River Falls journal. [volume], December 30, 1880, Image 2

About River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019

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glim spills journal.
MORSE <t MOODY, ” oprietors.
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY.
AXXOTATIONX
A New Yorl ie.> eler exhibits a-ilver
tea-set once the property of the Em
peror Maximilian '»f Mexico.
Warlike: Russia is sending troops
to the assistance of the Persians, as
against the Kurds, u.d England is send
ing troops to Ireland.
Governor Foster has wthdrawn
from the Ohio senatorial contest. This
is believed to foreshadow the certainty
of Secretary Sherman’s election as the
successor of Senator Thurman.
The west of Ireland is now virtually
un er the complete rule of the land
leaguers, and the landlords and their
partisans are vociferous in their de
mand for government protection from
prevalent “terrorism.”
President Hayes has requested Gen.
Crook and General Miles, of the army
William Stickney, of Washington, and
Walter Allen, of Newton. Mas.-., to
proceed to Indian territory and investi
gate the Ponca question.
lx the case of Abe Rothschild, the
Cincinnatian, on trial at Jefferson,
’l ex., for the murder of Bessie Moore,
a motion has been made'o quasi, ti e
ndictment for charging two offense*.
Loi:i> Jr th e James writes that the
rent of th.- Irish holdings Should be
fixed at 20 to 25 per cent. »ver Grif
fith’s valuation, and that any lai. Hord
dissatisfied with this should be entitled
to call upon the government to pur
chase his land at a fair price.
Dr. Glenn has finished harvesting
<>n his great farm in Colusa county. Cal.,
and finds a total yield of 400,000 sacks.
With the exception of 60,0(t0 sacks re
served for seed, the total crop has been
shipped. The doctor is also one of the
most prominent stock-raisers in the
-fate, having upward of 40,000 head.
la>K!» lit fT.iitx has been writing an
exhaustive pamphlet on the Irish land
question, to aid the cabinet in its de
liberations. He had already written
one in IN6O. in which he opposed the
creation of a peasant proprietary, in
opposition to the view of Stuart Mill,
but he lias a'tcred his views since then.
Reaming in the society- letters from
Washington on the beautiful Miss
This, and the handsome Miss That,
suggests the query whether ugly girls
ever appear in society? Charles Lamb
once turned fr< n the tombstones in a
.•emeteiy where hi- was wandering
when a child, and asked. -Mamma,
where are the bad people buried?’
Si.mox and Joseph Kline, father and
<on, of Canton, <>.. both wanted to
marry their house-keeper. The old
man owned all the property, and the
woman gave him the preference on
that account, assuring Joseph that she
Would marry him as soon as she be
came a widow. But the son had a
plan for getting her and the estate
without delay. He poisoned 'ds father,
first using so much arsenic that the re
sult was not fatal, and finally producing
death with morphine.
Ao'OKDINg to the
the hatred in whiiii the Jewish race is
now held in Germany is far too practi
cal to be appeased by any such trifle
-is a change of religion. If the Ger
man Jews became Christians to-morrow
thev would be equally powerful. If
they were rather stupid, and not good
at making money, and altogether given
to lag behind their Christian neighbors
they might be of any religion they
liked. Their offence is that in all
hese respects they are better men than
the Christians They work harder, they
t arn more, and they are sharper to see
and seize advantages.
I'hf. unfavorable reports of thesouth
ern cotton harvest continue. The crop
i< abundant, but the trouble is about
gathering it. Southern papers say that
a very large portion of the urop of Tex
as, Arkansas. Louisiana and Mississippi
remains ungathered in the fields, and
that this is due to scarcity of labor, un
favorable weather since the first week
in November, and the unusually large
acreage and abundance of the yield.
The New Orleans De tl ioenit draws the
lesson from these reports that the
southern farmers and planters sow
more than they are able to gather un
der the present supply of labor, excep»t
in the most favorable weather for har
vesting. Texas papers state that much
of the corn crop of that state is still also
ungathervd.
The New York Tribune'.* London cor
respondent reviews the situation in
Ireland, whb h has been sadly muddled
by recent c »ntlicting reports. He con
tradicts the rumor that Mr. Forster has
at any tihh* ottered his resignation, and
intimates that while Mr. Chamberlain
is the leading opponent of coercion, he
will nut leave the cabinet. Il is plain
that the force policy has come to be
regarded as a political as well as a pub
lic necessity. The government can
command a very large majority from
the opening of the session, it coercive
measure" are proposed. It they -how
signs of weakness and va< didion, they
may find themsclve- 1 m a minority be
fore they have been in office a year.
Mr. Forster is warmly praised for his
p»atienee, judgment and decision. Nev
erin the domestic history of the I ’nited
kingdom has there been a more press
ing need <»f all the best finalities of
practical statesmanship.
Many very good people will rejoice
to learn that the order assigning to
General O. O. Howard the superintend
enev of the United States military
academy at West Point, ha* actually
been issued. General Scofield is as
signed to New Orleans as commandant
of the new "military division of the
Gulf." embraci the state* of Louisi
ana and Toxas; and General Augur is
assigned to the department of Texas.
General Mile* succeed* General How
ard in command of the military de
partment o.' the Columbia. embracing
Oregon, Washington territory, etc.
Colonel Henry J. Hunt, of the fifth
artillery, is assigned to the command
<>f toe department of the south, with
headquarters at Charleston, S. C., and
< 'olonel R S Mackenzie, of the fourth
artillery, i* assigned to the eohimand of
the new department of the Arkansas, 1
embracing Louisiana, Arkansas and
<ndian territory.
VERY LATEST NEWS.
\ Record Important Events,
Domestic and Foreign.
WASHINGTON.
Governor Luxo, in answer to the recent
letter of Secretary Schurz, asserts that the
latter drove sefen hundred Poncas from
their homes, iniviolation of law and the
dictates of humpnity.
Mi-.. Page, of‘California, has introduced
a bill in the hijuse. to make the 12th of
October a legal holiday in the District of
' 'olnmbia, in cemrnen.oration of the dis
covery of America by Christopher Colum
bus or the 12th |f October, 1492.
T' seriate, i‘n executive session, con-<
tir... . ... ’dying nominations: Wolf
gang iSchaefie, <>| Ohio, United Slates mar
shal for the we- rrn district of Michigan:
E. 15. Turner, ofjTexas, United States dis
trict judge for tlje western district of Tex
as; F N. Schurjleff. eollec'or of customs
for the district of Williamette, Oregon.
The house oo|nmittee on Indian affairs
have agreed to > report favorably to the
house bill to prpvide for the sale of the
remainder of the reservation of the con
federated Otoe /mil Missouria tribes of
Indians, in the states of Nebraska and
Kansas. It al.so authorizes the secretary
of the interior to locate said Indians upon
other reservation lands, and to expend
not exceeding $(00,1X10 for their comfort
and advancement in civilization. The
committee also Agreed to report favorably
Representative pound's bill “to authorize
the secretary of -.he interior to fulfill cer
tain treaty stipulations with the < hippe
wa Indians of I pike Superior and Missis
sippi.’’ It authorize* and directs the sec
retary of the treasury to place to the
credit of those Indians Si 18,406, and pre
scribes the mnn’er of its distribution by
the secretary <>f the interior of their ben
efit.
The Pciica Indians, under charge of
Agent Whiting. and accompanied by
Joseph Esau an'i Antoine Leary as inter
preters, had a Eng talk with Secretary
Schurz 1 lecembei- 24. The chiefs present
were White K(gle, Frank La lieache,
Child Chief, Studding Buffalo, Black Crow.
Big Soldier, The Chief and Red Loaf.
Acting Commissjoner Marble, Gen. ( rook,
Inspectors Hayworth and William Stick
ney, and A. K. Smiley, of the board
of Indian commissioners, were also pres
ent. The secretary opened the confer
ence by reading their letters to him and
by calling their attention to their petition,
an extract front which read: “And we
earnestly reqtit st that the chiefs of the
Poncatr .>e of Indians be permitted to
visit Washington the corning winter for
the purpose of- going away our right to
all land in I'.il pi and obtaining a title to
our present reservation; and we also wish
tosettleoiir Si .x troubles at the same
time.” All tl chiefs said that they had
signed the paper and had now come here
to ratify their »art of the agreement.
They also said there was no sickness
among them. The conference was most
satisfactory.
FIKES AND CASUALTIES.
Seven person in one family at Meta
mora, HL. are prostrated with malignant
diphtheria.
Ten buildings; valued at $30,000. were
burned at Brownsville, Tennessee, on Dec.
23<1. ‘
Losses in coffee have forced the failure
of Honely, Wo Giiead Co., ei l.ipergool,
with liabilities »f £21,000.
The paint f;.. tbrv of George W. Win
chell, in Cincinnati, was wiped out by
fire December ilh. the los- being SB,OOO.
A eike in the ctandv factory of ( lark &
Morgan, at Quincy, Hl., inflicted damage
which is estimated at s"•,< m x i.
Crawford's oppra Imuse, Topeka. Kan
sas, which was opened last September has
l>een burned to t|ie ground. Loss about.
$30,900; insurance $15,000.
Walter Eyhxge and Joseph Bailey
have sued Mrs Syott-Siddons, at St. Louis,
claiming $1,440 damages forbreach of con
tract. ;
The puddling find rolling departments
of the Harrisoniwire-mill in St. Louis,
were recently destroyed by lire, causing a
loss of $50,000, aijd throwing six hundred
men out of employment.
The drop in wheat has precipitated the
suspension of three gram commission
houses in Chicago. Jones A: Macdonald,
short si>ih',ikhi, aiid Rav & MeLanrie have
liabilities of aliotii $75,000. The suspen
sion of A. S. 1. iwtnthal will be but a tem
porary one. j
Eight persons in the burned
factory al Buffalo are missing or known
to be killed, and -even others were seri
ously injured. Two corpses have beon
taken from the ruins. Popular indigna
tion over the lai’k of tire escapes is stiff
intense.
