Harper's Round Table, June 4, 1895 Part 10

No. 713.--The Harry Harper Chapter, of Newtown, Conn. Officers are Agnes E. Platt, Samuel B. Brown, Carrie Jonas, Frank Andrews, John O.

Pitzschler; Mabel E. Morris, Newtown.

No. 714.--The Active Athletic Club, of Utica, N.Y. Albert H. Gabel, 764 Bleecker Street.

No. 715.--The Allen Chapter, of Allentown, Pa. Claude T. Reno, Allentown.

No. 716.--The George Was.h.i.+ngton Chapter, of Troy, N.Y. George P. Paul, 824 River Street.

No. 717.--The Knights Outing Chapter, of Davenport, Iowa. Ned C.

Crossett, 309 Mississippi Avenue.

No. 718.--The General O. O. Howard Chapter, of Philadelphia, Pa. Members are Marcella, Hanley, and Norman Dale, Bella Moorehead, Mary Moore, George Oliphant, Frank Garrison, Amy Hamilton, John Steltz. Chapter address, Charles C. Oliphant, Girard College, Philadelphia.

No. 719.--The Eagle Social Club, of New York city. Max Epstein, Paul Gumsberg; Abe Sandler, 12 Pitt Street.

Stamps and the School Fund.

Several members have kindly offered to sell some stamps in aid of the School Fund, and the Table thanks them. The Dorchester Exchange, W. J.

Paul Sweeney, corner High and Highland streets, Dorchester, Ma.s.s., has good facilities, and so we suggest that others co-operate with it. Its offers are two: 1, It will give to the Fund the ten per cent. commission on all stamps sold to members during July and up to August 15th, and 2, It will give to the Fund the entire proceeds of the sale of all stamps contributed by members to be sold for said purpose.

The Exchange rules are easily complied with, and may be had on application, enclosing self-addressed and two-cent stamped envelope.

Members who may want to purchase stamps to aid the Fund, and members who may be willing to contribute a few stamps to be sold for the Fund, are asked to send addressee and stamps to us as early as possible.

Contributed stamps should be neatly mounted, and the price plainly marked in ink under each. Send not later than June 25th to HARPER'S ROUND TABLE, New York, and put in the lower left-hand corner of the envelope the words, "For Stamp Department." The Table warmly thanks Sir Knights Lantle V. Blum and Claude T. Reno for their offers in this direction, and begs them to help under this arrangement. Let's have a big list of names of possible buyers and as many contributions as possible. All who help in this way shall have their names on the Fund Honor Roll, to be published and preserved in the Good Will Building.

"The Wheelman's Mecca."

Springfield is a flouris.h.i.+ng city of 50,000 inhabitants, and is situated on the left bank of the Connecticut River a few miles above the Connecticut State line. It was first settled by a brave trader, William Pynchon, and became a city in 1852. The largest United States a.r.s.enal is situated here and gives employment to many men.

The river is spanned by four bridges, and at one point is 1136 feet wide. The last battle of Shays's Rebellion was fought here, and the spot is marked by a monument. Springfield takes great pride in her schools, which are among the finest in Ma.s.sachusetts. In a few months electric cars will be running to the "Paper City"--Holyoke, which is nearly as large a city as Springfield. Forest Park is the summer breathing-place of the city. It contains picnic grounds, fine drives, duck, lotus, and lily ponds, drinking-fountains, a "zoo" of small size, and many pavilions.

Paper, bicycles, railroad pa.s.senger cars, b.u.t.tons, skates, and pistols are largely manufactured here. The Public Library contains about 90,000 volumes. Hampden Park has the best bicycle track in the United States, and Springfield is called the "Wheelman's Mecca." The famous "Yale-Harvard" football games are also played on Hampden Park.

ALBERT W. At.w.a.tER.

A Glimpse of "The Glorious."

Most people who live in the Eastern States consider California a great distance off, and so it is; yet it takes only five days to cross the continent, by rail, and bring one from January snows to suns.h.i.+ne and flowers. Petaluma is a thriving town of three thousand, situated in Sonoma County, and connected with San Francis...o...b.. tide-water. The chief occupations of the people in the surrounding country are dairying, fruit-raising, and wine-making. The varieties of the Sonoma fruits most raised are cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, apples, figs, olives, and grapes. There are many large dairies and creameries owned by the Swiss people, who find the surrounding country a good subst.i.tute for their native land. Before California came into the possession of the United States the swarthy Mexican and his fiery mustang roamed through the tall gra.s.s, tending enormous herds of cattle, sometimes slaughtering several hundred for their hides, and leaving the carca.s.ses to the buzzards.

SAMUEL T. BUSH, R. T. K.

EAST OAKLAND.

A Collection of Newspapers.

We advised a member to write to the American Minister at Athens for a copy of a newspaper printed in modern Greek. Elsa Roeder kindly amends by suggesting the _Atlantis_, printed in New York. It is wholly in Greek, and no address other than New York city is necessary. Thanks, dear Lady Elsa. This collecting of present-day newspapers as a means of broadening and increasing one's knowledge of the world is most useful and interesting. It is also inexpensive, and as an educator equals or exceeds the collecting of stamps. Did you ever see a present-day newspaper that is published in Brussels or Rome, or even Paris or London? The American Consuls can give you the names and the amounts to remit for single copies. Or, if you send stamps for postage, the Consuls would in most cases forward the newspapers, we think. You can get a list of Consuls from the State Department, Was.h.i.+ngton, or can find them in the Congressional Directory, which your Member of Congress will gladly send you upon request.

Consuls are always desirous of serving the interests of fellow-Americans in such matters. The spread of English-speaking humanity has led to the founding of English newspapers in many foreign cities. In the Orient there are newspapers printed in English, and they are full of what to us are quaint items. Such papers are to be found in Constantinople, Cairo, Calcutta, Yokohama, Honolulu, and even in Teheran and Jerusalem. The Indian _Mail_ and j.a.pan _Mail_ are interesting newspapers, and you would read the South Australian _Chronicle_, published in Adelaide, and the Tasmanian _Mail_, published in Hobart, with a great deal of curiosity.

Then your collection ought to include such famous journals as the _Gazette_, of Cologne, Germany, printed in German, of course; the _Gazette_, of St. Petersburg, and the _Novoe Vremya_, of Moscow, printed in modern Russian; the _Pet.i.t Journal_, of Paris, and _Independence Belge_, of Brussels, in French; the _Nacionale_, of Madrid, and the _Journal_, of Rio de Janeiro, in Spanish; and papers from Constantinople, in Turkish, and from Tokyo, in j.a.panese. You should also include the _Scotsman_, of Edinburgh, Scotland, in your collection, and you might learn much that you do not know from a careful reading of newspapers published in North and South American cities. Did you ever see a Caracas newspaper? The study is a fascinating one, and as surely broadens and liberalizes as does knowledge on other studies, collegiate not excepted.

Out-door Entertainments.

Once every year there is held at Good Will Farm a Summer Celebration, which a great many of the Farm's friends attend. There are picnics, feasting, and, of course, some speeches. This summer Mr. Kirk Munroe is, we believe, to be a guest at the Farm, and will, of course, make a speech.

These Farm outings are held in July. Now, why may not the Table, during that month, or during the August vacation, hold as many outings as possible, the proceeds to go, little, whole, or in part, to the Round Table Industrial School Fund? The trouble is very slight, the fun great, and the satisfaction not to be measured. We urge this subject upon the attention of all Chapters, and upon all members of the Order.

Do you belong to a Sunday-school cla.s.s? Ask it about undertaking it. If you are just the least bit interested, write us for particulars, with full and easily planned programme. We will give them promptly. You can carry out the details. All that is needed is a small company of half a dozen persons, old or young.

This school is for some boys who need a school-house--and have none. The Table is earning the Fund. Won't you help?

A Close View of the Shah.

I was in Paris during the great exhibition of 1889. While I was there the Shah of Persia came to France to see the World's Fair. I was at an outdoor show one day, which the Shah attended, and I happened to be very close to his box and had a good view of him and all his suite. He was a very dark man of Jewish type. He was attired in a long black cloak of soft cashmere which came to his knees. It was devoid of any ornament except heavy black silk frogs which fastened it. He wore a tall brimless Astrakhan hat, with a single precious stone on the front. It looked like a moonstone and was quite large. He wore a beautiful, curved sword, the only elaborate ornament that he had on. It was a magnificent weapon, containing many gems set in the hilt and scabbard. He also had on black boots of soft leather reaching to the knee. His staff had a great many more ornaments than he had, but were all attired in the same black coats and fur caps.

JACK RANDALL CRAWFORD.

The Gum on Stamps.

The gum on the back of the postage-stamps of the United States is made from alcohol one part, acetic acid one part, dextrine two parts, and water five parts.

A. S. H.

PEABODY, Ma.s.s.