Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, January 04, 1889, Page 4, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    isffy M$$$tt
ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY 8, 1810,
Vol. ; Xio. SH. Enttrca ai Plttsbnrg Post
vQce, November 14, 1SST, as secona-ciass matter.
Business Office 97 and09 Fifth Avenue.
News Rooms and Publishing House 75,
77 and 79 Diamond Street.
This paper Laving more than Double the
circulation of nnjr other In the State outside
cl Philadelphia, its advantage as an adver
tising medium will be apparent
TERMS OF THE DISPATCH.
rOSTACE FltEE Cf TOE TOTTED STATES.
Daily DrsrATcn, One Year. I 8 00
Daily Dispatch, Tcr Quarter 200
Datlv Dispatch, One Month '"
Daily Dispatch, Including Sunday, one
year 1000
Daily Dispatch, including Sunday, per
quarter 2S0
Daily Dispatch, including Sunday, one
month. 90
Eckdat Dispatch, oneycar IM
Weekly Dispatch, one year 133
The Daily Dispatch Is delivered by carriers at
3.' cents per week, or includincttiebunday edition,
siIQcents per week.
PITTSBURG. FRIDAY, JAN. i 18S9.
THE EATLEOAD SITUATION.
The review of this country's railroad in
terests for the year 1888, which will be found
in another column, is instructive in more
ways than its author, The Railiray Age,
perhaps intends. It will be seen that the
general picture of the past as painted in
cold, hard figures, is not encouraging to
railroad builders or stockholders. In 188S,
to be sure, less railroads were sold under
foreclosure than during any year since 1884,
but still the number bo ingulfed in bank
ruptcy is large enough. Nineteen railroads,
with 1,600 miles of track, and sixty-five
millions of stock were 6old under foreclosure.
The further we inquire into the history of
railroading in this country the more mourn
ful are the conclusions forced upon us.
In the last thirteen years, for example, 423
railroads, representing one-third of the en
tire mileage to-day, and over 30 per cent of
the capital invested in railroads, have been
sold under foreclosure. But this unhappy
condition of affairs is not, in our opinion,
to be accounted for altogether by the causes
whica The Age suggests in its remarks upon
the outlook. Our cotemporary says that the
outlook at the present time is not cheerful,
eo many railroads are still feeling the effects
of disastrous reverses in 188", and it
prophesies that unless rate wars are pre
vented, suitable legislatipn for railroad re
lief enacted, and the public sentiment
toward the railroads becomes less unjust,
the number of railroads to land in the re
ceivership pit in 18S9 will be much larger
than that which 18S8 has seen.
The railroads can change public senti
ment at once by simply injecting honesty
and wisdom in large doses into their man
agement. This is really the remedy for
half the ills that railroad corporations arc
heir to to-day. "With the abandonment of
railroad wrecking as a private industry the
whole system cannot but rally into health
in keeping tilth that of the country at large.
EBEOE ABOUT THE SCHOOLS.
The assault which certain writers are
making upon the common school system by
producing some of the amusingly stupid
answers that arc to be found in the school
examination papers, is a rather shallow af
fair. The argument seemsto be, as slated by
a once successful humorist, that because cer
tain scholars make such remarkable mis
takes as recording their belief that "Xeno
phon died A. D. 18G5," or that "Napoleon
was a Russian Czar," therefore the school
system is nothing but "endless courses" and
"useless cramming."
The fact is that, while there is doubtless
a good deal too much of the cramming sys
tem in vogue, the production of these ex
amplesofstupidityproTesnothingof the sort.
The scholars who make such shining mani
festations of ignorance were very plainly
not crammed. The essence of cramming is
that information is forced into the brain of
the scholar to enable him to pass an exam
ination; and if any complaint is to be based
against the system, on the basis of these
funny examination papers, it must be that
the scholars were not crammed.
The fact is that any complaint against a
system of education, based on the fact that
some of the subjects reveal their ignorance
under examination, shows ignorance of one
of the greatest social facts, the vis inertia
of stupidity and ignorance. So far as the
system is concerned, these examples indi
cate the usefulness of the examination, in
detecting those who have studied to no pur
pose; but beyond that there is nothing in
them more than is to be discovered in all
places where the knowledge, or the opposite
'quality, of mankind is tested.
The world is full of funny manifestations
of ignorance; and they are only more com
mon in schools, because the material is
morenearlyin thecrudeform. The blunders
of compositors and typewriters sometimes
appear to be the very inspiration of folly;
but that does not prove that setting type or
operating the typewriter are arts of igno
rance. So with the school system. It
would be as just claim that there is no such
art as logic, because Mark Twain and Mrs.
Xe Bow have made a non-sequitur in their
deductions on this point, as to charge the
school system with failure because a few
scholars maintain their ignorance in spite of
the system.
No donbt the school system is susceptible
of improvement; but it is well to use a little
reason in determining its defects.
A WBOHG DtPEESSIOH EIGHTED.
"We are under obligation to our esteemed
cotemporary the Times, for calling attention
to the fact that the statement of city ex
penses printed on Tuesday covered only ten
months in place of the full year as The
Dispatch assumed in commenting on the
matter; so that, in reality, there is no in
crease in the sums asked for fire and police
for 1889 over what was granted for 1888.
The error was one for which the manner in
which the figures were presented was partly
responsible; but, thatapart. The Dispatch
is glad to be set right, and to aid in setting
right others who, like it, got at first the
erroneous impression. "Where there is a pur
pose on the part of city officers to avoid the
temptation to ask for increased allowances
they will be as frankly commended for it as
they would be freely criticised for a differ
ent course.
With the running expenses of the city
kept close to the figures of last year, the
millage will show a reduction corresponding
to whatever increase is exhibited in the
total of assessments. The taxpayer will
certainly prefer to see the situation so, than
to be obliged to find fault. In these days,
when so many citizens are taking an interest
in the growth and possibilities of Pittsburg,
nothing will please the public more than to
find those who arc intrusted with the city
government imbued with the same spirit,
and by economy as well as efficiency doing
their important part toward the same end.
A COSTLY EES0ET.
The official report of the Bureau of Sta
tistics, recently issued contains some totals J
on the subject of strikes in the past, seven
years, which will repay study. The par
ticular point to which attention is directed
in this article is that the total cost, to labor
alone, of strikes in the past seven years, ex
ceeds SS6,000,O00. As about half the strikes
were successful, it is fair to presume that a
large share of the 36,000,000 was a total
loss to labor.
Suppose that $28,000,000 represents the
sum actually thrown away, and then let us
imagine that instead of losing that money
in unsuccessful strikes, it had been saved
no and invested. "Whether it were kept in
a collective form and used in enterprises like
theglassworkersbank.orin co-operative con
cerns, or in loans to help workingmen build
their own houses, or had been kept in the
hands of the workingmen individually and
invested, it would have been an aid to la
bor. It would not only yield a revenue and
serve as a reserve fund against adverse
times, but it would have been a power in
the settlement of disputes with capital.
Put labor collectively or individually on an
equal footing with capital and a great many
of the mutual relations of those two forces
would be radically changed.
Merely as a method of making labor pow
erful it is well to remember that strikes are
generally like warfare, in costing both
sides more than they come to; and that in
the majority of cases, the workingmen
could make themselves more powerful by
saving their money and using it for their
own benefit in the future.
