THE COURIER
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A CAR bOAD OF "AID."
Needy Farmers Disport Themselves in Dressing
"Swallow Tails."
Gowns and
WHEN western Nebraska and Kansas called for aid respon
ses came from every part of the United States. The
sufferers needed almost everything that men and women
and particularly children, of which the frontier has always more
than its share, can need to sustain life. The farmers were, and are
yet, in need of the bare necessities of life, plain food, fuel and clothes
but the aid sent to them illustrates the different ideas of what con-'
stitutes necessities. The supplies sent from nearby points came
almost entirely from farmers who knew exactly what the conditions
required. What they sent, either in food or clothes, was plain and
substantial. - ..
The Christian Hcrald'ol New York gathered a large number of
car loads of food and clothing, particularly the latter. When one of
its cars would reach a town which was to be made a center of dis
tribution, the first day was set aside for unpacking. The next day
the farmers would come for the supplies. The unpacking occupied
the attention of the whole town and usually half th juen in town
turned out to help. One car loaded In New York and distributed
in a county seat town is a fair samplaof them all.- The goods came
packed in boxes and barrels. The first half dozen boxes opened
contained nothing unusual, but when -a big box from a fashionable
New York church was opened the first article found was a silk
dressing gown. It would have reached to the heels of a tall man.
The outside trimmings were hand painted ami indicated that much
time and skilled work hail been spent in making it. The gown was
apparently almost, if not quite, new, and a half dozen men who were
looking on fell to discussing its probable' history. A young man of
30, who has never taken toiiimself a wife, suggested that it was tho
work of a girl who gave it as a present to her lover. His argument
was that the fancy painting proved its origin. He thought perhaps
they had quarreled and the return of presents which usually follows
such events had taken place. He is wearing it now in his sod house.
While he fries his side meat for supper ho cogitates on financial pro
blems from a standpoint directly opposite to that taken by its origi
nal owner.
There were three or four fancy smoking jackets of silk or other
fine fabrics whose present owners smoke cob pipes and doubtless
wish they had chosen more serviceable garments.
A little crowd that had gathered to inspect the goods was still
debating when attention was called to a woman's opera cloak,
apparently new, which had been found in the bottom of a box to
gether with some shoes which might have been serviceable enough
on Fifth avenue, but which would not last a day on tho well develop
ed foot of a western girl romping about on tho buffalo grass. Some
of them showed that they had been worn perhaps a half dozen times
on dainty feet. The cloak was an expensive one and quite as fashion
able and handsome as any that can be seen in the best stores in the
large cities.
From another box about this time the material for a black dress
with plenty of silk for trimming and a note stating tho address ot
the giver was taken. Then came a dress suit slightly worn and the
editor of the local paper at once proclaimed that a dress ball would
follow the distribution. Several such suits were found before the
car was unpacked and it was soberly argued that the pattern of the
coats was designed so that the farmer might the more conveniently
reach into his hip pocket for the long plug of "horse shoe" without
ruffling his coat tails. A dozen or more overcoats such .as only a
rich man or a spendthrift could buy were envied by the few present
who for one reason or another could not ask for charity. Summer
coats and vests most of them highly expensive and none of them
showing signB of wear, and light trousers good enough for a book
keeper, but so easily torn that, they would not last a week on a
sturdy, farmer, were numerous.'
There were several silk dresses which were given the next day to
the wives of populist farmers who had never worn that kind of cloth
ing before in their lives. White dresses covered with lace caused
the eyes of the young girls to sparkle. An old farmer who inspected
them said: "Them 'ero's good enough in their place, but they ain't
much 'count out here an' wouldn't do no good in a blizzard.' Some
of the boxes contained religious books and periodicals, and one very
fine Oxford bible was found in a box which contained summer
underwear, something which the average wet-tern farmer scorns and
is never known to wear.
The barrels which contained food were stocked with canned pine
apple, cocoa and delicatessen of which the fanners knew not the
use.
Altogether the stock received shewed that the givers meant to
clothe tho naked and feed the hungry, and if their choico of tho
things necessary for that purpose was not the best the Bottlers made
the most of what they got and doubtless appreciated it.
DR. FRANK S. BILLINGS AS PICTURESQUE AS EVER.
Dr. Frank S. Billings writes the editor of The Courier a charac
teristic note concerning the notice of his book, "How Shall the Rich
Escape?" which recently appeared in these columns. He thinks
such notices "are far more favorable to the its sale than appreciative
ones" and seeks to disprove our "prophecy that the book would fall
flat by stating that 5000 copies have already been sold and a second
edition of 10,000 copies is now being struck off. Wo congratulate
the erstwhile disputant on the diseases of hogs on the success of his
entry into the field of socialistic literature. He seems to be even
more successful in .handling rich men than he was in looking after
tho hogs. For it will be rememlered that most of tho hogs died,
and we have yet to heat of any wholesale taking off of rich men as
tho result of the doctor's efforts. It any reader of The Courier has
not read Dr. Billings' book we commend it as an interesting showing
of the progress of the patho-biological expert's insanity.
-H-Ir.
Billings snggests that The Courier announce the forthcom
ing publication of four additional books from his pen, viz: "How
Shall tho Poor Escape? or Poverty, etc., "How Shall Women Es
cape?" "How Shall We All Escape?" "Ethics and Natural Law."
These the doctor will no doubt dash off in the next few weeks, as ho
is an extraordinarily rapid writer, r.nd when these projected works
are completed we would suggest that the doctor write a few more
just to keep his hand in. He ceems to have a marked predilection
for having somebody or soruethingescape, and following his lead wo
append a short list of titles that may be of use to him:
"How Shall tile Fire Escape?"
"How Shall the Criminals Escape?"
"How Shall the Gas Escape?"
"How Shall the Cranks Escape?"
And then in the finishing book of the series Dr. Billings might tell
how, when and where he, himself, escaped.
There is a footnote in Dr. Billings' communication which, by the
way, is dated at Grafton, Mass., as follows: "No man was ever more
delighted than I to get out of Nebraska." It can be said with en
tire propriety that the delight experienced by the doctor was noth
ing to the rejoicing among the hogs and people of Nebraska. In his
departure the former saw deliverance from wholesale slaughter, and
all the people breathed easier at getting rid of a crazy incubus that
was becoming annoyingly tiresome.
Dr. Billings, it may be remarked, was very willing to remain in
Nebraska so long as he continued to receive a lucrative salary as
chief hog killer. He didn't find out that there was anything the
matter with Nebraska until his salary suddenly stopped.
LITERARY NEWS.
Trilby's Ben Bolted with
The Green Carnation red,
The Duchess was too indiscreet,
And Sherlock Holmes is dead.
-Life.
A TASTE FOR HOME.
Mrs. Uptodate What makes you think Mrs. Nuwoman is so very
domestic in her tastes?
Mrs. Lately Well, for one thing, she never goes out anywhere.
Why, she scarcely ever leaves the club.
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