THE' PITTSBUKQ- DISPATCH, SJJNDAT, MARCH 22. 1891. X ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY S, 1S4S. Vol. :&, No. 4S -Entered at l'ltlsburg rostoffice, Jioverabcrli. JsS7. as second-class waller. Business Office Corner Smithfleld and Diamond Streets. News Rooms and Publishing House 75, 77 and 79 Diamond Street rjVt-TERS ADVERTISING OFFICE. ROOM M. 1KU1UNE BUILDING. NEW YORK, -where complete flies of THE DISPATCH can always be :oimci. Foreign advertisers appreciate the con venience. Home advertiser and friends ot THE DISPATCH, while -in New York, are also made welcome. THE D1SPA7VH is regulailp on sale at Srentino's. S Union Squat a JVcto York, aid IT A'e.de r Ope a, fai is. F'ance. where anyone uho has been disappointed at a hotel netcs stand ian obtain it. TERMS OF THE DISPATCH. ro'TAGE fkee ix the uxixrD states. Daily DierATcn. One Year S C0 Daily DisrATClt, 1'er Quarter : 00 1aily Dispatch, OncMonth.... '0 Daily Dispatch, including Sunday, lyear. 10 00 Daily Dispatch. lncludlnESundsy,3m'ths 250 Daily Dispatch. Including Sunday, im'th 80 MnoAT Dispatch, One ear :50 WlESXT Dispatch, One ear IS ThE Daily Dispatch Is delivered toy carriers at .'cents per week, or Inducing Sunday edition, at I cents per week. Tills iue of THE DIPATCII contains 20 pages mode tip or THREE PARTS. Failure on the part of Carriers, Agents, Jiensdcrilcru or "cnboys to supply pa trons w'th a Complete Number should be promp'ly reported to this office. I'olKnfarj; contributors should keep copies of articles. If compensation is desired the price ripe led must be named. "Die courtesy of re turnniff rejected manuscripts trill be extended utens'ampsfo) that purpose are enclosed, but the Editor of The Dispatch mil under no circumstances be raponsibleor the care of un folictled manuscript. POSTAGE All persons who mail the Sunday iue o! The Dispatch to friends lio d bear in mind the fact that the post nse thereon is Two (-) Cents. All double and triple number copies ot The Dispatch require a -cent stntup to insure prompt delivery. PITTSBURG. SUNDAY, MAR. 22. 1S3L TAXATION IN" THE AGGREGATE. Th growth of taxes, national. State aud municipal in short lor every form of gov ernment has never drawn such attention as now. Te extraordinary action of Con gress in calling for one thousand million of dollars for its appropriations this year ap pears to have set the pace through the country, and it is not alone the gentlemen in the saddle at Washington who can ride hard and fast when the popular check-rein is loosely set. A consideration of some recent figures is instructive as showing the weight of the burden. Let us see for example what was to be contributed for the current year by or for each inhabitant of our own city, whether infant or adult. 1. The Congressional appropriation calls for the equivalent of a per capita tax of about SIS upon each of the population of the country. 2. The Stale of Pennsylvania'sappropria lions are reported as being likely to call for near 525,000,000, which, if allowed, would represent a per capita tax of 55 on the population of the State. 3. The city of Pittsburg's appropriation o 54,500,000 for theyear is almost 520.per capita on the population of the city. 4. Allegheny county tax, say 53 .per capita population of the county. These rough but sufficiently close esti mates show for the current year the equiva lent of a total per capita taof$47 for resi dents of our own city. Allowing for in lants, for the helpless, incapacitated and un employed, the usual average of four to every adult workingman, and it appears that on the labor of the latter there is a total yearly tax of 5235. That the tax in none of these cases is nomi nally per capita, and that in none i it as sessed directly upon the productive labor of the country, makes of course no difference in the actual result, since whether direct or indirect, or in whatever form assessed, it is all in the end payable by labor. Thus the flist item which a real estate owner counts in setting his rents is the amount of the taxes: and the grocer in turn counts up his rents and his business tax and adds for same tothepriceot hisgoods. Butof courseallthat is an old story, and perfectly understood by the dullest, or should be by this time. "What attracts interest now is the substantial and somewhat startling result that the labor of each active producer, especially in onr cities, has to pay directly and indirectly, be tween national, State and county taxes, about enough to support one officeholder. The business of government must go on, and no one wants it to be inefficient, shabby or parsimonious- Bat there is such a thing us getting on too fast. In the old times, among the Orientals, for every man wbo sowed or harvested, there had to be another with a sword to furnish protection. Protec tion is still the main thing got from Federal and State Governments the city gives us streets and schools besides but judging by the money paid, it is getting back almost to the Oriental standard of man fofman, one to work, the other to watch, and the net product of the labor divisible into two nearly equal carts, one for him who labors product ively, the other for him who holds a Govern ment post. The powers in politics will have to moderate their pace or the people will begin to inquire whether it is necessary they shonld pay so much for what they get. A FUTILE COMBINE. The report that the vessel owners associa tions of Cleveland and Detroit have agreed to snspeud the opening of lake navigation until May 15 is an indication of an attempt to apply combination tactics in a new field. It is of especial interest to the Pittsburgers who receive and ship large quantities of freight by the lake, and has another aspect of interest in the attempt to apply the restrictive policy where competition las always been snpnosed to be unrestricted. Ot course the position is a most wanton and unjustifiable assertion of the pooling ethics. It is a virtual declaration of the vessel owners that they will keep vessels standing idle and make the shipping public pay them for refusing to render the com mercial service they profess to perform. The freight traffic must pay them interest and expenses for the whole year by charges on the number of voyages that can be made in six oi ;even months, more than would be charged if they ran their vessels eight or nine months. The whole agreement is full o'the spirit that commercial success is to be won, not by rendering commercial service most economically, but by squeezing patrons most successfully. But, as to the probable success of the scheme, it is even more silly than wanton. Nothing is more clearly demonstrated by the history of such agreements thau that they cannot be carried out except where there is a complete monopoly of the business re stricted. If the vessel-owners had a monop oly of the lake freighting it would be a very transient one, as the moment they dem onstrate their ability to make seven months' work pay profit for the whole year, scores of vessels will be put on the docks to share the profits. But no such monopoly exists. There are plenty of other vessels besides those owned in Cleveland and Detroit, and it will simply amount to turning over the business to outsiders. It is not hazardous to predict that this agreement will not last three weeks, and that wherever there is any paying freight offered, by the middle of April vessels will be found to carry it. "Where competition is free, as on water routes, the pangs of such restrictive agreements are thoroughly ex tracted. JUDICIAL LEGISLATION. While the disappointment and perplexity caused by the Supreme Court rulings on the street caseshave produced some unnecessarily pessimistic views concerning the influence ot that body upon legislation, it is the fact that the muddle naturally suggests reflec tions on the growing tendency of conrts to make legislation by a process of exclu sion, simply through the decisions of the courts. Law ought to be, under our system of government, an exact science. With writ ten constitntions defining the powers and limitations of Legislatures, and statutory, enactments expressing the legislative de crees, the