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WHEAT AND v /-'•• • , • ' - . • . : • • • . - - • I" • r \ ' •P|i©Sp' w'^T)«i$B? THEIR RELATION TOEACH OTHER UNIQUELY SHOWN. One Rises; tjjjs Other Falls-An Ounce of Silver a Year Ago Worth a Bushel - of Wheat, Now Worth Only Half a Bushel. Favorable Business Conditions. Special Washington correspondence: According to Dun's Financial Re­ view, the" failures during the third quarter of 189.7 amounted to less than in any quarter for five years, and in the .last fifteen years, including the period of our greatest prosperity, only six quarters have shown a less amount. The volume of legitimate business con­ tinues a little larger'than In the corre­ sponding period of 1892, and the evi- Sept I-i836* Sept.l-1897 103.2 102.5 100.7 99.0 98. l! 96.7 942 93.8 92.7 87.! 83.7 82.2 80.1 78.8 76.1 70.6 67.2 672 Sep. [97 A'iq-22. Auq.25 Anq.20. Hay 6_ Apr.ii Apr. 1JL Meh.|8J Mch.ff9Z ffov 5_ 0cr.2i Oct. 24, Oct.lJL Oct 8_ Sep.2+i SeplZL Sep.] 96 Sep I '96 _5ep. 26 Set. 24 ^ JJch. 6*97 ™ _&h. 13 . | J&. 10 = Jay.I, I im*6- « Jyjy 24 2 J«!y3! 3 Auq. 4 °, .Au<} 6 m -Aua.11 -Afflh# ni 5* 17 » Aug. 23 Jep, W S 59.7 ^5U Two Ounce5 dences of reviving properity are the more important because prices for man ufactured products have advanced.but moderately and are much below the level of 1892. Speculation in wheat and cotton has been set back by bright crop prospects. The wheat estimate is about 20 million bushels more than will be required for food and seed." The heads of the various executive departments here are working On their annual estimates and.reports in antici­ pation of the convening of Congress in December. Secretary Wilson has out­ lined the subjects to which he will call the attention of Congress and the Presi­ dent. He will ask for a considerable increase in his appropriation for at least three important branches of the work of the Department of Agriculture, viz., the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and Farmers' Bui letins. The Secretary claims that the facilities of the Bureau of Animal In­ dustry for the inspection of meat in tended for foreign shipments are over­ taxed. and it is his intention to urge that the oxperimeuts already made by that bureau in the shipment of butter to England should be followed by more work in that line. The shipments thus far have produced excellent < and en: couragiug results, an indication being that a representative of English firms has recently been in Iowa,- buying up all available butter for export. There is a growing demand for farmers' bulle tins, and the Secretary desires to in crease largely the circulation of this document, but he cannot do so to any extent without a larger appropriation The year ending with September, 1897, has put the finishing touches upou the explosion of the, theory that silver and wheat went "hand in hand." Some figures brought forth from the publi­ cations dt the Bureau of Statistics of the Treasury Department show an in­ teresting state of affairs with respect to the relative values of wheat and silver. On Sept. 1, 1896, an ounce of silver and a bushel of wheat in the New York markets were of equal value. On Sept. 1, 1S97, just one year later, the bushel of wheat was equal in value to two ounces of silver. The thermometer shows in a unique way the upward course of wheat and the corresponding downward course of silver. A. B. CARSON. in April it hrtd fallen to $670,000,000; In May ii vas $643,000,000; while in June the difference was only $246,000,- 000. In the last mouth of the Demo­ cratic administration London's busi­ ness exceeded ours by $844,000,000. In June, the fouptk month of President McKlnley's administration, London's business exceeded ours by only $246,- 000,000. Within five months the differ­ ence had decreased at the rate of $600,- 000,000 a month in our favor. In the month of July the New York bank clearings were larger than the London June clearings, but we cannot yet com­ pare them with the London July re­ turns. . A Straw. The complete bank clearings of New York City and ojf London for several years past show that the volume of business transacted in London increas­ ed in about the same proportion as it decreased here under the Democratic administration of 1893, and during our fatal experiment with free trade. Our return to prosperity and protection has been followed by a corresponding de­ crease of business in London. We now have the bank clearings of both cities for the first six months of the present year: 1S97. New York. London. January . .$2,589,347,332 $3,101.(519,977 February.. 2,045,130.179 2,889,927,227 March..... 2,387,110,544 3,107,905,893 April 2,249,763,759 2,818,642,735 Mav...... 2.315.157.306 2,958,277,219 June...... 2,561,546,708 2,807,868,304 July 2,833,918,896 Last February, just before the inau­ guration of President McKihley, the bankSfcleariugs of Londotn were $844,- 000,000 more than in New York. -In March the difference was $720,000,000; Cheap Wheat. As the future price of wheat is Main­ ly dependent upon the Argentina wheat erpp, to be harvested about December next, it 5s interesting to study the methods of cultivation there. The South American wheat farms are mostly held by Italians who use peon labor. Their methods are primitive and of the cheap­ est character, and their expenses are very small. That portion of the Argentine Repub­ lic at present devoted to wheat culture includes .the provinces of Santa Fe, one main can plow two or two and ft half acres per diem with a single plow, or four to five acres on broken land with a double plow,v and if provided with sufficient bullocks, and urged to do so by good condition of the land and suitable weather, will keep up this work for a considerable time. At very few of the 200 to .300 rail­ way stations where wheat is shipped are found more than the" most neces­ sary buildings, such as one or two gen- eral stores, bakeries and sinithies, and, very much to the disappointment of the buyers of station lots, there seems no disposition to build country towns or /create any local industries, except for the making of simple "agricultural implements, and there are no local cen­ ters or markets. ^ Land being very plentiful, and very easy to work in the Argentine Republic, a family usbally take up from 250 to 400 acres, and cultivate a$ much as they can.* The land is bought sometimes foy cash, or more usually to be paid for by installments'spread over four or sev- eit years; or is rented by yearly ten­ ancy; but. under a very general and most convenient arrangement laud- owners are almost always .willing to , . ' \ -vV i SOBER OR STARTLING,„ FAITH. FULLY RECORDED. SANTA- Ffc-^ITALIAN COLONISTS CLEANING WHEAT. Buenos Ayres and Eat re R5os, with the south portion of the province of Cor­ doba (the province corresponding to the "State" in the United States), and the total area of this stretch of country is about equal to the combined areas of England and France. Only about one- third of the laud within convenient dis­ tance of railways already constructed being as yet under cultivation, it is ob­ vious-that there is room for consider­ able development even under the pres­ ent conditions of transportation. The surface of this great section of country is level and free from stones, "devoid of timber, with few streams, having a rich soil, a temperate climate (average summer temperature 74 de­ grees F.), and usually a plentiful rain­ fall, also during the spring months con­ stantly recurring night dews. The general character of the soil is the same in all parts, varying some­ what in fertility according to the near­ ness to or remoteness from the great River Parana or the estuary known as River Plate. The soil is composed of a loose vegetable layer of black loam of six to thirty-six inches in depth, and under this layer is usually found a deep subsoil of a clayey, sandy character, have their land worked by any decent colonist "on shares,1' receiving from 8 UP to 50 per cent, of the product of ev­ ery crop according to the facilities giv­ en to the tenant, and this system 'of working on shares is by far the most usual, and seems to be suited to thfe present "state of the country. If the tenant is a poor man the land­ owner may build the very simple mud house that shelters the family and also supply bullocks, plowp,.seed and sup­ plies until the first hfo'^'st,. and the landlord then takes 50,pj^"cent, of the crop, but if only the use of land is given 8 to 15 per cent, of the produce goes to the land-owner as rent; liis;proportion is naturally larger on land that is in a specially favorable position. If tlje crop is a failure, the tenant may skip, having lost a year, but the land-owner has had his land broken up, and Is con­ tent to put that advantage against his money loss. Good land, situated conveniently near to a railway station and within 100 miles of a port, may be valued at £1 ($5, gold) per acre, and the farm can be worked by the colonist, assisted by a young son and by oue hired peon all the year round, and by two extra persons Carlinville MincrsHave Returned to Work -- H is . Peath Foretold in a Dream-State Assessment and Equal­ ization Completed. Carlinville Miners Win. The mining trouble in Carlinville is set­ tled, and the men have gone to work at the scale of 32^> cents a ton gross weight. The operators refused to take back, four­ teen men who were on the blacklist, but most of these have gone to Green Ridge and Virden. Dreamed He Would Die. Those who dabble in the occult have a fruitful tlietoe in the death of George An­ derson of Sprhigfield. Mr. Anderson, Wlro was an.engineer on the Wabash Railroad, died of injuries which he received in a head-end collision at Naples. On the morbing of the aceident Anderson arose from a troubled sleep. He had dreamed that lie had been in a collision and he had experienced all the horrors of being caught beneath hisf engine and pinioned by its heavy boiler. Anderson was trou­ bled by the dream and he told the mem­ bers of his family about it. He said he felt that here was a warning in the dream a Ed he was almost persuaded not to go out on the road that day. Taxable Property i« Illinois. The secretary of the State Board of Equalization has compiled a tabulation of assessments and equalization of the State board, showing the taxable valuation of property of the State as follows: Total value real and personal property of State as equalized by State board. $717,062,834; capital stock of corporations assessed, $4,050,833; railroad property assessed by board, $78,621,926. The total equalized assessed value of property of the State is $799,736,603, which is a decrease of $16,- 944,101 from the equalized assessed value of the year 1S96. Illinois Girl Murdered. Miss Nora Harris, who died Sept. 11. as the reported result of a buggy accident aud whose body was "disinterred at Jack­ sonville by the coroner's jury, was mur­ dered, according to the verdict of that body." Dr. 'Fritz Skinner is the man charged with causing licr death by a crim­ inal operation, and Adam Lodge, her step­ father, and William Hobson, her lover, are declared in the verdict to have been accessories. Warrants are out for the art est of the three men, but they have disappeared. . Jumped Into Lake Michigan. Thomas A. Dillon; the heud of the dis- ! tilling establishment of Cavanagh & Co., ; Chicago, jumped into the lake and was drowned. Policemen and-several persons I who saw the act found his body after half I an hour's work. A conviction that he was afflicted with jjn incurable illness is sup- • posed to have created the despondency which caused Mr. Dillon to take his life, HAULING WHEAT TO MARKET. and, lower still, hard clay. This last- named stratum holds the rainfall, en­ abling the "ground to stand a long drought without seriously affecting the roots of the wheat plant. It can be safely stated that an aver­ age of favorable seasons may be looked for, and that a serious failure of the crop, as in the year 1889, when, owing to damage by rain, the export surplus only amounted to 100.000 quarters, is unlikely to recur, because the wheat- growing area has extended to such an extent that it measures some 750 miles from north to south, and 150 miles east and west, with somewhat different cli- mai*<&, antly.iheltidiiig* dlitittetsCas'tfar apart as London and Madrid, or Minne­ sota and Louisiana. The earliest settlers were Swiss, and colonists of that nationality are to-day among the best farmers in the country, living well in every way and proving themselves . successful agriculturists. The small farmers throughout the country are almost always Italians, who originally came front Piedmont or the plains of Lombardy, very few hav­ ing either previpus knowledge of agri- at harvest. About 175 acres can be sown with wheat, and the remainder of the land used for pasturing the animals and growing a little maize (corn). Housework will be done by the wife, who also-looks after some cows and poultry. Owing to the want of accurate Infor­ mation from the multitude of small farms, it Is very difficult to say what the average yield per acre really is in any year, and, although it lias been cus­ tomary to consider that the average Santa Fe crop Is not over 10 to 11 bush­ els per acre (similar to United States average), probably thirteen bushels is j nearer-the. Jtnark for the entire country and fifteen for g^d farms; because, in recent years, farmers have often thresh­ ed out twenty-five bushels, and some­ times up to tlilrty-five and even forty- five bushels, while anything under ten bushels, is. exceptional now that farm­ ing has improved somewhat. Political Notes. The-calamity howlers should take off their smoked glasses and look around. They will find that the factory smoke VESSELS LOADING GRAIN AT THE BARRANCA ROSARIO'. culture or any capital to start with, but they are keen for money, and work hard in their own way, having quite enough sense to learn from experience by slow degrees the best way to grow Wheat, although they are desperately mean in any expenditure, and have a strong inclination always to increase their acreage and trust to a favorable season. • By working fifteen or