Poison absoi bui while slaughtering a
diseased cow caused the death of John C.
Allen, of North Reading. Mass. The sur
geons fust amputated his fingers, then
his right hand, and finally the whole arm,
without staying the disease.
FpREIGH
The w-»rk of repairing the Brest cable
has been postponed to spring, on account
of the l»oistero.>s weather on the Atlantic.
The task of improving the finances of
Turkey has bt.cn abandoned as hopeless by
Herr \Vittendorf s a Prussian.
Lieutenant General Sir Ponald
Stewart will l>e<* : »me corninander-in-ehief
of the forms in Ipdia, next spring.
Ail the powers have agreed to the pro
posed arbitral 1 »n. upon the Tnrco-< irecian
question.
The British uarrison in Ireland will
soon number 'ojitMi men, including ten
batteries an<l s- vyn cavalry regiments. ;
The police cioned at Milltown, Ire
land, have beer i lade to feel the meaning
of the word Boyu.»tting, as they are actu
ally without food.
The disturbed condition of Ireland has
induced the empress of Austria to give up
her hunting-box pi the Green Isle.
The Canadians are startled by an in
crease of in the public debt of
the dominion f-»r.the fiscal year.
Being unable tV* shake otl the Indian
fever, the manpijs of Ripon - ill probably
be asked to be relieved of the viceroy
ship. j
The first spiral tunnel o»* the St. Goth
ard line, in Switzerland, has been com
pleted. It is ope thousand metres in
length, and wa< bored through granite en
tirely by hand.
Pkj.e ANi> Enright, the English ritulal
ists, have secured a hearing by the court
of appeals, and have Ih’Cii released from
imprisonment <>n condition that they con
form to the orders of Lord Penzance.
It is reported that an English banker,
acting under < r<|ur- of the ex-Empress
Eugenie, has g-mt- to Paris to ail in ex
tricating from 4>er position Mme. de
Friedland, under arrest for forgery.
A REi’i Bin ha- been organized at Heid
elburg, in Afri« a, by the Boers, who num
ber oJHIU, and a detachment of colonial
troops has been s<»nt to the scence of the
revolt. It is thought in London that
Wolseley will he dispa.c h*d thither with
a British armv.
CHIMB
t'ltAKl.o A. Bt KT, a brewer and malt
ster < f Alb: nr, -l;et hi* mistress and thru
committed «ui< ise.
While standing on the steps of a bank
ing house in ’ .neinnati, on Dec., 231,
an Ohio firmer va* robbed of SI,OOO.
K. (‘.Wttni v chief engineer of the
tire department of North Adam*. Mas*.,
ba* been held t- ?>ail for attempt* to burn
the town.
Bob Thikman colored was mortally
*hot at Versailles'. Ky.. Dee. 24. by James
Ashmore, while lie was nibbing a chicken
roost.
M vrks fa i io'ody tr.-igedv were visible
on the ice at G at Island, above Niagara
■ n wstnrd.amorning, the victim being
passed over the cataract.
('rrtcKH Mvnx, of La Salle, 111., shot
and dangerously wounded John McGuire.
The officer tried to arrest McGuire, who
resisted. The bait entered the man’s thigh.
Geo. Johnston, one of the parties ar
rested for plundering the baggage on the
Council Bluffs road, was acquitted in the
court of Kans.* City, Dec. 24. There was
no evidence to convict him.
A consider.’elk riot took place in
Springfield, lII.,Tec. 22 at a rolling-mill
boardinghouse. resulting in much dam
age. A number of the leaders and insti
gators were arreded and sent to jail in de
fault of S2OO.
A large number of ties were placed on
the track of the Burlington road, near Le
land. 111., on the' night of Dec, 2-d, evi
dently with the intention of wrecking the
night'express coining to Chicago; but a
brakeman on a freight train discovered
the plot.
Tub butchery pf Bessie More, in Texas,
by Abe Rothschild, has not been for
gotten by the public- At the commence -
ment of the trial at Jefferson, on the 18th
inst., only two jurors were obtained from
a special venire of sixty.
Edwbrd Long, colored, was hanged at
Jackson Tenn., on the 18th inst., for the
murder of Si: Roger’s a negr >, last June.
Long fully confessed his crime, and de
clared that Rogers’ ghost had pursued
him relentlessly ever since the tragedv.
Four thousand persons witnessed ti.e
execution.
An interesting adventure with robbers
has b en vouchsafed to Dr. J H. Mott, of
IndepeudeneeMu. Two masked men entered
his bed-room, covered Lin with revolvers,
ami forced him to sit on ti:e edge of his
lied while thev took watches and jewelry
to the value of S9OO. Thev then fitted
themsel' es out with hi- iothing, burning
their di arded garments in the grate.and
and hade him good-night.
GENERAL NOTES.
Central Kansas is enthusiastic over
the prospect for winter wheat.
Tub workingmen of Lvne, Mass., elect
ed Henry G. Lovering mayor, by a plua
ality of 299.
The authorities ol Caldwell, Kan.,
have given Payne's raiders provisions and
forage for thirty days.
Bishop Keane has caused thirty Catho
lic liquor-dealers of Richmond, Va., to
sign a pledge to close their saloons on Sun
day.
The Brooklyn tabernacle is in financial
straits, and the pastor, the Rev. De Witt
Talmage, threatens a strike for cash.
Hostilities have recommenced at Clin
ton, lowa, between the Northwestern and
St. Paul roads, in regard to track-laying,
and the former has brought two suits for
damages.
Frederick Billings, president of the
Northern Pacific Railroad company, says
work will soon be commenced on an east
ern extension to terminate near Ashland,
Wis.
The authorities of San Francisco have
quietly shipped home fourteen Chinese
lepers’ who will be taken from the steamer
to the hospital at Canton.
The famous Steven’s battery, at Hobo
ken, N. J., upon which millions have been
spent, having recently been sold for $55,-
000, is being broken up by a Boston firm
An explosion in a manufactory on Twen
ty-sixth street . New York, carried a four
thousand-pound boiler, almost unbroken,
a distance of nearly two hundred feet, do
ing no damage on the route.
Mns. Brown, on trial at Indianapolis
for the murder of her husband, is defended
by Mrs. Foster, of Clinton, lowa, this be
ing the first right of a lady attorney ever
enjoyed by the Hoosiers.
William J. Sewell, a» officer of the
Philadelphia railroad c< ipany, who ap
parently had the New Jeisey senatorship
within his grasp, is now confronted with
the candidacy of George M. Robeson. The
fight is destined to be a bitter one.
J. 1. Case, of Racine, has brought suit
against the firm of Fish Brothers & Co.,
and asks for a receiver. He claims that
they are indebted to him in the sum of
$150,01X1, and to other parties to the amount
of $350,000.
Kate Chase Spragi E’sbill for divorce
has been filed in Washington county,
Rhede Island, the grounds being adultery,
extreme cruelty, and neglect, to provide.
It appears that the ex-governor has sur
rounded Canonehet with ar ned guards,
and the sheriff refused to serve a writ of
replevin for Mrs. Sprague’s effects. The
case will be tried in February. It is be
lieved that the defendant, who was great
ly excited over the shocking charges in
the petition, will file a counter petition
alleging adultery, desertion, and extrava
| gance.
s|j| wauKee .Market.
Milwai kek. Dec. 26.—Fluur.— Hull and
neglected. Wheat —Opened steady, and closed
steady: No. 1 hard. 1.05; No. 1 97; No. 2,9.5 ,;
9 > e for seller December; 96 ? a for seller January:
97’, for seller February: No. 3, SO; No. 4, "1
rejected, nominal. Corn —Lower and quiet; No.
2. Oats—Lower: No. 2. 29«. Rye—
Quiet; No. 1,82. Barley—Dull and unchanged;
No. 2. SO.
Chicago Market.
Chicago, Dee. 25 - Flour—Dull; winter wheat,
spring. 4.60; extra, 4,75@5.75.
Wheat Active but lower; unsettled, and very
weak; declined 2',c; No. 2. red winter '.14',;
No. 2 Chicago Spring 95 Qig9sfor seller
cash: 96.1, for seller January; 97 ! t for seller
February; sales. q for seller January and
February. No. 3 Chicago spring, rejected.
Corn—-Unsettled and lower: active; de
clined 1c; 36q@36q for seller cash; 36', tor
seller January, 37 for seller February; 41 q@42
for seller May: sales. 41g42’, for seller May
rejected. 33. Oats—Dull, weak and lower; 29*4
,g29’„ tor seller cash; 29»- for seller January;
30', for seller February: 34*4 for seller May;
rejected, 28. Rye—Dull; prices a shade lower;
83. Barley—Unsettled and lower at 1.08.
P .rk- In fair demand at lower rates; very weak:
old, 12.00 for seller cash; new, 11.00 for seller
■■ash; 11.0(lgll.5o for seller December; 12.52*,
a,12.55 for seller January; I 2 70@12.72 1 , for
seller February; 12.85, a, 12.87 ', for seller March.
Lard —Active, but lower and weak; 8.30@5.32(,
for seller cash; 8.35 for seller January; 8.45@
8.47*, for seller February; 8.5714@8.6# for
seller March. The “Drover’s Journal” reports:
Hogs—Receipts Jh.OOO; shipments, 2,600; quiet
and weak and 5,g 10c lower; choice heavy. 4.70
rt. 1.95: mixed. 4.40g4.65; kips 3.50g4.00 Cattle
Receipts 5,000; shipments 2,000; steady and
nnolianged : exports, in good demand and at full
prie. s: 5.25@6.12: extra stesrs, 6.15@i’>.75:
other shipping, unchanged at 3.50@3.55; butch
ers' unchanged at 2.00@2,40, Sheep—Receipts,
2.50i1: shipments 900; in fair demand, but offers
excessive; exports, t.90@5.55; common to good,
easv and in fair demand at 4.on@ 1.75.
