The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-02-26

CITY NEWS.

"a smurtse: Read Lowit5's add.
-Masonic special. Eagle NO. rs
rnasdav. Feb. 81. It 1880, End degrees.
The condition Of Miss Faitn Ian
ford. who was operated on for appen.
dicitis ct St Josephs hospital iAst
week, IL much improved.
The boat companies are loonns
!, forward to successful seasons THIS
wear and no doubt the excursions
VIII be Just as well patronized as N
the past while the freight business 10
expected to be up to the standard.
ii Tho American Cement Machine
company. Keokuk's first new indus-
4 try and ono Of its best. is meetlns
with great success In It's Held. Inc
other day . car load OF macnines
went out OF hero bound for tho lar
Pacific coast
~. II. Farrell. former street super
visor, who went to Nebraska recently.
writes back that he Was married reD-
ruary az at Dunning. Neb.. to YOUNG
widow OF that place. They will live on
| her farm eight miles south OF Dun
ming. Mr.. Farrell promises to bring
| HIS bride To Keokuk for o visit SOM
time In the future.
Now that the winter show season
| Il over. there will only be the movies
now to hold the theatregoers until an
other winter arrives. Keokuk people
have always been generous patrons
Of the theatre and the local movie
shows never want for an audience.
| White diamonds were not scarcer
here this year than the black variety.
otherwise known as hard coal. Soft
coal could be obtained at unprece-
| dented prices, but hard coal almost
never. One man who recently moved
to Keokuk possessing only hard
coal burner, has had hard coal or
der in with local dealers for nearly
two weeks and has not had 1t nlled
yet.
Coal Is being mined at a number
of places in Iowa and there is no
reason why Keokuk should not be-
come q center OF this industry. There
are unmistakable evidences that there
is coal In this vicinity and the only
! problem. that remains IL how TO mine
| it. Worked by hand the veins that
have been opened here have not and
win not amount to much. The coal
mining industry might amount to
something here. however. # someone
who would not be afraid to invest IN
the proposition could be interested
! Now that springtime is just
around the corner-or SO many hope,
| led on by the signs usually held TO be
prophetic-the mind Of man turns to-
ward the realm Of the garden. the
average city man has touch OF the
back-to-the-soil longing In him that
the gaudily colofed seed and garden
| magazines readily brings out and ne
nowadays begins to dream dreams
| and see visions of q little truck gar
den back Of the house. Mayhap the
high cost OF living has something to
do with It this year, for . successful
truck garden would help greatly IN
| furnishing tue table with spring ana
summer vegetables and so cut down
the grocery bills to some extent at
least.
i'm this section Of the country the
frst robin is held to be the true har-
hinger of spring. No matter what
kind Of weather is being dealt out to
the world at the time of the discov-
cry Of the prophetic bird. or what
storms or foul weather follows. the
mind is prone to grasp to this first
robin straw as an indication that
spring Is q comm in. There is
sort OF honor that attaches to the
discoverer Of the first robin. and al
though It cannot be said that he has
discovered spring. yet the lucky one
feels that he Is doing his fellowman
service by announcing that he has
seen the red breasted visitor, al.
though coal orders may not be at
fected in the slightest.
There has been much said about
the menace of the English sparrow
and there is no law in Iowa against
killing this hardy little all-the-year
| round bird. 1t is said that the spar
row is destructive and should be ex-
terminated. Someone has reported,
however, that the sparrow is a vain.
able, bird and that 1t does many things
OF benefit to the community in which
II lives One Keokuk woman has
been in the habit Of feeding the spar
rows during the winter time. Fresh
corn meal and water is put out to
them twice day during the winter
months when the sparrow Is hard put
! to find food to keep its little grey
body together. That the birds appre.
ciate the bounty Of this woman's heart
| is evident from the numbers that
gather at feeding time and 1T is sur.
prising to see how tame they are.
The only apple of discord in this bird
paradise is when glossy, black
coated crow scares the little fellows
away and devours their food.
Conflicting reports have been re-
ceived by r. G. Dun & Co., regarding
footwear conditions, some manufact-
urers claiming to be very busy. while
others state that factories are not
now as actively employed as hereto.