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K 4 . , THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH. TUESDAY. DECEMBER 2, 1890.
K fTfr tteriF.fl Th, ZmT TT SSS. C0W d-ol!r to twefS Tl' SNAP SH0TS IN SEAS0N- SUDDEN TRANSFORMATION. GimpsE3 OT e 8th. OUR MAIL POUCH.
9c KlsBlC firSTRYYvs t r n The .President s messace wi 1 not be a sur- The addition of the eiphtv ner cent dutv to I .
P xisvnV "?&'??&? vVA'A' I prise to those who have studied either the the invoice price would raise the cost of a The treat trouble about people who like to One of tho Peculiarities of a Football Game
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PITTSBURG, TUESDAY", DEC. 2, 1S9CI
EFFECTIVE ROAD -WORK.
The experiment at road-making which
Superintendent "Warner of the work house
has just completed in Harmer township
near the Hulton Ferry, is of greater value
than any other way of considering the sub
ject. Essays on road-mating in the paper
form have been useful in the early stages
of the agitation, but we have reached the
point where essays at road-making in the
form of gravel, stone and dirt are much
more to be desired.
The superintendent's experiment in road
making is of value in two respects, first, as
suggesting a material for macadamizing
that may be much more attainable than
limestone; and second, as bearing on the use
of convict labor. The local blue stone for
macadam has the advantage of being harder
than the ordinary coarse sandstone. One
or two experiments on a small scale with
this class of stone have resulted satisfac
torily; but Mr. "Warner's is one of the first
on a large scale, and the durability of that
work will be watched with a great deal of
interest If solid macadamized roads can
he made at the cost stated of Mr. "Warner's
work, the problem of good roads, for Alle
gheny county at least, is solved.
The experiment with regard to convict
labor is even more valuable. We find it to
be the case, as The DisrATCH has often
suggested, that the labor of able-bodied con
victs can be employed on this work with
good results, both to the men and to the
public The convicts do effective work and
even enjoy the change from prison wall? as
a relief, if this plan is enlarged by permit
ting the convicts to earn extra money on
road work, there can be little doubt that it
will be an unalloyed benefit.
Certainly, Mr. "Warner's work is the most
decided effort in favor of road improvement
that has yet been made.
. THAT INTERSTATE COMMERCE CASE.
The decision of the legal points involved
in the case of Charles Counselman, of Chi
cago, who was committed by Judgs Blodgett
for reiusing to answer the inquiry of the
Grand Jury as to whether he had received
any special rates or rebates from the rail
roads has a triple interest. Counselman, on
being interrogated in an inquiry designed
to detect violations of the law by the North
western railroads, and to apply the penal
provisions of the act, refused to answer on
the ground that he might criminate himself.
Judge Blodgett held that he was bound to
answer under the provisions of the act ; but
the case goes to the United States Supreme
Court as involving a constitutional ques
tion, and consequently that inquiry is sus
pended for the next four years, until the
Supreme Court can reach it.
The case is an interesting one as the first
to which public attention has been called in
which there has been any attempt to apply
the penal provisions of the act. The law
has been in operation now about four years
and a half, durins which time violations of
its provisions have been notorious and
wanton. But it has taken until the present
time to get to the initiatory steps lor punish
in:; by the penalty of fine or imprisonment
the railroad officials who persistently vio
late the law. The feature of interest pre
sented in the fact that it has taken four
years and a naif to get a case before a Grand
Jury is heightened by the further fact that
the case will lie lallow fouryears longer un
til the Supreme Court decides the point
raised. So we may hope, about ten years
after the passage of the act, to get a prac
tical test of the question whether a railroad
official can be punished for its violation.
The most important phase of the question,
however, is its bearing on the idea urged by
the Inter-State Commerce Commission and
sundry railroad magnates that shippers who
solicit or receive special rates or rebates
shall be subject to the penal provisions of
the act equally with railroad officials. As
the law was originally passed it contained
no such provision; but two years later, ac
cording to our recollection, the Commission
recommended the amendment which sub
jected favored shippers to the penal
ties for .its violation. This seemed
fair enough on its face at the
time; but maturer consideration may
put the matter in a different light. In
the first place the shipper occupies a differ
ent position from the railroad official. He
is purely a private person charged with no
public responsibility; he has received no
charter by virtue of which he is surrounded
with the obligation of impartiality, cor has
he the power over rates which can be ex
ercised for injurious discrimination. It is
thus doubtful whether there is natural
justice in subjecting the shipper who re
ceives a preferential rate to the same
penalty as the railroad official who grants it.
There is a further pertinence in the sugges
tion of the practical effect ot the amendment
contained in this case. If the United States
Supreme Court sustains Counselman's plea
of self-crimination as a reason for reiusing
to answer, it will be because the law was
changed to make the receiving of special
rates a penal offense. If that amendment
had not been adopted the plea would have
been without basis, simply because under
the common law, as in the natural order of
thingc, the shipper has no responsibility for
the rate he obtains.
It would be a remarkable commentary on
his amendment if its first tangible result in
actual practice were to exempt the favorites
of illegal railroad discrimination from the
necessity of testifying as to the violation of
the law.
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
The President's message will not be a sur
prise to those who have studied either the
characteristics that personally attach to the
head of the administration or the fore
shadowings of his policy given in special
telegrams. Briefly, it can be summarized as
recommending the continuance, in every
particular, of the policy on which the Ke
publican party went to the country in No
vember. "With regard to the results at the
next national election, such a course is more
phenomenal for the firmness that is gener
ally described by a less complimentary term,
than for an intelligent estimate of the polit
ical future.
The message contains more of the features
of live information than usual to such docu
ments, making two pieces of information
public that have not been generally known,
namely that the reciprocity provisionsof the
McKinley bill involve a possible nullifica
tion of the Hawaiian treaty, and that the
investigation of the Barru'ndia affair has
resulted in the recall of Mizuer. But in
recognizing the lesson of still later political
events, the message is more than ordinarily
behind the times. The President is quite
right in claiming that the tariff act has not
had a fair test This is the position which
The Dispatch has taken and the Presi
dent's arguments in its favor are sound. To
assert that a measure can be judged by ex
perience before all its provisions have gone
into operation is the height of absurdity.
But when the President goes on to insist on
other leading features of the policy adopted
at the last session of Congress, he displays
a much less solid basis of judgment.
The arguments in favor of the passage of
the federal elections and apportionment
bills contained in the message, are familiar
and need cot be reviewed except as to their
general political meaning. That is, that
the exact policy on which the Republican
party sustained one of the most; overwhelm
ing defeats of its history is to be adhered to
without the slightest change. It will not
do for a popular Government to take the
position that a popular verdict like that of
last month is unworthy of its attention.
Nor is it a satisfactory explanation to say
that it was wholly caused by Democratic
misrepresentations concerning the tariff;
for that includes the inference that the
people had absolutely no faith in the Repub
lican representations concerning the same
subject. Intelligent politics must recognize
that the people at the late election ex
pressed their disapproval of measures framed
upon the basic purpose of maintaining one
party in power. This applies directly to
the elections bill, and the settlement of con
tested elections confessedly by partisan in
terest. The same judgment follows on the
apportionment bill, which is a constitutional
duty when based upon a census that is re
liable; but which, if passed hastily on a dis
credited census, is only an attempt to gain a
partisan advantage. To force these means
upon the short session means the renewal of
the partisan struggles of the last session, with
a probability of the same result.
In the recommendation for the passage of
a national bankrupt law, and the investiga
tion of the subject of a water supply for arid
regions, the President indicates the class of
measures to which Congress should devote
whatever time it has to spare from the ap
propriation bills at this session. By wise
action on such matters the party can relieve
itself from the charge of legislating solely
for its own advantage, and can accomplish
much more in the way of actual business
than if it seeks to plunge again into the
heated strangles that consumed so much of
the first session of this Congress.
In some other parts the message is open
to criticism. Its statement of the receipts
and expenditures of the Government show
ing a large surplus for two years to come, is
open to the suspicion that this result is ob
tained by leaving out some very important
items which have always figured in previous
statements. To claim exceptional prosper
ity for the agricultural interests on account
of a rise of prices based entirely on a par
tial failure in the crops, is hardly likely to
prove the best method of conciliating the
farmers. Finally to attempt to analyze the
causes of the late "Wall street troubles with
out recognizing that they were exaggerated
by great speculators for their own enrich
ment, is to give a partial view which can
hardly be considered as conceived in the
popular interest.
The most decided effect of such a docu
ment is, to increase the prominence of Secre
tary Blaine as the one leader of the Repub
licans who has the foresight to dissent from
the policy on which it insists.
WHY SUGAR KEEPS UP.
It is surprising to find our esteemed co
temporary, the Philadelphia Worth Ameri
can, jeering the Democratic organs in at
tacking the sugar schedule of the McKinlcy
bill. Yet this is exactly what that ultra
protectionist journal does, under the im
pression that it is confuting free-trade
heresies by an argument of this sort. The
free traders always insist that the tariff is a
tax and the amount of the duty must be
added to the imported commodity. A duty
of eighty per cent has been taken off sugar,
our Philadelphia cotemporary alleges, and
consequently, it thinks the amount of sugar
which was formerly sold for a dollar ought
to be bought now for twenty cents. But it
has been unable to find any one who can
buy sugar cheaper now than three months
ago; therefore it arrives triumphantly at the
conclusion that the duty is cot added to the
price of the commodity.
Thus the amiable Worth American
imagines itself to be arguing against the
free traders; but it is really attacking the
leading feature of revenue reduction in the
McKinley bill. The only purpose of reve
nue Teduction is to relieve the people of the
burden of taxation; and if a Republican
Congress has cut off $55,000,000 of revenue
without saving that amount to the people in
their expenditure for sugar, it has com
mitted one ot the most egregious blunders
of the time. The Worth American also at
tacks a leading protectionist doctrine. As
thoroughly explained on the floor of the
House, while the protection logic claims
that the tariff is not a tax when it creates
such an increase in domestic industry that
domestic competition reduces the price, it is
recognized that the duty must be added to
the price of the article when the bulk of the
article continues to be imported. As five
sixths of our sugar supply is imported after
twenty-five years of a high duty, the pro
tectionist leaders based their reduction of
the duties on the protectionist theory that
the tariff which does not create the domestic
supply is a tax.
This confusion as between protective and
revenue duties is coupled with some rather
wild mathematical assertions in such a way
as to cast doubt upon the accuracy of this
journal's information. The average of the
sugar duties are not eighty, but about
seventy-five per cent The entire duty is not
repealed; butone of about fourteen per cent is
left on the grades ot sugar fit for consump
tion. These are mild assaults on the rnles
of percentage compared to the assertion that
the repeal of an eighty per cent duty would,
if the duty is taken from the price, reduce
that which costs a dollar to twenty cents.
The addition of the eighty per cent duty to
the invoice price would raise the cost of a
dollar's worth of sugar in the foreign in
voice to a dollar and eighty cents. Taking
off the eighty per cent duty can only restore
it to a dollar, which is a reduction of about
44J per cent. Still, when the mathemati
cal errors of our cotemporary are corrected,
the fact that the price of sugar has not de
clined remains to trouble it. "We notice
that this trouble is shared by a United
States Senator, who attributes the failure ot
the sugar market to decline to the machina
tions of the wicked sugar importers, who
have kept up the price for their own evil
purposes.
In order to prevent this trouble from wear
ing on the Senatorial and journalistic
minds, we will suggest a very simple expla
nation of the phenomenon which is agitating
them. By examining the tariff act they
will find that the reduction ot sugar duties
does cot go into effect until April 1, 1891.
That small fact may give them some light
as to the reason why the price of sugar has
not declined since the passage of the act.
AN UNSUCCESSFUL SHAM.
Tt is with deep pain that we observe in
connection with the Thanksgiving season,
an example of the prevalent tendency to fall
away from the old standards presented by
the assertion of some uninstructed and inno
vating persons that pumpkin pie can be
made of squashes or sweet potatoes. Such
an assertion displays an ignorance of that
time-honored article of American diet and
a disposition to trifle with established stand
ards that can only be adequately treated by
being held up to the public scorn and repro
bation. It is to be admitted that pie of a certain
degree of excellence can be made of squashes
or sweet potatoes. The squash pie or sweet
potatoe pie can stand on their pie-plates,
and receive the attentions of those who ad
mire them; but when they attempt to pass
themselves as the good old New England
pumpkin pie, it is necessary to relegate
them to their proper sphere with promptness
and severity, and to let their perpe
trators understand that they resemble
the genuine article no more than
the Jeffersonian ideas of Calvin S. Brice
couldbe mistaken for the Democracy of the
Sage of Monticello. The misfortune of a
personal acquaintance with one of these
would-be pumpkin pies made out of squash,
will be enough to convince anyone who was
brought up on the genuine and orthodox
pumpkin pie, that of all the hollow and
easily detected shams of the ace, the attempt
to pass off squash as pumpkin is the most
shallow and notorious. To any one who has
known the genuine pumpkin in its native
and original glory, the mockery of the at
tempt is only exceeded by its utter foolish
ness. Skim milk may masquerade as cream, be
fore people who are not versed in the genu
ine article; oleomargarine may pass itself as
butter, when people are not on their guard;
but the squash pie can never attain the
credit of being the real pumpkin pie from
one who knows what the genuine article is.
The attempt to perpetrate the unsatisfying
and undeceiving fraud should be abandoned.
THE introduction to winter furnished by
the elements yesterday is not up to the stand
ard of weather for the closing of the fall. It
the wet year is to pursue us in the form of
dampness and sloppiness during the winter,
there will be a new force to the question,
whether life Is worth living until the weather
reforms.
Nothing of mighty moment is without
its pleasant side; and we hasten to observe that
feature in the late corporate deals, presented
by a newspaper interviow in which Mr. Jay
Gould earnestly and severely reprehends the
inflation and manipulation of the trust stocks.
The fact that these concerns are so heavily
watered that Mr. Gould cannot approve of
them is one of the strongest things that could
be said against them.
The decision of the revenue officials that
lions can be imported into this country as tools
of trade, calls for the remark that people who
play with them carelessly will bo in danger of
finding them to be edged tools.
The National Bank Examiner has cer
tified the National banks of Philadelphia are
sound and strong as the dollars in tbeir vaults.
This is gratifying intelligence, if there was
any reason to doubt tho facts; but it may be
pertinent to remark as a side issue that it.is not
so much the busines of the National bank ex
aminers to certify that the banks are all right
as to take care that they shall be all right In the
first place.
An Eastern assa ilant of football asserts
that "the glory of football is a mere sham." This
reckless person may yet go to tho length of as
serting that the scars of football are shams
also.
The variation of the prices of the
"Angelus" continues. Tho last expansion puts
it np to 1150,000. At this rate there mnstbe
nearly as much water in it as there was in
Ward's North American Company before tho
squeeze. If Gould or Rockafellar should wish
to buy the picture, however, it might be found
that the hard pan price Is about 510,000.
The politicians of England are doing
their best to make the world forget the mutual
vituperation and disclosures of tho Congo ex
plorers. Thomas L. James, Colonel Ingersoll,
and Prof. Saches after listening to a debate on
the question, whether the accumulation of vast
individual wealth should bo restricted by law,
decided in tho negative. Their decison is not
likely to nave the same practical effect, how
ever, as the decison of Messrs. Jay Gould and
J. D. Rockafellar on the same point.
If Chief Two Strikes continues to set an
example as a bad Indian be may have reason to
chance his name to "Three Strikes and Out."
Rev. Edwaed Everett Hale is out in
an article advocating that the State own, man
age and operate the railroads. This gentleman
is noted as having bronght into light literature
one of the liveliest and most original Imagina
tions of the day. He seems determined to
make a success by importing the same quality
Into the field of political economy.
Somerset county seems to be making 'a
better record at catching its escaped murderers
than the Western Penitentiary is doing so far.
"Reciprocity is free trade in homeo
pathic doses. But, as Mr. Cleveland said, if an
ounce of beef is a good thing why shouldn't we
enjoy a family porterhouse steak!" says the
New York .Herald. Also, if potatoes are good,
why cot eat a bushel and a half at one mealT
The beauty of the Herald's free trade logic is
that it carries its own refutation.
Elocution for the Pulpits.
The Methodist Episcopal ministers have in
vited Prof. Byron W. King, to be present at
their meeting on next Monday to give a special
talk on elocution and voice culture, especially
for the work of thepulplt orators. A largo at
tendance of the ministers is expected as all are
anxious to hear the matter discussed.
The Farmers' Importance.
Font the Toronto Empire, 1
Of all the diversified industries that flourish
in Canada that of the farmer Is the most Im
portant. It is therefore of the most vital
consequence that the policy of the country
should be beneficial to the agricultural community.
You remember tho village bully, don't you?
Big; scowling, boisterous, not overly tidy,
wasn't he? Of course his bair was long, un
kempt, black. His eyebrows met, his
neck was thick, his knuckles were
knotted, his gait was a" defiant swagger,
his voice sounded like the bellow of the big
bull which sported a ring inltsnoso in the old
pasture field. You feared him, to be sure. He
was the giant, the dictator of the village
youths. The little girls trembled when they
passed him, and the little boys dodged
through the lanes and the fields to avoid
him. His word was law on tho play
ground, he ruled the school, he turned pleas
ure into pain, laughter into tears, mirth Into
misery. He gloried in a cut or a bruise, smiled
when ho kicked tne dog or worried the cat,
grinned when he stoned the frogs, danced
with delight when he wounded a
bird boisterous and bloody; he over
bearing, you forbearing. But the
village bully didn't get much pleasure out of
the golden hours of life's prologue, after all.
He made his mates miserable, to be sure, but
tho sport tired him. The pains of others, which
gave him all his pleasure, lefeco pleasant mem
ories. Surely he must have had bad dreams, for
he was never good-natured or contented.
But, after all, he was the first to find tharlifo
was tougher tban his fists. He was the first to
learn that he who cives hard knocks must
take hard knocks. He aged faster tban those
who stood in the same place as be on time's
calendar. Still you shook under his
scowl and dodged his shadow. The merry
shout was suppressed, the play paralyzed when
he looked on. Aud then be vanished. Life
was brighter when he was missed, wasn't it?
"Where did he go? Well, ho has never crossed
your path since, has he? He just dropped out
of sight. Only his memory remains. He
probably went to the wars. At all events ho
went from bad to worse. He was a bully when
you knew him; if you saw him now he would
doubtless be a coward.
The gunner can train a cannon easier than
the cavalryman can train a horse.
It is neck or nothing with some of the society
women.
The toiler who slogs after his task is appre
ciated more than he who sings while perform
ing it.
The cranks who are always presenting
problems for the people to solve are the dis
turbers of the stream of life.
Chief Two Strikes will probably strike
out before the ghost ball game ends.
These are bell buoys in the ocean as well as
the hotels. They answer water calls, too.
He stood at the corner at midnight,
And gazed at the far off star;
In the distance he saw the dim light
Of the last suburban car.
Church bells are blessed and society belles
are caressed. "
The President is sonnd on the tariff at all
events. It should not be tinkered until it Is
tried.
Congress indulged In a little swearing after
prayers yesterday.
The fellow who has the back-bone is the one
who never backs down.
The censns reports 75,000 people in the pris
ons of the country. The number has been re
duced to 71,000 in the past few days.
A tight money market means a lighter load
for Santa Claus.
Little Cupid's an artful dodger,
As everybody knows;
But In winter tho little codger
Should wear a suit of clothes.
Betwixt snow and sleet It was beastly unuer
foot yesterday. The pleasantness can bo
knocked out of tho weather in a very few mo
ments. Small notes are scarce, but If large ones
are plentiful the people will not grumble.
The relic hunter will disfigure a monument
to secure a fragment.
The Message has been read to those
In legislative halls.
Henceforth, until the session's close,
Look out for lively sqalls.
A black mailer A colored postal c lerk.
Beware of tho man who tells you how to
deceive others or dodge the laws.
