Nebraska Newspapers

    Dakota County Herald
DAKOTA CITY. NIB.
JthnH. Reim, Publish!
Smoking Isn't Pittsburg"! worst
bablt.
The menus of meatless meals in
crease In number, but not In popular-it.
China propose to have the biggest
rmy In the world, and, consequently,
also the greatest yellow peril.
The story that a girl contracted lep
rosy from hair Imported from Europe
may be false. Teh hair certainty was.
A New York servant gill hns left
$5,000 to the family by which she wits
employed for 32 years. Paste tTils In
your kitchen.
Twenty girls lost their lives In a
Chicago factory fire, and the building
Inspectors are now very busy looking
over the place.
affect one person In this way and tome
another, but few persons are Immune
to all of them. It appears that medi
cal men In the East are proceeding
from lndlvldunl warnings In relation
to the use of these drugs to an organ
ized campaign against any report, to
them except on a physician's order
and tinder his direction. They resem
ble other remedies In the respect t lint
Injurious results follow their abuse.
Whether these results are so uniform
and certain as to nuike It necessary to
pay a doctor's bill every time one
takes a dose appears still to he a mat
ter of dispute.
"OLD MRS. PITT."
A' Massachusetts woman can fipeak
B4 languages, yet so profound a stu
dent must have but limited time for
exercising her conversational power
Professor Lowell can logically reply
that the people who don't believe Mars
Is Inhabited have never succeeded In
furnishing convincing proof that It
Isn't.
Acnong those who will take the cm
fade again t the hatpin seriously Is
he man who has had the sight of one
lye destroyed and wants to save the
Hher one.
Food was recently found In an Egyp
tian tomb wheer it had been burled for
8,000 years. Thus an honor Is rudely
snatched from New Jersey's cold stor
age warehouses.
As to Confederate money, If you have
ome which a playful uncle gave you In
four youth, look It over. A Confed
erate half dollar Bold the other day
tor 13,700 In real money.
Street beggars In Philadelphia com-
Elaln that the big strike la that city
as almost ruined their business.
Alter all, It seems that something may
How and then be said la favor of a big
Itrlke.
One of the professors says a laborer
who received 8 cents a day In the year
1800 was mora fortunate than the
workman of the present time who re
celves from $2.50 to 8 a day. TJlio
professor has evidently been sent out
by his wife to do the marketing for
Bunday.
The new president of Brazil Is Mar
shal Hermes Fonseca, formerly minis
ter of war. lie was nominated by a
proclamation signed by a hundred and
seventy-five members of the national
congress, and not In a convention.
Presidential nominations used to be
made in this country by a "caucus"
of congressmen.
When the corn produced on thi
rocky and infertile soli of New. Eng
land can take the first prize at a na
tional corn show la Denver, where it
competes with the corn from the great
west, no farmer should be discouraged
by his acres. If he uses proper fer
tilizers along with some degree of In
telllgence, he can almost make fig
grow on thistles.
Warlneaa of I'loneera In l.nrlj- Work
for Kd oral Inn of Women.
The preliminary sum with which
Mount Holyoke Seminary was estab
lished was the direct result of Mary
Lyon's personal work and contagion
enthusiasm. The work once started,
6ays Miss Ida M. Tnrbell In the A.mer
lean Magazine, friends seemed to ri-i-t
out of the ground. The very error
of the founders helped them.
A member of the committee wanted
to call the school the Pangynaskean -
"where all the Powers of Women arn
cultivated," Seminary. A few editor
hostile fo Innovations In women's ed
ucation took up the unwieldly word
for ridicule, but they reully did much
good. The first contribution of five
hundred dollars came through a wom
an who had been attracted to the en
terprise by the attack on the na.me.
Mary Lyon was persistent In pre
senting her cause; she rarely took
even a stage ride that the passene-i
were not made acquainted with the
Bubject. By the end of two years
over sixty towns had been Interested,
and enough money pledged to begin
a 'building costing fifteen thousand
dollars. How large a part of this sum
had come directly through the effort4
or from the savings of hard working
women nobody probably knows. Cer
tainly a large part was due to them.
Mary Lyon was always wary about
the impression she made In soliciting
money, and constantly tried to avoid
giving the idea that what was called
female greatness" was to be encour
aged In her school.
There is an amusing example of tho
clandestine methods even women Ilka
Catherine and Harriet Beecher felt
Obliged to employ when they wished
to Influence public opinion.
One of the Southern States was try
ing to drive out a tribe of Indians
by methods which the Bcechers felt
to be "cruel and unjust." In 1S.3
Catherine wrote a letter, published
anonymously, and addressed to "Be
nevolent Women of the United States,"
In which she expressed her indigna
tion, and suggested that public meet
ings be held and petitions prepared
for Congress.
Through the aid of a few women
pledged to secrecy this document was
scottered over the country. To the
great delight of the conspirators, their
campaign worked marvelously, and n
large public interest was aroused.
There was .much curiosity about ths
authorship of the circular.
Professor SUllman of Yale said it
was "worthy of the elder Pitt," where
upon Harriet dubbed her sister "Old
Mrs. Pitt."
Slavery had other sides than that
which was presented In "Uncle Tom's
Cabin." In Texas the other day there
was a gathering of more than sixty
foraner slaves and their descendants
at the home of the aged man and his
wife who used to own them. It was a
Joyful reunion, accompanied by a grdat
feast for all and a night of dancing;
and the great distance which many
traveled In order to accept the Invita
tion was proof of their loyal attach
ment to the beloved "ole maasa," and
of the happy condition of things on
that particular plantation, and certain
ly many others, before the war.
After every war there Is a lingering
trail of claims, national and indivi
dual, to be adjusted. Tbe commission
constituted by act of Congress in 1901
to sit upon the claims of American cit
izens arlBlng out of the war with
Spain has now practically completed
Its work. More than five Hundred
rases were heard, involving the taking
of an almost unprecedented amount of
testimony In Cuba and at Madrid
The total of the claims presented ex
ceeded sixty-one nilllon dollars, but
the final awards are only about one
and one-third millions. This sunt Is
paid to the successful claimants from
the treasury of the united States, al
though In al) cases the grievance of
the claimants, nearly all of whom lived
In Cuba, was against the Spanish gov
ernment.
Bo many people suffer from sleep
lessness and other real or Imaginary
affections of what we call our nerves
and so many who think they suffer
also think they find relief In a cer
tain cycle of hypnotic drugs, that the
permanent effect of these drugs on
health Is a matter of even more popu
lar than medical interest. The drugs
in question are derived from tbe by
products of gas-making and oil re
fining, coke burning and the like. Sci
ence has utilized these unpleasant
mineral smells as it has utilized the
animal smells of the packing houses.
These compounds are grouped together
for the chemist by the fact that they
approach the highly complex formulas
of organic chemistry and for the vul
gar world of apothecaries and patients
by tbe fact that tbe names of most
of them end In al. They differ from
the opiates or narcotics formerly used
to produce sleep in their direct effect
upon the brain and nerves through the
circulation. This effect Is produced
through an influence upon heart action
against excess of which medical men
waru patients and which observing
patients are sble to detect. This ef
fect varies in different preparations
and In different patients, according to
their condition and susceptibility, all
the way from a slight depression of
vitality to complete heart failure and
toppage of life. Some drugs teem to
BB EMITOffll ALS) BP
Opinions of Great Papers on Important Subjects.
THE COUNTRY CHURCH.
T A leading theological seminary there has
ML I been delivered recently a series of six lec
iCJa. I tures upon the ruriil church and Its fu-
I ture. The cltv church has Its problems to
fsce intrlcste aud complex problems,
which engage the brut thoughts of deep
thinkers but the country church is In it
self a problem. The changing conditions In country
communities In the past century have been manifested
in no way more thun In their religious life. In the
pioneer days in this country the church and school
stood Bide by side in every new pctt lenient one church
and one school, both well supported and well attended.
Then came the differences of creed which split the one
church Into many. In numerous country communities
this has meant several struggling churches, Instead of
one strong one; and In many others It Uas resulted In
no church at all, where once one flomlshed.
Of late there has been a movement lor consolidation
and reunion not In the non-essentials of creed and dog
ma, but along the broader lines upon which fair and
well meaning people have no o'-caslon for differences
when they assemble to worship God 'n movement
lies the chief hope of the country tuirch. Such unions,
when they are possible, solve In Hie main the Important
financial problem. ,
It docs not follow that the genuine religious spirit
has been dying out among country people whJle the old
time denominational fervor hns been disappearing.
Country life on the whole whs never more sweet and
wholesome than It Is to-day. In such an atmosphere
the religious spirit cannot die, and the church cannot
suffer more than a temporal) eclipse of Its activity and
Influence. Youth's Companion.
WHOLESOME PUNISHMENT.
HE severe sentences imposed by Federal
Judge Iandls, at Chlcugo, upou violators
il of the federal law regulating the luanufue
I lnr nmt mile (if nleorriH r ew li lie is llkelv In
put a decisive check upon the industry of
palming off the imitation its genuine but
ter. Tho offense of the convicted' men was
In mixing and coloring the Imitation product, and palm
ing It off upon consumers as the genuine article. It
was generally sold at butter prices, and hence was a
fraud upon consumers as well as upon the producers
of the dairy article. There in a genuine oleomargarine
and butterlne industry which may be pursued onder
tbe protection of the laws. We notice In this connec
tion the advertisement of a dealer who announces that
his product is sold In plainly marked packages and af
fords choice quality at henest value; that It Is churned
In pure milk and cream under government Inspection.
Such an article Is no doubt healthful, and if people pre
fer It to butter at a lower price, because they can there
by effect a saving In their butter bills, that is their
own business, and It is a legitimate transaction between
them and the maker and denier. But to Impose it upon
purchasers under fnluc pretenses is an offense deserving
of the summary Justice dealt out by Judge Landls.
The matter of the Justice of the tax upon colored oleo
la a question that can be argued upon its merits. The
tax was put on as a protection to the farming and legiti
mate dairy interests. It is asserted by these Interests
that It would be impossible to detect frauds If coloring
of the Imitations were permitted. On the other hand,
the oleo manufacturers say that the tax is largely re
sponsible for the high price of butter. This claim Is
hardly warranted, for if the imitation Is not colored
no tax on It Is paid. There Is nothing to prevent the
consumer from coloring the oleo he consumes In bis
own family, If o butter color will add to his relish, and
we understand that a harmless preparation for such
coloring can be bought along with the "near" butter.
Minneapolis Tribune.
H
AUTOMOBILE AND COST OF LIVING.
OWEVER that exceedingly Intricate ques
tion in political economy, whether lavish
expenditures for "luxuries" by the few
lend to Increase the cost of living for the
many by diverting capital to the produc
tion of non-essentials or whether such ex
penditures are a benefit to the many by
"keeping money in circulation" and affording employ
ment, may be answered, and whenever the line may be
drawn between "luxuries" and "necessities," there Is no
doubt that the ultimate effect of the general use of mo
tor vehicles will be to lower the cost of living.
When perfected and adapted to agricultural needs
they will facilitate the transportation of farm products
to the consumer. They will help to make more acces
sible a large part of the nearly half a billion acres of
arable land at present uncultivated. They will lessen
the transportation rates of manufactured products by
enabling the retailer to distribute his goods more
cheaply.
Like all other userul Inventions, which have substi
tuted mechanical force for brute force, rendered easier
the rough work of the world and brought comforts and
luxuries within the reach of millions, the motor vehicle
will In time effect economies in many branches of the
great transportation tl-rl and thus operate directly to
lessen the cost of living. Boston Globe.
X
mm
THE LOADSTONE.
HE strategic position of the farmer Is very
attractive Just now. He belongs to the
one class which has no complaint at all
to make of the high cost of living. He
reaped big crops last year and obtained
high prices for them. He is going to have
a bigger acreage this season and there is
no sign that prices will come down far enough to keep
him from taking more than a comfortable Income out
of the ground.
Thousands of city folks are going to the country.
They will expect far more than the most of them will
ever gain. They will know discouragement and many
of them failure. Yet If only a small percentage of those
who will have made the venture stick out the travail
and despair they will have done much for their coun
try. They will have been the pioneers for "back to the
soil." Human nature Is optimistic. If a few do well
those who do poorly will be ignored. The few will be
the loadstone to draw the many. Toledo! Blade.
13 OLD-FASHIONED LOVE-MAKING OUT OF DATE?
. - ' ,
i ' '
I t )' I " V
v.; ..'h l ' .
Abblt Bra Adhrui.
Abble Ben Adhem (pretty as you
please,
And dressed as neatly us one ever
sees),
Olio day was absent when her friends
began
Tn turn such absent ones beneuth their
scan.
'She paints!" vowed one, and sadly
shook her head.
"She flirts!" another with a shudder
said.
"I've heard thut ho and so and so urn)
so," a third
Declared, and all cried: "Well, upon mv
word!"
And so In half an hour boor Ablde's
fame
As well us repututlou and once hon
ored name
Were torn to tatters, und her friends
declared
She was the sort by whom fool men
were snured.
And that If they wera she they'd hav
more pride
Thun to give cause for rumors unde
nted.
In fact, they came to the conclusion
then.
That Miss Ken Adhem should not be
aguln
Held In their friendship as aim once
had been.
Hut that she should be spurned with
glances keen.
And that while some reports might not
be true.
Of course, "a person never reslly
knew!"
The next day thes sunie friends met
to compile
A list of those who should lie asked to
while
A way an afternoon at tea und whist
And each one then prepared her
lengthy list,
HuRgestlng who to ask und who to
snub
For It, you see, was un exclusive club.
And who, think you, wus most import
ant guest?
T.o, Mliis Hen Adliem's nume led all the
rest.
Wilbur D. Nesblt. In Life.
The Beat Hhe Toald Da.
"We've got to cut down our ex
penses," said Woodby. "We are living
In a style that makes everybody think
my income must oe twice us big as
It is."
"Well." his lfe replied, "what more
do you want, seeing that there is no
chance for you to double your in
conieT" Chicago Record-Herald.
The tlK-mallt.
Aacum (after the performance) I
shouldn't think you'd care to take part
In amateur theatricals.
Blnulckson (one of the cast I I
don't; but If I didn't I'd probably hav
to sit In the audience. Punch.
Tha Curloua l'il.
Mrs. Rubba I wonder why that wo
man keeps watching me soT
Mr. Rubtw Perhaps she's trying to
Cud out why you are starinU at ber
Philadelphia Press.
What has become of tbe old-fash
toned woman who wouldn't wear aay
Jewelry that was not solid golat
All the large match factories of Ger
many have pooled their issues under
an agreement binding until 1 920.
Aden makes ten million cigarettes
year at a very low cost of produc
tion. Wages are 16 cents a day.
The amount due to depositors in the
British post office savings bank in 190S
was $80:1,241.070. The Increase In 1908
was only Jlu.740.C8..
For re-movlng Incandescent lamps
from sockets In Inaccessible places
here has been Invent"! a pole with
prlng steel Angers on one end, a collei
prlng below them providing a univer
sal Joint.
The shipments of Chinese merchan
dise to the United States, as invoiced
through the American consulate gene-
tral at Shanghai, which had dropped
off from $14,734,853 In value in 1907 to
9,321,646 In 1908, went up to $13,872.-
531 last year.
The merit system Is now In forcy
In six States and nearly one hundrod
cities. New York State In 1883 wis
the pioneer. Next came Massachusetts
(1884), and, after a break for more
than twenty years, Wisconsin (1905),
Illinois (1905), Colorado (1907), Njw
Jersey (1907) and Ohio (1908).
The consumption of eight leading
products, Including wheat, corn and
eotton, according to estimates by the
bureau of statistics, Increased more
than 33 per cent per capita during the
last decade, whereas the gain In the
aggregate quantity of our farm pro
duction during the game period was
less than 4 per cent per capita.
Roughly speaking, there are about
1,250,000 freight cars at present In ser
vice on American rallrouds. Each ono
Of these Is carried by at least eight
heels whose standard diameter is
thirty-three inches, so that the total
number of wheels In service is in tho
neighborhood of 18,000,000, and their
value, at the lowest estimate, $ 1 80,-000,000.--Cassier's
Magazine.
The foreign trude of the United
Kingdom in the year that has Just
ended resulted in totals of $3,1 20,00m,
000 for Imports and $1,890,000,000 for
exports. This was an Increase over
the preceding year In both the Inward
and outward trade, but at the same
time the totals were still below the
record figures of 1907, when imparts
reached $3,230,000,000 in value, nnl
exports $2,080,000,000.
the, a nntive of Xordhausen, born in
1832, and likewise a piano maker.
"Ills father was Christian von Goe
the, a native of Weimar, where he was
born In 1790. He was the son of Jo
bann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was
the great Goethe, or, If you please,
the Goethe."
The' great Goethe himself was born
at Frankfort on the Main in 1749. His
literary genius won him the favor of
the Grand Duke of Weimar. On the
hitter's Invitation he went to Weimar,
where he spent the rest of his life.
It is strange that of all the lovers
of Goethe In the world none have
taken the trouble to learn of his de
scendants. Only a few of the Ger
mans of this city know that Charles
Albert von Goethe lives in their midst.
They are for the most part brewers
and drivers of brewery wagons, who
live at Goethe's boarding house, run
by the mother of Charles Albert. This
boarding house was started four years
ago when the father of Charles was
still living.
Charles Albert, the last Goethe, Is
now in New York working at his
trade, lie has never touched pen for
prose or poetry. He believes that his
ancestors following the great Goethe
might have achieved great fame In
literature had it not been for their
musical inclinations. Literature and
music, 'he thinks, are two arts which
cannot be pursued with success at the
same time. One must give way to the
other. Thus it has happened that lit
tle of the iKietlcal temperament of the
great Goethe bus come down to his
last male descendant.
"Down to my father," says Charles
Albert von Goethe, "all the descend
ants of Goethe have been piano mak
ers, but all of them, Including my
father, wrote at one time or another.
None ever wrote largely, but I be
lltve they could have made a name in
literature hud they devoted their sole
attention to it."
There does not seem to be any pros
pect that the Goethe family will again
excel in literature. At least Charles
Albert Is doubtful. "As for myself,"
he declared, "I don't know. I have
never tried. I like pianos."
SEES FAULT IN SCIENTISTS.
LAST GOETHE LIVES IN BOSTON.
Ucsrr uilu u t of I he (.rent (.eruian
fori la m I'lMiin J'anrr.
Charles Albert von Goethe, the last
male descendant of the great poet und
philosopher, Johunn WoUgung von
Goethe, lives at Roxbury Crossing and
earns kls livelihood us a piano tuner,
the Boston Post suys
He is now ubout 27 yeurs of age
and was born in Brussels, Belgium,
lie bus trawled extensively In Europe
and came to this country nine years
ago with his parents. Both he and
bis father obtained employment as
pluno tuners and the son has followed
the trade ever Blnce. To a Post re
porter he told the story of his family.
"My father was Ludwlg Albert von
Coethe, who was born In Berlin In
1857. He was a piano maker. Ills
lather was Ludwlg Christian voa Qoe-
'I h Ink era of To-day I.ai-W I maicl na
tion, ArrordluK Writer.
Men of scleuce, your faculties are
weakened by the very exactitude
w hich Is your pride. You measure aud
weigh, and you are surrounded and
overwhelmed by the limitations Im
posed by the' experiences of your
senses. You seek causes upon observ
ing effects, or determine the effects
resulting from given causes; but such
analyses do not lead you Into Uk
realm of Imagination. You are too
muterlal. if you had been Newton,
upon observing: the apple fall, you
would have thought, "The reason why
It fell was because its stem became
too weak to hold It." Newton, how
ever, had Imagination, and thereby
he discovered the law of gravitation,
declares a writer In Catsler's Maga
zine. Columbus did not care to prov
simply that the earth was round His
Imagination fired him with a knowl
edge of benefits to mankind resulting
from a possible (aud, as It turned out.
chimerical) northwest passage due to
such roundness. His imagination In
spired the discovery of a continent.
And so it is with name after name In
history, and so It will be with you nd
me. You may achieve some small
ueasara of success by doing what our
fathers did before us, but our really
big deeds will be offspring of our Im
aginations. Sometimes we see inven
tions accomplished by chance or a bene
fit opened to mankind by a stumbling
footstep. Such are rare, and shiftless
we should be did we count upon cir
cumstances for success.
CIRCUIT RIDER IN AN AUTO.
lro-rlt of Krninai lr-ih-r Who
lul On n I.uiik l-'aee.
A faithful old horse that has served
his time In carrying the Rev. W. R
Stevens around to the half dozen
country villages in Reno County w1!l
be turned out to grass as soon as
spring arrives, a Hutchinson (Kas.)
correspondent of the New York Sun
says.
Mr. Stevens is a Methodist Episcopal
circuit rider of the old school. For
years he has visited the churches n
this and other counties where he has
been stationed by the conference, al
ways traveling horseback and carry
ing In his old-rashloned saddlebags hli
Bible, hymnbooks aud religious tracts.
His assignment out of Hutchinson
covered more territory than his old
horse was able to get over.
Three years ago when Mr. Stevens'
came to this charge he took an ac
counting of his life and its opportun
ities and decided that there vas :io
good reason for a minister of the gos
pel to put on a long face and be con
tent with the pittance handed out to
the average circuit rider preacher. He
determined that it was his duty to j
become a part of the business world i
and to follow some occupation when
not attending to his charges or visit
ing his people.
The sale of Kansas farm lands was
a business that appealed to Mr. Stev
ens, and he decided to try his hand at
selling farms to new settlers.
The extent of his prosperity was not
realized until the other day, when he
appeared on the streets driving a big
automobile which cost him $2,500.
Then he told his friends about his
farm land business which he had car
ried on as he preached the gospel and
made pastoral calls In the country.
"I simply could not get along with
the old horse," he said. "The aut'
moblle will enable me to cover my cir
cuit easily, and it will be useful !n
the calls I .make on members of my
congregations.
"It will also be valuable In my farm
land business and will enable me to
add many hundred dollars each year
to my Income. During the past threo
years 1 made $12,000 In addition to
my salary us circuit rider, and I :x
pect to double that sum during the
next two years.
So far as known Mr. Stevens is tho
only minister in Kansas who owns un
automobile, and he believes he Is the
only circuit rider in the United States
who Is using a touring car In spread
ing the gospel.
rTnJnrk laa.
How dear to my heart are the flapjacks
and bacon
That mother constructed In the duya
long ago.
And bow I would cut till my food! shop
whs uihln'
And swallow euch Jack till the flap
didn't show;
The ronVe und rolls tind the fritters
thut sizzled.
The cut thut ut meowing for scraps
now and then
Oh, you muy hove breukfast served up
In three courses,
But give me tbe flupjucks and bacon
gain.
t Luls fur.
THE OLD WAY.
Love-making, according to diagnosticians, is a lost art. The modern
lover meets a young lady Monday, invites her to the theater for Tuesday.
Dines at her home on Wednesday. Proposes on Thursday. Asks papa Fri
day, and is married on Saturday. Next week the novelty Is gone, the cu
riosity appeased another affinity appears then a few tears, a few harsh
words a parting "No flowers, please."
Even the stage lover has changed. The Fechter the Wallack the Cogh
lan have gene and no successor in evidence, even that high priestess of the
erotic drama and osculatory octopus, Olga Nethersole, affirms that In her
rntire career only one leading man really knew enough about lov-making
to cause her to "act up to him," and he was a Saxon. Think of it! With
all the varied nationalities who have made love to ebullient Nethersole,
only one came to the Ideal and she ought to know, for the fiery words of
passion have been showered upon her most bountifully, and she. In turn, has
Impersonated more women with a "temperamental tint" than any other liv
ing actress. In fact, love-making is her piece de resistance, and its art to
her Is a religion, as she Is to-day recognized as the greatest disciple of the
realistic drama.
Here are pearls of confession, culled from the close-mouthed oysters of
professional confidence: The Saxon race make the best lovers. They are
more responsive, more reliable and are dominated more by their brains than
their passions. The Gallic lover is impulsive. Inquisitive, domineering and
insanely Jealous; loves with the fervent ardor of an ideal Romeo for a time,
then assuming the frigidity of the frozen North. The Celt is amorous, dan
gerously sincere and altogether too impressionistic. His love-making is as
sacred as his creed. The Teuton is stoical, unbending and patronizing. His
love-making Is bestowed by personal favor, not by unanimity, artd reciprocity
of emotion to him Is unknown. Hebrews make good husbands, but poor lovers.
Utica Globe.
SUDDEN DEATH IS HEREDITARY.
So Hmr Two French I'hyalelana Who
-Have Investigated the Subject.
There are records extant of families
a majority of whose members of sev
eral generations have died suddenly
and from more or less obscure causes.
In some instances the fact that sudden
death "runs in the family" Is so well
recognized that it is expected by im
mediate relatives, calmly or in terror,
according to the individual habit of
mind. Such deaths are popularly
ascribed to heart disease, even when
physicians refuse to make any such
diagnosis.
. "My father had a weak heart," some
one will say, "and I suppose I shall
drop dead In my tracks, Just as he
did." Yet in many cases of such sud
den death it is certain that absolutely
nothing is the matter with the heart.
Two French physicians who have
been looking up this odd subject are
quite convinced, the Indianpaolis Star
suys, that there exists a sudden-death
"diathesis," or constitutional tendency,
Just as there exists an arthritic or
gouty "diathesis," and many other sim
ilar tendencies, all of which are hand
ed down from father to son. This
tendency betrays itself by many symp
toms. Those who possess It are apt
to be subject to fainting fits, to nose
bleed, to asthmatic attacks, and so on.
In particular they have one unpleas
ant habit which In certain conditions
brings on the sudden exit for which
they are peculiar. It is an acute local
swelling, which may appear, without
any warning, on any part of the body,
affecting sometimes a very small spot,
sometimes an entire limb, and lasting
from a minute to two or several hours.
Now, when this swelling attacks the
throat it may press against the wind
pipe and choke its victim to death.
In a few minutes the swelling may
subside and leave nothing to tell how
life was lost.
That many mysterious deaths are
thus to be accounted for Is the opinion
of the French Investigators. It is sure
ly rather grewsome to think of the
members of a doomed family watting
to be caught unexpectedly and savage
ly by the throat by such a relentless
enemy as this. One Is tempted to hope
there may be some mistake and yet
the mysterious deaths remain to be
accounted for.
