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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1907)
0 .eu. TIIF, OMAHA SUNDAY PEE: 'At'dUST 11. 1P07. UIMELY REAL ESTATE TALK How Kounlze Place is Building This Season Hot Weather Does Not Dampen Ardor of Realty Men. MORE SALES THAN LAST YEAR e-veral Good Flecea of Tracker Property (ktiicft R4 Lately Dratil for Real T' dences Krrpi 1v I H) L II (0 ... I 1 THE PERFECT ICE CREAM Hot weather does not seem to dmtn the ardor of the real estate brokers this ear. Last iitmmM the Omaha Real Es tate exchange adjourned through August, Ifcut thla mnoti the two most Interesting cessions wore held on the la it day of July and the first meeting day In u irust. The meetings will continue without break. One reason for this Interest Is ssld to lla In the fact that thorn I a greater rum tor of trsnsactlons In the hot weather thla year than lent. There la not a larger C- rebate of money Involved In the sales, ut there are more of them, and that keeps the agents In good spirits. Though trackage property Is retting career and scarcer, yet every now and then someone picks up a piece from non resident owners. One of the latest ac quisitions In-this line Is a lot at the south east corner of Ninth and Davenport streets, which has Just been bought from a Phila delphia man. through R. C. Peters & Co., for $2,000. At first sight this would seem to be an Inordinately low price, since the lot Is 110 feet long and 66 feet In width, but a look at the ground will show that, while It may have been a bargain, It was Hot given away. The ground Is on a slope and a large amount of dirt will have to be moved If the place Is used as a warehouse site. Mr. Martin says he stands ready to remove the dirt and build a warehouse to j suit a lessee. Another very good piece of trackage property has been taken from the market, not because existing prices nre not high enough, but because It has changed hands and ths new owner wishes to build. The lot, which Is Just north of the Updike Milling company's plnnt at Sixteenth and Charles streets, ha been bought by the company as a slta for a flour warehouse. Which will bo the first warehouse In Omaha for the storage of Omaha-made flour. It Is 00 feet In width and about 200 feet long. One feature of value In con nection with the lot Is the fact that It la liigh above the Missouri Pacific tracks. This will allow the utilization of gravity hi loading cars from the warehouse. Six thousand dollars Is tho price named. A third piece of trackage ground was disposed of last week. It Is a piece of ground 132 feet square at the northeast corner of Ninth street and Capitol avenue and went to Frank Crawford and John Haskell for $ti,5O0. They have also ac quired an' Irregular piece of ground ad joining these lots, and the whole makes a nice piece of trackage property, which will be held for an advance. The man who thinks that a real estate transaction Is always an easy matter and can be concluded in a day, should study the situation with regard to the property t Sixth and Dorcas streets, on which the street railway company has taken option. It belonged to X Wentworth. One- man lias signed the option contract for himself and the other heirs, of whom there are twenty-ihree. Blgnatures to the number of twenty-three will be necessary on the deed, and as the heirs are scattered over the United States, It will require a montn or two to get them. ' It fell to the lot of John M. Fix to tnake one of the most profitable real es tate transactions that has been made In Omaha for months. Mr. Fixa bought from A. P. Tukey & Bon a lot which they ad vertised In desperation as "the worst lyjng four acres In town." Two thousand dollars was the price of It, but Mr. Fixa had to pay only 1300 down. He sold It the other day to J. P. Connolly, Just a month after he bought it, for $3,900. ' Gone Is the glory of the old Thurston home, which or.ee sat In aristocratic splen dor on the hill at Twenty-fourth and Farnam streets. After standing for several weeks on the sidewalk near Its original' alto. It has been sold by Ed O. and R. P. Hamilton and is about to be moved to Twenty-fifth and Marcy streets, there to be repaired and used for rental purposes. Bo are the mighty fallen. In that house Senator Thurston has entertained some of the most noted men of the United States. J. Fred Kerr told the following at the meeting of the realty men last week: 'A man whom you all knew, quit the teal estate business last fall and began to study for the ministry. I understand that a few evenings ago he rose in church and began to talk with the words: "Broth ers and sisters, a few months ago I was ,ln the I was in the real estate and ab stract business in Omaha." J. H. Dumont tt Son last 'week mads a ale in the West Farnam residence district at $5& a front foot, which the senior mem ber of the firm says is a bargain. It does aeem cheap, for property within a block or two of this has sold at 100 a front foot within the last year. The ground In question is ninety feet on the west side of Fortieth street, between Harney street and Dewey avenue, and it was sold to Oeorge Palmer, who will build a residence ;pn it next spring. '' There is a growing tendency among realty tnen to locate on the ground floor. The D. V. Bholea company, J. H. Dumont & Bon and Payne. Bostwlck Co. all have re cently moved from upper floors of the jNew York Life building to the ground floor of that and other office blocks. All ay that the trade from casual customers who come to them more than pays for the Increase in their rental expenses. The Torrens system of transferring real state, which does away with long ab stracts, is meeting many attacks in Chi cago, and, of course, it is natural that it hould meet attacks Instigated by the abstracters. In last Sunday's issue of the Chicago Record-Herald Charles G. Little, mho Is an examiner of titles under the Torrens system, replies to some of the faultfinders. H mentions the points of attack as. first, the constitutionality of the law under which transfers of registered property are made, and. second, the mer chantability of Torrens titloa after regis tration. Speaking of the first, he declares that the aupreme court of Illinois has declared the law constitutional, and then he goea on to say: But th position of the timid man who is frightened by the cry of "Wolf!" is no wwae than if his title had not been regis tered; he still has the Inestimable ad vantage which the opponents of the system term to think the InaUenable right of every j.mt baser of land that of an examination l.v the lawyer of his choice. It is so diffi cult to get even the honest erttlc to see that he has lost nothing of the old system which he deems essential. It is for the small property owner rely- Ing upon the efficiency of the registrar and its assistants, to whom ths system Is a treat boon. The timid, the suspicious, may Hill aau4 from IU .0tA) lawyers In Cui- 1 UL. , ; mm mm IP KErW cago some one to examine their titles, not withstanding the fact that anyone familiar with real estate conditions in Chicago knows that thousands of transfers are made annually upon examinations by law yers Mving little, if any, experience quali fying them for this work For his J.t the average property owner would probably get more competent advice under the meth ods In force In the Torrens office than If left to his choice of a lawyer. Conveyancing is In some respects the most difficult and technical branch of the law, and yet every lawyer who hangs up his shingle considers himself qualified to undertake it. The second point of attack Is easily answered. It Is not true that Torrens titles are not merchantable. There Is transferred annually one-sixth In value of all the prop erty registered, the percentage being con siderably larger than that under the re cording system. There are In the com munity men who are timid about taking Torrens sertlflcates, but how long would this timidity lust If men would cease their attacks upon the system. People are almost as timid about their real estate titles as they are about their bank deposits. The strongest bank could not withstand con stant attacks against its safety and sol vency. The most perfect system of land transfer human Ingpnulty could devise would have to withstand for years ridicule and attack. SHORTSTOP F0R MAIL BAGS If Yaa Can Invent a arood One Uncle Same Will Par Well fur It. The government wants a device for de livering mall bags from swift trains with out Injury to the maJl. "A big fortune awaits the Inventor of such a scheme," says the second assistant postmaster general. A substitute for twine' in wrapping the mall will also enrich the one who Is In genious enough to device such a thing. Men with brains have been experiment ing for years to solve the problem of how mall bags shall be received from trains running at sixty miles an hour. Every day thousands of mall sacks are thrown from such trains onto the platforms of stations where It Is Impossible to make stops. The mall bags are not Infrequently forced under the wheels of the fast flying train by suction or the wind, ground to pieces, and the mall that Is not entire destroyed scattered broadcast. At the best the mall get the roughest kind of handling and much of the mall becomes damaged. The government has been fur years hunt ing In vain for a practical device for catch ing these flying mall bags. A simple hook device has tor many years been In use whereby the mall bags are taken aboard a fast train without Injury. A scheme Just the reverse has been ex perimented with for delivering them, but unsuccessfully, the momentum gained In dlcharglng a 200 pound bag being too great to be withstood by a devioe of this kind. So the government Is willing to pay a big price for tho use of a patent which solves this problem. The postoffice authorities are also look ing out for a good substitute for Jute twine. In every postofflce In the country letters are wrapped up and tied with twine on being made ready for delivery. The gov ernment has to pay out hundreds of thou- ! sands of dollars a year for thla cord, All kinds of substitutes have been of fered, but none have proved entirely satis factory. A great many Inventors have made devices for bundling up the letters, but they have all failed before the test of quickly untying them. A good fastener whloh can be disposed of Instantly, and at a cost less than twine. will be worth a million to the Inventor. Whatever this device may be, it will have to be of stuff that can be severed as quickly as a snap of the scissors on twine, for time In the handling of mail counts. Harper's Weekly. A high-grade servant Isn't an unknown quantity. If you want one, just try a Bee want ad. and you'll find her. In fact. If you want to deal with any kind of hlgh-gTade people you will find It profitable to talk to The Bee's army of hts;h-grade readers. KKLIGIOl'S NOTES. A Mehodlst minister In Cleveland, O., Rev. O. Badgley, preached his (.uuuth ser mon Sunday. The Rev. Joseph A. Serena of the Central Church of Christ Disciples at Syracuse, N. Y., has adopted a novel scheme to prevent the usual decline in church attendance in hot weather. lie announced to his con gregation that a soda water fountain would be placed In the lobby of his church and refreshing soft drinks be served to the people In the pews. His Eminence Cardinal Rampolla has pre sented the Basilica of St. Peter's with a splendid portable altar, rich with malachite and other precious marblei. to be used on J the great feasts when mass Is celebrated before the papal altar. His eminence also contributed largely to the new organ which was used for the first time on the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul. During the last year when all Methodists missions were administered by the one or ganization, the total Methodist contribu tions for mlnslon purposes amounted to a Utile over W.UC.OOO, of which amount prac tically two-thirds was appropriated for work on the foreign Held and one-third to work in this country. From the amount devoted to home mission work 4.037 Meth odist churches were asslHtd to the extent of $T49.(S. and these churches themselves raised toward thlr support $1.2M.Sfi6: The remainder of the Missionary society's home mU'ion funds were used for special work In cities and for general mission work among foreign peoples. .The secretaries of the Southern Baptist contention have been estimating the num ber of Baptists In America and In the world, and their figures differ In some par ticulars from thnee of other Baptist au thorities. Affiliated with the southern con vention, according to In secretaries, are l.WT.ftW naptists. the large? state mem bership being that of Ceorgis, with !30.3!T eoipmunlcants, and the second largest Texas, with SWIW. In negro Baptist churches ar l.Jort.OoO rn?tnhe.r. not Included in the membership of the Southern Bap tist convention. In Rfcptist churches of the north are IWKJ members, making the total membership of. the L'nited States 'I -I 1 It f 1 V W III.: HOMES AT TWENTY-FIRST AND WIRT CALLS FOR UNITED ACTION Postmaster Wants Omaha to Boost for Two Hundred Thousand. THINKS CITY SLOW IN THIS LINE Makes Comparisons with Other Cities to Show that Not Sufficient Effort la Made by Local People. OMAHA, Aug. 8. To the Editor of Ths Omaha Bee: Is It true that the spirit of progress and (growth of Omajja is slumbering, forgetful of the work nnd push necessary to make our beloved Omaha a city of 200,000 in 1910T It ap pears so to me. I have watched its growth for forty seven years, since it was a village of 1,600 souls. I have waded through the mud of Its unpaved streets that inspired an eastern poet to ask in rhyme, "Ilast thou ever been in Omaha town?" I have witnessed its days of hilarious booming prosperity, helped gather the harvest, and with thousands of its people tasted tho bitter cup of disappointment of a busted boom the dark days of the early '90s, when real estate was not a valuable as set; when our homes and our best busi ness blocks were mortgaged. I witnessed the resurrection of our hopes and the return of the coy maiden ot prosperity won back by sleepy, indif iarent action on the part of our citizens? No, by the earnest, pushing, persistent and Insistent work day and night, in sea son and out of season, of our best men. The Transmlsslsslppi exposition, which was faithfully and earnestly supported and 'made successful by many thousands of onr people, was the great Inspiration that pushed Omaha to the front. It ex panded our packing Industry; it gave an Impetus to the jobbing Interests that have resulted In making Omaha about the best wholesale Jobbing point In the. middle west; that same Inspiration and push Inaugurated the Grain exchange that Is destined to bring millions of dollars to our citizens; It built the Auditorium, the Young Men's Christian association building, and now we boast that Omaha Is a city and must continue to grow. Should we rest from our labors and go to Bleep on this Idle boast? It seems to me there Is great danger that our wagon may get stuck in the mud again. I be seech you, loyal members of the Omaha tribe, to buckle on the armor again as you did In .'97 and '9S, put your shoulder to the wheel and make one more great push, all together, for a Greater Omaha a move that-will be of more benefit just now than the exposition was in '98. Kansas City, Denver and Los, Angeles be considered rival towns, as they are in Omaha territory territory that we might occupy; territory hat we should and must In the near future at least fight to occupy. At ' Kansas City I note that the city covers forty square miles of territory. The old town of West port, that was a smart village when Kansas City was not marked with a human' habitation, is now a part of Kansas City. Denver, Arvada, Highland, West Denver nd other nearby towns are all Included In the city limits of Denver; In fact all of Denver county belongs to the city of Denver. The postoffice, combining all ythe receipts of these various towns, amounting to about $950,000, a total population of 170, 000 people, who boastfully assert that Omaha Is tagging way behind with Its 150.000 Inhabitants, with about STSOOO post office receipts, when as a matter of fact if Omnha was all ' of Douglas county, under one government, with less than half tho present expense for collecting tho taxes and disbursing the same, we would have now today a population of 206,000 people, at least g,0"0 in 1910, and postal receipts equal to Denver. Do our good people realize that because Denver has a population of 170,000 and 1950,000 postal receipts, the superintendent of the Registry department In Denver receives S2.0U0 a year aalary, against $1,500 a year salary to the superintendent of the Registry department In the Omaha of fice? That the cashier of the Denver post office receives $2,400 a year, against $1,600 for the Omaha postoffice cashier? If the nearly 300 postoffice employes In Omaha and South Omaha were paid on a par with Denver, would not all our people be benefited with that much nior-j money spent here? Postmaster KUnt of Ia Angeles told me only a few days ago (June 1) that the city of Los Angeles embraced all the adjoining towns, save Hollywood and Pasa dena, ten to fourteen miles away. More than you Can imagine are our post office receipts looked up and compered with other cities by capitalists and others seeking a lively, growing, pushing, progres sive city for Investments. South .Omaha. Dundee, Benson and Flor ence, good towns. Independent and strug gling alone, would be as much or more benefited than Omaha by the union of all like a bunch of sticks we would all be strengthened and all greatly benefited -taxes would be lighter, the postoffice clerks at South Omaha, police force and fire de partment, would also receive a great In crease In pay, placing them on a par with like employes in Omaha. Why don't we all move for annexation? It Is the one great move necessary for the upbuilding of this, the great . metrop olis of Nebraska, Omaha, In the center 7 ,1. H -HOP STREET of the richest and best portion of North America, within a radius of 260 miles from Omaha, SCO miles across the circle, mora corn is raised than In nil the United States. The food product of this great area could supply the whole country. To keep pace with the development of this territory in the next twenty-five years, Omaha ought to have half, a million peoplo. The city of Boston has taken In forty three cities and towns. New York has an nexed as many towns and the great city of Brooklyn all have grown and greatly prospered by this very sensible move and no knocking Is heard from anyone inter ested. . Our Commercial club, Instead of strug gling for more factories just now, should make the annexation .Issue a paramount question. Increase the population of Omaha 200,000 and the factories would come with out the asking. Go east you real estate men of Omaha and talk as you do here and your listeners will pull out one of the standard diaries and say: '"Yes, let's see, Omaha had a pop ulation of H0.462 In 1890 In 1900 (yes, these figures must be correct. United States census returns), only 102.BBB. What's the matter with Omaha?" A rather embarrass ing question to an honest Omaha boomer. These three or four million diaries In the pockets of as many people are doing Omaha more harm than can be offset by several $30,000 trade excursions. Would not 200.000 for 1910 look pretty good In comparison with the 1900 census? Would It not give a genuine boost? I think yes. We can only accomplish the desired re sult by a move strong, earnest move right now before the heat of a political campaign shall become, a potent factor against us. Unre the people of South Omaha to see the light as do citizens of other cities, and our interests must and will be benefited by the annexation. The thousand dollar home In South Omaha or Omaha proper. In Dundee, Benson or Florence will bo-worth $1,200 the dny that annexation has made us a greater Omaha, and then noth ing can stop our growth. A lot In Seattle situated as near the center of business as Is our Board of Trade building would rell today for more thnn double the amount the Omaha lot would bring. Yours truly, H. E. PALMER. QUEEREST MEN ON EARTH Wear No Clothes, While a Few Leaves Sntlafy Pride of Their Women. Earth's oddest and oldest race of m?n has been brought prominently Into notice again through the widespread Interest aroused by sending a batch of Indian po litical agitators to the penal snttloment on the Andaman Islands, that beautiful coral-bound archipelago In the bay of Bengal. This remnant of the most primi tive human species In existence will soon I be nothing but an ethnological memory. I Contact with advanced civilization ' has ! been followed, as usual, with a train of '. infections diseases which are steadily ' thinning the ranks. Owing to the ancient course of trade, the Andamanese have been known about from the earliest times. Ptolemy's Aga than Dalmonos Nesos probably preserves the mlsunderstnading of some term ap plied by sailors to a place In or near ths modern Andaman). Notices of them by travelers, Asiatic and European, are con tinuous from the seventh century, and the Islands regularly appear In some shape on maps of those regions from the middle ages down. The Andamanese live In a Hesperldlan garden, where they toll not, neither do they spin. For the product of the spinner they have no use, as the men go stark naked and the women wear one or more haves In front and a bunch of leaves tied round the waist behind. The average height of the men Is fifty eight inches; that of the women fifty-four Inches. They appear to dwell free from care in a country that is everywhere beautiful and varied. In the ordinary attainments of human beings, however unenlightened, the Anda munese are amazingly deficient. During all the ages of their Intercourse by word of mouth they have not developed a me dium worthy of the name of languarre. Before the arrival of the Btltish the tribes, except actual neighbors, had no Inter course.. Kven clans of the same tribe found difficulty In the details of rilalorue with one another. There was a change of jargon along about every twenty miles of the coast. They have no. wort's for ordi nary greetings, salutations or expression of thsnka Such language as they have, however. Is exceedingly interesting from the philologi cal point of view. It possesses a quality which would be Invaluable w'ere the Anda manese a business people. In their speech only what la absolutely neceeaary Is usu ally expressed. These mites o' humanity could do Just as well probably withoat any words at all. They have an expressive sign language, which they employ almost ss much as the spoken words. Their speech Is Jerky, disjointed, and helped out often by .a grimace, a gesture, or a sudden change In tone. The Adamanese knows scarcely anything and has no desire to increase his stock of knowledge. He has never learned any sort of agriculture. I'ntU the English taught him to keep dogi he did not know how to domesticate any animal or bird. He cannot count, even with his fingers, and doesn't see the need of counting. All his ideas are hasy and inaccurate. New York World. Bee Want Ads Are Business Boosters. The popularity of our "DELICIA" ice cream has demonstrated that QUALITY IS APPRECIATED in Omaha. At the end of three months we are supplying more of the trade than any of our competitors. One of our customers wrote us on August 6th. "Will say the cream is the best I ever had; have been handling ice cream for six years. It is far ahead of the others." SPECIAL SUNDAY BRICK" Cocoanut chocolate, peach and vanilla. Desiring the best, ask for "Delicia" Ice Cream "Diadem" Butter MANUFACTURED BY The Fairmont Creamery Co. Phone D. 1404 F lire ale ff Wall Papes PER ROLL, 1C UPWARD ENTIRE STOCK RECENTLY DAMAGED BY FIRE AND WATER Many of these rolls class condition All Louis G. ENROUTE WITH MARK TWAIN A Woman'i Story of the Trip on the Minnetonka. SOCIAL SIDE OF GREAT HUMORIST Mr. Clemens the Center of Interest AH the Way Greatly Impressed by His Oxford Ex perience. Ijong before the reporters swarmed over the side of the Minnctonka at Quarantine the other day to meet Mark Twain on his I return from Kurope Mr. Clemens' fellow I passengers had rouna out wnai some vi me reporters had learned for the first time, and that was that Mark Twain, except on oc casions when he sets out to be humorous, Is ordinarily a most serious person. He Is no Joker In the ordinary affairs of life. At the same time the fellow passengers learned that when Mark Twain travels ho is practically about all there Is to the com pany. He dominated the Mlnnetonka from the moment It set out until It arrived. One of Mr. Clemens' fellow travelers was Mrs. Peter M. Myers of Milwaukee, widow of the late secretary of the St. Taul rail road, and being a woman used to observ ing things and setting them down she preserved a record of the voyage. Here Is what she saw, heard and observed, as she wrote it out. The Mlnnetonka had not been gone from Its dock an hour when the private yacht of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House, the ancient and almost mediaeval organiza tion which controls practically all the ship ping entering and leaving the ports of Great . Britain, drew alongside In the Thames with a special committee on board to say England's last farewells to Mr. Clemens. The yacht kept along with us for several minutes, the committeemen holding conversation over the rail with Mr. Clem ens, and as they were about to steam away the committee gave three rousing cheers for him. Then some one from the yacht called out: "They will be making you president of the l'nited States after this." "I'll have to steal another cup before I will be eligible," he shouted back. Then they gave three more cheers, and sailed away amid much waving of hats and handkerchiefs. The boat people then set tled down to get acquainted with Its dis tinguished passenger. They found htm kindly, affable, an eager watcher of tho ship's sports and especially fond of the children, a fondness which centered Itself finally upon Dorthy Quick, the 11-vear-old girl about whom the newspapers have printed so much. "He Is growing old gracefully," was the first comment of the passengers. For several days Twain's famous white suit did not come forth. Instead he worn a gray suit and white cravat, a thick ulster and a gray cap which nearly covered his somewhat bushy gray hair and came well down to the shaggy eyebrows which are getting white now. He kept Willi him much of the time he was on deck his meer schaum pipe, which he smoked slowly and affectionately. His gray hair was about the only sign of his years. His step was light and quick and had in tt what he had said to the effect that he felt seven years younger than when he reached England five weeks before. It was the general opinion of the passengers that Judging from his appearanca he certainly need be in no hurry to "complete arrangements for his funeral." Mr. Clemens was soon the center of vsrl ous groups. He was .always w illing to talk and the passengers drew htm out con stantly. His voice wss low and his speech slow but very clear, and he used no super fluous word. Ue used his cigar or pipe 12th and Jones Sts. Tinili i)iHi"iW i ki'li' are but slightly damaged stock must be closed out Call Early to Secure First Thoelecke In making gestures and had the gift of por traying incidents so perfectly that his list eners seemed to have been present at the time. Ono of the stories that he told was of his first visit to Westminster Abbey. He went thero with Dean Stanley and pur posely went at night. They started about midnight on their tour of the beautiful structure, spending some three hours among the tombs and monuments, their lanterns emphasising the faces and figures and throwing a dim, weird light over the surroundings. A kitten, he said, had fol lowed them in from the street and had gone skipping from one tomb to another with them. After a time the kitten got tired and as they were about to leave the building they missed It altogether. They went back to search for It and found It curled up and fast asleep on Queen Elizabeth's breast. Mr. Clemens said that If a cat might look at a king surely a small kitten might make friends with a queen's tomb and give a bit of life and warmth to the cold marble which spelled out her career and her great ness. Mr. Clemens spoke of the guests at the forty or more dinners that he attended and seemed proud of the fact that the guests were selected not so much on ac count of rank and station, but because they were noted for things accomplished. He dwelt upon the brightness of both hosts and guests and added: "It was most enjoyable, but hard work for me, and I told them so. You see I like to do all the talking myself and when you do all the talking It Is easy, but with these bright people I felt almost lost, and I con fess to being somewhat put to it to keep my end up." ' It was in describing his reception at Ox ford that words seemed to fall him a bit. and his voice became more soft and full of deep feeling. "It was the best time I ever had In my life," he said repeatedly. He dwelt especi ally upon the beauty of the Oxford pageant and on the beauty surrounding It all and said: "The birds were not disturbed by It. but fluttered along with It and seemed to enjoy It as much as anybody. And the swans In the river were undisturbed by all the life and color and gayety, but acted as If used to It and unconsciously took their part In and added to the beauty and joy of the picture." Then there was the Incident of the col lision .at sea, about which much has been told, but only In a general way, the details thus far having escaped print. Whatever Mark Twain's experiences as a Mississippi pilot may have been, It la probable that he never faced a more thrilling five minutes than he did on the morning of that collision when he heard the order: "All hands on deck! Man the boats!" It occurred on the third day out from London at (.30 in the morning, when there loomed up out of the fog and mist a big four masted schooner, the Stirling, close on the Minnetonka's starboard side and bearing down at a lively rato. By the quick maneuvring of the Mlnnetonka the force of the Impact was greatly lessened, so that the schooner struck only a glancing below, bounded back and then struck a second blow, punching a hole In the Minne tonka's side Just forward of the saloon above the water line. The blow tore away the bowsprit and head sails of the schooner and It gave the Minnetonka's side a hard scraping" as It dragged along. The collision gsve us quite a shaking un and the order for all hands to come on deck was obeyed instantly, the passengers appeared In pyjamas, bathrobes, kimono, steamer rugs or whatever came to hand In the first excltment. The lifeboats were swung out snd completely manned for low ering and for a few minutes we had visions of bobbing about in the fog In these small boats until picked up by some pass ing vessel. Every one seemed self-possessed and only one or two women showed signs of hysteria. Mr. Clemens was on of the first on deck. 7i r many in first at big sacrifice Choice Co. 20th and Farnam Sts. speiaeexi iSss laimmi nitiri clad In a bathrobe, slippers and cap. manifested great interest In what was gol oi' on, but was entirely calm and apparently not disturbed In the least. As soon as pos sible the captain hurried forward and as sured Mr. Clemens that we were all right, "I know we are all right," returned Mr. Clemens, "but how about the ship?" "We will do our best to find out," replied Captain Layland, and then the Mlnnetonka swung about In search for the schooner. We cruised about a long time sounding tho whistle, but no trace of the boat was found and we were obliged to abandon the search. It left a piece of Iron plate and some of Its wood as It tore away from the Mlnnetonka snd that was all we know of It, all hands hoping that no serious harm had come to It. Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Clemens' traveling com panion, drew up some resolutions of testi monial to the captain and crew which were signed by every pussengor on board, expres sing "deep gratitude for nnd appreciation of the unceaHing care" which they exer cised. The collision, however, gave rise to the most exciting and suxtainod arguments on the voyage. Almost as soon as the news was mode known that the danger was over a stage whisper went round that Mark Twain was clad in pink pyjamas. Another report was that they were blue and another was that while they were pyjamas all risi't they were yellow. Tho men passengers be came much Interested, while the excitement was strong among the women as they hur ried about to catch a glimpse of the cos tume. Before many of them could get aloft Mark Twain had disappeared, like tho schooner. There were plenty of other col ored pyjamas there and gay bathrobes galore, but no Mark Twain in pink py jamas. There remained a few persons who insisted that they had seen him with thi-lr eyes and he did wear pink pyjamas. No one felt like asking Mr. Clemens him self about so delicate a matter, and so the question was submitted to Mr. Ashcroft. "I am sorry to disappoint you," he said, "but as a matter of fact Mr. Clemens doesn't wear pyjamas at all, but a nlKht shirt, a sort of doubled barrelled night shirt, a cotton one wltu a flannel one over it, and It was this double garment that ha had on at the time of the collision and over It he slipped his bathrobe. His cap and slippers completed his costume. His bath robe la a yellowish affair, but It Isn't pink and it Isn't blue and It Isn't pyjamas." Soon after breakfast that morning Mr. Clemens appeared In the familiar gray suit and expressed concern alwut the missing schooner and frequently expressed the wish that we might learn of. her fate. After that a discussion arose on the ship as to whether the humorous things said by Mark Twain derived their humor mostly from the manner In which they were said. Discussion waxed warm on It and It was decided finally that If some one could be found who would say the same sort of things In the same way, day In and day out, without effort, perhaps he would be as humorous as Murk Twain, and that was the end of It. Mr. Clemens was the life of the usual ship's concert and he told a story. Hv said: T "I remember once that I started on an extended walking tour In the Black Forest. My companion was a clergyman of recklcks disposition who was not over careful what kind of company he kept. Our first step was to buy pedometers, for we wanted to tell our literary friends at home Just how far we walki-d. Our next step was It secure railroad tickets. We had a good ex ruse, because, you see, we had a lot of ground to cover that day and It was a mat ter of Judgment that decided us to do that part of our walking tour by rail. It was strange, but some way we never did find It possible to get along without railroad trains for the rest of the trip. It was the best walking tour I ever had." Mr. Clemens wore his white serge suit that evening for the first time on the ship and the passengers felt mora af their curiosity satisfied. v.-