Our BJationai Spirit v. -..Is a hove of Work By William M. Ivins, Late Candidate r . for Mayor of New York. , - P -you -we're-" to ask me what." is America, I should say the -whole body of living Americans, ami all Americans who have gone before. The story of our national character is the history of our entire na tional achievement, America consists not only of living men and women, but of great captains of the Revolution, of fathers of the constitution, of soldiers of the war for union and disunion a well, of all the fine and brav&'sa-irits whose souls go marching on in our history still shaping it from their glorious graves. It is not easy to put our finger on what might be called our "spiritual cen tre of gravity." As a nation we certainly have one, ibut I am not prepared to admit that it is pure commercialism, I should say it was a national, love of work. That Is why we as yet have no intellectual proletariat and no body of oeciaspos. v One thing which I believe I discovered to that as a nation we are too far from the spiritual, too near the physical and sensual. We are suffering from con tagion of luxury. It was one of the causes of both Greek and Roman decline. Yet the luxury of Rome was a sordid want "compared with the luxury of Am erica. We arq certainly not a religious people in the old sense of the word, tout If religion means a quest of the eternal, hunger for knowledge of the infin ite, then I do not hesitate to say that we are not irreligious, even if the nation is not spiritually potent to raise a Francis of Assisi, a Savonarola, a Milton, a Pascal or a Newman. - . " i But what is it that is sacred to us-rthe law? We are probably more disre. gardful of law tian any other people in the world. The Church? There is no ctmreh. ' Property? Possibly. Still, I think what we hold most sacred is th ennobling power of work, and .deep down I believe our nation has a sovereign ideal of righteousness that finally, that is the thing that is sacred to us. J ; The American is fundamentally "square' and intrepid and generous. He is" fuili of courage, except where he is a mere money bag and where cowardi"i of the till has made him practically an alien to our temper. Restless activity lias come to be recognized as a universal characteristic, and we must admit the restlessness and the activity. Neither industrialism nor commercialism can by any possibility beget dignity or ideals or reverence. v The press is our most suggestive institution! it partakes of all our frail ties, 'but it also partakes of the strongest and best that is in -us. The chief function of the press is to equalize the strain of change and to prepare men's minds for it, so that it comes with order and as a natural development. The iuiyii usjs ceaseu 10 De tne national university, ana xne press uus wu no place. Is the press doing its work well? What kind of men is it making? Very good men, I think at any rate, better men than I find in the making any. where else. i. Mil All Me Human Wrecks5 By Dr. Charles Kliot Norton, Harvard's Noted Ala n of Letters. R71 OU ask me to express my opinion,, in such form that it may be given to the public, concerning the prolongation of life by medical or surgical science when it misery. The matter has of late acquired new claim for consideration owins to the raDid advance in knowledge and in skill alike of physi mm cians and surgeons and to the edge and skill to the lengthening of wretched lives. . The principle' that it is a duty to prolong every human life as long as pos sible, at whatever cost, has hitherto been generally accepted. .. "' Its5 main support has been, the doctrine of the sacredness of human life, and this has been reinforced by two practical considerations of great weight; one, the freedom of physician, surgeon or bystander from all responsibility of de cision of a question grave in any case and in which, a mistake in judgment might be severely blameworthy; the other, the natural desire on the part of members of the medical and surgical profession to exhibit the resources of their art in mastering extreme difficulties. The doctrine and the practice have both been pressed toa far. There is no .ground" to hold every human life as inviolably sacred, and to be preserved, no matter with what .results -to the individual, or to ethers. On the contrary there are cases to which every reasonable consideration urges that the end should be put. Setting aside all doubtful cases, no right thinking man would hesitate, to give a dose of laudanum, sufficient to end suffering and life together, to the victim of an accident from the torturing effects of which recovery was Impcs.ble, however many hours of misery might be added to conscious life by stimulants or surgical operations. ' . '-. Or take another instance, that of an old person whose mind has become a ekacs -of wild imaginings productive of constant distress not only to the suf ferer, but to all w-ho live with and attend him. The plain