8 'Cbe Conservative *
ROUBIDEAU.
Onn any render of THE CoNSEnvATiVE ,
at St. Joseph or elsewhere , give the lend
ing facts in the history of the fnmily
whose name appears above , and is met
with frequently in books of western tra
vel of fifty or sixty years ago ? It is
confusing to the reader to find himself
confronted with mention of persons bear
ing the same name , yet who could not
have been the same individuals ; though
it may easily bo supposed that early
travelers may have met many trappers
and traders , especially of the Canadian
French , who would be known only by
their last names , and whoso other titles
would never come to their notice , nor
perhaps ever bo known by any save the
bearers themselves and a few friends
back iii St. Louis. The same confusion
exists in the case of other families that
were prominent in the earliest period of
the development of the West ; as for
instance the Bents and the Chouteaux.
In this instance , it is known that one
Joseph Roubideau succeeded Francis
DeRoin ns agent of the American Fur
Company at Bellevue about 1810 ; also
that he and his sons had a trading post
in 1884 and 1835 on the site of the pres
ent city of St. Joseph , where they min
istered to the needs of the Iowa Indians
and a band of the Sacs and Foxes. But
the name occurs in many other connec
tions , where it is impossible to guess
from the context whether it is a ques
tion of Joseph or of his sons , or of some
other. An "A. " Roubideau is once
mentioned.
We find in 1882 Kit Carson trapping
with a "Mr. Robidoux" on Green river ,
and about 1889 repairing to a' 'Robidoux'
Fort" ; in 1888 somebody of the same
name appears to have maintained a
trading post on the Missouri , within
twenty miles or so of the mouth of the
Platte. Fremont in 1844 found another
( or the same one ) on the Uiutah river ,
whom he describes as a St. Louis trader ;
one also acted as guide and interpreter
to General Kearney on his march to Cali
fornia in 1846 , and was perhaps the
same whom other travelers in the south
west in that year speak of falling in
with. The name was also borne by a
mountain pass in northern New Mexico ,
otherwise called Musca Pass.
Besides the spellings given above , the
name occurs as Roubidenx , Robideaux ,
Rubedouy and in several other forms.
Joseph and his predecessor at Bellevue ,
De Rein , both appear to have towns
named for them , though disguised in
both cases with the astonishing prefix
"Saint. " A. T. R.
THE PRODIGAL.
THE CONSERVATIVE returns thanks to
Houghton , Mifflin & Co. for an attrac
tive copy of "The Prodigal" by Mary
Hallock Foote. Mrs. Foote has given us
the story of a young man , who , born in
affluence , left his home in Australia
and , after trying adventures as a wander
er , reached San Francisco in the plight
of a penniless tramp. After varied and
humbling experiences the hero learned
the value and dignity of work. He be
came self-supporting , gradually arose
from the degradations of a sinful life ,
and grow strong physically and morally.
His love for a good woman developed
his best qualities into the manhood
which stands as the noblest type of an
Englishman. Like all of Mrs. Foote's
stories , "The Prodigal" is vigorous in
style. The plot and the characters are
unusual and charm the reader into uii-
foiliiig interest.
LETTER FROM COL. JOHN P. IRISH.
SAN FRANCISCO , Feb. 25,1901.
PROF. SAMUEL BACON.
Nebraska City , Neb.
MY DEAR SIR :
Since my return homo last fall I have
striven in vain to find time to go to my
ranch in the mountains and get a little
recreation , but I have been so crowded
that rest and time for decent attention
to my correspondence have been impos
sible. I have devoted much time to my
blind people. We have the shop open
again and are recovering our trade in
good style. The happiness of the blind
people is very touching. They work
faithfully and are able again to earn
money for their clothing and personal
comforts , while the more recent inmates
are patiently learning the trade.
I have had a great task to make the
public , and the officials concerned , com
prehend that a blind man , if properly
trained and qualified , is the best super
intendent of such institutions. While
hammering that into them I am con
fronted with a curious and vexatious
confirmation of my view. There are in
San Francisco and Oakland twelve
broom shops , half of them white and
half Chinese. These have combined
and gone to the legislature with the
complaint that Sanders is too expert for
them to compete with , and demanding
that the Home be permitted to sell
brooms only to the state institutions. As
this would give us work only one short
month in the year , I won't have it , and
so have had to go to Sacramento and
fight this labor union proposition. I
had to collect the commercial statistics
of the broom trade here , and proved that
75 per cent of all the brooms used in the
state are imported , therefore the output
of the Home does not figure in compe
tition with other shops.
I am about to start East , but before I go
will write the governor of Nebraska a
strong letter. I cannot describe the
pleasure it gave mo to meet you again ,
and to note the strength with which you
salute your years. You have been a
great inspiration to mo in the efforts I
have made to improve the condition of
the blind , and for whatever good I may
do the credit belongs to you and my
father.
You would enjoy a trip out here and
would be a most welcome guest at my
liouse and a most honored guest at the
blind home , and the blind college at
Berkeley also.
We all mourned with Morton in the
untimely death of Carl. The older a
man grows the more he lives in his
children and grandchildren and part of
tiim dies when they go.
My family beg to be presented most
cordially to you and yours.
Very truly ,
JOHN P. IRISH.
ETHICS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD.
The long-standing charge against
great corporations is that they tend to
destroy competition. A new charge
brought against them is that they will
destroy ethics in the business world.
This is a serious matter , if it be true ,
as is alleged by some , that this is "a
period of the highest business ethics the
world has ever known. " It is a matter
of no consequence if , as others say ,
there is no ethics in the business world.
If ethics be "the science of ideal
humanity , " then it is a science which is
not cultivated in the business world of
Chicago or other cities. There is a code
of business morals , however , which is
a higher one than that of any bygone
day. Business men of all classes ore
more honest in their dealings with one
another and with then : customers than
ever before.
The disheartening statement is made
that "the situation is likely for a time to
be dominated by huge corporations , in
which the individual , with his ethics
and his reputation and his character , is
sunk out of sight and in which ethics as
such will practically disappear. " If
ethics is business honesty and fair deal
ing as now practiced , then the banish
ment of ethics will be a deplorable event.
It is certain , however , that the indi
vidual will not be "sunk out of sight" as
the "huge corporations" emerge. He
will be more conspicuous than he is
now. Knowledge of him will not be
confined to his city or state.
No corporate mask ever will 'hide the
features of the men who run the great
railroad systems and industrial enter
prises. For the misdeeds of these
"soulless corporations , "not they but the
well-known men who control them are
held responsible by public opinion , and
these men are quite as likely to bo in
fluenced by the public opinion of the
whole country as are the men who
manage small railroads and little fac
tories by the public opinion of their
respective localities.
The corporation does not drive into
obscurity the individual , for the in
dividual is the recognized motive power
of the corporation. The larger his field
of operations the more prominent ho
becomes and the more closely is he
watched. That scrutiny is calculated to
develop ethics in the men who are sub
jected to it. Chicago Tribune ,
