SHOCKED BY A WIRE. Electric Current 1'ritvr. nn I'nwro Menace o ( hli'iisii rrilml rlnna. The elusive bannna ppel lins lout Its usefulness as n iwnns for lowering tho prlile of mnti, ami will now bo role pitted tn the sh.iU- of oHivion, elec trieity luivinir taken Its pliKe. The other afternoon tlie cabmen sta tioned alons? South Ci'.iinl street near the Union depot at Chioajr.i, were fur nished nny amount of amusement nt the expense of innocent pedestrians who were made the victims of electrical pranks. Purintf the day at least a half ilnen men who were hurrvinif to the station were sent sprawling on tho I sidewalk in frout of 131 South Canal Bt-eet. As a belated passenger would hurry along the old wooden sidewalk, valise A. LOOK OF PAIN OVERSPREAD HIS FEA TURES. in hand, he would suddenly utter a cry of pain, perform a series of contor tion acts and then land full length on the wet and muddy boards. Then he would slowly pick himself up. carefully examine the walk, shake his head and jog along in a state of curiosity and ig norance. Among the interested spectators of these peculiar actions was Officer Der rig, of the central detail, who Is sta tioned at the Union depot. After wit nessing the downfall of five or six men, the officer's curiosity led him to make an investigation. The oftUer slowly walked over to the spot with the air of a man who was about to unravel a deep mystery. lie began to pace back and forth on the old wooden sidewalk, and after having made the trip la safety several times he began to look at the "cabbies" with a wink and twirl his rosewood club with all the confidence of one of the finest. Finally he strode down the middle of the walk on the way back to his jost, confident that the men who had fallen must have mixed their drinks. Suddenly one of his brogans descended on the head of a big, iron spike which protruded a half Inch above the plank. A look of pain overspread his features, a cry of surprise burst from his lips, and then there was a whirling mass of blue cloth, brass buttons, tin star and ; rosewood club. Derrig finally landed on his back, as had many before him. Struggling to his feet, he gave a hasty glance at the sky and then at the sidewalk. For a mo ment he was dumb, and then turning .to the roaring cabmen he exclaimed: "Be gorrahl I wus sthruck be light- Securing an ax, Derrig tore up a half dozen planks and then discovered the cause of all the trouble. Directly underneath the middle row of spikes an electric light wire had been strung. The ends of the nails had worn away the insulation from the wire and the .weight of a person above pressed them against the uncovered wire, forming a perfect connection. The wet walk only served to increase the power of the current, giving tho passing pedes trian a sufficient shock to throw him sprawling on the sidewalk. THEY SELL BANANAS. How Two Toiing Chicago OlrU Support ThonuelTM Kloely. 1 Teresa and Bibi Puccettl, two Italian girls with pleasant brown faces and black eyes, are fast establishing a pay: ing banana route on the west side at Chicago. About a year ago the girla ! TBKT MAKE THEIB OWN LIVING. i Arrived from Italy with their father. The father was once a sculptor of some repute in Oenoa, but he lost the use of this hands in a theater fire. He was educated, and after his arrival until (his death, three months ago, he served as Interpreter In west side courts. Left almost destitute at his death, the girla set to work to make a living. OraMhopper Saved 11 U Life. James Clone, a farmer of Stonvford. N. Y., believes grasshoppers saved hlra from death by an enraged bull. Mr. Clone was crossing a large, open field when the bull pursued him. The farm er ran aa fast as possible, but the bull aUadlJy gained ou him, and when near ly exhausted a small clump of bushes was passed, from which arose a large cloud of grasshoppers. The insects ' struck the infuriated animal In the faoa and It turned aside. Mr. Clone eaeaped trom the field unharmed. The Kaunas Iden. YIth much regret we note1 that n Wichita (Knn.) man has pit into trouble nbont n kis It is never pleas nut to hear of n misunderstanding about a hiss. A ltiss is such a harmless, necessary thing tho lcsto,.vinT of it such a simple, innocent, mid pleasant form of recreation that to have any port of trouble follow it is discouraging, to say the least. But in the Kansas case under consideration the sorrow that such things should bo is rather swallowed up In wonder nt certain de tails of development. The thing has, of course, got into the courts, or noth ing would be known about it. Mrs Wert, who was kissed, Is suing Mr. Pulliam, who did the kissing, for dam ages. Realizing, apparently, the utter absurdity of such a thing as damages having any possible connection with so benign a thing as a kiss, the lady's law yer has fallen back on his legal base of supplies and put forward the astonish ing plea that the defendant kissed the plaintiff in a "loud, boisterous, feloni ous, malicious, and unseemly man ner, against the peace and dignity of the state of Kansas." Now Isn't it hard luck enough to be hauled up for so small an act as kissing, without having a heartless lawyer unload such a lot of misfit adjectives upon a person' Sure ly the law could Impose no greater pen alty than to permit a bookish bar rister to get his fell work In In such a manner. liens In nioomers. A cure for the bloomer craze has been found at last. It is the invention of a shrewd Vermonter, and in the sev eral instances in which it has been tried it has worked almost as magically us magic. The inventor had a wife who rode a bicycle and who insisted on wearing bloomers every time she went out for a spin. Neither protests nor ap peals nor threats could induce her to wear another costume. So one day the husband, with a patience that would have caused Job to open his eyes, sat down and made a pair of bloomers for every hen in tho poultry yard, and drawing them on the hens called his wife to look at them. They looked just like she did, he said, when she was on the wheel In costume. A little more graceful, perhaps, but not a bod repro duction. There were some sharp words for aimoment, but the woman hasn't worn bloomers since. The joys of married life are differ ently estimated by different people, and it has been alleged that some of the sweetest pleasures come in the "making up" after family jars. On this ground, opines the New York Sun, Mrs. Isaac Brewster, of Monroe coun ty. Fa., has been getting a full meas ure of satisfaction out of her twenty two years of wedded life. In that time she has deserted her husband just forty-two times. She and Isaae would disagree about something, and she would promptly go away, first to her parents and latterly to her married children. Forty-two times she was coaxed back by her disconsolate hus band, and everything was lovely for a few months each- time, until the next outbreak. One time, when they parted over a custard pie, It cost Isaao two hundred dollars and the deed to a house to get his erratic spouse back. But now she refuses to go back again, and the courts have been asked to ap point a guardian for the estate. It is difficult to understand wherein science is to any appreciable extent benefited by the cruel practices of some experimenters in its interests. Take, for Instance, a case reported in the Journal of Zoophlly, which says that in Philadelphia there is a doctor who experimented upon one hundred and forty-one dogs by raising them to a height and dropping tbem upon ridges and bars of iron in order to test the effect of the painful bruises and the breaking of the baoks which were the result. There is also a doctor who se lected a number of dogs and after twisting their legs over their backs, thus placing them in an excessively cramped and unnatural position, sealed them up in plaster of parls, which pre vented their obtaining any relief. In human cruelty and nothing short of it. It is claimed that fully twenty mil lion acres of American land are owned by great land-owners in Eng land and Scotland. This does not include the Holland syndicate, which owns five million acres of grazing land in western states, nor The German syn dicate owning two million, acres in va rious states. This leads us to ask:' Do Americans own America? Since the United States government was organized less than nine hundred people have served as United States senators, while of these more than two hundred had previously been members of the bouse of representa tives. a. iiocKiATO tine. newspaper an . . . - - . nounces that "scarlet fever of a benev olent type1 is prevalent in that city. This is a type that will hardly become epidemic . A Pittsburgh girl of sixteen killed herself a few days ago by eating parls green because her mother had give birth to a baby girl and she wanted brother. A West Vtmimix man Is so peculiarly affected by riding on a train that he am to chain himself to a seat to pro- vest his jumping out of the car window. THE COLUMBIAN, THE RETIRED BURGLAR, Work Eimlly rrnm-rtitrd In the Tumult of a Thumlrrnt.oi'tii. "Spealclpjr of cinches," said tho re tired burglar to a New York Sun re porter, "tho easiest, softest, smoothest snap I ever struck was In a houso In a small town In Khodo Island. There was a thunderstorm coming up us I went along toward this house, nud just as I got there it began to sprinkle. By tho time I'd pot inside it wns coming down pretty hard, and 1 was glad to be under shelter, for I htldn t brought any umbrella with me. I hadn't had any. supper cither, and when I got Into the dining room I thought I'd get some thing to eat. The sideboard was locked and the key carried upstairs, but n little jimmy opened tho door aa THE. MOTHER r-VSIIED THE CIUI.PRKJf INTO THE CLOSET. easy as a knife would open a pic. I set out a little snack on the table and sat down and ate It comfortably, with the rain pouring down outside. If there's anything I like it's to hear a storm a ragin' outside when you're settled down all snug and comfortable within, t "But here was something I hadn't counted. The thunder was roaring and plunging like a dozen earthquakes bustin down through the sky, and It kept the house In a tremble all the time. I knew nobody could sleep in that thunder. They'd be sure to be all awake; but hero I was, and I hated to lose a night, and after I'd waited a lit tle and the storm didn't show any signs of lcttln' up, I thought I'd go ahead and see, anyhow. The very first room I looked into upstairs settled the whole business. "Over In one corner of this room, be yond a bed, I saw a women standing in front of nn open closet door. Two children hopped out of the bed, and the mother pushed them into the closet and then crowded In herself and pulled the door shut tight. It was all very simple; husband away, no help; two children Bleeping in another room, woke up by thunder, come into their mother's room, all scared; mother puts children in closet and gets In herself, as lots of folks do In thunderstorms. And then I walk over and turn the key in the lock and there you are; no danger of their coining out till the storm is over, anyway, but just as well to be sure about it, and then I just quietly go through tho house. It isn't big and It doesn't take long, and I come back before the storm is over and un lock the closet door again and skip; and that's all there is to It BURIED WITH HONORS, Description of an Imposing Canine Funer al Held at London. This Is how Mr. Sims, in the Referee, christens the true story of an event which has taken place in London. Mr. II. J. R. Pope, M. R. C. V. 8.. of No. 43 Addison road, had had for some time past at his infirmary an aged retriever dog, sent there to end his days In peace. Last week the dog was taken for death, and his mistress was advised by telegram of the fact. She came at once, and held the dying dog's paw until all was finished, and then, the first out burst of natural grief over, the sorrow ing mistress immediately sent for a fashionable West End undertaker to measure the dead pet for a coffin. A grave next to the Duke of Cam bridge's canine family vault in Hyde Park cemetery was then secured, and, HELD THE DYINO DOO'8 PAW. the cemetery authorities were notified that the interment would take place in two days. On the following day the undertak er's van arrived at the Malson Mor tuaire, and the coachman and two bearers came in and brought the coffin, which was a very handsome one of solid oak, with brass mountings, and a silver plate on. the lid, setting forth the name of the dog, the date of his birth and death, etc. The coffin was lined with white satin; the body reverently covered with a white cloth, and the deceased dog lay in state during the rest of the day. The next morning a hearse drawn by two fcorses arrived, and the dog was con veyed to the cemetery, followed by a mourning coach and his mistress' brougham with the blinds drawn down, and the ceremony at the grave was a most affecting one, many of the faith ful animal's two-legged friends assem bling to Join In this last earthly tribute to his. memory. ill 111 da Jl BLOOMSBURG, PA. Xs. ATI sg ' JAY! DROPPED YOUR m raxo PLUG A GREAT BIG IO CENTS- The pot called 1 because the housewife didn't use SAPOLI B. F. Sharpless, Pres. N. U. Funk, Sec, BLOOMSBURG LAUD IMPROVEMENT COMPANY Capital Stock, $30,000. Plotted lotted property is in the 1. It includes also part of tl in desirahilirv fnr town ciiuai iu uesuttumiy iur residence TNirnnseti. . CHOICE LOTS are offered in a short time. ?U'0 uuio owwcu uii OiUAXiU iUVyll XXI Li X x A X MUjIVX O- Maps of the town and of plotted property furnished on ap plication. y r Call upon or write to the Secretary, or J. 8. Woods, Sales n-gern,, ur auy memDer 01 uie BOARD OF B. F. Sharpless: C. W. NeaL, A. G. T tj xv nrr,. Do vour walla need papering? If 80, call on Willikm S. JSflate, Exchange Hotel Bldg., and see for what a small amount you can have it done. Our stock is the largest and most carefull y selected in town. The prices suit the hard times. William H. Slate, BOOKS, STATIONERY AND WALL PAPER. MISTER! YOU VE PIECE FOR the kettle black C. H. Campbell, Treas. coming business centre of the the factory district, and has no at values that will be doubled O E- A. RAWLINGS. uoaru oi .Directors. DIRECTORS. T L Dit ty Briggs. ' Dr. I. W. Witttta. ' T. 11-19- FINE LINE OF WATCHES at reasonable prices. Special attention given to reJ ' pairing of imd Jewelry. u i iiauu engraving promptly dqne. I I A k U I VJ VV CI IS. 7 THE LEADING JEWELER, Main Btret, Mist l Past Office Grown Acme, Tho boat burning oil that can bo made Trom potro loum. It gives a brilliant light It will not moke, the chimneys. It will not chnr the wick. It hni s high fire teat. It will not explode. It li pre-eminently a family safety oil. We Challenge Comparison with any other illuminating oil made. We stake our Reputation, as Refiners upon the statement that it is Tlie Best Oil IN THK WORLD. ASK YOUR DEALER FOR. Crown - Acme :o: IBS ATLANTIC REFINING CO, BLOOMSBURG STATION, BLOOM SEl'FG, TK THE MARKETS. BLOOMSBURG MARKETS. CORKICTID WIIILT. BITAIL rRIClt. Butter per lb $ Ecgs per dozen 4 32 Lard per lb Hani per pound Pork, whole, per pound .06 Beef, quarter, per pound, . . . 07 to .10 Wheat per bushel .70 Oats " " te Rye " " 65 Wheat flour per bbl 3 85 Hay per ton 13 to $14 Potatoes per bushel .is a utiiia Sweet potatoes per peck 15 to .30 Tallow per lb 4J lurnips " .as . - Shoulder " .11 .C7 .07 .05 .18 .M 3i oS .80 75 .75 t.oo LIS LIS LIS .It .IO s .10 .10 Side meat " " Vinegar, per qt Dried apples per lb. . . Dried cherries, pitted. Raspberries Cow Hides per lb. . . . Steer "'..., Calf Skin Sheep pelts Shelled corn per bus . . I Lorn meal, cwt. 1 - gj Bran, Middlings Chickens per 1) new " " "old Turkeys " " Geese " " Ducks " COAL. No. 6, delivered.. 1.40 t ?d SJ' 350 " 4 and s at yard. 3.15 DIALIR IN All Kinds of Meat. Beef, Veal, Lamb. Mutton, Pork, Hams, Bacon, Tongues, Bclocna. &. Fr nlivarv ' I c ' ' to all parts of the town. CENTRE STREET, BLOOMSBURC, PA. Telephone connection. COPYRIGHTS. CAM I nnTtm riTimrf rar Knapt uirnr snd t 6onMt opmton. writ to tion .trlotlT aoofldenttel. Tllaadbaak at l- lurmauou aonoerniM raieata and sow to oa lain than aant f raa. Xiao a catalogna at litw Patanu takan tbroncb Mima at Co. vagal, apaowl ootloala toa MrleattSa Amarlran. aud thua ai-a brotwht wldai baroratba public IU oat eoat to Uia Invaotor. Ttaia aptondld fV. laanad waaklr. alaaaotl, llltutntad. baa bT fat tba lariaat circulation of an, amentias work lm too Balidlof Edltloa. Bontblr, UOs ,aar. SMM opiaa, Ma oanta. Btary number oontalna tiful plats. La oolora. and bbotoarapba wnw, witn plana, auablins buildan to abow taa IM.t dnalani and aaoura ountraota. Addraaa JliHH i CO, Msw Xohk, 301 BkOXUWAT. I ..anaiiAl. Steel Ceilings and Side Wall Mnisti. I nUmi. on pillimUon to lbBol MniiftKu mruiiiMi twnii.w..iu.)rkiW.N I Alo makot of Llvhtnlnf. 1r sud Rtona-llW I WCMSMIU UtNUHl uvuviua SUBSCRIBE FOR THE COLUMBIAN