Evening Star Newspaper, November 14, 1896, Page 16

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1896--TWENTY-FOUR PAGES, res Author of ‘The Soul of the Bishop,” ‘ “Bootles’ Baby,” Etc., Etc. Part L. ‘There are some things in the world which are hard, very hard, to understand, and t 1 why Lady Peach never said so much w ne her best diamend 1e of those things. I first went to North- h we did soca after our mar- on my appointment to a minor c . Sir Thomas Peach had just received the houor of knighthood on acrount of hav- royalty, and having, josey and d . done it remarkably well. I sd upon tair "so well that evt—we foun > hall table when p and looked at On ihe Contrary. 1 his or who! course, but then evel * said Rosey. en us = that eo society naturally would,” said almost “Burt owers nlKs—1 Yes, pelase Mr. Critic, s folks. and | thought it would be her, so that I let it y and, as a the ng Fe ach setting out to town toe newer + he enly get his knight r, must reprodu: there is somethi mas I u ning royalty—that was remarked that if the gentieman 1 was geed enough to entertain royaliy. he was quite good enough to call upon us r hostess either did or would ret the sati of Rosey's re nder. Of course.” she said, sligh xly, “some has to entertain these peopie, and the Veaches of iife are the only one “nm to have both sufficient money r the purpose.” - laughed as she rose to take dare say ms to which we this Northtowers, t would be a sort of id: 4 kind of spot, is just as mean an jealous and petty as most other place I how once she called him and then e ed herseif? lous that her of enterta: ed the royalty hu 1, “I certainly ar child,” didn ome to Northtowers with an idea that I should find human nat dit to what human nature is very part of the Prob Mr: ‘on’s husband eas rich and ore ambitiou: a Mr. Peach, and » cries sour grapes. state of the ¢ two men v. ied their clas: much found t ness as se, and we much of a much- &, and standi excepting that Sir Thomas had distinc got the best ef it. You see, the title car- ried Weight with it, as, of course, titles are meant to do, and although Northtowers professed to lavgh in a good-natured sort of way at Sir Thomas and his honors, yet it was plain to be at the whole town was very proud of the distinction had fallen upon him. of all that I had about Sir Thomas suring the first few months of our i at Northtowers no information struck me as being so accurate or so fair as that which came from Mrs. Blake, the dean's wife “A very lealing and worthy man, was her the dean has a high | opinion of him. Oh, yes, quite self-made, nd makes no secret of it; on the contrary, 1 thirk he is rather proud of it—as he ought to be, Mr. Di he ought to be. Yes, he is without wife or child—a wid- ov yes. Well, you know, on the whole it was rather a good th each Was taken awa but s when poor M —an estimable « a- tu quite unfitted for an ambitious man like Thomas. I remember when he was on sheriff that I called on her. sh in calling me ‘ma‘am, or, ‘mum.” And she was so distressed im would not eat any sweet things with his te She assured him th hed three shillings a pound, and it Was not until he told her that sugar in any orm was death to him that she would be ified. Oh, very good and worthy, and all that, but always exceedingly uncom- fortable when she found herself out of her own sphere. Now, Sir Thomas is a man of great ambition, who takes a pride in im- proving himself. The whole town does not know vat when it fell upon him to en- rtain the duke he behaved in the most possible, for he came to me © plump to coach him in ali ue wold have to do.” 1 don't mean it?” “Yes, he did, and as [I took great pains to explain evry detail, he got througan beautifully and with much dignity,” Mrs. Blake c tinued. “Tc ess that I take @ great interest in Sic Thomas’ future, and, if he oniy marries well, he may do great things yet.” In course of time Sir Thomas did marry again, but az he went far afield for his bride, Northtowers people were obliged to possess their souls in patience untii the bride made her apoearance in the town. i heard from Mrs. Blake that the new Peach really was a lady, and so je proved to be when Rosey and I called her, which we did the first of the days on which she was announced to receive. We feund her quite young and exceed- ingly pretty, with a curious, shy grace that was not a litile out of Keeping with the more than middle-aged man who wes her bridegroom. I liked her and so did Rasey, who was not always easy to picase about people, and who was possessed of @ feeling that the match had more of money than of love about it, a thing to Which mv wife was strongly opposed. But We both liked young Lady Peach, and per- A DIAMOND STAR, ‘ BY JOHN STRANGE WINTER. (Copyright, 1896, by the Bacheller Synilicate.) DLO OMORCT OOO “My dear Joo,” she remarked, one even- | ing, when we had just come hone from a | | big dinner the *; “depend upon | it that Lady Peac ike a sood many | their poc NBT SA mot =e : ES o seats ARALA WON WON PNW CN axkse is2) se. 22 ee We) Ge the half shy air of sve treated her elderly defere hi As for him—well, he watched her mov- ing about the room with an air-of anxiciy mingled with pride such as was quite thetic. “Isn't it a wonderful thing, Mr. he said to me at last, when our happened to meet, “that a pretty young thiug like that should have taken an old hulk like me for her husband? Why, have had the fp of town: 1 fully agreed with him, al- ough I shouid not like to have said so in for even parsons must study ntionalities a litue, and not go right just what is in their ea ving that i Sa a pretty girl and a Was, should have sucht @ plain, homely sort I wentoin fer a little and said that doubt- i knew her own mind best. used to young Lady P a as never seemed to be | unhappy, gave Gp conjecturing as | f her married gave it as her Sno romance at all, that no further was, prevarication, mild less Lady Pe We got - and need thereta wasted over her. pity other 5 y ping al position on nothing. 1 pienty of | firis brousht up with everything thai | makes position, who have to count the cost of every pair of gloves they buy, who | hardly r know what it Is to have a nice, fres wi ively « luxt aving a few Tifa real gc along they accept it thank: i never I her glo Rosey in an admiration I admired he: Was so versatile and se o1 ng that she did, and in the way veryt I think that all when she waxed Mes was apt to do jarly interested in pos on't Know the are shilli in match of pens to com fuily 2 she was her suhj T satd, fin is my voice at last; to—underst that that ht of ‘the high- 1th she cried, sir, I mean not. Don't tr nts where none nothing to nall not condescend to e further.” ut she Ty word | up think- ach’s young wife— t, that is, aid to me that very gr that she had s: ing about Sir you , Joe, what a star she was wearing? Thomas gave it to her for the firs versary of the day on which they It is a beauty!" I ha the only ornay and I had seen that, she had glanced at it and t now jen as it sparkled and jated on the left side of her bedic I did not wonder at the pride with which she looked at it, for it was a beautiful thing, and would have turned the head of ny a woman much older than s never saw Lady Pe fi ain, and what beca | | stery which remained a mystery in} orthtowers for many and many a day. | It happened not many days after this | that we met the Peaches at another d a ner, big hoy I not pnk dre civic affair, at the mayor’ 4 that Lady Peach wore a and it was the first time that 1 had seen her im the evening dressed in anything but white. I thought, too, that she was looking a little absent, even wor- ried, and I saw her look along the table in her husband's direction as if she were | uneasy about him. | Hiowever, as the evening passed on, she | seemed to red her spirits again, | and wi nt to join the ladies “Don"t—de wt spexk about my star, Mrs. Dallas.’ I found that she and Rosey were sitting together. I went straight across the room toward them and sat down near to them, just in time to hear Rosey say: “Yes, I like ‘ou in pink, but why have you not put on your beautiful star I never shall forget the start Lady Peach gave when she heard the words. She blush7d a vivid scar.et and caught her breath with what was almost a “Don't—don't } speak about my star, Mrs. Dallas, she said, with a nervous jittle stammer (—at least, I mean—weil, the fact is, I've lost it, and— Sir Thomas is so vexed about it—he— : “And I don’t wonder at it, -y cried, impulsively. “I, too, should’ be vexed—fur- icus—if I had lost such a thing as that. How did it happen? Were you wearing it, or did you have it stolen from you? Surely not that “I don't know—it's gone: Sir Thomas says I am not to think about it any more. Part I. She seemed so desperately anxious to say no more about it that I came to the rescue with a bit of news that I had heard during the course of the evening, and so diverted Rosey’s attention from the subject of their conversation. Nothing more was sald about the star in my hearing that evening, but not a little to my surprise a few days afterward Rosey told me that all North- towers was agog as to why the loss of so valuable an article had been hushed up. “And every one seems to think that it is very queer,” Rosey ended. “My dear child,” I rejoined; “if Sir Thom- ach after | g as chooses to hush a matter of that kind up It {s no business of any one else's. Don't mix yourself up in It—it's no business of people are all talking Mke any- she rejoined, eageriy; then, seeing that I was about to speak, she broke in eagerly: “Oh, Jee, you dear, honest old ight-lace, don't try to stop me, or I shall surely die of it. I must talk about it to somebody, and, after all, there's no one so safe as you. There, new yeu're laugh- ing, and look like yourself, which, let me tell you, sir, you never do when you put on the sanctimonious air.” Ske sat down on the arm of my chair— her favorite seat—and twined her arm about my neck. “Joe,” she said, in her a the Chair. Arm of My most confidential tones, “what do you think y are saying? That Lady Peach never that star at all, but that she gave it idhiler" 1 silly people sa “Well, ther seems si “What will these claimed. next, L wonder? Is somethii Went on, it—or it that pesed to be lo: it at Cowper peunds on it, Peach had 1c ‘Thomas, and , some young man 7 Co lent him nd then, hearing that T t her star, he took it to § asked him, you know, if that was the for, he told Mrs. Dixon, he did not want to ated in anything shady Sir Thomas was quite angry about it, and said tt was not the star, or anything like it.” uppose he would be “TV interrupted, mildly. y dear Joe,” said Rosey, mysteriously, “Cown ppened to show it to Waters, Who sold it to Sir Thomas, and Waters says positively that it is the sam For a moment 1 was too much surprised to speak. nT pulled myself together, in a moral s “I daresay the old man had a reason for not wishing to have it talked most likely to 1 While My Offic I Performed of,” T said. “At all events, we can hardly go and ask him for a fuil explanation, can No, Joe, certainly quite indignantly. 1 am human, It was an inv attempt to ans not,"” said my wife, Oniy as we—at least annot help wondering. entence, and I made no pr it. Tt was quite two years after young Lady Peach had a dangc which went very near to c In all my experience I have never n anything to equal the distress and anxiety of Sir Thomas during this time. was like a man besi-le himself. I saw him one day at the door when 1 had called to inquire for the invalil. “Come tn, Mr. Dallas,” he said. “I came down with the doctor—we're going to have another man down from London. 1" tistied with the last one we hal. Yes a shred more of hope than there Mr. Dall: he ended, this that us Hness, ing her her as. if I lose my wife, it will kill me,” suddenly, “Oh, but I hop» it is I put in, hastily, though I had hard work to choke down the lump in ray throat, which rose at the very thought of that poor young creature's battie witk the King of Terrors. “don't know: but come in, dc you to do something for me,” he said. “See here, she likes you best of “em all—all the clergy, I mean. Will you say a prayer with her?” “Of course I will “It's diphtheria—of the worst kind,” he said, almost threaténingiy. “Are you nerv- + so bad as that,” T only looked at him, and he reaiized that we black-coats are not often troubled by fears of that kind. He turned and led the way upstairs, and i fol- lowed him. As a matter of strict etiquette, I ought, of course, to have had permission from the rector of the parish; as it was, I felt that to tell him afterward would, under the cir- cumstances, be sufficient. I saw at a glance that Sir Thomas’ fears were well founded. Lady Peach was evi- dently desperately ill. She did not know me, but lay rambling feebly, her poor hands stretched out helplessly over the sheet which was spread over the bed. She was quite quiet while I performed my office, and as I rose from my knees she began to talk again. “Yes, he was so good about it—some men would have killed me—a star lke that—and I hadn't had it—I hadn't had it a day—a year, a week—how long was it, nurse?" “Two weeks, my dear,” replied the nurse, “So you told me yesterday.” “Ah, yes—and you took it, you took it. He never said a word—he ts so good—I told him you sald—" And then Sir Thomas, his face working and his eyes blinded with tears, drew me away out of the room, “Come in here,” he said, a& we reached the door of his own little room. “You heard what she sald; always on about that star, curse it. Oh, I beg your pardon, T shouldn’t have said that! But I feel sav- age with the thing, for it has worried her, and it's there on her poor mind yet, taking away what little chance she has. “If that did not worry her something else would,” I said, by way of consolation. He seemed to catch at the idea. “You think so; you really do? I wish I could. You see, I know how she has troubled over it—far more than the thing was worth.” In a moment the vague hints that I had heard concerning the loss or disappearance of young Lady Peach's diamond star all came back to me. “Let me see,” I said, “Lady Peach lost a star, or it was stolen, or something of that kind. Has that been troubling her?” “Trouble her! Yes, Mr. Dallas, far more than ever the thing was worth,” Sir Thomas rejoined. “Look here,” he con- tinued, as 1f moved by some special im- pulse to ‘ell me.all about it. “You're a] good fellow an@ a4 gentleman, and she has. always liked ydu; I'll tell you how it was. My wife {s-a lady—you don’t need a rough old fellow like me to tell you that. She came of good old stock, and if there wasn't very much money, weil, there was every- thing else that) people are proud of. She married me, God bless her, and—and, if I lose her I shalh.jigt put a rope round my neck, fer life wouldn't be worth living without her. As I said, she married me, and she has mace me happy—happier than I've ever been im gil my life, and meaning no disrespect td my first wife, either. If I helped her mother a bit it was nothing to eny one, but it seemed to be a great’ deal to her, and she was never tired of telling me how good I was—I, when she had mar- ried an old hulk Ife me. Weil, I was tell- ing you about that star. You know I gave it to her on an anniversary, and she valued it as such, besides liking it for what it was worth, as any other young thing of her age would. I happened, not very iong after T gave it to her, to be away for a couple of anys, “I had run up to town on business. 1 was loth to leave her, somehow, and the moment I got back I saw that something or other had happened to upset her. At first I could not get her to tell me what it was; then she told me at last that a young cousin of hers, who had been brought up by her father and mother, had turned up suddenly, asking her to’ help him out of some mess. She, poor inno- cent, begxed him to wait for my return, saying she knew | wo help him out for her sake. But the selfish beggar would not do that, and stuck to his point that she could help him herself if she would. My poor little girl hadn't more than ten pounds or so by her, and she told him 80. ‘Look here," he said, ve got a star on j that in itself would more than I want. Give me that “Ml raise what { want on it. If you don't,’ he went on, ‘TH just blow my brains out,’ and with that he whipped out a revolver and put It to his head. Of course, my poor Mttle girl took off her star at once and gave it to him, and she been possessed of a dread ever since that I should think there something between them, — I Just what she had in her mind her babbling about it these ys, thou of course, I knew mething was troubling her—my poor litule girl. . I don't know that [I ever pitied any hu- iran being more than I pitied that rich man itting there so anxiously awaiting the is- and death then hanging In the tupper chamber. “1 watched him for a minute as he sat buddied up all ina lump, and then 1 put my hand on his I heard sues of life shoulder. “Sir Thomas,” 1 said, “God is very merciful.” “I wish [ dared comfort myself with t that, Mr. Dalla T left him th went round to ing he replied. and twice every day I e how the invalid was. Each time the servant gave me the same mournful and vague repl 0 change; | the master almost beside hinseif.” ‘Then, early on the fourth morning, before [ wa out of bed, in fact, I received a line scrawl- | ed cn a piece of paper and hastily twisted into a note. “She is out of danger now,” it said. “God Is merciful. Bless you for having cheered me. Yours T. P.? The End. See KILLS DISEASE GERMS IN TELE- PHONE ptic Diaphragm to Prevent In- | fection, rit After this every time a te! | it will be necessary for the speaker to have his voice strained. This will be cone in- voluntarily and without the speaker know- ing it, yet it is a delicate and scientific pr Anti From the Chicago 1 -phone is used | cess, and one which, it is expected, will prevent injuries and disorders which in the pest have come upon people in the most | cautions wece taken by the doctors to reg- | viate the lives of their patients in such a Way that no more, at least, of these trouble- some and dangerous bacilli should be taken into their systems. In spite of every safeguard, however, the trouble secmed io grow instead of decrease, until at last some physician, more progress- ive or fortunate than his fellows, arrived at the belief that the germs could be intro- duced through the medium of the ordinary | telephone. Persons suffering from throat, lung or bronchial affections had been in the habit | of using the same instruments as the pa- | tients referred to. An examination of hun- | dreds of telephone mouthpieces showed in| many of them a perfect nest of dangerous | germs. By breaking into this disease breed- ing chamber the healtby had been made fll without having even an inkling of the source of their illne Numerous preventltives have been used in | individual ut it remained for Mr. Emil Wescheke of San Francisco to perfect an arrangement which doe ay with all! danger of infection from this source. | ‘The appliance is easily attached to any of) the makes of telephones now in use. It| censists of a diaphragm composed of a fab- | ric which has been treated with an anti- septic fluid which brings quick death to the | tiny disease germs. This fabric is cut into | disks of suitable size to fit over the mouth- | piece of the tclephone. Over the disk | is placed a cap, or holder, consisting of a! rim and a flange adapted to receive and hold the disk in its proper position over the mouthpiece of the instrument. The invention is very simple in construc- | tion, and while it kills all germs it does not in any way interfere with the transmission of the voice. By its use all danger of in- fection either from the germs of throat or lung troubies is done away with and con- tagion from sore mouths fs also mad@next to impossible. The character of the antiseptic used 1g a secret of the inventors, but all competent | physicians are cognizant of the ingredients | necessary for this purpose. The invention | has already received the hearty indorse- ment of the California medical societies, and as its cost is small it will more than | likely scon be in universal use. se. IT WAS MEATED TO HIM. The Kaiser's Reward for the Intel- lgence of a Private Soldier. From the New York Herald. The German kaiser gazed along the ser- ried ranks of blue-coated infantry and the white-helmeted Uhlans. He dashed along the lines of the Pumpernickel Guards and commanded Fritz, a large, intelligent sol- dier to,stand forth. “Son,” cried the War lord, “do you know whom I meant when I spoke of the foreign fce?” “The American hog,” replied the soldier, respectfully saluting. “Dost know also, son,” continued he of Hehenzollern, ‘‘what your emperor meant in his speech of enemies at home?" “The Frankfurter sausages,” replied the soldier, deferentially touching the visor of his cap. “With what measure ye meat,” said the emperor, “it, shall be meated unto you again. I hereby appoint you an inspector | of American port.’ ee Color Blindne; From the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Does a man fail to see any colors at all when he is color blind?” asked Mr. Drink- horn, “or does he see them wrong?” “He sees them wrong, as you call it,” ex- plained the physician. “Now, your nose, in- stead of appearing in its natural color would look to a color blind person to be green.” Z “Green? Any particular shade?” Mr. Drinkhorn, with the intention facetious. = a “Yes. Bottle green.’ asked of being BENEFIT OF BUYERS Investigation of Co-oporation by a Department of Labor Official. ——___-—___ NOT GAINED GROUND IN THIS COUNTRY | Dividends Paid by Co-operative Stores in the United States. SYSTEM OF DISCOUNTS ee T HE DEPARTMENT of labor has been making an investiga- tion of co-operation through Prof. Ed- ward W. Bemis and has come to the con- clusion that co-oper- | ation has not gained any great ground in the United States. ‘This Is remarkable in | the face of the fact that in June there were 1,486. co-opera- tive societies in Great Britain, and their | total annual business was reported as more than $166,000,000, Co-operation began in England and it is an assured success there. In this country it is still experimental. ‘The first co-operator in England was a man named Owen. He had an-idea that all profit was wrong— that goods should be sold fer the cost of production and handling. theory industriously and i many He preached his | ‘suaded a great stablish co-operative sa fatal defect in bh stem. It was not organized on business principles. There was no surplus on which the store could rely in emergencies. Conse- quently a great many of the Owen stores failed, and the plan grew unpopular. Out | of the hundreds of stores established prob- ably fifteen or twenty remain in existence today. ‘Phen came the famous Rochdale pioneers. | Twenty-eight poor weavers in the little | town of Rochdale used to meet every night | to talk about politics and the condition of the laboring man, just as thousands of Mt- Ue groups meet in the towns and cities of the United States today. I cussing: cost | d profit, they evolved the idea of estab- ore of their own so as to save the profits of the middle man in the pur- chase of their supplies, Each man con- tributed thres-pence a week to the fund, {U amounted to twenty-eight they established their store. ‘Th people fo But there w. and when pounds. all the co-operative stores in the world are mo . ‘The idea is not to sell goods at cost, but to sell them at the market price, keep an account of the pur- chases of each member of the store and di- vide the profits of the store at the end of a year In proportion to the purchases made, | Sharing the Profits. | There are variations of this original plan. | In some co-operative stores only members are allowed to trade. Tiney are the stock- a Sterlous manner. 5 ' izaleq | BOlders of the business in proport to | ‘or years physicians have been puzzled | ii nurchases, 1, 5 ‘ : to learn the origin of a great variety of dis- | MEF purchases, but no one but themselves eases with which their paticnts have been | 8 allowed to contribute to the profits. In attacked without any reasonable cause be-| others, any one may buy, bit profits ing found. As these diseases were invari-| are divided among. the. mem The ably of an infectious nature, showing that{ more advanced type of co-operative store the germs had been mtroduced into the | is the one in which every purchaser shares Ledy through the mouth, all sorts of pre-| in the profits. He receives a token indi. | cating the amount of his purchase and | when the dividend is declared at the end of a year he is entitled to receive that dividend on the amount of the tokens he has received. ‘These stores sell in competition with the other retail stores In Great Britain, and yet the dividends are very large. "Last year out of reports received from more than a million co-operators it was shown that 30'y per cent of the buyers received more than 15 per cent of their purchase money back in the form of dividends, while more than one-half a million purchasers received dividends ranging from 10 to 15 ber cent. These dividends were declared, of course, after paying not only the whole. sale ce of the goods, but all cost of handling, the rent of stores, ete. Two or three causes operate a. t the co-operative siore in the United States. One of them is the fact that the American workingman, who should be most tuter- ested in it, does not have to look after the pennies so closely aa nis English brother. Another is that the cost of handling goods must be greater on this side the water, where salaries are so much higher than they are abroad. A man who would mcn- age the enormous business of the co-opera- tive stores of all Engiand, as ihe late Mr. Mitchell did, would be worth $15,000 to $20,000 a year to a big commercial’ enter- prise here, but Mr. Mitchell's salary was $1,800 a year. The “trust” system, almost universal in the United States, ts’ prohib- ited by the Rochdale plan, yet of the failures of co-operative stor the United States have been due to bad debts. The English societies have the same fault though not In so great a degree. Of 1,570 of them making reports last. year £9 ‘per cent gave credit. But they scem to do it more judiciously than the managers of the stores in the United Statés. Union Stores. After the Rochdale movement had gained favor in Englané there was a wave of enthusiasm In the United States for the organization of “union” stores. Its crest was in New England. Beiween 1817 and 1°59 769 union stores were organized, and they were fairly prosperois for a ‘time. Less than one-half that number reported, in 1857, an aggregate annual trade of $2,- 000,000, Not one of these stores survives, In 1864 the Rochdale plan was introduced in Philadelphia, and two years later the Patrons of Husbandry started, another union store’? movement. All the stores or- ganized under this movement are now out of existence; and the Philadelphia store failed after less than three years of exist- ence—its failure due in the most part to bad debts. Between 1584 and 1883 the Knights of Labor were gaining in importance at a wonderfully rapid rate, and a great many incidental labor movements resulted, among them the organization of co-cperative in- dustries of various kinds. In connection with these were established co-operative stores. But for the mest part these failed because the people who organized them had the vaguest notions of the principles of co-operation. Of the co-operative industries _ which were organized at this time very few re- main. There were eight cooperage shops established in Minneapolis, and the eyes of the labor world were on them for a long time. Only four of these survive. The Minnesota bureau of lavor reports that one good result of the co-operation is the pre- vention of strikes; because if the men in other shops want to strike they cannot persuade the co-operative workers to strike against themselves, and the co-operative shops can furnish all the barrels needed by the manufacturers of Minneapolis. The state mine inspectors of Illinois report that the few co-operative coal mines in that state for the same reason exercise an adverse influence on wages; because, being producers as well as laborers, they will sell at any price rather than not seli at all, and in dull times they interfere with the work of other miners in the same district and compel them to work at lower wages or not at all. In addition to these | prices abroad and partly to the greater « | Population | of population, | cleties which flourish in large citie | Jewelry and ali the | West of New b cc-operative concerns, there are companies and building and loan associations which = purely co-operative and very success- Dividends Paid by Some Stores. Here are the successful co-operative stores in the United States, and the divi- dend on purchases paid by each in the last year: Lewiston Society, Lewiston, Me., 5 per cent; Lisbon Falis Association, Lisbon Falls, Me., 9 per cent; Sabattus Association Sabattus, Me., 12 per cent; Farmers and Mechanics’ Exchange, Brattleboro,’ Vt., 5 ber cent; Arlington Association, Lawren2e, Mass., 7 per cent: Beverly Association Beverly, Mass., 5 per cent; Cambridge So- ciety, Cambridge, Mass., 7.5 per cent; Co- operative Store Company, Silver Lake, Mass., 5.5 pef cent; First Swedish Co-ope ative Store Company, Quinsigamond, Mass., 10 per cent; German Co-operative Association, Lawrence, Muss., 7 per cent: Hampden County Association, Springfield, Mass., 3 per cent; Harvard Society, Cam bridge, Mass., 7 per cent; industrial Asso- ciation, New Bedford, Mass., 3 per cen of L. Boot and Shoe Association, Worce: ter, Mass., 10 per cent; Lawrence E: quitable Society, Lawrence, Mass., 7 per cent Lowell Association, Lowell, Ma: . 10.5 per cent; Plymouth Kock Company, Plymouth, Mass., 6 per cent; Riverside Associatio Maynard, Mass., 5.5 per cent; West Wai ren Association, West Warren, Mass., 7.5 per cent; Weodlawn Association, Pawtuck- et, R. 1, 28 per cent; Trenton Society, ‘Trenton, N. J., 8 per cent; Jami ply Company, Jamestown, N.Y, Ishpeming Society, Ishpeming, Alliance Association, Greenwood Cou Association, Hureka, Kan., —; Johnson County Associ lion, Olathe, Kan., 4 per cent; Lyon County Exchange Company, Emporia, Kan., 2 per cent; Osage Ccunty Assec ation, Overbroo! Kar Patrons’ Association, Casdinu: 7 per cent; Waketield Alliance ciation, Wakefield, Kan., 2 per c: Association, Poplar, Cal., —; Santa FP Sania Paula, Cal., 3 per ceut; Socialists’ Store and Productive Associa. tion, Los Angeles, Cal. per cent. The average rate of dividend in twenty ew England stores run on the Rochdaie an, therefore, was 8 per cent, and in thirteen outside New i nd was per cent. This is much below English profits owing in part to the 8s of retail over wholesale Post of conducting a co-operative store here. The wages paid in the co-operative stores of this country are almost double the wages paid in the stores of Kngla Dixcour.ts for Pure The membership of co-ope: stores in the United States is only about 16,800. In England it is reckoned one-sixth of the patronizes the co-operative stores. many the atiempt to estab has commun in London, Here sh co-operative stores chiefly in industrial , “Nd not at all in large cities. A few of the American co-operative so- elet procure for their member: boring stores discounts on the ge purchase, is the plan pursued by a Thi &reat many of the so-called Roch two in this cit Any one can become member on payment of a small nnual fee, and every member on presentation of his membership card at certain stores can ob- tain a discount on all goods purchased there. This applies to dry goods, groceries, if bere ad luxuries of life. This is on the principle of throw- ing trade to certain storekcepers in whole- sale quantities. In the same way country have com Supplics at whole bined under the known as the grange. This or now thirty years old, has 250,00) members, and through purchating agents these ob” tain goods at whole: vided among the members in small quanti- tie: ordered. In Ohio it is repor Members of the grange save from per cent on implements, seeds, fertilizers and on personal supplie: The Patrons of Industry, an organization which covers the ‘northern states nd, fills the same field, and the Farmers’ Aillance does the same business in the souta and southwest. The latest scheme is the idea of a man named y the farmers all over the bined for the purchase of Y are com- DeBernardi at Independence, Mo. He is establishing “labor exchan, * A mem- ber may deposit with the exchange any product of labor and receive a certificate | calling for its wholesale vaiue, which he | may use in purchasing from the exchange any other product of lubor at a retail price, The profits now are used to extend the Movement, but it is intended that any sur- plus shall belong to the members. GEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN, ——— A HISTORIC GUN. Cannon From Which Was Fired the Last Shot of the Civil War. From the New Orlcans Picayune. The cannon which fired the last shot in the last battle of the last war is a gun worth knowing something about. Hence, the sale of the eight-inch columbiad, Lady Slocomb, which is advertised in the Mobile Register, arouses the interest of old sol- diers and old soldiers’ sons. “This last engagement,” said an old sol- dier, recently, “took place at Spanish Fort. his engagement, of course, was not a regular battle, and is not, perhaps, record- ed in history as such, but it was, neverthe- ss, a fierce conflict. Gen. Forrest had sent to Spanish Fort during the last days of the war a sufficient force of men to guard the piece, and among the number was the Fifth Battalion of the Washington Artillery, Capt. Cuthbert Slocomb in com- mand. The Lady Slocomb was brought there, and there fired its last shots when Wilson's raiders stormed the place and teok it. There the Lady Slocomb, for a few hours before the old fort was surrendered, belched forth fire and scattered death, but to no avail, as the enemy numbered several times as much as the garrison. “After the surrender of the fort some of the members of Capt. Slocomb’s command one night rolled the Lady Slocomb off the earthen embankment into a lagoon, or old slush hole, and buried it, giving as their reason that they did not want the gun to fall into the hands of the enemy. It was afterward dug up and carried to Mobile, where it was purchased by Henry Radger, a prominent confederate of that place, who had served through the war, and knew of the experience of the Lady Slocomb.” The gun was named after the wife of Capt. Cuthbert Slocomb, who went out in 1862 in charge of the Fifth Battalion of the Washington Artillery. The gun at the bat- tle of Shiloh spat out its first smoke and spread its desolation in the ranks of the enemy. Through all the memorable stru gle of the Army of the Tennessee it went, and everywhere it gained well-deserved re- nown. It was prettily mounted, and was at that time, as it probably is now, a hand- some gun. Now the old relic is to be sold. The es- tate of Henry Badger is being wound up, and the gun, along with other relics of the confederacy, 1s to fall into the hands of others. Years ago several efforts were made by the Washington Artillery to buy the gun, and they will, in all probability, be heard from at the sale. toe Labor Omnia Vincit. From the Detroit News-Tribune. See the man. Is the man a Wesy man? The man is not a busy man. But does not the man work harder at home than at the office? The man indubitably home than at the office. Why does the man work harder at home than at the office? The man works harder at home than at the office because his typewriter knows bet- ter than his wife how to work him. Yes. works harder at The greatest of the co-operative | | stores in England are in the large centers of Husbandry, | nization, | Absolutely Pure. Acream of tartar baking powder. Highest of all in leavening strength.—Latest United Staies Governnunt Food Report. Royar Baxixe Powper Co., New York. Is REFORM A FAILURE. The Woman Whese Mixsion Was to Reform Her Husband Almost Thinks Sa From the Chicago Post. It is her opinion at the present time that no reform movement fs fully equipped un- less it has brakes on it. “You sce,” she explained, “I tried to re- form Geor; “Of course,” said the engaged girl; “that’s what you marricd him for, wasn’t i “Well, not entirciy married woman ‘And, of course the older m nswered the young lidn’t su eed,” put ed woma. in that . who had some herself. © trouble,” ied woman. | experienc: that’s Just er mar ." replied the I did—at least, T ot him started i now there's no stop ping him. Y« got him to stop drink- ing tirst. He didn't drink am nyway, but I got him to stop it entir and for a few weeks he was so cross and irritable that I got over that, and I was so pleased with my success that I undertook to get him to stop s He said he felt so | mauch better since he stopped drinking that he was begir believe there was @ good deal of bi > be derived from ab- It three mon to inhabit and two « for heaven ; in, but he woul “You ought to be gratified yeu fave so much influence with him,” i the engaged gi “It must be very gra a | husband who neither smokes n ks, * | said the older married woman. are i many of them.” | $a good thing,” returned the young married woman biiterly | {Geo thing!” exclaimed both the others, Yes, a good 2h young { marrica wor reform movement that 3 stop when you | wane » is one of most annoying and dis able t at it is p le to | have around the hovs My husband thinks he feels so much better that he b Ja crank, He doesn't believe in ndiments of any de: tion any nd has instructed me to disper them entirely in the house.” | “Outrag © injuric the e, and t drive any woman to an ear t seem to be that now he's that household © Way with mea, my to refoim him, ‘and arried him to be refor of bonbons on the began to think that possibly she would bet- er not try io reform Harry at all. Incorrigible. From the Detroit Free Press. A man of this city who thoroughly loves @ good cigar was indulging in a smoke after dinner when a friend who is given to moralizing touched him on the arm and said: “I am sorry habit.” “m not,” was the emphatic reply. Was examined for life insurance ye |and the doctor says my health is first- |rate. So there is no use in telling me that it 1s hurrying me into the grave, for the facts don’t bear out the assertion. But it’s habt “I find the s mn such as to make me content to foot the bill.” How long have you been smoking? Fifteen or twenty years.” Do you realize that with a have spent in that way you m laid the foundation for a fortune | you might have been the block of houses over there.” “I have heard that kind of an argument before, and it does not impress me. If T | had bought them with money saved in that way I'd be miserable thinking of the good times I might have had smoking if I hadn't Wasted my money on blocks of houses.” see Was Trotted Out Too Much. From the Chicago Journal, The vital statistics clerk felt than heard his visitor enter the office. He looked up from the desk and beheld a cadaverous individual, in whose eyes was the feverish glitter of one to whose lids sleep cometh not. “Poor commission three doors said the official, glibly. don’t want the poor commission. I ” said the intruder, with something defiance in his ‘voice, and yet with that undertone of despair that aroused the sympathy of the clerk. “And what can I do for you?” said the latter. “It isn't what what I can do for itor. 5 3 ther too much, and I've got to have a rest. I don't belong to no union, and I'm willing to work overtime when it’s necessary, but I'll be blamed if you ain’t trottin’ me a heat that “ud distance anybody but me. I've got to haye shorter hours and a day off once in while, an’ If I don’t get "em I'll quit, see?” “But, my dear sir, I never saw you be- that you still have that "5 terday the money t have Why, owner of that rather to the “1 want te see can ou,” re do for me, but ponded the vis- fore. I never employed you. Who are you, anyway? “Me? Oh, I ain't anybody but ‘Heart Failure.” That's who I be, an’ I mean what I say. The Cause of His Death, From the Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph, Mr. Gaswell—""Mr. Hiiltop's death was aw. fully sudden, wasn’t it?” Mr. Dukane—“It was, indeed. Do you know what caused it? Mr. Gaswell—“Well, when he left home on Mount Washington the sun was shining brightly, but as he descended he got inte the fog. On the Smithfield street bricge he met a man he knew, and inadvertenzly opened his mouth to say ‘Good racrning? While speaking he bit off a chunk of fox and it choked him before assistan>e could be called.” From Life. “BUTTING AGAL f