expert legal mind should be able to determine the validity of a municipal act as unerringly as the expert mechanical mind can determine the stability of a wall or the strength of a piece of machinery. Yet, in this case, weare confronted with the fact that most of the best legal minds are entirely in error concerning the validity of the street legislation, and that at present there is a profound morass of uncertainty as to what can be done to remedy the situation in ac cordance with the views of the Supreme Court. Much of this uncertainty is doubtless due to loose legislation; but it is very much complicated and aggravated by the disposi tion of courts to pass upon laws, not in accordance with stated and definite rules, but in accordance with the judicial pre disposition for or against the given legisla tion. The late decisions are not by any means the most signal examples of this- ten dency. They are based on the judicial idea that under the system of assessment which they overthrow practical injustice was afflicted, the fact being that the method of assessment was virtually one that had been maintained for a generation. Tbe Penn avenue cases afforded aa example of another sort, in which a plan of street improve ment, in its general details the most equi table ever devised, was completely wiped out. The hardships which these decisions were intended to prevent are as nothing to the hardships which they inflict. The un certainty of the judicial ruling is also dem onstrated by tbe fact that no lawyer of standing will to-day give a written guar antee that any of the proposed "curative legislation" will run the gauntlet of the Supreme Court. A more marked illustration of the same tendency is found in the United States Supreme Court decisions on inter-State com merce cases. That body has given out a group of decisions in which the principle is asserted that State legislation caunot under the Constitution regulate that immense and somewhat indefinite mass of transactions known as inter-State commerce. To main tain that principle they have had to reverse tbe rulings of someof the best jurists that body ever contained, and even some of tbe members of the court have bad to take back their own opinions in former cases. Yet when we come to search the TJuited States Constitution for this alleged prohibition we not only fail to find it, but actually find a direct exDression of tbe intention that the States shall exercise a regulation over some departments of inter-State commerce, in con formity with national legislation. The idea of making legislation or consti tutions the edicts of courts, may be an in heritance from the common-law practice of making law by precedents; but it is not in accordance with our system of govern ment. The division of powers under bur system is distinct. The representatives of the people are to make the laws, and if tbey make bad laws the people have the remedy in their own hands. The executive is to carry them out whether good or bad; and the courts are to construe them with refer ence to the Constitution. Under such a di vision of powers it is as dangerous for the courts to go outside tbe definite rules of con struction as for the Legislature to disregard the constitutional limitations. Perhaps tbe courts may be wiser than the Legislature with regard to certain classes of legislation; but when they undertake to make or un make legislation, they destroy the balance of the Government, and plunge us into tbe uncertainties that are sufficiently exempli fied by original package and street de cisions. TAXATION OF INHERITANCES. A bill pending in the New Y,ork Legis lature is framed oh a plan suggested with regard to the legislation of this State, namely, a tax on personal property oyer 55,000 inherited by direct heirs, and ex empting from the collateral inheritance tax property bequeathed educational and charitable institutions. The extension of tbe principle of taxation of inheritances to direct heirs, as well as collateral, is a meas ure ot some importance, although not at tracting as much attention as it deserves. There have been expressions of opinions, principally with regard to the existing collateral inheritance tax, that it is confisca tion. Of course it is no more so than any other tax. The Stale makes the succession of property either by testament or by legal inheritance secure and easy, and the princi ple ,"hat the State shall tax a percentage in 1 return for its services, is as clear as that it should levy taxes in other forms for the protection of persons and property. In ad dition, the fact that when a moderate ex emption is made, the tax falls, by the very state of the case, upon persons well able to bear tbe burden, gives the tendency of opinion in favor of inheritance or succes sion taxes a definite basis. There is doubtless another consideration which influences opinion in this direction. That is the growth and perpetuation of great fortunes. The immense accumulations of wealth in hw hands force themselves more and more on publio attention, and predis pose it in favor of tentative corrective efforts. Of course the levying of a tax of one per cent on direct inheritances, and five per cent on collateral inheritances will not cure the tendency. It is not even a salve on the sore place, and is no mpre than an expression of toe belief that, when great fortunes are handed down from father to son, it is good policy to tax them. Tbe idea of making the tax progressive, or discriminating in favor of the distribution of estates, or that of re- Quiring, as in France, tbe equal division of estates among direct heirs, is not yet ac cepted; bat the tendency in favor of a direct inheritance tax is a "step which, if the con centration of wealth continues, may lead to the employment of radical measures of the sort indicated. , The present feature of inheritance taxa tion to which marked criticisms can be di rected, is the radical distinction between di rect and collateral inheritances. Beyond that the policy of adjusting the taxation so as to encourage the distribution of estates is susceptible of debate. The theory that wealth should be distributed among the people as widely as possible is fundamental in our system of government. Why, then. should not onr tax and inheritance laws put the theory into, actual practice as regards the disposition of inherited estates? A MISTAKES' TENDENCT. The tendency in outlining the plans for the Columbian Exposition to secure features of tbe museum variety has already evoked comment and criticism. How far the criti cisms are justified cannot be accurately de termined without exhaustive examination of the proportion of effort to secure exhibits of carious and unique character, in com parison with efforts to secure free exhibits of the progress of science, industry and art Bat the statements made concerning pro jects for a display of the curiosities of South America, and articles from Turkey which belong properly to the line of museum ex hibits, warrant the remark that if the char acter of the enterprise as an industrial and artistic exhibit is sacrificed to the collection of curiosities, it will be a very grave mis take. An indication of this false tendency is afforded by the statement that in France, the only country where a permanent board is maintained to superintend French ex hibits at world's fairs, the arrangements for commercial exhibits at Chicago are deemed so unsatisfactory that these experts decline to participate until changes are made. This, if it outlines the general policy of the fair, is a vital error. It is not only the fact that the legitimate function of worldjs fairs is to show the fullest developments of industry, art and science, but if that purpose is adequately carried out it constitutes the greatest popular attraction. No better illus tration of this is needed than the Philadel phia Exposition. While it may appear su perficially true that vast bazaars in which the spectator passes from displays of textiles to displays of metals, are wearisome to some minds, it is no less beyond dispute that an exposition which contains those features as part of a comprehensive display of all the achievements of human enterprise, offers more solid and powerful attractions than one built on the lines of a raree show. The museum feature played but a small part at the Centennial; and tbe Chicago project will have more striking achievements of indus trial and artistic progress to illustrate if its energies are bent in that direction. Ttys view does not by any means discour age the collecting of curious and unique ex hibits, but that work should not be per mitted to overshadow or crowd out the com mercial and industrial features, which fur nish the backbone of all such enterprises, A QUEER POINT OF LAW. The TJtica lawyer who raised the point that the Chinese may come to this country in, rowboats because tbe Government admitted that a rowboat is not a vessel, evidently has a pretty good opinion of his own smartness. That the Government ever made such an ad mission is doubtful, but even if it did, the law excluding Chinese is not in the least affected. The Chinese cannot lawfully be admitted to this country except by the ful fillment of certain conditions for certain cases. The Judge was entirely correct in holding the statute broad enough to -cover the particular case in which tbe point was raised, and will likely find little cause to change his mind in the future. If it were tbe intention to be exact as to tbe letter of the law, the prosecuting attor ney might have safely raised the point that the Chinese could not come to this country because part ot their journey must be per formed on land, before they can get to the ships. Of course, that part of the law re lating to their coming by land refers to Canada and Mexico, "but it could, without violence to verbal exactitude, be made ap ply to China, over which the statute has as much jurisdiction as it has over either of the others. The latter point wonld not, at least, be any more ridiculous than the one raised by the attorney for the defense. NO EXCUSE FOR SMOKE. The Cl,ty Engineer of Chicago has com pleted a report of interest to Pittsburgers. It deals with tests of a smoke consumer, and shows.conclusively that the smoke nuisance can be reduced to such an extent that there will remain no serious cause for complaint. Each test was twelve hours long, and the re sults were: Coal used without smoke consumer, 17,000 pounds; with consumer. 10,400 pounds; actnal evaporation per ponnd of coal without con sumer, 6.SS7; with consumer, 7.157; saving of fuel by use of consumer, 7 per cent. A soft block coal was used, and observa tions having been taken to determine the volumes of smoke emitted, it was found that the consumer reduced it to the minimum. This" test only adds an other to the already long list of proofs put forward by The Dispatch that, even if natural gas should fail, there is no neces sity for Pittsburg to again become the "Smoky City." We do not" advocate any particular apparatus for controling the evil, but wish to show that there is no reason why the pall once lifted should ever again be allowed to settle down upon our city. It will only require a very short time under the rule-of the smoke demon to deface and render invisible thousands of dollars' worth of sculpture, moulding and other artistic finishes on the splendid structures which now dot the city. The bad effect of a super abundance of smoke on public health has been pointed out in these columns, as well as the harm done vegetation, and farther re view of either is not now nedeed. Smoke consumers are beneficial and economical, and there Is not much excuse for the defile ment of the atmosphere. The statement of the Mining Institute yesterday that The Dispatch in its head lines "Infers tbe same" meaning that the In stitute had Indorsed tbe Shaw system is an error which must have arisen from a failnre to properly understand tbe meaning of the words. Tbe language of tbe headline was "The Shaw Test Indorsed." Tbe subsequent resolution of the Institute draws tbe distinction that tbey indorsed only tbe testing apparatus, and not tbe signaling machine. As Tee Dispatch did not allege any indorsement af tbe signal ing machine, and as the test was indorsed, onr scientifio friends may, perhaps. If they will consider the subject, perceive that tbe criti cised headline was very nearly correct. AVe rejoice to hear that Queen Liliuoka lanl has demonstrated her ability to name her own Cabinet and designate her successor. Tbe Queen of the Sandwich Isles thus demonstrates her right to be ranked as a woman of the class, wbo "when she will, sbe will, you may depend on it." Congressman Holman, of Indians, says that 40,000 would be sufficient fortune for him. This definitely disproves any reports that Mr. Holman has Senatorial ambitions. The considerations which sway politics are sometimes very singular. Tbe French Gov ernment having ordered tbe stoppage of boos niaking at horso races, it is uow said that the existence of the Government is threatened by the prohibition. The fact that betting may make or unmake governments in France is balanced by tbe fact that beer has often done tbe same in England. Also the people of tbe United States have got to use constant vigi lance to prevent their politics from being swayed by another influence popularly de scribed by another word beginning with a "B.'r Since the cost of the lost Galena up to her demise bad been abont one million, tbe public will take it as a mitigation tbat the $80,000 of rep.irs for which she was traveling to Portsmouth has been saved by tbe wreck. Her loss seems to be the nation's gain. The practice of railroading appropriation ordinances is one tbat The Dispatch has al ways objected to; but there was more than the usual excuse for it this year. Pittsburg will, this week, have an op portunity to show its appreciation of genius and worth, and also do honor to one of her sons. Tbe reception to be tendered Mr. Charles Stanley Relnhart by tbe Art Society, details of which are given elsewhere, will surely be a so cial and artistic success. As an artist Mr, Relnhart has now world-wide reputation, and as tbe fame he has attained has been coupled with the name of his native city, it owes him a debt, and will undoubtedly paj it next Thurs day evening at Carnegie Hall. The report that ex-President Cleveland has been rapidly losing flesn of late may be ac counted for by his anxiety over the failure to find that confidential letter which Henry Wat terson alleges he wrote to him on political mat ters. With Bismarck gone regularly into the newspaper business, the Bismarckian methods of regulating the press may return to plagne the inventor. The statement tbat World's Fair Direc tors tried to get Tennyson to write a poem lor the occasion does not indicate that good judg ment desirable in such a matter. Tbe Chicago ans would be quick to perceive tbe impolicy of proposing to feed tbe visitors to tbe Fair on English pork, but they do not seem able to get a grasp of the important fact that the occasion is one for American poetry. It is interesting to learn the full expla nation ot that denial that Senator Stanford pays tbe expenses of tbe Presidental trip to the Pacific coast. The base lie is nailed by the statement that C P. Huntington does the pac ing. The cokers seem to be coming to the legitimate and commendable conclusion tbat nine-tenths of a loaf is better than no bread at all. Anyone not already informed that the orphans' school syndicate was in the business for profit did not keep posted on the disclosures made by Governor Pattison more than four years ago. If there is any chance for the State to recover the money itsbonld be tried; hut the prospect of realizing on the claim is exceeding lyattenuated. The year during which the overhead wires were to go underground has about ex pired. They are not buried; but the reform seems to be perhaps under the muddle of street matters. The feathers of victory in that fight over tho salary board also rest with the new and lively County Controller. The progress of aluminum manufacture is shown by tbe statement that two years ago It cost 12 a pound and now it is a dollar. But the downward movement from a dollar to twenty cents, at which price it is expected to displace iron and steel, is UKely to be much slower than tbe reduction already made. POINTED KEES0NA1ITIES. Mits. Henbt M. Stanley is a direct descendant tbe seventh in line from Oliver Cromwell. Baron Von Kothschild has pur chased the villa used by Gambetta's father in Nice. It is Bald that tbe Baron intends to put it up as an asylum for the poor. Bernhardt bad only a half-filled house at tbe opening of her season in Washington on Monday night, while Margaret Mather played to a large audience in tbe same city, Miss Kijjgsley, daughter of Charles Klngsley, has gained by her writings upon French art a decoration of French academic palms, with tbe grade of "Officer of the Academy." Mrs. Jennie SI. Lozieb, who has been elected President of Sorosis, is a physician, al though she has not practiced medicine for several years. She devotes all her time to philanthropic work. Kami Solomon Schindleb, of Bos ton, has taken strong ground against tho propo sition to colonize Palestine with Hebrews. He says tbat country cannot support more than 3,000,000 people, and tbe Russian exiles alone, numbering 5,000,000, would largely overpopulate It Mabion Crawford, who had served a legal notice upon the managers of the Grand Opera In Paris protesting against the produc tion of RIchepln's "Le Mage," on tbe ground tbat the story of "La Mage" is taken bodily from his "Zoroaster," has withdrawn bis charge of plagiarism. The Czakowitz of Russia, who is making a tour ot the world, is expected to reach San Francisco in about a week, llussla's troatment of the Hebrews leads tbat class of t eople in California to regard with indignation any scheme for official Conors to tbe Grand Duke upon his arrival. KEV. Dr. DAVID J. BURRELL, of Min neapolis, comes to tho Collegiate Dutch Ke formed church, of New York, under a call that has a comfortable aspect. As published, tbe arrangement Is one under which Dr. Burrell will receive 210,000 a year, and in case of dis ability 55,000 a j ear for ihe rest of his life, and when he dies $5,000 a year for hi: wife, if sbe survives hlnij Count Leo Tolstoi and his family have been so annoyed by false reports regarding their affairs and manner, ot life, which have appeared in Russian and foreign papers, that they hare decided to receive fewer peoDle-in tbe future. Tbe Countess recently ordered tbat no one was to be introdnced to tbe family or tho Count who was not possessed of letters from well-known people. Signob Agostino Magliani, who was Italian Minister of Finance, with a few interruptions, from 1877 to 1889, died recently at the age of 68. Tbe adoption of the gold standard, of currency by Italy was mainly due to him. He was a man of fine administrative ability and vast information, although a Roman paper in 1878 remarked: "It must not be'f orgotten tbat to Magliani we owe tbe en hacced price and tbe inferior quality of cigars." The Kothschild3 are believed to have 50,000,000 invested in American securities. Only tho Rothschilds themselves know what they are worth, and tbey never tell family secrets. One of their mottoes is, "Gold never repeats what it sees," and another. "A man will cot tell what be has not heard," but some idea of tbeir riches can be had from the fact tbat since 1815 they have raised for Great Britain alone1 more tban $1,000,000,000; for Austria, (250,000,000;. for Prussia, J200.000.000; for France. $400,000,000; for Italy, nearly $300,000,000; for Russia, $125, 000,000; for Brazil, from $60,000,000 to 570.000,000. and for smaller States certainly between $200, OOf.OOO and 300,000,000. An Unparalleled Theft, Pbovidence, It. I., March 2L A theft with out parallel here was discovered tbis morning when It was ascertained tbat daring tbe night a man bad scaled tbe mason's ladders la tbe 250 feet high stack of the Narragansett Electric Lighting Company and cat off and carried away tbe platinum tips to the lightning con ductors just placed in position. MURRAY'S MUSINGS. Dig Brewers Gobble the Profits of New York's Retail Liquor Business "Wonders in Machinery An English Opinion of Tights Booth and His Art Tbe extraordinary profits of tbe retail liquor business have been frequently dwelt upon. At a glance it would appear that tbe ownership of a saloon of ordinary prominence would be a certain road to fortune. Tbis is especially so in New York, where the retail liquor business flourishes to an extent unparallelled by any other city of tbe Union. As a matter of fact, however, out of the 7.000 saloons in New York not more than 1,000 make .more than a decent living tor their immediate proprietors' and those which make big money will come within a few bnndred. The reason for tbis is tbat almost the entire llqoor Interest of New York is owned by tbe big brewers and other capital-, ists who absorb the greater share of tbe profits. The immediate saloon owners are merely mid dlemen who get wb at there Is over after paying for their heavy licenses and other special priv ileges. It has been estimated that ont of 7,000 saloons at least 5,000 aro actually owned by the big brewers alone. The sharp competition between these brewers. In the putting upon the market of their products, necessitates their control of the saloons. Every saloon under sneb individ ual control makes a specialty of the par ticular Drew ot that firm. Very often tbey are required, in their contracts with the brewer to sell no other beer but his. You can see tbe brewer's sign con spicuously displayed above the doors of these saloons. To Insure this tbe wealthy brewer not only furnishes the entire outfit for the saloon in tbe way of fixtures, bar. etc., but puts up the stock of liquors and secures the license for tbe middleman wbo 13 to keep the place. All of this is plastered with mortgages, i he brewer capitalist ouns the place and the saloonkeeper body and soul. Wben one goes Into a band some barroom in New York and sees it crowded with customers, it by no means follows tbat the proprietor is getting rich. It means tbat the man who put alt that money in the place is getting richer. In a place of this kind representing 15,000 to 25,000 the ostensible proprietors probably own but very little. Like the man who falls into the hands of a note shaver or pawn broker these small proprietors are compelled to fork of er to tbeir backers the major portion of tbe earnings of the place. The "'liquor interests" of New York, therefore, doesn't mean some 10,000 saloonkeepers hut means a couple of hundred wealthy people who stand back of them and absorb the profits of the business. These latter are tbe people who figure in the lobby at Albany, and wbo, In a measure, have long cnutrolled the municipal government of New York. In Business Without Capital. The ease with which a man may go into busi ness in New York on very little capital is not confined to the liquor trafhc The wholesale grocers and wholesale druggists, cigar dealers and rich men in other lines will put up outfits in fixtures and stock for anybody of good financial reputation who can demonstrate the probability of a successful venture. It costs a'good deal of money to fit up a drugstore, for Instance. Tbe ambitious drug clerk who as pires to run a store of bis own need not neces sarily furnish the money necessary to fit up tbis store or stock it. If bis location is a good one, there are plenty of wholesale druggists who will back bim. Beyond bis personal char acter and ability he D6ed Only have a few hun dred dollars to run a store worth' as many thousands. It is the same way in the clear business, though in a lesser degree. The cost of a cigar outfit lies chiefly in tbe stock. Tbis stock, however, can be bought at advantageous prices and on such liberal terms an to settle ments that it leaves a fair margin for an enter prising man content to live on a narrow in come. Besides a couple of showcases, be may not bave $250 real proprietary interest in his establishment. There is a good deal of bust ness done in New York on this foundation. Between tbe competition of trade and tbe avaricious capitalists, tbe retailer has to scratch for a living. A Gathering of Deaf Mates. Every Sunday afternoon a number of well dressed young gentlemen may be seen in the lobbies and reading room of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, conversing in the active but silent lan guage of tbe bands. They are a number of deaf mutes, wbo are-ln tt)e, habit of congregat ing there after cburcb for tbe purpose of social Intercourse. From 10 to 25 of these young gentlemen can be seen there every Snnday. Necessarily tbey attract a great deal or atten tion on the part ot travelers and others. "In such a gathering they all can talk at once with out disturbing others in the room and without any danger of being overheard or understood by those not immediately interested in the sub ject of conversation. It is a carious sight, and one which leave3 a distinct impression on tbe mind of everyone wbo happens to witness it. Women's Hearts and Stage Celebrities. "Tho Infatuation of women and young girls for any kind of a stage celebrity fairly passes my comprehension," said a prominent the atrical manager the other day. "It is a popular impression," be continued, "that only men known to the profession as stage beauties were tho objects of these misplaced affections. It is by no means true. There are plenty of instances within my knowledge where women have fairly gone crazy over the most insignifi cant specimens of humanity tbat over walked Ihe boards. Their silly exhibitions of senti mentalities aro usually made tbe sport of these worthies, who compare notes in self flattery. There is scarcely a freak in a dime museum anywhere in the country who is not tho object lit adoration of some woman or dozens of women. "This sonnds funny, but it is true. There Is no excess of physical or moral deformity which will frighten these charmers away. Take those two graduates of Sing Sing traveling with tbe Stowaway Company, and who, before they adopted tbe staze as a profession, were behind thenars of all the principal prisons in the coun try. These men have more attentions paid them by mawkish females than tbe finest look ing fellow in the company, 'spike' Hennessey is not a man distinguishedfor good looks, but this notorious sate breaker has about as great success in breaking into the female heart as be has in getting Into the stage safe every night. The worse a man has been the more some women seem to like bim and tbe ngllera man is physically the more he attracts them." Triumph! of Unman Ingenuity. The improvements in mechanical appliances always bave a great fascination for me. Tbe other day In going through an institution tbat manufactures all sorts of mechanical appli ances I saw a machine taming oat little metallic cups from a solid rod. bat only one, but 60 of these machines were working auto matically in steel and in brass. The cups were about the size of an ordinary shot gun cart ridge, perhaps a trifle deeper, perhaps a trifle smaller in diameter. A solid, rough rod some 10 feet long is fitted into one of these machines, and the machine does the rest. One attendant can mind a dozen machines or so. and tbe work turned out is a solid metallic rup finely bored and polisned, with sides and bottom about tbe thickness of a gun cartridge. The brass cups wero considerably smaller, and all were dropped in a trough beautifully polished inside and ont, requiring no additional touches of hand work. Antomatic screw machines stood rank upon rank turning ont from solid steel and brass rods tbe same class of work. Such machines are triumphs of human Ingenuity. A Scene That Touches the Heart. On Sixth avenue, near Forty-second street, is a dancing school, the main floor of which abuts upon the level of the elevated road. Every evening- in the week, excepting Sundayi, the private or public dancing classes may be seen going tbrough the various gyrations by those in tbe passing trains. Sometimes It is a ball tbat has possession, but always from early evening till 11 or 12 o'clock tbe hall is in a blaze of light and gliding, skimming and prancing about tbe shining floor are some scores of happy young people. Sometimes when it is a ball the late travelers in tbe elevated cars look npon tbe brilliant scene at 2 or 8 o'clock in tbe morning, and even later. It comes like flash upon tbe vision and dis appears, leaving always a pleasant reminiscent train ot thoughts behind. Within tbat single second are awakened the memories of youth of successive nights uf pleasure, of sweet hearts, of lovers, of all the bright dreams of early girlhood and manhood. Of all tbe varied scenes which can be witnessed at nlgbt from the elevated trains in New York. I know of none which strikes so deeply and pleasantly into tbe heart. ' Litigation Abont. Type Setters. Bpeaking of mechanical triumphs reminds me of tbe recent decision of the New York courts in the caso of tbe Mergenthaler Printing Company versus the Rogers. This is of great interest to not only the employing printers bat to tbe public at large, wbo receive tbe nltimate benefits of evory Improvement in the typo graphical art. The application was for a pre liminary injunction on tbe part of the Mergen thaler people to prevent the manufacture of the Rogers maebfnea without the consent of tbe former. One of the difflcnltles in the way of tbe introduction of tbe typographic ma chines of tbis character has been the uncer tainty ot tine in me patents wmcu enter into 1 the mechanism. "While the granting of the J preliminary injunction by no means decides the case, as it will be carried step by step through the higher courts, it would indicate that there were merits in tbe claims of tbe Mergenthaler people. I remember some 20 years ago, in the city of Washington, calling upon a bright young man named Clepbane, wbo- bad devoted consider able attention to a mechanical process of set ting and casting metal bars, or linotypes as tbey are now called, from matrices. Days and months and years wero spent upon experiments by Mr. Clepbane and others, and hundreds ?nd thousands of dollars bave vanished in these ex periments. The result of this and tbeir early labors IstbeMergenthalerniacbine, with which Mr. Clepbane, I believe, is still identified. We must have a great deal of admiration for meo of ideas who sacrifice money and give tbe labor of a lifetime in carrying out those ideas in embodiment in practical and indestructible metal. It is highly probable that the present printing machines, as illustrated by the Mer genthaler and Rogers inventions, is bnt a be ginning of what will one day revolutionize tbe printing business. An End to a Reformation. It is feared that the people of New York are lapsing again into the wicked ways. Two or three years ago an extraordinary effort was made, under tbe Hewitt administration, to close the various dives about town and enforce by law a morality which did not come by nature and training. The method by which they hoped to arrive at tbis result was the closing ot all places where the selling of liquors and beers was accompanied by the incidental amnsement ot singing and dancing. Tbis shut down at onco over 1,000 concert rooms of varlons grades of morality. It is to be observed recently tbat a good many ot these small proprietors of beer gardens and concert rooms are creeping grad ually from under tbe legal programme. At Harry Miner's tbe otber nlgbt I noticed that beer and cigars were sent around the house and served in the boxes dnring tbe performance lust tbe same as it used to be in the halycon days of the Tweed regime. Almost every beer garden now has Its singers and music The spasmodic virtue ot our city authorities seems to bave served its term and come to an untimely end. Booth's Glory Is Fading. Those who have seen Booth and Barrett In Shakespearean dramas at tbe Broadway during the last week have gone away regretting tbat tbe greatest atitor ot bis time had not per manently retired while in the fall vigor ot his manhood and at tbe acme of his dramatic fame. Mr. Booth is very much broken in health, and those who see him now for the first time may possibly wonder at the reputation he has made during a long and Interesting dramatic career. There is, to be sore, a fair glowing of tbe old dramatic fire in Mr. Booth's performance, but the great change which has come over bim physically renders such performances painful to those who have seen him in tbe heyday of bis tragic glory. An Opinion From a Johnny BulL An English actor laughingly commenting upon the prohibition ot tights by tbe Minne sota Legislature said to me tbe other evening: "Your people over here you know, are wonder ful people, don't you know. Now we over there would consider such a question the most ridiculous thing, don't you know. The matter of tights on tbe stage seem like a very small thing and was settled hundreds of years ago, you know. So Itseems funny to me that one of your Territorial Legislatures or Common Coun cils should thus attempt to overturn tbe tra ditions of centuries, don't you know. What bloody fools tbey must be up there anyhow, don't you know. Why, we would not play any Shakesperean dramas without tights. And just totbmk, my dear boy, that these very primi tive people living with the Indians should lay down rules for the dramatic profession and lines of demarcation as to what constitutes morals and lmmorals iu point of stage attire, beats anything I ever heard of, don't yon know! Why I would be afraid to play in such a bloody country, don't you know, I would indeed I Tbe idea!" CHARLES T. MUBBATf. New York, March 21. A Great Fruit Tree. The largest apple tree In New England is in the northwestern part of Cbesbiro, Conn., and it stands in tbe dooryard ot Delos Hotchkiss, says tbe Boston Transcript. Its ago can be traced by a family tradition to 110 years at least, and it may be 20 or 25 years older. It is now of symmetrical sbape; tbe trunk Is nearly round, wlthont a scar or blemish; there are eight large branches; five of tbem have been in the habit of bearing one year, and the re maining three the next, Mr. Hotchkiss has gathered in one year from the five branches 85 bushels of fruit, and bis predecessor has bar. vested 110 bushels from tbe same five branches. By careful measurement the circumference of tbe trunk one foot above the ground, above all enlargements of tbe roots, is 13 feet 8 lncbes. The girth of the largest single limb is 6 feet 8 inches. The height of the tree is 60 feet, and the spread of tbe branches as tbe apples fall is 100 feet. The fruit is rather small, sweet and of moderate excellence. Ingalls' Idea. New York World.: Mr. Ingalls seems to think that because the farmers bave beaten bim tbey are bound to beat everybody else. One always thinks the club a heavy one tbat has knocked him down. DEATHS OF A DAY. Leander D. McCandless. Leander D. McCandless, a former well known resident of the First ward, Allegheny City, lor many years, but who lately moved to bchenley, Arm strong counts. I'.u, died very sud denly on Friday eveulnz at his late residence. He was a member of the Historical society and furn ished this paper with many old time reminiscences of littsburg and Allegheny City, whlcn made ry Interesting reading matter, as he was well versed on this topic, having spent the best part of his days in this vicinity. vHe was one of the first pupils In the fcouth ard School under l'rof. J. B. D. Mead, and took a deep interest in the reunion held by the old boys of this school, whlei was held at Lafayette Hall a year or to apo. He was the first superin tendent ol the Allegheny fire alarm, helnir well versed iu electricity and all that pertained toll. He was Ueueral superintendent or the Govern ment telegraph lines and had full charge of their construction during the war and had several close calls durlnc battle. He carried the -first paper route In nttsbara- and was known then as "Bur lord's Jack." In his younger days he carried telegraph messages and was associated with many who are prominent business meo to-day. His funeral takes place to-morrow morning trom the residence or i). H. Oimpbell, No. So faloAlto street, Allegheny City, with whom his mother and sister reside. Levi C. Wade. Levi C. "Wade, President of the Mexican Central Kallroad, Is dead. Mr. Wade lived in Newton Center, nine miles outof lloston. His death was due to a complication of diseases, from which be has been sufierlng forseveral years. Mr. Wade was born in Allegheny In 184J, and was -17 'years old last January. Tf hen 17 years old be en tered Yale College, and graduated in the class of of 186S, He settled in lloston, where bo read law with Ivory W. Klchardson. After a few years of successful practice ne iormea a partnersnip witn Hon. O. A. Urockett, wbo was afterwards elected Lieutenant Governor or .Massachusetts. The partnership continued until 18S0, when it was dis solved In order that Mr. Wade might devote his entire attention to railroad business. Into which he had freely ventured. Mr. Wade was quite prominent In politics in Massachusetts, lie was amemberortfieUeneralCourtlnl8i, '77, '74. '79. Me occupied the Supreme chair the last year. In 1680 be declined re-election. Mr. Wade's rather; Levi Wade, lives at the corner of Sandusky street and North avenue, Allegheny. He and his son, Jjr. Frank II. Wade, will leave for Boston oa Sunday to attend the funeral. ' Mrs. B. McGraw. Mrs. B. McGraw, who died on Thursday, at her residence. South avenue, Allegheny, aged nearly 80 ye.irs was born In County Koscouimon, Ireland, and came toi'lttsbnrjtwlth hcrhusbjnd, the late Much McUraw, over SO years ago. Mrs. McGraw's family was very prominent, both in Ireland and Canada. Her nenhew, Hon. Bernard Devlin, was M. P. for iloutreai.and a close friend of president Lincoln, tt hen Mrs. McUraw went to Washington dnring the war, she received many favors of the l'resldent. During the cholera epidemic of 1838, Mrs. McGraw was well known for her charity and kindness to tbe sufferers In the hill district, she was the mother of ten children, six of whom survive. Among the number wero Itobert. once well known as a merchant on Dia mond street: Hngh, one of the "Argonauts," and now resident of bllver Cltr. Idaho: John, rnrmcrly ot Tiib Dispatch: Mrs. M. Aluuhall. of Aortli avenne. Allegheny: Mrs. John lluckesteln, of Allegheny: and Miss Mary McUraw. 'ihe de ceased' relatives are numerous and prominent, both In rittsburg and Allegheny. A. R. Davles. A. R. Davies died at his residence in Braddock, at 8 P.M., Friday, after a sickness of three months. Mr. Davles has been connected with tbe Homestead and Edgar Thomson steel works for tbe last six years. At the time of his death be was consulting engineer of the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, funeral at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon. James A. l'nllllps. James A. Phillip, a prominent member ofti. A. U. l'ost4l, died at bis residence, No. S3 Korty-fourth street, yesterday morning at J:30. The interment ukes place to-morrow at Allegheny Cemetery- John F- Patterson. John E-- Patterson died yesterday at the Dlxmont Hospital, He was E3 years old. AN ARKANSAW SPRING. How One Feels at Hot Springs Just Now An Experience With Snakes Heroic Straggles Against Liquor and Tobacco Temptations That Try Men. rcoBRZsroxDExcx or the dispatch.! Hot Spbikgs, Ark, March 17. The last of the snow on tho distant peaks of tbe Ozark Mountains has disappeared. Since Sunday tbe air has been as warm as it will be with you in early June, the trees are breaking into leaf. wnat little grass grows in this barren valley ot pine woods and rooks is green, you may gather violets in the gardens where the japonica is in bloom, and tbe birds, robins and bias birds mostly, though I saw and heard a superb thrush staging an boar ago, are making tbe most of the short spring season here before they fly north for a second edition. .It is the balmy Sontb sure enough to-day, and tbe knots of green ribbon in buttonholes here and there reminding one of St. Patrick also suggest tbat tbe snakes will ba waking up very soon from their long winter sleep. In such a ragged, rocky and generally barren land as surrounds Hot Springs for miles and miles, it is not surprising tbat snakes are the principal prodncr, and as yet Arkanjaw has not found a St, Patrick. The Worst Kind of Snakes. But the snakes tbat will soon be basking un der the Southern sun are not the only reptiles you hear abont at the Springs. Yesterday wben I went to see my doctor I was impressed with this fact. The waiting .'room, as usual, was fairly filled with cripples of one sort and another, but after bait an hour's session the line was reduced to three persons, including myself. It was about 1 v. H., at which hour tbey lock tbe doors of the ante chamber in this physician's office, for it tbey did not he could not get any lunch. Tbe door leading to the consulting room, tbe boly of holies where tbe great pbvsician gives audience, was locked as each patient passed in, indeed, the entrance was fortified with doable doors. The waiting room was very hot and not over sweet to tbe nose, bnt none ot us noticed that dnring the final moments of ourstay there. One of us was a stout elderly man. with a gray stubbly beard and a very red face. Two things about him attracted my attention, tbe restless rolling of bis eves and a Brobdinaglan walking stick of oak which be keDt tapping on the floor. After tbe door was locked and tbe room began to get hotter I noticed that the eyes ot my companion revolved faster and tbe drumming of the cane grew louder. Suddenly be startled us by jumping up from bis seat and dealing the iron stove a vicious blow with the clnb. "Xhis Is frightfull" he exclaimed. Thinking tbat he alluded to the beat, as per haps he did, I assented, and tbe otber man was proposing to open a window tbat let in ligbt from tbe ball, when thn door of tbe inner chamber opened and tbe Physician appeared on tbe threshold. This effscted a diversion, and tbe gentleman who was attempting to raise the sash accepted the doctor's invitation to step into his room. The doable doors were locked f heard tbe click of the kev verv Dlainlv. "1 can't stand this!" said the apoplectic gen tleman witn wnom x was now ieit aione. ne came toward me and. without another word, knocked the paper I was reading out of my hand. It was a St. Louis paper, two days old, but even that did not account for such a violent attack. To say tbat I felt uncomfortable is pntting it rather mildly. After the paper fell, however, I was relieved to see my assailant wheel about and throw himself into a chair. "Come here. Jack! Good dog, now," was his next exclamation, with bis eves fixed on space, and clicking with bis fingers as a man does wben calling a dor. But such mildness did not mart his next words; a torrent ot profanity and incoherent adjuration to snakes and wild creatures of all sorts, from which be evidently felt he must defend himself, for be thrashed the air with his oak olub. Of course, I knew what ailed him early in the proceedings, but the knowledge did not detract trom the dis agreeable, not to say dangerous, nature of the interview. There was no way of escape, and it seemed cowardly to yell fur help. Tbe gentleman wtth the club kindly kept to tbe other end of tbe room with his imagined menagerie, but all the same I felt relieved in no small de gree wben tbe door again opened and tbe digni fied doctor, waving back tbe excited dipso maniac with" one hand, offered me the other and conducted me into tbo consulting room. When be had closed the double doors tbe doc tor said: "Pity that man will drink. He has a lovely wife and a splendid business. Some of tbeso daywbisky will kill bim." Thinking of the unpleasant quarter of an hour I bad just passed through I could not help remarking that a merciful providence might do worse tban to allow the whisky to kill the greatly-blessed man with the oak club be fore be killed somebody else. Water Is tbe Beverage. Ono of the foundation stones of Hot Springs' fame as a health resort is tbe strict temper ance which every physician preaches and neatly everyone who comes here practices. The doctor after he has thumped you a bit, listened to your heart's action and put your lungs to tbe test, says blandly: "To begin with no whisky, no cigars! If yon want to get some benefit oat of the water you most give it a fair field, and I forbid drinking and smok ing." And as yon have probably not traveled from tbe nethermost corner of tbe land for nothing, and as everybody, from tbe robber who drives the stage to the hotel, a short block, and cbarges you a quarter, to tbe almost divine be ing wbo bands you a receipted bill once a weak at your hostelry, does bis or her best to make you feel tbat it U a costly privilege to breathe in Hot bprmgs, it is dollars to dimes tbat yon put aside the wine cup and the fragrant ha vana. as you are bidden, and take to tho water as it it were your native element. Beyond a doubt to 93 per cent of tbe men who come hero to be bulled the denial ot alcoholic stimulants and tobacco is in itself a groat aid to health. One of tbe most eloquent champions of tbis place, Mr. Busch you may have seen his name in connection with Anheuser on certain bottle tbat come from St. Louis said to a friend of mine the other day: "A week at Hot springs makes a new man of me, a month makes two new men of mc." and tbis is tbe testimony ot hundreds ot others who drink beer all tbe year round except during their stay at Hot Springs. Nicotlco Outlawed. That' it isn't easy for a habitual smokerto give up tbe weed most men will admit, re calling the hardships of tbat brief period tbey bave probable experienced following a New Yeat's abjnration of tobacco. Here the pain is intensified by the incitement to smoke that every moment in we aay ouers. r ueo you are not taking a bath or resting from it in bed, or eating- or sleeping, every circumstance seems to conspire that yon should smoke. Tbe warm air, the lasltude Jnductd by constant hot baths, the enforced idleness and the con gregation of men in the . hotel lobbies, all conspiro to make tbe smoKer long lor a cigar as the ono thing most to ba desired on earth. Tbe temptations to smoke are so many and strong tbat a good many men fall, and the perfume of their cigars is another stumbling-block to tbeir brethren who are try ing to obey the doctor's orders. It is a fact tbat more men break the anti-tobacco com mandment tban that against liquor. Tbe sin seems less, and probably it is. Said a companion in misery tbis very morn ing: "I bad a btttle royal with my wife when I insisted on her finding room fur two boxes of cigars in a crowded trunk, and she bad ber re venge to-day when the doctor said the very first thing, 'Mind! no cigars!'" IIepbubk Johns. The Mother of Senators. New York Continent. A New Yorker has been elected United States Senator from California. With Hill, Hiscock, Brlce and Fenton in the Senate, tbe State of New York ought to ne well represented, and amply compensated for the two mythical Con gressmen sbe is s lid, by those wbo do not know what tbey are talking about, to bave lost. UNDER THE H'ARTnSTANE. "Brother, you bear your sorrow With patience that passetb praise, The loss of worldly possessions Just at your later days! How do you bear It?" the neighbor prayed. "There's lovo 'neath the h'artbstanet" the old man said. "Oh,,lovels good, 1 grant you, . When seasoned enongh wtth gold, . But love In a cottaje" he shook his head "Is rhymins that will not bold! Love only can never lift your load Of sorrow and labor on life's late roadV' "Ay, ay!" tbe old man answered. His white bead sturdily raised; ' 'When ye ha'e lived a my Hfetame, Ye'll cry the Lord be praised I' Whether o' good or ill shall fa' t If Love 'neath tbe b'artbstanesurvlvetha'l" "Butyou and your wife, "urged thenebrhuor "Your children under the sod" "isae under the sod," tbe old man cried, 'Good neighbor gane to God! An' what ha'e wo to do wl' pain When Love still glories th auld h'arthstancl" "Ifour faith is past my knowing!" The neighbor murmured low, A spirit of awe and wonder On bis face, as he rose to go. "Ah, friend," the old man answer made, "Lave 'neath tbe h'artbsUns Is naught afrsldl" Jean Kats iMtlum, in Sea lort Lidgtr. CURI0DS CONDENSATION A- man is to walk on stilts from Paris to Moscow. The highest altitude ever reached by a balloon was seven miles. A dealer in artificial limbs says tbat 300,000 Americans bave lost one or both legs. In Great Britain there is one elector to abont six of tbe population; in Belgium only I to about 46. The most watery county in the United States Is Monroe county. Fix It is chiefly com posed of small islands or keys. This advertisement appears, of course, in a Chicago paper: "Wanted to bay from one to ten pairs IC-Inch song shoes at once." Kansas, which has 106 counties, also has, if tbe minions of Superintendent Porter bave not made error, 103 resident Chinamen. A Kingston, N. Y., man has an egg 6 Inches round, 8Ji inches long, and weighing fl ounces, which he claims was laid by a ben which he owns. Louis'Hamiltpn, a resident of Braden burg. Ky- named his children London Judge, Hebrew Fashion. Chinese Figure, Reputable Kingdom ana GreeK Wisdom. In Kent, Md., there is a negro who runs everywhere he goes, stating that it "gives me a pain" to walk. Wonld it not be pos'ible to get this darkey in the messenger service? Oyster shells are exhibited oa Long Island Sound 12 inches long and 1 inches wide. If this is the result of oyster farming, one can see in his mind's eye what may be expected of the Chesapeake Bay. An Iowa court has decided that signing another's name to a mileage ticket is not forgery. The case grew outof the purchase from a scalper of a 2,000-mile book which had been stolen from its original bolder. During the month of December the sua did not shine once in London. During the entire year 1S90. out of a possible 4,155 hours, when tbe sun should or might have been visible, it. as fact, was visible only 1.092 hours, and these were mainly in the afternoons. Texas claims l,512,2So horses and heads the list. Illinois is next, with 1,123,973. In valuation, Texas claims 119.613,323 and Illinois t69.214.809.' Rhode Island's horses are valued per head at $107 13, the highest in tbe list. In New Mexico the value per head is $31 02, tbe lowest. The steamboat Gila at the Colorado reservation went to tho rescue ot several ref ugees of tbe recent flood, who were perched on tbe tops of houses. The men were saved, but during tbe night the Colorado river lowered very rapidly, leaving the steamer six feetabove water, on a sandbar. The census of Missouri shows that in proportion to population tbe greatest number of negroes is in New Madrid county, where there is one colored person to every three and a half whites. Strangsvto say Dunklin county, which joins New Madrid, has a colored popula tion of only 181 out ot a total of 15,085. Tbe story is told of an old-time Bangor merchant, who had a propensity for picking up all the stray buttons that came in bis way, that during his long life be filled a barrel in his store with tbem. After his neath some one had the cariosity and patience to go through the lor. but failed to find two buttons of tbe same pattern. A young man from the East was hired to plow a field near Medera, Cal. One day he) found himself surrounded by seven hungry! coyotes. He left the team and broke in a. swift run lor tbe boae and quit work right; there. Tbe team was found all right by thai owner, a woman, who told the tenderfoot to go ) back home to his mother, while She finished 1 tbe plowing. 1 Seed for the culture of rubber hsj been ' sown inCeylou and tbe seedlings are reported to bo flourishing among tbe jangle. It is sug gested that a large tract ot country conld easily be covered with profitable trees by simply collecting and sowing broadcast every ysar in the belts or useless jungles adjoining tbs estates a few bushels of tbe seed of tbe Ceara rubber tree whicb grows in tbe Island. A fireman, of Seattle, Wash., met bit death tbe otber day in a singular marmsr. During the regular weekly practice Lawson lost his hold on tbe nozzle and the stream struck him in the side, knocking bim down. Before he could be rescued be was rolled by tbe force of the stream for 30 yards along tbe wharf and over a six-inch splke.which wounded bim so seriously tbat he died from tbe effects. A native of Bavaria, now In America, is a carious freak of Tatars. He-'bas thre separate legs, eacb ot whicb is entirely inde pendent of the others. In bis youth he was able to use all of his legs in walking or run ning, bnt having sustained injuries in a rail way accident he is now obliged to wear one of tbem strapped to bis body. He enjoys ex cellent health and earns a living as a wood carver. Some time ago a Chicago negro died. Two of his friends immediately applied to watch the remains. Now, each of tbe friends was enamored of tbe deceased's relict, and each argued tbat so long as the other was "sit ting up" with him and the corpse he could not be ensnaring the widow's affections. From this motive they persisted in sitting up witb each otber and tbe remains for a week. At tbe end of tbat time the widow married another man. There are about 200 tea-tasters in New York. The habits of these men are exceedingly curious. Some of tbem refuse to ply their trade save in the morning, on tbe ground tbat the sense of taste cannot be trusted after it has been bewildered by boars of work. Most ot tbem avoid tbe use of tobacco and ot highly seasoned food. Their accuracv of taste is astonlsbing. A tea-taster will grade and price a dozen qualities of tea all from the same cargo. A lady in Cincinnati has a wonderful oat named Dick, well-known for its sagacity. Sbe has been in tbe babit of taking crumbs from tbo table and shaking them on tbe ground outside, so that tbe birds can feast therefrom. Tbe cat, meanwhile, would ambush itself, and, at the opportune moment, pounce upon the bird and secure a seasonable meal, Tbe g$od lady tried to break tbe car. of the habit, bnt ber efforts were of no avail. Sbe then resorted to otber means, but with no success. At last sbe discontinued tbe practice of throwing out the crumbs for the birds. Tbe cat seeing tbat its dally meal was not forthcoming, entered tbe hntn.. nnrloined a piece of bread from tbe table, scattered it over tbe ground at tbe ac customed feedinz place,, and awaited results bebind a tree. Soon the birds appeared and the cat secured one of tbe sparrows. It . is estimated in the Allahabad pioneer that tbe treasure ljing idle in India in tbe sbape of boards or ornaments amounts to $1,350,000,000. A competent authority guesses that "in Amritsar City alone there are jewels to the value of 2,000,000 sterling." As regards some otber districts tbe figures tbat have been furnished are not less astonishing. The miser able waste of Montgomery is estimated to possess about 50 lakhs in ornaments. The bill sides and valleys of Kulu are put at 3 lakbs. In Juolum two-'flfihs ot the wealtliot the dis trict Is said to be voted in property of this nature, and in Knbar, "probably one of the poorest districts of the province in tbis respect, the estimate is taken at 800 rupees for each Hindoo family and IU rupees for eacb Mussul man family, and a lakh in the aggregate for tbo Nawab and other Raises, making a total for the district of 75 lakhs." A lakh is worth about $35,000. THE TICKLEE'S THOUGHTS. Jocund Spring. Tbe jocund spriag will soon be hers For most men not for all, JTor to the merry bicyclist A month will bring the fall. Sea Xork herald. Grindstone "Here comes Rivers. Bet yoa a dollar be can't answer the simplest question you can ask bim wlthont telling a tremendous whopper. KHJordan "Dona. Hello. Elversl too are looking as fresh as a seacb. By the way, who is your barber!" Rivers Haven't any. Sbave myself. Have done It all mv llte."-CMcago Tribune. After the present excitement has calmed down It will probably be found tnat Italy's best stand in this matter wilt continue to be that of the peauut. -fhitadilphia Timet. Complainant "Your honor, she struck me In the faee with her clenched list. Tbat gash was cut by her ring." The Ceurt-"Where did she get the ring?" Complaisant "I gave it to ber. It was our en gagement ring." The Court-The prisoner Is discharged. This Is clearly a case Of contributory ne'gllgence." Jewelers' WetKty. The young man who can write "a good hind" b'asn't half the. chance in life with the youth who can bold one. WiiiMaaton Pott. "Dear nirl" said old Mr. Bogg3, hesita tingly; ! know I've forgotten something, but, for tbe lire or me, I can't lemetnber what It is." Harper t Baaar. "You should stick to the dramatio pro feislon." 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers