Evening Star Newspaper, September 2, 1893, Page 10

To THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, x D. ©. SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 2. 1898—SIXTEEN PAGES. MR. CARLISLE’S MAIL. Cranky Letters and Schemes Sent to the Secretary of the Treasury ee aes ON THE FINANCIAL SITUATION. Bankers Write for Gold and Farm- ers for Silver. SEC’Y CARLISLE AT WORK. VERY ONE IS NOW thinking of :he Treas- ury Department. It is the financial pulse of the United States. Put your fingers on it and you can tell just how smoothly the silver and gold blood is flowing through the body of our country. Just ‘now this julse ts jumping at fever heat and the Treas- ury Department is central object in the eye of every man. It is visited daily by men all parts of the United States, nkers and wage earners come here and in delegations to see the Secre- the Treasury. There are women as men and a long-haired old lady entucky haunts the corridors. The im fact, so great that Secretary will not see any One who has a new to propose. The schemer ts met by the watch dogs of the treasury and that the Secretary is busy. He is put his suggestions in writ- only a man of national repu- With first-class introductions who the Secretary at the present at the Secretary’s home on K that Secretary Car- to give the stereo- i ub erate aie 7 H a afte Ht letters are from bankers of acknowledscd reputation, and 1 saw some today from Henry Clews of New York, Wharton Har- ker of Philadelphia, and others. The ma- Jority of the letters, however, were from = Walked Joe Blackburn. and some of these were so curlous that I was permitted to make extracts from them upon my promising not to give the actual hames of the signers. If you will imagine a barrel packed full of letters, you will get some idea of the quantity of these financial suggestions which have come into the Secretary. [ looked over, perhaps, & bushel of them this morning. They were from all sorts of people, and on all sorts of Paper. Some were written In pencil upon hewspaper copy. Others on old blanks as large as a sheet of wrapping paper. and some were in typewriter under the business letter heads of the writers. Cranky Introductions. A number of these letters came from cranks. There are in nearly every com- munity in the United States one or more men who think they can advise the Pres- ident and his cabinet on all sorts of ques- tions and they don't fail to do so. A look at the introductions of some of these let- ters gives an idea of the people. Here is one from the west: HON. JAMES G. CARLISLE, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D.¢. “I want to say a little about the Silver although great financial Minds are giving this question careful attention still 2 hum- bie person may advance un idea worthy of consideration. I think it is a great mis- take that the present dollar was ever coin- ed,” etc., ete. ment, his private secretary. He at- tends to only the most important of his Official mail and has the greater part of Ris letters referred to the chiefs of the de- ents to which the subjects practi- cally belong. A vast number of the letters which are to the Secretary of the never meet his eye, and when remember that it takes several clerks o'merety open the mati that comes to the t_every day you will see how this is. Seeretary Carlisle's Health. It fs this power of making other people do work for him which keeps the Secretary in health today. I called upon him in recently. He is looking as well has at any time for years. He some trouble with his right arm, it . and this has kept him from signing papers for the past month. eye is bright, his complexion is he feels very well. I sat for watched him at work. He dis- matters very rapidly. He would = paper. look it over and hand it to ite secretary, telling him w! 1o ie. He dictated but few answers tirely on principle of letting his subordinates attend to the details of the De- percent It was the lack of this power ‘Willed Secretary Folger. and it is said | te cf td lent that Daniel Manning might have been alive today had he possessed it. From about ten @'clock the members of Congress and Sena- tors began to come in. The most of them wanted offices for their constituents and only a few talked of finance. They were all received and some were gratified, though the most were put off with the statement that there were no ‘vacancies. Senator Joe Blackburn came in and stood a while talk- ing. He smiled as he left, and 1 judge he got what he wanted. At 1:30 the oom was about empty. Secretary Carlisie Feceives callers during only two days of the week, and this morning there were none re- celved after twelv t this time the Secre- tary went to the cor deration of his official duties, and he works right along. I am told, until after four, taking a half hour at one @elock for luncheon He is one of the hardest workers in public life and one of the most rapid workers. He works Sun a gs well as week days, but he usually drops his work after he leaves the office and spends his evenings with his family. ‘The Secretary's Financial Mail. Since the beginning of the finan: tre Bles the mail of the Secretary of the ‘Tres ury has steadily increased. Every mort there are a large number of letters from all parts of the country describing the trou- Dies of the different sections as to the money markets.and urging him to Jo some- thing for their relief. A large part of the mail is made up of suggestions as to how the hard times could be bettered, and of schemes and theories which Mr. Carlisie is asked to carry o' fany of the letters tell him how to deal with the gold and sil- Ver questions. Some advise as to the ratio, and others advocate the establishment of banks and banking systems. Many of these ‘The letter goes on to the extent of two feet of foolscap paper, the sheets of which are pasted together in’ one continuous strip, to say that the writer does not believe in free coinage and to propose that the sil- Bank of the American Republic to be run on the reserve and credit funds of the na- tion, with a capital of $000,000.00, and there shall be branch banks in the various states. Ideas From the Wese A Chicago man wants the one, two and five cent pieces made of silver instead of copper and nickel. A Cincinnati man begins by saying he would not presume to advise the Secretary, and then goes on with ten pages of __closely-writ- ten foolscap, telling him just what he ought to do. A St. Louis man sends a typewritten es- say of fifty pages asking the Secretary to read it, and telling him he has written it for him. An Illinois statesman wants three hun- dred million dollars of twenty year 3 per cent bonds issued at once, and national banks to be formed on them’ as a basis, An Ohio man warns the Secretary that “if he and Mr. Cleveland think you can fool the people and play into the bankers’ hands all the time, that they will wake some fi morning and find a new set of men selec ed who will do something for the :peopie. He denounces the government for paying out gold on the coin certificates, and he closes with a quotation, which he allezes is from Lincoln, It reads: “You can fool all of the people some of the ume, and you can fool some of the people all of the time. But you can't fool all the people all the time.” m Dollar, One of the queerest of these cranky !ct- ters is one