Evening Star Newspaper, November 20, 1897, Page 17

ON BLOCK ISLAND. “an’ I don’t set up for to answer. But hop- FAMED FOR T ee ts oe eee The Birds Are Raised to Perfection on Block Island. CURIOUS SCENES AT THE HARVEST When They Are Driven in Great Flocks to Market. COMMAND GOOD PRICES oe Among all the queer features of queer industries carried on in queer out-of-the- way places it would be hard to find any- thing more picturesque than the Thanks- giving harvest on Block Island. Though Block Island is only thirty miles off the Rhode Island coast, and lies almost midway between Montauk Point and Point Judith, the impression that it makes upon the itor is that of being far removed from every other part of the country. It is the home of fog and wind and dashing mt years it was sel- spray. the summer visitor, and vith this invader its people guileless than they used to be. int sea folk still, most of them carry on the the island this season at s it a strong claim on the of the American people. ique business is the rearing of ive and succulent Thanksgiving Rhod, d turkey has a fame reading as that of Philadelphia icken or Maryland terrapin. The turkey ris tell us, too, that the particular doef t noble American bird pro- eel in this quaint oceaa oasis stands in the same relation to the ordinary Rhode ler as that aristocratic bird does to s blue-blooded fellows in York state, and the west. Steck in Trade. To the Plock Islander turk are what his cattle are to the native of Holstein or the Isle of Jersey—the objects of his chief concern and attention. When one has been long enough on the island to be famil- iar with the e and attention that is lavished on its turkeys there is no longe any wonder that the Block Island gobbler is the most arrogant bird on earth or that when turkey fs q Island bran? br at 20 cents the Block Most of the birds, 0 to Boston and New reputation is known ppreciated. farm or plot on the is- and the grow ncipal land occu- been Is its ing of the bird pation on for s are to be of a Mi a stroll of a couple of miles from the town will bring one across a dozen great flocks of turkeys traveling i ike cattle, toward the harbor. » driven by women in short skirt woolen nbonnet stock! and with on their heads, or pt trou: cowhide 3, the prevailing male stroll al ick, cluck’ aggler or hasten their arch along as Ty d give the latter little well fed and lazy, the roll of their as their maste trouble, for t done can fat sides beneath the glossy- feathers. At the Landing Stage. At the landing th one that for pict Foose resquer market, compact patch tered from guarding drivers. The neighboring rks The buyers move about from one group to ing the | turkeys gling with their owners The hum of vi drowned by the resonant | gobbie,”” of some red-wat- r punctuated by the warp frightened hen tur! ta tt is set off by the blank ex- of sea all about. turkeys and dre m are don driven on ucking freight a poultry fact and dy to adorn the tabi Some st in each flock are alw kept through the winter for the next s n’s bree for the turk where turkeys are alway: s asked of one old farmer who was counting over the fat roll of bills he had just received from the buyer for his s n’s work. He turned toward me with a shrewd Yankee smile as he an- Bwered: ‘are story turkey we care and know how, that’s the hull \se folks over here has been raisin’ s for @ considerable time and I gue: know most all they is to it.” vo doubt you de That's just the point I was driving at.” Finest in the World. i, care ‘ull do it in turkeys j in everything else, an’ if I do take p'ticular care of our birds. turkeys up to th You can't mark by any kind of int mn; so every few seasons we lot ef wild Toms and turn ‘em That keeps up the quality and All the resi of the secret is just in cart After the young turk: 1 out we let "em run around tot selves so’s to let ‘em get big, strong fra Then ‘long about mid-September or first of ut ‘em up in an’ coops on corn m n’ fattenin’ can't run all their and they take on weight about it, though,” n, beginning ag: “We fellers doh: one that is they’s a powerful on this here island, and to take to hoppers right pers?” I queried, gazing blank- s the water. “How did they e old man laughed, a Bavarian | in to} ut everybody asks,” he said, little far for a hop, step and jump, so I reckon they just blowed over, an’, seein’ it was the finest place on yearth, they just settled down to stay like the rest of us. But they’re mighty good turkey feed, how- sumever; they come an’ we don’t bear 'em no grudge,” and the old man_ chuckled again as he thrust his roll of bills into a capacious wallet. i ——— = A FORTUNE HID IN A COIN And Then Put in Circulation by Napoleon the First. Frenchmen Who Have Dreams of Ac- quiring Sudden We: th—Said to Have Been Found. | Written for The Even'ng Star. If you happen to have in your posses- sion the particular French coin known as a 5-frane picce you may, unwittingly, be a millionaire. Such at least is the belief shared by hurdreds upon hundreds of credulous Frenchmen and Frenchwomen, many of whom spend most of their spare time cestroying quantities of 5-frane pieccs in the hope of realizing a fortune. : Dr. Mareo Leonardo Nardez, the well- known numismatist, and one of the recog- nized authorities on coin lore, king of this curious condition of affairs, said: “It is quite true that half France still be- lieves in the existence of great wealth hidden in a 5-frane piece, although man: numismatics hold that the fortune in qu tion was long ago discovered ard appro- prited by one of the Rothschilds family. “The story of the strange 5-fran> for- tune legend may be briefly toid. A 5- franc piece, to begin with, is a silver coin, and ts worth about #1. ‘Napoleon I was very anxious to make the coin a popular one, and with this end in view he caused it to be circulated everywhere throughout France that he had inserted in one of the silver pieces, before it left the mint, a bark ncte or order for 1,000,000 of these same five francs—t. e., for $1,000,000. Whether he really did this or not I cannot say for certain, but the weight of evidence wonld seem to show that it was done. In the manuscript memoirs of the Duc de Feltie, Napoleon minister of war, it is expressly stated that the emperor inclosed a note on the Bank of France, duly signed by the governors of that institution, in a split 5 franc piece; that the halves wer | welded together, partially reminted, a thrown in a heap of similar coins, which the enperor mixed with his own’ hands. These coins Napoleon took with him in a | baz when he went to Boulogne, and dis- tributed lavishly en route—even dropping | some of them out of his carriage windo in this way it was impo: ble to keep track of the lucky coin. “The news of thi odd lottery spread far d wide, and the 5-franc piece leaped into immediate favor. From that day to this mutilation of the coin has been common in France, Switzerland and Belgium and jelsewhere. Every year the Bank of | France is requested to make good scores of pieces split in a vain search for the 5,000,000-frane bank note. Said to Have Found It. “There are many stories dealing with reputed finds of the fortune. Indeed, when a man becomes suddenly rich in France, it is common to hear people whisper: ‘Tien: * * * He must have found Napoleon's famous coin!’ Some assert that the empe- ror kept the coin himself, but this hardly ; agrees with Napoleon's character. Still it a current theory that some of the mone n enabled Napoleon Il to reach th ial throne was found in tne lucky silver piece, which his mother, Queen Hor- ad wheedled out of her brother-in- It was also common talk that Gen. d acquired the famous coin, y that his money supplies from the Duchesse d’Uxes set that f at rest. » most likely explanation as to why the five-frane piece fails to turn up is t ron Ferdinand de Rothschild, a French r of the great Jewish banking house, 1 ‘This account states that Baron Rothschild having investigated the tra- ion and found sufficient proof of its truth, deliberately set to work to locate the | Si.s00.000 note. He quietly bought in and lected ev five-frane piege he could get, and his agents were notified to pre- serve and forward to Paris every five-frane yiece which reached them in Europe, Asia, Africa or America. In his office the’ baron | kept three trusty men hard at work bisect- ing the coi ay that he had in- vented ap) ding them together again, so as to defy detection; others main- | tain that he melted down the silver and sold it to the governmeht en bloc. The work colossal; but, in the end, the | baron’s system is said to have conquered. | He found the note for 5,000,000 franes, hav- ing spent nearly a million to obtain it. The | order was duly presented at the Bank of | France, and, says the tradition, cashed by | that institution. | “Plausible as the narration may seem, | the great mass of Frenchmen refuse to j credit it, and go on, year after year, split- | ting open \ueir five-frane pieces to look for Napoleon's note. It is certainly a tantaliz- ing thought that somewhere in the world a check for $1,000,000 is knocking about, hidden in an ordinary silver coin, worth barely $1. By possessing and opening tha coin the man worth just five francs may in & moment become a millionaire.” > Dr. Marco Leonardo Nardez admits hav- ing opened a few uve-franc pieces himself j in search of the huge bank note. —_—_——+or She Arose to the Occasion. From the Pungsutawney Spirit. | A Punxsutawney girl was out biking the other day with a Punxsutawney young man. They were six miles from home on a country road. She punctured her tire. “Alas,” said the young man as he dis- | inounted and looked the pteture of dispair, “I have no repair kit!) Wat shall we do? It is awful!” | Quickly extracting a large wad of chew- ing gum from her mouth and placing it over the puncture before much of the wind | had escaped, the girl said: } “Lena me your handkerchief.” Young Augustus Fitz James handed her bis bandana. Deftly she wound it round the tire, over the chewing gum, and tied the ends in a hard knot on the inside. “I am ready,” she said, and she mounted her wheel and rode off with a nonchalant air and a fresh wad of gum. he di ether in | Until the dis ami oo [UNIVERSITY NOTESIIT |S ALL OUR OWN THE EVENING STAR, Georgetown University. Foot ball is now occupying the attention of the. students of the university. The second series of the interclass games has just been begun. The first game, between 1900 and 1901, was won by the former by the score of 6 to 4, after a close and ex- citing game, the victors, although playing fast and strong, having the hardest work to make their one touchdown and defend their goal. The game between the post- graduate and 99 was won by the former team, the score being 12 to 9. - Morris Head, "98, has been elected man- ager of base ball, to succeed William Flem- ing, who was compellled to leave for his home on account of illness. The Glee Club concert is to be given the 29th. Professor Judd has had the biology class out on several excursions lately in search of specimens. - a The election of debaters to represent the Philodemic Society in the annual Merrick debate, on February 22, will be held De- cember 9. As it is considered quite a dis- tinction to be chosen, there are a number of candidates for the honor. ss The bowling alley donated by Mr. Wim- satt of this city and now in the course of construction wili be completed in a few weeks. The question for debate at the next meet- ing of the Philonomosian Society is, “Re- solved, That the Georgia legislature acted wisely in prohibiting foot ball in the state. Messrs. P. Fleming and M. Walsh have the affirmatite and Messrs. F. Graicie and E. Cashman the negative. : “Resolved, That the jury system of the United States should be supplanted by a system more perfect,” will be discussed by Messrs. L. J. Waggaman and B. Cauthorne, affirmative, and Messrs. J. H. McAleer and J. W. Hallahan, negative, at the next meet- ing of the Philodemic Society. Catholic University. ‘The university is in receipt of a valuable ethnolcgical publication from the Duc de Loubat, containing fgc simiies of the Amer- ican ethnological curiosities in the Trocz dero Museum at Paris. This is only one among many other gifts of the same gen- tleman to the university. Wednesday afternoon the rector, Rt. Rev. Mgr. Conaty, opened the lecture course at Mt. de Sales Academy, at Catonsville, Md., and on the same evening delivered an ad- dress before St. Paul Union in this city. Rev. Paul P. Aylward preached the first of the Sunday afternoon sermons last week on the subject, “The Existence of God.” Mr. Charles Reidenger of Detroit, a stu- dent of the law school, read vn interesting Paper on mythology before the University Club on Thursday evening. Following him Rev. Thomas V. Shannon of Chicago read an essay on “Materialism in Modern Sci- ence.” Colambian University. A meeting has been called for Wednesday next for the purpose of organizing a banjo, mandolin and guitar club. A meeting of the glee club was held cast Wednesday. At the next meeting of the Law School Debating Society, on November 27, the question for debate is, “Resolved, That the elective franchise should be limited to those ead and write.” The speakers be Messrs. C. T. Carter, J. A. Wright, Vieth, 2ffirmative, and Me FW. C.'Jones and W. M. Mason, nega- smber 4 the question is,““Resolved, That Cuban beHigerency should be recog- ”* witn Messrs. jr., and B.C. on the affirmative, and ‘Se . Snow, A. and Gran- Lewis, jr. cond pub- lie debate of the ir Saturday ing, December 18, the question selected being, “Resolved, That Congress should en- act a general anti-trust law.” The affirm, tive spezkers will be J. P. Fortron, Kansas; J. T. Harris, W. Perkins as speak F. L. Ta New York; J. C. Roger: Texas; whil rs. J. P. Gray, Idaho; E. Phillips, is, and A. Oregon, will uphold the nega The following questions were discussed Thursday by the Enosinian Society: Class 1, Resolved, That government by injunction is against American principles;” class 2, “Resolved, That the acts of the Hartford convention were reasonable.” ‘The speak- ers were: Class 1, affirmative, Mr. Harlan and Miss Metcalf; negative, Messrs. Cutler and Everett. Class 2, affirmative, Mr. Rog- ers and Miss Pennywitt; negative, Mr. Stu- rart and Miss Ross. Mr. Sturart and Mr. Cutler edited the Bee in classes 1 and respectively, while Mr. Everett and Mi Ross'edited the News. Mr. Beatty officiated as critic. Prof. W. S. Yates, formerly of the Cor- coran Scientific School, but now geologist e ed the city and the wu: this week. 3 not yet been definitely decided who. will play on Thanksgiving in the game with the C. A. C., but from present appearances the university will present a ver team. The game Thurs versity of Virginia for the southerners by the score of 10 to 0, but as it was expected that the Columbian beys would not only be defeated, but that their opponents would roll up a large score, Peterson, e, versity It h the students and players are very well satisfied with the result. Howard University. The following program was rendered at the regular weekly entertainment and mecting of the Eureka Club last night: Recitation, M Coles; essay, W. H. Craig- head; recitation, Miss Ida Keys; paper, J. B. Allen; declamation, Miss L. Scipio; reci- tation, Miss Eliza Washington; recitation, E. J ‘The affiramtive speaker was Martin Powell, while W. H. Lee upheld the negative. At the méeting of the athletic association of the university held Thursday plans were cempleted for the southern trip of the foot ball eleven. Games are to be played with the Columbia Athletic Club of Norfolk at Norfolk; with the Y. M. C. A. of Peters- burg, at Richmond, and with the Hygeia Club of Hampton, at that place, cn Thanks- giving and the two days following. Last Saturday’s game with the Columbia Ath- letic Club of Norfolk at the university re- sulted in a score of 14-0 in favor of the rome club. In the evening the visitors were tendered a reception by the victors. The game of the “scrubs” and the second colored high school has been declared off, the university assigning as the reason the refusal of the high school to limit their team to students of their institution, SSS An Affair of Calendar. From the New York Tribun it is so seldom nowadays that a king transforms himself into an emperor that a few words of explanation with regard to the recent self-premetion of the monarch of Corea, which has just been officially an- nounced to the courts of Europe, may be of interest. His assumption of imperial aig- nity was principally an affair of calendar. In the orient the title of emperor is un- known, the only one known being that of “Son of Heaven,” which, in the Chinese and Corean language, is styled Huang-Tie. It is a religious tradition and bellef with the Buddhists that the Huang-Tie, as the person standing nearest the Deity, has the exclusive right to fix the holy days, and tor thousands of years the ruler of China sent annually out to his vassals, the monarchs of Corea, Anam, Burmah and Japan, the list of holy days or calendar edited by him- self. On Japan becoming independent, the mikado at once assumed the right to make his own calendar, and still exercises it, and now that Ccrea has been rid of Chinese suzerainty, its ruler, in order to mark his independence, has also taken the title of Huang-Tie, and is going to make his own calendar and holy days, instead of receiv- ing them from Pekin.’ That is what is meant by: his assumption of the title of emperor. ——— Smoke Not a Nuisance, From the Philadelphia Press. The Misscuri state supreme court has €ecided that smoke is not a nuisance, and declared the smoke abatement ordinance ef St. Louis unconstitutional in the case of the city of St. Louis against the Edward Heitzberg Packing and Provision Company. The court holds that smoke is not a nui- sance per se at commen law, nor has it been so declared by any statute of Mis- scuri. coo, Pretty Ingenue (to golf hero)—“‘How love- ly it would seem to be a strong, clever man!” G. H.—“Oh, but— Miss Jeanne, I'd rather nee dainty, pretty girl. Wouldn’t you?”"— fe. Thanksgiving is a Fustival Peculiar | to This Country, OBSERVED UNDER CURIOUS CONDITIONS How It Has Been Spent at Home and Abroad. N PEACE AND IN WAR Written for The Evening Star. When, in the year of grace 1630, sturdy Governor John Winthrop and the Puritan cclonists of Massachusetts proclaimed and duly observed « ‘Public thanksgiving,” tkey probably had little idea of the im- portance which that festival was destined to obtain in the history of America. The first Thanksgiving differed very ma- terially from its successors, in that it was proclaimed as a fast and not as a feast. Scpplies had run short, the ships expected from England were delayed, and extinction threatened the “governor and company of Massachusetts bay in New England.” Win- throp and his council decided to hold a day of prayer and abstinence, “so that ye Lorde be propitiated and looke upon His servants with favor, in that they have humbled themselves before Him.” Accordingly a crier was sent about the primitive settle- ment of Charlestown, and the colonists were each and afl invited to take part in the fast. Their sacrifice met with speedy reward. Scarcely had the noon hour of the allotted day arrived when the long-hoped-for ship made its welcome appearance in Massachu- setts bay, the cargo was landed and the fast was succeeded by a banquet of a sort which must have seemed sumptuous indeed to the exiles so recently plunged in hunger and hardship. On the threshold of dreaded winter Winthrop and his followers found what had been a prospect of fear and peril changed into one of happiness and hope. Such was America’s first Thanksgiving, as celebrated 260 years ago. Thereafter each succeeding November was marked in the annals of the colony by a similar festival of gratitude. With the Early Dutch. But Thanksgiving in the early days of our history was not confined to the New England pioneers alone. Just fifteen years after Winthrop’s proclamation, i. e., in 1645, Governor Kieft of the Dutch colony, then known as Nieuw Amsterdam, but now as New York, ordered the observance of a day, of rejoicing and thanks, “for the rest and peace which God had been pleased to bestow upon His servants.” Thus we see that the feast of Thanksgiving is not, us generally supposed, a peculiarly Puritan in- itution, but is equally derived from the alwart burghers of Manhattan Island. The next notable Thanksgiving day in history fell in 1 On that date the Brit- ish and colonial army, numbering 80,000 men, and commanded by Gen. Forbes, at- tecked and captured from the French, after a fierce struggle, Fort Duquesne, at the junction of the Allegheny and “Monongahela ivers. The name of the plate was changed to Fort Pitt, and was the nucleus of the city of Pittsburg. Thus in a special sense the history of the great capital of the coal and iron industries is connected with the celebration of Thanksgiving day. At the time that the British were con- quering Fort Duquesne, Whitefield, -the Methodist preacher, called upon all dherents in London to-join a “service of praise and thanksgiving for the victories of the English arms on land and sea.” This British Thanksgiving was, we are told, widely observed, and awakened intense en- thusiasm, not only among the Methodist: but “threughout all the different sects, Whitefield’s idea wes aftérward on several oceasions revived in Iagland, For in- stance, in 1814 the govegnment proclaimed a general thanksgiving ‘the yictory of Waterloo. Again. two YeORp later, in 1816, proclamation was es, Pings a” popular thanksgiving for the restefation of peace. aethird jubilation of After the Crimean war this nature took place. The Fast Bécame a Feast. —_ But meanwhile, in New England, what had been begun as an occasional day of pious rejoicing had assumed the propor- tions of a fixed national holiday. In Ma: sachusetts and New Hampshire it was es- pecially popular. There was at first great latitude in regard to the day selected for the feast. Governors proclaimed the chosen date arbitrarily, and no effort was made to keep the anniversary of Winthrop’s Proclamation. Sometimes Thanksgiving oc- curred in July, sometimes in midwinter. At length, through the efforts of the pres’ dent and professors of Harvard College, it was practically fixed upon the last Thurs- day in November. The college faculty were moved to in- terest themselves in the question by the fact that the uncertainty regarding the date caused considerable disorder among their pupils. Boys from different states celebrated on different days, many of them returning home to eat the Thanksgiving meal under their own rooftrees, This very undesirable state of affairs could only be put a stop to, said the grave Harvard dons, by the formal establishment of a uniform dxte for the feast. The last Thursday of the eleventh month suited the collegers, and, influence being brought to bear upon the colonial governors of New England, procla- mations were issued making that day the regular Thanksgiving. In the South. In the sovth Thanksgiving, as an annual festival, remarked practically unknown until, in 1855, the curious Virginian contro- versy on the subject was precipitated. This controversy, which is not generally known, deserves a brief notice. The governor of Virginia at the time was one Johns, a pa- triotic and broad-minded gentleman, who had always entertained a reverence for the Puritan anniversary which was by no means common below Mason and Dixon’s line. Governor Johns, in a ietter to the state legislature, urgently recommended the recognition of Thanksgiving in Vir- ginia, and offered, in case his recommenda- tion proved satisfactory, to at once issue a proclamation. But the legislature of Washington’s state did not look upon the New England holiday with favor. Governor Johns was advised not to make the Thanksgiving proclama- ticn, anf, as he did not do so, the matter was allowed temporarily to drop. But pub- lic interest had been awakened, and before lorg a fierce debate was raging in Vir- ginia between the opponents and supporters of the proposed southern Thanksgiving. At last, in 1857, Governor ’Wise—Johns’ successor—took the metaphorical bull by the horns and issued a‘proclamation set- ting apart a day for the‘feast. His action caused much angry criticism, and several southern newspapers declared that Thanks- giving was simply “a relic of Puritanic big- otry. In spite of this, the innovation was warmly welcomed. < The hospitable southerners greeted gladly another holiday, ‘SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, fIN’ THE CHURCHES and the northern feast scon ranked among them as second in importance only to the “glorious Fourth” itself. In 1858—the year after Wise’s proclamation—io less than eight governors of southern states pro- claimed Thanksgiving in their sections. The war, however, coming shortly after- ward, practically extinguished the popu- larity of the holiday in Dixie. Thanksgiving Day Abroad. But it has become a loved institution in the middle, western and northweste-n states. Exiled Americans, too, cling to its celebration and every November, sees Thanksgiving dinners in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome—or wherever some of the scattered children of Uncle Sam may chance to sojourn. Indeed, Mr. William Astor Chunler, the well-known explorer, tells of a Thanksgiving dinrer which he ioe in the very heart of darkest Af- rica. = = “I asked the you: ; woman in front of me to remove her big hat so I could see the stage.” . “Did she do it?” ‘ ‘No; she said if she held her hat in her lap she couldn’t see the stage herself.”— Chicago Record. ne 1897-24 PAGES. The anfiual convention of the Sunday School Association of the District of Co- lumbia, which, as heretofore stated in The Star, will be held Monday, Tuesday and ‘Wednesday of week after next, bids fair to be one of the most_successful in the history of the organization. The conven- tion will assemble in the New York Ave- nue Presbyterian Church, Rey. Dr. Wallace Radcliffe, pastor. ‘The executive committee has provided numerous attractions. Primary teachers will find on the first floor of the church maps, charts and other helps in primary , work, and the assurance has been given that all Who are interested will be made welcome. Some of the most attractive talkers and devoted workers of the great Sunday school army have been secured. From other sections there are Rey. H. C. Woodruff, president of Foreign Sunday Sunday School Association, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Mr. Marion Lawrence, Toledo, Ohio; Rev. Dr. M. W. Hamma, Altoona, Pa., and Mrs. J. W. Barnes of Newark, N. J., while the array of local speakers embraces Rev. Dr. George S. Duncan, Commissioner John B. Wight, Mr. P. H. Bristow, Mr. Jerome F. Johnson, Bishop Satterlee, Rev. Dr. A. W- Pitzer, Rev. J. C. Bowers, Mrs. Will- iam Redin Woodward, Rev. R. R. West, Rev. Dr. B. F. Bittinger, Rev. Dr. W. Alexander, Rev. Paul A. Menzel, Rev. C. Isaac, Rev. Dr. Lucien Clark, Rev. Wallace Radcliffe, Miss Marshall, Mr. Frank Hamilton, Mrs. W. F. Crafts and Mrs. Boddish. The subjects to be discussed will, among others, be the following: “The Book ot Books,” address by Bishop Satterlee; “The Sunday Schcol Pregram,” Mr. Marion Law- rence, Ohio state secretary; “The Home Department,” Mrs. William Redin Wood- ward; “The Coming Sunday School,” Mr. Lawrence; ‘The Land Testifying tm the Rev. Dr. M. W. Hamm: ‘Sunday School Work in Foreign Lands,” Rev. Mr. Woodruff; “The Sunday School a Power in the Land,” Mr. Marion Lawrence; “Illus: tratea Bible Geography,” Miss Marshall; “Gleanings from the Summer “School tor Primary Workers at Asbury Park, N. J.,” Mrs. J. W. Barnes; ‘“Kirdergarten Work,” Mrs. W. F. Crafts; “Lesson Taught to a Class of Children,” Mrs. Barnes. There will also be conferences as follows: “Grading the Sunday School,” “The Big Bcy Problem” and “The Sunday School Teacher,” conducted by Mr. Lawrence; “Of Primary Teachers” and “Talk on Lesson Construction,” by Mrs. Barnes. Tke present officers of the association are: President, Pierson H. Bristow; first vice president, Lucius D. Alden; second vice president, C. H. Carrington; secretary and field worker, Jerome F. Johnson; treasurer, J. H. Lichliter; executive committee, the above nemed officers and Weston Flint, A. M. McBath, John B. Sleman, F. A. Stier, Henry M. Shcok, W. H. H. Smith, Chas. R. Burr, Washington Topham, Dr. L.W. Glaze- brook, James L. Ewin, R. M. Henderson, Wilbur A. Dodge, J. A. Scott, Rev. Bill- heimer and William Redin Woodward. The music duri:g the convention will be under the general supervision of a com- mittee composed of C. H. Carrington, John B. Sleman, P. S. Foster, George H. Judd and George S. Gibson, with Professor Percy 8. Foster as director. On appropriate occa- sions Professor Foster will conduct a song service. Vice President L. D. Alden, who has gen- eral supervision of the matter of electing delegates to the convention, and who has already sent a letter to each of the Pro- testaut Sunday schools in the District, re- questing that all be represented, will in a day or so send a second letter to such as have not already elected delegates, after which no further efforts will be made by the officers of the association to secure interest in the meetin: The ladies of Calvary Baptist Church ar making arrangements for a “Rainbow tea, which will be held either the last of this mcnth or the first of next. Rev, Dr. Stafford i preach Sunday at the 11 o'clock mass at St. Patrick’s Churc The Epwerth League of the North Capi- tol M. E. Church celebrated old foiks’ da Sunday last. The exerc consisted of song service, experience meeting and preaching appropriate to the occasion by the pastor, age Milbur: The fifty-fourth arniversar ganization of St. Paul’s Lutheran Suni school and the close of the twentieth year of the service of Mr. L. D. Alden as supe; intendent will be celebrated by the Schooi December Ye _A special service of Scrip- ture, and. feng, arranged by Miss Emma t af Baltimore: will be used on the occu sion. = Services in memory of the late Rev. Jacob D. Wilson, founder of the Independent Chureh, lith street near G street south- east, now the People’s Tabernac who died Noyember 10, 1896, were held Sunday last. The exercises began at 11 a.m., with a sermon by Rev. Charles C. Cook, pasto at 2:30 p.m. there was a ice at Mr. Wilson’s grave, followed by a reunion ot friends of the deceased for personal tribute and trstimonies at the tabernacle. The ~evening service consisted of a praise ser ice, followed by a sermon by Rev. Joseph P. Wilson of Winchester, Va., a brother of the dead minister. Rev. E. E. Maynadier, formerly chap- lain at Providence Hospital, has been ap- pointed rector of St. Agnes’ Church,Caton: ville, Md., and has entered upon the dis charge of the duties. It is announced that Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” in its entirety will be rendered at Holy Trinity Catholic Church two weeks from Sunday next. Many of the best sing- ers from other choirs and a full orchestra will also take part. Military mass will be celebrated at St. Aloysius Church Thursday rext. It 1s expected that Archbishop Martinelli will be present. Cardinal Gibbons will confirm a large class at St. Peter’s Church one week from tomorrow. The fourteenth annual donation party and sociable, under the auspices of the Catho- lic Knights of Washington, for the benetit of St. Joseph’s Asylum, will be given at Washington Light Infantry Armory Thanksgiving evening. The Home Missionary Society of Gardena Memorial Presbyterian Church held its usval full praise meeting Thursday even- ing. Rev. J. B. North presided. |The principal address was by Mrs. M. V. Rich- ards, secretary of literature of the Presby- terial Society. Others who took part in the exercises were Mrs. M. E. fi Bertha Swindells, Mr: Mrs. Hattie Tubbs, M by a quartet composed of the ard Jennie Simpson, Beverly North end E. L. Burton, who sang the anther, “Praise the Lord.’” Andrew Montgomery, preacher of Atlanta, Ga. to he one hundred and taree years old, and ts called the “Black Beecher” of the south, was a visitor at the Thursday eveniny prayer meeting in the First Presbyterian Ckurch. A special home missionary service was conducted at the United Brethren Church by Major and Mrs. Pebbles of the Salvation Army last evening. Mr. W. B. Powell, superintendent of pub- lc schools of this city, addressed the meet- ing of the Men’s Guild of St. Luke’s P. E. Church Thursday evening. His subject was “The Education That Fits for Life.” The Methodist Episcopal preachers will at their meeting Monday, it is understood, resume the discussion of the plan for “‘dis- iepubes. the funds to conference claim- ants.” Staff Captain Noble, assisted by Captain Fanning and Lieutenants Adams and Ship- ley, will conduct the services at 930 Penn- sylvania avenue northwest all day tomor- row (Sunday), commencing at 11 a.m., 3 and p.m, Special vocal and instrumental music: : Rev. Tileston F, Chambers, formerly of this city, now pastor of a prominent church in Saratoga, will preach tomorrow morning at Calvary Beptist Church, ——— In Starting Fires Remember.” Irom the Philadelphia Record. That a small stove or furnace crowded with coal is not as economical! of fuel nor &s considerate of Realth as larger heating facilities and less use of fuel. That open grates, while they furnish an element of good cheer, are not as econom- ical of fuel as the close-heating appliances; although for purposes of ventilation the open methods of heating have a decided ad- vantage over the closed ones. That self-heating heaters are generally considered as mediums demanding less at- tention and less fuel than those “brought up by hand.” That students of hygiene maintain that coal containing considerable amount of sul- phur contaminates the air. That a thin layer of coal on stove or grate bars gives better results than fuel genoa wader ‘at, generally speaking, hot water or steam-heating gives a moister tone to the einen ait van neem i ee ntsc ort KILLING TURKEYS. atmosphere than dry air systems of heat- CARLOADS OF BIRDS ing. 1 That radiators neither take in nor drive out bad air, and have no elements of ven- tilation whatever. That a vessel of water should hold a prominent place in rooms heated by radia- tors, as well as in those heated by stoves, hot air or open grates. That living rooms and work rooms, where the occupants are actively engaged, should have a thermometrical register ranging be- tween 62 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit; for sedentary habits, from 61 to 7 degrees F.; bath rooms, from to 76 degrees F. These records to be varied at different hours of the day or night, with due consid- eration to the amount of sunshine or shade in the room. SAUCE FOR THE TURKEY How Cranberries Are Raised and Prepared for Market. Picked by Hand, Sorted by Machinery and Tri ‘ported in Cold Storage Cars, Written for The Evening Star. Turkey and cranberry sauce! By force of long association and the eternal fitness of things, the two go naturally together. What is one without the other, or Thanks- giving day without both? And so to make the 2,000,000 turkeys required for the na- tional feast more palatable 500,000 barrels of cranberries are raised on the marshes of Cape Cod and New Jersey. To be sure not all of these are eaten on Thanksgiving day, but a fairly large proportion of them are, and it is the almost universal use of the tart little berry on Thanksgiving that has led to the present wonderful extension of the busin The busine of raising cranberries is peculiar one in all its aspects. It requires 4 Special kind of ground, considerable capi tal and a vast deal of labor, and it is a sp cial trade, more or | regular in its rv , like all of its kind. It is the chic y of two secticns of this countr; arly all the cranberries used in ‘& and Europe are raised, and whi it has tsansformed from waste bog lands farming communitie: land on which cranberries will flour- is seldom fit for anything else. In the state in which it is usually found it re- quires about $300 per acre to make it fit, so that the transformation of a swamp into productive cranberry bog makes it a very valuable piece of property. The first re- quirement is a peat bottom. This is dressed by spreading over it a coating of seashore sand, into which the slips are stuck and left to grow at their own sweet will. In connection with the b« there should be n irrigating ditch or a reservoir, from which it can be flooded at any time. It re- quires several years to determine the worth of a marsh for producing cranberries, und the slowness of returns, together with the amount of capital required, have brought all the largest: marshes into the control of stock companies, How Cranberries Are Raised. It requires band labor throughout to raise cranberries. The chief expense, onc the crop is started, is in the picking, which is largely performed by women and chil- dren, who receive from one to one and a | half cents per quart for the work, and are able to earn from 75 cents to $1 per day A the season. The experienced picker iful of the wet garments. She lifting up the whole mass and rapid- tripping off the berries with a dexterous movement, acquired by much practice. The sight of a long line of men and women, half a hundred in a group, making their way on hands and knees field is picturesque in the extreme, an effect heightened by the tattered and variegated attire of the worke: As fast as the berr the picl are gathered by sured out by the and unless they are to go at once storage. This packing is done in w! called “chaff,” the moss and leaves picked up in the field, in box: slatted sides to allow a free circulation of the air. In this way the berry without de- caying, and will keep for a long time. When the berries are to be marketed they are screened. The screen is like an old-fashioned fanning mill and serves the Couble purpose of removing the chaif and sorting t berri Beneath the hopper into which the berries are poured are a number of steps leading down like a fligat of stairs, with openings between them. The chaft blown out at the side, and, as the berries fall from the hopper, they bound from one step to another until they reach the bottom, where they fall into receptacle: piaced there to receive them. The hardest berries will bound mere than the other: and run the whole course of the steps, fall- ing into the last box, while the softer ones drop through the nearer spaces, and in this way the berries are easily graded. The scfter cnes are shipped to the nearest markets for immediate sale, and the hard- est ong are sent abroad or to distant points, Cranberry Bricks. England takes thousands of barrels of American cranberries every year, and the west has become a great market for them on account of the scarcity of other small fruits. At present more cranberries are sold in Chicago than in New York or any other eastern city. Cranberries are not injured by freezing, and so it is an easy matter to ship them in cold weather. They are often sent as far as Manitoba in ordinary open box cars. When they arrive they are frozen into solid blocks-efdce. The sides of the cases are knocked off and the berries are expos2d in a solid mass,-like cakes of ice, except that they are much more beautiful from their rich red color. They. are chopped off exactly like ice, and the citizen of Winnipeg is so accustomed to buying his cranberries en bloc that he doesn’t mind in the least, though an easterner would probably object to taking them in that way, thinking, in his prejudiced mind, that the berries are spoiled. ——— Twenty-Six in One Family. From the Baltimore American. It is doubtful whether another county in the state ¢an equal Worcester in the size of a family. Near Bridgeville livés a col- cred family consisting of Aaron Quail, his wife, ad“twenty-four children. Twenty- three years ago Quail married Martha Ann Rogers, and twenty-four children were born. One child died. There were three sets of twins. Two years ago his wife died, and one year later Quail married again. One child is the result of that union. When the meals are served two :ables are used, fourteen sitting at one and.twelve at the other, to avoid the unlucky thirteen. cross the level | = SS ae What Thanksgiving Day Means to the Turkeys. —— ee A COUPLE OF MILLIONS NEEDED Figures That Show the Capacity of the American People. —— SUPPLYING THE MARKET Written for The Evening Star. F ONLY ONE FAM- ily in every half doz- en eats turkey next Thursday, over 2,000,- 000 turkeys will be required to go around. These tur- keys are sent flying north, east, south and west, to all parts of the United States, in refrigerator cars. & [Each of these cars +E will hold about 1,000 aT h.. birds if packed cic ly in barrels, so that at least 2,000 cars may be said now to be transporting turk: their destinations. If placed end to enc a line of these cars would be over twel miles long. Figuratively, therefore, a solid phalanx of turkey twelve mil long, five feet wide and six feet high is rus hing along in search of hungry holiday diners. N. as Many men as there are turk quired to handle this immense amount of poultry, and the cubic contents of the mass is very nearly a foot to each bird accurately, 1,900,800 feet. If piled togethe: in the same proportion, these turkeys make a column eight times as high as the Washington monument, and a pyramid made of them would look well beside the ancient piles of Egypt. They would prob- ably weigh upward of 15,000,000 pounds. To kill a few million turkeys and ship them a thousand miles to market is no light task, and the old-fashioned methods of handling and marketing have had to sive way to newer and more elaborate arrange- ments. The great majority of the turkeys con- sumed by the American people are picked up on the poultry farms by buyers who give their whole time to this work. are gathered at the nearest station shipped in carload lots to the poultry f. s to tory which the buyer represents. The use of the word factory in connection with poultry is apt to convey a peculiar but in this case it refers like structure, half open on the sides, which the birds are prepared for marke In a Turkey Factory. The birds are stored in a big shed from which a narrow passageway, just | enough to admit them in sing! | to the factory proper. among the birds keeps ing along this chute and prevents them from becoming wedged in by crowding. At the end of the passage, where it op the factory, stands a man who holds in hand a sharp knife that looks like a dimi utive ice pick. As each bird im: through it is seized by this man, w ly dispatches it by a single blow on the head. He throws the dead birds in a h. at his side, and thence they are away to the scalding room, where the placed in long tanks filled with hot water. Here is where the poulterer’s art come into play, for the water must be of just the proper temperature to give the dressed birds a neat appearance. If it is too hot the birds hav ish tinge, while u it is not up to the correct degree the quills come out with difficulty and give the body a “plucked” appe m1 From the scalding tanks the birds travel on to another room, wh ‘ft hands and plenty of cold running water thoroughly cleanse them. Next they are laid out on long blocks of ice until thoroughly cooled, when they are packed with ice in barre are covered with ordinary soon as weighed are re mily to a she in this is the ordinary pr ding, the turke which travel to quick markets are sometimes dry picked and do not p: through’ the Iding tanks at all. Unde this treatment they will keep longer, with- out icing, than when they have been } scalded. "rom the factory the dressed turkeys are hipped in refrigerator cars to their des- tination in the big cities. Some idea of the extent of the trade in dressed poultry may be gained from the statement that for the eight or ten weeks of the holiday season the receipts in New York city alone run as high as 30,000 per week. h case or barrel contains about 200 pounds, so that this means something like 6,000,000 pounds of poultry per wi - When one comes to multiply this by the number of big cities, he realizes how capacious is the American man for such delicacies as these. In Cold Storage. Though the receipts are fairly steady for several weeks before Thanksgiving, the great bulk of retail sales are crowded into the space of a few days. So the problem of storage must be solved. More than one- half of ihe poultry that comes to the big markets in October and early November travels at once to the great freezing and storage warehouscs. Here it is first placed in a freezing room, where the tem- perature is 12 or 15 degrees below zero, and where men in heavy overcoats and mittens handle it. When solidly frozen it is conveyed to the storage rooms, where, at a temperature of 10 to 15 degrees above zero and in cold air kept in circulation by a powerful blower, ft may be kept for a year, if need be; at any rate until the mar- ket calls for it. Then it emerges as fresh and sweet as though newly kilicd. There are probably 50,000,000 pounds of poultry in cold storage in the different cities of the country at the present time. Some of it has been there only a few days, some two or three months, but ff it has been properly cared for there will be no difference in quality when it is cleared out, as it nearly all will be within the next few weeks. It is an instructive sight to enter one of these mammoth refrigerators and to view the tons on tons of poultry pilea up there. The whole thing illustrates as stria- ingly as anything can the fact that modern ingenuity and modern appliances are equal to any conditions 1 the requirements of modern trade may impose. Poultry can be stored as easily as grain today, apd it is safe to predict that however great the de- mand there will be no turkey famine on November 23.