Take Care of Wills.
In the house of lords, Lord Broug
ham once mentioned two somewhat
remarkable facts, showing the neces
sity <»f having a safe place for the de
posit of wills. The first case was one
in which one of his noble friends, as
heir-at-la w, lost, and another of his no
ble friends, as a devisee, gained £3O,(XX)
a year. How the first lost it, and the
last gained it was by a will being found
in a rusty old box, in an old traveling
carriage, and which therefore, might
have been very naturally lost by acci
dent or destroyed from ignorance. The
second ease was one, also, in which
>ome of his noble friends were con
cerned, and the sum in question was
no less than £1(>0,000. The sum would
have been entirely lost to the purpose
for which it was intended, if the in
quiries relative to the existence of a
will with respect to it had been insti
tuted iu the winter instead of in tho
summer. The will was searched for
everywhere, but could nowhere be
found, until, at last, it was discovered
in a grate, and stutied like a piece of
waste paper through the bars, if it had
been winter instead of summer, in all
probability when the tire had been
lighted it would have been destroyed.
Tor tn« tear
The worU renowned success of Hostetter's Bit
ters. and their continued popularity for a quarter
of a century as a stomachic, isseareely more won
derful than the welcome that greets the annual
appearance ot Hostetter’s Almanac. This valu
able medical treatise is published by Hostetter Si
Smith, Pittsburg, Pa., under their own immediate
supervision, employing 80 hands in that depart
ment. Ten cylinder printing presses, 8 folding
machines, 5 job presses, &c., are running about
ih-veii months in the year on this work, and the
issue of same for 1881 will not be less than eleven
tn>ll' ns, printed in the English, German. French.
Welsh. Norwegian, Swedish. Holland. Bohetinan
and Spanish languages. Refer to a copy of it
for valuable and interesting reading concerning
health, and numerous testimonials as to the effie
n y of Hostetter’s Bitters, amusement, varied in-
I rmation. astronomical calculations and chremd
?gieal items, & e which can be depended on for
coroecti’ess. The Almanac tor 1881 ean be ob
tained free of cost, from druggists a n d general
d. aiere In all parts of the country
Paul Hoag, immortalixed in Whit
tier’s Iveautiful poem ‘‘Among the
Hill’s is dead. He was born and al
ways lived in Sandwich, N. H. “Neith
er his house nor his barn knew locks or
bars, yet the meet wretched tramp
who ever took the road never abused
the free hospitality of that Quaker
A l*ad;'a Wish.
" Oh, how I do wish my skin was
clear and soft as yours,” said a lady to
her friend. “ You can easily make it
so.” answered the friend. “How?" in
quired the first lady. “By using Hop
Bitters, that makes cure rich blood and
blooming nealtu. It did for me as you
observe." Bead of it.— Corio Bußeiin.
‘ Done Sol" is tJie name of a fashion
able cap for ladies.
The Hospital Investigation
The following is the report of the
senate committee investigating affairs of
the Wisconsin state hospital for the
insane.
7'o f'lretllrH' y((M. E. SMITH 'W.GrooC Mr
Th? undersigned having bren selected by y«uir
exedleney nursuanl to the provwiens <.f a joint
resolution the U iseoiiHin legislature, h lopted
March 15. 18S0, as a committee to investigate
the affairs of the Wisconsin .-tate hospital for the
insane, have the honor to submit the fallowing
report:
DIFFICULTIES OF THE TASK.
\ our committee at the outset of their work rec
ognized the fact that the task before them was a '
difficult one, for an insane asylum is naturally a
secluded institution, the workings of which must
necessarily be shut out from the public gaze. In or- ,
dvr. therefore, to come to a thorough acquaintance 1
with the condition and practical operation of the
Wisconsin state hospital, as well as for conveni
ence of examination of books and accounts, one
or more members of the committee have resided
in the hospital for the greater part of the past
summer, and our report is based on what we
have s-?en and experienced, .u» well as on the testi
mony < f others.
THE AIM OF THE COMMITTEE.
The constant aim of the committee has been to
make the investigation as thorough and complete
as possible, and. at the same time, prevent its de
generating into anything less than an impartial
consideration of the caw; and we take pleasure
in saying that our work has progressed with great
harmony, and our conclusions have been reached
with perfect unanimity. It also gives us great
pleasure to add that the hospital authorities have
cheerfully yielded us every assistance hi their
power, and have seemed desirous for the commit
tee to ascertain the exact condition of the institu
tion.
THE U ORK DOSE.
The work of the investigation has taken us very
much longer than we anticipated at the first.
This has been due to the exceedingly confused
condition of the accounts, and the entire lack of
system in the keeping of the books of the hospital.
The committee decided to go back in the accounts
t<> October 1,1875, the beginning of the fiscal
year in which the present administration began,
and the examination of the books and accounts
from that date to July 1, 1880, alone ixcupivd the
attention of. at least, one member of the commit
tee and an expert in bookkeeping, three months.
Subsequently, we examined 07 witnesses, making
over 4,500 f»4ios of testimony,and heard the argu
ments of the hospital superintendent and his coun
sel. so that it was late in the year before the work
clo-vd.
GENERAL VIEW.
We find that the Wisconsin Hospital for the
Insane was open for patients in 1860. That it is
situated on a farm of about 400 acres, owned by
the state, and most beautifully located on the
shore of Lake Mendota. I’he buildings are light,
airy and commodious, and are well supplied with
domestic and hospital conveniences. They well
afford fair accommodation for 500 patients,
although thei*e are now in the hospital about 58(1.
The farm is of good laud and has all the con
veniences for farming and gardening. So far as
outward appearances are concerned, the hospital '
seems nearly perfect, evincing the liberal policy of
the state and justifying the high encomiums con
stantly giyen it by visitors from home and abroad.
TREATMENT oF PATIENTS.
We find that the patients arc humanity treated
and properly clothed. The food furnished is lu’.’’
in quality and quantity, but. in the opinion of
your committee, there should be a greater variety
in the diet list. The serving of h- h for break
fast every day in the year, should cease, even
though it should i ult in increased cost to the
state. The allowance of sugar to the patients,
at least in some of the wards, is uncertain and in
sufficient, and its supply should In? more carefully
regulated.
WATER SUPPLY.
The supply of water from Lake Mendota, f>r
drinking and culinary purposes, we must eoialvmn.
Whether sickness in the institution has at any
time been caused by impurities in lake water,
we do not pretend to say, but we are convinced
that it might be so caused, we doubt whether the
lake water is fit for drinking, and culinary purpos
es in any event and we certainly feel that the hospi
tal supply is had in view of the fact that the whole
sewerage of the institution is emptied into the
lake at the distance of only a third of a mile from
the point where the water is taken in. '1 here is
a well on the premises which is said to furnish a
goo l supply of pure water. .iud we think that wa
ter for drinking and cooking should be taken from
this rather than from the lake.
MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC TREATMENT.
Of the medical treatment of the insane in the
hospital, we are not prepared t<»speak from stand
point of experts. The general health of the
patients has been unexceptionally good, and the
percentage us deaths lower than is generally
found in similiar institutions. However we find
that the superintendent has not been in the habit
of giving his personal attention to the medical
department, and the needs of individual patients
to the extent calculated by the statutes, and
which from his position and requirements he
ought to give. He has been assisted by a eoq>s
of intelligent, well educated and wealthy young
men. but they have had no extended pro
fessional or hospital experience and must neces
sarily be incapable of originating and conducting
investigations of brain diseases and the scientific
treatment of the same, such as we ought tv find in
an institution of this kind. The committee may
be mistaken, but they have a very] «sitivv feel
ing that there is a lack of thorough scientific in
vestigation, consideration ami treatment of indi
vidual cases, and failed t<» do the work for the
advancement of science and the cure of insanity,
which might, and which ought to be there done.
The superintendent claims that he is required to
take active supervision of the complicated busi
ness transactions of the hospital, and so has no
time fur this work. Had we found the business
department thoroughly and efficiently, conducted
we might have deemed this excuse good, but
neither the medical nor business management
have been satisfactory to the committee.
MORAL TREATMENT.
Of what may be called the moral treatment of
the insane, rfiich as light work, pleasant conversa
tion, lake excursions, good reading, music, dan
cing and other healthful amusements, we have
only words of commendation. This department
seems to have received special attention, and we
think its beneficial results very manifest. It
should be extended rather than curtailed.
HVGENIC CONDITION.
In order more intelligently to ascertain the hy
genic condition of the hospital, we took the liberty
to request the honerable state board of health to
visit the asylum, examine its condition and report
to us its conclusions. The report of the board is
hereto annexed, and made a part of our report.
It contains valuable suggestions, to which we
would call the careful attention of your excellen
cy and the legislature; and we may add that the
judgment of the committee entirely coincides with
that of the state board of health, so far as we who
are non-professional men are capable of judging.
ATTENDANTS AND NURSES.
Your committee found the h<»spital well pro
vided with intelligent, active and faithful attend
ants and employes, except there ought to be at
least two more nurses, whose special duty it
should be to look after the sick at night, and so
prevent the unfortunate occurrence of sick pa
tients dying alone and unattended, as has been
the case heretofore.
THE FARM AND GARDEN.
We find the farm connected with the hospital a
a large and fairly profitable investment. The
renting of what is known as the ” Farwell place. "
in addition to the farm proper, at an annual rent
of about three hundred and fifty dollars, we con
sider an unwarranted extravagance. The head
farmer, Mr. Warren, an intelligent and candid
man, would fix the actual rental value of the Far
well place at less than one hundred dollars, and
his judgment entirely meets the views of the com
mittee. We think this outlay should cease. The
gardening carried on with the supervision of an
expert gardener, and under most favorable cir
cumstances, is very perfect, and has our hearty
approval. This supplies fresh fruits and vegeta
bles to the tables at a cheap rate, and meets a
positive need.
