Abilene weekly reflector. [volume], June 21, 1888, Image 3

About Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935

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ABILENE REFLECTOR
-PUBLISHED Br
EEFLECfOR PDBLISM& COMPAHY.
THE GREEN IN THE TREES.
In spring, -when the green gits back in the trees,
And the sun comes out and stays.
And yer boots palls on -with a zood tight squeeze.
And you think of ycr barefoot days:
"When you ort to work and you want to not.
And you and yer wife agrees
It's time to spade up the garden lot
VrTien the green gits buck in the trees
Well I -work is the least o tnj idees
"When the green, you know, gits back in
the trees '
"When the green gits back ia the trees, and bees
Is a-buzzin' aroun" ngin.
In that kind of a lazy po as-you-please"
Old pait they bum roun' in;
When the groua's all bald where the hay-nck
btood.
And the crick's nz, and the breeze
Coaxes the bloom in the old dogwood.
And the green gits back :n the trees.
I like, as I say, in sich scenes as thee.
The time when the green gits back in the
trees I
"When the whole tail-feathers o wintertime
Is all pulled out and gone
And the sap it thnws aud begins to climb,
And the sn cat it starts out on
A feller's forrerd, a gittin' down
At the old spring on his knees
I kind o" like Jes' a-loaferin' roun'
When the green gits back in the trees
Jes' a-pottenn" roun' as I durn please
When the green, jou knotv, gits back in
i he trees'
Jamet WhUcoui'i i.ley, in X. 1'. World.
HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES.
An Old Engineer Telia of Some of
His Adventures.
An li'iMilrccssful Attempt at Suicide 1 a
Man Xoir I'rtupcroim The CIokihL Ios
sllilc lisrjio I 'rout Terri
ble Collision.
Aldcrr.iun Ve Witt C. Kellogg rn
not ahvuy a grocery man, or a politi
cian, more than he has always been an
Alderman. It hiw oulj been within
the present year that that Alderman
hhied htecaatorinto the polit.ie.Tl ai-en.-u
j-or twenty years previously ne was,
one of the most reliable locomotive en
gineers that ever leaned out of a cab
uindow and raced over the earth from
town to town, from county to county
and from State to State.
Tho engineer Alderman wit in the
Council chamber yestorJay morning,
entertaining a, cluster of his brother
Aldermen with stories of narrow es
capes during the years he was on the
road. They were intensely interesting,
as the speaker was full of animation
nnd not at a loss for words.
"Coming into Detroit, and while ap
proaching the (irand ltiver avenue
crossing."' said lie, " outran see down
the street a long way. One day I no
ticed :i fellow drive "lowly toward the
erossing. I tooted the whistle to let
him know we were coming, and the
follow took hih whip and touched up
the horse with it. The horse was a
ne-Iooking animal, young and full of
life, and the buggy a new one, alto
gel her a very handsome rig. The horse
trotted faster toward the crossing and
we were pounding along at a good
pcca onraolves. As we got closer I
measured the distance and saw that
if both of us kept up the tame gait, we
would surely come together on the
erossing. I jerked the whistle several
limes to warn him: he looked at us
coming, but 111 bo hanged if he didn't
touch up the horse again. On we both
raced, and about one hundred feet from
the crossing I saw we were going to
collide without a doubt. It was too
late then to stop. Just as we dashed
upon the crossing- his horse swerved
around, threw the buggy on the track
in front of us, and the next moment
buggj. man and horse were pitched
civ-shing into the cattle guard and
ditch. 1 stopped a sooa a-. I could
and backed up. The fellow was just
crawling out of the wreck. His face
was a white :i.- his shirt-bosom. The
horse was dead, with a spoke of one
of the wheels sticking through his ribs.
The man's hat a big white one
lodged on the pilot of the locomotive.
1 pulled it olT and handed it to him.
His haul trembled so that he could
hardly hold it.
"Didn't you hear the whistle?" I
ii-ked him.
"Yes. he said, -'out I thought I
could beat you across.
Now here i.- where the rab come
in. Railroad money scai. to bj re
garded as prey for any body who ran
;.vt it. A few weeks nfUvw.ils a gen
lleinan called onSup?rint"'id.it IJlodg
ett. In case an engineer strikes any
thing lie is required to m ike out a
written report of it, with full p irtieu
lars. I had done so in this ease. The
superintendent"-, visitor sta'ed that he
had been struck by a Lai: 3 Shore train.
hs horse killed aud his buggy smashed
into kindling wood, ii- himself, fortu
nately, eseap"d with his life. ' The
horse and buggy he esthnitsd to ha
w orth ".J0. and he came to sea if he
couldn't get a little something from th?
company for their loss. He was will
ing to come down to $250.
"'Did tho engineer blow the whistle?'
:isked Ulodgett,
"'No. ho did not. said tho m-an. 'I
can bring half-a-dozen people who will
Mvear that the whistle wa? not blown.
"The superintendent called a clerk
iind sent for my report. Ue read to the
man his answer to my question as to
whether he heard the whistle or not.
and then the' clerk was directed to
show the gentlemva how the door
looked on the outside, lie went and
the road-was sued.
"A man who is now on the police
force here,' continued Aid. Kellogg,
'had the closest e3eape from baing cut
into mince-meat that I ever saw. He
got to drinking, then left his family
and stayed, away about a year. He
was returning empty-handed, and sor
rowful when I saw him that day sitting
on the end of a tie just the other side
of the Iloguo bridge. 1 was coming up
from Toledo, my regular run. and was
trying to make up fifteen minutes time
which we lost in leaving Toledo. Ther
was a fifteen-mile stretch between here
and Wyandotte in whieh we did not
have to make a stop and the hoi's used
to call it the race course. Well, I was
booming over the race course at about
forty miles an hour- When I saw this
man, I blew the whistle and not'eed
that he looked around at us. Now.
when a man looks at my engine I never
pay any more attention to him as it
may he presumed that most of man
kind have enough gumption to leave
the track and allorr a locomotive to
pass by without trying to molest it.
As we n eared the bridge, which was at
the end of a curve, I noticed the fellow
still sitting there and remarked to nry
fi reman that I did not think he was
quite clear. I blew again. Just as Ave
rushed upon him what do you suppose
ho did? The fool threw himself
backwards over the rail. Great God
that was all 1 had time to think of.
You gentlemen, who may never have
been on a locomotive under those cir
cumstances can not understand the
horror of the sight. Uut he wa3 not
killed how did he escape? The heel
of the pilot struck him and the next
instant he was flying down into the
swamp. We were going at sucli high
speed that I think it was three-fourths
of a mile before we came to a btop. I
backed up and the fellow had crawled
out of tiie mud and water and taken a
seat on the other side of the track. I
thought lie was killed, you know. 1
suppose he was going to try it again
with the next train. We loaded him
into a baggage car and brought him to
town. He let on that he could speak
German only, and we could not get
much out of him. There wasn't, though,
a scratch on him.
" A vear or so afterward,"' the Alder
man went on as his auditors drew a
sigh of relief, "a man walked up to ray
engine, down at Brush street depot,
just as I was about to pull out. I was
down on the ground looking the old
machine over to seo that every thing
was all right.
"How do!"" hf said.
"How are you. sir." I replied. He
was Iressed in a policeman's uniform.
I d"'int know him from Adam.
"Know me0" he gently inquired.
"I do not," I said, you have the b;st
of me.'
"Well, I know you," he said, as he
walked up to the pilot and stooping
down looked at it Jntently.
"Well," I saitL
"This is the lgine that came near
killing me cutting my head olT. This is
the spot, I guess, which struck me," and
he pointed to the heel of the pilot.
"Recollection of tho incident then
flashed on me, and we had a talk about
it. He said he did not have tho heart
to return to his family, and sat down
there, having made up his mind to
throw himself under the firt train
that came along. He got a start, some
how, braced up, reunited with his
family and is now doing well and is
happy, lint he had a close call, boys,
the closest I ever saw. The tears
came into the policeman's eyes as he
stooped down and looked at the wheels.
But old 235 never committed murder
as long as I had hold of her throttle."
"Were you ever in a collision?" in
quired one.
"Not quite."" responded the engineer
Alderman, "but I was once so mighty
close to it tint I meisured the distance
between me and tho spot where 1
thought 1 should die. It is terrible
riding over tho true's with another en
gine and death st-tring one in tho face
a few yards ahead.
"1 was running Xo. 4 out of Toledo,"'
resumed the speaker proceeding to
narrate the experience, "on the day
when this happened. Wo usually
waited at the wajon works for thi
Canada Southern. Xo. 1), if she was only
a lew minutes lat. but if she was
much overdue we would pull out and
pass her up the road. Beyond the
wagon works the ro.-.d takes a sharp
and rather a long curve, and Xo. 4 and
Xo. !i ran in opposite directions on the
curve and on the sunj track. We
were dead on tim tint d'ty and num
ber 9 wa- no where to bj e;s:i or he ird.
An engineer woald have been put
down u- insane if hi left the wagon
works at that time without orders. 1
had a careful conductor. I received
the signal to pull out. The conductor
was on the other side of the train from
me.
"Who gave that signal?" I a.ike:
fireman.
"The conductor," he said.
"Sure?"
"Don't I know the conductor?
growled.
"Well. I let "er oat, and away we
spun. The train was undo up of a
rav
he
the whistle until after I had reversed
her. Galloway Alex. Galloway was
Xo. 9s engineer saw me about the
same time 1 saw him. What he did I
don't know; I suppose he did the same
an I, but this I do know, and that is that
when those engines eame to a stop the
pilots were, by actual measurement,
just eight feet apart. Alex, aud I
elimbed down and shook hauds across
those eight feet.
"Of course I w:is overdue when we
ran into Detroit," he continued, "but
it was not until I had looked over my
engine, washed and changed my clothes
th&tl began to feel the effects of my
narrow escape. I broke completely
down, and recollect walking into Su
perintendent Blodgett's office with my
knees so sh;ky that they would hardly
hold me up.'
"Well, said I to Blodgett. you've
heard about it. Am I to blame?'
"Heard about what?"' ho said.
"O come, now; 1 know you know all
about it the narrow escaDe on tho
curve. Am I to blame?'
"I don't know."5
"I'll take the matter in my own.
hands then, air. Blodgett. I resign,
and you must get somebody else to
take out my engine in the morning.'
"Don't do that. Kellogg,"' said he,
wait :md see before you resign. You
are excited now; you will think differ
ently when you are composed."
"Xo. sir,"' 1 said, "I know what Tin
doing, and mean what I say. I didn't
see any nag out at tne wagon works. 1
nave been on tnis road a goou many
years. Mr. Blodgett, and if there was a
flag out there and I didn't see it. it is
high time that I should resign before
something serious docs happen."
"This is a sensible way to talk. Kel
logg,"' said he. "Xow you think this
matter over until morning, then let me
know."'
"You see if I was to blame," ex
plained Kellogg aside, "I did not want
to give them an opportunity to discharge
me."
"I concluded to investigate myself,'
said Kellogg, "and told the superin
tendent that I would call at his house
at nino o'clock that night and inform
him of my final decision. Ho said that
would be satisfactory, and I jumped on
a street car in tho evening and rode out
to West Detroit to intercept Galloway
on his return to Detroit. Alex showed
up all right and on time, though I could
see that lie was still a litvle shaky."
" 'How is it, Alex?1 1 asked, climbing
into his engine, 'was the flag out?'
(He ran into Toledo right after I left,
and would know whether the flag was
out or not.)
l'Xo," he said, "Kel, it wasn't!"
"I thought not." I said, "and that
saves me. Where was Brown?"'
Brown, the narrator explained, was
the chief train dispatcher of the di
vision and a very careful and reliable
man. It was his duty to have the flag
put out if he wanted Xo. 4 to side-track
for Xo. 9. He had not done it.
"Where was Brown?" repeated Alex.
"When I ran in Brown was in a dead
faint on the platform and they wore
throwing water in his face, which was
as white as a sheet, trying to bring
him to."
Brown was checking off some cars to
make up a train, a duty that was then
imposed on dispatchers, and his brain
being mixed up in the combination he
forgot all about ug for the moment and
neglected to send out the flag. In the
meantime I ran In and seeing no Uag
outsupposed the track was clear to the
first siding and pulled out. A moment
after I left Brown rushed out on the
platform and cried.
"Where is Xo. 4?"
POLITICAL FETICHISM.
baggage and mail car and two passen
ger co:uhes. Just 'before I let 'er go,
I looked over towards the station to
see if there wa- any signnl out. If
there was a red 11 ig out. that was or
ders to back down on the side trade
and wait for Xo. 9. I saw no flag out
and left, feeling positive that no flag
was there. We were a few minutes
over the schedule in leaving, and I
pulled out the throttle with the deter
mination to make up all of it as quickly
as I could. I never thought of Xo. 9
after we left the wagon works until
about six minutes later there came an
impression of the train that will last as
long a I live. We were just humming
a'ong the track was well laid though
it was a curve, and thre isn't any
more danger to speak of on a good
piece of curved track than there is on
a straight away section. I sat on the
inside of the carve, and inr-dvertently
raising my eyes tipon the track ahead,
there she was!
' '"My God, Jim.' I said to my fire
men, there is Xo. 9." '
"And she's fly in', too,' said Jim.
'Whafll we do, Kell?' he shouted.
In a few moments she would be on us.
"Guess we'd betterstay, Jim," I said,
and without shutting her off I "braced
my feet against the boiler, threw her
over and clapped on the sand and the
air. This action reversed the drive
wheels of thrt engine ana set them run
ning backward, while tht other wheels
of the engine and of the train ran for
ward. This greatly increased the re
sistance against the forward motion of
the train, and is only resorted to by
engineers when a crisis is imminent, as
there is danger of blowing out the cyl
inderheads and otherwise straining the
locomotive.
"Gentlemen," said Kellogg, "a steam
engine on a railroad never looked so
big to me before as that No. 9. Talk
about the City Hall being hig, why it
was an ant hill to the size of No. 9's lo
comotive. I could see her old drivers
spinning around on the inside rail of
"There she goes around tho curve."
was the answer.
"Great God!" said Brown and fell in
a dead faint on the platform. He ex
pected there would be an awful
slaughter in a few minutes more. Ho
was powerless to prevent it and he
knew that Xo. 9 was on that curve too.
"Did you resign?"'
"Xo. 1 went around and told Blodg
ett that I had proved there was uo
flag out and would stay.'
"Did Brown resign?"
"Xo: but. he was laid off for ten days,
thon reinstated and some of the work
taken off of him. An assistant chief
dispatcher was unpointed, whose duty
was to loo!: after the train lists. This
was a concession that Brown had too
much to do. "Many accidents on the
railroads are due to the overworking
of the cnmloves." Detroit Free Pre..
NEW USES FOR TAR.
How to Itcniler Drain anil Koolincr Tiles
rerfurtly Water-Tight.
Tho coating of brick and wooden
structure, with coal tar. as a rough and
ready means of preserving them from
the action of damp, has been common
from the earliest days of gas industry.
It has also been usual in chemical works
to protect the stones used iu the con
struction of acid tanks, etc, by a pre
liminary soaking in heated tar. But
the great improvement in strength and
impermeability to moisture, which re
sults from the simple operation of boil
ing bricks and stones in gas tar, is
certainly not so generally known as it
should be. Professor Lunge, in the
new edition of his work, "Coal Tar and
Ammonia,"' draws attention to the sub
ject, and indicates several useful ap
plications. He points out that drain
and roofing tiles, which are quite porous
and brittle as they leave the kiln, may
be rendered absolutely water tight and
much stronger by immersion in a bath
of hot tar. Building stones are greatly
improved by similar treatment; and for
many purposes the dead black color
which results is an advantage rather
than an objection. The tar should be
deprived of water and its most volatile
oils; and to produce good results th
bath must be maintained at a tempera
ture of 100 degrees C. The articles to
be treated should be thoroughly dried.
and allowed to remain in the tar for
some time. Christian at Work.
Overheard on the IMalio. "first
actor "Ah! Chollyl Thought you
were in England." Second actor (lan
guidly; "Xaw, I had aftar offer and I
crossed the pond; but I couldn't stand
it really couldn't' Pfrst hctor
"Beastly climate, eh?" Second actor
."Xot that. I got so rick oa the
A Vivid Ten Picture of Grorer Cleveland
and Ills Follower.
The alleged elect 'on or Grover Cleveland to
the Presidescy in 1S31 was the most astound
ins phenomenon in American politics, and it is
doubtful whether its parallel can be found in
the history of any nation. Obscure men. igno
rant men, degraded men, have been elevated
to power, but it has net er before occurred that
a man uossessing eery acknowledged disqual
ification has been selected because or them,
and elevated from the lowest to the h'ghest es
tate without ever having expressed a recorded
opinion upon any public question. It is not
Known that he ever made a polit cal speech,
tried an important cause, was a member of any
les.slative body, wrote a remembered para
graph or expressed an intelligent idea; and
after three years of admin stratlon hii politi
cal views, if he has any, are a matter of sur
mise, even to his partisans. It remains uncer
tain to this hour whether his rred lections In
the war for the Union were w th the North or
the South, and except that he furnished a sub
stitute when conscripted, whom he subse
quently permitted to die in the poor-house, it
is certain that he sustained no personal re
lation, either in se..timect or deed, to the
most momentous controversy of modern
times. lie bus no ierceptible connection
with the category of accidents to which his
elevation is due. He has neither personal fol
lowing, popularity, admiration cor respect, be
cause he had exhibiteJ none of the traits nor
atta nments that inspire regard. He was not
eloquent, nor learned, nor cultivated, nor
agreeable, nor enterta ning, nor attractive in
mind, manner or person. His enjoyments
were those which are fcind in the unrestrained
indulgence of the appetites and passions and
his chosen associates iiere the companions of
his orgies.
From this inert sd vacant mass the trans
cendental sts and Puar sees of our politics
hae made upto themselves a graven image,
to which they bow dawn and norslrp with ig o
min ous idolatry an 1 sel'-abasement. They
declare that he rosssOs iho courage of Jack
son, though the tlrst threat of public exaspera
tion, like that aroused by the battle-ilag order.
drives h m to retraction, and to the imputat on
of unpopular acts to the indiscretion of sub
ordinates. -His tedious platitudes are de
scribed as wisdom, and his dull self-complacency
a-s imperturbable poise and resolution.
II s wearisome protestations of purity, and of
antagonism to the corrupt and malignant in
llueui.es of his party associates are announced
as evidences of oftlcial integrity, which justify
h s assumptions of superior honesty, and war
rant him in perpetually impugning the motives
of mankind. He regards as enemies all who
are unable to concur with his swollen estimate
of his superlative pre-eminence, and manifests
resentment toward all opponents, whether in
his own party or elsewhere. Having cheated
the "reformers' and bullied the renegades in
the North, he truckles to his masters in the
South, ac.nov, ledges his hypocrisy, admits
his treachery, and, not disconcerted by ex
posure, demands another term in the face
oi his plain avowal that he would not ask
for a rciiommat'on. Devoid alike of imagina
tion and of conscience, he appeals
neither to the sentiment nor to tho moral sense
of the people. Attention will not be diverted,
therefore, from the real issue of the campaign
by considerations personal to Cleveland. He
will bo nominated, not a; a leader but as a
fetich a thing endowed by supcr3ttion and
ignorance with fictitious attributes. There will
be no hero worship. It Is impossible to exc.te
popular euthusiasm for an Executive who con
fessedly reached the climax of his great powers
in refusing to approve an appropriation for a
public building in a country town, aud vetoing
with ghoulish glee a two-dollar pension bill for
a mutilated and disabled Union veteran. Par
adoxical .is it may appear, the Administration
of Cleveland has resulted in inestimable ad
vantage to the people of the United States. It
has furnished additional evidence, if such were
necessary, of tholr capacity for self-government.
There is no longer occasion to despair
of the perpetuity of the Republic.
Tho Democracy were intrusted with power
upon a pledge of economy aud reform in the
administration of the Government. Reform
implies that there is something which needs
reformation, and tho electors have tho right to
inquire whether this pledge has been kept or
violated. It will bo or.e of the most important
issues of iho campaign, and the evidence is
conclusive and overwhelming that since the
days of Juckson there has been no such shame
less aud dissolute prostitution of the public
service to personal and partisan uses as that
which has occurred under this new dispensation
of purity, sweetness aud light, which was sup
posed to have Ushered in the political m llen
nium. The degradation is complete, liven the
pretense of v irtuc has been dropped, and the
unhappy victims of the mock-marnage are
treated with unfeeling derision and neglect.
Every department o" the Government has been
transformed I ito a party machine.
One of the most profound and pervading im
pulses of the Amer.can character is an intense
pride in citizenship and in the institutions and
the honor of the Nation. The Democratic party
will be called upon to render an account of its
stewardship in doalicg w.th foreign powers. It
is an unparalleled record of sycophancy and
imbecility. No one can rend its annals w ithout
humiliation, shame and indignation. The fiasco
in Mexico, the surrender to England, the dis
graceful exhibitions of boonshness and ignor
ance at other courts, from a chapter of igno
miny that iitt ngly supplements the pol cy of
selecting as d plomatic representatives of the
Government those who had only signal zed
themselves by efforts for its destruction.
But the issue that exceeds all others in im
portance is suffrage in the South. There are
151 votes in the Electoral College assured to the
Democratic party without any other effort than
that requited to write the certificates of elec
tion. Forty-eight more in the North w.ll give
Cleveland another term, during winch the Su
preme Court w.ll be reconstructed upon the
basis of host lity to the constitutional amend
ments and the statutes of fieedoin. Not only
among the white politicians, but among the
white voters of the South, there is a settled
and avowed detcrm.nation to eliminate the
negro as an element m the political problem,
and to suppress h 3 lote. In the language of
the Senator from Louisiana, the negroes are
to be "persuaded" to abstain from voting I
There is no longer ai.y disguise or conceal
ment of this purpose. They are citizens en
ftled to vote, and generally Republican in pol
itics, pnd in several States are the majority;
but the election machinery being in the hands
of the Democracy, they are either excludei
from the polls or the r votes are uppressed and
destroyed. The election in Louisiana. April 17,
is an illustration of the methods employed.
The State is undoubtedly Republican, and War
moth was unquestionably the choice of the ma
jority of tht electors. The Governor publicly
pledged himself to an honest election, admit
ting that frauds had been committed in the
past which should not be repeated. Relying
upon these assurances the Republicans organ
ized and entered uron the canvass. The Gov
ernor, becoming terrified at the prospect of de
feat, issued orders to fabricate and manufact
ure Democratic majorities, and the result was
a spurious major ty so astounding that the only
reply Senator Eastls could make was: "It is
none of your business I" That is to say, by the
suppression of majorities, by ballot-box stuf
fing, by forging certificates of flection, a Pres
ident may be chosen. Senators and Repre
sentatives elected, who are to doc-de every
question affecting the tariff, tho revenues, the
currency, our relations, foreign nnd domestic.
the taxes or every citizen, and guide and con
trol the destiny of the Nation for the coming
century, and it is none of our business! If such
methods are to prevail, then constitutional
self-government is :v', nn end upon this conti
nent. Dahomo7 nnd Zulnland arc no worse.
Senator J. J. InijalU, in Xorlh Amtrican Result.
beings was a Democrat. Every man
that clutched babies from the breasts
of shrieking, shuddering,- crouching
mothers and sold them into slavery
was a Democrat. Every man
that swore he would never pay
the bonds, every man that swore
he would never redeem the green
backs, every maligner of his
country's credit, calumniator of his
country's honor, was a Democrat.
Every man who hid in the hushes and
shot at Union soldiers simply because
they were trying to inforce the laws of
their country, was a Democrat. Every
man that cursed Lincoln because he is
sued the emancipation proclamation
wtts a Democrat. Every man who be
lieved that a State could get out of the
Union at pleasure, every man who be
lieved that the grand fabric of the
American Government could be made
to crumble instantly into dust at tho
touch of treason, was a Democrat.
Every man who tried to burn asylums
in the city of Xew York was a Demo
cratalthough he knew that thousands
would perish, and the great serpents
of flame, leaping from one building to
another, would cluteh children from
their mother's arms every wretch
that did it was a Democrat. Recollect
it! Every man that tried to spread the
small-pox sind the yellow fever in the
"North was a Democrat. Soldiers, every
scar you have on your heroic bodiea
was given you by a Democrat. I am a
Republican. Allan (X 1") Journal.
100,000 -IMPORTANT- $100,000
TO MANUFACTURERS.
WIDOW M'GUINNESS' PIG.
WORDS FiTLY SPOKEN.
Why
teamer that J threw up the engage-
that curve. There was no time to blow I ment." Dickers Jlaaasisc
Colonel Kobert G. Ingtrsoll TelU
He la a Republican.
I am opposed to the Democratic
party, says Colonel Ingersoll, and I
want to tell you why. Every ordinance
of secession that was ever drawn was
done by a Democrat. Every man that
tried to tear the old flag down was a
Democrat. Every enemj- this country
has had for twenty-five years was a
Democrat. Every man that starved
Union soldiers, refusing them a crust
in the extremity of death, was a Democrat-
The man that assassinated
Abraham Lincoln was a Democrat.
Every man that sympathized with
the assassin every man that was
giad that tho noblest Presi
dent ever elected was dead, was a
Democrat. Every man that wanted
the privilege of whipping another man
to make him work for nothing and pay
bisa with lashes on his naked back,
was 9 Democrat. Every man that
ralfflA wwUtounda to pursue human 4
A Civ 11-Scrv !rp Kefuriu ISrust Which Nov er
round an Owner.
The sub-committee of the United
States Investigating Committee, which
is investigating the methods of " re
form ' in the great New York custom
house, has unveiled an incident which
would have delighted the soul of Arte
mus Ward the incident of " the raffle
of Widow AlcGuinncss pig.' It is
something absolutely unique in the an
nals of politics, and it is a brilliant il
lustration of the fertility of the Demo
cratic "reformer's" ingenuity as ap
plied to the civil service.
It befell in 1885 that there was an
election pending in Xew York in which
that noted reformer Hill was the Dem
ocratic candidate for Governor. The
sworn testimony before tho sub-committee
develops the fact that the
enormous enginery of the custom-house
was vigorously worked by the new
Democratic Administration to aid the
State Democratic canvass. A notorious
politician was put at the head of tho
custom-house machine, in spite of the
protests of George William Curtis and
the mugwumps. Although the places
in the custom-hou&e were protected by
the letter of the Civil-Service reform
law and the explicit pledges of Presi
dent Cleveland, wholesale removals
were ordered to make places for Dem
ocratic ward strikers and fine workers.
The testimony shows that drunken
loafers and illiterate scalawags were
surreptitiously furnished with lists of
the questions asked in the Civil-Service
examination, by which means they
were able to employ persons to write
out the answers, and so the law was
set at defiance.
In the midst of all this, and in tho
very heat of Governor Hill's re
form campaign, " the raffle of Widow
AlcGuinness pig" occurred. And vet.
Widow MeGuinness never had a
"pig:" there never was a "Widow
McGuinness" and no "raffle'' actually
occurred. This " raffle of Widow Mc
Guinness' pig " was purely a figment
of the Democratic reformer's brain,
an airy, delicate and original, and
withal a most defective, creation of
tho imagination, devised and carried
out for the express purpose of circum
venting the law which forbids political
assessments. In short, in order to ex
tort from the custom-house employes
boodle for Governor Hill's reform cam
paign, the bosses went around and
personally demanded contributions or
sold tickets to the etherial fiction
known as the raille of Widow Mc
Guinness pig. The whole thing was
perfectly well understood by the vic
tims. A number of them swear that
they invested twentv dollars in the
' raffle." They were not molested in
their places. Some testify to the sub
committee that they then refused to
buy "tickets." They were promptly
mismissed. Soma contributed smaller
amounts than were demanded. Alany
of them also were dismissed.
In many respects the " raffle " was a
success. IJooulo to the amount of $o,lMX)
was thus extorted and turned over to
aid Governor Hill. Uut the "pig"
Oh! Where was he? In spite of the
most searching cross-examination of
witnesses who invested in tickets the
whereabouts of the "pig' or even
tiny thing relating to his existence, is
still an impenetrable mystery. No
body can be found who ever saw it.
or who ever heard where it was kept,
or, least of all, who ever held the lucky
ticket for it.
Uut for all that the " raffle of Widow
Guinness pip " will go into historj- as
the very point of the shiny pinnacle of
Democratic Civil-Service reform
a point so sharp, so obvious and so
suggestive that even George William
Curtis is said to be beginning to see it.
Sioux City (la.) Journal.
DRIFT OF OPINION.
fiS5"The crown presented to Jeff
Davis the other day being of silver,
that fosil from the secession era is in a
position to be dubbed the "Silver King."'
Toledo Blade.
JttWith many people the Civil
Service reform issue has become the
Civil-Service reform tissue, and it is so
thin that anv voter can see through it.
Baltimore American.
$"The Republican party will legis
late for tax reduction in the future as
it has in the past, which the Demo
cratic party is incapable of doing, and
opposed to doing, except by its prom
ises, which never are redeemed. Chi
cago Journal.
aThe Xew York Tribune respect
fully suggests to the many Democrats
who don't like Cleveland the following
chant, as suitable for the ratification
meetings following the St. Louis con
vention :
The quail-bird has a soow-whita flesh.
Likewise the rooster game;
Tho crow-bird's flesh Isn't white at ail,
iJuttrcucaiit lust u
The ABILENE IMPROVEMENT CO. offers
S!0Q,G0Q IN BONUSES
to reliable manufactririiig concerns who will
locate in Abilene. Abilene is the largest as
well as the most prosperous city in Central
Kansas. It will soon have
THREE SEW TlUffl USES OF RAILROADS,
making FOUR lines, which will insure tm
equaled shipping facilities.
ADDEESS
il I IP B MIT
ABILENE. KANSAS.
THE A3
ILENE NATIONAL BANK
CAPITAL, - $150,000.
CLARK II. BARKER, President.
W. T. RICE, Tice-President.
E. D. HUMPHREY, Cashier.
A. K. PERRY, Assistant Cashier.
TRANSACTS A QENERAL BANKING BUSINESS.
Business of Merchants, Farmers and Individuals generally
solicited. TJuequaltd facilities for the transaction of all
business intrusted to ns.
A. FRY.
J. C. BOYER, Attorney and Notary.
FRY, BOYER CO.,
C. G. BESSEY.
REAL
mm.
LAN
AID
NIAIE
)
Loans on f.irins anil city property. Ileal Estate houglit and hold.
Insurance contracts at current rates. Notary business promptly attended
to. Special bargains in city and suburban property.
Citizens' Bank Building,
ABILENE, KANSAS.
ESI A FiXjIg-E-nF-'-p 1870.
ABILENE BANK
A.BIJLEJSTE, EZ-AjSTSA.S.
LEBOLD, FISHER & CO., Proprietors
BANKING BUSINESS
Done in all
Property at
its branches. 3I0RTGAGES negotiated on Farm
0, 7 and S per cent., with reasonable commission.
Also, money on Farms without commission.
STEAMSHIP TICKETS
At all times ; for sale at lowest rates.
Furnished on all the principal cities of the world.
BOJSTDS BOUGHT AJSTD SOLD.
Special attention given to business of Farmers and Stockmen.
Personal liability not limited, as is the case with
Incorporated Banks.
Isto Frail m lint ft
UNDERTAKERS.
We are giving special attpntiou to this department: carry the largest
and finest line or UNDERTAKERS SUPPLIES in tlie city, and are pre
pared to attend to this business in all its branches.
LOWEST PRICES
Corner Fourth, and Broadway.
ABILENE BANK.
C B. LEBOLD,
J. H. riSHEK.
Prnnrietbrs.
E. A- Hekest, Cashieh
i. K. HEBB3T,
Oar individual liability is not limited, as is the
case with stockholders of incorporated banks.
LEBOLD, FISHER k CO., Baakere,
ABLLEXE. KANSAS.
ABSTRACTS.
Xo one should purchase real estate until
they know xhs title is perfect.
W. T. DAVIDSON
has the most complete set of Abstract
in the County. H vcrs' experience.
Office oTer Poit-ofllce,
ABILENE, - KANSAS. -
l &nr
'f-
A...