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This newspaper page contains 21 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Ackley World
Location
Ackley, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Oct 30, 1907
Page
3
The piece argues municipal lighting costs often exceed estimates due to city officials influence, engineer incentives, and red tape. It notes private firms can underbid and that independent consulting engineers may help, as cities rarely build plants as cheaply as private companies. It explains 30 percent overruns are plausible under municipal ownership.
A talkative socialite tells a well regarded scientist husband he is an idiot, insisting genius and insolent folly twin brothers. An old doctor presses for clarity as the exchange exposes harsh marital judgment and public reputation.
The article surveys beliefs about cats in Scotland and Ireland, noting weather omens from a cat's actions, the protective role of a family cat in Scotland during house moves, and contrasting Irish superstition against bringing a cat while moving. It cites May-born cats allegedly bad for homes, and a Scots rhyme linking a black cat to lovers, with various regional customs.
A burglar in the act is confronted by a mild eyed clergyman who pleads for mercy and returns the stolen goods. The cleric, revealing himself as a fellow burglar, quietly departs with the swag while the house sleeps. The tale unfolds with ironic forgiveness.
In a peculiar anecdote Jerome K. Jerome recounts a seven or eight year old girl arriving at a lawyer's office in Rye. The crying child asks for a divorce from her papa and mamma, describing herself as a regal friend of time and highlighting her sobbing distress.
A humorous exchange recalls a literary club session where one member jokes about reciting a piece titled Chips That Pack In the Night. The Baltimore American quotes the playful dialogue suggesting a mix of poetry and wit among attendees.
A humorous dialogue contrasts ambition and laziness. The clever character argues for aiming high, while the lazy genius contends there is more room at the bottom where effort yields easier success. The exchange reflects wit about ambition and complacency.
A proprietor describes a curt note from a customer written in a bold angular feminine hand. The note requests Blisserine instead of gasolene and insists spelling is Persvol. The exchange ends the matter with a firm, plain message.
A Herald report quotes a puzzled exchange about the winner of a long distance dog walk named Sprigelus. The dialogue asks who trained the winner, identifying Ohleaga Bacord as a source in a terse, period style.
The article argues spiders sleep like other animals but notes many species hunt at night. It describes an oil weaving spider suspending from a thread at dusk to form a web, with an architect spider at the nest waiting on the trap line for insects. Some species hunt mainly at night, some by day, yet many work both day and night per St. Nicholas.
In 1701 London passed a harsh city ordinance to quiet early morning street hucksters. A person twice jailed for the offense could face ten years in prison. One prisoner claimed he was jailed for selling chickens that squawked, not for any crime of his own.
A Cleveland Plain Dealer tale describes Ned walking with his father and witnessing a man receive 6 cents for bread. Ned asks why, and learns the purpose. At supper Ned refuses bread, hoping his father will give him 6 cents as well.
A party of friends hears a woman say she split with her husband and planted a tree in memory of their first quarrel. Another guest jokes that if their plan had been started earlier they might now have a grand avenue of trees in the garden.
A garbled inspirational note humorously mangles sayings about honesty, sunshine, luck, effort, and relationships. It wobbles through maxims on fairness, sun exposure, temperament, luck, and love, ending with a jumbled jab about a deaf and dumb woman.
A wave of resentment against municipal ownership appears in several locales. Canon City voters rejected municipal waterworks. Hot Springs D M D candidates were defeated. Shelburne voted down a 50 000 to 60 00 electrical power project. Joshbullsburg WI opposed bonding for an electric plant. Winchester MA committee urged the town not to own or operate any electricity or gas utility.
The Galena electric light plant, installed in 1898 at 18000, sold for 13000 with a 25 year franchise. The city will gain nearly double street lighting at only 10 percent higher cost after approval by the mayor and council. The plant had failed due to management changes and intermittent illumination, yielding poor service.
As early as 1902 the 817 street railways paid municipalities and states 18 306 355 yearly in taxes per the census. Including taxes on securities as property and additions, totals reach about 25 000 000 yearly. Municipal ownership would forfeit that revenue says Walter J Ballard in the Los Angeles Times.
A witty exchange between a real estate agent and a prominent politician in Baltimore highlights a house touted for its “exposures all around.” The politician recoils, saying the phrase captures exactly what he seeks to avoid in his residence search.
The Pine Bluff city council refuses a municipal ownership plan and renews a five-year lighting contract. The Pantagraph cites critique of sentiment over figures in evaluating such schemes, noting a western man described as six feet tall and $30,000 short.
A compact verse collage presents sea ballads and lyric pieces from Browning, Sargent, Anon, and Procter. It juxtaposes songs of the ocean life with Kentucky shore memories, a haunting organ chord, and Stevenson’s playful shadow, plus Cheney’s note on flowers and weeds.
A New York Jewish paper prints a page of greetings ahead of the New Year. Messages include Albert and Mrs Lucas and family from 5a West 105th Street and others like Senator Guggenheim and Annie Zeitlin wishing a happy new year. Also an advertisement notes Nadolski Restoratives.
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