tlje Chatham Btcaro. H A. LONDON, Editor and Proprietor TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION, 4l)t l)cttl)am Bccorb. A RATES OF ADVERTISING One square, on insertion One square, two insertions One square, one month 81.00 -1.58 2 50 $1.50 Per Year. For Larger Advertise ments Liberal Con tracts will be made. Strictly on Advance VOL. XXVU. PITTSBORO, CHATHAM COUNTY... N.-O;, THURSDAY, NO V-KMBKU 10. . SO. 13. sZt If IT 1 J I'll vNA v 1 jHoldehhui!italHaifl " ' Copyright ISfl, by CHAPTER XXII. Continued. ' 'Bravo, Ernest; v.-ell resolved. okla"t think you had so much grit , you. I "would - not have advised yc In this case, but had I done so I coula have pointed out no fairer or better line of" action. So much for that.' Put your letter In your pocket and get on with your breakfast What can I help you to?" , . "I have not much appetite this morn Ing, thank you, uncle. Another cup of coffee and I have done." "If it Is because you are in love tha' you can't eat I will excuse "you, bu not if It is because matters in which you take an interest don't go bo smoothly as you could wish. If I had suffered my appetite to decline every one or other of the scores pf matters in which I interest myself ran off the line I had marked out for it I should have been dead of starvation years ago. Exert your imagination, and forgetting all about sequins, dishonest retainers, village beauties, and what ever else occupies your thoughts bring yourself to believe that man was born chiefly for the consumption of food which is certainly true of the greater number of us. Imagination will work wonders. I have seen a pen niless beggar confined in' an insane asylum who has believed that he was a king, and been far happier in that be lief than many a specimen of the real article surrounded by intriguers and fawning thieves. Now I have a pro posal to make respecting this steak. You will observe that it is a very small piece that it does not weigh much more than a pound. Well, get outside, cf that steak and this piece of bread and I will give yGU a letter of intro duction to Mrs. Van Rensselaer, which will enable you to spend the day at Tarx-ytown with Connie for your com pan'oi': refuse me, and I will give such a letter to your friend, Mr. Price, who yesterday asked me for it." The task imposed was a formidable cne, hue thou the prize with which suc cess v.. is to be rewarded was so de Iightfi.I, and the calamity assigned, to failure so awful, that I addressed my self to it with great courage. But my gastrouomical powers were not equal to the strain to which it was proposed to subject them, and before my tasla was half completed I pushed my plate from me and gave up the attempt ia despair. My uncle, who had been watching me, generously forgave jny shortcoming, and remarking that I ran better when spurred, invited me into his study, -where he wroteas f ol los cn the back of oue of his address cards: , ., ' Dear Mrs. Van Rensselaer The young gentleman who will hand you this is my nephew, Mr. Ernest Truman, of Holdenhurst,- near Bury St. Edmund's, England. lie arrived in America a day or so ago, and we are his only connec tions here. Kindly receive hira to-day, Introduce him to your friends and. tell him ail he den't know as far as you can. Very faithfully yours, S. T. Sept. 13, IS- . . "There," said uncle. Sam, aa lie hand ed me the card, "that will do the busi ness for you. Mrs. Van Rensselaer owes ine some gratitude for helping1 to settle her late husband's affairs, and she will be very pleased to entertain, you. Con and your aunt will be tie-' lighted when they learn you are to ac company them. I have no doubt you will find a sail up the Hudson to- Tar rytown very enjoyable. My yacht will he ready to leave at eleven, and it is now barely half-past eight. I have much to do to-day, and am going down town at once, so you must amuse your self for the next couple of hours in any way you can. Hadn't you better send your father a telegram informing him of your intention to return in the Uiu bria? I am going to telegraph to' Eng land myself, and will despatch your message with mine." I hastily scribbled in my pocketbook, "Truman, Holdenhurst, Bury ,gtj Ed mund's, England Letter received. Returning in Umbria. Ernest," and tearing out the leaf handed it to my uncle, who having expressed his ap proval if it, wished me, a pleasant day and disappeared down the -stairs. A minute afterward I heard the street door close, and looking out of the win dow saw my uncle walking rapidly toward Fifth avenue. v I turned from the window with' very different feelings than were mine when I watched my uncle's departure from Hcldeuhurst. Then I perceived" no ray of hope for the accomplishment of niy desires: row my path seemed.elear and easy. The girl whom I Joyed had gone so far as to declare that she pre ferred me of ail men, and would: never niarry unless with me, while her pow erful guardian, who had given abend -ant evidence of his prejudice in my favor, had just assured me that be was not opposed to my suit. But the estrangement "of iny father and uncle, and above all that disboyed parental command which I carried-in my" pock et were as black clouds threatening to obscure the sunshine of my happi ness. Now that uncle Sam was gone his defense of Annie Wolsey seemed painfully strained and insufficient, and -u,uu not out regard-the ;circum tfluce as another and formidable difllv WALTER BLOOM FIELD,: Kobkbx Bovkxb's Sons.' culty to be encountered in seeking to effect the reconciliation of the broth ers. My consolence whispered that my right and proper course was to bey my father, but I was too deeply in love with Constance Marsh to dare to imperil my present amicable terms with her by offending my uncle, ana the twofold result would necessarily follow that course. When momentous decisions have to be made by the mor ally -weak (and such was my condition at the period of which I write), then also comes suffering, for it Is the quality of .weakness to shrink from pain, even when conscious that In so doing it "aoLonly postp&aeibutcu; initiates disaster. . Pondering these things I slowly returned to my room to prepare for the excursion to Tarjry lown which luckily I had not done be fore,' for my uncles practical illustra tion of the way I was to deal with old John Adams would have wrecked the toilet of a Suffolk farm laborer. At half-past ten aunt Gertrude and Miss Marsh entered the drawing room, where I awaited them In some trepida tion, for I knew that my uncle had.not seen either of these ladies since he had arranged for me to accompany them to Tarrytown, and it was quite possi ble that they might depart without rne, of t ha t my company migEFbe less agreeable to them than my uncle had represented. - These fears were at once dispelled by aunt Gertrude, who, coming forward to greet me, assured me of the pleasure with which eSie had just learned that I was to be tEfcir companion for the day. I expressed my thanks, and at Ihe same time my surprise that she should know of this, for I was sure that she could not have seen her husband since I saw him leave the house. "Oh, you don't quite understand," said aunt Gertrude, laughing, "my hus band is now at .his office, and he has just been talking to me by telephone." Both ladles- were dressed ready to depart, and looked very charming, par ticularly Miss Marsh, wTho stood near to the open door, giving sundry pats and twitches to a refractory rose which could not be easily induced to repose in the bosom of .a white muslin dress to the satisfaction of its mistress. As I observed this beautiful but silent girl waiting while her sister and I were talking, I did not think, and could not then have believed that it was she moved uncle Sam to furnish me with an introduction to Mrs. Van Rensselaer. That knowledge did not "come to me till long after. A wife is lavish of confession from which a maid would shrink. The journey to the dock in my un cle's carriage did not occupy many minutes. Arrived there we at once went on board my uncle's "yacht a small , staamer," exquisitely designed and superbly fitted, & floating palace in miniature. The hour appointed for our departure had not yet arrived, but steam being up, and the captain, un derstanding . that our party was com plete, the gangway was at once raised, and ! the Iroquois slowly steamed out from among the trading steamships by which1 she was surrounded and bore round into the North River. September and October are the most pleasant months in North America. Then the Herce glare of summer has subsided, and the air is dry, clear and exhilarating, and the foliage assumes a beautiful golden tint. In such a sea son a journey up the Hudson River ii a very delightful experience. The American Rhine, as the Hudson is sometimes called,, is Inferior to the German Rhine in nothing but histori cal associations', though even in this respect it is not destitute. Precipitous banks,' rising to a height of from 80C to .500 feet, for the most part thickly wooded, among which here and there nestles a picturesque village or elegant mansion standing in its own highly cultivated grounds, enchant the eyes cf the stranger for many miles along its course. Speaking for myself I must say that I remember few If any jays In my life upon which I have ex perienced greater pleasure than was mine on the . particular thirteenth of September of which I now write. That the companionship of my Con stance (I had already once or twice so addressed Miss Marsh and she had not demurred to the style), had much to do with my satisfaction must be imme-j diately admitted. Aunt Gertrude, with admirable tact, had begged Con- stance and me to excuse her continue ing the perusal of an interesting book which she had brought with-her, and we (heaven bless our charity) saw fit to graciously, grant the desired pardon, upon which she took a seat at the aft, and vouchsafed us no further notice until our arrival -at Tarrytown. : ' The-f ewHbours - remaining -to- me In. America were rapidly - wasting away, iiud I fcit'th'at i; could not tell Con stance of my resolve to return at once to England without at the same time informing her of the "reason' for my sudden departure. This I now pro ceeded to do. Having already acquaint ed her with the story of the sequins 1 did not have to again go through that Wearisome 'recital, but merely related uacle Sam's viewvo. the case 'and. the :f Tvice which-he -had given me I "And must yon really leave for .Eng; land so soon as the day after to-mor row?", asked Constance, looking up at me reproachfully. f "Why, Ernest, dear, you have only just come here!" "I am sorry I must," I replied, "but I will stay in England only so long as it takes to tecover those sequins, and will . then return to you by the first steamer." ! ' .- ' ' ' ''Why, you may never recover theml How much are the old coins worth, all of them, wherever they are?" Inquired Constance. "Almost a hundred and seventeen thousand pounds," I answered. . "Oh, I don't understand that," said Constance; "tell me in dollars." "Five hundred and sixty thousand dollars, exactly." "Well, let them go, and trouble nd more about them; they have already caused mischief enough. I haven't so much money at niy banker's, but if you will abaffdan the pursuit Of those sequins I will get' Sam to sell out a little of my stock to-morrow and give you a check for that amount. Will that satisfy you?" ' "Satisfy me!" I exclaimed in amaze ment. "My dear Constance, how shall I answer you? Your generosity takes my breath away.. I want those se quins for one reason only, and but for that one special reason . I don't think I would" interest myself about them at all, or certainly not much. If only I could get those coins, their possession would give me, courage to ask you to become my wife, courage I must al ways want while you are rich and i am poor. Love of you It is chiefly, dear Connie, which takes me back to England, -and also the honor of my uncle Sam which, as you know, Is bound up with the recovery of the se quins." : "And if you recover them, you say jrou will return," remarked Constance' quietly. "Yes, dearest Connie, and then my fate will rest with you." "Am I to understand that if you falj to get that money I am to forget you?"- "No, do not do that In any case,-but I think I will be sure to get the se quins." . "Oh, Ernest, dear," said this artless girl, pressing my hand, "come to me when you will, with money or without money, I am always yours. I can lovt none but "you." ' V CHAPTER XXIII. AT TABBXTOW2T. V Pleasant hours pass quickly. When the, Iroquois entered Tappan Bay I was surprised to find that il was two o'clock. Aunt Gertrude who had not spoken to her fellow travelers once during the journey, nor, so far as I was aware, in any way observed them now laid her book aside and came to ward us. - Constance and I the f r mer very quiet since her declaration of affection for me, as if abashed by that, spontaneous avowal also rose from seats and. went to meet her, and to gether we three paced the deck, aunt Gertrude pointing out to me where Piermont lay, and the course of the beautiful Palisades, and explaining to whom belonged the tasteful mansions with which the river banks were now thickly dotted. In this delightful sit uation, with one of these charming sis ters on either arm the more youthful and silent my very own, the other my near relation, wife of the man I most admired I was intoxicated .with my happiness, and felt how unworthy I was of my place an image of Suffolk clay set between two jewels. The Iroquois was now slowly ap proaching a landing stage at the foot of a very steep bank, on -the summit of which stood the Rensselaer mansion an elegant structure of wood, with three verandas continued quite'around the building. The bank was cut into a series of terraces, each acarefully cultivated Cower garden,' connected by white marble steps flanked with copies af classical statues. All the doors and windows of the house appeared to be open, while dispersed about the grounds was a numerous party of la dies and gentlemen, some of whom were endeavoring to make out the.Iro quois by the aid of lorgnettes. , "See!"1 exclaimed aunt . Gertrude, with almost childish glee, "there are Mrs. Van Rensselaer and Mr. Rosen berg on the top terrace endeavoring to salute us. " ' Connie handed - me the lorgnette through which she had just been look ing, and I saw distinctly the two per sons of whom aunt Gertrude had spo ken. Mrs. Van Rensselaer was a lady not much short'of fifty, tall, stately, with clear cut, regular f eaturesv and Mr; Rosenberg was by