Mje mmt ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY 8. 1818, Vol. 45, Ivo. 10. Entered at Pittsburg l'nstoffice. Jvorciiiber H, 1847. as second-class matter. Business Office 67 and 09 Fiftii Avenue. News Booms and Publishing' House 75, 77 and 70 Diamond Street. Eastern Advertising Office, Boom 4S, Tribune Building. JewYork. TERMS OF THE DIkPATCH. rOSTAGE rEEE IN the united states. JUILY Dispatch. One Year. I 8 00 Daily Dispatch, Per Quarter 2 00 Daily Dispatch, One Month TO Daily Dispatch, IncludlngHunday, lyear. woo DATLT DISPATCH, ineludlngSunday.Sm'ths. 2 50 Dailt Dispatch, lncludlngSunday.lmonth 80 fcUKDAT Dispatch, One Year - SO T xekly Dispatch, One Year 1 25 The Daily Dispatch is delivered bycarrlers at 35 cents per week, or including bunday edition, at SO cents per week. PITTSBURG. MONDAY. FEB. 17. 153a THE CHS AL 0KCE M0EE. The discussion of the Lake Erie Canal project, which is resumed in an article else where, presents several interesting issues with regard to the practicability of the project It is shown there, as U.HE DIS PAJCH has heretofore pointed out, that the question of a water supply is not a doubtful one. Ihe important question to be settled is that of cost, -which is decided by the height of the summit, the number of locks required and the depth ol excavation needed for Ihe canal. In the discussion of these important factors of cost it seems to be taken for granted that the canal must contain fifteen feet ot water because that depth is about what is obtained on the Sault and St. Clair Canals. But while it would be very valu able to have that depth in the new canal, it should be regarded as a maximum and not a minimum. It would be useless to make it more than fifteen feet, unless the upper canals were also deepened; but it would not ruin its usefulness to make it less than 15 feet, if such a diminution were necessary. Pittsburg knows by experience that hun dreds of thousands ot tons of coal can be transported on from six to twelve feet of water. It would be safe to guarantee that vessels carrying 800 to 1,000 tons could bring ore to Pittsburg with ten feet of water, at a slight advance over the rates now eharged on ore from Lake Superior to the Lake Erie Iports. "What is wanted of the commission is very plain. It should procure surveys of the lines by different summits, giving the cost of eight, ten, twelve and fifteen feet canals by each route. "With those estimates before the public, an intelligent judgment as to the relative cost and value of the canal can be made up. OTHER SCREWS LOOSE. The report which is published elsewhere of the committal of an unmarried woman to jail for examination as to her sanity, and her refusal to leave that institution after she has been there three months, contains several singnlar features. Not the least among them is the questionable method of procedure and the remarkable way of ascer taining a person's sanity which leaves her in the county jail from November till Feb ruary without any examination by experts in mental diseases. The law is qnite par ticular as to the steps which shall be taken in order to subject insane persons to re straint; and we have never beard that con finement in a county jail however the patient may seem to like it is set down in the statute as a proper treatment for that class of disease. There seem to be other screws loose in this matter than that alleged with reirard to the woman's mind. HIGH LICENSE AKD FB0HIBITI0N. The active organ of the Prohibitionists, the Voice, devotes a good deal of space to a detailed proof of the failure of high license. As the facts on which it bases this, its as sertions, in detail are those already familiar to onr readers, in the shape of the growth of speak-easies in Philadelphia and Pittsburg, they need not to be recounted in detail. It is conceded that there has been a large de velopment of illicit and secret liquor selling. But, with that concession, it is difficult to see how the fact improves the position of the Voice; the contention of that journal is, that since high license fails, prohibition should be resorted to, but the most evident conclusion from its premises is that, if high license can not restrain the liqnor traffic, pro hibition would be an utter failure in the attempt to abolish it. High license, backed by public opinion and aided by the interest of the licensed saloon keepers in stopping illicit liquor selling, is unable to suppress the secret saloon. Is it not plain that prohibition would a fortiori beau equal failure and that secret liquor selling would proceed on an immense scale, even more openly than is now done ? The conclusion is not necessary thatsecre liquor selling argues the failure of the law. The illicit saloon keeDers, by the very nature of the business, must conduct their business quietly; must keep off the princi pal streets, and they must cease to attract the young or the weak into their saloons. It is not a pleasant reflection that laws are not enforced; but so long as the law drives illicit saloons into tbeir holes and keeps them in secret comers it shows a great advance over the day when any man could open a saloon next a church or in any residence quarter where he could get a building. The high license law may not be a glitter ing success, but its failure is not so absolute as the facts of the case show that prohibition would be under the same circumstances, A USEFUL FREEDOM. The exposure and defeat of the North Dakota lottery scheme is an encouraging example of the salutary effect of public sen timent aroused by the press. There is little doubt that the lobbyists who so nearly suc ceeded in getting a legalixed Government gambling institution fastened on the new State had the Legislature fully setup. But the scheme was exposed by the newspapers in time to arouse the public, and the job fell into ruins at the mere touch of popular dis approval. Some of the moralists have lately been disposed to credit a great deal of demoralization to the sensational charac ter ol the newspapers. But here is a case where the freedom of the press was the lever which exposed and defeated a great publio -wrong that would probably have been suc cessful to-day if there had been less liberty of comment by the newspapers. A' free pnblic sentiment and unrestricted discus sion are the best safeguards against public evils. THE SUGAR TRUSrs MEASURE. The proposition which is reported to be pending in the House to settle the matter of the sugar duties by putting raw sugars on the free list and keeping the duty on re fined, is simply the one way of adjusting that issue which would most thoroughly de feat the nubile considerations that should be 'token, into account The one interest that ' any claim for protection is composed of the sugar planters. Their claim is not a very strong one; but, so far as it goes, it has some status in view of the protective principles. The one interest which has violated the great protective idea oi increasing domestic competition in the industry, is the Sugar Trust. But this proposition is to take away the protection from the planters and actually increase it to the Sugar Trust by widening the margin between the qost of the raw materials and the duty which the foreign competitors of the trust must pay. If the trust had drawn up the measure itself, it could not have framed one that would more completely swell its illegitimate profits. The New York Press points out the cor rect solution of the problem with the re mark "that a proposition to admit sugar free, with a sufficient bounty to the Ameri can sugar producer, would be a popular and effective way of reducing the surplus rev enue." This would preserve the purpose of encouraging domestic production of sugar, while taking away the barrier that has per mitted the foundation of a sugar refining monopoly. The objection ,that the bounty would not stand, at once underrates the popular intelligence, and displays slight intelligence on the part of the representa tives of the sugar interests who advance it The people are intelligent enough to see that a bounty of a few millions on sugar taxes them less than the tariff which col lects some eighty or ninety millions; and the sugar people ought to know that if the people will not stand the smaller burden they will certainly overthrow the greater one. The sugar duties should be revised in the interest of the people and not in the interest of the Sugar Trust BACK-ACTION BALLOT REFORM. Quite an enthusiastic movement is being agitated by such leading exponents of in dependent and Democratic sentiment in the State as the Scranton Truth, Harrisburg Patriot, and the York Gazette, in favor of a Constitutional Convention to do what they consider necessary to make ballot re form possible. The provision in the Con stitution which is regarded as obnoxious is that requiring ballots to be numbered, and the nnmber set opposite the name of the voter, by the election officers. This is re garded as destructive of the secrecy of the ballot, as it leaves it within the power of the election officers to discover how each voter has voted. But does the Australian ballot system leave no such power to the election officers? Most of the expositions of that system which -we have seen provide the electioj officer with the power to make up the ballots of illiterate voters, the very class whose votes most require protection. Our reformatory friends are a little too prompt in proclaim ing that the constitutional provision is a bad one. The fact is that the convention which drew up this constitution was under the leadership of men of remarkable ability and independence ; and this very provision was aimed at an evil of far greater vitality in falsifying the will of the people than the bad influence over voters which the Aus tralian system seeks to prevent That evil was ballot-box stuffing. The numbering of ballots furnishes tbe means of detection if dishonest election officers should seek' to put in enough ballots to turn an election, after the voting is done. Its value has been proved in convictions which have made the old evil of ballot-box stuffing very much less frequent than formerly. To adopt the Australian system without some check on dishonest election officers wonld be to turn our elections over to the mercy of the practices which are reported to have made majorities to order. That would be avoiding Scylla and getting swamped in Charybdis with a vengeance. THE IDEAL AKD THE REAL "We observe that the Kentucky Legisla ture has taken steps to sternly reform, within the jnrisdiction ot Kentucky, at least, one of tbe social wrongs oi the day. The radi cal differences, which have appeared on in vestigation, between the circus posters as they appear on the walls and the shows themselves as they pan out under canvas have attracted the attention of some Ken tucky statesman. Probably the lawmaker has himself suffered from the deceptive poster. Deluded by the promises of the gaily colored bills he has paid down his coined money with the hope of seeing a real live mermaid, or a sea-serpent in scaly activity. Consequently a bill has been in troduced imposing a penalty on any circus which advertises more than it shows. "With this measure passed what) circus could continue to operate? The result must inevitably be such as that with which the railroads threatened the country when the inter-State commerce was at the point of pas sage. Every circus must go outof business. The underlying sentiment of the cirens and menagerie business is sentiment; and the proposed law would eliminate all the ro mance. How could the popular heart be fired when glaring showbills could no longer exhibit (on paper) a herd of elephants 35 feet high, and must show nothing more startling than the tame-reality of seven and nine foot elephants? Or if the flaming and thrilling portrayals of hippopotami taller than men and swallowing a poor savage at a gulp, is cut down by the Inexorable law, into the reality of a sleepy animal about as tall as a mastiff, how shall a demand for the cakes and ale of shows be aroused? The circus interests should move to protect themselves and preserve the joys of life for the small boys who study the posters and creep in under the canvas. A judicious distribution of circus tickets among the Kentucky legislators, is needed to preserve the existence of that unique and inspiring work of art, the circus poster. The Senate Committee's report seems to be inspired by the necessity of making a better showing for the Pacific railways than the com mission did. In doing so it reports that tbe present management of the Union Pacific Is doing its best to make an honorable adjustment of its det to the Government, bat Is unable to say anything so good of the Central Pacific. Tbe remarkable conclusion is, therefore, that the Central PaciSo shall have its debt renewed at 2 per cent, while the Union Pacific must pay 8 per cent. The logic which gives tbe corpora tion that has most successfully cheated the Government tbe best terms requires no com ment. The statement that Hutchinson has not only forgiven the clerk who robbed him, but bas given tbe sharp swindler his old position, indicates only a partial recognition ot the fit ness. To show a full appreciation of that great principle Old Hutch should make tho clever thief his partner. "WiirxE there may be a good deal of ex aggeration in the partisan press about it, it is worth while to remark that tbe passage of a 2,500 claim in favor of thePresldont's law firm which bas often been passed upon unfavorably and which bas bung fire for 20 years, is neither good politics nor good taste, Inasmuch as the State of New Ygrk has proved that electricity will servo as a method of administering sqddflU death, it is a shame (hat it aid loll the World's Fair that way. It would have been much more merciful than the tfHE lingering death to which tbe poor project has been subjected. The Senate acted wisely last week in re fusing to include among tbe offenses extradita ble under the treaty with Russia, attempts on the life of tbe Czar or his family. Tbe United States does not approve ofassasslnationibut it is impossible to ignore the fact that nnder condi tions like those prevailing -in Rnssia to-day such offenses are political crimes. When the United States cives up political offenders against absolutism they will abjure the princi ples on which tbeir Government is founded. Fkakce has swelled her debt to $6,200, 000,000, which is the largest in tbe world. It looks as if there might be a conspiracy in Eu rope to make republican government impossi ble by sending it Into baukruptcy. But per haps some of the monarchies may go Into bank ruptcy first. A New Yobk paper indignantly ad vises Tom Piatt to move to Chicago; and tbe unwary Chicago papers advise him to come to that enterprising city. This shows less than the usual Chicago acuteness. The New York idea is evidently that if the political boss can be induced to make' the change he will slaughter Chicago's WorldFair project as com pletely as he has New York's. Some of the prisoners who bavecomplained of the fare of tbe jail may argue that the best proof of Miss McCloskey's insanity, which was tbe remarkable cause of her being gent to that institution, is that she likes tbe jail so well that she refuses to leave it The reports of the Atlantic steamers con cerning the huge icebergs and floes which tbey encountered along thoir usual lines, presents a singular contrast to the scarcity of ice on terra Anna this winter. If some enterprising mariner will tow a few icebergs into port before spring he will fill a popular want tbatwill be felt about the time that the robins nest again. Temperance agitation in Missouri has reached the Intemperate degree of threatening bloodshed. The city of Atlanta has solved the ques tion of provision for firemen by taking out accident policies which will give each member of tbe force J10 per week if disabled by acci dent, and $1,500 to bis family in case of deatb. The cost to tbe city is 1,400 annually. The ex ample is a good one for larger places than Atlanta to imitate. PEOPLE OP PROMINENCE. Wuxiah D. Howkixs is writing a novel of Washington. It is gravely asserted that Lord Randolph Churchill has never crossed London Bridge nor visited the Tower. General Adam King's leading rival for the Consul Generalship at Paris is General Ma hone. Empkhob William of Germany has been dissuaded from publishing a volume of poems which he wrote as a young man. Sarah Bernhardt wants to plav Juliet in English on ber next tour of this country, and is brushing up ber knowledge of the language to fit herself for tho task. The eyes ot Henry M. Stanley are described as having a marvelous effect upon tbe wild Af ricans. It is said that "he first looks as if he were going to eat them, and then, when they, give in and do what be wants, ne iooks as n ne bad done so and were grateful to them for tbe meal." Bo certain has Mr. Gladstone been during the last bve years of the ultimate success of the Home Rnle movement, and of his eventual re sumption of the Premiership, that when he left office npon the fall of his Government in 18S8, he stored away most of his bric-a-brac and other household goods in the garrets of the Prime Minister's official residence at No. 10 Downing street, where they remain to this day. Nicolai USFENSKi, who was 40 years ago a poet and writer rivaling in Russia Turgeneff himself, bas just died. Along in tho fifties be became a slave to drink, and ever since baa -been wandering about the country playing and singing in small entertainments and In tbe streets, lately one of his grandchildren, a young girl, accompanied blm. One mgbt alter an entertainment be drank himself into a de lirium and shot himself dead. Prince George of Wales has been assigned to the ship Excellent to learn how to shoot big guns as a preliminary to being promoted to the rank of Commander and being placed in charge of a vessel. He has learned his seamanship easily, and even at present he is not compelled to mess with the common Lieutenants of his own rank, bnt all the arrangements of the ship are upset so that he may have separate quar ters and occupy tbe Captain's cabin. A CHICAGO WOMAN'S SHOE Used to Punish nn Impodent Janitor In tbo Court Boom. Chicago, February 1ft There was an ex citing scene injustice Bradwell's court at the Armory yesterday morning when Miss Kata Kane, a female lawyer somewhat dis tinguished for her ability to take care of herself, stood up her rights. She had a case In court and was sitting at the table provided for lawyers when the colored janitor of tbebnildine, whodidn.t know her, ordered her away. "Go away," indignantly replied Miss Kane, who is qnite large ana muscular. "You get out, I sajf" repeated the janitor. "I wilt not; get away from me." At this tbe colored man stepped to tho side ot the lawyer and was abont to take hold of ber, when she drew hack and struck him a violent blow in tbe month with her overshoe. Before he recovered from bis surprise he re ceived another blow in tbe face, this time be tween the eyes. Then tbey clinched. Attorneys, policemen, detectives and repor ters j umDed to tbe rescue and hauled tbe Jani tor before His Honor, who fined him fS for contempt of court. He paid it and was or dered to keep out of the courtroom thereafter. Miss Kane had tbe sympathy of everybody who saw tbe row. Some years ago she threw a glass of water into the face of a Milwaukee Judge whose decision didn't suit her. JEFFERSON COUNTY OIL LANDS. Numerous Lenses BIndo and Teat Weill to be Drilled In a Few Days. SFZCIAL TII.XGBAM TO TIT DISPATCH. J Brockwayville, February 16. In addition to the prospects of a gas field at Brockport, on tbe east side of this place, negotiations to open up a field on the west are about to materialize. The Oil City Fuel and Gas Company have been leasing territory in Warsaw township for some time past, with tbe evident intention of making a test, and if successful develop tbe field at once. Tbe company has already secured nearly all the oil and gas territory between Rlchardsville and Warsaw, and when the nego tiations now pending are completed tbey will have from 10,000 to 12,000 acres in their possession. Twenty-five cents per acre is paid in casb.'when tbe lease is signed, with pro visions tor an eighth royalty and a stipulated sum for each well pnt down. It is said that tbe drill will first penetrate tbe territory at Haien, near tbe farm of O. C Fritchman. While tbe main object of the company in leasing the land is supposed to be for the pur pose of securing gas, it is thought by some that a thorough test will be made of tbe field for oil. Warsaw has long enjoyed tbe reputation of being a promising oil field, though nover properly developed. A PEOGUESSITS DAILY PAPER, Tbo Dispatch Remarkable far III High Literary Merit. From the Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin. The Pittsburg Dispatch is one of the most progressive dally papers in the country. Its Sunday edition Is remarkable tor its liter ary merits and the high standard of its con tributors. The rapidly growing circulation of both the daily and Sunday issues has necessi tated tbe butldlne ot another marvelous double perfecting press for its already well equipoed pressroom. The Sunday Dispatch has a bona fide circulation of over 60,000. DEATHS OP A BAY. Captain John Lnndsrolh. Erle, February It, Captain John Landirath, of Union City, died last night of pneumonia. Tbe deceased was a soldier In tbe Mexican War and was an officer In tho late war. Be was a wealthy live stock importer of this place. Mrs. I?oae Wllley. Mrs. Kose Willry, wile pf C. L. Wllley, the well-known lumber dealer of Allegheny City, died last evening at ber 't reilin$e flo. ,10 Cedar avenue. Sue was only Shears or age and was known as a consistent church worker. ?ITTSBITRG - '' - i5lSPATCJH. THE CRITIC'S REVIEW. Paper-Covered Foreign Novels That Coma In Duty Free Lord CInncnrly, With a Plot Laid In the Days' of William of Orange Conversation on Mines Ancloot Iilternlnre and Other Books. A file of paper-covered novels claims The Critic's first attention. There are six books in the pile, bound in various tints, white, gray, yellow, and terra-eotta, and of the authors, three aro English, one is French, and two are German. Our interesting international copy, right conditions allow these books to he sold at about SO cents apiece. Foreign art must pay an enormous duty to get into this country, but for eign literature, can get in for nothing. Sylvia sirden (Frank F.Lovell& Co.) is dec orated on the cover with the figures of three hungry vultures, swooping down into a very steep cleft which opens m the midst of a wilder ness of bare and precipitous mountain tops. Evidently, judging from the cover. Sylvia Arden is a murder story. Those vul tures aro after somebody. We look with in with some interest to find out who it is, and bow it came abont. We find ourselves in tbe wild regions of Scarfell Chace. There have been gold mines there in the long past, and tho rocks are scarred, and rent and fur rowed, and tunneled with .the pick axes of miners. There is a solitary mansion in tbls desolate region, and here lives Gregory Mor son. Morson has shut himself in from the civilized world. His servants are Greeks and Italians. The approaches are all closely guarded. Sylvia Araen and her brother are on a visit to this wild and mysterious place. Here too comes Bearcroft the hero to visit Morson, his old friend. Morson is betrothed to Sylvia Arden. The very first day of Bearcroft's visit, indeed, before he got to the house, Sylvia is shot at as she is riding along the bills, by some unknown'assassln, thus tbe story begins. It Is one of tbe queerest stories in the language. Poison, madness, mystery, burial alive, monks, vlllians and underground passages figure in It) the reader is In perplexity from beginning to end. Finally the hero gets a great treasure ot hidden gold and marnes Sylvia Arden. Oswald Crawford is the author. The Mynns? Mystery, another book from thai same publlshlns house, promises to go well with"3yl via Arden." The mystery begins on the very first page, where George Manvile Fenn.the author.declares in his own writing that Messrs. Lovell & Co. are authorized to print this book, Mr. Fenn's penmanship is a mystery in itself. Everything, however, which Mr. Fenn writes is interesting, and "The Mynns' Mystery" is no exception. There is a genuine cold blooded murder in this book. A young lady and a large fortune are at stake, and Saul Harrington Is-willlng to play as high as homocide. Tbe murder is done; tbe tracks are all covered up mst ingeniously; the fortune, at least, is in tbe murderer's grasp, when well, it would be unkind to tell the plot, for there is not much else but Plot in tbe book. The telling of the story is the main thing. And the story Is really too good to be told in any other than the author's way. T ADY Clahcaety (Rand, McNally fc Co.) is not nearly so sensational a story as its sub title, "Wedded and Wooed," might seem to in . dicate. It is a capital story, set out against a good, solid, and well-drawn background of his tory. The time is in the days of William of Orange, and the plot turns upon a con spiracy to kill the new King, set agoing, of course, by Jacobites, and prevented by the timely disclosures of Lord Clancarty. The author is A. D. Hail. The story is well written) the historical characters are accurately and graphically pictured; fact is not made so obtrusive as to hinder fiction; there Is plenty of lovemaking, and no end of fine lords and fair ladies. The bombshells are bursting most formidably about a beleaguered fort on the cover of Jules "Verne's A Family Without a JYaTne. (Lovell & Co.) Jules Verne has here deserted science, which has given him the foundation of so many good stories, and resorted to history. Tbe scene of tbe book is Canada. Canada is being discov ered by Frenchmen, it seems, as well as by Americans. There is a fitness in the fact, for the romantie element in Canadian history is mainly in the French part of it. M, Verne has not gone back so far as Mrs. Catherwood, but bas taken inci dents from history which are within the mem ory of living men. After a long series ot strug, gles and jealousies and troubles, Coming some times to the crisis of bloodshed, and settling' down In th intervals into a discontented and disaffected peace, the Fiench in Canada in the year 1837 rose in insurrection. The plot of the story is Intertwisted with the exciting events of that hopeless uprising. The hero is Jean-Sans-Nom. There is a heroine as brave as the hero. At the end the cause is lost, hero and heroine in a burning boat go over the fatal cataract of Niagara, and the story closes not unlike "Tbe Romance of Dolland." "Every year," writes tbe author, summing up the lesson of the book, "every year an affecting ceremony unites the patriots of Montreal at the foot of a column erected to tbe memory of the polit ical victims of 1S37 and 1S34 On the day of its inanguration an address was given by M. Euclido Roy, President of tbe Institute, and his last words fitly embody the moral of this history, and that is: "To glorify self-sacrifice is to make heroes." The new interest with which people in these days are reading the Bible insures a welcome to books about tbe Bible. It is said that when the presses ot Harper & Bros, have nothing else to do they work off more copies of "Ben' Hur." And the sale of tbat book bas certainly been remarkable. We noticed a short time ago a new book on the same lines, "Em manuel." a story of Christ's time. Tbe story, "Come Forth," which Elizabeth Stuart Phelps is just now contributing to this paper, and which is read with interest by a very wide constituency, is another evi dence of the desire op the part of people to know more abont the Bible. The pioneer in this re-, cent movement is Dr. Georg Ebers, the great German Egyptologist. His long series of his torical novels, of which "Uarda" is perhaps the best known, have brought the discoveries of explorers and tbe conclusions of scholars with in reach of the ordinary reader, and have made the Pharaohs and tbe Caesars very real people. Dr. Ebers' last book, Joshua, is before us. John W. Lovell & Co. publish this edition. Everybody who bas read "Ben Hur," and who wants to read another book like it, written by a man who is both scholar and genius, should read "Joshua." Readers of The Dispatch will not need to bo instructed in its merits, nor informed as to its interest. T-HE PASTOR'S DAUGHTER (Worthington x Co., J.B, Weldln 4 Co.) is by W.Heimburg, whom a picture, which introduces tho book, shows to be an Intelligent-looking lady, and whose name indicates ber nationality. The book is illustrated with pictures, which for some reason the publishers call "photograv ures." Some of them, however, are quite pretty. Tbe heroine is an old maid, the first page tells us, who is found putting flowers on the grave of some one who bad evidently been dear to her, in a quiet little churoh-yard. She tells her story, and a touching story it is, though a little drawn out, of love and grief and happi ness and death. "Vive la jaie" was written on tbe frescoed ceiling at tbe old baronial castle, and tbe little children who amused themselves by firing arrows at tbe gods and goddesses over tbeir heads finally obliterated tbe words so tbat not a trace remained. But the joy for which long lite was wished had long lief ore departed. V C OaiEWHAT in contrast to tbls batch of paper, covered novels is another pile upon The Critic's table, of which the top book is Conver sation on Mines (J. B. Lippincott & Co.: J. R. Weldln A Co., SI 23). Everybody who knows anything about mining knows more about tba merits of this classic than Tbe Critic could tell in a moutb. In 1884 a hard-working Lancashire coal-miner, named Hoxton. who had begun with a pick and by sheer force of will and character raised himself to a position where ha bad to uso a pon, put out a practical book for the use of workers in mines. It was so plain, useful and valuable that it won imme diately a popularity whioh it has always kept. It is to mining what Isaac Wal ton's book Is to fishing. Messrs. Lippincott nave done well to put out an American edition. Practical JBlacksmithing is compiled, edited and published by M. T, Richardson. This is Vol. IL, and there is going to be a Vol. III. So much there is to be said about the industry and art of blacksmithingl The book is full of pictures. JPayne's Business Educator and Payne's Legal Advisor bear their meaning in their titles. They are, handy and well-arranged compendia of a great many things which peo ple want to know. (J. B, Weluin A Go.) V A hpikjit Lttebattjre (Harper & Bros. J. B. Weldln 4 Co.. II 60) is a new edition of a book which has had its value attested by I MOmAX '' iEBKTJARY I long use. Prof. Quackenbos, the author, Is a professor in Columbia College. Text, diagrams and maps have been care fully revised in ' aocordance with tbe latest scholarship, and a considerable and well chosen bibliography added. There are two kinds of valuable men in the world of scholarship men who find out truth and men who put the truth which other men have found Id such shape that anybody can under stand it Prof. Quackenbos belongs to -the second of these valuable species of literary workers. The literatures of ancient nations, Oriental, Greek and Roman, the leading authors and their writings, tbe language in which tbey wrote, tbe lands in which tbey lived, are set forth attractively. The chapter on Egyptian literature' is of especial interest. . JJenry Druiimojtd's Tropical Africa, the Dcst American edition of which has long been in print by another publishing bouse, comes to us in a cheap edition bearing the came of JohnB,Alden, publisher. . t hAs to his Majesty, the Sultan, I am glad that he is handsome: that he will have neither Sress nor parliament, roads nor rail roads In his dominion; that he rides splendid horses, and tbat he made me a present of a long, sliver-mounted musket and a great sword inlaid with gold. I admire the lofty, serene, disdainful way he bas In looking at outside co temporary agitations." In fact, M. Pierre Loti admires almost everything which has to do witb tbe Sultan of Fey, his dominions and his subjects. The hilarious Arab on the cover, flourishing his musket (no doubt "long" and "silver-mounted") in the air, in the act of going through tbat exhibition ot wild riding and prancing and shouting and shooting, which is tbe Arab fashion of welcoming a guest in the desert this wild Arab has won Pierre Loti's heart. Into Morocco (Welch, Fraeker Co.) is a book of travels which is interesting from cover to cover. It is written In the delightful, sketchy, graphic Frencby fashion which makes almost all Celtic literature attractive. Day by dav. even hour by hour, tbe indefatigable diarist keeps his journal for our benefit. He lets ns into his enjoyment most thoroughly. It is even better than going there, to read this charming, uugui, entertaining dook. THE CICL0SE SNOW PLOW. A Big Trnck. dourer That Rnsbea Through Drifts Very Rapidly. From the Sacramento Union-Record, Feb. 4. The Cyclono steam snow plow arrived here yesterday morning in charge of Engineer John Goldy for repairs. The Cyclone is the largest and widest snow plow yet built for anyroad, making a path 10 feet 4 inches in width. Its capacity is something marvelous. When tbe fan and anger are running at the rate of 600 revolutions per minute it will throw out 130,000 cublo feet of snow per minute. The car is 48 feet long, the width of the wheel being 10 feet 4 inches. Within the car are three engines of 600 horse power each, or a combined force of 1,800 horsepower. Two of these en gines drive tbe fan which expels tbe snow, Tbe tbird one connects direct witb the auger, which draws tbe snow into tbe cylindrical case In which tbe fans revolve. The discbarge pipe is S3 inches square, the spout being 14 feet above the rails. This throws tbe enow almost perpendicularly for 30 feet before it begins to curve over in its fall, clearing tbe telegraph Snles with ease. It Is provided witb tbe largest aldwin locomotive boiler for consolidated en gines, the whole lengtn of the boiler being 28 feet, having 1,600 feet of heating surface. It has a 12-foot fire box and 183 flues 2 inches by 14 feet. It has a Sanger on the front end which works by air and gathers tbe snow from the center of tbe track and from each side of tbe rails, taking It into tbe inner portion of the plow, whence it is expelled through the spout on the top. leav ing a perfectly flanged rail. The trucks are extra heavily built, having 6K by 8 journals. Tbe plough weighs 75 tons 300 pounds. It is en tirely under tbe control of the engineer, who stands at the front end, on the inside, and operates the throttles and communicates with tbe pushing engineer by the use of bis whistle, wltbout having any gongs, signals or bells, as is customary on tbe rotary plows. Tbe engines are capable of traveling 700 revolutions per minute, and being connected directly with the fan and auger it is possible to revolve them with the same rapidity. A BILL FOR SECURING A HUSBAND. A Broker Helps Mate a Cooplo Who Kick Against Paylna Him. Ne-w Yobk. February 1R Civil Justice Steckler was yesterday called upon to decide, in tbe Fourth District Court, how much it was worth to George Lange to get married. From the evidence it appears Lance offered Jordan 4 Co., real estate, dealers, $60 in consideration pt tbeir seenring him a business partner. About the samo time Mrs. Mary Martin, a widow with three children, asked Charles Jordan to find a Eartner for her in tbe express business left by er husband. The two clients were introduced, and, as It afterward transpired, formed not only a business, bnt a matrimonial partnership. Upon tbe trial Mr. Jordan denied being a matrimonial agent, and his partner. Mr. Will iam A. Long, made a similar denial. Mr. Lange, however, testified that Jordan had told blm he had a nice wife for him. tbat money was no ob ject thd lady wonld settle that. After some inquiry, Mr. Lange said, he consented to meet Mrs. Martin, and shortly afterward married her. Some days later Jordan demanded $25 from him for fixing him so nicely, but he re fused to pay. Mrs. Lange also testified tbat she had told Mr. Jordan she wanted to be married, and he bad saia he could find plenty of men who were willing. Sho paid 810 down, and agreed to pav S10 more after the ceremony. The Judge found for tbe plaintiff, and Mr. and Mrs. Lange will have to pay. STIMULATED BI SK0W. Bnalneaa of All Klnda Improved by Recent Cold Weather. Bbockwayvtlle, .February 18. Jefferson county has probably never had a more welcome sign than the snow storm last week. So much work to wait for winter has never before piled up here as at the present time. When the few days of cold weather set in every man who owned a team was up and hustling, some work ing atnight,whlleothorsdlddutyatnight. They have all been working steadily tbe past week hauling logs, telephone poles, boards and pipes for gas lines. The lumbermen have been crowding their work in the greatest conceivable manner. The slides and log roads have been working every night. Lots of lumber has gone to the milt Teams are at a premium. DEPENDING THE CRUSADERS. Tempernnco Advocates to Speak n Good Word for Lnthrop Ladles. St. Louis, February 18. Tho Rev. Ben Deer lng, a noted temperance advocate of this city, and Rev. J. M. O'Brien bave been engaged by tbe citizens of Lathrop, Ma, to go to Flatts burg. a neighboring town on Monday next to explain and defend the action of the crusa ders. They will be accompanied by a number of Lathrop ladles and some exciting times are looked for. The Story of Johnstown. Several volumes, devoted to tbe Conemaugh disaster, have already appeared, but in none has the terrible tragedy been moro graphically portrayea than In The Story of Johnstown," written by J. J. McLanrln and published by 3. M. Place, of Harrisburg. it was written soon enough after the flood to get all the facts from first hands and long enough afterward to make a thorough investigation and to eliminate what was incorrect in the report written before tho tragedy could be measured and bounded. The book is a neat volume of 400 pages, profusely illustrated Dy wen-Known artists. Generosity In Gerrymandering-. From the New York World. Under the unjust schema for redistrictlng Ohio batched by the Democratic legislative caucus, tho Democrats help themselves to 14 of tbe 21 Congressional districts. Butterwortb and McKlnley are put in Democratic districts, Grosvenor is kindly permitted to inhabit a Re publican district. Wlien Did bhe Write One f From the Philadelphia Times. Mrs. Rives-Chanler say that she will never write another novel. Why another ? THE IDTAfi WORLD. I seem floating away In dreamland To a spot I Tain would reach, vvbere the winds, so spft and slumbrous, Tbeir mvatlc music teach. There are pletnres of wondrous beauty, Qutwrougbt with a skill most deep, There are forms of countless creations, There the Ideal its vigil keeps. Tba air has a subtle fragrance. Unlike anything of earth. In this land of purest Incense, Where poetry has its birtb,, 'Tt the. realm off he lms.g1ps.tion, Where the figures cqme Hl S. Besponilve o (he rhythm Of the thoughts tbat ebb and flow. -Inter Ocean. '17, 1890. A STRIKING SPECIMEN. Of Jonrnnlistic Enterprise Wai the 20- Pno Dispatch of Yesterday. 'The opinions of so many country and sub. urban papers throughout Pennsylvania amply testify to the high regard held for tbe first of Pittsburg journals everywhere iq the State. And certainly yesterday's magnifi cent 20-page edition of The Dis patch was well worthy of all the praise it has received from far and near. It was a bright, newsy and interesting number, all ablaze with pearls set in the duller bnt more useful background ot news from all quarters of the habitable globe. The Dis patch is eminently a newspaper for the peo ple, and the edition of yesterday was a striking specimen of popular journalism and enter prise. I. "There is to he a Parliamentary investigation of the treatment of Dynamiter Daly in En glish prisons. English papers are much divided in opinion over the verdict in the Parnell Com mission case. Henry of Battenbeg has paci fied tbe Queen and grown a beard. The new Duke of lite has presented his patent and assumed his seat in the Houso of Lords. Tbe Due d'Orleans has received his sentence man fully, and all the Legitimists and Orleanlsts are stirring up France in his favor. The Portu guese are beginning to back down, and the republicanism of that nation seems to have disappeared miraculously. A grand military tournament will shortly be held in London. It has become probable that Dom Pedro will be the next President of Brazil. Kaiser Wilhelm's bold attempts to ameliorate the condition of his laboring subjects meet with due recognition. He is "friends with Bis marck" after all. President Diaz, of Mexico, has refused a German loan. A Democratic Representative from Arkan sas, whose seat is contested, bas found evidence which may secure him the case. Virginia Re publicans are kicking because of the division of spoils. The prohibition laws have turned out a complete farce iu Bangor, Me. The report tbat Carnegie has bought the Johns Hopkins holdings in the Baltimore aqd Ohio Railroad Is untrue. Tbe widow of a Union General claims to have been tricked Into a false marriage and robbed. Sergius Stepnlak confirms the rumor of Russian atrocity in Siberia. The hearing of tbe great Montana Senatorial case opened in Washington Satur day. Isaac Sawtelle bas made a partial con fession of guilt in connection with his brother's murder. n. "The Economltes had a close communion cele bration at Economy. No outsiders were permitted to witness the festivities. There are prospects of an endowment of over $200,000 for the Allegheny Carnegie Library. Two respect able Allegheny women were arrested in Boggs 4 Buhl's. Their house was found full of stolen goods. The Americus Club decides to build a 100,000 clubhouse on Sixth street. The Slavs meet in Allegheny. Miss Flora Tanner is ex onerated by tbe School Board for flogging an unruly boy in school. Fringle's review and the sporting page are highly interesting, as usual, to lovers of sport. m. T7 OTE Popular Candidates for Governor" are described excellently by "H. H. C." H. Rider Haggard's novel of "Beatrice" con tinues with unabated interest. "Growing in Favor" is a well-written account of the game of racquet. "Morton at Home" is the subject of Frank G. Carpenter's spirited Wash ington article. Bill Nye is highly entertaining on Kentucky in general and Lonisville in particular. "Come Forth," by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, continues; Fannie B, Ward writes gracefully of Panama and its people. Others, of tbe many contributors to this splendid number, are: "Miss Grundy, Jr.," B. P, Shillaber, of "Mrs. Partington" fame, "R. 8.," General W. T. Sherman, Dr. DeWitt Talmage, W. KIrwan Norcross, Rev. Howard Crosby, D, D., H, R. Elliott, Nell Nelson, Clara Belle, Bumbalo. "S," John Paul Booock. '-Tramp," Rev. George Hodges, "H. I. a," Bessie Bramble, "Lorna Doone," Caroline Pepper, Shirley Dare, "F. T, R,," Edward Wakefield. Arlo Bates, Brenan, etc. The fairy story, by "Paysie," Is, as usual, very pleasant reading tor the little folks. The Dramatic, Musical, Society, Military and Grip and Password columns were replete with class reading of the best sorts. AWKWARD ENGLISH WORDS, Expressions Tbat bhow tho Need of nn Improved Vocabulary. From the nineteenth Century. Why English writers, talkers and printers should persist in ignoring tbe past tenses of so many verbs in daily use passes comprehension, so needless and so anomalous is tbe lazy and incorrect habit into which some good writers as well as the vulgar havepermitted themselves to fall. "I bid him to da It now" Is correct, but "I bid him do it yesterday," in which the present tense is used Instead of bade In the past, is an indefensible corruption. Among the verbs which have been deprived of their past tenses and their preterites, may be speci fied to bet, to beat, to let, to spread, to sbed, to cut, to put, and to shut. There are no gram matical or any other reasons why they should not bave been among tbe verbs which bave in flexions in other languages, but never had in Englisb, though they ougbt to bave bad If in telligent grammarians had had the original or dering of tbe language. "Can" and "must" have not even the infin itive 'to can" and "to tnusr." "Can" bas a past tense ("could"), but no future, which can only be rendered by tbe paraphrase "I shall be able," or "It will be in my power." "Must" lias neither a past nor a future"! must do It to day" has to be put ipto tbe past tense by the roundabout locution, "I was obliged to do it," or "It was necessary tbat 1 should do it;" while the future of the verb fallair. whlcb in the cor responding case, in the more precise langnaee of the French, is il fant, becoming II fandra In tbe future, is in English only to be expressed by a paraphrase, expressive both of compulsion ana ouugaiionia luiumy. HOT TOO T0DNO TO MARRY. License Rftfnsed a 40-Yenr-Old Woman Who Said She Was 14. Pottstowk, February 19. Michael Korauki, a young Hungarian, of Pottstown, anplied sev eral days ago to Clerk of Courts Makborger for a marriage license, saying he intended to wed a girl 14 years of age, whom he dally expected from across the seas. The license was refused, and yesterday Korauki went to New York and met his betrothed, Miss Mary Dampco, who tnrned out to be a sturdy Hungarian woman 40 years old. Notwithstanding this disappoint ment in regard to tbe age of his bride, he bunted up a clergyman and the wedding took place. It was celebrated to-day by the Hungarian element ot Pottstown with beer drinking and merry making. Korauki and his affianced had conducted their courtship by letter, and she bad deceived him about her age. PERTINENT ASD PECULIAR. Philadelphia Times: But when tbo En gush syndicates want to sell, what will they get for their bargains? , New Yobk Press: Editor Medill says that Cleveland keeps a thumb on tbe popular pulse. M.ake it two thumbs. Brother Joseph, and we'll supporf your resolution. Philadelphia Inquirer; Hereafter when we bave a quarre J with any nation we shall pro pose to arbitrate It, and unless the other nation is particularly big and strong it will probably accept tbe offer. St. Louis Olobe-Democral: Calvin S. Brlco will probably have to pay bis Ohio taxes before he can claim to be enough of a citizen of the State to entitle him to represent it in the Senate. Senatorships for Democrats come high in Ohio. New Yobk Wmld: The news comes from Berlin tbat onr Minister and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. William Walter Phelps, have introduced "(be 5 o'clock tea." in tbat city. Thus do we get in 6nr revengo for whatever points we lost to Germany In the Samoan treaty. New Yobk Trihunei Governor Hill has. never before, iq tbe whoja course of his official career, been so stil) as since he senf tbe World's Fair message to the Legislature. He can't be watting to hear something drop, for the drop came Immediately after tbe performance. Philadelphia ri; The erstwhile ob streperaus minority la Congress will please take notice that there is now a set of rules for the! guidance of tbat body. Tbe gentlemen will, therefore, come to order, and tell the country What t,hey honestly think of their recent con duct Chicago Trtbunfi! By taking advantage ol a cptd snap the ige dealers of Oshkosh, Wi-. haye filled their houses with excellent ice, and the people of that flourishing city are In a con dition tP nap their fingers disdainfully at tbe rest of mankind, Lei no. presumptuous witling of newspaperdom use the name of Oshkosh flippantly during the year 188a ODE HAIL POUCH. Mr. Neldlg Responds to His Critics Their Points Discussed His Iron Track Sys tem Sustained and the Opposition Chal lenged to a Comparison or Facts and Figures. To the JMItorofThe Dispatch: The undersigned, in discussions with his fel low men,alwajs endeavors to meet propositions tbat are more tangible than "what tbey seem to think." It is pretty difficult, while a man thinks, to just get at what "be seems to think," and still more difficult to get at just what he does think. The better plan is to draw bun out and consider only bis expressed propositions. Your correspondent. "Old Fogy," m Friday's Dispatch, has fallen into this error. Says this critic: "Mr. Neidlg differs only from others who have given this plan attention. In provid ing no place or roadway for the horses." The system which was set forth in last Sun day's Dispatch haa but a few paragraphs de voted to tbe road nnder consideration, and that part was prefaced thus: Now, without going into any wearisome de tails, etc., he stated further what will lose no force by repetition, "Once the wheels are at tended to, once provided with a smooth and un yielding surface," now mark, "the solution of the entire problem comes in sight." Docs "Old Fogy" grasp thlsf This coming into sight of the solution of tbe "entire prob lem"! It was certainly not logically Inferable that his system was "exactly described," as is affirmed by this writer, when the propositions auvanccu wero so plainly quannea. Now, let us go into some calculations on tbls matter, and tbo writer respectfully requests the advocates of any rival system to do tba same. Let us now consider one mile of this proposed road: An oak plank 6x2 inches and 12 feet long, will weigh 63 pound". An iron bar, equivalent to 6x Inches and 12 feet long, will weigh, ac cording to the tables, 7,61 pounds per foot and 12 feet would then weigh 90.12 pounds. This added to tbe 63-pound plank, would make a total of, say 131 pounds. This ,then Is tbe weight of a single 12-foot Iron barred plank, exclusive of devices for fastening, etc. Now, as important roads generally intersect railroads, let us commence tba construction of this road at some railway crossing first, as it may then be used over which to convey mater ial for other roads. We will commence track laying at once, to get material along the line and attend to minor details later on. It is safe to say, tbat on this track, three tons is not overloading a team. Now let us see; One rail weighs 134 pounds. In a load of 40 rails are 160 pounds over three tons. These 40 rails will lay 20 12-foot lengths of track, a distance of 240 feet. In a mile are 6,280 feet, and it will take so many loads for the mile as 240 is contained times in S,2S0, which puts tbe loads per mile, of tbls part of it, at 22. Now, what do you think of this, Mr. 'Travel ler," when you assert that the expense of its transportation through tbe country would be heavy? Compare this work with from 7,000 to 10.000 tons.ot materialper mile required for a good macadamized or Telford roadf Doesn't It dawn on you tbat tbat "expense of transportation through tbe country," through fields nd across ravines, over a joggly, rattling roadway in its embryotlc state, to tbe final destination, would also be "beavyf" Do you catch on that I have only considered wagoning my material on the iron tracks, and that a plan of trucks can be used, doubling or trebling the load, and in the same proportion reducing tbe number of draughts? How many ton loads of stone and a ton is a load are equivalent to 240 feet of road? rtow as to cost. Put the plank at sis per 1,000; the iron at $40 per ton, and the cost of one mile is $1,760. On the track thus laid dawn any other mater ial necessary can now be transported at a mini mum of cost. This may be gravel, cinder, crushed stonq or whatever may be deemed nec essary, A good deal more can bo done before the cost comes half way to tbe cost ofaflrst- viaas Bbouo pi&e. "Old Fogys proposition tbat there must be a macadamized foundation for the plank is not worthy of serious consideration and shows an utter laok of graipof the real physics of the case. Ten of thousands'of miles of railroads, employing 40-ton engines, bave their crossties resting on earth. This road still presents to the very best stone road the relative difference between travel in a parlor car and transporta tion in a freight car. But "Old Fogy" mattes a tremendous break in his allusion to the Penn sylvania Railroad. He "seems to have been thinking." Why. bless your old heart, Mr. "Fogy," ton to ton, as to vehicle, tonnage to tonnage as to transportation, day to day as to time of hauling, the surface oh which these planks rest and the resistance of that surface to tbe loads, is 40 times greater than tbe crosstle surface, and the resistance thereunder of tbe Pennsylvania Railroad. Please strike us witb something harder. 'Traveler" also propounds a conundrum in tended to he a stunner, and, if it will bold to S ether long enough, may be answered thus: let vonr vehicles to something like uniform gauge. Some old conundrums come back Ilka an echo: "How are you going to mow fence cor ners with your machine?" "How are you go ing to rake over a stump with tbat thing?" "if my girls learn to sew on one of your machines. and can't sew by band, and, when they marry and tbeir husbands can't afford a machine.how are tbey going to keep house?1' Do not hesi tate, gentlemen, give us tbe beat you bare, but please strike us with something harder. H. Neidio, M. E. Wampum, Pa., February 15. Tbe Carnegie Library Commission. To the Editor of TheDIspatch: It is pleasing to note tbat Allegheny Councils, by an overwhelming majority, have vetoed tbe absurd ordinance by which the City Property Committee sought to make of tbe Carnegie Library a simple, political job, run by them selves. They never had tbs decency to consult Mr. Carnegie as to bis wishes in the matter, bnt Boss Tweed-like, sent hiin as fbejr ultimatum, an ordinance which handed bis magnificent gift over to what is generally considered tbe least intelligent committee of Councils. Mr. Carneeie was too much of a gentleman to recip rocate their rudeness, but any Intelligent per son, reading bis reply to tbeir communication, can see bow little he was pleased witb it, Iq speaking of the City Property Committee, we do not, of course, include the small minority who bare struggled so manfully against the prejudice and selfishness of tbe majority. The conditions of Mr. Carnegie's gift to Pitts burg clearly show two things: First, that, after long consideration of tbe subject, he be lieves teat puDiie noraries snouia do con ducted by the people and for tbe people; not by politicians for political ends; that, wbile city councils should bava a volqe in the matter, the managing commission should include- a sufficient number of competent citizens, ontside of councils, whose special abilities and long tenure ot office will insure wisdom and stability in the management of tha institution, and keep It from the degrading tendency of political patronage. In accordance with these views, the thou sands of people who are visiting the Carnegio Library, and who are enjoying the beauties of its art, music and arcbitectnre. cannot fall to see tbat nothing hut tbe best talent tbe city anorus w;tnout regaru to pontics, is good enough to develop for the public use. all the varied capabilities of such an institution. It Is commonly reported that one reason why the City Property Committee bave struggled so hard to get control ot tbeCarnegieLibrary.il that tbe principal positions have already been pledged, for reasons mainly political. Will onr citizens stand by calmly and permit Mr. Car negie's gift to be used as a common political lever? We do not think so meanly of tbe In telligence of the community. The majority of Councils have shown that tbey disapprove of the action of tbe City Prop erty jotnminee. wummpis siep runner, and provide for a mixed commission In which Councils, tbe Board of Control, and tba best non-political talent, ontside of both these bodies, shall have fair representation. It this is done before tbe formal presentation next Thursday, Mr. Carnegie will feel tbat Councils have performed a proper and a gracefnl act. If they tail to do this, all Intelligent citizens of Allegheny must feel tbat they have been deeply dishonored bv their representatives, who have accepted a 300,000 library building without tbe slightest regaru to tbe wfonrs or the donor. There were no legal difficulties In tbe way of placing tbe lnstitutloti in tha hands of a mixed commission; for it is received under the same law as Mr, Carnegie's gift to Pittsburg, This law was prepared by one ot our best attorneys, with the express purposo of enabling tba city to accept such a gift with its accompanying conditions. The parnegje Library Commission should be composed of men who could properly organize all in various departments, arrange free con certs and lectures, and who could induce our wealthy citizens to contribute money, books and works of art to fill tbe vacant wall and shelves. Who would choose as trustee for gifts or loans a constantly obanglnz committee sutrlect to tha bias and vicissitude of politics? Surely not successful business men. Nov be least important function of this com mission would be to see tbat the hall and lec ture room are placed at the disposal only of proper persons and for proper objects; a dnty that tpose who are aspirants for political pre ferment cannot be expected to perform with nnbiased judgment. Every citizen of Allegheny interested in the future usefulness of the Carnegie Library should at once make a determined effort to have enacted an ordinance placing tbe entire institution in the bands ot a commission which. bMide members ot Councils and of the Board of Control, should include a nnmber ol citizens to be nominated by Mr- Carnegie. And we re peat that common courtesy requires that this should be done before next Thursday, when Mr. Carnegie will make a formal transfer of tha library to our municipal authorities. Ar.T.yrmii'ffr Allsoheby, February 15. CUBIQUS CONDENSATIONS. A steam-plow is now plowing 120 acres a day near Merced, Cat. Thomas Allen, the man who tookthe first train out of Chicago In 1818, is still living in that city, at the age of Sa A Kalamazoo grocery man gives away a copy of "Stanley's Travels" with every pound of cheese purchased. Edward D. O. Moore, of Brooklyn, claims to have solved the problem of squaring tbe circle and has written a pamphlet to prove it. One orange grower of Baa Diego keeps trees from being plucked ot ripe fruit by put ting np placards: "These oranges bava been poisoned." A Santa Eosa, Cal., furniture man last week filled an order for a mattress. It was seven feet six inches long and will ba used by a newcomer from Missouri. A Kidgeway, Pa., physician says that olive oil is an antidote for rattlesnake poison. Half a dozes tablespoonfnls are sufficient; ha declares, to cure any case of snake bite. A negro who attempted to rob a store at Palmetto, Ga., thought he would enter by way of the chimney. About half way down he Stuck fast and yelled for someone to help him out. There is a new name for the all-around the-table billiard shot. It is now known as tha "Nellie Bly." and in every bllliard-room may be beard the expression, "Hero goes for a Nellie It very seldom happens that bees will make their honey and comb In the open air, but such a case has been found In the orange grove of W. L. Dolive. southeast of Orlando, Fix, where a swarm of bees have made a large piece of honey on tbe limb of one of his orange trees. Mrs. VT. C. Godwin, of Sanford, lost a pet canary a few days ago. Tha bird had been in Mrs. Godwin's possession for 14 years, bat for the past year his not warbled a note, until Saturday, when, to tbe surprise of all, it sang for a few moments and was quite lively, then fell from its perch and died in a moment. A specimen of magnolia grandiflora is growing on tbe "old Hardwicke" property northeast of Lancaster. The fact is reported that only two of these trees, one In Lanrel Hill Cemetery, tbe other on Mrs. Lippincott's prop erty, are known to be growing as far north as Philadelphia. The Lancaster specimen, it is stated, is very old, but annually bears a dozen or more of large fragrant flowers. The English Government has been re deeming at their nominal value tbe old gold coins tbat have become short weight through much use, with tbe idea of getting them out of circulation. It was supposed that there were J20,000,0tt) worth of such coins in the country, but the call only brought out about lull that sum. This month tba old rule of taking such coins only by weight will go into force again. Ihe old Garibaldi homestead, at Clif ton, L. L, which was presented to the Italian Government in 1882 by Mr. Bacbmann. is likely to revert to tha latter. Tha Italian Consul in New York and tbe trustees appointed to look after the property refuse to pay a bill of $3-2 for taxes and repairs, tbe latter saying tnat the Italian Government should pay it bo bill, and the Consul insisting that the trustees must meet tbe debt. Mr. Bachmsnn says he will take the house back. A French official returning to bis home in tbe suburbs a few days ago, his wife and family being absent, found a burglar asleep on tbe sofa In the parlor with bis jimmy and skeleton keys by his side and a lot of jewelry and other valuables packed up to take away. ne was unaoie to arouse me man even oy snak ing him, and when he sent for tha police they had to throw cold water in the man's face to bring blm to. It turned out tbat he bad found a bottle which contained something tbat looked Ilka wine and bad taken a drink. It was really a powerful narcotic and put him to sleep. Several big snowstorms may yet come along. An old farmer, Interviewed by tha Mount Joy, Pa., St ar, remembers that In April, 1834, there was a heavy snowfalLand another soil tiller says that 'In June of 1845 or 1843, while the wheat was in bloom, a snow of sev eral Inches fell. Home farmers took tha lines from their harness, fastened them together, and passed over the tops of tbeir wheat to dis lodge tba snow; in all cases where tbat was done there was no wheat, while where tbe snow was left to melt away the wheat suffered no in jury." In removing the bank near the north end of tbeir lumber yard at Brewster's Neck, on tba Thames river, three miles south of Nor wich. Conn., tha other day, tba. Da wlsy Broth ers uncovered a ruin that is believed to ba tha remains of an old fort of revolutionary days. The ruins cover about an eighth ot an aera ot ground, and the thick walls are as .high as a man's head. It Is thought tbe fort was erected in the Revolution, at the time Decatur's little fleet was blockaded by the English In tha Thames, in order to prevent tne British war vessels which lay off New London from coming np the river to Norwich. It has always been more or less of a dis puted Question whether or not fish possess tha sensa of bearing. Some interesting experi ments were once made by Mr. John W. Masury at bis trout hatchery in Eastport, L. L Ihers were present on tha occasion Mr. William C. Barrett. Mr, Frank H. Palmer and other noted anglers. Tbe trout were in a narrow stream which traversed tba building from end to end. At the lower corner was erected a screen, be hind which tbe operator took position. Every variety of noise was made by the person In con cealment and amid it all tbe trout remained perfectly motionless: but as soon as a handker chief was waved above tha top of tha screen tha fish darted toward tbe upper end of tba building at a high rate of speed. -In Pike county, Pa., is the Blooming Grova Park Association, tba pioneer on tho list ot great game and fish preserves. A few hours by rail and one is landed In a wilderness, tempered by a perfectly equipped club house. Tha club owns 18,000 acres in fee. and is tha lessee for a long term of years of 8,00a more. These form a tract of 42 miles square. Tha club is now giving great attention to stocking its waters witb trout and bass. Deer are plen tiful, and onlv because wise rales bave been made arid enforced. A fine of 30 is enforced for the killing of a fawn or doe. Each member is allowed to kill one buck during tba season, and he must meet his fate by stalking. Bound ing, fire-lighting and all other fatal forms of huntiny ara prohibited. An elliptical-shaped gray stone, proba bly two feet inlength and about six inches in diameter, was received at the White House yesterday, accompanied by a letter from Gov ernor Prince, of New Mexico. He stated tbat the stone was of tba idol age, anterior to tba arrival of tho Spaniards in tha Western con tinent, and it was known to be over SIX) years old. Among the Pueblo Indians the stops was venerated as a household god, and examina tion showed that witn some rnda tools an at tempt had been made to depict eyes, nose, and month on tbe upper flat portion, while in tba center crossed bands are easily discernible. It nowres'sonasbelf just above Private Secre tary Hal ford's desk, and as a companion pleca there Is a primitive gourd, which was sent to the White House by & North Carolina Repub lican. AS SOD LIKE IT. Still Making a Fair Beeord. "Was Piatt's record in tbe Senate good for anything?" "jralr.'' Ji'itB lor Sun. Artful Dodger Qnjts a spell we're hav ing? Officer (putting on the handcuffs) Yes, quits a cold snip. Boston Utraid. "What do yon suppose, he drowned him self for?" Somebody told him hla day-old baby Was tha Image of blm. "Xew XorkSun. "Why doesn't that man pull the bell in stead of monkeying all night with tha latch key?' "He's a horse car conductor and doesn't like to ring tnem np." -Tew iotk flun. Where is the boasted liberty of the pressv if a paper may not indulge in tho luxury or gram matical errors wlthodl being hauled over tho coals for lltMnghamton Leader. "Does your daughter read much ?" "No, she does not." "I understood sba nadsaUUie latest novels." "Well, so she does, but 1 don't call them much," Xonkeri Statesman. ;He Perhaps you won't believe me, bnt I never langb at an Inferior. 8h-Or coarse 1 believe yoq. It woald be Im passible for you Jo do such a thing. Bqiton Tran script. Mr. Grnmp Bobby, I shajl have, to tell jour father about yot you've been flzntlng-t Bobby Well, mum, hain't 1 been licked bad enough now without harla' another scrap with pit-Texas Sittngi, (Sharply) "Seems to me, Maud, that young Mr. Banklnson stayed pretty late last nlgtik Did he have any pressing badness!" (Bloshlnglyj "ot till Just before b went awsy, mamma." CMeago Tribune. Little Boy When are yojj going to tha carpenter shoo to b fixed I loet Carpenter shopl Llttls Boy Yes 1 1 beard pa ten ma there was a screw loose about yon somewhere, Texas BVU ingt. M fjJLJtejjm
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers