Nebraska Newspapers

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TI1E OMATTA DAILY BEE; SUNDAY, JUNE 11, 1003.
Reflection on Ponrth of July) Fires,
Injnrlea onl Snlse,
Nfw York Tribune.
Tor years It has leen custnmiflry to be
wail for nine dnyg after tho Fourth of
July the discomfort, the conflagrations, the
malmlnKi and the deaths whir h are attend
ant upon our method of celebrating Inde
pendence day, nnd to demand. Kith a line
show of returning ronson and righteous in
dignation, that the repetition of such m's
erlea ahall bo forbidden by law; nnd then
to do nothing practical about It or to Ig
nore or defeat the efforts of tlio.vs who do
aeek to abate the evil. We ano eloquent
over the Iniquity of theft after tin home
has been stolen, and versatile nn1 eMor
prlslng with plans for putting burglar proof
locks upon the door, but tho dour rensitns
lockless and all we really do In to rut an
other horse In the stall to be stolen next
year. Never were the Randar-Log more
proline of grandiose Bo-hemes and more
fickle and Impotent In their achJcvement.
l.ast year the orgy was somewhat more
prolonged, more barbarous nnd morn de
structive than usual. It began early and
lasted for Weeks, especially on Rundays,
culminating, of course, on Independence day
Itself, nfter which for a fortnight there ac
cumulated a long roll of Juvenile mortality.
Moru than common attention wus paid to
It, too, nnd there were exceptionally vigor
ous demands for prohibitory legislation.
These were made by Insurance Companies,
by health office rs and by tho police. There
were brave resolutions, too, that something
should auroly this time bo done. Hut now?
It is the old atory of tho Bandar-Log.
Nothing of real Importance has been done.
W are only a month from Independence
day, with every prospect of repenting, and
even increasing, the record of last year.
DOMESTIC! PI.HAsASTHIES.
Mrs. Nagget Tou men aro such
grouches. Now, wo women never get so
cranky and disagreeable as you do.
Mr. Nagget No wonder! You haven't
any wives to bother you. Philadelphia
tress.
"Is her father disponed to look with
favor on your nult?"
"He was until last night, when I made
It with no trumps ufter ho had passed it
to me. The other side got ull but two
tricks." Cleveland leader.
Hell Did that anonymous note worry
you?
Nell Oh, no. it was from Jack. He al
ways writes then when we have a falling
out! Detroit Free Press.
"They say he lives like a millionaire."
"It's true. Ho can't eat a blamed thing
he likes." Chicago Tribune.
Nordy Your wlfo seems to think you'll
get bunkoed If she lets you out of her sight.
"Vou must have done something very fool
lHh to have a woman looking after you
like that.
Butts I did. I married her. Louisville
Courier-Journal.
It's awfully discouraging to a young man
when he tries to please a girl with taffy,
to hear her say scornfully: "Oh, fudge!"
Somervllle Journal.
Perhaps tho kaiser, out of the depths of
bis protean cleverness, will show the
mamma of his son's fiancee Just how a
perfect mother-ln-luw should appear and
behave. Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"O!" sohls-d the young wife, "George
doesn't love me as he did.
"Nonsense I" replied her mother. "Only
this morning I heard him call you 'the
dearest girl In the world.' "
"Yes, but he used to call me 'the dearest
girl that ever lived." "Philadelphia Press.,
TUB WEAVING,
Valentine March In the Housekeeper,
fihe gaied at the weaving sadly
The warp and weft in the loom
where tho bright colored threads In tha
fabric
Seemed always o'crshadowed by gloom.
And ever she saw the tangles '
Of threads, ao often astruv,
And It grieved her heart sore that tha
weaver
Used only a few bright and gay
Bo one day Bho cried in sorrow:
"O, tell me, weaver, I pray.
Dost thou care If the threads are bo tan-
fled,
bo many Bomber and gray?
"I pray thou wilt weave me, weaver.
In warp and weft of thy loom.
Only colors like tints of the autumn.
With never a shadow of gloom."
The Weaver worked on. In silence,
Vnseen by the eye of man,
And he lovingly fashioned the fabrlo
According to pattern and plun.
At last, when the web was finished,
One late summer evening tide,
With the hands that had guided the weav
ing, He beckoned her to his side.
And there, all complete, he showed her.
From every tangle free,
That the weh of her life had been woven
In heaven wrought tapestry.
REAL THING IN FISH STORIES
Exciting and Dangerous Eport is the HuDt
for Ewordfiih.
GAM DENIZENS OF THE SEACOAST
If you have a boy who is always
up to some "stunt" hard on his
clothes, put a 'Hercules" suit on
him. It he tries to go through
his clothes quick so that he can
boast to his chums that he has
a new suit every month, a
"Hercules" will surprise him
wears as near like sheet iron as
it is possible to make a combi
nation of cloth, buttons and
thread.
"Hercules' suits are AM Wool
Colors never fada.
Made throughout of unshrinkable
materials; retains Us shape.
Rain-proof, moth-proof, perspiration
proof and absolutely hygienic and
sanitary.
Extra heavy double warped Italian
cloth, body lining. Extra quality
sleeve lining doubly reinforced at
vital points (patent applied forX
Every seam silk sewed and doubly
reinforced. Button holes silk sewed
and buttons securely sewed with
best linen thread. Excelsior waist
band cf elastic webbing. Panis
lined throughout with superior Irish
linen.
ftrtvts" two-fitct Knit-Pants
Suits art maiUor Boys from 6 to
id years.
V will send you "Heresies" Book
4 alsaler'a nam an request.
, GXanfiimraiP
Daube, Cohn & Co.
ifflrartsr
Chicago
Huge Specimens of the Tribe Fre
quently Captured Weapons of
Defense and Amaalns;
Powers of Speed.
The fishermen of southern New England
are now sharpening their harpoons and
getting things In readiness for the sword
fish. The fish generally appear In the
nelghlnirhood of Sandy Hook early In
June, nnd continue along tho const as far
east as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket
shoals, some having been caught as far
north as Cape Sable, until about tha middle
of 8eptmlHr, when the first cold wind
causes them to disappear, not to bo seen
again until tlio next year. They are also
found occasionally off the south Atlantic
coast and as far south as the Island of
Jamnlca, also on the Pacific coast at Santa
Barbara islands.
The swordfish follows the schools of
monhaden, mackerel, bonlt'o and bluoflsh,
upon which they feed. In feeding they rise
beneath tho school, striking to the right
and left with their swords until they have
killed a number, which they then proceed
to devour at their leisure They are not
gregarious and It Is the almost, universal
testimony of the fishermen that two are
never seen swimming close together, be
ing generally thirty to forty feet apart.
Young awordflsh are never seen on this
conrt, although they are abundant In the
Mediterranean sea. A specimen weighing
less than seventy-five pounds Is rarely ever
taken by fishermen here. An adult sword
fish will average about 300 pounds when
alive. Much larger ones are not uncom
mon. One was taken off Portland, Me.,
in 1S7S. which was eighteen feet long and
weighed about 800 pounds. Another, exhib
ited In this city a few years ago, measured
sixteen feet in length. One was killed on
the shoals back of Edgartown, Mass.,
which, when salted, weighed 639 pounds.
Its live weight must have been as much
as 700 or 800 pounds. Its sword measured
nearly six feet.
Equipped for lluslnesa.
A considerable fleet of sloops and schoon
ers of less than fifty tons engages In this
fishery each year, tho crew being Com
posed generally of three men besides the
cook and a boy. On the end of the bow
sprit of the vessel Is built a framework
of iron rods called a "pulpit." This con
trivance Is seml-clrcular, and stands about
three feet high. Across the ends are lash
ings, and a board, much In appearance like
those used in children's swings, depends
from the top of tho iron work. In this
"pulpit" the harpooner sits, securely lashed,
so as not to be pitched overboard when
the boat is jumping in a seaway. The har
poon has a pole 0f hickory or other hard
wood about fifteen or sixteen feet long,
the bark being usually left on so as to give
a firmer grip. At the end of the pole la
an Iron rod, or shank, about two feet long.
It Is fastened to the pole by means of
a conical or elongated cuplike expansion at
one end, which fits over tho sharpened
end of the pole, to which it is secured by
screws or spikes. A light line la attached
to the head of the pole. Vpon the end of
the shank fits somewhat securely the head
of the harpoon, known to the fishermen as
"swordfish iron," "lily iron" or "Indian
dart." It consists of a two pointed piece
of metal, having in the center, at one side,
a ring or socket whose axis Is parallel
with tho long diameter of the Implement.
In this Is Inserted the end of the pole
shank, and to It, or near it, is also at
tached the harpoon line. When the iron has
once been thrust point first through tome
solid substance, such as the aide of a fish,
and is released on the other side by the
withdrawal of the pole from the socket,
it is free, and at onco turns Its long axis
at right angles to the direction in which
the harpoon line is pulling, and thus la ab
solutely prevented from withdrawal. Aa a
buoy, is tied to the line attached to the
harpoon iron, the movements of the fish
after being struck can be readily followed
until it is dead.
Tracking; the Flab.
Armed with such a terrible weapon aa ita
aword and gifted with amazing powers of
speed, the animal has no enemy to fear
but man. It has a habit of lying quietly
near the surface, with Its big, black dorsal
fin waving gracefully to and fro in tho
air, and often the tall is almost as con
spicuous. A man stationed on the lookout
platform at the masthead is watching for
tha appearance of the fin, and when it la
discovered the steersman Is warned and
sends the vessel In the direction indicated.
Care must be exercised by the lookout not
to lose sight of the small speck Just visible
to his practiced eye, aa it would not be
easy to pick it up again when once lost.
As quietly as possible the vessel is run
close behind the fish. Sometimes the fish
Bees It and quickly sinks himself out of
Bight When the bowsprit is within twenty
or thirty feet of It the harpooner hurls
his weapon with a skilful and powerful
hand Into the fish's back. The dart dis
lodges Itself from the shaft, which is
hauled back to the vessel by means of
the line attached to It, and the stricken
fish goes off at a tremendous rate of speed.
As soon aa the fish la struck the buoy
tied to the rope which is attached to the
dart is thrown overboard. Then away It
sails, sometimes out of sight and at other
times skimming the water and making
foam fly aa It dashes along. In the course
of time, the fish tirea himself so that a
sailor puts out in a dory and picks up
the cask. Then he hnuls slowly on the
rope and gently brings his catch to the
top. If tho fish Is ugly there is opportunity
for a lot of trouble. When brought near
enough he Is lanced until dead. The vessel
Is then run alongside, the tackle attached
to its mouth and the fish hoisted aboard.
Dangerous Antagonist.
When angered tha awordflsh, owing to Its
great strength and terrible weapon. Is able
and anxious to Inflict serious damage upon
ha persecutors. Many Instances have been
reported where it has attacked vessels and
boats. In 1871 the English ship Queens
berry was struck by a swordfish, the sword
penetrating to a depth of thirty Inches,
raur.lng a leak which made necessary tho
discharge of the cargo. One of the Glou
cester fishing schooners, while on a trip to
George's banks In 1875, was attacked by a
awordflsh In the night time. He assailed the
vessel with great force, and succeeded In
putting his sword through one of the planks
some two feet, and, after making fearful
struggles to extricate himself, broke the
sword off, leaving it hard and fast In the
plank, and made a speedy departure. Even
with the sword in the vessel leaked badly,
requiring pretty lfvely pumping to keep It
free. The brig P. M. Tinker in 1S7 was
struck by a swordfish. The sword pene
trated tha copper sheathing, a four-inch
birch plank, and through the timbers about
six Inches In all about ten Inches. The
crew had to pump Bteadlly until port was
reached.
In September, 1903, the Gloucester fishing
schooner Emily Cooney had an exciting en
counter with Bwordtlsh. While going
through the South channel three awordflah
Were espied, and the vessel ran down
among them and one waa harpooned. Im
mediately another monster fish appeared.
At first he made off at a tangent from tha
craft and then, aa It angered, turned and
wltU a tenlflo rush made direct for the
THE RAILROADS AND THE PEOPLE
Shall the railroad corporations prevent tha
republic, or shall tho republic govern Itself?
Is this a government of the people, by the
people and for the people, or Is It a gov
ernment of the people by the Corporations,
for tho corporations? These questions force
themselves Involuntarily upon the Amer
ican people by the domlnstlon of railroads
In state and nation. Half a century ago
tho railroads were comparatively an In
significant factor In shaping the pollchs '
government; only her and there
mailed hand of the railway autocrat rr
Itself folt sufficltntly to arouse popular i.
sentment nnd resistance.
The states In which railway domination
In local and state governments1 manifested
Itself first were New Jersey and Pennsyl
vania. Hack In the '70s It was the common
adago that the legislatures of those states
were owned body and soul by the Cam
den and Amboy and Pennsylvania rail
roads, and even an adjournment of those
bodies for one day was not concelvablo
without the permission of Tom Scott, the
great railroad king. Already In those days
tho Pennsylvania railroad wns not content
merely to own the legislatures and state
offlrers. but dictated congressional and
senatorial candidates and rewarded sub
servient politicians with peats In both
houses of the natlonnl legislature.
Party A (Dilations.
The underlying principle that governs the
railway magnates In their efforts to dom
inate all branches of governments were
tersely expressed before a New Tork
legislative committee charged with the In
vestigation of the Erie railroad, of which
Jay Gould was then the head, when. In re
sponse to tho question. What party do you
affiliate with? he declared: "In democratic
states I am a democrat; In republican
states a republican, but always for Eric."
From that day to this railroad managers
have shifted and adjusted their political af
filiations according to tho preponderance
of one or the other great political party In
any particular state.
In the April number of his magazine Tom
Watson forcibly portrays railroad domi
nation In Georgia in a comparison Insti
tuted between what he calls two outlaws,
one of these being an eminent ex-confederate
lawyer who had helped to frame the
new constitution for his state, and In the
convention which framed It was Its un
disputed leader:
"In the hew constitution of Georgia the
outlaw had put a curb on corporate
tyranny, made It Illegal for competitive
lines of railroad to combine and had created
a commission to regulate and control the
transporttalon companies. This was the
Georgia's 'outlaw's' proudest work. He ex
ulted over It, he regarded It as his monu
ment, he relied on It to benefit his relations
for years to come. In this belief he lived
out the remainder of his days, and In this
belief he died."
Situation in Georgia.
"Where are now the competing railroads
In Georgia?" asks Tom Watson.
"Mergers, lenses, allied Interests have
swallowed them nil. Monopoly rules from
border to border; constitutional provisions
ere dead letters. The corporations who
nullify our law and plunder our peoplo
keep paid corruptionista busy all the year
round to defeat Investigation and reform.
When the legislature meets these profes
sional corruptlonlsts oil flock to the capital.
They remain throughout the session. If
any member seeks to vindicate the outraged
constitution these lobbyists employ every
weapon known to the army of corruptlon
lsts to kill the measure. The campaign
fund with which the present governor beat
his competitor was furnished by the rail
roads. A notorious state lobbyist for the
Southern railroad was tendered a place
on the supreme bench by this governor.
Railroad Domination, State
and National
Sixth of Series ofjimely Articles Written by Edward
Rosewater, Editor of The Bee, on Different
Phases of the Pending Railroad Problem
who owed his election to railroad money.
"The Railroad commission has been re
duced to a state bordering on Imbecility.
If they pass orders which the corporations
dislike the orders are Ignored. They no
more control the railroads than a saddle
on a horse controls the horse. Three ex
cellent gentlemen draw comfortablo sala
ries for acting as commissioners. The rail
road lawyers have something to play with.
The corporations aro sometimes annoyed
by having to evade direct answers to
troublesome questions and by having to get
a federal Juduo to discipline the commis
sioners, but that Is about all. J. Plerpont
Morgan is the absolute king of the rail
roads of Georgia. He makes the govern
ment, controls the legislature, overrides
tho commission and tramples the constitu
tion of the state under his feet. The
Georgia outlaw made the constitution for
the good of the people; tho Wall street
outlaw vinlntes It for the good of Wall
street plutocrats."
Fits Almost Any State.
Tom Watson's sketch would fit almost
any of the states east or west dominated
by the railroads, and the states that are
not so dominated may be counted on the
fingers of one's hand. With the exception
of Texas and Missouri, tha sixteen states
west of the Mississippi are railroad prov
inces, presumably governed by their In
habitants, but In reality dominated over by
political satraps, acting under Instructions
of the railway magnates who control the six
great railroad systems. In some of theso
states railway domination Is carried on
so smoothly through subservient legisla
tures, state executives, courts and con
gressmen that the people are scarcely
aware of the fact that they have practically
no voice in tho choice of their public serv
ants or that every branch of their govern
ment Is controlled from railway headquar
ters. The methods by which railroad corpor
ations manage to control all avenues to
public preferment and nil public officials,
high nnd low. Is described aptly by ex
Governor Larrnbee of Iowa In his work in
the following language:
To perpetuate wtlhout molestation their
unjust practice and prevent any approach
to any return to the practice of state con
trol of railroad transportation, railroad
managers have secured wherever possible
the co-operation of public officials and, In
fact of every semi-public ond private agency
capable of affecting private opinion. Their
great wealth and power has made It pos
sible for them to Influence to a greater
or less extent every department of the
national nod state government. Their In
fluence extends from the township as
sessor's office to tho national capltnl, from
tho publisher of the smull cross-roads
paper to the edltorlnl stnff of the metro
politan dally. It is felt In everv caucus, in
every nominating convention and at every
election. KallroHd managers draw no
pnrty lines, advocate no principles snd
take little interest in any but their Own
acts. The large means at the command of
railroad companies, their Influence through
vast armies of employes and attorneys, and
their almost equally large force of sub
retainers are freely employed to carry
Into execution their political designs. It
Is n settled principle of these men that
If they can prev.ent It no person not known
to be friendly to their foods must be
placed into any public office. The records
of the various candidates of the principal
parties for city, county, state nnd national
offices are, therefore, carefully canvassed
previous to the primaries. The most ac
ceptable among the candidates of each
pnrty are selected as the railroad candi
dates and the local representatives of the
railroad Interest In each party are In
structed to use all means In their power
to secure their nomination. If none but
candldutes who are servile to the railroad
interests are nominated bv the principal
parties, the election Is permitted to take
Its own course, for whichever Bids Is suc
cessful the railroad Interest Is safe. If,
however, there Is reason to believe that
a nominee Is not ns devoted to their in
terests as the nominee of an opposing
pnrty the lntter is sure to receive at tho
polls whatever support the railroad can
give him. That a public official elected
by tho grace of a railroad manager Is but
too apt to become a tool In his hands
needs no proof. Hoth gratitude and fear
ties the average polltlclim to tlie powerful
force which can control his political
destiny.
Political Lawyers and Lobbyists.
The Interstate Commerce commission has
computed thnt the aggregate amount ex
pended annually by the railroads of Amer
ica for their regular and special attorneys
exceeds IH.OOO.on). It goes without saying
that a very large part of that enormous
sum Is paid to political lawyers and lobby
ists, who manipulate and corrupt state
legislatures. Juries, court bulllffs and court
officials.
By far the most dangerous feature of
railway domination Is the perversion of
Justice through lawyers elevated to tho
bench by corporate Influence and controlled
by corporate favor. "Let us tiMine the
courts and we will let you make the laws,"
Is the motto of the railway managers.
With the control of tho Judiciary go
court-made luws thnt frustrate legislation
occasionally enacted In the Interest of the
people nnd reduce to absolute helplessness
the putrons of railways who seek redress
at the hands of rullrond Judges.
In this respect the experience of the
people of Nebraska, Wyoming, Kansas and
the states on tho Pacific coast has been
a continuous chapter of perversion of Jus
tlco and Judicial outrages. What else Can
be expected from judges who served their
apprenticeship In railroad headquarters,
graduated1 from the legislative railroad
lobby, secured their places on the bench
at the dictation of railroad managers and
political railway attorneys? What Can be
expected of Judges who are constantly
breathing tho atmosphere of corporate en
vironment, accept valuable gifts In one
form or another from their railroad bene
factors and benellclarles, who travel In spe
cial palace cars magnificently furnished,
served by a retinue of porters and cooks
specially detailed for their service by tho
railroads, who are sumptuously dined and
wlued on their travels at the expense of
the railroads, and who spend their voca
tions In the select company of railroad
officials or their satellites.
Often Itesort to Bribery.
While the domination of railroads over
all departments of government municipal,
state and national has been achieved
largely by active participation in political
primaries, nominating conventions and elec
tions, popular upheavals have occasionally
endangered railroad supremacy. In such
emergencies down-right bribery has bofn
frequently resorted to to accomplish the
ends sought for through the enactment of
legislation, conferring special privileges
upon railway corporations, or defeating
legislation that was deaigned to limit their
exactions, or to Interfere with their arbi
trary power.
Tho methods pursued by tho railway
magnates have at various times been dis
closed and exposed through congressional
Investigations and tho court whenever con
flicting railroad Interest sought redrvss
for example, the Credit Moblller Investi
gation disclosed the fact that members of
the Union Pacific construction ring inside
of congress had secured the enactment cf
a supplementary charter whereby the
government Pacific railroad subsidy bends
were converted Into a second mortgage,
while the bonds Issued by the Company
were made a first mortgage. It was also
disclosed that the speaker and othi r promi
nent members of the house had beeomo
beneficiaries of the Credit Moblller syndi
cate through stork Jobbing speculations
from which they were assured of a large
profit In advance. Later on when the
Union Pacific and Central Pacific officers
sought to secure the enactment of a bill
to extend the bonded debts of the Pacific
roads from sixty to eighty years, a batch
of telltale letters written by the Into Collls
P. Huntington, the California railway
magnate were produced by which It was
proved that almost from tho date of the
company's Incorporation the promoters
were engaged In debauching senators and
representatives, buying up legislators, pub
lishing fraudulent "reports, declaring divi
dends with money that should have been
reserved to meet the roads liabilities, sub
sidizing newspapers and agents of the As
sociated Press, nnd misrepresenting the
conditions and resources of the Southern
Pacific company. It was also proved that
Huntington maintained a powerful lobby
of which he wns the head In Wnshtngtnn,
for the purposes of bribery and corruption.
The tactics of the Pacific railroads con
struction rings have born pursued with
variations by their successors ns well as
by their competitors In the railway field,
north and south.
Plea of Itallrond Itlnnngers.
The plea of the railroad malingers In
defense of railroad domination was tersely
presented by Senator Newlnnds of Novndi
in tho April number of the North American
Review.
"The railroad Is In politics today," says
the senator, "because its vast property,
amounting to more than $10,000,000,000, Is
between the upper nnd the nether mill
stone. The upper mill stone of the rate
regulating power and tho nether mill
stone of the taxing power. Between the
two, save for tho protection of the courts,
these properties can be ground fjo de
struction. The uncertainty nnd Insecurity
of the situation compels the railroads to
go Into politics. Hence they tHke the
part of every official whose duty Is likely
to tr.mch In any degree upon the tax and
rate regulating power. Doing everything
systematically, their participation In
politics means the organisation of a ma
chine in every state in tho union, and
Blnce they pursue the line of least re
sistance, this often means alliance with
the corrupt element of every community.
It Is expensive for the railroads and worse
than that It Is a grave menace to tho In
stitutions of the republic."
This Is the best that can be said for
the railroads. As a matter of fact, the
railroads went Into politics at the very
outset to obtain churters that would give
them a monopoly of transportation and
confer upon them subsidies In lands and In
monies running Into the hundreds of mil
lions. Having grasped the reins of power
and acquired control of the public high
ways, they refuse to submit to any restraint
of their power, even where Its exercise
imperils the public welfare and tends to
impoverish localities and Individuals, while
other localities and individuals are enriched
and built up. EDWARD ROSEWATER.
vessel. He first tried to reach the man In
the "pulpit," but, being unable to do so, ho
charged at the vessel, and, diving about
three feet below the surface, struck the
craft with such force that the sword pene
trated the two and one-hulf-lnch oak
plank into the celling and a foot of the
blade was broken off. The blow was felt
nil over the vessel. One of the crew below
had Just moved from where he was sitting
and a moment later the sword waa driven
directly through the spot where he sat. The
vessel began to leak and the captain decided
to run for port. When put on the marine
railways it was found that the plank
pierced by the sword had been badly shat
tered. Boston Is the chief market for swordfish,
although New Tork is handling more and
more each year as the taste for the fish de
velops. It Is cut up Into steaks, which re
tail from 8 to 25 cents a pound, according
to the supply. With a good sance the flesh
Is excellent, but without this it Is rather
dry. The marketmen claim that It Is at Its
best as an article of food when It has been
on the Ice at least two weeks. New Tork
Tribune.
BRITAIN LOOKS TO DEFENSES
Prince of Wales nnd Sir M. Hleka
Beach Speak on the
Subject.
LONDON. June 10 (Special Cablegram
to The Bee.) Sir M. Hicks Beach took part
in a discussion of "Imperial Defense" at
the Imperial Industries club thla week, and
said that he was deeply Impressed with tho
conviction that our expenditure waa rapidly
nearlng the point where it would become
Intolerable.
The Increase, he said, was mainly due to
the growth of the cost of the naval and
military forces. It was Impossible to think
of the time when our navy would not be
supreme, but he felt bound to say that he
regarded the future of our expenditures as
dangerous to the soundness of our finance,
and aa likely to detract from that reserve
taxable capacity of the people which would
be essential In war.
To promote closer union with the colonies
the first desire should be to obtain a com
bined force which would be Imperial In Its
constitution, and therefore better able to re
sist attack than if composed of separate
forces. A colonial conference might dis
cuss the advisability of the colonies ad
mitting the products of this country on
more favorable terms, and In that way
they might make an Indirect contribution
to Imperial defense.
The prince of Wales Is an earnest advo
cate of the strengthening1 of the national
defense. At the opening by his royal
highness of ths new headquarters of the
first cadet batalllon of the Royal Fusi
liers the prince of Wales remarked that
during his visit to the colonies he found
tie cadet movement further advanced than
In this country. He favored It, not wit a a
view to militarizing the population, hut to
give training, discipline and to make thoso
who took part in it of use should ihfir
services ever bo required.
He commended one sentence In a renit
Issued by the Australian commonwealth
It is as follows:
"The training of the young Is the founda
tion of any sound system of national de
fense." Some Of the cadets, the prince added,
would pass Into the army, but whether
they did so or not they must depend upon
It that their training and discipline mujt
be good for the future generation.
BOOTLEGGING A RISKY GAME
Whisky Sellers in Indian Territory Soon
Caught and Sent Oyer the Road.
LARGE COLONY IN LEAVENWORTH PRISON
If you have anything to trade, advertise
It In the For Exchange column, of The bee
want ad page,
Strosge Devices Adopted to Fool
Inlted stales Officers Ilorso
Collars, W ooden Legs and
Bible Citiiteeua.
The presence of 400 and more "bootleg
gers" in the Federal prison at Fort Leav
enworth 400 out of a total of 1,100 con
victs is eloquent testimony to the effec
tiveness of a prohibitory law backed up
by the United States government.
These 400 prisoners aro from Indian Ter
ritory, and the small Indian reservations
of Kansas, and have been "sent up" for
selling whisky to Indians. It Is a business
so profitable that unusual risks are will
ingly run by the ingenious tribe that has
descended from the Blmple old smuggler
who shoved the bottle, from which ho had
Just sold a mouthful of whisky, Into the
flaring leg of his boot, and thought or him
self as a sly fox. The later vendor of con
traband liquid refreshment develoied tha
bootleg idea in the samo way that the
successors of Watt developed the steam
engine. But whisky hunting deputies also
grew in wisdom; they learned to look be
yond the bootlog to tho wagon axle, the ox
bow, and tlie horse collar. A whisky ped
dler's actlvo business life la Just about ar
brief now us it was in tho early '7', when
Judge Parker of Fort Smith first sent his
marshals Into Indian Territory, But when
one is transferred to a federal prison an
other comes In to take his pluco, and so
the "4o0" of the tribe la Continually re
plenished. Technically, tho bootlegger Is any one
who receives or disposes of liquor, w ho has
liquor In his possession, who gives liquor
to Indians, who illicitly distils liquor, or
who in any way assists an Indian to ob
tain liquor territory set asldo for Indian
occupancy without tlie speclui uuthority of
the United States government. The laws
were framed with the avowed purpose of
muklng it absolutely lmpusaiblo for an In
dian to get a drink of any kind of intoxi
cating liquor. An Indian and whisky In
conjunction, according to tiudltiou, resulted
in an lnsuno criminal, so for tho more
peuceful regulutlon or its wards' affairs the
"iiro water" was barred from tho reserva
tion nurseries. But the taste for whisky
could not be legislated out of the Indian,
and where tho demand was so strung it
was but natural that tho supply should be
forthcoming.
Improving; on ths Hoot-Leg.
One of tho earliest schemes of tho whisky
smugglers was that o driving through the
Indian country with a huge kerosene can
which was fitted with a false bottom u few
inches from the tup. Tho oil would nat
urally be needed fur the wagon lantern, and
It was not considered eccentric to buy it
in large can lots, fur Ita cost was then
many times larger than at the present time,
in the ample false bottom of the oil can was
kept the whisky, and an Inconspicuous plug
underneath could bo unscrewed to permit
the flow of mental and emotional Illumina
tion at (5 a pint. It was vile stuff these
smugglers Sold raw alcohol diluted with
water, colored with "rock candy," spiced
With pepper and a bit of plug tobacco. Tho
materiuls cost perhaps a dollar a gallon;
the mixture was peddled out at from t'M to
M a gallon. But risk and profit, after all,
bore a truer relation to each other than
might be supposed. It was not long before
the busy, ubiquitous deputies began to In
vestigate tho traveling oil can, and the suc
cessors of these enterprising traders had to
develop a new dodge.
The pneumatic horse collar, fitted with an
unobtrusive screw top, concealed under a
leather flap, and the big hollow axles of.
the peddlers' wagons that could bo "milked"
were clever devices, but they had their day.
If it had been possible for the sellers of
firewuter to Induce their consumers to wait
a day or go away to get drunk the danger
of detection would have been small, but
drunken Indians hang to a whisky seller as
persistently as flies to a syrup can, and tho
law officers' work la reduced to finding out
Just how and where the contraband Is kept.
At one time Indian Territory became a
surprisingly good market for coooanuts.
Certain dealers drove a suspiciously brisk
trade In them until a curious deputy mar
shal secured ono and broke Into It. Then it
was seen that someone on the outside had
bought the cocoanuts, bored a small hole
In the end of each, boiled them, and re
moved the meat, and, filling them with
liquor, plugged the hole with brown putty.
With tho discovery the statistics on the Im
portation of cocoanuts Into Indian Terri
tory fell off alarmingly. A scheme that
had an even briefer popularity was to fill
eggshells that had been emptied through a
small orifice with tho cheering and Inebri
ating liquid and sell the eggs for 26 cents
apiece.
Naturally, it Is near the border between
the Indian country and the states where
whisky is freely sold that the trade In
"boot-leg" Is most active. Along the Mis
souri and Arkansas borders, on tho east, and
the Texas line on the south, the deputies
assigned to duty In Indian Territory have
been particularly busy. In these nearby
communities It Is possible for a shrewd
peddler to go about and secure orders In
advance a half-pint here, a pint there,
and a quart In another place for four or
five gallons of contraband. Riding over
tho lino Into Arkansas on a moonless night
he may load a stout saddle horse with Jugs
and get back to make his deliveries before
daybreak. At the first sign of danger
strange hooflx'ats coming up behind, or
unfamiliar voices ahead the rider pulla his
horse's head to one side and swings his
Jugs Into tho tall grass or a fence cornr
to await his return after the encounter.
It Is a trado that has Its romances. Its
thrills, Its excitements. The deputies who
"block the game" find a not Inconsiderable
share of the rewards, too, in the excite
ment of matching wits.
The Preaeher's "Good" Book.
The border smugglers meet more compe
tition than do those who penetrate to the
Interior of the Territory, and, of course,
their profits are smaller. It Is the old rule
working the larger tho profit, the greater
the risk. The old fanatic who for years
roamed about the Cherokee country, his one
wooden leg dangling from the side of a
dlmunltlve donkey, was generally regarded
as a harmless crank. Stopping a stranger
In the middle of the road, the white-bearded
old man would talk for an hour "on tha
proposition that the lost tribes of Israel
were swallowed up by the Gulf of lower
California. From religion he would swing
to politics, and thence to law, and. If his
listener exhibited the "knowing" eye, tho
old man would have his wooden leg un
strapped and two fingers of whisky poured
from Its rapacious hollow before it dawned
on the other that he was talking to a boot
legger. After that, there was no question
of pay a vital point in the trial of a
whisky peddler but the man who had the
drink from the old Itinerant's wooden leg
always folt called upon to contribute lib
erally to help put the old chap up for the
night "me an' my donkey" at a ranch
house, it waa a lung time before tbls loan
was caught. Indeed, there was no special
effort made to Imprison him, for his busi
ness was absurdly small in extent, and he
thought more of his strange theories on
heaven and earth than of the money his
peg leg earned for him.
The show prisoner among the bootleggers
In the Leavenworth Jail Is a man who has
a preacher's certificate and a license to
expound tho scriptures. Some time ago ho
had a church in Indian Territory and a
lnrge congregation gathered every Sun
day to hear him. He was exceptionally
popular, it appeared. Men especially flocked
to the church. When they drove homo It
was not always in the meek and lowly
spiritual state that is commonly supposed
to be induced by a sermon. In fact they
were hilarious, and curious deputy mar
shals began to wonder where the source
of supply for this unusual elation could be
found. They made a number of raids on
his house when ho was not at homo, but
all they found were several "Bibles" in
tho bottom of his trunk, and after turning
over the leaves of a few of these each
time they departed mystified. At last one
of the officers, brighter than the rest, con
cluded to look at the "Bibles" from the
bottom up, and his search was rewnrded
by finding that of about twelve "Bibles"
In the stack, all but three were or cel
luloid and filled with whisky. Then tho
reason for his undue popularity became
manifest. The story is told that soon after
the discovery of the celluloid "Bibles" the
officers tracked a man who carried a
"Bible" under his arm one Sunday, and
the book leaked whisky. They called It a
"good" book there.
It Js an old game, this business of boot
legging, a game In which the whisky seller
is bound to lose. Even the negro who had
a huge rubber chicken made and feathers
glued on it to make It appear "as big us
life and twice as natural" was caught be
cause the pesky fowl sprung a leak and a
doputy marshal smelled tho drippings! But
as long as the government bars the way
to tho whisky seller and Insists upon mak
ing the Indian country a country where
prohibition actually prohibits, the game
will be played, and tho federal Jails will
hold their shifting hundreds who "got
caught with the goods." New York liven
ing Post.
"BOBBIE" BURNS UNDER BAN
Aetlon of London County Council Heis
Heather Ableese North o
Tweed.
GLASGOW, Juno JO. (Special Cablegram
to The Bee.) There Is tho greatest In.
dlgnation here because of tho action of the
London County Council in blacklisting tho
poems of Robert Burns. The decision of
the London County Council in this mat
ter Is everywhere declared to be "un In
sult to Scotland."
"It the decision of the education commit
tee Is approved by the council Itself," said
a leading Scottish literary critic In an In
terview here today, "it will stamp It as
a most egreglously fussy body and show
that it la quite, unfit to control the edu
cation of thousands of London children."
Among publishers the committee's whole
sale rejection of well known works has
caused the utmost surprise. Some of the
Scottish critics are advising a retaliatory
boycott and urging the authorities of the
cities of Scotland to take similar action
against some of the famous authors who
have resided in London.
CABLE MEN IV ODD PLACES
Happy Colonies of Operator Located All
Over the World.
WORK NOT AS HRD AS FORMERLY
Antonmtlr Devices Make the Task
1-aru.cly One of Mechanics Method
of feadlnsc and Iteeelv
lug IMesanaea. ( jj
Allison and t ouslua Sail.
NEW YORK, June 10.-Bens.tor William
B. Allison, Congressman Robert O. Cousins
of Iowa and Mrs. Paul Morton, wife of the
secretary of the navy, and Miss Morton,
sailed for Europe tvuajr wu the steamer
hew Tork.
"Cabling Is linn. You work In black
darkness. The message are transmitted
to you In flashes of light. You road these
Hashes as a land operator roads bis ticks."
That is what n man who Bald he was a
cable reporter told a reporter in Chicago
the other day. When a cable expert la
New York saw the quotation he laughed.
Then ho said:
"That must bo an oldtlmer. The mirror
system hasn't been used In about fifteen
years. Yet I'm not surprised at the mis
take, for tho piiblla doesn't know much
about tho manner In which cable messages
lire scut.
"It was only ten years ago that I read
that there was a spoclaV ward In Bloom
Ingdale for cable operators who went road
from watching the needle In the glass case.
