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Bellefonte, Pa., Sep. 18, 1896.
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AUTHORITY.
Authority intoxicates
And makes mere sots of magistrates.
The fumes of it invade the brain
And make men giddy, proud and vain.
By this the food commands the wise ;
The noble with the base complies ;
The sot assumes the rule of wit,
And cowards make the base submit.
— Butler.
WHERE HAD JGHN BEEN ?
BY HELEN H. GARDENER.
After the battle of Bull Run, when the
whole country was holding up its hands in
dismay and breathing hard in the first
realization that the war was not, after all,
to be a picnic for the Northern troops, I,
together with many other doctors and sur-
geons, rushed into Washington from dis-
tant cities. Some of us went from strictly
patriotic motives, some out of sympathy for
the poor fellows who were reported as ly-
ing sick and wounded in the streets of the
capital until church and school buildings
were turned into hospitals to shelter them.
Some of us went because we were young
and felt that we could gain more practical
experience legitimately in less time than
would be possibly any place else.
I'm afraid I was of this latter class. I
had just been graduated, and there was
scant chance for much practice for me in
New York city for many a year to come.
After attending to many other cases, I
was taken, one rainy night, by a kind old
negro woman to her cabin on the edge of
the city. She came to mein tears. ‘‘Doctah,
I des wisht yoh come an’ see my John. He
pears mon’s’ous cur’ous, an’ he acts des
like he ’stracted.’
At her cabin I found her son, a tremen-
dous fellow, as black as coal and evidently
an athlete, with no evidence of a wound
upon him, but with a tendency to bear off
to one side as he walked, an apparent in-
ability to talk, and possessed of a persistent
effort to march and keep time to martial
music, which he could not do.
Aunt Martha, as she called herself, and
asked me to call her, told me. that her son
had always been strong and healthy, and
that when he left Washington with the
army he was perfectly sound and ‘‘des like
de res’ of de folks ; but dey fetch him back
to his po’ ole mammy des like yoh see him,
doctah, an’ I des skeered plumb outen my
wits, dat I is.”” I examined John carefully
and could find not the least thing the mat-
ter with him, and half believed he was
shamming. :
The room was whitewashed, and IT no-
ticed a streak entirely around it that was
so evenly drawn that it attracted my at-
tention ; but in the stirring events of those
days I really paid scant heed to so trifling
a case as John’s, and so apparently trivial
an indication as was that level streak on
the wall. His mother was still talking.
‘De reason dat all de table an’ cheers is in
de floor, doctah, is dat John hedes runs
inter all of ’em if dey close t’ de wall.
‘Pears like he des ‘bleeged t’ skim along
close up as eber he kin. Dat dar streak is
whar his elbow scrapes along all day an’
all night, ‘cep’ when somebody’s sittin’
holdin’ his han’ er feelin’ his pulst, like
yoh is now.” Young and inexperienced
as I was, even this did not give me a clew,
and I left Aunt Martha and John after giv-
ing some trifling advice and remedy, both
of which I knew to be wholly innocuous.
Other men and others matters claimed
my attention, and I neither saw nor heard
of John again while I was in Washington.
Since that time I have devoted myself to
the branch of the profession which has pro-
gressed most rapidly perhaps—surgery. I
spent several years in Paris and in Ger-
many after the war, and it was not until
188—that I was back in Washington. We
had an international convention there at
the time, and were taken to various public
institutions, among which was a little asy-
lum for poor and insane negroes.
In one room, as we were passing the
door, I happened to observe on the white-
washed wall a well-worn streak drawn so
level and circling the room so perfectly
that it called to my mind a vision which I
had wholly forgotten. Indeed, I could not
place my impression when it came to me.
I simply was stopped and drawn to look |
again into that room when my companions
had passed on. I had a vague idea that I
had seen it before, but I knew that I had
not, and was about to rejoin the others,
when there appeared from behind the door,
which had been opened as we passed, a
powerful black man who had. the vacant
look of idiocy upon his face. He was walk-
ing slowly and apparently aimlessly around
the room, always bearing to the left, and
with the left elbow of his otherwise whole
coat worn completely away by the constant
friction against the wall. Memory was
coming back to me and slowing taking up
the threads of the war days, when one of
the resident physicians, who had missed me
and returned, said, as he joined me at the
grated door :
‘Strange case. He has been like that
for years. No one knows why. He is per-
fectly harmless, perfectly helpless as to
taking care of himself, and he walks and
walks, day and night, and always bears to
the left. If we let him out he’d bear off to
the left and go in the river or the fire, or
lose himself in the woods. He never talks,
although we have never found anything the
‘matter with him. He eats and sleeps pretty
well. Strange case.”
“I'd like to try an experiment on him,”’
I said, slowly. “I have an idea that I
know something about what his trouble is.
-If I'd known as much twenty odd years
ago as I think I do now, I guess he’d have
been a useful citizen all these years. I'd
like to try it now—if it isn’t too late,’’ I
said again, really Syeasing as much to my-
self as to my companion. :
The resident physician laughed. ‘‘You'’re
a perfectly hopeless guest, doctor,” he
said. I believe you'd want to experiment
on one of our own delegates if you didn’t
get a new subject outside every day. But
if you are in earnest I reckon there’ll be no
trouble this time. This is a charity place,
and, so far as I ever heard, the fellow has
no friends but an old mother down town,
and she’d never know but what he died a
natural death.” .
“I hadn’t exactly shought of murdering
him,”’ I retorted, dryly. ‘I know where
this trouble of his began, and I believe now
that I know the cause. If itis not too late,
I believe Ican help him. That is all.
Isn’t it worth trying ?”’
Jefore noon the next day we had John’s
small room looking like a Lospital oper-
ating room, and the great black frame lay
on the table under the influence of ether.
Five of us stood around him, and I told
them my theories and plans.
My colleagues warmed to the idea and
the work.
I cut open the right side of the thick
skull, and sure enough a splintered piece
of bone from an old depressed fracture
pressed into the brain. I lifted it, dressed
it with aseptics, and replaced skull and
scalp and placed him in his bed. Then we
set about reviving him. We were all in-
tensely anxious to know what the result
would be, and five note-books were ready
in five hands. Presently John opened his
eyes and stared about him. Then he asked
—and it was the first articulate word he
had uttered for over twenty long years—
“Whar did de army move to yesterday ?’’
I was too excited to reply, and no one
else appeared to grasp the full meaning of
his question. Presently I said : ‘“Tow-
ard Richmond, John, but you were hurt a
little and had to stay behind, and we have
been doctoring you. You are all right
now. How do you feel ?”?
‘‘Fus rate, thankee, sir ; fus rate. Which
side licked yisterday? Ourn ?”’
‘‘Yes, John. But you must not talk
now. I'll tell you all about it to-morrow.”’
When we got out of the room I came
near fainting from sheer excitement. over
my success. We got out under the trees
as quickly as possible and held a quiz in
speculative philosophy.
Where had John heen all those twenty
years? Had he thought anything? If so,
what? Had he lived for twenty years on
that battle-field, or had he gone to sleep
there and never wakened till now? Had
he dreamed ? If so, of what ? Would he
be able to recall any of it ?
I staid in Washington a month to watch
his case and ask him some of these ques-
tions, but he never understood one of
them. The battle of Bull Run had been
‘‘yisteday’’ to him, and if he had dreamed,
the dreams had taken flight at the touch of
the knife and fled from the lifted skull.
When he began to walk he had no far-
ther tendency to trend to the left. His
health, which was always good, enabled
him to recuperate with great speed from
the operation, and he is to-day supporting
Aunt Martha by driving the carriage of
one of the best-known Senators at the cap-
ital. I still look upon John as about my
most valuable piece of stage property (so
to speak) in surgery.
There has never come a glimmer of
memory to him of the tweaty odd years
that he was a mere circling automaton.
The war and his experience up to that time
when he was struck on the head, most like-
ly by a piece of spent shell, are as if they
were yesterday in his memory, and his
mind is as clear and as good as the average
of his race and condition ; but where that
mind was, and how it was occupied during
those years, is a never-failing query to me,
all the more perhaps because it does not
trouble or puzzle him in the least.—Har-
er’s Magazine. :
Carlisle’s Five Facts Badly Peppered.
From the Philadelphia Item.
The Times and Ledger keep publishing
almost daily what they style ‘‘Carlisle’s
Five Facts” in support of the single gold
standard. An Item correspondent com-
pletely riddles the utterances of the sec-
retary of the treasury in the following
style :
“1. Let me say that every free coinage
country is on a silver basis.”” Answer :
This is not true, Japan is on a silver basis,
yet it has $1.96 in gold and $2.04 in silver
per capita.
‘2. There is nota gold standard country
in the world that does not use both gold
and silver.”” Answer : This is true, but
why ? Because gold, by its small bulk,
cannot be used as fractional currency, so a
very little silver must be used for that
purpose.
‘3. There is not a silver country in the
world that uses any gold along with sil-
ver.”” Answer: Thisis a misstatement.
Russia is on a silver basis, yet it has ex-
actly ten times as much gold as silver,
while in Japan the amount of gold and
silver is nearly equal. In fact, India,
China and the Straits settlements are the
only countries that have no gold—and of
silver they average less than $3 per capita.
‘4, There is not a silver standard coun-
try where the laboring man receives as
good wages for his labor as in the United
States.” Answer : No, nor in any gold
standard country, either. Egypt and Cuba
are two of the gold countries with enor-
mous per capita gold circulation and al-
most no silver (Egypt $17.65 in gold and
$2.30 in silver, and Cuba $10 in gold and
$9.83 in silver per capita), and yet the
wages they pay now or ever have paid the
laboring men are among the lowest in the
history of the world. They are by far the
lowest of any country having even half of
their per capita of circulation.
‘5. There is not a silver standard coun-
try having more than one-fourth as ainuch
money per capita as the United States.”
Answer : The South American States are
on a silver basis and have three-fourths the
circulation we have.’
For verification of these statistics I refer
to the Sound Currency published by the Re-
form club of New York.
Now, just one word as to Mexico.
Prices are constantly rising there and are
constantly falling here. There is no silver
country now but has better times than it
has ever known, and there is no gold coun-
try (England, the banker country, alone
excepted ) but that has the hardest times it
has ever experienced. :
Struck Down with a Rock.
A Jealous Husband's Act Will Result in the
Death of a Man.
Jealousy caused what will doubtless
prove a murder at Hickory Ridge, a min-
ing settlement, three miles from Pottsville.
Angered because John Feronski talked a
little too long with his wife, Andrew
Broche is alleged to have hurled a rock:
weighing twenty-six pounds at Feronski,
crushing in his skull. He is dying ata
hospital in Sunbury.
Both men had been drinking in Broche’s
home. When the went out the front gate
together Feronski remained at the fence
talking to Mrs. Broche. The latter's hus-
band became insanely jealous. Picking up
a rock it is said that he sneaked up ito his
victim and hurled the deadly missile.
Broche made his escape.
L. S. Seibert Nominated.
Trouble Over a Republican Fight for @ Place on
the Ticket.
HARRISBURG, Sept. 9.—The Democratic
conferees of the Sixteenth congressional
district met at Wellsboro to-day and nomi-
nated Luther S. Seibert, of Coudersport,
Potter county, on a free silver platform.
Congressman Fred. C. Leonard, of Pot-
ter, who claims the Republican nomina-
tion, to-day presented a certificate of nom-
inatian at the state department. Secretary
Reeder declined to reoeive it because the
paper certifying the nomination of ex-Sen-
ator Horace B. Packer, of Tioga, was al-
ready on file. Leonard will go into the
Dauphin county court to-morrow and peti-
tion for mandamus to compel Reeder to
accept the certificate and certify his nomi-
nation for printing on the official ballot.
Bryan's Letter of Acceptance.
A Dignified and Straightforward Declaration--Endorses Every Plank of the
Democratic Party’s Platform--If Eleeted Will Under No
Circumstances Stand for Re-Election.
LINCOLN, Neb., Sept. 9.—Mr. and Mrs. Bryan gave a dinner to-day to the mem-
bers of the Notification committee of the silver party at the Lincoln hotel. There
was about 20 members of the committee and prominent silver party politicians
present. :
Immediately preceding the dinner Mr. Bryan gave to the press his formal letter
of acceptance, which he hinted at in his speech in Madison square garden, and
which has heen ready for some time, the date of its publication having been de-
layed until after the notification of nomination by the silver party The letter
follows:
The Letter in Full.
‘‘ Hon. Stephen M. White and others, members of the Notification committee of the
Democratic National convention:
‘‘Gentlemen—I accept the nomination tendered » you on behalf of the Demo-
cratic party, and in so doing desire to assure youtHat I fully appreciate the high
honor which such a nomination confers and the grave responsibilities which accom-
pany an election to the presidency of the United States. So deeply am I impressed
with the magnitude of the power vested by the constitution in the chief executive
of the nation and with the enormous influence which he can wield for the benefit or *
injury of the people, that I wish to enter the office, if elected, free from every per-
sonal desire except the desire to prove worthy the confidence of my country. Hu-
man judgment is fallible enough when unbiased by selfish considerations, and in
order that I may not be tempted to use the patronage of the office to advance any
personal ambition, I hereby announce, with all the emphasis which words can ex-
press, my fixed determination not under any circumstances to be a candidate for re-
election, in case this campaign results in my election.
“I have carefully considered the platform adopted by the Democratic national
convention, and unqualifiedly endorse each plank thereof.
‘Our institutions rest upon the propositions of all men, being created equal, are
entitled to equal consideration at the hands of the government. Because all men
are created equal it follows that no citizen has a natural right to injure any other
citizen. The main purpose of government being to protect all citizens in the enjoy-
ment of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, this ‘purpose must lead the gov-
ernment, first, to avoid acts of affirmative injustice, and second, to restrain each
citizen from trespassing upon the rights of any other citizen.
Democratic Form of Government.
“A democratic form of government is conducive to the highest civilization, be-
cause it opens before each individual the greatest opportunities for development and
stimulates to the highest endeavor by insuring to each the full enjoyment of all the
rewards of toil, except such contribution as is necessary to support the government
which protects him. Democracy is indifferent to pedigree—it deals with the indi-
vidual rather than with his ancestors. Democracy ignores differences in wealth—
neither riches nor poverty can be invoked in behalf or against any citizen. Demo-
cracy knows no creed—recognizing the right of each individual to worship God ac-
cording to the dictates of his own conscience, it welcomes all to a common brother-
hood and guarantees equal treatment to all, no matter in what church or through
what'forms they commune with their Creator. >
‘‘ Having discussed portions of the platform at the time of its adoption and again
when your letter of notification was formally delivered, it will not be necessary at
this time to touch upon all the subjects embraced in the party’s declaration.
Democracy Pledged to a Daal Government.
‘‘ Honest differences of opinion have ever existed, and ever will exist, as to the
most effective means of securing domestic tranquility, but no citizen fails to recognize
at all times and under all circumstances the absolute necessity for the prompt and
vigorous enforcement of law and the preservation of the public peace. In a govern-
ment like ours law is but the crystallization of the will of the people; without it
the citizen is neither secure in the enjoyment of life and liberty, nor protected in
the pursuit of happiness. Without obedience to law government is impossible.
The Democratic party is pledged to defend the constitution and enforce the laws of
the United States, and is also pledged to respect and preserve the dual scheme of
government instituted by the republic. The name, United States, was happily
chosen. It combines the idea of national strength with the idea of local self-govern-
ment, and suggests an indissoluble union of indestructible states. Our revolution-
ary fathers, fearing the tendencies toward centralization, as well as the dangers of
disintergration, guarded against both; and national safety as well as domestic secur-
ity to be found in the careful observance of the limitations which they impose. It
will be noticed that, while the United States guarantees to every state a republican
form of government and is empowered to protect each state against invasion, it is
not authorized to interfere in the domestic affairs of any state except upon applica-
tion of the legislature of the state or the application of the executive when the legis-
ture cannot be convened.
‘This provision rests upon the sound theory that the people of the state, acting
through their legally chosen representatives, are, because of their more intimate ac-
quaintance with local conditions, better qualified than the president to judge of the
necessity for federal assistance. Those who framed our constitution wisely deter-
mined to make as broad an application for the principles of local self-government as
circumstances would permit, and we cannot dispute the correctness of the position
taken by them without expressing a distrust of the people themselves.
What Constitutes True Economy.
‘Since governments exist forthe protection of the rights of the people and not
for their spoilation, no expenditure of public money can be justified unless that ex-
penditure is necessary for the honest, economical and efficient administration of the
government. In determining what appropriations are necessary the interest of
those who pay the taxes should be consulted, rather than the wishes of those who
receive or disburse public moheys. *
Unwarranted Issues of Bonds.
“An increase in the bonded debt of the United States at this time is entirely
without excuse. The issue of interest-bearing bonds within the past few years has
been defended on the ground that they were necessary to secure gold with which to
redeem United States notes and treasury notes, but this necessity was imaginary
rather than real. Instead of exercising the legal right vested in the United States
to redeem its coin in either gold or silver, the executive branch of the government
has followed a precedent established by a former administration and surrendered
the option to the holder of the obligation. This administrative policy leaves the
government at the mercy of those who find a pecuniary profit in bond issues. The
fact that the dealers in money and securities have been able to deplete or protect
the treasury according to their changing whims shows how dangerous it is to permit
them to exercise a controlling influence of the treasury department. The govern-
ment of the United States, when administered in the interest of the people, is able
to establish and enforce its financial policy, not only without the aid of syndicates,
but in spite of any opposition which syndicates may present. To assert that the
government is dependent upon the good will or assistance of any portion of the peo-
ple other than a constitutional majority, is to assert that we have a government
in form but without vital force.
Against a National Bank Currency. °
‘The position taken by the platform against the issue of paper money by the
national banks is supported by the highest Democratic authority, as well as de-
manded by the interests of the people. The present attempt of the national banks
to force the retirement of United States notes and treasury notes in order to secure
a basis for a larger issue of their own notes illustrates the danger which arises from
permitting them to issue their paper as a circulating medium. The national bank
note, being redeemudle in lawful money, has never been better go the United
States note, which ‘stands behind it, and yet the banks persisten®y demand, that
the United States notes, which draw no interest, shall give place to interest-bearing
bonds in order that the banks may collect the interest which the people now save.
To empower national banks to issue circulating notes, isto grant a valuable; privil-
age to a favored class, surrender to private corporations the control over the volume
of paper money, and will build up a class which will claim a vested interest in the
nation’s financial policy. Our United States notes, commonly known as greenbacks
being redeemable in either gold or silver at the option of the government and not
at the option of the holder, are safer and cheaper for the people than the national
bank notes based upon interest-bearing bonds.
Maintenance ef the Monroe Doctrine.
*‘A dignified but firm maintenance of the foreign policy first set forth by Presi-
dent Monroe and reiterated by the. presidents who have succeeded him, instead of
arousing hostility abroad, is the best guarantee of amicable relations with other na-
tions. It is better for all concerned that the United States should resist all exten-
sion of European authority in the western hemisphere rather than invite the con-
tinual irritation which would necessarily result from any attempt to increase the
influence of monarchical institutions over that portion of the Americas which have
been dedictated to republican government.
z Just and Generous Pensions.
‘‘No nation can afford to be unjust to its defenders. The care of those who
have suffered injury in the military and naval service of the country is a sacred
duty. A nation which, like the United States, relies upon voluntary service rather
than upon a large standing army, adds to its own security when it makes generous
provision for those who have risked their lives in its defense, and for those who are
dependent upon them. : '
The Producers of Wealth.
‘‘Labor creates capital. Until wealth is produced by the application of brain and
muscle to the resources of this country there is nothing to divide among the non-
producing classes of society. Since the producers of wealth create the nation’s pros-
perity in time of peace, and defend the nation’s flag in time of peril, their interests
ought at all times to be considered by those who stand in official positions. The
Democratic party has ever found its voting strength among those who are proud to
be known as the common people, and it pledges itself to propose and enact such
legislation as is necessary to protect the masses in the free exercise of every politi-
cal right and in the enjoyment of their just share of rewards of their labor.
The Value of Arbitration.
“I desire to give special emphasis to the plank which recommends such legisla-
tion as is necessary to secure the arbitration of differences between employers en-
gaged in interstate commerce and their employes. Arbitration is not a new idea—
it is simply an extension of the court of justice. The laboring men of the country
have expressed a desire for arbitration and the railroads cannot reasonably object
to the decisions rendered by an impartial tribunal. Society has an interest even
greater than the interest of employer or of employe, and has a right to protect itself
by courts of arbitration against the growing inconvenience and embarrassment
caused by disputes between those who own the great arteries of commerce on one
hand and the lahorers who operate them on the other.
{
Immigration Should be Restricted.
“While the Democratic party welcomes to the country those who come with love
for our institutions and with the determination and ability to contribute to the
strength and greatness of our nation, it is opposed to the dumping of the criminal
classes upon our shores and to the importation of either pauper or contract labor to
compete with American labor. *
The Power of Injunction.
‘They recent abuses which have grown out of injunction proceedings have been so
emphatically condemned by public opinion that the senate bill providing for trial
by jury in certain contempt cases will meet with general approval. .
Trusts Are Not Wanted.
“The Democratic party is opposed to trusts. It will he recreant to its duty to
the people of the country if it recognizes either the moral or legal right of these
great aggregations of wealth to stifle competition, bankrupt rivals and then prey upon
society. Corporations are the creatures of law and they must not be permitted to
pass from under the control of the power which created them ; they are permitted to
exist upon the theory that they advance!the public weal, and they must not be aliowed
to use their powers for the public injury.
The Right to Control Railroads.
‘“The right of the United States government to regulate interstate commerce can-
not be questioned, and the necessity for the vigorous exercise of that right is becom-
ing more imperative. The interests of the whole people require such an enlarge-
ment of the powers of interstate commerce commission as will enable it to prevent
Sin Aninaio between persons and places and protect patrons from unreasonable
charges.
‘
The Pacific Railroad Debt.
‘The government cannot afford to discriminate between its debtors and must,
therefore, prosecute its legal claims against the Pacific railroads. Sucha policy is
necessary for the protection of the rights of the patrons as well as for the interests
of the government.
Earnest Sympathy for Cuba.
‘The people of the United States, happy in the enjoyment of the blessings of free
government, feel a generous sympathy toward all who are endeavoring to secure
like blessings for themselves. This sympathy, while respecting all treaty obliga-
tions, is especially active and earnest when excited by the struggles of neighboring
peoples, who, like the Cubans, are near enough to observe the workings of a govern-
ment which derives all its authority from the consent of the governed.
No Life Tenure in the Civil Service.
‘That the American people are not in favor of life tenure in the civil service is
evident from the fact that they, as a rule, make frequent changes in their official
representatives when those representatives are chosen by ballot. A permanent of-
fice-holding class is not in harmony with our institutions. A fixed term in appoint-
ive offices, except where the federal constitution now provides otherwise, would
open the public service toa larger number of citizens without impairing its effi-
ciency. :
Home Rule for the Territories.
‘The territorial form of government is temporary in its nature and should give
way as soon as the territory is sufficiently advanced to take its place among the
states. New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arizona are entitled to statehood and their
early admission is demanded by their material and political interests. The demand
of the platform that officials appointed to administer the government of the territo-
ries, the District of Columbia and Alaska, should he bona fide residents of the ter-
ritories or district is entirely in keeping with Democratic theory of home rule. I
am also heartily in sympathy with the declaration that all public lands should be
i reserved for the establishment of free homes for American citizens.
Waterways of the Country.
“The policy of improving the great waterways of the country is justified by the
national character of those waterways and the enormous tonnage horne upon them.
Experience has demonstrated that continuing appropriations are, in the end, more
economical than single appropriations separated by long intervals.
The Tarifi Versus Finance.
“It is necessary to discuss the tariff question at this time. Whatever may be the
individual views of citizens as to the relative merits of protection and tariff reform,
all must recognize that until the money gnestion is fully and finally settled, the
| American people will not consent to the consideration of any other important ques-
tion. Taxation presents a problem which in some form is continually pres-
ent, and a postponement of definite action upon it involves no sacrifice of opinion or
political principles ; but the crises presented by financial conditions cannot be post-
poned. Tremendous results will follow the action taken hy the United States on
the money question, and delay is impossible. The people of this nation, sitting as
--a high court, must render judgment in the cause which greed is prosecuting against
bumanity. The decision will either give hope and inspiration to those who toil
or ‘shut the doors of mercy on mankind.” In the presence of this overshadowing
issue, differences upon minor questions must be laid aside, in order that there may
be united action among those who are determined that progress toward a universal
gold standard shall be stayed and the gold and silver coinage of the constitution re-
stored. ‘W. J. BRYAN.”
Took His Own Life. | Miss Auker, who had just risen, noticed
Grief for his Wife Drove J. H. Kramer to Commit | 1iS agitation and asked what he was hunt-
Suicide. Five Children left Parentless. Mrs. Kra-
mer Died Suddenly at the Hospital, and her Hus- '
band Put an End to his Existence.
Passing downstairs he found his two
‘youngest children, Pearl and Edward, in
the sitting room. He stooped down and
On last Tuesday evening James H Cram- kissed them hefore he opened the rear door
er and his wife, Nina, had a quarrel at and proceeded to the coal house at the up-
their home, in Altoona. Angry words fi- per portion of the lot.
nally resulted in violence. Mrs. Cramer About ten minutes later the neighbors
seized her husband’s necktie and tore it and those in the house were startled by the
from his neck. He retaliated by slapping’| sound of a pistol shot. Mrs. Temple and
her. The infuriated woman then ran into | Miss Auker ran up the yard and discovered
the kitchen for a kettle full of boiling | Kramer’s prostrate form lying in the coal
water. house with a pool of blood underneath a
When she returned with the tea kettle, | ghastly wound on the right side of the
Creamer took hold of it and tried to wrest [ head. Dr. A. L. Feltwell was quickly
it from her. In the struggle the water was | summoned by some neighbors who hurried
thrown over both himself and his wife. He | to the scene, but upon the physician’s ar-
‘was scalded on the right arm and she sus- | rival he prononnced Kramer quite dead.
tained painful byrns on the left forearm © THE CORONER’S INQUEST.
and wrist. Shortly afterward the quarrel- 5 : ‘“
ers settled their differences and went to bed. | _. Rendered the following verdict : ‘‘Death
Cranier rose at 2 o'clock th ct was self-inflicted ; caused by a ball from a
RO Oe ear ° LEXt mOm-| go calibre revolver and was committed
ing to go out with his crew. His wife pack- | 07+ : : g
od lus bucket. That was the last he saw of while laboring under severe mental strain,
her alive, Mrs, Cramer's humed weiss | 20%0 by the Iamentable death of his
rife V?
pained her, a friend suggested that she go wife,
to the hospital and have the burns dressed. SKETCH OF THE DECEASED.
Offering to accompany her. The two wo-| James H. Kramer was born at Atkinson's
men started for the hospital at about 4 | Mills, near Newton Hamilton’ January 7,
o'clock. 1859. He came to Altoona about 1834.
Dr. Schaffer, noticing a large blister on | He was married to Miss Nina Little, in New-
her wrist, remarked that he would open it. | ton Hamilton, April 16, 1885. During the
and turned away to get a surgical instru- | past seven years he was employed as flag-
ment to do so. As he did so, Mrs. Cramer | man on the Pittsburg division, and his fel-
became very pale .and sank into a chair | low employes spoke of him in terms of
close at hand. Thinking that she had faint- | warmest praise as a man of integrity, kind-
ed at the thought of the slight operation on | ness and sobriety. . :
the blister, the doctor had her laid upon a| Five small chileren survive ; the oldest
cot and applied restoratives. He and the | only 11 years old.
nurses worked for half an hour. Artificial
respiration, hypodermic injections and all
the known means torevive unconscious | ——A vigorous young mulberry tree has
persons were tried without avail. . Dr. | spropted up on the breast of the D. M.
Blose, who was hurriedly summoned, ar- | Jones’ mound in the Tyrone cemetery.
rived and pronounced the woman quite | In the'light of the old Greek mythology
dead. Superficial examination showed that | there is fitness in this. Mulberry trees had
‘she had died of some organic heart trouble, | something of sacredness ; they were said
such as aneurism, or valvular rupture. Her | tospring up where the blood of heroes had
father, iv is said, died in the same way, | been shed, and the blood-like stain of the
after saving the life of a little child in a | juice of the edible black mulberry is ac-
runaway accident. counted for in the fable attached to the old
story of Pyramus and Thisbhe. Where the
: mulberry tree can fully ripen its growth
The second act in the tragedy was en- | every year its wood excels in durability.
acted when J. C. Kramer shot himself dead | Mummy cases from Egypt are often per-
from remorse and grief. The coroner's | fectly sound after 4000 years, and show the
verdict in the case of Mrs. Kramer was | tool marks and chips on the insides quite
that ‘‘death’ resulted from paralysis of ' fresh looking. Still older wood of the mul-
the heart.” Of course no blame was at- berry was found by Layard in his excava-
tached to Mr. Kramer, it being guanine | tions in the ruins of ancient Assyrian
ly agreed by*thbse in possession of the palaces, remains of beams and chefts.
facts that she, afflicted as she was with ,
heart disegse, had simply died of fright at.
the sight of-the surgical instrument. : Easily Computed,
After the tragic death, however, the! A man wentinto a shop the other day
story was taken up aud rehashed by a’ ng asked to see some patent gas burners.
DRIVEN TO SUICIDE.
thousand tongues until finally the rumor i The shopkeeper showed him some.
Stined snnsney Bi 2 me i Fokine up one, the man asked what it
i ) Y would do.
her. ign Le 3 JL “Oh !”” said the shopkeeper, ‘‘that will
E save half the gas.”
her breast gave the story the semblance of “Then,” is man, “if I put two in
io stories, to be sure, all came to the : Se ha Sy Ebi to ppt
ears of the harassed husband. Tortured Tago nda
by the tales whispered everywhere, the
unfortunate man in a fit of despair, finally
put an end to it all by blowing out his
Known Not at All.
Bagshy—Truth is said to be stranger
brains. : ; than fiction.
Thursday night he went to the train and Gadigo—To a great many people it is.
met his only sister Mrs. Amanda Temple. —Washington Times.
who with Aliss Emma Auker and Max
Little remained at the Kramer house all
night. ————*Under the spreading chestnut tree
Several times Thursday night Kramer . Poe Hinge sity shade!
spoke to Miss Auker of the stories afloat The smith alogel) man is be,
and said, “It’s so hard ; it’s more than I With large but useless hands,
can stand.”” He was unable to sleep or
eat. About 6 o'clock Friday morning
Kramer went up stairs, fully dressed, and
began searching for something in his trunk.
His trade was good in former years
At shoeing horses’ heels,
He has not learned, it now appears,
To mend the broken wheels.”