!THE PITTSBTOG- DISPATCH," "MONDAY, AVGTJST 23, ' .1889;
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ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY 8, 1848.
VoL, NcSOO. Entered at Pittsburg l'ostoffice,
November 14, 1&S7, as second-class matter.
Business Office 97 and 99 Fifth Avenue.
News Booms and Publishing House 75,
77 and 79 Diamond Street.
Castcm Advertising Office, Itoom 43, Tribune
Building, Aew York.
Average net circulation of the dally edition of
3111 Dispatch for six months ending July SI, 1SS9,
as sworn to before City Controller,
29,914
Copies per Issue.
Average net circulation of the Sunday edition of
The Dispatch for three months ending July 31.
J6i3.
54,897
Copies per Issue.
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PITTSBURG, HONDA Y. AUG. 26, ISSa
A 1HEW IDEA IS WATEB.
The proposition of a local corporation to
supply the city of Allegheny with water
taken from above the inlets of any sewers,
and both filtered and aerated, at a cost of
550,000 annually for a term of 20 years, in
troduces a new element in the water ques
tion as well as in the principles of public
administration. The proposition claims to
offer water free from sewage, filtered to a
clearness claimed to be superior even to
Pittsburg's water supply, and at a cost
much below that of any other plan That
promises equal results. It is presumed that
the corporation is able to guarantee its per
formance of the work; and, if it does not do
it, no expenditure is asked from the city.
An interesting feature of the proposition
is its bearing on the respective merits of
private and governmental performance of
public services. The supply of water to
the people of a city is probably the one
service of all others that has been most gen
erally conceded to belong to the sphere of
city government. Yet here is a private
corporation proposing to perform the main
portion of the work in a better manner and
at less cost than by the city government. It
is worthy of notice that this company has
not been granted any exclusive privileges.
The corporations of that sort in this vicinity
are not bestirring themselves to improve or
cheapen the water supply. It is because
this corporation can make money in compe
tition with other methods for securing the
same end, that it makes its proposition.
"Whether Allegheny can do better than
this is of course to be decided by the future;
but the proposal affords a decided support
to the principle that in the great majority
of cases the best and cheapest public serv
ice is obtained by preserving the competi
tion of private enterprise.
NO DANGEB THAT WAY.
The report that the cruise- Charleston
made 19 miles an hour on her last trip moves
the Chicago Times to exclaim, "This sort of
thing must stop. It will never do to have
our navy get the reputation of being '.fast. "
The fact is full reports show thai the thing
did stop, after the Charleston had run a
comparatively short distance, by the in
scrutable disarrangement of some of her
machinery. A vigorous attempt was made
to give this vessel the reputation of being
fast on her first trial trip; but the fact
leaked out that the only fast points about
that excursion were the champagne and the
imagination of the reporters. The second
trip does not seem to have been more suc
cessful. So long as the policy of building
snips all over the country, for political mo
tives is pursued, as it was in the case of the
Charleston, there is little danger of our
navy suffering from the reputation of too
much rapidity.
A GOLDEN SNAKE.
There is nothing in the economy of this
world of ours that the crank, the humbug
and the simpleton like eo much to tinker
with as matrimony. "Whether it be to make
money, mischief or merely a noise in the
world, new meddlers with matrimony arise'
every month in the year. "Wo do not know
how exactly to class Mr. Otto von Hildren,
who has imported a new system of alliance
between the sexes from Germany, and has
begun to form what he calls the Order of
the Golden Star for its propagation in St.
Paul, Minn. He may be a benevolent phi
losopher, and he may be a new kind of a
bunko stecrer. His object may be to bene
fit the human race, or simply to benefit
himself. "Whether his guiding star be
benevolence or boodle, his proposed remedy
for the evils of the -marriage state as now
constituted look very like bosh.
Here's the pith of the Golden Star brand
of free love:
We hold, in our order, that, after one has be
come a member of it, he or she cannot marry
outside that order, and that their selection
must be some member within its circle. This
selection is to be based upon the physical and
mental fitness of each otner and a mutual
agreement and understanding, after a proba
tionary period of six months, that they will live
as husband and wife as long as harmony con
tinues. We do not permit divorce where lack
of harmony is discovered. Wo inquire closely
into the cause of the trouble, and if there is no
reasonable or rational probability of the two
remaining together, and there Is every reason
why tbey should separate, then the bond that
has united them is amicably dissolved.
The remedy for the evils afflicting the
marriage estate in this age will not be found
in any such empirical scheme. It is not
marriage that Deeds mending so much as the
morals of the men and women who take it
so lightly.
A PLACE FOE 0BAT0EY.
It must be acknowledged that the Eiffel
tower has given an evidence that it is not
an entirely useless piece of architecture.
The news comes from Paris that it has been
made the locality for an after-dinner speech
by the renowned Chauncey M. Depew. The
availability of such a structure in the line
of putting after-dinner orators 1,000 feet
above the rest of the human race and letting
them spout to their own satisfaction, has
never before been suspected; but it was re
served to our own Depew to demonstrate it
on the spot which is also made famous by
the name or Russell Harrison. This seems
to settle the question of an Eiffel tower for
1832. Let us have one 1,600 feet high by
all means, and notify the orators that when
the spirit moves them that is the place they
can deliver themselves.
NO DANGEE OF A TEUST.
The call or a convention of wheat
growers to be held at St. Louis in October
next, which is professedly for the discussion
of "new systems of business and the combi
w w
nations against them," and of seeking
remedies against the exactions of trusts
and pools, is referred to by some of our
cotemporaries as shadowing the organization
of a "Wheat Growers' Trust which is ex
pected to control the production of wheat
and "to secure better prices for the same by
a systematic regulation of the supply and
demand."
The mere appearance of such an assertion
is an evidence of tho ignorance which pre
vails concerning the possibilities of the
trust or combination device. It is periectly
legitimate, and may prove quite valuable,
for the farmers to hold a convention to see
how they can relieve themselves irom the
exactions of the trusts; but the idea that
they can form a trust themselves, which
will prevent competition in the supply of
wheat, is nothing morn than absurd.
Supposing that half the farmers of a given
section should join a combination to ask for
higher prices for wheat than the law of
competition would establish, what would be
the result? Simply to hind over the market
to their neighbors who are outside of the
trust. A combination of this sort to be
successful must include, not only every
farmer in the Mississippi Valley, and every
farmer in the United States, but it must
take into its control the peasants of Bussia,
and the half-fed yots of India. All talk
about a "Wheat Trust is flapdoodle.
Another point is worth putting down
here. The trusts never advanced the prices
received by the actual producers and they
never will. They are for the exclusive
purpose of concentrating the profits of pro
duction in the hands of the middlemen.
BANKS AND PANICS.
The iccent large failures among Hew En
gland manufacturing concerns have evident
ly produced a tendency among some of the
banks of that section to contract their loans
and to regard all paper, except that of the
most gilt-edged quality, with suspicion.
This appears from an editorial in the Provi
dence Journal, which points out that the
best policy of the banks is to satisfy them
selves of the soundness of their customers
and then to extend rather than contract
their loans to solvent borrowers. A general
policy of refusing paper by the banks can
force a liquidation and bring on a panic,
in which case the banks will suffer with the
rest of business. On the other hand, a judi
cious boldness in sustaining solvent busi
ness can not only avert panic but extend the
business of the banking concern adopt
ing it.
