Chicago daily tribune. [volume], February 15, 1880, Page 4, Image 4

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SOCIETY MEETINGS.
FAIKVIEW CHAPTER, No. 161. R. A. SL-Regular
Convocation Tbarsday evening, Feb. 19,1550. at 7:30.
Work on the Mart Degree. Visiting companions are
always welcome. H. S. TIFFANY, AL E. H.
MYRON HARRIS, Secretary.
CORINTHIAN CHAPTER, NO. 69, R. A- M.—B pedal
ConTocaiion Monday evening. Feb. 16. for work on
the M. 1L Degree. Visiting companions are always
welcome. By order of
ROBERT MALCOM, M. E. H. P.
JOHN O. DICKERSON. Secretary.
APOLLO COMMA97DERY, NO. L K. T,-Statod
Conclave Tuesday evening. Feb. 17.1830, at 8 o’clock.
Business of Importance will come before the Com*
manderv. and members are notified to be present.
Blr Knights of this Commanflerr must appear equip
ped. By order of the Eminent Commander.
H.S. TIFFANY, Recorder.
ST. BERNARD COMMANDERY, NO. SI K. T.—
Stated Conclave Wednesday evening, Feb. 18. at 7:30
o’clock. Work on the Templar Order. Visiting Sir
Knights are courteously invited. By order.
JOHN D. M. CARR, M. D„ Commander.
J. O. DICKERSON. Recorder.
THOMAS J. TURNER LODGE, NO. 409. A. F. &
A. M-—Will give a musical and literary entertainment
Thursday evening. Feb. lU. at 7:30 o’clock, at Freema
sons* Hall, 7C Mooroe-st. Invitations may be obtained
of the members of the Lodge. Address by Rev. Bro.
H. W. Thomas, D. D. .
JOHN E. PETTIBONE, W. M
W. M. STANTON, Secretary.
LADY WASHINGTON CHAPTER, NO. 23. O. E. S.
—Will elre their seventh annual ball at Parker Hall,
comer of and Tuesday even
ing. Feb, 17. P.S. HUDSON. W.P.
GOURGAS CHAPTER OF ROSE CROIX, A. & A-,
SCOTTISH BITE MASONS-Wlll bold a regular
conclave on Thursday evening next. Business, and
work on the seventeenth nnd eighteenth degrees. By
order of J. E. CHURCH, M-% W.*. A P.*, iL*.
ED GOODALB, Grand Secretary.
VAN RENSSELAER GRAND LODGE OF PERFEC
TION. A. A A_SCOTTI SH RITE MASONS—WiII hold
a regular assembly on Thursday evening next for the
transaction of business and Installation of officers. By
order of AMOS PETTIBONE, T.\ P.*. G.*. M.%
ED GOODALK, Grand Secretary.
THE MEMBERS interested in forming tbe new
Lodge are hereby notified to attend meeting this
fSandar) evening, Feb. 15, at 7 p. m, comer Blue
Ibland-ar. and Fourteenth-st-, for important business
and favorable report of the Committee.
JOUX DA PRATO.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1880.
The Austrian Ministers of Justice, Na-'
tional Defense, and Finance persist in their
determination to resign, and a new Cabinet
■will be formed at once.
It is now understood that the donation of
£500,000 by the Baroness Bufdett-Coutts to
the suffering Irish is to take the form of
purchasing lands in Connemara, which are
to be let to small tenants at long leases and
moderate rents. The scheme is in the hands
of a committee of gentlemen who will see
that the wishes of the donor are carried out
Couth: Yost BETZTEmiuitG, the new Pres
ident of the German Reichstag, was the
choice of the Ministerial Conservatives and
Clericals, the Government not supporting
him. From the fact.that the President has
lately had several friendly consultations with
Bismarck it is probable that the Chancellor
was not hostile to him.
The Marquis of Lome and the Princess
Louise had a narrow escape from being
seriously injured atOttawa last night They
were cn route to a reception to be held in the
Senate Chamber, when the sleigh in which
they rode was overturned, the horses run
ning away. Fortunately the team was soon
stopped, and the occupants of the sleigh
found to be but siightiybruised.
The Sub-Committee of the House Election
Committee yesterday announced their de
cision in the Washburn-Donnelly contested
election case, it being in favor of Donnelly.
In case this report is approved by the whole
Committee and concurred in by the House
(of which there seems to be no doubt), the
result will be the unseating of Mr. Wash
burn, who represents the Second Minnesota
District.
DisrnrcT-ATTOitXEr Leake, who is at
present in Washington, denies that his visit
to that city was for the purpose of prevent
ing the attorney of Gregg, convicted of em
bezzling funds from the Chicago Post-Office,
from securing a pardon for his client. Mr.
Leake says that Gregg’s case was settled long
ago, and settled for good; which means that,
so far as Leake is concerned, Gregg must
serve out his.term of imprisonment.
Ix ‘Washington the campaign for Mr.
Blaine has begun in earnest. A suite of
rooms was opened last night, and the banner
—or, more properly, the transparency of
“ The national Blaine Club ’’—hoisted. The
person who seems io be in charge of the af
fair is ex-Sergeant-at-Anns French, of the
Senate. In reply to a question by a Tbibdxe
correspondent last evening, Mr. French
stated that, while Mr. Blaine was aware of
the Club's existence, he had nothing to do
with its formation. The object of the
organization, as expressed by a member,
is to use every honorable means to forward
the candidacy of Mr.' Blaine, and from the
tone of the gentleman’s remarks it would
seem that other clubs of a like character are
to be formed at once in various parts of the
country.
Me. Maeshaix, the Cashier of the First
National Bank of Middletown, 0., who left
that place suddenly about ten days ago, and
was subsequently found in Milwaukee, has
returned to Ids former home. It will be re
membered that Mr. Marshall gave as the
cause of his leaving Middletown the fact
that he was being persecuted by a man
named Langdon, to whose sister the impres
sible Cashier wrote a letter while absent
from home last summer. The epistle fell
into the brother’s hands, and, as Marshall
asserts, he endeavored to use it as a means
of extorting money from its unhappy author.
After Marshall’s recent departure from Mid
dletown it was ascertained that he was
accompanied as far as Chicago by Miss
Langdon, the lady returning the next day,
and announcing that she had taken the trip
with Marshall for the purpose of talking over
their mutual sorrows. Having tired of the
gloomy solitude of Milwaukee, the itinerant
Cashier has again returned to Middletown,
and corroborates the story of Miss Langdon
regarding the conversational journey to Chi
cago. He will soon leave for the Far West,
and the friends of the young lady will proba
bly take measures to prevent her following
him.
Mr. AcKi.Ey’s chances for being expelled
from Congress are at present remarkably
bright. The Snb-Commlttee of the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs was in secret
session yesterday on the matter, and as far as
can be learned the charges made against the
member from Louisiana were fully sus
tained, and, unless something extraordinary
occurs to prevent, the Committee will doubt
less recommend the enforced retirement of
Mr. Acklen from a sphere for which he seems
to be peculiarly unfitted. ■
I.GO
.... 5.00
.... IS.OO
The terms of the treaty between the
United States and France for the settlement
of the claims of French citizens for losses
sustained by reason of the Rebellion, which
was signed in Washington last month, have
been made public. The matters at issue are
to be decided by a Commission composed of
three persons,—one appointed by the United
States, one by France, and the third by the
Emperor of Brazil. The claims considered
will be those arising fromdamages sustained
from acts committed with the cognizance of
the Federal authorities;'
..JB cents
~.4 cents
The Fortnightly Review, edited by Mr.
John Morley, aif advanced Radical Member
of Parliament, who has the confidence of
such men as Bright and Gladstone,' fore
shadows the issues pn which the Liberal
parly will contest the coming elections* The
program embraces “Land-reform (especially
in Ireland), reform in Local Government
in Great Britain and Ireland, and the restora
tion of a sober, sensible policy abroad, the
close of annexation, and the suppression of
the spirit of miUtarisiimis.” This is cer
tainly an extensive program, and when is
added to it Mr. Trevelyan’s County-Fran
chise bill, the redistribution of seats In ac
cordance with the population, the modifica
tion of Mr. Forster's Education act, and the
extension of the principle of minority repre
sentation to the municipal bodies through
out Great Britain and Ireland, it will be seen
that Mr. Gladstone’s hoped-for Ministry will,
to use a homely phrase, have their hands full.
It must be pleasant to Americans to note
that many of the proposed measures are
formulated in accordance with American
precedents. The minority-representation plan
has been applied to the election of School
Boards in England, and has worked admira
bly. The Catholics and non-Episco
palians, or “Dissenters,” as they are
called, have a representation in those
bodies proportionate to their numbers, and
as a consequence the system has worked
without any needless irritation between the
different religious denominations. 1 It is cer
tain that, were the plan applied In this coun
try to the election of School Boards, there
would be less cause of complaint than there
is now. The extension of the minority-rep
resentation plan to the Municipal Boards
will doubtless have a very salutary effect.
The County-Boards bill, proposed at the last
session, and which would supersede the
Grand Juries in their anomalous fiscal func
tions, might be materially improved by the
adoption of the cumulative-voting plan also.
THE DEMOCRACY IN TROUBLE.
A short time ago It was announced, on
what seemed very good authprity, that Mr.
Tilden had withdrawn from the Presidential
race, and there was great joy consequent
thereon in the Democratic camp. With the
man of “cipher” notoriety as candidate,
there was not the faintest hope of success;
yet the main issue on which the Democrats
propose to light the next campaign is that
Tilden was defrauded of the election in ’76.
It would not look well, then, for the Bourbon
party to defraud him of the nomination in
ISSO, and, moreover, as the “defrauded” is
willing to be the leader of the Democratic
—or rather his own—forlorn hope, the Dem
ocrats, in such a case, would have no hope
of any kind, for John Kelly is ready to don
his war-paint and to use his tomahawk and
scalping-knife with as much effect as lie did
on Samuel J.’s stool-pigeon, Lucius Robin
son, last November. The crowd of office
beggars who cannot be made to believe
otherwise than that they have been kept
out of place during the last four years
through the cowardice of Tilden are
willing to join Kelly or any other man in
knifing Tilden, and the Democrats wisely
concluded to throw the old man overboard.
Their craft was too frjrfl to cany such cargo.
We may imagine, then, the joy with which
Tilden’s supposed withdrawal was hailed.
Hot-whiskies, Scotch and Irish, particularly
the latter, sour-mashes, and old-fashioned
cocktails were drank in honor of the event.
Many went so far, perhaps, as to toast Til
den and his bride, and to wish them all kinds
of domestic happiness, for, in the surprise of
the moment, they thought the airy bachelor
of Gramercy Park had abandoned Nephew
Pelton and the cipher dispatches, Bamum
and the mules, and Abe Hewitt’s literary bu
reau, to spend the remainder of his days
with the Pennsylvania or some other lass of
his choice. Many of the strikers who had
“ great expectations ” about the barrel forgot
their grief in the general hilarity, or
drowned it in a “ drop of something hot and
strong,” or, mayhap, in the more generous,
if less exhilarating, “schooner.”
New slates were being made with great
good will. Mr. Goudy returned from Wash
ington with what he and others claimed
would be the winning ticket. New York
and Indiana being considered the comer and
key stones of Democratic hope, Horatio Sey
mour and Senator McDonald. were to be
trotted out, Hendricks went down when
Tilden ■withdrew his support Gov. Sey
mour, it was claimed, could carry New York,
if Tilden was out of the race and in good
temper, and, notwithstanding his advanced
age and feeble health, it was thought that he
could be induced to accept a nomination, all
previous statements to the contrary being
considered mere coyness and modesty. The
organs of the party Were to proclaim, from
the day of nomination to the day of election,
that Mr. Seymour had regained his health;
and youthful vigor, and the Democratic
doctors were ready to swear to the fact.
The Goudy slate obtained much favor with
the party leaders. Bayard’s anti-silver and
greenback-demonetizing financial record,
haughty manner, reactionary views, and aris
tocratic bearing and tendency were exceed
ingly distasteful to the Western Democracy;
his picayune State cuts no figure in the Presi
dential vote, and could be relied on by the
party, whosoever the nominee. Denis Kear
ney’s championship of Thurman would have
effectually disposed of that gentleman did
the Ohio electors not accomplish that so sat
isfactorily at the October election. The sup
port of the Chicago Times was a load which,
with his own avoirdupois. Senator Davis
would be unable to carry.
Horatio Seymour and McDonald, then,
were to be the standard-bearers. The mot?
toes on the Democratic banners were to be
“ Seymour and Reform,” instead of “Tilden
and Reform.” Now comes the uncle of
Nephew Felton and denies all statements
of his withdrawal,—in fact, that he ever
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE; SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15,. 1880—SIXTEEN PAGES.
thought of such a thing; ahd,*what with the
potent influence of the barrel in a Democratic
Convention, composed, as it will be, of dele
gates as hungry as wolves during a snow
storm, the story of his “monumental”
wrongs, the record of his former services to
the partj', and his grievances against such
traitors as Kelly, he will doubtless make it
interesting for Seymour in the Convention,
and after, should Seymour obtain the nomi
nation. '
Mr. Tilden may claim the sacred and time
honored Democratic privilege of bolting, or
the dearer Democratic privilege of “putting
up a job to use a Bourbon expression—on
his successful rival. He may with truth
say that he owes little to the Democracy.
The barrel carried him through the last Con
vention and the last election, and if he had a
less maladroit nephew, or a more stalwart
manager, he might now be dispensing the
patronage of the post-offices, custom-houses,
and such with as lavish a hand as did our
own Carter bestowstreet-foremanships, side
walk-inspectorships, and bridge-tenderships
to the faithful and the unwashed.
With the knowledge of this feeling and in
tention on the part of Tilden, the Democrats
have relapsed into their former state of
gloomy foreboding, unfulfilled expectancy,
and sulphurous expression. There was some
hope that with Seymour they could make a
decent show of fight, if Tilden remained
neutral. John Kelly, whose presence in
Democif tic councils seems to have the same
effect on Mr. Tilden as the traditional red
rag on the male bovine, was to be kept in the
background, the people were to be assured of
numberless reforms and strict economy, and
five-sixths of the party were to be promised
office under a Democratic regime. Tilden,
however, has neither withdrawn nor mar
ried, and the Democracy are inconsolable and
perplexed; their hppes have faded like “ Dead
Sea fruits that tempt the eye but turn to
ashes on the lips,” and the post-office chairs
and custom-house desks and the 'Washing
ton stools have faded from Democratic eyes
like the “ baseless fabric of a vision”; and
all because of the old man-of-the-sea-Uke grip
which sly Sammy holds on the Bourbons,
or because' of the perversity of the many
maids and widows who have given the ambi
tious and amorous bachelor the mitten.
DEARSORN-STREET BRIDGE.
The City Council milst not permit a few
interested persons to delude them into a
policy of bridging the river which may
eventually lead to costly and serious conse
quences. It is proposed to build a bridge at
Dearborn street, and some persons owning
property in the vicinity have taken active
steps to promote that end. The owners of
property on a street near the river have
no more rights in the matter, except to be
paid for damages, than have the rest of the
population, and hence the City Council must,
in deciding upon so important a matter, be
governed by considerations of the general
interest of the city, and especially with ref
erence to the navigation of the river.
The policy of the city, established from the
beginning, has been to have a bridge not
oftener than at alternate streets. It has nol
been until within a comparatively short time
that even this number of bridges has been
constructed. Originally the bridges were
floating ones, and were swung to one side,
thu£ affording the least obstruction to the
free use of the river by vessels. • The adop
tion of the present system furnished a more
serious obstruction to vessels. It is no un
usual thing for vessels to be compelled to
stop in their course and wait between the
bridges; at times there are as many as
six or eight vessels arrested in their
course, and waiting for the bridges to
open, between State and Clark streets.
The absence of a bridge at Dearborn
street renders this possible; but, if there
were a bridge at that point, there would bo
no room for the vessels to wait, and it would
be necessary to keep Clark, Dearborn, and
State street bridges wide open to enable the
vessels to pass east or west to avoid collision
with each other or with one or more of the
bridges. To build a bridge at Dearborn
street, therefore, is to take from vessels in
tow all opportunity of waiting between Clark
and State streets; and, when a vessel pass
ing upjhe river crosses the line of State
street, we bridges at Dearborn and Clark
streets will have to be opened of necessity at
the same time, no matter how jurgent the
travel over the bridges.may be. 'instead of
facilitating travel over the bridges and re
ducing the crowds of vehicles and foot-pas
sengers detained each time the bridges are
opened, the construction of a bridge at
Dearborn street will necessitate the im
mediate opening of the three bridges,—
as Clark, Dearborn, and State streets,—be
cause of the want of room between such
bridges for a vessel to lay to, and the neces
sity for such vessel to escape the close quar
ters occupied by three swinging bridges. In
point of fact, the erection of a bridge at
Dearborn street will not increase facilities
for crossing the river, but will add to the ex
isting obstructions.
Independent of all these considerations,
the Council should bear in mind the impor
tance of the river to the trade and commerce
of Chicago. The river is an essential high
way,—of far greater importance than any
half-dozen of the streets of the city. The
vessel-owners and the population whose trade
is carried on by means of the river have
the greatest possible interest in the safe
transit of the river by their steamers
and sail-vessels. Economy in ship-build
ing now demands the longest possible
vessels. Two of the larger class of steamers
will now, one following the other, occupy all
the space between Clark and State streets
that can be used with safety. To thfhst
another bridge into that space will be an out
rage upon the whole navigation interest. It
is questionable whether such a bridge at that
point may not be adjudged by the Courts to
be such an obstruction to the navigation of
the river as to demand its removal. The City
Council cannot afford to thus trifle with one
of the largest interests of the city,—one on
which the trade of Chicago is so dependent;
and we trust it will hesitate long before it de
parts from the policy of having bridges at
alternate streets.
THE WATER-TAX.
The ordinance introduced into the Com
mon Council at the instance of Commissioner
Waller, making a change in the manner of
collecting the water-tax, should receive
prompt attention and active support in the
interests of both the people and'the City
Government The water-tax is payable semi
annually; the Ist of May and the Ist of No
vember. The past practice of the city has
brtn to nominally assess a penalty for non
payment during these months, and to hold in
terrorem over the heads of those in default
the threat of shutting off the water. In real
ity, the city has supported a large number of
people for the purpose of drumming up the
payment of water-rates in arrears. The tax
payers, as a rule, postpone payment till the
last days of the month in which the tax is
due; large numbers wait until they are
dunned In person, in the expectation that
they will be able to coax or bully the Col
lector into an abatement of the penalty; and
the incorrigibles, who ’never pay any
thing’they can avoid, delay until their
water-supply is actually cut off. The
practical operation of this system has been
to delay and embarrass the collection of the
water-tax, and to impose upon the people an J
extra burden for enforcing it which materi
ally reduces the water-revenue.
Mr. Waller now proposes to substitute for
the present unsatisfactory plan the method
which the gas companies adopted long since
and have pursued with success. It is pro
posed to offer a premium for prompt payment
instead of announcing a penalty for delay.
This is correct in principle, for there is more
attraction in present gain than in the avoid
ance of some possible loss in the future. All
people are stimulated by the promise of an
actual saving, while the threat of loss has a
terror for only the most prudent and frugal.
Mr. Waller proposes that those who pay their
vsater-tax promptly In May and November
shall receive a rebate of 10 per cent; that
payment in the following month of June or
December shall entitle the payer to a re
bate of only 5 per cent, or half as much;
and that delay beyond this period shall
involve not merely a forfeiture of
all rebate, but the danger of having the
water-supply shut off summarily from those
in default The water-rates are to remain
the same as they are now, so that those who
pay promptly will make a saving upon the
present tax; at the same time. It is estimated
that there will be no loss of revenue, because
there will be a saving to the city of the pres
ent cost in dunning the delinquents. In ad
dition to thus equalizing the cost of collec
tion with the proposed reduction by rebate,
the City Government will be the gainer by
the prompt receipt of its revenue, and the
taxpaying community as a whole will bene
fit by an actual saving of from 5 to 10 per
cent upon the present aggregate of water
assessments. While the principle is obvi
ously correct, the new system has the addi
tional recommendation of hiving been tested
in practice by the gas companies, who have
found that they can much better afford a re
bate upon their charges with prompt collec- -
tion of their bills than the exaction of the full
rates at the virtual pleasure of the consumer.
Commissioner Waller’s ordinance should be
adopted so that it may go into operation next
May.
SOCIAL DISSIPATION-.
The return of good times has been con
spicuously signalized in Chicago by the num
ber and lavishness of the social entertain
ments that have been given during the
winter. There has been a very epidemic of
parties and receptions up to Wednesday last
The society weeklies' and the social columns
of the Sunday newspapers have been
crowded, with supreme indifference to the
Increased cost of print-paper. If there be a
Samuel Pepys among us, writing a diary for
the delectation of future ages, the old gentle
man has been kept going night and day, and
his only regret for the present season is that
there has been so much sameness In the
material which has been furnished him.
Everybody seems to have adopted “ multum
inparvo” for a coat of arms, and all have
vied with each other in crowding the largest
number of people into the smallest amount
of space as the crowning triumph of social
success. Ordinary club-houses have been
turned into caravanseries, and private dwell
ings have developed a capacity for the tem
porary accommodation of fashionable hu
manity that outruns the possibility of tene
ments for the poor. The particular ambition
of the social leaders this year appears to have
soared in the direction of crowds.
There is something very irrational about
the large parties, which have been the most
usual kind of social entertainments. People
are packed into hot rooms under blazing gas,
where circulation of air (much less of hu
manity) is scarcely possible. The masculine
portion of the assemblage is almost wholly
occupied in the effort to avoid the Prlncesse
trains the ladles wear. 1 ; The feminine mindls
equally absorbed in saving the feminine finery
from destruction. This division of time and
attention is not favorable either to brilliancy
of conversation or dignity of repose. A well
studied bon mot has all the life knocked out
of it by a bodily collision, and a statuesque
position is rendered ridiculous by the tele
scoping of some train In motion. The mys
terious element of fate Is constantly at work
to bring the most uncongenial people to
gether, and the host and hostess are so much
occupied at the parlor-door in receiving and
dismissing their flitting guests that
they can do nothing to reduce the
reigning chaos to anything like order.
The whirr and buzz of small-talk
drowns the music, though there Is some corn-
pensation in the thought that the music is
generally meagre and bad. As if society
were made up of the wicked, there is no rest
for the jostling mass of humanity thus col
lected together. Hobody can sit down,
though everybody wants to. Lancing is out
of the question, except possibly in the “ wee
small hours,” when the old folks have gone
home, done up from very fatigue. The sup
per is a “ damnable Iteration ” of escaloped
oysters, indigestible salad, watery ices, and
weak coffees. Finally, when ail is over, the
hosts and the guest sigh with relief at a duty
that has been discharged- It must have been
in recollection of some such social revel as
one of the large parties of to-day that Byron
wrote:
Society is now one polished horde.
Formed of two mighty tribes,—the Bores and
Bored.
Fashion has had quite as much to do witiA
the interminable succession of parties which
has only ended with Lent as has the new
sense of prosperity. Otherwise people migh t
have found more rational and more
enjoyable methods for spending their
money. But ' the ladies who have
assisted at the social triumphs of
their friends and neighbors have been
tempted not only to follow in the wake, but
to make a similar commotion. There is a
sense of obligation that finds easiest relief in
having cards engraved and ordering the com
plete outfit for a “ reception.” It throws the
burden of unreturned calls upon the invited
guests, and it wipes out all the social indebt
edness that has been accumulating for ever
so long. A dinner-party requires science,
taste, care, and esprit; a miscellaneous recep
tion demands only lavishness. Hence, the
ladies incline to large parties. This is not
intended as a reflection upon the average
feminine capacity to entertain, but merely a
recognition of the force of fashion and the
ready tact with which the ladies choose* the
easiest way for paying their debts.. But the
male portion of society ought to be dropped
out of the account, and hence the afternoon
receptions for ladies only should be encour
aged in future seasons as the least objection
able of the large society gatherings. These
afternoon parties may be made to yield just
as much revenue to the card-engravers, the
caterers, the florists, the dressmakers,
and thu livery-men; they afford the
same opportunity for discharging social
and displaying new toilets; they
are more favorable for gossip than parties
where horrid men embarrass the lively ex
change of small-talk; and we venture the as
sertion that the social entertainments which
have been enjoyed the most this past season
by the masculine portion of-society are those
where invitations were sent simply to the
wives or daughters.
The end of the society season was on
Wednesday. Lent Imposed a rest on society.
Many people very rich in money and very
poor in health (and the two conditions fre-
quently go together) are making their prep
arations to escape the trials of a Chicago
spring, nearly everybody has given a party
who could afford to do so or had not the
moral courage to keep out of the strong social
current. And yet there is a large stock of
regrets on hand. Some people have reason
to regret the money they have expended
either in giving parties or going to parties.
Others have reason to regret that they have
not been able to collect the bills incurred
for party expenses. A great many re
gret that they caught colds while
waiting in thin garments for carriages
that were more expensive and less
accommodating than the streetcars. A few
will regret, on reflection, the cozy evenings
they might have spent at their own firesides,
or the more liberal enjoyment of reading,
music, and the theatre, which less devotion to
society would have given them. A very, very
few will regret money that has been squan
dered because it might have been employed
more usefully or more charitably. And
thinking people generally will regret the
time that could have been more rationally
and satisfactorily used. These and manifold
other regrets will not be in vain if they shall
last over till next season and remind the
people who have the necessary means for
society pleasures that there are other and
more congenial methods for entertaining
and being entertained than that of crowding
several hundred people into one house, and
imposing upon them the monotonous con
comitants of a large party.
THE LAKE-FRONT GROUNDS.
The City Council, at the meeting on Mon
day last, while laboring under a special ex
citement, passed an order authorizing the
erection of one or more armories on the
Lake-Front, north of the Exposition Build
ing. This action was hasty and inconsider
ate. The officers and friends of the Second
Regimentwand of some of the other military
organizatimis of the city, demanded this ordi
nance. The most that the Council could
grant, and all that it did grant, was the “ tem
porary ” occupation of the land, with the stip
ulation that it should be vacated upon de
mand.
The military must depend upon voluntary
contributions by citizens for the means to
erect these armories. No armories ought to
be built but such as maybe worthy the city
and worthy the organizations. To expend
from 320,000 to 540,000 for proper and
suitable buildings for temporary occupa
tion would be a wanton waste of money,
even supposing it could be .raised for such
purposes. It will be far easier to raise 5500
in the shape of subscriptions to build a
handsome,' complete armory building for
the permanent occupancy of the regi
ment than it will be to raise 55 to erect a
building that may have to be tom down in a
short time. To give this ordinance of the
Council the authority of law would have the
effect of postponing a permanent armory
building for the Second Regiment indefinltly.
It would be an injury to the regiment in ail
its hopes to raise the money to Btiild the
armory. The public do not want that prop
erty occupied, or Its transfer obstructed in
any way, and the very class of citizens who
will give the most money to aid the regiment
in building a suitable armory on a suitable
site will refuse a dollar to put the building
on that ground.
The First Regiment has an armory which
is a credit to the city and to the regiment.
Certainly the Second Regiment ( can find a
suitable lot in some other part of the city,
which can be purchased, or leased with the
privilege of purchase, on which to erect an
armory even more convenient and creditable
in all respects than that of the First Regi
ment Let the officers and friends of the
regiment select the ground, estimate the cost
of the building, and present their appeal to
the public, and it will not be unheeded.
Most people prefer to help those who help
themselves. Let the Second Regiment find
some proper site in the West Division; let
the other organizations select sites in the
southern and northern parts of the city. In
all these localities they can find convenient
and proper sites, and when they have done
so and exhibit adisposition to help themselves,
there will be no lack of others willing to help
them.
The City Council must remember that time
and the fire have wrought such changes
with the whole Michigan avenue district as
to remove every reasonable objection to the
occupation of the Lake-Front for a union
depot, that will be an ornament to the city and
improve that whole neighborhood, which has
become an eyesore and a reproach to Chica
go. The railroads desire the property, and
are only prevented taking action & obtain
it because of inability to agree as to which
company shall be the proprietor of it,
with the power of excluding other companies.
In the meantime,ithe property remains idle
and unproductive, and, in its present state,
destroys the value of all surrounding prop
erty. It is the duty of the Council to dis
pose of that property to the extent of its
ownership, and If any one railroad
company seeks to play the dog in
the manger, and exclude other companies,
then it is for the Council to negotiate with
whatever company or companies will pay
the highest price, giving to the purchaser
whatever means of access to the land it may
need. In the meantime, the Council should
tolerate no improvements or occupation that
will interfere with an immediate sale or
transfer of the property to a cash purchaser.
The Mayor, who is a friend of all the mili
tary organizations, and who doubtless will be
glad to cooperate in any measure to promote
their Interests, will undoubtedly see that to
approve this ordinance would be wrong in
itself, would be an embarrassment to the city,
and in theend would postpone, if not actually
defeat, any permanent provision for an
armory for the Second Regiment or other
military organization. Ho money would be
given to erect an armory on that site, and the
barren permission to build, without the
means to build, would be a mere mockery.
THE WOES OF PUBLIC BOKOES.
The London Spectator devotes one of Its
characteristic papers to donors’ difficulties.
As the subject is universal in Its bearings,
and donors and their ■ difficulties exist every
where, it will have an interest here as well
as.iu England. It is a kind of day-dream
nearly all men have who have not much
money, that if they were rich they would be
very liberal, not only taking care of all their
poor relatives, but banishing distress wher
ever they found it, and making scores or
hundreds of human beings happy with their
largess. To all this the cynic of the Spectator
replies: “You will never give away much at
a time, nor will you give very often. What
ever your wealth, you will never seem rich to
yourself; nor will your, expenses and the
‘claims’ on yon ever cease to mount, until
you find that your true surplus, the money
which you can spend either on yourself or
your neighbors without reason assigned, the
surplus cash, is proportionately no larger
than before. You will not give away your
principal, lest you should want it; nor your
income, because you do want It; and your
odds and ends of money are always too con
venient to be parted with.”
The most discouraging feature of philan
thropy to one inclined in that direction is
the personal discomfort in which he is
placed by it. As soon as it is known that he
has made a gift, or is liberally inclined, he Is
*nmediately besieged by the multitude. The
charities lay their claims before him. Impe
cunious people of every possible description
follow him. His mail is burdened with pro
fessional begging-letters trying to convince
him that the writers have special claims upon
him. Crowds of remote relatives turn up In
every direction pressing the demands of kln
' ship, the most of whom he never heard of
before and never wants to hear of again.
Blackmailers and adventuresses try their arts
upon him. He is coaxed, tormented, and
threatened. On the street, at his home, in
his office, at every turn, he is harassed by
these importunate and often impudent
beggars. If he gives, he is not
thanked; if he refuses, he is abused.
Gratitude does not figure in the matter at ail.
The claimants assert their claims as a per
sonal right. Having never provided for
themselves, they have come to believe that
they have the right to be provided for. To
all intents and purposes they are communistic
mendicants, demanding that the liberal rich
have no personal right to their .money, but
must give it up whenever it is asked for by
the lame and the lazy. The donor not only
gets no gratitude, but he gets no reputation
except the very undesirable reputation aris
ing from having his liberality advertised far
and wide, which only serves to swell the
ranks of the hungry crowd. The more he
gives the more this crowd demand and the
less gratitude it displays. It is not long be
fore he becomes the victim of every beggar in
the community, and has to endure not only
his appeals for help but his insolence. There
is no persecution more irritating, no victim
more helpless. Unfortunately, it is not a
criminal offense to besiege a philanthropic
man, and it would be Impolitic to throw gar
rulous and impudent mendicants out of
doors, because they might sue . him for as
sault. He has.to endure it as well as he can,
and they give him little rest in business
hours or out of them. Their ingenious per
sistence is superior to all his devices for es
caping them. H he escapes them at the of
fice, be finds them at the house. If he
dodges them at the front door, they turn up
at the back door, and sometimes they even
succeed in getting into the drawing-room
and library. Undoubtedly among all these
applicants there are some people whose
claims are meritorious, and who need and de
serve the commiseration and help of the
philanthropist. But ho wishe to distinguish
them in the motley throng, the great majority
of whom are professional gift-seekers? If
he were allowed any free will in the
matter he would undoubtedly be glad to dis
play his generosity, but every demand made
upon him is of a compulsory nature, until at
last he hates the sight of a beggar, and comes
to wish that he had never given a cent to any
one. *
There is only one avenue of escape from
this constant and insolent importunity, and
that is, for the donor to cease, giving publicly
and let himself be advertised as a curmud
geon, or a skinflint, or a miser, and secure
the widest possible circulation for the adver
tisement. This will relieve him from the in
decent importunities of the mob, and give
him the opportunity to relieve distress pri
vately and in a manner that cannot be known
to the general public. However undesirable
such a reputation may appear to him, it will
save him from the torment of his persecutors
and remove a grievous burden from his life.
And he may have the consolation of knowing
that public almsgiving breeds pauperism,
encourages laziness, and deprives the worthy
poor of help which they might otherwise
have. However able a man may be in other
directions, it requires unusual ability to be
stow public benefactions without making his
life intolerable. It is a thankless task at
best, and, even when most judiciously done,
entails no gratitude and does no good to
society.
THE .STREET-CAR.
The street-car Is a great leveier. It accom
modates all ranks and colors,—the Prime Minis
ter and the rag-picker, the wife of the million
aire and the kitchen-girl of the soapmaker, the
negro clergyman and the “nigger” barber, the
Chinaman with a pig-tail and the Chinaman who
has sacrificed his pig- tall tothespiritof progress
in the Western world. The street-car supplies
all sorts of odors, from the violet of the woman
In silks, diamonds, and laces to the nauseating
stench of the tobncoo-chewer’s breath, and the
pungent, sickening smell which emanates from
the entire person of the garlic and onion eating
denizen of the alley. It Is a bitter cold day. A
lady of the avenue, fresh from a perfumed bath
and a breakfast of delicate trifles seasoned with
delicious colfes, steps daintily Into the down-town
car. She is followed by a colored washerwoman
with a basket of clothes, from an alley. TJie
beautiful woman occupies gracefully the two
only remaining vacant seats. The washerwoman,
stands humbly, with her basket at her feet. Tfie
conductor says: “Tour fare, madam,” to the
lady, and adds: “Please make room for the
lady,” pointing to the negress. There Is ho help
for It. “Madam ” gathers up her skirts, moves
nearer to the hod-carrier on the other side, and
the woman of color Is seated. The car
Is half full. A dozen persons rush in
tumultuously, occupying, in haste, all the
vacant room. There is a man, with a baiter in
his hand, reeking with the fumes of the stable,
and a lovely girl, with violet-blue eyes and
blonde hair, fresh from a shopping excursion;
an exquislt dandy. Just out of the club, draped
in the extreme of fashion; and a drunken sailor.
In nasty corduroys, emitting an odor of bad
whisky, and rolling about like a ship in a heavy
sea; a banker, stately and dignifled, thinking of
discounts, and a peanut-vender, thinirtng D f
nickels; a nymph of the pavement, painted,
bedizened, and flounced, and a Sister ol Charity,
as pale as the twilight, in black gown, cross and
chain, and white handkerchief; a merchant,
portly, erect, with an air of assured prosperity,
and a day-laborer, with a battered lunch-pail in
his hand, clothed in rags, stooping and hiding
his sheepish eyes under his greasy cap. As this
motley procession flies in each member of it en
counters and stumbles over a boor, who occupies
the corner sent near the door, and extends his
crossed legs Into the middle of the passage. The
banker, not to be outdone in boorishness, crosses
his legs, and the peanut-vender opposit assorts
his independence by turning half round to look
out of the window, and so pokes his dirty knees
against the delicately-clad shins of the dandy.
The drunken sailor goes to sleep, snorting like
a steam-engine, and his head falls heavily upon
the shoulder of the lovely girl with violet-blue
eyes, who, as she shrinks from the disgusting
contact, tumbles into the arms of the odorous
stable-man. Thus the car moves along with im
atmosphere of its own thicker and more poison
ous than that of the City of Cologne.
The etiquet of the street-car is worthy of a
place in the list of fine arts. A morning down
town oar presents the appearance of a newspa
per folding-machine. The gentlemen passen
gers hold their Journals at convenient angles of
vision, showing a wide range of eyesight. As
the car gradually fills the Journals are raised
and brought nearer to the faces of the read
ers, until, when the • last vacant®seat Is
occupied, they completely hide the passen
gers, like a succession of window-shades
drawn close. Then an extraordinary quail ty of
human vision is developed. If the last comer,
for whom there is no scat, is a cook, a’ washer
woman, or an ugly sewing-girl, the shades re
main close drawn, and the intense application of
the Journalistic readers is something won3erf ul
to behold. Accidents, crimes, politics, religion,
suicides, divorces, the markets, —everything is
devoured with the relish of an epicure. No man
raises his eyes or lowers his paper. But at the
next crossing a pretty woman, dressed to the
top of the mode, trips lightly Into the car, and
displays a well-rounded arm as she extends her
hand to seize a strap. Instantly all the eyes are
raised and all the papers lowered. The gouty
old fellow who appeared to be devoted to the
markets is the first to totter to his feet. He
stumbles over his neighbor In endeavoring to at
tract the attention of the coquetish-look
ing beauty. His eyeglass falls into the
hay on the floor, and the old gentleman
falls back into his seat, loses bis hat,
and displays a shining bald head, while the
young merchant, the old doctor, and the middle
aged lawyer struggle for the honor of surren
dering a seat in exchange for a smile from the ,
young lady. How did all these excellent fathers
of a family happen to observe the entrance of
the beautiful young woman ? There are women 1
who will dispute the fact Just stated, and they ,
will relate experiences in flat contradiction of i
it. But careful observation of them^T
close defects in their listof personal
or faults of toilet It would be rash M* 005 '
that no beautiful woman was ever forces J***
pend upon a strap in a street-car bct»J? ' ie '
rows of gentlemen devoted to
the rule Is nevertheless as stated. v pers *
There is a class of str*pt-car passengers of tv.
male sex who refuse to give up their .L?* 4 *
the ground of high moral principle.
sect with much warmth that the **■
oound to provide every passenger with*!? 117 41
To rise, with them, is to pander to tho wlfl.^
terest ofthe company, and so prolong the
tlnuance of a public abuse. By holdW
to their seats while women stand,
in a strong light the odious characterofts™* 04
rage of which the company is guilty „
sit in the presence of a venerable old ladv
woman on the verge of fainting fromeTh? r *
tlon while forced to stand, tSe heinZ
of the company’s grasping and niggardlrZ*
duct is made the more apparent. This i? 1 *
of passengers remain In their seats whfl.T!
’ tired seamstress stands, in obedience to a
sense of public duty, and suffer all the tun***,
suppressed sympathy while they sit. iZI ISc
forward to the time when a seat will be
for every passenger, and meantime are hcZj
tag gray or bald. The man with an Englfahh»„
terrier “pup" la an interesting
of street-car travel. Ho Invariably thrusts tv
“pup” under the seat, and the length of |!I
cord by which he is held generally gi Tes vJ*
range of about six feet. It then becomesarti
question whose legs the animal will • bite Spe
and whether he will merely nibble or setwl
teeth firmly in tile quivering flesh. The diw!
I fancier invariably Insists that his brute is
fectly harmless, but the expression of his
in giving the assurance Is so comically blood!
thirsty as to leave the impression that he i>
secretly.mating signs to the pup to make* nJ!
off the calf of some passenger’s log.
The street-car Is an admirable field for clur. 1 /
acter-study. Every Variety of human passlonS
there represented. There is the man who hu
spent his last nickel for a fare, and whose face
shows that he is destined to steal or beg his ail
ner or starve; the man who has lust quarreled
with his wife, and whose wrinkled countenance
still retains the snarl of ill-humor ana
passion of the cross husband; the man
whose note is certain to go to protest before 3
o'clock, and who shudders at the prospect of
bankruptcy, ruin, and pogprty; the landlord
whose hard face promises no mercy to default
tag tenants, and who will turn the widows aid
orphans into the street to swell his bank-ac
count; the man who studies the stock-market
reports with an agony of intensity in the raht
hope of an indication of the change which will
save him from being “sold out”; the woman
brilliant with ribbons and flowers who win make
the round of the shops and submit to the coarse
stare of admiration on the street-corner without
blushing; the girl in a faded shawl on her way
to the shop to earn a pittance for the support of
a wretched family in a comfortless hovet Every
shade of misery and every grade of happiness
find a place in tho street-car. The old, the
young, the rich, the poor, the good, the bad, and
the indifferent take a ride together for a n<-v.|
ASTRONOMICAL
Chicago (Tribune office), north latitude a
deg. 52m. 575.; west longitude, 43m. 18bl fna
■Washington, and sh. 50m. 30s. from Greenwich.
The subjoined table shows the time of setting
of the moon’s lower limb, and the official thus
for lighting the first street-lamp In each dicait
In this city, during the coming week, unless mi
dered sooner on account of bad weather. JUsa
the following times for extinguishing the Hist
lamp: *
Day. Moon sets. Light ExtbmOi,
Feb. 15 .11:2911 p. m. 5:40 p.m. 5:25a.m.
Monday 5:40 p.m. 629 a.m.
Tuesday..:.. O;3lJt a.m. U:3op.m. 529a.m.
Wednesday-1:3014 a. m. 0215 a. m. 520 a.m.
Thursday.. . 2:20 a.m. 1:13 a.m. 5:20a.m.
Friday 3:17 a. m. 2:00 a.m. 520a.m.
Saturday 4:01 a-tn. 2:40 a.m. 5:20 a.m.
Feb. 22 4:3914 a.m. 3:15 a.m. 520a.m.
The moon will be In her first quarter at 9:55
Tuesday evening, and at her greatest distance
from the earth at 11 o’clock Wednesday morn
ing. Her equatorial horizontal parallax will
then be only 54J£ minutes of arc.“ Tuesday even
ing she will be between Mars and the Pleiades.
The sun’s upper limb rises Monday at 6h. 55m.
a. m. Souths at I4m 19.65. p. m. Seta at 55.
84!im. p. m.
The sun’s upper limb rises Friday at 65. 4914 m.
a. m. Souths at 13m. 38.95. p. m.; setssb.B9Koi.'
p.m. . '
Sidereal time, Thursday noon, 21h. SBm. 13585.
Mercury was In superior conjunction with the
sun yesterday. He Is now a little east of the
sun; and the distance will Increase till March
10, when he will be at his greatest elongation. *
Venus is a morning star, southing on Thurs
day at Oh. 49m. a. m.; and rising at 3b. 6m. am.
About eight-tenths of her disc Is illuminated.
She la now nearing the sun, and will be in an
penor conjunction July 13. She Is now near the.
stars In the northeast part of Sagittarius.
Mars is an evening star, about 6 hours from
the sun. Thursday evening he will south at ffl.
3m.; and will set at Ih. 33m. the following morn
ing. He Is now a little southeast from the
Pleiades, and a moderately brilliant object;
though (Thursday) 114,009,000 miles from the
earth. About nine-tenths of his illuminated
disc Is turned towards us.
Jupiter is an evening star, but rapidly nearing
the sun. Thursday he will south at lh.S7m.p.
m., and set at 7h. 12m. p. m. The big pink spot,
which was-first seen on his disc several months
ago, is still visible, and apparently about as
largo as ever. Measures made' by the writer
lost October showed that its length was then
about 32,000 miles.
Saturn Is an evening- star. Thursday ha will
south at 2b. 51m. p. m.; and s£t at 9b to.
d. m. He is situated about 16 deg. southeast
from AJgcnib, the star in the southeast comer
of the square of Pegasus: the Manet being
nearly on the produced diagonal or the square*
His ring system is opening out, as seen from the
earth: its length is but a little more than fire
times its apparent breadth.
Uranus is rapidly ocarina his opposition to the
sun; southing at Oh. 33m. past midnight of
Thursday; at which time he will be 3 degrees 34
minutes east, and 18 minutes south, fromßho
Leonis; or 3 degrees 38 minutes southeast by
east from that star, which is a little more than 5
degrees nearly in the same direction from Cor
Leonis. He may be easily recognized with the
naked eye on a clear evening (late) by means ol
this pointer, remembering that the breadth of
the full moon is a little more than half a degree
Neptune will south Thursday at 4b. 34m. p. m.
Right ascension 2h. 30m. 535., and north dedl?
nation 13 deg. no m Inu tcs. He Is between the head
of Cetus and the head of Aries, but can only be
recognized by the aid of a good telescope. 1 •
Sirius will south at Bh. 44m. Thursday even
ing, and the belt of Orion will south Tb 31m. P*
The distance through which the earth's at
tractive force would puli a mass in a vacuum at
her surface In the first solar second of fall I*
16.015 feet, plus 0.05236 times the square of the
sine of the latitude. That la equal to 18.1 feet
at the equator, after making allowance
for the effect of centrifugal force.-due
to the diurnal rotation. For planetaiT
distances this is reduced to 16.073 feet, divided
by the square of the distance in equatorial
radii; as the excess of attractive force doe to
the earth’s spheroidal form then disappears.
The double of these quantities measures the
action of gravity under the different conditions
named. a
The split in the Democratic party of
Georgia grows wider doily. The attitude of Sea*
ator Hill and Representatives Stephens and Fel
ton In supporting tho’conflnnation of Slnunons
os Census Supervisor against the wishes of sen
ator Gordon and the rest of the Congressional
delegation joins a square issue between the to*
dependents and regular Democrats. The Sa
vannah News says bitterly, in commenting
this division:
The voters of Georgia have no further excuw
for being deceived by the specious inde
pendent” or ** Jeffersonian Democrats, wnic
the opponents of the Democratic P& r, £*® in
state so well like to assume to themselves ii
the purpose of deccivingand hoodwinking” t
people. It now stands out, openly reveaiea,
Georgia and the country that the Independen
are the warm friends and allies of that class
men in the State who denounce the better c««>»
of their fellow-citizens as “ corrupt section
traitors/* while the Democracy have no
mise to make with Radicalism, and are unwilling <
that men without any other qualification «»“
hatred of the South shall be elevated to respo£
siblo official positions. In this struggle toto*
cure the confirmation of the bigoted slantterejj ,
Simmons, the issue between so-called ma
pendentism ” and the true Democracy Is cleany
made. Can any true Georgian longer he*
celved, or hesitate on which side to array nun
self In the future ?
Senator Hill's side of the case Is stated by him?
self thus;
Stephens and I both think that Simmons Ok*
a very foolish thing in writing that letter, on**.
my heavens! we can’t proscribe a in in ’•u