THE GIRL - - a Tnur we'd fiaureil on a novchild, fame as people always does; liabv irl is jest th' uselessest they is or ever was: lMl'ilrss when they're kids, an' helping when they re middle aged er Old- All th' fambly turns pertecter f'r th' ewe lamb ih th fold. 1)nent ever pop th' question even thoiifih "he a lost in love Has t' net an' wait till mme one lnhols 'cr Ins turtle dove. Vit it wa'n't a bov, bv gracious, when rt come, th of her day I lut we've kind o''got a notion that we 11 keep it, any way. 'Course 'twas dretful dioapp'intin' that she couldn't been a boy) An' th' tears we shed r swallored wa n t no sparkbn tears o joy; w.ill .he', omnll an' minhtv duwncey. an' ihe cuddles np so sweet With er lists like velvet roseiiwn an ner imni, 'hhm Cliiinin' clout, jest like th' tendrils of th' mornin (rlory vine, As it clambers up th' porch posts on a piece o cotton twine. She do'no' but what she's welcome as th flowers is in May; So we've somehow got th' notion that well keep er, any way. Then ag'in I thought o' mother she was onet a baby girl; Ain't no tellin' jest which evstcr is th' one that holds tn pearl. Who could tell when she was little that she'd grow t be so great , An' would make mv dear old daddy such a stiddy ninnin' mate? Then th' one that lavs an' snuggles with that brnn new baby, hyer- Would my life be worth th' livin' if it hadn't been fer her? She was jest as pink an' hcliiless as this new one is, one day; ,f So it's middlin' easy gussin' that we'll keep er. any way. Strickland W . Gillilan, in The Reader. WHEN THE LIGHT CAME TUE PASSING OP A BY MABEL CROOKS BROWrT, a n a a auuu NO nlr of Sunday calm brooded over the little town. A scorching north wind swept the enlist down the dreary gtivet.. find sent Ii swirling round the corners with n gritty swish, find n friction that seemed to generate n thousand electric sparks nnd prickles. A group of four loitered on the cor ner, talking with unusual Interest. "It's loo bliimed bnd that express had to be ten hours late last night of nil times." growled one. "They'd 'ft' been clem- away by this time, but now " -Oh. pshaw:" struck in ft girl's lighter voice, "Jim nln't 'spected 'til to morrow, nohow, nnd the trnlu'Il be In In nu hour. Don'c croak!" The others lniished ;iueertninly, find the uneasiness deepened ns the first speaker continued. unmoved. That's nil right! Hut she nin't here yei. and I'd bate like cold pl."ii to be the man who'd married Jim Tyler's i girl hate it like cold plwn I tell you ef there wins nny change o' my bavin' to slay on the same side o' this yere ball ns Jim, afterward that's all:" "Oh. Jim won't do nuthln'! She could always wrap him 'round her little fin ger, anyhow. Hay, wasn't It mighty slick uv her, to hev two strings to her bow nil the time, nnd never let on, till the other fellow turned up last night? Though what she kin see In that little dood drummer after a six foot scorcher like Jim, beats me," drawled the girl. "Well, look n-here, young woman, don't let us hev eny o' that sllckness round hereabouts." began her com panion, threatingly, "or " his voice broke ns a man on horseback clattered around the corner nnd swept toward them. i "By the Lord Harry," he breathed. "It's Jim-Jim Tyler. The Lord help her now !" The four stood motionless ns the man dashed by. with a gay wave of the nrm In salute. Two block down the street ho threw liis horse back on Its haunches before a battered little cottage, and flinging himself from the saddle, threw open the front door without the formality of a knock, then stopped on the thresh old, ns If struck by a thunderbolt. A mnn, of the flashy drummer type, sat in n chair facing him, and perched on his knee was n girl her hands In his, as she laughingly bnlancod her self, with 'her lips Just beyond his reach. For a tense moment the silence held. Then the face of the husband turned yellow-white with fear, nnd following his eyes, the laughter froze on her lips, and a deadly terror blanched her pretty, silly face. The man in the door stood motion less. "Got up!" he said. She tried a Inugli of bravado, which choked In her throat, but the drummer put her from him. and advanced a step, holding out shaking, expostulate In? hands. The man measured hi in. with a cold contempt that cut like a knife. "I'll settle with you, Inter," ho said, and turned to the girl. "Who Is this fellow?" She thought with frenzied rapidity for n second, weighing nnd balancing chances. He blocked the only door Time was what she wanted time for help to come. "Jim," she walled "Jim I loved you you know I loved you but they threatened they said " "Who Is this follow?" ho repented, with the same deadly quiet. "Jlin listen I couldn't help It he has more money, you know, and they niaue me oh, Jim dear " "Who Is this fellow?" ho nsked. "He oh, Jim forgive me he's my my husband we were married last night Jim listen " her voice rose to a shriek. The man plunged forward, revolver in hand, toward his successful rival who squealed with terror, but the girl threw herself between them, and clutched his arm In a frenzied grasp, "Listen, Jim listen: Oh, God, don't Hurt him! Listen I couldn't help it 1 couldn't! xou know I love you," she lied; "I've always loved you " she threw both arms about him with udden Btrength that checked and held lilm. Ho struggled with her, his cold rage rising to a mad, unreasoning fury With the lies, her touch, tho baffled 08ire of the man. Freeing one arm he brought down tho heavy revolver I nil m her upturned face. At tho thud of the steel on flesh, th Or ti miner, utterlug a BhrleU of wild, anlrual terror, fled past them into the street, and on on still shrieking, In olee thnt held no human aound, until lie stumbled and fell, dazed and tunned, in the dust. Iu tho other man, the lust of klllln Woke, and he struck, deliberately gala and again., until tho shrieks were tilled, the last frantic grasp gav Way somehow, and he stood looking sown at the silent heap on the floor nd struggling with an Insane desire to kick It and trample on It. He laughed-the instinct of slaughter - CHILD. STAINED SOUL. a o.aaao.aaaa all alive laughed, and turned to And the man. He was gone. A noise of horror-stricken voices in the street fell on his ear of voices nnd of running feet fell, and grew louder. With the light of murder in his eyes tho Joy of killing he strode from the room, and flung himself upon his horse, ns a crowd of men raced toward him. Straight at their midst he dashed, but with no sign of wavering they came on, nnd horse and men met, with a shock thnt nearly unsentcd the rider. Maddened by the spurs, the horse shook off the clutching hands the man, with the frenzied light still in his eyes, turned In his saddle, and laughing gayly emptied his revolver Into the crowd. There was a shriek, a groan, n scurry of hoofs, and then silence for a space. Beyond the town the desert stretched away a level reach of sand and alkali baking under the pitiless sun. The man, on a jaded horse, spurred esperntely toward the line of Jagged rocks nt the northern side, that rose like u palisade built by hands, clear- ut against the cloudless sky. He looked often over his shoulder ns he went, and cursed, under his breath, the gasping nrrimal on which he rode. he lust of murder was gone, nnd only the Instinct of the hunted remained. A mile from the rocks, where com parative safety lay, the horse stumbled and fell. Mechanically the man swung himself free ns the nnlmal went down. nd stood a moment watching It. It lay till, with a stillness he had seen be fore. Suddenly n woman's face came between him and the dying boast her face, with the great gash on the temple nd the awful fear In the eyes. Curse er! If he had only hnd time to square his account with tho man, too! He laughed grimly at the memory of the distlgured face thnt was not nn object for anyone's kisses now. Again he looked behind him, and stood rigid as he saw, far in the distance, a line of dots creeping nearer. "The posse!" Ills hand went to his bolt It was gone! In n flash he re membered that the strap had given way iu their Inst desperate struggle. nd she held It now, no doubt, clenched In her stiffening Angers she held his life In her hands until the end! Ills revolver he had emptied Into the crowd ns he fled. With the eyes of a trapped animal, ho looked nuout mm. A mile away were tho sheltering rocks a lnlle tn this heat! A mile through the blister ing sand. Behind were the relentless men. There was no choice. He clenched his hands, and then gave the horse a savage kick. With n faint moan of pain the dying brute struggled to rise, fell forward, and lay still quite still even under the blows and' kicks the maddened man rained upon it. He censed, finally, from exhaustion, and after a moment's breath started forward over the yielding sand. The sun had nearly set, but the heat was stifling, his breath came in gasps, and his eyes were blinded by the water dripping from his forehead; but he stumbled on, and fell, as tho horse had fallen, under tho shadow of the first great bowlder, at the foot of the rocks, For a moment ho lay helpless, then slowly raised his head and looked back with an evil chuckle. They were out In that heat and glare, whllo he lay "In tho shadow of a great rock In weary land" when hud ho heard some one say that? "A weary land!" God knows, it wns thnt! The few cactus plants shriveled and grew grayer in the heat, which had a weight to it a weight under which no living thing could stand erect. Even the coming of twilight brought no relief. Oh, if he had a drink; a cup of cold water. He had heard Borne one say something about that, too somewhere. What was it? Who was It? Ills mother? He must go on, higher up among the rocks, where snfety lay. Ho turned weakly on his elbow, but stopped half way ns n sharp, omli.ous souud pierced the heat a sound that somehow seemed tho intensification of cold a cold that flashed through his fevered brow and froze him into a statue as he lay. It was the warning of n rattler. Be side him, colled, ready to strike, with Its head on a level with his eyes, lay a snake as thick as his wrist. Ills brain whirled for a moment, and then suddenly grew strangely clear. Was there nothing which could face this heat? Here was one thing no Arizona sun could shrivel one thing the flreg of tho hereafter could not warm! Its head was proudly rcct, as the rattler and his human prototype looked into each other's eyes. The eyes of the snake were cold and still, and in a moment the eyes of the man grew dreamy, and then then the eyes of the snnke began to glow with a Are which crept through the man's veins like wine. Was he exhausted? No, that was his body. Now, he had no body he was a soul the preachers said he bnd a soul this must be it, before him on the sand. J. soul from out whose eyes looked a knowledge- of sin of which even he had never dreamed! ne whoso name was a terror for miles nboiit! What did they know Of sin hack there In the town? Here was the fountain head of all evil, at which he could drink forever and never be filled! Of sin of sin The head of the snnke began to sway slowly back and forward. And to thrust itself out townrd him. The head of the man followed its move ments ns though drawn by a magnet. The two heads had ench the same narrow temples, the same sinister Jaw, the same cruel mouth, but the eyes the eyes of the man had much to learn. A shout came over the desert came slowly for even sound shrank back from tho heat nnd pierced its way into his brain. They bad found the horse. But they did not know of the empty revolver. They would think twice before they ventured Into those rocks In the dark. They would wait would wait until the light came. He must go higher up he started slightly, but froze again before the warning whirr. When tho light came they would come, and he would die like a rat iu a trap. There was no escape. Yes, here wns one wny Just one. With a sigh of despair he stretched out his arms to the snake as a lover to his sweetheart! Again the warning. For one instant he looked into those mnrvelous eyes. Then he deliberately cuffed the evil head lightly with one hnnd. Swift as lightning the snnke struck! When the light came, the pursuing men moved cautiously forward, hoping to coach a sheltering rock beforo his bullets found them, but their -lender started bnck from a motionless figure lying In the shadow. As they stared, tho mnn's shirt heaved slowly, ns though he had breathed, and from out Its folds a head with narrow temples and sinister mouth lifted itself, and with languid Insolence, the huge rattler passed like a gllmpscof hell, down the man's side, and vanished into a cleft In the rock. Tho men stood rooted to the spot As the crawling horror disappeared, their leader wrenched himself free. "Merciful powers, I believe it was his soul," he said. Sun Francisco Ar gonaut. REVEALS CHINESE DENS. Burrows Hundred Feet Deep Laid Bar by Fire. "Strange is tho scene where San Francisco's Chinatown stood," says W. W. Overton. "No heap of smoking ruins marks the site of the wooden warrens where tho Orientals dwelt in thousands. Only a cavern remains pitted with deep holes and lined with dark passageways, from whose depths come smoke wreaths. White men never knew the depth of Chinatown's underground city. Many had gone beneath the street level two and three stories, but now. that Chinatown has been unmasked, men may see where its inner secrets lay. In places cno can see passages one hundred feet doep. The fire swept this Mongolian quarter clean. "From this place I saw hundreds of crazed yellow men flee. In their armg they boro opium pipes, moneybags, silks and children. Beside them ran the trousered women, and some hobbled painfully. "These were the men and women of the surface. Far beneath the street levels in those cellars and passage ways were other lives. Women, who never saw tho day from their darkened prisons, and their blinking Jailers were caught and eaten by the flames." New York Tribune. Nothing In It. A certain young wife helps out her husband's somewhat slender income by, doing dressmaking for her friends. Up ou eomlug home one evening, he found her cutting up a piece of goods for a waist, and inquired: Well, dear, what do you expect to get out of that?" "Oh, two dollars, I guess," was the reply. Later on, tho parents observed their llttlo flve-year-old daughter engaged, with a pair of scissors, In cutting into small fragments a scrap of the samo goods. "What are you doing making your dolly a dress?" the father asked. The little girl sigheA. "No; I was trying to get a penny out of it, but I haven't found it yet," was tho dlseousolute reply. American Spec tator. TV one Than m Matinee Crowd, Charwomen at the Washington (D. C.) Theatre, where tho Daughters of tho American Itevolutlon held their congress recently, have rather a poor opinion of the organization named. As they were gathering up the immense Utter of torn-up resolutions and dis carded amendments one of them said: "I Hurely hope they won't come hero any more. This is worse than any matinee crowd I ever see." At one of the sessions a long discussion arose over a certain resolution, and later the delegates divided themselves into con versational groups. The gavel fell with unforseen promptne, and amid the ensuing quiet a shrill voice was heard to suy: "I know it had three gores in tho back." Garibaldi's Will Unregarded. Garibaldi left directions in his will for the cremation of his body, but his wishes were overruled by the Ital- lan Government The soldier's in structlons were minute ami perhaps a bit eelf-couselous. "Facing the sea, you shall erect a pyre two metres high, built of acacia wood, myrtle and other aromatic trees and plants grow ing at Caprera. On this lay n sheet of iron, on which shall be placed my body, dressed in the red shirt. A handful of the ashes place near the coillns of my daughters Rosa and Aulta." Tkorest .were to be blown away by the wlud as seeds of liberty for other parts of the world. Tallest Man In the Army, William Flnley, lato of tho Life Guards, Loudon, Euglatid, was admit ted to the Huckuty Infirmary suffer ing from consumption. A special bed has had to be made up ror his accom modation, as his height is six feel bine and a half inches, he for twelvd years holding the distinction of being th tallest man in the army. THE FUTURE OF COAL And the Impending Exhaustion of World's Iron Supply. SEVERA of the vey, In h months ngo the chief the Swedish geological stir- In pursuance of a resolu tion adopted by the Swedish Par liament, prepared a report showing the extent of the known deposits of Iron Iu the world nnd the rate at which such deposits are being consumed. While "there has boon some dissension as to the exactness of certain details con tained In the report, It may be accepted as n substantially accurate investiga tion of a subject of vital Importance to the world. Most disquieting In this re port Is tho conclusion that we are like ly to run short of iron within a single century if the present rate of consump tion Is maintained. The world has only 10,000,000,000 tons of Iron ore available. Of these Germany has twice as many tons as the United States. Russia and France ench have 400,000,000 tons more than this country. Our annual consumption of Iron Is placed nt 35,000,000 tons, which is more than a third of the world's total consumption. Comment ing on the known nnd generally accept ed facts of tho situation, the Iron and Coal Trades Review Iu one of Its re cent Issues stuted: "We would seem to be within n llttlo more than half a cen tury of an absolute Iron famine. This fac raises problems of serious conse quence to the world's Iron industry and to the outlook of civilization Itself." The efficient Consul-CJeneral of the United States at Paris. Mr. F. Mason. has analyzed with considerable astute ness the problems Involved in this threatened Industrial catastrophe. From nn elnborate report of his wo abstract the following facts: It is well known thnt the high-class ores of the lake district in America will, at the present rate of consump tion, be exhausted within less than Afty yenrsj The Mesaba deposits, with the present nnnual output of 12,000, 000 tous or thereabouts, will not out last twenty-five years, and it requires only a simple calculation to demon strate that a continued yearly con sumption of 33,000.000 tons of ore by the iron and steel industries of the United States will within the lifetime of many persons now living eat away entirely the l.lOO.OOO.tXK) tons which, according to the Swedish report cited, constitute our country's entire work able supply as nt present known. In asmuch, tlierfore, ns the United States possess but nbout one-ninth of the world's ore deposit nnd yet consumes more than one-third of the total an nual output from nil countries, the conclusion Is direct and unavoidable that the future economic policy of American Iron masters should be se sure by all practical means the largest possible ore supply from the mines of other countries. How can this be more economically and effectively accom plished? The problem Is largely one of trans portation, In which the item of marine freight rates plays a dominant part, An economic long-distance ocean rnto for heavy, low-class merchandise in volves necessarily two conditions, viz. vessels especially adapted to the trade, nnd return freights that will bear nn equnl or higher charge for transportation. The ship that brings ore from Spain, Sweden and other Eu ropean countries to the United States must have each trip nn eastward bound cargo that will be more than ballast and yield a regular and definite profit. There Is but one material which will meet the requirements of the case, and that Is coal. It Is In respect of quantity nnd qunll ty of coal supply that .he advantage of North America over European countries Is decisive and overwhelm ing. Whatever may be the facts con cerning ores, the known conl measures of the United States render their fuel supply secure, abundant and of ex cellent quality for centuries to come. There are hundreds of thousands of ncres of gas and coking coals of high quality In the Appalachian region to say nothing of other regions which have ns yet been hardly scratched by the pick and drill of the miner. New coal deposits of great or less extent and value a.ro being discovered from year to year. Willi wuat is now known the present enormous annual output of liso.ooo.ooo tuns of bitumin ous coal can be maintained for hun dreds of years without exhausting the available supply. In Europe, ou the contrary, the years of adequate conl provision are definite ly numbered. In England experts esti mate the duration of the workable coal measures to be from sixty to one hundred years. Germany bus a some what longer lense of Industrial life dependent on coal supply, but already the subject Is so ncute that a heavy contract for the delivery of German conl to France for Iron nnd steel works Is understood to have been cancelled recently at heavy loss to the sejlers, becuuse, it Is definitely understood, the Imperial Government objected to the depletion of tho National coal sup ply for tho benefit of neighboring coun tries. Franco has native coal for a generation or more, but the mlius are deepening, tho cost of production Is gradually Increasing, nnd economists are looking with growing apprehen sion to the future. Twenty-live, or at most thirty years hence, the ques tion of an adequate fuel supply will be n serious problem for France. In 1003 France consumed 42,004,100 tons of coal, of which 34,217,001 tons were the product of French mines while tho remaining 8,470,439 tons were Imported. Cardiff nnd Belgium coals are delivered at Havre at prices varying, In ordinary seasons, from $4.03 to $5.21 per ton. This Is the competition which American coal would have to meet, since from that port of debarkation, common to nil imported coals, the costs of duty and freightage to the interior would be the same. The railway freight rote on coal from Havre to Paris Is seventy francs per carload of ten tons, or $1.33 per ton for a haul of 143 miles. The rate by the River Seine, which is open to navi gation practically the entire year, is from $1 .05 to $1.10 per ton. Add to this the Import duty of twenty-six cents, and It will be scon that the Belgian and Welsh coals can be landed In ordlnnry times at tho docks ouslde the wnlls of I'nrls for about $0.00 to $0.50 per ton. The wholesale price charged by Importers to local dealers for bituminous conl is nt present slightly more thnn $10 .per ton. Is there not, In the margin of $3.50 nnd $3.04 between these figures nn oppor tunity for Amerlcnn conl, provided the wholo transaction, Including mining, railway and ocean transportation, nnd transshipment at seaports, Is so or ganized nnd managed ns to develop a large trade and reduce expenses per ton to a minimum? In other words, enn Amerlcnn bituminous coals of the grades adapted to gas manufacture, domestic use and general industrial purposes, be dellevered In largo quan tities at Havre for a cost not exceeding $3 per ton? It remains to consider the corolatlon between t-iese conditions aud tho fu ture ore supply of the United States nnd certain European countries, as de scribed In tho first section of the pres ent report. Cool imported into France pnys a duty of twenty-six cents per metric ton. In respect to duty, freight up the Seine to Paris, and other charges American coal would be on the same bnsls ns Belgian and British coals, which come into Franco princi pally by that route. The demand for foreign coal will Increase with the gradual exhaustion of the French mines and the consump tion will be augmented in proportion to whatever reduction can in future be made In the present high cost of fuel. There nre millions of tons of good coking nnd gas coals In the Alle- ghnny and Cumberland districts of the United States which can be produced with great profit at the mouth of the mine for an average price of $1 to $1.23 per ton. When the railroads now projected or under construction are finished and in operation it should be possible to carry such conls to tlde- wnter for a freight rnte not much, it anything. In excess of $1 per ton. When, In 1902, the project of export ing Amerlcnn conl to Europe wns ac tively discussed, it was the consensus of expert opinion that tho successful development of such a trade would require the construction of a special class of vessels which would do for the ocean going coal traffic what they had done for the ore and coal trade of the Grent Lakes, namely, steel barges of 10,000 tons burden, staneuly built, with quarters for n crew of ten to fifteen men, nnd engine power suffi cient for a speed of eight or ten knots per hour, which would give steernge way sufficient for safe handling In all weathers. Given a fleet of vessels, with loading docks for coal along the Chesnpeoke Buy or Atlantic 'Coast, and n reliable return freight, nnd the prob lem of a large and expanding coal ex port to Europe, which depends primar ily on an ocean freight rate not exceed ing $1.25 to $1.50 per ton, would be practically solved. As return freights, the potash min erals of Germany have been suggested, but they nre limited In quantity nnd restricted by various conditions, so that there remains but one available re source, and that Is Iron ores of Spain, t Inland and the Scandinavian Fenln- sula, three countries which, together, now mine nbout 14.000,000 tons per nnnum, but which, for want of cheup nnd abundant fuel, smelt not more than one-thit;d or one-fourth of that amount The time will doubtless come when most. If not nil, European countries will prohibit the export of native coal, except to their own colonies. Tho im ported fuel supplies of France, Italy, Spain nnd Scandinavia will then hnvo to come mninly from beyond the At lantic. It will be strange Indeed if American foresight shall fail to recog nize the opportunity which time will ripen and the Inws of demand and sup ply will offer to American enterprise Scientific Amerlcnn. A Check on Conductors, "The car conductors In Quebec," said tho traveling man, "don't have much of n show to beat the company. Every passenger deposits his fare in a' bos fitted with a slot arrangement. The conductor carries It by a strap In his hand, and the only money ho touches Is that necessary to make change. Of course, there Is a sort of cash register attachment to the box, so that the conductor has no chance to 'knock down In making change. He. holds the box In front of tho passenger until the latter drops his fare lu the slot. I wondered, when I first went to Quebec, why the hands of the conductors were so much cleaner nnd their clothes so much neater than those of conductors In United States cities. It finally dawned on mo that those boxes ex plained It. The Quebec conductors don't have to handle thousunds of coius every day, nnd don't have to carry hundreds of dimes and nickels in their coat pockets." Great Faults of Talkers. What are the great faults of conver sation? Want of Ideas, want of words, want of manners, are the principal ones, I suppose you think. I don't doubt It, but I will tell you what I have found spoils more good talk thnn anything else: long nrgumeuts ou spe cial points-between people who differ on the fundamental principles upon which these points depend. No men can have satisfactory relations with each other until they have agreed ou certain ultimata of belief not to be disturbed In ordlnnry conversation, aud unless they have sense enough to trace tho secondary questions depending upon these ultimate beliefs to their source. From "Tho Aiitocrat of the Breakfast Table," by Oliver Wendell Holmes. Ticket Nerved Pry. Street car conductors In New York City nre required to serve their trans fer ticket dry. That is, they must not moisten with their mouths the An gers which tear off a ticket from a packet, Just 'before giving it to a passenger. It Is asserted that trans fer tickets thus moistened' spread disease. Speech of a Wise Man. GOOD ronds was the keynote of one of the ablest speeches made In Congress this session. It delivered In the House of Rep resentatives by Representative Lee, of Georgia, who, with telling force, brought out faeti after fact about the deplorable condition of American ronds genernlly. It is a significant fact that his speech wns listened to with the closest attention by members of the House. Representative Lee began by saying that all civilized governments build roads, and thnt all save our own have some established system for building and maintaining public highways, un der tho direction of skilled nnd compe tent officials. Early In this century some work of this kind was done by tho Federal Government. The dawn of railway building nnd steam transpor tation, he said, seems to have largely drawn public attention nnd enterprise from our common highways, as a nat ural consequence, for more than fifty years yenrs that have been full of throbbing life nnd vigor for us ns a na tion; years that have no parallel In tho history of our race for triumphs of man over nature; years that have been Ailed with a succession of wonders and triumphs in every field of human thought and endeavor. But the great est wonder of all these wondrous years is that as n nation we have utterly Ig nored our country roads, nnd we seem surprised when wo look nbout us nnd find them no better thnn they were half a century ago. Continuing, Mr. Lee said: "Tho able Secretary of Agriculture estimates that the cost, the extra burdeus Imposed upon this country by bad roads, Is not less than $1100.000,000 annually. These figures almost stagger credulity, but who can gainsay them? And yet. when a bill was recently introduced In this House to appropriate $25,000,000 an nually for abating this great and con tinuing loss, It was ridiculed in some quarters as n fake visionary and im practicableas If it were wild and un reasonable to stop a leak of hundreds of millions of dollars with this conirmr alvely small appropriation. But those who reviled It have not seized upon the opportunity to propose n better plan. "Forty millions of dollars were promptly handed out from the public treasury to pay for -the privilege of spending $200,000,000 more to dig a ditch In foreign hinds moro than 1000 miles from home. Not one-hundredth of one per cent, of our people will ever Bee It; not one In 1000 of our people will ever feel his burden lightened or his Joy and comfortsof life increased when it is finished. One-half the sum it will cost, if Intelligently expended upon our public highways during the next ten years, would give 100 times as many comforts nud pleasures to 1000 times fis many of our people, '..'he canal will be n grent public utility, no doubt, but better roads are a crying public need, now every day. "If tho army needs a road It gets it. Even our possessions In the Far East, the Philippine Islands, have been the objects of our solicitous tare to the ex tent of expending $3,000,000 In building ronds for them. Porto Rico, though not much larger thnn some of our coun ties, has had over $3,000,000 expended upon its ronds since it enme Into out possession. During our brief occupan cy of Cuba our Government expended $2,500,000 upon Its public ronds. Even those little dots In the Pacific, the Ha waiian Islands, have come in for a share und have n contemplated expen diture of $2,500,000 upon their roads. These various sums aggregate $13,000,- 000 that have been expended during tho past few years in building roads, not a foot of which lies within the Uni ted States. What have we against our owu people that we should deny to them blessings that are freely extended to tho Idle islanders of the Beas? 1 "But other interests nnd forces nre coming to the aid of tho solitary and unorganized farmer. His friends in ;the cities, having grown rich and equipped themselves liberally with self propelled vehicles, want better roads to roll them over, nnd they nre inter ested In the problem of the ronds. The manufacturer, learning from exper ience that bnd roads interfere mater ially with his obtaining steady nnd con tinuous supplies of raw material, wants the mails improved. The millions or operatives in the mines, factories nud shops nre learning that bad roads In crease the cost and disturb the regular supply of food products from the farms which they must have, and they want better roads. The merchnut has learned that bad ronds retard ond re press trade, nnd he wants them mend ed. Our rostoffice Department is greatly hindered nnd hampered In its efforts to supply to the country regular and reliable mall service for lack of better roads. In fact, It would be hard to nnme an interest, nn industry, or an Individual who would not be benefited by better roads." Representative Leo said that If he hnd the privilege of writing upon the statute books a law that had more of the promise and potency for immediate nnd lasting good to all the people than nny law that has been proposed or dis cussed in the House, It would be a law creating a Deportment of rubllc High ways, to act through and lu conjunc tion with Stnte, county and municipal authorities In redeeming the country from tho throes and thrnlldom of Its miserable roads, and he would give that department not less than $50,000,. 000 a year until tho work had reached a satisfactory stngo of advancement. "So here we re," said he, "right In tho middle of the roud, and the sorriest kind of a rood at that. 'A condition confronts us, not a theory.' Are not 100 years of observation long enough to convince us that tho roads will not ro form themselves?" The Automobile. Have Cared Cold. "I've got a fresh cold," Representa tive John Wesley dallies, of Tenne: see, eoniplalnei". "Why have a fresh one?" asked Rep resentative Stanley, of Kentucky. "Why not have it cured?" THE TACTLESS HOSTESS. 11 Th meat pic made by .Tur'.ey's wife Are famed throughout the town; Th' y'd raise a mortal to the skin, Or draw an angel dowu. r' But .Tnrley's spoui!, though skillful cook F.iil woefully in tact; Arid I. who none iw recontcur, Have lenrnea that painful fact. How oft a elimnx I have reached In story choice and neiv. When, fork un-poised, she has implore "Another helping? Do!" Or when the guents, with eagrr cars, Some jest'e Wn point awir. She'll pout, "A wee hit? I insist! My dear, just pass his plate!'' Now, I'm a law-abiding man; And Jarley's of my kin: But I confess it fires my blood When Jarley's wife butts int-- ' And if, some day, tin's artist-cook In weltering (lore's described. The veTdict must he "Self Defense" Or "Murder Justified!" Ella A. Fanning, in the New York Times. "Hello, Bllklns, who nre you working for now?" "Same people n wife nnd five children." Montgomery Adver tiser. Lady Customer (In baker's shop, to shop glrli "Are these buns to-day's, because what I bought yesterday weren't." Punch. Stella "Are you going to marry him?" Bella "Yes. lie has been Inves tigated by three mnguzlues. so I shall Jcnow nil about him." Brooklyn Life. Said a broken down fox, "I have spent Every dollar I had," and he went To a wealthy old skunk For the loan of a plunk But the skunk wouldn't give, him a scent. , New York Times. "Is our now cook clean, dear?" "I'm afraid not. When I asked her what kind of soap she used to wash the veg etables she said she didn't use any." Detroit Free Press. Politician "Your brother-in-law, big Mike Cnlluhnn, has applied for a politi cal Job. Can you snfely recommend him?" Costlgnn "Well. 01 couldn't safely do anything else." Judge. Miss Debutto "Now that you're graduated from college, don't you miss the outdoor exercise?" Mr. Greenwun "Not especially. Yon see, I'm serv ing subpoenas for a law firm now." Puck. Mother "Oh, you bad boy! Dirty hands ogaln! I'm afraid you're a hope less case." Tommy (eagerly) "Oh, ma, does 'hopeless' mean you're going to give up talking about it?" Philadel phia Ledger. Mrs. Hunnlmuno "You nasty tramp! TIow dare you eat that lemon pie I set out to cool?" Tired Timothy "Well. It did take nerve, ma'am, but a starvln' man can't be very particular about What he eats." Cleveland Leader. There are no birds in last year's nests, No wheels in last year's ruts; But buy pecans and you will find Some worms in last year' nuts. "Some er you sinners Is ol' en gray headed. So ol', in fact, dat w'en you finally fetches up nt whar you gwine, Satan'll say, we'n he open de gate: 'Come right in, cliillun; but, my, my! how late you Is!' "Atlanta Constitu tion. Miss Skreecher "What sort of songs do you like best, Mr. Suphrer?" Mr. Suphrer "The songs of the seven teenth century." Mis.s S. "How odd! Why do you prefer them?" Mr. S. "Because nobody ever sings 'cm nowa days." Cleveland Leader. Miss Watkyns "Where Is Mr. Cash lelgh now?" Mr. Wllkyns "I don't know exactly. Somewhere up iu Can ada." Miss Wntkyus "Why. I didn't know he was going awny." Mr. Wll kyns "Tho bank directors didn't, either." Somervllle Journal. "That office holder never makes a move that is not dictated by his politi cal boss." "No," answered Senator Sorghum, "he has been given to under stand that he can hold his situation only during bad behavior." Washing ton Star. l-oit Bees and 'Iroasers. A German beekeeper undertook to carry somo of his choicest beos to a 'bee show. He took n train In Hanover Iwith his bec3 In n basket ut his feet. ,The bees escaped from tho basket and crawled up his trouser's legs. His actions soon aroused suspicions in the hearts of two women who occupied the samo compartment with him. They pulled the bell cord and stopped the train. When the bee fancier explained the situation he wns placed iu nil empty compartment to l ave It out with the bees all by himself. Here he re moved his trousers und began shaking them out of the window to flee them of the swarm. Unfortunately they caught a telegraph pole and were swept away, bees, money ami all. At the next station the Irate station mas ter brought forth the reluctant bee fancier in a rug nnd lie pawnod his watch to acquire decent raiment to walk back along the line In search of bis bees and his trousers. tree Lunch Schemer. An Irishman, who was notoriously impecunious, has dlt covered a new way to achieve some of thu luxuries of life. This is how ho explains it: "Whist, man, don't say a word about it. I found everybody wanted to sell nn 'auto' for a good price to suuie inno cent, so I Just hung around tha g.r.'ase at every hotel I stopped nt and pretend ed to be as green as the E intra Id Isle, und gave out that I wanted a second haud machine, and would not go to a dealer as I did not know anything about a machine, and he might rob me. I have hud forly-nluo rides, seven teen luncheons, five dinners and about forty cigars, good, bnd and Indifferent, but dlvll a machine have I bought yet." , The Froteaslon of Fanning. "Farmlug is a profession requiring more shrewdness thau law, moro tech nical training than medicine, more unrlghtuess than theology, more brain and resourcefulness than pedr.gogy. It is its own reward. God made farm ers. The other professions uro para sites." American Farinrtii;. In January Japan's exports were $13,208,000 and imports $10,033,000. lOxports increased by $1,000,000 and limports decreased by $1,000,000, a fa vorable trade balance gain of $3,t00, D00.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers