davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

America is by placing some sugar
inside nut shell which is very large
and at the same time has a small
opening left in one end when the
meat is removed. These hunters
watch the trees, and after spying one
or more monkeys select a time when
the little creatures are watching
chem and put the nut shells on the
ground. Then they walk away. and
are scarcely hidden when the mon
keys cautiously descend from the
trees and begin to examine the
shells. Curiosity and the lump of
sugar inside soon prompt .hem to
slip their hands into the openings,
and after grasping the sugar they
endeavor to remove their hands, but
while doubled up they are too large
IT. come out. Of course, the monkeys
could release the sugar and with
oraw their hands easily, yet THAR
inquisitive nature and love of sugar
are so strongly developed that they
refuse to do so. The hunters are
peering through the undergrowth,
and just as the animals get their
hands into the shells they leap out
and give chase TO them, knowing
that as long as their curiosity has
not been satisfied they will cling to
the lump of sugar. These nowling
monkeys are clumsy enough on u
level surface. but when one hand
is incased in big shell glove as
large as a cocoanut it is q conf
cal sight to see these active crea-
lures trying to climb a tree. AS a
result they are soon captured by
the hunters and placed in large
sacks to await the next visit of
purchasing agent for some menag-
erie. This ineuisitive nature of the
monkey tribe was well known by the
tncients, one of the old fables de-
scribing how monkey endeavored
tc secure handful Of some deli
eacy from narrow-necked Jar aud
then withdrew its hand while hold
ing it.
In Asia and Africa the inquisi-
tiveness of balloons enables the
natives to capture them by placing
some jars of sweetened wsser out
where they can reach it. T..s LIQUID
contains a certain variety OF dopey
herb. AT first the curious creatures
advance rather cautiously toward
the jars ard taste the water; then,
finding the taste agreeable, they pro-
ceed to drink the jars empty. As
result they soon become quite
drowgy and offer no resistance when
the natives approach to take them.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

other people have made their starr
After breakfast ne meets vis;sors
with whom ne has made apDo;ns.
ments in advance. Al RON i.
lunches at one Of the clubs. as
rule, then spends an hour or twa
IN long walk Walking ard
horseback riding are his main ous.
door exercises He doesn't 70 N fo,
golf or tennis.
In the afternoon ne meets cisy
officials CT attends conferences. Tva
or three times week he goe.s ous
or tour Of inspection Of tie P -R.T
property. After dinner he reads
He retires early, Tor he arises earIx.
Occasionally ore finds Mltten :. an
evening function. but not often. and
when ne is persuaded 10 attend
dinner or an entertainment he is ina
first 70 move honeward.
He reads in ard cut ot season.
bat reads chiefly about tairgz caa-
cerned in the management of trssfya
lines He Is subscriber % dip
ping bureaus, and 4 multitude Of
cuttings on the one topic Of trzT;c
are daily laid On his desk. he reads
them all
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
patrons prohting by adequate serv-
ice and cheap fare.

patrons prohting by adequate serv-
ice and cheap fare.
But Of all these saving ideas a
few will suffice to show the high
spots in Mitten's economic plan. An
official document. for instance.
shows that accident costs during the
first eight years of the life Of the
Philadelphia Rapid Transit (1902-
'1o) were COS per cent OF the
gross earnings, while the unpaid
liability was allowed to pyramid to
total of 4.s53 suits unsettled at
December 81, 1910. During the
nine-year period Of the present man
agement, ending in 1919, accident
costs were reduced 10 3.4S per cent
Of gross earnings, and the accrued
liability was cut in half by decrea.-
ing the suits pending 70 1856. This
reduction in per cent of accident
costs represented saving Of S.
315, ,369.87 in operating costs. The
statistics show that 50,043 passen-
gers were carried per accident in
1919, as against 1850 passengers
in 1911.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

sentatives of the transit company is
held at the Bellevue Stratford HotA.
and there around the banquet board
the men who do the manual labor
and the men who direct the execu-
tive affairs Of a $4,000, 900 corpo-
ration talk shop and determine plans
like equal partners in a great enter
prise.
The insurance plan of the cooper
atlve organization has the support
Of more than 80 per cent of the en-
ployees, and insures the men against
sickness, accident and death. A pen
sion fund also is one of the features
CT this unique organization, in which
the employers share authority.
And who is Mitten, this UNIQUE
master mind who sways the multi
tude? An ordinary person when
you look at him. He is fifty-four
years old and was born in England.
He migrated to this country with
his parents when he was ten years
old, and settled out in Indiana.
Who's Who in America records the
name Of Mitten, but it doesn't in
dlcate that Thomas Eugene Mitten
ever had the advantage Of high
school or a college education.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
Had a Safety Bureau

The enormous decrease in acci-
dents was brought about by the
scientific operation Of safety bu-
reau, established BY Nitten, to pro-
mote safety campaign among
school children, and a sch.ol of in
struction for motorhlen which in
stilled into their minds the principles
Of the safety idea and gave them
the training necessary to put them
in force.
Fire insurance is a big item with
a great tram company in a large
city, and Mitten early saw that di-
lapidated car barns and imperfect
inspection system made for exces-
sive rates on the insurance of prop
erty. To reduce fire insurance costs
he promoted the idea Of modern fire.
proof barns, with openings at front
and back, and the establishment Of
what he defined as a superior sys-
tenn of "housekeeping.' Insurance
rates on transit property were
lowered accordingly and the COM
pany made a saving in this item
alone Of sSs,00o annually.
The competent instruction of mo-
tormen in the operation Of their cars
was another Mitten idaa. The old
method of tram companies was to
send new man out with an OLD man
tor two or three days OF breaking
in" process, and then let him pro-
eeed along on his wild, reckless and
esctravagant way Mitten saw that
It was possible TO train motorrnen in
the conservation OF electrical power.
He saw that q competent motorman
could save q vast amount of cleo
tricity that vas thoughtlessly wasted
by an unskilled motorman who knew
only enough to put on power or check
it. So the school Of instruction was
established. not only a school for in
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

voices OF singing also came TO me
across the meadows, choruses that
rose and fell upon the wind, here
dying and there taken up afresh. the
words indistinguishable bur the tune
perpetuelly the same.
Presently an old woman and two
young girls climbed the mound at
the foot OF the beacon. 4 little
girl came up with them, and al
most at once two men and then a
couple Of boys with g dog Joined
them. The little girl stood shyly
alone. apart from them all; but the
old woman and her two companions
placed themselves together opposite
the fire; and the fickering light,
falling on their white-scarved heads,
gave them an air OF reverence, al
most as though they had been stand
ing before the Cross The boys
challenged them 70 sing, and at last
the old woman. in q high cracked
voice, broke into a chant OF IN
vitatlon, Of which the burden was
Come lasses and lads" Meantime
the men and boys together made up
the fire. One OF them lit TORCH
from It and, climbing s birch tree,
set it all iiaring aniong the topnoss
branches, q Light SET higher than
the beacon for signal TO the ecnn-
tryssde. And presently from anorg
the snatehes Of distant singing that
were borne haphazard oa the wind
one chorus singled itself ont and
grew quickly clearer, Til we coald
make out the white headdFesses OF
girls moving across the field below
us They came in singing process
sion 10 q cottage at the foot OF
the hill, and theirs waited to b
rewarded, an old nan told Us, with
supper OF cheese.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

"a III AN hunters OF oriental
VIZ countries do most Of tnelr
4 V1 hunting by appealing to
the curiosity CT the bird
CT other wild creature which they
wish TO Rag. There is q species of
partridge in Central Asia that gp-
pears TO have more than its share of
curiosity. If you happened to be
touring through this section Of the
country during the season of this
particular partridge you would no.
tice peculiar objects of many bril-
liant colors bobbing along in the
fields or from behind rocks. In a
country SO plentifully stocked with
strange looking birds you might
think these objects were nothing
more than some new species that
you had not seen before, but on
closer examination you would dis
cover each Of them to be a native
hunter.
In their left hands they are carry
ing screens of cloth which look
something like crazy quilts of the
most glaring colors. This patch
work Of colored cloth is stretched
over frame resembling that of a
kite, some of the cloth being tied on
the edge in the form Of streamers
that wave Back and forth in. the
breeze. The species of partridge for
winch they are hunting is called the
chukar, or rock partridge. and it
IS much priced by the people of the
region IN which it is found. They
are quite plentiful, but are so wild
that the hunters find it difficult to
get within shooting distance. Our
quail and other game birds are of
the same nervous disposition toward
the end Of the hunting season.
Almost every native Asiatic hunt
er carries an old-fashioned gun. and
II they can't get quite close to their
game great many shots are vast
ed. However, one of them discovered
that the rock partridge was brim-
fni of curiosity and prone quickly to
approach and investigate anything
bright colored or otherwise odd ap-
pearing. 1t is just possible that the
first discoverer Of this trait hap
pened to have on particularly
bright shirt one day and noticed that
the rock partridges began TO gather
nearer him, Then he rugged up the
kitelike contriyance, with its vari-
Gus colorea cloths. and found that
II worked with still greater effect,
the birds coming in quite close, lie
began to hr;ex In so many OF these
usually ehy birds that other hunters
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
St. Johns Eve on the Baltic

j n THE Baltic countries the Eve
of ST. John is a festival that
- plainly goes back further into
time than the celebration Of the
saint whose name it bears. For ST.
Johns Day, writes S. G. 7. in The
Manchester Guardian, is also Mid
summer Day; and on that night over
a wide stretch of country it is the
immemorial custom Of the peasants,
gathering together in little CON-
panies, to light beacons on the hill
tops and TO rejoice far into the
morning with dancing and feasting
and the singing of ancient songs.
1t is called the Night of St John:
but in Livonia, at least, there is but
little night in midsummer. I was
travelling there this year, and when
at midnight ! turned aside from the
great Petrograd road. with my eyes
on a little moon not far risen above
the horizon, there was still a wide
rcd sky glowing behind me in the
wast, and it was still twilight as
walked across a fed and climbed q
sandy knoll set with birch trees, on
the top of which fire was already
blazing. The Topped truek of a fir
tree some twenty feet high had beer
set on the ground at the center IF
this little hill, and in ealdron
fastened to the head of it a fire OF
wood was alight. There was no one
attending it as | breasted the knoll,
and stood there alone for a time,
while other answering fires sprang
out from the hills near and far, till
could count a full ten of them
cleaning across the dark, wide coun.
try. And while / watched and
counted them, walking round the
hre that blazed above my head, the
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
THOMAS EUGENE NIT
4 TEN, president Of the
Philadelphia Rapid Transit
Company
ton Of skilled men Mitten had
gathered around him.
Jitneys Were Competitors


The fve-cent jitney cars had been
overrunning Philadelphia when Nit
ten came to town. So bitterly were
the people prejudiced against the
railroad, that tens Of thousands OF
them patronized the jitneys, even at
great inconvenience, rather than
give their money to a hated cor
poration." Mitten's experts estab-
lished the skip-stop system, reor-
ganized the rerouting plan and made
the street railway service so effective
that it was not long until the jitney
cars were put out Of business. One
Of Mitten's greatest strokes was
almost Immediately to increase the
business Of the transit company IN
enormous proportions, the while
using only the normal equipment Of
we'll balanced streetcar line, oper-
ated by men who knew their bust
ness.
A volume could be written in ex-
planation Of the multitude. of things
which Mitten did to save money for
his corporation and thereby earn
money for its stockholders, with its
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
EMPLOYEES OF the Phi1a-
- delpipia Street Railways
as guests OF President Mitte7a

Rapid Transit his hobby He gives
al Of his waking time 10 it. The
general Offices Of she corporation
are in the Land Title Building, but
Mieren has his own Offices and his
little family Of expert advisers about
him in the more exclusive quarters
in the Tou,aine Apartments. There
It is that Mltten arises each morn
ing at 4 o'clock. There i is that
ne puts in about twenty minutes Of
intensive physical exercise while
others ere sleeping. In these apart
ments he has digested all that is
worth while in the daily newspapers
before he partakes ce breakfast.
which IS served promptly at :
O'Clock.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

HILE street railway corn
~f panies throughout the
" length and breadth Of
these United States are
increasing fares from 20 per cent
10 loo per cent over the pre-war
schedule, Philadelphia, with it's
nearly 10000 people. still pays
a nickel to ride on its trancars, and
the transit facilities are said to be
better than ever before.
Within the last three years some
streetcar companies have quit out
right. Others have embraced re-
ceiverships to allay the sting Of
bankruptcy. Virtually every tram
system. large and small, in the
United States is pleading for per-
mission TO charge higher fare in
order 20 make 5oth ends. meet. Not
so in Philadelphia. The rapid tran
sit company there, while charging
the. same old tariff for q continuous
ride, is voting dividends to stock
holders and paying TO 1900 con-
tented employees ore of the highest
wage scales in the country.
An Embarrassing Question
"How DO they manage TO get
along in Philadelphia on a hve-cenl
fare?' is the annoying question
that plaques magnates elsewhere.
The miracle that preserved for
Philadelphia a five-cenr car fare on
tram system that IS pronounced one
Of the best equipped and most skill
fully directed Of any similar enter
prise in the United States is traced
to the fashionable Touraine apart
nent building, Sixteenth and Spruce
streets, where Thomas Eugene Nit
ten. president Of the Philadelphia
Rapid Transit, eats. sleeps ard
works.
1t was E. T. Stotesbury, the wide
~ known Philadelphia inancier, who
picked Mitten to rehabilitate the
transit system in Philadelphia ten
years ago, after il had reached the
verge OF bankruptcy and was de-
clared to be one of the most poorly
equipped and most hopeless traffic
enterprises in the entire world.
M;tten, not an untried genius by
any means, tackled his biggest JOB at
period when a great world war
was undreaned Of. He is credited
with having achieved his task, and
achieved it so well within a few
years that the street railway system
was scarcely affected by the world
calamity that brought innpn,erab,e
public service enterprises 10 the
brink of ruin.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
HIS sort OF thing acth its attendant danqer to the e
OF ch1ldren has been done array acith IN Phadelphia

struction in safety principles, but in
conservation and mechanism as well.
This school has brought the efficiency
of Philadelphia motormen up to the
highest standard, and the economy
IN the use Of power has saved the
corporation tens Of thousands of dol
lar.c
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

Meanwhile Mitten was keeping
fine the temper of his men and the
disposition Of his patrons. The an
nual Two days fail picnic of P. r. T..
employees III Willow Grove Park is
ore Of Philadelphia notable events.
The n1ldwinter meeting of repre-
sentatives of the Employees Co.
operative Association and repre-
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

A dozen Of the higs1es,priced
street railway experts n the United
States are members Of 5litren's Of
fetal family. He pays Big salaries.
He believes II =. E.s oxn salary
as head OF the Philadelphia company
is 100000 year, bur i Goes not
Worry him He gives great slice
OF il IN income tax 70 re govern
n,ent each year, the resi- re gives 10
charity. The income O. fortune Of
$1,000, ,oo0 keeps the wolf from Nit
tens door Eis sala-y is t1e least
Of his anxietiss. HIS charities, they
sag, are given vi-hou. ostea-a.ion
and are distributed largely among
those Who may be KIN of men VINO
helped hin OF the way waen he was
plugging along as 2 railroad oDer-
asor, a station agent q Z railway
clerk.
He doesn't vase uaingse, nor do
those around him waste minutes.
They ere vel paid. therefore they
must give al their energy 70 the
tasks a. hand. The men Of thu
ranks Who make good s-e always re-
warded by d.trea- Soma of the
highest paid officials On ne Phila-
deiphia. Buffalo ard Chicago lines
owe tne:r good fortune . Ni1-sa, and
they can look hack On days when
they were s2-a-day morornen o. con-
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
way That Makes Money and Has No Strikes
President Thomas E. Mitten Put the
Philadelphia System on a
Paying Basis
Paying Basis

| ality. by his genius for organiSa-
ton, by his magnetic sway not only
ever the men who must keep the
wheels Of the ssreetcars turning. but
over the tens Of thousands who pa
tronize those cars.
/ Mitten made promises ard he kept
them He told the employees Of the
Philadelphia Rapid Transit that, il
they would only be patient, they
would be among the highest paid
| transit operators in the United
States And Mitten made good his
pledge. He told the people of Phila-
delpnia if they would sit tight and
wait patiently for the transition Of
the miracle the miracle would come
70 pass, and the people, within few
years, beheld the wonder transit
service that they had been pleading
fer. He told mofe than $4,000
stockholders OF the Philadelphia
Rapid Transit that they would get
dividends on their Investments. And
/ these more than $4,000 stockholders,
who were holding the sack when Nit
ten came to town, have been cutting
coupons for the last FIVE years.
Two strikes in rapid succession
were the obstacles that faced Mitten
soon after he had taken over the
direction OF the transit property, in
1911. bat he settled these by force
OF his personality, and the car sys-
tern Of Philadelphia has never been
annoyed by a strike since that day.
No Need for a Union
The organization Of the cooper
ative plan among the transit work
ers was the next step, ard in this
movement Mitten obviated the neces-
sity for labor union; taught the
men the wisdom Of saving their
money; preached the necessity Of
life, accident and health insurance,
and by the operation Of this society
Of the workers made all these things
possible.
With his men contented and work
ing in unison to do their all for the
success Of a great experiment, Nit
! ten turned to the dilapidated street
railway system that he had been in
structed TO redeem and laid the plans
for redemption by the establishment
Ct efficiency ru'es that have been
TIE marvel Of all who have studied
them.
The Philadelphia Rapid Transit
lad been losing money. Mitten de-
cided 70 make money by saving
money. The curtailment of acci-
dents, the conservation Of electrical
power, the perfecting Of car sched-
u,es, with greater service to a
greater number, were some of the
IDEAS which We're soon brought to a
happy realization under the direc
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
Gets Up a 4 O'clock

