T HE
erpnse
VOL. I.
RALEIGH, N. C, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1904 .
NO. 36
Tl TV
Ent
Ma
WASHINQTON NEWS.
Reports of Secretary of War Presi
dent Amends Civil Service Rules
A New Salad Powers Accepting
President's Peace Proposal Sena
tor Cockrell Can Get Whatever He
Hay Desire.
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
Washington, D .C., Dec. 21.
In the annual report of the Secre
tary of War, William II. Taft, just
made public, it is urged that all
products of the Philippines, except
sugar and tobacco, be admitted to
the United States free of duty, and
that upon these two products a ma
terial reduction in duty be made.
The report shows a standing army of
59,181 men, and that a great improve
ment has been made in sanitary con
ditions, reducing the death rate. The
building of a new Executive Depart-
' merit is also urged..
President Roosevelt has issued an
order amending the Civil Service
rules so as to include within the
classified services the positions of
Deputy Collectors of Customs and
the Chief Collector at each sub-port.
Future appointments, therefore,
must be based upon competitive ex
aminations. The order affects about
400 positions.
And now it is chrysanthemum
salad. It isn't so very good, but if
"--you " want to be in fashion; you must
have it once in the season, anyhow.
And you must remark, when your
guests say, "Oh, how very unique,"
"Oh, we have it often since the
Prince taught us how to make it.,;
That gives you a kind of standing,
don't-you-know. The "Prince" is
Prince Fushumi, who was perfectly
amazed with the chrysanthemum ex
hibit which was "on" in the Govern
ment hot-houses when he was here.
He said that never in his life had
he seen anything as fine as the big
blossoms which were grown in the
Government propagating houses.
Then the Prince said that in' Japan
the chrysanthemum is used as an ar
ticle of food. The method of pre
paring the flowers for the table, the
Prince said., was as follows : First
immerse the blossoms in boiling wa
ter for from five to six minutes.
Then take them out of the hot water
and plunge them in cold. After be
ing thoroughly chilled, the petals are
pulled off, and are seasoned to taste
with oil, vinegar, pepper and salt.
This, the Prince said, was a favorite
salad in his country with all classes.
Not only are the fresh flowers used
that way, the Prince went on to say,
but they are so dried for winter us-.i.
Before drying, the petals are pluck
ed, and when the housewife wishes
to use them they are soaked in water
until they expand to their original
size. Then they are treated with the
boiling and cold water baths as the
fresh flowers. The Prince said that
as a general thing only the white and
yellow chrysanthemums are used in
the preparation of salads in Japan.
Colonel Bromwelh the engineer of
ficer in charge of Public Buildings
and Grounds, reports to the War De
partment the practical competition
of the two new green-houses for the
White House, located in the Monu
ment Grounds, and the commencement-
of a third house in the same
locality for use in storing the bay
trees from the White House during
the winter. The new building will
be 170 feet long, 20 feet wide and
15 feet high.
One by one the Powers are accept
ing President Roosevelt's sugges
tion that another session of The
Hague Tribuanal be convened to
complete the work outlined by the
first Peace Congress. Secretary Hay
has just received cordial responses
from Sweden and Mexico. The
Swedish Government expresses it
gratitude to the President for call
ing the matter to the attention of the
Powers, accepts the invitation and
expresses the opinion that one of the
most important subjects which the
court should consider is the effect
of war on the rights of neutral and
a definition of contraband of war.
Mexico's acceptance is equally cor
dial, i
Senator Cockrell, of Missouri, has
been offered his choice of two posi
tions by the President. He can go
on the Isthmian Canal Commission,
or he can take the vacancy on the
Interstate Commerce Commission.
In either case his salary will be
above $7,000, which will be an in
crease of at least $2,500 over what
he receives as United States Senator,
so it will have paid Senator Cockrell
pretty well to have Missouri go Re
publican. Senator Cockrell is per
fectly willing to accept anything that
the President has to give him, but of
course hi3 term in the United States
does not expire until March 4, 1905.
Christmas Buying.
Although the matter is presented
in rather blunt fashion, there may be
much truth in what the Philadelphia
Ledger has to say, after all. Possibly
it applies quite as well to the wife
who presents her husband a sofa pil
low, or the husband who buys a desk
chair for his wife, In making a
present it pleases one to feel it was
not bought for the giver so much as
for the receiver.
Christmas giving and consequent
Christmas shopping now occupy the
minds of everybody, and from morn
ing to night the cry is: "Oh, what
shall I give Edith?" and "Oh, dear,
James is so hard to buy for. I won
der what he would like!"
The text for a sermonette was sug
gested by the half -petulant exclama
tion of a pretty girl, made in the
writer's hearing. "No ! no !" she burst
forth, "don't give me an umbrella;
and don't give me a dress pattern,
and don't give me the money for my
dentist bill! Don't give me anything
that I just simply can't get along
without. Buy me something pretty
and quite useless!"
The rule of common sense applies
here, of course. To present a hungry
man with a necktie, or a meagerly
clad woman with a canary, would be
obviously absurd. And yet so queer
a thing is human nature that even
such unfortunates would probably
enjoy the gift of a superfluity rather
than that of a necessity. The man
of the family is feminine in his weak
ness of liking to be surprised with
something which he would never have
bought for himself.
So, if you want to make your
Christmas giving a success, select
useful presents, if you must ; but
don't marvel at the ingratitude which
causes them to be received with
thanks, truly, but without enthusi
asm. The merest trifle, if it be well
selected from superfluities, will give
more genuine pleasure.
LETTER FROM BILKINS.
The Major Cannot Please Mrs Bilkins
Everybody Wears Themselves
out Trying to Select Christmas
Presents He Has Given Up Rem
edy for Cigarett Smokers Advice
as to How to Celebrate the Holiday.
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
Me an' Betsy air still negoshatin'
erbout thet Christmas prisint an' we
can't git no closer than we wuz last
week. I hope the grate powers ov
TTrope, Ashia an' Afriker will ap
pint a internashunal cummishun ter
settle the blamed thing fer I'm pur
ty nigh distrackted. I've bin made
sick by it an' now hev the roomytiz,
Iumbager, newmoner, dispepsy, grip
an' yaller jandis. Betsy iz sick with
croup, influenzy, the rickits an' the
rack its an' nervus probashun. She
got mad bekase I jolly ed her erbout
the furs an' sed she wouldn't hev
them fer pay. Then I tried ter git
her tor name sumthin' else. But
she wouldn't. Sed she'd do without
a prisint before she'd be made fun
ov. Then I tried ter passify her by
offerin' ter name a few things fer
her ter seleck a prisint f rum. I
axed her if she wanted sum julry
or a new cook stove. She 'lowed no,
that she wouldn't never need eny
cook stove, fer she Wuz goin' back
ter her muther an' broke out cryin'.
;'TTL1 iu thar," sed I, "it won't be
so powerful uncohvenient fer me ter
live erlone. But I'm erf rade your
mother would cum ter see me az soon
az you'd git home." I hev a power
ful lot ov respeck fer Betsy's moth
er. She cummands respeck both
011111111' and goin'. "How'd you like
tor hev sumptin' new ter wear like
a dress or a ortermobile or kimoner."
sed I. She 'lowed she'd see me in
Golchboro before she'd wear eny
thinr I mite seleck. "Awl rite," sez
I, "how'd you like sum bran new
greenback -money or a note fer five
millyuns sined by Andy Carneegy?"
"You insult me," sed Betsy ; "I don't
want enything, go erway an' let me
erlone."
That iz the way with a woman; if
you try to be real gude ter her she
will wanter raze a ryott. an' if you
are mean to her sumtimes she will
love you better. Blamed if they ain't
a rrvsterv ter me. The older I git
the less I know erbout 'em.
T reckon other people hev their
trubles, too, especially erbout Christ
mas. Everybody wears their selves
out tryin' ter seleck Christmas pre
sints. My bald spot iz twice az big
az it wuz last summer an' by the
time Betsy gits through lecturin' me
fer cruelty an' other wickedness be
kase I couldn't T-lease her in a
Christmas presint, I won't hev over
two dozen hairs on my. dervoted
head. I'm erbout kerlapsed.
I see by the papers thet one ov
the big docktors or scientists wants
ter, know whut we air goin' ter do
"ith cigarett smokers. Shoot 'em,
drown 'em; just enything ter put 'em
out ov their misery. They ain't no
use in foolin' erbout that.
Well, az by the time I write ergin
Christmus will be over I hope every
body will keep sober an' hev a pleas
ant time. Gitin' drunk an' fitin' iz not
the way ter spend Christmas. Let
the Injuns an' Chinese do that. Go
a rabbit huntin', bird huntin'; gd to
see your sweetheart if you hev one.
If you hain't got one, keep your eye
peeled fer one. They air erbout the
most pleasant, an' at the same time,
the most onpleasant thing you kin
hev. If you air married, love, serve
an' obey your wife; that iz, if she
likes that style; if not, disobey her,
or you mite be sartin' ter hit the
mark by doin' both. If Betsy don't
git in a gude humer by Christmas,
I'll prance eround ermong the gurls
like I lied done forgot her an' I'll
bet she'll cum down off the roof.
Merry Christmas ter all.
ZEKE BILKINS.
Cream of the Press.
Russia has now decided" to over
whelm the Japs next spring instead
of last. Detroit Free Press.
"'
Dr. Dowie has paid all his debts,
showing that there is profit in the
prophet business. Washington Post.
'".
The stand-patters at Washington
fail to read the handwriting on the
Massachusetts wall Mexican Her
ald. A great many more women would
want genealogical trees if they could
wear them on their hats. Dallas
(Texas) News.
Colleges have wonderful success
in teaching boys most everything in
the world'except how to make a liv
ing. New York Press.
- -
The department store raid this
week will make that little affair at
Port Arthur look perfectly ha rmless.
Birmingham Age-Herald.
The negro problem is always a
dead easy one to the Northern man
who never had to stand guard over
his hen roost. Macon Telegraph.
.. . .
The South would probably join
the rest of the country in support of
a bill to reduce Congressional mis
representation. Washington Post.
It is a pity that the English spar
row cannot be persuaded to redeem
its character by going after the boll
weevil. Washington Evening Sun.
In view of that $17,000 annually,
General Miles can well afford to hold
hi? own dress parade every afternoon
on the Boston Comm an. Baltimore
Sun.
The editorial waste-basket rejoiced
to learn of that part of the Presi
dent's message which spoke of cut
ting down the number of public docu
ments. Columbia State.
An illicit whiskey still blew up in
New York City the other day. The
Government ought to do something
with the moonshiners in that town.
Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
Cotton is down, but not down and
out, just yet. Too many people are
just learning to wear clothes for our
staple to be retired. Montgomery
Advertiser.
When a man in his pajamas bumps
his shin on a rocking chair it is sur
prising what a weak, washy thing
his vocabulary seems to him.- New
York Press.