Of Interest lo Manufacturer.
ERIIAPS no class of people,
the farmer not excepted,
has a greater interest in
highway improvement than
those engaged in industrial
enterprise. If the common roads of
the country were brought to a condition
that would enable farmers to market
their products at all seasons of the
year, the cost of living in town and
city would be greatly lessened, and
discontent among laboring people and
operatives in industrial concerns would
largely decrease if it did not entirely
disappear. "Why, and how? Present
road conditions compel fanners to rush
, their products to market as soon as
, harvested, when the roads are at their
it best, as by waiting a convenient time
they may not get there at all. If one
farmer must do this, his neighbors
roust do likewise. This naturally con
gests the market, forcing low prices to
the great detriment of the producer and
Without benefit to the consumer, be
cause the average family in town or
city buys only in small quantity at
one time, say a day's or a week's sup
ply. "What is the result? The specu
lator, finding prices low and knowing
that in a little while the bad roads sea
son will be on when competing prod
ucts will be kept away from trade
centres, buys up the surplus and stores
it away for the day which he knows
is surely coming when he can demand
and receive his own price for his hold
ingsthe stuff for which men toil;
j whlch they are compelled to have. And
. jjjvhen the citizen in town, the mechanic
and operative of the shops and factor
ies, is forced in winter and spring to
pay exorbitant prices for those articles
of household necessity which went
begging for buyers at low prices the
preceding fall, he figures the increased
cost of living In comparison and grows
restless and discontented and is easily
led into strikes and other labor disturb
ances. We all know what usually
follows. This, of course, is not all that
enters into strike causes, but it con
tributes a full share. It ought to be
perfectly plain to American, manufac
turers that the continuous, orderly op
oration of industrial business depends
on measurably contented operatives;
that men are never contented when the
cost of living is above their earniuf
capacity; and that prices of food stufffc
from the farm would be always at a
decent living level to all concerned if
,we had systematically improved high,
ways over which farmers could travel
to market any day in the year. These
farmers would realize better prices for
their products than they do and still
le able to sell to all classes of consum
ers at lower prices than is forced by
speculators in the bad-roads season.
If this position is sound, then the duty
f .manufacturers seems to be to lend
their every influence to the support of
Ithe Brownlow-Latimer bills which seek
to bring about systematic and scientific
tighway construction and improvement
In co-operation with the States. It is
no less In their own interest than that
of the farmers', who are their best
patrons after all. And it is no less the
interest of all consumers of farm prod
ucts in every town and city in the
United States, and of every railroad
and other corporation employing labor
of any kind, and of every railroad and
, bcilding contractor and others having
men in their employ.
We are advised that Hon. W. F.
Brownlow, member of Congress from
Tennessee, is desirous of hearing from
manufacturers on this -question, and
will appreciate any expression of views
thereon that may be sent to him at
.Washington.
Cost of Bad Roads.
Col. J. Killebrew, in the Southern
Farm Magazine of Baltimore, says:
No portion of the South can afford to
pay such extortionate rates as are now
paid to get produce to market. This
cannot be less than 25 cents per to
mile, not to mention the wear and tear
of wagons and teams and the loss of
time on the roads. Ono two-horse
wagon on a good macadam road should
w be able to convey in one load ten
bales of cotton to market or two hogs
heads of tobacco. A good load with
such a conveyance over the miserable
roads of the South Is two bales of cot
ton and one very light hogshead of to
bacco, attended, then, with frequent
miring of both wagon and team. Pub
lic spirit needs to be aroused to this
Pitiable condition of the great majority
k jt the highways of the South. No
money can be expended for public Im
provements which will bring more
comfort and happiness to a greater
number of people. No money expend
ed in building good highways ever
causes regret after the roads are com
pleted. The improved roads become a
source of pride to all taxpayers and to
all public-spirited citizens.
Weather Bureau Savin?.
Some time ago a skeptical insurance
company determined to investigate the
amount of property saved in one year
by the warnings of the Weather Bu
reau. It was a company of conserva
tive men whose estimate would be un
der rather than above the truth, but it
found that on an average the people
of the United States saved every year
$30,000,000 because of their weather
service. As the people contribute $1.
B00.000 every year to its support, this
means that they get annually a divi
dend of 2000 per cent on the invest
ment. An investment in which the
original capital is paid back twenty
.times over in twelve months is extraor
dinarily profitable and well worth iu
Sestiatioo, Ceatury,
BRINGING HEH AROUND; .
The Old, Old Story Told In Another
Way.
Having received her modern educa
tion, (Jerlrude was let loose upon an
unsuspecting world.
She permitted herself to take a walk
In the woods.
"Nature," said Gertrude, somewhat
deprecatingly, -has been brought up
on wholly unconventional lines. She
has, alas! no system. These tree
trunks are allowed to fall indiscrimin
ately. Such wastel And as for con
servation of energy, where is it?
Everywhere I see about me pathetic
evidences of gross carelessness, not to
mention wholly bad artistic effects."
Returning to her parents, she viewed
them also with a certain savor of dis
criminative criticism.
"You appear," she said, "to be
bathed by your surroundings. There
Is an intelligent calmness that comes
from philosophic resignation, to which
you are wholly alien. Your servants
when you have them oppress you.
Your friendships, made wholly without
regard to utilitarianism, are too often
unproductive of anything but vain
pleasure, thus weakening your moral
libre. A more intelligent use of the
principles of sociology would produce
in you a greater symmetry. You wor
ry, without knowing that worry is
merely molecular, or perceiving for a
moment that there is a psychology of
the hearthstone which, if judiciously
applied, would lift you above vulgar
routine."
Forced by circumstances beyond her
immediate control she was obliged to
pass a few weeks at a summer resort.
"Gregariousness," said Gertrude, "is
oftentimes amusing in its ulterior as
pects. These poor fools, lulled by cer
tain paralogisms of the mind, imagine
they are having a good time. And yet
how absurd their pose. Did they but
know that things are not what they
seem that the sea is merely a sensa
tion, and fleeting styles in bathing gar
ments only an appeal to the excitation
of the ganglionic centres, they would
seek in simple contemplation what
pleasure there is in subjectivity, and
shake off the shackles of mere mate
rialism." While recording these phenomena,
and being for a moment quite alone on
the beach, with the light of the moon
overhead, she was approached by a
young man, who upon several previous
occasions had obtruded himself upon
her consciousness.
"I love you," said the young man.
"Love," replied Gertrude, "is purely
relative in its action, and can never be
a thing-in-itself. It has no objective
validity."
"It is extremely pleasant," said the
young man, taking her hand.
"rieasuro and pain," replied Ger
trude, "are simply sensations obeying
the law of contrast. If all things were
reduced to an absolute zero, there
would be nothing at all. What we
term reality is nothing but the inter
changing of activities, producing heat
which becomes latent in objects, thus
enabling us to differentiate their iden
tity." "Good," said the young man. "I per
ceive that j'ou are wound up, but be
lieving as I do that at heart you are in
reality a sweet and lovable girl, I'm
going to let you run on. For I love
you, with all your peculiarities. You
do the talking and I'll do the love
making. I have come to stay."
A week later, when the moon had
reached its full, and the soft sympa
thetic waves were lulling these two to
a supreme joy that she had never felt
before when earth and air and sky
seemed to surround them with a heav
enly sweetness Gertrude sat once more
with her head on the young man's
shoulder.
"Dearest," she murmured, "will you
forgive me for all my nonsense?"
And he smiled indulgently as he said:
"Yes, darling, I knew you would re
cover all right. But I want you to
promise me one thing."
"Anything!" exclaimed. Gertrude,
penitently, as she snuggled up a little
closer. "What is it?"
"Only this," replied the young man,
as a momentary shadow llitted across
his face at the thought of what he hud
endured for her sake:
"Promise me that you will never
have a relapse." Tom Masson, in Life.
Chrysanthemum Smoking.
In December last Dr. A. W. Martin
recommended the smoking of dried
chrysanthemum petals as a "pleasant
and harmless substitute" for tobacco.
A case is now reported by the Man
chester correspondent of the Lancet
of an unlooked for improvement, attrib
uted to chrysanthemum smoking, in a
person who had been a victim for fif
teen years to frequent and violent
epileptic fits due to chronic dyspepsia,"
He smoked his first pipe on January I
and began at once to improve, so that
he is "able to take his half hour's
walk without a stick, instead of be
ing afraid to cross a space of nine
feet with it; he can get six nights'
rest out of seven, instead o. one out
of four, and can even attend church."
The patient finds that the flowers act
best when mixed with cascarilla bark.
Ston&all Jackson's Looks.
His form was tall, gaunt and angu
lar. His feet and hands were large,
and his Avalk was singxilarly ungrace
ful. He always spoke quickly, in
short sentences devoid of ornament,
but to- the point. A habit of "bat
ting" his eyes added no little to the
peculiarity of his appearance. His
eyes were gray and ordinarily dull
and expressionless; but when excit
ed by drill, which always seemed to
arouse him, especially when charges
were fired, the whole man would
change, as if he were transported by
the roar of the guns to the exciting
scenes of an actual field of battle.
Ceotury.-j
lack i '
ftdlenfuTe.
HUNTING WITH KITES.
" -StOl LMOST due east from Ma
. nila is the large sweet
O V O water lake called the La
& guna de Bay; round the
t0"T southern half of this lake
lies Laguna Province. A chain of
mountains lies in a large half circle
round this lake, thus shutting in this
sheet of water almost completely.
Books of natural history describe a
species of large bat, called fruit bats,
great big fellows, with a body the size
of a full grown cat, and wing mem
branes that measure from two to four
feet across. I have seen some that
were more than five feet from tip to
tip. Like all bats, they sleep during
the day in the dense forests in the
mountains, hundreds of them hung up
in the treetops, whore they are safe
from their enemies. Head down, with
wings closely folded to the body and
swaying with the wind, they look
something like the bobbins of wool that
feed the spinning machines in the fac
tories. About half an hour more before
the sun touches the western horizon
all these bats wake up, turn themselves
right side up with care, give a few
flaps with their wings, and then
whir! away they go, hundreds in a
flock. They sail across forest and vale
straight as a shot to the fine groves
along the lake, where they feed all
night.
A curious thing about the bats is that
they prefer a straight line, and if they
meet an obstacle will swerve only just
enough to clear it. The Filipinos have
found this out, and also that the bats
are good to eat. From this discovery
dates a most curious sport.
Long before sunset, in the village af
ter which the lake is named, the
town of Bay, a hundred or more men
and boys are out, both in the town it
self and on the open plain all round it.
Each group of two or three has a kite,
a tailless, Chinese pattern kite.
Everybody is full of expectation,
looking southward for the bats to ar
rive. Suddenly some sharp-eyed young
ster spies them coming far to the
southwest, and sets up a yell. Ere the
yell has died away the advance of the
flock has come within range of the
floating kites.
The bats see in them nothing more
than a strange kind of bird. Indeed, it
may be doubted if the bats in this
bright light see at all. If they do not
fly by smell and touch rather than by
sight, at any rate, once among the
kites, which have begun to sail in very
erratic curves, they just swerve a little
when too close to one to it3 cord, and
go on.
By a skillful jerking and twirling of
the cord the men are able to give the
kite a swooping motion, similar to that
of a hawk's flight,and in addition guide
it so as to swoop down upon one of the
bats.
But always the bats sweep just be
yond the reach of the kites, until sud
denly one seems to be entangled with
something near the cord. A flutter or
two, a violent downward movement of
the kite, torn along by the bat, a final
shake of the line, and like a shot down
drops the bat, to be pounced upon by
some member of the crew of that par
ticular kite. A blow with the club in
his hand, and the bat ceases to snap
and snarl. Surprised, we examine the
fellow, and find that the delicate mem
brane of its wings has been torn as if
With claws, making flight impossible.
Soon another bat is entangled with a
kite, but instead of dropping, it is ap
parently caught by the cord, for when
the man handling this one pulls in ex
citedly and brings the kite to earth, the
bat, despite some wild flutters, comes
with it. We then see that hundreds of
small fish-hooks are attached to the
cord by means of fine strings of abaca
or Manila hemp. The bat was caught
on several of these hooks. In swerv
ing a little to escape the kite or its
cord, it was swept right among the
hooks. Their fine thread was too small
to be noticed ere it was too late.
