davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
says UNCLE CIV

If when I hit the down grade
haven't accumulated enough to NEE
| the wants of my unproductive year:
| 1 hope for 1.-The mercy of DEATH
| may have earned the right to eat Of
/ the bread that others have toiled for
| Possibly may have done some service
| that will entit1e me to the ministra
lions of strangers. But be that as ii
may, I hope to spend my latter days
| by mine own firesfde, paid for by the
travail of mine own brain and kept
| warm by the garnerings of my past la
| Dor. For yesterday 1 held communion
with one who dwe1t with the Specter
There was a very real specter-a
whispering ghost that gave him nc
peace. 1 could not understand its
presence, FOR he, if any man, had
claims upon the little that others had
given to make comfortable the De-
cember of his life. His days of youth
and strength and his sterling middle
age had been given to human service
in a splendid manner which forbade
him to provide for his own material
future. The little that charity gave
could not in a millennium repay the
much that he had given. Yet the
whispering specter was there-always
at his elbow.
81 do not know why I linger," he
told me. my usefulness is gone.
There is an ever recurring thought
that at times amounts to a presence.
4
a burden. You're in the way By
day I am obsessed by the thought.
My dreams are troubled by it. The
specter is always there"
A delusion of senility! Possibly So,
but If so, a universal one. Nature
nodded by experience and heredity to
fight their own battles and provide
for their own needs cannot learn in
old age the lesson of acquiescence to
the charity of others. The thought
that becomes a voice and the voice
that becomes a presence may be fig
ments of aged imaginations, but they
are real for all that.
So the Specter waits for the i'm
provident and the consecrated, the
drifter and the broken masters of men
alike. It knows neither justice nor
mercy. 1t is as memorable as fate,
as pitiless as the gates of Gehenna.
1t haunts alike the just and the I'M
just and there is no surcease of its
torture save the kindly summons of
death.
It seems to point no moral save
forehandedness, moral as sordid as
the Specter itself. A little frugality
now means comfort then and the lay
ing of the reproachful ghost. Don't
drift. Save little against the future.
The laborer in human service is worthy
of his hire and is entitled to lay by a
little in return for the much he has
given. Improvidence now means mis-
cry then. Life has one law for all and
persons, save as you may make your
virtues count. The Specter waits, whis-
pering: you're a burden-you're in
the way" Fatten that bank account
1913, Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.)
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
AXHAWKE!R JOTS

It is understood, says the Abilene
| Weekly Reflector, that the Recording
| Angel is using the eraser literally on
| reports of farmers who cut wheat on
| Sunday.
If Old Noah was taking a little liquid
| refreshment while the ark was drift
! ing around, the Conway Springs Star
| thinks he certainly was in that condi-
ton when he let that pair of chinch
| bugs out of the ark.
Conner Davies, of the Concordia
Kansan, has relieved his soul bit by
! this confession. He says that when he
lived in rented house he used t.
think new paper on the walls was need
ed every year or two. But now that
he has a house of his own to rent he
has changed his mind.
In her column in last weeks How
| ard Courant, Mrs. Tom Thompson re-
marked: This is the time of year
when the family row is on as to wheth-
the door shall stand open and let the
hot wind ill, or stay close and keep it
out And over in his column Tom
Thompson casually observed: Some
times the price of peace is alimony."
A few observations by Click FTockele
of the Leroy Reporter: One big draw
back to a man loving his neighbors is
his own wife. . Build castles in the
air if you must, but be ready to stand
from under if they should fall. :.
MOSC any man Will ADMIT CndC ne WOuIO
be more successful financially if it
were not for his bad luck. :. The
general trend of the times is for peo-
pie to be cleaner but we notice that
the elbows are as dirty this year as
last.
A Howard woman has told of a joke
on one of her recent visitors, a lady
from a nearby town. The guest took
a bath in the bath room, and seeing
a box of dutch cleanser behind the
tub thought it was some sort of talcun
powder and busted it over her ample
form after the bath. In about IA Sec
ondS it took effect in a manner that
reminded her of hot mustard, and she
hoilered fire. Her hostess rushed i'll
and rinsed her off as quickly as pos
sible, but the joke was too good to
keep.
A travelling man was separated
from 500 of cold cash at Smith Cen
ter recently by three farmers. 1t was
one case where the farmers bit at the
other mans game and won. The trav-
cling man was selling a steel wagon,
and of course was blowing it up pretty
high. He finally loaded 10000 pounds
of cement onto it and had one horse
pull it around a block. Before start
ing. however, he took a hammer and
knocked out three spokes out of one
wheel. Then he defied anyone to pro-
duce wooden wagon that would haul
the load under the same conditions.
Three farmers, Dad White, John Rice
and Henry Bonnet accepted the chal-
lenge, and going to a hardware store
got q new wagon and sawed out three
spokeS and came upon the scene. The
cement was transferred in hurry and
the trip made around the block with
out mishap. The travelling man proved
he was a true sport by Immediately
giving UP the money.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

ma stopped short. ct don't know but
perhaps she wouldn't have wanted me
to mention that to you, but anyway I 6id
and what is done is DONE
Blair for the last ten minutes had heard
muffled calls from Margie, calling for
Grandma, So he broke in at the first
pause.
'.Margie is calling you," he said, smil-
ing, but apparently Margery had grown
impatient, for she appeared now at the
door of the dining room.
She was very pretty in her dainty even
ing dress, and a scarf thrown over her
shoulders added to the piquancy of the
picture.
Grandma's quick eyes had caught sight
of the scarf and that reminded her of her
neglected duty.
''Margie.'' she said aloud, at am awfuIly
up, but I got listening to Blair talk and
I couldn't pull myself away. Now I am
sure you don't either of you mind my
doing it up right here.
"Blafr and 1 have got real well &C.
quainted" said grandma, and Blair wink
ed over grandma's head at Margery.
They all went into the drawing room
and Blair slipped the candy into Mar
gery'S hands. Grandma did not sit down.
She smiled knowingly at the two young
people.
grandma now" she said.
What on earth has grandma been tell
ing your" gasped Margery. sinking into
a chair.
.'Oh, some Secrets SAID Blair. His
eyes met Margery's and they laughed
stFact is she called my bluff. Margie,
friends. I want to marry you and
didn't have the nerve to tell you. But
grandma says I'll do"
And grandma was right
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
GLOBE SIGHTS
BY THE ATCHIsoN GLOBE

Considering the price of eggs, a hen
cackles too loud.
Tourist rates aren't as cheap as they
sound in the folder.
There is limit to how much a limited
train can get behind time
and frequently few attorneys.
Aviation also takes one out in the open
air, with the accent on the open.
There is never as much excitement as a
young man thinks there should be.
Sometimes the situation is dull because
there is something wrong with YOU.
A baby is sufficient entertainment if the
hostess invites only women to her party.
Link Preston: II was cured of my
headaches through the boss hiring an
other man."
While no man attracts much attention
at his wedding, he thinks he does and
is nervous.
Every man is something of an anarchist
regarding laws that interfere with his
pleasure.
man who fears congress will rob
him of his Personal Liberty should hest
tate to get married.
Hint to housewives: If you have trou-
BILE feeding the brute satisfactorily, serve
beer with his meals.
Speaking about the golden harvest, the
best wages are always over in the next
county. Same way with fishing.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
EDUCATIONAL COMPARISONS

