Evening Star Newspaper, December 10, 1892, Page 10

i alll THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. C., SATURDAY. DE a ———— 2 MBER. 10, 1892—SIXTEEN PAGES. e YY PORT OF LA GUAY RA. i * ere: | to cost $3,000,000, occupy not more than five \ E AY E Z l E I \ | years in building and afford a perfectly quict a ahs 4ha. LE wom for vessels of heaviest draught. At | present itextends out not more than 200 fect and eat a | appears to be washed away about as feat a8 con. . rae ructed. It is said to be impossible to erec Entering the Harbor of Its Principal | an emicient breakwater nt this point, owing to | the continual shifting of the sand. Seaport. | PLENTY OF PATIENCE XERDED. | The chances are that you will Lave plenty of IN leisure for cultivation of that cardinal virtue, A REFRESHING SIGHT. |pa out in the roadstead of La Guayra, | witlr the tip of the mast almost touching the water at regular intervals as the: vessel sways The Welcome View of Mo Long Tour Among the ¢ American Countries—The Appearance of the City of La Guayra. nd and permission to do so from d customs officials. Both favors are extremely uncertain as to time, and lucky indeed is the ship to which they occur simulta— | neousiy. Meanwhile you may amuse yourself | with the prospect ashore and tales of sophia: | cated passengers pertaining to the locality. La Fro The Star's Traveling Conn La wna, Vexxzvena, Nov. 1, 1892. an |. | Guayra ia said to be one of the hottest places AILING NORTH-| ,0 the face of the earth, owing, doubtioes, t0 ward 2 Marauhao | the proximity of the barren mountain base, to Venezuela, after sev- which shuts off every breath of air from the eval uneventful da: land side and barely leaves room for a mule with a pack on his back to turn around in the crowded streets. One tells the story of Capt. Robert Todd of the Venezu n na who dreamed that he visited the infernal regions and was shown all the ins and onts of the Palace of | Perpetual Pain by the major domo of the place and found it much hotter than common report |has pictured. After wandering about some time, viewing the various torments of the eked, they came toa furnace wherein a group water r eve: ke ¥ morning If roiling abont-i -countable asif in 2 Cape though no PRESIDENTIAL FUN Pastimes Enjoyed by Presidents From Washington to Clev UNTERS AND FISHERMEN. Some of Them Have Been Fond of Sport— Hayes Had No Amusements—Gen. Grant Drove Fast Horses—Mr. Lincoln Loved Shakespeare—Johnson Drank,Tyler Played Poker and Jackson Smoked a Corncob—The Early Presidents, a R, CLEVELAND I8 probably the most thoroughgoing sports- man that has ever oc- cupied the presidential office. At the samo time the methods of hunting and fishing which he prefers are not such asare regarded with the highest appro- bation by experts inthe use of the rod and gun. He does not care to cast the fly fot trout, but prefers to troll for blue fish. Quail, which afford the finest sport in the neighborhood of Washington, have mever served as game for him, success with them roquir- ing patient walking and great quickness. He has found it more amusing to shoot ducks from be- | bind a blind in the Chesapeake or to kill deer with a night light in the Adironacks than to stalk them by day. THE CHESAPEAKE DUCKS. President Harrison is a dnek hunter. Though not avery good shot, ho is very fond of the sport, and he also has popped away at these waterfowl in the Chesapeake. The ducks of that region have been presidential game ever since the government began. It is probable that George Washington bagged many a brace of them. ‘In his day canvas backs were thick in the Potomac. Subsequent Presidents have mostly taken a shot at thom. It will be remem- bered that Mr. Harrison, three rs ago, mis- took a pig for a coon in the Virginia woods and killed the animal. Unfortunately, it was not a red in front of La the seaport of Caracas. Vene: la’s i Toone who bas spent a long time on the eastern sie of South which is generally low, fat and mon the frat view of Vene: striking. remir: pictaresqn: rongly of the more Pacitic coast of the same continent, all backed by « mighty Andes. yoked at mi wh before a are the Andes them- those long lost friends, reluctantly left behind when rou sailed through the Strait of Magellan which hereabouts stretch a long arm clear across Venezuela down to the At- Atonee you think of ru—that most + harming and bistorically interesting, @ though now finencially the poorest of all South American repubiies for this port is a counter- part of Moliendo, with long swells perpetually rolling into ite rondstead, so heavy at time that passengers have to be hoisted on board the | steamers by means of chairs and ropes and for dare together no freight can be landed or em: barked. Another point of resemblance to th celebrated Peruvian port isin the coloring of the that environ it—reddish brown streaked with gray, mottled near their rocky bases with pale groen cacti. ‘TRE WORST PLACE TO BUILD A crTT. Acelebrated American traveler perfectly de- scribes La Gusrra by saying that if the whole evast of South America had been explored for the worst place in 20,000 miles in which to build been found with acity one could not have greater natural disadva: buity of man cannot ove: 4 the most perpendicularly not 600 feet beyond the rolling surf to the height of five or six thousand feet, its twin peaks, Naiguata and Arro do Avila (one 13,000 feet the other 000), forming what is called the ““Stin” (saddle) of Caracas, at whose feet nestles La Guayra. Or rather it clings to the Tocks like a great barnacle, looking as if any blow it of the ocean, for 100 le ont from their door- 2.000 fe with its line of lls, describes le. aff srdang some slight protection pearly enough. They always gu oatto avoid the surf, which r nigh and with tremendous force whenever a # biowing, and, as at La few other places on the average length of a <i in which t rring to trust “rather than the lies on sloping the sea and has to be ting sands would ARP LANDED. d into open