00000000000000000000000000 > | This Yiar'i Kitiaqal £onveitisai $j 1 M»t in SpMii Ai'itariarai. 8 #i Details About the Republican, Democratic S, C i and Populist Gatherings. Ci 00000000000000000000000000 Final arrangements for the political national conventions whioh will sig nalize this year have been made. The Republicans will meet in Philadel phia on J tine 19th, the Democrats will gather at Kansas City on July 4th and REPUBLICAN N ATIONAL CONVENTION HALL, the Populists will decide their plan of campaign at Sioux Falls, South Da kota, cn May 9th. The main Philadelphia Export Ex position Building, in which the Re publican National Convention of 1900 will be held, is built of structural steel aud brick, with plaster facing ». N. WISWELL, SERGEANT-AT-ARMS RE rrBIiICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION. aud staff ornamentations. It will, at * comparatively small cost, be con verted into a convention halt that wili seat several thousand persons. The »roades aud connecting buildings are aostly of wood, with brick walls, so ihat the threa couuected buildings OF CONVENTION HALL IN KANSAS CITY.'" make one mammoth exhibition hall of 1000 feet in length by 400 feet in width. The entire area of the main building is 167,200 square feet. It in divided into six sections, whioh can be readily converted into one vast auditorium, the length of whioh, in stead of extending north and south, as at present, will, with the side wall taken out and the hall enlarged, ex tend east and west. The body of the hull will seat 2000 persons. The number of delegates and alternates will be more than 1800. That leaves- room on the main floor for 200 persons—deputy sergeant-at arms, doorkeepers and guests. Rising on three sides of the hall are tiers of seats which will hold 1000 guests more. The stage could be made to accommodate say '2OO to 300 persons. But the committee hope to seat 600 newspaper correspondents, as well as the officers of the convention and distinguished guests. The sergeaut-at-arms suffers most nnder the new order of things. He will be bombarded with applications INTERIOR OF HALL WHERE THE REPUBLICANS WILL MEET. for tickets which he cannot fill, and every delegate is going to hold him responsible for Lis disappointment. The sergeant at-arms will be overran with applications for appointment. because a badge will admit the wearer to the floor of the hall. When he tries to fit 10,000 visitors and clamor ing citizens into 500 seats he will find his office most uncomfortable. The organized bodies whioh attend national conventions will be bitterly disappointed in the Convention Hall arrangements at Philadelphia. Their favorite performance is to march into a hall headed by a brass band and with banners flying. There will be not room at Philadelphia for any brass band exoept the one hired l to fill the pauses between the speeches. George N. Wiswell, -who has been appointed sergeant-at-arms of the Re publican National Convention, is a man of acknowledged ability for or ganization and executive work. In the handling of political conventions he is already experienced, having HALL FOB THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION, KANSAS CITY. been assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Republican National Convention at Chioago in 1888, at Minneapolis in 1892 and in St. Louis in 1896. Mr. Wiswell is a Wisconsin man by birth, and is now forty-eight years old. Convention Hall, Kansas City, where the National Democratic Con vention will be held Jnly 4th, is situ ated at Thirteenth and Central streets, four blocks from the retail district of SIOUX FALLS AUDITORIUM IN WHICH POPULISTS WILL MEET. the city. It has been classed by travelers as one of the largeqt and most perfectly constructed auditori ums in existence. The building was erected at a cost of $225,000, whioh was raised entirely by public subscription. It occupies a pieoe of ground 314 by 200 feet in extent, ia two stories high and is built of native atone, oream briok and terra cotto. The first story is of th< Renaissance style of architecture, anc the second story is of Peristyle form, with groups and oolamns. The build ing is of bridge construction, with out a column, the roof being sup ported by great steel girders that span its 200 feet of breadth. Its gen eral seating arrangement is modeled somewhat upon the plan of the Metro politan Opera House, New York. The floor space is divided into arena, arena baloony, balcony and roof gar den, boxes skifting the arena and the arena balcony. The stage is situated in the center of the arena. The total seating capacity is nearly 20,000, and with standing room the building is capable of holding more than 22,000 people. The arena alone seats 4000. To each side of the arena and under the first balcony are numerous com mittee rooms, which have their sepa rate street entrances. The building has no stairways, the upper seatings being reached by means of inclined planes. Separate exits are used for the balconies and roof garden, anil it is estimated that the hall can be emptied at the rate of 5000 people a minute. 4 Convention Hall has, sinje its dedi cation, a year ago, housed some of the largest audiences that ever gathered under root in this country. Its acous tic properties have received especial praise. Hon. William J. Bryan, who last June addressed the Head Gamp of the Modern Woodmen of America in the hall, said later: "It is hard to conGoive how Conven tion Hall could be improved upon for the purposes of large public gather ings." Maurice Grau, whose grand opera company sang there November last to record-breaking grand opera house audiences, said: "It is a wonderful struoture, com plete in all its appointments, and has uo equal in America," while Dwigut L. Moody, the evangelist, who a month later faced in this hall some of the largest crowds that he had ever ad dressed, said from the platform: "I came one thousand miles to find the best hall I have ever spoken in." The leading hotels of the city are the Coates, the Baltimore, the Mid land, the Savoy, the Victoria and the Washington, all of which are located from three to ten blocks distant from the hall. The Coates, which has al ways been Mr. Bryan's stopping place, will, it is said, be made the headquar ters of the National Committee. The accompanying illustration shows the Sioux Falls auditorium, which has a seating capacity of about 5000. Had it not been for this build ing, which is the largest of the kind in South Dakota, Sioux Falls would not have been able to capture the na tional convention of the Populist party, which will be held May 9. On May 23 the Republicans of South Dakota will also hold, their State conventiou in Sioux Falls for the purpose of nomi nating a Congressional and State ticket and selecting delegates to the Repub lican National Convention at Philadel phia. The auditorium is anew build ing. Not until after a delegation ot Sioux Falls rustlers, in the fall of 1898, succeeded in capturing the conventiou of the National Creamery-Buttermak ers' Association was the construction of the building decided upon. The structure is well arranged and is com plete in all its details. Cereal* In Algeria. The growth of cereals has alwayt been the staple industry in Algeria but of late it has become unremunera tive, and the returns both of Europeac and native culture are very small. Even among Europeans agriculture if in a very elementary condition. Nt forage is used save what grows spon taneouslv; no manure, or very little, is put on the land; no cattle are kept beyond what are required for plowing the land is impoverished, badly kept and full of weeds and noxious insects, ■which smother and devour the crops Ninety-eight per cent, of the lane sown every year is devoted to tin growth of cereals, and too little of I te the rearing of cattle. The great obstacles to agriculture are the uu certainty of seasons and the impossi bility of competing with such countries as America, Russia and India, where land is abundant, and, in the last twe at least, labor is cheap.—Chambers'* Journal. 1 Automobiles Used For Towing. The haulage of boats by automo bile along the canal between Brussels and Charlerol has demonstrated, aftei a long trial, that the new method ol of towing iB three times quicker than horse traction. The automobile de rives its energy from a railway com posed of six lines, three of high teu sion (6000 volts) and three of low tension, on which the trolleys ruu. The electricity is furnished by three dynamos, each of 120-horse power.- Philadelphia Record. More than 20,000 Parisians earn their living as (ortuns-tellers. WOMEN AND WAR WORK. Uniform Cloaks Designed For tho Red Crou Nana, The Bed Cross nurses who were sent to South Africa for the Imperial Yeo manry Hospital were provided by the authorities with a uniform cloak of REGULATION 1 " CLOAK. dark blue, having a rod-lined hood. Ihis is for the purpose of protecting the nurses against the extreme chilli j aess of the night when they have to ; ruu to and fro from the tents. For this reason the hood is made so that it can be quickly thrown over the head, i A picture of this cloak is here shown. This hospital is the largest civil i hospital ever sent out of England by 1 public subscription, and is due prin cipally to the indefatigable work of the women of Great Britain. The wardrobe allowed to eaoh nurse, aside from the cloak, comprises a dark blue bonnet, six pairs of strings, cne serge dress, three gray zephyr washing dresses, three triangular caps, six linen collars, six pairs of cuffs, six pairs of linen sleeves and eight lineu aprons. The pay of a Yeomaury nurse is at the rate of about thirty cents a day, and begins on the day of embarkation for South Africa, ceasing on the day of arrival in Euglaud. If she survives the service the nurse receives a gra tuity of SIOO. The nurses sign a con tract whereby they shall have no claim whatsoever on the Yeomanry Hospital Committee iu case of death or Injury by accident or otherwise. A Boor Wedding: Journey. The accompanying picture is of pe culiar interest at the present time, showing aa it does a typical Boer and his "vrouw" trekking back to the farm after having gone through the marriage ceremony at the Dutch Re form Church, in Barberton, De Kaap Valley. Our photo shows the happy pair sitting on the back seat of a wagon, which is drawn by a team of no fewer tlian sixteen oxen. During the long "trek" home to the lonely farm this crude conveyance is their dwelling by night and day—living room, sleeping-room and kitcheu all in one. Before reaching the happy consummation of his fond hcpes,how ever, the youug Boer has had many an orduous ride to see the lady of his choice. If his suit is approved of by the old folks, the father, before retir ing for the night, hands the young gallant a lighted candle, in which he has cut a notch; the understanding be ing that when the candle has burned down to that mark the lover must sad dle up and be off. Many tricks, of course, are played with the caudle—a fresh one is substituted by the lover, A TYPICAL BOER FARMER HAS JUST MARRIED THE OIRL OP HtS HEART, AND IS NOW OFF HOME AGAIN* DRAWS BY SIXTEEN OXEN. or the thing is snuffed out at judicious intervals in order to prolong the even i"g- Fully Kqalpped. Sir Robert Peel was once going through a picture collection with a friend where there was a portrait of a prominent Englishman who was fa mous for sayiug sharp things. "How wonderfully like!" said the friend. "You can see the ijuiver ou his lips." "Yes," replied Sir Robert, "and thf arrows coming out of it." The output of ooal iu the United State* last year was 244,000,000 tons, or about one-third ef the total product j of the world. ff — 1 I CHILDREN'S COLUMN. 1 The four Ki( Broom*. I "O mother, why does the big wind blow And rattle the window-pane? . If I close my eyes to sleep just so, It wakes me up Again, If I bide my head beneath the spread, You speak so soft and low That I cannot hear what you have said, Ob, why does the big wiud blow. "Let us play, my darling, a merry play, The winds are four big brooms That sweep the world on a windy day As Mary sweeps our rooms. The south wind is the parlor brush That sweeps in a quiet way But the north wind oomes with roar and rush Ou the world-wide sweeping day. ''Like Mary sweeping the halls and stairs Is the work of the good west broom, And the sweetest odors, the softest airs, Flo it over the world's wide room. But tonight tho broom from the east is here, And with it comes the rain. Like John when he brushes the por.-h, my dear, And hoses the window-pane." The little boy laughed and cuddled close In bis warm and downy bed. "I hear the broom and I hear tho hose, And I like them both," hu said. And so, though the rain tnay pelt away. And the big wind loudly roar, He remembers tho wide world's sweeping day. And thinks of tho big brooms four. —Mary Bailing Street, to Youth's Com panion. A Most Wonderful Creature. The chameleon has for a?e< been an object of curiosity, not only on account of its ability to change its color at will, as one might suppose who had read accounts which men tioned only that one characteristic, but also on account of a remarkable power which admits of the creature instantly changing its form. At times it takes upon itself almost the exact form of a mouse; again, with back curved and tail erect, it is the exact counterpart of a miniature crouching lion, which no doubt gave origin to ! its name, chaiuel-leon, which clearly means "ground lion." By inflating its sides and flattening back and belly it takes upon itself the form of an ovate leaf, the tail acting as the petiole, the white line over the belly be oming the midrib. When thus expanded it also has the extraordinary power to sway iteelf over so as to present an edge to 'hj observer, thus greatly adding to it * means of concealment. As is \el known the least excitement, as i i handling, will cause a change iu tlie I color. In its normal state it is of a ! light pea green. When excited the j groundwork remains the same, but : transverse stripes, about 30 in number, j appear on the body. These stripes, which are of a very dark green to be : gin with, soon change to iuky blnck ' uess. The prevailing idea that the 1 ! chameleon takes upon himself the | peculiar hues of whatever he is placed upou is as curious and widespread as it is erroneous. Placed in boxes lined with red or blue silk, they retain their pea green color with no leaning to ward the brighter hues of tho sur roundiugs. Youthful Telegraph Operator. Perhaps the youngest telegraph operator in the country holding a regular office in a courthouse town i3 "Willie" Barr, manager of the office at Kingstree, the largest town on the Atlantic coast line between Florence and Charleston, S. C. There is just business enough for one good-operator at Kingstree, and "Little Willie" does it all. He is in sole and eutire charge, and has l;eeu for the last four months. The boy is now just eleven years and one month old, and he has been able to do some work on tho wire for two and a half years. When he was eight years old an operator who took a fancy to "Willie" came to Kingstree, and the boy spent hours each day iu the telegraph office, fascinated by the strangeness of the thing. Gradually he lea'ned the calls of the different stations on the road by ear, then was able to catch short words when a mes sage was going through. All this time the ambitious little fellow was practising "sending" ou a dummy, and Anally was permitted to "talk" to operators on the line. When the boy was ten and a half years old and it became known that there would be a vacancy in the Kingßtree office he ap plied for the place. The authorities were not disposed to put a boy in charge, but "Willie" got on a train, went, to division headquarters, and stood a rigid examination in a satis factory manner, and he got the place. The boy will tackle with perfect un concern a thousand word press dis patch, and will send it faultlessly, more than can be said for many adult operators outside the cities. Vew York Tribune. Grandpa'* Snuffbox. "Oh, dear!" sighed Dilly Burton to her brother Joe, as they were trudg ing home from school one day."it is so hot! Let's go into grandma's and rest." "And get a ginger cake, may be," said Joe, wiping his sweaty little face. "O Joe, you a'e always wanting ginger cakes! Now don't you ask grandma for a single one! it isn't polite." And Dill.v looked very wiee as she shut her mite of a blue silk parasol and tapped lightly on grandma's door. Grandma was not in the kitchen, but the children went in and sat down on the wide lounge to rest aud wait for her. Joe's eyes were very bright and al ways very restless, and he had no soouer sat down than he spied a small box, black and shiny, -stauding on a table beside grandma's worJchasket In a moment it was in his hand. "O Hilly, it smells just like mum an>'" sweat box!" "It' * grandma's suuff," said Dilly. "Th re's the aceut beau in it." And the children sniffed long and deep a» the powder in the box. Then Joe's nose began to tingle and the tears came into his eyes, and Dilly sneezed. Then Joe sneezed,and the powder flew out of the box upos grandma's knitting. "Oh, dear!" cried Dilly. "Dear! dear!" echoed little Joe "Ah-chew!" "Nuh-cho!" Joe's hat fell off, and Dilly stepped on it. Then Dilly's hat fell over hei eyes, and she dropped her parasol. The gray kitten crawled out frou: under the lounge and stared, then rac off with a big tail. Just then grand ma came in. "Why, Dilly! Why, Jo«! Wka» ave you crying about?" "We ain't crying, grandma. It'f the b-box!" sneezed Dilly. "Oh, you silly children!" cried grandma. "You have been at grand pa's East Indian root that he smellt of for the headache." "Will it over stop, grandma?" criec Dilly. "Certainly," said grandma, smiling a little. Then she took the children to the kitchen sink, and bathed their poor led eyes and swo!len noses till they were quite cool again. "I am very sure, my dears,you will not meddle any more with things yon fehould not," grandma said, as she I gave them each a ginger cake and tied on their liats. And Dilly and Joe knew they nevei should again no, never! Orea' Thoughts. <"■ rami m»'** Toot Stovfl. The children had been rumagiug it the garret, aud they brought down such a funny lookiug thing—a tiu boi set in a wooden f'ram.», with little carved pillars. "What's it for?" asked Jack. "And whnt'3 its name?" asked Patty. "That is a foot stove," said grand ma, looking over her glasses. "Wa used to till it with hot coals,and carry it to church to keep our feet warm. You see, there was no fire in the church, and it was very cold in wiu ter. The frost on the windows wis often so thick that they looked like ground glass. "1 remember the first time that our i folks let me carry a foot stove mysblf. Mother was sick, aud father stayed at home to take care of her, so I went to church aloue. How grown up I fe.lt, as I marched up the aisle, holding the foot stove in my mittened hand, and sat down by myself in one corner of the family pew. "The ba ks of the pews were all so high that I could not see any one ex cept the minister, 'way over my head, l in the pulpit. He was a very wise man, and used long words that I could not understand at all,and I soon grew tired of watching his breath make little clouds of vapor in the cold air while he was speaking. "Then I thought how nice it would be to curl up on the seat and take a little nap. Nobody waß in sight but the minister, aud he had taken off his glasses aud laid them in the hymn book; aud I knew without them he never could nee me when he was out on his morniug walk, and passed me on my way to school. So I tucked my big muff of gray squirrel's fur under my hea l, aud put the foot stove to mv feet, and felt so comfortable that I fell asleep in one wink. "When 1 awoke I was surprised to sec the pulpit empty, and the sunset sparkling through the frosty west windows. I was astonished to find that I must have stept a long while; i the people had all gone away without noticing me, and 1 was locked up alone in the church!" "O grandma! Weren't you afraid?" said little Patty. "Yes, for I kuew it would be quite dark before ovening service, when the church would be uulocked again. It was stinging cold, too; and I put mj little numb fingers on the foot stove, and tried to get the tingle out of them. "Pretty soon I heard some one nu lock the door. I thought it was th« sexton, and stood up ou the seat to see, peeping over the back of the pow. 0 Patty and Jack, how I felt when 1 saw it was the dignified old minister himself! He left his glasses on the hymn-book, and came back to get tliem. How I wished that I had never taken that naughty uap! "However, I told him just how rude 1 had been, and how I went to sleep in the middle of his sermon. I cried pretty hard as I told the disgraceful story, for I thought he would scold me, and all in dreadfully long words, too; but he never said a thiug except "The poor little pussy!" and theu he picked me up in his arms, foot stove aud all, and carried me safe home. "But what an ashamed little girl he set down on our do.irstep!"—Youth's Companion. Caught the Cmr. Peter the Groat was ouee very neatlj caught in a trap by a jester attached to the court. The jester was noted for his cleverness in getting himself and his friends out of dilticulties. II happened one day that a cousin of his had incurred the czar's displeasure, aud was about to l>e executed. The jester, therefore, presented himself before his imperial master to beg for a reprieve. On seeing him approach, the czar, divining his errand, cried: "It is no good to come here; I swear I will not grant what you are going to ask." Immediately the jester went down ou his knees, saying: '1 be seech your imperial highness to pat that scamp cousin of mine to death." The czar thus caught in his own trap, oould only laugh and pardon thto oon demned man. —Columbian.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers