ATADCALN i. VAN 9UKE, Editor tad PtiMltler. ICeHBNRY, - - iLLIWOir Am>there 2s the baii; wliax, wonder ful strength has the but! Think how many men can go on one of them.-- EkBira Gazette. THK newly invented military ex plosive is ignited by neither spark toor shock and makes neither smoke, re coil, nor noise; hot it is more danger- otts even than a gun without lock, j$tock, or barreL SOCIETY in Mound City, Ma, is considerably stirred up over the death of one of its brightest lights. He was «hot while in the act of burglar izing a store, and the verdict,is unani mous that he was forgetful of good form. THIC Warden of a Connecticut penitentiary »is under investigation lor cruel treatment of prisoners. A compromise between him and some of the wardens who have done service in Michigan would coma pretty near Vdeai man for such a position, b this hat become so consplofioiis of bite mw in what we call American so ciety that the subject recommends Itself to the attention of pi vera. , n THE 123-ton Krupp gun exhibited at the World's Fair is the largest in the world and required a car fifty feet long with thirty-two wheels, which was expressly built for the purpose, for its transportation. The time will come when it will be as antiquated a piece of ordnance as the famous gun known as Mons, Meg, which forms one of the curiosities of Edinburgh Castle. Mons Meg was made in the old Flemish town from which it takes its first name, near the close of the fifteenth century, and was long con sidered the most formidable piece in the British Isles. But for 200 years it has been as harmless a weapon as it would be if it were a*'Quaker gutf," having burst daring the* firing of a salute in honor of the Dake of York, afterwards James II., and, like Mons Meg, we repeat, as far as obsoleteness is concerned, will this Krupp gun be some day, and the world will be qpt a whit less happy because it can no longer be depended upon in time of war; THB experiment of colonizing Rus sian Jews in Louisiana has not been a success. They are good citizens, bjii physically are not up to the re quirements of unskilled labor, and their roving disposition prevents tnelr remaining contentedly in any one locality. Two FRENCH captains fought the latest duel. It was thought that possibly they would rob the custom of that gentle and innocuous aspect that makes such affairs to be smiled at But they heeded the precedent. Honor was satisfied with six shots that involved no danger save to spectators. CITIZENS In a Chicago suburb ob jected to the presence of mail-car riers, deeming them a new and irn- pundent variety of police. The ignor ance of the lower classes in Europe is perfuctorily deplored, . but there is real pain in the realization that Chi cago has imported enough of it in a lump to make a suburb. AT a church meeting in an East ern city a controversy, it is sad to re late, arose between two ministers. Laymen took sides and one punched another in the eye, and the recipient of the punch was groping blindly in his hip pocket for a pistol when peace was restored. It was a salutary les son to the ministers. They had not realized the presence of so promising a mission field. THE Rock Island road will have the sympathy of the public in its pur pose to weed out excessive drinkers from its army of operatives. It is not necessary to split hairs on the question of what shall be considered excessive drinking. It is not a moral question that the company has to deal with. It is a serious practical matter that affects ttw lives and property of all who patronize the business of the road. Thedetermina tlon of the management to dispense with the services of all its employes who should disobey the order given is the only way to successfully en force the regulation. The man who is discharged because he frequents drinking places has nc right to com plain or to set up the excuse that he has not drunk to excess. The reform 'must be"enforced largely on appear ances. It would be impossible to measure the amount that each man drinks when he enters a barroom, nor would it be possible to measure his capacity tor carrying the load that he takes on. The company has under taken to protect its patrons and its own property as well, and public sen timent will applaud it fordoing so. FTM LATJTED DOWN. COMMISSIONER BLOUNT'S AC TION IS CRITICISED, jt, --; ; V • Owiwid'I N«w»lhn WMct Amply Ju-itUles iho Joy vud Sat isfaction EiprMfcd tn G«»t Britain Over His Kite tlon--Opyose an Extra Session. HERE is news "as is news" of farm ing in the far Wcsfc It was found In the news column of an exchange: "A speculative farmer out in Dakota raised 1,000 bushels of popcorn last year and stored it in a burn. The barn caught fire, the corn began to pop. and filled a ten-acre field. An old mare in a neighboring pasture that had defective eye-sight, saw the corn, thought it was snow, and laid down and froze to death." THE discovery has been miute that the business portion of New York City belongs to a family on the Pacific coast. Also that £70,000,000 is in the Bank of England subject to the order of the same fortunate family. No discovery of this kind having been made fcr some time, this one is quite opportune and welcome. It is not known yet whether or not the heirs will bring the business por tion of New York City out West. THANKS awfully, dear Spain, for i$be gift of that saucy caraval, the reproduced flagship of good old Colum bus, the Santa Maria. Bat from what we hear of her sea-going quali ties, from the sailors who have just crossed the Atlantic in her, we hardly, think she would do for a dispatch boat for the new navy, nor yet for a presidential yacht She has a way of getting upon the crest of a wave and bobbing about there like a .petrel which would not suit our notions of "getting along.1' Seeing such a craft immensly enhances one's respect for Columbus as a courageous ' navigator. THE laws of Louisiana, as they af fect the rights of women, would seem, in some respects, to have stood still since the admission of the State into the Union. This was illustrated In the trial of a case in the criminal district court of New Orleans the other day. The defendant was a negro who had robbed a house on Rampart street of female wearing appareL There was no doubt of his guilt, but the indictment charged that the articles stolen were the property of a woman. It was a fatal defect for it was shown that the wo man had a husband living, and that she had not been emancipated by de cree of court so as to be able to hold property. The court thereupen or dered the jury to acquit The New Orleans Picayune indignantly com ments: "Doubtless this is the law of Louisiana, but what sort -of law is it? It belongs to an age when wo men were slaves and Is a relic of the times when people were burned for witchcraft Truly, it seems that the laws might be relaxed a little, so that a woman may be able to bold the clothes on her back against any thief in the city without bursting up the foundations of the State's jurispru dence and utterly destroying the majesty of the law. When this same law operates to strip a woman of her garments and hands them over to a thief, the robes of his majesty are decidedly threadbare." IT is not often that anr kind of Enterprise is abandoned because of too much appreciation, but this seems to be what has befallen the co-operative kitchen enterprise in West Philadel phia, an account of which was re cently published. The scheme was so popular that it drew more patrons than could be supplied, and the pro moters of the scheme abandoned it rather than be compelled to discrim inate The popularity of the new de parture in cooking shows that it was filling a long felt want acd it is likely to be revived and given a wider application. In this way only can the ordinary householder defy the tyranny of the servant girl. THE French Chamber has Just passed a measure levying a tax on all liveries. That is, any gentleman or lady who claps what we call "liv ery" upon a servant shall pay a tax of 20 francs a year for each livery worn. The opponents of the bill in France are endeavoring to bring it into ridicule by insisting that the chef in his cap and the nurse in her white apron shall also come under its provisions; but this will not win. The spirit of the bill is all right (the Commercial Advertiser declares). It ts nutting a tatf on flunkeyism, and The Difference. When John L Sullivan was whipped by Corbett last fall, he ex claimed mournfully; "I tried it once too often. I was too old." Sullivan was thirty-four. All prize ring ex perts agreed with him that he was past the age when man u at his best physically. In brief, man is getting old at thftty-four, according to prize ring judgment Mr.'Jay Gould died in the fifty- seventh year of bis age Nobody called him old. It is to be noted, however, that nobody spoke of him as being called from lllo too soon-- before his best work was done. Prob ably pobody thought so except his own children and immediate family, who were tenderly attached to him. His greatest work had been accom plished. A little more than a month after Mr. Gould there died in Boston a man who was 57 years old in De cember, the month the millionaire took leave of this life. It was Bishop Phillip Brooks, considered by many the greatest preacher of his time after Beecher. Bishop Brooks was five months older than Jay Gould. Yet at his death, chief after expression of loss at the departure of so great and good a man, was the lament that he had been snatched away in the prime of his life with his grand powers in full noontlae. It was counted an irrepar able loss, the untouched years before him, which he would have filled full of work for mankind. He preached the gospel of brotherly love, the the ology of !ihe brotherhood ef man, and it was counted that he had died young, ail too young. So here, says the Gleaner, we have the three--the prize-lighter who is an aged man at thirty-four, the millionaire who had finished his life work at fifty-six, and the preacher whom men loved dying young at fifty- seven. "Who knows the names of the millionaires of even a century ago?" Ask somebody. And yet, which would the average man rather be. the millionaire or the oread* or? Oar Royalist President. • Commissioner Blount's action at Honolulu may be susceptible of a pat riotic explanation, but until such ex planation is made full and satisfac tory the American people will be strongly inclined to put another con struction on It. Under the circum stances the lowering of the American flag fiom the government building, where it had been placed by the Pro visional Government, and the order ing of the Boston's seamen off the island, has too much the appearance of backing down and out to suit the American people, and unless some better reason can be given for this action than that given by Mr. Blount himself, the people will conclude that the administration is playing a tricky and underhanded game. The question of what Cleveland proix>ses to do In regard to the Ha waiian Islands is best answered by recalling what he has done. These islands, the most valuable in the Pa cific, and of inestimable Importance to the United States for naval and commercial reasons, were offered to the American people by the free act of a duly recognized Hawaiian gov ernment and with the avowed or passive acquiescence of the whole Hawaiian population. Not a voice was raised in protest except that of the ex-Queea, justly deposed for an attempted usurpation of power, and for the infamous bargain of her sup porters with the Louisiana Lottery. General Harrison, patriot that he Is, promptly accepted the opportunity to strengthen the American Republic by annexing the Malta of the Pacific. A treaty was prepared which would have made Hawaii American terri tory, and which was at the same time not only liberal but generous in its treatment of the family that had oc cupied the puppet throne. The treaty was before the Senate when Cleveland entered the While House. Instead of clinching the ad mirable work of his predecessor, and adding the islands, which Americans had civilized and redeemed to the American Republic, Cleveland with drew the treaty. Then he sent Blount, Sf Georgia, who has always seemed to have some instinctive grievance against the Stars and Stripes, as his commissioner to Ha waii, evidently to undo whatever had been dqne toward annexation, and to Indirectly or directly aid in the restoration of the wretched apology for a monarchy that had existed be fore the intelligent Inhabitants as serted their devotion to republican institutions. Blount proved worthy of his master, and his first act was to cause the lowering of the American flag, whose Tolds had been to the Isl anders a token of the will and power of the United States to preserve lib erty with order and to protect the Interests of all. This humiliating act was a direct Invitation to insur rection and bloodshed on the part of the more barbarous of the population. Time will tell whether the invitation has been accepted. Such has been j£3feveland's course in regard to Hawaii.- It is a case that points not only to the humiliation of the United States, but to the restora tion of the tinsel monarchy. There is no mistaking the plain meaning of the acts of Cleveland and his com missioner. Cleveland's Hawaiian policy amply justifies the joy and satisfaction ex pressed in Great Britain over his election. He manifestly means to rostore the deposed Queen to her throne, to dash the hopes of intelli gent Hawaiians for annexation to the. Uhited States, and to give an exam ple of pusillanimity from which the prestige of the American Republic may suffer for many years. . . . . . . I S I R ' ^LISGG his advleersopen to the imputation' of treachery to the campaign pledges of early reform in the tariff and in the general conduct of the public business, while the calling of the ses* slon would expose the party to the distrust In its wisdom in constructive legislation which is felt In some de gree even by tens of thousands of •ten who voted for Cleveland last year. Oppegltlea to the Extra Sesatoa. Some of the leading Democratic Senators, it is reported, are opposed to the calling of an extra session in September or at any other time, and among these are Mr. Gorman, of Ma ryland, and Mr. Harris, of Tennes see. They reason, in substance, that a called session, no matter how early it should begin, would be interrupted by the elections in November.' A great many States will vote in that month - this year. Massachusetts, Ohio, Iowa and a few more States will elect Governors at that time, and several others will choose minor State officers. Around election time neither branch of Congress could maintain a quorum. Half of the members, if not more than half, would go home a few days before the elections so as to be on hand at the voting time, and stay home a few days after the elections. Many members, also, in their party's inter est if not in their own, would spend more or less time during the cam paign upon the stump, and the busi ness of Cong re s, if it were in session, would be impeded thereby. The Globe-Democrat thinks it must be conceded that these considera tions are entitled to some weight For a week or two before to a week or two after the elections Congress might just as well be adjourned, for it could do no business. Very nearly, if not quite, a month would be lost on account of the canvass, and this would put a big hole in the session. But a greater objection still from the the Democratic point of view to an extra session, although it is not prominently advanced, is that it would direct the attention of the country seriously to Democratic prop ositions