f
SERVANT GIRL PROBLEM.
It Im a Hubjcct In Which the llonfte
vtltcn or livery Clt Mixed Conn
' try Are Deeply Interested.
'J'hc bcrrtuil fjirl question, while
"settled" time und time again upon
paper, is Htill n very live issue among
those who are moHt vitally interested
the housewives of the country. Jn
Aincricn it iH said Unit tho Inck of
good help nl reasonable wages is (lie
cause for so inaiiy people living In lints
und hotels, and there is no iiniucdinte
proHpcel of a change in this direction,
ns good domcHtio servants are beeom
ing more and more dlfllcult to obtain.
Jn view of thin fact, it Ik Interesting to
look nl the question ti8 ll is handled in
other lands. Great Itritain clnima to
he the best country In the world for
good servants, from both points of
view. A lending English journnl stales
that "England's greatest industry is
domestic service."
The Ktntemenl sounds untrue, and
yet the returns of the board of trade
vouch lor 1,700.000 female domestic
servants hi England and Wales, an
against l,-10O,O00 men engaged in min
ing, while farming Ings far behind and
the rest of the trades nre nowhere.
And there Is no fuss. All the scrub
bing of floors, cooking of meals und
making of beds are done without any
of the banners, processions, oratory,
strikes or lockouts of other employ
ments. The "servanl problem" vexes the
:oul of ninny an Kngllsh housewife,
but to learn the value of the British
domestic one must go abroad. In the
households of the czarina of Kussia,
the German empress, the queen of
Sweden und Norway and the young
Queen Helena of Italy, the English
nursery governess Is a power behind
the throne, and pretty nearly every
reigning sovereign of Europe seems to
Tinve been nursed and taught by nn
English maid before ho passed on to
1hc throne.
Jlut with all the foreign demand for
English maids, there are conditions in
ninny countries from which the most
lnring would shrink.
Even a downtrodden "slop-gap"
-would not go to France nl the French
wnges of 5 a year for the good do
mestic or the fourpencc an hour of
the visiting mnid, who corresponds in
Paris with our Saturday charwoman.
ThoU'rcnci maid Is very clever, and
if she can get permission to pay the
weekly bills, collects five per cent,
commission from all the tradesmen,
lint English wages would seem to her
n fortune. Only in wealthy households
tins she n chance to get plump.
Ilurul England scarcely knows such
tragic poverty as that which drives
HUSSIAN MAIDS A1U3 HUMULB,
women from many parts of Europe to
abandon their own children and seek
tMuployment a? nursemaids in the
cities.
The mountain women of the Pyre
nees have a monopoly of nursing the
children of the rich in Madrid, the girls
'from the valley of the Spree supply
the like wnnt in Uerlin, and llreton or
Norman women are the nurses of
Parte, while Montenegrin peasants
swarm to Homer In Paris one may
know the nursemaid's prosperity b
the length and splendor of her cap
ribbons, trailing to the heels, and in
the other capitals they wear beautiful
peasant costumes. These "costume
nurses," however they may havo suf
fered by the wrench which tore them
i from their native districts, have a very
good time in service. By doctor's or-
iders the "nurse" must not be crossed
or, contrndh'ted, so rules both her mls-
tres und the household with iron
rigor, making herself as disagreeable
- ias she pleases. She adopts the chil
ttfruiu who are barred by etiquetto
from knowing their own mother ex
cept as n visiting stranger.
. The qua'rtitest of all domestic service
Is in Russia, where the peasants have
only lntely beea released from slavery,
aad for fear of starvation in winter
flock to the houses of the nobles, where
they 5mnsh the crockery in grateful
Jret i- lr siu're board und lodging.
The Russian lad, alwoya merciful to
the poor, finds her house overrun by
useless but htimblo retainers with
swarms of children, and when she
hopes to rest there is euro to be n for
lorn maid scratching the door like a
little rat because she dare not knock.
To stop the scratching she Is admit
ted, then, falling on her knees, kisses
the foot of the mistress, pleading with
tears that she did not know it was
wrong to boll potatoes in n silver
dish.
As to the upper servants, they march
Into the most private rooms, disdain
ing to knock at the door, and, if n
guest is dressing, the maid thinks
nothing of taking a short cut through
the room rather than go 'round by the
passage. If the guest Is displeased
they will abjectly kiss his hands, won
dering what on earth lias put him out
of ills temper. Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune.
OLD MEXICAN VASE.
Tlir Muni MiiK'nlllcr-nt .Specimen of An
clcnt American Ceramic Ho
Vnr Discovered.
Among the strange and valuable ob
jects which have been recently in
stalled In the Mexican hall of the
Amcrlcnn Museum of Natural History,
New York, of which Mr. Marshall H.
