1
J
VOL. XI.
THE TIMES.
An Independent Family Kewspnper,
18 PUBLISHED EVERT Tl'tBDAT BT
r moutimer & co.
Subscription Price.
Within the County . tl 25
" " " HI x month T5
Ont ef the County, Including postage, 160
" " six months ,l . 85
Invariably in Advance I
Advertising rates furnished upon appli
cation.
CHARLIE'S OPINION OF BABY.
Muzzer's bought a baby,
Ittlo bits of zing,
Zlnk I mos could But blm
Froo my rubber ring.
Ain't he awful ugly t
Ain't be awful pink?
Jus come down from Heaven,
Cat's a fib I rink.
Doctor told anozzer
Qreat big awful lie
Nose ain't out of Joyent,
Sat ain't why I cry.
Zlnk I ought to lore him I
No, I wont .so zere t .
Kassy crying baby
Ain't got any hair.
Send me off wis Biddy , ,
Every single dayi .
" Be a good boy Charlie,
.Baa away and play."
STEW BLOOMlIISLD, TUESELA.Y, APRIL 10, 1877.
Dot all my nice kisses,
Dot my place in bed,
Mean to take my drumstick,
And beat him on ze head.
POPPINQ THE QUESTION.'
THE subject la too interesting to be
Introduced by any page remarks.
And yet it is important. Sometimes,
many times, a man's happiness has de
pended on his munner of " popping the
question." Many a time the girl has
said " No," because the question was so
worded that affirmative did not come
from the mouth naturally, and two lives
that gravitated to each other with all
their Inward force, have been thrown
suddenly apart, because the electric
keys were not properly touched. An
other writer corroborates the statement.
Oftentimes," says he, "a girl says "no"
to an offer, when it Is as plain ns the
nose on her face she means ' yes.' The
best way to judge whether she is In
earnest or not, is to look straight Into
her eyes and never mind her nose."
There are some people that never " pop
the question" but once. They are cau
tious ; they love with their whole heart
before they ask that important question,
and they never love again. Others go
through life "popping" to every girl
they are fortunate enough to be intro
duced to, and to be treated civilly by,and
are never answered " Yes." lie that
says bluntly, " Will you marry me V"
has no music In his soul, or is a widower
courting a lrouse or farm. Once in a
New York church, the young man who
carried the collecting plate, before start
ing out to collect, put his hand in his
pocket as usual, and put a (shil
ling, as he supposed, on the plate,
and then passed it roundaniong the con.
gregation.which numbered many young
and pretty girls. The girls as they look
ed at the plate, all seemed astonished
and amused, and the young man. taking
a glance at the plate, found that, in
place of a shilling, he had put a conver
sation lozenge on the plute, with the
words, " Will you marry me V" in red
letters, staring everybody in the face.
None of the young ladies howevcr,closed
with the ofl'er.
A young gentleman familiar with the
Scriptures, happened to sit in a pew ad
joining a young lady for whom he con
ceived a violent attachment,, made his
proposal iu . this way: He politely
handed her a Bible open, , with a pin
stuck in the following text:, 2nd Epistle
to John, v. -6 ."And I beseech thee,
lady, not as though I wrote a new com
mandment unto thee, but that which we
had from the beginning, that we love
one another." . She returned it, pointing
to the second chapter, verse 10 : " Then
she fell on her'faoe and bowed herself to
the ground, and sold unto him, why
havo I found grace in thine eyes, that
thou should'st take knowledge of me,
seeing that I am a stranger r' He re
turned the book, pointing to' the 13th
verse of the Third Epistle to John
"Having many .things, to write unto you
I would not write with paper and ink,
but I trust to come unto you, and speak;
face to face, that our joy may be full.'
From the above Interview a marrhage
took place In the ensuing month In the
same church. A. lady wants to know If
a breach of promise suit can be Insti
tuted upon the following proposal, in
writing: ' ' V , .' ' 1
"Angel I beneath vhose folded wW'
My sunl would rest, 1 '
Be mine! tor lo! I've bought the ring, .
AndtnereuU ti , ,y j ., : ,
Of those house-treasures and ectotnras, .
Which every one who tries to better his state
, hH .. . .. .. .j j .. . ...
It is certaiuly a breach of promise of
poetry, if nothing else. " Topping the
question" In Peru, is very romantic
The suitor appears on' the appointed
evening, with a gaily-dressed troubadour,
under the balcony of his beloved.- The
singer steps before the flower bedecked
window, nnd sings her beauties in the
nnme of her lover. He compares her
size to Ibut of a palm tree, her lips to
two blushing rose-buds, and her woman
ly form to that of the dove. With as
sumed harshness tire lady asks her love,
' Who are you, and what do you Want ?'
He answers, with ardent confidence,
"The love I do adore I The stars live
in the harmony of love,and why should
not we, too, love each other V" Then
the proud beauty gives herself away ;
she hikes the flower wreath from her
hair, nnd throws it down to her lover,
promising to be ills forever.
-.
WHAT BECOMES OF OLD GREENBACKS.
ABOUT two years ago It was custom
ary to destroy the Immense amount
of mutilated and dirty paper currency,
which was redeemed in new bills by the
Treasury Department In Washlngton,by
burning it. Tills plan is now superseded
by a much more effective and economi
cal operation. A new sub-department
has been added to theTreaHiiry called the
Macerating Department, and here the
literally filthy lucre Is made into pulp
to be transformed Into clean, fresh pa pel.
In the first place the fractional currency
is subjected to a most rigid scrutiny, and
counted for the pnrpose of detecting
counterfeits, and then is turned over to
men who, with a machine cancel each
note so effectually that by no possibility
could it ever be used again ; another
count is then gone' through with for the
purpose of checking the operators of the
machine, and preventing them from ap
propriating any of the condemned mon
ey. After the canceling the money is
next cut in half, and once more the sep
arate halves are counted,when ascertain
ed to be all right are placed in boxes for
the purpose of removing them to the
macerating building before alluded to.
These boxes are securely locked while In
transit from the Treasury to the macera
ting establishment, where they are open
ed In the presence of three representa
tives of the Treasury, one acting in be
half of the Secretary, another for the
Treasurer, and the last for the Register,
and each batch is usually accompanied
by a quantity of bonds. From the boxes
the bonds, which are cut and cancelled
thoroughly, and the fractional currency
areemptied into the macerating cylinder,
which is also locked with three separate
locks, tho keys of which are held
respectively by the officers named above.
The process of macerating Is very sim
ple. The macerating cylinder is revolv
ed by a sixty horse power engine, and at
the same time jets of steam are injected
into it, which speedily soften the mass
of paper. The moistened paper by its
own gravity keeps dropping, and is re
duced to a pulp by the sharp ridges
which form the inside ef the cylinder.
After being subjected to the treatment
for about thirty-six hours, the cylinder
Is unlocked by the three officials and the
pulp is then allowed to fall on an eleva
tor, which conveys it to a large tub,
where it is thoroughly cleansed, and all
fatty matter removed by tho agency of
quicklime and soda. '
The washing of thepiilpcompletesthe
process, and it is finally dumped in to a
heap to lie until purchased. Recently
about $4,600,000 worth of fractional cur
rency was placed in the macerator. This
was an unusually large batch, the aver
age " burnings," as the macerations are
called, being much less. - There is now
an Immense quantity of the pulp on
hand, probably I several hundred tons.
This will be sold to paper manufacturers.
The rate usually paid for this pulp is in
the vicinity of $5 per ton, and the prin
cipal purchaser manufactures from It a
very nicearticle of paper. , An approxi
mate estimate of the fractional currency
or bonds at ; this establishment is 650
tons., The proceeds resulting from the
sale of this may be counted as a net gain
over the old method, as the burning of
the money or bondsrequiredtheexpend
iture of as much labor as does the pres
ent muceratlng system, and consumed a
great deal more coal. -
The National Bank notes are coverted
into pulp by the centrifugal process In
side the Treasury building, the method
adopted being almost In every respect
similar to that pursued with the frac
tional currency and bonds, as described
above. The Improvement on the burn
ing plan is too obvious to need exteaded
mention.' Extraordinary precautions
were required to keep the destroyed
money from flying out of the furnace
chimney, nnd the odor of the burned
money was an Intolerable nuisance, and
was very injurious to the health of those
residing in the neighborhood of the
place where it was carried on. The Inst
reason would have been a sufficient one
for changing the method, if the addi
tional one of making an absolute saving
to the Government did not suggest Itself.
Hotel Cars.
For some time we have heard hints of
a line of hotel cars for the Omaha and
California line of the Chicago & North
western Railway. When asked about
their cars, the officers have uniformly
evaded a direct reply. Our " reportial
instincts" taught us to investigate for
ourselves. We have done so, and are
now enabled to state positively that such
a line will be started in the early spring,
and that the cars are now being built.
The fact will no longer be a secret after
this day's paper gets before the public.
Four of the most magnificent hotel
cars that have been built anywhere are
now being constructed by the Pullman
Palace Car Company expressly for this
line. These cars will be sixty feet long,
ten feet wide, and ten feet high, with
twelve sections, one drawing-room (with
table room for six persons), and one state
room, besides the kitchen, china closet,
dressing room, etc. The interior will be
finished with black and while walnut,
mahogany .French ash.and curled maple,
the place of the usual head-lining be
ing rilled in with foreign polished woods ;
the panels between the windows will be
of California laurel and other California
woods ; the lump flxtures,window fasten
ings, door hardware, etc., will be of
triplo plated silver. The unholstery of
the seats is to be of rich but plain reps,
corresponding but harmonizing with
the wood finish of the sides and roof of
the cars. Between each 6et of seats is
space for a table that will accommodate
four persons comfortably, but as a rule
are not expected to seat more than two
persons. The glass and chinaware for
the tables are now being made at Dres
den, Germany, from patterns selected
from tho Royal Dresden exhibit that
was at the Centennial Exposition and
so greatly admired. Each piece of silver-ware,
glass-ware and china-ware will
have the monogram of the Chicago &
North-Western road marked thereon.
The kitchen of the cars will be so ar
ranged that no fumes from the cooking
viands can reach the occupants of the
berths. On each ca&will be a steward,
two cooks, three waiters, and a chamber
maid to wait upon lady patrons. It is
the intention of the company to furnish
the best meals that money can buy, and
choice wines and cigars will be attaina
ble by those desiring those luxuries.
These hotel cars will leave Chigaco on
the "California Express," and run
through to the Missouri river. On the
west-bound train, dinner, supper and
breakfast will be served. The east-bound
hotel cars will leave Omaha on the " At
lantic Express" each day, in the after
noon. On this train supper, breakfast
and dinner will be served. Thus passen
gers bound in either direction will be
enabled to have all their meals en route
and yet not leave their palatial traveling
parlor.
The only objection that has ever been
raised against the use of hotel cars has
been connected with the odors of the
kitchen. As we said before, this, in
these cars, will be entirely obviated ; no
person, no matter how particular he or
she muy be, will have cause to make any
objections on this score. In the dining
car you merely get your meals, and as
soon as you are through eating you are
shoved out and started for the coach or
sleeper, so as to make room for some
other traveler who desires your place.
While in these hotel cars your berth
will be secured through, you will own it
absolutely for the length of your trip,
and It will bo your own for lounging,
sitting, Bleeping, and eating purposes, as
much as your own seat in your own
house. As it is not generally known,
dining cars are never run over the en
tire length of any route ; they are taken
on and set off of the trnin at stated
meal times, while these hotel cars will
be made a part of the train and run
through in the same way as the regular
sleeping car.
On the admirable steel rail that Is now
laid on the Chicago & North-Western
NO. lf.
Railway, these elegant, slxteen-wheeled
hotel cars will ride as easy and with as
little noise or oscillation as a balloon
that floats serenely through the air ; and
we believe It will be found to be a result
that thousands will flock to the " Tlon
ecr Line," who have hitherto gone by
some other route.
With these and other Improvements
the people of Cedar Rapids are very
largely interested and we believe will
Join with us In congratulating the pro
gressive management of this great line
in this its most advanced step ; and
unite with us in saying, the Chicago A
North-Western Railway has become the
foremost road in all the West.
These hotel cars will be placed in
service about March 1st, 1877. Hepubli
can, Dec, S3nd, 1H7C.
Seeking Salvation.
1 once heard of a vessel that was
wrecked, and there was not life boats
enough to take oil that were on the
vessel, and some that were left there to
perish in the water went swimming
around these life-boats. One poor fellow
swam up to a life-boat, and seized It with
his left hand, and u man in the boat
seized his sword, and cut off the hand.
The man was terribly in earnest to eave
his life, and he swam upthe second time,
and reached out his right hand, and
they cut it off too. He was terribly in
earnest to save his life. Everything else
was forgotten, and he swam up again,
and seized hold of the boat with his
teeth, nnd it touched those men's hearts,
and they had compassion, and they took
him out of the Jaws of death, out of a
watery grave, and he was saved because
he was in earnest. He was saved be
cause he sought with all his strength
and all his mind. And so,iny friends,
when you and I want salvation above
everything e1e, then we will get it and
not before. I have very little sympathy
with those men who fold their arms and
say : -'Well I would not object to being
saved. The Lord can save me if he
wants. I don't have any serious ob
jections to being saved." I never found
any one yet saved with that spirit. My
friends, if you are saved at all, you havo
got to seek the Lord, and you never can
be saved till you do seek him. The idea
that a man can speak in that way 1 I
think it was not 24 hours ago I heard -man
say that thing. My friends, you
will never get into the kingdom of heav
en with that spirit. If you want to find
the Lord, you must seek for him with
all your heart and soul and strength.'
Mooov.
A Skeptic's Advice.
Benjamin Franklin was a dentist, but
had sense enough to see the banefulness
of infidelity. When Thomas Paine sent
him a portion of his "Age of Reason"
for examination, he wrote, "I have read
your manuscript. You strike at the
foundations of all religion. You will
not succeed, so as to change the general
sentiment of mankind on that subject.
Tho consequence of printing this piece
will be mischief to you and no benefit to
others. He that spits against tho wind
spits in his own face. You may find it
easy to live a virtuous life. You have a
clear perception of the advantages of
virtue. But think how great a portion
of mankind consists of weak and
ignorant men and women and of incon
siderate youth of both sexes, who need
the motives of religion to restrain them
from vice. Perhaps you are indebted to
your religious education for the habiuof
virtue upon which you now justly value
yourself. I would advise you, therefore,
not to attempt unchaintng.the tiger, but
to burn this piece before it is seen by any
other person. If men are so wicked -with
religion, what would they I witft
ovl it V Selected.
newspaper correspondent writes
from Texas : " Apples cannot be grown
here, and while cabbages and potatoes
grow luxuriantly, they will rot within
two weeks after being taken out of the
ground. Residents of cities dare not
allow grass to grow in the yards around
their residences, for fear of furnishing
hiding places for tarantulas aod centi
pedes. And at present I can say that I
have not tasted a well cooked beef-steak
since I have been in the State, and more
than half the time have not had milk
enough to color coffee, to say nothing
of the utter impossibility of having any
to drink."
J