SIIUGERT A FOUNTFR, Editors^ VOL. J. TTlxc jOrm octal Terms 51.50 per Annum. In Advance. S. T. SHUCERT and R. H. FORSTER, Editor.. Tlinrsday Morning, May 20, 1880. Democratic State Ticket. * arrstMit Jtipna, UKOItOK A. JKNKS, of Jtffaraou Oonnly. R..a ALMTOB OIXUUL, ROtIKRT P. lIKCIir.KT, of Philadelphia. Curtin for Congress. The Democrats of Centre # oounty have au imperative duty to perform. From the expressions of opinion that come to us we hazard nothing in say ing they will meet every requirement that the situatiou demands of them. Two years ago, under the stress of a pressing party emergency, Andrew G. Curtin was made the Democratic can didate for Congress in the twentieth district much against lys will. In the long campaign of I><7B he was used iu the State canvass to the neglect of his own district, and from certaiu well understood causes, to which it is uow unnecessary to refer, the result was a disappointment to the Democracy of the district. That Gov. Curtin receiv- e has again overtaken hhu. Through out he has been a deeply wronged niun, j and it now remains for the party in j Centre county to right the grievous iu- j justice he has suffered as fur as it may la l in their power to do so. We sincerely bellevo we only re echo the sentiments of nine-tenths of | the Democrats of Centre county in as- j sorting that Gov. Curtin should again j receive the Democratic nomination for j Congress in this district. From every j district in the county we have the ; amplest assurances of a firm dctermin- , ation to stand bv him. It may he j proper to remark that wo do not know what Gov. Curtin's inteution in the matter may be. We nre not .quaking for him, or with his knowl edge. We have no reason to believe that Gov. Curtin desires a renoraina tion for, Congress this fall. We do believe, however, that justice demands that the man who has been made the victim of hate and malice should have the opportunity of silencing his traducers by a direct appeal to the jK-ople for thut complete vindication which will surely come with the ides of November should he once more be our standard bearer. All Governor Ciirtin asked at the bauds of Con gress was that his claim should be re manded back to the people for adju dication. This was refused him, ami it now remains for the Democracy of this county' to do their share iu se curing for him thnt right which was wrongly denier! him by ' the lower branch of Congress. IT is rather amusing to see the dex terous manner in which the New York Tribune and its rival, the Time *, try to keep the respective Blaine nnd Grant booms up to their-propcr alti tude. One day the Tribune gives the most accurate figures a* to the compo sition of the Chicago convention, ami of course forgea Blaine away to the front. The next day the Time* count ers on Jay Gould, nnd "the man on horse back" is shown to have such a decided majority of the delegates who are to nominate a Republican candi date for President that it almost seems unnecessary to have any formal meet ing of the convention. AFTER ALL, there may be some ex cuse for the vote of Alexander H. Stephens against Governor Curtin last week. There is no longer enough of him left to maintain for any consider able period of time a sentiment of gratitude. "KIJUAI. AND KXACT JI'HTK'K TO ALL MKN, or WHATEVER STATE OK I'KKSUAIiION, KKLIUIOUS OK I'OLITICAL."—J.-fferaon The Ourtin-Yocum Contest. It requires but u slight investiga tion to bring to the surface the causes which produced the unfortunate result in Gov. Curtiu's content for a scat in Congress, announced to the readers of the DEMOCKAT last week. Before proceeding to a consideration of these ! causes, it may be proper to state in I this place that while the result may ! be regarded as an astonishing and dis- 1 graceful commentary upon the action of a body presumed to be Democratic, there is at lc&t one feature of the ; cipse to which the friends of Gov. C'ur -1 tin can refer with uubounded pleasure. The record of the vote shows conclu ■ sivoly that on "the side of Curtin were ranked the ablest, purest and most j reputable of the Democratic reprcsen | tatives from all sections of the country. This especially applies to the South. From that section such representative meu as Gen. Joe. Johnston, < ten. ! Uaudull Gibson, Gen. Armfield, with a host of other ".Southern Brigadiers," I gave tl*e great War Governor their 1 most hearty and cordial support. | Against