When he was very young lad he
was working on farm and getting
out of bed at o'clock each morn
ing. He still arises at 4. He re-
manned on that farm until ne was
nineteen years old, when he picked
up a knowledge Of telegraphy by
working in railroad station out in
the wilds- He had various minor
railroad jobs until 1890. when he
became general superintendent Of
the Denver, Lakewood & Golden
Railroad, line that was a steam
line when Mitten went there, but
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
His Day Is Planned

When Mitten opens the day for
nlally he has laid his plans for
twenty-four hours. He has done all
his preliminary thinking before
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
v ould Lend the Boss Money

" hen runor spread r.. long ago
that the 1nancie~s ve-e gong 70
close IN CT A.tten and a.2ze : hard
for him 70 get money . carry on
the operation of the ?. 2. I. the
1900 employees. VINO. = few weeks
before, had voluntarily a-d anani-
mously refused 4 wage Increase until
me storm passed. offered u le-d Nit
Ten sl,oo0,0oo- / represented their
funds N ire cooperative savings as
soelation-the money that Nitten
had taught them 70 save.
Al This meeting. & sort q indigna-
tion meeting, g negro t-zckzlan, as
black as The traditional ace o. spades.
addressed the crowd ari expressed
the feeling Of 1900 when he cried
out in the vernacglar Of the race
track:
In this trouble rhat : threaten
IN my money rides OF Mi1ten!"
And the black speaker was hold
ing his baukbook IN his hard.
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29
A Man of Personality

And Mitten did all these things,
they will tell you over in Philadel-
pfia, by tie charm Of his person
New-York tribune., 1920-08-29

ANY hunters Of Oriental
countries do most Of their
hunting By appealing to
the curiosity cf tne bird
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-06-30
FOR FORD GARAGE
Adds Expensive Magnet Recharging
Machine and Shcrt Remover

TIE Fota ga a ~ tust received
a modern miracle in machinery
contraption which recharges magnets
without having to remove them from
tn car, and which burns out all shorts
and grounds. Such labor saving and
mechanically precise machinery is be-
ing rapidly installed and is big fac
tor in the masterful way they have of
restoring sick Lizzies to robust health,
under the watchful eye of Chief Me
chanic Sterley Nav.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1920-06-30
AN INDOOR BALL LEAGUE
EIGHT TEAMS FORMED IN THE
CfTY-G00D THE
TIVE Games of Indoor Bah VIII be Put
On Each Week-First Game
Thursday Night

a move has been started that will
greatly promote good fellowship and
healthful enjoynnt among the men of
Niroqua city. An indoor ball leauge
has been formed, composed of eight
teams, and games viii be played twice
a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, on
the city park diamond Indoor ball
is played with a ball somewhat soft
and larger than the regulation size.
The team has ten men--two short
stops, and the bats are smaller than
regulation. The diamond is about
half the regular size. All pitching
must be done underhanded No play
er can steal base until the bali passes
home plate. First game viii be play
ed Thursday evening, and the crowd
should wend its way in that direction
for there's more fun in store than a
basket of monkeys. Five innings con-
stitutes game and three will be call
ed game if the fracus has to be stop
ped because of darkness or rain.
Following are the teams and their
captains Business Men, Otto Om-
undson. Professional Men, DR.. ]. H.
Chase Fats, M. A. Smith. Leans,
Charlie Parker. Knights of Pythias,
Harry Nelson. Odd Fellows, Ira Cas-
person. Woodmen, Perry McHenry.
Masons, Berlie Moore.
Twenty-one games comprises the
schedule and the Fats and Profession
al Men stage The first battle Thursday
night.