The opera is truly fashionable as well as
fascinating. The world owes a great deal to
the music makers.
The monumental liar has cot yet secured a
monument.
The old custom of giving poor doggie a bone
has been reversed by science. Now poor
doggie gives its owner a bone.
The typewriter young woman who does not
mix her sentences is truly the girl 01 the period.
We smile when the sun is shining,
We sigh when the day Is drear;
But what's the use of repining.
Be the weather dark or clear?
Harrison indulges in a message and Cleve
land indulges in a massage.
Goodness adds to human beauty, for a clear
conscience induces sleep, and rest holds the
wrinkles in check. -
The headquarters of the Indian war are lo
cated at Chicago. So are a good many news
bureaus.
"We will meet, but we will miss him," wonld
be an appropriate ode for lucky ones in the
present Congress to close the session with.
As between Parnell and Gladstone, the Home
Rulers choose the latter. No Circe can hypno
tize the Grand Old Man.
The curling iron Is the latest menace to fe
male life. A red-hot hair f rizzer almost burned
two actresses to death the other day. Better
stick to the old-fashioned curl papers, girls.
Lodge, of Force Bill fame, has an immigra.
tlon bill ready, the provisions of which will
force our Consuls to earn their salaries.
Executed murderers cannot break jail.
Juries should bear this fact in mind.
People who are always complaining about
their bad luck never have a word to say about
their bad management.
Emotion Is appreciated on the stage, but too
much of it detracts from religion.
The Pennsylvania Legislature has a golden
opportunity to make a record for Itself this
time. Questions of vital interest to the Com
monwealth are sure to come up. Don't dodge
them, gentlemen.
There's no discount on Pittsburg smoke.
The toby is cow becoming famous far, far from
home.
A melttno sight Yesterday's snow storm.
The long obituary columns of the past week
tell the sad story of the fitful pneumonia
breeding weather. Bo careful.
It's not hurtful to look upward and paint
protty pictures with the imagination. Thought
alone can penetrate beyond the clouds and fill
the heart with hope.
These be piping times of peace. High
priced cigars are booming pipes.
WILLIE Winkle.
Football to the Front,
From the New York Star.
Football has taken a place In the front rank
of athletic sports, both as regards tho character
of the young men who engage in It, the perfec
tion of skill displayed in the playing and the
popular Interest manifested In the really great
gamo of the season.
College Colors Donned and Doffed
Quickly by Young Ladles From Pitts
burg Th'e News In Social Circles.
Out of 650 guests at the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
in New York, Thanksgiving Day, 173 were
Pittsburgers, all of high social standing, and
either tho Yale or Princeton colors were seen
upon every one of them. Here would be a little
knot a Yaleites conversing in animated tones,
there a party of Princetons,equa11y as animated
in their conversation, and here a Yaleite trying
to convert a Princeton, or vice versa. But as a
rule they were not convertible, and there were
very few mugwumps amonc them, though
some of the young ladies were not strictly hon
orable In their allegiance. However, their dis
loyalty was certainly excusable under the cir
cumstances. It seems they were decidedly In favor of
Yale, and the young gentleman, Mr, Frank
Jones, in whose special attention they were
basking, and who was doing anything and
everything that a young man noted for gal
lantry could devise, to make the trip one of un
adulterated pleasure to the young misses, was
a vigorous Princeton man. So, out of compli
ment to him. when In his presence, the maidens
all demnrely donned the Princeton colors, but
let Mr. Jones disappear for one short moment,
and the Y"ale colors were quickly whipned from
their biding places, and worn with 13 much en
thusiasm as was deemed proper by the fair
wearers perfectly well-bred girls.
One by one the tourists are returning those
who deserted their own, their native city, for
tho attractions of the metropolis and the foot
ball game. Sunday evening Mrs. W. R. Sewell
and Miss Amy Watson returned, and Sunday
morning Mrs. Dr. John Dickson and daughter,
Miss Agnes, and Miss Annie Scaife arrived In
the city. During the absence of Mrs. Dickson,
her husband. Dr. John Dickson, gavo what he
termed a "grass widower's dinner." at which
covers were laid for eight, and eight gentlemen,
among them Mr. W. R. Sewell, graced the table
and pronounced the "grass widower's dinner'
a "howling success."
Dinners won, and of course lost, also, on the
football game, bave been numerous. One
young man up in society, won ten dinners, but
they were all to be eaten during the month, and
he was last evening sufferidg dreadfully from a
spell of indigestion.
A BBILLIAHT BECEFHOH
Anticipated by Those "Who Will bo Favored
With Cards of Invitation.
A very brilliant and a very large reception
possibly tbe largest of the season will be
given by Mr3. James Langblin, Jr., December
11. It Is to be the first ostentatious affair given
at tbe beautiful borne, corner of Allegheny
and Lincoln avenues. In Allegheny, since the
return from Europe of the family, who. in
their wanderings, have secured a wonderful
array of quaint, artistic and handsome articles
of furniture and bric-a-brac, which Increases
the already pronounced beauty ot the exquisite
home.
The reception proper will begin at 5 o'clock
for tho older friends, but later on In tho even
ing tho young people will hold full sway, and,
with the incentivo furnishee by Toerce's Or
chestraif any Incentive other tban their own
inclinations is necessary will dance the mid
night hours away.
BEVEBENCE FOE A PAST0B
Leads Young People of Wllkinsburg to
Tender Him a Reception.
The pupils ot St. James' R. C. School, in Wil
kinsburg, held holiday yesterday. In celebration
of St. Andrew. This is the feast day of tbe
pastor. Rev. A. A. Lambing, and the children
presented him with a handsome surplice, a box
of fancy articles and three large bouquets. To
show their lovo and reverence for the pastor, the
children tendered him an entertainment Fri
day, in which a number of songs and recitations
were delivered by tbe little people for his solo
and especial benefit.
Arrangements are being made at this church
for a bazaar, to bo held in the conrse of a few
weeks. A meeting was held Sunday evening,
at which there was a large attendance and
much enthusiasm manifested.
"WILL "WED IN FEBBTJABY.
The Engagement of Stanley Anderson and
Miss Lido Murray Announced.
An engagement of much interest is announced
that of Miss Lide Murray, daughter of Dr.
R. S. Murray, of Sewickley. and Mr. Stanley
Anderson, associated with tho firm of James P.
Witherow & Co. The yonng lady is one of the
popular girls of the Sewickley vallev, bright,
attractive and winning in her disposition and
manners while Mr. Anderson is a young man
of sterling worth and accentuated social
qualities.
The marriage will be celebrated early In
February, with an elegance of appointment be
fitting the position occupied in society by tbe
young people.
Tho Work of Deaconesses.
Mrs. Lucy Rider Myer will address a mass
meeting in the Smithneld street Methodist
Episcopal Church this evening on the subject
of the deaconesses' work. Mrs. Myer is the
superintendent of the Chicago Deaconesses'
Home, aud is well qualified to speak on this In
teresting topic A large attendance is ex
pected. A Muslcale and Tableaux.
Tableaux and a muslcale will bo given Thurs
day evening at Old City Hall by Saratoga Coun
cil No. 262, Jr. O. U. A. M. The programme is
an extended one. and comprises many pleasing
numbers, and the names of several talented
performers of the city.
Social Chatter.
FAITHFUL Lodge No. 16, Order of Solon,
will have an open meeting, presentation of
charter and musical entertainment, at its hall.
No. 18 Third street, Allegheny, to-morrow
evening.
The Woman's Club will hold its regular
meeting in the Teachers' Library, this after
noon. The Mo zart Club this evening, at Old City
Hall.
The big Watson reception, this evening.
PEBS0NAL JOTTINGS.
Jay Gould has purchased three salt plants
in Kansas.
One of the features at an art reception civen
by William Ordway Partridge in Boston last
week was a fine portrait bust of Edward Ever
ett Hale.
The old friends of William Walter Phelps
will give bim a farewell banquet on Friday
evening next at the Now York Union League
Club. He sails for Berlin on Saturday.
Edward Atkinson thinks there are two
things needed in these days: First, for rich
men to find out how poor men live, and second,
for poor men to know how rich men work.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Oelrichs (for
merly Miss Tessie Fair, of San Francisco) have
began a scries of dinner parties, which are said
to bo unrivaled in the history of New York
entertainments.
H. A. Aldrich, who has been postmaster of
Mendon, Mass., under every administration
since President W, H. Harrison, a service ot 50
years, has announced his intention of resign
ing, because of advancing age and ill-health.
Mrs. Bradley Martin has purchased in
Paris the crown of Marie Antoinette not a
coronet which in picture books generally does
duty for a crown, but a genuine velvet cap,
with tbe insignia ot royalty emblazoned upon it
in precious stones.
Thomas J. Whitman, of St. Louis, who
died the other day, was a younger brother of
Walt Whitman, the poet. He was an expert
mechanical engineer, his last work being on
the building of the water works at Memphis.
He was born in Brooklyn, in which city he
spent his boyhood.
Mrs. Ashton Dilke has taken tbe plat
form in tbe interest of free libraries. She con
siders free books, papers and magazines one of
the necessities of the times. "The reading peo
ple conquer tho world, and it Is a small favor
to ask society to enlighten tbe people whose
only chance of education is In general read
ing." Some 25 years ago Emilo Zola was a clerk,
passing rich on 80 francs a month. To-day be
is practically a millionaire. No living French
writer has amassed more money than he from
the products of his pen. His novels sell by the
hundred thousand. On tbe first publication of
any of his stories by a newspaper he receives
the sum ot $5,000.
Donald G. Mitchell, who had not yet re
covered from the injury received at Rye, N.
Y., two months ago, when his arm was broken,
met with a fresh mishap last week, near his
home, "Edgowood." Ho was out with his
daughter, driving in the family carriage. Upon
their return. Miss Mitchell alighted to close a
gate throuzh which tbey had passed. As she
did so tbe horse became frightened and raq
away, Mr. Mitchell was thrown out forcibly,
aud received a bad cash on the back pr his
head.
The Development and Scenery Are Pleas
antly Pictured Forth.
The growth of the South in tbe last ten years
has been one of the most conspicuous features
of our National life. This development Is in
no way better shown than by the multiplica
tion of railroads and tbeir combination into
systems tnat rival those of the East in the ex
tent of tbeir mileage and tbe Importance of
their traffic.
A very good Idea of the development of the
New South in this regard can bo obtained from
a little book published by tbe Pennsylvania
Company and entitled, "A Handbook ot tbe
South." It is a gooa deal more than a mere
guide to tbe cities of .the South and the rail
roads by which they may bo reached. Tho brief
pen-pictures of Southern sconery which It con
tains bave real literary merit, and tbe statistics
are sugar-coated with a bright, breezy narra
tive. Tbe value of tbe work as a bandy book of
reference is greatly onhanced by maps that are
not over-crowded with details, and whose ac
curacy is vouched for by tho respective city
engineers. The glimpses of land-cape and city
vistas that form tbe initials and tall pieces bave
real merit as engravings, and wiib clear type
and good paper would artistically befit a more
ambitious work. The Pennsylvania Company
has the right to claim that in making the South
ern country familiar to Northern eyes it is pro
moting harmonious and profitable business and
social relations between the sections of our
common country. Although the gentlemen at
the head of the Pennsylvania Company are
seldom accused of acting without an oye to
their corporate interest, they are entitled to
credit for serving a good cause by tho publica
tion of this little book.
ABT IN PITTSBTJBG.
A High Compliment Paid by a Distin
guished Artist to Jlr. J. W. Beatty.
This is high praise for a Pittsburg artist,
coming as it does from one of tbe foremost art
critics in America. Alfred Trnmble; and wbile
It is true that Mr. Bcatty's highest praise has
probably come from abroad, and from such
eminent men in tbe art world as Walter Shir
law, Frederick Keppel and others, it is equally
trne that the rapid purchase of his recent
works by such men as John Caldwell, John
Walker. H. H. Westinghouse and others, at
prices never before reached by Pittsburg can
vases of equal size, attest in no uncertain
manner to tbe degree ot appreciation at home.
Mr. Trumble. in the Collector, commenting on
the love of art in Pittsburg, savs:
"One of the estbettcal phenomena of our
time Is tho avidity with which Pittsburg has
taken to collecting works of art since sho nas
had light enough to see them by. Once upon a
time, when tho great Pennsylvania iron
metropolis was still tbe dirtiest and most pic
turesque town In the country, I remember
meetine out there a couple of painters who
contrived, like lll-nourlsbed children, to lan
gnish out an anemic existence at her sooty
breast. All the great talents of Pittsburg, her
Reinharts, Alexanders and tbe rest, scuttled
away eastward as fast as they could. Now sho
has her art schools, her public galleries, her
picture dealers, and studios f nil of men and
women of talent one of whom, John W. Beatty,
will some day, unless the signs are perjured,
grow too big artistically for the city of his
birth aud present residence."
Tho Apportionment Problem.
From tbe New York Commercial Advertiser.
The only possible utility of a larger House
lies in tbe presumption that tho smaller the
districts Congressmen represent, the' closer
they are brought to the body of their constit
uents. But, at the same time, smaller districts
often means smaller men. And an increased
number of representatives lessens the personal
responsibility of each to to the whole body of
the American people.
THE OPENING OF C0NGBESS.
New York World (Dem.): Do its leaders re
spect the will of the people, or do thev intend
to ignore andjendeavor to thwart It? The Pres
ident's message and tho course of his party in
tbe session which opens to-day will show.
New York Star (Dem.): First da; of the
final session ot the Fifty-Orst Congress. Now
for one of the most interesting and important
chapters In American history. Con
servatism is the guarantee of Democratic suc
cess. New York Morning Journal (Dem): Two
thirds of the projects to come up for discussion
embody principles on which the great political
parties are diametrically opposed; and the fiery
debates ovor these will probably delay much
useful and necessary legislation on leas passion
ate and more prosaic topics.
New York Herald (Dem.): The session of
Congress which begins today will be boisterous
and full of healthy excitement. Speaker Reed
is unmoved by the results ot the election, how
ever, and declares that he will "stand no non
sense." So we sit in our editorial chair
with our windward eye wide open and an ear
trumpet.
Philadelphia Inquirer (Rep.): There are
two or three measures of importance besides
tbe appropriation bills that tbe Republican
Congress must put through. One is tbe plan
to revive American shipping an experiment,
it is true, but one that must be tried before its
virtues can be tested. Another is a bill pro
viding for reapportionment based upon the re,.
cent census.
New York Press (Rep.): The second ses
sion of the Republican Fiftv-first Congress
meets to-day, to be in session, except for a
brief Christmas recess, from now till its two
years' term expires on the 3d of March next.
President Harrison's message will be sent to it
this afternoon, and judging from tbe reports of
its contents which appear in our Washington
correspondence this morning. It is a mighty
vigorous document.
Philadelphia Record (Dem.): This singu
lar power of a rejected majority to legislate be
tween tho election and tbe assembling of a suc
ceeding Congress is an anomaly which should
cot be permitted to linger any longer in tbe
American Constitution. If, however, tbe pres
sent Congress should persist in passing the
force bill and other obnoxious partisan meas
ures, tbe demand for a change in the Constitu
tion in this respect would become irresistible.
Abuse of power has led to most of the reforms
in legislation and government.
New York Sun (Dem.): The Democrats
who strove in vain azalnst the policy of force
have seen their appeal to the country against
that policy answered to an extentthat tbe most
confident among them wonld not have dared to
hope for. A cocky minority and a sorry major
ity will face each other. If debate is permit
ted, it will be hot and rattling. The;Demo
crats are eager to explain why they were victo
rious, and tbe Republicans to explain why they
were beaten. Eighteen hundred and ninety
two seems pretty near, aud there will be a good
deal of talking.
Philadelphia Press (Rep.): There will be
but three months of the session of Congress
which begins to-day, and out of that will come
ten days or more for the holiday recess. This
will leave no time that can be wasted, and it is
important that every Republican member shall
be in his seat and in faithful attendance upon
his duties at every day's session. Only in that
way can desirable results be secured. It has
come to be understood that the canses which
led to the recent defeats were not such as affect
the party at large, nor are they such as can be
made permanently effective. They do not lie
against tbe general Republican policy.
New York KmM(Mugwump): Undoubtedly
the tone of the party management will be to
some degree revealed by the message of the
President, and that gives to that document an
interest it would not otherwise have. But
whatever he may sugeest in the direction of
afiirmativo action, nothing is more certain tban
that the best policy for the majority Is one of
relative inaction. If Congress would
follow the English precedent at the last en
largement of the constituencies and refer the
apportionment to an impartial conference of
the leaders of both parties they would secure
a satisfactory result, one in tho justice of
which the country would have entire confi
dence. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette (Rep.):
The leaders who will have command in Con
gress till the 4th of March, and in other parts
of the field until the 'final assault in '93, are
officers who bave been acccustomed to winning
victories. Under their lead, and that of their
associates of other years In Congress and in tbe
executive departments, only once In 80 years
have the Republican banners fallen on the
breastworks in any general engagement. There
have been temporary reverses In the minor af
fairs of the "off years," but. save one exception,
tho result of every national struggle has been
victory. On the other side, the enemy
Is boasting as if tbe hour had already arrived
for putting off their armor. But tbey have yet
to meet again the veterans ot SO years ot almost
uninterrupted victories. And to-day the lines
will begin to advance.
Tin Plate Obstacles Mythical.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Tbe circumstances you delineate as agitating
the minds of certain pessimistic individuals,
who are of opinion that tbey still operate
against us in prosecuting a tin plate industry
are, as will be seen neon Investigation, per
fectly fallacious, and therefore of no weight
whatever, as a determent to progress in the
business. One of the "most potent reasons"
adduced Is the lack of skilled labor, and
which it is erroneously stated wo cannot Im
port under the contract labor law;
whereas. Instead, provision is made
for tbe importation of labor in the creation of
a new Industry, Further, Mr. Cronemycr has
stated that which is perfectly correct when say
ing that we can get along, if necessary, without
skilled immigration, as there is a sufficiency of
such labor now employed in tbe mills of this
country (old tin plate bands) to start up tbe
business and educate others in the art of tin
nine an art, let It be understood, by no means
difficult to acqnire, as it is sought to be repre
sented to the uninitiated; the idea, of course,
beine to exacgerate everything In the way of
obstacles to be encountered before we can be
successful. However, there are now waiting
any number of men who will find their way
over here so soon as the works are erected,
belnc assured of employment at better wages,
as these will be In line with the mlllnien's simi
lar to thoso at Welsh works. Furthermore;
they will not be hampered with the edicts of a
nnlon that restrains them to the output of a
specific number of boxes, when it is possible
tor them to turn out a third more in their day's
work: consequently earnlnga third more wages,
and this based on higher rates than tbey now
get in Wales. As to the cause of failures at
some or the Welsh work", which the manufact
urers here are "likelv to Inquire into before
making investments' these are answered
briefly: Ignorant management and a lack of
adequate capital. The combination of small peo
ple to start a works, spending tbeir money in tbe
erection of a plant, and leavicgnext to notbine
for working it. The inevitable consequence
was their being handicapped from the Degln
ninr, having to seek assistance by overdrafts
at tbeir bankers; this cutting deeply into the
profits of the business, as shown in the half
yearly charges made in their passbooks. As is
customary in the trade, materials, as pig iron,
etc., were paid for by four months' paper.
Then when a season of depression and fallmz
markets occurred, it was impossible to close
down operations at the works, as tbe money
bad to be provided to meet tbese periodically
recurrent obligations, and their product of tin
plate was sold for what it could fetch,
entailing large losses monthly, until tbe
time arrived when tbe bankers refused
further assistance, and suspension resulted.
This has been tho fake of very many of the
orizinal founders of Welsh works which have
collapsed; but, quickly restarted by new com
panies, so discreetly manaced as to give the
gratifying results exhibited in tbe prosperous
business of Welsh tinplate makiug to-dav. A
striking proof thi3 working upon iusufilcient
capital, assisted by bankers, was furnished a
few years ago in the suspension of the most im
portant bank doing business In tho center of tbe
Welch tinplato district,whoseIoad of works' in
debtedness was heavier than it could carry
through a period of bad times. It will be
patent to even body that all this has no bear
ing upon our ability to mako tiuplates, being
beside the matter altogether.
Two of the leading tin plate makers Inst re
turned Irom visiting us Sir John Jones Jenkins
and Mr. Joseph M.iyberrjs men whospeakwith
an authority derived from experiences extend
ing over lifetimes in the business, say, through
the Welch press, tbat there is nothing now to
prevent one establishing the Industry, save tbe
difficulties incident to the Inauguration of any
new manufacture or business; andwbich are
to be overcomo with a little patience and per
severance. This ought to satisfy tbe most
timid and faint-hearted If anything would.
Yours, etc.,
Wilkess Teick.
Hubbard, O., Nov. 29, 1S00.
In Defense of Boildlng and Loan Associa
tions. To the Editor or The Dispatch:
If you will allow me a little space in your col
umns I will endeavor to show your readers tbat
the recent frauds perpetrated by tbe so-called
Granite State Provident Association and the
unscrupulous work of Sefton and Dunn should
have no bearing whatever on the principles of
building and loan associations. It is any citi
zen's business to learn if a foreign building and
loan association, contemplating doing business
In this State, has filed with the Secretary of the
Commonwoalth tbe proper certificate and there
from received authority to operate herein.
This having been done, then the State virtually
approves of the plan and shows its citizens are
safe to transact business with such an associa
tion, and will meet with no such trouble as was
experienced by those doinc business with Sefton
and Dunn.
The benefits derived from building and loan
associations are too apparent to need any com
ment here. Tbe old "Birkbeck" Association of
England is 40 years old, and to-day its yearly
assessments amount to 55,000,000. Though
Baring Brothers became embarrassed, the
"Birkbeck" never could, but grows stronger
every year Instead.
The fact that a certain association promised
to build or buy homes for its members, and sola
something tbey called "shares," does cot make
it follow that It is a building and loan associa
tion. Who ever heard of a building and loan
association loaning more money than it re
ceived fiom its stockholders, or loaning money
without interest or security, 'ibis society did
its business boldly and without cover, and, not
witbstandlngthe face tnat its plana of operation
were exposed by tbe press, it was allowed to go
on and perpetrate its supposed frauds until its
victims numbered over 10O, and tbe effect falls
upon tbe building and loau associations. Legit
imate building and loan associations should De
protected as well as any other enterprise.
Tbo fact that this company carried on an ille
gitimate business should not cast any reflection
upon building and loan associations any more
than the fact that banks sometimes appropriate
tho funds of their depositors should reflect on
the banking ssstem. Neither does it follow that
all acents are dishonest bacause tbe Sefton
it Dunn combination represented themselves as
agents of a company (which was unlicensed)
and made unauthorized promises, any more
than all bank cashiers are dishonest, because
one now and then pockets the funds of hii
bank. H. L. McCbast,
Pittsburg, Dec 1, 1800.
Reciprocity and Politics.
To tbe Editor of The Dispatch:
Will you let me know what the word reciproc
ity really means, and how it would affect the
enstoms income ot tbe United States. Also,
when did Kansas become a State, and was it, or
did it ever, tro Democratic? By answering you
oblige some regular old readers.
Allegheny, Nov. 19. 1S30.
The word reciprocity, as used in connection
with the tariff, denotes an exchange of products
by special arrangement ana without the collec
tion of duties. Its effect upon the revenues
would depend altogether upon the extent and
manner in which it was applied. Kansas was
admitted in 1S0I. It never cams so near going
Democratic as it did in the recent election.
Name for PolItical.Club.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Will you kindly suggest a good and proper
name for a political club organized by Repub
licans in this city.
Thomas B. Cbown.
Pittsburg. Nov. 23, 189a
Tbe name of a prominent party leader, either
living or dead, is most frequently used.
No Religious Test at AH.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Is there any law or article in the Constitution
of the United States that prevents a Roman
Catholic from serving as President of tho
United States If elected to that office?
P. J. Smith.
West Newton, Nov. 29, 1S90.
The H Is Superfluous.
To the .Editor or The DUnatcn:
Please let me know through your Mail Pouch
column which is the proper way to spoil Pitts
burgh or Pittsburg. Constant Reader.
Allegheny, Nov. 23.
Lawyers and Legislatures.
From the Boston Herald.
It is mentioned as a sad state of things that
Kansas has not enough lawyers in the Legisla
ture to make up its judiciary committees.
Massachusetts was in the same position once
in tbe days before the war. At that time she
appointed as Chairman of the Judiciary Com
mittee of ono branch a man who was not a law
yer, and made a rule in tbe same Legislature
that thereafter at least one member of the
Judiciary Committee should be taken from
outside tbe legal profession.
An Island In the Antilles.
From the New York San.
Tbe Supreme Court of tbe United States has
just decided that Brother Jonathan owns a
right little, tight little island of bis own In tho
Antilles. Tho name of tbe island Is Nayassa
and the Island itself lies, appropriately enough,
on the exact oarallel of latitude of Washington
City, suggestively near Cuba and just-off tbe
west coast of Haytl, which at one time claimed
It, though that claim Is now authoritatively
disallowed.
CURIOUS CONDENSATIONS.
The influence of the tides is felt for 400
miles up the Amazon.
The current of the river Amazon is dis
tinctly preceptlble on the ocean for more than
200 miles from shore.
As an instance of the wonderful fecun
dity of vegetable life it Is stated tbat a single
tobacco plant will produce C60.000 seeds.
The water system of the Amazon af
fords not less tban SO.OCO miles of free naviga
tion within the great Brazilian territory.
The mangrove seeds begin to shoot be
fore they drop from the parent plant, and the
drooping branches strike roots into the soil.
Twenty-eight per cent ol all the stu
dents in the University of Michigan are
women.
The vegetation of Brazil is luxuriant
beyond description. Trees split for paling in
tho neighborhood of Kj0 Janeiro send forth
shoots and branches immediately, and this
whether the position of the fragments be that
in which they originally grew, or Inverted.
In temperature the vast Amazon basin
is remarkable for tbe small seasonal variation
of beat, accounted for by its equatorial posi
tion and the Immense surface ot water and
forest: within its limits tbe thermometer at its
highest readings averages 90 and tbe lowest 75.
The mean term of human life has
gradually increased in the last 50 years from 31
to 42 years. Of those who have attained tbe
age of 66 years, out of 1.000, 43 were theologians,
40 farmers, 35 office-holders. 33 military, 32
clerks, 29 lawyers, 23 artists, 27 professors, and
21 doctors.
The museum of the St. Petersburg Uni
versity has rece-red the remains of a mammoth
found in Siberia last summer, about a mils
from the military station of Krassnly-Yar, on
the coast of tbe river Lomovata. Among them
is a tooth perfectly preserved weighing about
eight pounds.
A thief in Chicago stole a 530 game cock,
carrying it off beneath bis coat. While the
man was passing a policeman the sagacious
bird began to crow, which led to the arrest of
tbe thief. Tbe fowl further distinguished itself
before it was returned to its owner Dy whipoing
the station house car.
Dr. Altum mentions the bird ene
mies of tbe pine-moth and the immense
amounts of its eggs destroyed by the foxes, but
he adds tbat tbe parasitic fungi which periodic
ally Infest it are a far more terrible enemytban
any bird, because tbey destroy the moth over
very large areas at once.
In tbe Cluny Museum at Paris there is
said to be a remarkable collection of footwear.
It was made by Jules Jacquemart and com
prises more than 300 specimens of all kinds of
lootgear from the earliest form or the sandal
through its various transformations down to
tbe most approved modern article.
In the Province of Maranbao, Brazil,
the roots, grasses and other plants extending
from the shores of pools weave themselves in
time into a kind of vegetable bridge, along
which tho passenger tread3. unaware tbat be
has left tbe Arm earth, until tbe jaws of a cay
man protrude through the herbace before bim.
A wounded badger was carried away by
another badger suddenly appearing on the
scene; rats have been seen feeding a blind
couple. Brebm himself saw two crows feeding.
In a hollow tree, a third crow, which was
wounded; its wound was several weeks old.
Mr. BIyth saw Indian crows feeding two or
three blind comrades.
Mr. Bates mentions the really astound
ing numbers of winged ants which are de
stroyed during their exodus. The dead or half
dead bodies of the formica de f uego (myrmica
scevissima) which had been blown into the
Amazon dnring a gale "were heaped in alms
an Inch or two in beight and breadth, tbe Una
continuing without interruption for miles at
the edge of the water."
The little teetees, whose childish, sweet
faces so much struck Humboldt, embrace and
protect ono another when it rains, rolling their
tails overtbenecksof ihoir shivering comrades.
Several species display the greatest solicitndo
for .their wounded, and do not abandon a
wounded comrade during a retreat till they
bave ascertained that It is dead and that they
are helpless to restore it to life.
Ordinary whitewood is now given the
appearance of blactc walnut by first thoroughly
drying the wood and then warming two or tbree
times with a strone: aqueous solntion of extract
of walnut peel. When nearly dried the wood
thus treated is washed over with a solution of
one part by weight of bichromate of potash In
five parts or boiling water. When thoroughly
dried it Is rubbed and polished.
A Buenos Ayres exchange informs us
that the Argentine army is officered as follows:
42 generals, 123 colonels. 111 lieutenant colonels,
119 majors, 219 captains, 222 first lieutenants.
235 second lieutenants and 219 sub lieutenants
and eusigns; total, 1.373 officers for about 5.500
rank and file. With a general, three colonels,
and five captains for every 130 men, it is not at
all surprising that revolutions occur.
Heretofore the postmistresses of Franca
have been practically debarred from marryine.
By an old-established rule husbands of post
mistresses could not engage in a number of
trades or professions, on the theory that they
would offer temptations t the husband to
tamper with tho mails. Now. however, the
Government has abolished these restrictions to
the choice of a husband with the exception of
pplico officials.
The railroad cars which traverse Man
hattan Island over their hundreds of miles of
tracks last year carried the enormous number
of over 400,000,000 passengers who paid 5-cent
fares. There were also a large number of
transfer passengers, as well as policemen and
others who get a reduction In fare. The gro'S
earnings from passengers during tbe last rail
road fiscal year show an increase of over 975,
000 over the previous year.
It is stated that during the first weeks
of Its infancy a lobster runs greater risks than
any other young denizen of tbe deep. Add to
this that, with tbe exception of the crab, he is
the most pugnaciuus of fishes. Springing
through the water from the impulse of his
powerful tail-fin, the lobster uses bis claws
deftly as weapons of offense or defense, and.
if injured, be sheds his claw, which is replaced
by the growth of another limb.
The most terrible enemies of mice ara
not other animals, but such sndden changes cf
weather as occur almost every year. Alterna
tions of frost and warm weather destroy them
in numberless quantities. One single sudden
change can rednee thousands of mice to the
number of a few individuals. On tbe other
side, a warm winter, or a winter which gradu
ally steps in. makes them multiply in menacing
proportion, notwithstanding every enemy.
WIT AND WISDOM.
Football is evidently not woman's sphere,'
SomtrxiUe Journal.
"We can't leave for an hour."
"Wbynott"
'My wife has sone Into the kitchen lor a tee
ond.'' Sew York Sun.
Sanso When I was in China
Kodd I never knew you had been In China.
Sanso I was once when 1 was in college. I was
jammed through the earth Is a football tackle.-.
Kno Xork Herald.
"But, Your Honor," said the prisoner,
"six months forme? Remember, sir. Ibave ueeu
a member or the Legislature and onca ran ror
Councils. "
"Tbat may be. But you should bave spoken
sooner. I cannot Increase your sentence now."-
Philadelphia limes.
"Is your son one of those noisy, dissipated
college boys?"
.Not exactly. He Is what you might call the
cab tbat cheers, but not inebriates." Few Tort
Sun.
Fish Commissioner Eugene G. Blackford
received a letter yesterday from a lady out West,
who said she'd heard about him and tbat If he'd be
kind enough to send her a small lobster, so as she
could see what th- tblngs looked like, be might
order more. The lobster was expressed immedi
ately. Jftio Tort Journal.
"Stop Charlie, don't ask me. I've always
regarded you as a good joke, that's all," said tat
fair maiden.
"Well. I'll tell you what." returned Charlie,
you'd better snap me right up. Good Jokes are
bard to find nowadays. "New Xork Herald.
"That Sallie Harkins is tbe greatest girl
for getting bargains at second band."
'Isn't she? I understand she's going to marry
a widower." Sew lorkSun.
Chicago's inquisitive 4-year-old is at it
again.
"What day Is this?" was one orher questions.
"Wednesday," she was told.
Is It to-morrow?"
"When a despairing answer or "Yes" wre
turned, the exclaimed. "We bave lots or to-mars
rows, don't we?" Chicago Times.
Seedy Gentlenun "Will you help rae to
win a wager, sir?
Hank. President What do you mean?
beedy Gentleman Why me and my friend here
have made a wager. II bets ma fl,0CO,00O against'
30 cents that I can' teat JO quail In 30 days. I've,
got the 30 cents. What I want to Know ls,lf you'll
help me to a fortune by providing tbe qaaHs.-s,.
' Louisville Journal.
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