Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 106, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1916 — Page 3

The GARDEN of EDEN IN CEMENT

THERE’S an Old &>Gentleman in a, Kansas town who has done some unusualwork in the modeling art

By ROBERT H. MOULTON.

k P. DINSMOOR of Lucas, Kan., calls it the Garden of Eden, and being seven-ty-three years old, a greatgrandfather five times, a survivor of 18 battles and nonhyphenated, all Of which he freely admits, h e has a right to his opinion. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, the uevil and all the old charter members of the original garden are there, done lorever in cement; also, for the sake of variety rather than consistency, 125 more figures, Biblical and otherwise, perched in concrete trees in his front yard and glowering down in their impassivity on villagers who pass that way by day, but who sedulously avoid it after dark. In the center of the Garden of Eden, in the midst of all this ghostly array of cement creations, is Mr. Dinsmoor’s cabin home, a “log house’’ built of stone from native ledges. One of the two porches is ornamented with cement beer bottles and jugs and mugs as a sort of merry jibe at Kansas’ prohibition laws. One of the many Inlaid tables in the cabin home is a small one which contains 162 pieces of wood. Over the door in the living room is what the old gentleman calls a wooden sermon. It is the motto: “Home Is What You Make It.” Outside, as he facetiously explains, the sweep of his hand taking in the petrified Garden of Eden, are 130 stone sermons. It took over 43% tons, or 130 sacks, of cement to make them, and the cost so far has been over SI,OOO. But even at that Mr. Dinsmoor declares he is far from being through. There is a system to everything about the place. The garden to the west represents the creation and fall of 'man according to Moses. The front, or north, represents modern civilization, how one animal preys on another down to the little worm. There are eight cement trees from 30 to 40 feet high lighted with 20 electric lights. For the grape arbor, flag, devil and rambling rose to stand on there are 13 trees from 8 to 20 feet high. It all seems to represent a lot of bard work. But Mr. Dinsmoor is a philosopher. It wasn't work, he says, but play. Work, according to his theory, is doing something you don’t like to do. He worked for 50 years. Then he went to playing. He found when he fed pigs for play they got fat; if he fed them for profit he fed too much, and they died. He figured

WORTH KNOWING

~ Peru’s 1914 foreign trade amounted t- $66,163,57L * Alaska’s 1915 mining output was valued at $32,000,600. India’s coal production has passed rh» 12, 000-ton mark annually and el ectrical machinery is being introduced Into its mines. A new glass for electric lighting that absorbs but about 9 per cent of the light is said to be the most efficient yot produced.

out that he never did make any money as long as he worked. He lost nearly everything except his wife. Then he got to playing at farming, and his mules and horses got to making money for him and his land grew in value. It got so valuable that, a man came along with a checkbook and ran him off. Then he moved into town, and it looked like he was going to dry rot and be made fit for the boneyard until he took to playing again.. He started his Garden of Eden, and today he is friskier than ever. The first figures one sees on entering the garden are Adam and Eve, who stand eight feet high, hands clasped over the gate. One serpent is putting an apple in Eve’s extended palm and another is being stamped to death by Adam, while the devil appears overhead on a limb, with spear poised and malevolent eyes glaring at this world’s first lovers. Mr. Dinsmoor confesses that they were made with cement and a trowel. Some people don’t like the looks of Eve, and their creator admits he doesn’t blame them. But then, he explains, his models were women who passed the house, and as they generally passed in a hurry, he couldn’t follow them very closely. There are two things about the garden that the townspeople do not like. One is the all-seeing eye on a high cement pole which winks electrically at night as if it were a solemn warning to all who look at it. The other has to do with the principal figures of the garden, which are mounted in trees re-enforced by gas pipes. Very often when a curious crowd gathers outside and gapes at the creations, Mr. Dinsmoor, who loves a joke, will slip to the basement. Presently the angel with the flaming sword, perched high in a cement tree, will speak sotto voce: “Cain, Cain, you son of a gun, where is Abel?” To this unangelic query Cain will give the twentieth century reply: “Search me, kid. I’ll be darned if I know'.’’ Whereupon the devil from his dignified position will bawl out: “I should worry.” This generally makes the crowd move on, especially if it’s Just growing dark and the weird conversation is accompanied by the winking of the all-seeing eye.

An English inventor has patented a shaving soap that is packed in wooden bowls so that no mug is needed, the bowls being thrown away when empty. Bulgarian rose gardens, which produce much of the world’s supply of attar of roseß, cover 18,000 acres and yleld4Q.6oQ,ooo pounds of flowers annually. The owner of a granite cutting , establishment in Los Angeles has successfully used the compressed air starter on his automobile for driving the pneumatic tools used in lettering

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

Among the cement wonders the most notable is a flag four by eight feet done in red. white and blue cement and weighing nearly half a ton. It swings in the breeze on ball bearings, making a weather vane. Another odd feature is a cement pyramid on which strawberry vines are planted in the spring. The cement is about one

and a half inches thick, over a soil Interior, with tiling and spray to irrigate. On top of the pyramid are planted touch-me-nots, and when -the strawberries' are ripe and visitors come Mr. Dinsmoor calls their attention to the flowers. He says, however, that next spring he intends to set out milkweed in place of the flowers, hoping to raise strawberries and cream on the same bed.

Lot of Truth in a Jest.

The managers of new apartment hotels are very particular about new tenants. After a man and his wife had hired apartments in an uptown hotel yesterday, the manager asked about references, financial, social and moral. “I suppose the fact that I am to pay in advance disposes of the first,” said the newcomer. “As for the social end, we are not in the swim to any extent, always fearing to get out of our depths. So far as our moral standard is concerned, I happen to love my wife and I expect her to live here with me.” “Good, very good,” exclaimed the manager. “Only a matter of form, you know.",. "Well,” said the prospective tenant in a doubting manner, “how about your references? I am very particular, you see.” “What,” gaßped the manager. “Why, this is one of the most exclusive —” "That’s all right/' interrupted the man, “has the president of this hotel company been sued for divorce and did his affinity live here? Is she here now? I wouldn’t like my wife to meet her. What kind of people have you living here? On whom did you say I could call for information?” But the manager was speechless. —New York Times.

Unconscious Joker.

What the case was about no one seemed to know exactly. The lawyers themselves were pretty well mixed up. Then an important witness entered the box and was presently asked to tell the court the total of his gross income. „ He refused; the counsel appealed to the Judge. “You must answer the question,” said the judge sternly. The witness fidgeted about and then burst out with: "But —but, your honor, I have no gross income. I’m a fisherman, and it’s all net.” —Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph.

on monuments. Air was conducted by hose from the air reservoir on the auto to the pneumatic tool and the plan worked admirably, saving considerable time and expense in the work of lettering on a monument standing in a cemetery far away from the shop. Current is being tranamitted -from Sweden to Denmark through a submarine cable between Helsingborg, Sweden, and Elsinore, Denmark, a distance of about Ten miles. The 'power comes from water falls in southern Sweden. > - ~

STOP PASSING BATTER

Rule Suggested to Make Baseball More Interesting. Free Pass Evil Is “Booed” by Every Fan Who Really Loves GameBatter Always Anxious to Boost Batting Average. Whenever a batter receives a base on balls, or is hit by a pitched ball, the manager of the team at bat may have the alternative of permitting the batter to take first base, as has been customary under the present rules, or he may put a base runner on first base and permit the batter to continue at bat. The base runner substituted shall be permitted to re-enter the game at any other time %s a base runner, and the. batter shall not be forced out of the game as is the custom under the present rules when a man runs for him. The rule above will accomplish many things, make the game more speedy, make for more control on the part of the pitchers, make more and better base running, make itmecessary to keep at least one lightninglike runner on the squad and do away with intentional passes. Perhaps whert it will make the biggest hit with the players is that it will make for bigger batting averages. When a batter is hit by a pitched ball or passed by being given four balls, he is not credited with a time at bat, it is true, but, on the other hand, it is a time he does not have a chance to make a hit, and every batter wants as many chances to boost his batting averages as possible. The free pass evil is “booed” at by every fan who really loves the game. To not permit a brilliant hitsmith like Cobb to get a fair chance at making a hit, when a hit means runs and perhaps the game, -is something the fan frowns upon. _ He wants to see his hero stride up to the plate, pick out one to his liking and smash it out for a three-bagger or a homer and send in runs ahead of him.

BODIE DISLIKES BIG LEAGUE

Demon Fence Buster and Macaroni Consumer Was Kidded Out of Majors by Paragraphers. The humorous sport paragraphers never did appeal to Ping Bodie’s sense of humor. They grated on Ping’s nerves so long that they finally succeeded in driving him from the big leagues: Ping is on the coast now and doing well, and according to reports from that western extreme of the continent,

Ping Bodie.

Ping wouldn’t return to the big show even if he got the opportunity. Out on the coast the demon fence buster and macaroni consumer is quoted as saying: “No more big league stuff for mine. They kidded me out of the majors and I’m through with them. I’m content to play in the minors, because here the fans are kindly in their treatment toward me. So are the players. The sticks are good enough for me.”

NOISY COACHING IS POPULAR

Jimmy .Callahan, New Manager of Pirates Disagrees With Former President Taft. Professor Taft’s idea of voiceless coaching, as expressed by the former president at the recent National league banquet, seems unpopular. Jimmy Callahan, new manager of th© Pittsburgh Pirates, is one manager who has announced his stand against quiet coaching. X “Noisy coachirtg may not suit men of a sensitive nature, but I believe the fans generally in the United States like It,” said Callahan in reply to Mr. Taft. “Half of the sport in the game would be taken away by stopping the noise in connection with the sport and I don’t believe the men who make baseball rules will ever legislate out loud coaching. “Nerve is a vital essential for a ball player, and if he has it the coaching doesn't bother him. If he hasn’t, then he is one of-the few who will object to the loud coaching.”

Paddy O’Connor Retires.

Paddy O’Connor has about decided to give up baseball to be one of the proprietors of a “lifesaving” station

GREATEST NUMBER OF RUNS DRIVEN IN

"Gavvy” dravath of the champion Phillies holds the 1915 record for the greatest number of runs driven in in one game. He hit home eight in the contest with Cincinnati on August 8, twice sending three men over the plate by doubling. The last major leaguer to turn this trick was Harry Davis, who did it in 1890 against Brooklyn. Harry then was with the Giants. Fournier of the White Sox set the American league record for the year when, on July 6, he batted in six tallies.

BEST BALL PLAYER OF YEAR

George Sisler of St. Louis Browns Can Play Any Position on Diamond — Is Hard Hitter. “How long do you think it will be before baseball produces another player like Ty Cobb?” someone asked of a crowd of old-timers in the press box during a recent fanning bee. “Looks to me as if it - had already produced one,” remarked George Davis, scout and former manager of the Giants. He was looking at Sisler, the versatile young athlete of the Browns. “There’s about the best ballplayer we’ve seen in years.” This brought on quite a discussion, and after going all the way down the line of new stars it was the unanimous verdict that Sisler is by far the greatest ballplayer discovered in recent years. And this is not due entirely to his versatility. Though he can play any position on the diamond except behind the bat he is a star in any place they put him. Sisler is a great pitcher, a dandy first baseman, a corking good outfleld-

George Sisler.

er and can play either second, short or third as well as 90 per cent of the men in the league. In addition to that he hits well over .300.

PLAYERS FROM NEW ENGLAND

Among Others Developed for Majors Are John Tener, Christy Mathew80n and Larry Lajoie. The New England league goes out of existence with a record to be proud of in the way of developing talent for the majors. The following are a few of the men who started with the New England league: John K. Tener, president of the National league; Christy Mathewson, Larry Lajoie, “Rabbit” Maranville, Hugh Duffy, Charley Farrell, Harry Davis, "Stuffy” Mclnnis, Martin Bergen, Jack Doyle, Harry Lord, Ainsmith, Larry Gardner and Henriksen.

Proud Of His Pitchers.

Manager Herzog is particularly proud of his pitching material, principally youngsters, including Dale, formerly of Montreal; Fred Tony, Schneider, McKenery, Mitchell, Dowd, Earl Mosley, formerly of the Indianapolis and Newark Feds; Schultz and Stanley, Douglas.

Batters Who Make Their Hits Count.

STORIES of the DIAMOND

Jimmy Callahan, leader of the Pirates, says that Joe Schultz, once with the Brooklyn, will fill the gap at second base. Cal is trying to build up a’ team of youngsters. • • * The Bjruggle for the second-base position on the Reds is all over.' Bill Rodgers will play the position. • * * The Pittsburgh National league club has asked waivers on Inflelder James Smith, Catcher Fred Blackwell and Pitcher Douglas. • * * Beall, Killifer and Griffith have about been decided on as the Red outfield this season. * * * Players of the Yankees believe that before June 1 Frank Gilhooley will be a more-talked-about tosser in Gotham than Benny Kauff. • • • Outfielder Shorten of the Red Box is said to be one of tbe best young players ever signed by the Hub champions. * * • ' Connie Mack has forbidden golfing because' he believed it spoiled the batting eye of some of his Athletics last season. * • * Clark Griffith has unearthed a promising young catcher named Gharrity, who played with Minneapolis last year. Gharrity may fill the shoes of Catcher Ainsmith of the Washingtons, as the latter is troubled with his eyes. * * * "Ollie” O’Mara of the Brooklyn Nationals has rounded into great shape. It will take some tall hustling on the part of any recruit to oust the peppery little shortstop from his regular job. • « • "Jimmy” Callahan reports the Pirates are in great shape. “Honus” Wagner will be his able lieutenant, and from all accounts the athletes will surely be on their toes this year. * * • George Maisel, brother of Fritz of the Yankees, has won the Job of utility outfielder with the Detroit Tigers. • * • Lefty Leifield, former Cub hurler, is a member of the SL Paul A. A. team. • • • Clark Griffith has a youngster who he thinks will be the talk of the circuit. He is Charley Jamieson. * • * Hap Meyers, former Brooklyn outfielder, is now a member of th© San Francisco Seals. * * • Manager Herzog of the Reds has released Pitchers Dowd and Caporal. Waivers have been obtained on both men. Dowd goes back to Montreal and Caporal returns to Elmira, in th© New York State league. —_—_ • • • Terry Turner of th© Indians started out with, the Columbus team 15 years ago, and her" is still an artist in his line. < — g - y. - 0—If Elmer Jacobs makes th© team, Pirate fans will see Hein© Zimmerman’s double. Jacobs carries a physique and facial expressiqp which greatly resemble the eccentric Zim. » .