davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

tory nerves are not of triple brass, for
there seems to be a conspiracy among
the architects of the free lunch to flank
it's most savory dishes with Limburger
curbing the appetite of the would-be
guest. This also is product of Ger
many, and, thanks be to England s
fleet, will be cut out of the free lunch
along with the more savory bologna.
For buttons are going to be, scarce. The
vast majority of the buttons imported
into the United States come from Ger
many and now that the supply is cut off
it will soon behoove the machelor. bereft
of his last button, to follow the fashion
his galligaskins by means of nall or a
decapitated match. Certain 1t is that the
member of the household who has saved
up his-er. far more likely, her-buttons
in the old collar box is going to be a
mighty popular member of the family:
for to speak Kiplingesquely. in a short
time bottom will be a button. Who
would ever have thought that grim-vis-
of a button? Mankind will now begin
to realize what world war is
Somewhere between the two oceans
there are men sunk in the gloom of a
great loss. They mourn because they
cannot get any more kainit Last year
they used two and half million dollars
worth of it. and every penny's worth
came from Germany. This year they
cannot get a drop or yard or pound
of kainit-however it may be measured
for Germany has all the kainit there is
in the world.
Wholly ignorant of kainit, the writer
consulted the dictionary. 1t said kainit
was "a flesh-red hydrous potassio- mag
nesium sulphite crystallizng on the
monoclinic system That was all, but it
was enough to show that kainit was a
thing of parts-parts of speech, if moth
ing else. Perhaps the men who blew in
their good two and a half million know
what it is At all events. it points out
yet again the all-pervasive character OF
war that will go out of it's way to cut off
the trade on such a thing as kainN.
Anyhow. we here in America are going
to feel the loss of that two hundred mil
lions of dollars of annual imports from
Germany-even if we don't miss kainit
There is hardly man. woman or child
in the nation that will not be in some
wise seriously inconvenienced by the war
embargo. To such an extent has civili-
zation knit the nations of the world to-
gether
1t is clear from the facts scattered
through the above columns that such an
opportunity for expansion in manufactur-
ing was never in the history of the
world offered to any nation as that now
presented to America. Not only is the
American public crying to be supplied
worth of articles formerly supplied by
Germany but the German trade of the
whole world is going begging for manu-
factorieS to supply it, and no, other ma
ton except the United States Is in any
shape to meet the demand. Fully three
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

favorable answer. An enormous number
are not answered at all. or are postponed
for inquiries and further consideration
until the petitioner is dead.
Nicholas great petitions bureau has its
headquarters in the Mariyinsky Palace
opposite st. Isaacs Cathedral. building
also occupied by the council of state.
Formerly the Mariyinsky Palace housed
the whole chancellery, but now half the
clerks have to be housed on the Fon-
tanka canal, and Others work at Tsar-
skoe Selo.
The chancellery developed to It's present
Baron Budberg, and his adlatus. Prlvy
Councillor Mamontoff. now director: Bud
berg, Petersburg swears, was Killed by
petitions. He had been taking severe
restrictive measures to cut down the
number of frivolous petitions and he
hoped for success. Early this year, he
asked NJ Mamontoff for a report on the
number of petitions sent in: He found
that instead of a decrease there was
big increase He collapsed in his chair,
he had all his life tried to swim through.
A week later Budberg was dead. :.
Every Russian thinks he has a right to
send Nicholas II petition on all posi-
BILE occasions. About two-thirds send Pc
titions in the correct sense-reauests to
release prisoners, to make money grants.
to see that pensions are granted and so
on. The other petitions have a character
POSSIBLE only in Russia where legality is
unknown They are requests to the cZar
himself to decide judicial questions. to
override the courts, and. in particular, to
grant absolution or immunity from the
law governing marriage. parenthood, etc
Every year about a thousand petitions
are sent in asking for exceptional treat
ment in divorce affairs. An official need
not hesitate to marry a second time be-
fore he has fully divorced his first wife.
He relies upon a petition to the car to
stop proceedings for bigamy and to have
his second marriage declared lawful.
II the applicant is backed by lnf1uen-
tial persons or if he is able to pay a
bride, the petition is granted. A favorite
request to Nicholas II Is that he shall
order divorce proceedings to be hurried
up, or that he shall instruct the synod
to grant divorce when the synod is
unwilling AS the synod is itself thor
oughly corrupt, 1t does not hesitate ABOUT
taking the cars orders.
Last year a member named Yaginski
was'publicly accused of selling divorces
for $500 each. Persons without money
and persons who object to bribery ap-
ply by petition to the car. This was
Of war, for whom the ear compelled
the synod to grant a divorce to Nine.
Denisoff. now Nine. Sukhoplinof. TINS
was after the synod Had formally
ruled that there avs no ground for
divorce. This abuse of petitions leads
to incredible confusion in Russian
family relations. No one can abso-
lutely rely upon the ordinary law to
protect his or her status as husband
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

cate The woman fanasieva begs the
car for grant of 800 rubles the
ground that her husband died as result
of fever contracted in the far east war
She has no pension, and works hard to
support six children.
In reality Afanasieva is professional
thief. This petition goes to the police.
and a reply comes to the chance!.ery
that Afanasieva is genuine widow.
hard worker. sober and respectable. Ate
a long delay-some petitions take a year
to settle-Afanasieva gets her grant,
part of it. She makes for the police and
with them shares the spoil otten tii+
police take more than their agreed share
and threaten the petitioner with gaol IL
he or she shows fight.
Mai Gen. Dratchevsky, st. Peters,
burg's chief of police. has just dealt
blow to the petition takers of his
city. Dratchevsky is an honest and
energetic official He discovered in the
Vassili Ostrov a whole nest of petition
takers Among them was an ex-police
captain who had given false certificates
to pensioners during his whole term
of service and admitted having reaped
from this trade an extra income of
$4,000 a year. Dratchevsky has or
ganiZed a. raid against the petition
takers and claims that he has saved
the chancellery of petitions from being
swindled out of 100000 a year.
Keeping petitioners from personally
approaching the car is the hard job of
Dratchevsky. When the innocent mou-
jik from near ST. Petersburg hears
that Nicholas is coming to the capt.
tal he prepares his petition In the
honest faith that he will be allowed
never happens, as the police have or
ders to saber or shoot any man ap-
preaching the car, however innocent
his intentions. At Tsarskoe Selo and
Peterhof this protection is in the hands
of Lieut.. Gen. Voyeikoff. the new COM
mandant of the palace As palace conf
mandant Voyeikoff has under him all the
special corps of palace police. the con-
voy mistakenly called 'Cossacks" by
foreigners, and the spies and detectives.
All these must watch that no petition
mbngering peasant approaches the
car. The late palace commandant.
Gen. Trepoff. dreaded these petitioners
as possible bombists, and in the sum-
mer of 1906 a man was caught near
Peterhof. carrying a petition which in
closed a Browning revolver. Trepof
had the man taken into Peterhof pal
ace Being in hurry and having no
court-martial on the spot. Trepoff him
self tied cord around the wou1a-hr
assassin's neck and flung him out OF
window On that day Nicholas III left
on a. cruise in the Baltic and a few
days later Trepoff died az result Of
excitement.
Cop. right. 1915 by Curtis Brown,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

$50 a ton. About all the cost the Ger
man has is shoveling it on steamer.
Germany has enough to supply us for
several million years. Last year the
farmer paid Germany nearly 100000
for this potash. This year he must go
without it and his crops may suffer ac-
cordingly; so the happy farmer will find
there's fly in his ointment, too.
But it is in the coal tar products that
the Germans especially excel, and in our
deprivation of these all hands on this side
the Atlantic will suffer Scientific ex-
perts of an investigating turn have de-
termined that given bucket OF coal tar
and a two-by-four laboratory to mess
over it in, a German can extract food,
clothing and high-class moral amusement
for family of five and have enough LETT
over to write a 1,200-page scien tific letter.
This includes about thirty-five different
kinds of drugs. which doesn't at all ex-
haust the drug possibilities that Ger
man can get out of coal tar, for the num-
Der of w-breaking synthetic compounds
whatever they are-that they have sue
ceeded in dstilling SO far is as long as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

are. to be exact. The war caught us 80
suddenly that we didn't have time to lay
in a supply, and SO we are all out now
nothing but the cheaper American-hatch-
ed cards..
And so Edwin moves modify away. a
victim of the war.
Even the farmer. who has visions of
two-dollar wheat and costly hogs. has to
suffer. Upon Germany he is dependent
for a valuable form Of fertilizer, the
German potash. Some years ago farm
err in Hamburg got to trying some ex-
periments with a lot Of worthless earth
he found on his place-they're always ex-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

ported about $1,000 900 worth of them.
This year millionairesses will be COM
PEELED to forego all this. 1t is as hard
for woman accustomed to silks and
and otter as it is for the man in mod
crate circumstances to come down to
diet of bread and water. Thus the
war embargo brings deprivations even
to the wealthy.
Going to the other extremes, the
free lunch fiend" will find it harder
shedding than usual on account of the
war. Bologna is the mainstay of the
free lunch. A free lunch without
bologna is worse than Hamlet minus
the melancholy Dane. 1t isn't free
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

professional scriveners, many are men
of bad character, and these exploit the
credulous peasants The rule IS 10
charge for writing a short petition 80
cents and 1 per cent of the value OF the
property concerned in the petition.
This profession paid SO well that the
petition agents set themselves to urge
Lersons who had no idea of preferring
petitions and sometimes persons who
had no grievances to send in petitions.
The number Of petitions nearly doubled.
The petition advocates fool the inno-
cent country people with the following
tales:
That the czar himself Immediately
opens reads and decides on all petit
lions.
That the car has a craze for red.
yellow, green, etc, paper. and that the
petition advocate alone knows this and
will draw up the petition on paper OF
the right color, SO that the car will
read it with pleasure.
That. the car insists on particular
forms of complicated address, which
no one but the petition agent is master
of. To address his majesty correctly is
half the battle.
That the petition advocate has ar
ranged with the czar to make a secret
mark on the envelope. The car will
first open envelopes so marked.
+*
Run In this swindling way the petit
tlOn advocate S business IS prontable. Inc
Moscow agent Yelaginsky accumulated a
large fortune in a few years.
Theoretically every petition sent in to
the car is dealt with. Petitions which
violate Budbergs rules are not destroyed
but are postponed. Theoretically the cor
rectly drawn petitions are handled in the
order sent in. unless they are longer than
fifteen folios. The decision is come to by
committee which classes them as use
less to present to his majesty" ''impos-
sible to deal with for formal reasons;
refer back for correction. or further in
formation or deal with at once" Most
of the last are then sent ITO different
state departments. The ministries of war
and marine get petitions about pensions
of soldiers and sailors, and ministry OF
Justice gets petitions referring to pr1s-
oners, and all petitions from persons
whose character have to be verified go
, to the police Petitions from men high
; up-governors who want special health
allowances. speedy divorces and other
privileges-are dealt with directly and
are sometimes sent to the car.
This system does not work well. The
cause is Russian corruption. The peti-
! ton department itself is probably incor-
ruptible Its chief is a man OF hlgh
i; character. But the police and other de-
, partments which answer the preliminary
, inquiries can be bought for few rubles,
and often these authorities enter into
fraudulent agreements with the petition
. ers. The petitioner gets a certificate OIL
character and he shares the spoil WIFI
. the "tchnovnik'' who grants the ceruii-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

clock and tumbles over on a couch fitted
with springs made in Germany.
OF course, this doesn't happen to every
man. but it happens to a good many of
them, and the articles mentioned are but
a small part of the vast variety imported
from the yaterland. There is no class of
persons who will not feel the effect of
the cutting off of the German supply. No
one will feel it more than the children
for most of the toys. especially the me-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30
Universally Beloved.

A NTHONY CoMSTocK, in one of his
I eloquent after-dinner speeches against
obscenity and vice, urged his hearers
group of New York millionaires-to do all
in their power for the publication of the
public morals
1.-The Lord loveth a cheerful giver." Mr..
Comstock ended. And he added with
smile, who. indeed, doesn't?"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

Children of This
Country Will Feel Eff
feet of Great Euro
pean Struggle Dolls
and Toys of German
Make Will Be Miss
ing - Household Ar
ticles and Food Inn
ported From the Water
land - The Farmers
Land to Suffer Con-
dition May Develop
Into Great Commercial
Chance for This Coun-
try.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30
New Version.

GEORGE ABE. at the Chicago Ath-
~ letic Club. listened sympatheticaily
to a love tragedy-a love trgaedy from the
financial point of view-that was being re-
counted in doleful accents by rich young
clubman.
Mr.. AIDE. at the end of the story. said
with a philosophical smile:
well. handsome is as handsome does.
my boy, and the handsome chorus girl
certainly does lots of young million
aires.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

correspondence between car and mou1ix.
This notion played a big part in the
reactionary campaign during the revolu-
tion-the reactionaries even planned
direct parliament of 1000 peasants.
who. without any rules of procedure were
to shout their demands into the ears OF
the presiding cZar. The chancellery Of
petitions empodies this quaint paternalist
IDEAL In theory it invites every one to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

stantial phantom of it. Now, Germany
sends ut about 80 per cent of our
bologna. but she will not send us any
per cent for quite while now. Where
fore in few short weeks We may eX-
pect to hear the "free-lunch fiend'' lift
up his voice and veX the circumam-
bient atmosphere with transcendent
Mutations. crying out against the hor-
rors of war.
Yet even here there is a compensa-
ton, at least to the man whose olfac-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

his land to a Belgian mlHefdb PAoSPeS'H's
company. and the peasant woman as
farmer of part of the land claimed tnat
he could not sell. The court decided that
he could sell, but that prospecting must
he DELAYED for five years, and this de-
cision satisfied both.
Under the wonderful system by winch
Russians petition the car to override Ju-
dicial decisions, both sent in their claims
RI the chanceIlery of petitions. Oooien-
sky's petition was put before Nichoias
nersonalIy and the peasant woman was
IGNORED or postponed. Nicholas did what
obolensky asked. The fact transpired
that the peasant womans petition had
never been looked at, ana TINS mas ied
to such scandal tndt Siehoi"" ooeii
has been revoked.
X
First result of this scandal is that
Gar Nicholas has commissioned his sec
rotary Prince Putiatin, two members OF
the council of the empire, the director OF
the chancellery, NJ. Vassili Mamontoh.
and a lawyer to draw up plan Tor re-
forming his chancellery of petitions. This
institution, in Russian, "kantseilariya 70
Priniatiyu Prosenil Prinosimlskh fevo
Velitschestvy." is as ponderous as II
sounds. 1t is also the most important
institution IN the empire, ioi ~ SSAiA -
ride any other; 1t employees over hum
bred clerks. spends incalculabie sums
and, in the Judgment of its late cnlei'
Baron Alexander Budbers. does as
much good as the average police ONCE =
In other words, precious little. No other
European court has office of petitlons
of comparable size. That Is because
Nicholas chancellery is supposed 10 at
tend 10 the complaints OF every one who
Is sick. hungry. oppressed or miserable;
That means by far the larger half OF
Nicholas unucky subjects.
The chancellery of petitions is one Oh
those quaint quasi-democratic institu-
lions which flourish only under autocra-
cIes. It is fruit of favorite Slavophiie
notion that every man. however humble.
should have direct access to his sover-
eisn. The hateful parliaments and bu-
reaucrats of less fortunate Europe are
replaced by simple. direct and fatherly
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30
HILE all Europe is

writhing beneath
the hoofs of the
martial nightmare
that is now GAL
Looping over that
devoted continent
the American citi-
zen is complacent-
ly thanking the
forty-eight stars
in his national
flag that he is far
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

portation, and his children play upon
the floor with German dolls and toys.
Over the family there shines the light,
America, often manufactured under Ger
man pat ents. When he goes to go to
bed he winds up the little German alarm
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

perimenting with worthless stuff over
there, those Germans. until they find
some valuable use for 1t, and then SELL
ing it at good price to the rest of the
kind of fertilizer The Germans didn't
lose a minute in introducing 1t to the
American farmer and he swarmed to buy
tat cent and a half a pound! That's
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

write to the czar. So the autocratist
fiction of fundamental democracy is
admirably kept up.
Three hundred and fortytwo thousand
seven hundred and nine petitions from
dissatisfied subjects We're sent into Mich
olas lis chancellery in 1913. That is
about one in every 800 of Russia's 1sO.-
0oo 900 inhabitants. The number has pro-
gressively increased In 1872 the number
was So. 79s: in 1910 it was only 2f3345.
In the years of the revolution the number
fell enormously. as people vainly imag-
med that they We're going to help them
selves without any car. Today the num-
her increases because people have lost
that hope. and because the courts of
Justice and the administration grows
more congested and hopeless The chan
celery which is in theory 'Batiushka the
car is appealed to as last resort
About one out of fifty petitions get a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

is not blockaded. like the Germans. will
find it impossible to maintain their for
eign markets and conduct life-and-
death struggle at the same time. TO the
United States. therefore, will be offered
all this trade in addition to Germany's
tremendous commerce. With a strong
pull and pull-all-together, America
should, in five years. lead the entire
world in commerce and manufacture.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30

thousand million dollars worth of for
eign trade is like a ripe apple. not hang
ing from the tree ready to be knocked
down, but already fallen and merely
awaiting the United States to come and
pick it up 1t isn't necessary even to
knock it from the branch. Competition
is dead and. of necessity. must remain
dead for many months. even after the
war has ended.
Even those nations whose commerce
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-08-30
Special Correspondence of The star
ST. PETERSBURG, August II. 1914.

EAR NICHOLAS
has been plunged
into trouble by his
chancellery of pc
titions. The trouble
arose through a
rich subject Prince
Isidore Obolensky
getting into a law
suit with a peasant
woman of kaluga
province. Obolen-
sky wanted to sell
The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1914-10-03
will close the program, Her Doggy
and In Society," A pair of screams
LYRIC THEATER

The Lyric is the joy house today
with three reels of comedy to one of
drama. and it is one of the really
good bills of the week, one that will
make you forget the trials and wor-
ries of life and put you in good humor
for the rest of the day.
Miss Elsie Albert, the dainty com
edienne of the Victor Company, is
the leader today in the two-reel COM
edy, "Elsie's Aunt" A couple OF
weeks ago she appeared in "Elsies
Uncle" and having got rid of the old
gentleman, Miss Albert now proceeds
to get the old lady out of her sys-
TEN. 1t is a delightful story, with a
good, understandable plot and with
laugh every second.
Little Sister," Rex drama, featur-
ing Bob Leonard and Ella Hall, is a
sweetly solemn screen story, one oil
the heart interest kind that makes
you glad you are living in this cd
world of ours, where so much is done
to relieve pain and trouble.
TOO Many Prophets" is a comedy
scream on the same bill.
The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1914-10-03
FLO LABADIE'S DARING
LEAP into THE SEA
"MIlLlON DOLLAR MYSTERY" TO.
DAY HAS VERY SENSATIONAL
FEATURE AT NEW CENTRAL
THEATER.

Flo LaBadie makes, as every one
can see who attends the New Central
theater today one of the most sensa-
tional leaps into the ocean ever per-
formed by any woman, and it all hap
pens in todays episode, entitled "The
Borrowed Acceptance" which is part
/ OF the thrilling success of THE Mil
lion Dollar Mystery"
Miss LaBadie jumps from a motor
boat the craft going at the rate of 40
miles an hour, and swims a great dis
/ lance for help. The New York Sun,
according to an account published
when this particular picture was
taken, says:
THE boat was going 40 miles an
hour and Miss LaBadie made the
leap. When she came to the surface
it was seen she was in trouble, for
the breath was almost knocked out
of her. Some one called and asked
! if she needed assistance. The ques-
ton reused her to a realization of her
work.
Don't spoil the picture she re-
piled. Give me a little time and I'll
get my strength back, and moment
later this daring actress was swim
ming out of range of the camera. 1t
was the most daring feat any woman
ever attempted in the ocean,
You'll see this in the picture at
the New Central today. as well as
Seliss masterful western reel, "The
Real Thing in Cowboys" together
with Sidney Drew, featured in Vita
graphs latest comedy, "Horseshoes 49,
For Luck" Monday comes Dustin
Farnum in the four-reel feature, en-
titled The Virginian."
(Advt.)