davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

My sister lived with me on my farm
till 1 was thirty years Old. Then she
died and left me not only lonesome
like, but / had to take keer o. the
house, make the beds, do my own
cookin' and wash the dishes. / was
mighty ignorant about SIGH things.
remember one day the Widow Sparks
passin'. ran down to the road. and
said to her, says 1:
Mrs. Sparks, would you mind teIlin'
me whether it's time to change the
sheets on my bedT'
How long since you changed 'emT r.
Reckon it's about six weeks"
She snickered and said she should
think it was time to change 'em. She
changed the sheets on her bed once a
week.
/ stood on one side O. the fence and
the widow on the other talkin. She
told me a lot o. things about house
keepin' and cookin' and the like o.
that. Then she asked me why / didn't
get a woman to do it all for me. 1 said
l didn't know any woman that would
like to hire out for the purpose She
larfed and said she meant l ought to
have a wife. 1 said I didn't know any
woman that would like to marry me.
Then she went ON like this:
There's half a dozen farmers within
ten mile that have more darters than
they kin use on their farms, and they're
a big expense. l know a lot o. girls
that would make you a fust rate wife,
and any and all Of 'em have been
brought up to do homework and cook
Miss Sparks" says I, would you
mind recommendin' me to one o. them
girls for a husband"
"Why, no." says she. But you don't
want to do it in that way. Come round
to my house Saturday night, and I'll
have girl there to meet you. II you
like her you kin do Job o. courtfn' and
marry her. II you don't like her I'll
try some one else and keep on tryin'
till 1 git one that suits you"
/ told her I'd be around, and she
went on. Saturday night put on a
billed shirt and my store clothes and
went to the widows. She was got up
stunnin' and seemed powerful glad to
see me. But she looked kind o. disap-
pointed like.
I'm mighty sorry, Mr.. Shanks," says
she, but L haven't got a girl for you.
engaged one to come; jist the girl to
suit you, 1 reckon, but at the last min
ute she sent me word her mother was
TUX sick and she couldn't leave her"
"AlI right, Miss Sparks" says L
TRY it ag'in next Saturday night"
was goin away when she axed me
to come in and rest myself. I allowed
I would for few minutes and went
inside. Lord, what difference there was
between her house and minel We went
into the livin' room, and everything
there was spick and span-little white
curtains to the winders, fine rag car
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
CURIOsTTIEs OF PENOLOGY

In a new book by Thomas Mott Os-
borne, the now famous warden of
Sing Sing, shows how greatly an of
tenders career may be affected, under
our present legal system, by trivial
circumstances.
For instance, the difference of one
cent in the cash value of stolen goods
may determine the prisoners future
life Petty larceny is merely a mis-
demeanor, whereas grand larceny
dividing line. Thus the man who
steals $49.99 goes one way, and the
man who steals $50 goes another, the
latter tending to be embittered by the
comparative severity of his punish
ment and driven deeper into crime by
contact with hardened criminals
The author tells of a prisoner who
had stolen some ostrich feathers val
ued by the prosecution at SOS, making
him liable to a penitentiary sentence
His lawyer got the charge changed
from grand larceny to petty larceny
by producing a newspaper showing
that the store from which the goods
were stolen had advertised identical
feathers for $45.
The difference OF a minute in the
time of day, Mr.. Osborne shows. NAV
determine the culprit's fate. Certain
acts which are only misdemeanors
before 6 O'Clock in the evening be
come felonies after that hour. and
change back TO misdemeanors at the
next morning. shrewd burglar in
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
FOREIGN TRADE.

