davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The American Jewish world. [volume] (Minneapolis ;) 1915-current, 1920-09-10

will be prosperous and who will
be poor. They also take an active
interest in current events. The ad-
venturer eavesdropping on their tete-
a-tete may learn whether the pros
pective mother in his neighborhood
will give birth to boy or to a girl,
whether his mother-in-law will die,
whether the ensuing year will be dry
or wet, what sort of edicts the new
district Chinovnik would issue-about
markets, weather reports, marriages,
births, funerals everything.
And man equipped with such
stock of information is usually worth
a fortune not only to the Jewish
neighborhood where he happens to
live, but also to the inhabitants for
miles and miles around The peasants
may learn from him when to take in
their hay, when to harvest their
fields, when to plant their seeds. The
only fly in his ointment, SO to speak,
is the fact that he usually dare not
visit the same village more than
once in lifetime
One of the greatest calamities that
can possibly befall community dur
ing the Holy Days is that the Shofer
or rams horn should become clogged.
When that happens those worshipers
whose piety is more potent than
their sense, begin to tremble from
head to foot. AS the Ba'al Tekio
The American Jewish world. [volume] (Minneapolis ;) 1915-current, 1920-09-10

keeps repeating his attempts sharp
weeping and ululation bursts from the
women's side of the synagogue, as
of million souls in everlasting pain.
For to them that is sign that the
Wicked One had crept into the Sho-
fer and had stopped the blowing
which was to open the gates Of
Heaven and admit their prayers and
applications before the throne of the
Almighty.
And not only are there special SUI
perstitions for this season but the
general superstitions which occupy
one the year round, are much more
intense during the autumn Holy
Days. One Of the most reliable be-
liefs current in Eastern Europe is the
one that when a person meets a man,
woman, child, or animal in an unac-
customed place, he may rest assured
that he has before himself the spirit
of a hidden treasure strayed from
it's place. All man has to do is take
off his boot and sling it at it's head.
1t will collapse Immediately and APP
pear in it's true form-a heap of gold
or something else equally valuable.
Then he may safely gather in the
treasure and go home a rich man.
One night Immediately following the
Day of Atonement a brother of mine
and l were walking to village few
miles away. l must have been six
The American Jewish world. [volume] (Minneapolis ;) 1915-current, 1920-09-10
Page Seventeen

Not far from the village was a swamp
which we had to cross. 1t was
around ten or eleven at night-an
hour or two before the growing of
the cock when spirits are at large.
AS we approached the swamp we
noticed three women coming from
the opposite direction. Thoroughly
versed in current beliefs and bent
upon gathering in easy treasures, my
brother quickly pulled off his boot
and slung it at the women. This act
should have assured them that at
least we were not spirits at large, but
they must have known the same
story, and they too snatched their
shoes off their feet and began sling
ing them at us. Both camps at the
same time raised a howl and ran in
opposite directions.
Childbirth is surrounded by halo
of mystery and stepped in supersti-
tions of thousand tinges, among all
peoples. With the Dark Ages anu
lets, talismans, and charms became
as universal in Europe as among bar
barians in the wilds of Africa. The
Jews had especially fallen under their
spells as a result of the study of the
Cabala. Not only charms and anu
lets became universal but mere, in
nocent numbers became objects of ex-
traordinary mystery. First the num-
Der three became sacred because the
universe was made up of three
things-heaven, earth, and water.
Then four became sacred because
there were four cardinal points in
the world. Then five became sacred
because there were five books in the
Pentateuch. Then all the multiples
of three, such as nine, tWenty-seven,
ct cetera, became sacred. Then seven
became sacred, since it was made up
of three and four, and so on, till you
could not touch a number to figure
out how many bushels of potatoes you
had in your cellar without treading
on sacred ground.
But with the rise of intelligence in
Europe much of the superstitions
about amulets and talismans and
numbers disappeared. However the
charms surrounding childbirth are
still in almost universal use among
Jews in Europe. In Rumania the mo-
ment the prospective mother suspects
the approach of her labors she sur
rounds herself with chalk marks on
the floor and has someone write with
charcoal huge circles on the walls.
To make sure against harm a few
daggers and butcher knives are put
under her pillow. In some parts ex-
traordinary formulas and "vorradun-
gen. are enacted. Charms in the
form Of leaflets with passages from
the Psalms with a choice assortment
of names from the Bible as we'll as
number of hocus pocus titles from
Medieval demonology, such as San
sannui, and Sannangaluf, arranged
symbolieally, are hung out on doors
and windows of the ing-in-room.
OF course, in ninety-nine cases out
of every hundred the accessories and
the victims are absolutely uniformed
as to the reason for the mystic per-
Torrance. In matters Of this nature
people ask no question. They do
as their mothers did, who did as their
mothers did, up to and including
Adam and Eve-and our simian an
cestors nesting in the trees. This
unusual survival is explained in the
following manner.
With their religious partiality for
monogamy, the ancient Hebrew
The American Jewish world. [volume] (Minneapolis ;) 1915-current, 1920-09-10
THE AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD

of exhilaration and joy. Autumn
teens with day-dreams and reveries.
Then fantasies as delicate as gossa-
mer and as Elusive as moon-beams,
stream through the mind. Fantastic
castles float in gold-tinged blue
halos, nod and beckon-and are no
more. A yellow leaf crunching un-
der foot, hoary old man bent under
a bundle of brushwood, moaning
rustic in a tree-top-and a bewilder-
ing sadness steals through the heart.
And it is then that imagination
takes the throne of Reason. The
Mind is lulled to sleep. And if not
held in check by a powerful intelli-
gence, one often becomes the dupe of
the most senseless superstitions.
That is partly why superstition
has laid such powerful hold on the
races of man. Centuries and centu-
ries have not been able to shake it.
Often it has woven such beautiful
web that nothing but sheer heart
lessness would dethrone it. And the
Jewish people, gifted with a power
full imagination, are among the richest
possessors of it. And this is why
this season is ushered in among us
Jews by blowing of horns, by visit
ing of graves, by invoking the dead,
and by doing thousand and one
other things which have a founda-
ton neither in religion nor in sense.
The ancient Hebrews had no be-
liefs in the powers of the dead. The
dead to them were dead for good and
ever. They took death as fact:
inhuman, heartless, monstrous--but
without remedy. In spite of all their
love for God they bore Him sort
of grudge for it: If He had really
loved man, He should have at least
shared with him His Immortality.
And as intelligence developed and
daily existence became more and
more unbearable, something had to
be found that would recompense for
what life denied. Hence a world be-
yond this world-a life beyond death. E
A glimpse of this world may be
caught by visiting Jewish cemetery
in Eastern Europe during the autumn
Holy Days. Men, women, children
dressed in somber garments, keep
streaming into the burial grounds
morning after morning, to commune
with the dead. AS no one is to visit
grave without being accompanied
by pious person, professional COM
panions, usually women, known as
soggerkes, accompany the visitors.
Upon approaching the grave the sog-
gerke opens with the salutation "Rab
Moishe, excuse me for crawling on
you'll" (Hot klein voruebel nit, Ich
krich af eich) And without further
ado, filings herself on the grave, puts
her ear to the ground, and imparts a
request, usually an intercession on
High by the deceased for those still
living:-a dowry and chossan for
an aging maiden, babe for sterile
wife, and exemption from military
service for young man, recovery
for a bed-ridden rheumatic. Then
al the pent-up emotions of the year
are poured out in copious streams of
tears and groans.
Indeed, the dead are not concerned
with other-worldly matters only. He
who is brave enough to visit a Jew
ish cemetery on Yom Kippur night
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06
BARAN DE MUMM'S PROPERTY SOLD
 FOR HUGE SUM

Paris. July 6.---Paris is witnessing the passing of one of the last remind CTS in France of the famous<German Manmm. The handsome furniture of the wealthy wine merchant, which was SeQuestered early in the war in his apartment on the Avenue du Bois Boulogne, is being sold for the benefit | of the state.
 The contents of the beautiful apart | ment included some fine tapestries | cabinet makers work The sale | brought more than 5000 francs. One piece of tapestry, valued by the gov ernment officers at 50 francs, Drought 5000 francs. The sale attracted a large gathering of prominent Par isians because Herr Mumrn's apart ment was known as one of the most lavishly furnished in the fashionable quarter of Paris.
 | An American girl, Mary de Numm, now living with her grandfather, c. lC. K. Scoyille, a, banker of Seneca, Kansas, is a daughter of Baron Wal ter de Mumm. who married MT. Sco- Iville's daughter. The de Murnm es- tate in France, estimated in some re- ports to amount to $2O, 900, 900, was
  ment in the war as the Baron is a German subject although he had spent most of his life in France. The Baron went to Germany when the war be- gan and the Baroness remained in France serving as 8. nurse.
 In an efofrt to safeguard he share of the de Mumm estate in France the Baroness de Mumm came to the l United States in October, 1919, an6 1 through an act of Congress hel Aerican~ citizenship was restored tc her. Returning to France she sough- divorce, but died there while thi: action was pending.
 The Bearoness' sister, Mrs Jose phine Treadwe1l, of New York brougct her sisters body from Part to Senaca, in May last. As she wal leaving Cherbourg, the agents f~th, French government seized jewels sh, was wearing, on the ground that the. were the property of her sister bu on arriving in New York Mrs. Tread well declared that the jewels wer, her own.
 Baroness de Mumm had claimed that she had been given title to- two ffths of the property. of the Baro1 under a separation agreement whicl . if substantiated, would leave her lit . tie daughter aMry. now about fiv years old, the heiress to about $S,
 00o,0o0.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06
Take a glass of Salts to Flush Kidney if bladder
 bothers you.

Eating meat regularly eventually
 produces kidney trouble in some form
 or other. says well known auth ority.
 because the uric acid in meat excites
 the kidneys, they become overworked: get sluggish; clog up and cause all sorts of distress, particularly back
 ache and misery in the kidney region: rheumatic twinges, severe headaches, acid stomach, constipation, torpid liver, sleep1essness. bladder and urin-. ary irritation.
 The moment your back hurts or kidneys aren't acting right, or if bIad- der bothers you, get about four ounces of lad Salts from any good pharmacy; take a tablespoonful in a glass of water before breakfast for a l few days and your kidneys will then act fine. This famous salts is made from the acid of grapes and lemon | juice, combined with lithia, and has been used for generations to flush 1 clogged kidneys and stimulate them to normal activity; also to neutralize l the acids in the urine so 1t no longer i irritates, thus ending bladder dis | orders.
 Jad Salts cannot injure anyone: l makes a delightful effervescent lithia- 1 water drink which millions of men 1 and women take now and then to keen the kidneys and urinary organs clean. | thus avoiding serious kidney disea SC. | Adv.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

MT. and Mrs. William Appleg7ard ot North Main street, motored witt friends to Albany over the holidays.
 Mrs. Allen Judson and Mrs Freder ick L. Palmer with their familie: spent yesterday camping at the beach
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06
JURY COMMISSIONERS

For Fairfield County will meet at the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court, in the County Court House, at Bridgeport, on
 Monday, July 12, 1920, at 10 A. M. Any person may appear before said Commissioners at said time and place and be heard with reference to the names upon the list. as nominated from each of .the towns in Fairfield County
 WILLIAM T. HINCKS. BRADFORD D. PIERCE, JR.,
 FRED W. TRACY P6ss
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

Friends of Louis Spencer have re- tceived word from him that he will ship in a few days for China MT.
 Spencer, who is an assistant engineer on one of the U. s. battleships, was a former Stratford boy and is well l known here.
 MT. and Mrs. William Appleward of
 North Main street, motored with
 friends to Albany over the holidays | Mrs. Allen Judson and Mrs F'reder-
 ick L. Palmer with their families
 spent yesterday camping at the beach, Mayor and Mrs. Abraham Yelling Iton were entertained by friends at their camp near Peck's Mill over the holidays.
 MT. and Mrs. Frank Knapp, MT. and Mrs. Bert Wellington and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Parsons, all of Torr1nS- ton. were entertained by MT. and Mrs. lNrar-tin Knapp at their home here over the holidays.
 James McShane has recently built an addition to his cottage at Short
 Beach.
 MT. and Mrs. John Moore of Main
 street, entertained friends over rhe 1 holidays.
 | Mrs. John Park is entertaining -hel iSon Ralph Park, who is enjoying 2
 furIough from his duties in the Unit | ed States Navy.
 | At the meeting of Okenuck tribe which will be held in their wigwan on Church street this evening. the installation of the newly elected ofh 1 cers of the tribe will take place.
 Clifford Curtis of Passaic, N. J.
 spent the holidays visiting with hi
 | mother at her Main street home. MT. and Mrs. James Vans of Mail P street. were among those who enter i l tained friends at their home yester : day.
 Miss Bessie O'Keefe of New Haven was the guest of MT. and Mrs. Fre' = -iRauscher yesterday. S FARM FOR SALE in Stratford- In s quire Peter Gleason. Phone Strat ] ford 2e5. 2s90 Main St. n CORTEZ c. ROCKWELL. p1umbin l and heating; 1obbing specialty v Corner Main and Hillside avenue
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

MT. and Mrs. James Vans of Main street, were among those who enter tained friends at their home yester- day,
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

A lump of pure gold weighing more than twelve. pounds has been taken from mine in the Belgian Congo in South Africa
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

A stated communication of S' Johns lodge, No. 8, A. F. and A. M will be held in their temple in tn town building this evening.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

A gun capable of shooting more than one hundred miles was com p1eted in this country for the lAmerf- can Army shortly before the armis- tice was signed.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

MT. and Mrs. A. l.. Hotchkiss of North Parade entertained relatives at their home over the holidays.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

Q sS sES E.
 
 ss< OUR ANNUAL July Clearance Sale Begins Wednesday Morning July $50 o clock.
 Be shopperl> Fashionable Apparel in All Departments
 For Women and Reduced in Prices for Quick Clearance It is this time each mark down of stock such low prices that of sell quickly We find this necessary long established of carried over from which to of the this salemany suit able for all round but prefer replace them all with new goods. Thus we offer Most Unusual Saungs in ALI Sections
 Entire Stock Suits
 to at and serges-Tricotines- Tweeds h 2esnsa g1sa Ts % % % s @ nd sssso
 Entire Stock
 at and LessT Veours-Poo Coth-Boivias- silverones. large variety the fashionable materials Choice Assortment Entire stockof Girls Coats
 Rednced For Ages Az sa5 to to 34 ca:{ years ar 1. Silvertones-Veours- Cloth-Heathers and Tweeds About fosgyen coats all ,e together d in good styies I
 <a 4 ss sst Entire Stock Of Silk Dresses
  Tafetas-Satins- -TricOlettes-GeOrgettes and MeeOrs In Sps @ste sroaps t G fs} a 5eo a sSs %
 Entire Stock Of Fms
 Regular Stone Marin-Mink- Fox Squirrel In large Ezcspfi9nsi ty % 7s1aes et % st ss sssso % and s
 Sharp Reductions in Blouses attractive asotments Reduced Prices 
 VOiles. l
  Very Special Groups at $2.45 $345, Bands COrsets Gloves '~1 Reduced in  Royal nnne two cHasl sloves Ill
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

CORTEZ c. ROCKWELL. plumbing and heating; 1obbing speciality Corner Main and Hillside avenue Stratford- D10tf"
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

received for membership in the or ganiZa ton.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

Friends of Louis Spencer have re ceived word from him that he vii ship in a few days for China MI Spencer, who is an assistant enginee on one of the U. S. battleships, was ; former Stratford boy and is wei known here.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

FARM FOR SALE in Stratford- In- quire Peter Gleason. Phone Strat- ford 295. 2S90 Main St.
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

At the meeting of the Stratford Re publican club held in their club rooms Saturday evening S7 applications were
The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-06

Miss Bessie O'Keefe of New Haven was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Rauscher yesterday.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-07-27
A Gypsy Grandmother.

While standing in the waiting room
the woman visitor watched the new
American of Hester street greet his
grandmother, evidently queen of the
gypsies in Roumania, judging from
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-07-27
MILLIONAIRE LOSESlHIS SIGHT
AFTER LONG AUTOMOBILE TRIP
Pennsylvania, Despite Paralytic
Stroke, Pens Note Saying Don't
Notify My Wife"


Notify My Wife,
JENNINGS, Md.-A few hours aft
err completing a 3O0-mile automobile
trip from his home in Towanda, Pa,
Cortez H. Jennings, a millionaire lum-
herman, leaned across the arm of a
lobby chair in local hotel and hand
ed note, bearing the following words,
to the Rev. Thomas j. Bostwick, of
this place:
81 am paralyzed. Can't see. Please
don't notify my wife"
The Rev. Mr.. Bostwick hurried to
the clerk and reported the incident
and Jennings was removed to his
room, where it was learned that ne
was suffering from a paralytic stroke.
His sight and speech were both I'M
paired, but the latter returned long
enough for him to permit the notify
ing of his wife.
Physicians said it was remarkable
that the man was able to write the
note. They said his condition was
very serious.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-07-27
SUICIDE is STEADILY ON
INCREASE IN UNITED STATES
Self Destruction Seems to Be Synony-
nous With Education.

Suicide appears to be synonymous
with civilization. The other day when
a full-blooded Oklahoma Indian end
ed his life by hanging the agency Off
Gals declared it to be the first time
an Indian had done such thing.
What is known as the Save-a-Life
League finds suicide steadily increas-
ing in the United States, especially
among women, the more civilized sex.
One-third of the suicides reported in
1919 were women, the highest proper
ton recorded since such statistics
have been kept. More people kill
themselves in summer than in winter
and more in times of prosperity than
in panic years. A century ago child
suicide was unknown. Now one of the
puzzling things is that youngsters
who cannot have reached the age of
morbid introspection take their lives.
The experts can't account for it.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-07-27
FALL HATS SHOW
BRILLIANT HUES
WOMEN WANT THEM EARL
TOO, DEALERS FIND. STYLES
ARE vARIEGATED.

NEW YORK.-Feminine Gotham
has seen the light of fall hats. The
lid so to speak, is unchanged. The
Retail Milliners' Association has at
last admitted that its slogan of mid
summer hats for midsummer wear"
is totally N. G., for girls have de-
manded since early days to be shown
the array of falls hats. So, while
on the rampage against "the tom
foolery of women. retailers have
brazenly drawn back the curtains of
their fall hat display windows. And
here they are, girls-one at time,
don't crowd.
Hats may be virtual awnings on
the side if desired, but they must not
project over the forehead and the mid
die of the ears more than an inch.
They must take squatter residence
upon the forehead. In fact, if they
even cover the eyebrows and the tip
of the nose, so much the better
mayhap for onlooker as we'll as
wearer
The brim must not, however, be
even. 1t must be as irregular in out
line as the new dresses and skirt hens
and seesaw back and forth in a most
seasicky fashion. If it is ultra smart
it will be swathed in an oriental hued
scarf, sprinkled with such intimate
designs as powder puffs, lip sticks and
vanity cases.
Yes, it's fact. In mad quest for
something new" designers have in
vaded the sanctity of the boudoir and
are hurting all beauty aids upon silk
and wool fabric as designs. They say
that an embroidered manicure buffer
is ever so much niftier than a rose or
butterfly and gives a polished effect.
Hats will be profusely covered with
fruits, especially such tantalizing ones
as raisins, prunes, apricots and cur
rants. Mayhap before the season is
over yeast cakes or cans of make
your-own" will fleck milady's confec-
ton of headgear.
The oriental continues to hold sway
in the hat realm. No sombre shades
are shown. Leading colors are cop
per, royal and Algerian blue, mahog.
any, cerise, jade green, chow brown
and canary yellow. Gaudy embroi-
deries in soutache, wool, tinsel, metal
lie threads, and celluloid or wooden
beads carry out the eastern effect
The Hindu and Chinese collie turbans
are still much in evidence, as are the
summer novelties made of wooden
shavings dyed in gorgeous hues. The
combination of the shavings with
duvetyne of contrasting color is very
popular.