davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
RAINBOW CLUB
FARMER SMITHS
DO BIRDS EAT PRETZELS?

Dearest ChidrenIt would wonderful thing chidren
editor who knew everything frankly confessed that knew little
about BIRDS but that willing learn and want write and tell
what YOU know about birds have been learning
decided that would bread outside window
Mrs Samuel Sparrow who building bungalow the opposite
AS
loaf of bread fruit bought This
deposited danly the outside
a few days and the birds did
worried greatly think that Mr. and Mrs Sparrow did not like
provided thought
washing the windows their
tiny which of birds
had begun think that there be something the
catching birds their tails
afraid Of the salt pe
busy the when it knowingly
the rain to soften it for them.
sometimes wonder why heads
brains the the birds and animals and fishes
OF do know
down and worrying where the and tgs
the bungalow, but have human beings
them than the building of her
Tell about the birds and shall
SMITH,
Chidrens Editor
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

about the Rainbow that the other morning
when she woke up and saw the rain she
said, Il wish Farmer Smith would come
and put Rainbows on the birds heads and
keep them dry"
Margaret Harper. of American street.
is going to form a branch club Jean
Fulner, North 7th street please accept our
thanks for that pretty snapshot. Watch
for II In the p, o. Box Many thanks to
Cyril Morgan for his Kind offer of as
sistance There are no dues connected
with the club. Alice Weed. South 6sth
street, has been ILL., We sincerely hope she
is we'll now and able TO welcome In the
April showers
Out-of-town mail comes from Bessie
Griffith. Chester, Pa; Marie Blatz, VIII
mington; Doris Barber, Swarthmore I:
Robert Lewis, Wilmington F. j. ConoVer
Brldgeboro, N. j.. ]. Kozmlerczak, Mount
Carmel Pa; John Doyle and Robert
Agrest, South Bethlehem John Potochny,
McAdoo, Pa, and last but not least IL
lovely drawings from John Ritter Haines-
port, N. ].
Very sweet thank you's" come from
Margaret DeYine SAMSON street; Ed
ward Foreman, Jackson street. Eugene
Celtic, Columbia avenue; Donald Burt,
Logan; Emil Weller, North 18th street
Cecilia Esther Turnon, North 9th street
Gertrude Altzman. William Treichel,
West Tioga street; Morton Winheld,
North 4th street Elmer Dillmore, Wheeler
street; William Greenfield, Emily street )
c. Sumner Davis, South 6sth street. ana
g. Milton Werrin. Poplar street
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
FARMER SMITHS GOAT BOOK

Our good friend, Billy Bumpus, the
Goat, had just started to eat the cork
out of bottle and was enjoying It very
much when his teeth struck something
which made the sparks fly and almost set
his beautiful whiskers on fire.
My lhe exclaimed II thought l
could eat anything, but find I can't eat
fire" 1t was the bottle he had hit with
his teeth, and so he went off chewing the
piece of cork which ~as left in his mouth.
II must be careful" he unused.
After while he came to grassy plot
and started eating the tender blades.
This seems tame, after eating that nice
cork and almost setting myself on fire."
Just then he heard a scratchy voice, and.
looking down, he saw himself plainly as
If he had been looking in a mirror.
"AII! he exclaimed. Here is n nice tin
can. / wonder II can eat that?"
You can" said the scratchy voice.
'If | can, you can" replied Billy.
How clever you are I" continued the
fellow with the horns. IT begin to like
you for can see myself in you"
We can see ourselves In others-some-
times" replied the Can.
Let me look again, for want to see
II l burned my whiskers." said Billy.
you can" replied the other fellow
1T seems to me there are a lot of
cans here"
Yes" began the Tin Can. "You can
think of lot of cans, and If you can't. /
can, for I'm a can"
Now, look here, I want to leave here,
for have had an exciting day"
You can" exclaimed the Tin Can.
That will do for YOU" said Billy.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
CHAPTER xIv-Contlnued

cd LACK artw calculated Agent w. u.
ID I'm simply iabbergasted," voiced
Andrews.
BAH Nothing marvellous" spoke up
Binns, the code expert, in his thin, piping
voice. ''Those newcomer characters were
written in sympathetic ink. The heat of
the fireplace brought them into view
Lucky thing we got the whole message
before we started to decipher It. writing
done in chlorides of cobalt and nickel de-
velop color on heating. and fade as the
paper cools. Take this writing out of
doors and the new characters will dis.
appear"
However was It done?" asked Monte.
Although the characters, both new and
old in the cross are distorted as to shape,
they were made upon an ordinary type.
writer" shrilled Binns. "Of this 1 am
certain. You have all heard of n two.
color ribbon in an ordinary typewriter,
Now suppose half of such a ribbon was
soaked in an equal part solution of copper
and sal-ammoniac. All that the operator
had to do was to turn the knob of the
ribbon position indicator to the invisible
ink section of the indicator stand, at the
end of each line, and thus produce one
visible and one invisible line until he had
completed tho cross"
but these characters look more like
fly tracks than letters" insisted Monte.
BE PATIENT I can explain all that"
croaSed the code reader. IF you gentle-
men will please como~closer, and L am
given small looking glass we will get
somewhere"
Monte left the room and he returned
almost Immediately with a hand mirror
purloined from his dresser. He gave It
to Binns.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
DOUBLE WEDDING ON WAGER
Brother of One Fiance Wins Bet He
Wouldn't Marry

A double wedding, the result of wager,
was performed at the Tabernacle Lutheran
Church, 59th and Spruce streets. and the
four, Mr., and Mrs. James II. Morrow and
Mr.. and Mrs. George j. Eppleman, are
on their honeymoon today. Mrs. Morrow
was Emma Mae Eppleman, of Woodcrest,
N. ]. Mrs. Eppleman was Lucy v.
Moulder, of 6O2s Spruce street.
After Miss Eppleman announced her en-
gagement to Mr. Morrow. of Oak Lane,
Mr.. Morrow bet good-sized sum that his
hances brother, who was already en-
gagged to Miss Moulder, would not take
part in double wedding. Eppleman Rc-
cepted, and the wager was paid after the
ceremony on Saturday. The bridal pairs
will return after May 1 to a twin apart
ment at 239 South Hirst street.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
STATE OPENS LABOR BUREAU
FOR WOMEN; JOBS PLENTIFUL
Signs in Clubs and Lunch Rooms
Offer Positions

Signs Offering to help unemployed girls
to obtain positions appeared today In
girls clubs, settlement houses, lunch
rooms and other centres as part Of the
plan of the State Department OF Labor
and Industry for a free employment
bureau for women. The bureau has a sepa
rate department which Is in touch with
employers throughout the city and will
give special attention to those who apply,
according to the announcement on the
posters. 1t offers to find positions for
girls in mills and factories and as cooks,
companions. dressmalters and waitresses
Girls who know how TO sew are in de.
mand, according to Miss Eleanor Baker,
acting superintendent of the woman'a de
partment of the bureau. Many branches
of the clothing trade and milliners and
dressmakers are in need of girls with this
knowledge, Miss Baker said
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
RARE PAINTINGS SHOW
EARLY HISTORY OF U. S.
Exhibit Placed in Congress Hall
Today Will Be on View
Until June 20
Illustration. on pictorial pars.


Fifty canvases depicting in seduential
order the history OF the British Colonies
OF North America, and their successor
the United States, were placed on FREQ ex-
hibitlon today in Congress Hall, 6th and
Chestnut streets, to remain until June 90
They represent more than 20 years work
by j. l., @. Ferris a Philadelphia artist
of North 50th street, who began this
unique and interesting task in the
early 90s
The canvases illustrate HIawstha's
Wedding Journey and Minnehaha after
incidents in Longfellow's poems, Hendrick
Hudson, the Abduction of Pocohontas the
First Thanksgiving in Plymouth, the Fall
OF New Amsterdam when Stuyvesant
capltulated to tho English commander.
Colonel Richard Nicolls, the landing Of
Penn the building of Independence Hall
with n portrait of Andrew Hamilton, its
architect Frankllns Bookshop several In
cidents of the Revolutionary War and
many incidents hitherto unpalnted in the
life Of George Washington before, during
and after the time he was President of the
United States.
The flnal series tells intimately and real
istically the story OF Abraham Lincoln
from his experiences as a rail splitter to
one Of his last official acts in pardoning a
rebel who had taken the oath Of allegiance
to the United States.
The artist who is a pupil OF Gerome.
the French master, has gone 10 infinite
trouble and expense in giving an authefrs
tic detail of costume and accessories, even
to making models of carriages and We
hicles used between 1870 and 1928. some
Of which he constructed with his own
hands.
The collection was placed on exhibition
under the auspices Of the city Of Phil
adelphla.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

