The Sioux County journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1888-1899, April 27, 1899, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    SIOUX CO. JOUKNAL
- By CEO. D. CANON.
HARRISON. NEBRASKA
END OF THE C A R ROTE.
Torture Chair Has Been Abolished
In Cuba.
Havana. (Special.) An Interesting
relic of the Spanish administration In
Cuba has been removed from the Pre
sidio la Habana, or general peniten
tiary. This was the old garrote, which
was used to execute condemned crim
inals. It will probably be taken to the
governor general's palace, and here,
along with other articles of historical
character, kept in a wing of the build
ing for the information of future gen
erations. In structure It is simple and almost
commonplace. It Is an iron pillar firm
ly fixed in a wooden platform. This lat
ter Is about ten feet square and six feet
from the ground. Attached to the col
umn is an Iron chair. Two feet above
this is an iron collar, which is closed by
a screw running through the column
and tightening by a bar similar to that
of a modern copying press.
The end of the screw is pointed, and
when twisted up protrudes about an
inch into the center of the ring.
The victim was placed in the fatal
chair, the ring around his neck and
his hands and feet firmly tied. The
white camp was then drawn over his
face, a quick twirl given the screw and
the spinal column broken by the point
entering the neck. The execution gen
erally took place at sunrise, and the
garroted prisoner was left in the chair
until sunset.
The procession to the chair of death
was one of the most horrible features
of the old-time executions. It was made
on foot and huge crowds gathered to
witness it. It was made the occasion
for. general merriment. There is some
thing Innately cruel in the Spanish
and Cuban character, and the specta
tors did not as a rule evince any feel
ing for the agonies of the condemned.
All along the route he was greeted with
ribald taunts, jeers and laughter. The
spectacle had all the excitement of a
bull fight, with the added zest that the
Tlctlm was a human being. Conse
quently the most was made of it.
First in procession came a squad of
soldiers. Then the prisoner, with a
priest on either side. Then fifty of the
brotherhood called the "Hermandad,"
Brothers of Death, all negroes, dressed
In long black robes, wearing masks and
carrying lanterns and bells. Then more
soldiers, a surgeon, the governor of the
prison, the judge who sentenced the
prisoners, and the bearers of the rough
wooden shell which was to receive the
dead body.
The preliminary proceedings were in
terminable, and the prisoner, in full
view of the instrument of his destruc
tion, suffered the agonies of a hundred
deaths before his throat was pleased by
the fatal ring. Orders and proceedings
innumerable were read, a confession
endeavored to be extorted, the sentence
reiterated and confirmed, and a long
religious ceremony held. Fully thirty
minutes elapsed before the sentence of
the law was carried out.
The present executioner is a negro
named Valentine. He is about 60 years
of age and was originally himself con
demned to death for the murder of a
laborer on a plantation. His sentence
was changed to penal servitude for life
and a few years later the office of
public executioner falling vacant, he
was brought from Ceuta to fill it. He
has garroted nearly 70 persons.
He enjoys a kind of freedom in the
prison, has a private room, and is al
lowed outside for a stroll now and then.
There is little fear of his running away,
The lower class execrate him, and were
be recognized in the city he would be
torn to pieces. He goes out, therefore,
at night in disguise.
Banguilly was the last prisoner con
demned to the garrote. He was par
doned on representations of the Amer
ican representatives and the promise
that he should not again take up arms
against Spain. He broke his word to
the Spaniards, and has shown his grat
itude to the Americans by taking every
opportunity to belittle their administra
tion in Havana.
RELIGIOUS NOTES.
An effort is making among some of
tbe Methodist churches to Induce wo
men to remove their hat In church.
The whole amount of receipts of the
American board of missions from Sep
tember 1. 1S88, to March 1, 1899, was
$251,816.25.
Rev. Edward Everett Hale last week
naaaed bis 77th birthday, with no ap
parent abatement of either mental or
physical power.
Fifty students of the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, have gone out as
foreign missionaries under the auspices
of different boards of missions.
A remarkable increase in the popula
tion of Jerusalem during the last fifty
years la exciting much interest. The
number today Is estimated at 45,000.
Of these 28,000 are Jews. The whole
Jewish population of Palestine Is reck
oned at 100,000.
The question of tbe use of tbe revised
version of the bible has recently been
before the convocation of Canterbury.
The Bishop of Rochester said that the
" rev toed version Is "the most faithful
available rendering Into English of tbe
44 and new testament."
The Advance aays that at tbe aedl
aattoa af a WMW Jewlaa temple la
Pisa H fr- r - m
fcwtl atatfarsa Mitt
fswm OeatMsi PattsrHaa aai Trtm-
SECOND OOLLAhUlNntti
FIFTEEN HUNDRED WORKERS
CONCRECATE.
Pay Homage to the Memory of Jef
ferson Colonel Bryan the
Guest of Honor.
Ve Yoi i. (Special.) The second of
the "one dollar" Bryan dinners, that
under the auspices of the worklngmen,
was held at the Grand Central palace.
The dinner was not as largely at
tended as the one given by the Chicago
platform democrats in the same place
on the preceding Saturday night, about
1,500 men and women being present. The
striking difference between these din
ners was the seating of the guests of
hoiior on the platform, where they were
plainly visible to everybody in the hall
Back of the speakers, painted on a
large canvas, wa the following: "A
system of political economy will yet
down which will perform as well aj
promise, which will rain the riches ot
nature into the laps of the starving
poor. "
Colonel 'William J. Bryan entered the
hall soon after 7 o'clock. He was re
ceived with great applause.
An orchestra discoursed music from
one ot the boxes. The women, who were
about equal in number to the men, sat
at the tables on the main floor. The
toasts and speakers were as follows:
'Municipal Ownership of Public
Franchises," Mayor S. M. Jones; "What
a Just and Economic System Woun.
Do for Women," Charlotte Perkina
Stetson; "The Foes Which Beset Move
ments in the Interest of the People,'
Rev. Edward McGlynn; "Practical Ad
justment of Social Problems." N. o.
.Nelson; "All Government Derives Its
Principles from the Consent of tin
Governed," William Tempie Emmet,
"Thomas Jefferson," William Jenntngi,
Bryan.
MENU OF THE" SIMPLEST.
The menu was of the simplest. It
was: Vegetable soup, haddock, egg
sauce, roast beef, roast turkey, cran
berry sauce, pickles, ice cream, cake
and coffee.
Colonel Bryan was accompanied by
Congressman W. A. Sulzer when be en
tered the hail.
A PATRIOTIC TOAST.
In the course of the dinner Chairman
Walker arose and asked all to drink to
the honor of "Those heroes who, AprI
9, 114 years ago (battle of Lexington)
gave up their lives for that liberty tht
danger to which is the occasion foi
your gathering here tonight."
All rose and drank while the band
played "The Star Spangled Banner."
Chairman Walker Introduced Mayoi
Jones of Toledo. Mayor Jones wa
cheered. His toast was "Municipal
Ownership of Public Franchises," anu
he said in part:
MAYOR JONES' SPEECH.
"Any system adopted by society,
either as custom or law, that grants ii
one man or set of men a privilege thai
is by force of circumstances denied oth
er men, is a denial of the equaut
guaranteed to the people of this gov
ernment In the Declaration of Inde
pendence, and is, tnerefore, a violation
of divine justice.
"We can understand how the con
tract system or a system of specia
privileges might exist In a monarchy
jr be tolerated under a despot, but ever
a. suggestion of inequality is repugnan
io any conception of a government Ii
which all are supposed to be equals
For this reason the fact ot equality
under our government has generally
oeen accomplished without question.
"The impression given to our chlldreti
is that the thing called government I:
perfected. There is. therefore, no re
-ponsibiity for the boy beyond the
mere perfunctory work of votir.g oi
election d?y, of proclaiming In seasoi
and out of season that we have th'
best government on earth, and of con
stantly keeping before the minds of out
fellow men the assertion that we 'cai
lick everybody,' but if we have the bes
government on earth, which I do no.
question, it does not nectssarly follow
that even that may not be Improved.
"If we can 'lick everybody," even thif
Is not of necessity the highest idea
toward which a nation may strive.
"I have no quarrel with the capital
ist; I have no quarrel with the con
tractor. Under our existing busines
system It Is the business of the capital
ist and contractor to get the best ene
of the bargain, and to my mind all in
flammatory and denunciatory appeal!
directed against 'the capitalist,' 'the
contractor,' 'the money power are idle
and of no avail.
"Our warfare should be on an unhol
system, a system, too. that is unselen
title as It is unholy; a system that hopes
to perpetuate Itself through mlnlsterinf
to greed; a system that is oaiiy war
fare, that is calculated to make mer
hate each other; a system that make
our pretended democracy a travests
and makes our dally walks a denial o'
democracy, and it Is, therefore, treasor
to the republic in which we are all pro
fessed sovereigns and equals.
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP'S EFFECT.
"In every city of this or any other
country that has adopted public own
ership of its public utilities the con
tract system and the franchise syeten;
will both disappear together. Every
city, I nay, that has adopted pubiii
ownership of public utilities has short
ened the hours of labor, increased the
pay of the men and improved the qua).
Ity of the service.
"If the worklngmen and masses r
In economic slavery. In charity It if
because preceding economic slavery
there has been party slavery, and In
every succeeding election the working
men of the country have been the dupes
of the schemers who sought to serve
only their own ends.
"I believe this Is the beginning of the
government that Is bought and sold
and run for revenue, and the days of
pretended partisan hatred have van
ished; that worklngmen can no longer
be rallied with the mere nue end cry
of 'Be a democrat' or 'Be a republican.'
"Let the platform that commands the
votes of the worklngmen and reform
forces be definite and positive for thus
thing that are now essential to lib
erty, euch as equal opportunities for all,
the abolition of the contract system,
the substitution of the eight-hour day
and the recognition of organised labor
hi all skilled departments; and let tie
repudiate any platform that does not
Involve every aa of theee principle.'
Mayer Jones closed amid a greet
He wa , Intensely
an4 for tarn
i.ttia lui Uie major. I'kty were given.
Then some one called fur three cheers
for "the people." "Yes," shouted Mayor
Jones, leaping to his feet and waving
his hands, "Cheer not for me. Cheer
for the people." This brought out
great applause.
Mr. Charlotte Perkins Stetson spoke
next.
DR. M'GLYNN'S OVATION.
Dr. McGlynn was the next speaker,
lie was given an ovation. He said in
part:
"There Is today a slavery worse than
chattel slaveiy. That is industrial s.av.
ery. I believe that a man should be
mure than a machine, mere than a
mere brute of the fields.
"If any one tells you that we reform,
ers wouid destroy the right of property
tell him he tells not the truth.. We
would give to every individual corpora
tion just what it produces. No govern
ment has a right to give away a right
or a franchise created by the people in
perpetuity and posterity has a right to
spit upon such a grant."
N. O. Nelson of St. Louis spoke next
and was followed by William Ten-p.e
Emmet.
Mr. Emmet closed with a reference to
Colonel Bryan. It created a tremen
dous amount of enthusiasm, and then
followed another demonstration similar
to that given Mr. Brya nSaturday. It
continued for some moments, and some
one shouted, "God bless you. Bill;,
boy," whereat the crowd again got up
and yelled and cheered for minutes.
Mr. Bryan tiei to raise his hands
many times before his admirers would
give way. The women particularly
were enthusiastic in their greetings.
HONORS FOR WESTERN MEN.
Stotsenberg and Funsten will Prob
ably Be Made Brevet Generals.
Washington, D. C (Special.) The
announcement that the volunteers In
the Philippine Islands are to be muster
ed out of the service has excited con
siderable interest In the fate of tbe two
western officers who have signally dis
tinguished themselves In the different
operations around Manila.
They are Colonel Funston of the
Twentieth Kansas regiment and
Colonel Stotsenbc-rg of the First Ne
braska. The latter is an army officer.
holding a commission as captain In the
Tenth cavalry. Colonel Funston is a
volunteer who saw considerable service
n Cuba, and was wounded as brigadier
general in the insurgent army.
Both these officers have served with
great distinction and under ordinary
circumstances would be entitled to pro
motion. Under the power given the
president by law, however, nothing en
De done for them except to brevet them
brigadier generals and muster them
jut. While Colonel Stotsenberg will re
iume his rank in the line, Funston will
be compelled to retire to private life.
This would not follow if the ptesident
mould decide to call for the 35,000 vol
unteers under the army reorganization
ict. In which event there will doubtl
be found desirable commissions for b'-lb
if these distinguished officers.
It 1b understood that Colonel Vlf-
quain. In command of the Third Ne
braska, which has been on duty In
Cuba, and has but rece 'y returned to
he United States, ha.- tendered the
services of his regiment for duty In tbe
Philippines.
The war department has received nu
merous tenders like that of Colonel
,'lfquain, but In every case, so far as
nown. the department has declined to
nlertaln them.
Follow Blanco's Tactics.
London. (Special.) The Filipino
European junta claims to have received
x cablegram from General Luna, "com
manding the Manila district," dirett
frnm Manila on Friday, declaring that
.jenerai uiwtoa, wnue oujeev no. f
proceed to Baler and effect a junction
with the Yorktown," was inveigled by
the Filipino tactics Into "perilously ex
tending his line with the result that
x column, consisting of 140 officers and
men, on reaching a place called Blnan
;onam, was ambushed by a large
Filipino force, communication with the
main force was severed and the entire
column was captured."
The foregoing is said to be a separate
iffalr from the disappearance of thc
boat's crew of the Yorktown In the vl-
Inity of Ealer.
The Filipinos are also said to have
raptured 7,000 Mauper rifles, all the
ammunition and several Spanish gun
boats, which the rebels say they have
navigated up the Rio Grande and out
of reach of the Americans.
Union Pacific Hustling.
Cheyenne, Wyo. (Speclal.)-The pri
vate car of General Manager Dickinson
went north from here over tbe Chey
enne A Northern railway.
It will be met at Badger by Mr. Dick
lnson, who, with a party of Union Pa
cific officers, made the trip by wagon
across from Sidney, Neb., along th
route proposed to be built Into North
ern Laramie county by the Union Pa
cific. Mr. Dickinson has been personally su
perlntendlng operations taken by the
Union Pacific to secure control of Hal
lark canon In the northern part of Lar.
amle county, whlcfc forms part of the
route proposed to be followed by the
Burlington on It line from Alliance,
Neb., across Wyoming to the Carbon
county coal field. The canon forms the
only feasible route acros the Black
Hills range In Laramie county. It I
reported here that the Union Pacific
people have secured possession of the
canon and will run a track through it at
once to hold control.
A woman like to have a lot of Jew
el, so that when her feeling have
been hart h can leave them all off
and com down to dinner d reeved la
Mae and teaktag pal and aid.
OH, WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT
OF MORTAL BE PROUD7
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be
pioud?
Like a swift-fleeting metecr, a fast-flying
cloud.
A flash of the lightning, a break of
U.e wave,
Man passelh from life to his rest In
the grave.
The leaves of the oak and the willow
shall fade.
Be scattered around and tobether be
la,d;
And the young and the old, and the
low and the high
Shall moulder to dubl and together shall
lie.
The Infant a mother attended and loved
The mother that Infant's affection whu
proved;
The hufcoand that mother and infant
who blessed.
Each, all, are away to their dwellings
of rest
The maid on whose cheek, on whose
brow. In whose eye.
Shone beauty and pleasure, her tri
umphs are by;
And the memory of those who loved her
and praised.
Are alike in the minds ot the living
erased.
The hand of the king, that the scepter
hath borne;
The brow of the priest that the mHer
hath worn.
The eye of the sage, and the heart ot
the brave.
Are hidden and lost in the depths of
, the grave.
The peasant whose lot was to sow and
to reap.
The herdsman, who climbed with bis
goats up the steep;
The beggar who wandered In search
of his bread.
Have faded away like the grass that
we tread.
The saint who enjoyed the communion
of heaven.
The sinner who dared to remain un-
forgiven,
The wice ard the foolish, the guilty
and Just,
Have quietly mingled their bones with
tbe dust.
So the multitude goes, like the flower
or the weed,
That withers away to let others suc
ceed; So the multitude comes, even those we
behold,
T rer-eat every tale that has often
keen told.
For we are the same that our fathers
have been:
We see the same lights that our fath
ers have seen
We drink the same stream and we
view the same sun.
And run the same course that out
athers have run.
The thoughts we are thinking our
tethers would think;
From the death we are shrinking our
fathers would shrink.
To the life we arc clinging they also
would sling;
But It speeds fur us all, like a bird on
the wing.
