-J.. , . . V - Why Not Udmpete In Honesty ES f ge Obvious as Well as Best Future V-Olicy For All Railroads, Ship pers, Manufacturers and Traders. " (From the New York Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin.) Much of the iniquity perpetrated In the name of business, such as dis crimination in transporation rates, the adulteration of' foods and various tricks of deception by which one tries to get the better of another in the : strife for profit, is attributed to the exigencies of competition. One un scrupulous concern seeks an unlaw ful advantage in some "deal" with a railroad, and others feel bound to do the same in order to escape being distanced in competition. When -ne railroad under this kind of solicita tion, grants special rates, pays re bates or otherwise favors a large shipper, rival lines feel impelled to make similar concessions in order to secure tneir share of the traffic. The result is a competition in dishonesty ... or lawlessness: on the part of both ' shippers; and common carriers. De fects of the law were no excuse for such disregard of justice and honor able conduct. But now the law has been made explicit, so far as inter state commerce is concerned, and practices for which stress of compe- tition hr been pleaded as an excuse cr extenuation are made criminal for all concerned in them. The obvious policy for railroads and for shippers who desire to be fair and decent now is to abandon all ' devices of evasion and enter into a competition for the observance of the law an!d of the principles of com- ' inon honesty in their dealings. If managers of one railroad line have evidence that another is granting illegal concessions or favors, it is their duty to disclose the evidence, to expose the wrong-doing and aid tb authoritic- to put a stop to it, instead of trying to get even, or more . than even, by committing the same offences. If one shipper finds that another is getting any advantage over him in charges for transporta tion, instead of seeking to meet this by obtaining a like advantage, he should make complaint of the viola tion and help to compel the observ ance of the law. Let 'there be com petition in doing justice and in fair dealing, and these evils which have caused so much agitation and occa sioned so muc'a "hostile legislation," - hostile only to those who persist in wrongdoing will come to an end, .and it will be far better for all con cerned. In the matter of providing the supplies of food, drink and medicine for the people, there is still a freer field for competition in individual bom j , and it is one in which hon esty will prove to be the best policy from a business point of view. Let a meat-packing house be made a model of cleanliness and sound sani tary condition; let it take pains to use only unquestionably wholesome materials and methods; let it make no concealment and avoid no pub licity so far as knowledge of the character and quality of its products is. concerned; let its labels and repre sentations of what it puts upon the market bear the closest scrutiny, and it may acquire a reputation that will be worth more than all the tricks and devices which have been resorted to in the past, and the detection ..and ex posure of which is liable at any time to sweep away the illegitimate gains cf deception and fraud. Even.if less wealth should bo accumulated, it vrould be 'without the taint of igno miny and public contempt, and some reward should be found in an hon ; orable business reputation and pub lic respect. This applies equally to the manufacturers of the various kinds of prepared and preserved foods, the production of which has grown so enormously in recent years. That the bulk -of these are whole some may be admitted, but in that case there is no legitimate reason for secrecy about the ingredients that enter into them or the methods of their preparation, any more than about raising corn or making cloth. Secrecy and enigmatical names are a cover for adulteration, the use of in ferior or injurious material, or some device involving deception or fraud . by which illegitimate profit is sought. Honest purveyors of food and the various accompaniments of food have been wont to complain that a few unscrupulous r-ersons may cheap en, adulterate and variously sophisti cate and misrepresent their products so that it becomes impossible to com pete with them without in some measure yielding to their methods. Many who would prefer to deal, in an honest and above-board fashion feel compelled to vitiate their products, and traders feei compelled to sell articles which they know are not what they pretend to be, in order to keep up their trade and make a fair profit in competition with unscrupu lous rivals. So is business made dis honest and disreputable by a rivalry ' that demoralizes competition, making it a competition in dishonesty. Let