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Gherrg Counts Independent
VALENTINE - NEBRASKA
In Boston 100000 women of lawful
age refused to register and vote on the
question of giving themselves the right
to vote Woman suffrage is not popular
even among Boston women
The first assistant postmaster general
reports an actual and estimated saving
in his bureau during the last fiscal
year of 1395577 The saving resulted
principally from investigation of over
time claims stopping overtime and un
dertime and reductions of force Con
sidering the natural growth of busi
ness the showing is a good one
Tne number of pieces of dead mail
piatter received at the dead letter office
during the last fiscal year was 0319
873 which was a decrease of 781171
pieces or -about 11 per cent as compar
ed with the receipts of the year before
This is a very considerable decrease
jonsidering that the quantity of mail
matter handled was much greater last
year than the year before Whether
the decrease resulted from greater care
on the part of the people in addressing
mail matter or from greater skill in de
ciphering on the part of postmasters
and clerks is a question that does not
admit of a definite answer
A dispatch from Omaha states that
the sugar trust is trying to bar the beet
sugar product of Nebraska out of the
American market The story is that
the trust has notified jobbers and deal
ers that If they sell the refined pro
duct of Nebraska factories the trust
will not sell them the cheaper grades
which are not produced by the principal
beet sugar refineries As a consequence
It is stated that over 100000 worth of
Nebraska made sugar is stored in ware
houses In Omaha The purpose of the
trust seems to be to destroy the beet
sugar industry of Nebraska or compel
producers to turn over the raw product
to the trust to be refined If a boy
cott by workingmen is unlawful as the
courts have repeatedly declared it to
be what shall be said of this move of
a corporation which Las almost a mo
nopoly of the sugar refining business
In this country to destroy an Industry
Does it pay a nation any better than
It pays a man to persistently meddle
In the affairs of others Did it pay
England to step in as she did between
Russia and Turkey seventeen years
ago and check the progress of events
Russia bad fairly whipped the armies
of the Porte and had concluded the
treaty of San Stefano by which Tur
key gave her important territorial and
other concessions which England act
ing in confederation with other Euro
pean powers forced Russia to relin
quish What is the result One result
Is that Turkey is to day snapping her
fingers in Englands face and perpe
trating atrocities upon the Christian
population of her dominions identical
with the outrages in redress of which
Russia went to war in 1877 More than
once before this the temper of the En
glish people has been such as to force
English statesmen to consider the claims
of humanity as well as the suggestions
of diplomacy in dealing with the Turk
ish question If Russia should under
take to drive the Sultan out of Europe
at this time it is doubtful if Englaud
would interfere in her behalf Indeed
the likelihood is strong that Englaud
and the other great powers of Western
Europe may join Russia in administer
ing the drubbing In that case there
will be a division of the territorial spoils
of war But it is hardly possible that
England will be able to longer keep
Russia from gaining access to the Med
Iterranean Sea
It is time that a special course in the
science and art of docking men of war
should be established in the United
States naval academy or else that some
new form of construction of this new
navy of ours which -has moved so many
pens and pencils to flights of poetic and
pictorial achievement should be adopt
ed A few months ago we turned out
of our shipyards what was enthusias
tically heralded as the fastest cruiser
afloat In our pride we sent her abroad
to show her in friendly guise to the
Britons this was before the days of
Dunraven and his little international
episode The Columbia had been afloat
only a few weeks when it became nec
essary to put her in dry dock A war
ship has to be docked about as often
as a racing yacht and repaired about as
frequently and at greater cost Any
one who follows with any degree of
care the career of a modern ship of
war from the time it Is put in commis
sion will note that the two duties upon
which It is most persistently engaged
are getting Its bottom scraped and go
ing Into dock for repairs Somebody
once said that It was more difficult to
keep a small sailing yacht than a mis
tress To keep a man of war afloat
seems to be a task involving more per
plexity and diplomacy than the right
eous Solomon must have exerted with
his whole thousand wives No sooner
did the Columbia come out of the Brit
ish dry dock than it was discovered
that all sorts of things unintelligible
to a landsman had happened to her
hull There were dents in her plates
and her frames had buckled Her
seams had opened and in general she
was reported to be In a state of mel
ancholy maritime collapse ETer com
mander was court martialed for his
share In the docking and wept profuse
ly on the stand while giving his testi
mony What has happened him after
his touching display of lachrymose
emotion has not been reported Per-
UaneJiarteajjxUj
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mossing billows and put into dry- dock
But his downfall and punishment
whatever the latter may have been
seemed to have exerted no deterrent
effect upon his comrades In the service
nor do they appear to have learned any
more concerning the mysteries of dock
ing Only a few weeks ago with much
blaring of brass and clanging of cym
bals we announced to the world that
the United States which bad long lag
ged superfluous on the naval stage had
launched the most powerful battleship
afloat The world and our people wbo
incidentally paid some 5000000 for
this iron bound craft were assured that
none of John Bulls floating arsenals
might longer hope to sail up the Nar
rows and put New York under contribu
tion The weight of the armor of the
Texas the power of her armament lier
marvelous coal capacity and her super
lative speed were all commented upon
learnedly by the press of the nation
But the Texas too has succumbed to
her commander aided by the sinister
devices of the dry dock She too
though only eight or ten weeks out of
the navy yard had to be docked and
her frames are buckled and her bot
tom dented and all the other things
horrible and mysterious which can be
fall a man of war have happened to her
Plates will -have to be taken out frames
reinserted the ship put out of service
for two or three months and some hun
dreds of thousands of dollars expend
ed upon her before the foul work of the
treacherous dock can be remedied Per
haps however it is not just to criticise
the commanders of these vessels for the
disasters that have befallen them Con
sidering the very considerable time
which all men of war spend in the dry
dock the mistake of our naval archi
tects has doubtless been in planning
these vessels with a vie v- to any service
afloat
Images You Cannot Count
Close to an interesting pool in Japan
Is the avenue of images representing
the Amida Buddha The idols vary
in size but are similar in design There
are several hundred of them altogether
and they sit facing one another in two
long rows We asked the little Jap
who brought us to the place how many
of them there were In an awed whis
per he replied
Nobody knows
Then he told us how impossible it
was to count them Each image was
made unsightly by having numbers of
little bits of paper stuck on to it and
chewed bits of paper which had been
spat at it the object of this disfigura
tion we failed to discover though our
friend Hojo informed us they were put
on by the young priests a part of whose
novitiate it was to attempt to count the
Buddhas
There is evidently something wrong
with these idols for no one has ever
been able to reckon them up the same
twice over in spite of sticking a piece
of paper to tick each one off Of course
two unsuperstitious Englishmen were
not to be humbugged by native stories
so my traveling companion and I think
ing the wbole thing ridiculous decid
ed to count the mysterious images Wo
started on co operative lines each tak
ing a side of the avenue Our efforts
however were fruitless for we had not
numbered off more than a dozen each
before my companion whose eyes were
not so good as they had once been
shouted across to me
I say I saw one of them on your
side moving Im certain I did theyre
uncanny lets give it up
This interruption of course upset
all my calculations but we soon came
on the moving image which turned out
to be nothing more than that of an old
Frenchman seated peacefully among
the statues and looking in his white
clothes for all the world like a jolly fat
old Buddha
Fiddling ibr a Howling Mob
Once Cherubim had to figure as a
fiddler in spite of himself In the
stormy days of 1792 it was a perilous
experiment to walk the streets of Par
is During an occasion of more than
ordinary excitement the composer fell
into the hands of a band of
who were roving about seeking
musicians to conduct their chants Tc
them it was a special gratification to
compel the talent that had formerly de
lighted royalty to minister now to then
gratification On Cherubini firmly re
fusing to lead them a low murmur was
heard from the crowd and the fatal
word Royalist Royalist went up
At this critical moment one of Cheru
bims friends also a kidnapped musi
cian seeing his imminent danger
thrust a violin into his unwilling hands
and bade him head the mob The whok
day these two musicians accompanied
the hoarse and overpowering yells ol
the revolutionary horde and when ai
last a halt was made in a publi
square where a banquet was served
Cherubini and his friend had to mount
empty barrels and play until the feast
ing was over
A Buster
Boys and men who have neither trav
eled far nor read much sometimes have
contracted notions as to the size of the
giobe we inhabit
A country lad brought up in the
mountains of West Virginia once ac
companied his father on a visit to his
uncle who lived in an adjoining coun
ty After his return home he put on
airs and often referred to his visit
relating the sights he had seen to his
associates who listened with open
mouthed wonder
One day something was said about
the size of the world when our hero
thus delivered himself
I tell you what boys if the world
is as big out the other way as it is the
way me and pap was shes a buster
In a game of ball among deaf mutes
the profanity of fingers is perfectly
iwf ul to observe
33jS3 to Tzr
Too Much of a Good Thing
It is sand that makes a man a brick
With strength to carry his load
But the average soul is sure to kick
When lie finds it spread too bloomin
thick
Along lifes weary road r
Value of Good Roads
DJere in Virginia the value of good
roads can be illustrated practically In
those sections where the country is
traversed by thoroughfares improved
in modern style farms can be sold
without effort Intending purchasers
know that a rich farm would be of lit
tle value if -there were no way to reach
a market with the products For this
reason many line lands with riches in
the soil are uncultivated and unsought
Good roads double and treble the value
of such property Let the good work
of the Good Roads Association go on
Lynchburg Advance
An Argument for Good Roads
A news item states that an impulse
to the movement of good roads oil the
part of the authorities has been given
at Los Angeles by a woman bicyclist
Miss Glover who is suing the city for
damages for severe injuries caused by
falling into a hole in the pavement of
Broadway in that city It is thought
there that a few verdicts against the
city will do wonders toward securing
good pavements This is in accord with
the views of the Union town judge who
says that if a century road is in such
condition as to hurt a wheelman the
township is liable for damages All
good wishes to the bicycle It will yet
prove the argument for better
ways
high-
Convicts as Road Builders
The use of convicts on public roads
has been intimately connected with the
growth of road improvement in North
Carolina As far back as 1867 the
State made provisions for the use of
convict labor in road
Mecklenburg road law
provement and under
building The
is a great im
its provisions
many miles of the finest roads in the
South nave been constructed Returns
from eighty counties showed an aver
age cost of 30 cents per day for keeping
convicts but by the use of convicts on
the roads the cost has been reduced to
a general average of 24 cents Convicts
are carefully described and photograph
ed Shorter term inducements are of
fered for good behavior They are em
ployed in road building much as hired
men under a superintendent and with
out guard They are allowed to remain
at their homes from Saturday night to
Monday morning This novel experi
ment has been in operation a year and
not a convict has attempted to escape
or declined to labor faithfully and the
result has been a decided improvement
An examination of county records
shows that but few convicts have es
caped convict health is better in road
building than when in jail that their
labor is more efficient than that hired
at 50 to 75 cents per day the cost of
convict keep is reduced and fine roads
are thus obtained at a minimum cost
The Bird Bid Not Pall
People who were walking along a
San Francisco street not long ago sud
denly heard piercing cries from the
upper story of a lodging house says
the Post of that city A woman was
leaning from a window and for a mo
ment it was thought that some brute
was trying to throw her out
A second look however showed that
she held in her hand a bird cage She
had been hanging it out of the window
to give her bird the sun when the
bottom dropped out The startled bird
was fluttering about the top of its
prison and the woman was screaming
Oh hell fall hell fall My poor lit
tle birdie
This was only for a moment With
great presence of mind she turned the
cage upside down so that her pet
could not drop out and be dashed upon
the cruel pavement
captive went sailing
tops of the buildings
son he did not fall
And then the
away over the
For some
Edison Burned a Thousand Letters
Thomas A Edison went back to his
house in Orange N J last evening
He spent the day very quietly in the
office of the Edison Electric Light Co
As he did not have anything in par
ticular on his hands and wasnt wrest
ling with any big problem he just sat
around and talked to President Will
iam D Marks and the men He is a
most unassuming man without any
trace of big head and enjoys a good
story with all the heartiness of a boy
in college
He told Prof Marks more strange
and wonderful things that he had come
upon In his laboratory work than the
professor would have believed if he had
heard them from anybody but Edison
Now and then he would flash out with
one of his ideas and Prof Marks
would realize that there was a giant
at play in his office
While as president of the electric
company Prof Marks began to dis
pose of a pile of correspondence Edi
son told a story of consideration that
SSEnccg
few busy men would hare Tor their
stenographers
I get forty or fifty personal letters
a day said he People write to me
from all parts of the world not about
my business but their own My sten
ographer was sick for six weeks and
the letters piled up a couple of thous
and of them I didnt have any time to
open them myself other peoples busi
ness you know so I left them there
By and by the stenographer got well
but just before he came back I took
the letters and burned them He could
nt attempt to go through 1000 letters
could he
Prof Marks stenographer was im
pressed by the thoughtful act but was
also much shocked
Oh nothing ever came of it ex
claimed the wizard easily Philadel
phia Ledger
Out witting an Indian
Fighters of Indians need to be mcii
of quick wit and a steady hand Such
a man was John Hawks one of the set
tlers of Hadley Mass An exploit of
this pioneer in 1G7G is narrated by the
historian of Deerfield The Indians
had made an attack upon Hatfield and
troops from other towns had gone to the
rescue Among the men from Hadley
was John Hawks
Soon after the nadley men got ashore
John Hawks who was behind a tree
heard some one call him by name A
Pocumtuck Indian who had taken a
position behind another tree had rec
ognized Hawks as an old acquaintance
Hawks returned the compliment and
each man began taunting the other and
daring his enemy to come into the open
and fight the thing out
The Indian had the best of it and
was perfectly aware of his advantage
At any moment some of the gathering
Indians were likely to come up behind
Hawks and force him out of his cover
Under such circumstances of course
the Indian was in no haste to expose
himself
However the white man was not
blind to the danger of his own situa
tion Something must be done and
that speedily He knew what his ad
versary counted upon and that gave
him his clue
All at once he sprang from behind his
tree and levelled his gun as if to repel
an attack from another direction The
Pocumtuck took the bait and sprang
forward He would capture Hawks
the moment his gun was empty
Quick as thought the white man
wheeled and before the Indian could
raise his gun or reach his cover gave
him a fatal shot It was all the work
of a few seconds and Hawks though
wounded in the ensuing fight lived to
fight other battles
In the City of Culture
One of the Listeners friends a lady
tells him this pleasant story which
rather goes against the common notion
of a street car conductors ways
I found myself on a moving electric
car the other day minus my purse hav
ing forgotten it for the first time in
my life I motioned violently to the
conductor to let me off so that I could
go back after it To my surprise he
did not stop the car but came forward
to my seat handing me five cents to
ride home with and pay him some
other day He surmised no doubt
that I was en route for the library and
not for E H White Cos I was al
most too much surprised to thank him
adequately but all day I felt as though
something joyous had happened to me
and when I met my conductor again
which was not till almost a week after
the occurrence it was like meeting an
old friend
Boston culture sometimes crops out
where one wouldnt expect it In a
popular restaurant the other day where
the prices are moderate and the waiters
girls a middle aged business man well
dressed and of genteel appearance
beckoned to a waitress pointed to some
open Avindows and then said loudly
Cant ye shot down one o tliem win
ders V
Whereupon the girl called to the head
waiter
This gentleman wishes to know if
you Avont please close one of tose
windows Boston Transcript
Forced to Extravagance
There is a man in Alexandria says
the Washington Post who has a great
deal of money to which he is deeply
attached He has a well preserved
silk hat which he would like to wear
every day but silk hats are expensive
so he has been wearing his for these
many years on Sunday The last time
the storks visited the Alexandria mans
house they were generous They
brought twins a boy and a girl The
father was sitting in the parlor when
some one entered to bring the news
Well youre a father now said he
Boy or girl asked the Alexandria
man Both twins Great Scott
cried the father springing to his feet
give me my silk hat I might as well
wear it every day now Whats the use
trying to be economical anyway
A Mormon Missionary in Maine
A Lewiston lady says that she was
coming up from Durham the other day
and her carriage breaking down she
had to stop several hours in a lonely
house eight miles from Lewiston and
while thera she was introduced to a rev
erend looking gentleman who turned
out to be a Mormon missionary He
showed her illustrations of Salt Lake
City the temple and the home of the
people He was evidently selected be
cause of his persuasive powers of
speech for he placed the Mormon re
ligion in a pleasant light compara
tively
No man or woman ever lived who
could steadily refuse to play the part
of a martyr
A man who sits around and boasts of
his ancestors makes a mighty poor an
cestoi himself
KSSMP
FACTS ABOUT THE LATE EARTHQUAKE
i i V i pf tiM y
i fly y
Ix
t y c I c
V J
MAP SHOWING PRINCIPAL CITIES WHERE THE SHOCK WAS FELT
Principal cities where shock was felt
Iioute of earthquake from soutii
to the north and northeast
Initial point and southern extreme Co
mayagua and Tegucigalpa Honduras
Northern extreme Greon Bay Wis
Western extreme Beatrice Neb East
ern extreme Cleveland Ohio Last point
where shock was felt in North America
Chatham Ont
From Chatham the seismic shock made
its way across the Atlantic to Rome and
Naples where its last wave was felt
X Charleston Mo seismic focus where
shock was severest causing the earth to
open and water and sand to gusli forth
Time of shock Great seismic disturb
ance at midnight Oct 10 at Tegucigalpa
and Comayagua Honduras Earth
quake at 507 a m Oct 31 at Chicago
New Orleans and all points in Missis
sippi Missouri and Ohio River valleys
Earthquake at 510 a in Nov 1 at Rome
Dawn in a Guainia Forest
The bats are settling themselves in
the IioHoav trees or under dense masses
of creepers making mouse like chirp
ings as they hang themselves up in
their places Here and there a lumber
ing moth looking out for a safe retreat
until evening is fluttering lazily along
before retiring to rest The owl and
goat sucker shrink before the light and
also hurry off to their hiding places
making room for the brilliant families
of day birds which are calling and
chirping from the tree tops The weird
voice of the howling monkey now hor
rifies the stranger filling him with won
der and recalling stories of banshees
and ghosts retiring at cock crow Then
a flock of parrots or macaws is heard
screaming far overhead their glorious
plumage flashing in tbe morning rays
in metallic tints of golden yellow green
and crimson The din would be almost
unbearable were the birds near at hand
but Longmans Magazine says that as
they rarely fly or perch low their voices
are mellowed by distance Congregat
ing on the highest trees afar beyond
the reach of the Indians gun or blow
pipethey take their morning meal of
fruit and nuts chattering away like a
lot of rooks in a clump of old elms Here
and there a toucan makes his presence
known by yelping like a puppy Look
ing up you see the rich colors of his
breast and wonder why his beak is so
large and apparently ungainly From
the recesses of the forest comes the ting
of the campareno sharp and clear as a
bell stroke at moderately long inter
vals Other birds utter their charac
teristic notes most of these being
quaint and curious rather than musi
cal The birds of the tropics are bril
liant in their plumage but are almost
wanting in melody there being noth
ing at all resembling the chorus which
makes the English woods so delightful
on a summers morning
Dog Died of a Broken Heart
Several years ago John G Burckle
removed from his Dakota ranch to
Brooklyn bringing with him besides
his family a beautiful collie which was
the pet of the household The death of
Mr Burckle occurred in October 1S93
It was the daily custom of the family
to visit the last resting place of their
dead for the purpose of placing flowers
upon his grave and in these sad expe
ditions they were invariably followed
by the faithful animal who seemed to
instinctively realize that these loving
remembrances were intended for the
master he loved so well Try as they
might it seemed impossible to restrain
the intelligent brute from mourning at
his dead friends resting place and
when the body was removed to the
vault he appeared fully aware of what
was taking place and until his death
which occurred six months later his
mute but none the less pathetic appeal
to follow the family when they repair
ed to his masters tomb were difficult
and Naples The time in all these in
stances is taken from the most deiinitc
telegraphic dispatches received m Chi
cago science not having recorded the
quake
Latitude and longitude of boundary
points of quake
Lati
tude
Tegucigalpa 14J
New Orleans 29rS
vrausucii o4
Charleston Mo
J057
Beatrice 4017
Green Bay 4430
CHICAGO 41r4
Cleveland 41J1
Chatham Ont 4234
Long
tud
Of
COIW
WA
Si
8921
D4j
Sr
OIJI
SI 42
S220
ROME 4154N 1230K
In the history of seismic disturbances in
North America none are recorded of sc
far reaching influence as this memorable
mid continent shock
to resist The collie died of a broken
heart it is said and to day a faithful
reproduction of the devoted animal in
stone stands facing the closed bronze
doors of the vault a monument to the
faithful love of a dog for his master
Brooklyn dispatch to Cincinnati Post
A Grasshopper Raid
I remember that during grasshop
per time I was near the corner of Sev
enth and Delaware and watched the
approach of the Ins ects from the west
I remember distinctly that it was in
the afternoon At first I noticed quite
a number between mj self and the sun
It was not long however before they
seemed to come in clouds The sun be
came darkened exactly as though a
thunder storm was coming up They
were flying perhaps 400 or 500 feet high
It must have been less than an hour
when the town was literally covered
with grasshoppers and in less than a
day there was not a green thing to be
seen anywhere A great many people
dug trenches in their yards in the bot
tom of which they had piled paper and
kindling wood After sweeping hun
dreds of these pests into these trenches
they were burned up In walking along
the streets one would crush hoppers im
der his feet They went as they had
come almost in a moment I suppose
it was go or starve They had eaten
everything in sight and as a conse
quence thought it best to seek other
fields Kansas City Journal
Talking Dogs
There are but two recorded instances
of dogs having been taught to articu
late words in such a manner that they
would resemble those uttered by a hu
man being The most famous of these
cases was that of the celebrated talk
ing dog of Zeitz The owner of this
intelligent canine a small boy living
at Zeitz Saxony imagined that his
dogs voice strongly resembled certain
words and sounds made by men
Acting on this point he soon trained
the animal a big Saxon mastiff to dis
tinctly utter some twenty odd German
words and about half a dozen from the
French language Although the young
trainer devoted much time and patience
to the queer task he never succeeded
in enlarging his pets vocabulary above
thirty words
The rival of the famous talking
of Zeitz was exhibited in Holland in
171S Besides pronouncing several
words the Holland beast could
late the names of all the letters of the
alphabet except 1
Chicago Times Herald
in and n
An Extraordinary Practice
uiara iiave you met that
Dr- Huggins yet
young
Cora Yes once
He is a homeopathic physician isnt
he-
I judge so by the way he kisses-
Yonkers Statesman
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V
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