Gleaned at the Capital
Interesting Gossip from Washington by Onr Special Correspondent
—To Make Alcohol from Corncobs—Rare Act of Army Friend*
ship—To Suppress Bell Ringing.
WASHINGTON.—The manufacture of alcolioi
may be revolutionized as the result of experi
ments which have been completed by the depart
ment of agriculture. The officials of the depart
ment have Succeeded in making alcohol, from
corncobs and cornstalks at a cost so small that
they believe it will prove of large commercial
value and develop into a new industry. It is
proposed at first to manufacture the alcohol as a
byproduct in connection with corn-canning fac
tones. In investigations which the department
is mailing at Hoopeston, 111., it has been proved
that the large quantities of corncobs which every
year go to waste can be converted into alcohol
in sufficient quantities to justify the erection of
a distilling plant.
The department sent two chemists to Hoopes
ton to make experiments at a large cannery
there. They have succeeded by simple methods
of fcjriiirotation in getting a yield ol 11 gallons ot aiconoi irom a ton or green
cobs and by similar methods in getting six gallons of alcohol from a ton oi
green cornstalks.
A statement concerning the experiments by one of the scientists of the
department reads:
"At different times during the last 25 years the department has con
ducted experiments along the same line, but with common field cornstalks.
These tests show that there are 240 pounds of fermentable substance in a
ton of green field cornstalks, which will yield about half of their weight in
absolute alcohol. In round numbers a ton of stalks will produce 100 pounds
of alcohol or 200 pounds of-proof spirits. As a gallon of alcohol weighs
nearlv seven pounds, there should be 15 gallons of alcohol in a ton of stalks.
"Not only are the cobs a waste product but the irregular and spoiled ears
of corn as well. Hand labor is as yet employed in the husking and all ears
are put in, as the wage is based upon a measureful. As the measures of
ears are emptied upon the conveyors the ears unfit for use are culled as they
go by. These culled ears also are waste. The expense of bringing them
to the point where they are cast aside is quite as much as the perfect ears.
The addition of the corn on the cob adds further to the possibilities of alcohol
obtainable from a ton of cobs and will have its influence in bringing the
quantity to a greater figure.”
THE SACRIFICE OF GEN. BELL.
In sacrificing promotion to the rank of
major general in order that a friend may have the
coveted honor. Brig. Gen. J. Franklin Bell, chief
of staff of the army, has done an act unparalleled
in magnanimity and generosity in American mili
tary records.
.Brig. Gen. Jesse M. Lee, a civil war veteran,
the. only one left among the higher officers of
the army, is to be retired by law early next Janu
ary.-' There was a vacancy among the major gen
eral* when Lieut. Gen. Corbin retired the other
day and Maj. Gen. MacArthur was promoted to
succeed him.
Under the usual operation of the regulations
Gen. Bell would have been advanced to fill the
vacancy, thus giving him rank equal to that of
any other officer assigned to departmental duty at
Washington, a condition extremely desirable.
But ueu stepped aside m tavor of Gen. Lee so
that the latter might retire with the higher rank. Gen. Lee has an excellent
record, but has always refused to allow influential friends to intercede to
hasten his promotion.
BELL RINGING MAY BE SUPPRESSED.
Shall church bells continue to peal in the
national capital as in the good old times, or shall
they be suppressed, is a question which the dis
trict commissioners have decided to take up for
serious consideration, and all interested in it
pro and con have been requested to submit their
views.
The Koran says that bells hang on the trees
of Paradise and are set in motion by wind from
the throne of God as often as the blessed wish
for music.
Many of the Christian churches of Washing
ton have dispensed with steeple bells, and now
nervous citizens are complaining that their
peace and comfort are disturbed by those that
remain.
Commissioner MacFarland, who Is himself
prominent in church affairs, has taken the initia
tive of bringing the issue for decision. He be
lieves the time has come to enlarge the police regulations prohibiting noises,
and in these days, when a timepiece can be found in nearly every house
hold' he can see no good reason why notice of the approach of a service in
church should be given by the loud ringing of bells.
