"tJdWTWe- '-il '"J'S"-W flw ' f awnwgy
The Commoner.
It&BCH 27, 1903.
a of
eoldlers at the Crimea will be an inspiration to
noble-minded women f6r all time. She battled
with fever and disease and won the tardy British
government of the day to a realization of their
"barbarity in neglecting to provide doctors and
nurses for a huge army in the field. When the
Crimean war was bver and Florence Nightingale's
name was known wherever the English language
is spoken a group of English soldiers at a dinner
in London were asked to write down the name
which had most endeared itself to them during
the war. They unanimously wrote ' 'Florence
Nightingale.' Queen Victoria proposed her health
at a public dinner and the people of England
voted her a fortune, which .she generously, re
turned to them in thoform of a training school
for nurses. She is spending the last days of her
life in retirement. 'When she is iaid away, her
funeral will be an occasion for greater grief than
that of a sovereign."
ANEW YORK ART DEALER SPEAKING TO
a correspondent for the Chicago Record
Herald, says that J. Pierpont Morgan's art pur
chases consisting of paintings, statuary, and other
art objects, are fairly valued at $7,000,000. Mr.
Morgan desired to bring this stock to the United
States, but he has learned that the duty would
amount to . $3,000,000. It is pointed out by the
Record-Herald's correspondent that recently Mr.
Morgan made a statement before the board of as
sessors that his personal property is not worth
more than "$400,000. v
AN INTERESTING STATEMENT. SHOWING
that a large number of the world's most
-eminent men rose from a humble state is pro
vided by a writer in the New York Press. It is
shown by this writer that Euripides was the son
of a fruiterer; that Terrence in his early life was
a slave; that Virgil's father was a potter or brick
maker; that Horace's father was a freedman;
Plautus was a baker. Greathead, bishop of Lin
coln in the 13th century,' began his career as a
beggar, but his powerful talents adorned his brow
with a miter. Luther was the son of a p6or miner,
Zwingli of a shepherd and Calvin's father was not
distinguished either for affluence or learning.
Boccaccio was the natural son oi a merchant.
Columbus was the so of a weaver and originally
a weaver himself. Arkwright was a-barber Ban
yan was the son Of a traveling tinker. Bloomffeld,
Gibbon, Glfford, Linnaeus, Lackington, Dr. Carey
and "Roger Sherman were shoemakers. So was
Whittier. Shakespeare was the son of a wool
stapler and butcher, Cowley of a grocer.
a? &
ACCORDING TO THIS SAME AUTHOR
ity, Milton was the son of a schrivener. Ben
. Jonson was the son of a mason; Fletcher was the
son of a chandler; Pope was the son or a nnen
draper; Collins was the son of a hatter; Beattie
and Butler were the sons of farmers; Akenside
and Henry Kirk White were the sons of butchers;
Whitehead was the son of a baker; Thomas Moore
was the son of a grocer; Gay was apprenticed in
early life to a silk mercer; Sir Edward Sugden,
Lord Tenterton and Jeremy Taylor were sons of
barbers. Dr. Maddox, bishop of Worcester, was
the son of a pastry cook. Dr. Mllner was a weav
er." Sir Samuel Romily was tho son of a gold
smith. Richardson, the gifted writer, and Benja
min Franklin, the philosopher, were printers. John
Hunter was" the son of a carpenter and Scott, the
commentator, of a glazier. Ferguson, the astron
omer, was a shepherd In his youth. Defoe was a
hosier atid son of a butcher.. Dymond, author of
"Principles of Morality," was a linen draper and
traded or wrote according as he had or had not
customers. Woods, Curran, Jeffrey Brydges, At
kins and Lord "Ellenborough were all the sons of
humble tradesmen. Amyot was the son of a cur
rier, Rabelais of an apothecary, Voiture of a tax
gatherer, Lamotte of a hatter, Massillon of a
turner, Grienauit of a baker, Mollere of a tap-stry-maker,
Rousseau of a watchmaker and Rol
lin of a herdsman. Claude Lorraine was a pastry
cook. Quintin Matsys was a blacksmith. Home
Tooke was' the son of a ppulterer, which he al
luded to when galled upon by the proud striplings
of Eton to describe himself. "I am," he said, "the
son of an eminent" turkey merchant" The hus
band and father of the woman who nursed Michael
Angelo were stonemasons, and the chisel was
often put in the hands of the child as a plaything.
THE NEWS DISPATCHES UNDER -DATE OF
March 14 announced that two of the mo
nopolies controlled by John D. Rockefeller sent
out dividends aggregating $21,500,000. The New
York correspondent of the Chicago Chronicle says
that of this- sum $20,000,000 represents the Stand
ard Oil dividend for the second quarter of the
year, being $20 for each share of the $100,000,000
trust, whilo $1,500,000 is for dividends to uhare
hoiders of the Consolidated Gas company. John
D. Rockefeller, who owns $40,000,000 of Standard
Oil stock,, will receive a check for $8,000,000,
while his brother William, who owns only $15,
000,000 of the stock, will receive a check for only
$3,000,000. The declaration of the Standard Oil
dividends shows that John D. Rockefeller's incomo
from this source alone for the last ninety days
has been $88,888.88 a day. If continued for the
rest of the year at this rate ho will receive in
dividends frohi Standard Oil for the four quarters
$32,333,333.20.
A YOUNG-KENTUCKY LAWYER, CAPTAIN C.
C. Calhoun of Lexington, has recently grown
rich from a single fee. Captain Calhoun, as the
special attorney for the state of Kentucky, re
cently delivered to the state authorities a certified
check on the United States treasury for $1,323,
999.85. The Louisville correspondent of the Chi
cago Chronicle says: "Ho got the money duo to
-the state for equipping union soldiery during the
civil war., A year ago Captain Calhoun, a poor,
but bright young lawyer, appeared before Gov
ernor Beckham and said that much money was
due the state from the government. The governor
said: 'All right, Calhoun, I'll appoint you to rep
resent the state and if you collect you may get a
fee of 10 per cent' Youhg Calhoun was without
funds, but he set to work at his task and spent
many months in Washington looking through mus
ty records of the civil war claims. After weeks of
tedious work he secured facts and guides which
proved that the government did owe the common
wealth of Kentucky the amount named. He then
set to work to have the claim allowed. The proof
was so positive that he succeeded in haying the
claim included in the general deficiency bill, which
was passed by congress and signed by the presi
dent last week, and Captain Calhoun's fee, which
will be paid to him at once, will amount to $132,
400. Captain Calhoun has just married and will
purchase a big blue grass farm near Lexington.
. He will continue to practice law, however."
MILLER REESE HUTCHINSON, A YOUNG
Alabaman, has recently won fame because
of his fforts In behalf of the deaf. The Wash
ington correspondent of the Chicago Tribune says
that- by means of his Invention, Mr. Hutcninson
enabled three children who were deaf, dumb, and
blind to hear a pianist play Sousa's marches. A
phonograph repeated the sounds and the sounds
' of their own voices uttering the words "mamma,"
"papa," and "hello," in quavering childish treble.
The experiments were made at the laboratory of
Mr. Hutchinson and were witnessed by many per
sons. The invention consists, primarily, of a
transmitter, an ear piece, and a small electric bat
tery. By means of these instruments sound is
projected into the ear in a manner to simulate the
auditory nerve. The volume of sound has noth
ing to do with the action of these Instruments.
The penetrating quality of the electric sound wave,
apparently disregards the mechanism of the outer
ear and affects the inner ear direct. The first
patient brought out to try the effects of the in
vention was Orris Benson, who is Dlind, deaf, and
dumb. A physician tried to make him hear in
various ways, but all his efforts were in vain.
The little instrument was then clapped to the
lad's ear, the current switched on, and Mr. Hutch
inson said in an ordinary conversational tone,
"papa." The youth worked his fingers rapidly in
the sign language. The current was made strong
er. The youth's eyeballs were raised and he
smiled. Then he tried to repeat the syllables and
in a weird treble criea shrilly, "pah-pah."
-"pHE LOT OF THE ELGIN (DLL.) CLERGY
X men is not a happy one, if the story related
by the Elgin correspondent of the Chicago Trl
. bune is to be relied upon. This correspondent says
that "Elgin has .a man who does not allow a min
ister while preaching a sermon to make mis
statements or misquotations from the Bible. The
name of this man Is Fred Troestle, and on sev
eral occasions he has created a scene In some of
the most fashionable churches in Elgin. Troestle
is 'a Tegular attendant at church, and a close list
ener. Whenever he hears the preacher making a
statement in which he does not coincide he rises
in his seat and tells the good man in the pulpit
that he has mace a mistake. It Is related that
one time the church people invited an eminent
diYlne from Boston to occupy the pulpit tempo
rarily, and the first day he preached Troestle was
on hand, and promptly took issue with him on
a matter of Biblical history. Of course, the man
was gently led from the church."
jO sC"
ON ONE OCCASION IT IS RELATED THAT
when this faithful censor of the pulpit at
tended a lecture delivered by a well-known speak
er, Troestle insisted upon making a fow supple
mentary romarksat the conclusion of the address
by way of correction of somo of the statements
made. One of tho pollco officers of Elgin is in
tho habit of joining tho choir at one of tho Elgin
churches, and Troestle has on sovoral occasions
appeared and "cut in," notwithstanding tho pres
ence of tho minion of the law. Once tho man was
sent to the insane asylum at Elgin, but tho su
perintendent claimed that tho odd character was
not insane, turned him loose, and ho was never
sent back. No one seems to know how he man
ages to sujvive, but ho is always fairly well
dressed, and will disappear for weeks, only to
suddenly turn up In some church to take issue
wlth-the minister.
A DOG IS AN INDISPENSABLE ADJUNCT OF
tho Gorman army. According to the Berlin
correspondent of tho Chicago Inter-Ocean, instruc
tions were recently issued by tho German war de
partment relating to the employment of dogs in
field service. These instructions provide that ev
ery infantry company must have at least two
thoroughly trained dogs, but every battalion is
not to have more than twelve. They must bo
thoroughbreds and of tho best pedigrees. Hither
to Alredalo terriers have been used, but experi
ments are being continued with German bird
dogs. Provision is made for tho training of tho
dogs to begin at tho earliest ago posslblo indoors
and later in tho field, whore a dog must Intelli
gently understand orders, like going forward to a
vedette post or returning to headquarters, must
give warning of tho approach of strangers and
must keep absolutely quiet at a whispered com
mand to do so. Tho chiof service of the dogs is
keeping up rapid communication between tho ve
dette posts themselves and also tho posts and
headquarters.
THE DEATH OF GENERAL BOURIUS, WHICH
occurred recently at Versailles, recalls tho
assassination of- tho lato President Carnot. Gen
eral Bourius was riding with President Carnot and
at the president's suggestion the general permitted
the escort to be Withdrawn. Tho tragedy re
sulted. The Paris correspondent of the Chicago
Inter-Ocean says that Bourius was a broken
hearted man ever since that. When President
Caslmir-Perler pressed him to continue his func
tions at the Elyseo palace Bourius declined, left
Paris, and took up his residence in Versailles,
where his existence ended in darkness and gloom.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL 'BE PAR
tlcularly interested in a Paris cablegram un
der date of March 14 to the Chicago Inter-Ocean.
This cablegram follows: The balance sheet of
tho state monopolies in matches and tobacco
shows that the state realized a profit of $4,472,
649 on thg4 manufacture of thirty-eight milliards
of matches. The receipts from tobacco were $8,
300,000, of which $6,650,000 were net profit It is
estimated that the average expenditure for to
bacco and cigars per" capita was $2.20. In Paris
the average was $3.85.
? .
THE CENSUS DEPARTMENT HAS RECENT
ly issued a bulletin concerning the geo
graphical distribution of the population of tho
United States. According to this bulletin, 'nearly
96 per cent of the total population live in tho
country drained by the Atlantic ocean; over 53
per cent in that drained by the Gulf of Mexico;
44 per cent in the drainage area of the Mississippi
river; almost 10 per cent in the area drained by
the great lakes; 4 per cent on tho Pacific coast,
and half of 1 per cent In the Great basin. The
proportion living within the region drained to tho
Atlantic ocean is steadily diminishing, while the
part drained to the Gulf of Mexico Is becoming
relatively more populous, as Is tho case, In a
still more marked degree, In tho Great basin and
tho Pacific ocean region. Of the foreign born, 93
per cent live in tho region drained to tho At
lantic ocean, 36.4 per cent in the region drained to
the Gulf of Mexico, and 15 per cent in that drained
to the great lakes. The proportion in the region
drained by tho Pacific ocean is 6.1 per cent Out of
every 1,000 negroes, 998 are found in the regions
drained to the Atlantic ocean and 61.4 per cent are
In the lands drained to the Gulf of Mexico, the
proportion in the west and on the Pacific coast
being trifling.