ESLleF myiuhn mas
a pretty conception about the Rainbow
button-she says the darker colors re-
minding me of the deeds 1 shouldn't
have done, make me resolve TO do better
The lighter eolors remind me of the good
deeds l have done and make me resolve
to do more"
Two little Roxborough Rainbows spoke
I'm this mornings mail One was Ruth
Weiss, Martin street. She imaglnes We
are a kind old gentleman who would
falI in the Wissahickon IL we went very
near the edge (Ruth lives near the
edge). The other was Ethel Hammes,
who has organized a branch club. The
meetings are to be held every two weeks,
and the first official request is-guess
what That your Farmer shall put his
picture IN the paper.
Three little girls. Malvina. Louise and
Adelaide HolcOmbe. Of Cynwyd, have a
beautiful maltese cat Malvina asks what
our dues are. Again we repeat, "a little
bit OF kindness each and every day"
Allan and Evelyn Jarrett, of River ave-
nue.. Camden, took the club pledge before
their mother and father. Little Evelyn,
who Is just 5 years old, heard 50 much
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

Hochmelster-Sigvay ruled his subjects
from throne built upon mystery and
cash for services rendered.
There is no system Of cipher which
cannot be read with little skill and pa
tience, latent analytic ability called into
action" shrilled the code expert, focusing
attention again upon the cryptic cross.
"It is concentrated mental fishing for
loose ends First off, let US take stock Of
the 23 rows Of characters before us which
hold fast the message we arc after. Count
them there are exactly $50 characters,
Of which $50 have the form of letters and
20 appear as numbers. Let us assume
that each letter character represents a
real letter. As for the numbers, their ver-
tical position in the cross indicates that
the whole cryptogram is written longitude
nally, either top to bottom or bottom to
top"
He set the numbers down horizontally,
and asked his auditors IL they suggested
anything in their new position There
were two rows:
Upwards-7753 775sss
77S6624333.
wnwards-3334266s7 'sss577
S577.
TRY hard and see IL one or two or more
numbers put together gives any hint to
you gentlemen" said Blnns. Through
these numbers 1 aim to get the direction
of the word travel in the cross"
"The repetition of a, a combination of
two numbers in three different places,
might mean that n stands for a unit of
some Sort" ventured Monte.
"That applies with equal force to the
combination 53 in the upper row and 80
in the lower row, which each appear in
two places" assented Craig Andrews, the
lawyer "I would say that the figures
might safely he considered in couples.
But which way. upwards or downwards7"
Agent w had been nervously finger
ing through the pages of q tiny morocco
bound pocket memorandum book. He
started violently, and holding the thumb
of his right hand as a marker on n close
ly written page in tho book, voiced a dis
lJy ry in three different keys:
"Oh! Oh! Oh"
"spealSH exclaimed Andrews Don't
keep us in suspense"
why not say that the particular unit
each couple of numbers represents is n
flesh and blood person?" said the secret
service man.
He ignored the upper row of numbers,
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
Fire in Old School

For nearly so years a landmark in West
philadelphia, the Belmont Grammar
school. at 4tst and Brown streets, was
damaged by fire early yesterday, causing
a. loss of thousands Of dollars. The entire
upper floor was destroyed. This will place
nearly 1000 pupils on half-time today
The cause of the fire iB unknown. II
was discovered by two policemen, who saw
the flames through the windows, The fre-
men had considerable difficulty getting
their hose into the building because of
the iron gates and fences that surrounded
the structure.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

