1
i
THE SCRAXfOX TRTBUXE SATURDAY MOimXCr, FEBRTfARY "ifl, 1895.
9
r
Of and About the
Makers of Books.
Two weeks ago an allusion was made
In another department tf The Tribune
'.' to the superiority of 'English customs of
". municipal government over those In
i vogue in thai government of American
cities. This theme. . ulbelt trite, has
been newly called up by the appear-
ance. from the Century company, of a
timely volume on "Municipal Govern
ment In Great Britain"' from the pen
, tf Dr. Albert Shaw, editor of the Amer
ican edition of the Review of Reviews.
Many of the chapters In Dr. Shuw's
, book. In fact, liiost of them, have pre
viously appeared as contributions to the
Century Magazine, and their general
tenor Is therefore familiar to such of
our readers as peruse that Instructive
periodical. Dr. Shaw is almost radical
In his upproval of English municipal
models. The Idea that especially fasci
nates him and that he recommends, al
most without reservation, for adoption
by his fellow countrymen is that of an
elective-city council with full power,
unhampered by executive vetoes. This
fundamental characteristic of the Brit
ish municipal system he pronounces "as
simple, logical and effective as the
American system Is complicated and In
compatible with harmonious and re-
" sponsible administration." "City gov
ernment In America." he says, "defeats
Its own ends by Its checks und balances,
Its partition of duty and responsibility,
and Its grand opportunities for the
game of hide and seek." lie Infinitely
prefers the English system, by which
the people "give the entire management
of their affairs to a big committee of
' their own number, which they renew
from time to time."
But what interests us quite as much
as does Dr. Shaw's argument in itself
Is a lucid and convincing discussion
of it contributed to the New York Sun
in the form of a signed criticism by
Professor Goldwln Smith. Perhaps no
other man on this continent Is better
qualified than he to draw comparisons
between English and American models
of government. The comparisons that
he draws in this instance are always
interesting and In the main just. We
shall, without further Introduction, pro
ceed to give a digest of his article as
It appeared recently In the Sun. "There
4s a story," he wittily begins, "which Is
very stale, but the moral of which is
always fresh. It Is that of the noble
man who bought the puppet show and
omitted to hire the showman. The'les
son is particularly applicable to the
imitators of British Institutions. An
essential part of British institutions is
the Briton, with the political character
and habits which he has been forming
for a thousand years, which are closely
bound up with his soeial development,
as. that again Is with the economical
circumstances of his Island. This Is
seen when parliamentary Institutions
are transplanted from England to
France. It Is seen even when that sin
gular structure, the constitutional mon
archy, with Its apparatus of shams and
dummies, is transplanted from the old
-trUMWy tr a colony. - Tli-M-rgntlve
of dissolving parliament, for Instance,
Is exercised, or has hitherto been exer
cised, in the old country under tradi
tional restraints, which the old country
politician understands. The colonial
politician uses it as a six-shooter, to be
fired at his antagonist whenever he can
get a fair shot.
"City society In England even now
somewhat differs in texture and In
its animating spirit from city so
ciety In America. The wealthy
people have a stronger hold more
of the governing instinct, and a
livelier sense of municipal duty than
similar people in American societies.
How It may be when the democratic
and lovelllng movement in England
shall have made further progress wo
cannot say. At present It Is so. Again,
in borrowing any part of the British In
stitutions It Is necessary to consider
the relation of that part to the whole,
' and the effect of the whole upon the
part. If you want men to do hard
work, you must pay them or they will
pay themselves. So It will be, at least
till the angol Gabriel Is mayor, with a
city council of seraphs. The pay may
be either money or dignity. Hitherto
the pay of the members of the city gov
ernments in England, as well as of the
Justices of the peace who have adminis
tered the shires, has been dignity. In
England, as Dr. Shaw has not failed
to observe, the city and county govern
ments rank next below parliament, to
seats In which and thence to national
offices they have often formed the step
ping stones. Joseph Oharhberlnln
stepped from the .mayoralty of Birm
ingham, which he had administered
with signal success, to the, representa-
" tlon of the city In parliament and to
cabinet office. But In America, next
below the Federal congress and cahl-
1 net come the state legislatures and of
fices, which, forming higher objects of
Ambition than the ofllces of municipal
government and leaving to them com
paratively .little1 dignity, tempt, if not
constrain, their holders to pay them
solves In the other way.
,
, "The question pi ... Is whether
the elective system can oe made to
work in large cities. It works well
enough In villages. But In a village
the. people know each other and can lay
their heads together for the re-election
of their officers. The work Is light.
the leading men are generally willing
to be elected, and there Is comparative
ly little need of science In the admlnls
Ion. In the great city a man does
know his next-door neighbor, and
btnatlon for the choice of represen-
es Is almost Impossible. The work
very heavy and Is declined by the
adlng men of business, who cannot af
ord to glvo their time to it, while they
shrink from the trouble and turmoil of
elections. The government requires
science In some departments of the
highest and most special kind. It in
eludes, as Dr. Shaw says, "besides ad-
, mlnlstratlve science, statistical science,
engineering and technological science,
sanitary science, and educational, so
, clal, and moral science.' In England
the municipal elections have hitherto
,onr rw.rwl, ,.! .l,1 ..
' " ' WWHUUV.CU , i, u 1 1 , J J uil J'tl I 1 uiit-n,
as may be seen from the press renorts.
in which party gains and losses are
V regularly, recorded. . This solves the
ylimculty of nomination, though after
i-v Yi, fashion which Is fraught with evils
I ind dangers of Us own, especially whon
I the political parties have become, dls
V. integrated and broken Into sections, as
-n Knsland is besrlnnlnir tn bo ti coo
we the problem of nomination
es appears insoluble. Ve
up with the men
-My
ke
Some of the Latest Volumes
To Issue from the Press.
who put themselves forward for their
own purposes, or are put forward by
Borne ring. There is no use In preach
ing to the electors to do their duty and
vote for the right man, unless you can
show how the right man is to be
brought before them.
'Elective city government has come
down to us from the middle ages, when
the largest cities were villages com
pared with London or New - York; when
the police was "Dogberry," when the
water supply was a conduit, when the
sewer was the street, and when the
sanitary administration consisted In
carting away the tilth as often as some
royul procession came along: when,
moreover, city society was not an ag
gregation, but a community; while the
leading men lived, not In suburban vil
las, but In the heart of the city, and
made municipal office their highest aim.
It Is to be borne In mind, too, that the
governments of municipalities in Eng
land during the middle ages, and down
to a recent period, were for the most
part not popular, but oligarchial; that the
power was In the hands of a close cor
poration, and what wus called election
was really co-operation. Under our
present system the rates are voted
and the expenditure controlled by a
part of the population which pays lit
tle, and of that little has a large part
returned to It in free education. A
municipality is now practically a com
mercial concern, Its chief business be
ing the raising and expenditure of
money. A commercial concern would
hardly be well managed in which the
Incidence of expenditure was separated
from the control. The question will be
come more serious If politicians Im
prove upon the lesson which they have
now learned, of buying votes of the
many with the money of the few. In
every great city, moreover, there Is a
body of electors who, though Inhabi
tants, are hardly permanent citizens.
If the city were ruined, the mechanic
would have only to take up his tools
and go elsewhere.
'When matters come to the worst a
spasmodic effort is made. But you can
not get it sustained. The vigilance com
mittee which you have formed for the
purpose, breaks up when the tension is
over; indignation cools; excitement
passes away, and vigilance goes to
sleep. The commercial men will not
year after year leave their ofllces to run
an election. The ward politician, whose
vocation is regular and whose Industry
is Increasing, regains his ascendancy,
and things slide back into the old
groove You have a grand moral Insur
rection, get your Tweed Into the peni
tentiary, slumber happily for some
years, and tlnd Tweed installed again.
The problem Is the more pressing be
cause, as Dr. Shaw truly says, there is
an evident tendency to the growth of
the city at the expense of the country.
Apart (mm causes strictly economical,
such ns the reduction of the number
of farm hands by the extended use of
machinery, the tendency Is promoted
by the ease with which, owing to the
multiplication of railroads, the rustic,
especially the rustic woman, gets a
glimpse of the shows and pleasures of
the city, and, by the influence of the
high schools, which educate the sons
and daughters of the farmer above
farm work. Against a general ten
dencv It Is In vain to talk, though all
our notinns, not only of poetry, but of
health, physical and moral, must be
changed before we can regard the ten
dency as entirely good. The fact Is as
Dr. Shaw says It Is, and It calls on us
to solve without delay the problem of
city government on an elective basis.
If that problem Is capable of solution."
The Impression that one gets from Pro
fessor Smith's article Is that he does
nut have a large degree of faith In such
a solution. But before one comes to
this repellant conclusion, let him wait
until the effort to reach that solution
shall have had. a reasonable chance.
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS:
Zulu Is coming to America.
Alias Sarah Orne Jewett Is convalescing
from her rec ent serious Illness.
The biography of Tennyson, by his son,
the present Lord Tennyson, will not be
completed before 1SH7.
It took George .Meredith ten years to
write "The Amazing Marriage," which Is
published as a serial in "Serlbner's Maga
zine. M. Chatraln, so well known In this coun
try us one of the coluborators of the Chut-rlan-Errkmann
novels, will arrive In New
York from l-'runce next month.
The Russian censors will not permit
Professor Hryoo's book, "The American
Commonwealth ," to enter Russia. They
fancy It teaches too good an example.
William Dean llowells pays high trib
ute to a neglected American novelist, J.
V. I Forest, of Connecticut. He praises
Ie Forest's "Miss Ravenel's Conversion"
as the best novel occasioned by the civil
war.
The venerable Mrs. Emma D. E. N.
Souihworth says she has never been af
flicted with pen parulysls, although In
working off her Innumerable novels she
wrote twelve hours a day for many years.
She didn't give her nerves time to be para
lyzed. The Cambria society, of Washington,
recently passed a resolution of thanks
to .Miss Edith Blower, of Wllkes-Bare,
for her "masterly nnd scholarly" article
on "The Meaning of an Eisteddfod," In
the January number of the Atlantic
Monthly.
While the homoeopathlsts of America
are raising a fund of $30,ouO for a monu
ment In Washington, to the memory of
Samuel Hahnemann, It has remained for
a 1'hllHdclphln physician, Dr. Thomas
Llndslcy Bradford, to write the first bio
graphy of the father of homoeopathy.
Among tho book events of tho new year
will be the Issue by the J. B. Llpplucott
company of "Miss Cherry-Blossom, of
Tokyo," a charming and entirely new
story of Japan and America. It will be
originally nml sumptuously bound, and 1s
by a member of the Philadelphia bar,
who writes for the first time over his
own nunie.
Tho Metaphysical Magazine,' from New
York, Is a new monthly devoted to the oc
cult sciences, spiritual philosophy and the
metaphysical aspects of astronomy and
arehaeology( "We are convinced," de
clare the editors, "that In the psychic
realm there Is a sphere of knowledge al
most entirely unexplored, and that man's
highest and best powers are yet to he
demonstrated."
The Now York Herald offers $10,000 for
ho best serial story of between- 50,000 and
70,0110 worls by an American writer,
whuther professional or amateur; a prise
of 1,000 for the best novelette of between
1!,000 usd 25,0)10 words; a prize Of 2,000 for
tho best short story of between 8,000 and
10,000 words; And a prise of 11,000 for the
best epic poem based on some event of
American history that has occurred since
the beginning of the war of the revolution.
"The short story," declares Oulda, "Is
the most exquisite form of notion, ns the
snnet Is of poetry. It is more concentrat
ed, more delicate, more Ideal than' tKt.
long romance: that Is, when it is excel
lently well done. But the short story It
only adapted to pathos; when humorou
It is odious: and It never could replace
the long romance If Intricate events, com
plicated characters or the portraiture of
contemporary society is to be under
taken." The largest Bible in 4he world Is In the
Vatican. It Is a. manuscript Bible, and
written In Hebrew. The book weighs 320
pounds, and there is a history connected
with It. Some Italian Jews obtained a
view of tho precious volume, and told
their co-rellglonlsts of Venice of It. Tlu
consequence was that a syndicate of Veno
Man Jews endeavored to purchase It, of
ferlng the pope the weight of the book It
gold as the price. Pope Julius II, 'how
ever, refused the offer. At the present
price of gold the offer was one of no lea:
than 1,800,000 francs ($260,000).
A new lot of manuscripts, believed to b
genuine, elf Napoleon I has recently turnoi:
up. The pupers were arranged by Nupo
leon himself for the prlvute use of hb
uncle, Curdlnal Fesch, were sold by the
notorious Libre to Lord Ashburnham, and
found their way to the Laurentlan library
at Florence. Among them are a lurgi
number of letters written by Paoll, the fa
mous Corsluan putrlot, to Napoleon, and
a paper on Corslean history dictated by
Nupoleon himself. In some of the docu
ments Napoleon expresses his regret at
loavtng his native Island, and his disgust
that It Is occupied by the French.
Dr. Matthew Woods, of Philadelphia,
says h bus discovered that Poe did not
write "The Raven." That poem which
gave Poo such great literary fame, lr.
Woods asserts, was written by Charles
Bock Hirst, a Philadelphia poet, and a
friend of Poe, alienated by a. quarrel. Dr.
Woods' story Is that Hirst wrote "The
Raven," und clulmed It; that Hirst loved
birds and understood them, and Poe did
not, and therefore Poe couldn't Gave de
pleted a raven us that bird Is described
In the poem; that Hirst's "Eleanore" was
the suggestion of tho "Lost Lenore;" that
Hirst used the rhythm of "The Raven" In
u poem eight years before "The Raven '
appeared. It Is strange, however, that
Hirst, who claimed the poem after It was
printed, did not expose the steul.
SHAKESPEAREAN OPERA.
Why the Masters of Music Have Tailed
. to Crcnto (ircat Works Out of the In
comparable Dramas of tho Playwright.
Apropos of the recent Gotham first
production of Verdi's "Falstaff," it is
Interesting to note the fact that of the
great number of operas founded on
Shakespeare's dramas, none has ever
taken root in popular favor among the
masses in England and America, and
only a very limited number had a
short-lived success, even in the coun
tries where they were first produced on
the continent of Europe.
Of the "Romeo et Jultettes," by Zin
garelll (1796), Dalalrac (1793), Vaccal
US25), Bellini (1839), Marchette (1865),
and Gounod (1867), nothing remains on
the repertoire but the waltz song by
Gounod, written rather to show the
flexibility of Mme. Carvalhfo's voice
than to describe In music the character
of Shakespeare's heroine. Of the differ
ent "Hamlets," by Mercalante (1SS2),
racclo (18tir), and Ambrolse Thomas
(1868), only the Swedish folk lore intro
duced by Thomas in Ophelia's last
scene Is yet sung in concerto. Who re
members anything about Purccll's
"Tempest" (1877), or of Halvey's (1850)?
Sir Henry Bishop's ((Summer Night's
Dream" (1816), his "Twelfth Night
and his "Two Gentlemen of Verona"
were dismal failures. Ambrolse
Thomas' "Songs d'une Nuit d'Ete"
(1850), Is recorded as only a succos des
time. veruiB "Macbeth" had only a
short run In Italy. Plnsiiti's "Mer
chant of Venice" was a complete fiasco.
Of the two "Othcllos," by Rossini and
A'erdl, the "Ave Maria" Interpolated
by Verdl has become popular, but both
these operas have never been any great
attraction In London or In New York.
The "Falstaffs," by Sailer! (179S), Balfe
(1828), and Adoir Adam (1855), have
been Judged and condemned, while
Nlcolal's "Merry Wives of Windsor"
(1849) had a successful career, largely
In Germany.
The best explanation for this, says
the New York Herald, Is to be found In
the Intimate knowledge every educated
Englishman or American has of
Shukespeure's dramas. It Is not aston
ishing, therefore, that In England and
America a ridiculous mutilated plot of
a Shakespearean drama, transformed
Into an every-day opera libretto, should
appear grotesque, ludicrous and some
times even pitiful. If you add to this
that the majority of the librettists have
never understood the spirit of Shnkes
peare, and most of the composers have
never even read their librettos In the
original, it Is not dllllcult to understand
why the operatic Ilomeos, Juliets,
Hamlets, Othellos and Macbeths have
not found sympathy with English or
American publics.
A Ilrlgndier.
From the Detroit Free Press.
Mrs. Captain Is hela major general?
Ciiptuln No, my dear; a minor general.
1 gather from the published summary
of Dr. Itobinson's sermon, last Sunday
evening thut he regards as lacking In
moral backbone the young Sernntonlnn,
mentioned recently In this paper, who con
fessed that he frequented saloons because
he hud nowhere-else to go. Let this be
grunted. But Is not moral backbone quite
as much as physical quality, a matter of
heredity und early environment? If the
young man In question had not lacked the
advantages of a cultured home, In which
wealth had provided the material und
moral comforts nowadays necessary lo
the development of what Is called the
"proper" young man, the chances are that
he would not be compelled to work hard
for a living In day time nnd, at night,
either remain In a cheerless and sparsely
furnished attic room or commingle with
the human tide of kindred spirits which
gravitates, seemingly asa matterof eonnse,
Into the saloon. But It Is a fact that he
was not thus blessed; anil that there are
many like him, In every community, who,
even If they be moral cowurds, In the
opinion of those to whom 1t comes natural
to lie pinks of propriety, are at least fac
tors In society that have to be taken Into
account when one Is endeavoring to solve
the problem of human Improvement.
I will say, for the particular young
man who has unwittingly given rise to
this dlseusMlcfn, that so far as my ac
quaintance with him goes, he has shown
himself to be of generous Impulses, to
have a cheerful disposition and to possess,
upon the whole, a well-balanced charac
ter, saving only his censurable predilec
tion for saloons. He Is, perhaps, too easy
going, too willing to he led along; but even
this trait arises from no. vicious source,
but rather from sheer excess of good na
ture. I dure say that this young man has
thousands of doubles In various parts of
the country, who echo his own complaint
that society, while unsparingly condemn
ing him for passing his spur time In a
vicious surrounding, unfortunately neg
lects to provide a substitute attraction
of equal opportunities for informal com
panionship. It Is all very well to cite the
free library and the Young Men's Chris
tian association, yet If this young man
were to take a group of friends Into either,
at say I o'clock at night, and Imitate the
unconventional customs of the swell club
room (where he cannot afford -to go) or of
the saloon; that Is to say, if he and his
chums were to sit down to a table at the
library, or the Young Men's Christian as
- Hoists tho Rcod llunuur.
Frorn tho Springfield I'nlon.
The signs of the times point to but one
result In the presidential campaign of 1HM,
the nomination and election of Thomas 1). .
Rned. He is toduy head and shoulders
above any other man in political life In
this country. During the two years past,
when the Democratic party, has been In
lull power, he has fought the buttle of the
people whoso Interests anil rights were be
ing trampled upon by -the hosts of tho
Democracy, and In the congress which Is
about to come into power, he will again
be the leading spirit of the majority as he
was during the administration of Presl-
lent Harrison. Reed a name, as did
Blaine's In years gone by, starts the en
thusiasm of all the people. He la loved by
ill Republicans and respected and feared
by all Democrats. On all the great Issues
of the day, he favors a moderate policy
that will work the greatest good to the
greatest number. Although noted for his
liberal views, he Is at the same time fa
mous for his courage to stand up and tight
to the last ditch for what he believes Is
right.
Prevalent Postage
Stamp Swindle.
The Endless Chain Amounts
to a Good Deal in the End.
From the Plttston Oazette.
Have you ever been roped In by the
latest scheme? A number of people
hereabout have. Others should read
and take warning. A letter Is sent out
by "Miss Edna Brown, Kanevllle, Kane
county, 111.," requesting the receiver of
the letter to make three copies of the
same and send them to friends. One
letter Is to bo returned to Miss Brown
with ten cancelled stamps therein. The
persons who receive the three letters
are to address a similar number of let
ters to us many friends. Each person
Is to send Miss Brown ten cancelled
stamps, a million of which are desired,
says the letter, to secure free treat
ment for a cripple. The scheme, at
first thought, seems a very small thing,
but In reality it Is stupendous. It cost
Miss Brown a two-cent stamp to start
the "chain," and the one who received
her letter It cost six cents to send out
the three. Then It cost each of the
three to whom she sent a letter six
cents each, also. And that same amount
was also expended by those who got in
the "chain" on previous numbers
Those in the "chain" who had No. 1
circular bought one stamp; No. 2, 3
stamps; No. 3, bought 9 stamps; No. 4,
27 stamps: No. C, 81 stamps; No. 6, 243
stamps; No. 7, 729 stamps; No. 8, 2,187
stamps. No. 9, 6.561; No. 10, 19,683; No.
11, 09,049; No. 12, 177,147; No. 13, 531,441;
No. 14. 1,594,323; No. 15, 4.682,969; No. 16,
14,048,907; No. 17, 42,146,721; N. 18. 120,-
440,163; No. 19, 379.320,489; No. 20. 1,137,-
961,467; No. 21, 3,413,884,401; No. 22, 10,.
241,653.203; No. 23, 30,724,959,009; No. 24,
92,174,878,827; No. 25, 276,524,636,481; No
26, 829,573,909,443; No. 27, 2,488,721,728,329;
No. 28, 7,466,165,184,98"; No. 29, 223,495,
554,961; No. 30, 67,195,486,664,883, etc,
Twice tho last number will give you
what Uncle Sam takes In for the sale
of stamps or $1,343,909,733,297.66. Ten
times the amount of stamps used by
Bonders of circular No. 30, would give
you the amount of stamps Miss Brown
would receive, or 671,954,866,648.830
this Is, six hundred and seventy-one
trillions, nine hundred and fifty-four
billions, eight hundred and sixty-six
millions, six hundred and forty-eight
mousumi, eight hundred and thirty.
A Perplexed Postmaster,
The chief sufferer by the scheme Is
the postmaster nt the place to which
the letters are directed. One report
says thut If nn end is not put to the
business soon he will go crazy. Kane
vllle Is a crossroads township on the
pra4rle, five miles from a railroad, and
has about thirty houses. Twenty-five
letters a day would be a big mall for
the town. Since "Miss" Brown's
scheme has been working they have
kept increasing. They soon filled a
bushel bnsket dally. Then they filled
several baskets. It mined letters. In
stead of the usual small puuch the
Kanevllle required several. Not only
letters came, but boxes and bundles
of cancelled stamps from well Inten
tloned but deceived people. The stage
coach became so crowded with mall
bags there was no room for the pas
sengers. The postmaster was obliged
to hire an assistant to help him handle
the stuff. One duy .the number received
was 17.000 and another reached 15,000.
Some of the letters even contained
money orders sent by sympathetic per
sons. Often whole sheets of stamps
were sent Just as they came from the
postofllce, except with nn Ink line
drawn through. The one million mark
was passed long ago and there seems
to be no way to stop the avalanche.
The much-abused postmaster of a
Satunrday Reflections.
sociation hall, light their clgnrs, and dis
cuss the interesting topics of the day,
man fashion, It would not be three min
utes before the custodian at either place
would request them to leave, Instantly.
The population of the world Is not made
up wholly of moral heroes, who, when
poor, can burn the midnight oil In senr.h
of wisdom and rest content on one meal
a duy. And If It were, whut credit would
thero be ill being a hero? The essential
point to my young man's complaint, It
seems to me, has not yet been unswered.
"Young man. be a moral hero," says Dr.
Itoblnson. "Hit, stolc-wlse, In your attic
room If you fear the temptations of the
street; or. better still, go to the public li
brary." "Hut," replies the young man,
"I am not a moral hero, wns not trained
for one and pet-hupi will nevec be one. I
read a good deal ns It Is, without having to
sit In owl-like silence, hour after hour, in
the repressed atmosphere of a library.
And, then, one ennnut live on books alone.
If the plan you prescribe Is worse than the
disease, why should 1 tukn It?" And
there you are, buck again at the beginning
of the discussion, I confess that my sym
pathies are Bomewhat with .the young
man. He Is not bad. He Is. not vicious.
The Impulses of his nature, If any fault
Is to be found with them, are too frank
rather thuu too hypocritical. Be could
easily dissemble, lie could go to church,
court church society, win the favor of
good and eminent people und yet visit the
saloons an the sly. There are many who
do this, successfully, year In and year out.
Shall we, then, ronsure him, shun him
ami doom htm to present and eternal de
struction for being simply whut he Is,
with no effort at shum or make-believe?
Hear In mind, while t sympathise with
this young man I do not condone his fault.
But how Is that fault to be corrected?
That Is the real point to all this tulk.
What Is society going to do, what are good
men and women going to do, to help this
young man .out of his dilemma and up
ward to the dry rack of good and moral
rltlsenshlp? Po I hear some one say thut
the "church door Is open?" Ah, my friend,
It Is Indeed open-it o tji few. . But is It
reaching the clusJVaf whom our young
man In a type? I need only cite, 4n reply,
the fact that In on week, I saw In each of
three church periodicals that I regularly
peruse, editorials and contributions on the
ubjecy Ulpw May; We Popularise
fourth-class office draws about $250 a
year and Is obliged to handle 17,000
letters a duy and hire an extra clerk.
The only one wdio seems to bo making
anything out of the scheme is Uncle
Sam, who Is receiving from $200 to $300
a day postage on the letters sent to
Edna Brown, Kanevllle,-Ili. And the
worst feature of tho whole business
Is that Edna Brown is by no means a
cripple, but a healthy young married
woman who started the stamp racket
just for a lark, and is now getting very
weary of it all.
BRAINS AND COLD WEATHER.
Extreme Low Temperature Weukens the
Intellect.
Extreme cold, as Is well know, exerts
a benumbling Influence upon the mental
faculties. Almost every one who has
been exposed for a longer or a shorter
period, to a very lowlemperature, has
noted a diminution In will power, and
often a temporary weakening of the
memory. Perhaps the lurgest Bcale
upon which this uctlon hns ever been
studied waB during the retreat of the
French from Moscow. The troops Buf
fered extremely from hunger, fatigue
and cold from the latter perhaps most
of all. A German physician who accom
panied a detachment of his countrymen
bus left an Interesting account of their
trials during this retreat.
From un abstract of this paper by
Dr. Hose, In the "Medlelnsche Monut
schrlft," we find that of the earliest
symptoms referable to the cold was a
loss of memory. This was noted In the
strong as well as those who were al
ready suffering from the effects of the
hardships to which they had been ex
posed. With the first appearance of u
moderately low temperature (about 5
degrees above zero Fahrenheit), many
of the soldiers were found to have for
gotten the names of the most ordinary
things about them, as well as those of
the articles of food fur which they were
perishing. Many forgot their own
names, and those of their comrades.
Others showed pronounced symptoms
of mental disturbance, and not a few
became Incurably Insane, the type of
their Insanity resembling very closely
senile dementia.
The cold was probably alone not res
ponsible for these elfects, for a zero
temperature Is rather stimulating than
paralyzing In Its action upon the well
fed and tho healthy. These men were
half-starved, poorly clad, worn out with
long marching, many already weakened
by dysentery and other diseases, qnd all
mentally depressed, as an army in de
feat always Is. It needed, therefore, no
very unusual degree of cold to produce
the phychlc effects observed under other
circumstances only as a consequence of
exposure to an extreme low temperatue.
WILL SKIRT THE STATES.
Thomas W. Winder Planning a Illcvcle
Hide of 2 1, 1100 Miles.
A La Porte, Ind., special says:
Thomas W. Winder, a well known
newspaper man, will start Feb. 28 for
his tour on a bicycle around the United
States, to decide a bet und make u
record, Mr. Winder Intends to make
a trip along the const and border line
of the United States by circuitous coun
try roads, a Journey estimated to be
21.600 miles. This trip he Is to complete
In 300 consecutive days, which requires
that he shall ride at least 72 miles a
day. He will cross 33 states and terri
tories and 220 counties, visit 2.984 cities,
towns and villages und register at 76
points on the way.
The start-will be from New Orleans,
going west, so that the entire trip can
be made in warm weather, enabling
him to cross the great plains of the
northwest during the early summer.
European Languages.
English heads the list of the European
languages spoken In the world, with lit),
UOD.UWO persons who use It. Of these 58,000,
000, more than half, live In the United
Slates, while 38,500,000 only live in the
British Isles. Only eighty years earlier,
In 1801, the total number of English-speaking
perons In the world was 20.riOO.Otn.
Those speaking French have Increased In
that time from 31,500.000 to 51.0uo.0UO, those
Herman from 30.oe0.000 to 75,(lO.tiO0, lltis
slan the same: Spanish, 2i!,0oo.oiio to 43,000,
ooii. Italian from i.atio.oou to 13,ouo,ono. Out
of the SI.wni.uuo speakers of the French,
45,000,001) live In Europe; of the 75.00ii.0iK)
(iermuns. though 7.UU0.00O live in the
United States there Is only another 500,ipOO
to bo found outside of Europe: while of
the 43,000,(100 speakers of Spanish, 25,500,000
live In non-Europeun countries.
Vrozcn.
From the New York Weekly,
Hospital Physlclun This man seems to
be hulf dead, and yet 1 cannot find any
thing the matter with lilm. Where Is he
from?
Ambulance Driver I got lilm at the
door of the St. Fashion Assembly hall.
There Is n ball going on there.
Physlcan Ah, 1 see. He probably
stepped on a lady's dress und she said:
"Sir!"
Church Work?" or "How Shall the Chur-h
Curry Its Message to the Masses?" The
church door Is open, to be sure; but the
people are not golngln the people, I me.ui,
who stand most In need of practical evan
gelization, who are furthest nway from a
practical nml helpful Christian life. Wo
have lately seen. In New York, the effort
of several pious clergymen notable
among them Dr. ltiilnsford to establish
"church saloons." This effort provoked a
storm of criticism, not far different from
that .which greets the Chicago "home sa
loon" Idea. Yet If Satan Is to be routed
In the dally battle, will It be by the
church's sitting back, In placid content In
an attitude, we may nlmost say, of deli
cate criticism while Ills Satanic Majesty
Is capturing numerous victims; or will It
lie by nn UBKivsslve and militant policy
on the part of the chinch, a policy which
will not scruple, If lit consequence good
may result, to light lire with lire, und to
match Satanic cunning Willi harmless
artifices of a similar semblance?
Lest It should be thought, however, that
I am merely criticizing funded defects
wltlioiitjiolntlng out acme, I will suggest
that a social feature be added to the
oung Men's Christian association sim
ilar. In Its unconventional characteristics,
to the coffee house, as It Is known In Eng
land, or the "Home Bullion" (tint we have
as nn example In Chicago. If there lire
young men who, of an evening, want to
play a game of btlllnrds, pool, curds, dom
inoes, chess, or anything else harmless In
Itself, give them a frne chance to do It.
If, Instead of reading, some of them should
want to smoke, as they lounge about, per
mit that, too; and keen good cigars for
sale. And even If they become thirsty nnd
desire a drink of something less dnmnglng
than alcohol, why should they be com
pelled to go for It Into a vicious atmos
phere? The Hullfoad Young Men's Chris
tian association In this city permits smok
ing within Its doors; and I am told that
muny more men enter It, on an aver
age, than enter the. regular Association
hall on Wyoming avenue, 1 suggest these
details merely to Illustrate the general
contention that It Is a poor system which
will condemn a young man for passing his
Idle time In the saloons when It has fulled,
as yet, to provide an alternative rendez
vous. It It Is the purpose of the church
to reach- the masses, must It not go to
them, especially since It has been, shown
that 4he masses will not, except In limited
I number, put on flnet clothes and ra to Itt
Life on Board a
Yankee Mano'-Wai
J. Lyon Woodruff, of New York, de- '
lighted a large audience Monday night,
at the Uailroud Y. M. C. A. with his ex
perience on a "Yankee Man-of-War."
Mr. Woodruff wns on board the Tren
ton In March, 18S, when a hurricane
destroyed a fleet of vessels in Apia har
bor, Samoa. The Trenton was com
pletely wrecked and her hull remains
in a shattered condition on the harbor
reefs. During his lecture he remarked:
Poetic Notions of Sea Life.
"A great deal hus been written about
the beuutlful deep blue sea, on whue
bosom stately ships and gallunt barks
with majestic spurs glide smoothly on;
their snow-white sails, tilled by the
gentle zephyrs or pleasant gules, glis
tening in the sunlight; of the galiunt
crew, dud In uniforms of lovely blue,
or most Immaculate white, lolling
about the decks spinning yarns, sing
ing songs, or Hllently shifting their
quids from right to left, and from left
to right; and a halo of poetic sentiment
has been thrown around the life of
Ihe sailor that does not exist and never
did exist, except In the Imagination of
the poet. I do not pretend to say, of
course, that all these statements are
untrue; that there are not times when
the bcu Is aB smooth as glass and tho
sails glisten in the sunlight, but, I do
say that these circumstances are rare
ly combined in the life of a sailor, and
especially of a man-of-war's man.
"I well remember the day my father
took me to the Brooklyn navy yard to
enlist me as an apprentice in the navy.
I wus but a youngster then, not quite
15 years old, whose Ideas concerning
thesea had been drawn largely from the
perusal of dime novels and other Juven
ile stories of an equally trashy nature,
the remembrance whereof filled me
with awe, and caused by knees to
quake with fear, as each step brought
us nearer to the gates. Once
In uniform I soon strutted about the
decks as proud as a peacock, notwith
standing that my trousers were very
much like two cities in France Toulon
and Tolouse.
Punishment on Board Ship.
"1'unlshment for misconduct on
board ship is notable -not bo much for
Its severity, as for the fact that It
generally gains the desired result by
constantly keeping the delinquent re
minded of his offence, by depriving him
of the benefits and privileges) which the
good-conduct men enjoy. But as the
average sailor Is prolific In expedients,
even apparently severe measures are
often circumvented. . They generally
find it easy while In foreign ports to
bribe boatmen to wait for them at a
certain distance from the ship on a
dark night, and then watch their
chance and drop over the bows while
the sentry Is otherwise engaged, and
swim out to the waiting boat. In the
morning, before daylight, they get
back to the ship in the same way,
though sometimes they are detected
and punished for leaving the ship with
out permission a grave offence, equal,
almost, to desertion. This reminds me
of an anecdote they used to tell of a
man who Jumped overboard to rescue
another from drowning, and then was
court-mnrtialed for leaving the ship
without permission, but I do not vouch
for this.
"A common form of punishment on
a man-of-war is the 'black list.' Men
are put on the black list for minor of
fenses and kept from a day to three
months. A black-lister never gets any
rest from morning till night. When all
the routine has been carried out, and
the men settle down for a quiet smoke
or amusement among themselves, the
call Is sounded for the black-listers, and
they are set right to work again. All
the dirtiest work falls to their lot, and
If there happens to be none, they are
compelled to provide It themselves.
For Instance, I have, seen them ordered
to paint black all the bright brasswork
around the hatches. The next day
they were set to work with scrapers
and files to get the paint off and burn
ish It again. The following day they
had to paint it over again, and so on
Truly, a black-lister's lot is not a happy
one, and I have known of cases where
men deserted, rather than submit to a
month on the black list.
"There Is another kind of punishment
which exposes a man to ridicule, and
which, In my opinion, often goes far
ther toward curing the evil It is aimed
at than those affecting liberty or bodi
ly comfort. Thus, for Instance, was
the punishment of those caught spit
ting on the deck, a flagrant offense, as
a ship's decks are kept as clean as your
dining tables at home. In the case of
one ship I was on they tied a spit ton
around the neck or . the culprit and
compelled him to carry it for a certain
length of time, or until ho' caught some
one else In the act, if he was fortunuti
enough to do so, with this reminder
hanging to him.
"Occasionally n wave of reform
would strike the ship and nn attempt
would be made to stop tho men from
swearing, with about the, same results
as we get when a political reform wave
strikes our country. Culprits w
turned over In those times to the ship's
corporal, who scrubbed out their
mouths with sand and canvas. Barely
however, was this measure resorted to,
except with boys.
Menu of the Marines.
"There litis been a great improvement
concerning food on bnurd ship, In the
navy, during the lust few years, both
ns to quality and quantity, and the
navy, during the last few years, both
semblance to whut It was when I first
iolned the service twelve yenrs ago.
A good many varieties of canned foods
have been Introduced, nnd today the
sailor at sea lives almost us well us he
would In port, but for the absence of
fresh ment. which no other stanle can
replace. The most common article of
food on board ship are the crackers
that tuke the pluce of bread. These
yie sullors cull 'hard tack' and to
avoid confusion they can our common
bread 'soft tack.' As a rule, the hnrd
tack Is of a very good quality, but
sometimes, after an exceptionally long
cruise, it gets mouldy and full of wea
vIIb and then becomes unfit to eat. I
hove heard of cases where one had to
hold on to his hard tack with both
hands to keep it from walking away.
but must confess that I never had that
experience.
"Next comes the meat. Car,ned
meats ore only side dishes and not to
be confounded with the more solid 'salt
horse' and 'salt Junk.' Bait horse is
beet salted In barrels and must be seen
and eaten to be appreciated. It hus a
taste and smell peculiarly Its own,
which no amount of adulteration could
kill (especially the smell), nor Is there
any other article of food that could
ever be mistaken for salt horse. You
talk about your llmburger cheese. I
Readable Incidents of a Cruise in the
American Warship Trenton.
tell you the aroma of llmburger cheese
Is attar of roses compared to a well
seasoned barrel of salt horse.
Tho Sailor's Kontinc Life.
"The sailor's life at sea, during Una
weather. Is very much the same as In
port, but when the weather 1b rough
there Is not much chance to perform
any drills or to be too exacting in the
maintenance of discipline. When a
ship rolls from 30 to 40 degrees each way
and pitches until first the bows and
then the stern are almost entirely sub
merged, like the Osslpee did, every man
must look out for himself. A man-of-war
In a storm, with her lofty spars and
decks weighted with great guns weigh
ing many tons, Is one of the unsteadlest
objects I ever saw or heard of, and of
all the ships I ever sailed on there was
none that could compare with the old
Osslpee In that respect; in fact, the
boys used to say that they often awoke
In the morning and found several turns
In their hammock clews, caused by the
ship having rolled over so muny times
during the night. At meal times it was
Impossible to use any tables, and we
had to sit on the deck with our pans
between the knees, holding on to a
mug of coffee with one hand and eat
ing with the other. Very often the
seat would slide from under us, and wo
would start off on an exploring expe
dition in one direction, while our bean
soup or spud hash would sail away In
another, and finally went In some cor
ner to mingle with a choice collection
of shoes, caps, tin pans and sundry
other articles which had arrived there,
from all parts of the ship.
Burial at Sea.
"I well remember the first shark wo
caught, and the very sad incident con
nected with the memory of his capture.
Among the apprentices on the Ossipeo
there was one Jiamed John Ellis, a
mere child In years, but with a reputa
tion for natural depravity far greater
than most of us could boast of. Ha
drank like a fish, smoked and chewed
like a veteran salt, and swore like a
trooper. You may imagine my surprisu
therefore when, one jilght, one of tha
boys said to me: "John Ellis muBt bu
getting religious; he Is sitting by a
lump under the forecastle, reading a
prayer book.' I looked to convince my
Be'f, and, sure enough, John had resur
rected a little prayer book his sister had
given him before leaving New York,
but which had never seen the light of
day since. The next day, the wind be
ing very light, the order was given to
furl the royals, the highest saUs on a
man-of-war. John was aloft on look
out at the time, so he hurried up to
tho fore-royal yard and started to furl
the sail. Suddenly we heard a crash,
and before any one had time to realize
what had happened, his body fell on
the deck with a sickening thud. He
died within twenty minutes after we
picked him up. We now understood
the leading of his Bister's prayer book
of the night before, for a presentiment
of his approaching doom was evidently
upon him. At about -noon we noticed
a t-hark following the ship. He had
apparently scented the dead body and
was keeping close by in anticipation of
getting a meal. But we. on our part,
were us fully determined to deprive
him of if. We took a heavy rope and
made a filipnoose, and allowed It to
hanjr over the stlrn, with the noose half
submerged, then we hung a big piece
of po.'k In front of It. Soon Mr. Shark
scented the pork, and, making a beelina
for it, deliberately swam into the noose.
We rigged a tackle and hoisted him
abroad, .ind with axes, belaying pins,
cutlasses and all manner of weapons,
soon put an end to his existence.
"In the evening- we buried poor Jack
with naval honors. Oh, what a solemn
ly Impressive occasion a burial at sea
Is. The body, sewed in a hammock,
with a solid shot tied to the feet, is
brought to the gangway on a board, tha
burial service Is read by the chaplain,
the board Is raised to the rail and tha
body slowly slides off a splash, a
plunge, and all is over, and the mortal
remains have gone to their last resting
place In the deep, while the bell mourn
fully tolls, the bugle sounds 'taps' and
the flag at half-mast llaps idly In tho
breeze.
A Cosmopolitan Navy.
"Representatives of foreign nations
on the ship are stigmatized with appro
priate names. The Germans are known
as 'square heads.' Sailors from Nor
way und Sweden ns "North sea yanks."
Englishmen ns .'llme Juicer,' Frenchmen:
as 'frog-eater' or 'Johnny Crapeau.' It
may be surprising to hear that tha
deck of an American man-of-war pre
sents a more cosmopolitan gathering of.
people thun can be found anywhere
else tn the world, and you would bei
struck by the predomlnence of fuces
bearing the stamp of foreign birth.
The blue eyes of Germany, light hair ot
Scandinavia, ruddy complexion of tho
Briton, lowering, sallow visage of the
Briton, pig-tailed Mongolian and sabled
African, tho dudo of France and tha
Inevitable Irishmen, are all there,
whereas the type of the true American
Is conspicuous chiefly by its absence. A'
Yankeemnn-of-war Is a veritable Tower
of Bubel In its multiplicity of languages
and dialects. For example, on the
Monocacy out of 1S7 men there were
105 Americans, 11) Chinese, 11 Germans
11 Swedes. 9 Irish, 7 English, 6 Danes,
4 Scots, 3 Norwegians, 3 Canadians and
the remainder divided among nine other
countries."
TO CURE DIPUTilERIA.
The) Carbondule Leader gives this recipe
for diphtheria: Bathe the feet In warm
water with ground mustard lA It, twice a
day, morning und evening. For a gargls
take one teaspoonful cayenne pepper,
three truspoonfuln suit, one cup water and
vinegur. Put on stove nnd cool for use.
Use every two hours. Also a lemon cut in
two and tilled with sugar to eut occasion
ally will cleanse, tho throat. For drink,
cold tea, lemonade or milk.
Put on the outside of tho neck a flan
nel wrung out of hot salt water, and re
peat this as often as It gets cold, for the
first three or four days, keeping a dry
flannel on the outside to retain tho heat.
Urease occasionally with chicken grease
or something similar, and In severe cases
the flannel wrung out ot warm camphor
Is very good.
For scurlet fever the feet and neck to
be treuted the same as In diphtheria,
with a warm bath ut night In salt or
aleratus water, ltub with a dry towel
and grease all over the body with a piece
of suit bacon heated In the oven, The pa
tient must be kept warm. No medicine
of any kind needed, only a mild physio.
Animal Coloring Matter.
Tho colors of pure ocean water and tha
vurylng shades, observed where impuri
ties are met with, are still further diversi
fied by the coloring effects of the enor
mous multitudes of various forms ot or
ganised life, which sometimes mask tho
natural color ot the surface ot the sea and
tings extensive areus with remarksbl
colors.