which contains a model made of lead and brass representing a combination silver and gold dollar. The silver is run around the edge in a hoop about a fourth of an inch wide, and inside of this hoop there is to be soldered a little gold coin, the Whole making up a coin about as big as a fifty cent piece. The man says he has in- vented the coin combination, and wiil be lad to give it to the government for a con- sideration. It contains two-fifths silver nd three-fifths gold, and he has @ little putent measuring machine which a man will fit around a gold coin and see whether it has been rubbed or chipped. On the gold coin. and around it, he would put the leticrs U. S. A., and on the silver the words,“Wold- and-silver-one-nation."” The idea is a ridic- ulous one, but the man evidently thinks he hese fortune in it. so L might go on, and quote a hun- dred more curious Schenies and Ideas wilch are presented to the Secretary of the Treas- ury daily. I have given some of the wild- est of those in the bushel of mail I looked ver dollar should be limited to 460 grains. You note that the writer speaks of him- self as “a humble person.” ‘The most of these writers are humble. Here is one from Missouri: “SECRETARY CARLISLE, “Washington, D. C. “We, though a humble farmer, would Mke to ask your honor a few questions concerning the financial situation of our country. What has caused the democratic party to depart from Jeffersonian princi- Nes on the silver question? © + * We ve the utmost confidence in you as a financier, but we fail to see anything but discrimination against silver under Cleve- land’s administration.” Letters From Bankers. Many of these letters are from business men. Not a few of them are well written, and contain good suggestions. A big Ohio business man introduces himself as follows: “CINCINNATI, Ohio, August, 1893, “Hon. JOHN G. CARLISLE, e “Washington, D. C. “My Dear Sir: ‘Drops from Heaven make oceans. Drops from individuals have been known to change governments. A ae from one as obscure as myself might worl wonders.”” The man then went on to say that the trouble lies in the national banks. He stated that the people have lost confidence in them, and. he would have them amended so that no one connected with a bank, from the president down, should have the right to borrow of the bank. ‘A letter from one of the best known New York bankers, in speaking of the strin- gency of the money market, says: “Why, I had a man in my office today who owes only $280,000 and who has prop- erty, which, at an extremely low valuation, is worth more than a million and a half of dollars. He cannot get extensions, and he} will have to fail.” ‘This banker urges that something be done at once, and says that Congress will have a corpse to deal with if it does not act very A letter from a Baltimore banker reads as follows: ion’ John G. Carlisle, Secretary of the ‘Treas le “Dear sir?” As a sound democrat, a Cleve- land man and a believer in arithmetic, I protest against an¥ refusal to redeem the treasury notes of 18% in gold.” The letter then goes on to say why he protests and to predict a Some of the letters come from foreign countries. A famous bimetallist of Eng- land writes fifteen pages of typ: showing how his scheme will solve the cur- Tency question, and there ix a iettec from one of the most famous ex-Senators of the south advising Secretary Carlisle to adopt his views, and thereby become the “next President of the United States.” Down on Wall Street. A large part of the correspondence 1s filled with denunciations of Wall street. Here is a letter from New York, which isa fair sample of this class: “Hion, Secretary Carlisle, Buzzard’s Bay, Mass. “I thank you! I honor you! Pay no at- tention to the banks or bankers, except to be sure the proper officer watches them. They wilt bear that! Wall street reflects the Ares of hell raging In the speculative bosom now. The best of the bankers can- not refrain from bias. The country is all right. Coolly pursue the even tenor of your way. The country is rich. Crops good. Heaith good, and the good Lord over us all, We have confidence that the fearless and unpartisan cabinet now in control is level- headed and neither fears friend nor foe. “Country first, party afterward. “<(Signed) YOUR ADMIRER.” Another letter from a Pennsylvania law- yer read: “Hon. John G. Carlisle, Washington, D. C. “My Dear Sir: For God’s sake keep our country out of the hands of the financial kings, the bullion brokers, the railroad wreckers, the stock gamblers and such like gangs. ‘The letter goes on in favor of free coin- age, and concludes with an appeal to Mr. Carlisle to stand up for the sake of the party. Wants the Government to Act as Banker. One of these anti-banking letters is writ- ten on eight thin strips of paper about two inches wide and twelve inches long. It is closed with a request that the writer be joned for not copying his notes, as he very busy. His eight pages begin as fol- lo! To the Hon. Secretary of the Treasury: ‘Dear Sir: Your position of relying upon the views of others rather than the New York bankers {3 the correct one. ‘The banks are no more nor less than an im- mense money trust, organized to enrich themselves at the expense of the whole country. Bank stocks in twenty-five years in New York city have risen from par or below to from 50 to 5,0W per cent. The government ought to do a general banking Business. It ought to send money. from place to place. it ought to issue. $100,000,000 at 212 per cent and form a safe and con- ¥enient method for the Investment of sav- ings all over the country. Let every citi zen be a stockholder in the government and we be all right. The people are with rou. Be courageous, as you have thus far. and all will come out well.” iy next ietter Is from a Newspaper edi- tor. He lives in Illinois, and compliments the Secretary on his standing out against the banks and Wall street, Another letter, from Tennessee, de- nounces the Wall street brokers as thieves, and underscores the words “the people say down with Wall street.” This man is a wholesale cigar dealer, and he is anxious to have state banks. Want to Pay the Pensions in Silver. ‘A large number of these letters suggest various ways of getting our silver into cir- culation, One is as follows: Wilmington, 1, August 2. 158 cretary United States Treasury, onlumenpad ‘Washington, D. ¢. Why not pay the pensions in silver? over. Others are more sensible, and some of the letters contain good suggestions. They all show, however, how deeply the people feel on ‘the financial question. Bo- tween their lines may be read the words of trouble and loss, and the anxiety that the government should at once do every- thing possible to lead us out of the wilder- ness. FRANK G. CARPENTER. —eoo—___2 CLAD IN EGYPTIAN ROBES. How the Artist Got His Friend Into Trouble and Branded as a Swindle. From the Chicago Evening Post. The artist did not mean to get his friend Into trouble, but he did it just the same. They were on the Midway Plaisance and the artist had taken a fancy to some Egyp- tian robes. He ‘thought there could be nothing finer for a dressing gown and he bought one with a red fez to go with it. Of course the artist's friend did likewise and When they emerged on the Plaisance again each had a bundle under his arm. Now, possibly it was th il, himself who prompted another friend of the artist to dare them to put their Egyptian robes on then and there. Who but the devil would know that an artist would never take a dare? But whether it was the devil or whether it was the koot hoomi of the theosophists, somebody or something put it into the head of some one to dare them to put those robes on and, of course, in- side of five minutes they had them on’ and fezes had taken the place of hats. ‘That was all right as far as it went. It was great sport for the artist and his friend and also for the friends of both. It was evening, and of course the costumes attracted very little attention on the Plais- ance. Occasionally some one would glance at the party and a couple of Turks in pass- ing made some remark about “American Egyptians,” but that was all. That is, that was all for something like half an hour. ‘Then the party was brought to a sudden halt by an old countryman who had stopped near them. “Didn't I tell ye this here was all a fak exclaimed the countryman, addressing a man who was with him. Didn't I tell ye the hull thing was got up just like play actors get up things on the stage to bam- boozle people! Loox at that fellow there tryin’ to play he's'a ‘Gyptian. Hi, you!” he called to the artist's friend, “‘scein’ as how you're tryin’ to bamboozie some of us old codgers, let's hear ye talk a little "Gyptian.”” “My dear sir,” began the artist's friend, trying to be conciliatory. “Oh, ye needn't be afeered o’ me,” inter- Tupted the old fellow. “I know’d all along you was a biamed swindle, so I ain't feelin’ bad about it. 1 reckon you must get ‘most a dollar @ day for runnin’ ‘round in them there togs.”” “You entirely misapprehend,” began the artist's friend again, but the old fellow in- terrupted him. “Oh, that’s all right,” he said. “I reckon ye've got to have some way to make money durin’ hard times, but darn me ef I wouldn't rather beg than go ‘round tryin’ to fool folks by puttin’ on a colored night- shirt.” The old fellow waved his forgiveness and passed on and so did the artist's friend and the artist and the crowd that had gathered. The artist and his friend passed out of the gate as soon as convenient and, of course, they had no chance to take off the robes on the Illinols Central platform, so they wore them into the city. It wouldn't do to take them off on the street, so they solemnly promenaded home in their Egyp- tian robes, and every little while the art- ist's friend looked at the artist reproach- fully, as much as to say: “If I stick by you long enough I'll land in a police sta- tion or the detention hospital.” He has solemnly vowed—he never swears—that he never will take part in any of the artist's pranks ugain, but then he has made that vow before frequently. +00 Why the Guide Liked Her. From Demorest’s Magazine. Haven't written up my diary for days. So enormously busy. This camp life is entirely entrancing! Had I my way I would never go back to New York, or long petti- coats, or civilization, but would bulld my- self a hut in these woods, wear a coat, cap and leggings of fur, and go hunting ‘with Jake next winter in the snow. Jake and I have become the dearest friends in this short time. Mr. Van Rensselaer tells me that, ordinarily, this lank, blue-eyed, kind ly-faced old giant of the mountains pro- fesses an aboriginal contempt for woman- kind. Even Dolly and Mrs. Van Rensselaer he treats with paternal tolerance, but I am permitted to bask in the sunlight of his favor. He likes me because I am not afraid of a horse or gun; because I have strong wrists at paddling and a consuming desire to kill a deer. He has taken my education in hand and taught me how to build an open-air fire and how to cook on it, how to trail my paddle through the water’ without a sound, how to cook a fish on two sticks and how to read the signs of animals’ tracks in the earth-mold. He lets me go jolting with him in the rude mountain wagon to the village, miles away, and he depends ou me to catch the fish’ for our dinners. He also delights in my ability to “Pick er banjer,” and he assures me I’m “the right sort.” - coe Who Had Hi Creased at Home. ‘Trousers Yours respectfully (Signed) A New York letter on @ page of legal cap advises Secretary Carlisle to see that sil- ver banks be created and that the silver war be closed in this way. Another party advises that the silver be shipped out of untry in the place of one and two dollar notes and states that the women of the United States would so object to the use of the silver dollar that no man would dare to raise his voice in favor of ft. On the ther hand, a farmer telegraphs from Wis- consin asking that silver be kept as the standard of value, and another farmer Writes as follows in favor of greenbacks: St. Joseph, Mo. Hon. etary of the Tre John y, W the power for ake issu cks enough to re- lieve the present strain and save the people of the west from financial ruin! The gen- eral sentiment of the people will sustain you. Very respectfully, &. (Signed) Another letter advocates a bank at Wash- ington run by the government called the UNCLE SAM’S WIRES. Purposes for Which the Government Employs the Electric Spark. THE TELBORAPH IN THE WHITE HOOSE Mr. Cleveland in Electrical Commu- nication With the Entire World. DEPARTMENT CIPHERS. pee RESIDENT CLEVE- land, acting as the nation's phy sician during its financial proacration, nas his finger always on the public pulse. The telegraph in- strument is an im- portant bit of furni- ture at the White House, By means of its key and sounder the Chief Magistrate maincains a constant ange of intel- World, During any excitement or trouble he receives news direct from the seat of disorter, interc ligence with the outside © and can control affairs as if himself on’ the spot. At the time of the Jonnstown flood Gen. Harrison and Mr. Halford spent a 'y and} night beside the ticker, siviag rangement in consideration of certain bene- fits obtained—such as right of way, timber for poles and land for station sites.” Wana- maker cut down the government rate to 10 cents for ten words, with a quarter of a cent for every additional word. These terms the Western Union refused to accept, urg- ing that it should not be required to do business at a loss. Such a price, it con- tended, was less than cost, especially in view of the fact that government telegrams must take precedence of all others. The dispute has continued since 1889. A while ago the company decided to take the allow- ance made, receipting “under protest. present its case 1s before the Court Claims. Predicting Storms at Sea. For the purpose of predicting storms at sea the hydrographic office of the navy re- celves weather reports from stations all along the West India Islands. East of these isles the great cyclones breed. There exists an incubating region of hurricanes, from which those dreaded revolving storms sweep up the Atlantic coast, following the course of the guif stream. They move like the little whirlwinds of dust in the street, which travel along as they gyrate. Instead of picking up dust and rubbish they pick up rain and clouds. As they go northward they broaden out, having commonly a diameter of 400 or 500 miles by the time they reach the tracks of the trans-Atlantic steamships. Far out in the midst of the ocean Bermuda stands lke @ sentinel. Sirce it has been connected with the main- land by a cable from Halifax the weather reports sent from thence have given most valuable help in the prognostication of cyclones. ‘One use which the hydrographic office makes of the telegraph is to determine lon- gitudes. Such reckonings can only be made by knowing the exact time. The situation of Hawaii in the Pacific ocean is not es- tablished precisely, because the computa- tions have depended upon chronometers, which are Hable to error. When Honolulu is connected with San Francisco by cable it will be possible to fix the Sandwich Is- furnishing tents, pontoons, suppl | the relief of the survivors. Wires were | first permanently introduced to the Exe tive Mansion just before the inauguration ot Hayes. He found use for them durl: the railway strikes and riots of 1877, wher he was daily with the troubled districts. After Garfield | was shot the telegraph was kept busy for months distributing news ubout the dying President's condition ail over the Union. Most of the routine daily correspondence between the President and officers of the executive departments {s conducted over the White House wires. The vame wire is the usual means of communication -between the White House and the Capitol while Congress is sitting. The government owns the lines which connect the White House and Capitol with ail the departments. Con- gressmen employ these wires freely in sending messages to and transacting busi- ness with the departments, By the cour- tesy of the telegraph companies and news associations Mr. Cleveland ,!s constantly kept informed of the latest import. telligence from all parts of the glob an election is pending he has the direct wire, and nightly in correspondence | se of a getting the returns as fast as they come in. The clerk who operates the telegraph at the White House is paid by Uncle Sam. He also executive scrap books, in which are pasted | Whatever opinions respecting the Adminis- tration are deemed worth clipping from the columns of the newspapers, Secret Cipher Coden. Each department must pay its own ex- Penses for telegraphing out of its appropri- ation. The navy has a secret cipher code, a copy of which is kept locked in a copper box on board of every ship. There are two keys to this box; one of them Is held by the com- mander of the vessel and the other by a subordinate officer. Both are instructed in the uye of the cipher. ‘Thus they are able to send by cable to Washington any con- fidential communication from any port in the world without revealing the nature of the message, even to the operators who | transmit it. ‘The navy code stood the t of practice better than the State Depart- ment’s cipher during the recent Chilean im-| broglio. The correspondence in that affair | was conducted by the State and Navy De- partments together, the cost of the private cablegrams exceeding $60,000. The labor of making and deciphering” such dispatches, particularly the latter, was very great. Un- avoidable errors in transmission made them much more troublesome. Officials employed in the work at this end sat up all night to translate the messages, in order that they might report in the morning. Not a word leaked out. Nearly all of the important diplomatic correspondence of the Department of State is conducted over submarine wires, by means of which Secretary Gresham main- tains direct communication with Uncle Sam’s representatives ail over the world. Every minister has a copy of the cipher code. The same mark of confidence Is not bestowed upon any other officials ordinarily outside of Washirgton, though a copy may be given to a consul general in case of an emergency. During the fishery dispute with Canada an arent was sent all the way to Halifax to dei:yer the cipher to the United States cons... general .there. The latter official was thus enabled to render his mes- sages secret. The Capitol and White House. ‘The wires which connect the Capitol and the White House with all of the depart- ments form one continuous circuit. There are two of them, to cover the chance that one may get out of order. They are under the charge of the superintendent of public buildings and grounds, and $1,000 a year is appropriated to keep them in repair. They are strung in ordinary fashion on_poles, and the thirteen operators who send mes- sages over them are all in the pay of Uncie Sam. There is one at the House and another at the Senate end of the Capitol. Both are stenographers, taking In short hand telegrams dictated to them by busy legislators. Many Congressmen use these wires largely for communicating with the departments. ‘The convenience costs them nothing and is a great ald in the business which they are obliged to transact with various bureaus. They have appointments to ask about, inquiries to put as to how pension cases stand, questions to offer as to whether such and such papers are on file, &c., ad infinitum. The heads of the departments make a great deul of use of the government wires. Mr. Wanamaker found them such a con- Venience that he had his business office in Philadelphia connected with them by a wire leased at his own expense. Owing to the circuitous track taken by the wires, big news from the White House hes got out more than once unexpectedly. Secret dis- patches have been overheard as they went clicking through the different offices, thus getting into print prematurely. The gov- ernment owns a system of telegraph lines which connect certain military posts in the west. As is well known, nearly all Con- gressmen have telegraph’ frank books, by which they ure enabled to send messages free of charge all over the United State: These books contain detachable stamps, which can be torn out and affixed to tele- grams. They are presented by the telegraph companies, with the stipulation that they shall only be employed on messages of a private nature, and not for business pur- poses. It is only rarely that a legislator cts as keeper of the refuses to accept such favors. The temp- tation which invites a man to get something for nothing is wellnigh irresistible. The War Department makes compara- It main- tively little use of the telegraph. tains constant ¢ the commanding generals of the military districts, who have their headquar- ters in New York, Chicago, St. Paul, San Antonio, Omaha, Fort Leavenworth and San Francisco. In case of an inroad on the Cherokee strip or an Indian outbreak orders would be transmitted from Washington by electricity. The army regulations forbid of- ficers to employ the telegraph unless it is absolutely necessary. The treasury ut!lizes wires to a considerable extent in the trans- action of its widely ramffied business. It keeps up telezraphic corresponlence with all of the subtreasuries and minis in dif- ferent parts of the country, directing traus- fers of money or bullion, ete. Also It is con- tinually receiving and sending messages trom and to national banks. ‘The Agricultural Department. ‘The weather bureau of the Department of Agriculture employs a cipher code not for secrecy, but for the sake of economy. The predictions are made up each day from dis- patches sent to Washington from 150 signal stations all over the country. The words composing the messages are so formed that every letter in them means something. As Jands just where they ought to be on the maps.The United States coast and geodetle survey also employs wires for finding the longitude of points. The Naval Observa- tory here is commonly utilized to reckon from. The origin of the word “longitude,” by the way, is rather odd. The ancients, supposing that the world was flat, con- ceived it to be much broader east and west than from north to south. Accordingly, they spoke of measurements from east io west 4s covering distances in longitude—or the long way. Although the permanent telegraph office was first established at the White House just before Grant left it the Executive Mansion had previously been connected from time to time with the telegraph sys- tem of the country by wires put in for spe- cial purposes. ‘This was done in the earliest instance three days after Fort Sumter was fired upon, when an instrument was attached to a window ledge in the east wing of the building. Over this wire President Lincoln got his freshest news of the stirring events of the war. Many Odd Purposes. The government uses electricity for a good many odd purposes. The latest nov- elty ts its employment for night sights on guns, a tiny bulb assisting the eye of the gunner. Electricity is utilized as a motive Power for fish torpedoes, which are con- trolled from shore and directed by means of wires against hostile ships. It is lke- wise used for setting off submarine mines of the kind that are exploded when an enemy's vessel passes over them by touch- ing a button miles away. The luckiess ves- sel does the rest. It is proposed to utilize incandescent lights for signaling by ex- tingutshing and relighting them as a sub- stitute for “wig-wagging.” For some time Past the War Department has been experi- menting with balloons for strategic pur- Poses, which are to be held captive by long ropes, While observers aloft transmit through a wire information as to what is going on over the great area which they are thus enabled to overlook. A luminous bal- loon ts also employed for signaling at night. It is made of very light and translucent material and three arc lights of 16 candle Power inside of it are turned on and off by means of a wire from the earth below. ‘Thousands of clocks all over the United States are set every day by an electric Spark sent out at noon from the naval ob- servatory at Washington. The same elec- tric impulse causes hundreds of time balls to fall at various seaports and in cities inland. The cable through which it is com- municated is connected with the Western Union line, and at five minutes before 12 the entire system of that company is thrown wide open, the news of the hour flashing over hundreds of thousands of miles of wire in a fraction of a second. Nobody doubts that the time will yet ar- rive when mails will be carried in cities by Pneumatic tubes or some other rapid meth- od. Many experts are of the opinion that electricity, and not compressed or exhai ed air, will be utilized for this purpose— possibly in the shape of trolleys under- ground or overhead. The government makes use of electricity at its assay offices to find out the percentage of copper which alloys of metais contain. A Chart of Cable Lines, A chart showing the cable lines of the world is @ very interesting study. From such a diagram it is seen that no less than ten submarine wires connect the east coast of North America with Europe. Three of them go out of Boston and three more from New York.It is curious to observe that the Sea-coast cities of South America commu- nicate by telegraph not over land, but by cables laid along shore under the ocean. Cables laid in this way from port to port most environ the continent. Looking Toss to Africa, that continent is scen to be girdied by similar submarine shore-running lines, so that an electric spark starting at Algiers will make a complete circuit via the Cape of Good Hope and back to Algiers again without touching land at more than a dozen points. South America’s sole tele- graphic connection with the old world is by two cables from Pernambuco, a port of Brazil, to Lisbon. But the most wonderful thing ‘is to notice how an unbroken wire starts from New York, crosses to Europe, am “The Tuw-. ern” porch. The glory of an early June day was abouther. Cedar, s ugar- pine and dogwood gleamed fresh in their different shades of green from the shower of the day before. Shasta lilies, wild, roses, yellow yiolets and myziads of other flowers, clustering in close brotherhood with the timothy grass in the meadow beyond, filled the clear air with a penetrating fragrance. The meadow lark trilled in the tall pines and a small boy reported the finding of a flock of young grouse in the cornfield. Tne trout were be- ginning to jump in the Sacramento, and the early anglers were gathered in smail groups & little distance fromeher, discussing with deep intentness the respective merits of brown hackel versus royal coachman. Mary Fenton loathed the tone of the Place. It reeked of fish; fish that had been aught or hooked, and’ fish to be landed. The atmosphere was monotonously fishy. It generally is on the Sacramento, where the trout are wary and men are loyal to files. A case of nervous prostration was the ostensible cause of Miss Fenton's removal to the bracing mountain air; if the family Galen had but known it, she was more truly suffering from a severe attack of indecision of mind. Richard Drake was the subject of this wavering, whereby her cheeks were paled and her nights made sleepless. The hum of the refrain “When I was on the McCloud ‘in '76,” “Dolly Varden weigh- Ing ten pounds,” sounded to her ear like gibberish as she laid her book down in her lap and fell to thinking and arguing with herself, the same old story. Mary Fenton had not been of the tollers of this life, nor did she aspire to that honor. She had been bred tn a selfish sort of way, with deepest regard for the great ego. Happiness meant to her smooth sailing; a ripple on the stream, unpleasantness; and unpleasantness —disaster. In her trim tailor-made gown she formed & natty picture, as she roc! why and fro in a low chair, under the shadow of the hop vines that clambered up the pillars of the piazza. Even the fishermen gave her a little of their admiration, together with the speckled beauties—and’ the fishermen were not young. The pucker of thought on her brow was rather becoming. In her an- conscious pose she presented a picture of the best nineteenth-century cultivation. The world wus very serene to her when Richard Drake drifted into her Jife. She liked him. He was well introduced, belong- ed to the Drakes of Boston, was handsume, a wifle unconventional, which she rather censured, and lastly, was a bank clerk with no fortune and cared little for amass- ing one, a lack of ambition that she could not quite comprehend. At first he startled her in her quite, measured existence, then amused, then in- terested, and finally was the cause of the hervous prostration and mountain trip oft of the season. The Fentons had only a fair supply of this world’s goods. Young sisters were growing up, and with marriage Mary knew that she had her own way to make. Rich- ard Drake grew more fascinating, but she hardly more than seventeen, but well de- veloped for her age, showing the effect of mountain air and training. “Glad to see .” She old looked withou' ‘woman up t any interest at the arrival—no light in her faded gray eyes. “Mother,” Kit waved her hand, by way of ee in the direction of the frying ‘The old woman grimly nodded. “Bul” Her voice softened as she stepped near the couch. The man looked up with @ gleam of interest as Mary Fenton came forward and offered him the fruit. “Thanks.” He spoke in a fretful broken by coughing. “I'm powerful of bacon. Them cherries look cool.” Kit's hands hung listiessly by her side. A jook of distress crept into her soft eyes. {J know, Bill, it’s powerful hard. The bacon 4s salt and hard; but it’s all 1 can do just Row. Maybe tomorrow”—her face brigitt- ened—"I'm going to get some Mlies for Miss Fenton, and they’ll let me have a little beef, Just for you, at the hotel.” With a shrug of fretful impatience the man turned his face away from them, and jay silently munching the fruit. Your brother is quite iil," Miss Fenton said as Kit accompanied her across the “My brother! Why, it's Bill! Kit looked up into her face with kids. We are going to be married she straightened herself up with a cor al air of dignity, “when Bill gets w i.” Her voice faltered. “Miss y—me you that? I heard the old lady . the hotel Say your name, and I liked . Will you walk up the road a piece with me this even- ing, the way you see Shasta? We see the white mounting at home, and when a lump comes into my throat and I feel a bit down, it does me good to see it up there in the could not yet decide whether life Was worth living with poverty constantly in the fore- ground; whether things she prized dearest could be given up for one man’s sake. This was the problem that troubled her as she sat in deep reflection, until she heard some one address her timidly: r “Would you like some flowers, ma'am?” Startled, she looked up and saw a young girl, with’ hands extended full of the won- derful pitcher plant that grows in abund- ance up the slope of Castle Crags. “Where did you get them?” *Bout five miles from here.” “Did you go yourself?” Miss Fenton looked curiously at the young girl, who flushed slightly as she re- plied: ‘Course. I thought may be you ladies at the hotel oe like to buy some, as the walk’s too rough for you." will take them,” she said. The girl was a picturesque figure, tall and slender, with a crop of short reddish curis clustering around her head and straggling over the brim of an old cigarette hat, which Was faded into a dull bluish eray, and set well back on her |. leaving e st bd Chance to linge her face with the rich rown color of health. She wore an old navy blue blouse with collar turned low at the throat, showing a superb curve. Her short calico skirt was drenched from scrambling through under- brush, and clung close to her figure. Her old canvas shoes were a trifle large for her, and seemed relics together with the hat. Mary Fenton's face lighted up with new interest as she looked at the lithe, well- ised young figure. Polwhy, you've been ten miles this morn- Ing, and it Is so wet, and they say there are rattlesnakes on Castle Crags.” ‘The irl laughed. “Rattlesnakes!” she ex- claimed scornfully. Her large gray eves looked at the speaker in indignant protest. “You don’t suppose I'm such a baby to be skeered of a rattler. I've killed many of ‘em round our cabin door in Oregon. P’ve got twelve rattles and a button down at the camp I'll fetch up to show you, if you like, some day.” ‘The fresh voice and honest soul looking gut from her great earnest eyes fascinated Mary Fenton, us she drew out her purse to pay for the orchids, and she tried to keep her for a while. Enthusiasm was not good runs through the Mediterranean, via the Suez canal and across the Arabian sea to Bombay, overland across Hindustan, then beneath’ the Bay of Bengal to Singapore, passing between Sumatra and Borneo be- neath the waves to Australia, and cross- ing that island continent on its way by a final length of cable to New Zealand. Thus, adding the distance from New York to San Francisco, more than two-thirds of the cir- cuit of the earth is already made. When thé trans-Pactfic connection 1s established it will be possible to send a sparle all around the world in three seconds. RENE BACHE, —_——_—+0- WAS A CURIOUS, Could Not Exactly Understand What the Other Fellow Meant. From the Detroit Free Press. “Have you got a dictionary here?” he softly asked of a hotel clerk on Grand River avenue yesterday. “No, sir.” “Are you pretty well up on Webster your- self?” “Fairly so, What's the trouble?” “I want @ term defined. A fellow just re- ferred to me as a parsimonious slinker, and Parsimonious means stingy and close.” now she does. I've allus knowed hat were the circumstances?” ‘Why, I went into a saloon after a glass of beer.” There was a stranger sitting there and he came over to the bar. 1 asked him if he ever drank, and he said he did. 1 ordered beer for me and water for him, and he stuck up his chin and called me a parsimonious slinker. Was the reference appropriate to the occasion?” “Well, somewhat.” “Then 1's all right. I thought he haa slipped a cog in his grammar or was ad- dressing the bartender. Then he probably meant me? All right—all right, yes. He must have meant me, for I noticed he didn’t drink the water, and I thought he said something about ‘knocking my eye- brows off. Sorry to have bothered you, but I was a little curious, you know. Good day.” ———— “Going Of With a Bang.” fast as the telegrams arrive they are trans- lated by an expert into ordinary English. HH» reads them aloud in a sing-song tone, while four skilled men at desks close by jot down the information they convey upon ‘as many outline maps of the United States. On each map the 150 signal stations are in- ieated by 130 small circles, in each of which the report relating to that locality is pen- cilled with symbols and figures. ‘These maps when finished present a complete picture of the meteorological conditions all over the Union. Upon their showing the prognosti- cations are based. ‘The Post Office Department, if Mr, Wana- maker's pet scheme were carried out, would have control of all the telegraphs, which would thus become a government institu- tion, like the mails. The Postmaster Gen- eral Is empowered by statiite to fix annually carrying Uncle Sam's dispatches. The companies are supposed to agree to this ar- | the rate allowed to telegraph companies for form in Miss Fenton's world, but it might be permitted to another class, and the mountains, rivers and fishermen were so full of ennul to her just then. “What is your name?” she ask Kit—Kit Jones,” she replied, away. ‘Do you live in the camp across the road, with the campers who came last week?" Miss Fenton asked with interest. “Yes,” she answered in_a lower tone of voice. “There's only me, mother and Bill. 1 must go now. I'm the head of the she- bang. Bill is sick;” a shade passed over her childish face. “May 1 come over and see the rattles some day, and will you bring me some Shasta lilies?” s “The white kind that smells?" Kit ques- tioned. “Bill likes them best. Yes, 1 know ‘them, up the ridge.” moving y ona quick live run, then looked back, shouting: “You might come this evening; maybe company will do him good. She was as graceful as a young deer as she ran across the road and disappeared into a clump of pines, from the midst of which ascended a blue curl of smoke. ‘The day wore on, and Miss Fenton had not written the letter that she had almost decided was to send Richard Drake to his fate. The long afternoon was coming to a close, Mrs. Pendragon, Mary's aunt and chaperone, had repaired to the spring with her chums for her after-dinner glass of soda-water. The fishermen, after stealth- ily watching each other's movements, had slunk off, one by one, in different direc- tions, rods in hand, to whip the stream. Mary Fenton declined all invitatior as she sat watching the blue smoke among the pines, and resolved to stroll over to the camp. She thought of the invalid, and took some choice fruit which had been sent her the day before, and sauntered across the road. Before she reached the camp, she heard a dry hacking cough, which foreboded too well the nature of the malady. She stop- ped a minute before the campers saw her, and surveyed the scene. There were two tents pitched close to- gether under two big sugar pines, and a little to one side four young saplings had been cut off and roofed over with a cover- ing made of rough grain sacks sewn to- gether. Under that, on a couch made of Pine boughs and covered with two or three Patchwork calico quilts, lay a young fel- low, who looked scarcely twenty-two or three, coughing as if his very soul was racked with pain. It needed but a glance at his sunken cheeks and hollow eyes to tell her that he was doomed. She had seen 80 many such hopeless cases in Santa Bar- bara and San Diego. Kneeling before a very small fire, blow- ing as if her life depended upon it, knelt Kit. Her hat was thrown on the ground, a red shaw! was pinned across her shoulders, and she looked like a young dryad as she puffed at the dull embers. An old woman, with care-worn face and gray hair twisted into a hard little knob, was standing near an improvised shelf cutting thick pieces of fat bacon into a frying-pan. Mary Fenton felt in a flash that she knew them—“Me and mother and Bill" and felt in sympathy with them. The min- or chord in life is very fascinating when it does not vibrate for ourselves. Kit saw her at last, and sprang up has- tily, her cheeks aflame from the exertion, and her short curls, tossed and tangled by the evening wind, standing up Mike a halo about her head. Kit was sky, loookng down upon me just as it does at home. All the time when we were com- ing I kept looking over my shoulder, and the white mounting kept following us, as if it was going to take keer of all of us.” She drew her sleeve across he- eyes, as if to brush away a little moisture, then pulled the old cigarette hat down low over her face, giving it a sort of rough pat. It's one of Bill's old ones,” she said in a half aside. It was growing dusk. The long shadows of the pines on either side lengthened quite across the road, until their tips were lost in ree eeemnnieD UNDER THE PINES. Kit raised her eyes, a depth of sad re- proach in them. “Do you think 1 would jeave him now, Miss Mary?” She continued in the same monotonous tone, as Mias Fen- ton hastened to get her hat to accompany her: “Don't come, Miss Mary. I would Father you would not. 1 must be alone, for this little while,” she faltered. “Mother ‘lows we must get along home day after to- morrow, and we must leave him. I came to you—to fix things.” Mary Fenton pressed her hand warmly in hers in assurance of help. “If you wouldn't mind, Miss Mary, couldn’t it be where he might see the mountain. You know I can see it at home, and it would be something for us to have “Yes, dear child, I will do anything for Mary Fenton's eyes were brinauing over With tears as she stoud still in the sun- shine and watched the young figure, bent = wrief, disappear slowly ar nong ine ines. “Such devotion, euch unselfishness, such bravery, ts Godlike,” she murmured to her- self. “She asked for nothing and gave everything—poor chili!” Miss Fenton attented to Kit's requert, and the day after Dill was iuid at rest om @ hillside where the gleam of Shasta eould always be seen. The next morning she went to the camp and found Mrs. Jones busily packing up, more cheerful than usual. tents were down and Kit was lifting the heavy things with her strong, young arms and tying them into the w . Bhe wore the same old blouse and vavte hat, but all the buoyancy was gone from her face, She wae very quiet as she called Mixs Fenton eside and untied an old stocking. “I want to repay you for—everything.” ‘No, child. ever repay you, KIL Kit gazed at her with a look of daxed m= quiry; then went on harnessiag the old re med horse und hitch@! him to the Wagon. “It will be lighter drivin’ home,” Mrs. Jones observed, as she tucked the last blanket around the frying + Mary Fenton never forgot the took of mute agony that crept into Ku eyes as she looked at her mother. pulled her hat further -iown over her face with the same old gesture, as sne clamber- ¢4 into the high seat of the wagon and Look {he Tans, while her mother got up beside r. “You will have # long, hot drive,” Miss Fenton seid stupidly. the wild tangle of azals y the de. 01 leas and bracken by e Sacramento kept uj Tush just ‘below, which bleaded, in with @ Soft soughing of the pines. Fen- ton walked close by Kit’s side, cnn abeoal for her to speak. » Miss Mary, I knowed the first minute that 1 saw you setting there im that ing chair that you was an angel ‘maybe could help Bill, 2 oe “Mother and me lived all alone in a cabin in southern Oregon. Father was killed when I was born—sp: shortly.“ Bill's older than me, but h sickly; didn’t like boys; ‘h was always s0 when I was big enough we played together and Bill was Sood to me. and I used to fight for Bill, “Bill's folks went home to Missouri, and Bill stayed. He's a wood chopper, and me and Bill, we've always loved each other. warted. Then Bill took cold, last winter— had a fever. I took him home and nursed him. He was pretty bad. lt was a hard winter, wet, and I thought it never would stop. Bill got punier and punier. Mother said it was the, way of the Lord, because I was s0 set Bill; but, Miss Mary, 1 knowet better. - ey reached the view of Shasta, and walked to a little spot away from the road. white mountain. “It kept on raining, and I rode to the doctor's, ten miles from our cabin, and he said to bring Dill here, where the air dryer, and give nim a chance, so I didn't wait, but hitched up to our little and we came. It hus rained here, but i ain't going to any more, and he will get weil; 1 know it.” Her voice grew wo! hope. face cheerful with hope. She stood silent for a moment, with uplifted in thought, and then, noticing the Stars beginning to’ come out. one by one, above Shasta, she said: “Why, Miss Mary, it’s getting cold. You'll have a chil. We MAN aoe oer back Kit cha A way bac! tted 4 telling little stories of her ye twined with anecdotes of Bill and full of bis sex, a nee t have left him. Wait a mo- ent, Miss Mary, I must give him his medi- — ra y v9 ee, ‘enton declined her offer, as it was only @ short distance to the tavern, and as she turned away she heanl the querulous tones of the invalid scolding Kit, who an- swered him with cheery tenderness. One of the fishermen joined her as she neared the tavern, showing her his basket of two-pounders. Her thoughts were up- lifted, and she half absent-mindedly admired his booty ond sought her room. Poor little Kit, ignorant, half-formed child, had raised Mary Fenton to heights she had not dreamed of. If Richard Drake had been there that night to press his suit she could have put herself in the back- ground ‘and been ready to face the world Daylight often brings us down from our Dedestals; so it was with her. ‘She was not s0 sure in the morning. It is easier to be heroic by the glamor of moonlight than in the clear rays of the midday sun. The letter was still unwritten, but the mountains possessed a new interest for her. Mrs. Pendragon wrote privately to Mrs. Fenton that Mary was gaining color and appetite, and never mentioned the objec- tenable young man, but turned her atten- tion to a “dirty lot of Oregon campers.” Kit ran in for a few moments every day, bringing white Shasta Ilies, rare ferns from “away up Sody creek,” or burning tiger lilies, regal in brown and gold; and Miss Fenton kept the invalid, who was rapidly failing, supplied with dainties, She found out very soon that Rill was commonplece and selfish. He had a rather handsome, weak face, Kit was blind to his weaknesses and faults. He grew so much worse that Kit could hardly leave him at last. The weather was warm, and she worked all day and often sat up ail night to watch by his side and humor his fancies. He was not able to walk; the dry air could not help. And then Kit never came to the tavern, and Mary Fenton went to her every day. Mrs. Jones fretted to go home. “Bill's as good one place as another,” she grumbled; but Kit clung to the belief that there he must get well. As the days passed on the sick man grew weaker and weaker and more fretful.. Kit sat by him all the time, his hand in hers. ‘There were dark rings widening under her eyes from sleepless nights and the young cheeks were growing hollow. Mary Fenton saw with a pang that the slender fingers which she ran through the curly crop were growing pitifully thin. Kit hed become very dear to her. She could not bear to see the bright young lite merged into this dull sadness, and she felt helpless. Kit would not believe what was shortly coming. Every time that Miss Fen ton came with something tempting and the sick man refused it she would say, with « ghost of the old merry laugh: “You've spoilt him, Miss Mary; nothing's good enough now.” ‘The gay tavern life went on. Mary Fen- ton joined in the drives and walks, danced and moved on with the rest of the summer guests, but her heart was with Kit, under the pines. “What do you see in that little curly headed Oregon girl?” one of the fishermen asked laughingly he answered, and pass- “My better self, ed on. ‘The weather was very sultry. The jagged peaks of Castle Crags stood bere and gray against the deep blue sky. Not a breese stirred. Even the river moved sluggishly, like off. July had been ushered in by a north wind, and that always means dry, enervating, lifeless heat. The ladies lounged around the tavern piazza in cool white muslin, with palm-leaf fans and iced lemonades near at hand, and growled vehemently. The fishermen wiped the perspiration from their foreheads, as- sorted their flies and each tried to outvie the other in new fish stories. Mary Fenton sat a little to one side, over- come by the heat and giving up the idea of seeing Kit that day. Again her book lay idly in her lap and she sat dreaming. Coming up the road in the hot, dazzling sun Kit walked slowly through ‘the dust, her hands clasped together and her eyes staring intently down at the ground. She walked so slowly she seemed hardiy to move. “Miss Mary.” She spoke in hollow tones, without looking up. “Miss Mary, I've come to tell you. Bill's gone—last " night— Nothing but dull apathy in her face, not a sob to break the silence. She stood full in the heat, a broken, lifeless figure. Mary Fenton started. “I did not think that it would be #0 soon, dear.” She went down the steps, close to the girl, and took her hand. “Come out of the sun. Come. “Oh, we'll stop with folks over right and will be real plensant,” Mrs. Jones an- Swered, tying her ymvonnet strings. Mary Fenicn clined up on the wagon Whee! and kissed Kit warmly and whisper- ed, “I'll take some Shasta lilies to his Stave. 1 will remember.” ‘that served for @ whip. the old horse start ed =e and they were one. ‘entoa watched the bobbing of the short reddish curls amid the clouds of until a turn in the road hid them; then Sat down under a pine, covered her with her hands and cried. paate, S2t there for some time. At last abe @ footstep cracking the pine needles and looked up. “Dick!” she exclaimed, with a stert, an@ began, womanlike, smoothing the ruffed hair on her forehead. “I thought you were never going to s0 I came to you.” You were over in this direction, some protezees of yours. woman?” He caught helping Crying! ltde sight of her tear- stained face, then tsking it between both his hands he said tenderly tell me, have you decided?” pike, Snewer came very faintly, each other in this world theyv'e got all that’s wanted. Oh, Dick, te eft g 5 fi cing ex] i 10 be ejects bimectf “to become been always the self-assertive, domineering lord and’ maste: of his household, fifteen minutes of the woman's reduces him to a minus From Shooting a pistol quickly and accura is @ difficult feat to the inexpericace’, the following method recommended by old-timer seems to divest che operation enveloped it. According to the trigger should always ive bemg e: second nnger, the first finger ed wlong the barrel, so that it pout object one is shooting at. — Ni whether the gun is on @ level wit or sichted with ane ape, ne Soe will point exactly at the target. Of coarse the Anger and the barrel must be kt parallel and the shooter must not The Right Way. nen joy able hay ings might ensue. That this method is ake torreon may be vroved by an easy experiment. Point y. an object, at the some cime ».<epi hand on &@ level with your preas direction of the finger not in eye and the object aimed your head until y iit - finger and you will find that the digit points exactly at the object. From unconscious practice in conversation porsoas acywire the trick of pointing accurayely with Ibe index finger, and it is that wstinetive havlt which is taken advantage « ‘The beauty of this method i tne face that no time need be lost in getting she pistol from the hip pocket up to the level of the eve. The maxim “He gives (wice who gives quickly” ts as applicavie to get- ting @ gun into action someti ies 6 at ts. for use in @ President's menage. The The Wrong Way. shooting of birds on the wing by the bt sone more tinct of long practice than by ase of the e¥e. Hut a hase ball pitcher never employs a \hedollie to ko- cate the plate ly passes the’ ball to # runner are running at full speed ¥ rections, without the use of a These gentry do not even 4 vantage of a finger to Mrect It would seem that by and a quartersack Imequent- shen both slovment of seral stende shooing might? be considerably raised me — Not What She Wanted There. From Puck. Teacher—"If you face the north, directly behind you wili be the south, on your Fight hand will be the east and on vour left hand west, Geeing « lack of attention on the part of Oscar Bimmons, and wishing to catch him.) What is ou your left band, Oscar?” Oscar (in deep — confusion)—“Please, ma-a-m—er—It's some cart grease 1 got oD at recgss; an’ it won't off. _——————_—— FOR WAKEFULNESS Use Horsford’s Acid Phosphate. Dr. J. ©, How. Haverhill, Mass. “Lneve seen great’ benett from the stendy ne at"ne preparation tn cases of curouic Wakefulueas”