davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun., 1916-01-16

much OF the skating madness is ex-
planned. What must such glow mean
10 the tired business man, glutted as
he is with unclad choruses; to the
society woman. sickened with bridge
and balls; to the blase restaurantite
for whom the grape has lost its
kick?
BY crossing the palm OF a skate boy
with silver I was hurriedly laced into
a set Of giders. A lucky person in
uniform who trod the ice just as easily
as We do the earth essayed to guide
me over the slippery surface. Mercy,
how ones ankles wabble. was car
ricd back to those days In Ohio when
the gang used to sneak down to the
quarry after school and play hockey
on the ice. The quarry was taboo In
the homes, there being a popular be-
lief to the effect that the quarry lake
was bottomless. a shivery sort Of "A
story that lent the real thrill to the
sport.
Three -fourths OF the skaters there
must have been carrying around with
them visions Of the old pond or the
canal or the little stream down by the
factory or the lake over near the
woods.
All the world and his wife were on
skates. Young girls of "a crossed
hands with young girls Of 40. Grand
mothers giggled and shook their
shoulders and otherwise conducted
themselves in debutante manner.
Grandfathers tried to look serious and
ended in a foolish smile. their feet
shooting right ou; from under them.
Slim folks and fat folks. tall folks and
shor; folks. grave and gay. blonde and
brunette. weak and strong. careful and
careless, rich and poor. all mingled In
one great big fun frolic.
Here We have an ambitious follower
OF the fads She Is built on the same
general lines as the battleship Texas,
but a little thing like this can't stop
one once the skating bee gets to hilZ-
The sun., 1916-01-16

Marion for wearing a Blaine campaign
hat.
There was another paper in the
town, little old smeary looking sheet,
three columns wide. and read by no.
body-not even by the proofreader II
was published simply because the
owner was an optim!st and thought
perhaps 1t might be n better paper at
some time in the future.
Warren Harding and two others
bought this paper, putting in 5000 or
so apiece and assuming mortgage
for the rest After few weeks Hard
inS's partners grew tired Of their pub
fishing activities and earnestly de-
sired To give up their part OF the strug-
gle. one at n time they sold out
which consisted simply OF turning
their share OF the mortgage over to
Harding.
lie. too. wished that he might sell
out, but the trouble was that he had
no partners left TO sell o,N To. So
he had to keep on getting out the
paper, with the result that to-day
1t IS one Of the most prosperous small
town dailics in the Middle West and
Yields an income which enables him 10
keep hired help and to carry two extra
castings, II need he. on his running
board,
For number of years Harding had
been hankering To occupy some politi-
ga. place OF honor and trust. His
election to the United States Senate
gave him the biggest thrill Of his
career-w!th one exception. For the
exception We are Obliged 10 20 back To
the days when he played the cornct IN
the Marion hand
Theie was to no a big celebration
over at Findlay and the leading fca-
ture was to he q big band contest, in
which bands from all over Onto would
compete for cash prizes. Now Warren
Harding had an idea that Marion had
the best little band of any small town
in the State. He took 1t on himself
Ia enter the band in the contest at
Findlay
To his dIsnlay he learned that no
band could take part except IN regular
hand uniform. The Marion band sim
ply mad to have uniforms. though no
member had enough ready money tn
buy even hat for the drum major
So Warren Harding went to leading
citizen of Marion and asked for loan
of $3.50 for band uniforms
IN pay you back within Q week."
promised Warren.
The sun., 1916-01-16

zing around. Two hundred and ninety
seven pounds avoirdupois? Piff, pouff
What's that? a mere trinc. Besides.
they say it IL great for reducing, this
skating.
Why the Texas built person should
annex for herself the smallest, the
Of such eminent authority as Mr.. Jess
Willard the most helpless instructor
employed in the interest Of skating is
something to be explained only by the
perversity of human nature or the
whirr Of the wheel of chance.
Anyhow, there they were. Texas and
Tiny--the eager apostle of the new
pleasure creed and its unhappy VIC
tim. by all the laws of humanity II
was n plain case for the 3. j. c. A..
Every other minute the floor would
skid out from under the feet of Texas,
whcreupon Tiny would be called upon
to constitute himself an Atlas and Jug
gle 297 pounds of bulk back to posc
perspiratlon dripbcd from his pale
brow. Never before in the history
Of modern labor has so much work
leen done for the miscrly wage Of
10 cents per half hour
At last the gong. The agony s
ended. Tiny falls limp and lifeless
onto a friendly ledge. whence he
is half led. half carried by a couple
OF plying confreres. Texas liinps
blithely toward tho skate boy. The
back OF her legs are about two inches
shorter than the front and her knees
act like those OF n teetotaller after
his second bottle OF Scotch. but she is
game.
"1'll he back tomorrow" she puffs.
Tomorrow. Ye gods and goat get
ters. Bring on the next victim.
Anent the 10 cents per half hour,
there was one uniformed exploiter OF
the sport whizzing around with a
swirl OF black velvet. white fox and
eyes the cn.ur of wood violcts. Here
The sun., 1916-01-16

every day. Come in some day next
week We may have them then"
Not until that moment did ] know
just how much ] wanted to skate. IT
was outrageous: in fact. Il was simply
ridiculous that in big city like New
York one could not be fitted with a
pair of skates. Why ] had to skate.
Life would he one long weary drag Of
disappointment until did skate. And
there were fully a hundred others clam
oring around me in the same condition.
Many of them ! met afterward leap
ing from shop to shop, trying to prove
that what the young man spoke was
an cxagscration of the truth. and
growing more discouraged with every
leap. ! expect to meet them all in a
week back at the same old stand, still
C,amoring.
Not No. o skate to he had in the
city OF New York
The sun., 1916-01-16

back home on. the old pond the boya
used to build "a fire on the bank 50
you could warm your fingers and toes
when they were so cold you couldn't
feel them any more?
Well, the Biltmore is nothing like
this. You skate a while. then You
stroll behind the French windows. still
skated. wade through the soft pile
OF the velvet carpets. and seated COM
fortably over "A tea table. nibblc dainty
sandwiches or sip orange pekoc.
Skating is more popular every day."
declared the charge d'affairrs of the
Ice Gardens Society is absolutely
devoted to the sport. We might az
well print the social register as q
list Of our skating guests"
a young girl who must have been
the l'avlOwa OF the Ice. "a vision in
white broadcloth trimmed with bright
rose and white checks. began balleting
across the garden. Society stood back.
gasped. Rushed and poured more
orange pekoe. Small wonder Il is q
popular sport. Here is all the fun Of
II without any of the unpleasantrics,
The sun., 1916-01-16

frostbites. ice water baths and such
like.
At the Ice Palace. n part of Castles
in the Air, there was enough warmth
in the mere mention of skating to
melt the ice right off the stage.
"1t was one grand idea, the skate.
enthused Monsieur Pierre. We ar"
hesieged. We do not know where (,
get enough instructors. II We had .
dozen, tUo dozen times the space Il
would be too little. Ah---what fne
sport for your tired business man"
So the poor. long suffering, tired
business man is in 70" another battle.
is he? And just when he has reached
the point where, he can get UP and do
a foXtrot without manning a lot OF
innocent dancers too. This Is really
too much. After spending all his
spare money to induce some bobbed
haired mink To help him solve the
riddle OF keeping his feet on the floor
he has TO go and put them in a pair
OF skates and begin all over again.
Suppose he does master this? Their.
will only he a new one waiting for
him NJ the end Of the trail, Aw-
what's the use?
The sun., 1916-01-16

men,, please, this scene:
Tho town hand is marching down
the main street OF Marion, Ohio. past
the Court House, playing stirring
piece The curb is lined with villagers
peasants and innocent hystanders
We'll up toward tho head of the pro-
ccssion is young Warren G.. Harding
scarcely II years or age, hut playing
nevertheless, the cornot. His cheeks
are flushed. his mouth Is needlcssly
puckercd. and his eyes glisten beetle
like under the strain
\ bystander turns 10 still another
bystandcr and cxclaims:
That young Harding can play a
| cornet, by j!mminy about as good as
anybody III bet you he'll soon bc
good enough to travel"
To suggest that a fellow townsman II
Is destined 10 travel is about as high
a compliment as one can bestow in n
town the sz" Of Marion. Ohio, was
then. II meant that Warren posse ssed
a degree of musical skill which would
make HIM sought after to go forth ana
appear before critical and cultured au-
dienCes in the big cities of tho country.
AS a matter Of fact, Warren's am
hitiona d.d not go that far-not vet.
He simply wanted Ia play the slip
horn or slide trombone, and then to
master the tuba. r. march down the
main street playing the ponderous
tuba would be. 50 Warren felt, not TO
have lived in vain.
|. That was all the glory he yearned
for. The idea of II seat in the United
states Senate did not even occur to
him. That came years later And
with all due respect few II any Of the
folks in Marion, ohio thought of him
as n future I'nitci States Senator,
Yet to-day Warren G Harding,
junior senator from Ohio. COMES
nearer looking the part than almost
any other member of that well known
and august bod, lie is tail large and
important looking. His face IL one Of
sapicncc. gravity ana authenticity. IL
H. cleanly Chiscllcd and unmarried by
whiskerS on Other blcmishes. Close
cropped hair, prcmaturely gray and
parted in the middle or thereabouts.
completes the scheme
Harding took early to politics Many
years ago he was fired from job as
reporter on . Democratic paper In
The sun., 1916-01-16

OTIS classification as matches, liquor
and cameras. The law at Carney
Point is the du Pout police. 1t must
he said. however. that their rule Is fair
considering that they have nothing
else to do but 10 protect the property
of their employers aud the lives of
iS. 200 men.
Whether you go by ferry from Will
mlngton or by train from Camden
there is one Of the du Pont police
scanning you on your arrival AZ Car
ney's Point. And no one knows how
many OF the bystanders are du Pont
secret service men who are watch
lrg you Some 800 jitneys licensed
during the present year convey the
men who do not live at the camp
out to the works, More than hun
drcd jitreys meet every one Of the
trains that arrive at Carney's Point
during the night or day.
The settlement is practically divided
into three plants and two camps. Both
the camps and the plants, which cX-
tend over several square miles, are
enclosed by a high wire fence. and
always on patrol is the inevitable
guard. BY night bright searchlghts
illumine the road, the works and the
camps. The lighting system is sep
arate from the plant that lights the
highways and Is controlled within the
works. so there IL little chance for an
accident" to happen al night to the
lights.
There are two camps. one for the
foreigners and ono for the Americans.
The foreign laborers. mostly Italians,
have several large barracks. Their
cots are good and there IL plenty II
covering. They hire their own cooks.
There are about two thousand Of them,
Aside from small fights. which the
guards soon quell. there is little dis
turbance.
The Americans, exclusive Of the en-
gineering force, occupy another largo
enclosure. They have small rooms In
which four men have hunks. The food
Is good and Ia prepared by col
ored cooks and served by colored walt
The sun., 1916-01-16

was a man who really enjoyed his
job. Gladly would he have instructed
such "a pupil the entire afternoon for
nothing.
wouldn't you know TT" murnmired
Il pretty girl with cheeks dabbed scar
let by the cold. "All made up for the
part and can't play It,"
She indicated we'll nourishcd
woman hobbling along on the arm of
an instructor. The beginner wore all
the trappings OF the sport, from
natty orange and white knitted cap
with sweater to match right on down
to a pair of white kid skating boots
equipped with racing skates.
Always be suspicious when you see
them all dolled up in skating costumes
The sun., 1916-01-16

like that" continued the girl. but
preparatory to getting of. Mine times
out OF nine they are In 1t not for the
sport but for the clothes
Saying which she struck out in long
graceful sweeps.
Past tho orange sweater she few.
In and out among young men. middle
aged men. men with anow on their
temples. around women Of every size
and condition. side by side with kiddies.
and then. with one perfect parabola,
she cut on the further end OF the ice
roped in for the fancy skaters who.
by right Of conquest, ciassed by them
selves.
The band struck up. The fun grew
more furious. On with the skates.
The one who can stand along the side
lines. who can go on being a railbird
withou. tingling OF the feet. must
be as cold az the glittering sheet of
, ice that looks so easy TO negotiate and
proves 40 difficult.
Downstairs the manager Of 81. Nick
told me he was preparing FOR fashion
show OF summer skating costumes. II
seems the ice craze Is TO he carried
right on into June. perhaps even fur
ther.
How perfectly sweet-a white or
candle frock f,owered in lavender en-
hanced ny big fioppy leghorn garden
Rat bearing bunches Of lilacs. or per-
haps a pale pink muslin with lace In
scrtions Could anything he more in
congruous for ice wear. OR could such
a notion he conceived anywhere eN-
cept in the pleasure mad metropolis
will II last" repeated this same
manager. packing away bills in bales
and securing them with rubber bands.
"Of course It will. Skating Is a good
The sun., 1916-01-16
$500 TO $4,000 IN A YEAR is
RECORD OF CARNEY'S POINT

, ers. About five hundred can eat at
one time in the hig dining room, and
meals are served at all times TO ac-
commoiatc the dfferent shifts. Four
dollars and n half pays for sleeping
quarters and twenty-one meals a
week.
Separate quarters are occupied hv
! the men of the engineering depart
, mont, They pay 81 week
There is - separate building, called
! the stag" where they eat, a club
, room with "A piano and phonograph
| is provided for their use. There are
hot and cold water baths. All the
rooms have steam heat and electric
lights. And all for 81 week.
There are no saloons at Carney's
Point The nearest saloon Is six miles
away. Liquor and powder do not
mix and no employee who has been
drinking is allowed to enter the works
The penalty for carrying matches and
drinking is the same suspension for
two weeks and dismissal upon tho
second offence. Most of the land near
the works is owned by the du Pont
interests, so there is little likelihood
of any saloon being established close
ut hand.
The first building erected at Car
ncy's Point, with the exception OF the
works and barracks, was "A moving
picture theatre. The theatre is leased
to man who runs it continuously
The men Quit work at 3 in the af-
ternoon, II ut night and i'm the
Morning Sp the thpnt re must hp rpaly
The sun., 1916-01-16

Tp 'arncys Point IN Salem
county. y. j.. belongs the dis
i tMction of having made the
most remarkable growth in
population of any place in America
olI1- ,u" present year.
l"3 "iIl no disappointed Il YOU look
70 'd"Cys Point on any map nr in
Tue ticf, Biographies. Its location
'' n"t gwen. Guide books fa.l to ind
Cat" ,'- existence. and as II matter of
id'i there are few outside Of the 30
oo" '1at settled there during tho pres
''' year who know that it forms a
Smt. triangular piece Of lowland pro-
N.'fS ..to tho Delaware River al
most OPPOSITE tho city of Wilmington.
year ago IL was farm land. and with
.. rHi.Is of five miles the inhabitants
o. ''' N'w Jersey shore only mum
t''"I about 800.
icHplc of Wilmington like to refer
10 'arncA'g Point as the Essen #
N'N J'rs'S.' and by that name II IL
t"A' A''ai,N known by those who are
zanzibar " h the work that IL being
u'ho there. For on this little point OF
90 N'HAl' b'AH'N '''''N
MHi ti.uEs Of war are turned out every
udN 'H'u anywhere else in the United
states, Last February the Il. !. du
roht dc Nemours Powder Company
rad small plant at Carney's Point In
winch $50 men were employed in the
mdhnfhcture Of smokeless powder II
y stated that now there are more than
lS'oo men employed there and that
."' result Of their labors IL the manu-
,"'''Iro # $4,000 pounds OF smoke
'HS = WIDER every day.
no number Of freight cars running
'Nl'F int" 'he plant with supplies and
o"' "Sau with powder averages about
"'" hundred The bi-weekly payroll
'N""ds 100000 and tho company is
putting up new buildings all the time
'"' Nthng points to AT least two more
sc"tS OF activity at Carneys Point. 1t
i 1''dTrd that the work on the pres
.n' contracts cannot be finished before
"e end OF tho summer OF 1917.
according tn the du Pont code vsi-
'o's are regarded in the same danger
The sun., 1916-01-16

Who started this skating epidemic.
anyhow . You don't suppose the skate
manufacturers had anything to do
with il. do you?
"Iod can search me" offered Mr..
Fellows of st Nicholas Ice Rink when
the question If origin was put 10 him.
From above floated family the roar OF
the sliding mohs. m,Ggled with snatches
Of band music. al, know is that the
public has suddenly gone mad on the
subject. Why, I've had To- raise my
prices tw.ce to thin tho crowds. They
were actually skating in lockstep. Go
mp and try it yourself and see
Right away there was a glow OF en-
trus.asm. If all skaters experience
thi, glow ard OF course they do
The sun., 1916-01-16

In time a weary eyed young man
with a damp brow and forced air
q! alacr.iy came 10 my rescue.
"a pair OF shoes with skates at
thched." | said.
The obliglng ore ;ook a hasty !nven-
tory Of my feet.
Sorry 10 disappoimt YOU, madame.
but you wear No. ? skate. We are
out OF that number"
You are" surprised like oh
then shall go TO Jones x Smith"
They have been out of that numbc'
since before Chpstmls."
Perhaps White & -"
They are out too. In fact. there is
not pair Of No 9's to 10 found in tho
city. We're hoping for shipment
The sun., 1916-01-16
Though fearful Women Cry for
Them, None Are to Be Had-..
Dealers Offer No Hope

out. Booked solid for the season
1916"
When I realized 1t was either a case
OF glide or he left hopelessly behind
the procession I peeled on two Of the
bills Santa Claus had left for my
Christmas. tucked them away in a
corner OF my purse. and with spring.
ing step as becomes prospective
skater Jared forth in search Of skates.
Justly famous Fifth avenue sports
shop was the first stop. fought my
way past the entrance and crushed
into ~ seat.
The sun., 1916-01-16
~, JA>E bINoN.

ve~rn w" stride along, slide along,
81 he along.
Nerrin We limp along, DER the cold gray
RRY' Hurry, Get your gill
RI dors We're going for spin.
what? You don't skate. |
hope You are not trying to bc
er,rntrlc. my dear Then, besides
you must he so lonesome. Not to
.,,a'o .e Sew York this winter * being
The sun., 1916-01-16
Prevalent Epidemic of Ice Madness
Blamed for Shortage in This
Necessary of Life

clean sport. 1t is better than dancing.
which Is too often a matter Of low
ceilings. shaded lights. air clogged
with smoke and heat. Skating sur
rounds Itself with a healthy atmos-
phere. 1t is bully good exercise. 1t
sets the blood and the brain racing.
II New York had to have something
new. 1t couldn't have hit on happier
thought than skating"
The sun., 1916-01-16

81. I.ouls, Jan. 1.-THE h"m" ~ trch
!. Herman of BcllcN.llc was en'erelt
recently. hut was not robbed The burg
lar. however. took a bath and then slc' =
in the Herman bed. Tho water he u.,sd
was In the bath tub when Mr., and NJ f..
Herman returned home
The sun., 1916-01-16
STATESMEN CONSIDERED
AS MERE HUMAN BEINGS

And how can you raise the money
so soon?" asked the leading citizen
"Oh, sir" replied the future Senator
in a declamatory tone. with the
money we get as prize in the contest
over az Findlay,'
The leading citizen could not resist
such confidence of victory and put NJ
the money.
When the contest was over the
members OF the Marion band returned
home rather than stay 10 hear the
news that they were defeated all cN-
cept Warren Harding. His belief that
they would take first prize remained
unshaken. And sure enough, his band
got the decision. There being no other
members present. he and his trusty
little old Cornet marched past the
Judges stand all alone amid the plau-
dts Of an admiring multitude
DO YOU wonder that taking a seat In
the rn.ted States Senate sinks to sec
ond place in momentousness alongside
OF that? ---
a concern that manufactures rubber
heels employed Young woman re-
Gently to make a poll of prominent
men in Washington as 10 their views
about the physical and spiritual profit
to he derived from wearing rubber
heels. The Young woman called a
number Of statesmen hy telephone,
among them Senator Stone Of Mis-
souri, stones secretary happened to
be out Of the Office and he himself AN
swcred ihe call,
Does senator Stone favor rubber
heels" inquired the woman, thinking
she was addressing tho secretary.
Now, Senator stone has been known
throughout Missouri and elsewhere,
for many years as Gum Shoe Bill. lie
lcaped to the conclusion that some
fresh young woman was needlessly un-
dertaking 10 twit him.
So hc said never n word hat slammed
up the receiver.
Senators O'Gorman az New York
and Phclan Of California look more
alike than almost any other pair of
Senatorial doubles ever placed before
the public, They are OF about tho same
height "A lrInc below the average
each has u n.,c little set o. close
cropped whiskcrs each is suave,
plump. silk halted. digniiied ana able.
just because they look so much alike
and so cunnln' together. o'Gornan and
Phelan are to he seen in each others
company a great deal.
O'Gorman has large family, Phe-
The sun., 1916-01-16

The following the remarkable Point
N j. especially timely
OF the that the Du Pont powder works there last Sau
day the fatal explosions
occurred Two killed.
The sun., 1916-01-16

Ian has none. Phelan IL a bachelor,
but Ia also philanthropist. and
spends almost as much money az II hu
were married, Nobody knows how.
many millions he is worth. Tf ho
wished 10 he could put in tho long win
ter evenings doing nothing hut lust
counting his money.
Senator John W. Kern % Indian.
has an assistant. one Jerry Foley. for
years Democratic worker in Indiar
apols politics. AS far back as Foley
family tree can he traced his fNlks
have all been Democrats. Anythinp
one may cay rejecting in tho sll-htcs'
degree upon the Democratic party *
REGARDED by Foley as a persona, ~
front.
on his way 20 India napols a whiN
ago Foley sat In Pullman SMOKING
compartment listening To the ctsarr-
vations of n sad eyed stranger who
complained that his business was dui'
Foley did not wish to mp into tNo
conversation, hut the stranger tnlket
as " the Democratic Administration
was responsible for his business trou.
hles, and. moreover, hc kept g'ar.nr
AT Foley no il hc were the proNimato
cause OF everything thai wa Hwry.
So in casual polite tone Foley .r-
ou.rod Of the stranger N'a' his l.uo
Of business might he.
I'm IN the undertaking Np.,Tcts.
replied tho man
A. that Foley dared rishr Ur.
you've got a lot ~ li'ons' 10 K, *
ahou, poor business ar-!.l To.cy
The sun., 1916-01-16
ny FRED E.. KELLY,

oOk first AT the United States
Senate. and then. for purposes
OF contrast, picture for one mo-
ment ulonSr this scene.