Savllle Is curator, Is a wonderful terra
cotta jar, designed and decorated in
imitation of n turkey. This is con
sidered the most magnificent speci
men of ancient American ceramics so
far discovered.
Besides the striking and artistic
turkey head handle, the most cxtraor-
t i , v ?
AN ANCIENT AMERICAN VASE,
dlnnrv feature of the iar is its orna
mentation of solid gold leaf, with1 The Ilev. H. P. Perkins, of Pno-ting-which
it was profusely decorated in , fu, China, says there is a greatdemand
former times, many layers of which for native schools and churches there,
still remain on the jar. It is consld- Chemistry students hi the Univer
cred to be a priceless example, illus- sity of. Heidelberg are compelled by
trntlng the culture and workmanship the rules of the institution to insure
of that mysterious civilization which their lives.
flourished n thousand years ago in The largest electrotechnical insti'
Mcxico, I ut(, ,, wuroni! has hist been completed
The jar is thought to have been a
funeral or votive offering, says the roof is lI8ed ns nn experimental sta
New York Herald, which was one of tion fop wlreless telegraphy.
wie wnui II1UIIUHI-.Y riii-B oi me
people of that time. Its age cannot
be accurately stated but it probably
reaches back for a thousand years or
more. It was found by Carl Lum-
holt, during one of his exploring ex-
pedltions. It came to light while dig-,
,,l,wr n a nrivntn irnrdnn in ih. rttv
tJ-"M " D - - 'J
of Topio, which had evidently been
In remote times the site of some tem
'ple or wealthy burial place.
Two skeletons were unearthed.
Around the neck of one were found
26 balls of solid gold, also a large
breastplate ornament of gold.
IDLE RICH ARE SCORED.
Former l'HMtor of Koekcfellcr Snya
Thtre la n Hnpldly Groivinir CI una
Which Hum So llltfht to Live.
Rev. Dr. W. II. P. Faunce, president
oi uruwn uuoeiMij, uiKiuiuici tmmur
of the Fifth avenue Raptist church in
New ork city, which Jo in D Roelce-
feller and his son attend, delivered n
QUittliillU 1ULJ11JVU I V II1U MUUltll,) iWlOUit'
class of this country in the baccalaure
ate sermon to the graduating clnse of
Prown university at Providence, It. I.
deuce, R. 1.
Dr. Paunce said: "The man who has
no wish to serve his fellows, but only
to use them, has no moral right to be
here. He may shelter himself behind
legal documents, behind the pride of
birth, or the Insolence of office, but if
hu is not here as a willing, loyal serv
ant, he Is at odds with the universe, he
Is anti-social, anti-Christian, and has
no moral right to live.
"We see a rapidly growing leisure
class in America who are tempted to
interpret life as a series of rights
u-lll,nnt ,lnlt..u ii ml iilmiKiirne ivltl.nul
h
responsibilities. They conceal mental
vacuity behind the arts of the caterer
and upholsterer nnd contribute to
society nothing more novel than a
simian bnnquet, nnd by lives of 'luxury
and alimony' sow seeds of social revolt
whose harvest their unwelcome chil?
dren must surely reap."
Tin' AliMMit-Mlinlnl Man.
"A bright spring day," she
"makes mo liku a ,?Irl a grain."
said,
"You don't look it," nit umed the
absent-minded man, who wished to
. i. ,11.1..
be complimentary. Brooklyn Uajjl
The Voter and the Caucus
By HON. ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE
Governor of Wisconsin
always has manifested the same willingness to
participate in the affairs of government, to perform his duties in the
elections, to serve in the rank and file' of his party in the campaigns, that
he has to defend his country in the field when the sterner duties of war
summoned him in its defense. A close study of the history of caucuses
and conventions will convince anv unbiased mind, in search for truth,
that the voter has been gradually eliminated as a factor, after long,
patient trial, because the delegate system has utterly failed to reprc
sent him or to reflect his opinion in its results. -
No man enjoys being made a puppet of, and to rally to' the- caucus
only to have his effort defeated by a well-organized and well-disciplined
minority, or, if delegates arc chosen who seem to reflect the will of the
majority in the caucus, to discover later that through the complicated
systcin of delegating and rcdelegating their authority, the nominations
finally made arc the result of the dickers and deals and combinations and
commercial transactions which rule modern conventions. It would1 be
strange, indeed, if the citizen should continue to be interested' in the '
proceedings of a system productive of such results. Abolish the law
which now make elections an honest reflection of the will of the voter i
and introduce the same elements of uncertainty and fraud which are
an inherent part of nominations through convention delegates, and the
interest of the citizen in the general election would fail as certainly a?
it has failed in the preliminary. I
It is not enough to say that the voter has his opportunity to attend
upon the caucus and express his choice as to delegates. This is to of
fer the form of the thing for the substance. If the voter, time after
time, casts his ballot and elects the delegates of his choice only to dis
cover in the end that he has been in some way betrayed, and the de
cision of the majority in fact reversed, it is inevitable that he should
as a serious-minded citizen refuse further to participate in the farcical
proceedings. It is this that has driven the majority of the voters from
the caucus until it is only in times of profound public concern and in
tense public feeling that even a respectable minority of the voters are
represented in the caucus and convention system.
SCHOOL AND CHURCH.
in Vienna at. a cost of $G00,O00. Its
jev Morton c Andrews, rector of
gt pnul, K ii chlirch of 0sh-
j restaurant to
fl , , , , ,
, .. ., , r , ;
f Woken farm and grocery store
nvuntnge. Ibshop Grafton forbade
the enterprise and now Mr. Andrews
has withdrawn from the church. Mr,
Andrews has been an extreme ritual
ist. He drew no salary from the
church, insisting upon the right to
support himself by his business under
takings. In addition to the paid choir, the paid
treasurer and the paid collector of
church revenues, which have become
buch prominent features in many
churches in this country, a prominent
church in New York has a movement on
foot to raise "an educational endow
ment fund of $100,000, the interest of
which is to be used: 1. To pay cduca-
tional experts who shall teach the
tencbcrSi 2. To pny tlle heiul of (le.
I pnrtjncnts In the BchooK 3. To ,om.
t ns fnp I1S possible all teachers
who will accept remuneration, pro
vided they can demonstrate their fit
ness based upon preparation conform
ing to established standards of re
quirement." 1'i'jOf. Pryee, in his biographical
study of Pishop Fraser, of Manchester,
tells of a clergyman of Fraser's diocese
who had knocked n man down who had
insulted him. The bishop wrote him a
letter of reproof, pointing out that ex
posed as the Church of Knglandwas to
much criticism on nil hands, her minis
ters ought to be very careful of their
demeanor. The offender replied by
saying: "I must regretfully admit
that, being grossly Insulted, and for-
j i t i l i t 1 1 jji
fUUIIlg HI Uic Ul-.u HI UlC IllOIIieill UIC
;rlt!c1 position of the Church of Fug-
land, 1 did knock the man down, etc."
Prnser was delighted with the turning
jf the tables on himself, and afterward
.nvi'ted the clergyman to visit him.
11 In 13iii'cnmIoiin.
Piano Teacher Don't you think,
Mrs. Smith, that your daughter plays
ivlth a good deal of expression?
Mrs. Smith 1 never noticed that
ihe said anything '.vhen she was play-
r !, I.,,t I niii .(ll'PV In K11V lhnt ennm
ofb,MPtSmUh's expressions at times
tilniv frihifiil.Iinstii Trim.
i ,,.!,,
It is no longer open to dispute that the
nomination of candidates for office has in a
very large measure passed out of the hands of
citizen. For many years it has been popular
with certain theoretical writers upon the subject
to place the responsibility for this entirely upon
the citizen himself, and to charge him with
dereliction of duty and want of interest in pub
lic affairs, absorption in business- interests and
pursuit of fortune being assigned as primary
causes of neglect of these elementary duties oi
citizenship. But it 'is fair to say that the citizen
HUMOROUS.
"Papa, what is eccentricity?" "The
foolishness of a rich man, my son."
Town Topics.
Pirst Lawyer "The judge seems
quite sweet on tlie widow." Second
Lawyer "What you might call 'legal
tender.' " Princeton Tiger.
Matter of Taste She "Are you
fond of birds?" He "Sure thing! I
simply ndore them." She "Which is
your favorite?" He "Quail on toast."
Chicago Daily News.
Mistaken Identity "I think I have
met you before. Aren't you timekeep
er for the Eloss & Gloss company?" ,
"No, sir. 1 am a singer of topicnl songs
and know nothing at all about keeping
time." Kansas City Journal.
"You were very lenient with that
conductor," said the first passenger.
"Oh," replied the other, "we're all lia
ble to make mistakes." "Perhaps you
were a conductor yourself once." "No,
sir; I'm a weather fore'easter." Phil
adelphia Press. '
"So your sister 'is married?" "Yes,,
and she did very well splendidly.
You have heard of the duke of West
minster?" "Oil, yes. Did she marry
into that, family?" "Well, yes, so. to,
speak. She married a nephew of one
of the duke of Westminster's cooks.
He is the driver of a 'bus!" Loudon.
Tit-Pits.
And They Did. The prisonar told a.
remarkably straight story. All' who.
heard him were impressed. Many
were the comments made about the
courtroom, such as: 'Mothinks there
is something in that story." "lie
Rounded very much as if he were tell- '
ing the truth." All agreed that his
words carried conviction with them.
