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u NEWS NUGGETS FROM ILLINOIS HIS is the season of the year wheu the prospects for the turkey crop outweigh almost all other questions In the minds not only of produce men. but in the estimation of the great mass of householders. The supply, and consequently the prices, , of turkeys have fluctuated so wide­ ly in different years within the past decade or two that there is always an uncertainty in the minds of the ultimate consumers akiu to that mystery that invariably envelopes the -peach crop" early in the season. This ex­ plains in a measure why many far-sighted citi­ zens to whom a few cents per pound difference in price is ever a source of worry now make t a practice to order their Thanksgiving turkey long in advance and it explains, too. why many of the turkey buyers who handle the birds on a large scale begin their rounds of the poultry farms earlier in the season than was once their wont and keep close tab on the growing fowl. This "scouting" by the purveyors of our prin­ cipal Thanksgiving delicacy is a wise move for, be it known, weather con­ ditions throughout the spring, summer and au­ tumn have a most import­ ant bearing upon the tu? key crop at the end <»t November. For instance if a wet spring be encoui tered great numbers c the young turkeys suffer In some instances they a r e a i m o s t l i t e r a l l y "drowned out." The au­ tumn is a yet more crucial time in the tur­ key-raising industry. A open autumn, even if it be mild, is fairly auspi­ cious, but the ideal condi­ tion is fouod in cool, crisp, bracing weather which inspires the tur­ keys to roam in search of food and causes them to F/?£f%/?/AX7 T/f£ ?T/#X£Y fo/< -v../ I A T/t/UWJG/Wi* • keys constitute the most profitable class of poul­ try if properly handled. As a matter of fact, from the time the turkey is six weeks old he virtually makes his own livelihood, wandering around and eating bugs, grasshoppers, waste grain and other eatables that if not an actual pest are useless to the farmers. To be sure, some of the fancy turkey raisers are credited with fatten­ ing their Thanksgiving offerings on milk and chestnuts and other delicacies, but they get for such fancy fowl prices sufficiently higher than the regular quotation to recompense them for their trouble. An expert who recently made an investigation of the turkey raising industry on behalf of the United States government declares that turkeys can, if grown in a favorable locality, be made to return a profit to the growers if sold as low aa eight cents per pound, live weight, whereas If they bring three or four cents per pound above that figure, as they usually do, the turkey grower should feel well satisfied with his occupation. Now, as a matter of fact, there are few sections of the country where at Thanksgiving time tur- sya/WL/S/G CS?AT££> T/Z/PJCJEYJ AT rs/A/y/vG/w/tc if wf o/y * r///?/cjry STJTA0Y T//f Tf//l///c'JG/Y/SfG /?2/<SH fatten in prime condition. Such weather cohdi- tions also lighten the cares of the farmer who does not devote his entire attention to turkeys, and who usually has so many other responsibili­ ties tfcat he is mighty glad when the turkeys can shift for themselves--to say nothing of the bene­ fit to his pocketbook. These farmers and poul­ try raisers, it may be added, are about the only classes in our national community who never need give a thought to a bird for the home table on Thanksgiving. There is always some sort of a turkey for the gathering round the festive board at the homestead. We may digress for a moment, too, to add that In late yt*ais there has ccme a great chauge in sentiment on the part of many of the farmers as to the Thanksgiving turkeys for their own tables. In days gone by there was often a disposition to regard almost any old gobbler as sufficient for the home folks. All the choice birds were sent to market. l>ecau.se they would bring the best prices, and the farmer and his household not infrequently had to put up with the leavings, as it were. Latterly, however, as greater prosperity has come to so many of the farmers there is a growing disposition to re­ gard the best as none too good for the kings of the soil, aDd this applies to turkeys as to every­ thing else Consequently It Is usual for the progressive farmer to retain one of his tenderest birds for the kith and kin that break bread with him on Thanksgiving, and not infrequently the choBen bird has been singled out from the others long In advance and Is specially fattened In ac­ cordance with the tastes of the family. There has been much discussion on the part of the public in recent years regarding the compara­ tive scarcity of small turkeys--that is six to right pound birds--in the Thanksgiving market. There Is no difficulty in fixing the responsibility for this disappearance of the small turkeys. It is due to the growing tendency among turkey raisers to devote their best efforts to the "bronze" variety of fowl--the largest variety of the bird. The lure of the American love of bigness has made Itself fek in the turkey realm, and the 30 to 36 pound birds which have attracted so much atten­ tion at fashionable hotels and on banquet boards have come to be regarded as the most desirable specimens of that fowl, which becomes for one day each year our national bird It must be admitted, however, that the bronze variety of turkey not only holds the post of honor because of its size and its rich plumage but also, in the estimation of many epicures, because of its flavor as well. There is no doubt that the size of the bronze variety--its standard weight ranges from 16 to 36 pounds--is to be attributed to the fact that the birds of this family originated from a cross between the wild and the tame turkey. For that matter, the wild turkey of North. Amer­ ica was the ancestor of all our present-day do­ mestic turkeys, but the "crosses" which have been made In the case of the bronze variety have been particularly fortunate in inducing mammoth size. However, one of the tfHcials of the depart­ ment of agriculture recently declared that the bronze turkey had been developed too much in the direction of size, and if he can convert the turkey raisers to his way of thinking we may see some years hence an era of smaller bronze turkeys of even finer flavor than those regarding which such enthusiasm has been manifested by lovers of the good things of life. Of course the vaunted bronze variety is no* the whole thing In turkeydom, for there are six other standard varieties, the branches of the family in addition to the bronze, being, the Narragansett, the buff, the slate, the white, and the black. Many people who think that we have been en­ joying pretty appetizing turkey from time out of mind may bo surprised to learn that the prestige of the turkey as an article of food was seriously threatened a few years ago through carelessness and lack of foresight in breeding methods. Not much was said about it, except in the poultry papers and at the conventions of poultry raisers, but the menace was sufficient to arouse the more progressive turkey raisers, with the result that they mended their ways, put a ban on inbreed­ ing and went in for the purebred or standard- bred turkey, with the welcome outcome that rich, new, v ,-orous blood made its influence felt in infusing strength and vigor in turkey flocks all over the country. In the case of growers who have had the bene­ fit of enough experience to qualify them for the work, turkey raising is, under favorable condi­ tions, a highly profitable occupation. No other kind of live stock wil return so large a profit to the successful producer as will poultry, and tur keys do not bring two or even three times th« eight cents that Uncle Sam's expert has set down as a figure that will yield a profit. Of course, the farmer who can sell his turkeys direct to housewives can get from 25 cents per pound up-- according to the state of the market and the quality of the fowl--but even the growers who market through commission merchants, as most of them do, ought to net from 16 to 20 cents per pound, providing the sales agent is not allowed to pocket more than his share of the sales price. Of Course, for the grower to net 20 or 24 cents a pound, it is necessary to have the choice, special­ ly fattened turkeys that bring top-notch prices in the markets catering to the wealthy class in the large cities. Recent years have witnessed a change In the methods of shipping turkeys to market. Many fowl are yet hauled to town, as in days of old, in the farmer's wagon, but the largest share of the turkeys for city markets are now shipped by ex­ press. Just at Thanksgiving time when turkeys are coming to market in car-load lots many of the birds make the journey by fast freight, but under such conditions a man must be sent along with each car load to feed the birds, so that in the end it Is likely to be just as cheap to send the birds by express, the transit thus being ac­ complished in a few hours and no feeding en route being necessary. To carry out the present- day policy of haste in transferring the turkeys from the farms to the dinner tables of the folk In towns and cities, we find special automobile trucks waiting at the railroad stations to receive the crated birds as they are unloaded from the cars, and these motors rush the turkeys without loss of time to the commission houses, hotels or other destinations. A few years ago a car load of live turkeys was a shipment of such unusual size as to cause comment. Nowdays such con­ signments are handled by the hundreds at Thanksgiving time, and a car load of live tur­ keys was, on one occasion, sent from New York to San Francisco, the rental of the special car for this journey amounting to $70. in Chicago there are dealers who receive a dozen car loads of tur­ keys a day at Thanksgiving time, and as many as 25,000 birds have been received In that city in one day at the height of the rush to stock larders for Thanksgiving. Coat of Mail in Garment While rummaging in some boxes to which he had 1 alien heir f rom a for­ mer tenant of the house he lives In at Lander, Wyo., Pat Curry came across what appeared to be an ordinary blue serge coat. He tried to haul it rrom •he box and it required both hands to get it out Curry at first thought he had found a treasure coat and that it contained gold coin When he lifted It out of the box it gave forth a metallic rattle. He slit one of the pockets and discov­ ered that between the serge and the heavy silk lining was concealed a com­ plete suit of steel armor. The steel plains are two inches square, a six­ teenth of an inch in thickness, perfor­ ated at one end and sewed, lapping each other, on to a cloth framework that exactly fits the interior of the garment. No one can be found In Lander who can give any clue to the identity of the owner of the strange suit or ar­ mor. It is thought by many that it Is a relic of the days of the Overland mall mid was worn by some one who feared attack from Indians and that It came to Lander in the early days. Others believe It belonged to some one who had a mountain feud on his hands and feared an ambush by the enemy. The Soldier's Wit. A veteran of the Civil war, having received from the government a new cork leg in place ol the one lost in battle, perpetrated this witticism In his return letter of thanks: " 'Tis sweet to be re-membered for what I have done."--Llpplncott 's. Tip That Created Havoc European Recompenses Taxlcab Chauf­ feur With Nickel and Is Sur­ prised at His Conduct. Women were discarding their wraps In the lobby of the St Regis at the man from Europe turned hastily and, looking about, asked the guard In gold braid: "What was that?" -- -- - - - - -- , " I d o n ' t k n o w , s i r . I s a w n o t h i n g , dinner hour, relates the New York sir," the braided one replied. Sun, when a tall man-from Europe en ] "Very strange," said . man in the tered the hotel through the huge re- j lobby, Stepping up. "Quite a loud re­ volving doors. There was a loud rat- J p*>rt. Must have come from the out- tl»-raUle-ratH® on the glass. The ' side." "Ah, there, $uard! Step out and see!" thundered the assistant mana­ ger. The man went out trembling. The result of his inquiry was as­ tonishing to the man from Europe. He had returned to the St Regis In a "tramp" taxlcab, and after paying his fare gave the chauffeur a' nickel for himself. The latter threw It with all his force at the glass door. "I was thoughtless," murmured the I man from Europe. "Undoubtedly he | ir> a gentleman chauffeur and too [ proud to take a tip." A 8ouvenlr. Old Gentleman--Have you any hair the same color as mine? Barber--Do you require It for a wig, sir? Old Gentleman--No! I want ft small piece to give to a lady. Progressive. "I met Maud the other day and sh® told me she was progressing finely." "I should say she is. First, she got a hubby, then she got a hobby and now she's got n hobble."' Galesburg.---Miss Alice Alden Patch, ft teacher and prominent in the local D. A. R. circles, was killed when a DURfy In which she was riding was •truck by a train. Urbana.--Ten keepers of alleged "blind tigers" were discharged from custody, when Detective Young of Springfield, who secured the evidence for the state, evaded service. McLeansboro.--Alfred L. Baker, six­ ty-eight years old, of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Alice Hanan, fifty-eighth years old, of McLeansbore, were married here by W. R. Daniel, city police mag­ istrate. Livingston.--Because htr husband became angry lit her having a house dance to celebrate her daughter's wed­ ding, and then deserted her, Mrs. 4nna Dergan has filed suit for di­ vorce. Mrs. Dergan alleges that at the flme of her daughter's wedding and the dance her husband, Michael Der­ gan, created a sensation among the guests by expressing his opinion of the dance in words not given in the dictionary. Centralia. -- George Dean Wasem, two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. .George Wasem of Patoka, was accidentally shot and instantly killed by his twelve-year-old uncle, Jacob Wasem. The child found a rifle and it was discharged by the older boy in attempting to extract a cartridge. The mother of the dead child recent­ ly was discharged from a hospital and fears are expressed for her life. McLeansboro.--Alfred L. Barker, sixty-eight years old, of Indianap­ olis, and Mrs. Alice A. Hanan, fifty-eight, of McLeansboro, were mar­ ried here by W. R. Daniel, city police magistrate. It was the third matri­ monial venture for the bridegroom and the fifth for the bride. The mar­ riage was the culmination of a brief courtship by correspondence, Uncle Sam playing the part fo Cupid. Springfield. -- The state auditor has discovered that there is still remaining an unexpended balauce of $3,000 in the contingent fund of the last regular session, from which a portion of the pay roll of the em­ ployes of the special session, which closed without making an appropria­ tion, my be paid. The left-over pay roll amounts to $&,000. Vandalla.--The twelve-year-old son of Jacob Wassum, a wealthy land owner living south of Vandalia, accidentally shot and killed his nephew, three years old. Mrs. Was­ sum is dying, it is reported, as a re­ sult of the shock caused by the tragic death of her child, and the child's grandmother, Mrs. Vallow, is also In a critical condition. Sterling.--Carl Raub established a record that will Insure him a job whenever tbere is any corn to be husked. Starting at six o'clock In the morning, he picked and cribbed 185 bushels and 16 pounds by 5:19 p. m. The event was witnessed by nearly 300 farmers and the time was kept by judges who weighed each load. Bloomlngton. -- At a meeting of committers and clergymen and lay­ men of conferences of the Method­ ist church of Illinois, plans were laid for raising $1,500,000 for endowment of Methodist educational institutions of Illinois. It was decided to aBk each member of the church in Illinois to give at least one dollar. Effingham.--With the top of his heart and an artery cut. Jack Hardin of Mason, who attempted sui­ cide here by shooting himself with a revolver, is at St. Anthony's hospital, and is expected to recover. The bul­ let passed through the top of his heart and cut an drtery. The wound was sewed up. Rockford.--Rockford's park board by a vote of three to two is ex­ pected to decline to grant the use of Sinnissippi park for the brigade en­ campment of the Illinois National Guard, proposed for Rockford next summer. The two Socialist members of the board are opposed to the mili­ tary idea and also indorse President Levin Faust's objection, which !• based on alleged moral grounds. Mr. Faust says reports he has received from other cities which have had en­ campments are not favorable from the moral viewpoint. Sinnissippi park is considered the only available site for an encampment. Bloomlngton.--Albert Brittain, a farmer of Ford county, died at a hos­ pital in Bloomington. He was sixty- one years old. His back had been broken in a fall down a stairway. Litchfield.--Mrs. J. E. Warden announced that the suits of her­ self and her sons, Carl and Clarence, against 110 saloonkeepers of south­ ern Illinois for the death of her hus­ band, A. A. WTarden, had been set­ tled out of court. She declined to gay whether the saloonkeepers had paid $6,000 as reported. Mrs. War­ den sued for $25,000 and her sons sued for $30,000, alleging that the saloon­ keepers had sold liquor to Warden, causing him to become a habitual drunkard, is consequence of which he became diseased and died. Chicago.--"There are not enough fresh eggs coming into Chicago to make price quotations worth while." This statement was given out by President G. W. Bull of the Chi­ cago butter and egg board. "We can­ not place a value on fresh eggs If there aren't any and this seems to be ihe condition all over the country at the present time. The hens are not laying and that's the whole trouble. If we placed a quotation it would have to be an ideal one--one that would be tl® price in case eggs wore being brought !a." LinLEJill TOT Paralytic Mother Sees Skeleton Fingers Beckon Prattling Child Within Their Reach. SIMPLE HOME TRAGEDY Unable to Move, Woman Is Forced to 8lt in Helpless Agony and 3M Her Little One Gleefully Eat Deadly Strychnine Pills. Philadelphia.--In the old dayB when men's hearts were hard there was a hellish rivalry in the Invention of tor­ ture. Because the emperor must amuse the brutish populace, because the conqueror must gloat over the agonies of the subjugated, because men differed in politics or religion-- because of these things men were fed to wild beasts in the circus, men were Durned at the stake, and the rack, the thumbscrew, the boot and the Iron maiden were invented. But with all their lugenlousness these inventors of the means of inflicting torture fell short, far short, of what accident, or fate--call it what you will--achieved in a simple little home In this city recently. Of physical pain there was none, hut measureless was that re­ finement of poignant agony which comes with the breaking of a mother's heart as, helpless, she was forced to sit and see the skeleton fingers of grinning death beckon her prattling babe within their reach. Mrs. Charles Griffiths lives at No. 1326 South Spangler street. Paralysis of the limbs chains her to her chair. Her heart Is weak and for strengthening the physician prescribed strychnine pills. At an appointed time one of Mrs. Griffiths' older chil- Eats Deadly Pills. tlren gave her one of the pills, set the box on a table a few feet away and went out to resume her play. The paralyzed mother sat in her helplessness and smiled and cooed to her prattling babe of fifteen months as the little one crept about the floor. The baby 's head touched the hanging table cloth and with gleeful gurgle the child grasped the cloth and be­ gan to draw itself to its uncertain feet. Then the bright eyes espied the box and a dimpled hand reached for it. "Baby! baby! Oh, my God, baby, don't touch it!" But the pills rattled in the box and with an exultant coo the little one settled back to the floor, baby like, carrying its new toy to its moist mouth. The frantic woman coaxed and pleaded and scolded; She used all the gentle persuasion of a mother's baby- talk to coax the child nearer. She commanded. She did everything an anxiety-torn woman could do to In­ duce the baby to drop the box. But to the little one it was all part of a game. Then the box came open and the deadly pills fell Into the child's lap and upon the carpet. A pink little thumb and finger reached for one of the deadly sugar-coated pellets! Chained to her chair, the mother sent torth shriek after shriek for hu­ man help and appeal after appeal to her God, while only three feet away death coaxed her darling nearer and nearer to Its embrace. The sugar tasted good and the baby smiled and cooed. Then It reached for another pill--and another. Finally help came, but too late. The baby is dead and the doctors are try­ ing to save the sanity of the paralyzed mother KILLS WIFE TO STOP ALIMONY Arkansan Declares He Was Driven to Murder by Slowness of the Courts. Pine Bluff, Ark.--Because a court delayed so long hearing his divorce case and he was assessed heavily for temporary alimony and his wife's at­ torney's fees, W. T. Nichols, a con­ tractor of this place, killed Mrs. Nich­ ols by cutting her throat. She had come to his house to visit her children and reached out for a baby in her hus­ band's arms when Nichols Inflicted the fatal wounds. The man admits the crime and says he was driven to it by the slowness of the courts. Bid Kidneys--Weak Bask-Weary W«an Dr. Derby's Guaranteed Kidney Pills Make Such Women Happy--Ward Off Old Age--Try Them Freel Many women have backache, headache, ipatas til side, groins, limbs, without knowing list what 8 ailing them. Therefor© they enow not now to stop tli© misery. TIIQJT (Trow worse and worse--lose appetite, Strength--become nervous, despondent--dull- eyed. pale, old-looking. Everywhere are women like that, victims « i . i j . . r » i * t u ( i v f V I L H i n " Of kidney trouble--if they only knew it. There are so many distressing symptoms* one seldom realizes they all oome fi : ( ranged kidneys. When thekidneyugo wrong --when they fail to evpel the foul poleone that should pass through them--the entire system is polluted. No woman ao afflicted need continue suf­ fering the agony that kidney trouble brings --with resultant bladder disorder, rheuma­ tism, etc.--if she will up.e Dr. Derby's Kidney Pills. Thousands of women throughout the land--and men--have been made well and happy by this glorious remedy, when nothing else could help. It 's sure, safe--and guar­ anteed. Don't be prematurely old. decrepit, wrinkled. Get Dr. Derby's Kidney Pills to­ day--25c and 50c--or free sample package if rou wish. At druggists', or of Derby Medi­ cine Co., Baton Rapids, Uloh. SUCCESSFUL COLLECTOR. m Easte Turner--I should think you'd have lots of trouble collecting 'way out here. Collector Suremark--Not on yer life; everybody here knows I kin plunk the bull 's-eye nine shots out of ten! In Strange Company. The Visitor--And what is that gray stone structure over there? The Courier--Zat ees ze armory for ze soldiers. The Visitor--Ah, yes, And that long, low building that looks like a train shed--what 1B that? The Courier--Zat ees ze arsenal. The Visitor--I see. And what is the big factory with the immense smoke stack ? The Courier--Zat ess ze gr-a-reat ron works where Is made ze big gun tn' ze shot an' ze shell. The Visitor--And that peculiar look­ ing structure across the river--the one with the rounded roof? The Courier--Zat ees ze powder magazine. The Visitor--And what Is this mag­ nificent marble structure with Its won­ derful dome and countless columns? The Courier--Oh, zat ees only ze palace of peace!--Cleveland Plain Dealer. Legal Charges. The Judge--You say you don't get your alimony? The Complainant--I don't get it all, your honor. It 's only five dollars a week; and I need every cent of it. The Judge--And what's the reason you get only part of the amount? The Complainant--It's because my former husband sends it to me by a lawyer; and the lawyer charges me car fare, brokerage, transportation and tim^--and that leaves only 90 cents. Explained. An old lady, the customer of an Irish farmer, was rather dissatisfied with the watery appearance of her morning's cream and finally she com­ plained very bitterly to him. "Be aisy, mum," said Pat. "You see, the weather of late has been so terrific hot that it has scorched all the grass ofT the pasture land, and Ol have been compelled to feed the pore bastes on water lilieB!"--Ideas. Cork Leg for 700-Pound Woman. Oil City, Pa.--The largest artificial leg ever made--39 inches in circum­ ference--is being completed by a Pittsburg firm for Miss Apna Chelton of this city, who weighs about 700 pounds. The right leg of MlS3 Chel- <oii was amputated last January to save her life because of elephantiasis. P.efore the operation she weighed 750 pounflk. After It she weighed 100 potinds less, but since then has be­ come heavier. A "Teaser For Jaded Appetites-- Post Toasties with cream or preserved fruit. Ready to serve instantly --just open the box and enjoy an extra good dish-- Convenient, crisp, delicious, wholesome. "The Memory Lingers" Sold by Grocers Mad e at the POSTUM CEREAL CO.. ] Pur* Food Factories Battle Creek Mich.