davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

parently friendesS, and hired herself out
rs a cook. But she was industrious. with
that American energy which counts FOR
so much in the Latin countries, when
and looked for an opening to invest It,
Finally that opening was found She
started a modest boarding house, which
gradually grew into a small hotel
She prospered. and finally bought the
property which her hotel was located.
Also she bought other real estate and in
addition had a comfortable deposit III
bank. But through all her transactions
her life history remained a mystery. The
name by which she Went was so common
that even if real it might apply TO amy
one of several thousand families in the
United States-and concerning her for
mer home, whence she came and whether
she had relatives, she spoke never Il
woodland no one asked her.
So she lived out her life in the. little
Brazilian town, keen in business. yet al
ways quiet and reserved. willing to talk
little on any subject, and of herself not
a t all. Other residents of her adopted
town speculated much concerning her.
and many conclusions were drawn. but
one knew. nor knows today, whether
any We're correct.
Perhaps the woman intended eventu-
ally to clear up the mystery surrounding
her. She was no miser, and so it is hard
ly probable that she was amassing her
small fortune merely for the joy of pos
session 1t is more probable that she had
some one in mind to whom she intend
ed leaving the results of her industry.
But fate interfered and forbade.
One morning she complained of slight
cold. 1t seemed trifiing. and she thought
little of it. but that evening it was worse.
and the following morning it was accom-
panied by high fever. She had been
stricken with pneumonia. Soon she was
raving in delirium. and few days later
she was dead, without having made a
WILL
In her delirium she muttered of things
long passed, incidents. But her mutter-
ings were disconnected and rambling, and
not enough to give workable clue to
her history. And so she died. as she had
lived, mystery Her estate was bundled
Up and sent to the division of dead
mems shoes. It comprises jewelry, titles
to real estate, one or two negotiable
bonds and other things of value 1t
would be almost a rich inheritance for
some one--but Uncle Sam doesn't know
who that some one is.
Another strange case. the relics of
which are to he found in the division OF
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

gone a day-dreaming, probably trying
to reconstruct the romance of the lives
of their one-time owners.
Seems a pity that some of these things
capt be given to the people that have
a right to them,'' said he to The Star
man, stroking a big manila paper
wrapped bundle as If ii were a pet dog or
cat as he spoke. probably good many
OF the heirs of this stuff are in actual
want. and we have something here that
would put them easy street fOr some
time to come. We'd be glad to turn 1T
all over to them. too. if We only knew
who they We're But how are we goln"
To find out? Our records are necessarily
much about the original owners. We
don't even. know -yhether the names they
went by We're their real ones. So We
dare not advertise detailed descriptions
of their effects, for some smooth crook
might doctor up a kinship i'm such a man.
ner that we'd have to give him the ar
ticles, or at least spend lot of money
in the courts. That wouldn't make SO
much difference far as the articles
themselves are concerned.
eve don't want them. We want to get
rid of them, they pile up too fast on us
But suppose somebody should put In a
fraudulent claim. get valuable personat
estate. and then suppose. that few
weeks later a bona-fide relative would
come along and put in his claim.
The government would not only be out
the value Of the estate. but would prob
ably find itself in all sorts of other dill
ficulties.
The bona fide relatives would probably
demand the actual personal effects. that
they might keep some of them as me-
mentOes and refuse to be satisfied with
their mere monetary value. For IN
stance, the effects might include a knife
worth not more than % cents at the out
side 1t would he easily possible that
that knife had been u present from the
dead mans mother-and it might also be
easily possible that that self-same mo-
Their might put in claim and insist on
receiving that identical knife back again
i guess any mother would.
"You see, the mere monetary value OF
that knife-Or even amount many
times it's va!ue-wouldn't begin to satisfy
that mother. So we have to be awfully
careful and never turn over anything I'M
til we are absolutely certain that every
thing is all right-not only that the
claimant is relative, but that he or she
is the only living relative-or at least
the proper heir"
And the contents of some of the pack
ages in the museum of dead mems shoes
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

or adventure. or both 1t is with these
that the division of dead mems shoes"
has mainly to deal.
First in the examination comes a
search for letters or documens giving a
possible clue to relations. If such clue
is found it is quietly traced. ard if it
bears fruit the heir is notified and the
effects of the deceased turned over ac-
cordinS to due process of law. But
strange as it may seem. a large percent
age of these soldiers of fortune or vic
tins of the wanderlust. whichever they
may he. leave absolutely no evidence of
possessing even the remOteSt of kin.
Perhaps it is because of this lack of
relatives that they have become wander
ers or perhaps they have deliberately
destroyed all personal records of their
familiar: mayhap they are even travelling
under assumed names, for good ard suf-
hcient reasons of their own.
But whatever the reason. II there is no
trace of kin, their effects are carefully
bundled up and sent to the division OF
dead men shoes With the effects come
81 detailed report. giving as much OF the
history of the dead man as il has been
possible for Uncle Sam agents to dis
cover The report is tucked away in the
files. The bundle of effects is carefully
labeled with the name of their late own
en- with a list of the contents. and put
away in what the division calls it's store
room. hut what is really strange. al
most uncanny. museum.
Sometimes the effects if they be I'M
usually valuable, are locked in huge
safe, which. for all its size, frequently Is
filled almost to the point of OVERLOOKING.
Other effects are locked away in cabinet
drawers. Still others find resting place
on the molding the top of some
cabinet, while not infrequently they are
used for decorative purposes and hung
about the walls by DR.. Charles III. Bur-
ton. who has been custodian ri the mu-
scum of dead mems shoes for nearly
thirty years. The articles remain in the
stOreroom until claimed. which happens
on an average of about once in every 1OO
instances. or-which is usually the case
until the available space becomes insult
1icient for their accommodation. Then,
after a brief period of advertising. they
are sold ut public auction and the work
of collecting begins all over again.
And such effects pile up far more rap
idly than one would imagine. Some idea
of the number of persons who die friend
less and without kin-at least, SO far as
the government is able to determine-may
be CLEANED from the fact that it is neces-
sary to hold an auction sale every two
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20
One of the great

nate craze to be the smartest " .ldest.
bizarrest, fiirtiest, gambliest OF all
europe reprobate cities. Compared with
it most towns are nests of Puritan bore
dom. They have = good time in Rou-
manian style. BUTT is not good enough
for reforming Ferdinand who says that
since the other Ba kan states are going
mad-politically-it is time for Roumania
to get sane. Roumania leers insanely.
1t has had two record harvests. and "A
boom of factory building. hotel starting.
speculation. swindling. enrichment and
ruin: and il is in no mood for the sour
faced cornScis Of SaVoTarola Ferdinand.
BucharcstS madness etfiorcsceS various
~. First. in craze for gambling which
has seized all l,oumanans from princes to
sypses. Rightly, there are gypsies, but
no princes. Wise Roumania's lawgivers
forbade titles, but there. as in other
democratic lands, people invent their own
titles, and there is no landowner, how
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

revelations about gambling in the smart
club ''Bucuresci' no member of the club
was invited to court. Ferdinand now pro
poses, to boycott flower corsos. balls ana
festivals at which IAN excessive luxury
appears He wants "a Spartan spirit IN
the army" Some one distorted this INTO
"a Prussian spirit. An explanation had
to be ISSUED that H. T.. IL. did not say
"Prussian.'' But the story held good. ana
increased the anger of Bucharest young
bloods at the Denomination OF the court
King. queen, heir and wife OF heir are
all Germans Are We to he degraded
into a race of slow going. gogglcd saul
sage eaters?" asks Mad Bucharest.
downright 1912 by Curtis Brown
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20
Mrs. Langtry's Advice.

MRS. LANGTRY. i'm an interview IN
Iva New York. urged gay clothes for
American worcestershire trousers. red vel
Vet coats, golden waistcoats and So forth
though she admitted that ;hc "rah-rah
boy" or trick; hal was as gay as she
could wish and required no change
Gay clothes" said Mrs. Langtry, en-
courage gay thoughts-and by gay
thoughts / mean wholesome. cheerful
thoughts. I am a foe to dissipation or
anything of that. kind and / urge every
iirl to say no to the dissipated man who
would marry her"
Mrs. LanstI-y smiled and added
THE man girl is obliged to stand up
for before marie &c she will have TO sit up
for afterward.'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20
FORMER Possessions O

EOKMEK possessions OF
/ Soldiers of Fortune Sent
to the United States-EHorts
to Find Relatives of Ameri-
cans Who Die Abroad-A
Regular Business Carried On
by Uncle Sam-When the
Possessions Are Sold at Auc-
tion-Many Unknown Ameri-
cans Die Abroad - Effects
Are Often Valuable-Where
They Are Kept Until Claimed
Money Sometimes Turned
Into the Treasury-Procedure
Followed in Gathering Dead
Mems Shoes.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20
na.~seeh erdprp Rou axame

the suicide of Lieut.. Luders of German
origin led to a great kick-up. 1t was
then that respectable Ferdinand got his
first shock. He learned that not only
Bucharest and Kustendjil. which is
Roumania's chief port, were thick with
gambling resorts, but that the royal
borough, Sinafa, is thicker still. Sinaia
is a small town at the foot of the high
Carpathian Bucsecs. 1t boasts the fine
royal chateau of Pelesch, and the crown
princes palace Pelischor: there are par IS.
walks and hotels and of late the land
owners haze taken TO building villas
there 1T was shortsighted Ferdinand
who set them building the villas; and
now he's sorry, for the villa owners turn
ed Sinaia into the biggest gambling CEN
ter of its size on earth.
Ferdinand was so keen on developing
Sinaia and on creating Roumanian
Versailles that he built villas himself.
He dragged out Of dusty Bucharest the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

All bucharest IS
Wroth with mild
Crown Prince Fer
liusnJ Victor NJ
b cr / VI q in L a Il.
Bucharest ~ hap
oily. glorious s..
mechanically in-
anc: and unrea-
Jnablc Ferdinand
ants TO make II
ane. Ferd nand is
he.r to the throne,
nephew of childless
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

DESENTS Efforts of Crown
n Prince Ferdinand to Make
1t Sane-Loves the Wild
Orgy of Gambling and Swind-
ling in Which 1t INDUCES
Every Moment of the Day
and Night-Roumanian Capt.
tai, With a Population of Less
Than $50, 1000, Has $50 Gamb-
ling Dens, or One for Every
5oo-Odd Citizens-Arny Of
fcer Who Lost S235,ooo in
Two Days Play-Of 7o5
Estates in Wallacnia, 6so
Changed Hands, Most of
Them Across TIE Playing
Table, in the Past Seven
Years.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

minister of the interior told Roumania :
chamber that merchants complained they
were robbed wholesale by their clerks
Ion romantic basis"
Ferdinand Victor is serious soldier.
He was bred in a starch-stiff Prussian
regiment; he is now chief inspector of
cavalry: he has read lectures on 1.-THE
moral factor in war;; and he has sadly
concluded that the moral factor in war
is not on the side of corrupt, dissipated,
please yourself Roumania. Roumania S
army is the strongest in the Balkans.
Its technical and medical equipments are
beyond doubt best: and il has fitst-rate
artillerymen with good guns. During the
Russian attack on Plevna Ronnanians
proved their worth, and ever since Then
King Carol and Ferdinand Victor have
looked on RounIania a semi-Sreat
power. destined to lead the Balkans. But
Ferdinand Victor srieyes 10 admit that
the richer and fatter Roumania becomes
the worse are its morals and manners.
Reform is to come through the court.
says Ferdinand. After last winters
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

ever hard up who does not discover-at
least when abroad-that he's prince
The Roumanians have lately had their
land rents doubled by the kindly provi-
dence which ripens crops and their idea
Of having a good time with it is to see
it pass to swindlers.
=
All Roumanians gamble. Small boys
gamble for used matches. and antique
beggars gamble for their last gray hairs
Mad Bucharest has $4,000 citizens, and
so the Romanul says-it has $50 gambling
dens About one for every 800 citizens.
Gambling goes on without cease, punctu-
ated by murders and suicides. which no
man takes notice of. Sometimes. however.
things happen that even drag the police
out OF their own gambling dens. Lately
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

dead mems shoes, is that OF an Ameri-
the smaller villages of northern Spain.
John Smith was his name, he said, and
the quiet. supplemented natives ac-
cepted the statement without comment.
At first they probably thought him one
OF the occasional tourists who in do
ing Europe choose to get away from
the beaten Path, and strike out alone for
the less frequented and consequently
more characteristic places. But DAYS
passed then weeks and finally months.
and still eel Senior Sm-ee-eth." as they
called him, stayed on. He was rapidly
becoming fluent in his Use of the Castil-
ian tongue. and he evidently had not
the slightest intention Of leaving
He was a jolly fellow, was Eel Senior
Slnee-eth He was quick TO laugh Also
he was generous. He seemed to have
plenty OF money, for he made no pre-
tense at work. He spent his time read
ing or walking about chatting with the
natives. The town being small he soon
learned to know them all-or sitting at
tEe bodesa, combination cafe-gro-
Gerry store to be found in every SDan-
lsh town. drinking coffee and rum AS
u result the natives Immediately put him
DOWN as an American millionaire All
americans were rich, anyhow, they be-
Ell Senior .Smee-eth" was ever ready
10 dlScuss any and everything EXCEPT
me natives soon discovered
tiiiS Isct, ana, their politeness being pro-
Ntloiai tley We're careful to avoid per
soiaiities IN converse tons with him Be-
sues, was he not always ready to buv
duices, the little Sweetmeats for which
spanish towns are famous or coffee and
mix, or rum or even the brecious red
ciaret Tor any and all who wishedo So
they accepted him gratefully as he was.
ana dismissed ncipient curiosity about
MS antecedents with shrug of the
shoulder. ~
For nearly nine years Eel Senior
smee-eth' lived out his life of idleness
in the little village of northern Spain.
The village was we'll off the tourist natb
and no Americans ever came there. FL
nally the villagers came to look upon
MN as one of themselves-more pros
porous than the rest, but a true brother
in all but blood
One morning the senior was missed at
his accustomed haunts. He did not make
his usual round of the village, paving
his tribute of t1attery to this sonora and
that senOrita, and discussing this and
that with the men. He did not even
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

