Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, February 09, 1891, Page 4, Image 4

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THE PITTSBTTRG- DISPATCH, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9 189L
ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY 8, IS46.
Vol. No. z.-Enteredatrittsburgrostoflicc,
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PITTSBURG, MONDAY, FEB. 9, 1891.
A SENSELESS IDEA.
In our "Washington dispatches it is inti
mated that the policy of legislation by riders
lias still such a hold on the Congressional
mind that the Senate may yet stick a free
coinage rider on some appropriation bill,
and the House may retaliate by adding the
force bill as a rider. This would resnlt in a
general muss, with the probable outcome of
necessitating an extra session of the incom
ing Congress.
Such a course would exhibit a wanton
disregard by all parties in Congress of the
principles of parliamentary action. It
would show that they were not willing to
let their measures stand or fall on their
merits, and would require some of them to
disclose - readiness to deny their own prin
ciples of parliamentary action. An illus
tration of this is given by the statement that
the Speaker would rule a free coinage
rider out o! order as not germane to the
subject of the bill, while it seems that in
case of necessity he would turn his parlia
mentary ruling topsy-turvy on a fores bill
rider. Statesmen cannot indulge in such
juggling with their own principles without
injuring their own standing beiore the
country.
"We do not think that such a blind policy
will be adopted, even in the present Con
gress. Senator Stewart's effort in that
direction has been already cut short by the
notification of such Democratic leaders as
Voorhees and Turpie that they will not sup
port it. Appropriation bills are necessary
to carry on the Government and political
leaders with any sense know that they can
not burden them with their pet political
measures without being held responsible
for it.
A PERMANENT SOLUTION.
The special correspondence of The Dis
patch on the shut-down of the valley
furnaces, discloses the fact that the feeling
is very strong there on account of the slow
ness of the railways to perceive the neces
sity of such a concession in rates as will
enable the iron industry to run on a secure
basis. Allowance should be made, as al
ready pointedout in The Dispatch, for the
considerations which make railroad officials
loth to cut rates on a profitable traffic. But
it is none the less true that delay on the
part of the railroads to recognize the neces
sities of the case is injuring them as well as
the industries which furnish them their
permanent prosperity. In the meantime it
is a matter for the capitalists of the valley
as well as of Pittsburg to ponder that a sum
less than the capital and debt ot the rail
ways running between Pittsburg and the
lake ports, would, if invested lu the pro
posed ship canal, completely solve any such
difficulty as the present, and make Western
Pennsylvania, including these valleys, the
iron center of the world.
A FAMILIAR ERROR.
The desire to revive the system of pooling
and beyond that to take the radical step in
retreat of changing the prohibition of
pooling under the inter-State commerce
law into a legaliz ition, is backed by all the
persistenceof tbehuudredsofmtllionsof rail
way capital which hopes to gain an ad
vantage thereby. The steady work of this
most poweiful agency has at last obtained a
report from a Senate committee in livor
of this reversal oi the policy, and it has also
secured a persistent misrepresentation of
the facts of the case, the latest example of
which is the editorial assertion of the Phila
delphia Xorth American that "the prohib
ition of pooling by the inter-State commerce
law has worked very badly and ought to be
removed."
This is a very wide departure from the
facts of the case. The truth is that where
the prohibition of pooling has worked
at all, it has worked very well.
Over a large share of the railway
traffic it has not worked at all, simply
because the law has been ignored and nulli
fied, by the combined edict of the railway
corporations. In those sections the attempts
to restore pooling by one device or another,
have produced numerous examples of the
cut-throat and reckless rivalry which ran
rire during the pooling era. In some quar
ters there has been a decent observance of
the law. After one or two attempts the
trunk lines concluded to give up the idea of
evading the law, and concluded to satisfy
themselves with a simple agreement as to
rates on a basis of moderate charges. The re
tult has been that the trunk lines have been
almost entirely free from rate-wars, and
present a marked contrast to the rate
cutting o! the "Western roads, where the at
tempt to establish pools in defiance of the
law has gone on with scarcely an attempt at
concealment for the past year or two.
This is the universal testimony of all
railroad history, and it is founded in the nat
ural reason of the case. Railroad officials are
not such insane persons as to throw awav
the money of their corpoiations simply
to prevent their rivals from carrying
freight at a loss although many of their
representations would indicate that they are.
But when they hope that by carrying com
petition to the degree of universal loss, tev
can drive their rivals into such a combina
tion as they wish to dictate, then they pro
ceed to cut rates to the losing basis, wherever
the knife can apply, with the expectation of
getting back the loss by the establishment
of the pool or combination. The same rule
ap"plies in other lines uf business. AVherc
ever competition is on a broad and unre
stricted basis it is confined by the limits of
cost. Butwhcnthereishopeofestablishiii-'a
trust or pool, then prices can bo cm fnr l
jrond the limits of cost, in order to drive the 1
contumacious competitor either out of busi
ness or into the combination. The regula
tion method of the trusts, like the pools, is
to resort to cut-throat prices wherever neces
sary to suppress competition.
There has never been a railway war that was
not waged either for the purpose of defend
ing an established monopoly or to force the
establishment of a desired combination.
There has never been a conflict of cut-throat
prices in trade far beyond the limits of cost
that it did not have a similar purpose. This
can be established by studying the entire
history of the combination policy; but it is
sufficiently demonstrated by the correction of
the error into which our Philadelphia cotem
porary has been led by the steady misrepre
sentations of the corporate interests.
"Wherever the fifth section of the inter
State commerce law has been treated with
any approach to respect, there rates have
been kept steady on a moderate basis.
"Wherever the provision has been nullified
and the attempt to establish pools carried
on, there the cut-throat policy has been rife,
and the stock-jobbing manipulations. of the
corporate kings have been most notorious.
POSSIBLE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES.
It is beginning to make itself manifest to
the public intelligence that the antagonistic
disposition of the Cleveland and Hill wings
of the New York Democracy, places both of
these gentlemen ontside the lists of avail
able Democratic candidates for 1892. Even
if the harmonizing effect of Colonel Brown's
wines and viands has induced these leaders
to become better friends so far that they
can breathe the atmosphere of the same
banqueting hall, the knives of their follow
ers have been whetted too sharply to rust in
disuse. Besides the fact that the rank and
file of Tammany will not swallow Cleve
land, it is evident that the silver question
puts him in a place where he is almost cer
tain to alienate the support oi one portion of
the Democracy by sticking to his former
principles, or of another by recanting them.
The same considerations reversed apply to
Governor Hill. The most significant evi
dence that Hill took himself out of the
Presidental field, by accepting the Senator
ship, is furnished by the Sun, heretofore his
warmest organ, but which no w abandons him
to the regulation fate of the candidates which
it booms two years before election, and pro
ceeds to look around for a new candidate.
"With its usnal disposition to prefer political
astuteness to integrity and high character,
it picks out Gorman, of Maryland, for the
coming man.
