Success in business is like a cloud capped mountain peak. The climber (earful of bruised bands and torn clothes will never gain the top. With the football liend, the empty pistol joker, the thin-ice skater, the boat-rocking idiot, the kerosene lire maker and the reckless coaster rounded up, there would be great encourage ment given the National census. Cranberries blossom in June, and are harvested in September. It costs from S3OO to SSOO tier acre to bring a cran berry bog to a profitable state of bear ing. The crop in the United States last year amounted to 1,000,000 bush els, which realized nearly $1,700,000. The Postottice Department lias issued an order that hereafter a written des ignation on the wrapper—such as "book," "printed matter" or "photo"— shall be construed as a permissible "inscription" upon mall matter of the third class. This revokes a previous construction forbidding such writing. New South Wales was the first set tled of the six States of Australia now constituting the commonwealth. Its area is 310,7000 square miles, or 10S,- 843,000 acres, of which it is estimated 2,003,850 acres arc water and 22,7ut),- 000 public reserves, mountains and sterile lands. It would make five States as large as lowa. The boot and shoe industry of the United States is a great one. The completed census returns of 1000 cov ering that branch of effort shows that the total output that year was valued at $201,028,580. This was an Increase of eighteen per cent, over the value of the output of 1800. And the American shoe is the best and handsomest made. At five years of age boys are mainly taller than girls, but the girls appear to equal them at the seventh year, and continue thus up to and including the ninth year, after which the boys rise again above the girls for two years. I At about twelve years the girls sud denly become taller than the boys, continuing until the fifteenth year, when the boys finally regain their superiority of stature. Doubt is often cast upon electrocu tion as a system by the fact that per sons may survive an accidental shock of 2000 volts. The Electrical World and Engineer points out that the con- I ditions of a chance contact are entirely different from those provided in the chair. It reviews the history of elec trocutions in New York, and says: "There can be no question that the subject dies by the effects of the elec tric shock, and is dead beyond all hope before the autopsy takes place." Solomonian wisdom eutered into the mode adopted by a Chicago justice to determine whether or not a large quantity of beans declared good by the seller and petrified by the buyer were edible. He cooked them. For a time they resisted the bubbling of the watei in the presence of the court, but after a reasonable subjection to the right temperature turned out mellow and palatable, with judgment ngaiust the buyer. The judicial test of ordeal for the beans by lire is not contemplated by the statutes, but it worked well this time. There is an element of the American- Canadian question to which slight at tentiou has been given, but which may appreciably, if not profoundly, affect th,- relations of the United States and Canada in coming years. It is no less tlmn that the emigration of Americans is now strongly setting toward Central and Western Canada. It Is announced in the Boston Transcript that at the present rate of emigration nearly 2,000,- uoo American families will make their homes in Canada during the next twen ty years. Speculation is rife in the Northwest as to the influence this peaceful conquest of Canada by Amer icans will have upon the future politi cal and commercial relations of the two countries. Sir Hiram Maxim, whose largo fly ing machine was wrecked during pre liminary experiments in England a few years ago, recently informed the Aero nautical Society in London that lie believed that a flying machine was not now only possible, but practicable. He based the statement mainly on the im provement In motors and In structural materials since his experiments were made. Ho thought the petroleum motor would now yield the best results, and at present engineers have nt their dis posal aluminum alloys that arc as stroug as wrought iron and uenrly as light as pure aluminum. lie believes that a machine on a large scale can be made to develop a lifting power greater than its own weight. Banker Lingar's Son-ln-Law. BY JAMES O'SHAUGHNESSY. (Copyright. 