emoryP ile5tones Seventy Years '.y* Bust Life« P I T T5B U R G H *r Percy F. Smith 1848-1918 class JZ/xg__ Book. T fiSb t r Copighf'N COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT •r^ EMORY'S ILESTONES Reminiscences of Seventy Years of a Busy Life in Pittsburgh BY PERCY F. SMITH As life runs on, the road grows strange With faces new, and near the end The milestones into headstones change, 'Neath every one a Friend. —LOWELL DECEMBER 25 1918 COPYRIGHT 1918 BY PERCY F. SMITH PITTSBURGH DEC 19 1918 ©GI.A506952 Ivi, The first "to sit with me by the fire" was SYLVESTER STEPHEN MARVIN More familiarly known in Pittsburgh as S. S. Marvin; To the Boy Toll Collector on a Missouri river ferry boat, in the pioneer days of crossing rivers by boats instead of bridges, when his authority was enforced by a brace of revolvers; To the Soldier of the War of the Rebellion; To the Manufacturer at the close of the war, whose far-sightedness in regard to the possibilities of Pittsburgh led him to invest his all, and lend his best energies for the development and uplift of the city; To the Public Spirited Citizen, who assisted liberally in founding many prominent institutions which helped materially in making Pittsburgh famous the world over; To the Man whose benevolences and philanthropies have quietly kept pace with his varied and large achievements in Commerce, Finance and Industry; To him, my life-long Friend, yea more, a Brother, may I say, I affectionately dedicate this volume. Come, sit by fee fire Cbe sfxtv-T if tft birthday greeting of Percy T. Smitft, wrouabt into vmt by bis friend, Geo. m. P. Baird. Come sit with me, my friend, by my heart's Dearth to-night, Ht Vuletide shall old joys abide beside w$ in its light. five and three-score years, to-day, l round in Cimes, despite, $o friend, Come sit by the fire. many are the Pleasant folk I've met along the road, faring down the marchant Ways, sharing bread with me ; Crusting in each other, we have journeyed merrily, And now we'll rest by the fire. We have wrought and fought, full long for heaven and the State Ualiant battles we have lost, but the war is won ; Borne we march victorious, beneath the setting sun, Co sit in peace, by the fire. And evermore upon Bis Day Who game in Eove of man, for Soul-wine and loaves o' love beneath »'$ holly'tree Bere, or out beyond the vale, I'll call you back to me With, Come friend, sit by the fire. Che Dreaming Child Went Eong Ago On bis sepentietb birthday by Geo. m. P. Baird Che dreaming child went long ago, Che eager play-boy had his time, youth leaped in lustihood, the man fought upward to his prime; Chey passed, these earlier selves, but still Cheir spirit bides, and Tate Bath vanquished not the dream or play Or young man's valor, and today my ungreyed, youthful heart they till, Chough T be seventy. JUST A WORD OR TWO WHAT is more satisfying, more soulful, than to sit by the fire with a friend, or chum, and have him recall the names of those whom you both knew in the past, maybe the long past, recount incidents in their lives, some of which you had almost forgotten but mighty glad to have revived? Well, there isn't anything. Everyone who has lived a score or more years in any city has lost track of many whom he had known, and who were well worth remembering, besides hav- ing almost forgotten others who were more or less in the limelight. The mention of their names, or a reference to some peculiar characteristic, brings back pleas- ant memories, if not tender recollections. You know that when you go back home again you spend most of your time asking about those whom you once knew, even to the boys and girls with whom you went to school. And what could be more delightful than to meet up with some one who had spent a long and busy life here in Pittsburgh, one with an unusual memory for names and events, besides having a wide acquaintance with the best men and women, and the happy faculty of bringing them to mind, introducing them to the circle gathered around a cozy, wholesome fireplace? This is just what your good friend, and mine, Percy F. Smith, has done in this book. He doesn't bore you with statistics, nor weary you with family pedigrees, or obituaries, — just calls up from the past folks whom you have known, or at least have heard of, and introduces them for old acquaintance sake. There is hardly another man in this city who can do this as well as Percy F. Smith, newspaper reporter, correspondent, publicist and business man since 1865, a good mixer and a splendid, wholesome fellow, with a matchless memory for names and faces, incident and event, and withal jovial and knows where a joke belongs. PERCY F. SMITH. WHEN one has survived his three-score-and-tenth birthday, and lived dur- ing all that time in one community, and been an upright, intelligent, industrious and efficient member thereof, as Mr. Smith has been, he has natur- ally become the repository, as this book shows, of a vast and varied fund of valuable and interesting information about men with whom and things with which he became directly and indirectly identified — personally, officially, com- mercially, industrially, religiously, politically and otherwise. Was there ever anything worth while going on in Pittsburgh, or anybody worth knowing, or anything worth doing, in the last half century, that Mr. Smith did not have some connection therewith in some important or useful way? Deponent re- calls none. And all this without any self-seeking on his part. The simple fact is that he has been a needful man, a capable, useful, enterprising citizen, al- ways willing to take off his coat, roll up his sleeves and put his shoulder to the wheel of every car designed to carry Pittsburgh forward on the highway of progress and prosperity, and make her what she is today, the Industrial Won- der-City of the World. When at 16 years of age Mr. Smith really began his business career as office boy in 1865 in the old Chronicle office on Fifth avenue, the editor was W. A. Collins, and the business manager Joseph G. Siebeneck. Mr. Collins was one of the conspicously able editors of his period, noted for his exceptional literary acquirements. Associated with him were Daniel O'Neill, E. M. O'Neill, A. W. Rook, C. E. Locke, C. D. Brigham, William Anderson, David Fickes and David Lowry. Learning in a school where newspaper men such as these were his associates and instructors, it was but natural he should acquire a thorough knowledge of his profession. He is sole survivor of the Chronicle staff of 1865. He became a star reporter, especially of interesting trials in the county courts. A very swift, easy, longhand writer, his mind grasping quickly the essential points of testimony, his reports for the Chronicle, and in later years for the Dispatch, were remarkable for their fullness of im- portant detail and exceptional accuracy. Judges and lawyers placed great reliance upon them in their office reviewals of and summaries of proceedings. The dailies were much more attentive to court news 30 and 40 years ago than they are now, and when there was a trial, especially in the criminal branches, in which the public was deeply interested, it was a usual day's work with Mr. Smith to provide the Dispatch with a report that occupied five and six of its long columns. There never was but one reporter in Pittsburgh his equal in capacity for speedy and accurate news writing. This was William B. Horner, of the old Gazette. In a celebrated ecclesiastical trial — the Gray case — in the old Liberty Avenue M. E. Church, about 1875, Mr. Horner, in one day's longhand reporting, filled eight columns of the Gazette. He wrote from the hour the trial court began its sitting in the forenoon until his paper went to press about 3 o'clock next morning. It was this ambitious industry, long continued, that put young Horner in his premature grave in 1881. His was a noble character enshrined in a fragile, nervous body. Step by step he had gone up from carrier boy of the Gazette until made managing editor, which respon- sible position he was holding at the time of his death. Mr. Smith, in connection with the late Hon. Morrison Foster, had the honor of giving the permanence of publication in bound book form to the music and songs of Stephen C. Foster — a treasure of priceless value now in thousands of homes all over this land. Mr. Smith's friendships have been notably enduring. His character is strongly independent, the usual concomitant of wholesome purpose to follow the dictates of one's own judgment rather than leadership of others. It is curious that a mentality so congenial to humor should also delight to revel in such abstract things as statistics, in which Mr. Smith has found the pleas- ure and profit of numerous local publications in transient and permanent form. He knows how to make facts and figures move, talk, walk, preach and prophesy ; how to give big things their rightful importance, and illuminate the real value of little things; how even thereby to suggest romances and paint colorful pictures in industry and commerce — all to the glorification of Pittsburgh. His head is like Keller's magical hat. One can get almost anything out of the inside, albeit there is mighty little on the outside. Now, when the busy day's troubles are over, and darkness softly drops its encircling curtain ; when the serene dream-hour of evening unbidden comes, as it often does to us all, how gratifying it must be to Mr. Smith, sitting by his own fireside, to look back over the long vista of his 70 mile-posts of life, and reflectively note that there runs in unbroken festoons from post to post an endless garland of beautiful flowers, the tributary wealth of thousands of warm personal friendships and cordial good wills. With so sweet a vision to engage him, " — the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away." And mayhap he will also beguile himself for a moment in this hour of retrospection with the tender sentiment that inspired these lines of Proctor's : "Touch us gently, Time! Let us glide adown thy stream Gently, — as we sometimes glide Through a quiet dream. "Humble voyagers are we O'er life's dim, unsounded sea, Seeking only some calm clime ; — Touch us gently, gentle Time." John S. Ritenour. CONTENTS Historical Episodes - - - i to 58 Personal Reminiscences - 61 to 112 Pittsburgh's Patriotic Record "5 to 118 Civil War Incidents 121 to 138 Tales That Are Told 141 to 168 Great Statesmen - - 171 to 184 George Washington ------- 171 Abraham Lincoln ------- 174 James A. Garfield -------- 179 Benjamin Harrison ------- 180 William McKinley 180 Theodore Roosevelt l8 i The World's War - - - - 187 to 204 Our National Anthems - - - - - - - 207 to 210 Remember --------- 210 Things Which We Should Forget - - - - 216 The Greatest 4th of July 213 to 224 The Public Schools 224 Our Stewardship -------- 224 The Quiet Hour - - - 227 to 256 Wit and Humor - - - - 259 to 270 Pittsburgh Briefly Told - - - - - - - 273 to 292 The Last Word 2 °2 ILLUSTRATIONS The Author Sylvester Stephen Marvin. Henry J. Heinz. John A. Brashear. Ezra P. Young. Erasmus Wilson. Wilson MoCandless. William W. McKennan. James P. Sterrett. Edwin M. Stanton. William Flinn. Christopher L. Magee. Robert S. McKean. Albert J. Logan. Albert P. Burchfield. Thomas M. King. John S. Scully. William Phillips. Richard Realf. John W. Pittock. Robert Woods. MURDOCH-KERR PRESS PITTSBURGH Ibistotical Epfsobes "Friend, come sit with me By the fire." Memory's Milestones THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. IN SLAVERY days it was a crime to give a drink of water to a colored man fleeing from his master; but the abolitionists on the route of the "Old Underground Railroad" from Virginia via West Middletown, Eldersville and other places in Washington county, through Allegheny county and Butler to Canada, took many chances in their efforts to aid the flight of escaping slaves. While on a visit in Washington county nearly 40 years ago the author encountered several persons whose fathers had been directors of the railroad; and one man told of a master who, with bloodhounds and big blacksnake whip, traced his slave to the barn of a citizen in West Middletown, demand- ing his immediate surrender. The Justice of the Peace told the master he would release the slave, but would demand $100 bond that the slave belonged to him. The "Simon Legree" from the South, of course, could not give the bond, but offered the $100 in money. The Justice refused the money and the master returned "bootless." That night the slave was speeded away through Allegheny county and Butler to the Canadian shores. Matthew McKeever, of Eldersville, a blind man, was the person the author wished to see, but a friend told him what was wanted, and his answer is set forth in the appended interesting letter: "Near Eldersville, Pa., Sept. 17, 1880. "Yours of Sept. nth came duly to hand wishing me to tell you what I knew of 'old John Brown.' I was intimately acquainted with him. He came to me the winter of 1842 to buy some fine sheep. I sold him 30 fine ewes (I do not remember the price). He said he had rented a large farm and would like to go into the sheep business, but had not the means to buy ; would like to have some on the shares for four years. I gave him 200 head of fine ewes for four years, on conditions which I send you written with his own hand; and also a letter after he had taken off the first clip. The wool was sent to Lowell and I received half the money. "After that a wealthy man named Simon Perkins, who lived near Akron, Summit County, Ohio, who owned a large farm — he and Brown agreed to go in partnership and go into the wool growing largely. My interest being in the way, they wrote to me to know what I would take for my interest in the 4 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 200 ewes. I wrote to them that they knew what they were worth better than I ; for them to write me what they would give and I would answer whether I would take it or not. They answered by making me an offer of $2,400, $1,800 in hand and a note for $600, to be paid in the Massillon Bank, Massillon, Ohio. When I got the letter I went out, got the money and note and signed my right over to them, and came home. "Among hands I lost that note and I wrote to the bank if anyone offered it there not to receive it. When the note came due I wrote a receipt against the note and got my brother Thomas to sign it and I went over to get the money. Mr. Perkins said he did not know me or my brother, but if I would get Samuel Patterson to sign it he would pay the money. I told him I could get 50 names to it if he wanted them. I came home, got Patterson's name to it. I sent the receipt back with Campbell McKeever and Perkins paid him the money — all but one dollar — which he kept out to fee a lawyer. Old John Brown followed Campbell out and told him his father had no right to lose that dollar, and gave him one. If ever there was a man honest to a fault, it was this 'old John Brown.' I believe if he owed a man 10 cents he would go 10 miles out of his way to give it to him, if he could not get it to him any other way. "You wish to know something of my experience with the underground railroad. I was a director of that road for 40 years. The kind of cars we used was a good spring wagon, with a chicken coop in each end and the Darkies in the middle, with a good cover over them. "The most slaves I ever shipped at once was eight. They came to our house about daybreak one morning before any of us was up, except a colored man, John Jordan; he took them and hid them on the sheep shed loft and kept them there four weeks, and although we had a family of 18 or 20, there was not one of them knew they were there, not even my wife. They were fed all of that time out of our spring house and kitchen by John Jordan. "There was never anything discovered, only a hired girl told Mrs. Mc- Keever somebody was stealing our bread. "That was the first time we ever kept any of them, and our reason this time was because we supposed their masters were watching the Canadian shore, which happened to be true; but they got tired waiting. "The next lot shipped was one which was brought from Wheeling, W. Va., to Bethany, Brooke County, W. Va., to my brother-in-law's, Joseph Bryant, who lived there, who was a great Abolitionist. At that time my son Campbell was going to school there and Bryant sent them up to my house with William Arney and Campbell, and I shipped them to Pittsburgh. This fellow that brought them to Bryant's turned 'state's evidence,' and told their masters of Bryant's feeding them and sending them away; and their masters set the sheriff on Bryant and took him to Wheeling, and Bryant refused to give bail, and they put him in jail in Wheeling, and he was there 15 days before the court came off, and while he was there they offered $500 to anyone who would bring me into Wheeling dead or alive. "But I did not venture down about that time. "They kept the fellow who brought them to Bryant for a witness, and when court came off the Judge decided 'that they could not punish an accom- MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 5 plice while the principal was at large,' and Bryant was sent home. Had other cases similar. My brother Tommy shipped a good many. I think as near as I can recollect the number I shipped was about 35 or 40. "I was acquainted with a great many slaves and their masters, and I never advised a slave to run away from his master, but when they came to me I helped them all I could. When Brown was to be hung his brother came to me and we went to Wheeling. He telegraphed to F. A. Wise to know if he could see his brother if he would come. Wise answered, 'No, he could not see him if he did come,' so we came back to Middletown and Brown deliv- ered two or three Abolition lectures and went back home to Ohio. "Yours respectfully, "MATTHEW McKEEVER." HALF A CENTURY WITH THE NEWSPAPERS. FIFTY years ago marvelous changes occurred in our newspapers. Daniel O'Neill and Alexander W. Rook, practical printers and trained and sagacious newspaper workers — the character of men who found real first- class newspapers — had just acquired the Dispatch property from the heirs of Colonel J. Heron Foster. As reporters of news, Messrs. O'Neill and Rook had been accustomed to prepare their items at the case without the formality of manuscript, reading the proof from the type when the com- posing stick was full. They were especially gifted with newspaper ability, and had a wide acquaintance, and at once began the task of leading the Dispatch into further fields of usefulness, and incidentally the city out of its swaddling clothes into "long pants." And for over 50 years the names of O'Neill and Rook have stood for success in every detail of modern journalism. Just about this time various other newspapers changed hands, and had new life infused into them, while from time to time, to fill a "long-felt want," new ventures in the way of local competing dailies and spirited weeklies were bom. The battle royal for supremacy followed. Of the staff of two of the leading papers in March, 1865, the Dispatch morning, and the old Chronicle, evening, there is but one known survivor, who in later years was a member of the reportorial corps of the Dispatch, the author of this volume. In 1865 Andrew Johnson became President of the United States and Col. N. P. Sawyer and some others launched the Republic in opposition to the Post, the Democratic daily. Later came John W. Pittock's Sunday Leader, with Johnny Pittock, the newsboy, Bartley Campbell, James Mclver, Charles Edward Locke and afterwards Jim Mills, the able political writer, at the helm. The Sunday Leader dealt in politics chiefly, but also struck out for spicy local news. Following came the Evening Leader, established by Pittock and the Nevins, then the Paper, Democratic, which had a brief but spectacular career of three months; the Press, the Evening News and the Times. Very many of my readers will recall the fourth page, first column article on local politics which appeared in the Dispatch every Saturday morning from 6 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. the facile pen of Mr. Daniel O'Neill — rich, rare and racy — and always reliable. Mr. O'Neil enjoyed the confidence of Bob Mackey, the well-known Repub- lican politician and one of the most popular leaders the party ever had in Alle- gheny County or Western Pennsylvania — in fact the State. And through the genial Bob he obtained a horoscope of the political situation; and its portrayal every Saturday morning came to be accepted as official, and it came to pass as predicted. A leading feature of the Dispatch was its elaborate, accurate and interesting reports of the various courts of the county. In regard to the latter, judges and lawyers were profuse in their praise of the legal intelligence in the paper daily, and on more than one occasion lawyers, addressing juries in important cases, analyzed the testimony as it appeared in the Dispatch, and that, too, from long- hand reports — there were no stenographers in those days. But there was swift longhand — sleight of hand fellows with pencil — particular stars being E. M. O'Neill, George Whitney, Judge Thomas D. Carnahan and one or two others, whose ability to shove copy into the composing room was not measured by lines, but by the columns — and that, too, the old blanket-sheet columns. Vivid, indeed, is the report of the celebrated railroad riots of Saturday, July 21, 1877, and the fires and mob rule until nearly noon on Sunday, July 22 — for which the county paid nearly three millions of dollars. One may judge of how elaborate was this report when it is mentioned that 22,000 words culled from the Dispatch columns on Sunday and Monday formed special dispatches to Chicago and St. Louis papers, whose correspondents were Dispatch writers, and affidavits and correspondence adduced by the Chicago Times, signed by the correspondent and Western Union Telegraph Company, sustained the claim that the Times had accomplished the greatest feat of modern journalism in those specials of 22,000 words. Every line was taken from the Dispatch with but one exception, here noted. About midnight that eventful Saturday the Dispatch news hunters were informed that Gen. A. L. Pearson's father had just been killed at the dead line near the Twenty-eighth Street Round House. It was flashed to Chicago, for a bulletin, as there were 25,000 people in front of the newspaper office of that city. Later, when the reporters of the Dispatch came to verify the report it transpired that General Pearson's father had died a natural death a few years before. It was decided that it made an interesting bulletin for Chicago, in view of the fact that General Pearson was in command of the militia. The Dispatch today is a monument of the training of such masterful news- paper makers as Foster, O'Neill, Rook, and the trained lieutenants as workers and business managers, etc., among whom I can mention as personal friends, viz. : N. P. Reed, Frank Case, Ed. Locke, W. C. Smythe, C. N. Shaw, Rev. Dr. John Douglas, H. H. Byram, E. W. Lightner, James F. Hudson, George Ward- man, William (Judge) Ramsey, James Vernon, Thomas J. House, Thomas Hewitt, George Madden and Chas. R. Sutphen. Twelve years after Daniel O'Neill gave the Chronicle youth his first lessons in newspaper reporting, Alex Rook employed the youth for the Dispatch news staff, and it was his pleasure then and now to know the Dispatch only as the product of the genius, sagacity and untiring energy of O'Neill & Rook — since tacked to the masthead over a half century ago. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 7 CAUTIOUS EDITORS OF OTHER DAYS. EVEN the newspaper bosses of 40 and 50 years ago were at times skeptical, which made them loath to march close behind the band in the development of the arts, sciences and inventions of the time. They took little or no interest in the Westinghouse airbrake proposition. They agreed that the arc lights — brush and other systems — just being tried out, would diffuse a kind of dazzling light, but were certain electricity would never be mellowed from the dazzling arc brightness to a condition to enable one to read by it. And yet, before the echo of that opinion had died away, representatives of the newspapers were pre- paring matter for publication, in their sleeping car berths, aided by the light of an incandescent electric lamp concealed just back of the mirror, between the car window frames. Next came the telephone discoveries; but not for your doubting Thomases at the head of some of the leading papers in Pittsburgh. The telephone was a toy — a plaything, and they were willing to let it go at that. The hour for going to press on one of the afternoon papers was 3 o'clock, and with but two small presses, slow of motion, it was a proposition to get all the packages to the railroad trains for out-of-town subscribers, and allow news- boys and carriers to get to the people with the last edition much before 4:30 o'clock. Therefore, 3 o'clock meant 3 o'clock. The Bell Telephone Company presented the proprietors with one of their "ornaments," together with their compliments, and one share of stock. The phone was hung in the coatroom, and instructions were issued to carry the share of stock in such a way that if assessments were called for there would be "loop holes" for dodging the issue in some way. It was 10 minutes to 3 o'clock one afternoon when it became noised that a big conflagration was raging in McKeesport. The National Tube Company, McKeesport, about the only people known to have a phone, was rung up. In- stantly the doubting Thomas proprietor jumped on the city editor for wasting his time on the toy and warned him if packages of the paper failed to go out on time by reason of holding the forms there would be a vacancy at the desk of the assistant city editor. Well, the purchasing agent of the National Tube Company responded promptly: "White's Opera House and business block burning; loss $100,000; insured." This was enough. All hands awaited the copy. It was reeled off at 57 words a minute. Yes, 63 words a minute in long hand, and the paper went to press on time with a good item of the fire. Well, the day speedily came when the wiseacres were gathering in the Bell Telephone stock, which had been given away to supposedly influential people, and gossip had it that when they took back that one share held by the newspaper in question, as a gift, they paid $500 for it. A further incident as to the telephone is appended: "The Board of Direc- tors of the Bank of Pittsburgh, August 14, 1879, agreed to subscribe $50 per year for the introduction of a speaking telephone conditioned that 20 banks are obtained at the same rate." 8 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. And there were editors who deplored the passing of underground cable street car lines, because electricity would do well enough on level streets, but never upon the steep grades in Pennsylvania. And yet the reporters were out scouting for news next week, so to speak, on street cars climbing the steepest of grades to be found in Pennsylvania with electric-driven motors. The reader knows the rest. THE OLD CHRONICLE. THE chief dependencies for news in 1865 were Wilkins' Hall (city offices), Court House, old Drury Theater, Monongahela House, Oil Exchange and the rendezvous of the genial Bob Mackey, the prince of political managers. Two local editors to each paper covered the whole of the county. Joseph G. Siebeneck and William A. Collins had acquired the Chronicle from Charles McKnight, and from its inception it became distinctively the "home" paper. Saturday, April 15, 1865, the Chronicle from 7 a. m. to 11 p. m. printed 25,000 "half sheets" covering the details of the assassination of President Lincoln. Great feat then, and more than one piece of "brown paper" was put over on the near-sighted circulation agent by improvised newsboys, who were without the real brown "shin plaster." John J. O'Leary, of 6200 Walnut street, East End, was a "helper" in the circulation department that day, and for "services rendered" was allowed special privileges in handling the paper with the newsboys. His net gain was $26.00. In reckoning accounts he found a $2.50 gold piece among his coins. He at once connected it up with Mr. John W. Chalfant, the great ironmaster, banker and patriot. O'Leary called at his office on Water street and said: "Mr. Chalfant, you bought a Chronicle from me on Saturday." "Well," rang out his cheery voice, "I shouldn't be surprised, as I bought every extra issued." "Well, Mr. Chalfant," said the lad, "you gave me a $2.50 gold piece." Mr. Chalfant said: "Well, you durned little skeezicks, you can keep it for being honest enough to come down here and tell me about it." EVERYBODY LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER. OM" STEVENSON, for many years the confidential financial officer of A. M. Byers & Co., represented that company on the occasion of the formal opening of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad from Connells- ville to Cumberland, and everyone will remember him as the genial humorist going to and coming from Baltimore. It was the days when railroad passes, especially to large shippers, were easily obtainable. "Tom" told of the experience he had with two representa- tives of a big railroad corporation, both having authority to issue the passes. Mr. A. was out and Mr. B. was asked for the pass. His manner was not the most fascinating, and "Tom" noticed it, whereupon he told him he would call again. "No," said Mr. B., hurrying a little; "I will give it to you." "Well," said "Tom," "it's all right this time; but I would rather have Mr. A. refuse me the pass than you to give it to me." There wasn't any hitch about a pass after that time. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 9 BEFORE THE DAYS OF "SHORTHAND." SPEEDY and accurate were the longhand reporters of the Pittsburgh news- papers half a century ago. Elaborate court reports were finished as soon as court adjourned, and were ready for the compositor, too. The most famous cases were covered without the aid of shorthand, and great speakers were fol- lowed word for word. One feat in longhand now recalled was the trial of an important case in the Quarter Sessions Court, in which a prominent Alderman was the defendant. Commenced at 9 or 9:30 a. m. and adjourned at 5:30 p. m., the newspaper repre- sentative had his copy ready for the printer at the adjournment of the court. The report made five and a half columns — long columns, too — for the Dispatch at that time was of the "blanket" style in form. Thomas M. Marshall, the well-known criminal lawyer, was the counsel for the defendant and in addressing the jury read the testimony from the report in the Dispatch, turning aside once in the open court to compliment the Dispatch representative on its accuracy and completeness. Hon. Judge Chas. Fetterman, on another occasion, told the managing editor that the court reports daily were the best ever published. One of the proprietors of the Dispatch suggested to his managing editor, more than 25 years ago, that they return to the custom of reporting the proceedings of public bodies in the first person. He was amazed when told it would require the services of two shorthand men to introduce the service ; and it would be a difficult task even then to transcribe an evening meeting much before 2 a. m. When the genial boss ventured to assert that he himself and some competi- tors, still living, could accomplish this in long hand, he said not a member of the staff answered a word ; but he added, "The look on their faces was tanta- mount to saying, T was a colossal fabricator.' " George Whitney, of the Post, whose father at one time edited that paper and who in later years was of the well-known brokerage firm of Whitney & Stephenson, was perhaps the most rapid longhand reporter ever connected with the newspapers of this or any other city ; although Mr. E. M. O'Neill, of the Dispatch, as a reporter, also had a splendid record for speed. Whitney would follow a speaker in longhand, skipping words here and there, leaving space a-plenty, and at the conclusion of the speech fill in the blanks, recalling from the context the missing links. Of course the readers wanted to know what such public men as Oliver P. Morton had to say ; likewise as to Hon. Carl Schurz, "Bob" Ingersoll, George R. Wendling, Henry Ward Beecher, Horace Greeley, R. Stocket Matthews, Mark Twain, Mrs. Cady Stanton, Olive Logan and how many more of the celebrities before the day of shorthand; and the only way to get their addresses was for the reporter to do his level best in longhand. A test on one occasion as to the actual speed of longhand writing legible for the printer was participated in by the Hon. Thomas D. Carnahan, of the Common Pleas Court, then the legal reporter for the old Chronicle and the assistant city editor, afterward the swift court reporter for the Dispatch. The test was made in transcribing a biography of the Hon. James A. Garfield, the dark horse unexpectedly nominated for President of the United io MEMORY'S MILESTONES. States and the only candidate whose lengthy biography was not already in type. Judge Carnahan and the other scribe averaged 57 to 63 words a minute from dictation, and while the penmanship was not Spencerian, it was legible for the typesetter. BLAINE-ARTHUR CAMPAIGN. COL. THOMAS M. BAYNE, for several years Congressman from Western Pennsylvania, at one time District Attorney of Allegheny County, one of the owners of the Pittsburgh Press when first organized, shortly prior to the assembling of the national convention in 1884, when James G. Blaine was a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, declared for Blaine. Mr. Henry W. Oliver, Jr., prominent for many years in local and State politics ; Hon. George T. Oliver, United States Senator ; William Flinn, C. L. Magee, Mayor William McCallin, Assistant City Controller R. M. Snodgrass and their following were for the Hon. Chester Arthur. Blaine's friends did not realize how formidable was this combination until about two weeks before the close of the campaign for Senatorial and Legisla- tive delegates to the State convention, to choose the delegates for the national convention. Then it was that a mass convention was called to meet in old Lafayette Hall, on Wood street. Col. Thomas M. Bayne, Alexander M. Byers, Calvin Wells, John S. Slagle, Col. James M. Schoonmaker, Joseph D. Weeks, of the American Manufacturer; Walter P. Hansel, George and Harry Letsche, of the Standard Oil Company, and the people of the old Seventh and Eighth wards, especially were enthusiastic for Blaine. They were warm under the collar over this unexpected opposition, as it had been supposed that the Oliver-Magee-Flinn people would be in the final line-up for Blaine. Lafayette Hall, where 28 years before the Republican party had been organized by 38 citizens of Pittsburgh, was filled to its utmost capacity, on the Saturday evening designated for the mass meeting by the Blaine promoters^ The addresses were fiery, and on the Monday following began the hottest kind of a contest. The newspapers were the only available channels through which to reach the people, and the Blaine men, new in the business, directed the advertising committee, consisting of Joseph D. Weeks and the writer, to work double turn, and they certainly did so. Their first budget of bills for advertising in the daily newspapers, covering a period of three or four days, was over $7,000. This brass band style of campaign frightened the Arthur people, and it was heralded everywhere that Blaine's adherents had a fund of $200,000 for the campaign in Western Pennylvania alone. It did not do any harm to let the opposition think so, but the truth is, that not more than a fifth of that sum crystallized, and numerous bills would have been unpaid had it not been for the generosity of one or two of the prominent Blaine leaders, who got us young fellows into the fight. The State convention was held at Harrisburg, where the delegates to the national convention were chosen. The campaign in Allegheny county had MEMORY'S MILESTONES. n been warmly contested, and the vote at Harrisburg was close. The rancor of the brief days of local warfare was transferred to the State capital. George T. Oliver led the Arthur forces, and Colonel Bayne, the Blaine delegates. Ebenezer M. Byers was adjutant general for Colonel Bayne, and specially looked after the interests of his brother, Alexander M. Byers, who was the real leader for Blaine. Suffice it to say that the air was hot — vitriolic at times. The Blaine lead- ers were violent, and Mr. Oliver and his lieutenants so cool and confident that threatened collisions were avoided, and the Arthur forces secured the delegates. The Blaine people gave notice of a contest at Chicago, which did not materialize. Many of the Blaine followers attended the convention at Chicago as guests, and they will readily recall, among other incidents of that notable gathering, the ovations to Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay and Senator William Mahone, of Virginia, almost every time they entered the convention hall. Twelve years passed away and in 1896 all or nearly all of the warring factions for Blaine and Arthur were joined in a spirited contest under the William McKinley banner as against Bryan and his 16 to 1 policy. LOWRY'S WATER WORKS ENGINES. ON JULY 19, 1876, according to the Dispatch files, Highland reservoir "was completed and ready to be turned over to the city." Which reminds me of an interesting story in connection with its infilling. Joseph L. Lowry was an expert mechanical and hydraulic engineer, whose patented fire hydrants, or "fire plugs," were at the time exclusively used in Pittsburgh and other cities. "Joe" was old-fashioned — in that he would not permit contractors or grafters of any species to use him in the sale of or privilege to use his patents; and when it was proposed to adopt his patented low pressure engines for the new water system, there was formidable opposition. Thousands of dollars were involved and it would not do to have an honest engine and an honest engineer, whose fidelity, integrity and ability were unquestioned. And the Water Commission resolutely stood by Lowry » The lowest bidders for the engines were Lowry's enemies from the begin- ning, because of his refusal to "certify to work as complete," upon which not a hammer had fallen. But Lowry won out and proved that his "pumping twins" not only met all the requirements and specifications, but exceeded his most sanguine hopes. The plans for the new water system, in brief, provided for two reservoirs ; one on Brilliant Hill, 237 feet above the river level, and the second and greater basin on Highland Hill, 369 feet above the river ; the first to supply the lower plane of the city, and the second, the higher or East End districts. There was to be an intermediate engine on Brilliant Hill to pump to the higher basin on Highland Hill. Lowry was compelled to waive all royalties on his engines, and received 12 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. the paltry salary of $4,000 per year. But he accepted every challenge thrown him. But by the slipping of a "cog" his enemies received new hope that they could put both himself and engines out of business. The contractors for the Brilliant Hill basin failed financially, and that part of the scheme was aban- doned. It was supposed that this break would require an entirely new deal and that Lowry would be bowled out. But "Joe" satisfied the commission in charge of the work that he would deliver the goods, and the work went on as if nothing had happened, the foxy old engineer banking on the success of his invention. Remember, Lowry was building his engines, according to agreement, to lift the water 237 feet, but by the elimination of Brilliant Hill basin he had to face the then highest direct lift of water in the world— 369 feet to Highland. Political hucksters, unable to use him, were aided and abetted by people working in the interest of the contractors, who not only pronounced the engines to be a "failure," but by every artifice in their power, sought to evade the plain specifications in construction, to bring about the predicted failure. But Lowry triumphed, completed the engines, and they more than did the required work. The opposition was continued unabated, however, until finally the engines were thrown aside and a battery of new engines installed at an enor- mous cost. But it is not the purpose of this story to reflect upon the waste, in view of the magnificent water system of this day, the outgrowth of the work of 40 years ago. But my purpose is to recall an incident, known to some now living, which vindicated "Joe" Lowry, and enables his friends to this day to stand up for his, remarkable work for Pittsburgh. Mayor "Bill" McCarthy — "Bill" we familiarly called him, because he commenced life as pressman for the Dispatch — "Bill" was Lowry's devoted friend, and emphatically and wildly enthusiastically stood pat with him. In- censed at the constant bombardment of Lowry's enemies, McCarthy organ- ized a secret committee — not of night riders, but of night vigilantes, and "accidentally by agreement" met after darkness had settled over the city, at the Highland reservoir. They had with them lunches, for they were to be in the trenches all night. The report of that committee not only surprised but dazed Lowry's enemies and astounded the inventor and engineer until he was moved to tears. McCarthy's aids reported that without the slightest interruption, all the night through, a perfect deluge of water poured into the influent chamber and thence into the basin. The engines failed not for a moment during the entire night. To use the language of the mayor, the water tumbled into the influent chamber like a section of Niagara. This completely vindicated Lowry, and should have silenced the guns of his enemies. But their inability to move him in his obstinate resistance of everything having the semblance of crooked- ness, and which might have resulted in thousands of dollars of graft, con- tinued, mostly along submarine lines, until the engines were finally con- demned and sent to the junk pile. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 13 It was claimed that the engines were "erratic," unreliable, out of service half the time, etc., yet the fact was incontestable that the reservoirs were over- flowing with water and McCarthy's committee attested the reason therefor. Lowry did not live long after the completion of his work, and those nearest him, and to whom he often unbosomed himself, claim that the strain was so great that he finally broke down, but with the full consciousness that while he died poor, yet was he rich in the thought that the city had not been wronged of a cent by reason of want of fidelity or integrity on his part. INFLUENTIAL DOWNTOWN CHURCHES. AN advertisement of a concert by the Allegheny Quartet, composed of William and Walter Slack, Harry Horner and Joel L. Darling, pop- ular in its day, for Thursday evening, March 16, 1868, for the benefit of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Sixth avenue, reminds me of the great day of the downtown churches of Pittsburgh and their wealth and influence. Especially did the Cumberland Presbyterians have a great record about that time. The First Church stood on Sixth avenue, on part of the property now occupied by the Duquesne Club, and was of two stories and of the regular straight lines "barn style." It was commodious and would accom- modate immense audiences. On Wood street, next to Sixth avenue, was the First Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. Paxton ; on the opposite side of Sixth avenue from the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church was Trinity Episcopal Church, Rev. Dr. Scar- borough. Just above, at the corner of Smithfield street, was the German Evangelical Church. On Smithfield street, near the corner of Sixth, the Cen- tral Presbyterian Church, Rev. M. W. Jacobus, also of the Western Theolog- ical Seminary. On Sixth avenue, above Smithfield street, was the Second United Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. James Prestley, and at the corner of Cherry alley and Sixth avenue, the Third Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. Noble. On Seventh avenue, near Cherry alley, was the English Lutheran Church. At Webster avenue and Grant street, Grace Lutheran Church, known for so long a time as Dr. Prugh's church, and at Seventh avenue and Cherry alley, the First United Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. W. J. Reid. Just back of this church came the Oak Alley Reformed Presbyterian Church, Rev. John Doug- las. At Smithfield street and Seventh avenue was the well-known Smithfield Street M. E. Church, commonly known as "Brimstone corner." Going from Sixth avenue and Wood street to Penn avenue, was the Second Presbyterian Church, Rev. Dr. William D. Howard, on Penn avenue at Seventh street; Christ M. E. Church, Penn avenue and Eighth street, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, on Eighth street, just below Penn ; also the Jewish Synagogue. Liberty Street M. E. Church was at the corner of Fourth street and Liberty avenue. The most popular minister of the First Cumberland congregation was Rev. Alfred M. Bryan, father of A. M. Bryan, of the County Recorder's office. He was an able and eloquent pastor, and under his ministry the church be- came wonderfully influential. He was a gentleman of commanding presence, 14 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. dignified, and yet so cordial in his manner as to win the respect, admiration and love of all with whom he came in contact. Among its members were the families of Hailman and Rahm, the bank- ers ; Joseph M. Pennock, whose large and extensive cotton mills were in Alle- gheny; Samuel Morrow, steamboat engine builder; William E. De Barrene, the hatter ; Wilson Carr, wagon builder ; J. M. Postley, Postley, Nelson & Co., shovel manufacturers; Samuel Pollock, candy manufacturer; Henry Carter; Amos Lewis, owner of a planing mill on Grant street; Charles Armstrong, coal merchant ; Mr. Phelps, of Phelps, Parke & Co., manufacturers of agricul- tural implements, farm wagons, etc.; John Scott, a prominent stone cutter; John Wallace, merchant, and others too numerous to mention, but who, with their successors, laid the foundation for a Greater Pittsburgh. Mr. Bryan, from the time he commenced his ministerial work in the city in the little church at Diamond alley and Smithfield street, at once gained the confidence of the people, and the church wielded a great influence. Mr. Bryan was a Southerner, and during the War of the Rebellion the spirit of Northern loyalty was at "fever heat." Some of the leaders thought his peaceful attitude might injure the church, and rather than allow a breath of discord he resigned the church and removed to Memphis, Tenn. WEALTH IN HAZELWOOD REAL ESTATE. THE recent transfer of property in Hazelwood to the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company strikingly recalls the increase in real estate values in that section of the city in 50 years. Two or three instances are recalled. One where Capt. John S. Willock of the Hays Coal Company, operating on the opposite side of the river, was induced to buy 10 acres on Hazelwood avenue, below the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad, now the B. & O., a most beautiful piece of property, on part of which was perhaps the finest apple orchard in Peebles township. The purchase price was $5,000, or $500 per acre. Mr. Willock soon after sold one-half the property for $2,500, and offered the remainder to a friend at the same price and on long payments, so fearful was he that he had made a bad bargain. Some time before the transaction nearly four acres on the bank of the Mo- nongahela river, at the foot of Tecumseh street, was acquired for $1,300, or about $325 per acre, and the property mentioned in one transfer included some- thing over five acres, which the owner secured at less than $300 per acre and which sold for $150,000. A great part of it was below the level of the street — almost a ravine — the real value of which was not known until the steel company managers began to scratch their heads for places in which to dump their furnace slag. And so the unsightly ravine is now high ground of inestimable value to the steel company. Hazelwood in 1865 and thereabouts was one of the most attractive suburbs of Pittsburgh. It was the residence place of Henry W. Oliver, Sr., William J. Lewis, Senator George H. Anderson, Sheriff Harry Woods, James Watson, MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 15 James Laughlin, John D. Scully, Thomas Williams, Mrs. Bughman, John Mc- Combs, Hill Burgwin, Joseph Nixon, W. O. Hughart, Thomas Blair, George Barker, James McKibben, George Wilson, A. B. Stevenson, John C. Stevenson, J. J. Speck, M. W. Rankin, Capt. R. B. Robinson and Percy F. Smith's family. A MONUMENTAL FAKIR. « « A S I sat by the fire" my guest was Rev. Samuel Smith Gilson, who said : /~V Within my memory of fifty years I know of no more accomplished fakir who ever struck Pittsburgh than the man who styled himself "Dr. DaSilva, Sur- geon General to the Emperor Maximilian." He came to this city unannounced and secured an engagement to lecture before the Grand Army of the Republic, car- rying the old soldiers off their feet with his eloquence and vivid portrayal of Maximilian's career in Mexico. He secured a hearing before the Western Theological Seminary and so delighted the late Rev. Dr. Melancthon W. Jacobus that he asked for a few minutes for DaSilva at the close of a lecture by Wen- dell Phillips on "Daniel O'Connell," given by the "Mercantile Library Asso- ciation." DaSilva captured the large audience, telling the story of Maximilian's campaigns and how he stood close to the ill-starred emperor when he was shot to death. DaSilva secured an engagement on the spot to give a lecture the following Monday night before the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association. When Monday night came it was the humiliating duty of the committee to announce to the audience that the lecture was indefinitely postponed because Dr. DaSilva was drunk and confined in the lockup. Other developments came thick and fast. It was soon learned that he had flourished in two large Ohio towns and married a woman in each, deserting them. Subsequently he flourished for a time in Oswego, N. Y., lecturing and making a great stir in society, winding up by marrying another woman in that town. Next he turned up in Portland, Maine, where he again married. Next he made his appearance in Alton, Illinois, where he ingratiated him- self with the people as a teacher of French and German. There he married a French girl and eloped to Chicago. Abandoning her he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he lectured on Saturday night and on Sunday was engaged to be married. On Tuesday he was arrested for drunkenness and locked up. He was arrested as a deserter from the United States Army and sent to Dry Tortugas for a long term which seems to have ended his career. He was certainly a highly educated man, refined and polished, and very few men ran a career of rascality as long as he did without being caught. His appearance in Pittsburgh was almost fifty years ago, just two years after the close of the Civil War. A SERVED HIM RIGHT. MAN stole a saw mill, and was emboldened to return and try to steal the dam, but the owner caught him. Served him right. 16 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE GREELEY CAMPAIGN. DANIEL J. MORRELL, of the Cambria Iron Co., Johnstown ; R. H. Pal- mer, manufacturer, Pittsburgh; Wm. McCully, glass manufacturer; Gen. Wm. Irwin, of Beaver County, State Treasurer, and others had estab- lished the Commercial, certainly one of the most enterprising newspapers of its time. Chas. D. Brigham and R. D. Thompson, of New York, were in- stalled as managing editor and business manager, respectively. Edward F. Abel, now deceased, was bookkeeper, and Thomas MacConnell, was con- nected with the business department shortly after his graduation from Wash- ington and Jefferson College. The paper cut a wide swath in commercial, manufacturing and railroad circles and rapidly took the lead in all enterprises tending to promote the pros- perity of the city. The Commercial was the first paper to regularly employ a shorthand reporter, and Mr. Oliver T. Bennett filled the position. At first there was little for him to do, but he gradually proved himself an exceedingly valuable auxiliary, and elaborate reports of conventions and war assemblies soon attracted general attention to the paper. But in another place further refer- ence will be made to Mr. Bennett, who was considerably more than a sten- ographer. He was an all around newspaper genius, of a poetic turn of mind. Mr. Brigham had associated with him in the management of the paper such experienced men as John C. Harper, Dr. Williams, Wm. Anderson, Geo. E. North, Sam'l Colwell and Capts. Wm. Evans and Wm. Wheeler, the three last named giving the most thorough market and river reports, which were unrivaled; also the help of Guyan M. Irwin and Mr. Bennett and the writer, whose special efforts were directed in the line of the most elaborate report of court proceedings. Mr. Brigham also brought to the front Col. Richard Realf, the poet and writer, whose life was for a time closely woven with that of old John Brown and with whose poetry and prose more than Pittsburghers are quite familiar. When Horace Greeley was announced for the Presidency Mr. Brigham swung the Commercial into line in support of his candidacy. This flop created a profound sensation among the stockholders, and the campaign, although conducted with spirit and vigor by Mr. Brigham, was in Western Pennsylvania absolutely as thin as air. The campaign over, the day of reckon- ing came. The stockholders were greatly dissatisfied and gossip said some of them presented Mr. Brigham with their holdings. At all events he obtained control of the paper. Not a great while afterward Mr. Robert W. Mackey, then the Republican boss, purchased the paper from Mr. Brigham, common report fixing the price at $105,000, and of course it was in line again with the principles of the Republican party. Nelson P. Reed had in the meantime obtained the leading interests in the Gazette and Major Russell E. Errett and others were writing "fiery Republican editorials" that left little room for the Commercial. Hence it was not long until Mr. Mackey, who had no taste for newspaper publishing, disposed of it to Mr. Reed for the sum of $40,000, according to the then prevailing report. It thus became the Commercial-Gazette, and certainly under the manage- MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 17 ment of Mr. Reed and his partners, and influenced by the radical Republican- ism of Major Errett and his staunch friends, R. W. Mackey, M. S. Quay, James S. Rutan and Jas. L. Graham, early became the acknowledged leader of ascendant political sentiment in Western Pennsylvania. And thus it continued until Mr. Reed did not "go along harmoniously" and the new leaders, to use their own expression, "stood him on the curb- stone," and the Times, published by Robert P. Nevin, was purchasd by Mr. Christopher L. Magee and supplanted the Commercial Gazette as the local Re- publican organ. Here again we find space too limited to, refer to Mr. Magee and his asso- ciates on the Times, but as the Commercial Gazette and Times are all three now in the consolidated chain of what is known as the Oliver papers, every- thing of interest to the children will bear rehearsal in the present happy news- paper family, for the Gazette-Times now embraces the Commercial, the Gazette, the Commercial Gazette and the Times. The leaders and founders of these papers are specially referred to elsewhere. CHARTIERS VALLEY IN EARLY DAYS. FIFTY years ago "Bob" Woods, one of the best-posted county and State roads lawyers of his time, and "Billy" Jackson, a past master in horse- flesh and the general livery business, were largely instrumental in developing the charming Chartiers Valley, pronounced by civil engineers, surveyors and landscape men of that time, and landseers of the present, as one of the most beautiful in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Woods residence was known to every roadster in the county, while the Jackson home, and afterward the Jackson summer hotel and cottages, at Idlewood, were second only to Cresson for beauty of attraction, coolness and healthfulness. Famed, indeed, was Chartiers Creek, from which the valley received its name, and the picturesque banks of the stream were crowded on Saturdays and Sundays by fishing parties and picnic pleasure seekers, on account of its nearness to the growing city of Pittsburgh. The Steubenville Railroad was known as the "Panhandle," and was built to connect with the Steubenville & Indiana Railroad. It lessened the rail dis- tance to Steubenville 20 miles, but its designers believed its earnings as a freight road would have to be relied upon for dividends. For a time little attention was given to passenger traffic on account of the splendid line on the north bank of the Ohio, via Beaver, Smith's Ferry, etc., but the Woods and Jacksons, aided by the McMillans, Von Bonnhorsts, Murphys and the Scully family, unceasingly demanded passenger facilities, and gradually the "Pan- handle" surmounted all of its difficulties of tunnels, grades, etc., the jokes of the traveling public, notably the commercial salesmen, and today is one of the safest, best-paying passenger lines of the great Pennsylvania system. In minstrel shows and comedy plays this and other early railroads were staged humorously, and on one occasion an actor wobbled across the stage at the Academy of Music and introduced himself as John Smith, from Leaven- 18 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. worth. He said he had just arrived and was seasick. Reminded that he had not come by boat, he said, "No, but I came on the 'Panhandle.' " Rounding so many short curves had reminded him of a trip on the Ocklawaha River in Florida. The valley proper began at McKees Rocks, the mouth of Chartiers Creek, and at Mansfield, now Carnegie, divided, following two branches of the creek, the one to Bridgeville, Canonsburg and Washington leading in picturesque- ness, but the branch followed in reaching Steubenville for a time developed the largest rail traffic. The present extensive Scully yards of the P., C, C. & St. L. R. R., the "Panhandle," take their name from the honored grandfather of our towns- man, C. D. Scully, Esq., Cornelius Scully, whose large stone quarry at Scully's Springs furnished the foundations for hundreds of buildings in the valley. Through these yards and via the Ohio Connecting Railroad a tremendous tonnage of freight daily passes, which enables the main line via Corliss to furnish its present efficient through and local passenger service. The main line leaves the Ohio River at what was known 50 years ago as Corks Run, and reaches Corliss, and there by a tunnel to the beautiful and prosperous boroughs of Ingram, Crafton, Rosslyn Heights, Carnegie, etc., crossing the Ohio River into Steubenville. There are about 11,000 coal miners employed in the valley, and many of its fertile farms have been converted into bustling manufacturing centers. In addition, it is the location of the Morganza school and Marshalsea and Wood- ville, county and city places for the care of the wards of the State, city and county. And if "Bob" Woods and "Billy" Jackson started things in the valley 50 years ago which have blossomed into such wonderful harvests, what may we not reasonably expect when the Big Saw Mill Run is sewered or otherwise rendered incapable of damage, and West Carson street widened to boulevard proportions ? About 30 years ago, when the valley began to rapidly build up, a meeting of the residents of one of the new suburbs was held and 11 resolutions adopted for "promoting the progress of the line." There were boosters in those days. These resolutions asked for additional trains, additional commutation privi- leges, new station, a freight agent, etc. ; also for a reduction in the transient fare. The railroad officers granted 10 of the requests, refusing only the request for a reduction in the transient rate. And from that date on prosper- ity came to the "Steubenville Railroad," as the progressive and wideawake residents of the valley by the thousands had found more inviting sites for suburban homes, notwithstanding the herculean efforts of "boosters" that the East End was the Mecca of Pittsburghers. And how about values? A Pittsburgh manufacturer of 50 years ago, who spent many afternoons fishing and strolling along the banks of the Char- tiers Creek, talking to a group of men, stated he could have bought land on the one side of the creek from McKees Rocks to Mansfield for about $1,500. His sons, grandsons, nephews, etc., promptly asked him, "And why didn't you buy? See what a legacy you could have handed to us." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 19 The manufacturer answered that the only obstacle in the way of annex- ing the territory was the $1,500. He added that his partners in the business were the workmen. They allowed themselves $8 per week, part of which was deducted weekly, and credited to payment of stock, and he further remarked that there were no dividends until after the close of the Civil War. NATIONS TRUST COMPANY. THE NATIONS TRUST COMPANY existed over 50 years ago. It was located on Penn avenue, between Eleventh and Twelfth, then Canal and O'Hara streets. It was established by men of wealth and standing, as the first directors show. But one day in the early '70s its doors were closed; the cashier disap- peared ; it was found that it had been looted to the extent of almost $1,000,000, and to this day the details of where the money went, or actual cause of the failure, are unwritten. The cashier returned to the city some time afterward, promising, on the guarantee of immunity, to make a "clean breast of affairs," but that disclosure did not materialize. It was neither a national nor a State bank, but a trust company, in which the stockholders were individually liable. It attracted a good business and at the time of its closing had deposits of approximately $1,000,000. It was the subject of legislative as well as legal investigation and various other inquiries, councilmanic as well, as to where the money went, but about the only outcome was the fact that all of the assets had "gone glimmering." The legislative inquiry was brought about in this way: The City of Pittsburgh had established a water commission to build a new water works and had issued bonds to pay for the same. It transpired that $250,000 of those bonds had been loaned to the cashier of the defunct bank, said bonds having been hypothecated in Philadelphia, for loans to tide the trust company temporarily. When rumors became general that the trust company was in a shaky condition, efforts were made to recover these bonds. The cashier succeeded in convincing the agent of the water commission that if he had $250,000 more of the bonds for 10 days or thereabouts, he could return the whole sum. The second loan, therefore, was made, all without the knowledge of the commis- sioners; the bonds were taken in a satchel to Philadelphia and hypothecated, and when the crash came the plight of the funds of the water commission was discovered. From a councilmanic inquiry it soon became a legislative Lexow. In those early days it developed that it was "a one-man bank," and at the time of the failure many of the first directors had withdrawn, not only from the board, but also had disposed of their holdings. Assessment after assess- ment was made, but only a few of the remaining stockholders were able to meet the same, and the burden was most strenuous, one stockholder at least having been mulcted for over $100,000, and others for large sums. 20 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. The books of the bank were kept in a way which would put it over on any ordinary board of directors, and the auditors testified that for several years they went over but one sheet of paper, submitted by the cashier, and never saw inside of any of the bank's books. The general ledger was one of the most attractive specimens of book- keeping ever opened, and at one investigation the custodian of that book testified for a couple of hours that every entry was true and correct. United States District Attorney H. B. Swoope, who was counsel in the case at this time against the bank, finally interrupted the query long enough privately to tell the witness he was lying, in order to save the face of the cashier, and unless he made decision to tell the truth, batteries would be turned against him for perjury. He would spare him if he would tell the truth. He admitted his statements were untrue, and on resuming the stand said the ledger accounts were falsified from beginning to end ; but neither he nor any other witness could or would disclose where the money went. It was afterwards stated that the city got off reasonably well, in view of the fact that another batch of the water bonds of the city, hypothecated in Philadelphia, had been recovered by a leading and influential railroad mag- nate, who rode from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh with a prominent city council- man, who at times rested his feet on the package containing the recovered bonds without meanwhile knowing that what he was worrying about would soon be again in the vault of the water commission. This councilman, an influential and wealthy citizen, knew of the plight of the city and despaired of ever getting back the missing bonds. A SNAKE STORY. AS I sit writing this hot August day, I cull from my archives this snake story, which has lain dormant for a half century. Here is a snake story, located in Brazil, which rather "takes down" anything of home manufacture: — It is well known that snakes are fond of milk. There was once a snake not exempt from this weakness of its fellow reptiles, which hit upon the following ingenious expedient to gratify its taste. It visited a room in which a black nurse and her nursling slept, and every night his snakeship would creep into the bed, cunningly insert the tip of its tail into the baby's mouth to amuse it and prevent its crying, while the hideous reptile substituted itself for the infant, which it thus deprived of its natural food, the nurse sleep- ing on, unconscious of having such a monstrous nursing. This went on for some time, until the infant, being thus cheated out of its allowance of food, became so thin that suspicion was excited, and an old negress was set to watch the nurse at night — the delinquent was caught in the act, and expiated its offence with its life, while the poor baby, being no longer kept on "short commons," recovered its strength and grew fine and fat as before. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 21 BRUTAL HOMICIDES. H A S WE sat by the fire" John H. Stewart, Sheriff of Allegheny County in a~\ 1866, suggested reference to the execution of Benjamin Bernhardt Marschall and August Frecke, Friday, January 26, 1866, for the brutal murder of John Henry Foerster in August of the previous year. Foerster was an emigrant; the men met him on a train arriving in Pittsburgh along about midnight. They offered to get him a boarding house, and took him to an old dismantled brick yard on Boyd's Hill. He was supposed to have money. Frecke hit him from behind with an iron bar and Marschall stabbed him as he fell almost in his arms. They had his trunk and belongings, which they appropriated, and left the body where it was found at daybreak by a workman. During the night they walked to the middle of the old Hand street bridge and dropped into the Allegheny river a weighted bundle containing the blood-stained clothing, knife, iron bar, etc. The murder was shrouded in mystery and it seemed as if the assassins would never be discovered ; but numerous robberies led to the arrest of Mar- schall, and among the booty discovered was a pair of hobnailed shoes, with blood stains thereon and a thoroughly German pipe, which had not been unloaded of its ashes. These and other clues were followed up, and Frecke was apprehended in McKeesport. He was taken past the cell in which Marschall was confined and as soon as Marschall saw him he sent for Mayor James Lowry, and on that eventful Sunday morning confessed to the brutal crime, implicating Frecke, who he believed had already given away the secret. It transpired that the motive was greed; that they had never seen the stranger until they met him on the train ; being of fine presence, well dressed, etc., they thought he had money. If he had they did not disclose it. Frecke was walking behind Foerster, Marschall in front, and at a given signal Frecke struck him on the back of the head, and Marschall finished him with the knife. It was at the most lonely spot in the dismantled brick yard. It also transpired that the wretches visited the old Central Police Station, where the body of the murdered man lay for identification, and gazed with thousands into store windows at photographs of the dead man without wincing. Marschall, after his confession, spent all of his time preparing for death, and assured his spiritual adviser, Father Amandus, his punishment was mer- ited. He arranged for the disposition. of his body and the care of his family. He was a giant in size and strength. Frecke was small, frail, and one of the most cowardly wretches ever brought face to face with crime. His last night on earth was most miserable. When on the gallows together, Frecke, who had denied his guilt, said to Marschall : "Now, you have one more chance to say I'm innocent. Will you ?" Marschall made no reply, the trap fell and the end came to one of the most brutal crimes in history. 22 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. One week after the hanging of Marschall and Frecke still another name was added to the list — Martha Grinder, and the gallows used for Jacoby, Evans and Marschall and Frecke remained intact for the execution of Mrs. Grinder. And who was Martha Grinder? The Lucretia Borgia of that day — a woman who, under the guise of helping her sick neighbors, without apparent motive, poisoned them. The victim for which she paid the penalty on the scaffold was Mrs. James Carothers, to whom she secretly administered arsenic while feigning to be in sympathy with and wanting to help the family, and slowly saw her victim dying by reason of her devilish conduct. She fainted when she started up the steps to the scaffold and had to be supported while the noose was being adjusted. And, reader, did you notice that with Mrs. Grinder's execution the total hangings in Allegheny County to that date were but 10, in a period of 78 years ? And who were the others ? As I am writing wholly from my records or memory, I cannot recall the victims of Tiernan and Gallego; but Dave Jewel was a prominent fireman of the city, a great favorite. On a fourth of July he quarreled with a young man, without any serious results, but in the afternoon of the same day trailed the young man and cruelly murdered him. Jacoby killed his wife; Evans — I cannot recall his victim; Charlotte Jones, Fife and a man named Stewart conspired and murdered the rich old uncle of the woman. Stewart died of smallpox, while awaiting the day of execution. Jacoby murdered his wife and fled the city. Two months afterward he was captured in the West, and his return to Pittsburgh, August 31, 1858, occa- sioned intense excitement. Almost the whole official force of the city went to Beaver Falls to meet Marshal Rehm, in charge of the prisoner. EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENT. THE Nashville Dispatch learns that a government team was run over a few evenings ago, while crossing the track of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- road, back of the depot. The mules got frightened, and stood on the track until the locomotive approached and struck the wagon, crushing it to atoms. It is almost incredible, but nevertheless true, that the driver was thrown under a train of cars on the opposite track, uninjured, while the mules were turned heels over head off the track and six of their shoes jerked off their feet. Beyond a few slight scratches and a big scare the "animules" were not hurt. We have often heard of men being "jerked out of their boots," but this is the first in- stance we have ever known of mules being "jerked out of their shoes." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 23 THE OLD ALLEGHENY COMMONS. HERE is the story of how the "old Allegheny Commons" was transformed into the Allegheny Parks, at a small expenditure of money, spread out over a series of years. Reference to the acquiring of Schenley Park reminds me of the transfor- mation of the "old Allegheny Commons" into the beautiful parks that the citizens of the Northside have so long enjoyed. Possibly along about 1880 James Brown, Controller of Allegheny City, held in his hand a bond for $1,000, issued to provide funds to establish the Allegheny park system. It was the last of $250,000 bonds issued for that purpose, and its redemption and can- cellation that day gave to the citizens the parks free, forever, only a small appropriation for maintenance and upkeep annually being required. The commons had its pasture fields, cinder piles, ball grounds, where the old Enterprise baseball club attracted crowds, and a little stream of clear water, which ran through that part of the old commons next to North avenue. It was the playgrounds of barefooted children, the rendezvous of wandering chickens, and ever and anon a stray pig, having escaped from its moorings, rooted among the rubbish that accumulated from Irwin and North avenues to Cedar avenue. Archibald Marshall, Esq., of the Marshall-Kennedy Milling Company, and other influential citizens, started the movement for the system of parks, to take the place of the neglected "commons," and the enterprise was every- where warmly endorsed. It was quite a delight in after years to hear Mr. Marshall relate how, aided by well-known citizens, he had superintended and even himself planted many of the trees then affording shelter, comfort and pleasure to the thou- sands of people of both cities, whose only pleasure resorts at this time were the Allegheny parks. THE SUGGESTED REMEDY. TRANSPORTATION men in convention had discussed for several hours the question, which is the most dangerous place on a train in case of a collision, the front or rear coach. Every officer had spoken several times, but a holding of hands indicated that a majority believed the most dangerous place in the collision is the rear car. Fitzgerald, the wreck master, was called on for an opinion, as he had main- tained the utmost silence. "It seems to be agreed," said he, "that the rear car is the most dangerous — why not lave it off, thin?" 24 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. PITTSBURGH AND BIG CONVENTIONS. YEARS ago the foundation was laid for big conventions in Pittsburgh. Its aspirations in this line reached top notch when it sought to handle a great national political gathering in 1896, and the superb effort at that time is responsible for its high ranking as an ideal city for the big meetings of today. We are just beginning to reap plenteously from the sowing of nearly a quarter of a century. Twelve hundred delegates to the International Sabbath School Conven- tion were entertained along in the '8os. The convention lasted one week. The delegates were housed in hotels until filled, when private residences hospi- tably entertained the visitors. Dinner was served in the Exposition Building, different churches having charge daily, and the meals were in the nature of real banquets, owing to the rivalry among the various denominations. Music preceded every meal thus served, and the noon recess of the convention was a great social event. Guests not in hotels were cared for in private residences and given supper and breakfast The delegates and officers declared that never before in the history of the Association had such a reception been accorded them anywhere. And in 1894, what more can be said of the twenty-eighth national en- campment of the G. A. R. than to recall what the old veterans themselves are pleased to repeat : That never before or since has the G. A. R. been hon- ored as at the twenty-eighth encampment Over a year was occupied in preparing for the convention. There were 18 committees, the chairmen of which formed the executive committee, and there was a chairman and an executive director. There were 1,200 delegates iri attendance, and they were entertained without a cent of cost. There was contributed by our patriotic citizens to the expense fund between $101,000 and $102,000. It cost about $90,000 to entertain the visitors, and $12,000 were returned to the donors, who voted it to various public institutions. A brass cannon in the arsenal grounds at Lawrenceville, which was among the pieces ordered to be shipped south in i860, about the time the Rock Island arsenal had been scuttled, was obtained by the committee by an act of Congress, and the committee on badges had it melted, and with certain alloy, historic badges of a beautiful design — the G. A. R. emblems — were man- ufactured. These were enclosed in a case forming a section of a T rail, beauti- fully polished. Souvenirs of all kinds were made from the cannon, and thou- sands of visitors purchased them. So that the committee on badges, of which Percy F. Smith was chairman, not only paid for the emblems given the delegates, but had a profit of about $3,000. The work of the committee on badges and a facsimile of the cannon as it came from the arsenal grounds is now among the archives in the Soldiers Memorial Hall, having been transferred from the Carnegie Institute about a year ago. Following came the Triennial Conclave of the Knights Templar of the United States in 1898, conceded to have been one of the largest and most suc- cessful in its history. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 25 The Chamber of Commerce sent Percy F. Smith, chairman, and Gen. A. J. Logan and W. A. Zahn a committee of three to Boston in 1895 to secure Ae conclave for 1898. It was a spirited contest, and the hardest obstacle to over- come was lack of hotel accommodations. But after three speeches by the chairman of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce Pittsburgh won. And in 1896 it was the lack of hotel accommodations which caused Pitts- burgh to lose out in its effort to obtain the consent of the National Republican Executive Committee to hold in Pittsburgh the national convention, where William McKinley was to be the nominee. Happily, now that cry can no longer be raised, and if the reapers continue to harvest the sowing of a quar- ter of a century ago, by the founders of Pittsburgh, nothing will be found lack- ing in the way of generous treatment. For it is a fact that when United States Senator Quay said it would require an expense fund of $100,000, and a certified check at that, to secure consideration before the national committee, the boosters of 20 years ago went to work. James McKean, of the Union Trust Company, headed the committee, on finance, and one citizen who subscribed $5,000 said he would make it $5,000 more. He subsequently stated that sum could be increased to $50,000. Senator Quay subscribed $1,000 and scores of others a like amount. The Arlington Hotel at Washington was headquarters. A special train over the Baltimore & Ohio conveyed the boosters to the capital, and a special over the Pennsylvania Railroad returned them. Checks made out by Mr. McKean and certified by C. L. Magee were laid on the table when the committee met. Speeches in behalf of Pittsburgh were made by the Hon. John Dalzell, Congressman; also Gov. William A. Stone, and the secretary, Mr. Smith, presented a roster of the hotels. Of course the lack of a convention hall was a strong factor against Pittsburgh. MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. SIXTY years ago August 24, 1918, the annual report of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association was issued. It included the story of how it was founded July 13, 1847, by three young men meeting in the room of one of them for an evening's enjoyment. Samuel M. Wickersham was the first presi- dent. And it may be said that the season lecture courses given under the auspices of this association, by the direction of Capt. Wm. P. Herbert and other directors, were the popular events of the time. For four dollars per year the public was favored with lectures by Henry Ward Beecher, De Witt Talmage, Joseph Cook, John B. Gough, Rev. Hyatt Smith, Olive Logan, Anna Dickinson, Mrs. Cady Stanton and, in fact, all the leading lecturers of the time. Frequently there was standing room only in old Library Hall when any of the above celebrities were ■tihe attraction. 26 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. SALT RIVER A LOST STREAM. THE political campaign of 1868 was a hot one, and in Pittsburgh it will be readily recalled by the reproduction of the slogan of the Democrats : "Seymour and Blair and Blackmore for Mayor." The result was a solar plexus blow to the Democrats and "Salt River tickets" were soon in circulation. This aftermath of political fights has passed. But I found in my archives this, relating to the campaign of 1868: Pittsburgh Theatre, October 1, 1868. First Night of Simon Johnston's Hydro-Carbonated and Deodorized Conservative White Man's Version of Othello. The management takes great pleasure in announcing to the Democratic lovers of the drama that at great expense they have effected an engagement with that world-renowned troupe of artists known as the "Blair Guards," now en route to Salt River, who will give several of their inimitable representations at this Ancient Temple of Thespis, beginning with Othello this evening. The cast includes all the prominent Democrats of that warm Presidential and local campaign. There was also a champion dance, Carolina brakedown with clogs, etc., by a leading Democratic lawyer. The whole to conclude with the laughable burlesque entitled "Big Zeke, or the Mudlarks' Rebellion," mudlarks referring to a gang of ruffians who had for years terrified the lower wards of the city and especially in the wards where the colored people were in evidence. The cast includes Big Zeke (in person), then Syksey, Lord Mayor, Dusty Perambulating Editor, Counsel for Mudlarks, Law Judge, Judge — all filled by defeated Democrats. Police, revolvers, brickbats, etc., by the entire strength of the company. In rehearsal a new version of "Humpty Dumpty" — Humpty Dumpty, Col. — Admission, payable in coin only, $200.00. AN ACTIVE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. THE Allegheny County Democratic convention, August 19, 1858, was a lively one. There was a full column of "resolves" in the platform de- nouncing the "intrigues and bribery" by which the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- pany had acquired power and wealth, personal denunciation in severe language of all Democrats who disagreed with the majority, and especially Gen. James K. Moorehead and Robert McKnight, Republican nominees, as "peddlers of bonds and tools of bondholders." The venerable Judge William Wilkins, United States Senator, Ambassador to Russia, member of the State Senate and of the National House of Representatives, among other criticisms, was even refused op- portunity to present resolutions honoring President James Buchanan, the incum- bent, who received in 1856 9,000 Democratic votes in Allegheny County. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 27 PITTSBURGH AND LAKE ERIE RAILROAD. WHEN the Legislature of 1873 adjourned, Hon. Andrew B. Young, one of the rural members of the House from Allegheny County, carried home an Act of the Assembly incorporating the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Rail- road, providing for a line on the south bank of the Monongahela and Ohio rivers to New Castle, Pa., and Youngstown, Ohio. He carried it a long time and finally sold it for $2,000. Of course the railroads on the north bank of those points opposed its con- struction — it wasn't needed, etc., but finally the Old Harmony Society and others put some money into the enterprise, and manufacturers on the South Side made slight subscriptions, to get rid of the promoters as much as for any other reason, one firm subscribing for $2,000 worth of the stock, with the understanding they were not to be asked to do anything further for the enterprise, and they in turn promising to consider the $2,000 "a flyer" without hope of return. But finally B. J. McGrann & Co. accepted the bonds issued for the con- struction of the line, and for $2,400,000 they completed it in quick time. There was not a gill of water in the stock. It was completed without a breath of suspicion as to graft, and from the date of its operation paid dividends. It was soon called the Little Giant, the phenomenal railroad of America. For in- stance, in those days $10,000 per mile was satisfactory earnings; $12,000 was better — $20,000 was regarded as velvet. But one year not long after the opening of the road the earnings reached $55,000 per mile ; later $77,000, and there is no telling what would have been the "top notch" if the New York Central people had not got in their hooks and constructed the Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Youghiogheny Railroad into the coke' regions and which now extends to the sea via the Western Maryland Railroad. And Andy Young's "Jerk-water" line when it was handed over to the New York Central by that amazing financier, Henry W. Oliver, Jr., was one of the finest pieces of railway in America as well as the best paying. The owners of the stock got as high as $160 per share from Mr. Oliver as he gathered it up for the Vanderbilts. Just what Mr. Oliver got for the stock was never disclosed. w EASY. HAT is there which, supposing its greatest breadth to be four inches, length nine inches, and depth three inches, contains a solid foot? A shoe. TRUE TO A HAIR. A SOMEWHAT juvenile dandy, said to a fair partner at a ball; don't you think, Miss, that my mustaches are becoming. To which she replied: They may be-coming but they have not yet arrived. 28 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. A NIGHT OF TERROR. SATURDAY, July 21, 1877, at noon Gen. A. L. Pearson, of the State militia, undertook to move a locomotive of the P. R. R. over the Twenty-eighth street crossing. Stones were fired into the crowd on the hillside, shots were fired, some people hurt, and the great railroad tie-up, the result of the P. R. R. Co. undertaking to run "double headers" with but one train crew, reached its crisis. Business on the railroads of the United States had been at a complete standstill, the Pennsylvania State militia had been called out and Col. Bob Brinton, of Philadelphia, was in the city with his Philadelphia regiment. Gen. Pearson had previously announced he would move that engine or die in his tracks, but the mob was ready for him and the Pittsburgh soldiers were entirely in- adequate to handle the mob. By seven o'clock Saturday evening the city was in a state of anarchy, gun stores had been "ransacked" and the mob armed with every conceivable weapon. Fires were started by the rioters between eight and nine o'clock p. m. and by ten o'clock Sunday morning three million dollars worth of property had been destroyed, including the Union Depot and Hotel, the Grain Elevator and hun- dreds of cars and locomotives of the P. R. R., as well as private property. Col. Brinton's soldiers took refuge in the engine roundhouse at Twenty- eighth street, which was burned, his men forced out and followed in a hot chase by the mob to a point beyond Sharpsburg, Col. Brinton having in the mean- time been shot down in cold blood. A number of civilians were also killed. The churches adjourned services Sunday morning and a procession of citi- zens marched along Liberty street with clubs, etc., and news that regular United States soldiers were on their way from Rock Island arsenal frightened the rioters and they dispersed and went into hiding. Another factor in the outcome was the fact that during the night a car in the Pan Handle yard on New Grant street was broken open before being fired. It contained high wines and other liquors, and the rioters drank the fluid from tin cups, which put them out of the notion of further deviltry. The rioters were largely the riffraff of the United States, who purposely congregated here during the week, intent on loot and robbery, and the "swag" carried off amounted to thousands of dollars. Very few of our local workingmen did any mischief, but many were pun- ished for being in the crowd and refusing to disperse and go home when so ordered by the sheriff. This refusal, Judge Sterrett ruled, constituted riot, and some very severe sentences were imposed. Trains began moving on Monday, regular United States soldiers having arrived on Sunday, and the county paid the damages — almost $3,000,000. SATISFIED. AFTER ordering a dozen things not on the bill of fare because not in season, the guest said, is there nothing in season. Oh yes, "prunes," said the waiter. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 29 "PULLING THE WOOL." ONE of the most interesting cases tried in the civil courts 40 or more years ago was that of John Dinsmore of Washington County against Barker, Kilgore & Co., wool merchants of Pittsburgh. The case was heard in the old District Court of Allegheny County, presided over by Hon. Moses Hampton and Hon. John M. Kirkpatrick, and was tried three times. It was a battle royal between the counsel, Hon. Marcus W. Acheson, after- ward Judge of the United States District Court, and W. B. Rodgers, Esq., for John Dinsmore, and the Hon. Thomas M. Marshall for the wool merchants, who were the leading dealers in wool in Western Pennsylvania. The case ran about like this : One day a man giving the name of Dinsmore and representing himself to be the son of John Dinsmore, farmer and sheep grower of Washington County, called at the wool house and offered a fine lot of wool for sale. A bargain was struck, and the firm furnished sacks and arranged to have their drays at the station on the arrival of the consignment, which when weighed would be paid for, at sight. Scene second occurred at the farm of John Dinsmore. The man with the wool sacks made a dicker with the sheep grower for his wool, told him he was the agent of the wool firm, and made him a most tempting offer for all the wool he could gather up. The sale aggregated almost $4,ooq. Barker's alleged agent at Dinsmore's farm promptly returned to the wool house, meantime changing to Martin Dinsmore, the farmer's son. More like a fable than fact. This was, say, on a Wednesday. The young rascal got a check for the full amount of the transaction, disappeared and was never again heard of. Two days later John Dinsmore, the farmer, arrived in the city, per agree- ment with the oily gammon agent, to get his money, and Barker, Kilgore & Co. were dumfounded, as was also Dinsmore. The wool merchants declined to pay the second time and Farmer Dinsmore retained Messrs. Acheson & Rodgers to collect his unpaid bill, which in reality had been paid. The liability of the wool firm to reimburse the rightful owner was about the only question at issue, outside of the incidents of the interesting "bunco" case, unparalleled in the history of cases in Allegheny county. And just here is where the most interesting part of the case comes in. Mr. Kilgore of the wool firm had a friend on the news staff of one of the city papers and, fearing that the details of the case might leak out and get into the news- papers in a mangled or distorted form, called upon his reportorial friend and gave him the details just as they had developed and are explained above. Of course, the reporter of the newspaper was the star witness, inasmuch as Mr. Kilgore himself had furnished the thread of the narrative. Every effort possible was made by Mr. Marshall to break the testimony of the reporter. He charged that the item published had been amplified ; that the writer had used his own language and not that of Mr. Kilgore, and scouted the idea that the wool merchant had ever made such a statement. But he carefully refrained from put- ting Mr. Kilgore on the stand to deny it. He would not do it, and frankly told Mr. Marshall so. On the other hand, Acheson & Rodgers proved conclusively that 30 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. the reporter had but one source of information about the transaction, and that was Mr. Kilgore himself, and that the story given had been published at the sug- gestion of Mr. Kilgore, provided the reporter thought it an item of news. The jury on each of the three trials found a verdict in favor of the farmer, for the full amount of his claim, based on the charge of the Court, that when at the Dinsmore farm, with the sacks of the wool firm, the alleged agent bolstered up his responsibility by a complete knowledge of the market prices of wool, Dinsmore was justified in believing that he was dealing with the real agent of the wool dealers. On the other hand the purchasers should have been satisfied that the man to whom they paid the money for the wool was the proper party to receipt the bill for John Dinsmore. DISCOVERY OF CHAUTAUQUA LAKE. THE fame of Chautauqua Lake came from the work of a Pittsburgher, Col. William Phillips, president of the A. V. R. R., who early realized that the beautiful lake would prove a peerless summer resort for Pittsburghers, and increase travel on the trains on the A. V. R. R. Matthew Bemis of Bemis Point, N. Y., and others had built a line of road from Corry, on the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, connecting with the Oil Creek & Allegheny River and the Allegheny Valley Railroad. The line extended to Brockton, on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, passing through Mayville, at the head of Chautauqua Lake. A more forlorn waste place could scarcely have been selected for a line of railroad, and for which there were not the remotest signs of traffic, the only place worth mentioning after leaving Corry being Mayville. But Colonel Phillips satisfied himself that it would be a great summer resort for Pittsburgh if only they would take time enough to learn where it was, how easily reached, its altitude and general attractive surroundings. That such a lake was in existence 700 feet above Lake Erie was known only to the people of New York and Jamestown, the other end of the 22 miles of water, and to people on the old Atlantic & Great Western Railroad en route through James- town to Salamanca, N. Y. Accordingly Matthew Bemis and Colonel Phillips arranged for a grand excursion of prominent people of Pittsburgh. Ladies and gentlemen numbering some 200, guests of the two colonels, were taken to Mayville on special cars and on a boat toured the lake, voting it one of the most charming bodies of water in America. Correspondents filled the Pittsburgh papers with the details of this voyage of discovery, and the old Chautauqua House at Mayville was soon unable to accommodate the Pittsburghers arriving daily and especially on Saturday. Horace Fox and his charming wife made it a most delightful place to stop. Almost in a night was established the famous "Chautauqua Route," four miles below Mayville, famous as a bass fishing grounds before the advent of the Assembly Grounds; then Point Chautauqua, the Baptist assembly grounds, about MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 31 two miles from Mayville. Bemis Point at once took the lead until "Lakewood," near Jamestown, became the most fashionable resort for the elite of America. But Pittsburghers who visited the lake at the time referred to, after leav- ing Mayville, could scarcely obtain a lunch anywhere until they reached Bemis Point, Lakewood or Jamestown. Properly, therefore, must Colonel Phillips be accorded the praise of developing, for Pittsburghers, Chautauqua Lake; and besides the big steamer Jamestown, which plied the lake soon after, two other steamers — the Colonel William Phillips and the Pittsburgh — were shortly added to the list to accommodate tourists. Colonel Phillips related with pleasure the fact that the "christening" of Chautauqua Lake, by the popular excursion of Pittsburgh people, had resulted in several romances, five or six weddings having followed acquaintanceships made on the voyage over the lake. His principal interest was in the marriage of his splendid transportation manager, Thomas M. King, and Miss Rachel Finney, the daughter of Robert Finney of the Boatmen's and Eureka Fire Insurance Companies. I am unable to recall the other happy marriages, the romance of which began in the delight- ful excursion referred to. Henry Harley and Charley Pitcher, the oil princes, appeared frequently at Lake Chautauqua after Pittsburghers began to patronize it, and many of our citizens became warmly attached to them. Together they built a sailing yacht. The boat was finished, ready to be launched and christened, when it suddenly occurred to the owners that no name had been selected. "Can't you think of a name?" said Pitcher to Harley. The latter said: "Yes, if it did not appear selfish I would like to name the yacht Susie in honor of my wife." "By jove," said Pitcher, "just the trick. My wife's name is Susie. The yacht is named The Two Susies," and many pleasant parties of Pittsburghers enjoyed the hospitality of Harley and Pitcher. FEEDING BY WEIGHT. OUT west you pay as you leave the restaurants to take your train. When you enter you are weighed; weighed again as you leave, and you are charged by the pound. A knowing fellow entered with a fire brick in each pocket of his duster, was weighed, and while eating adroitly removed the bricks and left them under the table. Weighed as he passed out, one pound lighter, the restaurant keeper had to give him a rebate slip which he cashed in for fifty cents. A CHARMED AUDITOR. AFTER the young man had sung "Love's Young Dream" in a delightful voice an auditor broke the silence in the most eloquent language, and assured the host that he could sit and listen to the singer all night — yes, sir, the same singer all night long — "if I was drugged." 32 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. CHARCOAL PIG IRON IN 1853. MY MEMORY of an old charcoal iron furnace on Bullion Run, Venango County, operated as early as the spring of 1853 by a Pittsburgh manu- facturer in tin and copper, John C. Smith, father of the author of this volume, is freshened by a glance into the pages of the old "day book," which recorded the original entries at the furnace store, some 65 years ago. Few people, indeed, knew of the existence of this furnace, as it was in such an out-of-the- way place, but it was reached by boats on the Allegheny River to Scrubgrass and by drive via Butler, Parkers Landing, etc. It was a small furnace, but here the pig metal industry was carried on in its most primitive way — by water power. I append some of the entries in the "scratcher," or day book, kept at the furnace store, which will be appreciated the more as the prices are contrasted with present cost of high living, or high cost of present living. Tea sold at $1 per pound; iron, 6y 2 c; coffee, 16c. ; plug tobacco, 6%c. ; calico, i2y 2 c. Just here let me explain that the %. and y 2 cent meant some- thing then, because the "fippeny-bit," a silver coin, was worth 6J4 cents, while the "levy" was rated at 12^ cents. Afterward the 5 and 10 cent coins took their places. Cordwood sold for 45c. per cord; sugar, 10c. ; 22^2 pounds sole leather brought $5.62^ ; beef, 4c. per pound ; flour, 4c. per pound ; coal, 14c. per bushel. Labor was paid 50c. a day and upward and board, although some entries show $2 per day for labor — likely skilled ; bacon brought I2j4c Some of the entries in detail are appended: Tobacco, tea and file, $1.65; rice and tobacco, 34c; bacon and tobacco, $1.65 ; lead, powder and tobacco, 26%c. ; candles, gloves and tobacco, 49%c. ; nails and suspenders, $1.50; pitch fork, 8yy 2 c; coffee and shawl, $5; tobacco and candles, 48c. ; candles and molasses, 88% c. ; coffee, tobacco and tea, 98c. ; tobacco and mattock, $1.31%; cash, coffee and tobacco, $26.33^; three pairs boots, $12; shot and caps, 18c. ; spikes, saleratus and candles, 56c%. ; tobacco, pipe and handkerchief, 20%c. ; one pound of tobacco, 37J^c; hat and fiddle strings, $1.31%; oats, beef and horse shoes, 98c; corn, oats and sugar, 61c. About one-half of the extras in each account was for tobacco, but there is not a single entry for alcoholic beverages, unless it was under the head of "tea," as it sometimes happened in later years. But the writer is certain that some of the furnace men were at times on intimate terms with John Barley- corn, whose followers called it "mountain tea," but where it came from depo- nent saith not. Payment was made in various ways, very little actual money changing hands, and still less business in the way of bank checks. For instance, there are credits for 2,000 feet of boards, $15; 12 cords of wood, $5.40; for digging ore, chopping wood, day's labor, a watch, going to mill, one yoke of cattle, boarding, "butter and apron," hay, straw and hauling. A specific instance reads : For coffee and a shawl, charged at $5, payment was made by one hog, weighing when dressed 125 pounds at 5c. per pound. Another account was balanced by an ox yoke, labor and coal, and still another was paid for in "comforts, ropes and 3,944 bushels of coal." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 33 BUSY MARTS IN DUQUESNE WAY. A WALK along Duquesne way suggests its early days and the changes in its business enterprises in 50 years, its boat yards, saw mills and coal yards, its bulk oil barges ; its up river boats, and its timber floats ; its Oil Exchange, affording plenty of excitement all day of business hours; its crowded hotel at Seventh street and Duquesne way; its horse market; its pleasure boat-houses; its big brewery and the Wayne Iron Works at Tenth street, adjoining the prop- erty of the Fort Wayne Railroad. There was no more busy place in the city than Duquesne way in the early 6o's and later on, and the daily newspapers relied largely upon the doings of the Oil Exchange, the gossip of the hotel, the brew- ery, the rivermen, etc., news as filtered from the politicians who made it a ren- dezvous, for pointers generally leading to many superb news items. Pittsburgh was then one of the leading oil centers. Beginning in old Law- renceville, or about what is now Thirty-third street, extending to beyond the Sharpsburg bridge, along the Allegheny River, were numerous oil refineries, the products from petroleum oil being carbon oil, benzine, naphtha, etc. Dave Reighard, whose refinery was on Thirty-third street, afterwards organized the Columbia Conduit Company, later selling out to the Standard Oil Cimpany; the Nonpareil Oil Works, Fairview Refinery, Citizens Oil Company and many others were among the leading refineries of the country. Benj. W. Morgan, well known in political circles in Pittsburgh as "the Red Planet of War," was connected with the Nonpareil Company, and Andy Lyons and Jared M. Brush, the latter Mayor of Pittsburgh, were leaders in the Citizens' works. Cooper shops everywhere in Allegheny County did a thriving business, as the demand for barrels was unprecedented, and right in Pittsburgh was hoop iron made to supply almost the entire demands of the country. An immense brick cooper shop was erected in the Eighteenth ward, along the Allegheny Valley Railroad, for more than a block — at the time said to have a capacity greater than any similar factory in America, but it was not long after this that the Standard Oil Company, having absorbed all the oil refining companies in Pittsburgh, took over the cooper shop, also, and the Oil Exchange, refining busi- ness, barrel factory, etc., vanished from Pittsburgh as if blotted out of sight in a single night — Cleveland becoming the home of these consolidated refining interests, and pipe lines superseding bulk boats and river shipments. A tremendous blow was given to Pittsburgh's industries when the Stand- ard Oil Company revolutionized things; but like the depression after the big fire in 1845, when pessimists thought the city would never be rebuilt, and a greater city was the result, so the great city designed to be the workshop of the world could not be checked by such a little thing as losing the oil industry, and new and marvelous industries developed with such rapidity that the city soon forgot it ever had a gigantic oil industry. An indication of the extent of the oil trade in this city in 1867 ; on the 30th of April, at 10 p. m. a large iron tank containing 17,500 gallons of petroleum oil, at the Fairview oil works of Dr. Arnold Herz, on the Allegheny Valley Railroad near the Sharpsburg bridge, was struck by lightning, ignited and the burning continued until 3 p. m. the next day, destroying the tank, the agitating 34 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. and pumphouse, and the dwelling house of Dr. Herz, and contents, causing a loss of $55,000. Various other tremendous oil fires were recorded, so extensive was the field of operation. The discovery of oil in the rocks and beneath the creeks in Venango County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania soon caused a genuine craze, was set to music and the words herewith were sung in hundreds of parlors, to the liveliest of tunes : OIL ON THE BRAIN. The Yankees boast that they make clocks, which "just beat all creation. They never made one could keep time with our great speculation. Our stocks, like clocks, go with a spring, wind up and down again; But all our strikes are sure to cause oil on the brain. Chorus : Stock's par, stock's up, then on the wane; Everybody's troubled with oil on the brain. There's various kinds of oil afloat, Cod Liver, Castor, Sweet, Which tend to make a sick man well and set him on his feet. But ours a curious feat performs : we just a well obtain, And set the people crazy with oil on the brain. There's neighbor Smith, a poor young man, who couldn't raise a dime; Had clothes which boasted many rents, and took his "nip" on time. But now he's clad in dandy style, sports diamonds, kids, and cane; And his success was owing to oil on the brain. Miss Simple drives her coach and four, and dresses in high style; And Mr. Shoddy courts her strong, because her "Dad's struck ile." Her jewels, laces, velvets, silks, of which she is so vain, Were bought by "Dad" the time he had oil on the brain. You meet a friend upon the street, he greets you with a smile; And tells you in a hurried way, he's just gone into ile. He buttonholes you half an hour — of course you can't complain — For you can see the fellow has oil on the brain. The Lawyers, Doctors, Hatters, Clerks, industrious and lazy, Have put their money all in stocks, in fact have gone "oil crazy." They'd better stick to briefs and pills, hot irons, ink and pen, Or they will "kick the bucket" from oil on the brain. RESTAURANT PRICES. A SUGGESTION for Hoover. Lunch 30 cents; dinner 50 cents; gorge 75 cents. But some one might order the three from a "safety first" stand- point, on account of the "diaphanous portions." w MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 35 PIONEER RAILROADING. HO among the patrons of the old Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad, along about 1866 to 1880, will not recall that remarkable character, Thomas Drake, one of the passenger conductors and also one of the stock- holders. "Tommy," for as such he was more familiarly known, had been engaged at work on the construction of the line, which paralleled the old Braddock's Field plank road to Braddock. Shortly prior to the period first mentioned, the only thing accomplished was the laying of the rails — for quite a stretch the ballast had not yet been filled in between the crossties. The first train in the morning to the city from McKeesport was in charge of Captain Drake. It came— sometimes an hour or two— maybe more — late, only to find that the people working in the city had "hoofed it" — four miles and more. One morning in particular, when Drake drew up his train at Hazelwood almost a half-day late, someone asked him what was the cause of the delay, and he said there was "a hole in the boiler of the engine." That morning he had what he called his "coffee-pot engine" — a small locomotive with but one driving wheel. But as time progressed the road began to put on airs and some new regu- lations were issued which, on account of his age, Captain Drake could not interpret to the satisfaction of the passengers. To enforce the order for more celerity in loading and unloading passen- gers, he on one occasion courteously told some ladies to say good-by to friends at home in order that the trains might not be unnecessarily delayed. But he was too careful in the handling of women and children to give any offense to anyone. He was one of the most popular conductors on the road and was never known to be in a bad humor, even if some wag would hand him a bogus shinplaster (fractional currency) for car fare, or restore the punched disc to its moorings and have him punch their ticket the second time in the same place. The captain told a good one on himself, one of the best, he admitted, that had ever been put over on him. He had been explaining some new orders relating to standing on the platform, smoking, putting feet upon the seats, etc., and it was suspected that Superintendent Geo. J. Luckey, of the city schools, had prepared his oration, when a prominent river and coal merchant remarked, "Say, Drake, you talk just like as if this was a railroad." By the time that Drake got done laughing he realized that the train was being delayed. While walking the platform awaiting orders from the dis- patcher, the- Port Perry man put his head out of the window with, "Say, con- ductor, why don't this train go on?" The Port Perry man had a plentiful supply of fiery red hair, and quick came the retort, "Take in your head, sir; how can the train go on with the danger signal out?" "Tommy" used to take the "owl train" out every night, and on Saturday nights a number of his passengers in the "smoker" were usually quite hilar- ious and sometimes pugnacious. Every Sunday morning "Tommy" would put in a requisition for a new lantern globe and sometimes for a lantern. "When the superintendent asked for particulars he would say, "Well, some of the boys on the train got a little lively and the only way I could quiet them was to hit 'em over the head with my lantern !" 36 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. A DRAMATIC CONCLUSION. DURING the incumbency as District Attorney of Allegheny County of Thomas M. Bayne, he decided to make a tour of Europe, and his appointment of chief deputy in his absence created a great stir among the attorneys generally. The motive for his selection never came to light, but it was supposed that the remarkable success in the prosecution of criminal offenders in the United States courts, by H. Bucher Swoope, led to the choice of Mr. Swoope. Especially did this idea receive strength by the fact that Henry Bender was awaiting trial in the Quarter Sessions Court for murder, and as the Commonwealth had to rely greatly upon circumstantial evidence, it was believed by Colonel Bayne if anyone could secure a conviction it would be Mr. Swoope. The day of the Bender trial came on, and the Commonwealth proved that Bender kept an eating saloon and beer hall on Smithfield street; that Police- man John Stack, a fine-looking, big fellow, an Irishman, whose beat included the saloon building, had been found on the sidewalk in front of the saloon about 2 o'clock one morning, with a fractured skull. The injury had been inflicted by a blunt instrument, in all probability the butt or handle end of a knife for opening oysters. Bender was on duty in the saloon that night, and was an expert in opening oysters. The contention was that the wound was inflicted by Bender during an altercation. Stack was unconscious when found, and died in a little while. Purely circumstantial, and what was worse, the Commonwealth utterly fell down in the matter of a motive. There had appar- ently been no ill feeling between the saloonkeeper and Policeman Stack, and there was no evidence of an altercation, and no one saw the officer ejected or assaulted. Some hints were thrown out that racial prejudice might have inspired a feud. Mr. Swoope put in a wonderful chain of circumstantial evi- dence, however, as he was an adept in Sherlock Holmes suggestions. It was finally apparent that he would rely mainly on his address to the jury in summing up for the Commonwealth, and for two hours he plead for conviction. Mr. Swoope was quite delicate, suffering constantly from chronic stomach and bowel ailment, which eminent physicians stated would have ended fatally with anyone except one who had the iron nerves of a man like Mr. Swoope, and on this occasion, just as he concluded his wonderful appeal to the jury, he fell in a faint and had to be carried from the courtroom. The room was crowded to its utmost capacity, and the address was lis- tened to with rapt attention. About the last words he said were : "Gentlemen of the jury — I never saw this defendant until he appeared in court for trial. I may never see him again until we meet at the judgment seat of God. Nor did I know John Stack, but I do know that away yonder across the water in Ireland sits the aged father and mother of this murdered man, anxious to know whether a jury of his peers will avenge the death of Policeman John Stack." Bender was acquitted, the jury having been cautioned to consider most seriously the dangers surrounding circumstantial evidence. Attorneys who did not like Swoope were greatly pleased with the verdict, and press and public generally approved the finding of the jury. Mr. Swoope's only remark was that he did his best, and could, therefore, have no comment to make on the case. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 37 CARNCROSS, DIXEY & DOUGHERTY. NOT long after the close of the Civil War, Carncross & Dixey's minstrels were performing in Pittsburgh. James Blackmore was the Democratic candidate for Mayor, and the feeling against the colored man was still strong. Dougherty, in a "stump speech," said Pittsburgh was the first place in the country to get right on this question — they were supporting a Black-moor for Mayor. Dixey, the other end man, worked over an old joke in this way: "Who builds your canals?" asked Carncross. Answer — "The Irish." "Who builds your railroads?" "Irish." "Who builds your penitentiaries?" "Irish." "Who fills your penitentiaries " Dixey, jumping to his feet, shouted at the top of his voice, "You're a liar !" amid tumultuous applause. BONE-DRY TRAINS WG. MERRICK is one of the five passenger conductors of the P., C, C. • & St. L. Railway who 10 years ago convinced the Ohio law-makers that the men who "started things" on the trains" were generally those in the smoker, with "pop bottles" filled with whisky. They had a bill passed prohib- iting drinking in the "smoker," penalty $17 and costs, and no appeal. The result is that quarrels in smoking cars are a thing of the past if the conductor enforces the law. Merrick believes in "an ounce of prevention" and finding a fellow in possession of the fluid, takes it from him, thrusts it through the win- dow and pacifies the owner by telling him he has saved him $17 and costs. Merrick's size also tends to pacify an ordinary fellow, and good order prevails in the "smoker" if he is in charge of the train. Merrick is the seventh oldest conductor on the line, and runs on through trains from Pittsburgh to Columbus. He has been in the service of the com- pany 38 years, is married, has eight sons and three daughters, and resides in Columbus. Detective Wm. J. Burns made him acquainted with Colonel Roosevelt some years ago and when told of the size of his family, the Colonel grasped him with both hands and almost fractured his arm, with "Delighted." Merrick had three sons in the service of Uncle Sam, one, aged 24 years, in Camp Mills, L. I., 309th Engineers, 184th Division ; one, 19 years old, in the Radio Division, Newport, R. I. ; one, aged 22 years, a Corporal in the Balloon Division, Fort Monroe. s BEFORE THE FOUR MINUTE MEN. AID a speaker, just introduced, in a drawling tone, "Now, what shall I talk about?" A small boy in the audience — "Talk about a minute." 38 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. MARK TWAIN IN PITTSBURGH. SAMUEL M. CLEMENS, better known as Mark Twain, America's greatest humorist, was a relative of Mr. William T. Lindsey, for many years Clerk of the United States District Court at Pittsburgh, and also of the well- known Yohe family, railroad and corporation managers. His first appearance in Pittsburgh about 50 years ago therefore attracted more than ordinary interest, because of the many who had not been much impressed with Mark's ability as a humorist — case of a "prophet not without honor, save in his own country," — and who nevertheless drummed up friends for a great audience. His books had aroused considerable interest, but it was feared he might not amount to much as a lecturer. His lecture was on "The American Vandal Abroad," and was delivered in the old Academy of Music, which was filled to repletion. His Honor, Judge John M. Kirkpatrick, introduced Twain. Assigned to report the lecture, the author diligently followed Twain and was grinding out a column and a half account of it, when about midnight Twain entered the editorial rooms of the old Commercial. He was entertain- ing with laughable incidents almost everybody but the writer, when he sud- denly learned he was preparing a lengthy account of the lecture. He at once protested to the Managing Editor, said it was hard to be funny for pay, got $150 a night for his lecture, it was his stock in trade, and if published, he might as well cancel all of his other engagements. Thereupon orders were given to select the gem of the lecture for publication, and the account of the lecture referred only to his marvelous description of the Sphynx. Academy of Music. — In this hall last night one of the largest and probably most fashionable audiences it ever held listened to an amusing and instructive lecture from Mark Twain, whose reputation for humor is known here and abroad. On the appearance of Mr. Twain he was received with that phlegm that char- acterizes lecture audiences, but before he had spoken many minutes he succeded in driving the apathy away, and then followed hearty expressions of appreciation, such as our folk are capable of giving. His exquisite humor is equalled by his delightful descriptive powers, and seldom have we listened to anything more eloquently rendered than his description of the Sphynx. It was a gem. Here it is : "The great face was so sad, so earnest, so longing, so patient. There was a dignity not of earth in its mien, and in its countenance a benignity such as never anything human wore. It was stone, but it seemed sentient ! If ever image of stone thought, it was thinking. It was looking toward the verge of the landscape, but looking at nothing — nothing but distance and vacancy. It was looking over and beyond everything of the present, and far into the past. It was gazing over the ocean of time — over lines of century-waves, which further and further receded, closed nearer and nearer together, and blended at last into one unbroken tide, away toward the horizon of a remote antiquity. It was thinking of the wars of departed ages — of the empires it had seen created and destroyed — of the nations whose birth it had witnessed, whose progress it had watched, whose annihilation it had noted — of the joy and sorrow, the life and death, the grandeur and decay, of five thousand slowly revolving years. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 39 "It was the type of an attribute of man — of a faculty of his heart and brain. It was Memory — Retrospection — wrought into visible, tangible form. All who know the pathos there is in memories of days that are accomplished and facts that have vanished — albeit only a trifling score of years gone by — will have some apprecia- tion of the pathos that dwells in these grave eyes that look so steadfastly back upon the things they knew before History was born — before Tradition had being — things that were and forms that moved, in a vague era that even Poetry and Romance scarce knew of — and passed one by one away, and left the stony dreamer solitary in the midst of a strange, new age and uncomprehended scenes ! "The Sphynx is grand in its loneliness ; it is imposing in its magnitude ; it is impressive in the mystery which hangs over its story. There is that in the over- shadowing majesty of this eternal figure of stone, with its accusing memory of the deeds of all ages, that reveals to one something of what he shall feel when he stands at last in the awful presence of God." The audience was enraptured, and the impressive silence as the people hung upon his matchless words was broken by Twain, who said : "And yet the American Vandal stood within the shadow of that eternal figure of stone and picked his teeth." And I do not have to refer to my notes to recall the conclusion of his memorable lecture. "And in conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, if a man ask me to go with him a mile I go with him, Twain," and he bowed himself off the stage. Twain thus describes his enthusiastic patriotism in the '60s : When the tocsin of war was sounded he was "so all-fired with patriotism that he hurried to the nearest recruiting office and sacrificed all of his wife's relations." Twain, sketching his mental photograph, said: "Nothing could induce me to fill those blanks but the asseveration of these gentlemen that it will benefit my race by enabling young people to see what I am, and giving them an opportunity to become like somebody else. This candor overcomes my scruples. I have but little character, but what I have I am willing to part with for the public good. I would have been a better man if I had had a chance, but things have always been against me. I never had any parents, hardly — only just father and mother — and so I have had to struggle along the best way I could. I do not boast of this character, further than I built it up by myself, at odd hours, during the last 30 years, and without other educational aid than I was able to pick up in the ordinary schools and colleges. I have filled the blanks of the questionaire as follows." WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE Color?— Anything but dun. Names, Male and Female? — M'aimez Flower? — The night-blooming Sirius. (Maimie) for a female, and Tacus and Tree? — Any that bears forbidden fruit. Marius for males. Object in Nature? — A dumb belle. Painters? — Sign Painters. Hour in the day? — The leisure hour. Musicians? — Harper & Bro. Season of the Year? — The lecture season. Piece of Sculpture? — The Greek Slave, Perfume? — Cent per cent. with his hod. Gem?— The Jack of Diamonds, when it is Poet?— Robert Browning, when he has a trump. lucid interval. Style of Beauty?— The Subscriber's. Poetess?— Timothy Titcomb. 40 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. Prose Author? — Noah Webster, LL.D. Characters in Romance? — The Byron Fam- ily. In History? — Jack the Giant Killer. Book to take for an hour? — Vanderbilt's pocketbook. What epoch would you choose to have lived in? — Before the present Erie — it was safer. What book (not religious) would you part with last? — The one I might happen to be reading on a railroad during the disaster season. Where would you like to live? — In the moon, because there is no water there. Favorite amusement ? — Hunting the "tiger," or some kindred game. Favorite Occupation? — "Like dew on the gowan — lying." What trait of character do you most ad- mire in man? — The noblest form of canni- balism — love for his fellow man. In Woman? — Love for her fellow man. What trait do you most detest in each? — That "trait" to which you put "or" to de- scribe its possessor. If not yourself, who would you rather be? — The Wandering Jew, with a nice annuity. What is your idea of Happiness ?— Find- ing the buttons all on. Your idea of Misery? — Breaking an egg in your pocket. What is your bete noir? — (Wthat is my which?) What is your Dream? — Nightmare as a general thing. What do you most dread? — Exposure. What do you believe to be your Distin- guishing Characteristic ? — Hunger. What is the Sublimest Passion of which human nature is capable? — Loving your sweetheart's enemies. What are the Sweetest Words in the world?— "Not Guilty." What are the Saddest? — "Dust unto dust." What is your Aim in Life? — To endeavor to be absent when my time comes. What is your Motto? — Be virtuous and you will be eccentric. BRYCE, RICHARDS & CO. THIS firm of glass manufacturers was composed of the "apprentice boys" of the old Bakewell Company, led by James, Robert and John Bryce, and was perhaps the first effort of "co-operative" working inaugurated in Western Pennsylvania. Small salaries were paid and part of the same were applied weekly on payment of stock. The scheme was not a bewildering suc- cess, and the slow process of marketing the product on "flat boats" floating to the South was not remunerative. But after the close of the war, by the Bryces' Scotch energy, the firm started to make money, and ultimately led in glass making as Bryce, Walker & Co., then Bryce Bros., until merged into the U. S. Glass Company, the management of which has been largely in the hands of the descendants of the brothers who founded the industry. One of them said early in the '60s he could have bought the half of Char- tiers township along the creek for $1,500, and the only reason he did not acquire the property was the lack of the $1,500. T BY THE SPORTING EDITOR. HE man who rides the night mare, it is said, has challenged the telegraph to trot one hundred miles before a wagon. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 41 LEST WE FORGET. ALONG about 1879 Robert J. Ingersoll was creating quite a furore in the country by his lecture on "Some Objections to Christianity." A little Presbyterian minister, Rev. David K. Nesbitt, of Lawrence County, Pa., who was east on a vacation from Corvallis, Oregon, where he was engaged in mis- sionary work, and who had accepted a call to the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church, answered Ingersoll in an address on "Some Objections to Infidelity," before the well-known Liberal League. A repetition of the lecture was brought about at the suggestion of the ministers of the two cities who desired to hear it. Library Hall was secured by several gentlemen, a number of whom were connected with Mr. Nesbitt's congregation. No admission fee was charged, and the house was filled to overflowing. Mr. Nesbitt spoke for about two hours, and was frequently interrupted by applause. At the commence- ment Mr. Nesbitt said that he hoped that his auditors would excuse any flaws or faults in his lecture, as it was not prepared for delivery to such a cultivated audience as was assembled, but for the members of the Liberal League (laugh- ter). A short time after beginning, some smart individual in the audience endeavored to cover himself with glory by interrupting the speaker. Mr. Nes- bitt bore the infliction for a moment or two, but stopping suddenly, said: "Some people don't believe in miracles. I do. We have an illustration here tonight in this audience, for we hear an ass speaking, even as Balaam's ass did." This sally was greeted with three rounds of applause. About the middle of the lecture, when Mr. Nesbitt was picturing to his hearers an imag- inary court scene, in which the leading infidels of the past and present were brought to the bar for trial, some speculative ass in the audience caused another interruption, but Mr. Nesbitt called for order, as there "should always be silence observed in court." "And," he added, "the angel of the Lord cannot be disturbed by the braying of an ass." Rev. Sylvester F. Scovel, of the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, introduced the speaker, and the lecture abounded in unanswerable challenges to Ingersoll, and was vociferously applauded. This lecture and the efforts of Geo. R. Wendling, the noted Western law- yer, soon after put Ingersoll out of the lecture course in Pittsburgh and vicinity. Rev. Mr. Nesbitt was called to Greenfield, Mass., and then to Peoria, 111., and while in the Peoria work was stricken with heart trouble, dying soon after. A beautiful bronze tablet was placed in the church, and at its unveiling the ministers and people of all denominations in Peoria were present. Mr. Nesbitt was married to Miss Alice Whitworth, of Armstrong County, and had two daughters. He was greatly beloved by all who knew him. PROMINENT GUESTS. 1 ATALOGING the guests at a banquet, a rural gentleman said : "There was 1 me, Dr. M. D., two students and several other gentlemen." 42 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. A MEMORABLE BANQUET. TWENTY-FIVE years ago there was a great reunion and banquet of the telegraphers in the service of the United States during the Civil War, and the veteran knights of the key then employed by the Western Union and Postal Cable Companies. It was indeed a remarkable body at the banquet in the Monongahela House, the guests including A. B. Chandler, Postal Tele- graph, and the most prominent officials and operating managers of all tele- graph lines, as well as some of the messenger boys, in Pittsburgh during the Civil War. Mr. James D. Reid, of Scotland, was the honor guest, and he made the trip purposely to attend the banquet. Mr. Reid, responding to a toast, referred to the Civil War period. He was in charge of the telegraph lines on the P. R. R., and his messenger boys included Robert Pitcairn and David Mc- Cargo; Andrew Carnegie was his "boss." Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's War Secretary, sent for Mr. Reid and asked him how soon he could "string a line to Cincinnati." Mr. Reid burned the midnight oil in calculating necessary supplies of wire, poles, men, etc., and promptly reported to Mr. Stanton. He had no sooner started to read the figures than Mr. Stanton slapped him on the shoulder and said: "Reid, you are always h — 1 on statistics. Build the line is the word." And Mr. Reid in the briefest possible time constructed the first telegraph line to Cincinnati. Friends of the venerable gentleman presented him with a purse of gold, containing $1,000, Mr. Robert Pitcairn making the presentation speech. Among the local veterans of the key were Hon. Judge Wickham, of Beaver County; Hon. Judge J. F. Slagle, of Allegheny County Common Pleas; S. A. Duncan, George McLain, David McCargo, Robert Pitcairn, and also "Chris" Magee, the popular Republican politician. Magee, responding to a toast, explained how he came to be present. He had occupied the position of messenger boy in a telegraph office for "one con- secutive day," and the toastmaster insisted he was eligible, because ever since that day he had been "pulling the wires." M FIRST REPUBLICAN CONVENTION. R. WILLIAM B. SMALL, of 1263 Franklin street, Wilkinsburg, now 85 years old, recalls the meeting of the first Republican Convention, in Old Lafayette Hall, Wood street, near Fourth avenue, Pittsburgh. Reese C. Fleeson and J. Heron Foster, of the Dispatch, the Hon. Gideon Wells, Thomas M. Marshall, Esq., Sam'l Black, afterwards the brave Col. Sam Black, Col. Ewing and others, were on the stage. It was disclosed that among other literature circulated was a publication entitled "The Helpers' Book." Its chief aim was to enlist support of the movement to send old John Brown to Harpers Ferry in the cause of the insurrection. Mr. Marshall, Sam Black and Col. Ewing were indignant and hastily re- tired from the stage. Mr. Small thinks others also withdrew, but he cannot recall the names. He had a copy of the book but it was lost by fire. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 43 THE CENTENNIAL COURT HOUSE. THIRTY years ago September 11, 1918, the present Court House, Fifth avenue and Grant street, was dedicated and the centennial of the county- celebrated in connection therewith. The program covered three days and it was agreed that never before in its history were greater crowds of visitors attracted to the city. Among those on the stand in front of the new building was Mr. John C. Smith, the veteran officer of the Criminal Court, then in his eightieth year, who had been in the harness for about 40 years. He was with the court in the old building on Market street; at the first session of the court in the Second Court House, on Grant street, destroyed by fire; and at the opening session in the new building. A morning paper, in a sketch of Mr. Smith, said: "Some time ago a man made application to Hon. Judge Ewing for an appointment in the Criminal Court. The Judge told him there wasn't any vacancy, when the urgent fellow hinted that Mr. Smith might soon be out of commission on account of age. "Judge Ewing answered : There will be no vacancy as long as this faith- ful officer lives; he is allowed to come and go as he pleases, but takes no advantage of this privilege and is always at his post. "The old gentleman travels with his sons daily from Ingram station, takes his meals regularly, and is in good health and wonderfully active for one near- ing the four-score mark." A short time before his death a citizen whom he refused to admit to the court room, on account of the crowded condition of the room, struck him. He grabbed the man, held him until assistance arrived and took him before the court. The offender was sent to jail; but before court adjourned Mr. Smith went to the Judge and asked him to release his assailant. His request was granted. MORE POETRY THAN TRUTH. THERE was more poetry than truth and little of either in a description of Pittsburgh printed in the New York Sun in 1872, whose humor in regard to the city's smoke was of course a libel. The correspondent dated his letter Pittsburgh, Spring 1872, and here was his history of the city : Pittsburgh is hemmed in by hills. These hills are full of bituminous coal. Bituminous coal is sold by the bushel, instead of by the ton. Pittsburgh was hemmed in before sewing machines were invented. It is on a triangular plain, on a point formed by the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, and these two rivers form the Ohio. Fort Duquesne, celebrated in the old French and colonial wars, stood here. It is decayed to pieces now. The Orleans, the first steamboat that ever plied, sailed, glided, cleaved or cloved the western waters, was built here in 181 1. Pittsburgh was a village at the close of the Revolution, and some of the people look as if they had worn their clothes ever since the Revolution. On the 18th of January, 1785, the first catfish was discovered in the 44 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. Ohio, and the inhabitants to this day think them a species of the whale. The only ship I have seen here that resembles New York shipping, is a lugger. It was a woman lugging a pile of kindling wood home. In 1796 Pittsburgh had 1,395 inhabitants. One of 'em died. Then it had only 1,394 inhabitants. He died Sunday. They arrested a man once for dying on Sunday. By natural increase and several families moving in here, Pittsburgh has now more people than it had in 1796. It has a dingy appearance and its citizens are likewise. After 19 a. m. the people are awful dingy. A stranger would think from the looks of those people that he was in an African village. One can't wear a white shirt half the morning before it is half mourning, and before noon it will be so smoked that a piece of it answers in place of smoked glass to look at eclipses with. The smoke settles so thick on the shirt bosom that the citizens keep an accurate account of their milk bills on 'em, using a wooden tooth pick for a pen. Hence the term Pennsylvania. Monongahela whisky is grown here. Large numbers of the inhabitants are said to be abstemious— that is when folks is looking at 'em. Pittsburgh has schools. I hear that a boy was actually held spellbound in one of 'em the other day. He couldn't spell spool. The master kicked him down- stairs and then told the boy's father that he was initiating his son into the mys- teries of the solar system. He i did it with the sole of his boot. There is some complaint about this school. Last week a pious lad ran a brad awl into another lad about a yard, and when called to account about it laughed and called it awl- spice. That boy will never be a schoolmarm. New York City has 2,072 lager beer shops and 3,136 groceries, by which you will see there are too many groceries. Pittsburgh is full of 'em — both kinds. THE OLD EXPOSITION ELSEWHERE reference is made to the Old Exposition, but additional facts of interest were reserved for this chapter. Mr. Wm. Miller was president and Mr. Jas. J. Donnell, treasurer. Mr. E. P. Young in 1876 or 1877 was the cashier, and one year later became general manager. Mr. Joshua C. Patterson was secretary and an able assistant of Mr. Young. One year there was an exhibit by the Pearce Smokeless Furnace Company, who were allowed to put their appliance under the boilers operating the ma- chinery. It worked too well, in one way, as the intense heat melted the fire brick lining and the boilers were thrown out of commission. The manager was in a quandary until he conferred with Mr. James Mc- Kean, of Duff, McKean & Co., who had an exhibit of agricultural machinery in the building. His Traction Engine was "annexed" and operated the shafting, so that the public did not know of the plight of the management. Mr. McKean was a staunch friend of Mr. Young, and will be remembered as the president of the Union Trust Co. Messrs Miller, Donnell, McKean and MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 45 Patterson have gone to the great beyond and Mr. Young is the soie survivor of the management. One other prominent man beside Harry Davis had his start in business at the Old Exposition, and from a talk with Mr. Young as we sat by the fire, these additional incidents were gleaned: Capt. W. B. Rodgers was chief engineer in the Machinery Hall. Capt. Rod- gers had such good ideas of millwright work, that when we changed the Machin- ery Hall from the upper end of the building and placed it at the Grant Avenue entrance, we gave him steady employment all the year to superintend this work, and it was no mistake to have him do it, for like everything else he undertakes, he did it well. The Captain was ambitious and I gave him some advice and assistance in building a steamboat, later I named her the Tide, and afterwards he bought the Time, and you know "Time and Tide wait for no man." Capt. Rodgers' success was assured from the start; he couldn't help being one of the foremost men in the river business, and I can truly say he "has the sand." When I first engaged Paine (who had the fine displays of fire works at Coney Island) to come to our Exposition, the Board of Managers hesitated at the cost — but when I told them I would pay it myself if they would give me the grand stand receipts, they relented and said, "Bring him along." I would have cleared big money from the grand stand, and ever after I had no opposition in bringing big and costly exhibits to the show. I had the half mile race track lighted with electric lights and gave the first horse races by electric light ever held in America, or perhaps in the world. Great events took place during my management of the Exposition. We introduced the telephone in Pittsburgh. The first operating line was between the Expositioon and the Leader office. Mr. David was the manager. It was under the Edison patent, worked fairly well, but was soon superseded by one put in by the Bell people. Both systems being grounded on the gas pipes under the building led to much confusion of messages. Chas. B. McVay, operating the Bell phone, soon found out the trouble and changed his ground to the water pipes. Through Mr. Jos. P. Speer, one of our Board, I succeeded in hiring the first arc light introduced in Pittsburgh. It belonged to Harry Williams of the Academy. He intended putting it up in front of his show place, but by paying $300 for its use during the Exposition season we got possession and it was placed overhead in our galleries. It was the wonder and admiration of the crowds who came to see it. The little dynamo that generated the current was in Machinery Hall, and no insulated wire being obtainable, I went to my friend Dravo, at Hussey's copper warehouse, and secured enough bare wire to make a circuit of the building. It was placed overhead under the joist out of reach and worked very well, although it might have led to an accident, fire or some one's severe shock. We didn't know the danger then. The greatest day in the history of the Old Exposition was late in Septem- ber, 1883. Great crowds thronged the buildings all day and evening and some- time after all had left, the whole structure went up in fire and smoke, making the grandest display of fire works ever seen on Smoky Island. 46 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. AN HISTORIC CORNER. IN 1915 the sale of a lot corner of Stanley and McKee streets, Ingram, was the occasion of an article in the Pittsburgh Dispatch, by H. M. Phelps, on the "Cradle of the Churches in the Chartiers Valley." The lot had been deeded by Sam'l McKee, a well known lumber merchant and contractor of Pittsburgh, to the Chartiers Christian Union, in 1885, in trust, to be used forever for religious purposes, regardless of denominational lines. Mr. Phelps tells of the history of the organization for 30 years, and part of it is appended. "The sale obliterates the site of one of the most cherished and interesting institutions of the Chartiers Valley. From the unassuming frame abode of prayer that was reared there more than 25 years ago have sprung no less than five full-fledged churches. From that lot have gone forth influences that have molded character and thought in the valley, and from it have issued countless good works. After a while Percy F. Smith, well known printer and writer, moved out to Ingram, and through his initiative work a number of families were brought together to hold services. "At that time there were no churches in the vicinity. Thomas J. Ohl, one of the prominent residents, offered the use of his house for service, and it was expected that the first Sunday about a dozen persons would attend, but instead of this no less than 63 worshipers put in an appearance. Then Mr. Smith and others got busy and put up a building on the lot donated by Mr. McKee. "The Chartiers Valley Christian Union was formed and a charter procured. Then a board of directors was elected. Of the charter members it is believed that only the following are now living: Mr. Smith, his brother, E. D. Smith, W. J. Fairley, E. E. Phillips and D. J. Rex, the last named well known as a manufacturer of boxes in this city. E. D. Smith and W. J. Fairley have since died. "By means of subscription a church or meeting house costing $1,500 was erected, but it soon had to be enlarged at a cost of about $600. Everybody seemed to take an interest in this move to provide the valley with its first home of religion; one man gave an organ, another carpets, another furniture and so on down the list. When the building was dedicated it was entirely free of debt or any encumbrance. A union Sabbath school and a kindergarten were founded, and the flock grew and prospered. But it was not the intention of the giver of the lot or of the men establishing the church organization to found a permanent church. The little frame building was intended to serve merely as a cradle or nucleus for the upbuilding of congregations. The fact that any denomination could worship in the building made it practically impossible for any one de- nomination to occupy it permanently or for any great length of time. So it has come about that the members of the church have gone forth and founded churches of their own. "First the United Presbyterians withdrew and built the handsome church on Prospect avenue ; then the Presbyterians did likewise, and also built a church on the same street. After these two denominations had held services in the old church the Lutherans were given possession, and following them the Methodist Episcopals. The Baptists were the last to hold services there; this was until MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 47 about a year ago when the church was sold to a business man and removed. It is said that it is now doing duty as a paint shop. The Lutherans and the Methodist Episcopals withdrew and joined the churches of that denomination in Crafton, while the Baptists have their own church in the same borough. Other members went out from the old church and helped to establish congre- gations at Sheraden, now part of Pittsburgh. "When the building was no longer needed for the purposes for which the trust was formed, it was sold and the lot reverted to the widow of Mr. McKee. "Mr. Frank G. Ellis, now treasurer of the Presbyterian Sabbath School, was the secretary of the Union Sabbath School, and has been continuously in the service." Mr. Phelps concludes his article as follows : "The Presbyterian congrega- tion possesses one of the handsomest edifices in the country. Percy F. Smith was for years president of the board of trustees of the Chartiers Union. Among the charter members of the old church who have passed away may be mentioned George Duncan, who was cashier of the Iron City National Bank; Alfred Parsons, of the Dollar Savings Bank; Amos Petrie, Miss Sarah Frew and Robert Frew, and others who formed the neighborhood of Ingram more than 30 years ago." CHECKING CRIME. IN a Philadelphia paper 50 years ago was this item: "A minister in Western Pennsylvania, being unable to collect his salary, took the stove from the church and carried it home; whereupon the congregation had him arrested for larceny. The minister said he was sorry, but the church only promised him six hundred dollars salary, and in two years all it had paid him on account was a dozen clothes-pins, a bottle of hair-dye, a quart of lima beans, and six pounds of cheese in such a lively condition that it crawled up out of the cellar and went home again before the family had a chance to eat it! All he wanted with the stove was to break it up in bits and feed it to his children to stay their stomachs. The judge, who was a member of the church and hadn't paid his pew-rent for eight months, said this rapid growth of crime in the community must be checked by stern measures. It was the duty of ministers to preach the gospel, not to be so grasping for this world's goods; to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and not to indulge a sordid appetite for the food that perisheth. So he sentenced the minister to jail for two months, and said he hoped it would be a warning to him. After which the judge asked the prosecuting attorney home to eat a game dinner with him and to meet some ladies who were making up a box of clothing and provisions to send to the heathen, so as to waft the gospel tidings to the poor on Bariboogari Island. GET RID OF PESTS. A PLUMBER in Hartford 50 years ago accidently discovered that the smoke from a little charcoal fire under a tree will suffocate hundreds of worms upon it. A little sulphur placed on hot embers answers the same pur- pose. Get rid of the pests. 48 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. LETTER OF JAMES BUCHANAN. r HILE the guest of a well-known newspaper man of New York, at his w home in Bayonne, N. J., the following letter was exhibited among his collection of old manuscripts : "Washington, June 13, i860. "Robert Tyler. "Dear Friend : — I have hardly time now to say my prayers. Should they succeed at Baltimore in rejecting the regular delegates from the seceding States, and admitting those who are bogus, then Douglass will or may be nominated. In that event the unity and strength of the Democratic party is annihilated and Lincoln elected. This is not the worst. The Democratic party will be divided — sectionalized — and that, too, on the slavery issue. "Everything looks bad, not only for the party, but for the country. "JAMES BUCHANAN." LIBERTY OR COME HOME AGAIN. THE soldiers were going away to the front amidst the wildest enthusiasm. Hans Breitman enlisted and asked his best girl to make him a sash to wear around his shoulders, on which in big letters should be .the words, "Lib- erty or Death." When, after an engagement in which there was a terrible slaughter, Hans weakened he asked his girl if she could not change the lettering. She inquired in what way, and he answered, "Liberty or Come Home Again." WOMAN SUFFRAGE 40 YEARS AGO. FORTY years ago October 19, 1918, a telegram from Baltimore recites how an unnamed Circuit Court judge of Maryland had refused Mrs. Belva Lock- wood, a practicing lawyer of the Supreme Court, the right to appear in his court, saying: "God has set bounds to woman. Like the sun and moon they move in their orbits. Great seas have their bounds and the eternal hills and rocks cannot be moved." A voice shouted: "How about Hell Gate?" and the judge waxed wroth. THOUGHT IT A HOOVERIZED LUNCH. COL. HOPKINS, the rich city banker and manufacturer had as a guest Si Corntossel, his farmer friend when they were boys in Washington county, and at one dinner in honor of the guest the finest champagne and rarest olives were served. Asked later in the evening how he had enjoyed the bill of fare, the old farmer said : "Yer cider am good, but dang yer persimmons." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 49 GRANT AND COLFAX. D CORNELIUS was a contributor to the newspapers 40 years ago and • during the Grant and Colfax campaign issued the following campaign song, to the tune, "Bowld Soger Boy" : Come listen, merry lads, while I tell yez all, bedad, How I come to join the rads And vote for bowld Gineral Grant; And be afther doin' the same And yourself, ye'll never blame, For they're bound to win the game Who vote for bowld Gineral Grant. Now don't be afther sthayin' In the party where they're sayin' That the tax they would be layin' On the rich, and poor fornint, But vote for Grant and Colfax too. For Grant and Colfax "Hip Hurrah!" For they're bound to win the game Who vote for bowld Gineral Grant. Now would'nt it look funny To see ourselves, my honey, Yearly handin' out the money To be payin' uv the tax, Levied on the horse and cart That we need to haul the dhirt, And on the wheelbarrow Shovel, sphade, and pickaxe. Arrah, let us show them now That no more we will allow Them to lead us jist as tho Take care of ourselves we can't. But vote for Grant and Colfax too, For Grant and Colfax "Hip Hurrah!" For they're bound to win the game Who vote for bowld Gineral Grant. EXPLAINING A QUESTIONNAIRE A PROMINENT citizen of Pittsburgh had in his employ for many years an Irish maid named Nora. She was intensely loyal to the family and alert always to guard their comfort. One morning the Ward Register called at the house and said he wished to see the "boss." Nora conducted the inter- view, gave his correct name, but for his occupation had to call to the gentleman. Tell him "I'm retired." In a moment or so she called again, and said : "I did tell him you were in bed, but he said he wanted to see you anyhow. 50 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE COLD, COLD CARS. P. O'Shaughnessy, Esq., Sees Greenwood and Magee. TO properly enjoy the appended article, the reader will have to understand that Mr. Chris L. Magee, the well known politician, was one of the largest owners and president of the Consolidated Traction Co., and Mr. Greenwood was its general manager. There had been a fire at one of the barns, many cars had been destroyed and every available car was being used, no matter how aged and gray, and however lacking in window glass and other accommodations for chilly weather. O'Shaughnessy addressed his complaint to the Pittsburgh Leader : Phwat kind av a cowld dale is Chrisht Magee givin' us anyhow? Be me owld poipe Oi do tink Chrisht is anxshus to become th' king av a sittlemint av pueumonyacs. Shtrate cars widout shtoves in thim and the themomyter bucklin down to th' zaro pint. Oi got on wan av Chrisht's cars yisterday. Oi wor cowld, but be th' gods, th' car wor cowlder. Oi sez to the conductor, sez Oi : "Phy in th' name av Tim O'Leary, haven't yez got a foire in this wagon' ?" "It ain't my fault," sez he. "An' whose fault is it?" sez Oi. "The company's" sez he. "Th' com- pany b' jiggered," sez Oi. "That's phwat Oi sez," sez he. "How do yez kape warrum?" sez Oi. "We don't," sez he. "Phy don't yez kick?" sez Oi. "Might lose our jobs," sez he. "That's tough," sez Oi. "Indade it is," sez he. "Phy don't they put in shtoves ?" sez Oi. "The shtoves wor burnt up," sez he. "Phy don't they git new wans?" sez Oi. "Ask Greenwood," sez he. "But thot won't burn," sez Oi. "Phwat won't burn?" sez he. "Phy green wood," sez Oi," V wid that the conductor became th' only warrum ting on the car. "Yez tink yez are smart," sez he. "No, Oi'm cowld," sez Oi. "Yez ought to freeze," sez he. "Oi will if Oi ride far on yer car," sez Oi. " 'F yez don't like it git off 'n' walk," sez he. "Oi won't," sez Oi. "Well, don't git hot," sez he. "Oi can't," sez Oi ; "How's a felly to git hot in this ice box ?" sez Oi to him, sez Oi. "Kick to th' boss," sez he. "Oi will," sez Oi. Oi wint to Greenwood's offus, Oi did. Wud yez b'lave it, Oi fund that the cars wuz not th' on'y cowld t'ing connicted wit th' Consolydated Company fer th' Advancemint av Dochtors an' Undertakers. Th' cars wor cowld", they wor, but they wor loike oovens compared wit th' boss. Oi sez to him, sez Oi : "Phy don't yez heat yer owld cars ?" sez Oi. "No shtoves," sez he. "Phy don't yez git sum ?" sez Oi. "None av yer bizness," sez he. "But th' public is kickin' " sez Oi. "Th' public be damd," sez he. "But th' damd are not supposhed t' freeze," sez Oi. "Thin let thim go there," sez he. "Go where?" sez Oi. "Where they won't freeze," sez he. "Oi giss yez is thryin' t' hashten ther departur," sez Oi. "Yez are thryin' fer t' sind thim b' th' cowld storage route," sez Oi t' him, sez Oi. "We can't help it," sez he. "We're experimentin' wit heatin' apparatuses," sez he. "Yis, an' yer patrons do be freezin'," sez Oi. "Let thim freeze," sez he. Nixt Oi called on Chrisht, an' Oi sez, sez Oi: "Chrisht, phy don't yez hate yer cars ?" sez Oi. "We do," sez he. "Yez do in summer," sez Oi. "Oh, that's all right," sez he. "But yez'U soon be wantin' votes," sez Oi t' him, sez Oi. "Thin we'll put in shtoves," sez he t' me, sez he. "But th' voters will all be laid up wit pneumony be thot toime," sez Oi," "that is phwat's lift av thim," sez Oi t' him, sez Oi. "Well Oi'm goin' t' Floridy, where its warrum," sez he t' me, sez he. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 51 ■"n' yez'll hev t' foight it out wit Greenwood," sez he. "Oi giss th' traction com- pany owns th' town," sez Oi t' him, sez Oi. "Yis it do," sez he t' me, sez he. "An' phwat do yez be goin' t' Floridy fer?" sez Oi t' him. "T give Flinn a chance to elect a ma-yor," sez he. "But phwat about th' cowld cars?" sez Oi, gittin' back t' th' rale subjeck. "Oh, there not so warrum," sez he. "Oi t'ink not," sez Oi. "Oi t'ink not," sez he. Thin Oi wint out an' b' th' powers, Oi do be wonderin' at th' cheek av th' fellys who gobble the city shtrates fer nothin and play the game of freeze-out wit us. Oi wish Oi wur a dochter or undertaker. — P. O'Shaughnessy, Esq. STRAP HANGERS 50 YEARS AGO. OVERCROWDED street cars are not a modern nuisance, for I find among my archives the following rules proposed for the conductors of street cars nearly 50 years ago: Gather, pack and cram, Squeeze, push and ram ! Never too full a car was yet; Let the passengers simmer and sweat, Let the ladies complain and fret ; 'Tis only a pleasant jam ! Stuff, stuff, stuff! Of riders there's never enough. If you have only fifty-four, Another crush and there's room for more. Let them hang to the straps and around the door. People are pretty tough! Push, shove and stew, Squeeze them to jelly or dough! Then rush in and gather the fare, Never mind if dresses do tear, Stop you ears if some grumblers swear, It's wicked, in them you know. Ever be ready to pack! The car is only a sack; Full to the mouth it must be with folks; Treat their complainings as capital jokes, Man is a being who always croaks, Laugh behind his back. Always take them in, If there's only room for a pin! If they grumble after it's done, Say the cars for us, not for them, are run, Perhaps they may not see the fun ; But always take them in. 52 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. SAFE AND SANE FOURTH. IN 1906, Ingram patriotically observed the Fourth of July by a town demonstra- tion, and, in passing, it may be stated that the people of the place in the first full days of the Fourth Liberty Loan campaign in 1918 went over the top in its liberal quota of $100,000. Ingram also has the record of doing more than its share in all of the government's calls during the world's war. The ceremonies on the Fourth of July, twelve years ago, began at 10 a. m. and continued afternoon and evening, and on account of rain, concluded on the Saturday afternoon and evening following with races, fire works, etc. At the afternoon meeting all the old veterans of the Civil War were upon the platform, and after patriotic songs by the school children, Percy F. Smith delivered the address, which follows : In 1776, our forefathers made great sacrifices to obtain for us the price- less boon of Liberty ; and in 1861 and 1865, our fathers, brothers and sons, fought side by side and shoulder to shoulder, and alas, many of them laid down their precious lives to maintain and perpetuate that Freedom which we so auspiciously celebrate here today. You all know of the "Minute Men" who fought at Concord and Lexington ; of the "shots that were heard round the world," though they were from old flint lock muskets, so heavy that some of you could hardly carry them. Yes, they were Minute Men; they had no training as soldiers. They were coatless, hatless, barefooted — but their lives, their fortunes, their all was at stake. They faced the red coats, with leggins, tinsel and the sharpest of death dealing rifles; but they felt that might was not right, and trusting Providence and "keeping their powder dry," they marched into what seemed the very jaws of death. They did not know the word RETREAT. There was no rear, it was front everywhere, facing the enemy. Like at Chickamauga, they "followed the flag." In they plunged boldly, No matter how hotly The red contest ran. And listen to their rally cry to the awful battle; Fear ye foes who kill for hire; Will ye to your homes retire ? Look behind you — they're a fire. And before you, see who have done it. From the vale on they came, And will ye quail? Leaden rain and iron hail Let their welcome be. The Declaration of Independence you have heard read is the document that was purchased for you by this awful carnage in which there was a real rain of lead, and hail of iron. This Declaration of Independence guarantees "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," to the high and low, the rich and MEMORY'S MILESTONES. S3 poor, the great and small, without reference to creed, color or condition. The signing of that document gave us the Fourth of July — the Nation's birthday; and it also gave us this beautiful Star Spangled Banner, which we all so dearly love. And for one hundred and thirty (130) years, the Fourth of July and the Star Spangled Banner have been hallowed in America; and you and I trust they will be hallowed for five hundred (500) years to come. And Betsy Ross, who made the Banner, and those who designed it, wrought the most beautiful and charming emblem the nations of this world have ever seen. All honor to the men, say I, who have taken it upon themselves to popularize "America" and the "Star Spangled Banner," and to perpetuate them in the affec- tions of our school children. I would like to see every pulpit in our churches adorned with the Stars and Stripes as well as crowned with the Book of God. Whenever anyone mentions the dear old flag, it touches a tender chord in my heart. How all our hearts thrill as it waves at top mast in the marches of the Grand Army veterans, and when the tattered and torn battle flags catch our sight, we are fairly on fire with enthusiasm. In the great city of New York, some years ago, a very warm friend of mine was chairman of the Board of Education, and the first day he presided an application was presented for the privilege of erecting a flag staff on a school house. Several of the committee said it was against the policy of the Board for the reason that it caused leaky roofs. He expressed sorrow that it was against the policy of any school board to have the American flag floating from the top of any public building and added that he would like to see the starry emblem floating from the top of every school house in the land. He suggested that the policy be changed and he said to the school directors: "If we grant you permission to erect the flag staff, you will promise us that you will place a platform from the scuttle to the staff, so that the roof will not be injured." They said yes, and the permission was granted. In the 10th ward of the City of New York, where 85 per cent of all the children attending a certain school speak a foreign tongue, it was decided to build a new school house, and it was the first school house on Manhattan Island the specifications for which called for a flag staff, and that is the school house at the corner of Hester and Chrystie streets. There never has been a school house erected in New York since, that has not had specifications calling for a flag staff from which the American flag could float, and I might add that a similar rule prevails now in all the states. It seems to me such a picture is an object lesson well worth far more than the cost of the flag staff and flag, to see the American flag, the symbol of liberty, floating over every school house. And my friend in his enthusiasm added : "I would like to see the American flag raised upon every school house throughout this broad land, upon the assem- bling of every school, as it is on the National Capitol upon the assembling of Congress." And this has likewise come to pass. 54 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. All honor to the American patriots for their praiseworthy efforts to keep before the youth of our land the Fourth of July, this dear old emblem and the patriotic lessons it teaches, and I am sure I hazard nothing in asserting that you will be the better citizens and more thoroughly love country, flag and home, by reason of this occasion. FLAGS OF PENNSYLVANIA SOLDIERS. FLAGS which led Pennsylvania soldiers in the war for the suppression of the rebellion and the Spanish-American War were not long since moved from the State museum to the rotunda of the new State house, after being carried in procession at Harrisburg. Many of the men who bore the 351 standards and guidons were the color bearers of the regiments in the wars, and their escorts were veterans of 1861-65 and of 1898-99 and militiamen. The exercises were interspersed with singing by 150 school children. At the close of the exercises the roll of the regiments was called and the colors were borne into the Capitol. The flags transferred included 322 of the Civil War, 22 of the Spanish-American War, including the flag of the Tenth Infantry's Philippine campaign ; six unknown and three of special character, in- cluding one from the War of 1812. JOHN BARLEYCORN. NOW that John Barleycorn is passing, it is well to note some of the influences at work for the past 40 years which have contributed to his final throttling. Railroad managers have quit trusting the lives of their passengers with even moderate drinkers, for as great a man as General Fred Grant, son of the illustrious hero of Appomattox, is on record as saying "There are no moderate drinkers." The man who so claims will sooner or later be in the gutter. Out of 650,000 traveling salesmen in the United States, not over 10 per cent are addicted to liquor. Think of the 600,000 "commercial evangelists," as President McKinley, at Canton, Ohio, when I introduced to him 300 Western Pennsylvania salesmen, christened them, being teetotalers. It is not to be won- dered that these fine fellows organized the Gideonites and have placed 397,000 Bibles in the hotel rooms in the United States and Canada. "And still there's more to follow." On one great railroad system alone 785,000 observations were made along the line of compliance with the rules relating to sobriety, and but 158, or one in 800, failed to measure up to the company requirements. What a grand divi- sion of fighters against the kaiser and his agents — the saloonists. Mr. Wallace Rowe of the Pittsburgh Steel Company, in a letter to the judges of Westmoreland county, asked them to cut off all licenses at Monessen, Pa., where the great steel plant is located, and made the astounding statement that 20 per cent of the wages of their 5,000 employes is wasted for rum, thereby im- poverishing the families of the workmen. Not only so, but the men are unfit MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 55 for work on Mondays, and the cost of steel production is increased by the over- head charges for accidents, 85 per cent of which are due directly or indirectly to liquor. This wonderful waste, he said, adds to the high cost of living. The West Pennsylvania Railway Company recently ordered all liquor advertisements out of their cars, and between January 1, 1915, and January i, 1917, the American newspapers which refused to carry liquor advertising in- creased from 540 to 8,367. A leading statesman has said : "Take the profit from the liquor traffic and intemperance will be ended." Three million square miles of territory in the United States is now dry, more than two- thirds of the whole country. Over a thousand inmates of the state penitentiary of Pennsylvania petitioned the legislature to abolish "booze," so that on emerging from the prison they might be enabled to start life anew, saved from the temptation of the saloon and its hellish ally, the brothel. Of an enrollment of 400,000 school children in Kansas, 398,000 of the boys and girls have never seen a saloon. We will whale the kaiser and win the war for democracy when the tidal wave of prohibition in Pennsylvania sweeps into the sea the herd of swine into whose carcasses the legions of devils of rum are cast. Like a mighty army, Moves the Church of God; Brethren, we are treading Where the Saints have trod. The Pennsylvania Grange, 75,000 farmers, first asked for the closing of bars in social clubs, the enforcing of all liquor laws, anti-treating laws, county and local option, and, finally, national prohibition. At a gathering of Tailroad managers and employes, a well-informed presi- dent of one of the great lines stated $250,000,000 are annually paid for lives lost, people injured, and merchandise destroyed which has to be paid for, and for new equipment to replace the cars and engines destroyed. The absolutely sober men proposed that if the companies would tighten the rules and compel universal "teetotalism," the clear headed army of employes would guarantee to reduce the loss mentioned to $125,000,000, or one-half. Three thousand saloons went out of business in seven states on January 1, 1916, and old man Booze has been staggering ever since. Everybody has noticed his crippled condition. And ever and anon someone signing himself "Old Mortality" arises to re- mark that "prohibition does not prohibit," whereupon we reply : "Seven hundred newspaper men, 160 bankers, the governor and all the state officials and every political party in the state declare that prohibition in Kansas is a pronounced success." And the same may be said of West Virginia. The Schuylkill county coal operators, with millions of dollars invested, are fighting against "booze," claiming the demon hampers coal production. On every hand coal operators are begging the authorities to erect barriers to shut out saloons within a radius of five miles. If five miles, why not five hundred? 56 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. Military authorities in Camp Fremont, near Palo Alto, Cal., say: The liquor traffic in and around the camp is to be crushed — that's all. It has already been driven out of the camp at Rockford, 111. The Tennessee Coal & Iron Company use 120 carloads of coal per week, just half enough to run the breweries for one day. But says the distiller and brewer of Pennsylvania: What will you do with the ninety-five millions of dollars we have invested in the business in the Keystone state, and when our employes are turned loose what will become of them? Strange to propose such a silly question. No business with the same investment employs a less number of people. At the outside, a little over 7,000 employes are on the pay rolls, and there is disbursed annually for wages about three and a half millions, while the same capital invested in manufacturing, say shipbuild- ing, so much in demand just now, would employ 23,000 hands and disburse $19,000,000 in wages. HON. JAMES P. STERRETT JOHN A. OBEY, a popular conductor on the Citizens Passenger Railway, was stabbed to death as his car was passing over the old canal on Penn avenue at Eleventh street, by a young ruffian. One of the most impressive scenes ever enacted in the Oyer and Terminer Court of Allegheny County was the sentence of death of Keenan, by His Honor Judge Sterrett. Keenan shook his head in the negative when asked if he had anything to say, when Judge Sterrett said : Thomas B. Keenan — At the last term of this court you were indicted and tried for the murder of John A. Obey. You were ably defended by learned and experienced counsel, who did everything that could be accomplished in presenting your case in its most favorable light ; but an intelligent and impar- tial jury of your fellow citizens — a jury of your own choice — after a most patient hearing and careful consideration of the testimony, have pronounced you guilty of murder in the first degree — a crime at which humanity shudders, and one against which the law, both human and divine, denounces its severest penalty. In the law of God it is written, "Thou shalt not kill," "whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed." The law of the State, in this respect, is but a transcript of the Divine law. The penalty which it affixes to murder in the first degree is death. On the morning of the fatal deed you left your home armed with a dagger — an instrument of death. After spending the day in idleness and dissipation, you and your companions entered the car of which the deceased, John A. Obey, was conductor. While there your conduct was such as to offend your fellow-passengers and endanger their personal safety. Mr. Obey, in the mild- est and most courteous manner, admonished you that there were ladies in the car, and entreated you to behave. His admonitions and entreaties were treated with worse than contempt. When, in the discharge of a duty which he owed to helpless women and children depending on him for protection from insult and injury, he attempted to remove you from the car, you drew the dagger and shed his blood. Although the work of death occupied but a short time, the manner in MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 57 which it was executed, and the way in which you concealed the dagger under the cushion of the car, must have satisfied the jury that you knew full well, all the while, what you were doing — that the act was a willful, deliberate and pre- meditated murder. When the verdict was rendered it met the approbation of every member of the court then present, including the learned judge who assisted in the trial, and whose commission has since expired. A careful revision of the testimony and charge of the court since by Judges Mellon and Stowe, as well as myself, satisfied us all that the verdict should not be dis- turbed. We can see no just or legal exception to any of the proceedings. Under the law and the evidence before them, the jury could not conscien- tiously find any other verdict. The penalty attached to the verdict is a fearful one, but the crime is equally so. A young man in the bloom of life, kind and courteous, honored and beloved by all who knew him, is hurried from time into eternity, by your hand. While he is thus suddenly summoned to the bar of God, the law considerately and mercifully affords you time and space for repentance. While a vindication of offended justice may consign you to a premature grave, youf sad fate should be an awful warning to those who make an improper use of deadly weapons, and too lightly esteem human life. Do not permit yourself to be flattered by the hope that the sword of justice may be averted. There is nothing in your case, as it appears to us, that should reasonably justify any such hope. We would, therefore, kindly entreat you to make a wise and diligent use of your allotted time in preparing for that great change which awaits you and all of us. Kind and sympathizing Christian friends will esteem it a privilege to visit you, aid and assist you by their counsel and advice and point you "to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." It is indeed with unfeigned sadness that we now approach the discharge of the last and most painful official duty connected with your trial. As the humble ministers of the law, it is our duty to pronounce the dread sentence it has affixed to the crime of which you stand convicted — a duty from which we cannot shrink, however unpleasant it may be. The sentence of the law is that you, Thomas B. Keenan, the prisoner at the bar, be taken hence to the jail of the county of Allegheny, whence you came, and thence to the place of execution, and there be hanged by the neck until you be dead; and may God in His infinite wisdom have mercy on your soul. The prisoner received his sentence with remarkable calmness until the court reached that part of its remarks where he was told not to hope for mercy. At this point his lips quivered and tears glistened in his eyes, but he still stood straight and erect in the box and, all things considered, bore him- self with great composure. After the sentence he lingered a moment or two in the court room in conversation with his counsel, and then with elastic step walked back to the jail. The scene was altogether a most impressive one, and brought tears to the eyes of many of the spectators. There was not a single friend or relative, that we could see, of the prisoner present, and notwith- standing that the blood of a fellow being was on his hands, and the mark of Cain upon his forehead, his position, so sad and desolate, created for him con- siderable sympathy. 58 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. JOSEPH K. EMMET. HOW many of the readers of this volume will vividly recall Jos. K. Emmet, the versatile comedian in the German dialect, in his popular play of "Fritz, Our German Cousin." His singing and acting at once put him in the forefront and he soon piled up a fortune. His songs included "Sauer Kraut Bully," "Kaiser's Dog," and "I Got Bologna." The play sketched his first appearance to sing in New York, when the manager engaged him at $4 per week. Fritz immediately asked the manager "if he had enlargement of the heart," and further exclaimed he didn't think there was that much money in the whole world. Mebbe you will be interested in his song, "Kaiser's Dog," as I recall part of it. As I dook a lemonade de unner day At a blace vots ofer de vay, A veller came in and took a glass of gin, Und undo me did say, "Kaiser, don't you vant to buy a dog? He'll make good sausage meat; He's as lighd as a fairy and aintd very hairy, Und he's only got dree little feet." CHORUS. Oh, didn't dat dog look sweedt, Mid his stumpy tail and only dree feet? I told him to go out mit dat dog; Said he would when he got an egg nog. But as he vent troo de door He loudly did roar, saying "Kaiser, don'd you vant to buy a dog?" I followed him; I cannot told you vy; Und I hit him in de mouf and in de eye, When a policeman made a start And took dot veller's part; Saying for dot I should die, ah ! He didn't take me home off der door, But righd to the jail, do you see? And mit de poodle in his arm, He looked shust like a charm, Und he wag his stumpy tail at me. CHORUS. personal IRemintscences "Lest we forget.' //^ MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 61 SYLVESTER STEPHEN MARVIN. ABOUT the earliest enterprise of Mr. Sylvester Stephen Marvin was given the writer in confidence by his father. He was a small boy, attending school. One morning the sidewalk in front of the Marvin home was carpeted with snow, and the elder Marvin concluded an agreement with Sylvester to remove the snow before school opened, the price to be 20 cents. Returning at noon, Father Marvin found that not a sidewalk in the block, six houses, held a flake of snow. Sylvester had hastily contracted with the women to clean all the sidewalks in that block on the terms proposed by his father. He was, of course, highly commended. But a neighbor called the elder Marvin aside and told him Sylvester had farmed out the contract to school chums at 10 cents a sidewalk, and without turning a shovel, cleaned up 60 cents, and trooped off on time to school, with the whole outfit. Mr. Marvin displayed the same business traits as collector on a Missouri river ferry boat ; as a soldier during the Civil War, and at its close. He was the principal mover in the Pittsburgh Exposition Society, giving to the city an organization in which there were to be no dividends, but which provided an annual exhibition, the only one in the United States, and which provided also for the admission, free, of all school children. The World's War caused the first break in the exhibitions. Mr. Marvin is the Edison of manufacturing, and after having established one of the biggest baking enterprises in America, assisted in the organization of the National Biscuit Company. And when he should have retired to domestic life, he founded the Pennsylvania Chocolate Company, in Pittsburgh, the largest works west of the Allegheny Mountains, and just now being greatly enlarged. Personal attention is given daily to his manufacturing, banking and other interests, yet all through life he has had time to assist in establishing public institutions, such as the school for the education of the blind in Bellefield; the endowment of the Western Theolog- ical Seminary; the fund for pensioning veteran ministers of the Presbyterian Church, and many other worthy charitable, benevolent and religious enter- prises. Thomas Edison has nothing on our enterprising townsman, S. S. Marvin, whose leisure hours are spent in a charming home — "Meri-mont," at Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia. Notwithstanding Mr. Marvin is approaching the eightieth zone of life, at this writing he is personally supervising the erection and installation, in his old home town, of an addition to the chocolate works, which will double its production, thus adding this industry to Pittsburgh's already colossal pyramid of industries. Mr. Marvin made the address at the laying of the corner stone of the Chamber of Commerce building, being the only surviving charter member, and his life-size painting by Chase will ultimately hang in the Carnegie Art Gal- lery, Pittsburgh. So much has been said during the World War of the work of the Y. M.. C. A., and especially of the wonderful work of the Y. M. C. A. of Pittsburgh, that we must not overlook the day of beginnings, or the day of small things. The subject of this sketch is really entitled to the honor of subscribing the first thousand dollars for the first new building for the Y. M. C. A. in Pitts- 62 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. burgh. A committee called upon Mr. Marvin and asked him to subscribe an amount of money to pay the rent for the Y. M. C. A. headquarters in the building of Oliver McClintock & Co. They were promptly informed by Mr. Marvin that he would not subscribe one dollar to pay rent, but he would give them $ 1,000 toward a building that the Y. M. C. A. should own, and it has always been a pleasure to him to know he was the first citizen to propose a gift of $1,000 to secure the building at Penn and Seventh street. And, lest we forget, may it be said he has annually for 50 years given the association a substantial lift. E. S. MORROW, CITY CONTROLLER. IT HAS been said that a Christian man cannot be active in politics and main- tain his religious integrity. Our veteran City Controller, Eustace S. Mor- row, gives the lie to this statement from the political viewpoint. And there are others, both in politics and the wider domain of business. It is observable that God has often called men to places of dignity and honor when they have been busy in the honest employment of their vocation. Saul was seeking his father's asses, and David keeping his father's sheep, when called to the kingdom. The shepherds were watching their flocks when they had their glorious revelation. God called the four apostles from their fishery, and Matthew from the receipt of custom, Amos from the herds- men of Tekoah, Moses from keeping Jethro's sheep, and Gideon from the threshing floor. The explicit instructions of the Sovereign Ruler of the World to Jethro are in these words: "Moreover thou shalt provide, out of all the people, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all seasons." Clearly the above takes in Presidents and all public officers down the line to police magistrates. The Christian man should therefore dominate in politics as well as in business; and this does not imply perfection in either vocation. None of us live any day as we meant to live when we set out in the morning. We mistake, however, when we think that only great deeds make worthy service. To quote Rev. Henry van Dyke, we should live each day determined to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear noth- ing except cowardice; to covet nothing that is our neighbor's except his kind- ness of heart and gentleness of manner; to think seldom of our enemies, often of our friends, and every day of Christ. This will make us the highest type of Christian citizen, and our life will be a blessing to the world as well as the community in which we live. Follow this plan and one will be a success in business or politics. Character building is the grandest work in the world. Other things crumble and fall to nothing, but when we have helped God build a character, -we have built something that is going to live as long as God lives. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 63 So, "Count that day lost whose low descending sun views at thy hand no worthy action done." I know it is hard for the Christian man to live the simple life, but we must get down from our dignified perch and let the Master have his way in our hearts and lives. The simple life will give the Christian man in business and politics the influence the Gospel intends he shall have and will successfully controvert the oft-repeated challenge of the worldly man that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has ceased to attract men. "What we call democracy and solidarity are just the ancient Christian virtues of kindness, brotherhood and justice, adopted into national morality and made into laws, courts and administration. Christianity has not disap- peared, it has become incarnate in wider and more powerful political and economic organizations and institutions. Hence a Christian man, to find his duty, must not only study his Bible, but also his economics, politics and sociol- ogy; and there also he will discover his religion at work, demonstrating its truth and goodness by deeds. If religion is not dominant in business and law it is powerless in the petty circles of individual relations. "In the modem version the Good Samaritan not only takes the robbed and wounded to a hospital, but immediately goes after the robbers and brings them to justice; and for this he must have the help of other useful citizens, and of government itself ; hence nowadays the good man goes into politics." — Charles Richard Henderson in "Social Duties." The great want of the age is men. Men who are not for sale. Men who are honest ; sound from center to circumference ; true to the heart's core. Men who will condemn wrong in friend or foe, in themselves as well as in others. Men whose consciences are as steady as the needle to the pole. Men who will stand for the right if the heavens totter and reel. Men who can tell the truth and look the world and the Devil right in the eye. Men that neither brag nor curse. Men that neither flag nor flinch. Men in whom the current of everlasting life runs still and deep and strong. Men who do not cry nor cause their voice to be heard in the streets, but who will not fail till judgment be set in the earth. Men who know their message and tell it. Men who know their places and fill them. Men who know their own business. Men who will not lie. Men who are not too lazy to work nor too proud to be poor. Men who are willing to eat what they have earned and wear what they have paid for. These are the men to move the world. CHARLES M. SCHWAB THE war prosperity of Pittsburgh recalls the remark of Mr. Charles M. Schwab, made some years ago. He predicted that by 1920 the United States would be making 40,000,000 tons of steel annually. At that time the United States was producing only about 11,000,000 tons. The tremendous for- ward march of steel is now indicated by the fact that, two years in advance of the date of Schwab's prophecy, the United States is producing 50,000,000 tons of steel, and of course Pittsburgh produces the larger share of it. 64 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. JOHN A. BRASHEAR. THE name of John Brashear caught my eye the other day as it was re- ported he had been telling of the early years of the war, and at once my mind reverted to John's early experiences in mastering astronomy. The writer had heard of John Brashear through his family connection, Robert D. Bryce, of the glass firm of Bryce Brothers, having been one of Brashear's most devoted friends, helpers and advisers. Mr. Bryce took a deep interest in the work of the plain little millwright, who was modestly, but earnestly, working night and day to acquire knowledge of the planets, and spent many evenings in his crude laboratory on the Southside hills, which with the many evenings in his crude laboratory on the Southside hills, which, with the machinery, was built by Mr. Brashear near the head of Eighteenth street. Here was Brashear's machine shop, looking more like a library save for the machinery. For the genius of that shop was the devoted wife of Brashear, who kept it in trim "like a new pin." And as she watched the machinery grinding the mirrors, Brashear lay prone upon his back on the grassy slope adjoining, communing with the stars and planets. This work had been going on for days, and weeks and months without the sound of brass bands. Brashear, when his labors in the mill were ended, was moving in a current where the rattle of musketry, the roll of thunder, the noise of wheels in the busy streets and the laugh of a child mingled and blended in de- lightful harmony. The world little knew of the genius being developed on those Southside hills — many a time while almost the whole of the people south of the river lay quietly sleeping. So one night it was planned by mutual friends that the writer, a newspaper representative, should go to the laboratory of Brashear and take a trip with the local astronomer and relate his experience. Greetings from Mr. and Mrs. Brashear over, the faithful guardian of the shop proceeded with her duties while the doctor — no, John — and his guest lay down side by side to watch the panorama of the starry host. And what a moving picture show, for while the guest now and then followed a moving meteor, Brashear was fairly starting and stopping them in every direction. The guest would soon have been sound asleep on unpro- nounceable names had he not asked Brashear to realize that he was not talking to Dr. Schlessinger, but merely to a homemade newspaper reporter hunting an item in the primary department or kindergarten of astronomy, and then John figured the cost of a trip to the moon for the reporter at the prevailing railroad rate at the time — three cents a mile. Brashear was reminded that it was only Jonah who paid his fare and went ; that the Chronicle force had passes and that unless "free transportation" were issued the proposed excursion to the moon would likely have to be canceled, as the price of a round-trip ticket would be within the reach of only a Rockefeller or Carnegie. Well, the next day after the night at Brashear's laboratory the Chronicle told the discovery of one of the greatest astronomers of the age and in quite a lengthy article, too, and this truly modest man has not at this distant day dis- covered how in the world that young newspaper fellow could absorb as much as he did in that one interview of perhaps three, not over four hours' duration, and to this day he refuses to notice the writer of that article if he dignifies him MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 65 with the title of "doctor." He wants him to call him John, just as he did on that eventful night well on to 40 years ago, otherwise they must be strangers. So don't think it wanting in dignity if in the presence of foreigners, judges, dig- nitaries, etc., the writer should call him John — it's Brashear's way of cementing the affection for his first introduction to the public decades ago through the columns of a Pittsburgh paper. HENRY J. HEINZ. EMERSON said that every great institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man. These words may be truthfully uttered of H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, of which Henry J. Heinz is the founder and President, for al- though he has had able associates to whom he has given generous credit for their part in building up the business, his will and genius have been the originating and sustaining forces in the great enterprise which has grown to be the largest of its kind in the world. Mr. Heinz was born in Pittsburgh in 1844, the son of Henry Heinz and Anna M. Heinz, natives of Germany. His education was received in the public schools. His parents were devout members of the Lutheran Church, and it was their intention to fit him for the ministry, but he early developed inclinations and talents for commercial pursuits, and with the exception of a few years in his young manhood, his career has been quite exclusively concerned on its business side with the manufacture of pure food products. During his boyhood days he assisted his father, who was a manufacturer of brick on a small scale. His father's family having moved to Sharpsburg, where a garden of about three-quarters of an acre surrounded the home, the boy be- came interested in gardening; and as his garden yielded more than the needs of the family required, the surplus was disposed of among the villagers. The suc- cess which he made in his boyhood days in handling garden products suggested to him the idea of engaging in the business of packing food products, which was commenced in a very modest way in 1869. The first factory consisted of the basement and one room of the dwelling in which his father's family had previously resided, they having removed to a new home just before the new business was commenced. The first product was Horse Radish packed in bottles. Soon the packing of Pickles, Sauces and other appetizing foods was added. The young man acted upon a principle which he has since put into the form of a motto : "To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success." From the beginning he insisted upon the cleanliness of the surroundings and the purity of the products packed, and quality has ever been his aim. This policy resulted in the rapid growth of the new business, so that by 1872 he felt the need of greater facilities, and removed to Pittsburgh. The progress of the business has been continuous, and it has grown until the main establishment in Pittsburgh occupies a floor space of over thirty acres, which is increased to over seventy acres when all the Branch Houses are included. The Company operates sixteen branch factories, in addition to the main plant, three of these being in England, Canada and Spain. Forty distributing Branch Warehouses, one of which is in 66 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. London, are only a part of the machinery of distribution ; as, in addition to the Branch Houses, there are agencies in all parts of the world. Mr. Heinz has few business interests outside of the business he founded. However, he is a Director of the Union National Bank of Pittsburgh, and of the Western Insurance Company of this city. Although he has devoted but little time to outside business interests, he has given a great deal of it to various civic, philanthropic and religious work. Intensely public-spirited, he belongs to that class of representative American men who do not permit their private interests to preclude active participation in movements and measures which concern the public good. No project for furthering the welfare or adding to the beauty of his home city ever lacks his hearty co-operation and support. He is Chairman of the Food Commission of Pittsburgh and Vice President of the Civic Com- mission. Mr. Heinz is one of five gentlemen interested in the Pittsburgh Exposition, from its inception. His colleagues were Messrs. John Bindley, Henry J. Buhl, Albert P. Burchfield and S. S. Marvin, and for 15 years he filled the office of Vice President of the organization. It is not an overstatement to say that Mr. Heinz has reserved for religion the largest place in his program of life. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and for over twenty of the busiest years of his life he was a Sunday School superintendent. This is the department of religious effort that appeals most strongly to his imagination, because he realizes that good citizens are to be produced by training the boys and girls. His Sunday School connections at the present time include the presidency of the Pennsylvania Association, the chair- manship of the Executive Committee of the World's Association, and member- ship in the Executive Committee of the International Association; and he cheer- fully permits these relationships to make large drafts upon his time and means. He has been an extensive traveler, finding his recreation in visiting foreign countries; but even here his active mind and irresistible energy have found ex- pression in collecting rare and beautiful works of art, antiques and curios, and as a result, his home in the East End of Pittsburgh contains one of the largest and most varied private collections in the United States. ERASMUS WILSON THERE is no more interesting literary figure in Pittsburgh than Erasmus Wilson, "Quiet Observer" of the Gazette Times, who has been quoted as "a fine type of the best class among men." Speaking of a portrait by Frank H. Tompkins, of Boston, Mr. Wilson says when he posed in the latter's studio, he "just sat down and felt comfortable." That is the impression the portrait gives. It shows us Erasmus Wilson as he is in his middle seventies, a man without a "grouch," who has possessed himself so thoroughly of the genuine philosophy of life that he is not only able to think and act it, but also depict it in every feature. It gives us a hint of Erasmus Wilson's sublime youthfulness of heart as well as whispers to us of his seer-like vision. It perpetuates in our midst one of our best loved, humane and intellectual figures, a man who has written "The Quiet Observer" for over 30 years and who is still so fond of the joys of life and of serving his fellow man that he is chief of the Boy Scouts of Allegheny county. B MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 67 BENJAMIN F. JONES. ENJAMIN F. JONES, of the Jones & Laughlin Company, was a staunch Republican and one whom it was always a pleasure to call upon for financial aid in political campaigns. He generously signed for $1,000 to bring the National Convention to Pittsburgh in the interest of McKinley, and laugh- ingly suggested that Geo. Laughlin, his partner, be nailed as soon as he returned from his vacation, as he did the subscribing for the firm. Mr. Jones balked only at the suggestion of the daylight procession on the Saturday pre- ceding the McKinley Presidential election, saying he would give $5,000 more if the procession were abandoned. Few persons had any idea of the actual loss to a great concern like the Jones & Laughlin Co. by the daylight processions, but Mr. Jones said the interference with business was so great that he would gladly subscribe $5,000 more if the parade was called of. The firm would still be ahead. The proposed parade was thereupon abandoned, but the young Republi- can voters and laboring men demanded that the parade take place and their wishes were complied with. General Albert J. Logan was Chief Marshal, the marchers starting at 10 :30 a. m. and the tail enders completed the route at 6 130 p. m. Outside of the loss to the mill owners, the actual cost of the demonstra- tion was about $25,000. JOHN C. STEVENSON. MANY beautiful and touching incidents might be recalled in the life of the next person who "came and sat with me by the fire," notably his benev- olences and charities. But daily contact with him for years, and knowledge that his "left hand did not know what his right hand did," forbids my speaking on that line. John C. Stevenson, President of the Manufacturers Bank, among other enterprises, in eariy life was Secretary of a Building & Loan Association, and preparing for an annual meeting, had the author of this volume and Daniel C. Ripley appointed to audit the accounts. The committee met in the library of Mr. Stevenson's home in Hazelwood, where it was always a pleasure to be. Ripley was exceedingly fond of reading — by proxy — willing for somebody to do the reading for him. Mark Twain's "Roughing It" was upon the library table. Ripley glanced at it a moment, asked the author to Tead a chapter, lighted a cigar and settled himself in the chair for a "long win- ter's nap." Along about midnight, worn out with laughter, the committee adjourned, without even opening the books of the Building & Loan Associa- tion. But the genial boss notified the committee that there would be a meet- ing the next night for "business." And it so happened. 68 MEMORY'S MILESTONES.- JOHN HARPER WITH this name is at once associated the Bank of Pittsburgh N. A., now so named in order to retain the charter name granted in 1810. For years Wm. Roseburg was cashier and there was little need of a mercantile association in those early years. Mr. Harper and Mr. Roseburg constituted such an association and could give to a dollar the financial status of its busi- ness men and manufacturers. The bank may truly be known as the "Mother of Banks" as far as West- ern Pennsylvania is concerned, for at its conception, during the administra- tion of James Madison as President of the United States, its influence was felt all over the country. It is the only bank in the United States that never dis- continued the payment of gold for its notes, even during the worst financial panics. When chartered in 1810 the bank offered the State of Pennsylvania about $45,000 for 25 years of chartered privilege, money to be expended in public improvements in the "Western County" — Pittsburgh. Its records show that in August, 1847, great sums of gold came to the bank "by canal." Mr. Harper was also identified with many charitable, benevolent and other public institutions, and was one of its foremost citizens. While referring to the Bank it is a pleasure to note that the Directors have just retired for life, on full pay, Mr. Wm. F. Bickel, an employe for 37 years, and for a long time Vice President of the institution. Mr. Bickel was Superintendent of the Registry Department of the Pittsburgh Postoffice, and from that position accepted service in the Bank. His faithfulness through all the years past is justly rewarded and he is entitled to his well-earned vacation- a balky horse. MARTIN VAN BUREN DOUTHETT MARTIN VAN BUREN DOUTHETT was a newspaper reporter in Pitts- burgh for many years, and toward the close of his life retired to a farm a short distance from the city in the direction of Butler county. He was a tireless worker, witty and a versatile fellow with some very peculiar notions of his own. He had in his newspaper experience read many suggestions and cures for balky horses, but chose one of his own which proved an entire success. One day he came to Pittsburgh with his horse and wagon, and about the time he should have been at the farm, he was wrestling with the proposition of a balky horse. A half hour later Douthett astonished his friends and bystanders by trudging along the streets, hitched to the shafts ; and the procession was mov- ing without any further delay. The horse was fastened by the bridle rein to the rear end of the wagon and you could not have proved by the actions of the animal, that the equine had even been accused of a balky disposition. He seemed to enjoy the situation. And so did Douthett. We are not aware Douthett ever copyrighted this receipt for the cure of S* (£> " as "the bright youth from the Chronicle office who wasn't afraid to say he didn't drink liquor." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 73 HON. MARSHALL BROWN. HON. MARSHALL BROWN, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, besides dispensing justice with a wonderful leaning to mercy, has found time to pen some charming poems. His volume on "Wit and Humor" will be recalled as one of his most popular productions. But his "Little White Rose by the Wayside" was a gem which I recited "as we sat by the fire" and dis- cussed events since I first met him, a student in the law office of Brown & Lambie. Major A. M. Brown was his father. Here is the poem: Cool in the shadows and kissed by the dew, Deep in a tangled wood, A little wild rose by the wayside grew, Sweet, contented and good. Grew in the sunlight and grew in the shade, Innocent, pure and fair, Watched by the whispering winds in the glade, Loved by the songbirds there. Dear little rosebud, so fair and so good, Far in the country lone, Friend of the songbird and friend of the wood, Sweet rosebud — all my own. In the wildwood deep, in the early morn, And hush of a summer day, At the break of dawn by the old hawthorn, My rosebud passed away. And under the stars, it is said, each night, Back by the wayside lone, A rosebud fairy in blossoming white, Sleeps on a mossy stone. DR. GEORGE H. KEYSER DR. GEORGE H. KEYSER, druggist, Wood street, was tall, thin and of the Abraham Lincoln type of man. Just inside the front door of his store was a cabinet enclosing a human skeleton on springs. Across the street was the office of the Post newspaper. Keyser's clerks in the drug store called a small newsboy and as he entered the drug store to make his sale, suddenly opened the cabinet and rattled the skeleton. The youngster yelling at the top of his voice scudded across the street and sought refuge in the Post office. Dr. Keyser was incensed when he learned the cause of the commotion, and going to the door, kindly beckoned the little fellow to come over again. But no inducement could budge the lad, who, as he backed further away, said to the Doctor: "No you don't: I know you, even if you have your clothes on." 74 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. HON. P. C. KNOX THE following incident in the early career of the Hon. P. C. Knox is culled from the archives of Percy F. Smith. Ten thousand boxes of merchan- dise from a great manufacturing concern in Pittsburgh, Hostetter's Stomach Bitters, were entrusted with a steamboat transportation company, Gray's Iron Line, to be carried safely to New Orleans, "the ordinary perils and risks of navigation excepted." So read the bill of lading. When the steamer and its fleet of model barges reached an obscure land- ing, six or seven miles this side of Mt. Vernon, Ind., notice was given that a consignment of corn in sacks was there awaiting loading for the South. But the fleet passed on to Mt. Vernon and in that safe harbor tied up. With one model barge, that containing the 10,000 boxes of aforesaid mer- chandise, the steamer in charge of the fleet returned for the corn. But in rounding out from the landing after loading, the barge struck a hidden snag, careened and sank, and the cargo was a total loss. The owner of the 10,000 boxes of "wet goods" merchandise sued to recover the value thereof, on the grounds that the steamboat company, having "successfully braved the perils of navigation to Mt. Vernon, could not return and go over that course again protected by the clause in the bill of lading, 'perils of navigation excepted.' " The owner of the merchandise wondered that there should be any adverse con- tention of the proposition for reimbursement of the loss. And likewise did it strike the average layman, and especially those conversant with marine navigation. But Mr. Knox, counsel for the steamboat company, thought differently. He had just made his debut as a practitioner and the writer recalls the earnest- ness with which he defended his clients and fought the case. Plaintiff proved conclusively by captain, pilots and navigators generally, and by all precedents recorded in maritime practice, that the ordinary course had been followed, without accident, to Mt. Vernon and should have been continued uninterruptedly, to New Orleans. Mr. Knox not only vigorously contested this point, but had every one of plaintiff's witnesses admit that it would have been "unwise, unsafe and impru- dent, as well as impossible," to land. the whole fleet at that obscure landing; and that returning with one barge minimized the danger and was good judg- ment in navigation. Mr. Knox went further and greatly strengthened this position by produc- ing as his own witnesses captains, pilots and others engaged in navigation, who testified that there was no other safe way to load the cargo of corn ; and every one of them admitted that under similar circumstances they would take freight in the same way — that it was the custom to so make up their tow until it was complete for the whole journey. Of course, the case hinged largely on the arguments, and Mr. Knox earnestly contended that he had proved "that custom established the safe course of proceeding," and hence "was higher than the law." After the case had been submitted, Mr. Knox asked interested friends what they thought of the outcome, and their frank answer gave him somewhat of a jolt. He thereupon displayed his sanguine disposition by an offer to give or receive a handsome suit of clothes on the result. He won the suit — not the clothes, but the suit at law. He would have won the other, too, but there were no takers. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. ;5 HON. WM. B. McCLURE THIS Honorable Judge of the Courts of Allegheny County was one of the most earnest, sincere and faithful jurists in the State, an able lawyer, close student, and above all, most humane. He was kind, exceedingly so, to young newspaper sleuths, and helped them over many hard places. One night report reached the old Gazette office that a certain matter had been decided which had not reached, officially, the editorial room, and comfirma- tion of the report could be had only from the Judge himself. The veteran reporter of the time, Wm. Anderson, one of the Judge's favorites, was finally prevailed upon to call at the Judge's house. It was then past midnight, and "Billy" had misgivings as to what might occur when he awakened the Judge from his slumbers. He cautiously approached the house, pulled the door bell vigorously and in a twinkling the door was opened by the Judge. He welcomed Anderson, disarmed all fear by announcing he was writing an opinion in an important case, which he expected to render when court opened ; commended Anderson for his newspaper enterprise; confirmed the report; and Anderson not only had a "scoop," but next day followed up his lead and had the full decision in the second case. Sixty years ago, October 19, Judge McClure charged the jury in the famous slave kidnaping case of George Shaw, indicted for abducting George Harris (o£ "Uncle Tom's Cabin" notoriety), a free mulatto, from Pittsburgh to Alabama. The entire charge occupied two colums in the Dispatch, and began with a poetical stanza, of which one line reads : "I would not have a slave to till my land." The judge was only stating his personal convictions about slavery and he then pro- ceeded to state the law. In one hour the jury returned a verdict of guilty and appeal was noted. HON. JOSIAH COHEN JUDGE JOSIAH COHEN was present on one occasion as I pleasantly rehearsed some incident in the life of the men of fifty years ago, and wondered if when his chair was vacant I could find something good to say of him. Judge Cohen endeared himself to the people of the county as he partici- pated in the banquet at the Monongahela House to General Grant, on the occasion of the return of the bronzed hero from his tour around the world. Josiah Cohen responded to a toast, and it was the conclusion of his wonder- fully eloquent and patriotic address that obtained him favor. He thanked the committee for honoring his race, for the special privilege of being the one chosen for the time, and said, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." It was one of the most impressive thoughts at the banquet. 76 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. EUGENE M. O'NEILL, ESQ. HORTLY after Mr. Eugene M. O'Neill made his appearance in the news s department of the Dispatch, of which his brother Dan was editor and one of the owners, there was a terrible accident on the Panhandle Railroad, at Corks Run trestle and fill, about two miles west of Pittsburgh. It was the wreck of the Pacific Express, and the rear sleeping car left the trestle where it curved and rolled over and over down an embankment until, according to Mr. O'Neill's brilliant account, "it lay at the bottom of a deep ravine, a chaotic mass of broken timbers." The "devils" in some of the offices who had been promoted and were rival reporters would have been jealous of Mr. O'Neill had it not been for his genial disposition and kindness and his ever-ready, original wit and humor and cordial friendship. The railroad managers manifested a deal more than ordinary interest in the Dispatch as they read the introduction to that accident the next day. As I recall it, here it is : "Tuesday morning, at an early hour, while Pittsburgh was as yet buried in repose, and no sound of human voice went up from the thick canopy of fog which overhung it, nor feet, save those of the solitary guardian of the peace, treading his lonely beat, had disarranged the soft carpet of snow that had silently fallen during the night, a train sped westward from the Union depot." That article and a New Year's greeting, which he soon after penned, easily placed him in the front line of the most graceful as well as forceful writers in Pittsburgh, and it was not long until he was high in the scale in the editorial department of the paper, as well as one of its owners. JOHN W. CHALFANTS BAROMETER. JOHN W. CHALFANT'S barometer of the fluctuations in the iron business was given at a National Convention of iron masters several years ago. Said this remarkable captain of industry : "There are six or seven years when we make money 'hand over fist,' then 'mushroom' concerns spring up over night, get in on the top wave, and cut prices. For the next six or seven years, we do well to 'keep level,' and for the remaining six or seven years of the 20 years, we lose money like the devil." COL. HENRY WATTERSON THE retirement of Colonel Watterson, one of the most widely known men, and editor of the Louisville Courier Journal, from active Journalism, recalls his famous expression concerning the fatal course of a political party, viz. : "It is marching through a slaughter house to an open grave." And that's where the Kaiser is heading. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 77 E. M. BIGELOW WINS AND LOSES EDWARD M. BIGELOW'S fame as a city builder will ever be great, and the father of the Parks has many achievements to his credit, including the Bigelow boulevard. But he went against the Board of Directors pi the Western Pennsylvania Institution for the Education of the Blind in their effort to secure the site from Mrs. Schenley, and "lost out." One day, with a shawl over his arm and a grip in his hand, as he came out of Old City Hall, looking as if he might be going to Cape May, he was actually on his way to England and Scotland, to do what? To use his own language, "To pull the legs of Pittsburgh non-resident millionaires" for big gifts to Pittsburgh. To shorten the story, he came back with the Schenley Park scheme prac- tically in his coat pocket, and it was not long until the magnificent Schenley Park, under his skillful manipulation, was a reality, instead of a dream. Some time before the park was ready for the public, "Ed" discovered that it must have a grand entrance. Fifteen acres of Schenley ground was available, and Mr. Bigelow generously ( ?) proposed to Mrs. Schenley that on account of her generosity, he would recommend to the city that the necessary acreage be purchased and paid for. Mrs. Schenley was advised by real estate men that the property was worth $200,000 or $300,000, but Mr. Bigelow forwarded to her a transcript showing the valuation on the desired acreage, said valuation having been made by the agents of the estate. It was shrewdly suspected, however, that the valuation, $75,000, on the whole tract, might have been made when the tax assessor was around, but when it came to a possible sale, to use the language of a German speculator, "the market schlipped up a leedle." To make a long story short, Mrs. Schenley, without hesitation, accepted "Ed's" offer, assured that the entrance would be the "crown jewel" to her beautiful gift. About this time Col. William A. Herron had interested himself to obtain from Mrs. Schenley the gift of a site for the Newsboys' Home, and also the donation of a piece of property for a school for the education and maintenance of blind children. The State had enacted a law to provide $250 per year for the education and maintenance of the blind wards of the State, and Miss Jane Holmes, in her will, had set aside $40,000 for such a school when an additional $40,000 was raised. Colonel Herron was one of the founders of the school. The money was raised and the school opened in a temporary building in Lawrenceville, where it remained until the beautiful building in Bellefield was erected. And now to return to Mr. Bigelow. He did not want the school located in Bellefield, as he had in his mind his park scheme, and he wanted Carnegie's gifts surrounded by anything and everything in the world, but not the school that might present such sad sights for the people as blind children on the campus. He magnanimously offered to secure the old Schenley residence and 10 acres out on Stanton avenue, in the Eighteenth ward, and warned the writer and those in whose hands were the interests of the popular school for the education of the blind that if they persisted in their effort to induce Mrs. Schenley to donate a site in Bellefield he would use his best endeavors to knock us out entirely. 78 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. Mrs. Schenley may have feared when our friend "Ed" so earnestly pushed for the Stanton avenue site that he might possibly have in mind the acquisi- tion as a further gift of all the property remaining between Bellefield and the Eighteenth ward for additional park purposes. So the promoters of the institution got together and, finding Mrs. Schenley willing to donate either site, made a compromise to accept the site in Bellefield, a little over five acres (she was willing to make it 10) instead of the Stanton avenue site, which by a consensus of opinion was considered too much "out of the way." But Mr. Bigelow was a persistent fellow. Had he not been so the City of Pittsburgh might not have been rated as the workshop of the world — some city, indeed, that pays out two million dollars a day in wages, but a city also beau- tiful as well as useful. And he vouchsafed to the writer one day that unless we accepted the Stanton avenue site, the directors of the school would have to buy a site, or look elsewhere for a gift. There were times when our enthusi- astic city builder had the board "up in the air," but at this particular .time of confiding in the secretary, there was snugly ensconced in the secretary's office the deed from Mrs. Schenley for the five acres and some perches in Bellefield, on which the present school buildings stand. And I am sure no one was prouder of the school and its attainments than Mr. Bigelow. It ranks as one of the best schools of its kind in America. CHARLES W. HOUSTON MR. CHAS. W. HOUSTON, one of the founders of the Press, was in the newspaper business when 10 years old. With three companions he pub- lished "The Little Chief," 4 pages, 6x9. Capital invested $4.00; length of copartnership 6 weeks; dividends 100 per cent. Dissolution of partnership followed, Houston receiving a "composing stick and galley," as his share of the assets. Charley was the first page boy Pittsburgh Councils employed, and later served for several years as assistant City Clerk. His untiring energy re- sulted in the establishment of the Press. Called upon to respond to a toast at a banquet on one occasion, Houston got rid of the task with this anecdote. He said he was reminded of the story of Sammy Doolittle, the school boy and Miss Hodgett, his teacher. The latter had offended the boy, and on his slate he wrote — A little mouse stole up stairs, To hear Miss Hodgett say her prayers. Showing it to the children they giggled and Miss Hodgett commandeered the slate. She ordered Sammy to the black board and told him if he did not within five minutes add two lines to the couplet, she would give him a severe whipping. There he stood without a word and the five minutes expired. Seizing the ruler and Sammy's hand, she raised the instrument to strike, when Sammy fairly exploded: Before me stands Miss Hodgett, She will strike and I will dodge it. A month or so afterward a friend related how he had been at a banquet and heard a man win great applause, when he got off the best sally of the evening — the Miss Hodgett story. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 79 RICHARD REALF FOR some days a remarkably attractive personage had been furnishing incidents developed at Frank Murphy's Old Home Temperance meet- ings, to the Pittsburgh Commercial. He gave the. name of Richard Realf, and Mr. Brigham soon made his acquaintance, with the result that this noted Eng- lishman, poet and author, was very soon on the editorial staff of the paper. He was a graceful but forceful writer of both poetry and prose, a most eloquent and convincing orator, and attracted national attention by his famous production entitled "Hymn of Pittsburgh." Leaving Pittsburgh after a very successful career in journalism and lec- turing, he went to California, where his brilliant but sad life came to an end at his own hand. In a pocket of his vest, on a scrap of paper was found his last poem : *"De mortuis nil nisi bonum." When For me the end has come and I am dead, And little, voluble, chattering daws of men Peck at me curiously, let it then be said By some one brave enough to speak the truth — Here lies a great soul, killed by cruel wrong. Down all the balmy days of his fresh youth To his bleak, desolate noon, with sword and song And speech, that rushed up hotly from the heart, He wrought for liberty; till his own wound (He had been stabbed), concealed with painful art Through wasting years, mastered him and he swooned And sank there where you see him lying now With that word "Failure" written on his brow. But say that he succeeded. If he missed World's honors, and world's plaudits, and the wage Of the world's deft lackeys, still his lips were kissed Daily by those high angels who assuage The thirstings of the poets — for he was Born unto singing — and a burthen lay Mightily on him, and he moaned because He could not rightly utter to this day What God taught him in the night. Sometimes, nathless, Power fell upon him, and bright tongues of flame, And blessings reached him from poor souls in stress; And benedictions from black pits of shame; And little children's love; and old men's prayers, And a Great Hand that led him unawares. So he died rich. And if his eyes were blurred With thick films — silence ! He is in his grave. Greatly he suffered; greatly, too, he erred; Yet broke his heart in trying to be brave. Nor did he wait till Freedom had become ♦Translation — "Concerning the dead, speak nothing but good." 80 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. The popular shibboleth of the courtier's lips; But smote for her when God Himself seemed dumb And all his arching skies were in eclipse. He was a-weary, but he fought his fight, And stood for simple manhood; and was joyed To see the august broadening of the light And new earths heaving heavenward from the void. He loved his fellows, and their love was sweet — Plant daisies at his head and at his feet. At his funeral in San Francisco hundreds of school children were present, and his casket was literally covered with daisies. The Pittsburgh Dispatch of October 30th, 1878, in a column notice of the career of Realf, printed his exquisite poem of "Indirection." Said the paper: "He died from morphine at the Windsor Hotel, Oakland, Cal., a suicide because of the court's reversal of a divorce obtained from his much older wife. He was employed in a mine there, was born in Lancashire, emigrated to Kansas, became John Brown's private secretary, and was lost to sight until news of his death. Was the protege of Lady Byron." The Dispatch, in reproducing this incident in its review of events 40 years ago, says: "Realf is now recognized among America's real poets." MR. E. D. SMITH THE father of the cheap, popular railroad excursions from Pittsburgh was without question Edward D. Smith, for thirty-six years connected with the Passenger and Ticket Department, first of the old Pittsburgh & Connells- ville Railroad, afterward the Baltimore & Ohio system, East and West. The road was about as unpopular as any railroad in the country, and under the management of the Garretts earned scarcely more than $20,000,000 a year. But it suddenly began to be advertised as the "Picturesque B. & O.," and put on airs until the present time its earnings exceed the $100,000,000 mark, and McAdoo has made it the popular route from Chicago to Washing- ton, via the Lake Erie, at New Castle to McKeesport. Mr. Smith suggested low fare excursions to Atlantic City, Washington, Fortress Monroe, Richmond, Cumberland, Wheeling, etc. But the management at Baltimore notified him he was to get revenue instead of seeing how much he could spend in advertising, besides giving the people almost free rides. And finally, the people would travel when they had to and pay full fare, and no "bargain counter" offers would induce them to travel. He soon proved to the "Old Guard" at Baltimore they were mistaken when by a specially low rate he took the Knights Templar on special trains "away around the horn" to Philadelphia; thousands to Atlantic City, Wash- ington, Fort Monroe, etc. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 81 The excursions to nearby towns taxed the road to its utmost. Mr. Smith's superior officers at Baltimore joked him about his first Deco- ration Day excursion to Ohio Pyle Falls, on the Youghiogheny River, 75 miles distant, a short time after the road was opened between Connellsville and Cumberland, and placed five cars at his disposal. He asked for more and him- self gathered together from branches 20 cars, all of which were crowded. No greater advertisement was ever planned for the B. & O. than those popular excursions. SAMUEL HARDEN CHURCH SAMUEL HARDEN CHURCH, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Lines, and President of the Carnegie Institute, author of the popular work on ,r Dliver Cromwell," got some of his inspiration about books and authors when quite a young fellow. Half a century ago the principal libraries were sus- tained by well-to-do Sabbath Schools. Hazelwood had two such enterprising schools, the Hazelwood Christian and the Presbyterian. An "Old Folks" con- cert was given in the public school hall, Father Kemp's old Song Book being used, and the proceeds, amazing for the time — $150 — went to the two schools, to purchase new libraries. Mr. Church was a joint manager of the enterprise and contributed greatly to its financial as well as artistic success. And then he went off and bought a lot of books, all of which had to be censored for a Sabbath School Library. That task finished, he took a vacation for a few days and gave to the world, his "Oliver Cromwell." And then Mr. Carnegie discovered him and learned that by his help his tasks in his philanthropies would be greatly lightened. ALEXANDER M. BYERS. THOSE closest to Mr. Alex. M. Byers knew him best and most appreciated him. Founding an immense enterprise, he was a stumbling block in all proposed consolidations, and after refusing all offers for merger with kindred concerns, was threatened with annihilation. This brought forth his final ulti- matum, viz. : That his tormentors might speedily reach a hotter place than his office — much sooner than they would close him up. And the greatest pipe combination ever formed only spurred the little "Mercer county farmer" to greater enterprise in wrought iron pipe manufacture, which soon gave him the lead in America. He was ably seconded in this great enterprise by his brother, Ebenezer M. Byers, much his junior. 82 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. COL. WM. PHILLIPS A REAL strike-breaker was Col. "Bill" Phillips years ago. His weapon was terror. The strikers were boys in his earliest enterprise, glass man- ufacturing, and the lure to walk out was the circus. Later in life he ran a railroad and the operation of it suited Colonel Phillips, at least. Col. William Phillips, better known as "Bill" Phillips, was a unique char- acter in Pittsburgh 40 to 50 years ago. His earliest business venture was in the manufacture of glass products as Phillips & Best, on old Try street, Second ward, Pittsburgh, where at a remote time the Pennsylvania Canal passed to the Monongahela River. His prominence in the industry was due mainly to his ability to settle incipient strikes — especially among the boys— the "carry- ing in" boys. The strikes occurred periodically, notably about the time the circus was due in the city, and the Colonel frequently adjusted a threatened lockout with a stout stick applied to the backs of the "walking delegates." He would shake his head almost off his shoulders, flinging out his heavy hair, and make believe he was in a frame of mind to wipe them off the map. He often laughed at the success of the scare, and seldom inflicted much actual punishment. He was connected with Lyon, Shorb & Co., iron manufacturers, and afterward president of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, now the Buffalo & Alle- gheny Valley division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This position he occu- pied at the time of his death, and it was due to his energy that the "Low Grade Division," from Redbank to Driftwood on the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad, was built. This road crosses the Allegheny Mountains at the lowest grade known in railroading. He was a member of City Council for many years, and quite prominent in Republican politics, and was closely associated with Thomas Steel, City Controller; also Controller Robert J. McGowan, two of the best controllers the city ever had; also the present Controller, E. S. Morrow, then city clerk. He was also the staunch friend of Mr. Daniel O'Neill and Mr. Alexander W. Rook, who early in the sixties had purchased from the heirs of J. Heron Foster the Pittsburgh Dispatch. He was the adviser and supporter of "Bob" Mackey, Chris Magee, H. W. Oliver, Jr., John Torley, John Shipton, Dr. A. H. Gross and many others. He was a bachelor, genial, kind-hearted, fond of anecdote and of joking with friends. It is related that at the annual meetings of the railroad company he was constantly reminded of the promised day of dividends, which unfortunately never crystalized. On one occasion, when quizzed about dividends, he elo- quently said : "Gentlemen — I trust you will show more generosity and public spirit and thought for the future. I am building up the railroad and arranging it so that the dividends will be paid to my children." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 83 The late William K. Nimick started the laugh which the stockholders caught up, when the Colonel looked around and to the representative of one of the daily newspapers sitting next to him said: "Do you see anything to laugh at?" As the railroad developed there were numerous promotions from time to time and also new offices created. But it was noticed that Thomas M. King, the master of transportation, never got beyond that title or office. In the Mayor's office one evening friends of Mr. King tackled Colonel Phillips and demanded that he be put in the line of promotion at once. Rising and drawing himself to his full height, he said: "Maybe you fellows know how to run a paper and you fellows the Councils and the city ; but I think I know how to run a railroad. Anyone with ordinary executive ability can fill an office in the executive or accounting department, but it takes brains, sir, to operate the road, to make the wheels go round, and Tom King suits me and will con- tinue to move our trains as long as I am president of the company. But, boys, don't forget that when it comes to the point of compensation, King, if he doesn't lead the best paid official, is a close second." And Mr. King did stay with the company until he voluntarily resigned and went with the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road, which he practically resurrected, and in recognition of valuable service became its president. HON. JOHN M. KIRKPATRICK HON. JOHN M. KIRKPATRICK, who had been District Attorney, was unusually severe on violators of the law, especially those whom he had prosecuted before being elevated to the bench. On one occasion he sentenced the Lees, father and son, to seven years for a felonious assault on Officer Geo. Johnston, who had orders to raid old Philo Hall, on Fourth avenue, of which they were the proprietors. In commenting on this, he said: "I had pleasure in imposing the sentence and only wish I could have made it seven- teen years." The Judge went abroad and on his return lectured on the Old Country. He told many laughable incidents, and one on himself that at first did not give rise to a disposition to laugh. One evening, in a famous concert garden in Germany, he suddenly came under the notice of several heads of families seated at tables enjoying their "stein." They raised their glasses, the Judge responded, and several times the courtesy was repeated. A short time later ushers deposited a basket full of checks on his table to be paid at the cashier's desk. The Judge was agitated, but directed the usher to gather up the checks and accompany him to the cashier. He did so. There were 106 checks, and the cashier remarked, "$1.06." He had never had so much fun in all of his life for $1.06. 84 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. BARTLEY T. CAMPBELL. BARTLEY CAMPBELL, when not on the stump making the most wild- eyed Democratic campaign speeches, was writing for some of the papers, not only news items but stories, and "Almost Lost" was soon followed by "Peril," "Through Fire/ etc., etc. In one of his news articles he libeled a clairvoyant in Allegheny City, and he spent a few days with his friend, the warden of the jail. This was capital- ized to the limit and his genius was directed in the way of play writing. And there were so many of them that I cannot recall their order. "The Galley Slave," "The White Slave," "Through Fire," "My Partner," etc. The latter was perhaps the best he ever wrote. Asked one day if he had a villa at Bar Harbor, he replied, "Nay." "A yacht at Cape May ?" "Nay. No, sir — naught of these ; they will do for the fellows in the plays, but I'm salting down my gains in government bonds." He was genial, courteous, kind-hearted, generous, and was a most pro- digious writer. He could think a story or play and grind it out almost in a night. He was never known to be in a bad humor and was a universal favor- ite. He was unattractive in appearance, but made up for all shortcomings by his charming disposition. JAMES MILLS. MR. JAMES MILLS was regarded as the best general editorial writer on politics in Pittsburgh. His only rival was Mr. Daniel O'Neil, of the Dispatch, and with him in local politics only did he lead. Mills' knowledge of State politics was where he shone. He reported the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1873 for the Commercial Gazette, and it was conceded to be the best report published in the State. He was afterwards political editor of the Post, a position he held until the close of his life. He was the soul of honor and a staunch friend. JAMES B. SAFFORD. ON OCTOBER 1, 1918, Mr. James B. Safford, after 26 years service as Superintendent of the P., C. & Y. R. R., retired — a veteran of 70 years, entitled to a well-earned rest and pension. Mr. Safford spent the whole of his life in railroading, except for the period of the Civil War, when, like many other brave fellows of the day, he answered his country's call, and remained in service until the close of the war. Mr. Safford lives at Crafton, is well preserved for the "3 Score and 10 Club," a good story teller, genial companion and solid, substantial citizen, interested in every movement for the welfare of his fellow man and country. I was quite delighted to have him "sit with me by the fire." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 85 HON. M. CLYDE KELLY. THERE was a day when the name Clyde Kelly was as familiar on the foot- ball fields of Ohio and Pennsylvania as it is in the realm of politics today. Almost 20 years ago little Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio, where hundreds of Pittsburghers have been educated, had "Kelly Back" as a play which was certain to start trouble for the enemy in any gridiron contest. I was talking the other day to a minister who graduated from little Mus- kingum College. He told me that "Kelly Back" was a call which he would remember always. "When that signal came in one of our football games," he said, "there was no attempt at secrecy by mumbled signals. Every player on the other side knew that Clyde Kelly was going to carry the ball in a straight line plunge. The lithe youngster in the line, without a single protecting device on him, would drop back in front of the fullback. "Immediately the ball would be snapped back into his hands, and with head down and comrades at his side he would hit the line with the force of a cannon ball. Very seldom did the opposing line fail to crumble and very seldom did Kelly fail to lay the ball down some yards nearer the enemy's line. "I have seen opposing players attempt to disable him by kicking his brown head with mailed shoes, and dropping with stiffened knee on his back, but he always seemed to have a charmed existence and after each scrimmage would emerge with the Kelly smile on his face." That has been Clyde Kelly's favorite tactics from that day to this. Into many a stone wall of political opposition he has gone without protection, without money, and risking everything he had on the issue. He bares his head and receives all the blows the enemy can give. And that forward plunge has never failed to bring comrades to his side, and it has put many an oppo- nent out of the game. He seems to have delighted in tackling the thing called impossible. At the age of 16 he was successfully teaching a country school from which a veteran pedagogue had been forcibly ejected by his pupils. He was a news- paper publisher at 20. He was the youngest member of the Pennsylvania Legislature when elected to that body and the youngest Member of Congress when he first went to Washington. He was the first Member of Congress to be made a member of the powerful Rules Committee in his first term. He went to France this summer to see "his boys" from his district in action "over there." When he found the boys of the old Eighteenth, Pitts- burgh's regiment, were in the front line, facing the Germans, he insisted on seeing them. A high officer told him it was impossible, that the boys were under a hail of shells. "They are taking the chance and so will I," said Kelly, and he walked for a mile along a road riddled by German artillery in order to say a word of good cheer to hundreds of Pittsburgh boys in the front trenches. 86 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. GEORGE S. OLIVER. PRESIDENT GEORGE S. OLIVER, of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Com- merce, had occasion to introduce Hon. M. Clyde Kelly, Congressman, who was to talk at the noonday luncheon on his visit to the boys of Pittsburgh on the firing line in France. A large crowd had assembled to hear the eloquent and patriotic Kelly and Mr. Oliver made a most telling hit, when he said, "I have pleasure in introducing to you my Congressman, the Hon. Clyde Kelly, who is just home from the furthest front firing line in France, and who, had he been permitted to reach Berlin, would have licked the Kaiser as bad as he licked the Olivers." Enthusiastic applause greeted this sally, and another outburst followed when Kelly gracefully acknowledged the compliment and cinched it by remarking that Mr. Oliver had stated what was the truth. Kelly's name in the Pennsylvania Legislature was used in derision ; Kelly in Congress has crowded audiences when- ever he speaks. Mr. Oliver may be classed with Hon. Albert Beveridge, when, after the applause and cheers lasting 57 minutes, upon the nomination of Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 for President, he made the speech of his life. Pointing to Mr. Roosevelt, he said: "The man and the hour," and 17 minutes more of uproarious applause and cheers followed before Colonel Roosevelt could proceed. •GUS" BRAUN. HEAR "Gus" Braun, one time Chief of Police of Pittsburgh, rehearse his efforts to remove the Italian peanut stands from the streets, under the provisions of an ordinance absolutely firing them off the map. "Gus" unre- lentingly enforced that ordinance. It wasn't strange that the enemy respond- ed. Here was their slogan: Stand ! The grounds you own, my braves ; Will ye yield to Councilmanic Knaves? Will ye go to work — be slaves — While the Starry Banner waves? From the Mayor's office on they come, And will ye quail? Peanut bullets and orange hail Let their welcome be. But the nuisance was abated and not one in a hundred has since obstructed the sidewalks and street corners. The business is now carried on mostly in stores, for which the highest rentals are paid. A WELL FOUNDED COMPLAINT. A MAN who purchased a farm from a Pittsburgh real estate dealer re- turned in a few days with the complaint that the bottom of the water well had fallen out. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 87 REV. JOSEPH M. DUFF. DR. DUFF, "who came and sat with me by the fire," has the distinction of filling one of the longest pastorates in Western Pennsylvania, having occupied the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church of Carnegie for over 38 years. Not only has he had a most successful pastorate, but he has ever been a power in the Presbytery, and foremost in every work for the welfare not of Carnegie, but the whole of the county. He is beloved by all who know him without regard to denomination. THOMAS A. ROWLEY. COL. THOMAS A. ROWLEY'S regiment in the Civil War was almost if not entirely composed of Pittsburgh boys. One of them wrote a song which they all learned to sing before they left for the front — by that I mean, for the firing line. Many of the soldier boys of that day were in the thick of the fight less than thirty days after enlistment. I recall one of the verses of the song referred to : For I was born in Pittsburgh town, And knew not death nor danger Till Colonel Rowley listed me To join his winter rangers. He dressed me up in finest togs, And treated me most kindly; But oh ! this heart of mine did ache For the girl I left behind me. GEORGE M. ALEXANDER. GEORGE M. ALEXANDER, one of the most popular passenger conduc- tors of the P. R. R., retired exactly on the date when he had served 20 years without an accident. Superintendent Pitcairn insisted one more trip to Altoona and return was necessary to complete 20 years, but the genial George figured otherwise. Mr. Pitcairn commended him, and he engaged in the fire insurance business thereafter. Alexander for a long time was conductor of the popular "Fast Line," which left Union Station at 9:10 p. m. He knew all the politicians, National, State and Local, leading railroad officers and newspaper men. One night, shortly before the train left, a bet was offered in the Union Station that there would be 50 "dead-heads," or passes, on the train, and Alexander was tipped off to report the record, and a newspaper man won out, 51 passes having been the harvest that night. This recalls the banquet given to James McC. Creighton, the popular General Agent at Pittsburgh in the days when passes were liberally distrib- uted. Mr. Creighton was appointed to a higher office, with headquarters in Philadelphia, and his many friends joined in a farewell dinner. One of the speakers, who called him James McGlinton Greighton, shed tears as he said : "We will all miss him here, and especially when we have to go to the ticket office and buy our ticket, instead of getting our hats chalked." 88 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. ANDREW CARNEGIE. ANDREW CARNEGIE quietly but richly enjoyed reference to a letter he had received from Mark Twain, shortly after the steelmaster had em- barked in the "book foundry" business — the establishment of his libraries. Twain had lost a small hymn book which his mother had given him when a little boy and he asked Mr.Carnegie if he would kindly replace it. He also added that it would not require an expenditure of more than a dollar and a half. But it was the postscript which most amused the genial Scotchman. Here it is : "P. S.— Don't send the book. Send the $1.50." Wm. R. Jones was one of the most successful steelmakers of his time and was relied upon for the success of the Edgar Thomson steel works at Braddock. Everybody liked Billy— he had a superb baseball club of his workmen which fought some spirited battles with the old Allegheny, Forest City and other clubs in the early days of the game in Pittsburgh. He was also a most devoted friend of Mr. Andrew Carnegie and his brother, Thomas M. Carnegie. Mr. Andrew Carnegie could not remain long in Pittsburg on account of the climate, and as soon as he could conclude his munificent foundation schemes he would hie himself to Skibo Castle, in Scotland. Captain Jones told friends of a parting with Mr. Carnegie in New York, when the following colloquy occurred: Mr. Carnegie — Captain Jones, I am the most delighted man in the world when I am safely at sea on my way to Scotland. Captain Jones — And there are a lot of people, Mr. Carnegie, a d sight more delighted than you when they are assured you are safe beyond the sea. The laughter continued quite a while after the departure. John Brashear, a close friend of Mr. Carnegie, one day asked him if he still wished to die poor? "Assuredly so, Brashear," was the reply. Then John was somewhat nonplussed and embarrassed. Finally Mr. Carnegie said : "Don't you think I am doing pretty well, John ?" Brashear, who had just read of some of the steel dividends, answered: "Well, yes, but you can 'speed up' a little more without danger." NATHANIEL P. SAWYER. WHEN Andrew Johnson succeeded to the Presidency of the United States, Mr. Sawyer brought out a small daily morning Democratic paper, the Republic, in opposition to the Post, the only Democratic daily in Western Pennsylvania, the Republic being in hearty accord with Johnson. Stephen Mercer was Business Manager and George W. Leonard City Editor. The paper was short lived, but enabled Mr. Sawyer to control a large part of the federal patronage until the Johnson reign was terminated. The paper did not make any money, but in its brief life called forth fireworks from the editorial columns of the Post, which were paid in more than kind in the Republic. Mr. Sawyer was a successful business man, a staunch Democrat and a substantial friend, but many of his former admirers broke with him when he espoused the cause of Andrew Johnson. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 89 ROBERT D. ELWOOD. ROBERT D. ELWOOD, of Verona, did not earn the title of "captain" in honor of nearly four years of service in the Civil War — but by "real effort" as captain of a Pennsylvania canal boat running between Blairsville and Pitts- burgh. When he took charge of the boat he was just 19 years old. He found on board two other men who claimed to be captain and in order to show them three captains were too many for a little canal boat he bought it and became "really captain." And he has the title yet — more than 60 years. On one occasion "deckhands" helped themselves to a lot of plug tobacco shipped from Pittsburgh to a dealer in Blairsville. He braced "Stump" and asked him why he had taken the tobacco, but had no evidence against him. "Stump" said "he didn't take it all," and gave the names of the culprits. On pay day there was a big drop in their wages on account of the deduction for the tobacco. "Stump" threatened to mutiny, but the captain quieted him by telling him the next time he raided a tobacco consignment he should ascertain in ad- vance the market price of "plug tobacco." Captain Elwood was always fond of horses, also hunting and fishing, and in his dealings with men credited without reserve, "hunters and fishers with truthful records." A customer owed the captain over $100 and Jeff Elwood, a son, offered to take on account a horse, bargaining for him at about $55.00. The captain went and looked the horse over, closed the purchase and on the grounds that it was more than he expected to realize, closed out the account entirely, thus paying twice the price for the horse. Captain Elwood's entry into the Civil War came about in this wise: His patriotic little mother, picking up the town paper, noted that the son of so and so had enlisted. She said: "Robert, there's a patriotic, brave boy gone to be a soldier for his country." Robert — "Mother, do you think he is a brave, noble boy?" "Yes," was the answer. Robert — "Well, mother, there is another noble and brave boy in town." And off he went to the recruiting office. And there was not a prouder mother in the crowd that waved good-bye to the soldier boys in a few days than his patriotic little mother. She never shed a tear, but waved to him until he could no longer see her. Three years and four months later he was quite proud as he stood before her in the new uniform of the 78th P. V. She said to him : "Robert, get me a bucket of water." "Let Jeff get you the water," said the captain. Mother — "If I had wanted Jeff to get the water I would have asked him," and with that the brave soldier, still obedient to command, procured the bucket of water. 90 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. JOHN N. NEEB. JOHN NICHOLAS NEEB was the Managing Editor of the Freiheits Freund, the only Republican paper published in Pittsburgh in the Ger- man language, and his popularity landed him in the Pennsylvania State Sen- ate. He was genial, energetic, a most capable newspaper man, and therefore a good legislator. On one occasion while in the Legislature he was presented with a gold- headed cane by admiring friends. And thereby hangs a tale. The presenta- tion took place at the Press Club headquarters on Sixth avenue, at I p. m., and the gentleman who made the presentation speech "spread himself." The Sen- ator made a very witty and timely response, as he had about as much use for a cane as for a threshing machine. But at 2 p. m. the same day another promi- nent newspaper man arrived, and under the applause of quite a crowd, pre- sented the cane for the second time. At 3 p. m. a third "spell-binder," by pre- vious arrangement with the committee, came in and again presented the cane — the fourth and last presentation occurring an hour later. While in the Pennsylvania Senate, Mr. Harry A. Neeb occupied the posi- tion of editor of the paper, and it may be said that the Senator and Mr. Harry Neeb furnished the most up-to-date newspaper ever published in Western Pennsylvania. Mr. Harry Neeb is still President of the company publishing the Volksblatt-Freiheits Freund, the editorial and business management of which is under the capable management of Louis and Isaac Hirsch. OLIVER S. HERSHMAN. FROM office boy on the Evening Telegraph, established in 1873, to the ownership of the Pittsburgh Press, as memory's milestones recalled Oliver S. Hershman. "Ollie" was the best boy that ever sat behind the busi- ness counter of a newspaper office, courteous, obliging, punctual, honest, and every duty imposed upon him was discharged with fidelity. When he ab- sorbed the Telegraph and Chronicle, he decided to take along the old Chronicle contingent, hence he associated with him Mr. Joseph G. Siebeneck, whose stock gave him absolute control. When Senator Oliver purchased the paper from Mr. Hershman he at once secured the Press, which had been established by Col. Thomas M. Bayne, Thomas J. Keenan, Charles W. Houston, John S. Ritenour and others, and it was under his remarkable management that the Press attained its wonderful circulation and influence. But those who watched this orphaned lad "grow" envied not his success, but they rather rejoice that by "sheer merit" he won his way to his present influence and power. Colonel Hershman is wont to say the author of this volume was his "boss" — but to his credit be it said he never needed a "boss." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 91 HON. EDWIN H. STOWE. HON. JUDGE EDWIN H. STOWE was among the greatest of students, and spent many hours in the law library when engaged in the trial of important causes. He was stern and severe, but in sentencing to death the old colored man, Louis Lane, for the murder by arsenical poisoning of his wife, tears rolled over his face and he almost collapsed. It recalls another occasion when his indignation was as great as his sym- pathy on this occasion, and after consultation with him, I published the inci- dent as a warning. He was about to impose sentence upon an offender who deserved punishment, and it was noticed he was greatly agitated. The pris- oner answered he had nothing to say, and the Judge said : "Well, I have, and it is this: I am in receipt of a letter from one who signs himself a 'brother fraternity man,' asking for leniency for this prisoner. I wish to say I may be, therefore, a little more severe than I might otherwise have been, but if I could discover the author of the letter and could reach him I would make an example of him." JAMES BLACKMORE, MAYOR of Pittsburgh, "sat by the fire with me," and told how the city got rid of the organ grinder nuisance. The mayor lived on the (then) fashionable Wylie avenue, near Logan street, and got a surfeit of the dulcet strains of the grinder, especially at night, when he would "Hear the sweet voice of the Roman, which the night winds repeat as they roam; The clock in the steeple strikes thirteen, ere the minstrel returns to his home." So it was decreed they should go, but that did not mean they went with- out a contest. It was urged for them that they had given us many gems of song, of which I need but mention a few — "Yankee Doodle," "Star Spangled Banner," "Bob Ridley," "Old Folks at Home," "Daisy Dean," "Kathleen Mavourneen," "The Harp That Once Through Tara's Halls," "Tim Finnegan's Wake," "Lanagan's Ball," "The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring," and "What Will the Robin Do Then, Poor Thing?" The organ grinders did not produce music by rote, or note, or air, but by "wear and tear," and a great deal of it, too, wearing out organs and tearing into shreds the patience of listeners wherever the gentle zephyrs wafted the discordant strains. Give them a start and at once they were metamorphosed into a buzz saw mill that could be subdued only by an explosion of dynamite. They grind and grind, reminding one that the mills of the organist grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly long, and relief only was secured by refusal to reward the portable calliope. The present generation has but a faint idea of this intolerable nuisance of 50 years ago. 92 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. HON. H. B. SWOOPE. A TERROR in Court was the former Federal Attorney at Pittsburgh, H. Bucher Swoope, of Clearfield County. He was hated by fellow attor- neys, and feared by criminals, even putting a judge in proper place, and he also became a thief taker. Mr. Swoope was unrelenting in his prosecution of criminals. He pursued them mercilessly and seemed to take a fiendish delight in their conviction. His answers to voluminous harsh criticisms invariably were that he was not responsible for the rigorousness of the United States laws; but it was his duty to see that they were strictly enforced ; to convict and insist on the maximum sentence of the law, demanding as part of the sentence, if he saw fit, prison punishment. Many of the attorneys then practicing in Pittsburgh called him a persecutor — instead of a prosecutor — but he seemed to revel in his record of criminal trials, because of the exceedingly few cases where the alleged crimi- nal had escaped, except where Mr. Swoope side-tracked "judgment day.'" He would emphasize his determination to rigidly enforce the laws, when called to account, by profanity which was so eloquent as to really be robbed of its harshness. Most of his cases were tried by His Honor, Judge Wilson McCandless ; but on one occasion His Honor, Judge William McKennan, of Washington County, was on the bench, and there was a wordy wrangle between Mr. Swoope and counsel in a case, where every effort of the defense to appeal to the sympathy of the sleuth of the government had been unavailing. Finally, in answer to a deep thrust at the vindictiveness of the United States Attorney, Mr. Swoope said every man in prison on his motion deserved all he got. The remark angered the Judge. Court had adjourned and there was no one pres- ent but the Judge, Mr. Swoope, the clerk, Stephen C. McCandless and the representative of one of the city papers. The Court and attorney were still quite warm and suddenly the Judge said : "There are men now in the penitentiary who would not be there if I had been on the bench." Whirling around suddenly Mr. Swoope approached the bench, pounded it with his fist and repeating the language demanded to know if that was what had been said. Judge McKennan tried to pacify the attorney without success, and leav- ing the bench retired to his private rooms. Mr. Swoope followed and the open transom over the door to the Judge's chamber disclosed "a hot old time." Suffice it to say that Mr. Swoope satisfied the Judge that he had made a mistake — that if displeased with his course, complaint should be made to the Attorney General of the United States ; that the United States Attorney was a co-ordinate branch of the United States Government and not an officer of the District Court in that he was under the direction or control of the Judge. And, furthermore, that he had decided he was amenable only to the Attorney General of the United States, and that ended it. Next day the storm had passed, and both attorney and Judge were in good humor, and in the open court mutual apologies were offered. Mr. Swoope took occasion to analyze some of the criminal laws of the United States in FAMILIAR FACES ♦WILSON McCANDLESS JUDGE OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENN- SYLVANIA, 18^9-1876. *WILLIAM W. McKENNAN JUDGE OF THE UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA. *JAMES PATTERSON STERRETT CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA. *EDWIN M. STANTON secretary of war. president Lincoln's cabinet. ♦Deceased. FAMILIAR FACES WILLIAM FLINN STATE SENATOR; CHAIRMAN BOOTH & FLINN, LIMITED, BANKER AND CAPITALIST. *CHRISTOPHER LYMAN MAGEE STATE SENATOR; BANKER AND CAPITALIST. *ROBERT W. MACKEY STATE TREASURER, 1873. ALLEGHENY NATIONAL BANK. ♦JAMES S. McKEAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNION TRUST COMPANY. 1896. *Deceased. pjl MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 93 order to show their severity. He followed by explaining that after convic- tion, motions for judgment were entirely in his discretion, subject to the approval of the Attorney General, and the Court could not direct him to pre- sent anyone for sentence until he was ready to do so, when he would so paint the prisoner as to secure a salty sentence. Judge McKennan said under the laws then existing he was satisfied that the attorney was a co-ordinate branch of the government, vested with most extraordinary power, and that his caustic remarks of the day before would not have been made had the Court been more fully acquainted with the powers and duties of the attorney. And thereafter they were the best of friends. While attorneys hated and criminals feared him and the public generally believed him to be without heart, those who were intimately acquainted with Mr. Swoope found in him a few traits at least greatly to be admired. For instance, after he had secured the conviction of a young fellow who, when school was not in session, loafed about the postofnce in an adjoining county, and robbed it, a most remarkable display of his power was shown. The uncle of the lad was the postmaster — most respected and highly esteemed. The postofnce robberies were mortifying, indeed, for the uncle never dreamed that his nephew was the thief, and consequently the lad had the entire freedom of the postofnce. But Swoope convicted him, notwith- standing there was very little direct evidence of guilt, and everybody inter- ested believed he would be acquitted. Pending sentence the mother of the lad, a bright fellow, was laid low with an illness brought on by the sad misfortune to her boy. Swoope heard of it, and going up to the jail released and accompanied him on a visit to his mother. The meeting was a sad — most pathetic — one and the mother, tearfully and with an almost broken heart, thanked Mr. Swoope for his kindness and fore- thought. Suddenly he said to her : "Suppose I leave your boy with you for awhile. Will you promise that he will come to me when I send for him?" She so promised. And then to the boy : "Will you do what your mother prom- ises ?" And the sobbing boy answered, "Yes." He hurriedly withdrew from the home, returned to Pittsburgh, and evi- dently with the consent of the Attorney General, forgot to "move for judg- ment," as he never sent for the boy. On the other hand, when he got his hands upon a supposed criminal he rarely escaped if he made up his mind he would get him. Mail robberies between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh had utterly baffled the authorities, and in their extremity the postoffice inspectors turned to Mr. Swoope. He became inspector and detective, but despite his remarkable ability he despaired of capturing the offender. One day the chief mail agent on the Harrisburg- Pittsburgh run came to him ; said he was aware that the crews on the postal cars were all under surveillance on account of robberies, and proposed that if he be taken into the confidence of Mr. Swoope the thief could not much longer evade detection and arrest. Well, the scheme worked smoothly, but the thefts continued without locating the thief. 94 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. One day Mr. Swoope went to the old Union Depot Hotel, accompanied by a deputy United States marshal and a friend, and on the arrival of the sus- pected train from Harrisburg, about 2 p. m., had the deputy marshal accost the chief postal agent and bid him meet Mr. Swoope in the parlor of the hotel, on the second floor. Mr. Swoope, with much agitation, said to his friend, "I may be mistaken, but I am going to end the investigation of these robberies today, successfully, or return the case to the inspectors." By this time the deputy marshal and the postal chief were in the parlor. Swoope fastened his piercing black eyes upon the man and then, slowly and deliberately, said : "B , I have discovered that you are the thief. You are under arrest." Instantly a shudder went through the entire frame of the fine-looking fellow ; he paled in face ; his lips quailed, and like a big, blubbering schoolboy, he confessed to the crime. His adroitness in the thefts had completely baffled the inspectors. He had outwitted Swoope also, who, without a scintilla of evidence against him, put up his bold bluff, as a last resort. He explained as his reason for this final chapter of the chase that the very day on which he came and voluntarily offered his services to Mr. Swoope to catch the thief, Swoope had decided in his own mind that the thief was talking to him. And upon this theory he worked; but at every step almost the trail was lost, and had the bluff failed, detection may not have followed. The agent had been on the postal cars for a long time and had a good record. He pleaded guilty and was sent to the penitentiary. MARSHALL SWARTZWELDER. THIS eminent criminal lawyer told a good story on Mayor Wm. C. Mc- Carthy, for whom he acted as counsel. The Mayor had refused to do a certain thing in the matter of a criminal prosecution, and afterwards seemed to doubt the rightfulness of the decision. He thereupon referred it to his counsel, who courteously informed him he had erred, and results from the wrong action might possibly ensue. The Mayor glanced significantly at his counsel, whistled fragments of some old tune, and then said : "Well, Swartz, that's where you and I differ." Mr. Swartzwelder was somewhat of a humorist and told this story of a collision on Fifth avenue between two men. Whether accidental or other- wise, one was knocked clear over the curb into the street. Looking at the obstruction, he said, "You might at least offer an apology." Said the other, "What is your name?" "John Smith," was the response. "John Smith is a generic term ; it may mean a horse or a cow. Good day, sir." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 95 STEPHEN C. FOSTER. THIS world famous musical composer and song writer was a Pittsburgh product, born on the 4th day of July, 1823. His brother, Morrison Foster, had all of his musical compositions from his first effort, the "Tioga Waltz," and in 1896 the author of this volume published "The Biography and Songs" of this remarkable man — a volume including music plates of over 300 pages — double the size the publisher counted on. Pittsburgh's purchase of the Old Homestead for a Foster Memorial brought him to me as I "sat by the fire," and the story of his life is most interest- ing. But the latest unpublished matter of interest in his life is appended. The Suwanee River. A traveling gentleman, who discovered that the Suwanee River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, fourteen miles from Cedar Keys, thus refers to it, in connection with the Foster Memorial in Pittsburgh : "It is strange that with all the sentiment that for generations the song, 'The Old Folks at Home,' has created about the Suwanee River, it is a neg- lected attraction, and as I have since discovered, one that the world at large does not know that Florida possesses. Famous the world over as the Suwanee River is, I found only one person in fifty that I asked about it on a trip to Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New York who knew where it is. Many that I questioned are Southern men high in official life in Washington. "'The Old Folks at Home/ "Way Down Upon the Swanee RibBer/ next to 'Home, Sweet Home,' has set more heart-strings throbbing than any other song in the world. It has been heard by every man, woman and child in the United States. There is no one who has heard the song who has not felt a desire to see the Suwanee River. Many thousands of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Florida every year would take a boat ride upon the Suwanee River if there were accommodations for tourists on the river. "Stephen C. Foster, the author of 'The Old Folks at Home,' has done more to perpetuate the melodies of the South in the songs of the Nation than anyone else. "While in Pittsburgh I took occasion to call upon Mr. Percy F. Smith, who was a personal friend of Morrison Foster, a brother, and who published the 'Biography and Songs of Stephen C. Foster.' Very few copies of the Book are in existence. I had the pleasure of reading one in the library at Washing- ton, D. C. "It would be a fitting thing for Florida to pay a deserving tribute to the man who made the Suwanee River famous; but more than all the man who has written so many Southern melodies and preserved for future generations so much of the charm and the poetry of the old South. A state park or a highway along the Suwanee River, with 'the old log cabin in the bushes/ to be known as the Stephen C. Foster park or highway, would be one of the most fitting ways in which to commemorate the author. Such a memorial would be more lasting than brass or marble and in keeping with the spirit of the man who drew his inspiration from nature and the 'old folks at home.' " Mr. Ezra P. Young, of Edgeworth adds this on the memorable river: "There should also be something where the Sea Board Air Line crosses the river at Ellaville, Fla., to show how it has been immortalized by Foster. I have 96 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. crossed this river 14 times in an auto coming and going from Pennsylvania to Dunedin, Fla. The new York and Jacksonville highway also crosses it on an iron bridge at this same locality. We have taken kodaks of it, and stopped long enough to sing the melody, "Old Folks at Home." The river is a fine body of water, navigable for good sized boats. "Just above the crossing, in plain sight, is the Withlacooche river, which takes its rise in Georgia. The tropical foliage fringing the banks of both streams down to the waters edge make it a charming picture. A monument here to Foster would be the right thing and add much to the interest of the place." J. R. WELDIN. IT is the natural habit of the average mind to associate a living individual per- sonality with a business house carrying such a name as that of J. R. Weldin & Co. But how many Pittsburghers are there who remember Mr. J. R. Weldin, who always wore a silk hat, and old style stock collar and neckcloth, with coat of long bifurcated skirt? Such apparel is very rare now. Mr. Weldin's name is still first in the title of the well-known book store on Wood street, where it has always been located, but Mr. Weldin died as long ago as 1872, twenty years after taking into his concern as office boy, at the age of 14, his nephew, the late H. Lee Mason, who made his home with his uncle on Ross street. Mr. Mason developed into a notably successful business man through his careful and successful enterprise, and his faculty for accumulating strong and enduring friendships. He greatly enlarged the scope of the firm's operations. But the firm name has never been changed, being still retained by his son, H. Lee Mason, Jr., who carries on the business with the full measure of success with which it has always been attended. The senior Mr. Mason died in 1912. Mr. Weldin was a man of some peculiarities, of course, like other unusual characters, and one of these, as told by Mr. Mason, was shown in the trouble he often caused by doing one thing while thinking of another. Frequently on frosty winter mornings on entering the store he would go to the big barrel stove and give the fire a vigorous shake-up — so energetic as to dump all the hot coals into the ash pan. Promptly he would go to the nearby office of a banker with whom he was on friendly terms, where he would stay until sure that young Lee Mason or somebody else in the store had renewed the fire and restored a sense of warmth. Mr. Weldin and Mr. Mason will always live in memories of the bookstore lore and life of Pittsburgh, along with Dr. Smythe, Jim Hartzell, John Pittock, Henry Miner, Tony Lewis, James M. Wilkinson, Wm. Read, Jno. B. Dorring- ton, Samuel B. Davis, Alexander Mcllwaine, W. A. Gildenfenny, S. A. Clarke & Co., R. S. Davis and others. Mr. Mcllwaine was father-in-law of F. C. McGirr, the lawyer, and in his day esteemed the finest Shakespearean scholar in this city. He conducted a book auction room on the upper side of Smithfield street, a few doors north of Fifth avenue, where the Mellon bank stands now, and it was the habit of many law- yers, including men as learned and able as the late Tom Marshall, to visit these auction rooms of evenings to listen to Mr. Mcllwaine's talks on books and authors. McMcIlwaine died in 1875. FAMILIAR FACES ALBERT JOHNSON LOGAN A. J. LOGAN & CO., UPHOLSTERERS ; COL. I7TH REGT., NATIONAL GUARD, PENNSYLVANIA. *ALBERT P. BURCHFIELD JOSEPH HORNE COMPANY. DRY GOODS. ♦THOMAS M. KING OF B. & 0. R. R. *JOHN SULLIVAN SCULLY PRESIDENT OF THE DIAMOND NATIONAL HANK, PITTSBURGH. ''Deceased. FAMILIAR FACES ♦WILLIAM PHILLIPS PRESIDENT OF THE ALLEGHENY VALLEY RAILROAD. *RICHARD REALF EDITOR AND POET; AUTHOR HYMN OF PITTSBURGH. *JOHN W. PITTOCK FOUNDER OF THE PITTSBURGH LEADER. *ROBERT WOODS ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, PITTSBURGH. ♦Deceased. u MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 97 JAMES P. BARR AND THE POST. NDER the able management of James P. Barr, the Post, the only Demo- cratic daily in Western Pennsylvania, enjoyed a State and even a National reputation, and with the exception of the Andrew Johnson adminis- tration, Mr. Barr was one of the most prominent factors in Democratic poli- tics. Gen. Geo. W. Cass, President of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway Company, Frank N. Hutchinson, and men of like caliber were among the Democratic leaders with whom Mr. Barr's paper exerted a wide influence. The paper was up-to-date in its news department, for years managed by Mr. John S. Ritenour, and bristled with hot stuff in the editorial columns, as it was reeled off by the Veteran editor, James Mills. There is one funny incident in connection with the Post which a live wire employed as a news reporter told. A man had been arrested for an offense, against whom there was no indictment or even an information. His name was given, he sued for libel and was awarded nominal damages. Counsel for the defense was told that if the word "alleged" had been used there might have been a loophole of escape. The writer of the libelous article was censured severely and warned about "safety first" in the use of the word "alleged." A few days afterward he wrote an item about a highway robbery on the Monongahela wharf, in which he asserted "an alleged" man had robbed Thomas O'Brien of his pocketbook. The proof reader passed it up and the reporter walked the "gang plank." Mr. Barr was a quiet, unobtrusive man, and a kind employer. He was full of good humor. Complaints made by readers against a publication were most diplomatically handled. He would assure the subscriber he could not stand for uncalled-for comments, and on being confronted with the offending re- porter, would explain that the best interests of the paper required his dis- missal. An efficient reporter thus dealt with on one occasion took his hat and retired ; but he did it most gracefully, as this was about the sixteenth time he had been so fired. The Hon. John M. Kirkpatrick, then District Attorney, was one of the most radical of Republicans and made himself exceedingly obnoxious to Dem- ocrats during the Civil War. The Post took every occasion to score him and finally, when elected to the bench, this editorial appeared : "Now that the Hon. John M. Kirkpatrick has been elected Judge, we presume he will study law." A PROBLEM IN ARITHMETIC COUNTY Superintendent Hamilton propounded to a class of youngsters a problem in arithmetic very simple indeed. He proposed 2 apples for Mary, 2 for Sarah and 2 for Julia. How many apples ? No reply, the mortified teacher asked the superintendent to repeat the question, and clapping her hands, said every one can answer. Still no response when little Edna raised her hand, was recognized, and said: "Please, Mr. Superintendent, we do our examples in potatoes." 9 8 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. WILLIAM C. SMYTHE. THE versatile "Billy" Smythe, manager of the Academy of Music, newspaper reporter, lecturer, and cheap popular excursion manager — who does not recall him, reinforced as he always was with the "smile that would not come off"? But he will never be forgotten by those engaged in educational affairs in 1876. Smythe conceived the idea of taking the school children of Pittsburgh to the Centennial celebration at Philadelphia — the one hundredth year of our Independence. He was laughed at, of course. But he hammered the proposition through the Central Board of Education, and after lengthy interviews satisfied the P. R. R. management it was practicable. The rate per child was nominal — $3.00 — round trip, and the teachers were to be included. The day came; the citizens en masse supplied the children with cakes, candies, milk, fruit, etc., and from Liberty street, speeding eastward, train after train load departed. David M. Boyd was General Passenger Agent of the Railroad Company, and in person superintended the arrival and unloading of the trains at the Centennial grounds in Philadelphia. Mr. Smythe was in charge of the eleventh section, and on meeting with Mr. Boyd was told there were 10 sections following. Twenty-one sections of 10 cars each — 210 car loads. Mr. Boyd told Mr. Smythe it was the greatest undertaking in the history of passenger traffic on the Pennsylvania Railroad ; but he doubted if it would ever again be attempted. The children swarmed through the Centennial buildings and grounds, had a most wonderful and instructive outing, clung to Smythe and their teachers, and were returned to Pittsburgh in the best of spirits without the slightest mishap of any kind. OLIVER T. BENNETT. OLIVER T BENNETT was the first shorthand reporter employed on a newspaper in Pittsburgh, the Commercial having secured his services. He was a talented fellow, and not only furnished the most elaborate reports of conventions and other great events, but could have been a court reporter had he not preferred journalism. On the occasion of the observance of the first Decoration Day- — Memorial Day- — in Pittsburgh young Bennett contested with Bartley Campbell and other local, as well as outside poets for the prize poem to be read on Decoration Day. R. Biddle Roberts, lawyer ; Hon. John M. Kirkpatrick and one other prominent citizen was the committee to select the winner, and Bennett was awarded the medal. I give only the opening stanza, as the poem was quite lengthy: "Half mast the flag and muffle the drum, And march with a solemn tread. An hour most sacred to freemen has come, When with garlands we honor the dead." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 99 WILLIAM T. LINDSEY. MR. WILLIAM T. LINDSEY was for many years Clerk of the United States District Court at Pittsburgh. Widely known as the friend of everybody, he was almost a brother to the author. He furnished me a poem written when Rev. David K. Nesbitt, Rev. Maxwell Cornelius and Mr. Lind- sey were at school, in Haysville, Ohio, but he declined to indicate which of the trio was the author. So by general consent it was attributed to the "Syndicate." The victim's best girl had jilted him and he sent her this anathema : "In the Garden of Eden she met with a man, And there, I believe, her first flirting began. Adam was young — hadn't been much with the girls, And was smit all at once with the young lady's curls. She fondled around him and acted the dove, Till she got the innocent creature in love ; Then to be independent and make his heart ache, She turned from her lover to talk to a snake. And ever since then, when she fell from that level, She'll quit any lover to talk to — well, anyone she chances to meet." JOHN W. PITTOCK. EVERYBODY knew "Johnny Pittock," the news dealer, stationer and pub- lisher, better, perhaps, as the newsboy, whose special notoriety dated with the publication of the Sunday Leader. His editors were James Mclver, James Mills, C. E. Locke and others, and the only Sunday paper in Pittsburgh was eagerly looked for and read with interest. Bartley Campbell, the writer and afterwards the great playwright, con- tributed a story, "Almost Lost," furnishing each chapter weekly — sometimes not until Friday evening — and in the days when there were no Mergenthaler linotypes. Pittock once laughingly said he was "almost lost" himself in get- ting to the end of that story. Pittock soon hitched up with R. P. Nevin & Sons, Col. John I., Jos. T. and Theodore Nevin, and the Evening Leader made its appearance under the name of Pittock, Nevin & Co. ,In later years it became the property of the Nevins, until acquired by its present owner, Mr. A. P. Moore. It at once made its way into popular favor, as it differed entirely from the Chronicle and the Evening Gazette — it was distinctly Pittock & Nevin — the first having an eye to business, and the Nevins furnishing the best obtainable writing talent. It was fearless. Pittock had already been in a libel suit, which had ended in his vindication, his counsel, Thomas M. Marshall, having turned the pro- ceeding into a burlesque. And the paper got a wonderful advertisement. Pittock almost shed tears as he jocularly related Marshall's plea in behalf of Ihe poor little Pittsburgh newsboy, "Johnny Pittock." ioo MEMORY'S MILESTONES. An "all sorts" column by W. W. Clark, and other features inaugurated by able editors, soon advanced it to the front rank in independent journalism — a position it has maintained throughout its existence. The Nevins sold the plant to Mr. A. P. Moore, its present principal owner, for a very large sum of money, and it is still one of the most fearless journals published. Mr. Robert P. Nevin afterward launched the Times, a morning paper, which later on became the property of Mr. Chris L. Magee and associates, and is now merged with the Gazette. FRANK MURPHY, OF THE "Old Home" Temperance Work in Pittsburgh — and who will not remember how this wonderful apostle of temperance won his way with the people and the down-and-outs? — simple, indeed — moral suasion. The ine- briate who wanted to start life anew, reeling drunk, his stockingless feet show- ing through his tattered shoes, was not signed up on the moment. Murphy secured him a bath, a good meal, clean clothes, stockings and shoes, and prayed for him, and when the prodigal had fully come to himself, through Mr. Murphy he returned to the father's house. He signed the pledge — he kept it. Why? Because he took "God into partnership with him." That was the story of almost every Murphy convert. And Mr. Murphy thanked me for my help in his work, through my news- paper reports, and for my addresses, and notably for my help in one of his campaigns at Sterling, 111. Thousands have said and will continue to say "God bless Frank Murphy." ROBERT RAIKES. 1WAS very much interested in the notice in the Gazette-Times of Robert Raikes and his relation to the Sunday School, as well as the public school system. He was indeed a poor printer of Gloucester, and little noticed. But he was moved with pity at the sight of neglected children playing in the streets of his city on Sunday, and engaged some women to instruct what waifs he could gather into the town halls. At first they were compensated, but soon a host of good women were found who refused to accept pay for this work of love. Raikes lived only until about 1811, but long enough to see that the won- derful work had spread throughout the whole of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and crossed the seas into America. But it was not until 1818, or thereabouts, that the church in America rec- ognized the tremendous possibilities of the system growing out of Raikes' first Sunday School. In New England sessions were held in town halls and public buildings, but the church was closed to the work until about 1818. Even then MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 101 for quite a while the pupils were allowed only to commit to memory Scrip- ture; no effort was made to promote instruction. But the system grew. Thirst for knowledge could not be stayed, and the "village improvement society" was organized, the function of which is now represented by our playgrounds ; tem- perance organizations among young and old were encouraged and public libraries organized. There was city planning and parks, young and old seek- ing out neglected lots and street corners, and beautifying them with the per- mission of the owners. About 1820 the church recognized the system and adopted it as the "nursery," and New England has the record of a boy who at one sitting recited the whole book of Luke. And, by the way, rules and regulations adopted by Raikes are practically the basis of the present system of Sunday School and also public school instruction in America. Furthermore the influence of this early system of taking boys and girls off the streets and employing them, now so wonderfully represented in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Asso- ciation and Boy Scouts, was seen nearly 50 years ago, when boys in a New England town requested the abrogation of the strict law prohibiting an old- fashioned Fourth of July celebration. The public commissioners were enforc- ing the law for a "safe and sane Fourth," and were especially determined that the streets should not be littered with the debris of fire-crackers. A delegation of boys of a Raikes school called upon the commissioners and asked permission to make "Rome howl" on a certain Independence Day. They promised to organize a force of boys and raise the necessary money to clean up the city if allowed to make the "eagle scream." See "Tales that are told." Permission was finally granted with the understanding that the town must be cleaned up by the evening of July 5, with no expense to the people, and one of the most "glorious Fourths" was observed. But the spirit of '76 was still strong in New England, and the town com- missioners held a "called meeting" and resolved that such patriotism as those boys showed deserved recognition. They directed the street commissioner to clean the streets at the expense of the town, released the boys from their con- tract, and the people said "Amen." And some of those boys of Robert Raikes' are now the men of New Eng- land, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, who are startling the old world by their purchase of Liberty bonds — the boys and men who will be behind the bonds not to clean up the streets after a "Fourth of July jubilee," but to clean up for- ever Prussian brutality and tyranny. Pennsylvania's magnificent educational system is a monument to the memory of Robert Raikes. He was a poor printer; so was Benjamin Franklin. Philadelphia has an enduring monument to Franklin. May I apply these words to Raikes as his monument during the oncoming years : Only the truth in life he has spoken, Only the seeds in life he has sown ; These will live onward when he is forgotten, Fruits of the harvest and what he has done. 102 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. JOSHUA T. COLE. JOSHUA T. COLE, the Poet Engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad, who pulled a throttle for 26 years without an accident, and who never was on the carpet but once, for infraction of the rules, was a Christian and had never tasted alcoholic liquors. He was the Whitcomb Riley of the veteran "foot board" men, and found time to put in rhyme notable things which came under his observation. He attended an adult Bible class banquet, in an up-state town and the answer to a toast was "Have you j'ined?" SAY, are you a member Of our Men's Bible Class, Or, like Balaam of old, Are you riding an ass And willing to curse, Always ready to holler For political fame Or an ill-gotten dollar? If not a member, Why don't you join now? There's Chairman McClain, Who will show you just how To get next to men Who on one common level Are doing their best To defeat the old devil. Our Chairman McClain Handles all weighty matters; He can talk like a parrot, But he never chatters; He has figured it out, All theories exploded; It's an impossibility To get the class overloaded. We've a jolly good crew, And a splendid train master, Who always inspires Both teacher and pastor. Many nationalities In this class represented. We have men who came sinners And since have repented ; There are Gentiles and Jews, Italians and Syrians, Who with spontaneous joy, All become Presbyterians. We have English and Irish, And a Dutchman or two, And also one Chinaman, Who still wears a cue; Butchers and bakers, And dealers in lamps; We also have merchants Who give trading stamps. Conductors and trainmen, And the firemen, too, Engineers and operators, We have a full crew ; We have men with bald heads And some who have hair, And one we call Burgess, Some call him the Mayor; Some wear a mustache, While others just try it ; And when it looks pale, Then sometimes they dye it. We have doctors and dentists, People say they are fine At removing your pain And extracting your coin ; They say that for cramps, After eating pig's feet, That Allen's Foot Ease Can never be beat. Many men who have talent And are gifted with song — You can always depend They have it along; While not every fellow Can sing it by note, It's a mighty sight better Than the bleat of a goat. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 103 So each fellow feels That he's one of the boys, And he opens his mouth To make joyful noise, Along with the class Which to him means so much, To elbow with men With a true common touch. Now, we've eat of your banquet And drank from your cups Till we look like a colony Of young pizened pups ; With the evidence apparent, It's so very emphatic, Of over-doing your dining room And neglecting your attic. We have men who are married And some that I see By their lingering glances Would sure like to be; So twist up your courage Till the safety valve blows And ask her to marry, For Lord only knows How long she's been waiting For you to impart The secret locked up In your cowardly heart; If a man stays a bachelor After this splendid dinner Expel him from class An irredeemable sinner. THE RUM POWER IN AMERICA. EX-GOVERNOR J. FRANK HANLY, of Indiana, most highly com- mended my answer to the question, "The Rum Power in America," pronounced it "good work," and published it in the National Enquirer. Here it is as I first delivered it more than forty years ago : "It is supported by two of the strongest tendencies in human nature. The two pillars that support it are animal appetite and love of money. It defies legislatures; it bribes juries; it breaks through the flimsy cobwebs of munici- pal laws; it dictates political platforms; it tramps under its cloven hoof the Holy Sabbath and the law of God; it grows rich on the hard-earned wages of poverty; it fattens on the murdered souls of men, and, sitting in its stately palace, or lounging in its filthy den, it laughs at the broken home, sneers at the widows' tears, and mocks the orphans' cry for bread. It steals the son's kind heart and robs the mother of his love. It leads the blooming daughter through the dim alley to the haunts of sin. It transforms the father's loving tenderness into beastly cruelty and murderous hate. It changes the once loved and loving bride into the drudging slave of the drunkard's hut. It sends the husband to a drunkard's hopeless doom, and drags the orphaned babe away from home and friends and casts it into the putrid stream of crime, to float on downward into worse than death. Thus does it sweep the smile from child- hood's sunny face; it dims the luster of ambition in the eye of youth, and smears with foul disgrace the hoary locks of age." 104 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. H. C. FRICK. <<¥N the name of Pittsburgh," Mr. H. C. Frick made a subscription of 1 $1,500,000 for Liberty Bonds, fourth loan. This is not only the largest personal bond purchase, but one of the strongest illustrations of what the real Pittsburgh instinct means. Mr. Frick helps along the cause of human liberty, assists the efforts of the government, patriotically backs up the boys cutting their way through the miles of barbed wire on the Hindenburg line, but what is most striking is that he places all this in the name and to the credit of Pittsburgh. Comparatively speaking, it is but a few years since the author saw him "in shirt sleeves," about the clerical business of the company store at Broadford Junction on the old Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad. Andrew Carnegie admitted he won a great prize when he "annexed" Mr. Frick and his vast Coke interests to the Carnegie Steel Company, and thereby secured his help in administration. But how can one find words to suitably describe the coup a few years later, when the whilom clerk in a country store was one of the foremost men in the organization of the United States Steel Company ? Pittsburgh is justly proud of the fact that the great captains of American industry had to sit at the feet of this young Gamaliel and learn from him. Mr. Frick's fourth subscription to Liberty Bonds recalls the fact that his days of big things date back for these many years. For to the author of this volume, and James McKean, he testified his admiration for Wm. McKinley and Pittsburgh, by subscribing $5,000 to the fund to hold the National Convention in Pittsburgh — then added $5,000 that could be counted on, and finally advised that Pittsburgh should not lose out on the financial end if $50,000 were needed. His idea then was that Pittsburgh was big enough for any kind of a National Convention. REV. ALEXANDER CLARK. REV. ALEXANDER CLARK is recalled by the fact that "six grandsons" are in France, every one a volunteer in the World's War. One brave boy gave up his life "over there" in August, 1918, on his twenty-first birthday. Dr. Clark was a prominent minister in Pittsburgh 50 years ago, and a most lovable man, indeed. He was pastor of the "Old Home" M. P. Church, Fifth avenue, and afterwards editor of the Methodist Recorder. He was a remarkable worker, and found time to lecture all over the country. In 1879, while on a lecture tour in the South, he became ill at the Kimball House, in Atlanta. Governor Colquit, who had never met him, had him removed to the executive mansion, where he after- wards died. Mrs. Clark, now in her eighty-fourth year, and 10 children survive Dr. Clark. Also 38 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Mr. E. B. Clark, the oldest son, resides in Knoxville, South Side, and has two sons in the service — both volunteers. One, Edward, is sergeant in the Signal Corps in France, and Frank with the Naval Reserves in Buffalo, N. Y. Frank has already seen service and is back in the United States awaiting orders. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 105 LOUIS NEEB. AN unassuming gentleman was Mr. Louis Neeb, father of Mr. Harry Neeb, of the business department of the Freiheits-Freund newspaper, and he was greatly esteemed by all newspaper men who were brought in contact with him. The author recalls one among many incidents of his quaintness in granting a favor. The city required a bond of $1,000 to insure completion of a contract, and the author asked Mr. Neeb if he would sign the bond. He quickly responded "That is something L. & W. Neeb never do " Here the author broke in to say no harm had been done, when Mr. Neeb resumed: "That is something L. & W. Neeb never do; but we will sign your bond, with pleasure, as soon as you have it ready." ALEXANDER P. MOORE. EMPLOYED in a brick yard when but nine years of age, Alexander P. Moore, of the Leader, concluded wheeling clay in later years would not provide much ease for his dependent mother. He stopped not on the order of going, but unceremoniously quit, and hired as office boy in the Telegraph. His best be- loved sister thought he had made a great mistake — sacrificing the chance to be a brick maker to become a "printers devil" — but Alex said he intended to be "an editor." His salary was $3.00 per week; but he speedily annexed one or two legitimate enterprises that swelled his receipts to $15.00 per week. Editor Harry Byram, soon promoted Alex to be a "reporter," at $8.00 per week, but the youthful financier was unable to discern the promotion. But mark you, he had to make good his promise to his sister and "reporter" was his title, at the compromise sum of $10.00 per week — without interruption to his "side" ventures. One day he said to his sister: Tomorrow's Press will announce that Oliver S. Hershman and the brick yard boy had purchased the paper, and that Alex was to be the Editor. His sister's answer was, "I knew all the time you would be an editor." Many incidents might be related of Mr. Moore, did I care to violate his oft repeated request to refrain from alluding to them, but his meeting with President Roosevelt was unique. Calling upon the Chief Magistrate, with a committee, he told him there was an indictment against a banker in Western Pennsylvania, which bid fair to lapse by delay in trial, and said justice demanded prosecution and punishment. Pointing his finger straight at Moore, whom he had never seen, he fairly shouted : I will direct prosecution at once, and if the facts do not sustain your statements I will expose you. Mr. Moore answered : And if do develop the facts and you do not prosecute the banker, I will expose you. President Roosevelt grabbed him by the hand, commended his frankness and so it is that ever since there has been a David and Jonathan friendship between them. Mr. Moore has been in the newspaper work continuously for 41 years, and on retiring from part ownership of the Press, became the chief owner of the Leader. io6 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. JOHN S. RITENOUR. WITHOUT question Mr. John S. Ritenour is the best Superintendent and Manager the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society has had since~its organization, and his record is the foundation that is laid for every live newspaper man — an experience that fits for almost any public duty or responsibility. Here is his record: Printer's "devil," printer, reporter, copy editor, telegraph editor, city editor, legislative correspondent, managing editor, writing editor, publisher. Ten years managing editor of the Pittsburgh Post; two years managing editor of the Pittsburgh Dispatch; two years managing editor of the Pittsburgh Daily News; three years managing editor of the Pittsburgh Press; five years city editor of the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette ; author of "Journalism As a Profession" {The Forum) ; "Early Newspapers of Southwestern Pennsylvania" (The Inland Printer, 1913) ; publisher (with William T. Lindsey) and annotator of "Dod- dridge's Notes," edition of 1912, etc., etc. Organized the staffs and successfully launched the Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh News, and Uniontown Evening Genius. Mr. Ritenour was the most accommodating reporter the Post ever had, and every time an irate reader complained about a publication, the boss summarily dismissed him, and Mr. R. glided out of the front door, only to return by the rear entrance to his desk in the editorial room. And he is still the same painstaking, accommodating gentleman. N HON. J. W. F. WHITE. OW that there is a rush to change names that "were made in Germany," a story is recalled in the life of Hon. John W. Fletcher White, of the Common Pleas Court. Application had been made by one Marschalie for a change to the name of Marshall. Judge White, without much hesitation, look- ing over his nose glasses, said: "No, I will not change this name to Marshall, in view of the notables of that name — Chief Justice Marshall, Thomas M. Marshall, and others; but I will approve the petition if the name of Judas Iscariot is substituted." OLIVER McCLINTOCK. ONE of the foremost citizens of Pittsburgh in every movement to make the city "useful as well as beautiful," is Oliver McClintock. For nearly half a century he was quite prominent in business circles, yet all the while gave of his time and means in support of every project tending to promote good government in both city and county. Notably has he been in the lead in church benevolences and charities and a number of our most successful institutions for the care of the sick and helpless, missions, etc., have received substantial help, not only from Mr. McClintock, but from a host of his friends whom he took along with him on every movement which had his indorsement. His chief pleasure was to uphold and defend his native city, yet he has never hesitated to denounce wrong-doing wherever he found it. It has been a delight to have him "sit by the fire" with the author, as he has done for many years. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 107 SAMUEL P. HARBISON. ALWAYS willing to "err on the side of mercy" was one of the main traits of the life of Mr. Samuel P. Harbison. This had substantial illustration when the court house was dedicated on the anniversary of the one hundredth year of the county. With John B. Jackson and S. S. Marvin, Mr. Harbison represented the Chamber of Commerce on the Finance Committee. The railroad managers had made the concession of a cent a mile rate for visitors to the city during the three days celebration, and also substantial subscriptions to the expense fund. Mr. James McCrea, Vice President of the Pennsylvania Company, was out of the city when the arrangements for excursions were concluded, and on his return was asked by the committee to make a contribution to the fund. Mr. McCrea said if he had been in the city, the cent a mile rate would not have been granted on his lines, and he was quite incensed that any committee should ask on top of such a concession and loss, a money subscription. As every other railroad company promptly co-operated with the Chamber of Commerce in the celebration by liberal subscriptions, there was considerable feel- ing over Mr. McCrea's blunt reception of the visitors, and the first impulse was to impale him before the public through the newspapers. Mr. Harbison quickly suggested to the Publicity Committee that not a word of the friction be given, as he felt sure Mr. McCrea would, on reflection, change his mind. If not, the money would be forthcoming from some other source. And Mr. Harbison was entirely right. His word carried, and Mr. McCrea, after the celebration was over, was so pleased with the results, he sent for the gentleman to whom he was so blunt and made a substantial subscription, which enabled the committee to close its accounts without a deficit. EDWARD F. HOUSTON. JUST as "Memory's Milestones" is being put to press, death suddenly called an old friend and familiar citizen, Edward F. Houston, brother of Charles W. Houston, formerly of the Press. "Ed" was his title when "Andy" Carnegie was his running mate as messengers of the Western Union Telegraph Company. To him came the distinguished honor of carrying the first message announcing the bombardment of Fort Sumter. He was identified with the oil interests of Pitts- burgh in the days of the activity of that industry, and latterly had charge of the estate of David Reighard. He was a Democrat until the Bryan 16-to-i campaign, when he became a Republican. Of sturdy stock, he was a substantial citizen of the soundest integrity. io8 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. HARRY DAVIS. WHEN fire laid waste the Grand Opera House, Harry Davis promised the public a play house unequaled in America; and that he excelled his best artistic ability is evidenced in the dream in which one finds himself or herself when comfortably ensconced in the house. The enchanting beauty of the interior is never lost sight of, notwithstanding the attractions on the stage are of the most superb character. But I hazard nothing in saying that few outside the writer remembers Harry when he knocked at the door of the "Old Exposition & Loan Society Exhibition," adjoining Smoky Island, in the lower part of Allegheny, more than 35 years ago. Mr. Ezra P. Young was manager, and the strange youth wanted a small space outside the building for an "athletic stunt." A bargain was consummated, Mr. Young secured $10.00, and Davis assured him that the exhibition would be clean — and by the way his exhibitions ever since have also been clean. The Davis stunt was the setting up of dolls, which were knocked off their pins with base balls, three for five cents. Young was green with envy when he discovered young Davis raking in the "nickels," while the fireworks, day and evening, and balloon ascension were in the discard. This was the Davis start for a marvelous theatrical suc- cess, and how much more lucre he might have annexed was cut short by fire, which entirely destroyed the old building and everything in it. HOW MANY DO YOU REMEMBER? < ONSCIOUSLY or unconsciously the thought grows that 'We are our V-» brother's keeper,' and this is forcefully demonstrated by our patriotic societies. "No single force today is more universal than fraternity. It is extending its beneficient influence everywhere. Every city, town, village, hamlet is coming under its sway. "To be a fraternalist is a mark of honor. It gives one a certain standing among his fellow men that can be obtained in no other way. Fraternalism en- courages thrift, protects the home, looks after the unfortunate and the helpless. It stands by the death couch and says to its occupant that it will look after the widow and the orphan, and will see to it that they are given a fair chance in the world when their protector is gone. "Fraternalism has consoled, comforted, relieved millions. It is grandly do- ing that work today, and will be engaged in it in the years to come. It may at times have its enemies, but that cannot prevail against it. Its spirit of helpful- ness is too deeply rooted ever to be destroyed. Selfishness is destroyd by it ; envy and hate are dissipated. True fraternity suggests love, helpfulness. It minimizes poverty, it lessens sorrow." Fraternal organizations' potent influences for peace were praised by Secre- tary Bryan in Washington, D. C. He said: "The fraternal organization is destined to play a larger part than it has heretofore in the advancement of world peace. Many of our orders are now international, and while they may be impotent to check the ravages of war when war has once begun, they can be potent in the earlier stages of discus- sion before passion has converted invisible boundaries into impassable barriers." Gbe maorlb's Mat We stand at Armageddon And we battle for the Lord. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 187 THE WORLD WAR. Retrospect July 4, 1918. PRESIDENT WILSON says, " 'The Star Spangled Banner' is the emblem of the right of one nation to save other nations, and Old Glory in the future will stand for Justice to all mankind." "Thank God I am an American." — Daniel Webster. LINCOLN GRIEVED— KAISER GRATIFIED. A LETTER written by the Kaiser to a German woman who has lost nine sons in the war is now going the rounds of the European press. It is particularly interesting to Americans because of its sharp contrast to the famous letter of President Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby during the American Civil War. The Kaiser is "gratified," and sends his photograph. Lincoln was grieved, and, as we recall Lincoln's letter, it did not occur to him that his picture would relieve the desolation of Mrs. Bixby. The following are the letters : The Kaiser's Letter. "His majesty the Kaiser hears that you have sacrificed nine sons in de- fense of the Fatherland in the present war. His majesty is immensely grati- fied at the fact, and in recognition is pleased to send you his photograph, with frame and autograph signature. "Frau Meter, who received the letter, has now joined the street beggars in Delmenhors-Oldenburg, to get a living." Lincoln's Letter. "Dear Madam : — I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." WE WILL WIN THE WAR. WHEN we think of this country's resources, faith in our ability to win the war is redoubled. The wealth of the United States is estimated at $250,000,000,000, with an income of $50,000,000,000 — as much as the British and German empires combined. Our country leads in the production of wheat; grows three-fourths of the world's supply of corn, two-thirds of its cotton, and one-third of its wool, and has more miles of steam railroad than all of Europe combined. Moreover, the American production of steel exceeds that of Britain, France, Russia, Belgium and the Central Empires combined — totaling 42,600,000 tons a year; and incidentally in this great steel production Pittsburgh plays the leading part. [War won since the above was written.] 188 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. WHAT THE KAISER MOST NEEDS. WE ARE surfeited these days with reminiscences of the Kaiser, from his physician, tailor, barber and "shoe shine." But what he most needs just now is an "undertaker." America's finest will see to it that the funeral director be a gifted writer, in order that the coming generations may know just exactly what antics the brutal, crazy monarch performed during the funeral obsequies and interment. DANIEL WEBSTER'S AMERICANISM. I MEAN to stand upon the Constitution. I need no other platform. I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country's, my God's, and truth's. I was born an American ; I live an American ; I shall die an Amer- ican; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute disregard of personal consequences. What are personal consequences? What is the individual man, with all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country in a crisis like this, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer or if he fall in defense of the liberties and Constitution of his country. — Daniel Webster, July 17, 1850. DEAD OR ALIVE. OUR business with the enemy is simple. It is to get him dead or alive, though we go to Berlin to do it. When we have taken him he shall be brought, handcuffed, before the bar of humanity and sentenced as he deserves — to the form of death he will least disgrace and to an obloquy eternal. We have paid too much for freedom to have to win it twice. — New York Tribune. [We have since trapped him alive.] OVER THE BLUE AND GRAY. HERE'S to the Blue of the wind-swept North when they meet on the fields of France. May the spirit of Grant be over them all as the sons of the North advance. Here's to the Gray of the sunkissed South when they meet on the fields of France. May the spirit of Lee be over them all as the sons of the South advance. Here's to the Blue and Gray as one when they meet on the fields of France. May the spirit of God be over them all, As the sons of the Flag advance. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 189 FOURTH LIBERTY LOAN. THE following brilliant gems are from the address of President Wilson, in New York, Friday evening, September 28, in launching the Fourth Liberty- Loan: Individual statesmen may have started the conflict; neither they nor their opponents can stop it as they please. Our brothers from many lands, as well as our own murdered under the sea, were calling to us and we responded fiercely. It is of capital importance that we should also be explicitly agreed that no peace shall be obtained by any kind of compromise. Germany will have to redeem her character, not by what happens at the peace table, but by what follows. All international agreements and treaties of every kind must be known, in their entirety, to the rest of the world. The United States is prepared to assume its full share of responsibility for the * * * understanding upon which peace will henceforth rest. Statesmen must follow the clarified common thought or be broken. Germany always finds that the world does not want her terms. It wishes justice and fair dealing. We are all agreed that there can be no peace obtained by any kind of bar- gain or compromise with the Central Empires. They (Central Powers) have convinced us that they are without honor and do not intend justice. [The answer was Peace without Compromise.] THE GLORY OF THE STARS AND STRIPES. ATTU, the most western of the Aleutian Islands, away beyond the lines of Alaska, in June, holds the setting sun until it rises in Maine. So, years before the United States acquired. the Phillipines, it was as true of the Stars and Stripes as it was of the Union Jack, that the sun never set on the country over which it floated. And away beyond Alaska its people last night saw the flag in the "twilight's last gleaming," and almost at the same instant in the "dawn's early light" on the coast of Maine the people of New England be- held it in all of its glory. You're a grand old flag, tho torn to a rag; And forever in peace may you wave; You're the emblem of the Land I love, The home of the free and the brave. Every heart beats true for the red, white and blue, Without ever a boast or brag; And, should old acquaintance be forgot, Keep your eye on the GRAND OLD FLAG. 190 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. RED CROSS— WHAT IS IT? RED CROSS differs from all other forms of war work. Red Cross reaches the heart of the world. Every cent received is spent for War Relief. Membership fees pay the general expenses of adminisration of Red Cross. Interest in money in bank makes available for relief $1.02 for every $1 contributed. Relief and nursing of soldiers is most familiar Red Cross work. Red Cross work extends to: The tubercular. Invalided soldiers. Prisoners in Germany. Dependent families of soldiers. Civilians and children in the war zone. Those in reconquered French territory. Repatriated people returning to France. Cripples and the blind, who are taught useful occupations. The work extends to Russia, Roumania, Serbia, Italy and Armenia, as well as in France. That is why Allegheny county went "over the top" in its Red Cross drives by many millions more than was asked for. A Pittsburgh lady, returned from Chicago, says the knitters and other Red Cross workers in the Garden City are turning out manufactured goods o' the value of $125,000 monthly. Such results undoubtedly are in the mind of President Wilson when he suggests that we cannot win the war without the women — therefore, in gratitude to them he favored the passage of the suf- frage amendment. Great statesmen conquer nations, Kings rule a people's fate, But an unseen hand of velvet These giants regulate. The iron arm of fortune With woman's hand is purled ; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Allegheny county women, young and old, are alert at knitting, keeping the "home machines whirling" on socks, and persons just returned from the front trenches plead with them for renewed effort — as it is very cold "over there" in winter time. [The boys are now bringing the socks home with them.] PROUD OF AMERICA. WHEN a man becomes a nation's subject, the nation becomes his servant. Its power is pledged for his defense, its laws are for his protection, its very existence is for his benefit. That nation is worthless, that will not with pleasure venture all for its honor. — Schiller. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 191 SAMPLE FOUR MINUTE SPEECH. NINETEEN hundred years ago Christ said: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?" The Kaiser answers that question today by saying : "What value is the soul when you can gain the whole world ?" So he has cast his soul out. He says that there is but one law and that is my law. He says the weak have no right against the strong. So he has waged war against the weak nations and crushed them. He has broken the laws of nations, by invading neutrals, promoting massacres and enslaving captives. He has broken the laws of humanity by sinking unarmed ships and attacking unde- fended towns, slaying women and children. He has broken the laws of God, for he has committed murder, theft, arson, filled the world with lies, sanctioned hideous torture and barbarity. Germany is the first civilized nation in the world to fire on the Red Cross or sink a hospital ship. But when she fired on the Stars and Stripes, she pene- trated into the heart of the whole American Nation, who resented the arrogant insult, and has gone forth with her men and her money to crush Germany, and exterminate Kaiserism from the face of the earth. But this cannot be accom- plished without sorrow, without pain, without sacrifice, for to defend our freedom, and the cause of humanity and justice in the world, we must pay the price of war. Our. boys who are offering up their lives for our cause on the bloody battle front of France must be cared for. They need a Mother's Love, they need a Mother's Care and Tenderness and the only way they can have this is through the greatest Mother in the world, "The Red Cross." It is rightfully named the greatest Mother in the world, for it carries its mission of Mercy to all suffering humanity. It cares for and comforts the sick and wounded, it feeds the hungry, it mothers the orphans, it clothes the naked, it houses the homeless, and with a mother's love and tenderness it whispers the message of hope and consolation to the dying Soldier who gives up his life for you and for me. Surely you will not deny your boy this comfort, this care, when he gives his all for you. There is no greater heroism than mercy. There is no truer bravery than the bravery of tenderness. You have given much, but there is yet much to give, for this war will not end until the beast of Berlin has been crushed. And the quickest way to end it is to win it, and it is the purpose of the Red Cross to help to win it by caring for those who suffer the tortures of war on the battle front. Let us not forget that out of the crash of war comes a Christ-like sympathy whose symbol of tenderness is the Red Cross. It goes everywhere in the cause of Mercy. " IN DEEDS OF GLORY THAT EXCEL." THE Pittsburgh internal revenue district, according to a statement issued by Secretary McAdoo, practically led the country in the payment of incomes, excess profits and miscellaneous taxes for the year 1917, being ex- ceeded only by the New York district. The internal revenue office in this district collected $332,159,701, while collections in the great New York district amounted to $457,058,250. In the Philadelphia district collections were $200,509,671, and the first Illinois dis- trict, in which Chicago is located, reports only $304,374,930. 192 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. IN THE GOD OF NATIONS TRUST. JUNE 20, 1863, in compliance with the request of the National Reform Asso- ciation, President Lincoln appointed a day of national humiliation and prayer for the success of the Union armies. And on July 4th came the answer in the victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the turning of the tWe in favor of Northern success. On Memorial Day, 1918, May 30, in answer to the request of the National Reform Association, President Wilson called the American nation to prayer, and the victories of the Piave and Marne followed in rapid succession, leading General Pershing to say, "Someone has been praying." Here is a review of the victory at the Piave river : Italian Victory on the Piave River — The Marne — Commendation of an Editorial. To the Editor of The Chronicle Telegraph: "Dear Sir : — Permit me to congratulate you on the editorial in your issue of June 25, on the remarkable victory of the Italians at the Piave river. The people of this deeply religious community, recognizing that 'God rules in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth/ have not forgotten that effectual fervent prayer will avail, and everyone attending the noon prayer services at the First Presbyterian Church have come away convinced that right and not might would prevail in due time. "One of your readers, who is acquainted with the country of the Piave river, says never before in its history, at this season of the year, has the stream overflowed its banks. Fifteen or sixteen pontoon bridges were swung across the river and the Austrians crossed for the dash that meant the annihi- lation of the enemy. But the floods descended, the rains came, banks over- flowed, winds beat against the bridges, and they were destroyed. The Aus- trians became panic-stricken and, like the conquests of some of the ancients, the Italians fell upon them and slew them by the thousands, besides capturing a lot of prisoners and vast spoils of war. "It was 'the sword of the Lord and of Gideon' that won a notable victory, with only a small band of untrained men. At times Joshua must 'go forward,' assured of victory ; again God's servants were commanded to 'stand still that they might see His salvation.' But the assurance has always been that 'rulers and nations that know not God are doomed to destruction.' Nebuchudnezzar, Belshazzar, Herod were 'found wanting when weighed in the balance,' and the brutal tyrant, the Kaiser, must pass into the same class before we can be assured of a lasting peace. "I base this conclusion that right and not might will prevail on the last verse of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic': " 'He has sounded forth His trumpet That will never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men Before His judgment seat. Oh be swift, my soul, to answer Him, Be jubilant my feet — Our God is marching on.' "Yours sincerely, "June 6, 1918. "PERCY F. SMITH." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 193 And how about the Marne victory? The river overflowed its banks, but the enemy covered the place with "pillars of smoke," to hide the operations in bridge building. But Jehovah caused a great wind to blow the smoke away and bombs of the Allies destroyed the enemy's plans and gave the Allies an- other glorious victory. And my regret is that I cannot keep open this volume for the crowning event of this World War, the complete overthrow of the Kaiser and every remnant of Prussian militarism, which is but another name for Prussian brutality. [The overthrow has been accomplished.] EASY TO WIN THE WAR. A PEDESTRIAN, blocked at a crossing by the passage of a long freight train, read the sign on one of the cars — Capacity 60,000 lbs. ; length in- side 36 feet ; and thus he soliloquized : "It would take over 430,000 of those big cars to transport the 13,000,000 tons of brewery freight in this country this year, and that would make a train over 3,000 miles long — long enough to reach from San Francisco to New York City; from the Golden Gate to Hell Gate. To Hell Gate, thought I, and although the caboose had now bumped by, I had forgotten my hurry, for I was thinking what fools we be to permit our Ger- man brewers, the Kaiser's allies in America, to burden our railroads with all that freight, when McAdoo says that transportation will win the war." A HELL-BOUND QUARTETTE. ET religious intolerance go, with alcohol, autocracy and militarism, into 1 the same hell from which they came. — Clinton Howard. WHAT'S IN A NAME? AN ITALIAN bomb not only wounded an Austrian at the Piave river, but shattered his name terribly. Corporal Iveanawfulitch was the best the Italian surgeons could get out of him. DEAD WEIGHT. IS IT any wonder the German tanks get nowhere when they have to drag through the mud and mire a name like "Sturmmpanzerkraftwagens" ? The tank division, we learn, is in command of Gen. Fritz von von der Blinken Stoefen, ony geegan, heimerscroiishorn. Those names would "tank up" anyone. 194 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. GRAY KNITTING. A 1 (By Katherine Hale.) LL through the country, in the autumn stillness, A web of gray spreads strangely, rim to rim ; And you may hear the sound of knitting-needles Incessant, gentle, dim. A tiny click of little wooden needles, Elfin amid the gianthood of war ; Whispers of women, tireless and patient, Who weave the web afar. Whispers of women, tireless and patient — "Foolish, inadequate!" we hear you say; "Gray wool on fields of hell is out of fashion." And yet we weave the web from day to day. Suppose some soldier dying, gaily dying, Under the alien skies, in his last hour Should listen, in death's prescience so vivid, And hear a fairy sound bloom like a flower — I like to think that soldiers, gaily dying For the white Christ on fields with shame sown deep, May hear the fairy click of women's needles As they fall fast asleep. [This poem deals with a beautiful phase of the great tragedy — with the work of the women who day and night knit clothing for the men who have gone to battle. "Gray Knitting" is perhaps not a classic but surely exquisite in its sincerity and simplicity. May its publication in this form inspire 500,000 of the good women of America to knit socks for our soldier boys.] UP AGAINST IT. T O LIVE through an encounter with such enemies as General Blomono- zoroff, Pershing's boys deserve more than an iron cross. KIND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE KAISER. A STRAPPING colored recruit leaving Pittsburgh was asked if he was going to Paris. "No, sah ; I'se goin' direc' to Berlin." A fellow in New York, rejected by all enlistment agencies, sought suicide by shooting. His farewell note read that, denied the privilege of going to Berlin to shoot the Kaiser, he was bound to meet him, even if he had to face him in Hades. D MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 195 THE SERVICE FLAG. I EAR little flag in the window there, Hung with a tear and a woman's prayer ; Child of Old Glory, born with a star — Oh, what a wonderful flag you are ! Blue is your star in its field of white, Dipped in the red that was born of fight ; Born of the blood that our forebears shed To raise your mother, The Flag, o'erhead. And now you've come, in this frenzied day, To speak from a window — to speak and say : "I am the voice of a soldier son, Gone, to be gone till the victory's won. "I am the flag of The Service, sir ; The flag of his mother — I speak for her Who stands by my window and waits and fears, But hides from the others her unwept tears, "I am the flag of the wives who wait For the safe return of a martial mate — A mate gone forth where the war god thrives, To save from sacrifice other men's wives. "I am the flag of the sweethearts true ; The often unthought of — the sisters, too. I am the flag of a mother's son And won't come home till the victory's won !" Dear little flag in the window there, Hung with a tear and a woman's prayer ; Child of Old Glory, born with a star — Oh, what a wonderful flag you are ! 1917. — William Herschell in the Indianapolis News. SURE THING. GEN. SHADRACH NEBUCHUDNEZZAR ZOOTS lost out when he shouted to the Austrians in a last grand rally at the Piave river, "Gott mitt us !" The distracted Austrians replied, "Yah, we Gott mittens, too !" HOW TO CONSERVE THE BREAD SUPPLY. WONDER if it ever occurred to Dr. Hoover that he might better control the bread situation through the aid of the United States Patent Office, and seconded by McAdoo, who now owns all the locomotives. How so? A locomotive is an invention; a loaf of bread a necessity. Necessity is the mother of invention. 196 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE CREED OF COWARDS AND TRAITORS. THIS excerpt is from a speech of Hon. William E. Borah, United States Sen- ator, March 18, 1918: "It has often been said, since the war began, that a republic cannot make war. I trample the doctrine under my feet. I scorn the faithless creed as the creed of cowards and traitors. If a republic cannot make war, if it cannot stand the ordeal of conflict, why in the name of the living God are our boys on the western front? Are they to suffer and die for a miserable craft that can only float in the serene breeze of the summer seas and must sink or drive for port at the first coming of the storm? No; they are there to defend a craft which is equal to every conflict and superior to every foe — the triumph and the pride of all the barks that have battled with the ocean of time. "A republic can make war. It can make war successfully and triumphantly and remain a republic every hour of the conflict. The genius who presided over the organization of this Republic, whose impressive force was knit into every fiber of our national organization, was the greatest soldier, save one, of the modern world, and the most far-visioned leader and statesman of all time. He knew that though devoted to peace the time would come when the Repub- lic would have to make war. Over and over again he solemnly warned his countrymen to be ever ready and always prepared. He intended, therefore, that this Republic should make war and make war effectively, and the Repub- lic which Washington framed and baptized with his love can make war. Let these faithless recreants cease to preach their pernicious doctrine. "This theory, this belief that a self-governing people cannot make war without forfeiting their freedom and their form of government is vicious enough to have been kenneled in some foreign clime. A hundred million peo- ple knit together by the ties of a common patriotism, united in spirit and pur- pose, conscious of the fact that their freedom is imperiled, and exerting their energies and asserting their powers through the avenues and machinery of a representative Republic, is the most masterful enginery of war yet devised by man. It has in it a power, an element of strength, which no military power, of itself, can bring into effect. "The American soldier, a part of the life of his nation, imbued with devo- tion to his country, has something in him that no mere military training and discipline as applied to automatons of an absolute government can ever give. The most priceless heritage which this war will leave to a war-worn and weary world is the demonstrated fact that a free people of a free government can make war successfully and triumphantly, can defy and defeat militarism and preserve through it all their independence, their freedom, and the integrity of their institutions." THE NEWSPAPER IN WAR TIMES. < You're the emblem of the land I love, The home of the free and the brave. Every heart beats true for the red, white and blue, Without ever a boast or brag. And should old acquaintance be forgot — Keep your eye on the grand old flag. "Grand birthright of our sires, Our altars and our fires, j Keep we still pure. :..{ Our starry flag unfurled, ~ " The hope of all the world, In peace and light impearled, God hold secure." 224 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE Public School is an American institution and of paramount importance to the future welfare and betterment of the physical, moral and intelligent make-up of our people. The Public Schools are the colleges of the people, in which the boys and girls acquire an education that makes them intelligent men and women, qualifies them to more readily grapple with the stern realities of life, overcome its difficulties and be the better equipped to earn a livelihood. The corner stone and crowning arch of our American grandeur, stability and position among the nations of the earth is attributable to the unmeasured worth of our free Public School System, and it should be kept inviolate in its formation and purity of teachings,- free from all religious or sectarian bias or control. It is the duty of all America-loving people to continue the Public School with the open Bible, so that when knowledge sits upon the throne of reason, moral- ity may occupy the citadel of intelligence. The excellency of the morality of the Bible has been admitted by the most distinguished of men, among whom are Gibbon, Byron, Carlyle, Lord Bolingbroke, Napoleon Bonaparte, Goethe and Renan. Benjamin Franklin, five weeks before his death, said: "The services of the Bible in behalf of human rights and freedom, and in reforming and purifying jurisprudence and politics, have been recognized by many of the most distin- guished historians, jurists and statesmen." Moral teaching, coupled with educational instruction, guarantees the upbuild- ing of a government of the people, for the people and by the people, in the highest conception of the greatest good to all the people. Colonel Roosevelt, as an atfer-the-war measure, advocates free night schools to teach English, and recommends that if the foreign-born after five years, "have not learned, then send them home — we can't afford to have this country grow up as a polyglot boarding house." OUR STEWARDSHIP. LIFE is not for self-indulgence, but for self-devotion. When, instead of saying, "The world owes me a living," men shall say, "I owe the world a life," then the kingdom shall come in power. We owe everything to God but our sins. Fatherland, pedigree, home life, schooling, Christian training — all are God's gifts. Every member of the body or faculty of mind is ours provi- dentially. There is no accomplishment in our lives that is not rooted in oppor- tunities and powers we have nothing to do with in achieving. "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" If God gives us the possibilities and the power to get wealth, to acquire influence, to be forces in the world, what is the true conception of life but divine ownership and human administration? "Of thine own we render thee." All there is of "me" is God's estate, and I am his tenant and agent. On the day of our birth a new lease is signed. On the day of our death accounts are closed. Our fidelity is the interest on God's princi- pal. "That I may receive mine own with interest" is the divine intention. So live that when thy summons comes to give an account of thy stewardship, it may be done with joy, and not with grief. — Maltbie Davenport Babcock. Gfoe ©utet Ibour Life is not for self-indulgence But for self-devotion. l-', MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 227 WHAT TO READ. IF YOU HAVE THE BLUES Read the Twenty-seventh Psalm. IF YOUR POCKET BOOK IS EMPTY Read the Thirty-seventh Psalm. IF PEOPLE SEEM UNKIND Read the Fifteenth Chapter of John. IF YOU ARE DISCOURAGED ABOUT YOUR WORK Read the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Psalm. IF YOU ARE ALL OUT OF SORTS Read the Twelfth Chapter of Hebrews. IF YOU CAN'T HAVE YOUR OWN WAY IN EVERY- THING KEEP SILENT AND Read the Third Chapter of James. IF YOU ARE LOSING CONFIDENCE IN MEN Read the Thirteenth Chapter of First Corinthians. THE DIFFERENCE. •HE wise man admits and laughs at his own folly. The fool gets angry and denies that he has any. KING SOLOMON. < < A S WE sat by the fire" I recalled Solomon's words, "Iron sharpeneth J~\ iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of a friend." Contact with men develops the best that is within us. We can learn something daily from everyone we meet. Learning this early in life, I strictly observed it and have greatly profited thereby. GLADSTONE, ASKED "as he sat by the fire," how he so cheerfully undertook the great work of England daily, and to what he attributed his wonderful suc- cess, answered: "Every morning, on opening my eyes, the first thing that greets me, over the foot of my bed, are these words : 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.' "Texts like the above, if observed, mark the 'End of a Perfect Day.' " 228 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. MY SYMPHONY. TO LIVE content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages with open heart; to bear all cheer- fully, do all bravely, await occasions ; hurry never ; in a word, to let the spir- itual, unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This will be my symphony. — William Henry Channing. A TASK. TO BE honest, to be kind; to earn a little and spend a little less; to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence ; to renounce when that shall be necessary and not to be embittered ; to keep a few friends, but these without capitulation ; above all, on the same grim conditions, to keep friends with himself. Here is a task for all that man has of fortitude and delicacy. — Robert Louis Stevenson. HOPE, LOVE AND TRUST— THESE THREE THE mills of the God grind slowly, But they grind exceedingly small. So soft and slow the great wheels go They scarcely move at all. But the souls of men fall into them And are powdered all to dust, And from the dust spring the passion flowers, HOPE, LOVE AND TRUST. THE TEST OF THE HEART IS TROUBLE. •TrS easy enough to be pleasant i. When life flows along like a song, But the one worth while Is the one who can smile When everything goes wrong. For the test of the heart is trouble, And it always comes with the years; But the smile that is worth All the praises of earth Is the smile that shines through tears. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 229 THAT WHICH ABIDES. THE true measure of your life is not the space you occupy while living, but the abiding results of your life. You can build on the surface and your work will show at once. But when the frosts come it will be unsettled. But lay the foundation deep in the ground, and on a solid basis, and like the oak which is toughened by the storm, it will successfully resist all tests. Generations afterward your work will stand and will be found to have blessed every generation as it passed. BENEFIT OF ORGANIZATION. THE man with the long lash to his whip was illustrating the wonderful accuracy with which the eye can be trained. He would wield the whip so as to clip a flower from a spiral, a fly from the table, a coin from the ground, and other inconceivable stunts. A boy bystander said to him, "Do you think you could crack yonder clump just under the eaves of the barn?" "Yes," said the man, as he gazed at the hornet's nest. "I could hit it easily, but 1 won't — they are organized." A TOAST— A THOUSAND YEARS HERE'S to you, dear ladies, May you live one thousand years, To sort 'er keep things lively, In this vale of human tears. And here's that we may live One thousand years, too. Did we say "a thousand years?" No, a thousand less a day, For we should hate to live on earth And learn that you had passed away. — Anon. THIS WILL INTEREST YOU. IF a person's head measures six inches from side to side between points just in front of the upper part of the ears, where they join the head, it will be found that his ancestors, or some of them, reached 90 years of age. If he meas- ures five inches from the bridge of the nose to the orifice of the ear, some of his ancestors on the mother's side reached 90. If the trunk from the seat of a chair in which a person sits erect, measures 28 inches to the top of the breast bone, he will never show consumptive traits. 230 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE VALUE OF A KIND WORD. S SHE was about to purchase a paper from a half-clad, shivering little mite of a newsboy on an exceedingly chilly day, a kind lady said: "Aren't you very cold, my little boy?" Newsboy — "I wuz, lady, until you spoke to me." DO YOUR BEST FOR ONE ANOTHER MANY a bright, good-hearted fellow, Many a well deserving man, Finds himself some time, in trouble ; So then help him if you can. Some succeed at every turning — Fortune favors every scheme ; Others, too, just as deserving Have to pull against the stream. So then — Do your best for one another, Make this life a pleasant dream; Help your worn and weary brother, Pulling hard against the stream. BISHOP VINCENT, M. E. CHURCH. A MORNING prayer and resolution : "I will try this day to live a simple, sincere, serene life, repelling every thought of discontent, self-seeking and anxiety; cultivating magnanimity, self-control and the habit of silence; practicing economy, cheerfulness and helpfulness. "And as I cannot in my own strength do this, or even with a hope of suc- cess attempt it, I look to Thee, O Lord, my Father, in Jesus Christ, my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit." — Topeka (Kan.) Capital, first issue; Rev. Sheldon, March 12, 1900. TOM PAINE. YES, I "sat by the fire" and said to Paine: "Something over a hundred years ago you predicted that at this time the Bible would be extinct and religion a forgotten thing. Then there were only a few Bibles in circulation, and families had to consolidate because there were not sufficient to go around, individually." Today there are 600,000,000 of Bibles in circulation in all the known lan- guages of the world, and it is still the best seller of any book ever published; Meantime Tom Paine's temple was sold at sheriff's sale, and it is Tom that is "exstinkt." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 231 INDIA PAPER. INDIA paper, the fine, beautiful paper used in the Oxford Bibles, is made from old, rough, coarse sail cloth. Even so is character established, how- ever harsh, coarse or unclean one may be, if the molding anew is in the hands of the Master. The transition is as complete as that of the India paper. FIND YOUR WORK OR MAKE IT. THE most useful Christians are not always the talented, but Christians with enterprise, courage and consecration enough to find a work or make it. Always keep the main business in view — work for the blessed Mas-, ter. Don't be deceived by the noise of activity. Make sure that your work is producing something more than noise. Make your work a joy. Get fun out of it. Ask a boy to watch a spot on the wall for five minutes and you will weary him beyond measure; invite him to look at a moving picture and he will clamor for more. Shoveling snow from the sidewalks is work and is fatiguing. Shoveling the same snow to build a fort is fun and the shoveler will keep it up for hours. These facts are parables. Will you allow me to make practical application of them ? If your work is a task you will never get so much done, or get it so well done as you will if you make it a joy. Look at it in the right light. Anything you do in working for your Master should be welcomed as a blessed privilege —never regarded as a duty. Think what it will mean 10 years from now — a thousand years from now ! Do your Christian work for the sheer pleasure of helping Jesus Christ; serve as the angels serve, from pure delight to be counted worthy of sharing in God's enterprise. For without doubt religion is the greatest enterprise in the world today. THE VERY BEST TABLE ETIQUETTE. [AKE love and good cheer Constant guests at your table, And the fruit of your knowledge And skill will be able To fatten both body and soul. w PHILOSOPHY OF THE POSTAGE STAMP. MY SON, observe the philosophy of the postage stamp. It has the knack of sticking to anything until it "gets there." And then comes the poor porous plaster that is enabled to stick and do a man good, even after he has turned his back to it. 232 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. SIMON SHORT'S SON SAMUEL. WILL you kindly see how fast you can read this biography? Shrewd Simon Short sewed shoes. — Seventeen summers, speeding storms, spreading sunshine, successively saw Simon's small, shabby shop still standing stanch, saw Simon's self-same squeaking sign still swinging, silently specifying: "Simon Short, Smithfield's sole surviving shoemaker. Shoes sewed, soled superfinely." Simon's spry, sedulous spouse, Sally Short, sewed shirts, stuffed sofas, stitched sheets. Simon's six, stout, sturdy sons, Seth, Samuel, Silas, Stephen, Saul, Shadrach — sold sundries. Sober Seth sold sugar, starch, spice; simple Sam sold saddles, stirrups, screws; sagacious Stephen sold silks, satins, shawls; skeptical Saul sold salvers; selfish Shadrach sold salves, shoe strings, soap, saws, skates; slack Silas sold Sally Short's stuffed sofas. Some seven summers since, Simon's second son Samuel saw Sophia Sophronia Spriggs somewhere. Sam showed soon strange symptoms. Sam seldom stayed storing, selling saddles. Sam sighed sorrowfully, sought Sophia Sophronia's society, sang serenades slyly. Simon stormed, scolded severely, said Sam seemed so silly singing such shameful, senseless songs. "Strange, Sam sho'd slight such splendid summer sales! shatter-brained sim- pleton! strutting spendthrift!" "Softly, sire," said Sally. "Sam's smitten, Sam's spied some sweetheart." "Sentimental schoolboy!" snarled Simon. "Smitten! Stop such stuff!" Simon sent Sally's snuff-box spinning, seized Sally's scissors, smashed Sallie's spectacles, scattered several spools. "Sneaking scoundrel! Sam's shocking silliness shall surcease!" Scowling, Simon stopped speaking, starting swiftly shopward. Sally sighed sadly. Summoning Sam, she spoke sympathy. "Sam," said she, "sire seems singularly snappy; so sonny, stop strolling streets, stop smoking segars, spending specie superfluously, stop sprucing so, stop singing serenades, stop short! Sell saddles, sonny, sell saddles sensibly! See Sophia Sophronia Spriggs soon; she's sprightly, she's stable, so solicit — secure Sophia speedily, Sam." BEAUTIFUL WAYSIDE GEMS SOME stand today on Nebo, The journey nearly done, And some are in the valley, But all are going home. Home — that beautiful place He has gone to prepare For all that are washed and forgiven ; And many dear children Are gathering there For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 233 BIBLICAL CURIOSITIES. THE Bible contains 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,173 verses, 773,692 words, 3,566,480 letters. The word "and" occurs 46,227 times; the word "reverend" occurs only once — in the 9th verse of the nth Psalm; the name "Lord" occurs 6,962 times in the Old Testament; "God" occurs 2,726 times; "Jesus" 625 times in the New Testament ; "Christ" 555 times ; the word "Selah" — which we believe has never been satisfactorily interpreted — is met with 74 times in the Bible ; the word "eternity" but once. The double assertion, "Verily, verily," is to be seen 25 times in John's gospel, and nowhere else. There are 314 interrogatories ( ?) in Job. The phrase, "And God said," occurs 10 times in the 1st chapter of Genesis. The word "foreordained" is mentioned but once in the whole Bible — I Peter 1, xx; "atonement" but once in the New Testament. There is no men- tion made in the Scriptures of "Adam's fall, original sin," or the "covenant of grace." The words "eternal life" are mentioned but once — Daniel 12, « The word "predestination" is not mentioned in the whole book. The middle and shortest chapter is the 117th Psalm; the middle ve»ve is the 8th of the 118th Psalm; the longest verse is the 8th of the 9th clnpt*-'- of Esther; the shortest is the 35th of the nth chapter of St. John. The 19^. chap- ter of II. Kings and the 34th of Isaiah are alike. The 8th, 15th, 21st and 31st verses of the 107th Psalm are alike; and each verse of the 136th Psalm ends alike. There are no words or names in the Bible of more than six syllables. CHARACTER BUILDING. BOYS are just like pieces of canvas and, with God helping, wherever you are, on each you can put a picture of Christ. You will put it on a live canvas, and it will walk the streets of your city ; it will go into your homes ; it will go into stores ; it will be a real thing. Character building is the grandest work in the world. Other things crumble and fall to nothing, but when you have helped God build a character, you have built something that is going to live as long as God lives. THE SHEPHERD'S PSALM. iiHPHE world could spare many a large book better than this sunny little X Psalm. It has dried many tears and supplied the mold into which many hearts have poured their peaceful faith." — Dr. McClaren. COURTESY. OURTESY is one of the cheapest exercises of virtue ; it costs even less than rudeness. — Vanderbilt to New York Central employes. 234 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. SOWING AND REAPING. ALL the loving links that bind us, one by one we leave behind us. But the seeds of good we sow, both in shade and shine will grow, and will keep our hearts aglow, while the days are going by. A LESSON ON CONFIDENCE. A MIDDLE-AGED woman sat in the seat with a little girl perhaps nine years old. The train was behind its schedule time, and was running at a rapid rate. The lady was very nervous and several times asked the child if she were not frightened. At length the woman almost cried with fright and, gazing at the unconcerned child, said: "Aren't you afraid?" "No," said the child; "my papa's the engineer." WHILE THE DAYS ARE GOING BY. THERE'S no time for idle scorning; Let your face be like the morning ; Oh! the smile we can renew, As our journey we pursue ; Oh ! the good we all may do While the days are going by. SHE'S SOMEBODY'S MOTHER. HE WAS a handsome, manly boy, ringleader on a crowded street of a gang of wild-eyed playmates. He was having a merry time, in all sorts of athletic stunts, when of a sudden the sport ceased and he was in the middle of the street, escorting to a place of safety an elderly woman, frail, emaciated and very poorly clad. After placing her in safety he returned to the lads with this remarkable observation : "Boys, she's somebody's mother." T PEACE, SWEET PEACE. HE kind of peace which President Wilson seeks for the world is repre- sented by that beautiful picture in old Fortress Monroe, where, in the mouth of a huge cannon which had been a mighty engine of destruction dur- ing the Civil War, a bird had nested and one day brought forth a brood of songsters, whose sweet notes thrilled the soldiers at the fort. Swords into ploughshares and other weapons into pruning hooks ; cannon into birds' nests. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 235 AVOIDING DANGER. A GENTLEMAN, wishing to hire a chauffeur, asked the first candidate how near he could drive to the edge of a dangerous precipice in going to and from his beautiful home, with his family. Reply : "I think I could make it by a margin of 12 inches." Second candidate: "I think I could pass it safely with a margin of two feet." The third and successful candidate said "he would drive the machine as far to the other side as possible." MAN CONSIDERED AS A SOCIAL BEING. WE may live without poetry, music and art, We may live without conscience, We may live without heart, We may live without friends. We may live without books, But civilized man cannot live without cooks. We may live without books, What is knowledge but grieving? We may live without hope, What is hope but deceiving? We may live without love, What is passion but pining? But where is the man Who can live without dining? — Owen Meredith. AN OPEN DOOR. THE six days chain you as captives to the earth and do their best to keep the prison doors shut, that you may forget the way out. The Lord's day sets before you an open door and bids you look forth into your immortality. — Pulsford. BE CONSISTENT. IT IS a good thing to investigate great questions for ourselves, but it is not safe to be always stirring up the heart with an interrogation point. Have something settled or you will have nothing to stand upon. It is refreshing always to be consistent. 236 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. LITERARY MERIT OF THE BIBLE. »<¥ EST we forget," let it be understood Mr. H. B. Swoope, U. S. District l—i Attorney at Pittsburgh, while a relentless persecutor — he always insisted ''prosecutor" — those closely associated with him found him the possessor of many remarkable qualities, sympathy being notably in evidence. That he was gifted in more than legal knowledge is shown by an address on the "Literary Character of the Bible," which he delivered before the Wilm- ington, Del., Institute, January 8, 1867. He modestly entitled it "A lawyer's humbTe Tribute to the superior literary merit of the Inspired Volume." He wrote under three heads : the history, poetry and prophecy or philosophy of the Bible, but at this time mention is made only of the closing paragraphs. Here they are : "From the Psalms we turn to the stately diction of Isaiah, whose sublime prophecy is one long rapture, adorned with the richest profusion of imagery, clutched from the empyrean — from the story of Lebanon — the excellency of Sharon — the green forests of Carmel — the willows of Kedron — and the flocks of Nabaioth. Majesty is his most marked characteristic — a majesty more com- manding and more uniformly sustained than is to be found in the writings of any other author. He is most lavish of that poetical figure which elevates the style — Personification. Thus the sublime passage in which he describes the downfall of the Assyrian King abounds with personified objects. The fir trees and cedars break forth into exulation on the fall of the tyrant; hell from beneath stirs up all its horrid inmates to give him a fitting reception, and the dead kings are in- troduced as speaking and joining in the song of triumph. We almost hear his shout of exultation as the grand panorama of the Millenium bursts upon his en- raptured vision, and we say in the words of Ezekiel : Thou art the confirmed exemplar of measures, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Poetry of Holy Writ "We cannot do more than mention the rude vehemence of Ezekiel, the awful allegory of Daniel, the sublime melancholy of Jeremiah, the energy of Hosea, the elegance of Joel, the concise greatness of Micah, the majesty of Nahum, the sim- ple, touching and faultless story of Joseph, surpassing in beauty and moral grandeur the world-renowned epics of Homer and Virgil, nor yet the charming and exquisite picture of nature presented in the little book of the gleaner, Ruth, which is declared by Goethe to be the loveliest specimen of epic and ideal poetry in existence. "We can scarce do more than refer to the beautiful poetry of Jesus. Indeed, His whole life was a poem — a poem of lowliness and grandeur — of poverty and glory, of humility and power, of angels and men, closing with the fearful tragedy of Mount Calvary, which heaven, earth and hell combined to render terrible. "He was ever in closest accord with outward nature, and in all the prom- inent events of His life the work of His hands seemed to sympathize. When He was born the brightest stars in the glittering host stood sentinel over the manger; during His life the winds and waves obeyed Him; when He died the sun veiled himself in darkness, the rocks were rent, the earth quaked, and 'the MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 237 pulse of the universe stood still.' But not only did nature sympathize with Him ; He also sympathized with nature, and seemed to seek in external scenery a coun- terpart for all the various moods of His mind. Hence when He was about to be baptized and proclaimed 'the beloved Son,' He stood on the green-clad banks of the Jordan wherein rippling waters emblemed His purity, and the sweet perfume of the trees and flowers floated around Him. But in the hour of His great temp- tation, He wandered into the wilderness, where gloom and desolation could harmonize with His sorrow, and where truth and beauty never enter, save in the* garb of humility and of tears. Thus He seemed not only to be at home in nature but to be completely identified with it so that though He 'was not recog- nized by men, the lilies of the field looked up meaningly in His face ; the waters perceived Him — they saw Him well ; the winds lingered amid His hair ; the sun- beams played on His forehead ; the landscape from the summit seemed to crouch lovingly at His feet, and the stars from their far thrones sent Him down obeisance.' The Beatitudes "But while there was poetry in His life, there was far more in the gems of living beauty that dropped from His lips, which were treasured up in the hearts of His followers and now garnish the pages of the four Gospels. His first recorded words are the Sermon on the Mount, and we feel that every sen- tence of this magnificent cluster of beatitudes is but an emanation from the great heart of God. "They include all morality and all religion and are adorned with the most beautiful imagery. The salt of the sea, the light of the body, the fowls of the air, the lilies of the valley, the straight gate and the narrow way, thorns and thistles, fruits and flowers, the hairs of the head and the rocks of the mountains, all combine to add beauty and sublimity to the deep lessons they convey and are like dewdrops glistening on the foliage of the Tree of Life. All the parables, too, of the Savior are poems — poems from which have sprung some of the master pieces of the schools. Dante's vision, Spenser's 'Fairy Queen' and Bunyan's 'Pilgrim' are but echoes that have reverberated 'down the corridor of time' from the beautiful way droppings of the meek and lowly Jesus * * *. "In conclusion, let us each and all resolve to study God's great poem with renewed diligence — to familiarize ourselves with the great events of its history — practice the beautiful teachings of its philosophy — and learn to realize the al- most ineffable splendor of its gorgeous imagery. Let us remember that all the lamps of worldly wisdom, concentrated in one focal blaze, cannot light our path so securely as the rays that shine out from the pages of this most wonderful book. It stands a mighty light-house on the shores of Time, flashing its beams far out over the dark ocean of eternity, setting The clouds on fire with redness, Leaving on the level water One long track and trail of splendor, Down whose streams as down a river the ransomed spirit will glide until, disappearing far in the purple distance, it will be lifted high into the land of the hereafter." 238 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. "THE DAY." YOU boasted the Day, and you toasted the Day, And now the Day has come. Blasphemer, braggart and coward all, Little you reck the numbing ball, The blasting shell, or the "white arm's" fall, As they speed poor humans home. You spied for the Day, you lied for the Day, And woke the Day's red spleen. Monster, who asked God's aid divine, Then strewed His seas with the ghastly mine ; Not all the waters of the Rhine Can wash thy foul hands clean. You dreamed for the Day, you schemed for the Day ; Watch how the Day will go ; Slayer of age and youth and prime, (Defenseless slain for never a crime,) Thou art steeped in blood as a hog in slime, False friend and cowardly foe. You have sown for the Day, you have grown for the Day, Yours is the harvest red ; Can you hear the groans and the awful cries? Can you see the heap of slain that lies, And sightless turned to the flame-split skies The glassy eyes of the dead ? You have wronged for the Day, you have longed for the Day That lit the awful flame ; 'Tis nothing to you that hill and plain Yield sheaves of dead men amid the grain ; That widows mourn for their loved ones slain, And mothers curse thy name. But after the Day there's a price to pay For the sleepers under the sod, And He you have mocked for many a day — Listen and hear what He has to say : "Vengeance is mine ; I will repay." What can you say to God? — Written by Henry Chappell, Bath, England. Bryan Mawr, Pa., September 3, 1914. GENIUS AND LABOR. ENIUS may be the flyer, but labor is the freight that brings the most goods • to town. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 239 WHY WILL THE BIBLE NEVER GROW OLD? WHY will the Bible never grow old? Because it is the Word of God, says the minister. It can never be outgrown, says the secular scholar, be- cause it is a record of life in its relation to universal laws. It gives advice on every subject, from how to obtain salvation for the soul to how to avoid humiliation at a feast — and human nature changes but slowly, if at all. In addition to its many spiritual messages, it is the greatest repository of worldly wisdom. Its writings were not "dashed off" — it is a book that was 1,500 years in writing, and it covers the most remarkable periods in the world's history. TALENT OF SUCCESS. THE talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well, and doing well whatever you do — without a thought of fame. — Long- fellow. KEEP OUT. NO ONE can ask honestly or hopefully to be delivered from temptation unless he has himself honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it. — Ruskin. A SOUND QUARTET. IF YOU wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experi- ence your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius. — Addison. TRAINING FIRST. OD trains his people for the duties he has in store for them, and when they are prepared for the service they are called to do it. GETTING THE BETTER OF SATAN. ifpHAT'S right," said the Methodist minister. "I formerly wrote all of my A sermons, but by the time I got ready to deliver them Satan was in the pews and robbed the sermon of its lesson. Now I speak without preparation, and the 'devil himself don't know what I am going to say.' " 240 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. A GREAT ENTERPRISE. THE seeing eye, the listening ear, the truthful tongue, the faithful heart, the helping hand. Try it out and see how mankind will profit by your enterprise. A POSER. A CUSTOM for years in the Bank of England was to "prove" a young man applying for a position in the great institution. After he had satisfac- torily answered all questions as to ability, sobriety, experience, morality, etc., he was ushered into the presence of the governor, who, after looking him over, said: "Young man, how do you spend your Sabbath?" His fate hung upon his answer. Lesson : Young man, go and do thou likewise. CHARIOTS ON THE HILL TOPS. WHOEVER SEES nothing but increasing wickedness and coming ruin is missing the view point of life. Like the prophet's servant of old, he fails to see the chariots on the hill tops. But the truer life draws nigher And the morning stars climb higher Every year; Earth's hold on us grows slighter, Every year; And the heavy burdens lighter, And the dawn immortal brighter Every year. THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW THEM. FIREWORKS are brilliant and beautiful, but in a moment they fade into darkness. Tomorrow they will be the same as though they had not been. The men who leave most of good behind them are the greatest. TRIALS. 'RIALS are tests of character to prove whether we are fitted to receive larger duties and wider influence. A true and noble act has a far-reaching influence. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 241 SLIGHTLY MIXED. FROM love to matrimony may be but a step from the sublime to the ridicu- lous, still it may be safely ventured upon, even in a case like the follow- ing of domestic perplexities: "I got acquainted with a young widow, who lived in the same house with her step-daughter. I married the widow; my father fell, shortly after, in love with the step-daughter of my wife and married her. My wife became the mother-in-law and also the daughter-in-law of my own father ; my wife's step- daughter is my step-mother, and I am the step-father of my mother-in-law. My step-mother, who is the step-daughter of my wife, has a boy ; he is natur- ally my step-brother, because he is the son of my father and step-mother ; but because he is a son of my wife's step-daughter, so is my wife the grandmother of the little boy, and I am the grandfather of my step-brother. My wife has also a boy ; my step-mother is consequently the step-sister of my boy, and is also his grandmother, because he is the child of her step-son ; my father is the brother-in-law of my son, because he has got his step-sister for a wife. I am the brother of my own son, who is the son of my step-mother; I am the brother-in-law of my own son, my son is the grandson of my father, and I am my own grandfather." "M TIMELY RESOLUTION. ARCHING close by the band " is a timely resolution. IF IT BE A GOOD HOPE. F YOU cannot give a good reason for the hope that is within you, you should examine to see if it be a good hope. AN EASY TASK. I T IS far easier to destroy than to build up. It requires strong men to erect the house ; any idle tramp or fool can burn it down or destroy it. SUFFERING. UFFERING touches the heart and brings out all that is best in human nature. 2/(2 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. CURIOUS MEDLEY. 'HIS curious medley includes the popular songs of 50 years ago: By the lake where dropped the willow, Row, vassal, row! I want to be an angel And jump Jim Crow. An old crow sat on a hickory limb, None named him but to praise; Let me kiss him for his mother, For he smells of Schweitzer kase. The minstrel to the war has gone, With the banjo on his knee; He woke to hear the sentries shriek There's a light in the window for thee. A frog he would a-wooing go, His hair was curled to kill ; He used to wear an old gray coat, And the sword of Bunker Hill. Oft in the stilly night, Make way for liberty ! he cried, I won't go home till morning, With Peggy by my side. I am dying, Egypt, dying, Susannah don't you cry ; Know how sublime a thing it is To brush away the blue-tailed fly. The boy stood on the burning deck, With his baggage checked to Troy. One of the few immortal names, His name was Pat Molloy. Mary had a little lamb, He could a tale unfold, He had no teeth to eat a corn cake, And his spectacles were of gold. Lay on, lay on, Macduff, Man wants but little here below, And I'm to be Queen of the May, So kiss me quick and go ! DISCONTENT DANGEROUS. DISCONTENTED men may be easily converted into dangerous men. At- tributing their unhappy condition, real or supposed, to the doings of others, they are filled with resentment and are ready to take revenge. OUR BEST FRIENDS. ^v UR best friends are those who bring out the best that is in us. AN EARLY SUPERSTITION. EARLY locomotive engineers would not run in the rain on the theory that the track was slippery and the engine might run off the track. Some people run best when "off the track." MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 243 RESPONSE TO THE TOAST "WOMAN." HON. JUDGE THOMAS EWING, of the Common Pleas Court, Edward A. Montooth, District Attorney, and William Witherow, of the Hotel Duquesne, formed the first trio to "sit with me by the fire." They asked for a repetition of my maiden effort at after-dinner speaking, when I responded to the toast "Woman," at the Press Club dinner, and received their hearty ap- plause and approbation. Here it is with a few slight changes to suit the occasion. "A gentleman chosen to reply to this charming sentiment, because of his fitness to do it justice, said, 'If one could imagine any condition in which the ladies (woman, if you please), need praise and plaudit, he would be glad to supplement that which others could so well say.' But he pleaded he was too old for sentiment and asked that his gray hairs be spared. "I agree with this eminent gentleman that woman needs not the praise oe plaudits of men. But I will not plead a want of sentiment, and I may be par- doned for digressing here just a little. I consider myself doubly honored to- night by the presence of the ladies who seldom attend the banquets where the lords of creation say so many charming things about them, and I have wished often for such an occasion as this, because it seems to me that when the ban- quet table is graced by the presence of the ladies, as witnessed here tonight, we have a reflection of the delightful scene pictured by Longfellow, when he says : " 'And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.' "And I am doubly delighted that Pocahontas interfered with her father, Powhattan, and saved the life of my illustrious ancestor, that I might have the distinguished honor of responding to this sublime toast, in the very pres- ence of the ladies. "For you know, ladies, that it has been the custom of the gentlemen to enjoy the feast of reason and flow of soul over the banquet board, with the ladies at home or at a banquet of their own. Usually the gentlemen come from the sanctum sanctorum, while the women are at home at spankem spanktorum. "But as I stand here to respond to this toast, and gaze into the faces of my eloquent colleagues who, upon previous occasions, have paid the most eloquent tributes to woman, I confess to a feeling that 'the shallows murmur while the deeps are dumb.' "Victor Hugo says: 'You gaze at a star for two motives, because it is luminous and because it is impenetrable. You have by your side a sweeter radiance and greater mystery, woman.' . Hugo no doubt gave utterance thus because woman is uplifted in his word painting of love. "Hear him : 'Love is a portion of the soul itself, and is of the same nature as it. Like it, it is the divine spark ; like it, it is uncorruptible, indivis- ible and imperishable. It is a point of fire within which nothing can limit and nothing extinguish. We feel it burning, even in the marrow of our bones, and see it flashing in the depths of the heavens.' 244 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. "Following the thought of Hugo that woman is a sweeter radiance than the stars, I have no trouble in reaching the conclusion that he had in his mind her equally boundless sphere. Someone has said : " 'They talk about a woman's sphere As though it had a limit; There's not a place in earth or Heaven, There's not a task by mankind given, There's not a blessing or a woe, There's not a whisper, yes or no, There's not a life, or death, or birth, That has a feather's weight of worth Without a woman in it.' "Radiant as are the stars, woman is a sweeter radiance, because the name thrills our very souls with ecstacies of pleasure, for it instantly connects our thoughts with those endearing words, 'mother,' 'sister,' 'wife,' 'daughter,' the brightest stars that glimmer and glow and shine, the most precious treasures earth possesses. "However boundless the sphere of a luminous star, it fails to surpass the depths of love — the inestimable wealth of a mother's love, or the tender af- fection of a fond sister. What will you compare to the happy picture in your old home, where mother and sisters were its sunshine? How gladly you recall the play hours with sisters. " 'Ah, yes ! There's a charm for me yet in the old log barn, So tottering old and gray, Where wildly we loved long years ago To romp in the new made hay ; For the merry old times that we sported then, The songs we sung in our play, Have an image and echo within our hearts That never shall fade away.' "The love of a dear mother, or a pure wife or sister, is the greatest and best blessing this side of Heaven, and when the laughing eyes of an innocent daughter greet yours, and you clasp her dimpled hand, you are overwhelmed by a feeling that in this loving, trustful creature there is a casket containing jewels of love of more value than the rarest gems of earth. "Radiant as are the stars, woman is still a sweeter radiance, for besides the brightness of life by their presence, they make our homes an Eden of pleas- ure. Where they are, joyous sounds abound, and time itself softly, sweetly glides away, as the stars fade in the morning sunlight. "The late Mr. Beecher said : 'A mother can kiss an offense into everlast- ing forgetfulness,' and methinks he must have had in his mind Hugo's beauti- ful picture of love to which I have already alluded. "Mother, sister, wife, daughter make love and good cheer constant guests at our tables, and in our homes, and daily bread of this character fattens both body and soul. Can you imagine more radiant beams from the luminous stars? Can you fancy a sweeter radiance? MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 245 "The love, the tears, the prayers of devoted mothers give to the world pure minded boys and men, and whole constellations of stars could not shed a sweeter radiance. "Women write their names in kindness, love and mercy on the hearts of thousands they come in contact with year by year. They will never be for- gotten. Their names, their deeds, will be as legible in the hearts they leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Yea, their good deeds will shine as the luminous stars of Heaven. "The woman who can soothe the aching heart, smooth the wrinkled brow, alleviate the anguish of the mind and pour the balm of consolation on the wounded breast, proves in an eminent degree true loveliness of character, not the polished brow, the gaudy dress, nor the show and parade of fashionable life. These are outward marks of beauty, but are not loveliness of character. It is in the heart where meekness, truth, affection and humility are found, where men look for loveliness ; nor do they look in vain. " 'The sweetest lives are those to duty wed, Whose deeds, both great and small, Are close-knit strands of one unbroken thread, Where love ennobles all. The world may sound no trumpets, ring no bells, The Book of Life the shining record tells.' "Their lives are as pure as snow fields, where their footsteps leave a mark, but not a stain. "But I must not pass unnoticed Hugo's allusion to woman as a great mystery. "A mystery, indeed, to the small boy, whose mother did not kiss his offense into the everlasting forgetfulness described by Mr. Beecher. His offenses were everlasting and needed more heroic treatment — some more powerful influence to waft them into the realm of forgetfulness — the rod, for instance. Now, Tommy noticed that the instrument of punishment was al- ways hung beside the motto, 'God is Love,' and here was the particular mystery in which his mother was shrouded. He asked her why the rod was hung there. 'Can you suggest a better place, Tommy?' 'Yes,' said the lad, 'I think it would be better to hang it by the motto, "I need thee every hour." ' "A mystery to the kindly, benevolent old gentleman, on the trolley car, who, noticing a demure little woman on the seat with eight or nine olive plants, pleasantly saluted her with the remark, 'Are they all yours, or is it a picnic ?' She quickly replied, 'All mine, and no picnic, either.' "A mystery to Brown, who suddenly discovered his wife was not a Sphynx. His little boy has been annoying him a great deal since the opening of this Presidential campaign as to what is meant by a 'doubtful State.' At length Brown said, 'Matrimony, my son, matrimony, is a "doubtful state;" isn't it, Mrs. Brown?' With a withering look, she replied, 'To me it has never been a state at all. It has always been a terror-tory.' "A most profound mystery to Mr. John Jones, of Philadelphia. He was doing the position of host at a brilliant reception in his palatial home. One of the guests, a versatile young man, had performed on the piano, organ, flute, dulcimer, tambourine, banjo, guitar, harp, bagpipes, and all manner of 246 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. musical instruments, old and new, and finally said, 'Have you an old lyre?' The good man replied, 'Yes,' stepped into another room and in a moment or so reappeared with his mother-in-law. "Now, some of the gentlemen present may be more devoted to their mother-in-law and take exception to this alleged mystery. If you do, I only point you to the rare devotion of the South Sea Islander's son-in-law, who re- ceived the bride from the mother-in-law, and then displayed his affection for her by roasting and eating the aforesaid mother-in-law. "I have but a single sentiment in conclusion and it seems to me it most emphatically demonstrates that Hugo was right in his beautiful imagery, 'Woman is a sweeter radiance and a greater mystery than the stars.' Here it is: " 'Great statesmen conquer nations ; Kings rule a people's fate, But an unseen hand of velvet These giants regulate. The iron arm of fortune With woman's hand is purled, For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world.' " A PRETTY GOOD SORT OF WORLD. THIS world's a pretty good sort of world, Taking it altogether. In spite of the grief and sorrow we meet, In spite of the gloomy weather. There are friends to love and hopes to cheer, And plenty of compensation For every ache for those who make The best of the situation. And if there's a spot where the sun shines not There's always a lamp to light it, And if there's a wrong we know ere long That Heaven above will right it. So it's not for us to make a fuss Because of life's sad mischances, Nor to wear ourselves out to bring about A change in our circumstances. For this world's a pretty good sort of world, And He to whom we are debtor Appoints our place, and supplies the grace To help us make it better. — Tid Bits. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 247 MISSIONS FOR 108 YEARS. AMERICAN Foreign Missions were 108 years old when the world's war started, and while the work has been somewhat checked by the clash of arms, here is how missions stood on July 28, 1914 : 1806. One hundred and eight years ago, July 28, 1814, the first step was taken toward establishing the foreign missionary movement. On this day five stu- dents of Williams College gathered in a grove near the college to hold an open air meeting. The day was hot and oppressive. In the midst of the meeting a lightning bolt flashed across the sky, announcing the approach of a thunder- storm. Hurriedly collecting their belongings, the students sought shelter beneath a neighboring haystack. Here they continued their discussions while the storm raged. Shouting to make himself understood above the thunder, the young leader, Samuel J. Mills, proposed that they organize "to spread the gospel among the heathen." That was the first step. Two years later Mills organized the "Society of Brethren," requiring each of the five members thereof to solemnly dedicate his life as a missionary. Public opinion being against missions, the organization was kept secret and its constitution was drawn up in cipher. Six years had passed since the historic "Haystack meet- ing," whose location is now marked with a monument, before the first five missionaries, four of whom were accompanied by their wives, sailed from Philadelphia for India upon the first American evangelistic campaign to for- eign lands. 1914. More than 8,000 missionaries of both sexes from the United States, and 38,000 native converts acting as missionaries are teaching the Christian faith throughout the world. They have converted 1,500,000 men, women and chil- dren in all lands, and are bringing 75,000 more into the fold every year. Over 1,300,000 are learning the ways of Christianity in the 30,000 colleges, theolog- ical seminaries, training and Sunday Schools that have been established by American missionaries. The modern missionary is not only a spiritual ad- viser, but undertakes to cure physical ills as well. In the 600 hospitals and free dispensaries established in foreign lands, it is estimated that 3,000,000,000 treatments have been given by the 400 male and female doctors making up the foreign missionary medical staff. In times of famine they distribute huge sums of money. The expenses of this vast campaign are enormous; but no country is as liberal as the United States. Last year the American people con- tributed nearly $17,000,000 to promote the work, while all nations are spend- ing about $38,000,000 to support 24,000 Christians and 112,000 native mission- aries who have gathered over 6,000,000 adherents in the faith. I STICK TO THE RIGHT. F YOU wish to avoid unnumbered woes stick absolutely to what you know to be right. 248 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. MECCA— THE SHRINE OF MOHAMMED. MECCA (called the Mother of Cities), is one of the oldest towns of Arabia, is the capital of a province, and the central and most holy city of all Islam, through being the birthplace of Mohammed.. It lies 265 miles south of Medina, and 65 miles east of Jiddah, the well- known port on the Red Sea, in a narrow, barren valley, surrounded by bare hills and sandy plains, and watered by a brook with an unpronounceable name. The streets are broad and rather regular, but unpaved; are excessively dirty in summer and muddy in the rainy season. The houses, three or four stories high, are built of brick or stone, and are ornamented with paintings. The windows open on the streets. The rooms are much more handsomely furnished and are altogether in a better state than is usual in the east, because the inhabitants rent them to the 100,000 Pilgrims who annually visit Mecca and the House of God, or Chief Mosque, containing the Kaaba, or Temple, This Mosque will hold 35,000 people, and is surounded by 19 gates, beautifully ornamented with marble, granite, porphyry and sandstone pillars. A great number of people are connected with the Mosque in some kind of ecclesias- tical capacity. No other public building of any importance is to be found in the city, and there are no trees or verdure of any kind. At present it is dependent upon the Sultan and is governed by a Sherif. The population is not over 40,000, compared with 100,000 formerly, and the fact that only 100,000 Pilgrims now appear annually, decreasing the income of the money changers, has drawn thousands to other parts of the country, in search of more prosperity. In former years vast sums of money were left at Mecca by the visiting hordes of Pilgrims, but the great caravans have now been reduced to small companies in comparison, and the population has been scared off. There is no trade or commerce save the manufacture and sale of chaplets to the pious Pilgrims. The people are lively, polished and frivolous, converse in three or four languages, and are largely what we would now call "Fakirs or Street Arabs." So much for the city. What use does the Mohammedan have for it? Every Mohammedan, male or female, whose means and health permit, is bound, once in a life-time, to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, otherwise, accord- ing to Mohammedan belief, he or she might as well "die a Jew or Christian." Mohammed tried to abolish the ancient custom, but was compelled finally to confirm it, and in doing so destroyed the huge idols surrounding the city, thereby accomplishing at least one reform. The twelfth month of the Mohammedan year is the time for the solem- nities, but the Pilgrims start on their journey one or two months before, according to the distance to be traveled. They first assemble at variously appointed places near Mecca, in the beginning of the holy month, and the males don the sacred habit, which con- sists of two woolen wrappers, one around the middle, the other over the shoulders ; their heads remain bare, and their slippers must cover neither the heel nor the instep. They must have regard to the sanctity of the territory they tread while in this dress — even the lives of animals encountered are to be held sacred from attack. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 249 Arrived at Mecca, the Pilgrims proceed at once to the Temple, and begin the holy rites there, by walking first quickly and then slowly seven times around the Kaaba, or Temple, starting from the corner where the black stone is fixed. This is followed by walking and running between two mountains, where a duet of great idols formerly stood. On the 9th day of the rites the Pilgrims stand in prayer on the mountain of Arafat, near Mecca, from morning until sunset. The whole of the succeed- ing night is spent in holy devotion at Mogdaliaf, between Arafat and Mina mountains. The next morning at daybreak they visit the sacred monument with Mohammedan name (a place where the prophet stood so long in prayer that his face began to shine) and then they proceed to the valley of Mirra, where they throw seven or 70 stones at three pillars for the purpose, according to their belief, of putting the "devil to flight." The pilgrimage is completed the same day and in the same place by a great sacrifice of animals. The sacrifice concluded, they shave their heads and cut their nails, bury- ing the latter on the same spot. They then gather up sacred souvenirs, such as dust from the prophet's tomb, water from the well Zem Zem, and the return home of the caravans is watched everywhere with the most intense anxiety, and is celebrated with great pomp, and rejoicing. Each Pilgrim is allowed the prefix of Hajji to his name, and while the sick and invalid may be represented at Mecca by a substitute, they cannot enjoy the merits and re- wards belonging to the name Hajji. May it not be that as the "commercial" side of Mecca is dwindling the annual Pilgrimages will sooner or later be entirely abandoned ? M THINK BEFORE SPEAKING. EN are born with two eyes and with but one tongue in order that they may see twice as much as they say. — Cotton. o DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. NE can't run with the foxes and bark with the hounds. FLOWERS AND WEEDS. IFE is full of flowers and weeds, but there are more flowers than weeds. Envy and jealousy see only the weeds ; love sees only the flowers. 250 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE OTHER WISE MAN. R EAD over the wonderful words by Henry Van Dyke until you can tell the story in your own words briefly. It will point its own moral. They said, "The Master is coming To honor the town today, And none can tell at whose house or home The Master will choose to stay." And I thought, while my heart beat wildly, What if He should come to mine? How would I strive to entertain And honor the guest divine! And straight I turned to toiling To make my home more neat; I swept, and polished, and garnished, And decked it with blossoms sweet; I was troubled for fear the Master Might come ere my task was done, And I hasted and worked the faster And watched the hurrying sun. But right in the midst of my duties A woman came to my door; She had come to tell me her sorrows, And my comfort and aid to implore. And I said, "I cannot listen, Nor help you any today ; I have greater things to attend to," And the pleader turned away. But soon there came another — A cripple, thin, pale and gray — And said, "O let me stop and rest Awhile in your home, I pray ! I have traveled far since morning, I am hungry and faint and weak; My heart is full of misery, And comfort and help I seek." And I said, "I am grieved and sorry, But I cannot help you today; I look for a great and noble guest," And the cripple went away. And the day wore on swiftly, And my task was nearly done, And a prayer was in my heart That the Master to me might come. And I thought I would spring to meet Him, And serve Him with utmost care, When a little child stood by me With a face so sweet and fair — MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 231 Sweet, but with marks of teardrops, And his clothes were tattered and old; A finger was bruised and bleeding, And his little bare feet were cold. And I said, "I am sorry for you; You are sorely in need of care, But I cannot stop to give it, You must hasten otherwhere." And at the words a shadow Swept o'er his blue-veined brow; "Someone will feed and clothe you, dear, But I am too busy now." At last the day was ended, And my toil was over and done; My house was swept and garnished, And I watched in the dark alone; Watched, but no footfall sounded, No one paused at my gate, No one entered my cottage door. I could only pray and wait. I waited till night had deepened, And the Master had not come. "He has entered some other door," I cried, "And gladdened some other home!" My labor had been for nothing, And I bowed my head and wept; My heart was sore with longing, Yet in spite of it all I slept. Then the Master stood before me, And His face was grave and fair: "Three times today I came to your door And craved your pity and care; Three times you sent me onward, Unhelped and uncomforted, And the blessing you might have had was lost, And your chance to serve has fled." "O Lord, dear Lord, forgive me! How could I know it was Thee?" My very soul was shamed and bowed In the depth of humility. And he said, "The sin is pardoned, But the blessing is lost to thee; For in comforting not the least of mine, Ye have failed to comfort me." 252 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. THE DESTRUCTION OF NATIVE BIRDS. MORE than 30 years ago, prior to the organization of societies for the protec- tion of birds, Mrs. Percy F. Smith gave the following talk before the Chautauqua Circle, of Ingram, on the "Destruction of Native Birds" : I hear from many a little throat A warble interrupted long; I hear the robin's flute-like note, The bluebird's slenderer song. Here build, and dread no harsher sound, To scare you from the sheltering tree, Than winds that stir the branches round, And murmur of the bee. — Bryant. All life has its enemies, and. the bird is no exception. But as it is not of birds in general that we are going to speak, but only of those who cheer us with their songs and delight us with their beauty and who help us in the destruc- tion of our enemies, we will confine ourselves to their destroyers, and unfor- tunately they are legion. First, are: The birds of prey, such as the screech owl gliding through the trees, then the smaller animals, prowling among the branches. These menace on every side the little creature whose only refuge, as it crouches on a slender twig, is the young leaves which screen him. Again : The reptile, to man the most repulsive of all created things. How well I remember when strolling through the woods one bright day and a com- panion killed a snake, how distressed we were to find that his last meal had been a nest of young birds, and our only satisfaction was in the fact that he would never again enjoy another such dainty morsel. And, again : The storm as it spares nothing that opposes its onward march, throwing down even the homes of men, leaves not unmolested the tree whose branch is the home of many a dainty warbler. Carefully all the Spring we watched the industrious little pair at work on the nest; saw the first white egg and again watched the patient mother as she waited for her brood. And how delighted we were when, one morning, we saw three upturned heads in place of the three white eggs. But, alas! ere night, came a mighty wind, the home was overturned, three wee dead bodies were scattered on the ground and we felt a sense of loss as if some trouble had come to us along with that to the mourners on the tree. But every day has not a storm, and the other enemies disappear on the approach of man and our tiny friend should be safe. But how strange it seems to write that the last enemy is worse than all the others, and it is against him we are now called to protest. Yes ! Against man, whose friend and co-laborer the bird is. The miserly agriculturalist, who grudges him a grain, unmindful of the fact that during the winter rains, he hunted up the future insect; sought out the larvae and destroyed, daily, myriads of future caterpillars, and that he also helps combat the grasshopper. Thinking only of the present, he wages war against the insect-destroying birds until the insect arises and avenges their death. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 253 To illustrate. In the island of Bourbon a price was set on each martin's head. They disappeared and then the grasshoppers took possession of the island and the martin had to be recalled. Let our western farmers take a hint. What if the little pilferers do take the largest cherry on the tree or select the reddest side of the apple; perhaps there would not have been either cherry or apple had it not been for his care in the past. And as in our homes we are willing to spend money and time on that which only serves to please the eye, surely we could give something to support so much beauty and good cheer. For it does seem as if nature would be incomplete without the bird music, and I do know that I have derived more pleasure during these bright days from the song of one of these little visitors who comes daily, although his song consists of only two or three notes, which imagination turns into "sweet-birdie," than I have from the piano in the parlor. Of those who kill for sport I can say but little. The subject is so far beyond comprehension. Those who, unable to create and unmindful of benefits received, destroy innocent life. It can only be a remnant of the former ages of barbarism (when to witness pain was pleasure) that has not yet been elimi- nated from human nature by the progress of civilization. But, says one, will you object to rifle practice? Must not the child grow skillful in killing that at last he may accomplish the surpassing feat of killing the bird on the wing? No! We do not object to rifle practice, but we do object to making life the subject of it, both for the sake of the bird and the child. As one writer says, "Delicate Mother! You who would shudder to see your boy with a knife or who would not permit him to tear the wings of a fly in your presence, do not give him a gun to kill at a distance." It is only another form of gratifying the latent cruelty in almost every nature, and too late you will learn the evil of hav- ing helped to form a hard heart. But where shall we find a remedy against all this destruction? "Pass law," suggests one. Very good ; but do you know that it is not the passing of laws, but the enforcement of them, that is effectual, and that laws can only be enforced by the people. And the only way in which the people can be made to enforce the law is by educating them to see the necessity for the law. Let us send, brothers Granger, Gardener and Fruitgrower, literature on the subject which will teach them the difference between things that benefit and things that destroy. Agitate until every instructor of youth in the land is interested and the boys can be taught the evil of destroying, and that cruelty to the least of God's crea- tures in the boy will develop into all that is evil in the man. But you may fear that the process will be so slow that the birds will be destroyed meanwhile. But begin at once, enforce such laws as we have and each one protect to the best of his ability and there will be enough left with which to begin anew. But there is one other danger which threatens our "native birds," which has not been mentioned. When this paper was assigned, it was suggested to the writer to "give it to the sparrows." Well! Let the sparrows have "It" with a big capital, whatever "It" may be. Those sparrows; they stay around our houses, dirty our porches, fill the waterway from our roofs with litter and wake us with the "peep o'day" by their noisy manner of arranging their family 254 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. affairs, instead of a burst of tuneful melody. In fact, we are so prejudiced against them that it has hardly seemed worth the time to hunt for a word in their favor, although they have their place in the economy of nature. In Holland, for instance, the sparrow alone can wage war successfully against the cockchafers (dorbeetle or Maybug) and myriad winged foes, which reign in the low lying lands, and without him, the country would perish. And only the other day, I saw one of those enemies of the housewife, the winged moth, caught by a watchful spaTrow, in the very act of entering the door. So we may find a place for him yet. But the laws for his protection must be repealed or modified, and his unparalleled increase stayed or we will soon be without any small bird but the sparrow. For by their quarrelsome natures and the strength of union which they possess by their habit of living in colonies, they are rapidly driving all our home birds from the woods and fields. Some may say, is it not all the same? We still have birds. No, it is not all the same. For if only from an aesthetic point of view, we cannot change the beautiful plumage, the dainty form and sweet notes of our native birds for his plain corpulent body and scolding chatter. Could he be driven from the country, where his voice is certainly not in harmony with nature, to the city, where he is perfectly at home, and mingles well with the city's discordant sounds, we might gain something, for he is such a gourmand, that he makes an excellent scavenger, and then he is the only bird which seems to enjoy city life. But, like the negro in the South, he was brought here and the problem of what to do with him will have to be solved by wiser heads than mine. Perhaps if the laws protecting him were changed and the fact made known that some epicures con- sider him excellent eating, quite equal to the celebrated reed bird, it might help diminish his numbers and add to his usefulness. But all we can do is to call attention to the evil and the necessary means for his repression will be found by some one. In this paper, we do not wish to be understood as speaking against all bird killing. There is a wide difference between killing for use under proper re- stricting laws and destroying. That which is done to obtain food, or even the pretty wing for a lady's hat, may have furnished the means of living to some one. What we want to do is to stop the wholesale, ignorant, and brutal destruc- tion, and thereby obtain the highest use; for we have not yet arrived at that state where we can live without inflicting death on other forms of life (there are possibilities in the future, but we speak of things as they are) and the winged kingdom may as well be used to furnish us food and covering as the animals which we domesticate for the purpose. Although we feel that if our ladies could be made to understand the enor- mous number of birds killed (amounting to hundreds of thousands yearly) to furnish them with feathered ornaments, they would from motives of humanity rise as one person to protest against a fashion which causes so much of cruelty, and their protest would be heard in the most effective way, for it would stop the demand. And here we will quote from a recent article by Mr. E. P. Bick- nell: "So long as the demand continues the supply will come." Law of itself can be of little, perhaps of no ultimate avail. It may give check; but this tide of destruction it is powerless to stay. The demand will be met; the offenders the disapprobation of fashion, and it is our women who hold this great power. Let our women say the word, and hundreds of thousands of bird lives every MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 255 year will be preserved. And, until woman does use her influence it is vain to hope that this nameless sacrifice will cease until it has worked out its own end, and the birds are gone. In a paper of this length, much must be left unsaid and much hurried over that might be made more full. But we are glad, to help in any way which we can, the progress of this movement for the protection of our birds. For while a bird in a cage excites more than any other a feeling of pity, in their natural state I love them. Their gladness, their perfect enjoyment of the freedom of the moment, without regard to dangers surrounding, and their happy and ener- getic fulfillment of their little cares. Yes ! Let them sing and flit in the sunshine or in more sober moments, when burdened with family cares, let them have a share of our fruit and grain undisturbed, for with so many hungry mouths crying to be filled, is it not nature to take what is nearest, and birdie will see that all is repaid with interest, for our defense has not been by any means a mere matter of sentiment. WORKS BOTH WAYS. T HE troubles which mellow and sweeten a big heart harden and may sour a little one. CANNOT TRAVEL TOGETHER. Q LA VERY and freedom cannot travel together along the same road. ECONOMY. 1 CONOMY is the parent of integrity, of liberty and of ease. Without t economy none can be rich, and with it few can be poor. — Dr. Johnson. AN ENLIGHTENED GENERATION. 1 HE express train of the world's progress has swept into a more enlight- ened generation, vanishing in smoke and dust beyond the hills. PEACE. )EACE is such a precious jewel that I would rather give anything for it but truth. — Matthew Henry. 256 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. A MOTHER'S WISDOM. TO MY DEAR SON :— The world estimates men by their success in life, and by general consent, permanent success is an evidence of superiority. It will be safe for you to observe the following rules, which your affection- ate mother prays God will strengthen you to do : i. Base all your actions upon a principle of justice — preserve your in- tegrity of character, and in doing it, never reckon the cost. 2. Never, under any circumstances, assume a responsibility you can avoid consistenly with your duty to yourself, and other depending on you. Or, in other, words, "mind your own business." 3. Remember that self-interest is more likely to warp our judgment than all other circumstances combined; therefore look well to your duty, when your interest is concerned. 4. Never attempt to make money at the expense of your reputation, or dis- honor will be the consequence. 5. Be neither lavish nor miserly; of the two avoid the latter. A mean man is universally despised, therefore generous feelings should be cultivated. 6. Avoid gambling of all kind as a great evil — billiards, especially, because the most fascinating, therefore the most dangerous, the victim being enthralled before he is aware. 7. Always let your expenses be such as to leave a balance in your pocket. Ready money is always a friend in need. 8. Avoid borrowing and lending as far as possible. 9. Liquor drinking, smoking cigars, and chewing tobacco are terrible habits to a young man; they impair the mind and pocket, and lead to a waste*. They tend to lower a man, never elevate and lift him up in the regard of the virtuous and good. 10. Be not in the habit of relating your misfortunes to others, and never mourn over what you cannot prevent. 11. Let all see your good breeding, by showing due respect to age. Have dignity and reverence enough of character never to trifle with serious things — respect religion in others — seek it as a treasure invaluable — let it be the founda- tion on which to build your structure, the possession of which will insure hap- piness here, and an enduring inheritance hereafter. T NEVER SEPARATED. HE useful and the beautiful are never separated. SPEAK OUT. )EOPLE who think funny things without expressing them are unconscious enemies of the human race. Wit anb Ibumor "Honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting." . — Washington Irving. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 259 HONEST GOOD HUMOR. HONEST good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting, and there is no jovial companionship equal to that where the jokes are rather small and the laughter abundant. — Washington Irving. Some of the stories told by the author of this volume at banquets, pub- lic dinners and in general addresses, almost all of which are from memory's tablets are given herewith. BUSY BEES AND ACTIVE PIGS. BILKINS, in asking his friend to spend the week-end at his farm in "Pun- kin Center," promised he should see "the busy bees making beeswax and the little pigs making pig iron." IDENTIFICATION COMPLETE. LOWENSTEIN'S twins are the favorites of the neighborhood, and Lowen- stein is constantly sounding their praises. He says: "They look so much alike that I can hardly tell them apart by themselves. But Ikey have teeth and Jakey have none, and when I put my finger in Jakey's mouth and he bites me, I just know right avay quick that it is Ikey." PIGS IS PIGS. A GERMAN farmer had a couple of pigs for sale, one rather small — although old — and the larger one younger. Wishing to explain to the would-be purchaser the difference in value, he said : "The littlest pig is the piggest," when his wife sought to clarify matters by remarking, "My husband, he not speak English as good vot I can ; he means de youngest pig is de oldest." ONCE TOO OFTEN. IN THE West End live the families of the Mulcaheys and Muldoons. Mul- doons owned a black cat ; Mulcaheys had a sweet little baby. Here's what happened, and it is best told by Mrs. Flaherty, whose subdued tone in relat- ing the circumstances of a tragedy was the charm of the neighborhood. Mrs. Flaherty — "Did yez hear of the terrible tragedy what happened at Mulcaheys? Muldoon's old cat crawled into the cradle where the sweet little baby was asleep, sucked the child's breath and the little baby is dead." Just then Mrs. O'Connor relieved the situation somewhat by announcing "And did yez hear what happened last night? Well, Muldoon came home loaded to the muzzle, fell asleep on the flure, and their old cat came and sucked his breath, and now the 'cat's dead.' " 26o MEMORY'S MILESTONES. ONLY THIS AND NOTHING MORE. SHE was looking out of the window of a seventh story apartment, when she saw a peddler, with a bag on his back. "Say, Mr. Peddler, won't you come right up here?" and up went the perambulating merchant, much elated over the prospect of sales. Arriving at the seventh floor, the woman pointed to her little boy with "Say, Mr. Peddler, if Ikey is not a good boy, won't you put him in your bag?" THOUGHT IT WAS A MULE. AN IRISH onlooker at a baseball game was suddenly sent headlong over the field by a foul ball which struck him just above the eye. "Foul !" yelled the umpire. "Phat !" said Pat. "I thought it was a mule." A SOMNAMBULIST. JONES left the church while the sermon was being preached. He is a som- nambulist. FORGING AHEAD, EH? oung fello he's been forging a hand. ((IS THAT bright young fellow I met with you still forging ahead?" "No; "W WHAT DID HE MEAN? HO was that gentleman I saw you talking with on Ellsworth avenue yesterday afternoon?" Boy — "He's no gentleman ; he is our school principal." TRACING LOST FREIGHT. BY a mistake a little Pike's Peak burro, shipped to a Pittsburgh boy by his father, who was traveling in Colorado, was put off at a way station on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. The loss was reported and tracers sent all along the line. Meanwhile the station agent in question was terribly perplexed in trying to adjust his way bills, and finally notified the auditor that he was "one bureau ahead and one jackass short." The missing link was supplied. MEMORY'S MILESTONES. 261 HIGH PRICE OF LIVING. A FAMOUS Pittsburgh after-dinner talker, at a banquet in McKeesport, and who was none other than the Rev. Dr. Thos. N. Boyle, noticed the "poverty of the bill of fare" — on account of the high price of living, and when called on to speak, said: "Dr. Johnson says a man is at his best on a full stomach ; but I hazard nothing in saying I believe there is not a lady or gentleman at the table at his or her best." T A GREAT SURGICAL OPERATION. HE greatest surgical operation ever known — "Lansing, Michigan." D EAR TO HIS HEART. AN IRISHMAN, hod carrier for 30 years, suddenly became endowed with riches, and concluded to invest the entire sum in War Savings Stamps and Liberty bonds — save $150 for a present for his wife, Biddy. She magnani- mously announced the memorial must be for Mike, her hard working husband, and at length he agreed. Mike was to select the present and after going over wrist watches, bicycles, etc., he directed Biddy to procure for him "a mahog- any hod." DO IT WITH LEFT-OVERS. A YOUNG Irish curate was preaching his first sermon and chose for his text the miracle of the loaves and fishes. He was very nervous and read it, "And they fed five people with five thousand loaves of bread and five thousand fishes." Thereat one of his rustic hearers murmured, loud enough to be heard : "That's no miracle, begorra. I could do that myself." The curate overheard him, and so on the following Sunday he announced the same text, but had it right this time : "And they fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and a few fishes." He paused a second and then leaned over the pulpit and said: "Could you do that, Mr. Murphy?" Murphy replied : "Sure, yer rivirince, I could." "And how could you do it?" asked the priest. "Sure, yer rivirince, I could do it with what was left over from last Sunday." 262 MEMORY'S MILESTONES. SAFETY FIRST. FIRST Negro (to officer) — "How much wah insurance kin I take out, suh?" Officer— "Oh, $500, $1,000, $5,000." First Negro — "Dat's far enough, boss ; just gib me $500." Officer to Second Negro — "And how much insurance do you want?" Second Negro — "What's de most I can git?" Officer— "Ten thousand." Second Negro — "Jes fix me up wit dat $10,000 quick." First Negro to Second — "Looky heah, man; what you mean by gettin' $10,000 worth ob insurance?" Second Negro — "Dat's all right, 'cause when dat ordah comes to go over de top, dey sure are goin' to be mighty careful of a $10,000 nigger." ECONOMIZING, SURE. (( A RE you economizing?" 'Yes. I have only one egg for breakfast ; and in order to save fuel I now have that fried only on one side." — Washington Star. THE LONG GREEN. JINKS — "I hear your boy in college is opposed to the draft." Jenks — "Well, he did say it would be handier if I sent him the cash." — Judge. CORRECTING THE RECORD. A TRAVELING car conductor rang up all of his passengers until the record showed 83 aboard. He then counted the passengers, and finding 84, cried out, "One of yez will have to get off." A SAVING CLAUSE. <