THE average man of the people IN
America is much moro interested in
the affairs of the public schools than
the average man i'll Germany" declares
DIR. Georg e Kerschensteiner, a well
known German educator, in "a Com
parison of Public Education in Ger
many and the United States" just is
sued by the bureau of education. In
the daily press, reports and discussions
on educational topics occupy a space
which to my observation is fully ten
times that which German newspapers
devote TO the same subject
DR.. Kerschensteiner compares poiT:t
nv point the school systems in the
two countries. He shows how Germany
secures educational efficiency by cer-
tralization of authority within the III
dividual states. He admits that posi-
bly, Capitalization has gone even fur
Their than is desirable in Germany, but
is equally positive that there is not
enough Capitalization within the indl-
vidual states of this country. AS a
result of the lack of state compulsion,
he says. 1--WE see today in the United
States the sharpest contrasts between
school systems that are incredibly poor
and others of the highest possible type,
that would do credit to the finest CIV
ilized nations of the globe" He finds
that American citizens of a community
have more direct control over their
schools than in Germany, and COM
mends this condition. He compares tn :
teachers in the two countries-their
training, their salaries, their tenure of
office. He discusses religion in the
schools of the two countries, coeduca-
ton, and other points of similarity and
difference.
Direct election of school board MEM
bers by the citizens, as found in the
United States, impressed DIR. Kerchen-
steiner very favorably. He notes that
in Germany the citizens have little or
nothing to say about their school sys-
tenn. I'm Germany the local school
boards are nowhere chosen by popular
vote" he declares. He thinks the
American plan might be very good
thing for his own country, particularly
as means of arousing genuine public
interest in education.
The American high school comes IN
for some interesting comment by DR..
Kerchensteiner, both complimentary
and otherwise. He praises the high
schools democratic spirit, it's aim to
educate all the people; but he misses
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
QUAKER MEDITATIONS.
From the Philadelphia Record

From the Philadelphia Record.J
The magician seldom misses trick
A yarn manufacturer-the press agent.
grass widow is anything but green.
1t takes fast young man to beat his
landlady.
A man is apt to be in a stew when he
has boil.
1t doesn't do a fellow any good to know
the ropes If he hasn't got pull.
Strange as it may seem the joke that is
the thinnest is the hardest to see through.
Box-"I proposed to my wife while we
were taking STROLL Cox-'T see. You
won in a walk
Hoax-"I wonder why there are no
women bill collectors" Joax-'T suppose
it's because a woman's work is never
dun
"They say genius, is a disease re-
marked Sillicus. We'll, I wouldn't wor-
ry,'' replied the Crouch You look per-
fectly healthy
81 am always dull and stupid when I
have a cold,' remarked Softleigh. you
have my sympathy answered Cynicus.
"A chronic cold must be a dreadful af-
Fiction
IT wish you would do something for my
husband said the anxious wife. Hes
worrying about money Don't be
alarmed treasured the physician. I'll
relieve him of that
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
JOURNAL ENTRIES

About the only thing that most folk
put aside for a rainy day is an UNI
brella.
% % %
A bit of Chinese philosophy is to the
effect that a man digs his grave with
his teeth.
= j. T.
Nor does it always follow that a
lawyer is a swell-dresSer even if he
happens to have a number of suits.
~
Few people stop to think of what
they have. Most of them devote all
their attention to what they haven't.
u j. %
Warm weather is not half as annoy
ing as are the persons who use it as
the sole topic for their conversation.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
EVENING CHIT
That Difficult Art of Receiv,np
gT RUTA CAMERON

People who are fond of appearing in
the hght of patrons will go through fire
ana water to serve you, who vet would he
sorry to find you no longer wanted their
assistance, and whose friendship cools and
their good will slackens as you are re-
lieved by their active zeal from the neces-
Hazltt ~ -
1t is generally admitted that II is more
blessed to give than to receive.
1t is not so generally appreciated that it
is much easier to do so.
When some poor, unsuccessful creature,
VINO has to accept constant benefits from
a successful friend or relative. fails to
continually praise his benefactor, we bit
terly condemn his ingratitude, and con-
trast his character with that Of his kind
and generous friend. Now / don't oues-
ton that ingratitude is very unworthy
sentiment, but do sometimes wonder If
tue fundamental character of the I've
friends Is so very different after ALL Sup
pose the roles of benefactor and pensioner
were reversed. Can we be sure that he
who fills the pleasant and dignified role
of benefactor so benignly would play the
hard and inglorious part of pensioner
with any better grace than it's present
actor?
I once knew two friends whose position
ly reversed. At first the younger of the
two was in position to play the part of
benefactor which she did most graciously.
Then conditions changed and the older
girl was SO placed as to be able to help
her friend. She did it gladly and lavishly
expecting to strengthen the friendship
What was her surprise to find her friend
growing cool and distant. The conditions
again changed The younger girl was
again in the position of advantage, and to
her friends great establishment she once
more became the generous, affectionate
girl she had been in the old days.
You see this girl who was able to give
graciously could not receive in the same
spirit
One of the best stories have read for
some years concerns two chums one OF
whom made a tremendous success as a
musician, while the other remained in a
mediocre position. The successful one was
always a generous patron of his old
friend, and for many years the other
loved him and praised him. But at last
he began to grow tired of always singing
his friends praises, he rebelled against
his own failure, and in a burst of passion
ate feeling he told the great violinist all
this And, wonderful to relate, the great
man not only understood but even felt
that If the conditions had been reversed
he might not have been so patient and
unselfishly admiring as his friend
Please understand, I am not defending
ingratitude. l am just reminding those
of us who are lucky enough to be able to
give, that it is far easier to give than to
receive, and that perchance those who re-
ceive from us deserve more credit and
honor for receiving gratefully than we for
giving
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

the thoroughness that characterizes the
work of the German gymnasium.
In both nations the schools are now
in period of great development, ac-
cording to the Munich educator. 1.-THE
great advantage that Germany posses
ses,'' he declares, sin addition to the
relentless thoroughness of the whole
educational work, is the well regulated
organization of a state-provided school
system, which requires in each COM
munity a school as good as that in
every other community. But this adj
vantage has been purchased at the ex-
pense of many qualities for which we
must envy the American schools
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
FROM OTHER PENS
HOPELESS.

secretary Bryan might as we'll tear
up his plans for peace treaties with
treat Britain. The two peoples are
lrreconc1lable. They observe each
other and stand in the presence of the
inexplicable. If one were yellow and
the other whGe each would be pre-
pared for this and tolerance might be
the first fruit of preparedness. But
tHey speak the same language and
each is narrowed by the accent of the
other They play the same games and
take loss with difficulty A contest
is notable chiefly for its oral conse-
quences.
They wear virtually the same kind
of clothes and each thinks there is a
form of idiocy in the manner of the
wearing. Familiarity has bred true to
form.
An American entered the smoking
sleeved shirt, ready to play, and the
English, being thereby insuIted. in
suited him. His ideas of comfort had
given affront to their ideas of decency
had offended their irascible notion of
dignity.
If they had been amused, IL they
had laughed, if they even had jeered
at him, if they had put him down as
a barbarian, there might have been
some hope. But they became indig-
nant-furious, almost. A Persian
might have come among them in any
draperies he chose. They might have
admitted a hairy Ainu in a breech
clout or an African without one. An
American in his national outdoor Gus
tom, which sensibly is sans coat, was
an atrocity because when the English
play golf they wear coats.
It's miracle that we are making
plans for the celebration of 100 years
of peace. No one, predicting from
form, would have allowed the two ma
tons more than ten years.-Chicago
Tribune.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
[From the CHICAGO News.1

GFrom the Chicago News.1
The average wife earns more than she
gets.
Only girls without appetites can afford
to marry poets
A poor idea of innocence is not to adj
NIT that one knows
Temperament during courtship develops
into temper after marriage.
He is a wise man who declines to act
as Judge at a baby show.
Keep cool If you would be in a position
to strike while the iron is hot.
There is a great advantage in being in
love. While it lasts your other troubles
seem insignificant.
Girls, don't be snippy and stuck up be-
cause you are young and handsome. 1t
may not take long to outgrow it
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

IN PASSING.
I was your stepping stone
From the old love to the new
I, who loved you alone;
Was it who changed, or you?
Now you stand on land with your own
true lover,
Poor stone, my heart let floods flow
over.
I was a desert we'll;
Passing you slaked your thirst;
Was the water brakish, tell?
Yet you found 1t sweet at first:
Now you lave and battle in the bounteous
river,
May sand-storms choke the we'll for ever.
-Georgiana B. Paget.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

hes discovered three-fourths of tn,
crimes are committed by unmarried
| men, the married men leading in bu
one crime-attempted suicide. Eacf
married man may white his owl
wheeze.
1t is reported that women shocked
wheat IN Nebraska, which is the first
intimation that Broadway styles have
penetrated so far west.
It may be noted in passing, that q
politician takes the most interest in
civil service and other perpetuating de-
vices when his own gang is in office,
From this lob investigation in con-
gress, one might gather that the pur-
pose is to unionize the lobs and make
it an offense to work more than eight
hours to the shift. At least there must
be some purpose to the investigation,
and that is about as plausible as any
thing that has been offered.
As an exhibit in the list of shattered
traditions we beg to offer: The fact
that number of physicians have es-
tablished good practices without wear
ing full crops CT whiskers.
Filling Fullers says he knows there
is money in gambling because he has
put some of it there.
And still girls who know how to
light firecracker are more numerous
than the girls who know how to play
Star Spangled Banner" on the piano.
Jere Knode Cook is now writing
articles on Divorce for the Hearst
papers. But no one really expected
Jere to refrain from concentrating
his crookedness. It's wonder he
didn't snake friend second wife and the
kids into a vaudeville skit, three a
day. performances being easier work
than house painting.
Should the Washington chamber of
commerce succeed in stopping the
slaughter of calves it will not interfere
with the canned veal industry-so
long as the rabbits hold out.
A true optimist is the gink, who, al
though he cannot afford railroad fare
to Tecumseh, takes into consideration
the terrestrial orbit and figures that
he travels about $4,000 miles every
day.
This department is not right sure
of what the Greeks and Servians are
fighting about, but if it be to relieve
the congested condition of those little
kingdoms, they are having great sue
cess, according to press reports.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07
HOME News WHILE AWAY.

Subscribers of the State Journal
away from home during the summer
may have the paper mailed regularly
each day to any address at the rate
of ten cents a week or thirty cents
N month (by mali only. Address
changed as often as desired. While
out of town the State journal Will De
TO Won like q daily letter from home.
Advance payment is requested on
these short time subscriptions, to save
bookkeeping expenses.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Kansas has suffered not little from
the ravages of the chinch bug and the
Hessian fly. But up to date she has
not been infested and attacked by the
Porthetria dispar and the Euproctis
chrysorrhoea, like some of her sister
states in the east
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Plans have been projected for the
veterans of the south to entertain the
s.Yanks'' in 1915 at Richmond, and
on the fiftieth anniversary of the
evacuation of the capital of the Con-
federacy. There can be no doubters
now. The men of the north and the
men of the south are one and the
same ne0ple
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

A righteous decision has been reach
ed by the state authorities to release
at once the incurables in the peniten-
tiary SO that they can die at home.
But reasonable care should be taken
that there are no Banker Morses
among them.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Wasn't there a roar of nationwide
proportions when President Taft dis
missed CLAWS and Pinchot from the
government service and retained Mr..
Ba11inger in his ca binet. Why not the
same sauce for President Wilson for
Diminishing McNab and retaining Mr..
GcReynolds?
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Another instance where truth is
stranger than fiction. An heir to more
than a million dollars is not bothering
his head over taking possession of this
estate He prefers to work for sal
ary of $1,000 a year.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

One of Englands leading militant
suffragettes will probably be reduced
to the ranks, or more likely cashiered
from the order. She slammed a pc
tition in the face of King George
when she might just as easily have hit
him with a bomb.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Many of the rural schools in the
state of Washington have college
graduates as teachers. In that state
they pay good salaries to country
teachers because they believe that the
=. country school should be as we'll
taught as the city school.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

From the day of wholesome patr1-
otto demonstration, the Fourth OF July
has apparently developed into ma
tionaI festival for sporting events OF
all kinds and descriptions.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

President Wilson's address at
Gettysburg was brief, as addresses go
nowadays, but that is about the only
comparison that can be made between
IL and the one that was delivered on
the same field by Abe Lincoln.
The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-07-07

Surely the world is indebted to the
MARQUIS of Northampton for the
knowledge that a chorus girl can be
damaged S25OO0O worth.