davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
POSTMASTERS
BY GEORGE FITCH,
Author OF AT Good Old Siuash."

A postmaster is a man who did not
labor for his party in vain.
The ostnastership is legal tender dur
ing every political campaign and is used
once in four years to reward patriots VINO
refused to be stampedcd by the eNtrava-
CANT claims Of the other side. There are
many thousands OF postmasters in this
country but until there are several hun.
dred thousand more, politics will con-
tinue to be uncertain and even depressing
at times to the party in power.
There are four kinds Of postmssters
First. second, third. and fourth class.
However. many Of the fourth-class post
masters are really very able men. 1t Is
the duty of the fourth-class postmasterS
to store mail. lick stamps, pass out pat
ent medicine circulars and support him
self by keeping general store.
II is the duty OF a third-class post
master to run a loyal party newspaper
and to see that the box rent is paid reg
ularly. ."
II is the duty of the second class post
master to receive complaints and trans
nit them to the assistanI postmaster and
to re-elect the Congressman from his dis
trict.
The first-class postmaster has no duties.
He performed them al! before he was
appointed.
Fourth-class postmasters receive from
$50 per year up and do not run automo-
biles as a rule. First-cIass postmasters
receive as high as 5000 year. This
is why they are called first-clIss post
masters.
Fourth and third-class postmastnrs arc
very useful to thet people and N they
were to be abolished business would stag.
ser and millions Of PEOPLE would yesrn
In vain for letters from home. Second
and first-class postmasters are very use
full to the party. but the people would
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
The Kaiser and the Polish Problem.

Emperor Williams. chilly reception
at Posen. where he passed through on
his journey to the Kaiser maneuvers,
may remind politicians of one of the
great unsolved problems which have
still to be faced in Europe. Nothing
is more remarkable, though the news
papers completely refuse TO allude to
it, than the ''risorgimente" of the
Polish race during the last thirty or
forty years. The weighty problem
presents itself in full force to the
German statesmen and they may be
led to reflect on the failure of their
land policy in checking Polish infu-
ence. The only result has been that
millions have been put into the pock-
cts of Polish landowners for the
acquis sition OF their estates and that
the same money has been expended by
the latter in the purchase of landed
property further west, thus extending
Slav influence from Posen, where
alone it hourished heretofore, to all
over Prussia.
There is another circumstance that
must add to the evaporation of the
Teutonic bureaucracy. The Polish
girls are notoriously pretty and
charming; the honest Germans fall in
love with them, and they and their
children are lost to Germanism and
Protestantism. The modern generation
OF Poles is different from the dreamy
and somewhat impractical race of
fifty years ago. The Pole of today
is alert, business-like. and practical.
and imbued more than ever with the
Polish spirit and national self-con-
sciousncss. All three participators in
the iniquitous partition are keenly
aware of the existence OF the problem
and it is part of the stupidity of the
Russian government that instead of
recognizing Polish nationality as fel-
low-SlavS, the Russian Officials do all
in their power to suppress it. II there
were a Contentcd, self-governing Pol
i>h province on the Russian western
frontier, any danger of attack on Rus
sia from the side OF Europe would be
eliminated, but il things go on as they
are some day the Polish problem will
become a terrible danger to the peace
OF Europe
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Troubles of the Coming Year.

From lie Cr dc Pans
Old Moore who is listened to in Lon
don as Nine. de Thebes is at Paris, pre-
diets for each year the political hap
penings Usually his prophesies are
made in November or December. This
year he has advanced the date His
predictions are none the happier He
announces for the first third of the year
1914 a great sorrow in the royal family
and in the last third the death OF a
great parsonage, whose disappearance
will convulse the whole country After
this an amnent member of the English
Cabinet will also be the victim of an
attempted assassination" Other nations
will be no less troubled: He predicts
earthquakes in the United States, vio-
lent windstorms. !nundations, explosions
Of mine damp, and epidemics. France
and Germany, says Old Moore, will be
on the point Of coming to blows, and
will only stop on the threshold OF war
As for China, she will be inundated with
blood 4 single ray of light brightens
this horizon. Old Moore promises vic
tory to the suffra gists, who will besiege
the British Parliament, he says, in
March or April.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Systematic Fight Against Phthisis.

The British Association for the
Prevention of Consumption, which had
its fifth annual convention in London
recently. was formed about fifteen years
ago with the Endorsement of King Ed
ward VII for spreading sound knowl-
edge all through the world on tuber-
culosis. Mr. Asquith. in his address
10 the meeting. said that out OF every
ten deaths from all causes one is due
10 consumption, and between the ages
OF twenty and forty-hve one out of
every three deaths. But something
more cheering followed In the ten
years from 1871 to 1880, the average
annual deaths in England and Wales
from all forms of tuberculosis num-
bercd about 10000 In 1911 they had
fallen to $1,000. Allowing for the in
crease in population. the number Of
deaths in 1911. if the death rate of
IS7I-ISSo had continued. would have
been about 10000. Therefore, about
10000 lives were saved in the course
OF ,inglc year.
Mr.. Asquith believes that improved
housing, greater cleanliness, better hy-
gicnic conditions in all respects; the
law requiring compulsory notification
of the disease to the authorities, and
the work Of institutions will continue
steadily 10 reduce the fatalities due to
the disease.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Court Gossip of Interesting
EpentS on Two Continents

/ Of China, but is a treatise on Fly Fish-
ing." upon which field OF the lorely sport
he unquestionably is a-high authority
Emperor Franz Josef Of Austria, tho
Oldest sovereign in Europe, last month
celebrated his eighty-third birthday,
when he was the recipient Of congratu.
ations from all parts Of the world. II
Is siXty-four years since he ascended the
Austrian throne on the abdication OF his
uncle, Emperor Ferdinand !. Almost
twenty years later he was crowned King
of Hungary.
More domestic sorrows have fallen 10
the lot of the veteran emperor than any
other sovereign. His wife was assassi-
mated by an anarchist. his son and heir
Rudolf committed suicide. and his BROTH
er Macmillan, who, on the solicitation
OF Napoleon III, became Emperor OF Mex
leo. was executed
The aged emperor made his birthday
the occasion of investing his nephew and
heir-appsrrnt. Archduke Franz Ferdi-
nand. with the high Office of Inspector
General Of every branch Of the Austro-
hungarian armies, under the title of In
spector General of the Forces. The arch
duke also is to direct the great imperial
maneuvers this autumn.
| The heir-apparent has powerful
friend and supporter in Kaiser William
and the German Empress, who BY pub
licly receiving and entertaining as their
guest at Potsdam the archduke's NOR
Sanauc NAfe, the Duchess OF Hohsnburg
may have opened the possibility for her
OF sharing one Of her husbands two
/ thrones whenever he shall succeed aged
Emperor Franz Josef. namely. that of
Hungary. where the Msgyars proclaim
their king and queen. As to the Haps-
burg crown, there may be serious dim
culties to surmount. but the duchess is
very energetic.
Count Berchtold, the Austro- Hungarian
Foreign Secretary, whose resignation ap-
Pears to be impending, comes Of an un-
commonly mixed ancestry. He has in
his Veins strains Of German. Hungarian,
Bohemian. Italian. Polish. Ruthenian,
and Slavonic blood. As regards social
standing, too. the counts relationships
are of a composite nature. While con-
nected. through one of his ancestors.
with an Austrian peasant family. En-
perOr Franz Josef is his ninth cousin.
the Gar and Kaiser are his eighth cou-
sins. and King Ferdinand of Bulgaria
his fifth cousin
FLANEUR.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
4 Cure for scaSickne.,

Prom the Munich Medical Weekly.
The cause and the cure for seasickness
have been discovered by DR.. Fischer. Of
Bad Nauheim. according to a report
made by the doctor
He announces that 1t is the pneu-
mogastriC nerve which makes trouble
for those who go down to the sea IN
ships. BY artificially tickling this nerve
he has produced seasiCkness in patients
or solid land, and by giving il an opiatr
III the shape of an infinitely small injec-
ton OF atroptn he has lulled it to sleep
during an entire transatlantic crossing.
giving complete relief to the worst SUI
ferers IN the stormiest weather. In the
course Of p series of experiments Dr
Fischer injected drugs which acted as an
lTritant to the pneumogHstric nerve, and
found that there resulted symptoms pre-
cisely similar to those OF seasiCkness. in-
Guiding nausea, vomiting. headache, &c
Shortly thereafter the physician made
a trip to America and return. High
winds and rough seas furnished him
plenty OF nfateEial and there was nJ
lack OF seasick victims who were willing
to submit 10 any treatment. The doctor
injected atror!n, one milliGrdm in the
case of men and ihree-fourths of a mill .
gram in the case of women. In nearly
every case there was a rapid disappear
ance of all symptoms. Nausea and vonI-
itine disappeared within half an hour.
TTd within three or tour hours the las:
symptoms had vanished. Even the pulse
became regular. Rcnewcd aud heavier
storms failed tn counteracs the working.
of the drug In only a few cases were
second injections necessary. The drug
acted most quickly on patients whose
condition was the worst. DR.. Fischer de-
clares that atropin, IN the small guam
titles necessary, is quite harmless.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Why Not Grand Opera in English? ?

New York has made a rapid stride
forward by introducing grand opera in
English and at popular prices. We
bespeak for the experiment all the
success it deserves. and add our hope
that this very commendable movement
will extend TO other of our large
cities as well.
There is no reason why grand opera
should not be sung in English. when
most of the audience will understand
the words and certainly enjoy the plot
and action a great deal better than in
Italian No one in Germany or Aus
tria expects anything else than TO hear
an opera sung in German; and an
Italian opera in Paris NOWADAYS would
be akin to an absurdity. We have
read somewhere that the English lam
guage is unfit in its structure for
the style of singing demanded in grand
opera. but this never has been corNinc-
ing to Us. As a single instance let il
be recalled what a tremendous sue
cess Verdis Aida in English has
been in New York.
If our impresarios only could be
persuaded that, if to the pleasure of
understanding what is sung is added
the induccment of a reasonable price
of admission, success in this country
OF grand opera would be as assured
As it is elsewhere. and we should soon
have it permanently established among
us and be- able to enjoy it thoroughly.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
The Change of Season.

The cloudinc>, and cool wind, OF
the last few day, fulfill the autumn
t-adition OF melancholy day," and
probably will recall 10 many the bit
sf verse that has made the term a by
word And yet. after all just how
melancholy are the days? Just how
much is the average person affected
BY the cast Of the sky, or the state
OF tho wind. or the thousand and one
infnitcsimal changes that indicate the
passing Of one season and the COM
ing of another We have to con-
fc>s after all that here in the city
the seasons do not affect us much eX-
ccpt as they affect our physical COM
fort. A melancholy day is not SO
much the result OF pale sunshine, rest
les winds, a drizzle OF rain occa-
eIunaill.. .. and dauk trees and gra>S, A.
it J. Cf the threatened refusal of the
ends to keep on meeting in good style,
or bad new, from Capitol Hill. or the
failure Of an experiment. And it IS
pretty safe 10 say that if we could
get glance into the brain of the
average fcllow-city dwelcr about this
time VIC should see floating around
there the image OF a new fall hat or
a good-sized coal bill. rather than the
reflection Of the ,pirit of the season.
f Not that it should be 80. There IS
"a vast deal OF poetry which the man
gin town, going from comfortable
home via the street car to comfortable
office. misses entirely. and which. if
s5cven family perceived. would widen
shi, range immensely. There are
Blazing summer night skies. of which
he gets no slimp,c: as fine as any
image Of nature our best literature
can recall; stretches OF autumn land
scape. almost vocal in its coloring, and
winter days OF whirling snow, skies
full of piled-up cloud masses. and
1 foods of yellow sunshine which. if
Nc allowed them to- would put d
touch of >plendor here and there on
the usual dull gray of our lives. Peo-
pie who live an outdoor life-farm-
srs. sailors &c.-have these things for
! daily companions and absorb. often
! upconsciously, much OF their spirit, Sc
bat they remain vaguely dissatisfied
when boxed up continuously III urban
houses. We. who i'll the city dwell,
have not their opportunities, but we
would catch more of these things
than we do if we were more sensitive
to them There is hardly person OF
intelligence who is not in some degree
susceptible 10 natural beauties; but in
the long run only that side OF our ma
ture survive which receives some cN-
srcisc and attention. and with most of
us /sensitivenesS to the phases of the
seasons and 10 their spirit slowly
;atrophies as one year follows another.
II Is too much TO expect that our
survey Of the baseball or political
situation should be much abridged on
our ride downtown in the morning
for the sake of noticing what nature
is about. And it is really not alto
gether blamewortly that things should
be so. for after all our chief interest
is rightly in what other people arc
doing. But II will be greatly to our
beneft and enjoyment to catch d
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

glance once in awhile out OF the cor
ner of our eye at what delightful COM
binations the sunshine and tempera-
ture and winds are making, and re-
member that we are inhabitants of a
world as we'll as a city.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
The Women Work.

From the Worcester Telegram.
Seventy thousand men were in the Ger
many army maneuvers on the plains Of
Silesis on the 10th anniversary of the
COnquering glory Of Frederick the Great
And 1000 German women are doing
mems work to balance up the losses to
the people. In the days Of the ancient
Frederick the women were not thus en-
ployed. That is one OF the differences
which men neglected TO take note of in
this age
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
ALITTLE NONSENSE.
An UNCERTAINTY

! pay my dollar for a book
With unalloyed delight:
know before I take a look
Things will turn out all right
l pay my dollar at the show
In optimistic mood.
I'm safe enough: / always know
The ending will be good.
The ball game, though. may go to smash
Not wind up as we'd choose.
| hate to pay my hard-earned cash
To see the home team lose.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

.. Running side by side with rate so
cheap, railroads have to buy labor fuel,
steel, ties. and cvery sort cf equipment
ON rising market and yet sell transpor-
tation ~ a price fixed by the Interstate
Commerce Commission. OF all the. reve-
nues of railroads about IS per cent goes
q, Lay for labor, with which no one will
fi!.d fault but stock and bond holders
get an average Il a1I per cent. In manu-
featuring Il -lt.s investors %. more than
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
No ChnngeS.

Wake up" said stranger. giving Rip
Van Wrinkle d shake. why lie here
dreaming and missing all the world $
great events?"'
Panama Canal dug" inquired Rip
No"
"Tammany out?"
NO"
Bryan PRESIDENT
Not yet"
Then l guess haven missed any
thing"
And he turned over for another nap.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Getting Back.

"N hy do you insist on trying to sell
me beefsteak and beans and buczwheat
cakes" demanded the barber. Il told
you all wanted was two fried eggs. d"
well, l was in your shop yesterday,
retorted the restaurant man. "All
wanted was shave. but you bulldozed
me into a shampoo. a foam fzz. and
tonic rub"
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

never miss them from their duties The
people have had plenty of chance to do
so but have thus far declined.
A wise government has so organized
tine pOstoffice department that II can run
On and on forever no matter who is a
first or secOnd-Class postmaster. When
the postmaster of great city takes his
last months salary and retires inGfavor
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
1 WONDER!

! wonder II there Is land
BeyoDd the sun aud stars
Where ife and love forever stand
Amid the moons Of Mars,
] wonder il there is a cline
Where live the good and great.
Who loved us in their earthly time
Before they fell by fate!
I wonder II there is lisht
Beyond the tongnelcss tomb.
Who're beauty, truth and bIiss and right
Find everlasting bloom.
JOHN A. JOYCE
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Domestic Economy.

The doctor says l must quit smoking
One lung is nearly gone.
"oh. dear, John. Can't YOU hold out
until We get enough coupons for that
dining-rOom rug
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
A Lesson from Louisiana.

Our several States should learn
from Louisiana how to legislate
economically. 1t is an extraordinary
thing. indeed. that has happened there,
for the State Legislature has actually
adjourned after being in session less
( than four DAYS. Six important bills,
submitted by the Governor, were
placed before both Houses and carried
/ within this short period, and with but
/ eight dissenting votes in the House
! and two in the Senate, not one OF the
,Lsix measures was amended to any I'M
.r,c.-,aut degree. and thousands OF dol
.... .r... --.... g.... .wca,th
-. r.- ....rr .. .rs .- ui .. .-.s..
{ .s7, .,. ., f.~sca Va q 9ro-
.r - .1.. .' .. 5'ple
...ry-a --as rn.- ext
N-.s-. -. ar-ura o. ra~ oousrGer-
alton OF une bonu,u otaie C1o: and Of
4 proposed amendment TO the New
Orlcan, sewerage act.
Another important measure passed
was suggested by the Senatorial stu
alton in Alabama 1t provides that
in the event OF a death or resignation
1 uf a United States Senator from
! Louisiana the Governor shall have the
grigh, 10 fill. the vacancy until such
stimc a the people can elect sue
5cessor. This viii bring that State in
liue with the new amendment to the
-.Federsl Constitution, providing for
nonular election of Senators.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
RAILROADS AND MAIL PAY

on September - the refusal OF the
to have gone into effect
\ visit from Second Assistant Post
master General Joseph Stewart to the
oficiaIs OF the Toledo. Chicago and St
Louis Railroad has resulted in tenn
porary armisticc but the whole question
OF railroad pay for mail carrying be-
comes more acute daily. and will be
live issue in the nation before the
new year
Here IS the vital basis Of the dispute:
Omitting all consideration Of earlier
wranEles taud they have been legion.
the Inauguration OF the parcel post sys-
TEN has tremendously increased the
space and weight demands on mail
trains. increased the income of the Post
Office Department more than One-eleventh
in the first three months Of 1919. but IN
the first six months Of this year did
not add one dollar to railroads for the
extra service rendered.
Congress Gives . Per Cent Increase.
Congress decided to add. beginning
July J. > per cent or Sne-twentieth
gross increase in railroad mail pay. This
Is not sufficient to meet the universal
business idea in all other lines that serv-
ice and pay must be mutually salts
factory.
II it should prove to be true that the
Glover Leaf protest was an independ-
ent act. based upon calculations of this
one roads losses and that this prompted
pOstufflCe activity at once, then. when
the committee on railway mail pay. rep
resenting .6i railroads in the United
States makes its pTOnOuncement. the
whole government machinery will be set
in motion. People must have their mails
they have never insisted that the post
Office shall he prutit-makinG effort: they
have no other feeling than that the task
OF carrying shall be properly paid for.
Ignorant as the public is OF the confusing
questions of rates and zones. ton miles
and Car-foOt miles, the teChnicalittes that
keep Congress itself guessing. the sim
pIest man Of all the public knows that
CoSts must fall somewhere and that rail-
roads must operate at a profit, or the
whole transportation system will col
lapse and bring national disaster with il.
Let US look a few facts in the face!
Roads Not OSercnpItaIized.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
The COIoneI's Turn.

From the Philadelphia Press
The President of Cuba is suing a man
for slander who said he was like Roose-
Welt. What the colonel is going to do
about it is not announced.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

Observation-Disclosures was the first vers-
tartan, and you know what happened to
him.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

The nrst-clsss postmaster has no duties: Be per
formed them al before he was arpOinted.'
OF a member Of the opposition whose
sole knowledge of the business is an ex-
perience in getting stamps to stick on
envelopes business doesn't stsgger for a
minute II might however. II the post
master tried tc run the ONCE.
The government would make itself very
popular by abolshins first-class postmas.
tcrs and putting the saving into more
second and even third-class stamp clerkS
Copyrighted hy Geerse Matthew AdEmAi
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

1t appears that most of the Bull Moos-
crs went fishing on the day of the recent
primary in PENNSYLVANIA.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

The hunting season has arrived and so
has the fool who looks into a gun barrel
TO see IL it is loaded.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Filling Up.

What will We put in the magazine this
MONTH"
About forty pages concerning what We
had last month.
Yes
And forty more ahou; what We will
have next month
And them"
That ought to be enough for this
month
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22

1t looks as if the country can bank on
the passage OF the currency bill.
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
His summer Girl.

He promised that he'd write the dame
When he got back.
But now he cant recall her name:
Alas. alaCk,
The Washington herald., 1913-09-22
Roads Not O,ercnpItaIized.

!. Notwithstanding the cry against our
railroads as eXtravagant or watered in
stock or grinders of the poor, IL Is a fact
that they are capitalized for less than
any Old World lines. The figures speak
for themselves.