THE OMAHA DAILY HIDE : SVNDAY , J 1TM3 1 11) )
RUBBERING OS THE AMAZON !
Wbcro the Bulk of the World's Elastic
Material Comes From ,
FORESTS OF IT IN THE AMAZON VALLEY
Hotv the Tree * Arc Tapped nnil the
S | i 1'rcpnrcd lor the Market
Kxtcnt of the 1'rrxluct
nnd the lleiiitind.
( Copyrighted , 1893 , by Frank Q. Carpenter. )
1'AUA , Brazil , May 22 , ISOO.-Spcclal
Correspondence of The Bee. ) Para Is the
chief rubber nort of the world. The Ama-
zt'n ' valley produces more and better rub
ber than any other region on earth , and the
greater part of Its prdouct goes through
I'ara. Moro than n hundred thousand
pounds are shipped from hero every day ,
nnd the amount exported last year was so
great that If It were all loaded on wagons
It would toke 45,000 horses to haul it over
macadamized roads. From every part ot
this great Amazon valley , from the fmrt-
lillls of the Andes , from the wilds of Bo-
Nvla , from the savage regions of Ecuador ,
from the .banks of the Orinoco , the Madeira ,
the Blngu and the thousand minor streams
loads of rubber arc floated down the Amazon
to the city at Its mouth.
This Is the India rubber age , nnd Para
In Its mainspring. From hero goes out the
clastic material which moves the world.
Kvory man , woman nnd child who will read
this letter Is using Para rubber In one former
or another. Snmo ct you have It under
your feet. Millions of pounds go Into rubber
ehocs. There Is ono factory In Now Eng
land that makes 30.000 pairs ot rubbers a
day , nnd In ono month In Boston 4,000,000
pairs of rubbers were recently sold at auc
tion. Some ot you have It on the ends pf
your pencils , nnd others use It In the shape
of rubber bands. H Is estimated that the
school children ot every ono ot our towns
of 12,000 Inhabitants use moro than 8,000
rubber bands a year , and the total weight
ot the bands used lu the United States Is
enormous.
Then take the suspenders. This Para rub
ber upholds the pantalcons of millions. It
upholds the stockings of other millions of
the fairer sex , nnd both men and women
nro coasting over the roads upon Its bicycle
tires. It takes two pounds of Para rubber
to make a sot ot tires , and It Is estimated
that there are In the neighborhood of 2,000-
000 bicycles now in lisa In the United States
and ( Jroat Britain. It takes moro to cushion
the wheels of cabs and carriages , and the
vehicles being made In this way nro now
numbered by the tons of thousands.
Rubber Is used in countless other ways.
The rubber Ink erasers of the public reboots
ot Now York and Brooklyn amount to five
tons a year ; tons of It are used by surgeons
Tor rubber sheets , syringes and hot water
taiga. A largo quantity forms the bases of
lalso teeth , and a great amount Is swallowed
up in machinery and In the Industrial arts.
In ilic Ituhher MetronnllN ,
It Is rubber that has built up the city of
Tara , and It Is rubber which supports It
today. For every pound which Is sent away
tlio cxpcrtcr has to pay 25 cents to the
Btnto government , nnd the result Is that
Tara Is a rich 6tate and Its officials wax fat.
The city-of Para has about 100,000 people.
It Is alive nnd enterprising. It has 1m-
mcnso stores filled with all kinds of goods
for the rubber camps. It has great ware
houses , where the rubber Is packed up for
shipment abroad , and through its streets you
tco carts filled with crude rubber going to
nud from the stores and the warehouses.
Much of the rubber is taken In trade for
Boods. A great dcftl Is brought direct to
the warehouses nnd you see It In all sorts
ot shapes.
The rubber exporting parts ot the city
Binell llko a smoke house. The rubber Is
brought 'in lumps , which look for all the
world like four-pound hams. They smell
llko smoked liams nnd you would not know
the difference without you saw them fall on
the street. At such times they b'ounco up
nnd down and roll about llko things alive ,
as pork hams could not possibly do.
There are many largo rubber forests near
Para , 1 shall describe my visit to ono of
them further on In this letter. But first let
mo tell you something about ( tie rubber
territory of this great valley. The Amazon
valley Is , you know , of vast extent. It Is
700 miles wide and moro than 2,000 miles
long , nnd a vast part of it contains rubber
trees.
The trees grow over a territory one-third
ns largo ns the whole United States. 'They
thrive best on ground that Is flooded a part
ot the year. A great part of the valley Is
of this nature. The waters cover the tops
of tlio trees. It remains about them for
months and then subsides until the floods
como again.
The valley Is cut up by rlvera and
streams. It Is almost altogether covered
with woods and the only way of reaching
different parts of It is by the streams.
Almost all of the land along the streams Is
owned by some ono or other. If it Is not
owned It is claimed , and this Is especially so
of those parts of the valley which produce
good rubber.
Some of It Is owned by largo companies.
The Rubber trust controls much of It. The
Amazonns Rubber Estate company of Lon
don has 90,000 acres on a tributary of the
Amazon , moro than 1,500 miles above Pnra.
It has a capital of $1,500,000 nnd runs a
Cupid's work is done when the baby
comes. The soft , little , clinging , helpless
mite Js the crown of love. Its coming
marks the completion of Cupid's '
object. Cupid brings two
loving souls together the
baby holds them together.
A woman is never so
womanly , so beautiful , so
happy as when she is a
mother. Yet motherhood
is denied to some women
and feared by others ,
The fear of motherhood is rapidly passing
away and nothing has done so much to
drive it away ns the record of Dr. I'.icrce's
Favorite Prescription ,
Dr. I'iercc has held that danger and pain
t the time of parturition were really un
necessary and unnatural , and that if every
woman were healthy and strong as Nature
meant her to be this function would be performed -
formed painlessly and safely. The abuse
of centuries of corsets of health destroy.
ing inactivity of de
bilitating artificiaUife
have made it impos
sible for some women
to fully return to the
perfect healthfulness
of a natural state but
every woman may be
helped to a large de
gree. The organs di
rectly involved may
be strengthened , pu
rified , invigorated for
the time of trial and
for this purpose Dr.
1'ierce's 1'avorite Pre.
scription has been
used with success
by hundreds of thou
sands of women. It
is the product of the
skill and experience
of a regularly gradu
ated pliyoiciu n a
skilled specialist who
for over thirty years has successfully
treated the diseases of women.
Unlike many modem medicines Dr.
Tierce's Favorite Prescription contains uo
whisky , alcohol , sugar , syrup , opium or
narcotic of any kind and its use does not ,
therefore , create a craving for stimulants.
Mr . Anuie Illacker , of 619 Catherine St. , Syra
cuse , N. Y. , writes : "Your mfdlctii he done
woudcri for me. For year * my health was very
poor : I had four miscarriages , but tluce taking
lr ) Tierce' * Golden Medical Discovery and ' 1'a-
vorlte 1'rcscriptlon ' 1 have much better health ,
m J I cow have a fine healthy baby. ' *
steam lug between Its relate nnd the city o
Manaofl , which Is 1,000 miles up the river.
There In nnothrr Kngllsh rubber company ,
which bas been recently formed , with n
capital of J 1,20,000 , which owrs about
300,000 rubber trees , scattered over 182,000
acres , This company her produced AS much
na 200 tons of rubber a year and It will , It
claims , soon produce 500 tons annually.
Nearly every builncss man of prominence
In Para owns moro or less rubber land.
Many of the big business houses hnve liens
on the owners of the rubber camps from
the _ goods they supply to them and It may
bc sald that ttie rubber lands of the Amazon
Are practically mortgaged to Para and Us
connections.
Thin Is especially so of the rubber coun
try south of the nio Negro. On that river ,
not far from Its mouth , Is the town of
Manaos , which has 50,000 people. This Is
also a rubber city , and Its people are largely
Interested In the rubber forests further up.
In addition to the great companies , there |
are many small rubber buyers and rubber
hunters. Some live in the wilds and work
with the Indians , others buy of the Indiana ,
and others work on a system much llko
slavery , enforcing their commands with re
volvers and rifles.
llulilicr nt i ? 1IDO ( n Pound.
Some of the best rubber Is made not fir
from Para. It grows on the Islands In the
delta of the Amazon. I have visited some
ot thcao Islands and have experimented In
| making rubber. 1 can't say that the ex
periment was a financial success. I have
made Just about an ounce , and that ounce
cost mo $100 $ In gold , or nt the rate of $1,600
a pound. I told my friends at Para that I
must see a rubber camp , and must make
some rubber myself In order to tell you
Just how it Is dono. At my request they
hired a steam launch nnd lilted It out with
provisions for a stay of two days. Wo had
four sailors , and we lived high. Wo failed ,
however , to fix the prlco of the launch be
forehand , nnd when the bill came In It was
700,000 rcls , or a little more than $100.
As a result , I have my information. I
have also my ounce of rubber. H Is good
rubber , but unless I use It In raising the
figures on some other man's cheek I doubt
whether I shall over receive an adequate
return for my money.
Wo left In the ovenlnc nnd steamed all. .
night up the Amazon. Our hammocks were
slung to the roof ot the boat and wo lay
there in our pajamas. The air was de
lightfully soft nnd Just cool enough for com
fort. It was moonlight nnd the equatorial
heavens were dotted with stars.
Early the next mornl'ng wo landed at the
house ot a big rubber planter. Our host re
ceived us In his bare feet on his veranda
and gave ua some coffee and a bit of bread
for our breakfast. Later on he brought In
his wife and two daughters and Introduced
thorn to us. The old woman was as broad
as she was long and the two girls showed
marked signs of negro blood , although they
were 'by no means bad looking.
The house was right on the banks of the
river. It was a rambling one-story struc
ture , with a tiled roof surrounded by
porches. At one end was the storeroom
filled with supplies for the rubber employes
and on the veranda were piles of rubber
hams smoked and ready for the markets.
When we went back we took $500 worth ot
these hams along with us , towing them and
their owner In a caftoo behind our launch
to Para.
\Vlmt n. Ilnlilier Tree In.
lAfter breakfast wo walked about through
the forest and watched the process of rub
ber gathering. First let mo tell you just
how a rubber tree looks. Many ot you
think you have scon In our hothouses the
plants from which our rubber comes. You
are mistaken. The rubber tree , with Its
thick , glossy , green leaves , which you have
seen , Is that which produces the gutta
percha. It Is nothing like the great trco
from which comes the best rubber of com
merce. '
The real rubber trco Is not unlike other
forest trees. If it was not pointed out to
the Amazon
you you might travel throughout
zen valley , and without you saw the rubber
hunters at work you would not know what
It was. It looks much llko the English ash
and it grows to a height of more than sixty
foot.
Its bark Is of silver gray where It has not
become black by tapping. The trunk ot
the trco Is about as big around as a man's
walat. Where It has been tapped it often
swells out at the base , so that It is much
larger. It blosom In August , being then
covered with llttlo white flowers. It is a
nut tree , and In December and January ,
when the nuts nro ripe , the shells which
contain them burst with a noise llko a fire
cracker , throwing the nuts to some distance.
There are so many nuts on each tree that a
man could easily gather enough In a day to
plant a hundred acrcn of land.
The treea can bo easily grown In the right
soil nnd they thrive without cultivation. It
takes , however , from fifteen to twenty years
before they are old enough for rubber. This
Is too long for a man to wn.lt on the Amazon
zen , and at present the trees which produce
rubber are wild.
Ilo\v the TreoM ArcTiipjieil. .
The rubber comes from the sap of this
tree. The topping Is done from the ground
from the roots to as high up as a man can
roach , and sometimes still higher. The trees
are not bored with augurs , as our maple
trees , nor or they scarred llko the turpentine
plno trees of our eauthern states. The tap
ping Is done with a tomahawk or hatcliet
which has n blade an Inch wide. The rubber
gatherer make. ) a .light gash in the bark
with this hatchet , just dcop enough to go
through without cutting the wood. As ho
draws out the hatchet a milk-white fluid
oozes out In drops. The fluid is as thin as
milk. It Is much llko the juice of the milk
weed. The tapper now takes a llttlo cup
of tin or clay about as big as an after-dinner
coffee cup and fits It into another cut which
ho makes below the gash , so that the drops
of milk run down Into It , He makes three
or four gashes In each tree , fitting each with
Its cup , nnd then goes on to the next. IIo
continues his work until every trco allotted
to him has been tapped ,
IIo does this early in the morning when
tha sap runs best. By noon ho has gene
again from tree to tree nnd emptied the
milk from the cup Into a gourd-llko 'bucket. '
Each cup will' have a tablespoonful or BO
of jnllk , and if for his morning's work ho
gets a gaflon of fluid ho has done well. The
milk flows slower and slower us the day
gooa on. The nlr coagulates It and afler
a few hours the sap has stopped up the
wound.
A rubber tree which has been tapped
looks llko a moss of festering sores , The
bark , which Is of a smooth and beautiful
silver gray where It has not been touched ,
becomes scarred and warty by the wounds
of the hatchet. As the wounds close tears
of yellow rubber sink down In the bark
about them. Thlg comes out after the cup
has ibcen removed. It Is carefullv | i | < " '
off and is sold as scrap or second grade
rubber , bringing from 20 to 50 per cent less
than the rubber gathered in the cups ,
which can bo properly cured.
ItnlilH-r I'atliH nnil Ituliljcr Homln ,
I neglected to say where the rubber trees
nro found in the forests. There Is no such
thing as a rubber grove or a rubber forest.
The trees do not grow In groups , but they
are scattered among the other trees so
that ) ou often have to go long distances
from , rubber tree to rubber tree ,
The forests are divided up Into paths of
from sixty to 100 rubber treea.
The paths lead In and out ot the woods , now
crossing streams and now going through
swamps , untl/ all the trees onthem have
been reached. Each path is allotted to ono
man , who gashes the trees and gathers the
rubber upon it. The elzo of a * plantation Is
known 'by ' the number of paths or roads it
contains. There are tome plantations which
contain more than 1,000 roads.
It was along such a path as this that > \e
went from tree to trco gathering rubber.
I gaihod one of the best looking trees and
fattened the cup under it. l ater on I
giiahed others and in duo tlmo I gathered
my rubber and brought It back to the house.
The next process was the smoking. To
produce the best rubber the SAP must bo
smoked the same day that it is gathered.
The sap soon coagulates ou exposure to
the air and hardens best under the influence
of smoke. Together with the rubber em
ployes I made a tire In n corner of the shed
under a llttlo clay chimney. The fuel was
palm 'nuts , which , when lighted , caused a
dense smoke to pour out the chimney. The
chimney was just about as high ns my knrc ,
just high enough so that I could easily hold
the wooden paddle In the smoke ami turn
It around without trouble.
Now the rubber sap which I had gathered
ivas poured Into a bowl much llko that In
which ctir cooks knead bread. It looked
just like milk and was about of the same
thlckncrs.
Into this bowl I thrust the end of the
paddle. It enmo out coated with milk. I
held It In the smoke , turning It rapidly , ami
In about a minute the rubber had hardened
upon It. I then thrust It Into the bowl
again for a fresh coat of milk , hardened
this In the smoke In the same way and thus
went on until I had built up layer after
layer ot sap on my paddle.
The smoke came Into my eyes. I wejit
almost as many tears ns there were drops
ot rubber nap In the bowl , and finally , hav
ing made a very small quantity , I handed
the job over to the professionals.
They continued at the smoking for hours ,
and In the end had ono of the rubber hams
of commerce about the paddle. This was
now cut open with a knlfr * and the paddle
| taken out. From the cut part 1 could
easily see the layers made by the smoking.
It was a cut rubber ham , looking much
llko ohccso. In the smoking the rubber
loses Its beautiful white. It turns yellow
and brown. It looks greasy , and It Is for
all the world just llko a ham.
Itnlilicr Tlilcvi-N.
Rubber Is , you know , salable anywhere.
It Ls bettor than the wheat , and the rubber
planters and shippers have to watch care
fully to prevent its being stolen. The rub
ber at Para Is watched by both the custom
' house officers nnd the shippers. It Is care
fully weighed , being put up In plno boxes ,
each of which contains somewhere between
300 and 400 pounds.
The boxes are watched as they go to the
ship. They must bo carefully handled , for
If ono Is broken pieces are liable , to bo
stolen , and the steamship company Is re
sponsible for the loss. There Is a great
deal of rubber stealing at the ports to
which the rubber Is taken. DIts nro often
carried away by the sailors and traded for
, drinks at the saloons. A sailor will often
give rubber worth ten times the prlco of a
glass of wi\lsky for a schooner of beer.
Ono ot the ercat troubles In the Vubbcr
districts Is labor. It Is hard to get meli to
collect the sap and-smoke It. Emigrants
are now being brought from Ccara and
other ports of Brazil to work In the rubber
forests. The places where the rubber trees
grow are usually malarious and otherwise
unhealthy. Many ot the workmen dlo and
on the upper Amazon many ot them me
kept at their work by fear ot their masters.
A ereat many are debt slaves. They nro
supplied by their employers with food a'nd '
with some the accounts are so manipulated
that they arc kept in debt.
With others the men are so shiftless that
they do not work to got out of debt. In
the upper Amazon I am told that such men
are sometimes passed from ono employer to
another , the last man paying n certain
amount nor man as a consideration for thn
exchange.
AV1II There He a Ilnlilior Kiuiiliicf
The Question as to how long the rubber
will last Is unsettled. There is a variety of
opinions on the subject. At present , however -
over , there Is no reason for alarm. The
trees arc moro carefully worked now than
over , and every tree. If not abused , will
produce milk In abundance for thirty or
forty years. There Is no doubt but that the
trees can bo crown and eventually there
will bo creat rubber plantations , owned by
largo companies , plan-ted and cared for as
lo'ng-tlme ' investments.
There Is no doubt but there Is a great
deal ot money in the business. The capital
ists make a bis percentage on everything.
They sell their zoods at the highest prices
and they charge enoromus rates of Interest.
They welsh the rubber which they buy of
the smaller gatherers so that tlio odd half
ounces are always In their favor , and , In
short , the only persons who do not make
money are the poor men who no from tree
to tree and do the work.
Still the business Is 'fraught with great
danger and I should not advlso any Ameri
can to como down hero without Insuring his
life. The chances of sickness nnd death
are many nnd on the upper Amazon there
are wild Indians , who delight in sending
polsc'ncd arrows through their blow guns
at the white rubber lords.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Four young ladles , who earn their own
riving , will take vacations at The Bee's ex
pense. Help your friends by saving coupons.
TREE FREEZING WEATHER
Deiilornlile. DiiiiuiKe llonc in NcliriiNlca
by Severe Colil of the 1'nnt
AVIntor MoiithN.
The ravascs of the unusually severe
weather of last winter are evidenced
by lifeless trees of varieties hitherto con
sidered peculiarly suited to this climate.
Many such are to bo seen In Omaha and
vicinity. Local tree-culturlsts generally
assign winter weather as the cause. A llko
theory Is held by Hon. Robert W. Furnas ,
secretary of the State Board of Agriculture ,
which Is confirmed by the observations of
Prof. G. D. Sweezy , state meteorologist , In
a letter to Governor Furnas :
Your favor of ithe 10th Is at hand and I
am sorry to learn that the loss In your
vineyard and orchard is so serious , although ,
as you say , you are not a solitary sufferer.
I do not Unow , however , that the winter
killing is very surprising. It seems to me
that there has been a combination of condi
tions that does net often repeat Itself.
In the first place , the period of two col.l
weeks In February was ono of excessive
cold. It waa the coldest February on rec
ord , and the coldest month , with four ex
ceptions , viz :
Mean
temp.
January , l < ttn 9.0
January , less 10.r
i January , 1 S1 10.S
'January. ' 1KS3 11.2
j February. 1893 . ' . . . . 12.1
The minimum temperature ran below
zero nearly every night for two weeks , fall
ing as low ns from 25 to 35 below zero in
the southeastern part of the state and 47
'below ' in the western.
In the second place , the low temperature
was not , as sometimes happens , nt brief
duration , but continued almost without In
termission for nearly tw-o weeks.
Again , it occurred while the ground was
generally barren of snow , so that no pro
tection was furnished the soil from the
accumulating effect of the low temperature.
Finally , I presume that the rather dry
condition with which the spring opened has
tended to aggravate the ovll ,
I do not know how to account for the
different effect upon plants growing near
each other. I realize , however , that the
sum total of climatic conditions which de
termine the life or death of a plant Is a
complicated .matter . and that wo ordinarily
grasp only the moro prominent factor of
the problem.
Four young ladles , who earn their own
riving , will toke vacations at The Bee's ex-
oe&se. Help your friends by eavluc toucans.
HOW SHOPLIFTERS OPERATE
Dapartmcnt Stores of Omaha Prove Their
Best Harvest Field.
'
HARD TO CATCH THIS CLASS OF THIEVrS
I'rltnlo nptrrllvr * Comtnntl.v on
Wntrh lit ( tip Ill i : iiMlnliiiiriitM
llmv the Shn | > lin < r < i Work
Seventy-Yen r-Oltl Thief.
Ono of the most difficult class of thieves
the- police have to deal with Is the shop
lifter. This potty thief must be caught In
the act of stealing , otherwise the goods ore
not missed until too late to trace them.
The best catch made In a long time In
Omaha was the arrest recently of a woman
nearly 70 > cnrs of ago , who always carried
a basket when /visiting the department
stores. On account of her ago she was not
at first suspected , but the store detective
finally landed her. Goods to the amount
of several hundred dollars , taken from
various stores , were recovered In her house , i
She had been operating for a. long period
with great success. She was lodged In Jail , '
but owing to her age , she was discharged
under a suspended sentence of thirty days.
Merchants and detectives when nsked
which sex furnished the most shoplifters
stale without qualification that women nro
moro addicted to this class of thieving than
men. They believe this to bo true largely ,
'because ' female attire furnishes moro re
ceptacles than that of the opposite sox.
They may conceal stolen articles more
easily. Another reason Is because they fre
quent the stores moro than men. Two '
detectives say that they have arrested nlno
women on an average to ono man. In the |
majority of Instances a. male thief Is spotted
the moment ho enters the door , and no
innttcr how export he may be , he Is caught , i
Then , too , men arc punished moro severely
than women. Ordinarily the man Is a pro
fessional thief , while the woman will Insist
It Is her first effort and will escape.
Deitarfiiiciit Storcn the Kent Field.
The largo department stores afford the big
field for shoplifting operations. The man
ager of ono department store estimates that
his losses by shoplifting annually exceed |
$1,000. Another said It waa Impossible for I
him to approximate the value of the articles' '
taken from his counters. Thousands of |
small articles disappear , but he cannot give
tholr vnluo. In the majority of Instances j
ho believes the amount of the theft would
not exceed CO cents or $1. The manager of
n dry goods 1 ouse says his firm Is not
nnnojcd to any extent In this way because' '
the class of customers which patronize the i
str.rc are not so mixed as tnat which passes' '
the doors of the department establishments , j
A clothing firm gives Its loss annually as' '
nominal because of the manner In which the
slock Is kept. A jowclcr thinks $50 n liberal
estimate on the value of the articles taken
from bis showcases.
The reason for the largo number of thefts
In a department More iocs not llo nt the
door of the customers entirely , but in the
manner In which the stock Is arranged.
Scores of counters aie hidden from view
by the vast number of articles packed upon
them. In most cases , too , three articles
are small In slzo and can easily bo con
cealed. A member of the firm in ono of the
largo department stores of Omaha talked
very entertainingly of Ills experience with
shoplifters. Ho said :
Iltnv CtiliirltH Are Treated.
" \Vo are annoyed especially during the
holidays by thieves of this character. They
do not frequent any particular counter.
They pass from otio part of the store , to
another , stepping wherever anything at
tracts their attention. If the opportunity
presents Itself the article is quietly slipped
out of the way. 'Men do not bother Us
often , but women of all classes resort to
this petty thieving. I know of hundreds
of instances In which women have been
seen to take things who were able to pay
for them a hundred times over. Our rib
bon counter suffers more * than any other.
Wo can attribute this only to a
dcslro to get something for nothing.
I have -watched women come in and lay their
sealskin muffs down among the ribbons as
unconcernedly as If they were getting ready
to attend an opera. They would run their
hands through the muff and gradually draw
n dozen yards of ribbon up Into It while-
the attention of the clorh was engrossed
In showing them some peculiar shade which
they were very anxious to get. Handker
chiefs , gloves and table linen are articles
wilch women take very frequently. When
men steal they usually get something larger.
Once wo caught a man taking two bolts
of silk. IIo was unfortunate because that
meant grand larceny , and he was sent to
the penitentiary.
"What method have wo adopted In deal
ing wlfh them ? Well , several. Ono Is when
a thief Is caught to send a clerk around to
all the other clerks with her. Sbo Is In
troduced to cacti clerk , who Is advised to
take a good look at her , ns she Is n. thief ,
and must bo watched. Before the last clerk
Is reached the offender Is limp from humili
ation and cannot bo Induced to enter the
Btoro again. In the majority of cases the
thief is taken to the olllco , where she is
scrtrohcd by some clerk of her own sex. If
any of our goods Is found upon her person n
list of the articles Is made and a confession
stating that she stole those articles from
such a firm on the date she was captured
and that she promises never to enter the
store again on penalty of arrest and prosecu
tion. Wo have scores of such confessions
from persons whom you would not suspect.
If wo are satisfied that a thief Is a pro
fessional she is sent to the police station
and an effort tmado to prosecute her , This
has not proven very satisfactory , however ,
as shoplifters ordinarily do not get $35
worth of goods , so we cannot punish them
except for a misdemeanor. In a few cases
we charge up the goods to them nnd tell
them if they do not pay for what they
have taken they will bo punished. They
nearly always pay and that Is the last we
hear of them , "
.Sho'iltHem' Method * .
The methods adopted by shoplifters are
BO numerous that it Is almost impassible
to keep track of them. A young woman ar
rested a short tlmo ago had about twenty-
flvo different articles stored away about her
person. She wore a dress that opened in
front , and the stolen goods , which were
largely handkerchiefs , gloves and battles of
perfume , were easily concealed therein.
Women wear long capes and the left arm
Is easily concealed under it , Thcso capes
often contain large pockets or false lining
Inwhich articles may bo hidden. Hand
kerchiefs are carelessly dropped over some
nrtlclo which the ( shoplifter desires , and
when .her handkerchief disappears the nr
tlclo goes with It to bo placed nonchalantly
! in the purse which she carries EO trustingly
in her hand , Silk handkerchiefs and gloves
are cosily doubled up and disposed of In
his -way.
Two women working together will enter
a store to get at something valuable which
j they want. Ono of them looks admiringly
1 at fomo article nnd folds It up Into a bin a II
j bundle quite carelessly. It does not eult
I her , however , and she dlrosts the clerk'a
| attention to something else , following hoc
1 In the meantime. The other woman , who
, has not participated in the conversation ,
i disposes of the article without delay.
Women have been known to atoal away
with a bolt of costly goods which disap
peared so completely that an ofllcer was
afraid to stop them , Ho learned in ono
instance that a woman had 'turned her
skirts back over the bolt and dropped it
at her side as if she were holding it up
to keep it out of the dust. It was done !
BO daintily that he never discovered the
secret biding place. It required a good
arpet Co.
1414-16-18 Douglas Street
le guarantee to save you money la „
lorn of turning over goods , nt a stated price to all , enables us to give every pur
chaser the lowest prices to be had- Many like our methods they find after they shop
around and get reductions at other stores 'they can eomo hero and save from 10 to L'o per
cent on their purchase , because we make the lowest prices to all wo make reductions on
moro goods that do not go fast enough and all get the advantage. Wo quote below a
few articles that prove values some offerings this week that will not bo repeated ,
Moquctto Rugs ! Sx3G Inches new , every ono .50
Imperial Rugs In Persian designs loduceil from $1.60 to OSo
- 3rh < good heavy Union Art Squares , al
- tO
in ,10w desirable colors , These
prices are half their value anywhere.
ynr.ls $2.63 yards , . J3.S3 }
3x3 yards $3.25 3x4 yards $1.GO
Another lot , made up from remnants of all grades
of carpet , to bo closed out this week. Such values
speak for themselves. If you can use the sizes , don't hesitate to see them at once.
Brussels Rug 8.9x0.0 made up at regular price , $12 from remnants $7.00
Ono Body Brussels Bug 8.3x0.0 maclo up nt regular Ono Mouclto Hug 9x12.8 made up regular , $22.00
prlco $21.00 from remnants $14.00 * from remnants $14.SO
Ono Body Brussels Rug 8.3x10.9 made up nt regu Ono Brussels Hug 9x11.3 made up icgular , $16.75
lar prlco $21.40 from remnants $18.CO from remnants $12.00
Ono Moquetto Hug 8.3x9.6 made up nt regular prlco Ono Body Brussels Hug 8.3x11.3 made up regular ,
$10.00 from remnants $10.GO $18.75 from remnants $12.00
Ono Body Brussels Hug 8.3x10.6 mndo up nt reg Ono Brussels Hug 9x12.3 made up regular , $17.55 *
ular prlco $24.00 from remnants $15.00 from remnants $13,00
Ono Axmlnster Rug 8.3x0.9 made up at regular price , Ono Brussels Hug 11.6x8.3 mndo up regular , $16.63
J20.00 from remnants $12.00 from remnants $10,00
Ono Body Brussels Hug 8.3x10.6 made up regular Ono Brussels Hug 8.3x12 made up regular. $10.25
price , $24.50 from remnants $17.50 from remnants. . . ? . _ $9,00
Ono Body Brussels Hug 8.3x11.9 made up regular , Ono Brussels Hug 8.3x11.9 made up regular , $16.50
$25.05 from remnants $16.00 from remnants $9.00
ENOUGH BASKETS LEFT for a selection at half price. This comprises all baskets work
baskets , waste baskets , fancy baskets , hampers all at 50 per cent discount.
Window Shades and Draperies. We make everything in Window Shades.
Just the Fairniture You Need
Look the market over and you cannot find such good values as wo are now offering.
The most complete assortment of desirable patterns , designed with some degree of
refinement at prices that you cannot afford to pass by.
This h a n cl s ome Think of it a full
swell front side swell front ,
board , made of se quarter sawed and
lect figured o a k , polished , golden oak
highly polished and dresser has solid
richly hand carved , cast trimmingslarge
French shape feet , bevel mirror , 30x24
\ solid cast trimmings , inches. We doubt
large French bevel if you can match it
mirror , finished in for one-half more
the now golden oak abso
lutely the best value of than our price
fered at our prlco
$1250 a :
choice select Dining
This
Refrigerators
Table , made of quar
tered oak , rich polish fin Wo are solo agents for the famous
ish has heavy fluted legs North Star Refrigerator , made upon
scientific principles. Cork Insulation ,
a table value seldom of the best non-conductor of heat known
fered. This extraordinary to science. There are six walls to
protect the ice entire Interior re
table only movable pcsltlvely the best refrig
erator on the mraket and guaranteed
by us to bo the most satisfactory re
frigerator made prlco no moro than
the ordinary kind.
Monday a. m. wo put on sale the best Davenport value
yei offered. See our east window for design and cover
ings , Very choice pattern frame , with tAvist posts , handsomely hand polished , 6-ft.
long , depth of seat , 21 inches ; height of back , 29 inches. The oppor
tunity seldom occurs to get so desirable an article at such a low price. C ti I * ] ES
You positively cannot obtain these regularly for less than § 28.00. This * P I J * - *
excellent Davenport , while they last , only * M.
grip , but she managed It without the least
trouble.
Whllo men have to be watched as well
as women their methods are moro easily
learned , their efforts seemingly having a
prescribed limit. The moment a man who
Is under the Influence of liquor enters a
store the cyo of a detective , If the es
tablishment has one , Is upon him. The
officer knows that men are moro apt to
steal when tipsy than when sober. Then
the opium fiend is another proscribed Indi
vidual. IIo steals quickly and usually does
not wait to choose something of value.
Consequently ho must be nipped at once
or ho will get away. Once out of the store
ho will have the goods pawned within ten
minutes and bo on his way to a hop joint.
Tramps nro watched closely , not because
they like good clothes or Intend to steal
some soap , but they like trousers or ehocs
because they are easily pawned. Colored
men seldom steal anything In the storoj and
colored women are also said to bo moro
particular about paying for What they gut
then their white sisters. The average man
who steals docs it because ho Is in need
of money , unless he Is -professional thief.
It Is not a hard matter for him to hide a
pair of trousers under a coat or to slip a
pair of shoes in an overcoat pocket. Ho
hangs around the showcase , looks at a score
of different things , nnd calmly takes what
ho wants. A well known firm recently se
cured a watch from tlio pollco stolen from
thorn last summer. The thief had made
Eomo trilling purchase , giving a largo bill
In payment therefor. When the cleric re
turned the change some of the bills were
laid down on a valuable lady's watch. The
thief rolled up the bill with the watcli
in it and disappeared. Ho was arrested ,
bound over to the district court and re-
loused on bond , which happened to be of
btraw , and ho jumped It.
In millions of homes Dent's Toothache
Gum is a welcome remedy. Druggists. 15c.
CJlfNN ( ill IMC I.IINtllltt KIVe VlMirM.
Probably the longest game of chess ever
known was that played between a man 'lv-
Ing In Australia and a friend In Newark ,
N. Y. Each move was made by letter , ono
player making use of the Europe and Suez
canal route and the other writing via the
Pacific ocuan and San Francisco , Five yeaw
elapsed before- the game was drawn to a
close. Another1 similar record In chess playIng -
Ing was a correspondence game which took
place recently between several Germans liv
ing In New York and a c.Vss club In Bre
men , Germany. The game terminated In
February lust year with a victory for tne
Artistic Stationery ,
Office Supplies ,
Subscriptions Taken ( or any Periodical Published ,
We can supply you with all that is the latest and best in
any of the above items.
Our large stock enables us to furnish you with almost
anything you could ask for in oflice supplies' and wo will sur
prise you with what we can show in the up-to-date time sav
ing appliances for office use.
Wo are sole agents in this territory for the Rotary Neo-
style , by far the best duplicator on the market , also for the
Diaphragm Neostylo , a strictly first class low price duplicator
and carry a full line of Mimeographs , all sizes and styles , ' with
a full line of supplies for the above machines.
If you are in need of anything for the library or office it
will pay you to call on us before placing your order.
234.'M '
Tel. 234. 1308 Paruam Street.
New York players , having lasted a period of
two years and live months.
Vote n Dee coupon for the girls' summer
vacations.
l.uto rrejuiriilloii for Wedded Ilfc ,
Atlanta Constitution : A rural sctiooN
mastcr had among hla scholars three whoso
ages weio , respectively , 72 , 61 and 65 yearn.
"You don't mean to say , " uald an aston
ished visitor , "that those old men are rcolng
to school for the first tlmo In their lives ? "
"That's right , " replied the schoolmaster ;
"they hain't had tlmo till now ! An' they
wouldn't bo at it BOW ouly they've made up
their minds to git married ; an * as the ials :
they air to marry air all good readers and
wrltora , they don't want to 'pear Ib'norant
when they nettle down for life , '
Military Uiiuril fur Court ,
LEXINGTON , Ky. , June 3. Two hundred
picked riflemen of the First Kentucky reg
iment and a ( Jailing gun battery left today
by a special train fur Clay county , In thu
mountains , to serve us a guard during the
trial of Thomas Howard for murder. How
ard is connected with parties to a bitter feud
and it was regarded as necessary to hav *
troopa present to prevent vlolcncu.