holiest manufacturers and dealers make common cause with consumers for effective laws and efficient ad ministration against the secrecy and deception nnd all the devices of fraud inthis business, and they may put jn end to its offences and the .disrepute into which it has fallen. Let the manufacturer take the con sumer into his confidence bv letting jbim know truly what he is buying i and by giving evidence of the char acter and quality of his goods, and he will gain the confidence of the consumer. There is no; class that it more behoves to contend against the adulteraflon of food, drink and medi cines, and against fraudulent repre sentations about them, and to expose the tricks and devices by which the public is cheated and injured, wheth er in health or in substance, than honorable men engaged in the busi ness of providing these supplies for the community. What all should strive to promote is a competition in honest and legitimate methods of business,, which shall command con fidence, give a value to truthful labels and genuine trade-marks, and make the names of manufacturing and trading concerns honorable and respected. We have had too much rivalry; in deception and fraud, and it is becoming unprofitable as .well as disreputable. KHYBER PAoG THE KEY. This National Doorway Through Him alayas Was Used by Alexander. The j Khyber Pass ic strategically one of 'the most important points in all Asia, and round it has raged many a great battle, for with it under con trol an army has at its feet the great and fertile plains -vhich have made the Pearl of the East, the peninsula of India, famous in song and story. The ipass itself begins ten miles west of Peshawur, one of the most important of the British military sta tions in India, and it extends thirty three miles northwest to the plain of Jelalabad. It is the only route be tween the Punjab and Afghanistan available for a large army with heavy guns, though there are other passes which miiat be forced by an enter prising; enemy traveling in light or der. It is, toward the Khyber that the eyes of those Russian officers who so much envy the British the possession of India are always turned, and by it all the great invasions of India since the time of Alexander the Great have taken place. Alexander's Macedonian army marched between its cliffs, which tower above the pass to a height of 3000 feet. Coming to more recent times, the pass was the scene, of the appalling disaster of 1842, when the Afghans almost i annihilated a British army endeavoring to retreat f rom' Kabul to India. In the late seventies our long negotiations with the Amir of Af ghanistan largely centred around the control of the pass, which ultimately was ceded to Great Britain. The Khyber agam became a place of tragic importance in the period that followed the disaster to General Burrpws at Maiwand, when half the British force fell, and the garrison at Kandahar was invested. With insuf ficient troops the Khyber had to be held,; Kabul kept- in occupation and Kandjahar relieved. Roberts was the man to do it. Handing over Kabul to stout old Sir Donald Stewart, Roberts formed his flying column. Cutting himself off from his base, he vanished from the ken of the civilized world. He and his devoted men had a trying ordeal among the mountains an ordeal few armies would have borne, until,, ap pearing suddenly at .Kandahar three week$ later, they relieved the town. Meanwhile TCabuL and the Khyber were held, and the situation was saved. . Shack Immune in San Francisco. One of the remarkable incidents of the great fire of San Francisco was the immunity from damage of an old wooden shack owned by a paint company at the corner of Main and Harrison streets. The ram-' shackle,, half-century-old building stands unharmed, a little island in a sea of desolation. It reeks with oil and is filled with highly inflammable materials. Near to it a great pile of coal caught fire and burned for near ly a week. The officials of the com pany felt so certain that the place had fallen a victim to the devolving flames that they did not even at tempt to visit it until two weeks o so after the conflagration and then it was mere curiosity to sea what the ruins : looked like that led them there. Jumbo, Weight 3500 Pounds. Jumbo, owned by Andrew G. Wes sel, of Brookville, Ind., which is said to be the largest steer in the world, weighs 3500 pounds, stands 18 hands high,, measures eleven feet around the girth and seventeen feet two inches from the tip of the nose tothe tip of the tail. He is a full blooded Shorthorn, is just past the four-year-old mark, and is still grow ing taller and gaining in weight. The steer is so gentle that it is often ridden by Mr. Wessel's little son. During the last twe years Jumbo has been taken to a few fairs in Ohio and Indiana, and has attracted the attention of