X.SUSfDlY. AUGUST
TEE PITTSBURG
30. 1891,
Mje Bi&raf rfj.
ESTABLISHED FEBKUARr
1S46.
Vol. 4fi.No. S04. Filtered at Fittsbnrg rostoOce,
November 14, 18S7, as second-class matter.
Business Office Corner Smithfield ,
and Diamond Streets.
News Rooms and Publishing House.
78 and 80 Diamond Street, in
New Dispatch Building.
KASTKRN" ADVEKTISING OFFICE. BOOMS,
TItIBUXKBUILDIG. NEWTOKK, wherecom-'
rlete flies ofTHEDIsPATCHcan always be round.
Foreign advertisers appreciate the convenience. J
Home advertisers and friends ofTUE DISPATCH,
while in New York, are also made welcome.
THE DISPATCBi regularly on sale abBrenimn's,
t Union Isqnare, Sew York, and 2? Avr.de VOpera,
FarU. France, ichcre anyone who ha been disap
pointed at a hotel news stand can obtain it.
TERMS OF THE DISPATCH.
rosTAcs rncE in the cxited .states.
Dailt Dvsr-ATcu, One Tear. f s 00
Pailt Dispatch, Ter Quarter.. 2 00
Dailt DisrATcn, One Month...... TO
D ailt Dispatch, Including Sunday, 1 year.. 10 00
Dailt Dispatch. Including Sunday, 3 m'ths. 1 50
Dailt Dispatch. Including Sunday, 1 m'th.. DO
EUSDAT Dl'PATCII, One Tear 2 50
Weekly Dispatch. One Year I2j
The Dailt Dispatch Is delivered by carriers at
15 cents per week, or. Including Sunday Edition, at
20 cents per week.
This Issue of THE DISPATCH contains
20 pages, made up of THREE PARTS.
Failure on the part of Carriers, Agents,
Newsdealers or Newsboys to supply patrons
with a Complete Xumber slionld be prompt
ly reported to this office.
Voluntary contributors should Veep copies of
articles. If compensation is desired the price
expected must be named. The courtesy of rc-Un-ning
rejected manuscripts ivill be extended
uhen stamps for that purpose are inclosed, but
Vie Editor of The Dispatch will wider no cir
cumstances be responsible for the care of unsolic
ited manuscripts.
POSTAGE All persons who mall the
Sunday lue of Tho Dispatrh to friends
should bear in mind tho fact that the post
age thereon is Tno (2) Cents. All double
nnd triple number copies of The Dispatch
require a 2-ccnt stamp to insure prompt
delivery.
P1TTSBUKG, SUNDAY", AUGUST 30, 18J1
3rKIM.ETS .FIRST WEEK.
With yesterday's speeches closed the
first week of Major McEnley's campaign
of fact against fancy, of protection for
home industries against free trade for for
eigners' benefit, of honest money against
free silver and the inflationists. The ef
fect of the steady stream of logic and elo
quence, which the Republican candidate
lias directed upon the most important
political and financial problems of the
hour, has been to make them clear and in
telligible to the masses. Major McEnley
has not shrunk from the discussion and
exposition of any plank in the party's plat
lorm, and Senator Sherman has assisted
him in laying bare the insanity of the flat
money schemes.
The campaign is educational altogether,
and on politics alone. Personalities do
not figure in the fight But existing facts
on all sides aid McKlnley. The busy
manufacturing towns m here he has been
speaking the past week bear testimony to
the creative and fostering spirit of pro
tection. The crowds that flock to hear
him are well-dressed and contented. They
are artisans and laborers who know why
their wages are good ; and farmers who
have sold their wool at a good figure, and
have a monopoly of the home market for
their crops, and a ready sale for the sur
plus abroad. They know what the tariff
has doue for them. Xo wonder Major
MeEnley is eager to meet his opponent in
joint debate The lay of the land will
favor him in any engagement
IN AMERICA'S FAVOR.
The reports of the commercial agencies
for the week just closed are satisfactory.
They show a steady and uniform improve
ment in almost all trades and all parts of
the country. The most significant figures
are found in connection with the export
movement of wheat and flour: Last week
it equaled 6,348,000 bushels, 587,000 bush
els more than in the preceding week, and
more than 1,200,000 bushels in excess of
the total for the second week in August
In the fourth week of the month, 1890,
the total exported was 2,562,000 buahels,
including Montreal. In 1889 it was 3,088,
000 bushels; in 1888, 2,983,000 bushels, and
in 1887, 4,010,000 bushels. The approxi
mate total exported during eight weeks
ended August 27, including flour as wheat,
ia 31,228,000 bushels, against 17,761,000
bushels in the like eight weeks of 1890, in
cluding Montreal's shipments, and as com
pared with 15,736,000 bushels in a similar
period in 1889, and 17,772,000 bushels in
1888. This abundantly illustrates the
beginning of what is bound to be an ex
traordinary foreign demund for our food
products. Another interesting incident in
this field is the fact that the shipping of
flour from San Francisco to China cuts
some figure in the total.
A comparison of the reports of Imports
and exports for the month of July shows
that the excess of imports was only
3,800,000 instead of 523,000,000 in July,
1890. So far in August the same tendency,
but even more markedly, has been
demonstrated, the exports increasing over
13 per cent, while the imports have shrunk
over 18 per cent This indicates as strongly
as possible that the balance of trade is
swinging in our favor.
WASTED ENERGIES.
The present era is property called the
"Inventive Age." There are registered
patents of inventions in the United .States
to tho number of nearly five hundred
thousand, and the American genius has
not nearly become exhausted. "When it
is realized that 72 per cent of the ideas
never proved of value to their originators,
it is apparent that there has been an
enormous "waste of mental energy- The
causes of the lack of appreciation by the
public of so many of these original notions
have often been discussed, but failure and
bitter disappointment seem to have no ef
fect in deterring others from entering the
, field in the hope of realizing fame and
fortune.
Many an intelligent man .has toiled for
years, has denied himself all the luxuries
and most of the comforts of life, to bring
out a device which he confidently expected
to reward him with prosperity, but which
has only added to his poverty. Manymore
have labored hard to perfect an invention
seemingly full of promise, but which
proved to be an utter failure. On the
other hand, many instances have occurred
where some fortunate individual has acci
dentally siezed an idea, patented a most
simple device, and realized an independent
fortune, without having denied or deprived
liimself of a single hour of sleep.
There must be a cause for this apparent
unequal distribution of the gifts of for
tune, and it is not hard to find. A re
cent publication devoted to the interests
of inventors hints that the real cause of
the failure of success of bright ideas is
lack "of education in the mechanical
branches and the wantof practical knowl-
edge on the part of the Inventor.. Ideas
wnicn appear upon hrst inspection to be
improvements upon methods and ma
chines in use have very frequently been
cant aside by practical men.simply because
It was found that their value was not suf
'ficleut to warrant an exchange from an
old process to a new. If an invention can
not bo made profitable to those for whom
it is intended, it may as well be sent to the
lnmber yard of oblivion. The rule that
holds good in one branch of industry pre
vails in all the industrial arts. Lack of
capital to construct and introduce inven
tions is another stumbling block, and is a
large factor In enlarging the waste of ideas.
Much time has also been expended in pro
ducing articles for which there cannot be
sufficient demand to induce capital to in
vert In them.
The question has been asked, as to
'whether there is any remedy. Probably
there is none. A genius with an idea
cannot be controlled; but, if some means
were provided whereby honest opinions
by practical men could be given upon in
tended in ventions,many hours of labor and
of worry might be spared the men who are
seeking quick roads to prosperity. The
difficulty in establishing such a board
would be that the distrustful nature of the
inventor could not be overcome, and there
is no utility in a board that will not be
patronized by the class for whom It is
formed. The remedy, if there is onc,must
be left to the inventors themselves.
THE COMING EXPOSITION'.
The Exposition will throw open its
doors next Wednesday, and from all ap
pearances it will contain the finest dis
play of Pittsburg's products, of her mer
chandise and of wonderful and beautiful
things from near and far that have yet
been shown there. This year no strike
or other complication haveinterrupted the
preparation of the great buildings and
their contents. It has involved lots of
hard work ever since the last Exposition
closed to get this one ready. The direc
tors and Mr. Johnston have labored ener
getically to good purpose, and their ef
forts have been ably seconded by the citi
zens of Pittsburg, who thoroughly appre
ciate the Exposition's service to the com
munity. One result of this co-operation, which is
described at some length in our local col
umns to-day," is the Loan exhibition of
pictures, etc This Is sure to prove an at
tractive feature, and the public's enjoy
ment of it will be some reward to those
who have levied upon their private stores
of art treasures to provide it
It is well that the approaches to the Ex
position have been improved, and the new
pavement of Duquesne way will doubtless
contribute not a little toward making
what has now become a recognized and
valuable institution here a greater" success
than ever.
BETWEEN TWO FIRES.
There is a remarkable paucity of argu
ment among the ranks of the anti-protectionists
at present, and the few assertions
made by their organs are so weak that
they cannot stand alone. Seldom have
they entered into a campaign with less
chance of winning. The truth of the
matter is that the long and laborious
arguments they had prepared to foist
upon an unsuspecting public were
torn to pieces in advance by
the unforeseen, by them, effects of the new
tariff. When they awoke from their
apathetic sleep they found a new state of
affairs, which nothing they could say
would affect in the least Their breath
had been taken away, and the revised
editions of arguments prepared for former
occasions wtfre totally unfitted to meet the
exigencies of the occasion. For a long
time they lived in the hope that the clause
Increasing the duty on tin might be
productive of a foundation for the erection
of an effective war cry, but here again
they were met with disappointment, and
since then then: utterances have been
vapid, meaningless, flavorless, insipid and
tamo in the extreme.
It is well known that when organs stand
between two fires, as in the present in
stance, their utterances can contain neither
point nor emphasis. Between the abso
lute free-trader and the mild-protectionist
wing of the Democracy they are forced to
assume a policy that possesses neither the
virtue of independence nor strength.
Fear of giving offense to cither faction,
coupled with the disastrous sledge-hammer
blows dealt their arguments by the tariff,
have reduced them to a paralytic state
from which they cannot recover. It is
obvious, therefore, that the nervous
susceptibility of the leaders in the ranks
of the opposition is likely to be seriously
shocked when the -voters reach the polls
and declare, as they will, in favor of the
tariff that protects their homes, their in
dustries and their country.
CHAGRIN BUT WHOSE?
It is as well to wait until the woods are
clearly past before shouting. Here's the
Hew York Tribune's premature yawp:
"Several journals which ferociously as
sailed Secretary Blaine's course in the
Chilean-Peruvian war have been advising
during the last three months the recogni
tion "of the belligerent rights of the Chilean
insurgents by the United States Govern
ment What must be their chagrin now
in learning from the dispatches that the
insurgents have received a crushing blowl
If their advice had been followed, the
State Department would have been now
greatly embarrassed. As it is, the best
traditions of American diplomacy have
been followed, and the prestige of the
United States Government is completely
restored on the "West Coast"
What must be the Tribune's chagrin
now when it reads of Balmaceda's defeat
and perceives the humiliating and em
barrassing situation in which the admin
istration has landed itself. The prestige
of the United States just now on that part
of the West coast where the victorious in
surgents are celebrating Balmaceda's
downfall could be covered with Minister
Egan's hat It is sad, but it is so. The
Dispatch months ago pictured correctly
the sequel of tho unfortunate policy
adopted by President Harrison for the
'United States toward the Chileans who
were fighting for tho Constitution, nay,
the very life of the Republic
DAMP AND DISMAL BRITONS.
The Britishers are getting more proof of
the efficacy of explosives as rain-makers
than they care about Great guns and
little guns upon sea and shore in Britain
have been fired with unusual frequency
this summer; popping here at targets,
there at imaginary foes, and most of all
in honor of the English nation's guests
from Germany and France. Now learned
philosophers of the Royal Society are
whispering in John Bull's ear .that all this
bing-banglng and thundering courtesy has
put Jupiter Piuvius In a fury, and brought
about the seven weeks' rain that has made
summer a swampier season than usual in
the tight little isle.
The farmers of England, who are apt
anyhow to grumble as taxpayers at the
extravagant use of gunpowder by the
army and navy, will raise the roof with
their objurgations if they once .(jet it into
their heads that their harvests havo'been
ruined by the artillery practice also.
Accordirig to the cablegrams of to-day
the farmer's lot in England is not a happy
one, what with rain and mustard bugs
and army warms. Thoy cannot be ex
pected to see much consolation in the
fact that the failure of their crops will put
money in their American brethren's pock
etsbut we may be pardoned if wo smile.
KANSAS SANE ONCE MORE.
The croaking of a score of Peffers and
Sockless Simpsons would not avail against
the wave of content which full harvests
and a fair chance to market them
Is sending over the West and
Southwest Kansas is recovering from the
epileptic attack induced last Fall by the
Farmers' Alliance agitation, and the dam
age done to her credit by the reckless ef
forts of demagogues to persuade her
farmers to repudiate their obligations, will
be repaired by the prosperity which is
coming.
No State 13 better qualified to speak of
prosperity than Kansas, which now has
farm products to the value of about $100,-
000,000 in excess of its home demand.
Reciprocity is enlarging the foreign mar
kets for these, and protection is both in
creasing the home market for what the
Kansas farmers have to sell and prevent
ing Canada from sharing unduly in their
prosperity at America's expense. At re
cent State conventions in Kansas the tone
of the speakers has been cheerful, and de
void of pessimistic fireworks.
The second Jesse James, or the Ohio
bank robber, is attempting the Insanity
dodge. If any thing -was wanted to complete
his identity it was this action on his part.
People nowadays do not take much stook in
insane criminals.
The opinion of a Russian naval officer,
published in another column, differs eome
wnat from that of the authorities here upon
tho .naval requirements of tho nation
While he approves of the building tip of the
navy, he thinks that the construction of
immense armored ships is a mistake. What
is needed is a large number of smaller and
more active vessels, such as can work effec
tive destruction among the ships of an at
tacking power.
Chicago proposes to build a tower at
least two hundred and fifty feet higher than
tho Eiffel in Paris. If the plan is carried
out some Chicagoans will have a hotter
chance to got nearer heaven than thoy ever
will again.
When Major McKinley slipped as he
mounted the platform at a meeting yester
day some one in the audience begged him to
bewnroof a slip in November. The warn
ing was needless; Major McKinley can make
no slip on tho platform tho Republicans of
Ohio have built upon protection for home
industries and honest money.
To kilt, a gnat by an electric shock
smacks a good deal of breaking a fly on a
wheel, yet this is the means by which it is
proposed to destroy the pests which make
life in and near the tropics a burden to man
kind. "While the blood-stained ruins in Park
Plaoe, New York, are being cleared away,
some of the newspapers are suggesting that
it would bo a good thing to remove tho city
government. "Why,!' asks the New Tork
Recorder, "shut the eyes to the fact that
these unspeakable disasters nro caused by
the cupidity ot landlords and the connivance
of corrupt officials!"
IiOmsviLLE has lost a very dear citizen.
At least Major Tillman, of the Falls City
Bank, took $65,000 when he left for Canada.
The fond hope that he may be found and
yanked back deserves to be gratified.
Chinese pirates are adopting the prac
tices attributed to the brisrands of the Old
Country. They send the ears of their pris
oners to relatives demanding ransom
money. Between pirates on the water and
anti-missionary mobs on land, life in the
Flowery Kingdom is not the most alluring at
the present time.
The Congressional party in Chile still
has the victory claimed by them, nnd It
really looks as if they had Balmaccda and
the bakery as it were.
Now that the eyes of our manufacturers
are turning more and more toward our
Southern neighbois, the interview in anoth
er part of this issue with a Plttsbnrger who
has made a long stay in the wealthy United
States of Colombia will doubtless provo of
real interest.
Katleoad wrecks have been more fre
quent than ever the last few days. Careless
ness ratner than caution seems, to be on the
Increase
The announcement is made that no songs
are to be "sung or sold In the Paris streets
other than those which bear the stamp of
the Ministry of tho Interior." The affixing
of a stamp to a song that is sung extempo
raneously must bo a curious process, to say
the least.
A short time since the farmers in some
sections were asking for rain reoelpts. Now
they want a frost preventive.
The United States will now proceed to
recognize right in Chile since it has also be
come might. Jt would have been more
American to ha given struggling patriots
countenance before circumstances arose to
make it compulsory.
NAMES FEEQTJENTLY SEES.
Senator Carlisle and his wife are in
Now England.
Bishop Fbench, of England, who died
recently in Arabia, was known as "that
many tongued man of Lahore."
The President's daughter, Mrs. McKee,
and Mrs. Harrison are oxpeoted to return
home from Europe about September 3.
Mns. Burnett is said to be at work on a
newjuvenileof some length, to be brought
out by her American publishers some time
this winter.
Asolph Sutro, the millionaire of tun
nel fame, says he is building the finest. bath
since Diocletian's. Acres of sea are to be
inclosed with granite walls, paved and tiled
and covered with glass, tho tides being ad
mitted through suitable channels in the
living stone.
A letter from Bobert Louise Steven
son's wife, dated Apia, July 16, conveys the
following intelligence: "We live in tumult
and fears of threatened massacre. Mr. Whito
has arranged to send his child to Honolulu
in case of war, but the rest of us will stay
and stick it out. Mr. Stevenson is ridicul
ously well."
Prince Conti had the odd trick of
barking exactly like a little yapping lap
dog, and not infrequently barked at a lady
instead of answering her. Onco he was
seized with a desire to perform this strange
nutlc while in tbo throne room of Louis
XIV., but knowing how furiously lo grand
monarqnc would have resented such an in
fringement of his royal dignity, Contl hur
ried to an open window and, loaning out,
pressed his handkerchief over his mouth
and barked softly to his heart's content.
A curious little story of Mrs. Arthur
Wilson, ot T ran by Croft fame, comes from
London. She was ono of the guests at tho
Princess of Wales' garden party, and ordered
for the occasion a dress of cream organdie
with shamrock leaves. When tho costume
arrived It suddenly struck her that the
shamrocks bore a striking resemblance to
'aces of clnbs. "This will never do," ex
claimed the destroyer of Sir William Gord-ing-Cummlng.
"If I go in thnt dress it will
look as If 'baccirat is written all over
inc."
CBAB SHELL SHEDDING.
How
the Comer Turns Into a leather
Back Ready for Market.
New York Tribune.
With the beginning of Juno' an industry
springs up which gives employment to more
men along the shores of New Jersey and
Long Island tlinn is ccncrallv known.
Signs of it's awakening are now to be seen In
the fish markets, in the shape of fat sea
weed;lincd traya; full of wioked-looking
crabs, and signs with the alluring invitation
to buy "Shedder crabs for bait, $1 per
dozen." About this time in Southern waters,
and a little later in the bays around the
city, the ordinary mnrderous blue orab
feels a gentle melancholy stealing over his
spirit. He sulks and hides himself under
grassy banks, and if caught, it will be found
that the shell at the sharp ends la slightly
soft and yields to the touch. He is, how
ever, still very, verv hard around the
shears and willing and anxious to prove it.
In this condition lie is known by fisherman
as a "comer," and Is often kept in great flat
fish ears in a tide-way, for, though not yet
;uib, great possiDllltles are containeu
his in wicked, lively body. After a few tides
have flowed ovorblm, he becomes the thing
that draws dollars from Stillwater fisher
men during the season, a shedder orab, with
wicked Intentions but limited capabilities.
The shell cracks along the joint and tho
body protrudes at the legs and the claws. If
the crab is now left In the watcrfor another
tide, he begins to undiess himself, after roll
inir over on hiq Tin rv
Gradnallyhe wiigglcsone leg out of tho
out-grown armor, then another, and so on in
succession: the shell opens underneath his
body, and after much stmggllng and tribu
lation a limp and helpless soft crab lies on
the bottom, n prey to every fcllow-lnhabit-
uubui suit water. 11, However, ine crau i
taken out of tho water, the process of shed
diug is'at once arrested, and the fisherman
who buys him for bait peels the shell off the
unfortunate creature whenever he is ready
to use him. When a crab is thus ready for
"peeling" ho is called "ripe," andjthe process
Is probably noj painful, as the shell adheres
only slightly at a few points, and mavbo
lifted off tho back almost in one piece. The
"shedder" stogo is the only one at which the
crab enn bo used for bait. If he is used be
foie getting "ripe," the skin will bo found
so thin and the flesh so soft that it will not
adhere to the hook, while later on, when the
orustaccan becomes a "soft" crab, the meat
is too flabby for bait. But then comes tho
epicure's chance, and a soft crab, done to a
tiiap goiaen orown, nna sorvea on toast,
with Just a dreamy hint remaining of the
butter that has been spent on him, will
leave behind him a memory to linger like a
star through a dark life of dyspepsia. If the
crab escapes the fisherman and theresultant
irylngpan, a tough leather skin forms over
him, nnd hebecomesa "leather-back." Then
the new shell forms, and soon he emerges,
gorgeous in a hard new shell, red, white and
blue, to take up again his warfare against
every other living thing, including his own
relatives and the bare feet of tho small boy
who "treads" for clams.
THE POET SWIKBUENE.
His Personal Peculiarities and the Battle
of the Hats.
London News.
Swinburne left Oxford without a degree.
in order to visit Florence, on a sort of pil
grimage to Landor, for whom he had an en
thusiastlo admiration. He never loses an
opportunity to proclaim that Victor Hugo is
the greatest poet of modern times. Tet he
also worships Browning with Intense fervor.
Years ago he excited the laughter of all Eng-
land by bringing a footstool to a public ban
quet In honor of the latter deity, solemnly)
placing it at his feet and sitting thereon.
One of the most famous of Swinburne's esca
pades occurred after a dinner at tho London
Arts Club, when the poet expressed his dis
nDproval of his fellow members by making a
Berserker attack on their hats, scattering
them on the floor and dancing a frantic riga
doon upon them. An admiral burlesque of
the affair appearod in one of the comic
papers. It was cast in the form of a parody;
of Swinburne's own imitations of the Greek
manner In drama. The members of the club
formed the dramatic personam. Tho "bob
bies" who had been called in to quell the
poet's rage were the chorus. Strophe and
anistrophe followed in proper sequence. As
the hats were tossed about and battered ont
or shape the members stood around and
wailed their despair. 4
As forests with temptests that wrestle.
From the hat-racks our hats are torn down.
Whereupon tho chorus chimed in:
Tho Englishman's homo it hls.cos?l.e; '
The Englishman's bat Is hit crowp, I
And o on, and 10 on, tho satirist preserv
ing throughout the grin which adorned tho
face of Aristophanes -when ho was amusing
the Athenians by burlesquing -Eschylus.
And what does Swinburne look like? One
portrait gives an excellent idea of his face,
with his small mouth, his weak chin, and his
utterly disproportionate forehead. His eyes
are large and luminous, uncoitain in color,
because ever changing with his thoughts.
For the rest, he is small only five feet two
in height and slightly and delicately trail t.
His manner is frank and coi dial. He is a
wonderful talker, and is fond of reading his
own poetry. He lives with Theodore Watts,
tho painter and critic, who is his most en
thusiastic admirer. In these quiet bachelor
quarters he has amassed a rare collection of
literary curios. Being somewhat deaf he
eschews genoral society. Ho loves to take
long cross-country walks in a broad-brimmed
soft felt hat. seldom lifting his eyes
from the ground, but distributing cake and
candy promiscuously among the youngsters
whom he meets by the way. There is
one thing upon which he especially prides
himself he never carries an umbrella, even
on the rainiest days.
A SINGULAB GBOWTH.
A Texas Citizen Increases His Height Two
Inches in His Thirty-Fifth Tear,
DaUas News.
Oak Cliff has a citizen who is now a robust
old gentleman of fine physique and is de
scended from a very long-lived ancestry,
their ages running to 96, 98, 106 and up to 112
years. Ho has all his teeth except two
which were knocked out by an accident.and
they are as sound as a dollar, although he Is
now 70 years old.
He has grown three-fourths of an inch in
height since he was SS years old, and ho
wears a size larger hat now than he wore
then. From that age up to 41 or 42 years,
his weight remained at 190 pounds, and now,
at three score and ten years, his mental fac
ulties, he 6ays. aVe brighter than over be
fore. He Is a fine example of physical and
mental development, but his modesty will
not allow him to consent to the use of his
name.
lEELAND'B POPULATION.
It Has Decreased Nearly Half a Million in
Ten Tears.
Newcastle News.
The recent census in Great Britain shows
a considerable decrease in the population of
Ireland. The number of births during the
last ten years was 1,147,432; of deaths 879,779;
whioh would leave an Increase of population
2S7.663, whereas the absolute deoreaso is 468,
674. This diminution of population is 9.1 per
cent of the whole and is more than double
that of the last decado,' which was 4.4 per
cent and is accounted lor by emigration,
more than 80 per cent of whioh was to tho
United States.
Previous inquiries have shown two-thirds
of the emigrants nre persons between the
ages of 20nnd 45; and there can bo no doubt
that the wholesale departure of the young
and vieorous leaves the remaining popula
tion with an undue proportion of infirm and
aged persons. Tho natural increase of pop
ulation Is very small, and as the last two
enumerations have shown, early marriages
nre very rare.
Can't Find an Opponent.
St. Lonls Globe-Democrat.
The only cause of complaint that Major
McKinley has this year is that he can't find
any Democrat who cares to meet him in a
joint discussion of the tariff and the silver
issue.
DEATHS HEBE AND ELSEWHEEE.
Obituary Notes.
Mabtix McLaugulix. the well known electri
cian, died Friday nlgbt at bis home on Sweet Briar
street, Duquesne Heights, at the advanced aee of
00 years. The funeral wlu occur to-day.
Erie C. Leech, Past Grand Sire of the Supreme
Lodge of Odd Fellows In tho United States, died at
Keokuk, la., jesterday morning after an Illness
extending over several years. He was 83 years old,
William Suocket, an octogenarian, died at
Lima, O., yesterday. He was the oldest pioneer
in the" county, having located on a farm east of
town in ISB. He was well known as a man of in
tegrity, aud possessed a wide acquaintance.
C. C. Mebiwetheb," Superintendent of the
Southern Division of the Wester Union Tele
graph Company, located at Mobile, died at noon
yesterday. Mr. Meriwether held this position for
many years, and Is weU known throughout the
telegraph fraternity.
MURRAY'S MUSINGS.
The Craze for First Night Perrormances
HegnrdforArt In Pittsburg Good Law
on Street Paving-Odds and Ends From
New Tork.
CPKOJI A 8TATF COBRE8FOOTDENT.
The "first-nighters" are again setting
flint nAl. "T i ....
,,. .,... !. aoximontii they will be ex
ceedingly busy. To attend the opening
night of every play Is one of the sacred
duties of the first-nighter, to fail In the ful
filment of whioh duty he would consider a
social crime. In many of these people the
first night mania amounts to a craze. Why
In the world sensible people with plentv of
time on their hands flnd'plcasure in attend
ing a performance which must always, frbm
the nature of the case, bo worse than any
succeeding performance of the same piece,
U one or the curious phases of human nature
that are unaccountable. They remind me of
people who crowd over the ferryboat chains
and Jump before the gang-plank is out, then
v. alk leisurely away as if thoy had accom
plished something.
It is true, theie are manv in Now Vmlr
who nre first nighters by leason of their
business dramatlo critics. Journalists, liter
ary and theatrical people and these form
a no Inconsiderate body here. But the purely
amusement hunters, gentlemen of leisure,
who crowd tho openings nnd bedevil tho
managers can be counted by hundreds. If
one 01 tnese rcllows never sees a play after
ward during ail 1C0 nights run, he must see
it tho first night. It Is simply a fad and has
tho complimentary ticket for its origin,
Managors think it necessary to pack the
house on first nights and they naturally
' " pacK 11 witn irienaiy people. Hence
tho first-nighter as a rule i a member of the
clacomi and i nn9Ant n hnnn. ti.u ni.o vr,.Ttt
knows the leartiiiir neonle and amlablvilCBntI'mcoln was assassinated was out Into
desires to see them get nlong. Hence flowers
and encores ealore. To one nnvnrsmrt in Mm
llaolliAfl 4a r ma A. - a. T . - "
mysteries of a New York fiist-night house. It
would appear that every piny wns a. howling
success and is a fortune to its backers. The
mtlficially created furore often carries old
timers along with it, and these doubtles
feel a seoret humiliation when the piece
drops out before the end of the fortnight.
This etlort to deceive the public never suc
ceeds. It is the manager, the star and the
rest who ore deceived. But we shall see a
good deal more 0 the recent Park Theater
Eerformance where a grand clacque assem
led to boom n coarse woman In a coarse
play. A masculine heroine astraddle of a
real horse will not appeal to cultured people,
clacque or no clacque.
Art Feeling in Pittsburg.
"There is considerable artistic sense
iindcnlture In tho city ofrittsbunr."saidMr.
JPoole, a Washington artist. "I havo a
'studio there now, nnd I find a very appre
ciative public. Thero is a good deal of
wealth in Pittsburg, but until recent years
these people devoted their attention to get
ting wealthier. The elegant repose that
accumulated money brings invariably re
sults favorably to the encouragement of nil
forms of tne beautllul. There are men liko
Andrew Carnegie who greatly stimulate
this feeling by munificent piesents, and
noble women like tho lndv who gave Pitts
burg a splendid park, who help it alone.
There are now in private houses in Pitts
burg paintings that are known all over the
artistic world.
"The French school of art is tho favorite
there just as It is elsewhere. Every year
Pittsburg collectors abroad bring home
much fine woik, both modern and ancient.
This impressionist school hasn't much of a
hold upon a literal people. I despise it my
self. ,ow there is that portrait of Walt
Whitman nt the Central Park gallery what
a travesty that is on dear old Walt's face! It
is simply an old man with a beard and is as
imperfect a likeness as It is imperfect of
execution."
New Tork Rich in Pretty Women.
"New York certainly boasts tho
prettiest women of any city in the world,"
remarked a gentleman at the Hoffman who
haa, traveled extensively, and was felicitat
ing himself upon his safe return from the
Continent. "She doesn't boast of them ex
actly, either, for you aro so accustomed to
the sight that you take it asn matter of
conrse. They were making a great to-do
over some American women at the German
spas, and I was asked to admire them. Bah!
they were nothing more than I can find in
any five minutes of the day on Broadway or
Fifth avenue. Sol said, and I was evident
ly considered a typical Yankee braggart. In
Paris nnd other Continental oltles tho Amer
ican style of women are very much ad
mired. 1 saw a Chicago girl cutting a great
swell In Dresden. Everybody looked at her.
And she was right handsome, too, and
dressed out of sight, But I'vo been hundreds
ofjust as pretty women in Chicago.
These foreigners seem to think that only
our prettiest girls get over there, and that
thoy all havo fortunes and are hunting a
man with a title, and all that sort of rot.
Thero are thousands of Amorican women
who go abroad who aro in but moderate cir
cumstances, and who would think no more
of a count or lprd than they would of a New
York drummer, so far as marrying is con
cerned. This thing of beauty is purely rela
tive, and the American girl who wouldn't
excite much attention on Broadway comes
out strong everywhere abroad. Not that
they don't havo pretty women In every
country, but because they are more or less
rare compared with the great multitude.
England has many beautiful women, and
we hear an everlasting sight of chatter
about them, but you may stroll London
from Hyde Park to the slums and never
begin to see as many pretty women Dronor-
tlonatelv as you can see in New York and
other largo Amerioan cities.
The Backyards of Gotham.
What a sight some of the backyards
of New York's ancient business blocks are.
It seems that the telephone and telegraph
and electric light companies do not consider
it worth whilo to remove wires that have
fallen into disuse. The result is that on
the housetops and in the back courts are
tangled masses of swaying odds and ends.
They dangle from the roofs and back win
dows everywhere. Wherever an office has
once been furnished with calls or telephones
the walls are punctured with insulators and
strung with dead wires foiever afterward.
It doesn't pay to cut them out. Some of
these old courts look like immense rusty
cobwebbed corners that have soraenow es
caped the broom of the careless chamber
maid. Tearing Up Street Pavements.
Just pow this city is putting dowu
tho best street pavement ever laid within
its limits the new Broadway job. How
long will it remain? That is the question
agitating a good many citizens. "There
should bo a municipal regulation requiring
all breaks and repairs to be made by the
city authorities," said a St. Louis contractor.
"That is the way wo do out there. When a
corporation wants to get at a bursted pipe
or a wiro, it must first get a permit from the
Street Department. Then that department
sends its men to do the work so far as break
ing and replacing tho -pavements aro con
cerned, and the cost of this work is charged
up against the eorportion. No private indi
vidual should be allowed to dig up the
streets once tho pavement is laid.
"Of course, streets must be dug up. You'll
see Broadway always broken into some
where nlong line perhaps in a dozen places.
But if the woik were done by the city it
could be done in a manner thnt would leave
the street in just as good condition as be
fore, as the private individual or corpora
tion would have to pay for It there would be
no oxcuso for It to De done hurriedly or
badly. Every city in the country ought to
have such a legulation, for tho street prob
lem extends to all cities."
Ho Learned Something.
The other day one of the cross streets
uptown was practically closed while work
men were busily engaged in paving the
crossing. No sign was put up, but every ve
hicle that came that way was warned back;
Presently a gaily painted box on wheels,
with a driver perched high up in front, came
rattling down tho road.
"Yez can't coom through nerol" shouted a
brawny Irishman, flourishing his arms.
"Ah, go way there, Patsy!" called out the
driver, good naturedly, without stopping his
horsos.
"Shtop, I tell yez shtop. now!" Pat
grabbed tno horsos by the bit and Jerked
them baok so vigorously that the astonished
driver nearlv fell off his seat.
"Hold on "there, now!" cried an inspector,
running up nt that moment. "Let that team
pass. Let go, there! Don't you see, you
blanked old fool, that it's the United States
malll"
Quito a crowd hod collected by this time,
and Pat looked around rather foolishly as
tho w agon drove on.
"Oh, it's the U.Esh mall, is it?" Bedad, I
couldn't make out thlm lethers on her. I
tought It wor a show wagon!"
"Yes," sail the inspectors, "it's the U. S.
mail, and they could send yon to the peni
tentiary for stopping it on the ntghway."
"No," said Pat, his innocent eyes opening
widely, "slnd a man to jail tur fur jlst
sthoppln' a wagon to to ashk the time o'
day! Begorrah, now I'd a better shtayedin
Olrland, may be."
And Pat settled down to his work again,
but shaking his. head solemnly now and
then wearing a troubled look.
Hadn't Got Over tho "War.
There U down deep in a good many
hearts a good deal of smoldering rebellion
fires. One day last week a Boulevard car
carried the usual proportion of aristocratic
residents of the Westside, but among them
was an aged colored woman. She nodded to
the conductor several times to stop the car,
but as she was nodding in a fashion nearly
all the time, that official didn't seem' to no
tloe It. A stalwart old gentleman in tho
opposite corner did, however, and finally
roaied out to the conductor:
"Why don't you let this woman off? Don't
you see she wants to get off Stop the car.
Let the woman off. She's got as good right
to get on and off as anybody, if she Is
black."
Tho yonng man In ulue pulled tho Bell
rope nnd as the otd colored wothun, now
scared hnlf to death, hobbled off, muttered
that he dldd't see her motion to get off.
"Yes you did yes von did!" retoited the
nion, who had worked himself into a per
spiration. "I saw you looking right at her!
"ion belong to a copperhead race that hung
peoplo heie In New York because they weie
niggers. You burned orphan asylums be
cause the children were the children of nig
gers! That's the trouble with you!"
To say that everybody was astonished at
this tirade is putting it mildly. But the
young man, who must have been born some
years after the war, was the most astonished
of all. If he had been an Enstside conduc
tor, now but he meekly went out on the
jlntform, remarking to" a sympathizer that
ie never heard of anybody ever hanging
coioreu people in aovr X 01 K no ver.
Romancing About a T)reis.
A recent domestic difficulty between some
collateral relations, of the late actiess, Laura
Keene, de elops an interesting fact and an
equally Intel estlng falsehood. The first is
that the diess which Laura Keene wore In
uur Amcnc:
"Our American Cousin" on the night Presl-
I nvfen tl t-
small pieces and distributed among the
friends of the amiable old gentleman who
was. holding the property in trust for his
daughter. Tile son-in-law, w ho was arrested
forrnnninganny and marrying that daugh
ter, naively n s that he conld have sold the
garment for $1,000. The last is the statement
ot both pintles that the dress was stained
with the blood of the Pmsldcnt.
What rot. Laura Keeno hud nothing to do
with Picsident Lincoln. He occupied an
upper box when he was shot and she was
back in tho wings. She was nowhere near
him at any time. She appeared in that cos
tume again and again aitcrwurds. and it Is
needless to say, had these statements not
gone to the pnblio unnoticed, that there was
no blood of the martyred Lincoln on it.
Hairs From Lincoln's Head.
Speaking of Laura Keene and the histor
ical dress worn in " Our American Cousin "
that eventful night, reminds me that I havo
a lock of hair cut from Mr. Lincoln's head
at the timo of the assassination. I wn3
In Washington shortly after the
nssaislnation of tho President, and
formed the acquaintance of ono of
the surgeons who assisted in the examina
tion of tho wound received from the bullet
of J. Wilkes Booth. The scalp was bared in
the usual way In investigating the wound in
the head. Mr. Lincoln's hair was not thin
and a considerable portion was cut away In
the first effort to ascertain the extent ot the
Injury. Several doctors who were in the
theater rushed at once to the Presideut's
box and among them was this medical gen
tleman, wno aiterwaru presented me with a
few hairs. He said the sentiment ran so
high at the time that every hair was recov
ered and even a single hair was divided
among friends. He gave me fivo hairs
which I havo carefully preserved. They are
kopt now with a piece of towel that served
ns the white flag of surrender of the army
of Lee to General Grant at Appomattox.
The latter was given me by tho ofilccr com
manding the squadron of cavalry that re
ceived the flag. The hulk of the towel was
afterward the property of the widow of Gen
eral Cuiter, the then commander of tho
regiment of cavalry. I have laid them away
together with a bullet torn section ot an
army overcoat worn ut the battle of Stone
river in December, 1662, a Confederate rifle
ball and a more recent memento of the samo
character that plowed a hole through my
lungs w hlle I was trying to run a western
newspaper. Itis'agood foundation for a
dimo museum.
"Wasn't a Bit Reckless.
"In a game of euchre theothcr night,"
said a club man nt the Cafe Savarin, "I held
the seven, eight, nine and ten, andone of the
party observed that he bad a good founda
tion for a poker hand.
"If you've got nerve enough to bet flvo
dollars on your hand,' said he 'we'll play it.'
" 'I'll go you,' said I.
"He dtew three cards. I drew one. I got
a Jack and took the pot.
" 'Well,' said he, 'if you haven't got nerve
to put anything on snch a hand as you had.'
He forgot that we had only a euchre dock
ana x Knew 1 uau two cnances out 01 iour to
fill my straight, top or bottom. And it took
half an hour to explain to his satisfaction
that I hadn't done a reckless and foolish
thing." CnAiu.ES Theodoee Hcebay.
New York, Aug. 29.
THE MISSISSIPPI'S S0TJBCE.
Tho
Exploring Expedition Reports That
Lakes Cannot Be Found.
" Grand Rapids, Miww., Aug. 29. Tho sensa
tional report comes from tho Glazier ex
ploring expedition that there are no lakes
of any size at the point at which State Park
Commissioner Browor locates tho source of
the Mississippi- Among the local explorers
Captain Glazier picked up at Bralnerd and
Park Kapids were some of tho force of
woodsmen who havo been locating the
Northern Pacific lands which that company
has been selling under the recent large tim
ber order. This force of cruisers wai or
ganized and managed by Captain W. E. Seo
lye, of Braine rd, and jaelr dnty was to ex
amine, estimate, and fully map out every
acre of land the company was selling, which
was one-half of all the land In each town
ship, bein? tbo odd-numbered sections ac
niiii nri hv tho comnanv's land crant.
The purchasing syndicate had a crew at
work with Seelyes of equal size and as fully
experienced and equipped as his, and, more
than this, the reports, estimates and -maps
of both crows agreed as to the whole land.
As the sale was by 40-acre tracts there was a
careful examination of the smallest sub
division of the sections known to public
surveys. The work required tho mapping
of all sections, swamps and lakes. Nothing
could be more thorough than the require
ments of this work, and it shows in the most
convincing manner that Elk Lake, whioh
Pantain Glazier claims to havo discovered in
1881, Is the only considerable contributor to .
Lake Itasca.
2LECTI0NEEEISG IN QUEBEC.
The Canadian Is an Easy Victim to
the
Political Shark.
New England Magazine.
The average peasant is not easily excited
by questions of administrations, accusations
and counter-accusations of corruption, ex
travagant management and increase of tax
ation. Free mutual abuse and detraction is
looked for ot the hands of political opponents
when they meet on the hustings, the strict
limits of fact and politeness are sometimes,
as In other democratic countries, over
looked." Political principles and ideals being by
many little understood, worthy party inter
ests often count for naught. One county
will return a Liberal for the Provincial
Chamber one day, and a Tory, a man of tho
opposito camp, lor the Dominion party the
next, as in Montmorency county last August
1S90. The farmer is more sympathetic and
confiding than logical, and it is, therefore,
easy to practise upon his credulity. The
politician possessing personal magnetism or
some charm of manner will generally cap
ture his susceptible heart; reason too read
ily yielding to personal prejudice None
more enjoys beioollng him than the poli
tician, who wilhoften entertain his intimate
friends, after an election campaign, with
humorous sketches of how he duped tho
farmers.
The Tin Horn Will Be Popular.
SprlngfleldKepubllc,:
The tin horn in other campaigns has been
noisy and useful to both parties. But this
year it will havo a significance in the hands
of Republican paraders that will make it
more popular than ever.
SORROW.
Borrow, my guide, my teacher, and my mate.
To whose divine companionship I owe
All that I feel and much of what I know.
Think riot thou scorn. O Sorrow, that my fate
Hath brought me nigh to such a potentate,
Yea, such a king, as thou art. Men may grow
To love the cross they bear; and even so
Should I love thee, whose pomp of somber sta to
Is with me always, I have seen thee send
And pluck his morsel from the lips of Joy
In mld-frultlon; yet art thou a friend
Even to the bliss thou seemest to destroy.
Thou art more tender far. andfar more fair.
Than she who else would haunt me dumb despair.
A. J. MUSBT.
FACTS ABOUT ACCIDEHTS.
Some Strange Occurrences Are Brought to
Light Frequently.
The Forum.
The collection of largo groups of facts
about accidents which has been mado neces
sary by the development of accident Insur
ance has made a contribution to one depart
ment of social science that Is by no means
unln erestlng. For instance, it is a cnrlous
fact that a man is much more likely to lose
his left-hand than his rLrht hand, or his left
eyerthan his right eye; statistics show, too,
that when a man insures himself against
accidents he thereby greatly diminishes the
risk of accident and this is probably ex
plained in this way: when a man's attention
is culled to a danger he fixes his mind on it,
and thereby consciously or unconsciously
makes unusual effort to avert It.
It therefore happens that a man la more
likely to be a victim of nn accident of a
kind that he never thought of, than of tho
kind against which he insures himself. A
man, for instance, who handles sharp tools
will Insure himself against an accident from
the use of them, nnd the first thing he
knows he will be drawing pay from an In
surance company for an injury dono by
getting a cinder in his eye. Noc only are
such odd and curious facts as these brought
to light by tho development of accident in
surance, but a great many important groups
of facts which bear upon the habits of men
and the development of civilization. For
instance, accidents are much more common
in the sparsely settled portions of the
country than in the densely settled por
tions, nnd they hnppcn more freqnentlyin
tho middle or winter and the middle of
summer than in the other seasons of the
year.
A SUBMABINE F0BEST.
It Is Growing in the Bay or Plenty In New
Zealand.
New Zealand Ilerald.J
For n long while past many settlers on the
East co.ist have labored under the impress
ion that at a portion of the Bay of Plenty,
opposito to Whakatane, a forest of totara Is
actually growing under the sea. It has been
pointed out In our columns that the so-called
trees were probably only a variety of coral,
known as horn coral, which grows In a
branchy form, that the Maoris and settlers
might mistake for a suhmarine forest, but
until July 6 we have not had an opportunity
of inspecting a specimen of this submarine
growth. A piece was delivered at our pub
lishing office, with one of the tops of a
branch twig tied to the upper part of the
stem received.
The specimen received was divided at the
lower part Into three branches about SO
inches in length, and tho upper twig, which
had been broken off and tied on, was about
eight Inches in length and branched with
tiny feathery sprays somewhat resembling a
tree, bnt for all that it is only composed of
Horn coral, wnicn appears to nave Deen aeaa
some time before being drawn to the surface.
On the top of the twig was colled In graceful
folds a good-sized starfish, and all along the
branches of the coral woro clustered a large
number of nscidiaus. a species of small jelly
fish. There were also several shell fish be
longing to the crenetta, together with sev
eral barnacles, and at least one species of
annelid. As good specimen of the starfish
are not easy to be obtained, w e have handed
tho coral tree, together with all the creatures
clustered upon it, over to Mr. Cheeseman, of
tho museum, where it will be pieparedfor
exhibition.
THE AHTICS OF A WOMAN.
She "Was Deaf and Dumb but She Made
Things Lively.
Toledo Commercial.
The clerk of the Burnett House had a
strange experience yesterday morning. At
about 1 o'clock, when'the hotel was almost
deserted, a strange woman staggered into
the office and, without so much as saying
"by your leave," ensconced herself in one
corner of the room and "commenced busily
piling chairs one on top of tue other. When
she had completed the work to her own sat
isfaction, she set to work busily picking up
little scraps of paper that were scattered
about the floor.
Tha clerk Is naturally of a somewhat cour
ageous nature, but when his remarkable
visitor began to dance around the floor in a
lively manner, emitting every now and then
an ear-piercing shriek, he began to grow
nervous and, slipping out doors, secured a
policeman. The officer proved to be Patrol -man
Trout, who astonisned the already ex
cited clerk by exclaiming as he entered the
doon "Why, that's my own cousinl" This
proved to be true, the woman's namo being
Celia Miller, who is insane, deaf And dumb.
Officer Trout had not seen her for ten years,
and was naturally astonished to find her in
the Burnett House He communicated with
her by the deaf and dumb sign alphabet and
she was taken to the station.
HEW YOBBOS DISASTER
Bcildikg inspectors who will Inspect aro
greatly needed in this town. New York Re
corder. This more that is learned as to the Park
Place disaster the more clearly it appears
that our system of building Inspection and
supervision is In need of radical revision.
New York World.
As the causes of the Park place disaster
aro searched for it becomes more and more
apparent that the building inspection sys
tem of New York Gity, as carried out, la
mentably fails to inspect. Albany UnUm.
Tmt Park Place disaster shows the entire
system of Inspection in New York to be not
only defectlvo but open to criminal neglect,
either because of personal indifference or as
the result of some "pull" that may some
times be simply bribery. Ulica Herald.
Meanwhile, who Is to compensate the poor
peoplo who havo lost their best beloved!
Who will pay the funeral expenses of tho
dead or supply the void occasioned by tho
summary killing of the bread winner of tho
family thus bereaves!! New York News.
Such a calamity involves responsibility.
It is clearly a case for the District Attorney
to lay before the grand Jury. That body
ought to make a full and fearless inquiry,
ana indict all upon whom the responsibility
seems to rest. New York Commercial Adver
tiser. The buildings destroyed by tho explosion
in New York are said to havo been con
demned years ago. The law is equal to the
case: will Now York pnblio sentiment bo
equal to the occasion and insist that the
criminally negligent are punished! Buffalo
Express.
Soke accidents are unavoidable, but the
falling of a building like that in New York,
with its disastrous consequences. Is invaria
bly the result of somebody's criminal care
lessness. The guilt ought easily to be fixed
and the offenders held responsible. In
dianapolis Journal.
While the inspectors of buildings are play
ing hide and seek with the pnblio and dodg
ing the blame which properly belongs to
them, where is the man who has known ever
since he bought the estate that Just such a
calamity as this might happen at any mo
ment! JVeio York Herald.
The protection needed In cities is that
whioh will prevent the overcrowding and
the overloading of old buildings which have
been cheaply adapted to modern uses. Such
protection can be easily secured, and tho
moral of New York's disaster should not go
unheeded. Baltimore American.
Taxnecessity for periodical Inspection is
made very apparent In such slaughters as oc
curred in New York. It was no "accident,"
evidently. Tho building crashed into ruins
solely through carelessness, the stinginess
and selfishness of man. Such a man is a
murderer. Minneapolis Tribune.
The reckless manner of putting up build
ings is not confined to New York, although
there would seem to be more danger in its
indulgence there than in many other places.
With its experience in the Buddensiek build
ings such a fearful loss of life as that of Sat
urday was clearly avoidable. Washington
Star.
New York has been killing too many peo
ple In falling buildings of late, and there is
no better way to break it up than to punish
those responsible for these accidents. The
conviction of Buddensiek was a good start,
but it was1 not sufficient, as this Park Place
disaster shows very conclusively. New Or
leans Times-Democrat.
What public safety demands without de
lay is a general and critical inspection of all
buildings in this town in which large forces
of operatives and workmen are employed.
Ordinary methods of official examination
failed to disclose the instability of this
structure and the dangers and risks to which
its occupants were exposed. Something
much more radical and effective will be re
quired before public opinion will be" reas
sured. New York Tribune,
CUBI0US CONDENSATIONS;
There is an electric carpet-beater.
During 1890 there were built in the
United States 8,500 churches.
The value of the Argentine wheat crop
this season has been estimated at $60,000,000.
A Young lady in Gainsville, Tex., has
the longest hair in the world. It trail3on
the ground over four feet, and is of a beauti
ful red-gold color.
A well-known mineral water is toba
brought from the springs to Chicago by
glns pipes. The pipes will be surrounded
with an outer case of iron.
On the summit of Ben Bomond may be
seen the smallest tree that grows in Great
Britain. It is known as the dwarf willow,
and is, when mature, only about two Inches
in height.
Sjxty years ago only one public bank
ing company existed in London, and at the
Bank of England private accounts were at
that time opened rarely, and with the great
est difficulty.
Two accomplished Sanlt Ste. Mario
cows walk np stairs in the houses and mani
fest evidences of great enjoyment as they
view the surrounding landscape from tbo
second story windows.
The railroads if the country employ
700,003 men. Each year 'they lose '2,000 of
their number in killed, and 20,000 of them are
Injured annnally. It is estimated that 3,000,
000 people depend on these employes for a
living.
In a Southern hotel, it is stated, instead
of an electric bntton.evcry room, will have a
telephone connected with the office. Guests
will be able to communicate not only with
the office, but with their friends in other
rooms at wlIL
Dr. Clement, who was treating a hone
nt Betzer, Hinsdale county, supposed to be
in bad shape, discovered a tooth growing
out of the animal's ear. The strange ivory
was Jerked, out and the suffering animal
promptly recovered.
The great "Soo" Canal accumulates a
trade far in excess of that which passes
through the Suez Canal. Some idea of its
immensity can be gathered from tho fact
that closing a lock for three davs caused to
shippers a loss of more than $1,000,000.
Lepers in India were treated with shock-,
ing inhumanity before Christianity entered
that country. Many of them were buried
alive. The English rulers have put a stop
to this custom, and for fourteen years there
has been a special Christian mission to tho
135,000 lepers in India.
A handful of raw pig iron, weighing
about five pounds, is worth 5 cents; it would
make about sixty table knife blades, worth
$15; converted into steel watch springs,
there would be about 110,200 of these little
coils, which, nt the rate of $1.75 a dozen,
would be valued at $16,070.83.
The lobster is greatly in dread of
thunder, and when the peals are very loud
numbers of them drop their claws and swim
away for deeper water. Any great fright
may also induce them to drop their claws.
But new cUws begin at once to grow, and in
a short time are as large as the oid ones, and
covered with hard shells. The lobster often
drops its shell, when it hides nntil tho new
shell is hard enongh to protect it.
The Censns Bureau has Issued a bulletin
giving the assessed value of real and per
sonal property in the United States. This
shows the total assessed value in 1S90 was
$M.249,B89,S0i. an increase since 1SS0 or $7,346,
606.2131, an amount equivalent to the true
valuoof all the property as returned by tho
census of 1S50. The absolute wealth of the
Nation is estimated at $B2.610,0O0.C0O. or $1,000
per capita, as against $870 per capita in 1&0.
A collection of Eskimo works of art,
made by Assistant Superintendent Edward
of tho cryolite mines at Arsuk Fiord, Green
land, is described by John K. Spears in
Nature. It includes candlesticks, cigar
holders, ash receiver, anchors, paper
weights, etc., made of green stone. The
articles were all made to sell to the Danish
rulers, for the Eskimo themselves have no
use for ornamental art; but they show con
siderable skill in sculpture.
The rate of travel of thunder-storms
has been studied by Herr Schronrock from
the record of 197 such storms in Russia in
18SS. The velocity is found to have varied
from 13 to SO miles an hour, w 1th a mean of
2S.6 miles an hour In the hot season and in
creasing to 32 miles an hour in the cold sea
son. It was least In the eirly morning, in
creasing to a maximum between 9 and 10 p.
m. The storms traveled most quickly from
southwest, west and northwest.
In the general report of the commission
in Prussia in charge of mining matters,
which has recently been published, the com
missioners state that in their opinion elec
tricity Is perfectly safe for mine use, pro
vided care is taken to see that conductors
are properly insulated, lamps well protected
and the current not too intense. A more
extensive use of electricity in mines would
be possible were a portable electric lamp
devbied combining simplicity, duration of
power and cheapness.
Valley City, K. D., has, it is said, ono
of the most extraordinary specimens of
horse flesh in existence. lie Is a sorrel,
stands fully 19 hands, or 6 feet 4 inches from
floor to withers; his legs are 3 feet 6 inches
before tonching the body, and a small
broncho can easily walk under him. A man
6 feet In height can't see oyer his back, even
when standing on tiptoe. In length he is
fully 13 feet, or 17 feet Irom tip of nose to tip
of tail. When standing with his head as or
dinarily checked up a six-foot man, by 'stand
ing on tiptoe, can just touch the base of his
The Lake of Gennesareth, called also
the Sea of Galilee, etc., situated in Palestine,
65 miles north of the Dead Sea, is pear
shaped. The 'greatest width is 6 miles; its
extreme length is 15 miles. The Jordan en
ters It muddy at the north, and passes ont
clear nt tho south. The natural features of
thelako are neither various nor especially
attractive. Tho chief interest connected
with It Is that Christ passed much of Ills
time on Its shores. It abounds in the best
kinds of flsh, which made the southern part
of it particularly noted as a fishing ground.
The towns around it in former times nro
now mostly in ruins.
The magnitude of the figures concern
ing the operations of the railways of tho
United States in 1800, presented in Poor's
Manual is indeed wonderful. When lc is re
membered that the total revenue of tha
United States for the year ending June 30,
1691, was $392,500,03) the vastness of tha
earnings of tho railroads, $1,030,000,000, may
porhaps be better appreciated. The net
earnings of the roads, $341,000,000 almost
equal the gross receipts of the UnitedStates.
And then as to truffle, it i3 hard forthe mind
to grasp the figures. About 1,500,000 passen
gers a day, and every day in the year, almost -2,000,000
tons of freight per day and an aver
age of revenue train mileage of over 5,000,000
per day.
HHYNKLED BIITMFXETS.
"I'm living off my wits now," he said
proudly.
"I thought so," she replied quietly. "Why
don't yo try to live on them awhUef" Washing
ton Star.
"There's a land that is fairer than day,
And one fellow who'U never get there
Is the party who tSkea your umbreUa away
Down herewhenthe day isn' t fair. "
Chicago Timet,
Bulfinch (argumentatively) MowJ X
like
Mabel (lnterruptlngly) What you like, MrBul
flnch. Is neither here nor there.
Bulfinch (suggestively) Pardon me, but it's
here. Boston Courier.
Have babies always cause to cry?
Is It a sin for sires to swear?
Do cats Tor prizes nightly vie?
Do bootlacks that we throw "get therer"
O prithee quickly let me know.
For I desire to swear and throw.
Borne IGa) Trtbvne,
"Where is that little actress now that you
used to be so'fond of?"
"Oh, we're no longer friends."
"Why, you used to say she was the dearest girl
In the world."
"So she was, and I say It yet. She was 10 dear
that she cost mo nearly aU I had.' Sew Tork
Press.
If a great big bridge were built across
The grewsome river Styx
And shades were allowed to pass It free
Wouldn't Charon be In a Hx?
Sew Tort Herald,
The Boston Girl I sincerely hope,
Charles, that my dlssertaUon did not have a somno-
lent effect. " ' '
The Boston Yonth Oh, I assure yon It did not. I
triedmybesttogoto sleep, but I couldn't. Bar
per'' 1 Magazine.
One of the guests at the wedding tendered
his congratulations and said he supposed' this
match, like an others, had been made in heaven.
"Why er Minnie and I first took to liking each
other." said the embarrassed young' bridegroom,
InSULouia-" Chicago Tribune- ,
I
dAirA
.1 .