He Had to "Wateh Them. The late George M. Stearns , tbe no ted Massachusetts criminal lawyer , ivas a great lover of poker. He was also very fastidious in his personal habits and immaculate in his dress. One night he was out until a late hour with a convivial party , indulging in his fav orate amusement. The next morning at the breakfast table his wife , observing with surprise his un tidy appearance , remarked : . "George , can't you spit without soil- Ing your shirt bosom ? " "George" looked at her a moment , and then remarked solemnly : "Mary , if you had been in the party I was last night , you wouldn't have turned your head to spit. " Tennessee Praise. r > ayton , Tenn. , Dec. 11. ( Special. ) Among many prominent residents to praise Dodd's Kidney Pills is Mr. N. K. Roberts of this place. He tells of what they have done for him , and his words will go deep into the hearts of 11vho are suffering in the same way. lie says : "I was a martyr to Kidney Trouble , but Dodd's Kidney Pills completely cured we. I shall always keep them on hand in case there should be any re turn of the old trouble , but I am thank ful to say they did their work so well there has not been the slightest sign of my old complaint coming back. The pain in my back used to be terrible. If I got down I had a hard job to get straight again. But my hack is like a new one now and I can stoop as much as I please. I don't believe there ever was any medicine half so good as Dodd's Kidney Pills. " A Tip for Her. Mr. Stammerton Oh , Viola ! er that is , M M Miss Sere , I er lul lul lul Miss Sere ( coyly ) Yes , Mr. Stam merton , say it Don't be afraid. Mr. Stammerton I'm afraid it's g g going to t t t take me so lul long to say it that you'd bub bet ter remark "This is so sudden" now. Philadelphia Press. THE TOWER OF BABEL. Hi.siory Leaves No Data by Which to Estimate Its Heifrht. The exact date of the building of "Nimrod's Folly , " as the Chaldeans say in alluding to the Scriptural tower of "Babel ( the Armenians speak of it as theTower of the Confusion of Tongues ) or the height to which it pen etrated the rarefied atmosphere of the oriental plains will perhaps never be known. The date of the laying of the foundation of the famous structure is usually set at 2,257 years before Christ , or in the year of the flood 101. The expression of the sacred his torian that its top was to "reach un to heaven" is now generally set down as a strong Hebrew phrase denoting a ver3r lofty tower , but not necessarily moaning that one would reach to the abiding place of the Lord and His hosts. Proof that this is probable may be found in several places in the holy writ. The walls of the cities of Ca naan are described by Moses in similar phraseology. The spies sent out by him returned and reported that tho cities of that country were great and wore "walled up to heaven. " See Deu teronomy 1:2S , 9:1. There is a Jewish legend in the Talmud which tells us that God did not put a stop to the building of the tower until after It had reached a height of 30,000 fathoms , which is equal to nearly twelve Eng lish miles. The sacred historians have not In a single instance left data upon which we can base a calculation of its exact Sieight and general dimensions , and it 3s because of this omission that the Imaginative orientals and other ancient writers have given such fabulous ana extravagant traditions concerning it. Even St. Jerome alleges from the tes timony of eyewitnesses who claim to have seen and examined the ruins of the skyscraping shaft that in his day < born 3-15 A. D. ) it was over four miles high. While considering these unten able notions it may not be out of place to mention that other fanciful writers make its height range all the way from a single furlong to 5.000 miles in height. Pittsburg Press. I A BRAIN WORKER I Must Have the Iviiul of Food that Nourishes Drain. "I am a literary man whose nervous energy is a great part of my stock in trade , and ordinarily I have little pa tience with breakfast foods and the extravagant claims made of them. But I cannot withhold my acknowledg ment of the debt that I owe to Grape- 2\"nts food. "I discovered long ago that the very bulkiuess of the ordinary diet whs not calculated to give one a clear head , the power of sustained , accurate thinking. 