many people. He was raised by P. Ewell, of Franklir County, Springfield Township. A Thing of Beauty is a Drain! At a dinner of the Sanitary Inspec tors' association at Holborn restau rant, Sir Wyke Bayliss confessed that art and sanitation seemed far apart. "Would ypu compare art," some would say; "with a drain running down a street?" "Yet one of the loveliest things in the world was a drain! (laughter) when it was con secrated by art in the form of a gar goyle on the roof of a cathedral. The two were hot so far apart. Art was the science cf beauty; sanitation was tho science: of health; and what were beauty and health if they were not the same thing?" London Telegraph- BADGER'S FEAT. In the days when the Omahas uled all eastern Nebraska, and fought the Sioux twelve months in the year, the great chief, Big Elk, lay in his lodge on the .banks of the Missouri, sick unto death. For many "suns" has the great man been troubled with a sickness which the Indians were not able to overcome. The medicine-men of the tribe had used all their efforts; had worked , all their charms; had called on "Pe-a-zhe Wakan," the Bad Spirit, and upon "Wakan," the Great Mys tery. The chief " did not improve. Even the chief's own private "medi cine," or charm, was unavailing, and he grew worse. The entire tribe was in ipjoom. Inen one day. from the south, a trapper came in his boat, and stopped to exchange bright-colored calicoes, mirrors, guns and beads with the Om ahas for their skins of the otter, the beaver and -the buffalo. The Indians refused to trade. Their chief was dying was on the very verge of the "Shadow Land" and they could not trade. The white man asked to see Big Elk, and he saw that the great red man was indeed dying. Nothing could now be done for him. "But,"- said the white trapper, '"there is a white man down the Big River, three sleeps distant; he has a white powder which would have cured Big Elk. But it is too late now. No horse could get back quick enough. Big 31k. must die." Badger, a young Indian, who was standing near when the trapper told of the white powder which would have saved Big Enk, beckoned the trapper to come outside the lodge, and asked him for the white man's "sign" for the white powder. The trapper wrote the single word "Quinin" on a paper, and handed it to the young red man. Five minutes afterward Badger, armed with his precious piece, of paper, four pairs of moccasins, a small quantity of dried buffalo meat, and five bright silver dollars all the cash the tribe possessed shot out from the south end of the In dian village, and headed toward the white settlement, one hundred miles away, at Bellevue, Nebraska, several ruiles below where Omaha now The sun was just setting in a red blaze ::i the Western prairie when Badger started on the run which made his name more famous in his tribe than that of any warrior of his time. Some time during the middle of the next forenoon, probably fifteen hours after Badger left Big Elk's lodge, old Peter Sarpy was standing in his log trading-post at Bellevue when a young Indian ran into the room, handed him a paper on which "Qui nin" was scrawled, laid five silver dollars down, and in the Indian lan guage asked him to "hurry." The medicine was quickly wrapped up, and the Indian, in his own tongue, which Sarpy knew well, asked how it was to be taken, and was told to place it in water and make the sick man drink it. Badger, for it was the Omaha In dian who had made the one-hundred mile trip on foot in fifteen hours, then sat down, ate a little jerked buffalo meat, threw away his old moccasins, which were entirely worn out, put on a new pair, rested for a single hour, and started on the re turn to the Omahas' village, carry ing with him the white powder which ,was to save the life of Big Elk. - It was nearly noon when Badger left Bellevue. He was stiff and tired from his long run of the night be fore. He wanted to stop and rest, but did not dare do so, for fear of going to' sleep. The sun was hot and there was no path across the prairie. Last night he had traveled by the stars; to-day he was guided by the sun. There were rivers to swim and quicksands to be avoided. Just after the sun rose next morn ing Badger staggered up to Big Elk's lodge on the Missouri. He had made the return trip in about eighteen hours, and had traveled the entire two hundred miles in thirty-four hours, including tne time spent at bellevue. But Big Elk had died an hour be fore Badger brought the "white med icine." . That was more than fifty years ago, and to-dry, when the remnants of the Omaha tribe are gathered round a dance "lodge," and Indians tell of the great deeds of Big Elk, the greatest warrior the tribe ever knew, almost in the same breath an other Indian wiil ise and tell the story of Badger and the fast run he made in his effort to save the life