1902, by Dally Story Eub. Co.) Upon the promotion of William Tarnley Faldis to the position of re ceiving teller of the Thirteenth Na tional Bank he began to show signs of the widening of his horizon. He spell ed out his middle name in full and ac quired the art of appearing at easo in a dress suit. He narrowed his so cial orbit until be felt justified iu classifying himself as exclusive, and then he discreetly fell in love with the daughter of Abel Lingar, the presi dent of the hank. Fortunately for him Miss Lingar was not beautiful of face, and there was neither symmetry nor grace in her figure. These gaps in her structural charms made his love course easy. In visiting her father's hank her keen eye fell on Faldls. He was rather pleasing in appearance, with light blue eyes, a blonde mustache and a pink and white complexion. He could sing all of the popular and sentimen tal songs. He sang the sentimental ones for her and before the end of the season he was calling her Ethyl when no one else was in hearing. When he asked her to marry him, she gave him her hand and tiieir se cret troth was plighted. All that re mained to he done was to obtain the consent of Abel Lingar. Here Faldis' training was a hindrance and not a help to him. He could not disassociate Ethyl's father from the president of the Thirteenth National Bank, and he could not summon sufficient courage to ask President Lingar for the hand of his daughter iu marriage. When he arose in the morning his resolution was fixed, but at night he ret unlet! fretfully to his couch with the dreaded task still ahead of him. Whenever he would put himself in the presence of Ethyl's father it was only to discover the great president of the Thirteenth National Bank and he would retire in deferential confusion. One evening when closing his ac counts he found they were wrong. There, in his own hundwriting, was a false entry of $20,000. Over and over the books he went, but the studied examination only confirmed the awful evidence that he was short $20,000. At the sight of President Lingar stalking majestically through the counting room of the bank to his pri vate office, Faldis shook with terror. It suddenly occurred to his over wrought mind that perhaps the bank had an unexplained overplus of $20,- 300. With the impulse of this vagary he rushed off to the office. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Lingar," he faltered, "but—er—has—is there an overplus of $20,000 " "What?" "Has anyone made an error?" "An error? An error of $20,000?" thundered Lingar. The cold, accusing manner of Lingar sounded the depths of Faldis' abjec tion. The reaction was instantaneous. The pale blue eyes of the teller ceased to waver in their glances and became as fixed and steely as those of the president. No longer cringing, he straightened up defiantly. "Did you say there was an error of $20,000?" said Lingar in slightly soft ened tones. "I did not, but there is an item of that amount in my books which I am unable to explain." "You are ill, Faldis. Take a rest of a day or so. Johnson will take your place." Faldis went back to his cage. A few minutes later Johnson, the assistant cashier, entered it. Faldls had on his hat and was buttoning Ills overcoat. Johnson did not notice that Faldis' overcoat was bulging at the breast. "Go through my accounts carefully, Mr. Johnson, and find the mistake, 1 am ill." Faldis walked slowly out of the bank. A thick jawed, athletic looking man stepped quietly out of the office from behind Lingar, and followed like "An error of $20,000?" thundered Lin gar. a shadow on the footsteps of Faldls. A few hours later Johnson entered the president's office with a sheet of paper in his hand. "I find that this item of $20,000 is merely a clerical error, Mr. Lingar," he said. "Then there is nothing irregular in Faldis' accounts?" said Lingar, bright ening up. "Nothing—that is nothing in this connection. I have not brought the figures up to dato yet." "Then do it. I'll wait." Johnson returned to the president' 3 office late that afternoon with tremb bllng hand and quivering lip. "What is it, Mr. Johnson?" cried Lingar, springing from his chair. "Faldis is short $250,000 on to-day's lip." Lingar gasped, but with its return- ing pulse his eyes Hashed with a quick gla;re of tHumph. "We will not lose it," he cried. "lie had the money in his pockets when he walked out of here this morning. He cannot get away. I put a shadow on him the moment he stepped out of the bank. I judged that thief rightly." Late that night, Lingar and Johnson were going over the books when a knock came to the door of the bank. At a signal to the watchman, the door was opened, and the thick-jawed, ath letic looking shadow entered. He had a bandage over one eye. "What's this?" cried Lingar. "He had me done up." "Who —what?" "Your man, Faldis. He hired a half dozen Inter-State Detective agency men to slug me." "And he got away?" "Of course, but our office and all of our men are notified and every depot A thick-jawed, athletic looking man followed Faldis. is watched. Oh, he can't get away for good." When Lingar was alone in his car riage driving home, he gave way to his anguish and groaned aloud. He was realizing the enormity of the theft that had at first stunned him. When he reached home the butler who swung open the door ior him was in a flurry of excitement. He took off his hat and gloves and overcoat and threw them, rather than handed them to the servant. He strayed into the parlor and drawing room and had reached the wide door to the library when he stopped, tottered and clutched the por tieres for support. "Faldis!" he shrieked. The butler, who had hovered near, rushed to his side. "Robber! In my house! Quick, Percy, sound the alarm!" "No, no, papa, wait. Listen to me." and Ethyl ran to him and put her arms around his neck, while the quick hands of the butler were obeying the master's orders. "My daughter—my child —are you interceding for this thief?" "Yes, but we will confess all. Now can you not forgive us?" "We will confess! We! what do you mean? What part can you have in it?" "What part have I in it?" she said slowly. "Do you think,papa, that I am insensible to my own heart'*, desire? I had the eager part of one who loves. ! He has robbed my poor, dear papa, I j know —robbed him of his darling | daughter." And, running to Faldis, i she threw her arms around his neck ! and kissed i.im repeatedly. The clanging of a brass gong sound ed in the street, followed by a rush of feet up the steps. The butler threw open the door and four policemen in uniform rushed in. "What's the matter, Mr. Lingar?" asked the sergeant of the police. "Arrest that man. Ethyl swooned in Faldis' arms. "Wouldn't you better have an ex planation first?" asked Faldis coolly. "Explanation? What can you say in explanation?" "Let us excuse these officers first." Lingar looked at Faldis for some time, then turning to the police he asked them to step out in the hall for awhile. "You are a man of sense, so listen. I did not take the $20,000, although it looked bad for me. I didn't propose being made an innocent victim, and I provided against it. My first provision against it, you have discovered at the bank, I believe. The second was to get rid of your detective so that I could put the money away safely for future emergencies. The third care ful thing I did to save me from the penitentiary was to marry your daughter." Lingar stared at him dazed and va cantly, but waited for him to continue. "Now I hardly think that you want to put the bank to the expense of a quarter of a million dollars just to make a convict of your son-in-law." "But the money! Where is it?" "Oh, that is put away where no one but me can get it, all except SI,OOO that I paid to have your detective taken off my trail. I can turn over to you $249,000, or I can keep it." Lingar was silent, his brows con tracted. "Of course, you have not talked much about this for the sake of the bank. I have not mentioned it even to my wife. So you see we can still avoid publicity." Withoiu a word to Faldis, Lingar walked slowly out to the hall. The policemen went away. He returned to the library. Ethyl had recovered. "Oh, papa, you will forgive us, won't you?" she sobbed. "What else can I do. my child?" he said, taking her in his arms. And Faldis stepped up to take the outstretched hand of his relenting father-in-law. PRINCE HENRY'S AUTOGRAPHS FEW Many lilTorts Made to (Set Tlieui, but Few Were Succeatful. Prince Henry, while here, was nat urally asked often for his autograph, but it is estimated that not more than 100 persons succeeded in getting it. Most of the requests came by mail. The prince, who had met the auto graph fiends on the other side, decid ed to give his autograph only to cer tain individuals. These were the president of a society or club of which he was the guest, and one or two of those nearest him at table. To this rule he persistently adhered. At all the dinners at which the prince was a guest, in this city and elsewhere, requests for his autograph were sent to him in large numbers, most of them in notes addressed to him through the presiding officer. Not a few of these requests were made personally. The prince always took pains to in form whoever presided at the dinner of the rule he had made, and left it to him to explain it to the applicants. In accordance with the rule he made for himself, he always wrote his auto graph on the menu card of the presid ing officer, and of those nearest him at table, sometimes extending it so that perhaps five or six persons had the favor shown to them at the head table. Had he complied with all the re quests made, It was said by a person who was with him and knew about his mail, he would not have had time to do anything else throughout his visit but write his signature.—New York Sun. WHY WASHINGTON'S LEGS SHINE. Misapplied Zeal of Agent for New Kind of Tollsh. One of the points of interest in the financial district is the bronze statue of Washington in the front of the United States sub-treasury on Wall street, says the New York Press. It is invariably pointed out to visitors, and almost invariably the question is asked: "Why do they polish only the knees and not the whole statue?" Mentor and guide has to shake his head, and admits that he does not know. It appears that some years ago a peddler with some new kind of polish came to the sub-treasury and extolled the virtues of his compound to one of the guards. "Why," he said, "I could even polish up that rusty old statue out there in a jiffy." "(Jo ahead," said the guard. The agent went to work with a will and in a few minutes had succeeded | in taking off the beautiful dull oxy dizing from the legs of the statue as far as tne knees. Just then Mr. Muhleman, the deputy assistant treas urer, came up the steps, and in less time than it takes to tell it the agent found himself sitting at the foot of the steps, while Mr. Muhleman lectured to the surprised guard in forcible lan guage on the vandalism of indiscri minate polishing. But not even the variability of the New York climate has been sufficient J as yet to restore to tne polished parts j their old dull beauty. HAS A CURIOUS TRANSFORMATION. Tlte Axolotl Becomes Another Animal In Certain Localities. Naturalists have long been familiar with a newt-like creature, breathing by gills anil lungs both, and inhabit ing the lakes of Mexico and other Am erican waters. This Is the axolotl. It was also discovered that In certain localities this creature, which by the way breeds freely in Mexico, sheds Its skin, casts off its gills anil Its tail lin, develops another color of body and leaves the water to become a land newt. Under this latter guise it Is known as the amblystoma. Naturally, the explanation of this curious transformation rests on the fact that the axolotl is really the young or tadpole stage of the ambly stoma form, but the peculiarity here is that in its first stage it should breed anil multiply and continue to reproduce axolotls, as if it were a per fectly mature animal. The occurrence of such cases points out to us one way in which species can be evolved, for, had we not been acquainted with tho relationship of these forms, no body would have hesitated to des cribe them as two essentially distinct animals. Lately it has been shown, says the -London Chronicle, that, while in Colo rado and Dakota the transformation is complete, In Mexico the axolotl stage is apparently permanent. Here, probably, the influence of environ ment on a living being Is typically illustrated. "The Uncle of Ilia Nephew." The potency of football in giving prominence not only to the player, but to all his relatives was amusingly illustrated In the case of the well known antl-expanslonlst, William Lloyd Garrison. At an evening recep tion Mr. Garrison was introduced to a noted athlete. "I am pleased to know you. Mr. Garrison," said the athelete. "I pre sume you are a relative of the famous Harvard quarterback, 'Billy' Garri son." "Great heavens!" exclaimed Mr. Garrison in mock indignation. "All my life I have been known as the son of my father; must I in my old ag he known as the uncle of my neph ew?" 3 Making a Ping-Pong k * S E t at Porgß. \ % J5 Ji'srwwTrwwjfwwTrwwit Of all the indoor games that the wri ter has tried—and he lias tackled about all of them—none has proved such jolly good fun as table tennis, or as the Eng lish call it, "ping-pong." A first-class ping-pong opfilt with two rackets that are perfect little ten nis rackets on a small scale will cost about $4 at tile shop. When it comes to a very cheap set you can probably make at home just as good an outfit and maybe better. First, as to the rackets. In England the kind most favored have centres of parchment like a drumhead, from which the ball rebounds with that hum ming ping-pong sound which gives the game its name. The writer prefers the string racket. Pieces of rattan soaked a while in steaming hot water to make them very supple make good racket frames. A wooden handle, hollowed out at the end with grooves for the rattan frame to tit in is simply constructed, as shown in the diagram above. In stringing the string used on a banjo would be about right. Two strings for each racket should be enough. These strings should be thoroughly soaked and then used while still wet. Do not string too tight, for if you do when the strings dry and shrink they will pull the frame all out of shape. String first across and then up and town exactly as in a regulation racket. In making a support for your net a louple of yards of heavy telegraph wire will answer. Take each length and double and bend into shape shown in the diagram. This of Itself may not be quite stanch enough to hold the net taut, hut by running a cord from the top of one wire support down and un der the table to the top of the other support, you should be able to obtain the necessary amount of rigidity. The net itself should be about six inches high from the table, and should clear the table liy enough to allow the ball to pass easily under it. Any material will do for the net, though a gauze or netting of some kind bound at the top with an inch or two of white tape is best. As to the table itself, It should y/fy IS HouVIN U RATTAN | ~ ~ ts m TWSTmHomn A £v?S ; \ 11/(y AANDtE FOR XX c VL. rO-^ I)a simply n smooth and flat surface about live by ten feet, or, say, four by eight feet. The game is played exactly as ten uis is played, except that there is but one court on cither side of the net. If the ball strikes the very edge of the table and so bounces off in such a 'n ay that a return is Impossoble, call it an "edger," and serve over again. The method of scoring is the same as in tennis. One rule of the old game which Is barred because of the narrow bounds is volleying. A ball can never be returned, except on the bounce. Pickups, however, are allowable. An other strict ruling of ping-pong is that 110 overhand strokes are allowed; the hand must never be raised above the height of the elbow. Also the serve must be delivered from a point beyond the end of the table. The tennis experts and all-round ath letes have devised a new sort of racket that makes of this parlor game a rath er strenuous and exciting affair. The racket is simply a wooden pad dle of about the same outside dimen sions as the ping-pong strung racket; that is, about six hiclies In diameter— roughly speaking—the handle being of any desired length. Tbo paddle part is not of one piece with the handle, as It would break or split too easily. The handle Is spliced on. Tho paddle—on one side or both according to how you play, is covered with emery cloth or paper guled on carefully. With this rough surface yott can cut the hall or give the "I.aw ford" stroke in splendid fashion. As to balls, the best are those made of celluloid, which can he bought at any sporting or toy store for a few cents apiece. This ping-pong is really a great game nnd the writer thinks it has come to stay.—Detroit Free Press. Tho Fever. An Atchison girl, who got SSO a month and had an easy time of It, caught the fever two years ago aud chased a man. She had an athletic training, soon caught up witli hint, and landed hlin. Now she does all her own housework, including washing and Ironing, has twin babies aud gets her hoard aud clothes. Her name should be furnished all women seized with this man-eatcbiug fever.—Atchison Globe. In the quantity of annual rainfall the continents rauk as follows; South America, Africa, North America, Eu rope, Asia, Australia. THE KADIAK BEAR' Attempts to Catch the Largest Carnlvor in Existence. On the extreme northwest coast o Alaska Is Kadlak Island, the home ol a distinct species of bear, believed t be the largest carnivore in existence A very large Kadiuk bear measurei fifteen feet in length from the end oi his nose to the end of his backbone^ A THAI' FOE THE KADIAK BEAE. exceeding in length the tiger, the griz zly bear and the polar bear. There is a line specimen of this bear, the only one in captivity, in the United States National Zoo at Washington, but it is only a cub. Despite his youth, how- ever, he is almost as large as two full- . grown grizzlies who are his present im mediate neighbors. Meanwhile the Alaska Commercial Company, acting on behalf of the Uni ted States Government, is attempting to capture a full-grown animal of this species. According to the New York Journal there has been standing at Ivadiak Island since last June a great steel cage sixteen feet long and six feet high, in one end of which is a heavy raised grating, which is con nected with a trigger in the rear end of the cage. This trigger is baited with salmon. When the bear bites the bait the steel door will close on him. The steel cage in which the United States authorities hope to entertain Mr. Ursus Kudlakus until his trauspor tion can be arranged was taken to Alaska and erected on Kadlak Isl- . and, under the supervision of Ell- | wood Hofer, a famous Yellowstone trapper and guide, who is more famil iarly known as "Billy" Hofer. This cage, or tray, was designed and made especially with a view of accommodat ing the Kadlak bear, and, should ho cuter it, it is probable he will stay in it until he arrives in Washington. The cage will be hoisted on to a vessel at the island and transferred to a flat car at Vancouver. At first the trigger was baited with honey, but the foxes of Kadlak Island nre much more in quisitive tlian bears, and, after a num ber of them had been caught, the bait was change to salmon. A Sndille For Drivers. To drive a spirited pair of liorses from the box seat of au ordinary ear- A riage is not an easy task, especially if ▼ the driver is of medium or low size, and for the reason that the position which lie occupies is not one which al lows him to exercise full control over the animals. This is one reason why a box seat saddle has been invented, says tho ■ New York Herald. Another reason la because the Inventor thought that the A average driver would sooner have two 1 " companions than one, and there will bo room for two wherever tlds saddle is used, since the driver will be ele vated above the two large cushioned seats, and, except by an occasional movement of Ids arms, will not in the least incommode those sitting beside but a little below him. This new sad dle can be raised to any necessary height. Tltink "Hello" ig Vulgar. The women of Appleton, Wis., a place of about a dozen thousand inhabitants, linve thought it all over nnd arc con vinced that "hello" as a conversation opener on the telephone is exceedingly vulgar,. They have pledged themselves to stand by a crusade to stop the use of g the objectionable word.—Syracuse V' ' Post-Standard. Frizes For Wind Gauge*. Prizes of .$1201), $750 and SSOO for the best instruments to measure wind pressure are offered by the Hamburg Marine Observatory to German and foreign inventors. The plans must be sent in by April 1, 1003.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers