davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
An Expensive Nirbt


Mr.. Piety Hill entered the sieepinp rom
softly with his shoes in his hand and pre-
pared to undress in the dark but his eIab-
crate precaution was all in vain. A voice
from the bed:
What time is it?''
weber faltered Mr.. Piety Fiji as
he pulled the little brass dudanE1e IN +hs
chandelier, which flooded the room with
light and disclosed a very wide awake
/ wife, "well-er-I think it must be about
midnight"
Just then the city hall clock hell rang
once. then it rang again and, after pa1s2
ing for a heartbreaklng period 1T sfrucl-
a third time Then 1t stopped. There is
clock. It is always butting in at the un-
psychological moment and spelling a good
story.
Twelve o'clock-nothing, snapped
Mrs. Piety HILL It's g O'Clock That's
what it is. Where have you been?"
WELL you see m dear"
II know, she broke in impatientIy
you have been trifling with the paste
bandits and night prowling husbands from
about this neighborhood."
You guess right, m dear-for once"
"I am always right"
t'Yess, m dear"
We'll. out with it. How much did you
lose?''
ed across the rather bewildered brain Of
Mr.. Piety Hill. He would lie to his wife
Bracing himself perceptibly and assuming
a jocular tone he murmured carelessly:
''Oh, I didn't lose. won-I won e42"
He said $40 for that was the exact amount
that he had lost and he was not an ex-
pert or a ready liar.
to me. It's just what need for my new
hat And he did.
s.Eighty-four dollars gone tonight" he
for mine after this. Honesty is the best
policy.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
FROM OTHER pEE5
REGULATING THE WIRELESS.

REGULATING THE WIRELESS.
A reminder of the degree to which
new inventions, whether mechanical de-
vices or business organizations, call for
increased exercise of the regulative
powers of state or federal government,
is found in the arrival at Boston dur
ing the past week of the newly-ap-
pointed radio inspector in charge of the
entire New England coast, from East
port Me-, to New York. The inspector,
who has come on from Washington and
taken possession of an office on Long
wharf has the duty of enforcing the
new regulations in regard to wireless
telegraphy, in accordance with the law
recently passed by congress. Appar-
entity he will have enough to keep him
busy. He is to inspect all wireless sta
tons and the TRANSATLANTIC liners. Al
other steamers whose equipment with
wireless apparatus is required will also
come under his supervision. He must
see that the apparatus conforms to the
law and that it is Of sufficient power TO
transmit and receive messages over q
distance of at least 100 miles at all
times. The amateur wireless tele-
grapher will come under the new in
spector's- jurisdiction. as well as the
steamships and the commercial sta
tons and 1t is not impossible that the
control of the amateurs may prove 1ne
of the most difficult as well as most
important of his duties. Tt will be re
uembered that at the time OF the
Titanic disaster 1t was reported to be
almost impossible to pick UP messages
from the sea. owing to the fact that the
air was full of aerogranls which anna
tours were sending out in the hope OF
getting news. Tt is possible that such
reports exaggerated the condition Of sf-
fairs but there was evidently consider
able interference. More lately there
has come the interesting instance OF
= hp10nFinO H.
blatant European powers. which have
been on duty in the Aegean sea. IN be
of service in case anarchy breaks
loose in Constantinop1e or some other
DEVELOPMENT brings them forward. Only
the other day the French admiral who
is the senior officer in the fleets Of the
powers. was obliged to assign separate
hours to the different netionalities for
the sending Of their wireless messages
in order to prevent confusion.
According to the new law. violators
of which will be subject to severe pen
alties all amateurs must have appara-
tus with n wave length OF less than 200
meters. which. it is said. will prevent
with commercial messages
or with vessels communicating from
sea. Stations established for CONNER
cial business are to have wave lengths
of from 300 to 500 meters and naval
vessels of any nationality are expected
to have wave lengths of from 500 to
I. 600 meters. But one of the most i'm
portant provisions and one of which
amateurs should take notice is that
those who are found to have equipment
with which they cannot control the
wave lengths will be forced to secure
new equipment or to quit sending mes
sages. This is a matter for the anna
tours to look carefully into, for upon
their compliance with the law may de-
pend not merely their escape from it's
penalties but the saving of human
e.-Springf1eld Republican.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21

has complained to the city council
and commissioners and to the press
that the reports of the physicians
were not complete. The ordinances
have been made more severe, but
without avail. Not until the state
board of health enforced birth re-
port rules was the city able to pro-
cure a representative statement of the
births in Topeka.
Publicity is the secret of the control
of many diseases. The old fashioned
idea that a disease should be secreted
and hidden on account of neighborly
scorn and scare has been blamed by
medical authorities as the cause Of the
spread of many durable Affections.
Topeka physicians should show
their patients that it is to their ad-
vantage to improve municipal condi-
lions.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21

PIONEER PLANTERS.

Just as every new country must
have its pioneers, so every new croP
which is later introduced into it must
have pioneers-men who are willing
to risk their time and land and money
in experimenting. Before the year 1882
alfalfa was unknown in Kansas. IL
was in that year that the late harri-
son Parkman, travelling in South Amer
lea, saw an alfalfa field on a large
Chilean ranch, and determined to try
the product in Lyon county hao
seed sent him from Chilli and planted
ten acres at Sunny Slope farm. The
crop was a success, and the second
year he furnished seed from this field
to be planted on the Blackshire ranch,
about 20 miles west in Chase county.
That first alfalfa seed in Kansas cost
81 a bushel. Those early experiments
were expensive. The first men who
raised the crop probably didn't
make anything, and perhaps many lost
money. But someone stayed with it.
and today the Kansas farmers alfalfa
field is his gold mine. But IL Harri-
son Parkman, and the farmers and
landowners of his time, hadn't started
things, Kansas people might still be
depending solely on grain for their
moneylnaking crops. The farmers who
planted sugar beets this year were ex-
perimenters. They didn't know, last
spring, that Lyon county soil would
raise good beets. The crop, raised uE-
der difficulties. proved that it would.
and the beets tested at the chemical
laboratory at the Garden City plant
proved conclusively the quality Of the
beets in sugar value. The men who
experimental this year will plant beets
agai next spring. 1t will not be an
experiment then-for they know now
To help along in the introduction of
the crop-for in this as in all new
things there is much that must be
learned-the company that built the
factory at Garden City and hopes some
day to build one here, is planning t.
keep one of their experts in Emporia
next year. Unless at least 1000 acres
are planted in beets it will not pay
them to do so. Every farmer who sets
aside a few acres of his farm for a
beet field next spring will not only be
benefting his own land thereby, but
will be helping to establish an industry
in Lyon county that will some day add
millions of dollars to the taxable
wealth of the county.-Emporia Ga
Zette.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21

thing" he muttered. But assuredly
there is something floating about
here" He watched the cloudy thing
dancing Off down the garden and SUD
denly he sprang after it.
There was short breathless chase,
that ended in the grove of fir trees
at the foot of the garden. The white
apparition had seemed borne on
him. But suddenly an inconsiderate
something had doomed up in the dark
ness and formed a barrier.
The purSuer reached forward ana
caught the trapped figure firmly in
his arms.
Sidney Hoskins drew a sharp
breath. He succeeded in drawing the
struggling figure closer.
You warm, breathing, living girl,
he whispered breathlessly. who are
you?"
4 am a ghost" came in voice
that was not quite steady, "the ghost
of a girl whose heart was broken.
Hoskins started and leaned down
trying to see beneath the heavy "hlte
chiffon over the girls face.
THAT voice!" he exclaimed, and
Patricia felt the stirring of emotio n
within him. What madness does 1t
give back to me?'' He put up his
hand as if to tear away the veil and
satisfy himself, but Patricia's hand
was before him. He caught ana
held it,
Patricia was breathing fast now
and struggled to be free.
Granite mani she flung at MIN
defiantly and then he knew.
Smiling GIRL he breathed' anu
there was triumph in his voice, your
faca has dragged me from the very
heart of Australia-now take or that
veil and give me what l want.
Patricia laughed a little low,
curious laugh, and her nnsers
struggled with the veil.
.'SuliIe now, dear" he commander
tenderIy. and when she had obeyed
he turned her face toward the moon
light and bent his lips to hers
downright 1912 by McClure's News
paper Syndicate.)
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
hUlTOR or TIE Day

Appendix.-Dyer-Had your appendix re-
moved yet? Ryr-No but have several
physicians estimating on the iob.-Ex-
change.
Resignation. - Blobbs = Wigwag goes
about his work with such an air of reslg-
nation Slobbs-Yes, he expects to lose ais
Ijob.-Phtladelphia Press.
ress-Minister-Young man, do YOU
know how to dance? Young MAXWELL.
parson, know the holds, but I don't
know the steps.
Adve-tisement.-A bargain. 1912 Stutz
Roadster; condition like new. This will
not last long. I750 dollars.-Advertisernen
in Examiner Los Angeles. Truth will
out, even in an advertisement.
FIattery.-Road Hog latter rnishap in
which puppy has been run over)-nadayu
I will replace the animal. Indignant own
er-Sir, you ffatter yourself!-London
Taste.-Soda Clerk-What flavor. please
Tall Maiden-I'n take vanilla to match ms
gown.-Exchange.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
SAYS UNCLE CIV

Don't insist that the world give you
a seat at a banquet. A. banquet Is
an occasion upon which you dine with
those whom you wouldn't invite to a
dog fight and pay SO to partake OF
food that you otherwise wouldn't eat
on an election bet.
Most of us get ourselves into some
mighty uncomfortable positions through
a desire to mingle with other ambi-
tious pushers, listen to inane speeches
and become an indistinguishable blot
in the ink smear that the newspapers
call fashlight photograph. The phrase
among those present covers a null
titude of annoyance and John Doe
also spoke" goes a long way toward
compromising for the tyrannies of form
apparently.
But happy is he that eats his own
beefsteak off his own mahogany and
digests it with the days news at his
own hreside. His years are long in
the land and full of cheer, for he
neither seeks the cold spotlight of
empty splendor nor has his fur rub
bed the wrong way by fretful asso-
citation with men who inspire him
with desire to see the princes OF
boredom visited with capital punish
uent. Plain provender of his own
choosing makes him healthy and
wealthy, and indigestion spoiled not
his chances of being wise. His pab-
ulum, mental and physical, is suited
to his appetites. and neither high
sauces nor spiced meats destroy his
natural. appreciation of that which is
good.
Don't bemoan the impcssibility of
an artificial life. There are two things
beyond all price-appetite and natural
food to meet it. This law applies with
equal force in the physical, mental
and spiritual worlds. And they that
attain the spiced meats lose their ap-
petites. Artificiality kills-it is syn
onymous with that which is unnatural,
and that which is unnatural means
untimely death.
To love your work and to do it, to
earn your food and to enjoy it, to
crave spiritual and intellectual as
tendency and to reach 1t-this is the
perfect life. And 1t is found neither
in overexertion, unnatural food nor vi
olent excitement of mind or soul.
Don't kick if you haven't a place at
the banquet. The world is kindest to
him whom it tempts least often from
his own table. That which is unnat-
ural kills-(Copyright 1912, by the
Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.)
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
QUAKER AfI:DTTATIoNs.
From the Philadelphia Record.


The ideal woman is simply one who
thinks you are the ideal man.
1t is sometimes the part of wisdom to
avoid the nail fellow we'll met.
Many fellow who is thrown on his own
resources falls back on those of mis-
friends.
You take the palrn,'' remarked the par
ent of the small boy who was ripe for
spanking.
When a man boasts that he Is his own
master it may be because nobody else
wants him.
The man who is sorry he didn't do It
yesterday is the same fellow who is al
ways going to do 1T tomorrow.
The extreme styles in feminine attire in
spire a doubt as to whether women have
no sense of humor, or an abnormal
amount of it.
wigg-"What peculiar eyes that girl
has" Wagg-'fYes, some fellow once told
her she had a beautiful nose, and she has
become cross-eyed from adniring it..
A curious thing concerning plays
I can't quite figure out You know
The one that has long run stays,
And that's the one that is a go.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
EVENING CHAT
BIZ RUTH CAMERON.

To the person with a large circle OF
friends the problem Of wedding pres
ent often becomes almost as acute
both for the brains and the pocketbook
as the what shaI-I-give-fo Christmas
puzzle, especially in such popular mat
ing times as these autumn months.
Unfortunately 1 can't help the peck
etbook side of the problem, but m
going to make bold to offer few
suggestions for the mental part OF IT,
Since the rebirth of the fireplace Is
an important part OF the nome
andirons, tongs, bellows, in short any
thing for the fireplace, is likely to
be more than a welcome gift and NOT
a particular common one.
Good reference books such as die
tionary, an encyclopedia, a theSaurus.
a book of classical reference or of quo
tations make wedding gifts for which
the recipients will probably be grateful
to you every time they consult them.
Pictures are a beautiful gift but a
trifie dangerous However, If you go TO
a first-class picture store and trust
yourself to an intelligent clerk and tell
him to pick out something safe, you
can't go far astray. You may not
select one of the brides favorites, but
you won't get a picture that will 10
banished to the Store-room and be
brought out only for your visit.
Some kind OF mirror, triple toilet
mirror, or one of those quaint, old
fashioned gilt affairs, makes a very
acceptable gift.
1 know one bride who exchanged a
picture which she disliked for a mirror.
You get tired of the best pictures,
her mother said, but you'll never gel
tired of that
Vases appeal to me as an especially
attractive gift.
If you like something quaint and a
bit different, see what the Japanese
stores have to offer.
For an inexpensive, wedding uresent
I know of nothing that makes a better
showing than half a dozen frappe
glasses. AS all kinds of desserts car
be served in them they are extremely
useful, and they can be bought for SO
a dozen up. Several brides have told
me that they have enjoyed their frappe
glasses more than any other gift.
A table mirror for the center of the
table is another inexpensive but very
acceptable present
Remember that the value of a gift
is practically doubled when it is Just
what the recipient wants. And If you
are sufficiently we'll acquainted, ask
the brides mother or sisters, or init
mate friends, for suggestions.
Don't be afraid to give something
that represents labor instead of money.
People are doing that more every year.
No woman can fail to be delighted
with a piece Of embroidery; a very
pretty shoe-case made of cretonne tc
match her bedroom, hangings, pleased
one bride as much as anything she had;
a dozen tumblers of home made Jelly
accompanied by a little note, saying
Silver and gold have none, but sue.
as 1 have give I unto thee" deeply
touched and pleased another bride
Truly the price tag isn't the only
f-sv ,I,,Nr, IL
terests the recipient-cynics to the con-
trary.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
JOURNAL ENTRIES

Women, like trees, look their best
only under favorable conditions.
Meditation is a breeder of worry.
You don't need a gun when hunt
ing trouble-you need it afterward.
n
If a man wishes to exhibit his
wealth, he brags about his acquaint-
ance with the dentist.
% "
1t is much easier to stop love than
to start 1t.
"
The biggest burdens are not the
ones that are carried on the shoulders.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
LIKE sHERNIAN SAID TT WAS.

! War is still a very fair sample of hell
on earth, nor is there any prospect that
it will ever be so denaturalized that
General Sherman's famous definition
will no longer fit the facts. But it takes
a war like the one in southeastern
Europe to show how great the change
has been in the last half century where
civilized nations fight.
The condition of the Turkish soldiers,
starving. dying of cholera, left without
shelter or camp fires in the sleet and
cold rains of November, is a sample of
what the armies of the most advanced
countries used to endure a few decades
ago. BY the horrors of pestilence ard
famine, nakedness and cold, l-eglect of
the wounded and the sick, which the
soldiers of the sultan are suffering, the
advance which civilization has made in
war becomes so apparent that the most
pessimistic can no longer doubt the
reality of the gains brought about by
the humane spirit of the age.
And in the treatment of non-com-
batants-the women, the children, the
sick and infirm, the aged and the
crippled-by the soldiers of armies such
as that of the Turks. these times find
a vivid revelation of what all wars were
once expected to bring upon the I'M
offending, peaceful inhabitants of the
regions in which they were waged. A
war between Germany and France, or
the United States and the United King
dom, would not let loose as much abb
solute savagery and bestial cruelty IN
a year as the comparatively small con-
fict in the Balkan peninsula has I'M
covered in a month.
So although wars continue and the
fine dreams which took shape in the
creation of The Hague tribunal seem a
mockery. in the light of existing facts.
there is real and enduring progress to-
ward the gradual elimination of the
worst evils which international conflicts
have brought upon mankind. The gains
are of great value, and they will in
crease as time goes on. In spite Of
seeming drawbacks, the world makes
progress, even in dealing with the
greatest curses from which humanity
still continues to suffer
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
DAFFYDLLS
EY q. NoALL.

If Mister couldn't solve the prob
lem, would mystery?
(John Henry, just because you are
a good artist, it is no sign you can
draw good hand at poker.)
If girl wouldn't wear the right
size of shoe, would a shoemaker?
easy with the whip, Phil it's a
hired horse.)
If the bell in the church steeple
went ding-dong, would the build-ding
(Hurry and shine your shoes,
Frankie, tits time to leave for church,
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
DOCTORS DUTY TO TOPEKA.

If the social survey inspectors in
Topeka are right in their declara-
tions that the physicians of this city
are not reporting contagious dis
eases to the city board of health, the
board of city commissioners should
take action at once. They should see
that the penalty for disobeying the
health rules is inflicted.
A city's health depends on the en-
forcement of the quarantine and dis
ease report ordinances. If a child is
allowed to go to school when an
other member of the family is suffer
ing from contagious disease and the
doctor in charge has not reported the
matter TO the health authorities, the
physician should be punished. When
they fail to report tuberculosis and
typhoid fever cases they are running
the cause of the city health depart
ment.
For years the city sanitary sergeant
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
ny TIE WAY
sY EARvEY PARSoRsA

At any rate, the fast auto driver
runs less risk of being run over from
the rear.
Tom McNeal calls his colyum a
bouquet of sunfiowers," but from some
of the stories in it. the movement to
rechristen it a bouquet of lemons"
should become a popular movement.
The opening of the hunting season
brings more work to the surgeon than
it does to the cook. 1t also permits
some Snor but worthy undertakers to
pay of the mortgage on the hearse.
After wrestling with the names of
other officers of the Bulgarian army,
it is truly refreshing to discover that
General Advance is on the job.
Thirty thousands cans of powder
have been ordered for the regular
army; but it will be used to load shoes
instead of guns. Now, just as soon
as a consignment of manicure sets and
eyebrow pencils can be secured for
them, the soldiers should be right
comfortable.
In looking over the consular reports,
we discover that elephants are cheap
er. Good time to lay in your winter
supply of elephants.
Local reports would indicate that
the G. o. P elephant is also feeling
rather cheap.
One country editor is still hurrahing
for Stubs. Apparently it takes news
of the election nearly as long to pen
citrate the short grass as it does for
complete election returns to leak out
of the same territory.
I'VE will not fuse says Col. Roose-
welt, but it is widely suspected that
the dear pee-pul will continue to re-
fuse the Col.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR

CFrom the New York Press.l
Brains don't have to worry about their
reputation.
Men get unpopular by getting rich, but
they don't get rich by getting unpopular.
The reason no man ever kissed girl is
it's better for her father to think So
It's very foolish of a man not to give
his wife a bigger allowance so he could
borrow more of it.
The greatest trial to woman is to
have a hat that doesn't look as if she
could say it cost SIS more than it did.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-11-21
GENTLE OLD WORLD COURTESY

Winston Churchill, lord of the ad-
miralty sports a discolored eye and a
swollen cheek. No, it was not a suf-
fragette that swatted this famous
statesman. He was hit with heavy
book hurled by the vigorous right arm
of a fellow member of parliament. II
wasn't in a club or in a retiring room
of the house of commons but in the
hall of the house itself.
In the same debate which blackened
Mr.. Churchi1l's eye and bruised his
cheek-no slight feat-one Of the pet
epithets flung about the house was
traitor" 1t is an ugly word but one
which seems to lie at the tip of the
tongue of your cultured and courteous
Briton when he is discussing grave af-
fairs of state.
Other countries, other manners" In
Vienna, where the music-1oving and
art-loving races represented in the i'm
perial parliament of Austria discuss
and determine their country's policies,
the favorite weapon for throwing at
political adversaries is not book but
a heavy inkstand. In Paris the cham
Der Of deputies is sometimes enlivened
by a shower of missiles ranging all
the way from penholders to govern
ment reports.
These are points of Old World cour
tesy and refinement which America has
not yet adopted as its own. We are
still barbaric enough in this country
to content ourselves, in heated debate
with hard words and ugly threats We
don't smash heads with inkstands or
ponderous books, nor do we undertake
to make legislators more scholarly by
stabbing them with pens full of ink.