Dakota County IloraU
DAKOTA CITY, NIB.
John H. Rum,
Publlahel
Sir Thomas LIpton goes on hoping
In the blandest way.
A conductor wooed and won n lady
in two minutes. A Limited icui't
8b I p.
IVncnful pugilists nre justiPei hi
protesting against being classified with
football players.
It beats all how tho cot of liviiiK
Hon go tip. Even Panama Oant;l. are
200,000,000 higher.
Castellans wants "to control" his
ions. Hope they make him do the
ame thing to himself first.
Eating a six-foot pie such as Presi
dent Taft lost on the way, must be
something like biting in'o a Inst
drum.
Kentucky takes occasion to report
the largest tobacco crop in its history.
That's how Kentucky is pinning
along this year.
"Roosevelt bags four elephants,"
ays the headline. After which lie
probably slung them over his shoulder
and stalked vigorously Into camp.
The three sons of Count Bonl de
Castellane have been turned over to
the care of the State. They were
lucky boys to got away from both their
parents.
The footbnll reformers are beginning
to gather, and we may expect soon to
hear of reforms that will make the
game as Innocuous as billiard. until
the' next season opens.
At Upper Sandusky, Ohio, a man
has been granted a divorce and i 10 )
alimony. Can anybody continue to
doubt that woman Is g"ttii;; Up
rights In this country?
A British 'musruni commission re
ports that Congo cannibals are very
polite. They may be, but we do not
care to associate with them because
of the way In which they s-ct their
living. ,
A Washington Judge declares that
mothers-in-law are a much-abused
class, and that many things said of
them are slanders. Would he attack
the very corner-stone of established
American bumor?
The historic Instance whan "parallel
eplpedon" was used as a crush ingly op
probrious epithet Is recalled by an In
cident in a Southern city. A stranger
In town was arrested for Insulting a
policeman to whom he hud laughingly
referred as "a walking encyclopedia."
Preparations are already being
made for the reception of Roosevelt
when he visits the capitals of Europe,
and It la predicted that his welcome
will beat anything that has ever hith
erto been accorded to any monarch or
president. It will be a stupendous
triumph for the frock coat and the
silk hat.
The railroad, whether It wishes' It
or not, holds different ground In the
public regard from that of any other
industry. It Is a public service cor
poration, deriving its right to run
trains, carry passengers and earn div
idends from the people themselves. It
cannot shut its doings behind the stone
wall of secrecy. Much has been given
to It, and much is expected of It. And
In any event It cannot rightfully claim
to be immune from discussion of the
freest and fullest sort. If a railroad'B
operations are to suffer because the
public Is Informed of them, those oper
ttlons ought not to succeed.
Enginers who have been at work for
a year planning an Irrigation system
for Mesopotamia have made their re
port to the Turkish government They
propose the building of a Berles of
dams In the Euphrates and Tigris riv
ers to control the floods and Impound
the water for the irrigation of what
was once the granary of the ancient
world. Ttiey estimate that an expen
dlture of ten million dollars wottld pro
duce bo great results that It would
earn an annual profit of nearly 20 per
cent, and that if Mesopotamia were
connected with the Mediterranean by
rail, it would become one of the most
prosperous districts in Asia. When
the country was thickly inhabited, it
. was Irrigated, but in the centuries
since then engineering methods have
Improved so that water can be dlstrlb
uted much more successfully than was
possible In ancient times.
The habit of reminiscence is a symp
tom of advancing age, and common to
men and women of every time; but it
Is perhaps more fascinating to the el
derly of to-day than to those of any
previous generation. Such wonders as
they have seen come to pass! The vil
lage life of twenty years ago has been
revolutionized, at least for the women.
In that day, when one wanted a friend
ly visit with a neighbor, the loan of
a recipe, or advice about the baby's
cough, one put on one's bonnet uud
lhawl and went to her house. Now we
take down a telephone receiver for our
talk. Moreover, the bonnet and shawl
have given place to hat and coat. In
1889, when one Journeyed to the city
for a day of shopping and pleasuring.
It was a long-anticipated and consid
ered matter, involving the family horse
and phaeton or a horse-car, then a
low-moving railway train, connecting
with another horse-car. Now trolley,
"electrified" railroad and automobile
whirl us from village to city and back
again before our mothers would have
made up their minds for tin- trip.
Twenty years ago "getting dressed"
was a El:uplo matter, requiring no help
beyond a word of friendly criticism
from daughter or husband. Now the
services pf daughter or husband, or
both, must be enlisted, and it is cur
rently reperted that the village old
maid who lives alone r.ns to go to a
neighbor to be "hooked up" every af
ternoon! We need not walk to the
postofnee, since our letters are dropped
at our doors, nor to the market, since
the telephone takes our order, nor
even to church; for the sermon dnd
the music may come to us ovr the
w ire. Vet we were never so bu with
gadding and going. Will the advent
of ulr ships complicate still further the
life of the twentieth century? Or
shall we presently be able to retire
at will Into the calm of the Fourth
Dimension, and take there tho rest
cure which is becoming a necessary
uutldoto even for village life?
Tho Sec retary of Agriculture sings
a song of billions and of dazzling pros
perity. But he hns In mind the proper
uses of prosperity. Ho says: "Year
by year the farmer 13 better prepared
to provide the capital and make the
expenditures needed to improve his
agriculture and to educate his children
for farm life snj work." Ix-t us sup
pose that the farmer has the capital
and then let us Beo how bis children
are to be educated. The Secretary's
report shows that opportunities arc
offered them In abundance. States are
now vying with one another In their
support of agricultural schools and
colleges. "Several of the biennial
State appropriations for these. Institu
tions have approached or passed the
half -million mark, notably In Montana
($1S7,000), Pennsylvania ( $'2C,000) ,
and Kansas ($671,000). The growth
of th agricultural college Is also In
dicated by tho number and character
of college buildings completed during
the year. Among the more important
of these were tho following college
buildings: Georgia, $100,000; Iowa,
1100,000; Maine, $.',0,000; Michigan,
$175,000; Missouri, $100,000, and Mon
tana, $S0,000. Wisconsin has complet
ed a $75,000 live stock pavilion and
California has started work on a
$1!00,000 agricultural building." East.
west and south these Investments are
made, and the study of agriculture Is
being Introduced Into high Rchools and
elementary scnoois. i nere are exicu-
sicm courses, boys' and girls' clubs;
there me movable schools and farm
ers institutes ror nouns, anu connect
ed with the entire educational system
arc! tho experiment stations. If the
farmer encourages hla children to
seize their opportunities they should
seo that there Is much more to excite
an Intelligent, studious, scientific In
terest in the work of the farm thuu
can be found In by far the larger part
of the work that Is done In cities. And
farm life now is by no means a life
of deprivation. It has the modern con
veniences, enjoys, as a matter of
course, what were considered city lux
uries a few years ago. Surely farm
ers' children should remain on the soil
whether city men return to it or not.
Pure radium never has been pro
duced, the almost priceless metal al
ways being, in combination, either a
chloride or a bromide.
Tho British government has organ
ized a special deiiartment in connec
tion with, its national physical labora-
tory for the Investigation of problems
of aerial construction and navigation.
An automatic time signal sent out
from the Hamburg observatory by tele-
phone to all Instruments connected
with the system of that city has been
heard as far as Copenhagen and Paris.
In the spring of 1909 seventeen
American robin redbreasts, male and
female, after being confined for a time
in a large aviary near Guildford, in
Surrey, England, wero set at liberty.
They built nests in the surrounding
trees, and In a short time there were
some thirty young robins added to the
colony. Efforts are being made to re
tain them In the neighborhood dur
ing the winter, and it is hoped that
thus tho American redbreast may bo
come a permanent addition to the bird
population of England.
The Electrician notes some Interest
ing facts about the ventilation of the
great Slmplon tunnel. The chango
from steam to electric traction baa not
altered the arrangements for ventila
tion. Tlie two entrances, at Drlgue,
Switzerland, and Iselle, Italy, are cov
ered, except at the moment when a
train enters or leaves, by huge cloth
screens, which are automatically
raised and lowered by electricity. Two
electric fans, nearly tn feet In di
ameter, and making 350 turns per min
ute, drive air Into the tunnel at
Urigue at the rate of 1,000 liters per
second, and a similar station at Iselle
draws air from the tunnel. The air
pressure on the screen at Brlguo
amounts to rour kilograms per square
meter, while on the screen at Isella
the pressure Is twelve kilograms per
square meter.
Max Hermann of Budapest has re-
cently shown that tho spark rays made
by the Incandescent particles thrown
ron and steel when put upon
wheel afford a means of test-
composition of the metals
composition or tne metals.
teelb. manganese steel, and
" ,
off from 1
an emery
ing the
Carbon stee
steels containing tungsten and nickel,
each give a characteristic spark, of
different forms and colors, which are
easily distinguishable. The form of
the spark picture changes with the
eiuantity of carbon. Even so slight a
difference as .01 per cent of carbon,
Mr. Bermann says, can be detected in
tills manner. Pointed branching lines
denote carbon steel; tool steel hIiowj
the appearance of "blossom" on the
branches; tungsten steel gives red
Ktreuked rays and shilling points,
"with litle balls thrown out of tho
formation," and "an explosion appear
ance In tho articulation" denotes tho
presence of molybdenum, vanadium oi
titanium.
lilt urluliltt I'.mrrl,
"Does your husband enjoy a horse
rucer
"No," answered young Mrs. Torklns.
"If he wins ho is Korry ho didn't bet
more, and If he loucg be Is tarry he bet
at all." Washington sta.
iM Science I
1 '.uT4, raaHVM, '
ifi fjDniflPMi ALS Bp
Opinions of
DRINKING AT MEALS.
NH by one old and cherished Ideas are giv
ing way before the simple) .application of
practical tests. Perhaps no other one Idea
with reference to eating habits has become
more widespread nnd more persistent than
that It Is Injurious to drink water at
wm
meals. 1 he o:j medical rule against eat
ing before going to bed has been discountenanced by
the medical profession IHif for a long time now, and
It has been repeatedly shown that a reasonable amount
of food taken hfore retiring Is beneficial to many nerv
ous people, and Is not Infrequently a cure for insomnia
The rule against drinking nt meals has been more
pers:st-iit, but it appears to be doomed, now that the
rrofes.-ors In the physiological chemistry department of
the University ol Illinois have set about inn! -.lug exper
iments to prove ihe digestive value of copious drafts
of water taken whlln eating. One quart of water at
each meal was the prescription followed, and It was
found that the subject actually throve on It. The theory
Is that tho water, diluting the saliva, "causes tho di
gestive fluid to assume greater dlgestivo activity."
Manchester L'nion.
THE TWO-DOLLAR BILLS
WISH to simplify roinai;e lias led to 'he
disappearance of many which it was
supposed when their reining was author
l.ed would be a popular convenience. The
$3 nnd $1 gold pieces have gone. TUe last
was too small and the first never was
needed. It was tutppnsed by the men who
A
Wimi Vi n J
suggested its coinage that the 20-rrnt piece would coma
In handy. It proved to be a iml.-ciii .o because it was
so near the size of tho quarter dollar. It. did not help
materially In making change. So it did not last many
years. The silver half dime was abandoned because too
small. The 3-cent piece In silver or nickel had a long
life, but was discarded finally. So was the 2-cent piece.
It was nrjreed that there was no need of a coin between
the cent nnd the 5-cent piece.
Now it is proposed to get ild of the $2 bill for a sim
ilar reason. The only objectors thus far are the bank
tellers. They say It saves them Mine la handling money
when there Is a good deal to be handled. Of course it
takes only half as long to run through a hundred dol
lars in twos as when It is made up of ones. But the
bank tellers are not the only persons to be considered.
There are notes for their special accommodation $5,000
and $10,000 bills, which the common people never own
and seldom see. Tho men who handle money on a
small scales the petty dealers, for Instance would be
glad to see the $2 bill disappear. They consider It some
what of a nuisance.
The twos certainly ought to be called In and con
44443334 94 344
J TIIE BOY AiTD THE CENT. $
Mr. Peterson did not mind being
called a moralist. In fact, he was
rather proud of the habit, which ho
sedulously cultivated, of discoursing
in a high, ethical tone about whatever
came to his notice. Mrs. Peterson, a
client, hard-working woman, listened
to her lords remarks faithfully, ap-
plaudlng and commenting aUwhat she
thought wero appropriate spots.