HERD OF STOCK.
The herd of stock on the asylum farm we found
to consist of about one hundred and seventy-five
blooded and fancy animals of both seXes. which
have cost the «tatc extravagant sums. This num
ber is too large for the farm by at least one-ha If,
and the character of the entire herd should be
changed. Experience ati the hospital shows that
fancy stock-raising is not the proper sphere of an
insane asylum, and the result has been a constant
loss to the state. The purchase and breeding of
fancy animals should be abandoned, and sixty or
seventy cows be procured, with the one end in
view of securing the largest dairy product. This
number of cows of ordinary grade would yield
more milk, and in every respect meet the needs of
tiie hospital far butter than the present herd d«»es.
OTHER STOCK AND APPLIANCES.
The number of horses employed on the farm and
about the hospital, viz.: sixteen to eighteen, seems
large, and can properly be reduced. The farm
and ganlvn equipments are numerous,of the best
quality, and have cost large sums, but doubtless
the hospital needs the best that can be had. Con
sidering the character of those purchas’d, we are
not prepared to say that great extravagance has
been manifested in the purchase of wagons, of
which some public criticism has been made, or in
the purchase of other appliances.
BUSIN ESS M A NAG EM ENT.
The management of the business affair* of the
hospital, both on the part of the board of trustees
and on the part of the resident officers, has been
such as to be highly unsatisfactory. The board
«»f trustees e<-nsi.-ts of most worthy and estimable
men. but there has been a culpable lack of close
and >harp supervision on their part, and even a
want of knowledge of what has been transpiring
at the hospital. Of course it is to be borne in
mind that the position <-f trustee is purely honor
ary. no coinjiviissitiun being provided for sen levs,
no matter h«>w » xtended nr h**w valuable but
having acevpted the office, knowing its rcs|H»nsibil
ities and its burdens, we think the board should
have given more of their time and personal suj»rr
vision to the hospital affairs. Thev should have
been a board of control as a matter of fact; thev
have hardly been an advisory board. The testi
mony ot the president of the board clearly shows
that they suppose*! everything was right at the hos
pital, but it rested in supposition, not in actual
Knowledge. For instance, the board supposed the
aecounU of the superintendent to be straight and
correct; as a matter of fact, they were short in
their accounts in the sum of £1,866.10, and the
great part of these shortages had existed for a
term of years; also, the board supposed the gener
al affairs of the hospital to be properly eondueted
hut actually knew little about them.
AUDITING ACCOUNTS.
The j lan of auditing accounts, in the judgment
of youi - mini(tee. has been all wrong. Dills of
purchase? are incurred, certified by the tuperin
tendent, )»aid by the treasurer, and then subse
quently auditetf by the board or a cesHnittee of
the board. This seem* to us unbusinesslike. The
board are to superintend and direct the expendi
ture of moneys and not merely to look over bills
already made and liquidated. There should be a
regular pay day for all accounts against the hos
pital. Prior to the day the board or the proper
committee of the b.»anl should meet, carefully
scrutinize each item of the bill, allow or reject the
same, and then the lolls be paid on their certifi
cates.
PLAN OF PURCHASING.
There has also been an entire lack of plan in
purchasing supplies and paying bills. The mai
ron. the steward, or the raperintendent. purchase
articles, indiscriminately not one of them being
reeognized a* the purchasing ag<wit of the institu
tion. The accounts are paid about as it happens.
We found instances wbere accounts had run for
month-, and wheiv npeated and sharp dunning
letters had been written and some times *he hos
pital had been drawn upon throngh the banks for
bills long due. This i? very unsutisfa lory in a
business point of view that one pvrsem should do
all the purchasing tv the hospital, and the sys
tem of requisitions «»i. him be- established in eases
where article- arc needed in th*’ various depart
ments of which he Ins m»t the proper personal
knowledge. A plan <f payment diouldbt adopt
ed and all persons dealing with the institution be
notified of that plan; and the treasurer ]»ay all
l»ills on that plan andon no other. Above all.
a public institution should not be drawn upon
through the hanks.
PURCHASING AT RETAIL.
We find that it luu liven the habit to purchase
largely at retail, ivheuby a large percentage has
been lost to the state that could have been saved
Lad there been a peeper purchasing agent; and
he been required tog* into the wholesale market
to make his purehaseu
The facts with rebrence to this matter, are
given in detail in M-. Patton's reptrt hereto ap
pended, to which we would hen- refer. In the
purchuk l of large supplies there has been a lack
of prudent and ]»roi>r precaution—for instance,
the yearly supply of <ml which this year amounts
to S2O,(HM), ha.- some limes been furnished by the
lowest bidder, and s<me times it has been bought
without advertising fur proposals at all. It
would seem as it all tie articles needed in quanti
ties, such as sugar, tbur, coal, wood and clothing,
could be nn st ad purchased by ad
vertising for proposal.-and letting the contract to
the lowest bidder un«l«* proper restrictions.
AC COUNTS A*D ACCOUNT BOOKS.
The committee ion id that up to October, 1879,
there had virtually Uen no system of bookkeep
ing at the hospital. apl such accounts a.s had
l>een kept were entirdy unreliable; for instance,
within the time coven-d by our examination, we
found twenty-five inbtakes in the accounts of the
hospital with the <e\®ral counties which involved
an amount excecdiiw sixteen hundred dollars,
the particulars of wil< h is given in Mr. Patton's
report. The difficutyseems to have been that
prior to Octobei 1879, the hospital steward had
kept the books, and he was incompetent for the
work. In October, 1879,a competent bookkee]»er
was employed, an? the system of bookkeeping is
now nearly perfect, except there should be a re
ceiving ami shippingbouk, and a book Rent show
ing monthly and yearly the summarized state
ments of the cost of etch class of articles pur
chased, so that any pewon or committee could, in
a moment's time, ascertain just how much was
spent in any month or any year, for any item,
such as sugar, tea »«r efiee.
MONEY FROM ’ -IENDS OF IN M VI ES.
We find that th- triends of patients are expect
ed to send money in sn ail turns to the superin
tendent or to th • steward, to pay for extras, such
as excursions <u thelak . Christmas presents, etc.
In fact every yt ir post: 1 cards are sent out to the
friends of patiei tssoliciting them to forward such
sums, but in reviving anti arcounting for this
money there had been the same lack of system.
It i> absolutely impo.sible to tell whether it Ims
been honestly used or not. From the examina
tion of letters accompanying remittances, we
found that they often came from the poor, who
wished to do something in the remembrance of
insane friends, and there ought to be no question
about the faithful appropriation of such money.
Then, too, fiicnds who are able • Pen -end large
sums of money to j ay in whole or in part for the
maintenance and clothing of inmates of the hos
pital; doubtless this money has all been faithfully
applied, but there is no way t » establish that fact.
system should be adopted whereby such money
should come to the hanusef someone officer, who
is under bonds to faithfully account therefor, ami
who should be rvquh< 4 to keep a complete record
of the same. We also think there should I some
legislative enactment concerning money sent tor
the support of patients, requiring that it be seut
through the county clerk, or in some such way to
prevent the money from being improperly used in
the hospital, ami the full support ot the patient
for the same time -barged io the county from
which the patient comes.
EXTRAV MiANCE.
The committee have found too much evidence
of extravagant outlays. If a thing was nice
and would be convenient, or a source of enjoy
ment in the hospital or to its resident officers, the
tendency has been to buy it irrespective ot its
cost. Our meaning will be best understood by a
few illustrations. We find there has been invested
for the hospital during the period covered by our
examination, the following among many similar
items:
A tent and hammock s2l 50
Oars aud row-locks for boat 14 95
Ways to boat house 17 00
Attending circus 29 Ou
Fire-works for 4th of July lOS 87
Attending state fair 100 90
A female dog 23 30
Seven chickens 30 00
Frescoing ceilings 1,200 00
One Roger’s ‘ltaly”. 15 00
One “Richter’!?) 18 90
One Otlev's Painters 21 00
One Boswells Ainslce 18 90
One National Gallery 21 00
These illustrations might be « xtended to great
length,but those given suffice to show the tendency
to which we refer. A proper regard for economy
would certainly reject many or quite all of these
expenditures, and greater watchfulness in this di
rection is needed on the part of the officers ot the
hospital.
ACCOUNTING FOR IROPERI V AND INVENTORIES
We have found an entire lack of responsibility
and accountability for property purchased for the
state and paid for out of state funds, for instance
a bill of goods is purchased in Chicago, and the
treasurer of the hospital pays the bill on the su
perintendent s certificate, with absolutely no way
to tell whether the good purchased e ver came to
the hospital or not. There is no system of re
ceiving or checking goods. Some person other
than the purchasing agent should receive the
goods, be required to keep an accurate account
thereof and cheek off on the bills all the articles
received. A regular inventory system should also
be adopted. We do not find that there ever was
an inventory of the hospital property until la.-t
fall. It is impossible to know what property the
hospital had <«r ought to have had at a.iy given
time; Large quantities of stock, fixtures and fur
niture have been bought and paid for and that is
the end of the record. There is nothing to show
what has become of that which has been pur
chased hut is not visible. There should be com
plete annual inventories- a register kept of every
article purchased, and when broken, worn out or
destroyed it should be *<> recorded. Subordinate
employes should be held strictly accountable for
the property under their control and compelled to
show what becomes of it. I nder the present plan
the hospital is a general receiving house where
things are emptied in and that is th«* last of them
so far as accountability or certainty is concerned.
It is needless to remark that a dishonest official
might run off almost any quantity of property
and unless caught in the act no one will ever know’
it. or ini.-s the property.
THE NEW BARN.
Your committee found on the hospital farm a
large and excellent new barn but it s history is sj
]>e<-uliar as to demand a special notice. At the ses
sion of the legislature in 1877. an appropriation of
SI,OOO was made for a new barn. Thu first bill
of lumber for this barn amounted to $1,560. ami
was purchased by the superintendent three weeks
prior to any action on the part of the board au
thorizing its construction or providing plans
therefor. No other appropriation was ever made
for this barn. It was built and your committee
were repeatedly informed by the superintendent
ami by members of the board of trustees that its
total cost was 83.000. As a matter of fact it cost
over SB,OOO. and the superintendent so admitted
in his testimony when upon the witness stand a»id
the hooksand accounts were place< I before him.
These figures .-terns to have been a surprise both
to the superintendent and to the board, and satis
fied the committee that neither had any accurate
knowledge bf how the money appropriated by the
legislature is expended. When we turn to the
printed reports of the hospital, which are supposed
to furnish the state with accurate information as
to the condition and expenditure of the institu
tion the only item anywhere appearing with re
gard to this new barn, is <>n<- charge of $127.3(5.
These figures in themselve- present a surprising
commentary on the financial management of the
hospital, the blame of which must rest alike on
the superintendent an J on the board.
THE ( ROSS WINGS.
In 1879 the board authorized the construction
of four cross wings, or additions, to the hospital,
without any authority or appropriation from the
legislature. These were ]»ut up. and a debt of
some $20,000 incurred on the part of the hospital,
for the construction and necessary furnishing awl
equipments, which was provided for by the last
legislature. These additions greatly improved the
hospital building and increased its capacity, and it
may perhaps be admitted that they were needed
awl greatly relieved the county jails and hospitals
which had been crowded with insane, but your
committee must unhesitatingly condemn the prin
ciple upon which the Soard acted. There can be
no doubt that they transcended their legal author
ity. We can hardly conceive of a case where a
board of trusties would be justified in making any
given improvements, involving the outlay of
money, without <-oii.-ulting legislative authority.
The principle, if carried out. would allow the
boards of our several charitable and penal institu
tions to run the state in debt to any amount, and
for any purpose. The authority w hich furnishes
the appropriation should always have absolute
control of the channel of its expenditures.
PETER GARDNER (STEWARD.)
Again we find that one Peter Gardner wa.- .-tew
arl at the hospital ii. 1873, and retired from his
stewardship in 1876. At the time of his with
drawal hewn- -hurt in his atx-ounts in the amount
of $1,901.83. The greater part of tins shortage
arose fri-ni hi.- having dej»osited $1,”07.3.> ot the
funds in his hands, as steward, in the Bank of
Madison, which became insolvent. I’l e hospital
has received in dividends from this broken bank,
$645.90, leaving un absolute loss of $1.2.»8.95. The
board knew that Gardner had given lends ns stew
ard to faithfully acc<untf“r all jnoney. They
knew that bis accounts were short when he left,
but nut the exact amount: but they hate never
taken any steps to groseeiitc his bondsmen or to
recover any parted the shortage; neithur have
they ever n ported the shortage to the governor,
or to the legislature, hut the entire matter has
Kwn suffered to remain unrevvalc<l, when your
committee called, but the of Peter Gardner
n<» record or trace vs it could be found, and no of
ficer of the hospital that knew- anything about it.
anti it was only Lr uight to light by search on the
part of a memltcr of the committee, among a lot
of old patpers, in the back office of a citizen »»f
Madis n wno had formerly been oth ally <>n*
nected with the ho>pital. This transaction must
also receive the positive disappr'-vai «.f vour com
mittee. If any of the debt of Peter Gardner was
to lx? forgiven, it was the dear duty of the board
to report the facts to the legislature, and for the
legislature to act, not for the board to assume the
authority, «»r give any color to the charge of cov
ering UJK,
UNAVTHoMIZED EXPENDITURE.
We find that the tendency to spend money iu un
authorized ways has be n constant. The energy •
of the superintendent and the lark of sharp over- j
right <m the part of the board has led to expen
ditures not authorized by the legislature and of
doubtful legality or propriety. For instance
there has been u«»nstructed io front of the hospi
tai a large artificial lake or rcserv»»ir. which must
have cost quite a sum. for which there was never
any appropriation and no record that the board
ever authorized it or that it coet a dollar in inonc v.
The superintendent says he was authorized to do
his work by individual members of the board in
eonrervatioD with them which con versa tions are
poritively denied by the members referred to.
The re«iilt i« that the state ha* paid for the con
st ruction of a large reservoir of doubtful utility
and of extravagant cost to maintain, the ro
spousidility for which the superintendent puts on
the board and hoard shifts back on the .superin
tendent. Again we find that the superintendent
has been accustomed to exceed in expenditure
specific appropriations made by the legislature
taking the balance to do the given work or pay
lor the specific article from the general fund. To
illustrate, the legislature at one time appropriated
*1.200 far the purchase of stock and the superin
tendent immediately invested over $2,000 in such
pu« diase. We think the Foard have been in fault
for n t stopping this practice. They have known
this tendency on the part of t'.e superintendent
and h; ve evidently given it a quasi sanction,
where; ’.on its first occurrence, they ought to have j
taken s«ch steps that it would net er have been i
repeated. The board is the lawfully constituted ;
authority appointed to control the superintendent !
ami they are not to be excused for neglecting this
duty however unjustifiable the course of the
seperintendent may have been.
MISAPPLICATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
It has also been customary for the hospital au
thorities to use money appropriated for one specific
purpose in an entirely different direction. For in
stance, in 1878 an appropriation of 82,000 was
made to construct the bed of a branch railread
track from the depot to the hospital engine house.
This was never built and what became of that
specific $2,000 no one knows. There has been no
report of the matter to the legislature ami no
action by it on the subject. It seems to your
committee that such appropriations are placed in
the hands of the board as a trust fund to expend
in a particular way and when it is expended in a
different way it becomes a breach of trust which
cannot be approved. These irregularities show
the need of chapter 289 of the laws of 1880.
INTEREST AND INDEBTEDNESS.
We find that it has been usual on the part o
the board to pvnnit the hospital to run to debt
ami borrow money to meet the indebtedness and
pay interest on the same out of state funus. During
the time covered by our investigation the state
has paid over 82,500 interest on money borrowed
for the hospital. We mucn doubt the authority
of the board to borrow money, and must posi
tively condemn the practice in all cases. The
hospital can and should be supported on its ap
propriations. We also find that the indebtedness of
the hospital instead of being 830,511 as reported
to the h rislatu*e, last winter, when chapter 295.
laws of 1 >8“ was passed, amounted actually to
$ IS.OHO, >n which the state was then paying in
terest. .Mr. Giles, of the state board or charities,
in hi*, testimony, gives in detail his efforts to find
out the exact indebtedness so as to report the
same to the legislature, but he was unable to as
certain the amount taken from the reports o'
the hospital, required by law to be made to the
board of charities from the superintendent or
treasurer of the board, and finally fixed it as near
as he could, and put it at the sum provided for in
said chapter 259. Of this matter, and where the
additional SIB,OOO had been expended, your com
mittee have received no satisfactory explanation.
It was claimed that the construction of the cross
wings above referred to, together with the neces
sary furnishing and the cost of maintaining the
additional patients taken in after their comple
tion ami not provided for by the previous year
appropriations, made a d-ht of some $30,000 but
the hospital authorities ought to have shown that
their indebtedness was SIB,OOO more */'v that
sum, and ought to have frankly so stated u s he
legislature.
PRINTED REPORTS.
The annual printed reports f the hospital is
sued over the names of the board ami superin
tendent, we have found • ntirely unreliable. The
information they purport to give is not accurate.
This we four ' ‘rue in very many instances, end
is exemplified by the new barn account r< ferred
♦ ' above to illustrate further. In 1877 the re
port gardners ami ! aimers wages is s94B,too
small, and that of alter lan.s $948. too large.
In the same year, teamsters wages were re ’ <ced
SOOO from the actual a.u« mt, and the mi ane
ous wages increased this sum. lie attention <»f
the superintendent was called to these irrcirulari
tie*, when he was on the witness stand, b it ue
was unable to ghe satkfaetory explai ition.
The books of the hospital plainly showed the cor
rect amount chargeable to these several items,
and the committee are forced to the conclusion that
increased figures were gi.cn for some improper
purpose. The board claims that as a matter of
tact, they knew nothing of the report until they
saw it in print, while the superintendent asserts
that he is responsible only in part for the report,
and if it is incorrect is because the board has
not attended to their duties. Some of tbc print
ed reports give tables of expenditures over the
signature of certain committees of the board,
others do not, some fail entirely to show the actu
al disbursements and the direction in which mon
eys have been expended, besides not being accu
rate the reports are not sufficiently full ami de
tailed, and not properly classified; we have ex
amined the reports of other state insane asylum
and have been able to get a perfect picture of
there working and cost in different departments
we regret to say our reports do not presen' such
a picture, for all these faults, no doubt, superin
tendent and board of trustees are to blain<. The
board for ils lack of supervision and not compel
ling the superintendent to do his full duty, and the
superintendent for not making the reports an ac
curate representation of facts irrespective of the
action of the board. The superintendent cannot
be justified in publishing misleading figures ami
the board ought to know that a report that goes
to the state at ’largo is correct.
EXPERT IN BOOKKEEPING.
Your committee employed as an expert in book
keeping. Mr. M. C. Patton, of Sheboygan, who
rendered us service through the whole of the in
vestigation. lie proved to be a thoroughly accu
rate and expert accountant. His valuable aid and
suggestions through the entire time, has not only
lightened the bur Jen of the committee, but have
been of very great value in coining to a clear and
perfect knowledge of the mndition of the hospital
in every department. .Mr. Patton s report to us
is hereto annexed, and we endorse it with great
pleasure, and desire it to be considered a part of
our report. The facts stated in it were developed,
ami the work was done under our personal direc
tion and supervision. It contains much valuable
statistical information and many suggestions am!
comparisons which we have taken pains to verify,
and which, w ithout repeating here, we would make
our own. and to w hich we would invite the careful
consideration of your excellency and the legisla
ture.
SUPERINTENDENT AND STEWARD.
The salary provided for the steward at the hos
pital has been entirely inadequate to the respon
sibility of the place. As the result, the position
has been poony filled, the books and accounts
have become confused, and almost valueless,
the personal accounts of the steward of the hos
pital short, and the employment of another man
as bookkeeper necessitated. The superintendent
is a man of positive energy, of mechanical and
architectural skill, of diversified acquirements ami
most winning address, but, in the opinion of your
committee,is a poor business man. However, he
is, or should be. employed for his professional ac
quirements, not for his business ability. His per
sonal accounts with the hospital is also short as
above noted. We also found that the the superin
tendent had been in the habit of borrowing large
sums of money from his employes, and when our
investigation began such indebtedness amounted
to over $2,000. This he assumed to pay while our
work was in progress, but the evidence of pay
-1 ment was not entirely satisfactory. He seemed to
think there was no impropriety in such borrowing,
but wc evidently convinced him to the contrary.
FIRE APPARATUS ESCAPES.
The recent disastrous ftre at an insane asylum
in a neighboring state leads us to question the
efficiency of the fire apparatus ami means of escape
at our state hospital. The superintendant thinks
he has a very perfect system, bin we do not feel
sure of it. while we were at the hospital the work
of efficiently of throwing w ater on a fire depended
on the presence and skill of the principal engineer.
He lives a longdistance from the hospital and
.-pends his nights at home, so that in case of fire
at night much damage might be done before he
could be on the ground. At least we would sug
gest that tin- organizing of a fire department
among die employes to school them in the use of
the hose ami familiarize them with their individual
duties in case of fire.
REVIEWS AND GENERAL SUGGESTIONS.
On review’the committee thinks that the most
prominent failures in the management of the
hospital have been loose and in business like
ways ami extravagant and unauthorized expen
diture, of funds ami this to a large extent has
come from a lack of close supervision on the part
of the board of trustees. It is but simple justice
to the board to say that more than a year ago
they began to realize this tendency in the conduct
of affairs ami took some steps to counteract it.
For instance they then for the first time employed
a competent book keeper and since that time thev
have greatly sharpened their watch and while we
were persuing our investigations at the hospital
we were much pleased to note evidences of econ
omy which the present administration
had n<t before manifested; but we believe still
greater retrenchment, practicable. It seems to
your committee that it costs too much to support
the insane in our state institution, viz.: from
$4.25 to 84.75 per person. In county hospitals
the insane are supported for half that sum. u’f
course, the state hospitals give better care, but the
population is far larger in the state institutions
and the expense ought not to be doubled. It is
evident that there is not the same careful economy
exercised in the state that there is in the county
hospitals, and there is need of thought ami work
in this direction. A state institution can and
should be a model in economy ami business man
agement. but we seem a long way off from the
ideal. That it costs almost as much to support an
inmate of an insane asylum, after the stategra
tituously provides commodious ami well furnished
buildings, and a large and well equipped farm
and garden, a-it docs to board ata first-clas- ho
tel, seems needless. We are aware that the aver
agreost of maintaining our h«»spitals does not ex
ettd that of a majority of similar institutions, but
we believe the entire plan of management of in
■ -line asylums is t«»o magnificent from the laying of
*
! planned, finished. c t piippe«i ami supported on a
i scale of grandeur that iil-bvfits a public charity.
NEED OF FURTHER ACCOMMODATION.
We must further reflect that twenty year* ago
i one hospital wa." ample for all the needs of the
state; ten years later two were needed, and m»w
: we lun e a third of Urge proportions, at Milwau
! kev. and various other county hospitals, yet the
ao:omm<»dalions are utterly inadequate to the
present dem amts.
t HRONH iNbANE.
Your committee believe a separate building fur
the uhr«»ni«- insane could in? built on the asylum
farm, where there is a most beautiful and advan
tag «us-ite be conducted by the same manage
ment as the state hospital, ami the inmates be
supported at one-half the present eost pvr person.
We are aware that tlx? plan of separation is op
post'd b.v the theoretical and sentimental, but we
belie'e the opposition is nut well founded. There
is such an institution for ehr uie insane at Tukes
biiry. Mass., and tin inmates <*f that asylam are
well cared for and supported fur less than half
what it eoete in our state institutions. Rlnsle
Island has also adopted the same plan, and the
result is satisfactory and a saving of money. Oth
er state* have taken step’ in the same direction.
We would suggest tha ‘ Wisconsin might pursue*
the same course with great advantage, particular
ly as we shall soon be compelle«l to do romething
to relieve the <». er-crowded condition of the h-»s
---pitab wc alreadv have.
DEFECTS IN STSTEM.
But looking at the management as it now ex
ists. we believe two things are radically wrong in
the system. Ist. The union of the mrdieal and
business department*. 2d. The employment of
an unpaid board of trustees.
UNION OF DEPARTMENTS.
The superintendent cannot devote such time,
care and study tn the medical department as be
certainly ought to du and also have a close and
constant oversight <d the entire business of the
hospital. A ard should be employed to con-
duct the entire business department. He should
be paid a much larger salary than that officer
has hitherto reeei\ed. He should be the purchas
ing agent ami held to strict accountability under
heavy bonds: he should have marked executive
and bu.-xness ability, ami be thoroughly ex|.»erienc
ed in business affairs. The superintendent should
be a physician. Being relieved from business
cares he should give hi-study and attention to
the treatment of patients. It is too much to ex
pect a skilled and expert mv<lical man to be able
also to successfully conduct the manifold and com
plex business transactions of a hospital contain
ing a population of 700 people. The medical and
business departments >h >uld In? made distinct ami
to a large t xtent independent from each other,
and the incumbent of each be compelled to pay
strict attention to his duties.
UNPAID BOARD C F TR VriTEr.
The judgment that your committee readied
after careful consideration of the subject is that
the entire government of our charitable institu
tions should be changed: that there should be one
board of management for them all; that this
board should be re ’.ired by stringent laws to
give their entire time and attention to these insti
tutions, and be paid a reasonable compensation
for their services, and such board take the place
of all local boards and the state board of charities.
None but competent business men ought to
ha . e control of the affairs of these institutions and
it is too much to expect that a man whose time
may be vorth $25 per day in his personal business
will leave his own affairs to serve the state
gratutiously for any extended period. Yet some
member of the board of control ought to visit
each institution as often as once in ten days and
st iy long enough to thoroughly acquaint himself
with its proceedings. The board of control should
absolutely direct affiiir- and this it cannot do by
infrequent visits. It cannot shape the
policy of the institution unless its pres
ence and power is felt continually, as
the inevitable tendency is for the .-uperintendent
to find himself independent and manage according
to his own notions, where the board seldom ap
pears. The actual cost of such a paid board
would not greatly exceed the sums n«>w paid out
to the several local boards and to the state board
of charities. We have not been able to get exact
figures, but as near as we can ascertain the cost
to the state of the present system must be over
$5.0011 per annum, and we think three competent
men could be found to du this business for 87.500
per year. Such a board could go into the large
wholesale markets of the country and pur
chase supplies for all the state institutions in bulk
and in this one item save to the state each year
many times the amount paid them for salaries.
They should have absolute authority and be held
to the strictest accountability. They could and
would prevent extravagance, and stop the charge
that su|MTintendents of public institutions are au
tocrats. We confidently believe such a paid board
of control would save to the state 825.009 per
year, and would do more to elevate the character
ami advance the work of our institutions than any
other improvement we are able to suggest.
NEED OF SOME ACTION.
it appears to your eoinmittec that it is time to
seriously consider the problem of our charities.
We appropriated last year over $395.00'1, direct
ly to our uiiaritable ir -titutions, and consider
ing liie money received by them, otherwise
than through the legislaiurp. it will he safe to
say that they cost the people of the state over
half a million dollars per year for current ex
penses. The classes to be provided for, »‘special’y
the insane, are increasing in percentage lai more
rapidly than our population or wealth is inerva -
ing. Of this there is no |>os.-ible doubt and
prudence calls upon us to pr q ..re for the future.
If extravagance and iinbns n< * like ways now
characterize the management of these inst tutioi.*
th * time will soon come v hen the burden will I
so great that there will be a revolution, ana
we will be pushed to the other ex
treme when it wll be impossible to
obtain the means of necessary support. This
clearly points t>> strict economy ns the one thing
constantly to be kept in view. The accommoda
tions and furnishings for objects us charity should
be healthful and comfortable, not luxurious. The
hospital should be a hospital for patients and
officers, not a palace for either. The administra
tion should be practical and econoinicai. not
theoretical and magnificent. Honest and faith
ful work should •be required of all con
nected with these charities and the state
should honestly pay for such work.
RECOMMENDATION OF CHANGE OF OFFICERS.
In closing our report we are compelled to say
that wo believe th • best interests of the state and
of the hospital wlio-c affairs it has been our un
pleasant duty to investigate, will be promoted by
an entire change in the managing officers of the
uistitution.
All of wlii<-h is respectfully submitted,
GEORGE E* SI THERLAND,
J. B. McGREW.
P. H. SMITH.
THE ( ZAK AMI HIS ENEMIES.
In Attempt at Ass a—illation La-t
A car AVhich lias Hitherto Been
Kept Sceret.
A St. Petersburg dispatch to the Lon
don Timas says: “According to an ar
ticle in the St. Petersburg Vie<lomosti,u,
fourth attempt against tli e life of the
czar was made last year, in addition to
the three which took place between
April, 1879, and April of this year, and
which became universally known. This
fourth attempt, it appears, has been
kept a secret up to a very short time
ago. It will be remembered that in
April, 18"9, the emperor was fired upon
in St. Petersburg: that on his majesty’s
return from the Crimea at the end of
the year the explosion under the im
perial train, on the- Moscow rail
way took place; and that at the begin
ning of the present yeaj - the dining
room of the winter palace was destroy
ed by an explosion of dynamite. Be
sides these well-known instances, the
Vieiiomoxti states that last year, pie
sumably during the czar's stay at Eiva
dia, about three poods of dynamite
were laid beneath the Lozovaya-Sebas
topol line of railway, not far from the
village of Alexandrofsk, by means of a
subter anean passage bored beneath
the railway bank from a ravine which
effectually concealed the operations
from tho guards of passing trains.
Two small chambers were dug
out, about twenty feet apart, and
in each was placed a packet of
dynamite, the whole being connected
by an electric wire, which was laid nut
side for some distance beneath the turf
in the direction of the high road.
When the imperial train passed by this
spot the guard now remembers that he
noticed a carriage with three horses go
ing along the high road, that it was
stopped for a second or two, and then
was driven away at a great speed. It is
supposed that the electric battery was
in this carriage. The miscreants ap
pear, however, to have over-reached
themselves by their own skill, for no
explosion took place there, and by the
subsequent investigations carried out
by the supreme executive commission,
it was found that the wire in being
forced under the turf bad in one place
been cut or broken, no doubt unknown
to the perpetrators of the scheme.
Your readers will recollect that when
the emperor journeyed to Livadia this
year it was confidently reported that
another mine had been discovered in
time under the Sebastopol railway.
Judging by the Vialomosti’s ac
count, it would seem that this
mine was laid down during the czar’s
previous residence at Livadia last year,
and the attempt remained unknown
until just before his majesty’s last de
parture for the south, when, thanks to
the minute examination of the line, it
was discovered and removed. The
Vwdouiozti remarks that the Russian
people have another providential es
cape of their czar for which to thank
the Almighty.’’
Female Opium Smoker*.
San Fraud*<*«» Chronicle.
The city council of Oakland will
probably pass an ordinance directed
against opium dens ;md their frequent
ers. It is well knowi. that dozen* of
young men and worm n this city
arc slaves to the <leba>ting habit of
opium smoking. The dens are located
as follows. Two of them on Eighth
street, between Franklin and Webster;
three on the south side of Ninth. All
these are in the heart of the city’, while
there are two or three in upper China
town. These dens are similar to like
institutions in San Francisco, and are
about ten by twelve feet square, pro
vided with bunks, into which the de
votees crowd to enjoy their stupefying
and filthy luxury. Several youths of
this city are now com pletely ens 1 a ved
by the habit, and one ofthedensis
frequented every afternoon by well
dressed women.
Mr. Mahone. the new senator from
Virginia, was a poor Irish boy educated
on a free scholarship at the military in
stitute where Stonewall Jackson taught.
He began his career by carrying a sur
veyor’s chain on a railroad, and was
known as a skillful general in the con
federate army. A correspondent of
the Troy says that Mahone’s di
vision was the only one which appear
ed on the final scene at Appomattox
court house intact, and unbroken in
spirit and dicipline. Mahone is now
calle<l “the Virginia Sphinx/
Oliver Dalrymple, of Minnesota,
raises over 500,000 bushels of wheat
per year, " What shall it profit a man
if lie grain the whole world.” etc.
IN A NUTSHELL.
London has .*OOO streets measuring
2,800 miles in length.
There were 168 cases of diphtheria
reported in Brooklyn last week.
Jay Gould s money is now estimated
at ninety millions of dollars.
Sir Edward Thornton has served 12
years as British minister at Washing
ton.
Yut, Wah A Co. have failed in busi
ness. They were slipper manufactur
ers in San Francisco.
At a recent heathen festival in India
the offering to the idol was valued at
*1 ,< >X),< *OO.
A fire in Springfield, Mas*., early on
the morning of Dec. 9, destroyedsloo,-
000 worth of property.
This year's wine crop in California is
estimated at 15,500,(XX)gallons or about
double that of last season.
The new style bonnet may l>e
photographed by slamming a ripe to
mato against a board fence.
Mr. Thomas Hughs is already lectur
ing in London on his recent visit to
America.
At the Dead Letter Office in Wash
ington is a registered letter containing
$l6O, but with no address at all upon it.
Ex-Vice-l’resident Colfax has no in
clination to return to public life. He
has so w’ritten and is evidently in
earnest.
Cardinal Jacobini, new Papal Secre
tary of State, recommends "raininess
and conciliation ” to the Nuncios
abroad.
Sara Bernhardt does not consider
Preacher Talmage a fton comrade, not
withstanding she admits the similarity
of their professions.
Edmund Yates says that Englishmen
do not really dislike foreigners, but
that they dislike the manners and hab
its of foreigners.
General Daniel McCauley, of Indian
apolis, has been appointed governor of
the Milwaukee Soldiers’ Home, 'ice
Major Fleming, resigned.
The Duchess of Westminister, sisier
in-law of the Duke of Argyll, died re
cently at her residence at Bourne
mouth, Eng. She was a reigning
beauty in her day.
At the recent silver wedding of Mr.
and Mrs. Willard, in Washington, a
cake baked for the original bridal,
twenty-five years ago, was served in an
excellent state of preservation.
The Baron Charles de Rothschild, of
Frankfort, is reported to have just pur
chased for his collection one of the
most superb and expen ive silver gilt
cups in the world.
Dr. Charles D. House, a vetinary
surgeon of New York, has just got a
verdict of $1,00(1 against a sporting
paper which called him a quack. He
could afford to be called a quack often
at that rate.
The venerable Robert C. Winthrop,
of Boston, has been invited to deliver
the oration and James Baron Hope the
poem, on the occasion of the York
own (Va.) centennial ce’ebration next
year.
Capt. Peter Dunn of Gloucester,
Mass., has arrived at home in safety
after a 1,300-iniles trip from Gaspe,
made in an open boat and taking two
months.
Dr. J. A. H. Murray, a Scotchman,
is preparing the materials for a new
English dictionary, which is to be five
times as large as W ebster’s and will
not be completed for ten years.
A witness under cross-examination,
who had been tortured by a lawyer for
several hours, at last asked for a glass
of water. “There,” said the judge, “I
think you’d better let the witnesses go
now as you have pumped him dry.”
Mr. Moody’s meetings in San Fran
cisco are having a decidedly serious
effect. The daily papers give them
much attention and converts now are
numerous.
The venerable widow of ex-President
James K. Polk has been quite ill at her
home at Nashville, Tdtin., for several
weeks, and her recovery is deemed
doubtful.
The will of Mi>. Maggie Embry, of
Elkton. Ky., probated recently, gives
$200,000 in Ixniisville and Nashville
railroad stock to the Vanderbilt Univer
sity of Nashville.
Lady Eleanor Nicolls, widow of the
late Gen. Sir George Nicolls, of the
British army, was recently scalded to
death by tl'ie upsetting of a kettle of
boiling water in her bath.
Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria is
so gallant and devoted to his betrothed
Stephanie of Belgium that he sends her
a magnificent bouquet every day, no
matter where he may be.
The, marriage of Victoria Woodhull
to a London Banker has been postpon
ed because of reports assailing her
character, and she will cominense libel
suits against her slandeters.
During the past year the city of
Memphis has has expended s2<m>,(Hmi fii
sanitary reforms. Since January 1880,
over five miles of stone pavements and
twenty-five miles of sewers have been
laid.
Forest birds are rapidly increasing in
Colorado because of a state bounty for
killing hawks. It is estimated that
over 2o,tXiO hawks are annually des
troyed in that state.
Mrs. Glasson, a German woman of
Marquette, Green T«ike county, Wis..
while in a fit of temporary insanity
killed her babe by cutting its head
nearly oil', and then cut her own throat,
dying almost immediately.
Cambridge (England) has this term
nearly 3,000 members of the university
in residence.
Mr*. Valentine, a white woman, of
Columbus, Ohio, not only married a
negro, lint deserted a white husband to
do it, and lias been arrested for bigamy.
Novelties in advertising are not yet
exhausted. Two pretty girls walked
down Broadway, New York, the other
day, displaying the cards of a soap
manufacturer on their backs.
“What does ‘encore’ mean?” asks an
exhange. It is only one phase of a
universal desire among the sons of men
to get something for nothing, and get
it right oft.
The Splurge family, male and female,
are recovering from the hard times,
and resuming their old spready ways.
Just wait a bit—the pricker of bubbles
will come around again by and by, and
then a collapse. “ ’Twas ever thus.”
John W. Mackey, the California mil
lionaire, has announced his intention
of giving SSO,(XXI to endow a scholar
ship in Bowdom College, in Maine, and
a Philadelphia gentleman, who does
not desire his nam< published, will do
the same.
Mrs. Hayes wifi present to the Pres
ident-elect and Mrs. Garfield an elegant
sideboard and extension table for the !
family dining-room. They are of solid
mahogany, carved by an artist in Cin
cinnati. There are eagles. Howers, ferns
and leaves of exquisite workmanship, i
Rev. Richard Haney (“Uncle Dick”) •
is lecturing in Northern Illinois on ■
“Pioneer Days.” Since the deafli of
Peter Catright, “Uncle Dick” may be j
considered the pioneer Methodist 1
preacher of the state.
The mother of Parnell, the Irish i
agitator, who is the daughter of Com
modore Stewart, ’“Old Ironsides,” of
the American navy resides in New
York, and is the president of the
ladies’ land league of that city.
The illness of Mr. Reuben Springer,
Cincinnati’s benefactor, has taken a
favorable turn, and his recovery is
hoped for. He is 80 years of age, and
has been suffering from acute bronchit
is and a limited area of pneumonia.
An old soldier named Henry Hank,
who had iieen unsuccessful in his ef
forts to secure a pension, went to Gen.
B. F. Butler’s house in Washing' i.< >ne
night recently and broke all the win
dows within his reach.
Judge Elliot, n cently elected tx> the
Indiana supreme ben<-h, is lying quite
ill at his residence in Indianapolis. His
troMbie appears to be a combination
of heart and brain affections, and his
condition is such as to give serious con
cern to his friends.
The police of Jackson. >lich., ar j
rested five members of a family who
had accumulated by theft two big
wagon loads of articles, ranging in size
from a cotton tidy to a cabinet organ.
Tlie latter had been stolen from a
church.
Mrs. Heingartncr gave a generous
breakfast to a tramp at Canton. O.,and
he rewarded her by pocketing some
spoons. She intercepted him at the
gate, "’tot-a bullet through the stomach
which she had enabled him to fill, and
recovered the silverware.
A blind boy at Montreal has built a
minature house inside an ordinary font -
ounce bottle out of forty pieces of
wood neatly glued together. It would
puzzle a. person with good eyesight to
get the parts into the bottle, to say
nothing of putting them together.
Gen. Hazen, the newly-appointed
chief signal officer, is at the Riggs
House, Washington. He expects Ins
wifi 1 and children after the holidays.
Gen. Mezen is a cousin of Mrs. Gen.
Garfield, their mothers being sisters.
These sisters were daughters of a Ver
mont Methodist eleryman.
Senator and Mrs. Logan reside at slo
Twelfth street northwest while in
Washington. Mrs. Logan is devoted
to her husband's interests, and person
ally superintends bis correspondence,
often dictating to his stenographer for
whole evenings, and assisting him in
collecting data for reports, addressee
and the like.
46th Congress.
Mossav, Pre. SO. The vote by
which the senate disagreed t > the adjournment
resolution, was ivoonsidrrvd-yens 31. nays 21.
Senator E hnunds -moAed to amend s<» a* to
adjourn fioniDe’. L >t 'Jan. 3, instead <>f from
Dee.. 22 to January 5. The iesuluti<>n was
agreed to, 33 to ?'•.
Monday bee.. 20. //■» ■ Bill* and resolu
tion* were introduced and referred as follow*
By Mr. Dunn, providing that lands in the Indian
territory to which the Indian title has been ex
tinguished and which nit unoccupied by Indian*
are public land* »f the Vnitvd States, a.id arc
hereby dec lan 4 subject to A'ttlement under the
homestead ind prv-»»nptiun laws. By Mr.
Murton for the repeal ot the tax on
bank cheeks and bank deposits.
Mr. Price, under the <iiivvtioti 4 the committee on
banking and l Urrt ncy. moved to sumpeml rules
and pass the following bill:
/{' it f imrfs J, ti' . That section 3113• of the re
vised statutes ne repealed and »hat from and alter
the pas>ag< ot this act no stamp shall be necessary
on anv • hc' k *ucb as is named in s lid section
3413.‘
The sptakvr ma i- the following committee ap
pointments. McKinley to the committee <>n way*
and means nger to the committee on rules;
Tayh»r, of t»!< o, tn the committee <>n judiciary
The s|M‘iiker c's. announced the appointment ut
Wellboiu. Scoville r.ml Brown as visitors to the
naval accam my. Several leaver ot aliscnee
were granted but F. Wood gave notice he would
<>bject l > fnrth< rl< avvs. Bills passed under sus
pension • f the rm<- a- follow* To establish an
assay o‘.iee in St. I.uiiis. To enlarge and pro
tevt the Suu Antouia arsenel. To provide a suit
able pe« estal for the monument erected t>< the late
Admiral Farragut. in Washington.
1 uhsp v Dec. 21 Srsifitt In the senate the
vice president submitted a letter from the secre
tary of the interior, inclosing a communication
fromthv eoi misnnx r of pensions, setting forth
the nee* s.*ity dun additional aiq ropriation for
the payment of prn*i< ns during the current fiscal
year. I’ht a Idirim.al amount required is about
>|s .100.000. Ila \'cv president appointed Sena
tors Pendleton and Dav is to fi'.l vacancies on the
civil service c iniuittee. Adjourned.
Tuem- vv Dev. 2l //oux<.—ln the house Mr
Robeson introduce,! the following
That the fwu house-) will assemble in the chamber
of the Louse of representatives on the second day
in February. ISBI. .-j’ 12 o'clock, and the president
of the sennte shall be the presiding officer; that
two persons shall be appointed tellers on the part
••f the senate and tw<» on the pari ot the house ot
mpresentativi s t< make a list of the vote* as they
shall be de« lured; that the reri.dt be deliver, 1 to
the prerid* nt «>.’ th*' svante, who shall announce
the stale of the v< t»‘ and the persons elected, to
the two bouse.* a. *< mble i as uforesaid. which an
naunuemciit. together with a list of the votes,
shall be entered on both journals of the two houses.
A long and angry dt bate followed and the house
adjourned without doing anything.
Wedm -dav Dec 22 .S'. «<n Sciritor Booth,
from the committee on |u! i lands. ivp,»rted
favorubly «>n tile L u*»-bill, i »rtl.e relief of set
tlers on railroad lands and i passed. Senatoi
Windom intro duct 4 .. bill providing f*»r public
buildings f>r po.-t >lli < •< nil othe* government
offices a< Miniu.'polis. Referred. Senator
Booth introduced a bill to incorporate the
Maratime <an il company. of Nicaragua. Referred
to the c >mini:tc< un commerce.
Wedne.-da v. D« <•., 22. /Zoiof, Mr. t’lymerjrom
the appr«.ip rial ion committee, reported the army
appropriation 'ill. It appropriates 82»>,191.-
SOO against s2fi. 125.800 appropriated for 1881.
Ordered printed. Mr. Blount, from the same
committee, reported tin bill appropriating $2,500
for exp- ti*e* < f the international sanitary eon
fcirneen’ Wasim.**tnnnext January. Passed. At
2 35, the house adjourned till the sth of Jan.
V NTOKti 15 THE Nl 5.
How llic Firry Blazes Blow ii« the
Molar Atmosphere
(Htserxersof tin sun found indica
tions of intense coin motion recently.
The sun spots were many, large and
active, and protuberances shot up their
rese-colored tongues with increased
force and velocity from the surface.
The earth made instaneous response to
the solar storm. A magnetic disturb
ance suddenly,began, accompanied by
an unusual exhibition of earth currents.
The magnetic disturbances suddenly
began, accompanied by an unusual ex
hibition of earth currents. The mag
netic variations were frequent and
large, ard the earth currents continu
ous and strong. It is years since the
Greenwich observatory has recorded
magnetic, disturbances of equal magni
tude, and it sends forth a timely warn
ing to tek graph engineers, and espec
ially to those connected in laying sub
marine cables, that earth currents may
now become frequent a,s compared with
the quietness of recent years. A su
perb exhibition of aurora accomj anied
the magnetic disturbances. An ob
server at the Stoney hurst observatory
describes it as re< ailing the magnificent
displays of 18C‘t, ]B7<> and 1871, while
the play of the magnets was one of the
most violent ever recorded a. that ob
servatory. The auroral display was ex
tensively observaed in Scotland and
England. One observer describes it as
an outburst of streamers, appearing like
wavy, swaying curtains from the zenith
to near lhe horizon, with the lovliest
! green tints neai the zenith. Another
i writes that the streaks extended from
I horizon to zenith, the color being prin
cipally jiale Idue with a reddish tinge.
I Another paints the display as a brilliant
: white light followed by streamers, each
[ streamer fading away before the su<-
! feeding one became very bright. Still
another records a glowing celestial pic
ture of the northern horizon skirted
by a bright white haze, terminating in
an ill-defined arch, from which sprang
a large number of broad streamers,
stretching toward the zenith.
Thesame phenomenon was seen by
' American observer-. although it did
not receive tin attention bestowed up
on it by European observers. It is ev
ident, however, that the epoch of
grand auroras and magnetic storms has
returned, and that our northern skies
for months to come will probably be
lighted with auroral flames. More
earnestly than ever arises the question
of the cause of sun spots cycle audits
intimate connection with electric and
magnetic phenomena. No one doubts
that the commotion on the solar orb is
reflected on the earth in the flashes of
auroral ight and the errative move
ments of the magnetic needle. We
can see the cause* and note the effect.
But no one, if the theory of disturbing
influence of the great planets is
rejected, has found tin clue to the se
cret of the sun spots. We can only
grope in darkness while we wait for
persistent searcheis to solve the prob
lem, and admire witii mingled rever
ence and awe the mighty powers with
which the sun sways his retinue of
worlds, and the -tlength of the sympa
thetic c-hord by vbich each planet in
the system reflects its auroral light and
disturbed magnetism the abnormal
eonditic n of the gre at central orb.
IMdn't i’ortetnl a Victory.
N« w Y««rk f .nan* .m! N<*w*. Nov. I.
Tuesday morning,” -aid a broker
yesterday. I rose anddid my duty, a»
I always do. I \ot<-d the straight dem
ocratic ti ket from top to bottom, then
I spent the ay pleasantly in the conn
try. and went to £.*-<! calmly and hope
fully at night. W hen J woke up this
morning my paper, which is the tlorf//,
was not lying in its usual place, but out
on the sidewalk, and there was none
that. pa.--«sl bo poor to do it reverence,
not so much ax to look at it. My dog
always brings it up to my room, and
even he refused to touch it. J had U>
ring the bell before he would conde
scend to pick it up. These are signs,
I said; but O Ix-rd they don’t portend
a victory.”