sixteen hours in the sky will protect their orbs from the too dazzling beams of the McKinley prosperity. port,..and said the Republicans would win handsomely; also, that J. B. For- aker would be in at the death, too. As was to haye been expected, the canard about Senator Foraker's aban­ donment of fight i» Ohio was one of the "regulation" Democratic bulle: tins. Senator Foraker smiled at the re-; Pana Miners Resume Work. The Springfield Coal Company at Pana • has signed the miners' scale and the min­ ers have resinned work. The men at the Pana Coal Company's.mines are also at Work. The Penwell Company still re fuses to sign the scale. State News in Brief. Mrs. H. P. Ilagen, wife of a prominent and wealthy merchant of Paris, was killed in a runaway accident. At Aurora Mrs. Alice M. Evans, the wife of State Senator Henry H. Evans, died of Bright's disease. Edith Clements, 17 years old, daughter of Chas. Clements, was instantly killed by a freight train at Clinton. Prof. A. B. Severance, a veteran teach­ er of dancing, is dead at his home in North Chicago. He was 74 years old. Huldali Brown, daughter of Richard Brown, of Stanford, was burned to death. Her clothing caught on fire from a cook stove. Work will begin in a few days on the Toluca and Eastern Railway. This line will run from Rutland through Toluca to Varna. There was a riot between Syrian and Arabian members of the Syrian Catholic church, Harrison street and Charles place, Chicago. H. P. Brower, a Hillsboro farmer, who was shot, by John Barsein, his daughter's suitor, Sept. 25, is dead. Barsein is ac­ cused of the murder. • EdwarjJ Leslie Blanchard, who com­ mitted suicide in Chicago, was buried in St. Charles. Short funeral services were held at the home of his mother at Elgin. Burglars broke into a score of the wealthiest homes in Sycamore, securing a dozen watches and sums of money vary­ ing from $15 to $100. Robert Varty was chloroformed. Along the Sugar River,in the north part of Winpebago County a fire raged for tie:iriV two 'days,,'causing a loss of tliou- $i-lids of 'dbliarS. The pastures on the lowltfnfl^ of the Sugar and Peeatonica R|ivers5 have been burned over. Harry Ferguson of Chillicothe, while trying to catch a train, slipped and fell under the wheels. He died a few hours later. His sister died at Galesburg two hours before the accident, and he desired to go to Altona to arrange for the funeral. Miss Martha A. Raymond, 30 years old, was found dead in bed in her room in an apartment building in Chicago, and from facts learned by the police they have con­ cluded that the woman committed suicide. The door of the room was locked aud the apartment was filled with gas. Rev. Fred Sheets, pastor of Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of Rock** ford, one of the largest in the Rock River conference, announces that he will not be returned another year. It is under­ stood that his successor wiil be either Dr. Pooley of Oak Park, Dr. Kimball of the First. Church, Chicago, or Dr.; Leek, of Batavia. Net ..earnings of the Illinois Central Railway for July and August show an increase of $300,760, compared With the corresponding period last year, according to the statement issued the other day. The estimated increase for September is giv­ en as $3S9,369. :• John Spain of Kingman, who had lived in Shelby County lquger than any other person, is dead at 91. In point of service he was the oldest postmaster in the coun­ try. His service as such began at Big Springs in 1828 under Adams, arid con­ tinued uninterruptedly until Cleveland, during whose term he resigned. The obnoxious fifty-year franchise ordi­ nance over which the citizens of Peoria have been protesting for several weeks, have held indignation meetings and circu­ lated petitions, and have discussed in pri­ vate and in public, bas been withdrawn from the hands of the City Council by the Central Railway Company, which sought its adoption. Mrs. Michael McGinty died at Decatur from the effects of a well-developed case of hydrophobia. Nov. 10 last Mrs. Mc­ Ginty was bitien in the wrist by a pet dog. The wound, was properly cared for, but there was no opportunity to say whether the dog had rabies, for the beast had been instantly killed by the family. F. C. Kile has been appointed postmas­ ter at Blue Island. Chicago's new public library has been "dedicated andds now open to the public. The Secretary of State licensed the in­ corporation of two Klondike companies in one day recently. There are a number of cases of diphthe­ ria in Bloouiincton. One death has occur­ red from the disease. Three highwaymen held up G. R. Lundy near the Chicago city hall and robbed him of his money, watch and a valise. At Salem, William Pigg while engaged in digging a well was overcome by foul gases, and before lie was rescued he died. John Griesmer, a Maseoutah farmer, was attacked by a mad dog and was bitten five times. The wounds were cauterized. The Simmons Company's department store, 202-204 State street, Chicago, haa been closed by creditors under chattel mortgages. Mortimer S. Aldrieh, cashier of th* Elgin National watch factory, and Mi* Florence Fery Brandaw of Harvard were married at Alden. Morgan Park Baptists have dedicated a new church, taking the place of the build­ ing burned in 1S96. The cost of the. new building is $17,500. v • The Gentlemen's Whist clubs of Gales­ burg and Blooinington met in Peoria for a contest on lieutral grounds. Galesburg won by four points. Otis Miller, 20 years old, was run over by the Clover Leaf cars and killed at Herrick. This makes three young men killed in the same place. II. Del Crane, a traveling salesman, was arrested in Bloomington for eloping on a taddeni with Goldie Carter, wife of Charles Carter of Chesterfield, Ind. Roy Smith, 5 years old, fell into a kettle ofk hot tomato catsup at Areola and was frightfully scalded. About a week ago the child mistook a cup of lye for water and drank a good portion of the deadly drug. It is thought he will recover. A mortgage of the Chicago and Spring­ field and the Illinois Central Railroad companies to the United States Trust Company of New York and John H. Stew­ art for $2,000,000 was filed at Springfield. It is given to take up" a prior mortgage which the Illinois Central assumed. To win fame and fortune behind the footlights Edward Itaeffeiscliad, 14 years old, fled from his home in Cedar and went to Chicago. When he left home the lad had nothing but a ticket to Chicago arid a few pennies'. The youngster is a clog dancer and possesses a good voice. The Anti-Horse Thief Association of Illinois held its . annual convention in Springfield, One hundred' delegates were present. The election of officers resulted as follows: President, Stanfield Baldwin, Jacksonville; vice-president, Henry Leow- ers; Versailles; secretary, ~J. W. Wilson, Prairie City; treasurer, .T. C. Cadwalla- der, Bushnell; marshal, Nonriin Deweese, Prentice. The next State convention will be held in Springfield in October, 1898. Steve Burns is an inmate of the peni­ tentiary, while twenty-four hours .before he was u free man. Jqsbiyi Cox, a Ma rion veteran, received hjis quarterly pen­ sion check, and after having it cashed fell in with Burns. After drinking rather freely Burns induced liini to take a bed with liini at the Tannqr .House, where Bums robbed hipi. The next .morning Cox discovered his los&.{ind had B^irus arrest­ ed. Burns confessed and gave lip all but $10 of the money, which he had spent. Judge Viekers called a special grand jury, an indictment was -returned and Burns pleaded guilty. Some interest' lg facts and figures Are given in the report of the statisticat sec­ retary of the Rock River Methodist eon fereuce. It shows the full members, pro­ bationers and local preachers in the con­ ference number 53,210, an increase of 1,- 613 over lust year. The total value of church property is $4,491,000. on which there are debts of $298,663. There was collected during the year for ministerial support $315,264; for current expenses, $135,259; i^pd for benevolence, $97,327. Every one of these funds shows, a small decrease from last year, except the church, debts, which have increased $27,488. Roy Dupuy, aged 20 years, stepson of L. C. Hendrix of Mansfield, is a prisoner in the State reformatory at Pontine, to which institution he was sent from Mon- ticello last February for burglary and larceny. He recently told one of the offi­ cials at the prison that he had murdered Walter B. Carlisle in Decatur, in July, 1896. Dupuy said he killed Carlisle with a coupling pin in a Wabash freight car near the coal shaft on the night of July 28, and that he did it for the purpose of obtaining $13 which Carlisle had. He said that another man was implicated in the murder, but he refused to give the name of his accomplice. Coffecn, for the second time in a week, has been afflicted with an ineendftiry fire. The first was subdued without much loss. -Is repeated threats had been made both by notices posted and anonymous letters, in a short time after the second alarm over 500 men, wo.men and children were on the scene fighting the flames. The little city,was destitute of any apparatus with which to fight fire, but everyone set to work carrying water, for there was every evidence that the business portion would be totally destroyed, and but for a providential rain the day before such a catastrophe would have transpired. The trouble arises over the late strike situa­ tion, when Mayor Traylor refused "Gen- erlil" Bradley's army of strikers admis­ sion to the city and enforced his refusal with the aid of the sheriff and eighty-five deputies. The race war in the Alton schools broke out afresh. The colored people had stop­ ped sending their children to the schools for the -'/bites, supposedly awaiting a de­ cision froil the courts. The police guards accordingly were withdrawn, when the colored children appeared, and with a rush overpowered the janitor, struck down the principal and took seats. The police were summor.c-d and ejected them and school was held the rest of the day with the po­ lice guarding the doors. The McLean County Veterans' Asso­ ciation held its second annual gathering at Leroy. The officers elected areas fol­ lows: President, J. A. Banks; secretary, C. W. Atkinson. Word has been received in Lincoln an­ nouncing the marriage at Nashville, Tenu., of Clifford Wyatt and Miss Bessie Traner, two of Lincoln's uiost popular yOung people. The groom has been city editor of the Daily News for over a year and thei bride is the youngest daughter of ex-Courity Treasurer William Trailer. Parental objections prevented their mar­ riage at heme and caused their elopement. Reports that the new hospital for in­ curable insane at Peoria was in a danger­ ous condition are pronounced untrue. These reports come from the secretary of the State Board of Charitable Institu­ tions. There are 200 feet of solid rock under the institution, and the mine re­ ported to be under it is not there at all. ^ Harry Wilder Hamlin, nephew of Col? Hamlin of Buffalo, N. Y., and head of the glucose industry in the Uhited States, died suddenly in the rear room of a saloor in Peoria. An autopsy revealed the fact that his lungs were completely covered with bluish spots, which caused his death. The. doctors attribute his death to cigar­ ette smoking. BANKERS OF ILLINOIS. Seventh Annual Convention Held at Peoria. The seventh animal convention of the Illinois Bankers' Association at Peoria was attended by many of thq leading bus­ iness men and financiers of the State. The morning session of the first day was devoted to preliminary business and the address of welcome by O. J. Bailey and the response by President Frank Ellicott, who followed with his annual address. Papers were read at the afternoon ses­ sion by Oren E. Taft of Chicago and Geo. T. Page- of Peoria, after which the visit­ ors enjoyed a car­ riage ride. In the evening there was a public reception in their honor held at, the National Hotel. Currency reform and "reform in gen­ eral banking busi­ ness was the theme of the several ad­ dresses and the dis- w. x. fkntoW. cussions and resolu­ tions bearing on that subject were adopt­ ed. Secretary Edward Tilden of Chi­ cago said there were 454 members in the association and the receipts $1,995 and the expenditures $1,768. Treasurer A. B. Hoblit of Bloomington made a similar report. At the second day's morning session the following officers were elected: President--W. T. Fentori, Chicago. First. Vice-President--J. L. Hamilton, Jr., Hoopeston. Secretary--Edward Tilden, Chicago. Treasurer--A. B. Hoblitt, Bloomington. William T. Fenton, the new president, is one of the most prominent men in financial circles in Chicago, and his repu­ tation among bankers extends from one end of the country to the other. Born near Madison, Ind., about fifty years ago, he has been connected with financial in­ stitutions in Indianapolis aud Ottumwa, Iowa. He has been cashier of the Na­ tional Bank of the Republic of Chicago since 1892. The postal savings bank question was not kindly received by the bankers' con­ vention. The resolutions touching the matter, after consideration by the execu­ tive council, were rejected, however, and no report was made. W. S. Rearick of Ashland and A. Williford read papers on topics pertaining to banking, after which letters of regret were read from Secretary of the Treasury L. J. Gage, James H. Eckels, Comptroller of the Currency, and Senator W. E. Mason. John Fiirson of Chicago reported "the national convention held at Detroit. Mr. Hamilton of Hoopfeston attributed mainly to Messrs. Tracey and Farson the suc­ cess of the Illinois amendment. Presi­ dent-elect Fenton was introduced at 1 o'clock and was presented with a huge bouquet. The convention then adjourned sine die. At noon the delegates and their ladies were tendere^a reception by the Women's Club at the Women's Club building, and at 3 o'clock the .visitors were given a street car ride to Prospect Heights and return. ; ' • Writ All Right." Authors, like people in general, en­ joy appreciation, "and if it Is expressed indirectly and with unconscious sim­ plicity, it is so much the better. The Chicago Times-Herald tells how a Western novelist treated a man who showed him honor in a manner quite unconventional, not to say unsophisti­ cated. Mr. Opie Read was at the Press Club when a tall, gaunt stranger from Ar­ kansas approached him and began fish­ ing in his--the stranger's--pockets. "Got a letter of introduction to you liyarabout some'ere," he said. "Had the darndest time findin' you," he con­ tinued. "Got into town yesterday af­ ternoon, and last night I started out to look you up. I thought, probably, the folks at the telegraph office would know you, but they didn't; and the ho­ tel folks didn't know you, nuther. Then I went to a newspaper shop, and they sent me over here." By this time the visitor had found the missing letter of introduction. It was written with a lead-pencil in a schoolboy's hnnd, and the spelliug was decidedly phonetic. Ople scrutinized the signature closely. "John Scrtiggius," he said, musingly, "John Scruggius. I don't recall Mr. Scruggins." "That's my boy," said the visitor, proudly. "He's been to school in Little Rock all winter, and so when I got ready awhile ago to come to Chicago, I told him to write me a letter of in- tr'duction to you, and he did it. What's the matter with the letter? Ain't it 'writ all right?" "Oh, yes; it's all right,"- said the nov­ elist. And it was; for the man from Arkan­ sas spent a pleasant afternoon at the club. Important Point. Oue of the wittiest of the numberless witty retorts of Sheridan was that made to Pitt on one occasion. Pitt had compared the constant op­ position of Sheridan to an everlasting drag-clialn, clogging all the wheels, re­ tarding the career and embarrassing the progress of government. To this Sheridan, with hi^ usual promptness, replied that one import­ ant fact about the real drag-chain had been omitted in the minister's apt simile. "For," said lie clearly, with his.eye fixed On his antagonist, "a real drag- chain is applied only when the machine is going down hill!" Unfortunate Omission. One of the most singular instances of punishment for an oversight was that shown by the commitment of an almanac-maker to the Bastile in 1717. It was made out by order of the Duke of Orleans, regent during the minority of Louis Xy. of France, and read as follows: "Laurence d'Henry, for disrespect to King George. I. in not mentioning him in his almanac as King of Great Brit­ ain." How long this unlucky.almanac-mak­ er remained in prison is unknown. The register of the Bastile, examined at the time of the revolution, failed to throw any light on the subject. than Telegraphic Brevities. Bacchus claims more victims Neptune. Dr. Mary Walker is writing her auto­ biography. r A New Jersey policeman who was struck by lightning the other day claims that-it cured a chronic case of rheumatism. The Vatican at Rome is the largest palace that has ever been erected. Iti length It is 1,200 feet, and in breadth 1.000 feet. It contains 4,422 rows. ENDEAVORERS IN SESSION. " '• Chicago Was the Scene of the Convention. Gathered from all parts *of the Stat«% the members of the Christian Endeavor Union of Illinois joined rn public meetings to seek inspiration for the sessions of then; eleventh annual convention in Chicag). It was the evening before the day upon which the convention was. fo be op^hed and the three meetings, on the three sides of the city were large and enthusiastic. The convention opened formally next morning at Central Music Had. "t. O. Naramore, vice-president of the Chi­ cago union, delivered ihe address of wet* come, and the usual routine business was done. A song service was held by Peter P. Bilhorn, and several committee con­ ferences were held during the afternoon. The missionary meeting took place tm Apollo Hall, led by Miss Susie Menden- hall, State superintendent of the mis­ sionary department of the union. In the Masonic Temple at room 412 the mothers^ conference was held. Mrs. F. S. Thomp­ son, State superintendent of the mother^ department, presided and opened the meet­ ing by announcing a hymn written for the occasion aad dedicated to the Mothers? Society of Christian Endeavor by Mrs. A. B. Fellows. It was called "Onward, Christian pother." --* Saturday's "sunrise" prayer meetings in the different churches drew a large attend­ ance. The business meeting held at Cen­ tral Music Hall consisted largely in ws- ports from o officers find superintendents^ In the State 383 societies were reported to have been organized during the past year. The election of officers was held, the re­ sult being as follows: . . " .< ' President--Dr. S. A. Wilson. . Vice-President--A. E. Turner. ' Secretary--Miss Jessie Williams. Treasurer--John M. Rinewalt of Mora* Carroll. A board of directors was also elected. The junior conference was held in Ma­ sonic Temple, Miss Ermine Cross presid­ ing. "What Pledge Shall the Juniom Take?" was the topic discussed by Gen­ eral Secretary John Willis Baer of Bos­ ton. Mr. Baer was in favor of a simple pledge for young children in order to pre­ serve a child's reverence for a pledge. Mrs. Etta H. Brown, State junior super­ intendent for Indiana, followed with a dis­ cussion on the "Relation of Parents to the Junior Society." Miss Kate H. Hans, the junior superintendent of Missouri, talked upon "Practical Work for Juniors." Miss- Haus teaches the largest primary Sunday school Class in the world aud is said to have a remarkable talent for interesting children. About 4,000 people, more than half of them children, attended the junior rally at, the Auditorium. H. H. Spoorier presid­ ed. Fully 400 young girls, clothed ia white, were seated on the stage, and as the curtain went up they all waved hand­ kerchiefs in answer to.tbe applause which greeted them. They composed the conven­ tion ehorus and were under the direction of H. W. Fair bank. John Willis Baer delivered a ten-minute talk, beginning baa address by asking the children if they were afraid of "bears." Miss Kate Ham gave an illustrated talk to the children and was greeted by enthusiastic applause as she stepped upon the stage. Cook County carried off the junior banners, numbering four in all. A meeting of the new officers was held in the parlors of the Leland Hotel, where it was decided to hold the next State con­ vention in Peoria. , . '• The Auditorium was again filled in the evening at the concert given by the con­ vention clionis. In the last hour of the convention Sun­ day evening, the Rev. Francis E. Clark of Boston, president of the united so­ ciety and founder of the movement, faced his young people and their allies 0,000 Btroug at the Auditorium. It was the crowning event of the convention, and "Father" Clark was the idol of the hour. He told of the self-sacrificing Christian zeal which characterized the Endeavorers in India, South Africa and Mexico, and held, their deeds up as an example for their American brothers and sisters to fol­ low. A consecration service, conducted by H. H. Spooner, an ex-president of the Illi­ nois union, brought the convention to & close. . The total registration was 10,000, about I,200 of which was of country delegates. This was below the number expected. Ninety-two delegates came from twenty- six States and Canada, thirty-two being from Indiana. 'TWAS ILLINOIS DAY. A Great Event at the Nashville Ex­ position. IHinoisans feel proud of Illinois Day at the Tennessee centennial exposition. More than 11,000 passed through the .gates and participated in the exercises. The Cook County Democracy MaTching Club won much praise, and high honors were bestowed on Mayor Harrison. The club was entertained at a midnight ban­ quet in Old Vienna, on the exposition, grounds. ' Two thousand Illinoisans gathered in their State building for the exercises of Illinois Day. .In the absence of President Ferdinand W. Peck of the Illinois com­ mission to the exposition, Alexander H. Revell delivered the address of greeting on the part of the State. He introduced Gov. Taylor of Tennessee for the speech of welcome. Secretary Gage made an address, and there were other speeches by Judge Tut- Iiill, H. N. Higinbotham, Mayor Harrison, Senator Mason of Chicago and others. A Considerable Echo. At a watering place in the Pyrenees* says a French journal, the conversa­ tion at table turned upon a wonderful echo to be heard some distance off on the Franco-Spanish frontier. "It is astonishing," said an inhabitant of Ga­ ronne. "As soon as you have spoken you hear distinctly the voice leap from rock to rock, from precipice to preci­ pice, and as soon as it has passed the frontier the echo assumes the Spanish accent." One of the Big Ones. The State capltol of Texas is said to be the largest State building in the Uni­ ted States, and the seventh in siza among the building of the world. It is a vast Greek cross of red Texas gran­ ite, with a central rotunda, covered by . a dome 31 feet high. It was begun iu 1881, and finished iu 1888, having cost about $3,500,000. It was paid for with 3,000,000 acres of public land, deeded to the capitalists who executed the work. Odds and Ends. Foxes are unusually numerous and destructive in the lower part of Lancas­ ter County, Pa. 'rue two great movers of the human mind are the desire-of good and the fear Of evil.-nJohnsou. v': Several species of moths never eat after attaining a perfect1 state. They have no mouths aud live but a few- hours. Evil events come from evil causes; and what we suffer, spring, generally, from what we have done.--Aristo­ phanes.