davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

panies and merchants have adopted the
perforated stamps for reasons OF business
economy, and there are many instances
wherein the little holes in the stamps
have not only stopped stealing altogether,
but have been the means by which the
thief was found out.
One instance of how the perforated
stamp has been of benefit to the con-
Germ employing il is that of a publish
ing house in Massachusetts that received
from a man I'm New York city Remit
lance of stamps marked with the NV.
To of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. The Western Union also uses
a cipher mark in addition to the initials
TO designate the branch office from which
the stamps come. Investigation disclosed
the fact that the cashier of this branch
had really sold the stamps to a mes
senger boy. who had taken them homo
10 his father, he, in turn. renting them
TO the publishers in Springfield While
this did not reveal a case of wrongdoing,
it disclosed an irregularty that was soon
corrected.
The invention of postage stamps is
credited TO James chalmers. printer or
Dundee, Scotland. They made their first
appearance in 1899: England adopted the
adhesive stamps i'm the same year, and
the first English stamps for public use
We're issued in 1870. The use of adhesive
stamps in the United States was au-
thorized in 1o47. but payment of mail
by stamps was not made compulsory until
1855 The uniform free delivery was In
OF the origin of the postage stamp.
however. the most interesting and per-
haps the most authentic story is that
which comes from the Post Office Depart-
ment. to the effect that years ago Row
land Hill was travelling through one OF
the northern districts of England, and
for time was sojourning at an inn
where the postman came with a letter
for young daughter of the innkeeper
The young miss turned the letter over
and over in her hand, and after examine
ing the envelope infinitely inquired the
price Of the postage. which was a shill-
ing. She sighed sadly and returned the
letter to the postman, saying that il was
from her brother. but that she had no
money.
Mr.. Hill was touched with pity and
paid the postage. His action seemed to
embarrass the girl, and when the post.
man had gone she told Mr. Hill that
some signs marked on the envelope con-
veyed to her all that she wanted to
know. and that a matter of fact there
was nothing but blank paper inclosed
She explained that she and her brother.
not being able to pay post charges. had
contrived code system of communica-
ton.
Mr. Hill considered seriously the result
of a system which made such frauds pos
sible, and that day he planned a postal
scheme which was the foundation Of our
present system.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

an upright piano on the outside of the
dwelling by means Of guy ropes and pull
leys. When it was at the proper angle
they intended taking it in a third-story
window. Just the window ledge was
reached the ropes gave way. and down
came the three or four hundred dollar
piano with a mighty crash onto the brick
pavement.
''The wreckase was as complete and as
final as head-on collision. Scattered
about lay the ivory keys. looking for ali
the world as if the Giant, not finding
Jacks bean stalk of sufficient strength.
had tumbled to his death, shedding his
great white teeth in all directions.
X
1.-The piano movers were stunned and
stood inactive, probably wondering If
they would be held responsible. The
weird looking Eskimo left her charge long
enough to pick up some of the splintered
bits and try to fit them together. Final
ly she turned to me and, with tears
rolling down her cheeks and the deepest
sorrow expressed on her face, muttered
few unintelligible words.
Inside of three seconds crowd had
collected; ] never knew where 1t came
from. Men and women smiled cheeriiy to
one another as if something really pleas
ant had happened. The children could not
have been more delighted with a three
ringed circus. They yelled and screamed
and danced up and down like Comanche
Indians-to the amazement of the little
Eskimo maid who wept and wept. l
could not account for it ;"
The Man Who Sits Opposite never can
account for things-not even for me. So
1 sat perfectly quiet to allow him time to
think over 1t a little more profoundly.
Presently he said:
and speaking of the way that crowd
gathered so suddenly did you ever stop to
think where crowd comes from? Or
where the boys spring from who sell ex-
ira papers that come out Unexpectedly at
two in the morning? Hundreds of 'em,
dressed and half-dressed-but all with
pennies with which to buy the extras"
But one by one the cafe lights were dis
appearing-along with the diners. Our
waiter respectfully suggested that l.
o'clock had arrived uncommonly early.
All the way home / sat tight in the car
waiting for a crash or an overturn, for
though the hand on the steering wheel
was competent and firm there was a
retrospective, interpretive look in the
eyes of the Man Who Sits Opposite, and I
feared the worst.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

spine and other troubles on account of
having to twist themselves into unnatu-
raj attitudes at school in order to get the
light to fall in such way that it did not
hurt their eyes. Another common fault
in schoolrooms is the arrangement Of the
lights in such a way that when a teacher
is explaining something written on a
blackboard the rays Of light strike
straight into the eyes Of the pupils in
stead of falling on the blackboard.
''This same sort of fault is common in
homes also-lights are placed in such a
way that they blind the eyes Of those
who are reading books instead of i'll
Eliminating the pages that are being read
Likewise. kitchen lights cast a shadow
overlooking utensils on a stove and shine
straight into the cooks eyes instead of
shining on the stove and thus making
cooking easy.
But you must not believe. from all
this that nothing is being done to rem
edy the situation. France is the leader
in this respect. The French government
has appointed a committee on the hy-
gienic aspects of illumination composed
of prominent psychologists. oculists. engi-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11
Noise and Its Queer Fascination
and the Joy Of Smashing Things

nologist was about as clever as any one I
ever heard beforehand l have heard
me accusingly, for 1 confess to a love for
vaudeville.
You must admit that he had "A fund
of actually new jokes: that he told
them well-in fact, that he was an
artist in his line. Did the audience
snow any very great approval OF his
efforts or his art? l could not see it.
Family. 1 think they called them
selves / presume it will not be diff
cult for you to call to mind the cond1
ton of the audience when the family
bombarded one another with the pro-
ceeds of the china closet and buffet. AS
each separate piece of china and glass
ware was hurled across the stage and
crashed and smashed into infinitesimal
bits the Mysteries of the on-lOokers in
creased. If the bombardment had con-
tinued much longer / feel assured that
/. as physician. would have been
called upon to render first aid
That's true" l told the Man Who
Sits Opposite. ,"and perhaps some day.
If the public does not appreciate your
undOubted talent and merit, you and
l might earn fame and fortune at a
vaudeville turn along that line. We
with the assistance of couple Of
stevedores, make good 1 am practi-
CAL If nothing else.
Anyhow" l continued, IT believe
smashing china is a sort of a disease. 1
knew a woman once who used to say with
the most demure air: Il always tell the
servants to Immediately bring me a cup
or saucer that has become cracked: for
cracked china is most unrelia BILE; it comes
apart at the most unexpected moments
and is sure to drop into and break some
thing else That woman'a reasoning
sounded good and wise to me. But one
day l found her out. We were In the
morning room, she sewing and I reading
Shelley's Sensitive Plant'-certainly seda-
tive enough amusement. A servant enter
Cd and waited until had finished SEN
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11


acter for always he has little wrinkle
in his forehead an inquiring light in his
eyes, and is ready with some neatly alb
stract. obtruse, psychological question J..
as The Lady Who Sits Opposite. have a
right to know his innermost thoughts
and 1 never fail to ask them.
One night, not so very long ago, after
an especially hilarious vaudeville per-
Torrance (Which he pretends to enjoy 1
saw that he had become the victim of
fidentially:
What is 1t this timer
Noise" he remarked, tersely.
L waited for l know his moods and
lenses and he doesn't like to be hurried.
Noise he repeated presently. Noise
and breakage and wreckage. What is the
fascination in noise? Why is the crash
of china so compelling? What is the fas-
cination in America for smashing things?"
II dunno" l said / had my mouthful
of the hakiest of crab flakes and WASH t
in hurry to answer.
Tell me-" The Man Who Sits Opposite
remarked impressively. I saw some sort
of q comprehensive reply was expected.
so 1 conducted rummage sale in the at
tic of my brain and brought forth from
Louisa Olcott,
The children Of America take pleasure in
breaking
What the children Of Germany take pleasure in
making.
VERY nice, indeed" replied by vis-a-vis,
but that is only very true statement
it explains nothing. Believe me, that the
study of, let call it, noise and it's
fascination would make most interest
ing subject to pursue. Do you follow me?
"For instance. consider the vaudeville
production We have just left. The mo-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

arguments / have succeeded in convinc-
ing a number of employers and caused
them to improve the lighting of their
workshops.
Nor must We forget the lighting OF
schools. That is quite as important as
compulsory. parents who are compelled
to send their children to school have a
right to demand that their children be
enabled to work in a proper light. In a
recent investigation conducted by the
London county council it was found that
a large number of school children were
suffering from incipient curvature of the
THE LIGHTS ARE HIGH AND SO
SHINE DOWNWARD.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

work employers have told me again
and again. What do / care if a worker
turns out fewer pieces because he hasn't
enough light? 1 have to pay him only
for the number of pieces finished. don't =?
So what difference does it make? He is
the one that suffers, not l, by insufficient
lighting?'
Against such an argument / invari-
ably answer:
You are wrong. The principal suf-
ferer is yourself. On account Of the i'm
perfect lighting the worker turns out not
only fewer pieces, but pieces of an in
ferior grade of workmanship. After a
SAME STORE PROPERLY LIGHTED
SHADED THAT THEY
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

For instance. We have made such a.
thorough investigation in England m
readiness for bringing the lighting situa-
ton again to the attention of parliament
We have collected the most exhaustive
sort of data from no less than l35 fac
tories, so that, when we agitate for more
reforms We shall not be compelled to
devote ourselves to idealistic generaliza-
tions Instead we shall go to the front
armed with the most convincing sort or
data, collected by first-claSs expert
We shall be able to show how many men
have lost their sight I'm imperfectly light
ed workrooms. how many have had their
sight impaired. how many have been
killed, how many Misunderstanding
That is the right way. | am en-
phatically against all sorts of hasty leg
islation. i don't WISH for instance, to
see a new governmental department sud
denly created in the United States to
take up the lighting question. 1 don't
want to see the government 90 anything
at all until expert Illuminating engineers
have submitted arrays of figures as con-
vincing as those which We're submitted
i'm England and France. Then the gov
eminent authorities Will be in a position
to act promptly and well, and the prob
ability is that something of lasting good
will be brought about.
why do YOU come 80 me- Ger
tain high government official in England
said to me when ] presented a lot OF
statistics regarding bad lighting to him.
- Because you are the right man in
this case 1 replied. 1t was you. wasn't
it, who took up the anti-spitting crusade
who saw to il that "A law was passed
filming everybody who spit in cars and
other places where consumption and 9th
err diseases spread easily? The advocates
of a law against splitting presented to You
such formidable array OF figures prov
ing their point that there was nothing for
it but to act.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

to examine the effect OF prejudicial gases
and the amount OF heat developed there
by.
TO fix a certain minimum amount OF
artlncial illumination favorable to tho
normal requirements OF vision
To study the most practical methods
or measuring illumination.
To formulate recommendations gov
erning the best means of applying GUS
tomary methods OF lighting to the chief
varieties OF industrial operations
To present to the ministry a report on
the subject OF short sight and impair
ments of vision. and on the best methods
OF guarding against the causes OF
myopia.
think that this excellent step on the
part OF the French government should Ia
followed by other countries. especially nv
America. the pioneer in Illuminating en-
sineering. | trust that the time is not
Tar distant when similar committees viii
nave been instituted elsewhere, snd
when all VIII be communicating the re-
suits they have obtained to one another.
Tor mutual benefit In such matter in
ternatlonal cooperation would be OF inn
mense assistance. Thorough invesfiga-
lions conducted in different countries
would be immensely valuable 10 another
country In determining the best methods
Tor improving the lighting situation at
home.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11
How 1t Was Done.

A luncheon in New York DIR. Lyman
\ Abbott slipping a glass of ice-cold
milk, told woman suffrage story.
81 had heard a lot he said, about
the wonderful success of woman suffrage
in Australia; SO, meeting an Australian
woman one day. l asked:
How did you vote. madam, at the last
election?
THE Australian woman answered with
a shipper:
In my mauve pannier gown, sir, with
q large mauve hat trimmed with mauve
osprsys.'"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

''As far back as 1905 the need for some
standard of illumination was making it
self felt My object in coming to America
is to try to have such a standard fixed
here 1 don't expect to see the same
standard fixed for every country. That
would be impossible; conditions vary al
together too much.
1T must not be assumed that the pro-
vision of sufficient light is all that is
needed 1t is equally important that the
light should be wisely used. One of the
greatest defects in much of the factory
lighting of today is that the lamps are
not sufficiently shaded and are too fire.
quently placed in positions in which they
strain on vision. Very few of the mod
ern Examinations are sufficiently mild in
intensity to allow of their being used at
close range in this way.
when the eye is constantly encoun-
tering these bright lights the strain Of
doing work is naturally increased. The
lamps should be screened by some form
of we'll designed reflector. which. besides
removing the glare, directs the light
downward on the work where 1t is &C
tually needed. To have the light on the
object, not in the eyes-that is the idea.
Another matter requiring attention is
the placing of the lamps. When you
writ for example, it is a continual
source of Inconvenience if the lamp is
SITUATED on the right hand. so that a
shadow of the hand is cast just at the
point where you wish to see the page
This defect is not an uncommon one in
banks and offices. In all mechanical
operations like cutting, drilling, etc, it
is self-evident that the direction from
which the light falls on the work is very
important. Arrangements of lights which
cause d shadow of the head or body of
the operator to fall across the object on
which he is working should never be toll
Grated. Yet they are common in the
lighting systems of a great many fac
tories here and in European countries.
often lamps are placed in a work
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11
Special Correspondence of The Star.

LONDON, July 50. 1912.
ut Tow long can King George keep
n it up" is the question that is
being asked i'll court circles.
Those who know how far from robust
the king really is declare that he will
collapse before long, unless he eases up
on the strenuous pace which he set fOrs
himself as head of the state, soon as
he came out of mourning for his father,
King Edward. and which he has kept up
ever since. with hardly days interval
The succession of varied and firing duties
that the king has carried out. apparently
by his own wish. has included a lot of
stunts that no other King of England
ever has performed such as taking
trip in a submarine, and going down in
a coal mine and actually hewins coal
there. Ii is no secret, too. that when the
king inspected the army airship factory.
al Aldershot. and watched the feats of
the airmen at Portsmouth,, he was keen
TO see how il felt to he off the earth. and
yielded most reluctantly TO the advisers
who begged him not TO risk his exalted
neck
Probably the kings real motive in being
a royal BUY Izzy" whose energy even
the kaiser might envy. is not. as the
worshiping British press asserts, TO
identify the crown with the nations
work and play, hopes and fears, pleasures
and grief" but desire TO get s0lid," as
say at home. with his people. who
regarded him, when first he came to the
throne. with anything but enthusiasm.
BY all but the most persistent toad-eat-
ers. up 10 that time, he had been regard
ed absolute cypher, and the current
reports as TO his habits and the univer-
sally believed story regarding his sup
posed first marriage were not calculated
10 increase his popularity.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11
King George Is Anxious to
Make Subjects Enthusiastic

court and give testimony in person as TO
the falsity of the story about his flrst
marriage to d daughter of Admiral Sey-
mour, and would have had not the con-
stitution forbidden it, and he did all in
his power to demonstrate that he was no
"lush,'' even going to the length OF having
the late w. T. Stead publish an article on
the subject 1t always had been pretty
hard to make the reports to the king
intemperance fit in with his reputation
as a dead shot. which seemed to he
founded on tangible evidence, and certain
it is that nobody, king or otherwise. could
have kept up the endless round of activi-
ties that George V has If he toyed
too often with the flowing bowl.
If the king isn't genuinely popular now
hc deserves to be. for he hasn't spared
himself either actual exertion or the most
fearful boredom. And how terrifically
bored he must be at times it is awful to
think. Goodness only knows how many
loyal and dutiful addresses he has had
to listen and reply to in the the past few
months. and 10 one can imagine how en-
raptured he was TO get complete
list" occupying four volumes, if one re-
members rightly. of all the Georges who
contributed to buy him a coronation pres
ent, likewise a glass pig as memento Of
his visit to a Yorkshire factory 1t would
be rather interesting, by the way. to
know what eventually becomes of all the
truck that is unloaded upon the king and
his equally interchangeable and patient
royal partner She came out of a work.
man cottage in Wales the other day
the richer by an earthen jug which had
been i'll the possession of her humble
hostess family for over a hundred
years. and thus had considerable senti-
meutal value to them. Probably the poor
woman who proffered it fondly imagines
that 1t is gracing her majesty's dressing
table. or that she gets her matLtinal hot
water in it.
Some of the things that the king has
done lately, and which the newspapers
made such a fuss over, such as going to
Tenley and to see the cricket at Lords
were worth mentioning only because no
sovereign ever has done either of them
before. But the list of the things that he
has done as actual duties in the past
three months is a truly astonishing one.
and puts the king high up in the list of
royal hustlers. if, In fact, he does not
now top il.
Here is just short section of this list,
which shows that there is hardly a day
in the week that the king is not working
mighty hard for the salary the state pays
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

be due to badly placed or insufficient
light.
Dangerous machinery should be we'll
lighted. 1t is useless to place a guard
around a dangerous machine If the light
is SO poor that its outlines cannot be
clearly distinguished. Many a machine
that would be safe in we'll lighted
room becomes dangerous to life and limb
If run in Semi-darkness.
investigations in England have pro-
duced some startling results. One in
vestigator. in his report, pointed out the
constant danger arising from insufficient
lighting in passages. which often led men
DIRECTLY IN THE
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

shop without reference to where the
light is needed. Sometimes the posi-
tions of the furniture have been en-
tirely altered since the lights were
originally put in. with the result that
most of the light falls on the floor.
tables, where the work is being done.
If there were inspectors whose duty
it was to watch for just such condi-
tions. They could be easily elimi-
mated.
There is something else which is
quite important as safeguarding the
eyesight of working people-protect-
ing them from injury, from loss Of
life, even. by improving lighting con-
ditions. Those who have gone into
this subject at all know how very COM
mon accidents due to bad lighting are.
bad lighting. you know. headed the
list of causes leading to accidents in
a recent report Of one of the New
York casualty companies. 1t was
shown that during the months when
darkness set in early and artificial
lighting had to be depended upon to
greater extent the percentage of ac
cidents rose steadily until. in the dark
est months. it assumed extraordinary
proportions, and. throughout the year
a relatively large proportion Of ac
cidents occur after o'clock in the
afternoon. which is the time when ar
tificial light begins to be necessary.
caused. possibly, by poor lighting has
not been made as yet, but it is more
than likely that if it were many I'M
explained mishaps- would be found to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

OF l III II - IdiiiouS
plea for light.
more light" is
finding. nowadays.
a nu m b e r of
strenuous second :
ers. They do not,
however, W a II [
the spiri I u a |
mysterious form
of light which
presumably, the
German poet call
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11

him, and how diverse the royal occupa-
tons have been:
June 9-Attends hospital Sunday service
at st. Paul's Cathedral.
June 1O-Receives delegates Of the In
ternational radio Geographic conference
at Buckingham Palace.
June 11-Motors to Ranelagh Club and
witnesses "Aldershot day polo match.
June 14-Present at trOoping of the
kings color, Horse Guards parade; ar
IveS at Windsor Castle.
June 15-Garter service; visits Harrow
School; speech day"
June 1S-2O-Vists Ascot races.
June 22-Inspects ST. John Ambulance
Brigade in Windsor Great Park.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-11
, DIR

neers, physicists and inspectors Of facto-
ries. The main objects Of this committee
are:
ITO study, from the standpoint of gen.
eral health and it's effects upon vision
the various methods of artificial light
ing now in use.
ITO determine the composition and
quality. from a hygienic standpoint, of
the different combustible illuminants, and