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THE PITTSBtTRG'' -DlSPATOH, MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1891.
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ESTABLISHED FEBRUARY fc. 516.
Vol. 48. No. m. Entered at Flttibnrc; Polofllce.
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PITTSBURG, INDAY, JUNE 21, 1591.
1ILAINE AND HARRISON.
A very interesting view of the prospects
for the Republican nomination appears in
The Disi'ATcn's special correspondence.
It is important as coming from sources
that are as authoritative as an5' statements
on such a subject can be, and is significant
as presenting what can be accepted as the
modus rirendi established to subsist until
the action of the convention orthe prepar
ations for it, make a choice between the
President aud Secretary of State, as the
leader in the next national campaign.
The view commends itslf to public ac
ceptance among the Republican masses,
by recognizing Mr. Blaine as beyond all
comparison the man who can infuse en
thusiasm and spirit Into the Republican
organization. Further than that, it alleges
a perfect understanding between jut.
BlaineandGeneralllanison. Bythisagree
ment Mr. Blaine refuses his sanction to all
efforts in his behalf, and simply holds him
self in quiescence until the President's
chances are decided. The President on his
side is by no means certain of his pros
pects, but claims the riplit to retain the
hope of the future; and, if events shall
make Blaine the candidate, he ill heart
ily throw in his support. According to
this understanding Mr. Blaine has placed
his veto on efforts to push him into espe
cial prominence, which puts that Indian
apolis conference, o far as Blame is con
cerned, in the light of a gathering of poli
ticians who are principally anxious to put
themselves in evidence as President
makers and to enjoy the usufruct of that
function.
The harmony thus pictured looks very
pleasant, and it is not wholly without
foundation so far as the present situation
is concerned. Indeed, it has been Mr.
Blaine's attitude all along. Without
ascribing to the Secretary of State the ab
ject attributes of loyalty which have
bren imposed on him by the family
organs, of the President, The Dispatcii
has always recognized that his course was
to attend to his diplomatic duties, and to
let the logic of events nominate him. But
to be complete the picture should have a
dendant showing the President dealing out
stern discipline to those lights of journal
ism, Messrs. Arkell and Ilarrison. Xor
does the alleged friendship for the Secre
tary of State held by the Chief Magistrate
entirely consort with the promptness with
which after our own Matthew Stanley
Quay casually remarks that "Blaine has a
great deal of strength in Pennsylvania,"
Le gets exactly what he wants in the line
of collector-ships.
Nevertheless the outline of the result is
undoubtedly correct If Mr. Blaine's
health permits and his present course in
recuperating his energies affords the best
promise in that direction he will be the
next Republican nominee for President,
aud he will be, beyond comparison, the
strongest candidate the Republicans can
select.
TOE SUNDAY SLAUCnTER.
The last addition to the slaughter list at
McKeesport is rather unique in its line.
It does not quite come into the category of
picnic murders both because the murder
part of it tailed, while the trouble begin
ning at a picnic ended some hours
after in the suicide and attempt at murder.
The case is that of an impetuous soul who,
because the object of his affections would
not dance with him at the picnic and re
fused to elope with him the day after,
tried to kill her and then killed himself.
This excessive manifestation of the tender
passion exhibits one variation from the
usual rule in parallel instances. In most
cases the murder is successful and the sui
cide is a failure.
MOKE INTER-STATE IGNORANCE.
A new outbreak of misinformation,
cither ignorant or intentional, concerning
the inter-State commerce law and commis
sion is perpetrated by the Philadelphia
Telegraph. That journal starts out with
an assertion that "to do away with the
evils of too sharp competition," among
other things, "the commission was vested
with extraordinary powers aud authorized
to interfere with the performance of con
tracts in a manner that might easily be
come intolerable." This is sufficient to
show that our esteemed cotemporary
adopts thcGerman method of evolving the
purposes and provisions of the inter-State
commerce law from its inner conscious
ness. There is not a line in the law indi
cating a purpose to do away with the
evils of too sharp competition; the
commission is only vested with some of the
regulative powers declared by the United
States Supreme Court in the case of the
Wabash road against the State of Illinois,
to belong to the United States Govern
ment; and it is not authorized to interfere
in the performance of legal contracts, but
to prevent thoe which under statute and
common law, and by the veiy nature of
railway charters, are illegal and void.
Having made that faKe start it is nat
ural that our Philadelphia cotemporary
should instance the Lehigh Valley ca6e as
an illustration of the futility of the com
mission, when it is more positively an
illustration of the corporate nullification
of law, and then proceed to blame that
body, because there are signs of a rate war
in the West, and the commission is not
in advance forbidding the railroads
to reduce their rates. This intimation, that
when the railroads refuse to obey the legal
mandates of the commission designed to
protect the public, that body should pro
ceed to issue orders for which it has not
the slightest color of authority, is argued
so earnestly that wc must credit it to the
good faith of ignorance. Thereis not from
first to last in the inter-State commerce
law any authority to prevent the railroads
IJieB
from engaging in rate wars. They are
forbidden to wage them by secret cuts in
favor of special persons; but the law very
properly took the view it is no more its
business to prevent railroads from carrying
freight at less than cost than to prevent
drygoods merchants from selling cotton
goods as cheaply as they choose.
The commission may be fairly criticised
for not having taken more peremptory
steps to make railroads like the Lehigh
Valley road obey the law. But when
It is attacked for not issuing a bull
against railway wars, the most impressive
result of the attack is its illustration of the
profound and persistent ignorance con
cerning the inter-State commerce law
that marks Its assailants.
THE TKEASUKVS CONDITION.
The special dispatch from Washington
with regard to the condition of tho Treas
ury is Intended to be reassuring as regards
the state of the surplus; but it hardly
makes a good case for the party responsi
ble for the present state of the Treasury.
As for the assurance that the Treasury Is
not bankrupt, there is no need for it
Only the wildest and most ignorant parti
sanship could think of making such an
attack on the Treasury, which, notwith
standing the lavishness of tho last Con
gress, is the strongest financial institution
of the world.
But that recognition of the fact cannot
take away the seriousness of the charge
that lavish appropriations have reduced the
surplus, so that the most' favorable esti
mate of the available balance puts it at
three millions and recognizes the proba
bility of a deficit before Congress meets
agaiu. Such a change from the surplus
which was in the Treasury at the opening
of the Fifty-first Congress warrants the
charge that the Republican party has
abandoned the time-honored policy of
keeping expenditures within revenue, and
shows the result of the reckless expendi
ture which that body carried to a previ
ously unprecedented degree.
Our correspondent ascribes alarge share
of this outflow of the public funds to the
indiscriminate grant of pensions. There
is doubtless too much truth in this view.
The idea that pensions must be distributed
freely has been carried to the length of
scattering them without regard to the
worthiness or need of the applicants. But
that is not the whole of the trouble. It
was pointed out at the adjournment of
Congress, that every appropriation passed
by that body showed increase, with two
exceptions, and the decrease in these two
cases was less than half a million dollars.
Had all the other appropriations been kept
down to the limit of former years, the
pension appropriation might have been
made, with expenditures confined within
current resources.
There is no danger that the Treasury
will not be able to meet all demands that
are made upon it; but it will be a weak
point in the armor of the Republican party,
that a single term of its supremacy in Con
gress converted a large surplus into such
a deficiency that the Treasury will be
forced to draw upon its reserves.
INTERESTS IN FAVOR OF IT.
Referring to the unique duty; imposed on
the voters of Pennsylvania at the next
election, of choosing members of the con
stitutional convention, aud at the same
time deciding whether there shall be a
constitutional convention or not, the
Philadelphia Times rightly says that it
"makes the coming election one of the
most important ever held in this Common
wealth." But an erroneous conception of
the situation is shown in the further re
mark: "In view of the many interests in
favor of a constitutional convention, it
will he the part of wisdom for the people
of all parties to assume that a convention
will be held."
The Times is right in urging, as a con
clusion, that the best man, irrespective of
politics, should be chosen for the conven
tion; but its reason for accepting the
convention itself as a foregone conclu
sion is the most valid reason for
the people to vote down the whole propo
sition. The predication of "interests in
favor of a constitutional convention"
points very pertinently to the inquiry
what these interests are. The Dispatch
has held that the proposition affords the
opportunity for special interests to have
the fundamental law mutilated for their
advantage; but this is a significant intima
tion that these interests are bestirring
themselves for that end.
Such a statement of the issue should not
lead the people to accept a constitutional
convention, but rather to squelch the
project. The present Constitution is a
good one. It is onlyseventeen years since
its adoption, and it would be criminal neg
ligence on the part of the people to permit
it to be emasculated in the interests of the
corporations and practical politicians.
A PRAISEWORTHY ACT.
The world owes credit to Lady Burton,
the widow of Burton,he African explorer
and Arabic scholar, who wound up a rather
eccentric career by making translations of
Arabic literature, the most salient charac
teristics of which were their startlingly in
decent character. The last work of this
sort which Burton did was the translation
of the Arabic "Rose Garden," wjiich he
left her as a source of income, and for
which a publisher offered her 6,000. After
reading the translation over, she put it
into the fire, declaring that she would not
be a party to its publication for a thousand
times six thousand pounds.
This is an honest and .effective protest
against the degradation of what was until
recently a pure literature with more or
less gilded salaciousness. It is clear that
her honest womanhood could not be de
ceived by the shallow plea that the curse
of indecent literature is lessened by put
ting in costly bindings and circulating it
only among the wealthy fanciers of such
filth. She had no hesitation in rejecting a
material increase -of her fortune rather
than consent to such, a degradation of the
name of literature. For that practical
and earnest stand in favor of literary
purity every honest man and woman who
reads English literature will be grateful
to her.
A PARAGRAPH in an Eastern paper
notes that Passenger Agent Carpenter, of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, lias established
a "Liars' Club," and has ordered tho nrint-
ing of a million certificates of membership.
We did not know that there w ere so many
passenger agents as that. Possibly Jlr. Car
penter figures that one of that craft can fill
about five hundred memberships of hts new
organization. But the nomenclature is snb
ject to criticism as being too liard and rude.
Why not .give the organization Its familiar
and more euphonious name of "passenger
association" or "passen-ger poolV
General. Mahone's statesmanship
comes out strong in declaring that a party
which favors a dog tax cannot carry Vir
ginia. Tho right of the Virginia puppy to go
untaxed is one of tho liberties for which
Mahono's followers aro prepared to light at
the ballot box. ,.
,A correspondent in our Mail Pouch,
under the head of "Alaska for tho Alaskans,"
criticises tho policy leasing tho right to kill
teals to a company, and suggests that tho
privilege should be given only to the Alas-
kans. The Dispatch has always opposed the
practice of making a monopoly of the sealing
business. But the foot that the Fribyloff
Islands, where tho seals are killed, are hard
ly more accessible to the Alaskans than to
the people of tho Pacific coast States makes
It doubtful whether tho privilege would bo
especially valuable to them.
Now the report crops out that the Indian
apolis conference was really an Alger
gathering under the cloak of Blaine and
Grosham. Perhaps tho discovery may yet
be mado that it was a gathering in the inter
est of tho distinguished politicians who com
posed It. ,
Lord Salisbury's view of colonial fed
eration is like some of our Pennsylvania
statesmen's view of ballot reform. He is in
favor of the principle, but the practice will
prove inconvenient. At least that is tho in
ference from his recent declaration that he
cannot summon a conference of tho colo
nies until a definito scheme of federation has
been prepared. Thus Great Britain Informs
her growing children that they must keep
away from the water until they have
learned to swim.
The respective merits of Cape May and
Bar Harbor, both as political and watering-
placo centers, furnish an interesting topic
tor discussion. Cape May has its present
attractions, but the atmosphere and outlook
of Bar Harbor are invigorating and prom
ising. English politics has been wont to
turn up s nose at the kind that flour
ishes in the United States. But when ,our
Britandio cousins having exhausted the
Prlnco of Wales' card-sharping scandal, re
turn to the stirring up of tho Parnell filth,
wo may bo pardoned for expressing the be
lief that politics in onocountry is nsbadas
in the other and a great deal worse.
Senator Brice explains the financial
situation by saying that "severe liquidation"
haslet in. The term is good as expressing
tho fact that tho water which Senator Brice
and his associations have injected into
stock values is now being forced to flow
out.
On the same day last week one New York
jury convicted a man who had murdered his
mistress, and another acquitted a woman
who had killed her lover. .As the latter
verdict is the second of the sort that has
been given in Now York recently, it ought
to work a decided reformation in the morals
of the male New Yorkers. Butthero isgreat
danger that it will not.
Another 10,000,000 airship company
has been chartered, this time in Burlington,
la. The present race of aeronauts can make
the figures of their capital soar to dizzy
heights, but their airships so far continuo to
stick to terra firma.
The peach crop liar has taken his final
flop and now announces that the crop in
Delaware will bo 0,000,000 bushels. This per
mits the public to get an average between
that imposing total and the former assertion
that tho crop was utterly destroyed. It is
satisfactory to observe that the peach crop
genius is giving his efforts a little variety.
A forced loan of ?20,000r000 in Chile
indicates that the friend of our Government,
JJalmaceda, is construing his alleged right
to aksume all the functions of government
in the broadest spirit.
The decision in the hat trimmings case
indicates that tho policy of construing every
revenue question in favor of tho highest
duty has its limitations. Hat trimmings are
proverbially costly; but when it comes to a
lot that cost the government $20,000,000, tho
most nmbitious efforts of former milliners
are left outside tho distance flag.
Where is the man who can explode a
few tons of dynamite, and blow all the rain
over into some other and less humid coun
try; Tun bill of fare announced for the fire
works display at Schenley Park, qn tho
Fourth of July, shows that, this part of the
celebration will be imposing and delightful.
The Mayor and Mr. Bigelow aro evidently
going to make the affair a great success, and
will earn the public applause by their
efforts.
SNAP SHOTS IN SEAS05.
The brewers and distillers are now de
signing unique bait recoptacles for fishing
clubs.
Hew Ydrk is to have a permanent cir
cus. Washington would too if Congress sat
continuously.
Good business men, like healthy trees,
want to branch out.
People who manage
clothes are easily suited.
to borrow their
It's fly time for all things except the air
ships. If England can swallow Wales now the
other miracle will never more be doubted.
The first peaches are luscious as well as
precious.
The contract labor officials are trying to
ascertain whether Prize Fighter Slavin is an
artist or not. He disposed of Kilraln ar
tistically, and Judging from that subject's
appearance afterward ho might with safety
bo classified among tho decorators.
If the electric lines are not busy they are
at least buzzy.
At the close of the season Chief -Bigelow
should secure a resort hotel man for the Park
zoo. Their long bills shame pelican s.
Bio type Is generally used by editors
when they want to make a man look small.
The iron scale is not designed to weigh,
but it was designed by Weihe.
The old saying that everything comes to
Mm who waits does not apply to the dining
room attaches of hotels. In their cose every
thing goes.
In case of war Uncle Sam would
neither have bank nor army reserves to call
out.
Circus clowns,
not born.
unlike poets, are made,
It's the mystery of life that makes it so
fascinating.
The way of the transgressor is not so
hard as some folks imagine unless he's
found out.
NAMING A TOWN.
The Father or Seven Bed-Headed Slaters
Started the Town of Anburndale.
New York Continent.
The town or Anburndale, Wis., received
its nnmo in a peculiar manner. Years ago,
when that section i as comparatively unde
veloped and land was cheap, a man named
King located there and bnilt a mill.
The place had good shipping facilities and
the mill soon became a nucleus of quite a
thriving, bustling little town.
"Then arose the question of a name for tho
embryo city, and by common consent tho
right of naming it was conceded to the' first
settler, Mr. King.
"The citizens wanted to call tho place
King's MUls, but the old gentleman ob
jected. He said he didn't want his name
tacked on to any one-horse or two-horse
village.
"Now, tho old man was the happy father
of seven bouncing daughters, unci the vill
agers suggested that tho name of one of them
should bo given to tho new town.
"This idea pleased tho father as much as it
pleased the seven daughters, but which one
of the seven fair ones should be honored
above her six sisters The town could not
be handicapped with all the seven names.
"Finally a happy thought struck the old
man. Every one of his seven daughters was
red-headed. He decided to honor them all
by christening the town Anburndale, and
Auburndalo It remains to this day,"
THINGS IN GENERAL.
This Is the Time When Thoughts of Vaca
tion Are Numerous The- Great Change
In Flttsbnrg in Ten Years The Way to
Make an Addition to Life.
wbittkx fob the dispatch.
Wo aro approaching the' -season of tho
gripsack. We aro beginning to get ready
for our annual exodus out of the land of
bondage. Already we ait! asking one an
other "Where are you going to 'spend tho
summer?" And snldo books and check
books and time-tables and flannel shirts and
russet shoes aro getting to be the order of
the day.
Somebody has commented recently upon
tho progress of tho vacation Idea in our mod
ern life. We used' to think that vacations
were lost time. We complained ngnlnst any
increase of holidays. Wo wanted to work,
and we wanted everybody else to work.
"Six days shalt thou labor" was taken to be
the first and foremost of tho commandments,
and our only regret was that we were not
permitted to add another to the six and
make it seven. Work, work, work grind,
grind, grind and all for tho sake of money,
money, money.
Ten years ago In Pittsburg there was
"hardly a handsome business block or a fine
residence in the wholo town. Nobody had
time for tho decorative side of life. All
the men were chasing after dol
lars, looking neither to the right
hand nor to the left. No tlmo to read,
no tlmo to look at pictures nor to hear
music, nor to havo any sort of rational en
joyment. The center of most mon's life was
located down somewhere in the narrowest
part of the angle between the Allegheny and
Monongahela rivers.
The Wisdom of Ten Years.
But wo have changed a good deal of that.
We are ten years wiser than we wero. Thero
is 'no lack now of fine bouses; thero is an
astonishing number of fine pictures hung on
the walls of the fine houses. We aro getting
nearly everything that is best in tho way of
music. And we aro really finding out a good
many of the wholesome pleasures of life,
are are taking timo to enjoy them. Business
hours aro getting shorter. There are more
holidays and longer vacations.
Tho Professor of Things in General is not
particularly well posted in political econ
omy, and he really knows nothing about the
present strike in the building trades, ex
cept the praotlcal discomforts of it: but he
has a large sympathy with any man who
wants to have a limit set to the hours of
work, and wants thatlimttsct atcighthours.
"Eight hours is long enough for any man to
work, bix hours would bo better still. Two
sets of men, each of them workingslx hours,
would be an arrangement which would give
an opportunity for work to thousands of
workless.and so breadless, brothers of ours.
Let us have leisure. Give us a chance to
do something for ourselves, to plant flowers
and potatoes in our gardens, to got ac
quainted with ourwives and children, aud
to improve our minds. Wo will work bettor
for it. They asked old Pharaoh for a
vacation, some years ago in Egypt, and
Pharaoh wouldn't give it. They put the
matter on the plane of duty, said that they
ought to take a vacation, that thoy must do
it, that they must get away for a few weeks
anyhow among tho hills, that God Himself
had sent them word that a vacation they
must havo. But old Pharaoh laughed a grim
laugh, and said tliat there was no duty about
it, that the people wero only. lazy. And he
set them double tasks, and made them find
tholrown straw for the bricks, and fur
nished all the overseers with now whips.
But Pharaoh did not make much out of that
transaction,. if I remember rightly.
The Most Hurried Feople.
They knew what leisure meant in the good
old days of the stage coach, before anybody
had thought of such a thing as putting two
rails ofiron side by side for-a track, before
the telegraph and the telephone and the
phonograph and tho typewriter were in
vented. It is a little queer that all these
time-saving contrivances have really re
sulted in giving us less time than ever. One
might naturally have predicted that they
would multiply the hours of leisure Instead
of that, they have only suggested new ways
of spending time. , , ji"
Wo aro the most hurried people on tho"
face of the earth, we citizens of tho United
States of America. And, really, there is no
sense in it. We don't get any more outof life;
no, not so much. The American traveler is
amazed to go out into tho streets of London
at 9:30, and even 10 o'clock in tho morning,
and flne! the shutters still up at the shop
windows. Tho day hasn't begun yet. The
good people have had a good night's sleep,
and aro still enjoying their leisuroly break
fast. Thero is no hurry. And this is even
in London. Why, New YOrk wakes up at
daj'break, and is ready for business an hour
after.
Everybody who can take a vacation ought
to tako a vacation, and a good long one.
Get away from business. Go to the
seashore; seek tho cool shadows of
the mountains; take a trip to
Europe or Alaska. Leave the money-making
side of life behind yon and take a turn
at pleasure-making. Pnt away your busi
ness suit and rig yourself out in white
breeches and a blazer. Try to get acquaint
ed with the big world we live in. Watch the
great cool waves dashing their white foam
along the-sand; He out beneath the trees and
look up into tho illimitable sky; chase the
flsh of the singing rivers or the boars of the
thick woods. And for a month forget that
any such town as Pittsburg puffs its black
smoke into the blue heavens.
An Addition- to Yonr Life.
Yes; this is business. This is a good in
vestment. It means health and sanity and
wholesome enjoyment. It means an .addi
tion to your life. This is what wo all need.
Wo want inoro holidays and moro vacations.
I wish that every saint's day in tho calendar
was a national holiday. I believe we would
havo more saints. And I would be glad, to
havo a universal vacation every other
month. Wo work too hard.
1 know, of courso, that everybody cannot
go to Europe every summer, Nor can every
body even get away from Pittsburg. But
rittsbnrg is not such a bad place in the sum
mer. 'Hero are the rivers, here is Schonley
Park, and Highland Park.nnd cable and elec
tric cars with cheap fares to tako people out
of the. heat. Very few people are so poor
that they cannot get out at least a few hours
every cek, if It is only on Sunday afternoon)
under the green shade. I remember one
Sunday in" Lucerne how crowded the big
church was at 8 o'clock in the morning, and
how overy other man and woman carried a
lunch basket, and when the sermon was over
and the mass was ended, how they all turned
out along tha shady woods which led into
the country. First religion, and. then rest
and pleasant fields. Or bettor perhnps.true
religion au any long, nrsr unuer ino cnurch
roof and then under uoa s blue sky.
seemed to me a good example.
TWO FAMOUS BOOKS PE0SCEIBED.
It
Herbert Spenser's Education and One of
Baln'ff Works Under the Ban.
London, June 21. Two standard educa
tional works Herbert Spenser on Education
and Bain's "Education as a Science" pre
scribed by the Government Educational De
partment in their syllabus for certificate ex
aminations, have been put under proscrip
tion bv tho authorities of tho church-training
colleges.
Both books arc better knqwn in America
than in this country, and probably few
American educationists of the most ortho
dox would object to them on tho ground of
heterodoxy )ut the clerical intolcrants of
the church-training colleges have protested
against their use, and the Educational De
partment has meekly submitted, and with
drawn them.
AN ANIMAL MUBBEBESS.
The Kangaroo in the New York Zoo Killed
Its Infant.
New York Sun.
Tho old mother kangaroo up in tho zoolog
ical gardens killed its young one recently
by pulling it out of Its pouch and leaving it
to die of hunger and cold. The little one was
only a month old, and the mother, as a rule,
never takes her young out until thoy aro
three or four. .
Superintendent Conkllng said ho did not
know to what cause to uttrlbute tho infanti
cide. Nearly all the animals seemed In bet
ter shape than for some time past. Thte car
nivorous animals have been put lr. their
winter quarters again, and now.eat heartily,
tho old lion even getting up energy enough
to roar.
THE SAND ATJGER OF THE1 WEST.
Strange Sights Presentedby Whirlwinds on
tho Planes.
One of the most curious wind phenome
nons is tho H'sand auger" which is ob
served on wide plains where the atmosphere
is hot and dry. When tho Union Pacific
Kailwaywas being constructed the work
men had frequent opportunities of witness
ing the formation and progress of these
"sand-auger" whirlwinds, says a writer in
the St. Louis Republic. They were especially
frequent in the Lodge Pole Creek VaUey,
through whloh the railway, leaving the
Platto rtver, runs in a northerly direction.
The first indications of tho near approach
of one of these "angers" would bo the forma
tion here and there in the valley o'f little
dust whirlwinds or baby cyclones. These
would be whisked away by strong currents
of cool atr, coming from no one knew whore,
but all drawing across the valley towards
tho eastern range of hills, their places being
almost instantly occupied by a fast advanc
ing, funnel-shaped cloud, like that observed
hanging over water-spouts which are form--lng
at sea.
j'rom under the surface of this low-lying
cloud a swaying tongue of lead-colored vapor
would prolong itself toward the earth, from
which, as if to meet the monster of the air,
would rise a cloud of dirt and sand. This
earth column would rise higher and higher,
with a swift, whirling motion, becoming
moro compact all the while, until the blue
black vapor from above and the brown mass
from below would unite and form the typical
"sand auger of the plains."
The diameter of these augers seldom ex
ceeded 15 or 20 feet at the ground, but their
bulk increased with their height, until they
were merged into tho broad surface of the
thick, murky vapor of the cloud above.
When this occurred, lightning flashes would
sport about the upper stratum of the cloud
and immense hailstones would formed in
the dark point beneath. When all condi
tions were lavorable these hailstones would
bo thrown, by centrifugal force, out from
the revolving cloud. These hailstones were
almost invariably of a flat disc shape, from
8 to 6 inches in diameter, 1 inch to lU inches
thick and made up of alternate layers of
sand and ice.
A WELL-TESTED INVENTION.
Two of a North Carolina Man's New Pur
chases Cdme Together.
"My father had two weaknesses," said tho
North Carolina man, in tho hearing of a
Helena Journal man, andthe rest of the mem
bers gathered around to listen. "Ono was
his lovo for flne stock, and the other was a
passion for every newly patented device,
that came his way. One time ho bought a
flne span of Florida mules, paying $300 for
them. About tho same time a fellow came
along ith a trap gun made to set in the
woods and kill deer w 1th. He was delighted
with the machine and took it down by the
creek in the timber, where it wduld most
likely be needed; loaded it with buckshot,
set it perfectly, and came back to the house.
That night, by Jolly, one of those mules
broke out of the barn lot and just started
out on an exploring expedition. She didn't
like the first field she came to, so Just broke
the fence down and went on. Next morning
a darkey told father one of his big mules
was gone, and we all started out to find her.
Thoy tracked her across the field, found
where she had broken through into the
woods, and followed along down tho creek
timber, right straight in the direction of the
trap gun. Father had a premonition his two
new purchases had come together, and he
hurried on ahead of the others. He saw at a
glance the gun had been discharged, and
there right below the edge of the deer lick
lay his big Florida mule stretched out full
length 011 the ground."
"Kiddled with buckshot," continued tho
member from Maine.
"No," said the man from North Carolina,
"just taking her case. And about 40 feet
away from her lay as fine a deer as ever you
saw, shot through tho neck from the trap
gun."
Tho member from Maine pushed the bell
and. told the dai key to bring in the cigar
case.
IBBIGATION IH THE WEST.
Millions of Acres of Arid Land Being-Reclaimed
by Issuing Bonds.
New York Telegram.
