VANDERBILT'8 FORTUNE.
C-n the high bluff which skirt the
rt&ritan rive Just below the canal out
let to the fatuous old UeUuoia hotel,
where Commoilore Cornelius Vander
LUt mails his ft art In life and laid the
foundation of hia great fortune. The
building- is dilapidated, but as solid as
lr. the early years of the nineteenth
century.
The hotel was built In 1W3 by the
New York and New Brunswick Steam
boat company. With boatmen and
shippers It became a favorite resort,
and country residents who drove Into
town hardly felt satisfied till they had
dined at the liellonla. Twice a day the
roaches of the Trenton line pulled up
"Tiefore theinrv
in 1823 the Bellonla passed Into the
hands of Cornelius Vanderbllt. who
was unknown, except that every day
cr so he would Kail up from Perth
Amboy with a boatload of oysters and
fish and hawk them about the town.
How did Vanderbllt get the money
from fish-peddling to buy the Bellonla?
He didn't.
Early In 1S22 William. Gibbons, a cap
italist, made a night drive from this
city (New York) to Perth Amboy. It
was Imperative that he should cross
Arthur Kill to Tottenvllle, S. I. The
night was stormy. Gibbons besought
the ferryman to take him across, but he
refused. He then wandered into an old
ferry tavern, where hardy boatmen
were gathered.
"Where's the man with the nerve to
row me across?" he called out.
One old salt said: "Why, Cap'n, you
must be daft."
Gibbons cried: "Name your price;
I've got to go!"
Just then the door swung open and
"Corny" Vanderbllt stalked In.
Vanderbllt ordered a drink and swal
lowed It in silence, then he responded:
"Well, Cap'n, I'm your man. Let's
start!"
Buttoning up his coat Corny got out
his boat, with a pair of oars, an oil
skin and a lantern. The capitalist then
climbed upon the rear seat and held the
lantern. Perhaps an hour later the
two men, after a perilous voyage, trod
Ftaten Island, soaked to the skin.
Vanderbllt had Just been married and
Gibbons could not persuade him to re
main over night on the Island. The
rich man handed him a card, with
some money, and told him to call at
the steamboat company's offlce In Bat
tery place when he visited New York.
Home weeks later Vanderbllt did go,
and was cordially received. When he
was about to leave Glblx. s gave him
a package, and told him to go to a
wharf, where he would find an oyster
mnack for his own use.
With this boat Vanderbllt began to
make money. Not many months later
he had saved $200 and leased the Bel
lonla hotel. Fortune seemed to have
urn lied upon him, for about the same
time he wan made captain of the first
steamer between New York and New
Brunswick. The liellonla, through the
aid of Gibbons.
While he was on the water Mrs. Van
lerbllt cared for the guests who came
to the Bellonla. She frequently took a
hand In caring for their horses.and dl
vlded the rest of her time In looking
after the house and the bar. She, one of
whose descendants was to be a duch
ess, washed and scrubbed to accumu
late a fortune. She had a good eye for
business.
After a while Mrs. Vanderbllt felt a
denire to live more like the aristocrats
about her and moved her household
Into a house yet standing in Burnet
utreet. Here it was that William II.
Vanderbllt was born. Captain Van
derbllt was promoted and wanted to
Klve up the tavern, but his wife whs
not willing to kill the goose that laid
the golden egg, and continued to wel
come travelers. The good cheer of the
henlelry was famous.
Charles Bpauldlng kept an excellent
private school at 370 George street, In
those dayB, and to this was young W,
H. Vanderbllt sent, having for school
mates boys known later In life as Gov-
trnor Ludlow, Bishop KIchard Good
rich, Colonel Jacob J. Jnneway, Judge
Charles D. Deshler and other prominent
Jerscymen.
In 134 the steamer Bellonla was
burned. Vanderbllt was immediately
transferred to another boat, which he
ran for several years. His shrewdness
won the confidence of his employers,
and when a vacancy occurred In the
New York office "Commodore" Van
derbi'.t was made superintendent of the
line. Upon the death of Mr. Olbbons
Mr. Vanderbllt became president of the
company.
He moved to New York with his
family and the Bellonla hotel passed
nto the hands of Colonel Peter Che-
tiey, who, later, served with the Jersey
troops under General McClellan In the
tlvll war. It Is now a tenement.