But fortunately for the Democracy they
have other available men besides the sharp
Maryland Senator, whose rise to prominence
is based on a machine which would have
put Tammany in its palmiest days to the
blush. The list oi Democratic Governors
who have been successful in carrying hard
fought campaigns in States usually counted
Republican presents no slight attractions.
Governor Russell, of Massachusetts, is sug
gested by the Boston Globe, and indorsed by
the New York Herald, as a man who repre
sents the younger and better element of
Democracy. Pattison, of our State, has a
record on which any party can afford
to go into a National campaign.
Campbell, of Ohio, by his readiness to at
tack corruption in his own party and by the
singularly frank language of his messages,
has an attraction for those -who would like a
candidate oi incisive and original charac
teristics. The nomination of cither of these three
gentlemen would be in defiance of one rule
of modern politics, namely, the nomination
of a candidate with the chances that he
would not can-y his own State. But it
would hardly be a greater violation of the
principles of political expediency than to
nominate a man like Gorman from a sure
Democratic State who would have little
strength outside the limits of his own
political machine. The Democracy has of
late years won its victories by relying on its
young blood; and such men as Pattison,
Bnssell and Campbell are creditable repre
sentatives of that element.
J. N. M'CULLOUGU'S DEATH.
The death of J. If. McCullough yester
day, removes a man who has long held a
commanding position in the transportation
interests of Pittsburg. As the First "Vice
President of the Pennsylvania Company,
and principal executive officer of its im
portant lines to the west of Pittsburg, his
influence in the railway interests of Pitts
burg during tbe period ol its greatest growth
has been leading. His career was marked
by energy and force of character, and his
success in managing railroad interests cov
ering tbe most important sections of the
country furnishes a sufficient measure of
his business ability. Pittsburg will feel
this heavy loss from among the ranks of her
leading railway men.
TWO OFFICES AT ONCE.
There is a remarkable and simultaneous
development of the theory that a man can at
once hold a position under the United States
Government and under a State Government,
in the case of two more or less eminent poli
ticians. The first symptoms of the idea were
manifested in the case of Governor and
Senator-elect Hill, when it was held that he
could retain the Governorship until next
December, in order, for some reason in
scrutable to those outside the political cir
cles of New York, to avoid imposing the
Gubernatorial cares on the P reight-Paying
Jones, after tbe 4th of March. The Dis
patch considered that idea sufficiently dis
cussed in Governor Hill's case by the re
mark that Governor Hill is not a fool. But
tbe same claim has been made in the case of
State Senator and Congressman-elect John
B. Itobinson. As Mr. Bobinson has declared
that he will serve out his ierm as State
Senator, it seems necessary, in order to
avoid that summary classification of him, to
point out the facts in the case.
The present Congress terminates on March
4 next, and the next Congress, of which
Hill and Bobinson are members, begins on
that date. Their salaries are paid to them
from the 4th or March, and if any Congres
sional duties should arise for them to dis
charge before the regular session meets, thev
would be called together to act. A decent
respect for public opinion would forbid both
of them to act in the capacity of a State
official without resigning the position under
the United States.
In Senator Bobinson's case there is also a
constitutional prohibition which would be
conclusive if the constitution were valid
against either politicians or corporations.
It is a curious illustration of the principle
involved that an opinion from Colonel Mc
Clure is published to the effect that the
difficulty can be got over by Mr. Bobinson
refusing to accept pay as State Senator, but
to serve in that capacity, while drawing his
pay as Congressman. This would be a clear
acknowledgement that he was holding the
Congressional position while discharging
the functions of the State position.
Nothing but the convenience of certain
politicians will be injured in respecting the
law and precedents Dy which these gentle
men should resign their State offices on the
4th of March. They can, of coarse, resign I
their Congressional places- if they prefer,
but neither of them is in the slightest danger
of doing that
TAKING IT OUT OF CHICAGO,
The disposition to be revenged on some
one, no matter whom, if certain political
measures are not passed or defeated as may
be desired, is spreading, and Chicago as the
site for the "World's Pair, is the butt of it
all. The Southern disposition to boycott
the "World's Fair, on account of the election!
bill, has hardly been laid in the same grave
with that measure before Colorado jumps to
the front The Chicago Board of Trade has
had the temerity to put itself on record
against free silver coinage; and a thunder
bolt is in course oi preparation in the Colo
rado Legislature in the- shape of a resolu
tion, declaring.that Colorado will make no
exhibit in the "World's Pair, and advising
Colorado people to direct their trade to some
other city than Chicago.
This is perhaps no better than was to be
expected from a Legislature which recently
demonstrated its idea that the way to settle
a political dispute was to hold a small civil
war over it, but it is nevertheless monu
mental idiocy. If Colorado has reached that
remarkable degree of development where
it no longer needs to attract the attention of
immigration or capital, it may be able to
afford to boycott the "World's Pair. But
such a course will hurt Colorado more than
it will Chicago. It will permit the publio
to infer that Colorado has no inducements
to offer to enterprise, and will notify the
world that the State is ruled by such stupid
ity as to subordinate business enterprise to
politics. As to trade, it is well known that
whatever Colorado trade Chicago has se
cured has been because her merchants made
it to the advantage of Colorado merchants
to trade with them. As long as that con
tinues to be the case the Colorado Legisla
ture can, in the language of John Hay's
hero, "resoloot till the cows come home"
without changing the course of trade.
But the custom of revenging political dis
appointment and factional defeat by threats
against Chicago and the fair are getting
rather threadbare. Perhaps Pennsylvania
had better threaten to boycott the fair, if
the iron trade does not improve under gov
ernmental stimulation. Certainly the next
thing is for the Farmers' Alliance to issue a
iulmination of that sort, if the sub-treasury-agricultural-warehouse-and-two-per-cent-loan
scheme is not at once adopted by Con
gress. That the mining laws need improvement
is beyond question, but the pending proposi
tion to create a commission for their revision
awakens a comparison with the commission to
revise the revenue laws. If the proposed com
mission should be built on the lines ot the body
which has been wrestling with the revenne
question, the mining laws might get themselves
revised by the time that all tbe coal in the
mountains of Pennsylvania had been mined
out. But it would not do to bet on even that
resnlt.
The remark which is now going the
rounds as having been made by tho late "Will
iam H. Vanderbilt that the happiest time of
his lite was when he was worth $300,000. warns
the masses to be content with tbe happiness of
humble poverty on that sum when they can
get it
The resolutions of the Ohio Legislature
on Brice's residence in New York are thought
by the World to bo "simply a further mani
festation of the Republican desire to retain by
fraud the power which they are losing in elec
tions." Bat if Brice is only a resident of Ohio
sufficiently to be elected Senator, and not suf
ficiently to be taxed or enumerated in tbe cen
sus, it is somebody's business, and none more
tthan tbe Ohio Legislature's to find it out
The report that New York milkmen have
formed a million-dollar corporation nnder tae
accommodating New Jersey law, to "protect
their interests," shows one instance in which the
trust policy and the milkman's policy of water
ing stock meet on common ground.