There is food for reflection in the
views of trade after the war advanced
by a German trade expert-Professor
Waiter TroeItsch of Marburg univer-
sity-in a technical periodical pub
lished at Essen, the center of German
steel manufacture, where the krupp
works are situated.
We have heard much fear expressed
in this country in view of the prospect
of German competition in manufac-
lures after the wars end. 1t is inter
esting to see how this possibility ap-
pears from a German standpoint
we shah have to face long period
of diminishing purchasing power"
says Professor Troeltsch, Combine ed
with higher costs OF production, owing
to dearer raw Il erials, and also
higher taxes and :gher wages" Thus
far his conclus IS run with those of
American OPT .sts, who have never
been able to &c how a nation could be
made a EacEe formidable competitor III
the international market by increasing
her debt, sQuandering her capital.
wasting her raw materials and killing
her trained workers in war. He then
adds: This will compel industries to
work in closer combination" This
brings into the question the German
trade cartel"
A cartel" is a trade device which
achieves a kind of combination on the
part of manufacturers and producers
for the sale of their products in the
foreign market which is not permitted
in domestic trade. These potent com
binations gather into one for the pur-
pose Of assault on foreign markets, the
strength of many corporations, and
make possible such things as the dis
DoSal of surplus products to foreign
purchasers al less than the price in the
home market The sale of German
steel plates for ships sides at a lower
price in Amsterdam than they could
be bought for in Hamburg is classic
instance of the power Of the cartel, as
developed in the German empire.
Faced with the certainty of increas-
ed taxes, higher wages and dearer raw
materials, to what does the German
trade expert turn? To the possibility
of combinations of German producers
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
T. Il
7 4 l. X 8
* eYMLLLAr1 BRADY. MO61

faint trace of truth in the statement A
normal individual is better OFF with
cut any artificial support
Cheating a Baby.
Question-Our seven months old
baby is troubled frequently with COLI
stipation. We feed her only one cows
milk reduced half with water Please
advise.
Answer her also fresh meat
broths. well cooked cereals and so.he
finely mashed baked potato. DO not
reduce the milk. Give the baby fresh
orange juice or any other tiesl fruit
Juice every day One COWS milk is in
ferior for a baby to the milk from
herd, as a rule.
Snoring.
QuestiCn-What is the causo o;
snoring IS the sleeper in distress
AnsWeU-Open mouth. relaxed SOFT
Palate fapIing in the wind No, the
sleeper is quite happy. he enjoys the
concert immensely Fit nm with
chin strap 10 keep his mouth shut
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

! they are in any sense mendicantS or
receivers of unearned money.
One objection to the plan which was
put forward by its critics at the start
was that it would inevitably prevent
impecunious colleges from raising sal
aries to a level which would make it
possible to provide for unproductive
old age. The objection was well taken.
Whether it has visibly had that effect
thus far may not be capable of dem
OnstratiOn, but in the long run it is
as sure to come as night is to follow
day. In this world we have to deal
with human nature as it is, not as we
might wish it to be. Outright gifts of
money are not a moral tonic to the
average man, to the college professor
or common labOrer. Even inherited
wealth is probably more often a curse
than a blessing. How many men,
whatever their occupation, would at
tempt to make provision for old age if
they knew that at so or SIS they could
quit work and live on the largess of
another? The average workingman
must manage somehow to provide for
the rainy day or suffer the conse-
quences. The quasi failure of the Car
negie scheme raises the question
whether any one class of salaried or
Wage-earning men can safely be sin
gled out as exceptions to a rule which
thoughtful people are practically
agreed in regarding as memorable. We
require the tramp TO do something for
his hand-out-not so much that we
want his work as to help him main
tain his self-respect and be a man
rather than beggar. The professor
should not be compared to a tramp
and we do not seek to do so. But there
is principle underlying both which
applies as truly to one as to the other
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
RICE DIVISION OF BREAD AND
MILK CLUB.

A new chapter of the Bread and
Milk club is being organized. Vic
tins of eczema, psoriasis, erythema.
hives and pimples are invited to join
the Rice Division.
Members of the Rice Division, like
straight Bread and Milk initiates, eat
too much The Division is just a
scheme to give their metabolism a
little rest That is the reason we
started the Bread and Milk club
to give Old Man Metabolism a
chance to catch his breath and clean
house for a lot of sedentary, over
fed, bilious, autointoxicated, too pros
porous, lazy, near-invalids. And the
Old Man does some miraculous work
for the members.
But Monday is blue day for the
Bread and Milk crowd. The rest of
the week we leave them 10 their own
designs. If you join the Rice Di-
vision you must be prepared to- sac
rifice other days from your string of
pleasures The Rice Division, under
stand, is a higher degree. and only
earnest souls need apply for initiation.
In this chapter it will be a capital
offense for a member TO write in and
apply for a dispensation so that he
may eat a little turkey or pig or cold
ham or johnny cake on rice days
For members of the Rice Division
the regime is as follows: Monday,
Wednesday and Friday of each week
the diet shall consist Of rice, bread
and butter, and water, and nothing
else, three times a day. The rice
shall be well boiled in water, not
soggy, and it shall be taken hot with
a fork, not n spoon, in order to Sc
cure the full action of the saliva
in digestion during mastication. Wa
ter shall be taken freely, but not to
wash down mouthfuls Of food. One
pint of hot water shall be taken be-
fore the morning and evening meals.
And finally. here is an important part
OF the ritual, and no member is de-
sired unless he accepts this rule I'M
reservedly. No rice day shall pass
without some act of kindness or Sc
cret charity where il will do direct
good. We don't believe in charms.
and we believe God placed doctors
in the world TO do all the healing He
wished done. But little act of
genuine-which means secret-char-
ity, does something or other to your
internal secretions that helps you TO
get well; that is why the Rice Divi-
sion requires il.
omission in the rules and regulations
given above. The rice must be un-
polished. 1t would be folly trying TO
appease an outraged Nature with de-
naturiZed offerings.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

western state, discovering that
burglary by daylight was only a sec
ond-degree Offense while burglary by
night was a first-degree offense.
changed his tactics and burglarized
only by day. He was caught over and
over again, but always got off with
short sentences and went back to his
trade, while operators adhering to
their traditional practice were sent up
for long terms.
Such cases afford support for the
modern view that the criminals own
character and tendencies are more i'm
portant than the casual circumstances
OF his misdeeds. and that each offend
er ought to be judged individually, by
experts, with a view to STRENGTHENING
MIN out, rather than condemned to
undiscriminating punishment by bIan-
ket statutes
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Another point that the national
guard will have to meet when this
Mexican crisis is over is that relating
to the social status of the colored reg
iments. The Eighth Illinois, which is
of African descent, did not find the
hospitality in San Antonio saloons to
which it had been accustomed in Chi
cago, and it required a volley or two
from a detachment OF regulars to quiet
the controversy that resulted. Wher-
ever the fault may have been, the cpl
sode is only one of many indicating
that in military policy as in common
respect for the union this nation has
much to learn from Great Britain and
France, in whose armies colored men
meet no determinations at the rear or
at the front
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
Combating Living Cost

Petrograd.-A society for combating
the high cost of living has opened a
numbe of shops for the sale of proyis-
ions to the working population on the
closest possible margin. Eleven of
these shops have already been estab-
llshed. They are located in the vicinity
OF factories which are working for the
national defense. IL is proposed to
open total of so such shops in the
near future. A plan is being studied
by the city duma contemplating the
establishment of municipal dining
rooms iii convenient places throughout
the residence districtA
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

The United States has accepted in
full Mexico's plan of mediation OF the
trouble below the border 1t matters
little to Washington the manner in
which the adjustment is attained, just
so the turmoil will cease. The United
States asks nothing of Mexico but that
she turn her hands to pursuits other
than warfare, which will insure safety
of Americans and natives alike in the
southern republic. BY the new ar
rangement Carranza is given another
opportunity to make good his oft
boosted promises.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Budapest-The government has TAX
en- new steps to solve the gypsy prob
lem which has always been a serious
one in Hungary by ordering the round
ing up of every rowing band in the
kingdom. Men of military age will be
sent into the army, all disable horses
will be conf1scated and the women and
undTafted men put To work No one
knows how many hundreds or thou
sands Of these no=1ads have escaped
military duty up to date. but the num-
ber Is believed to be very large.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
CARNEGIE PENSIONS

