davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26

the dirt, examining the road for marks
 That way!" he indicated, leaping back to the running board
 We piled back into the car and pro- ceeded under kennedys direction, as fast as he would permit. So it con. tinued, perhaps for couple of hours.
 At last Kennedy stopped the cab and slowly directed the driver to veer into an open space that looked partie. ularly lonesome. Near 1t stood one story brick factory building, closed. but not abandoned.
 As l looked about at the unattrac. tive scene, Kennedy already was down on his knees in the dirt again. study ing the tire tracks. They were all confused, showing that the taxieab We were following had evidently backed in and turned several times before going on.
 Crossed by another set of tire tracks he exclaimed excitedly. studying closer That must have been the limousine, waiting
 Laboriously he was following the course of the cars in the open space when one word escaped him, Foot prints!"
 He was up and off in a moment, be- fore We could imagine what he was after. We had got out of the cab, and followed him as, down to tha very shore of sort of cove or bay, he went. There lay rusty, discard ed boiler on the beach, half sub. merged in the rising tide. At this tank the footprints seemed to go right down the sand and into the waves, which were slowly obliterating them Kennedy gazed out as if to make out possible boat on the hori- zon where the cove widened out
 Look" cried.
 Further down the shore, few feet, l had discovered the same prints. go- ing in the opposite direction, back to- ward the place from which he had just come. I started to follow them but soon found myself alone. Ken nedy had paused beside the old boiler.
 What is it?" I asked. retracing my steps.
 He did not answer. put seemed to be
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26

the powerful limousine. On uptown they went, the only thing preventing the limousine from escaping being the fear of pursuit by traffic police if the driver let out speed They were con- tent to manage to keep just far enough ahead to be out Of danger of having Kennedy overhaul them As Ior us. We followed as best We could, on up town, past the city line, and out into the country.
 There Kennedy lost sight alto- gether of the car he was trailing Worse than that, We lost sight of Kennedy. Still We kept on blindly, trusting to luck and common sense i'll picking the road.
 was peering ahead over the drivers shoulder, the window down. trying to direct him, when we ap- preached a fork in the road Here was a dilemma which must be decided at once. rightly or wrongly.
 As We neared the crossroad l gave an involuntary exclamation. Beside the road, almost on it, lay the figure of man. Our driver pulled up with jerk and was out of the car in an in stant
 There lay Kennedy! Someone had blackjacked him. He was grooming and just beginning to show signs Of consciousness as bent over Whats the matter, old man?n asked, helping him to his feet
 He looked about dazed a moment then seeing me and experiencing, he pointed excitedly. but vaguely
 "Elaine." he cried They've kid naped Elaine!"
 
 What had really happened, as we learned later from Elaine and others, was that when the crossroads was reached the three crooks in the limou- sine had stopped long enough to speak to an accomplice. stationed there, ae- eording to their plan for getaway He was tough-looking individual who might have been hoboing it to the city
 When, a, few minutes later. Ken nedy and Elaine had approached the fork, their driver had slowed up, as if
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26

Martin at Mir. Martins store directly"
 II lacked five minutes of noon when Kennedy and l dashed up before Mar tins and dismissed our taxicab
 A remarkable scene greeted us as We entered the famous jewelry shop. lnvoluntarily drew back. Squarely In front of us man had suddenly raised revolver and leveled 1t at us,
 Dont!' cried familiar voice. That is MT. Kennedy,"
 Just then, from little knot of peo- pie, Elaine Dodge sprang forward With a cry and seized the gun.
 Kennedy turned to her, apparently not half so much concerned about the automatic that yawned at him as about the anxiety of the pretty girl who had intervened. The too eager plain-clothes man lowered the gun sheepishly.
 Sturtevant Martin was a typical so. ciety business man, quietly but richly dressed.
 In the excitement I glanced about hurriedly.
 Directly in front of me was a sign tackled up on a pillar, which read: "This store will be closed at noon to- day Martin & Co.,"
 All the customers were gone.
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26

