WHY POORLY MANAGED CITIES
Inefficient Officials Placed in Charge
of Affairs of Which Tfiey Know
Nothing; Extravagance Follows.
A big city-whose affairs, says the
Chicago Post, are more complex than
those of any private corporal ion ;
whose revenues and expenditures are
counted in many millions; whose ad
ministration affects tin1 prosperity,
health and morals of a million or moro
people-selects from among its citi
zens a politician, good fellow, joiner,
and makes him its mayor. Ile ap
points to office men of his own kind,
chosen for personal or political rea
sons.
And then we wonder that extrava
gance, inefficiency and worse mark mu
nicipal government.
A big city puts on its council ward
politicians and individuals who have
never displayed a capacity for any use
ful occupation, and we wonder that
the public interest is neglected.
A big city puts on its school board
men who have no knowledge of edu
cational problems, and we wonder that
our schools are mismanaged.
It is the inefficiency of democracy,
we say. Rather, it is the stupidity of
people who have never tried to realize
the possibilities of democracy ; who
have never given democracy a chance.
It is no essential principle of democ
racy to ignore the necessity of training
for sen-Ice. But that is what we have
been doing. We persist in regarding
public position as political jobs rather
than ns occasions for the employment
of trcined men in the doing of highly
specialized work.
Mayor Mitchel of New York declares
It to be his experience that trained
men are practically unobtainable for
municipal office. And that will re
main true until we provide for their
training and create a popular demand
for their service.
The Wisconsin legislature Is consid
ering a bill to establish in the state
university a training school for pub
lic service under a professor of pub
lic administration.
Every university has departments of
political theory, but this school will
deal with the practical problems of
government and administration-mu
nicipal engineering, lighting, street
making and cleaning, transportation,
parks and playgrounds, health, drain
age, educntion and the rest. It will
endeavor to develop the practical ex
pert in such matters.
LESSON FROM THE INDIANS
Natives Made Bread From Nuts and
Other Products of the Forests
That Still Exist.
Germany has sent her children to
the forests for oils that are badly
needed in the fatherland. Mere tots
are employed to pick up beechnuts,
.which are rich in nutritious qualities
vital to the health of the nation. If
America is ever compelled by a great
food shortage to return to nature, the
present inhabitants of the United
States will do well, according to the
forest service of the department of
agriculture, to take a lesson from the
original owners of tho soil, Thomas F.
Logan writes in Leslie's. The forests
of this country offer an amazing va
riety of edibles. America's beechnuts,
butternuts, walnuts, pecans, chinqun
pins and hazelnuts are toothsome,
highly nutritious, and may be used
as a substitute for meat.
The Indians, nccording to forest
service experts, mixed chestnuts with
cornmeal and made a bread which was
baked in corn huskr, uke tamales. Our
redskin predecessors also manufac
tured a flour from the fruit of the oak.
They pounded the acorns and leached
out the tannin ky treating the pulp
withhot water. The result was a pala
table and nourishing bread. Pine
seeds, wild persimmons, wild crab ap
ples, bulbs of the Judas tree and pods
of the honey locust, cabbage, palmetto,
mesquite and sassafras are excellent
substitutes for cultivated fruits and
vegetables. Nature Is so prodigal of
her riches in this country that America
can never be starved to death by an
"Iron ring."
Poisoned Fish for Rats.
The city dump at Somerville, Mass.,
is headquarters for a rat army which
as Invaded the city. The authorities
re carrying on a franc-tireur warfare
against the Invaders, and the enemy
has been exacting reprisals on family
larders.
Householders fear that the cold
weather will drive the rats away from
the dump to 6ome more private and
exclusive domicile.
Poisoned fish are scattered about the
dump and boys police the vicinity to
keep children, d?gs and cats from In
terfering with the rats' repast
Maund Unit of Weight
The average Aden merchant prefers
to calculate the weights of many of
the commodities which he imports or
exports, buys or sells, in terms of
mauiids. A maund is an Indian unit
of weight having different values in
various parts of that country, but hav
ing a value of 28 pounds in Bombay.
It is the Bombay maund that ls used
extensively In Aden, and four maunds
equal 112 ponnds, the local hundred
weight
i ! i '
By MILDRED WHITE.
: ?38SSSEHE5SSBBM(
(Copyright, I'J?T, Western Newspaper Union.)
The ?torin was coming. James Bar
' rows let out the speed of his red ear,
hoping to reach the village five
j below before the rain should descend.
Tile sky grew darker as thunder rolled
about tho encircling hills.
To the etty lawyer the rough wind
ing roads seemed almost impassuble,
impatiently he decided to see!; shelter
at a farmhouse not far distant, than
hesitated undecidedly, as the sim
gleamed l'or a moment iu promise. As
ho slowed down near the gateway, u
bent old mau peered up at him.
"Good morning, uncle," the lawyer
greeted, but the old mau did not re
turn his smile.
'"Bad evening, mister," he replied,
"goin' to have one of our blowups.
Better stop, hadn't ye an' wait inside?"
"Thanks," Burrows responded, "I
think I can reach the village before
the storm breaks, and have supper
there."
The old man shook his head. "Don't
believe it," he said, "we're alone here,
' Phil an' me, but I reckon Phil could
i pick up something for you to eat."
j Turning, he cupped his hands and
called to a blue-overalled iigure hoe
I
lng in the distance.
"Phil," he screamed, "Phil." The
j Ind bending over his work apparently
did not hear.
"Xever mind," Burrows said, TU
take a chance and ride on."
"Wonder-" the old man asked, "if
1 you could carry me along to the next
house down there? See it?-the red
; one?"
i "Certainly," the lawyer agreed, and
1 the former seated himself in the car
with evident pride,
j When Burrows had disposed of his
1 companion, the storm descended un
expectedly. Great sheets of rain swept
j against him, the wind threatened to
blow his small car from its course,
lightning flashed whiplike around the
! hilltops. Swiftly he turned about,
with difficulty, making his way back
to the old man's house. Uninvited he
sheltered his car in the great white
! barn, and dashed breathlessly up the
1 steps of the porch.
"Phil" was there before him, evi
dently the youth also had rushed to
; safety. His fresh face shone startled
j beneath the brim of his old felt hat
at the stranger's approach, but he went
on stolidly scraping the mud from the
, soles of bis rubber boots.
! "An old man-your father I sup
. pose-" the lawyer said, "suggested
j that I wait here until the storm has
j abated." Burrows smiled. "He also
intimated that you might 'pick up'
something for me to eat, I'm furiously
hungry."
The boy lounged in the doorway.)
j "That was grandad," he answered la
conically. His eyes studied the stran- )
ger. "Perhaps, I could find some-)
thing," he said suddenly, and disap
peared lu the house. His heavy boots
tracked the clean scrubbed floor, as
the lawyer followed him inside, the
rain-soaked Md hat still rested upon
Phil's head, as he deftly placed tempt
ing food upon the table.
"Sit down," he said at last abruptly,
/md himself dropped into a wide armed
chair at the opposite end of the wood
en table.
"You and your grandfather live
alone?" Burrows asked incredulously,
ns he buttered a flaky biscuit, "then
who makes these?"
"Me," the youth answered, his tone
whs .sullen. "Cooking, farming, ev
erything-I do it all, but I wou't much
longer. Grandad's going to be married
again-" a sneer curled the red lips
"that's where he's visiting now."
"And then?" the lawyer asked inter
ested, "What are you going to do?"
Phil shook his head despondently.
"Don't know," he replied. "Never had
a chance to prepare for anything, had
a fight with grandad every day I went
I to school, but I did the work mornings
and evenings, and I made lt. Now,"
the young voice broke discouraging
ly, "he don't need me any more."
Sudden unaccountable sympathy
flamed in the lawyer's breast.
"Phil," he said, "if you will come
with me-tomorrow, I'll give you a
start in the world. Help is scarce at
this time, I need you in my office." |
Crimson spots glowed in the lad's
round cheeks, qulckly-he rose to his
feet. "You mean," he said, "that you'd
take me there to the city, that you'd
help me to-live."
The lawyer nodded silently. Then
with sudden passionate motion the lad
burled his face in his arms, his shoul
ders shaking with sudden sobs.
"Oh! I can't go," he cried nnd
snatched the felt hat from his head.
About the round childish face, fell a
mass of golden hair, angrily Phil
caught the hair and drew it like a
cloak about her, "You see," she said,
"I-I am his granddaughter, Philippa.
The overalls and boots were but my
farming costume. I allowed you to
think what you believed."
Tragic disappointment lingered In
her eyes. The lawyer stood staring j
as though he too, saw a vision.
"Philippa," he said slowly, Tve a
mother back there In the city, who
needs a companion like you, someone
to teach-to love, to care for. When
she comes for you, will you be ready
to go back with her?"
And Philippa said she would.
His Specialty.
*Tf you are worried about your in? j
somnla, pick a quarrel with that ama-j
teur prizefighter."
"Why?" jfjtojjj
"He can put you td (Bleep, lana
ass - * ss
j A Mysterious
j Burial in Siam
j .By WARREN MILLER
Q? y s." i, * . .,"'77 *TT. z --
(Ccpyiiv;hL, lii?, Western l\?tt-sps.per Uoi<
In Siam on the banks of 1
Klnwng canal, not far from the C
?if Bankok, lived Lim Thai in
thatched house elevated on posts a
looking mon; like au antiquated ba
than anything oise. One night L
Thai came home from a gumbli
bouse in Bankok-the Siamese b(
the Mexicans in gambling-having I(
what little money lie had, and settl
himself to chewing thc betel nut 1
fore turning in on his straw hed.
While thus engaged, the juice of t
betel nut dripping through the ope
ings in the floor, Lim looking throu
the crevices ia the back ol' the hou!
uttered an exclamation of surpri
and cunning satisfaction. His aboc
though a primitive one, stood in t
vicinity of the residence of Thee Wc
a rich ivory merchant. Lira had ve
good eyes and could distinguish d
tant objects with remarkable clet
ness.
He saw Thee Wan and bis wife c?
rying from the rear of their house
box just large enough to contain a 1
tie child. Thee carried the box whi
his wife held a light. They took tl
box to a spot about a hundred yan
from tneir house; Thee dug a hole
the ground; the box was placed in !
covered with earth ; then the man ai
his wife knelt beside the spot, ai
they said their prayers. This bell
finished, Thee led his wife away, si
weeping as though her heart wou
break.
Lim Thai was overjoyed. He ht
often gazed upon the palatial res
dence of Thee Wan and cursed h
fate in having to live in such a hur
ble abode as his own while Thee Wn
resided in such splendor. Lim di
not consider that while the merchai
had worked hard for his comforts, t
(Lim) had spent his time gamblln;
Lim had a lively Imagination, an
evolved many explanations of the si
cret burial he had witnessed. Thi
was his favorite theory: Thee Wan
wife had an orphan nephew, a mino
who would inherit a large fortune 1
elephants. The child had been und?
the care of his aunt. To get posse;
sion of the elephants, the couple ha
murdered the heir and burled him 1
the rear of their grounds in the dea
of night.
While Lim was asleep that night h
dreamed that Buddha had appeared t
him and told him that his theory wa
correct, and directed him to send
message to Thee telling him that h
knew his secret and unless he wouli
send him a hundred tekels (about $60
he would inform the king's officer
that he had seen him and his wif
hury their nephew at midnight.
Now, while Lim had every confl
dence In his dream and In Buddha, hi
would rather have examined the gravi
himself and confirmed the theory. Un
fortunately, the grounds of Thee wen
Inclosed and guarded by dogs. Lin
would have poisoned the dogs, but tin
dog is a sacred animal in Slam, am
Lim dared not commit such an un
holy act. So he proceeded more dis
creetly, obeying Buddha's instructions
and sent an anonymous letter to The<
demanding blackmail.
Lim waited a week, and receiving
no reply, he sent another message tc
Thee, this time demanding a thou
sand tekels for keeping the secret
Since this produced no effect he kepi
on sending demands, till tiring ol
threats, he sent one more message
declaring that it was the last, and
that if the money was not Immediate
ly forthcoming he would Inform the
king's judicial officers of what he
had seen.
This, like the rest of Llm's mes
sages, not producing any effect, he in
formed the king's chief prosecutor of
the mysterious burial and awaited the
result. He was soon summoned to
court, where he told the whole story,
Including the elephant fortune, which
had been confirmed by Buddha In his
dream.
The king was very wroth when he
heard of the elephants, for his majesty
has a cinch on the elephants In Slam,
and it is hands off by all others. He
sent an order for Thee Wan to appear
before him and answer to the charge
that had been made against him and
his wife. Thee appeared at the court,
and begged that the king send his
chamberlain to his house; the grave
should be opened, and the contents of
the box exposed.
The same day the chamberlain, Thee
Wnn, and his wife, and Lim, with at
tendants from the court, stood beside
the spot where the burial had taken
place. The grave was opened, the lld
removed, and there lay the remains
of a little monkey.
Thee explained that lt had been a
pet of his wife's, that there was no
nephew, no elephant fortune; indeed,
that Lira had coined the story out of
his brain.
Lim was taken by the chamberlain
to the king and the results of the in
vestigation were given to his majesty.
Lim begged to be excused for making
a mistake which was a very natural
one, and the king might have excused
him on the ground that his theory had
been confirmed by Buddha himself;
but his majesty was greatly disap
pointed at not being able to confiscate
a herd of elephants to attach to his
own herd, and consequently not dis
posed to leniency. He ordered Lim
to be beheaded, and the poor man, in
stead of having a house over his head,
however Imperfect, was consigned to
a home under ground.
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E. J. NORRIS, Agt.
Insi
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surance ti
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E. JJ
Telephone Courtesy
The people who get the greatest
amount of good out of their telephone
are those who talk over it as though face
to face.
Courtesy smooths out difficulties and
promotes the promptest possible connec
tions.
The operators of the BELL System
are trained to be patient and polite under
all circumstances, but they will do better
work if they meet with patience and
politeness on the part of the telephone
users.
The fact that you cannot see the
operator or the other party should not
cause you to overlook this. The best
results come through the practice of
mutual courtesy.
The voice with the smile wins
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE
AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY
J. J. Roach, Manager, Aiken, S. C.
F. E. GIBSON, President! LANSING B. LEE, Sec. and Treas.
m
The Best Time to
Build is Now
Free booklets on Silos, Barns,
Implement Houses, Residences,
etc., with suggestions of great
value.
Also ' 'Ye Planary" service
through the Lumber Exchange
of Augusta.
Ask for further information if
interested. The service is with
out cost.
Woodard Lumber Co.
'Phone - - 158
AUGUSTA - - - - GEORGIA
Quality-MOTTO--Service
tire
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nd red and seven (107)
Writes more Fire In
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[ be perfectly safe with
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1
NORRIS, Agt.
Kemp Bepair Shop.
I have purchased the interest of
my brother, Calhson Kemp, in our
repair shop and hereafter the busi
ness will be conducted iu ray
name.
I have employed Mr. R. N. May
son to do my horse shoeing and as
be is an expert workman we want yon
to give him a trial. Bring your
horse or mule to our shop when it
again needs shoeing and be con
vinced as to Mr. Mayson's expert
shoeing.
Weare prepared to do all kinds
of repair work on short notice. A
large supply of first-class material
always on hand.
J. D. KEMP.
Edgefield, S. C.
Notice to the Public,
I have installed a
FEED MILL
for grinding meal, corn on stalk,
velvet beans in pod or on vine, oats
in sheaf, or any way you want
ground.
Your
Patronage
Solicited
W. A, Pardue
For Sale by
G. W. WISE, Trenton, S. C.
And AU Good Dealers
HARRIS'
PRESSING CLUB
? take th?3?means of letting the
people know that I have re-opened
my pressing club, and will appre
ciate their patronage. I am better
prepared than ever to clean and
press all kinds of garments, both
for ladies and gentlemen. All work
guaranteed. Let me know when
you have work and I will send for
it and make prompt delivery.
Wallace Harris
Sheppard Building Down Stairs
DR J.S. BYRD,
Dental Surgeon
OFFICE OVER POSTOFFICB
Residence 'Phone 17-R. Office 3.