TRANSPLANTING THE TRUSTS.
The practical workings of the "trust"
plan of doing business are being illustrated
in Europe by a "syndicate" to control the
manufacture and sale of silks at Lyons and
at London. Details are not yet to hand,
only an intimation that the experiment is
watched with cuiious interest, and that a
similar syndicate will co-operate in the
United States. "When the trust system
knocks up against the European Govern
ments it will cet into trouble. The more ar
bitrary ones, such as Russia and Germany,
have a quick way of dealing with such en
terprises. In France if there is a profit in
establishing monopolies the Government it
self is not above taking a hand at it, as it
docs nov in the tobacco trade. It does not
favor monopolies for individuals. In Great
Britain, also, monopolies were in the old
times a sacred appurtenance of the crown,
and by it farmed out. Later, under the ex
pansion of trade, they gave way to competi
tion; and the law of Great Britain is now so
specific and pointed against conspiracies to
''corner" articles, or to the detriment of
general traffic, that it is to be feared "trusts"
as conducted on the American plan would
fare illy in that atmosphere.
In the United States they are so far re
garded with the curiosity which attaches to
new inventions. But signs are in the sky
that much serious attention eventually will
be given them. In the midst of general
prosperity they receive a toleration which
would quickly give place to a very different
line of policT under other circumstances.
THE AMERICAN HEART.
Dr. J."W. Dowling, a New York specialist,
who has made the diseases of the heart and
lungs his especial study, has written a
monograph entitled, "Is the American Heart
"Wearing Out?" Dr. Dowling, in common
with a great many others, has been impressed
by the frequency of death attributed to heart
failure. No doubt seems to exist in the
Doctor's mind that the heart is worn out
sooner in this country than it used to be, or
than it is in the Old World, and he thinks
that the reasons for this are to be found iu
mental overwork, in excesses in eating and
drinking and in a general carelessness in the
observance of the laws of health.
But Dr. Dowling points out that cardiac
disease is not invariably fatal; that many
grave forms are recovered from, and that
with a majority of those supposed to be suf
fering from heart disease that organ is per
fectly sound, or, if affected at all, is suffer
ing from functional disturbances of organs
remote from the heart, and which are cura
ble by proper hygienic measures. The gen
eral tendency of the doctor's remarks is to
lay stress upon the necessity of prevention of
contributing causes of heart trouble rather
than the cure of the disease. By avoiding
the imposition of excessive taxes upon the
brain or the stomach the alarming increase
in heart disease may he checked.
INSURANCE SHOULD INSURE.
Another suit has been brought in this
city against an accident insurance company
by a holder of a policy, which the company
declined to honor on the ground that nat
ural causes and not accident disabled the
plaintiff. Some companies seem inclined to
follow a rather short-sighted policy, for
they can hardly expect to sustain a claim
that disability caused by blood poisoning
resulting from accidental injury is not ex
actly what they propose to insure a man
against In such contracts clear definition
of terms and strict adherence to them on
both sides are the most desirable things.
The great insurance companies have risen
upon a clear understanding of these essen
tials. IT PAYS TO STUDY AMERICA.
It is charitable in the New York Sun to
say that it does not believe that Englishmen
care less and therefore write less accurately
about what happens in "Washington or New
York than about what happens in Lisbon or
Copenhagen, but the fact remains that En
glish writers do write less accurately about
America than about the most pitiful king
dom in Europe, and we do not see why they
do unless it be because they care less. The
Sun is right in saying that Englishmen
ought, for their own sake, to study America
and American affairs, and we hope Prof.
James Bryce's "American Commonwealth"
may tempt them by its full, intelligent and
attractive account of our institutions to
learn more about us.
THE SHRINE IS CHILLY.
Really General Harrison will cause a
panic among the office seekers great and
small if he doesn't stop distributing slices
of cold shoulder to the chiefs of the party.
The last victim added to the list ofwounded is
the handsome and pugnacious Senator from
New York, Prank Hiscock. He approached
the shrine at Indianapolis whistling the
latest and liveliest airs known to New York,
but last night he came out from General
Harrison's presence with his hair two shades
whiter than when he went in. All he
would say to the reporters was, "I didn't
get what I came for." This, the fate of
such a knight as Frank Hiscock! "Where
wilt the rout end?
JUDICIAL BREVITY.
It is said that Chief Justice Fuller has
set the example for a judicial reform in
making his opinions short and to the point.
His first decision contained a hundred
words.and those which have followed are also
characteristic in terseness. The departure
is certainly a radical one from the practice
which has made judicial rulings present a
temporal illustration oi eternity, it is a
question whether the change will extend
beyond the opinions of the, bench or even be
universal there. The revenue which law
yers who practice in the Supreme Court can
bse upon misnamed "briefs" and paper
books that threaten to stretch out to the
crack of doom, are too much of a vested in
terest to be reformed by the example of the
Chief Justice; and when that court gets
hold of a big corporation case such lor ex
ample as the railroads' challenge of the
constitutionality of te Inter-State Com
merce law the ruling on it will be likely
to occupy a big part of a volume. It is to
be hoped that Chief Justice Fuller's exam
ple may be copied; but the legal tempta
tions to prolixity are immense.
The St, Paul man is unhappy. He can't
have the fun of building and tearing down
an ice palace, because the weather is so mild
he can't get the ice. The only consolation
he has in his misery is the knowledge that
Minneapolis is in the same fix.
As The Dispatch foretold at the time
the Chinese exclusion bill was indecently
rushed through Congress and signed by
President Cleveland, the commercial inter
ests of America in the Celestial land are be
ginning to suffer by reason of retaliatory
measures. Mr. C. P. Huntington has asked
the New York Chamber of Commerce to in
dorse his petition asking Congress to reopen
the Chinese question, and his description of
the situation is very forcible.
Op course the fact that Mr. Blaine has
taken up his abode in Washington does not
prove that he has been promised a place in
the Cabinet, but it gives the gossips some
thing to talk about just the same.
Henry Ievino has apparently made the
singular mistake of supposing that he could
make a nineteenth century melodramatic
comedy out of Shakespeare's "Macbeth"
without exciting hostile criticism. Irving
makes Macbeth a sort of galvanized Hamlet,
and Ellen Terry gives Lady Macbeth a mor
bidly charming tone, we are told, and it is
hardly wonderful that the drama of Shakes
peare is not recognized in the mess.
It is remarkable what a close observer of
the weather Senator Matthew Stanley Quay
is these days. As a rule his published re
marks show that the weather, whatever it
may be, agrees with him.
"When the whisky trust makes the price
of corn juice ?1 03 per gallon, and the Gov
ernment exacts a tax of 90 cents, where are
the profits of the whisky business coming
from?" asks a cotemporary. "Why, bless
your unsoDhisticated soul, from the same
old, reliable source out of the pump, of
course. It's astonishing that Buch a ques
tion should puzzle anyone.
"Anabchy must be made odious," ex
claims the Chicago Herald. It is already
odious. Make it a nonentity; that would
be an achievement to be proud of.
The Tory administration in Enelandmay
find the Coercion Act its winding sheet yet.
The quiet but heroic determination of the
Irish peasantry in County Donegal to resist
the tyrannical but nominally legal evictions
ordered by the landlords cannot but have an
effect upon the voters in England favorable
to the cause of Gladstone and Parnell.
It must afford Mr. Cleveland a lot of sat
isfaction to reflect that there's no possible
chance for him to become involved in this
fuss about the inauguration ball.
It is estimated that about 20 contested
election cases will come before the House of
the Fifty-first Congress. This fact should
convince State Legislatures, which are dis
cussing reform in election laws, that there
is a necessity for them to do something be
sides talk.
PERSONAL FACTS AND FANCIES.
Both Jim Riley and Bill Nye part their hair
in, the middle. The on y difference is that the
parting is longer and more touchingly pathetic
with William than with Jeemes.
Young Coningsby JJisraeli, the nephew and
heir of the late Earlbf Beaconsfield, has been
achieving great success as the leading low com
edy man of Lady Folkestone's amateur theatri
cal entertainment.
Miss Ellen Tekby has herself designed
the wonderful dresses inhich6he appears as
Lady Macbeth. One clinging seamless gar
ment of dark blue wool, woven with gold
thread, to be worn under a bine velvet and gold
worked mantle, Is peculiarly effective.
Miss Candy, who is to marry the Duke of
Newcastle who, bv the way, is no relation to
the Duke of Nocastle who comes to this coun
try so of ten is the daughter of an officer who
once served with the Khedive's troops in
Egypt Captain Candy was familiarly known
as "Sugar," and his magnificent uniforms made
a sensation six years ago in Cairo, a city which
is not easily astonished.
MRGLADSTOXE'sabsorbingstudyofHomer
has led him to form numerous ingenious
theories. One is the belief that the Greeks
were color blind. Otherwise it would be im
possible, he contends, for Homer to have
spoken of "a flock of purple sheep." He was
stating this view one day, when a celebrated
agriculturist who was present remarked: "Ah!
but I know that in certain parts of England
there are flocks of 'purple sheep.' " Mr. Glad
stone expressed surprise. Inquiries were made,
and it was found tha. these sheep were only of
the ordinary brown color.
Mr. .Lock, the London upholsterer, was
chosen by the Empress Frederick to refurnish
the Palace of Charlottenbarg, and when Queen
Victoria went to Berlin to visit her daughter
they both went to see him at his office there.
He showed them some hangings which dazzled
them, a glorious, rich brocade of gold bullion
and pink silk, that literally would "stand
alone." "Why, Mr. Lock,'l said the Queen in
astonishment, "for whom can you have made
such a divine material?" "For Mr. Leopold de
Rothschild, Your Majesty." "Ah! there you
are, my dear," said the Queen, turning to her
daughter: "Such people as those can afford
that sort of thing, don't you see?"
It is related that Lord Magheramome, best
known as Sir James McGarel Hogg, soon after
his elevation to the peerage went to dine at the
house of an old friend, where he was very well
known under his old name, but ho announced
himself to Jcames as "Lord Magheramome."
"Lord what?" said the startled domestic
"Lord Magheramome," said be, with emphasis.
Jeames shook his head. He did not venturo to
make a second inquiry, but despaired of at:
tempting to render the uncoath collection ot
gutturals. What was ho to do? The visitor
was advancing totho drawing room. Jeames
hesitated a moment, then boldly flung open the
door and proclaimed, to the consternation of
every one, "The late Sir James Hogg!"
ITALY'S BIG WAE SHIPS.
A Cruiser Lnunched Which Is Superior to
England's Very Best.
New York, January 8 Private information
was received at Castle Garden to-day of the
launching recently of a new war ship by the
Italian Government The vessel is called Re
Umberto, and her displacement is 13,298 tons,
or 1,358 tons more than the Trafalgar and Nile,
England's two largest war vessels.
The new gunboat is 400 feet long and has a
beam of 76 feet She draws 19 feet of water.
Hei sides have three sheets of steel and her
speed is 18 knots an hour. Two sister ships of
Re Umberto are being constructed atSpczzia,
and will soon be launched.
One of the Dangers of tho Say.
From the Chicago News.
Now that the newly elected governors are
beginning to appoint their staffs many a well
meaning citizen of this great republic Is in
danger of waking up some morning and find
ing himself a Colonel,
THE TOPICAL TAIiKEE.
It is Absurd to Wish for Yesterday Look
f at the Day After To-Morrovr.
Louis Aldrjch, the actor, is not the first
man to desire to turn back the hands of the
clock and live yesterday over again. He will
find, as his predecessors have found, that yes
terday is' firmly attached to the past He is
almost pathetic in his latest plea for
the exclusion of foreign actors. But he cer
tainly is in error when he says that In the old
days theatrical stars were not so absolutely
after the dollars as they are to-day. The
theatrical star who is not looking all the time
for the elusive, but attractive dollar is not
known to-day; neither were our fathers nor
our grandfathers acquainted with .such a mon
ster. Consequently, as Louis Aldrich wants yester
day because he imagines that foreign stars
were less anxious to make money then and
therefore employed native talent to support
them, it is just as well that he can'tgetlt
Yesterday is perhaps tho most valuable
possession a man has. It is filled with the
precious gold of experience. Nobody can steal
this treasure. Only the owner can use it It is
about the only thing of incalculable value that
a man can never part with so long as his mem
ory and his reason last
How often that cry of "Give us yestcrdayl"
is heard. What would you do with it my dear
sir? You with the incipient baldness over the
occipital and temporal bones of your skull,
with the calm equablo disposition and the love
of a quiet life? What earthly use would you
have for yesterday? You would have to return
to tho conditions of yesterday, and give up all
your new-fangled ideas of what constitutes
happiness. You would have to believe that it
is no end of fun to stay up till 4 in the morning"
among the Ishmaelitcs and Bohemians, drink
ing liquids that built anew a raging thirst and
increased the corona of the human head be
yond all recognition on the morrow.
You can't honestly say that you want yester
day under such conditions. You don't want
yesterday at all. To-morrow will suit you a
deal better, and you'll suit to-morrow better
too.
Once I knew a man who very nearly lost his
reason by constantly lamenting the fact that
he could never seo yesterday again. Others of
his friends actually declared that the old man
was as crazy as a March hare. He certainly
was pecnliar. The worst habit he had,
and it almost converted mo to the view that he
was deranged, was that of reciting whenever he
got anything like a chance a doleful set of
jingly verses called "The WatermilL" I'm
ashamed to say that I don't know who set that
water mill going first I remember there were
six verses, each of which ended with the line,
"The mill will never grind with the water that Is
past"
"Well, that middle-aged crank imagined that
he had a great turn for elocution and he was
wont to make that watermill revolve till it
make his auditors' ears ring and their heads
swim.
V
By the way, I may take the credit to myself
of having stopped that watermill. at all events,
for a timo. Incidentally I may state that tho
middle-aged crank who turned the watermill
and reveled in its gloomy splashings about yes
terday was my employer. One day we had a
difference of opinion. He thought I valued
my services too high and proposed to equalize
my salary downward. I differed with him rad
ically; deeming, in fact, that I was entitled to
more money.
We became so absorbed in argument that to
extricate himself, I suppose, he discharged me.
Then I discharged myself of a few remarks
about cranks and watermllls, which were, I A
regret to say, personal and impertinent Tho
colloquy ended with a painful and positivo
shock, of which I was meant to take the larger I
share, but I didn't The nimbleness of youth
is proverbial.
The clerks in that office passed a vote of
thanks to me shortly afterward, when they dis
covered who had dammed up the stream which
turned "Tho Watermill."
THE TBONK TKAYELER.
Ho is Handed Over to the Chicago Police
and Makes a Confession.
St. Louis, January3. Detective Louis Haas,
of Chicago, arrived this morning with requisi
tion papers for Thomas W. Vines, who came
here in a trunk after robbing tho Adams &
Westlako Company, of Chicago, of over $4,000.
William Mangier, Manager of the city depart
ment of the firm, came down with Haas. Both
proceeded to the office of the Chief of Police,
where the money taken from Vines was turned
over to them.
They counted it out in Chief Huebler's of
fice, and found that it footed up 13,931. Mr.
Mangier states that $4,060 was tho amount
stolen by Vines. Vines was brought up from
the holdover and asked where the balance of
the money was. He said he did not know how
much money he had taken or how much there
was in the sack. Mr. Mangier gave him the
figures.
"What shortage does that leave ?" Vines in
quired. "une nunarea ana iweniy-nine uoiiars, re
plied Mr. Mangier,
"IgaveJElOO to my pal, and I don't know
where the rest went The money I gave him
was for traveling expenses."
"Did you not buy anything ont, of the
money?"
"Yes, I paid $6 for that trunk I came in, and
paid the rent of the room out of it, but my
partner paid for his ticket and the ex
pressman out of the $100. I did not blow my
self much, but laid very low."
"Who was your partner?"
"That I will not tell. He had nothing to do
with it I roped him into it"
BOUCICAULT'S PLATS.
The Anthor and Actor Hm Troublo In Dis
posing; of Them.
New York, January a The sale of Dion
Boucicault's plays in the Madison Square Thea
ter was suddenly stopped to-day by the protest
of Henry E. Walton, who was in the audlencel
and said that Boucicault had made an agree
ment with him two years ago for tho use of 27
plays.
Mr. Boucicault said that he had never re
ceived a cent from Walton for the use of tho
plays. The sale will not go on until the titles
to the plays are made clear. Mr. Walton said
he was to let the plays at $00 a week per play,
the proceeds to be equally divided between
Boucicault and himself.
A POSTMASTER BOUNCED.
Ho Was a Good Democrat, but Ho Couldn't
Hold on to the End.
Kansas Crrv, January 3. PoBtmaster
George M. Shelley received official notice of
his removal this morning from the President
and Postmaster General Dickinson. Shelley
has served Kansas City as Mayor for two
terms, and has always been prominent in the
local Democracy as a practical politican.
He was a prominent merchant before enter
ing the postofflcc. He turned the office over to
Inspector Johnson this evening;
Good Indigo Grown In Cnbn.
HAVAIWA, January 3. At the Santa Clara
fair next year, specimens ot indigo grown in
this locality will be exhibited. It is said to be
as good as that from the East Indies. A con
siderable number of estates have begun grind
ing cane. Tho density of the juice ranges be
tween 8 and 9.
Tho Cznr Is to be Pitied.
From the "Sew Tork Sun.
The Czar is to be pitied if the report that the
Shah of Persia is to visit him next spring be
true. It is expensive to entertain the
Shah, and the bills for repairs after his visits
are enormous.
When the Cnt's Away, Etc.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.;
Prince Bismarck once more permits it to be
known that he is very ill with the gout It is
unnecessary to remark, in this connection, that
the young Emperor is about to make another
speech.
DEATHS OP A DAI.
Charles O. White.
Detroit, Mtcii., January a. Charles O. White,
anager of White's Grand Opera House, or this
city, and one of the best known theatrical mana
gers of the country, died here early this morning
of peritonitis, after three days' lUness.
Major. E. B. Eno.
ST.Xonis, January 3. -Major E. B. Eno, a well
known provision broker and Exchange member,
died last evening at his residence, 273 Morgan
street.
William HI. Gnlt
WAsntNOTOS, Janusry J.-William M. Gait, a
wnoiesaie nour mercnant or Washington, died
to-day, aged S3 years.
DEEPLY INTERESTING PAPERS
Bead at the Colored Catholic Convention by
Two Pittsburg Priests.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
WASniNOTOS-, January 3. At tho conven
tion of colored Catholics, to-day, both Father
Hcaly, the missionary, and Father McDermott,
of Pittsburg, read deeply interesting papers on
the methods and results of missionary work
among the natives of Africa, which were
listened to with great attention. The congress
has been of great Interest to its members
throughout and they are convinced that it will
result in numerous acquisitions to the church
from among the colored people of America.
Particular attention is to be paid from this
time on to the training of colored priests for
missionary and pulpit work.
The Committee on Resolutions reported an
address, which, after considerable discussion,
was adopted, and a committee appointed to
present it to Cardinal Gibbons. The address
sets forth that there are at present 20 colored
Catholic churches m the country. Each one ot
these has a school annexed; beside, there are
65 colored Cathollo schools, eight orphan asy
lums and reformatories. The Catholic hospi
tals, etc., are open to both colored and white
children. About 5,000 children are taught in
the schools, and over 300 children cared for in
the asylums. As there is but one Catholic
priest seven colored students are preoaring to
ioiiow nis nome example, uver loo oi tne col
ored women are at present consecrated spon
sors of Christ ,
Colored Catholics are warned against all se
cret societies condemned by the Church, and
the hope expressed that they will join those be
nevolent societies which have tho church's
sanction. With regard to the union of me
chanics, many1 of whom are Catholics, the com
mittee trusts they will give an opportunity to
the boys to become masters of trades.
The committee appointed t6 wait upon the
President reported that he would receive tha
congress to-morrow afternoon. '
DICKINSON COLLEGE ELECTION.
Eev. George E. Reed, D. D., of New Haven,
Conn., Appointed to tho Presidency,
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
Carlisle, Pa., January 3. This afternoon
the trustees of Dickinson College met and
elected Rev. George E. Reed, D. D., of New
Haven, Conn., President, and Bishop Hurst to
electorship.
Dr. Reed is a native of New England, gradu
ating with distinction at tho Wesleyan Uni
versity, and subsequently studied theology 'at
Boston. His eloquence and pulpit power soon
placed him in the foremost ranks of the preach
ers of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He is 42 years of age. He has been the pas
tor for two terms of three years each of the
largest church of his denomination in the
United States, Hanson Place, Brooklyn, with a
membership of 1,800. He is not only remarka
ble on the platform, but has demonstrated an
extraordinary capacity to attract and influ
ence young men. He is a gentleman in the
prime of middle life, of commanding stature,
splendid physique, dignified presence, genial
and engaging In manners, traveled and of
keen observation, uniting with these points
fine powers of organization and indomitable
energy,
THE MILLING OUTPUT.
Minneapolis mills Running on Small
Capacity, bnt Ont of tho Pool.
Minneapolis, January 3. The Minneapolis
flour mills are now grinding about one-third
of their full capacity, and with low water and
a doll markc: there is little probability that
the rato of production will be materially in
creased for sometime. The agreement between
the mill owners to curtail their output one
half up to January 1 has expired, and no new
agreement in ratmcatiou oi the action or the
action of tho Milwaukee Convention has been
made, but a majority of the millers favor and
will act upon the plan even should water power
and tho market grow more favorable.
Reports to the Ifbrlhweslern Miller show
that spring wheat mills throughout the North
west are generally running at less than half
capacity.
DE WILL FIGHT IT OUT.
A Prominent Grocer Objects to Doing Ar
rested for Sweeping.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
Brooklyn, January 3 David L. Joslln, a
grocer of means in Brooklyn, had to pay 0
this morning because he swept the walk before
his store last evening. Brooklyn has an ordi
nance to the effect that no one shall sweep
refuse into a gutter. Mr. Joslln passed the
night in jail, and this morning In a prisoner's
pen of a Police Court When he paid his fine,
he all but precipitated a fight by saying some
disrespectful things concerning the Court
He then sued two policemen for false im
prisonment and took an appeal. All Brooklyn
shopkeepers are much interested in his case, a3
the ordinance in question has long held them
more or less subject to the pleasure of the
police.
NICARAGUA BADLY SHAKEN.
Severe Earthquakes Throughout the Coun
try, Killing a Number of People.
Sas Juan Dei, Sub, Nicaragua, January
3,-San Jose De Costa Rica was the scene, on
the night of December 29 and tho morning of
December SO, of a series of earthquake shocks
of great severity. The shocks are believed to
have originated in the volcano of Poaz,sIx
leagues distant from the town.
At Alalajuia eight persons were killed and
many were injured. The churches and princi
pal buildings in tho city suffered considerable
damage. The inhabitants encamped in
in the squares and parks. No further shocks
hiving occured, the alarm is subsiding. The
civic feasts were begun to-day.
SO KAIN OR SNOW.
A Perfectly Clear Day Throughout the Wide
United States.
Wasiitngtow, January 3. Tho two large
weather maps in tho House lobby, one show
ing the state of the weather throughout the
country yesterday, and one indicating the
weather to-day, were curiously scrutinized this
morning, and a great deal of comment was
made upon the fact that in the wide United
States not a drop of rain nor a flake of snow
fell yesterday, and if the Indications for to-dav
are verified by the facts, Northfleld, Vt, will
supply the only snow storm and the Gulf coast
of Texas the only rain fall which will visit the
country within the current 24 hours.
PECULIAR ACCIDENT.
A Brooklyn Young Lady Yawns a Little Too
Broadly nt n Ball.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
Brooklyn, January 8. Miss Catherine
Seivers, of East Brooklyn, went to a ball in
Turner Hall, Meserole street, last night She
danced In nearly every danee, and retired to
the ladies' room about 3 o'clock to rest While
resting on a sofa In the room she yawned, and,
dislocating her jaw, she was unable to shut it.
An ambulance surgeon removed her to St
Catharine's Hospital, where her affliction was
attended to.
SHE DOES NOT SCARE.
Lillian RnsscII Is Not Afraid of Even a Phil
ndclphla Lnwycr.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
New York, January 3. Several Philadelphia
lawyers havo forbidden Mr. Aronson, manager
of the Casino Theater, to engage Lillian Rus
sell to sing for him in Nadjy. She has been en
gaged nevertheless. She says there aro not in
junctions enongh in New York State to keep
her from it She has engaged two well-known
criminal lawyers hero to defeat the plans of the
Philadelphia lawyers.
A Man's Mustache.
From the New York World.!
The action of Samuel Crump, a manufactur
er of Montclalr, N. J., In removing one-half of
the mustache of his engineer, whom he found
I asleep in tho engine room of his factory, seems
to do somewnai inexpiicaDie. , As tho engineer
has sued Mr. Crump for damages the motives
which actuated the defendant may be made
public. An employer may discharge a man
who neglects his duty, but ho who robs bis vic
tim of his hirsute adornment strikes at the
very root of individual liberty. A man's mus
tache is a precious thing. Even an angry em
ployer should regard it with becoming rever
ence. A New Champion Bad Boy.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
JNew York, January 3. Johnnie Quicker, IS
years old, got drunk on New Year's Day. Last
evening his mother spanked him for it After
she went to bed Johnnie set fire to the mat
tress. Mrs. Quicker awoke before the flames
reached ber. She extinguished the fire,
spanked Johnnie and locked him in a closet
This morning she had him arrested for arson.
Dakota's Great Problems.
From the New York World.i
Dakita is now agitated by two great prob
lems in ntvtelnn ami Ariilitfnn Tha 1o ,
I-- --.- -tlwtVU M4 U4.MVM WhUWV ,0 UV
I'SUe-
. THE EVIL EYE.
A Cartons Notion President Carnot's Fixed
Stare Revives a Superstition Interest
ing Facts Abont Human Eyes.
From the London Spectator.
A notion, it is said, is spreading in France
that President Carnot, an ordinary man to look
at of the half-military type, has the Evil Eye.
He stares, it seems, rather fixedly at any inter
locutor, perhaps to study his face, perhaps to
avoid a habit of looking downward, perhaps be
cause he is a little short-sighted, and the dis
concerted victim, in describing the interview,
always mentions this fixed glance. Hence an
impression among the vulgar that the Presi
dent's eye is malefic, an impression deepened
by a purely accidental stroke of ill-luck, the
bursting out of fire on one occasion after his
visit to a country town. The votes of
Southern Frenchmen, who, like Italians, be
lieve In the Evil Eye, may, it is thought, be
affected by this impression, and a good deal Is
said about the hopeless ignorance of a peasan
try who can be influenced by a superstition
considered specially base because, almost alone
among superstitions, it seems not to reach the
educated classes. They ought to hear of it
from their nurses, and to retain some vague be
lief in it through life, lust as they retain a
vague prejudice against the number 13, or
burning bread, or walking under a ladder, or
spilling salt; but so far as we have observed,
this Js not the case. They hardly know of its
existence. The superstition is confined to the
ignorant, and is by no means a very surprising
one.
It is much more surprising that there is no
superstition anywhere about the Good Eye a
fact which entirely dissociates the jettatore
notion from the belief in omens and that there
are so very few uncanny ideas about persons
and their influence. There ought to be a great
many, for a human being is frequently a very
unusual one. The original source of most
superstitions, and of all idolatries in which the
idol Is not deliberately manufactured by hu
man hands, is now recognized to be the sense
of surprise, of sndden fear or admiration, felt
by tho "untutored mind," as the Lichfield
school would have called It, for anything un
usual. It may be a remarkable tree, or a rock
with a defined form, or an oddly shaped stone,
or a shell with its convolutions reversed, or a
curious fruit like the coco-de-mer but It
strikes the savage imagination, and is thence
forward surrounded by some of the instinctive
awe felt for the supernatural. A regular
worship, as Sir Alfred Lyall has shown, often
grows up round such a curiosity, or it becomes,
as in the case of the shaligram, sacred over a
great tract of the world, and among entire races
of mankind.
Now, nothing is more frequently unusual, or,
so to speak, surprising, than the human eye,
which varies, in occasional cases, from the
normal type to a degree that has never been
Suite satisfactorily explained. Why is one eye
shy, while another flashes fire? There are
eyes which do literally "beam," and they so
common as to have given rise to a separate
description in most languages; they are eyes
which in anger seem to emit light from within
Mr. Gladstone's do there are eyes, generally
steel-gray in Europe, but often black In Asia,
which never cease to menace, even when the
face is gentle or at ease; and there are eyes
into which a look of almostintolerable scrutinv
P.1T1 rift thrnwn avaa na TiTrl Raannnsflplrt
.... w uwmm, bJWi U WIU tv.HWV. --.
describes them, "which would daunt a galley
slave." The writer saw a remarkable pair of them
once. He was waiting with a crowd of passen
gers on the French frontier of Italy, all under
orders to pass through a barrier in single file.
The Emperor Napoleon bad been warned about
some protected attempt by carbonari, ind a
special agent had been dispatched from Paris
to examine every passenger by the train. The
eyes of this agent were absolutely different
from those of any human being the writer ever
saw, and the Italians, as they passed under the
fire, visibly quailed, every third man, perhaps,
throwing out his fingers to counteract the
malefic effect of their Influence. Even the
English, who had nothing to fear, did not like
the eyes, which this writer will remember at
the judgment day; and one, presumably an
actor, said audibly; "My God, that is Mepbis
topheles alive!" It is perfectly natural that the
glance of such eyes should create and leave the
impression of surprise, and the belief that they
cause injury to those on whom they light even
when the injury is not intended. That is a
most natural development of the fear the eyes
originally produced, and is, of course, much
intensified whenever, rumor having been busy
about the eyes, the malefic glance is expected
beforehand.
Such eyes are rare; but their impression is
diffused and exaggerated till it is transferred to
anthing peculiar enough, either in shape, or
color or habit some people throw back the
eyes, like horses to attract popular attention.
Nor is it at all unnatural that if misfortune
once or twice follows the presence of a stranger
it should be attributed to him, and, therefore,
the most noticeable thing about him, his
glances, which those who are watching him al
ways see. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, is the
most common of the delusions of the vulgar,
and it would have been almost wonderful if,
after th'e great massacre which accompanied
the entrance of Marie Antoinette into France,
Bhe should not have been credited with that
power of causing misfortune whiph ber future
history seemed so terribly to verify. From her
husband to the Princess dc Lamballe, whomso
ever she favored, died by violence. Theremark
able thing is that the superstition is frequently
not provocative of hate, the malefic influence
being held to be independent of tho will of
the person possessing it, to be in him, in fact, a
result of God's jrace or the Devil's, and not of
any action of his own. Pio Nono, for instance,
was loved and reverenced by thousands who
nevertheless could not bring themselves to
forego the gesture which in Italy deprecates su
pernatural eviL whenever they looked at the
Pope. Why the converse belief, that in the
Good Eye, should not exist, we cannot explain
except by supposing, what is certainly true,
that fear makes, of all emotions, the deepest
impression. Tho prisoner remembered Judge
Jeffrey's "terrible eyes" jears after he would
have forgotten them utterly if they had been
benevolent; yet really kind eyes, eyes which
children and dogs trust without hesitation or
scrutiny, are. in spite of the novelists, exceed
ingly rare. Their glance ought to be sought by
tho ignorant who, it should be observed, be
lieve in good omens as well as bad, and good
luck as well as ill luck; but it is not. They at
tract, but no superstition grows around them.
There is a much more subtle form of the Evil
Eye believed in in India, which requires a very
different explanation. No ignorant native of
Bengal and especially no Ignorant native woman
the sexes in India have often different super
stitions, different dialects and different laws of
inheritance can endure to hear her child
praised or see it admired by a stranger. She
believes with a belief to which that of the Ital
ian is a feeble impression, that under such cir
cumstances the Eril Eye falls upon the child,
and hurries it away, often with a torrent of
angry, or beseeching, or despairing words.
Now, as it is plcaiant to all human beings, and
especially to all mothers, to hear their children
praisca or see tnem aarairea, wna: can do tne
origin of that superstition, which seems to bo
contrary to nature, yet in a thousand Bengalee
villages is universal? It is usually explained
by cultivated Indians as an example of the
dread their people have of envy, the subject of
envy always suffering somewhat, as, indeed,
does the subject of hate and scorn, the .will,
when turned maleficent, having always somo
operation, however slight it may be. According
to this explanation, the superstition is but part
of tho permanent Hindoo impression that the
hnman will, particularly when intense, has an
effluent power: and this may bo the trne ex
planation; but if it is, it is an excessively cu
rious one.
Superstitions are usually products of some
natural feeling, stich as the fear which produces
worship of the cholera goddess, or tho grati
tude which develops the worship of the sun
the ripener, and therefore the mo3t vislblo ot
blessing-givers but it is natural to like to be
envied. That the ignorant mother shonld sus
pect the person who admires, perhaps an En
glish lady, of wishing to possess the child, is
natural enough; but one would expect her to
crow, therefore, with exultation, not to run
away. If she runs, it is because her accepted
theories of life have conquered her instincts,
and those instincts good, a very unusual
Shenomenon. The mother, It will be observed,
oes not attribute to the person who admires
any witchcraft nor does sho hate her
at all, though sho may be angry as at a
misfortune: sne is simply terrified at the un
conscious influence which a malefic feeling,
however momentary, may have upon her child.
We have never observed or heard of any feel
ing in the least like this in Europe, not even in
Naples, though the converse feeling, that it
is unluckv to boast of a child, is common
enough. That, however, belongs to a totally
different order of superstitions, the supersti
tions of ill luck, the mother exercising no in
fluence on anybody, but only affronting "Them
Above" by indecent exultation over what is
their merit and not hers. It is the supersti
tions which suppose direct human action like
the Evil Eye, which we are to-day considering,
and which, we confess, interest us far more
than any other.
A Large Proportion of Paupers.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
New York, Jannary 3. Of the 350 German
and Italian immigrants landed at Castle Gar
den to-day, GO were adjudged to be paupers.
They will be sent back.
TWO L0Y1NG HEARTS JOINED.
Marriage of Lawrence Barrett's Daughter
to Mary Anderson's Brother.
Bostoit, January 3. The marriage of Miss
Gertrude Barrett, second daughter of Law
rence Barrett and Joseph Anderson, brother of
Miss Mary Anderson, took place this morning
at the Cathedral, and was an event of more
than usual interest AtU o'clock that por
tion of the great edifice which had been set apart
from the remainder by a hedge of cedar bows
was filled by an assemblage which included
many of the notables of Boston society. The
space behind the altar rail was completely
filled with beautiful tropical plants and shrub
bery, and all around the walls of the building
were flowers and vines.
At 110 the bridal party entered tne church.
The ceremony the nuptial mass being omit
tedwas performed by Archbishop John Will
iams, assisted by Rev. Father Leo P. Boland
and Rev. Dr. Talbott D. D rectors of the Ca
thedral, and Rev. Father Lanaghan. The
bride's dress was of white satin, en traine-with
Valenciennes lace trimming, and she carried a
bouquet of liliei of the valley. Miss Mary An
derson wore a dress of elegant white satin, cut
walking length, high neck and full sleeves.
Mrs. Lawrence Barrett and Miss Griffin each
wore elegant costumes of navy blue silk. Miss
Nellie Barrett wore white crepe de cbene and
carried a bouquet of white roses, Lawrence
Barrett gave the bride, his daughter, away.
TEST CASE DECIDED.
A Steamship Company Is Not Inble for
Goods Landed oa Another Pier.
8pecl.il Telegram to the Dispatch.
New York! January 3. Sometime ago Ar
nold, Constable Co. lost SS cases of linen in a
fire at the docks of the Inman Line. The linen
had been landed there by a steamship of the
National Line becanso the wharf of the Na
tional Line was full, Arnold. Constable & Co.
claimed that the National Line had no right
to land it goods at the Inman Line docks, and
sued for $12,000.
The case was decided for the steamship line
in the district court An appeal was taken.
The Supreme Court decided to-day that the
discharge of the cargo at the Inman pier was
lawful, and that as the linen might have been
insured against loss, the National Line was not
liable.
A CHAPTER OP MISERY.
Charles West Successfully Tries to be as
Mean ns Possible
Special Telegram to the Dlspatcn.
Jersey City, January a Mrs. Peters told a
Police Justice this morning how her quasi hus
band, Charles West, maltreated her. Mrs.
Peters is a grass widow who owns a milk route
in Jersey City. After Mr. Peters deserted her,
she took up with West West managed the
milk route, and was a model quasi husband up
to ten days ago. Then he told her be intended
to show her how mean be could be.
He killed her six canary birds and her three
cats. He got her into a law salt by adulter
ating ber milk and telling her customers of it
Last evening he beat her and ber children, and
threatened to kill her eldest little girl. This
morning she had him locked up.
A BOON TO WHALERS.
Great Need of a Government Relief Station
In tbe Arctic Ocean.
WAsnnfOTOK, January 3. A petition was
presented to-day by Senator Stanford from the
Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, call
ing the attention of Congress to the urgent need
of a permanent relief station in the Arctic
Ocean. The petition says the whaling fleet
fitting out at San Francisco is steadily increas
ing, and that many hundreds of lives and mil
lions of dollars of property are exposed to un
usual danger in the pursuit of whaling in the
A relief station supplied with provisions, fuel,
medical stores, heavy clothing and life-saving
apparatus, tbe petition says, would be a great
boon to our Arctic whalemen.
A SOCIALIST ON TOUR.
Ho Is Billed to Deliver Three Lectures
This Week in Pittsburg.
Special Telegram to the Dispatch.
Washetotoit, January 3. Frof. T. Hamil
ton Garside, one of the ablest and most elo
quent of the Socialists in America, and at tho
same time tbe General organizer of the Social
istic Labor party of America, paid a brief visit
to tho city to day, on his way to PittsDurg,
where he will lecture to-morrow, Saturday and
Sunday evenings, to the Pittsburg sections of
that partv.
Though a native of Scotland. Prof. Garside
has passed most of his life in America. He is
a fine linguist, and was for several years Pro
fessor of Economy at the University of Upsala,
in Sweden.
MACKAIE'S POOR REHEARSAL.
A Dispute With His Manager Caused His
Sndden Disappearance.
New York, January 3. The disappearance
of Comedian John A. Jlackaye on New Year's
Eve is now attributed to a dispute with his
manager at a rehearsal. He was nol quite up
in his part and his manager lost temper and
rated him soundly, whereupon Mackaye took
offense and walked out of the theater. It is
now known that he is neither sick nor crazy,
but will soon be about again.
The Hangings of 1SSS.
From the Chicago Tribune.:
The number of legal executions dnring tbe
year has increased over last year, when it was
much smaller than for many years previous.
The total number as 87. as compared with 19
in 1867, 83 in 1SS6, and 108 in 188a The execu
tions in the several States were as follows: Al
abama, 5; Arkansas, 5; California, 5; Connecti
cut, l; Delaware, l; Georgia, 3: Illinois, 2; Indi
ana, I; Iowa, 1; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, I; Louisi-
ana, 3; Maryland,!; Massachusetts. 1; Minne-
sota, 1; Mississippi, t; Missouri, i; Aew lork, 9;
New Jersey, 4: North Carolina, 2: Ohio, 3; Ora
gon, 1; Pennsylvania, S; South Carolina, 5; Ten
nessee, 2; Texas, 6; Arizona, 1; Idaho, 2; Mon
tana, 2: Washington, 1; Wyoming, 1; Indian
Territory, 2.
Of this number all were males but one, 67
were whites, 29 negroes, and 1 Chinaman.
What They Think of TJs.
From the Toronto (Can.) Empire.
It is nine years since the last United States
census was taken, and four out of the 22 vol
umes of reports have not yet been published.
Some of the papers are calling out to make the
next census shorter in view of the delay at
tendant upon the last one. If such slowness
took place in any other country the United'
States citizens would be heard scoffing at tbe
old f ogeyism and f ossilism ot effete monarch
ies. Somctlilnc for tbe New Year.
From the Philadelphia Times.
One year without labor strikes would do
more for the mutual prosperity of both employ
ers and employed than could be attained by
any other methods, and surely, with such
great interests involved affecting both labor
and capital, common fairness should prevail to
promote common prosperity.
BALLADS OF THE TOWN.
THE MAY DANCE.
Is this the girl I knew,
go proud, io lonely?
Who thrilled me through and through,
if she spoke only?
So fair, so fine was she.
So far away from me!
Now her eyes shine for me
Shine for me only.
Is this the face I knew.
Its secret keeping?.
Are these eyes too blue
(I thought) for weeping?
Now such a child is she.
Dim are the eyes I see
When she looks up at me
I'd swear her weeping.
But last night the fiddles played
A tune that never before
Any fiddle In mortal hands had played
As we stv cpt over tbe floor.
I bent and spoke a word;
And uerer an answer came.
But a blush that was hid In her heart had heard.
And lit in a sudden flame.
It lit In a sndden Are
That lit her lover's life
Sweep higher, O fiddle-bows, higher and higher!
She ii to be my wife t
Is this the town I knew,
Ho dull, so dreary,
Is this the heart that grew
Therein so weary?
Now, now, to kind is she,
Green grow the trees to me
Bright Is the town to me
Winter's grown weary!
For last night the fiddles played
A lane that never before
Any fiddle In mortal hands had played
And my heart Is playing It o'er..
-U, O, Bunntr in Puct.
CUEIODS CONDENSATIONS.
A Washington paper says that not
dollar of conscience money has been received"
at the Treasury for two years.
A Montreal lawyer owns the only exist
ing copy of the first book published in Canada.
It is Archbishop Languet'a catechism, bearing
date of 1763.
A curious sight near Ellijay, Ga., is
the grave of a mountaineer's wife which is pro
tected from the fury of the elements by a num
ber of lightning rods.
At Maidstone, England, as proved by
investigation, 109 electors accepted a pound
apiece to vote for a candidate and then cast
their vote for the opposition.
The ladies of Eoseburg, Ore., have
formed a hammer brigade, tbe members carry
ing hammers with which to knock in1 the nail
heads that protrude from tbe plank sidewalks.
Atlanta has a black cat which in the
evenings follows people around emitting
"mournful snarls." At midnight according to
darky testimony, the cat climbs a fence post
and turns into a beautiful soman, who van
ishes with a "fearful yelL"
When President Harrison died in 1841
a casket was interred in his honor in the bury
ing ground at Dublin, Ga., and the ladles of the
place continued to place flowers on the spot for
many years. The mound has been neglected
since the war, but is again receiving attention
since tbe election of the grandson of the man
for whom Georgia voted 1840.
Mrs. Jacob Greennp, of Bonne Terref
Mo thought she heard her eldest son, a man
of 27, sin ging a favorite song in his bedroom.
She knew he must be at work at a sawmill, and.
feeling nervous, started out to see him. As she
stepped through the front door men were car
rying the lifeless remains of the son into the
yard. He bad been killed by the bursting of a
saw.
Mrs. Catharine Duffy, of Pittsfield, N.
Y., gave a family party to 150 relatives Christ
mas night in honor of the one hundredth
birthday of her father. Edward Shannon, who
presided at the table and led off in the dancing;
which began after midnight and lasted until
morning. Mr. Shannon is a native of Ireland,
who came to North Adams in 1S50 and to Pitts
field in 1861. He worked in the woolen mills
until he was 95.
A telegraph operator in Minneapolis
has invented a word-counting machine which
may be used by itself or attached to a type
writer. It is much the same sort of thing as a
pedometer.only it is more accurate. It is as large
as a small clock. The works are Inside the
nickel case, on one side of which is the face.
The machine will count up to 2,500 words, and
can bo used for any number by keeping
tally of the number of times it passes the 2,500
mark.
For some years there has been held at
Glasgow an annual prize competition among
the blind In reading and writing by means of
raised type. At the last exhibition tbe number
of competitors was 103 a larger number than
ever before. The ages of the competitors
ranged from 9 to 70 years. The first prize in
general reading was won by an old woman who
had been blind and deaf for 30 years. Tha
prize in the beginners' class was carried off by
a man 59 years old.
The loss to Great Britain from the bad
harvest of this year is indicated in the statis
tics just issued from the Privy Council Office.
These showthat whilo 230,000 acres more were
devoted to wheat growing than in lS37,the yield
is less by nearly 2,500,000 bushels. This repre
sents a direct loss of about 500,000, and there
is a large proportion of light corn.tbe crop, as a
rule, being inferior in quality. Barley shows a
rather better yield than last year, both in total
and acreage, and oats a slight decrease in each
of these respects.
One of the most terrible, as well as
most thrilling, tales that history has to tell is
recaUed by the announcement in tbe Scottish,
papers of Miss Edith Brydon's marriage in In
verness Cathedral. This lady's father was tho
famous Dr. Brydon, of the Afghan massacre
of January, 1S12 the one survivor who, wound
ed and faint and weary, after a most perilous
ride, reached Jellalabad to General Sale the
Siteous story of what had taken place in tha
:byberPass. They were 16,000 or, counting
women and children, 26.000-who setoutfrom
Cabulon that ill-starred journey, and he was
the only man who had escaped. Between the
dark crags of JngduIIak the murderous Af
ghans bad their fill ot blood.
A conductor on the Broadway line, in
New York, estimates that in collecting fares
and in helping passengers on and off the car,
he walks at least two miles a day. He goes
into details as follows: "A cans about 15 feel
long. When I walk from the rear platform
through the car, "turn and come back, I go over
33 feet, counting tbe turn. I have watched
myself often on trips and find that on an aver
ago I go as far as the center of the car and
back, abont 20 feet, 50 times on a round trip.
There you have 1.000 feet a trip, and eight trips
a day make 8,000 feet. Every time any one
gets on or off a car we help him on, take a step
forward and backward. When a woman gets
on we frequently follow ber part way through
the door, o you see we easily walk two miles a
day while on duty. It is the most tiresome
kind of walking, too, a sort of a cramped
shuffle half the time. Conductors are hard on
shoes for this reason."
A recent invention for examining rocks,
to determine the existence of metallic ores, has
one pole of a battery connected with one ter
minal of a telephone receiver, by means of a
wiro in the usual way, the remaining pole of
the battery being connected by a conductor
provided with a suitable handle, while the
other terminal of the telephone receiver is con
nected by a conductor with a similar brush
having a like handle. In examining rocks in
place, the two brushes forming the terminals
of the condnctors connected with the tele
phone and battery are drawn along the face of
the rock, while the telephone is held to the ear
of tbe operator. If the rocks contain metals
they conduct tbe currents, and tbe movement
of tbe brushes along the rough face of the rock
KSttBtaMfttt
variations therein, wnicn are auuioie
no sounds
nduced when tbe rock contains no minerals.
In examinine detached portions of rocks the
latter are placed upon a conducting plate con
nected with the telephone through the battery,
and the brush at the other terminal is touched
to the rock which if it contains metal or
metallic ores will cause sounds to be heard b
tbe telephone.
CLIPPED BITS OF WIT.
Strange to say, the literary man's society
Is less to be desired when he la a-musing than at
any other time Boston Courier.
The Sticking Point "Do yon find it hard
to turn your Jokes Into poetry?" she asked.
"Not so very," replied Tubbs. "The hardest
thing Is to turn the poetry Into money." Time.
Plenty of Space Cora This is a nice note
book for 3Ir. Jlerritt to give me. It has only two
leaves In it.
Miss Snyder Whata nice diary it would make.
if. X. Evening Sun.
Meteorological Item Jones Do yonr
ears freeze so easily that you have to wear ear
muffs?
Smith-No.
'Then why do you wear them?"
"To avoid hearing blamed fools say so much
aDout the cold weather." Texas Sfftlngi
No 3Iitigating Circumstances Philadel
phia Magistrate Were you ever here beiore?
Prisoner-No, Your Honor, I was never arrested
hut once, and then It was for a deed I wasn't quits
rcsponilble for.
"Was the deed committed In a state of Ine
briety?" "No, Your Honor; In a Prohibition State
loir.,,-PMla(telpMa Record.
Popular Preaching First Preacher
How do you manage to succeed so well among tha i
cowboys out West?
Second rrcacher-There were 600 present at my
first sermon and I said: "Gentlemen. I'm going,
to tell you about a man S feet high, who floored a",
glaut II fact high." Then 1 spoke of Goliath and ;
David.
"Well?"
,-i.
"When I finished they gate three cheers for
David." Time.
"Who is that?" bawled the druggist from ' "
anup-stalr window, having been awakened by a'
violent pulling at his night bell. . .."
"I want 10 cents' worth of paregoric, " replied, . ,
a voice below. ' j, ,
'I want you to understand that I don't open my ,;,
store at night for 10 cents' worth or paregoric ex-k,t
cept for a customer." " w
"But I'm a customer. "
"1 don't seem to know you." .' "
"Gracious goodness, I'm in your store three or -four
times a week to look at your directory!" )'
Boiton Courier.
Avoiding the Public Eminent States-. v
man (walking np to the reporter)-My face Is fa- ' "
miliar to you. 1 presume? ' ji
Reporter-I have certainly seen you Somewhere, 5
and yet I cannot exactly- ' - , &
Eminent Statesman-There Is no use In trying to ,
keep anything from the watchful eye of a re
porter. You recognize me, of course, as Con- '
gressmsn Blank.'
Keporter-Why, so It Is! May I Inquire, sir, the
object of your visit to our locality? . n
Eminent Statesman (with dignity-ion, may's
say. sir, that lam traveling through, here laaitu
quiei way, aou as iar as y vsaiuiv &T9iamg puQs
ir Lr.LuiD'ju jnuujic. .r