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rtug fJlaiwlcalcr; i. VAN SLYKE, Editor and Publlshw. McHENRY, ILLINOIS. BrFFAto is afflicted with a suicidal tennia. Daring the past year mere fiersons resorted to self^estriiction llian ever before. The favorite method lias been by Bliooting; the next most Acceptable way baa been by drowning. The suic des hare been for love, polit­ ical disappointment, Imiuneus troubles, ^•nd poverty. friendo 1, nfc her request, and thought no more of it. A day or two ego Mm Jones received a letter from a Buffalo lawyer, stating that by the death oc a wealthy lady of that city, she was heir­ ess to $50,000. The lady who l>e- qneathed the money wan the person whom Miss Jonea assisted. ' * MUCH is anticipated of giiat Bcotch colony which is about to be planted in Florida. The first division, •^composed of fifty families, will sail from Glasgow on the 2Gth." These im­ migrants own the land to which they firo coming, and, in addition, are well supplied with money. Fully a thou­ sand families, in all, will come. THE sweet by and by is coming right Along. The mahwa tree, recently dis- •-covered in the forests of Central In­ dia, bears blossoms which yields half •their weight in pure sugar, and a Bin- •jgle tree bears a thousand pounds of blossoms yearly. The day seems to be 'approaching %lien the down-trodden iand oppressed of every clime will be table to eat cake three times a day. . . DETROIT Free Press: A little 4- ^year-old girl was put to bed in the third story Of her home and left, as usual, in the dark. A terrific thunder­ storm came up, and her mother, think­ ing that the child would be frightened jat the lightning, went to her. On en- - tering, the child called* out with de­ light: "Mamma, the wind blew the «sun up just now; dickyou see it?" Fear had no entrance there. AN item is going the rounds to thV following effect: "A Chinese banker, Han Qua, of Canton, is said to lie the wealthiest man in the world. He pays taxes tipon an estate of $450,000,000, and is estimated to be worth $1,100,- 000,000." Upon this statement George Francis Train comments thus in the New York Sun: "In a country where they use 1,600 coppers--"cash,' so called--to a dollar, larger coins t re overestimated. A guest oi old How- qua--not Han Qua--three decades ago at Canton, and later of his sons, I saw his wonderful gardens and beautiful grounds. He was a life-long friend of Russell & Co., leaying them untold sums. He was known as a friend of America. He may be worth $50,0u0,- 000--certainly not $1,400,000,000. His­ tory is a fearful liar. UNCLE SAM'S SERVANTS. Exports of the Heads of Government Departments and Bureaus. Secretary Lamar on the Indian Prob- 'oints from the Report ed < Mannings ;• SECRETARY LAMAR'S REPORT. PHILADELPHIA Call: "Hello, Bas- comb, I notice you stutter as much as ever." "I--I--know--I--d-do." "I thought you were under treatment ?" '"Well, so--so--I--was. Under--a-- •doz-dozen kinds of--of--of--treat- treatment. All no--no--good." "Why not try a new ten-cent stamp?" gra-cious, how would--would- h-h-help me?" "Well, they say it in­ jures an immediate delivery." "Gra- that-- THE Princess Isabelle, the only liv­ ing child of the Emperor of Brazil, is happily married to the Count D'Eu. She is now about 35 or 40 years of age, and is rather masculine in style and ^disposition. She has intelligence and firmness, and is often compared to Queen Elizabeth. During the absence •of the Emperor in the United States and Europe in 1876 and 1877 she as­ sumed liia authdfcity, and ruled with firmness. REV. DR. JOHN HALL is one of the -wealthiest clergymen in New York. He receives a salary of $30,000 and many presents. He is paid $1,000 year as chancellor of the University of the City of New York, and receives $12,000 a year from the Ledger for one «hor t article a week. Other literary work brings his annual income up to about $100,000. Seventeen years ago the Doctor preached in Dublin, Ireland, at * salary of $2,50Q a year.' THE expression of "galvanizing corpse" hai ceased to be exclusively metaphorical. M. Kergovaty, a French­ man, has discovered a method of pre­ serving bodies by giving them a metal •coating. We may according to our means, become silver-plated, nickel- plated, or galvanized with zinc or cop per. The process has been thus far tested successfully on eleven human bodies and more than one hundred times on the carcasses of animals. THE football season in England has t>arely got into full swing, but already two deaths have been caused by the game, besides a goodly number of broken limbs. The controversy of the. comparative safety of the two styles of playing is left just where it was before, since one of the deaths occurred in an association, and the other in a Rugby match, though at the inquest held on the latter a witness assured the cor oner that Rugby football was much less dangerous. A OIRL named Eflfie Elizabeth Davis, aged 14, was on a visit at the house of Mr. Averill, Sugar-Loaf Farm, near Stourbridge, England. Mfss Averill, was sitting at the piano and ]\liss Davis was standing by her side singing, when the report of a gun was suddenly heard and Miss Davis fell dead, shot through the head. Miss Davis' brother, Na­ thaniel Averill, gave information to the police, and they, after making inquiries, arrested him on suspicion. He was at first silent, but afterwards said that his gun was accidentally discharged as he was returning from shooting. He ^was remanded in charge of the Stafford police. SAN FRANCISCO is sending^l 1,000,000 Mexican dollars to China this year The ungainly coin has steadily grown fa use and favor among the Mongolians, "The money comes to San Francisco in -payment of goods purchased by Mexi •can merchants. The Mexican govern ment is aware of this enormous amount of her coin being shipped to a foreign «ountry without any return c6ming ~back. But the sister republic does not .consider it as coin. The eleven mints are leased out to private individuals. The mints thus become simply factor ies in which a commodity is turned out for exportation to China--turned out in a convenient shape for handling, and called a Mexican dollar. JENNIE JONES is a pretty yoang lady, residing at Highland, Ulster County New York, and is a dressmaker by trade. About a ypar ago, while em' ployed in New York, she befriended an old lady, who had lost her pocket-book, by loaning her a small amount, and also assisted her across the street. Miss Jones gave her name and place of resi­ dent to the lady whom she had be* THE project of drying up the Zuyder Zee is again being urged with some vehemence. A "State Socialist" argu­ ment is now freely used; it is said that the gigantic task will find rich employ­ ment for the Dutch working class pop­ ulation for many years, among whom social democraoy is increasing. The Providenco of Utrecht, Gelderland, and most of the municipalities whose cities and towns lie upon the sea, have g.ven their adhesion to the scheme, and have empowered % commission of experts to report on the probable cost On the other hand, a few of the towns, includ­ ing Monnikendam and others, protest oagerly again-t the scheme, since its execution must infallibly convert them into "dead cities." If the sea should ultimately be turned into dry land the Kingdom of Holland will be enlarged by the addition of a new province twice the size of the Province of Utrocht. The new country has been already pro­ vided by anticipation with the name of "Willemsland." THE gospel tent was packed to over­ flowing this morning, says a Birming­ ham (Ala.) dispatch, and Rev. &am Jones preached the grandest sermon of the week. His discourse was filled with brilliant thoughts, and it was only occasionally that he indulged in his inimitable "funny" sayings. Ho said that every man and woman had to get every vestige of the hog element out of his character before they could be­ come Christians; that he was here to assist in destroying that hog element, and at this point he exclaimed: "O Lord, come down and help us kill hogs! I waut this to be a regular hog-killing meeting."^V^hile discoursing upon the injunction: "Love thine enemies," he said: "I verily believe I love every human being on* the, top side of this earth, and if you will bring a man whom I don't love and stand him up here on this platform I'll hug him till he squeals, and if you can find a wo­ man in all this world whom I do not love and bring her up here, why, I'll-- I'll--sfend for my wife and make her hug her until she squeals!" [Laughter and applause.]" THE claas of '87 of Cornell Uni­ versity, the members of the present junior class, j^ave developed into gen­ uine college!! martyrs. During their early days at Ithaca their class snpper was stolen by the sophomores and eaten at Trumansburg. In their sec­ ond year the immediately Succeeding class captured the cane from them in the annual "cane rush," an un­ paralleled exploit, and it has just leaked out that their third year in the university is likely.to prove as unfor­ tunate for them as the previous two. Certain facts have come to light which tend to show conclusively that a party of Cornell men, representing for the moat part the class of '87, were rather roughly handled while attending a party the other evening at a well- known mansion in Newfield. Several young men of that place, who, it seems, must have disliked the idea of having the Cornell students win from them the affections of the fair ones, managed to spirit away the carriages in which the students had driven up to Newfield, and, taking the vehicles, into a field near by, the wheels were removed and tied to trees in the immediate vicinity. The horses also disappeared, and, after several hours of search, one was found in a dilapidated cowshed on an adjoin­ ing farm. Upon the whole the Cornell men spent a busy night, and it is prob­ able that the next party at the mansion alluded to will probably not have a representative from the university. Not (jooil judges of Shawls. Hanging in a dry goods firm's win­ dow were some elegant cashmere shawls. There is nothing more mis­ leading, perhaps, than a cashmere shawl, but the ordinary lady purchaser prides herself on what she knows about such things. Recently two ladies entered the store and asked to look at the shawls. They were produced and displayed to the ladies, who pulled at them and pi ked at them, anddiscussed them, and finally turned aside with an air of indifference, as if thev had found no merit in them. The obliging lady clerk had become interested in their examination, and, as the ladies were abont to turn away, she asked what they thonght of the shawls. One of the women only spoke up. She Btuck her long forefinger under one of the shawls and, pulling it again, replied: "O, nothing much. I saw the shawls in the window; that w*s all I thought then that they were pretty cheap at $2. but I don't want 'em." The tag on the goods might have misled them, and perhaps the outward appear­ ance of the rich fabric of the shawls might have aided in the deception. The tag was marked $200, instead of $2. The clerk explained the difference 'to ber customers. Both of them, it is said, looked as though they would like to have the roof fall on them.--Lewis- ton Journal. Another View of the Vexed Indian Qneatton »nd Another Plan for Its Settlement, The annual report of tho Secretary of the In­ terior reviews at great length tho relations of the Indian tribes to the Government and the set­ tlers residing near their reservations. The In­ dian outbreaks of the year and the causes of them are considered. The recommendation of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that the less guilty of the rebellious Chiricahuas should be transported to an island in the Pacific Ocean, as a penul colony, to earn their own living by fishing, stock-raising, etc., or sent to tho military prison at Fort I»eav- enworth,. is indorsed. It is recommended that the Southern ITtes be located in Indian territory, and that the Piutes, of Oregon, be settled on homesteads and given farm implements and other assistance. The subject of the leasing of land by Indians to cattle companies is taken up, and, after showing the passive consent of the late Secretary to such leases, and the evil that has resulted from the practice, the Secretary says: "From all the facts developed on the subject I am convinced that the assistance rendered by the respective Indian Agents, in the making of these alleged leases, was directed more for the interest of the cattlemen than that of the Indi­ ans placed under their care and supervision. While many of the Indians favor the leasing of their lauds for grazing puriioses, others opposed and protested against such use and occupation of their reservations, and refused to participate in the making of the alleged leases, or to accept any share of the money received theieuttjier. Sufficient influence, however, seems to nave been brought to bear upon a majority of the re­ spective tribes to induce them to enter into the arrangement modg. Lu my judgment, not the loast among such influences were the encour­ agements and persuasion of the respective In­ dian agents, or some of them at least; and in many instances I foar they have shared in the profits of these speculative transactions." After speakiiiR of the encroachments ot rail­ roads on Indian rights, the Secretary unfolds a plan for the ci vilization of the Indian which is, in effect, the severalty plan on a small scale, only a small portion of each tribe being placed on homesteads at first, and the number grad­ ually increased. The Secretary thinks it impos­ sible to break up the tribal and reservation sys­ tems in any other way. | IThe Secretary recommends the appointment of a commission of not more than six men of integrity, intelligence, and experience, and of such ability as to be ablo to comprehend the course of treatment and methods of manage­ ment best adapted to insuro the speediest prog­ ress of the respective tribes and bands, to visit each of the reservations, and investigate and re­ port the condition, peculiar circumstances, and needs of tho Indians residing thereon. The Sec­ retary recommends, in order to destroy the evil influence of "squaw men," the passage of a law providing that whenever an Indian woman shall inarrv a citizen of the United States she shall be deemed a citizen, and that all children born of such marriage shall be deemed citizens. I'nder the provisions of this law no Indian woman would marry such a man with the certainty of losing her membership in the tribe and her right to remain on the reservation. The condition of the Indian schools, the re­ port says, is gratifying. The Winnebago and Crow-Creek Reservation trouble is reviewed, and it is announced that the President's order with­ drawing those lands from settlement has been almost universally obeyed. The exceptions, if any exist, are cases in which a removal would cause suffering. The story of the Oklahoma in­ vasion is retold, and it is stated that these un­ lawful movements have rendered it unwise at present to open negotiations with the Indians owning tho title of these lands for tho purpose of opening them to settlement. Three million nine hundred and twelve thou­ sand four hundred and fifty acres of public land have been sold for cash ; 16,201,213 acres have been absorbed by public entry, and 881,8.">0 acres of Indian lauds have I teen disused of, making a grand total of 20.995.513. The total receipts from these lands were £8,(>19,598. The total area of sur­ veyed lands up to the :i0th of June, 1885, is 969,- 409.347. ">0 acres. That unsurveyed is estimated at 845,300,390.50 acres. In speaking of the Yellowstone National Park, the Secretary recommends the establishment of a court within tho park, with exclusive juris­ diction over all misdemeanors, and with jnjwer to examine and to hold to bail in all cases of felonies, to be tried in the nearest court having criminal jurisdiction. The Assistant Superin­ tendents should be authorized to serve any proc­ ess of such court, and to arrest without process any person taken in the act of violating the law or any regulations. The wholesale slaughter of game in the park lias been stopped, and game is increasing. Appropriations are recommended for five Assistant Superintendents to aid in the protection of game and the suppression of van­ dalism ; for a new building for the Superintend­ ent for stables, and for the construction of new roads. The estimated expenses for the next year are £150,000. The reports of the Governors of the various Territories, most of which have already heen published, are reviewed. fiscal yeat ending Jtme XL 1887, as received by the Secretary, amounted to 961,782,423.97, which be has reduced to •48,904,183.48, of which sum $16,485,630.18 is recommended for public works, including river and harbo? improvements. The Lieutenant General commanding reports that the army at the date of the last consolidat­ ed returns consists of 2,154 officers and 24,705 en­ listed men. Desertions in the army during the past year have greatly diminished, but it is difficult to ad­ judge an adequate punishment where a man lias deserted several times. In a case occur­ ring recently the recruit had previously desert­ ed six times, and the Lieutenant General re­ marks that, while there were more flagrant oases, this matter ought to be brought to the at­ tention of Congress, in order that a proper pun­ ishment might be provided. With regard to the Signal Service the Secreta­ ry says: "I am unable to concur in the recommenda­ tions of the chief signal officer for legislation to provide for the permanent detail of fifty enlisted men from the line of the army for duty on the military telegraph lines ; for including tho ap­ propriations for the Signal Service in the appro­ priations for the army; and for tho reorganiza­ tion of the Signal Service corps of officers by ap]>ointing a Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Ma-„ jor, and eight Captains, and the promotion of Second Lioutenauts. uThe duties in which tho corps is now engaged are civil, and not military. It performs no mili­ tary service ; its only exercise that is military in its character is the art of military signaling, which, owing to the pressure of meteorological duties, has been neglected in the past, though it is proposed to press the study more vigorously in the future. Nor is this study as pursued in the corps important to the army, which receives, through its own officers, all the necessary in­ struction. It is evident that the studies and la­ bors of the signal service in the scientific field upon which it has entered will more and more absorb and engross its energies, and it must ul­ timately become a purely civil organization. It would, therefore, be unwise, with this prospect before us, to provide for its permanent attach­ ment to tho army, and to give to it the unbend­ ing organization and discipline of a military body. It, must depend upon the efforts of men who are engaged in technical study, and any offi­ cer who takes part in its work must be valuable for his studious and scientific labor, rather than for his military ability and bis soldierly qual­ ities." . ____ tion of 10,129 miles of road, of which 7,088 miles have not yet been completed. Of the lands granted 14,929,121 acres have been pa­ tented, leaving 100,000,000 acres of unpat­ ented !n.nds included in all the grants subject to forfeiture, an area equal to that of the combined States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, The right of the Government thereto being a legal one, the default of the companies being voluntary, the power of Congress to declare a forfeiture should be exercised. The Commissioner, referring to alleged fraudulent land entries in regions dominated by the cattle companies, savs that he has suspend­ ed the issue of patents thereon until a full ex­ amination of the l>oua fide character of the ap­ plications can be made. He suggests the repeal of the pre-emption system, of commuted home­ steads, of the timber-culture law, of the desert- land act, and of all general provisions of law au­ thorizing sales of land for cash, and restricting the sale to the actual settler, because they offer covers for fraudulent transactions. The Com­ missioner recommends the abolition of the fee system in the registry offices, and that measures be taken to preserve the forests on the publio domain. FHTANCES OF THE NATIOK. THE BED MAN. Commissioner Atkins Discusses the Indian Problem iu His Annual Iteport. Gen. J. D. C. Atkins, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, prefaces his report with the statement that "it requires no seer to foretell or foresee the civilization of the Indian race as a result natur­ ally deducible from a knowledge and practice upon their part of tho art of agriculture, for the history of agriculture among all people and in all countries intimately connepts it with the highest intellectual and moral de­ velopment of man." He continues: "Tho increased interest in agriculture mani­ fested since the, opening of last spring and the preparation on several reserva­ tions for a still increased acreage in farming, are among the hopeful signs of Indian progress and development. This brings me directly to the consideration of the practical policy which, I believe, should be adopted by Congress and the Government in the management of the In­ dians. It should be industriously and gravely impressed upon them that they liiust abandon their tribal relations and take lands in severalty as the corner-stone of their complete success in agriculture, which means self-support, personal independence, and material thrift. The Govern­ ment should, however, iu order to protect them, retain the right to their land, in trust, for twenty- five years or longer, but issue trust patients at once to such Indians as have taken individual holdings. "When the Indians have taken their*lands in severalty in sufficient quantities (and the num­ ber of acres in each holding may and should vary in different localities, according to fertility, productiveness, climatic and other advantagesi, then having due regard to the immediate and future early needs of the Indians, the remain­ ing lands of their reservations should be pur­ chased by the Government and opened to home­ stead entry at 50 or 75 cents per acre. The money paid by the Government for their lands should be held in trust in 5 per cent, bonds, to be invested, as Congress may provide, for the education, civilization, and material develop­ ment and advance of the red race, reserving for each tribe its own money. There are in the United States, exclusive of Alas­ ka, 'JSC,000 Indian souls ;of that number there are in the live civilized tribes in the Indian Territory 04,000. There are in New York, 4,970; in North Carolina, 3,100; and there are some in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and a few in California and the Northwest who are civilized, and still others who can lay claim to civilization. Many others on the reserva­ tions have caSt off the blanket and are adopting tho fashions and dress of white people, but among all these, except among the Indians of New York and North Carolina, a few in the Northwestern States, and a part of the Qye civilized tribes in tho Indian Territory, thereris a very large number who do not till, the soil. Nearly all who are called 'The Blanket In­ dians' have never tilled the soil to any extent, and fully half ot the Indians of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, as yet have declined to commit themselves to the life of the farmer. Kxclusivo of the lands cultivated by the five civilized tribes, the number of acres in cultiva­ tion by Indians during the year number 248,341, an increase of 18,473 since last year's figures." SECRETARY MANNING'S REPORT. Important Recommendations in the Annual, Report of Treasurer Jordan. Tne annual report of C. N. Jordan. Treasurer of the United States, shows that during the fis­ cal year there was an increase of $33,403,t>33 in the gold assets, of $±2,095,016 in the silver assets, SO,77l>,423 in the legal tender assets, $1T1,£U in national bank assets, and $1,147,107 in national bank dejkisits. Called bonds of the United States amounting to $45,908,000 were redeemed, of which amount $45,588,150 was for the sinking fund. The Treasurer says that he should have authority to make frequent examinations of sub-treasuries and mints to enable him to know that tho funds with which he is charged are held as represented, and to hold the officers to a more strict account­ ability than lias heretofore prevailed. He recommends an appropriation sufficient to cover tho expenses of such examinations He also favors a scheme for the reorganization of the sub-treasuries of the United States, the officers of which have had their duties and responsibil­ ities largely increased through tho issue of the gold, silver, and legal-tender certificates, and ih other ways. Attention is directed to the large amounts of funds to the credit of disbursing offioers of the Government, and it is recommended that the modes of payment to and by them be restricted to sums needed in their monthly payments. A very large part of these advances is made to pen­ sion agents. It is recommended" that a change be made in the mode of paying pensions, and that these payments be made by means of Treas­ urer's checks, in the same manner as interest on the public debt is now paid. The Treasurer recommends that the practice of issuing legal tender in gold and silver certifi­ cates be discontinued as expensive and danger­ ous, through tho accumulation of the immense sums now in the Treasury, the silver certificate especially on the ground that it has been proved to bo a positive hin­ drance to a more extensive circulation of the silver dollar. This latter he also consid­ ers too expensive a currency for daily use, as, owing to the express charges paid by the Gov­ ernment in putting these coins into circulation, and the further charges paid by the people to return them to the monetary centers where they alone can be used, the coins cause a large loss to the community. It is apparent, he says, that tho execution of the coinage law is gradually converting the funds of the Treasury into stand- aril dollars. Every exertion has been made to give an extended circulation to these coins, but without the success which the large expenditure incurred would warrant. In order to save the expense ill coining and distributing minor coins when a sufficient supply is already in the Treas­ ury, it is recommended that the coinage be sus­ pended and future demands be supplied from tho Treasury offices at tho cost of the applicant, as this is the only practicable wav in which to prevent a constantly recurring redundancy. The Treasurer further recommends that the entire revenue derived from the Postoffice De­ partment go through the Treasury, and be spent under its supervision, as all other moneys are which are derived from revenue of any kind. Treasurer Jordan apologizes for the length of his report, but says he thinks the Treasury should be as a glass house, through which the siin shines to its uttermost nook and cranny. "There is not," he says, "a business interest in the \vho]4 country which may not suffer through ignorance of its affairs, and therefore its opera­ tions have been detailed as thoroughly as the time and intelligence of its custodian would permit." THE NAVT. THE firqt use of a looomotirein this country TM in 1829. Secretary Whitney's First Report Thereon --He Thinks the Whole System Should Be Reorganized. Secretary of the Nary Whitney, in bis first annual report to the President, says the prop­ erty of the navy yards, valued at about fifty million dollars, is reported as falling rapidly into a condition of extreme decay, and it is rec­ ommended that improvement* bo made at once unless it be the desire of Congress to abandon the property to waste and ruin. Tho Secretary reports that excellent progress is being made in the manufacture of steel guns for the new ships, and says that five six-inch and two five-inch breech-loading high-power steel guns have been completed and satisfactorily tested. He also says that the forgings for "the eight-inch guns have arrived from Hngland after a year's delay. These are the guns for the Chicago and Boston. The estimates for the navy for the fiscal year ending June 30, IMS", amount to $35,104,095, in which sum are embraced estimates for new ob­ jects, not those oritinarily for the service, amounting to fl0,009,!)5 >, leaving for the custom­ ary puiiMMos of the service $19,034,744. They embrace for increase of tlnj navy $10,503,770; for tile completion and armitment of the double- turreted monitors 84,202,050; and for public works and improvements at the yards and sta­ tions S4,'.408,337. Mr. Whitney says it is the desire of the de­ partment to avoid tho long delays which have occurred in the construction of the ships now in progress, arising from the making of changos in the plans after the letting of the work, and con­ tinues : "Upon my accession to office the department bad in process of construction, under con­ tract with Mr. John Roach three modern steel cruisers and one dispatch-boat. They constituted tho first attempt of the Navy Department for many years to con­ struct a war vessel up to the modern require­ ments. They should be looked upon and judged as such. As such they will, I trust, be found in the main creditable to those who have been en­ gaged iu their creation. They will certainly, if they have been well built, be no improvement upon the previous work of the department, but it is not profitable to consider them as standards of excellence for future work, nor was it to be expected that they would be. It is to be regret­ ted (I think all will now accede to this sugges­ tion) that greater deliberation was not had over the preparation of the plans. The Dolphin, al she now is. should be regarded as a pleasure- boat rather than as a dispatch-boat. At the present time it is quite profitless to discuss ber characteristics." The Secretary then goes over in detail the cir­ cumstances connected with the trial of the Dol­ phin and the trouble had with her, with which Circumstances the public is familiar. The case Is still unsettled. He also refers to the Koach trouble. Mr. Whitney refrains from any discussion of the subject of future appropriations for war material, as Congress has made "a most intelli­ gent effort within the last three years to gather information," etc. He says it is important that the navy should be sujiplied with torpedo-boats. It has none while other nations have many. He says it must be evident that thero is some­ thing radically wrong with the department; that the universal dissatisfaction proves this. He thinks the present bureau systems are vicious, and says "at the present moment it must be conceded that we have nothing which deserves to be called a navy." He thinks the United States should pattern after other power­ ful nations in the matter of naval education and naval improvements--that it is folly to waste time and money patching up wooden hulks. It is his opinion that, as in tho English service, and notably in the French and German, the Secretary should be provided with a board or boards for consultation, consisting of naval offi­ cers and experts, most of them comparatively free from executive duties, whose duty it should he to assist him in solving the technical problem* of the department. THE ARMY. Secretary Endlcott's First Annual Report of the War Department. The Secretary of War in his annual report to the President says the expenditures orj^ppro- priations by the War Department for tbe fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, were $-15,850,999.54, of which $13,164,394.60 were for public works, in- eluding river and harbor improvements. The Appropriation for the fiscal vear ending June 30, 1886, JB SSi,782,413.40, of wjtiich $2,247,892.34 is for public works. This large reduction as compared with the appropria­ tions Of previous years is ^ caused by the flVlure of Congress to pass the river and harbor bill. The increase of expenditures for 1885 over those of 1884 was mainly for river and harbor Impsgyements. The estimates foe tt* He Urges a Cessation of 8tlver Coinage- Other Recommendations. The report of Secretary of the Treasury Man­ ning is a pamphlet of more than a hundred pages. Its statistical features are well summa­ rized in the Pri sident's Message. The Secre­ tary treats at great length of the silver ques­ tion, and concludes that the disorders of tlie currency may be perfectly remedied without shock to business interests by the repeal of the clause requiring the treasury purchases of silver bullion, and the repeal of the act making compulsory treasury Issues and reissues of the legal-tender notes. A cessation of the coinage of the silver dollar is strongly urged. The recommendations of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue as to an amendment to the bonded whisky law which shall postpone the collection of the tax, under certain conditions, until withdrawn for consump­ tion ; as to the abolition of the office of Inspector of Tobacco; as to the exportation of tobacco un­ der regulations prescribed by the Conmiissioner, and as to the taxation of fractional parts of the gallon of distilled spirits, are approved. It is recommended that the immigration law be so amended that all commissions or officers, to be charged with the care of immigrants at the several ports, be appointed directly by the Sec­ retary of the Treasury. A special report iB made on the evils arising out of tariff duties, such as false invoices, extor­ tionate consular fees, and bribes given and re­ ceived at the port of entry, In closing which the Secretary says: "The law which denounces those acts as crimes or offenses to be punished ought not to be a dead letter, as it is now. But the real difficulty is, I fear, in the fact that so large a portion of the people of tho country dis­ approve of the present tariff rates, apd would condemn any adequate punitive and deterrent legislation, like that of 1799 and 1863, intended to uphold those tariff rates, or would only sup­ port such legislation because obedience to all law is, among right-minded people, a general obligation. But yet, if the existing rates of duty are to stand, and if those compound rates wherein even specific rates depend on foreign values are hereafter to be inflicted, there will bo need, I think, of new deterrent legislation which will more surely and swiftly imperil the prop­ erty on which foreign manufacturers and ship­ pers seek to evade payment of duty which they know the law imposes, and which duties those who present truthful invoices must pay, since the collectors cannot levy ad valorem rates on less than the invoice or entered value." THE FEDERAL COURTS. Report of Attorney General Garland for the Last Fiscal Year. The annual report of the Attorney "General says that during tho year 1,058 civil suits and 11,977 criminal prosecutions were terminated in the various United States courts, leaving 2,146 of the former class and 3,808 of the latter class pending at tho close of the year. The aggregate «mount of judgments rendered in favor of the United States in civil suits during the year was $077,384, and the amount actually col­ lected on these judgments was $170,457, while $37,028 was obtained during the year on judgments rendered in former y6ars for the United States, and $143,452 was otherwise realized in civil suits. The aggregate amount of fines, for­ feitures, and penalties imposed during the year in criminal prosecutions was $481,850, and the amount of these fines, forfeitures and penalties collected during the year was 902,124,while $0,187 was realized on fines, forfeitures and penalties imposed in former years. Tho aggregate amount of court expenses paid during the year was 92,- 874,7:B. The Attorney General suggests tho advisabil­ ity of building jails at each place in the country where United States Courts are held; the ne­ cessity <>f building a Government penitentiary, where all persons convicted of United States of­ fenses could be confined, and the propriety of erecting on the grounds adjoining the Depart­ ment of Justice a proper building for the accom­ modation of the Supreme Court and other proper courts and commissions of tho Unit»»d States. The Attorney General makes a number of other recommendations, among which are the following: That the fees of marshals in Mon­ tana, Idaho, and Wyoming be doubled ; that the salaries of marshals l>e revised; that the com­ pensation of United States attorneys for New Mexico and Arizona be increased, and that the compensation of clerks of United States courts iu California be reduced; that attorneys and marshals be required to make returns by fiscal instead of calendar years ; that the accounts of chief supervisors of elections be taxed in open court under the inspection of the district attor­ ney ; that the penalty for the punishment of persons resisting officers be made more severe; that increased provisions be made for tho i>ro- tection of United States witnesses; and that a suitable United States jail be built at Fort Smith, Ark. The report closes with a brief statement of the Union Pacific Railway litigation, and says that a motion will be filed by the Government in the Supreme Court, in a few days, to advance the.appeals on the docket so as to have a speedy determination of them. THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Annual Report of Mr. Sparks, Commis­ sioner of the General Land Office. The annual report of Hon. William A. J. Sparks, Commissioner of the General Land Office, states that during the laBt fiscal year the sales, entries and selections of public land under various acts of Congress relating thereto em­ brace 20,113,603.37 acres, and of Indian lands 881,850.21 acres, making a total of 20,995,513.58 acres, being an increase, as compared with the year 1884, of 0,535,050.41 acres, and an increase over the year 1883 of 1,562,480.78 acres. The re­ ceipts from the disposals of public lands are $7,085,114.80; from sales of Indian lands, $933,- 483.5^; a total of $8,019,598,32, being a decrease, as compared with the year 1884, of $4,159,532 01, and with 1883 of $3,086,107.33, to which is to bo added $8,821.86 for certified copies of records furnished by the General Land Office, making the total receipts for the year from all sources $8,628,420,18. Surveys have been extended during the last five years far beyond the needs of legitimate oc­ cupation of the soil. Nearlv the whole of the Territory of Wyoming and large portions of Montana have been surveyed under the deposit system, and the lands on the streams fraudu­ lently taken up under the desert-land act, to the exclusion of future settlers desiring homes in those Territories. Nearly all hf Colorado, the choicest cattle-raising portions of New Mexico, the dccessible timber lauds of California, largely the forests of Washington Territory, and the principal part of the pine lands of Minnesota are already surveyed, and in all the Western land States and Territories the surveys have an­ ticipated actual populations for years to come. To enable the pressing tide of Western immi­ gration to secure homes upon the public do­ main it is necessary, not that further surveys should be hastened, but that the hundreds of millions of acres of public lands now unlaw­ fully appropriated should be wrested from ille­ gal control. The Commissioner reports that ninety-eight land claims, founded on Spanish and Mexican grants, are pending, covering 8,500,000 acres, which are based upon the reports of Surveyor Generals, and not scrutinized in the land office. He recommends that no such claims should bo confirmed without examination by the office, and in the field, and that as thirty years have elapsed since the passage of the act under which the claims are presented, an act should be passed limiting the time for such presentation to one year. OaolalHiifeMninidttoiUiBtbi REPORT OF CHIEF GRATES. How He Learned If. The famons novelist started in lire as a reporter. He learned sliort-baud l>v the old clnmsj methods th.it were the fashion in his time.. It was us serious a business as learning Greek i.nd com­ mitting to memory the whole of the "Iliad." But Pickens worked ai it tind stuck to it through thick,and thin, tiil finally he mastered it. In later years lie became very wealthy, and the most renowned story writer of his time, liut he never would have done if he had not worked just hard at vriting as he did at learning short-hand. Have some of our boys and girls thought thev would like to become stenograph­ ers? Here is how Charles Dickens learned it. He says: "I bought an approved scheme of the art and myslery Of stenography, (which cost me teu-and-sixpenoe), nud plunged into a sea of perplexity that brought me in a few weeks to the con­ fines of distraction. "The changes that were hung upon dots, which in one position meant one thing, and in another position some­ thing else; the wonderful vagaries that were played by circles; the unaccount­ able consequences that resulted from marks like HyVlegs; the tremendous effect from a curve in a wrong place, not only troubled my waking hour?, but reappeared before me iu my "sleep. "When I hud groped my way blindly through these difficulties and had mas­ tered the 'alphabet,' which was an Egyptian temple itself, then there ap­ peared a possession of new horrors called 'arbitrary characters'--the most despotic characters I have ever known --which insisted, for instance, that the thing like the beginning Of a cob web meant 'expectation,' and that t pen-and-ink sky-rccket meant 'dis­ advantageous.' "When 1 had fixed these wretches in my mind, I found that they had driven everything else out of it. Then, be­ ginning again, I forgot them. Then, while I was picking them up, I dropped the other fragments of the system. In short, it was almost heartbreaking." He was very young at this time to be so persevering. He was a mere boy reporter when at last he got the thing learned. He continues: "I went into the gallery of the House of Commons as a parliamentary re­ porter when I was a bov not eighteen and I left it--I can hardly believe the inexorable truth -- nigh thirty years ago; and I have pursued the calling of | a reporter under circumstances of | which many of my brethren here, and my brethren's successors, can form no adequate conception. "I have often transcribed for the printer from my short-hand notes im port ant public speeches in which--tSe strictest accuracy was required, and a mistake in which uould have been to a young man severely compromising, writing on the palm of my hand bv the light of dark lantern, in a post-chaise and four, galloping through a wild country through the dead of might, at the then surprising r*Je of fifteen miles an hour. "The very las^ time I was at Exeter I strolled into the castle-yard there to identify, for the amusement of a friend, the spot on which I 'took' an election speech of my noble friend, Lord Rus­ sell. It was in the midst of a lively fight kept up by all the vagabonds in the vicinity, and under such pelting rain that I remember two good-nataired colleagues, who chanced to be at leis­ ure, held a pocket handkerchief over my note-book, after the manner of a state canopy in an ecclesiastical pro­ cession. "I have worn my knees by writing on them on the old back row of the Hooae of Commons, and I have worn my feet by standing to write in a preposterous pen in the old House of Lords, where we used to be huddled like so many sheep.--EM'Jianye. Potnto Starch. In the preparation of potato starch, the potatoes, after being whshed and peeled, are grated to a line pulp by a revolving grater. The pnlp is then placed upon fine sieves, and water passed through them until all the starch is washed through, and nothing left except the cellular tissne. Success­ ive portions of the pulp are thus treated until the vessel over which the sieves are placed is filled. The wash­ ings are then allowed to stand until all the starch has settled to the bottom. The water is t|ien drawn off, fresh wa­ ter is added, and the starch stirred again thoroughly, and then left to set­ tle a second time. The process is re­ peated several times, using fresh water each time, until the starch is quite clear. A final washing is then given it, and it is put to drain in perforated boxes. When quite drained it is out up into square lumps, is placed upon perforated bricks to absorb the mois­ ture, then dried in heated ovens, and finally broken, by pressure, into small pieces, and packed in boxes for use.-- Inter Ocean. Work of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing During the Fiscal Year. Mr. Graves, Chief of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in his annual report shows the expenses of the bureau during the last fiscal year to have been S9ti5,195; hut of this amount S482,5:<5 is charged for executing work for various bureaus of the Treasury and other departments. The estimates for the next fiscal year call for 8816,390. The amount of work, he savs, which it is proposed to produce in 1887 for this sum would have cost $940,880 at the rates which pre­ vailed in 188). The annual saving is 8124,498, and this sum represents the result of the economies which have recently heen made in the management of the bureau, and which will have a permanent effect on the cost of producing tho public securities, if the estimates submitted are adoptad by Congress. Since the 1st of last March 259 employes have been dis­ missed, so that the force of the office is now but 880. The result of the reduction of force and other economies is a saving of more than 8120,- 000 a year, without any impairment of the pro­ ductive capacity of the bureau. The new dis­ tinctive .paper decided upon last summer, to take the place of the so-called distributive fiber, now used in making United States and national bank notes, will not be used during the present fiscal year, as the quantity Of paper of the old style on hand is sufficient to last the year out. The artistic quality of much of the work of the bureau, Chief Graves says, is unsatisfactory, l'atent lettering, stiff, inartistic and unsuited for ftovernment securities has been used. Sur­ face printing has impaired the quality of the work; but these inferior processes will bo dis- carded as rapidly as possible hereafter, and tho securities produced by them will be replaced by work of fi«t quaUty from new and artistic de­ signs. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Report of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury. A M. Bell, Supervising Architect, in his an­ nual report to the Secretary of the Treasury, 8a,There are now in course of construction eighty new buildings, ranging in cost from 825,000 to 82 000 000 each, calling for n total expenditure of 88 "ill 400. The expenditures for the year on this account have aggregated £2,438,709. Congress fix­ es the limits of cost of buildings without a full knowledge of the accommodation required, and the limits in many cases are so low as to make it impossible to provide minimum accommo­ dation, even though the cheapest materi­ al be used. Before authorizing the con­ struction of public buildings, Congress should get estimates of the cost of appropriate structures. This would expedite work and save money. Attention is called to the fact that Con­ gress, not the architect, should be blamed when work on public buildings is stopped' for lack of appropriations. This trouble will continue as long as Congress ignores this office when making appropriations. The funds for the entire work on any public building should be available at once, thus avoiding delays in construction. The importance of properly caring for, repair- ng and preserving the Government buildings it et forth, and attention is called to the necessi.y a fire-proof building for the files of the «x< /itiTV dspartBMsafti oi tto Gwv Kochefort and His Children, Rochefort was tho dry nurse of his own children, and brought up the old­ est with a sucking-bottle of his own in- •vention. He was then a clerk at the Hotel de Ville, v.ith a salary of 1,000 francs a year, and living in a garret The child remained by herself when he •tfas at his ofKce, and he used to take her out in his arms to give her airings at night when the shabbiness of her clothes would not be seen by the neigh­ borhood. There is no better authority on the usual diseases of infancy than llochefort, who has studied them in his children and grandchildren. He spoils the latter as be spoiled the former. There is nothing he would not do for them except think of their future.-- Paris letter in London Truth. Productive of Profanity. "Look here, Squildig," said Pangle, "I thought this Indian school at Car­ lisle was to aid in making moral men of the Indians." "You thonght aright,v responded Squildig. "But I find that instead of that it is engaged in the work that will snrply be productive of profanitv." "How is that?" "If has just made three car-loads of stovepipe and sent it to the different Indian agencies. Just wait till the big chiefs begin to put up these stovepipes, and see how the school will make moral Indians of them."--Pittsburgh Chronicle. A Useful Man. Humanity owes at least one little debt of gratitude to Emil Zola. When he was poor he used to catch English sparrows and eat theuk Now any man who will come to America and eat Eng­ lish sparrows can secure steady employ­ ment at good wages and will b« hailed as a public benefactor.--Bob liurdctte. THE first printing press in the United States was introduced in 1729. THE foot of the owner is tho toat manure for his land. IJpililJiMS STATE NEWS. --Hec»ipts of cattle at Chicago to average 10.000 head per day. --Dr. B. S. Cory, for thirty years a dent of Wnukegan, died in Hamilton, Oot^ aged eighty years. Miss Dora B. Layton, of Moultrie County, has become insane because of die* appointment iu love. --At Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gen. QtU^» tavus A. Smith, who commanded' the Thir­ ty-fifth Illinois Volunteers, passed away. --ftext to New York, Chicago fnrnishM more letters for the mail and receives more letters than any other city in the United States. A sudden rise in the Embarrass River, near Olney, caused a fanner named Jacob Lewis to lose twenty-nine head of cattleTby drowning. -1 ; --Very Kev. Taiher Conway, Vicar Gen­ eral of the Arch.lioccse of Chicago, will leave the city January 16 for a six months' trip to Europe. ^ --A married woman in Chieago has ft sister so closely resembling her that the husband of the former is sometimes puzxled to tell them apart. --As the result of, a quarrel in school, tewis Gash, ten years old, stabbed Dick Bue, nl»out the same age, at Clinton, ift- tiicting dangerous wounds. --John Brown, breeder of fancy caftJS,*"" proprietor of the Hazelwood Stock Farm in West Galena, Jo Daviess County, died of rheumatism of the heart. --Gov. Oglesby has offered $900 nirsli for the conviction of the unknown murder­ er of George W. Rissetter. who was slaiK and robbed in Gilman, Nov. 27. --The Illinois State Horticultural Socie­ ty, after an interesting meeting of three days at Centralia, adjourned last week tm meet in Jacksonville next December. --Detectives at East St. Louis claim to have traced to a pawn shop the pistol with, which ex-Mayor Bowman was murdered. The pawnbroker thinks he can identify Ha purchaser on sight. --Mr. E. T. Jeffery. for seven years past General Superintendent of the Illinois Central Railroad, has been promoted to the position of General Manager at that road. Mr. Jeffery entered the service of the oom- pany thirty years ago as an office-boy. a .T.Ttllvimr .t Co., dealers at JoKet * in books, wtlll paper, etc., were closed «p by the Sheriff on a judgment note in favor of S. A. Maxwell Jb Co., of Chicago. Tba liabilities of Baynor & Co. are aboafc $5,000. It is stated that all their crediton will be paid in full. --Eli Frank, thcTwholesale liquor dealer who, last August, borrowed $15,000 of hi* four brothers, at Chicago, on the pretense of buying some whisky at a bargain, and then skipped, has been arrested in Saa Francisco. Mr. Frank was shadowed and followed to California by a detective who made the capture. --Theophile Geroult, an old and •ell- known French citizen cf (Chicago, was stricken with apoplexy at his home, and died in a few minutes. He edited the first French paper published in that city, and at the time of his death was editor of the Conrrier de I Illinois. His wife's father was one of the earliest French setUeis ha Chicago. --The jury at Joliet, in the suit of Con­ tractor Sexton against Cook County for damages, returned a verdict for the plain­ tiff for $134,D54.88. The Supreme Couft having previously sustained a verdiet for $19,783.29, the iotal amount awarded Sex­ ton will be $154,738.17. The jury wei» out sixteen hours and balloted ten times. . --The Lutherans of the country are mak­ ing a united effort to build up and main­ tain a seminary in the Northwest, and Chi­ cago is being generally favored as the site for the proposed institution. As far back as 18G8 au effort was put on foot to trans­ fer the theological *dopnrtment of the college at Springfield, Ohio, to Springfield 111., and a year later an en­ dowment of $50,000 was , promised in that iuterest. The matter fell through, however, but the agitation about locating a school ©f the kind iu the West has been going on, and recently at a meeting of the Church Educational Board at Kansas City the idea of selecting Chicago as the site was broached and heartily indorsed, and the movement took shape. The board was in favor of Chicago, aqd its action appears to have met the greatest favor in the East, not only from the laity but the ministry and the press. The Observer, of Phila­ delphia, in its current issue advocates the scheme, and its editor, who was foremost in pledging $50,000 to the Springfield movement, pledges his personal support to the cause. --Chicago Tribune: The price- of fins grades of butter, such as the makers of butterine buy, has advanced sharply within a few days. It is about 10 cents per pound higher than a week ago. It advanced 8 cents in Elgin yesterday, to 40 cents per pound, and is quoted here at 33 to 37 cents. A scarcity of the article is assigned as a reason for the extraordinary strength dis­ played in the market. Common grades are still plenty and no higher, though bought by the multitude when they do not get the counterfeit instead- It is strange, but not the less true, that the best butter now finds its principal buyers in the ranks of the men who nse it as the basis of an adulter­ ation and pay higher prices for it than can be obtained from those who think they want the best and that they are willing to pay for it. ' Natural Gaa in Illinois. From Science for December. In an editorial note in Science for Novem­ ber 20, there is a reference to the failure of the natural gas-well in Champaign County, Illinois. Iu all there are only about a dozen gas-wells in the county. In two, which are near together, the pressure is about twenty- five pounds per square inch; in the othem it is only a few pounds. After person­ ally investigating a number of wells, •he writer concludes that _ there has been ho marked decrease iu the sup­ ply, the failure of any i>ar:icnlnr well l>eiug due to an aceuniuhitiou of >nud„ and water rather than to an exhaustion of the supply. With one exception ttfT the wells reqnire pumping out every two or three months. The gas is nearly pure uiarsh-gas. and is found at a depth of seventy to ninety feet, iu a layer of loam from three to twelve feet thick. Inferences drawn from the Champaign County wells are inapplicable to the Pittsburgh wells. Near Litohtuld, this State, natural gas has been found which, in quantity, quality and source, is similar to that of Pittsburgh. I. O. Ba&eb, University of llUnois.^ - '• • ..«$«•*