VOL. XXV. A all the good points of uev* ml acc ptable Y onrs HS becoming to everyone. J comes In a'l the different Straws and the c! arming new spring colors, sage tireen. Go be- I ltn. Gclden Browns. Boreal and Electric. It admits of many styles of trimming each seen,~ an improvement over the last, cut It trimmed In one many | n comes from our experienced doalgrers. These hats are going so fast that best to immediately to see it In Its many styles and trimmings. We verj large / stock Just now but when a th.ng catches the ( .ye and the public as It has. It is bound to go. liemember our bargains cannot be duplicated weeks. We've opened. week, over ferent shapes, with the trimmings, dl rect from the largest bouse America. Among them are the "K.M.Q-" and the - Bunny." » There set-ms to be an impression that because ** THE MATCHLESS." we are patronized by the fashionable people.we 4KI.T m eTorr u. cue lor ;how «lioee pocket are limited. This b. a great mLslake. | « b Jf . r.~ oNlped. Tv having the custom ato cents, best in the land for the price. Lawn Teooifi Shoes in Mens' Womens'and Childrens'. \\ igwam Slippers, verv easy and comfortable, cheap, our full line fine Slippers is not in yet, is a little early, will tell you about ttem Inter on. Misses' aad Childrens' line Shoes in Spring heel and heel, iu Kid Goat and St. Goat, high tops, Misses' Kid $1 00 and upwards, U Childrens 50 cents aad op.extra fine Shoes for Ladies that wear Email sizes 1 to 2,Shcee for Baby 's 25 ceota aod up. Men*' fioe ehoeaTery fine style $1 00, 1 25, 1 50 to $2 00, extra fine C«lf Shoes $2 00 to 3.75. Kangaroo, one of the moßt popular Shoes of tbe d»v in McKaj Day sewed and Hand sewed in ail endless variety of style? and price*. All ihoiie in Button Bals. or Cong, all widths tip narrow toe or full plain toe, we show the best and fin eat shoe at $1.25, 1.50, 2.00, 2.00 3 00 in Batter. Boys aod Youths' in Calf, Veal, Calf-grain in regular and extra high tops, new goods, seamless at $1.50 to 200 and 2 25. Plow shoeß. Bals, and Coop. Boys Button 1-5 1 25. Mens' Plow Shoes, lace and Brogaus. Hob Nailed at Mto $l5O, Calf Boots $1 AO to $3 00. Leather and Findings, large stock We do all kinds repairing, we use the best lines ia tbe iaarket in Boots A Shoes, we have positive proof of this in their excelleul wearing qualities,and still better some of our little competitors have lately been making every effert to get seme line of Shoes and have so far failed. We coutrol all tbe lines we use for this town. Come and se« os, will save you money. No trouble to Bbow our goods. B. C. HUSELTON JACOB BOOS, DKALKR IS CHOICE FAMILY GROCERIES, FLOOR, FEED, HAY AND ALL KINDS OK GRAIN. We are now in our new store-room on S. Main St.. and have the room to accommodate our large stock of groceries. Hour, etc., and have built a large ware-house to accommodate our stock of feed. We pay the highest cash price for potatoes and all kinds ol COUNTRY PRODUCE. Jacob Boos, 105 s B X* s p R a EET ' "Nothing Succeeds Like Success!" WHY ? BECAUSE LOOK at cur SUCCESS in BUTLER Then Look Back 3o Years Ago When We Commenced. Now Look at the Way We Do Our Business, THEN REASON HOW CAN it be OTHERWISE 5 WHEN WE CARRY THE STOCK WE DO ETBE ÜBST= A nd Most Complete in Butler, ranging in Quality and pric* from the Cheapest to the Finest, all Reliable, Well Made Goods, besides we Guarantee all we sell Call and be Convinced. H. SCHNEIDEMAN, Ho. 4, Main St OLD RELIABLE CLOTHIER THE BUTLER CITIZEN. LOOK! READ!! I have enlarged ray store-room. In fact, made 1 It almost tw lii- :ls large as It was before, and have also Increased my stock. I have, by lar. , tlie largest anil best selected stock of Fine Drugs and Chemicals in Butler county, and an now In pcsltion to supply the wants of tUe people of this county — even better than In the past, You will do well to call on me when in the nee j of anything in the line of Fine Drugs and Medicines. Mv stock is very complete and PRICES VERY Lu\V In medicine quality Is of the rtrst Impor tance, so we give particular attention to tilling Prescriptions. Our Dispensing Department is complete. We dispense only Pure Drugs of the Finest Quality, and our patrons may bring us their prescrip tions, feeling cert iln that they will be carefully and accurately mied. Thanking the public for the very generous patronage tliev nave accorded me in tlie past, I t.i be able lo serve them more acceptably In tlie future, at the old stand. No. 5, North Main St., BUTLER, PA. J. C. RSDICK, ■pi If 11 Suffer any Pain, I L Y 1111 Have Any Soreness, IT Villi Feel Any Weakness, II IWV Have a Lame Back, Go or Bond straight as you can to the drug store and Insist on having the Famous - Hop Plaster - It will C'aro: never falls to give instant relief. Virtues of ftresta hops, hemlock and pine balsam united. The perfection of Ras ters. clean and sweet. 25c., five for SIOO, or mailed for price. , _ HOP PLASTER CO.. Proprietors.^Bostott^ PROFESSIONAL CARDS. (i, M. ZIMMERMAN. ■ PHYSICIAN AND SIKttEOH. Office at No. 4r>. S. Main street, over Frank & Co s Di ug Store. Butler, l'a. J. F. BRITTAIN. Atl'y at Law—Office at S. E. Cor. Main St, and Diamond, Butler, Pa. NEWTON BLACK Att'y at. Law—Office on South side of Diamond, Butler, Pa. IRA McJUNIUN. Attorney at Law. Oltlce at No. 17, East Jeffer son St., Duller, l'a. Dr. N. M. Hoover, Office over Boyd's Drug Store. DIAMOND BLOCK, - - - BCRLBU, PA. W. R. TITZEL, PHYSICIAN AN " SURGEON. N\ E. Corner Main and Wayne Sta. B'OTLER PEJ^JIT'A Dr. S. A. JOHNSTON, DENTIST, - - BUTLER, PA. All work pertaining to the profession execut ed in tlie neatest manner. Specialties tiold Killing, and Painless Kx truction of Teeth. Vitalized Air administered. (Mice ou Jefferson Street, one iloor Eut of Lonry HOUM*. I'P St»ira. Office open daily, except Wednendays and Tln:rsiays. Communications by mail receive prompt attention, B. —The only Dentist In Butler using the best makes of teeth. JOHN E. BYERS, PHYSICIAN ANI> SURGEON Office No. 05 South Main Street, BUTLER, - PA. SAMUEL M. BIPPT3S, Physician and Surgeon, No. 10 West Cunningham St., BUTLER, FEJTZST'A. * . Ou WAI.nnON. Craduate of the Phlla . ft. delphia Cental College. Is prepared to do anything In the line of his profession iu a satisfactory manner. <)fllce on Main street, Butler, opposite the Vogeley House. J. S. LOSE, M.D., Has removed from Harmony lo Butler and hus his oftice at No. », Main St., ttiree doors below I/jwry House. apr-30-tf. L. S. McJUNIKIiV, Insurance and Real Estate Ag't. 17 EAST JEFFERSON ST. BUTLER, - PA. C. F. L. McQUISTION, K\(il\KKH AND SURVEYOR, OFFICE ON DIAMO.VD, BUTI.ER. PA. Stewart & Patterson. 8 A. M. BTKWAKT ami S. A. PATTERSON, Con tractors and Builders, are both men of years of experience In Hue house building and framing. ' All persons thinking of building will do well t to we tliem ami look over their designs. Residence on Kalrvlew A\e.,HprlnKdale. * Poatofflcc, Batter, Pa. FOR SALE | t A large frame boarding house, good location and doing large business. Terms easy. IKor further particulars Inquire of ( 1,. S. JlrJl >Kl>, 17E. Jeir«-ntoii St.. •'-itfj.U llutler, Pa. ) For Sale. Tlu: undersigned Administrator of Kbenezer | Christy. dec'd. late or Parker twp., oilers at private sale a farm of 117 acres, situate In Wash ington twp., near Milliard's Station. It Is all , cleared and in good state of cultivation, well watered, ;.nd has a two-story frame house, and i log barn, large orchard, and good out buildings ALSO, a 75 acre piece In Washington twp., near the Allegheny slope Coal mine, with rail road running through It. two-story trame house, partly cleared and balance good timber. AI.SU, a larm of HO acres In Parkfcr twp,, be tween AnnlsWlle and hldorado, one-hair cleared anil other half well timbered with chestnut timber, good land, but no buildings. All the above pieces are underlaid with coal, and will l»: sold either lor cash or on time. I'or further particulars enquire or U. W. CIIKISTY, 32--:sm North Hope P. 0., Butler Co., Pa VALUABLE FARM FOR SALE. A rare eliance to buy a good farm, situated In Wlnlleld twp., But ler County. Pa., on the Butler Branch of West l'enn Itallroad. and within half a mile of the station and village of Delano, con - talnlug One Hundred Acres, Seventy live acres of which are cleared and the balance in good timber, has a two story frame bouse of live rooms, cellar, wash-house. I spring-house, bang barn, and orchard of ;t good variety of rrnit. The land is In a high state of cultivation, It is rolling but is not broken by hills, and Is well adarted for stock raising as there is living water In every Held, and the fences are In good repair. Terms easy. For further particulars enquire of A l.li I hTI'S .IACKJUN, 4-«Ksm Herman, P. O.,'Butler Co., Pa. , OA L E S M EAT WANTED l\ —' Kor the HOOKKK NCRSKKIKH. CN l tabllsheil IB.'ts. Steady emyloymCnt, and good pay. Send tor terms at once. U.K. ilOOKfclt CO., Rochester, N. Y. .AGENTS WANTED! TO CANVASS KOU ON F. OKTHK I.A RGEBT, OLDEST ESTABLISHED, BEST KNOWN NIH SKKIES in the country. Most liberal terms. 11'nequaled facilities. GENEVA NI'KSEItY. Es tablished 1 K4«. W. A T. SMITH. UENTVA, S. T. Ago Little Boy Blue. The little toy dog is covered with dust, Bat sturdy aud staunch he stands; And the little toy soldier is red with rust, And his musket molds in his hands. Time was when the little toy dog was new, And the soldier was passing fair, And there was the time whun our Little Boy Blue Kissed them and put them there. •'Now don't you go 'till I come," he said, "And don't you make any noise !" So toddling off to his trundle-bed He dreamt of the pretty toys. And as he was dreaming an angel song Awakened our Little Boy Blue Oh, the years are many, the years are long, But ttie little toy friends are true. Ay. faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand, Each in the same old place, Awaiting the touch of the little hand, The smile of the little face, And they wonder as waiting these long years through In the dust of that little chair, What has become of our Little Boy Blue Since he kissed them and put them there. —Eugene Field in America. THE HOUSE-CLEANING. BY HELEN FOREST GRAVES. "Leah—Leah ! are you most through whitewashing the cellar wall? TLe baby is so cross, and Johnny has just fallen down the front steps and knocked out two of bis teeth, and your father and two hired men are clamoring for their supper, and I'm so tired out, I don't know which way to turn!" Leah Falkirk stopped with the whitewash brush still elevated in air, and listened. "Where's Jeannie, mother?" said Bhe. "She won't leave her book," re turned the nasal, melancholy voice of Mrs. Falkirk. "She sajß the chil dren are no business of hers." "Very well, mother; I'll come. Al though," Leah added, in a sort of so liloquy, "I should have liked to finish this place to-night. Of course it will all dry in Btreaks, and I shall have the whole thiug to do over to-mor row. Oh, dear! I don't suppose there was ever anyone who toiled from morning till night as I do." She untied the coarse crash apron that enveloped her from head to foot, loosened her curley rod brown hair from the folds of a red cotton pocket handkerchief that she had tied turban wise over her head, washed her hands in a tin basin hy the aid of a bar of yellow soap, and ran up the cellar steps to the kirchen, where a kerosene lamp had just been lighted to reveal a most uninviting repast. Mrs. Faikirk had been house clean ing ail day long. Unfortunately for family, she was one of those notable housewives who cannot clean one room in the house without throwing all the rest into hopeless contusion. Tbe rag Carpet was taken up, the paper stripped half off the walle, and half of it hangiug iu fluttering pen nants, and the "overflow" from the neighboring rooms was piled up in all directions, with a step ladder and two or three brooms balanced against it. The table was set for supper in the least occupied portion of the room ; the fire sulked and smoked as fires will when an east wind storm sets in during the latter part of May; the lamp persisted in sending up spurts of flame on one side of the wick. The men, who had just come in from tbe fields, radiated a sort of misty atmos- phere ol a disagreeable damp as they Btood arouud the stove, looking hope lessly about them. In his mother's arms, Johnny was bewailing himself, and the baby kept np a melancholy monotone to his neglected cradle, while two other children furtively dipped their fingers in a dish of apple sauce, and stole a ginger cookey or so whenever they could. Leah and Jeannie Falkirk were the two daughters of the farmer by his first wi'e. The present Mrs. Falkirk was the mother of the anruly flock who at present reigned in the nursery, and she bad a hard time of it, more especially as Jennie the younger and prettier of the two step daughters, absolutely rebelled against her step mother's rules. "I am not a paid servant," she was wont haughtily to remark, when poor Mrs. Falkirk 'appealed to her for aid and comfort. "I can't endure chil dren, and I don't owe any duty to a woman who iB not my dear mamma," Which was, perhaps, very pretty and sentimental of Jeannie, but came rather hard on Leah. "But," said Leah, cheerfully, "I'm not a beauty like leannie. Beauties are always sensitive." So that she was not surprised at Jeannie's withdrawing herself into the easiest chair in the room, by an especial lamp, to read a new novel, while Mrs. Falkirk, a pale haired, watery eyed little woman, called plaintively to her (Leah) for assist ance in this emergency. Just then a tall, over-grown lad— the eldest and probably the must un gainly of the second flock of Falkirks —rushed headlong into the room. ■'Mother," he shouted, "there's been a load o' hay overturned just front of our house, and the teamsters they say they can't jet no further to night. and can you keep 'em till to morrow morning—say?" "Sorry to intrude, ma'atn," said a tall, rather pleasant-voiced man, whose face was concealed by his rub ber coat aud cape: "but our horses are deadbeat. and so 6 re we, and the load of hay has settled the question by turn ing itself over—so I don't see how we can avoid becoming pensioners on your kindness." MTB. Falkirk looked nervously around. "Oh, dear! said she, "I know what the Bible says about entertaining angels unawares, but we're bouse cleanin', and"— "And," added Jeannie, in sharp, incisive accents, "it's a perfect impos ition for people to come here in this sort of way. Exactly as it pa kept a tavern." "Folks is welcome." said Abel Fal kirk, Blowly—"kindly welcome, if they can put up with the sort of fare and accommodation my wife can give i 'em at house cleaning time.*' "Is it far to the next house of en tertainment?" the smaller of the two strangers questioned. "Really Jones, I feel that we are intruding unwar rantably ". •'No, ye ain't! no, ye ain'i!" said Mr. Falkirk. "Set down, Btrangers. Lewis, put on another dry stick, and see if ye can't stop this everlastin' [ smokin'. Leah, mv lass, see what I you can do for a bite o' supper. I I know things look sort o' discouragin', BUTLER PA., FRIDAY. MAY 18. 1888 but my can straighten out a most anything." Leah gave a gave a quick, bright smile to her father as she went past. "It shall be all right, father," said she, "if the gentlemen don't mind waiting a little." "Gentlemen!" audibly sneered Jeannie. "Common teamsters! No, John, with a vicions push at tbe for lorn little brother who was nestling up to her, "go away and don't bother me. You're a naughty disobedient boy, and it served you right to fall down and cut your lip open!" "Jeannie," said Leah, in a low voice, "will you take the baby while mother helps about the supper?" "No, I'll do no such thing!" Baid Jeannie, contracting her pretty brows into a most unamiable frown, "And if you weren't a fool, you'd keep out of ail this turmoil and confusion " So saying, she drew the light nearer to her and commenced on a new chapter of her novel. Leah only sighed and went more actively about ber work. She was used to this sort of thing, and as she moved here and there she had a pleas ant word for poor, little, sobbing Johnny, a smile for the others, an en couraging whisper for Mrs. Falkirk. "I duuno what we should do with out Leah," said Mrs. Falkirk, as at length bur step daughter brought in a smoking dish of ham and eggs, a glistening tin coffee pot, and a plate of buttered waffles. "Leah's a famous good cook," ob served the farmer compacently. "And she's always willin'to help her mother. Jeannie's different now. They're both my darters, but I'm a little afraid Jeannie's inclined to be 6elfish." When the supper was over, Leah helped her mother to put the children to bed before she prepared a sort of •'camping down" room for the men, placing mattresses before the fire and bringing out blankets. And almost the last thing that the two strangers heard before they fell asleep was her soft voice, in the adjoining room, singing the fretful baby into dream land. The sun shone brightly the next day, and Leah came in as sunny as the morning itself. "We must finish the house clean ing to-dav, mother," said she, in a low tone, as she hustled around help ing to prepare the breakfast. "Ob, don't look BO despairingly! There really isn't BO much to do, and I'll help you myself with tbe rag-carpet." "Couldn't I beat them for you, Miss Falkirk?" asked the smaller and younger of the two guests, who just then came in, without bis heavy wrappings. Leah started, "Mr. Stafford!" Bhe exclaimed. "How came you here?" "Didn't you see me come," said he, "last night? Why, you were here!" "But—that was a teamster." "My companion was. It was his load of hay that was tipped over op posite your barn door. I chanced to be coming by, and helped him get the horses up. And so, of course. I came in also, quite unaware that I was crossing the threshold of your house! When I preceived that you did not recognize me, with all my wrapß, by the imperfect light, I made up my mind to continue a—common tsam ter." He glanced,with a half-smile,across to where Jennie sat, curl-papered and untidily shawled, still crouching over her novel. She looked up scarlet to the very roots of her pretty, half brushed hair. "Ob, Mr. Stafford!" faltered she; "if I bad only know—" "But you didn't," said Reginald Stafford. "Oh, pray don't suppose that I mean to criticise either of you in the least degree!* I was only too glad to escape a long walk across the dreary marshes to the hotel. And the weather was so dreadful!" Mrs. Falkirk pulled the gown of her elder stepdaughter. "Leab," said she, only halt under standing what was going on, "Leah, if the young man wants work—" "Hush!" sharply whispered Jean nie. "You get everything wromg, mother. It's Mr, Stafford—the rich Mr. Stafford, who is down here from the city, trout fishing, at the Walpole Hotel." "What the same one you met at Clara Vail's Mav-p&rty?" "Yes—do hush." Jeanni* could have bitten off the tips of her rosy finger-nails and torn her hair with rage to think of the light she bad placed herself in before Reginal Stafford's clear.amused eyes. Of all men, she would best have liked to please him, and somehow she did not think that she had suc ceeded. But Leah—poor, hard-working, 1 plain, patient Leah, who never got out of patience and always toiled on, meek and gentle as a Cindrella—how was it with her? She remembered her calico dress, her coarse gingham apron; she kuew that Mr. Stafford was a little inclined to be fastidious. But, after all, was it likely that he would think twice about it? She knew too well that she, unlike pretty Jeannie, was oot the sort of a girl that men grew wild about. "But I do wish Jeannie had had on her nice dress," thought she. "Jean nie can be so pretty when she fixes herself up!" Out under the budding apple bough, however, where Reginald helped her bang up the breadths of rag carpet, and a certain jnbilant robin darted to and fro like a brown arrow, be detained her when she would have gone back to the house "Leah," said he, geatly, "stop a minute. I have something that I want to ask you." ("It is about Jeanuie," she said to herself.) "To ask you, Bweet Leah, if you will be my wife," he pursues, "I have liked and admired you this long time, but last night, when I saw how sweet and patient and forebearing you were I learned to love you. Will you trust yourself to me, dear one, forever and ever?" ****** "And so they're to be married right off," said MTB, Falkirk. "And what am 1 to without Leah,goodness only kuews." "You will have Jeannie left," sug ' gested a mischievous neighbor. Mrs. Falkirk shook her bead. 1 "Jeannie takes the loss of her sis ter awful hard," said she. "She don't II do nothin' but cry from mornin' till ' night." I The neighbor smiled and shrugged [ her her shoulderH. , "The IOSB of her sister," said she, "or the loss of her own chance in matrimonial market?" "Li!" said Mrs. Falkirk. "I never j thought of that." — Saturday Night, i A Queer Case. In September, 1871, Griffith Jones, a farmer of Forestport, Oneida coun ty, N. Y , purchased at tax sale a tract of 360 acres of land in the town j of Allegany, Cattaragus. Co , N. Y. ! The tract was wild and barren, in an isolated region, and its owner, James j Hill, had ceased paying taxes on it, ; and had removed from it. Jones, who was a man of small means, paid sljo for the property, but after visit ing it he concluded that it was not worth putting any more money in, and he paid no more attention to the purchase beyond securing his tax deed on the 23d of September, 1873, two years after the date of purchase, which gave him legal title to the land. In 1879 petroleum was discovored in Allegany. Hill assumed control again of the tract he had abandoned, and transferred it to tbe Bradford Oil Compan. This company drilled wells on the tract and it proved to be a val uable and large producer of oil. Jones was ignorant of tbe sudden great value given to the tract he held the deed for until 1880, when it had yielded more than $500,000 worth of oil and was still a ereat producer. Jones then brought suit against the oil com pany in the Cattaraugus county court to regain posses9ioH of the tract and for the accounting of the oil that had been taken from it and sold for the proGt of the company. The company disputed Jones' title to the property on the clause in the tax sale law of New York State which makes a tax deed invalid if the purchaser does not serve on the occupant of the premises bought at tax sale, notice to redeem the same withiu two years. The oil company asserted that Hill was occu pying the premises when the deed was passed to Jones and redemption notice within the required time, and occupancy wa6 claimed on the novel point of law that, although Hill was not living on tract he had left a quan tity of hay in a shan'y on the place w*hen He moved, which gave him le gal domicile and entitled him to a notico. This was the entire defense to the suit, and the court decided that if the simple fact of there being hay on the place, as claimed, could be establish ed. it would be ample proof of occu pancy in law aud would destroy Jones' title to the property. The tri al resulted in favor ol tbe oil compa ny in 1882. A new trial was grant ed, and Jonea proved by six witnes ses that on the 22d of September, 1873, one day before he became enti tled to tbe property under the tax deed, Hill's cow had entered the shan ty and eaten all the hay that Hill left there, thus depriving Hill of legal domicile, and leaving no one in occupancy of the premises on whom redemption notice could be served. Tbe proof on this subject showed the following facts: On the 19th day of September, 1873. as shown by the marriage cer tificate, a young man by the name of Langwortby, who worked for and boarded with Hill on the adjoinimg lot was married On the following Sunday Langworthy's parents and hiß wife's parents, who lived in Penn sylvania, yisited him at Hill's house, and finding the house too small for occupancy by both families, six ot these persons went together to this old shanty upon the lot in question, to see whether it could be fixed up for Langworthy to live in. They found that Hill's cow bad broken into the shanty and eaten eyery particle of the hay, and the floor was so bro ken and covered with filth that they decided not to attempt to do anything with it. The visit to the shanty was on tbo 22d day of September, 1873, just one day before the plaintiff be came entitled to the deed Hill's cow had therefore forcibly robbed bim of possession of the lot. and he was no longer an occupant or entitled to not ice, and plaintiff's title to the proper ty was therefore valid and absolute. On that act of Hill's cow Jones' title to the property was established, and Jones obtained a verdict for an ac aounting for the oil. which amounted to nearly half a million dollars. The oil company obtained an order for a new trial, but Jones was again successful and his judgment was af firmed by the general term, and a de cision has just been given by the Court of Appeals sustaining all the points in the case in favor of Jones. Now for a Big Crop of Corn. Practical farmers may well laugh at those who talk about corn being deficient in protein aud phosphates. It is the grandest crop in the world. A well-filled corn-crib makes the farmer and his horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens happy. Through out a large area of the United States corn is grown for homo use and not for sale. Johu Johnston, the father of American tile-draining, and one of the best and most successful farmers of his time, said to us: "I havo never sold corn but once in my life—and that I gave away to be sent to Ire land during the famine." He grew large crops of corn, but fed it all out, stalks and all, to sheep and other stock, supplemented with oil-cake wheu it could be purchased cheap enough, He was a firm believer in oil-cake, but would have laughed at any one who claimed that it was worth more, pound for pound, than good sound corn. In many sections last year the corn crop suffered from drouth. This is unusual. On good land,kept clean by the frequent use of the cultivator, corn will stand drouth better than any other crop. Said an experienced farmer: "I believe I could raise a good crop of corn it uot a drop of rain fell from the day it was plauted until the day it was cut," He look ed to the stores of water in the soil, and was careful that no weeds suck ed up this moisture and robbed the corn plauts. Clover aud other deep rooted plants bring up nitrogen, phosphates, potash and other plant food from the Bubsoil, and leave them near the surface in the form of vege table matter; a severe drouth does tho same thing. Capillary attraction raises the water charged with plant food, aud. as it evaporates, leaves it on tho surface. The great drouth of last year has left our land in good ' condition. Now for a big corn crop! j American Agriculturist. There are nearly 1000 persons I employed in the Australian copper mines. Up to last September almost , 600,000 tons had been developed- THE LICENSE QUESTION. What the Supreme Court Says j Power of the Courts in the Matter. From Philadelphia Press of May 8.1 There was more disappointment than ever for the liquor license appli cants yesterday. There bad been many of those already refused and some of those who fear future rejec tion had looked to a reversal of the course of the License Court judges by tbe Supreme Court of tbe State, iu tbe case brought by Hon. George W. Biddle and Ex-Judge Elcock for a writ of alternative mandamus in behalf of Wallace G. Raudenbusb, who had {ailed iu his petition for the granting of a license. When the Supreme Court met in the morning there were only four judges on the bench—Messrs. Gor don, Paxson, Green and Williams. There wa*. however, a large attend ance of lawyers within the bar, while the enclosure for spectators was filled with interested saloon keepers and their friends. Judge Paxson handed down the opinion refusing the peti tion. TEXT OF TIIE OI'IN'TON The full text of the decision is as follows: TLe petition in this case sets forth that the petitioner resides at No. 18 North Twelfth Street, in tbe Ninth Ward, and has tor the last, five years carried on tbe business of selling li quor at retail at the said bouse, hav ing been licensed to carry on business in conformity with the laws hereto fore existiug; that being desirous of continuing the business h« presented his petition to the Court of Quarter Sessions, in conformity witn the terms of the Act of Assembly of May 13. 1887, praying for a license to sell at retail various spirituous, vinous, malt or brewed liquors for the period of one year from June 1. 1888; that he has complied strictly aud in every respect with said act, and that ho possesses all the qualifications requir ed thereby; that no evidence, petition remonstrance or statement of counsel, or of any othc-r persou whatever, be ing made or offered, or any objection of any kind being made against him or his said application, he was per mitted to depart or was dismissed from any further hearing; that on the 2d day of April, 1888, it was an nounced by the said judges that the application or petition had been re fused. The petitioner prays this court that the said judges of the said Court of Quarter Sesaioua who heard his said application and petition, aud who re fused to grant the same, may bo com manded lirst, by an alternative man damus to show causa why the prayer of said petition or application should not be granted, aud, secondly, by a peremptory mandamus to do fully all that is required to be done by the said act and justice, QUOTING THE LAW. The seventh section of the Act of May 13, 1887. under which it is claimed it is the duty of the Court of Quarter Sessions to grant this license is as follows: "The said Court of Quarter Sessions shall hear petitions from residents of the ward, borouirh or township, in addition to that of the applicant, in favor of a remon strance against the application for such license, and in all cases shall re fuse the same whenever in the opin ion of said Court, having due regard to the number and character of the petitioner for and against such appli cation, such license is not necessary for the accommodation of the public and entertainment of strangers or travelers, or that the applicant or ap plicants is or are not fit persons to whom such license should be granted; acd, upon sufficient cau3e being shown, or proof being made to the said Court, that the party holding a license has violated any law of this Commonwealth relating to tho sale of liquors, the Conrt of Quarter Ses sions shall, upon notice being given to the person so licensed, revoke the said license." It will be noticed that the petition does not aver that the judges of the Court of Quarter Sessions have neg lected or refused to act upon his peti tion. His grievance is that they have acted and have refused him a license. He now asks that they shall be compelled to show cause why his license should not be granted, and by a peremptory mandamus "to do fully all that is required to be done by said act aud justice." We under stand the prayer for relief to mean that if the judges can not show that the petitioner has not complied with the act of 1887, or that a remon strance has been filed or an objection made by one or more citizens to this granting of a license to the petitioner it is the duty of this court to issue a peremptory mandamus to the judges of the Quarter Sessions to compel them to grant such license. The petitioner assumes that he is entitled as a matter of right to a license upon complying with the provisions of the act of 1887 in the absence of any al legation that ho is an improper per son to be so licensed. TUB FALLACY OF THE CASK. This is the fallacy which underlies his case, as well as the able argument of his learned counsel. He has no such absolute right, nor has any oth er man in the commonwealth. It is not needed to review the liceuse leg islation of this State for the last half century. That was thoroughly done by Mr. Justice Agnew in Schlau decker vs Marshall. It is sufficient to say that prior to the Act of 1887 the law was by no means uniform, there being many local acts in exis tence, differing essentially from each other. In Philadelphia any citizen could procure a license upon payment of the license fee to the County Treasurer. In some counties licenses were granted by the Court of Quar ter Sessions when, in the opinion of the Court, the public accommodation required them. The whole history of our license system and the legislation attending it shows that the unrestricted sale of liquorw has for a long time been re garded as a great evil. It is one which statesmen and many earnest men and women havo been wrestling with trom the organization of the Government. When, therefore, the Legislature came to enact the Act of 1887, they were seeking to curb and regulate this evil. This clearly ap pears from the title ot the act. It reads: "An act to restrain and regu late the sale of vinous, spirituous, mult or brewed liquors, or any ad mixtures thereof." The mode o( re straint adopted by the Legislature was two-fold. One was to increase | the price of the license, by which Imanj saloons would he clj?*'d aad othe-s rendered more re-pectable, and the4>ther was to substitute the dis j crction of the Court of Quarter Ses ! sions for the mere ministerial duty of j granting licenses bv couutv treasur ers, as it had theretofore existed in Philadelphia and some other places. If the construction of the act con- I tended for by the petitioner be the correct one, then the title of the act should read, "An act to increase the sale of liquor and to derive revenue therefrom." In other words, it would give every man in the State a right to sell liquor who could pay for his license aud comply with the act. This would do violence to its letter and spirit. The petitioner begs the whole case when he assumes that he has a right to a license because he is a re spectable man, has always kept a re spectable house and that no remon strances have beeu filed against him. It is an error to suppose that the sole dutv of the Court is couGaed to the inquiry whether the applicant is a cit izen of the United States and a man of good moral character. Back of all this lies the question whether the petitioner's house is, "necessary for the accommodation of the public and entertainment of strangers and travelers,'' and the plain duty of the Court of Quarter Sessions under the act of Assembly to so exercise its discretion as to "re strain" rather than increase the sale of liquors. We do not know how many public houses there are in the Ninth Ward; it ia not material that we should. We are* bound to pre sume that the judges below have as certained the number in a judicial manner; that they have in like man ner decided how many are necessary for the public accommodation. A QUESTION OF PUBLIC CONCERN. An investigation of this question has no particular bearing upon the petitioner's fitness to keep a saloon. It is a general one with which he has no more legal concern than any other citizen of the ward. The question is one of public concern; the petitioner is DO party to it in the sense that per sons are parties to private litigation. It may thus happen that licenses are refused to persons against whom there is no possible objection on personal grounds. Thus, if a ward has 100 public houses where only fifty are re quired by the public wants, it is plain that fifty houses must be deDied li censes although every one of the ap plicants is a worthy man nnd keeps a respectable house; and though there be neither remonstrance nor objection on the score of want of fitness. The denial of a license under such circum stances may seem arbitrary. The trouble is there are more persons who want to sell liquor than the Legisla ture considered it for the public good to license for that purpose. I will not consume time with an extended discussion of the right of jndges of the Court of Quarter Ses sions to exercise their discretion in the granting of licenses. It has been exercised l>y that Court almost time out of mind, and the power has again and again been affirmed by this Court. This discretion, however, is a legal discretion, to be exercised wisely and not arbitrarily. A judge who refuses all applicants.unless for cause shown, errs as widely as the judge who grants all applications. In cither case, it is not the exercise of judicial discretion, but of arbitrary power. The law of the land has decided that licenses shall be granted to some ex tent, and has imposed the duty upon the court ascertaining tho instances in which the license shall be granted. ID order to perform this duty prop erly the act of Assembly has provid ed means by which the conscience of the Court may ho informed as to the facts; it may hear petitions, remoD 9traneea or witnesses. And we have no doubt the Court may in some in stances act of its own knowledge. The mere appearance of an applicant for license, when he comes to the bar of the Court, may be sufficient to sat isfy the judge that he is not a fit per son to keep a public house. The judge is not bound to grant a license to a man whom ho knows to be a drunk ard or a thief, or has actual knowl edge that his house is not necessary for the public accommodation. PREVIOUS DECISIONS OK TIIK COURTS. The object of evidence in such cases is to inform the conscience of the court so that it can act intelligently and justly in the performance of a public uuty. While the act of decid ing in such coses is perhaps quasi ju dicial, the difference between granting or withholding a license and the decision of a question between parties to a private litigation is manifest. Neither the petitioner uor any other person in this State has any property in the right to sell liquor. It is need lens to cite the numerous cases in which this Court has refused to inter fere with the discretion of the Quar ter Session in regard to licenses. I will refer to Sehlnudeckcr vs. Marshall, supra, which is upon all fours with this, and where the ques tion was raised upon a:i application for a mandamus to a board of licenses appointed under the act of May 10, 1871, giving the said board "the same power and authority to grant licenses in the city of Erie as the Court of Quarter Session 9 by law now has " Tho act there in force was that of March 22. 1867, the first section of which is substantially the same as tho seventh section of the act of 1857, so far as tho duties of the eoart are con- corned. Thn petitioner there, as here, aver red all that was necessary under the law to entitle him to a license, nor does any remonstrance appear to bare been liled against it. The petitioner obtained a rule upon the board to show cause why they should not graut hiß application. An answer was put in by the board in which, af ter specifying the number of applica tions. the number granted the num ber refused, they said: "The respond ents answer and say that they claim it is not only simply their privilege, but an important duty enjoined on them by law, fully and carefully to examine every application for license, and wbeu they are found t%be in form according to the provisions of the act of Assembly tha*, would constitute a prima facie case. Then it becomes the duty of the board, particularly when there are 1-J4 applications for license to deal out spirituous liquors in a city of a population of about 20,- 000, first to see if the public interest required that number to be licensed, and, second, is the applicant a person of pood repute for honesty and temper ance? aud third, hjw he the necessary house room? i "These facts the board has to ascer- NO. 28 tain from evidence or personal inspec tion, and thereupon to judge and de j termlne upoa all the cases submitted to the board. These respondents claim it is their dnty, in discharge of an obligation they owe to the public, ! not to take the certificates of the twelve citizens as conclusive as to the necessity of the tavern or eating house for the public accommodation, as to the honesty and temperance of the applicant and as to his being pro , vided with bouse room, but to | examine into the matter, and, upon a 1 full and careful investigation, to de ! ctrie who shall have license and who ! shall not. These respondents did decree upon Mr. Schlsudecker's appli cation and rejected it, and believe they acted in accordance with the law in doing so." This Court, in an elaborate opinion I bv Mr. Justice Agnew, decided that • upon this state of facts the writ of mandamus was properly refused. See also Toole's appeal as to the discretion of the Court. Were we to grant the alternative mandamus now prayed for it would result only in a return thereto by the judges of the court be low 'that they have considered the application of the petitioner and, in the exercise of the judicial discretion conferred upon thetn by law, have rejected it Under all our cases such a return would be conclusive, and it would lead to no profitable result to allow the writ It is, therefore, denied. The Yellow River of China. The Yellow River, from the enor mous rapidity of its volume when swollen by melted snow, is the worst of offenders. Its new bed, even in twenty-five years. has risen far above the plain, and as the the dikes grow from hillocks into hills, from mere walls into ranges of earthworks like fortress sides, hundreds of miles long, the effort over taxes the skill of the engineers and the perseverance even of Chinese laborers. The ablest engi neers in India were beaten by the Damoodah, though it is, compared with the Hoang-Ho, like a trumpery European stream, and though the labor available could hardly be ex hausted. The truth of the matter is that, in all such cases, the upper sec tions of the dikes cost to much for complete repair, and tend to be inad equate; and when the Yellow River, gorged with water from the mount ains till it forms in reality a gigantic reservoir, averaging a mile broad, from 300 to 500 miles long and 70 feet deep, all suspended in air by ar tificial supports, comes rushing down in autumn, the slightest weakness in those supports is fatal. On September 2T, the river was at its fullest, there was almost certainly a driving wind from the west, a bit of dike gave way, the rent spread for 1200 yards, and —our readers remem ber, for Charles Reade described it, the rush into Sheffield of the Holm firth reservoir. Multiply that, if you can, by 2000, add exhauslless renew als of the water from behind—five Danubes pouring from a height for two months on end—and instead of a long valley with high sides which can be reached, think of a vast, open plain, flat as Salisbury plain, but studded with 3,000 villages, all swarming as English villages swarm, and you man gain a conception of a scene hardly rivaled since the deluge. The torrent, it is known, in its first and grandst rush, though throwing out rivers at every moment at every incline of the land, had for its center a stream thirty miles wide and ten feet deep, traveling probably at 20 miles an hour—a force as irresistable as that of lava. No tree could last ten minutes, no house five, the yery soil would be carried away as by a supernatural plowshare, and as for man an ant in a broken stop cock in a London street would be more pow erful than he. Swim ? As well wrestle with the Holyhead express. Flee ? It takes hours in such a plain to reach a hillock three feet high, the water the while pouring on faster than a hunter's gallop. There is no more escape from such a flood than there is escape from the will of God, and those Chinese who refused even to struggle were the happiest of all, because the quickest dead. Over a territory ot 10.000 square miles, or two Yorkshires at least (for the mis sionaries report a wider area), over thousands of yillages— 3ooo certain ly. even if the capital is not gone, as is believed —the soft water passed, silently strangling every living thing, the cows and the sheep as well as their owners; and for ourselves, who have seen tho scene only on a petty scale, we doubt wheth the "best in formed European in Pekiu," is not right when he calculates the destruc tion of life at 7,000'000. — The Spec tator (London.) Fun for Passengers. The passengers on the morning train north a few days ago, on the N. Y. P. & O. R. R, had connidera blo sport at the expense of two eou plesou thoir way to Jamestown. X. Y., to get married. The irrepressi'>,e train boy had loads of paper corered literature which just fitted their caw*, and he kept them busy reading tue titles of such standard works as "Husband and Wife," "Eloped," "Our First Baby," etc., and it was only by the restraining power of the conductor that the aforesaid train boy was prevented from offering them patent nursing bottles. When the train arrived at Corry the brake man sang out: "Change cars for Meadville, Erie, Bradford, Salamanca, and Jamestown to get married." The prospective brides and grooms seemed to enjoy their fleeting promi nence. The custom of running away to Jamestown toget married,in order to avoid taking out the license requir ed iuPennsylvania.seems to have laid Btrong hold on the thoughtless lovers of Eastern Crawford, and when they buy round trip tickets their fellow 1 passengers soon get on to their little ' lay.— Cochranton Titnea. > —Louisiana potatoes, onions and > cabbages are being largely shipped, » especially to Western points. k Beds of meerschaum at Crimea, i Negropont and Asia Minor furnish r employment for 4,000 miners. r —The original of Linooln's general s Emancipation proclamation wai * burned in the great Chicago fire. —lt has been estimated that only f 2000 men are at present employed .. around the mines in the Shamokia r (Pa.) district. Heretofore 6000 have usually been at work at this time of •. year. "