Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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To be one of an army of 10,000 to travel by railron .1 23,000 miles every year; to stand in a car forming part of a swaying,, rushing train, surround ed by open-mouthed sacks and pigeon holes, shuffling letters and papers at the rate of 2.500 per hour; knowing that every error goes against your record; to work sometimes sixteen to twenty-four hours at a stretch, often sleepy and hungry-these are some of the daily experiences of the railway mail clerks. Then add to these the constant possibility of being knocked into eternity or crippled for life In a wreck. Yet they are a contented lot, these railway mail clerks, happy only when "on the road." But it is not the environment for a , omestic man, nor for him who has passed the top of the hill of life and Is jogging dowh Irlo the dark valley beyond., Thus a majority of the clerks are young men; the are preferred by the Post Office Department, for they have fewer cares, are more active, and can work faster and with greater accuracy. Uncle Sam is proud of the person nel of this expert force and takes every precaution for their safety and comfort. Their hours are fixed, and overtime is required only in cases of absolute necessity. A Traveling Postoffice. A railway mt- car Is technical'ly an "R. P. 0." or Railway Post Office. It runs between stated points, receiving and distributing mail through post offices along the line. It is a govern ment post office on wheels, and is United States territory, tnough owned by the railroad. It is as well built aid as completely equipped for its purpose as a Pullman. Iron racks for mail sacks extend along each side. Above are tiers of open boxes and big eon holes. ."Work tables" s[' ? on the racks. There is neither plush nor mahogany. It is built for work and Is the abode of workers. Let us imagine that this car Is the "R. P. 0." leaving Pittsburg, Pa., for Cleveland, Ohio, over the eennsylva nia road. The Pittsburg city post office delivers to the car mail for points east of Cleveland (called "local mail") and "througha mail" for Cleveland and points west. The train rushes out of Pittsburg. The whistle blows for a station. No stop here. . A "helper," opens a side door, swings out the mail "catcher" and pieks up a mail sack from a crane by the track. Now the work begins. This sack cbontaIns mail from the station just passed. Some of It is for the next office, some for Cleveland, some for the for west. The mail is dumped on a trtl6 and a clerk pounces on it like a wolf on a lamb. He tosses letters in all direc tions. He throws papers and pack ages hither and yon, this way and that, as fat as an expert eard player can distribute a-deCk. But every piece of mail finds its mark in a particular sack or box. Tha ""cke and boxes are labeled; but the labels ard unneces sary; his quick eye catches only the uame of the office, ignoring that of the addressee. Though me work p-I pears mechanical it. callS for a high degree of training. Note the marvel lous accuracy-less than two per cent. of -rrors in the work of the whole, force for a given year. The whistle blows for another way station. The door is opened, a sack Is thrown off, and the catcher yanks an other sack about for distribution. And so it goes without cessation. The whole scheme Is so arranged t.at there is just time, working w1L. the. utmost speed and accuracy, to make connections. Skill Needed to Throw Sacks. Throwing of" sacks calls for anoth er kind 6f skill. The expert knows from the weight of sack, speed of train and pressure of w'd just when and how to let the sack go. He can drop it on a mark. If - a platform be crowded or littered with be gage he' must pick a clear spot lest his cannon ba'll of leather and Ensil te~e Up against some unsuspecu.g traveler. I have seen a mail clerk dro'j a sixty pound sack from a train going a mile a minute. landing it lightly on a trunk twenty feet from the track.. Of course there are accidents, and danger is always present Yet in ten years past but 96 clerks have been killed on the road--an average of ten a year, with a force numbering up to 11,000. The legal representative -f each clerk sd killed receives $1,000 from the government. Arrangements are contemplaA d for payment of an annuity to every clerk permanently disabled in line of duty. The mail car Is usuarly next the tender and runs a greater risk In ac cidents than a passenger car. But the position is sometimes advanta geous. An instance is cited of a pecu liar wreck near Poughkeepsie, N. Y. The train was crossing a bridge when A PE~ta the eneineer saiw that the drnw wne open. His speed was such that he could not stop. But he was a citfek thinker. Reversing the engine for 8 momen+ he suddnly~ threw the throt tle wide. The comparatively light tender and mail car responded instant ly, while the heavy baggage and passenger coachas constitutecd a d ra g that broke the coupling. R_,elieved of this burden the engine, t nde.r and mail car shot ahead and leaped the twenty-foot draw, landing on the oth er side in safety. 'he engine ca ?ned and side-wiped the Iron bridge 1w,0t. tearing its jacket to tatters and knocking the cab into the riv-- The rest of the train, with brakes set au tomatically, came to a stop ithout a foot to spare. Bees Natural Spendthrifts. The New York Times reprinted from a Montreal paper-which doubtless lifted It from one in London-a most amiable story to the effect that when bees are taken to Australia they learn in a single year the uselessness of stor ing honey for a winter that never comes and that they thereafter aban 'V-, INTERIOR OF A don their dear-bought fame as models of industry and hilariously devote to sport or idleness all of their time ex cept just enough in each day to satisfy that day's hunger. No doubt this tale will shock and grieve a large number of estimable people, but for our own part, says the Times, it very consider ably increases such little affection as we previously had for these tiresomely virtuous fowl and therfore will we do our best to believe it. There are some difficultiecs in the -ay of doing that Bees, despite their reputation for intelligence, are evidently about the stpides ton animatewor acimeess rineed fomk nas Monrdas panerican doublessn lifted tpile on eat fi- beynonda most amsiable needs, toitheu efsge thawen eoghte are nable toustrie learn ihn a single yeaowh uselenss of toer moredanerou fos din thatselver asom esl nd t the thefeafteran dn their derorhtey. Itas amoes ofindusetrefore thiaiouslyeotet sncprablenal of sen therti ex-or ceptiedsto enughrd extrem nly saifor tha ft y' hunbers houbdhistae wll shoqckl nd grieeaw larg inuerc frtm the ies It wvnery onsidear vituous fowlvr and teoo, will we doev what besat to believe. Ther awe someldnotcuestio n the stoy foiAus at.hBeesndeswie hei rthatoneboy winlligaene ae ofvourenty aout the anitd oetay aclsoness indusr ingas thyar not an Amfern millinu tyai re te uwterfaesod any h osiblegards wtouav awasnl aet excep to gete ta getwent lt-a nou theyreual to-mo tre ortte tn ae sinlbject arenty ofermire moeFangous foes Ar ingia thesels. asahescit of Idorie the fodes, ate ugyand unnerestny. Aat alost ben he prospe umrobpita sol beic atile stae uickt chief laionoorec rom tniera faiue of wite toappeac turen experted.ciAlosThatnma sie," hoveriie andusetoo, cn be-c wobil no qusname Butor fnodi there alia-here evystfhroing hiosile willtak e a womurantcs o the yoand prolvsue that hlsaer inus trndouspl ecsbeah thehae toSe-t bommeare ntW n a afnro induas tr thane teplihterior may ofethem oasiuardse who haals ade te The hands of hIsr lismdr andhd nativesate ts pcadhif camse. Inotor OUR SUGAR COSUM..rO12T. B.eet Sugar Now Nuo= Than HWalf the Works Total 'Productione Of the more than 1,200 million dol lar's worth of merchandise brought in to the United States during the last year more than 150 million dollar's worth was sugar. Sugar formed by far the largest single item in this larg est importation whicn the United Statas has ever made in any single year. The U -ited States is increasing steadily and rapidly its co:sumption of sugar. The sugar producers at home are increasing their out-put of both cane and beet sugar, but even their rapid increase in production is not keeping pace with the increasing home demand, and as a consequence the quantity of sugar brought into the country increases from year to year. It has doubled in the last twenty years, while population meantime increased but 50 per cent. The annual average importation during the five-year period ending with 1885 was 1,031,149 tons, and dr-ing the five-year period ending with 1905 the annual average was 2,106, 043 tons, despite the fact that the sugar production at home had grown from 176,035 tons in 1.885 to approximately 600,000 tons in 1905. The United States Is the largest sugar-consuming country in the world, though the per capita consumption in this country is not as great as in the United Kingdom. The total consump AR~if M5ALt CAR. tion in 1904 aggregatect 2,767,000 tons, making an average consumption for each Individual for the year of ab'out 75 pounds. Du:_-ing the half century prior to_189 beet sugar formed a small proportion, )f the world's sugar production, the percentage which beets supplied of the world's sugar product being in 1840 but 4.9 per cent, in 1850 14.3 per cent, in 1890 63.7 per cent, while 1900 showed for beets the highest propor tion in the world's production of sugar, 37.7 per cent. GhsI Ashes "t lok"cmlindteitl wman, "gere aetre ompion for e.!ahe invdua fard." er fabu "Ah," augfred ah smal propsband, sptea orhem withgmre roductine. thevpercentae Whshol betI? ple "hye they aet the hihest oferd Lioaithe dsprdcinfsgr ~7.7 pr cent they heradnizato ofvte cnsularhose vice as ise usalhe case the omter oent hadig leltin fc rbish behtin cemdayaddtsabefaue-h "Juvsto lor, examiinedth caniatles foapntent, and~ this stilld morl occure In the oficaor cnudgeer" orAconslaughed the ig ($4000bcad, 'spak on theichth macanc occrred. "eenotMce.sWar shovceuld theeb toWdepriey narena tema'es of theiro ancint scredrigh to ssis thePres otin Aeletin cnul enrl n enetatt Lodgesblar srvideing fo bthies rgniation.o h oslrsr iehsbenonb theCommittee oeg es tonsFreg Reationstt its stIn-t tenrnd o testabe featuaresth oretionabsyrectinCon gr o t -'athen-ver ah vaca shal von cons bov theathv ($4000 classre grate mernit 'an prmtion sythet "TOO MUCH LAWMK"I REPRESENTATIVZ BOWERSOCK, OF KAYSAS CITY, CRJTCIS3S BIL MAKERS. Says Selfishness and Ambition Lead them through a Wilderness of Folly and Buncomb and Valuable Time i Wasted. "I have long criticised and seriously objected to the making of so many laws, and I have long contended that men are not made good and honest by statute," remarked Representative Justin D. Bowersock, of Kansas, re cently. "The comparatively Indiscriminate enactment of legislation on all subjects -general, special and personal-is a great evil and a greater folly. I have insisted that selfishness and prejudice arc at the basis of too many enact ments, and that human nature and the settled principles of business and commerce, honorable competition, and the results of supply and demand can hardly be changed by law to any ben eficial extent. "Corporate greed, cupidity, and cor ruption can be, ought to be, and will be modified, curtailed, and brought within decent limits, to say the least. No man desires this -ore earnestly than I do; no man will go further along any reasonable lines in any le gitimate and practicable effort to bring this about, whether it be in con nection with railroad rates, Standard Oil rebates, beef trust, unlawful com bination, watered stocks, or whatever or whoever may burden the consumer or producer, unduly or unjustly, for extortionate gain. "'Equal rights to all, special privil eges to none' will not come through impracticable, non-enforceable laws drawn on the theory that we have reached the millennium. "The ordinary legislator, and his name is legion, has a legal panacea for every ill. If he had as much honesty as assurance, the title of his bills would be: "'An act to make men do business on earth as it is done in heaven,' a consummation devoutly to be wished; but let us not forget the effect of the Pope's bull against a comet and the beating of tom-toms by tne aborigines on an eclipse." A Two-Foot Rat. A warehouseman at the Oriental dock, in Baltimore, had the distinc tion the other day of killing the larg est rat ever seen along the local water front. The rodent -'eighed nearly seven pounds. and from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail he measured two feet. D It was only after a desperate fight, lasting twenty minutes, that the In mense rat was killed. For some time scraps of paper and wood in the tool room of the warehouse indicated that a swarm of rodents was at work. Then one morning the warehouseman en countered the big fellow. With a broom handle he attempted to put an end to the rodent's life, but the rat showed fight. Back and forth he scampered, and when cornercd he rushed at his assailant. Once he hid be hind a coil of rope overhead, and then he dashed at the man's head. The latter dodged but the rodent's sharp teeth grazed his face. 