her. side wav ing a white handkerchief; f '. ? ; Our journey, which had been a slow one, was now over.J A large party was assembled on the landing stage to re ceive us, including the hostess, Mr. ; Rosenberg and several persons-whpnr I remembered . having seen . at aunt Gertrude's At Home. Mrs. Van Renss 2laer having jissured me .that any rela tion of her late husbands particular' Triend, Mr.. Samuel Truman, was very welcome to her house, we proceeded to pass upward through the terrace gar dens, our hostess and aunt Gertrude leading the . way,, with Miss Marsh and. I -immediately following ' I had now obtained that for which! had so passionately longed and "so of-' ten despaired, .and the result, -was a buoyancy of spirit and a1 degree of courage which I ; had never before ex perienced.. Tjie confidence - which ii born of success was strong within ,me, ind that 'awkward shyness of maimei which had all my life marked me out ;or ridicule fell away "from me as 11 vere by magic. To be continued. - ,Lt(e AMoau Bita. - Bats measuring nearly five feet from tip, to tip of their wings have found rM- ? esve near sTanga ia t East Africa,. - , . " I " The United States lighthouse service costs $4,500,000 a year. - ,; '. There are no . poorhouses In Servia. Even the poorest people own property. The House of Representatives costs $3,000,000 a year and the Senate $1, 400,000. ' , ; Greece has as many people as Mich igan and as many acres as West Vir ginia. . -. .v A new kind of lightning, vortex lightning, has been photographed in Switzerland. The Magyars rule Austria-Huugary, although they number but 6,000,000 or 7,000,000 in a total of 13,000.000. . The Secretary of - the Aeronautical Society of Great. Britain expects the tite to be the base of the future instru ment of aerial navigation, the aero plane. ' , " ' The. number of irrigating ditches and canals in operation - in the United States exceeds 20,000, and their com bined length is not less than 50,000 miles. - ' - i The Agricultural Department has 107,000 voluntary crop observers. Cot ton is reported on seven times a year, wheat eight times, com and oats each six times. " A piece of camphor gum is a very good indicator of what the weather is S'oiug to be. If when the camphor is exposed to the air the gum. remains dry, the weather will be fresh and dry, but if the gum absorbs the moisture and seems damp it is a sign of rain. . We learn that there are over 2000 miles of streets, covering nearly 10,000 acres.'in London, and that along these streets are .1500 miles of tramways. There are eighty-seven miles of main intercepting sewers, to "say nothing of the sewers under the. control of the borough councils. These carry the drainage of houses inhabited by over 5,000,000 people. .Relieving the Preacher. A popular preacher tells a good story of a young clergyman "who launched out, on a strong temperance sennon. When he had finished, a deacon .said to him: ' . . " - "I am afraid you have made a mis take. Mr. Jones, who pays the highest pew rent, who practically supports the Sunday-school and who is ever ready with a contribution when asked, is a distiller."- "I am sorry," said, the minister.' "I will go and explain it to Mr. Jones and remove any unfavorable Impression, and tell him I did not mean him." Accordingly, he waited upon. Mr. Jones, who, in addition to the- profes sion of -distilling., also .carried on a good many other branches of trade and indulged in a good many amuse ments of various kiuds. The pastor expressed his deep regret to Mr. Jones for anything he might have said in the sermon which could hurt his feelings. He was extremely sorry, indeed; he did not mean any thing by it, and hoped Mr. Jones would not feel hurt. ; He was somewhat relieved, when, with a jovial air, the other said: "Ob, bless you, don't mind that.at all. "It must be a mighty poor sermon that don't hit me somewhere." Lon don Tit-Bits. " Freak Vegetables and Fruit. ' In the children's "freak garden" we grow monstrosities and curiosities, from pear-shaped tomatoes to Sand wich Island pumpkins, and from ser pent gourds to garden ; lemons,' and from Spanish peanuts to stagborn po tatoes, says a writer in Country. Life in America. The seed catalogues abound in novelties, the growing, of which cerf Mainly serves to interest others besides the children. : ' ' ' To Find the Salt' Sonrce. In order to ascertain whether the flood waters behind the.Tonto dam, of the Salt River project, will have an im portant effect in reducing the amount of saline constituents in the water, periodical salt determinations will be made In. the river waters" at that point, eeent experiments" showfthat the salt in the waters is not derived from local sources. - ' ; - A Chemist is Honored. - At the annual meeting of the Asso ciation of German .Chemists, held at Manheim recently," the' Liebig gold medal for, distinguished services In ap plied chemistry was presented to Dr. Rudolph Knietscb, of the Badische Anilin und Soda-Fabrik. the discover er of the so-called cohtac. process of sulphuric acid manufacture.. ' ' .Lv.,1 A Betnrn Salute AH English warship recently arrived at Puerto Arenitas and saluted the flag of Costa Rica with; twenty-one- gun. It took the gunners of Costa Rica two hours to answer the salute.' They had only one-old muzzle loader, which had "to be allowed to cool after each "round. But the salute" was got through ta the course, of the day. ' " ' ' .Destroying the Loevstt. Great success1 has attended the ef forts of the' troops and ocast guards In Egypt to combat the locust plague by destroying .-the young insect witfc- S HOUSEHOLD r 3j MATTERS ' 1 ;.' Storing Plated Ware. v. . ..- When storing plated' goods, thor oughly wash all the silver, and then clean with powder in the usual way. Wrap each piece in silver paper and place in an airtight box with a large pieci? of camphor.. Plated goods wilf always tarnish if "stored in 'a lamp place. Be" very careful to dry the in side of both-tea. and coffee pots before poliinimj. , . - - . ., Good Plant HoMerf. The possibilities of common, ginger ars as flower vases, and plant holders are well known. They are made twice as attractive &y woven covers of raffia, either in the uncolored or. the tinted varieties, t says the Chicago News. When the jar. shows splashes of blue, green or red at the top of the glaze, It is well to repeat the lone on the raffia. ': Linoleum Polish. This polish for . linoleums is easily fuade, and produces a very- good result without much labor. Take four ounces of beeswax, two ounces of white wax, md two ounces of Castile soap. Scrape all-fine, and pour oyer it one pint of boiling water. When dissolved, let it boil again. Take it off the fire and add bne pint of turpentine. Stir until quite cold. XJse as you would beeswax and turpentine. . ' . Cold Without Ice. "A few years ago," writes one cor respondent, "ice being expensive, my husband thought of a ' way to keep things cold without ice," says the Ladies' Home Journal: "In the cellar floor he dug a hole three- feet wide, four feet long, and two and one-half feet deep. .He masoned it with brick at th sides and cemented the bottom. This made it dry and easy to wash and kefip clean. He then fitted on a snug cover with an air pipe running through it. In this box we have kept things: cold and sweet all summer without any expense whatever. - . Watch the Burner. The burner of a lamp should be es pecially looked after, but this Is the part. most often neglected. The fine boles in it. or the "gauze" through which air is admitted to- the flames,' should be kept entirely free from oil and dust. The little machinery which moves the-wick up and down must also be cleaned out when necessary. If the lamp is a large brass lamp with a -tube for : ventilation, running clear through the fount of the 'burner, so that air ascends to the wick froni - be neath, be careful to examine this pace, for itr is i likely to become ihoked with dust and burned-off par ticles of the wiek.- . . For Porch Chairs. An economical, as well as perma nent, method of reseating porch chairs that must' withstand more or less ex posure to rain is to take stout drill- j ing or ticking and cut it .lengthwise ' into two-inch strips. Double these, ; turning -in ! raw edges, and either "overcast" closely or stitch on ma chine. Next fill in the vacancy .with pieces, ranged side by side. - Across these draw others in an opposite di rection, much after the principle of stocking darning, securing all tightly at the ends, so that they will not slip. This will be found more comfortable ' and resist wear and tear much better than If one straight piece of goods is used for the purpose. . . . - mm Egg Lemonade One egg; one or two tablespoons sugar; juice of half to one lemon; one cup. of milk. Beat egg till lemon colored and thick; add sugar and' beat again. Pour into delicate glass, grate nutmeg over the . top and serve. If the stomach is very delicate use the white of the egg only. Endive Salad Arrange a head ,o? well-washed endive in, a salad bowl, adding .five . radishes that have been pared and cut into dice, and four hard cooked eggs that have been cut length wise into quarters. Just before' serving mix half a teaspoon of jsalt a- half tea spoon of paprika and-six tablespoons of olive oil; Tvheu thoroughly blended, add a flavoring of tarragon- vinegar; pour over the salad' and ; toss lightly with a silver fork. Garnish with whole radishes cut to resemble flowers. Cauliflowerand "Beet Salad Boil A liead of caulifloweritia piece of fine cheesecloth, until tender. Remove from the fire . and break-. into flowerets, sprinkling with a tablespoon of lemon juiee. - When cold arrange neatly In a dish,, adding twq tablespoons of cold boiled beets cut into dice,' a tables; spoon of , chopped parsley - and a tea epoon, of -finely minced wild sorrel. Mix them lightly with a French dress ings and garnish' the base of the salad .with a border of boiled carrots va.nd beets, cut into fancy shapes.-: ' r Huckleberry Loaf . Cake Sift ; two cupfuls of" flour with two heaping" tea-' spoonfuls of baking powder '" and a quarter . teaspoonfur of salt. Cream cupful of butter with two cupfuls : X. powdered sugar, stir, in the .beaten yolks of four eggs, a, half pint of sweet milk, a half teaspoonful each oi powdered ' nutmeg and .cinnamon, and the stiffened whites of the four eggs added alternately with ' the ' sifted flour. Last of-all stir in lightly a quart of huckleberries thickly dredged with flour. Turn into'a greased moli with' a funnel ia the centre and hake. WITHUMOR of TH E D AY Honorable. , ' , 'I seeyouug Warwick with ; Harding Miss Prosser a good deal.. He's a mau of honorable intentions, I suppose?" ; , Whiting "Undoubtedly. . He told me he intended to' marry the girl. ; Says that of course; he can't steal her money." Boston-Transcript. - Sutli Men Are Scarce. ' "The man whom I marry," said Miss Sparker, "must.be handsome and -" "And rich !'' ; put in Miss Whizem. "He "must. )e more than rich," ex claimed Miss Sparker. "He must .be able to. pay the repair bill ou my auto mobile."Cievelamt Leader. ' ' Autopbobia. - "Herbert has been running an' autc so long that he had forgotten all about horseback "riding;" ' "What dicThe do when the horse balked?" " "He crawled under it to see what was the matter." Cleveland Tlaiu Dealer. ' '5 ' Basts of His Esteem. . - "It is: proper to respect an office un der the Government,' said the patriotic citizen, "even if you do not happen to approve of the man who holds it." "Of course," answered Senator Sor ghum. "It -is v'to the office that thf salary and perquisites - are attached) not to the . individual." Washington Star. - Drew the Crowd. Missionary (Gulch ville) "Dear! dear It's tod bad I am told there has jusJ been a lynching." Deacon Hairtrigger "Yaas, parson"; you said you wished we could have a big crowd here to the openin' of the : religious revival, and I told you I'd ' bring 'em. They're all here." New ; York Wekly. . . . .. liOoTiiDK Over the Family. Mr. Watkyns "Do you think that that young Mr. Spryggyns is especially, interested in Mabel?" Mrs. Watkyns "Well, it looks that .way. The last time he called he per sisted in having her bring out the old photograph album and show him the, pictures of all the near and distant rel atives." Somerville Journal. ' In Chicago. " "Somewhere - in his ..works," the bookish man was saying, "Ben Jonson speaks of the 'metropolis of the ages and " "What did you say his name was?" asked the Chicagoan. ." "Jonson Ben Jonson.". "Never heard of him. When was he in Chicago?" Philadelphia Press. , After the Honeymoon. Mr. NewAved "I was worried for nearly three years for fear I wouldn't get you." . Mrs. Newwed rWhat are you think ing of now, dear?", " Mr. Newwed "Thinking how foolish I was to worry-" ' . , ' tf Fond of Hina. "Of course,'? said the theatre patron, "of all: play wrights. you consider the Bard of Avon the. premier." , "The bard of who"?" inquired the theatrical manager. "The Bard of Avon Shakespeare, you know." . ' . "Oh, Shakespeare? Oh, sure; I like him. He doesn't bother me about roy alties." Philadelphia Press. She'd Xoolsed It Up Alright. . Teacher "Have you looked up the meaning of the word 'imbibes,' Fan ny?" ; f. 1 - - Fanny "Yes, ma'am." " " Teacher "Well, what does It mean?" Fanny "To take in." ' Teacher "Yes. Now give a sentence Csing the word."- Fanny "My aunt imbibes boarders." Woman's Home Companion. ' ' V " ' Homeless. Wiseman "To look at that English man you'd think he was a tramp, wouldn't you?"-' : ' . ' ' -, jokeley "Well, I .know for a fact that he hasn't a place that he can call borne." . ; . -,. : Wiseman "Nonsense! Why.his man1- ion in London is- -"' " Jokeley "Sumptuous, yes, but he calls it 'ome.' Catholic Standard. . . w Ho Wonder. . "How does breakfast food affect you? Make you fatter?" , ' "Nope.", . , . ' "Thinner?"' ' ' : VNope." ' ' , ' V ' "Does' it keep you exactly at the same weisrht?" "': r . "NOpe." " " - "Now, see here,-it must have some effect on youJ'f; ,.t ?- ,; ; iXope. - I don't eat it.'.'-Cleveland Plain-Dealer, ' Rural Free Delivery an Aid. N T the recent International Cinml TJn.nds pouvention. at A St. Louis, IIou. Frank E. I Nevins. of the .United States Postofliee Depart ment, delivered an address in which' he said: - ' "- --'.. , "The establishment of the rural free delivery of mail throughout the coun-, try has produced a marked improve- . f ment In the condition of the highways. , When there is a prospect of rural free delivery in a community, work inline- ' diately begins on the roads. 'There . are now in operation 23,000 rural routes over which carriers travel 550, 000 miles delivering mail to about 9,000,000 people. More than 13,000 ; bridges have be constructed over streams that would not have been built if it had not been for the estab lishment of the free delivery system. Nearly every portion of the country, where road conditions will warrant it, is now supplied with this service. But in many sections the bad condifions of the roads, or the lack of bridges, pre vent the extensioa of the service. The rural carrier of a standard route i now expected to travel aboui twenty- : five miles each day to earn his salary of $000 a year. He is required to fur- nish and maintain his own outfit and ' team, and to give a bond of $500 tov -the faithful performance of his duties'. Experience has demonstrated that this distance is too great on account of the bad condition of the roads.' So many carriers have resigned, thereby caus-. ing much confusion and labor in the department, that the Congress just ad journed, has been compelled to add $170 a year to the salaries of the car-, riers of the country. This increase of salaries amounts to about $4,000,000 a year additional that the department has to pay to maintain this service on account of bad roads. Over a good graveled or macadamized pike road a' carrier ; can easily make twenty-five miles a day six times a week. With the roads as thoy are, it is a question whether the next Congress will not be called upon , to add another $4,000,000 to the salaries of the carriers. ' ; . "Under the road laws of most of the Western States at the present time work is done upon the roads in the fall by the various , road districts, when there is no work to be done on the farms. In the spring this work disap pears. Nothing permanent remains, and the roads are in as bad condition, or worse, than they were before. The cost of $2000 to $6000 a mile for the construction of hard roads in this Western country is too great, in most instances, for road districts, townships ,and counties to bear; neither Is it right that they should bear the entire cost. The public at large, which shares .directly or indirectly in the benefits, should contribute to the expense. There never will be good roads in this country until the National Government 'takes the initiative in this movement, and the respective States of the Union !join in with liberal contributions, and this again is supplemented by local en terprise. Continental Europe, England and Ireland are covered with hard broad pikes built at the expense of the governments of those countries. No :country in the world ever yet had or 'ever will have permanent and passable highways constructed ana maintainea by local authority. "Sixty per cent, of the population of this country lives in the cities and vil lages; forty per cent, lives in the coun try. It is not fair or just to place the . entire burden of good roads upon the shoulders of the .farmer. The general public shares directly or indirectly iu the benefits and should bear the ex pense of an equitable tax for this pur pose on all assessable values. The weight of It upon the individual would then be as light as a summer shadow. While this spectre of taxation may. frighten some of our skittish country friends and cause them to rear and plunge a little, they will find on closer inspection that the goblin is a harm less creature of the imagination. They will get back in benefits ten tlmee more than they will pay out in taxes. , "Why ..some of our friends spurn Government aid when it Is offered them I cannot understand. They claim to be Opposed to it on principle, and can see no good in it. There are some people so constructed that when look ing into a pool of water they can never see the sky and the clouds above it reflected on its surface, but only the mud at the bottom. "This Government never fails to -do the right thing in the end. It will not fail to do the right thing In this in stance. -The impetus given to tbi movement by a few progressive states men who introduced measures in Con gress last winter authorizing National aid in the construction of highways, will ultimately produce the results aimed at. It cannot fail to do so be cause the public interest demands it; the welfare and development of the countryfat large demand it, and it is bound to-come in .spite of those who raise their voices in opposition to it." Helpful Association. The movement to help the cause of good roads by organizing an associa tion that will be interested in keeping the roads in repair after they are built i3 one that deserves encouragement. The serious problem of good road building to provide for maintenance "s well as construction, and no mat ter ' how carefully public authorities may act in this matter unofficial co operation will hi -aome asitane. . i

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view