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Show t JUST t t' DOATED X WOOD X i K X By MARTHA WILUAMS I: (t. Uli I MeCInre Mmpipn 8radical.) 1" Jeema "Say, Sally Ann burst out, learn desperately, "Does schoolin folks bow to make talk? "Maybe so if happens they need It. Moat of 'em don't though," from Look at old Sister Jeema, stolidly. Jiinpsy she talks all the time so fast you cant fet In a word edgewUe and never in the world saya anything." "That's an ! from Sally Ann, deeply puzxled. "Pity them talky folks can't 1m ones mixed with ns tongue-tie-d like you mix two batches of dough. Slst Jimpaey's got words ernough ter e preachers yet me I why wnen any of the boys coins 1 actually have to keep throwing chips on tlie fire Jest to keep them tuskin' Jokes about trylu my fortune th inkin' of my sweetheart to find out if he loves me hard enough to make the chips burn." Jeems grinned Joyously, saying: "Now I know why youre so set on having always the clean dry poplar ones they'll burn almost fur the scratch of a match" "But I play fair take the run of the wood pile," Sally Ann Interrupted. "Sometimes wlsht I hadn't Last Sun red ouk day night I crammed three-f- u you chips right under the fore-stic- k know one by itself won't never burn and this bunch wouldn't burn neither and Jack Junes set there gogglin' at uie, and smirkin' and say-in- ': 'Jest you think o ine hard enough, Sally I bet they'll blaze high enough to set the rhluibly afire." "Well! Did they?" anid Jeema. Nawl" Sally Ann hung her head. she said. "Jest smoked snd smoldered, and wasted ter embers, never makln' no heat at all. I felt like cry In'. Jack kept up hla aggravations till I had to draw elder and crack black walnuts to atop him." "1 oated wood them chips," Jeema said reflectively. "Logs are like men not much good after they're rotten at the heart Next time pick Iceerful look for sound clean green timber, whether Its chips or a husband you two-thre- want" "Now youre hlttlp at Denny Corbin 1" Sally Ann cried. "What mukea you hold such a aplte at him, Jeema? He never done you any harm." "Nor any good not to me nor nobody but hla own slug of a self,' Jeema flung back. "And Jack Jones la the same sort Any girl that takes up with either of 'em will aho'ly drive her ducka to a bad market 'Youre but In free, white and twenty-on- e your place I'd not wasto any more on doated cider and company-fir- e wood." "Doated" la, understand, the South country's colloquialism for the forest adjective "dotard, applied to trees beginning to die at the top. Decay runs thence down the heart to the roots, making the wood sour, crumbly, nearly worthless, even for fuel iliere la no strength even In Its ashes. Jeema and and Sally Ann Itater, fann-brewere Joint owners of three hundred rich acres and the heat of friends, despite the tie of blood. Both were scant on bnt very, very wise In unwrit laws of growth and wind and weather. Needless to add, they were prosperous, "warm" In the speech of their neighborhood. Naturally they were objects of Interest alike to speculative bachelors, wld uwera moderately youthful and slightly Incumbered, enterprising sprightly widows, and spinster who would 'have to look backward hard to see twenty-tw- o again. Since hospitality was a sort of religion at Grapevine, the Plater place, the attacking forces had wide opportunity and improved d Innd-lovln- g, book-learnin- it valiantly. I So far the Platers had found safety In numbers. Indeed It was a dear case of one nail driving out knottier before the penetrant bad time to stick fast. Widow Caines might have taken Jeema by storm when a broken ankle gave him leisure to ponder her won derful cookery, If Sally had not warily asked young Maria Pease, a distant cousin, and saucy beauty, to stay and help her with things company, and cooking, and all the rest, until Jeema Maria had treated him got about much as she did hla dog, Fllttermus fed him, scolded him, and played with to the complete effadng him while of the solid Caines Image. Likewise, when the revival gave several and sundry aspirants to Sally Anns favor chances for gallantry out of the common, Jeema had countered by making Grapevine home to all the visiting ministers who naturally laid all th local gallauta la tha shade. Theoretically Jeems shrank from thought of a preacher In the family but somehow he warmed mightily to Brother Benkard. Possibly because Benkard came, weak and thin, from a bed of pain, he needed cosaettlng, feeding, much sound sleep, rich cream and fresh eggs and be got all of them without stint Marla Pease saw to that she had stayed on at Sully Ann's olmost tearful insistence. She was radiant of health, strength, youth adopt mint and nay here this winter through. I'reachln like yours la work fur a real raun." Benkard had turned several colors, sighed, tried to stauuuer excuses, refusals hut In the end Jeems had hla way. So Grapevine settled to n Joyous season, fuller of sparkle and Interest than It bad ever known. Marla also stayed the Platers wouldn't let her name going home to her crabbed uncle. She was the light of the household, filling It with laughter and happy singing, and making each day seem a promise of new Joys, But when the new year waa well established Sally Ann grew miserable. She showed it oddly by almost daily entreating Marin, "Dont leave us yet not for anything. Jeems said masterfully: "You don't stir a step, missy." Thereat Brother Benkard smiled but later sighed, lie waa fully himself quite another creature from the shadow of manhood that had come In late autumn. Not leas devout, nor human, but rejoicing In hla new strength and glad always to use It, Jeems had much ado to bold him back from the very hardest things pitching in Ice, at the tossing up logs on tha hauling from the new ground. "Hard I he protested. "Why I This la play bealde football and wrestling What a shame. Brer Jeema, you missed college. For the college 1 mean If youd gone to nilne you'd have topped anybody there." Whenever he said, affectionately, Brer Jeema, Sally Ann winced. Hie had lost her heart beyond recall to this liner outlander and she wsa sure he thought of her as Just a country spinster, uaeful as foil and chaperon to beautiful Marla. Marla was a puzzle only Sally Ann could not Imagine any girl Indifferent to Billy Benkard, so handsome, so gentle, so good. Especially If he taught her things, like rheas, and French, and playing the guitar. Dully, Sally Ann wondered what Jeems thought of the situation.' Also If he were not a bit In love with that witch, Marla? But she could not auk him always they had over the deep things been tongue-tieof life. Tha nearest she came to confidence waa asking, as they watched the other two racing home through a snow-flurr"Dont you reckon we seem to them doated wood? Dead?" Jeema nodded. Before he could speak, Benkard burnt In a yard ahead, crying in triumph: "Been gambling, Brer Jeems but I'll never do It again. Darent crowd my lurk. Marla bet me something on our race you sea I won fairly now yon must give ms my prize." asked Jeems dully. "What la Benkard caught Sally Ann close, and kissed her before them all. And shameless Maria piped up: "I knew you wouldn't mind, Jeemsy, you say I've got to stay here but there's plenty of room for us alL" "A-- Gods plenty," said Jeems with true reverence In his voice. under-atundlngl- wWe Cut Dur LncalTaxes Instead of calling a mass mEetinjJsnd dJ9uD'j a sitwation, we eDtihefactsanil M something & wood-wago- 1 y. ltr Japan Hob Practical Monopoly of Menthol A plant from which menthol is obtained la a black mint grown In Japan, and It Is cultivated In climates ranging from 00 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit About 02 per cent of the total production la grown In the northern is- land of Hokkaido and the remaining per cent on the main Islands, Okayama and Hiroshima. According te official reports, the mint requires a soil. The roots art light planted on the Japanese main Island at the end of November, and the plants attain their full growth during the summer months. Three cuttings are made during the season, the last of July, In August and In the early part of September. The third cutting yields the greatest percentage of oil and menthol crystals, which resemble camphor. Th learea are steamed and pressed in barrels by the planters, who then ship them to the menthol factories, of which there are 24 In various parts of Japan. There the oil Is extracted from the leaves by a process of pressing and freezing. At various times efforts have been made to Introduce the living plants from Japan Into the United States, but so far the plan has been unsuccessful, as they cannot stand the sea Measures are now being voyage. taken to obtain the seed, but the plant does not ripen readily, as It la generally propagated from root cuttings. 8 well-draine- d Helping the Carte Along . ty? INCREASE IN MOTOR VEHICLES LAST YEAI ou H.L.KEEFE P IN Thurston County, In northwestern Nebraska, where I live, we have found a way to cut our local taxes. It la a very Wur bulletin from th simple plan, and oufi that they made. Inour own World ar never proved half as you cau easily apply In matin own commuulty. your teresting. What do you suppose happened a When the depression of ter over which hud 1920-2were in we ns hit the people year or o luter? in Just about the same tax situation as the must intimate The actual returns of property nie h West. In the various precinct from t Middle In control the other sny county We were really worse off because In sei ve. 12 to 2U per cent, notwithstanding that 1920 our county suffered a cloudburst We found tlint It wai between years when everything and scores of bribes were destroyed there were wide wu supiwsed to le going down. This and had to be rebuilt and paid fur. Bevariations in dif- simply meant that the honest man had about the remedy fore I begin to tell ferent parts of ceased to he iienaltxed tor being honest fur the "tax disease" let me show our own county, lu turning in his property. and that taxes In There' one more chapter to our right here at the start w hut the remedy individual school story. accomplished : unvaried 1 mentioned to you thut we were It saved the county around $30.110 districts a suffered me. have on the one Item of bridges sli all the way from fortunate enough to It secured cuts of from 8 to 20 per $10.50 to $3020 severe cloudburst In 1920 which had cent In the local taxes In Individual on $1,0U0 valua- willed out several score brldgea In our Ine tion. precincts. county. Following a county-wid- commla-sluners the smount of Increased on the It When people sistence pmiierty replacement returned from 12 to 20 per cent In to find declared un emergency levy for begun these things out new bridges. Here la where we aaved years when the valuations were generally falling, thereby reducing taxes the attendance at the annual meet-lug- s around $30,000 and since have caused for the man who had always been of the school district Increased other counties to scrutinize matters of honest In making hla return. from four to five persons to forty or this sort more carefully. Best of sll, the net result was s feelAfter the bridge contract had been fifty. In some district It waa found ing of confidence snd general satisfac- that thing had not been managed let and the bridge were going In, there tion, Instead of mistrust, unrest snd efficiently. In some cases It waa was a frequent allowing of county warsuspicion. found advisable to cut down on one rants on the contract, in excess of Here Is how It was dime: teacher where alia waa teaching only funds on hand, and these warrants 1 hiring the year or so that the dea very few pupils and Increase tlie were naturally registered at 7 jwr cent alInterest. Finally these amounts grew pression lasted lu earnest, people tend- slae of classes for other teachers of to an exress of $100,000 and people besalaries the cases ed to become radical. But being radi- though In some cal la more or less a state of mind. these other teacher hud to be raised. gan to get a little alurmed. It appeared that there were no defiWhen we began to get radical about In moat cases there was also a disour taxes. It simply meant that we position to economise on other mat- nite records available which showed didn't know where our money was go- ters, such as the purchase of coal ut Just how things stood. Some of the ing, and consequently didn't know how the time of year when It waa cheapest, county officials and taxpayers began to etc. ask how an accounting might be seto stop the money from going. A fanner would see tlie school ma'am In this way cuts varying from 8 to cured. spinning along la her Jitney. "Well, 20 per cent were effected In the taxes When the farm bureau took hold of looky there, he would exclaim, "that's of Individual districts. the matter there had been a rather where all our taxes got" Another The next big thing was to discover tentative settlement on sixty completed farmer a few miles further on would hidden property which was escaping bridges on which the total coat apsee the road graders at work. "Hump I" taxation throughout tha county. Our peared at $131,808.77. A reduction of he would exclaim, "I'll bet that's tak- tax system has always been ao consti- $8.22092 had been made from this ing all our taxes P It all depended on tuted that the man who la honest about amount and warrants to the amount of which way a fellow looked as to what turning In bis property at lta rightful $101,000 Issued, leaving a balance of he blamed hla taxes on. value Indirectly pays the tax of the $22,071.85 unpaid on these particular The fact was that most people didnt man who Just forgets that he la quite bridges. know. Ignorance of where onr money ao well off when the tax assessor The farm bureau appointed a went bred suspicion and suspicion bred comes around. You know an assessor mlttee of sixteen taxpayers to Investiradicalism. A few people were already hates to raise n rumpus with hla next gate the matter. An engineer from making themselves heard, when it was door neighbor and too often a whole the State department waa secured. suggested that the farm bureau might lot of things do not appear at all on During five days more than eighty take a look into the matter. William the tax hooka. bridges were visited. Bolts, washers, Wlngett, president of tlie county farm go the tax committee decided to give and It might even be said spikes and bureau, and a little group on the tax the community another shock, and nails, were counted. Then the charges committee were handed the Job. Some something to talk about for months made by the bridge company were people were for railing a county-wid- e afterward. We hired a couple of men carefully cheeked. In some cases meeting to protest vigorously and nois- to go down to the county offices and where the bridge comjuiny appeared ily against all manner of taxes. copy off of the books the amount of to have charged too little, something But before we had a public meeting property which each man In the coun- was added, hut In most cases deducIt waa considered proper for someone ty had turned in. We had blanks tions were made. Here the deductions to find out where our money did go. printed where each man's name could exceeded what was added by $7,005.-V- . So we went over to the county offices be Hated with the value of hla cattle, Bear In mind that we were not and went through the hooks and deter- horses, automobiles, Jewelry, in fact finding any toult with the bridges but mined Just what our money was being everything that he owned, according only with the cost. The bridge coms we And did to the figures he had given the asseslittle later spent for. pany agreed to this reduction. this for every school district In the sor. These blanks were complied A little Inter we discovered statela On this county. page reproduced with the names In alphabetical order. ments for twenty Incomplete bridges. the poster we got out showing what Then we proceeded to paste these We went through these In the name on man valuaactual $1,000 every paid blanks up In the postofllce, banka, way and here we ninde a net reduction In School District No. 13. stores, and other public places, right tion of $0,125.47. The bridge comThere waa not any hedging or guess- In the man's own community. You pany again promptly agreed to having ing, here was everything In black and can Imagine wbat interesting reading this reduction allowed. white: $3 JO for state And then we were taxes, $4.00 for eounty 1 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 U 1 ; fH M 1 1 1 H MINIM able to ansecure taxes, $1&S0 for school other reduction of and No. 13, $CJ0 district HOW YOUR TAXES ARE SPENT because we were tor the village of WalthllL Thurston County, Nebraska able to allow that the coat And each of these was of material had come - Taxes Paid on $1,000.00 Actual Valuation, In subdivided off to show down since the first ol School District No. 13 $3020 even somewhat minor exthe brldgea waa built TATE TAXES SJ0 penditures. This made a total of i hp Kite Cifltol At the first public meets 00000 fit Kate OiTprimat. for tt ate iRitltillm,, e s s ing there were around 150 OOOOOOBO Since our bridge experifw Itati RmIi, eta. farmers and a few busience other counties In IMlCitliB W We ness men present. asae9eaeees ilium Nebraska have been doing began to hold meetings all 9i Tatil some checking up and wt over the county, and at COUNTY TAXES. have been building some , , every meeting we passed far Caaatr General rial.. . .) 1.TS of our own bridges. MmtW circulars around that 17.MT.aa far Caaatr Bridge Feed Our experience shows, 1 ja MSM1 far Oemm'r RaaS Dlatrtet. ... AO showed where the money think, that people In thi MNXU far Laral RaaS Dlatrlet AO went In that school disTar Bnlldlag county should take some trict We had wall charts l.lzaLSH far Mathers' PtHlai thing more than a merely Caw Agiiraltaral Sarlefr.. far and maps. l.injS Interest In B3.4ftS.4S far OIS Indrhtedneee perfunctory The upshot of all this 44S1.H far Baavnqr Bridge their tax affairs. Yon de4.4S1 SI far Caaatr Baa4 Feed was that for the first time termine your own taxes It suddenly dawned on - S11S.S31.S1 If you check up to set Tata! people that moat of the what you are spending 08 af tha af taa levies, tax expenditures were for which la Ike fcaala aaaieS fcr law far your money for, rlthei taanlac warranto. things directly under their you are going to admit Politicians had ; ; SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 13 control. that you are satisfied oi 150 sometimes talked aa If the IlifTMl far Trarhcia you are going to find a UlU far Rroaira if state capttol, the state to make a reduction way Bt4N far Pari The biggest thing thai government the university far Baaka SSX4 and normal schools, the far Teat Baaka we accomplished In out S3S-3far Par alia ve IT state Institutions tor decounty was not the saving All 14W1 Otkrr far .11 aa pendents, atata road of more than $30,000 or far BaaSa If these things were takthe brldgea nor the cutf Tafal flftJS In taxes In the various ing the money. But If w had cut out all of these : : VILLAGE OF WALTHILL a a school districts, nor the Urarral S 4M things altogether where I resurrection of much hid I BaaSa aa4 ate real lived. It would have deden property. The bigcreased onr tax bill only Tala! . gest thing was that the IM about 10 per cent The people found out that the TOTAL TAX. . . a .... .$3020 largest expenditures were question of taxes rested . . . concentrated right down in 11 III with themselves. ! I I I I , T" y a, (Prepared hy th Vailed Siaia Peb.rinu. or Asricaltura.) On December 31, 1923, there er 154U2.177 motor vehicles lu use In United States, according to staiUti, collected by the bureau of public road of the United States Departi.u-n- t u Agriculture. During the past ycur tL number registered Increased by 2,Viii, 802 vehicles, a greater increase tk.i In any preceding year. Thia increase, w hich la lS7.tn.iO re 1st rations greater than the gain lu at: other year, means that tlie public U mand for road improvement, alread strong, will be strengthened, and more general use of the road, parth ularly In a business and coimuerc!:i way, will result. Aa Indicative of U, commercial treud motor truck regUtra tlona now total over one aud i million, the hundred-thousanmarl having been passed lu New York, oh and Illinois, and the mark In Indiana, Massachusetts, Midi lgan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Total registrations now exceed on million In California, New York, oh oue-im- d .i and Pennsylvania. While the owners of motor vehicle are Insistent In their demand for nmr and better roads, the statistics shot that they are bearing a very ounxiih able share of tlie cost of tlie rnml. especially of the cost of of the state highways. Gross reed; from registration fees, together w! the licenses of drivers, chauffeurs, etc amounted to $188,000,000, or 23 tium the amount derived from this soun In 1013. During the same period m tor vehicle registrations huve Increu muinti-nuu- c 12 times. In 35 states a gasoline tax, rangini from one to four cents per gallon, imposed. Revenue from this sourr amounting to $30,300,000, Is silent ver; largely for highway purposes. Tlii revenue will be materially Increase In 1924, since In many states sui taxes have been In effect only a fen months. Past experience seems to indlrat that registrations will continue to In crease materially during the premi year. There is no doubt that run construction will continue at about th same rate which has been maintain) for the past two yean, Much of till construction will be on roads new before Improved. Motor Vehicle Registrations and Ravi H-H-- M $11,-570.0- 8, a $! The ancestor of the present Lord Stair, the first earl of that name, was mainly responsible tor the massacre of Glencoe, and in revenge an old High' land woman called down n fearful curse on Ills house, prophesying among other things that the future holders of the title would die childless. And aa a matter of fact th second and several later earls did die without Issue. A superstitious lady once asked the present Lord Stair if that were true. "Quite true," answered his lordship briefly. "And do yon attribute It to tbs curso of Glencoe?" persisted the lady. "Possibly," was the guarded reply. "Though as regards two of the earls at all events there was what tlie law- BOAT CALLED ON TO yers would call contributory negliSERVE TWO MASTERS gence." "How so?" was the puzzled Inquiry. Some years ago tnc Yankee schoonWell, you see, madam, neither of them got married." Youths Com- er Susan Allen, under the command of Captain Sturgis, was teating up panion. Mr. Collins, the Connecticut river. the mote, wus st bis station forward. Long Enough naturally the minister throve under According to bis notion of things, the Dngan Did you see that brick fall her cherislilrg. chooner was getting too near certain Jeems rejoiced to see It going so on my head? mud tints which lay along the port Finnegan Yes; but what are you shore. fSr even ss to say, "Looky here, Killy what you ueed Is a family. Since yelling about? It stayed there only a The mate went aft to the captain, you say you've got none, I'pose you second. 1 V eveeyfrid THE SUN. PRICE. UTAH PAGE TEN $33,-593.9- Fi laml ................... ..a... S ....... n III and, with his hat cocked on one side, said: Cap'n Sturgis, you're getting a leetle too close to them finis. Hadn't ye better go about?" Tlie cnptaln attired at him. "51 r. Collins. Jest you go forward and tend to your part of the stunner I'll tend to mine." Mr. Collins went forward in high dudgeon. Boys," be bellowed ont, "see thnt tlint mudbook's all clear for letting go!" "Aye, ay?. sir." Let go. then," he roared. Down went the anchor, out rattled the chains, and like a flash the Susan Allen came luffing Into the wind, and then brought up nil Mr standing. Collins walked nft and touched his lint. Well, cap'n; toy part of the Moinner is to Kansas City Star. um-lior.- " At iNiliicfiin, I), r., in. winter there ;,s dust purtlcli-- s In the '"ny u are in suinnur-- , so counts j.nr y the weather bureau show. ; :'! 1 tHHHHHHHHHHH9 Good Road Notes HHHHHHHHH94HHHHHHHHH9 a street car when it Never pass stopping, or. If the law permits prj card very slowly past It at the leg distance. Rural express routes are great nl where the farm Is small and the mb or garden product! haulage is e og heavy enough to Justify the running a truck to town. 11 Th total estimated expendltu for new highways by all agencies an from all sources during 1921 n,0 ed to more than $7,000,000,000. for 1922 were slightly lew- - ; t It la estimated hy highway experh t that mileage of surfaced roads lea" at reached United States has 450,000 miles. Modern highway transport n.v p doubtedly dune more than life ,,n In making factor single farm brighter and easier. farmer must be able ?n demand products rapidly when the perishable) If active, enjioclnlly A this element of time Is of vital aortann) to tha modern farmer. D ,l! h l |