The interesting fact is noted in last week's
trade reviews that "a New York miller has pur
chased 100 carloads of wheat in Chicago at a
cost laid down in New York several cents per
bushel higher than the ruling price fortheMay
option." This seems exceptional, but it may bo
fully explained on the hypothesis that the New
York miller wanted wheat and not wind.
"It sounds a little queer," remarks the
Philadelphia Times, "to hear ot the degree of
LL. D. conferred on Mr. Balfour by Dublin
University." Why not? The degree of the
two D's has heretofore been widely conferred
on Balfour by the Home Rulers.
Senator Ingalls' frankness has dis
gruntled the organs to the extent that the New
York Press declares: "Mr. Ingalls should vote
with his party or get out of it" Bntthatis
exactly what Mr. Ingalls did up to a very recent
date, with tbe crushing result of getting the
majority of the people of Kansas out of it
The President's message recommended
economy on public buildings; and tbe public
building bill is nearly four times greater than
last year. "After us, the deluge" is the motto
of the leaders in the present Congress.
TnERE is room for serious doubt whether
tbe Rer. Sam Jones in his bare-knuckle contest
with the Mayor of Palestine, Texas, got tho
better of that official; but if tbe Mayor had
been the English grammar, there is no question
tbat tho evangelist would have knocked him
ont in tha first round.
The "vindication" of Baum and the
vigorous efforts of the silver pool committee
not to discover anything, make it clear enough
tbat, in the present House, investigating com
mittees do not investigate.
One hundred and thirty-five
millions is tbe current pension appropria
tion, with Senator Allison's assurance that
deficiency after that sum is expended may be
"six, eight or even,ten millions." The pension
method of scattering a surplus is eminently
successful.
The Rival National Games.
New York Continent.
Congress costs the people $30,000 a day, but it
is money well spent Tho people get more fun
ont of one day of Congress than they do from
a whole season of baseball, which in New York
City alone costs 550,100.
We'll lie More Economical Now.
Kansas City Star.
The Pittsburg Dispatch insists upon
spelling the name of tho new Senator-elect
from Kansas "Pfeffer," which proves, of
course, that the editor of that paper is a Penn
sylvania Dutchman.
SAM JOKES, THE SLTGGEB.
Washington Post: If Sam Jones intends to
continue his Texas tour be will do well to join
forces with Colonel Fitzsiinmons.
Toledo Blade: It was perfectly proper for
Rev. Sam Jones, the Georgia gentleman, to
have a set-to with a Texas gentleman.
Nashville American: Sam Jones should ar
range to carry Colonel John L. Sullivan with
him as a terrible example and a defender.
Savannah News: Added to his other at
tractions as a freak Evangelist Bam Jones has
tnrned slugger. Apparently both he and the
mayor were somewhat Knocked out and they
deserve to be knocked further.
Charleston Jrcws: When the Rev. Sam
Jones goes back to Palestine, Texas, he ought
to explain to his congregation what tbe Bible
means when it says that, if a man strikes you
on one cheek, you must permit him to strike
you on the other, also, .Brother Jones evidently
UUC3 IJUb UCUIJia 1U ilUOlM lumjllDMUUll,
Brother Jones belongs to" the church militant.
SNAP SHOTS IN SEASON.
Our sorrows should be writ with in
visible ink and our joys chronicled with a never
fading fluid.
Agitation and antagonism is a good
thing after all. Snrely the world is better off
because it refuses to remain passive, and man
and woman are improved by the constant contra
dictions and opposing opinions which form tbe
mind waves on the thought sea. If tbe wisdom
of the grandfathers had been accepted by the
fathers and handed down to the children with
the injunction "thus far Shalt thou go and no
farther," what a barren, undeveloped, hum
drum old world this would be, to be sure. Bui
man is a fighter in tho field of thought as well
as on the field of carnage. He builds
up and he tears down: he wounds
and he heals; he breaks and he mends. While
natnre is harmonious and rythmic, humanity
ir Inharmonious and erratic in thought and
action. Were wo harmonious, passive, sub
missive, our mental power would languish and
the brain die of inaction. Were we not an
tagonizers, debaters, objectors, untruths would
pass for truths, we would worship idols, chew
husks, strew ashes. Under the generalship of
thought the war of words is fiercely waged.
The citadel of the mind is stormed, and after
each engagement old ideas are buried and
newer ones recruited. The retreat
is never sounded, and tho for
ward movement while slow is sure,
and an intellectual victory assured. Un
der the antagonisms which meet and do battle
on life's broad field the scope of thought is
widened, the bnrden is lightened, the road
brightened. Were it not for the antagonisms
of mental life we would still be looking at the
stars instead of beyond them, would still be
looking into the grave instead of over it But
the brain was built for working, the tongue for
speaking, the eye for seeing, the heart for hop
ing, tbe feet for carrying us on. And the argu
ers will go on .arguing, the delvers will go on
delving, the searchers will go on searching
ever onward and upward, retrograding, per
haps, but To-morrow never dipping to the level
of Yesterday.
Good form is very often bad taste, but
fashion tickles the fancy instead of the palate.
The oftener sensible people pass the
growler the better for all concerned.
In Germany the more marks a man carries
the more he is respected.
The silver men seem to have missed a
golden opportunity.
"When is a banjo like a book ? "When it's
well thumbed.
There is always more or less staggering
at a stag party.
Theatrical programmes now read:
"Characters assumed by the players," etc., in
stead of the old-fashioned "Cast of characters."
The change is doubtless due to the fact that the
drama has lost caste.
Tn& wretchedness of London evidently
pleases Kipling better than the bustling pros
perity of American cities.
The pessimist looks at the world with sore
eyes and refuses to wear rose-colored glasses.
And now the silver States are boycotting
the World's Fair. It can get along without an
exhibit of cowboys and Indians, anyway.
"When Blaine clinches his reciprocity
bargain with Cuba, Havana cigars will be within
the reach of the middle classes.
The weak-willed are the ones who are
always talking about making good resolutions.
The man who hears the jingle of the coins
In bis pocket is seldom lonesome.
"We would all be gamblers if we had a
sure thing on winning.
The Indians at "Washington talk like
children and handle a gun like old soldiers.
"When glass house workers strike they
never come to blows.
Some of the laws designed by the granger
statesmen are cat bias.
A cotempoeary's reciprocity cartoon
represents Blaine greeting a Greaser. Mexico
is not yet in it dear boy.
"Why are gamblers like little children?
Because they love to play.
It is all right to air clothing, but the
soiled linen shonld be kept in the background.
Stuttering folk have an unruly tongue,
but never try to bridle it
Mrs. Jeff Davis says her husband was
abused at Fortress Monroe. A good many
husbands were abused during the war, and
those at Libby and Andersonville failed to live
long onough to file a complaint
The stream of tbe present cannot be ob
structed by the wreckage of the past. Where
the flow is retarded new channels will be cut
The heart often holds the key to a lock
of hair.
It costs more to whitewash a statesman
than It does to fresco bis house.
Good art merely repeats something pro
duced by natnre, and only the prudes prefer to
see it draped.
Blood-shot eyes indicate that their
owner is loaded.
It is far pleasanter to get a letter with a
remittance than to get a letter reminding yon
to remit
The pen that writes the obituary is dipped
in charity, but the one that writes the biography
is frequently dipped in gall.
Love is not nearly so blind as the
parents of a great many lovers.
The color applied to the hair takes the
color out of the cheeks, but some women seem
to prefer rouge to blood.
The Chinese yesterday undertook to ex
orcise the evil spirits, and propose to drive all
the devils out of Pittsburg. The preachers
will still have their hands full, however.
Bankers as well as musicians know the
value of a note.
Honest money can hardly be expected
from dishonest lawmakers.
A whispered scandal travels faster and
further than a shonted compliment
The church will never succeed in making
theological seminaries out of the public schools,
or nunneries out of the female colleges.
Nature's laws are heartless and are en
forced by tbe iron band of fate. It will solve
the race problem slowly but surely.
It is not at all likely that Councils will
get stuck on a Glew farm.
A Four-runner The race horse.
Legislators p&y more attention to the
alimentary canal than tho proposed ship canals.
WlMJE WlNKLK.
Bigness Not Greatness.
Richmond Dispatch.
The managers of the Chicago Fair ask of
Congress an appropriation of $5,000,000. They
wish to have an exhibition that will eclipse any
tho world has ever before seen. There is ex
ceeding probability that its vastness will bo
created at tbe expense of symmetry. The
Centennial Exposition was too large, and yet
the coicago reposition u to ce larger. Bigness
is noi greatness.
' "WHY WHJ TEE8 GE0W WABMEB,
A Theorist Says the Exhaustion of Natural
Gas Alters the Climate.
New York Telegram. 1
"The natural gas theory?" laughingly said
Charles J. Pierson, of Indiana, at the Ashland
House. "Have you heard of that? Well, it is
exciting a good deal of comment with us, and I
think deservedly so. You know that Indiana
is now held responsible for the lack of cold
winters in Detroit and Chicago and along the
lower line of Michigan. The theory is simply
this:
"Underneath the localities mentioned there is
a vast subterranean reservoir, in which the gas
has been stored for ages past You know that
certain combinations of gas will make cold.
The gas wells of Richmond, Ind., give out over
15,000.000 feet of gas a day. This waste has
been going on for years. This drain is thought
sufficient to make a change in the climate of
those places abovo the subterranean reservoirs,
notably Chicago and Detroit Yon know it is
a source of constant remark in these cities
that there are no more cold winters. How far
this theory Is right in its conjectures is not for
me to say."
The Obvious Moral.
Detroit Free Press.
For tbe heir apparent of tbe English throne
to gamble is sad; for him to be caught at it and
dragged into a court of law as a witness is
lamentable. The moral is: If you feel like
wooing the goddess of chance, choose your
company, and then don't do it
Has Her Tongue Left
New York 'World.
What has become of the woman who made
150 speeches for the farmers of Kansas dnring
the late campaign T In the grand distribution
of prizes what has the woman got T
NAMES TEAT ABE GREAT.
Father Ignatius has been spending
the winter in Florida. Friends in England sent
him $3,000 to cover his expenses.
Miss "Winnie Davis, daughter of Jef
ferson Davis, is again engaged to be married,
it is said this time to James S. Richardson,
the great Louisiana cotton planter.
Senator "Voorhees is ill of a compli
cation of diseases, rheumatism and heart
trouble being the most serious. It is not prob
able he will be in the Senate during tbe rest of
the session.
Inventor Edison is a vegetarian. Nov
elist H. Rider Haggard is a vegetarian. Prof.
Swing is a vegetarian. Sir Isaac Newton was a
vegetarian. All the Greek philosophers, sages
and seers ate no flesh.
OF.the hundreds of letters which Judge
Peffer has received congratulating him on his
election to the Senate not one comes from the
wealthy classes or moneyed interests. Mr,
Peffer feels very good over this.
John D. Bockefeller's gift of $1,600,
000 to the Chicago University is being paid in
installments of 100,000 each 30 days. He said
recently to one who had spoken of his gift as
munificent: "Ob, it is nothing compared with
what I intend to do, as I have only just begun
to make money." And he is rated atSlOO,
000,000! Mrs. Marian Beid, the aged mother
of Whitelaw Reid, who resides nearCedarville,
O., has been quite teeble for the past month or
six weeks. She was highly delighted while her
illustrious son was taking his trip through the
Holy Land to receive from him some olive
leaves he obtained on the Mount of Olives, a
sprig from a tree whose branches overhung the
River Jordan, and a blight, old-fashioned mar
igold plncked in tho Garden of Getnsemane.
General Longstreet has just re
turned to Atlanta from Texas, a little reduced
in flesh by sickness. The sobriquet the "Old
War Horse," was first given General Long
street in December. 1862, at tbe battle of Fred
ericksburg, where Lee said: "I kept tbe OId
"War Horse" by my side so I could direct him
where to apply his strength best" Veterans
in Atlanta declare be got the nickname after
the seven days' fight around Richmond in 186L
The question of Cleopatra's beauty is an
old one, bnt it has been brought into fresh
prominence by Sardou's "Cleopatra" and Mrs.
Langtry's revival of Shakespeare's play. The
only authentic portrait of Cleopatra that is
known to archaeologists is a bust which appears
on a series of coins. It is on the reverse, and
bears the inscription in Greek, "Queen Cleo
patra, the Divine, tho Younger," while on the
obverse is a portrait of "Antony, Dictator for
the Third Time, Triumvir." The workmanship
of the coin is far from good, and this accounts
in come measure for the undeniably plain ap
pearance of tbe queen. Yet the likeness, so
far as the f eatnres go, is a true one, for the
other coins of the same series, though of a
different type, give her the same features an
equiline nose, a strong chin, a long neck and
narrow shoulders. Tho fact is tbat her beauty
was not so remarkable as one would think from
the spell she cast over Cassar and Antony.
Envied by Machine Politicians.
Denver News.!
Tbe Alliance members of the Kansas Legis
lature meet in caucus every evening, decide on
a programme for the day following, andtbat
programme is carried out to the letter. It is
known what bills will be introduced and how
each member of the Alliance will vote. All
differences are settled in caucus. The disci
pline of this new party in Kansas was never
surpassed by any party.
There Should Be Some Good.
St. l'aul Globe.
The statistics of recent immigration show the
same tendency as the past year to an increase
from Italy, Poland and Russia and a decrease
from Great Britain and Scandinavia. Ger- I
many, however, increases, and there ought to
be some good material driven out of Russia by
tho despotic rule there.
F0TJHD IN A VEIN OP SILVER.
An Arrow Head nnd Human Bones 4C0
Teet Below the Surface. .
nSPFCIAL TILKORAM TO TUB DISPATCH.!
Leadville. Feb. 8. John Sunger brought
to this city to-day an arrow head made of tern'
pered copper, and a number of human bones
which were found in the Rocky Point Mine, at
Gilman, 460 feet below the surface of the earth,
imbedded in a vein ot silver-bearing ore. Over
$100 worth of ore clung to the bones when they
were removed from tbe mine.
The ore clung to the arrow bead when taken
from the urn, and was with some difficulty re
moved. One of tho bones is a portion of the
head of the femur or thigh bone. Tbe im
portant feature of this discovery is the fact
that these relics were found in tbe center of a
vein of ore, indicating that man was in exist
ence on tbis continent when tbe molten metal
was coursing the fissures of these mountains.
Sara and the Dog Trick.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
We TCgret to note that Sara Bernhardt, with
all her fame and talents as an actress, conde
scends to do the "dog trick," which seems to be
the latest advertising dodge of "actors and act
resses in search of notoriety. The "dog trick"
is a device for getting into the newspapers
about a change of hotels necessitated by the
refusal of one house to allow a dog to occupy
apartments reserved for guests. Sara has just
played It in New York, and her transition from
the Gilsey to the Hoffman is tho subject of
comment It has been played in St Louis sev
eral time? and has yielded the expected results,
but is becoming something of a chestnut here'.
What Ails Kansas.
Brooklyn Standard-Union.
Kansas has had one of her diseases of youth.
We should think it a big case of measles. The
disease is not dangerous as long as the rash is
kept well ont on the skin, and He think Peffer
is a mistake we may depend upon. He is a red
rash with bumps on it He has been Improving
his mind until he has overdone It. His speech
of acceptance of a seat in the Senata showed a
habit of confounding himself with the Al
mighty. The Peffers are a power this year.
Next year they will be made hay of.
Out of the Frying Fan.
Toledo Blade.
Buffalo William suggests that the Indians be
treated like the negroes. Tbis would mean tbe
substitution of the shotgun fur the Winchester
rifle.
Nothing in a Name.
St Louis Globe-Democrat
Congressman Bland is very blustering these
v4ays.
THINGS IN GENERAL.
The Wrestle of the Ordinary Tongue With
the Difficulties of a Russian Name A
Strango Land for Teachers of the World
to Come From,
Some people, referring to the Verestchagin
exhibition, speak of it as "those pictures over
in Carnegie Halk" This is an easy escape from
a wrestle with the Russian language. Others,
who are more venturesome, lay hold upon the
hard name In a catch-as-catch-can fashion, and
pronounce It "Very-shockinV
That is. indeed, a fair description of some of
tbe pictures. They are very shocking. Some of
these battle scenes are so real and so horrible
that they become ahaunting vision. You wake
up in the middle of the night, and the priest in
robes of black and silver swings his censer over
the field of mangled corpses. Borne people Cod
the religious pictures equally shocking. There
arono haloes about the heads of Verestcba
gin's saints. And that is an unpardonable
thine. It is quite proper and most commenda
ble to paint pictures of sinners without any
clothes on, bnt to paint pictures of saints with
out any haloes on outrages one's sense of Chris
tian decency. Such is the foolishness which
steals the good name of art
I confess that I have no admiration for
haloes. My reverence for tbe saints Is riot in
creased when they are depicted with their
beads outlined against dinner plates of bur
nished gold. There is only one saint whoso
head ought to be in a dinner plate; and that of
course, is that realistic preacher of the old day
who spoke ome good, homely, realistic truth
to Madame Herodias. Thn mnt aarrAfl fhtntr
in this world is truth. Tell us the truth; paint
things as they really are. All else is "news
from nowhere," and concerns ns not at all.
A Scene That Is Realistic
So I like that picture of the holy family,
where Christ sits reading the roll of the book,
and Joseph is busy at the carpenter's bench,
and Mary with her little children sits upon the
ground in tbe Syrian courtyard, and the family
washing hangs overhead, and tbe chickens peck
in the brown earth. That is what that scene
was really like, in those old days at Nazareth.
And I like, still more, that strong, triglc
picture of the crucifixion, with tho great wall
on one side and tbe three crosses on the other,
and the great crowd in the foreground, and no
ecclesiastical grouping, no conventional effects.
Tbe old pictures look as if tbe crucifixion was
a religious service instead of a disordered,
brutal execution. Bnt this picture is true.
There is not a conventional attitude in it, as
there was not at Calvary that spring day back
in tbe centuries. Down runs the great stream
of red blood from hands and feet. Here and
there a clenched fist Is lifted in denunciation.
Back in a corner of the picture the mother is
crying, her face covered by her hands. And
the crowd looks on, some with wonder, some
with curiosity, some with pity, some with fear.
Tbis is what the passers-by saw that day a
crucifixion which was not especially different
to the common eye from any other of tbe
crucifixions of that brutal time.
Whatever more we may believe abont Him,
Jesus of Nazareth was a real man, walking tbe
streets of the Syrian towns, wearing the dress
of that land and time, looking simply like a
man. He was satisfied with that but somehow
we are dissatisfied. That representation of
Himself to men was reverent enough for Him.
If we are right-minded, it will be quite reverent
enough for us.
One of the most significant facts abont this
notable collection of pictures is that they are
religious pictures. And by tbat I don't mean
only that the painter has chosen bis subjects in
many cases from tbe life of Christ and from
the scenes hallowed by the touch ot His blessed
feet. Bebind these great canvases is an up
lifting purpose; that is what I mean. They are
religious, because th ey minister to the highest
interests of men. They were painted to help
men. That is the mission of tbe best realism.
The realistic artist who knows what his art is
for, has a message, and that message is meant
for us common men.
A True Record of Remarkable Sights.
Take these battles and camp-hospitals and
barbarous punishments and snowbound, per
ishing sentries. What a lesson they teachl
Verestchagin tells us tbat when he painted
them tbemain purpose in his mind was to make
a true record of some remarkable sights which
had come within the range of his own remark
able experience. But when they were painted,
behold they were not songs bnt sermonsl Like
all the work of all earnest men, there was a
helpful meaning shown in them. It is amusing
to learn tbat tbe Russians were greatly pleased
with tbe picture of the Sepoys blown from tbe
English guns In India, but they did not at all
approve of the picture of tbe Russian hanging
scene in tbe snowstorm. Tbat is human nature.
We like the sermons which hit onr next door
neighbors.
Queer, though, isn't ItT that these Russians
should come preaching to usT Tolstoi and
Verestchagin, out of that land which Kennan
and Stepniak have depicted in such realistic
fashion, that semi-barbarous Russia, inhabited
(the Contemporary Hevlew assures us) by liars,
thieves and unclean persons these two great
teachers come to teach us how to behave our
selvesi Tf'!a,eye??llin eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
?, n5" ta,takm tne race to ontgrowthat
.!-.fi?1Lou brut0 inheritance." Nations
are still like dogs. They fight What a way of
ascertaining truth, to pummel each other about
"" . f' ay " we can to CI" off the heads of
the upholders of the other side! And so to
b"ng about the reign of righteousness! But
we are learning better. Tbe finest thing that
has been of late years accomplished in Inter
national settling of agreements, is tbat trans
fer of our sea troubles with England out of the
hands of politicians into tho jurisdiction of
judges. Tbat is the way to do it. Get tbe dis
putes out of tbe reach of tbe men whose aims
are purely selfish, who want notoriety and
money, and votes, and offices. Some say that
the aangetous class in this country is the
tramps: others say tho capitalists. Why not
the politicians? Why not the men who
would even be willing to encourage war, if war
would serve their party ends?
The Heart of the Matter.
Verestchagin is right in bis belief that one
step toward tbe putting down of national fight
ing is a realization of the horrors of war. Of
course that does not tonch tbe heart of tbe
matter. A realization of hnman brotherhood
gets nearer to tbat Still, by all mean, show
up unbrotherliness in all its ghastly, bleeding,
horrible results. From this time on, war is
going to show that increasingly. Partly be
cause there is a constant and tragical improve
ment in tbe construction of machines for kill
ing men. Cam has case away bis old club. He
has a whole armory of Weapons a thousand
times mor deadly. And partly, also, because
there is a ponde, now which makes no smoke.
That blinding cloud, tbat hiding, delusive,
merciful veil of smoke, will no longer hang
over tbe field of battle. Every man will see bis
brother's bleeding wounas. Every horror of
mangled, distorted, blood-dripping, torn, dead
humanity will be in full sight of evervbndy. It
will be too much for tbe stoutest heart. Tho
next great war will be without a parallel
lor its sheer, open, fiendish bru
tality. Men will find out what war
is. That if. the prescription which Veretchagin
offers for the malady of war, and which tjf na
tions will perforce take the next time thfy fall
sick of that plague, is like Dr. Koch's prescrip
tion for tuberculosis it is the most virulent of
poisons.
It is significant that we are a good deal more
Interested just now in healing men's bodies
tban we are in mangling them. The doctors
are more important tban tbe captains. The
mention of Dr. Koch suggests the name of
Count Mattel. Dr. Kocb is trying to cure con
sumption. Count Mattel is trying to cure can
cer. People are just beginning to find out
something about this Italian doctor. Mr. Stead,
who is 'up" to everything, has discovered him.
A Radical Change in Treatment
The old process of cancer treatment began,
as Mr. Stead remarks, with a sharp knife and
ended with a dose of morphine. But here is
something better. Hero is the homeopathic
principle applied in tbe case of cancer. And in
the case of everything else, it seems. Inuecd,
that is the orst thing about it, that it claims to
do so mnch. Cardinal La vigerle ants to have all
tbe missionaries of Northern Africa supplied
with this remedy tbat they may work miraeles.
This miracle business, and the part played in
the medicine by "blue electricity," are sus
picious. The base of the drug is a decoction of
herbs, an thee are somehow mixed up to
gether (nobody but the Count knowB how) with
"blue electricity."
However, here It is. Quackery? 'Yes. Pat
ent medicine? Yes. But will it cure people?
Ye?. At lcat, thousands of peonle say so.
Aftcrll. that is what we want. What care wo
for all the faculty of medicine so long as we can
be cored? Princess Galltzin (a familiar name
in these parts) is a believer in the Count. Gen
eral Ignaticff belongs to tbe noble army of wit
nesses. At Hankow. China, there is a hospital
with a thousand patients under this treatment
The Dncbess of Argyll has been recovered from
astbma. Lady Paget was cured of la grippe, in
five minutes. In India tbeyarerestoringlepers
with blue electricity. In England Prof. Hux
ley and Sir Morell Mackenzie are suggesting a
test hospital. In Chicago Dr. Pnschaek Is the
Count's American representative.
The Lono Star of the Cabinet.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The only Preldental possibility In the Cab
inet ii the Secretary of State. In this particu
lar the present ministerial council of the nation
is widely differenvfrom-any "other-waich it has
bad since before tne war,
OUR MAIL POUCH.
1 For the Safety of the Miner.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
In reading an account in The Dispatch of
tbe Mammoth mine slanghter, and the choos
ing of a legislative committee to investigate
tbe same, it strikes me that this would be a
proper time to speak of some of the causes that
lead up to mine accidents in general, and these
wholesale slaughters in particular. Insufficient
ventilation and a want ot thorough and vigi
lant inspection of ail tbe working galleries and
chambers of a mine are accountable, in the
main, for gas explosions; and while it may be
true that in very fiery seams, the laying bare a
gas fissure by tbe workman's pick, tbe firing of
shot to loosen coal, or the caving in of the
root, may sometimes be the means of an un
looked for and free escape of a large body of
explosive gas. All experience teaches ns tbat
the greatest loss of life arises from the first
mentioned cause". In reference to the present
sacrifice, the statement is made that the mining
laws stipulate that tbe safety lamp shall be used.
Bnt the evidence all goes to show that that law
was ignored. A perusal of tbe evidence ont up
to the 30th inst goes to show that the Mammoth
miners lost their lives through neglect or indif
ferent inspection, arising from a false feeling
of security, resting upon the theory tbat this
mine, having hitherto been free from gas, it
would so continue to be free. Tho duties of a
fire boss, when faithfully attended to, are oner
ous and exacting; and such men shonld attend
exclusively to the inspection of the galleries ot
a mine for accnmulation of gases. There can
not, in tbe nature of things, be such a careful
inspection as will reasonably insure human
lives, where the flro bosses' inspection ended
three hours before the miners commenced
work. A fire boss' first daily iuxpection should
be so arranged as to time that all the working
parts of the mine shall be visited and reported
on, his ronnds to terminate not more than 15 or
20 minutes before the men commence work.
Bnt onr bituminous miners are allowed to go.
and actually do go, all along the two rivers, and
In the Connellsville field, commencing on their
day's work Irom 1 a. M. to 7 A. jr.. as
feeling or necessity drives them. Poor
fellows! theirs .is indeed a hard life.
But apart from the sacrifice of life caused by
explosions, there are many other causes to be
guarded against, such as flooding of a mine
from accumulations of water in exbansted
workings; breaking of the hoisting apparatus;
falls of mineral while undermining and falls of
roofs. Accidents arising from tbe last-named
causes have been greatly reduced of late years,
owing, in tbe main, to tbe visits of tbe mine in
spectors, but there is still lots of room for more
effectual progress in tbe same direction. When
the time comes aronndthat our lawmakers and
onr mine proprietors and operators reverse tho
present order of things, and consult tbe safety
and welfare of their workmen in preference to
the accnmulation of the dollars, then, and not
till then, mine accidents will be fewer.
But hero are a few ideas for what they are
worth: Tbe long wall system of mining our
bituminous coal veins, while the first cost of
opening up the mine would be more expensive,
would resnlt in tbe end in far greater profits to
the operator, in a greater saving of tbe mineral,
a less percentage of lives lost to the amount of
coal mined, a great reduction in the amount
of timber needed, and a more perfect and
equal ventilation with the same power. A law
to prevent the miners from com
mencing on their day's work in any
shaft slope or drift before a certain
stipnlated hour, say G or 7 A. M. Such a law
would enable the fire bosses to attend to their
dnties within tbe limits necessary to thorough
ly examine tbe mines so as to insure tbe great
est safety to the workmen. Tbe contract sys
tem (or piece work) ought to be abolished, so far
as mines are concerned, for tho following rea
sons: First because it tends to recklessness and a
disregard of the workman's personal safety; sec
ond, because it prematurely exhausts the vital
energies of the workmen: third, because it cre
ates dissatisfaction among tho workmen them
selves, owing to the unequal distribution of the
work, and also because it has a tendency to
overproduction, causing tbe workmen to be
subjected to periodical conditions of over-exertion
or a total suspension of wort; fourth, be
cause tbe plan is practical, although I am
aware that many of tne miners would object to
it In conclusion, allow me to state that there
has been far greater sacrifices of life than the
one just occurring at the Mammoth shaft
Some tblity or so yfcrs ago. at a place called
Lund Mill.ln Yorkshire.there wero 159 killed by
an explosion, and a little whilo after, at tbe
Oaks colliery, near Earnsley, Yorkshire, there
were SU lives lost by thegag firing in tbe shaft.
Tbe writer was at tbe pit mouth ot both or
those mines. Stephen S. Brown.
Heshbon, Indiana co.. Pa., Feb. 5,
You Are a Good Republican.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Dear Sir As I have voted for the last
President Benjamin Harrison, on the Republi
can ticket and supported the last State ticket
except for Governor, tbe question I would like
answered is: Under those conditions would I
be entitled to a vote at a Republican primary?
Reader.
Elizabeth. Pa., Feb. 7.
If you are not the Republican party wonld
be in the minority. Independence does not
disbar you. J
Probably Meant for a Joke.
To tbe Editor of Tbe Dispatch:
"Paper No. 10," in The Dispatch of Janu
ary 3L upon water ways, is very ingenious and
interesting. I would like to ask tbe writer how
be proposes to surmount the impediments to
navigation when tbe rivers and canals are
frozen over. W. C. Kheem.
Franklijt. Pa., Feb. 7.
lit tbe writer had closely read the papers he
would have discovered tbat allowance was
made for tbe weather in calculating the yearly
navigable period nnder the Improvement sug
gested. Less Brilliant, bat More Solid.
Baltimore American.
Congress is not as interesting as it was, but it
is doing a heap more work.
WHEN SISTER DARNS TTIE SOCKS.
rrKIPABID FOB THE DISPATCH. 1
There's a nook beside the ingle, where the chil
dren lore to gather.
When the winter nights are passing, and the
frost Is on the p ane.
There's a rocker nxed for mother, and a big arm
chair for father.
And a cost rug before the hearth, for pass and
baby Jane.
And tbe clock ticks In tbe corner, and the old
man gets his glasses.
And mother brings her knitting, and the chil
dren mend their frocks.
And a flood of pleasant feeling o'er tbat little
circle passes.
As the boys et down the checker board, while
sister darns the socks.
There's the baby with ber picture books, who
talks or dolls and dresses.
Or frolics with the pussy, tumbling round upon
the Boor;
While the firelight glints and ripples on the
golden, tangled tresses.
Casting shadows, dark and gloomy, on tbe
wainscot and the door.
Soon a bashful, sunburnt fellow steals across tbe
frozen stubble
You can tell by some one's blushes, tbat she
guesses well who knocks:
Ben 1'acLer come to chat awhile, and seethe
cider bubble
And hold the skcln for .Nellie, as she sits and
darns tbe socks.
There's talk of cattle, sheep and crops, ana colts
and bslkyhorses.
And subsoiling, and top dressing, and tobacco
Juice for ticks;
And the old man's eTes grow brighter as he,
limbering up, discourses
God bless his simple earnest heart of "dralnln'
off the cricks."
The clock is Striking ten, but still the awkward
figure lingers.
The old man rattling straight ahead, while
mother sits and rocks;
Tbe curly heads are nodding fast and Nellie
pricks her fingers.
For her heart goes with her lover, while she sits
and darns the socks.
O sacred hearthstones of our land, O firesides
pure and simple.
Whose holy love, like that sweet dove that slept
o'er Jordan's stream,
Around them flits, while mother knits, and sis
ter's blushes dimple.
Nor thought of guile or 'worldly wile, disturbs
their artless dream.
God bless the homes of innocence, andchlld
h oca's thoughts elyslan;
And bless, to those who know him yet the sire
who sits and talks:
Tbe day shall come wncn home's sweet scene will
be a cberlsh'd v slon.
When sister sweeps a stranger's hearth, and
darns another's socks.
Ye prond, who like th' Egyptian queen, salt down
life's purple river.
Whose coldness kills the spirit and whose
spleador chills the soul.
There's a rapture, and a glory from your hearts
shut out forever,
A stream that rarely rises when the waves of
grandeur roll.
'T!s the light of Joy. that sparkles when the Are
or love Is burning
jror tbe dream of fame and glory but blisters
blinds and mocks
How many haughty spirits. Tor their childhood's
peace are yearning.
As Ken yearns lor his Netlle, as she sits and
darns tbetsekw 1 iL-i .o.
rnttADttLriHVlTeb. . J. B. Pabxe, ii. V,
CDRI0US CONDENSATIONS.
But one mile of railway was built la
Iowa last year.
A man at Ensh Lake, Mich., found
evidences of silver while digging a well.
A solid train of 75 cars of lumber ar
rived In Savannah. Ga.. one day last week.
Missouri annually expends over $7,000
for tobacco for tbe convicts in tbe penitentiary.
A store building at Decatur, Mich., Is
nicknamed "Mummery Block" becanse all tha
village secret societies meet there.
The Port Huron tunnel banquet will be
eaten June 15, from flat cars in tbe middle of
tho hole. There will be 1,000 guests.
A boy at Tampa, Fla., while hunting
eggs in an old stable, found two gold watches.
They had been stolen and concealed there.
Forty-three carloads of coal have been
shipped from the Kansas State mines at Lan
sing to 11 different destitute Western counties.
Mr. Henley, aged 95, finished an unin
terrupted life of pauperism in the Gosport
workhouse. He was brought there when S
years old in 1S0L
An old frontiersman says that the
"ghost dance" is nothing more nor less than
the old Modoc war dance, with possibly a few
recent embellishments.
Eighty per cent of the people at Union
ville. Mew, are church members. There are
hardly enough sinners in the whole town to get
up a dance or a card party.
A Missouri man has collected over
6,000 different kinds of wood, petrifactions and
relics from all parts of the world. He expects
to exhibit them at the World's Fair.
A colored man, confined in the Cassop
olts, Mich., jail becanse he is a maniac on re
ligious topics, bas stoutly refused to eat a thing
for six days. He says he wants to die.
The people of "Winfield, Kan., have
made up a purse of COO with which to erect
a monument to tbe bov hero. Thomas Morgan.
who a short time ago lost his life In attempting
to rescne a young schoolmate who had broken
through the ice while skating.
At a session of the Central Farmers In
stitute, held in Toronto, interesting discussions
took place on the Illegality of combines, the
advantages of free trade, and other matters of
moment. A resolution in favor of absolute
trade reciprocity between Canada. England,
and the United States was earned by a large
majority.
When Livingston reached the center of
Africa he fonnd millions of people there who
never bad tasted salt, but they got to liking it
and would sell a slave for a pound of salt just
as they would sell a slave for a bottle of
whisky.
Quite a new description of stage illu
sion has been originated by Van der Weyde.tbe
eminent London photographer. It is stated
that the illusion is so wonderful that tbe on
looker refuses to believe that the shadow pro
jected is anything bnt solid stone.
The young ladies of Quincy, Mich.,
have a "guess party." The ladies send the
gentlemen invitations reading: "Party in our
set this evening. Guess where and come there.'
It is needless to say tnatthe boys get aronnd
late, as tbey frequently visit a dozen houses
before finding the right one.
The President and Committee of the
Egypt Exploration Fund have determined to
begin an exhaustive archaeological survey of
that country, which will include measuring
and making plans of the monuments, copying
and photographing tbe inscriptions, sculptures
and wall paintings, and making note of all the
recent depredations.
Willhelm Vaddie, an eccentric charac
ter and naturalist residing near Versailles,
Ind., who spends much of his time searcbingin
the woods, among the bills, deep gullers and
ravines, found a stone abont four inches long,
that has a number of diamond-shaped points
on the surface. A Cincinnati jeweler is said
to have offered Mr. Vaddie 12,000 for his treas
ure. A peculiar discovery was made at Stone
Fort near Chattanooga, just as men were hew
ing asunde.' a large piece of rock. It was
found tbat a crevice divided it the aperture,
however, narrowed down until It became solid
toward the bottom. When tbe men broke it
asunder, within tho bosom of tbe rock was
found a petrified reptile resembling very much
the shape and build of an alligator.
Tbe canvas-back can distance any other
dnck. It can fly two miles a minnte and keep
it up for hours. The mallard is the slowest
but with an effort can go a mile a minute. The
gad wade dnck. numerous in Oregon, can travel
80 miles an bonr. Tbe broad-bill duck Is al
most as switt as the canvas-back, but cannot
keep the race as long as the other. Even
geese can travel by wing from eight to ten
miles an bonr.
What is known as the "secret mail" of
India bas for more than a generation perplexed
tbe English mind, and is still a profound mys
tery, although numberless attemnts have been
made to explain it. Everyone who has lived
long in Asiatic countries is aware that tbe ac
curate knowledge of important happenings at a
distance is often possessed by tho natives a
consiuerauie time ueiore it is oDtained by the
Government, and even though special facili
ties had been provided for the transmission of
the news.
The latest estimate of the 12 largest
cities in tbe world, in the order of their popu
lation, is as follows: London, Eng.. (inclndiug
suburbs.) 5.101,613; Palis, 2,311,530: Osaka.
Japan. 1,653.111; New York City. 1,513,501: Can
ton, China, 1,500.000; Aitchi. Japan, 1,390.702;
Berlin, Prussia, L315, 297; Tokio. Japan, J.28S,
07; Vienna. Austria. L103.857; Chicago. 1099.
133; Philadelphia. 1,046.252; Sian, China, L00O,
000. There are three other cities ot China that
are said to have LOOO.OOO Inhabitants, bnt the
populations of the Oriental cities are generally
mere estimates,
While a Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy freight train was coming from Burling
ton to Galesburg, 111., tbe otber day, the en
gineer noticed an eagle sitting on the track
feasting on a rabbit The eagle arose when the
engine drew near, but tbe locomotive was run
ning so rapidly tbat tbS big bird could not clear
it. One of tbe wings flapped into the wedge
shaped space formed bi the headlight bracket
and tbe extension at the front end of thn boiler,
and was held there as In a vise. The fireman
went forward and released tbe wing, and
carried the eagle into the cab, where itshowed
fight and made things livelr for the engineer,
who finally cornered it and brought it to Gales
burg alive. It is an unusually fine specimen.
The following 21 trunk railroad lines
cover more tban 1,000 miles each: New York
Central and Hudson; Fennsylvauia; Denver and
Rio Grande; Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe:
New York. Lake Erie and Western: Illinois
Central; Chicago. Rock Island and Paciflc; East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georcia: Louisville
and Nashville; Late Shore and Michigan South
ern; Chicaeo and Northwestern; Union Paciflc;
Northern Pacific; St Louis and San Francisco;
St. Paul. Minnesota and Manitoba: Michigan
Central; Baltimore and Ohio; Chicago. Bur
lington and Quincy; Chicago, Milwaukee and
St. Pan!: Chicago and Alton; Boston and Al
bany; Pittsbure. Ft, Wayne and Chicago;
Southern Pacific; Richmond, West Point and
Terminal.
LATEST GEMS OF WIT.
The spark who goes to see a maid.
With her young heart to idly sport
If she engage a lawyer's aid.
Can be compelled to go A court.
Siagara Spray.
A philosopher is a man who can feel as
easy over his own troubles as he does OTer his
neighbor's. There are no philosophers. AtcM
son Globe.
Tescher To what circumstance is Colum
bus Indebted for his fame?
Tommy To the circumstance that America was
not already discovered.-5trf, fi Texas 81fU
ingt.
Hcjack (to his wife) If you're waking
call me early.
Mrs. Hojack-If I'm not waking. I suppose I
can call you Tom, S3 usual. Chicago Inter
Ocean. Biggs And how does Senator Dunfer
stand with your people?
Griggs lie Is dead-a political corpse.
Biggs Did bis enemies stab him ?
Urlggs No. he wrote a confidential letter to a
trusted fricnd.-CAfcaffo Time.
Editor of Religious "Department (pausing
a moment in bis work) How does that quotation
go "A prophet is not without honor except ex
cept" Kallroad Editor (busily scratching away) Ex
cept among thieves. Chicago Tribune.
Physician (with ear to pugilist's chest).
There Is a severe swelling over the region of tha
heart which must be reduced at once.
l'atlent (anxiously) That swelling Is my pocket
book, doctor. Please don't reduce it too much.
Chicago Xeici.
Simi'kins Say, Jones, have you heard
the news? l'eople can't get married any more.
Jones (In surprise) Why, what's the trouble'1
now? 2' i
Hlmptlns-Oh, Vanamakerand the rest of Jest -
there at Washington have pat s stop to'theletJ
tery business. VraKt's Magazine ?JS
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