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THE MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, MEYERSD ALE, PA.
The Motion Picture Interpreter.
The katsuban is a native ang uuique
nroduct of Japanese life and is called
both a nuisance and a necessity. The
pame is an abridgement of katsudo-
benshi and means moving picture
speaker. Tue katsuban follows every
action shown in motion picture plays
and interprets it to the audience. Ee
must not only have a fluent tongue,
but have tie ability to imitate profes-
sional “actors of both old and new
schools as well as being able to speak
several degrees of falsetto to portray
the various characters in the plays.
The profession is by no means an easy
one, and the skilled members are al-
most as popular as the actors them-
selves.
The katsuban cannot be dispensed
with because of the introduction of for-
eign films in Japan. . It is necessary to
explain the action; otherwise the pic-
ture would be unintelligible to most of
the audience. Even in the case of na-
tive pictures it is said that as yet many
of the gctors are not sufficiently clever
to enable the management to dispense
with the services of the katsuban.—
Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph.
Horseshoes and Luck.
The luck of the horseshoe comes from
three lucky things always connected
with horseshoes, These consist of the
following facts: It is the shape of a
crescent; it is a portion of a horse; it
is made from iron. Each of these has
from time immemorial been considered
lucky. Anything in the shape of a
crescent was always considered a thing
to bring luck. From the earliest times, |
too, at least since the world knew
something of the qualities of iron, iron
has been regarded as a thing to give
protection and, incidentally, that would
involve good Juck. And, lastly, the
Horse sinee the days.of English mythol-
ogy has been regarded as a lucky ani-
mal. When, then, we had a combina-
tion of the three—the crescent, the iron
and the horse—in one object, it became
a true lucky sign in the eyes of the
people.—Book of Wonders.
Just Like Babel.
The difficulties which ‘the ancient
builders of the Tower of Babel expe-
rienced with the language difficulty
may be easily understood by any’ one
who has spent a little time in Basrah,
in Mesopotamia. The dialects in com-
mon use at Basrah are said to be more
than forty in number. The most pop-
ular is Arabie, but it is not tire Arabic
of Fgypt or Morocco. It is a distinct
tongue, with which the Egyptian or
Moroccan experiences the greatest dif-
ficulty. Then there is Persian, with
variations known as Bagdad-Persian,
Neid-Persian and Basrah-Persian.
Turkish is frequently heard, while
Armenian and Chaldean are the lan-
guages of the native Christian popula-
tion. Kurdish is used by another sec-
tion of the inhabitants, while Hindu-
stani is the language of the Indian
troops.
Holy Lahds.
The Holy Land is a term used, espe-
cially by Christians, to designate Pal-
estine as being the scene of the birth,
ministry and death of Christ, but also
employed by other religious sects to
describe the places sacred tv them
from association. Thus the Moham-
medans speak of Mecca as the Holy
Land, it being the birthplace of Mo-
hammed. The Chinese Buddhists call
India the Holy Land because the
founder of their religion was born
there, while the Greeks bestow this
same title on Elis, where was situated
the temple of Olympian Zeus.
Cuba’s Fine Tobacco.
Cuba produces the highest priced to-
bacco grown in the world. The fine
aromatic tobacco is not grown in all
parts of the island, but on a little spot
near the western coast, the size of
which i§ no more than twenty-five
square miles. Such tobacco as is pro-
duced in this limited area can be pro-
duced nowhere else.
Different. Jl
“Why, a year ago you told me thi
place was easily worth $15,000. Now
vou estimate its value at less than
$10,000.”
“You must remember that I was try-
ing to sell it to you then. Now you
want me to sell it for you.”
)
Economical Elopements.
Blopements, with the consent of the
parents on both sides, are frequent in
Bulgaria, the expense of the wedding
ceremony and festivities being thus
avoided by the thrifty peasants.
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PRACTICAL HEALTH HINT.
Rest Before Eating.
. The importance of resting after
eating as a necessary condition
for perfect digestion has been
emphasized, but it is equally im-
portant to rest, physically and
mentally, before eating. Dogs
that had run an hour before eat-
ing and others that had been
resting were fed the same ra-
tion, and it was found that those
dogs that had been rested be-
fore eating digested the meal
much better than those fed while
tired. Usually a dog will refuse
to eat if very tired, and a man
who has a natural appetite will
feel little inclination to eat until
after he has rested, following
physical exercise. The practice
of hurrying from the office or
ghop to the dining room and eat-
ing without resting and then hur-
rying back to work is one of the
means by which the digestive
and nervous systems are gradu-
alty though imperceptibly bro-
ken down.
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eT A SA EE AE . co | See”
Wap ETT sri at
Where Lost Coid Goes.
Within ‘the last XO ycars one thou-
sand million pounds’ worth of gold has
vanished,
Where have the missing millions
gone?
About one-third lies at the Lottom of
the sea. The treasure of lost vessels
which strews tlle route from England
to India alone has been estimated at
eighty million sterling. :
In 1798 the British frigate De Brook
wrecked off the American coast, took
with her into thie depths of the ocean
gold worth £2,400,000, the spoils of an
intercepted Spanish treasure fleet. An-
other British warship, the Hussar,
went down with over a inillion sterling
in gold in 1780, and another million
was lost in the Lutine in 1799.
Much gold, too, is lost through wes~
and tear. It is a soft metal in its nat-
ural state, and despite the alloys used
to make it harder it wedrs away com-
paratively quickly when coined into
money. It is the same with jewelry.
In tlhiese ways and a hundred others
the gold gained by men through sweat
and blood finds its way back to the
earth whence it came.—London Opin-
ion. . .
Royal Nanies.
Nicholas Romanoff is the name by
which the late czar is mentioned in the |
Russian papers.
ed whether this is a correct use of the
word Romanoff, for monarchs, who
sign by their Christian names only, are
not supposed to have surnames. In
the early days, when both surnames
and customs were in the making, they
did not need them, and (except in case
of dethronement, and not always then)
they have never needed them since.
Contrary to popular belief, Plantagenet
was not a surname. Tudor may have
been one, and Stuart certainly was.
But Gueiph was not, and so good an
authority as Mr. Fox-Davies holds that
the present king of England has no
surname at all. Less learned authori-
ties have been perplexed to know
whether the descendants of Queen Vie-
toria did not inherit the surname of
their father, the prince consort.
A Queen Off Duty.
The neatness of ber figure was ac-
centuated by a dress of the vogue, and
she bore herself with the graceful free-
dom of an unspoiled queen of the pe-
riod when royalty did not wear cor-
sets. She was half a block ahead of
me when I first noted her unaffected
stateliness, continues a writer in the
New York Sun. Perhaps my attention
was drawn to her by the admiration of
everybody within periscopic range, ‘the.
concentrated worship of the hypnotized
multitude impelling me to follow its
example. 1 walked faster and, as the
sailors say, was soon abeam of her. 1
passed her, and as I did so I fear I
violated polite precedents by viewing
her askance.
1 recognized her instantly. She is
my married sister's cook, and, as my
prother-in-law has remarked, “She is
some cook!”—Detroit Free Press.
The Jerusalem Chamber.
One of the rooms in Westminster ab-
bey that are of peculiar interest is the
Jerusalem chrmbor, which wes built
more than 500 years ago and was
probably at one tite the abhot’s with-
drawing rocin. It wis in this chambe
that Henry IV. died, in cuiions fullili-
ment of a prcphecy that he should di:
in Jerusalem:
It hath been prophesied ine many a year
I shall not die but in Jerusalem,
Which vainly I suppose the Holy Land,
But bear me to that chamber. Thore 111 lie.
‘In that Jerusalem shall Harry dle.
And in the same chamber Addiscii
Congreve and Prior lay in state before
their splendid intermwnt in the abbey.
Had a Good Txcuse.
Dorothy, aged 4, was present at din-
ner the other evening when a number
of guests were being entertained by her
parents, and during the lull in the con-
versation she began to talk very ear-
nestly : “Why do you talk so much, Dor-
othy?”’ asked her father. “Tause I's
dot suffin’ to say,” was the reply.—Kan-
sas City Star.
Modern Travel.
The brakeman doesn’t carry a lan-
tern any more, the train “putch” tries
to sell the passengers De Morgan in-
stead of Bertha M. Clay, the conduc-
tor refuses to carry babies for fear the
auditor may object, and the coaches
are so light that spooning couples fail
to amuse.—Salina Journal.
Bonehead.
«G'wan, nigger, you all ain’t got no
sense nohow.”
“Ain't got no sense?
vere haid for?’
«Dat thing? Dat ain’t no haid, nig-
ger; dat’s jes er button on top er yo
body ter keep yer backbone from un-
ravelin’.”—Lamb. .
Whut's dis
Not the Result Expected.
_ Cashier—I cannot possibly live on the
salary you are paying me. Employer—
H'm! Just as I thought. You'll have
to give us a bond tomorrow for $5,000.
— Boston Transcript.
The Artist’s Touch. :
Mistress—How do you manage to
make such a noise here in the kitchen?
Cook—Well, just you try to break four |
plates without making a noise.—Ideas.
Already Informed.
Mrs. Grammercy—Why don’t you tell
that neighbor of yours? Mrs, Park—
It isn’t necessary, my dear. We're on
the same party wire—Puck.
Pertinent Question.
Convict—I’'m in here for having five
wives. Visitor—How are you enjoying
your liberty 7—Mxchange.
The rickest mine in the world is the
one within yourself.
aL i i ————
But it may be doubt. !
Eye and Temper Savers.
“Those who do fine needlework of
any kind,” says a writer in the Wo-
man’s: Home Companion, “will find it
advantageous to observe these rules
closely:
“Do not sit too long at the task. If
you wish to spend a day or a half day
at it, keep at it steadily for fifty min-
utes and drop the work for the next
ten minutes, occupying your time with
something else ‘through which the mind
may be relaxed. At the end of ten
minutes go back to the needlework,
again applying yourself to it for fifty
minutes, and SO coutinue throughout
the entire day. =
“Always observe closely the rule re-
garding light direction. Sit with your
back almost facing the light, with the
latter coming over your left shoulder.
“When working with net or fine laces
that are white or light colored wear
a black apron that is without gloss,
and never wear a dress or apron that
has a figure or stripe of any sort in it.
Use plain colors as a background for
your work and use colors that are re-
ceding, like blue, dark brown or green.”
Celebrated Bachelors. .
Handel, Licynolds, Turner, Sir Isaac
Newton and Cavendish were among
the men illustrious in art or science
who remained bachelors. ’
Among authors we have Pope, Gold
smith, Lamb and Macaulay. The fee
' ble health of “the wasp of Twicken-
! ham’ stood no doubt. in the way of
' his marrying. Goldsmith had not the
same excuse, but in his case it was
quite as well that he passed through
life as a bachelor. A single man who
* habitually spends twice as much as
he has is never likely to make a wise
and prudent husband. 4
Lamb, “that frail, good man,” as
Wordsworth calls him, was a bachelor
not from choice, but from affection.
The singular loyalty with which he
devoted himself to his sister in circum-
stances of melancholy interest prevent-
. ed his marrying a girl whom, it ap-
pears, he truly loved. Lord Macaulay
rested content with the loving sympa-
thy of his sister, Hannah, the wife of
Sir Charles Trevelyan, whose children
were to him as his own.
Menta] Twilight.
Mental health passes into mental dis-
ease most commonly in a gradual way,
as light passes into darkness. There
is a mental twilight, a borderland in
which it is imposeible to say whether
the patient is mentally ill or not. It
1s always well for a man who under-
goes such changes mentally to consult
his doctor, and it is always well for the
doctor not to make too light of such a
change, because treatment is usually
far more effectual in that borderiand
stage than it is when the symptoms
have been fully developed. The best
test of mental health is when a man
feels a conscious sense of organic well
being, although many persons go
through life with more or less of a |
sense of ill being all the time and are
not on that account to be regarded as
insane. g
Our Old Paper Currency.
Fractional currency was the name
given to government issues of paper
_ money of small denominations during
the ‘war between the states. Owing to
the suspension of specie payments in
. 18G1 silver coins of small denomina-
. tions - disappeared from circulation,
causing great inconvenience to retail
trade and people generally.. In March,
1863, congress authorized the issue of
| paper notes of small denominations,
' ed great relief.
5, 10, 25 and 50. cents, and they afford-
The total volume of
it was limited to $50,000,000, and much
of it became so worn out by circuia-
. tion that it was never redeemed.
Cracked Eggs.
When an eggshell is cracked, even 80
. slightly that the eye cannot see it,
germs and molds find ready entrance
into the egg and spoil its contents.
Nature has provided the egg with a
delicate protective, gelatinous coating,
which, as long as it is intact, tends to
keep out air and germs. Once this
coating is pierced the keeping quality
of the egg is lessened immediately.
Three Naval Victories.
It is said that the three white lines
which appear on the collars of sailors’
blouses in the United kingdom, the lines
being straight for men of the regular
navy and wavy for men of the naval
J. volunteer force, represent the three na-
val victories of JNelson—the battles of
the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar.
The Idea. .
“Good gracious, John, why did you
allow the agent to perspade you to
take a cottage with no more, ground
than this?’
“Because, my dear, I did not go into
this deal with any selfish idea of ter-
ritorial expansion.’—Baltimore Ameri-
can.
How They Work.
In an argument against fanaticism
General Funston once said to a news-
paper correspondent:
“Tven the looking glass and the wine
glass have their uses. The looking
glass reveals our defects to ourselves;
the wine glass reveals them to others.”
No Great Damage.
“She says I made a toy of her heart.”
“Don’t let that girl bluff you. She
has been engaged seventeen times. Her
heart is one of these indestructible
toys.”—Louisville Courier-Journal.
After the Ceremony.
“his was given to me for a wed-
ding present by my sunt, and I don’t
Hke it. I wonder if I could get her
money basck”—Life,
The road to success is as easy as the
road to ruin.— Benjamin Franklin,
We have opened our
[A Stitch in Time]
Meyersdale Auto Co,,
A Full Line of
Accessories, Oils and Supplies,
Godyear United States and Kelly-Springfield Tires
Steam Vulcanizing Plant.
account of the vast increase in the price of tires, it wi
care of your tires and have all cuts and bruises Vulcanized at once --You know .
~All Work Guaranteed.
Call and inspect, On
Il pay you to take good
TUESDAY
OW the old range does love to heat things up, espe-
cially when it's sizzling hot outside! Then, there's
always the coal or wood to carry, always that constant
raking and poking, pulling this and pushing that, to keep
the fire going.
But the ironing must be dore.
~ do it, is there? No, not unless you have a New Perfection
Oil Cook Stove in your kitchen.
have made thousands of women happy—freed them from the ifon-
ing day and the everyday drudgery and overwork you have now.
A Perfection will heat the. irons on Tuesdays. And it's always
ready to bake, fry, boil or roast'at the strike of a match. You'll be
particularly interested in the separate oven and the fireless cooker.
Your dealer will explain about them. Ask him.
: THE ATLANTIC REFINING COMPANY i
: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
7 One of the many good
points about a’ Perfection is
that it burns the most eco-
nomical fuel—kerosene. And
the best keroseneisRayolight.
It's so highly refined that it
burns without smoking, sput-
tering, smelling or charring
the wicks. Look for this sign:
There’s no other way to
Tr
(i
Wiakes Cooking u Lica.
1 Hn up
10 need is i
Get a New Perfection—the Long
¥ 1 you mistress of your own kitchen
Li put—the different oil cook stove.
4 Come in and see the reversible reservoir, a new and exclusive
igh “feature that makes the New Perfection better than ever before.
Meyersdale Hardware Co.
J. W. MALLERY, Prop.
ing. It Lukes energy
i to be heat energy, not human energy.
No soot, no odors, no constant fussing.
vour strength when youre doing
{u cook food, but it ought
LE
Blue Chimney Stove. It makes
_not the slave of a stove.
Visible flame that stays 3%
in wore than 2,500;000 homes. %
Agents of the Pennsylvania state
dairy and food division have made a
drive recently to get persons who have
been selling ice cream which is shy
the butter fats required by law. The
samples were taken in Philadelphia,
Allegheny, Blair, Cambria and other
counties and in a number of cases
were found below standard.
Harrisburg will be headquarters
for the reserve organizations fo b
formed by the Patriotic Order Sor
of America. The organization h:
named a general committee to co-0L
erate with the state public safety com
mittee, and it will start @ movemen
to organize 200 reserve companies
this week.
In an opinion given to J. C. Ritte
hour, superintendent of the Weste"
Pennsylvania Humane society, in rep
to a query “Is a cat property?” Ath,
ney General Brown siated that i.e
laws of Pennsylvania in listing ob-
jects which may be termed property
have omitted the cat
Because of the shortage of male
| labor women‘ are employed in the
plant of the American Sheet and Tin
Plate company at Farrell. Three are
now working in the cold roll depart
ment stripping tin. The women man-
age to keep up their end of the work
with the men.
Captured in the Somme battle, Wil
liam Carter, twenty-three, of Union
town, is being held in a German de-
tention camp at Zrbyest, Germany.
With other men he is compelled tc
work in the fields and elsewhere in
aid of the kaiser’s government.
Barney Gladden, eighty-six, Greene
county’s smallest man, is dead. Mr.
Gladden was five feet two inches tall
and weighed 100 pounds. When the
Civil war broke out he volunteered,
but was refused because of his short
statue.
Henry Karsner, aged twelve, was
killed instantly when he was crushed
between two coal cars while playing
on the tipple at a mine near his home
in Pittsburgh.
The mystery surrounding the death
of a man and woman in a hotel in
Philadelphia was cleared when John
J. Alexander went there from Pitts-
burgh and identified the dead man as
Sergeant Ferdinand S. Alexander, his
brother, who, he said, held a commis-
‘| sion in the signal corps of the navy.
Mr. Alexander took charge of the
body and that of Louise Jones of New
York, to whom Lieutenant Alexander
was to have been married and weg
shot herself shortly after Alexander
had died from an attack of indiges-
tion.
Buildings in Harrisburg which were
occupied by state. government offices
until a fortnight ago are to be
sold by the state for the material
they contain and removed to make
way for Capitol park extension. The
buildings will be sold this month and
will be the last batch to be removed
prior to start for grading. As soon
| as Governor Brumbaugh signs the
| bills for funds the work of grading
| will begin. Over a score of houses
are now being demolished.
| Jesse Williamson II, well con-
| nected and a social leader of Phil-
| adelphia has been sentenced to not
less than eight nor more than twenty-
sour years’ imprisonment and to pay
| a fine of $1,000 on indictments charg-
ing embezzlement of approximately
$750,000 of trust funds of the Penn-
sylvania company for the insurance of
lives and granting of annuities, of
which he was secretary.
Allegheny mountain coal operators,
who have their mines in Blair county
and have been retailing at $2.50 a ton,
| advanced their price to $3 a ton, to
meet the rate suggested by the Na-
tional Defense Council coal commit-
tee. This unexpected boost in price
has aroused the indignation of thou-
sands of consumers who have been
buying their coal at the mines.
Despondent over being compelled
to move from the house in Al-
toona he had occupied for thirty-five
years, Harry L. Baker, aged thirty-five, |
Pennsylvania railroad machinist, cut |
his throat in the cellar of the home of |
his son Reed, dying ten minutes prt]
The landlord had served notice some
| time ago that he desired possession]
| of the property.
AS RASS
i
rs —