Springfield Register: The announce
Carnegie pension foundation, that the
scheme cannot be continued on its
present basis, need surprise no one
who has followed the extraordinary
development of the original undertake
ing 1t was too lavish to last. How
ever hard a professor may have
worked for 80 or 40 years, however
we'll he may have earned the right to a
serene and restful old age, he now
knows that one section of the deep
purse of the canny Scot has a bottom,
and that the bottom is within sight
We may bemOan as we will the fact
that many college professors are I'm
derpaid, but we also know that a con-
siderable number are literally COM
pensated. And we cannot blink the
fact that most men, professors and
others, are so constituted that their
moral fiber is in danger of being weak
ened by a pension system which en-
ables them to retire at the early ap-
proach of old age, when many of them
are capable of doing their best work.
and thereafter to live respectfully on
the bounty of a man who has never
been under the slightest obligation to
them. Some men could endure this
with no deterioration of their man
hood, but to others it must be disas-
trOus. 1t is not necessarily a cause
for public regret that Mr.. Carnegie
finds it necessary, if the plan is to con
tinue, that professors desiring to get
in" on so good a thing should contrib
ute something to the fund during their
productive years. Having done this
they can accept the pension they have
partially paid for without feeling that
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

In 1912 the progressive party was
"a revolt against machine rule and
committed to the principle of self
controlled democracy expressing It's
will through representatives OF the
people" Behold it now IN this year OF
1916 and weep
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Representative Nick Longworth has
promised TO buy all his colleagues on
the ways and means committee new
hats if the republican majority in the
house is less than 100 after March 4,
1917. Business instinct may impel the
Ohio congressman halter to cast his
vote for the democrats.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
THESE CHANGING TIMES.

Just stop and think of it! An Ohio
man is appointed a justice OF the
United States supreme court. The pa
pers of the country, anxious to place
the appointee, to describe him, to
vouch for his fitness, look around for
the most impressive, the most con-
vincing thing they can say. And what
is that? Just this. That John Fl.
Clarke of Cleveland was one of Tom
L. Johnson's associates. What a change
there has been to be sure! There was
time when the press of this country
cIassed Johnson as an anarchist, as an
enemy of the established ORDER" as
an apostate to the capitalistic class, as
a dangerous demagogue. That was
only a few short years ago. Today a
man is appointed a justice of the su-
preme court of this country, is made
a member of the highest tribunal in
the greatest nation in the world and
when men speak of his fitness they
say: HE worked with Tom L. John
SON." And because of that fact men
have confidence in the man about to go
upon the supreme bench. There are
those who sometimes question wheth-
er after all the world really "do
move" who question whether or not
the cause of democracy in making any
real Roadway against the hosts of re-
action. The events of today answer
their questionings. HE worked with
Tom L. Johnson a phrase that once
many men would have considered a
stigma has now become a word of
praise. How close we are to the pi-
oneers of real democracy in this coun-
try, after all!-JOhnstown pa Dem
ocrat.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Rock Island has bad it's first death
from infanti1e paralysis, disease that
has reached epidemical proportions IN
some of the larger eastern cities. Dan
ger of spread of the disease is mini
mixed only through cooperation OF the
public with the health department and
bv the carving out of instructions laid
down by the authorities.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Mexicans entering this country are
now given a gasoline bath to rid them
of vermin If we could only give the
whole Of Mexico bath that would rid
it of political vermin there might ne
some hope. 1t has already been bathed
in blood
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
Daily History Classify ~.