This is the Journal's argument and it is a
sound one; hut the difficulty is to get bank
ing capital to adopt it No interest has
been more prone to the alternation from
blind confidence to unreasoning suspicion
than the banking one. All the great panics
have had their real source in the preceding
periods of recklessness, when anything that
bore the semblance of prosperity was accept
ed by the banks. The bank that has taken
everything that glitters for gold, will neces
sarily conclude when it discovers its mis
take that everything must be suspected.
The one that has looked closely to the
foundations of solvency in prosperous times
can bear itself boldly in adverse periods.
No signs either of insolvency or distrust
darken Pittsburg's business horizon; and
the reason may be that prices have been
kept on so moderate a basis as to prevent a
boom. "With that fact insuring the close
attention of the banks to the foundations of
credit, we may conclude that there is little
danger of the time coming when our financ
ial institutions will be called upon to deter
mine whether they will contract their loans,
or continue to extend credits in the teeth of
an era of distrust
The funeral of John T. Natcher yester
day drew renewed attention to the case of a
leading citizen shot by a man who had
made himself crazy drunk to do the deed,
and lends force to the query whether the
law is not able to stop that too frequent
class of crime.
The peculiarities of organism can hardly
be more strikingly illustrated than by the
editorial effort of the New York Tribune
to prove President Harrison's superiority
to President Cleveland, because the lormer
visits his old home at Indianapolis while
the latter never went near Buffalo. Con
sidering the somnolence and other character
istics of those cities, a discreet orgar might
remember that a public man could appeal to
the sympathies of a vast majority of the
American people by staying religiously
away from both Buffalo and Indianapolis.
The motto which greeted the President on
his "Western trip wishing him the possession
of the earth was probably inspired by the
hope of the people who put it up that when
the President gets the earth he will give
them a share of it
The case of the imported glassblowers is
dragging itself along to the point where the
very proper stand is taken that if the law
has been violated the violator must be pros
ecuted. That will afford a very good op
portunity to test the constitutionality as
well as the common-sense of the construc
tion which has made that measure rather
ridiculous.
Mr. Villabd's blanket mortgage of
160,000,000 on the Northern Pacific Kail
road may keep the managers of the road
warm, but it will prove a rather cold com
forter to the stockholders and outside pub
lic In view of the pledge ot Mahone's plat
form in Virginia that the Bepublicans will
secure financial aid to ex-Confederate sol
diers and their widows and orphans, it be
comes a rather pertinent inquiry whether
Benublican platforms are intended to state
Bepublican principles or to catch Votes.
It is emphatically denied that the Presi
dent had any idea of appointing some one
else in Fred Douglass' place, as Minister to
Hayti. This is reassuring to Fred; but who
said that there was any such idea?
A New Yobk paper's watering-place re
ports gives the usual statement: "All full
at Saratoga." This is rather old informs-
Aion, as that condition is generally under
stood to be. chronic there. Everybody and
everything keeps full at Saratoga, except
the pocketbooks of the departing guests.
The discovery that Eastern Iowa can get
np a blue grass region which takes the shine
off Kentucky's pride, leaves that State noth
ing to claim the championship on except
pretty girls, and Bourbon whisky.
It is astonishing how busy the Western
railroad managers keep Judge Cooley. He
first has to tell them that they must not
violate the law and then they must not dis
obey his injunction not to violate the law.
After which he takes a rest until he catches
his breath and commences da capo.
Let no member of the ghoulish press in
timate that the recent Vanderbilt ball in a
stable is expressive of the tastes of the mem-
bers of the JtTour Hundred, male and female,
for the coachman's profession!
It is rather funny for the New York Tel
egram to assert editorially that "A Bepub
Jican ring in Spain has fleeced Madrid out
of twenty millions." Both the amount and
the methods make it evident to the meanest
comprehension that the plunder was that of
a Spanish Tammany ring.
PEOPLE OP PRuMINENCE.
Mrs. Harriet Beeciier stowe's favorite
diet is bread and butter and pineapple.
Tolstoi, it is reported, has been compelled
to stop smoking, and this has sadly interfered
with his power to write.
Mr. Franklin Simmons has presented a
fine marble bust of the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin
to that venerable statesman's family.
Tennyson's forthcoming volume is to be
made up of verses recently composed, and of
scraps rescued from forgotten books.
The Grant monument at Fort Leavenworth,
Kan., will bo unveiled on September 14, with
orations by Senator Ingalls and others.
Mrs. Harrison recently remarked that if a
woman loves the society of her husband she
should never encourage him to become a public
man.
Colonel William R. Morrison Is reported
to be advocating the choice of General John
M. Palmer as Democratic candidate for Senator
from Illinois.
The book for which the Shah has been mak
ing copious notes during his European tour
will be published soon after he gets back to
Persia. It will be translated into both English
and French.
Captain W. S. Ltjrty, who Is the Repub
lican candidate for Attorney General of Vir
ginia, is a cousin of Stonewall Jackson. Cap
tain Lurty won bis rank in the service of the
Confederate army. After the war he served
as United States District Attorney under a
commission from Grant
OLD ENOUGH TO VOTE.
Steve Garrison's Aged Dos and How He
Got a Swelled Head.
Greenwood Lake, N. Y., August 23. Steve
Garrison, a veteran of the Rebellion, noted as
the oldest guide at the lake and as the father
of Tom Garrison, of Lakeside, has a dog 21
years old. Tom was 2 years old when the dog
was born. Its mother was a full-blooded En
glish hound and its father was a Scotch collie .
The dog is deaf and blind, and Steve thinks
seriously of putting his shotgun to its head and
pulling the trigger with his eyes shut In its
younger days the doe was the indomitable
enemv of rattlesnakes, and could scent them
for a long distance. He killed an average of
six or seven every summer, ana do usuaiiy
dispatched them without getting bitten, but on
three or four occasions he was struck by tho
fangs and usually on the lips. Once he was
wounded on the left leg. In every case the
dog's head and body swelled up enormously
and nobody thought he would recover. In toll
ing about the dog Tom Garrison said:
"1 was out a-blackberrying one day when I
was a little fellow, and 1 heard the dog a-bark-inc
as if be bad a rabbit holed. 1 went to him
and found him circlin' 'round a four-foot rat
tler. Blmeby be made a jump for the snake,
ketched it by the neck, and chucked it over the
fence. Then he run under the fence after it
and the snake bit him on the lower lip. but be
clinched with it and shuck the life outen it in a
minute. I see that the dog was bit, and I run
with him to the Lakeside Hotel. Will Do
Graw's father kept it then, and he 'lowed be
could cure the dog. He put half a bottle of
washing blueing on the bite and then poulticed
it with white ash bark. The whito ash was to
hold the poison back and the blucinc to kill It
Tho dogs head sweJed upbiggcr'n a peck
measure, but the stuff cured him, and after
that we used thj same mediclno every time be
got bit. If I was to get bit by a rattler I would
hunt for white ash and blueing every time, and
rather trust that than whisky; but I reckon I'd
hoist in the whisky too, if I am a Good Temp
lar. You can see yet where the dog was bit"
A SERPENT'S PARADISE.
Big Snakes Without Number In the Vicinity
of Newbure.
Newburo, N. Y August 25. While Theo
dore H. Clay, ot Suffera, and W. W. Bowman,
of Fort Jervis, were out walking near the
former place, recently, they discovered a large
black water snake near the old trestle on
Mack's pond. It measured 63 Inches In lencth
and had 43 young ones with it measuring from
8 to 12 inches each. All were captured alive
and are now in the possession ot Theodore IL
Clay, Jr.
Michael Galligan killed a blacksnake In the
manger of his cow stable, near Pine Bush, the
other evening, that measured 7 feet 3 inches
in length. There was a hen's nest in the
manger, and It wa9 the eggs that the snake
seemed to be after, as one of Mr. Galligan's
sons had seen seven eggs in the nest abonran
bour before, one ol which was a china nest egg.
All of the eggs had disappeared when his snake
ship Was found excepting the nest egg.
A track walker on the New York, Susque
hanna and Western Railroad, between Ogdens
burg and Two Bridges, reports the finding of
14 copperhead pilots that bad met their deaths
on the rail between those points by swift
moving trains. The recent heavy rains com
pelled the snakes to forsake their habitation in
the lowlands and crawl to higher ground. The
result was that many of the vipers had to cross
the railroad tracks.
"WELL KNOWN IN WASHINGTON.
The Death of Raynrd Smith Recall Inter
cstinc Reminiscences.
ISriCIAI. TZLXGBAK TO THE DISPATCH.!
Washington, Aueust 25. Mr. Bayard
Smith, whose death in California has just been
announced, is well known In Washington. His
father was the founder of the National Intel
ligencer. It was originally published in Phila
delphia, and on the removal of the seat of
government to Washington, Mr. Smith left
Philadelphia and established himself here.
The National Intelligencer was sold by him to
Gales & Seaton. under whom it acquired a
national reputation. In 1869 tho old daily was
merged with the Sunday Herald, into a weekly
publication, so that the Sunday Herald and
National Intelligencer now represents the old
est journalistic publication in tho city.
Mr. and Mrs. Bayard Smith dispensed an
elecant hospitality in their home on the corner
of Fifteenth and H streets, now occupied by
the Morton flats. From Bayard Smith this
property passed into the hands of Mr. Hooper,
of Massachusetts. A daughter-in-law. Mrs.
Alice Hooper, became the wife of Charles
Sumner. Mr. Bayard Smith resided In Balti
more for many years before bis death. His
trip to California was for his health.
"WEITING AS A LOST ART.
A Prediction That Penmanship Will be Un
known to the Coining Man.
From the Boiton Traveller, j
Will the coming man write? Not at alL
There will be no more need of bis learning to
write than of his learning to spin. Writing
writ have become one of the lost arts, and a
wholly unnecessary art by the time the coming
man appears. His writing will be done by the
phonograph, which will be placed on his desk
as pens and inks are now: and whenever be has
a story, a poem, an essay, or a private letter to
indite he will simply talk Into the phonograph
and send on the plate which has recorded his
words.
The teaching of penmanship will be unknown
in the school of the future, and "Writing, in the
present fashion, will be regarded at much
among barbaric methods as we now hold the
rudo hieroglyphics of the ancients to be.
HAYE I0U TEK TRIED IT?
Three Hundred Ways of Changing a Quar
ter of a Dollar.
Very few people know how many different
ways there are of changing a quarter of a dol
lar. According to a Philadelphia man who had
more leisure than business on his hands, there
are 315 ways of changing that piece of money.
The pieces used are the 20-cent piece, 10-cent
piece, 5-cent piece. 3-cent piece. 2-cent. piece
and the 1-cent piece. To make all the changes
without using the same coin twice would re-
2ulre 1,233 1-cent pieces, 614 twos. 378 threes, 1S4
res, 59 tens and 9 twenties, making: 2,584 pieces,
worth f 53 75.
Brief, bnt Unromantlc..
From the Philadelphia Call!
A short story in real life: Young man, small
salary, extravagance, poker, faro, horse racing,
embezzlement arrest, imprisonment This tells
the tale of one Pblladelphlan's career, at least
Tho Usual Way.
From the PhiladelDhla Times.:
The engagement of Miss Huntington to
Prince Hatzfeldt is confirmed. Tho report of
the divorce will bo confirmed later oh.
'Twill be News to Him.
From the Mew York World. J
News comes from Nassau, N. P., that sponges
are scarce. The man who owns a country seat
Will be surprised to hear this.
A FIRST-CLASS NUMBER.
Brief Summary of the Interesting Contents
of Yesterday's Dispatch.
An excellent number of the best paper In
Pennsylvania was issued yesterday. As usual
on Sunday, It consisted of 16 pages, all filled
with the latest and 'most important news, and
choice original matter from the pens of numer
ous gifted writers. All tho features of a com
plete newspaper were Included.
I.
London Is disturbed by the greatest strike of
modern times. Forty thousand laborers have
joined with the dock men in a demand for
higher wages. Public sympathy Is with the
strikers. Mrs. Maybrick is nearly overcome,
and it is believed that a short spell of penal
servitude will end her career on earth. A
nine year-old girl violinist Is astonishing
the English by her clever performances.
A syndicate to buy "up American gas
works is the latest It is thought that about 40
Parnellito members of Parliament will fail to
be returned. Their leader is very indignant at
so many of them being absent when tbey could
have defeated tho Government Emperor
William has been making fiery speeches to the
Westphallans. The Czar's visit to Berlin will
be a purely formal one. Russia is seeking
strength to counteract tho new alliance.
Ex-Collector BIgler Is believed to be sure of
the Democratic nomination for State Treasurer
if ho wants it The leaders of that party pro
fess to believe that they stand a chance of win
ning next falL Tho revenue cutter Rush has
made Feveral more soisures of British ves
sels in Behring Sea. Manfred Paine, a noted
desperado of Washington Territory, has sur
rendered to the authorities. The Butler coun
ty Coroner's jury, Investigating the late disas
ter at Sarver's station, finds tho West Penn
Railroad Company euilty of gross carelessness.
Eighty cases of malignant diphtheria are re
ported in the village of Moscow, O. The Gov
ernor of Kentucky has been appealed to for a
military force to quell a fend In Harlan county.
A lively contest for the Democratic nomination
for Governor of Ohio Is In progress. The
friends of Neal and Campbell are each conn
dent that their favorite will win.
rt
The result of the Allegheny county primaries
on Saturday had not been determined at mid
night Some of the districts were very close.
Officer Williams, of the Southslde patrol, was
arrested on a charge of robbing prisoners. The
Trades Council had a stormy meeting, and pro
tests were entered against organizing mem
bers of the Great Western Band into a labor
assembly. Rev. W. B. Chalfant writes borne a
graphic description of the floods in China.
Chief Evans points ont defects In the fire sys
tem and urges the establishment of gymnas
iums. Testimony in court against the Law and
Order Learue created something of a sensation.
A child said he had been employed as a spy to
buy cigars, candles, etc, on Sunday.
The Pittsburg ball team defeated the Chi
caeos by a score ot 6 to 2. 1 Rio won the
'Eclipse stakes at New York. The news of the
turf and ball field and Prlncle's review, were
full of interest to sporting men.
m.
"The End of All," an original and highly in
teresting love story by Nym Crinkle, was a
feature of the second part An interesting
description of the great cruiser Atlanta was
given by A. M. H. A history of several noted
counterfeiters, written by E. W. L, was given
on the sixteenth page. Dr. Jackson contributed
a valuable paper on sugar adulteration. The
noted London preacher, Charles Spurgeon,
furnished a delightful column on his impres
sions of America. A. C Hallbeck wrote of
Egyptian gymnasts. A paper on tho effects of
tobacco smoking was worthy of the attention
of every lover of the weed. Olive Weston gave
some entertaining gossip abont various Euro
pean Queens. George L. Catlln's article de
scribed In a pleasing way the popular games of
Switzerland. Ernest H. Hcinrich's fairy story
of "The Enchanted Cavern" was most weird
and romantic. Frank G. Carpenter's letter
described the Athens of to-day. Rha's letter
from the natural bridge in Virginia, Kamera's
Coney Island Correspondence, Clara Belle's
chat "Sunday Thoughts," Everyday Science,"
the gossip of society and of thesummor resorts,
all mado entertaining reading.
INDIAN SUPERSTITIONS.
Some of the Qneer Things Believed by the
Heathen Hindoos.
From the Calcutta Tlmes.1
A curious light is thrown on the rural life of
Bengal by the contents of a paper reprinted
lately in tho annual report of the Bombay An
thropological Society. From this paper we are
told the following, among other things. Shout
ing the name of tho king of birds (Garnda)
drives away snakes. Shouting Bam, Ram,
drives away ghosts. Cholera that attacks on
Monday or Saturday ends fatally, but not chol
era that attacks on Thursday. The flowering
of bamboos augurs famine. In fanning, if the
fan strikes the body it should be thrice knocked
against the ground. '
When giving alms the giver and receiver
should not be standing on different sides of the
threshold. It is bad to pick one's teeth with
one's nails. If a snake is killed it should be
burned, for it is a brahman. At night the
words ''snake" and "tiger" should not be used;
call them creepers and insects. Do not wake
np a sleeping physician. A morning dream
always comes to pass. Devotion without head
gear is wrong. Iron is a charm again ghosts.
A black cat with a white face is very auspi
cious.
AN ONION-EATING CONTEST.
Two Men Busy for an Hoar Devouring the
Strong Tegetnb'c.
New York, August 25. There was a novel
and interesting contest in Steve Brodie's Bow
ery saloon Friday night between John Coffeo
and Louis Ledger. They ate onions for an hour
upon a wager of $10. Pretty Mrs. Brodie was
the stakeholder; Harry Pickett timekeeper:
Steve Brodie was Coffee's second and Billy
Costello performed the same service for Led
ger. Thirty Connecticut "weepers." not one less
than two Inches In diameter, were dumped into
two water pails and seasoned with a pint of
vinegar and a few pinches of salt The first
agreement was that they should eat from the
pails without knives or forks, but this promised
such an early strangulation of both contestants
that they were allowed to use their fingers.
There was a lively champing, and the odor was
so strong that the spectators were all dissolved
in tears.
The contest was decided in faTor of Ledcer
when he bad eaten his seventh onion and Coffee
had begun his sixth.
THE KING OP CLAMS.
An Enormous Shellfish Sent General Sher
man From the Pacific Coast.
New York, August 25. It was high tide to
day when the biggest clam that ever came to
New York was placed before General Sherman.
But big as the clam was and as high as the tide
was he was not happy. Its journey bad been a
long one from Washington Territory. It had
been hermetically sealed in a can as big as a
hatbox before it was started.
"Who sent him to the General?" was tho
query put by a representative to a friend of the
old hero.
"Don't yon dare to ask him. I know that
clam was eight inches long and four Inches wide
and about as deep from the top shell to the bot
tom as be was wide. The sender was a man who
had met the General during his recent trip to
Pike's Peak, and he has a funny way of slnjring
a song about clams. The General one day
laughed at the idea that there was such a thing
in Washington Territory as a bigger clam than
myself."
Christian Railroaders Elect Officers.
rSFXCIAL TELEOItAU TO TBS DISPATCU.1
Harrisburo, August 25. The conference
of Christian railroad men in session In this city
!i attended by about SO delegates from Altoona,
Allegheny, Lewistown. Pottsville, Derry, Blalrs
ville, Greensburg and Harrisbure. Officers
have been elected as follows: President C. N.
Anderson, of Altoona: Vice Presidents. S. R. P.
Richards, Allegheny, and John Miller. Harris
burg; Secretary, J. U. Hicks, Lewistown. Sev
eral interesting meetings were held to-day, at
which railroad men spoke. The conference
will close Its business to-morrow.
When Knowledge Is Power.
From the Philadelphia Kecord.
Many a fine fellow goes through college who
knows a heap of this and that but who doesn't
know how to put this and that together.
Knowledge is power just as steam is power
when It Is put In use.
Pleasant Little Man.
From the Atlanta Confutation. 3
When Jay Gould's attention was called to a
newspaper statement to the effect that he was
feeling bully, be quietly remarked: "I can
bear it"
AN .IMPORTANT EXPERIMENT.
Prof. Blgclow Photographs Star Transits
In n Perfect Manner.
SPECIAL TKLEQRAU TO TOG DISPATCn.1
Washington, August 25. On a hill In the
magnificent grounds ot the Jesuit University,
In Georgetown, stands an observatory which
has been practically unused for long years.
The advent of the new Catholic University, so
richly endowed, and which will soon open tra
der such favorable auspices, has apparently
impelled the Jesnit fathers to take a new stare
in their own ancient lnstitntion, and the ob
servatory is being rehabilitated under the su
perintendence of Father Hagan and Father
Richards, the President of the university.
The repairs are now completed, and most of
tho Instruments are in proper position, in
cluding a chronograph, which is a recent ac
quisition. Avery Important experiment has recently
been successfully tried at this observatory by
Prof. Bigelow, now ol this city, which will bo
interesting; Heretofore it has been found Im
possible to photograph the star transits with
tho reticule, or spider lines, on the same plate;
by a very simple device the difficulty has been
overcome, and the first plates have been se
cured by the new process. During the experi
ment the camera was connected with the side
real clock by means of an electro-magnet,
which caused the plate to move every second,
thus breaking the track of the star, in order to
ascertain the time of the transit on the spider
lines. Tbeso breaks In the track are easily
discovered by means of a microscope.
One of the most practical results of this in
vention will be that it does away with personal
equation, that is. tho time lost by each observer
in recording observations Is saved by Prof.
Bigelow's invention. Father Hagan considers
this a most valuable discovery, and expects it
to be eventually used by all the leadins ob
servatories. Tho Catholic University, now rapidly ap
proaching completion, beside the mnnlllcent
gifts of Miss Caldwell and E. Francis Biggs,
of this city, has received two handsome dona
tions recently. Mr. Sylvester Johnston, ot
Louisville, Ky., who .died on the 16tb, among
his numerous bequests to charitable purposes,
gave 510.000 to the new university. Another
gift though not in money, yet just as valuable,
is the donation of the Bt Rev. Michael J.
O'Farrell. Bishop of Trenton, of 2,000 volumes
of great value to the clercy and clerical stu
dents, and will be the nucleus of what promises
to bo one of the greatest libraries In America.
MAINE SQUATTERS IN LUCK.
Tho State Prevents Their Eviction and Be
comes Their Landlord.
Portland, August 25. About the easiest
going class of peoplo In the country are the
"squatters" of Aroostook county. Maine. They
live on land which they neither own nor pay
rent for. and are lords of all they survey. They
are composed of people who moved into the
county from over the border or from the older
parts of the State 20 or SO years ago. For many
years the squatters were cot disturbed by the
owners of the land, but since Aroostook county
has made such rapid progress, and lumbering
operations have begun to penetrate far north,
the property, becoming in some degree accessi
ble from the outside world, has acquired such
increased value that the proprietors not long
ago decided to clear the Intruders out
But when the land owners came to evict the
squatters they found that it was a thing easier
said than done. These people, so long undis
turbed In the possession of thelrllttle holdings,
had come to look npon them as their own, and
they were aghast at the prospect of leaving.
Tbey would not leave fn tact tbey bad no
means to take themselves away. The State
authorities found the job of removing them
rather too much ot an undertaking, and the
last Legislature passed an act providing for the
purchase and the appointment of three Com
missioners to meet the owners of the land and
arrange the details of the sale. The act con
templated the payment of 50 cents an acre for
the land, bnt the appropriation was found to
be Insufficient, and a scale-down became neces
sary. The land owners kicked at the reduc
tion, but a few days ago they agreed to accept
the price offered them, 35 cents an acre. Of
course the land Is worth more than this, but as
the men who have just sold bought it for a
great deal less, they nave lost nothing.
So the squatter remains in peace in his log
house. The State may get him to pay for his
little farm piecemeal, and meantime he lives
serene and dirty, a happy dweller in the boom
ing land of the Aroostook.
"WINSTON AND THE SHAH.
He Accepted Fonr Elephants and Went the
Shah One Better.
From the St Louis Republic
The revival of the rage about the Shah of
Persia has led to a story on the Hon. Fred
Winston, of Chicago, who for a short time
represented the United States at the Persian
court When he arrived at Teheran he was
met outside of the city by the Chamberlain of
the court, who. In the name of the Shah, pre
sented him with four elephants. Winston, who
had never seen an elephant ontslde of a men
agerie, was paralyzed at his situation, but man
aged to express his thanks forthe Shah's great
kindness. After be had been presented, and
had assumed the duties of his office, his great
est official burden was the care of his ele
phants. Relief came on the second day, when
the Intimation was politely conveyed that the
Shah expected a present from him.
"Certainly" said Winston, as a smile
wreathed his face. "I have only been waiting
to secure one worthy of so great a ruler."
That afternoon he proceeded In state to the
palace and presented the Shah with five ele
phants. The chamberlain seemed to regard
the animals with suspicion, but Oriental polite
ness prevents tho inspection of a gift horse in
the mouth, and. anyhow, the extra elephant
removed all doubt
"The extra elephant cost me 8100," said
Winston, in telling the story afterward. "But
I considered myself getting out ot a bad scrape
cheap at that"
APPLE TREES IN BLOOM.
Singular Freak of Nature to be Seea In
Indiana Orchards.
CrawtOrdsville, Ind., August 25. A pe
culiar freak of nature Is manifesting Itself
here. Three weeks ago a very heavy hailstorm
destroyed vegetation and stripped orchards of
fruit and foliage. Now apple trees are putting
forth new leaves, and are covered with blos
soms as in the spring time.
The phenomenon was-first witnessed at the
suburban homes of Hon. H. S. Kennedy and
Hon. W. H. Durham.
Better Stay Near Shore.
From the Cincinnati Commercial Gazete.l
The New York Herald heads a leader: "Send
Our Warships to Sea." It would be well to
have a caution about that
DISENCHANTED.
Up from the blue grass country, from old Aen-
tucky's shore.
Where every man Is seven feet tall perhaps a
little more.
Where women, pretty and petite.
With very dainty, little feet
Tli ink: they nothing have to eat
If not their beaten biscuit;
There came a youth, not quite o tail
In fact we thought him rather smalt
Hut he could serve a "first-class" ball,
From off his tennis racket,
lie met a girl from the golden West
The land of pork and wheat.
Be carried her tintype in his vest
And worshiped atber feet,
lie did not know their size.
So long she wore her dress.
He only could surmise.
With a trifle of distress.
But Southern chivalry o'ercame
Ills curiosity,
lie boldly offered her his name,
Upon his bended knee.
Now she had heard a tale that's told,
Of all Kentucky men.
And as he promised to unfold
All secrets to her then,
Wbate'er she'd ask, he'd freely give
Ills past his pedigree;
jjotone secret would be keep, about his family
tree.
Her blushes swept from brow to cheek.
Oh! would she know, and should the speak?
Yes, she must know,
And soft and low,
She murmured her request
And watched bis heaving breast.
Dearest Jamie, tell me true
Iv'e beard It since a child
Do you carry a corkscrew,
As all Kentucklans dor'
"Dear Lily, stories I have heard.
Of Chisago ladles' feet
Oh, she has fainted, tender bird."
Ills heart quite ceased to beat;
But as he stooped to raise her.
From out his pockets flew.
In numbers to amaie her.
The troublesome corkscrew.
Now this did not distress bun.
But curses from him drew.
But what tht most Impressed blm.
Was the compass of her shoe.
They both were disenchanted,
For each the other knew
Their very Inmost secret
Her foot and his corkscrew.
C. . SICOED.
SAVAlINAlI, N. Y., August 23.
A HOME IN VIEW,
Congress to be Asked to Establish Head
quarters la Washington for the Bed
Cross Society Secretary Wlndom's
Conservatism Women as Fair Hypo
crites. rCOKKESPONDENCX OT TUB DISPATCH.l
Washinoton. August 24. A great deal has
been said recently about tbe work of the Red
Cross at Johnstown. It Is not unlikely that
prior to the meeting of Congress a delegation
of public men will pay a visit to the Red Cross
settlement at tbe scene of the great disaster,
as the guests of Clara Barton. An invitation
has been extended already, I understand, to
the President, and If he can be induced to pay
a visit to the stricken spot before returning
to Washington from Deer Park, he will go as
theguestof the Bed Cross. Itls not generally
known that the President is one ot the officers
of the Bed Cross. He Is President of the
Board of Consultation, while the Secretary of
the Treasury and Secretary of War are trus
tees of the association. This relation between
the Red Cross and the National Government
has existed since 1882, when Congress passed
an act which was afterward slimed by Presi
dent Arthur, recognizing the association and
its auxiliary rocieties. It is possible that Con-
?;ress at its next session will be asked to estab
Ish headauarters for tho American National
Red Cross in this city. Washington Is tbe home
of its President and of most of the members of
its Executive Board. It has no official head
quarters, however. The wonderful work
which it has done at Johnstown has brought it
very prominently before the public, and there
will bo little difficulty in obtaining substantial
recognition for It from Congress.
Rather n Remarkable Meeting.
There was an odd meeting at the Department
of Justice one day last week between a Federal
office holder and the man who will probably
succeed to tbeposltion he now occupies. Frank
Strong, the General Agent of the Department
of Justice is a Union veteran. He was a sup
porter of Mr. Cleveland. He has not expected
that he would be allowed to remain in office
very long under Mr. Harrison. Not long ago a
Texas Republican, who expects to succeed Mr.
Strong, paid a visit to the Department of
Justice for tbe purpose of Inspecting his fnture
quarters. In the course of a conversation he
asked Mr. Strone if he had been in tbe army.
"I was in the Union army," said Mr. Strong,
"and voted the Republican ticket regularly
nntli Mr. Cleveland was nominated and ran for
theJPresidency." "I was in the army, too,"
said the Texan. "It was the Confederate
army, however." Tbe situation was an excel
lent illustration of the dying out of old sec
tional feelings and differences. Some years
ago it would have been regarded as rank
heresy for a Republican President to appoint
an ex-Confederate to the position from which
he had removed a Union veteran.
General Wlndom's Conservatism.
A great many people believe that the civil
service law should be enforced, however good
or bad It may be; in fact there are few sensi
ble men who will not admit that laws sbould.be
enforced, and that If they are bad laws the best
way to remedy their defects is to amend or ap
peal them. The conservative course pursued by
Secretary Wlndom, therefore, will likely meet
with general approval. It Is raid that he has
had the President's sanction for it and It has
called forth approving comment from Republi
can, Democratic and Mugwump journals alike
that is if you admit that the Mugwump can
exist now as an Independent being and has not
been merged Into tbe Democrat There have
been fewer changes in the Treasury Depart
ment since March 4 than in any other depart
ment of tbe Government There is one man
In tbe Bnreau of Engraving and Print
ing, however, who will probably have
to go, and his going will doubtless meet
with the approval of tbe warmest of Secre
tary Wlndom's supporters. He is an engraver
who was appointed in Garfield's time, on the
recommendation of all the Republican mem
bers of tbe Ohio delegation. He was a Mary
land man. When Mr. Cleveland came into
office this man began to fear for his official
head, and so be filed a new set of credentials.
They Included the indorsement of Senator Gor
man and all the Democratic members of the
Maryland delegation. A few days since be
made an effort to withdraw from tbe files of
the Treasury Department his second set of
papers; but he was not successtul, and the
proof of his political hypocrisy will probably
be deemed reason sufficient for his removal.
There are many like him in the departments.
The majority of the two-faced office holders aro
women. Tbey are usually appointed on ac
count of their family connections, and it is not
very bard for tbem to find sympathetic rela
tives of either political belief
One Pair of Gloves for Two.
The incident of which Mr. Strong and the
Texas Republican were tbe heroes recalls an
odd friendship existing between two men in
public life, one of whom fought for the blue
and the other for tbe gray. General Joe
Hooker, a member of Congress from the Sev
enth Mississippi district, was one of the heroes
of tbe late war against tbe Union. He carries
an empty sleeve as a relic ot his experiences on
the field. Major Powell, the Chief of tbe Ge
ological Survey, was In tbe Union army, and be
also carries an empty sleeve. General Hook
er's lost arm was on his right side and Major
Powell's on the left Their remaining hands
are of the same proportions, and they have a
mutual agreement under which they purchase
gloves in common. Major Powell using all of
the "rights" and General Hooker the "lefts."
No difficulty ever occurs between them about
the selection of these gloves, for they pay little
attention to tbe perennial changes In modes
and fashions.
Keeping Up With the Procession.
It does not take a season in Washington to
teach some men the novoltles of fashion. The
clerks who handle tbe requisitions for supplies
in the various departments could tell a tale or
two about this. One of them, who has made a
special study of the subject of soap, tells me
that the demands for that useful article from
the different bureaus of the department in
which he Is employed, are as varied as the
changes of the kaleidoscope. One officeholder
from the wilds of Missouri, who, a few months
ago was probably satisfied with a dish' of old
fashioned soft soap and a basin of water in tbe
back yard for the performance of his ablutions,
now sends for a soap of a brand known as
"Fleur de Troplque." The demands from the
beads of other bureaus range all through the
well or ill-known brands of French, English
and American toilet soaps. At the Capitol,
Senators and members of the House make de
maud for special brands of soap, bat they are
usually men who have been accustomed to use
those soaps at home.
He Hnd His Own Iden.
Ex-Postmaster General Frank Hatton tells
an amusing story of our Minister to England,
Robert T. Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln was the only
member of Garfield's Cabinet who was re
quested to retain bis portfolio during the In
cumbency of President Arthur. Mr. Hatton
was also a member of Arthur's Cabinet Most
men have a pet phrase with which they punctu
ate their sontences. With some of them it is
Vmh 1r.A)l .vi.H tf, a tlTtr, wa., n .nil a
on. Mr. Lincoln's pet phrase was: "Do you
catch mv idea?" Mr. Brewster, one ot the
brightest men who ever sat at the head of tbe
Department of Justice, was tbe Attorney Gen
eral in Arthur's time. At one of the Cabinet
meetings held shortly after Garfield's death.
Secretary' Lincoln was laying down a proposi
tion to another member of tbo Cabinet In his
most forcible way, punctuating his remarks as
usual with tbe frequent query: "Do you catch
my Ideaf" Finally the person addressed re
sponded: "Yes, I get yonr idea." Attorney
General Brewster leaned across the table and
said Impressively: "What is Lincoln going to
do now has be his idea?" Tbe serious deliber
ations of the Cabinet were badly disturbed by
the laughter which followed this remark.
O'Brien-Bain.
He. Must Join tbe Shakers.
From the Boston Ulobe.1
Mr. Parnell is reported to have decided to
come to America for the benefit of his health.
He had better get a cast-iron band made or
else adopt President Harrison's policy of a
tight squeeze.
NOTES ABOUT CENTENARIANS.
James Tunnt, of Beaton, died the other day
at the age of 101.
Htjldah Elwood Rockwell, of West
port Conn,, recently celebrated her 100th
birthday. She has borne 19 children.
Lyjjia Bhitton, aged 105 years, died at the
farm of Harvey Nake, near Nicbolasville, Ky.
She was the mother of 19 children, the young
est now 60.
Matthew Gibbx, supposed to be tho oldest
man In the State, died at bis home near Center,
N. C, recently. Mr. Gibbs was 108 years old,
and died of sheer old age.
Robert Harvey, of St Jaseph, claims that
bis mother, living in Randolph county, near
Salisbury, is the oldest person in Missouri.
She was born in 1781. and has lived In Ran
dolph county over SO years. She is hale and
hearty, has good eyesight and enjoys life very
much.
Mrs. Boston, tbe oldest woman in North
Carolina, died in Cherokee county recently.
She was born in 1768, which made her age 121
years. She was quite a large girl and distinctly
remembered seeing tbo Continental soldiers
drill while in rendezvous near King's Moun
tain, ana she could narrate many incidents of
the revolutionary war, of which the was a pen
sioner.
j sioner.j
0U2 MAIL POIICIL
A member of she Citizens' Relief Committee
Talks Aboat That 3123,000.
To the Editor of The Dliuatcfi:
"Chairman McCreery mailed a formal bill to
General Beaver yesterday," so The Dispatch
head lines read, and the announcement is fol
lowed by a lengthy interview hardly In keeping
with the well-known and characteristic
modesty of the quiet Chairman of tbe Citizens'
Relief Committee. I take it for granted that
as there has been no meeting of the Belief
Committee to authorize the "formal bill on
General Beaver." your reporter has inad
vertently used the.word "official" in speaking
of the Chairman's "demand" or "request"
whichever it may be. The more obtrusive
members of the committee have reason, I
think, to feel hurt that for once the Chairman
has stolen the march on them; they are rele
gated to silence and he speaks for himself and
them, too.
"Surprised." echoed Mr. McCreery, "we were
astounded! We have been wondering for a long
time why that (125,000 was not returned. We
mnsthave tbe money Immediately. We want
the money now." SoT The more I read the
more the wonder grows. I have heard no ex
pressions of wonder over the supposed delay
from other members of the committee or any
demand for "money now." Why, Mr. McCreery
himself agrees that the 125,000 spent through
Booth & Fllnn in recovering the bodies of the
dead and removing tho unhealthy debris was,
next to tbe immediate supplies of food and
clothing, the best spent money that Johnstown
has received. In my bumble judgment the
Pittsburg committee deserves more praise for
that rapid and herculean piece of work than
for anything else that it did, and the committee
may well retain the credit of having done the
work, and having paid for It too. It was abso
lutely necessary to tbe health of the living at
Johnstown as well as to the comfort of those
who were day and night seeking for tbe bodies
of lost friends, that the wor should be done
at once and with all tbe speed possible. The
Pittsburg committee did not hesitate a moment
abont its duty in the matter, and has since
tben received tbe hearty and deserved com
mendation of all parties, the Chicago and
Cleveland Committees, the State Commission
and Governor Beaver. .
Further, it was agreed npon between Gover
nor Beaver and the Citizens' Relief Committee,
on account of some questions raised as to
whether the work done was charitable, or be
longed to tho State as police regulation of the
streams, that, in the final settlement of ac
counts, the amount so expended should be
charged to the State Commission and credited
to the Pittsburg committee. As Mr. McCreery
remarked on the day ot the interview: "It is
only a matter of bookkeeping. I believe tbe
work done was as entirely charitable as giving
out food or building houses. Indeed, it had to
be done, and at once, or Johnstown would not
have been habitable. But the proper credits
made will relieve our committee from any criti
cisms that may be made by those who take a
different view of the character ot tbe work."
With sucb sentiments tbe writer heartily
agrees and therefore fails to understand the
reasons for this valiant call npon Governor
Beaver for money, and "money now." The
work has been done, and well done. 1 am glad
that the Pittsburg committee did It and did it
out of the funds that were so lavishly sent to
them. In my judgment no contributor to tbe
fnnd, aware of all the circumstances, and no
citizen ef Johnstown, will ever justly criticise
the committee, should the money never be re
turned In the way called for by the worthy
Chairman. David Robinson.
PrxTSBURO, August 24.
A Working Girl's Suggestion.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
I notice in your issue of the 23d Inst an
article In the columns of "The Topical Talker"
on the distribution of flowers to the much
abused (I) salesladies. In the name of my co
workers, allow me to say to all those whose
sympathy the publication may arouse that
while we appreciate our suburban friend's
spirit of kindness, we do not desire to enlist
public sympathy undeservedly; but should
they really have our Interests at heart, pray
agitate the early closing movement which will
Eermit us to enjoy a little leisure In the cozy
omes and gatdens which so many of ns have,
and ot which our friends are apparently un
aware. We would also say that our positions are
comparatively pleasant and the only fault we
have to find is with long hours, and occasion
ally an unreasonable customer. We do not
wish to appear unappreciatlve, but we would
kindly suggest that all flowers In tbe future be
sent to the Fruit and Flower Mission, to be
distributed to the needy poor and sick. You
will always find ready donations for such pur
poses from the salesladies and salesmen of the
two cities. One or the Workers.
Pittsburg, August 24. .
At Columbus.
To the Editor or The Dispatch:
Where is tbe Ohio State University lo
cated? " C.
Mt. Pleasant, August 21
September 1.
To the Editor or The DIspatcni
When does the season for hunting squirrels
in this State openT B.
PlTTSBURO, August 24.
HIS ONLY MONUMENT.
A Shaft Erected In Honor of Christopher
Columbus in J7S4.
Baltimore, August 35. Recently a monu
ment to Christopher Columbus has been
brought to public attention in this city. It
was erected in 1781 by the French Consul Gen
eral De Amamon, who bad come to this conn
try with De Grasse and settled down near Bal
timore after the Revolutionary War. His
estate was a fine one, and this mouumentwas
intended as a proof of his appreciation of this
country and Its discoverer. It Is uniqne, in tbe
fact that it was the first monument erected In
tbe United States prior to 1S0U.
Unfortunately the estate changed hands, and
the management of streets and roads set it
back so that the public negleted and forgot it
For over 0 years it went practically out of tbe
general mind, and no mention of It was made
in the city histories. Recently, however, the
Samuel Ready Orphan Asylum bcugUt tbe
property, and the trustees have had the good
sense to give tbe monument its proper dignity
and to preserve it from further ignominy. As
far as is known. It is the only shaft to Colum
bus on the continent that he discovered.
Three Good-Sized Bovs.
Belmont, Wis., August 25. The Reed
brothers, of Belmont are aged respectively 16,
18 and 20 years, and their height respectively is
6 feet 7 inches, 6 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 8K
inches. The father and mother of these young
men are ordinary-sized people. The two
younger boys are growing rapidly and bid fair
to add several Inches to their stature.
-John's Advertising Agency.
From the Chicago News.!
It certainly does begin to look as If the Gov
ernor of Mississippi had voluntarily resolved
his administration into an advertising bureau
for John L. Sullivan, pugilist
TRI-STATE TRIFLES.
On the farm of Benjamin Garman, In Upper
'Rapho township, Lancaster county, is an
ancient house, which Dears on its door the
date of Its erection 1700. The Manhelm Sun
says: "When this part of the house was built
Philadelphia was but 18 years old and not as
large as Manhelm."
A LARGE flsh crane that for two weeks had
been hovering hungrily above Amos Snyder's
carp dam at Pncetown, Berks county, and had
been missed by several marksmen, has been
shot by Webster Brown, and is being stuffed.
Lloyd Lewis, of Edison, Bucks county,
booked a large bass two days ago. It flung
Itself ashore and bit against a log, which freed
it from the hook, but likewise knocked it so
senseless that he readily caught it by hand.
A Bethleiiex man who promised a cent to
each of his children for each weed pulled from
tbe garden has withdrawn the rate, as one
evening three bills of SI 06 each were presented
to him for payment
A little child of Edwardsvllle, near
Wllkesbarre, who swallowed a 20 gold piece a
month or more ago. Is stijl alive, bnt is wasting
away, and the doctor thinks death Inevitable.
EzEKiELllussEmAN. a farmer living near
Center "Valley, on the North Penn Railroad,
displayed a lot of wht'fe blackberries in the
South Bethlehem mark it on Thursday.
An ingenious Wheeling housewife, hav
ing heard that a varnished melon will keep
till Christmas, has. cosed a large one with fur
niture polish which lie thinks will match her
walnut furniture. )
A farmer in Harrison county, O., while re
pairing his house, (recently .found a pocket
book that he lof lnllSiO. Ha will preserve as
a curiosity tbo bank' bill It contained.
CUKIOOS CONDENSATIONS.
A Milan, Mich., woman claims to hav
osed but one paper of pins during, all of her 20
years of married life.
Policeman Verrett, of Cheyfcoygan,
Mich , is a satisfied man. He owns two bears,
two white rats, a dog and a birch bark canoe.
Captain William F. Smith, ol the hark
Nautilus, savs that he killed a hairy sea ser
pent SO feet long near the Galapagos Islands.
A poor teamster in Boston, who -found
$130 In cash, not only promptly sought out the
owner, a manufacturing firm, but refused to
accept a reward.
They have precocious infants in Hew
Castle. Pa. A paper of that city relates that
an 8-months-old son of Mrs. Jones fell from a
cherry tree and broke bis collar bone.
There is a 3-weeks-oId baby in South
Boston that has not Increased In weight slnca
Its birth, althouzh apparently in good health.
It weighs only 3iy ounces, and is only 10 Inches
long.
A Boston woman imported quill pent
from Germany at 25 cents apiece for three
years before she discovered that a man in the
same block furnished much better ones for
five cents.
A Chicopee, Mass., shoemaker, in his
desire to get the prize ofiered for the best
guess of the number of marbles in a big boot
made a boot of tbe same size, he thought and
filled it with marbles. His guess was 2,000 out
ot the way.
The Bible has been printed in 29 dif
ferent languages to supply the people living in
Pennsylvania. The largely varied industries
of Pennsylvania attract within Its limits a
more cosmopolitan population than any other
State in the Union.
A representative of a French syndicata
has been looking at an island near San Fran
cisco with a view of establishing there a frog
farm. According to bis estimates an enormoui
fortune awaits the man who takes hold of the
venture in tbe right way.
"The horse attached to a buggy in which
was seated a newly-married conple, of Essex
county, Ont, was frightened by being struck
by rice thrown by friends of the pair, ran away,
and the bride was so badly injured by beins
thrown from tbe buggy that It Is feared aha
will die.
A ghost which has been making a house
at Leon!, Mich., uninhabitable, proves to bo
the same old wind that blows through people's
whiskers. In this case it blew the branches of
a tree against tbe weather boards and made a
noise that sounded exactly like a person open
ing a door and walking down stairs.
There lives in Dansville, If. Y., a man
nearly 50 years old who has lived there all or
nearly all his life, and, with the exception of
three years tn the army, has never slept In any
other bed than his own and in his own bouse.
The man is as regular as clockwork In every
thing he does, and it rarely happens that he Is
away from home after 8 o'clock.
The soldiers' monument in Indianapolis,
of which the corner stone was laid by President
Harrison on Thursday, will have a height of
268 feet The monument will be built of light
Indiana limestone. When completed, with ono
exception, tho Washington, it will be the high
est in ther world. Tbe monument third In
height Is the Bunker Hill monument
Warren Humes, the oldest gnide and
the most experienced hunter In the Adiron
dack, makes an estimate that will be Interest
ing to all sportsmen. He claims that there are
to-day no less than 50,000 deer and 5,000 bears
in those regions. Mr. Homes bas bunted
there for the past 45 years, and during that
time has killed over 4,000 deer and more than
200 bears.
"Visitors at the Pike's Peak Observatory
bave for years been regaled wltb the statement
that "this is the highest point on the globo
which Is inhabited the year round." It now
appears that regular meteorological observa
tions are made on the Andes, in Pern, at a
height of 14,300 feet which is about 200 feet
richer than tbe Pike's Peak station. la
Europe there are but two stations of any con
siderable height, these being about 10,000 and
11,000 feet respectively.
The little village of Parkersburg, But
ler eounty, Ix. is greatly excited over a ghostly
manifestation that has recently appeared In
the town. About a year ago a colored barber,
who was leader of the village band, and well
known for his excellent playing on the guitar,
was taken sick and died. Recently people
living in the vicinity of the honse where he
passed away have heard a guitar played pre
cisely as he was In the habit of playing it, wlth
the same tunes which were his favorites.
A man who has been working cpiintry
towns in East Kew Jersey with the old swindle
of selling alleged gold rings and mafcln; pres
ents of gold watches, began business from his
buggy in Belleville, on Wednesday night. Af terV
be had gotten well under way, some person in
the crowd cnt the traces ot his harness, and
when tbe fellow attempted the trick of drlvlnjr
suddenly away bis horse started, but left tho
buggy behind. The man was compelled to re
fund tho money to his victims, and finally
slunk out of town dragging his buggy after
him.
For some weeks past a most curious
game of ball has been In progress in tbe shop
window of a Brooklyn tobacconist The play
ers are little papier mache skeletons, about;
half a foot high, such as you see in the
Japanese stores everywhere. The diminutive
diamond is mapped ont with little fool flags
and chalk lines, and a skeleton mans every
position of the In and out field. The astonish
ing part of tbe whole is the wonderfully exact
mimicry of attitude of tbe players. Tbe
grotesque exactness of every detail is startling,
and evidences tbe master hand of some close
student of the ball field.
There is a gold digger at Atlantic city.
His name is Amos, and be can be seen every
fair day on the beach with sieve and spade.
Closo to the edge of the boardwalk, where the
peanut shells lie thickest and the chance ot
lucro Is greatest, Amos vlgoronsly prosecutes
his work. Every three or four feet he halts, de
posits half a dozenjsho velf uls of sand In his tub
like sieve, rocks it back and forth to get rid ot
the dross, tben, when the last grain of sand has
dribbled through, be proceeds to examine the
result Sboestrinirs, hairpins and rustv nails,
together with tbe Inevitable peanut shells, cisar
stumps and tola wrappers, cenerally form the
bulk ot his catch, but of ten a penny or a nickel
or a coin of greater value peeps forth from the
conglomerate heap, and speedily finds its way
to Amos' pocket He eets considerable money
for recovering lost jewels and returning them
to their owners.
WHAT WILD WITS ARE SAYING.
A fitting tribute the check that pays for
your suit or clothes. WatMngton Capital.
A Question of Time "Well, no, he's not
what you would call a great liar. He'll tell a
dozen little lies every day, tbouth."
Oh, I see. and It would take him IS days to be
guilty of gross lying." Detroit Journal.
Eastern Man "I do business in New
York, but I lire In the suburbs. Do you live In
thesuburbs. too?'
Chicago Man "The suburbs or Chicago? Great
snakes! Do yon take me for a frontiersman?"
A'eto York Weekly.
"Don't yon know how to spell?" asked
the exasperated teacher of the extremely phonetic
boy.
"Ob. yes," said the boy, "I know how to spell
well enough, but the men who made the diction
aries don't seem to." Somerville Journal,
Dude Are you waiting for somebody,
illss?
Lady Yes, I expect to meet my husband here.
I didn't know you were married.
Of course lain'U Didn't I tell you I expected
to meet my husband hererTcxat Sifting.
Talking about wheelmen, when they toll
not neither do they rpln.Uinghamton Kepub
llcan. The pedagogue keeps school until the
heated term comes on, asd then he keeps cool
somewhere else. Minns iXtllt Republican.
Taking Him Literally "Always be op
right my on," said the sententious father, and
tbe spoiled young man replied:
"AH rlKht. father, I will: but lryou want me
never to stoop to an ignoble -act, I guess yon'll
hare to black my shoes." SomerxUU Journal.
A Serious Case Mrs. Briske Johnny,
did the doctor call while I was out?
Little Johnny (stopping his play) Yes'm. lie
felt my pulse an' looked at my tongue, and shook
his head and said It was a very serious case, and
he left this prescription and said he'd call again
before night
Mrs. Briske Gracious me! It wasn't von I sent
him to lea; it was the baby. Sew lor Wtekly.
"So this is a prohibition town?" said a
drummer to the landlord or a small local optloft
towu la Texas.
"Yea, we don't allow any liquor to be sold If wo
can possibly prevent; but sir, thsre are men In
this town so utterly devoid of honor and principle
thai for 20 cenu they will peddle out this liquid,
damnation. What do you think of such an un
principled scoundrel?"
"It strikes me It Is a mere matter of business.
Where can I find that unprincipled scoundrel?"
"I am the man. IfoUowme!"
When the drummer returned Ms mustache was
moist, and he was out a quarter. Texas Siflingi,
i I
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