Evening Star Newspaper, May 27, 1893, Page 16

16 —_—_—_—_—_—_—_— THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. D. C., +. = SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1893-TWENTY PAGES. IN CASE OF WAR. ‘What Might Happen if China Should Retaliate. COMPARISON OF STRENGTH. ‘The Flowery Kingdom’s Power on the Sea— ‘The Land Forces — America’s Growth in ‘Naval Rating — Chinese Exclusiveness — How They Fight in the Orient. —————— Written for The Zvening Star. ILL CHINA DRIVE United States citizens out of her empire in ease her people are ex- pelled from this coun- try? It does not seem unlikely. Should she do so the natives, al- tunity to murder a few missionaries and other , American residents. have committed such outrages before. Present circumstances the emperor's ‘Bovernment might not be disposed to pay in- @emnity or make amends for injuries of the ‘sort. In that caso there would be war. ‘course, it is popularly imagined that the king- “€om of the dragon would have no chance in a ‘eonflict with Uncle Sam. Those who enter- fi notion are not aware that China is ywers of the world. th in the list of na- to strength on the seas; the ‘States stood nineteenth. She still holds though we are crawling up tho United States and China outset a naval conflict. It fought in midocean: nor is it of heaven would send his Pacific to fight with the Sam's vessels would have to ‘tackle the slant-eyed heathen in their It is doubtful if they could be in- out of sight of their own coast. In their squadrons are never other parts of the world, as those and American nations are. tat home. In the event of hostil- waiian Islands would become of to thiscountry asa station for coal and supplies. Troops would be shipped ‘ever the ocean from San Francisco under con- ‘Voy. of armored cruisers. ‘THE CHINESE NAVE. ‘The Chinese navy has five armored steel bat- Krupp guns and eight machine guns. Fie Chen uen is 305 fect long and draws 20 feet of water. She can carry 1,000 tons of coal, has 6,200 horse power, vided with a ‘turret protected by armor 12 inches thick, and with her twin screws can steam 14:¢ knots an Rour._ ‘The same description spplice to the Yuen. These ships are nearly as large as the New York, which @ displacement of 8,150 tons. - In addition to these formidable battle ships China has twenty-five unarmored vessels of Ser errentoen of them built of steel and with Krupp, Armstrong and rapid- pape "The biggest of them 1s the Hai- An. She has a displacement of 2,630 tons and ¢arries twenty-two Krupp guns of large caliber. ‘Yang-Tao, 2,500 tons, has three 10-ton guns and seven more of half that size. The Ye-Sing is precisely like the Yang-Tao as to displacement and armanent. The Foo-Ching, of 2,500 tons, has ten Krupp guns. The Chih-Yuen, 2,300 tons, is provided with three 12-ton guns, two #ton guns, seventeen rapid-tiring guns and six machine guns. The Ching-Yuen, 2.300 tons, has three 12-ton breech-loading ‘Titles, two 4- ‘ton breech-loading ritles, seventeen rapid-firing guns and six machine guns. OF MODERN PATTERN. It must be understood that the ships of the Chinese navy are of the most improved modern pattern. Nearly all of them were built in Ger- many. Most of them carry those deadiy and Rigily civilized engines of destraction called fish torpedoes. Besides the thirty armored and wooden armored craft, the Tien-Sing, of 200 tons. There are also eleven gunboats of 325 to 440 tons displacement named with the letters of ‘the Gréek alphabet; thirteen gunboats of 100 ‘to 330 tons and six floating batteries for river service, each carrying three twelve-ton Arm- strong ‘guns in a wooden fixed turret. The navy of China is divided into provincial fleets, designated as the squadrons of Canton, Foo- (Chow, Shanghai, Pei-Ho and the North Coast. COMPARED WITH THE NEW YORK. Ithas been mentioned that the Chen-Yuen and the Ting-Yuen are not quite so big as the New York, which was launched the other day. However, if the latter should encounter either of these “Chinese vessels in time of war she would promptly runaway. She is a cruiser and not a battle ship. Whereas they are protected by a belt of armor fourteen inches thick, she has only a four-inch belt. On the other hand she has much greater speed, in order that she make her eseape from such an unequal adver- sary. It would be more fair to compare the Chen-Yuen and the Ting-Yuen with the steel coast-defense battle ships Massachusetts, In- diana and m. These gigantic vessels will each have six turretsand a displacement of 10,200 tons. Each of them will carry four thirteen- inch breech-loading rifles, eight eight-inch breech-loadizg rites, four six-inch breech- loading rifles, twenty-four rapid-firing guns and four gatlings. Thev will be floating fortresses of the most formic le description. But they aro hardly more than half finished. At pres- ent we have no shins that could tackle the Chen- Yuen and Ting-Yuen. OUR NEW NAVY. ‘The new navy of the United States will in- @ude fifteen armored vessels. Of these, five ‘re iron monitors of the Miantonomoh type. Three are great battle ships for coast defense. Two are armored cruixers. One is a harbor- defense ram and another is a sea-going battle ship. But only one of these vessels is now finished and in commission, namely, the Mian- tonomoh. The list also embraces thirteen pro- tected cruisers, six gunboats, two dynamite eruisers, one torpedo cruiser and three torpedo oats. “All but tive of the protected cruisers are commissioneredand ready for service. Four of the remaining five are launched. Four of the gunboats are commissioned, the other two are launched. The dynamite cruis- ers, the torpedo cruiser and two of the torpedo boats are completed and in commission. In considering the strength of the United States on the seas no mention has been made @f the good ships which have carried the starry fing for so many years, while as yet the new avy was unthought of. Perhaps the omission will be best explained by quoting Secretary Herbert, who says: “In mid ocean our old Yetels, with their antiquated guns and low Fate of speed, would not, ail put together, be a match for a single first-class modern ‘battle sbip. The latter could choose ifs own distance and with its high-power guns sink out ships ene after another at pleasure.” All of tho vessels which composed the navy up to 1833 Will probably be withdrawn from active service within three years from the present date. MORE BATTLE SHIPS NEEDED. ‘The government has provided for a sufficient umber of cruisers, Secretary Herbert thinks. More battle ships are wanted now. In battle ships consists the fighting strength of a modern navy. With seven or eight more of these and @ reasonable number of torpedo boats for ac cessories ours would rank fifth among the navies of the world. When naval estimates are being considered in Congress arguments are often made with intention to show that the sea- coast cities and population only are interested fm supporting a navy. In fact, four-fifths of the exports of this country are products of the field, the forest and the mine. The producers Of these articles must have foreign markets, and it isto the navy that they must look for the protection of this commerce. The build- fag of the new navy has cost only $2 cents @nnually for every man, woman and child in the United States during the lust ten rears. Who will say that it was not money well laid out? Among the twenty-one naval powers of the world Great Britain ranks first and Mexico last. Six years ago the United States was third from the ‘tail end. Chile and Po: were both ahead of this country in stre Going upward on the list then c: tine Republic, Brazil. Greece. Denmark and Turkey, in the order named. China was where she stands at present, in the eighth after Spain and Austria, and by Japan. England, Fr: Germany held the first fi Bam was relegated inglorious!s rung of the ladder, eleven grades below the h on the seas. fosel¥ follows v, I despised nation of pig-tailed and un} ive Orientals, The. 'itustion “was undeuiably humiliating. Three years hence, when all the ships now app ited for are finished and commissioned; the United States will rank one ahead of China, coming in after Austria. ‘THE CHINESE ARMY. Supposing the navy of China to be routed, it ‘would be necessary in case of war to land troops onthe soil of the flowery land and bring the country to terms. In this connection the Chinese army ie worth considering, Ite ordi- nary fighting strength is about 1,200,000 men, though it is not possible to make an estimate with accuracy. Each province supports its own military force for keeping order, for the pro- tection of its own territory and for natio fense in case of need. In time of peace the Tegiments re skeletonized. Corruption per- vades the service, as it does in every branch of public affairs in that country. Officers give the soldiers indefinite leave and pocket their pay. When occasion for fighting arises the battalfons are hastily filled in with men undisciplined and unprepared. Not long ago there was trouble in Formosa, and recruits were inveigied on board of ships by a false When they found a them jumped overboard and were drowned. ‘The regular infantry of the empire numbers somewhat more than 500,000; are less than 100,000 cavatry. | There is also an heredit- ary ard privileged soldiery composed of Man- chus. and Mongols, with many Chinese de- scended from those who joined the invading Manchus in 1643. ‘These “banner men,” a8 they are called, are supposed to inherit « strong devotion to the present Tartar dynasty. In twelve provincial capitals they and their fami- lies are assigned to special fortified quarters in order to isolate them from the other inhabitants as far as possible, thus securing the purity of their patriotic stock. Sixty thousand of them are stationed at Peking. 000 troops in all. The capital city has some- what the aspect of a vast intrenched camp, be- ing under military rule and protected bya series of double and triple walls. INFANTRY AND CAVALRY. ‘The banner men are seldom required to drill, nd, when calted out, they muster with rusty swords, bows and spears. Their pay is very small, and usually they are permitted to pursue occupations in civil life for subsistence. The regular infantry is armed with Russian muzzle loading rifles, swords and shields, spears, bows and arrows and all sorts of queer‘ medieval weapona. They are instructed in European tactics to some extent. Some battalions are provided with huge matchlocks six feet long— one for every two men. When such a gun is to be discharged one soldier stoops with his hands on his knees and serves as a rest for the muzzle of the piece, while it is fired by his companion. The Chinese cavalry is armed with carbines, chassepots, matchlocks and short swords. Most of the guns used by the artillery are small brass cannon with smooth bores of Russian manufacture. They also have small iron cannon, which are fired from wooden tripods or benches, shooting projectiles that weigh from four ounces to a pound. Nearly all of the artillery practice is done with blank cartridges, 8 method not calculated to promote proficiency in marksmanship. The troops employed for the defense of the distant frontiers are equipped with matchlocks, bows, cutlasses and spears, Germany army officers have been em- ployed daring the Inst fow years to give in- struction in tactics and the use of various arms, as well as in torpedo service and engineering. At present 400,000 of the soldiers have had more or less teaching, and modern arms are be- ing introduced to some extent. METHODS OF WARFARE. The methods of warfare hitherto practiced by the Chinese have been the most primitive imaginable. Having thrown up intrenchments and posted their men to slaughter an enemy in front, they have regardsd an attack on the flank as low-minded and cowardly—very much asan American boy would consider a kick in the stomach as an unallowable diversion in fisticuffs, When they fought with the British they were astonished to discover that their tiger-faced shields and the cla of the gongs, cymbals and other strange instruments played by their regimental bands failed to terrify the European enemy. Their long-re- spected books on tactics prescribe, with illus- trations, certain specific grimaces which must accompany each attitude with the gun or spear in drill. Those “mugs” are supp. to frighten the foe. At Canton, where arms of American patterns are now being manufac- tured, the Remington and Spencer rifles have been «1 to a caliber of one inch, with} barrels six feet long. On being told that «uch a length was excessive, a Chinese gun factory uperintendent replied that “he know it, but the increased size gave the weapons a more formidable appearance.” China s the onty country n ae worid where the profession of arms is not honored. There, on the contrary, itis held in the utmost com’ tempt. The people have a proverb that says: “As one would not employ good iron to make a nail so one would not use a good man to make asoldier.” Branded as the refuse of society, the warrior class bas been condemsed by gov- ernment polioy to hopeless ignorance. serving traditions antedating the invention of firearms, officers of the army need have no edu- cation, being merely required to be trained athletes, to be expert archers ead swordsmen and to swing heavy weights.- One of the most important uses to which the soldiers are put is to exterminate grasshoppers. In time of a plague of those insects they march against them under the leadership of their officers, as if proceeding to meet a hostile army in the field. Each man is armed with a coarse hempen bag attached to a bamboo pole, which is waved back and forth among the swarms until the bag is filled. Then the contents are crushed and the performance is repeated. Regiments of ducks are kept for the same purpose in China, and when grasshoppers have a bad year these birds are not allowed to be killed. The execu- tion they do is said tobe astonishing. The farmers receive 4 cents a pound for dead grass hoppers or for their eggs, which they dig out of the ground. CHINESE EXCLUSIVENESS, The Chinese empire has ever held aloof in gloomy pride from intercourse with other peo- ple of the world. From its point of view they are all barbarians, most fitly described as “for- eign devils"—a term at once of contempt and hatred. Its disastrous war with England sixty years ago did not prevent the son of heaven from provoking a second conflict with the same power a few years later. On this latter occa- sion the occupant of the dragon throne, ruling 400,000,000 people, was unable to prevent a European army of 20,000 men from marching to Peking, where the most beautiful of the royal palaces were destroyed by tho invaders in retaliation for cruelties inflicted on prisoners by the Chinese and terms of peace were dictated tothe emperor. Never in the history of the world was there exhibited such an illustration of the superiority of discipline and science over the brute force of numbers. ‘The natives resisted the'invaders with frantic courage, but they had no chance in fight against European soldiers trained in the art of war at its highest development. They gazed awe-stricken upon the fleet of frowning for- tresses sailing up the river toward the capital city. In every atmgd collision they were shot down like sheep. Manchus, descendants of the ancient invincible conquerors of the country, when they found themselves beaten, would commonly cut the throats of their women, throw their children into wells and stab themselves to death, either throngh de- spair or because they expected no mercy at the hands of the victors. ‘The survivors who fled would sometimes pack their valuables in cofins or wrap costly stuffs around corpses. One small- footed lady was found curled up and hidden in a drawer of a cupboard in the cabin of a cap- tured war junk. One great impediment to mil- itary operations in China is the want of good highways. Every stream and canal for lack of bridges constitutes a barrier. TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. Some of the European prisoners taken by the Chinese were skinned alive, their bodies being afterward burned. The ears of others were cut off. United States soldiers and sailors cap- tured in war by these heathen might expect similar treatment. The latter are by dixpo- sition cruel. The rebellions which occur from time to time in the flowery land are com- monly prolonged for many years, as in the case of the great Tai-ping conflict, for lack of a ro- . where there are 163,- 1892 we sold to the Chinese $5,600,000 worth rchandise,and purchased from them $16,- worth of goods. In short, we buy from three times as much as we sell to such good customers are not to be 80 to speak. Imports sent hither from tho dle kingdom used to be considerably larger than at present, but the Chinese have injured their trade with us by sending over adulterated teas and other fraudulent stuff. They are in- veterate cheats in such ways. Of course, the Six Companies are chiefly re- ible for the recalcitrant attitude of the inese in respect to registering under the Geary law. Their displeasure is more dreaded by the pig-tailed heathen than any legislative enactments of Congress. They hold most of the slant-eyed laundrymen of the United States in the hollow of their hand. To begin with, they lend money to these immigrants, who aro of the class of poor laborers, to fetch them acroas the ocean and to start them in laundries orin other kinds of business. The interest charged is so heavy that the borrowers rarely get out of debt. Bound by the pecuniary obli- §ation, they are obliged to do whatever the Tich and powerful Six Companies require. ‘There is no telling how far the latter may deem it expedient to employ the occtit agencies of Chinese secret organizations for the purpose of terrorizing their slaves into subjection. It was China, by the way, that Columbus sought to reach by sailing westward—so sure was ho of the smallness of the earth. To the day of his death he firmly belived that the empire of the Great Khan was not far from the coasts which he himself had discovered. Reng Bacar, gees THE PEOPLE OF LAPLAND, So i HEE Civilization at Its Worst is Preferable to Life Among Them, From London Truth. ‘The Lapps have reconciled me to civilization. ‘They areas cunning and sharp as they can be and not in the least good-natured, but some- how manage to live together without flying at each other's throats, In all instances they are not frights, I saw a few comely young women and a few crones with really intelligent and in- teresting faces and some beautiful infants. But the men, without single exception, were hideous, bowlegged dwarfs. To the deteriorat- ing intuences of dirt and marrying in-and-in they superadd that of drink. The wife of a drunken husband is allowed, without the for- mality of divorce, to leave him and take a sober one, or to neglect him for a man that suits her better. All havea talent for making money, and they hoard what they scrape together. The Peculiar bad emell of & Lapp settlement is a compoundof the smells in summer of shambles, dirty dairies, dirty kennels and of gatherings of dirty human creatures. Bluebottle flies swarm on the reindeer hides and on bladders filled with reindeers’ blood, that are out in the sun todry. Their bite is venomous, and may be fatal, except to. Lapps ‘The huts reck with foulness unmentionsble. It seemed counter to the fitness of things for creatures of such beauty as reindeer to be sub- Ject to those frightful dwarfs, -A herd of 1,900 were fetched down by dogs from the field for us to see. They were a picture and so gentle that they would stand to be petted. ‘The dogs were told, when the reindeer were wanted. to goand fetch them. Off they went by them- selves. In about half an hour wo saw them, with their charges, come down a mountain and twice ford a river on their way to tke inclosure where tltey usuaily come to be milked. I was offered a bow! of the milk. but the wooden ves- sel holding it was so filthy that I declined, However, a Norwegian milked a doe into « drinking horn he had with him and let me taste the contents and offered me a draught, which took. It was like the richest and ‘sweetest cream, and I suppose is just the bevorage for a cold chmate. A deep draught would give one indigestion. Lapps themselves cannot drink much of itata time. Dairies on the fjlds for supplying tinned reindeer’s cream to the Paris market would, I have no doubt, be a financial success. A teaspoonful of it would go further than a teaspoonful of cow's cream and be more palatable. nd Created a Sensation. From the New York Herald. “What ship is that? Well, if that don’t beat me I'm a lubber!” “Tean’t just make her out, lad. She carries too much canvas for a gale like this.” “Right you are, and she'll break her sticks or goonher beam ends if it freshens much more.” This is not usually the conversation carried on in Broadway, and I very naturally lost sight and sound of the brace of old tars in contem- plation of the object of their mirth. She was the first woman in, hoops real, bona fide, pro- nounced hoops—I had seen for years. And the sensation she caused was immense. The cfrious craft was of the lines of 1860. She was a type of the soubrette and carried her grout spread of canvas with astage stagger. She was low and rakish, her rail being awash and her spanker dipping at every lurch and sending the spray eddying this way and that in fine style. As she rounded the corner of 28th street into Broadway and ploughed through the heavy swells in front of the Coleman House every was upon her. The wind was blowi half gaie,and, asthe jolly mariner had remarked, it really seemed as if she must capsize or break her sticks, But she evidently had no such fear, for she broke out her balloon topsail and toghtened her stays as she plunged into the swells, answering her helm weil in a audden change of a couple of points to starboard. She was now running off free before the wind with everything set that would draw. Her stu'nsails looked like two great wings, and at every gust of wind she pitched wildly forward as if she would take the final plunge and go down nose under. But just as everybody was anticipat ing this disaster she would again rise buoyantly and scud along merrily at a ten-knot pace. Her colors were brown, red and orange, with some tort of flowers in the center, and her maintop hada holiday appearance because of them. I watched her until she was hull down on the northern horizon and became satisfied that she would finally get in if the wind held and nothing wus carried away and sho didn’t get her centerboard jammed. only a “Beer, please.” Itwas the passenger with the swelled nose and scorbutic complexion who made the re- mark as he handed a $20 bill to the condutor. He meant to say “tickets,” but spoke absent mindedly. “I can’t change that,” said the conductor. “Got nothing leas.” “Then you can't ride. ‘This ain't no bank.” ‘The man with the swelled nose began to look serious. He explored his pockets one after another, while the conductor stood waiting, but seemingly in vain. Finally a young person on the seat opposite, who looked like a student of divinity, proffered u car ticket to the person with the bell puneh, saying: “With the gentleman's permission I will pay forhim. He can return it when he sees me again.” ‘The conductor accepted the ticket promptly and punched the fare, though the man with the swelled nose had made no respouse. About three blocks further on tho latter got up, sat down beside the theological individual into mind skinnin’ the company,” he said, blinking at hiv impromptu benefactor, “but I ain't agoin’ to cheat a fellow being out of a nickel.” —— A Correction. Did you come by way of ichigan—‘We had to go ‘way around. ‘There was a strike on at Buffalo, and we had to come down to Philadelphia and into Jersey City.” ‘Miss Manhattan—' Miss Michigan— way at night.” ‘Quite a detour.” N-no. We came all the From Puck. | spectable army. When they aré finally ended | there is always a wholesale batchery of ‘thove | engaged fn them. In 1857 an attempt was made to poison all the foreigners at Hong Kong by | putting arsenic in the bread supplied to them from a Chinese bakery, but the plot failed | through over zeal, the dose being exceesive. | Shrines ure commonly erected to generals | who have died fighting for the Chinese gpvern- Tn the second conflict with the British “hin fell on the ramparts of a fortress in the act of cheering on his soldiers. It was sub- sequently ann that he was appointed second general-in-chief of the board of thunder in heaven. AMERICANS IN CHINA. According to the records of the Department of State there are now 1,153 citizens of the | United States resident in China, of whom over at Shanghai. Nearly 600 of the entire num- are missionaries. If the latter are sent out of | the flowery land the progress of Christianity | there will come toa sudden stop. One reason why the emperor is not likely to resort to such measures of retaliation is that this eountry affords to his nation @ very profitable market. iy—"Dey’s t'ree coppers in it an’ dey gets it in do neck every act.” GUARDING THE GRADE Street Crossing Watchmen and Their Manifold Duties. A THANKLESS JOB AT BEST. A Class of Railroad Employes That Oppose the Abolition of the Deadly Grade Cross- ing—Opinions From the Inside on the Sub- Ject—Stories Told an Evening StarReporter. URING THE EARLY hours of the night of « recent date, while the weather was trying its hardest to prove the usually reliable ground- hog a prevaricator of the worst sort, an EveNiNne Srar reporter groped his way along =" the railroad track on Se Virginia avenue. A friendly light drew him toward a substantially built frame building, and on the minute of opening the door and glancing in he at onco recognized it as the rendezvous of the railroad trainmen, and commonly known as the “oil house,” At this place the oil is dealt out to the men to be used in their Iamps and also to the engincers to oil their engines. ‘The place is very similar to the country post office, inasmuch as hardly a person can come into the room, tend to his business and depart immediately after its conclusion, Five minutes, at least, will be given up to a little gossip, and of course complaints and experiences and ambitions will be discussed. Asa placo to secure the most weird, blood-curdling and improbable stories it stands out pre-eminent, ‘The night the reporter dropped in asa refuge from the storm outside the men were very willing to devote more than five minutes to an exchange of news, and oven at the expiration of half an nour could hardly pull themselves away from the big egg-shaped stove and its pleasant warmth. Some fifteen men were clus- tered around the room in various attitudes,] but ail were intent bg ir listening to the con- ea versation carried on by two or three men who had secured the most available chairs and cap- tured the prize positions near the stove. The reporter was known to several presenteand a hearty welcome was accorded. ‘The men rep- resented every shade of railroad life, from the cur inspector to the most exalted trainmen, the conductor and engineer. As tofaces and shapes they covered the category from lean to fat and from short to tall. DISCUSSING GRADE CROSSINGS. “Just in time,” called out one of the men near the stove in a hearty welcoming voice to the reporter. “We're dikcussing grade cross- ings, and I know Tue Stan would like to get some inside views on the subject Spreading themselves out and widening the circle around the stove, room was made for the reporter and e comfortable but greasy chair provided by the little Celt. who is held respon- sible for the outgoing oil. ‘The man that had spoken before again started in and said “There is only one class of railroxd employes that oppose your udvocacy of the abolition of grade crossings, and as that class are the ones directly affected some excuse can be put ward in their behalf. I refer to the crossing watchmen who handle the flags and raise and lower the gates at those death traps. The train- men, one and all, from the men employed todo the shifting around the city yards to those on the through passenger and freight servic bless the day when the great improveme: innovation is at last inaugurated. neers, I know from personal experience, will welcome the day with sighs of relief.as thi then come into and go out of the city running the risk of being jerked up by a blue- coated minion of the law or, wh orse,dash some unfortunate being into eternity.” “The crossing watchinen,” spose up another man in the group. “are the most poorly paid, when the hours of labor and responsibilities are considered, in the railway service, but strange to way there are always applicants for the positions when vacancies occur. The sala- ries paid will not average over $30 a month, and many only resth €28,or a dollar a day. Ti has been the universal custom of the railroads of this country for years past to reserve these places for employes who have been crippled in the train: service, but the pay has been so meager that even they drift out of them after n year or two of service. Of course a crippled man is not worth much around a railroad, but when they have been placed in such a pitiable condition I don’t think it more than right that they should receive enough pay to make life worth living from those who are directly re- sponsible therefor on account of crude coup- ling and brake appliances.” A chorus of approving cries and nods came from the group at this expression of sentiment fon the wage question, and had the com desired an unanimity of op course in this respect they could have received it there. COUNTRY AND CITY WATCHMEN. “Out in the country,” continued the first speaker, “at the grade crossings a railroad crippled martyr will invariably be found, no doubt a result of the living expenses being more on a par with the salary than those of the city. The city watchmen are usually drafted from the gangs of laborers who work on the track and whose boss has also. the watchman in hia division to look after. These track labor- ers draw monthly checks for about 35, work hard in all kinds of weather with pick and shovel, and when they compare their tasks with those ‘of the watchmen and the money paid there is hardly room to question the wisdom of their applications for the position of grade crossing watchmen. The hours of work of the watehinen at tho crossings are twelve, gen- erally irom_6 in the mornin until 6 in the evening. ‘The most comfortabie seasons of the year to them are spring and fall. Winter comes next. but summer with its terrific heat has knocked out many a hardened watchman and reduced his meager month's pay, seasoned as they are to ail kinds of weather. “Any one who has been called to the vicinity of the railroad tracks in summer time and seen the Heat waves arise from the steel rails and hot sand and cinders ean appreciate the task of being in the midst of it dar in and day out when tho weather in the city is almost unbes able under the most favorable circumstances. The little houses assigned to the crossing watchmen afford but little shelter, as the eross- ings in the main yards of the city are used almost continually, and owing to the frequent sage of regular trains and yard engines Eeep them constantly on tho lookout for'dan- ger. To lower the gates or swing the flag au- tomatically—that is, without any judgment —at agrade crossing will result ably in an accident, as considerable judgment must be ex- ercised and great decision maintained. To de- a pedestrian or driver a minute or two will call forth an emphatic protest, but to permit them to pass over the tracks, and thereby gain the same two minutes of time, even at the risk of being ground to pieces, will result in the laudation of that particular watchman, It is, this desire to please everybody that causes, per- haps, one-half of tho uccidents recorded monthly at the grade crossings. “Thanks to the efficient work of Tar Stan the railroads have about concluded to remove all the possibilities of uecidents at grade cross- ings by lowering their tracks und compelling the passers by to cross overhead at a sufficient height to erwdicate the necessity of depending upon any person’s judgment for safety. When thie great improvement is brought about num- erous landmarks will be wiped out in the shape Of the little watch boxes scattered along the tracks at different regular intervals and once more the city of Washington will take a stride forward toward the perfection of its landscape beauty. THE MEN WHO opsect, “Not long since I went around and among. the watchmen to get their opinion of the chango and I know whereof I speak. Not recognizing the great good to their fellow railroad employes and the public in general, they were, to a man, very sore over the expected depression of the tracks, After sifting the substance of their complaints I was forced to conclude that the largest bugaboo that confronted them was the idea of returning to hard work. will result in a larger income to their families the improvement can be classed axa benefit to these men and in time they will no doubt join the big majority in blessing Tux Stan for bringing it “There's a watchman,” chimed in a man edging his way toward the stove, “down around the bend below here whom I have known for fifteen years, He first served on a man-of- war asan ordinary sailor, became tired of sea life, went on the track as a laborer, secured the post as abridge watchman and from there was transferred to a city graile crossing, The first three positions called for considerable exerciso and kept his figure within reasonable physical proportions, but the routine easy work of his such an extent that he rarely goos inside his little watch box, for thereason that he is almost too fat to push his way through the door. That man is one of the s ob} to the idea of returning to hard work, but as he will undoubtedly be benefited to the extent of a better figure, he will also, in time, see the beno- fite to be derived from the abolition of grade crossings,”” Then followed a generat conversation as to experiences of watchmen at grade crossings, and from the stories told this class of railroad. emploxer can be placed in the same category with the locomotive engineers and share with them the privilege of having their hearts moved out of their normal localities more fre- ently than any class on the railroad pay roll. e newspapers always tell their readers when serious accidents happen at grade crossings, but narrow escapes from death or startling ex- periences sometimes escape tho lynx-eyed re- porters. Many of the stories told were of this character and make mighty interesting reading. A DRUNKEN FURNACEMAN. “Tl admit that wo havo several very bad crossings in Washington,” said one of the group whose general make-up told that he was of the train service, “but there is one up on the Northern Central road that can give any of our crossings cards and spades as to deadliness and beat them in the game. refer to the grade crossing at a little furnace and quarry town called Texas. ‘The principal street of the town runs alongside the railroadand it is a dull week indeed that goes by without some one being Killed or maimed for life. The town 1s located ata point on the road where the trains ran al- ost at top notch speed, its importance not be- ing of such a magnitude as to call for the slackening up of the trains. One week it will be a drunken furnaceman returning home from work after the midnight relief; then a little child will crawl away from its careless mother on to the track and into eternity, and then a sleepy driver of a cart loaded with scrap iron from the furnace will permit his horse to take its time crossing the track and generally wakes up in eternity. ‘The travel at night over thi crossing is not heavy enough to call for the employment ofa watchman, and, in fact, the ac- cidents recorded could hardly be avoided even with a flagman on guard. “I remember being on a side track with my train about a year ago and seeing a drunken man pulled from the track at that place three times and sent on the road to his home. Each time he came back and his lucky star was in the ascendant, but on the fourth return it was hid- den under a cloud, so to speak. When he wan- dered on to the track the last time it was after midnight, and the Cincinnati express was hardly 200 yards away and coming like the wind. We watched him from our engine, but could do nothing for him, as the distanco was too great to be covered in time by any of us. “The engineer of the oncoming train proved to be little Phil Unglaub, one of the nerviest men that ever pulled open a throttle and as good hearted as he is brave. He pulled the ‘whistle string like mad and his fireman did the same with the engine bell cord. But no use: the man was stubborn drunk and determined to walk on the railroad track. He had his back to the train and was facing us. Glancing toward the shricking engine I saw little Phil with the movements of a eat crawl along the footboard of the engine down on to the cow catcher. On came the engine with a rush, the reversing and shutting down of the engi could hardly be noticed. Throwing. bi around the bull nose of the engine tended one leg and waited for the shock. It was not long coming. At the moment the en- gine was about to strike the intoxicated wan- derer little Phil drew up his leg, and then it shot out with the quickness of lightning, the foot catching the unfortunate fellow directly between the shoulder blades, To see that nan fly through the air with the somersault mo- tion of a trained athletic tumbier was an eye opener for us. He must have turned over six times before he brought up amid the white dust alongside a lime kiln fully fifty feot from the track, “The man, unquestionably, would have been Killed but for th action ‘of plucky Phil Ungianb, but instead a fractured shoulder blade resulted. Phil lost two trips for his action, the result of a slight sprain in that leg, and the man that was kicked, know, has not drank a drop of liquor vince.” ‘A COURAGEOUS ENGINEER. “Why. say, Dick,wasn’t it Phil's brother John that pushed that little child off the track down’ at 6th street about a year ago?” inquired one of the group who had been an intent listener to the story about Little Phil hho satne,” replied the man addressed as nd they area great pair to draw to. Big-hearted, whole-souled fellows, they don’t know what’ fear is,and if you want speed pumped out of a locomotive they can do it to the queen’s taste.” “How about John’s adventure,” inquired the reporter. “I never heard anything of it.” “Of course you didn’t. It was ouly a poor little colored “baby,” replied Dick, “and poor little babies are not much account in a big sity. John was on his engine backing up to the depot to conple on to the limited express, but for the moment had givea tho throttle to his fireman and was up on the tank fixing something about | the tool chest. The engine was backing up at a | lively rate and alongside the track was the little colored baby, clothes and skin wore the color of the side the track and for this reason failed to attract the fireman's atten- tion, especially as it was on the off side of the engine. “Unglaub happened to glance up and caught ight of the little thing right over the right rail, where it had crawled unconscious of its danger. ‘The engine couldn't be stopped and John knew this with the instinet of a seasoned en-sineer. With an ejaculation of horror and pity he threw himself down to the bamber and then to the and leaning as far out as he could as gen- ‘as possibie pushed the child to ono side. The child feil in the gatter and struck her head against the tie of the opposite track, inflicting a severe wound on the scalp. The mot!e- lived in a house near by and missing the child camo upon the scene nt the moment John was performing _ his humane act, She wes petrified for the mo- ment, literally speaking, but the reaction came with arash and the ‘Thank God!” that came from her lips amply repaid the big-hearted en- gincer for ins brave act. At the conclusion of this last story a little, keen-eyed Irishman over in the corner started in totell a story in almost unrecognizable English, but his friends dragged him over to the stove and he started inanew. To put his brogue in print, with its humorous. touches, would require the genius of a Kipling or a Jerome, but as astraight story it went some- thing like this: A NARROW ESCAPE. “Out there at that crossing about two months ago,” said the son of the Emerald Isle, “I wit- nessed one of the funniest acts of my life. A man came out of the saloon on the corner drunken crazy and started over the tracks, ‘The crossing watchinan yelled at him to keep back, and several trainimen and track repairers also joined m the chorus. There were two trains approaching on opposite tracks and it seemed an impossibility for the unfortunate fellow to escape them both. He started on a shambling sort of run, then with dranken-like obstinacy halted right in the center of the north-bound track and turned around to wave his hand at the men who were calling to him and cast a look of supreme disdain upon their action. “While this was transpiring’the grade-cross- ing watchman had lowered his gates and was making tracks for the drunken man, Seeing he couldn't reach him in time he also halted, recognizing the fact that one life sacrificed to a man’s folly was better than two. t the spot where he_halted, directly by his side, stood a small nail keg partly filled with railroad spikes. On the one side of it wasa roughly made handle and only enoagh spikes in it to give ita moderate weight. As the watch- man stopped his eyes fell to the ground, and on the fustant of doing #0 he grasped hold of the handle to the keg. and, raising 1t above his head, left it fly directly at the drunken fool on the track a couple yards off. The train going north was running quite rapidly and could not be stopped, and was only about two yards off when the keg was hurled from the watchman’s hand. It was a true aim, and strack the maud- lin fellow squarely on the breast and sent him whirling head over heels from the track. It was a very close shave, as the dead wood in front of the engine struck the man’ he was knocked asid “-All the yardmen and lookers-on gave tho watchman a good hearty choer, and as his cool- fully recognized several went over and him by the hand. w for the funny part of the story. Would you believe it, that drunken fool picked him- self up from out the gutter alongside the track and after the train had pulled by came back over that crossing hopping mad, and wanted to fight the watehtaan for hitting him with that keg. lis friends from the saloon gave him the laugh and at last the true situation dawned upon his muddled brain, andafter thanking the watchman for his kindness he ambled back into the saloon and proceeded to finish his drank.” —_ When They Are Sincere. From the Chicazo Record. Mrs. Lanouveau—"Do you believe that so- ciety women are sincere?” Mr. Riches—'Sometimes they are.”” Mrs. Lanouveau—*When?” r. Riches—“They are always sincere when ‘ying to match silks at @ dry goods t position has increased his avoirdupois to counter.” BARNACLE GEESE. They Do Not Grow on Trees, as Peo- ple Used to Think. NOT FISH NOR VEGETABLE. Origin of —The Belief Formerly Held That They Were Hatched From the Shells of Barnacles—Eaten as “Fish” in Lent. ——— © GEESE GROW ON trees? The belief that cer- tain kinds of them do has been widely held | through centuries. In fact, it is only very re- cently that it has been finally exploded. One | form of the notion was | that some trees growing | always close to the sea producedat the ends of their branches fruit in shape like apples, each containing the embryo | of a goose, which, when the fruit was ripe, fell into the water and flew away. A variation on | this idea was that the brids were bred from a fungus growing on rotten timber fioating in the ocean and were first developed as worms in the substance of the wood. | 4 jany in various of Europe use to eat In’ Lent the flesh of the Reese wut were supposed to be thus produced, on the plea that it was meat not of birds, but of fishes. Giral- dus, archdeacon of Brecknock in the reign of Henry II, being a zealous reformer in religion, protested against this custom. At the samo time, he entertained no doubt as to the truth of the popular belief respecting their origin. He writes: “They are produced from timber tossed about at sen. Tey hang from the wood by their beaks and are inclosed in shells at first. Having, in the course of time, been clothed with a covering of feathers they either fall into the water or seek liberty in the air by flight. The embryo geese derive their growth and nutriment from the moisture of the wood ii seeret and most marvelous manner. I have seen with my own eyes more than a thousand minute bodies of these birds hanging from one piece of fimber on the shore inclosed in shells and already formed.” FLESH OR FISH. At one period a dispute arose among the He- brewsas to whether the geese supposed to be thus derived should be killed as flesh or as fish, It was finally decided that the former alternative was the proper one. Pope Innocent III took | the same view; for at the Lateran council, in| 1215. he prohibited the eating of “barnacle geese” during Lent. This question gave rise toa great controversy among the learned doc- tors of Paris, Finally an ordinance was passed declaring that the geese should be classed as fishes, and not as birds. Thus it came about that large numbers of them were annually sent to France from England and Scotland for con- sumption in Lent. In Brittany these geeso are to this day allowed to be eaten on Fridays, In Bombay alse, where fish is prohibited as food to certain classes of the population, the priests call the same birds a “sea vegetable,” uncer which namo they are permitted to appear on the le. This wonderful production of birds from liv- ing or dead timber was not supposed to be con- fined to Great Britain. Jonas Ramus wrote of “a particular sort of geese found in Norway, which leave their seed on old trees and stumps | and blocks lying in the sea, and from that secd there grow hells fast to the wood, from which shells by the heat of the sun young geese are hatched afterward growing up.” But, strange to say, if any painstaking inquircr tried to find a lo- | cality in which these birds could be seen under- going their peculiar process of incubation, the Tegion sought was invariably somewhere be- youd. It was the old story that miracles will | always flee farther and farther away. | THE TREE GEESE BELIEE. Notwithstanding the suspicious fact that the prodigy receded like will-o'-the-wisp whenever it was persistently followed up, this extraordi- nary belief held firm sway. Sebastian Munster are trees which pro- duce fruit that fullsinto the water beneath, audas converted into living birds, These are culled tree geese. This tree grows on the Island of Pomonia, which is not far from Scotland, toward the north.” The Orkney Islands, being quite remote, were popularly supposed to pro- duce these birds. Another form of the belief was that the leaves which fell from te trees into the water were transformed into fishes, while those that¢fell upon the Iand became Dirds. Albertus Magnus, who died in 1230, ridiculed the delusion, declaring that he had seon the geese lay their eggs and hatch them in the ordinary way. In 1569 certain Dutch sea- men set down a written declaration to the ef- fect that they had personally seen these birds sitting on their eggs and hatching them on the coasts of Nova Zembla, A REMARKABLE ROMANCE. Nevertheless, Sir Robert Moray, in 1677, one of the royal council for the kingdom of Scot- land, read before the British Boyal Society a description of some observations made by him- self in the west of Scotland, confirming the popular idea as tothe origin ‘of the “barnacie geese.” According to his account he found on the shore the trunk of a large fir tree covered with barnaclo shells. Attached to the wood there still hung “multitudes of little shells having within them little birds. There was a bird in every shell that I opened,” says this e: truordinary liar, “tin the smallest as well as the Biggest. In each one there appeared to be nothing wanting for making up a perfect sea fowl, every part appearing 0 distinctly that the whole looked like a large bird seen through aconcave glass, ‘The little vill was like that of & goose: the eyes marked: the head, neck, breast, wings, tail and feet formed; the feathers perfectly shaped and biack; and the feet like those of other waterfowl, to my best remem- brance.” Ina monograph on the “tree birds,” written in 1629, Count Maier speaks of having opened scores of the goose-bearing shells, in which he found the embryo birds fully formed. A poet has sung: “So rotten sides of broken ships do ch: To barnacies, ‘Twas frst a Lately am The whole of this absurd superstition takes its rise from a very humble and easily explained source. THE EXPLANATION. Nearly every one is acquainted with at least one kind of the barnacie hells which were formerly supposed to inclose embryo geese— namely, the small white conical shells which are found in tens of thousands adhering to rocks and old timber, such as the piles of piers. They mmy be seen affixed to oysters in an: fishmonger’s chop. The little animals which inhabit these shells balong to a subclass of the crastacea. Their feet, which in the crab and lobster have the shape of claws, are modified into tufts of curled hair-like appendages. When the creature ix alive under water the shell may be seen to open at intervals, while what looks like a feathery band clutches at the water within its reach and is then quickly withdrawn. By throwing out this casting net continually the owner procures its food in the form of minute solid particles and animalcules, ‘These are sometitaes known as “acorn barna- cles.” Another species is furnished with a long stem. It is not uncommon for a log or plauk entirely covered wiih’ these “necked barnacles” to be found floating at sea, Some- times they are so closely packed together that top with Next, select some” mussels or limpets having acorn barnacles on them. Carefully ent out the limpets or mustels, cleaning nicely the in- barnacles upon them will be within convenient reach of observation with a magnifying glass. If this be done in the month of March the ex- perimenter will not have to wait long before he Bees yo cirripedes ejected from some of the barnacles. Up to the moment of their birth each of | them incloved in a little case shaped like a canary seed. Ina few seconds this = is ruptured lengthwise, apparently by the struggles of its inmate, which escapes at one end and swims freely to | the surface of the water, leaving the split case at the bottom of the pan. From three to a dozen or more of these young ones escape with each protrusion of the feathery casting net thrown out by the parent, nd, as the breeding barnacle will put forth its casting net at least twenty times ina minute, a8 many as 10,000 of the progeny may be pro- duced in an hour. ‘These, as they are thrown out, fail upon the clean shect of ginss. During their few days of freedom they dart about like so many water fleas, But. having had a jolly time for this brief space, they settle down and become immovable for the remainder of their lives. One would imagine that no sort existence could be duller than that of @ barnacle. HOW THE BELIEF AROSE. Evidently the belief that geese were hatched out from these barnacles arose from the slight resemblance between the feathery appendages Protruded from the shelis and the feathers of a iri. From this slight origin sprang the story that they contained real birds. What grew on trees people soon asserted to be the fruit of trees, and so from step to step the myth “a 1e so-called “barnacle goose”” breeds in the far north—in Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen ores of the White sea. The bird is prettily marked and is easily tamed. It is so very toeat that perchance the monks of old may have been disposed to sustain che fiction in or- der to conserve the privilege of having on their tables during the long fast of Lent so agreeable and succulent a “vegetable” or “fish” as the barnacle goose. ee HIS IDEAL MENAGERIE. Mr. O'Rourke Was Too Imaginative to Suit an Unappreciative Man, From the San Francisco Examiner. “Michael Fontenoy O'Rourke, obtaining money by false pretenses!” read the clerk, and & pale, wee man with red, evasive eves, sticky hair and a trembling hand rose in his place. Peter Simonton, a Vacaville fruit grower, took the stand against him and said: “I was a-goin’ along Mission street yesterday afternoon an’ was attracted by a loud shoutin’ as if a political meetin’ was in progress, This man was makin’ all th’ noise, He stood by th’ door of asmall house an’ shouted something like this: “Walk thish way, gentlemen! Ri’ thish way! Greates’ show on earth! See the ten- legged calf wif four headsh—sometimesh throe un sometimesh four, ‘cording to th’ time o° ay. Walk up an’ sco th’ ring-nose grascutus, alt pink an’ a purple tail. A room full of green centipedes, crawlin’, crawlin’, crawlin’. All th’ snakesh from the jungles Injr—all of *um an’ more, too, Snakes with wings and long yeller claws—Aying an’ buzzin’ like th’ fiends o’ hell! See ‘em, gentlemen! “Don't miss th’ gran’ p'ade—ev'ry day thish hour, Hear th” ban’ play—hear it now! * dead march from yta-ra- is all out now. Th’ ring- treakr-an'-stripy tiger is devourin’ th’ sacred blue lama with th’ six tail. Th’ elephant changes his spots every five minutes. today, gents—beau't i—bean'fal iredesh—iri ent spots! Whee! See th’ flamin’ pelicans an’ th’ whirlin’ ostrich! All for one price of admission! Greates’ chow on earth! Only twenty-f" cents, all now goin’ roun’ an’ roun’ an’ roun’!’ “Well, ver honor, it didn’t stand to reason that all th’ nateral wonders of th’ world could be lumped in that there little one-horse shanty, but people kept goin’ in an’ comin’ out an’ lainder laughin’ like, an’ every time two bite would be paid this yer chap would go into the rum shop next door, an’ when he'd come out he'd add a few monsters o' th’ deep or a howlin’ somethin'-or-other to the show. Till at last I paid my two bits an’ went in, Now, judge, that was th’ greatest frand on earth—wors'n th’ hayfork swindle what caught me last fall. monsters o' the deep, nor no pelican, nor changeable elephants—nothin’ but an ordinary room with a musted-up bed, a table an’ empty bottle an’ two chairs. So’ caught th’ tarnal swindler an’ gave him over to th’ first police- man I see.” “What have yon to say for yourself, O'Rourke?” asked the judge, with the air of 10 knows what a circus is himeelf. ‘othin’, yer honor; only Friday night I went out to see me friend McCue, an——" “Wake or christening?” either; only th’ openin’ of th’ base ball season.” “And how's the menagerie now?” “All gone but the old monkey wid th’ blue pants an’ a few varcegated birds.” “Five days to get the avi-fauna out of your system.” ee Humor of the Commons, From the Manchester Times. Sir John Lubbock, M. P., ina recent address described some amusing incidents of the house of commons, A member from the cther side of the Tweed, alluding to the vote of £2,000,000 support of the Afghan war, described it as ‘a fleabite in the ocean.” Another, while ad- vocating an increase in the European troops employed in Indiay remarked: “You may de- pend upon it, sir, the pale face of the British soldier is the backbone of the Indian army.” Mr. Saliivan once delivered a speech on tho relative merits of Irish and Scotch whisky. He was complaini Scotch whisky wes iutro- duced into Ireland and passed of as “genuine Irish.” +The stuff,” he said, “tis so hot that it gocs down the throat like a torchlight proces- ston. Tn 1879 a young Irishman got up very late to speak ou a particular subject. He (Sir John) was sitting about six feet from him, and, to his prise, was le to heara word he said. He persevered gallantly, with profuse gesticu- lation, and he was on his legs about a quarter of an hour, during the whole of which time no oue heard a single word. He believed that the gentleman in question was very nervous, was simply speaking to himself, and thought he was talking aloud, ———_+-e2_____ Sized Him Up and Tock Him Down. From the Boston Herald. But one foreign newspaper correspondent has begun to pitch into the institations of this try as yet, He is the representative of Sheftield Telegraph, and he expresses the opinion that thingsare not as they should be over here. However, he is understood at home, When he first decided to com. over to see us he mot Ben Folsom, our cons. there, and in the loftiest, most’ patronizing manner re- marked: don’t know if you have heard it has been ded that Iam to go to your exhibition.” “Ab, indeed,” said Ben, “What section will et ray ona not a bit of the surface of the wood is left un- covered by them. The most common sort of the necked barnacles was named by the great naturalist Linnwus the ‘“duck-bearing” barna- cle, though he had no belief in the fable, of course. Other kinds of barnacles fix themselves to the bottoms of ships, or as parasites on whales and sharks, and those of the latter sort often burrow deeply into the skin of their host. The young barnacle, when newly liberated from the shell of its parent, is a very different creature from what it subsequently becomes. It begins its life as a free-swimming crustacean, baving one large oye in the middie of its forehead. In this state it is very active. It changes its outer covering three times, until after the third moult it has become inciosed in a bivalve sheli and has acquired a second eye. It is now ready to attach itself to its permanent abiding place. So, having selected a suitable spot for ’ its future residence, ‘esses itself against tae wood or other solid substance chosen, pours out from ite two an- tennw a glutinous cement, which hardens in water, aud thus fastens itself securely by the front of its head. It is henceforth a fixture for life, assuming the adult form in which it is generally recoguized. OBSERVING THE DEVELOPMENT. Anybody who wishes to observe the develop- ment of young barnacles may eamly do so. A True Lover of the Sport, From Puck. Officer Flyun—Come, now; ay yez don’ away from there Fil rin yer ia ont Bt Bor (peebing through fence)—'Sar, cap, if you le" me see oul out I'll let fake me to de idan’ for life” ned terior of the shells. Then place a dozen or touch. Ey of |an increase an wages from §4 and Nova Zembla, and probably also along the | There wasn't no band, nor no | ee Food Charges at the Fair, Kansas City Times, Wontn's Fam, May 19.—Do you want toeara, | $1,000. year salary with board? If you do, all that is necessary is to provide yourself with, & white apron, come to Chicago and join the [riters’ union. It will not even be for you to speak the English 1 Whether you ever waited on the table will cut ‘no figure. People will be foolid j Rough to tip you on the theory that you are | baving a very bard time in making tempt to patronize you, for be it known that | 12 Chicago not corn nor wheat nor pork, bat | the waiter is king. welte restaurant | Testaurants in ti then they waren story coi eople Prices in Chicago and at the ¢ world’s fair are some higher '¥ were six months ago, but there is @ nected with it that explains it all, who go sight sccing will LecomPiain. Complaint is heard some ten Pentteen shousand times « day at the world'sfair | because the Midway Plaisance is not thrown | open to the public gratis and costly souvenirs need Away with admission tickets. But ¢7 jousebolder who has had a domestic walk out just when company unexpectediy arrived will ehpreciate the trials of the hotels and ree taurants when the story of the ‘Chicago waiters’ union has been thoroughly digested. Just about, he time the first of the rush ‘to the ur opening began the thor | food distributors in this town concluded, thet | they should come under the head of skilled laborers In anticipation of the world’s fair crush they hud organized and the hotel and restaurant proprietors seeing the necessity of | keeping them in good humor had agreed te to €6 5 week was This forced the limit to £18 a week, but having ‘once obtained that increase their appetite only whetied. Anotuer strike was ordered unless a further advance of $2 was made. The story of the trials and tribulations of the hotel and restaurant proprietors has been told in all | the papers, but in the rush of other big news | the tina! complete victory of the waiters’ union was either thrown in the waste baskets or rele: ated to an obscure corner. ‘This story will tell of the prices which pre- vail at the down-town and world’s fair restan- | rants,but it is necessary to understand the con- ditions before the facts are considered. Im addition to this extra charge for waiters ail restaurants in the world’s fair grounds are com- pelled to turn over from 15 to 25 per cent of their total receipts to the world’s fair ment for their concessions. And the which prevail in these restaurants are just about from 15 to 25 per cent higher than the ordinary. it was ‘bly the story sent broad cast about the cost of pic which started the country talking about the extortions of the world’s fair restaurant rates. The American people positively refuxed to have pie placed im the luxury list, and when the price was quoted at 25 ceuts per cut the nation howled as one man. Now every person who enters a restan- Fant on the grounds is greeted with the sign: “All kinds of pie 10 cents.” Milk is Scents @ Glass at nearly all restaurants and coffce 10 cents, There aresome cafes on the world's fair grounds where you will have to pawn your watch in order to get enough money to buy @ square meal, but these cafes can be told by their exterior. One firm bas been granted the concession for restaurant privileges im all the main buildings of the fair. In these restan- rants a uniform prevails. Having exten ‘once, you will know just what it is going to cost you, and if you are dissatisfied you cam bring lunch from your boarding house. There |are perhaps 1,000 places in which serve the best meal in the city for 15 cents, and each of them will pi it for you to taxe with you to the fai. t is not lly edity- | ing tosee a small family ed around a goods | box or on a ledge edn sandwiches and | pickles, but it is a whole lot better than working one’s self into a frenzy over prices, which should be learned before @ meal is In all the main buildings of the world’s fair these prices prevail for dinner, which is served from lla m. to4 p. m.: ris ited halibut, parsley sauce white fish, Creole sauce. boiled dinner. Bo:ied beef, horseradish sauce. Boiled corned beef and cabbage. Roast beof, with potatoes... .. Roast beef, extra cut, with potatoes, Short ribs beef, with browned potatoes, ‘Turkey stuffed, currant jelly....... Chicken fricasse. Minced ham with, Fillet beef with mushrooms. Baked pork and beans... VEGETABLES. Potatoos, boiled or |String beans. mashed, no charge. Sweet corn. Stewed tomatoes | Roast bee! | Boiled ton; | Corned beet. | Apple pie, a Lettuce. | Sticed tor Pabst inser: | Export. Blue ribbon Toed tea. 20 bottie. . 25 | Teed coffee. 10 Londonderry Lythia | Lemonade 15 water, pints, Evans’ pale India aie.25 Londonderry Bass ale on draught, per glass Bass alo. 30 Probably four-fifths of the people who attend the world’s fuir select their iunch from this bill | of fare. It is far from extortionate and the | service is first-class, There are other features bout the world’s fair management which need | censure before the cost of living is considered, | The most noticeable oversight was in the im- perfect and incomplete arrangement of private closets, Public buildings are all provided with public closets, but the company which secured these concessions placed their private closets, Which it costs 5 cents to use, where everybody can find them. They are kept in good condi- tion, and the public closets, in obscure are oftentimes suffered to go by default, Broa veni enced in this regard. ater. however, we will be ex) in figuring on the cost of attending the world’s fair anexemple ean be cited. Evor since the opening day a young lady with whom many Kansas City society people are acqi has becn seeing the sights accompanied by her mother. This particular young Indy is the fortunate possessor of an income of €150 @ month, and she estimated that abe could remaim, in Chicago trom May to November on her in- come. She provided herself before leaving home with a complete outtit for the summer and when she arrived in Chicago had only her income to go upon. She Las managed to attend the lair every day and everything worth seeing at the beaters since her arrival for an average expenditure of £5aday. She and her mother occupy two roots ina family hotel, for which they pay $40.4 month. They come each morn- ing to the Thomas concert, and lunch on the fair grounds and take their’ breakfast aud dim ner in the private boarding house which ad- joins the hotel. ‘This particular young lady has seen everything in Midway Plaisance worth wasting one's time over, but isso infat with the exposition proper that she declares that she will remain until it closes, She has not as yet had any opportunity to wear ber spring clothes. Chicago in May is probably some warmer than Kansas City daring but the men still cling to their heavy overcoats and the women are resplendent in sealskina, —_-e2____ Few Tri-weekly Journals. Printers Tuk. The great falling off in the number of tre Weekly newspapers marks @ significant change in the condition of journalism. Twenty-five years ago there were four times as many trie weeklies printed as now, this being the only class of newspapers which has not increased during this period. ‘The reason for this is that places which in former times would not have Geen thought large cncngh So eupperte, pape issued oftencr than three times a week, 20% havea full-fledged daily. This sccm 10 be de manded by the modern spirit of enterprise Sometimes a daily insted in such a field proves a profitable eyo it is a losing in> vestmentand its owner is constantly looking out for an opportunity to unload the plant oa some unsophisticated person. Lythia water, quarts 40 10 Guinesses’ stout. 8 THE NaMe INPICATES, Hall's Vegetable sictian Hair Kenewer. isn renewer of the Naif, Ip cluding its growth, health, youthful cular es8 beauty. It will please you.