davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
THE WILL TO LIVE.

Friends Of the late Mr., Spence. Of
Baltimore, who died recently at the
good age OF zoe years, are firm in the
beliefs that his life was protracted BY
viii power alone His friends say that
for several years before the end came
his strongest purpose was to survive
q century, and although the last
months Of the period we're spent in
weakness and pain, he was successful
The great object having been accom-
plished, he failed rapidly and died
within a fortnight. In commenting up
on this prolongation of life by will
power alone, an authority says that
doctors, philosophers and poets have
guaranteed many prescriptions for
length Of days, but probably not one Of
them has been more potent than de-
termination. To begin with your
grandparents is an excellent one, and
so, in a way is early inyalidism, which
compels caution against excesses.
Moderation in all things is another ex-
preston of the same idea, and "eter-
nal summer in the SOUL is a priceless
mental remedy Yet even with all
these advantages there must in many
cases he the will to live
IN numerous illnesses physicians de-
pend as much upon cheerful surround
ings aud intellectual stimulation as
upon drugs Where there is a will to
die. attending extreme physical de-
preston, the healing art is often ap-
pealed to in vain Why should not the
will to live, when reasonably support
ed, be equally powerful? While 1t
would be shocking to say that dying
at three score and ten is a habit, there
is reason to believe that the conviction
of many elderly people that there is
nothing else for them to do at that
age may be so classified.
Aside from natural regret al the
passing OF a good, true and strong man,
our chief sorrow for Mr.. Spence is that
after he had had his way with earth
and enforced his will to his heart 5
content, he found no pleasure in his
triumph and bitterly exclaimed at the
last, There is nothing in it,"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17

gazed at the stricken parents and re-
marked There are too damned many
Kids pD there. anyway.
The daily psstime Of This degenerate
for months has been to fiji himself
with whisky. get out his high powered
car and race up and down the thor
oughfares Of the city. He put 1t up 70
pedestrians TO keep out Of his way.
He had the people terrorized. His ia
vorite stunt vas to see bow close he
could come to missing some frightened
person. He was rich and idle and took
I IT for granted that laws we're not made
to govern the actions Of those OF his
particular class.
The day he hit the boy his aim failed
him. But the demon has been curbed.
temporarily at least, and the good PEG
pie Of Keokuk feel they can with rea-
sonable safety travel the streets Of
their city again.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
Patriotism, Plumber and Pre-
paredness.

tBy Allen Benson, in Pearson's.l
IT is indecent for men who stand to
profit to the extent Of hundreds OF
millions from preparedness to urge
preparedness upon the rest of the ma
ton and expect people TO take their
advice at par The degree to which
self-intere5t warps judgment-and
honesty-is SO great that the charter
of many an American city forbids
every city official from selling mer~
chandise to the city In many cities
member Of the board Of education may
not sell a slate or a pencil TO the city
Yet the American people are asked TO
accept as entirely unselfsh. disinter-
ested and patriotic the advice Of men
who would profit 10 the extent OF hun
dreds Of millions of dollars from pre-
paredness" We are asked to believe
that these gentlemen, when they are
patriotic. forget their pocketbooks.
Quite fortunately there is a certain
way Of ascertaining whether these mu-
nitions manufacturers forget their
pocketbooks. If all they want is pre-
paredness, they will be willing 10 do
without profits If they honestly be
lieve the danger Of war is as great as
they say IL is, their desire for pre-
/ paredness should exist without profits.
If they are as patriotic as they pre-
tend to he. they will not insist upon
milking the government 10 the extent
of hundreds Of millions of dollars as
the price Of national safety. Such pa
triots as they pretend to be would
scorn TO place private profits above
national security.
What manufacturer Of munitions Of
war will be the first 10 step forward
and, while continuing to urge pre-
i paredness, advise the government to
manufacture it's own munitions2
VIII it be }. P. Morgan?
VIII it be Charles M. Schwab2
/ VIII it be any other of the gentle
men connected with the 10 corpora
tions mentioned by the Chicago Trib-
une that. in one year, made out OF the
European war S492 100000?
Perhaps some member Of the Cen
eral Motors company would like to
purge his patriotism Of the smell OF
profits The General Motors company
/ is so smeared with war profits and its
board Of directors is so shot through
with munitions manufacturers that il
scarcely seems like peace corpora
tion On the same day in September
that announcement was made Of div.
idend OF SO per cent on the company's
common stock, announcement was
/ also made of the election to the board
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
PROXY DOES NOT TAKE.

Miss Eugenia Campbell OF Denver
took a 10000 mile trip and is still Miss
Eugenia Campbell Of Denver, after
travelling clear 10 lava as proxy
bride She did not like the climate
out there on the edge OF the world. SO
she refused to confirm the VOWS neees-
sary in a proxy wedding and returned
home, Miss Campbell and John Peter
Seholten. an officer in the Dutch army,
met at Cripple Greek, Col. in 1918
Scholien was ordered 10 his post al
Java Their proxy wedding was ar
ranged, Miss Campbell participated
In the ceremony in Denver and SINH
lar ceremony was participated in by
Scholten at Batavia.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
THE ONE DANGER.

The average citizen OF the United
States, warned by the happening Of
the Impossible" in Europe, has come
to believe that it is the part Of wisdom
for the United States to make reason
able preparations against the possible
emergency Of war. His conclusion,
rational enough is that We can better
afford to make the mistake of prepar-
ing for war which may never come
than 10 be caught unprepared for war
In case it does come
At the same time. conversation with
ten out Of q dozen men whom one
meets ia the pursuit Of his daily rou-
tine indicates conyincingly that there
is no impulse Of militarism apparent
in the country. Our restraint during
/ the tense DAYS following the Lusitania
and our refusal to be rushed into war
with Mexico are ample evidence that
the militaristic spirit is at present en-
tirelv wanting in America, We are
not land hungry we are constitution
ally averse to the exploitation OF
weaker peoples We prefer arbitration
/ 10 the utmost limit OF seIf-respect even
( before engaging in q war Of self
4 defense.
There Is but one danger Of growth
of mllitaristic sentiment in the United
States, says the Peoria Journal Thai
danger lies in the profits to be found
( by certain interests in war, The NUM-
tons traf9ckers have grown fabulousl'
rich off Europe's war They expect
the preparedness program of tbs
United States to sustain their easy
/ prosperity for d few years at the close
Of this war But they cannot expect
our own investments in war materia
Ito be kept at top notch let alone in
( creased unless there is some prospect
Of war on our own behalf
The incentive to stimulate war sen
jiment to promote miIitarism in the
minds of the common people. viii BIZ
irresistible to the profit grabbers
greed has repeatedly demonstrated
that 1t knows no restraints Of civil
morality or patriotism The result
viii he. II munitions trafBckers are al
lowed TO revet in exorbitant profits oil
war materials supplied the govern
ment. that the demand win be artif
ciaiIv stimulated by every means
known to these interests A false pa
| triotism viii be inculcated, race ant
nationality hatreds will be promoted
iingoism will get IN its work by ever
subtle device available-and these de
vices, be it said to the shame OF on
press aud publicists, are ali TO ample
War will mean nothing to the mum
tons profit suckers except a chanc
[ for more and greater profits.
I Preparedness should not be halle,
by this menace. But the menac
should be removed at the very begin
ming by making the manufacture of al
war materials solely and exclusivel
a government task
The best preventive of militarism /
to take the profits out Of war.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17

London. spondence OF The
Associated Press. Great Britain has
no intention of allowing the United
States to Gust it from first place in
trade with South America. declares the
Daily Chronicle in a long and earnest
discussion Of The South American
Market After noting the relative
positions OF England. Germany and
United States in South American trade
prior to the war, the article warns its
readers that the United States has al
ready accomplished great deal in its
effort to take advantage Of the opening
offered it.
But LET Us look for a moment at the
assets Of the British trader in South
America" continues the Chronicle.
One OF his greatest is his reputation
for strict integrity and scrupuiously
honorable dealing. which viii stand
him in good stead in the coming race
for trade. Il must be maintained at
all costs. South American people have
had experience Of our methods of
business and Of those Of the United
States, and as a general rule they pre-,
fer our own. If they can do so they
will deal with us.
Another great point in our favor is
the remarkably strong position of our
leading banks. The names of the An
glo-South American bank, the British
Bank OF South America, and the Lon
don and Brazilian bank are household
words in banking and financial circles
/ all over the world Enlightened man
agement and the growth of British
trade have brought them prosperity
Then again there is the Banca Com
imercial Italiana The entente be-
tween British and Italian interests in
Brazil is of particular importance, ow-
/ ing to the predominance of the latter
/ in the South American labor market.
Consideration of our banking posi-
ton naturally leads one to speak OF oul
shipping predominance. Our preemi.
nence in South American trade in the
past has ben due in no small degree
to the great development of our mer-
chant marine. The United States il
not slow to appreciate the importance
OF the banking and shipping elements
Her banks are already opening
branches in some of the big South
American centers, while her collossa
activity in producing war munitions
and the sale Of her foodstuffs at higF
prices will enable her for the frs
time in her career to lead freely
abroad and also TO put money into tht
development Of her mercantile marine
Another point in our favor is thu
large amount of British capital at
ready sunk in the various South Amer
lean countries This reaches the stu
pendous total of s2,750000. while oul
annual trade in South America. priol
TO the war. touched $3.50. 600 600. OF
one-fourth of the total trade of thost
countries. Obviously British eompan
les viii. wherever possible, place thei1
orders in Great Britain. BUT they ar.
not in business for their health, ans
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
Sidelights on the European War

our traders must give them what they
want or they will go elsewhere.
The article goes on with a discus
sion of the shortcomings OF British
trade. Selling by catalogue is impos-
sible in these countries, it declares
and it adds that there is a lamenlabls
lack OF really skilled British travellers
and agents In this respect it urges
British traders to take leaf from
Germany's handbook. "GermaHy.s
travellers and agents were skilled men.
and they spared neither time nos
trouble. Good linguists were they,
not with mere smattering of Spanish
and Portuguese. Nor did the heads
of the firms in Germany leave every
thing to their agents They were al
ways making personal visits 10 study
local commerce and credit conditions
/ on the spot Above ali. they took care
! to give the importer what he wanted.
Turning specifically to the oppor-
tunities in Argentina. The Chronicle
declares that 4 great effort is HeCes-
sary here if England is 10 maintain
commercial predominance The last
complete years returns for this re-
! public show thar in 1913 the trade Rss
divided as follows: England, $4,000
000; Germany $70,000,00O and the
United States SCI 1000. coo.
In Brazil, the second most important
market. the Chronicle believes thai the
clearing Of the financial atmosphere
which has come about since the war
opens new opportunities for the first
nation on the spot Chile, the third
country in commercial importance ls
likely, the article adds to show sur
lprising developments during the ner
few years owing to the opening OF the
! Panama canal.
In conclusion, the article quotes
from British consular report the fol-
lowing advice to would-be traders in
South America;
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
Selected by Tavenner
TO the Readers OF The Argus:

To the Readers OF The Argus:
The Argus has generously agreed to permit NE 10 maze
regular contribution under this head the space
as it we're my left free to make ny selection
from where WILL whether it is timely or untimeiy 10
search the highways aud the byways for what may I'M
press me as Of interest and value to the people
assure ny readers shall try TO make the most Oh
the opportunity To do must forget that party INES
exist and will just wish it might be practical i"f
them not to exist the principal issue on eiec'
ton day might be- not whether candidate belongs to TINS
or that political party but whether he willing to serve
the masses Of the people the few who exploit them
In other words my idea is TO submit information or
a thought that would give to the world If | myself
edited newspaper, the only mission OF which was 10
serve mankind to do this and nothing more.
When personally write the contribution, will sign
It. and when present the thought and work 81 others
will so Indicate clyde II. TAVENNElt.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17

of directors or the following gentle
men:
Pierre Du Point, president of the bu
Pont de Nemours Powder company,
Lammot Belin, director OF the Etna
Explosives company; l.. G. kaufman
president of the Chatham and Phoenix
National bank, of which me Du Points
are large stockholders; s. F Pryor,
! general manager of the Union Metallic
Cartridge company and the Remington
Arms company,
! None of these gentlemen served on
the board last year None of them was
known to be interested in the COM
panv. Each Of them quickly became
interested when great war orders from
/ Europe gave promise Of a so per cent
dividend.
/ Nor were these munitions manufac-
turers the only ones who made haste
I to buy stock in the company and get
in on the war pickings The follow
ing gentlemen also bought in and, at
the first election of officers held there
after, became members OF the boord
Of directors;
Albert H Wiggin, president Of the
/ Chase National bank and chairman of
/ the clearing house committee; Charles
+ II. sabin, president of the Guaranty
/ Trust company; J. A Haskell and j
/ A. Roskob
Every banker feels that he is par
/ ticularly qualified to hold in his hands
the country's welfare and honor. You
may be erratic. crazy, crooked, OF
stupid, but your banker is never any
I Of these. He is the solid, substantial
citizen, who always takes the middle
Of the road, drives slow and never
takes anything out of the wagon ahead
Of him. Yet here we see two great
! New York bankers joining the NUM-
tons manufacturers TO get into the
board of directors Of the General Mo
Tors company. Doubtless they entered
from stern sense Of duty: and prob
ably against their will Possibly Meth.
er of them has invested in the com
pany a dollar Of his own money Per
haps each OF them represents only
his bank But you know how strong
is the bankers sense Of obligation tC
his stockholders You know how sa
cred duty he feels il TO be to make
money for them.
If any other men than Mr., WiggiI
and Mr. Sabin were TO advocate pre-
paredness" is it not just possible tina
they might have one eye on the profits
that such preparedness might bring
first. TO the General Motors company
in which either they, personally, Of
their respective banks, are stockhold
ers. and then to the stockholders o
their banks2
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17

There is a case which is always on
call on the calendar. warfare going
On every week and day and hour in
the year. 1t is the case OF detective
versus criminal, It is the warfare be-
tween hide and seek.
During the year that | WAS IN the
profession ! had some queer cases.
had the reputation of being lucky, and
am ready TO admit that luck has
great deal 10 do with successful de-
tective work | have known officers
who were honest, conscientious and
painstaking, but who always just miss
ed it, If they had been on case for
six months and had finally run a man
down until he was within arm s length
some one else was sure to step in
and bag the game at the last mo-
ment 1t is an old saying that luck
brings luck" 1t was certainly true in
my case. Ny first capture was that of
Dick Morton, the famous Tennessee
outlaw Of thirty years ago. | was in
two men on highway 40 miles dis
tant. | was then on the Cincinnati
force and was interested in getting a
close description of the man And de-
scription you may give Of a particular
man will apply to dozens in gem
eral way Dick was six feet high, with
brown hair. blue eyes, sandy whiskersi
etc. The only real point was in his
manner Of speech. 1t was said that he
always rolled his eyes upward when
beginning a sentence. He did this on
the advice of an old woman to break
him Of the habit of suffering and it
was success.
| Just a week after l left Nashville I
was in Evansville. Ind. AS / sat in
( the Office of q hotel man came in
and registered. and when he answered
! the inquiry of the landlord up went
/ bis eyes. When / had seen him do this
! three or four times ! began to COM
pare him point for point with my de-
scription Of Dick Morton, and in FIVE
minutes / was Satlshed that / had my
man He had been shaved. had his
hair cut and wore a suit Of black, but
/ there were some things he could not
hide. The little finger of his left hand
was off to the joint. and he held his
head cooked TO one side when listening
to you. and his right foot toed in as
be walked. / made no move until at
ter dinner. Then as he came out OF
the dining room held him up with the
muzzIe of q revolver right against his
/ breast. and the landlord put the hand
cuffs on him. Then I called the local
! officers and turned him over He haC
two pistols and a knife on him, and his
wallet PANIED out over $4,000
In the fall OF the next year a pay
master suddenly stepped out of sigh
with $4,000 in new. crisp greenbacks
He was a government man and was in
Cairo when he received the money. II,
put It In a satchel and lost himself be
tween G o'clock in the evening and
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
The Daily Story
Luck Brings Luck - BY M. Quad.

sunrise next morning He had been
gone three days when | reached Cairo.
He was described to me as a tall, Slim.
light complexioned man with side
whiskers, blue eyes and auburn hair.
There was nothing peculiar about him
except the habit of rubbing the back
of his left hand with the palm Of his
right when speaking. This was very
slight clew to work on, but Il was all
/ had. | searched for four days around
and outside Cairo. but couldn't strike
his trail.
could hear nothing of the paymas-
ter and was about 10 return TO Cairo
to take up new line of pursuit when
a stranger approached me With prop
osition. He was d farmer, and per
hans some one had pointed me out as
capitalist or Spectator He had a
lot of black walnut timber which be
wanted to get to market. but needed
money as a starter He offered, in
case | would advance $500. TO give ne
certain share in the venture, and as
! thought we'll of 1t I drove out to his
place, distance Of II miles. We
reached there at night and next morn
ing walked through the timber At
about 10 o'clock We came to the farm,
which backed again his, and as we
were both thirsty we walked TO the
we'll for a drink. While there a wo-
man, with whom my friend was well
acquainted came out, and we all sat
down on the side of the porch for a
chat. After two or three minutes
man came out, and she introduced him
as her nephew from Ohio, lie was
roughly dressed, but any one could see
! that he was in disguise. He had
shaved clean, the sun had burned his
face and neck, and his hands were not
very clean, and he explained that he
| had served a year in the army, but
was discharged for disability and had
gone west to rough it for a few weeks,
We somehow got to talking about
some of the battles on the lower Miss
issippi, and as my farmer friend and
/ the stranger did not exactly agree the
/ discussion soon waXed hot Then, to
my great amazement, the stranger be-
gan to rub the back of his left hand
with his right / then compared him
with the description, and, allowing
for the changes he had made, ! saw
that be must be my very man, / quiet
: ~ addressed him by name, told him
who I was and what ] had come for,
and what do you suppose he did? He
/ Just fell right off his chair in reg
ular faint. and We worked over him
a quarter of an hour before he open
/ cd his eyes He had been planning
1 his embezzlement for weeks Re was
really the woman's nephew, but she
did not know that he was a paymaster
He had the money in a satchel in his
room and had used only about $50 Of
81. His plan was to lie in hiding for
/ several months and then skip to Eur
/ ope
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
Brady,n.D.
Fasting Is Mot Starvation.

1t is a difficult thing to convince the
ordinary individual that there is no
danger in a "a hour fast occasionally.
It is even difficult to make some doc
tors realize that fasting is not stf.rva-
ton. Indeed, we regret TO note. some
of the eminent advocates of fasting as
a treatment for diabetes persist in
speaking OF starving" the patient.
when, of course. they don't mean any
thing Of the kind. When one fasts. one
voluntarily omits to take food when
one starves, one dies from hunger or
priyation.
That fasting is not especially dan
/ gerous, even for individuals who are
already emaciated and very weak from
disease, is well attested by the remark
ably happy results thus far obtained
from the fast-eure in diabetes. Pa
tients in the very advanced stage OF
the disease, weak, emaciated, perhaps
developing coma and expected to die
/ in the near future. have repeatedly uu-
/ dergone the fast, which is continued
from two days 10 eight or sometimes
ten days, until the blood is free from
sugar. And instead Of growing weaker
these fortunates have improved under
the fast.
! DR.. F. NJ. Allen records some iu-
portant observations concerning this
new treatment as carried on in the
Hospital of the Rockefeller Institute
Tor Medical Research. New York, in
the American Journal OF the Medical
Sciences. One of his points is this
The diabe,ic. instead of being at his
best when fat, is better when under
weight; ana he should rarely il ever
undertake to regain lost weight by
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-17
EGGS WITH KICK

The federal government will be
asked into the Cleveland situation,
where. according TO District Attorney
Merit, eggs with a kick in them" are
being sold al fresh eggs prices. Wertz
says the best storage eggs, which
wholesale at 23 to Is cents a dozen. are
being sold in some retail stores fer
As TO 80 cents a dozen Real fresh
eggs are wholesaling in Cleveland at
40 cents and retailing at 81 cents.