davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

the federal authorities. The wearer
Of the silk tile was taking in" the
city Of Brooklyn. and happened to be
strolling in the vicinity of the Brook
happy, red-blooded young sailors,
who had just landed from a long
cruise in foreign waters, was starting
out ito do" Broadway and other
lively sections of Manhattan Isle. For
some reason or other. the sight of a
of good-natured deviltry in most
young fellows. 1t happened to be
especially true with this crowd of
sailors. They either had to give vent
to the exuberanee of their feelings
as a result of their happy homecom-
ing or blow up. Politely but firmly
they removed the shiny headgear
from the gentleman's head and used
1t as a foot ball all the way across
brooklyn bridge. ydnally attaching it
10 piece of ropH and tremendously
dragging it behind them into each OF
the many and vaxied places visited.
They tenaciously elung to it until the
return to the ship. where it was
proudly exhibiteGas a choice souve-
mir.
The owner had no sense Of humor,
and instead OF quietly buying a nice
human hat. he started out to collect
damages from thu. government and to
|
dismissed from theEavy. No damages
w Trss collected sgp not a sailor was
MANY years ago Kansas provided a
claim that caused considerable
bitterness of feeling. 1t was known
as the BLACK Bob claim. 1t seems
that a band Of Shawnee Indians.
headed by their chief, who was known
throughout the west as BLACK Bob"
received. in 1854. $4,000 acres of land
in southeastern Kansas. about 200
acres for each man in the tribe. The
treaty specified that the land should
be held in common by the tribe, but
il any one Indian wanted to take his
portion in severalty, he was at lib
erty to do SO, and could obtain a
patent from the Indian commissioner
in Washington. t
In the days Of the civil war Guam
trell and his band came along and
scattered the BLACK Bobs" ali over
upon certain spectators and of
ficeholders that they might get pos
session of some mighty good prop
erty by taking advantage of the
the war was over and the BLACK
Bobs" came wandering back to their
old homes they found the rich, tim
bered and we'll watered sections of
the reservation in the possession of
strangers. A white man, purporting
to be an Indian. would send in a
claim for a patent for his 200 acres,
and soon it would be received nicely
embellished with huge red seals and
ribbons. One Of the most cruel TEA
lures of this fraud was the deception
of several hundred settlers from the
east. on whom the spectators I'M
loaded the property, assuring them
the title was perfect. These settlers
had put q quarter of a million dol
lars worth of Improvements in the
form of houses. barns and fences on
the property before the return Of the
Indians Claims and counter claims
we're placed before Washington for
years. In fact, there are people to-
day who like to talk about the
"Black Bob land in which they have
a claim.
Land claims have always cluttered
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
By Rachel Mack

and who refused you jobs all week
men or women"
"Why, men. in every case" she
says. lookin' surprised.
Every WE'LL I proceed.
Question number three: How
much money have you got put
away"
"One hundred and seventy-five dol
lars" she says sort of nervous, land
I'm saving every cent OF 1t Tor a
rainy day." =.
Exactly" I says pleasantly. And
duty to tell you that you're a trump.
"A what?" she shutters, not be-
levin her ears.
"A trump" replies. Capital
F-r-u-m-p; meaning, according TO my
dictionary. a lady dressed IKE a
comic valentine! Your ciothes are e
the most unpleasant bunch of duds
I'VE ever seen hitched together"
I see she's getting excited. but !
motion her to keep quiet.
"Do you know why you lost your two
jobs and why you can't land another
like your looks. What they all crave
whether they know it or not-is
neat, stylish female that's easy on
the eyes. Dressed like that, you're
a blot on the office 1andscape-you're
a blemish on the scenery"
"Do you mean to tell me-" she says,
very dignified. that looks count more
than efficiency"
WELL" I says. maybe looks don't
count more. but they count first.
After you've made yourself as neces-
sary to the firm as the Office furniture
and the steel vault. you can afford to
look like Mrs. Medusa. If you want
to. But not before. Get me-"
YES" she says. but it's nav idea.
Do you advise me to invest part OF my
money in a few. clothes?"
"A regular. up-to-date little workin'
trousseau" I answers with a sham
boo and a manicure thrown in. This
note" I says, scribblin' fast on one
Of my business cards. ''is to be hand
ed to the head saleslady in certain
shop. It calls for a blue serge suit
with plenty Of pep; six neat shirt
waists. nifty black sailor. tan walk
in pumps. and supply of odds and
ends to complete the outfit"
"Well.'' she says. sit seems rather
extravagant. but I'm going to follow
out the program. It's my only chance"
mo chance about, it. dearie." I in
forms her. It's a sure thing. After
one good look at yourself in FULL
length mirror. you'll be able to stroll
up to the biggest mahogany desk in
town and offer your services like
you're doing them favor. Good
luck!" / says, ..sand no. charges till
you've drawn your first pay check"'
Copyright. A92l. Thompson Feature servicel
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

ernor of Tennessee. asserted that the
government had taken a million dol
lars worth of land that rightfully
belonged to him. This claim is still
alive and some of his heirs conf
IDENTIFY expect to have it adjudicated
F., some day in the future.
THE Gen. H. H. Sibley war tent
claim is another that has been
hanging fire for many years. Long
before the civil war Sibley invented
an army tent which was adopted by
the government and used for long
period. Sibley took the side of the
proper compensation for his lnVen-
ton was sidetracked.
Il wouldn't have sold my dog.
which was a fine hound, for as much
as 500. He got mixed up with a
troup of cavalry horses and was
kicked all to pieces. l am wiling to to
settle with the government for $3.50
cash." was the letter received at the
Treasury some fifty-odd years ago
from a Nirginian.
Even fish figured in a civil war
claim against the government. "A
handful of atfidavits were sent to the
Washington officials to prove that
prior to the marching of soldiers
through certain section of Ken
lucky we'll known minister OF the
gospel had large pond on his prem
Uses generously stocked with sew
eral kinds Of good dinner fish. 1t
was asserted that the soldiers drain
ed the pond and conf1scated every
fish. 1t was. of course, impossible
to agree as to the size, weight and
number of fish, and. therefore, the
claim made slight progress during
the ensuing years.
Frightening by soldiers of an old
thoroughbred mare which was proud :
Ily chaperoning her two-month-old
mule colt SO badly that both the
horse and colt fell over a high preci-
pice was the basis of a claim that
was kept lively for number Of
years.
claims that were filed directly after
the civil war it would seem as though
every fruit tree existing in the fight
ing area had been visited and strip
ped by soldiers with keen appetites
for fresh fruit: 1t appears that
and leaves in most cases. In several
instances it was claimed that all of
the branches were torn off and the
fruit eaten as the men continued on
their march.
Chicken coops and duck ponds evil
IDENTIFY were as greatly okp. eS'"eo"
as the orchards. If the claims are
to be relied upon, no poultry houses
were overlooked during the years OF
fighting.
II had the only he peacock in this
county and now one of them Army
motorsickles with two men. one on
and one in the little tub alongside
comes flynn by my place and kills
my handsome bird. and they didn't
even look back, but headed straight
for the next county at lightnin'
speed. and l want damages" SO reads
letter but recently received by a
member of Congress from an irate
constituent The representative, of
course, will seriously pass the buck
TO the War, Treasury and other de-
partments.
A ten-dollar plug hat was once
the subject of extensive and bitter
correspondence between its owner and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

tUre, IN common Win
number of other depart
ments," says Secretary
Meredith, has very definite respon-
sibilities in connection with ALASKAN
development. 1t is endeavoring, for
example to increase the production Of
crops and live stock; it has experts in
the field investigating the possibility
Of building up the reindeer herds into
an important source Of meat supply;
it is giving attention to the perpetu-
alton of the fur industry. But it's
chief responsibility at the present
time is in connection with the admin
istration of the national forests of
Alaska.
The location of pulp mills in these
forests would aid greatly in solving
the problem of our future supplies of
news print. Under regulated use the
Tongass national forest alone can
probably produce forever 100000
tons Of news print yearly, along with
ample quantities of timber for local
purposes. BY far the most valuable
timber in Alaska is that which
fringeS it's western seaboard. the
ests of Washington and British Co
lumbia. Practically all this coastal
area is owned by the government. 1t
is under national forest administra-
ton. and timber from it is already
playing an important part in the in
dustrial development of the territory
Every sawmill on the coast from
ketchikan to Seward obtains it's sup
ply from the national forests. These
mills furnish nearly all the timber
used in the region. and forest admin
istration is Intimately related to
every form of industry and to
Because of this relation a peculiar
responsibility rests on the forest serv-
ice in Alaska. To fulfill it effectively
under a system of long-range admin
istration is impossible. The public re-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

1t will be seen that those who are
under the impression that. the life OF
congressman is just one beautiful
thing after another are trif1e mis-
taken.
OF course, all claims against the
government are not unreasonable.
Many of them are just and honest,
and, in due course of time. are prop
erly paid. OF this latter class Of
claimants was George Washington.
During the long. and discouraging
years Of the revolution it was often
necessary for Gen. Washington to
dig deep into his own pockets in
order to defray his personal expenses
and for the employment of secret
service men and various other things
incidental to the winning of the war
Washington was ever stickIer Tor
keeping the record straight. and
therefore kept strict and accurate
accouM. or every cent of his own that
he paid out. explaining in full detah
the nature of each and every expendl-
ture Each night, whenever it was
practicable to do so. he would post.
pone greatly needed rest until he had
taken up his quill pen and brought
his financial bookkeeping down TO
date These records in Gen. wash
ingtons own handwriting are now
eight by sixteen inches in size. and 1t
is kept in a vault in the auditors
office of the United States Treasury.
in the Graham building, at 14th and e
streets. Efforts have been made to
have this invaluable relic Of the i'm
mortal Washington transferred to the
Library of Congress, where 1t would
be possible for the general public to
view it. The Treasury officials who
have charge of it take different
view and believe it is much better to
allow it to remain where it is at pres
ent.
WHEN Washington assumed the du-
w ties of commander-in-chief he
Immediately bought five war horses
with his own money. At the close of
the war he rendered a claim for reim-
bursement.
Some of the most interesting items
contained in the above mentioned
book are as follows:
ITO barber, in full, 5 guineas. IS
shilling and pence"
ITO cash paid for cleaning the house
which was provided for my headquar-
ters''
ITO cash for recovering my pistols,
which were stolen. and for repairing
them afterward.'
ITO expense Of party Of Oneida In
dams on a visit to me and for pres
ents to them"
ITO the expense of Maj. Cary A.
Harrison, my abide camp. on the up
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
Reindeer Meat and Paper
From the Alaskan Forests

sources in Alaska can be properly
managed only by lodging authority in
men on the ground to act without
waiting to consult distant superiors.
and the forest service has consistently
followed this policy. There is close
co operation between the forest serv-
ice and the territorial government.
and the animating purpose of the for
est officers is to make the forests
serve the welfare Of Alaska.
The greatest need Of Alaska is for
the investment of capital in enter
prises for the development Of re-
sources which can be developed in no
other way. The pulp wood supplies of
the coast forests offer the best i'm
mediate opening for capital. To the
task of securing their utilization on
a large scale. the energies Of the for
est service are now being directed.
with every promise of success. One
large sale has already been closed and
others are in prospect. Through such
enterprises the population of Alaska.
will be built up. it's wealth increased
and other forms of development
stimulated"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

fight gets under way. There is never
a let-up as long as that representa-
tive or senator holds his JOB. The
only way they can ever get away
from the never-say-Quit claimant Is
TO either die or meet WIN oeieat.
one or the other of which surely
happens, sooner or later. But the
first man who greets their successor
as he climbs of the train at the Union
station is this same Mr.. Claimant.
who effusiveiy shakes hands and in
ssts upon carrying his suit case out
to the taxi into which he places it, and
himself During the ride to the hote!
lie pours his manyyeared woes into
che politely attentive ear of the new
and somewhat bewildered legislator,
assuring that embryonic statesman
that he will see to 1t that he is re-
elected to Congress for the next
twenty years. providing his claim is
properly looked after.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16

per or common post road with Mrs.
Washington"
ITO 1888 given to - to induce him
to go into the town of Boston to es-
tabiish secret correspondence for
me purpose or conveying Intelligence
of the enemy's movements and de-.
signs"
TO % guienas sent Brig. Gen.
Scott. commanding the light troons
on the lines, to enable him to en-
gage some of the inha bitants between
him and the enemy to watch their
movements and apprise him of them
to prevent surprises"
TO expense in reconoitering the
enemy's post at Stony Point previous
10 the assault of ii. and on a visit to
it after it was taken"
ITO expenses to Hartford, where
/ went to meet their excellencies.
Count de Rochambeau and Admiral
de Torney."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
How He Did It.

THE late w. X. Vanderbilt was
noted for his quiet. kindly wit.
He was once discussing with some
friends the career of man whose
horse had just won the Grand Prix.
and a banker said:
Banks brilliant success in the
world is great surprise to me and
everybody else who knew him as a
less chaps 1 ever saw he was the
worst. 1t is beyond me how he has
been able to climb to the top of the
ladder. as he has DONE"
WELL" replied Mr.. Vanderbilt. you
would understand Blanks climb bet
ter il you knew Mrs. Blank. She
steadied the ladder for him, you see."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
Irving to Make Uncle Sam Pay Up All Sorts of Peculiar Claim
Have and Reasonable Bills Against the Govern
M Are Washngton Bill for His Barber
Aaron Burr Bills for Club Cydertereg Civil War ClArmy
Alleged Have Killed Peacock the Only Fowl It's Kind the
Files BIhe Plug Hat Used Foot Ball by United
States Saors-Whn Airplane Destroyed Truck Patch
o elief of distress of wives

''To elief of distress of wives
and CHI = of soldiers. Is guineas.'
ITO H., washing in full, Z guineas
shilling and pence"
ITO sundry expenses paid on the
march from Trenton to Morris Town
min
ITO the expenses of trip to the
French fleet off Cape Henry to fix
upon a plan of operation with Count
de Grass. IS guienas.'
ITO the expenses which were paid
by myself on the march (sometimes
with. and sometimes apart from the
army from Fredericksburg to Mid
dlebrook to our winter cantonment
Another celebrated claimant against
the government was Aaron Burr. Dur
ing the month of September, 1907. Mr.
Burr dined daily at the expense Of
the government. In rendering his
bill to the Treasury Department he
took particular pains to specify the
kind of drinks that accompanied each
meal. No mention is made of such
commonplace drinkables as tea. coffee
evidently had the real stuff. His
statement for the month. written in
his own handwriting, contains such
interesting items as:
Dinner, madeira, claret. porter and
cyder."
cyder; brandy and port in the even
ing"
ons."
Club cyder" was one Of Mr.. Burr's
favorite drinks. He would occasion
ally go without brandy or porter. but
never without 'cyder." 1t is perhaps
fair to assume that the "cyder" of thai
ancient period was not limited tc
1,,1 4
of one per cent.
ceived at the Treasury from an over
careful housewife who lives in the
middle west. 1t appears that this
particular lady. after washing the sup
per dishes and putting them away in
the cupboard. picked up the evening
paper and commenced reading about
numerous thefts of liberty bonds in
all sections of the country. She be-
came greatly excited and, fearing
that bond burglar might break into
her home during the night. she re-
moved her one lone bond from the old
kitchen clock, where it had been
snugly tucked away for several years
and hid it in the kitchen stove, con-
f1dently believing that no burgla,
would dream of looking there for
bonds or any other yaluab1es. lmag-
inc the misery and horror of this poor
soul when she arose early the next
morning and proceeded without
thought of either bond or burglar to
fire up the cookstove preparatory to
getting the family breakfast! She now
wants the government to print an
other bond and send it to her to take
the place Of the one that went up the
kitchen chimney in ashes.
THERE is lawyer living along the
= st. Lawrence river, in the state
Of New York, who possesses an ex-
traordinarily keen sense of humor
The letter he sent with a claim fol
the money equivalent of coat and
pants lost by a soldier of the revolu'
tionary war kept the Treasury Off
Gals and clerks smiling for days
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
SECRETS OF A FORTUNE TELLER
T M as familiar with a typewriter as
am with a wireless telephone
and it's sad but true fact that

I'M as familiar with typewriter as
1 am with q wireless telephone
and it's a sad but true fact that
wouldn't know a page of short
hand from a Chinese laundry sign
But, just the same, I'm not such
frost when it comes to offerin' the
ost-eradua,e course to shipwrecked
stenogs.
Yesterday about closin' time Katie
ushers in the most unallurin' female
of the species. But when 1 get right
down to facts and take inventory, she
isn't such homely party. after all.
In fact. she's got the features.
Suddenly / understand what the
blight is: The awful clothes she's
draped ina durable. mud-colored
dress and a weatherproof hat that
would have been a liability to Venus
herself! She looks like Weary Will
lies twin sister all dressed up for a
mushroom hunt.
I'm trouble, grille. l ask by way Oh
openin' conversation.
She mods her head to prove I'm a
good gueSSer and starts the "eeplh
act Sounds of shifting fill the atmos-
phere Of my peaceful home.
Love Worries?" l suggest
Head mods in the negative and more
sniffies.
Business troubles
yes" she sobs, I'm out of a job.
"One Of the most durable little all
ments in the world" l says. very en-
couragin'. cheer up and let's nave the
details" .
"Well,"she says. still enveloped in
gloom. "Im graduate Of the best
business school in town. l was one
Of the first ten recommended IN my
class for vacancies; They go. got me me a
good 10 JOB; bu ,ne wee eos'ersa''0" again
But you lost it in record time"
yes" she admits. when they cut
down the Office force l was the first
to 60"
could show them how valuable you
were. Pretty raw. What next"
Il went back to the business school
and asked for another placement.
They got me a new position and gave
me A-number-one recommendations.
And job number two dies natural
death also" 1 venture
Eyes" she says, "it did. After that
I hadn't the nerve to go back to head
quarters and tell them l had failed
again"
so you've been out on Your own"
| suggest, actin as your own little en-
ployment agency. Any luck?'
! None" she announces. i've walked
the streets till my shoe leather is
wearing out. and it's the same old
story at every office where I answer
an ad: They've just employed a
stenographer' And generally" she
says, fierce enough, II know they are
lying!'
II shouldn't wonder. grille" l says.
kind but true. such things happen
in the best regulated Offices"
Then read my future" she begs.
land tell me what's in store for me"
mo. grille" l says. to her ever
lastin' surprise. I'm not tellin' for
| tunes today. What you need is a
|, lite common sense talk and you're
going to get it right now. Prepare
Tor the personal inquiries:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-16
ny II. O. BISHOP.

"ROM the birth of this nation
~ right down to the present day
it has been the custom for
many persons in all sections
of the country to go upon the theory
that the Treasury in Washington
Nas in constant danger of overflow
ing, and that bins of gold and silver
coin and bundles of greenbacks were
splitting out into the streets and were
swept away in the cutters. They
think they may relieve the pressure
by fling strange and wonderful
claims.
In the minds of a great many men
and women Uncle Sam is pictured as
a benevolent and easygoing old
gentleman who hasn't a blessed thing
in the world to do except stand at
the open doors of the Treasury with
a long-handled shovel in his hands,
ready and eager at any old time OF
the day or night to scoop out the
golden sheckels to any one who hap
pens to make a claim for anything
from their great great grandpa s
Sunday coat and pants that dlsap-
peared during the revolutionary war
to a lost mule or liberty bond OF the
<present period.
That queer little worm knaKn to
physicians. druggists and the scieh-
tific fraternity as the "leech" is
downright lazy and absolutely de-
void of even the elementary prin-
cipies Of persistence" as compared
with some of the people who file
claims against the federal govern
ment. Leeches will give up now and
then and quit after pursuing their
quest for a time. Government claim
ers,'' however. are different. They
stick it out as long as there is
thought in their heads or go in their
feet. These determined folk will trail
claim through various govern
mental channels year after year until
some tidily inclined official gets tired
of seeing it cluttering up his files
or desk and will disapprove it in
order to get rid of it and it's herders.
y X 4 x
IT must not be supposed. though. that
such disposal of a claim forever
more discourages the claimant. Oh.
no, Early the next morning he is at
the office of his representative or
senator, all primed and smiled with
facts and figures for either a reopen
ing of the case or the Introduction
of special bill in Congress de-
signed to get the much desired money
from Uncle Sam. And then the long