Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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' ----- - ISSUED jglgjjMgLY. l. m. GRIST'S SONS, Pubii.her., j % ^[amilg Ihmsgaper: Jfor (hi; giromotioii of the political, Social. ^gricultut;at and fllommeyial Jnterests of the people. { Ti^L?cueVn?* * ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, S. C., TUESDAY, JUSTE 30, 19Q8. STO. 52. COLONEL WA1 * ON TAFT': Man of Straw?Platfc | "Tariff Reform1 Louisville Courier-Journal. Upon a platform of imposture, largely constructed out of timbers sto^ len from Mr. Bryan's backyard, the Republican party has set a man of straw?a very portly and pleasing man of straw?and has said to the voters, "Behold in William Howard Taft the counterfeit-presentiment of Theodore Roosevelt." r The answer which the voters are \ likely to make in November may be found in the first chapter of the ? '"? u-hlnh Horn-BOOK OI tumniuu m-n.ic, ?.Iiv.. translated from the original vulgate Into modern English reads, "the voice is Roosevelt's voice, but the hands are the hands of Rockefeller." Thus, after many centuries, we have the recurrence of a famous passage of Holy Writ made political and brought to date, in the last instance, as in the first, a great fraud and a mess of pottage, playing the leading parts. *m At length the Republican party has W had to disguise itself as a populist, and to Join in the cry of "Stop, thief," In order to escape the consequences k of its own acts. h We mean no disrepect to the secretary of war. He is a gentleman of noble character, an official of signal service and merit, a citizen of unblemished reputation. He was a typical Republican of the school of Sherman, Garfield and McKinley, until he began to temporize with Roosevelt and got the presidential bee in his bonnet. ^ James Schoolcraft Sherman, chosen as his running mate, is like unto him, a gentleman of character, of high connections and a man of straw. He is a New York congressman and the president of a New York trust com puny. There is plenty of rume 10 nis shirt, just as considering Mr. Tuft's ruffle, there Is too much ruffle to the whole ticket. Mr. Sherman will be depended on to see that every corporporation in and about Wall street does Its duty. The after-thought, however, will cut little figure In the ^ campaign. Everything will centre in, and about, Mr. Roosevelt's designated successor and heir-apparent, the secretary of war. CThe platform on which they have placed Judge Taft contradicts his rulings as a judge on the bench. His party In congress has falsified his attitude toward our insular dependencies. He is put forward as the star performer of an enterprising and spectacular manager who has succeeded in adapting rag-time music to the serious business of the state and in turning the government of the % country into comic opera, the White House his theatre and the Federal officials his scene shifters, civil service reform, though sadly torn and tarnished, the fantastic drop-curtain relied upon to conceal, but not conceal** ing. the mechanism of the stage-carpenters and the meaning of the stage setting. For the second time in its history militant Republicanism goes to the country without conviction and without enthusiasm. In 18X4 the candidate was the handicap. In lt?0S the handicap is the issue. That issue as defined by Mr. Roosevelt and acceptK ed by Mr. Bryan, as originally defined by Mr. Bryan and accepted by Mr. Roosevelt, is the encroachments of predatory wealth. The people will question themselves and one another, they will ask the politicians why. if Mr. Bryan means it and Roosevelt means it. there should be any need of the turmoil and outlay of a presidential campaign: why the two parties should not equally divide the offices and share the expense: Bryan to have the first four years in the White House as guarantee of good faith, with Tuft a sure bond to follow, thus not only re% storing to the government the lost poise and balance of parties, but giving hostage to the many against the depredations of the few. As the Republicans frame the situ^ ation somebody Is to be fooled mightily. Who is it likeliest to be. Rockefeller and company, who will provide the sinews of war, or the masses of the people, who are expected to provide the votes? That is the sum of it. whichever way we take, or consider, it. We are promised a change of policies. Of which policies?the policies of the Republican president, or the policies of the Republican congress? jk The Republican party can not be true to the one without repudiating the A other. It can not at one and the same time keep step with Roosevelt, the radical, and Cannon, the standpatter: with tariff reform and the gospel of protection; with the trusts of the east and the farmers of the west; with the tain glittering generalities of the presRepublicanism for all its arts and resources can not serve both (2nd and Ma m mon. When the Republican congress refused to enact a law of publicity, under whose operation blackmail could ^ no longer be levied upon any interest by the managers, of either organization. it proclaimed the purpose of the Republicans to lay tribute upon the corporations and to fry the fat out of the manufacturers, again to sell the ^ foreign embassies to the millionaire."ami nmmises of no real interference to the trust magnates. Jls , return for the means of corrupting the ballot b??x and buying the election. Is it possible that they look for a hidden letter of Mr. Taft, prematurely exploded, to make denial of this? Is it possible that they rely upon cerv people and the system. In one wore ident adroitly kept out of sight and ami mind at the crucial moment t< help them deny it? Hy a vote of eighl to one they struck the ideal out ol their platform. They have no hope - ^ of carrying the country by a free vote and a fair count; of winning the election except by purchase, and all thai is meant by the Populist crazy-quill [TERSON S NOMINATION ?rm of Imposture and ! Good Lord." they have patched together at Chicago is a screen behind which they may work the familiar devices of Hanna and Cortelyou. This is the banquet to which the voters of the United States are invited to sit down and partake by the official dispensers of canned goods and cold storage who got up the menu at Chicago apparently without fear of the pure food law. or the uplifted hand of the Ananias club. They promise us tariff reform. They actually promise us tariff reform! Tariff rafnrm ' Hood T.ord?' "The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be; The devil got well?" and he said: "Ain't I the slickest?" Tariff reform, the fat fried out of the manufacturers as thick as butter from Xew York to San Francisco, greasing every door post and smearing each cross-road between! Tariff reform! The robber barons putting up the money and bossing the job!.Why, that was just like currency reform, with old he-goat. High Finance Aldrich, Papa-in-law Rockefeller behind, superintending both the senate and the house! Where, oh, where are All Baba and the forty thlfcves? Where are Sar tan and his Christian Endeavor society: FalstalT and his Woman's Christian Temperance union; Friar Tuck and his Sunday school class; Robin Hood and his bill of rights; in short, where are Cousin Sere'no Payne and his ways and means committee and Uncle Joe Cannon and his rules committee? As well set Richard III. to draft a new decalogue, or Munchausen to indite an apostrophe to truth, as expect these to amend the Dingley schedules. Neither shall we have any more government by injunction, the Taft judicial opinions to the contrary notwithstanding. Our infant industries at length rich and prosperous, most of them, having attained their allotted three-score-and-ten, no longer need protection; but they dearly love the American laboring man, and just as the tariff shall be revised purely in his interest, that is to "insure him steady work and high wages"?which, on the faith-cure principle, though the empty pail stares him and his starving children In the face, he is bound to know is only a figment of his fancy?shall the rules of court procedure be revised to conform to the demand of the Democrats 12 years old now, so that no matter what he says, or does, he shall never again go to jail. Think of the debt the working man owes not to Mr. Bryan, who began it and has fought for it straight since 1896, but to Mr. Roosevelt, who took the word out of Mr. Bryan's mouth and has brought the Republl can party to a deathbed repentance. All hail the dignity of labor! The rich shall be made richer still ?for the business of the country must not be disturbed?prosperity is the keynote of Republicanism?prosperity and a mess of pottage?the old flag and an appropriation?but the poor man shall share the riches of the rich man?for. is it not written in the book of Morgan that the steel trust is the hope of man. and has not Rockefeller himself proclaimed that he is but an accountant for his countrymen, lying awake and walking'the floor and cutting coupons whilst they sleep? Is not Carnegie a good Republican? Is not Harriman a good Republican? Who made the steel trust; the tobacco trust; the whisky trust; the sugar trust; the Standard oil trust?the foundation stones of American liberty and prosperity?except the Republcan party: Aldrich leading the senate, Cannon leading the house, the people compelled to pay for the dance, millions to the rich, only toil and taxes to all others. We have an impression that the argument will be found somewhat thread bare. Hearing it for the thousandth time, the working man will think at least two or three times before he answers?will think of his 40 years in the wilderness with the wild beasts of plutocracy?tempted of the devil and high tariff and high finances?the angels of Democracy alone to offer him words of cheer, which too often he most mistakenly rejected? and. thinking on these things, he will say to Mr. Tuft's general manager and advance agent when he comes round telling him of all the Republican party has done and is going to do for him?"Mr. Hitchcock, let me recall you a passage of scripture out of the gospel according to Saint Luke," and then, turning to the 4th chapter of that apostle, he will read as follows: 4*r? Anil thp r1<*vil tnlfinp* him mi into an high mountain, shew'd him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. "6. And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them. "7. If thou therefore wilt worship me. all shall be thine. "X. And Jesus answered and said unto him. 'get thee behind me, Satan!' " "So I say unto you Mr. Hitchcock" ?thus will the American working man conclude, "because you have fooled me these many moons, and I ' now know not only that you can do nothing you say you will do, but you i don't even mean to do it. The Repub1 lican party can fool me no longer, Mr. Hitchcock. I shall vote for Bryan." We mourn for Taft. He is too good a man to be sacrificed in the shambles i of spoils by spoilsmen. Alone upon his character, his services and his ' merit, he might have claimed the first place in the nation's gift and had his I claim allowed: as heir-at-law. never: I as the beneficiary of machine meth > oos, iirvrr, Theodore Roosevelt is a popular r man. Even the Democrats love ? him for his good intentions and for ? the enemies he has made. They will follow him into his retirement with t affectionate salutations and deep ret spect. They will not accept a desig jnated successor, and the dynastic principle, at his hands. The Republicans go to their doom. The blood of the victims of the big stick and the steam roller stick in their throats as they cheer; their cheering has the death-rattle. Grand old Republican party! It was a hoss in its day. Rut its living sins have I found "it out; the ghosts of half-forgotten sins come back to haunt it. MaIjestic fabric of departed glory! even as turgid Burrows and the frigid Lodge reviewed its history; it stands for freedom; its fight for the Union; the I tramp, tramp, tramp of the boys in blue; the sacrifices of the mothers in Israel: the descent from the heights of Pisgah down, down, down into the plains of Moab, the shade of Lincoln at the elbow of each might have been heard to whisper?"I don't want to Interrupt you, friend Burrows, but don't forget to put in something about me compieic auaiiuuiiiucni m plan of reconstruction and the scheme to Mexicanize the government by the impeachment of Andrew Johnson for trying in good faith to carry it out," and, "Just a moment, friend I^odge, but whilst you are about it. you ought to say a word touching the rape of the presidency in 18 76, and its purchase in 1896. 1900 and 1904. I could never stand for a Republican party so faithless to its own integrity and the republic." And now hoys, one and all. on for Denver! WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. _ Friendly Sketch of Republican Candidate For President. William Howard Taft, the nominee of the Republican party for president of the United States, comes of a family distinguished in the law and the public sendee. The first American Tafts came of the English yeomanry, transplanted across the Atlantic by the great upheavel for conscience sake which peopled New England with Its sturdy stock. In this country they turned to the study and practice of the law. Peter Taft was both a maker and an interpreter of laws, having sensed as a member of the Vermont legislature, and afterward as a judge. Alphonso Taft, son of Peter, was graduated from Yale college, and then went out to the western reserye to practice law. He settled in Cincinnati, and it was at hit. Auburn, a suburb of that city, on September 15, 1857, that his son, William Howard Taft. first became a pres idential possibility. He was educated at Yale and graduated No. 2 of a class of 120. From college he returned to Cincinnati and begun the study of law in his father's office. His father, Alphonso, earned distinction in the service of city an<i state and nation, going from the superior bench of Ohio, to which he had been elected unanimously, to the place in Grant's cabinet now held by the son, then as attorney general, to the department of justice, and finally into the diplomatic service, as minister first to Austria and then to Russia, From the time he was of age, William Howard Taft has been in the public service, and most notable of all is that he was given his first really high and responsible position, a judgeship, by the present Senator Foraker, who, when governor of Ohio, appointed Mr. Taft to a vacancy in the superior court. Mr. Taft's public career began as assistant prosecutor of Hamilton county, which includes the city of Cincinnati. In 1881 he became collector of internal revenue for the First Ohio district A year later he resigned and went back to the law, with his father's old partner. H. P. Floyd. In 1883 he became assistant county solicitor. Two years later Governor Foraker appointed him judge of the superior court, to succeed Judson Harmon, who had resigned to enter President Cleveland's cabinet. In 1S86 Judge Taft married Miss Helen Herron, daughter of John W. Herron of Cincinnati. They have three children, Robert Alphonso, a student at Yale; Helen, a student at Bryn Mawr, and Charles Phelps, 2d. who attends the public schools in Washington. Judge Taft attracted attention in his court decisions, and President Harrison requested that he become solicitor general of the United States. Two of the cases which he conducted as solicitor general involved questions of vital importance to the entire country. The first grew out of the seal fisheries controversy with Great Britain. Mr. Taft won against such eminent counsel as Joseph H. Choate, who is widely recognized as a leader of the American bar. The other was a tariff case, in which the law was attacked on '1 "'1 Prnirl bnrl IMP glUUIlU 111 J i o pvuiw. i A?WV? ..v. ? counted a quorum when the bill passed the house. That, too, he won. It was during his term as solicitor general that Mr. Taft met Theodore Roosevelt, then civil service commissioner, and began the friendship which has continued and grown ever since. After three years, Mr. Taft was appointed as a judge for the Sixth Federal circuit. Here he gave numerous decisions affecting labor unions. One of the most important and far-reaching of all his judgments was that against the Addystone Pipe company, in which for the first time the Sherman anti-trust law was made a living, vital force for the curbing and punishment of monopoly. When the case reached the supreme court, Mr. Taft received the distinction and unusual honor of having his decision quoted in full and handed down as part of the opinions of the high court, which sustained him at every point. This Addystone pipe decision marked tlie beginning of the struggle for Federal control of interstate corpora tions, which in the later years has come to be known as the "Roosevelt policy." While Judge Taft opposed the retention of the Philippines, believing that the islands should be restored to the Filipinos, nevertheless, in March, 1900. he accepted President McKinley's offer, and became chairman of the Philippine commission. He sacrificed a judgeship, the acme of his ambition. Judge Taft found the Filipinos in a state of revolt. For three years he labored with them, helped to establish a government, restored good feeling, and placed the natives in responsible places in the government The task was a great and arduous one, but Judge Taft triumphed. Three times did Judge Taft refuse to accept a place on the bench of the Failed States supreme court, believing that his duty lay with the Filipinos. Only when he was appointed secretary of war, where he could continue his direction of the Philippine policy he had inaugurated, would he change. On February 1, 1904, Judge Taft became secretary of war, succeeding Elihu Root. The affairs of the army alone have often proved sufficient to occupy the whole attention of an able secretary. Mr. Taft has had to handle not only those and the Cuban and. Philippine business, but to direct the construction of the Panama canal as well. And at not infrequent intervals he has been called on to participate In the direction of other weighty affairs of t*nirAT*nmnnf TJn Via a honn fho cronhHl 1 adviser of President Roosevelt, and has been called into consultation on every Important matter which has required governmental action. Aside from the Philippines and the canal the greatest call that has been made upon Mr. Taft since he became secretary of war came from Cuba. This was a case largely similar to the Philippine problem. He has provided the Cubans with a government, and when the Americans quit Havana, the work finished will be the result of the labors of William H. Taft. As a worker, Judge Taft Is tireless, quick and energetic. He never loses a minute. He is stout and Jolly, an excellent story teller. But he h us a temper, and can make the air blue when his purposes are crossed. He did not want the nomination, and had to be forced into It by his half brother, Charles P. Taft, owner of the Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, and President Roosevelt.?New York Commercial. LAWSON GREATLY INTERESTED. Wants Bryan to Give Way to Johnson. Although Thomas W. Lawson apoealed to the delegates to the Republican national convention to renominate Theodore Roosevelt for president by means of whole-page advertisements in every newspaper In Chicago, says a Boston dispatch, he has sent an open letter to William Jennings Bryan, in which he says: "The sum total of Roosevelt's work was but to put the people In better condition for the same old scats at the galley oars." He asks Mr. Bryan to say the word thut will result In the nomination of [ Governor Johnson of Minnesota, for [president on the Democratic ticket, and to accept the nomination for vice president himself. As an evidence of his wish for such an act. Mr. Lawson, to insure the success of the Democratic party, offers personally to raise $500,000 to defray the campaign expenses of Governor Johnson, and If that Is not sufficient, I will guarantee another half million. Mr. Lawson speaks of the "superior scheming of President Roosevelt, whom the people have lifted to a dictatorship so supreme that he-has Just choa[ en his successor against the will of the people." and goes on to say: "In Chicago on Thursday the farce, which has been incubating since the October panic, birthed what will be a tragedy to the American people, unless something is done to prevent it. A band of professional feeders at the public crib planned to cram, and did cram down the throats of millions of Republicans a coprt favorite. "It has happened that you are the only man in this country today who can give the American people the power to undo the evil wrought to every Republican by the act of Roosevelt and his henchmen. Unless the Democratic convention nominates a man other than yourself, and yet a man who every voter will know has the full Bryan strength, the insult attempted by the Republican convention will become a reality. "It will be impossible, in my opinion for you to be elected now. If you say the word to your party, it will nominate Governor Johnson. If you will then accept, in the spirit of self sacrificing patriot, the nomination of vice president, this one act of yours will bring about such a revival of hope in the breast of the people that in another year they will elect an overwhelming majority of members of congress who will be in full accord with the policies which you and Governor Johnson will formulate. "The Democratic party, to insure success, ' should have a large amount of money to properly arouse and elevate the people everywhere to the real issues, and 1 will personally raise from among the people the sum of $500,000 to defray the expenses of the campaign of Governor Johnson and yourself, and if this be not sufficient I will personally add another $500,000, and I will hold myself in readiness to do everything else in my power now and at election to insure the success of such a ticket." The Pampered Poisoner. A seller of cocaine, in whose possession were found wedding rings, babies' lockets, clothing, household goods and other articles which testified eloquent1> to the attractive power of his merchandise, was duly convicted the other day, and fined five hundred and fifty dollars. The fine was soon paid. "I have had him lined three times," explained the detective who made the arrest: "once two hundred dollars, then three hundred dollars, then four hundred dollars. He always paid the line and went light back to selling 'coke.' " Counterfeiters are no longer quartered: thieves no longer hanged. But, ex * twwlilmr fllllpriPP i T1 ? i*epi wnrrr unn i ......... voiced, the terrors of the law are still mostly for those who commit offenses against property. Poisoning people upon a systematic commercial plan that can show a good profit is still regarded quite indulgently. It might be a shame to send a cocaine seller to the penitentiary?for a great many rather harmless, decent and comparatively admirable pickpockets, embezzlers and forgers would have to associate with him there.? Saturday Kvening Post. ;t" A tidal power plant capable of supplying 25,000 horse-power is to bt 'established on the shores of Hack Bay, near Portland. Me. The projectors have already experimented with a smaller plant at Thomaston, Me., and ' it is claimed from the experience gaini cd In tills venture that the success o| ' | the larger one is assured. WHY RHETT Believes In the Applicati to Nation Following is the platform of Hon. R. O. Rhett in his candidacy for United States senator: "There is, in my judgment, great need for more business methods in government. It is significant that the Democratic party has not been in power, with the exception of eight year.-f, for almost half a century, although the solid south, constituting almost onethird of the country, has almost in..amIaUIo rtn n* Un ao f r\ %? f llq t no rtv \ <i i lauiy cost rre?v UVCB?im?ina i pvrxji I believe It Is already due to a lack of confidence on the part of the people of the country' in the capacity of the Democratic party to manage the government upon a business plane, and by business methods. "The south does not lack men of business capacity and there are not a few of them at present in the halls of congress, but they have been following political and not business lines. My belief is that if they subordinate their political to their business talent they would regain the confidence of the entire country More than this my belief Is that they would once more secure the leadership and guide the policies of the Democra ic party, and through that party the government of the nation. "As a business man, who has found H I 9 HON. R. GOOD1 that the application of.business methods to all problems?governmental, as well as others, has effected the best solutions, I am offering myself as a candidate for the United States senate, believing I can be of some use to the people of my state, to the south and to the country. "The present currency laws of the United States are framed for the benefit of the bondholding fraternity of New York and New England, and against the interests of the farmer, the manufacturer and the producer generally. Under these laws, the southern bank, from whom alone the farmer can obtain the currency to gather his crops, is now compelled to buy this currency in New York. Every fall the stock exchange speculator runs up the price of money, and thus makes it difficult and expensive and at times impossible to get the currency needed. "The farmer is driven to pay high rates, is driven to gather his cotton under spur and whip, and to sell it, not as his judgment dictates, but as necessity demands. I have prepared a currency plan in detail which enables the southern banks to obtain this currency when it Is needed by the farmers without going to New York or depending upon bonds?a currency based upon the certificates of the banks themselves, which means the credit of the communities in which the banks are located. Ry making it. a condition that every bank to obtain its charter shall guarantee the note of every other bank, the currency is made the strongest in the world. "I do not believe it Is realized how materially this currency question affects every interest in the country, The intricacy of this question has made it so difficult to understand that the representatives of the large moneyed interests of t,he northwest have blinded the people of the country, and enable them through the present currency system to levy tribute upon every industry to a greater or less extent. For instance, there was a panic last fall, and no currency could be obtained at any price. The reason was that all bank note currency had to be secured by the deposit of government bonds, and the government bond market was cornered in New York. "I have constructed a system on the lines of our Federal government?a system of the people, and for the people1?a system based upon the credil of the country, its industries and commodities distributed throughout the length and breadth of the land; a system from the proportionate benefit? of which no community can be excluded. yet a system behind whicl stands more than the combined currencies of Europe; a system whicl constitutes not only a boon to our people,. but a bulwark of strength to th< government; a system which will for ever free our industries from currency famines, and our country from panics "The tariff duties should be imme diately reduced to the lowest poin consistent with the needs of the gov eminent economically administered. Ii ' the process of reducing the duties, th utmost endeavors should be used t< , prevent discrimination against south ; ern industries, coupled with diligen L care that our industries shall recelv I the fullest share of advantage fror . whatever remains. r The tariff, of course, Is a tax?ai indirect tax - and the whole questioi IS RUNNING. on of Business Principles al Politics. is one of adjusting this tax so that each industry and element shall bear its fair proportion. The state knows my attitude on the railroad question. I have claimed that there was a discrimination not only against the port of Charleston, but against all parts of South Carolina. I have cited tarlfTs, which show this conclusively. A railroad is a public service corporation. It is the public's trustee for its highways, and it should be so regulated as noi to discriminate against any industries of any localities. I have never favored an indiscriminate reduction in rates. I believe that railroads should be permitted to earn profits, and good profits, upon actual values, but not upon watered securities. I believe that service is of more importance than rates, and my voice has always been for better service, great efficiency and no discrimination. "The government has for some time been irrigating lands of the western states, and converting them into fertile fields. South Carolina now has large areas of land covered by water, the drainage of which would convert them likewise into fertile fields. Inasmuch as the principles in both cases are the same, the one In adding water, V m m WYN RHETT. ! the other in taking it away to effect a ! like purpose, the two problems should be joined, and some method found whereby government aid should be rendered for drainage, as well as for irrigation. "We need an increase in our white population, and should welcome all such within our borders, all who are strong and healthy not only in body but in mind, and do not come to disturb our standards of labor. I am in favor of throwing every safeguard and restriction around immigration that will prevent the influx of undesirable population." "While we should welcome as one of the solutions of the negro question the accession of white population, it would not be, in my judgment, desirable to do this by bringing in those to whom liberty means license; those without religious faith; those whose standards of life are so much below our own that they would constitute a menace to us." AUTO FOR POLAR TRAVEL. Dr. Charcot, the Antarctic Explorer, Has Invented a Motor Sledge. Dr. Jean Charcot of Paris, the famous antarctic explorer, who is soon leaving for another protracted voyage of exploration to the antarctic conti1 nent. is now carrying on a series of experiments with an auto sledge of his invention which might have been used t<> advantage by the contestants in the New York to Paris race. The doctor 1 purposes to use this sledge in traversing the snow covered plains of the extreme south after he has been forced to leave his ship. The experiments , show that the sledge is of extreme i utility in travel over deep snow, : whether it is hard or soft. He has been able to climb fairly steep hills > with it and to travel across country I where no roads whatever exist. The seldge is of great simplicity. Weighing less than aflft pounds, it is composed of three distinct parts. The : chassis is built like an ordinary Norwegian sledge, light and strong. The i motor and running parts tire placed in s the rear of the sledge and are com; plctely protected from the snow. A three horsepower motor is used, with two speed changes, the first designed i to give four kilometers an hour and i the second eight. The most interesting1 part of the t machine is tin* propeller. This is com posed <:f a wheel having two parallel i rims, connected by erosspieces about one foot apart. Knelt of these rims is ' supplied with spoon shaped creepers ol steel, which are equally effective ir i attacking either ice or snow. The pro poller is suspended in such a mannei i that it can follow exactly the eontoui of the surface over which it is pass' ing. So successful were the experiment; f as a whole that Dr. Charcot says h< - intends to take at least three of th< - auto sledges with him,' perhaps more t He believes that such sledges will it - the future to a great extent replaci i dogs in the quest for the north poh e also. As for the south pole, surround a ed as it is by vast ice fields, almos - perfectly level, he believes that hi t invention has at last rendered that goa e attainable. a . ? utt- The world's Sunday schools tota n at SfiL'.OOO. with L'fi.000,000 alien ii dants. iHiscrUaumis grading. MAN REALLY ABOUT TO FLY. Alexander Graham Bell Telia What Hat Been Done. Since the beginning of May the eyes of the aeronauts of this country have been directed to the little village of Hammondsport, N. Y? which has of late been the scene of much activity In the construction of both dirigible balloons and of "heavier than air" machines. A notable example of the latter type Is the White Wing, constructed by Dr. Alexander Graham Pell, chairman of the Aerial Experiment association, from the designs of F. W. Haldwin. the designer of the Red Wing, which made an excellent record on the Ice of Lake Keuka last winter. The association was formed about a year ago for the purpose of trying out the Ideas of several men interested In the art of flying and has already ?lv?n onrnost nf srood work. The Red Wing was the first machine of its type to make a public flight in this country. Qn March 12 last It flew 319 feet at a distance of ten feet from the ground. The machine was 43 feet long, 6 feet 6 Inches deep at the centre and 4 feet deep at the extremities. The upper and lower planes were covered with silk, and they had a combined area of 385 square feet. The seat of the operator was arranged just above the lower plane In the centre of the machine and was fitted with a silken protecting guard. On the end of this protection was the rudder, eight feet across and two feet deep. This was under the control of the aviator. A tail was attached ten feet in the rear of the machine. It was 14 feet 10 Inches across and 3 feet deep, giving a surface of 44 square feet. To this tall was attached a vertical rudder, 4 feet square. The propelling power was derived from a 40-horse power, eight cylinder engine weighing 148 pounds. When the motor was started the rudders slid along the ice for 150 feet and then the machine rose gracefully into the air. . This test showed Dr. Bell and his associates that they were working In the right direction and that it was possible to build a flying machine that would combine all the advantages of such European types as the Farman. and the Delagrange with the reputed simplicity of the Wright Brothers' machine. In a subsequent experiment the Red Wing was wrecked, although the operator and the motor were uninjured. The construction of another machine was at once begun, and early in May the White Wing was .completed. This machine was built of heavier material and with slightly larger plane ~ ~ ~ U..4 < * Y* rl Ana ??n /lino 1 I m _ MU ritlUtJM, Ulil ll liau one tauivai ? provement. The Red Wing had shown a lack of means of Insuring lateral stability and it would at times tilt over sideways in a fashion to try the nerve of the pluckiest operator. This fundamental fault was remedied effectively In the new machine. The tips at the extremities of the wings, which are used by the operator for correcting the tilting of the machine, were fitted with hinges about their fore edges, and thus by a system of steering gears it became possible for the operator to change the angle of incidence at will. If the machine inclines to one side, the man by leaning on the high side operates a tiller which is connected by steering ropes, increasing the angle of incidence of the tips at the lower side, and decreasing this angle on the high side. This is how the machine is kept on an even keel, the operator leaning instinctively to the high side. The steering wheel is so arranged that the machine can be instantly steered right or left, as in an automobile, while an up and down movement can be secured by pushing the wheel in or out. The tall is composed of two superposed surfaces very similar to those of the Red Wing. This machine weighs 408 pounds. The association staff, consisting of Dr. A. G. Bell. G. H. Curtiss, director of experiments; F. W. Baldwin, chief engineer: J. A. D. McCurdy, treasurer, and Lieut. T. Selfridge, secretary, assisted by August Post, secretary of the Aero club, of America, has recently been engaged in putting the finishing 1 touches to the machine and in making experiments in actual flight. In the first test a running start of a little more than 100 feet was made on the level, und when a speed of twenty miles an hour had been reached the operator inclined the front rudder to the ascending position and the aeroplane rose quickly to a height of twenty feet and sailed away. There seemed no reason why the flight should not have been continued for many miles, but at a distance of eighty yards the operator, having a momentary hesitation as to the effec1 tiveness of his controls, turned the front rudder to the descending position and the machine gradually came down and landed in a ploughed field 1 alongside the track. There was a great cheering from the large crowd assembled and the records were officially 1 attested for the Aero club. 1 Dr. Hell expressed himself as much ' pleused with the showing made by the new aeroplane, which was exceedingly good for a maiden flight. He ' insisted that the flight might have 1 been continued for a long time had 1 not the pressure of the air on the un' der surfaces of the wind base caused r the base to buckle up and get in the 1 way of the propeller, and the consequent fouling impaired the action of the machine temporarily. r "When that is repaired," he said, "we will go at it again and in all probability we shall have something * more to show. But, at all events, i while our former trial was truly calli ed an experiment, this can truly be called a demonstration. Every new 1 trial now will bring us nearer to the a ? - gUttl. ? "When the people see a machine * Hying over their heads they have no 1 further doubt of the ability of man to 3 fly. But, as a matter of fact, while ' we have today made an appreciable step In advance, it Is not popularity that we are seeking. We are concen1 tratlng ourselves on making actual - scientific progress." Later the White Wings flew 1,017 feet In nineteen seconds. While Dr. Bell is greatly interested In this form of flying machine, it Is stated on good authority that his real scientific pet bears little resemblance to it. He is now preparing to build an improved aerodrome, composed of over 6,000 cells of tetrahedral form. These triangular cells are of silk. They have a 6-lnch base line, and are framed in thin slips of wood. Instead of having the two plane surfaces of the White Wings form, this aerodrome is virtually a bank of contiguous cells. The experimental machine made last year was thirty-nine feet long and nine feet deep. The new machine will be a trifle larger. The operator sits in the centre and easily controls the machine. Dr. Bell, when questioned as to the prospect of developing an effective and practical machine of this type, said: "The White Wings shows progress on the exact lines it was Intended to follow. It is an improved form of the flying machines that have so far b'-en successful. It secures high speed, at the expense possibly of some degree of stability. "But, like the others of the same type, it requires the greatest concentration and presence of mind xas well as skill for its effective operation, and mistakes are apt to have serious results, especially in the experimental stages, in which the operator has to learn the new business of coping with instant decision with the wind gusts and overcoming the vagaries of the machine. "What I am now proposing to do in my new cellular construction aerodrome is to support the machine and the operator in the air to begin with. My experiments are carried on over water. I fly the apparatus In the air as the schoolboy flies his kite, attaching it by the kite strings?or, in this case, by cable?to a steamboat. "The operator then starts the motor on the machine. When he begins to travel faster than the boat the line slackens and the aerodrome forges ahead. When from any cause the motor stops the tow line again be comes taut and the aerodrome continues its flight as a kite. "The advantage of this is that, while the essentially important matter of experimenting Is being carried on, absolute safety for the operator and the machine Is insured by the great stability of this form of structure. I get a slower speed, but I am securing the guiding principles that we are all in search of in the new science just as surely as is done in the faster machines, without the element of risk. "In point of fact I want to run one of these machines myself and I intend to do it." P0I80NING AS A FINE ART. 8cale of Prices Submitted to the Venetian Council of Ten. Venetian poisoners first came into notoriety in the fifteenth century. At that period the mania for poisoning bad risen to such a height that the governments of the states were formally recognizing secret assassination by poison and considering the removal of emperors, princes and powerful nobles by this method. The notorious council of ten met to consider such plans, and an account and record of their proceedings still exists, giving the number of those who voted for and who voted against the proposed removal, the reasons for the assassination and the sum to be paid for its execution. Thus these conspirators quietly arranged to take the lives of many prominent individuals, and when the deed was executed it was registered on the margin of their official record by the significant word "factum." On December 15, 1543, John of Raguba offered the council a selection of poisons and declared Himself ready to remove any person whom they deemed objectionable, out of the way. He calmly stated his terms, which for the first successful case were to be a pension of 1,500 ducats a year, to be increased on the execution of further, services. The presidents Guolando Duoda and Pietro Guiarni placed this matter before the council on Jan. 4, 1544, and on a division It was resolved to accept this patriotic offer and to experiment first on the Emperor Maximilian. John, who had evidently reduced poisoning to a fine art, submitted afterward a regular graduated tariff to the council. Tne highest fee was for poisoning the sultan, 500 ducats; for the king of Spain, 150 ducats, including the expenses of the journey: for the duke of Milan, 60 ducats; for the Marquis of Mantua. 50 ducats; for the pope, 180 ducats.?Health. CORSICAN CUSTOMS. Curious Observances Connected With Death and Burial. When a Corsican woman dies she Is always buried in a new costume, which sometimes with the poorer classes takes up most of the family savings, and as the heat of the climate renders burial imperative within twenty-four hours the new gown is generally commenced directly the dying person's Illness assumes a serious form. Corsicans reverence the dead, and a feature in a funeral is the "improvlsatores"?women whose business !t is to improvise pruw puc11j ers. Often this improvising Is wonderfully beautiful and breathes the true feeling of sorrow. The "death hunters" attend funerals and afterward wrestle with the mourners. If a relative of the deceased gets the better in the combat It Is assumed that his affection for the departed relative was absolutely genuine. When the corpse leaves the house the women gather at an upper window and, tearing out handfuls of their hair, throw it on the coffin. The rich hire women mourners, who scratch their faces and are paid In proportion to the Injuries they inflict on themselves in their paroxysms of grief. A Corsican widow wears a strip of black material tied on her eyes for a week, and during that period she is fed and led about by her friends. No room in her house is cleaned and no fire lighted for the same period. In the cemeteries is a succession of little buildings with flat roofs and high openings. These are the tombs, and inside them are rich hangings, flowers, poetry and lamps, which the mourners place there In remembrance of the departed.