Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1916 — THE TELL-TALE HANDSHAKE [ARTICLE]

THE TELL-TALE HANDSHAKE

Hotel Greeter Explains How He Classifies Men by tlie Way They Grasp His Hand. When a ‘ feller” shakes hands about 50,00 0 times a year he ought to develop into a connoisseur, in the opinion of Hector I. Bourgerie, ‘greeter extraordinary” of a local hotel. iHotel men, who have to place much trust in thousands of persons, consider the handshake a reliable index to character, Bourgerie declared. ‘‘We can make a fair guess as to a man's occupation when we clasp his hand,” lie continued. "The farmer or laborer has callouses on his hand. We cannot mistake him. A fellow with soft hands who says lij’s a farmer arouses our suspicions. ‘We have to distinguish professional men by subtle characteristics in their grips. For example, a pastor is likely' to hold your hand as long- as you let him. A traveling man usually give you a hard, quick grip, l should say r that his clasp is one of the most pleasurable and satisfactory. It paves the way for business. A doctor is inclined to advance his fingers to your wrists. You get the idea that he wants to feel your pulse. ‘‘The lawyer is a frequent 'gripper.' He has a tendency to try you as to all the fraternal orders of which he may be a member. lie developed the ‘gripping’ habit at college and lias found it a valuable asset in his business, especially if lie s a politician. The teacher shakes hands lesu Ilian other professional men. lie does not have to cultivate popular good-will. His clasp is a 'cross’ between that of a preacher and a salesman.”. Bourgerie extended his hand for inspection. “You will notice that the muscles are exceptionally developed for one who doesn’t labor hard.” Bourgerie lias a grip like a vise. "When a fellow tries to ‘outgrip’ me" he boasted, "lie usually gets fooled. I put ‘venturesome’ in my characterization of him. No one lias been able to make me wince yet. 1 have ‘turned the tables’ on a lew who have tried. Ordinarily, lam careful not to hurt any one. "A firm grip may be taken as a mark of sincerity. With your friends, if betokens more than a pleasure at seeing you. It indicates honesty and a few other qualifications that society lias found indispensable. ’ Y ~— Minneapolis (’of. New York World. At the present time about 2,200,nOO acres are devoted to the raising of flax, chiefly in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana. The flax is grown primarily for the seed from which linseeed oil is manufactured. The annual crop amounts to about 20,000,000 bushels of seed and is valued at approximately $32,000,000. The crop also yields approximately 1,000,000 tons of straw, but of this only about 200,000 tons are put to any profitable use. Brazilian cocoanut palms live from 000 to 700 years, and the date palm from 200 to 300 years. On the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, there are olive trees known to have been flourishing in 1099. Much of the preliminary work has been done on the proposed new arsenal for the Greek navy, which is to replace the present arsenal at Satamis. The cost of the new establishment is estimated at $14,000,00 0. The work is being carried out under the direction of Brtlsh engineers.