All fire alarm bells liaye been suppressed with the exception of one In
the business section of the city, and its doom is sealed. Curfew has not rung
for years in the shadow of the capitol and the commissioners will, unless the
representatives of the churches can offer some unexpected good reason, re
strict the ringing of bells upon those edifices to strict compliance with the
ritual of the churches.
STEVENS’ UNAPPRECIATED PUN.
, John F. Stevens, chief engineer of the Pana
ma canal, has been in various limelights in the
capital during the investigations, but he carried
his point and has been told at last to go ahead
and build the kind of canal he has advocated.
He is a man to carry points when he makes
| them. He is an ideal engineer, rugged and strong.
, and every motion indicates unlimited reserve
power. His face is rather handsome, but de
termination dominates, from the thick, dark hair
and heavy eyebrows to the brief, strong mus
tache, over lips which close like a punctuation
mark when he has said his say. He missed it
once, however, and told the story as though he
lather enjoyed it. He was sitting on the counter
in a western grocery store when a cowboy came
in, and taking him for a clerk, said: “Gimme
some raisins!”
i nere naa just Been a couple of impromptu
hangings in the next town, and looking up without moving the young engi
neer asked:
“Do you want the same kind of raisin’* they had over yonder?"
The next instant he was looking into the business hole in the cowboy’s
shooter. He says that it was as big as a cannon, and he was getting ready to
sade off and hunt for raisins when the proprietor came to the rescue, beg
tonapok>gizeVb0)r t0 spatler up his I,lace- He took advantage of the pause
MAKING A “CITY BEAUTIFUL.”
I ARCHITECT
More than $50,000,000 is now being spent
upon buildings and bridges of a public character
in and around Washington, and when work al
ready undertaken has been completed, Washing
ton will be without a peer as a city of architec
tural beauty. In addition to the projects amount
ing to more than $50,000,000 now decided upon
and under way, improvements costing an addi
tional $20,000,000 are projected.
When the senate and house office buildings
are completed the plaza east of the capitol will
be almost surrounded on its four sides by one
of the most magnificent groups of public struc
tures in the world, built of granite and marble.
The north and south sides of this plaza will be
bounded respectively by the senate and house
office buildings, which together are to cost $7,000 -
000. The west will be bounded by the imposing
structure of the capitol. the eastern front o'?
which *s to be extended in marble at a cost of $1,330,000. The eastern side
will be partially bounded by the library of congress building, which has cost
the government $6,920,000.( The other blocks of ground east of the capitol
plaza and just north of the library of congress, will ultimately be occupied
by a splendid structure for the supreme court of the United States.
The capitol and its proposed extension, the senate and house office build
ings and the library of congress will represent an expenditure by the gov
ernment of $32,321,849, and this will make these structures the most costly
marble frame in the world for so small a rectangle of foliage and grass
Not far from this splendid series of buildings will be the new union rail
road depot, which will front the plaza from Delaware avenue on the north at
a cost-of $12,000,000, with its approaches, making the five structures in this
vicinity cost upward of $45,000,000.
Came Back on the Doiible.
“I believe,” said the cheery philoso
pher, “that for every single thing you
give away two come back to you."
“That’s my experience,” agreed Pham
ley. “Last June I gave away my
daughter and she and her husband
came back to us in August”
Too Much to Expect.
“Does that man really believe all he
says?”
“Believe it,” echoed Senator Sorg
hum, “why, he doesn’t even under
stand it.”—Washington Star.
Improvement in Photography.
An inventor has succeeded in evolv
ing a novel improvement upon the or
dinary celluloid film used for cinemato
graphic purposes. The pictures are
taken in a spiral manner upon circular
glass plates, thereby enabling a long'
series comprising several hundred pic
tures to be obtained in a small space.
The diameter of the plate is 15 inches,
while the photographs themselves do
not exceed half an inch in length. In
this way it is possible to record a story
lasting about four minutes upon one
plate.
i
M
The Anarchist at Work.
The Anarchist’s tools are of the most rudimentary kind. He has to take what comes readily to hiii hand,
for he dare not excite suspicion by purchasing an expensive installation. For the most part the bomb3 that
have come into the authorities' hands have been ridiculously crude; but that flung at the King and Queen of
Spain seems to have been more elaborate,, for the case was of polished steel.
THE PROGRESS OF CHINA.
EARNEST EFFORTS TO RAISE
PLANE OF ORIENTAL EMPIRE.
English Language Coming Into Use
and Modern Schools Being Estab
lished—Empress Joining in
Civilizing Movement.
Shanghai. China.—No nation on
earth has made more progress in the
last five years than China. Even Ja
pan, which has sprung to the rank of
a world power from the seclusion of
an oriental despotism, Is not excepted
by . the high authority who makes this
statement.
He admits that China has not made
such advance in iron and coal produc
tion as has the United States, but he
contends that China has made a wider
and more profound change in its whole
attitude toward western civilization
than has any other nation.
The latest proof that China’s face
Is set toward progress is found in the
imperial decree, issued last month,
promising a change of laws. While
this decree does not promise a con
stitution, as careless readers have In
ferred, nevertheless, It points in that
direction.
A more vital indication of progress
is found in the recent imperial decree
making some mastery of western
learning a condition of future employ
ment in the government service. This
decree does not affect existing office
holders, and doe3 not apply to candi
dates for office who have already com
pleted the prescribed course of Con
fucian learning and have received the
first and second degrees.
But the significance of the decree Is
found in the fact that it prescribes the
Identical condition for future candi
dates for office which the young em
peror prescribed eight years ago, and
which led to the boxer uprising. It is
significant that the dowager empress,
who then retired the young emperor
for his radicalism, now issues in his
name the Identical decree which pro
duced the revolution.
A still more striking sign that this
decree is found in the fact that
Yuan Shih Rai, the leading Viceroy o£
the empire, has already established
more than 5,000 primary and sec
ondary schools in the Chili province
in order to prepare the young people
of his province for the new govern
ment courses. He is attempting to in
troduce western learning, and, indeed,
the English language into these
schools as rapidly as possible.
This creates a strong demand for
American teachers, but the pay is too
low to justify young people coming
from the United State? to accept these
minor positions. In lieu of American
and English teachers, the Japanese
are being employed to teach western
learning, and in some cases the Eng
lish language.
The “pidgin” English which Is
taught by some of the Chinese schol
ars would indeed be laughable were it
not for the fact that the introduction
of the English language may possibly
become general, and, if so, may carry
with it the introduction of western
civilization.
An indication pointing to the influ
ence of Japan in China is found in the
fact that 11,000 Chinese students are
now in Tokio striving to secure from
the government institutions and pri
vate schools the western learning.
•
The Manclico court has always been
opposed to bound feet, and compara
i tively few women who gain access to
the court have submitted to this early
torture. A few months ago, however,
an imperial decree was issued exhort
j ing parents not to bind the feet of
; their daughters.
On the dowager empress being in
1 formed the other day that the decree
i relating to bound feet was having no
influence among the provincial au
| thorities, another decree was Issued
saying that in the future no men will
be taken into the employment of the
Chinese empire whose wives or daugh
ters have their feet bound.
A more striking indication of the
adoption of not only western civiliza
j tion, but of Christianity, is found in
| the decree just issued by Chang Chih
lung ordering the New Testament to
! be introduced into all the schools of
I the Hupeh and Hunan provinces, over
I which he rules. These provinces
have 58,000,000 population.
Perhaps the most striking indication
of the Chinese desire for western prog
ress is found in the recent imperial
decree attempting to establish the
Christian Sabbath. The decree makes
Sunday a legal holiday. It is not prob
able that the decree will be largely fol
lowed throughout China, as, indeed, it
is not probable that Chang Chih-tung’s
decree in regard to the New Testa
ment will be largely observed. These
decrees, howver, show the aspirations
of the Chinese for western civilization.
COWS HAVE STOMACH ACHE.
Cattle Eat Green Apples and Milk
Famine Results.
New Haven, Conn.—William E.
Hunter, a milkman at Naugatuck, sent
word to his customers the other day
that he could not furnish them with
milk as usual, because his herd of
cows had stomach ache. A milk fam
ine In the town resulted, and hurry
calls were sent to this city for milk
to supply the babies and children.
Hunter has a fine herd of 40 cows, j
and usually they are well behaved, ‘
but some of the frisky leaped the
pasture fence into an apple orchard
cn Mr. Hunter’s farm, began feasting
on the windfall apples, and soon were
suffering from pain under their belts.
The remainder of the herd, unable
to withstand the temptation, tore
down the fence, and not only cleaned
the ground of fallen apples, but ate
all in reach on the trees as well.
When Mr. Hunter went out to drive
them to the stable all were in a sad
state because of too much apple juice.
As a result, the milk was unfit for
use, and Mr. Hunter says “It may
be several days before he can resume
business.”
wn f»nw yiwwww wm t
WED WITHOUT KNOWING IT.
Couple Thought Ceremony Was Part
of Procedure In Getting License.
Nashua, la.—The fact that Judge
Budahl, deputy county clerk, is also
empowered to solemnize marriages,
coupled with his willingness to assist
the young couples who come to him
for licenses to wed, caused a peculiar
predicament when he performed the
ceremony so quickly and smoothly
that the young couple, George Meyer
and Rosaline Schulz, from near New
Aibin, never felt the binding of the
knot and were supremely ignorant of
the fact that they were man and wife.
The couple went to the courthouse
to procure a license, which they re
ceived from Judge Budahl. He then
asked if they wished to be married
also. They replied affirmatively, and
in their Innocence, thinking it was
part of the procedure necessary to ob
tain a license, at the judge's request
stood up, clasped hands and took their
vows.
When their friends wished to see
their license, they brought forth a
certificate of their marriage. This
created great consternation, as invi
tations were out for a big wedding at
the Eitzen church. There was mount
ing in hot haste and another license
procured, and the marriage took place
as originally planned.
Want Brains for Dissection.
All over the civilized world there is
a strong demand for brains that are a
little above the average in quantity
for purposes of dissection. Scientists
have for the most part nothing better
to dissect than the* brains of paupers
and lunatics. These, however, leave
much to be desired, and it is to the
interest of the human family that the
brains of cultured and learned people
should be placed at their disposal. A
certain number of such brains are
forthcoming. In the great majority of
cases they are bequeathed by their re
spective owners.
WIVis
Cheated and Lost Bride.
Coatesville, Pa.—The accusation of
cheating at a game of cards has
broken up a happy international mat
rimonial alliance, and the bridegroom
elect, Joseph Snuofsky, a workman
in one of the local iron mills, has sold
the furniture, etc., he had bought for
his bride-to-be and left town. The
sweetheart, pretty 22-year-old Mary
Anskoitz, came from Russia on pur
pose to wed Joseph, and he paid her
ocean passage with that end & view,
and engaged a house in which they
were to have made their home. The
marriage license was secured and the
wedding was to have occurred next
Sunday. But last night the lovers
played “a friendly game of cards,”
and Mary, alleging that Joseph had
cheated, said she did not want him
for a husband. So all their rela lions
were declared ofT, and the pretty lass
from Russia has no engagement even
to tie her to the Land of Liberty,
When others bore you, the churnes
are that you bore them. Be cautious
of your criticism, since it includes
yourself.
The Abduction of a Justice
By PHILIP VEEEILL MIGHELS
Dressed in her brother’s clothing
as siie was, "Cowboy Maggie" vault
ed again to her saddle with familiar
ease.
"Seven miles we’ve come,” she
mused, as she rode by “the widow's,”
and guided her horse into Tarnahan
road. “Then it’s 30 more to make,
j I’ll beat them yet!”
Fifty yards beyond the fork of the
roads, her broncho suddenly shied at
a dimly seen object in the brush.
Maggie recognized a white calf. She
assured her horse with a touch and a
murmur. Her quick eyes then dis
covered a number of other calves.
She knew the little band at once.
There were nine small heifers, the
property of Mrs. Jordan, "the widow.”
“They’re all I’ve got in the world,”
Mrs. Jordan had told her, smiling
through tears as she spoke, “for Hick
ey bought up the undertaker’s bills
against me and took all my cows.
He’d have taken the calves, too, only
the lawyers made him stop.”
“Hickey—the miserable thief!” Mag
gie sputtered. “And to think of Ed.
j Hickey daring to marry Carrie Downs!
I don’t see how she ever thought of
saying yes. But she shan’t—she shan’t
—not if 1 have to steal her myself and
run away! They must have made her
take him. . . . Get up, Brutus! What
are .you doing?”
Almost on the moment, a curse and
a shout indicated that two or more
riders had discovered the calves,
doubtless through the shying of their
bronchos.
“Here, Skete, hoid on,” cried one of
the liders behind her; “ain't these
them Jordan cattle?”
The girl recognized the nasal snarl
of young Hickey.
What answer was made by “Skete”
she could uot determine. A murmur
represented the conversation of the
men, who had evidently halted in the
road.
“Branded?—like hell!” came the
high voice of Hickey again, in dispute;
“I tell you I saw ’em two days ago,
and net a one of ’em Ironed. Can't
nobody svvear to a calf unless it’s
Dressed in Her Brother’s Clothing.
branded? This is tbe softest snap I
ever seen. Here—round ’em up—send
’em along.”
"Can’t do it alone,” growled the oth
er. "You better come and help on the
job. it you want it done up so sud
deu.”
“Me?” snarled Hickey, as he swung
his vicious horse toward a loitering
lieifer. "I’ve got to git a move on now
to git to my wedding. I told you be
fore it’s coming off at daylight, it’s
got to—we’ve got to catch that train.
Bite ’em! bite ’em! Hey there! Kush
’em lively!”
The scurrying hoofs beat up a cloud
of col 1 dust, felt rather than seen.
Maggie was tingling with indigna
tion. She had caught.Hickey fairly in
the ac; of robbery; she had heard him
confirm tbe maddening story tnat he
meant to marry Carrie Downs at day
light. She was thrice more anxious
than before to fly to Tarnahan’s and
save her friend, but Hickey would now
be there as soon as she. She Would
have to resort to some other plan to
stop the wedding.
Maggie fancied she could see old
Justice Carey cross as a badger, thin
as a knife, gray as the desert, standing
before Carrie and Hickey snapping out
the words of the sacred ceremony. He
was the only man within a radius of
100 miles who could perform the rite.
If he would only refuse, the trick
would yet be won!
But she knew old Carey. She knew
he would not refuse, not for love nor
money. He was crazed on the subject
of marrying anyone to anyone else.
He seamed almost to take a devilish
delight in tying together ill-assorted
couples. Then, like lightning, a thought
struck in her brain. It almost made
her ree! with its force. But her whole
horizon was cleared.
She vaulted up into the saddle. Not
a moment did she have to spare.
Brutus leaped at the dig of her spurs
and started madly down the road.
Late as she had started, and consid
erable as the distance was, over hills
and through swales, Maggie a little
before two o’clock in the morning
rapped on Justice Carey’s door.
"You noisy idiot,” chopped the voice
of the justice, who thrust his thin lace
out into the darkness, “ ’taiu’t time—
’tain’t time! What do you mean? .
'Taint time, I say! What do you
want? You don’t want me now. you
young scoundrel?”
"Yes—cow,” said Maggie, as roughly
as possible. “Hurry up, or we’U be too
late!”
He disappeared and slammed the
door.
Magie feared he had returned to his
bed. She took out her pistol and was
about to batter the door again, when
the man came out, fully dressed. He '
chattered in the chill air.
"Where Is m-m-my horse?” he I
demanded. "Didn’t you fetch me a
| k-h-horse? Do* you expect me to j
get out the b-buckboaid alone at
this—’’
“Get up on my horse—it’s the beat’
we can do, and the quickest way," in
terrupted Maggie.
She boosted the man astride the sad
dle In a hurry, sprang up behind him.
with the reins in her hand.
“Where you — heading, young —
man?” he said, disjointedly. “This
ain’t the way to Tarnahan’s, Bar!"
“No, it isn't,” assented Maggie.
“Then what—what—what—what do
you mean? What are you doing?
Here, you, Jet. me—”
“Be still!” commanded the girl. “You
can feel my pistol against your back.
You are not going to the Bar this
morning.”
“But the wedding,” pried the old
fiend; “the wedding this—”
"There will not be any wedding,”
she told him, shortly.
He comprehended with pain, then,
that he, the high and mighty justice
of the peace “in and for said county
and township,” had actually been ab
ducted bodily. In polyglot moods, of
rapid succession, he threatened, rant
ed, reasoned with his captor, and en
treated that she permit him to go and
perform the wedding.
Maggie was as grim as she was firm.
Her horse was in a reeking perspira
tion, but she could not afford to spare
him cow. Straight away into the
mouutttins she rode. Three miles from
Nicholls she came upon the (Mm form
of a shanty, in a lonely ravine, far
from the traveled trails. It was all
that remained of a mining excitement
which the hills had enjoyed. Here
she forced her prisoner to dismount,
after which she tied his hands behind
him, compelled him to enter the
shanty, and there secured his feet, in
a manner highly satisfactory to her
self. Eor the binding she employed a
slender tethering-rope which she car
ried in addition to her braided lasso.
Then she shut the door on a mixture
of threats, life sentences and pleadings
and started for Tarnahan’s Bar. She
arrived there some hours later dressed
in her own clothes.
* * * * *
“They had a great old time at rfe
Bar,-’ said the girl, concluding her
story to her mother the following day.
"Ed. Hickey rode around after poor
old Mr. Carey like a rooster without
his head, got horribly drunk, and you
never saw Carrie cry so much in all
your life when I told her about Llr3.
Jordan’s cattle. She cried and laughed
together. I wouldn’t have believed a
girl could be so happy to give it all
up—after getting all those lovely
dresses and presents. Poor dear Carrie
—it*3 funny she didn’t know better
herself, at first.”
“But,” said Maggie’s mother, “I hope
everybody hasn’t left poor, dear Mr.
Carey up there all this time, pining
that cabin.”
“Oh, no,’’ replied the girl, “he go\
loose and came In to Tamahaji’s Bar
by himself late in the afternoon. Aft
er he told his story, they got up a
wonderful romance about a daring
young fellow who rode 70 miles, from
Pizen, in the night, and stole the jus
tice to save his lady-love from Hickey.
Some call him Hickey’s rival, and some
call him Carrie's mysterious lover.”
(Copyright, by Josech B. Bowles.)
NORTH DAKOTA WHEAT CROP.
Will Lead Sister States by Yield of
100,000,000 Bushels.
Minneapolis, Minn.—North Dakota
has this year the unprecedented total
of 100,000,000 bushels of wheat, a
record never before made by any
state. Minnesota, though growing in
wealth and importance with every
passing year, with bountiful crops of
wheat and other cereals, must surren
render the preeminence in wheat she
long held to her sister state. The
northwest showing is as follows:
North Dakota, 100,000,000 bushels;
Minnesota, S0,000,000 bushels; South
Dakota, 50,000,000 bushels; total, 230,
000,000 bushels.
The Jones-Inglis report of whear
production is in part as follows:
“We estimate the wheat crop of
the three states at 230,000,000 bushels
and the total spring crop of the
United States at 301,000,000 bushels
The winter wheat production is esti
mated at 435,000,000 bushels, giving
a total for the United States of 726.
000,000 bushels, or the largest yield
of spring and winter wheat the United
States has produced. The govern
ment overestimated the crop of 1901
by 50,000,000 bushels.
BUILT BY DISSENTERS’ FINES.
Mansion House in London Begun Un
der Ingenious Law.
The Mansion house in London was
partly built out of money unjustly
wrung from dissenters.
By an act of Charles II. no one could
take office under the corporation with
out taking the sacrament according to
the rites of the established chu’-'-h. By
another act a sherifT who declined to
serve was rendered liable to a fine of
$2,000.
A dissenter was elected sherifT, and,
as he could not take the sacrament, he
declined to serve and paid $2,000. A
second was elected, with the same re
suit. This ingenious method of taxing
dissenters was repeated until 45 had
successively paid the fine.
No. 46 was a stiff-necked gentleman
and he declined to either serve or pay.
He was sued for the fine, but the
judge held that the disqualifying act
relieved the dissenter of the duty o?
service.
The $90,000, however, already se
cured was voted by the corporation to
the building fund of the Mansion
house.—Stray Stories.
Her Bill Was All Right.
A prominent physician of Dorches
ter. Mass., is noted for his ready wit.
He sent a bill for services in his line
to “Miss Sparrow.” When she called
to settle it she remarked: “My name
is not Sparrow, but Swallow.” The
doctor replied: “Well, your bill is all
right, is it not?”