boats from shore, whence they surf to a pier, to shore. which was originally poses, but is too email i of two moles built angle with the narrow poin his lighters steer while shifti mparati harbor pu to be available, conse out at an acute Into ve piece of work dictator of Ven- money. He gave the fing toa thrifty sou of e contract was @ clause @enela. a lary @outract for sum of se alieged harbur of refuge only one thatever accompished the seemingly finpossuble feat and ntractor gut his money, bat found it convenient to leave for the laud of wooden nutmexs that same evecing fo escape the righteous wrath of the dictator. bough eutirely unfit for the pur- Pore intended, is not altogether uscless, as 1 break somewhat the force of tremendous waves that continually r the portheart, | wild but an educated pig, belonging toa col- ored person in that vicinity, who received pay- ment for it from the club which was entertaip- of men were playing cards and apparently n- joving themselves immensely. “How is it,” asked Capt. Todd, “that these men appear so s isas agreeable as | uen those mountains | 1 agility are re- | | comfortable, while others suffer such burning torture in Pluto's realm?” “Oh, they are from La Guayra,” answered the major domo, Though ‘certainly hotter than Cairo, Madras | Acapulco, Yuma—if not hades, the nati lof its climate as calido y sano, “warm and healthy.” It does not foliow that all places within the isothermal line of greatest heat are unhealthy, and, strange to say, this dirty, swel- tering little port is the hygienic resort of the people of Caracas aud the highlands beyond, who come down every year during the heated |term. Even Asiatic cholera failed to find » foothold in La Guayra, though it decimated the ‘apital a few years ago, and yeilow fever is most unknowin. THE STRAGGLING TOWN. The town straggles along the beach about two miles, generally in a single row of houses, indicating but one street in width, except where two or three offshoots scrample up the percipi- jous heights or penetrate the narrow valleys | between them. lis, scarred here and there by zig zag paths, are reddish brown in | color, exactly like the roofs of the houses; the valleys are reddish brown, too, and perfectly barren, except for a few cacti. Indeed there is ho vegetation in sight (though the upper cor- dillera looks softly green, as it might be with forests), except the great cocoanut grove at | THE ARMS OF VENEZUELA. Maiquetia, a village a mile west of La Guayra, and the splendid cacao paims of Macuto, the g Branch of Venezuela, three miles east of By the way, the cocoa and the cocoa- so frequently confounded in Engli-h spellmng and in the imaginations of people who | have never seen either, are as widely different |in themselves as tres can be. ‘The latter is | the product of the palm, remarkable for the | height it attains and the prodigious size of the | fruit, which grow in bunches bigger than a | man ‘ean lift. Cocoa, on the contrary, grows | on a moderately sized ‘tree in pods resembling | large cucumbers, of a rich chocolate color out- | i h pod is filled with oblong nuts, en- | ped in white, tiy acid pulp, which is | | eeagreeable t . parrots | | and other tropical pests as are cherries to the northern robins, #0 that a cocoa plantation has jo be carefully guarded if its owner wishes to derive any proiit therefrom. THE cvstoM HoUSE. Having at last been permitted to land you find that it docs not take nearly as long to see all there is of La Guayra as to rescue your lug- gage, be it much or little, from the aduana or custom house. It is a two-storied edifice of | some architectural pretensions, with walls thick and stroug enough to be both bomb and earth- quake proof, connected with the wharf by a tramway. Itis built in the old Spanish stvle, with a long line of pillars in front, to which an awning 1s attached, rendering its alcove de- lightfully cool and pleasant. A central gate- $ uce to the paved court yard, nd which are the store rooms. A grand se leads to the upper story, where the aduauero, or chief of the m house, resides with bis family, so in a ‘suite of splendid rooms for the use of the president whenever he chooses to visit the port, It is busy place, being the most mj | in the republic, and a large qu | chandise passes through the cials, for, notwithstanding its wretched ship- La Guayra carries on a very active trade with foreign marts, as is attested | | by the number of English, French, German and | | Italian merchants, with a few Americans,whose | wa wharves. | |. Proceeding to the Hotel Neptune you find a | large, deep, frowning editice, whose street en- | trance runs into the inevitable patio, whence | azes lend off, in the most un-| accountable manner, to various parts of the | building. It is as picturesque as dirt and dis- n make it, and as uncomfortable as picturesque. with a number, variety and in- | tensity of smells which are perpetual astonish- juent to the most hardened olfactories. Walking about a little you find that the busi ness houses are two and three stories in height, | making the little heu-coop huts of the negroes, | who compose about half of the population, | look even smaller by contrast. The crooked, | paved street has sidewalks about two fect | wide, dimly lighted at night by oil lamps. A | river runs through the town on its way to the . crossed by innumerable bridges, which are | the finest ornaments of the place. “There is a | plaza with a grove of aimendrone trees planted | initand @ statue of Gazman Blanco in the | middle, a covered market house, a theater and | several churches. More interesting than these | common features are the ruined Spanish forts | perebed abore the city on rocks which mares many times been stained with blood when ter- Tifle conficta took piace in days gorte by, and the privons of Las well known by sad experience to modern patriovs and political agi- tators who happened, unfortunately for them- selves, to have cast their lot on the losing side. Fansiz B. Wann. | Went up into the N ing the President as its guest at the time. BILLIARDS AND WHIST. ‘Mr. Cleveland earned the reputation of being the hardest working President that the country has ever had. In that respect he even ex- celled Mr. Harrison. Nevertheless, during his term at the White House he found ‘time for an occasional game of billiards, at which he is quite an expert. He is also a particularly good Whist player. and puts up a strong game of poker now and then in company with a few in- timate friends, He does not care much for been Mr. Harrison's Mrs. Cleveland used to xttend the famous paper chases which amused the society of Washington when sho was a tride. At the meets of the Cross Country Club in those days Secretaries Whitney, Bayard and Fairchild were always present, together with younger members of the diplomatic corps, in- including Dr. Yow of the Chinese legation, who, to escape the fate of Absalom, always carried the end of his queue in his pocket. On those occasions the Department of State, the clerks in which compose a fair majority of the “dancing moen’” at the capital, was emptied of its working force. Mrs. Cleveland sat in one of the car- Tiages which used to be drawn up at the finish to watch the riders come in and go over tne final hurdles, PAESIDENT ARTHUR WAS A REALLY SCIENTIFIC PISUERMAN, Sport with rod and reel was his favorite outy oor enjoyment. On one occasion herand Gen. Sheridan went out to the Yellowstone Park to , hunt and camp out. They got away so far out of reach of the telegraph that the chief ex- ecutive of the nation practically forsook the reins of government for many days, If any- thing serious had happened to require action : ight very possibly have occurred, i would have been necessary to put scouts on his trail to hunt him down. Mr. Arthur tried his best to get some fun out of his term of office, but he found it very dificult. ‘The President 1 the hardest worked man in the Un and he can hardly take a vaca’ rying the shop with him. North Woods he still remained torome extent in harness, line of couriers con- necting his camp wherever he went with the nearest telegraph office. Mr. Arthur was very fond of the theater, especially comedy, beenuse he liked to laugh. Above all things he de- lighted in giving little stag dinners at the W House, to which bo invited the men who talked be were most congenial, He was an em iy social man, and 1t is said of him that he was the most antiable President the Cnited States has ever had. He did not drop his old intimates when he was elected, as other Prosi: dents have very commonly found it expedient to do. THE WHITE MOUSE BILLIARD TABLE. The billiard table on which Mr. Cleveland has played and will play again in the White House was originally purchased for President Garfield. Gen. Garfield had the present billiard room in the basement of the Executive Mansion fitted up for that purpose and he played there a great deal with his most particular friends, Judge Advocate General Swaim—after- ward court-martialed under Arthur and su: ended for alleged fraudulent practice it. tmaon F. Rockwell aud Capt. Henry ©. Corbln Rockwell was superintendent of public buil ings and grounds. Gen, Garfld liked cards, though he never played for money, He was very fond of all kinds of games. If he could not get anybody to play with him he would try solitaire. He was a first-rate horseback rider .d held an honorary membership in the Wash- ington Base Ball Club. Before he became President he used to attend the base ball games regularly. WATER OR WINE. President Hayes was nothing of a sport. In fact, it may fairly be said that he bad no amuse- ments whatever. He cared nothing for driving and he was never known to play any gamos, He was socially disposed, however, and used to re- vive visitors commonly in the evenings to- ether with Mrs. Hayes. It will be remem- bored whata sensation was caused by Mrs. Hayes’ announcement that she would serve no wines at state or other dinners at the White House. Respecting this matter of intoxicants « Prosident is always obliged to make a choice between the two horns of a very unpleasant dilemma. If he offers wine to his guesta the prohibition cranks assail him with vitaperative epithets. calling him a‘wine bibber” and so forth. ‘They did not hesitate to stigmatize Mr. Avthar as # “loathsome debauchee” besanse of his known propensity for good living. If, on the other hand, the chief executive offers noth- ing stronger than water to his friends poo} call him » “temperance fanatic,” or, worse still, declare that he is parsimonious. Mr. Hayes was condemned as stingy because he served no wine, notwithstanding the fuct that he spent more money on entertainments than any other Presi- dent except Arthur. GEN. GRANT'S LOVE OF DRIVING. Gen. Grant's favorite gamo was “Boston.” He used to play ita great deal with Gen. Van Vliet and Gen. Rafus Ingalla, the latter for- merly chief quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac. The amusement in which the hero of Appomattox found most pleasure, however, was driving. He was extremely fond of speed- ing over the road, holding the reins of a fast trotter. Nearly-every afternoon he drove out ina buggy with his fleet mare ‘‘Julia.” He also owned a dark bay charger nameéd “Cincinnatus” ing tw Jesse.” ‘the general carried into. the White House his army habit of regularity. breakfast every he was hiss and bie sight banal hob lighted cigar. jim and his right ing a . His favorite ‘were rare roast beef and boiled hominy. PRESIDENT LINCOLY’S LEISURE MOMENTS. President Lincoln was too seriously and anx- tously busy daring his tenancy of the White House to indulgo in many amusements. The faydtite occupation of his leisure moments was reading Shakespeare, Htis doubtful if he know any seine of cards. | He went to the thoater « result. That is the ay in which presidential friendships usually President can hardly venture to indulge an intimacy with anybody, because if he does #0 the person ad- mitted to confidence almost invariably demands something, which cannot be granted. In this ta lent of the United States is most unfortanate. scarcely any tramp is so entirely friendless as he. Those whose friendship is most desirable shrink from approaching him, lest their motives be misconstrued, aud he is perpetually surrounded by a crowd of political and other sycophants. It is hardly possibl for him to have 6 real friend. es LINCOLN's STORIES. Mr. Lincoln when a young man was most fond of wrestling and cock fighting. From the backwoods scenes of his youth he brought those numberless odd stories with which he was accustomed to illustrate his discourse. This story-telling habit so grew upon bim that in bis lnter years he spoke almost entirely in parables, If he was ‘@ question he would reply with a ptt nd his method of getting rid of bores and office seekers was to talk them to death with « series of absurd yarns, never giving them chance to get in a word edgewise. Itis claimed that he dosired to lot Jefferson Davis escape. and that when asked by one of his confidential advisers if he was willing to permit the ex- leader of the confederacy to get away he re- plied with a story or parable about “a man in Touthora Illinois" all his anecdotes “were 1o- cated there—who had i not object if any on in his glass when he wasn't looking. He meant b: they that he would wink at the escape of Mr. Davisit that gentleman were allowed to go without his own apparent connivance. Never- theless, certain over-zealous persons captured the fugitive. Lincoln's most intimate friend was Secrotary Seward and next to him Stanton. In like manner Harrison has found in Secre- taries Miller and Tracy his nearest chums, and Cleveland was most closely associated ‘with Whitney and Fairchild. Obviously, the mem- bers of a President's cabinet are least likely to have anything to seek from him, though even they may want Supreme Court justiceships. So far as is known Andrew Johnson found more enjoyment in the brandy bottlo than in anything else. It was not likely that he would take much interest in literary or other amnse- ments of a more elevated kind, considering the fact that his wife taught him'to read when he was a village tailor. Sho knew how to sup- port their dignity, if he did not. On one oc- casion, when cectain haughty society women of Washington attempted to patronize her, she remarked: “We are only plain people, brought here bya great national calamity, but we kuow our position and will maintain it.” PRESIDENT PIERCE ON THE AVENUE. President Pierce was enormously popular. Every day he took a regular constitutional from the White House to the Capitol along Pennsyl- vania avenue and back, bowing to everybody right and left. He and his wife paid social visits regularly, quite contrary to usage, to the families of their New Hampshire friends, who had clerkships in the departments, and he en- tertained them aa guests. President Harrison, the first, waed to go to market early in tho morning two or three times a week, and on once such oceasion he was caught in the rain, the result being a cold which caused his death. Mrs, Polk would not allow dancing at the White House when her husband was President. YRYSIDENT TYLER IN THR WHITE HOUSE, President Tyler was a very social man and enjoyed a game of poker for small stakes. He lived very simply at the White House. as if on his own plantation, attended by the old family slaves. He always asked visitors to take some- thing from the sideboard in the dining room, which was garnished with decanters, as well as with a bowl of juleps in summer and a bowl of egg-nogg in winter. In this sort of hospitality he expended nearly all of his salary, which was only $25,000. He had one remarkable expe- rience with notorious woman named Ann Royall. She edited paper called the Paul Pry, and made herself so offensive in various ways that she was indicted as a common scold under the old common law, and only by a very narrow squeak escaped immersion by the “ducking stool.” It is said that one day she caught Mr. Tyler bathing in the Potomac and succeeded in interviewing him by sitting on his clothes until he told her what she wanted. ‘This exploit has certainly not been excelled by the doings of any of the modern anterrified female reporters who contribute so much that is interesting to contemporary journals, HE LOVED HIS MISSOURI MEERSCHAUM. The favorite solace of Andrew Jackson's leisure was smoking acorncob pipe. He de- whisky clared that nogther vehicle for the absorption of tobacco fumos was so sweet and dolightful. also during her lifetime Aa will be re- It is said that his wi was addicted” to the corncob. membered he introduced a new o: at the White House, disdaining finements and doing away with the elaborate etiquette previously in vogue, His favorite sport was cock fighting, and xt homo he owned a breed of birds which were regarded as invin- cible, Some of thom he brought to Washing- ton to fight, but, much to his disgust, they were defeated. MONROE AND JEFFERSON. Little is known about the diversions in which James Monroe found recreation. In’ his time the newspapers did not hold up the mirror of publicity to reflect for the public information ‘the details of the President's private life. The ‘ghoulish glee” of the reporter of today was as yet undeveloped. The most distinct point of Tecord respecting him after his accession to the functions of chief executive seems to be the fact that he wore white top boots. He rode horse- back # good deal, as did all gentlemen in those days, until he was injured by a fall from his horse. Jefferson sought to escape from the anxieties of government by playing the tiddle. He was a student of metaphysics and was greatly interested in mechanical inventions; in fact he inaugurated the patont system of the United States. Neither he nor Madison were sports in any sense. PEDESTRIAN AND SWIMMER. John Quincy Adams wes the pedestrian President anda swimmer. He was a cold Puri- tan, very austere, never relaxing, and had few friends. In summer every day before sunrise he walked to the upper Potomac and immersed himself in the waters of the river, the cares of state dropping from him with his garments. After getting back to the Executive Mansion he read two chapters of the Bible before break- fast. A fad of his was arboriculture. He planted the White House grounds with acorns of the cork oak and with seeds of peach, plum, cherry, apple and other trees, the germination of which he watched with great interest. He instructed naval officers to bring home from foreign lands seeds of grains and vegetables not native to this soil, which he distributed through members of Congress. This was the beginning of the present annual distribution of seeds by the gov- ernment. GEORGE WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. Gen. Washington was in his prime a great sportaman. Ho was particularly fond of fox hunting, keeping a pack of hounds from im- ported stock and several hunters. | With these e hunted almost every day. In fact, he lived in all respects as does ‘the typical country gen- tleman in Virginia at present. He was a dan- cer and regularly attended the assemblies held in the long room in the City Tavern at Alexan- dria. ‘The tavern is still there and the room in which the father of his country walked many a stately minuct. Sons of the Revolution and other hereditary patriots make the spot a mecca for pilgrimages. One of Washington's latest extantYetters, dated in 1795, is a note declining an invitation to an assembly at this same City ‘Tavern in which hesays, speaking for Mrs, Wash- ington and himself: “Alas! Our dancingdays aro over.” While he was President Gen. Washing- ton found no time for sport. | He was getting old then, and after drinking his regular two glasses of Madeira at dinner he retired every evening at 9 o'clock to his study. The story that Washington once threw a stone across the Potomac was long ago exploded. Such a feat ‘would not have been possible for any man who was not constructed after ge pattern of a rifle. ‘The fact seems to be that he did throw a shil- ling across the Rappahannock, But whether he did or not, Mr. Depew declares that the great- est exploit of his life was to “throw a crown across the Atlantic.” ~Rexz Bacuz. COLUMBIAN COINS. Prospect That Counterfeits of Them Will Be Circulated Next Year. BOGUS COINING AS AN ART. They Are Worth so Much That Coiners Can Afford to Put Full Value of Silver Into Them—Souvenir Coins of Other Nations— How the Silver Pieces Are Minted—Rare and Carious Coins. of EER HAT THE COLUM- dian souvenir half dol- lars, minted for the world’s fair, will be ex- tensively counterfeited is looked forward to as an almost certain pros- pect by the United States secret service. These coins have an actual intrinsic value of only thirty cents each. Accordingly, makers of false money could very well afford to manufacture imitations with exactly the same amount of silver as the real pieces contain, Inasmuch as the latter are worth one dollar apiece in the market, the profit would be seventy cents on every bogus halt dollar turned Tho metal composition boing the rame as that employed at the mint, the rest is merely a question of mechanic skill, No wonder then that the government detectives are anxious. AN INFERIOR BRANCH OF THE COUNTRRFEITING BUSINESS. Under the circumstances it is fortunate that the counterfeiting of coins as an art is at pres- ent far behind tho imitation of paper money. Ithas always been regarded as an inferior branch of the business, probably because of the comparatively smail profits. obiained from it. Atall events, the criminals who practice it pro- fessionally are of a very low class. Most of them in this country are. Italians—members, as of the great gangs organi: for pur- ieving of all sorts ples. and practices to American soil. By means of their wide- spread organization thoy aro enabled to issue any newkind of false money simultaneously from many points a great distance apart, tus making it very difficult to discover the soureo of supply. The Cninese are very successful coiners. ‘On tho wails of the office of the secret sorvico at the Treasury Department are framed agreat namber of photographs ropresenting the members of Chinese and Italian gangs which have been brought to justice for prose- cuting this industry. WHY COUNTERFEIT COINS ARE CLUMSY IMITATIONS, Such highly skilled and intelligent experts as have exercised their ingenuity in producing imitations of paper money have never applied themselves to the counterfeiting of coins. Thus it happens that false coins are nearly always of clumsy make and readily detected. Very rarely does one appear that is sufficiently well exe- cuted to be dangerous, A while ago the officers of the secret service had some trouble with a bogus silver dollar which was unusually well calculated to deceive, having the right weight, & good appearance and a true “ring.” These three essential qualities are not often combined in a bad coin. The ring, which is most apt to be lacking, was supplied in this instance by an ad- mixture of a small proportion of powdered glass, Itis surprising what wretched imite- tions of metal pieces will pass current, particu larly in tne south, where counterfeits ‘of silver as well as of paper money find wide distribu- tion and ready acceptance among the negroes, Some of them are nothing more than disks of lead covered with stamped tinfoil. Logns nickels have becn manufactured by thousands in this simple fashion, TRE SOUVENIR MALP DOLLARS, The 5,000,090 souvenir half dollars now being minted in Philadelphia by order of Congress will be shipped to Chicago in lots to suit as soon as the managers of the world’s fair have complied with the law, which requires that they shail first submit vouchers showing that they have collected and disbursed for the expo: $10,000,000. Tho coins are being advertived all over the country for sale at purchase is urged asa good in ground that thoy may be expe amuch higher price some day as curio As an argumentit is stated that the Uni States gold half eagle of 1922 has a value to- day of 5900, while the silver dolinr of 1804 will fetch an equal amount, The ailver bal dollar of 1796 is quoted at $52.50, the silver 5-cent piece of 1812 ai $100. the “eagle penny” of 1856 at @5 and the 1793 copper cent ui $60. The advertisement of these values will doubt- less set people everywhere to looking over the contents of stockings and cracked teapots, A typewriter company has paid $10,000 for the first of the new 50-cent pieces struck off. The 400th, the 1,492d andthe 1,892d half dollars comed will be sent to Chicago with atfi- davits and will be sold. It is rather curious that the United States has never issued a c to commemorate an event before. Such souvenirs have frequently been minted by other nations—as, for example, the Prussian King William's coronation piece in 1868, the German peace coins of 1871 and the gold quintuple sovereign of Queen Victoria's Jubilee, the last having a face value of $24.33, THE QUANTITY OF SILVER REQUIRED to make the 5,000,009 souvenir half dollars was justabout 100 tons. This metal was brought to the Philadelphia mint from the mines through the United States assay offices in the shape of big bricks. The bricks were dissolved by nitric acid ina large tank. When precipitated from the acid the precious substance appears in a fine powder, looking so much like ordinary plaster of paris that the casual observer would not imagine it to be any more valuable. This Pemae stuff is pressed into thick round locks, in which form it goes to another room, whore alchemists at $3.50 a day melt the blocks in crucibles of black lead half Buried in glowing coals. Incidentally to melting the pure silver 10 per cent of copper is mixed with it, Silver is a soft metal and the copper makes the coing hard, so that they will withstand abrasion. This mixture is poured into iron moids, from which it again comes out in bricks. COINS FROM “BLANKS.” The bricks are sliced into strips and the latter are rolled out by machines until they are of precisely the thickness of a half dollar. Then they are passed beneatha punching contrivance, which punohes round disks out of thom et tee rate of 100 a minute. These disks are th “blanks” which are destined to circulate as coins in the pockets of the people. However, they have'to go through a good many processes yet before they become money. After they are washed they are put through a machine which gives each of them a raised edge all around, called the “milling.” Next they are softened by being heated red hot in an oven. so that they may properly receive the impress of the dies. On being taken from the oven they are stirred about with scoops jna chemical bath, from which they are shoveled intoa cylinder filled — sere At this - —_ are — res looking like so many celluloid poker chips; but after being turned about for a whilo with the sawdust in the revolving cylinder they come out bright and shining, all ready to be stamped. Women feed them to the dies, which strike them off as fast as ei both sides at once at the same time cor- ty a minute, printing | tarned out every year in order to keep up the supply. Although called “nickels,” 5-cent pieces con- | tain only 25 per cent of nickel, with 49 per cent | of copper. The blanks for them are made by | contract. like those for cents, costing the ernment 134 cents ench. THE DESIGNS FOR BRONZE MEDALA, Ithas not yet been decided who will make | the designs for the bronze modals which are co be awarded to successful exhibitors at the world’s fair. Fifty thousand of them are to be strack, and it is probablg that the work of pro- ducing them will be given out by contract. | Congress has authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to grant permission to any holder of one of these medals to have duplicates of it made in silver or gold at his own expense at any of the mints, The bureau of engraving gad printing at Washington is preparing plates for the exposition diplomas. Fifty thousand of these diplomas, intended as awards to exhibit- ors, will be printed on vellum and delivered to the managers of the fair. SPECIMENS FoR TESTING. Some of the Columbian souvenir half dollars are in the hands of the government assayer at tho Treasury Department. Each of them is about six inches long, of a narrow oval shape, and perforated with little round holes. Thiet the form in which they appear after being rolled out very thin and punched with a mechine. These are specimens sent from the Philadelphia mint for the purpose of finding out whether | the pieces are of the weight and fineness re- quired by law. They are rolled out thin to be-| gin with, because, when the coin is made, the silver init has a tendency to go toward the, middie, eo that the metal on the outside is not so fine as that within. But the expert must discover ihe average fineness, in order to ascer- | tain how much silver there is altogether, and he does this in very curious way. He passes the little sheet of metal into which the half | dolar has been rolled throngh a small machine operated with a crank turned by hand. It comes out punched as full of holes as it can be, | while hundreds of small circular disks about | the size of a gold quarter dollar fall out of the holes this made into a tiny box beneath. the disks are taken out of the drawer and mixed together. A few are picked at random from the lot and ther, representing the aver- age of silver ia the coin, are subjected to chem- ical analysia, KOW COUNTERFEITS ARE CIRCULATED. The prospect that the country may be flooded next year with counterfeit world’s fair haif dollars is nota very agreeable one. Forta- nately, the detectives of the secret service are r,and they will be on the v8 Yery difficult to secure the arrest of a criminal who is actually engaged in the business of producing false mon The latter does not attempt to pass his own coins as le; he is not even known to those who ci culate the “sin.” He Tangements with some person whom flies with a stock of the product. This person | ari , Selling it in small lots to ac- quaintances whom he feels he can trast, usually at the rate of about 60 cents on a dollar. They put it into circulation. If one of them is caught and confesses his statemont will not suf- | fice to convict the man from whom he pu chased the bad ¢ Supposing that t “boodle” is discovered on tho premises of t negotiator, it does not follow that he will te tify against the counterfeiter. In case he does | so the manufacturer has probably got the dies and other paraphernalia safely hidden, ‘The point which the officers always regard as of the greatest importance is to secure possession of the dies or of the engraved plates m the case of paper counterfeits, and,the author of the chief very commonly isable to escape punisl ment entirely by bargaining for the surrender of his apparatus. On one day not long ago the bureau of the secret service destroyed 564 dies, 1,190 plaster molds, handreds of milling ma- chines, crucibles and electro-plating batteries, all of which had been einploved for illicit coin- ing. together with a great quantity of alleged gold, silver, nickel and copper coina, A wor 1, COLLECTION, Tho Philadelphia mint has a very wonderful collection of coins, Among other curiosities it | includes what is believed to be tho oldest piece of metal money ever made, which was minted in Egina about 700 B.C. The design is in high ‘relief, representing a tortoise crawling across the face of the coin. It has no date. Dates on coins were unknown up to 400 vears ago. The very early coins bore designs only on one face. Of ali coins that have ever ex- isted the smallest in value was the “mite,” as the widow in the Bible dropped slot of the poor box. The most has confiden! | nese piece | ctangular chunk | ese characters, wed in China for ions. A coin minted | {of Queen Arsinoe, who | leopatra’s great-great-great-great-great- grandmother. Queerest of ali the coins are those from Siam—irregular roundish lumps | of silver, from the bigness of a walnut to that | n coins, though the | in Egypt bears the he w: odueing them have | are far inferior artistically ©0 ient times. In Baby- lon of old, which fell before coining was it vented, gold and silver were weighed ont with | scales for use as mone, @ @arliest form of money is still in use foday in southern Asia, the islands of the Pacific ocean and parts of Africa, where cowrie shells are the favorite negotiable medium. They are newally quoted at about 100 for 2cents. Most of them are ob- tained from the Maldive and Laccadive Islands in the Arabian sea, SCARLET CLOAK. THE Self-Sacrificing Women Who Aided the Revolutionary eee From the American Monthly Marazine. Inrevolutionary times,after the divineservice, special contributions were taken for the benefit of the continental army. In New England large quantities of valuable articles were thus col- lected. Not only money, but finger rings, ear- rings, watches and other jewelry, all kinds of male attire, stockings, hats, coats, breeches, shoes, produce and groceries of all kinds were brought to the meeting house to give the sol- diers. Even the leaden weights were taken out of the window sashes, made into bullets and brought to meeting. On one occasion Madam Faith Trumbull rose up in Lebanon meeting house in Connecticut, when a collection was being nade for the army, took from her shoulders a magnificent scarlet cloak, which had been a present to her from Count Kochambeau, tho commander-in-chief of the French allied’ army, and, advancing to the aitar, gave it as her offering to the gallant men who were fighting not only the British army, but terrible want aud suffering. The fine cloak was cut into narrow strips and used as red trimmings for the uniforms of the sol- diers. ‘The romantic impressiveness of Madam ‘Trumbull’s patriotic xct kindled warm enthusi- asm in the congregation and an enormous col- lection was taken, packed carefully and gent to the army. ——_+e+____. THE ATHLETIC GIRL, Foot Ball Interests Her Today as Fancy Work Once Did. From the Philadelphia Times. Any one who has the old fogy notion that girls are frail, delicate creatures, enjoying only needlework and crocheting and in dense ignor- OUT IN SOCIE 5 Ce "|The Man Who is Now Making His te isvor Preparations. HE CRAVES INVITATIO The Only Triumphs tn Life That He Cares for Are Society Triumphs—He Goes Every- where if He Has Invitations—The Paradox as to Society Wom: WRITER FOR THE Star has been investi Rating end finds tha Washington's foar hun- dred is getting ready for a brisk and exciting winter's campaign. The grand general action that ter ites on Ach Wednesday has not vet begun, but some pretty lively skirmishing. has taken place all along the line. © But the four hundred here is not a painfully exact four hun- dred. In fact it is elastic, and while fow of the social circies of the city are that large on the other hand the grand single circle is m larger. Everything is being put in trim. The ball room floors are being waxed, the cate | are beginning to get their orders and the bean- tiful new gowns that have cost so much time and trouble are ready to be put on. New editions of the visiting lists are in process of constrac- tion, The menare taking an accoun: of the stock of girls and the girls are making an in ventory of the men. Of the latter there are many kinds to choose from. First there is the fellow who goes to parties because he likes to and he is not ashamed to say a0. He wants to enjoy himself and be succeeds, and he need not feel ‘that he has done anything that he ought not to do. that fs abont to be described. “Are you going out this winter?” THE REAL whoasked this qu eetly well what th but the question is, at this season of the year, s safe a one to utter as any remark about tho weather. For the benefit of the uninitiated it must be said that ¥ moaning apart ight to signify to military service, as it times, when veterans « out” with Gen. Washington when he fought : Hessians at Trenton, Nor does it refer to g out into the street and the open air, fo would be more absurd than to ask a ‘perfe well man in the prime of life waether o intends to stay in the honso all winter? The m: knew per e of having “1 vt ho “Going ont,” to make a long story short, means going out into the mad society. Now, when- ever a society man is asked whether he is goin ways replies as the man did put. stroking his fine Van- to whom e beard, * I ehall mach. I guess I'll stay at home this winter and enjoy myself. “Oh, no, you don’t say so?” said nis com- panion, “Ye-es," he drawled, “I've done my share, and I'll give tho other fellows a show now. IN A PICKWICKIAN SENSr. No more was said upon the subject, but each one knew that this meant nothing and that the feliow who said he was not going oat Was simpiy speaking in a Pickwickian sense, Not going out! Why the man is looking for ward toit with the great sand is making the most elaborate preparations. When you don't seo this man at a party it is because he in mourning. or is pr te with illness, or is not asked. He lives, dreams and has his be- ing in pi The only t e that he cares for are soviet, hs; the only pleas ures he has a: gets at partics: the its be Nv grief. When ho hears all his fri king about a party ho has not been invited to then be knows what ef is. It would not be >» tempt him ow him a bag of a million dollar Aho won't toach the coveted within reach, turn your for an im and he will steal ii! an against his breast and he hing, but open upon ment of inv it, bat his that act dade. of his clothes tupon the fashic He reads e same © ge simply as an ev tion is th he moves in. i 2 ations he is making for his winter's campaiga. PREPARATIONS POR THE CAMPAIGN, He has first of all a quantity of engraved vis- eards, which anuounce to the world in a neat, unostentatious script that he is who ho is, drops judiciously at the doorways of He may not see the people . but they have the pi seeing his and very often that is the best part of him. He is very particalar about thes cards. Once he bad a country cousin, who, Jatter spending 80 years remote from civiliza- ‘tion, came home and went to call upon a lad with him and deposited in her card receiver a very pretty visiting card, with rounded ed, gilded and the name weil printed in the center of it. He never saw his country cousin again, Itis not to be understood that be killed her, although he would have done so gladly, bat be considered that the cousin had killed ‘himself, and from the standpoint of society he had. In addition to the cards he has supplied him- self with the very latest patent, adjastabl tomatic hand shake. it is bosutiful to altbough a personal experience of it is deci: unpleasant. Whether it originates in a soc: view of what coustitutes the true movements of grace is not clear. It is altogether iudescrila- ble, and to getit in perfection must require a great deal of practice. It must be said of this elegant gymnastic accomplishment that it is un- known except to the fishes in the swim. Fan two business men meeting one another on tie street and stopping to shake hinds down town, using this product of fashions rooms upon one another. Th: danger of arrest as escaped lunatics. He has also taken unto himself a new wall lazy stroll, rather weak in the knees. It may be cold and raining, but he will not hurry. He may be late, but that makes no difference—let People who want him wait for bin. Perhaps is walk is his most important acquixition. Will people appreciate a vi-it from a man who is obviously auxious to meet them? No; he upon whe of He is a different being from the one | | mast give the impression of simply consenting to it. | A PREMMON PARADOR not fair im speaking of the impor road < out” Bat it i tant sal for th ation other |. “Ves,” is the reply, “I am going to be ‘at | home’ often, Sho means what she suvs if you only under fiand gto be “at ing to gt yon toe rd requesting n & cortain nos @ sort of military eommone of a piece of pasteboard, which her name, fallowed b words at home” «ach and scch an evening. Do you ex- pect from that a quie: ike ing your knitting. a put on ali your 1 cont, the pa De k forward a emoke premises, and ae a good cigar? If y m the ejected f at ho | A CHINESE MAN, He Ceases to Be a Rey When His Mead Is Shaved. | From the New York Leteor | What is th important event in the life of ax Am bor « Why, it is wi dutios of Perk: i the ‘* bead m the world ae informal way © the work forth in ATIVE MEASG | Staph vtecace: Injected Ta! Perspiration. ant, last y . r somehi® pathogenous microbes by the porsy Inhie Tesearches he met at first with a great diffieulty —tha: of sterilizing La manner shes found im bred in the eweat the kin in r certain jou hay not b glan The only way of getting ri of this Aificulty is to “turn” it by jocting into an animal the al with it, dant «went warpine, fow borene is made im be with which it in this taxhion hey lady quit excepti tow rwerful fg the microcor= injected niration audeves in fact, the perspiration has I with ell the microbes which caw, and has beem, the cirealae at. In thes 1 inte of Mars, having @ . is of a mize easily jects upom er and circum- rivers, mately. 16 by 1.000 the ascortaum ‘an cake, soalay Phobuny aan eves to find oval objec gest tue be th with low loath of a G6 to 24 iuche + tangs ———= ance of all manly sports, would wake up with a start if they were to find themselves at any of the intercollegiate games these days and ece the great number of women spectators who are not only interested in foot ball because they know some men on the eleven, but from a genuine appreciation and knowledge of the game. ' Fierce partisans are these girls the colors of their favorite team, aud it | happens that there is one present who has in tow some unhappy escort who volunteers to tell her the rules of the game and the good points inthe play. Of course such novices do occasionally attend, but as a rule the girls know ss mach sbout the and are qu a ‘enth Masti feminine way 2 “touch down” or a ‘Mrs. Potter: her room ls by