Elaine, equal to anything, did so, and Craig bent down and cranked the en- zine It started Oh the first spin.
 See" he exclaimed. There wasn't anything. after all"
 He took step toward the taxieab. MT. kennedy-look out!" cried Elaine.
 Craig turned But it was too late The rough-looking fellow had awak- ened to life. Suddenly he stepped up behind Kennedy with a blackjack As the heavy weight descended Craig erumpled up on the ground uneon- seious
 With scream, Elaine turned and started to run. But the chauffeur seized her arm.
 Say, bo," he asked of the rough fel- low. what does Clutching Hand want with her? Quick There's another cab likely to be along in a moment with that fellow Jameson in it."
 The rough fellow, with an oath, seized her and dragged her into the taxieab Go ahead." he growled in dieating the road
 And away they sped, leaving Ken nedy unconscious on the side of the road, where we found him.
 
 What are We to do?" I asked help lessly of Kennedy, when we had at last got him on his feet.
 His head still ringing from the force of the blow of the blackjack, Craig stopped down, then knelt in the dust of the road, then ran ahead a bit, where it was somewhat muddy
 Which way-which way?" he nut tered to himself
 thought perhaps the blow had af- fected him and leaned over to see what he was doing Instead, he was studying the marks made by the tire of the Clutehing Hand cab
 More slowly now and carefully, We proceeded, for a mistake meant losing the trail of Elaine
 We came to another crossroads and the driver glanced at Craig. .Stopi" he ordered.
 In another instant he was down in
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26
THIRD EPISODE
The Vanishing Jewels.

Banging away at my typewriter the next day, in Kennedy's laboratory, was startled by the sudden, insistent ringing of the telephone near me.
 Hello" I answered, for Craig was at work at his table, trying still to ex- tract some clue from the slender evi- dence thus far elicited in the Dodge mystery.
 oh, MT Kennedy I heard an ex- friend, Susie Martin, is hera Her ia ther has just received a message from that Clutching Hand and
 Just moment, Miss Dodge I in terrupted This is MT Jameson"
 Oh" came back the voice, breath less and disappointed. Let me have MT Kennedy-quick.'
 had already passed the telephone to Craig and was watching him keen ly as he listened over it.
 He motioned to me for pad and pencil that lay near me.
 Please read the letter again, slow CT, Miss Dodge he asked. adding. there isn't time for me to see it- just yet. But I want it exactly. You say it is made up of separate words and type cut from newspapers and pasted on note paper?''
 handed him paper and pencil
 All right, now, Miss Dodge, go ahead.
 AS he wrote he indicated 10 no by his eyes that he wanted me to read 1 did SO:
 Stdrteqant Martin. Jeweler
 No. 7s9ls Fifth Avenue. New York City Sir-As you have failed to deliver the sl4 e58.-I. shall rob your main diamond ease exactly noon today.
 Thank you, Miss Dodge continued Kennedy, laying down the pencil Yes, I understand perfectly-signed by that same Clutching Hand Let me see" he pondered. looking at his watch. It is now half-past eleven Very we'll shall meet you and Miss
The Springdale news., 1915-02-26

Copyright, 1914, by the Star Compan SYNOPSIS.

The New York police are mystified by .serles of murders of prominent men. The principal clue to the murderer is the warn Ing letter which is sent the victims, signed xvith a "clutching hand" The latest vic tim of the mysterious assassin Is Taylor Dodge the insurance president. His daughter Elaine, employs Craig Kennedy the famous scientific detective, to try to fnraXel the mystery. What Kennedy ac- complishes is told by his friend. Jameson, a newspaper man.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
COUNT Won BERNSTORFF AS
MENTOR
Does the Wilson Administration
Depend on Him for Advice?

To tho Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir. The events Of the past six months
mint 20 the necessity Of and the plain
American standpoint which your journal has
.okon leads me 10 believe that you might
he willing 20 consider making quiet IN
.oetigation into one aspect Of the govern
ment's attitude and procedure which, # as
certaiped to be founded on fact, should be
Gently checked and corrected before further
harm IS done.
To put il buntly and plsnly-if one may
without intent to be offensive a feeling has
crown up and Is daily growing into a con-
viction that the administration depends
on Bernstorf. They look on him-he Is
smart fellow sort of guide, philoso-
pher and friend as the only one who
knows what Germans are Ike as the only
one who can pull the administration out Of
the hole" it has gotten itself into.
There have, of course, been many cross
current. at Washington, but for some time
Bernstorf and his messenger boy, o. G. w.
are persouP grGfissimR because the admin
istrstion never meant TO 20 to war Gt had
neither knowledge nor experience, thought
nations were swayed and the world ruled by
paper proclamations) and thought that Ger
many would be Scared" II faces were made
at il more China. Then It found that Ger
many was "a full grown person" In a sense;
and since feeling utterly helpless when con-
fronted with "fact"-for II cannot act IL
has been bedevilled by Bernstorf, who
threatens "war" land scares them TO DEATH,
then runs on to Washington and says he can
pull strings and they gasp and lean on him.
cling to him pteously and moan for help.
Then he doles out little, pretended "conces-
sions" and pulls long face, holds up admir-
ing hands and swears it is great diplomatic
victory" with his tongue in his check.
Meanwhile THE Evening Post" shouts out
praise and glory and the poor administra-
tion gets a little respite.
It would be very, very comic, II it were
not so very, very sad BernstorfF is vertably
to-day the united States Secretary OF State
for Germany" Il is for this reason that Won
Papen, Boyd ct al-indeed BerLstorfT him
self-are protected and not sent home; and
to gain Bernstorf's good will Germany is
allowed TO conspire and use this country as
a base OF war destroy vessels with internal
bombs, engineer strikes, forge passports, etc.
etc.-you know better than I all the de-
tails. II you can investigate and gently
ventlate this matter it Will do more than a
little for the poor old United States.
CHARLES STEWART DAWSON.
New York, Sept. 20, 1915.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30

the real essentials of defence-a regular
army of proper size and a proportionately
LARGER body Of thoroughly trained officers.
West Point turned out last year just l64
officers. We ought to have enough mill
tary academies to turn out minimum of
900 officers a year and we ought to have
a standing army Of 100000 to 100000
men. serving as a national training school
for men who are to 20 into the reserve.
We do not require vast mass of national
militiamen. Our greatest needs are a
better organized military system and a
much enlarged officers corps, equal TO
handling the regular army and to giving
intelligent direction besides to the cruder
forces which must be called into service
ia an emergency.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
An All Round Failure.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
Sir: If you will follow up your calm, dig
nifed and logical reviews Of the positions
taken from time to time by the President on
the questions affecting and growing out Of
the Mexican situation and the Great War,
with like review Of the divers propositions
advanced from time TO time by the President
in relation TO our domestic affairs, you will
have drawn a complete picture Of our Presi-
dent.
In doing so. suppose you assume that in
each instance his first or his second thought
had been enacted into legislation Most Of
us can make but one guess" We can take
our own time in thinking about what we
want to do or have done, but once we come
to a conclusion il is either TO stand or fall.
by the result. II such had been the case
with the President on the few important
legislative propositions advanced by him or
by his authority where would he have been
standing erect or lying PROSTATE? And
where would the country and its industries
have been? And where, If added 20 the gen
eral proposition you eliminate the effect OF
the war, would we all have been? Isn't II
almost too horrible to think about il?
The President. with the least natural gen
eral all-round ability Of any President who
has occupied the White House since our
Civil War. has been the luckiest in that d.
is for the ordinary man in the street not
an easy task TO recognize his aIl-round weak
ness. =. ..
New York. Sept. %. 1918.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
England as Our Customer.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: | should like to offer a few ideas to
your correspondent g. c. Thomas which he
seems to overlook. lie wants TO know what
would happen should England decide for
ten days to stop sending her ships here to
take away our produce"
Several things would happen, not the least
of which would be that the people in Eng
land would be faced with prospects of starva
ton and prices of foodstufs which would
prevent any but very well-to-do people eat
ing at all. Again, the people in the U. S. A.
would have an opportunity 20 sample some
of the food products of their own country,
such meat. As TO our surplus products
being a curse instead Of blessing in such
a situation, | am positive that at least 10.
100000 people in the u. S. A. would not find
il so, particularly the little children going
hungry TO school
England would be nearer to revolution
Of hungry people than she is now. and her
shipowners would soon decide to sail under
some other Gag, the Stars and Stripes, for
example. For it must be remembered that
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
MIR. Moss Choice.

During the primary campaign The Irib-
une refrained from indicating any pref
erence between Mr.. Perkins and Mr..
Moss, the contestants for the Republican
partv's nomination for District Attorney.
Either was a man this paper would have
been willing to support. Both had ex-
celent records and both were men OF
high personal standing.
The decision of the primary has made
an entirely different situation. Mr.. Per
kins has been declared his party's choice
by about two-to-one vote, and it is to be
assumed that there will be few Republi-
cans unwilling to accept the majority YER
dict. The issue has changed, therefore,
from a party contest for preferment to
the years old familiar fight against Tam
many. IN this SIGHT The Tribune Is
against Tammany.
1t remains to be seen whether Mr.. Moss
Is against Tammany. Ostensibly an anti
Tammany candidate, he will have his name
on the ballot as the. representative OF
Two minor political groups whose entire
vote. on the showing of last years cleo
ton, could not put him in office. He Will
be q hopeless minority candidate-but he
will play Tammany's game magnifcently
bv dividing the natural, normal anti
Tammany vote.
Mr.. Moss's name will have to remain
on the ballot, but if Mr.. Moss actually is
against Tammany, and wants to see Tam
manv's candidate for District Attorney
defeated. he should announce his retire
ment from the fight and urge all who had
intended to vote for him TO vote instead
for Mr.. Perkins, That will be an infallible
test. Tammanys motto, now as ever, is,
divide and win" The watchword Of the
forces opposed to Tammany must be
Unite and win" Mr.. Moss can make
il possible to bring about that union, or
he can aid Tammany materially. With all
due regard for the value Of his past pub
lie service, 1t cannot be held that his pres
en-: course and his recent extravagant and
i'll founded utterances against Mr.. Perkins
arc ANYTHING but material aid to the Wig
wan.
Mr.. Moss does or he does not want to
aid and serve Tammany. If he does not,
the way TO retain the community's respect
and preserve his record as a consistent
opponent of evil political forces is plain.
If he does, let him merely continue his
minority fight, splitting Tammany's OPP
ponents. And then let him look to Tam
many for his reward,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
President Wilson's Policy.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: The scathing criticism OF President
Wilson's policy in foreign affairs in this
mornings Tribune by Richard Henry Calling
would have been more effective if he had not
shown an anti-German bias Not once in his
letter does he mention the illegal acts Of
England against the United States, which,
hot being sturdily resented by our President.
were no doubt the cause of Germany's strong
submarine campaign.
was pleased to notice his mention of the
sturdy Americanism Of Grover Cleveland,
who issued an ultimatum to Great Britain
and achieved hts purpose without war. As
time goes By the figure Of President Cleve-
land looms ever larger in the gallery Of
American statesmen Contrasted with the
vacilating policy Of the present administra-
ton his was the spirit Of rs.
Mr.. Calling says that we should not have
adopted a neutral policy at the beginning Of
the war on account Of the invasion Of Bel
GUM. There was an instance where Presi-
dent Wilson was absolutely right In spite
Of the clamor the administration gave every
evidence of sound common sense IN not inter
fering with the belligerents on moral
grounds. Nations do not intrude with their
emotional feeling. in such earnest times.
The truth of the matter seems to be that
President Wilson, while intending to be alb
solutely neutral, has drifted into an anti-Ger-
man policy because he did not vigorously
defend American rights when they were
trampled on by England in the beginning Of
the war.
In conclusion, ! believe Mr.. Calling need
have no fear that "his (Wilson's) feeble and
irsidious methods will ruin the stamina Of
this government" There will be recoil
from the methods of this administration that
will show the virility and stamina of the
United States in no uncertain manner, he
may rest assured W. r. OSBORN.
Newark, ~ j., Sept. 81, 1915.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30

ditions affecting such phenomena mega
tive result would have more cogeney' bu'
we DO not know what might prevent the
occurrence Of the effect.
Some spiritists, it may be observed
have made bold guesses az the conditions
A few years ago committee was APP
pointed in England to inquire into the
truth of spirit photography, but all Ell
forts n secure test conditions failed. A
certain ghost who was peculiarly success
full in this field grew very shy when tn"
time of trial came, and nothing could be
got out Of him. But his friend, Archdea-
con Collev. at that time one Of the most
thoroughgoing spiritists in the country
had most satisfactory explanation
ready. The spirit in question, he told the
photographers, had recently made prog
ress in the spheres" and finding himself
out of touch with the connecting link
lacked the power requisite TO impress the
photo plate with psychic writing or spirit
faces
Excuses are easily found for ghostly
whims. and though Dr. Hyslop is not quite
so credulous as the late archdeacon, he
treats them generally with great consid-
GRAFTON and can by no means tolerate the
criticisms of unbelevers. An expert pho
tographer would perhaps be a more use
ful Investigator than the president of the
Society for Psychical Research, but he
would be very apt to object to photogra-
piers for the same reason as was given
by the English spiritists, who evaded an
expert inquiry on the prctext that photog-
raphers were "unacquainted with the IN
tricate science of which spirit photogra-
phy is a small part"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
Spirit Photography.

The American Society for Psychical Re-
search must be badly off for useful mat
ter when it gives over so many pages Of
its proceedings" to photographs Of
ghosts. The only excuse for DR.. Hyslop's
solemnity in reasoning upon these curious
phenomena is the apparent bona tdes Of
the lady who provided them, but it is un-
fortunate that she depended so largely on
the expert services of retired spirit pho
tographer, who, as DR.. Hyslop admits
with great grief, "persistently refused to
permit the kind of experiment necessary
to vindicate him against the suspicion Of
fraud"
For many years spirit photography has
been a popular pastime. It may be said
without offence that spiritists as rule are
more impressed by the results than pho
tographers The truth is that what COM
monty pass as supernatural or superior
NAL effects in the eyes of psychical re-
searchers are very apt TO appear in quite
different light to practised wielders of the
camera. Careless manipulation accounts
easily for some things incomprehensble to
the unframed observer, and deliberate
fraud for many more. Pictures cheerfully
accepted 10y willing believers as evidence Of
a spirit world have often been set aside
as obvious tricks by photographers un-
trained i'm psychic research. Some are
clearly produced by double exposure and
in not a few the supposed apparition is
manifestly a photograph of photograph.
II has happened occasionally that the
spirit photographer was so careless as to
let the grain of the paper show in these
reproductions and in some even the oval
Of the original print is clearly visible.
Such gross slips cannot escape the pho
tographer's eye.
DR.. Hyslop is content to call the things
he has seen unusual phenomena in pho
Biography" He insists that what he lays
before the reader does not imply any
thing assertively or even doubtfully of a
spiritistic nature" The photographer,
however, is apparently quite Satshed OF
the ghostly nature of her work. "Of
course" she writes, "to person like my
self who has had, along other lines, a
great many wonderful psychic experiences
and who is, moreover, quite cairvoyant,
the photographs present no difficulties"
They seem TO present some difficulties
TO the president of the S. P. R.. but he
minimizes the difficulties and is impatient
in advance of the criticisms Of skeptical
Philistines. Thus he visited the photog-
rapher and made forty-two exposures,
taking care that she should not handle
the plates, and as no ghosts appeared in
any of the prints he apprehends that the
of her prints may be re-
garded as questionable. But this is not
true" he says. IF we knew all the con-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-30
THE Best War Poem

.(Fro,n The Manchester Guardian)
Mr.. Robert Service, the Canadian writ
er, who Is at present engaged in Red Cross
work in France, has sent TO the Paris CORE
spondent of an English paper what he de-
scribes as "the best war poem have seen.
The verses, which, Mr. Service says, were
found by French priest on the body OF an
English soldier killed at the Marine, run as
follows:
They say that war is He'll, the great accurs;,
The sin impossible TO be forgiven;
Yet can look upon il at its worst,
And still see blue in Heaven.
For when ! note how nobly natures form
Under the wars red rain, deem II true
That He who made the earthquake and the
storm
Perchance made battles, too.
As a matter OF fact. the lines were written in
time OF profound peace. like most good
war poems, and by man who was an eccle-
siastic, not a soldier. Their author was DR..
Alexander, the late Lord Primate Of Ireland,
and they were first published in THE Times"
some seven or eight years ago.