him, on the Democratic side, ' with the single exception of Stephens, ofGeorgia, was arrayed a sniall squad of exceedingly small men, with little character for ability or party fidelity —some of them mere jobbers in JXJl jtics, aud actuated in all things by sel fish and mercenary motives—whose opinions haveslight weight in the deter mination of any question of right or wrong. The supporters of Curtin can well afford to let the names of Aiken, Richardson and Tillman, of South Carolina, Rouck and Deustcr, of Wis consin, Bright, of Tennessee, Caldwell, of Kentucky, Chalmers aud Singleton, of Mississippi, .Stephens and Feltou, of Georgia, Harris and Itichuxxul, of Virginia, Hosteller and New, of In diana, and Mills, of Texas, go before the public as the men responsible for his overthrow through the meanest of , motives, and offset them by the names of the reputable and eminent gentle inen who stood manfully by the right | regardless of personal considerations. | Among these gentleman maybe named a number of distinguished jurists, such as .lodge Phelps, of Connecticut, who was elected to the Superior Court of his State in 1863, for a term of eight years. At the expiration of this term he was re-elected in 1871. In 1873 he was taken from the bench of the Su- perior Court and elected to the Su preme Court, the highest judicial tri bunal In the State. Judge Bicknclt, of Indiana, was elector! judge of the 2d Judicial Circuit in 1852, and held that position during twenty-four years, having been elected four times consec- utively. He was also a professor of I Law in the University of Indiana for eleven years. Judge Geddes, of Ohio, | was elected a judge of the Oth district Court of Common Pleas nnd served in that capacity for fifteen years. In 1871 he was the Democratic candidate forjudge of the .Supreme Court of Ohio, j Judge Phister of Kentucky, was Cir cuit Judge of the 10th Judicial Dis trict of Kentucky, for six years, nnd was also appointed hy Gov. Leslie as one of the Commissioners to revise the ; stotutc laws of his htate. Judge Saw- \ yer of Missouri, served for seven years as Circuit Judge of the 24th Judicial District of his State and was taken from the liench nnd sent to Con gress. We give the record ami ca reer of these gentlemen in order that the contrast between the pigmies who claim to have voted against Gotfc Curtin on legnl grounds aud the emi nent lawyers, whose service* it) their respective States as able nnd irre proachable judges are a part of the history of the great Commonwealths they represent in the Congress of the United States, may he more striking. It is not probable that all these trained and capable jurists could be mistaken as to the law ami the facts involved in this case. We now propose to allude to some of the potential causes which led to this I.KLLEFONTE, PA., TIIUKSDAY, MAY 'JO, I**o. adverse result, and it will be readily seen that they were beyond the power of Gov. Curtiu or hi.-* friends to control: First, we will consider the Demo cratic members who voted uguinst Curtin, representing districts in which there is a large and preponderating Greenback vote. Bouck, of the Oth Wisconsin district, who received 14,349 votes against 11,748 for his Republi can competitor and 5,144 for the (trecnbaeksNational ticket. Deuster, of the 4th district in the same State, who polled 11,157 votes, while Frisby, Republican, had 11,922, and Judd, Greenbacker, had 1,2th r > votes. New, of tlie 4th Indiana district was fortunate euough to receive 15,14ti votes, while his Republican opponent luid 14,055 and the Greenback cham pion hud to content himself with 199. Hostettcr of the #tli district in the suiue State, received 13,104 votes against Hunter, Republican, who had 12,124 and the Greenback-National candidate 4,029. Rotliwell, of the 10th Missouri district, had 14,793 votes, i'ullard, Republican, 10.H75, Brouddus, Green back-National, 5,683. Caldwell, of the .'hi Kentucky dis trict received ft,344 votes, Hunter, Republican, 8,502, Wright, Green back-Xational 2,339. It is apparent from the foregoing statement of the vote in the respective districts of the above Democrats who voted against ex-Gov. Curtin, what selli.-h and personal interests actuated them to insult the Democracy of the 20th Congressional district of Penn sylvania. These returns speak for themselves, and require no comment. The second element in the combina tion against Curtin was the magnifi cent scheme to defraud the National Treasury of a million and a half or two millions of dollars, under the guise of paying claims to a few Stales, alleg- j ed to be due them for supplies and ox|cnso9 incurred during the war ol Ixl2. About one million of this sum is destined to reach the State of Virginia. A considerable portion of it is to en rich somebody in Maryland, with small sops thrown to the whales of the States of Pennsylvania and New York. The immaculate gentlemen who are i endeavoring to pilot this job through Congress, secured a pledge from the ! Greenback members to support their gigantic steal, in consideration of their votes for Yocum. The bargain was sealed and Messrs. Harris and Rich mond of Virginia, Honkle of Mary land, —anil possibly O'Reilly of New- York—have executed their part of the i contract. When mercenary consider- j aliens enter into the action of such j ; men, their support of Yocum was not only natural but a necessity. Thirdly, we come to consider the petty spite of such excuse* for men as Aiken, Richardson and Tillman of i South Carolina against Speaker Ran dall, on account of the mnuly action of the Speaker in refusing, in the 45h Congress, to ullow injustice to lie done the two colored memlicrs who then 1 '■ represented in Congress the two South Carolina districts now misrepresented by Richardson and Tillman, who were then contestants without n shadow of right. And now we come to the only man in the whole category of traitors for whom we can offer no excuse —little alec Stephens. This relic of a by-gone day has cheated the undertakers of Washington out of a pleasant job for the last fifty years. He is a Grant man, but he couldn't forget the Al touiia Conference of War Governors, during the |ate unpleasantness, and therefore he could not vote for Curtin. He, almost in his dotage, assumes to be a political Warwick, and wishes to keep the Democratic majority in the House so small as to make himself a power In Congress should the next Presidential contest be thrown into the House. He is supposed to control a little coterie of so-called independents, Felton of his Htnte and a few others. We wish him joy, hut it if barely pos sible that the people will relieve hitn of the trouble of electing a President. j A purling word to two others. Bin gletou, of Mississippi, never did any thing, cither in war or peace, to inuke him u marked man. Mediocrity and incapacity arc his distinguishing traits. Chalmers, his colleague, lias a reputa tion. lie acquired it at Kurt Pillow. We have now endeavored to lay he fore our readers a partial statement of the causes which led to the decision of this memorable contest in fuvor of Mr. ' S. H. Y ocutn. Considering the gro- J toque elements which entered into the combination against Andrew (. Curtin - and we have given but a few of them —no other result could have been reas- 1 onably expected. It will In- readily seen from the facts we have adduced that the merits of the ease were never considered at all. The judgment of the men who recorded their vfttcs for Mr. Curtin was rendered nugatory by the foreign elements which entered into and decided the contest. We can on ly add that thi result has had the : effect of intensifying the devotion of (iov. Curtiu's friends to his fortunes. 1 The eternal fitness of things, and their honest belief in his integrity and Democracy will not allow them for one moment to accept this as a final adjudication of his right to a scat in Congress. We are sorry to observe that our friends of the llarrishurg Patriot have fnr lww indignation to expend U|>on the twenty l>eino politician* to attend the Chicago and Cincinnati convention*. Hound ticket* will IN; issued at re duced ratea from designated point* east, and prominent point* on the route. The notice that clan* who contemplate attending the couventiona to run machine*, will be required to |ay fare, will no doubt have a restrain ing influence upon nianjr who expected to have a "high old time" at Chicago and Cincinnati, at somebody'* expense other than there own." Ai.t. those little schemes so nicely arranged between certain Democratic member* of Congress and their Green back allies, will no doubt take an ad ditional lease of life, since the princi pal part of the unholy eom|*ct has been cemented by the sacrifice of ex- Gov. Curtin. Jobbers in the National legislature are not particular as to their political bed-fellows so long a* their personal interest* do not snffer. TKK.MN: *1.50 per Annum, in Advance. THE investigation of the caae of Whittaker, the colored cadet at Weal I'oiut, who was alleged to be outraged und inutilated by disguised parties who entered his room at night, some time ago, ha* about reached it" conclusion. The evidence of the expert* employed in the case point* with almost uner ring certainty to the fact that the mu tilation was self-inflicted. It is a re markable caae, and can only be a•- counted for in the desire on the part of the cadet to create sympathy and thereby secure the promotion which his deficiencies of study would not warrant. This plan to secure promo tion is certainly more unmanly than cunning, and will probalv end in ex pulsion und di"grace. IT i caid that f< u. Scofield in to be relieved from duty at Wert Point, and that his successor is to be (Jen. Pope, who i* a Christian Soldier after the style of fieri. Howard, This admin ist ration do** uot need such men as Scofield. His efficiency and inde pendent of character does not com mend him to a fraudulent administra tion, who will uo doubt lie better suited in I'OJK*. He will till the bill. CIMEK .JUSTICE SASFOKH K. CHURCH died at his residence at Al bion, New York, on the 14th inst. Judge Church was one of the moat popular and prominent men in New York, and his sudden death has creat ed an intense sensation, not only in that State, hut throughout the coun try. He lias been frequently spoken | of in connection with the Presidential nomination by the Democracy. IF Andrew G. Curt in had not in the | goodness of his heart permitted him self to lie persuaded to insist upon the release of Alexander H.Stephens from 1 the old Capitol prison in 1860, that | gtiv.*! r mhlnce of humanitv would probably not have been in Congress to j [day the part of an ingrate in 1880. The Milton Fire. ; TIIC* arastn TOWN —nitron's Tcsnikut DISATM. MILTON, PA., I V —The fire that swept the town left a *ad spectacle this morn ing as the smoke ascended from the ruins of the 041 houses destroyed yes terday. The ravages of the oonflagra tion are seen in the demolition of nearly every business house and all the buildings, with a few exceptions, of any j importance. Houses were not only destroyed, bot their occupanta saved very little of the contents. In the business portion of the town the people had no idea of the late which awated them; and consequently made no effort to remove furniture, etc., until too late. From the point where the fire originated, cinders were thrown in countless profusion on the tops of houses located hundreds of yards sway, which were soon enveloped in flames. The marvelous rapidity with which the fire spread caused a panic among the inhabitants, and' their lamentations were heartrending. Lat nigbl about six hundred of the houseless were com|>elled to sleep in the open air, under blankets, saved from the wreck, furnished them by those more for tunate, while the rest of the sufferers, about 1,400, were sheltered by their friends, whose houses were not destroyed. Supplies from Williamsport, Harrisburg, Sunbury, Lock Haven, \\ a Leon town, Lew isbur|E in provisions and clothing, have arrived, and are being judiciously distrib uted. Two carloads from Harrtsburg reached here to-day. The State Capital has done nobly, having contributed in ad dition to psgvisions, about two thousand , dollars to the relief of the sufferers, ft,- 200 of which were subscribed in an hour last mxht. This morning, four of the , nine Ward Committees returned The loss by the fire will not fall much be ' ' low two million dollars. Tli* northern oil field fires destroyed $1,000,000 worth of property. The pay roll of the Bethlehem Iron Company on Saturday amounted to SIOO, two. The mother of Hon. John A. Lemon, republican nominee for auditor general, is lying ill at her residence in Hollidays burg. (ien. W. H. H. Davis, of Doyleatown, ha* been appointed one of the board of visitor* to the naval academy. Annapo lis, Md. I>avid P. Daniel*, a wealthy farmer of Lawrence county, waa severely injured by a falling treasuring a storm Tuesday evening of last week. It la stated that Mr. F. P. Oowea, President of the Philadelphia and Read ing Railroad, will make a visit to Europe during the early part of neat month. It waa unusually cold for the season along the Hudson river on Friday night, loe formed in the back country, and early vegetation suffered aeverely. NO. 21.