The Broad Ax

Booker T. Washington Is Spending Money Like a Drunken Lord In Order to Pose as the Infallible Leader of the Afro-American Race. Several weeks ago we printed an Associated Press notice of adverse criticism on Booker Washington's methods of education for the Negro by the white Presbyterians assembled at Philadelphia. At the meeting Rev. James A. Worden said: "I seriously question the methods of Booker T. Washington in educating the Negro. He is giving an exaggerated importance to industrial education and subordinating the education of spiritual and religious influence." Rev. M. C. Hindman said: "The reports show that the expense of educating the Negro in the south by combining religious and industrial training is less per capita than at Booker T. Washington's school where education is industrial only." loss of citizenship rights in the south and the increase of prejudice in the north without having even a truly beneficial school as compensation. As to the charge of subordinating suiritual influence that must be admitted. Dr. Washington's race doctrine has been essentially materialistic. How much religion or spirituality is there in his early dictum, "If there were 20 Negro millionaires in any southern city there would be no race problem there?" How much in his late one of solving the race problem by the Negro "carrying the balt?" Where does religion come in in his oft-repeated advice that when the Negro holds a mortgage on a white man's house he will get his rights? In one of his lectures on "moral philosophy" he told his pupils that they should get bank accounts "because it will increase their self-respect to have one?" Whether good the advice, is it spiritual? Is he not universally considered to preach to the Negro, forego everything and accumulate wealth as the first necessity, even leave politics alone and get money? Why this man even measures race leadership by it and requires a bank account of the Colored ministry. It was at last year's meeting of his Business league at Richmond that he said: "No longer will the minister who travels from place to place, without a home of his own, without a bank account, without financial credit be trusted by the race as a leader." Do the Presbyterians know that in this man's early campaign was the ridiculing the Negro ministers and that at Tuskegee a Negro minister was usually greeted by a derisive smile from the students? And at New York did he not even this week say: "The work of the hour is for you, gentlemen of the cloth, to get the material man in shape." Why, under Washington's doctrine the world had forgotten the Negro had any spiritual aspirations until they were shocked by the title "Souls of Black Folk." The lamented Mrs. Wm. Scott tried to tell the white clergy this two years ago. There is not much spirituality in the doctrine of the dollar, nor has it saving grace for a down-trodden race. Important as these two considerations are, there is great importance also to be attached to the second charge that the expense of educating the Negro in the south by combining religious and industrial training is less per capita than at Booker Washington's school where education is industrial only. If this is so then religious and spiritual training should at once be added at Tuskegee. For there is no doubt of the gerat inadequacy of the present facilities of education for the southern Negro. Every dollar given to Negro education should be applied directly to that purpose, and be made to go as far as possible. Furthermore the Negro race suffers such loss of respect by the collection of charity for education both by the methods of the Negro beggars and because those who give do not respect those who beg, that the race has a right to demand that the most economical methods be used. We are better able, however, to tell the Presbyterians of other reasons for the per capita expense at Tuskegee. It is the use of money by Mr. Washington to get support and endorsement for himself and his school from Negroes, especially in the north. The waste of money in this manner is simply heart-breaking and to witness it and be unable to effectually expose HEW TO THE LINE. [Image of a man in a suit with a bow tie]. The genial and painstaking deputy commissioner of public works of the City of Chicago, whose popularity makes him an available candidate fr recorder of Cook County in 1904. it is one of the most trying experiences of race-loving Colored men. We shall not dwell upon the pushing of suits against hostile organs with paid emissaries and expensive white lawyers, nor upon paying the traveling expenses of several secretaries, and of other benchmen over thousands of miles to Negro conventions where Mr. Washington desires a cordial reception or an endorsement, or of the paying the transportation of prominent Negroes to meetings of his Business league that he may appear to have the endorsement thereat of scholars and officeholders, nor of the offers of a round-trip ticket to Tuskegee of officers of political organizations to arrange there for the election of his benchmen to the presidency of the organization. We will not dwell too much on the well known subsidizing of Negro newspapers by Mr. Washington, the giving of advertisements of Tuskegee only to those papers which consistently refrain from ever disagreeing with any statement he makes nor upon the filling up with Tuskegee advertisements of certain papers whose editors are politicians and have printed criticisms of the "Wizard," but which suddenly cease and refuse to receive such matter "because Mr. Washington can be used." We might speak of how a petty office-holder in Washington who was said to be already on Mr. Washington's pay roll for editing a newspaper there suddenly had a position created for him at Tuskegee as "private secretary," just after he had grossly misrepresented in his paper a speaker who had arraigned Mr. Washington, who had then essayed to deliver a reply and defence of Mr. Washington on a public platform, who then made a scurrilous attack on Washington's opponents in another Negro newspaper, and who next after being called to secret conference with the "Wizard," at a depot in the capital city, had spoken from the floor in his favor at a public forum, where he was under discussion. It would be worth while in this connection to expose the employment of this man simply to send out to the Negro newspapers typewritten editorials praising the school and booming Mr. Washington as a great race leader and paying to have them inserted as editorials by these papers were it not for the fact that when the typewritten matter and proposals came to the editor of the Jersey City Appeal he exposed the attempt at subsidizing in an open letter. Until this "secretary" was elevated to a political office it was often possible to see the same identical editorial on Washington or his school in the same issue of newspapers printed thousands of miles apart. Our readers are familiar with the fact that we saw an engraver of the city making several cartoon plates last July for Mr. Washington from the original drawing borrowed by Mr. Washington's secretary from the Boston Traveler, and that a month later, after the memorable fight of July 30, these cartoons, which represented the Negro enemies of Washington as being envious and jealous, appeared simultaneously in the Tuskegee Student and Philadelphia Tribune, and in the Florida (Pensacola) Sentinel and Indianapolis Freeman. We have also called attention to the publication in the same issues with the cartoons of a letter, dated from Boston, signed by a fictitious name, giving a dishonest and scurrilous account of the Zion church affair, the latter being identical. We might enumerate the presence in New England of a Tuskegee agent giving stereopticon lectures on the school in the Colored churches free and much else. But we will speak of one thing more, which we have seen with our own eyes. This summer Mr. and Mrs. Washington spent more time than usual at their summer home in South Weymouth, Mass. The social sensation of the season has been their social 'entertaining. Nothing like it has ever been known here. A man who is paid a salary by this "Moses" as secretary of Tuskegee, has actually dragnetted Colored Boston, that is, those who can lay any pretensions at all to social standing, and showered them with invitations to visit the Washington villa. Visiting teachers were included and liberal offers made to all such who had positions in the northern mixed schools to teach at Tuskegee. This "secretary" took carloads of Colored people day after day to the Washington summer home free and each one was given a sumptuous dinner and begged to come again. Favored ones were asked to come and stay several weeks. One reason was to keep another secretary who was there from feeling lonesome. This free excursion, and free dinner business, all at Mr. Washington's expense, lasted for two months. In connection with it the Colored society people were flooded first with copies of the Tuskegee Student, and when they objected received letters saying "a white friend has donated money to send you 20 copies. There will be no charge to you." Not to mention the sending to hundreds of the Colored American which was stranded until Booker's Business League issue and those reviling the Zion church rioters. Now, we beg the pardon of our readers for the length of this editorial and we leave it to the Presbyterians—white—to compute the losses to Negro education by the white people giving all the money to Booker Washington because they like his views of "Negro know thy place." Problem—How many schools for Negroes could be run on the money Washington spends to boom himself, including the ocean voyage?—The Guardian, Boston, Mass. Favorable Word Said For Messra. Trotter and Martin—Booker T. Washington Aimed at Indirectly. The Negro Baptist Ministers' Conference of Boston and vicinity was held Monday evening in the St. Paul Baptist Church, Camden street, with the President, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Farris, in the chair. The meeting was attended by nearly all the Colored Baptist clergymen in the metropolitan district. Aside from the devotional part of the session the conference passed a set of resolutions, one of which directly indorses plank 10 of the Massachusetts Democratic platform. Another is favorable to Messrs. Trotter and Martin, who were recently sentenced for disturbing a public meeting addressed by Booker T. Washington, and still another is indirectly aimed at Dr. Washington. Although spirited addresses for and against the resolutions passing as a whole and particularly upon the ones referred to above, were made, they were passed, and copies were sent to the various newspapers in this city. The resolutions in brief reaffirm the belief of the organization in law and order, and that the violation of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments of the U. S. constitution is the greatest crime of the centuries. "Therefore," it is declared, "we hail with joy any party which inserts in its platform a declaration denouncing the repeal of the great war amendments, and says that it is in favor of equal rights both to the Negro and the Jew; that we thank any class of men who come to the rescue of law and to the enforcement of the three amendments." The last paragraph in the resolutions reads: "Be it furthermore resolved, that we regard all parties, almen, white or black, who believe that the 'Southern revised constitution' and education as enemies to the and eductalion as enemies to the Negro race, and we intend to fight such until every Negro in the United States shall have his rights under the constitution."—The Guardian Boston, Mass. It Was a Grand Success. The Silver Jubilee and Ball given at the First Regiment Armory, Thursday evening by the Triangle and Inner-Circle Clubs, for the benefit of the building fund of St. Thomas Church, was a grand success in every way. No less than five to seven hundred dollars was realized from the affair which will be turned over to the church. Judge Edward F. Dunne, and Rev. Lealted, furnished the oratory, and the words of advice and encouragement, which Judge Dunne imparted to those who warmly greeted him will be very beneficial to them, and the Judge is truly a friend to the Afro-American race. The singing by the choir, the cornet solo by Miss Irene Howard, was all that could be expected from the most fastidious. George M. Turner, was master of ceremonies and he performed his part to perfection. An error was made in the last issue of The Broad Ax as to the number of Irish songs and ballads in their original dialects and melodies contained in the new book gotten up by Francis O'Neill, Chicago's affable and honest Chief of Police, instead of it only containing six hundred songs and ballads as stated, the book contains one thousand eight hundred and fifty songs and ballads, in their original Irish dialects and melodies. It goes without saying that it is the most exhaustive work of its kind ever published in any section of the world. The Phyllis Wheatley Club held a very interesting meeting at the residence of Mrs. Jessie Johnson last Wednesday. Dr. Anna Cooper read a very instructive article on pure water and sanitary plumbing in the home. Mrs. Anna Dunmore read Prof. Du Bois' Training The Negro for Social Power in the Outlook. A lively discussion followed. Current topics led by Mrs. L. Neeley brought out some interesting clippings. The spicy little Chronicle bids fair to be one of the leading features of the club. A musical and Literary entertainment to be given Nov. 23, at the residence of Mrs. Lizzie Coates, 3329 State street, was arranged for. The next meting will be held at Mrs. Minnie Collins, 6223 Champlain avenue. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 2 p. m. Program under the auspices of the Domestic Science and Philanthropic sections. Mrs. M. Liss Lee and Mrs. Fannie Battle, Chairmen. At the close of the meeting a delicious lunch was served by the hostess. An enthusiastic meeting of the I. B. W. Club was held at the residence of Mrs. Julia McDowell, 4537 Champlain avenue, last Thursday. The program under the auspices of the art section was well filled by a most instructive paper on the great masters and their paintings followed by a discussion by the members. Thursday, Oct. 27, was "Hobby Day" at the Business Women's Club. The Presidents and members of other clubs responded in large numbers to the invitation, and it was amusing as well as entertaining to listen to the various "hobbies" ridden to death by the women present. Chocolate and wafers were served, and the women found that the shades of evening had fallen as they started homeward feeling that the afternoon had been well spent, and Mrs. Alberta Moore-Smith made a charming president and an ideal hostess. The women of Pennsylvania are preparing to organize a State Federation at Pittsburg, Nov. 9 and 10, just after the Quadrennial meteing of the A. M. E. Missionary Association. Mrs. Katherine Tillman and Mrs. L. A. Davis both expect to be present. Presbyterians Settle the As already noted in The Appeal, the Presbyterians have tackled the alleged 'race problem' and settled it in the only way that will be acceptable to the great majority of the Afro-American people. There are 15,000 Afro-American members in the Presbyterian church and by the action of the committee on territorial limits the Afro-American members will not be set apart as a separate denomination. At the committee meeting this much was developed: "1. No favor will be given to a separate church idea. "2. No recommendation will be adopted pushing the Afro-American out of the church. "3. No legislation discriminating against any race or color." The committee, which was composed of both Northern and Southern men, will make its report to the general assembly at Buffalo, N. Y., next May. The decision of the committee is the only one that true Christians could possibly make. There should be no color line in the church—nor anywhere else, for that matter. Any Caucasian who objects to the fellowship of his Afro-American brother is not a true follower of Christ—St. Paul Appeal. Last week the Most Worshipful St. John's Grand Lodge of A. F. and A. Masons of the State of Illinois, and Masonic Jurisdiction was lawfully and constitutionally organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois. William Gray of Chicago was elected Grand Master and John G. Jones was elected Grand Secretary. ```markdown ``` ```markdown ``` Will presupplate and at all times uphold the true principles of Democracy, but Catastrophe, Profession, Friens, Infidel, Paranoid, Single Taxes, Republics, Knights of Labor, or any one else can have their any, no long as their language is proper and responsibility is fixed. The Broad AX is a newspaper whose platform is broad enough for all, over claiming the editorial right to speak its own mind. Local communications will receive attention. Write only on one side of the paper. Subscriptions must be paid in advance. One Year.....$2.00 Six Months.....1.00 Advertising rates made known on application. Address all communications to THE BROAD AX 6040 Armour Avenue, Chicago. JULIUS F. TAYLOR, Editor and Publisher. Entered at the Post Office at Chicago Ill., as Second-class Matter. A Change for the Better. "Farewell, them," he cried, melodramatically, "you will regret your refusal of my proffered love. I shall take to drink, and then—suicide!" "Oh, don't say that!" the fair girl pleaded. "I am resolved," he said. "I shall not change my plans unless—" "Oh, change them just a little. I should hate to think I drove you to drink; try suicide first."—Philadelphia Ledger. First Tramp—Weary Willie stole an auto an' run over a man an' killed him! Second Tramp—Wot did dey do to Weary? First Tramp—Fined him ten dollars for killin' de man an' give him ten years for stealin' de auto.—Judge. A Hunting Expedition. Although he got no game at all, He felt quite lucky in the end. By no stray bullet did he fall, Nor did he shoot some trusting friend. —Washington Star. Mr. Farwest-There was a feller the board of trade last night with the durndest ideas anybody ever heard of. Wife-What was the meeting about? "To devise ways an' means to boom the town." "Well, what did the stranger propose?" "The foolishest thing! You'd never guess. He got up and said, says he: 'The best way to boom a town,' says he, 'is to make it fit to live in.'"—N. Y. Weekly. Recognised It. "This," smiled the fond young wife as she passed a plate of dessert to her husband, "is cottage pudding. I made it myself." The man tasted of it. "I'd known' it was cottage pudding," he asserted. "You would?" she asked, delighted. "Yes. I can taste the plaster and the wall paper. What did you do with the shingles and the bricks for the chimney?" —Judge. "I. O. U." Y is it some folks want to o If it b that you know them? They i u almost constantly If you should chance to o them. —Judge. The Size of It. Little Elmer.—Papa, what is executive ability? Prof. Broadhead—The faculty of earning your bread by the sweat of other people's brows, my son.—Puck. A Good Character. The Ladies—What sort of a person is Mrs. Newcome, Mr. Hopper? The General Dealer—She's a perfect lady—doesn't know one brand o' goods from another—Judge. Described. "What sort of a woman is she?" "Well, every time I see her I feel like congratulating the man whose proposal of marriage is rejected."—N. Y. Times. A Rewinnable Deduction. "If honesty is the best policy—" "Well?" "Why, then, most politicians ain't politic."—Chicago Post. · Different Opinions. "So young Robinson wants to marry you, eh? Such impudence!" "Why, papa! I think he shows very good tastes."—Chicago American. An Exception. Gladys—That Mrs. Talkmuch always gets in the last word. Elisie—Except when she's talking to another woman.—Brooklyn Life. Optical Illusion. A maid got a speck in her eye. And at once proceeded to creye: "Dear," said Jack, "I've no doubt I can kiss the thing oubt." "All right," sobbed the maid. "You may travel." —Chicago Tribune. "Have you ever noticed," inquired the thoughtful theorist, "that the rich man who says there's no happiness in wealth never seems to be disposed to change places with his poor neighbor?"—Brooklyn Eagle. Ahead of the Game. "Have you ever made anything on the races?" "Yes. I went out to the track one day with $10 that I intended to bet and didn't."—Chicago Record-Herald. Proved Again. Jack—The chump! He has sent her flowers. But I will have revenge. I'll send her candy. Tom—Ah, then, the revenge is sweet. —Chicago Daily News. All Where So. "What is a bride?" asked the teacher. "A bride," answered the boy, whose sister had been married a short time before, "is the whole thing to her wedding day."—Chicago Post. Since the Paris bar has been open to women, not a few members of the fair sex have taken advantage of the new privilege accorded to them to plead at the Palais de Justice, says an exchange. The pioneer in this direction was Mile. Chauvin, whose debut as "advocate" excited a great deal of attention, and whose presence in the cap and gown made a great sensation at the palais. Her debut, moreover, had the effect of setting the fashion among Parisiennes of wearing the white cavat of the French lawyers. Since Mile. Chauvin's debut in 1899 curiosity has died out to a great extent, and no bad effects of the law have been noticed. It is even possible that, if the good results could have been anticipated, the law would have passed the chambers by a unanimous vote, instead of by 319 to 174. As a rule, women lawyers have had men as their opponents at the bar, and one could imagine himself in a sort of judicial salon, if compliments and gallant speeches were the criterion. But the other day two women lawyers found themselves antagonists in a case. It was funny to see the embarrassment of the judges, for each lawyer did her best to captivate the bench. Unhappily the bench could not get out of the scrape by awarding the victory to both sides, so the chivalrous judges took refuge under a well-known formula and reserved their decision for a fortnight. SCOTLAND'S GREAT CANAL As was recently stated in a cable dispatch, the plans for the construction of a ship canal between the Firth of Forth, on the east of Scotland, across to the River Clyde, on the west, have been definitely arranged. The canal will cost $50,000,000, but powerful support is expected from the British government. One of the great engineering features of the scheme will be the carrying of the canal near the Loch Lomond end. Frequent passing places will be made. An indication of the saving in distance that would be effected by the canal, says an exchange, will be gained from the following figures: From the Clyde to ports on the east coast of Scotland, northeast of England, and northwest of Europe the distance saved would be from 529 miles to 238 miles. From the Firth of Forth to ports on the west coast of Scotland, northwest of England, Ireland, America and the Mediterranean the distance saved would be from 487 to 141 miles. From Tyne ports to the St. Lawrence river the distance saved would be 150 miles. From the west of Britain and northeast of Ireland to middle western ports of the continent the distance saved would be from 377 to 98 miles. RECORD-BREAKING RUN. Engineer Was Offered Fifty Dollars a Minute for Every Minute Gained Over the Schedule. There is a little story connected with the record-breaking run of the Lowe special over the Santa Fe, Chicago to Los Angeles, in less than 53 hours, which is not generally known. It is related that Mr. Lowe offered the engineer who hauled the train from San Bernardino to Los Angeles—on the home-stretch of 60 miles—the sum of $50 a minute for every minute gained over the schedule. Engineer Warboy turned the wheels at a 50-second clip for each mile to Pasadena, but had to slow down in the suburbs of Los Angeles. He pulled into La Grande station, Los Angeles, just 62 minutes after leaving San Bernardino, gaining nine minutes on the whirlwind schedule and thereby earning $450 extra pin money. The Santa Fe passenger department will soon publish a pamphlet giving full details of the swift flight of the Lowe special, which in several instances exceeded 90 miles an hour. An average of nearly 43 miles an hour was maintained, in the face of having to cross four high ranges of the Rockies, and with little previous selection of engines or crews. MENACE OF THE FOREST. Continent Will Dry Up if Present Destructive Processes Continue— The climatic history of the old world will repeat itself in America, says the National Magazine. If forest destruction, at its present rate of recklessness, should continue much longer, our continent will have to dry up. So will an orator who should venture to urge that fact upon a boodle legislature, in this era of lumber trusts. But the fact remains, and its significance may be inferred from the experience of the Mediterranean coast lands, where thousands of god gardens have been turned into Gehennas of wretchedness and desolation. By tree destruction alone a territory of 4,500,000 square miles has been withdrawn from the habitable area of our planet. The physical history of the eastern hemisphere is the history of a desert that originated somewhere near the cradle of the Caucasian race—in Bactria, perhaps, and, spreading westward and southward, has blighted the Edens of three continents like a devouring are and is now scorching the west coast of Africa and sending its warning sand clouds far out to seaward. The price of sugar in France has recently been reduced by less than half, and the consumption has been nearly doubled. Formerly sugar was a luxury which rarely reached the homes of many workingmen, but now its use is much more common. O, yes, Mr. Citizen, the boys connected with the papers mentioned know where Prof. Booker T. Washington is at. Before he left for France he gave it out to the white press that he and friend Hunt, of Indiana, would lead several millions of the Afro-Americans over to Africa, but when such strong race papers as the Guardian, the Bee, and The Broad Ax pitched into him he changed his mind. Then he returned to New York City and contradicted himself in his illogical or rambling speech. A Critical Moment. Secretary—All hope is lost. The governor will not sign your friend's pardon. There are 15 ahead of it. Citizen—But he is signing them rapid- y, and he appears to be in good humor. Secretary—Alas, his good humor won't last beyond the tenth or eleventh. I know the make of fountain pen he is using.—N. Y. Weekly. Ward Heeler—Do you hate the oppo- site party? Zealous Voter—Hate it! I hate it almost as badly as I do the other faction of my own party.—Baltimore American. Rather. "Do you believe in luck, Mr. Pimpleton?" "Don't make me smile! You see Mrs. Crushley over yonder?" "Do you mean that fat, red-faced, husky-voiced, vulgar, over-bearing woman in blue and yellow, drinking bottled stout at the refreshment bar?" "The same, sir. Well, 20 years ago I asked that woman to be my wife—and she refused! Do I believe in luck, indeed! Do I believe in daylight!"—Ally Sloper. In Pleasant Fields "Yes," mused the person who lets out an occasional audible thought, "he certainly makes hay while the sun shines." "What haymaker do you refer to?" asked his friend, who was afflicted with the rubber habit. "Why, the man who marries a grass widow," replied he of the clamorous thoughts.—Cincinnati Enquirer. Yes, Verily. The world is like an apple barrel, If you to think will stop; The biggest men and biggest fruit Are always found on top. Cincinnati Enquirer. "Before marriage," asserted the soft-spoken, epigrammatic lecturer, "woman is an ideal; after marriage she is a fact." At this point there was an interruption by Henry Penkecker, who had been compelled to attend the lecture in company with his intellectual wife. Mr. Penkecker, realizing that he was safe in a crowd, jumped to his feet and cried: "And facts are stubborn things!"— Judge. The All Powerful Hat. "Now, my dear," said the indulgent husband, "I have managed to save up enough money to justify us in building a new home. But, first, I am going to give you a choice between that and the new fall hat you so much desire." "Well," said the beautiful wife, "you know I can't wear the house on my head."—Millinery Trade Review. The One Meant. Cholly—I wonder if I have any show of winning Miss Roxie Uppisch? Miss Peppery—From a remark I heard her make I think you're her choice. Cholly—Ah! my gwacious! What did she say? Miss Pepprey—She said nobody was good enough to be her husband.—Philadelphia Press. What Would Happen. "What would happen to-day," said the thoughtful citizen, "if Diogenes were to go through one of our great cities with a lantern looking for an honest man?" "That's easy," answered the Chicago man. "Some one would steal his lantern before he had gone three blocks."—Washington Star. As the World Does. Mrs. Bender—John, you are too much of a rounder for a married man. Mr. Bender—Martha, didn't you say I was all the world to you? Mrs. Bender—Yes. Mr. Bender—Well, then, if I'm all the world you mustn't object to my going around.—Chicago Daily News. Pretty Near It. "Ah!" sighed Miss Antique, with a languishing glance in the direction of Mr. Oldboy, "if I had been born in the days of chivalry!" "Well," he said, as he scratched the bald spot on the top of his head, "you came pretty near it."—Tit-Bits. Justified. "Feminine figures lie, you know." "But yonder figure in dimity, surely it is no lie." "That must be what is called a white lie."—Detroit Free Press. Ever Notice It? Love is blind, so we are told, Yet we know 'tis true Love can see on one small chair Sufficient room for two. —Cincinnati Enquirer. THE LAW LAID DOWN. Notice of dishonor of a promissory note is held in Oakley va. Carr (Neb.), 60 L. R. A. 431, to be sufficient if sent to the last indorser by the first mall of the day following dishonor, even though such indorser is an agent for collection merely. Since the national bankruptcy law contains no provisions for involuntary proceedings against persons engaged chiefly in the tillage of the soil. it is held, in Old Town bank vs. McCormick (Md.), 60 L. R. A. 577, that it does not supersede the provision of the state law authorizing such proceedings. The mere separation of jurors impaneled to try a capital case from their fellows without the attendance of an officer, although an irregularity, is held, in Gamble vs. State (Fla.), 60 L. R. A. 547, not to be a sufficient cause for setting aside the verdict if the court is satisfied that the prisoner has not sustained any injury from such separation. The attempt of a street railway company to operate its cars during a strike of its employees is held, in Fewings vs. Mendenhall (Minn.), 60 L. R. A. 601, not to be negligence so as to make it liable for an injury to a passenger struck by a stone thrown from the street into a car by a strike sympathizer in no way under the control or direction of the company. The right to the custody and to decide upon the place of burial of the body of a deceased unmarried person is held, in McEntee vs. Bonacum (Neb.), 60 L. R. A. 440, to reside ordinarily in his next of kin; and it is held that the courts will not treat this right as having been waived or relinquished except upon clear and satisfactory evidence of conduct indicative of a free and voluntary intent and purpose to that end. BREVITIES OF SCIENCE It is reported that a hot spring has been struck in the workings of the Simplon tunnel, and the increased heat is unbearable. About two miles remains to be bored. A small specimen of radium was recently put on exhibition at the American Museum of Natural history, and has attracted wide attention. The specimen weighs about two grains, and was shown in the gem room on the fourth floor of the building. The two grains cost about $300. Dr. Frank Snow, with a small party of Kansas university students, has been bug-catching in southwest Arizona. They brought back 15,000 specimens, all pinned and labeled, of which some 100 are new to science. Of these 5,430 are bettles, 4,500 are flies, 1,926 are butterflies and moths, and the rest run the list of bees, wasps, bugs and insects. The butterflies and moths were collected at night by spreading on a tree near the camp a mixture of beer and molasses. Henri Moissan has succeeded in reducing tantalum acid in the electric furnace with powdered carbon and has obtained tantalum in a fused state. Hitherto the metal had been known only as a more or less pure powder with a density of 10.50. The electrical product has a brilliant metallic appearance, and a density of 12.79. It is very hard, easily scratching glass and quartz, has a crystalline fracture, and is unfusible in the oxyhydrogen blowpipe. Certain reactions class it with the metalloids rather than with the metals proper. ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS. Eucalyptus gum is the agent in a new quick-tanning process, said to be a great success, in Victoria, Australia. It increases the rapidity of the work by 40 per cent. A Pittsburg man whose old home had to be moved to make way for a railroad line, has undertaken the unusual task of raising the house bodily to the top of a steep hill, 150 high. Three summer homes for working girls are conducted by Miss Emily M. Morgan, the author and philanthropist. Two of these are in Connecticut; the third, at Blandford, Mass., in an old farmhouse, which accommodates 20 young women, the charges being but two dollars a week. A cowboy for 12 years, head of a big rice plantation for three years, and at the age of 30 elected president of a railway corporation representing a capital of $8,000,000 and 200 miles of track, is the record of Ross L. Clark, recently elected president of the Rice Belt Railway company, of Texas, giving him the distinguished honor of being the youngest chief executive of a railway in the United States. Though but 30 years of age, and starting with but few advantages, Clark has forged to the front until he now represents a rice growing company with 5,000 acres under cultivation. ALL SORTS. Japan's army in time of peace includes 8,135 officers and 84,241 privates. A notable result of the recent census of church attendance in London is the discovery that prayer meetings, which were once regarded as the vital breath of the life of the church, have almost ceased to exist. There are three waters in the state of Indiana which actually impart magnetic powers to needles, knife blades and the like. Any considerable quantity of one of these waters will deflect the needle of the compass. But 8.3 per cent. of the German born males in the United States have failed to become naturalized, while 13 per cent. of the English, 35 per cent. of the Russians, 53 per cent. of the Italians, and 80 per cent. of the Japanese are still aliens. In the opinion of the editor of a paper printed in British India, "American womanhood is admittedly the finest, the best, physically and intellectually, of all the womanhood of the world. An ideal American woman is the ideal of the world's womanhood." JOHN A. ORB, President. WILLIAM LEGNER, Vice Pres. & Treas. WEST SIDE BREWERY COMPANY, CHICAGO, U. S. A. CORNER AUGUSTA AND PAULINA STREETS. Monroe 1567—TELEPHONES—Monroe 1573. It’s the Only Place JUST LOOK WHAT YOU CAN FIND AT THE AFRO-AMERICAN NEWS STORE 8104 State Street WISDOM COMES BY READING Here all the best and leading weekly journals and magazines from all parts of the U. S. can be found every week including all other standard monthly, weekly and daily publications. A Full Line of Stationery, Gigars and Tobacco Papers sent by mail to any part of the country. Give us a call and see for yourself if we haven’t what you want. Leave your order and we will get it for you. Remember the name and place. AFRO-AMERICAN NEWS STORE 8104 State Street E. H. FAULKNER, Manager Jas. J. McCormick, SAMPLE ROOM IMPORTED AND DOMESTIC WINES, LIQUORS AND CIGARS 9462 SOUTH HALSTED STREET. "Do you set yourself up as an infallible weather prophet?" some one asked. "Certainly, not," he replied. "Yet you speak confidently of what the weather will be four or five days from now." "Oh, well, there are some signs that never fail, and my wife has planned a garden party for that evening."—Chicago Post. Dramatist-The company is small, and that is the only way I can work in all the characters.-N. Y. Weekly. Mrs. Styles—No; she doesn't even answer the bell half the time.—Yonkers Statesman. Stays There. Stella—Did he get down on his knees when he proposed? Bella—Yes; but papa won't set him on his feet.—Puck. Genuine Envy. "Why, Johnnie, what's the matter?" "Boohoo! Willie Simpkins has more warts than me."—Chicago American. From on and after this date The Broad Ax can be found on sale at the following places: The Afro-American News Office, 3104 State Street. The Gem Shoe Shining Parlor, 336 30th, near State street. A. F. Tervalon's Cigar Store and News Stand, 2826 State street. Edward Felix's Cigar Store, 398 30th street, N. E. Corner Armour Ave. T. B. Hall's Cigar Store and Laundry office, 281 29th St. Turner William's Cigar and News Stand, 2903 Armour Ave. M. H. Watts, dealer in cigars and tobacco, 3742 State street. Wm. H. Monroe, cigar and newsstand, 486 State street. Official figures put the present population of Norway at 2,263,010. In England and Wales from 16 to 17 per cent. of the women do not marry. In London the percentage is 20. Fifty years ago the population of England and Wales was divided equally between city and country; now 77 per cent. of it is urban. In Russia 2,810 men in every million are annually called into the army; in Germany 4,120; in France, 5,620. To get so large a number of Frenchmen weaklings have to be taken. This makes the mortality in the French army $8 \frac{1}{2}$ times that of the German army. JOHN A ORB, President. Whiteley Bros., 2724 State street, cigars, and news stand. J. New 181 W, 51st street, cigars, tobacco and confectionaries. C. E. Hunter, 4503 Wentworth ave., cigars, tobacco, news stand. T. J. Hill, cigars and stationery store., 5220 Lake Ave. Wm. Dixon 2638 State Street cigars, tobacco, and news stand. Isidor Jacobson, cigars, togacco and stationery, 3149 State St. Wm. Goetz, News Stand and Laundry Office, 411 E. 36th st. News items and advertisements left at these places will find their way into the columns of The Broad Ax. The Souls of Black Folk By W. E. B. DuBois A REMARKABLE BOOK that is provoking much discussion because of the wonderful eloquence with which the author pleads for right and justice to his people. In these days of increasing agitation over the "negro problem" this passionate human document can neither be overlooked nor ignored. Aside from its remarkable presentation of facts it holds the reader—prejudiced or not—by its fascination of style and overpowering pathos. Some of the Chapter Headings follow: OF OUR SPIRITUAL STRIVINGS. OF THE DAWN OF FREEDOM. OF MR. WASHINGTON AND OTHERS. OF THE MEANING OF PROGRESS. OF THE TRAINING OF BLACK MEN. OF THE BLACK BELT. OF THE SONS OF MASTER AND MAN. OF THE FAITH OF THE FATHERS. OF THE PASSING OF THE FIRST-BORN. OF ALEXANDER CRUMMELL. OF THE COMING OF JOHN. OF THE SORROW SONGS. 3d Edition $1.20 net Published by A.C, McClurg & Co.,Chicago Not Lamblike. "I understand that your husband was one of the lambs in Wall street," said the woman who likes to talk things over. "Whoever said that doesn't know anything about Charley's disposition," said young Mrs. Torkins. "He was more like a raging lion than a lamb."—Washington Star. After the Summer Campaign. Jones—Where do you go from Newport, Miss Strang? Miss Strang—Papa hasn't decided whether to send me to a hospital or a sanitarium.—Town Topics. WILLIAM LEGNER, Vice Pres. & Treas. M "Charley never thinks of playing the races any more," said young Mrs. Torkins. "I'm glad to hear," said the friend. "How did you persuade him to quit?" "I didn't persuade him at all. I accepted it in a spirit of patient resignation and told him that if he sat any more I was going to do the cooking myself."—Washington Star. The Sark. The shark enjoys man's respect, And doesn't wish to claim it—yet It may be said for him that he Flaunts no pretentious plety In grabbing all that he can get.—Chicago Record Herald. Perfectly delightful. "Do you," said he learned counsel, "swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and—" "Oh, how lovely!' the fair witness interrupted; 'shall I really be allowed to talk all the afternoon if I want to?'—Tit-Bits. Two of Them. "You talk," said the tiresome optimist, "as if you thought the world wasn't good enough for you." "No," replied the espressing president, "I merely try to avoid acting as if I owned the earth—Chicago Record-Herald. "I'm going to tell him what I think of him," said the angry man. "What do you think of it?" "I think," was the reply, "that he must be a smaller man than you are or else you think pretty well of him."—Chicago Post. A Test of Strength. "Say, pa," queried little Johnny Bumperickle, "was Samson the strongest man that ever lived? "I don't know, my son," replied the old man. "I never heard of his trying to lift a mortgage."—Cincinnati Enquirer. In the Corner Grocery. "Mamma told me to buy some breakfast food, but I can't remember the name of it." "That's all right. I'll send up something and she can call it anything she likes."—Chicago American. Two of a Kind. She—Who is that man you just bowed to? He—Oh, he's an artist. She—And who is the one with him? He—He hasn't any money either.—Journal Amusant. One Indication. "Do you know whether that stranger who is going to settle down in this block has a large family or not?" "I am quite sure he has. He has rented the smallest house in the neighborhood." Chicago Tribune. In the Near Future. "And is it true that your ancestors were once poor?" "Yes, comparatively," Frankly replied the young quadmillionaire. "My great grandfather was merely a millionaire." Philadelphia Press. Rather Unusual. She—Have you noticed that young Shortleigh is paying a good deal of attention to Miss Gotrox? He—Yes; and it's the first time I ever knew him to pay anything.—Cincinnati Enquirer. Indirectly. Nockem—I suppose you find it necessary to mind the baby occasionally? Peckham—Y—yes; that is, I find it necessary to mind my wife when she tells me to mind the baby.—Cincinnati Enquirer. Those Dear Girls. Phyllis—I want you to know that I don't stand on teller. Elvira (glancing at her feet)—No, dear; I see you don't.—Cinclunnall Enquirer. Annie Russell has a salary of $500 a week and a small share in the profits. Ethel Barrymore, who during her later years as a star acted for Mr. Frohman for only $80 a week, now has a salary of $300 and a small percentage. Robert Hilliard earns so much more in vaudeville than in the regular theaters that he plays in it most of the year. His regular salary in dramatic productions is $200, but he is not often engaged in this kind of work. Maude Adams has probably never cleared less than $50,000 a year since her first season in "The Little Minister." By her contract with Charles Frohman she gets a fixed salary of $500 a week and about 50 per cent. of the profits. And any other manager would be glad to take the contract off Mr. Frohman's hands. Mrs. Carter gets from David Belasco $1,400 a week and a share of the profits —naturally no large share, as her manager takes on himself the financial burden of the performances in which she appears. The Carter plays have been so successful during the past four seasons that even a small share of the profits represents a large weekly income. Lawrence d'Orsay, who is the star of "The Earl of Pawtucket" if ever an actor was star of a play, had the usual experience of being a full-fledged star of the most popular play in New York at a salary of $75 a week. He was receiving that salary from Charles Frohman when Kirke La Shelle borrowed him for the part of the earl. Miss Tyree was getting $250 a week, and D'Orsay, who was the star, got $75 until the close of the season. Now, of course, he has an equable contract by whelch he gets $250 a week and a share. Viola Allen, when she became a star with the Liebler company, was not looked upon by other managers as an especially promising proposition. She had a larger degree of confidence in herself than the managers had in her, for by her contract with the Lieblers she arranged for a salary of only $100 a week, but she got a very large percentage of the profits. Every play she appeared in was a success, and out of "The Christian" alone she earned more than $150,000. "In the Palace of the King," "The Eternal City" and "The Hunchback" were all immensely profitable for her. CAMPUS AND CLASSROOM. Iowa Wesleyan college is now free from debt. Rev. Dr. R. B. Miller, of Boston, has accepted the chair of Biblical literature in the Red River Valley university North Dakota. Prof. V. K. Chestnut has been selected for the chair of chemistry in the Montana agricultural college at Bozeman to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. F. W. Traphagen. Postmaster Arthur, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., has sent four wagonloads of mail for the girls at Bryn Mawr college. It was second and third class matter that had arrived at Bryn Mawr during the summer, when the college was closed. The first Boer student who ever entered Cornell university, and one of the first delegation sent to this country from the universities of South Africa, has taken up graduate work at the Ithaca institution. His name is Leopold Reinecke and he halls from Wellington, Cape Colony. He is of Dutch descent, with a slight admixture of German blood, and has spent all his life so far in South Africa. Until this year no student from that region has ever entered an American university. DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS. A French physician has been successful with a much larger percentage of vaccinations on the leg than on the arm. The Louisiana leper colony will be moved from Indian Camp, which is 80 miles above New Orleans, to a point near that city. In the London Lancet Dr. Atkinson, of Hong-Kong, gives an account of six cases of bubonic plague treated successfully by large doses of carbolic acid given internally. Dr. Belisario Sasa, a prominent surgeon of Lima, Peru, has started for New York to study the latest advances in medicine and surgery and then report his observations. M. Sotiriades, the archaeologist, who is excavating in the old province of Aetolia, Greece, has discovered some tombs containing various artistic objects, gold and silver coins and rings, as well as mythological figures. It is recalled since Sir Michael Herbert's death that his eldest brother, the late earl of Pembroke, also died of consumption, having traveled for years in all parts of the world in his steam yacht in the endeavor to escape it. PIGSKIN PARAGRAPHS The college boy is thinking more of pigskin than sheepskin these days. Washington Post. The football field of the Chicago university and the hospital adjoin. No remarks. Cincinnati Times-Star. There is a certain fitness in the contemporaneous appearance of the football soiflure and the chrysanthemum.—Des Moines Register. The University of Michigan has 22 college presidents among its alumni, and, what is more interesting in this antumnal weather, 11 football coaches.—Detroit Journal. The opponents of football as a part of the college course never seem to consider the fact that the football player would probably never be valedictorian, anyway.—Boston Herald. MIRACLE OF CONSTRUCTION. Oroya Railroad in Fern Cost $311,594 For Mile—Obstacles That Had to Be Overcome. The two Americans who constructed the Oroyo road, Messara, Metggs and Thorndike, were considered nearly crazy when they proposed it, says the World's Work. It was necessary to carry the roadened for miles through galleries cut in the solid face of the rock, and the workmen engaged in cutting the galleries were in many cases lowered in cages from the cliffs above. More than 80 tunnels had to be cut in the course of construction, one the famous Galera tunnel, one and one-half miles in length, the highest engineering project of its kind on earth. It is on this road that the signal achievement of constructing a lofty steel bridge connecting two tunnels was accomplished. In building this bridge, which spans a crevice 575 feet wide and hundreds of feet deep, it was necessary to lower all material from the top of the cliffs by wire cables. The whole stupendous task was made possible only by the liberal use of the "V switch" or "switchback." In one instance of the Peruvian railroad it was found necessary to construct a switchback in the side of the mountain, the train heading in on the lower level and backing out through an upper tunnel almost exactly above. The cost of the Oroya railroad, when completed, was $43,000,000, or $311,594 a mile, making it one of the most costly roads in the world. PUZZLES THE WISEST MEN. Why the Intestines Do Not Digest Themselves Is a Problem—Conclusions of One Scientist. The digestive tube is filled with ferments capable of attacking, of destroying and of transforming the food with which they come in contact, but these ferments attack neither the walls of the intestines nor the parasites which often live in abundance on these walls, says Public Opinion. What causes this condition? The question has often been discussed and now the researches of M. E. Weinland on the tryptic ferment again bring the matter forward. In 1891 Frenzel stated that he believed the protection enjoyed by the intestines was due to the antiferments which are secreted by the living tissues. An experiment of M. Weinland along this line is very interesting. A mixture was made of fibrine and of trypsine or of pepsin and the whole was placed to digest after a little juice of ascaris was added. No digestion occurred. The experiment may be prolonged indefinitely, but the ferment does not attack the fibrine when the anti-ferment is present. Thus it is not the living tissues which resist digestion, but the juices which impregnate them and which they secrete. "Stagnant indoor heat is more oppressive than outdoor heat," writes Dr. F. L. Oswald, in the Home Science Magazine. "Indoor warmth, intensified by stove fires, often approaches the horrors of the Calcutta black hole, or the swelter den of Dante's 'Inferno'; and to that combination of discomforts civilized men doom their sisters and mothers. In mildsummer the sunstroke wards of New England hospitals are crowded with male patients, who often have worked only on the shady side of the streets, and with a still larger number of women, who cannot plead guilty to outdoor imprudence of any kind. They have been overcome by the heat, and in nine out of ten cases by the afternoon heat of ill ventilated kitchens and washrooms, dining-rooms and nurseries, by vitiated air cooperating with the exhausting effects of a high temperature, at a time when the resisting ability of the system was impaired by the exigencies of digestion. In other words, sunstrokes and all their premonitory symptoms are the effects of hard after-dinner work in warm weather." NO MORE BLACK DIAMONDS. Supply Still Exists, But Electrically Manufactured Article Has Entirely Replaced Them. The trade in carbonado, or Brazilian black diamonds, which, so late as five years ago, was worth nearly $4,000,000 a year, is at present practically dead. These stones, first discovered in 1843, are a kind of black, opaque and imperfectly crystallized diamond, found only in Brazil. They are less dense than the white diamond, but actually harder, and were found of immense value for mounting in the steel crowns of rock-boring drills. It was the electric furnace, worked by the tremendous water power of Niagara, which put an end to the carbonado trade, says Stray Stories. A mixture of sand, coke, sawdust and salt melted together in this amazing heat resulted in the formation of masses of beautiful crystals, ranging from blood-red to pale-blue. These have been named carborundum. They are almost as hard as the diamond, and indestructible in acids to which the diamond yields. They cost less than a quarter of carbonado, and so have displaced it. Little Platinum Left. The $2,162,207 worth of platinum extracted in the Gorotlagodatski district of Russia last year is practically the world's supply of that metal. Curious Item in War Budget. According to an official report, the British war office spent last year $115 on powder puffs. The correct way to pronounce the name of Masterlinck, the Belgian author and dramatist, is Mahterlinck. Rabbi Glazier, of Des Moines, Ia., whose synagogue is the oldest west of Chicago, is compiling a history of the Jews in Iowa. A firm has been engaged to compile and print the old English records referring to the history of the city of New York under British rule. The cost will be $4,611. Italy is soon to celebrate at Asti and Florence the centenary of a great tragic poet, Alfieri. He is buried at Florence. Alfieri narrowly escaped being guillotined in Paris during the revolution. John Morley has just completed his life of Gladstone and gone to Scotland for a rest. Mr. Morley was on intimate terms, personally and politically, with the great commoner for many years and is regarded as the fittest man in England to write a biography of the deceased statesman. Dr. George Wyld, in his "Notes of My Life," gives a charming sketch of Prof. Blackie, of whom he writes that mentally his popularity was due to his affectionate, loving and perfectly truthful nature, his free and outspoken, but never bitter, speech, and his habit of frequently bursting into song, a custom somewhat alarming on occasions. Dickens' old publishers, Mesors. Chapman & Hall, have lately got out a curious edition of "Barnaby Rudge." The volumes are bound in old oak, which formed the door at Newgate attacked by the Gordon rioters. When the prison was demolished recently, this door was purchased by a lover of Dickens, who remembered that the story of the attack upon it it had been told in "Barnaby Rudge." When the project of erecting a monument to the poet Shelley in Italy was discussed, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Edmund De Amicis and other prominent Italian men of letters gave their approval. None of them, however, attended the unveiling of the monument at Viareggio on September 15. The speeches were of a political rather than a literary character. Eighty-one years have elapsed since Shelley was drowned at Viareggio. MEN KNOWN ABROAD. In trying to obtain an interview on South African matters with Lord Milner, a Viennese journalist only got the following sentence: "For six years and a half I have worked like a slave." Menotti Garibaldi, who dled the other day, resembled his illustrious father in everything—in physiognomy, build and constitution. He had also the same moral attributes, the same simplicity, frugality, modesty and love for the most humble poor. In his family he was all peace and work. Prof. Koch, of Heidelberg, is the only instructor at any German university who lectures on journalism. He has for several years delivered lectures on this subject at that university, and has now been invited to repeat his course on the "History, Nature and Significance of Public Opinion, the Press and Journalism in Germany," at Cologne. Paul Loubet, son of the French president, lives in the Elysee, where he acts as private secretary to his father. He is rarely heard of, being a quiet, retiring, though tactful man, with no particular fondness for public life. His admiration for his sturdy father amounts almost to worship and when, in the troubled Dreyfus days, President Loubet was hooted and insulted by the nationalists, it was the son who was the more indignant. NATURAL HISTORY NOTES A wild elephant has a keen sense of smell. At a distance of 1,000 yards it can scent an enemy. The condor keeps its young longer in the nest than any other bird. Fully 12 months elapse before the young condors can fly. Spiders always come out of their holes shortly before rain, being advised by their instinct that insects then fly low and are easily taken. It is a curious fact that the wildest members of the animal kingdom generally make the tamest pets, and vice versa. The curlew, for instance, is one of the wildest of birds, but in captivity few creatures are tamer. The sparrow, on the other hand, is an exceedingly difficult bird to tame. A second specimen of the African quadruped known as the okapi, discovered by Sir William Johnston, has been secured by Mr. Walter Rothschild for his extensive zoological museum at Tring, England. A special expedition was organized in Central Africa to secure a specimen from Congo Forest, dead or alive. That which has been received by Mr. Rothschild is the skin and skull of an adult okapi. SOME BOYS Take on absurd airs if a woman treats them as men. Regard early rising as one of the greatest trials of life. Talk to girls in a manner that indicates want of respect. Boast about what they do in a way that indicates fabrication. Assume the ways of their superiors without regard to conditions. Rarely give their family the pleasure of their presence in the evening. Make so much noise that their absence would be considered a favor. Operate on the theory that no one else has rights which they are compelled to respect. Go to their daily business place as though they were the victims of a conspiracy. Show a sad lack of tact in dealing with those who are above them in position.—Philadelphia Bulletin. "THE FATHER OF THE BANJO." The man who made the banjo popular and who lived to see it decline in favor died the other day in New York city. He was Frank B. Converse, and he was known as "the father of the banjo," says the New York Sun. Mr. Converse was born at Westfield, Mass., in 1837. He came of a musical family. His brother, Charles Converse, has written many hymn tunes and anthems. The family moved to Elmira when Mr. Converse was a boy, and there he was educated. At 16 he left his home to become a musician. He drifted into a minstrel company, traveled over the country and appeared later in London with Pony Moore and the Christy company. It was as a performer on the banjo that Mr. Converse was known principally, and he composed for the instrument and wrote for it. He continued to teach the instrument after he retired from the stage a quarter of a century ago, and most of the noted old-time players were his pupils. The banjo was a very simple contrivance when he began to use it in his minstrel turns, and he did much to develop it into what it is to-day. Mr. Converse's widow is Harriet Maxwell Converse, the author, lecturer and authority on Indian lore. The decline of the banjo followed soon after the public interest in minstrel performances began to decrease. It is rarely heard on the stage now, even in vaudeville performances, and even the college clubs have lost their old enthusiasm for it. Now it is not even used to tie ribbons on. WOMEN GOOD WORKERS. Many Drive Wagons Over Lonely Rural Mail Routes-Hold Other Positions in Postal Service. The largest number of women employs in any line of work are employed in the United States postal service. Some of the highest salaried women in the world are employed thus. More than one-third of them are past middle age, and many are past 70 years, says the Chicago Tribune. Many of the women are mail wagon drivers, having long and lonesome trips in uninhabited parts of the country. In great numbers they are employed in the rural free delivery. Nearly all the experts in the dead letter office are women. They have to perform tasks which to the average person would seem impossible. It is their duty to take charge of the 6,000 pieces of mail which go astray every year, and they must see that these waifs get to their proper destinations, if possible, and if not they are returned to the senders. Many of the rural post offices are filled by women. The reasons why a large number of these rural post offices are intrusted to women are not hard to find. The work is usually light and is such as can be handled by a woman. It is the general opinion that women in such positions have given the best work to the department. GREATEST CHEESE MARKET. Alkmaar, Holland, Holds World's Record in Quantity of Cheese Shipped to Other Points. Alkmaar is not only the greatest cheese market of Holland, but also of the world, says What to Eat. From this town yearly 10,000,000 pounds of cheese are sent out, yet the visitor, even on market Friday, finds no amount of business commensurate with these figures going on in the quiet town of 10,000 inhabitants. The reason is that the cheese is made in the dairies in the country round about Alkmaar, and only brought into town to be shipped away. On market day the peasants from the surrounding country begin to flock into town very early, bringing with them loads of red and yellow balls of cheese. The high, clumsy carts with long curving tongues, on one side of which the horse is hitched, are quite as picturesque as the peasants themselves in gala attire. After unhitching and caring for their horses, unloading the cheese and piling it in an orderly pile in the open square, they wander about visiting with their neighbors, while they wait their turn in the weigh house. Southern Ports Are Gaining. Compared with 1901, the exports from North Atlantic ports have decreased heavily. Boston lost $55,000,-000; New York, $24,000,000; Philadelphia, $6,000,000; Baltimore, $25,000,000; Newport News, $7,000,000, and at Norfolk the loss was nearly $2,000,000. All ports further south gained. The increase at Washington, N. C., was $2,000,000; at Savannah, $8,000,000, and Galveston, $8,000,000. Exports across the Mexican border have increased $5,-000,000; from Pacific ports, $10,000,000, and from the northern border and lake ports the increase has been $18,000,000. In imports, however, the Atlantic board is increasing its commanding lead. In the year 1903, out of the total imports into the United States of $1,-025,000,000, 80 per cent. came in through the Atlantic ports. The ax had its beginning in a pounding implement of rough stone. It gradually developed into a tool with an edge for hacking and a pole for pounding. Its efficiency was finally increased by the addition of a handle. It has remained a combined pounding and cutting implement up to the time of the manufacture of the double-bitted steel ax. We Live Longe Now. In the years 1654 to 1890 the average life of Englishmen increased about four years. Singular and Unexpected Method of A young New York fisherman who went into northern New Hampshire to try his luck early last summer ran across a new way of enforcing game laws. The New Hampshire statutes make it an offense to have in one's possession a trout under six inches in length, but the New Yorker didn't know this, says the Sun. He was returning by train from a good day's sport, when the conductor, after taking up his ticket, strolled back and started a conversation. He asked the fisherman what luck he'd had, and finally asked to see the catch. The conductor looked long and carefully at the fish. Finally he said: "Young man, I'm a game warden of this state, 'n' some o' them fish are under size. I'll have to measure them." And measure them he did, finding that five were under length. It cost the youngster $25 and costs to settle the bill with the state, and a part of that sum went to the game warden conductor. The fisherman didn't know the trick of the native, who, when he hauls out a trout that's under length, cuts off the tail and defies the warden to tell how long it was when caught. NOVEL MILITARY RIDE. Condition of the Horses to Count Sir Evelyn Wood has invented a military ride under new conditions, which are to be tested over Salisbury plain, reports Country Life. The conditions are 25 miles of distance to be covered, the riders steering by compass, and horses to be brought in in such good condition as to show no spur marks and be able to eat a feed of corn within half an hour of coming to the winning post. Among the most important of the minor conditions attached to this ride is that which provides that the horse ridden shall have been the property of his rider for at least a fortnight, or if he be a government horse shall have been ridden regularly by the man who mounts him in the competition for a previous fortnight. In order to give competitors no advantage from local knowledge, the ride is to be over a course that will be indicated to the riders by the markers posted at different places along its devious line, and each marker will indicate to the rider only so much of the course as will suffice to take him to the next of these living signal posts. THE POWER OF RADIUM. An Ounce Would Drive a 50-Horse Power Motor Car Around the World. The consular reports published by the department of commerce quotes from the Angio-Indian Review, "and interesting and illuminating account" of the possible future applications of radium. The report says: "The area where success is practically assured is at present not very large, but in the medical field it is already fairly extensive. In the working of X-rays and in the marvelous results achieved in the treatment of cancer and blindness we have every hope for great and universally benefiting results. In its industrial application we are somewhat restricted by the extremely limited supply of radium available, but it is stated that a small fraction of an ounce, properly employed, would probably provide a good light sufficient for several rooms and would not require renewal during the present century. It has been calculated that the energy stored up in one gram of radium is sufficient to raise 500 tons weight a mile high. An ounce would, therefore, suffice to drive a 50 horse-power motor car at the rate of 30 miles an hour around the world." COSTLIEST OF ALL KNIVES. Piece of Cutlery Made in Sheffield England, Said to Be Worth $4,500. The most valuable knife in the world is to be seen in the collection of a famous firm of cutlers in Sheffield, reports London Answers. It is large enough to fit the pocket of none but a giant and contains 75 blades, which can close up like those of an ordinary knife. Each of the larger blades is elaborately engraved and among the subjects of these strange pictures are views of Sheffield college, the city of York, Windsor castle, Arundel castle and a score of other famous scenes. The hafts are of mother-of-pearl, carved with great skill. On one side the artist has depicted a stag hunt and on the other a boar hunt. When asked as to the value of this knife, the firm replied: "Well, we calculated it up to £920, but that was before it was finished, and then we ceased to estimate what it had cost." Pearls of great value have been discovered recently in Elk creek, near Muskogee. There is much reason to believe that pearl fisheries similar to those which have been developed in Arkansas will be found extensively in Indian territory. In many of the streams of the territory are immense beds of mussels, which authorities say are of the pearl-bearing variety. Lessons to Italian Fishermen. Swiss and Italian fishermen on the shores of Lake Lugano have suffered serious losses owing to a disease which has already killed at least a million fish, valued at $12,000. It is caused by a bacillus which comes into the lake with the sewage of Lugano and other towns. Those who are on the inside of the political ring claim that Mayor Carter H. Harrison and Alderman Thomas Carey have parted company and that Ex-Mayor John P. Hopkins, Thomas Gahan, Roger C. Sullivan, Thomas E. Barrett& Co., will throw their strength to Alderman Carey, and re-elect him Chairman of the new County Committee in spite of the wishes of Mayor Harrison. The Old Church Organ says: "That Rev. Abraham Lincoln Murray is one of the biggest hearted Christian preachers in Chicago." Who said rats? But if we remember right not so long ago this same Old Church Organ pictured Rev. Abraham Lincoln Murray out as being the biggest or the blackest scoundrel on earth, and at that time its old side whiskered editor swore by the living Gods that he knew what he was talking about. We will be glad when the time comes that the gospel will be carried to heathern lands and to all parts of the earth without the aid of preachers. . . . Some preachers are becoming a nuisance to Christian civilization, they are creating more hell here on earth than the Devil himself. They are following the young women every hour in the day; they are skinning all the Christians and sinners for every dollar on earth; . . . Oh! Savior give less preachers.—Ex. Denney J. Riordan, the hustling Superintendent of the 30th Ward, Ex-Alderman Charles J. Boyd, and Harry J. Rogers, are active candidates for Alderman in the 30th Ward, against Alderman John J. Bradley, but the wise ones say "that the heavy or light weights cannot knock Alderman Bradley out next spring, that in the spring of 1905 Harry Rogers, who is quite popular with the young voters throughout the ward, will become a member of the city council." Junk's Brewery