davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09
Cullen on the Subject of Hot Weather Eats

had seven or eight hours to wait for a
polo game, especially to a man who was
hungry. But that dietary expert had me
buffalOed, and so / went through with
1t. | hankered for about quart of hot.
sizzling, steaming coffee. with brittle
rolls on the side and maybe some bacon
and eggs. but that distinguished sharp
on dietetics was sitting opposite me at
the table waiting for me to order. and
SO. as stated l went to the raspberries
and the tactical fluid and then waited for
him to scowl even at that. | figured
that he'd eat about half of a graham
wafer. with the accompaniment of gill
of mineral water
I'd ordered. You're for red raspberries
and a little milk and cream. Ell? Look
a-here. my man. why don't you eat
something? You're big enough and lum
beringly lummoxy enough to partake of
some sure-enough food for your break
fast. aren't you?'
! gasped.
Why, I thought you--you-" That's
as far as I could get.
'Oh, you did. did you?' said he. with
a saturnine grin mantling his rosy fea-
lures. We'll. watch my smoke!"
This is what he ordered for his break
fast, and this is what he sat there and
ate for his breakfast:
oHe WHOle CdHldiOup6 tndC Hdu Decu
on ice for two days. and that was filled
with finely slithered particles of Ice when
he ate 1t: one large bowl OF popular
breakfast food. submerged in thick, rich
cream; one large bone sirloin steak, gar
nished with mushrooms and little pieces
of brittle, crisp bacon; two red-hot rolls;
a heapng tower of wheat cakes. plas-
tered over with hunks OF butter and
smothered in maple strip. the whole
layout being flooded into his diaphragm
by three large, smoking cups of the jaw.
which is coffee; and then, after he'd fin
ished breakfast, he leaned back, or
dered an additional cup of black coffee.
Lit a cigar about nine inches long and
of the color of vulcanized rubber and
smiled benignly upon me.
I asked him If he really thought for
One-eighth of a second that he ever was
going to get by with that mess and save
his life He asked me why not. Said
he'd been getting by with messes just
like that one for about forty-seven years,
to his great physical and mental ana
spiritual comfort and repOse: and then
asked me again If l really thought that
/ was doing myself Justice by eating
such a messy little breakfast as one COM
posed of red raspberries and milk ana
cream. OF course. all bets were on Tor
me then. and l had something to eat, and
felt like q human being for IL
~
Butt was once and forever disillu-
stoned as to the dietetic sharp and his
pronunciamentos as opposed to his per-
formances. / asked this one to sort OF
nudge me an explanation Of his riotous
conduct. 1t seemed very simple to him.
Food, and a whole lot of it, agreed with
him. he had to have it. he did have it.
and he always was a-going to have 1t.
But he said that he knew equally well
that food in plenteous quantities did not
agree with the great majority of folks;
wherefore his PROSECUTING for the skinny
diet for the great majority of the human
race. He felt that he was performing
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

pronunciamentos Of the wise ones who
are supposed 10 know all about it.
Listen: Not so very long ago, on one
Of the hottest mornings / ever felt this
side Of the equator. or on the yon side
of the same for that matter, / CHANGED
to take breakfast with one of the most
famous dietary sharps in all the world;
a renowned New York physician who is
authority on stomach troubles and
the right kind of food for various kinds
of stomachs a man who writes articles
of light and leading on that subject for
the leading magazines. He's human
being and a hit Of a sport or sportsman,
for all his dietetic experiences. and he
happened to he at house | was visiting,
waiting for a big polo game to be pulled.
He was an early riser from choice. and
so was l. and so we took breakfast to-
gether. This man is at the head Of the
'Partake lightly school. He advocates
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

there is no other power short OF Divine
!nterposition-and I am afraid the days
OF miracles are past-to which could
appeal?'
The legislative as well as the executive
and judicial branches Of our government
transacts considerable business behind
closed doors When the Senate locks It
self in secret session there Is an exodus
OF pages and employees. save several OFF,
GERS who have been put under oath TO
forever guard any secrets which they may
overhear These are the sergeant at
arms. four assistants and the executive
clerks" who keep the vague record of the
proceedings. Only two persons may now
pass the threshold-the clerk Of the House
and the assistant secretary Of the Pres
ident If they bear messages to the Sen
ate. But all proceedings are hushed when
they are announced and they depart not a
lot wiser than when they entered.
The darkest Of these executive session
secrets pertain to treaties with foreign
powers and the frankness of speech with
which they are discussed would often lead
to Internal ional complications. II made
public.
The most serious executive session
leak" occurred while our treaty annex
Ing Mexico was under discussion A copy
of that instrument. as well as OF
the Presidents message and some con-
fidentiai papers accompanying II. was
alleged to have been delivered to news
paper by q westedn senator. An invesl-
eating committee was appointed, but the
matter was later smoothed over The last
serious leak" occurred in 1892. when
certain newspapers gave accurate reports
of an executive session. including the
vote in detail. smelling committee
was again called, and the chief executive
clerk was made the scapegoat and dis
missed although afterward exonerated,
elected to Congress and later given a
responsible government Office. which he
still retains.
That the House. also may hold secret
sessions. when 1t wishes to withhold
knowledge of its debates from foreign
powers, is not generally known for The
reason that the privilege has seldom
been embraced.
The State Department Is a vast reposi-
tory OF secrets, and its every important
transaction is made under cover. Our
diplomats undertake their missions under
secret instructions and communicate with
the Secretary Of State by a secret cipher
code especially devised for the depart
ment.
year or two ago. when a copy of
the code was stolen. an entire new sys-
tenn had to be adopted at considerable
expense to the government. A thief ran
sacking the steel filing cabinets of the
Department of State and distributing its
us In diplomatic entanglements from
which it might be impossible OF extricate
ourselves without endless wars.
Periodically there are published in Of
fetal red books" certain of our diplo-
matte correspondence, selected because
deemed harmless or treating OF events
which have safely blown over" Were
the full correspondence of any one year
thus published each male civilian Of the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09
% HE'S GHocK. fU1L OF STATE SECRETS
HERBERT Knox SMITH
CHIEF BURIAL. ORA CoRPoRAT1oNs

is about to make in his messages, upon
which the stock market rises or falls. es
pecally In these days of trust busting
and tariff tinkering. Vast are the riches
which could often he earned by Wall
street specuator trading upon advance in
forma ton obtained through a message
leak
SO message secrets are safeguarded in
this way: One Of the Presidents trust
ed messengers bears the manuscript
under seal to the public printer who i'm
mediately distributes it among the compos-
itors in fragments SO small that no single
linotypist could possibly gain head or
tail of any paragraphs gist. Then comes
the final assembling Of type under the
eye, Of a trusted employe of long-tried
rela bilty, and the pressmen who handle
the assembled type must. at the end of
the days work. account for every sheet
Of paper issued-after a careful count
for the printing of each page OF the
precious document
The only important message leak of re-
cent times occurred in Hayes administra-
ton. before these safeguards were in
stituted The procurer Of the advance
copy is said to have sold 1t to SPECTATORS
Tor several thousand dollars.
The Supreme Court sits beneath the
rose while framing all of its decisions,
even more vital to Wall street than the
Presidents recommendations, upon which
Congress may or may not act. vox
ropul seems to dictate. But the robed
justices Of the Supreme Court have the
last say as to whether this trust or that
shall be dissolved. or this or that law
otherwise affecting vast corporations
shall stand. Wall street would have
given hundreds OF thousands of dollars,
In any recent year, for advance informa-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

"HIS is going 10 be about d.
etetics-whatever that is or
they are.
Summer dietetics. mainly
that IS. what is good and what
isn't good u eat in the summer time
Tie writer hereof doesn't know much
about that toric. which is the best i'm
acina5ie reason. 50 he presumes. why
he should write about il. Nobody else on
earth. including the dietetic sharps.
knows anything whatever about the sub
ject, so that it isn't in the least proba BILE
that this writer is going TO be nailed
with the goods 1t Is ar agreeable thing
70 write about things that one knows
nothing whatever about and that one
knows nobody else knows anything what
ever about. Ii saves thinking for both
parties OF the first and the second part:
ard the absence OF thought is the hot
weather desideratum.
But. dieteticS: let's stick to that
What is the right kind OF summer food
The right-kind -of-sunmer-food bugs
are SO multi;udinous in number and so
wide apart in their beliefs that there is
no such a thing as sure-enough class \
dope be had on the subject
~
Just as often as we become impressed
with The belief that We eat about nine
times too much in summer, and begin, in
a sort OF panic. TO act upon that belief
ny getting ourselves down To an igloo
diet, which causes us 10 hate our neigh
ocrs and lrathe ourselves, why, some
other htgh-notch dietetic sharp zephyrs
along with tush-tush sort of a
pronunciamento. giving the calorific boot
10 the *too-much-eats propac ndisys and
tells US TO 20 right ahead and eat all We
want 10 and then partake Of additional
1000 whether it's in the dog days or in
the middle OF February blizzard life
neg say. being wholly dependent upon
1000. ana starvation meaning miserable
dissolution and wasted tissues and n
naliy death by despair and acute mania
Whereupon, wrought upon by this new
ana saustYlng dietum. We plunge into the
pahulum thing like 4 Young bull moose
COINS into the brush. and promptly O.,
yanked up with round turn and four
boxes Of pepsin tablets and dyspepsia
lGice OF all known and some esoteric
brands.
The "Partake lightly OF food in sum
mer'' crank furnishes list OF summer
eats that looks Ike fashlight photo
graph Of the famine in Rangoon. a list as
enaciat ed an incommunicado in a
Guatemalan prison. a rhuharby. prnns
sort Of a list that makes the normal be-
ing, particularly the normal male being
zee like he has just recently been kissed
ny his seven spinster aunts. But, all the
same. the "Partake lightly" sharps are -
plausible about il that they get us on the
tdn. We rest the paper in our lap and
gaze sort o guessfully at the ceiling and
ieel sort Of rumblne In the region OF
tie fourth button of our wais.coat. and
we remember the hunk OF roast beef and
The ;our chocolate eclairs and the large,
Lingering glass of iced coffee with whip
ped cream that we had for our lunch
and we begin 10 hand our goat over TO
Inc PaTtake lightly" man
yep. We ruminate. iris fellow S
right. We do eat too much in the sum
n.ert!me. His grub list looks skinny and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

tention to what the other fellow has to
say to us on a very intimate topic. That
which we eat or ought to eat is perhaps
the most intimate thing in connection
with our innermost being: and, after all.
when you begin to scan It over it seems
a bit on the loony side for us to permit
some chap. writing in the cool comfort Of
study, to generalize for us as to what
we ought TO insert into our systems. It's
purely private topic. The old dfctum
that what is one mans meat Is another's
poison still holds good. All Of us learn In
time what we ought to eat and how much
OF 1t. The wagon may be ready TO back
up to the door by the time we do learn
but we learn.
CLARENCE L. CULLEN.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09
y ). RANSDELL
MERCHANT AT ARTS
US&SENATE-
SWORN To KEEP
EXECUTIVE SESSION
SECRETS

land might we'll anticipate a draft for
military service.
The personnel of the famous secret
service" Is one OF the state secrets of the
Treasury Department, confided by the
officials Of that organization only to the
Secretary of the Treasury or the Presi-
dent. Other employees of the government
must be listed in the official blue book,
but the names of these hundreds of de-
tectives are missing from that directory.
The amount Of the annual secret service
fund of Sl31.H6 that goes to pay them
their 81 to So day is accounted for
only to the head OF the department and
no one can venture a guess. at any time.
a 6 to the distribution or numbers of this
shadowy army of sleuths.
How custom house agents are made
aware of purchases by Americans in
foreign shops is another state secret of
the Treasury Department. Sufficient is
it to know that the diamonds and rich
clothing which our wealthy tourists are
liable to carry home with them Is regu-
larly reported by a mysterious corps of
spies scattered over the continent and
captained by confidential agents sta
toned at five points in Europe. and an
other in the orient.
With as great secrecy the Treasury
guards the identity of persons who In
form revenue agents of the location OF
or child who gives a clue leading to the
capture Of such an Illicit establishment.
may, without fear of betrayal by Uncle
Sam, enjoy the SO uniformity given for
such information His name will never
be recorded by the Treasu bookkeepers.
nor even upon a memorandum filed away
BY the revenue officials.
The time when gold Is to be shipped to
the mnts and coin to the Treasury and
subtreasuries is always a dark state
secrets shared only by the most trusted
guardians OF Uncle Sans strong box.
To lntrust such information to the ordi-
nary telegraph might prove means OF
warning train robbers. SO a secret tele-
graphic cipher code is used to transmit
this vital intelligence.
Both the army and navy. too. have
their secret cipher codes. all ready for
use should war break out tomorrow. and
officers intrusted with their keys would
he guilty of treason IL communicating
the secret to an outsider. Every war
vessel OF the feet bears a code book in
closed in a perforated case of lead.
weighted to carry it straight to the bot
tom should the vessel be boarded or
found to be filling. And strict are the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

Instructions demanding this precaution
of sinking the secret book whenever II
thus faces the danger OF falling into the
enemy'S hands.
The state secrets of the army and navy
easily rank. in vital Importance. next to
those Of the State Department. In the
f1reproof files OF the war colleges are
secret plans for the Immediate invasion
of every country with which we are at
all likely to go to war. Uncle Sam Will
assure you that our scores of nDIitary
and naval attaches scattered abroad coll
lect their information openly and above
board, but you can safely wager that
they do not, with virtuous indignation.
spurn safe opportunities of prying into
the military secrets Of the governments
to which they are accredited. It is a
fact northy Of note that whereas only
two of these attaches are detailed to
European countries with which We do
not apprehend war. we now have nine OF
them stationed in Japan.
But of the state secrets jealousy guard
ed by the military establishment the
most tightly sealed of all relate to our
coast defenses. from which even Amer
lean visitors are barred. The publication
by a New York newspaper just before
the Spanish war. of a crude plan Of the
defenses Of Washington resulted in a
dreds of thousands of dollars. In both
the War and Navy departments are Sc
cret plans and specifications for improve
ments In ordnance. armament and ship
construction upon which the government s
preparedness for war largely depends.
And the military proving grounds at
Sandy Hook and Indian Head are hedged
about by barriers which none but the
initiated can penetrate when anything of
interest is doing
The mysterious net by which hundreds
Of army and navy deserters are caught
every year is cloaked with secrecy as
inky as that which protects the various
corps of Treasury spies. Any one who
shows Uncle Sam where he can lay
hands on a deserter receives $50 for his
trouble. also the assurance that his
identity will be protected. And this
generous fee has induced a number of
individuals to take up this espionage as a
specially. Several women devote the
greater part of their time to the under
taking. but who they and their brother
sleuths are, or where they operate, is a
state secret which Uncle Sam will never
unseal.
In the Department OF Justice is an
office that is as full of secrets as a girls
seminary. but-to abandon the simlle-
they are never leaking out. This is the
bureau of investigation" whose vast
corps OF detectives is continually on the
hunt for such violators OF the federal
laws as bucket shop operators. night
riders and trade restrainers. And an
other storehouse for official secrets is the
Office of the chief post Office inspector,
whose closely guarded file cases are con-
tinually being fed with new evidence
secured from corps of detectives kept
on the hunt for postal thieves and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09
Youth and Age.

HTHE difference between youth and
age was never so we'll put" said
the Rev. c. w Penlow. In an address a.
an Ocean Grove beach meeting, "as b.
a playwright who wrote:
Youth. which is forgiven everything.
forgives Itself nothing. Age which for
gives Itself everything, Is forgiven MOTH
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

grave and solemn duty In warning the
world that it ate hull lot too much fod-
der: but that many years Of experimental
ton had convinced him that he himself
was immune from the dogma that he
himself advanced. and-oh, well. good
deal more like that 1t sounded good and
plausible: all dietary sharps are plausible.
on whatever side of the fence they're
working: but, all the same. when I come
upon either the "Partake Lightly or the
Eat All You Want To" articles on the
summer eating proposition now l pass
'em along and read what's doing in Ana
costa or Rockville instead
There may be-probably there is-a
happy medium. Most Of us miss 1t for
the very reason that we pay too much at
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

T 4 II Z s e cret 3!
Sh-h.
In Washington
they are as thick
as the flies that
plagued old Pha-
raoh.
The State De-
parment's "secret
fund" is now in the
spotlight as a re-
suit of the Day pOr-
trait ca sc. inherited
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

T Use of State Departments
~ Secret Fund" But One
Of Many-Every Branch and
Department of Government
Has Ever Transacted Most
Vital Business Behind Closed
Doors-Cabinet Secrets and
Secret Session Leaks - An
Attempt to Get a Tip From
the Supreme Court-Secret
Funds and Secret Ciphers
Employed in Several Depart
notwithstanding Secrets
Whose Revelation Would In
volve Us in Perpetual War
and Panic - Five Separate
Spy Systems Employed in
Time Of Peace-Secrets for
Which Spectators Would
Pay Millions = Interesting
Check Systems Guarding
Against Leaks-Trusted Of
hcials Who Might Enrich
Themselves if Choosing to
Leak-Even the Agricultural
Department Has Its State
Secrets.
~ ,orI< v,rpET1I WATKINS
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09
F Poisonous Plants Found
in and Around Washington

often discovered in gardens. This plant,
growing from two to three feet high. has
a stiff, erect. milky jufced stem and OPP
posite. four ranked leaves. The fresh.
milky Juice Is exceedingly acrfd. and the
fruit highly poisonous. Women and chill
dT-en are not infrequently poisoned by
handling the plant and getting the juice
on the face, in which latter instance red
ness and itching result. When used medi-
cinaly overdose of the seed will in
flame the mouth and stomach. and IL suf
ficient will cause nervous disorders. I'M
consciousness. general collapse and death.
Both poison Ivy and poison oak are
well known. as the beauty of their fol-
iage has often attracted attention to them
as artistic backgrounds for wild-flower
bouquets. But the results usually follow
ing this handling leads to a standing dis
like for any further acquaintance. Poison
Ivy is very often confused with Virginia
creeper. harmless though very similar
vine. This similarity Is partly due to the
fact that poison ivy is oftentimes found
in cultivated gardens. although 1t Is
rapid spreader of its own accord. The
poison is an oil found in all parts of the
plant, even in the wood after long drying.
The effect from contact with the oil re-
suits in an irritation to the skin which Is
exceedingly unpleasant and even painful
A speedy and permanent relief Is found in
an alcoholic solution of sugar of lead.
Poison oak affects the skin similarly, and
can be treated in the same way
Poison hemlock cries it's dangerous
quality in its name, but not in its appear
ance. 1t is smooth. purple spotted plant
which sometimes grows as high as seven
feet with large parsley-like leaves and
snowy white clusters of flowers. which
are in bloom during July and August
When the plant is in flower the leaves
contain the poison to the greatest ex-
tent. and when accidentally eaten for
parsley results In poisoning. The seeds
are sometimes mistaken for those of
anise, while the roots are used as pars-
nips, both of which uses reult in poison
ing. Another use, too, has been found
by the boys who take the hollow stems
for whistles. and are often poisoned in
that way. Poisoning from this plant re-
suits in a gradual weakening of muscular
power, the power of sight often being
lost. although the mind usually remains
clear until death ensues. as 1t soon does
from the gradual paralysis Of the lungs.
Hemlock. that is the poisonous variety,
is the most generally known poisonous
plant historically, 1t being claimed to be
without doubt the plant administered by
the Greeks to Socrates and other state
prisoners Despite the poisonous charac-
A
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-09

rF Washington were suddenly to be
thrown upon the market as Just the
place to spend your summer, one
Il Of the chief attractions cited would
no doubt he the various walks which
link the city so closely with Mother Ma
ture. But although Washington abounds
In pleasant walks, there are at the same
time varieties of trouble which await the
unwary pedestrian in the shape of pois-
onous plants Armed with slight knowl-
edge Of these, a walk may be an ex-
ceedingly pleasant pastime, but without
knowing about them, walk may also
result in sad hours of illness.
The American false hellebore, for in
stance which is also known by a host of
other names. such as devils bite and itch
weed. is a hardy plant which often
reaches a height greater than that Of the
ordinary person. With large, plated,
stemless leaves Of varying sizes, and a
large loose terminal cluster of yellowish-
green flowers. it looks harmless enough.
While the poisonous character of this
plant is most often found in connection
with animals. cases of people being
poisoned are on record. and there is one
instance OF which q whole family was
poisoned after having eaten the leaves
of the plant, which had been mistaken
for marsh marigold. The poison operates
chiefly against the action of the heart
and spinal cord, both of which ii tends
to paralyze. Symptoms of the poisoning
are shown by burning in the throat, de-
fective vision, severe headache. dizziness
and profound prostration. Death is cauS-
ed by paralysis of the heart.