THE OMAIIA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
Iowa -Nebraska Pension Office and Its Work for the Old Soldiers
JfovemWr 12, 100ft.
1
ES MOINES, Nor. .-(Special)
D
Miss Lizzie Rood of the lows-Nebraska
pension office In thla city.'
must sign her name I.S00 times n "
day for twenty-two days ever.-
three month before the old . soldiers; wid
ows and army tiufsea of Iowa and Nbra.k i
nm n a... IU..U i , . .
....... (rviiKivilD. . 1 ' . IIBIIIB IHIriI V ' '
a pension check is I Hood. Mian Rood
Wll fU)li(t mil I a .1 .. I A .. I.
w for that dtifY
an much because her nam.! .
T short and It
"Wslgn It as becai
takes but a short time to
berauM kite la a a-rirwi rn.,a '
and rapid. Time Is an important element
In the matter when the checks number Tjp
Inle the thousand. Thfre are 61.710 on the '
pension -rolls of this office and 2,500 time
a day signing one's -name is considered a, -good
dny's work. Her signature U kept on
flie In Washington and New York for com
parison with that signed to th checks.
The pension office in thin city Is located
on the second, floor of the .government
building and ,bccuples but three rooms, '
though It pays oat nearly W.OOO.OOO a year
to the old soldiers und widows of two
states. There Is an office, for the pulsion
agent and a large workroom where most
of the twenty-flvo clerks do their -work.-
Betwoen. the two is another room where
those having business with the office call
and are waited on by the chief elerk; The
(round la purchased and ah appropriation
expected of the next congress to erect a
new building In which the pension office- as
well as the postofflce and other government
offices will be better provided with accommodations.
Mnth la Slse.
Tliev 1 Iowa-Nebraska pension agency
ranks ninth In site In the number of pen
sioners carried on the rolls of the agency.
There are eighteen agencies In the United
States. '.Last year through the Nebraska
Iowa agency there was paid 17,870.449.46 to
the Old soldiers of the two states and their
widows and army nurses. This amount of
money is distributed among 64,710 persons.
The agency Is the result of the consolida
tion Of four agencies In 1882. These agen.
cles were located In Omaha, Dcs Moines.
Fairfield and Dubuque, la. Under the
consolidation Jacob Rich of Dubuque was
the first pension agent. He was followed
-i by Captain C. 8. Lake of Marengo. Ia., S.
. Mjaiuiu ui v iuluo, im., kj. xi. itoDinson
Y or unoxvuie, ia., b. f. Bperry of Knox
.la, villa, Ia.. and the late R. P. Clarkson of
pvi moines. ienrasica nas never Dean
honored with the position1 of pension
agent for this district.
The work of a disbursing pension office
. Is quite routine in Its nature, though in
teresting occurrences and Interesting de
velopments, echoes of the days of 60 to '66,
are disclosed In the correspondence occa
sionally. The granting of pensions Is all
done from t hft WjLahtnfi-tnn nmnn anA tha
pension offices over the country, such aa
Jjtha Iowa-Nebraska, office, have only the
matter of the payments to make, all of
Si" which la done with the means of pension
1 checks, which are In effect and in reality
drafts on the New York depository of the
government.' while they do not get Into
the general circulation of the country,
thAW Man h. turn. In at tha rt
t It iT lurnea ln l" grocery store
just tat same as greenbacks.
The nenston nfflr. h.,. whieh i. vnirai
.11 ,, i .v.. . .. t. ....
V saa MIUDD I II V la W WUMll-fi I 1UI IIIOIICU
... .i. ,
.... . . .v. -v.. . '
w. lOf.lU., VI. W.O '--' "-
the pension rolls. From these rolls every a oerors tne golden calf.. Canada is at Its " "" w1 u "t confining me xvion- n...v. """-" - " n
three months Is made out ths payments beginning. It was born at about ths same dlke' would mak ur ttes as big as developing, and thence on to Winnipeg and lng in French to a delegation when I en
When a pension Check is sent to an old tlm as the United States, but it has been hto- oa to ths great wheat fields which are now tered, and I was not surprised to find that
pension Check Is sent to an old
aoldiar for M. nn.rt.r thera is sent ajao
a voucher blank for the followlna auarter
ThV data 'for ths payment of pensions Is
tha fourth day of January April July and
October On and ofter those dates ths old
soldier takes his pension voucher which
he has received with his check for the '
procedlng quarter to some notary or per-
son qualified to administer an oath. With
the voucher he exhibits his pension Wtlfl-
cats which he rebelved from the govern-
ment .when his pension was first allowed.
The notary takes his oath that he Is ths
', .
1
INCLINED RAILROAD UP MOUNT
mm
1 . .. ..
Court Suspends Session for Want of a Chew
h i-AT'RR Justice James Comstock
B of Evanston. 111., formerly a sea "The court is out of plug." suid' ths Jus
1 lunlaln did not have a fresh tice solemnly' ''Anybody cot a chew?"
chew of tobacco securely tucked
away in his left cheek, business
in his court was suspended until ms want
was satisfied.
Two men, Paul Duslng and Patrick Mc-
rMn were heinK ti-led bv the iusflve for
vlolatlng the Evanston liquor ordinance,
The evidence was voluminous, the argu-
ments of the attorneys lengthy. The court's
plug became exhausted. He became uneasy,
shifted in his seat and eyed the two de
fendants with what seemed to then) an un
friendly eye.
The attorney for ths defense, believing
hi. uneasiness mars manifest.
Suddenly h. pounded on bis desk with his
vU ....
"Pleas.." hs cried. ".Up ths c.. ,
Th. attorney hrsught hi. argument to a
sudden slop. Th. spectators wok. up. Th.
that the peculiar actions of the court boded settling lt In its proper place in the left ,da has now more than 10.000 miles of try. while right under you is Montreal with ehlses for great public utilities. Is there
111 for his clients, redoubled his efforts. But cheek, tho Judge nettled himself comfort, railroad track. In proportion to Its popula- 'We streets, its mauy trees, its mighty any movement here In that diieciion.
all to no effect. The frown on the august ably in his chair, raised his feet upon the ti -iias lone much mors than the United Churches, its myriad factories, its enormous "Yes." replied the mayor ot Montreal, 1
. . . . . .i ..!. h..w. .... who think w aia alowlv drifting toward munlci-
tountenanca 01 tna court oecams aaraer. railing ana uira witn unerring cnuiii etates 111 punaing cana is, ana 11 nas some
' ' ' ' "Y "'X ' '- -" 1 . ' i- ''
-X V ... ) .'ft '
- 0
W. V.. WILCOX, NEWLY APPOINTED
Enormbus
(Copyright, 1906, by Frang Q. Carpenter.
f MONTREAL, Nov. 9. (Special Corre-
I rw I Pndence of The Bee.) I have
AT I c0"16 t0 Canada 'to investigate
R17J the Industrial revolution arolng on
SYVi-wer jn the northern part of our contl-
nent. The United States Is largely devel-
d. Our public lands are almost all taken
in W h.. .v.- nA
f ' " " .iiujicu uvnu uia itcroo a.1114
dug up the We haye Krdlroned our
country with railroads and established great
cities. We have gone down down Into ths
mines nd erected mighty factories and
foundries, and aa a nation.' are srowlnsr so
" . w
raDldlv that ths other nowera unon earth
are bowing down before us .a the Tsmelitea
. . - .7 ' . . "
"mo " lne united otatea, but it has been
sleeping until now. It is. ' in fact, an un.
aeveloped country, its resources almost un-
known and to a large part unexplored
Hav you ever thought how much land
Canada has? The possessions Of John Bull
on this continent are greater than those of
Uncle Sam. His Britannic majesty is the
land grabber of the universe, and his prop,
-rtles here are bigger than anywhere else
n the world. Canada Is twice the stze of
India; It Is bigger than Australia and It Is
thirty times as big as (Irent Britain and
Irekind.
It Contli;!--
f hil of the land
!0
3- -f"t -i '
ROYAL. MONTREAL,
defendants squirmed.
Both defendants reached Into their pockets
and rushed to the bar of Justice. They
siammea ineir onenngs on me raunis.
"Take mine, your honor," they said ln
unison. -
Critically the eourt examined the respec-
tlve plugs. Then gingerly he took a small
one 01 earn.
"No partiality lt tills court." ne aeciared
jovially. "Treut you all alike." '
Then, returning ; W the first plug,' the
judge took another snd larger bite. . Tha
other was treated the same.
Rolling the quid judiciously around and
"took a .hot" at a cuspidor twelve , fet
away. ,
"ProceM with the c." .ld the court,
closing his eye. In ec.tacy. "I gu... thl.
will hold ro for a whil.. "-Chlcgo Inter
Ocean.
PENSION AGENT AT DES MOINES.
Extent of
of the whole Brltlah empire. Indeed It is
a continent in Itself; for it Is almost as
large as Europe and bigger than tho United
States, including Alaska, Porto Rico, Ha-
wail, Samoa and the Philippines all put to-
gether. ......
$ ., .
Unknown :Emplre.
Pnnndn hna .Intra tho nnm.ii nf which
- - " -
we hardly know. We pat ourselves on our
backs when we think of Alaska and its
ra8t developing resources. It contains
about one-fifth of all the land that we own,
The province ot Mackenxis, which borders
...
the Arctic ocean farther eastward, is al-
most as big ss Alaska, and Yukon, which
It ..... . ...
w .... . w-.w.
Have Tu vr bturi of Ungara? It lies
' Mjoraaor ana nuason Day, just
north Province of Quebec, and it Is
bi"r than Texas, Kanxas and New Jer-
ey combined. Keewaitln, on the western
,ld" of that baV. Jut north of Ontario and
bounded on the west by Manitoba, Sas-
katchewan and Mackenzie, has 470,000
"-uar" "". or enough to make ten. states
the f New York; while the- Icy terri-
tory of Franklin above, with Its great
wnaie-nsning grounds, is larger still.
Everything ln Canada is big. The old
provinces are enormous. Quebec Is ten
times aa big as Indiana. Ontario, Just over
the way above the great lakes, Is bigger
than France or Germany. It Is bigger
than all New England with the addition of the farming belt is several hundred miles Just as other great cities have done, and
iew York. Pennsylvania and Virginia, wide, but the recent experiments show that are creating a Greater Montreal. We shall
Manitoba is about as large as Missouri, crops can be raised farther and farther add several suburbs to the city today. We
and. the Canadians claim, almost as rich, north, and no one yet knows where the have a large outside population, which is
The new provinces of Saskatchewan and possible farming regions of Canada may now governed by Us own little municlpali-
Alberta, .which have Just been created, are end. ties. Within a short time these will all
empires In themselves. Each of them has G be a part of Montreal."
an area something like that of France or Americans In Canada.
Germany, and parts of them will rahie Th Americans who are rapidly coining A (oxmopolilan City,
more than either of those countries. They t0 Canada ar creating new political condl- "Give me some idea of the character of
are crossed by the Canadian .Pacific rail- tlona nere At Present tha great west is your people, your worship," said I.
way, and other railways will soon open up ta" of thl" new mPire' but the tall ..j believe we are the most cosmopolitan
their northern sections. Those provinces row and Brows, and with Its vast wheat municipality on the continent. About 70
are being rapidly colonized by American reB'n yet to be opened up It may in time per cellt of us are French, and a large
farmers, and I am told that an American 08 heavv enough to either wag the dog or part ot the balance English Canadians. We
Canada Is growing up right across ths bor- t0 Dreak otc and have an Independent ex- have also many Americans, Germans, Bel
der. British Columbia, the mighty prov- lstence of its own. I shall tell how Cana- gians, Italians, Chinese and a great num
Ince of the far west. Is another empire. dlans and others feel about this matter, ln- ber 0f English, Irish and Scotch. Our peo
through which the new railroads will go. tervlewing the people of the new colonies p)e are 0f an classes. We do an immensa
Its western portion has a climate something ,n dln,erent parts of the Canadian west. ,jeal of manufacturing, and we have ths
like that of Washington or Oregan, and There are hundreds of Americans who WOrkingmen with their turbulent ele
the mountains are said to be rich in gold, have gttled Canada and became promt- ments. We are the Atlantic gate to Can
copper and othermlnerals. nent here. The great trunk lines of rati- aijai an(j a large population of our Imml-
road are managed by them. They have grunts from Europe pass through here.
Canada A rw Country. opened up the biggest Iron mines and they We are also a residential city, and a city of
This gives some Idea of the new Canada, have all sorts of Investments In the way of tne r(on. Many Canadians who have made
I say new because the oldest things are
new when first known, and Canada Is
Just becoming known to the world. As
far as the original discovery Is concerned
It is the oldest part of North America,
Uef Erlcson, a Norwegian, discovered
Newfoundland and -Nova Scotia by sailing
down from Iceland almost 600 years before
Columbus came across the Atlantic and
landed upon the West Indies. John Cabot
was the next arrival, a little after Colum-
bus, and It was about a generation later
mat me r rencn sent out Jacques Cartler,
who discovered the mouth of the St. Law-
renra unA anileri un thmnirti If In In.h..
. rence and sailed up through it to Quebec,
- The next year he made his way as far as
Montreal and gave the French their title to
Canada by right of discovery. The French
sealed that part of Canada. There are a
million and a half French Canadians today
and the people of that region still speak
French and have papers published in that
'anguage.
Every American knows of the conquest of
Canada by the British. Its story has been
that of a British colony from then until
now and It is a British dependency today.
The country has grown slowly in popula-
tlon until recently. It has now altogether
less than five and a half millions, but it
has had more than lOO.OuO American Immi
grants within the past two years and peo
ple are coming in by the thousand from
the different parts of northern Europe,
TOht . ,rnt,lrrl.tinn .mnunt. t tha t.
tlements of the Americans and what they
are doing, and the general development of
the far western lands of the country will
form a large part of my writing during the
tour
Sew Things In Canada.
I want to tell you something about the
new things going on there. The country is
bing opened up by railroads and there
are all sorts of new lines of transportation
jt v.w v... --a v... .i
1 II MIBT-Vt, UUIU VJ Sa lT I SB IV4 f J vsaii-
of th. greatest of navigable river, of ths
world. I shall go along ths llns of ths rail
and water rente, from th. Atlantic to Man-
itoba. and .hall mention th. schemes pro-
posed for fast ships from England through
Hudson strait and Hudon bay.
person named In the certificate and tu
voucher Is properly made out and sworn
to. This the old soldier forwards to the
pension office of his district and on the.
pension pay day gets his check for ltla
pension for the Quarter.
In the pension office at Dcs Moines,
besides the pension agent, twenty-six cleika
are busy for three months preparing for
that pension day. AVhen the vouchers coin
In It Is their business to look over them
and see that they are properly made out.
If there is the slightest defect the voucher
must be returned to be corrected befora
the pension check will be sent. From tha
Des Moines office frequently as many aa
a couple of thousand must be returned la
one quarter, to be . corrected. One clerk
In each office is designated to sign th
checks.
Cheeks Already Filled Oat.
Big check books, very much like tha
check books that are furnished by banks to
their' customers,' with a stub for each
check, are furnished the pension office.
Some of the check books are In blank, so
that pensions of Odd amounts cun le filled
In. For the most part the pensions are la
classes and the check books, are mude out
with the amount printed in the check.
Hither Miss Rood or the pension agent hinv
elf must go through the pension rolls
each quarter and sign a check for each
old soldier, widow or army nurse on tha
pension roll. When the voucher comes la
from the old soldier the check with a new
voucher for the following quarter Is mailed
to him. There Is one chief clerk, who looks
after the details of the office, and the other
twenty-five are occupied In mailing the
checks and looking over the vouchers to
see that no mistakes have been made. This
latter is no small task, for every voucher
must be scrutinised with the greatest care.
They are looked over hurriedly wnn they
first come in. but after the rush Is over,
which lasts for several days at tha be
ginning of each quarter, the vouchers are
taken again and carefully examined.. If
one Is sent In to the department at Wash
ington which has the slightest flaw it Is
sent back and unless the pension agent
can get it corrected he is out of pocket
the amount of the voucher. The voucher
sent from the old soldier to the pension
agent Is evidenced In the first Instance that
the old soldier Is still alive and has a pen-
slon certificate that entitles him to a pen.
sion. Attached to the voucher Is a duphV
Canada's
, Canada's new mines and the great man.
ufacturlng developments now going on will
form the subjects of other letters. Canada
has the greatest nickel mines of the world.
Enormous copper mines have already been
dfscovered; It is now turning out l8,ooo,w
worth of gold every year, and "its mineral
products sell for 338,000,000 per annum.' The
manufactures are also erowin. Caollal IS
"
combining,' and If is a question whether"
the trust octopus will not eventually hold
the country in its mynaa arms.
Granary of tne' Northwest.
Among my letters will be soms from ths
granary of ths northwest. I shall go
Iku,,.!, .k.. .klnV. I. MMI
opening up to settlement, in a, tai tnai
" " " n,..u.... v...m...-
"oner at St. Louis he told me that thera
were 173,000,000 acres in that region which
had been surveyed, but not yet taken up.
n that a large part of it would prob-
ably be settled by Americans. Three-fourths
of that land is wheat land. The wheat belt
a tract 400 miles wide and 1,000 miles
long; so large that Canada claims she will
eventually be ajble to supply the mother
country wiui 100a. one is aoing mis more
now than ever Derore, and is competing
seriously with us in our best markets. Ag-
rlcultural Canada extends between the At-
lantic and the Pacific for a distance of
about 2,600 miles. We already know that
factories, lands," pulp mills and forests,
What Americans are doing and what they
can do should be Interesting reading. The
same Is true of our trade with Canada. We
are spending vast sums sending commis-
sloners to all parts of the world to look up
trade openings while we pay but little at-
tentlon to the big possibilities near home.
Canada is one of our best customers, We
sell her twice as much goods as we buy
from her. She has a commerce worth half
a billion dollars every year, and it grows
ue a gref,n bay tree. It Is more valuable
to Uncle Sam than his trade with Japan,
. . . ..
inina or any oilier country ouimae curope.
but he takes little palnH to cultivate It,
What that trade Is and how It may be bet-
tered is worth the consideration of our gov-
eminent and business men.
Montreal In 105.
I came to Montreal from Boston. It Is
only a nixht on the sleeping car. but that
nght brings you Into John I!uW,s dominions
and nto the New York of his Canadian
poesslons. Montreal is like New York
Bnd not iike it. The chief resemblance Is
, ,ocat)on. noth c,,lti. stand upon dia-
mond..huped uiands. and both are sur
rounded by great rivers. The St. Lawrence
and the Ottawa here flow together, cmbrac-
lng the towns. Montreal island is thirty
miles long and the city rises from the'
shores up the slope of Mount Royal, a
woods-covered hill from which Montreal
has its name. , .
One can ride o tha top of this hlH on an
" ..""-"','"" "
I r. I . ..A Pn 1 r '.a J n A V, .1 .... rt... I.. H .1 Ll.f
view, -ui mc iiunu Aiurritau . uiiuuiinui.
Standing upon the lookout, the Ottawa and
the St, Lawrence winds for miles below you,
th laUer nlled wlth Breat "t-aniera and
olne "aing at uuii.
aouthwesf. you can see the green mountains
of tl9 AdUondacks kissing the sky and
markina the existence of God', chosen coun-
Th ctty covers. I judge. Between ten ana
fifteen square tulles, and it ha. numerous
suouros wnicn ar. now oommg ,n
Montreal U a -ubatantial city with plain,
bu.ln.M-llks English blocks. It has no sky
acrap.rs. and It has not as y.t b.a amict.a
TV- -A" ' -'-' ' : ,V'
' ' rV - :... 'Ji
T 5 ' . t 1 : - I
m
Tit1.
ill -; l,liA...j -1
FET-KRAt, BUltDTNO AT DES MOINES
PENSION OFFICE 13 LOCATED.
cato receipt for the money. This is re-
talned In the nenslon office and the orlalnal
sent to Washington as evidence there again"
that -the money! has. been paid and that
the Des Moines office is entitled to the
credit of that amount.'
Cash Not Always Called For...
-Each check has a printed notice on its
face that it should be presented for pay-
ment within ninety days, though many pay the original check, should it be found. The DesMoines office is temporarily In
pensioners do not observe this require- Checks will not be paid at all by the as- the charge of A. H. Thomoson, an official
ment, much to the embarrassment of ths slstant treasurer on whom they are drawn from the department at Washington. W.
pension agents and the Treasury depart- unless presented within three years after V. Wlllcox, the agent appointed to suc
ment. Checks that were Issued during the they are drawn. The funds representing ceed the lae R. P. Clarkson, will soom as
time when Mr. Sperry was the pension ail checks Outstanding at the end of three luma the duties of the office. Mr. Will
agent are still outstanding and have never years are covered back into the treaau.-v rrtf wb a n-iAmtftpr of th TCIs-hth Tow, en v.
been presented , for payment. If pensioners
knew the trouble it takes to get a new
Unexplored Region
with the apartment house crate, although
I am told some large flats are in contempla-
tlon.
v $
Chat -with the Mayor.
in order to give you the latest informa-
tlon as to, the new Montreal, I called upon'
the mayor. I found him In his office in the
CltV hall, a lOUT-tory llaht ffrav Stone
- '
building opposite the French market and
not far from the river. I heard nothing but
Tencn spoKen as i passed' tnrougn tne
market on my way to the mayor's office,
There were notices printed In French pasted
side by side with the English notices ln the
hallways and every door had a French and
tPVncrllnh tint a.... 1, Th. ... ....I,.
- . "- "
ne nimseu is or jfrenon-uanaaian acsoent.
n .,..., n. . rww, .uu m .u-
dressing him one calls him "Your Wor-
ship." Mayor La Porte speaks English as
well as French. About two-thirds of the
city over which he rules is French, but the
other third is English, and the business
must therefore be conducted in both Ian-
guages.
1 opened the conversation by asking him
to tell me something about the Montreal of
iyot. ills worsnip repiiea:
"Montreal Is thriving as never Derore. 11
has Increased ln population 130,000 in the
past five years. It has now more than
400,000 citizens, and it will soon have half a
million. We are taking In the suburbs
fortunes have their homes here, and mag
nificent homes, too. We have residences
which have cost in the neighborhood of
$1,000,000 or more. This Is a city of many
nhiircliea und many creeds. Indeed. It is
a word lii Itself, and It is a wonder that
it Is aa quiet and as orderly as it is."
Montreal U Well Managed.
"It must be a costly city to run.
Is It
not?" sa'-d I.
"Yes. We collect taxes to the amount
of three or four million dollars a year, out
the money is well spent, and I doubt if
. ,.
Montreal rosts as mucn as any city ui u
sz n the United States. We have an fx-
eellent police force, numbering four or five
hundred, and this lias not Increased mors
than one-third within the laft twenty years.
We l.i'.ve a cood water service, and are
gradually improving our streets. A few
years ago OUr sidewalks were almost all
'. , , ,
fte(,n mll(.a nf 'new pavement every year.
Thera wa8 an tem,lt time ago to
Mld(.n tnP nid thoroughfares, but It cost so
mut,h tna, we had t0 call a halt. We are
,low lng nlore ,iowiy, but we are tm-
proving."
"How 'about' graft, your worship? Is
there much boodllng ln Montreal?"
..j dont think I had better answer that."
repned the mayor, "although I might safely
uy that Montreal is perhaps better than
(ls 88tf r dtles of a similar size throughout
-the world' as regards such matters. How-
eVer I don't want to discuss the graft
. . T . I . k.r. t
Qp"n- " "
shall ne cnargea Wltn luowilis niy own
horn, and those who think differently will
not believe me. If I say graft does exh-t,
lt will be even worse. You will have to ask
others that question.
4
Monlflpal 0nernl.
"How about the city owning the fran
....
P. w'-u- """T' .treat
come hn t he city w II l oan the street
i " , .hit natur. W. ar. now having
't1
troubls with ga. companies, ana w. ae
maud that th.y cut down thalr raU to 00a-
w'-k T f . ' i . .
im
,rg itR
IN WHICH THE IOWA-NEBRASKA
,
-
check If one gets lost or stolen all checks
Would be collected at once. A new check
cannot be Issued i.ntil six months hove
elapsed from the issue of the lapsed or lare Pr cent ara Invalids or soldiers them
stolen one. Besides, the owner must not "ves, the total number being 41777. Tha
ohty wait six months to get a duplicate.
but must furnish a bond In double- the'
amount that will be acceptable to ths
Treasury department to protect the gov-
ernment from the possibility of having to
and the holders of such checks must for-
ward them to the secretary of the treas-
sumers. We want a reduction of 40 cents
a thousand off of the present rate of 11.20
a thousand. Gas can profitably be manu-
factured at 70 cents a thousand, and If
Montreal will pay SO cents the companies
should not complain."
"Are you a native of Montreal, your wor
ship?" I asked.
"No. T woji hnrn within Itftun mil, n
- - - ----- ......... -. .. .
the city, but I came here as a boy and hava
lived in Montreal all my life. I like I ha
city, and have every confidence In its lm-
mediate and ultimate prosperity."
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
An Apt Answer
ln business In Eldora ln general merchan
P. I. Hutchlns. tha cotton exnert. 'u . ji.. tt
" ..TV : "Z
"'' " "i" "'"y f"0"'-
--
- magistrate s court that I saw ln my boy-
hood.
An old man was hauled before a magis-
trate for stealing chickens, and the latter
said sternly to him:
" Tou are charged with robbing hen-
roosts my friend. Have you any wit-
ne""7
Th veteran smiled calmly as ha re-
'"r ""'" "
henroosts before witnesses.' "-New York
Tribune.
,
. ',
- . O -
-I
H. A. LA PORTE, MAYOR
Similarity Between Japanese and Ojibways
EW men know ths American In-, lh' continent, and that ths primitive cul
dian better tban.L. O. Armstrong turs of America was transplanted into
of Ottawa, chlef'of the Canadian Asia and then to Europe, to become tha
Pacific ralway colonization de- civilization of great historic peoples,
partment, whose work takes him "I have a great many curious evidences
Into ths out-of-the-way places of the Do-
minion. Mr. Armstrong strongly holds the
theory that the Asiatio peoples originally
migrated; that they were, in fact, descend-
ants of the tribes now known as Am. ri-
can Indians. He has illustrated this claim
I by dressing Japanese In Indian costumes
snd Indians in Japanese costumes, and
then challenging people to distinguish be-
tween the two. Ho points to the announce-
ment that M K. Jesup. president of the
American Museum of Natloual History, is
about to publish the results of elaborate
ln,...f U.tinn. 1 1 1 1 1' lh nllHlInn C. In
whether America peopled the world. Th.
onB COIlducted for MV, yt,r, by
prominent ethnologists of America and
Russia ar. .aid ta .how oouclu-iv.ly that
AalaUc peopl.. cam. originally from
aiats peopi.. c
ury before they will be paid. It occasion
ally happens that a, bill must 1h passed by
congress for tiie relief of a prinun who has
held a 'check for years before' the owner Is
able to secure the Rnmujit icpresented by
the face vf the check. i ' ,
Tension OHIee Flaures.
Of the JT.stli.VifUtf uid last year froin this
offico J5.4).045.82 was paid to Iowa pension
ers and $2.1!5,10t.91 to Nebraska pensioners.
Peii8(oneis resilient in Iowa number S5,9l0,
a'hd In' Nebrask'a ltl.STi. I'ensioners fre
uuontly rtiove to another state and are not
intnssfcrifd to'tho otht'r agency. The total
numlxr curried, on t lie tolls here Is a not
gain of thirty-seven over thru of the pro-
, el-ding 'i ear. The high-water , mark ot tha
number of pensioners lit the entire country
was reached January 31 last, when the rolls
contained '1.(104. 1W. June 3) this had fallen
to W8, 411 and It is believed that It will never
again reach the million mark unless thera
is another war or tho strvlca pension law
is passed.
The mriest agency in the country. Is that'
at Topcka. which carries-115,3(8 pensioners'
on the rolls, and the smallest IS that at'
Concord; N.- II., which carries 17,0 6n tha
rolls. , :
The agency at Des Moines now carries "on
Its rolls the following pensioners: invalid
pensioners of the regular establishment
(meaning thereby soldiers who havd beooma
disabled during time of peace), 291; widows
of the same, 47; civil war pensioners, 41, Mil;
widows of such, 11,376; Spanish war pen
sioners, 738; widows of such, 151; war of 1812,
no soldiers; widows of soldiers of war ot
1812, 19; Mexican war, 180; widows of such.'
248; Indian wars soldiers. 14; widows oC '
BUcl1' 3- armV nurses of civil war, 49.
" w111 b Been that out ot the H710 pan-
alon on the rolls of the agency a very
Invalid roll Is, however, decrnlng each
y'-r and tne number of widow pensioners
correspondingly Increasing.
$
Nw Agent a Young- Soldier.
alrv and enlisted when he was but 17 years
old In 1RC3. He cams nearly being refused.
His youthfulness was easily apparent,
though he strenuously Informed the exam
inlng officer that he was over 18.' Finally
ho was accepted on the statement of ono
of those Interested In raising the regiment,
who claimed that Mr. Wlllcox was home
less and might just as well be in tha
' war as any place, and the recruiting office.
ignorant of the fact that Wlllcox's father
was the owner of several hundred acres
of good form land In Johnson county, ac-
cepted the youth, who but a short tlma
before had run away from his homo and
walked to Wapello In Louisa county. Mr.
Wlllcox's father came to Iowa In the early
days from Ohio and kept the Halfway
Vmi.a Wvam Tnva nttm nnA r,it Sanlrii
. .. .... - j - ....
Mr. Wlllcox was with Sherman on tha
march to 'the sea and was with tha lost
regiment which wandered for about forty
days without communication with the rest
of ths troops. Finally the regiment reached
Macon, Ga., Joining the rest of tha forces.
Following ths war, Mr. Wlllcox clerked
at Iowa City and Eldora and then engaged
u " "' '"" "'
his brother and father tinder the firm name
u -imcvt x wm. nr.' muwi ma inmu,
of Hardin county during the notorious
Ralnsbarger days when the fsur Ralnsbar-
ger brothers, two of which are now ln tha
penitentiary serving life sentences, were a
terror to the whole country and Mr. Wlll-
cox was very instrumental In their capture,
Mr. wtnCox later became district agent
for the HaWkeye Insurance company and
,ome year8 ago bought an Interest In tha
mcai agency, wuu which uo ib duu wu-
nectea. . rromineni in me 1. a. it. ana
political circles, Mr. Wlllcox has a very
wide acquaintance ln Iowa. '
. , ,
' l
'. ''"'
OF MONTREAL.
, of this in the notes that I have collected
from ti:ne to time," said Mr. Armstrong,
"I pro ulgated the idea in the play of
'Hiawatha,' which I dramatized and staged,
t That play is intended to depict Indian Ufa
before the arrival of the white man. Tha
theory first occurred to me through the
striking physical resemblance between tLs
OJibway Indians and the Japanese, and also
by the fact that the Ojibways have tha
game totem as the Japanese, which Is a
crane standing on a turtle. There are many
other proofs. For Instance, In neither tba
nilh.flv nor tha -TutiAiieaA larnr'.iaara Ua
there any '.wear' words. The social post-
Uon of tlie WOQlfn ,n boUl U ,h. .ame. Bh.
has Uttl. vole. In tha management of do-
nestle matt, f but U a worksr."Chlca
R.cord-Hxala.
.cora oviua.