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The Farmer and the Bicycle. I started out last fall cm a bicycle to Visit a man in another part of the State.,, In trying to reach a; macadam road, just built, by a short Ait, I came into a stretch of highway as bad as any in a civilized country. In this road I. overtook a farmer with an empty wagon and two horses. When the farmer saw me approaching he let his horses walk, for the purpose, I be­ lieve. of more effectually blocking my way: - . • :' The road was narrow and uneven and there was no way to get" by the farmer unless he turned but. At lasjt I shouted to him: , - "Won't, you let me. get by ?" "I ain't henderiu' ye!" "But the roads' so narrow I can't go by unless you turn out!" "Can't help that! I didn't make the rud! Ef I had, I might ha' made it iwlder, an'--an' I mightn't!" "But you might turn out!" . "Mebbe I might but " "The road belongs to me as much as to you. I'm entitled to half of it!" "Ye be, eh! Wal, why don't ye take it, I ain't henderin' ye?" "Yes. you are! You are keeping right in the middle of it." lie made no reply to this and we went on in silence. He drove as slow­ ly as possible, perhaps to make me dismount and walk, but I have learned to ride a wheel under adverse circum­ stances. Before 1 saw through the farmer's trick, lie whipped up liis hors­ es, turned quickly to the right, then to the left and brought his horses up , to a water trough and the wagon across ! the road. There was no way to go around him except behind the wagon through a mudliole made-by-the over­ flow of the trough. This was exasper­ ating and as far as I could see, un­ called for. I dismounted and asked: j "What do you mean? What have I done to be tricked in this shabby way?" "Don't know's ye've done anything, but some o' your kind o' fylks--ye all belong ter tlier same crowd--treated me ptrti'y m^arh--Look here, d' ye~t hi nk ef I'm er goin' ter town with a big ltiad o' wood that I orter turn out fer chaps er ridin' them things?" "No." "Wal, that shows ye've got a little sense after all! When I was goin' down this mornin', two fellers on bi- suckles cussed and swore dreadful 'cause I wouldn't turn out fer'm." "And because some man insults you, you insult the first stranger that comes along." "Wal, wal, that don't seem hardly fair, that's er fact. Look here, there's a piece o' rud a little furder on worse'n anything ye've seen. Put your ridin' thing in ther wagon an' take er seat, I'll carry ye over ter ther new rud." As we left the water trough, I re­ marked: "You ought not to judge all by a few. There are ruffians and rowdies everywhere." "Ye're right, stranger, but don't let yer dander git any higher. I was only jest er jokin' with ye." "I don't like that kind of joking." "I see ye don't. But why don't ye hev er horse an' wagon? What makes ye ride them tritlin' things? Seems ter me er man can't be more'n half baked ter go er trundliu' round, ringin' bells an' er shoutin' ter ther betters to git out er ther way an' give 'm ther hull rud. Dogs take'm! Ef I lied my way, I'd make er law ter jail ev'ry durned one o' ther shoutin' riders. O' course, there may be now an' agin a llkply man er ridin' er bisuckle, but ercordin' ter my way o' thinkin', it jest shows there's a screw loose erbout 'm some where!" "How far is to the new road?" I asked, for this was the road I was trying to find--the new macadam road. " 'Bout er mile furder. It runs by my farm, an' it's the likliest piece o' rud in ther State. I tell ye, it jest saves er sight o' wear an' tear o' all kinds o' gear. When I go ter market, I can carry er third more ev'ry time--jest, like slidin' down hill ter go ter town on that rud. I tell ye this rud buildin's great! Ef we'd ruds all through ther State's good's pur rud,f ther farmer*d be a sight better off!" "How did you get such a good road out here?" "Git it? Why, ther town built it." "But who stirred in the matter, talk­ ed and argued? Didn't John Blank have a hand in it?" "I ruther guess he had both hands an' both feet in it!" "If Blank had not made a noise about it and used his influence, the road might not have been built.' "That's erbout ther size o' it, I guess." "What did Blank want ther road for, he wbrks in town, has no heavy team­ ing, no crops to sell, and keeps only a horse and cow?" ' "Can't rightly say, but somebody's got ter do the talkin' an' ther hustlln' er nothin'll be done." "Exactly, and Blank was the man to do the talking and the hustling. Don't he ride a bicycle?" "YIs, he does, an' that's the only thing I got agin 'm."" "Don't his wife and daughter ride, too?" "Wuss an' wuss! Yis, they do! I see's er kitin' by my house like sixty: an' ther daughter's ridiu's made my daughter erbout crazy ter ride, too, but I tell 'er, I'll see 'er in 'er grave fu,st." "Now I'll tell you what will surprise you. I know John Blank and I'm on my way to his place. He wanted "to ride his wl\eel from town. There was no fun in it over the old road. He had influence, persistence, a ready tongue and was popular. He caused the road to be built. If there'd iVeen *0 John Blank, you might not have had the road, and if John Blank had not been interested in a bicycle, he might not have given any attention to the road, for nothing gives a man such a good idea of a road as to ride over it on a bicycle. You owe this road, that saves you money and time, to a bicycle." . u "Wal, wal, never thought o' that er- fore. P'raps ̂ fg're more'n half right. But here's ther rud ye're lookliJ' t&t, fer, an' there's my place. Come in, ther boys are pressin' out ther likliest cider ye ever saw. Won't ye have er glass?" As we stood by the press, the farmer said: - "I orter make ye er plum up an' down 'pology fer usin' ye so rough on ther rud. Ef I hadn't hed that scrim­ mage with them two sassy chaps in the mornin', I wouldn't ha' cut up so. But I was jest er jokin'. Don't ye think no more on't. I'm glad I fell in jvith ye, an' durn my picture', I begin ter think them two wheeled things ain't so bad arter all. Lord, ef my daughter heard me say that, she'd think I was er softnin', £f ther bisuckles'll git us rud's 's good's ours we orter put up wlth'm. Good day ter ye. We'll keep ther cider er runnin' • er month yit! Come in when ye're goin' by*"--L. A. W. Bulletin. HALF MILLION A BAY THE PRESENT DEFICIT UNDER THE WILSON LAW. Democratic. Financiering: Is Plung­ ing Uncle Sam Into Debt at the Rate of Over One Thousand Dollars a Minute--Facts for Farmera to Read, MAILS *N ALASKA. A Letterfj-om Oris of the Carriers Tells Something About Its Difficulties. The difficulties and hardships of car­ rying the mail in the Arctic during the 'winter season is shown in a letter from T. Constaurine Healy, manager of the Yukon Express and Transportation Company. The letter, which was writ­ ten at Dyea, Feb. 17, tells how the party started from Juneau Dec. 16, reaching Dyea two days later. Owing to a disagreement among the natives as to rates for packing, the party had its luggage freighted to the head of the canyon by Healy & Wilson's pack train, and then the natives were offered $15 per 100 pounds to the summit, six miles distant. "The wind, which was northerly," -says the letter, "continued so severe and blustering that they did not care to take the job, so between the head of the canyon and Sheep Camp we put in our time till the middle of January trying to move our outfit. The weather was se­ vere during all this time, and we had but two days that we could work at all. One of our dogs was poisoned and the other one, while starting back to the post from camp, was frozen to death. Finally, by hard work, we got our out­ fit to Stone House. Mr. Gasch got ills feet badly frozen. On Feb. 1 we man­ aged to indu<jg the Indians to pack, offering them $6' per 100 pounds from Stone House to the summit, a distance of one mile. "At Big Rock, on the other side of the summit, Mr. Gasch and I bade good- by to Mr. Stewart a nd nn tige,_mnl start­ ed out for.this side. We reached the place where we had pitched our camp at the head of the canyon, had our sup­ per, and were complimenting ourselves on finally getting across the range, when about 8 o'clock in the evening the Indian appeared, surprising us very much. His statement was that a north wind had sprung up, which the dogs were unable to face. Mr. Stewart tried to persuade him to go on to timber line with the camp outfit, hut lie refused and kept continually shouting: " 'Mahmaloose! Mahinaloose!' (it is death, it is death}, and holding his hands over his face, which was freez­ ing. He finally turned back. Stewart was compelled to do the same, after piling the outfit so that it could be found. It was 11 p. m. when Stewart arrived in our camp, and it was indeed a pleasant surprise, as he was so far behind the native that we had almost given him up. He had his ear and fin­ gers badly frozen, and Joe, the native, had his face frozen. "After holding council Mr. Gasch and myself returned to Healy & Wilson's post that night. Here we found Harry Davis, whose services we immediately secured, bought another dog from one of the natives, and started out to try the summit again. Davis and Stewart and Joe, the native, got over the sum­ mit on the 23d, and are now on their way down the lakes, as the Indians re­ port going good on the other side. "This is only giving you a simple out­ line of our difficulties. The wolverines got into our cache at Stone House; and carried off all our dog food as well as a Winchester rifle. With this and much other bad luck, you can judge what kind of humor we are in. We wish you and the people to understand that we bucked the summit of the range from Dec. 20 to Feb. 2. We did as well as any men could do. and better than a greait many, finally succeeding. \Yo are trying to do the people of the Yukon Valley a service in giving them a reg­ ular mail route. We shall not be caught again as we were ̂ this winter, as we are going to have caches made at regu­ lar intervals ,of seventy or eighty miles all along the river, which will enable us to travel much lighter.--Alaska Searchlight. Filling in Underdrains, In making an underdrain, after the tile or stone have been properly laid, much of the work of filling in tho ditch can be done with the plow and a careful team of horses. Enough earth should be thrown in by hand to cover the tile or stone, and prevent either from being disarranged by heavy clods of earth or heavy stone falling upon them. Several back furrows will be required, throwing the dirt toward the ditch each time before it will be safe to run the team over the place where the ditch was. It is likely also that for a year or two thereafter, un­ less it has been plowed, there will be a slight hollow showing where the ditch had been, and where the loose earth had settled after the ditch had been filled. <v . Miss Bell--I'm so taken with bloom­ ers that. I think I'll wear them alto­ gether hereafter. Miss Ring--In the hereafter, dear, we'll not need bloom­ ers.-- Philadelphia North American. Revenues Still Short. Half a million dollars a day is a,pret- ty large deficit. But this is-just what the Wilson law is doing at the preseift time. The first eleven days of April produced a deficit of $6,084,S03. Count: ing only the business days the daily deficit for the month was $000,000, or, to»Jbe absolutely accurate, $G0S,4S0. Counting eight hours a day, for that is the number of hours the government allows for a day's work, Uncle Sam has been plunged into debt at the rate of $70,000 an hour, or oyer $1,000 a minute . all, this month. This is an interesting state of affairs for flip people who pre­ dicted twenty months ago that the pro­ posed new law would "do what your McKinley law has not done, produce sufficient revenuie to meet ~the ex­ penses." It is interesting to see how those gentlemen have kept their word. It is , now a little less' than twenty months sinee the McKinley law was te-, pealed and the Wilson law tbofc its place. During - that time the receipts Value .... $2,S45,io9 Bacou, lbs.. 410,657,577 Value .... $38,338,S43 Lard. lbs.. i 447.566.S67 Value I-... $40 0S9,S09 Pork, lbs.,.. 64J44,52S $3,498,898 455,580,851 $37,411,914 517,369,470 $37,348,753 70',135,541 AROUND A BIO STATE Value /... * $5.159,S6S $4,430,155 Will Vote for It in November. Tariff for revenue only, the cry of the Democratic party in years past, is ^an utter failure as applied by the existing administration. It has not even been for revenue only, but an ^pproach so near to free tradeTtEat it not only>fail- ed and still fails to afford sufficientrev- enues, but has torn down industries, closed factories and taken honest work from honest hands. In this latter re­ spect it has been a success, but its suc­ cess has been gained at the suffering of thousands of honorable, worthy and willing men and women all over the country. With the Republican party in power a tariff bill will be passed of which the country and the people will not be ashamed. It will not be one stamped with the seal of inefficiency, disgrace and destruction, but with the emblem of prosperity to the industries of thfe United States'. It will.be a tar­ iff bill-- constructed on American ideas. --Tribune, South Bend, Ind. BRIEF COMPILATION OF ILLI­ NOIS NEWS. ; Elephant Babylon Does an Heroic Act --Bold Daylight Robbery in a Chicago Suburb--HorribleDeath of an Insane Inmate at Dunning Asylum. Those Sages IS Wall Street, The wonderful, economists who de­ vote their juighty; intellects to .editing tlie trade and financial journals of New Ybrk City are all predicting good times upon the success of the recent bond is- Don't become discouraged by mis­ fortune; it is so often followed by a walk on Easy street. Do you starve a cold or stuff it? If you stuff it, send a turkey with your advice to this office. > DOMESTIC VS. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. MflSw HERE Ct'BA MUST HE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE IH'l i lXt THE WHITE HOUSE. 1111. ERUPTION IN A lawyer's idea of success is to win a suit in which he knows he is in the have been $490,612,095 and the expen­ ditures $572^854,774,jnaking^the deficit up to the end of the last week $82,243,- 749. The receipts under the McKinley law in the first twenty months of its operation were $uS9,237,402, or a round $100,000,000 more than those of the Wilson law in the corresponding num­ ber of months. The expenditures were, in round numbers, $569,000,000, leaving a surplus of a little over $20,000,000. This is the way the comparison of the first twenty mouths appears: Wilson law, first 20 months, deficiency $S2,248,794 McKinley law. first 20 months, deficiency ; 20,287,402 Possibly some friends of the Wilson law may assume that it is unfair to compare the operations of the first twenty months of its existence wfth the first twenty months of the McKin­ ley law, when the country was in the flood tide of prosperity. They certain­ ly will not object to comparing it with the last twenty months of the McKinley law, which include the period of ex­ treme depression which followed Dem­ ocratic success at the polls in 1892. Here are the figures for the last twen­ ty months of the McKinley law, com­ pared with the first twenty months of the Wilson bill: Wilson law, receipts $490,618,025 McKinley law, receipts 560,121,553 It was in the months which succeed­ ed the meeting of the Fifty-third Con­ gress, with its promise of tariff reduc­ tion, that the receipts of the treasury fell under the McKinley law to the low­ est known point up to that time. In the course of the months of the meet­ ing in special session of that Congress, until the country knew just what the tariff would be, the importations fell to almost nothing and the receipts of the treasury to less than they had been known in a quarter of a century. Those memorable months of shortage under the McKinley law were from August, 1S93, to May. 1894. Yet the receipts of the new tariff law. with everything in its favor, are actually less in the twen­ ty months of its existence than they were in the twenty worst months of the McKinley law. Facts for Farmers. In the following tables the exports of farm products in the last fiscal year prior to the repeal of the McKinley law are compared with those of the first cal­ endar year after its repeal. It will be seen that in many cases the exports fell off greatly in quantity, while in cases where there was an increase in quan­ tity there was a decrease in the cash received Iherefor: McKinley Wilson1 law. law. Fiscal Calendar year 1894. year 1895. Wheat, bu.. 88,415,230 66,804,686 Value .... $59,470,041 $40,898,547 Corn, bu.. .. 63,324,841 61,956,348 Value .... $30,211,154 $27,907,766 Cattle, No. . 331,722 289,350 Value .... $33,455,092 $26,997,709 Cheese, lbs.. 73,852,134 40,800,934 Value .... $7,180,232 $3,401,117 Tallow, lbs.. 54,061,524 24,377,177 Value .... $2,760,164 $1,207,350 Clover seed, c :o pound's . .. 45,418,663 12,412,276 Value $4,540,822 $1,126,618 Cotton "seed meal, lbs.. 617,104,402 504,022.561 Value $7,108,165 $4,352,348 Beef, lbs.... 193,891,S24 184,358,114 Value $16,696,5S3 $16,522,018 Spirits, grain, gallons ... 6,468,016 1,SS4,272 Value $5,676,936 $1,685,460 Cotton, lbs. .2,683,282,325 2,770.832,486 Value .... $210,969,289 $189,890,645 Hops, lbs... 17,472,975 17,959,104 Value .... ;$3,844,232 $1,745,945 Cotton seed oil, gals... 14,958,309 ' 21,763,649 Value .... $6,008,405 - $0,429,828 Flax seed meal, lbs.. 127,498,827 314,344,294 sue. They fail to explain precisely what they-mcan-, but-the-assumption is-that- they think the deeper the government goes into debt and tbolreavier the inter­ est burden imposed upon the people be­ comes, the more likely the country is to prosper. They may be right, but if they are it is a jiity the fact that run­ ning into debt beats productiveness and thrift was not discovered long ago.-- San Francisco Chronicle. Fotc ujn 1 grown' ..BarM IfiorketftHniliir United / .States during the tuio) /(3Col_y ears' Junf30 1894 fV 1895* 1895 ^ _^J_l6,8l6Bush^ Elephant Saves a Child's Life. Bessie Roqney, the 10-year-old sister of Michael Rooney, the bareback rider, was about to be hugged to death by a bear the other day at Tattersaell's circus in Chi­ cago, .when Babylon, one of Ringling Brothers' big elephants, knocked the brute down and saved the child's life. The bear, who is known as "Growler," has a vicious temper. He was chained nearfthe elephants. The little girl is a friend of the elephants, and was romping with some of them when "Growler" seized her and closed his paws around her slender form. Babyion, who had been an inter­ ested .spectator, brought his trunk down' with crushing force on "Growler's head. The bear was stunned by, the blow and released1 the child, who had fainted, • The elep;hant then picked her up and placed her where the bear could not reach her.. Boiled to. Death. Another name was added to thejoug list of .accidental deaths at the Dunning In­ sane Asylum on .Saturday, when Anna Stone,- aii inmate; , was fatally scalded in tine-.bf tlie bathrooms. Although several similar •accidents have happened at. the asylum of late, the bathroom was easy of access; . The woman, who had only re­ cently been sent to Dunning from the bridewell, was not missed by the attend­ ants until the cries of suffering were heard. A hasty search by the startled keepers and fellow inmates was made and the unfortunate woman was found lying under a stream of scalding water in a bathtub. She was then beyond medical aid, however, and after lingering in awful agony for several hours died at 11 o'clock Saturday night. Anna Stone was not considered a dangerous patient and was confined in one of the wards with a num­ ber of patients not hopelessly insane. Had she lived, it is thought, she might with proper care have recovered her reason. ° Hot Chase of Robbers. Two highwaymen held up and robbed Miss Lucia Anderson* at the point of a pistol Friday afternoon at Sawyer and Ogden avenues. Lawndale. Then they made off in a buggy drawn by a spirited horse, and in a moment they were hotly pursued by a patrol wagon laden with po­ licemen. The pursuit lasted for more than half an hour, and resulted in the capture of but one of the highwaymen. He was running to cover in the basement of a drug store at California avenue and Twelfth street. His companion boarded a passing train of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, followed by a leaden shower from the revolvers of the police. The cap­ tured highwayman gives the name ,of Charles Burke, and says his home is in Alton, 111. He is held at the police sta­ tion, charged with highway robbery and horse stealing. At Romeoville, Henderson Brooks seri­ ously shot Ju|ia Jones and escaped. Both are coloreu. " . - Court Beach, a farmer of Keithsburg, fell in front of a stalk cutter when his horses were ..running away and was cut to pieces. The engineer and fireman of the 'Frisco Railroad positively identified the man shot at Litchfield a week ago, together with the two other men under arrest, as being the persons who successfully held up the 'Frisco train some time ago near Lebanon, Mo., and took several hundred dollars. Requisition papers have , beeD asked for. Five hundred Chicago drug stores have joined in a movement, which they hope to make national, to manufacture their own patent medicines. They have a plant now in operation. The action is the out-, come of a fight to prevent the big patent medicine firm§ from selling their goods to department stores, who cut prices far below the retail prices at drug stores. Edward Holthuseti, a 19-year-old boy, at Elgin, attempted to commit suicide recently by Shooting himself iii the head. The bullet was probed for and found lodged at the has is of the brain, but could not be removed without causing death. The boy is around, enjoying the best of health and apparently suffers no incon­ venience from the bullet in his head. John Bowman, who is the owner of a .dry goods store at Chicago, is having his share 'of hard luck. Sunday night -burg-' lars entered hiSiStore and stole $1,000 worth of dry goods, thieves made the .matter wo?se Wednesday night, when at the point df revolvers, two men forced "Bowman to give them the contents of the cash drawer, which amounted to $300.] Then Bowman arid his wife were com­ pelled to enter a closet, in which the burg­ lars locked them and' after piling a large quantity of merchandise in front of the closet door the men escaped. James CulbertsoiV a laborer employed lately in the Chicago city sewer depart-i ment, shot and killed his common law wife, Lillian, Wednesday afternoon in the yard back of the house she lived in, 89' Church court, and then fired three bullets' into his own breast. Ihe woman died, immediately; the man djed the nextj day. Tne 3-year-old daughter of the couple, Agnes, escaped the fate of her mother because the members of the famJ ily with whic-i they lived would not per-j mii her to go out in the yard when hen father called her. Culbertson's crime; was committed in a frenzy of drunken, jealousy. " : The report of ,T. W. Stanton, the expert who has been examining tho records in' Circuit Clerk II. A. Niehoff's office, was read and accepted by the County Board, of Supervisors at their meeting at Carlyle.) The residents of the county have been' looking forward to the result of^this in-i vestigation with much anxiety, owing to rumors about alleged muddled condition of the records in this office. The dis­ crepancy said to exist is $1,338, which represents the fees collected for recording deeds and other instruments. Niehoff has held this office for twenty-four years, and is at present an employe of the State insurance department. The examination only covered records ten years back. __M $ "791,061 Bushels kKinleijlarijl Gormon'lorij'j A Study for Wool Growers. The lowest price that me- um Ohio wool ever sold at from 1850 to the end of > Harrison's administration was ; 33c. Under Cleveland the price is , 18c. Value of sheep in 1893, un­ der protection, was $125,909,264 Value to-day, uhder Cleve­ land and free trade 66,685,767 Imports of woolen goods in 1894, under protection.. .. 16,809,000 Imports of woolen goods in 1895, under Democratic low tariff 57,559,000 Average imports of wool during 1891, '92, '93, '94, under Republican protec- .. Pounds. tion .". 133,647,000 Imports of wool in 1895, under Democratic free trade ...^ 248,989,000 Average annual imports of shoddy, rags anu waste in 1891, '92, '93, '94, under Republican protection.... 244,971 Imports of shoddy, rags and waste in 1895, under Dem­ ocratic free trade 20,718,000 X Rays on X Roads. State News in Brief. The body of Fred Rumph, of Sorrento, was found on the B.'and O. Southwestern Railway track, horribly mutilated. Burglars raided a number of residences at Marshall, among the victims being J. C. Purdue, county superintendent of schools. Bloomington reports that "several inches of cold, dump snow" fell there the other day. Snow is rarely dry enough to be used for fuel, even iu Bloomington. There seems to have been a mania prev­ alent among the schoolgirls at Elgin of late for jumping the rope, the main fea­ ture being to outdo each other in high and long-continued jumping. Marguerite Ellis, 15 years of age, has just died after two weeks' terrible suffering from inter­ nal injuries caused by her attempt to ex­ cel in rope jumping on hard concrete walks. Another similar case, it is said, is likely to -prove fatal. Robert Smith and Paul Thompson, Chi­ cago teamsters, fought with pitchforks in a barn. Thompson was stabbed sev­ eral times with the weapon and the doc­ tors say he may die. He was removed to his home. The men were employed by M rs. Mary Kern. They returned late from work and were putting up their teams when they quarreled about the work. Thompson, it is said, rushed to­ ward Smith to strike him when the latter seized a pitchfork and thrust the tines into him several times. Smith escaped, but was arrested later by the Warren avenue police. The Edwards County grand jury creat­ ed some excitement by returning a bill of indictment against the directors of the Grayville District Agricultural Fair As­ sociation on the charge of conducting a public gaming house. It is alleged that at the time of the annual fair, held.last fall, the directors licensed and permitted various gambling devices to be operated .upon their grounds, which are located in the southeastern corner of Edwards Coun­ ty, adjacent to the city of Grayville. The directors comprise ten of the most promi­ nent and wealthy farmers and business men of White and Edwards Counties. The second section of a freight train on the Panhandle road struck three men on the track near Lansing at 1:30 o'clock Sunday morning, probably fatally injur­ ing all of them. The injured are: CIULS. Lazell, both legs cut off above knee, arms broken, head fractured, injured internal­ ly; Gus Lazell, both legs cut of, injured internally; unknown man, legs cut off at the knees, body badly bruised, hurt in­ ternally. It is supposed the trio were walking home on the track from a dance. At the time of the accident it was raining quite hard and was very foggy, and the engineer and fireman say they did not see the men until too late to stop the train. The entire train, consisting of about twen­ ty ears, passed over the bodies of the La­ zell brothers, while the unknown man was thrown about thirty feet. They were taken to the Cook County hospital. Flowing artesian water was obtained in Cairo at a depth of 507 feet after passing thrpugh 135 fet?t of rock. Gov. Altgeld will lay the corner stone of the new asylum for the incurable in­ sane now being erected in Peoria. John Finley, chairman of the asylum commis­ sion, called on the Governor and invited him to perform that service and the Gov­ ernor assured Mr. Finley of his willing­ ness to do so. The excavations for the new building are about completed and masonry work will be beguif^t once. The corner stone will be laid within a few weeks. H*"ear Springfield, John McGinnis and Michael Cooney were fishing from a boat on the Sangamon rivePr*^^.'ii the boat capsized and i>pth men were thrown into the water. Cooney managed to make his way to the shore, but McGinnis drowned before aid could reach him. ? « Seven head of milk cows, belonging to the dairy ofJohn Bressler, near Sterling, were found to have tuberculosis and killed by order of State ' Veterinarian Trum-~ bower, in the presence of a large number of people, including many physicians, and C. B. Bartlett, president of the -Live Stock Commission; Ifving Shultz, of El­ gin, and Dr. Hover, deputy State veteri­ narian. v of 17,000, making it the largest city in northwestern Illinois. The suburb of Stewartville, or South Moliue, was ad­ mitted by unanimous vote of the City Council, in spite of the opposition by Mayor Swensson. The friction which has existed during the last year between the Mayor and Uouncil culminated when he refused to recognize the retiring mem­ bers at the opening of the session to fin­ ish up the business of last year, as has previously been customary, and refused to submit an appeal from his decision to the house. Tae members-elect were plac­ ed on the roll by his order, but refused to respond when called, and after a short session the Council adjourned amid in­ tense excitement. Abraham Uobinowski, of Chicago, S5 years old, obtained a license to marry Annie Kupert, fifty years his junior. Rob- inowski has buried three wives, and he says he is willing to take a fifth should anything happen to Annie, lie says he is a determined enemy of so-called "single blessedness." Marriage License Clerk Salmonson at once recognized his aged visitor as one whom he had served,upon previous occasions. He recalled these to the old man. The latter laughed heartily and said he had not forgotteu Mr. Sal­ monson. He declared he would die a mar­ ried man, the Lord willing. His previ­ ous experience had familiarized him with the price of a license, and to show that he had not forgotten he handed the exact amount to Clerk Salmonson. Robin- owski is a peddler by occupation. The strike of the clothing cutters and trimmers of Chicago practically came to a close Tuesday afternoon, although the organization has not officially declared the strike off. At a special meeting of the organization it was decided to give official permission to all the members of the union Mho might desire to return to work, but those who do so are expected to retain their membership in the organ­ ization. The vote by which this decision was reached was a secret one, made so for the purpose of giving the members of the union an opportunity to express their honest convictions. This was the first secret ballot in the history of the organ­ ization. In order that there might be no confusion the words "strike" and "work" were used. Officers of the union said af­ terward that the vote had stood 39^" to continue tho strike; 80 to return to work and 8 blanks. After this vote was taken a ihotion was made to give the eighty men permission to return to work as union men, and this was carried. It was also understood that the last vote would ap­ ply to any member of the union who might desire to return to work and who could find employment. As the organization did not attempt to make any kind of an agreement with the manufacturers the cutters will return as individuals, but it is not expected that there will be any further dropping off in the membership of the union. The action of the cutters in no way affects the status of the tailors' strike. William Lewis ,arrested at Decatur for murdering Adam Gorman, of Frankfort, Ky., in April, 1893, has been taken back to be tried for the crime. He admits kill­ ing Norhian, but pleads self-defense. The Mason & Davis Company, manu­ facturers of stoves andv ranges, Chicago, failed. The company made an assign­ ment in the county court to John J. Whirl, who at once took charge oi the plant. The offices and salesrooms of the com-., pany are at 72-76 Lake street A state­ ment was filed in court showing that the assets of the concern are $73,355.07 and the liabilities $107,583.02. Miss Viola Munson, 19 years of age, dropped dead of heart disease at school in Sullivan. " Two other members of the same family have died from this cause within a year, a sister also dyipg at school. Rev. W. W. Leete, pastor of the First Congregational Church. Itoekford, who has. been very active in the organization of the Civic Federation to make a crusade, on Sunday ball playing, declared in a ser­ mon Sunday evening that its suppression never could be secured until there was a greatly enlightened public sentiment, and, if the people of the city wanted Sunday ball this year, they would have it. The sermon created a sensation. CROP PROSPECTS EXCELLENT, Timely Rains and Warm Weather En­ courage the Farmers. The Government reports as to the con­ dition of the crdps throughout the coun­ try, and the general effect of. the weath­ er upon the cultivation, growth and har­ vest of the same, show that the unusually warm weather throughout the central, eastern and southern portions of the country has rapidly advanced the sea­ son, which has been unusually back­ ward, and has been very favorable for farming operations and growth Of vege­ tation, which has been remarkably rapid. Winter wheat has shown marked .im­ provement generally and is reported as doing well in Indiana1;1 Illinois, Iowa, Kan­ sas and in portions of Missouri; and, while an improvement has been noted in Kentucky and West Virginia, the condi­ tion of the crop in these States is poor, some having been plowed up. In sec­ tions of Missouri and Texas, winter wheat seeding is well advanced in South- ern Minnesota and is abont finished in portions of Eastern South Dakota, where some of the early sown is up. - In North: Dakota no seeding has yet been done. Preparations for corn planting have beeix pushed rap^^y during the. week, and in the more southerly sections planting has con­ tinued with ni'qch activity. Some corn has-been planted in Illinois and-Nebras­ ka, arid planting will be.began in Iowa this week/ Cotton planting has contin- ised under favorable conditions, and in the. central and southern portions 0f the cotton region is coming up generally to a good stands Germination, however, has been slow, owing to the-'draught in sdme sections of the western .portionof thai cotton, region. General rainfall would prove of much benefit from the Ohio Val­ ley southward, and also in Texas, Where rain is needed to insure a stand of cotton. Tho report by States follows: Illinois--A hot week, with sftowers at the beginning and ending, has caxtsed a remark­ able advance in all vegetation. Wlnte> wheat, rye and grasses are greatly improves and are doing finely; grasses afford pastur­ age. Oats are coming up; gardens and pota­ toes are planted; also some corn, but prep­ aration of corn land is general. Fruits are laden with blossoms. isconsin--Warm weather and abundant rainfall has been very favorable for the rapid advancement of all crops. Wheat Is greatly improved, especially In localities where It was thought to have been entirely winter­ killed. Oats are all sown, and work well ad­ vanced In southern section. "Little plowing has been done in the central and northern sections. - South ^Dakota--Seeding is about Qui shed in southeajtem counties, with some wheat gpoVQ grotmd; elsewhere seeding has been retarded by heavy precipitation 'and cool WMther, No winter wheat sown. In the eehtral and northern portions the soil Is too wet, and warmer and bright weather Is needed. - Nebraska--A good growing week, but rain and wet ground have retarded farm work. The seeding of small grain Is about com­ pleted, except in the northwest section. Plow­ ing for corn Is progressing; very little plant­ ed, and this only in southern counties. Fruit trees are blooming profusely, and generally uninjured by frost of Saturday. Kansas--A warm, rainy week, which great­ ly Improved all crop conditions. Wheat much improved and growing rapidly. Corn coming up in central and southern counties, and is a good stand. Fruit promised a full crop, but was Injured some by frost "of Sat­ urday. Grass is supporting stock in south counties. Missouri--The unusually warm weather forced vegetation forward very rapidly. Wheat is suffering for rain in some central and smithwesteftt-eoauUes. but eisewnere 13 generally doing well. Corn 'planting is pro­ gressing favorably and cotton has begun. Pasturage good. Fruit prospects are excellent. Iowa--High temperature and abundant moisture have pushed vegetation rapidly, and the season is now as early as usual. Grass and small grains are making a fine stand; winter wheat generally promising. Plowing for corn well advanced and plant­ ing will soon begin. Indiana--Warm weather has rapidly im­ proved all growing crops. But few showers fell and rain is much needed. Wheat, barley, tye, clover and grass have advanced rapidly. Oats nearly all sown. Tobacco plants com­ ing on well In Switzerland County. Fruit is in bloom. Plowing for corn continues. Ohio--Excessively warm, sunshiny, windy and dry Week, except in northern portion, where rainfall was about normal. Conditions were very favorable for plowing and plant­ ing. All vegetation is Improved. Apples, apricots, cherries, pears, peaches and plums are blooming. Michigan--Abnormally high temperature ana plentiful showers have rapidly advanced all vegetation and farm work. Winter wheat, rye and grass are doing finely. Plowing and oat and grass seeding In progress. Early potato planting has Just begun. SERGEANT-AT-ARMS MARTIN. Prominent St. Louis Lawyer Who Will Police the Chicago Convention. Col. John I. Martin, who will fill the important function of sergeant-at-arms of the Democratic national convention, ia a St. Louis lawyer who is widely known to Missouri. He was born in St. Louis in 184S, and early in life was of material as­ sistance to his parents, who were in strait­ ened circumstances. He was a driver of a levee dray when he went into politics, COL. JOHX I . MAKTUT. and was elected to the Missouri Legisla­ ture. At that time he was the youngest man ever elected to the Missouri Assem­ bly. Col. Martin then read law in the office of Col. Robert S. McDonald, one of the leading lawyers in St. Louis, and for many years has been well known for his ability in criminal cases. Col. Martin has been prominent in fraternal and benevo­ lent orders. He is a whole-souled, gen­ erous, genial man, very popular in St. Louis and throughout his State. Spring Has Come. Vs. Sparks from the W ires. Mrs. May brick's mother says iu a New Orleans letter that she will work for her .daughter's release till she dies. Mr. Kurino, the Japanese minister in Washington, expects to spend the sum­ mer at one of the resorts on the eastern coast. - . Fire at Oriskauy Falls, N. Y., destroyed an entire business block. The opera house, union, school and Sargent HotUM were badly damaged. Loss, $40,000.