1893 80 William Wllberforcc. EngnSn
philanthropist. died; born LOB
1862 - The Confederate cruiser "a
bama slipped out OF the river Net
sey. England. on her career as
commerce destroyer.
1914 - Russia called ont her army
France mnssed troops on the oe'
man frontier British feet sai'e1
under secret. orders.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
QUESTIONS ANR ANSWERS.
SuspensOries.

Makers OF suspensories
say every man should wear one. espe-
cially in warm weather. Is there any
truth in this?
AnswG Manufa cturers say sore
queer thirgs. If they say every man
needs one, then there would be only q
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

That s81.126,04S profit of the Steel
Trust in 81 days doesn't average quite
a million day, Sundays included but
what could be expected under demo-
cratic free trade -
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Last year they were telling us that
the great guns over in Europe were
making the heavens Sob Ihey might
do a little shooting over here LOT
few davS
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
Rock Island-From River to
River.

It requires a man with real 1maglna-
ton 10 seriously reflect that next WIN
ter might be cold one.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

An official of Armour & Co has oeen
bitten by q strange insect. ferhapS 1t
is the high cost of living pug.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
Hopes and Otherwise.

Mrs. Lane entertained a party, most
ly of relatives, in honor of the Goth
birthday of her mother, Mrs. Eliza
beth Copeland. Many expressed the
hope that the lady might live to reach
the age of one hundred years others
were in the belief that the realization
OF such hope might prove a very
doubtful blessing (Wisl
Banner.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

WIFE of a section foreman saved
the lives of two railroad presidents
in Florida by running a mile and pre-
venting a wreck. Doubtless she will be
recommended as a candidate for
Carnegie hero medal She would be
Insulted if the mortgage on the home
was lifted as a reward for her act
]. NJ C.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
Selected by Tavenner

all sorts of men in whom he had conf
dence. A van was necessary to bring
all the books from the congressional
library that he consulted in the prep
aration of one speech alone.
ultimately a decision is reached. 1t
is his own. 1t may be long and vol
luminous, but it is complete. And II
the premises upon which it is based
are correct, it is fundamentally sound.
1t may take hours to deliver it in the
senate, but the speech is accepted as
something final on the subject. And
because of his thoroughness and hon
esty his opinion is waited on not only
by members of congress, but by the
country as we'll. And, despite the bat
ties he has Waged and the enmities he
has incurred, there is no man in con-
gress who is more generally respected
for his mental integrity and character.
Whether loved or feared, La Toilette
is never despised. He is never ignored.
And he Is not suspected OF dishonesty
or disingenuousness.
"The east has never liked La Fol
lette. 1t has never understood him.
Possibly that is because the east does
not understand the west. But 1t is a
safe assumption that the west never
follows a man for long unless it I'M
derstands him. He must speak their
language; he must think their
thoughts; he must have lived their
daily lives, and understand their prob
LENS And when a man meets these
conditions the west follows him with
an intimate, personal affection that
does not exist between the people and
their representatives in the east"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
CHORDS ND.
Id I S G. O II ID S

OFFICE weather note: Charles
Zeising, the Adonis of The Argus limo
type room, has made only one remark
anent the torrid temperature during
the week. II understand heat relieves
rheumatism" observed Chas., but
that doesn't do me any good, because
haven't yet had a visitation from
that affliction."
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

Rock Island Member Associated Press
Full Leased Wire Report
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

JUDGE Lands has awarded the Mat
tiers mystery baby to Margaret Ryan
whom he held to be its rightful mother
'Smatter, pop?
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

THE Bloomington Three-Eye man
agement has been trying to annex a
pitcher named Irion, for the purpose,
presumably, of increasing the scrappi-
ness of the team.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29

CHICAGOAN answered a court sum-
mons despite that he knew his house
was burning at the time The story
did not relate whether he rescued the
insurance papers before he left the
blazing building, but that is GUS
tomary.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-29
THE ARGUS.

BY THE j. w. POTTER co.