7
'
Conservative 11
happy or miserable according as he has
the might to maintain himself and sur
vives in his environment.
Let it not be forgotten that the
"brotherhood of man" is a myth ; that
today we all live according to our ability
to meet the life wants of others ; that an
intelligent utilitarianism , a full appreci
ation that if we want to live well , if we.
desire to bo happy , we must diligently
study how to play the other fellow's
game , and that in so far as we supply
him with trump cards to maintain his
life , so we shall fill our own pack. The
winning ace in this game of life is the
might or ability to make others play our
game by playing theirs with a full hand
of ability. Then and only then , so and
only so , have we a right to life , and lib
erty , and happincs ? according to the
universal and all pervading condition
the survival of the fit.
FRANK S. BILLINGS.
Grafton , Mass.
! LOVE THE FARM AND FARM HOME.
"The only drawback to any intelligent
country community enjoying educa
tional and refining privileges is lack of
cooperation between the farmers them
selves , " writes Mrs. John B. Sims , of
"Entertaining in the Country , " in the
July Ladies' Home Journal. "When
ever a farming community realize that
in themselves lie the means of educating
their sons and daughters to love the
farm and farm home , and that because
one does not have the privileges of the
town or large city there is no reason
why he should stagnate either mentally
or socially , they will have solved the
problem of how to live happily and con
tentedly on a farm. "
AN EARLY .
WEAPON. kindness of Mr.
J. G. Kees there
has been placed in the Nebraska City
Public Library a piece of artillery which
compels the wonder and amazement of
even the oldest settlers , who knew
something about guns themselves at one
time. They all say they never saw
anything like it in the heavens above
nor in the earth beneath ; on the plains ,
ni in Maremma. They are ready to cer
tify that its like exists not in the pos
session of the wildest of wild Indians ,
though the most extraordinary arms are
found in their assortments ; they have
been collecting them for a hundred
years , and they never discard them un
til they blow up.
This gun was found by Mr. Kees
among the effects of a tenant of his
who he thinks had at some time servec
in the British army. It is something
over a foot long and weight * three
pounds and a half. It is made with a
revolving cylinder , which carries no less
than nine shots ; it is meant to carry
powder and boll and be discharged by
means of a percussion cap , and has a
' L
ramming apparatus attached , which is
on the loft side of the barrel , instead of
underneath , as in the old army Colt's.
Its crowning glory is a good-sized shot
gun barrel , which occupies the center of
; he immense cylinder and projects be
neath the other barrel ; with this , while
; he fortunate possessor was regaling his
adversary with his nine bullets , he
could surprise him between times with
a charge of small shot ; this could not
fail to throw him off his guard and put
lira at a disadvantage.
The weapon is of French manufac
ture , for it bears the following legend
upon the top of its upper barrel : "Sys-
teme Lemat , Bte , S. G. D. G. , Paris ; "
signifying , apparently , that one Lemat
invented it , that he took out a patent
upon it , and that the French govern
ment declined to become responsible for
its operation. It is not necessarily of
very great antiquity , for revolvers not
differing essentially from it in principle
were used in great numbers through
out the Civil War ; as the French have
usually been a few years ahead of us in
such matters , it probably dates from
somewhere in the 50's.
" *
THE CYCLONE . .
TRUST. thoughtful citizen
of Oakland , "that
The Enquirer would call the attention
of the promoters of trusts to these cy
clones which are disturbing a large
portion of the country. There is no
regularity about them , and nobody can
calculate their movements. I think all
cyclones should be combined , in order to
have them under perfect control. It
would be better for the country to have
one big vacuum than to have a thous
and small ones traveling around it
would do more good and less harm.
Of course , I wouldn't expect William J.
Bryan or Governor Sayers of Texas to
agree to this ; they ore opposed to mon
opoly in all its forms , and couldn't see
any good in a cyclone trust. They
would want the cyclone competition to
go on , no matter who gets hurt. But
reasonable people don't look at it in that
way , and if The Enquirer will only ad
vocate it , L think the trust will be a go. "
The Street Talker promised to sub
mit the idea to the readers of The En
quirer. Oakland ( Calif. ) Enquirer.
THE REPUBLICAN GOLD POLICY.
It is the purpose of the republican
party to abolish the option of redeem
ing government notes in either gold or
silver , and make them explicitly payable
in gold. Gold , as the standard would
then be beyond the caprice of a base-
money president , or of a base-money
congress if an honest money president
were in office. Nothing but the con
current adverse action of congress and
the president would then be able to sub
vert the gold standard. The election of
either a democratic congress or a demo
cratic president in 1900 is , of course , to
; he last degree improbable. It is the
duty of statesmanship , however , to pro
vide against accidents or possibilities.
The passage of a law establishing the
gold standard explicitly would be a ser
vice to the country worthy of the repub-
icau party. It would be a splendid sup
plement to its gold declaration in the
St. Louis convention of 1890 , and , as
; hen , it would bring it hundreds of
thousands of new votes. St. Louis
Globe-Democrat ( ropub. )
CHICAGO'S PARKS.
( Mr. [ Peter B. Wight in the July Pnll Mall
Magazine. )
It is the parks and boulevards that
have been the most potent factors in
Chicago's architectural development ,
which has been essentially in the direc
tion of residential building. The wisest
men that ever ruled the destinies of
Chicago were those who devised this
great scheme before the city was too
large to find , any obstacles to its eco
nomical fulfilment. Thirty years ago
there were those among this busy throng
of money-makers and speculators who
were able to see the needs of the future ,
and who dedicated to posterity more
acres of parks than any other city in
the world can boast of. They not only
laid out many open spaces , but provided
boulevards and parkways between them.
Like others , who "builded better than
they know , " they sought only to pro
vide drives and building sites , but little
reckoned that these boulevards in time
would become the absolutely necessary
means of communication , other than by
traction lines , between the three divis
ions of the city. For , while the whole
system of parks and most of the drives
have been completed , the boulevards
are only about to be connected across
the rivers in response to the demands of
the people. When this is done , one may
make a circuit of the whole city by
horse , wheel , or automobile through
thirty continuous miles of boulevards
and parks. These are now becoming
the attractive building sites , and will b
the inspiration of the architecture of
the future.
The bicycle tour-
A BICYCLE . , . . ' . .
ls' 18 m Yosemite
STORY
valley this year
in great force , three Stanford profes
sors being among the persons who rode
in on their wheels. It was not always
thus , for the stage-drivers on the Raymond
mend route tell a story of an old-timer
who had never seen a bicycle till a few
years ago. One day he was down at
Wawoua , talking to Henry Washburn ,
when a wheelman hove in sight in the
distance. In excitement the old fellow
shouted : "Mr. Washburn , Mr. Wash-
burn 1 There has been another accident
on the road 1 Here comes a man riding
on the hind wheels of the stage ! "
Oakland ( Calif. ) Enquirer. .