of running the Government. Every rabid attack made on the tariff or on tAe finances in Con gress by individual Demccrats would be charged against the party, and the paity would have to suffer for them at the polls. Every threat in Congress to reduce the tariff to a revenue basis, each demand in favor of free silver, and each bill to restore wild-cat currency would put a club in the hands of the enemies of Democ racy which would be used vigorously and effectively at the elections. Undoubtedly the extra-session ques tion is destined to cause trouble to Cleveland and to the rest of the mag nates of his party. A refusal to call a session would leave Cleveland and Democracy aad Internal Itevenae. Many free trade experts have fa vored the public with their views as to the best means of bringing the tariff into harmony with' the Demo cratic platform. They have esti mated the amount of revenue that will be needed, the part of it that will be derived from all other sources and the balance that will be left to get from the new tariff. Not one has succeeded in solving the problem without providing for taxed sugar, and in several cases taxed tea and coffee as well. But they have all left out of their calculations a most im portant factor. It is the probability that under a Democratic President the interna! revenue will fall off enormously, as In fact it did fall off under Mr. Cleve land's former administration, during which only $482,991,463.05 was de rived from the internal revenue tax, as against $534,087,145.09 collected from the same souice during Arthur's administration. This was a loss of nearly $51,000,000 under the Demo cratic regime. Under Harrison the change in the opposite direction was even more striking. Th* Harrison administration collected $598,349,- 987.78 out of the internal revenue tax, a gain of more than 9115,000,000 over the Cleveland administration, and of $64,000,000 over that of Arthr. It is probably true that changes In the revenue laws account for some part of the decrease under Cleveland, but assuredly they do not account for it all. The internal revenue officials appointed by Cleveland in the South ern States failed to enforce the law against Southern moonshiners. His appointees were local Democrats who were often In sympathy, if not actu ally connected, with the operations pi the illicit distillers. Cuuuouuce at frauds on the government is very natural under such circumstances. On the other hand, the' internal rev enue officers selected by a Republican President are not likely to be inter ested in the promotion of moonshln- ing, but have every inducement to en force the law. Mr. Cleveland will In all probabili ty repeat the experience of his former administration in this respect, with the result that the deficit contem plated in the calculations of the ex perts^vill be greatly increased. But the Democrats will meet it by a little heavier duty on sugar, tea and coffee. To tax the breakfast table of the Northern worklngman for the benefit of Southern moonshiners is quite in keeping with the Democratic concep tion of government--N. Y. Press. What It Would Mean. The Reform Club experts estimate the imports of Wool manufactures under their proposed 25 per cent, duty at $75,000,000, or more than double the imports of 1892. Chair man Springer, of the Ways and Means Committee, asserted that under the 40 per cent, duty on this line of goods proposed In the bill which passed the last House imports would jump to $100,000,000 This dlsagreerpent among the free trade doctors Illus trates how little the alleged tariff ex perts of the Democracy know about what the effect of their measures would be on the important interests for which they presume to prescribe legislation. But whether imports of woolen goods would jump to $100,- 000,000 or stop at $75,000,000 It would only mean so many millions taken from American industries and Ameri can wage earners and given to Euro peans. As to Its Conalltotonalltjr. The "constitutionality" of Hawaii an annexation does not bother any body except a few doctrinaires and cranks. Jefferson had some doubt* about the constitutionality of the Louisiana purchase, but he went right ahead in the scheme nevertheless, and no one attacks this transaction on legal or any other grounds now. The Constitution has nothing what ever to do with the Hawaiian matter. If the white residents of the islands insist on annexation and the United States agrees to It annexation will take place and the incident will be closed.--Globe-Democrat AROUND A GKE AT STATE. BRIEF CO >|M PI CATION QF NOIS NEWS. W at BeRernie--CrtHlw Cow--Work of' tk# feeeent Storm--Sen tence of a NoM Bone Thief--Alton jareoMMk Hm HyA&phobla. ; From Far nnd Near. AT Blblcy Judge Sample overruled THE motion oa behalf of J esse Dennis for a new trial. AT Jacksonville Mrs. John B. Potts, wife of the well-known head of the firm of H. H. Potts <£ 8on, died Thurs day morning. V AND ALIA was nearly drowned by a water spout The damage in the city and Fayette County will amount to several thousands of dollars. MICHAEII CFOONEY, of Chicago, fell from a cable car and the wheels of the rear trailer passed over his body.* He was removed to his home, where he died. THE Auditor of Publle Accounts Is sued a permit to Thomas A. Wright, Arthur J. Smith, L. D. Kneeland and William R. Kerr to organise the West Pullman bank at West Pullman, with a capital stock of $50,000. THE eleven Institutions of Illinois under charge of the State Board of Charities Were maintained at a cost of $282,912 to the State for the quarter ended March 31, there being an average of 7,1)82 inmates, with an average net cost per capita of $35.44. Gov. ALTOELD pardoned Carl Hayne, of Cook County. He" was sentenced in 1885 for a term of fourteen years for robbing. He was pardoned for the reason that bis senteuoe was nearly ex pired and his widowed mother is about to lose her homo under a mortgage. MRS. EICHABP ISOM, of Alton, has hydrophobia. She Imitates the actions of a dog constantly. Ten years ago she was bitten by a dog. She barks at intervals, and bofore being tied crawled about on her hands and knees. The authorities are in a dilemma to know what shall be done with her. THE recent storm was especially se vere at Quincy, Carlyle, Hlllsboro, and Greenville. Boofs were blown off, fences leveled, and crops and farm property badly damaged. In the vicin ity of Jacksonville thousands of acres of wheat were washed out by overflow ing streams, Sibley also suffered se verely AT 6:45 Saturday evening two masked men entered Gauf &, Son's dry goods store at Belleville while Clerk Klesel was waiting upon a customer. Ono kept guard whllo the other robbed the money drawer of $75. Both then went through the pockets of the clerk and his customer, setting a revolver and $5 They escaped. "GEN. " PHIL, NEFF, the noted horse thief, has been sentenced in the St. Clair County Court to a ten years' term in the Southern Illinois Penitentiary, "Gen." Neff has worked the Mlddlo Stater, for the past quarter of a cen tury, and it is said of him he has stolen more houses than any other man. He is now old and gray, and will hardly live out his term. LTINQ on the floor of a cattle car, suffering from a broken leg--and with the cause of the fractured lone, a cow, lying on top of him--Rudolph Tesmer, of Osage, Iowa, rode 200 miles into Chi catco Sunday. When rescued from his pe uliar and perilous position by a de tail o( the Columbian guard he was eo exhausted that he fainted away twioe during the ambulance ride from the south end of oackson Park to the hos pltal OWING to the fact that the exhibit of the Illinois Institution for the Edu a tlon of the Blind must soon be sent to the World's Fair, the commencement exercises were held at Jacksonville much earlier than is the custom. The olass this year consists of four gradu atcs: Arthur E. Anient, Cook Coun ty; Henry B. Edwards, Lake County; Fannie N. Penny. Henderson, County; Frank E. Stoddard, Montgomery Coun ty. The exercises consisted of music, Not at All Alarm In (f. There Is nothing especially alarm ing In the fact that Secretary Car lisle has stopped the Issue of gold cer tificates.1 The law gives the Secretary the right to do this when the Treas ury gold gets down to the 8100,000,- 000 mark. This mark is not touched yet, but the Secretary has taken time by the forelock, seeing that the fund in excess of this sum is small, and that it is likely to-grow smaller,, In a crisis, of course, bonds will be sold, and gold can be obtained. There Is not the slightest danger that gold will go to a premium.- - IT -is announced at Washington that the average number of appli cants for 400 places in the consular service of the United States is 200 apiece. That makes 80,000 applica tions from, presumably, 80,000 per sons. We know pretty well how hunger for office rages in the ranks of thy unwashed Democracy, but these figures rather exceed our ex pectations. Why should there be so great a desire on the part of the Bourbons to go abroad? Would some of them feel safer beyond the reach of American courts? The Lofle of It. As commodities cheapen their con sumption increases. Much more sugar per capita is used in the United States now than was used before the McKinley act went into operation. That law, which put raw sugar on the free list, cheapened that article to the extend of the duty removed. Consumption will decrease again, of course, if the Democrats are able to carry out their plan to put sugar back on the dutiable list ABOTTT 20,000 or 22,000 Republican plurality is all that will be asked from Ohio this year, but the number is more likely to go above the larger figure than it ls to go .below the smaller one. essays by members of the ty. poems, and class. THE annual convention of District No. 13, Illinois United Mine Workets of America, adjourned at SpHngfleld to meet at Springfield the last week in August next. Resolutions were adopt ed demanding an Increase of & cents per ton. JACKSONVILLE authorities have cap tured a noted negro murderer, and feel that they have made a good haul, as he ls wanted in Troy, Mo., for the murder of a mart three years ago. He is a dan gerous character, and will be sent for as soon as the requisition papers can le secured. Gov. AnTOELD pardoned Martin Ho- nan, of Cook County, out of the peni tentiary. He was Sentenoed in Sep tember, 1892, for a term of one year for burqlary. .' THE rather «!ngular fact Is noted at Mascoutah that the damage done to the fruit crop by the recent cold snap is confined to certain strips of territory and is not general throughout Southern Illinois. In the Turkey Hill district, tin-., miles wost, the peaches and pears were all killed, while at Mascoutah no damage was done to those fruits. The reports from counties south indicate that there is the same condition of things there. • THE cduntry around Jacksonville is nearly all under water, and untold dam age has been done to crops, while col lars are turned Into cisterns, drains be ing unable to carry off the water. Tuesday night a storm whleh had lasted for several days wound up with what seemed to be a waterspout and flooded the whole place. A small stream in the the lower part of town ls higher than was ever known before, and a good many houses have been overflowed, and the people have been compelled to flee for their lives, a thine: wholly unprece dented in the history of the city. Farming is all at a standstill, thousands of acres of wheat are ruined, and ground once plowed will have to be plowed over. THE heavy rains of the last week Have caused the Easkaskla River to rise very rapidly. The stream Is very much swollen. It is over two miles in width at Carlisle. Several thousand acres of valuable farming land Is Inundated. THE trustees of the Central Hospital for the Insane met at Jacksonville in regular monthly session. The resigna tion of. the Superintendent, Dr. H. F. Carrlel, was accepted and Dr. John F. McKenzie, Of McLean County, ap pointed as his successor. The change will take place July 1, next. Dr. Mc Kenzie is a relative of Vice President Stevenson* * THE Odd-Fellows of the Interstate Association celebrated the seventy- fourth anniversary of their order at Cairo Wednesday, and more than 5,000 from Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee were present. A grand street parade and steamboat excursion were given. Metropolis, III., was selected as the next place of meeting. MBS. MAHY C. HUES, the handsome wife of a well-known farmer residing a dozen miles east of Mascoutah, eloped recently with a neighbor farmor naned Ramey. They were traced as far south as Shawneetown, and there trace of them was lost. Farmer Huey was granted a divorce ih the St. Clair County Court from his recreant spouse. Even In tills day of universal facili ties, traveller* find it no easy matter to journey through certain parts of Germany. The author of "Rural Life in Germany" experienced an an noyance which, however, was readily settled by a village justice: MWe dined at an Inn, where a man suc ceeded in persuading our coachman that we had another hill to ascend, and that it wou d be impossible for us to reach the next village without taking htm an extra pair of horses along. The innkeeper's daughter said, •Nothing of the kind; it was all de scent and most of it steep.' Still the coachman was so much frightened that he would not go on without the man* I therefore told the stranger that he might go with us on these termfc: if there proved to be an ascent I would t>ay him a fixed sum; if nothing but downhill, I would not. "He went on, and all was rapid downhill. When, therefore, he took off his horses at the point where the homeward way diverged, I refused to pay him, and he became violent and menacing. I told him that if he insisted on the payment he must come to the next village to the burgermelster, and ordered thecoachman to drive on. He attempted to stop our horses; the coachman appeared frightened, and St seemed likely to be s trouble some affair. My firmness, however, prevailed; * the coachman drove on and the man'foilowed. At the village inn 1 inquired for the burgermelster, and the man cried out to the servant, -Fetch me the blacksmith.' I replied 1 did not want the blacksmith, but the burger- meister. 'It is the same man,' said he. Presently apreared *tbe black smith, in his shirtrsleeves and, toler ably smutty from the forge When he had heard the case, aud the man was running on very volubly in his dialect--•Stop,' said the worthy wlelder of iron. There needs only ono word. Did you put your horses before the carriage or behind it" " 'Before, to be sure,' replied the man, confidently. " 'Then,' answered honest Vulcan, •you can go about your business. Everybody knows that it's all down hill from Licncnstein hither, and who wants to be pulled downhill? Had you put vour horses behind to drag, I would have awarded you money.' The highest minister of the realm could not have given a more prompt or better judgment or certainly a cheaper; for the aood man refused to receive anything for his trouble, ex pressed hi* satisfaction in being able to prevent imposition on a stranger, and only begged that if we saw a countryman of his in similar need, wc would help him if we could." Chnnce or Character? New devices to guard the purity of the ballot-box or to neutralize the bad influence of self-seeking wire pullers arc being constantly brought forward, and this fact in itselt proves the extent of the evil against which these devices arc aimed. A unique plan to reform municipal politics has l>ecn agreed upon by the people of Oswego, who have asked the consent of the New York Legislature to put it Into operation. Briefly stated, It is this: The city Is divide! into four dis tricts; in ea. h district the names of all its legal voters are put into a wheel like that used for obtaining juries, and all are then' drawn; the first huudred citizens whose names are drawn form Class A, the second Class B, and so to the end. Each one hundred citizens thus by chance thrown together meet and elect delegates to a council, Whlcii In its turn elects city officials for that district and also , delegates to a smaller cauncil made up of represeta- tives from the four districts; this smaller council elects the JJayor and other general city officers. At each election the whole process is repeated. The idea is that the citizens, thus divide 1 by lot into small elective bodies, cannot be easily controlled in their action by corrupt cliques or become subject to bribery. How such a plan would work in actual practice is an open question. But what a commentary it is en municipal politics generally thatsuch n self-imposed restraint should be thought needed! Justice is allegori- cally represented as blindfolded, and chance also is called a blind goddess; here we have citizens proposing, as it were, to blind themselves by chance In order to do justice After all, the flnal appeal must be to the.individual conscience. Mont esquieu tells us that the essential principle of a republic is individual virtue, as that of a monarchy is honor and that of a despotism fear. Every citizen forms by hi* own char acter a part of the character of the nation.--Youth's Companion. Loot His Pension. In a small village in Main there lives an old soldier who has for many years received a pension (rom the Government which with bis small earnings by occasional Jobs, makes him comfortable. One day, while at work In the house of a neighbor, he slipped at the top of a flight of stairs, and fell to the bottom. The lady of the house h^ard the noise, and hurried to learn the cause. "Why, Ambrose," she said, "is that you? Did you fall down-stairs?" ••Yes, marm, I did," answered the old man, "and for about a couple of miuutes I thought I'd lost my pen- sign, " Dose tor Dose. In Beloochistan, when the, physi cian gives a dose, he is expected to partake of a similar one himself, as a guarantee of his good faith. Should the patient die under his hands, the relatives, though they do not exercise it in all circumstances, have the right of putting him to death, unless a special agreement has been made freeing him from all responsibility as to consequences; while, if ihey should decide upon immolating him, he has no reasonable ground for complaint but is expected to submit to his fate like a man. UNLESS a man is bald-headed he should raise his hat with a graceful motion and bring it down to his side when saluting a lady. The dude's jerk is funny, but it is not genteel WORK OP/THE STATE 90LQNFTL ATS.TMB CAPITAL. V? Itwwwwt of Oi»eWeek'»: Presented, Considered aad rMM#» What Our Pnbtlc Servants An "-'mn' . ; In sjiA Arooad Lee* •!• tire W«"«, . . The Law-Hakm. 's lnthm HOOK, Friday, SEVERAL HULE mwtm Inirodnccd and others advanced I rom flitt •' to third reading. A squabble ensued when Representative Nobe tried to advance bit btll, to no purpose, In the Senate, Senator Wells' bill to amend the election law an M to abolish the necessity of publishing tb« ballot of township elections In the twnpa* pera, and to provide for the payment 41- the Judges in township elections CLAO a day, was read a second time and made * special order for third reading on To«dar. Several bills were advanced to third read ing, Both Honres adjourned until Monday* ID the Senate Tuesday Mr. Koonaii'B resolution protesting against the ratifica tion of the Russian extradition treaty was passed by a vote of 21 to 7. Mr. Nte- hao.9* bill providing that miners shall be paid for coal actually weighed and prohib iting the use of screens before the coal wM weighed was passod, as were also Mr. Wells* booil redemption bill providing for the coveiy of money lying in the State Treas ury, and the House bill for the appointment of a commission to mark the positions of Illinois troops on the battlefield of Chick*- manga. Mr. Bartling's resolution provid ing for an Investigation of the acts of the Lincoln Park Board by a special ccmmtt- tee of five was adopted by a viva voce vols* The House bill preventing the issuing ot tcarbcio' certificates by State noou&l in stitutions was passed. The Kohe 36,008 limit bill was the vssed question in tha House, and was not. disposed oi Mr. Kobe** bill regulating the importation and sale of oysters, clams, and shell fish was ordered to third reading, as were also Mr. Merritt's bill repealing the act entitling women to vote for school officials, Mr. Wilson's bill amending the act in relation to the ad ministration of estates, Mr. Fowler's bill persntttinff a Conntr Superintendent of Schools to appeal to the State Superintend ent when he Is removed by the county board, and Mr. Sparks' bill empowering water companies to go outside of the city limits and condemn land for laying water pipes and erecting supply stations. The Senate bill establishing a naval militia, was sent to the Committee on Naval AUMISL ' The House Wednesday refused to take up the Joint resolution to adjourn from Friday to Tuesday, but postponed consideration of It until Friday morning. Most of the time was consumed in discussion of World's Fair matters. The Senate passed, by a vote of 88 to 1, the House bill which takes $71,600 of the §800.000 appropriated two years ago for the Illinois exhibit and building, and distributes that amount among the dairy men's, beekeepers', horticultural, and tfft- makers' associations, and to defray the expenses of the" National Guard at the World's Fair. The general appropriation bill was then ordered engrossed for third reading. Mr. Nlehaus' bill regulating the election, and compensation of assessors in cities oT over 40,000 and less than 100.000 inhabitants was passed without objection, after which the Senate adjourned. In the House Thursday the Senatorial reapportionment bill was advanced to third reading, but not until after a dis cussion which consumed nearly the entice session. The measure to decide the loca tion of the 8tate Fair brought out the claims of Peoria. Aurora, Springfield. Bloomlngton and Decatur; but upon re ceipt of the news of the death of W. O. Goudy, ot Chicago, the House adjourned without taking action. The Senate or dered to third reading the bills appropriat ing fO,584 for repairing the streets on which State property abuts in Springfield* . S6.460 for the same purpose in Ott&wn, 84,401 for the same purpose in Mount Ver non, $8,500 for Improvements at the Jack sonville Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and the general Improvement bill in behalf of the Central Hospital for the Insane. Senator Wells' bill, preventing the publication- ot townshln election tickets, was passed a vote of SO yeas to no nays. MM & • V! 13i 'Sfe*y A Wonderful Tree. The cocoa-nut palm supplies nearly all the wants of man. Its wood is need for building purposes--both houses and boats--for ornamental purposes, when polished, it makes elaborate furniture; the leaves thatch roofs and feed cattle; its fibers make rope, brooms, brashes, mats and even paper. The kernel ot. the nut forms the staple food of the natives in many parts of India, and the liquid portion, known as cocoa-nut milk, serves them for drink. It also yields wine, sugar, oil, wax, resin, astr ngent matters, and food for cattle. The shell is converted Into cups and many other useful domestic utensils; the outside husk is converted into clothing, ooir ropes, cables, and matting. The oil Is largely used in cookery, as well as for making candles, and marine soap, which will produce a lather in salt water. In the course of purification it also produces glycerine, and It is In general use throughout India for burn ing In lamp, s Even its roots are chewed in the summer, as is the areca nut. In* deed, it would be difficult to mention A single thing necessary for man's well- be ins that the cocoa-nut tree does not Sovlde. It has been estimated that ere are 280,100,000 of these trees In full bearing in the world. The bamboo is not considered a tree, but It is a plant which is put to a very great number of uses by the Chinese, who look upon It almost as a universal provider. , Where "Vanity Fair" Was In 1847 Thackeray went to live la Young street, and once pointing out the bow-windowed cottage to an inquiring friend, ls said to have remarked: "Go down on j our iaieea, you rogue, for here 'Vanity Fair' was penned, and I will go down with you, for I have a high opinion of that little production my self." Here he also wrote "Esmond,* and one of the houses close by in Kensington Bquare has been chosen as the home of Lady Castiewood and Beatrice. In 1862 Thackeray removed from Onslow Square, where 'The New- comes" and "The Virginians" had been composed, to the house he had built himself in Palace Green, still remain ing in the old court suburb with its leafy trees and gardens, to which he was so much attached; Here it was the completion of "Denis Duval" was cut short by his lamentable death in the following year.--Chambers' Journal. Old, Indee*'( The oldest tree on earth is said to tMt the Boo tree in the sacred city of Am- arapoora, Burmah. It was planted itt the year 288 B. C. Events and Happening FXIOBIDA claims a meerschaum mine. THERE are more than '250,000 Swiss In the United States* HARVABD graduated 289 bachelors ot art this year to Yale's 187. AKIZONA is coming into the Held as*- ' rival of California in the fruit line. QUEENSLAND, Australia, owes the largest national debt per capita--$333.46 a head. IT is estimated that at least 1,000,000 pounds of rubber are annually used for bicycle tires. ONE-FIFTH of the 10,000,000 families in France have no children. As many more have only one child. THE fact that troubles never eome singly doesn't seem to have .a particle of effect on marriage statistics. THESE are 82 national cemeteries in the United States, and they have 327,IT» graves, about one-half of which are marked "unknown." THE mineral production of Canada In 1890 reaehed the value of fliMHW.OO®. Of the metals, nickel was the most val»; uable, yielding §1,230,00 *. A TENNESSEE country nei discovered that roaches grasshoppers, and can be aight coming home to roost. 5, * '. h iwsMner has sanity like seen latest - t j**-