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The Commoner.
6
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 7.
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"n , w0t . Worn (f.(tT(R
TN THE PRESENCE OF REPEATED DEMANDS
1 that tho United States increase their naval
lorccs, it may bo imagined that no progress is be
ing mado in tho effort to increase ihc strength of
tho navy. That this Is a mistaken notion ia
pointed out by a writer in Public Opinion in this
way: "Wo aro already at work upon twenty-four
largo ships, of which thirteon are battleships,
whilo Franco has under construction only nino
battleships, Germany ten, and Russia ten. Tho
extent to which we are exceeding these countries
in naval construction is better exhibited in a
comparison of tonnago of ships under construc
tion: We havo 324,351 tons, against France's
277,915, Germany's 159,510, and Russia's 140,558."
AN OLD NEGRO BOOTBLACK IN THE NA
tional capital who has a stand patronized
by senators and congressmen, declared to the
Washington correspondent of the Des Moines
Register and Leador that ho can tell by tho feet
of any of his customers what state they aro from.
This correspondent relates tho story in this way:
Tho other day a flno looking gentloman, past mid
dlo lifo, got into Rufo'o chair. "An Iowa foot,
sail," Bald Rufo, looking at him 'or acquiescence.
Tho gentleman smilod and took an Indiana paper
out of his pocket which ho began reading. Rufo
looked puzzled for a moment until his customer
remarked: "Indiana at presont; but I am a
Hawkoyo, however just moved to Hoosierdom."
Rufo Ohonoy is tho old bootblack's name and ho
calls his achiovomont tho "Sclonco of Foototomy."
First ho guessed at foot just for fun and his guesses
only oxtonded to tho identification of a foot from
tho northwest, south or east. "Den," says Rufo,
"I bo&ln with plckin' em by states and I soon
foun' it bottah fun dah plckin the pennies. It was
a mos' roma'kablo fact, boss, dat do feet of men
folks shapo up puciRoly like do feet of othahs in
tho same state." Rufo says that it is easy to pick
out men from tho south from the high instep,
light fancy lcathor tops, and choap store shoes
with narrow solos. Tho gontlomon from the west,
ho says, wear custom mado wide soles, heavy up
pers and differ by states in tho manner of styles,
such as laces, buttons and congress. Tho gentle
men from tho further west wear cowhide and
heavy calf uppers and mostly boots. "Dey all hab
flat foot but no co'ns," says Rufe.
sr
N INTERESTING STORY RELATING TO A
L suit brought several years aeo aealnst a
bank cashier in an Iowa town is roljitpci iw "Tho
Green Bag." Tho purpose of the suit was to re
cover a deposit Tho bank cashier denied that
tho deposit had over been mado. It is related that
during tho trial tho defendant's attornoy made a
very convincing argument for his client, and took
painc to toll tho jury of his client's high social and
religious standing and of tho confidence of tho
peoplo which ho enjoyed, and ondeavorod to im
press upon the minds of tho jury that tho defend
ant was not tho kind of a nfan to make a mis
take in tho handling of other people's money. T.
H. Milner, a witty as well as a very shrewd law
yer, represented the other side, and in addressing
tho jury, said: "Gentlemen, I heartily concur in
what my brother has said of tho defendant: I
agree with him in each and every statement that
ho has made pertaining to Mr. '8 good self-
fnUnf lJ'onl? f avo you consider deeply this one
fact Canada is full of just such men."
nnHE WIFE OF THE PRESIDENT RECENTLY
H,rntlJ,nder the doctor's care, her illness be
ing duo to tho enormous burdens placed upon her
because of her social duties. A hint as to tho tre
SenroTn!r?CnneStin,g ?pon tuo President's wife
UwlSw Y5rkywn;iT7JWhtagton corresPndent of
ino now York World in a summary showinc tho
strain under which Mrs. Roosevelt has been since
tho season began. Tho summary follows- Hm,so
guests entertained, 200; dinner parties Tg ven 3G?
average guests at each dinner party 20- guests
dUChSan' 275; guoata at breakfast, BOtato
Serf - 'aS? nu?,be,I ,guosts ai "to dm!
nors, jo, attended cabinet d nners, 8- musicals
given, 6; average number guests at musicals 300?
tsTt'Now ??alS' statG recepuons 5;'
looo. w?W.Y,car8 recPtlon welcomed by her
8.000, guests at four other state recentions 7 poo.
afternoon receptions given by MSTSSSSf B;
Af
I
average number guests at each afternoon recep
tion, 1,200; total guests at afternoon receptions,
6,000; guests invited to Blue Room, entertained
after state receptions, 1,500; average number in
vited to Blue rfoora each reception, 300; dined
with Senator Hanna, 1; dined with Senator
Lodge, 1; It will occur to a greai many peoplo
that this is altogether too heavy a burden for any
woman to be required to bear. Society at the
national capital could well afford to become a bit
moro conservative in its festivities both from tho
standpoint of members of that society generally as
well as out of consideration for the president's
wife. So good a mother as Mrs. Roosevelt is
known" to bo has responsibilities altogether more
important than any and all of the social functions
that must bo sufficient to demand a very largo
share of her attention.
x? up
A QUEER MONUMENT STANDS IN MT. HOPE
cemetery at Logansport, Ind. This moun
ment was erected to tho memory of William H.
Rcightor. It is related by a correspondent of the
Cincinnati Enquirer that Mr. Reighter was xl ditch
contractor and prominent in his locality. It was
on a rainy day that death came and he was well
prepared for the weather. Ho" was wearing a
broad-brimmed hat, a mackintosh over his suit of
clothes and his trouser legs were in his rubber
boots. The members of tho family, wishing to
remember him as he looked when last he bade
them good-by, employed a man about tho same
size and build as Mr. Righter to havo his photo
graph taken In the clothes last worn by the de
ceased, and when he had carried out this idea
they replaced tho head on the photograph with
the head of a likeness of Mr. Reighter. This pic
ture was sent to a sculptor in Italy, with the re
quest that a lifo sized statue be made from it in
Italian marble. Tho statue is true to life. It cost
$5,000.
T WOULD SEEM THAT THIS IS INDEED A
a. """ uu. uuuer aaie or wosnington,
-..owumj U, wu nBouumiea press sent out tne
following interesting dispatch: "The war depart
ment has sent notices to the governors of each
state that it is prepared to supply them upon
demand and according to their legal allowances
with 'riot cartridges.' This is a new form of am
munition prepared by the experts of the ordnance
bureau to enable officers of the law and soldiers
to repel rioters with the least possible loss of life
to the innocent spectators. The shell is like the
regular shell used in army rifles, with tho import
ant exception that instead of tho long nickel
plated and steel-clad bullet two halls are inserted
in the mouth. The design was apparently to se
cure something of greater range than buckshot, vet
not dangerous to persons at a distance. The
cartridge is charged with about thirty-four grains
of smokeless powder. The balls aro made of a
mixture of lead and tin in the proportion of six
Th? VaT1i 5 8USJY waled with paraffine.
wreipht is fortv-two grains. The regular primer
for smokeless powder is ned. Tho cartridges have
sufficient accuracy for effective usVat 200 yards!
THEfi,n?IAR(3H F BEGGARS" IS A TERM
Jv Jl i ,been emPloyed to describe ttie army
of uhemp oyed men that have been asking for
work or alms in the city of London. The London
Ste8B?J!!Snt f ? PhadlPMa Press describes
5 nf ?ng 8pectaclc in this way: "Since the
first of January every day at dawn the great army
of London's unemployed has taken theroad wad
rondel tw Park From the las named
rendezvous they have gone forth toward eveninc
to file though tho brilliantly lit streets of thf
city, dragging slowly, gloomily throuS TrafalnS
rra0nksdhLGnS.trand AU U
the SSfi n? Y mei alld men wh0 sti" ear
vaal it V fl?Tes broH8ht f0 tne ns
don nor onP of Im 1 ? PleaslnK Bl Lon
aon, nor one of which she could be nroud Thnf
these processions have gradua ly grown shorteJ
is a matter for congratulation mi it i- f aoner
all of these men will havo found occunot ions T
the meantime tho British capital stilhaiaDart
of its problem to solve. The home slcretarf
Amos Douglass, is the man most concerned in
seeing the proper solution reached. On the flanks
of the column as it marches walk men collecting
alms from tho passersby. They carry small
market baskets, empty cigar boxes, battered hats
anything and everything into which pennies may
bo dropped. When tho line halts from time to time
these men gather along tho curbs, carrying their
petitions to the curious and the charitable alike,
who have stopped to see this peculiarly twentieth
century processron. How much they gather in
for the benefit of -themselves and their fellows
will probably never bo known accurately, but
to judge from the clink of the small coins which
are given them, the march of the unemployed is
not unprofitable."
a? "
A MODEST BRICK BuILDING USED AS A
stable in Philadelpnia rests upon a founda
i.wi made of Mexican onx. The story of now
tiiid valuable material came to be used lor tne
foundations of this stable is related by tho Phil
adelphia Press in this way: "The stable itself is
a modest two-and-oue-half-story brick, of tno
plainest possible sort. It is practical and not
ornamental. It occupies space near the center of
the city, and if William Penn just turned his
weather oye a little to the left as he loons over
Philadelphia from his eminence at the top of the
City Hall tower he could Iook directly upon tho
roof of this particular stable. The company upon
whoso property the stable sets and for whoso
purpose it is employed is one, of tho largest im
porters of American onyx in America. Nearly hve
years ago their attention was called to an im
portation of onyx that came from Vera Cruz tne
main Mexican port for the importation of tho
stone and which lay on a steamer's dock in New
York harbor. The stone was so hard it turned
the edge of every cutting tool they had in their
equipment, and they realized that as beautiful as
the material was it was not practical for any
commercial purpose. The entire consignment was
taken to a lot belonging to them in the out
skirts and lay for nearly five years. When a new
stable was planned one of the officials said: 'Why
not use the onyx for its foundations V No sooner
suggested than done. The blocks were of just
the right size and there was no questioning tneir
solidity. Now supporting a structure of common,
ordinary Philadelphia red brick the Mexican
onyx blocks are fulfilling a useful but an humble
mission."
AN OHIO COURT HAS RECENTLY ISSUED
an injunction restraining a devout church
member from participating in the services with
undue enthusiasm. The Columbus (O.) correspon
dent of tho Chicago Chronicle reports that Isaac
Tenant has been suppressed by the United
Brethren of Mount Gilead for calling out "Amen"
cnnuaJy atevival meetines. Isaac was always
seated close to the front and in the excess of his
pWot, rre,3acUlations reverberated through the
SL?Ce,grate(1 on the ears oi other
SoHnn flCk and they "Ut a StP tO it by
dS " hiVt D;Tne SJ.lrt allowed a restraining or
TeniS? Joil'i mdAfied U In 8uch a manner that
inas LT Lgwn the DrivileSG of attending meet
wealthv nn?dK t0 W0?hIp ta silence- Tant is
vy the E m Z emplyed lawyera who will car
ry tne case to tho supreme court.
AN NTERESTING REFORM INAUGURATED
stowni V! dian bureau relatea to the be
hKen S3J? 5Pn I?dIan culldron- An order
enter sch0nRi at Whm these Indian children
the? sh2 wlLg S??n the aeents s, that
given nam ?5r?r if Is DraablQ preserve as
gven them bnfe0in?,ian names that have been
name ofTheir f.H" r??oIve as a surname the
for this oS ? Explaining the necessity
the Chicago ChSnioYaSllingt0n "respondent of
that the lamp w ?ay8: "U is wo" known
entrance fnto thn v ,upon the India on his
monly a matte? of Wi"0 f cIvIlization is corn
some agent or 2nnhl8n Caprice on the Part of
It is aBcommonlSVroanther WhITte perSon;
school after Bom 5SI cal1 younS Indians at
Tho struggfes o? tifamUS or notrious persons,
added to by the npoo. JfUnf aoorl&ine are often
the name of Otto Von 7 f wr,nB trough life
Train or Belva 2Sl8m,arok or Geor Francia
ueiva Lockwood or Carrie Nation or
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