Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, April 04, 1892, Page 4, Image 4

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    E2ES?St
1 --S - f TB-'
"twTIt '' 5"
4
tfHE PITTSBURG DISPATCH, MONDAY APRIL " 4. 1892.
Ie Bi$p;
turn
ESTABLISHED FKKKUAHY 8, 1S6
Vol. 7, jfo 57. -Entered at Tlttsbarg PostofflCe
November, 1857. as econd -class matter.
Business Office Corner Smithneld
and Diamond Streets,
News Rooms and Publishing House'
7S and So Diamond Street, in
New Dispatch Building.
FASTER ADVEITISINO OFFICE. ROOM TS.
TRIBUNE BUILDING. MW YORK, where com
plete HIeMrTHE DISPATCH can always be found.
Voreljrn advertisers appreciate tlie convenience.
Home advertisers and friends of THE DISPATCH,
while In New Yoik, arc also made welcome.
THE ITSPA TCI U resnlarlu an sale at Brentn.no' s.
f. Vniov .Sivare. -Veo To-k. and 17 Ave dsVVpTa,
Tarts. fr-mre. trhere anyone icltn Iris been ttli;
jTOtnted at a imtel netcs stand can ttltiain if.
TKKMs OF THE DISPATCH.
POSTAGE FREE IN" THE UXITXD STATES.
Daily DisrATCiL. One Tear. ?.S CO
DAILY Dispatch. Ter Quarter. 2 CO
Daily Iii'atcii, One Month TO
Dailt UisrATCit, Including Sunday, 1 year.. JO 01)
Daily Disr VTOH. Including Sanday.lm'ths. - 50
D atlt Dispatch. Including Sunday. 1 ra'th. SO
SrM iy Dispatch, One Year 2 V)
WEEKL-i Dispatch. One Year 1 25
The Daily Dispatch 1 delivered by carriers at
35 cents per week, or. Including Sunday Edition, at
TO ceet per week. -
MONDAY, APRIL 4, 1S32.
Ptrtlcs who have changed their residence
will please leave new address nt tlie bnsl
ness office, Jn order to Insure the uninter
rupted delltcry of Tho Dispatch to their
horns.
TOE XEIV COUNCILS.
Tlie now Councils will begin their term
to-day by a meeting which will probably
be devoted to the work of organization.
There is not much reason for expecting
that the new body will develop any very
marked chance of policy from that which
has previously obtained. But the inde
pendent clement is supposed to have been
reinforced, and its effect may be made
manifest before the year is closed.
The new hotly should commence the
year with a recognition that the time has
come for checking the growth of munici
pal expenditure. The rapid increase of
expenses and taxation in the past few
vcars has produced a great many improve
ments, none of which the people would
now wish unmade. But the outlook for
business and the ability of the people to
stand taxation justify a restriction rather
than expansion of the old scale of ex
penditure':. The necessary improvements
should be made on the basis of judicious
vMinmv mid If anv means appear of
laying up a surplus out of this year's rev
enues Councils should not fail to improve
the opportunity.
As a. means of checking the growth of
expenditure, as well as in common justico
to the tax-payers, the new Couucils should
take early steps to insure the reporting of
the next appropriation ordinance in time
to give all a full scrutiny and discussion of
its provisions.
A DISCREDITED CENSCS.
The disclosures with regard to the in
dustrial census of Philadelphia are calcu
lated to give the finishing blow to the rem
nants of public faith in the unfortunate
census of 1890. The assertions that the
census of Xew York City's population
was totally inadequate were received with
cold disfavor bv the administration on ac
count of Xew Tork's bad political charac
ter. When it is demonstrated that the
manufacturing census of Philadelphia was
so hopelessly padded that the best author
ities of that city discredited and exposed
it, the Census Bureau had little to do but
come down and make arrangements for
correction.
Tet this confusion leaves slight founda
tion for faith In the reliability of the cen
sus work. If the machinery of the Bureau
cannot provide an industrial census that
will stand examination, what reason
is there for faith in its ficurcs
on population? The latter work is
a hundred fold more exacting in
its requirements of thoroughness
and care to make accuracy reasonably cer
tain. The Dispatch has in the past re
ferred to the deductions from the vital
statistics and the immigration returns
which render the census total of 1890 an
absurdity. Those deductions, with ex
posure of incompetency in the Philadel
phia case and the charges of inadequacy
in New York, remove the foundation for
general faith in that enumeration.
There has been reason for believing that
the total of 239,000 population for Pitts
burg fell some 20,000 below the real total.
"With similar doubts affecting the census
all over the country, there is some founda
tion for establishing a permanent census
bureau and lettine it take a new census.
But a proviso should be attached that the
permanent bureau should have entirely
another management than the present
one.
TOO IIIGU-FKICED CODHlONi
The revival of the annexation agitation
in Canada is indicated by the fact that a
candidate for the Ontario Parliament is
standing in Toronto on the annexation
platform. This certainly carries the an
nexation movement to a more positive
length than ever before. But the scheme
of annexation presented by ilr. ilacdon
ald, the annexationist candidate, contains
one provision which may arouse some dis
tent on this side of the border. The con
ditions which lie proposes are:
1. The assumption by the Union of all pub
lic debts, Dominion, provincial and munici
pal. 2. The deepening and 'widening of tho St.
Lawrence, Welland and other canals so a9 to
admit any or all ocean vessels to all tho
principal lake ports, and tho construction of
the Lake Huron and Ontario Ship Canal
-Kith a like object,
S. The admission and recognition of each
piovince as a sovereign State of the Union.
The admission of the provinces as States
would seem to be a matter of course, ex
cept that the question might arise with
reference to Quebec whether the United
States can admit a State with a church
supported by its government a proposi
tion utterly opposed to our system, but to
which the French of that province are
passionately pledged. The deepening of
the Welland and St Lawrence canals
would be a matter of courtc, but the
United States might be allowed a little
discretion as to whether the Hennepin,
tle Ohio River and Lake Erie, or the Xew
York canal projects do not come first in
importance. But when it comes to the
assertion that the United States must
assume all public debts, whether Domin
ion, provincial or municipal, it seems
tii" to interpose an .exception.
There would be justice in assuming tho
Dominion debt, inasmuch as under the
Union the Canadians would have to help
pay our .national debt But the far greater
proportion of the Canadian debt to popu
lation and wealth would make this a de-.
cidedly long price to pay. But to assume
the provincial and municipal debts of
Canada is something for which there is no
more reason than for the Federal Govern
ment to assume all the State and city debts
of the present nation. If that were done
for the purpose of giving all States and
cities a fair start there would still be a
decided inequality. Pennsylvania, for in
stance, has practically no State debt now;
yet Pennsylvania would have to pay about
one-fif teerith of the taxation required to
discharge the other State debts that would
be assumed under this arrangement It
would oof be wise to burden annexation
on this side of the border with a condition
so palpably inequitable.
Our Canadian friends should under
stand that we do not yearn for Canada so
hungrily that we are willing to load our
selves up with debt and taxes for the
Canadian benefit Annexation must come
on terms of equality to both countries, or
notatalL
THE GS.S QUESTION.
The future of the gas supply of Pitts
burg forms the subject of an interesting
local interview In this issue. The gist of
the interview, after correcting the state
ment that artificial gas is now being mixed
with the natural gas supply, is that the
day of artificial gas is likely to come in the
future, but when it does it will cost more
than the natural fuel. If that is so the
use of gas will decrease, as it will be put
clearly and unmistakably on the basis of a
luxury. At present prices Pittsburg coal
burned in our old economic grates is a
cheaper fuel for steady fires than natural
gas in the most approved stoves. If the
difference is increased the great mass of
the people will return to coal, as a large
share of them did during the past winter,
and the gas fuel business will be corre
spondingly decreased.
But when this view is supported by the
assertion that manufactured gas costs SI
per thousand there is room for question
ing the conclusion. Manufactured gas
costs 90c?l 00 to consumers who use it in
small quantities. It Is well known that
the cost of manufacture is very much less.
How much less it is will be most definitely
determined when it becomes a question
whether the companies shall sell it in large
quantities at a low price or let their plant
in pipes stand idle. But some indication
is given on the point by the fact that manu-'
f actured gas companies in Pittsburg have
already offered to furnish gas for fuel
purposes at fifty cents per thousand
which is practically a prohibitory price. ,
The gas fuel problem for the future will
present itself In this form: Coal burned
in grates wastes a large percentage of its
heat The same coal converted into gas,
with a by-product of coke, can be burned
so as to utilize nearly all the heat Com
panies already possessing the pipes lor
distribution ought to be able to make this
saving produce them a good dividend at
prices which will make gas as cheap as
coal and jrive the consumer the advantage
of freedom from dirt We expect confi
dently to see this done if the day should
come when there is a final and conclusive
inadequacy of the natural gas supply.
At present, however, that day is not in
sight The developments of new terri
tory convey the promise that for years to
come there will be enough gas to supply
the demand for domestic purposes at
present prices.
A FACTITIOUS DESTRUCTION.
Some tima ago The Dispatch remarked
that the opponents of the trolley system
exaggerated its dangers while its support
ers went as far in the other direction. A
striking example oE the former class is
presented in the newspapers of Philadel
phia, where a hot debate over the use of
the trolley in the streets has been going
on.
The example is that of a list of acci
dents, published first by a Boston paper,
attributed to the trolley system of Boston
from December 1 to March 25, inclusive.
This list, headed "The Deadly Trolley,"
and comprising 29 accidents ranging from
the fatal to the slight, looks on the face of
it rather serious, and is presented as a
proof of the danger of adopting that sys
tem. But when the character of the list
is closely examined a very different com
plexion is put upon it by the fact that of
the whole 29 only four are in any way at
tributable to electricity. The other 23
were collisions and knock-downs such as
would attend carelessness in the use of
any power to accelerate the speed of any
surface cars.
As the indictment is directed against the
trolley wires, it is well to examine into its
exact character. Of the four accidents
attributable to electricity, not one was
fatal to human life. Two consist of cars
taking fire from imperfect insulation, and
one consists of a shock to a patrolman,
both of which could have occurred if the
cars had been propelled by storage bat
teries or underground wires. So that the
long list of destruction by "the deadly
trolley" in Boston simmers down to ex
actly one case in which a trolley wire fell
and killed a horse.
One such case, however, is enough to
show that the trolley wire is not all that
could be wished. But it is a long Vay off
from the portrayal of horror indicated by
the presentation of the full list as an ex
ample of tho deadly work of the trolley
system.
AGAINST THE puke food bill
The Paddock pure food bill, which has
passed the Senate and has been reported
favorably to the House, receives a broad
side from numerous esteemed cotempora
ries who, after the two years in which the
bill has been before Congress, have come
to the conclusion that it is a bad thing.
One of our exchanges calls It "a fraud
food bill," which, as its purpose is to pre
vent fraud in food staples, is a correct
name in another sense than was intended.
The great ground of objection to the
bill is stated to be that it creates a food
section in the chemical division of the
Agricultural Department, and, says a co
temporary, "every article of food and
every drug prepared for shipment to an
other State must be tested by the agents
of the section." If this statement is accu
rate, the bill deserves defeat; but before
accepting that conclusion as final, it may
be well to examine the text of the meas
ure. It might appear that the require
ment applied only to food and drug prep
arations like oleomargarine or Smith's
elixir, in which there is an opportunity
for deception as to the ingredients.
The looseness of statement indulged in
by those Who are attacking the bill, war
rants some doubt as to the opposition be
ing well-founded. Thus a Philadelphia
cotemporary says, in, asserting that State
laws are sufficient toVegulate the subject
of food: "In this State there are certain
laws about food. It is obligatory, for in
stance, to stamp oleomargarine for just
what it is and not sell It for butter." Now
it happens to be the fact that the State
law on oleomargarine makes no such pro
vision as that asserted. The provision re
ferred to is the much abused Federal
stamp ,tax. The State law utterly pro
hibits the manufacture and sale of oleo
margarine, and a complete dead letter it
is at that In addition, those of our co
temporaries who assert the sufficiency of
State regulation should remember that
the precious court-made constitutional
law laid down In the Inter-State original
package decision will prevent the enforce
ment of any State regulations on food or
drug preparations put up in other States.
If the Paddock bill contains any danger
ous or extreme provisions It should be de
feated. But the evil of frauds and decep
tions in food and medical preparations has
grown to 6Uf h an extent that some very
decided measures are needed to stop It
That suit against Da Lesseps for un
loading on the Panama Canal Company tho
entire stock of the Panama Railway, worth
$100 per share, at the price of $203, has u very
strong resemblance to some .of our great
railway financial operations. The parallel
Is not diminished by the disclosure df tho
fact that the same great banking firms, who
got up railway combinations and issue
orders thnt no. competing railroads shall be
built in this country, conducted the Panama
deal But how pained these eminent finan
ciers will be to learn that the French courts
regard such operations as criminal.
Thousands of people enjoyed April's
mildness yesterday. Bnt there Is In its
warmth the food for a refleotion that it may
make the frosts further on additionally
destructive.
TriE materialization of President Harri
son's alleged avowal that fie Is not a candi
date for retiomination appears in tho New
York Tribune, to the extent of some columns
of quotations from the President's pub
lic utterances. An important, though
perhaps not singular, omission is in
the failure to quote any of the
President's well remembered remarks in fa
Tor of taking all of tho Government offices
entirely out of politics.
The statement that ammonia In baking
powder causes discoloration of tho nose will
furnish a new excuse lor thousands of mis
judged citizens with highly colored nasal
organs.
IF the New Orleans cotton fire had oc
curred a few months ago, instead of yester
day, the advocates of cereal crops in the
South would not hare been so outspoken.
Thebig blaze will undoubtedly send prices up
and those who were able to hold their bales
for a rainy day will now be in favor of In
creasing, Instead ot diminishing tho acre
age, trusting to luck by fire or water to pull
them out of the hole. For such is human
nature.
The expected has happened. A feud be
tween the Smiths and Browns has broker,
out in Kentucky. Measured by the number
interested it will be an endless war.
The report from the classic region of Osh
kosh. Wisconsin, that the lumbermen cf that
section have got up a combination in tlie
logging business is calculated to create sur
prise by the intimation that Senator Sawyer,
of that State, has permitted timber to get
away from him, in sufficient quantity to get
up a combination with.
The Ulster Tories seem to he taking
pains that there shall be no possible mis
take about their position as disunion Union
ists. Totten's judgment-day prophecy is
suiely working. Since the 20th of March
inland's free silver bill has been killed, Sen
ator Cullom has withdrawn from tho Prest
dental race, another war cloudhasliftedand
Cleveland has made a speech. This is enough
to convince even tho most skeptical.
It begins to look as if, whoever else may
bo doing the talking. Quay is getting the
delegates and legislative nominations.
When Mr. F. W. Peck, of the "World's
Fair Committee on Finance, in a Xew Tork
lnterviow, gets his estimate of the total cost
of the Fair up to $31,000,000, tho public at
largo mav be pardoned for putting In an
alarmed inquiry whether that wonderful to
tal will ever stop growing.
France is expelling the Anarchists. It's
time for .tho United States to pull In its
drawbridge and close the portcullis.
The challenge in Rhode Island for Mc
Kinley to debate the tariff with Campbell
indicates that it is still an open question who
got the best of the former debate. Bat that
being the case, would another debate bring
us any nearer a decisive settlement of that
all-important pointT
IT must have made a pretty plctnre
Mr. Cleveland cnlightening'ProVidence with
words of political wisdom.
If the country gets worked up over an
election in little Rhode Island, what will be
the pressure per square inch whon the
campaign takes in forty-three other States,
most of them containing connties that are
bigger than the present seat of war?
Senator Cullom had a great advantage
over some other Presidental candidates,
lie knew whon to quit.
There Is a large amount of talk in these
days about roads that lead to the White
House and those along which millionaires
tread their weary way, but the kind of a
road the farmer wants is one that can be
used when the frost leaves the ground.
It looks very much as if Hill will have
to rido over two C's before he can capture
that nomination.
Matthew Stanley Quay appears by
his declaration in favor of closing the
World's Fair on Sundays to be cultivating
friendly relations with Elder Shepard and
the Administration.
Query: Will the reorganization of the
rubber trust give tho anti-trust law a greater
elasticity?
It has been suspected for some time that
Hades is not far off from West Virginia. The
belief is now confirmed by the statement
that water boils in a hole only 5,162 feet deep
atParkersburg.
So iar as the returns are made, all the
Hill towns are lor Cleveland.
The man who can foretell what a grand
jury will do is gifted with a genins too great
to waste in the Wild "West. Superintendent
Byrnes, of New York, has a good placo for
just such a man.
NOTES ABOUT NOTABLES.
United States Consul Buick, with
his family, has arrived at Sonneburgandhas
assumed charge of the office.
Superintendent Blood, of the Cam
den and Atlantic Railroad system, was 20
years ago a water boy on the Long Island
road.
Ex-Senator Boom, of California, who
shocked his friends not long ago by marry
ing his housekeeper, Is now dying of cancer
of tho tongue.
Prof. Felix Adler, of New York, is in
Berlin. His visit is made for the purpose of
studying tho system of manual training iu
use in the German schools.
TnE Queen of Portugal is the most dressy
lady in Europe. She buys costumes, bon
nets and hats wholesale. Her pale complex
ion and auburn hair permit of any kind of
headgear.
Bourke Cockban is said to have a
habit of jingling a bunch of koys so loudly,
while some other Congressman is deluging
tho House with rhetoric, that they rattle
like castanets.
Mrs. Chapman Coleman, wife of the
American Charge d' Affaires, has left Ger
many Tor England. She will sail from
Southampton ou the ISthinst. Her destina
tion is Keutuoky.
Messrs. W. a Edgar and E. J. Phelps,
of Minneapolis, have gone to Libau to at
tend to the distribution of the supplies for
Russian famine sufferers sent from 'tho
United States on the steamship Missouri.
PITTSBURG IN THE MAGAZINES.
fwjtrrrisK ron thz DisPATcn.
Pittsbubo makes an excellent showing
in tho April magazines. After all, the su
preme produot of Pittsburg is not a steel
rail nor a cut glass dish. The best boast that
we have' I the prime quality of our men and
women. There are no pictures of PittBburg
in the April magazines, but there are sev
eral remarkable piottlres by a Pittsburg
man, and there aro ugood many notable pic
tures Illustrating an article written by
another Pittsburg man.
Unfortunately, neither of these eminent
PIttsburgers lives In Pittsburg. One of them
makes his homo in New York and the other
in Boston. They find more advantages and
more opportunities away from home. That
is one of the municipal, defects which wo
ought somehow to get mended. We need all
tho good men we can have, and we need
them right here. More and more, I rejoice
to believe, the town is getting td be an eligi
ble residence oven for people wtioe chief
purpose is not the translation of days into'
dollars. We are reading moro, and thinking
,morc, and appreciating more, and so making
this murky atmosphere more congenial for
people who have a taste for books and an'
ability to write them, and we cannot only
appreciate, but can even paint pictures.
It is true that a tour of our parlors and
private galleries still shows a significant
Absence of Pittsburg names in the cornors of
the frames. We are not yet quito converted
from the small boy's idea that in order to
catch very large fish wo must go very far
awny from home. Our loan exhibitions
make it quite ovident that we buy pictures
for their autographs inther than for their
beauty. Alas, Tor the reputations of tho
"masters." if all their works outside of Pitts
burg should be consigned to some revolu
tionary bonfire! It is not likely that any
town of our size in the United States has
more eminent names signed to moro atroci
ous potboilers than we havo.
Pittsbargers Coming to tho Front.
Nevertheless, we are getting to
realize the faot, which has long seemed too
good to be trne, that theie are men and
women resident beneath this smoky sky,
who can paint piotures that are worth any
body's attontion. When we all wake up to
this discovery, and begin to spend onr
picture money for Pittsburg pictures, then
our young men who dream dreams and seo
visions, and catch the gleams of them on
canvas, will not need to move nway.
It is now nearly n dozen years ago that I
saw here in Pittsburg a collection of the
paintings of John Alexander. They were
not being shown to the general public, and
the general public of that day might not
have been interested In them. Thoy wero at
the house of n frlond of mine, who is still a
well known and useful citizen of this town.
who had tho Dlesscd good fortuno to dis
cover John Alexander, lie found him, I be
lieve, as a sohoolboy, somewhere in tho East
End, or perhaps still farther out along the
line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. And be
coming nware that tho wise Providence,
who knows so much better than we do what
is best, had bestowed an Aloxandor tho gilt
of genius, but not the gift of wealth, ho has
tened, as he told me, to do the service
which was thus suggested to him.
What a fine thing it is that none of us has
everything he needs! That would put a
stop to all the fraternal rninisterlcs that
make the best part or our life.
Thus John Alexander, who to-day in Now
York can get for his pictures almost any
sum ho chooses to ask, got his first start. Ho
had Just come-back from Europe when I saw
htm. There is a picture of his that I olten
see, a Venetian street at noonday. And I
remember how he described his sitting oat
in the hot sun for a good many days to paint
it. The sun of deserved snecess has been
shining very warmly on John Alexander
ever since.
All this is apropos of Alexander's picture
of Walt Whitman whioh makes a frontis
piece for Harper't, aud of another little
glimpse of Whitman, heading a poem now
especially notable by reason of the poet's
death. Walt Whitman is depioted in this
little sketch with the face and whiskers of
great Jove himself an American Jupiter in
eyoglassesi
Another Xame on Our Scroll.
The other Pittsburger is Bobert Woods,
of whom I have already more than once
mado mention in my Monday Homily.
Woods has the leading article in Scribncr's,
heading the series of papers which that
magazine announces on tho life of the poor
in great cities.
I see that somebody has objected to this
series beforehand, from a mere reading of
tho titles, on the ground that it deals with
tho symptoms and not with tho disease.
There is much to be said, the critic com
plains, about tho condition of the sub
merged classos, but nothing concerning
remedies.
It is well, one would think, to get all the
facts before one proceeds to construct a
theory. The doctor, I believe, begins his
study of the case with a diagnosis. What is
the matter with tho patlentt Where are
the palnB, and what sort of pains are theyT
How goes the pulse and the heart and the
temperature? Thon the doctor may guess
at tho disease, and hazard a conjecture as
to tho remedy.
That, I understand, is the purpose of theo
articles. How do the poor actually live in
our great citiesT Aro they as badly off as
some people say? That is what we wan' to
know upon the very threshold of the consid
eration, whether of prevention or of cure.
And to this, in tho case of London, Robert
Woods addresses himself in his article, "Tho
Social Awakening of London."
What Is Needsd Here.
I AM glad to learn that the Charity Or
ganization Society, which in London takes
the place of our Society for the Improve
ment of the Poor, has so approved Itself to
tho reason and conscience of tho citizens
that "It is almost a part of popular ethics in
London to rofrain from giving without due
investication." That is what wo need hero.
The Charity Organization Society has to
contend with a great deal of mistaken senti
ment. People have considered it a way of
helping the poor by machinery, of giving a
enp of cold water at the end of a pair of
cold tongs. It does away, thoy say, with the
personal element of direct kindness and in
terest without whioh charity belles its
name. The same objootlon is made to the
Society for the Improvement of tho Poor.
and is always made wherever there is an
endeavor to put down mondicanoy by or
ganization. But it is forgotten that the organization is
only meant, or chiefly meant, to deal with
the unknown beggar nt the door. It rests
upon tho assumption, which in Its turn rests
upon experience, that, in transactions with
this kind ,of mendicancy, neither tho re
ceiver nor the giver can bo trusted. The re
ceiver of alms is probably getting the alm9
on false pretences, and tho giver is probably
deceived.
People aro both credulous and kind
hearted. They are, in a majority of cases,
unqualified to judge whether this gift will
beoueof tho ninety-nine which is a harm
to the receivor, and a malediction to
all honest poverty, or wbother it is the
hundredth which will do real good. In such
a caso,.there is need of genuine investiga
tion whioh will amount to something.
Personal acquaintance, direct kindness,
ministration of hand to hand, which is the
idcnl form of benefaction, has plenty of
room and scope in cases that ought to be
known to all of us whore both worth and
poverty are matters of our own observation.
Charily Helpful to the Rich.
I AM sorry to learn from Mr. Woods'
artlole that the People's Palace has failed
somewhat of onr exalted expectations. The
Drapers' Company, one of the medieval
trades unions grown venerable and aristo
cratic with its inherited wealth, has given a
great deal of money to the enterprise, and
seems to be thinking a little more about
the glory of the Drapers' Company than ot
the good of the people one of the most in
sidious 'temptations known to charity. On
the circulars, Mr. Woods says, they have
'Drapers' Company's Institute" In large
letters, and "The People's Palaoe" in small.
However, that good work is still accom
plishing great good, and may presently even
oonvcrt the Drapers' Company. It does not
seem to be remembered that one ot the ben
efits even or the most blundering charity is
its help to the rich. It does people good to
give, whether it helps anybody else or not. '
And anyhow, we havo the book that built
Yt Ouinl.t. Pol... it .11 On.., anrl Vmril.
1 to ouild & 'dozen other palaces of delight.
duu u biiu eiuc 01 21, also uy t niter jjcauitv,
is "Children of Gfbeon," another novel of
London poverty, Inst as dramatic, as Inter
esting, as delightfully written, and as help,
fu) as the book that built the palace. It is
not yet too late, I hope, to add this to the
list of sociological novels which t ventured,
a few weeks ago. to recommend as i good
books for common-sense, devotional reading
during these days of Lent.
BUDDHISM DOES KOI BUD.
Not Enough Occnlt (peculators Tarn Up to
Form a Society.
New York, .April 8. For the past three or
four months thoro has been more or less
talk of the establishment of a Buddhist tem
ple in this olty, but It now turns out that all
this talk was based upon a mlnpprehension
of the object sought by a group of pcoplo
deslrou of studying tho peculiar doctrines
or Buddhism in a purely scientific and in
vestigating spirit. To this end they en
deavored to form a society, and Dr. Rod
rigncs O'Holentrni, tho prime mover in tho
matter, was delegated to send out
circulars inviting seekers after truth
to become members. The motto of
the organization was to be, "Shun
falsehood, however glittering and edifying,
and seek tho sober truth." "This was at the
becrinning of Inst December," said Dr.
O'Holongni tho other day, "and I was sur
prised to havo so manv people writing to
mo under the misapprehension that I was
seeking to establish a Buddhist church. Our
plans had not gone nenrlv o far as that. All
wn proposed win a society for the discussion
of Buddhism. In the correspondence, too, I
was gcncrallv referred to as n Buddhist,
which I nm not. To he a member of a Bud
dhist societv does not mean that I am a Bud
dhist, any more than it follows that I must
be apoet'because 1 belong to n Shakespeare
society.
"It is quite surprising tho number of peo
ple who take an interest in Buddhism. I
had a largo nnmber of letters from Boston.
Philadelphia and all the large cities, and
many from smaller plaocs in the West.
Mo9t of them were ready to contribute to
the establishment of a society such as that
proposed Itjmt happened, however, that I
was too busy at the time to give proper at
tention to the matter, and no one elso came
forward to take itnn. Tho weak point in
the undcrtaklngwastlie few repiios obtained
to our circnlav from peonlo of this olty.
Tills decided us to give tho matter up at
least for a time. I have Btill hopes that such
a societv will be formed, and I shall bo
pleased to be a member of it, for as a stndv
and a subject for the lnterohango of thousht
no subject is so engrossingly interesting as
Buddhism."
"Then yon aid not sucoced in forming
your society?"
"No, beaiuse so few New Yorkers evinced
an interest in it, and I presume this is partly
accounted for in the fact that tho Theosoph
Ical Society gathers in most of the inquiring
minds who have a bent In the direction of
such studies. Had the society lieen formed
it would have been one of simple inquiry.
Buddhism, which Jinx Midler, the irrcat
German nnthoi, declares to be tho religion
of 450,000,000 people, would first have beon
stripped of tlie phllosonhlcnl and ethical
teachings of Siduhnrtlm Gautarna and the
mvsttclsm which has gathered about It at
dlffeient tirnosnnd dllTcrent countries, and
been examined in its eailypuritv It is ac
knowledged by the whole civilized woi id
that this relizion was originally simple,
ethical and rational, and, indeed, opposed to
all mytholozv, scholasticism, eeromonics
and priestcraft. Its leading doctrine is that
ns soon as Bin is uprooted infinite knowledge
opens; that salvation is obtainable by purity
ol conduct.
PEESEEVING THE F0BESIS.
A Measure That Will Bo or Great Benefit U
It Is Carried Intc Effect.
San Francisco Chronicle.
A bill has been presented to tho Congres
sional Joint Snb-Committeo on Agricultnro
and Forestry and Pnblio Lands which will
probably be adopted unanimously by the
committee. The bill is for the protection
and preservation of tho public foiosts of tho
United States, and relates to all lands which
have beon or may be sot aside as forest res
ervations. It provides for the establish"
ment in tho Interior Department of a Com
missioner of Forests, who shall be given as
sistants enough to enable him to preservo
the forests against depredations of every
kind. In order that the spare wood and
timber may be utilized prozlsion is made for
cutting under licenses to be issued to proper
persons nt fixed rates, nil work to be carried
on unde- tho supervision of the Commis
sioner of Forests and his employes, and fnll
power being given to enforce the law in all
its bearings.
Such a measnro as this will be of incalcu
lable value if its provisions be carried ont in
good faith. It Is not only sure to preserve
the forests, but it prevents the acquisition
or timber rights by corporations and rich
men to the exclusion of men of moderate
means. The only weak spot about tho bill is
that the Commissioner oi Forests will have
to rely almost entirely upon the vigilance
and integritv of his assistants; bnt this is no
more than tho Commissioner of Internal
Revenue has to do, and the affairs of that
department are conducted extremely well,
ns a rule. It is quite time that the united
States took care of tho forest reservations,
and the bill under consideration should
pass without a dissenting vote. -Heretofore
the forests havo been public property In tho
broadest sense, the consequence being that
the wanton waste and destruction of timber
has been enormous. The Govornment.owes
it to the present and succeeding generations
to preserve at least the lomnants of "God's
first temples."
ALIVE WITH HIS HEAET EXPOSED.
A Circular Saw Gets In Its Work, bnt Falls
to Kill.
REiNnoLP's Statiox, Pa., April 3. Benja
min Bennetoh, of this plaoo, aged 25 years,
whose left sido was lipped open by a circular
saw in a mill in Lebanon county, is living
with his heart exposed.
Tho cut is ten inches long, and n number
of ribs wero sovered. Small pieces weio
nlso cut fioin each lobe of his liver. Tho
doctors have hopes for his recovery.
DEATHS HERE AND ELSEWHERE.
Ephrnlm Bnfltngtop, Elttnnning.
Kphrnim Biifiington, one ot the oldest
members of the Armstrong County Bar. died Sat
urday evening last at his home In Elttannlng. For
several mouths past he had been suffering from
stomach trouble aud for more than two weeks ho
was uunble to retain uny nourishing food. For
tunafely he snffered no great'pain. EphraimBuf
flugton was born about 70 years ago near Sharps
burg, In Pine Creek towmhlp, Allegheny county,
where his grandfather, a Quaker, who came from
Chester county, had settled about 1312. John Bur
lington, his father, died when he was quite young
and he went to Klttannlug to lire with his uncle
Joseph, the late Judge. After taking a course of
study at JefTerson College, Cannoasuurg, he read
law with ids uncle and subsequently was associated
with him lu the practice of tho law. He married
Margaret, a daughter of Chambers Orr, a well
known resident of Klttaunlng. They had six chil
dren. tw. of them bovs Joseph, unw Juue of the
United States District Court of this district, and
Orr, avoune member of tho Armstrong County
Bar. In the early days he was what was known as
an "old line Whig"- and later as an "Abolition
ist'" a Republican, beluga member or the great
Convention which was held In Lafayette Hall,
where the Republican party got its grea'cst boom.
He was ardent In hi support of the new party, and
on tlie stump and through the press he assisted In
tljrhtlnK the early h ittles of freedom. With equal
foice during the war he sustained the administra
tion or Lincoln. For a time he was Provost Mar
shal of Armstrong countv. and afterward con
nected with the internal Revenue Department.
Some ten or more vears ago ho retired from active
practice of the law. Always fond of a rural life
and of outdoor exercise, he took personal charge
of a large farm near Klttannlng. .Ha took tlje
liveliest Interest in all agricultural affairs and vis
ited his lands,dally; so In time his became one of the
best managed farms in Western PennsTlvanla.
Kphralm Bumngton's word was as good as his bond.
Truthful iu all his assertions, honest In everything
he did. he won and held the respect of his neigh
bors and friends.
Frank Wells, Steabonvllle.
Frank Wells, the lost" living man con
nected with Steubenvllle'e earliest history, died at
the Wells homestead yesterday, aged 79 years.
His father, Beyaleel Wells, laid out the cities or
Stoubcnvlllc, Canton and Wcllsvllle, and to this
day the old town graveyard In Canton belongs to
the Wells family. Mr. Wells was the last W hlg
postmaster of Steubeuyllle ft-oni 1S to 12. Frank
Wells was well versed In the early history of his
county, and had in his possession a diary handed
down by his father, who had been a great traveler
in the days when traveung was dangerous in Ohio.
The diary is now very valuable, giving as it does
the complete history of Eastern Ohio.
Obituary Notes.
William P. Mixer, a prominent citizen of
Wltkeabarro. and founder or the Wllkesbarre
Xecord, died yesterday; aged 76 years. ,
Jacob B. Le Feviie died on Saturday at the
Wllklnsburg Home for Aged Men. He was 73
years old. and a member or the One Hundred and
Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers.
Rev. C. S. Hodoxs. D. D., one of the most
noted ministers In the South Protestant Episcopal
Church, died at New Orleans yesterday, aged M
years. Last August ha celebrated his slxtlctu an
niversary as a minister.
CHECK TO OVER-PRODUCTION.
The Collapse of the Free Coinage Craze
Failure of Legislation to Slake or Un
niako Valnes Matthew MirshaU's
Weekly Topical Article.
jrrrciAi. TELrmiAM to thb ptSFATfin.t
New York, April 3. "The check to over
production," is the title of Matthew Mar
shall's article for to-morrow's Sun, which 13
as follows;
The diasronls whioh I made last Monday
of tho future of silver has beon confirmed by
events, so far, at least, as relate to tho ac
tion of the present Congress. The attempt
to retrieve tie defeat of the free coinage
bill in the House of Representatives has
been abandoned, and a canvass of the
Senate indicates that the measure will fall
there, too, whenever it is brought to a vote.
What the people supposed to be most im
mediately Interested in It think of its pros
pects is shown by the news which came on
Saturday from Colorado, that a number or
silver mines which have boon worked hith
erto nt a loss in tho expectation thatafico
coinage act would bo passed, havu been
shut down, and that a large quantity of in
'sot silver, which had been held b.ick In tho
same expectation, will now be offered for
salo ,
Many advocates of rreo sliver coinago as
sert that its adoption by this comitry nlono
would lestore silver to its former relutivo
value to gold, and all of them agree that ic
would bo sure to do so If, the other civilized
nntions would join with us In adopting it.
Undoubtedly, if tho whole commercial
world should accept 15, 16, 20 or anv other
nnmbor of ounces of silver as the equivalent
or one onnco ofgold, that would ho sufficient
to establish the ratio. All values aro fixed
by common consent, and the cm rent prices
or tho market merely record that consent as
ascertained by actual transactions.
Tho Failure of Law to Slake Vnlnes.
It is surprising that faith In the power'of
legislation to contiol the relative values of
gold and silver should be so strong as it is in
the face of the repeated failuros ot attempts
to regulate thus tho values of otlier com
modities. Not long ago a wealthy and power
ful combination of European capitalists set
about buying all the copper iu the world
and selling it again at a higher price. For a
time they succeeded, and copper went up,
bnt it stdld up only longonough to stimulate
its production and diminish Its consumption,
until it accumulated upon their hands to an
amount beyond their ability to hold it. Then
came the Inevitable reaction, and the com
bination broke to pieces. The result would
have been the same If tho operation had
been conducted by a Government Instead of
by private persons, though it might have
been longer In coming about.
That the fall in the value of silver as
measured In gold has been due to an in
cioased production of silver ns compared to
that ofgold does not, to my mind, admit or
a reasonable doubt. Putting the proposition
in a reversed form and saying that the sup
ply of gold has boon diminishing wbilo that
of sliver has lemained unchanged, does not
invalidate its truth. Tho fact remains thnf,
whereas, 15 years ago one ounco of gold
would buy only 15 or 16 ounces of silver, it
will now buy 2t ounces, and the cotem
poraneons fact, that the annual production
of silver has increased from about 100,000,000
ounces to 15O.OCO.C0O ounces, while that of
gold has remained stationary, may reason
ably be accepted as tho explanation of it.
Our Government, by buying and storing sil
ver away to the extent of 5t.COO,0On ounces a
year, and to that extent diminishing the
supply, has hitherto kept the price of it
above its natural levol, bnt it has not suc
ceeded In preventing its decline altogether.
Must Snbmlt to the Inevitable.
It follows from this that the exchange
able value of silver has to submit to the in
evitable, and that the sooner all efforts to
bolster it up by legislation or by any other
artificial interference are abandoned, and
the metal left to its fate, tho sooner will it
cease to be a disturbing factor in finance.
Tho cotton planters of the South are suffer
ing this year equally wun ne silver miners
from overproduction. Tho statisticians at
Washington estimate that tho crop is 2,000,
000 bales laigerthan the worlddeniandsnna
the price of the staple in consequence de
clined to the lowest point it has touched lor
a long time. Very properly, tho planters. In
stead of calling upon Congress to legislate
for their relief, propose to help themselves.
Next year, thoy say, those who cannot afford
to raise cotton at its present price will raise
something else. Those who havo raised
it by the aid of fertilizers will dlsnense with
lertillzers, and only those will try for a full
crop who aro so favorably sltnated that they
can make a profit on it. On the other hand,
the diminished price wfll somewhat increase
consumption and create a market for a por
'tion' which would otherwise be useless and
unsaleable. In this way, after a few oscilla
tions backward and forward, the supply of
cotton will adjust itself to the demand and
the demand to the supply: and the tempor
ary' over, production will disappear.
This oscillation to and fio in tho neighbor
hood of a point of stability goes on,
unless it is interfered with, all the
while in every department of human
industry. When houses aro wanted
rents arise and that stimulates the
building of more houses to meet the demand.
When, on the other hand, houses stand
empty because there are not enough tenants
to fill them the building of them ceases until
the population grows up to them.
Production Cut Down by Many.
The Iron masters of the country, when
thoy find that their production hns for the
moment outrun consumption, shut down all
the furnaces that cannot be operated profit
ably and wait for better times before start
ing them up again. How closely tradesmen
who deal In milk, butter, eggs, groeorlos and
other articles of dally and general use learn
to regulate their puichases by the demands
of their customeis has often been made a
subject of remark by writers upon political
economy, and very Justlv. That a great citv
like New York, for instance, should daily get
Just so much as it needs, and no more, of
food, drink and fuol, without wnsto and
without scarcity, is indeed a marvelous il
lustration of the perfection with which hu
man beings leaun to adapt themselves to cir
cumstances. We scarcely evor think of it
except when by some unusual combination
of circumstances, like the riots or 18G3 or the
blizzard of 18S8, the machinery is deranged
and our comfort interfered with.
In this process of adjustment of supply to
demand, mid of tho natnral cure or over
production by lopping off the least pioflt
uhlo pirt or it until residue equuls consump
tion, silver minors must suffer Hko the lest
of tho world. There arc always some pro
duocrs who got caught on tho turn and have
to pav for their want of skill in forecasting
tho fnture. Not 11 voar has passed in my
business life that 1 have not heard com
plaints from one or more of my friends or
dull trade and a want or sufficient demand
for their goods to make a meal for all of
them. It is impossible that it should be
otherwise.
Some People Bound to Got Stuck.
Even in the case of the necessities of life,
whioh I have mentioned as an example of
the most perfect working of the natural law
on the subject, some dealers every day get
"stuok" more or loss with unsold goods, and
have to give them away or let them spoil on
their hands, and when it comes to com
modities, the demand for which, ns, for
instance, that for clothing, is governed by
fashion or by the weather, or like
that for wines and cignrs by tho
pecuniary condition of their purchasers, tho
peril ot such mishaps is greater. I am told
that this year the sales or costly piotures
are verv much less than they wero beforo
the Baring collapse or year before last, nnd
it is attributed to the decline In tho number
of new fortunes, the possession of which is
a potent stimulus to the acquisition of works
of art. The complaint of those fluctuations
is as silly as tho complaint that tho weather of
one year is not exaotly Hko that of
another year, or that the temperature and
the sunshine or lain of every day or every
month do not correspond to those of the
corresponding day and month of the year
before, and may not be counted upon as
snre to recur the yenr .following.
It must be expected, therefore, that the
price of silver will continue to decline, until
the point is reached at which no more of it
lspioduced than is demanded for actual uso
in the arts: but I cannot see that this is a
calamity to be deplored abovo all others of
the same nature.
HEW TEETH AT SEVENIY-F0DB.
The Recent Find in Ivory by Veteran Suth
erland, of Seymour, lnl.
Setmocb, Iso., April 3. David P. Suther
land, or this town, is cutting a new sot or
teeth. Ho is 7 years old, and had all or his
tooth extracted five years ago. SInco that
time ho has been wearing false teeth. Some
davs ago the old gentleman's gums became
very sore, and to his surprise a tooth broke
through. Others quickly followed and a new
set is promised.
The old man Is very feeble, having been
confined to his home for the last three
months with lung trouble whioh followed an
attack of grip.
The Same in Pittsburg.
Chlcafro Times. 1
Yesterday was one of the overcoat's off
days.
PATH'S GREAT QBIEF.
Her Hairless Dog Dies While Nlcollni Sings'
at Her Bequest. "
New York Herald of Sunday.
"Sing to him, Xlcolini; I am too tired."
Mme. Adolina Putt!, who has expended
$33,000 worth of melody and song on her
Mexican hairless dog "Rlcci'J during the
Inst three years, sighed as she turned from
the cradle in which the unhappy animal lay
dying on Friday ntaht.
The charming singer, her husband and the
valet wero in a parlor of the Windsor Hotel,
and there was a sort ofu painful expectanev
brooding over the fecenc as they say in
dime novels.
The hairless dOT. wrapped In blankets,
had been placed near tho fire. Chicken
oup and porterhouse steak had been offered
him dnring the day to tempt bis appetite,
bnt he turned from them with a look that
plainly sala no was not long for this world.
Iji Diva hnd sung to him softly and she
was weary of her long vigil whon she turned
to SlinorNicolinl pathetically and said:
"Sinr to him, Nlcollni: I am too tired."
Tho tender-hearted husband of the singer
had been n pirty to tho vigil, and he, too.
was exhausted. Nevertheless he prepared
to obey tho request to see if tho hatrle's dog
could nor b? soothed into a restrul sleep.
Tho hairless dog lay helpless and depend
ent on his f rlonds for overvthlng. Ho conld
not moro a mnscle. If the hotel had caught
flrn ho could not have escaped.
The rloh volco of Nlcollni broke the still
ness of the death chamber. Ho was singing.
Ashe raised himself in sons the hairless
dog cast n renroachf nl look at his fair owner,
glanced at the door, uttered a low cry of
pain and shivered. He lay still after that,
lor he was a ilcad dog.
Mme. PnttI bnrst Into tears. Sicnor Nico
Hnl looked a little gniltv, but In her grief
tho songstress had no blnine for htm. She
had asked him herseir to Bing.
PnttI was thoroughly Inconsol&blo and
there was nothing bnt mnte grief in tho
apartments for the rest of the day.
AIT EXCELLENT BOAD LAW.
How New Jersey Has Provided for the
Constrnctlon of Highways.
Philadelphia Record.
The Governor of New Jersey has signed
the Davidson Road bill, which puts it In the
power of Connty Boards of Freeholders to
contract, nnder certain specific regulations,
for tho construction of macadamized roads.
Provision is made for thorough supervision
nnd for substantial work. But ho more is to
bo done in any single year than may be paid
for by a tax of ono-lialf or one per cent, on
the taxable property In eaoh county. One
third of the costs of roads sc constructed Is
to be paid each year by the State, not to ex
ceed the sum of $75,000; if one-third or tbe
cost shall exceed that amount the excess is
to be apportioned among the connties In
proportion to tho nmount of work done. On
petition of two-thirds of the real estate own
ers fronting on any public road, scttingforth
their willingness to pay 10 per cent, of the
cost or mncadamlzcd roadways of not less
than n mile in extent, tho freeholders are
compelled to provide for tho construction
nsked lor.
Good results aro anticipated from tho
operation of this law giving the mltiat ve of
expenditure to tne people most actively In
terested, and seouring for tho work n certain
fixed snm from conntv and Stato funds on
the principle that the first petitioners shall
be first served, nnd that outlay In any single
year shall notbo so excess! vo'as to be oner
ous, FBAKCE WILLING TO JUDGE.
Opinions of Statesmen in Paris or the Ber
ing Sea Arbitration.
Paris, 'April 3. In an Interview to-dny on
the Bering Sea question M. Jnles Perry said:
"If President Cnrnot is nsked to perform a
part in the treaty he will doubtless accept
the task, but it is a complicated question
and considerable time will be required to
solve it." Senator Goblet said: "Our poli
ticians nre taking much interest In the Ber
ing Sea dispute. I am glad to see tho United
States assenting to arbitration, whioh is now
becoming recognized as the best way of set
tling international disputes."
Deputy Flourans said: "ThiB Is the first
time President Carnot has been called upon
to take part in an arbitration. President
Grevy once performed a similar dnty. It is
difficult to prophesy how long before a vor
.dict is rendered. If all the evidence is im
mediately forthcoming it ought not to re
quire more than six months to reach a deci
sion. The oxpenses of the Court of Arbi
tration should be borne by the nation in
whose territory tho arbitration occars.
France will bear the expense as a matter of
international courtesy. ir necessary to
send a mission to the scone in dispute the
expense of that should fall upon tbe parties
in litigation.''
BUILDING 8TEEL EZPBESS CABS.
The Plan of the American Company to
Keep Oat the Train Bobbers.
Milwaukee. Wis., April 8. Several new
express cars for the American Express
Company, which aro intended to baffle the
most expert of train robbers, are being built
at the West Milwaukee shops of the Chi
cago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Com
pany. The cars will bo uniform in design
with others that are being built in the East
for nse on the company's routes there. They
will be fifty feet long and eight feet wide,
and will be constructed of steel sufficiently
thick to deflect a bullet if fired from any
thing smaller than a gatling gun. Even
should access to tho car be gained by blow
ins down tho doors with dynamite or other
wise, the Tobbors could not get at the more
valnnblo express packages, for these will be
placed in a steel room, itsolf strong enough
to offer ns much resistance to cracksmen as
tho ordinary bank vanlt, and within this
room, and built 'solidly into its wall, will bo
a safe, in which all money consigned to the
messenger's care will be placed. It is cal
culated that even with every mechanical
appliance at hand it wonld bo a matter of
eight or ten hours' work to burglarize such
a car.
HAIL STONES AT WHEELING.
They Conw Down YFilh Force Enough to
Break Horns From Cattle.
WrrEELiNo, April 3. A terrific hail and
rain storm, accompanied by thunder and
lightning, passed over this section nbout 5
o'clock this afternoon. Though the hail
stones fell thick and fast in Wheeling, no
damage of conscqnonce was done.
In Martin's Ferry, however, hail stones
wero as largo as hen's eggs, and mnoh dam
ago was done to windows facing west being
broken. Washouts are reported on the rail
roads, and no trains will be in before morn
ing. It is reported that muoh livestock in
the fields in the country was Injured by the
hail. In some Instances the horns of cattle
were broken off.
EVABTS CAN SEE WELL.
Reports That the Ex-Senator's Eyos Wero
Failing Declared Untrue.
New York, April 3. It was rumored in the
courts to-day that ex-Senator William Ev
nrts hnd been gradually losing his eyesight
since retiring from tbe Senate and that he
was at present nearly-blind. When his law
partner, Joseph H. Choate, was askod about
this to-night he said:
No, indeed: he was down af the office to
day and I think that his sight lsjUHt about
ns good now as it was a year ago." Maxwell
Kvarts, son of the ex-Senator, said. "Fath
er's siiht is better, if anything, than It was a
year ago. He goes down to the ofllco as
much as any man of his age could be ex
peotod to."
THE CLAN IN LITTLE BH0DT.
Ix the Rhode Island fight all depends on
Providence. Somertet iVeua.
Politicians aro working little Rhody now
for all she is worth. Sotlorf Traveller.
The nows fiom Rhode. Island indicates
standing room only down there. Boston
Herald.
Rhode Island is filled with Democratic
orators and the odor of distilled corn Juice.
Gilcago Tribune,
If "Little Rhody" sleeps between now and
Wednesday night it will be In desplto of vig
orous pnnohing from both sidos. Cleveland
Flam neater.
If too much campaign oratory is crowded
into Rhode Island there is some danger that
the little State may swell up and burst.
Washington Post.
If the tariff reformers succeed in carrying
Rhode Island what a shout of triumph will
go up from the manufacturing barons of
Great Britain. Sew York Recorder.
Groveh Cleveland has taken tho stump in
Rhode Island. That tidy settlement has
some though ts of going Demooratlc Jnst for
fun, at the election next week. Chicago
News.
CURIOUS CONDENSATIONS.
The first English Parliament was
opened e27 years ago.
. Seven-eights of the bread baked in Lon
don is mado of foreign wheat.
' The household maintained by the Queen
of England consists or nearly 1,000 persons.
A new herring bank 100 miles long has
been discovered off the west coast of New
foundland. The Hindoo nose ring Is to he abandoned,
and a flower worn instead in tho nose of
Indian women.
Philadelphia has the biggest reel truck.
It weitrh 18 000 pounds, and can carry or
bear 150 OOO pounds.
The Jains of India frequently nndero
fasts of 0 days, partaking during that time
only of warm water.
Out of tho 240,000 domestic servants in
London, It is estimated that 10,000 are always
out or employment.
Abraham is in the Missouri Legislature
from Cass connty nnd Noah edits a paper at
Spickardsvllle in that State.
JTrs. Priscilln Scroggins, of Hare
county, Ga., who is said to bo 115 years old,
has living 12 children. 1C3 grandchildren, 035
great grandchildren.272 great grandchildren
230 great great grandchildren, in all a family
of 1,27 souls.
The old penalty against a German
soldier or sailor 0 tho standing army or
nnvy who left the fatherland was a fino of
200 marks or 40 davs' imnrionment. That
has now been niseil to 1,000 marks' lino, or
imprisonment for four months.
Honse purchasers will be pained to
learn that the diminishing supply of white
oak is leading to the substitution of the
cheaper red oak. Car bnlldors report that It
bonds well, and is vnlnablo for doorstiles.
rails and some other parts of the interiors of
cars.
Id London a lady ordered from a sta
tioner a number of invitation cards, which
she proposed to issue to an evening party.
She particnlarlv instructed the .stationer to
print "'ighloV'In tho left-hand cornor of
each. When at length tho cards came homo
they horo the letters "I. T."ln the corner
specified.
The famous Salton Lake of Southern
Cnlifornin, which was reported drying tip.
hns not decreased to an area or Jess than 143
square miles since Its formation last yenr.
Early freshet in the Colorado and Gila
rivers are cansing the waters of this lake to
rise again, although reports to the contrary
have been freely clrcnlated.
A remarkable diamond has been re
cently found on the Kofleyfontein Diamond
Mining Company's ground In Australia,
which appears to be of such valne that even
competent Judges hesitate to name a prico
commensurate with Its worth. It is said to
be of a beautiful shade of pink, entlrelv de
void of spot or blemish, and to weigh 13K
carats. n
The custom ot "drinking healths" had
a most curious origin. In the days whon
the Danes lorded it in England they had a
very common habit of stabbing Englishmen
in the throat when drikning. To avoid this
villainy a man whon drinking wonld re
quest some or the sitters-by to be hl3 pledo
or surety while taking his draught. Hence
the custom.
Leuwenhoek has computed that 10,000
threads of tho web of a full-grown spider
are not larger than a single hair or a man's
beard. He calculates that when yonn"
spiders beiln to spin 400 or their threads nro
not larger than one from a fnll-slzed insect.
If this be a fact 4,000.000 webs of a young
spider are not as large as a single hair from
a man's face.
Sometimes families who desire to bury
their dead in the clothing worn in lire in
evening or wedding dress, for instance
substitute less costly Imitations for tho
Jewelry worn in life, partly from motives of
thrift and partly from a superstitions fear
that anything taken off a body whon It is
ready for the tomb will bring ill-lnck to fu
ture wearers.
The practice of cremation is on the in
crease in Germany. In addition to tho cre
matorium which has been in operation at
Gotha since 1877. and where from 500 to COO
bodies are now cremated every year, a new
establishment of the same kind has been
consecrated at Ohlsdorf. Another crema
tory will be opened in October at Carisruhe,
making the third in Germany.
France, has enacted a stringent law by
which it is prohibited (1) to give to infant's
under 1 year any form or solid food nnless
such bo ordered by a written prescription
.signed by a legally qualified medical man;
(2) it is further prohibited for the nurses to
use. in tho rearing of infants confided to
their care, at any time or under any pretext
whatsoever, a bottle or bottles with tubes.
The Paris Jimp publishes a case of pre
mature bnrinl prevented by the daughter of
tho supposed dead man, who on kissing her
father porceived that his body was not cold.
Tho funeral cortege was on the point of
starting. Suitable measures restored the
man to consciousness, and he opened his
eves and uttered one or two words. His con
dition is reported serious, but he was yet
alive.
The puma possesses in a remarkable
degree tbe power of adapting himself to
varied surroundings. The animal endures
severe cold during the winter in the Adiron
dack Mountains and other parts of the
northern frontier of the United Statos, and
tracks his prey in the snow. He is equally
at homo in the hot swamps and canebrakes
along tho river courses of the Southern
States. In South America ho Inhabits tho
treeless, grass-covered pampas as well as the
forests.
When the Queen opens Parliament in
person she proceeds in state to the House ot
Lords and commands Black Rod to let the
Commons know "that It Is Hor Majesty's
pleasure that thov attend her immediately
In this House." Black Bod proceeds to tho
House of Commons nnd formally commands
their presence, on which the Speaker and
the Commons tro nr to the bar ot the Honse
,of Lords, and the Queen delivers her speech.
WHICH is rciu uy tuu ijuru ouuuuuiiur.aueci.
ing on one knee.
An extraordinary archaeological find is
reported from Heisingfors, in Finland. It
consists of a huge oKest with complicated
fastenings of iron, which, together with the
other details of its structure, point to a dato
early in the Middle Ages. On being opened,
it was found tocontainaquantltyof ancient
ironwork and a large roll or parchments.
Tho manuscripts begin with the following
words: "Sugerprosb. abb. S. Dion dixit
" .Then comes a complete and detailed
treatise In Latin on steam considered as a
force and on its applications In short, a
very accurate discourse on modern physics.
SOME THINGS FOB SMILES.
Druggist What did that man want?
Clerk He wanted something forthe grip.
Druggist What did yon give him?
Clerk Don't know; didn't look! Everything Is
good for the griD. Puck.
The poet sent what he described as 'Just
a HtUe thing"
A brier and modest poem he had chanced to
write on spring.
The editor accepted it( he smiled and never
swore.
It iras about tbe antomatlc spring that shuts
the door.
Jvdge.
Ethel What did you mean by telling
Jessie I was theblgzest flat you ever knew.
George I meant that, er you were the most
level-headed girl In town. Somerset A'ewi.
Before Ned of a mustache dreamed,
Or It began to show a bit.
Whene'er he kissed bis girl she seemed
To be quite tickled over It.
His npper lip to-day reveals
A mustache such as girls adore.
And when he kisses her she feels
More tickled than she did before.
Sea Tn-k Press.
Featherstone I've brought back that
dress salt I borrowed of you the other day, old
man, aud I'm ranch obliged. I hope you didn't
need It..
Travers Oh. not at all. My roommate, who
owns It, has gone away on a little business trip.
Harper's Bazar.
"I am surprised, sir!" thundered the bank
president, as he caught the cashier going through
the safe one night.
"So am I, slrl" said the cashier. "I thought you
were the burglar I hired to blow up the safe after
I'd got through with IU"-Texas Siflings.
There was a fair maiden named Kit;
Her pa and her lover they lit.
Tlie old man he raised him.
And straightway amazed him
How warm was the place where he 'd sit.
Smith, dray GCo.'t Monthly.
She I fully believe in the transmigration
ofsoul and the beatific consummation of .the nir
vana. ne Aw yxas might I er- ask what rou do
with M-Seio Tork Herald.
y
f
U, i1AlJBB!!! K. VsS-ii
ii!:A,''S.V
-va4flfit.iit- fiSJ ',- S:. Jto..
SJP6litt??535
nMfTTfriffrlfr
MkmM&MmmtmMm