| Nathan Straus,
| Pure Milk Crusader
Merchant Prince and Philanthropist Who Heads the National
Democratic Business Men's Bureau Founder
of Pasteurized Milk Depots and
Saver of Many Lives.
By JAMES A. EDGERTON.
THERE Is a soul satisfying sound
about the word philanthropist—
lover of man. It is the term
universally applied to Nathan
Straus, the New York merchant who
has crowned a life of charity by es
tablishing pasteurized milk depots
throughout America and Europe. If
there were a word that meant lover
of children, It would be still more ap
propriate to Mr. Straus, as he has
saved the lives of thousands of little
ones by his pure milk crusade. Tills
should entitle hint to a fame as much
above that of the conquerors as it Is
greater to give life or preserve It than
It is to take it away.
Mr. Straus Is the head of oue of
New York city's Immense department I
stores, llis brother, Oscar S. Straus,
Is a member of President Roosevelt's
cabinet and was formerly minister to |
Turkey under President Cleveland.
Nathan Straus, however, is a Demo
crat and was recently appointed chair
man of the committee to organize the
business men of the country In behalf
of the Bryan liokot. Despite Ills work
as a busiii . r.an and philanthropist
Mr. Stra;: !i is always found time to
devote t : >!'.<• ::IT;.i . «. lie has lit en
l jjjl nrt nr\
NATHAN STRAUS AND ONE Of IIIS TYPICAL MILK DEPOTS.
park commissioner and president of i
tbe health board lu New York city and 1
has served ou the forestry commission j
in the state. In 1894 Tammany nomi- j
nated him for mayor, and the uomina- I
tion was equivalent to an elee;lon.
After considering the matter for two j
■lays Mr. Straus declined, lie has pre- j
«*rred his personal Independence in
liolilics and lias refused to submit to i
party dictation.
Only Nominal Prices Charged.
In Ills philanthropic work Straus
nas always avoided the appc:i:vn< • j
giving charity, believing that : Is! do
gra<lo3 :>.nd pauperizes tbo r< ii >nt. |
ITe 1I:I«I insisted .»:» th i> he h • ay- j
lng something If possible. This iin.cint ;
has always been less than the cost of i
the article to Mr. Straus and has been •
insisted on simply to preserve the self }
respect of the recipient. Thus during |
the panic of 18113, when so many men j
were out of work in New York city and j
so much suffering prevailed among the !
poor, Nathan Straus established coal I
supply stations, grocery stores and j
sleeping houses throughout the city. lie !
saw that the people were being robbed
by the small coal dealers who sold in
twenty five or fifty pound lots. By es
tablishing several coal offices and inly
ing In Immense quantities he was en
abled to sell the coal to the poor at
about half what they had been paying.
This represented a loss to Mr. Straus. .
but relieved the suffering. The same
was true of his groceries. In which j
work he was helped by J. IMerpont
Morgan and others. The prices charged j
were little more than nominal, but the |
people still felt that they were paying j
for what they got. lu the sleeping j
houses the men only gave "> cents a
night, or prices ns ridiculously sma'l.
but they did not have the sense <>f re
ceiving without gii lug an equivalent,
and so the great psychological law
recompense, which is so necessary to a j
feeling of independence, was not vio
lated. I.ater ou, when Mr. Straus <3- J
tablished the pasteurized milk depois ,
In the parks and on the public piers, lie
worked on the same principle. The
milk was sold at n small amount per
bottle or per glass, not nearly enough
to repay the cost, but still enough to re
move the sting of a patronizing chari
ty from those helped. Even then the
price was not Insisted on in all cases.
If a mother applied for milk for her
Infant and said she was not able to
pay, the milk was given gladly. Not
only was pasteurized milk furnished at
these booths, but a physician was In
attendance to advise mothers as to
their little ones. This service was
free of charge. Through such means
the lives of thousands of babies were
saved annually. The work was not
confined to New York, but was opened
!n other American cities and then In
Europe. The name of Nathan Straus
Is now almost as familiar across the
water as at home.
Milk Booths Erected In Parks.
The pasteurized milk crusade Is a
Btory in itself that some day will be
read by the world with thrilling inter
est. The pathetic and Inspiring tale
can only be touched here. It has been
over a dozen years since Mr. Straus
became alive to the fact that lmDure
uina causes more deatns man aiuiom
any other one cause; that it spreads
typhoid, diphtheria and other like dis
eases; that It sweeps off thousands of
children through summer complaint
and that It is a great avenue for the
carrying of consumption. Scarcely
any taw milk is free from disease
germs of some sort, though in much
of it they are not in sufficient quan
tities to affect adults or children of
vigorous constitutions. Many diph
theria, scarlet fever and other similar
scourges have been traced to this
source. In one experiment made by
Mr. Straus, where the infant mortality
had been over I'i.i y i.i a hundred, ha
reduced it to tv.emy. In New York
the year before he began his work
the iat'aut inor, lity .liu i the live
hot weeks of July and early August
had been l.v. 1 p.-r ! '. The next
year, after ha l o-.au <: retributing pas
teurized milk, it tell toll T.i).
During ten > • he kept up the dls- j
triliuUou. and the I'eath rate among I
child.ell \> as still i'ni ther decreased to |
72.1. II" I i t givlvg the milk
free to |h;>: the board of
health an. l . d in charita- j
ble work. . !. started erecting
boot' •i. • • ' a this he was j
opposeu oy many omciais ami ar 111 >1 j
had little encouragement from ilij '
source. lie persevered, however, c.:- |
tending the work to Philadelphia. «'hi- I
cago and other cities, and the p:v - j
began to comment favorably 011 Ids j
efforts. It was the writer's fortune to j
be 1111 editorial writer ou one of tin ;
New York dailies during J,.-. f'tr.r:.
crusade and to assist in 11 small way j
by writing many editorials in his be j
half. 1 remember that at tin* begin |
uing of one summer Mr. Straus had j
five pasteurized milk depot ivad.v to
open 111 various parks of the city. lie i
offered to supply any number of mldi !
tioiial booths that the city would erect 1
with pasteurized milk free of 1 ex
cept the nociinal charges to patrons, j
The appropriation required was only
the trilling sum of and yet
the olllcials were so slow that even thi 1
niggardly amount was not forthcoming.
Mr. Straus then erected twelve moiv j
booths himself, making seventeen in
all.
lie had a similar experience lu some ]
European cities, of one of these he
said In an interview:
"1 had a desire to establish my milk
system in the town of Lille, France, j
where the infant mortality was -oh, j
I've forgotten the figures, but it was |
something frightful! I made the offer .
and endeavored to arrange for the J
acceptance of the gift, but It seer ed j
there were too many difficulties lu the [
way official difficulties, precedents, |
red tape and all the rest of it."
Honored by
Nevertheless he did succeed In Lu j
rope, and row his 1 Ik <!.*■ are to
be found in many «i o ly >j
but at a recent International p. re uiilk
congress M:. Straus w is given an ova
Hon. He has been received a".! h :•
ored by royalty for his work :• n-n 1
and through his efforts l'rati.e. lev- I
many, England and i-iiior fun ' on
tlons have been awakened tot: • 1 1
pure milk ;<erll almost as tnuc'i ■■: 1
Ills own lat.d. Recently Mr. s 1 h
ppen I urteen months abroad for tha
purpose of preaching his crusade for
the preservation of life aud in that 1
time made great progress. In Sand-1
bauson, a .small village near Heidel
berg, the establishment of a pasteuriza
tion plant caused au immediate fall in
the death rate of children, in Karls
ruhe the dowager Grand Duchess
Luise of Bavaria gave her cordial sup
port to Mr. Straus In the establishment
of a pasteurization plant, as did the
Countess of Aberdeen, vice reine of
Ireland, in Dublin; the Princess Ar
nulf of Itavarla, In Munich, and Dr.
E. W. Hope, officer of health, in Liv
erpool. Baron von Beinerth, minister j
of the Interior of Austria, promised
Mr. Straus to Introduce the pasteuriza
tion of milk throughout that country,
and the demonstrations given by Mr.
Straus in Frankfort, Berlin and Vienna
were attended by physicians, men of
science, philanthropists and govern
ment and health officials.
Mr. Straus' platform In this work
may be judged by this vigorous sum
ming up: "Neither war nor pestilence
nor famine claims as many victims as
Impure mUk. It is the most terrible
foe of humanity, all the more because
It elves no outward sUrn of the dan-
Kt-r. us pßsreurize our muK ntrp
ply. Let us have for otir motto, "Medi
cines and hospitals are possible cures,
whtle pasteurization Is positive pre
vention." "
Supported by the Government.
In America even greater success has
attended his crusade. A year or more
ago the government came to his sup
port. The agricultural department, aft
er thorough tests, gave out a report
that agreed with all of Mr. Straus' con
tentions and urged the pasteurization
or boiling of milk In all cities, villages
and homes of the land. The warning
awakened the medical profession, the
health boards and the public generally
to the peril of Impure milk. Since then
the work has l>een going forward more
rapidly. It takes a long time to get tho
great Inert mass of humanity to mov
ing—it has taken Mr. Straus fifteen
years, and much yet remains to bo
done but, once started, It goes with Its
own momentum. This movement will
proceed with all the greater force be
l cause it will have behind it the love of
children. Once let mothers and fathers
thoroughly understand that impure
milk means the possible murder of
their little ones, and pasteurization will
he swiftly established from ocean to
ocean.
At the time the government gave out
Its report on the subject it also Impart
ed a formula for home pasteurization.
This I do not remember in detail, but
It will be supplied any one writing to
the agricultural department at Wash
ington and asking for the bulletin. As
I recall tlie formula it is to bring the
milk slowly and gently to the boil and
then let it as gradually cool. It should
be kept above a certain temperature—
not the boiling point, however—for
some time, as that is necessary to kiil
'.he germs. If allowed to boil too vio
lently or too long, the life giving prop
erties in the milk are killed. Better
than home pasteurization, however, is
the establishment of pasteurization
plants In all cities and villages of the
country.
Nathan Straus, the 111:111 who is chief
ly responsible for bringing this peril to
the attention of mankind, ami not only
*O, but who lias doue more than any
other dozen men to remove the dan
ger, was liorn in Khenlsh Bavaria in
IHis. Ills father was Lazarus Straus,
who came to this country before the
war, going into business at Talbotton.
Ga. Mr. Straus was a pronounced
X T iii<hi man. however, aud secession
sentiment was so strong about him
that he was compelled to move to Co
lambus, (ia. In ISO.", he again re
moved. this time to New York, where
he went into the crockery business un
der the name of L. Straus & Sons.
Nathan up to this time had been in
Lavaut college, but now at the age of
seventeen went on the road for the
Brin. In IS7-J he took charge of the
crockery department of Ills present
business house, a few years later was
made a member of the firm, and now,
with his brothers, controls a majority
of the stock.
Authors and Speakers of Ability.
Of these brothers there are two
lion. Oscar S. Straus, already men
tioned. and Isidor Straus, almost as
well known, since he lias been a mem
ber of congress and prominent In his
opposition to a protective tariff and
free silver. There is no family in
New York more thoroughly respected
than the three Straus brothers. They
belong to that high type of philan
thropic Jews of which the world con
tains many noble examples. They are
unostentatious, cultured, public spir
ited, intellectual and given to good
works. All are authors and speakers
of ability, a.' have held high public
place, all are capable business men,
and all are objects of public esteem.
Of the three, Nathan Straus excels
In works of philanthropy. lie Is rath
er slight in build, of nervous, intellec
tual face, which Is covered by a full
beard running to two points. Mr.
Straus has a home of quiet elegance,
loves a fast horse aud tells a good
story on occasion. One tale of bis re
lates to a stableman. One morning
Mr. Straus found this man rubbing
the leg of one of his trotters with a
spike nail dipped in liniment When
asked what he was doing the man
replied that the directions said to ap
ply the medicine "with a nail or tooth
brush," and as he had no toothbrush
ho thought If he had to use 11 nail he
had better take a spike. The stahle
uian was evidently not acquainted
with nailbrushes.
Mr. Straus has a sad face, seeming
to feel the suffering of all the unfortu
nate. Y'et if the saving of many lives
can give Joy, he should be the happi
est man in the world.
Strange Race of Ancient Britons.
Among the races of humankind
which away back of history's records
passed like clouds over various parts
of the earth one of the most puzzling
to ethnologists is that of the early
bronze age men who dwelt In Aber
deenshire, Scotland, and are supposed
to have constructed the special forms
of stone circles whose remains are now
found there. These men differed sig
nificantly, says J. Gray, from all the
prehistoric racial types previously de
termined in Britain. They were re
markably broad headed, and their av
erage stature was only five feet three
inches, as shown by skeletons. The
British neolithic race was markedly
long headed, and the bronze age race,
which built the round tumuli, was also
long headed and tall.
Man and Woman.
Father Vaughan of London, preach
ing on marriage, remarked that a wo
man said to him: "When you have
seen one man you have seen them all
in their moods and tenses. They are
all alike." Ills reply was:"lt may be
so, but woman is like an irregular
French verb, and unless a man studies
her in all her peculiar moods and
tenses he will misconstrue and misin
terpret her. much to his disadvan
tage."
An Overdressed Drama.
It is only In the last fifty years that
the true purpose of the theater, the
decent interpretation of the drama,
has been utterly obscured. Today
carpenters, costumers and wlgmakers
throw the humble playwright into the
shade.—National Review.
Reprieve
"What, divorced already? Why. my
dear fellow. I supposed you were up
against It for life."
"No; I got time allowance for bad
behavior."—Puck. _________
FIERCE FOREST FIRES,
Enormous Loss Caused In Spring
and Summer of 1908.
MANY TOWNS DESTROYED.
Timber Burned Equal In Value to Good
Sized Navy of Battleship*—Continu
ous Experience In Fighting Flames.
Historic Forest Fire Incidents.
The forest tires which have recently
laid waste whole countries iu Minnesota
and Michigan and extended into Wis
consin, destroying many towns and
making thousands of persons homeless,
have focused the attention of both
government and state forest officers >u
the enormous losses of forest weall'i
which will be checked up to the year
1008.
Iu the whole northern half of the
United States, throughout the territory
extending from coast to const, the re
ported destruction by forest tires has
been terrilie, and it is likely that the
year will go down as one of the worst
iu the last quarter century, says a for
est service bulletin. It seems that
no part of the country lias escaped the
work of the devastating flames. 'I'll:' i
' latest disasters in Minnesota, Michigan :
| and Wisconsin are tHe worst of the S
| many that have visited the lake states
| this year. Other sections have also i
! suffered from forest tires during the
| spring and summer months, and the
people of the Pacific coast, the Rocky
i mountain and the New Kugland stati s
! and Canada have had a thorough ami
iu some cases a continuous experience j
in tire lighting.
Officers in the United States forest
service at Washington say that it is
doubtful if this year's actual losses
from forest tires in all parts of the
United States will ever be known, but
it is certain that they will run up so
high in the millions that the country
will lie startled when a compilation
of statistics at the end of the season
makes it possible to give even the
most conservative figures. Suffice it t i
say, were all the timber burned up t llls
year in all parts of the country con
verted into cash it could provide for a
j good sized navy of first class battle
ships.
| Tiie tires have done good in one way.
They have called the people's atten
tion to ilie seriousness of the forest
tire problem, practical foresters say,
I and have started a widespread mo'v
ment in many states to check them by
adopting rational systems of fire pro
tectlon. Among thinking people there
has been awakened an intense Inter
est in throwing a better protection
around the forests, which grow more
Important as a natural resource as tli>*
: tlmbAr supply dwindles.
The terrible work of the flames
i which have burned over and destroyed
hundreds of thousands of acres of tint
her and property to the value of mil
I ll'ons in the lake states recalls to mem
i ory other great forest tires which have
I attained historic importance.
One of the earliest of these was the
great Mlramichi tire in 1525. It began
| its greatest destruction about 1 o'clock
! in the afternoon of Oct. 7 of that year
I at a place about sixty miles above the
j town of Newcastle, on the Miramichl
! river, in New Brunswick. Before 10
o'clock at night it was twenty miles
J below Newcastle. In nine hours It
, hud destroyed a belt of forest eighty
miles long and twenty-five miles wide.
Over more than 2.r>00,000 acres almost
every living tiling was killed. Even
the tisli were afterward found dead in
heaps on the river banks, l'lve hun
dred and ninety buildings wet a burned,
and a number of towns. Including New
castle, Chatham and Douglastowu,
were destroyed. One hundred and six
ty persons perished and nearly a thou
sand bead of stock. The loss from
the Miramlchl lire is estimated at
$300,000, not Including the value of
the timber.
In the majority of such forest fires
as this the destruction of the timber
Is a more serious loss by far than
that of the cattle and buildings, for it
carries with it tlie impoverishment of a
whole region tor tens or even hundreds
of years afterward. The loss of the
stmnpage value of the timber at the
time of tli<? tire Is but a small part of
the damage to the neighborhood. The
wages that would have been earned in
lumbering, added to the value of the
produce that would have been pur
chased to supply the lumber camps
and the taxes that would have been
devoted to roads and other public im
provements. furnish a much truer
measure of how much, sooner or later.
It costs a region when its forests are
destroyed by tire.
Tin l Peshtigo tire of October, 187 i.
was stlil more severe than the Mini
miehi. It covered an area of more
than 2,000 square miles In Wisconsin
and Involved a loss in timber and other
property of many millions of dollars.
Between 1.200 nnd l,. r >oo persons per
Ished.
The most destructive lire of more re
cent years was that which started near
Hinckley. Minn.. Sept. 1. 1804. While
the area burned over was less than
in some other great tires, the loss <>t
life and property was very heavy
Hinckley and six other towns were de
stroyed, about 500 lives were lost,
more thau 2,000 persons were left des
tltute, and the estimated loss in prop
erty of various kinds was $25,000.00: i
Except for heroic conduct of locomo
tive engineers nnd other railroad men
the loss of life would have been much
greater. This fire was nil the more de
plorable because It was wholly un
necessary. For many days before the
high wind came and drove It Into un
controllable fury It was burning slow
ly close to the town of ninckley nnd
could have been put out.
Climatic Changes.
There is plenty of evidence of the
very best sort which goes to prove that
not only Europe and North America,
but the lands situated within the arc
tic circle, must have enjoyed a tropics I
climate. The numerous fossil remains
found In those regions are those of
plants and animals which, according
to the present state of our knowledge,
must have lived under conditions now
found only in the equatorial belt Not h
ing is clearer than the fact that the
polar cold is steadily gaining on the
temperate and tropical zones and that
eventually the land will be all ice
fields.
PROVED A POET
A Youthful Experience of John Green
leaf Whittier.
John Greenleaf Whittier used to de
clare that at a very early age he knew
himself to be a real poet and would
often relate, writes Mrs. AbbyJ. Wood
man in her "Reminiscences of Wlilt
lier's Life at Oak Knoll," an amusing
experience when he was a student at
the Haverhill academy. Mrs. Wood
man gives it In Mr. Whittier's own
words:
There Is but little doubt that at the
ago of twenty I felt myself to be a
real poet, somewhat unknown to fame,
but sufficiently acknowledged as such
by the committee directing the dedica
tion of the new academy for them to
invite me to read an original" J {>oem on
that occasion.
Robert Dinsmore, an old Scotch
farmer in Windham and a writer of
rhyme and doggerel verse, was also in
vited to do the same. The honor of
leading the procession which marched
through the streets of Haverhill to the
new academy was given to the two
poet s.
I often laugh when I recall the scene
to memory. The hale old Scotchman, ,
short and plethoric, his uncertain step I
and bearing slightly exhilarated by a j
generous draft of old Scotch whisky
before we started, was somewhat ot
a contrast to me, a rather tall and slen
der Quaker lad in Quaker hat and
coat and half frightened out of my
wits by the honor heaped upon me.
However, we delivered our poems all
right, and I am thinking that must
have been the time when I was dubbed
"the Quaker poet."
AN AMUSING CUSTOM.
Spaniards Trick Themselves Into
Wanting a Glass of Water.
Writing of experiences with Spanish
hospitality, Ellen Maury Slaydeu lu
the Century says:
The cafes were always crowded to
suffocation, and yet we lingered past
the small hours, the men smoking doz
ens of cigarettes and the women dip
ping bits of wafer Into chocolate as
leisurely as if they had the night in
stead of the day before them. A fa
vorite drink was a thin almond milk
which looked like sollicking for the
complexion and which, atier tasting, 1
would have much preferred applying
externally. There was a refreshing ab
sence of the highball and cocktail ele
ment, and no one ever seemed to take
too much to drink.
It is always amusing to see these
most temperate people tricking them
selves Into wanting a glass of water.
They recommend certain dishes and
enjoy their eternal chocolate chiefly
because "It makes one so thirsty."
Visiting a country house once, we were
invited into the dining room and I
hoped for tea. The table was elabo
rately spread. We were seated and
each helped to a delicious conserved
peach and tenderly urged to eat it to
make us want some water. When we
had eaten the peach and drunk the
water the ceremony was complete.
SENIORITY IN CONGRESS.
Experience Carries influence Old
Members Relied on For Work.
A man's standing In congress is
gained by seniority. His influence
there comes from length of service,
provided, of course, that It is the right
kind of service.
New men, no matter how ambitious
and zealous, have very little influence.
They do not and cannot begin their
work where their predecessors left of!'.
Speechmaklng does not bring them In
fluence. Work brings It—committee
work.
Members rank in their committees
by seniority. Besides, new members
do not get and cannot get In the usual
course of things appointments to the
' more Important committees. These
1 appointments goto the tried men, who
by length of service coupled with abil
ity are chosen in the house for the va
cant places.
| Some constituencies know this and
■ act accordingly. Some constituencies
; Ignore the fact and gain nothing by
I ignoring it. In fact, they lose weight
| In the eoui t lis of congress by fre
j quently changing their representatives
! simply to gratify the ambitions of lo
cal politicians.—Boston Herald.
A Story About Rodin.
The Crl de Paris tolls a most amus
ing story If true about Rodin and some
unnamed rich American woman who
had selected him to make a statue of
herself, full length and so far as pos
sible a portrait. She had posed ten
times in antique costume when Rodin
told ~ >or that he did not need her any
more auu that he would finish the
work at his leisure. When the Ameri
can came again she found to her
amazement that the head of the statue
bore no resemblance whatever to her.
She complained bitterly that no one
would even recognize her. "It is true."
said the great sculptor dreamily. "Tour
head did not inspire me at all. At first
I thought I would not put any head on
the statue, as I have been accustomed
to do of late, but after I had thought
it over carefully in order not to offend
you I putin place of your face that of
Mme. de It. She had ordered hers of
me. but never paid for it. At any rate,
you will gain much by this change!"
Not a Bit Conccltcil.
Wife—You are positively the most
conceited man I ever n«'t. Hub--1 con
ceited! Woman, there s not a conceit
ed bone in my body. Why, another
man with the same abilities would be
absolutely carried away with pride.—
Exchange.
A Crushing Come Back.
"I started to tell my wife about a
woman who made her own gowns."
"Well?"
"She capped my story with one about
a man who made a million dollars." -
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Poisonous Nettles of the Tropics.
In tropical regions there are nettles
far more powerful than that of our
own country.
The one called Urtiea stimuians,
which is found in Java, and that called
Laportea creuulata, found In Hindu
stan, when bruised emit an effluvium
which polsonously affects the eyes and
mouth and if handled produce convul
sions and serious swelling and pain in
the arms, which may last for three or
four weeks and In some esses cause
death.—London Telegraph
ESCAPE PROOF PRISON
Nashville's Bastile Will Defy Most
Skillful Jail Breaker.
FILE PROOF STEEL FOR CELLS
Model Jail Also Home of Criminal
Court—Prisoners Can Be Tried, Con
victed and Executed All In the One
Building.
Work upon the new criminal court
and county jail building in Nashville.
Tenn., is being pushed forward as
rapidly as possible, and, despite the
many delays which have retarded the
undertaking, it is more than probable
that the edifice will be ready for oc
cupancy by Dec. 1.
This was practically the answer of
Superintendent of Construction Charles
M. Little In response to a reporter's
question. The exterior work is all
tinlshed, with the exception of a small
awning which will be erected over the
central archway entrance to the main
court and building.
It is probable that no city in the
south and very few anywhere in the
United States will possess a more per
fectly appointed and secure bastile
than will Nashville, and the prisoner
who escapes therefrom when once the
jailer has turned the key upon him
will need all the cunning of a Jack
Sheppard, and then It is likely that he
would fall to gain freedom. There is
a system of locks and counterlocks,
cages within cages and steel barred
corridors that is enough to baffle the
most skilled jail breaker in the world.
A more compact and complete an
raugement for tho handling of crimi
nals would be hard to imagine, as the
criminal court will also sit in this
building, and It will be possible to try,
convict and execute a prisoner with
out his ever leaving the building.
There are provided kitchen, scullery,
laundry, toilets and baths for prison
ers and others who remain in the
building all the time, and everything
has been provided that could possibly
be needed In connection with the sev
eral departments.
In tlie basement are the boiler anil
engine rooms, heating boiler and ven
tilator fan rooms, laundry and ironing
rooms, all finished In concrete and well!
aired and lighted.
The main entrance to the building is;
through the grand archway, to the
right ond left of which are the jailer's i
office, road commissioner's office, board
of charities and board of health. In
addition to these there are a guard
room, locker room and closets for the
use of colored and white people. The
light well or central court is at the
center of the building, and when the
prisoners are brought In the big mob
gates may be closed before they are
taken into the utility corridor, which
is entered from the light well and
i which traverses the main building for
its entire width. The cells open off
this corridor and are arranged in five
1 tiers, there being a hundred of tliem
! in all, arranged in tiers of twenty,
j Each cell Is fitted with four bunks,
and there are four cells in a row. with
i a bath cell with a porcelain tub at the
end of each tier of four. There is a
prisoners' corridor outside of the four
cell groups and a jailers' corridor out
side of this. A large steel barred cell
is arranged at the center of the cell
court, and here visitors will be al
: lowed to see the prisoners. In order to
i keep them from passing articles such
1 as tiles, etc., to those confined the vis
itors' cell is screened with a fine mesh
; ed wire steel screen or net.
The cells are controlled from a lock
' ing box in the outer corridor and may
j be locked all together or one at a time,
i The condemned cells, which will be
| known as "murderers' row," are four
| in number and will be located so that
i the Interior may IK; seeu by the turn
I keys and Jailers at all times. All the
j cells ou the upper three tiers are of
saw and file proof steel, and the entire
| top celling is drill proof. Kventheven
tilating shafts are steel lined and bar
red. In addition to the regular cells
there will be three padded cells for in
sane prisoners, one detention cell and
three misdemeanor cells. There is a
small corridor between the cell rows,
and here are the closet pipes, ventilat
ing pipes and other fittlugs which it is
undesirable to have iu the cells them
selves. The floors and ceilings of the
cell are of steel, the flooring being re
enforced with four Inches of concrete.
The second floor of the building is
devoted almost exclusively to the crim
inal court. The mnin i-ourtroom. which
is two stories high and 48 by 51 feet,
will have a gallery for negroes and
will be perfectly appointed. The offices
of the Judge, attorney general and as
sistant attorney general, witnesses and
jury rooms, grand jury room and jury
dining rooms are also on this floor.
In the rear. In the utility corridor, a
trap opens to the third floor, and, look
ing up, one may see a huge iron riug
in the ceiling from which condemned
prisoners will be hanged.
On the third floor will be the operat
ing room, female hospital, Jury bed
rooms, etc. In the space between the
third floor and the roof there is a huge
ventilating fan driven by a dynamo
that will draw all the foul air from the
prison and other parts of the building
and force It outside. The roof is of
steel and concrete, covered with tarred
paper and gravel, guaranteed to be
waterproof and durable The main
halls of the building will be tiled, as
will the lavatories and closets. The
entire jail property, which Includes a
large concreted yard, will be surround
ed by a wall twenty feet high and ab
solutely sheer, over which no man
could climb unaided. Hot water will
be used for heating the building.
The Salt In the Sea.
A scientist lias calculated, after ex
tensive of the density and salt
ness of the ocean in all parts of the
world, that there Is the equivalent of
3,051,342 cubic geographical miles of
common salt in all the known seas.
This is more than five times the mass
of the mountains in the entire Alpine
range.
Motorist's Friend—Oh, I say! Good
ness gracious, we'll be smashed up In
a minute!
Motorist—All right, my dear fellow
you need not excite yourself. The firtt
I bought this motor from has agreed
to keep It In repair for a year. •
HOW HE SLEPT.
Hi* Experience With a Noisy and Par*
sistent Cuckoo Clock.
Wertz recently was presented with
an old fashioned clock. That evening
he hung It on his bedroom wall, wound
It up and after admiring It awhile
went to sleep. lie was drifting into
very pleasant dreams when he was
startled.
"Coo-coo, coo-coo!"
Wertz sat up with a start, but in an
instant recovered his wits and listened
to eight more coo-coos witli a foolish
grin. Then lie lay back and went to
sleep again.
He had got into a fine doze by the
time the thing went off again. This
time he didn't grin.
Wertz is a light sleeper, and, though
he tried to get used to the thing, he
gave up after the cuckoo had announc
ed 2 o'clock and got up and stopped
the clock.
Next evening Wertz junior, who had
not seen the clock, went to look at it.
"Why, It's stopped," he said. "What
Is wrong?"
Wertz senior stroked his chin.
"Maybe I didn't wind it this morn
ing," ho replied. "Ferd," he continued
generously, "if you will promise to
wind that clock every morning I'll let
you have It for your room."
Wertz Junior was delighted, and the
transfer was made.
At the breakfast table next morn
ing the heir of tbe house of Wertz
looked tired and somewhat sheepish,
but offered no explanation. After con
siderable general conversalion his fa
ther said:
"You look tired. llow did you sleep
last night?"
Wertz junior yawned.
"By the hour," he answered.—Kan
sas City Times.
SAVED THE GIRL
An Old Time Adventure With Solo
mon Island Cannibals.
One day on a Solomon beach a llttlo
girl ran to me and, before I was aware
of It, placed my foot on her neck. One
knows what this means well enough.
In hot war it means that If a chief al
lows his foot to rest on the defeated
one's neck the man's life is safe, but he
Is a slave forever, rescue or no rescue.
I was puzzled at the child's action. It
was soon explained. Shortly afterward
down came a lot of villagers and in
sisted on taking the youngster. I told
them what she had done. They said
they did not care. Her mother was be
ing cooked in the town, and the child
should go to the ovens with her.
"Never!" I said. "What! We, who
have eaten l>etel nut together many
times, to quarrel for a mere child to
whom I have granted life In your own
way!" I swore they should kill mo
first. They replied:
"Oh, that is an easy thing to do."
A bold front was the only thing now.
Luckily I had my sixteen shooter.
; Springing back and putting a mark on
the sand with my foot, I swore I would
i shoot the first man who crossed It
They knew I could answer for a dozeu
: of them or so. and, although clubs were
, up and bows bent, they hesitated, as
well they might, and I knew I had
mastered them. Then one proposed T
should buy the child fairly. They
j cared not to fight a friend. To this I
at once agreed, and a muss was thus
avoided, and a mission ax worth ten
pence made me a slave owner.—
"Among the Man Eaters," by John
Caggln.
Apt Pupil.
Captain .Tones (giving a short lec
ture to the recruits of his company on
their demeanor in public)—lf a civilian
should make offensive remarks in a
public house and try to Induce a quar
rel the well conducted soldier shouMr
drink up his beer and go quietly
away."
After his address Captain Jones
questioned his audience to ascertain
If they had comprehended his re
marks.
"Now, Private Jenkins, what should
you do If you wore at an Inn and a
civilian wanted to quarrel with you?"
"I should drink up his beer, sir, and
'ook it."—London Fiek-Me-Cp.
With the Minstrels.
Bones—What am de diff'rence 'tween
er pastry cook an' er bill sticker? Tarn
bo—Ah dunno. What am de diff'rence.
Mlstah Bones? Bones-One puffs up
de paste an' de othah pastes up do
puffs.—Chicago News.
The Unmaking.
He (boasting!}")—lt takes six genera
tions to make a gentleman, you know.
She (calmlyi—Yes. and what a pity
that It only takes one generation to un
make him!— Exchange.
Bird Reservation of 70,000 Acres.
By an order of President Hoosevelt
nbout 70,000 acres of land adjoining
the Oregon-California line are to be set
aside as a reservation for the propa
gation and protection of native birds,
says a Bedding (Call dispatch. The
order Includes land not suitable for
agricultural purposes. The tract is
probably the greatest breeding ground
In the world for waterfowl.
■i a i
A Rella tol©
TIN SHOP
l"or all kind of Tin Roofing*
Spoutlne ind Ceneral
Job Work.
Stoves, Heaters. Ranee*.
Furnaces, eto.
PRICRS THE LOWEST!
QUALITY TBS BEST!
JOHN HIXSON
HO. 11» a FBONT ST.