r??s3 T s -:v THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH, WEDNESDAY,-' JANUARY ""22, 1890. -v iv if i Eif y Wlje BMEtlj. ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY S. 1818, Vol.44. o.319.-Enteredat Pittsburg I'ostoffice. JJoTember 14, lsi7, as second-class matter. Business Office--97 and SO Fifth Avenue. News Booms and Publishing House75, 77 and 79 Diamond Street Intern Advertising Office. Koom 45, Tribune , Building. Mew York. TERM8 OF THE DISPATCH. POSTAGE TJUUE IN THE UNITED STATES. DAILY Dispatch, One Year. f 800 Daily Dispatch, FcrQuarter 200 Daily Dispatch, One Mouth 70 UAiLY Dispatch, includlngSunday, lyear. 10 00 Dailt Dispatch, IncludingSunday.Sm'ths. 2 SO Daily Dispatch, including Sunday, lmonth 00 EUXDATDISFATCH, One Year 2 50 "Weekly Dispatch, One Year 125 The Daily Dispatch is delivered b j carriers at 35 cents cer week, or indudlne faunday edition, at 3) cents per week. PITTSBURG. WEDNESDAY. JAN. 22. 189a NEW PABZIAMENTABY LAW. It is rather difficult to understand the purpose of the parliamentary point which Speaker Eeed and the Republican majority carried yesterday against the Democrats in the House, to the effect that members can not as a matter of right call for the appoint ment of tellers. As the minority are still conceded the right to demand the yeas and nays, the issue does not seem to be of great magnitude. But even its unimportance makes it more siogu lar that the Speaker should deem it worth while to insist upon a decision so much at variance with the ordi nary usage. The argument of the Speaker to sustain his ruling is plain enough. It starts first on the premises, that the rules of the last House are not binding on the present body. This may be true enough; although the custom that both parties have heretofore adopted of reporting the rules of the preced ing House puts the responsibility for the absence of rules on the Republican party to a very marked degree. The House being without rules the Speaker argues that the House must be governed by general parlia mentary law; and that usage, he claims, does not require the appointment ot tellers. But this is just where the Speaker is wrong. Parliamentary law rests on prece dent; and the appointment of tellers is just as clearly recognized by general parlia mentary custom as the call for a division, or for the yeas and nays. It is necessary for the prompt transaction of business in large bodies where a single count is liable to error. The chairman of an ordinary meet ing who should deny a request for tellers upon a rote of any importance would sub ject himself to the suspicion of overriding the will of the assembly. It hardly seems possible that the Repub licans have any ulterior point to carry by the denial of this slight privilege. If they should attempt any such thine tber wonld lose a great deal more than they would gain by it GOOD WEATHER FOR THE CROI'. The people of this section stand a fighting chance of waking up this morning and find ing themselves surrounded by the rigor of winter. The perverse elements taking ad vantage ot the omission of the weather prophets to formally herald the approach of a cold wave, have turned loose the chilly blasts and freezing temperature which usually usher in the season of real winter. "Whether this cold snap will be as transitory as its predecessors is, of course, for time to show; but hope of an ice crop springs eternal in the human breast when the win try winds roar as they did last night So long as the gas companies provide us with a good pressure, the public will extend as warm a welcome as is consistent with the subject, to weather which will be good for the growth of this year's ice crop. THE HOMESTRETCH OF THE RACE. The race between the feminine globe trot ters is now to be settled on the homestretch. Nellie Bly turned up at Sau Francisco yes terday very nearly on schedule time; but with tbe snow blockade on the Central Pacific road, she is forced to take the South ern Pacific route, involving the expenditure of nearly two days' more time. Miss Bis land is two days' out from Liverpool on the slow steamer Bothnia. It is therefore the Enowdrifts of the Sierras against the winter blasts of the Atlantic; the long Southern route against the tardy Bothnia that will de cide the important qnestion which of these two young women can get around the world the soonest In the meantime, as the race draws to a close, different elements of the public are making ready to adopt various methods of making fools of themselves over it A cer tain number of gentlemen presumably in terested in opposition papers to tbe World are thinking of sending a swift steamer out from Halifax to meet the Bothnia and bring Miss Bisland in ahead of the arrival of that steamer. The irorfd is of course arranging to pick its representative up somewhere in the Southwest, and hnrry her through to New York by special train. Thousands of dollars are thus shown to be ready for mere foolishness, with the result of destroying the professed value of the journeys, which was to show how soon the circuit oi the globe could be made by the regular means of con veyance. Pittsburg can hardly fail to be interested in the outcome of a race in which a Pittsburg girl is the leader; but after the excitement is over, we will all have periods of reflection that it was a trivial business. ABBETT AND BALLOT REFORM. Governor Abbett, of New Jersey, gives Governor Hill a dig in a vital part, and leaves the carefully trimmed attitude of Governor Campbell, of Ohio, Jar behind, by a vigorous and thorough advocacy of the bal lot reform. The position of the three Dem ocratic Governors leaves the Democratic party, so iar as these representatives are concerned, about evenly balanced. One Governor antagonizes the reform, ope care fully settles himself on top of the fence and one supports it more positively than the other opposes it Governor Abbett's argu ment on the subject shows careful study of all its details, and is no inconsiderable con tribution to the literature of that question. Its strength lies in tbe fact that it does not claim that the new devices will insure per fect honesty; but the contention is that the secrecy of the ballot, the limitation of ex penses, and the other details of the reform will do so much toward decreasing the temp tation and opportunity of dishonesty as to constitute a great improvement Governor Abbett's attitude in the matter offers a de cided contrast to that ot Governor Hill. MANNERS OF MILLIONAIRES. If ever the Czar oi Rnssia resolves to flee from St Petersburg he will nowhere find a more congenial and sympathetic atmosphere than in New York. Of course Mr. Mc Allister would admit the imperial gentle man to the sacred circle of his Four Hun dred. A tyrant is always welcome there, provided he has the cash. The Czar would be a useful ally just now to the gorgeous boxholders of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The elegant creatures, about whose diamonds and bad manners all Amer ica has heard so much, are making a strenu ous attempt to secure the privilege of amus ing themselves at the expense of the rest of the audience. They claim the right to talk as much as they please during the perform ance. Of late when the conversation in the boxes has drowned the voices of the singers, the lovers of music in the parquet or orchestra, as it is called at the Metropolitan have manifested their dis gust by hissing. "We are informed that the grandees in the boxes have been morti fied by this public correction. They are not ashamed of themselves, but angry that any man paying a mere three dollars for his seat should have the audacity to rebuke them. Upon the whole question the New York Press publishes a very instructive and en tertaining series of interviews with million aires in the boxes, and music lovers in the parquet The extreme views of the aristo crats are presented by such men as Banker Clews and Commodore Elbridge T. Gerry. The former bluntly gives it as his opinion that the Opera House was built for the pleasure of the box holders, that they have a right to refresh themselves with conversation when they please, and that the persons who do not want to miss a note of the opera and who object to loud talking in the boxes are cranks who ought to be ejected. Commodore Gerry thinks that the people who prefer the opera to the cackle of aristocrats are a lot of nobodies, who habitually read their librettos upside down, and buy seats in the parquet in the hope of being seen. Of course the Four Hundred do not occupy the boxes to be seen of men. One or two boxholders are weak enough to admit that the public has some rights which the plutocrats are bound to respect. But the majority of the boxholders hold that they can create as much disturbance as they please. Why do not they exclude the public then? The Opera House would have to be closed if they did, for the public con tributes more than half the revenue. So the Four Hundred can do nothing but curse the pnblic and go on talking, and showing off their diamonds, their common lack of clothing and good manners in the alleged temple of music HOW TO TAKE DEFEAT. The reports as to the settlement of the elec tric light strike given out yesterday, indi cate that the officials of the Federation of Labor have taken the easiest method of backing out of a false position. This was of course the wisest and best course to take under the circumstances. When either haste or misconception gets individuals or organizations into a mistaken position the truest wisdom lies in getting out of it by the shortest cut The strike itself was of very slight impor tance numerically, and so far as effecting any stopping oi operations was concerned had already scored a failure. As to the original cause of the strike.it had less provo cation than the K. of L. strike on the trac tion road. But, like that movement, it was important as illustrating th e principle that the strike is something that should not be resorted to, except for the most pressing reasons and not even then without more than a fighting chance of success. One feature of both these unsuccessful strikes deserves the public notice and com mendation, that is the conservative and peaceful course of the strikers in both cases. Tbe traction strike while growing out of circumstances which were calculated to pro cure a bitter feeling, was, with one or two exceptions, marked by good order and the strikers have accepted their defeat with a bearing that is admirable. The electric strike has been equally peaceable, and hav ing secured the indorsement ot the national officers of the Federation, those leaders have shown their readiness to perceive the mis take and settle the matter by the best agree ment practicable. When labor organizations can accept de feat in this admirable way, they will make a gain in public confidence that is only less valuable than victory. MAYOR PEARSON'S NEW STEP. Unhappily for us the mayor of a city is only too often tied down with political ropes or glued fast to his chair with official dignity. He cannot spread himself with any degree of freedom, and the public, ex cept a small and very vicious portion there of, see little of him. He sentences ladies and gentlemen of doubtful antecedents to the pains ot prison, and signs ordinances, but beyond that, however desirous he may be of so doing, a mayor has not many of ficial opportunities of shining. Mayor Pearson, of Allegheny, seems to have grown tired of the road of routine. A day or two ago he skipped over the gutter of formality, and took a look for himself at one of Alle gheny city's curses, her poolrooms. What he saw impressed him so unfavorably that he took steps at once to bring the police into more lively contact with the abuse that has grown under their noses. The half grown lads who lounge and pick up bad habits in the poolrooms will be arrested by the police hereafter, if Mayor Pearson's sensible orders are carried out. But that was not all Mr. Pearson did that day. He found time to stop a nuisance in the shape of a basket tied with a forty foot rope to one of the new Pleasant Valley elec tric cars. This was the second blow the Mayor struck at the overgrown lawlessness of Allegheny's younger citizens. These are not heroic blows, but a Mayor is not sup posed to be heroic. The statesmanship re quired in civic affairs is necessarily of tbe common sense and common coinage order. Mayor Pearson deserves credit for his per sonal vigilance, and he can find lots of abuses in Allegheny to remedy if he starts out with a sincere intent to find them. The petroleum market made a stagger to reach the $1 OS line yesterday, bnt the parties who have got oil to sell proceeded to unload, and sent the price the otrer way. Bulling the market is bard work when there are so many fellows with loads to realize upen. The statement that the Gastle Garden authorities have detained a young German emigrant with a hundred dollars in money, and a lot of valuable baggage, because in obedience to the advice of friends ho refused to buy a railroad ticket to Chicago, of the pool office, affords a remarkable illustration of the management of that institution. It is also an exemplification of our peculiar non-enforcement of law, that the Inter-State Commerce law forbids pooling and the Castle Garden pool keeps right along. The news that Hon. John M. Thomas will disclose tbe secrets of his checkbook as bearing upon the Senatorial caucus promises that something may be shown up fully as in teresting as that ballot-box forgery scandal. It is said in behalf of the late Walker Blaine, that he was never known to lose his temper. This certainly argues a remarkable and praiseworthy self-control. Nevertheless there must be many situations in which contact with office seekers and politicians would call for a decided loss ot temper. Sir. Blaine's ad mirable temper may have teen personally praiseworthy; but in a public point of view, there are in politics abundant opportunities for righteous indignation. The Sixteenth ward Democrats, in in dorsing a ticket composed of Bailey, Morrow and Denniston, sbow themselves to be capable of conducting city politics on a level superior to partisanship. The Portuguese merchants who are shouting for war with England cannot be deal ing In English goods. Otherwise they would perceive that hostilities with Great Britain might cost their nation a greater loss than a disputed section of the Dark Continent Dis cretion is the better part of valor in inter national affairs more than in individual dis putes. Pekhats President Harrison will suc ceed in making a great record for his adminis tration, if he can take down the pretensions of the top-lofty Senators a few notches. Justice Lamab thinks that Justices Matthews and Wood both died of overwork. This is strongly against the present crowded condition of Supreme Court business; but then it must be set down to tbe credit side of the account that overwork prevented Justice La mar from making an exhibition of himself as the eulogist of Jeff Davis. After all the other weather prophets have failed us the country looks forward with a species of passive despair as to what the ground hog may do. The statement that the Ursuline convent will be offered for sale soon foreshadows the offer of some very valuable real estate. But, as the property is probably worth more either to the diocese or to tbe nuns wbo built it than to anyone else, the chances for real estate spec ulation offered by tbe sale are not very great Nellie Bi.t's foot is on her native shore, and she is now trying to beat Miss Bisland and the blizzard to New York. It appears that those English syndicate fellows could never have put $5,600,000 into the American potteries, if they had read the testi mony before the Ways and Means Committee. Either the syndicate or tbe testimony must be all wrong as to the profits of the potteries. PEOPLE OF PROMINENCE. Miss Mary Gaeeett Is probably the wealthiest spinster in the United States, but sho has not been so generously favored by nature as by fortune, ana at the ace of 37 still remains in maiden meditation, heart whole and fancy free. Dion Boucicault has written, translated, or adapted 400 plays. "London Assurance," his first has been also his best play; it was written when he was only 18 years old. "Colleen Bawn," the most popular of his later plays, was written in nine days, but tbe plot was taken from Ger ald Griffin's novel, "The Collegians," it is said. Boucicault is now 70 years old. Among the prominent Pittsbnrgers at New York hotels are G. B. Shallenberger, C. E. Goddard and wife. V. H. 8mith, Charles H. Read. H.N. Bishop, W. R. Ewing, and Theo dore R. Hostetter at the St. James; J. D. Callery. J. L. Milligan, John &.. Taylor, Charles E. Spear, E. T. Dravo, L. S. Moore, and Robert Wardrop are registered at the Fifth Avenu; L. . Lippman and J. H. Sawyer at the Hoff man. Miss Matoiaka Gay, the famous wit and belle of Richmond, Va., is one of the most brilliant women in Washington this winter. Miss Gay is a genuine F. F. V., coming, as she does, in a direct line from Pocahontas, Matoika being the English of Pocahontas. Her eyes are dark and glorious in size and color, her figure tall and stately, her manners fascinating and her conversation irresistibly bright and winning. Edmund Law Rogers, Je., is directly descended, on one side, from tbe Hon. Thomas Law, brother of the Earl of Ellenborougb, Governor General of India, and on the other from Mrs. Martha Washington and the Calvert family of Maryland. His great-grandfather, Colonel Nicholas Rogers, served on General Washington's staff during too American Revo lution. Yet this young man. so highly con nected, and with a millionaire for a father, adopted the stage as a profession, and for ten years has been playing small parts at a small salary. He married an actress, and his stage name is Leslie Edmunds. Mark Twain has had the tables turned upon him, and the prince of professional jokers has been made the subje :t of an immense practical joke. At the Authors' Club of New York, so the story runs, Mark Twain was introduced to an English visitor, by Henry C. Banner, by his own name of Clemens, jnst after the editor of Puck (Bunner) had pointed out tbe famous humorist to the Englishman as "Mark Twain." After shaking hands, the Englishman said: "Mr. Clemens, Mr. Bunner has been trying to play a joke on me, as an ignorant foreigner, by telling me that you were Mark Twain, tho great American humorist and I told him I had never heard of such a person. Is there an American humorist named Mark Twain?" Mr. Clemens said there was a joke on somebody, but did not seem to appreciate it and the Englishman is still wondering what the joke was on Mark Twain. THE LEHIGH TALLEI ROAD. A Statement of the Receipts and Expenses for Ibe Past Yenr. Philadelphia, January 2L The annual report of the Lehigh Valley Railroad shows the operations of the whole system for the past year have resulted as follows: Transportation earnings: From coal, $8,647,461 73; miscellaneous freight $4,309,819 31; passengers, $1,839,729 91; express and mail, 51,415,367 15; other items, $160,762 68: income from investments and other sources, 51,545.912 62: total, $16,649,058 10: cost of operation, including rentals of leased lines, 811, 393,475 53; net revenue, $5,255,580 87. Against which has been charged: General expenses, in terest on floating debt taxes, loss on Morris Canal, eta. $945,768 22:inrerest bonds (including interest on guaranteed bonds and stocks), $2, 168,571 40: dividends on preferred and common stocks. $2,018,201 87; total, $5,132,541 49, leaving $123,539 38 to be added to tbe credit of the profit and loss account Neither the receipts nor expenses of the Lehigh Vallev Coal Company are included in the foregoing statement, its accounts being kept entirely distinct from those of the railroad company. The Useless Croakers. From the Inter Ocean. 1 A Guinea hen and a couple of crows can drown all tbe bird music in the field and woods. And so can two or three groan ers and croakers in a community put a damper on life and busi ness. Send them to the rear; they never yet helped themselves or anybody else to anything that was good. Cold Comfort. From tbe Philadelphia Eecord. J Little Mr. Foraker has been fired out of politics. Tbe peculiarity of the case consists in the tact that he has been fired out with his own gun. Nobody appears to be sorry, unless it be poor, bewildered Mr. Halstead. DEATHS OP A DAY. Mrs. Anna 91. Stiles. Mrs. Anna M. Stiles, wire of Kev. H. H. Etlles. pastor of the Forty-third Street Presbyterian Church, died yesterday afternoon from tbe grip. A short time ago she had an attack of pneumonia. Tbe infinenza taking hold of ber produced con gestion of the brain, from whlcii she died. Mrs. stiles was the daughter of John K. Renshaw. the grocer. She was 28 years old, and only recently married. Her early and sudden demise is deeply regretted by a large number of friends. Hon. Amos A. Blsiell. Locepobt, N. Y., January 21. Hon. Amos A. Blssell, of this city, father of Special Agent Blssell of the Treasury Department at Boston, and Law yer Blssell. of Buffalo, and uncle of Wilson S. Bls sell, ex-President Cleveland's law partner, died here this morning, aged S3. He was a great canal forwarder In the seventies, and owned some CO boats. He was also a member of the Assembly for two years. Ebenczer Bent. IFrrCIAf. TELIQKAM TO THE DISPiTCtt.l HAnRISBUitQ, January 21. Ebeneier Bent brother of Major L. S. Bent, Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, died at Bteelton last night or heart failure. Mr. Bent who was 69 years old, has been auditor of the company for ten years. He was born In Qnlncy, Mass., where his remains will be taken for Interment THE TOPICAL TALKER. Rntlicr Lively Music Outside Heaven's Gates Bliss Hawthorne's Plana K Dramullo Author' Error Nature Cor. rected the Poet. tT is well to be careful in all things. This season some tableaux vivajxis were given at a certain house in the East End. It was a private affair, and very, very high-toned. The most fashionable orchestra in town was se cured to furnish the music, without which tab leaux are not complete. A pretty little pro gramme was printed. It contained sufficient information to enable the audience to distin guish George Washington from Scipio Af rican us, and the names of the operas from which the music was selected. The printers made a mistake abontone of the musical numbers, attributing it to "Enuinie," instead of "Ernanl." The orchestra) followed the programme, and rehearsed some of the catchy airs from Jakobowski's tuneful work, instead of the more sober strains of Verdi's "Ernanl." Nobody told the leader of the or chestra of the typographical error. It was a little inharmonious, therefore, when the curtain went up and disclosed seven virgins at the gates ot heaven, while the orchestra broke out with the jolly thieves' chorus from "Erminie" you know the thing beginnlng,"We are jailbirds." The lady manager realized that something was wrong, and the curtain went down with a rush, but the orchestra finished the measure, to the great amusement of tbe audience. V Miss Grace Hawthorne, who has been making some stir In England in a version of Sardou's "Theodora," must have designs on this country, or why does her present agent think it worth while to ask The Dispatch to announce that it is almost impossible to buy flowers in Liverpool because they are all cor nered by Miss Grace Hawthorne's admirers to be thrown at her nightly when she appears at the Shakespeare theater in that city? Pittsburg has to accept almost anything in the theatrical way that is thrown to her, and he would lavish bouquets perhaps on Miss Hawthorne in anything but "Theodora." That deadly play we pray to be delivered from. The slngglsh blood ot Britons may need a strong ir ritantbut for pity's sake leave "Theodora" at home when you come here. V A dramatic author is no better judge of the offspring of his brain than other literary workmen. I remember hearing Bartley Camp bell's son say his father never thought much of his "White Slave." He had no particular Incentive to writing itand when he had finished it after some 15 days' labor, he did not think he should ever make use of it. But it was pro duced and made an instant hit No other play of Campbell's has made so much money, and to its coining power the clearanco of the Camp bell estate from debt which consummation is likely to occur by next summer is principally due. How many seasons it has been on the road I do not know, but when it was seen here last year the audiences were immense. The author did not get much good out of the revenues from his plays, but his widow and family luck ily will, nay, they have done already. V nature corrected him. The poet wrote: "The idle wind" And then be paused not for a rhyme A bell had rang lie had not dined And told blm It was dinner time. But while the poet ate there flew A Western wind into his den, And all his paners overthrew. Bis inkpot also, and his pen. And when the poet came, he said Start notl this poet never swore " The busy wind, ' I'll write Instead, And study nature more!" H. J. A VOCALIST HONORED. Fitting Testimonial to a Gentleman Very Fopnlnr In Fittaborc Tbe enthusiastic reception oi "The Brigands" at the Bijou last night was not so much a tri umph of the Carleton Opera Company as a tribute to tbe merits of a clever fellow-citizen, Mr. J. K. Murray, wbo took the role of Falsa eappa. Still, the performance, as a whole, was far superior to that of "Nanon" on Monday, a remaikable improvement being noticeable in the choruses. Mr. Murray proved himself to be possessed of a really fine and well-trained voice. His sing ing ot the interpolated ballad, "Three Beg gars," was an excellent piece of vocalization. Miss Clara Lane was a bewitching Frageoletto, and sang with her usual sweetness; while Miss Alice L Carle was a dulcet, and loveable Fiorella. No doubt Mr. C. A. Bigelow, as Pielro, showed some "excellent fooling," but his singing of "Down Went McGinty" in the garb of an Italian bngana, was somewhat in congruous. His topical song was laughable, and almost interminable. During the second act Mr. Murray was the recipient of a graceful present In the shape of a very handsome gold watch. His old friends in Pittsburg had selected this means of making known to him their recognition of his worth. The present was accompanied with an eloquent address by City Attorney Moreland, and Mr. Carleton responded for Mr. Murray, who, as he quaintly pnt it. was "suffering from a lump in his throat." Floral tributes were also shower ed upon the stage. LEADING PAPEE OP" THE 8TATE. Tho Dispatch a Journal for tho People and the Home Circle. Erom the Somerset Democrat. The Pittsburg; Dispatch is unquestion ably the leading newspaper of Pennsylvania, The wonderful popularity of the Sunday edi tion puts it in the lead of all other Sunday papers, and it has now a circulation consider ably over 50.000. Each number is a monster magazine of choicest pen productions, as well as an accurate and exhaustive chronicle of cur rent news. It is a newspaper for the people and the homo circle. The daily issue of The Dispatch, which has ever maintained the lead, will continue to offer the best things going in the news line. It3 re liable market reports, vast news-getting' ma chinery (including leased wires to all the chief cities), and its earnest, progressive and inde pendent policy, has earned for it a national rep utation and made it a household word in West ern Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. Quite Possible. Prom tbe Chicago Times, j Ex-Queen Isabella, of Spain, boasts that she Is more in debt than any other woman in Europe. It is barely possible that in this boast lies the secret of the agitation in favor of a Republic now going on in Spain. THOUGHTS ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS. New York World: Down went Foraker to tbe bottom of public esteem. But he has been on a toboggan slide for a couple of years. Philadelphia Times: Men bavemet politi cal death by monkeying with tbe ballot boxes on election day, but Foraker seems to have met with bis by meddling with an alleged ballot box before election. New York Star: It is reported that the Prince and Princess of Wales will visit this country iu the spring incognito. There will not be much incognito about the trio if tbe New York reporters are in good trim. Philadelphia Eecord: Not as much liquor is sold in Kansas as formerly on account of the high prices at the drug stores. But thn drug gists of Kansas, who are growing rich under the policy embodied in the prohibitory law, op pose its repeal to tbe last man. Philadelphia Press: Give Mr. Cleveland a chance. The New York Sun wants the ex President to answer Mr. Blaine's argument on protection. By all means, the sooner the bet ter. He defeated his party two years ago by a message on the tariff. Perhaps he can do as much two years hence by writing another now. New York Press: Portugal, under the pro tecting wing of France, might easily become a Republic, especially as Spain is in no condition to coerce her people and the Portugnese royal line has been set aside in Brazil. The cable grams from London about troubles in Oporto indicate a strong popular tide in the direction of a popular uprising. New Yoke Sun: The sensible thing to do in regard to silver Is to make its use as money optional between debtors and creditors at the time they enter into their agreements. Lend ers now often stipulate for repayment in gold, and borrowers might equally insist upon the right to receive silver and pay back silver." Only tbe contract should be, not for dollars. but for ounces, and all that tbe Government need to do, if it lis to do anything, is to issue against deposits of silver bullion certificates re deemable in ounces of silver. DE. M'GLTNN'S LECTURE. An Able EDort, Which Charmed a Lars: Aadlenco at Lafayette Hall. Dr. McGlynn lectured last evening in Lafay ette Hall under the auspices of the Single Tax League, His subject was: "The Abolishment of Poverty." As a basis he took the preamble of the Declaration of Independence. "That all men are endowed by their Creator equally with the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Acknowledging that tbe fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man was inevitable, and upon that religious principle the reform mnst stand. Dr. McGlynn said: We wonld assert tbe right of man to labor and enjoy the rights of labor a doctrine that is essentially tbe doctrine of religion. Be at tributed tbe present condition of labor and capital to a violation of Qod's law that ye love ona anotner. He spoke of the history of tbe world and said that the immunity the world bad enjoyed from war had been not from the acquisition of mutual rights, but from a surrender of rights by tho weak to the strong. In striking lan guage and by forciDle illustration he compared the chattel slave to tbe industrial slave, and the condition of the latter wa3 eminently worse than of the former. For an owner of a $1,000 negro man or woman would take a physical care of their bodies from a business point of view, ana if sickness overtook them he would procure medical assistance and relief if possible. With the industrial slave, the result of a monopolization of nature's bounties by a few capitalists, who permitted them to live simply, it was very different. They possessed no market value. In sickness, as with the Irish landlord, they were evicted. Morally there was not much difference, one was as bad as the other. Dr. McGlvnn thohgbt if the politicians, who are forever boasting of the abolition of chattel slavery, would turn from the dead to the living and assist in the abolition of industrial slavery, there would be glory iu it for them. His remedy for all the evils of the present based upon tbe fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, is an equal tax paid into a com mon treasury. A rental tax for ground which, no matter bow used, whether for buildings or for procuring coal, oil or gas. paid into the common treasury, with which to educate the masses, give them better schools, libraries, parks, etc., etc With that system speculation would be destroyed. Capitalists could not afford to keep ground and pay a rental tax for it without using it Coal fields could not be bought up and controlled for years, thereby making an artificial scarcity of coal. It would make compulsory employment of labor. There would be an increased demand for capital and labor to work land now unused, so that both wages and interest would rise. Labor and tbe products of labor would thus be relieved from all taxation. Peace and plenty would flow and happiness reign. BENEI WATTEES0N COMING. Pittsbnrgers Afforded nn Opportunity to Hear tho Editor. On Thursday evening. January 30, Hon. Henry Watterson will deliver his lecture on "Money and Morals," at Old City Hall, under the auspices of the Pittsburg Press Club. The great editor's fame as an orator and lecturer prevents even comment in anticipation of the quality of the discourse to be delivered next week. , The sale of seats will begin on Saturday morning at Kleber's. A Dancing Reception. The McKelvey mansion in the East End was ablaze with many lights last evening, resonant with sweet strains of music, and tbe air was heavy with the delightful fragrance of choice flowers. The occasion was a dancing reception, and the daughter of tbe home. Miss Chrissie, with Mrs. D. Moore and Miss Barnes, assisted Mr. and Mrs. McKelvey in dispensing hospital ity. The ladies were attired in charming toilets, and in a graceful manner entertained tho many guests that responded to the invita tions sent out a few days ago. Social Chatter. The dinner-dance, tbe fourth of the series, will be given to-day instead of the regular day, Friday, as on that evening tbe assembly ball is booked. Tbegerman will be danced at tho residence of Mrs. B. F. Jones, and the other ladies of the club will give the dinners, as usual. At University Hall to-morrow evening, Othello will be produced by members of the Curry School of Elocution and Dramatic Culture, and Mr. and Mrs. Byron W. King. A musical programme between the acts will be under the direction of Prof. S. Blssell. The Woman's Club had, its regular meeting yesterday afternoon, and its re-elected officers presided in their variousroles. The constitu tion, with the slight changes made by the official ladies last week, was voted on, and a very pleasant meeting was held. The Swedish Ladies' National Concert at Old City HalL to-morrow evening, will Insure a delightful evening to all who attend the performance. The Eastern papers indorse the fair singers in a very complimentary style. Fob the inmates of Dlxmont, at that institu tion next Thursday evening, the Haydn Quar tet, of this city, assisted by Miss Jennie Grey, soprano, and Miss Jean Abbott, violinist, will give a very interesting concert The Supreme Lodge, Order of Solons, will give a very interesting musical and literary en tertainment to-night in Lafayette Hall. Mks. John Doty, formerly Miss Margaret Shaw, was the guest of honor at a reception last evening given by Miss Eulie Shaw. In New Castle this evening at 5 o'clock Miss Nolie Rose will become the bride of Mr. Oscar T. Hance, a newspaper man of this city. Misses Kate and Ada Smith, of Wylie avenue, will entertain friends this afternoon with progressive euchre. Miss McDow, at her parents' home, 195 Fay ette street, Allegheny, will be married to-day to Mr. Richard Lowrie. Mbs. C. L. Magee has returned from her trip to New York and is once more at home at the Hotel Duquesne. THE poverty german will be danced this evening at the Bailey residence, Cliff street, Al legheny. To-night Miss Annie Holmes, of Fifth ave nue, will be wedded to Mr. Augustus Kuhn. Mrs. George M. Laughlin will leave shortly for Europe. The Beggs-Spronl wedding will take place this evening. i A GOOD PLACE TO BUILD SHIP?. San Francisco Able to Tackle Contracts for Bis; War Tesiela. Washington, January 2L Mr. Irving M. Scott, of the Union Iron Works, San Francis co, gave some interesting facts to-day before the House Committee on Naval Aff lira con cerning tho increased facilities for building war vessels at that city. The largest battle ships, he said, those of 10,000 or 12,000 tons, could be built there. For the protection of inland ports, Mr. Scott recommended that the Government's single turreted monitors be remodeled. If tbe turrets were removed, and the vessels armed with disappearing guns of heavy caliber, they would, he thought, give very efficient protection. THE HEIGHTS AND THE VALLEY. He stood in the valley with easier eyes Turned to tbe peaks where the sunshine lay. "O, for the heights that are near the skies. The glorious heights that are far away," He cried, as ever his longing grew To climb the steeps till the heights were won, And ever a wUd unrest broke through The daily tasks that must still be done. "It must be lonely on those fair heights, " Said the friend he told of his wild desire. "Better the valley of old delights;" But the heart of the di earner was all on fire With the thought of reaching the hills afar, And he would not tarry with friends of old, But followed the flash of ambition's (tar. And climbed up the mountains bleak and cold. There were rocky places where feet must bleed; There were awful chasms where danger lay; Through nights of darkness and'days of need Toward the peaks he longed for be took his way. And nearer, nearer the peaks of snow Each day the climber In raoture drew. Forgetting the valley that lay below And the valley friends who were kind and true. At last the terrible heights were scaled; Alone on the desolate peaks stood be. Iu tbe moment of triumph bis courage failed. And his heart turned valleyward longingly, O, to bear the voices of trlends again. To clasp a hand that was warm and trne I O, to love and be loved, and to share with men Tbe little Joys that the valley knew ! Hotter the valley with peace and love Than the desolate belgbt3 some souls attain. Lonely is life on the tills above The valley lands and the sunny plain. What la fame to love 7 Can It satisfy The longing and lonely hearts of men T On tbe heights they must hunger and starve and die Come bask to.tbe valley of .peace again. , . EbtnX. Bexfora in louth's Companion. THE STROLLER'S STORIES. Odd Opinions and Qaalnt Observations Gath ered From Curb and Corridor. TVTK. Pokter 8. Newmteh, of Connells ville, was at the Hotel Anderson yester day. He was accompanied by K. Long, a miller; J. C. Kurtz, Cashier of the Yough iogheny Bank, and J. M. Dusbane, a mercbant and general investor of Connellsville. Mr. Newmyer Is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor, and be said yesterday that he considered his prospects flattering. He said to the Stroller:, "I am not doing much just now. I am waiting, as the other candidates say, until after the February elections. It is possible that tbe location of the nominee for Governor will influence the choice of the Lieutenant Governor. 1 hardly think, however, that such will be the case iu this cam paign. In the first place there are no candi dates for Governor from the southwestern part of the Commonwealth. In the second place the regard usually given in conventions to geographical location is unreasonable. The most capable man should be nominated, no matter from what county he hails. I have seen the most carefully allotted tickets defeated. I have not yet begun a canvass for the posi tion. My prospects, however, are flattering. I have received kindly letters from all parts of the. State, and 1 know that I have many warm friends. My candidacy does not antagonize any candidate for Governor." fyjR. Newjiter has some new ideas on tho Gubernatorial campaign. He said to the Stroller: "I consider Senator Quay the great est political leader of the United States. When I speak thus I refer to him as a politician. He has no superior in politics in America. 1 think that the opportunity of Senator Quay's life is now presented to him. Should he become tbe compromise candidate for Governor of Penn sylvania he could be nominated for President In 1892. I would not be surprised to see him nominated for Governor. He would sweep the State. Let him then go into the National con vention with Pennsylvania back of him, and the delegates from half the other States, and his nomination would be assured. No other man could contest with him. Harrison is a man who owes his election to Senator Quay and does not know it. Mr. Blaine will never run again, as all politicians know. Major Mc Kinley will not win, for reasons I could tell. It will be Senator Quay or a Western man. Our man ought to have it" Me. Newmyer was accompanied to the city yesterday by three other Connellsville gen tlemen: K. Long, tbe big miller; J. 0. Kurtz, cashier of the Youghiogheny Bank, and Cap tain J. M. Dushane, the merchant and general investor. They were in the city on pnvate business. Mr. Kurtz is a brother of J. B. Kurtz, one of the candidates for tbe postmas tership of Connellsville. Another candidate is Mr. S. H. Dusbane, a son of the Captain. Judge Harry White, of Indiana, is now in Washington, and is depended upon to put in a good word for the son of the man who rescued blm from Libby prison. "piM Scanlan, when he came back from Columbus the other day, with the Randall Club, ran in out of the rain to his friend" Maloney. "Mike," be said, "it's the chilliest town I ever set my two eyes on. It's a bigger time we can have in the Sixth ward electing a constable than they can have electing a Gov ernor in that State 'tother side the river." Paptain W. W. O'Neil, the big coal opera tor, who used to live at the Monongahela House.' yesterday took up his quarters at the Hotel Duquesne. Captain O'Neil is a cautious man, and he ate several square meals at Colonel Wltherow's house before he was satisfied that was the place he was looking for. J-Jon. Eugene Iottig, of Chicago, went through, yesterday morning, en route to Washington. He is one of the most influential politicians of the Western metropolis. Mr. Littig said, anent the present quarrel between Illinois Senators and the President, that while Collector of the Fort Clarke was one of the strongest and best Republicans in the city, the Republican workers of Chicago had made up their minds that tbe principles of Jackson must be adhered to in the case of so important a federal appointment Among the people wbo yesterday enjoyed tbe hospitalities of the Seventh Avenne Hotel was Edward J. Phillips, wbo is generally known as one of the most genial men coming to Pitts burg. He has nothing to win by the general transition of Federal appointments, and his expectations for the coming campaign in this State are all based on an independent stand point "r A. Delamater, Superintendent of the Iiinesville Railroad, of Meadville, is at the Hotel Duquesne. He is a brother to Senator George Wallace Delamater. A bwee Mckinley, of New York, is at the Hotel Anderson. He expects that, after March 4, 1893. he will be very closely related to the President of the United States. He bears a remarkable resemblance to his brother, the Major. p H. Connell, of Joliet, 111., and George O. " Baker, of Des Moines. la., both stock- holders of tbe Illinois Steel Company, are at the Hotel Dnquesne. T L. Smith, of Johnstown, wbo is connected ' with the Cambria Iron Works as General Agent is at the Hotel Duquesne. THE MOUNTAIN QUEEN. The Sevflckley Valley Clnb Flanges Into LI eh l Opera With Snccrss. As usual at these delightfnl events the Pe wickley Valley Club's theater was crowded last night when "Tyrolean.or the Mountain Queen," an operetta in four acts, by Charles F. Hanson, of Boston, was given by the members of the club. The cast was so large that it Included almost all the young people in the club, and the principal characters can only be men tioned here. They were as follows: liosalle, Mrs. McDonald: fairy queen. Miss Murray: Josephine, Mrs. Pease; Mother Grant, Mrs. Adair; first maid of honor. Miss Waters: second maid of honor, Mrs. Ollmore; third maid of honor. Miss Carpenter; fourth maid of honor, Miss Htlen Carpenter; Gipsy Dick, Mr. F. E. Richardson: first gipsy, Mr. Waters; second gipsy. .Mr. Irwin; mountain children, Jessie Murray and Jennie Kevin. Tho chorus numbered about SO voices, and a small band of fairies included tbe following little ladies: Jessie Kerr,Mazie Madeira,Fannle Oliver, Susan Williams, Alice Carpenter.Laura Liggett Nannie Naylor, Ethel Standisb, Bessie Young and Jennie Knox. These sweet little fays were led by Miss Chaplin. The operetta itself is a simple, unpretending little tbing as far as plot goes but the music is ot considerably heavier character, and while at times suggestive of other works, it abounds in light melodious airs, and choruses of consider able originality and sonority. The libretto seems to have been written as librettos usually are, more for sound tban sense, but it conveys the simple tale of a village beauty's abduction by a wicked gipsy and rescue by the friondly fairies. Naturally, the first honors go to Mrs. Sharp McDonald among tbe singers. As Sosalie, the Tyrolean Queen, she sang and acted with great art and unflagging spirit Her beautiful so prano lent a rare brilliancy to tne large amount of the score that fell to ber qhare. Inadnet with Mrs. McDonald, in Act 1, Mrs. Pease's rich contralto voice was heard to great ad vantage, and indeed all the work allotted to Mrs. Pease was "sung with much sweetness of expression and dramatic force. Mrs. Adair's impersonation of tbe wicked gipsy with tbe unromantic name was extremely clever.and tbe singing of soveral others among tbe mortals was remarkably good. For the chorus, how ever, we mnst award still higher praise. In the (-first act especially their singing was excellent. Tbey kept time wen ana many or choruses which have been put forward by opera com panies with big names were not the equals of this one oi amateurs. But the fairies completely conquered the audience. Tbe prettiest children that the Sewickley Valley has flitted upon tho stage, with tbe lightness of a zephyr. The sparkle of tbe tinsel wings and the filmy dresses of ganze made tbe scene inexpressibly pretty. The fairies sang sweetly, too, and their queen. Miss Murray, displayed a volco of goluen quality, a pure soprano, which, though light, has abundant carrying power. It may have been the rustle of fairies' wings. Miss Murray's rare singing, the bright scenery, or all these things together, but the conclusion of the opera had tbe greatest charm for us. For tbe whole performance, a large and by no means easy work, Mrs. McDonald is entitled to great credit. Bnd for the Conga Country, Though. From tbe Louisville Courier-Journal. Cigar smokers think Mr.Huntington's scheme for putting yonng men into tbe .Congo Free State . would be a fine thing If he wonld load his emigrant ships with' cigarette smokers. OUU MAIL fUrjCfl. A Tale of Fraud. To the Editor of The Dispatch: Each day we read the accounts in our dally papers of money being obtained by fraud, but how little thought the most of us give to the enormous amounts which go out that way each day; and if we keep account for one year the amount is large enough to support a great city. xue writer is cioseiy connected with tbe bank ing business of the country and has given this subject special attention during the year which has just closed, and tne result is surely worthy of attention. We read an account to-day wbere some man has obtained a large sum of money on a forged check or draft, and we of course wonder bow this man obtained this check or draft so that he could forge it and also why the paying teller was so stupid as to not see that it was a forgery. Now 1 am going to to tell you just bow it is done. If you sift these cases of forgery right to tbe bottom you will find that in nine cases out of ten these checks and drafts were orig inally genuine, being drawn and signed by the proper parties, tbe parties to the fraud afterward removed the body of the check in on8 of the dozen or more ways in which It is very easily done, and then rewrote it f ora much larger amount but did not touch the signature. That is just why tbe teller paid It, because he knew positively that the signature was genuine and there was, of conrse, nothing about the ap pearance of tho cheek or draft as the case might be, to show that it had been raised. It takes a high degree of skill indeed to imi tate another man's signature so that the prac ticed eye of our bank tellers will not detect It; but a very little practice will enable any one to raise tbe amount to whfch the check was drawn so perfectly that it cannot be detected. A large number of our banxers ana business men use a machine to cut the amount out of the body of the check. This.of course, glvesabsolute protection, but the greatnumbers of houses and banks wbo do not protect themselves are con stantly being swindled by this class or forgery. As business houses of any considerable magni tude always nave a comfortable balance with their bankers, ample time and an abundance ot cash are thus placed at the disposal of the check raisers. Tbe use of certified checks is extremely dangerous, unless they are made se cure against alteration by cutting out the amount What may result from a neglect to effectually protect this class of paper is best explained by the case of C. M. Cunningham, formerly general agent for the Mutual Life In surance Company atElmira,N. Y. Cunning bam had the advantage of a good acquaintance among the bankers of Elmira, with whom he had quite heavy transactions. He had estab lished himself so firmly in their confidence that one da') last summer he had no difficulty in cashing a certified check, drawn to his order by the Mutual Life Insurance Company, which he had successfully raised from $281 to $22,898. The especial danger attached to certified Checks lies in the fact that by the mere act of certification they are rendered easily negotia ble, tbe work of alteration being Just as simple alter certification as before. The Maverick National Bank, of Boston, one of the largest financial institutions of that city, was swindled out of $8,000 a short time since by professional check raisers. A very respectable appearing man opened an account at the bank, depositing some $2,000, which he drew against and replen ished until he had established his credit With in a few weeks he deposited a draft for $5,800, drawn by a Portland bank against a New York bant and on the next day drew $5,000 against it. The draft was sent to New York for col lection, when it was found to have been raised from the original amount ot $1,700 to $5,8C0. Before advice had reached Boston the deposi tor bad closed his account drawing all tbe balance, and left the city. It is not long since Edward S. Stokes, of tbe Hoff man House. New York City, was swindled out of several thousand dollars by the clever work of Chicago check raisers. At the Eleventh Ward Bank, New York City, may be seen a check which was drawn by Messrs. Hatch & Foote for $34, and raised to $2,600, so cleverly done that no one can detect any trace of the alteration. The readers of The Dis patch will remember that not long ago the German-American Bank, at No. 50 Wall street New York, cashed a certificate of deposit for $10,000 which had been drawn for $125. The writer conld relate dozens of other cases of this kind which have come to his notice in the past year, and it is a well-known lact that the majority of firms wbo loss large amounts in this way keep it from tbe press, not wanting their customers and the public generally to know that they have been careless and made a victim to this kind of fraud. A. L. D. Pittsburg, January 2L A Convention of Patentees Proposed. To the Editor ofTbe Dispatch: It is highly desirable for the good of the na tion for a conference of persons interested In United States patent laws to take place soon, in order to advocate many much-needed alter ations in those laws, among others the reduc tion of Government fees. A surplus profit over expenses at the Patent Office is not good i policy. To such a conference, when assembled, tbe following striking proposition will be sub mitted: Tbere should be prevision and pro vision, by legislation' or association, to save good discoveries made by those who cannot save them. It is believed that never in tbe history of man has a more important measure of law or social arrangement been laid down, or one fraught with more momentous influence on tbe future welfare of the denizens ot this globe we live on. It does not logically follow that genius must be wealthy. "You cannot have your cake and eat it" One cannct devote his life, as in duty doudu, to me promotion ot nis genius, and at the same time give all bis time to the acquisi tion of money. Any intelligent school boy may kuow that some men of originality die everv year without being able to give the world the uuueub ui tjjeu: uiscurenes; tueir originations, whatever tbe value of them may be, are buried in their graves and lost forever. It is suggested that Pittsburg be the place and early in March the time for said confer ence. I, the writer, will give gratis to 10 or to 40 of said patentees when met one valuable in vention each; this X will do for the foil ewing good reasons: First I am too old and cannot live long enough to introduce them. Second 'Tis better to let the world have gratis the labors of my whole life than take the results into the grave to be lost forever. Third My discoveries are the best ever made by man. I ask I demand that this be printed because it Is for the public good and because there is not the faintest taint or suspicion of gratuitous advertising about it. It is a hard world to live in truly, if a poor old man cannot be allowed even to give awav the labor of a whole life, without being required to pay a larger sum tban he can accumulate. In order to confer a great benefit on tbe world forever! Ermine, Pa., January 20. Inventor. GENERAL HAETRANFrS MONUMENT. Nearly 80,000 Contributed, and Proposals for Ic Ereclion to be Recrived. .'SPECIAL TKLEGKAM TO THE DISFATCB.1 Haerisbubg. January 2L General John A. Wiley, Commapderof the Second Brigade, was the only member of the Hartranft Monument Commission absent from the meeting in this city to-day. Reports received by the commis sion show that $5,678 have been subscribed by members of tbe National Guard toward tbe erection of a suitable monument to the memory of General Hartranft and indicate, that tbe sum of $6,000 will be contributed for that pur pose before subscriptions cease. Anotner meeting oi toe commission wui oe held in Philadelphia, February 20. to receive proposals for the erection and completion of the monument, which Is to be of granite and bronze. The designs shall be based on an esti mated expenditure of $5,000. HOW INSURAKCE PAIS. The Sworn Figures of a Pitlsburg Com pany, Filed at Albany, N. Y. rSFZCIAt. TZLIORAM TO TH DISrATCJM Albany, January 2L Among the reports of insurance companies for the past year just filed with the State Department is tbe following: Western Fire Insurance Company, of Pitts burg: Admitted assets, $433,177 50. Liabilities Unpaid losses, $13,633 59; unearned premiums, $90,767 10; all other liabilities except capital. $3,943 46; capital stock paid up. $300,000; surplus beyond all liabilities. $23,029 23: aggregate lia bilities. $431,383 33. Income Fire premiums, $143,561 45; marine and inland premiums, $661 26; all other income, 51,423: total Income, $169,627 60. Disbursements Fire losses. $118,332 35; divi dends to stocKhnlders. $18,000; all other ex penditures, $6,638 69; total disbursements, S18L 979, 12. CONFIRMED BI THE SENATE. The First Auditor of tbo Treasury at Last Off tbe Books. Washington, January 21. Among the Fresidental appointments confirmed to-day by the Senate were the following: Postmasters Ohio: SamuerMetzler. Wooster; 11 R. Alder man, Marietta; Nelson Ozler, Mansfield: and George P. Fisher, of Delaware, to be First Auditor of the Treasury. Mr. Fisher's nomination had been bung upon the Committee on Finance for some time be cause of certain charges made against him: bnt the committee to-day unanlmodlly decides that there was no reason why he should not be confirmed and so reported to the Senate this afternoon, with the result above noted. CUBIOUS COHDENSTIONS. Of all the aliens who took out letters of naturalization in England last year only three were Americans. A great flight of locusts, believed to have covered 2.000,000 square miles, recently crossed the Red Sea from the African shore. The Massachusetts Savings Bank Com missioners suggest school savings , banks as a means of teaching the yonng idea how to save. A South Chester resident has received a letter from a friend In Tacoma, Wash., where be says it costs 50 cents to get shaved and $1 for a hair-cut. A teacher near Allentown suspended a scholar for swearing in Pennsylvania Dutch, and tbe affair has caused a division in the local School Board. During the calendar year of 1889, 109, 140,917 pieces of coin were executed at the, mints of tbe United States, having a total value of $58,194,022. Anchovies have recently been found un usually plentiful on the southwest ooast of England, running with smelts, which are also very large and fine. A fish delicately flavored, and said by many to be equal to that of the salmon, is a great gray trout called tuladi. and is found in its perfection in Lake Temiscouta, Canada. An 18-year-old girl who conld speak little English, was recently sent from Texas to New York, with a card pinned to her dress giving her destination. The Russian Government will begin next spring to build its 4,500-milo railroad, across Siberia. This is a big undertaking and its estimated cost is $220,000,000. Seized with a somnambulistic fit, Jo seph Snyder, of Allentown, left a restaurant whero he had fallen asleep and walked past his home to Coplaystown, six miles away. A post mortem examination revealed in the stomach of a valuable bull terrier that died suddenly in Revere. Mass., several yards of string, burned matches and a cigarette holder. The mild weather in England keeps sea fishing uncommonly good. Trailing slowly in deep water witn rod and line and a single book, great numbers of heavy pollack have been taken. A Minneapolis inventor is about to introduce to the public a slot machine that for a nickel will present the payer a photograph of himself in just three minutes from the time be drops In the fi-cent piece. Tbe cheapening of aluminium has led to a proposition to construct arc lamps ot this material as preferable on account of lightness and qualities of resisting rust in comparison with iron, steel or brass for outdoor use. According to a recent paper read before the French Academy of Sciences, the temper ature at the top of the Eiffel Tower is fre quently much higher than at the ground, though the contrary, as a rule, is to be ex pected. A Battle Creek, Mich., man requested the City Recorder to order all the saloons in town not to sell him anything to drink. The Recorder took the sensible drunkard around to all tbe ginmills. told tbe proprietors to take a good look at him, and to not sell him budge on pain of prosecution. It is a fact well known to pigeon fanci ers that the two eggs laid by pigeons almost invariably produce male and female. Some curious experiments as to which of the eggs produce the male and which the female have resulted in showing that the first egg laid is the female and the second tbe male. A soluble pigment has been found in the spines of the South American tree porcu pine. Theqnill3are tinged with bright yel low and tipped with dark brown. The yellow will dissolve in ordinary water, but the brown resists the solvent action of alcohol and chloro form, though it yields to ammonia and potash. Editor O. K. Mohr, of the Slatington (Pa.) News, has been sorely afflicted. This is tbe way he describes it in his own paper: "Tbe editor has at last to succumb, and on Thursday and Friday suffered from 'grippe,' Saturday cot married, and on Monday morning got back to the office all 'O. K., More' spirited than ever." A funny story is going the rounds of the press, of a young lady who found a horse shoe, and, wishing for good luck, placed it under her pillow in company with her lalse teeth. In tbe morning in the hurry of dressing she substituted the shoe for the teeth and wore it for some time before the mistake was discov ered. This storv was told to a voune- ladv visit ing Meadville, and with great astonishment in her voice she exclaimed "ana never washed tbe shoe!" She was evidently more surprised over the lack of cleanliness than the size of the girl's month. She was from OH City. Dr. J. G. Justin, a chemist of Syracuse, is the inventor of a large dynamite cartridge that is soon to made at Perryville, Madison county, N. Y., andno little interest is awakened in tbe experiment that will take place near Perryville some day next week. Dr.Jnstin has been trying to construct a shell by wbich any amount of dynamite may be fired from an ordinary cannon without danger of premature explosion. Tbe shell he has prepared weighs 250 pounds, is 42 inches in length and 9 inches in diameter. Many capitalists are interested in the experiment and if the shell is a success It will doubtless supersede Lieutenant Zollnski's pneumatic gun. Henry Kurtz is a man 60 years of age and lives near Reading. He owns a mustang, which is named Texter, that at times is very un ruly and balky. Tho other day some of the old man's friends made fun of the mustang and its owner. Kurtz declared that he could ride tbe mustang into the barroom of the Kurtz House and take a drink while seated on its back. A half dozen men offered to bet that he could not do it He took every wager, and on the after noon of tbe same day rode his mustang to the hotel. There was a crowd present. Texter was inclined to be balky, but the old man fed him a few apples and tbe animal walked straightway into the barroom. He was at the bar in a mo ment, and Mr. Kurtz took a drink of whisky amid tbe applause of the crowd. There is scarcely a daily average at tendance of 10 in a school population of from 150 to 200 at each village in Alaska. Fifty thousand rubies are each year appropriated from the Imperial Treasury of St Petersburg for aid to tbe church and the support of schools in Alaska. Part of the church revenues is de rived from the sale of candles at funerals and marriages and from tho rent of church prop erty devoted to secular purposes, which the Grseco-Kussian Chnrch. under tbe provisions of tbe treaty, was allowed to retain. This is not very valuable, however, as a source of rev enue. The Russian churches amongtbe Aleuts of tbe seal islands of St. Paul and St George, In Behrln? Sea are. in great part supported from contributions of tbe industrious wage earning people of the3e islands. A CLUSTER OF BRILLIANTS. Love and liquor make the world go ronna.Wasnington Star. The true humorist never smiles that is, unless somebody else pays for It Kearney Enter prise. The whisky manufacturer gets a good deal of abuse, buthejust takes Hall In and keeps iM.inghamtan Republican. Fogg argues that prohibition can't pro hibit because drunken men are sure to be plenty full everywhere. Mnghamton Republican. "I am afraid your retort cut Mr. Chestnut to the quick." "Impossible! He Is a Phliaaelphlan." Jfexo York Sun. Plenty of Boom Then. Lightpurse Can I get into the assessor's oHce? Wellfllled I think so; I have Just brought oat my tax bill. Boston Herald. The Necessary Condition. "I will be your slave my darling; will you marry mel" "Weltir you promise that I'll consider your application favorably ."-Boston Herald. Husband(to extravagant wife) You have succeeded at last In maklna something out of me. Wife I knew I would. What Is it dearest? Husband -A pauper. EpoeX. A lecturer has for a subject, "The Coming Man and What We Owe Him." If brevity is the soul of a witty lecture, he should call his subject 'The Bill Collector." We are not anxious to know what he owes him. i'orristoum Herald. HER REPLT. The fools are not all dead, said he. Her answer took him quite aback: I'm very glad of It said she; I never did look well In black. Boston Courier. Manager Why have you run our tele graph lines round Philadelphia Instead or directly through? Assistant The authorities said It was against the law to run anything through the city. Stto. York &un. "May I inquire your occupation?" asked,, the doctor. "I am a clerk on a salary of $rf 50 a month." "Your ailment sir," said the doctor, with decision, Is not goat. It Is simply an aggravated caseofingrowingtoenaU." Chicago Tribune,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers