Decatur Democrat, Volume 49, Number 5, Decatur, Adams County, 6 April 1905 — Page 6

SOME FREAK STAMPS ERRORS THAT CAUSE PHILATELISTS TO JUMP FOR JOY. The Cease Among Collector* For the Po**e*sion of Sample* of Blunder* Made by I ncle Sam'* Bureau of Elgratins and Printi*BT> About the only freaks of groat value manufactured by the government are misprinted postage stamps, the value of une of these sometimes running up into the thousands. There is nothing wore dear to the collector than these errors in printing, and. too. there is nothing which causes a tornado of trouble quicker in the bureau of eugraving and prim-— An error is gen erally a costly thing in this departweut. It means that whoever is responsible for the mistake must get out and hunt another job. The work is too important to permit of carelessness. Au error produces a freak stamp, but it also produces a vacancy, often more, in the ranks of the employees of the department. But the collector, the philatelist, is happy, for he gets a prize of the tirst water. Any and every thing in the way of a stamp which varies a hair s breadth from the correct design is a freak, and there is always a heated race by the stamp fiends to secure one of these. Usually these errors, and they are not made often, are detected before many of the stamps are put in circulation, and when only a few get out the collectors are ready to pay fancy prices for one of the prizes, borne few collectors labor under the impression that "every man has h>. price," and the sum of Jl .<*>' was offered the bead of the bureau a few years ago if he would ha e issued a half dozen sheets of two cent errors. Os course no consideration whatever was given to the proposition, and the get rich quick philatelist saw bis plans miscarry. Some very valuable freak stanr - were issued in IbtS.*. when a series of stamps was issued in colors. T series comprised denominations fro.;. 1 eent to 90 eents. The 15. '-’4. 30 and 90 cents were printed in two colons. On these the central picture was printed inverted, and the error w..s detected. Today any of these freaks wiil bring from $5" » io $b • each. The freak two cent pan American series of stamps wL h turned up la Buffalo. N. Y.. in the year of the Rainbow City ex; ositiou. It* I. are now rated at each. Only a few of these -cot

iii circulation before it was disrovercJ that the railroad train in the .-enter of the stamp was upside down. It is l.ke- ( ly that thousands would have I wen so.d ; tad uot a gentleman who had purchased ten stamps discovered the error and forthwith wrote the bureau of e:i- - - - - fieers. He doubtless thought be wo | doing a g'A' . service for the government, and doubtless he was. but the stamp collectors den >unce him as a chum:' of the rankest type. The gentleman gave away several of the stamps he had bought. While a large ' number of the s-.::..; s with the in -Tt- I ed train of cars were sold before the I error was detected, there are only six ; of these freaks which can be account- i ed fr. the other stamp- bar.ng ; er- i 1 | s served theil -e without being discovered as bei mrlug to the val- I liable freak family. It > alt c ther reasonable to st:; ;• -e tint the - were affixed to .etters and the envelopes destroyed. If any sheet of error stamps other than that sent to the Buffalo offi e was ever -ent out. the fact has u, er 1-een known at the bureau. and it is not ’.ll- • ly tl.at the market v. -.1l ever be g utted with th s freak stamp. During the winter of IS:*} a sheet of the ordinarv one cent stan.: s. with the word “Guam” printel across the fare, slipped tbr ••:A wit ■Guam" -le down. These start; s were priatea for the use of the island, and • 'Hectors have searched far and near far them. Only a few have been s* re I by the collectors, and they bring ff The people of Guam know but little about the value set on such freaks by the stamp Electors. Rack in the seventies, when the government used its o-.n di-t::: 'ire set of stamps for the several departments, an error was made by the '>ank note company wh: it then held the contract for making the st :I ,p» The regular color adopted by the navy dep .rru .-at was blue A sheet >f the two cent denomination was printed in green, and the freak has now a market value of about $45 each. The g -uuiae. in :•>. is wvrth twenty ti --s it- fare value One colle.-tor was ferrum: r e en >ngh to c-'-ner the r: -k> t by g-'- ’.g i-'s-sessi >n of a sheet f four ■ ' of the Coiumhi .’.i series wl. -h was printed by mix' ike in -I blue when its right color should have en ultramarine bine. He g?t it at its face value, and when he war.:* to dis;-ose of one bo can readily g t There are a number of other valuable freak stamps, but the errors of the bureau of engraving and printing hare been remarkably few. - insiderIng the immense number of sheets of stamps turned out every year. Each sheet after being printed na<ses through a dovrn or more hands before it is ready for the stock vault. and inspectors and counters are always on the lookout for errors in printing.— Kansas City Star. t Bsafe. “1 understand, senator, that you regard your colleague as an unsafe man." “I do. It would be Just like him to get scared and turn state's evidence at the first indication of danger."—’ 'kieagv. Kesord-Herald. Making a life is greater than making • Bring. —Chicago Tribune.

THE ENCORE. It OrlKi»*ted In France In ;he Sere*teenth Century. | The beginning of the encore dates back to some time between IC4-' and I 1709, probably about when Lorn* . XIA . demanded the repetition of • tain parts of an o[>era. The opera usPy Corneille. Fontenelle and Boileau. which wa> sung before his majesty and the king was so pleased with certain parrs that he a bed to have them repeateu. It took fu.ly a century foi the ordinary opera goers to obtain the king's prerogative for the .selves, ! came about in this way: G.u k hatproduced an opera which had been a failure; but. having rewritten the worst parts, be produced it ag'.a. One or two songs were accepted by the au dieuee wit : applause, and one in par ticular was demanded a second time. The n.e.-t remarkable eu. 'res on rec ord are those which were insisted ui>on by the late king of Ba varia. Bes ore be was known to la? in ane. when merely thought eccentric, he had plays performed before him as the sole auditor, the urtain ri I:.,- at midnight. If he likts! the 1 lay s OU having it restated at on e. But. unlike most encore fiends, he paid liberally for them. Though our word "encore" is adopted from the French, they themselves do not make use of it in this connection. They call Bis. bis." and obtain a ret •etition.—New York Herald. THE RUSSIAN ICON. It I* Simply « Relißion* Picture Blessed by a Priest. An icon is simply a religious picture, gcuvrauy of little artistic merit, and a . ~,-t usually represented is elflier a Russian saint, some event tn the life of Jesus Christ or the A'irgin Mary. In the Greek church, as in other Christian churches, the worship of graven Images is forbidden, but no objection is made to anything reproduced on a fiat surface. Therefore icons are permitted in the form of mosaics, paintings. enamels or prints. They play fin important part in the religious life of the Russians and are to l>e met with everywhere—in churches, public offices, private Louses and shops. A picture to become an icon must be blessed by a priest, and it is then regarded not only as an ornament, but »s an ueceua In the worship of the Greek church. Icons are also worn on the person, when they take the form of a plaque ar a book with two leaves. Almost ev»ry soldier wears one on his bosom, and when he prays be takes out I. s i — ~ *v »♦ .J. own

icou and. opening it, kneels down before it as if it were a portable altar. Every regiment has its own icon, whi li it carries as it would carry its banner when the regiment gjes into battle. The Morale Flooring of the Denert. I be uarthern portion of the Colorado desert is paved with the mast wonder ful ]eb les in the world, in many parts - tul -mltatiou by the most skilled worker in :.. tsi’-.e flooring These pebbles are ! made of porphyry. agates, carnelian ' quartz. cry*: garnets, chrysolit* i and other such beautiful materials ; iney are packed together so that the i e rs. -e co mposed of thvu is like a Isl > - : t’ -y j?.ik as I:' pressed ir." |it vita a r .ier. As a rule, they are of . ■ ' - p. I briliiactly. as if oiled and rub- • I ■ ■ and the r'-:l >n from them of the | - ■ ■ . . . - . | des tion. h -ivex surface gv-s ba - I a r f i- .t and the gr > .4 for I miles seems i- if literally paved with gem- Tims the whole smfa.-e of the I pktin is a cot. ’ I’inticn of myriads ot I refe.-t -.rs, each pC . '.e be’::g so highly | polished that it is I .? a tt. rr-r. and :t is lei ev--' ’ - f' ■* dese- | mirage are produce! ’»y this meztns I The peb’ l. •• are >, r ]xtsc I sand ■• h: b < i w:i 1 ■- and thither VVonderfcl Erwfnw, A cur - effect f wear and tear to w'n-'i the earth* crust is ever being sul je. :•' is exh ' • the sngularly capped pi:.:. - ■ gon I South rive- in the Was - h ::: ntn I tains, jn I’tvh. There are hundreds of j these slender pillars, ranging sn heig it from 4o to JoO feet. n. of ti. • crowned by large etc-s of stxie*. They are not works of hu: n art. as miglc he imagined, but re the nr-:nori:il ' moni’ments of the hlil fr»m wh U they I have been «mt by the a t >:i of air I and wat< r Th >-e pinna - alvne re-i main of many square miles >f solid I rocks, which hare iwn away j to a depth of same fee' The I greater hardness of the surface '..l< ; caused it to resist corrosion more thru i the rnder ; g - -le ; . caps of st De j-w-bed b g-i in a ; r on the points columns. One ble coinmil. by a single stone. ’ f"r:::s a natural bridge both uni .ue and pictures ite. The First Frictiom Matvk.es. The first really pra tk-.ibie friction matches were n .le by an Engl <r. apothecary named Walker in 1'27. He oxi ted splints of '•ardbo-trd with sulphur and tipped them with a mixture of sulphate of antimony, chlorate of potash and gum. Each box. tootling eighty-four matches and sold for a sb.lling. contained also a folded pie-e of glass paper, which was to be pressed together while the match was drawn through it. Three years later another ingenious person named Jones tn Lon don patented the idea of making a small roll of paper, soaked with chlorate of potasc and sugar at "ae end. with a thin glass globule filled with strong sulphuric acid attached at the same point. When the sulphuric acid was liberated by pinching the globule It acted spun the .'hlorate of potash and sugar so as to produce fire. I (

The Briton and Wn»bin<. We have c-nue to bok upop water as i meant primarily to wash in. as an aid , to ablution rather than a thing of beau- i ty. A story of a Somersetshire peas- , I ant will illustrate what we mean. The ) individual iu question had never s,. a i ■ the sea until lie was taken to AAestoa-super-Mare on a "choir treat" excursion. Naturally the vicar, the curate I and the rest of the tenors, trebles and i basses as soon as the esplanade was ; reached -i.then l around to ~ee how the first sight of the ocean would stride i the natural man. Will it be belie, ed ' that the words struck from him >y the < view of "the unfurrowed deep" lying in vast expanse before bis eyes were these: "If I'd known whit her were like. I’d have brought down a bit of soap and had a good wash." The iron. or. rather, the soap, bad entered so , 1 deeply into bis soul that he could only conceive the sea as a huge washing 1 place.—London Spectator. Wawner'a Shorn Lock*. Wagner, the composer, at one time became afflicted with headaches and determiner! to have his hair cut. He accordingly arranged with a barber to perform the oi>eration on a certain day. | That worthy resolved to make a gxxi . thing of it and informed ail bis cus- ■ turners of Wagner s impending sacrifice. Most of them paid him a certain sum down in advance to make sure of a lock of the great musician’s hair. To the barber’s horror Mme. Wagner superintended the cutting and when it ' was over appropriated the whole of 1 the coveted locks. The barber, in despair. confessed that he bad sold them many times over, whereupon madam suggested that her butcher had hair very much like Wagner’s. And the story goes that that night half Dresden slept with the butcher’s hair under its pillow. -— | I Historic Relic. The Chesapeake, famous for her en- . counter with the British ship Shan- | _ non in the war of I'l2. is still in ex- , istence. When she was captured by i the British she was taken to England < j by her captor. Sir Philip Broke, and < j some years later her timbers were ’ sold. The purchaser was a miller In • Wiskham. and when he pulled down : his old mill he built a new one from ( the timbers of the Chesapeake. Many j of these timbers still have the marks of the Shannon’s grapeshot, and in I some places the shots are still to be seen deeply imbedded in the pitch pine, if the builder who made this ship knew th t its timbers were being used > in a mill which is making money for i

a subje- t of Great Britain there is no doubt that be would at least try to rise from his grave to rvffit the wr -ng. A Great Painter - * Beginning. B the great portrait painters in England. His parents were p r. his father being a country innkeeper. One day : Lon! Shaftesbury's father and moth el i sto['i*d at the inn, having tiieir young. | er son. the future lor 1. with them. In i conversation the innkeeper spoke of i the geuiv.s of his t. >y in drawing and wished them to test it by a picture of their san. They a'sentt*!. thinking ti gratify a father's pride, hut not lo'king for any evidence of superior talent. The G y came in modestly, with chalk am! paper. a:i l in a few minutes had drawn a picture of their son on which I the p:'re’.;-s ; . >kel with w mder. They recoguiied the genius and the pro: - of future greatness and befriended the ’ y ."ng ar* <t. g'v::.g I im the help need ed to deveiop Lis wvmlerful gift. It Paid to %»lvertiwe. The most tefra -ory .mxtg dumb beasts may s iniotimes 1* • won by per- j sistent kindness. It is ;.s > evident that the ol 'S;;:iate of the human s;*- es may be influenced by an assault of humor. Phil May, the English artist - 'of mxM dear memory." had promised to do a colored design for the Christmas num- | her of an illustrated weekly publication. The date fixed on for its delivery 1 passed by. and no design had been forth - m - Letters and telegrams were anan- I swe ed. tnd when a messenger was sent to May's bouse it .< reared that ! he had gone to Paris without ■ any address. This, aeeorilng to Lon- I don M. A. P.. is what ha; ienel next. The pu' shers were at their wits" eivl. but .me of them, paying a day's v.sit to Margate, w - . •... see Ma; - . :.g lu the sunshine by the water. The publisher did not make him.-elf known, but cannily ascertained wl,. .■ ti . r staying. Then he h.r-l «Ix - to parade u> and down the artist's window with tMx.r>l« »- ■ dlfferer t legends This was -heir tenor: “What at ut ou- Christmas cover?" "We are wa.tlLg for tha' .-.ver.” It was a delightful reminder, and io a few ,t vs the publishers received one of the ni ««t brilliant des.gna May had •ver executed. inserts as Tidbits. Insects of almost every kin-1 are eaten in one j rt c »tLer ' ibe globe. The natives of the West L.d eat the larvae of the stag beetle the cre-.les of Bourbon broil and eat eockroa.-hea, while the Aral* still follow the example of J .dm the Baptist and fee-1 on locusts. The grassbop'j-er is a favorite article of diet both in Greece and in Mexico. The Chinese make a tasty dish out of the chrysai s -.f rfee . worm, and a white fat grub that bur rows in the palm trees is the greatest delicacy a Burman knows. Ants prepared in various ways <-ommend themselves to quite a number of people. Tt-e Afnean custom is to rook them in butter, wb.le in Brazil a resinous sance is the usual accompaniment. The Siamese prefer the eggs of the anL and in India the white ant is not only eaten raw. but in seme parts is roasted I ke coffee and is then mixed with four *'-• made into pastry.

uives<-« aad Ver<•!»•’ton•There has always been a lower ,« rentage of divorces among men « gaged in agricultrra! pursuits tUi » - ... -a: ■ iu- ■ • - - : • • irrlage Infelicity. Neri among the Li- aver .es come th hostlers, the actors. r.grxmtural .a borers, bartenders, servants ar-I «*t ers musk lans and teachers of l. .- v photographers paper hangers, barbers tumbermen. a..d so on. diminismng » ratio until owest average is reac-> t» ret ire atated. among the fans tr» Ba t :;.ote American. The I The first step toward the formation of the postal union, which has ha such wile results, came from Germane in the shape of a proposal for an international postal congress This met at Berne iu l'T3. when twenty-two countries joined the um m. m the whole of Europe. A second con cress met in Paris in IS7S. when ten ether countries came in. and the rial title. "International Postal I mon. was definitely fixed. Its sphere was further enlarged at congresses at -isbon in ISSS and at Vienna in lt-~ The Attraction. Prim Mother—My son. lam afraid rou are going to make a mistake in marrying Miss Easyv.ays. Both she and her mother are fearfully lax houses StHt—l know it. mother: that's ; wbat caught me. It's so comfortable over there, you kuow. I can sit down anywhere in the parlor without t-e-ug told t: at I'm mussing things up!—De- ; troit Free Press Strikes Hidden Rocks. When vour ship of health strikes the hidden rocks of Consumption. I neumonia, etc . you are lost if you don't get help from Dr Kings New Discovery for Consumption. J. W. McKinnon of Talladega Springs. Ala., writes: "I had been vetv ill with Pneumonia, under the care of two doctors, but was getting no better when I began to take Dr King's New Discovery. The first dose gave relief, and one bottle cured me." Sure cure for sore throat, bronchitis, caughs and colds. Guaranteed at Blackburn and Christian drug store, price 50c and SI.OO. Trial bottle free' Farmers Take Notice. Are your hogsand chickens healthy and in as thriving condition as vou would like to have them, if not. feed them Egvptian Hog and Chicken Cholera Remedy. Put up in gallon sad half gallon cans. For sale at the ol reliable drugstore. Smith. Yager Fdalk. Lo» Rate »t latareat. Money loaned at five per cent, interest, payable annually or semi-an-nually, at option of borrower, with privilege of partial payments at any ntereet raying time. No delay in makmg loans. F. M Schirmeyer, Decatur Ind ‘Hf

■ ■■ h I I I From Chicago, every day, March i to May 15, 1905,10 San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Sacramento and many other points in California. Tickets good in tourist sleeping cars. Rate for double j berth, Chicago to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Sacramento and many other points in California, J7. Through train service from Union Passenger Station, Chicago, via the | Chhago, Milwaukee & St. Paul I AND Union Pacific-Southern Pacific Linei It \ou are thinking of such trip, this is your opportunity to make it at least expense. Handsome book descriptive of California sent for six cents’ postage. J F ‘ W. S. HOWELL . s . _ . w < General Eastern Agent. 1145 Rauway Exchanv-, B rc»<W' I CHICAGO. N^w V ORK I ' — I Complete mftzmaxxt: wffi be free ou recem of ths erxzpou wig bi«k fcm fifat CtAipcc Street Addrcss be “ ißi City Probable Destination —— —l

Daniel Webster and the WHEN Daniel Webster i n c I pany with President men early first rode over the ‘Picturesque Appreciated the j n 1851, it is recorded that the g/ I Scenery of tre statesman insisted on riding O q ••Picturesque Erie Q p en p] at f ornl car( seated in a tasv rocking chair, in order thatw might better view the magnifiJd sc-nery. I CEEN to-day through plate gU I of cars which afford eve I conceivable luxury, these same g’o'J ous glimpses lose none of I effectiveness. Direct route to New York, Pittsbun I Cambridge Springs and Chautaud Lake. Entire block signal protection r. n. WALUCE 6- P- 21 Cortland sl.. New Y wk> - I

1. spite or the » onS -Are vou fond of musk?" asked a straimer of the young man at the con- , who was applauding vigorous y after a pretty girl had sung a song In a v6FV painful way. -Not particularly.” replied the young man frankly, “but I am extremely fond of the musician." A Great Composer. Ethel-Who was that man yon just to? Penelope-That was.Dobson. the great composer. Ethel A composer, did yen say’ Penelope-H« j manufactures soothing sirup. Need Never Beprosch Hlm*elf. "What word did her fatter send after be bad found out about your elope metit?” “Oh. he wrote me a very kind letter, | saving lie was glad we’d taken that course, as it relieved him of the necessity of giving bis consent and having it on Lis m nd all the rest of bis life,"—Chicago Record-Herald. Sympathy. “Have you cmgratvlated our hostess on her birthday I “No." answered Miss Cayenne; "11 have condoled with her. —Washington,

■ Stone For sale Building. Bridge and Concrete Crushed Stout Best Portland Cement cl Dynamite Cal I and see me if you need anythin*, in this line. juliu.s hal'Gis, dec

To C urea Cold in Oneh' Take Laxl'ive Bromo Quinine Tv . I irukgk'ts efund the money if o «I R W Grove' sisnature on ewb til I hair balsam I Ef'-i- let a -'•ixuray I Never F^; e » 0 (Xrv* Ka.p d M I 3bc.andt; ‘ ar Dll K I Biles, li ul- : - ■ I I*eL L'r. Wii .:,ms lr.e:ar,pS| ■ ■ mer.t prepare..;-- p ’• ■ lug ot the private ; ,r> £ Tfr ” warrant. dr... . . - J ceipt ot price ;>•: cent* an; •AMUFACTURikG rn . Prop.-.. t -.-. '*l Nachtrieh A Puellltr w -'OR QUICK CASH SALES