Iron County register. [volume], March 09, 1882, Image 2

About Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
BY ELI D. AKE.
IRONTON. - - - MISSOURI.
NEWS AND NOTES.
of Important EYent3.
TnE Governor of Mississippi has ap
pealed for aid in behalf of the flood victims
In the Yazoo delta.
Col. S. II. Halabird is to take
charge of the Quartermaster-General's of
fee in Washington.
It is reported from Berlin that Ger
many and Austria have ordered the
strengthening of the eastern fortresses.
Twenty more indictments charging
conspiracy and perjury have been returned
In the straw bond cases at Washington.
The Utah contested election case
came before the House committee on the
24th, and the seat was declared vacant.
The Secretary of War has ordered
100,000 rations sent from St. Louis for the
relief of sufferers in Mississippi and Arkan
8as lowlands.
The Mayor of Rockford, 111., has
called out the citizens to search for II. W
Loomis, a prominent pioneer, who mysteri
ously disappeared some days ago.
General Ruchek, recently appointed
Quartermaster of the United States Army,
has beeu placed on the retired list and Gen
eral Rufus Ingalls appointed to the vacancy.
Secretary Hunt and the naval com
mittee in Congress are to visit four navy
yards and inspect the monitors stored there,
in order to decide the question of rebuilding
them at a cost of 4,000,000.
Caft. Eads has convinced the House
Committee on Levees and Improvements
that Cowdon's outlet system won't do for
the Mississippi. He does not recommend
the construction of levees, but thinks those
already made should be utilized and the
gaps closed.
The special committee to audit the
bills connected with President Garfield's
death recommend $25,000 for Dr. Bliss, $15,
O0O each for Drs. Agnew and Hamilton, $15,
000 each for Drs. Iteyburn and Boynton, $5,
000 for Mrs. Edson, and $3,000 for Steward
Crump.
"Watmough -and Stevenson, whose
nominations for Paymastor-General and
Pay-Director in the Navy were reported ad
versely by the Senate Naval Committee, are
"bringing to bear strong special and personal
Influence upon Senators for the purpose of
reversing the committee's recommendation.
The State of Pennsylvania claims
Trom the Standard Oil Company no less than
$3,145,000 for taxes, interest, and penalties,
and suit has been instituted at Harrisburg.
The company's counsel admits that its divi
dends for seven years were over $10,000,000,
and that its assets aggregate $30,000,000.
The question is whether the State has power
to tax the entire capital stock of an inter
state corporation.
The committee endeavoring to re
lieve sufferers by the fire at Haverhill, Mass.,
have issued an address in which they say:
The emergency is imperative. Hundreds of
our fellow-citizens are out of work, with no
means of subsistence, and many have no
tools with which to resume labor when op
portunity shall offer. We therefore make
an earnest appeal for contributions to aid us
in the work of disbursement among the
worthy applicants who are crowding upon
us for relief. Any sum, large or small, sent
to John L. Hobson, treasurer, or to any
member of the executive committee, will be
gratefully received and promptly acknowl
edged." Garfield memorial services were
held in Central Music Hall, Chicago, on the
27th. The hall was appropriately trimmed
with flowers and draped flags, and immedi
ately back of the platform was a large por
trait of the late President. Among the
floral decorations was a wreath sent by
Queen Victoria and the emblem from the
Empress of Brazil. The meeting was pre
sided over by Gen. James B. Leke, United
States District Attorney. Mr. E. A. Storrs
eulogized Garfield's eventful and wonderful
life, and told how he advanced step by step
by sheer force of his intellect, reinforced by
his spotless conscience, from an humble
rank in life to the loftiest summit of honor
and achievement. Speaking of him as a
politician, Mr. Storrs said he used the party
not as an end, but as a means to an end. He
was never owned or controlled by a machine
but was too practical a statesman not to
know that in church and state an
Intelligently controlled machine is indispen
sable to success. "He perished," said the
orator, in conclusion, "with the conflicts of
temporary excrements raging around him,
involving more of persons than of princi
ples. The whole world loved him because
he loved the whole world."
The nomination of ex-Senator Conk
ling, of New York, to fill the vacancy on the
Supreme Court bench caused by the retire
ment of Mr. Justice Hunt created quite a
etir in Washington. When it was also
learned that ex-Senator Sargent had been
selected for the vacant mission at Berlin in
stead of, as bad been generally believed, the
portfolio of the Interior Department, the as
tonishment and comment was increased.
Although the Senate held an executive ses
sion, when it adjourned the names were not
found in the list of confirmations, and con
siderable disappointment was manifested by
the throng waiting patiently in the corridors
to obtain first tidings of such action, for it
has been the custom hitherto to confirm an
ex-member of the Senate without question.
It was rumored that objection had been
raised to the present consideration of the
new candidates, and straightway an
effort vas male to find out from whom
the objection had emanated. The subject
was discussed in all its bearings in the hotel
lobbies and other places of public resort, but
speculation grew wilder the more it. was dis
cussed. It fs doubt "ill if any event has
caused more talk since Mr. Conkling's re
tirement from the Senate. Reports were
current that Senator Hoar made a bitter
assault upon Mr. Coukling in executive ses
sion. He reviewed his political career and
charged that he was not a fit man for the j
place on the Supreme Bench. lnisattacK
was most vigorous, and was a complete sur
prise to his fellow Senators.
PERSONAL AND GENERAL.
James Joyce, aged 65 years, was fa
tally shot by Geo. W. Blust, aged 30, at the
latter's home on the Corydon turnpike,
near New Albany, Ind., the other day.
J. W. Curtis, private secretary to
General Manager Finney, of the Wisconsin
rvntral Railway, Milwaukee, committed sui
cide by shooting, Feb. 25th. The loss of a
child is supposed to have caused the act.
William Leet, age 12, was cut in
two by a coil of wire in a needle factory at
Newark, N. J., Feb. 25th.
Masked vandals attempted to destroy
the press and material iu the Independent
ofhee, Wahoo, Saunders County, Neb., on
the 20th. One of the publishers and a son
of the editor objected, but were overpow
ered and disarmed. The intruders, fearing
discovery, then retired. The outrage is
said to have grown out of a local political
quarrel.
A new five-story brick building on
Second street, St. Louis, Mo., occupied by
the grocery house of Krafft, nolmes & Co.,
suddenly fell in, the other morning, buryin
goods valued :it 70,000.
A snow-slide in Bis: Cottonwood
Canyon, Usah, buried a woodchopper and
his wife and five children. The bodies were
recovered, lying naturally in bed.
Losses by the recent fire in Conway,
Ark., are estimated at $100,000.
A Belgian just arrived at Castle
Garden, New York City, has a pair of horns
an inch long protruding from his forehead.
A San Francisco police court was
electrified the other morning by Officer Ma
roney, who deliberately walked up to i
awyer, D. B. Murphy, and shot him in the
neck, inflicting a dangerous wound. The
shooting was the result of grossly insulting
language used by Murphy against Maroney
in a case which ha3 been on trial for several
weeks. On bein shot Murphy rose in his
chair, swayed to and fro, and with blood
gushing from a gaping gash in the neck, ex
claimed: "The curse of God be upon you.
You have murdered me for defending a
man whom I know to be innocent."
Judge Torrence, a distinguished
lawyer of Montreal, has decided that a New
York divorce is legal in Canada.
An immense audience witnessed the
opening of the pedestrian contest in Gil
more's Garden, New York City.
The wholesale dry-goods house of
Menken Brothers, at Memphis, Tenn., has
made an assignment to cover liabilities of
$500,000.
The exports of breadstuffs from the
United States for the month of January last
amounted in value to $11,928,992, against
$14,929,400 in 1881.
Mrs. Vicker, of Scott County, Va.,
and three children were recently thrown in
to a swollen stream by the stumbling of a
horse. John Tugate not only stood on the
bank apathetically watching the desperate
struggles of the woman and her little ones
to save themselves, but prevented two other
males from rendering the slightest assist
ancc. The cries of the woman finally
reached the ears of a man at work in a field
near by, who arrived in time to save her and
two children. The infant had been swept
down the stream and drowned before the
man could plunge in and save it. The ex
planation of Tugate's heartless conduct is
that her husband, a few years ago, mur
dered his brother.
Jennie Westbrook, a young woman
recently arrested in New York City for
masquerading in male habiliments, his
been sent to Ward's Island. Her cae,
however, has awakened deep interest, since
it only seems to be due to an effort to escape
from that bondage which social laws have
subjected the sex. Her excuse was that she
could make $20 a week in her disguise,
while as a "saleslady" in a fashionable store
the pay would be only one -third of that
amount.
The Union Oil and Soap Company,
Cincinnati, O., lost $100,000 by fire the other
day. A firem;in was seriously injured by
falling from a ladder.
FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS.
Thk bill placing Gen. Grant on the re
tired list, -with an amendment by Mr. Sher
man making the retirement additional to tlic
number already authorized by law, passed the
Senate on the -:d. by a vte 33 to 17, all the
Uenublioans voting for it, with Itrown of
tioornia, Davis ot Illinois, Jones of Florida,
and Kansotii ot onn i.arouna. xno remain-in-
Deinorrat-s voted a rainst it. Mr. l.oan
reported from the Military Committee a join
resolution introduced early in the day bv Mr.
Georsre for the reiief of destitute "persons
in districts flooded by the Mississippi and its
tributaries. A substitute authorizing tlie ex
penditure of SlOO.UtKi by the Setretarv' of War,
in co-operation with fc-tate authorities, was
Dromntiv adopted The House resumed
consideration of Mr. Holman's amendment to
the l'ost-ofllce appropriation bill, providing
that whenever any contractor snail suniet ms
contract for the transportation of mail
on any route for less than he contracted to
perform th service, the l'ostinaster-General
may aeciare inc oris'iiiii coiiiruui. hi im irau,
and enter into agreement with the sub-con
tractor, wi'taout advertising, to perform the
service on the terms at which he has agreed
with the or ginjtl contractor to perform the
same. Mr. Atkins ottered an amendment,
providing the sub -contractor shall enter
good and sufficient bond, and that the orig
inal contractor shall not be released from his
contract until bond has been made by the
subcontractor. The amendment, thus
amended, was agreed to VJ to S3. The $100,000
relief measure passed without question.
A resolution by Mr. Davis, of West
Virginia, requesting the Committee on Mili
tary Affairs to inquire into the expediency of
giving more aid than is now provided to the
various spates ana Territories in oruer
to promote and encourage the or
ganization of the militia foices of the
country and stren.srthen their efficiency,
was adopted on the 24th. Mr. Van Wyck
urged investigation of alleged frauds in the
township survey system, lie said surveyors
Keneral and other Government oiliciuls had
combined to make surveys of worthlesslands,
and then to use the scrip they would get in
return for deposits for surveys to purchase the
most valuable Government lauds ot the
West. Deposits amounted lust year to about
?-J,000,000, but mo-t of lhe survevs were value
less to the Government because ot the wor. h-
l-vsness of the lands surveyed. Referred to
Committee on Public Lands. The immediate
deficiency appropriaii n bill was further
amended" and pa-sed without opposit on.
After executive session the Senate adj-turned
until the 27tii In the House, Mr. Uclmont
Offered a reso ution directing the Committee
on Foreign Affairs to inqui-e into the abstrac
tion trom the tiles of the State Department of
certain letters and documents referred to in
the letter of the Secretary of sta?e, Fi biuary
17. Mr. Kasson offered as a substitute this
following:
IFItrrea, It is alleged, in connection with the
Chili-Peruvian correspondence recently and
officially published on call of the two houses
ot t'onaVe-s. that one or more Ministers Plen
ipotentiary of th" Fnited states we e either
persomillinterested or improperly connected
with a busiiies.traiis:ief.on in which the -n'er-venrion
of this Government was reque-ited or
expected; and whereas, it is alleged that cer
tain papers in relation to the same subject
have been improperly 1-st or removed from
the flies of the State Department ; therefore,
be it
Tle-it'dttd, That the Committee on Foreign
Affairs be instructed to inquire into said allegation-
and ascertain the lactsrelatin i there
to and report the. same, with such recom
iiiendHt ions us may be deemed P' pr.
Mr. relm:nt accepted the substi u'e, and it
was adopted without object! n. Some private
bills were passed and the House adjourred for
one Uav.
Ix the IIoue of Representatives, F!.
25th, Mr. Reed, from the Committee on Rules,
reported a resolution tor a select committee
of nine to consider all questions relating to
woman's rights. Adopted US to 85; nearly a
party vote. Mr. Page moved to amend the
i'Oit-ollice appropriation bill by striking
from the clause appropriating $500,uu0 for
necessary and special facilities on trunk
Hues the words " on .trunk lines," so
as to leave it in the discretion of the
Postmaster-General to secure special facilities
on any mail lines. Mr. liiand objected to the
appropriation, characterizing it as a corrup
tion fund, contending that the money now
friven to Vanderbilt and Jav Gould should be
used in the extending of the star route Service.
Mr. Atkins said Mr. James reformed and cut
down the mail service or. small star routes,
but increased the pay to a railroad company
$70,000 for the transfer of one car from one
train to another. He hud enabled one com
pany to realize an extra profit of 7o,K)0, and
it was hinted that the man who held the ma
jority of thestckof that company had started
a national bank, and l'ostuiast TGeu'l James
was to be the President, with a large salary.
Was there any connection bet wi -en these facts?
The debate closed, and Mr. Page's amend
ment was rejected without division. The
amendment authorizing the Postmaster-General,
in case of the sub-let ting of a mail con
tract on star routes, to declare the oriirinal
contract forfeited and to enter into contract
with the sub-contractor, was agreed to yeas,
112 ; nays, 'X The bill then passed.
LATE NEWS ITE3IS.
Mr. Miller, of California, spoke on
the Chinese immigration bill to carry into
effect the treaty by suspending the coming
of Chinese laborers for twenty years, after
sixty days succeeding the passage of the act,
in the Senate, Feb. 28.
Mn. Ntvv, Assistant Secretaryof tlie
Treasury, entered upon the discharge of
his duties on the 23th.
James Ii. Manthrope was arraigned
in a New York police court the other day
for appropriating $3,000 belonging to a per
son for whom he had sold Peruvian bonds.
He said bis arrest grew out of a conspiracy
to prevent his giving evidence against tb,e
manipulators of the Peruvian scheme.
A boy named Jame3 Brett was seri
ously injured by an explosion of gas in tbe
Union Building, Chicago, Feb. 27th. James
lit a match in a vault where gas had been
escaping for some time. The building was
badly damaged; heavy plate-glass wiudows
Were blown into fragmeuts, doors were de
molished, and much plaster-work was
powdered.
A little son of John Phillips, living
near Shelbyville, Ky., pulled a kettle of boil
ing water from the stove, a few days ago,
and was fatally scalded.
Thomas Hoffman and Joseph Wat
son, employed at the Eckert. ore mine.
Heading, Pa., were recently killed by au
explosion of fire-damp.
Emmet Brown, a young man em
ployed in Hanson & Scove's sawmill, Man
itowoc, Wis., met a horrible fate the other
day. Attempting to put a belt on while the
machinery was in motion, he was caught by
a pulley and carried around at a frightful
speed, each revolution bringing his
head in contact with the floor. His head
was literally battered to pieces before the
machinery could be stopped.
Wm. Hawley, aged 13, was acci
dentally shot and killed by Tim McAuliff,
near Maysville, Ky., on the night of ihe
27th. The Hawley family had become
alarmed at some one trying to force an en
trance into their dwelling, and had sent the
boy for assistance to McAuliff. In taking
up his gun to go with him it .was accident
ally discharged.
A freight car loaded with brick
was ditched near Joiiet, 111., Feb, 27fh.
Ten tramps were secreted in the van at the
time. Two were killed outright and the
others were badly injured. The names of
the unfortunates are unknown.
The dry goods house of E. Malley,
New Haven, Conn., burned on the 28;h.
The loss on building and stock is estimated
at $100,000.
Tf.n Nihilist prisoners, including one
woman, have been sentenced to death at
St. Petersburg. The remainder were sen
tenced to various terms of servi"ule.
THE GARFIELD CEREMONIES.
TnE galleries of the House of Representa
tives were filled to the utmost capacity at an
early hour on the morning of the 27th, a ma
jority of the spectators being ladies. Before 10
o'clock admission to the Capitol was refused
to all save members of the two Houses of Con
gress aud their employees, but at that hour
the doors were thrown open to persons hold
ing tickets to the memorial services of the
late James A. Garfield. There were no signs
of mourning in the hall. A full length por
trait of the late President was hung just back
of the chairs of tho presiding oflicer, being it
self nndraped. In the lobby back of tho
Speaker's desk the Marin-j Band was sta
tioned, and at intervals until noon discoursed
solemn music. Among the distinguished
guests were Judge Bancroft, Cyrus W. Field,
Admiral Worden, Gen. Schcnck, Governors
Iloyt of Pennsylvania, Foster of Ohio, Ham
ilton of Maryland, and Bigelow of Connecti
cut. At 11:30 Gens. Sherman, Sheridan, Han
cock, Howard and Meigs and Admirals Am
men, Rogers and Kodgers entered and were
assigned seats to the left of the Speaker's
desk, and a few moments later mem
bers of the diplomatic corps, in
full rescalia, were ushered in. headed
by tbe Hawaiian Minister as Dean of the
corps. Their brilliant costumes only served
to throw into stronger relief the dark att;re
of tho members of Congress who sat imme
diately behind them. The Supreme Court of
the District, headed by Marshall Henry,
were the next arrivals. Dr. Bliss was also in
attendance. Mrs- Blaine occupied a front
Beat in the gallery reserv ed for friends of ttie
President. At precisely 12 o'clock the House
was called to order by Speaker Keifer
and prayer was offered by the Chap
lain. The Speaker then said: ' This
day ha been dedicated by the ac
tion of the two Houses of Congress to
services in commemoration of the liie and
death of James Abram Garfleid.late President
of the United States. This House is now as.
sembled and ready to perform its part." The
resolutions setting apart the day for the
services were then read by Clerk McPherson.
At 12:10 the Senators entered and took their
assigned feats. They were followed by
the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the
Supreme Court, and the President of the Unit
ed States and bis Cabinet. The President
took a front seat on the right of the presidium
officer's chair. At 12:30 the orator of day!
James G. Blaine, was introduced by President
uavis. Mr. u.auie took position at the Clerk's
desk. Immediately m front of the two presid
ios: officers, and proceeded to deliver an im
pressive address, rending from manuscript.
His von-e was firm and A unniu
tinctly heard in all parts of the chamber. He
naieiicu iu witn me most profound at
tention from betrinnin to end. When Mr
Bla ne reached that noriion ,.i hi.. i
which he alluded totlw causes which h d to the
shotting of Garneld.tlirre was a visile strain
ing to catch the full import of his words. The
Intensity ot fueling iu too entire audience was
unconsciously illustrated in the Ion breath
ot reliet Unit swent over i. i. ,.,..
sea when he turned from the subject
to treat of the religion char tcter of the illus
trious deceased. When the final sentence was
spoken, and the orator sat down, round
aiter round of applause br.ike forth. With
the departure of invited sruests and the ms
sace of resolutions of tlimUj ts ui.;.--..
tho House adjourned. "w
MISS0U11I STATE NEWS.
Vice-President Duff, of the Hannibal
& St. Joe Railroad, says Judge Miller's re
cent decision in the suit of the road vs. the
State of Missouri contains as much that is
favorable to the company as unfavorable,
and leaves the amount in controversy be
tween the State and company a compara
tively small one. He says the situation is
as follows: "The State has issued 53,000,
000 of 6-per-cent bonds in aid of the road.
The road has paid the State $3,000,000. The
road claims that the use of $3,000,000 by the
Slate offsets the payment of interest of the
State's bonds. The State claims it offsets
only to the extent of interest actually earned
on the ?3,000,OJO. The question then be
comes merely one of difference of interest.
The State has a large amount of C-per-cent
5-20 bonds outstanding now subject to call,
or liable to be called within a very short
period. The Legislature passed a law last
winter for the purpose of appropriating this
$3,000,000. That law required the Stale offi
cers to apply it in redeeming these 5-20
bonds. The $3,000,000 can thus be used,
the greater part of it immediately, and the
remainder of it within a very short time, in
extinguishing tbe 6-per-cent indebtedness
of the State. I suppose the State officers
will now, of course, comply with their own
law, and that in the meantime there will be
no claim against the railroad company, ex
cept for the difference of interest."
The Tobacco Manufacturers' Associa
tion of St. Louis have received a communi
cation from the Signal Service headquarters
at Washington, D. C, concerning frost
warnings which have proved of advantage
to Louisiana sugar-planters and may be
valuable to tobacco-growers in this State.
Gen. Ilazen says: "Warnings could be sent
about two days in advance of killing frosts,
and if promptly circulated, would prevent
loss to planters by enabling them to secure,
at least, a portion of the crop. You are re
spectfully requested to consider this sub
ject, and to inform me if such action on the
part of the service would be beneficial to the
tobacco interest of your section, and the
length of time which should be covered each
year by such forcasts. I have fully recog
nized the practical importance of this and
similar work for the benefit of the agricul
tural interests of the country, but I have
not been provided with sufficient force to
carry out my views. I anticipate favorable
action by Congress during the present ses
sion to increase the efficiency of the Signal
Corps, and a much greater extension of the
usefulness of this service to all interests af
fected by the weather conditions of the
country may be expected."
Governor Crittenden has granted a
full pardon to Frank A. Spencer, convicted
at the September term, 1S79, of the Pulaski
Circuit Court, of murder in the second de
gree, for killing his step-father, Edward
Galloway, and sentenced to thirty years in
the Penitentiary. The facts laid before the
Governor show that Galloway drank heavily,
and that his treatment of young Spencer
and his mother and sister was extremely
cruel and brutal, and that the young man
committed the crime in their defense. There
is also a doubt as to whether the young man
was 16 years of age at the time the killing
was done. Nine of the jurors before whom
he was tried sign the petiton for his pardon,
the other three having removed from the
State.
Samuel L. Yourtee & Co., dealers in
carriages at Kansas City, have filed a suit
for dumages against S. L. North. In their
petition the plaintiffs state that they enjoyed
a high financial reputation in the business
centers of the United States, and that on
the 29th day of November, 18S1, North
wrongfully and without probable cause had
an attachment issued against them. Also
that the Sheriff levied upon carriages, bug
gies and other property to the value of $20,-
000 to satisfy the writ. The plaintiffs
claim that they were greatly injured in their
business by reason of the attachment, that
their customers were scattered and their
credit injured. For this they ask damages
in the sum of $10,000.
The smoked title cases have been re
opened in the Circuit Court at St. Joseph
Tlvse cases involve the right to a large tract
of land in the center of the city, which is pur
ported to have been conveyed away from the
rightful heirs by fraudulent and forged
deeds.
Judge Laughlin, of St. Louis, granted
a motion for a special venire from the coun
ty for jurors in the case of John D. Shea, un
der indictment for the murder of Officer
Doran, and whose petition for a change of
venue on the ground of alleged prejudice
was but recently denied in the Circuit Court
by Judge Lindley, who gave it as his opinion
that there would be no difficulty in obtain
ing a jury in the City of St. Louis who would
give Shea a perfectly fair trial.
The Cooper County Court has again
made an order submitting to the people by
ballot the question of a compromise of the
straight Cooper County Tebo & Neosho Rail
road bonds. This proposition is to refund
85 per cent, of principal and accrued inter
est, the bonds to bear 6 per cent. The day
of election is set for Tuesday, March 21
proximo.
A swindler is abroad who is receiving
$5 a head from people who have been in
slavery. He claims to be a Government
agent employed to pension ex-sl3ves. In
Holt County he succeeded in victimizing
quite a number.
A tramp recently visited the residence
of Mr. Peper, Lamonte, Pettis County, and
finding no one about except Mrs. Peper and
her little boy, demanded all the valuables
in the house, presenting a cocked revolver.
Mrs. Peper disarmed the fellow and forced
him to retire.
M. I. Couch, proprietor of an exten
sive stable in St. Joseph, became involved
beyond his d pth, and has fled with his fam
ily, after executing several bills of sale.
Mr. S. Greenabaum, of Trenton, re
cently shipped 60,000 pounds of hides, mak
ing two car loads, the largest shipment ever
made at one time from that place.
Scarlet fever in southeastern counties.
The failure of Benedict, Malone
Co., wholesale grocers of Kansas City, who
made an assignment to Charles Stewarti
grew out of the Macon Bank failure, in
which institution James Malone was a heavy j
stockholder. The firm assert thev will nav I
dollar for dollar, and Mr. Benedict says he j
will reorganize and resume.
Jonathan P. Horton, who died recent
ly in Alton, Oregon County, was born Feb
ruary 1, 1793. He was a soldier in the war
of 1812. He enlisted under Cspt. John Fol- i
let in 1810, and received an honorable dis
charge at the close of the war, in 1814.
A man in Mississippi County recently
killed 113 muskrats in one dav-
Republican Harmony.
The Whitelaw Reid correspondence
recently published seems to have played
navoc with the sweet disposition oi the
grand old party of morals and harmony,
The statement in the World is not
denied that the notorious corumunica
tion from Whitelaw lleid to the late
President Gar Geld, rivinr eccentric ant
extraordinary counsel, was furnished for
publication by one of the closest friends
and a member of the official family
of Air. Garfield. Ihe gentlem
who jrave out the Reid dispat
for piiblieation has personal cause for
wrath against James G. BJaine. lie is
a representative of a large number
of the friends of the deceasetl President
who are determined that Mr. Blaine
shall not make himself the heir to the
popularity of Garfield or seize his politi
cal estate or administer upon it. It is
also true that the tone of the American
foreign policy of the United States has
been changed because the bold, vigor
ous American purpose which generally
gervaded the State papers of Mr.
laine was making, it was feared, the
name of the ex-Secretary too strong in
the popular talk ot the hour, ami was
putting up the Blaine stock in the
political market. idaine early con
fronts the hostility of the Administration
on the one hand and of friends of Gar
field on the other. In several respects
the Administration is enlarging its bor
ders and strengthening its stakes. It
proposes to have an organ at the Na
tional capital in absolutely friendly
hands. The controversy between the
Stalwarts and Half-breeds is smolder
ing but not suppressed. The President
has been so apprehensive of the influ
ence of the radical Stalwarts, as being
interpreted to exclude himself, his
tliniio-hts nnrl rnlirv. tlmf. it. is lindor.
stoocF his whilom chum, George Bliss,
has bought the National Republican,
which was at the same time an Arthur
and a Star-route organ. The influence
of this paper in the community of Wash
ington to deaden local public opinion
upon the mail transactions of Hayes
Administration was felt to be fatal to
the pending prosecutions. Hence Jhe
rumor of its purchase by Bliss causes
more than one sad heart to cease to
ache. It seems further to show that
Administrations are prone to fall back
on the old style of organ of the days of
Gales and beaton and Blair and Kives
Mr. Gorham has been too hot an editor
for the Attorney -General's Department
to counteract. Persons aflecting to
speak the secrets of the White House
say the President is decidedly averse
to seeing Governor Cornell get a sec
ond term, while Cornell will be satisfied
with nothing else and is too much of
a quantity in the country districts to be
opposed without serious consequences,
while his well known hostility to Mr.
Arthur would make him, with the large
patronage of the Governor's office in
lboi, a probable competitor tor the I'res
sidency and a rallying center for the
Half-breeds. Mr. Arthur is said to pre
fer Mr. Starin He is equally displeased
with Mr. Tom Piatt, and recently, it is
charged, sent him bootless home from
an errand at the White House. Col
lector Robertson has made a quasi peace
with the President. His prime favorite
is Mr. Crowley. And so while Blaine is
perspiring between the flames kindled
on the one hand by potential friends of
uarneld, and the Administration fur
nace already glowing for his discomfort
on the other, the Administration buys an
organ to conduct the contest against an
ex-Secretary of State, against the Gov
ernor of the President's State and against
a Garfield wing of his party. Blaine has
two great lights on his hands within his
party. The President lias on his hands
the light with Blaine and that with the
Half-breeds, and the fight with Governor
Cornell is to be added to these. The
Half-breeds have the light with the Ad
ministration, and a Lijhre portion of
them have begun a figfft with Blaine.
The party has three quarrels to bear and
there is uneasiness in the camp. Hart
ford Times.
The Existing Civil-Service System.
When President Garfield was shot the
universal opinion was that the spoils
Sstem furnished the motive which
prompted the assassin Guitcau. The
assassin has been tried and convicted,
and in a short time will undoubtedly
forfeit his life as a penalty for the crime.
But the spoils system, demoralizing,
pernicious and blighting, thrives as lux
uriantly as it did when Guiteau leveled
his pistol at the Nation's Executive, and
the strife for spoils is as heated and un
seemly as it then was. Congress assem
bled but a few weeks after the conspic
uous victim of the system was consigned
to his tomb amid the lamentations of the
count ry. The tragedy, its cause and the
actors were known to each member.
Were there any possibility that the
recollection of the terrible event would
so soon fade from the minds of the
Senators and Representatives, they have
had constant reminders every day since
the session opened in the proceedings
which have taken place in a court-room
but a short distance from the Capitol
where they assemble. Still, from the
general apathy which i3 manifested, it
would seem that members of Congress
think the shooting of a President of too
small moment to give them concern for
the reform of a system which has raised
up an army of spoilsmen, unloosed
political freebooters without number
upon the country, made Senators and
Representatives chiefs of factions who
engage in predatory raids upon the
public, Treasury, and, as a finishing
stroke, has presented an assassin as one
of its natural products.
There are, undoubtedly, difficulties in
the way of effecting a reform of the
Civil Service by legislation, but if Con
gress should be governed by a rjile not
to undertake any work to which there
are obstacles, it would abdicate some of
its most important functions and ac
knowledge itself to be an almost super
fluous branch of the Government. The
fact that there are difficulties ought to
be an incentive to the members of Con
gress to address themselves the more
speedily and more earnestly to the
question. There is no doubt that Con
gress could do a great deal to place the
Civil Service upon a footing at once
more permanent and more honorable;
and if it could not bind the President
by law in the matter of appointments, it
could establish rules so 'salutary that he
would not feel at liberty to disregard
thein, or if he did would be condemned
by public opinion.
Except during the pendency of politi
cal campaigns, the office-holder under
the present spoils system may have his
whole time for the performance of his
duties to the Government. But during
political campaigns, which on the whole
occupy fully one-fourth of the time of
the politicians, and obtain a considerable
share of popular attention for about the
same period, the office-holder must act
upon the knowledge that he is the serv
ant of the party in power as well of the
public, and attest his allegiance to the
former in every way that may be re
quired of him." And this is but the be
ginning of his humiliation.. Dependent
upon a "boss" for his place, he must
cam- himself as a personal hireling,
and "bend all his energies to the further
ance of the schemes of Ids political
owner. If his superiors in ofilce have
axes to grind if they fancy they merit
promotion he must turn the crank for
them, or risk their displeasure and his
own removal. In short, office-holding,
under the spoils system, is dependent
largely upon intrigue and combination,
and plot and counter-plot play a con
spicuous part. The result is that the
Government is neither as well nor as
economically served as it ought to be.
Members of Congress are perfectly
cognizant of all the evils of the spoils
system. Some of them pretend to have
a great desire for a change, but with
remaikably few honorable exceptions,
the conduct of Senators and Repre
sentatives sliow that their professions
are hypocritical, and that at heart they
desire no reform or change in the .Civil
Service system.' Detroit Free Press.
A Supposititious Congratulatory Letter.
The following congratulatory supposi
titious communication from Schuyler
Colfax to James F. Wilson, recently,
elected United States Senator from Iowa,
appears in the iV. V. Bun of a recent
date.
Mv Dear "Wilcox : I have wat ched with the
deepest interest the proceedings of the Iowa
Legislature, and beg leave to offer my most
sincere congratulations upon your election to
the Senate. I am often called upon to till posi
tions of great responsibility iu our little com
munity, aud so general is the appreciation of
my repuguanc to pecuniary considerations that
my townsmen never pay anything for my serv
ices. In fact, 1 invariably volunteer them.
Here in the State which has honored me so
much I am understood, and the value of my
abilities is recognized. Some time the party,
the country, will also understand me. In a
spirit of patience, of Christian forbearance and
meekness, 1 bide the time when a returning
sense of justice shall have assured my tri
umphant vindication, when I shall burst forth
from the darkness of my temporary retirement
like the sun, smiling brightly through dark
clouds.
To you, mv dear Wilson, time has brought
ample reparation. I am encouraged as I
think of your success. Your position in 1873
was, I am glad to remember, substantially the
same as mine. We were both of us victims of
that designing Ames. We got our stock in
the same way. We vindicated ourselves in
the same way. We botli sought in the bosom
of our States a shelter from tlie attacks of an
inconsiderate press. M;iy I not Lope that I,
too, shall return to pubiic life J
I am always glad to hear of the success of
the old Credit Mobilier crowd. My heart goes
out to them warmly. And, take it all in all,
they have been pretty lucky, with the excep
tion of my unfortunate sell.
I don't see anv immediate nrosnect of re
turning to the House or Senate. Indeed, I
am not identilied to any extent with the secu
lar politics of Indiana. 1 depend on vou to do
something for me. I am not involved ia any
of the unhappy quarrels' which have so in
jured the party, and I can't be objectionable
to anyooay. tan iyou get me a uipiomatic
post of some kind? I have always thought
that, with my tact, blandness and way of
looking innocent when I am cornered, I should
shine as a diplomatist. The way things lxk
now I should prefer the Peruvian or the Chil
ian mission. Can't you get me Hurlbut's
place? I stand well with the farmers hero,
aud they would like to see the guano question
treated in a statesmanlike manner. There is
always a chance in Peru of getting mining
claims, claims against the Government, etc I
am a poor man.
Mention my name to Arthur, and show him
how much his recognition of me would tend
to reunite the party. If you can't, get me
Peru, get me Chili, or even" Venezuela. Orth
could give me some points by which I might
make a little something in the latter country.
I won't take a Consulship if there is auy
chance of auything better.
By the way, do any of the railroads for
which you are" working giveaway stock to pub
lic men ! Perhaps yoii could do something for
me in that way. Or don't railroads do busi
ness in the way they did in '0J
Remember me to Blair, of New Hampshire,
who, I am glad to see, is following in the foot
steps of his predecessor, my dear frieud Prof.
Patterson.
God bless vou in vour new career. Don't
forget about the guano. Yours affectionate
ly. S. C.
To the lion, james x . wiisos.
How does it happen that the same Legisla
ture which elected you is oppo-cd to free
passes? I suppose they act in the interest of
the railroads, but it is a bad precedent. Don't
forget about Peru. S. C.
That "Model" Administration.
The model Administration of Hayes,
concerning which so much has been
said, does not seem to stand investigation
as well as a "model" should. Reference
has already been made in the Free Press
to the maladministration disclosed in
the Star-route frauds and other swindles
of a similar nature; but recent develop
ments surpass even those gigantic rob
beries in the amount of odium thrown
upon the Hayes Administration.
Ihe chief glory of that Administration
next to the total or nearly total ab
stinence at the White House, was the
Cabinet; and it is this glory which is
now being shorn of its gloriousness. It
looks as though in addition to the ex
posure of the tricky Sherman as a fraud,
the fame of the "bright particular star"
in the Cabinet would be taken away as
secured on false pretenses. It is not
quite easy to be reconciled all at once to
the theory that the amiable, piano-playing
doctrinaire of the Interior Depart
ment was a jobber, or the tool of job
bers; but his course in relation to the
Northern Pacific land grants can hardly
be explained upon any other theory
even upon that of guileless innocence or
absolute ignorance.
It is not to be wondered at. nerhaDs.
that an Administration which was
founded on fraud of the most colossal
description should have been, in so many
essential particulars, fraudulent. But
it is to be wondered at, with all these
facts coming to light, that men still
speak of Haves' Administration as a
model of purity Exchange.
" Poor man" pvrdfiimnd tho flnnA
Samaritan, feelinc for his-loose chnno-n
and depositing a quarter in tlie tramp's
cxujuueu paim; now my heart bleeds
for you. You will go and get something
to eat now?" " Not immediately," an
swered the grateful wanderer; "I stole
a bottle of whiskv this nirriiinv nnil fVo
been begging all day to try and get
MinnfM' (mllfffl r Klin O noul- c r. vwt
Brooklyn Eaqlc.