"Tho great thing of interest Just now to
Callfornians," said Warren G. Simpson, of
Santa Barbara, Cat, at tho Coleman House,
"is tho wonderful progress made in reclaim
ing arid lands under the Wright law, which
permits owners of land requiring, irrigation
from a common source to form irrigation
districts to which are given the powers of
municipal corporations. These districts
may condemn water right and right of way,
construct canals and reservoirs and issue
20-yoar 6 percent bonds, which aro a first
lien on the land of the district. Under this
lawover30 districts have been organized,
with an area of over 2,COD,000 acres, on which
$11,000,000 in bonds have been voted. Piomi
nent bankers and financiers all over the
world have como out boldly in favor of
these bonds as an investment, and are buy
ing them up ns fast as they are issued. There
is no doubt that tho success of this law has
solved the problem of irrigation in the
west. The Poole bill to have the Govern
ment do this work has been most unfavor
ably received by tho fanners east of the
Mississippi River, and everything has been
done to prevent its passage. Now you will
find plenty of capital ready to go into these
districts, and we can get all the water we
want.
"The cost of irrigatlonT Wellthe average
cost of putting water on the lands of the dis
tricts already organized has been about $8
per acre. This increases the value of tho
land from 100 to 1,000 per cent."
PEOPLE WE BEAD ABOUT.
Senator MacMillan
have Just arrived at Berlin.
and daughter
M. Eiffel, of tower celebrity, having
achieved high honors as an engineer, is now
ambitious of becoming a legislator.
Mr. Porter, American Minister to Italy,
is now sight-seeing in Berlin. He will soon
go to London to visit his daughter.
Elihu Thompson, Edison's most-formidable
rival in tho electrical world, is a slender
young man, with clean-cut features, a small,
trim mustache-and wavy brown hair.
De Balzac wasted untold .gold upon
gaudy flewelry, useless nlcknacks and fan
tastic "curios," which, during his frequent
paroxysms of Impccuniosity, ho resold to
sharpwitted dealers at a ruinons loss fre
quently for less' than a hundredth part of
their original cost.
Brownino would never write for a mag,
azine. He wiotc: "I cannot bring myself to
write for periodicals. If I publish u book,
and people chooso to buy it, that proves
they want to read my work. But to have
them turn over the pages of a magazine and
find me that is to bo an uninvited guest. .
Charles Emory Smith, United States
Minister to the Court of St. Petersburg, is
much pleased with his portfolio. On being
asked if he experienced any difficulty in
learning the language, he replied: "Russian
children generally have a German nurse, an
English (Jbvemess and a French tutor, so
that by the time they appear in society they
aro masters of these languages. The Czar
himself speaks English remarkably well."
"William E. S. Eales, who was recently'
appointed Marshal of the Consular Court of
the United States at Amoy, China, is a w ell
known writer. He lived in Brooklyn some
years ago, and practiced law there. By re
peated visits to Mott street he learned much
about the oustoms of the Chinese, and ac
quired a knowledge of the Chinese language.
Ho went to China last fall, and in letters to
his friends he says he has a complete ward
robe of Chinese clothing, from 'which he
occasionally selects a suit and goes out
among the natives. t
A Seasonable Question.
Louisville Courier-Iourual.
Why should wo go away for the summer
when it comes to us like this?
THE JOYS OF JUNE.
Oh the woc of the hot June weather,
When FhyUls lies wrapt in a gossamer gown,
When the sun beats down on the parched np
heather.
And sweltering mortals forsake the town.
And the stay-at-homes seek the shady places.
Dodging the rays of the sizzUlng sun;
With a bnrned up look on their moistened faces.
They sigh for night ere the day's begun.
Oh, for a home beyond reach of Summer,
A snow-built hut on an Ice plateau.
Where tne frost-waslicd winds inako the senses
dumber.
And rob the blood of its fiery glow.
For a brief breathing spcU In that cooled off clime,
Wliere fans are unknown and ice Is cheapv
Wc'lljrladly exchange the allotted time
In a land where, humidity banishes sleep.
Willie Winkle.
PrrrSBf eg, June SO.
rMLhA'Aj , -feiiifcigfe,4Ar,--i'T 1 f 1 'lilfiir'iWffri ' ifi ltteiilli itiSrii itTiili tftiiii ri rnr iiiflBititllitiii.iii'fi ititjWi
OUR MAIL POUCH.
Fort Sill Defended The Chaplain's Keply
to a Becent Criticism.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
In your issue of tha 8th inst. the follow
ing extract appears from a sermon de
livered in tho Central K. P. Church, Alle
gheny City, Pa., by Rov. W. W. Carithors, of
Fort Sill, I. T.: .
"In speaking of tho drawbacks to civiliza
tion among tho red men, tho speaker said:
At Fort Sill thero aro always from 200 to 400
members of the regular array. Since I have
been there I have found but ono total ab
stainer, and ho has been removed. If we
could blot out of existence Fort Sill wo might
havo a chance to evangelize tho Indians, for
as long as that post exists crime will exist.
Tho garrison thero is a blot nnd a shame- to
hnmanity. Some way should bo found to re
move it, for the soldiers there are a shame
and a disgrace to their colors and thoir na
tion.'" I am sorry to bavo to say that the above
statements aro greatly exaggerated and
suited to injure the reputation of the people
at thi.s post. As Kev. Mr. Carithers has been
but an occasional visitor hero, his station
being 18 miles away, his excited and unkind
utterances must have been made from tho
stntementslof others rather than from his
own observation. I came to this post on tho
12th of last September. Since that date I
havo been engaged here In Christian work.
In these months I hare visited all the fami
lies in this garrison, and mostoftheso fre
quently, and can say sincerely that I havo
not seen here at any time an officer under
the influence of intoxicating drink, and that
after nine years' service in the army and at
dltferent po-ts, I regard this ono exception
ally quiet and orderly. The intelligence and
deportment of tho officers and their families
would command tho respect of cultured peo-
rtle in nnvnlnnn? a.nd ns to sohrietv nnd irood
behavior, I feel that the enlisted men hero
will compare very favorably with men of
the same class in Pittsburg or any other
town or city in the East. If the one total
abstainer found hero by that brother was re
moved, I knowhere is one here at present,
and that he has not been molested on ac
count of his abstinence. I know, too, that
there are other officers here who discard as a
beverage every kind of intoxicating drink,
and that there are some total abstainers
among the enlisted men.
I cannot conceive why Brother Carithers
feels so hostile to Fort Sill. Instead of being
a hindrance it has been a helper to him in
various ways. If he has not been as success
ful In his mission to the Indians as he ex
Sected or desires, ho should not blame his
cnefactorforhisfailnrc. Instead of hinder
ing the improvement of their condition,
facts show that this post has been a civilizer
of the Indians, that its influence has not
served to increase, but to diminish crime and
to promote good order and safety in this Ter
ritory; and that Jt is yet necessary for the
security of life and property in this isolated
Indian country. Blot Fort Sill out of ex
istence, as Brother Carithers desires, and the
days of his Indian school and of the mission
ary work in Oklahoma would soon be num
bered. As the readers of The Dispatch may
have received a wrong impression of Fort
Sill I make these statements anddesiro them
to be made public through your paper. I
feel that this is duo to the people at this
post, and to Brother Carithers who has
spoken so unadvisedly.
Robert UcWattt,
Chaplain, U. S. Army,
Formerly pastor of the Second U. P.
Chnrch, Mercer, Pa.
Fort Sill, I. T., June 16.
Should Alaska Be for the Alaskans?
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
The controversy existing between tho
United States .and England about the seal
fisheries of Bering Sea, andtho correspond
ence that has taken place In regard thereto
betw een 3Ir. Blaine and Lord Salisbury has
attracted to the subject on both sides of the
Atlantic very considerable attention.
While this Alaskan seal fishery question
is so prominently before the people it seems
to me it would bo well to consider it in
another aspect as it relates to ourselves
alone.
Ever since our Government has possessed
Alaska, now nearly a quarter of a century,
the seal fisheries havo been leased to a cor
poration to which the exclusive right of
gathering seals has been given. Through
this means the Government has conferred
upon a few individuals great wealth while
excluding absolutely the people of that Ter
ritory from all participation In the benefits
of the chief, if not the only, industry known
to them.
Now the people of Alaska are, citizens of.
tho United States as mnch,os'any other.
Their rights ought to be given to them and
be protected. They have an inhospitable
climate to contend with, and hove no agri
cultural, manufacturing or Other usual in
dustries to draw prosperity from.
In view of these facts, and the further ono
that the lease held by the corporation or
company now having the exclusive right to
the seal fisheries will expire in anotheryear,
would it not be well to consider what should
be done in thematter.tor the future?
It seems to me that these seal fisheries
should be turned over absolutely and ex
clusively to the natives and bona fide resi
dents of Alaska. Congress can easily pass, a
law regulating the nnniber to be killed,
licensing sealers, requiring them under
penalty to report to the Customs officers tho
nuniDcr iukuii uv euun, so tuat wueu
the limit is reached public notice mny bo
given.
If this were done, the people of Alaska
might have some chance of becoming im
proved pecuniarily, socially, morally atid
Intellectually. They might be rich enough
to establish schools, libraries, churches,
build comfortable houses, establish com
fortable homes, build roads for better com
munication, and possibly develop latent
mineral and other wealth in their Territory,
and perhaps demonstrate to Congress that
they should have a Territorial Legislature
and Government.
If the right to gather seals were conferred
only upon natives and bona fide residents
of Alaska, people wishing to ongage in that
industry would gradually be drawn there,
and by tliat means the population would be
increased.
The first object of the Government should
bo to make tho placo inhabitable and in
overy Tiay improve the Territory. To do
this it must not give tho exclusive right to
the chief, if not the only, Industry known to
the po pie to a non-resident, grasping cor
poration. If, when gold and silver mines were first
discovered in our country, some corpora
tion had obtainpd from the General Govern
ment the' sole right to work such mines to
absolnto exclusion of tjie people of tho Ter
ritories where such mines were located, it is
doubtful if the army of the United States
would not havo had plenty of employment
in enforcing the exclusive privilege. Yet
the Government has always made Jnstsuch
anagrcementaboutourse.il fisheries to the
exclusion of the people of Alaska.
Pittsbuho, June 20. S. L. Ltptox
A Worker's Views on the Strike.
To the Editor of Tho Dispatch:
To one compelled to earn his bread by the
sweat of his brow, the fact that there must
be something radically wrong in tho regula
tion of business affairs in this country has,
it seems to me, become a painful reality.
Thousands of men willing to work are Walk
ing about in idleness in one of the most
favored countries of God's universe. Now,
that the condition of things is not what
it should bo, what are wu going to
dot I am one of the toiling
masses, and as an "everyday reader
of The Dispatch havo been carefully watch
ing the accounts of tho struggles going on
thionghout the country, and particularly in
Pittsburg, that havo for their object the im
provement of the worklnginan's lot. As
to tho struggle in Pittsburg I refer espe
cially to the carpenters' strike for eight
hours. I was particularly struck with the
manifesto of the bosses, most admirably cal
culated to mislead the unwary, and it Is to a
few points I wish to refer.
At the commencement of this strike The
Dispatch took the ground that it was hardly
correct to mako tho .test in a city where,
generally speaking, men wero more steadily
employed and better paid than In cities of
tho Kast,and quite prpperly.too, in one sense,
lint since tho strike jas come, and it is a
carpenters' strike,! wih to say The Dis.
patch was just a llttlo wrong. In Now York
eight hours constitute a day's work, and
tliupav is 10 cents nn hour nnd 0 cents for
overtime. As to this stntement of tho em
ployers, in which thoy concede nothing,
when tho public considers the fact that tho
stand of the Journeymen is not for dollars
and cents, profit and loss, but for the. sake
of having moro time to rest and to leave
that extra hour foran idle fellow-workman,
and for which they aro willing- to concede;
anything fair, it strikes me the contrast
woidd not be at all favorable to the em
ployers. ' As to tho right to hire
whom they please no one disputes
tliat in a general way, and shfee in
most all labor disputes when that matter is
brought up it is called a "chestnut." and tho
position of unions on that ground has been
advisedly tirken, and, since thoy don't ob
joct to unions as such, unions reserve the
rlgh t to w ork with whom they please. As to
apprentices, tho masters seem to bo verjr
conscientious as to the laws of Pennsylvania
I11 thN respect, if there are any.
Now, since we aro repeatedly told by tho
press that a strike, to have any assurance of
Buccess, must have public approval, let the
public weigh this thing carefully. The
fnnrnevmen only undertake to dictate, this
fan They claim from careful study that, in I
Justice to the boy, In that he may be prop
erly instructed and not turn out a "saw and
hatchet man," an omployer can
only oversee a certain number.
Tho union knows full well if
the employers' stand in that matter wero
conceded what tho result would bo. Thoy
aro not so solicitous for the welfare of tho
American youth as was given out in a
former issue. Any boy of averago intelli
gence could become valuablo to his em
ployer in six month, and, slnco his wagos
would be about half that of a Journeyman, I
need add nothing moie as to why the em
ployer stands on his dignity in this respect.
Wo who have served apprenticeships know
full well how kindlv solicitous the average
employer is for his boy, and how the wages
are raised overy few months.
The Buildersr Exchange may take another
"fresh stand," but eight hours must come.
Xino hours were Just as strongly objected to,
but came, and if outside mechanics will not
allow themelvcs to bo misled by sncli
sophistries as the builders' axioms, "tho
'right to employ whom wo please," and non
interference on the apprentice question
matters that are not at issue in this fight at
all the flag of the Excnange will come
down, and eight hours will rule
Salem, O., June 20. A Wokkisomaw.
s T-aboring Under a Mistake.
Mr. 3f. J. O'Brien a New York subscriber
of The Dispatch, writes inclosing a clipping
from a New York paper which severely
criticises Father Slolllngcr. The clipping Is
taken from a telegram special or Associ
ated Press which in tho opening sentence
reads: "A Pittsburg dipatch says," etc.
This wording has led Mr. O'Brien astray. It
Bliould not bo inforred that The Pittsbtbo.
Dispatch said one word contained therein,
nor did it. The word "dispatch" means in
this instance n telegram. We trust Mr.
O'Brien whose criticism is as severe as it is
unjust under the cirenmstances will be
satisfied with this explanation. There are
Dispatches and dispatches.
. Not In Oar Line. v
To the Editor of The Dispatch:
Would you please give me the particulars
concerning the rates of the different hotels
at Atlantic Cityt . 0. L. B.
Bhaddock, June 20.
Secure the addresses from our advertis
ing columns nnd write to the hotels for rates.
Wo can suggest no other way.
Who Holds the Secret?
To the Editor of The Dispatch :
Will you please inform a "constant reader"
and a multitude of others, what is (he best
disinfectant for a refuse barrel, and where it
can be procured? D. 31. L.
Southside, June 19.
SUICIDE IK BATTLE.
A Federal Officer Who Shot Himself Be
cause His Men Retreated.
Savannah News.
A group of old soldiers gathered in the
rotunda ot the Kimball House at Atlanta
Tuesday wero telling stories of field and
camp during the war, when ono of the num
ber gave tho following graphic account of
tho suicide of a Federal officer on the field at
Gettysburg: "It was there," said he, "I saw
a Federal officer, chagrined because nothing
wonld stay the retreat of his men, raise his
pistol to his head and blow out bis brains.
It happened on the second day's right. Gen
eral Longs treet had J ust come up with part of
his corps from Cliambcrsburg, Pa.,' and vig
orou'sly assailed Sickles' corps, which he was
driving back in great disorder. Sickles
baited and formed his men in line to receive
Longstreet's onslaught. It was one of the
few times I ever saw corps commanders at
the front line. Sickles, with hH stair, was
riding among his men encouraging them to
withstand the Confederate assault, while
Longstrcot, with his staff, and Colonel Freo
inantle, an English officer and- correspond
ent of the London Timet, wero cheering onr
boys to the charge.
"We advanced and gave the Federals a
terrible volley at close range. They stag
gered under the galling fire, when Long
street ordered us to glvo them the bayonets.
As the men wavered and broke to run, an
officer stepped to the front, and, with his
sword, signaled them to come back. Again
and again he waved to his men, but by this
tlmo they were in full run, and the officer, in
his angry mortification, raised his pistol to
his head and fired."
A SIGKITICAKT MEETING.
Governor mil, Wanamaker and the Cana
dian Pacific In a Kailroad Deal.
SPECIAL TZLKORAltiTO THE DISPATCH.
Toledo June 21. A meeting of tho rail
road men which has more than ordinary in
terest was in session last night at Lima, O.
Among those attending it were three men
representing President Van Home, of tho
Canadian Pacific, an agent of Governor
David B. Hill, of New York; Dudley Farlin,
of Albany; B. C Furot, of Lima; George C.
Hadley and George H. Ketcham, of Toledo,
and several capitalists from New York and
Chicago. The object of the gathering was
tho formal sale of the Toledo and Western
to a svndicate. This syndicate is proposed
principally of Canadian Pacific people, Gov
ernor Hill and Mr. Farling. Postmaster
General Wanamaker is also thought to bo
interested.
It is stated that tho Canadian Pacific de
signs to build from Detroit to the new pur
chase, and thus gain nn entrance into Chica
go. Governor Hill, Mr. Wanamaker and
Dudley Farlin aro the men who recently
purchased the Columbus, Lima and Milwau
kee and announced their purpose to make it
part of the Norfolk and W estern. Tho same
syndicate recently bought the Scioto Valley.
Dodced the Main Issue.
St. Paul Pioneer Press.J
It is pleasant to observe that in answering
tho New York IndependenC qnestisn as to
what causes inebriety, none of the experts
mention "booze" of any kind. With plenty
of alcoholic beverages and a xeasonable
facility of crooking the pregnant hinges of
the elbow a man can get as drunk as a Brit
ish aristocrat without the fact being attrib
uted to any of the causes discovered by the
Independent '3 correspondents.
A Chance for the Weeds.
Atchison Globe.
"This," observed the ragweed to the sun
flower, as it looked over the tops of the corn
and saw the farmer and his family climb
into the big wagon nnd start off to an Alli
ance picnic, "is a good day for us to get our
work in."
Not a Fair Mark.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
It is to be hoped that no confidence men
will attempt to sell Secretary Foster any
greengoods In these trying times. A Treas
urer with an empty Treasury easily yields to
temptation.
An Original Alger Man.
New Orleans Plcavunc.
General Alger is now a Blaine man. He
sees tho hopelessness of being an Alger man
in the canvnss for candidates.
PEOPLE COMING AND GOING.
H. H. Archer, a street railroad man
from Wilmington, is at the Andorson. He
came here to examine the Wostlnghouse
system. C. H. Foster and AY. S. Little, of
Boston, are also stopping at this house.
T. A. Delamater, of Meadville, was at
thoDuquesne for a short time yesterday
morning. Ho left for Chicago in the after
noon. Ho declined to speak about the affairs
of the broken bank.
Chief Clerk Perdu, of the Seventh Ave
nue Hotel, received a note from Major Mo
Kinloy yesterday acknowledging the receipt
of a congratulatory telegram.
P. M. Jovce. of Yonngstown. and Stuart
'W. AYalker. otr AVhceling. a law partner of
Senator ranlknor, are stopping at tne
Monongahela House.
The members of the Philadelphia Clover
Club who had been visiting in Chicago
passed through the city on the midnight ex
press going home.
D. .S. Gray, Western Agent for the
Union line, and his two sons, will leave
shortly for an extended trip to the Pacific
coast.
Among those who went to New York
last evening were Sol Schoyer, Gustave Lin
denthal, James A. Chambers and Ben Wood.
E. B. AiVall, Superintendent of Motive
Power on the Panhandle, is to be married
next week to a Columbus young lady.
J. D. McNamara and his sister, Miss
Agne. of Newark, O., are among the guests
at tho Soventb. Avenue Hotel.
Walter Phelps, night clerk at the An
dersen, leturncd yesterday from a two
weeks' trip to the East.
E. B. Hatch, of Hartford, and D. W.
Winchester, of London, O., aro registered at
the Duquesne.
D. E. Munsou, of Chicago, and C. H.
Squiers, the tallest man In Buffalo, are at the
Schlosser.
CURIOUS CONDENSATIONS.
The forest area of the United States is
estimated at 451,76 1,503 acres.
Louis WaM, of Newark, U. J., stole
over 1,000 chickens lntwo months.
There were 12,500,000'bunches of bananas
imported by the United States last year, an
increase of 3,500,000.
The 1890 record for British life-hoats
shows a saving of SVi lives, besides rescuing
27 vessels from destruction.
The grave dug to receive the body of
William P. Weidner, of Lehigh eonnty, was
11 feet long and 9 feet wide.
The motto of a new paper in Georgia,
printed in black typo on its first page, is
this: "If you don't like it pour it back in the
Jug."
Indians are reported to be leaving
Okanogan county, Washington, owing to
the great prevalence of the grip there. It is
said that at leasf 100 of them have died.
The wild beast business seems to ba
very active. Carl Hagebeck, of London, has
during the past year disponed of 711 lions,
over 700 tigers, and 350 elephants and pan
thers. The total estimated circulation of re
ligious newspapers published in the United
States is very near 4,000,000, and Catholics
head the list with 120 papers having a circu
lation of about 750,000.
Grasshoppers are very numerous in tha
northern counties of California, and ara
fought by herding. They can be driven like
a lot of sheep, so that a man or a boy can
singly defend a large plot of ground.
The dull season on the great lakes has
forced freight rates down to an unprece
dented level. Wheat Is now carried front
Chicago to Buffalo, 800 miles by water and
600 in an air line, for 1 cent a bushel, while
tho lighter grains are proportionately lower.
The best coffee that i exported from
Mexico is raised by a colony of Confederate
refugees who settled' in Cordonn, in the
State of Vera- Cmz, at the end of the war.
They have devoted all their attention to this
industry, and it has proved very profitable
to them.
A. clergyman in Detroit is said to suffer
from a disease that entirely deadens his
sense of feeling. It is said that a knife can
be inserted in his flesh without causing him
any dlscomfitnre whatever. Ho ts not pre
vented from attending to his duties, but
goes abont as though in robust health.
A most curious clock is displayed in
the window of a tobacco store in Philadel
phia. Tho frame Is made from cigar boxes
fitted together. Tho round dial is marked
by a coating of smoking tobacco. Two clay
pipes of different lengths serve fdr the
hands, and the figures are made of cigar
ettes. . -
At Nice thereds a Russian who mode
many millions of rubles by railway specu
lations. He refn.ses now to go into society
and receives at his house none but the per
sons whom he knew in the happy old days
when he had not a sou. To them he makes
little presents of a thousand or two thousand
rubles, and'so on.
The following is a scale of the nverage
dnmtlon of animal life, from the most cele
brated writers on natnral history: A hare
will live 10 years, a cat 10, a goat 8, an ass 30,
a sheep 10, a dog from H to 20. an ox 20,9-arlna
25, a pigeon 8, a turtle dove 25, a partridge
23, a raven 100, an eagle 100, a goose 150.
Cardinal Kichelieu often gave way io
Irrepressible paroxyoms of laughter after
returning from the secret sessions of the
council. If he had been specially clever in
outwitting an enemy, he galloped round and
round the billiard table, nolghed like a
horse, pranced and kicked out right and left
like a charger caracoling.
B. M. Duffield, aged 70, a mail carrier
in Jackson county, W. Va., claims to have
walked 110,000 miles in the last ten years.
He thinks no other roan has done such an
amount of walking. He is also a sort of ex
pressman. A few weeks ago ho carried a
plow ten miles, and on the next trip carried
a small cookstove 25 miles.
A few days ago Mr. Alvah G. Dorr, a
Bucksport, Me., taxidermist, received a
strango bird from Orland to be dressed and
sot up. When standing it is about a foot
high, nnd its plumage is of many colors. It
is pronounced to bo a fine specimen of the
furple galllnule, a native of the Southern
tates, that is rarely seen as far north aa
Massachusetts.
It has been rather too hastily announced
that the Austrian Government has author
ized lady doctors to practice In the hospi
tals. As a matter of fact, one lady doctor
has been admitted in practice to a hospital
at Serajevo, in Bosnia. This has been dona
by way of experiment, but so far the results
are not promising, as it is said the Mussul
man patients resent her presence.
George Bay and Charles Sand are
neighbors. Bay lives at No. 455 Fiftieth
street, NewYork, and Sund at No. 451. They
quarrelled. Sund being deaf and dumb
couldn't tell Bay what he thought of him.
Tlav owns a nuir dotr. of which he is fond.
Snnd obtained some paint and a brush and
transformed the animal frem a respectable,
mouse colored pug into as tripednnd spotted
brindle.
A newsboy in the City of Mexico has
taken a partner into his business in the per
son of a large and intelligent dog. The ani
mal follows his owner about carrying several
papers in bis mouth, and will walk up to a
prospective purchaser and present a paper,
wagging his tall in a sociable sort of way
that generally succeeds, and if he makes a
sale he brings back the money to his associ
ate promptly.
F. B. Bennett, the young Chicago Board
of Trade clerk who claims he can have his
clothes made in London and .brought over
here freo of duty, has incurred the everlast
ing wrath of the special agents of the Treas
ury Department. Orders were given to stop
all of the foreign mail addressed to Bennett,
and he is to be compelled, to go to the Cus
tom House and open the letters in the pres
ence of inspectors. By this means it is hoped
that Bennett's little scheme of sending a
friend over to London to wear the suits a
day or two and then bring them over will ba"
nipped in the bud. .
Little Dora, the 4-year-old daughter of
Lincoln Hamllne, residing near Lafarge, 111.,
is a prodigy. She is able to readily name
the spots on any set of dominoes by looking
at the backs of them, or she will select from
the set any number asked for. all tho dom
inoes being thoroughly mixed np. If ono
has been slipped out of the set without her
knowledge, and it is called for, she will
quietly reply that the number is missing.
Tho child cannot count from ono to six, but
will announce the spots thus; "Two and a
six," "six and a four," or any other number,
more readily from tho backs of the dominoes
than from their faces.
WHAT TICKLES US.
A DltUGOBD PEOOPTIKADEU.
It was a proofreader, who had served an ap
prenticeship In a drugstore, that let Heber's fa
mous old hymn get Into print in this form:
From Greenland's icy mountains.
From- India's chloral strand.
Where Afric's soda fountains
Boll down their golden sand.
Fales You never wear an overcoat?
Wales I never was. Srto Turk Telegram.
He How prettily the moonlight falls
upon the sea and on the beach.
She Yes, but don't yon think it Is even more
beautiful stlU among the boulders away from the
hotel?
It had occurred to her that he. too, might ba
bolder over there. SomavlUe Journal.
She wore her bathing dress one night,
Far from the madding crowd. '
The moon was f nil, but when she came
It went behind a cloud. Cloak Review.
Old Hen AVhat are you cackling about,
I'd like to know?
Old Rooster That double-yelked egg of onrs.
(Resumes): Cut-cut-cut, cut-dah-cut!
Strawber While I was rooming with a
friend of mine who Is in the gas business the other
night, we were awakened by a slight noise, and
then a burglar crept softly Into the room.
SIngerly Dear mel How did yon get oat of it?
Strawber Very well, indeed. My friend got
everything he had. Earper,t Bazar.
Oh, man of pride,
It is denied
To you yonr self-esteem to-hngj
To win her heart ,
And leave no part
Yon must cut out s snub-nosed pug.
Washington PotL
"You remember asking me to be your '
wife?"
'I do."
"And I said I couldn't be your wife, but I would -' ,"
be a sister to you?" '
"Yes." . ;,.fo
I have reconsidered the matter and am now yr v;
willing to be your wife." " ft t
"Excuse me, but It's too late. The law wouldn't -,
llnw-tt. A man can't mn-r V ltp-ta thlV-- "
J country." mw lort frut.
-ai-v.il