The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-04
A Census of Queer Trades
Are Seven or Eight Different Ways in. Which Ameri-
cans Make a Living.

1 Nf''t = w jlst ~. 1ICS'1l1tu WI luS
treasury Department.. fuills the task
OF the work of detecting counterfeit
money. AS the original Sherlock
Holmes OF the queer" she has
brought destruction to clever counter
leiters to the extent of thousands "f
dollars. For over 40 wears she has
been considered an expert in Inner UNI
usual occupation. Mrs. Leonard he
lieves that a perfectly engraved
terfeit not has never been produced.
Another remarkable woman doing
an unusual work Tor Uncle sam is Mrs.
Patti Lyle Collins of the dead letter
division OF the p%ostofficc department.
For many years she has d~cciphcrei all
most illcEible addresses on mail mat
ter tina, has dciicd the pos,masters.
Though not llind herself. She is known.
as the blind reader" because of her
remarkable ability in decirhcring
illcsihlc addresses i'll English and 9TH
CT languages.
In the AGRICULTURAL department, is IL
woman. Mrs. Mica Zesta Heidemann,
who makes models of the various bugs
that prey upon grain. trees and farm
produce. in order that students of
agriculture may receive practical
demonstration in fighting them.
Iii the same department are three
scientists engaged i'll the interesting
occupation of examining the contents
OF the Stomachs of birds. They have
done nothing else for the past two
Years. and are trying To find out
whether certain birds are the friends
in the field slay the birds by the hun
dreds nd ship their stomachs to
Washington in alcohol. Then they are
microscopically examined by the three
scientists. who tahulate their findings.
In the treasury department is q
chemist who tolls all day long amid
samples of n~ear-butter and fake
WHISTLES. The samples are sent him
by suspicious government agents who
and dis:illors are eNadins the law
against adulteration.
"a the Washington navy yard a ma
val contractor has a huge model tank
in which he plays with toy battle
ships. cruisers and submarines. But
he isn't exactly playing. he is making
scientific demonstrations of the effect
on a vessels speed, coal consumption.
etc, Of changes in the outward forma-
ton of the hull.
There are eSrert Yea and coffee
tell the value and grades of these
commodities by placing a few grains
OH the tongue. And in the depart
ment of agriculture there is Il squad
Of yoilnS men who eat drugged foods
to determine just how poisonous they
are.
Secretary MacNeash of the treas
urN. employs Il man to sign his sigma
ture to various routine papers that
must be signed each day. And Mrs.
Mabel r. Leroy. of the interior de-
rartment. does the same thing for
President Taft. receiving $1,000 a year
for doing so. 1t is estimated that she
signs his name to patents issued by
the land office 5000 times in a single
month.
A man with a deft hand and an ac-
curate eye receives the same annual
salary in the treasury department for
cutting up paper money. All day long
he places under a mutilating k1nife
large stacks of worn and soiled paper
money that to the treasury for
redemption. He destroys on an aver
age of $l.500,G00 a day and over $780,
600. 900 in IA Year.
Every Stepmber a Newton On. j.
mar ships fifty pounds of rattlesnakes
to the New York Geological garden.
After catching them IN their native
heath he packs them. in a boz with a
small screen Wire netting nailed on
tightly all round and then turns the
kissing. buzzing load over to the eX-
press company.
New York boasts tho only repairer
of cigar store Indians in the country;
an artist who spends the entire year
in drawing ~CaricatureS used in the So
called comic valentines; Il man who,
day in and day out. takes several dime
| novels and pieces them together so as
to form one continuous story for pub
LEGATION as Il book: two women wire
less operators. one on the top OF a
Fifth avenue hotel and the other on an
ocean liner sailing from New York.
and two coppers who nav a monopoly
IN packing money into casks for ship
ment by New York banks to foreign
countries.
One of the Quecrest of occupations
is that of a Richmond. Va.) mi
who for fifteen Years has been chaper-
oning what has come to be known as
the Cupid special" between tina city
and Washington. D. C. Twice a year
this woman organizes these excursions
by rail in a special train to the capt.
tai city. Always. ~solnewhow. there are
at least a half dozen couples who want
their materimoniai knot tied in the
shadow of the capitol's dome; hence
the sobriquet.
In New York women make a busi-
ness Of being discharged from the de-
partment store in which she is 'em-
ployed' once or d dozen times a day
if occasion demands. When Il haugh-
ty, pompous customer complains of
negligence or i~mpertinence Or what
not on the part of a clerk, tho woman
in question is summoned to the front
office as the one in charge of that par
ticular department.. given Il good
dressing down before the angry GUS
! toner and peremptorily~ discharged.