davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
JACK LONDON AND THE
M'NAMARAS.

The recent arrest of Clarence OAR
row on q bribery charge in connec
ton with the trial of the arch-con-
~spirators, the McNamaras. again calls
public attention to the great dynamit-
ing conspiracy which is being expos
ed day by day in the Investigations
of federal grand juries. The enor-
nifty Of the plot M the success with
which it was carried on until it ended
in the murder of a score of people
in the wreck of the Los Angeles
Times building. has surprised many
who hav followed the developments.
1t seems impossible hat two men of
as mediocre ability as the McNamaras
could plan and execute such a ma
tional
Those who have read Jack Lon
don's THE Iron Heel" will readily
understand that that book contains a
plot which would furnish the inspir-
alton for just such II campaign Of
crime and destruction. In fact, while
the book is supposed to look back to
the time from 1912 to 1882 from a
period seven hundred years in the
future. and while in fact the book
was printed four years ago. 1t is not
difficult for the reader to trace the
outlines Of the Mcnamara dynamit-
ing conspiracy through its pages.
In 1.-The Iron Heel is traced in the
early chapters the development OF tho
conditions which eliminates in the la
ter chapters Of . great uprising of
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
FEELINGS OF WOUNDED MEM
ARMY SURGEON GIVES CURIOUS INSTANCES OF PHYSICAL IN.
sENslB1LITY DUE TO MENTAL EXALATATIoN.

bouquet the army had promised him
the evening before. he could not con-
tain his joy. He did not feel the pain
OF the operation. and thought neither
OF his wound nor of his serious situa-
ton. but continually repeated to his
surgeons as they took off his leg near
(Memoirs Of General Thiebault.)
AT Eylau s%tretchers bearing the
wounded kept coming without a pause
to the guards field hospital. The in
defatigable Larrey had operated for
36 hours without resting. 1t is my
turn they cried on every side. After
such cries as these there came upon
those dauntlcss men at the moment of
the operation a marvellous calm, a sort
OF inward satisfaction. They seemed
no longer concerned with their per-
Sonal misfortunes, but to be Offering
vows for the safety of our emperor.
The man who had just lost a leg Of
fered his arms to support his COM
rade. and they mutually encouraged
one another to bear the various op-
erations for which their wounds CALL
ed (Memoirs of Baron Larrey.)
The evening of Essling many of
the wounded lay on the bare earth in
the Island of Lobau. The surgeons,
under the watchful eye of Larrey,
were busy %stanching wounds and cut
ting flesh. The wounded could be OPP
Grated on only onc after another.
tors. When it seemed as if one were
to be passed by he would call them.
Come here he would say: 1t is my
turn. Gentlemen. come and cut off
my leg. My n%eighbors can watt"
(Memoirs Of Cadet de Gassicourt: a
Journey in Austria.)
AT II battle OF Moskowa Larrey
took off the arm of a battalion chief
up to h shoulder. Immediately after
the operation the mar got on his horse
and went on his way. The horse soon
died. but the rider continued on foot
to France where he arrived after q
journey Of three and a half months.
After the passage Of the Beresina
General Zayonchek, IS years old, had
his right knee broken by q ball. Inn
mediate operation seemed indispensa-
BILE. Larrey proposed it. and, the old
general accepted it without hesitation.
But they were still under the enemy's
fire. The cold was severe, the snow
was falling. There was no shelter.
What did it matter? Larrey bade two
officers spread a cloak under his
wlite-haired patient and proceeded, in
three minutes. to amputate the shat
tered limb. His wound bound up, the
old general was put on a wagon train
and was carried to wilma, where he
died at the age Of SO years.
With such men it is easy to UNDER
stand how Napoleon. that master of
the secret of energy, could accomplish
the feats of arms which still astonish
the world and write in the purpose of
French history the glorious names of
Aboukir, the Pyramids. Marengo,
Arcole, Lodi, Austerlitz, Jena, Fried
land. Wagram. Montereau and Cham.
paubert.
THE legendary stoicism of the sol.
der Of the empire under the surgeons
knife may we'll be called to the atten-
day, most of them so delicate. SO sen.
sitive even to the prick Of the vaccina-
tors needle. for mans triumph over
pain will always be Of the most
inspiring sights in the world"
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02

wards its betterment. Charles Dick
Ell and Women" is a posthumous pa
per by the late II. Snowden Ward. who
was a vice president of the Dickens
Fellowship. special commissioner from
the Fellowship to the United States
and Canada, and author of THE Real
Dickens Land" a book widely known
among admirers of the great novelist.
Defining a Woman" by Thomas L.
Mason, is brief but amusing. The
department Ways of the Hour con-
tains the following brief. straight to
the point articles: Why Have
slums?" by Frederic B. Hodgins: ""The
Rights of Children by Minna Thorn
as Antrim: Endowed Theatres by
William Dandorf; "a Cold in the
Head" by Edwin L. Sabin: and LAS a
Man Eateth." by Clifford Howard.
There are also the financial depart
ment conducted by Edward Sherwood
Meade. Phi. D.. and the automobile
department in charge of Churchill
Williams.
Among the short stories we find
The Treasure Tree" by Eleanor Mer-
cein Kelly; Where Cindy Came In,"
by Nan Maury lennon: ''The Maxi
ing Of a Militant" by Edith Ayrton-
Zangwill: THE Story of Donacha Lai-
dir" by Seumas MacManus: "A Pleas
ant Afternoon with Mrs. Marsh," by
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02

l3. Then there are 81 cards left and
three aces. II you have already drawn
one. therefore there are three chances
in 81 of drawing the second ace. Re.
duce to simpler fractions it is one
chance in II.
This leaves so cards and two aces.
or n chance in 25 Of drawing the
third ace. With forty-nine cards re.
naming M n ace in the deck there
is naturally only one chance in for
ty-nine of drawing 1t.
Multiplying out these fractions,
l-l3x1-l7Xl-25x1e49 you will find that
you have one chance in 16s,250 of
drawing four aces.
rms or curse applies only to one
person drawing cards from a full pack.
With six or seven persons drawing as
In r poker game the ratio is different;
1t will be smaller.
All life insurance premiums are de.
termined by the law Of proba bilities.
For instance. to determine the pre-
MUM on people between 90 and Is
years Of age a life insurance company
finds out how many people die n
nually between those ages. That
number divided by the total of people
alive between those ages Is q fraction
that expresses the chances that peo-
pie between the ages of 20 and rs
have of living and it is, of course, a
simple matter for the company to nx
the premiums accordingly.
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
THE LAW OF PROBABILITIES
IT Is MOST IMPORTANT AND GOVERNS ALMOST EVERYTHING
YOU DO.
Chicago Inter OCEAN,

Chicago Inter OCEAN,
DO YOU know what is one of the
most important laws-perhaps the
most important law--that governs
Your daily life. 1t is the law of
probabilities.
You start to business. 1t is cloudy.
You take an umbrella. You are APP
plying the law Of proba bilities.
You refrain from eating roast beef
at luncheon. Probably You feel Your
wife will provide it for your dinner.
You. consciously or unconsciously,
all day long. apply the law-to your
actions. to your engagements, to your
eating.
A we'll equipped authority in
America on the law Of probabilities is
Prof. Virgil Snyder of Cornell uni
vcrsity. Recently Edwin II. Risley. a
Utica lawyer. was convicted on Prof.
Snyder's testimony as to the probable
tiles of typcwriting machines working
alike.
THE law of probabilities expressed
In numbers" say Prof. Snyder. lis
a fraction whose numerator expresses
the number Of favorable ways an event
may happen and whose denominator Is
the total number of ways a thing can
happen.
"For illustration. apply the law of
probabilities to tossing a coin in the
air. You want to know what the
probabilities are that it will come
heads 1t has only one head. hence
expressed as q fraction its ~nurnerator
is one and its denominator is two, the
total number of ways it may fall. The
probabilities that 1t will come heads
is therefore expressed as the fraction
one half and spoken Of ms one in two.
In other words, it is an even chance
that it will come heads.
Many people believe when they are
matching coins that II a certain coin
comes heads three or four times in
succession the chance of. its coming
tails the next time It is tossed in the
air is greater than of it's coming
heads. No matter how many times in
succession it. m heads when 1t is
tossed again 1t is only an even chance
that It will come tails. 80
: Under the. law OF probabilities
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
(Chicago News.)

SSnlCaSO NeWS.)
A Chicago man has something to
teach that Pennsylvania scientist who
has taught two chimpanzees to talk
about the weather and the opera and
kindred topics. This man owns one
of those bird and animal stores in the
loop, where one can see strange sights
and hear stranger sounds from the
cages and perches. and in front of the
windows of which children and
grown-ups always linger a moment in
passing.
In this establishment is a 'sedate
monkey Of advanced years which
helps keep the store neat and attrac-
tive, at the same time teaching useful
occupations and tricks to the younger
members OF the simian colony and en-
HANGING their value as entertainers
when customers drop in.
Twenty years s. this monkey
would have been called Jocko. but
ideas have changed since the ape fam
lily has shown itself more closely re-
lated to man and since Mr.. Darwin's
theory has become more generally ac-
cepted. So this particular monkey is
named Basil. which, as everybody
knows. e kingly or royal descent.
Basil has lived in his present quar-
tiers for five years. One morning four
years age the proprietor was polishing
a brass railing which prevents too
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
Baltimore SUM

'''A'|
While gunncry experts and ord
nance sllarps are digging out now Sc.
crctS of destruction. and while ava
architects are figuring out the most
up-to-thc-minutc details of ship con-
struction. the United states navy has
gone back to an institution that dates
from the time of the first wooden
ships.
The smoking lamp is the institution
that has been revived after a period of
years in which it existed in name only.
1t is Il r~eiuvenated relic of the days
when the promiscuous striking OF flint
and steel around a ship of war was
dangerous and therefore prohibited.
But now the. safety match. because
| of II few accidents that have resulted
through carcleSsncss, has been banned.
If YOU have ever been on a man-of-
war you have probably seer a petty
officer approach the officer of the deck
and ask permission to light the
was given. the word was passed that
the smoking lamp was lit, and all
hands who cared to smoke produced
pipes or cigarettes.
The blueiackets of a battle ships
crew arc not allowed to smoke when
ever the inclination strikes them.
From rcveille. at $50 in the morning,
uItlll lIH-lo Ildi! III IOuI ldlSI, LliCS
are permitted to smoke as much as
they please. but when the scrubbing
down of decks begins pipes are put
away and cigarettes are tnroWn ovc
tho side. Whe nthe signal for spread
mess gear" which means set the ta-
bles' in short-going talk, is sounded,
tho smoking lamp is lighted again.
breakfast. when the crew again turns
to. For the rest of the day smoking
is allowed only for an hour or SO
around meal times. except when the
crew is not engaged at drills or other
duty. Then the master-at-arms. or.
on some ships. any petty officer. may
request permission from the officer of
the deck.
Back in the early DAYS of the navy.
when fire was obtained by the finder
box n the ships were Of wood. the
too free use of the flint steel
could easily lead to disaster. There
fore the seanlen We're prohibited from
lighting their pipes in any part of the
ship they desired. and the smoking
lamp came into existence.
On the old ships the favorite meth
cd of lighting ones pipe was at a
smoldering rope-end. hung up in n
safe place where every man could get
to it. Other ships employed tallow
candles in lanterns. and the master
alarms was the custodian of the
smoking lamp. 1t was lighted by him,
only when he got the authority to do
it. and when tho crew was ordered to
cease smoking he cXtinguished it.
For many years this custom held
in tho navy until the use of safety
matches became general. Then it was
realized that a ma with a box of
safety matches could he trusted to
keep from setting fire to the ship. and
the smoking lamp passed out of he
ing as q reality. The name came to
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
MONKEY DOES MANS WORK
sIMIAN IN STORE POLISHEs BRASS Ratings AND SHOWCASE
OTHER FEATS ACCOMPLISHED.

curious customers from invading that
section Of the store set aside for the
monkeys. Basil sat philosophically
watching the work. A woman came
in to purchase 10 cents worth of bird
seed and the proprietor laid aside his
polishing cloth and liquid to serve her.
He was not surprised when he came
back to find Basil polishing away at
the brass railing, but he was surprised
to see the skill with which the monkey
vent about the work; how III applied
the polish and then rubbed until the
metal grew warm; backed away to
note h effect and then applied him.
self to the task with renewed vigor.
II Basil had been a lazy, ordinary
kind OF monkey he would have found
he had brought only labor and sorrow
on himself, but. being Of good blood
and ancient lineage. he took an artists
delight in his work and since that day
he has been allowed each morning to
polish the brass railing and has even
branched out to rubbing the top of a
glass show case and busting away the
cracker crumbs the parrots throw out
through the bars Of their cages.
II wouldn't sell him for any price,"
was the proprietor's announcement.
"I s him to teach the young
monkeys, and the more tricks a
monkey knows the more valuable he
is"
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02

the poletariat against the iron heel.
is laid in Chicago. Secret work was
the keynote of the plan. Those who
were engaged in fomcnting 1t and
carrying out its organization sought
places of trust and confidence in the
employment of the opposition so as
to better secure information. Cor
ruption, bribery and deception were
virtues rather than vices. Those
engaged in the work went about IL
with cautious cunning, but with
fendish purposes.
Look now at some OF the texts
which would serve as inspirations to
| weak minds oNerwrought witt n hob
by, for just such a conspiracy as that
which was carried out by the McNa-
n,aras. Discussing the preparations.
the author SAYS: When the signal
was given. from every refuge owe the
land. and from the cities and towns
and barracks devoted comrades were
TO 20 forth and blow up the wireless
stations. AT the same
blow up the bridges and tunnels and
NiSI iil't tuc WIloIt neL WOIh VI Idlis
roads" Tho McNamaras were UNI
able to accomplish their purposes in
the idcalistic mannc set forth in tho
the book. but they could get as neal
to it as it is possible for the practi-
cal to approach the ideal.
Then again take this excerpt from
the parchment of THE Iron 1Ieel:'
"Never mind the destruction of life
and property. Let the abysmal brute
roar and he police and mercenar-
ics slay. The abysmal brute would
roar anyway. and the police and mer-
cenaries would slay anyway. =
In tho meantime We would be doing
our own work. largely unhampered,
and gaining control of all the ma
chinery of society,"" 1t is from such
sources that men of the mental ca
pacity and overbalanced zeal OF the
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
New York Times,l

SNeW YORK IlnleS.)
DIR. Bonnette, an eminent French
Presse Mcdicale of Paris an analysis
Of the relation between mental exal-
tation and sensibility to physical pain.
DR.. Bonnette has a high reputation Us
a student of the history Of his pro-
fession. and he declares. after study
ing the history of the Napoleonic
wars. that nothing varies more than
the suffering felt by the wounded"
The soldier on the battle field Ia a
creature Of nerves. shaken by fear,
disturbed BY hetmperative instinct. OF
self preservation! and again moved by
the most exalted emotions.
Some" says. DIR. Bonnette. ''are
gloomy and silent: others cry like chill
dren or utter groans that overpower-
ing suffering forces from the con-
quered flesh: others, again, appear
hilarity which makes them laugh at
their pitiable condition.
Come on. doctor: hurry: rid me
Of that cried on the evening after
Palestro an old zouave with a shaver
head. a p%atriarch's beard and vivid
blue eyes set in a bronzed face. That
was his broken, shattered arm. which
hung to his shoulders by only a rag Of
flesh.
LAS Velpau has Justly remarked, the
wounded. according to their constitu.
ton and mentality. exaggerate or
minimize their sufferings. Essentially
a psychic phenomenon, suffering va
ries according to stoicism. familiarity
with hardships. age. habits of sobriety
or of intempcrance. and. above all.
with the success won.
THE minds OF conquered soldiers
are a prey to terrors. panics. madness,
treason-to all kinds of subjective
phenomena. They really give way to
pain and offer feeble resistance to dis
ease.
THE minds of conquereros are. on
the other hand, intoxicated with sue
cess. Nothing. not even a microbe,
can resist a set Of men who think
themselves invincible. In the moment
of triumph pain is pushed away. for
gotten-it is the best of anaesthctics,
! the most powerful sort of support.
THE veterans of the Old Guard in
their enthusiasm for the Little Cor
poral died crying, Long live the EN-
peror!' Shouting this Cry they sacri-
feed the limbs lost in his service. and
On the v Of battle if he appeared
had been amputated struggled up on
by an ambulance the men whose legs
the stumps OF their limbs to cheer
| this god who had enslaved their i'm
aginations and exalted their courage
to the point of scorning death.
Again, these soldiers had a blind
confidence in the knowledge. the de-
votion. and the skill of those incom-
parable surgeons. the Percys. Larreys,
Desgcnnettes. the RIDES. the Paulets.
the Yvans. the Lannefranque. noble
fighters who soothed their suffering
and softencd the evils of var
AT Austerlitz an old soldier had his
leg removed in an open field. SO en-
he. too. at the price of his blood, had
contributed to give the emperor the
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02

hlngs will happen in the same proper
ton that their probabilities call for
This was proved many years ago by
the Bernoulli brothers at Bern, Swift
zerland. They look 1000 perfect
coins and tossed them in the air 1000
times. A careful count was made of
the number of coins that fell heads at
each experiment.
AT the conclusion of the test
and it was a fair one-it was found
that practically as many coins fell
heads as tails.
by the law of probabilities it is
easy to determine what chances you
have to shake in a game of dice.
There are three combinations that
make with dice-four and three
a five and two and a six and one. Az
favorable ways the eevnt may happen.
Nov. there are six sides to each
favorable ways the event may happen.
Expressed al a fraction, III probable.
tiles arc 6.36 or one in six. Therefore
a man has one chance in six in shaking
a seven.
Now al this fraction gets smaller
the probability becomes more and
more nearly impossible. In ordinary
events If 1t is less than n in a mill
lion we regard it as impossible. In
this Risley case, for instance, there
were fourteen peculiarities in the sew
Len letters.
Each popularity was as likely to
happen as not to happen, therefore I
expressed the probability Of each pc.
culiarity as n half. With fourteen
such pcculiarities 1t was simply a mat
ter of calculation to determine that
only n other machine in 10000 00.-
900 could have written with the same
defects. or in other words, an Inn
possibility.
by the same method one can de-
termine what the chances are in draw
ing certain hands in poker. For in
stance. his Is the method II you want
to know what your chances are of
J drawing four aces.
LAS there are ffty-two cards in a
deck and four aces. the probability
that you will draw an ace at the first
draw lie four divided by So or one IN
The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-02
Review of. Current
MAGAZINES
Novelties in Lippincott's,


The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS will find
ample grounds for heated discussion in
the February Lippincott's complete
novel-'With Modern Weapons" BY
Clinton Dangerfield. lis a gentleman
ever justified in breaking his pledged
word?" Does the plea that 'all's fair
in love and war afford Endicott any
excuse for making use of his modern
weapons These and other ques-
tions are bound to come up in the
minds of readers. and it is hard to
forecast whether the majority will
vote pro and o We won't give the
plot of this very original story-ex-
cept to say that. through the machina-
lions Of . rival, the hero finds him.
self in q peculiar and unenviable situ-
alton. It's Q swift-movinE and drama
tic tale, entirely different from the
typical conventional novel.
There are two remarkable special
articles. Our Foreign Service" by
w. p. Vaux, gives a resume Of our dip
lomatic service since its inception. and
Offers many sensible suggestions to.