SAGACITY SUPPLEMENTING SCIENCE
An English writer tells this story:
Once a French chemist came to Yorkshire,
his object being to make his fortune. He
believed that he might do this by picking up
something which Yorkshiremen threw away.
That something was soapsuds. The cloth-*workers
of Yorkshire use tons and tons of
soap for scouring their materials, and throw
away millions of gallons of soapsuds. Besides
this, there are manufactories of sulfuric
acid near at hand, and a large demand
for machinery grease just thereabouts.
He accordingly bought iron tanks, and
erected works in the midst of the busiest
center of the woolen manufacture. But he
failed to pay expenses, for in his calculations
he had omitted to allow for the fact that the
soap liquor is much diluted, and therefore
he must carry much water in order to obtain
a little fat. This cost of carriage ruined
his enterprise, and his works were offered
for sale.
When he was about to demolish the works, the Frenchman took the purchaser, a shrewd Yorkshireman, into confidence, and told the story of his failure. The Yorkshireman, having finally assured himself that the carriage was the only difficulty, made an offer of partnership on the basis that the Frenchman should do the chemistry of the work, and that he should do the rest.
Accordingly, he went to the works around, and offered to contract for the purchase of all their soapsuds, if they would allow him to put up a tank or two on their premises. This he did; the acid was added, the fat rose to the surface, was skimmed off, and carried, without the water, to the central works. The Frenchman's science and skill, united with the Yorkshireman's practical sagacity, built up a flourishing business, and the grease thus made is still in great demand and high repute for lubricating the rolling-mills of iron-*works, and for many other kinds of machinery.
(2820)
SAINTS
James Bryce, the British ambassador, in a speech before the St. George's Society, is thus reported:
With regard to the patron saint of England,
St. George, Mr. Bryce asked the diners
if they had ever noticed that the saints never
belonged to the countries which had adopted
them. St. Denis was not a Frenchman, St.
Andrew was not a Scotsman, and St. Patrick
was not an Irishman. All that was known of
St. George was that he slew the dragon, but
no historian was certain where he came
from. He was, anyhow, not an Englishman.
The nearest approach the United States has
to having a patron saint was George Washington,
said Mr. Bryce, and he was born a
British subject.—The New York Times.
(2821)
Saloon as a Hindrance to Aspiration—See Chance for the Boy.
SALOON EFFECTS
Irving Grinell, of the Church Temperance
Society, tells a story of a woman who entered
a barroom and advanced quietly to her
husband, who sat drinking with three other
men. She placed a covered dish on the table
and said, "Thinkin' ye'd be too busy to come
home to supper, Jack, I've fetched it to ye
here." She departed, and the man laughed
awkwardly. He invited his friends to share
the meal with him. Then he removed the
cover from the dish. The dish was empty
except for the slip of paper that read:
"Here's hopin' ye'll enjoy yer supper. It's
the same as yer wife and bairns have at
home."
(2822)
SALOON, FIGHTING THE
The people have suffered too much from
the saloon to make concessions and adopt
the gentle way of trying to smooth down the
tiger's back. They will insist on using
Roosevelt's way with fierce African lions.
Wise was that man who, being remonstrated
with for prodding the attacking bull-*dog
with the tines of a pitchfork, and asked
why he didn't use the other end, indignantly
inquired, "Why didn't he come at me, then,
with the other end?"
(2823)
SALOONS, BADNESS OF
It is a hopeful sign when the daily press begins to moralize on saloons after the manner of the Sioux Falls Press in the following extract:
A saloon is a saloon, in whatever light you
view it, and if it all were scuttled and
launched upon some limitless and bottomless
lake, not a tear would trickle down our
cheeks. A better saloon? You might as
well talk of a better rotten egg, a better highway
robber, a better thief, a better yeggman,
a better bum, a better gambler, a better case