'At last the rat was killed and measurements proved that he was the biggest ever seen in port The animal is supposed to be a spe ies found In South America and it is believed he came here ini a ship, all of which carry many rodents. COGNIZE iS AMENDED BILL. AL VEIN prominent citizens recommended by legislators should accept paltry places at the foot of the list was inte~nsely repugnant to the Senatorial sense. As. statesmen representing watchful and ex pectant constituents, many of whom ex ercise valuable influence in behalf of their party, they could not consent to closing the door of hope. Every Con gressional di-trict has Its share of elderly and highminded students of the world's affairs, men who may have been rudely buffeted by fortune and who cherish the hope of dodging further cruel strokes by landing in a pleasant consulate. They are men who have oe yeoman service for their party. and often they retain connections that can not be ignored. Are these to be superseded and thrust aside by pop in jays? Are the oxen that tread out the corn to be muzzled? Is the accurs ed thirst for told to commercialize the honorable office of consul, so long the hnen of ancient marincen tempest tossed on chartless political seas. the asum of indigence, the badge of de enveod gentility? The Senate Committee On Foreign Reations will not have It so. That committee, consulting its bowels of f'mPRssion. insists that Congress all share with the President the pleasures of rewarding the faithful with the fat-i WING Are Sold Direct From F YOU SAVE FROM $75 to $201 When you buy a Wing Piano, you buy at whole -ae. Ycu pay the actu.-l cost of making it wit onlyour wholesale profit added. When you bu a piano, as many still do-at retail-you p:y th retail dealer's store rent and other expense. You pay his profit and the conmi:sicn or saa of the agents or salezmen he enp!cys-a!I thes on top of what the dealer himself has to pay t the manufacturer. The retail profit on a pian is from $75 to $200. Isn't this worth saving? SENT ON TRIAL ANlYWHERI WE PAY FREIGHT. . . . NO MONEY IN ADVANCE We will place a Wing Piano in any home In ti United States on trial, withcut asking fcr any ad vance payment or deposit. We pay the freigh and all other charges in advance. There I nothing to be paid either before the piano is ser cr when it Is received. If the piano is not zatis factory after 20 days' trial in your home, we tak it back entirely at cur expense. Ydu p-y us nozh i.,and are under no more ob'ligtion tokee the piano than if you wcre examining it at ot: faz tory. There can be absolutay no risk or ex pense to you. Do not irmagine that it Is imposslble for us to d as we say. Our system Is so perfect that we ca: rithout any trouh:e deliver a piano in the sma:les tcwn in ary part of the Un!itd States just a easily as we can in New York City. and with ab solutely no trcuble or anncyance to you, an without arything being paid in advance or oi arrival either for freight or any other expense We take old pianos and organs In exchange. A guarantee for 12 years against any cefect It tone, action. vcrknmanship or material is givej with every Wing Piano. YOU F IfYou int A book-n tion pO*esee erialsd ferent Parts. out of order: makems theS Workminbi a piano and : lutely the V1 Jt contains, Iluetrati ns. - lts'ameIs~ tionAbout P anynne w-hi -hbavetodo Is add r ss. Se t nd a P sbs~tthink of It ic and addrs. eoupc'fl. and inforation about the prices. terms wiU ie seat WING & SON byma". 358-369 W. 13th St., New Tol 1808-3Sth Year-10 MORPHINE 1My treatment is the only abi re e lute speciic and cUre for drl habits. It is I reatment only one that * I tains the vital principle. Jn i will treat any druig uper Fr r e ud til Cured. Write to-db ,oufed estato Bin aidquantity Cf rM as r. Waterman, Suite B. 14 Lexington, Av.,l BIC FUR SAlF, BEAUTI AM 3 PREMNU You should I grand chan< one premiu:: BIG FUR SCAI .3.) dark, durable. very full;,trimmeld . fastens with hook an - ; ~S0LID Gt'.3-F istoexpericecnofl LADIZS' IIANf / .Lifmneimportedllea furnished tni:ll Smel eles. Yiou can eatrn t fo.Cost nothling! rtotasold. Sond add: articles pos paid;i you get, and we wIll and lUarfree. Getbi T-UJ: PLUE Co., AH~sT~ an Non-oisnousand N.P.C.C. Non-oisnousandwill not stain fingers. 35 cents for sixr tubes, sufi<i for 24 ounlcs developerfor Velox, Cy: Rotoz and other developing papers, 6o ounces plate or film developec . NATIONIdL PHO3TOORA~ lth Street and Pa. Ave. SUCCESS The Great Home makes this unequaled N EVERf before in all otr wide experienchavi tional value. Th7ie Continientat E icyclopes the view of flihui a long-felt wait in the hi It is comiprehenetve mi Scope, complete in topic In arraineent, and exceeuly convenient io: set weh~lis nearly eight puuu, is seven rond Inches luiih. anid occupies a. aneif space of eight Encyclopedias bare become almosat a necn$a janet to business atnd mist essential to home sth Questions are constntly comes:. up n ;ach require defiate and authoritattive answers. N hestaffthe Eneort A USU hugraphical occrrece of tinstraioa1 itretwsc work.V Insor,treimhlae and behI in mny muc dmed rtetiu woArk.S '1 tefre, the profession::1 man,'the'stut nforait-icae huad ionvrta subj nocunesntintratoalits.tsc Wae-waill sen d e eh'oues to youS prescar e podryaidon-aeeU ofaye in95 man if yuc aore prttehoroughl plek. referenc orko oern ne wh reun pnation cayou. o vrysbjc WeFill snhd cuitonan end to TO-DAY. This offer Is limited to Feb ?9 i 90 44 PIANOS actory and in NoOther Way h y 0 0 it SMALL EASY MONTHLY iments In S yearsr6- 4 W*ir Pialos P have been anufactured Theysre relin r :edea by seven ave. of States, by musical * colleges and schcsls, y pr orchestra leaders, music tecchers and musi Thousands of these 0 inosare in your ownS e of them undoubt e y in you!r very neighbor Our catalogue con tains names and addresag. Mandolin, Guitar, 1rp, ZitherBanjo j -The tones of any orall of these instruments may be reproduced perfectly byaW ordinary player on the piano by means of our lmtrumental Attachment. This improvement is pateited by us and cannot be bad in any other piano. WIG ORGANS are made Swth the same care and soldh the same way as Wing Pianos. Separate organ catiogge sent anreque3t. IEED THIS BOC end to Buy a Piano-No Matft at Make ot a catalogue-that gives you a! the Infori dhb eztrtd. It tels abonuto Met idiitercnt parts of a piano; the aythe dif-4 are put together- what CassDotol get Ld in fact is a complete ancyc ia, t election of a piano easy. It ae make you a Judze of tun on pond flnish Ittells you how0 ow to tel good frm bid. lie ilyt Nook of 1two zmd ever pub I 1 WING l argepag and hundreds all devuted to planc. con,'tructiou, rmo Book ef Complete Informa- 1 SO ~N anos. We send- it free to igto buyapoio. All u02 358-369 W 13 to send us your name and b- St., New York ,tal To-day while you Sudio /Aenameand ist giring your nne or send thattac-d es written bemow, the vlunble bookcof o 00 ~l lO full particulars * * oo of /ete In NG PIANO, with 4, fmation about Pianos, of payment. etc. V A i"cf4d tW1OjG )o0U promptly j_* 0 ,also.-ices a e r y 41 entdgVint Pianos. lie 106 This * Grand solo A eor desn 0* 25 pack4-s at 0cts. l'a en keys, 2 stop% Jl ,double bel - and claes. In a. day ee * e en acdretn!Use WS dol apo?'phonesh prents.Witen 1.Y TRUE BLUE CO., TON, MASS. FUL RING & HAND G MS FOR SELUNG ONLY25 FAST 8 =AHTICLES AT 10 CENTS EA ake advantage of this - :e, other firms give only 1, we give you three. F, made of .altic Seal, rh .ur tLick and soft, and shfpe it t ends with six fgafl d chan. G:;ED REGENT D.A To behold it on one's fing trwhemindes'retoowniht. 903IE DIAG. Verystylish - her- ni&cel-siher framfle, ing hottle and 3:irror. git-e you alt 3 Premiums ; sc~ 2f int-solling arti- - hem in one daiy. We trust to try. We take back all ' - ss, and we send you the - rhn sold, send us money send the Fur Scarf, Kting isy. Write to-day. Address :rwn Away His Boilles and Scales d uses the N. P. C. C. PhotographiC eparatlons only. st We do the sghing and you add the water METOL-HlYDRO ELOPER ~The old standby, cents for sil ER tubes, makm lhe . Of he developer. o, Black and white devadoped or paperimay bere-de at any 'e to aperfect .:pia. 25 forsixtu es. PHiC CHEfMHCAL A -Was on, D. C.> MAGE Magazine of Amer ~ffer for a limited tim I webe nn rom to mie aboo f suceco. me and ofilce. , systematic ue. The ne-halfOur imited Offer Success\ Magaizm. onl One Year. Continental =~ ECyCd0p for both Bound in Red Vellum de Lure cloth. EoXADSTEWARlT, B. A. u'mena, Imrnlational Encyclopadia, Incuonarty, tc. ects are treated at length. The latet THE asteRusso-Japnese lispute and Weless Telegraphy, and the SCES heir places in this most modern p y tter information in this set than te business man, the teachcr, Washington Square lent, will all find it the ideal NEW YORK :ise, accurate. up-to-date Herewuh find $.5for ithout wastirng words on which send mie, ex press echarg TheSd Conti TON and 'fies on neatly nackced, exc- year with thenunderstanding that if r remittance of rn mnot satisfied Imaytetumnthem ed, send t nom witihouitcost tome, the amount _____________