Now the system of reading the noodle
hasn't been used In forty years. I don't
believe It ever drove any ono craiy, any
way. My father was cnbllst and he never
heard of such a thing.
"They thought the cable was great when
tho needle system was used. I remember
verses printed In 'Chambers' Papers for
tho People' In the early '80s which befan:
Hark, the warning needles click,
llitlior, thither, clear and quick;
Swinging llKht!y to and fro, ,
Tidings from nfar they Show,
Wlille the patient watcher reads
As the in piil movement leaJs.
"We don't need patient watchers now.
Cabling has been reduced to mechanics.
"Nor Is It truo that operators had to
sit In black darkness when the mirror sys
tem was in vogue. The mirror was a deli
cately balanced affair which swung la
obedience to the magnet controlled by the
cable.
"A light was directed against the mir
ror nnd the reflected rays struck a scale
a few feet away. The length and dura
tion of tho reflection determined tho letter
or llguro being sent. The cnbllst never
took his eyes from tho scale. Me called
out tho message to another man, who
wrote It down.
"Sometimes the scalo was shielded by a
curtain to prevent outor light from making
the beam from the mirror too pale. But
the operutor did not have to Bit In the dark.
Lord Kelvin's Invention.
"Lord Kelvin, who Invented the moving;
mirror, did away with It by Inventing the
present system of sending and receiving."
Dozens of operators work day and night
In the Commercial Cable office In Broad
street, the largest cable office In America.
They sit at desks similar to those Used In
ordinary telegraph offices, but their appara
tus Is much more complicated than tho4
Morse key and receiver.
The sending machine has three keys, ono
for dots, one for dashes and one for spaces.
The machines work harder than Morse
keys and cannot be operated With the
fiiiRcrs.
Tho operutor holds In each hand a little
iron bar about four Inches long and half an
Inch In diameter. A piece of soft rubber Is
embedded In the end of this. The operator
sharply strikes the keys with these tools,
perforating a strip of paper which runs
through the machine.
The dots aro punched on the Upper half
of the strip and tho dashes on the lower.
The paper Is specially prepared for the
work, being treated with oil In such a way
that tho perforations are sharp and sure.
Tho tape runs through to a second machine,
which works the cable automatically. Tills
method saves delay. The operator usually
can punch faster than the cable can send,
but he does not have to wait for It to catch
up. He may be a yard of tape ahead of
the automatic sender and then If he comes
upon a word which he can't decipher he has
plenty of time to look It up, the sender
meanwhile grinding away at its task.
Wlille this is going on In New York the
message Is being received, say In Emden,
Germany, without delay, for the relay at
tho Arores is automatic. The receiving
operator Is using an even greater Invention
of Lord Kelvin's the siphon recorder.
The Incoming currents affect a rectangu
lar coll of silk covered wire which Is sus
pended between the poles of the magnet by
silk threads smaller than the finest human
hair. To this coll Is attached a glass siphon
two inches high and shaped like an In
verted L.
The upper end swings freely In a tiny
tank of thin green Ink. The lower end rests
on a constantly moving tape, just like the
tapo used in sending the message.
As the current vurles with the dots and.
dashes, tho lower end of the siphon, con
stantly wet wltfi Ink, swings to and from
upon the tape, leaving a serpentine trail.
This can bo read by the operator as easily
as ho can read print.
A Mnrvelons Instrument,
Tho most marvelous thing to the fay ob
server Is the glass siphon. It Is no bigger
around than a horsehair and one wonders
how any liquid can pnssf through It.
In order to avoid friction between tho end
of the siphon nnd the paper tape, which
would lmpedo the movements of the deli
cately suspended coll. the siphon Is vi
brated rapidly to and from tho paper by on
electrical machine, resulting in its tracing a
o'otted Insteud of an absolutely continuous
lino.
The operator sits at his desk and trans
lates the tortuous green line on the tape,
writing the message on a blank. He does
not have to watch the receiver and could
be away from It for minutes. Tho tape la
recording the message more surely Uiun ho
could.
A enhle operator's llfo Is not hard. It
takes him five years to become expert and
then be gets about $110 a month.
He may get a berth In a city offloe or he
may be sent to some faraway station where
bis board and lodgings are provided and
where he can find recreation In the amuse
ments of the place.
At the Haael Hall station In Nova BcOtla
there are sixty operators, each of whom
works eight hours a day and has plenty of
time for shouting, fishing and the other
sports of tho province. Tho company pro
vides a library and a billiard room. The
nien at the great cablo station at Water
ville, Ireland, have equal comforts.
Happy colonies of cable ojiorators are all
over the world. A man may be shifted
from Pernambuco to Mozambique or from
the Arores to Tasmania. He Is sure to find
others of whom he has heard.
Most of the men are English or Irish,
though occasionally a native of one of the
out-of-the-way countries masters the art.
The operator of experience always has an
Inexhaustible supply of stories with which
to regale his colleagues In exile.
Thomas Plekenson, chief electrician of
tho Broad street cablo offlcs, was at South
American stations for many years. He and
nine other operators kept bachelors' hall at
the Halloa Crua station. They were four
teen miles from the nearest town and their
food was brought to them each day by In
diansNew York Sun.
Hediired Penalty for Perjurers.
PARIS. June 10 The appellate Court has
reduced from three years to one year's
Imprisonment the entenee Imposed on
Masse and Moranne, the two men ac
cused of giving false testimony la U Tit
will vase.