For two days he lay in delrium. Then
finally he WAS restored to sanity but IL
was the brief period of sanity which pre-
cedes death Perhaps if an effort had
been made to discover his identity then
all might have been different But the
native doctors could think of nothing but
the silver mine.
-s.sWhere is the mine?" he was asked
The sick man looked up at him weakly,
but craftily What mine? he said.
The doctor explained that AL had
been told during the patients delrium-
that isl all save the mines location. This
he besought the sick man to reveal. Il
have cared for you while You We're HI
tell me-" he urged. surely You owe me
that much in gratitude.
But the sick man insisted he had found
no mine-and a few minutes later the
questioning was ended-by death.
. Since then many have sought that
mine, but thus far all have sought in
vain Certain it is that the dead man
was a miner and that he had been pros
pecting-his kit and his general appear
ance showed that. But whether he really
found a mine. whether that and was
only a part of his delirium, VIII propabN
never be definitely known. Meanwhile.
the miner himself lies in an unnamed
grave No one knew where he came
from-no one knew even his name. 50
there was no other way. The consular
agent investigated. but in vain. Finally
he. sent the dead mans kit to the division
of dead mems shoes-and there it still
remains. unclaimed.
Naturally. most of the foreign land
wanderers who die friendless and with
no trace of relatives leave estates prac-
tically valueless or, at the most. worth
but very little In most cases probably
it is the very fact that they are PENN ess
or nearly SO that makes them wanderers.
Sometimes, however. il is very different
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

The custodian of these soldier of for
tune estates takes ALMOST a loving inter-
est in his strange collection. He knows
all the articles. Merely by looking a.
package he can tell you what it con-
train, To whom it belonged. and as much
of its history as is probably known by
any other living man. Almost daily he
duSts them, goes over them one by one,
to be sure that none is missing. handles
them ana rearrangeS them. Then he sits
and gaZes at them, and in his eyes comes
a fdr-away expression that shows he has
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

EAD Men shoes
The phrase suG-
yests Robert Louis
Stevenson: may
hap it calls 10
mind some wan
derer waiting for a
wealthy relative TO
die. that he may
have more wealth
to squander;; hut
under only the
rarest of circunl-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

Few visitors ever come 10 the division
nj dead mems shoes. Tourists come
and 90 without ever learning of its ex-
,stence. MANY of the professional guides
Of the city even, know nothing OF it. or
its workings. For while il is part ana
parcel of the State Department-and a
most important part and parcel too-it is
not located in the State. War and Navy
building. but nearly a quarter of mile
distant. in the upper stories of an ONCE
bui ding rented by the government at 14th
and @ streets. Branch of the office OF
the auditor of state and other depart
ments is the proSaic title which appears
on the buildings directory. Nothing in
the name suggests aught but the usual
workaday routine and red tape. but as a
matter of fact everything about this
division is totally different from other
branches of the government service. The
character of the work is different the
men who do that work are different: even
tine Office equipment Is different.
Briefly, the work of the division OF
dead mems shoes is To collect the
effects of Americans who die in foreign
countries without known relatives Inc
division itself comprises only the barest
scattering of employees. but these are
augmented by the entire consular service
of the United States. Every consul, every
vice consul. every consular aSent-in
short. every foreisn-stationed member of
the diplomatic service-is working for the
division ali the time AS result. the di-
visions long arm extends to every known
port and inland town OF the civilized
worN and the Heterogeneous collection
at Headquarters here Shows it
The procedure followed in gathering
these dead mems shoes is invariably
the same When an American dies in a
foreign land. the diplomatic represent
alive Immediately makes an investiga-
ton. If the deceased is accompanied by
friends. this examination is more or less
perfunctory. But it is notable fact
that many tourists set out to see the
world alone. 1t is also a fact that hum
dreds upon hundreds of citizens of Uncle
Sam become soldiers of fortune and
drift away from their native heath to
turn up in the most out of the way cor
ners oil the earth, seeking either fortune
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

Special Correspondence If The Star.
VIENNA nctah,r = 1aI.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-20

stances would it suggest Il business '''
ried on by the United States government
Yet Uncle sam does carry on such d
business. He devotes an entire "iNlsi'li
Of the State Department To II. ana 'iiat
division. though small. is frequently OIL
more Importance 10 the indlvld"ai thd'l
all the other ponderous mechanism VI
the government combined.
Naturally. il is not called the DIVISION
of dead mems shoes, Yet that is eXac''S
what il is-for its sole function Is 10
gather in the effects of those who nave
died abroad saving them until they are
claimed by the proper heirs Ana Only
100 frequently those heirs never appear
for usually they are ignorant OF their
inheritance-and Uncle Sam does not ad-
vertise his division. fearing that the
covetous may attempt fraud.