davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-07-11

made an effort to see the President. but
was apprehended and questioned by
the detectives and officers on duty at
the White House.
A Bohemian. coming all the way from
Ashland, Wis, told the officer who
questioned him that he wished the
President to help him to get mar
red.
Il lived in the asylum at Ashland.
and while there fell in love with beau
tiful young woman. who also boarded
there" he confided. Il proposed to
her, and she accepted me But the
heartless Judge whom we asked 10
marry us refused. Knowing the Presi-
dent to be akind- hearted man, my
sweetheart urged me to call on MIN
and ask his assistance"
1t was found necessary to blight his
fond matrimonial schemes by sending
From New Orleans last February.
came a mail carrier to see the Presi-
dent. He explained to Detective Sloan
persons in his home city to poison him
with arsenic, and he merely wished to
ask Mr. Wilson to transfer MIN 70
washington. thus foiling their enofes
to put him out OF the y;, way; .ccos+ed
Last March an Austrian accostea
Policeman Simpson at 14th and
streets and asked to be directed to the
White House. as he wanted 10 nave
little chat with the PfeSlueHe. WHe'
he was asked what his business with
the President was he snapped:
THAT'S none Of your affair. Do you
expect me to tell you all about con
f1dential piece of business am to talk
over with Mr.. Wilson.
Then he grew excited. waved ms
arms about his head angrily and
screamed out denunciations OF I'M
pertinent policemen" who would pry
into such a personal matter. The ofn-
Ger, attempting to pacify him, told MN
he would have to have permit nrst,
after which he could make his call at
the White House. and managed thus to
lead him to the first precinct police
station Papers found on him showed
that he had been an inmate OF an In
stitution at Lockport, Pa.
Secret Service Agent Sloan took
Brooklyn. N. Y, man in charge be-
cause he declared that he had called
with the express purpose of making
important charges against the Presi-
dent
The residents of an apartment house
in Washington became greatly alarmed
one day when they discovered a COL
ored janitor making frantic efforts to
Evening star., 1915-07-11

had been murdered while making Black
Hand investiga tions.
A one-eyed individual from West vir-
ginia called at the White House to ask
the President to supply him with an
other eye. He said that while working
in a chemical plant he had lost one of
his optics. Policeman Harry Hatton
took him in charge.
ct object to having my mind read
continually" plaintively asserted
New Hampshire man to Detective
Joseph F. Murphy. who interviewed
the White House caller.
Surely YOU understand that some
times 1t is very embarra ssing for a
man to have his mind read" he said.
'1 want 1t stopped by the President
at once. though I hope Mr.. Wilson
won't start TO read my mind. too.
Proudly displaying plain white but
ton fastened TO his coat and declaring
that ii was a badge of honor. and toy
ing carelessly with a sharp bladed
razor. farmer from Tennessee called
at the House of Representatives last
January and asked 10 see Represents
tive Caleb Powers. He said that
number of men were bounding him
day and night trying to disgrace his
amily.
A middle-aged man of Fort WAYNE
Ind. demanded that he be treated with
great Difference at the White House
by every one he spoke to.
Il have been in Canada as a special
agent for the secret service. looking
after the interests OF the United
States" ne said. Il have been working
without pay. but I'm getting tired of
ii and I've come to demand a large
sum of money for my valuable opera
tions in Canada
Explaining that a relative OF his had
been murdered on Pennsylvania avenue
bring him to life again. a retired sol
der called at the White House and
talked TO Policeman Jenkins. He also
said he had 1000 coal-black horses.
thoroughly trained. several OF which
he intended to present to the Preei-
dent for the slight favor of bringing
his dead relative to life.
A crank from Philadelphia was high
ly insulted when he was arrested in
front of the White House.
Il am George Washington's grand
son and the adopted child OF a multi
millionaire" he ragged, How dare you
offer me this insult when merely
called to have little friendly talk
Right after have been crowned
king of Mexico. Holland and North
America it is a dastardly act to handle
me in this fashion, shouted citizen
of San Francisco, who was taken into
custody at the White House last May
He was armed with loaded revolver
and had several hundred dollars in his
possession. Secret Service Agent Jervts
was not surprised to see him, for he
had written letter to the President
before starting east informing him OF
his intended visit.
And so they seek the White House
these mentally befogged men. common
ly known "cranks," seeking the
highest power in the country to assist
them In either warding off imaginary
enemies or in carrying out schemes
whlch are very real and worth while
to them. While most of them appear
harmless enough, it takes hundreds of
detectives to guard the city against
such types as Holt, who not only talk
ABOUT their weird plots and plans. but
who boldly attempt to put them into
effect
Evening star., 1915-07-11
AMERICAN COTTON ESSENTIAL
i'm MAKING WAR MATERIAL S

IN HE action of the German military
authorities prohibiting after Au-
q gust 1 the manufacture OF
fabrics wholly or chiefly cotton for
nearly all ordinary purposes. such as
articles of clothing. bed sheets, pillow
slips and tablecloths, gives rise to the
belief that Germany needs all the cot
ton available for use in the manufac-
ture of explosives, and invites atten-
tion to the fact that one point of fric-
tion in Great Britain has been the at
titude Of England toward the importa-
tion of cotton by Germany. The agi-
tation went on for several months aft
er the outbreak Of the war before the
British authorities put forth all pos
sible efforts to prevent cotton reaching
Germany.
German ammunition expenditure has
very probably made a severe drain on
the cotton held in Germany before the
war and obtained since. This is indi
Gated by the fact. alleged on British
authority, that Germany has been buy
ing cotton from the United States at
double the peace price, and later at
treble the normal price. paying for it
in gold. and thus reducing her re-
sources.
Many of the military authorities
among the allies and chemists and
others familiar with the processes for
the manufacture of modern gunpowder
were severe in their criticism of the
tardiness of England in dealing with
German cotton imports. The assertion
was recently made in England by those
who should have some acquaintance
with the facts that when the war came
on Germany's supply of cotton was
sufficient for eight months. at the end
of which time the manufacture of ex-
plosives must have closed but for the
fresh supplies brought in.
Germany's war store of powder was
immense at the opening of hostilities,
but gunpowder of the present cannot
be stored as can coal or other non
perishable supplies. An American au-
thority on military explosives has
written:
THE manufactures of military pow
ders has had no easy problem to solve:
the nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin
powders have not been altogether sat
isfactory in that their stability is not
beyond question, except for compara-
lively short periods Of time and under
good storage conditions. By extreme
care the manufacturing processes have
been brought to a great degree OF re-
flnement: investigation has led to the
adoption of certain stabilizers or indi-
Gators Of stability. The material is
complex and therefore liable to form
unstable compounds: under the infiu-
ence of hSe and moisture the nitro
cellulose Is. most apt to decompose.
The question of q war reserve of pow
dsrs based upon nitrocotton or nitro
Evening star., 1915-07-11

through the streets. The master Of the
genro. and the then master of Japan.
was Prince Yamagata, the most pow
erful of the clan statesmen or leaders
and the personif1cation of militarism in
the empire. AS the enemy of Count
Okuma, he had the genro set up any
makeshift ministry, in order to pre-
vent the immediate choice of Okuma
This SO angered the Sage Of Waseda
that he declared, as quoted by the jap
anese papers:
What are the elder statesmen anyhow? Il is
with disgust that I refer to them Take
Yamagata, Inouye. Oyama-if they are any,
thing but emaciated. ossitied shadows of retired
men. / should like to know what they are.
When the people pay attention to such talk. thai
the elder statements advice, the public is cheat
ing itself and talking like fool.
But even the count had to bow IN
time to the will of this mysterious
authority. When the petty ministry
that the Genro set up to foil Okuma
was crushed at it's first appearance the
two princes and two marquises con-
sented to permit Okuma's name to be
suggested to the emperor for. selection
as premier and to organize new gov
ernment. But they openly washed
their hands of the whole democratic"
affair. The count was thereupon forced
to accept office as the gift of the very
Evening star., 1915-07-11

Japan has recently been ION the
dangerous edge" of many things.
For one. she came perilously
" near plunging into war with
China, which would then have meant
war with one or more European pow
ers by armed Intervention in the reVo-
luton in south China in the interest OF
DR.. Sun Yat-sen and the true Chinese,
or Hans, which was finally suppressed
n little more than a year ago. For an
other, she was actually tottering on
the dizzy verge of war with CHINA
again, after the nation had been united
IN some sort under the despotic power
of Yuan Shih-kai. even as late as May,
1915 This latter war, had 1t followed
upon the demands Of Toxic upon Pek-
ing. as was hourly imminent. would
probably have involved this country, at
least to the extent of a diplomatic rup-
ture with Japan.
In each of these late instances. as in
many others since the new era OF the
restoration. Japan. and with her other
nations, and even the entire western
world. was spared the horrors and the
Inevitable devastations of a terrible
war by the calm and patriarchal in
tervention" of the elder statesmen.
This group of men. never larger than
hve or six and now reduced to four,
since the death of Prince Ito. has been
the great conservative force in the
modern history of Japan. During pc
riod. that has been crowded and beset
with perils such as possibly no other
young nation. or people striving to re-
establish itself. has ever had to en-
a1d AZ q n
Evening star., 1915-07-11

glycerin is limited by their tendency
to deteriorate."
All the military powders or propeI-
ling charges depend on cotton. In nitro
cellulose powder, short cotton fiber fur
nishes the carbon or combustible,
whereas glycerin furnishes a part of
the combustible in the nitroglycerine
powders. Guncotton, or nitrocellulose.
is formed by acting upon cotton with
nitric and sulphuric acid. The nitrated
cotton is placed in a solvent and is
"colloided" or formed into a tough,
horny mass. The "colloid" is pressed
into grains. the size of which are pro-
portfoned to the calfber of the gun in
which they are to be used. 1t has been
computed that in single powder
charge of one of the fifteen-inch guns
of the Queen Eliza beth class of ships a
bale of cotton enters The consumption
of cotton by the rifles. machine guns
and cannon in those European battles
must run into the thousands of bales
In spite Of the almost universally
known fact that cotton is as essential
in making ammunition as copper. lead
and zinc. it is charged in England that
the British government refused to de-
clare cotton contraband of war because
the authorities alleged. first, That cot
ton was of little Importance in the
manufacture of explosives'; second.
that Germany had plenty Of cotton"
and third. Germany could use cotton
rags"
Very recently. according to the Lon
don Express. 1t has been admitted by
the British government. first, that i'm
ports of raw cotton are essential II
Germany was to maintain her output of
ammunition: second, that cotton is the
one material which Germany could not
obtain without England's consent:
third, that good guncotton cannot be
made from cotton rags: fourth, that
every possible effort Is being made to
prevent cotton reaching Germany. and
that the steps taken are completely ef-
fective.
Soon after the opening of the war it
was said that statistics showed a tre-
mendous increase in the export of
American cotton to Denmark. Norway,
Holland and italy.
Early in the war the British govern
ment announced that the sea would be
free to the shipment Of cotton. and that
1t would not be listed as contraband.
When the famous British order in
council was issued, 1t was given out
that cotton shipments for Germany and
Austria contracted for before March
would be permitted to 60 through until
March 81, and It IL said in some quar-
ters, though denied in others. that no
American cotton has been allowed to
go through to the Teutonic allies since
that date. though 1t Is charged in well
informed and influential circles in Great
Britain that large quantities of Ameri.
can cotton have gone to Germany By
way of the neutral countries.
Evening star., 1915-07-11
COLOSSUS OF RHODES NEVER
BESTRODE A HARBOR

colossi. There were other Grectan CO.
lossi that were fine and famous, espe-
cially Phidias' Olympian Zeus. sixty
feet tall, and the Athena of the Parthe-
non, which was forty feet high. At
Rome. among various colossi. were the
Jupiter of the Capitol, the Apollo OF
the Palatine Library and the statue of
Nero, all of them over 110 feet tall and
from which the nearby amphitheater
came to be called the Colosseum. There
were colossi of wood and of stone as
well as of metal. The most celebrated
Egyptian colossus was that of Memnon
on the plain of Thebes. A good many
years ago rock-hewn statues of CO.
lossi at Bamian, on the road between
Cabul and Balkh. were measured. and
one was found to be 173 feet high and
another 12o feet.
There are coIossi in the United States,
as such. The Bartholdi statue of Lib
erty in New York harbor, which was
presented to the United States by the
people of France. is 104 feet tall. and
to the end of the torch in the uplifted
hand of Liberty is ia feet. The craw-
ford statue OF Freedom on the dome of
the Capitol, might also properly be
called a colossus.
While all the authorities on the sub
Jett VI tHe NoloSSuS OF ftNOQe9 say tnat
The notion that the colossus once be-
strode the harbor was a medieval fic-
tion." they do not give the origin of
that fiction, which became SO deeply
fixed In the human mind that most per
sons believe IT today.
Rhodes Is one of the interesting places
or the world. 1t has an area of 424
square miles. and from the summit of
Atairo. one Of its mountains. $500 feet
high. one of the sublime views of the
world may be had. Rhodes was settled
by Dorians from Greece. and for cen
turtles the people Of the island were
celebrated for commercial enterprise
learning. literature and art. 1t became
a Roman possession and later the
Saracens took it, 1t was conquered by
the Knights Hospitalers of St John Of
Jerusalem. and their defense of the
island against the Turks, who prevail
ed in 1922, Is ono Of the red chapters
OF the worlds history. The remai ins
OF the walls and towers. built by the
knights as defenses against the Turks,
may be still seen. The Church of ST.
John was converted into q mosque, and
the palace of the grand master into the
home OF the pasha or governor of the
island. Fragments of the ruins of the
Greek city of Rhodes may be seen in
the gardens and suburbs Of the present
city OF Rhodes.
Evening star., 1915-07-11

A MOTHER belief of childhood has
AA been overthrown. One of the
q dispatches from the war zone in
the Aegean sea dealt OF the Island of
Rhodes and incidentally mentioned that
the Colossus of Rhodes never bestrode
the mouth OF the harbor of the city Of
Rhodes SO that the Rhodian ships and
galleys had to pass between the legs of
the gigantic statue. Such a statement
probably gave a shock to thousands of
readers who as schoolboys and school
girls looked on the picture of the Rho
dian colossus astride the harbor. The
dispatch said: The famous Colossus.
one OF the seven wonders of the world,
no longer exists and the tradition that
this gigantic image once bestrode the
harbor OF the capital has lately been
exploded"
The tradition was repudiated by GER
tain scholars long ago. but the tradition
was not banished from the minds Of or
dinary persons. Most persons have
very proba bly, never heard of the hnd-
ings and the Judgment of the scholars.
In the popular mind the Colossus of
Rhodes never had any other object in
life or any other reason for existence
than to bestride the harbor entrance.
The writer OF that dispatch was con-
siderate in informing the world that
"the famous colossus. one Of the seven
wonders OF the world. no longer ex-
lists" II ceased to exist as a colossus
more than two hundred years before
the Christian era and although its ruins
numbered the earth for more than eight
hundred years. the ruins were removed
about twelve hundred years ago.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a bronze
image of the sun god. II was los feet.
or 10 cubits. high. Sometimes II has
been written of as brass statue of
Apollo. 1t was designed by and built
under the supervision Of one Chares of
Indus about the year 290 B. G.. 1t was
thrown down and wrecked by an earth
quake In 224 b. c.. having stood at
Rhodes only about sixty six years. Men
who saw it set up lived to see II knock
ed down The fragments lay about the
place where IL had stood and they were
there when the Saracens captured
Rhodes. Some of those very practical
men sold the debris Of the Colossus for
junk. That is said to have taken place
in the year SIS. II is further reported
that nine hundred camels were re-
quired to carry off this classic debris.
The Colossus OF Rhodes was perhaps
the most noted of the colossi Of Greece,
but various peoples. the Egyptians and
the Romans had the habit Of erecting
Evening star., 1915-07-11

Police
Watch Placed Visitors Who Make
War Blamed
High Officials Who Are Chief Targets
Actual Violence Because Who Appearance
Are Washington Asylum Hospital for
Evening star., 1915-07-11

00 WASHINGTON has been de-
NAX clared the mecca for cranks
W\Y Slowed away in corners Of
" " their diseased minds are
wonderfully fantastic schemes which
they hope to carry out with the aid of
the President. For the majority of
these monomaniacs-that Is the scien-
tific name for them-have a keen desire
to see the chief representative of the
United States.
There are many different varieties of
cranks Most of them are harmless and
Imagine themselves people of impor-
tance. They assume dignihed postures
in front of the White House and
haughtily demand that the policeman
on guard present their cards and re-
spects to the President. Still others.
cranks of the inventive turn of mind,
have Just invented flying yachts or en-
pineless autos and wish to have Pres
ident Wilson put his stamp of approval
on them.
There are few dangerous cranks
Frank Holt, who placed a bomb in the
Capitol. shot !. p Morgan. threatened
to dynamite several big ocean liners
ana committed iost "SSrN -
jaiI, was of this latter class. These
monomaniacs labor under the delusion
that they have received orders from
on high" to perform a certain task for
the benefit of mankind" Whatever
crimes they commit they believe are
wise acts which will aid humanity.
Alienists, who never use the word
crank" say that monomaniac Is. as
the word implies, mentally deranged In
sub mi
monomania was brought on by the
European war, or, rather, his mania
was the war across the water All MS
acts of violence revolved about that
Capitol in order to protest against
the shipment of ammunition to warning
nations" He shot Mr.. Morgan. a wide
ly diverse act from the planting of the
bomb. and vet he thought he was able
to accomplish the same purpose by
these two separate criminal deeds-to
put an end to the war in Europe.
In order to safeguard the high Of
gets for these individuals of strange
Authorizations, and the residents OF
Washington against any acts OF vio-
lence which they might commit, SQUADS
of uniformed police and plain clothes
men are on the alert day and night for
the cranks who arrive in the city from
time to time with their weird plots
matured and ready to put in action.
At the Capitol. where only a 1eW Gays
ago one crank was successful In elud-
ing the sharp eyes of the men set to
watch just such individuals as he.
there are sixty keen sleuths on duty
daily. under the orders of Capt. M. b.
Louthan, chief of the Capitol police.
CARRIED as ordinary individuals, they
pace the long corridors of the Capitol.
mingling unostentatiously with the
other visitors. elm bing the many stair
WAYS and lettering about the place,
acting like other sightseers.
Capt Louthan explained that when
one of his men notices a person who
acts strangely. he follows him and.
pausing with the visitor in front of a
Evening star., 1915-07-11

men whose arrogance and "impotency''
he had SO recently denounced. The
Genro still ruled Japan.
The Genro, being old and conserva-
tive men, naturally have nearly al
ways stood for peace. 1t was this
group of men that checked the hot
bloods in their effort to involve Japan
in the Chinese revolutions, first against
the Manchu dynasty and then against
the tyranny and treachery of President
Yuan ih-kai. It was the Genro, also,
that forced the present government at
Toxic to modify the demand upon
China.
Prince Aritomo Yamagata, marshal
of the empire, is generally regarded
at home and abroad as the most dis
tinguished living japanese. He is the
head of the clan or feudal element in
Japan, and dominates the military sys-
tenn and power. He also Is largely re-
sponsible for the Prussianization of
Japan and for the aggressive spirit of
the nation. He commanded the army
in the war with China through the
campaign that ended with the crush
ing defeat of the Chinese at Ping
yang, when he retired because of Ill
health and was succeeded by Oyama.
He has held several ministerial posts
and formed ministry In 1889 and
Evening star., 1915-07-11

tured in all the periodicals., to infiame
their defective but receptive minds.
Like the man Holt. these poor, brain
harried mental wrecks believe they
have some effective plan by which to
end the war.
Cranks of this class are watched ana
guarded carefully. for their plans. in
keeping with such a stormy and life
wrecking subject as war, are usually
along destructive lines. They plan to
end what they term wholesale mur-
der with murder. and they have in
genious, diabolical ideas, as rule, as
to ways to put through their project.
The following are accounts of only
few "cranks' who actually visited the
White House during 1914 and 1915.
They are matters of police record. The
ma jority of them are committed to the
Washington Asylum Hospital. A few
were taken in charge by relatives who
were notified. Each one Of these men
Evening star., 1915-07-11

get President Wilson and members of
Congress on the telephone at the house
switchboard. in order to tell them
some secrets he knew" They sent In
an alarm and the man was taken in
charge.
Crossing Policeman Creamer stopped
a man at 14th and G streets who had
declared he was on his way to see the
President, and asked him his name.
Evening star., 1915-07-11

"Just a hole" replied the man, SOL
emnIy.
Just a hole" repeated the man. At
the station, later, he finally gave his
name. He was sent to the Washington
Asylum Hospital.
Fearfully announcing that he was
being chased by men and wild animals
from Baltimore, a resident of that city
Evening star., 1915-07-11

Have
Been Safe Sane Councillors of the Emperor EmpGolp Of Men, Never
oA
Modern History Have Grown
the Sniceo of
Evening star., 1915-07-11

PRINCE ARTTOMO YAMAGATA.
ro." as the japanese know them. have
been the safe and sane councillors OF
the mikado and the empire. They have
been more than the mere balance
wheel, as they have been called. They
have been the wheel and pilot Of the
ship of state in the most perilous
Evening star., 1915-07-11

Capt Louthan explained that when
one of his men notices a person who
acts strangely. he follows him and.
pausing with the visitor in front OF a