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The Herald
T. J. 0'KKr.FB, Publisher.
HEMINGFORD. - NEBRASKA
NEBRASKA NEWS.
E. J. Burkctt, republican cnndldntc
lor congress In the First district, lias
announced thnt be has selected ISO
R, Slzer of Lincoln ns chairman 0
tho congressional committee.
Bicycles frightened the team of 'Will
iam Gelbhart at Seward, causing them
to run, and the occupants of tho wagon
wero thrown out. Mrs. Gelbhart sua
talned severe Injuries on her back, nnd
It Is feared that she Is Injured Inter
nally. Henry Mowrer, a farmer living west
of Lyons, employed a stranger to work
for him by tho month, who gave as his
name C. A. Carpenter of Omaha. When
Mr. Mowrer went out to do his chores
Mr. Carpenter waB found missing, nnd
so was a span of hln best horses and a
saddle.
George Zlnsmnster, a laborer, was
brought Into Justice court at Tecumseh
on the charge of selling mortgaged
whent, the Chamberlain bank being tho
complainant. Zlnsmastor was bound
over to await trial In the district court,
bond being fixed at J 200. He could not
furnish ball.
Jack Nye, a farmer living northwest
of Decatur, was held up on the out
skirts of thnt city by two unknown
men, while on his way home. Nye held
his money, a 20 bill, In his left hand
while the robbers ransacked bis emp
ty pockets.
Edgar & Fladman's general merchan
dise store at Mead was entered by
thieves on the night of the 11th and
over $50 worth of dry goods and shoeH
taken. The firm said nothing about
the loss until now, In hopes of tracing
the robbers, but have been unsuccess
ful. Joseph Chnpek, a Bohemian Inmate
of the county poor farm of Cass county,
committed suicide by hanging himself
at the farm. Chapek formerly resided
In Loup county and wns found oh a
sand bar nenr Oreapolls a month ago
unconscious from the effect of heat,
and wns brought here and given as
sistance. It Is said Ills wife drove him
from his home In Loup county.
Harry Getchcll, alias George Smith,
plead guilty to stealing a valuable team
from J. W. Miller, a York liveryman,
In the county court. A woman named
Itose Hasselt voluntarily entered a
plea of guilty as an accomplice. Doth
were held under a bond of $500 to ap
pear In the next term of district cdurt
to receive sentence. A special ses
sion may be called to settle this caso.
Friday evening Henry Holstedt, aged
8, and his little brother, children of
John Holstedt, taller, went out after
the cow. Between their home and tho
pasture is a sand bank whero they stop
ped to play and gather pebbles for
their sling shots. The bank caved sud
denly, burying Henry, the oldest boy,
and almost covering the younger, who,
however, managed to extricate himself
and give the alarm. When help arrived
the boy was dead. The sand bank lies
some distance east of Stromsburg and
the younger boy was so seriously in
jured that -it ivas with grtat -dlffloulty
he dragged himself to his home to give
tho alarm.
The Omaha & Republican Valley ralt-
Yoad ad the other branch lines of tho
old Union Pacific were sold on the first
nnd second Mortgages at Lincoln and
were bid In by the reorganized Union
Pacific company for $770,000. The lines
sold Include the one from Valley, Neb.,
to Manhattan, Kan., and tho branches
running north and west from Colum
bus an drand Island, making a total
of over 450 miles of road. The sale on
tho extension mortrgage of the Valley.
.Manhattan lines was held and the bid
waB $20,000, made by Judge W. D. Cor
nish of the Union Pacific company. The
second sale was held at 2 o'clock and
Included the entire branch system In
the state. The sales were conducted
by Special Masters Alexander, Don
nell and Abbott. Among the promi
nent railroad men present were W. D.
Cornish, vice president of the Union
Pacific; Messrs. Sargent and Greer of
Boston, representing the American
Trust company, and W. R. Kelley of
Omaha, attorney for the Union Pacific.
Rice Bros. & Nixon, a live Btock com
mission firm in Chicago, has brought
suit against Walter J. Perry, former
ly manager of the South Omaha branch
maintained by the plaintiffs, and the
Fidelity and Deposit company of Mary
land, to recover $13,511.70 alleged to
have been embezzled by Perry while In
charge of the South Omaha office. The
petition sets forth that Perry was man
ager of the latter o'lllce from July 25,
1895, to December 31, 1897, and was en
titled to a salary of $100 per month, his
traveling expenses and a division of
the profits on an agreed basis. It Is
alleged that during the period he was
In charge of the otllce he used the
money of the firm to carry on specula
tion in live stpek under the assumed
name of Jim Jones, and that he also
charged up items against customers of
the firm which were false and manipu
lated the books In various ways, mak
ing It appear that he was entitled to
more money than was really the case.
The amount thus lost by the firm Is
placed at $13,511.70. The Fidelity and
Deposit company furnished a bond In
the Bum of $10,000 to the plaintiffs,
guaranteeing his faithful performance
of duty, and suit Is brought on their
bond and also against Perry Individually.
LAST FIGHT OF THE SPANISH WAK
Donoy Opened tho War in tho Philippines with a Yictory nnd
Closes It with Anothor.
Story or llow tho Americans Swept tho Trenches of tho Enomy
nnd Carried tho 'Flag Ito Manila.
Manila, Special Manila has fallen
The Spanish capital of tho Philippines
Is fully occupied by American troops.
The fleet under Admiral Dewey opened
the engagement at 0:30 Saturday (Au
gust 13) morning, tho flagship Olympla
firing the first shot and being closely
followed In succession by tho Raleigh,
Petrel and Callao.
The Callao, which Is one of the gun
boats captured by Dewey from the
Spaniards, showed great daring In the
action. Sho approached within 800
yards of the Spanish forts and trenches
at Malate and did grand work driving
back the Spanish forces.
The flrlne by tho fleet continued one
hour and tho Spaniards then retreated
from Malate, whero the fire was cen
tered. Our land forces followed closely
upon the retreating Spaniards, advanc
ing within full sight of tho warships.
I watched the naval action from the
bridge of tho Charleston until General
Mcrrltt's boat returned and signalled
that surrender was certain.
I then went aboard a troopship and
entered the captured city, ahead of the
general's guard. No attempt was made
to molest any one. Tho Spanish be
haved admirably after tho surrender.
The final conference to arrange terms
of surrender was held at the palace of
the governor general at 4 o'clock.
General Jaudenes agreed to surrender
with few conditions, tho principal one
being that the Americans should agree
to protect the Spanish. The flag was
raised at 5:40 by Lieutenant Brumby of
the Olympla, Lieutenant Porey of the
Second Oregon yoluntcers, Barry Bald
win, myself and two seamen. There
was great bewailing among the Spanish
women, but the men accepted their de
feat stolidly and with apparent In
difference. The band of the Second Oregon, while
marching Into the city, saw the flag
flying and played the "Star Spangled
Banner," and the fleet saluted.
As fast as the Spanish troops were
relieved by the Americans they march
ed In nnd delivered their arms. All were
turned In except those of the soldiers
In the trenches north of the city, who
were left there to stand off the insur
gents. The total number surrendered exceeds
8,000. The arms Include 2.000 new Mau
sers, 5,000 old Mausers and many Rem
ingtons. Thero was an unlimited supply of am
munition. The Second Oregon regi
ment, Colonel Somers, landed as the
governor's guard and now occupy the
palace. The balance of the First and
Second brigades are policing the city
and occupying the defenses.
The Insurgents are threatening In the
outskirts. Thero Is no danger. Our
force Is ample. The city Is remarkably
quiet. Last night the troops were
camping at all the bridges and ap
proaches. The American arid Spanish
officers on parole dined at the same
cafes without class distinction.
Dewey deserves untold credit for the
result of the negotiations. The fleet
did the city no damage.
ADVANCE ON MALATE.
In the land attack, the forces under
Anderson advanced to Malate from the
south as Green, In command of the
First brigade, left. McArthur of the
Second brigade was on the right of the
line and covered two miles. The Span
ish made a hard fight against the right
and left wings, but after firing a few
volleys they were forced to retreat In
side the Malate fort. Thence they were
driven out by the firing ships, the Cal
lao doing deadly work with her machine
guns.
The Americans took the magazine of
the fort and advanced along the streets
of the suburbs, although under tire
from sharpshooters hlden In and upon
the houses.
The Second battalion of the First Cal
ifornia, under the personal lead of Col
onel Smith, led the advance Into the
city, followed by the rest of the regi
ment, and then the First Colorado
drove back the Spanish stragglers.