The bats are not beautiful, and the
strong, musky odor they exhale does
not add to their attractiveness; but
once prepared for the oven, they look
much like rabbits, and I am assured
by those who have eaten thpm that
they taste exactly like that. Paul L.
Strange, in Youth's Companion.
AN UNEXPECTED BANQUET.
During the summer of 1!03 Leonidas
Hubbard, Jr., Dillon Wallace and a
half-bred Cree Indian, who proved him
self a hero, started to explore the Lab
rador wilds. This purpose was only
partially carried out. Winter came on
along" before Hubbard was ready to
turn back, the provisions were ex
haused, game were scarce. On the jour
ney to the coast Hubbard was taken
ill, and perished of starvation while
his companions were in search of aid.
Wallace had found some provisions
which had been thrown aside on the
island trip, and had returned will) in
a few hundred feet of Hubbard's tent,
but could not find it. In "The Lure of
the Labrador Wild" Mr. Wallace tells
something of their hardships:
Despite the steady gnaw at the pit
of our stomachs, wo had cut down
our meals to the minimum amount of
food that would keep us alive. For
nearly two weeks we had been the pris
oners of a relentless storm. All of us
felt we had entered on a race against
starvation.
While we were nearing the shore we
Righted three little ducklings bobbing
up and down in the tumbling waves,
and repeatedly diving. They were too
far off to reach with a pistol, and Hub
bard took his rifle. It seemed almost
like attacking a fly with a cannon, but
with our thought on food, none of ua
was impress d with the incongruity
then.
After nubbard fired, one of the duck
lings turned over. We paddled to it
with fervinsh haste, and found that it
had been stunned by a ball that had
barely grazed its bill. It was a lucky
shot, for if the bullet had gone through
the duckling's body there would have
been little left to eat.
The next day we floundered on
through marshes and swamps.
George, with his pack and rifle was in
advance, and Hubbard and I followed
his track through the snow. In the
distance we heard a bang! then, bang!
bang! three shots in all. Presently we
came upon George's pack near the lit
tle lake, and waited for him to appear.
He had killed two geese. While wait
ing for them to cook, George cut from
the necks a piece of skin and fat for
each of us. These we warmed on the
end of a stick, taking great care not
to heat them enough to permit a single
drop of the oil to escape from the fat;
.hen, half-raw as they were, we ate them
grgedily, and found them delicious.
It was really wonderful how much
lappinesss that bit of game brought us.
As we were drinking the broth we
freely admitted that never before had
we sat down to such a banquet.
HIS DOUBLE.
The late Gen. Sir James Erown was
stationed for a number of years in Ba
luchistan. During that period of his
life a very strange thing happened to
him, so strange that its reading is like
that of fiction. In 1878 Sir James was
in the political employ at Quetta. Two
years of wandering life had weather
beaten him till his face was sunburned
and his beard ragged. Walking one
day with, a fellow officer, he saw a man
in Afghan costume sitting by the road
side. A big book, presumably the Ko
ran, was suspended from his neck, but
something about him, perhaps his
brown beard and-blue eyes, bespoke
the European. Sir James tells the
story:
"That fellow does not sit on his heels
like a native," I said.
Colonel Fellows assented.
"And," said he, "he is the very image
of you."
I looked at the man again and saw
that it was so. He was exactly like
me. I spoke to him, and he answered
in an embarrassed way, saying that he
was a Kirghiz on a pilgrimage to
Mecca. I talked with him a little, and
found him so embarrassed that my sus
pisions were aroused; and later I sent
to arrest him, thinking he might be a
Russian spy. But the man had fled,
and that was the last I ever saw of
him.
Soon after head men began to drop
into Quetta and to seek me out, all
claiming to know me. I did not under
stand what they meant, but I used the
opportunity to gain all the information
I could. Some of these visitors spoke
of meeting me places where I had
never been. One died, and I was asked
to perform the burial services, the one
who made the request saying I used
to perform such rites at Mukkur. I
was more puzzled than ever, but I did
not let the claimants to mj acquaint
ance know it.
War broke out soon after this, and I
was sent farther into the Interior.
Everywhere distinguished officers de
clared they knew me, and spoke with
great reverence of religious ceremonies
I had performed. The natives would
not fight with the company I was in.
I Avcnt into the most dangerous places
unharmed and unattacked. Every
where I was greeted as a preacher
holy.
After I was made chief commissioner
of Baluchistan I met three Afghans
who said they were old friends of mine
at Mukkur. One spoke of his wife as
my ardent disciple, another of the time
I had spent at his house as his guest.
Then for the first time an explanation
came to my mind. I was indebted for
this extraordinary amount of influence
to my double, whom I had met on the
road.
My Doppelganger had disappeared
entirely; dropped out of life in a mys
terious way. Who he was I shall never
know, but for sixteen years I got all
the credit of that saintly Mussulman.
When I denied the identity I was
laughed af. Some of my doings must
have seemed rank apostasy to those
natives, hut they were faithful to their
ideal. In time of war I went every
where unchallenged, much to the
amazement of my comrades, who won
dered why I was not captured or mur
dered. I received presents and visits
from avowed followers. Unwittingly I
entered into that holy man's life and
reaped the benefits without the shad
ow of a claim, and all on account of
th strong resemblance between us.
UNDER WATER MANY HOURS.
After being imprisoned for twenty
four hours, loaded down by a diver's
armor and under fifteen feet of water
at Canton, Mo., Daniel Hayes was
brought to the surface in an uncon
scious and almost dying condition. He
! a professional diver and had been
employed t remove brush and debris
from the immense pipe which serves
at times of low water to drain Lima
Lake and transfer its surplusage 1o the
Mississippi River. He was sucked un
der a pile of refuse and over against a
bowlder in a way which prevented liiir,
from loosening himself from the tan
gled hose which held him down. In
signalling to the men in charge of the
air pump Hayes could not let them
know his location, as the air hose, be
ing wrapped around the rock, caused
deceptive bubbles to rise to the sur
face. When the imprisoned diver was
released his suit was found to be leak
ing, and he would have been drowned
had the ordeal lasted another half
hour. Tlie agony he passed through
made Hayes appear ten years older
than when he entered the water. ..
;MLDREN:S
THE GAME OF SKELETON BALL.
If you want to play an indoor game
of ball, one that positively will not
cause breakage of fine ornaments, and
to play which requires two balls of
your own manufacture, with little trou
ble, and at barely any cost, you could
not find a better game than the one we
are now going to describe, says the
New York Evening Mail.
Y'ou can make the balls of stiff whiti
note paper, if you choose, but it would
be better to get stiff colored paper,
either blue and red, gold and silver, or
green and yellow, so that the two balls
be in pleasing contrast in colors.
To make the balls, fold each sheet of
paper so that you can cut out, at one
time, three circles, or disks, in each
color, about three and a half inches in
diameter. If you prefer to cut each
circle separately you can do so, but the
other way saves time and trouble. If
A PLAYER TRYING
you have no dividers to draw the cir
cumference properly, use a pin and a
string and pencil, but be sure to have
the circle accurate.
In each color mark the circle's num
bers, 1, 2 and 3, and with lines, as
fhown in the accompanying diagrams.
Now cut slits where the lines are
drawn, and slip circle No. 1 through
the centre slit in No. 2, the notches
in the outer edge of No. 1 holding them
together so that they bisect each other.
The cross-cuts in No. 3 will allow1 that
circle to fit over and bisect the other
two, and the three circles will be per
fect fits if the notches are not too
email.
Y'ou now have a skeleton ball, show-
ing eight quadrants, but no surface
circumference, yet the ball -will roll
well in any direction. Prepare the sec
ond ball in a different color in the
same way, and with two small palm
fans, tied with ribbons at the handle, in
color to correspond with the balls, your
outfit for the game is complete.
Arrange a goal at each end of the
room by placing two chairs a yard
apart, and in the middle of the room,
at an equal distance from the two
goals, place a chair having rungs, or a
low taboret with spindle legs. Divide
the party into two sides, each with a
captain, and you are ready to play.
The object in the game is to score the
greater number of goals, and a player
on each side begins by standing before
bis goal, with the ball before him on
the floor. Using the fan, he tries to
blow the ball under and through the
chair or taboret in the middle of the
room. Whf-n he accomplishes this he
must fan it through his opponent's
goal, and the first one who docs this
wins that game.
Then two other opponents, selected
by the respective captains, play in the
same way. The balls must not be
touched, but are to be guided and pro
pelled by the air from tbe Inns.
After all have piayed the victory be
longs to the side that has the more
scores to its credit.
AN ARBOR DAY PRESENT.
Neil lay in his bed listening to the
birds who won- holding some kind of
an aficr-breakfast meeting iu the tree
just outside liis window.
Tweet, tweet, twitter, chit, chit."
they said to one another. Neil won
dered what they were talking about,
j v. ;.-hcd he could understand bird
talk. Listening to the birds made him
think of the little white schoolhouse
far away on the prairies of Nebraska.
There were no trees there as there
were here in California, where he had
come to live with Uncle George. Neil
remembered how his teacher had told
them how beautiful it was to live
where there were many trees, when
the school plauted a cotton wood tree
in the schoolhouse yard last Arbor
Day. She had told them how the birds
Uked to build their nests amoDg the
DEPARTMENT;
leaves and to sit high up among tlM
branches and sing to the sun.
"I wish I could send them a tree to
plant," said Neil to himself. "It'll soon
be Arbor Day again, and thpy'll sing
and march and have flags. Wish I
could be there."
Just then the breakfast bell rang and
Neil hurried into his clothes so as not
to be late. His cousin, Bert, had been
up and dressed for a long time.
"John's going to transplant roses,"
said Bert to Neil as he brushed some
dirt from his white overalls, "and he
said we could help."
Roses! What a fine idea! Just the
thing to plant in the sunny sehoolhouso
yard, and so small that the trainman
could surely find room for it in his big
car.
Neil told his wish to Bert, and asked
him if be thought Uncle George would
sell him a rosebush.
FOR
GOAL.
"No, but he'll give you one; he's got
oceans of roses in the garden," said
Bert. "Let's ask him."
"Give you a rosebush?" exclaimed
Uncle George in surprise when the'
boys put their question, "a half dozen
of them if you wish. But what do you
want of a rosebush?"
Neil told him.
"That's a fine idea. Ton go and pick
out the one you want after breakfast
and I'll have John wrap it up for ypu
bo it'll travel safe." :
After breakfast Neil and Bert
trudged off Avith their wheelbarrow to
the garden back of the palm trees
where John, the gardener, was work
ing. It was hard to tell which one to send,
they were all so beautiful. At last
Neil chose one with big pink roses.
"Oh, don't cut the flowers off," cried.
Neil as the gardener began pruning
the bush.
John explained why it was neces
sary to cut many of the branches from
the bush before it could le shipped.
Then he dug it up and the hoys carried
It to the house in the wheelbarrow.
"There are no roses on the bush,
now," wrote Neil, in a letter to hi
teacher, "but when it's planted there
will be lots of big pink ones like the
one I am going to send you in a box."
When Arbor Day came the childrea
in the little white schoolhouse on tho.
prairies of Nebraska joined hands and
marched around the rosebush that a
week before had nodded its pink blos
soms at Neil in sunny California. Lit
tle Chronicle.
MONKEYS AS GAY WAGS.
Recently a monkey got the better of
the common enemy, the carrion crow,'
by feigning illness. He was fastened
to a bamboo pole with a running ring.
When he was on his perch the crows,
annoyed him by stealing from his por-.
ringer on the ground. One morning
th.v had been specially disagreeable.
He closed his eyes and feigned a bad
illness. When bis day's food was
brought him the crows descended uioni
it. and he had scarcely strength ta
defend it. By good acting, he managed
to capture one of the crows. To pluck
it alive was the obvious course. Then,
instead of pulling it to pieces, like- the
king monkey whom Kipling and Sir
Ed ward Buck watched enjoying a simi
lar triumph at Simla, this monkey (
tossed the crow into the air, where'
its own companions fell upon it and
killed it. Monkeys certainly have a
sense of fun. Darwin used to spend
hours watching a young female orang
outang in the Zoological Gardens, and
was sure that she had the comic senti
ment. She delighted to put on her
head, like a cap, a peculiar shaped
bowl, which had a droll effect, and she
was sensitive to the effect which her
joke produced upoit the spectators.
Th Lahore Tribune.
A
l