They loved, but the story we cannot
unfold;
They scorned, but the heart of the
haughty Is cold;
They grieved, but no wail from their
slumbers will come;
They Joyed, but the tongues of their
gladness Is dumb.
They died, aye! they died; and we
things that are now.
Who walk on the tu-f that lies over
their brow.
Who make In their dwellings a tran
sient abode.
Meet the things that they met on their
pilgrimage road.
Yea! Hope and despondency, pleasure
and pain.
We mingle together In sunshine and
rain;
And the smile and the tear, and the
song and the dirue.
Still follow each other like surge upon
surge. ,
'TIs the wink of an eye, 'tis the draft
of a breath.
From the blossom of health to the pale
ness of death.
From the glided salon to the bier and
the shroud
Oh, w hy should the spirit of mortal be
proud? William Knox.
Officer's Wife Under Fire.
Washington Evening Star: Mrs. John
M. Stotzenburg, wife of the rolonel of
the First Nebraska regiment, which
has been distinguishing Itself In the
Philippines, thus describes In a letter
how she was "under fire" for a time:
"A little before dark we could see
through field glasses about 400 long
haired ravages gathered together and
undergoing Inspection by Insurgent offi
cer. These savages had been brought
down from the mountains and carried
shields, bows and arrows, hatchets and
spears. Their officers wore red coats,
and these mountain men were placed In
the front.
"After watching them a little while I
at down and was conversing with one
of the officers when a rifle shot ranp
out and In a minute the sound seemed
to me to be like that we hear on tht
morning of the Fourth of July, only
many times multiplied. I came out to
the camp In a quells or Philippine wag
onette, and someone ordered the Phil
ippine coachman to harness the little
ponies, when a bullet went right thro
the vehicle, and the Philippine dilvei
tan away as fast as he could.
"The doctor and quartermaster told
me to lie down In a trench, and I ax
sure you that I laid low for a time
while the bullets whizzed over me. lr
a little while I walked about 300 yardt
to where the Utah battery was station
ed, and there, by the aid of Dr. Jensen.
I procured a quells and was driven Into
U.e city. On the way In I had to get ou,
for a little while and lie down by the
roadside on account of the storm of
bullet,, which cut the cane trees on
either side of the carriage. I tried to
keep cool and to appear brave, even If
I was not.
"When I reached Manila I heard
nothing from the regiment until Mon
day, when Gllson, whom you will re
mimhaf thp old Indian fighter who
accompanied John' regiment to Manila.
came and told me tnai jonn was are
and that tbe regiment wa fighting the
Insurgent to get possession and con
trol of the waterworks, which are the
mala reliance of the city of Manila
Late on Monday the battalion which
f ..b. AMnmafkit! aflMMMled In doln
IUHH - - - -
this. It wa made up of hi own and
four other regiments, and hi headquar
ters art bow la a large stoae bouae for
marly aaeapied by th lasargent chief."
OVERWOKKlU t-AHMthb WifE
What Can Be Done to Better Her
Condition?
One morning not lorg ago I had a
memorable conversation with a farm
er's daughter; she was a bright young
woman, a school teacher, who bad
passed thirty I should say, and devel
oped with every year. She had been
speaking of her mother, who had grown
unable to work, and, unfortunately, was
able to interest herself in nothing else.
She said:
"My mother Is not ro old, either, but
she la broken down. Now, my father
Is older than she, and he worked, too,
but he took better care of himself, and
he always had a hired man and found
time to read, if It were only the weekly
paper. My mother was different She
never' had a girl, and she was always,
always working, always, always tired.
I don't think she ever reBted, except
when she was sleeping, and I never saw
a book In her hands. There s not much
play time on the farm, but the women
seem to take it the hardest. Do you
know the number of farmers In the
state asylums 13 simply appalling? And
there ate more women than men." Af
she spoke her snapping black eyes soft
ened, then filled and she turned her
head away, saying brokenly: "Oh, my
mother Is so miserable; I don't know
what the end of It all will be."
For days I could not get her words
out of my thoughts. They fairly haunt
ed me and from somewhere a voice
kept saying Insistently: "What are you
going to do about It? Here you are
with thousands of farmers, and their
wives, and sons, and daughters to talk
to every week. Surely you can do
something."
At last I said: "I will try; I will try."
Some people think work Is a curse. 1
don'L I think It Is one of our greatest
blessings. But, like every other good. It
may be so misused as to become an evil,
a very curse Indeed.'
On a farm, particularly in these days,
one simply must work to live. There
are no two ways about It; farmlnR
means work and lots of It, At the sami
time overwork never paid any one.
When a man finds himself slaving
eighteen hours a day to keep body and
soul together there's something sadly
wrong, and It's time to call a halt. II
he keep on, one of two things Is bound
to happen, he will go to pieces some
day, and the doctor's Hill will cost fat
more than he rfiade or saved, or he will
become a bent, broken down old mat
long before his time. And this is onlj
the physical, much the least Important
part of the evil wrought.
Had as it Is for a farmer to overwork
It Is even worse for the farmer's wife
woman Is the mother of the race one'
he does It more often. A man hires
help and utilizes his children as soot
is they are any age, but a woman rare
!y has regular hired help and recelvet
!ef aid from the children. Added V
this. In the earlier years of murrlec!
Ife, she usually has the additions'
ni exhausting duties of motherhood
The wife in tow n who does all the work
for her husband and children is thought
a busy woman, and so she Is, but hei
tasks are light compared with those oi
butter, bakes her bread, and cooks foi
hired help.
Sometimes this country wife coult'
have help if she asked for It, but, per
haps, there Is a mortgage on the farm
:ir the crops have been poor, or bus
band wants a new machine, or help 1:
hard to secure, or worst of all, she 1:
too proud to ask for what should b
given without a word from her. S
she does her work as best she may
with dragging step and growing effort
md at 35 or 40 she Is an old woman ane'
begins to need a skilled doctor's care
She has been taking medicine this
long while, goading tired nature unti
it last the whip has no effect. Interna
complications have arisen and opera
tlons become necessary (frightfully
painful and very expensive these opera
tlons are ,too). Then she drags on hei
weary years as a semi-Invalid or dlei
,n her prime. Woman's extraordinary
vitality sometimes keeps her going un
til old age creeps on; then perforce she
must reft awhile and harvest the fruil
of misspent years.
I said the physical evils of overworl
were the least; I said such years wer
misspent. I solemnly affirm that both
these statements are true.
When the body Is made a mere work
ing machine the mind and soul suffei
Irreparably; when every hour Is flllee.
with work the time which should b.
employed striving "to be filled with the
Ife of God" Is wasted. It Is this sort o:
living which sends farmers and farm
ers' wives to the Insane asylums.
"Well, what can be done to betlei
things?"
The question can be answered only
in a general way. Try to make le
work do; try to have more varied in
terests. The body and its needs must
not be allowed to crowd and starve the
mind and the soul. Read something ev.
ery day and by feeding the mind raise
yourself above the level of an animal,
which simply works and eats ami
sleeps. Oct In contact with nature and
with God. Be alive In your soul ami
life will broaden and grow richer every
day.
It was in the gloaming. Husband
and wife had been resting together; the
sweet silence that sometimes falls be
tween two who love each other and are
In perfect sympathy, brooded over them
until one said to the other; "A penny
for your thoughts, love?" The penny
was paid not In the coin ot the realm
and this I the "thought" which was
given:
I would thou wert a passing cloud
And I a eunbeam bright:
From heaven I'd steal my rapid war
And on thy bosom light
It waa some days later, and on of
the two was la pain; the ether anxious.
If laaulrad: ' What aaa X 4a far eaf
Let u.e (w viiu.tt W .-P T " Th
answer wa. "Give me tbe verse thai
grew in your heart for me the othe
day. It will rest me."
Work a little less. Love a little more
Not drugs or lotions, poultice oi
balms give surest ease; love Is th
best healer. I the heart emptyT Fill
It. Love somebody, or something; any.
thing, so you love. If your heart full I
Pour Ks wealth out upon the sad, hun.
gry-hearted and weary, but mcjst of all,
upon those who look to you for life
joy and sunBhlne. Iowa Homestead.
v ' Follower of Custom.
Why does a man wear two buttons
on the back of his coat? This Is not a
companion riddle to "Joe" Miller' cele
brated conundrum, "Why does a hen
cross the street?" But It Is a pertinent
Interrogatory. Habit that's the an
swer. Unquestioning, unreasoning cus.
torn. Your father wore two buttons In
that same position. So did his father.