of his' chief. T.i p.. Porter, in the Youth's Companion. HIDING FROM THE JNDIANS. In dealing with the Indians dis cretion is usually the better part of valor, even if the encounter end as the incident' described long ago by Mrs. Bates in her book of Western travel. Not many are living nowa days who have felt the uread of the red man, and the casual reader can afford to smile, at the experience of Mrs. Brown in the mountains of Cal- ifornia. The woman's husband kept a boarding-house for about thirty miners. Some of the men had had trouble with a tribe of Indians living not far distant. It was believed that the sav- ages - meditated an attack, and for some time the whites in the vicinity had been on their guard. As nothing happened, they relaxed their watch fulness. 1 One day, when everybody was at work at the mine except Mrs. Brown, who was in the house alone, a deaf ening war-whoop sounded. T-ie woman ran to the door, to: see about two hundred Indians approaching in full war-paint, and armed with bows, arrows and tomahawks. Mrs. Brown, trembling with fright, rushed from the house to where the men were at work and screamed out her tidings. The men naturallysup posed the .Indians were coming to ex terminate them, and they caught up their shovels and picks and stood ready to fightj Their fire arms were all at theAouse, and flight was out of the question. They directed Mrs. Brown to flee across the river and secrete herself as quickly as possible. The stream was wide and deep, and spanned by a very narrow timber, but she rushed over it headlong. A large excavation caught her eye, and she jumped inte it. In telling of the adventure after ward, she said: "It would be impossible to describe my feelings. I expected every mo ment to see the dark and bloodthirsty faces of the savages. I could endure it no longer. I crawled out and rushed on, making all haste for the woods. "When I got there I was no better off. I woul Lhide for a few moments, then think, 'They will surely find me here. I must find a better place. I had done this a dozen times, when I finally climbed a big tree and re mained, how long I cannot tell; the time seemed interminable. "Then I heard shouting. I was so terrified J could scarcely retain my seat. At last I recognized my own name called by my husband's voice. He was alive, then, and the others murdered! Presently he appeared, laughing. I thought him insane. " 'Come down, it's all right! t thought I should never find you. I've been hunting for two hours,' he said. "It turned out that the Indians were on their way to visit a neigh boring tribe in honor of some great occasion. They were painted and armed as they always were when celebrat ing. The war-whoop was given, doubtless, in sport, for when the band passed the waiting miners, each dark face was on the broad grin." COURAGE IN MAN AND WOMAN. Women display courage in their own incomparable fashion. Typical of wom an's method of encountering danger is the story Of the woman who observed as she was concluding her toilet for the night the preseiu-e of a burglar under her bed. Without lotting the man know that she had perceived him, this woman quietly put on her dressing gown and knelt down' at the bedside to say her prayers. She prayed aloud. She made her own personal interces sions to heaven and then prayed for all poor sinners living in the darkness of estrangement from God, "particular ly this. unhappy man lying under my bed, meditating the wickedness of steal ing and perhaps murder." This wom an saved the situation. I cannot imagine a worse situation than that of a certain steeplejack who found himself one day at the top of a church steeple with a madman grin ning into his eyes. The madman was his mate. Both men had been at work on this steeple for many days and had talked together while they hung in the saddles with the utmost accord, but on this particular day one of the men looked up to see madness in the eyes of his companion. In that moment he was alone with danger. No shout could avail. From the street below he looked like a spider snoozing in its web. The roofs and chimneys of the hous.es seemed to be level with the. ground. High up in the loneliness of the empty air he was alone with a madman. The man kept his wits "about him, and addressed some eheerful remark to his mate. The madman only grinned. The man bade him look alive, that they might the sooner get below and enjoy themselves. The madman chuckled, and announced that they would get below in double quick time, for that he was going to jump from the, steeple with his friend in his arms. The other laughed as if at a good jest, and turned to his work. Then he began pushing forth his feet against the steeple to set a swing into his saddle; he meant to grab the madman and hold him till help came. But the madman was also swinging his saddle, and before the sane man realized his danger the madman's fingers were closing round his throat. There they swung in the dizzy air. high over ' the unconscious city. By something of a miracle the man found his hands .clutching at his tool box as he swung back. His hands closed on a wrench. He grabbed it, made an upward thrust with his strangled body, and caught the madman a jang ling blow across the side of his head. Then he clutched the fellow's body to save it from falling, and, after a mo ment's breathing, quietly lowered him self and his unconscious mate to the ground below. Strand Magazine. Praise For American Women. In the opinion of the editor of the Mirror, a paper printed in English in British India. "American woman hood is admittedly the finest, the very best, physically and intellectual ly, of all the womanhood of the world." The Reason. "I will not marry you," said Belle To broken-hearted Pete; "The reason I will frankly tell Your income's incom-plete!" ' The Jilted, in Town . Topics. And Needs a Comb; Hicks "Wonder why a negro al ways calls his sweetheart 'honey'?" Wicks "Because she's his bee loved, I suppose." Heavy Enough. Smith "There's goes Jenks, one f the main pillars of our church." Joker-t"He looks more like the foundation ?to me." Grive Him the Hook. "But, my dear, Mr. Millyuns is too old for you." "No, mamma, the only trouble is he isn't old enough." Grafting to the Pull-Pit. Scott "Talking about church-going, the wicked should go to the sin nergogue." Mott "Not the Chicago packer he should go to the meat-tin house." Safeguarding His Life. Bacon- "You say your wife does all her own cooking?," Egbert "Yes! "she does her own. I take my meals, at the club." Yon kers Statesman." .' Sizzling Retort. "What is your idea of the future life?" asked the youtjh. "It is either a "thing of bliss, or a thing of blister," answered the home grown philosopher. Chicago News. Proof of It. Mrs. Spender (out shopping) "Now I just know there's something we've forgotten t6 buy." Mr. Spender "There's certainly, is, my dear. I've got almost a dollar left yet." Matter of Expense "Algy, don't y6u find married life more expensive than bachelorhood?" "Well, it may, be more expensive than a rigidly singl.3 life, but it's cheaper than courtship." Chicago Tribune. Knew. Slang. Teacher "Now, Johnny, what was the cause of the American Revolu tion ?' Johnny "We had the spirit of '76, and the British had the spirit of 23." New York Times. A Killing Remark. Green "You mentioned the other day that a friend of yours had tried Dr. Bolus. How did he like the doc tor's treatment?" Grey "I don t know. He's pre served a dead silence on the sub ject." Endless. Tommy (aged four) "Say, mam ma, can God make anything He wants to?" Mamma "Certainly, dear." Tommy "Well, I wish He'd make me a stick of candy with only one end to it." Chicago News. She Knew What She Wanted. "I should advise jou by all ineans to have a pergola," said the archi tect. "It'd be nice to have one," replied Mrs. Jossgotti, "but I don't see what we could do with one as long as there ain't any cs-:ls around the place." Chicago Record-Herald. No Pleasure in It. Mrs. Chase "Oh! I don't like to go to that store. It's so unsatisfac tory to do our shopping there." Mrs. Shoppen "Why, they hava everything there." Mrs. Chase "That's 'just it. No matter what you ask for, they can suit you right off." Philadelphia Ledger. Grammar Made Spectacular. The teacher took a plum from her desk and bit into it. "Now, children," she said, "I am eating a plum that's the present tense." She took two more bites. "Now it's gone. I have eaten the plum what tense is that?" "I know, . teacher," said Willie. "Well, Willie?" ' "That's contents." , Wise Deduction. Soakley "It's all rot about late hours and booze hurting a man." Bilkins. "How do you make that out?" Soakley "Easy! It's this sleep ing that kills a man off. No matter how late I'm up with the boys I feel fine when I turn in, but when I wak$ up in the morning is the time I feel bad." American Spectator. Premature. The street car passenger handed back the nickel that had been given in change.; "What's' the matter with it?" asked the conductor.' ' ' "It's plugged," answered the pas senger. "You should have waited till you got a little further into the tunnel before trying to pass it." Chicago Tribune. I (fj n n r 1 GOOD ROAD S. Senator Latimer on Road Questions Senator Latimer, of South Caro lina, has come to the front as one of the leading champions of road im provement. In fact, he was elected to the Senate mainly on that issue. He introduced into the Senate a bill for national aid similar tp that which Congresman Brownlow introduced Into the HOusa. and hft has rlpfpnflor! j it ably and eloquently. In an address delivered at the Beacon Society din ner in Boston he said: The improvement of the common roads of the country engaged the at tention of our ablest statesmen from 1802 to 1832, and during that period about $14,000,000 was appropriated by Congress for road purposes. All the great minds of that period were one in conceding this question to be of the highest importance in deter mining the happiness and proseprity of the American people. It is to-dayr as it -was thin, a question .which de mands the earnest consideration of every American citizen. The mud tax, levied on our people by the mis erable condition of the common roads, is the most onerous that we have to pay. It will astonish you to know that it costs tire people of the United States every year more to transport the surplus products of the farm and forest to -the shipping point than the total cost of transporting all the freight, passengers, mail and express, over all the railroads of the United States. In 189 6 the railroads received from all sources a little over $700,000,000. Every dollar of this was returned to the people in the em ployment, of labor, payment for ma terial, in taxes to the States, and in interest on invested capital. The one billion dollars or more spent in cost of transportation over the dirt roads was a total loss, notone cent being returned to the people in taxes or as interest on invested capital. And yet this is only a portion of the loss. In this enlightened age no one questions the stupendous advantages which would follow a complete sj7s tem of improved roads. The cost of the work would be paid by the sav ings of or-v year. On the improved roads of Europe the cost of trans porting a ton a mile is from "eight to twelve cents, while in the United States the cost averages twenty-five, cents. A reduction of this cost by one-half would save to the American people $500,000,000 per annum. The practical question which con fronts us to-day is how is this con dition to be met and overcome? Upon whom must the burden of this great undertaking fall? We have tried the present ystem, which was inherited from England, which haf not resulted in much, improvement in the last one hundred years, and, in my judgment, will never prove a suc cess. , It is evident that some change in our method of road improvement must be adopted. The local com munity is not able to construct roads'' unaided. Many of the States are not able to do so, and even if they were, there is a feeling which, in my opin ion; is justly founded, that it would bo unjust to require them to bear the whole b.urden. The consumers of raw material and food products throughout the United States are equally interested with the producer in lowering the cost of transporta tion, as they, in the end, have to pay this heavy tax. As this burden can not be equally distributed, except by placing it On 'all the people, and as the most remunerative powers of raising revenue, originally held by the States, are now Li the Federal Government, it is only by an appro priation out of the Federal Treasury that the improvement of our roads can be accomplished with justice to all the people. . The next question which presents Itself is as to the power of CoDgress to make such an appropriation. I think that the power exists by ex press grant in the Constitution. Bas ing my opinion on the views of such eminent men as Madison, Monroe, Gallatin, Webster, Calhoun, Clay and Adams, and taking into consideration the legislative history of the coun try, Lhold that the power is clearly established. The power has been ex ercised whenever Congress thought it wise to do so, and the only question which is really important is whether or not this is a proper subject for Federal aid. All' that is asked by the bill introduced by me -is the appro- priation of a, fund for road purposes. The States are. to furnish the right of way, maintain the roads afer they; are built, and pay one-half the cost. Congress is not asked to invade the States, but simply to appropriate money as an aid to an object for the general welfare and happiness of all the ..people. There could be no bet ter investment of the public-funds than in road improvement. It would enhance the value of farm lands from ten to fifty per cent. An increase in. value of $5 an acre would add $3, 000,000,000 to the wealth, of the vnn Tit TV in this ifpm n!rnf TVi o r-nn gestion of business during the winterl -a months would disappear, and our people could, go to the markets at al times. In fact, the material advan tages which would follow are toe numerous to mention and too creat to estimate. - . j What will we do with the nrono- Kitinn? Will wp ?T nn frir fh toW - ' - Ow vuv uAy one hundred years as we have durinf J the last, or will we arouse, ourselves! and make this question a burnint issue before the people until the re suit is accomplished? i 4-r ... j 4 life

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