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The Commoner.
.VOLUME 11, NUMBER
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Think It Over
llttie bit of laughter helps to
brighten up the day,
A cheery word will make the load
seem lighter.
i welcome smile of greeting helps
to smooth the rugged way,
A friendly hand will make the
world look brighter.
Tt's worry over trouble that has
never happened yet
That makes a fellow old and
stooped of shoulder;
A.nd wrinkles surely follow all the
worry and the fret,
To make a fellow feel and look
much older.
little snatch of singing helps to
shorten up the road.
A whistled tune will keep the
heart from grieving.
A. "howdy-do" soul spoken helps to
bear the weary load,
A cheery "hello" helps beyond be
lieving. To grouch is but to double all the
trials of the day,
To grumble is to lose life's
choicest flavor.
It's love that keeps you happy all
along the weary way,
And brings to you the old world's
richest favor.
The time you spend in sighing never
brings you in a cent;
It's waste of time to sit around
. - and grumble.
Tt's up to you to hustle with a will,
and good intent
The world will quick forgive you
if you stumble.
- (hit this world hates a quitter, and
it loves the man who tries;
It loves the man who meets mis
fortune smiling;
tt loves the man who's looking with
a smile within his eyes,
And with a cheery word the hours
beguiling.
vince me that the richness of that
particular apple existed only in my
imagination, exaggerated by the
vanished years but I know better
than that, too.
If there is anybody who can . tell
Mrs. Ridgeley where to get a "sops
of wine" apple tree they will be do
ing her a favor and the Architect,
also. I'd like to plant a couple in
the yard back of the little cottage
where the Little "vybman could take
care of it until the time came when
I might yank its lucious fruit and
eat my fill. She's a great hand at
caring for trees and flowers and all
that sort of thing, including cab
bages and beets and turnips, and me.
a regular part of the ceremonies.
But why does my welcome corres
pondent ask me to "forgive the
rambling letters of an old woman.
She is only four or five years older
than I am, and I would have you
know that I am a young man.
The "Sopsyrine" Tree
Mrs. Elizabeth P. Ridgeley of Mul
berry, Kan., asks me a question I
caxuiot answer. A long time ago, In
some reminiscent mood, I mentioned
in this department -the "sopsyvlne"
apple tree that grew in the old home
orchard. Mrs. Ridgeley wants to
know about "it. She says:
"A year or more ago in speaking
of your boyhood fiphing experiences
you referred to an early morning
start and said you always slipped
down past the old 'sopsyvlne' apple
tree to get two or three apples. Long
ago we lived at Mt. Tabor, la., and
an old apple grower named Morri
son sold us 'sops of wine' apples
that were the top-o'-the-world for
quality, and the memory of those
apples is a cherished pleasure in our
home. You are the only person
I have ever heard of who even knew
of such an apple, and your boyish
contraction may not really be the
same. But do you know of that
"variety of apple now, and would it
be possible for me to get a young
tree, 'sops of wine,' or oven a cut
ting for a graft."
I wish I could tell Mrs. Ridgeley
where to get a tree or a cutting, but
I can not. I've been asked that same
question before, but I couldn't
answer then or now. Some have
tried to convince me that the wine
sap is the same tiling as the "sopsyr
vine" of my boyhood, but I know
better there never was a winesap
grown that was in it for a' minute
with the juicy, richly flavored "sopsy
vine" apples that grew in the old
orchard. Others have tried to con?
A Vivid Memory
The Architect is going to make
bold to quote liberally from a letter
just received from a far-away friend
who lives at Weldon, Ills., and that
is very close to the old home town
in the Sucker state. The writer re
lates an incident In the boyhood of
the Architect " that is as vivid in
memory as if it happened only yes
terday. After a few kindly words
concerning the little verses and
sketches in this department. Mrs.
Andrew Allen writes:
"I believe r heard your father
preach on baptism at a basket meet
ing held in the orchard at the
Thomas Bondurant farm in the sum
mer of 1870. I was twelve years
old at that time and was just begin
nings to grasp sacred things, so was
very much impressed with the man
ner in which Elder Maupln related
the narrative of our Lord's baptism.
Just about,, the moment that the
parson was ready to prove that the
baptism of the sinless Christ was
and is the only example for sinful
man, a great commotion arose just
back of the Improvised pulpit. A
plank had been laid with either end
upon an open barrel to form a table
to hold a pitcher of water and a
glass for the preacher's use, the day
being very warm. Jakie Stultz and
the preacher's boy had climbed upon
the boaTd to get a better view of the
crowd, and just at the moment when
the good, elder was most earnestly
declaring that 'down into the water,'
and 'up out of the water,' was the
way and the only way, Jakie
thought of something he wanted to
see elsewhere and jumped off his
end of the board, Down went the
preacher's boy into the barrel with
a wild whoop of dismay. The good
elder turned around, lifted a badly
scared boy out of the barrel and went
right on preaching as if nothing had
happened. I have often wondered as
I read your remlniscenses if you were
that boy, and if you remember the
occurrence."
And I admit now, more than forty
years later, that I was that boy, and
I do remember the circumstances.
And I can remember Uncle Tom Bon
durant, upon whose farm that basket
meeting was held; and his good sis
ter, Miss Mollie, who was his house
keeper through all hi& long years of
bachelorhood. Uncle Tom was al
ways too busy making money and
using it wisely to get married. Be
sides, his charming old mother was
always his sweetheart. I will al
ways Insist that there never was but
one woman who could make as good
jelly tarts as Grandma Bondurant.
Yes, I can almost feel the bruises
of that fall into the barrel. And I
can still see father lifting me out and
going right ahead with the sermon
as if lifting boys out of barrels was
For Which We Are Thankful
We've a lot to bo thankful for,
and among other things is the fact
that the Little Woman has never
wasted any time following the direc
tions laid down in the Female's
Household Companion for "making
father a beautiful library tablo for
Christmas out of two soap boxes and
the top taken from an empty sugar
barrel," or "making a handsome
parlor suite out of nail kegs, three
gallons of prepared varnish and the
velvet collars taken from old coats."
More than that, she has never
violently assaulted our weekly pay
check by undertaking to follow any
of the "weekly menus" set forth in
the aforesaid publication.
We've got this Christmas business
down to an exact science all but
getting the coin. We have thus far
managed to persuade the kiddies that
what they need is what they most
want for Christmas, and that's what
they get, including the usual supply
of candy and nuts and a few little
toys and books. Then I buy the
little woman what I really can afford
for myself, and she buys for me -what
she can really afford for herself.
That is. to say, I buy vrhat I most
want, and. she buys what she most
wants. What I buy I give to her,
and what she buys she gives to me.
Then after the noise of Christmas
morning has died down a bit we
wander off into another room and
swap presents. It's a bully scheme,
and I recdmmend it to you. It has
but one drawback but that is a
drawback we all experience ;we sel
dom have enough money to get all
the things -we really think we and
the kiddies need. But, thank the
good Lord, we always manage to
have enough to eat and to wear, and
a bit to divide with those who come
in to see us. And keeping Christ
mas isn't a matter of giving and re
ceiving. Far from it. Christmas is
of the heart.
equity proceedings for an Injunction
in which" th decision rests entirely
with the court and there is no jury
trial, it might be difficult to take
"such particular contract or restraint
of trade" out of .the scope of those
decisions, but In a criminal prosecu
tion involving imprisonment of the
manipulators charged with restrain
ing trade, the definition given by the
supreme court in those caseB that
the restraint prohibited by statute,
does not apply to a reasonable re
straint of trade but only to an un
reasonable restraint would, I fear,
in most cases prevent a conviction.
Such a criminal prosecution must
be had before a jury, which would
be called upon to determine whether
the restraint complained of was un
reasonable within those decisions. On
such a trial for the purpose of show
ing that the restraint was beneficial
to the public, and therefore not un
reasonable, the defendant would per
haps be permitted to show that the
product has been cheapened in price
by the combination charged with
unreasonably restraining the trade,
and the court would have to charge
the jury that they could not find
defendant guilty, if upon the evi
dence they found the restraint was
not unreasonable.
How many convictions do you
think can be secured if the question
whether the restraint is reasonable
OTn unreasonable is left to the jury?
And the trouble -will be that no case,
either civil or criminal, would be a
precedent 10 or would control other
cases. Each case, whether the re
straint was- reasonable or unreason
able, would" have to be threshed out
wnolly regardless of the" decisions
in previous cases. A. J. D., New
York, Sept. 22.
A Pleasing Christmas Gift
Do you want to do a Christmas
favor to a lot of people a favor that
will not cost you an extra penny?
If you do, just do your Christmas
buying early. That will mean a lot
to the men and women behind the
counters of the stores and shops, and
to the boys and men on the delivery
wagons. The Christmas season
doesn't mean much ,to them under
present conditions save weariness
and worry and aches and pains. You
can cure a lot of that by being early
with your shopping, thus preventing
the senseless and barbarous "Christ
mas rush," and by being just as
courteous and considerate to the
clerk behind the counter as you in
sist upon their being to you.
Let us all join in giving the clerks
behind the, counters a Christmas gift
In the shape of courtesy and consideration.
America's Most
Famous Sings
Bill Says
By keepin' your teeth shut tight
together you always manage to keep
from sayin' th' wrong thing. But
that won't keep you. from thinkin.'
"RESTRAINT" BEFORE A JURY
To the Editor of the New York
World: The president in his Detroit
address called on Mr. Bryan to "tell
the public what particular contract
or rostraint of reasonable trade he
would condemn which would not be
condemned within the definition of
the court" (referring to the supreme
court decision in the Standard Oil
and Tobacco trusts.) Perhaps in an
How often have you wished for a
book containing tho old, old songs;
for after all, tho songs nearest to
our hearts are the ones wo knew as
children and the ones our children
are singing today.
Wo have Just examined a music
folio entitled America's Most Fa
ntouM Songs; these comprise the
best known songs, including patri
otic, home, love, southern- and folk
songs. Songs like the following:
Alice, Where Art TaoH?
Battle Cry of Freedom,
Bcb Dolt,
Dixie Land,
GlpMy'i Warning,
Heart Bowed Dovra,
XVMIUICCH iunvuurnccu,
Iant Rose o Summer,
Rocked 1b the Cradle af tke Deep,
Wlica You and I Were YouHS,MagrgIc,
and 50 other universal songs of
America with music and piano ac
companiment, in largo clear print
and on good paper.
"We have been so favorably im
pressed with this splendid collec
tion of songs, and feol so certain
that nine out of every ten readers
of The American Homestead Will
Vir ntivlnna r nxxrrt tVlft hnnlc that WO
have made arrangements with tho
publisher in New York to reserve a
liberal supply for our readers.
Each subscriber to The American
Homestead who sends us twenty
five cents to pay for a years sub
scription to the paper, and ten cents
to pay for wrapping and postage
on the book of songs will receive,
a copy with our compliments.
This offer will hold good as long
as tho present edition of the books
lasts, and requests for tho book will
bo filled in the order that they reach
this office. We caution everyone to
be prompt In sending for tho book.
If your subscription is already paid
In advance, the 25 cents remitted
will still further advance your ex
piration dato for one year.
The American Homestead
Lincoln, Nebraska
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