One day Mr. Peterson returned from
the village hot with righteous indlgna-
tlon and overexertion.
"These people," he Bald, fanning
Himself rapidly with a palm leaf.
nPHe people nnd tneir children! I
Bm aimosi giaci wo naven t any cnn-
dren, Maria, for if we had I'm sure
we should train them up to be Just as
thoughtless and ill-mannered as the
rest of the world."
"What " began Mrs. Peterson, In
her soft voice.
"Begging!" answered her husband.
"Pluln, every-day begging! And John
Lincoln's son, too! The little rascal! I
don't think he's six yet."
"Ho was five last May,' 'replied Mrs.
Peterson, with a readiness which
showed that although she herself had
no ' children, her Interest In her
friends' offspring was keen,
i "Anyway," maintained Mr. Peter
' son, "he's old enough to know better."
This was somewhat illogical, seeing
that only a moment before a virtue
had lK'en made of tho lad's youth.
However, Mr. Peterson was a moralist.
"lie's old enough to know better,"
said Mr. Peterson, "and he doesn't do
better. This very morning, for exam
ple," he paused to emphasize ngaln
the fact that It was to-day, as If the
date made an Important difference
"this very morning I was passing by
John Lincoln's house on Vernon street
and there, in the front yard, was his
sou John, Junior, playing with tha
puppy. No sooner did the boy see me
than ho said, 'Please, Mr. Peterson,
give me a cent.' "
I am surprised that Sarah Lln-
coin's boy " began Mrs. Peterson.
"I am not surprised at anything In
this world," announced Mr. Peterson,
"after tho things I've seen nnd heard
In my life. 1 am disappointed. So I
said to him, 'What do you want with
CP- Jonnr Ana to tnts ne re
P. 'Dny something.' If any boy of
mlne-l.ad I a boy-were seen on the
Public streets "
,,..
What Uia ou say to him then?
. . . .
asked Mrs. Peterson, becoming a little
Impatient to get to the point of the
Btory, as she had cakes In the oven.
"Why," said Mr. Peterson, "I ha li
VnvA to have an extra cent In my
pocket, and so I lectured blni for sev
eral minutes on tho crime of bogging.
and-
"Then you gave him the cent!" said
Mrs. Peterson, with an odd smile on
her Hps.
Her liusltand nodded. "I thought I
might as well." Youth's Companion.
MILLI0N3 IN THE PEANUT. Ituln r fronl 36 to 45 011 the croP
per acre, an amount of money tutn-
Goolirr, o a National I'ood, cient to pay plenty of farmers well,
itriuv ill it iinurn. to l urnirr. T)le farmer Is. however,' only the
The discovery of the new world beg'nnlug of this Immensely prollt
gave to the people of the earth live able national enterprise. Three-fourths
treasures that are perennial, cotton, of the annual crop, some 9,000,000
corn, potatoes, tobacco and the pea- bushels, ultimately snll at C cents a
nut By grace of the first four, whole pint. More than $25,000,000 comes in
nations have been saved from extir- nlckles and dimes from the pocket
patlon. By gracs of tho last, a food of the people for the peanuts sold
which proved as Important as malts, tha way. Ths 3,000,000 bushels rs
Great Papers on Important Subjects.
verted Into ones. There ought to be In circulation more
bills of that useful denomination. There Is never a
sutplus of them, so great and so constant Is the de
mand. Chicago Tribune.
w
less time he takes to brush the dust of granite from his
hands before he assumes the next Job, the greater the
irritallcu and Impatience be displays toward those ha
terms- -with little courtesy the unproductive. It la
given to everyone to catch occasional glimpses of won
ders that, could be accomplished, of marvels which could
be digged from the earth, of happiness which could be
brought about. If only such and such work were under
taken. Mr. Edison probably has had more of these great
visions than anyone else In this country. It Irks him
that men should muss over ancient manuscripts or dis
pute over species of shellfish. Rather, he thinks, should
they be up and doing, holding nature up for comforts,
.orclng content out of the energies of sky and earth.
And still human nature yearns for the wisdom which
cur not bo utilized. It loves to gorge itself with the Indi
gestible frets of history and science and metaphysical
speculation. How fine for humanity it would be if all
worked all the time to cure lt Ills and how fearfully,
fearfully wearisome! Toledo P.lade.
MUST GO.
T
m
law by being punished when they break the law. Ab
stract Ideas of respect for the law as a great moral en
gine count for but little with a large part of our popu
lation. One man In the penitentiary Is often worth
more than a thousand lectures upon the beauty of law
observance.
It la often said that it is much easier to enforce a
law In Great Britain and upon the continent of Europe
than in this country, because the people of the older
countries respect the" law more. It would be more
proper to say that they fear the law more. If. a man
breaks the law In England, the odds are about GO to 1
that he is punished, and punished promptly. Punish
ment :s frequently a great aid In making the law reflected.--Louisville
Post
is added to the resources which the
whole world can utilize.
Like those invaluable staples
maize and the potato the peanut
originated In America, a native wild
vine of Brazil. For years and years
after some few of the pods were
brought north us vegetable curiosities
it held Its place as a humble garden
vine, perpetuated only because some
feu nf thn pnrltpr ppnprntinna hnlinnn.
d to haye a Ior them-M you
haye t(J be born to oUye8 Amerlca,
th. birthplace o( the peanut, really
Ungered be.nlnd all the re3t of the
world In Its exploitation.
Until the Civil War It was grown
In some of the gardens of the south,
harvested, as now, Just prior to the
danger of frost, and laid away for a
few months, to be hailed eagerly by
the children as a Christmas dainty
Now it occupies a permanent position
among the nation's food staples for
man. beast, bird and fowl.
"Every living thing likes peanuts,"
the Virginia planters declare, and
they prove It, all the way from the
elephnnts at the circus to the turkeys
on the farm. The greatest single
market Is at Suffolk, Va., where
4,000,000 bushels are handled annu
ally and eight big factories are tn
operation. The labor is largely ne
gro. The whole area of the South
Atlantic States is dotted with peanut
acreages and the spread has gone
westward until it Includes California.
At the harvest the vines are plow
ed from the ground and, with pod3
attached, are stacked around poles for
drying. Late in the fall the fields are
occupied by whole families of negroes,
who pick the pods from the dried
vines by hand. Machine picking is
practicable, but, unlike machine
planting and digging, the results are
an Inferior grade because of Indis
criminate collection of prime and de
fective pods. Farmers haul their
wagon loads of pods to the nearest
factory, where the weight is credited
to tha growers. The whole cleaning
and grading process which follows
works by gravity, for the pods are
raised from the farmers' wagons to
tho top floor of the factory, and ev
ery process ensuing runs them down
to a lower floor. Sorted, cleaned and
certain selected grades polished, they
are finnlly bagged by the same auto
matic process and are ready for dis
persal. ,
The fanner Is far from having ex
hB,,;d Ms profits when he disposes
f h 3 OD to the ory. re re
lhe Ll of cullj. whu'u he "'
left, to feed to his poultry and pigs,
1 ' '
Thorn nro Inn vltiAO unw-h hrAnot' v
Thuro are the vines, which, properly
curesl, make the finest kind of hay
for his cows and there Is all the nitro
gen which the growth of the vine has
left in the soil, fixed in its root nod
ulej. tn acre of first-clasa peanuts, cal
culating a ton of vine at $ to $10,
110 l'"se of V to $60,
gives an income of between $4S and
$70. The cost of growing such an
acie of peanuts, Including seed and
foitUUcrs, is variously estimated at
from $12 to $23. There is a net re-
A SLAP AT HIGH BROWS.
E ARE overburdened with high brows,
says Thomas A. Edison. "We havs too
many professors and academicians."
This surely Is a busy world, and the
harder a man works In It the more he
discovers there Is to be done, the more
anxious he Is to see things done, the
RESPECTING THE LAW.
HE American people need to have more re
spect for the law," sagely remarks the
chief Police Commissioner of the city of
St. Louis, relative to the recent outbreak
of crime in the Missouri metropolis.
True, but what the American peoplo
need most is to be taught to respect the
plaining go into confections, and the
export trade at $1 per bushel; so
there's $3,000,000 more. The farm
ers' utilization of the "waste" prod
ucts nets them about $4,000,000. In
all, it has been calculated that the
peanut now brlng3 a revenue of $3G,
000,000 annually, without reckoning
on the increased fertility it has con
ferred upon the fields it occupies.
That amount is nearly 50 cents a
year for every man, woman and child
in the United States. We certainly
do like peanuts.
SCOTT AS A DUNCE.
Great Author Gave Surceaaor Fe- (or
Kerplnxr Ilia Place Warm.
Once there was a dunce.
The name of this dunce was Walter
Scott, and when he was at school he
was such a dull boy that his teacher
called him "the great blockhead," ac
cording to the Philadelphia Record.
But Walter Scott did not cry and he
always tried to do his best, and after
ward, when he grew up to be a man,
he became famous all the world over
because of the great books which he
wrote. And "because he was so famous
he was made a knight, and afterward
he was known as Sir Walter Scott.
And yet he was such a dunce at
sohool!
One day, when he had become a fa
mous man, Sir Walter Scott went on
a visit to the very same school where
he had been called "the great block
head." He talked to the teacher and to the
boys, and then he said: "You have
shown me the clever boys. Now show
me the dunce. You have one, haven't
you?"
The teacher, therefore, called up a
poor little boy, who was very bashful
at being brought before such a famous
man as Sir Walter Scott.
Sir Walter smiled cheerily at the lit
tle boy, and said, "So you are the
dunce, are you?"
"Yes, sir," said the little boy.
Sir Walter patted him kindly on the
head, and said, "Well, my good fellow,
I was the dunce when I was here, so
here Is half a crown for keeping my
place warm!"
I rather think that every boy in the
school must have wished he was the
dunce then!
Only One War He Could Get Errn.
Frank Bertram, a well-known actor,
tells the following story:
"I was playing at Leicester during
the fair week and In the market place
there were several ni.rry-go-rounds.
"I noticed one melancholy individ
ual, who, despite the fact that ho was
apparently suffering greatly, persisted
In riding on one of the merry-go-rounds.
"Eventually I spoke to him and
asked him if he liked it.
"The man replied, 'No. I don't like
It a bit; the blessed thing makes me
ill.'
"I then asked hi in why he persisted
In riding, and his reply was, "I can't
help It. The man who owns this
round-about .owes me money, and the
only way I can get even Is by taking
It out in rides." London Daily Tele
giaph. 1'OUi. J.
Mr. Popp Hurray! For once In my
life I know where my cuff links are.
Mrs. Popp Where are they now?
Mr. Popp The baby's swallowed
'em Cleveland leader
One way of gracefully saying that
a girl Is homely is to constantly refer
U her sweet disposition.
The Roosevelt hunting trip gives dis
tinct Interest to a recent book, "In
Wildest Africa," by Teter MacQueen.
This Is the record of a hunting and
exploration trip through Uganda, Vic
toria Nyanza, the KllllmanJaro region
and British East Africa, with an ac
count of the ascent of the snow fields
of Mount Kibo In Central East Africa
and a description of the various na
tive tribes.
Arnold Bennett, the English novel
ist, has the following to suggest about
one way of getting tho best out of a
book: 'The only infallible way of get
ting full value and permanent joy out
of a good book is to read it twice. To
read a book once Is merely to savor it.
Every good book will seem better at a
second perusal than at the first, and
the same statement applies to many
volumes that Just miss being good."
Messrs. Eaton and Mains are to pub
lish a series of short biographies ol
the founders of Methodism, an effort
to bring these worthies "out of bulky
histories Into the light of the modern
Church." A beglning has been made
with the life of Francis Asbury, first
bishop of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. The sketch Is written by Dr.
George P. Mains, and Bishop Daniel
A. Goodsell supplies an Introduction.
One poet, at least, has come to hon
or In his own country. A marble bust
of the Manx poot, T. K. Brown, whose
delicately beautiful verse is an inallen
able part of English poetry, has just
been unveiled at Douglas, in the Isle
of Man, the Speaker of the House of
Keys performing that duty. The Keys
adjourned for the purpose of attending
the ceremony in company with the Gov
ernor. Lord Raglan. It took place in
the Town Hall, and the Mayor and
Corporation were nmong these who lis
tened to the panefcyric on Brown, pro
nounced by the aforesaid Speaker of
the House of Keys.
Hilalre Belloc pointed out in a re
cent lecture in London that in fiction
there are at present two schools 'n
France, Maurice Barres being at the
head of one and Anatole France at the
hc?ad of the other. Barres Is the leader
of the "reactionary," or religious
school of thought; he defends Catho
llcism in religion, and nationality in
politics. Anatole France, on the otlfer
hand, is a conspicuous example of the
men who are in revolt against the
clerical education of their youth. In
other words Barres is the leader of
the clericals and France of the mod
erns. Mr. Belloc regards the situation
as critical and his sympathies are
uaturally with Barres.
WAJ SHE A DEMON P
innferencea of Opinion ItPKnriUnK
Late Kinpresa Doivaner of China
The late great Empress Dowager of
China had luxurious tastes and was
fond of pomp in all of her doings
writes Frank G. Carpenter from Pe
king, China. She spent money like
water, and used fabulous sums to keep
up her palaces. During the last year
of her life she had planned a new
home at the Summer Palace, and had
ordered the architects to draw the de
signs.
The buildings were to cost 4,000,000
taels, or about $3,000,000, and the
work was to have been begun in 1909
The plans were made, but, owing to
the Dowager's death, they will not be
carried out. I am told that her maj
esty gave equally elaborate directions
as to her mausoleum and that It is
being constructed on a magnificent
scale.
One hears all sorts of stories abou
the Empress Dowager. All ucknowi
edge her ability and say she will
1 rank among the great queens of all
' time. There is no question as to her
strength of character.
Some exalt her 'to the skies as an
angel of mercy and light, while oth'
ers say she was a demon incarnate,
and they compare her private life to
j that of the Russian Empress, Cather
ine me ureat. as to nor uemoniac
character, her detractors say she poi
soned her husband, the Emperor
Hslen Feng, and thereby became rule
in connection with another Empress,
whom he married before her.
They suspect that the death of that
Empress was caused by the Dow
ager's machlratlons and plots, who
then reigned supreme during the ml
nority of her son, the Emperor Tung
Chleh, who was a baby when chosen
When Tung Sbieh had reached the
age of 15, at which time he might as
pire to rule independently, he died of
small-pox, and there are some mall
clous enough to say that his mother,
the Empress Dowager, assisted him
on the fairy ride to a far country.
They allege that he had begun to re
sist her domination, and that the
small ox was really an overdose o
opium pills.
They say also that after hla death
the suicide of his wife, the Empress,
who threw herself Into a well, was ns
slsted by this same great woman, and
that other crimes of a similar nature
may be la. a to her charge.
There are many people, however
who will tell you that all these
charges of her being an assassin are
false and malicious.
RIVAL OF ADEN.
Ilrlllsh Stronghold at Ked Meu Again
to He au Important I'ort.
Aden, the British stronghold that
commands the entrance to the Red sa,
has of late years fallen behind the
times from a commercial point of
view, says an exchange. Through the
poor harbor facilities the trade of
Aden, once paramount between Egypt
and India, has been largely transferred
to ports that were quite obscure a
few years ago. as Berbera on the Brit
ish Somali coast, Jibuti alongside of
it on French territory, and Hodeida,
the Turkish-Arabian port on the Red
sea. Many of the larger modern
sels, unable to enter the inner harbor
of Aden and unwilling to suffer tho
expense of lighterage, have drooped
the call entirely by enlarging their
bunkers sufficiently to take enough tuti
to carry them from Suez to Colombo
and vice versa.
To remedy this state of affairs, the
Aden port trust at the beginning of
the year decided to make extensive im
provements, dredging the entire area
of the mooring Iwisin In the Inner har
bor and the entrance channel, the To-
rortc Star says. Work was begun in
March last, and although the contract
called for completion within two
years. It Is now certain that by the
end of February next the entire project
will have been carried out, so that t'.io
very largest vessels that can now lass
through the Suez cannl will be accom
modated in the inner harbor of Ad?n.
This much-needed activity In Aden
inner harbor forms a parallel to tho
vast improvements now carried on at
Singapore, that other citadel of British
Imperial sway. There, too, competi
tion had made Itself keenly felt for
some years, thanks to the awakening
activity of the Dutch in making tho
best of their opportunities in the Mal.iy
archipelago. Of the rivals that have
arisen to Singapore, the best known.
but not the only one, Is Sabang, at the
entrance of the straits of Malacca.
This competition, so surprising and
frequently alarmlifg to British Inter
ests, is proving a needed stimulus to
British enterprise, to which a too-lon?-
enjoyed monopoly hud been wholly un
favorable. The magnificent works .in
dertaken both at Aden and Singapore,
together with the project for a new
naval base at Bombay, are Irrefutable
and welcome evidences of Great P.rit
a'n's continued supremacy, wh'.lo the
fact that the Suez canal, when fully
dredged in another five years, will al
low far larger vessels to pass thro;igh
than at present Is a guaranty for still
vaster improvements to bo carried out
by Great Britain In the harbors of her
empire.
The folding envelope was first us"c
In 1839.
The period of deepest sleep varies
from 3 o'clock to 5.
The first school for the blind was es
tablished in 1791 in Liverpool.
A patent on a horseshoe designed to
prevent the stumbling of horses was
granted in Panama four years ago.
Notwithstanding the duty of 40 per
cent a barrel, large quantities of ap
ples from Oregon, Washington and oth
er states are consumed in western
Canada.
Recently published statistics show
that during the last year the number
of births In France has diminished by
12,092. The number of deaths has In
creased by 25,019, and the population
of France has decreased by 28,203.
In Cuba they fatten little pigs on
cocoanuts, and bake them Into Christ
mas turkeys, and fine they say they
are. Pick out cocoanuts that are heavy
with water and sound solid when
struck together. In Barbadoes and
-Trinidad -they plaster pitch over the
monkey eyes to keep the nut from
spoiling. New York Press.
Germany's minister of the Interior
has addressed to the heads of the va
rious governments within the empire
a circular recalling the information
that the kaiser from his private purse
makes a grant amounting to about $15
on the birth of an eighth son in auy
family, of the same father and mother.
The kaiser also promises to stand as
godfather to the lucky eighth n.
In an Interview published in the
Kieler Neueste Nachrichten, Grossad
mlral von Koster "says many interest
ing things about his visit to New
York, among them the following: "In
the absence of President Taft, who
was away on a trip to the Mexican fron
tier, the place of honor was taken by
the Vice-President of the United States,
Secretary of State Sherman, of New
York."
Though "Snooks" as a name is hard
ly beautiful, its origin is respectable
enough. Kindly people picked up a
little 'ounlling boy at Sevenoaks,
reaed mm, and started him in life,
after baptizing hlui "Wililam Seven
oaks." He became lord mayor of Lon
don lr the reign of llenvy V., was
knighted, and died In 1432. He left
benefactions to his native place that
were doubtless misused, as was his
name, which degenerated to Snooks.
Life la Cheap In Ittiaaln.
A letter from Chorson, Russia, it
describing nn execution, says that
military trials and the speedy execu
tions which follow them have been of
such common occurrence that the pub
lic mind has become blunted. "Sen
tenced to death and executed" has be
come a stock phrase, nnd the oft-repeated
gallows stories have Influenced
the minds of children to such an ex
tent that they have a game called
"trial," in which the brutalities of
which they have heard are enacted.
The writer says that the playing of
this game by a number of boys In
that town, nearly resulted In the death
of one little fellow, who had been se
lected to play the part of the prisoner.
He was tried, found guilt .and cen
tenced to be executed. Only the timely
Interference of elders picwnted the
tragedy. What hopo is there for a
country where the rising generation
shows this spirit? asks the corre
spondent. Com with Karrlnara,
By an official decree Issued not long
ago every cow In Belgium must wear
earrings. This decree embraces alt
animals of the bovine species that have
attained the age of three months, and
Is based on hygienic grounds.
Belgian breeders are obliged to keep,
a strict account of the animals raised
by them, and the ring, whereon is en
graved a number, is fastened in tha ,
animal's ear for the purpose of pre
venting the substitution of one animal
for another.
Coal was first used as an illumlnaal
in 1826.