,
however, that she had been coached by
some shrewd attorney, for ner case was
promptly shown to be OUTSIDE the opera
ton Of that law. since the law referred
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
CREEPING TOWARD THE TIMBER LINE.

continues, with occasional halts to load
and unload the baskets at the foot and
at the summit of the mountain, the
grandeurs of the trip are unfolded In
increasing volume.
Far below and backward one sees the
little town of Silver Plume, while down
the valley at q distance appears the ia
nous Georgetown loop" and little be-
yond the town OF Georgetown. looking
like toy city set between the sheer.
sprung hills,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
OOOOOCOOOOC

low is another deep canyon. bedded with
those cruel looking rocks and seemingly
yawnlng to receive the travei'rs BODY
and crush his poor bones to atoms should
something go wrong with the machinery
and the basket freak from its cable and
dash down, down, down!
But no such thing as that happens. 1t
is only q horrid dread that insinuates it.
self int the travellers Imagination - he
sits in The swaying basket.
At tha altitude OF 1900 feet the arit
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
oGaGG G@geeS &c
coo.no,den.e of The Star

Special Correspondence OF The star.
pENyER. Col, January u. 1911.
II. the sensations of ballooninS
"a and aeroplaning without any of
~ their dangers or nsks-that Is
~ What Is afforded the pas
-, = ,cer on what Is declared to
be the most thrilling and scenicaiis
spectacular trip on the American conu-
nent-a ride in a basket through l4,u0-
feet of air above the clouds TO the top of
one of the highest mountain peaks In the
Rockies.
The start of this thrilling aerial jour
ney in baskets is made from Silver
Plume. Col. which IL reached from Den
yer by a train ride through the beautiful
Clear Creek canyon and over the famous
Georgetown loop. This journey TO Silver
Plume alone is ciassed among the most de-
nghtful trips in the mountains. But 1t is
tame and unsatisfying in comparison 10
the ride through the air To the Top OIL
Sunrise peak OF Mcclellan mountain.
The aerial tramway at Silver Plume Is
counted among the wonders OF the world,
and IL Is declared to be one of the most
marvellous engineering feats of the age.
Besides the thrill IL affords the trip IS
wonderfully rich in scenic splendors that
are unrolled before the gaze of the aerial
yoyagers The distance from the base OF
the mountain To the end OF the AERIAL
tramway Is a little more than two miles,
and for every two feet of distance trav-
cled the passenger goes up one foot.
Gliding through the air in the iron bas-
kets. the passengers have a delightful
and uncbstructed view OF tie mountains
OF Colorado. the plains. the rocky can
yons and the silver streams that course
swiftly down the mountain sides and cut
the valleys in shimmering streaks.
The passengers skim the ancient vol
canic beds OF the mountains, ride over
the prehistoric glacial deposits, penetrate
the fimy clouds. sail hundreds OF feet
over yawning caverns. pass the timber
line and land in the regions of perpetual
snow. IL is the only trip of it's kind In
America and there Is but one other sim
Switzerland. But on this Colorado trip
one secs the grandeurs cf the Grand
canyon OF Arizona. the beauties of Nj
agara Falls and the Yosemite and Vel.
iowstone parks an combined.
The aerial tramway consists of "A series
Of huge trestles about 300 feet apart.
stretching from the base of the mountain
TO It's summit. On these trestes are
strung thick, steel cables. capable of
hauling rs tons Fastened TO the cables
are small iron baskets, which comforta-
bly, scat four persons each. There are
twenty Eight of these baskets on the
chain.
At the station shed the passengers are
loaded into the baskets as they come
around on the endless chain and the
thrilling ride up through 14.0,2 feet of air
begins Slowly the little basket, riveted
to the thick steel ropes, drifts into the
open. gradually leaving the ground. and
goes on its way toward the blue invert-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
R:LMAppOx
ASSISTANT 10. 1vpr OFf0RR1GN NA1Ls

opinion. He must have tangible evidence.
But he is not confined to the considers
ton of simply legal evidence or such
technical evidence as would be admitted
in court of law. Any relevant cir
cumstance that has a direct or indirect
bearing upon the question involved can
be considered.
Promptness of action is the desidera-
tum. If action is delayed any considera-
BILE tin.e-as Is generally the case in a Ju-
dicial proceeding-the fraudulent users OF
the mails are able to consummate their
schemes before interference occurs. A
fraud order is issued and the individual
or concern accused is debarred from fur
Their use of the mails. Postmaster Cen
eral Hitchcock has gone even further IN
the securing of summary action by clap
ping the offenders into Jail and then let
ting the courts take their customary
leisure in deciding the official guilt or
innocence Of the parties accused.
Since the fraud-order law has been In
existence over 5000 orders have been
issued by the department., and In but
some thirty of them has the correctness
of the departments ruling been ques.
toned. In many of these instances the
objection was only as to the constitu-
tionality Of the law and not as to the
findings Of the department on the merits It's
of the cases. Moreover. in practically all
or these cases the department has Deem
fully sustained by the courts.
The securing of evidence ty an in
spector is a most delicate task. Fitted
against him are some Of the brainest
rogues in the country. The inspectors
themselves are men who possess extreme
business acumen and lawyers knowl-
edge of the law. Every device known
to ordinary detective work is at their
fingers tips. They scan closely the adj
yertisements of dubious mail-order con-
Germs and promotion schemes and often
subscribe themselves in order to secure
their data. II it is lottery being pro-
mulgated through the mails they secure
a ticket II mining or oil stocks or real
estate propositions are being advertised
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

movement, leaving one suspended there
over the chasm. For a moment ones
blood seems to freeze in ones veins and
the goose flesh" raises over ones BODY.
Something is wrong with the machin-
ery,'' is the shocking thought that flash
es into the mind. What IL the cable
should break and hurl us down upon
those terrible rocks?
Then, after a moment that seems at
least half an hour, one notices a slight
ly perceptible jerk and the basket glides
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08

THIN the massive
walls of the Post
Office Department
at Washington sits
Uncle Sam with his
weather-eye wide
open for those who
transgress his pos
tai laws. From his
point of vantage
he searches out the
individuals or firms
that mail prospec-
The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1911-06-29

king Of this realm; wherefore, all you
who are come this day to do your
homage, are you willing to do the
same?" The king meanwhile stood
up by his chair and turned to each
side. and the people acclaimed him
with cries of "God save King George"
Then followed the litany, the com.
munion service and a short sermon
preached by the archbishop of York,
after which the oath was administer
ed to the king by the archbishop Of
Canterbury. j
The Amounting and Coronation.
King George now was Invested Of
his crimson robes by the lord great
chamberlain and seated himself III
the chair Of King Edward l., which
contains the ancient "stone of des.
tiny" The dean of Westminster
brought from the altar the golden
ampulla and spoon, and the arch
bishop anointed him on the head, the
breasts and the palms Of both hands,
and blessed him. The king was next
invested with the colobium sindonis
Of fine linen and the supertunica OF
cloth of gold, his heels were touched
with the golden spurs and the sword
of state vas girded upon him, after
which the armill and robe royal of
cloth Of gold were put upon him. In
turn, then, his majesty was given the
orb, the kings ring, the glove and the
two scepters.
All mos ,>AoI, nav, Ro~ 4I1
act. The archbishop placed st. Ed.