The famous Paris actress. Mm. Jane
Hading, who Is appearing on the stage
of the Vienna Carlthcater, has caused
no end of a sensation among the fash
ionable women of that capital by the
unrivalled magnificence of her stage,
boudoir, dressing room and promenade
toilet. The ladles of Vienna, them
selves most fastidious In matters of
Ores, can talk of nothing else Just now
twit the furore the Parlslenne has made
fn eclipsing them In this respect. In
Paris Mme. Hading Is considered a
reigning beauty. Opinions are divided
at Vienna on this score. She Is cer
tainly a splendid figure and majestic In
her carriage.
Father (whose daughter was rescued
from drowning) I tell you, dearie,
Clara very lucky to have a man
near the beach at the time.
Mother What, lucky! Unlucky, I
hould ay. Why, the man was mar-itd.
INDIAN DOLL BABIES.
Washington, P. C (Special. )-The
bureau of ethnology Is "shy" on Mokl
dolls. It Doaaesae Kunl doll which 1
are similar, but do not supply the de
ficiency. Accordingly Ir. J. W. Fewkes
has been dispatched to Arizona to look
up a remedy for this lack. He Is ex
pected to return with a collection of
Mokl mannlklns.
What makes these dolls so Interest
ing Is that they represent the demons
and divinities feared and worshipped
by the Mokl. Furthermore, the chil
dren of the tribe are tautrht the rudi
ments of the ritual which makes up
the religion of these semi-savages.
No other people have such elaborate
dolls; for, whereas;" the manikin of the
Anglo-Saxon nursery or of the Conti
nental Europe Is much the same every
where, the Mokl dolls exhibit the wild
est play of an aboriginal fancy revelling
in the supernatural.
At Intervals the Mokl Indians hold
festivals, largely of a religious char
acter, and on these occasions men ap
pear dressed In fantastic costumes and
wearing strange masks. Each repre
sents a god or demon, and the whole
affair Is a religious play. Those engag
ed give the little girls the dolls referred
to, which themselves wear masks and
costumes similar to those of the actors.
The play In question Ir supposed to de
pict scenes In the mythological history
of the Mokl people. Usually It lasts for
days.
The actors In the religious drama are
members of societies, each of which has
Its secret underground chamber.
In these chambers the members whit
tle out with knives the wonderful dolls
and dress them, decorate them with
feathers and paint them red, yellow,
green, blacK ana wnue. ine inuinmi
employed Is wood, from the roots of
the cottonwood tree, which has a a
cred character because it grows near
water the scarcest and most desirable
of all things In that sun-parched part
of the world.
Elaborate and curious are these Mokl
dolls there are only a few of them
and from their variety it may be Judged
how rich In divinities the mythology Is.
The Corn Maid Is one; she brought to
the Indians the precious gift of maize.
The Corn Maid is varied almost in
definitely, as her attributes possess
such variety. But the Little God of
War Is comparatively simple. His busi
ness is fighting, and he looks defiant.
The Wolf God is an energetic demon,
and the Mokl deem him worthy of pro
pitiation. The Earth Goddess is an
unpretentious old lady. The Father of
the Gods has an aggressive appearance,
and his head is decorated with feathers.
The Mother of the Gods wears a blan
ket. She Is otherwise known as the
Very Old Woman or the Spider Wo
man. She has the power to change her
shape at will. When the War God
performs any feat she perches on hla
honlder and gives advice. The man
ner In which her hair is arranged shows
that she is married.
The Planting God carries a hoe and
a water gourd. The bogy is chiefly
of use for frightening children. Moth
ers tell their Infants that If they are
not good the Bogy God will eat them.
The Bogy God doll has a long snout
and a lower Jaw worked with a string.
so that anybody may perceive his pro
penslty to gobble.
At a certain time every year six of
these bogles, represented by costumed
men, come Into town and ask If the
children are ready tobe eaten, but
somebody says no and so they escape.
The Little God of War saved the corn
and drove out the monsters. As for the
Wolf God. he Is one of the deities of
war. He is colored red. Is ornamented
with red feathers, and holds a bow and
arrrow. The Father of the Gods Is one
of the sun g'ls, and naturally of great
Importance. He has a long, red tongue
which hangs out.
These are only a few of the divinities
represented by the dolls of the Mokl
children. More will be known about
them, perhaps, when Dr. Fewkes gets
i act with his collection
Why He Wii Not Hobsonlzed.
During the blockade of Havana It be
came necessary for a United States
cruiser to run near the harbor, and,
hoisting a flag of truce, communicate
with the shore. The officer In charge of
the cruiser told a sailor to run up the
flag, and he refused.
It was announced that he said: "Nev
er shall such a fiug be shown by an
American ship while I'm aboard her!"
i or something like thHt, and, folding his
arms, stood dramatically In the lea
scuppers and waited for a (lie of ma
rines to shoot him for mutiny.
A newspaper correspondent went to
j get a picture of this Spurtan to play
j him up against Bill Anthony, the hero
of the Maine, of whom the public at
that time had heard all there was to
hear. He wanted some facts showing
how the white flag man had promised
his mother while still a tot playing
marbles that he would never do any
thing to bring a blush to the check of
the stars and stripes.
The officer In command of the cruiser
said: "Yes, he refused to hoist the flag,
but then he never does anything he'a
told. There wasn't any heroism about
It. If wed sk mm v.
t.innnde he would have refused to do
that, too.
"Please don't make a hern of him, or
the whole navy will refuse to work.
However, if you Insist on seeing hlin,
you'll find him down In the forecanHe
with a couple of sailors sitting on him,
for he's fighting drunk st this moment.
The light down there Isn't ery good
for photographing and you wouldn't be
able to see much of his face anyway,
because the man who'a silting on It ll
rather stout."
And eo It came to paw that that par
titular hero was never Hobsonlied.
f END OF
ee
f-WrWWWWWWW
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"But does It never occur to you,
asked the curate, as he poured two tea
spoonfuls of port into his glass and
passed the decanter, "does It never oc
cur to you to ask yourself what la the
I good of it all?"
"Never," said the millionaire, wun
decision.
"You never regret you see, after all,
money is not everything, is it?"
"That observation is frequently
made," said the millionaire, thought
fully, "and it is misleading. Money Is
nor every thing, 'bu t Tt ls-mtieh nearer
to being everything than anything else
is. There Is quite a good deal of cant
talked about money. It is comforting
cant, of course. One gets the same
kind of thing about birth. Personally,
I always mistrust anything that com
forts." "But is it all cant? Take the ques
tion of health, for Instance. Money
cannot give health, and it Is better to
be well than to be wealthy."
I often wonder why people go on
saying that money cannot give health,
when they must see every day that
money does give health, and that pov-
ert yeauses Illness. If work Is injuri
ous to me I can afford to give It up.
If I have to winter abroad I can do it
easily, without considering the question
of expense. If an operation Is required,
I can pay the man to do It, and under
the very best conditions. The poor
man can do none of these things. My
ordinary way of life is much more
healthy than his. The food that I eat
is of the best quality and in perfect
condition, while he eats adulterated
rubbish and stale garbage. His house
is ill warmed and insanitary, and mine
Is perfect In these respects. The poor
man dies, and In nine cases out of ten
it serves him right."
'Isn't that rather a terrible thing to
tay?" said the curate, nervously, piay-
ng with his wine glass.
"In nine cases out of ten poverty is
the result of stupidity. You blame a
man for his moral defects, and I blame
him for his mental detects; one is just
as fair as the other. And both the
mental and moral defects are about
equally capable of remedy."
'Surely not," sal dthe curate ear
nestly. "A sinner may be recallmea,
but you cannot give a man an intel
lect."
"You should use the same word in
both cases. You may reclaim a man's
intellect Just as you reclaim his morals.
have done It. I did It in my own case.
( admit that mental reclamation, like
moral reclamation, Is rare."
"It all seems so dreary and fatalist
ic," said the curate.
"So It is," the millionaire agreed cor
31ally. "As I told you, I don't like
comforting cant The best fable that
ever was written was the fable of the
fOx atid the sour grapes. Everybody's
a. gentleman who feels like it, and
wealth Is not everything. Oh, yes! I
know these consolatory stories for
those who are out of It. But they are
only stories, and, as a matter of fact,
wealth Is everything as near as you
can get it. What wealth cannot do
nothing else can."
The cijrHie seemed to reflect for a
moment.
"Tell me," he said darkly, "do you
value the nffectlon of your relatives
nd friends and those whom you have
ibout you?"
"Of course," the millionaire owned.
"Perhaps one values that most of all."
"And do you mean to tell me," asked
the curate, flushed with triumph, "that
that kind of thing can be bought with
money?"
The millionaire concentrated his at
tention on his cigar with the air of a
man who can provide a platitude with
out troubling to think.
"But, of course," he said, "you can
buy affection as easily as you can
buy a pound of tea, and on almost the
lame commercial principles."
The curate stuck to it.
"Are you sure that It Is genuine af
fection?" he said.
"There," said the millionaire, "I don't
trouble myself. I get respect and sub
servience while I am there, and really
t don-t care what they say when I am
not there. You see, I don't think about
these people very much, it would an
noy me If they showed hostility to me
while I was with them. It would give
one all the trouble of having to think
of new things to say. But they are
perfectly welcome to say what they
like behind my back, because they
haven't got any money worth mention
ing, or any position, and they don't
matter. But as a matter of fact money
19 C P Ifnyr' vbgkq vbgkq vbgkq JJ
can generally buy genuine affection, an
affection that Is Just as real us that
where there has been no value re
ceived." "rteally, this is too cynical," said the
curate.
"Not at all," replied the millionaire;
"In fact, I am on the whole less cynical
than you. I still believe In gratitude,
and It would appear that you don't.
Generosity is an admirable and pop
ular quality. You must admit that.
And It In very eay for a rich man
to
, generous; he Just plugs In
' . ,
a few
presents, as a gardener puts In seeds,
and afterwards he- gets the fruits
quite genuine fruits, too. I sometimes
wonder how anybody who Is not a
millionaire believes In genuine affec
tion; it If certainly a luxury for the
rich."
"Well," said the curate, with a sigh,
"I must not let you off. We owe two
hundred and fifty dollars on the church
restoration at St. Barnabas. Ill sea
If It makes me think more highly of
you
"t never subscribe: I either do a
thli.S or X leave It alcne. I ll tell you
MONEY JSC I
-
what I'll do. I'll wipe out this debt
for you altogether if you preach the
opinions you have heard from me in
the pulpit."
The little curate got quite excited.
"I'd sooner steal the money and then
cut my throat," he said. "If I could
have all your money at the price of j
having your views of life as well, I
wouldn't do It."
The millionaire smoked for a moment
or two In silence.
"You're not a bad sort of fool," he
said at hist. Black and White.
She Lost Nothing.
A distinguished naval officer was tel
ing this story on himself the other
evening to a gathering of his friends.
At the time of his marriage he had
been through the civil war and had had
many harrowing experiences aboard
ship, through all of which he kept his
courage and remained as calm as a
brave man should. As the time for the
ceremony came on, however, his calm
ness gradually gave way. At the altar,
amid the blaze of biass buttons and
gold lace marking the full naval wed
ding, the officer was all but stampeded,
and what went on there seemed very
much mixed to him. Fearing the ex
citement of the moment would tem
porarily take him off his feet, the offi
cer had learned the marriage ceremony
letter perfect, as he thought, and he
remembered repeating the words after
the minister in a mechanical yort of
way.
After the ceremony was all over and
all serene again, including the officer's
state of mind, the kindly clergyman
came up to him and touched him on
the shoulder.
"Look here, old nan," he said, "you
did not endow your wife with any
worldly goods."
" What's that?" asked the bride
groom with something of astonishment
in his voice.
"Why, I repealed the sentence 'With
all my worldly goods I thee endow'
seveial times, and despite my efforts,
you would not say it after me."
The bridegroom seemed purturbed
for a moment and then a beaming light
came Into his face.
"Never mind, sir," he said, "she
didn't lose a blessed thing by my fail
ure."
Interviewing a Bishop.
A somewhat abrupt but doubtless de
served rebuke of what may be called
impertinences of journalism was ad
ministered by a well known bishop to
whom a reporter had been dispatched
for the purposes of Interview. This is
how the meeting began and ended:
The bishop met him cordially. Invited
him Into the library, received him with
great deference, and just us he was
congratulating himself on the success
of his mission the reporter was dis
mayed by a rapid fire of questions put
to him by the reverend gentleman.
The bishop asked him his name, his
age, his father's business, the name of
his paper, the editor-in-chief, and a
dozen other questions of no great im
portance. At last, just as the astonished re
porter was catching his breath to begin
his turn of questioning, the bishop
said:
"I've asked a good many questions,
have I not?"
"Ycu certainly have."
"And you have been polite enough to
answer them?"
"I hope ho."
"It is doubtless pour opinion that
some of these questions concerned mat
ters that are not my business?"
"Well, as to that"
"I am Inclined to think, my dear sir,"
Interrupted the bishop, "that you have
come on an errand with questions quite
as important as my own. I am much
afraid that I shall not be so polite to
you as you have ben to me. So per
haps I had better wish you good-morning."
Breaking the New.
In the province of Holstein, noted for
its superior breed of cattle, the country
people are not only very thrifty but
exceedingly fond of their cows, as may
be gathered from the following charac
teristic story:
Farmer Jan was walking sadly down
the road one duy wnen the village pas
tor met him.
whv no sad. Farmer Jan?" said
the pastor.
"Ah. I have a sad errand pastor,"
said Jan.
"What Is It?"
"Farmer Henrlk's cow Is dead In my
pasture, and I am on my way to tell
him."
"A hard task, Jan."
"Indeed It Is, but I shall break It to
him gently."
"How will you do It?"
"I shall first tell him that It is his
mother who Is dead, and then, having
nitened the way for sadder news still,
i .hil tell him that It Is not his
mother, but the cow."
Kangaroo farming Is an Important
Industry In Australia, The hides are
vuluable, and the tendons extremely
fine; Indeed, they are the best thing
known to surgeons for sewing up
wounds, and especially for holding
i,,Ln hones together, being much
finer and tougher than catgut.
The French postofflce estimates thai
no fewer than 93,000 letters were stolen
last year from pillar boxes. Expert
mcnli are being made by fitting som
of the boxes with steel teeth, whlc
prevent the extraction of letters, I
the hope of guarding against these
thefta In the future.
TBK QCKKVS tOBDOLEUCKB.
She Wr.U I.Mtn of ,nptby im II ri
Liacoln .o.l M re. Gernelri. ,
When President Lincoln was assays- I
- - - - - i
uated Queen Victoria wro e the fol-
lowing letter to Mrs. Lincoln :
m 1111 rrcn I lit-11 1 .1 iii'iit ri t m .bibb- i
'I am overwhelmed, dear Vrs. Lin
coln. What can any 'jrui being
say to lessen the teirible tnow that
has come upon you in the loss, and
the loss in such a w. .( your great
and noble husband? Accept with this
my heartfelt sympathy in your afflic
tion, through which the good God
aone can gllide you to peace and res-
ienation. My peopie are shocked bv
this terrible calamity, which is to me
a personal grief. My tears and pray
ers are yours. May lie comfort and
protect you always."
When, in 1881. President Garfield
suu-'umbad to the hnilei ofy,n. assassin,
after a long period of suffering, the
Queen wrote a personal letter to Mrs.
Garfield, saying :
"I have watched during the last few
and sad months with admiration the
patience and Christian fortitude of
your gallant husband, and learn with
great grief that he has passed away.
too, know the sorrow of such un-
appy desolation, and I ask you to
accept my deepest sympathy in your
bereavement. President Garfield was
good and noble man. May God sus
tain you in your hour of trouble."
The Tale oftlie Tort.iM.
Occasionally Dr. Creighton would
tell an old story, giving it fresh hu
mor by its special application. At one
of the first public dinners that he at
tended in London, he was called upon
to return thanks for the House of
x)rds. the proposer of the toast dwell-
ng at length upon the powers for
good that the second chamber pos
sessed. The daring bishop, in his re
ply, said he was reminded of the old
Oxford tale of the college that kept
pet tortoise on the grass plot o the
uad. One day the dean saw two
well-meaning freshmen vainly trying
to tempt the creature by offering it
arious choice scraps from their
breakfast table. At last the dean,
waxing impatient. Hung up his win-
ow and called out: "Try the other
end, gentlemen, try the other end!"
The freshmen, not being naturalists,
had been offering the food at the tail
nd! The bishop's terse application
was conveyed in a single sentence,
namely, that those who wished to ac
complish any wholesome changes
should apply to the other branch
of the legislature and not to
the hereditary house. From some men
such a jest on the House of Lords
would have been unpardonable; from
the bishop it was received with much
applause.
Hcnafor fowii' Rnnld Career.
Events in the life of Senator Towne'
of Minesota have within the last year
or so crowded thick and fast upon
each other's heels, says the Washing
ton Times. . His nomination by the
Populist party for vice president dur
ing the recent campaign was an ex
ceedingly high honor for so young a
man, and there was "a little twinkle
In his eye" a day or so ago when he
mounted the steps and took up the
vice presidential gavel, which was
handed over to him temporarily by
Senator Frye.
Senator Mason took In the situation
with keen delight Senator Allen was
speaking, manifestly to fill up time.
At the earliest opportunity Senator
Manson sent to Towne a little note,
saying: "Your sins are many. The
punishment fits the crime."
Senator Towne replied with the fol
lowing note: "I don't know about
the punishment nor the crime, but I
think I am breaking a record. One
term in the house, one month in the
senate, and one hour In the vice pres
idential chair."
A Close Shave.
A Sand Hog in a red shirt and
grimy trousers sat down by me one
afternoon on a heap of boards mid
way between the Sana Hog house and
the "hospital. T-is pressure work
er, whose knees showed traces of "the
bends," evidently had a story to tell.
"It was only the other day," he
said, "I seen it, and how the man ever
happened to live, I dunno. It was
one o' these little caissons here we're
putting tii.s building on. He was one
of the superintendents, a young col
lege feller mat knows nls Job. Well,
he went down with us. There wuz
four In the gang, and one o' them,
Tim that chap yer might see drink-
in' coffee now. They wuz a rock there,
and the foreman told Tim to have a
go at It. He got his pick and swung
it for a good crack. There was a
tearln' an a rlppin' an' Tim dropped
his pick. As he swung it the young
felled had stepped out, and the pick
had ripped off every button from the
blue Jumper he had on, without even
scratchln' him. Cromwell Childe, In
Leslie's Popular Monthly.
Rnlr for Preserving Life,
Dr. D. K. Pearsons of Chicago, when
celebrating his eightieth birthday,
not long ago, gave these rules for long
life:
No pies or cakes; no pains or aches.
" Most men dig their graves with
their teeth.
If you overwork your liver, It will
soon tell on your brain.
Live like a farmer and you will
live like a prince.
Men can live ten days without eat
ing; they can't do without pure air
for five minutes.
.ton't get angry and don't get ex
cited; every time you fret you lose a
minute of life.
Let a man abuse his stomach, and
he'll get fidgety, cross to his family
and go to the devil.
Doctors say don't sleep on a full
stomach; I take my after-dinner nap
Just the same, and I'm eighty years
old. You can t believe all the doctors
say.
If you catch cold lose your quinine
and eat an onion.
Give away your money; Its exhilar
ating and tends to longevity.
The idea of giving while one Is alive
will become epidemic as soon as men
discover what fun It Is.
The morning after he arrived Lord
Roberts slipped out unseen, dressed in
a very easy style, with the Intention
of having a look over the grounds. He
KiiH not nroceeded far through the
gardens when he was pounced on by
a big fellow, who gruff It shouted:
WOMAN HAS A OAS PLAST.
A reeylvaiil M.ldee Who M l
Wmrlu of tlM Tows.
necause urigm yuuui
managed to outwit and to defeat A
hew of disanoointed financier, and
, i : i-1 mjuh. &
bevy of disappointed financiers and
capitalist!!, this pretty little Pennsyl
vania burg can now boast of having
within its borders the only woman in
the United States who owub, controls
and oper. ft a gas works supplying
illumination for a whole town, says
the Holliitaysburg correspondent of
the Philadelphia Telegraph.
Miss J. Gusie Ditting is one of th
l most enterprising women in this part
I of the state, and when she made up
' her mind to go Into the gas business
she started in a way that meant busi
ness. "I took the works," she said,
"to save them. The gas was so poor
Ihat-foiks began 4 go back co the
use of coal oil and candles. Some said
they wished the buildings would burn
down. I was afraid that some tramp
might fulfill that wish. The men
seemed afraid to take hold, so I Just
sailed in and now they are mine."
So much for the motive power be
hind Miss Ditting's plans. Seventeen
years she left school and entered J. H.
Law's dry goods store in Hollodays
burg. Then she opened a millinery
store on her own account. Two years
ago she bought out a wall paper store.
Then she began to look around, and
to look is to act. She made up her
mind to own the gas works. These
had been built by Maj. W. W. Wil
liams and had afterward been owned
by D. K. Joslin of Philadelphia, who
ran them for several years.
Suddenly the works were put up for
public sale, which was largely attend
ed. Miss Ditting was not at that
sale, but her representative was, and
when the sale closed it was not known
the purchaser was a woman. Later
this fact became known, and the men
who had failed to see much in that
plant began to change their views on
the subject. They arranged to con
test the sale. They decided that Miss
Ditting could not maintain her advan
tage without a struggle. The plucky
woman welcomed the contest and the
matter was carried into court. There,
after a hard fought battle, the court
decided in favor of Miss Ditting. The
complaintants were Informed that
that the sale had been public and
their failure to attenu and bid was A
matter of their own concern.
Miss Ditting pays personal atten
tion to all her business affairs, and la
now running two stores in addition to
the works. She is thinking some of
giving up the stores and devoting her
entire time to the gas works. Numer
ous plans have been on foot to obtain
control of the enterprise, but Mlsa
Ditting says she is here to stay. '
Why Rooeevelt Surrendered.
"The senator from Kansas!" When
Vice President Roosevelt, from the
presiding officer's seat, makes this
recognition of Mr. Burton, his mem
ory will go back to a scene which was
the turning point at Philadelphia last
summer, says a correspondent of the
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
Roosevelt was protesting against
his nomination on the national ticket
He had almost persuaded the majority
of the delegates to respect his wishes.
One day there filed into his parlors
forty stalwart men, alert and deter
mined looking. A velvet sunflower
was conspicuously pinned on the coat
lapel of each of them. The leader,
tall, black-haired, dramatic of manner,
proceeded to say that, with all due re
spect to the personal feelings of the
governor of New York, the Kansas
delegation had decided the Interests
of the Republican party In their state
and in the nation at large would be
best subserved by his nomination to
the second place. "And," concluded
the spokesman, impressively, "we
have just resolevd unanimously that
the vote of our delegation will be cast
for you. The looks of the .
delegation bore out the words
of the head of It, and con
veyed the idea that nothing remained
to be said. Governor Rooseevlt real
ized what kind of stuff he was dealing
with. He had been voluble and earn
est with other callers. He looked
along the line of sun-kissed Kansas
sun-kissed countenances and threw
up his hands. To others subsequently
he repeated his objections, but there
was no force in his opposition after
the Kansans had spoekn. And the
spokesman will be "Senotar" Burton
when Vice President Roosevelt rape
order in the special session on March
5.
Market For Chinch Bag.
The Youth's Companion tells how a
man who kept a little store in a west
ern town was one morning approach--ed
by a farmer who owed him a small
account, with a plea for an extension
of time, as the chinch bugs were eat
ing up all the crops.
"Chinch bugs! Nonsense!" said the
storekeeper, roughly. "I don't be
lieve there's a chinch bug within a '
mile of you." i
"The chinch bugs are there by mil
lions." "Millions! I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll give you a dollar and a half a gal
lon for every gallon of the buga
you'll bring me."
"Done!" said the farmer.
A day or two after he drove back
to the village with a ten-gallon can
tightly covered. This he unloaded
from his waogn and rolled carefully
into the general store.
"What have you got there?." asked
the merchant suspiciously.
"Something for you."
"What is it?"
"Chinch hugs," said the fanner.
He lifted the lid and disclosed a mass
of the hideous insects, wriggling and
squirming.
"There's ten gallons of them," he
continued. "I take it you owe me $1B.
That will just about square my little
bill, and I'll thank you to give me ft
receipt."
"Cover it up for goodness' sake, be
fore any of 'em get away!" roared the
unhappy dealer.
But he wrote the receipt so Justly
forfeited.
The story came out In the papers
and for months thereafter the store
keeper recelevd letters asking for the
latest quotations on the price of
chinch bugs, and Inquiring how many
he was prepared to take.
However, he had nothing to
for as he said, the experience
. worth a thousand dollars to aim tft
advertising.