but quickly rewrote the lower row, pune
tuatIng It as followsi
Downwards. SO. 81. 20. ss. IT .
6S, 85, II 80, II.
Agent W. went on: recall that
night we pounced upon poor Lumley in
the Exchange Building2 He surprised
us by saying he had expected US; said,
How do I know +? Well. less than an
hour ago yonder telephone rang. It was
a mans voice. He gave his number 6s
They all have numbers" See, I have
his very words down in my book. Now
look at the cross again and read the fig
ures downward; 6s appears twice. AS
6s is one man, then it is quite safe to
say s3, 81. 26, II and SO are also indlvid-
ual members OF the slgvay gang. Six
subscoundrels. Eureka !"
Exolamations of astonishment escaped
both Andrews and Monte. The young
multimiIlionaire said:
Cheap at s5000i dirt cheap"
Binns, who made It his business to
solve penmanship puzzles and read ana
grams, was not interested at all In the
pursuit of criminals He showed his an
noyance by letting off several short,
wheezy whistles. He muttered something
about putting the cart before the horse.
His Job was TO drop the banning tumblers
OF the whole cryptogram and break down
the entire combination in the cross.
Time enough later for the scent
finders he piped. "At present the i'm
portance of ss rather than SO is that
once we have found the key letter and
transformed the $50 character letters
into plain letters, we now know that they
are to be read downward instead OF up
ward"
What !" said Andrews. do you hope
to ana the key to this cipher tonight?"
Certainly Give me a few moments,
gentlemen. until 1 take stock OF these
letter characters" /" said the deeoder. Very
simple Very simple :"
The three men watched him as his bulg-
ing eyes blinked. and stared while his
pencil jumped at jotting down letters and
numbers. The fire in the crate died down,
and Monte hoisted a new log into the em-
bers on the hearth.
A fresh cigar for the secret service man.
= highball for the lawyer ana gold-tipDed
stte for the host-as they waited In
Thirty minutes passed
-, L. these are the
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
CHAPTER XIV
Kings and Their Pawns

D1NNS rapidly took down the reversed
ID characters upon a separate sheet Of
white paper exactly, and in the order
they appeared to one facing thu rejecting
surface of the hand-mirror. In Lief, the
original gray sheet of paper represented
the locked form in the stereotyping room
of newspaper office; the white sheet of
paper impersonated the yet matrix. and
the rapid penmanship of Binns was the
Transforming power that produced the
reverse impression of the cryptogram, all
the characters placed in their proper posi-
tion. He preserved the Identical outline
OF a cross, and the result was this:
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
CHAPTER XVI

The Cryptic Cross Solved
"LN IRE ahead. wizard; we are ready
Il for the message Of the cryptic
cross" calculated Andrews, the lawyer
Monte and Agent w. were held burning
with interest from the fever Of expeo-
fancy, now that complexity had been re.
duoed to shadow.
Cryptography, the tangled tongue of
intrigue, flourlshes best in love and war.
Its range is wide, for the systems used
are endless in their variety; the string.
cipher, the wheel-clpher and tho circle
cipher are among the diverslties sepa-
rated sweethearts generally use the
double-boolS cipher, although the marking
OF playing cards after an agreed.upon
sequence In the pack has a present popu.
larity among lovers who play bridge
whist. Then there are the code books Of
navles, diplomats and business houses,
where single words do the work of entire
sentences.
The art of communication in such q
way as to be incomprehensible except to
those who possess the key to tho system
employed has been in practice from the
earliest times; the Egyptians, the He
brews, the spartans and Julius Caesar
and the Romans all sought to conceal
their vital military and diplomatic meg
sages in cryptography.
Fortified by life study of the cob
web lore of centuries Bnns stood tri.
umphant over the cryptic cross of tho
master-mind of the Slgvay gang Il was
his big moment. No wonder he puffed up
with the arrogance of pouter pigeon as
he eluoidated. after the manner of a paid
lecturer, in this fashion,
The maker of this cryptic cross on the
table chose the commonest of all ciphers:
tho selection in the place of the proper
letters certain other letters. There ia no
Significance whatever In the design IT.
self, simply typewriter art for arts
sake. To get at all of the real letters it
was only necessary for me to establish the
true letter of ono OF the symbols Edgar
Allen Poe, in his famous short story.
The Gold Bug made his solution of a
similar cryptogram seem difficult, when II
was anything but laborious. My method
Is to work out one character letter, and
apply succeeding character letters to cor
responding letters of the alphabet. To
begin, counted the different times Ger.
tain letter characters reappear. Not all
OF them, but those having the greatest
frequency in the cross.
Binns showed this table:
Q appears Al times
u appears 20 times
u appears 25 times
A appears % times
NJ appears 90 times
x appears 10 times
CONTINUED TOMORROW
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

days when ohucsles have the official sane
tion Of the White House-and then he
pounded his bulsing forehead with his
open palm. His countenanoe frightened
and he cried:
II have got t."
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
Burglars Get $500 Loot

Thieves forced an entrance into tho
home of Samuel NJ. D. Clapper, of 1877
West Nippon street, Germantown, last
night and stole $500 worth of jewelry
and silverware. The burglary was COM
mltted while Mr. Clapper and his wife
were visiting friends. Mr.. Clapper is
wooden merchant at Sd and Chestnut
streets
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
Things to Know and Do

1. Why is a chicken on a fence like a
coin? (Sent IN by David Meltzer)
2. Read this sentence:
stand that take to taking
you take my
8. Make 100 words from dictionary.
(Sent i'm by Doris Slner. East johnson
street)
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

THE use OF reversed type TO produce
10 palpabIe a delusion seems a sad waste
of effort" piped the owl-headed code ex-
row of charactersi "Some other reason
for It, I guess. Thank goodness have
II copied. Save the original, for II there
is anything further hidden In the gray
spaces we can coax It out with one Of our
many magic chemical washes Always
best to test out the entire surface of sus-
pected documents"
Suppose" interrupted Monte crispen
to the spellbound circle in his study. the
typewriter machine that wrote this cross
was specially built TO serve as the regular
instrument of communication out from
an invisible personality; for instance. from
a daring king OF crime, one never seen
by his pawns, whose orders issue forth
only on scraps Of paper"
"Good reasoning younEstsr; NIL in the
whole picture" encouraged Agent w,
who liked nothing so much as a fresh
point OF view
Monte blushed, but continued; Might
not such a man employ reversed type for
his typewriter keyboard as a personal
trademark Of mystic authority, designed
to awe and impress servile and weak
minded subordinates? He is undoubtedly
a man OF resources without scruples. At
last we have somebody to fight; we see
a cross-section OF his brain in this de-
ranged lettering-I dub him King OF the
Reversed Keyboard"
The others laughed, for the develop
ments as they unfolded were approaching
In real life the faneifuI visions OF a
Gaborlau. a Leblanc, a Hanshew or a
Conan Doyle. Why not a king a king
Of intriguss2 they thought. and wisely
too.
Power over coarse, cruel or underde-
ysloped intelleets after all. is only thing
well arranged-its chief funetlonaries are
mystery. color ana ceremonial pomp.
What Is an absolute monarch. think We
free-born Americans, but a colossal
eat a personality stripped OF human
ztlcs. surrounded by those ele-
s.ksad the Imagination
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

ment. Little Lena
is quite an artist
herself, and we ex-
pect that she will be
OF some assistance TO
her talented brother.
Adam McCaughey,
Jr., Westmoreland
street, saw a little
girl drop her pencil
case, and, remember
ing his pledge, ran
after her to pick IL
up and return 1t.
Tofbar Wufnan has
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

FARMER SMITH.
EVENING LEDGER:
wish to become a member OF your
Rainbow Club. Please send me beau
tiful Rainbow Button free. 1 agree
to DO A LITTLE KINDNESS EACH
AND EVERY DAY - SPREAD A
LITTLE SUNSHINE ALL ALONG
THE WAY.
NaIhe '''''''''''..-'''.
Address
sehooi attehd '''''''''''''.-....
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

Authorities are hunting for two men al
legged to have been fishing Illegally in
Chester River at Upland. The men get
out early in the morning and use a drag
net, which reaches from bank TO bank
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
For Artists

A new department for children who are
unable to attend the drawing class and
yet desire to draw. Is to be opened. The
lessons will be conducted through the
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
MONEY PRIZES

The children who send In the an
sgers OF Things 10 Know" are en-
titled 20 compete for the pFl1ss OF 81,
So cents and the fouF 25-eent prlzss.
e be awarded At the end Of each week.
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03
Our PostoRce Box

Lena Kachoorin is the sister of William
RachooTIn, who is to assist owen Young
in tho work OF the Rainbow Art Depart
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

12c can Choice Cal. Peaches. 1oc
Gold Seal Peaches, can. .... 15c
Fancy Sliced Peaches, can. SC
1Oc can Best Pink Salmon. =. &c
Choice Red Salmon, can....12c
Fancy Red Salmon, can.....lSc
Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-03

Fresh Soda Crackers, b.. 90
Fresh Fig Bars. lh. 30
Fresh Ginger Snaps, h.. ,... So
Pure Jelly, asst. havors, glass 90
lac Evaporated Apricotss 1b.. .13c
Large Grape Fruit, each. ..... 30