USEFUL PATENTS ARE SHOWN.
Wurtemberg- tdihtblta Common I ten
all Made to Mate Labor.
The kingdom of Wurtemberg has
the credit of arranging a most inter
esting exhibition of inventions and
patents, a St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Stuttgart correspondent says. Tins
spacious building in Stuttgart occupied
by the 1.500 exhibits does not contain
any revolutionary or epoch-making in
ventions. But the exhibition Is noiu
the less Interesting, because It deals
with everyday life and the improve
ments In exlstitig articles and utensils
treated from a practical point of view.
Introduced Into dally life they will bo
time and labor saving.
Thus, for Instance, a fruit gatherer
Is attached to a vole and armed with
cutting teeth and a small bag Into
which the fruit slides. A new simple
contrivance for tightening wires Is so
very simple that it is surprising no
one ever thought of It before. A mod
ified beehive, with a special method
for automatic ventilation, will b a
welcome addition to the apiarist's col
lection of hives, and farmers' wives
will hail with delight an egg-carrying
box, fitted up with wire frames, thus
doing away with the use of sawdust.
The furniture section is one of the
best. Roll-top desks that can be trans
formed Instantaneously Into ordinary
writing tables; sofas composed of 10
less than three beds. etc. In the me
chanical division are soma ingenious
inventions. There is a double sliding
factory door that opens and closes
from left to right automatically; ;m
soon as a trolley, cart or person ap
proaches It Its weight throws the door
open, and when It has pad-ted through
Its own weight closes it. A teacher of
physics has invented for educational
purposes a model turbine and dyna.m.)
worked by an ordinary schoolroom tup.
But perhaps the most striking inven
tion is a new motor worked hy steam,
air or gases without piston.
One of the rooms contains giganric
models or airships, portable airship
halls, etc. In the same room are Illus
trations of a new submarine. An air
of friendliness pervades thrt place, and
visitors are far removed from the stiff
autocracy of Prussian red-tap ism.
This, as a matter of fact, U the great
charm of the exhibition.
A PRISON HORROR.
Anful late of a lluxlan I'ollllral
' Offender.
David Soskice writes in MeClure'a
Magazine of the horrors of the Schlues
selburg, Russia's political prison.
"Grachevsky, unable to stand his life
any longer," says he, "struck a guard
in order to be executed. But the com
mandant of the fortress declared him
to be insane and therefore exempt
from punishment.
'"Then." said Grachevsky; it re
mains for me but to kll myself.' He
was taken to the 'stabln' and kept
there under most vigilant watch.
" 'One night,' related Ludmilia Vol
kenstein, 'a terrible. Inhuman shriek
was heard. Footsteps hurried toward
Grachevsky's cell. Feeble groans fol
lowed, and It was evident, that some
thing terrible had hapiiened to him.
Smoke and the smell of burnt clothing
and flesh pervaded the building and
hung about it till the following day.
We then knew that Grachevsky had
burnt himself alive. H had soaked
his clothes and bedding with the oil
from the little night lamp and. rolling
himself up in his blanket, had set It
on fire. For several days beforehand
he had disarmed tbe suspl -Ions of his
guards by exceedingly rational be
havior, so that they had relaxed their
watchfulness a little und enabled him
to commit the dreadful deed."
tllKlaken Identity.
"Oh, doctor, he grow lei ho savagely
I was sure he was mad even before he
went on In such a biting w.iy."
"I beg pardon, madam, but Is It
your large dog or your small pet one
you are speuking of?"
"I-aw. doctor, it Isn't :uy dog 1 am
talking about. It's my husband."
Baltimore American.
Ireland's wheat yield ii 17 bushels
an acre, which is nearly five bushels
an acre better than that of Great Brit
ain. If you are contented, you art pretty
well off without an au'.j and a aar
stoi.