duty in such a case is not to prolong, but to shorten life. it is not to 03 nopeu mat a superstition so aeepiy rootea in tradition as that of the duty of prolonging life at any cost will readily yield to the argu ments of reason or the pleadings of compassion, but the discussion of the sub ject in its various aspects may lead gradually to a more enlightened public opinion and to the consequent relief of much misery. By AndrewD. White. ?TUM"3 N tne greater capitals of . Europe the general public know the IMfl M g3ritish, French, Austrian, Italian, and all other important embassies Vft"ll ft It lor legations, except that of The American embassy inmottmps in nriA rnnrfpr nf 1J times almost in an attic, sometimes almost in a cellar, generally ... . inadecuiate in its accommodations, and frequently unfortunate in its surroundings. ''-.,- Both my official terms at St. Petersburg showed me that one secret of the great success of British diplomacy, in all parts of the world, is that especial pains are taken regarding this; point. - ' ; The United States, as perhaps the wealthiest nation in existence a nation far-reaching in the exercise of its foreign policy, with vast and increasing com mercial and other interests, throughout the world should in all substantial mat ters, be equally well provided for. v And in order fully to free my mind I will add that, while the provision for a proper embassy or legation building is the first of all . things necessary, it might also be well to increase somewhat the salaries . of our representatives abroad.. It is utterly impossible for an America diplomatic representative to do his duty upon the salary now given, even while living on the most moderate scale known in the diplomatic corps. To attempt to do so would deprive him of all opportunity to exercisethat friendly, personal, social influence which Is so hmportant-au element in his success. If the carrying out of these reforms should require an appropriation to the diplomatic service 50 per cent, higher than it now is, the total additional cost to each citizen of the United States would be less than half a cent each. year.--From the Autobiography of Andrew D. White. Copyright, 1904, by the Century Company. 1he Case tor Bv Frederick C. Howe, ot Cleveland. UNICIPAL ownership is becoming the most insistent issue in local I .TV a-1 politics. The spontaneity of the issue indicates the deep-seated dissatisfaction with private monopoly. The elections in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago are but political cross-sections of the country at large. The conviction has become well-nigh uni versal, that the franchise interests are responsible for most of the municipal corruption. It is the desire for franchises, whose (JJ , values rutf Into fabulous figures, that-explahis not only the positive corruption, tout the indifference of the better-to-do classes, and the heavy burden of reform. These franchises have been appraised at $150,000,000 In New York city; in --other large cities they run into hundreds of millions. Their value depends up- cm ao labor except the labor lnoident to a control of the council. They are created by. grant from the city. And they can only exist through) a perform ance of tai.3 control. This explains the activity, as well as the corruption, in iocal poflitics. These conditions will be corrected through munloinal ownrshin. . When -the city owns its own franchises, &31 classes wiia demand good government and 2icient service. Population can be distributed into the country-side. Cheaper light, water, and heat will relieve tine poor of their most serious burdens, while the incidental -savings to the community will be tremendous. For -municipal ownership pays. The net earnings of the New Yerk Water Works amount to 53.SOO.000 per year; of the Chicago water plan $2,209,621 the Cleveland waiei works $500,000, and the Detroit waterw irVs ?:ft0.- , -' rrom other cities. Detroit claims that.it costs but $C0 per lamp to light its elreet by" electricity. New York city earns nearly a million dollars a year .from us docks, and $313,000 fromi its markets. The city of Cincinnati, which V,wr. the Cincinnati Southern R-adlway enjoy a revenue which will leave the property without isdebledness in fifty years' time. that have lived on our soil, and can be prolonged only at the cost of application of this increasing knowl our country. or legation has no settled home, it tha, t.rvwn. snmptlmps in anit'lipr r.n-mp. tmicipal Ownership CHARITY. God blessed me the penny you gave to me, brother, For yon pive with a smile, ns a friend to another. v,- God, cursed me the dollar you gave, for you chid, ' And you made me to know what it was that you did. With charity 'for me you gave me the first, Hut. with charity to. me. the second you cursed Edmund V ance Cooke, in The Century. THE PROFESSOR'S PIITflEB By Ballas Lore Sharp. -.v. v. v. j5tj HAD been sure for a long t f 'rae tbat tnere was a story O I O connected with the panther, S K but the old professor, for tOW some reason, never seemed to feel the bearing of my hints concerning it. The panther was a magnizficent male specimen, mount ed in the central case of the museum, a crouching, crawling figure, so terri bly realistic that I had to school my self to go past it at night without a shiver. "You certainly saw that beast when it was alive, professor," I remarked one day, as we were rearranging some of the smaller specimens in the case. "That's a study from life. Look at the curve of his back! And those shoul ders! I can almost see them work be neath the skin." "I can see them work," the old pro fessor replied, pausing a moment to look at the beast; "and I'm likely to, as long as I can see anything," he added. I kept discreetly silent, and he went on: "It is a study from life, as you have guessed, and the best mount, I think, in the collection, though the study was made in Florida and the mounting done here, "That was a peculiarly vivid lesson I had there, quite sulflcient in a taxi dermical way, for the rest of my life. "I was collecting along the Indian River, near where Mieco stands now, taking specimens of everything, from the largest allisrators down. It was a rich country there then, as crowded with wild beasts as a menagerie. Panthers were by no means rare, and I had taken two when I came upon the tracks of this fellow in the sand, along the river. "The print of his foot measured twice that of the specimens I had taken, and my ambition was stirred. I wanted that big panther for the very spot where you see him now. But he was as wary as lie was big. I never could get sight of'-him perhaps because I was a tram or ins getting signt or mc first. ' "1 trailed him up and down the river, and finally found a beaten path that I thought the big fellow used, running in through the brake to a heavily tim bered crest. The grass about the end of the path was so heavy and the run way so hard-packed that no footprint showed; but out along the river the signs of his coming' and going in this vicinity were so numerous that I de termined to risk my chances in the path. "The surest, quickest way to have taken him. if this were the runway of the beast, would have been to lie in wait at some good place along the path and shoot him provided, of course, that the wind, the light and the aim were all just right. "But this was asking too much; Re sides, I was constantly busy collecting, and couldn't spare the time it might take to wait. So I took the two big bear traps that I had at camp, and set them in the path, trusting that the panther, in an absent-minded- moment, might walk into one of them. " ' "It is seldom that a wild animal, es pecially a panther, has an absent minded moment. Human bqings are much more liable to them, according to my experience, though up to this time I had not known it. "I selected a narrow, walled-in place along the path, where the bushes were so thick on each side .that the beast would not be. likely, to leave the trail. Here, too, was a sharp rise of ground for about twenty feet. "At the bottom of this I set one trap, and twenty feet away, on the very crown of the ridge, I set the other,1 He could hardly go up and down that hill without stepping into one of those trans. "But he did, even though I had con cealed the traps so skilfully that no eye could easily have detected them. , That very night a small manatee that I had caught late in the afternoon was dragged from near the tent and hiilf eaten in the bushes alongshore, the marks in the sand telling plainly that the thief was the big panther.; , . "A visit to the traps showed tfiem undisturbed. Perhaps the beast had come out by some other path. j "To make sure, I fixed four slider sticks across the run, so that nothing could pass without brushing Iheni aside. if "The next day I found the sticks down. Something had bee through the path, and something large, too; but the traps had not been touched, l "Hoping that the creaturei might be come used to their presence, and so grow careless, I left them si vi-ral days without changing, wherein f again showed my ignorance of wild animals. "It was folly to Imagine that,'so keen a creature as a panther fivoidd Walk abroad in his sleep and catch 'himself. Nevertheless, I went ' down the river late one afternoon and ifto the path, Intending to make a last attempt -.with the bear trap? "The one at the; crest of the ridge I moved down about five feetJ replacing its former cover and nil thel surround ings precisely as they were, so that to all appearances the trap was in its old place. . Then, with infinite jiains I hid it in the new spot, laying back upon it every tiny leaf that I had stirred. , "It was as neat as nati-.re; but so in tent had I been upon the work that I had utterly forgotten about time, and looked up to see the dusk falling rapid ly The other trap still remained to be set. - .... "Hastening back down the ridge. I pulled up the heavy chain, and in doing so, hit the plate so sharply that the jaws came to with a siuip. "'I had scooped out a place for it In the path, and was pressing the stiff spring down with my knee and the jaws with my hands, when I felt some thing touching my foot. behind, . "The strain upon my arms was so great that I dared not risk loosing the spring with my knre, for fear the long toothed jaws would close on my hands. So without pausing, I spread the jaws on down and open and held them there. "And I continued to hold them there, for trawling up slowly between my kuees came the head and neck of a great snake. A second look was not needed to show me that it was a water moccasin, as vicious and as deadly a rentile as the rattlesnake. , "The thick, heavy-Jawed head slid up along my left wrist and curved out directly across the open trap. There it lay. All depended tipon my keeping Ing perfectly quiet, for the beast -was not alarmed, though I could see that the light in its eyes only half-smoldered. Its dull wits were aware Of something unusual here, and so it had paused, suspicious. . "Fortunately, the trap was fully open now aiitl not hard to hold. But my body was cramned into an unnatural posture with the effort to set the spring, and this, together with the ter rlb!e nervous strain of having that deadly, scaly' head against my hand, soon began to tell upon my strength. "If I could only get my knee off the spring without arousing the snake, and still hold the trap open with my hands, I might be able to release the jaws quickly enough to cut the muddy, horrid head dean off. "I would risk it while I had the power; but instantly that power left me. Whether I had half-eousrionslv heard a twig break, or by some mvs- tcrions telepathy felt the gaze of the panther fixed upon me. I do not know; but without looking up I knew that the beast lay in the palh at the top of the ritlce above me. "I had scarcely to move my head In order to see Mm. There in the c!ccr ening twilight ho stood motionless, his' front paws on the ridge, his head lifted high, looking in surprise at me. "Thru the head was slowly lowered, the big paws reached dowii. and the long body flattened itself to t:ie ground. My flesh mi;ht have been of stone, so far as niiy trace of feeling went. I was frozen to the spot and to the; open trap. ' But Iran and snake were forgotten -while I glared back into the blazing eyes that glared down into mi-nc, as 'the great cat began its stealthy clawl over the ridge for a footing to (spring. "I could1 see only the blaze of the eyes, the luimp of the working shoul ders and the twitch, twitch of the slow ly swayij.g tail, so quickly had the darkness settled. But. I knew every motion the brute made. "He had come entirely over the ridge when the hump of his shoulders sank. He had flattened. Then it began to rise slowly, and I knew the moment of crisis had come. The creature was gathering himself together for the leap. '.Suddenly, with a scream that was half-snarl, he sprang, snapped short in the i air, turned heels over, and was jerked head down into the path before nie. , "I was standing, with the moccasin's scaly tail lashing my boots. "The panther had crept one step too close, and had planted his paw in the open trap near the top of the hill. "In my excitement ant fright I had entirely forgotten that it was there, and the brute as he had crawled down upon me had been too eager to notice it. "The moccasin was squirming in the trap I had been holding, its head nearly severed. But how I did it, how I got off the trap to my feet, I have never known at all." Youth's Com panion. Poison FJaut With Turple Blogtomti. The colors of flowers and leaves offer numbers of interesting problems. No one quite knows why the prevailing tint of early spring flowers is either white or yellow. Y'ellow, indeed, holds its own to some extent all Ihrough the summer, but the typical coloy f sum mer blooms is pink, while as the au tumn Rdvances richer crimsons and all the rich, glowing hues of dahlias and chrysanthemums are seen.4 Horticulturists have produced pop pies of nearly every shade under the sun, and with many other flowers they seem able to alter the colors almost -as they please. Yet the blue rose, the black tulip and the green carnation seem as far off as ever they were in spite of constant efforts to arrive at them. Nearly three centuries ago Dutch gardeners imagined themselves on the very of inventing a black tulip. The 'colors of the blossoms of fruit trees are limited to white, pink, bright scarlet and purple. The reason no one knows. Nor is it clear why nearly all plants with purple blossoms Lave pois onous properties. The deadly night shade is an instance which will be familiar to all country readers. Pear son's Weekly. "-' ' rhnniros in tlin color of class are caused by subjecting it to the action of . . . i . - -1 t s wnat are Known aa uiuariviei rajs vi Hgat ' J The Feminine Appetite. " How many women there must be who are blessed with a "healthy appe tite" which Is a constant source of mar tyrdom to vthem,, says the Lady's Pic torial. No matter what her inner crav ings may suggest the woman who dines in publie knows that the interest she will awaken is . not unconnected with the number of courses she re fuses. - tTnrpaoiiahle Bleu. Men say they cannot stand paint powder, make-up or cosmetics of "any kind, yet, observes Woman, they ex-. poet their womankind to have an ever youthful complexion and never to look fagged or worn out. They relegate to women all the petty cares of a house hold, and often leave the wife in the morning in a complete chaos of domes tic affliction with the sage and stoic advice "Not to worry!" MannUh Mode Again. One cannot help regretting .the ten dency of feminine fashions to once again becom masculine. One fears a little lest the leather that is to be a feature of feminine fashions this au tumn, and the ' headgear that has sprung from the masculine bowler and the old "Jarvies' " beavers, and the walking sticks, which, like cigarette cases, are now popular gifts for girls, will '-not rob us of our pretty fal-lals and our daintiness. London World. The Fash'onubte Color. It is next to impossible to. decide upon the one and only fashionable color of the winter, for there are so many colors and . so many shades of color which are popular, that to say there is but one is absurd. Purple In various shades Is in style, a new red and, a new blue, also a new brown, and black has come into favor once more, so, af ter all, it is' a, question to be decided by the individual. Prune is a color" that is markedly popular this year;'1 and is certainly attractive and most generally becom ing. Trimmed with velvet of a deeper shade or with embroidered velvet bands or with narrow bands of fur, a prune cloth costume is most notice able, while if the effect be too sombre, a note of lighter color can bo intro duced into the waistcoat. Cream white, pale blue, pink, yellow, or a much lighter shade of prune all are permissible' colors to use. Harper's Bazar. - Fireplaces Old and Xciv. The varieties of fireplace furnishings are many." The an'dirons are, of course, a necessity if food is to be burned. In addition there must be -the shovel, tongs and poker, with some sort of a holder, the fender, bellows, and cither a wood box- or a coal scuttle. All of the lire irons may be made of brass from the Colonial designs, the steeple top, the ball, the flame, etc;, either an tique or copies, or they may be of some of the new' designs in green bronze, wrought iron or dull brass. The.. green bro'nzo and the wrought iron are especially adapted to the rough stone fireplaces. The Colonial designs speak for themselves as to their partic ular adaptability. . Some of the newer designs are very good and some very bad. Those that are simple, dignified and well adapted to their purpose are good, but there are many, especially those of .wrought iron, which are overloaded with ornament, hence to be condemned. Ilarper'sBazar. ' Chiidren'8 Birthday Party. - For small children there is a new Jack Corner pie which is charming. A great ball, three or four feet in diam eter, is made of light wires twisted in shape and covered with paper, with a number of little gifts tied up, each one fastened to a ribbon which falls out of a hole in the under side of the ball. Then flat paper roses are pasted all over the outside. This is suspended from the ceiling; the children are given the ribbons and warned to hold them lightly without pulling, and have a pretty in-and-out dance, and at its close all are told to pull the ribbons, when down comes a shower of gifts from the ball. A new and quiet game of hide-and-seek is called "cuckoo." The children sit in a circle on the floor, and one child leaves the room and hides, calling, whn hidden, "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!" The rest must sit still and guess 4 where the -child is, guided by the calls which keep on from time to time. As soon as the place is guessed the one who is right hides, and the other .comes back to the circle. Harper's Bazar. Chinchilla. Chinchilla is delightfully soft and becoming, but it is the most perishable of all furs. Sable is, of course, in beauty as in value, the chief of them aJ, and it is a lifelong possession, but even a moderate sized- tie of it is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $r00 at present well marked Russian sable, that is to say, and even the less desira ble Canadian variety, and the near but humbler relation, mink, are at a very high price. Caracul and sealskin are to be trimmed this winter with passe menterie and embroidery, and finished with lace ruffles. Two furs will be mixed on a garment freely, and some kinds are best value when so used in limited quantities; ermine, for instance, is an excellent trimming to a sable or chinchilla cape, 'while by itself it al- ws strikes one as naving a aaru j effect. Among the more moderate . fl ..1 fni- o howinn'np. nnf la whit -a ... fox, which is so deep a pile that there ! is none of the hard effect of the -short'-' and stiffer hairs of ermine, and of ill fur, as it is very fashionable, women whose complexion is suited by white may, well take notice in purchasing. ' Kconomy in Women. - If women are .more economical than men, as is sometimes stated, it is to he wondered at. Why should they be? The woman shopper is ied In various ways to feel that she Is a most im povtant persutj. Obsequous clerks, un der penalty of dismissal, wait upon her pjUJentljy or c'all atteiitioi to their choietst wares. The merchants si a re no opportunity to, part her from tiie eontents of hr purse, tL' whilj thcy flatter her varity, The whole vast stoit-, with nil its wonders and all its trash, exists, for her. Seemingly iimo Cfnt temptations pull at her pnm er v. nc n .1 1 f-. . I it 4 ! T , . . ...1. .....!! . cL-.iu,a, auu jiranuui ; min'S hjjituii: her with their cheapness. The mode,: u store is. a veritable palace of -temptation. 'The weak are allured with proie Ies of credit, the strong are often ! gulled before they . are ttware, while thoughtless women nre fikely to gather the Impression that the adornment of their persons and the beautlficatioit of the home are the chief ends of money" spending. Harper's Bazar. , True Lore. - ' v ing, rapturous emotion portrayed iu story books is, about the poorest, iini la -tion of love there is; but people match their symptoms to those in these sen timental almanacs, and then. wonder dazzling fireworks they - experienced, oeiore marriage, loonsuiy growl be cause thrills and raptures are known no more after live years of matrimony. True loVc is a matter of solil friend ship rather than mutual physical ad mira Ion. It is founded on solid inner congeniality rather than a-. kindred taste for certain sports or tastes in art and old china. True love depends not on the roses in Amelia's cheeks, inu tile style of Algernon's overcoat; yet many of our modern marriages are sev ered because Algernon feels cheated because Amelia's beauty has faded, or Amelia is mad bee .rise -Algernon no longer bows and scrapes whenever she enters the room.. True love cTepcu.d-s not for its life either on looks or manners, but steadfastly loves on through all the exigencies sure ,to -f: up where two people marry, keep house and rear children.." -"Life is not en easy li uuu, .t vi? uii cuv n , .lint .M'-w- ried life has all the everyday diCh-ul-ties multiplied. by two; but true love- n.nl.nn ! i- ..11 ...n.lli . -1 . ! I rt .1 . 1 K- i 1 only thing ;t earth that can really lighten th load and make thft war straight.--Philadelphia Telegraph. riece lace dyed to match cloth, silk or velvet is still fashionable. Cloth skirts, Avith lace bodices of the same color, are very modish. The very newest brooch is a cat design, a large black cat, at that, with big diamond eyes. Long evening coats, trimmed with fur and wadded comfortably, are being made of eolored l.irs- Boleros, yokes and other trimming of lace are used upon blouses of chiffon or net and broad girdles of lace are alpo fancied. - The green felt hat was worn with a big pale-blue gauze veil, and the brown fur cape, with long talis, was lined with pale-blue taffeta and fringed wish, brown pendants. Those belles who have gold and pearl attachments to keep soft collars erect ova In loin-ill' 7ii lofnirf T'.iflci A.t- is that stiff, high collars are the 'thing for ail kinds of, toilets short of the dinner or dancing frocks. The tea gown of to-day is considered quite indispensable and after all there is economy'in changing the street gown upon reaching home, while the loose fitting garment is much more restful, as well as more suitable to the house. Young girls should always have their hair arranged in the ntbst becoming fashion and at the same time the sim plest possible. ' Bows of ribbon to match the color scheme of the dress are dainty, but as in the case of the shoe and stockings, black is always appro priate, too. . The, most, elaborate tea gowns are triumphs of the dressmaker's fibiil.. The long loose coat of thin flowered silk or gauze worn over a pleated un derdress of white lawn and chiffon if charmingly picturesque, while the nar row gathered ribbon' trims it most ef fectively. - Bound That Crows Like a Koonter. Samuel liiley, farmer living a few miles from this city, owns a dog that crows like a rooster before giving vent to a crow the dog stretches him self on his back and gives a loud yell. : Whenever the roosters crow at mid-' night or at the break of day the dog i quick to get into the contest. Mr. Ri-i ley has one rooster for which the dog seems to have a special affinity. When the rooster crows the dog is sure to do likewise. ... . ,".,'.. The crowing dog is ah ordinary fox hound, but is worthless for all pur poses for which die was bred. Evans ville . Correspondence ; Indianapolis News. '