The Curtis Courier. (Curtis, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 20, 1908 Page: 3 of 8
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TNI RICH ANO THI POOR.
D* U«4 h«tr da po «u ertta'
An’ lie u Kim why an' how.
Am da 90' man aay:
"lilt's d« rl<-h Rian * day.
An' whar la da po' man now 7
■WKar Is de po' man now—
Whar i* the po' man now?
Tuu po' ter stay
Or tar nio*e away—
Oh. wlutr is de |*o' man n(*w ?
Da Lawd hear dr rt«-h man crytn*
An' lie ax him why an' how.
An d*> rich man aay:
"Dare mv fln» t«sr pay.
An' what Is de rich man pow?
"Whar la de rich man now—
Oh what is de rh h man iu>w?
Kin 1 rise an' shine
Wld de Gover-mint fine?
Oh. whar Is de rich man now?**
IV n de angel come f’um glory
Ter lake 'uin ter de wolt uat'a new.
Hut de rich man aay
Oat he reckon he a III atay.
An' de po' man aesso, loo.
lay a tll't In a hurry fer to go--
Mh. day ain't In a hurry let to *<►—
I).- worl' Is a trial.
An' a hlg self-denial.
But dey alu't In a hurry fer |d go'.
—Atlanta Constitution.
EXPLODED SUPERSTITION.
Cats De Not Suck Breath of Infanta
Can a cat suck tho baby’a breath?
And if so, what is the particular rna!
Ynant and uncanny quality of the op-
eration which all the old women’s
tales of past generations have held to
be true and Incontrovertible?
Physicians, nurses and others hav-
ing to do with the modern infant
■cout the idea—the cat can’t suck the
baby’s breath, for the sane and suffic-
ient reason that it isn’t able to—so say
the medical men.
And opposed to them is the asser-
tion of the old women wiseacres. To
fee sure, the hoary old folktale of the
eat and the baby no longer is credited
la Intelligent circles, and yet it even
now creeps into notice. Within the
last two weeks two lnstancee have
bean In the public prints. Hare Is tha
story from Chippewa Falls, Wis., of
littla Albert Anderson of the town of
Bigel, who was discovered In hiB home
with the cat standing over him suck-
ing his breath in the moat approved
faihion of the old woman’s horror
stery, accordingte a correspondent,
His mother was aroused by hearing
tha boy groan and rushed to him Just
as the cat was drawing the last breath
from his body. The 5-year-old boy was
unconscious, but was finally revived
by a physician.
Therefore, anathema for the cat—
away with the evil crafty cat that
socks the baby’s breath!
Then there Ras another recent news-
paper story coming out of Fort Smith,
Arkansas, of the black cat that crept
Into the children’s room att he home
of a Mrs. Ponsoaby, and, leaping on
the crib of the 5-months-old Infant,
drew away its breath and then was
discovered later standing over a 2-
fear-old girl, engaged In the same dia-
bolical operation—sucking the breath
ef the sleeping Innocent.
“Tommyrot,” say the doctors, “the
cat can’t do it, and that's all there is
to the thing.’’
Old v-omen’s superstitions die hard;
before the days of modern medicine
and trained nurses And antiseptic
surgeons and the germ theory, the
care of the Blck and the newly-born
was largely In the hands of neighbor-
hood old women in the rural districts
of the United States. They gathered
about the sick bed with the words and
methods of traditional “home reme-
dies, “Yarbs and potions, bleedings
and purgings assisting In the ghastly
medical practice of the early half of
the last century, and of all the cen-
turies that had gone before; and coin-
cident with their dominance in the
care of the sick and young, grew up a
mass of ridiculous beliefs, of which the
cat dealing death to luckless infants
In the cradle was one of the strongest
—so persistent, in fact that we see it,
ss above, honestly given out through
ths press as authentic.
A few of Milwaukee's representa-
tive physicians were interviewed on
the cat vs. the baby superstition, and
tbe smile of humor which greeted each
propounding of the question showed
that the harmless, necessary cat of
Shakespeare is not considered a factor
in tbe infant mortality statistics.
‘It’s impossible," said Dr. A. H. Lev-
Ings, president of the Wisconsin Col
lege of Physicians and surgeons,
oat couldn’t stop the breath of a hu-
man being by ’sucking;' there’s noth
ing particularly to suck, for that mat-
ter, and a cat is not so constituted
that it could resolve itself into a suc-
tion pump to draw the air from the
lungs of any other creature.”
Dr. H. E. Bradley emlled. “Never
heard of a real case, though the old
superstition keeps bobbing tip and
■eema to have as many lives as the cat
Itself Is credited with. A few years ago
ft physician who was a contributor to
the New York Medical Record, grew
so irritated at the cat and baby story
that he sat out to run dowu every case
ifte papers printed or he could hear
of. He spent months la writing to peo-
ple and places where breath sucking
cats were reported as getting in their
deadly work and not a single case was
he ever able to substantiate. In al-
most every instance the thing was re-
torted as occurring In the rural dis-
tricts und some grandmotherly person
was responsible for the outcry. I
suppose the family cat would lie dis-
covered in the bed of an infant and
Immediately was suspected of heinous
designs. In the Investigations of al-
leged death or sickness from the cat's
iulluonce, not a single one was ever
authenticated in the Medical Record
When you begin to think of the thou-
sands of cats In thousands of homes
where there are baldea and in which
nothing of the sort is ever reported.
>ou can see that If cats had such a
iselM* and inexplicable habit, more
cases would come to light and ionic
would bear practical Inves^gatlon. It
is a small town story of the old neigh-
borhood woman, always.”
Dr. K. A. Fletcher was another of
Milwaukee's physician's to ridicule the
Idea and declare it wholly outside the
experience of any medical practitioner
or even of responsible persons who
could vouch for a case.
"The only way I can conceive of a
cut interfering with the respiration of
a baby or child would be by lying
across its face. A cat might possibly
smother a very young infant in that
way just as It might be smothered by
an overplus of bed clothes wrongly
placed. I never heard of a esse of
breath sucking that would bear iu
vestlgation; but It seems to die hard
out in aome of the rural districts.”
On the whole, Tabby and Tom seem
have the best of the argument
with the old-time delusion; behind
Pdssy stands the antlre medical record
and experience of the physicians, and
the maligned cat can eome forward to
the hearth rug with the weight of
scientific absolution to clear its repu-
tation.—Charles Tenney Jackson in
Milwaukee Sentinel.
•HE SEEMED A DIVINITY.
Levs Has
Irish Beauty Wins.
When ths late Augustus 8t. Gaudens
started in to rebuke some of our coin
designs it was expected that he would
secure as models female types that are
wholly American. There was a good
deal of unfavorable comment over the
fact that an English girl has served as
a model for Liberty on one of our coins
and that a little school girl has posed
as aa Indian to adorn ths back of the
copper cent Now we were to have
American typui that should be perfect-
ly reasonable in all reepects.
We do not suppooe that American
girls are lacking In beauty, or that
they have not profiles as classic and
contours as delectable as say, but it
turns out that after all, 8t. Gaudens
chose the pretty face of a charming
young waitress who was born In Ire
land, and she now adorns the coins
which are soon to be issued. A pro-
test was filed with the department, but
It was overruled. The Irish beauty
wins and the American girls must
suppress their wrath ss best they can.
We see no occasion to get excited
over such a small matter as this. Art
knows no red lines on the map. Beauty
is not national except as to certain
typeB. If an Irish girl suit the artist
best these is more glory to the girl
and no shame to those who were born
in America. And, after all, by this
time the young lady In question is
doubtless a good American and will
doubtless soon have a good American
husband — Philadelphia Inquirer.
Saw Cook Massacred.
There was a celebration recently at
Sydney in honor of the 137th anniver-
sary of the landing of Captain Cook at
Botany Bay, near Sydney. There was
present at the celebration a remarka-
ble link with the past in the person of
a sailor, 95 years old, named Captain
Charles. He was able to identify the
exact spot where the historic landing
took place, it having been pointed out
to him in early manhood by one of the
blacks who was present. He actually
conversed with a native of the Sand-
wich Islands, who saw the massacre
of Captain Cook. According to this
native, Captain Cook and his compan-
ions were killed because they spread
some sails to dry on a strip of land re-
served for sacred purposes.
Austin Corbin, whose game preserve
In New Hampshire was one of the hob-
bies of his famous father, has found
the Corbin buffalo herd successful to
the point of emb&rrassement Despite
the predictions of old plainsmen that
the animals would not breed In the
New Hampshire park, the herd has In-
creased and multiplied until It Is be-
coming a problem to supply enough
grazing space for them in so large a
tract aa the Corbin fence inclosee.
Marrying Unwillingly After
Departed.
In a divorce ease now pending
one of the courts the young
testified that he had (v««'il to love the
girl who is bis wife before he married
her, but that having proposed and
been accepted under the Influen t of
a first impression, he had lieeu asham-
ed to break tbe engagement wheu ho
found out that he had made a mistake.
“When 1 met her first," he said, "she
seemed a divinity 1 thought there was
no woman in the world so lovely in
form and proposed preiuuiurcly and
obtained her consent. A short while
afterwards 1 was disillusioned. She
was a nice girl, hut she reused to up-
lieid to me. i discovered her limitations
and detected in her traits that Jarred
me. But she seemed sincerely in love
with mo, und I dare s;,y she was. Al-
though really cold und indifferent, I
spurred myself to keep up all the ap-
pear eiu-eu of being deviled. All the
time I hoped secretly that my love
would come buck, but it never did, al
though there were times when 1 forced
myself to believe that it did 1 strove
to deceive myself. Unwilling to cause
her pain by neglect, I called on her
regularly and did not diminish my at-
tentiveness. I postponed the marriage
in the hope that she would grow tired
of me. but her fancy never seemed to
wander. She gave me no excuse for
breaking the match. At length my
friends began to wonder why we de-
layed the marriage. I resolved, for the
girl's sake, to take my medicine liko
a man of honor. I believed that I
would be a poltroon to back out We
were matTled and I hoped that per-
haps after marriage I might revive
my love; but after marriage my in-
difference wanned not into love, but
into dislike. I resented my position.
The pretense of being in love was Irk-
some during tbe engagement, but I
had a measure of liberty. After mar-
riage it became an intolerable task. It
wasn't her fault, but how could I help
It? I was neglected, I was peevish, I
made her unhappy. We are totally in-
compatible. Our marriage was a mis-
take. She wants to be free, and she is
welcome to her freedom. By marrying
her, in the circumstances. I did a great
injustice to her and to myself,"
If the truth were to be printed on
the billboards it would appear that
many marriages are entered into re-
luctantly, by the man or the woman,
out of a false sense of honor, a suicid-
al adherence to the plighted word.
Such marriages come Inevitably to
disaster. It is a man's and a woman’s
duty to withdraw even at the very
steps of the alter rather than take the
vows unwillingly. It Is an act (^•olly
and a great wrong to marry a man or
a woman against one’s wish and judg-
ment. By such a marriage the two
spouses are Injured. The man who
leaves his bride waiting at the church
Is a cad not because he refuses to mar-
ry her, but solely because he Should
have notified her privately In good
time and not have humiliated her pub-
licly; but If a man has been so weak
and craven as to keep up the deceit to
the marriage day, rather than break
the engagement decently. It is better
for him to leave her waiting at the
church, Jilted and humiliated, than to
marry her then and afterwards wreck
her life and humiliate her in the di-
vorce court.
Yet the law, by giving a cause of
action for breach of promise, tends '.o
support the false notion that- a man,
repenting his engagement, should cur-
ry out his contract of marriage. The
came of action for breach of promise is
an ancient heritage from the common
law and Is based upon the sordid and
unlovely theory yet prevalent in parts
of Europe that murriages are chiefly
matters of convention and convenience
in which the husband’s position and
prospects and the wlfe’^ dowry are
more important than the little matter
of love or liking. American law
should not longer recognise breach of
promise as a cause for damages. In
taking that position our courts and
legislatures would be merely following
with laggard steps the opinion of the
public. No self respecting woman in
the United States would sue a man for
breach of promise unless the circum
stances of the case were quite extra-
ordinary. Decent folk rightly frown
upon suits for breach of promise, and
such actions are rarely brought ex-
cept by adventuresses against rich
men.—San Francisco Bulletin.
SCHEME TO KILL FOOB-
Air Cannon to Drlv« Mists Away from
London.
A scheme to dis|>erse fogs by cur-
of sir shot over Loudon from
husband • i«-nts
"projector*" six miles away, haa been
laid before the Public Concord Com
mittee of the Londeu County Council,
and M. Dome trio Moggiora. the itiven
tor. ia ready to start experiments.
M Mogglory says Ids apparatus has
already tw-on subjected to severe tests
at Milan. Italy, where fog's, clouds und
hailstorms are quickly dissipated With
his projectors, or "air cannon" placed
within a radius of six miles from th**
houses of Parliament, he says he will
clear away the nnrst fog In lamdoii
wlthiu twenty minutes.
The theory is that the fogs hang
over London simply because there are
no air currents to carry It away," said
M. Moggiora. "Now. my projectors, act-
ing like cannon, furnish the necessary
cum ills of ,dr."
Each projector, says the London
Dully Mail, is about 60 feet long. An
explosion U caused as in a cannon,
uud the concuslon has an effect foi
six miles. Thus, If ten or more of
those were ranged over London from
different directions, tho fog would be
lifted Immediately to an altitude where
wind would blow It away. After the
apparatus was permanently installed
the cost would be 7d for each explos-
ion. and twenty explouslons would rid
the metropolis of its deusest fog. The
cost for original construction would be
COO pounds.
Gleanings.
nirds cannot open the foot when the
leg is bent. That is the reason they
do not fall off their perches. If you
watch a hen walking you will notice
that it closes its toes as it raises tbe
foot and opens them as It touches the
ground.
The garden spot should be thorough-
ly cleaned now, and for the earlest
crops as lettuce, onions, radishes, po-
tatoes, etc., it may be dug and plowed
at this time. Now is tho time to man-
ure the garden.
In order to absorb all the liquid
farm manure should be thoroughly
mixed with some kind of material as
swamp muck or scaw? .. One farm-
er says he usually has plenty of this
material in his bam cellar and lets the
hogs do part of the labor toward get-
ting It pulverised and ready for use
Some authorities claim that by
plowing in tho manure tho whole
strength is secured, while throwing
on top the soil a part Is lost, and
more weeds will have to be contended
with.
Buckwheat has been a very produc-
tive crop this year. Quite a large
acreage was sown last spring. The
yield is around twenty bushels per
sere, and the price runs from $1.50 to
! 11.75 per hundred weight
Pigs suffering from scours mty be
helped, and many times cured, by feed-
ing them a little boiled milk, in which
has been placed a pint of scorched
flour to each gallon of the boiled milk.
For forestry purposes tho white pine
is considered to be one of the most
satisfactory. The seeds are to be sown
lu the spring. Trees do not make
heavy demands on the soil for food,
Trees can be sot out on hilly or other
ground where crops can not be culti
vated.
A good way to remove the rust from
saws is to immerse the article in kero-
sene oil and let it remain for some
time. The rust will become so much
loosened as to come off very easily.
Human Treadmills In Prison.
The barbnrous custom of using con-
victs in treadmills ts still practiced In
some English prisons, declares Popu-
lar Mechanics, and an interesting pic-
ture shows the convicts at this trying
task. The speed is about thirty steps
a minute, ami if a man misses a step a
crossbar strikes tho calves of bis legs.
High Boots.
Again the pendulum of taste has
s.wung and the oppo ite extreme has
been reached.
7 he craze for oxfords seems no
less, but the desire for high tops
seems to he more. The so-called Na-
poleon top on woman's hoots, the re-
sult of the tendency toward shorter
skirts for out-r>f-door wear, is being
made very attractive for walking and
general outdoor wear, as well as for
the artistic appearance of the boot, and
the comfort and support of the ankle.
The increased length of the leg of
these boots gives a narrower and more
slender effect to the foot, and at the
rame time offers increased opportuni-
ties for elaborate decorative effects.
Fancy toppings of leather and cloth
are being used in these boots, and both
buttons and laces are In use as fasten-
ings.
A now notion In footwear is a boot
with n pocket In the top. The Napol-
eon-topped boot worn by women af-
fords an opportunity to engraft a lit-
tle purso or pocket on the top of the
right hoot, which is large enough to
hold a sum of money securely nnd
more conveniently than tho time-hon-
ored stocking receptacle.
Heart Disease Warning.
Astonishing Increase in ths mortal
ity from heart disease, based on it»
tlstics bv the department of health,
were discussed last evening with much
earnestness by emlueut pbjsicians ol
i his city.
According to the reyport of I>r. \V K.
(iiiilfoy. registrar of the bureau of vital
statistics, the increase of the number
of fatal cases of heart disease for the
first eleven months of this year in
Manhattan and the Bronx over the
tame period in 11H*6 was 1,316, or, if
the ratio maintained. 1,500 for tho
year. Till* would mean tu excess of
.’7 |>or cent
Dr. Thomas Darlington. gmaridsnt of
ihe hoard of health, said i>at almost
a* large* an Increase had been sated
In 1906. and that. In fact, ever nfiice
|\66, when the statistic* of the depart.
lit were first kept In such a way
ihut comparisons could ho made, them
had ht*cn a steady rising of tho seal*
mortality due to weak hearts.
'Medical science,” Dr. Darlington
declared, "has done much to reduce
the number of deaths in tho early
years of life und contagious discuses
ure well uutler control. Infant mortal-
ity is steadily decreasing The avor-
nge ago of man w steadily increasing,
and were it not. for the luroails of
heart diseases, pneumonia, and
Bright's disease the death rate in ths
city of New York would bu ruuuuka
lily low.
''Increase of heart disease is due to
the stress and strain of modern Ufa
and I have no doubt that the recent
financial flurry has been a factor la
some of the rocent deaths. Dut after
all It must be borne in mind that tho
pace at which men live has been
steadily accelerated. Long hours,
nerve tension, lack of outdoor exercise*
neglect of recreation and amusement,
constant hurry and effort—all Umso
must be considered, and theso things
have not Just developed with the win*
ter of 1907.
“I thluk over eating also haa some*
thing to do with such a condition. The
grip, which has been prevalent lately,
causes a severe heart strain, and tha
heart, which la weakened by a Ufa of
worry and stress, will naturally be tho
first to give way. It is time for Amor*
leans to adopt the simple life and to
slow down, instead of constantly sub-
jecting themselves to the constant ef*
fort to maintain high standards of liv-
ing. The Englishman as he advance*
in years gradually retiree from the ac-
tivities of business but the American
does not seem so disposed, and whea
there comes a great strain upon tho
older men they are likely to succumb."
Dr. Guilfoy said he thought the woi*
ry over financial affairs which recent
ly had taken hold of men. especially
those advanced in years, had been la
a larga measure the cauae of maay
deaths from heart diseaea,
“Worry," he continued, “is peculiar
to active New York men. They were
last year worrying about how much
they were going to get and this yea*
when the financial flurry was at Ita
height they were worrying about what
they might not get. Grop, which at*
fects hearts that are already weakened
must be considered. Other causes of
heart disease are long hours, over eat*
lug, drinking too much, and too little
outdoor exercise.
“It cannot be disputed that the ept
demlc of grip Is one of the factors rw
sponsible for the reported increase of
mortality due to heart diseose," said
Dr. Joseph Collins, a prominent neuro-
logist "1 do not believe, however,
that the argument that Turn living,*
so-called, as another cause is tenable.
I believe, though, that financial stress
and business strain have played a part
iu causing the increased figures, foe
these elements have supplemented th*
ravages of the grip and of other dls*
eases that affect the heart"—New
York Herald.
Origin of Typhoid.
Dr. Seaton, tho medical health of-
ficer of the County of Surrey, has
made n special report on the preval-
ence of typhoid in that district of Eng-
land. llis conclusions are Interesting,
lie says that It is doubtful whether
even 10 per cent of the eases can bo
attributed to the drinking of polluted
or infected water. He believes that
polluted and Infected foods are a muc1’
more frequent sourco of typhoid R
ness than Is generally supposed. H
refers to cases which it is imposslhl
to connect with preceding cases, an
suggests the possibility of orlgiu fq
other bacilli than those which are!
garded ns the Invariable spec!
causes of typhoid. Recent InvestliJ
tions in Germany show that patted
may harbor typhoid bacilli months
ter recovery from illness, and that tier
sons ia good health may be the hoste
of the organism
'V
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The Curtis Courier. (Curtis, Okla.), Vol. 8, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 20, 1908, newspaper, February 20, 1908; Curtis, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc406065/m1/3/: accessed June 26, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.