davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Democratic messenger., 1915-09-11

wards There's 10 sign or the proies
sor
Quest pockcted the diary
You're perfectly certain that he
ls not "a this house or any u here upon
the premises"
Certain sure" French replied
Quest shrugged his shoulder
Well wed better &c, back he
said .
They we're on the point of starting.
the chauffeur With his hand upon The
starting handle. French with the
steering wheel of the police car al
ready IN his hand aud then the llttlr
party seemed suddenly turned 20
stone For few breathlcss seconds
not ono ~ them moved out into the
clammy night air came the echoes of
hideous lnhumau blood curdiing
scream Quest VAS to-" first % r.
cover himself lie lcapcd from bis
seat and rushed back across tho emp
~ hall into the study followed = III
tlo way behind by French and tho
others An upsuspected panel door
which led into the garden stood slight
~ alar The professor. with his hand
on tho back ~ chair. vas staring
at the fireplace shaking as though
with some horrible ague his fac" dis
torted. his body curiously hunched
up lie seemed suddenly 10 have
dropped his humanity. to have fallen
bacS into th" world ~ some strange
Democratic messenger., 1915-09-11

49,.
'''ip.' = .'',' y','''t wv, '''f,"t =. -.' .''y
aa., ~. '.,,'., u,,.,.,., ,m.',.',.,.s
ha'o... n.. ,...,.', aaa
French ,olIoaod hin, ON tho doorstep
va4 anotber 4Yrnrts. lepora ana
Laura wore there the former carry.
ing a small hack hound volume
,D,rt N, crnss sh.. hegged
o,,irkIy w. iYei had "a como IoYk,
vi. picked mis- up underneath the
chair ,t.r. c-aig va- sl,tiny II
ur4t hayn sffrrd ram h,- rocket.
You 80. abat i4 written on IT,
mar, 81 r.i.,. er,fg
Ouos, took q tn his hand
"Sa. M. ought ro he interesting.
ne remarked come along
Tb.v pa.sed tuto the library.
French fingered behind for a moment
and caught them UP Just as they were
opening tho book underneath the cleo
tric lamp
SEQ hore ~hat I've found hc ~
claimed Il Has Just hy the side OF
the "aii there Whcr' IS that maya
zine
y" spread oii the piec" of pap"r-t
httcd cNdf'!t 'aia the "mp'> space
The. als read together
Professor Asnleigh after being Bit
ten by the anthropoid. rapidly devel.
oped hydropnobis OF a serious nature
After treatment win a new serum tho
patient vas relieved Of the hydropho
bic symptoms. but 70 my horror this
mdd hammered. humane man seems
possessed at times o. an the charac
teristtcs Of the brutal anthropoId-
cunning. thieyery. brutality. DO not
know what may come Of this. I hesI
tate TO put even these words on TO
paper am doubtful as 10 what
course. In the interests Of humanity.
/ ought to take
(Signed JAMES MERRILL. NJ. 0.
E4,or,s No.. Inc. ,e ~. ~ %
,r.ss c.,l. announce IN. ,.rr,bl.
a.a,n a, Doc,or m.,,ln ~. .ri,., ~
~. abov. notes y. vas attacked Nv
.,de ANIMALS vbils. aloce +, south
American upol. aoe ,orp - nl.c.s
There Aa5 q queer Nttlc silence
among the company 80 ouc seemed
Inclined ar speech They looked at
o'e another ia dumb wondering nor
r3r Then quest Dire" tenknlfa
ira" hIs uock'i Ah4 Win turn of his
wrist f1ro"d '!' l'eS of the dl"r)
Ih'} Az watched arm VITA fascinated
eyes II was something 70 "scap"
from tAr'f thoughts Th"5 leaned
o'rr as d" -pread tae book out be-
fore h.m Those hrst t"o sentences
"rrr almost IL the nature ~ ded!ca-
uou
For ten years have protected my
master, Prot Edgar AshleIgh at the
cost q ny peace q ~ind ny happ
ness ny reputation This book. even
though !, be too iate TO help me snail
clear my reputation
quest closed the 'alHMe
French he decided We must iiHd
the professor VIII }op haF" sour
ia"a search -" hous' aai gro.uds M
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

very large proportion Of the British
subjects in the West Indies are of the
African race. In Jamaica there are a
few of the maroons, or browns. de-
scendants of the original Inhabitants,
but in the other islands substantially
the whole population is Of African
origin. A few British officials are the
only white persons.
It is not unusual for travellers who
visit out-of-the-way places to drift
into some of the British West Indian
islands, of which they have never heard
before, and find British bureaucracy
fully established in the person of a sim
gle official who is administering the
affairs of the empire. Usually he is do
ing 1t very we'll. too, but it admittedly
Is lonesome life.
The West Indian contribution to the
defense of the empire is not neces-
There Is colonial force which is part
of the army organization. Tourists
who stop at Kingston sometimes drive
out to the barracks and see a rather
fine body of black colonials. Some of
the non-commissioned officers are also
blacks, but the commanding officers are
whites.
There has been a strong undercurrent
Of racial feeling in Jamaica for some
years past, and the smartly- dressed
colored soldiers, who are as jaunty as
French gendarmes. do not lessen it. A
couple of years ago a native jamaican
who was showing me through the
famous botanic gardens gave ut
terance to it with much feeling. His
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

rious lengths to fit uneven or rough
ground, or they may be spread out al
most fiat on the surface, so that the
operator may lie behind 1t. This gun
has a shoulder piece like a military
rifle, and is easily handled.
The light Vickers has a similar tri-
nod. and instead of the rifle butt is
provided with two handles like those
on the nozzle of a fire hose, on either
side of the breech.
The Germans have adopted for their
guns a peculiar mount which they call
the sledge on which 1t can be drawn,
but when the mount Is extended it
forms a litter on which the gun is car
ried from point to point. On reversal
it is set up and forms very steady
mount for gunfire.
The light Vickers and the Benet-
Mercier guns each weigh under thirty
pounds, and the tripod about as much
more. One is served with ammunition
from a long belt of cartridges and the
other by a brass strap holding twenty
ave rounds. The total weight of the
machine, tripod appliances. spare parts.
water, when necessary, and ammunt-
ton Is such as to present some inter-
esting questions of transportation.
They are too heavy to be carried long
distances by the men, and various ways
have been tried.
The mobile forces Of the United
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

but with the leading West Indian ports
20 easily accessible, news could not be
long suppressed If anybody were par
ticularly concerned in spreading 1t.
+
Few people realize the extent of Eng
lands West Indian colonies They spread
from the Bermudas and the Bahamas all
the way down to the Caribbean coast
Of South America. The Leeward group
10 practically all British. and there are
numerous scattered islands of which
nobody ever hears.
Some British statesmen in the past
have considered the West Indian pos
sessions a necessary nuisance of en-
pfre, much as Canada was at one time
looked upon as burden. No one ever
has regarded these possessions as an
outlying line of defense for the empire.
Instead. 1t has been assumed that to
defend them against rival maritime
power would cost more than they were
worth.
Had Germany been able to keep her
war fleet ahoat, this undoubtedly would
have been the case, for the West Indies
afford numerous points open to attack.
In the early days of the war, when
the Karlsruhe and others of the daring
German cruisers were sweeping the
seas, several Of the British West Indian
islands were in daily dread. British
merchant ships on the South American
route both from Liverpool and from the
United States were captured and sunk
by the German cruisers. But this sit
uation ended when Admiral Won Spec
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10
an England herself, al

a better basis than England herself, al
though the products of England get
the same dement's as those of Canada in
the West Indian self-government colo
MES. The chief purpose, however. of the
trade treaties between the British West
India colonies and Canada was to give
the Dominion the market for flour and
other products previously held by the
United States. 1t has not been very
successful in this respect, although the
Underwood tariff bill, by offering free
sugar without exacting any reciprocal
concession, gives promise of ultimate
profit to the Canadians at the expense
of the United States.
The war has not seriously interferred
with the commerce between the West
Indies and the British ports. or that
with Canada. The economic conditions,
therefore, are about what they were
fifteen months ago.
The transport Of West Indian troops
to the continent at the present period
of the great war is perhaps of more
value as sentimental move than than, as a a
military measure: With the sepoys OF
India and the white colonials of Canada
and Australia and New Zealand and the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

ly because Of the sugar production.
The foundation of the fortune accumu-
lated by the father Of William E. Glad
stone was laid in the West Indian colo
MES.
In more recent times the different
groups have been divided in their
sentiment and in. their economic in
terests. The outlying islands in the
Leeward group have been sentiment
ally and commercially more akin to
England than has been Jamaica. When
times are bad in Jamaica there is always
an undercurrent of agitation for an
nexation to the United States. When
they are bad in Barbados and Trini-
dad and the other islands, there is
more disposition to be patient and to
trust in Providence and the British
foreign office for better times.
An effort to modify the economic de-
pendence on the United States for a
market and to strengthen the senti-
mental ties was shown in the negotia-
ton of a reciprocity treaty with Can
ada.
Few of the islands wanted this ar
rangement, but most of them acquiesc-
ed in it out of Difference to the superior
power. The sentiment of the ruling
element in England changed some
years ago, and since then the aim has
been to keep the West Indies as loyal
props of the empire, and to secure such
trade advantages as may be had by
artificial stimulus.
Canada, it was thought, would afford
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

fitting out any expedition of this kind.
because, while petty ones may be winked
at and tolerated as an encouragement
to local trade, comfy with the United
States requires that the former dictator
be not allowed to abuse the privileges
of British hospitality in one of Eng
lands West Indian possessions.
Reports of the volunteer recruits in
the British West Indies have made no
mention of the Hindus as among them.
There are good many Hindus in
Jamaica and in Trinidad. and some OF
the other sugar-raising islands.
Originally brought out as coolie con-
tract raborers under the rigid regula-
tions prescribed by the India govern
ment, many of them have elected to re-
main after their term of service ex-
pired. They are, however. a community
entirely apart from the rest of the
population. They would not be con-
sidered as recruiting material along
with the native black population. Their
religious caste would in itself forbid
that. Should any of them want to en-
list, company or two might be formed,
but there would hardly be enough for
a regiment. If any number should be
drawn across the Atlantic. service
would likely be found for them among
the non-Mohammedan troops of India
on duty in France.
The presence of these Hindus in the
midst of a native black population
which is volunteering military service
for England is one of the many illus
trations of the wide-reaching and
variegated subjects of the British en-
pire who may be called on in war.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

Beers Of South Africa, fighting in the
Dardanelles. or in France and Flanders,
as part of the British forces, it would
not be wise imperial policy to ignore
the British subjects of the West Indies.
Consequently the reports are probably
true that numerous volunteer recruits
are now crossing the ocean from Bar
bados and Trinidad, and possibly also
some from Jamaica.
It Is also probable that they have been
in training for months past, because it
has not been the plan of the British
war office to bring raw troops across
the ocean. Even the first contfngents
of Canadians were seasoned at some
of the West Indian stations from which
regular troops were drawn at the be-
ginning of the war.
The significance of these West Indian
recruits volunteering is that they are
negroes. England has got along pretty
well with her black subjects of the
West Indies. yet there never has SEEM
ed to be deeply-rooted sentiment of
loyalty toward the empire by them.
Race prejudice has been imbibed by
many Of the British officials.
It has to be remembered that the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

their equipment for coast defense and
for the field army, besides all other
weapons, such as rifles. pistols. ma
chine guns and sabers and ammunition
for all these weapons.
IF called upon to act with their pres
emit equipment. the government ar
senals are capable. working with
single shift, of turning out about 200
field guns and the same number OF
machine guns annually. This is much
larger undertaking than it seems on
it's face to be. for each machine gun
must have it's mount and equipment,
and each field gun must have its car
rage, which is complicated piece Of
work. and three caissons, besides am
munition wagons"
Gen. Crozier has seen the change from
the manufacturing cast gun. with a
range of a mile or 80. to the forged
breech-load ng field gun. which thr WIS
thirty shells minute. He has seen
the development of the automatic gun
from the early Maxims down to the
latest type. which has been SO ef-
fectively used by both sides in Europe.
"As I stated in the hearings before
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

rounds, besides a provision for a much
larger reserve. The first quantity
would be shot away in one hours prac-
tice at full capacity.
Great as the development has been
during the past half century in ma
chine guns, that of the field gun has
kept pace The gun of fifty years ago
is as much out of date as the Spring
field Misunderstanding rifle.
The German artillery. in 1870, led the
world, and easily dominated that of
France, but soon thereafter 1t gave
way to the breech-loading gun employ
ing fixed ammunition.
Then came the French gun with the
long recoil With the old-time gun
carriage the recoil of the gun threw
the piece out of position at each shot.
but the French gun was SO arranged
that the carriage remained as it was
planted, and the gun flew back on the
carriage. The force of the recoil was
taken up on powerful springs. which
returned the piece to position.
Not having to readjust the gun between
shots has made it possible for trained
artillerists to fire thirty aimed shots
minute from the IS mm.-about three
inch-guns. They have a range OF over
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

m EVEN times a second a machine
~ gun splits out its stream of rifle
bullets against the enemy. A
~ three-inch field gun fires its
charge Of shrapnel or its percussion
shell every two seconds.
Gen. William Crozier, chief of ord
nance, L. S. A.. the inventor. with Gen.
Burlington of the disappearing car
rage for coast defense guns which
bear their names, and the inventor Of
the Crozier wire-wound gun. the lat
est with which our coast is being de-
Tended, told. in his office in the War
Department, the other day something
Of the development of the new and
wonderful war machines and of the
resources of the national arsenals.
Gen. Crozier has had the opportunity
of knowing these things. for he came
to the ordnance department in 1881
and became it's chief in 1901. He not
only has seen but has directed much
of the development of this most i'm
portant branch of the army.
~
1T is" said he, "a sort of trust of
several establishments with all the re-
sponsibilities Of a great business. ex-
cept providing the money and finding
the market Congress makes the ap-
proprtations. SO we know exactly how
much we have to spend. and the army,
and to some extent the navy. take the
output. But we have the handling
and disbursing of about s12 oo0,0 900 an
nually. and the large amounts of gov
eminent property in the way of tools,
machinery and buildings in the arsen-
ais at Frankfort. Rock Island. Spring.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

charged a small portion Of the gas re-
sulting from the powder explosion Is
forced through a port on the under SIDE
of the barrel against the actuator or
metal piece, which is thus driven back
upon series of mechanisms, ejectfng
the used cartridge shell and compress
ing a heavy spring. AS soon as the
force of the explosion is spent the
movement operates other mechanical
devices which throw in fresh cart
ridge, close the. breech. and, II SO
set. release plunger against the cap,
thereby discharging the cartridge and
repeating the operation in rapid sue
cession until the fire is discontinued by
the operator.
With the Maxim type the same re-
suits are obtained by utilizing the re-
coil or kick" of the gun to operate
similar mechanism.
The utmost nicely and exactness must
be observed in manufacturing the parts
of these weapons. for the movements
must work with absolute smoothness
back and forth seven times second.
deviation Of few thousandths Of an
inch from exact form will jam the
gun; and this gun must work, for when
it is needed, 1t is needed badly.
In a recent DdttlS III oclSluuis wv
German machine guns from their
trenches killed or wounded eighty out
of 400 English charging the works. The
English carried the position, reversed
the trenches and put six light Vfckers
in place At daybreak the Germans at
tempted. in a charge of solid formation
and in large numbers, to rush their
enemy. They were met by the hre OF
these six pieces: and when the rising
sun lighted the fields. the bodies OF 500
nate for the English that at that time
mono of those guns damned.
The Germans have adopted, under
different name. the Maxim gun with
officiaIIy reported. shortly before Au-
gust, 1914, that they had $4,000 ma
chine guns ready for action, or SO per
thousand for an army OF 100000. 1t
is now we'll known that $4,000 OF these
guns or sixteen per thousand. were
ready for Immediate use. and that the
factories have been turning them out
to full capacity.
The Beigians. couple of years before
the war. after an elaborate examina.ioaa
after careful tests of the best, selected
the German Maxim. The French are
using a Benet-Mercier type. The Eng
fish adopted the light Vickers type.
the finished product.
**
One of the most important things
about a machine gun is its mount. inc
Benet-Mercier adopted at first a sup
port Of two legs placed under the muz-
Gle. with a screw under the butt. It has
replaced this with tripod. which mas
been found to give greater steadinsss
when the gun is actively engaged. The
legs Of these tripods are adjustable;
that is. they may be extended to va
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

States Army have tried successfully in
the rough countries packing gun and
one or more. Another method is to set
them up on an axle and wheels, like a
light field piece. In Belgium they used
dogs. which, it is said, soon learned
their duties. retiring when the guns
were in position and coming to the
traces as soon as the order was heard
for the removal of the gun.
Other methods are to take them by
motor cycle with a side carriage, or
simply to place them in a baggage
wagon or motor truck and carry
them along.
These guns are great consumers of
ammunition, it being estimated that
each should be provided with $4,000
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10
The Greater Fear.

NHAYoR ARMSTRONG of Pittsburgh
xvi was defending a sanitation scheme
that had been attacked on the ground
of it's expense.
1--WE all pretend" he said. that We
desire our cities to be sanitary. but too
many of US are like Smith.
Smith, on being handed q dingy.
dirty twenty -fve-cent piece. put it In
his mouth. to make sure, he explained.
that 1t was good.
but said a Mortified onlooker. but.
Smith. aren't you afraid of microbesT
"'You bet I'm afraid of microbes,'
Smith agreed. but I'm still worse afraid
of getting bad money"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

much about these British West Indian
though Bermuda has been described as
treaty between France and the colo
mics under which the revolution was
fought provided that France would
help the United States take Bermuda.
But the taking of it was deferred until
the revolution ended, and afterward no
one thought much about the subject
until the use of the port of Nassau as a
rendezvous for Confederate cruisers
and blockade runners caused the Lin
coin administration to wish that the
revolutionary fathers had accepted the
aid of France and included Bermuda
as part of the territory to be parti-
toned between the colonies and the
mother country.
Since the civil war Bermuda has been
looked upon chiefly as a pleasant win
ter resort, easily reached from New
York and from Florida. President Will
son found it a most agreeable place to
take bicycle rides while he was resting
between election and Inauguration.
Economically and commercially the
British West Indies are much more
closely related to the United States
than to England. That is one reason
why in the past some British statesmen
thought we ought to take them off
England's hands. Before slavery was
abolished the islands were of some
economic value to Great Britain, chief
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-10

the House committee on army appro-
priations our older machine guns such
at the Gatlings. are now OF little mill
tary value. Later models. when l
were. In our opinion. when they came
out, the best gun made; but marked
improvement have appeared. and ex-
perience has demonstrated the neces,
sity for an army of plenty of field ana
machine guns. both of which make the
ammunition reserves behave as ice
would on the surface of the SUM-
In the older National Museum one can
see the old crank-operated Calling gun
actually used in the civil war. The
tillery In 1870 so quickly overwhelmed
the French miltrailleuse that its value
could not be demonstrated. In the
Russian-Japanese war the automatic
gun did not play a very prominent
part. and its terrible effectiveness was
not generally recognized until after
August, 1914. Long after 1870 this
government adopted the Maxim and the
Colt automatic machine guns.
X X
The Benet- Mercier and the Maxim
represent the two dominant types of
this weapon now in use. the one de-
pendent upon the powder gas to op-
crate the devices which produce the
automatic fire. the latter upon the re-
coil or kick Of the gun to produce
the same effect.
The fire of. these guns heats the bar
rel SO quickly that means must be
provided to keep them cool This is
accomplished in the MERCER type
by fluting the outside of the barrel, to
give increased radiation, and in the
Maxim by placing a water jacket
In 1908. before the perfection of the
latest Maxim type. this government.
after a careful examination of all ex
listing machine guns, decided that the
Benet-Mercier was the best for an
thing Of supply OF these excellent
But the steady improvement in the
other type and it's adoption by other
nations has led to the acceptance by
the department Of the light vickers
of the Maxim type as the standard
weapon. but. unfortunately. this gov
eminent has none now available for
immediate use.
The advantages claimed for the
Hotchkiss gun are that it is trife
lighter and that it gives off no smoke
or steam in action to betray its hiding.
place to the enemy. But 1t heats SO
quickly when fired that a second bar
in making the exchange is sometimes
serious. It is also said that the waves
from the hot barrel interfere with the
sighting of the piece. The Maxim type
consequently gives a more even fire
without the delay Of changing barrels.
The heating Of the water in the jacket
does cause little cloud Of steam. but
It is said that the French attach
hose to the opening and conduct the
steam into a bucket of water.
When the Benet-Mercier type Is dis