davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
The League of Nations.

The average person has only hazy notions
about league OF nations to prevent war. After
puzzIing over it for awhile he is apt to give
it up and concede that the Job is one for spe-
cia1ists in science Of government
And yet the agreement, the text of which
was made public in Paris dispatches yester-
day, is fairly understandable. The main points
can be readily grasped and appreciated by any
one qualified to take an intelligent part in a
town meeting.
There are TO be two delfberative bodies made
Up Of representatives of the nations belonging.
They will deal exclusively with international
problems and viii have authority above that
Of any single nation, for the police power OF
the dominant countries will be at their COM
1nand and refusal to submit issues to arbftra-
lion automatically will invoke the use OF force.
Any nation which insists upon fighting any
other nation viii face the prospect OF battling
the combined resources of the world and with
modern transportation and fighting facilities
that would be the rankest folly.
The league Will start with limited num-
Der of members, but it will hold the balance of
power from the start and its method of opera
ton is calculated to draw strength to it. The
advantages of membership will be so obvious
that no country afford to stay out If it can
get IN The question should be merely one OF
determining qualifications
Many vexing questions have been met quite
simply. Take for instance freedom of the seas
which England's insistence upon naval su-
premacy seemed for time to have made i'm
possible
In time OF peace the seas always have been
free With q perfect league there will be no
neutrals in time Of war and no one to raise
the question then And SO England may keep
its navy and the league viii use it for the COM
mon cause when necessity arises and no one
VIII be the worse of Probably after while
the British viii not be insstent upon spend
ing their mflIiOns for security that is ade-
quateIy guaranteed by other means.
Reduced to ifs simplest terms the league OF
nations will merely do for the various political
units what peace officers do in a well ordered
community for the individuals It will make
the day OF international due1ing a thing of the
past
Incidentally the agreement from beginning
10 end, bears the stamp Of American author
ship II that isn't worth the time the president
has spent in Europe will somebody please ex-
plain what is?
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
H0drt, 1oHO1m01
77,11<DTODIO1mcC
oy i MRS. ELIZABETH THOMPSON
ELIZABETH THOMPSON

Dear Mrs. Thompson: l have
cared for a schoolmate from child
hood. l used to think that l would
never marry another, he was so
much to me. While l have loved
him sincerely from childhood to
womanhood, he never showed any
particular preference for me. He
always treated me courteously, but
l know he did not care for me as
l did for him.
Nobody knows of my feelings for
him. l have always said it would
be a secret between me and myself
unless he showed in some way that
he cared for me.
Lately l have become acquainted
with d man who is twice my age.
He has asked me to marry him. !
feel safe in saying that he is one Of
the best principled men l ever met.
He has no bad habits and seems
very fond of me. l have no reason
to doubt him as he is a man of his
word. My work has brought me
into his company for the last four
y
Quainted with him and his ways.
He is kindness itself, always re-
membering me in every way and
does not care to show his prefer
ence for me before others. He has
ample means to furnish good
home and / have to admit in my
own heart that he is more of a
man morally than my schoolmate.
Yet / am afraid If my schoolmate
were to ask me to marry also, that
would accept him, for l have
dreamed all my life of some day be-
ing his wife.
What would you advise me to
do? Marry the one and forget that
I ever cared for the other, or re-
ject the older one and run the
chance OF some day winning my
childhood sweetheart? He does not
live near me now and may never
see him again.
Would the difference IN my age
and the older mans be too great,
60 you think? He will soon be an
old man.
Should 1 tell him of my fancy for
my schoolmate II take him?
GRAY EYES.
Tho man you love does not exist.
You have dreamed about your
schoolmate until you have created
an ideal and it is the ideal you love.
This Is unfortunate because 1t has
prevented Il normal interest in 9TH
er men.
/ would not advise you 10 marry
the older man for two reasons. You
are not In love with him, and there
is too much difference IN your ages
to have congenial tastes.
Do not wait for the schoolmate
Recognize the truth-that you have
dreamed more than was wise-and
start now to take an interest in
other men.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

has and will continue to have perplextng prob
lens of law enforcement A great many hu-
man parasites who always have found condi
tons more to their liking in wet communities
than in dry unfortunately have got in the habit
Of calling Rock Island home. Though most
of them were banished temporarily under vice
regulations enforced by the federal government
during the war. like the cat they are now COM
ing back. A good many of them are here now,
living as they used to live. When the entire
country goes dry we may expect more of them
from such places as Kansas City, St Louis.
Peoria and Chicago. They are not going to
cease to exist nor will any large portion of
them turn to more honorable ways of making
a living One town will look about the same
a. another. The only difference will be in
the relative indulgence Of the municipal
authorities. There will be bootlegging gam
bling, prostitution and thuggery to deal with,
especially the first named. Rock Island will
need officers with enough moral stamina to re-
fuse sweet scented favors Of odious origin.
There may be anywhere from 40 to 100 can
ddates for commissioner How is the average
voter to judge the qualifications of all of them?
There's the rub.
There is hard and fast rule to follow.
No one can have intimate personal knowledge
OF the whole list, but everybody can assure
himself OF the qualifications of as many as he
is permitted to vote for and if everybody does
that the incompetent and dangerous ones will
be automatically eliminated
Parttsanship should not enter into the mat
ter, nor sentiment, nor even kinship It will
be safer to support those who proved them
selves good Americans during the war, for
those who were not loyal to the nation are less
likely to be loyal to Rock Island. In general
those who want office worst may be put down
least worthy of it. The voters must depend
to some extent upon straws to show how the
wind blows!
Candidates owe it to the people to help make
a decision. If they are qualified they have
some definite ideas in matters of municipal
policy. They ought to submit platforms in adj
of the primaries. While it isn't safe to
accept man at his own valuation his
own fair promises there are tests of sincerity
that may be applied to a public statement
When a man speaks or writes he reveals him.
self in ways of which he is not conscious.
Election pledges usually are not worth
much but where there are many candidates
and so few safe rules for making a choice they
ere better than nothing.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

Neurasthenia the ApOcryphal.
1t may seem severe to say that
neurasthenia is a battle between
the individual and his conscience,
in which conscience loses only
about once out of fifty times. But
be that as it may if / were to put
down here the more characteristic
symptoms of neurasthenia l dare
say nearly every healthy reader
would find the description more or
less applicable to his or her case"
The dividing line between normal
ity and neurasthenia is just as
vague and indefinite as is the line
between sanity and insanity, from
the medical point of view. That
the latter line is a wide and way-
ering one is evident enough in the
every day court proceedings in
cases of alleged insanity.
Neurasthenia is no more akin to
insanity than a flabbiness of mus
cles is to paralysis. We are all
more or less sane. Sanity is the
average of mental competence
which is accepted as standard. One
must fall far below the standard
DelOT6 he IS CdlItu IuSd4ic.
We all have a certain amount of
dynamic force or energy to draw
on Some of US squander energy
in various useless ways, intention
ally or unconsciously, and when
we become bankrupt we are neuras-
thenic.
An athlete who overtrains is apt to
suffer with all the characteristic
symptoms of neurasthenia Tor sew
eral weeks or months as result OF
his unwise spending. A student
who devotes too much time to books
and not enough to pleasure, recre-
alton, physical education, is likely
to become neurasthenic. 4 woman
who plays the social game too hard
and too fast, expends too much en-
ergy in the society game OF make
believe, is on the road to neuras-
thenia. Competition, you see,
breeds neurasthenia. Competition
implies selfishness, envy, jealousy,
unfair tactics, legitimate tricks OF
the trade, rivalry, anxiety, worry,
fear, bad conscience. These emo
tional extravagances exhaust the
vital energy precisely as much as
does the excessive effort of the
athlete. Pride keeps the bank
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
TIHIE5 DAILY SHORT STORY

Claudia's parents had gone so long
ago that grandmother in her Law
ender seemed always to have been
part of the picture. When grand
mother was vaguely perplexed by
the realization that their small in
come had vanished, Claudia had
taken her place as teacher in the
village school.
Regularly she waved goodbye to
grandmother each morning, and
started upon her journey to the
hilltop where the school building
stood. Claudia had expected to
spend the beginning of the coming
year like ell others, when Aunt
Chalmers letter Of invitation open
ed a vista Of promise.
Don't count upon me-" Claudia
wrote in reply. ''hut if I can find a
substitute to teach for me, I'll just
run into the city New Years eve"
And she had found the substitute
Glen court" called the conduc-
tor. Claudia aIighted and passed
down before the impressive block
Of white houses. The heavy rain
had turned daylight to dusk
Claudia went up the steps Of
what appeared tn be No. 70, but no
one was forthcoming to answer her
ring. Moreover, drawn blinds and
an air of inner silence betokened
desertion. Puzzled, she passed far
Their down the line to what again
appeared to be No. 10. This time
her welcome was assured.
A white-aproned maid opened the
door Immediately, and requested
Claudia to 30 at once to her room.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

Its the side ROOM" the girl ex-
planned. You will find everything
ready there.
She had barely removed her hat
when a voice called enormously,
and the voice becoming persistent
in its wordless sound, she went at
once into the wide front chamber
A mans face looked pleadingly
back at her from the rumpled pill
lows of bed.
Thank the Lord" he exclaimed
feverishly. You've GOMEZ" With
out awaiting a reply he hurried on:
Il think they've been phoning for
nurse all day Because of this
epidemic not one is to be found
And because of the fear of tiny
housekeeper departed this morning.
Marie stayed long enough to let you
in. You'll find her gone, too, no
doubt, when you go downstairs
Can you get in some one to help
you? A nurse, know, cannot be
expected to do everything"
A sudden smile flashed across the
sick mans face. This is where a
wife would be an advantage. Wives
don't desert a fellow when he's
sick, do they? You" he looked
up at Claudia in quick alarm-"you
won't leave me, will you, nurse, un-
tip
NO" she answered quietly. ~I
will stay with you as long-as you
need me-"
Thanks" breathed the man; he
lay back YEARLY.
In the fre-ligi1tsd room Of the
silent house again she smiled rs
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
Household Hints
Dried or Fresh Cranberries.

Spiced Cranberries - One quart
cranberries, one-half cup cold wa
ter, IL cloves, IL alIspice. two sticks
cinnamon (broken), two cups
brown sugar. Tie spices in a small
piece Of cheese cloth. Put with the
berries and water in sauce pan
and cook until fruit is soft. Re-
move bag, press berries through
colander, add brown sugar. Stir
over fire until dissolved. Cool.
Cranberry Frappe - One quart
berries, two cups water, two cups
sugar, Juice OF two lemons. Cook
berries with water until soft. Press
through a strdiner. Add sugar
and lemon juice Freeze to q mush,
using equal parts OF ice and salt.
Cranberry Pudding - One-third
cup cooking oil or one-half cup Of
solid fat, two-thirds cup sugar, two
eggs, three cups -four, three tea
spoons baking powder, one-half
cup milk or water. Cream the fat
and sugar. Add eggs well beaten.
Mix and sift dry ingredients. add
alternately with the milk to first
mixture. Stir in berries which have
been washed. Turn into oiled molds
and cover. Steam three hours.
Serve With ny desired pudding
sauce.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
Picking CITY Officers.

Il is not too early to begin thinking about
Ehom we going to support for mayor, mem
bers Of the city commission and police magis-
tTate. As usual there will be candidates in
variety enough to suit the most fastidious, but
the very number of them makes it all the more
important to exercise intelligent selection
Rock Island also will have its reconstruc-
Ion problems. The administration will
not have easy time OF it Its biggest prob
lem VIII lie in apportiontng reduced income
that # will go farthest in providing the fun
damentaIs OF municipal government at consid-
erably advanced prices. Strict economy and a
large measure OF conservatism must be the
rule at the city hall for the next few years, and
yet there must be progress. Growth must not
be interfered with. There must be expansion
in the police and fire departments. The can
didates should be looked over with these facts
in mind.
Though the saloons are gone the community
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
~Buddy' L Came in and Buddy 1 Go Out