1 always felt heavy and sluggish in mind as well as body after eating the ordinary meal , which diverted the blood from the brain to the digestive apparatus. " 1 tried foods easy of digestion , but found them usually deficient in nutri ment. I experimented with many breakfast foods and they , too , proved unsatisfactory , till I reached Grape- Nuts. And then the problem was solved. "Grape-Nuts agreed with me perfect ly from the beginning , satisfying my hunger and supplying the nutriment that so many other prepared foods lack. "I had not been using it very long before I found that I was turning out an unusual quantity and quality of work. Continued use has demonstra ted to my entire satisfaction that Grape-Nuts food contains all the ele ments needed by the brain and ner vous system of the hard working pub lic writer. " Name given by Postum Co. . Uattle Creek , Mich. There's a reason. Read the little book , "The Road to Wellville , " In pkga. f'V- ' - f 4 l llNi > fl 4 f9 H $ * ยง * Opinions of Great Papers OQ important Subjects. * * & &ww&w&w4t4t&44t444'4 & $ THE CHEAP AND VICIOUS PLAY. REMARKABLE and , we are glad to think , ex * ceptional illustration of the evil effects ofcheap and vicious plays upon young spectators is found in the case of the 13-year-old Toronto girl , who kidnapped a baby in the hope of ob taining a reward and afterward killed the child when she found it a nuisance and herself liable to detection. The girl Is of low intelligence , like most of the frequenters of the very cheap theater , and she was stimulated to crime by seeing a play in which the plot hinged upon the kidnapping of an infant with the usual expectation of ransom. It mattered little to her that the villains or villainesses , we do not happen to know which , were subsequently foiled , and the child restored unharmed and unransomed to the millionaire's family from which it was originaly stolen. The "beautiful moral lesson" which plays of this stamp are frequently advertised to teach does not Invariably have time to strike home. In fact the idea that vice is always punished and virtue always triumphant Is worked out with such painful attention to criminal de tail that its value as a moral corrective amounts to prac- tiaclly nothing. It is to be regretted that no plan can be devised for the legal suppression of the vulgar , sensational and cheaply vicious play. Theater-going is a matter of Individual taste , and so long as a production keeps within the limits of ordinary decency it cannot be interfered with by the law , whether it be fhe story of a nasty intrigue Imported from Paris for Broadway consumption or the adventures of a Western desperado as exhibited on the Bowery. Some day we may change all this , but for the present the only check upon the evil is the spread of social work by the churches and settlements , the increase of free lectures and other forms of entertainment by the educa tional authorities and the development of clubs and gym nasiums in the neighborhoods from which the patronage of the cheaper play is most largely drawn. But the play has already a long lead in the race. Brooklyn Eagle. HANG ON TO YOUR POLICIES. jOME New York reports say that many hold ers of life insurance policies are refusing to jpay further premiums on them , on account of the recent revelations of crookedness in some Jof the companies. This is folly. By allowing Jj their policies to lapse without making any sort of terms with the companies the holders would lose everything which they have paid in. Not only so , but they would thus increase the funds which would be at the mercy of the crooks in such companies as the crooks dominate. There is a strong probability that most of the insurance companies are managed honestly and economically. More over , the big companies which are being looted by some of their officers are likely to be solvent still. It is not certain that they are solvent , for the examination of their assets by the committee has yet to take place. In the absence of a careful , impartial examination from the outside , the public will be in doubt as to those companies' exact finan cial status. There has been so much crookedness in the conduct of some of their leading oflicers that the word of those persons as to the monetary standing of their coin- panies would carry no weight with the policy holders. The death claims can undoubtedly be paid , but the holders of the ten , fifteen and twenty years term policies will not , at those policies' maturity , get anywhere near the amount which they were led to belicvve they would get , although the technically guaranteed payments will probably be met. The sensible thing for the policy holders is to hang on to their policies and make the best terms possible with the companies. When the committee of inquisition in New T STRENUOUS STILLNESS. Perfect