And so it, proved. For the jury, with
out leaving the box, rendered a verdict
of "Guilty." Paltlmore- American.
How Could Jslu-f
She had been naughty, there was no
doubt about that, and her maninia was
administering corporal punishment.
All morning she hnd been perverse,
and now, as the maternat hand fell
with depressing force upon her small
person, she yelled lustily.
"He still, 1 tell you!" said her moth
er, without interrupting the business
in hand. "Stop crying! Stop this mln
ute!" The small person turned defiantly.
"Well, how am 1 agoin' to stop cry
in'," sjie sobbed, "when you keep
n-spankin' me all the time to make me
cry?" N. Y. Times.
Hutlrcly IllKht.
Tess 0, yes, I feel pretty sure of
him. 1 rejected him when lie proposed
first because I was positive he'd try
again.
Jess And you were right. He did
try again, and 1 accepted him,- Stray
Stories.
HANGER FOR A KETTLE.
gfioulrt lie din 1e of Strrrojt Material
mill l'ut Up Klriuly und with
CoiiKlUrrnlilc Crer.
An exceedingly bimple ytflonvcn
ient hanger for a kettle Is slVown. Let
a represent a post 4x30 inahes; b
piece 3x-l edgewlH?rwiUi three-quarter-inch
bolt through it and the post, so
b can turn easily; c is a small iron
loop-like rod on wagon end gate, so
SWING FOR, HANDLING'.ICETTtE:
chain can turn easily; d is a-ohain running-from
c to c, which is'ni one-half-inch
hook for hanging chain. On the
other hook, e, at other end of rod',, b,
hang the kettle. This nrrangement al
lows the kettle to be swung off the
fire easily at any moment, and with
out legs or anything under the kettle
to interfere with building a fire. Suck
a hanger is easy to make but should
be- made of only good, strong material
and pnt up substantial and firm. IE.
C. Beergisser, in Farm and Home.
SMALL GERMAN FARMS!.
OTirev wf n. lunrtor Section' Ih Chn
hIiIovpiI n Wealthy I'crHoii liv
the Old Country.
G:. W. Grimmer, a farmer and feed
er at Greeley, Kan., who is a native of
Germany, in commenting on the visit
of the German student of agriculture
to this country at this time said to a
Drovers'' Telegram representative:
"If a-German farmer; that is, the average-
coimtrynian, has a ten or Iff
ncre tract of land, he Is considered
somebody. Many farmers own only
five acres, but they plant so many dif
ferent kinds of grains, vcgetnblesand
the like and till and fertilize the
ground so well that the five acres is
ample to support a generoiisjCpd
family throughout the year. A qi!j
ter section of land is a moderate-sizcl
fnrm in America, but in Germanytho
owner of such a tract of land would
be considered a very wealthy person.
Another thincr in which American and
German farm life is different is that
the German's farm is rarely in one
body. The land there is so valuable
and' it is divided into such small tracts
that a farmer often finds himself own
ing a couple of acres in n body, an aero
or two half a mile away and four or
five acres In another direction. The
fnrms nre thus nothing more than
good-sized gardens. Many a western
Kansas farm has a larger garden and
family orchard than the average G'er
man farm. A farm in the old country
costs from $200 nn acre upi"'
THE AGE OF A HORSE.
A Old JVew York Ilornpninn'M Ade
nn How Not to Mnlio- u 31 In
take Ahout It.,
"The groom that came to Chester
with Old Abdullah, the sire of Ham
bletonian, 55 years ago," said a vet
eran Orange county horseman to a
New York Sun reporter; "toTd mo
how to tell the age of a horse, and
it has run in my head ever since.
This is the way it ran,'" nnd he re
pented the following rhyme:
To tell the ape of any horse,
Inspect the lower Jaw, of course.
The six front teeth the tale will tell.
And every doubt and fear dispel.
The middle "nippers" yon be)iold
Bofore the colt is two weeks old;
Before eight weeks two more will romo;
Eight months, the "corners" cut the gum.
Tho outside grooves will dlsnppear
From middle two In Just one year;
In two yenrs from the second pair;
In three tho "corners," too, nre bare.
At two. the middle "nippers" drop;
At three, the second pair enn't stop;
When four years old, the third palrsoea;
At live, a full new set he shows.
The deep black spots will pass from view.
At six yenrs from the middle two;
The second pair at seven years; -y
At eight, the spot ench "corner" clears
From middle "nippers" upper Jaw,
At nine the black spots will withdraw,
Tlie second pair at ten are white;
Eleven anus tae corners light.
As time goes on the horsemen know
The oval teeth three-sld.'d grow;
They longer get. project before '
Till twenty, when w know no more.
Many a little chick dies .from what ia
supposed to be some mysteiious ail
ment, when the trouble is uii-ply lice.
Commercial Poultry,
If