So did your earlier ancestors. So do
you. There wasn't much call for sar
torial splendor in the Adam period, and
Eve wasn't the author of the "nine
tailors to make a man" theory. About
the time men began wearing clothe
and developing differences of opinion
in which the sword was the usual ar
bitrator the two buttons came to be In
evidence. They held the sword belt in
place. When the coffee and pistol fad
superseded the rage for rapiers the cus
tom of wearing the two buttons wa
continued. Ever since then the button
have been worn. No use to any one.
No advantage except to the button
manufacturers. Yet your tailor and
mine had better not leave those but
tons off, or we'll start an account at
another tailor's.
Look at the hairdresser's shop. Thl
Isn't for baldheaded men or Infanta.
There's a pole that looks like a sta
tionary pousse cafe, or half a hundied
rainbow-colored serpents all climbing
up and down in different directions, ac
cording to your condition. In the good
old days when the giants were on the
earth there were alKO barber surgeon
seeking whom they might entice. The
varicolored pole was the sign of their
profession. We don't have barber phy
slcians now. The surgeon lives in a
fashionable quarter, and If you planted
nne of these poles In front of an office
the owner would have you locked up.
The pole means, "blood letting done
here." Come to think of It, the pole
s not so inappropriate, after all. But
if I were a barber I would not ad
vertise my specialty that way.
When you write a business letter why
do you write the name ot the person
who is to receive It at the top. Haven't
you written the address and name on
the envelope? What's the advantage
jf the double system? When the world
-as younger the Scribes and Pharisees
were not acquainted with envelopes.
and consequently knew nothing of the
mysteries of the "envelope game" as
It flourishes today. The address was
therefore written on the letter Itself,
ind then sheet was then folded In such
way a to bring the superscription
only to view when the sealing wax was
applied.
The window custom Is one which al
most every builder knows by heart.
these gentlemen are In the habit of
putting up houses with windows on all
eldes, and this is all right where there
s a use for these apertures. But your
irdlnary builder does not confine hlm
lelf to the utilitarian. When he strikes
corner house where there are not so
nuny window required as In other
ocalltles he does the best he can to
rive that houne the appearance of be
ng nothing but windows. Look at all
:he corner houfes you paxs. Most ot
;hem have "blind" windows. Imagina
tion windows are placed on the lde
walls, with lintels, ledges and sl'ls, and
the builder feels that he has done bis
luty.
Ever notice your dog walk round and
round in a circle before he ll s down?
Yes, of course. Why does he do that?
Know of any reason why he should go.
hrough that unvarying form? Well,
hat dog's forefathers and the fore
"athers of all the digs, big and little,
etarted that practice. They had to beat
)Ut a hole In the snow or grans before
hey could Ret a comfortable bed. Then,.
oo, your dog sits with his nose on his
paws. You don't know why. Neither
Iocs your dog. But he's simply follow
ing Instinct. His dog parents away back
n the dim dog ages had to keep their
loses clean for the scent, and they
never let them touch the dust or snow.
There' the cat. Clean beast, the
cat. Always washing herself. That's
iecause cleanliness runs In the cat fam
ily. The first cat had to be a mighty
.mmaculnte feline, physically, or her
prey would have scented her and kitty
ou!d have gone hungry. And o lr
goes throughout. The man and the
jrute beasts are on an equality In
the matter of following a blind custom..
New York Herald.
The Why.
In describing her vlult to one of the
mission acheols of Africa, MU Kings.
ty tells of a negro of 12 to whom he
iddressed the question; "What are you
ntudylng?"
"Eberyt'lng," replied the child.
"What do you know?" asked the
young woman.
"Eberyt'lng," waa the answer.
"You are the very person I've been'
looking for," said Miss Klngiley; "now
tell me why you are black."
"Certainly. I'm black because
my
pa' pa'a pa saw Noah without
bis
clothes on." New Tork Tribune.
HER LITTLE WAYS.
"When my wife buys a III hat ah
ays It will last her three yearn,"
"That's cheap enough."
Tea; bat every season aaa get ta
wertfc af saw trimming ta tat aa IV"