stillness is something that scarcely seems compatible with physi cal strenuosity ; nevertheless , posing for an artist may become , in the main tenance for long periods of a difficult attitude , one of the most trying of ath letic feats. When Mcissonier , the fa mous French artist , was painting one of his battle scenes he hired several old soldiers for models , seasoned , tough veterans , whose experience and endur ance would , he thought , be useful in enabling them both to understand the positions required and to hold them. They did so , indeed , as well as any one could ; but it was an every-day affair for a model to faint , and more than once to collapse with exhaustion , find require the services of a physician. Especially difficult were the poses representative of cavalrymen slain or wounded and falling from their sad dles. Despite an ingenious arrange ment of straps and slings hung from the ceiling of the studio to afford such support as was possible , these poses remained so hard that one old soldier declared fervently when the picture was finished : "Monsieur Meissonier , I have been six times wounded , and once nearly frozen on the field , but it was all noth ing to this. Nothing ! Nothing ! It Is not hard to fall out of the saddle , really. A bullet helps one so neatly one scarcely knows when one touches the ground. But then , you see , one Is allowed to fall all the way : one is not halted in mid-air. "You are painting a great picture , monsieur , and I am proud to be in it : but if you could have put me there with a pistol instead of a paint-brush , I should have preferred it. " It was long a current tale that the model for another painting by Meis- Bonier , entitled "The Brawl , " actually died as the result of long posing in an unnaturaJy strained position for one of the two intertwined and struggling combatants in the picture. This was not true. Indeed , he lived to boast much and volubly of his achievement , and it served him as his chief professional recommendation af terward. Rolling up his sleeve and displaying an arm heavily corded with muscle , he would say to a prospective employer : "Monsieur , behold ! Is not tbat an York finishes with the Mutual , the New York Life and the Equitable it will , take up some of the other companies. It it fair to presume that the Hydes , Alexanders , McCalls and McCurdys will not be found diffused through the whole insurance fraternity , or through any large part of it. St Louis Globe-Democrat. HE WHO NEGLECTS HIS COUNTRY. HE notion prevails among some Americans that there is something degrading and debasing T in being in politics. There are many American citizens who pass as educated , Intelligent and respectable , who yet pride themselves on their 'Snorauce of politics and their abstention from , . , in-- n - political activity. This false and foolish notion is passing away , but there vs still too much of it. Such an attitude is based on the delusion that politics is a small , petty , and almost unnecessary business , with which men of ability need not concern themselves , because almost anybody can attend to it as well as its requirements de mand. The truth is , of course , that what Abraham Lincoln truly called "the great business of government" is the greatest and most important business on earth , on whose capable , intelligent , and upright transaction the welfare of every other business depends. Furthermore , in this country every citizen is a share holder in this business. Furthermore , this nation offers to its citizens such opportunities for personal freedom , pros perity and advancement as no other offers. Hence both gratitude and self-interest should move every citizen to take an interest in politics , that this great business , which is his in every sense , may be efficiently and uprightly car- vied on. Politics is corrupt only when and where honest and able citizens neglect to attend to their business. Yet hun dreds of thousands think themselves more respectable be cause they neglect their business ! The shame and the folly of it ! May the day soon come when the American citizen who docs not take an interest in politics the American citizen who neglects his country will be classed with the mar ? who neglects his family. Chicago Inter Ocean. BUSINESS WOMAN'S HOME. I HERE is something radically wrong with the [ woman who never longs for a little home of iher own. I know some brilliantly successful business women who live the year round in hotels because they declare they cannot shoul- | der household responsibilities , but they are al ways more or less restless , lonely and pettish. It is very nice to be able to touch a button and know that a small uniformed boy is running to do your bidding , but there will come moments when you wonder why every thing tastes alike on the handsomely appointed table , and you wish you might cook just one little meal , or know the joy of buying the pretty furniture you see in the shop win dows , or lay in a supply of dainty linen. Furthermore , 3011 do not have to be married to feel these yearnings. It is the little touch of femininity and gentle womanhood that you do not want to crush out of your life. But you say , "What has this to do with my succeeding in business ? " Do you expect to remain always in busi ness ? Are there not moments when you look forward to having a borne of your own , financed by some good man and managed competently by yourself ? Then let me give you a tip. Don't lose your grip on liome life and home interests. Keep your hand , if ever so lightly , on tho domestic plow , or you will forget how to steer it. Woman's Home Companion. WEALTH OF ALASKA. NOME CITY AS SEEN FttOM SNAKE IlIVEK. Word conio.s from Nome that the gold output of that locality for 100. > will be $10,000,000. This breaks all previous records for that district. Its yield in 190-1 , which was its highest up to that time , was $7,000,000. Nome is only one of Alaska's gold-producing districts , but it is the most prolific of them. Extending along the valloy of the Yukon and its tributaries fron\ the Canadian boundary westward to P.ering Strait there is a string of gold camps Eagle , Circle. Fairbanks , Kampart. Council City , Nome , and others. All of them are increasing their contributions .to the country's annual gold yield. For 1005 Alaska's entire gold production will be about ? 15,000,000. And this is only the beginning. arm ? Aha ! Truly ! You are not thn first to admire it. And a log to match , monsieur ; a leg that is veritably su perb ! But I do not praise them. I. There is no need. These anus and these logs have been immortalized. They belong to art ; they are conse crated to art at any sacrifice- per sonal convenience. Monsieur , it was I I who posed to Monsieur Meis- soniev for 'The Brawl ! * " Bees' Morals Corrupted. On landing in Australia , says a writer in Nature Notes , our hive of bees industriously collected quantities of honey. Finding , however , that there was no winter such as we have in England , it gave up laying in stores. Its morals are corrupted , for it is no longer "busy , " and leads a butterfly life. Asliert n.ti l AiiMivcreil. "Dessert , " said he. "I hope is pie. ' ' His manner made her smart. She was not cross , but her reply Was "just a little tart. " Philadelphia Press. Too Many Vindication. * . A man named Bill was always get- iing in trouble. "But , " he would say to his friends afterward , "I was vin dicated. Wicked men said cruel things about mo. but I was vindicated. " After this had happened seven or eight times an old fellow said : "Bill. I quit you right here. You have been vindicated nioro often than becomes an honest man. " Atchison Globe. Arre.tlcil tlie Actors. The law against smoking in theaters in tho City of Mexico is so strictly en forced that recently the entire person nel of the actors in the licnacimiento Theater were marched oil to the com- isaria and fined at the close of the performance for smoking on the stage in an act of "Zaza. " Confidence. "The new brother appears iiko an oily sort of person , don't you think ? " "Yes. Seems to think he'll slip past St. Peter without any trouole. " Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Senate convened at noon Monday , and prayer was offered by Edward Ever ett Hale , the chaplain. Sixty-eight Sen ators responded to tbe roll call , and the oath was administered to the new mem bers. Senators Allison and Morgan were appointed to wait upon the President , with a similar committee from the House. Resolutions in memory of the late Senator Platt of Connecticut were passed. The House convened at 12 o'clock , and Joseph G. Cannon of Illinois was re-elected Speaker , over John Sharp Williams of Mississippi. Oflicers of the House were sworn in and the oath ad ministered to new members. The rules of the Fifty-eighth Congress were adopt ed , and seals were assigned by lot. Many important bills were introduced. " " " The Senate gave practically all of its time Tuesday to listening to the reading of the President's message. The docu ment received the closest attention. Pres ident Roosevelt's message receive' ! the attention of the House for two and a half hours , and it was applauded. The House received and ordered referred to one of the regular election committees a protest from the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois stating that Anthony Michalek , who was sworn in as a mem ber of the House from that district , is not a citizen of the United States. Up on motion of Mr. Goldfogle of Ne\v York n resolution was read expressing the sympathy of the American people for the distressed Russian Jews. The Senate began business in earnest Wednesday , several hundred bills and resolutions being introduced. A resolu tion directing the committee on judi ciary to inquire into and report wheth er under the Constitution Congress has authority to supervise marine , fire and life insurance was adopted without de bate. At Ir.jG p. m. the Senate Avent into executive session , confirming the appointments of Secretary of State Root , Assistant Secretary of Stale Bacon and Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia McComas. The House , in committee of the whole , con sidered the emergency appropriation bill for the Panama canal , after the com mittee on rules had prepared a rule to force consideration of the measure , and providing for unlimited debate. The Senate on Thursday adopted a resolution directing the committee on naval affairs to investigate the condition of the old frigate Constitution with a 'view to its repair. Mr. Tillman's reso lution calling on the Secretary of the Treasury for information as to campaign contributions by national banks was adopted. In executive session the nomi nations of Charles J. Bonaparte , Secre tary of the Navy , and Truman H. New- bcrry of Michigan , assistant Secretary of the Navy , were confirmed. The ex- trodition treaty Avith Denmark was rati fied. The House passed the Panama canal appropriation bill without opposi tion after adopting ait amendment by Mr. Bonynge of Colorado cutting the amount from $10,500,000 to $11,000,000 and defeating amendments by Mr. Williams of Mississippi limiting the appropriation to $ G..S5Sjj : : : { and by Mr. Prince of Illi nois fixing the sum at $10,000,000. An amendment by Mr. Williams striking out the bonding feature of the bill under which a tax disability against the pro posed bonds is removed was defeated , 152 to 107. An amendment by Mr. Bur gess of Texas giving the Secretary of War authority to fortify the canal at each terminal also was lost. An amend ment by Mr. Mann of Illinois requiring detailed statements of canal expendi tures and estimates to be furnished to Congress at each regular session and restricting all expenditures to money ap propriated by Congress was adopted. Both houses adjourned until Monday. Xalionnl Capital Xotc.s. Senator Kittredgc presented to the President the other day eighty members of the South Dakota Press Association. Secretary Bonaparte has sent to the Speaker of the House an urgency defi ciency bill calling for $1,000,000 for the n-ivy. Bills wore introduced in the House by Mr. Smith of Illinois for 1-cent postage and by Mr. Munlock of Kansas creating ; i commission to investigate railway cap italization. Senator Boveridi o introduced a hill providing joint statehood for Oklahoma nml Indian Territory and for New Mex ico and Arizona. The bill is identical with the one introduced in the House by Lleprcseatative Hamilton of Michigan. Captain Frank Frantz. who recently ivas nominated to be Governor of Okla- lioma Territory , has issued a statement ibjecting to the incorporation of a pro hibition .chi use hi the measure providing statehood for Oklahoma and the Indian IVrritory. Representative Morrell of Pennsylva nia introduced a bill providing that all ; icrsons desiring to operate automobiles [ Kissing from one State to another must ibtain a license granted after an ex- ; mination under the direction of the in- erstate commerce commission. Commander Cameron McR. Winslow , "onnerly naval aid to the President and low in the command of the Mayflower , 'as been selected to command the new protected cruiser Charleston , which will : o to the Pacific station early in the fear to become the flagship of the Pa cific squadron , taking the place of the Jhicago. which is badly in need of re- lairs. Representative Hardwick of Georgia. eintrodnccd a joint resolution declaring ; lmt it is the policy of the United States o grant independence to the Philippines is soon as a stable government is estab- ished in the islands. Odds and Buds. The paying out of the second half of he claims of revolutionary soldiers of Juba began Dec. 4. Mark Pitman , head master of the Jhoate school , founded by him in 1893 it Wallingford , Conn. , d'ed , aged 75 ears. WOMEN GAMBLERS OF YORE. Lord Kenyan' * Threat Proof Prac ticeVm Common 10O Years AJJO. However one may deplore the pres ent craze for gambling among women , it can at least be urged in their favor that they do not indulge their love of cards to anything like the same extent as did their ses a century ago , when Lord Kenyon made his famous scath ing comments from the bench and threatened that any women convicted before him of public gaming "should cortainly exhibit themselves in .the pil lory , though they should be the first ladies in the land. " Only a short time before his lord ship made this severe threat three lead ers of the world of fashion ladies of high rank and moving in the most ex ulted of social circles had ea'ch been fined 50 for making their houses cen ters of gambling for high stakes , and it was stated at the time that there were hundreds of other great ladies whose drawing-rooms were nothing less than gambling Infernos , where tens of thousands of pounds were lost and won in a single night and the floors of which , when dawn broke , were strewn ankle deep with cards. "There is scarcely a house of any Importance , " wrote a chronicler of the time , "the hostess of which has not her faro bank , and where the world of fashion , including royal princes and princesses , does not congregate daily to play for the highest stakes. It la notorious that many of these ladies adJ. ten of thousands of pounds yearly to their pin money in this discredit able fashion. " Nor was this encouragencent of gambling by women any innovation , for a couple of generations earlier It was a common thing for ladies of rank to open gambling-houses for the entertainment of their aristocratic friends and the plenishing of their own * purses and this they did in defiance of the law. Tit-Bits. Knnsn.1 .Lazy The laziest man in Kansas was sit ting under a tree pufling his corncob. "Why don't you start cutting down your corn ? " interrogated the strange * on the slate-colored mule. "Too much trouble , pard , " drawled the lazy man. "I'm waiting for a storm to come and blow it down. " "Well , why don't you chop up soma wood ? " "What's the use ? Got a horseshoe stuck in the woodpile so the lightning will strike it and make kindling wood out of it all in a second. " "Then why don't you prepare din. ner ? " "Too tired. Wait till a cyclone comes along and blows all the feathers off the chickens , so I won't have ta bother picking them. " Mm. IVlnslow'a Boomno BTZOT for CbUdrm ; softens th gams , redacts inflammation. * 1 > tothlnc , euros wind colic. 2i o nts a bottl * . i The JumpingExplained. . Gagley I was just watching Mark- ley while he was talking to you. It was so funny the way he kept jumping up and down. What did he remind you of ? Eorroughs Of the $10 I've owed him since last winter. Philadelphia Press. Seem * to He "Wanted. "I notice that Hall Caine is cred ited with saying that he does all his best thinking in church. " "Wonder where he utilizes it ? " Cleveland Plain Dealer. A Positive CURE Ely's Cream Balm is quickly absorbed. Gives Relief at Once. It cleanses , soothes ! heals and protects j the diseased mem-i brane. " It cures Ca- [ tarrh and drives away a Cold in tho I Head quickly. Re-1 stores tho Senses of ' Tasto and Smell. Full size 50 cts. , at Drug gists or by mail ; Trial Size 10 cts. by maiL Ely Brothers , 56 Warren Street. New York. Positively cared by these Little Pills. | They also relieve Dl * tress from. Dyspepsia , In digestion and Too Hearty EatlBg. A perfect rem edy for Dizziness , Nausea. Drowsiness. Bod Tasta In tlio Jloutn , Coated Tongue. Pain In tae Side. TORPID UVEE. regulate tie Bcmels. Purely Vegetable. SMALL PILL SMALL DOSE , SHALL PRICE. GARTERS Genuine Must Bear Fac-Simile Signature ITTLE IVER PILLS. REFUSE SUBSTITUTES. IIXED FARIMN6 WHEAT RAISING RANCHING Three great pursuits have again shown vronderful results onthe FBEE HOMESTEAD LAHDS GF , ti WESTERN G&EiABA Magnificent climate. Farmers plowing fn their shirt sleeves in the middle of November. "All ire bound to t * nor * than pleutd with the Snil remit * of th put Kuan's har U. " Extract. Coal-wood , water , hay in abundance ; schools , churches , markets convenient. THIS IS THE ERA OF * fiJl.OOVHEAT. . Apply to-into matlon to Sope-iat ad ntof Immizr * . Lion , O Uwa. Ctuiadb. or to K T. Holm315 Jackioa St. . StvPaul , M niu. nd J. 1L MdLachUn. Box 1M , 1 . So.Dai.oUi , Authorized Uoramment Acactt wlir jo * MW tills adt