to see if they are dangerous as they
look Some are not half as dan
geTous as they look" he continues
easily, some are not quite so dan
gerous and of course some are a
great deal more so. But they are all
dangerous enough"
My dear chap" I replied, turn
ing away miserably, "a pinwheel is
quite dangerous enough for me"
Sept 6.-This IS being written
from the gate. My bag and ham
mock are beside me. Tim dashed
them> together for me so they
wouldn't come undone. Tony in
his eXcitable way wants to kiss
the guard goodbye. The guard
doesn't want him TO. My last mo-
ments at Pelham have been hectic.
The doctor said I looked 100 per
cent better than when 1 came in,
but that wasn't enough. If you
didn't look at me very closely you
wouldn't know that l was such an
awful dub. This is progress at any
rate. The telephone wires between
mothers house and the camp were
dripping wet with tears when l
phoned her that l was being ship
ped However, she braced up and
said she was proud of me and said
she hoped I'd tell the captain good
bye and thank him for all he has
done. 1 assured her l would do
this, or at least leave a note. Polly
was trump. The Spider talked to
her and said that he was going to
save the best uncut stone for her
that he had ever bitten out Of
ring. The Spider has been very
valuable to US all. He seems to
have the uncanny faculty of being
able to take the cloth straps off
other peoples clothes right before
their eyes. Consequently we are
all we'll supplied. At present he's
looking at the handle of the gate
in musing way. I think he would
like to have it as a souvenir. Here
comes the truck Pelham is about
to lose its most useless recruit /
must tuck these priceless pages in
my money belt Wish I had pic
ture Of Polly. Well, here's to the
high adventure, but there's some
thing about that submarine pro-
voker I can't quite get used to. 1t
seems just a trifle one sided. How
ever, that is in the lap of the gods.
Instead of a camp 1 will soon have
the vast expanses Of the ocean in
which to demonstrate my tremen-
dous inability to emulate the exam
pie of one John Paul Jones.
'FBear q hand there, buddy" the
p. o. has just cried at me.
Buddy" 1 came in and buddy"
I go out. We're off! I can dtmly
Mr.. Fogarty, that IN
scrupulous dog that abandoned my
bed and board for a couple OF IN
fluential yeomen. Farewell, Fogar-
ty, may your evil ways never bring
you to grief. I do wish I had q
picture of my sweetie.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
SUBSTITUTE.
BY Agnes G. Brogan.

The last day of the old year seem
cd to be weeping its departure, as
Claudia made her way out Of the
gloomy station and looked anxious
II from beneath her umbrella for a
rorth-bound car.
1t would have been nicer for
aunt to have sent the car to meet
Ter, she soliIoquized, than to have
taken her own suggestion that the
trolley would save trouble. En-
sconced in the back seat, Claudia
tried 10 recall a long past visit at
tnis same aunt's home. She~had
heen q child then, ana the reCollec-
ton was OF exaggerated grandeur.
Probably the white marble, silken
curtain memories. were not as fine
as they had seemed.
The house was one of solid block.
Claudia remembered, their shining
pillars and plate glass windows, all
exactly alike. 1t had been brief
fairyIand TO her, the magic buttons
which instantly flooded the vain
scoted rooms with light, the lux
urious depths Of great chairs.
Claudia's life had been of simple
eameness. how rarely simple she
could not appreciate. There were
the same sweet-smelling roses
peeping over trellts at her own bed
room window each summer, the
continued stiffness and restfulness
Of the Rtde-spreading garden
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15
Brad's Bit O Verse
THE kNOCKER-

The knocker is knocking and
blowing and blocking, his hammer
is going by night and by day; be
never grows weary of grinding out
dreary, sad tales to drive honest
endeavor away. He squints at his
neighbor, who's busy at labor and
making things hum at his shop down
the street, and says: by Jemima
and Horn Spoon Of Lima, that fell
low is going q blamed sight too
fleet, lie ought to go easy, so
folks that are wheezy could pause
on the highway and take q wee
rest. BY Heck and by Jingol IN
popular lingo that fellows a gamb~,
Ter. nuisance. a pest" SO down
comes his hammers with cIstter
and clamor, with orotund echo and
infinite noise; but things keep a
moving, the town keeps improving,
the world speeds along without los
Ing It's poise Alas for the knOckcr,
His noise is a mocker, he stacks no
alfalfa, he's kicking al fate; HIS blow
and his buster. his furry and illus
ter, resouud not. except IN his own
empty pate The knocker Is knock
ing, but Joys keep a-flocking, and
progress Is rampant all over the
town: and jubilant boosters, like
militant roosters. are carolinE an
thems and winning LIES crown,
GLEN BRADSHAW.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

! she slipped the white apron about
her waist and picked up the hot
water bottle. 1t had, after all. been
her aunt's house from which she
had turned away. She was not ex-
pected there And if there was this
need of her presence at No. rs, she
would remain, and be equal to that
need.
At midnight, the man with the
wistful eyes and the grateful smile
slept comfortably upon his smooth
cool pillow. Claudia, as she went
into the unfamiliar, deserted kitcb-
en-, hummed hymn-tune and heat
ed his broth And as the bells of
the city announced the new wears
birth, she wondered, smiling, If its
adventurous coming might not sig
nal change in the routine of her
life
Already the simple regularity
seemed a thing long past.
Nurse" called the man. and she
swiftly assembled the stairs.
When Mrs. Chalmers returned
later from a two weeks visit. she
was astonished to hear the voice of
her niece over the telephone.
II have no time for a VISIT said
Claudia, because I have been act
ing as a nurse to a man who is now
leaving to recuperate in the coun-
try. He is going with me to grand
mas"
NurseI" gasped Mrs. Chalmers.
And taking strange man back
with you to the country"
Yes" answered Claudia 81 am
going tozmaHy him there"
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

Sept 5.-AIl preparations have
been made. Tim, Tony and the
Spider are going, too. l have just
been listening TO the most disturb
ing conversations It all arose from
our specializing as to our probable
destination and the nature OF our
services. The master-at-arms, who
had been sleeping on the hammock
rack as only a master-at-aTms can,
permitted himself to remain awake
long enough to join in
81 wouldn't be at all surprised"
said he, "if you were shipped TO one
of those new submarine prOvOkers.
What's that?" l asked uneasily.
Why, it's a sort of a dee-COy,"
said he, stretching his huge hulk,
"a little. unarmed boat that goes
messing around in the ocean until
it finds a submarine and then it
provokes it"
'rHow's that" asked Tim.
why, you see" continued the
jimmy-legs, cit just sort Of steams
back and forth in front of the sub
marine until it provokes it"
Ali" said I, taking a deep
breath.
Yes" he continued cheerfully,
"and the more you provoke the
submarine why the harder it shoots
at you, so of course it doesn't no
tice the real submarine sinker COM
ing up behind it See the tactics? ?"
oh" says l, we just provoke the
submarine until it loses its temper
and the other boat sinks it"
That's it," says the jimmy-legs,
you just sort of steam back and
forth in front of it slowly"
How slowly" asks the Spider.
VERY" replied the jimmy-legs.
mo guns at all?" asks Tim.
None" says he.
"a regular little home" suggests
Tony.
sure" says the jinmy-legs.
nothing to do at all but steam
slowly back"
For Gods sake don't dwell on
that point any more!" I cried. I'VE
understand it perfectly"
"a regular lii home" muttered
Tim as he began to stow his bag.
Oater)-I write these lines with
horror. Some one has told me that
the navy needs powder tasters,
something I'd never heard of be-
fore, and that perhaps-that's what
we are going to be used for. All
you have to do, this guy says, is TO
taste the powder to see If it's damp
or dry and If it's damp you take
it away and bake it. This sounds
worse than the submarine provoker.
(Still later)-Rumor is rife, The
latest report is that We are going
to be mine openers.
whats a mine opener?' asked
my informant.
why, it's a guy" says he, that
picks up the mines floating around
his boat, but only the German
mines, of. course, and opens them
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-15

Dear Mrs. Thompson: am a
brunette and l am about to choose
a party dress. l would like to have
it an unusual color. Would you
advise me to have it lavender or
American Beauty red? / am very
partial to both shades.
BRUNETTE
Brunettes DO not as a rule wear
lavender well 1 should think that
American Beauty red would be
more becoming.
Dear Mrs. Thompson: Are red or
blue lights in a floor lamp good
taste? My husband gave me a floor
lamp for Christmas and l thought
perhaps it would be pretty to light
the living room with red lights. Do
you think blue would be better? -
THANK YOU.
White lights are in better taste
than red or blue, because they are
not snowy. Blue would be prefer
able to red, because the color OF
red is disquieting and bad for the
nerves.