Major Moses of Colorado raised the
flag over the Malate forts. A company
In the First Nebraska did effective work
with gatllngs, covering the charge of
the Third regulars. The Astor battery
charged and captured a blockhouse with
revolvers, near Passae.
The natives attempted to break thro
the lines and enter the city, but were
held In check. The Spaniards burned
the transport Ccbu and sunk their
gunboat Bulasan nnd several launches
while the terms of surrender were be
ing negotiated.
WILLIAM LEWIS KILLED.
The loss yesterday was eight killed
and thirty-four wounded. William
Lewis of the Nebraska regiment was
killed on the night of the 3d and fve
were wounded nt the same time. On
the night of the 5th Clement Hauer of
the Twenty-third regulars and Robert
McCann and Samuel Howell of the
Fourteenth regulars were killed and
eight were wounded.
Captain Rechter of California died on
August 4. Charles Wlnfleld -of the
Third regulars died on August 2. Geo.
Perkins of California died on August 7
of pneumonia. Edward O'Neill of Cal
ifornia died from accidental shot wound
and William Robinson of the hospital
corps died of typhoid fever.
The Spanish loss yesterday is esti
mated at 150 killed and 300 wounded.
Agulnaldo has addressed a letter to
Consul Williams, stating that he per
sonally would be satisfied with .the
American promises, but he feared he
could not hold his allies between the
lines. He asked for a direct statement
of what America would do.
The Spaniards assert that the Insur
gents made offers of an alliance with
them, but the Spaniards were too sus
picious of their Intentions to- accept.
Among the killed yesterday were:
John Dunsmore, First California; Au
gustus Thollen, Twenty-third regulars;
Archie Patterson, Thirteenth Minnesota.
The seriously wounded Include Cap
tains O. Sccback and T. BJornstadt of
the Thirteenth Minnesota.
Hong Kong. Special. Manila was
surrendered after a nominal defense
Saturday, August 13. The American
flag now files over tho capital of the
Philippines and this was accomplished
without great expenditure of life. I was
one of the first who traversed the wall
of. the city. I have returned to tell
the story.
Foreign warships with refugees mov
ed out of the harbor on the morning
of August 9. A small party of foreign
ers, chiefly British, remained In the
suburban portions of the city.
The Concord nnd Petrel lay off the
mouth of the Pas Is In such positions as
to prevent any vessels from escaping,
but no action occurred until August 13,
the delay being allowed the American
troops to extend their front on the right
of the line. Frequent visits by the Bel
gian consul, meantime, to General Mer
rltt and Admiral Dewey led to the ru
mor that terms of surrender were be
ing arranged.
Our fleet began to move In at 9
o'clock on Saturday morning. Dewey's
Olympla led, the fighting line as of old.
Above her nnd from the ship following
flew the American flag. Tho Olympla
opened with her eight-Inch guns at 9:35,
the first four Bhells being directed
against Malate fort, called San Antonio
de Abad. All of the first shells fell
short, a passing rain squall making It
difficult to get the range properly and
to observe the results of the shots. The
Raleigh, Petrel and Callao, Lieutenant
Tnppan commanding, and the launch
Bareclona riding In the heavy surf
close In shore, pouring their fire on the
enemy's riflemen.
There wns rifle fire In reply and the
Callao was struck. She was not dam
aged. The Herald launch followed in
close behind through the surf. The gen
eral signal to cease firing was hoisted
at 32 minutes past 10. Our Infantry was
seen a few minutes later moving for
ward toward the Spanish Intrench-
ments. Their advance was made under
cover of a heavy fire from the Utah
battery. With colors flytng and bands
playing the troops moved swiftly along
the beach. There was a creek to be
forded. They plunged Into it and were
soon across.
Once over they deployed In skirmish
ing order along Malate. keeping up a
heavy rifle fire and finally halting on
Runeta. As far as I could see the re
sistance made by tho Spanish troops
was stubborn In the extreme, at least
for a nominal defense.
Flag Lieutenant Brumby went ashore
about noon In the Belgian launch, ac
companied by Inspector Genernl Whlt
tler, to find and Interview General Jau
denes and discuss the terms of capitula
tion.
SPANIARD AT CHURCH.
General Merritt was present to dis
cuss settling the terms. General Jau
denes was found after consldernblo
difficulty. He was finally fol.nd in the
security of a church, filled with women
and children.
Flag Lieutenant Brumby wa forced
to speak sharply and peremptorily to
several officers before he could find the
governor general.
Subsequent proceedings regarding the
terms of surrender were conducted tin
the municipal buildings, the governor
general consenting to leave the church
after a brief conference.
The terms are briefly these: Capltulat
tion of the Philippines .officers allowed
to retain their swords and personal ef-v
fects, but not their horses during their
stay In Manila. (This was considered a
parole, but It Is not exactly so.) Pris
oners of war surrendering their arms
will have necessary supplies provided
from the treasury. When that Is ex
hausted the Americans are to make
provision. All public property Is sur
rendered. The future disposition of
the Spanish troops who surrendered Is
to be determined by negotiations be
tween the two respective governments
Arms may be returned at General Mer
rltt's discretion. Banks will continue
to operate under existing regulations
which are subject to change by the
United States government.
WEEP AS FLAG DROPS.
Lieutenant Brumby Immediately after
the terms of capitulation had been
signed hurried off to lower the Span
ish flag in reality to lower all Spain's
flags in the Philippines by taking down
one. He was accompanied by two sig
nal men from the Olympla. This little
party found Its way after considerable
difficulty Into Fort Santiago In the
northern portion of the walled city.
There was a large Spanish flag flying
there. Grouped about It were many
Spanish officers. Brumby's presence at
tracted a crowd from the streets.
They hissed as he approached to haul
down the flag. Then the stars and
stripes rose tn place of the other. Many
of those present wept bitterly as the
flag of the victorious stranger climbed
into place above the fort. Fearing that
the crowd might lower "Old Glory,"
Lleutena't Brumby asked an American
Infantry officer to move up a detach
ment to guard It.
Fortunately he met a company com
ing up with a band. The Infantry pre-
sented arms and the band played the
"Star Spangled Banner," which lent
some eclat to the ceremony.
The conduct of the Spaniards was
disgraceful after the capitulation. The
gunboat Cebu was brought down the
river with the Spanish flag flying and
was set on fire at the mouth of the
Paslg. A party of Americans boarded
her and hoisted the stars and Btrlpcs.
They tried fruitlessly to save three
launches and several boats, which were
also destroyed.
INSIDE THE CITY.
Landing soon after General Merritt,
I traversed the wnllcd city. 1 found
both the Inhabitants and the soldiers
looking remarkably welt, considering
the fact that they had been reported to
be starving. Many were well pleased
that the capitulation of the city had,
been agreed upon, as a bombardment of
the city proper must have been attend
ed by severe loss of life among women
and other non-combatants, t
Our troops quickly occupied the city
and on both sides of the Paslg, sleep
ing In the streets throughout the night
of August 13, which was a wet one and
made the strange conditions doubly dis
agreeable. Yet the conduct of the Amer
ican troops was beyond praise. It was
simply admlrabtc. They fraternized
good-humoredly with the Spaniards and
the natives.
A group of regulars squatted in Es
colta Btreet, one of the principal busi
ness thoroughfares, edifying the great
crowd which had formed about them
with tuneful plantation ditties.
Our ships which were engaged, cruis
ed freely at dead low water inside a
line which on a British admiralty chart
Is marked "three fathoms," although
the Olympla was drawing twenty-four
feet. As a matter of fact her naviga
tor, Lieutenant Calkins, during her
stay here carefully surveyed the water
along the city water front. The Callao
went within rifle range while covering
the flank of the troops as they ad
vanced. MONTEREY ONLY BLUFFED.
The services of Lleutena'nt Tappan,
who Is her commander, will doubtless
receive special mention tn future. The
Monterey was not called upon to try
her guns during the bombardment, but
undoubtedly her presence and the bold
ness with which she was navigated
within easy range of the city had con
siderable Influence on the Spanish In
their decision to capitulate.
The Insurgents on August 14, the day
after the surrender, entered some Span
ish trenches on the outskirts, but were
repulsed. General Merritt notified them
that they will not be permitted to come
Inside the city! It Is probable that the
Americans will now deal with the In
surgents unless an amicable arrange
ment Is arrived at soon. The terms of
capitulation were signed by the Amer
ican commissioners, General Green,
Colonel Whlttler, Colonel Crowdes and
Captain Lawbecton, nnd the Spanish
commissioners, Colonels San Jose Ma
ria Laguen, Felln Don Carlos Reye
and General Don Nicolas de la Penay
Cuellas. H. M. S. Immortallte and
'phegenls, whoo comander kept them
In motion, watched the fight from fa
vorable positions.
After the American flag was hoisted
the German wnrshlp Kalserln Augusta
slipped out, presumably bound for Hong
Kong, without the courtesy of offering
to carry dispatches from Manila, The
Americans moved out of camp early on
the morning of August 13, General An
derson directing the operations. Gen
eral Green, With the left wing, swept
along the trenches before Malate, Gen
eral McArthur led the right wing, with
the Astor battery which took up a po
sition at the right of the Paslg and did
gallant work.
One Instance of this wns when a
Spanish blockhouse was carried by men
using their revolvers. The only rapid
fire gun on the line was silenced by
this gallant advance. Three men of the
Astor battery were killed.
- AWAY FROM DEWEY.
The hardest fighting of the day was
done at a point on the right wing,
where the guns of the fleet under Fight
ing Dewey could give no assistance.
After the fleet had raked the position
at Malate the Colorado, supported by
Uhe Eighteenth regulars and the Utah
battery, swept It with the deadest of
fires. The Spaniards fell back before
the charging Colorados, who followed
them closely, giving them no rest until
the position was ours and the American
flag was raised by the Callfornlans,
who had been charging with the Colo
rado:.. The Callfornlans, who were subjected
to a galling fire from Spanish sharp
shooters In houses on the right, moved
past thi Colorados Into the suburb of
Ermlla,( where the Spaniards had erect
ed atiee. barlcades.
Once Calle Real
was cleared the attack was virtually
over.
About noon a white flag was flying
over the city walls. The Callfornlans
advanced at, a double across Luneta, as
General Green and his staff arrived to
receive the error. By some error, while
the troops were standing at rest, Span-
lards In the wnlled city fired, fatally
wounding Privates Dunsoupe and La-
merson of the California volunteers.
Our casualties viere eight killed and
forty wounded. The Spanish loss Is
estimated at 120' to 600 killed and
wounded.
The Americans epptured 11.000 prls-
oners. 7.000 being Spanish regulars;20.000
Mauser rifles, 2.000 (Remingtons, elgh-
teen modern cannorii and many of ob-
solete pattern.
KEMAKKABE LETTElt CHALN
How a YounB Girl's Patriotic Ap
peal "Was AnHwored.
Into the boundless ocean of Ameri
can patriotism a thoughtless girl with
faith In human nature, hope for the
cause of Cuba Libre, and charity for
the wounded United Stntcs soldiers
cast a dime. At first only a faint tip
ple nppearcd on the surface, but quick
ly It Increased to a tiny wave. Grad
ually the wavo swelled until It became
a mighty surge, only to grow quicker
still Into a raging torrent.
And the dime! It first became only a
dollar. Then It grew to hundreds.
Soon It expanded to thousands. And It
Is still expanding.
For, In blissful Ignorance of what It
meant, she had run foul of "geometri
cal progression," and geometrlcnl pro
gression Is a thing which makes all
other wonders of the world look small.
Miss Schenck of Rabylon, L. I., and
her endless letter chain threatens to
become one of tie famous Incidents of
the war with Spain. Letter chains are
not strictly a novelty. But never be
fore did any one find a plea so strong
ns hers. For she appealed to the pat
riotism of the American people, asked
them to care for sick soldiers, nnd so.
sowing the wind, reaped the whirlwind
of which she had not drenmed.
She Intended to carry the chain to
100. By last Monday It had reached
twenty, and n letter of that number
hnd been received. If the chain had
been nowhere broken before reaching
No. 20 Miss Schenck would have re
ceived somewhat over 1,000,000,000,000,
000 letters. She did not receive any
such number, for to reach it each per
son In the United States would have
hnd to write to her some 12.000 times,
The letter which Miss Schenck sent
out rend as follows:
"The Ice plant nuxlllary In connection
With the National Red Cross being in
need of money to supply the am
bulance ships, a chain has been formed
to collect some, and If you. on receiving
this, will make four copies and send
them to four of your friends you will
greatly help the wounded soldiers.
When you have made four copies please
return this letter to Miss Natalie
Schenck. Babylon, Long Tslnnd, with
10 cents enclosed." The number starts
at one and ends at 100. so that the
person receiving the latter number will
send 10 cents to Miss Schenck, same
address, without making copies. Please
number the head of each copy nnd
make them exactly like this one, only
number the next highest number and
sign your name nnd address to each
copy. Please mnke no delay In send
ing out copies, and above all, do not
break the chain that means so much
to our brnve soldiers on land and sea "
In placing the limit upon her chain
Miss Schenck made her great mistake.
Sho Is not much past the time In life
when girls are supposed to be "doing
their examples" on their slates, but
even In that short time her knowledge
of geometrical progression had grown
decidedly rusty. Hnd she stopped but
a moment to figure she would have dis
covered that If her chain ran through
only twenty series the number of let
ters due her would Increase ns follows:
1
1111 .... 4,191.301
IR'13 .... lfi.T77.21f;
61 13 .... 67.105.854
25 It .... 2GS.43S.I5
1,021 15 .... 1.07S.741.S2
4.0K IB .... 4.29).9fi7.29tS
16.31 17 .... 17,179.869,191
G.".S3fi IS .... r.S.719,47fi.73!
22.111 19 .... 27I.S77.906.9M
1.0I3.57C 20 .... 1.099,511.627,770
3.
4 .
G ,
6
7 .
8 ,
9
10 ,
Nov, supposing each recipient of a
letter continued the chain and sent
her the 10 cents as requested, the Ice
fund would be $109,931,162,770.60 richer
for her pains.
And this vast sum. multiplied by four,
Its product Increased by four more at
every Jump between series 20 and series
100, would result in a final sum ample
to buy all the available land on the
surface of the earth. It Is useless to
consider the computation. Almost be
fore this remarkable chain began, the
figures lost themselves In their own
greatness and grew to mean nothing.
We might as well attempt to estlmlate
the number of grains of sand beneath
the sea.
Within three days Miss Schenck re
ceived the expected four answers to her
letters, each containing a dime which
she had requested. The following day
about sixteen more came and she. was
pleased with the result of her experi
ment. As the following day her mall
comprised almost sixty-four letters she
felt relieved, for now she knew her
project was nn assured success. The
next clay, when the letters numbered
nearly 200, she gave up walking to the
postofllce and began to make the trips
on her wheel with a market basket.
By this time Postmaster Dowden be
gan to grow uneasy, and Miss Schenck
decided that It would be best to tell
her family of her patriotic scheme.
Within ten days letters addressed to
Miss Schenck Jumped from 2,000 to 0,000
a day. Then they rose to 15,000 a day.
and .at last reports the end seemed
further away than ever.
How about the postofllce and Its over
worked postmaster? The office Is one
of the third class, and the government
official In charge Is allowed only one
' assistant. Additional help he Is forced
to hire from his own pocketbook. From
a tiny beginning he found himself
working on Miss Schencks mall all day
long. It soon outstripped both him
and his assistant, and an urgent call
was sent to the patrtotlc citizens of
Babylon to rally to his assistance. Many
turned In to help him. but he cannot
begin to keep up with the Increase,
. "It ts awful." he Is reported as say-
Ins. "l doiVt Unow where u wlu end-
l" a few days ,f tne Growth of Miss
Schenck's mall Increases regularly we
will have to run extra mall cars from
New York,
, SX thousand letters yesterday, 15,000
. 40000 t day alm0t 100.000
loaa' .' " , . f 1V., ,1,.
1 the nexii wny, 11 13 uwimw, ..-
government hasn't made any effort to
help me outl"
The mere handling of Miss Schenck's
patriotic mall Is not all of Postmaster
Dowden's troubles. He Is being stormed
by letter writers from all over the
country and Canada wanting to know
all about Miss Schenck's endless chain
scheme, and demanding full particulars
about the young woman's social stand
ing and financial integrity. Most of
these letters contain stamps for re
ply, and unless the postmaster answeis
them Individually he Is placed In the
embarrassing position of being accused
of confiscating the stamps. Postage
sent for this purpose has already yield
ed the government $600. To treat every
body fairly the postmaster has had a
stamp made bearing the words:
"Schenck letter O. K.," and sends each
letter of Inquiry back to Its owner
bearing that label.
Notable people arc Caught in the coils
of the endless chuln, and letters from
prominent men and women are being
received In large numbers. Miss
Schenck has recdlved one from Mrs.
McKlnley containing a dime. Another
is from Mrs. .James A. Garfield. Pres
ident McKlnley found time to got In
the list with his dime, and former Vice
President Levi P. Morton promptly for
warded his dime, as did every member
of his family.
Meanwhile the Ice plant auxiliary,
the beneficiary of this remarkable pro
ject, Is by no means getting the wor3t
of It. Early last week $900 was turned
over to Its treasurer, and on succeed
ing days $500 more was secured. The
sum may serve to show the enormity of
Miss Schenck's mall. Granting that
every letter contained the dime asked
for, It would require 14,000 letters to
make up the sum. But It Is estimated
that only one letter In five contains
money. Therefore, carrying out the
computation, the present contribution
to the Ice fund Is made up of the glean,
lngs of a little correspondence of 70.000
letters. To convey these letters to Bab
ylon the government has received the
sum of $1,400 In postage stamps alone.
These brief computations were re
ceived last Wednesday, when the mall
which poured Into the Morgan house
at Babylon, L, I., was still small
enough to be
It Ib obvious that the figures given
are a mere bagatelle when compared
with what will be received during the
coming week, unless the strenuous ef
forts being put forward to break tho
chain succeed. Miss Schenck has ad
vertised In the eastern papers asking
her patriotic correspondents to desist
In tho name of peace and harmony.
If they fall to do so, the combined dally
mall of Chicago, New York, Boston and
Philadelphia will be less than the train
loads of missives which will pour into
Mr. Morgan's summer home. Indeed,
the situation may become so grave that
the government will be forced to In
tervene to check the ceaseless flood.
A few moments' practical test with
figures will quickly show the awful
possibilities which may lie In store for
Miss Schenck. Suppose an attempt was
made to calculate the amount of
money that would be collected by tho
series, If the chain was allowed to run
Its course. By the time the calculation
reaches the twentyi-flfth series the
figures grow appalling. Counting alone
the letters numbered twenty-five, at
ten cents each, the sum of $112,671,532,
383,966.40 would be received, providing
the chain was not broken. Supposing,
again, the earth's population to be
4,000,000,000 people, each person would
receive about 250,000 letters numbered
"25," and would be compelled to write
1,000,000 each, labeled "26." With the
money derived from these sent back to
Mlsa Schenck, the originator of the
scheme,, reckoning current prices of
Ice without discount, our valiant sol
dier boys In Cuba would And them
selves In possession of a solid glacier
ninety-five miles wide and two miles
deep.
The foregoing deduction will be suffl
dent to illustrate the endless possibili
ties which await Miss Schenck. With
the chain only one-fourth run out the
results are ridiculous. Continuing
through the chain In geometrical pro.
gresslon natural conditions quietly en
ter to Interrupt the continued compu
tation. With the figures representing
the seventy-fifth chain it Is doubtful
If a single sheet of paper could bo
found large enough to hold the result,
and to obtain these results would re
quire the forfeit of valuable years of a
man's life. Philadelphia Times.
There are not only pecuniary and
constitutional difficulties In the way of
abdication. The queen, however, ts
not only queen of Great Britain and
Ireland, she is also empress of India,
reigning sovereign over more Moslems
than the grank Turk, and of more Af
ricans and Asiatics than any other civ
ilized monarch, Abdication would be
misunderstood by most, misrepresented
by some, and resented by all of them.
Death they knov; a living ruler they
understand. What Is abdication to the
border tribes of the Hindoo-Koosh, to
the lake-dwellers of Nyas-saland, Ugan
da, or the fierce tribesmen of the Sou
'an? From an Imperial standpoint a
sceptre dropped from the hand of tho
great white queen can be borne aloft
In her lifetime by no successor. In
many parts of the world the British
raj Is personified In a little lady who,
sixty years ago, raid to those who told
her that she was a queen "l will be
good." In some parts of India she Is
actually worshipped as a goddess In
her lifetime the native races of the
empire will either look to the queen
as a ruler, or they will assume that
something has happened that saps and
neutralizes the British power. These
imperial considerations as to the effect
on Asiatics and Africans were also In
the minds of the ministers when they
unanimously refused to advlss the
queen to rest from the crushing burden
of the crown.
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