■ i When somewhat less than
JTT TL 1 • • r\ n 300 vftarB *8° Governor
1 nanksgiving Day be- Bradford first called the
comes Secular Holiday people from their rough
By HENRY M. WING. Bcton, NW hewn cabins to join in
—Thanksgiving there is no
reason to doubt that the
small company of settlers caino together with a fairly unanimous swelling
of hearts in gratitude ip the Divine Providence of their belief. All were
probably present or accounted for, and never was congregation more in
•ocoJtd. Its members felt alike, thought alike and expressed themselves in
the same grave wavs.
fin its conception and the response which it awoke the first rJ hanks
/ghhug day was no doubt a religious event; its feelings and aspirations were
, r ,4fio8<‘ of religious emotion iis distinguished by psychologists nowadays
from the lucubrations of the intellectual or rationalist point, of view. And
so very likely the day continued to be celebrated for several seasons in a
manner perfectly valid because spontaneous and inevitable.
Later on, bad some forceftd, optimistic deacon carried the motion that
on that day thanksgiving should lie expressed in a program of foot races
lor youth, tableaux and competitive exhibitions of needlework for maidens,
and for grown-ups a free and open public debate on the new tendencies of
thought among them, witches and Quakers admitted, Divine Providence
would have smiled upon them no less for a pleasing offspring of society.
Now that Thanksgiving day has become for most people a secular holi
day, and the idea of a divine favoritism has lost its appeal to the imagina
tion, feelings and forces of men, it might be of advantage to those who
would employ it seriously to use the day in intelligent consideration of
those natural resources and of measures to insure their just use. Intensive
farmers, liberal congresses of religions and experts of industrial education
need not hesitate to call conferences for that day for want of intrinsic
fitness and propriety.
HnitivtLitt/v nn<1 /1< > ■ rwf tint Vi nruiVl m 1T1 /I in fllllncf nvPTV*i<5P nf TYlfin’s
* ..-- i .
nature, not with faculties focuses! on the sentiment of a tradition, is the
■ modern conception of virtue and piety—incidentally of thanksgiving, and
! it is deemed advisable to balance the account with natural laws, charging
a profit and loss, oftener than once a year, whether it be a question of indi
vidual or social and co-operative action. By the new rule Thanksgiving
days are days of intelligent doing in work or enjoyment, and they cannot
be appointed in advance. Formalism in such matters commits men’s minds
to the form, but not to the substance, and has a tendency to exclude the
substance of things as they are, which must always be the basis of things
wished for.
At present Thanksgiving day means less than any of our holidays,
because certain of its forms have outlived the spirit of their observance,
and yet prevent many normal and healthy uses of the time, as not tong
ago a fictitious public opinion, which did not exist in fact, but was enforced
by the police, caused the majority of people to vegetate every seventh day.
Every tradition finally arrives at a fallow stage, whereupon people
begin to look for something better suited to their needs. The present fea
tures of Thanksgiving day—late rising, overeating and promiscuous
theater-going (since not all the good plays can be in town that day)^
with an occasional family reunion as an extenuating circumstance—are
indications that in this ease the answer is not yet found.
The question really is. as to# what are the just uses of leisure—of a
holiday. They will not be the same for all people, and if various classes
haven’t solved the question to their complete satisfaction, it is to be noted
that in this over-busy world leisure for its own sake or for the opportunity
to choose one's own work or enjoyment is a comparatively new tradition.
The question is being solved in proportion to the solution of the ques
tion as to what are the just uses of
1 A good watch can now be
wir p •* Y/L * 1 I purchased for one or two
(II r actory W histle is dollars, and there is no ne
Declared a Nuisance ce8sit>' for fartor-v whistles
to awaken several thousand
By J«roe» W. McDowell, Cleveland, Ohio . 1
7 7 persons in a eity in order
' » -I that a few persons employed
in that factory may be at work at a certain time. The factory whistle has
not place in modern industrial economy.
In the days of small manufacturing, inadequate transportation facili
ties and expensive watches, when the workmen all lived in the neighbor
hood of the factory, perhaps the factory whistle served a useful purpose,
but that time has passed.
In these days of quick transportation comparatively few operatives
live close enough to the factory to pay any attention to the whistle, no
matter how long or shrill is the blowing. The modem factory operative
depends upon the accurate time of the watch that he can purchase for
$1 or $2.
I can discern the purpose of the l>ell on the farm, but for the life
of me I never could understand why so much importance was attached
to the factory whistle even in the old days before the era of the electric
trolley car and the dollar watch.
The farmer working out in the field, a long distance from the farm
house, places real dependence on the dinner bell, but that was never the
case with the factory whistle.
Unquestionably, factory whistles blowing must now be placed in the
category of unnecessary noises. I predict the day will come when the
factory whistle will not bo heard except to blow the old year out and the
new year in or on the stage.
" ~~1 The popular impression
_ _ . . that eats do a service in
Cats Do Good Service killing mice and nits is ab
in Killing Rodents solutelv true, the statement
D u DnTD5 of noted authorities to the
By G. H. BEi ERS, Chicago
contrary notwithstanding.
-1 Every rat destroys, on the
average, property to the value of $5 even year of its life. There are
at least 5,000,000 rats in the United States. Figure out the damage for
yourselves. Every mouse destroys at least S? worth of property every year
of its life. There are at least as many mice as rats in the United States.
Figure out that. Now. every eat kills at least two rata and five mice each
year. How much do they save to the community?
There are probably 1,000,000 eats in the United States. If a cat
kills one rat and two mice, that is $9 to the credit of each cat. So the
cats save to the country at large $9,000,000. Is the much-maligned cat
worth anything?
I have seen this time and again: A cat. fat or lean, will eat a rat
or mouse caught by its dexterity—fact! Rut if the cats should not eat
them, they kill them, and that is to their credit. A cat in Chicago will
destroya t least 100 sparrows even- year, thereby getting rid of a little
pestiferous nuisance. Ten thousand oats (and there probably are that
number in Chicago) who kill about 1,000,000 of the pugnacious foreign
ers of the bird kind.
WOMEN AS DUELISTS?
LIKELY TO BE TAKEN UP AT THE
CAPITAL.
.
Washington Fencing Club Decides to
Have Annex for Members of Fair
Sex, Where Instructions Will
Be Given by Fencers.
‘‘Swords or pistols? Which shall it
be, milady?”
Thus will Wash
ington society
women, well
trained physical
oally by total ab
stinence from bon
bons and strong
tea, challenge
each other to du
els during the
coming winter.
Fencing and pis
tol duelling are
about to be inaug
urated among the capital’s fair daugh
ters by members of the Washington
Fencing club.
So if you hear that the wife of the
ambassador from No Man’s Land and
Miss Debutante are booked for mortal
combat at the rooms of the club or
that Madam Dowager is making dainty
pinh bloomers to wear in her bout
with the Venus-like Miss Blank, just
set it down that both are either skilled
swordswomen or good shots.
It is positively decided that the
Washington Fencing club, which is de
termined to do everything to rejuven
ate the fencing sport in the national
capital, will have an annex for wom
en. An instructor in the art of swords
manship and revolver shooting will
teach society women two mornings
and one afternoon each week, at which
times mere man will be absolutely
barred from entering the club.
With such men as Sir Cecil Spring
Rice, the British ambassador; M. Jus
serand, the French ambassador; As
sistant Secretary of War Brecken
ridge, Dr. Scott D. Breckenridge, one
of the champion amateur swordsmen
of the country, and others of like re
pute, already members of the club, the
organization will open its doors some
time shortly after October 15. The
new clubhouse will be at 1220 Connec
ticut avenue.
M. Darrieulat, maitre d’armes of the
old fencing organization of the city,
at which former President Roosevelt
and Gen. Leonard Wood and other
prominent men clashed with saber
and cutlass, will be the maitre d’armeB
of the new organization. He is one of
the most adept swordsmen in the
United States, having been graduated.
Sir Cecil Spring-Rice.
prior to coming to this country, from
several of the best fencing schools in
Prance.
French pistol dueling will very like
ly be inaugurated at the club. This
form of dueling, which consists in the
two opponents firing at each other at
a distance of twenty yards, with leath
er cartridges and wax balls, will be
one of the Innovations when the club
begins its activities.
Among the new members added to
the club within the past few days are
the minister from Argentine Repub
lic. the minister from Panama, the
secretary of the Pan-Amertc.an lega
tion, and the charge d'affaires df the
Cuban legation.
TO VOTE BY ELECTRICITY
Proposed New System Intended to
Save Time by Eliminating Fili
bustering Tactics.
The spectacle of members of the
house voting by means of electric
buttons placed at their seats and con
necting with a big switchboard near
the speaker's desk soon may be a
reality. The house rules committee
recently decided to report favorably
a resolution looking to the creation of
a special committee to report to the
house plans and specifications for
such a system. The chief purpose of
the proposed system is to gain time
through the elimination of long roll
calls. Roll calls are usually demand
ed for filibustering purposes Each
roll call takes 45 minutes, and when
it is possible to demand a roll call on
every clause of a Bill a whole day can
be filibustered away in roll calls. With
the electric bell roll call things will
b« different
SOME VERY STRANGE PtlS
One Congressman Has Wild Boar in
Yard; Another Owns an Angora
Goat.
Some of the members of congress
have strange pets. For instance there
is Chairman Ben Johnson, or tne
house district committee. He lavishes
his excess of affections upon a wild
boar, a fine young animal that holds
sway in the yard of the Johnson home
at Ilardstown, Ky. Constant associa
tion with humanity has made him as
docile as a married man begging for
a night out.
When Mr. Johnson reaches home
the first thing he does is to whistle
for that boar. The boar immediately
shows up. trotting to his master with
the devotion of Mary’s little lamb.
The representative then strokes the
bristling head, and the boar utters
happy little grunts of joy.
Representative Rothermel of Penn
sylvania has a goat which he professes
he loves. The obvious thing for some
wag to say is that everybody in con
gress owns a goat, and that the chief
occupation of the members of that
body is to endeavor to capture some
one s else beast of that species.
That of Representative Rothermel
is an Angora goat, a beautiful fluffy
creature, and its master declares that
it can smile. Representative Rother
mel, well known through his own state
as a fighter, was first won to the ani
mal when he saw it arguing with the
hired man out by the stable of his
home one day. The man was trying
to put the goat inside the stable and
the goat objected. The hired man
talked to the Angora as its own uncle
might have talked. And just as he
was getting on intimate terms with
the creature it turned on its reverse
speed, ported its helm and bumped
him on the green grass.
Represenative Rothermel went out
and calmed the goat just as the hired
man was arranging for a murder with
the aid of an ax. The goat became
his master thereafter. It trots about
the lawn bleating gently whenever
the legislator calls. Representative
Rothermel is authority for the state
ment that the goat has never as yet
butted him.
SEALED CARDBOARD CARTONS
Economic Importance of Such Con
tainer Made Plain by the Depart
*. ment of Agriculture.
The United States department of ag
riculture has just issued a bulletin
(No. 15), in which a sealed cardboard
container for cereals is described,
which should do much to protect ce
reals from insect attack.
The economic importance of such a
container for cereals which the grocer
sells by the box is greater than at
first appears. Packages may become
infested while in the grocer’s store
room or on his shelves. Warehouses
are also usually more or less infested
by insects which crawl around on the
packages. When such packages are
purchased, the buyer, on discovering
that they have been attacked, usually
returns them to the grocer, the grocer
return them to the mill where they
were prepared, and the mill screens
the cereal and sells it as feed. The
exact financial loss due to these con
ditions can not be accurately deter
mined, but extensive observations
lead to the belief that it is much
greater than most millers suppose.
The new bulletin, which is a con
tribution from the bureau of entomol
ogy, gives the results of experiments
in California, with packages that were
regularly closed by gluing the ends,
and with those which were covered
by a piece of label paper so that an
insect could not enter without pier'cing
the label. The result of this experi
ment showed that the nonlabeled pack
ages were thoroughly infested with
insects, while the labeled packages
were absolutely free from insects.
GENTLEMEN, MEET MR. BROWN
Whereupon the New Found Commit
teeman Was Introduced to
His Colleagues.
Representative Edward Everts
Browne of Wisconsin, serving his first
term in the congress, has a place on
the powerful house labor committee.
Mr. Mann, republican leader, ap
peared before that committee the
other day in support of his bill to cre
ate a federal labor safety bureau.
When he had finished a long argu
ment, Chairman Lewis took notice of
a rather diffident elderly man who had
taken no part in the proceedings, seat
ed alone at the end of the table.
"Would you like to make a state
ment before the committee' on this
bill?" asked the chairman in a polite
tone, calculated to put the man at hie
ease.
The elderly one looked about in a
surprised, embarrassed way.
“Why, no." he returned. "1 am Mr.
Browne of Wisconsin, a member of the
committee."
Whereupon the new found commit
teeman was introduced to his col
leagues.
Not a Collection Agency.
Appeal has been made to the war
department by a large iewelry firm or.
the Pacific coast for aid in the collec
tion of bills incurred by enlisted men,
aggregating $1,000,000.
Many of the obligations contracted
by soldiers with the company were
paid in full. The war department can
not act as a collection agency and has
informed the installment house that
its only alternative is to proceed in
the regular way, as against civilian
rtohtnrR
New Ideas for Handv M
I By A. NEELY HALL I I I
I Author of "Handicraft tor Hindy Bon." Tbe Bo; Oafanaa." etc. I 1
HOLIDAY MAGIC.
Christmas and New Year’s usually
present good opportunities for boys
to give home entertainments, because
with grandfather and grandmother, fa
ther and mother, uncles and aunts,
and sisters and cousins at the house,
you have good material to draw upon
to make up an enthusiastic audience.
Arrange to have the show directly
after dinner, and you will catch ev
erybody in unusually good humor to
enjoy the performance.
Home magic furnishes splendid ma
terial for a one-boy show, and requires
no apparatus other than what a boy
can make himself. The following are
among the best of the simpler, easily
performed tricks.
You need a table on which to hold
apparatus, and any small table will
do. but Fig. 1 shows how you can
make a small stand like those used
by real magicians. The top consists
of a shallow box, and this is sup
ported upon a broom-handle or piece
of curtain-pole mounted upon a base
made like a Christmas tree standard.
The open end of the box forms a con
venient pocket for slipping things into
at various times. Cover the top and
■ides of the box with red cloth, and
slash the lower edge of the side cov
ering. as shown, for fringe.
The Egg-and-Handkerchief Trick.
In this trick, after exposing both
Sides of a handkerchief to the view' of
the audience, the boy magician folds
the handkerchief and then causes an
egg to slide out of one end of the fold.
This is how it is done: The egg is
“blown” so as to make it light, and
the blown shell is suspended on one
end of a thread attached to the cen
ter of one edge of a large handker
chief (Fig. 2). The thread must be
about 3 inches shorter than the dis
tance across the handkerchief. In
performing the trick, place a hat upon
your table and inform the audience
that you will cause an egg to drop
from an ordinary handkerchief into it.
Hold the handkerchief as shown in
Fig. 3, with the egg held and con
cealed in the left hand; and then by
crossing the arms as shown in Fig.
4 turn the handkerchief about so the
audience can view the other .side.
Then catch between your teeth the
corner held by the right hand (Fig.
5), slide the right hand along the top
edge to the center, release your hold
on the egg, and fold the handkerchief
in half, folding it toward you with the
egg upon the inside of the fold. Hold
the folded handkerchief by the cor
ners, horizontally (Fig. 6). and allow
the egg to roll out of the open end in
to tlie hat
The Cliimbing Ear of Silver.
The bar of silver slides up or down
a cord, responding to the commands
of the magician (Fig. 7). Fig. 8 shows
the construction of the bar. Take a
4-inch piece of a small mailing-tube,
and cut a wooden plug for each end
(A Fig. 81. Cut the cord B 8 inches
long, tie a fancy-work ring to one
end, and slip the other end through
a hole in the center of one end plug;
cut cord C 12 inches long, slip one.
end through a hole pierced through
the side of the' tube, knot that end
outside of the tube, and slip the other
end through the ring on cord B and
then through the hole in the other
end plug. Fasten the plugs in the
tube ends with glue or tacks, and
then cover the tube, side and ends
with tin-foil. By examining Fig. 8
you will see that it is only necessary
to pull the ends of both cords to
make the bar climb, aiul to slacken
your hold upon them to make the bar
slide down. In exhibiting this trick,
first pull on cord C, then on cord B.
to show the audience that the cord
slides through the tube freely.
The Marked Coin Trick.
The boy magician borrows a coin
from some one in the audience, marks
It for identification later, and drops it
into tin can, then puts the cover
he can Then he walks over L*
table and lincis the coin inside of
inside box of a nest of three cove*^B
boxes. He pastes the coin 2
the audience tc s„, lhat ,t “ «
same marked ceh given to him i®
is the explanation < f ;;i, trick T»
is cut through the side of the cani!*
to which the coin is droppedjjB
above the tin bottom iPig 9) ’jV
soon as the coin has been droLB
within, and the covered can shakeB
to show the audience that the JH'
is still there, the can is tipped B
that the coin slides through the slo^H
into your hand. Three pill boxes oB
graduated sizes sc. the smallest willnB
inside of the second largest, and tht^E
second size will fit inside of the lanfl
est. should be obtained for the nesto(B
boxes (A. E and C, Fig. 10).
cover must be hinged, which is easily!)
done with strips of paper or clotiB
Out of a small piece of tin, bend
flat tube similar to that shown in Fig.H
11. Through this tube the coin isl
slipped into the inside box. Place the!
tube between the cover and front otH
each box, and pass a rubberhanii■
around the outside box each way (Fig.
12). The rubberbands will not only
keep the tube in place, but will spring
the covers shut as soon as the coin
has been passed into the inside box
and the tube has been removed. Keep
the nest of boxes covered with a hand
kerchief until after you have com
manded the coin to pass from the can
into the inside box; then, when you
remove the handkerchief it is a sim
ple matter, under cover of it, to slip
in the coin and remove the tube.
The Chinese Paradox.
This is a very simple trick, yet one
of the most mystifying nature when
cleverly performed. In appearance to
the audience the apparatus consists
of three small corks threaded upon
two pieces of cord (Fig. 14). First
exhibit the three corks and two cords
18 inches long. In addition to these
cords you must have two others of
equal length, looped as shown in Fig.
14, and the loops tied together with
fine thread. These cords must he
concealed and be substituted for the
other cords after they have been ex
hibited for inspection. Thread the
corks upon the looped cords (Fig. 13),
and ask two of the audience to take
hold of the ends; then ask each per
son to hand you one of the cord ends
and keep hold of the other one, and
taking the ends handed to you |’e
them together as shown in Fig. ■
Grasp the three corks with one hand,
then, and direct the persons holding
the ends to pull. The thread "
necting the loops (Fig. 14) will break
the loops part, and ,th<\ ^hite each
will be left in your hand while
person will still retain the cord
that he has been holding.
(Copyright. 1912, by A. Neely Ha .
--* __ ■*r>H
NOT FLATTERING TO ouu-tn m
Caddie Probably!)id Net Realize Jut B
How Much He Sam In ^B
Few Words. ^E
Walter J. Tra!^ the great golf I
plaver, told this story to ex-Pr sides g
Taft as the best anecdote about golf I
he had ever heard: , eame R
Old Mr. Brown had played. J Sand |jj
for years with great assiduity^ Mt
without any noticeable imP the B
in his performance. Employi g ^ g
same caddie every a ’unre. B
fought the greens and baza d |
lentingly. The cadie. howeve g
discreet and also ucsiro . g
never voiced his real opinion of Mr. mm
Brown's game. t0 the B
One day a stranger cam ^ g
links and arranged to pla) ^ M
with Mr. Brown. Mr. fl. ■
over to his caddie aim asked ■
dentially : n ,tbi» ■
“Bobbie, have you ever a
gentleman play?" I
"Yes. sir," replied Bobbie. ■
“How is his game?” >( fl
“Rotten, sir; very rotten. gjve fl
“How much handicap eking I
him?" asked Mr. Brown, as if ■
reliable information. t 8 ■
"Sir,” replied the caddie, |
stroke, not a stroke.
Magazine.__
Trained Habit ^ ^
“I have discovered tha ^ i
who writes for the papers is
“SKTh.
hie meter work right._
The Reason. v
He-And you loved “etfe 80 ,bort
She—Yes, but now jou ar j
, .1 si