Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 141, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 June 1919 — Page 3

THRIFTY DUTCHMEN TURNED INTO DESPERADOES BY WAR

Genuine Shock Has Come to Those Who in Old Days Admired Industrious Hollander Whose Only Occupation Now Is in Deeds of Daring and Robbery—Country Is Now Paradise for Thieves.

The Hague.—To tlip.se who knew the Hollander before the war as a quiet, well-behaved, thrifty and industrious soul, content to pursue the even tehor of his way and sticking religiously to orderliness and good behavior, his transformation since the signing of the last November will come as a genuine shock. Crime, in the pre-war days, was at Its minimum in Holland. Her stand- > lng army of some 50,000 was composed of young men who served their allotted time in the military service of their country with the minimum of grumbling, returning cheerfully to the plow, or the dairy, or the fisheries, as soon as their term of army service was over. Except for an ever watchful eye on her frontier? Holland lived a calm, contented existence, turning out her world-famous cheeses and her perhaps, more, infamous gins, her citizens secure in the feeling that theirs was n land where the law was observed, where their chattels were safe even though their front doors remained unlocked and where the infrequent offender against the penal code could not hope to get his full name in the papers, much less his photograph with a pretty border around if. Today all this is changed. From a land of safety Holland has been transformed Into a land of danger and the Hollander —that lk, hp who is represented in the ranks of the plow boy. the driver of the horse or donkey along the tow path, the churner of the butter and the cream, the farm hand or the miller’s assistant —has been transformed into a shiftless, lazy, disorderly ne’er-do-well, whose principal occupation is burglary! , It Is a New Crime. Burglary in Holland was not a usual crime in the pre-war days. That fact makes the present wave of lawlessness all the more striking. The great truth that has dawned upon the country is that the 800,000 Hollanders’ who have been doing military service as ' non-combatants since the beginning of the war have come to hate work and to hate having to provide fqr their own living, after enjoying food, clothing and shelter at government expense for nearly Jive years. When Holland mobilized her young manhood, middle-aged manhood and full-grown manhood during the first six months of the . war, when there was momentary danger of Germany suddenly getting It into her disordered brain to invade and despoil the Netherlands as well as Belgium, the Dutch government provided for the support of the families of the soldiers whom she mobilized as well as for the support of the soldiers themselves. In her well-ordered house, Holland could not see 800,000 families in want because 800,000 male supporters were taken for the defense of the fatherland. She provided this support as punctiliously and as carefully as she provided for the thousands of Belgian and French refugees, who have lived ■on the* country’s bounty from the day of the siege of Antwerp to the day that Marshal Foch handed his fountain pen to the German armistice commissioners and said: “Sign!” With the demobilization that began during the latter days of last November the discharged soldiers found.lt Irksome to resume their duties as family providers Instead of “letflng Wll-

COMES TO HELP THE GIRL SCOUTS

General Sir Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the boy scout organization, la here from England to help the girl scouts, which organization did such wonderful work ln England duripg the war. In the group, left to right, Mrs. Arthur O. Choate, commissioner of Manhattan council of girl scouts; Sir Bbbert Buden-Pow'ell and Lady Baden-Powell ; Mrs. Juliette Low, president and founder at the Girl Scouts of America. a -

helmina do It.” The plow did not appeal nearly so much as the field equipment along the frontier. The lonjj hikes along the towpaths were not nearly so attractive as the short stretches between sentry posts on the border between Holland’s eastern provinces and the Westphalian or Prussian country. It teas found a hard matter to get the Hollander back into a civilian jOh, not because the job was not there hut because the erstwhile thrifty Dutchman no longer eared for the job. Food Shortage a Cause. For many months now life for the law-abiding Dutchman and his family has been anything but a paradise and the shortage of food has been but a small matter in the grand total of this general unhappiness. The principal thing that has been worrying Holland has been the burglar, who lias since before the Christmas holidays become a sort of national institution, like the cheese and the gin. Acts of violence are of daily, in fact, of hourly, occurrence in country districts as well as in the cities. Not alone must doors be securely locked and bolted at night, but If during the daytime the householder turns his back to lpok over his chickens In the barnyard without first closing his front door he will most likely return to the “pronk kamer” (parlor) only to find every article of Intrinsic value has disappeared. The theft of silverware, jewelry, clothes and even pots and pans from the kitchen is reported to the police In every town and hamlet on an average of once evtry hour during the 24 hours of the day. The flow of complaints is so steady that in most places one man Is assigned to do nothing but record these reports of burglaries. While, of course, It would be unfair to say that every one of the demobilized soldiers has turned burglar after receiving his discharge from the army, it is safe to say lliat of the 800,000 troops has turned its attention to either burglary, petty or grand larceny or highway robbery as a means to keep the wolf from the door without an undue amount of physical exertion. The visitor In Holland, although he is'still much/in the minority because of the passport restrictions, has learned to keep his hand on his wallet pocket and his fingers firmly around the end of a stout cane whenever he ventures out into the street or along a country path, once Holland’s delight and the safest promenade in the wide world. Darirqy Highway Robberiea. The “kwajopgems,” who used to stand In proper awe of the welldressed rqan or woman In the public thoroughfares of the city, now openly and brazenly snatch at watch chains, ladies’ bags or pocket books that are carried /in the hands by the ladies. Nine times In ten the culprit manages to make a clean getaway In the crowd of sympathetic ruffians, who gather quickly at the first sign of disorder in the street. Children sent to the stores by their mothers are often the victims of the thieves, who take away their pennies, and market baskets on the way to the expectant housewives very often go astray and ultimately reach the dens

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

HAS MANY DECORATIONS

GENERAL LEROY UPTON

Gen. Leroy Upton, who recently returned from France, has received the distinguished service Cross and medal, the croix de guerre with two palms, and the cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, for distinguished service In the war.

•of the underworld, now a real menace in the economic and civic life of the Netherlands. The same spirit of disregard of the conventions that obtains throughout the country, as far as the rights of others is concerned, obtains in the nation’s parliament —the Staaten Generaal. .Ultra-bolshevistic members occupy seats in the lower chamber and openly advocate doctrines which, a year before the war began in 1914, would not have been listened to by any self-respecting Dutchman. The self-re-specting Dutchman must listen to these doctrines now, for they are preached on every street corner, from the forums and from the platform of the governing body, whenever the radical wing gets a chance to give voice to its sentiments. Blocked at the Frontier. The government does everything humanly possible to prevent the influx of the radical element from Germany and every day dozens of would-be intruders, be they bolshevist or Sparticus, are turned back at the frontier with the admonition to go East. But many slip through, with the result that this formerly quiet, orderly land is fast being poisoned by the seed of violence that has been planted in its fertile soil from the very day that the -One-time kaiser entered the country as a refugee and the one-time crown prince took up his involuntary abode on the Island of Wieringen. There Is enough of the regular army left to prevent any serious concerted movement by the forces of the malcontents, especially as they are not organized and no leader has yet put in an appearance. The police in the various districts, too, still observe the street discipline of the pre-war days, although they have not been very successful in stamping out the lawlessness that Is everywhere evident, they are, at lealt, holding the unruly element in check and, to a certain degree, holding It in awe of municipal authority. The principal hope of the better educated class of Hollanders lies in an early restoration of the regular channels of food Importation. Now Land of Unrest. Just now the Hollander is anything but tractable. He will drop his hammer, his shovel, his hoe or his churning handle at the drop of a hat or the whisper of a labor agitator. He Imagines that he is the under dog of every man who possesses a nickel more than he does. From a Lund of calm, peaceful, seething quiet, Holland has changed into a land of unrest. It oozes out of the very ground at every step ons takes. Lack of grains keeps the grist mills idle, which consequently fail to provide wqrk for those who might he induced to take up the broken strands, of their tasks and don the snow white of the miller for the blue of the soldier. Stagnation In shipping, owing to the restrictions placed upon the Country by the allies, has had its natural effect upon Holland’s inland waterways commerce, with the result that ttfousands of men who were employed along the numerous canals, both as boatmen and tow drivers, before the war, now find their vocations gone. This Is another important industry which, If It could resume its normal would greatly reduce the number of the unemployed. Over everything, however, looms the one large fact that the formerly correct Hollander could so readily be changed into a man' with criminal instincts and to such an extent as to make the entire country, practically, a burglar’s paradise. J y - , j ~ ' .■ ' • ' . ■

“A CLOSE CALL"

By JOHN D. SHERMAN.

A CLOSE CALL," by Wll- || t\ Ham P. Leigh, a New York artist, is possible L m the best picture of a grizzly ever painted. Outdoor men and big-game hunters say it is the “real thing.” Well, it ought to be the real thing, because it was painted from life, so to speak. There’s a little of what might be called poetic license In the picture, which improves it from the dramatic viewpoint. When you read the plaip, stralghfcfonvard story of the picture, as told by Director J. D. Figgins of the Colorado Museum of Natural History at Denver, you will see how the artist used this license. As to the details of the painting, they are the real thing and no mistake. The grizzly, was a real grizzly; his mounted skin is now in the museum. The dogs w r ere real dogs. The man in front of the bear Is one of two noted Wyoming guides—either Ned Frost or Fred Richards. JThe trees are real trees and they and the little open space are there yet. hunter in the left-hand upper corner coming to the re|pie is Figgins himself. As for Artist Leigh, he was rushing around the ring, taking photographs and making pencil sketches and absorbing “local color.” The grizzly Is worthy of the best effort of the best artist. He Is the “King of the Wilds” on the American continent. Enos Mills, whose exhaustive work on the gpizzly is to be published this spring, says this royal animal excels all others in brains; he does not except either the dog or the elephant. Mr. Mills belongs to the “reason” school pf American naturalists, as contrasted with the “instinct” school; the former credits animals with what may be called a mental process akin to reasoning, while the latter believes that all their actions are due to inherited Instinct. Mr. Mills should know something about grizzlies; he captured as cubs and brought up Johnny and Jennie, -• the two enormous grizzlies in the Denver zoo. Arid he studied the grizzly in his native wHtlds. The grizzly will soon be extinct in continental United States — except in the national parks, which are sanctuaries for wild animal life. “Kinjj of the Wilds.” The grizzly is a queer animal. Notwithstanding his size, he seldom kills big game or cattle or sheep for food. He eats nearly everything edible that he finds. He will root up a field of flowers for their roots. He will overturn great bowlders to get at a nest of ants. He will go to the foot of a sloping snowbaarlc In the summer and feast on the grasshoppers that have become chilled. He loves berries. And he dotes on field mice and chipmunks. But occasionally a grizzly gets the cat-tle-killing habit and then he becomes a terror to stockmen. - The experts Insist that the grizzly is not ferofclous by nature. Originally he was absolute monarch of the wilds. He took the path and kept it —except for the skunk—-and everything got out of his way. So he did not have to fight. After he had been trapped and hunted and shot by the white man he gave man a wide berth; His senses are exceedingly keen; it is believed that he will hear a hunter at a distance of a quarter of a mile and will scent him at nearly a mile. Eternally vigilant, wary, intelligent, he keeps out of the way. When hunted with dogs, his Intelligence, endurance and speed over rough country usually enable him to get Sway.

EVAPORATION TEST

A floating meteorological station at Gatlm laß* coasts of a raft carrying an apparatus for measuring evaporation, an anemometer recording wind variations, and a rain gauge. The evaporation terest. The apparatus Is simply a copper vessel four feet in diameter, wfcieh Is kept filled with water, and abowa by tAe amount pf water added

But when the grizzly Is cornered he Is a tremendous antagonist. Wounded, he is a terror. A grizzly mother with a cub is as dangerous an animal as walks the earth. The grizzly can be killed with a single bullet —if that bullet is placed right. Otherwise the contents of a modern high-power magazine rifle will not check a charging grizzly. The brain, the spine and the upper part of the heart are the vital spots." A western man—his name is purposely omitted —once killed three full-grown grizzlies in about 30 seconds with three shots; he doesn’t dare print the story. One most interesting feature about the grizzly is his individuality. Grizzlies seem to be even more Individual than men. For example, there is the career of “Old Mose,” which is a Colorado classic. Old Mose first appeared in the lime- * light about 1869. His territory was the region around Black Mountain; it Jay on top of the Continental /Divide and was about 60 miles in diameter. Two toes missing on his left hind paw made It easy to keep track of him. Old Mose quickly became an expert killer of cattle, sheep, horses and hogs. Once he had learned the taste of beef, mutton and pork, he lost all desire for ants, grasshoppers and flower roots. Toward the close of his career he was followed at a respectful distance by a large cinnamon bear which fed on the remnants of his carcasses. A heavy price was put «rm the head of Old Mose. .Trappers and hunters of known skill made a business of trying to win the reward. All attempts to trap him failed. Poison was tried In vain. Three hunters got close enough to him to meet death. Old Mose seemed to have a keen sense of humor. After he had been hunted for many years he developed a habit of sneaking up on the camp of campers and prospectors. Then he, would rush the camp, roaring and seeming bent on killing everybody In sight. There is no reconi that he ever attacked anyone at such times. But the stampedes he caused were many and ludicrous. Undoubtedly he enjoyed them. This sort of thing went- on for 35 years. Old Mose during that time killed more than 800 cattle, to say nothing of colts and other live stock. He killed at least five men. Though forty or more years of age, his fur was glossy, his teeth were sound, his bodily powers were undiminished and he was more cunning than ever. Finally, in April, 1904, a hunter with a pack of first-class bear dogs managed to get him cornered. Old Mose turned at bay for the last time. It took eight shots to kill this tremendous old grizzly. “A Close Call." And now for “A Close Call,” with the foregoing to give you a hint why this portrait is so remarkable. “The fight from which the painting was made took place in „the spring of 1912, near Cody, Wyo.,” said Director Figgins.” I met Mr. Leigh at Cody, and he was keen to paint a bear in action. I invited him to go with me on my trip for a bear group for the museum. He accepted and took along his equipment and guide. I had secured the services of the famous Wyoming guides, Ned Frost and Fred Richards. We set out in May for the bear country. “We had two camps established and we roamed the mountains and timber land day after day, spending the night

at Intervals how much of the liquid passes Into the air. This amount reaches four inches per month during the eight months of the wet season, and seven inches per month in the four dry months. The air W very humid from the frequent rains, which come nearly every day even In the so-called “dry" season, but the l surprisingly high evaporation is explained

at whichever cabin happened to be closest. We. had found a great many tracks and had followed them without result over hundreds of miles of rocky and wooded territory, when one morning one of the guides found a new track in the dust near our camp. Our dogs got the scent and took up the trail. For two hours we trekked after the bawling hounds as they made straight for higher ground op the side of a mountain. “Leigh’s manner was all eagerness now and his eyes glistened as he rode along with his kodaks and boxes, His object was entirely different from ours, but he entered into the pursuit with quite as much zeal. “Finally the dogs came within sight of the bear. Up the mountain side they bounded with the bear giving them a fast race. On a north slope of the mountain the animal made a fatal mistake —he plunged into a stretch of snow, soft and mushy from the spring sunshine, a certain trap for his heavy body. He lumbered along for a time In the snow, with the lighter dogs gaining every second. Then he turned and made for an open space. But It was too late. The Grizzly at Bay. "The dogs were upon him as he reached firm ground and a terrific fight l began. One of the guides and I came up with our guns —I have forgotten whether it was Frost or Richards — and Leigh was-right at our heels* “Leigh got to work with his camera and pencils and we waited near by, changing our position occasionally in order to maintain a vantage point in case the bear should make a break for liberty. It was in one of these maneuvers, I think, that the guide came too close to the fighting dogs and was knocked down. This gave Mr. Leigh the idea which he has Incorporated In his picture as it was finished —the spectacle of one of the hunters lying prone under the bear. “After about twenty minutes, during which time our dogs were keeping up a hot fight and having their hands full, so to speak, ja pup which had been trailing slightly in the rear cajpe up with us. I had asked the guides to let this young dog come along as a special favor, because I thought I saw in him the making of a fine bearhound and I wanted him to get some early "experience. The pup and I had become close friends during the trip due to the special attention I had paid him, and I had learned to love him as much as though he were my own. I had note<3 his gameness many times on the march. Although he was less than a year old he kept up with the old dogs easily and no mountain stream was too swift for him. “I was not surprised, then, to see Champ—that was the dog’s name—r come bounding through the timber toward the bear fight. He saw the prey when about 40 yards away and stopped still on his haunches, his hair bristling and his body trembling. I could see that he was scared, but my faith in him told me it would not be for long. My faith was justified. When he saw the other dogs sprawling and bawling and struggling around the bear, he made a bound and landed in the arena. “With a long leap he sprang at the bear, but his clumsy legs tricked him and he rolled on the ground beyond. I knew that he was not wily enough for the fight and that one heavy blow from the bear would break him In tvro. So I slxot the bear in the neck, breaking his spinal cord.”

by the strong winds eontindaliy blowing. It is noted that even the Salton sea, with arid desert surroundings, has only about the same evaporation.

An Innocent Abroad.

“And what thoughts came over you when you viewed the lion of St. Mark’s for the first time?” “I was as mad as a wet heh," replied the thrifty tourist. “I paid a piratical guide a dollar to show the blamed thing to me and I wan’t 40 feet away from it,”