Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 March 1919 — Page 3

Wheels Within Wheels

By FREDERICK L. KEATES

(Copyright)

The watches began to disappear from Wallenstein’s about a'.week after John Beckwith’s commencement there as a salesman. -The manner of their disappearance was. for a time, as puzzling a mystery. as the name of the song of the sirens. Jacob Wallenstein, the proprietor, who took great pride in his brilliant Chestnut street jewelry store, said little on the occasion of the first loss, though he no doubt did* a good deal of thinking and kept a wary eye on his assistants; but when gold watch number two, value sixty dollars, was missed, things began to liven up considerably. The disagreeable affair placed Beckwith in an uncomfortable position. Being a new. untried salesman, he guessed that a big share of the general suspicion would rest on him. Uncommonly sensitive as to his honor, he chafed sorely under the incubus of doubt which Intangibly threatened it, and he determined to do his utmost to find the culprit. He felt it impossible to continue to wmrk for very long under a cloud of distrust; for, as he was very fond of remarking, one could never tell what dirty trick chance might play a fellow. There were two other clerks iri the store; decent fellows, respectively Brown and Nevin by name. There was a young man of twenty, Ted Galvin, who wrapped packages, made deliveries, and dusted; and Despard, a silent, grumpy man, who repaired watches and jewelry. After carefully considering the situation, Beckwith decided to keep a close watch on Despard. Your taciturn man is usually a mark for the arrows of suspicion. Some of Despard’s actions, he thought, were “off color,” but nothing definite came of the doubt, for either the man was innocent or he was much too cunning to be caught napping. Despite the general watchfulness, it was npt_long before another valuable watch was stolen. It was missed on a Saturday evening. All that day, owing to a special reduction sale, the store had bfen crowded with people, but Beckwith,. Brown and Nevin swore that they had taken the greatest care to show only one watch at a time, and to see that it was handed back before they submitted another. No sooner had the discovery of the missing watch been made than Nevin startled every one by pronouncing his stock of diamond rings incomplete. Two had been stolen. “Twepty-flve-dollar ones, they were," he said, gazing helplessly around. Mr. Wallenstein looked black. “1 don’t understand it,” he said, frowning. “I have i noticed that this sort of thing happens during my absence from the ■ store. I don’t know what to make of it.” He passed his fingers through his thick, black hair, and stared hard at his employees. “Gentlemen,” he said, after a long pause, “if you are certain no stranger has robbed you during the rush today, the culprit -must be in the store, and if you have the welfare of the business __.at hear t, as I believe you have, you will each personally permit yourself to be Searched. Does anyone object? It is very unpleasant, of course, but 1 must ask the innocent to subipit graCfc. fully in order that the guilty-may be arrested. I tjust no one objects?” His sharp eyes rapidly scanned their faces for any tell-tale expression of fear. There was no sign of concern apparent on the features of any of his employees. Only on the face of Despard was there a look that was strange, and he was scowling menacingly. “I object to being searched,” he said shortly and sharply. All eyes were turned on him, and Mr. Wallenstein's face hardened as be stared at him. Despard reddened, then paled. “Very well,” said the jeweler stiffly, ■with a hint of threatening in hi§ voice. “I trust you know what is best for yourself. You must see that such an attitude cannot be of benefit to you. However, this time I will ask merely that you all show the watches you carry. Do y’ou refuse to comply there, Despard?” Despard's sole answer was the pulling forth of a commonplace, three-dol-lar gun-metal watch. Mr. Wallenstein nodded. “Very good,”- he said, chrtly, and turned to the others. Nevin’s watch was a common goldplated one; Brown’s *as a ten-dollar thin model, pretty well worn; Galvin’s was a huge silver monstrosity, a hundred years old (so he said), and once the property of his great-grandfather; Beckwith’s was the humblest of them all —a nickel timepiece that had been - dropped, oh Llie" floor more , than once - and still kept fair time. ‘That will do,” said Mr. Wallenstein. “You may go. But. gentlemen, I want you to understand that I shall call upon you, when necessary, to submit to a thorough search. You are responsible for the goods placed in your care, and you have got to account for them. I make nd charges, but something must be done in the matter and 1 must be permitted to do It In my own way, pleasant or unpleasant.” When his employees had gone home. Mr. Wallenstein, left alone, searched the store, and the two rooms above it. from floor to ceiling, in quest of hid-

den goods, but his Search whs 1 in vain “This is getting serious,”'said the ex asperated jeweler. T ought to have tn sisted on a thorough search before 1 -let them go. 41 Stilt I feel convinced they’re honest, although Despard, perhaps. is a trifle dodbtful. The wisest thing Is to have him watched. I’ll get a detective ar once. I have let the thing go too far. already.” In spite of all precautions, however, and notwithstanding the many watchers, the thefts continued. The employees were now searched each time they left the store. The hired detective was positive that the culprit was one of the assistants, and while it was not impossible for one of them to purloin an article and slip IF into his pocket unseen, it seemed absolutely beyond belief that the booty could be carried off under the very nose of everybody. One day an odd idea occurred—toBeckwith, As luck would have it, that same day his opportunity to test It arrived. At about five-thirty he went jjtfairs to the washroom to wash himself preparatory to going home. There he found Galvin, who. having hung his waistcoat on a hook, was about to wa§h his hands. In an instant JBeckwith jnade..up hli mind. Hastening downstairs, he went up to Brown. —— - “Say, Brown," he whispered hurriedly, “help me a minute. I’ll explain afterward. I’m going up into the washroom. When I have reached the top of the stairs I want you to call up to Galvin. When he comes to the head of the stairs, ask him whether he took that package to Mrs. McCarthy’s this afternoon ; we know he did, of course; hold him there a couple of minutes; ask him to whom he gave it, and what they said. This is important; will you do it?” “Sure,” said Brown, wpnderingly. “What’s the matter? If you look like that, you’ll have the detective come over and sit on you." Beckwith hurried upstairs without replying, and Brown’s voice promptly called out: “Hello there, Galvin!" Galvin was drying his face as Beckwith reached his side. “Hello!” answered Galvin, crossing the room and standing just out of Beckwith’s sight, at the head of the stairs. In an instant Beckwith had Galvin’s huge, great-grandfather's watch out of the pocket of the suspended waistcoat. The first thing lie noticed was that one of tlie hands had fallen off. “The thing isn’t going,” he said to himself. He placed it to his ear. “Ah, ha!” He said no more, but hastily unfastened the silver chain* and put the watch into his own pocket. Galvin-was still at the head of the. stairs. “Sure I did. D’yer think I swiped the package?” he demanded indignantly. “What d’yer take me for, anyway?” “All right, Galvin,” said Brown. “My mistake, that’s all.” “I ain’t no thief,” growled Galvin, entering the room. “That Brown gives me a pain in the neck.” Without staying to turn off the running water, Beckwith hurried down the stairs. As he entered the store, Mr. Wallenstein, who was counting some gold watches in a tray prior to placing them in the big safe for the night, uttered a tremendous oath. Everyone in the store turned to him in startled amazement, and the detective hurried over to his side. “There’s a sixty-dollar gold Elgin missing here!” cried Mr. Wallenstein. A couple of customers, not liking the look of things, made a move to go. “Lock the door,”-orderedthedetec-tive. “Everybody stay where they are.” Beckwith,, with conflicting emotions of doubt and assurance warring within him, went up to his employer and whispered tO’him. Eagerly Mr. Wallenstein held out his hand, and Beckwith handed Galvin’s Huge walcli to him. ■■ Without a word, the jeweler quickly opened the back of the watch, and then the inner cover. All eyes were fixed on him, and heads were craned forward as he revealed the interior of the uncouth timepiece. An exclamation of wonder broke from the group of watchers, for there, in place of wheels and springs, , was snugly ensconced the missing gold Elgin. It fitted into the larger watch witli some room to spare, and a little cotton woo) had been hastily stuffed in as packing. At once all was commotion. “Arrest the scoundrel!” cried Mr. Wallenstein, crimson with anger. “Arrest him !” “In the washroom, second floor." said Beckwith, nodding to the detective. The man sprang up the stairs, followed by Beckwith. Entering the washroom, they wgre surprised to find It empty. Even TJfkvtn’s waistcoat had gone;-for, discovering the loss of his* watch, the guilty one had been quick to grasp the situation, and had fled. The open window showed the way of his escape. Standing on a chair, the detective leaned ost> of. the window and noted the strong lightning-rod wire which ran loosely down the wall, close to the window. “Nervy*. all right,” he muttered. “Good stunt, too, that old watch of grandpa’s." >---HMr. Beckwith has been Mr. Wajlenstein’s partner for sox]|e time. No . watches have been lost since Mr. Galviu. Slid the rod.

Ideal Wife.

An Ideal wife is one > who sympathizes with you when youihave a headache and says you ougjit to wearing glasses when the chances nre you have been smoking too much.— Kansas City Star.

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. INI».

New Blouse Has Call for Favor

New York.—The blouse is a sartor£l robin. It heralds the approach of ►ring. It is the kind of accessory to a costume that both pleases and irritates. That it is usually wrong, is the verdict of most women. When it is right it is very, very right, and that is the best that can be said for it, observes a prominent fashion writer. Its possibilities for evil are not limited. Those who recognize that the neckline governs the appearance of the face know full well the chances for good and evil that rest in the collar of a separate waist. There is no* end to the making of blouses, as of books. No one can k cavil at the paucity of these garments. Any shop in any town, at any time, is

An American Indian blouse of dullblue kid embroidered In a pottery design of red and silver. The sash of red satin is knotted in front.

apt to confuse a woman with the multiple offerings hurled at her across the counter the moment she asks to look at blouses. These bits of the costume are the small change of the shopkeeper. They are taken in and out of stock, off and on the counter, throughout the different months of the year. They fill in spaces. They break the monotony of. business which arrives between the periods of high pressure. It is not true that what a woman wants she can always get in this department of dress, but it is overwhelmingly true that whatever she says she wants is answered by an avalanche of designs, offered to her as the best and the latest. Evil Possibilities of Blouses. Of course, there are new fashions in the blouses this spring. They have been shown to women; they have been purchased for the unusually large exodus to the South, and they will appeal to the majority of women during the next four weeks, when one’s thoughts turn to the rehabilitation of the winter wardrobe, or the acquisition of a new one. There is no more paucity of invention in blouses this year than last. France and America have both done their best—and it is in this vast variety that evil possibilities lie. • K women could be trained to regard the blouse as something fatal, unless well chosen, they would go about the business of getting together a half dozen with the precaution and precision necessary when walking on ic< They would not buy georgette because It is fashionable, tomato-red because it was the style, nor would they choose galloon embroidery, shoe-lace braiding or brass buttons because the designers had chosen to exploit these caprices. They would go among all the masses of waists with the precision of a bird flying to its nest. They would take the nearest straight Hne to what they want. If they did not find It they would go elsewhere; If it was not to be found in the shops they would have It made by a specialist or a seamstress, from a well-considered pattern. The part of a blouse that is very often fatal is the collar. There are few women who can stand more than two types of neckline. A woman should not rebel against this verdict. She should accept it and thus eliminate trouble. She should experiment with blouses that do not carry either one of these necklines. She must remember that no blouse is vv'orth its price if it hasn’t the kind of collar that offsets the neckline of her coat. She must also take well Into consideration the difference between a blouse which is to be worn as a part of a costume topped by a fur or cloth coat, and one that is merely a shirtwaist and part of a tailored suit. These are not all the requirements for success in buying blouses. A woman must have, or must acquire, a true knowledge of the juxtaposition of fabrics. She must know what material in a blouse goes best with the material of her suit or her separate skirt and top coat. For instance, georgette, beaded in a bold design, does not go with a homespun or a cheviot suit. That Is merely one example out of a dozen or two others’that could easily be enumerated. The truth about georgette—which is worth repeating because the fabric plays so dominant a role in separate

blouses this year—is that it looks far better as part of a costume than as au addition to a eoat suit. As a pep* ium blouse worn with a skirt of Its own color, or in harmonious contrast to it, it is very good; not as good as satin or silk jersey, but commendable. It may be ornamental, if one can adopt that type of blouse, and even trinogped with beads, which is a debatable form of ornamentation on a separate garment, but not impossible for certain types of women. Because of the adoption of uniforms through the war there is a strong recrudescence of the tailored linen shirtwaist for women, especially in horizon blue, shrimp pink and dead white edged with color. These have tucked fronts, long plain sleeves, regulation armholes, turnover cuffs with link buttons, and the collar of a French student of the Second Empire. Women have found that a rolling collar with a slight bit of starch, worn with a cravat, is an attractive neckline. Only the very young woman with a slim, smooth neck can attempt the high turnover collar, either starched or soft. Below a face that shows the marks of time this collar is impossible. Blouses as Part of Costumes. When the French designers made the peplum blouse and then sat back in watchful waiting for its success, which took long to come, they created something that was very worth while. American women see the light today, and" they grasp with eagerness the possibilities of this outside tunic blouse. It is difficult to persuade a certain set of women that there are other types ofblouses. Nothing could induce them to return to the kind that tucks in under the skirt belt. They feel they have eliminated this ’awkward line around the middle of the body, and they choose all their blouses after the tunic pattern, w’hether for railroad suits or for service with a separate skirt under a fur coat. It is sometimes permitted to tuck the back of the blouse the skirt, provided there is a front panel that drops, apron-wise, below the waist, and an ornamental belt which runs from each side of it to the back. This is the most ingenious compromise between the new and the old blouses. Blouse inspired by Fabrics are now chosen for these tunic-like garments that have nevef been considered in the making of short shirtwaists. Kid, for instance. That is a material unheard of among the weavers as part and parcel of women’s apparel. Yet the new kid tunic blouses, sent from France and copied in this country, are excessively smart and better liked by certain well-dress-' ed women than the hip blouses of caracul cloth worn during the midwinter. These kid tunics make a woman look

Peplum blouse of heavy black satin, with wide flat collar of fine cream lace. The hem is turned under to form a puff. It is tied at the waist with a narrow dull-silver cord.

amazingly like her Indian predecessors in this country. Colored skins are chosen, and on dark surfaces there is aiT ornamentation such as the Indians put on their pottery. Take a darkblue kid tunic worn with a black velveteen skirt, have it ornamented in a pottery design in yellow and black and a thread of dull red, and you get an exceedingly ingenious costume. The milliners are quite willing to match up these kid tunics with turbans and the woman who likes to look like an Indian chooses a turban, pot in kid, but in taffeta,- with upstanding quills painted at the tips. (Copyright, 1919, by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate.)

New Touches in Embroidery.

The newest thing in children’s dresses are those trimmed in hand embroidery, often in some figure or picture such as a flower pot or the popOr lar Nenette and Rintlotin.

“SKIMMY” SKIMS

Everything is so high these days that goes on the table. There was $15,000,000 worth of gold . plate at the Wilson dinner in London. They didn’t seem to care for expenses, so they probably had, also, paper napkins. If any country outdoes that dinner they -served Mr. Wilson tn England It will have to have eggs. “That’s me,” remarked the loyal Tiger fan, giving the o. o. to the new calendar;' “one nine; one nine.” . Eight thousand dollars In bonuses to its employees by a Detroit real estate exchange would seem to make it a fair one. Doesn’t ft seem a shame. C. P., W. W„ W. P., P. S., et al., to throw al) of that perfectly good T. N. T. into the D. B. C.? 7 Supposing he did call him “Strl" What’s a fellow going to do when he’s eating boiled cabbage or something ; call him “your majesty” or “your royal highness” every time he wants him to pass the butter? —Indianapolis Star.

FLASHES

We’ll say this for golf: It made going South in the winter time popular. The more we see of some men the more we wonder there aren’t more divorce suits started. It’s all right to keep up appearances if you’re not trying to appear something which you are not. A fellow may t ell a lie once and make money out. of it. but his next dollars are going to come harder. Some people want money for what it will buy, but most of us want it to pay for the things we have already bought. Everybody has words of praise for the dead; what a fine world it would be if everybody had words of praise for the living. The average man doesn’t know it. but he’d make an awful hit with his wife if he’d slip her a S2O bill occasionally without her having to ask ftMLiL - -- : The reason there aren’t more good violinists is because there aren’t more people willing to practice enough on the violin to be good.—Detroit Free i*ress.

WISE SAWS

Keeping up appearances is not folly when it means a clean collar. 1 A hot-headed, man |s usually sorry for his outbreaks and spare us from one who isn’t. Trouble and opportunity sometimes arrive at the front door arm in arm; and they Introduce one another to yog. Perspicacious people guess your secrot, and being perspicacious they do not embarrass you by letting you know it. Nature designed the poinsettia on the same day she made the Cattleya orchid and she devoted 23 hours and 50 minutes to the orchid. When one is young be makes friends recklessly and is selaom sorry for it; when he is older he is more discreet and he wishes he wasn’t. To let it be known that one has given in a good cause does not lessen the value of one’s gift. It may influence others to contribute.

PEPPER AND SALT

No matter how hot the furnace room may be a man usually shakes a good deal when he gets down. When a man experiences a creepy feeling the chances are his hair will display a tendency to rise. Grandfather’s clock was sung into history. Now won’t somebody please do something for grandmother’s wristwatch? ” , ’ . Yes, Eloise, you are to be commended heartily on your suggestion that they call ’em stag parties because of the staggers. —. . Our jazz music writers have covered the flejd of blues pretty thoroughly. but the kaiser blues is still unwritten. And it's the real stuff where he is. ,

FAMILY AFFAIRS

You can still get butter for a few cents a pound less than you have to pay for a good grade of chocolates. As usual. Aunt Salty says her cakes arc not as good as usual, but she Is not 'worrying about it. . She knows they are. * Pa would like to make a trip back to the old home to see if the date seed lie planted years ago Has grown lute a large tree.

PLAGUE MADE DIRE RECORD

Reasonable Grounds for Estimating That Influenza Has Cost the Lives of Six Million Persons. Though estimates of dehths over th* whole world from any single epidemH are very difficult to form, there seen to be reasonable grounds for believing that some 6.000.000 persons have perished of Influenza and pneumonia dur Ing the last comparatively few weeku Business has been Interfered with fr» the epidemic In every country In thi world, and enormous losses both It earning power and in trade have beer suffered. The cost of the “Inflnenzr war” cannot be reckoned, but that it h colossal does not admit of doubt. This plague, then, generally regardec with equanimity. Is. It would seem, flvt times more deadly than war. It hat been estimated that the war caused th« death of 20,000,000 persons in four and one-half years, writes a physician Io the London Time*. In the same period at Its epidemic rate Influenza would have killed 108.000.IMM). The visits of the raiding Gothas to London were but as a summer shower compared with the deluge of germs which we have Just received. The ait raids cost London, some hundreds of lives; the Influenza has cost it upwards of 10.000. Never since the black death has such a plague swept over the face of the world: never, perhaps; has a plague been more stoically accepted. In India alone over 3.000.000 deaths occurred. Bombay had 15.000 of these; Delhi, with a population of 200,000, had 800 deaths a day. The Punjab lost 250.000,persons. South .Africa suffered no less severely. In Cape Town 2,000 children were left destitute as a result of the disease, while the plague swept through the native areas like fire. The commonwealth of Australia sent a ship to Samoa with help because the disease was affecting 80 per cent of the natives. The white population were only able to feed the living and bury the dead. In New Zealand public services were stopped and business gravely disorganized. The ravages in America have been appalling, nor has Canada escaped. In Ontario and the western provinces no than 108 doctors died of the epidemic, while the total death rate in Ontario alone was 5.000 up to November. A large number of American Indians have perished. Europe as a whole has suffered in the same way. In Spain the epidemic was described as “truly • awful.” In Barcelona the death rate . was credibly stated to be 1.200 daily. France has had her share, likewise Germany and Austria. ‘ ' '•

Few Presidents Rich.

The Roosevelt fortune was different, moreover, in being mainly an Inherited fortune. Its possessor may have added to It in his lifetime, but, as In the case of other presidents, most of his personal earnings in a period of forty years of public life were absorbed in the support of his family. No other president has ever enjoyed such advantages of remunerative publicity as Mr. Roosevelt, and besides his salary from official positions his income from his books and from editorial work must have been large. Yet it is a fair inference that if these had been the sole sources of his support he would have died a poor man, as Cleveland did. and most of their predecessors in the White House. This has been the common financial fate of presidents, and the example of Mr. Roosevelt probably merely proved the rule that the office of president Is not economically productive tn any logical proportion to its exalted state and onerous political qualifications. /

A Different Vocation.

Aiderman Louis B. Anderson, who IS endowed with a keen sense of humor, can as a rule be depended upon to bring out the latest story finding favor among “the brethren.” A story handed to Aiderman Anderson by-some of the boys concerns Sam Jones, who stood 6 feet 4 inches in his stocking feet and was in training at one of the southern camps. One day the officers undertook the organization of a regimental band. “Anybody here a bugler?" asked the company commander. Sam stepped forward three paces. “Play a few notes to show us how good a bugler you are.” was the next direction. “Buhglah!” exclaimed the astonished Sam. “T’se no huhglah. I thonght you said burg'lah.”—Chicago American.

The Strassburg Clock.

A correspondent writes that It Is not at every hour that the procession of the twelve apostles makes the round of the famous clock 8f Strasshnrg. says a London paper. Thar takes place only at midday by middle European time. The quarters of each hour are struck by the figures of a child, a voting man. an adult man - , and an old man in their order, while an effigy of Death appears and strikes each full hour. Many marvelous astronomical phenomena are also shown on the clock, which automatically regulates itself at midnight an the last day of each year. It la not generally known, by the way. that a model of this unique timepiece can be seen any dav by Londoners In the Hprniman museum at Forest Hilt?

Heard in the Pantry.

The Turnip —Hear about the sad affair In the kitchen? The Cabbage— No; what was It? The Turnip—Qng of the so strong it made the potato’* eyea water.