The Schulenburg Sticker (Schulenburg, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 8, 1909 Page: 2 of 8
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THE STICKER.
RAYMOND
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Sid. and Pob.
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8CHULENBURG,
TEXAS
Impure Water.
So muck has been written on the
danger of impure drinking water, and
so many epidemics of typhoid fever
have been traced to this source, that
it seems almost needless to utter a
warning against the use of unboiled
water when there is the slightest sus
picion that such water may not be ab-
solutely pure. Yet so strong is the
force of conservatism and so impatient
are many with the seeming overcau-
tiousness of modern sanitary teaching
that the warning, and the reasons for
it, cannot be too often repeated, says
the JN'ew York Weekly. If such warn-
ing is heeded by only one family, and
a visitation of typhoid fever is thereby
averted, it will have been well worth
while. The wat£r supply of every large
city, taken from a river, lake or a num-
ber of streams, unless there is a sys-
tem of sand-filtration at the reservoir,
is never absolutely safe. A single case
of typhoid fever on the banks of the
river, or of any of the small streams
which contribute to the supply, may
coritamiate the water and give rise to
other cases lower down on the stream;
and the aggregate of pollution in the
water may soon render dangerous the
city supply to which it contributes.
The prudent housewife will avoid dan-
ger from impure water by# boiling all
that is used for drinking and for cook-
ing .purposes.
Fashion is sometimes derided for
excesses and condemned because of al-
leged evils wrought, as for instance
when it encourages the destruction of
useful birds to secure decorations for
the ladies' bonnets. But when fashion
serves a distinctly useful purpose due
credit should be given. It appears
from a New Orleans dispatch that
such an opportunity is now presented.
It is well known that muskrats, aqua-
tic rodents whose habitat covers a
wide range in North America, work
havoc in the Mississippi levees. Very
oft^n their burrowing into the em-
bankments produces the breaks and
overflows which cause vast destruc-
tion. It happens that the fashion of
the day calls for a great deal of musk-
rat fur for trimming ladies' hats and
garments. As a consequence the musk-
rat is hunted with an assiduity that
has reduced its numbers with rapidity.
The offering of a bounty in Louisiana
has stimulated the chase, and one
hunter alone in St. Charles parish
killed 6,000 muskrats in February.
This slaughter of the animals,' accord-
ing to official announcement, pre-
vented serious injury to the levee sys-
tem in Louisiana. And for this the
ladies who wear muskrat fur and stim-
ulate the muskrat hunting industry are
entitled to hearty thanks.
The servant problem, -wnich in its
most exasperating aspects began in
the United States, has gone round the
world. France was long free from
trouble under this head, and the hard-
working, honest, cleanly Breton
"bonnes" who' performed domestic
services in Parisian homes made their
mistresses the envy of American wom-
en residing in the French capital. This
excellent type of service has become
a tradition, and it is said that Parisian
families, disgusted with the degen-
eracy of servants, are giving up house-
keping, and going to live in hotels.
This .news from Paris fs doleful
enough; yet it may afford comfort to
the class of people who can endure
any evil if they only feel assured that
others are as much afflicted as them-
selves.
I i
The sudden demand for 'possum in
the south is giving the toothsome mar-
supials an uncomfortably active time
in dodging hunters; but the experi-
ence may be a good thing for the ani-
mals, as it is becoming evident that
something must be done for them in
order to make 'possum a possible deli-
cacy in the future, says the Milwaukee
Evening Wisconsin. The Georgians
have discovered an old statute which
forbids the catching or killing of 'pos-
sums between the 1st of March and
the 1st of October, and announce the
intention of enforcing it in the inter-
est of "Billy 'Possum."
Discussion arose at a meeting of
the Ballycastle (County Antrim) board
of guardians on a letter from the local
government board in London asking
what order the guardians had made on
a former letter from the board re-
questing that the paupers should be
supplied with forks at meals. It was
deeided to lnform the local government
board that the guardians did not con-
sider forks necessary.
British automobile exports now
amount to a value of 122,500,000 a
.year. Factornes are full of orders as
a result of the recent automobile show
at the Olympia in London. About 80
per cent. of. the orders are for closed
cars, usually of the landaulet type.
THE CRACKING OF PAINT.
Y ONES and twos—a
B steady stream—the
army of the Ameri-
can hoboes, 100,000
strong, is drifting
back to the country-
side. It has already
started; it will be
warm weather be-
fore the last of this
host has left the
cities.
All summer long
these men will be
traveling "deadhead"
throughout the Uni-
ted States, working here and there
a few days, but always moving on
to the far-away fields that looked
green. They will help gather the
berries, the hops, the hay and the
harvests. They~will wander as far
west as the coast and as far south
as the Gulf of Mexico.
All the men in this army are not
"tramps," in the common accep-
tance of the word, for some are
willing to work. Therefore the real
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winter in' jail or tn
the workhouse. The
workhouse is ill
named; there is no
work to be done
there. Others "work
the missions"—"go
round "the Horn
they call it. There
are over "twoscore
missions of various
denominations in
*
DIFFERENCE.
h
Property Owners Can Save Money
by Learning the Cause.
Do you know what is wrong, when
paint peels, or cracks," or otherwise
necessitates premature • re-painting?
Well, sometimes it hasn't fceen
properly applied—the surface being
damp or there being too much turpen-
tine or too much drier.
But, nine times out of ten, the
trouble is caused by adulterated
white lead.
To avoid all. such trouble, every
houseowner should know in a general
-way, when a surface is in proper con-
dition to receive paint, what kind of
primer and finishing coats different
surfaces require, and how to avoid
adulteration in materials.
A complete painting guide, includ-
ing a book of color schemes, specifi-
cations for all kinds of painting work,
and an instrument for detecting adul-
terations in painting materials, with
directions for using it, can be had
free by writing National Lead Com-
pany, 1902 Trinity Bldg., New York,
and asking for Houseowner's Paint-
ing Outfit No. 49.
This company, the largest makers
of pure white lead, invite tests, by
means of the blowpipe (included in
outfit), or in any other way, of the
purity of the white lead sold under
their famous "Dutch Boy Painter"
trademark. That trademark on a keg
of white lead is in itself an absolute
guarantee of purity and quality.
IT WAS NOT HER BACK.
Woman Had No Idea of Being Proxy
for Medical Treatment.
A missionary, discoursing upon
India, told of a woman who had come
to her complaining of a very sore
back and desired that she pray for its
cure. This Mrs. Jackson did, but the
woman again appeared before her and
declared that the back was still in a
bad condition. Mrs. Jackson advised
the use of an application of iodine,
and brought out a bottle of the drug
to apply upon the afflicted part of the
woman's anatomy. But she regarded
the bottle suspiciously and acted as
though it would hurt her were she to
use it. To allay her fears -upon this
score Mrs. 'Jackson applied some of
the drug to her own finger and showed
her that it would not burn, and that
she had better allow her to put some
of it-upon her back.
"But," said the woman, "it would
do no
"How so?" inquired Mrs. Jackson,
sympathetically.
"Because," replied the woman, "it is-
my old man's back that is sore."
tfffirnm
THE GRIT*?
School teachers are getting as high
as 30 cents a day in some parts of the
state. Just think how much they *ave
to know for 30 cents! Most of them
are women or they would turn brick-
layers in self-defense.
tramps. despise
them and call
them "gay cats."
But from this
great host of casual workers—the despair of so-
ciologists—the ranks'of the tramps and the yegg'
men" are kept full. Indeed, in this great aggre-
gation of men that the city pushes forth each
spring and receives, back each autumn'the tramps
might be likened to the non-commissioned officers
and the "yeggmen" to the commanders of regi-
ments and brigadiers. These "gay cats" are sim-
ply the private soldiers. But no matter by what
name they are known to penologists, they ail
spring from the same soil; the slums of the great
city or the factory town. Freight trains carry
most of, them about the country. Despite the at-
tempts^on the part of the various railroads to
abate the tramp evil, it appears tp be irrepressible.
As fast as it is subdued on one road it is sure to
break out on another with increased force.
The cat" is the lowest order of the peripa-
tetic underworld. Hti is generally devitalized, in-
competent and lacking in physical courage. There-
fore he sneaks into an empty box car and makes
bis journey slowly, but in comparative comfort.
The professional "hobo" and some of the "yegg-
men," on the other hand, scorn the freights and
disdain to ride on anything but passenger trains,
especially the much-advertfsed limited flyers, so
they can boast about it afterward and vaunt them-
selves around the campfires of their kind.
There are not a few "gay cats," however, who
travel on passenger trains, and these are, curiously
enough, those whose trade is setting the steel on
big buildings or bridges, men of nerve and daring.
These ride either "blind baggage" (between the
front—doorless—end of the baggage car and the
locomotive tender), or on the trucks of the wheels,
under the cars themselves. Riding "blind bag-
gage" is comparatively comfortable, but the riders
are liable to have lumps of coal thrown at them
by the firemen, "Holding down the rods," though,
which is one of the slang terms for riding the
trucks, is more dangerous and dirty, but less sub-
ject to interruption en route. It is when the train
takes a curve at high speed that the "gay cat"
who is riding on the -trucks- goes on his last and
longest journey. Sleep or hunger or fatigue
may loosen bis grasp for a second, and he goes
under the hurrying wheels. This manner of death
is called "greasing the rails," which is quite
gra^iic enough to warrant avoiding further de-
scription. Thousands of "gay cats" and others
risk their lives blindly in this way every hour of
the 24. This item in the butcher's bill of the rail-
ways is enormous.
There are.jgome travelers' tales that have been
told se-o^e^bjt igay-cats" and by tramps that
th« y have become tradition—almost class!'1* of
their kind. One is the story of a man now known
as "Portlietnd ^ShcH ty^ " He was a "gay cat" riding
the trucks on a fast passenger train in the west
some years ago. Tb* -^ was a bad wreck during
tbe night and Jflany were killed. "Shorty," cov-
ered with dirt and. blood, apff really very seriously
hurt; finally succeeded -tnf extricating himself from
the wreck:and Crawled out. By that time it was
daylight and the relief train with its surgeons had
arrived. "Shorty" wag j man of education and
intelligence .Groaning witb pain which was not
stimulated he let the cpttfpany surgeon and claim
agent beiid over him. "He'll be maimed for life
if he lives. Better settle with him as well as you
can," he heard the surgeon whisper to the claim
agent. "Shorty" signed a waiver of damages in-
side of ten minutes and got $3,600 In cash. He
was taken to the company's hospitpl, cared for
and surei. Strangely enough be kept Viis money.
Now he is running a
large and gaudy saloon
in Portland, Ore., and
trying to forget that
he ever rode the trucks
on a fast train.
The men who ride
thus on the passenger
trains—if they do much
of it—soon grow deaf
in one ear or blind in
one eye—sometimes to-
tally deaf and sightless.
This is caused by the
terrific roar of the
wheels against the rails
and the continuous hur-
ricane of dust and
gravel. Many tramps try
to protect their heads and faces In some way, but
it is impossible to avoid the danger of bursted
ear drums or hopelessly damaged eyes. When a
man crawls out from under a fast train after a
200-mile run he looks but little like a human be-
ing.
During the summer the "gay cat" works with
such persistence as nature has given him. If he
cannot find work he is not above begging or steal-
ing in many cases. Long ago the farmers used to
lodge and feed them in their own houses. Now
they make them lodge in abandoned barns or in
open air camps. At berry or hop-picking they are
paid by the quantity gathered; in the harvest or
hay fields they receive the minimum of a dollar a
day and their food. In a camp of "gay cats" at
night they gather around the fire and play cards
for small stakes or tell stories. Sometimes a "gay
cat's" money goes in gambling, but he is oftener
despoiled by the professional "hobo," who takes
his coin away from him by brute force. One
brawny, able-bodied tramp, with or without a gun,
will "stick up" and rob a group of several "gay
cats" without much difficulty. The tramps' roost,
too, by the way, is often held up and robbed in
turn by the prowling "yeggman" with a pistol of
large caliber in his fist.
At any rate, the poor "gay cat" returns to the
cities in the autumn as penniless as when he
left it in the early summer. If by any chance he
has any money left, it goes in the cheap saloons
along the tough streets. During the winter he
keeps soul and body together by washing dishes
or acting as waiter in the cheap restaurants; by
doing odd jobs, such as carrying signs and snow
shoveling; by addressing envelopes—if he can
write well enough—ahd by doing other such hope-
less work. Then, too, there are the missions and
pickings and-stealings now and then when* there
is not too much risk of arrest.
A portion of the "gay cats" are dish washers in
the cheap restaurants. They work from 15 to 18
hours a day for an average wage of three dollars a
week and food and lodging. Their surroundings
are very bad. Their feet are almost constantly
wet with water heavily charged with washing
soda that is uted to cleanse the greasy dishes;
and the air is as foul as can be imagined. The
poor "gay cat" misnomer—devitalized by heredi-
tary ills and dissipation, soon gets to the end of
his moral tether. Of all the legitimate work there
is, dishwashing in a cheap restaurant is the low-
est. There is no depth beyond it. and the only
sequence is the city hospital, the almshouse, the
morgue and the potter's field.
Other less Industrious "gay cats" spend the
j
PLAYING C/iFLS JJf A ^QX. CAR-
the city. No outcast above the rank of
a "gay cat" would think of entering one.
The "gay cat" can get his bed and two. meals by
simply applying, and if he pretends to be convert-
«d and gives "testimony" now then, per
haps he can get meals and tagging for two or
three weeks, with possibly an odd job occasional-
ly. When the "gay cat" grows th-ed of one mis-
sion or has outstayed iis welcome, he moves on
to the next.. There are enough of them to last
him through the winter if he is discreet The
election is also a source of dishonest revenue to
these* by-products Of an industrial age. Money,
shoes and winter clothing circulate freely then,
and the number of nomads is augmented.
The majority of this vast army of 100,000 or so
are American born, but of foreign parents. The
Irish and Germans head the list of these chronic
wanderers. The first generation apparently was
hard working and reasonably honest. The second
seems to have a large sediment of the "gay cat"
or "tramp" element in it - Why- this is so never
has been explained satisfactorily. Possibly it is
because the fathers and mothers worked them-
selves nearly to death trying to bring up their
children on a higher social level than th«$y there-
selves ever had enjoyed. At any rate, the fact of
degeneracy in the second generation remains.
in Massachusetts many misdemeanors; such as
trespassing on railroad tracks, riding in box.cara,
tramping, begging and vagrancy in all theft
phases, are punishable by. sending:-the offender to
the East Bridgewater farm colony^ Last year
there were over 3,00(1 commitments to that in-
stitution. Vagrants are sent to East Bridgewater
on indeterminate sentences, the maximum time
being at present two years. Until recently the
maximum term was three years, but the shorter
term has been' found to be sufficient, In "the
case of first offenders,., release on probation is
permitted at the end of nine, months if conduct
has been exemplary. It is estimated that:but 1®
per cent, of the men thus paroled relapse into
vagrancy in the state of Massachusetts. Doubtless
many of them do elsewhere, but more than half j
of them are regenerated, so that instead of be- j
ing a charge upon the state they, become an as-
set. The East Bridgewater farm colony Is looked
upon by penologists as an unqualified suecess.
So far as can be judged now, this is the only
practical way of regenerating and revitalizing this
large class of mental and physical incompetents.
Life and work, under proper discipline, in the
open air do more to make good citizens—or at
least to transform parasites on society into pro-
ducers—than anything else, so tb% penologists say.
He—Beffore Jones got married he
used to command a large salary.
She—And now?
He—Now he only earns it. His wife
ccmmands it!
Tongue Twisters.
"Tongue twisters are the actor's
bane," an actor said. "Lose your head
on the stage, and you are bound to
say "Now Rababbas was a bobber,'
for 'Barabbas was a robber.'
"On a first night I heard a tragedian
refer to the Deity as "a 3hoving leop-
ard/ when he meant 'a loving shep-
herd.'
"You make me a boff and a sky-
word!' I once shouted in a tank
drama.
"My uncle, a divine, concluded an
address on the suffrage before a woiri-
en's club with the tenable words: 'But
1 bore you; I will cease; I do not wish
to address a lot of beery wenches.'
My poor uncle meant 'weary benches/
"I was a duke in a recent problem
play, and when my servant asked me
one njtght 4f I had any luggage, I re-
plied: 'Only two rags and a bug.'"
SISTER'S TRICK
But It All Came Out Right.
How a sifter played a trick that
brought rosy health to a coffee fiend is
an. interesting tale:
"I was a coffee fiend—a trembling,
nervous, physical wreck, yet clinging
to the poison that stole away my
strength. I mocked at Postum and
would have none of it.
"One day my sister substituted a
cup of Postum piping hot for my morn-
ing cup of coffee but did not tell me
what it vols. I noticed the richness of
It and remarked that the coffee tasted
fine but my sister did not tell me
I was drinking Postum for fear I might
not take any more.
"She kept the secret and kept giv-
ing me Postum instead of coffee until
I grew stronger, more tireless, got a
better color in my sallow cheeks ana
a clearness to my eyes, then she told
me of the health-giving, nerve-
strengthening life-saver she had given
me in place of my morning coffee.
From that time I became a disciple of
Postum and no words can do justice
in telling tbe good this fcereal drink
did me. I will not try to tel! it, for
only after having used it can one be
convinced of its merits."
Ten days' trial shows Postum's pow-
er to rebuild what coffee has de-
stroyed. "There's a Reason."
Look in pkgs. for the famous little
book, "The Road to Wellville."
Ever read <b« above letter f A «n
o e appears from time to time. They
are fcmulae, true, and full of fanau
latere* t.
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Winfree, Raymond. The Schulenburg Sticker (Schulenburg, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 8, 1909, newspaper, April 8, 1909; Schulenburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth189336/m1/2/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Schulenburg Public Library.