The farmers' union., July 02, 1891, Image 1

About The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895

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

                
M0N.
VOLUME I.
MEMPHIS, MISSOURI, THURSDAY JULY 2. 1891.
NUMBER 22
WHEN DAY WAS DONE.
Br LorisE uiAMn.K.n jioui.tos.
The c'omlB thnt wntolio i in tlio West have n&l ;
The 8tm rem sot Mid the moon is high;
ml noil.iiiR U left of the (lav that in dead,
Save n fuir hi o gtost in the Knstcrn sky.
Au.1 IioihhI and i r:.yci till its iut treat h died ; j
But biuee to a rmlimit tfhost it litis t'.rneJ, t
i, i i. ... , i, 1
wall e rest wit u thnt wuite grace satisncur
The fair tjhost smile with n pale, cold smile.
As in i ivz ns life and as lioitelrss ns death
blinll I'us-i.uilt'SR iH'tititv like this Iwguile?
W l.uluvcsa lmst v.ithout feeling or lireatU?
I ri'inemt er a umiden a fnir to tsro,
lm Rn' vnfi alive, v iili n heart iike.luce;
She died. lnt lier sj irit vaiidert free.
And charms men's souls to the oi l uuul tnnc
Warm ho was. in her life's plml ilay.
Warm nnd ftir. mid fiiithful f:nd sweet ;
A 'nan milit !i:ive thrown a kinnloiil away
To kueel and line at her girlish lent.
But the nivlit came down r.nd her day wns
done ;
Hoi ini; and dreaming were over for aye ;
And then her career as a ijr;ost was hmi
Cohl she shone, like the moon on high.
Ior maiden or mtxm shall a live man yearn?
shnll a breathing nlun loo a ghost without
breath V
Shine, moon, and chill ns, you cannot burn ;
Oo hi me. tiirl-lihot, to vov.r kingdom of
death.
HER SECRET.
"When that particularly shrewd and
businesslike young man, Mr. Thomas
Partington, joined himself in marriage
to Ada, relict of ihe late Isaac Abra
hams, his friends evinced considerable
surprise at the step. The widow was,
indeed, as they admitted, young and
fasci Dating, and had, moreover, inheri
ted a very substantial fortune from her
previous husband. But then she was
dreadfully extravagant in her habits,
and had lately developed a lerfect
mania for gambling.
lu fact, her losses on the turf and at
the card tables were becoming quite the
talk of society, and it is certain that
even during the short oeriod which
elapsed between her first husband's
death and the date of her second mar
riage her fortune must have beeu ma
terially diminished by the drains she
made upon it. In another year or two
at her present rate she would, so Tom's
friends said, run through it altogether,
and then he would rind himself la the
unenviable position o having to sup
port a recklessly s; cmlthrift wife en
tirely out of his own pocket.
A few of his greatest intimates im
pressed this upon him before he took
the final plunge, and urged him to buck
cut of his engagemet ere it was vet too
la'e. .But xom turned a ueai ear to j
. w m i 1 1 jf. -a-v .
tueir auvice. lie was very mucn m
love with the charming widow. And,
widow
besides, he entertained a strong hope
that after their union he should be able
to reform, or at least control, his wife's
extravagance. Instead, therefore of
trying to cry oft" the match, he hurried
it forward to the best of his ability, in
order that she might have as short an
interval as oAsible iu which to enjoy
the unchecked exi euditure of her
money.
But when he was married to the lady
he found that his hope of being able
to reform her had been decidedly chim
erical. Self willed and headstrong, she
would scarcely endure advice, much
less any eembience of restraint. So,
after a few months of useless lemons
trance, he gave up all attempt at gen
nine reformation as a bad job, and had
to content himself with showing silent
disapproval of her extravagance, or
with throwing in their way such feeble !
obstacles as he conlu. these were
slight enough, for her fortune was en
tirely at her own control. Still they
were not quite fruitless.
And as time went on, people noticed
that Mrs. Partington's gambling trans
actions were on a much smaller scale.
Her best friends began to hope that the
instincts of the mother were beginning
to assert themselves over the cravings of
the gabbler, and that it was thought
for the little one whom she was Boon
expecting that thus checked her in her
career of mad extravagance. It is cer
tain at any rate, that', as time went for
ward, she grew every day more ont of
spirits, and nothing was more likely
for, with all her faults, she was a soft
hearted woman thau that she should
be fretting over past selfish extrava
gance, as a sort of robbory perpetrated
on her unborn off-spring. Perhaps,
i-.Iso, her weakened physical condition
contributed its quota to this altered
irame of mind. But whatever the rea--ons
may have been, tho fact was un
doubtedly there. And each da the
oDce lighthearted and reckless woman
grew more moody and depressed.
Tom appeared to notice this change
in his wife. His manner toward her,
always kind and attentive, became ac
tually tender in its consideration, and
ho trid his hardest to soothe away her
gathering depression of spirits. He
was not able to be with her much in the
day time, for, shortly after his mar
riage, being tired of having nothing to
do, he had put some of his money into
"business" in the city, where his con
stant presence wan now required ; but
he regularly spent his evenings at home,
hardly ever going to the theater or to
bis club.
His wife seemed to feel his consider
ate tenderness very deeply, for several
times, as he sat beside her of an even
ing, with his arms thrown caressingly
round her, she suddenly buried her
face on his shoulder and burst into
tears like one whose remorse is awak
ened by unmerited and unlooked for
kindness. On each of these occasions
Tom felt by a certain subtle and in
palpabie instinct that his wife was on
the very verge of making some confei
sion perhaps of sorrow and regret for
berdefian Attitude toward him in tho
past. Bi. tlthongh by his comforting
words and soothing caresses he did his
best to invite her confidence, the en
feision which lie felt to be hanging on
her lips never issued from them.
Meanwhile, what was so clear to her
husband did not escape the notice of
Mrs. Partington's female friends. Of
these she had many, but by far the
moat favored and confidential of them
was Mrs. Brandon, an old schoolfellow
with whom she had kept up a lifelong
intimacy. Mrs. Brandon, who was at
once a very lively and a highly sensible
lady, had, at an early period," detected
the nnnsnal gloom which had come over
her friend's manner, and rallied her
upon taking her new positiou so seri
onsly. "My dear Ada," she said at last, in
the i course of an afternoon call, during
which Mrs. Partington had been more
dull than ever, "I should never have
encouraged you to accept Tom if I had
foreseen what a deplorable effect yonr
second dose of matrimony won!d have
upon you. Do you know that in the
twenty minntes I have been here, the
only original observation you have made
was to ask me whether I had enough
ngar. What is the matter with von to
day?" -
Mrs. Partington muttered something
about a "bad headache,"
"But have you always a bad headache
- powaoj 7 continued Mrs. Brandon,
more seriously. "I should not have al- j wildly incurred heavy losses day after
lnded to the subject if this were the day. Then, as my fortune rapidly di
first time that I havo sect? you thus. ininished, and time went on, and
But for weeks I have observed you J thoughts of the little ono whom I was
growing more and more gloomy and de- soon to bear were brought home to nie.
pressed. Yon are getting quite unlike
yonr out self, ami 1 cannot help leeung ,
seriously nncasy about yon.
ft moan ?w
What does
To Mrs. Brandon's surprise her friend,
instead of answering, only burst into
tears and buried her face in her hand
kerchief. Evidently, thought Mrs.
Brandon, the once gay and sprightly
Ada Isaacs was very changed indeed.
Come, Ada, she said, drawing her
chair closer, and taking ont of her I titeously "do not reproach me, Tom.
friend's bauds, "you have something on i My own heart is icproacliii g mo al
your mind. I thought so before; now I j ready, almost more than I can bear."
am sure of it. Tell me all about it. It
will do you good to confide in someone,
and you and I have never had a secret
from one another during the last twenty
years. Is it anything to do with Tom ?"
"No.no indeed it isn't! I'ray don't
think that!" sobbed Mrs. Partington.
"Well, that's a mercy!" observed!
Mrs. Brandon. "Then it must be
something to do with yourself. What
is it?"
There was a short pause, during
which Mrs. Partington's sobs slightly
subsided.
"Xoll," she said presoutly, "it is all
your fault"
"My fault, dear!" exclaimed Mrs.
Brandon.
"Your fault," repeated Mrs. Parting
ton. "It has all come of 3-our introduc
ing me to that hateful Pompadour Club.
Oh, how I wish I had never entered the
place !"
"You don't mean to say " Mrs.
Brandon paused and looked at her
trie nth
"I mean to say that, unknown to
Tom, I have been playing there every
afternoou, and losing constantly, until
oh, Nell, promise swear that vou
will not tell Torn this!"
"Of course not. Have we ever be
trayed one another's confidence, dear?
But yon must promise me something,
too. Promise that you will tell Tom.
"I? Oh, Nell, you don't know what
you are asking. You have not heard
all yet. I would not have Tom know
it for the world. Bather than ?hat I
would "
Mrs. Partington's sobs had burst
forth again with renewed force. Sud
denly she sank back on the sofa with a
cry of pain which alarmed her friend.
Perceiving that she was really ill Mrs.
Brandon summoned assistance. Muny
minutes did not elapse uetore one o
r
the servants was nurrying oil tor a
doctor.
Very shortly after the arrival of that
functionary, Mrs. Brandon herself left.
She drove direct to the club where Tom
Partington occasionally called of an
afternoon on his way home from the
city. By good luck he was there now,
and the message which Mrs. Brandon
sent in qnickly brought him to her car
riage door. A very few words passed
between them, but enough to make
Tom's face grow to twice its normal
length.
"I will be off at once," ho said.
"Do," replied Mrs. Brandon. "But
mind, not a word yet! Not until she is
qnite well again."
"Trust me!" cried Tom. Ho was al
ready hailing a passing hansom, and
with a hurried bow to Mrs. Brandon he
jumped into it.
hen he reached home he sprang up
the steps and raug the doorbell sharply.
It waiopened in about half a second bv
the cook, who, with a look of deep im
portance on hir face, gasped out:
"Please, sir, will you be as quiet as pos
sible. And and it's a boy!"
Before her bewildered master had
time to make any inquiries relative to
this information the doctor, who had
been descending the stairs when he en
tered, came up to him and shook hirn
by the hand.
"I must congratulate you, my dear
sir," he said, "on the birth of a remark
ably fine son. I am glad to tell you,
too. that Mrs. Partington is going or. as
well as can be expected. But she is
naturally very weak. So if you go to
see her do not stop more than a minute
or aliow her to talk. Anything cal
culated to excite her must be mostcare
fully avoided. I will call iu again later
and see how she is progressing."
Under these circumstance Mr. Part
ington was compelled to abandon for t he
present the hope which he had enter
tained of inducing his wife to confide to
him the trouble which Feemed to have
recently oppressed her. He accordingly
restrained Ins patience as best he could,
and waited uutil her strength should
return. At the end of the week, how
ever, it was evident that Mrs. Parting
ton was only mending very slowly, and
the doctor was by no means satisfied
with her progress. Indeed, he expressed
Ids conviction to the husband that some
thing was weighing on his patient's
mind, the removal of which was es
sential to her complete recovery. After
this Tom resolved to endeavor at the
earliest opportunity to come to an un
derstanding with his wife.
So, on the same afternoon, as he sat
by his wife's bedside, with one of her
hands in his, he said kindly, "Ada, my
dear, vou have something on your
mind."
A quick flush overspread her pale
face, and she averted her gaze, mur
muring in a confused tone, "What
makes yon fancy that, Tom?"
"The eyes of love aro qnick to see
such things," replied her husband ten
derly, as he stroked her head with his
rlisAiicrnawrl lianil "I)i1 vroi tliink I
failed to remark it just 'now, when, as
yonr glance fell on the little one there,
a groan escaped vour lips? And Von
have shown by manv other sisns that
something is tronb ing vou.
"Oh, Tom," she cried suddenly,
leaning forward and hiding her face on
his shoulders. "You will not speak so
kind y when yon know the truth. Yet
I must toll you my my husband. Yon
have been so kind and gentle that I
cannot deceive you any longer, but try,
Tom,'" pleadingly "not to be very
angry with me."
"There is no fear of that," said Tom
encouragingly. "Come, liit'e woman,
let ns have tho murder ont."
"Ah, you do not know what it is," she
went on in remorseful tones, "else yon
wonld not treat it so lightly. Oh, Tom,
Tom, I I have lost my fortune."
"How did yon manage that?" he
asked quietly.
You may well put such a question,"
she continned iu a voice broken by fre -
quent sobs. "You may well fail to un
derstand my folly and madness. Oh,
Tom, Tom, although I used to set you
at defiance in the matter of gamb'iug,
yet your open remonstrance and silent
disapproval in time began to vex my
impatient heart. And when I discov
ered a secret gambling club, where I
could indulge my insatiable passion
without yonr know'edge, I at once be
gan to freqnent it.
The came was rou-
lei te the one of all others in which I
- . . .
had always longed to join. I ifare my
self np to its fascination, and staking
a chord of motherly feeling was touched '
within me, ami 1 hated myself for my
wicked folly in having robbed my child.
"I vowed 1 would win back ail that I
had lost, and with that intention (for
my strange gambler's craving was
somehow dyiiig away) staked heavily
at the tables But mv endeavor was
nothiiigol.se thau throwing good money j
afier Lad. I lost lost lost until my
whole foitnne was gone. lo not" very
Mv daning," he replied, "I have no
thought of reproaching yon. If I had
meant to do that I should have done it
1 eforo this, for I huve known all about
it a long while." "You have known
all about it a long while!" she cried,
raising her tearful eyes wonderingiy to
his. "Oh, Tom how did you rind out?"
"Very easily, my pet," he answered,
kissing her forehead, "seeing that the
founder and proprietor of the gamb
ling club where you lost your money is
no other than myself!"
She regarded him in speechless
amazement. He went on to explain
him-elf further:
"Yes. It is qnite true. When I
found that advice and lemonstrauce
were lost on you, my dear. I had to look
about for another method of saving you
from.e effects of your folly. And the
starting of ihat private gambling club
was the method which occurred to me.
It took some working out of details and
the employment of a good bit of capital
to get the thing properly afloat. But I
enlisted the s-ervices of a competent
agent, whom I paid well, and under
took to indemnity in case the club were
found out by the police. It had not
been discoered, nor now ever will be;
for, its object having been gained, the
establishment is finally closed. There,
Ada, that is enongh to enable you to
grasp the ti nth. But tell me are you
sorry to learn that ail the money which
vou lost has passed back into mv
hands?"
"Sorry!'' she ejaculated, raising her
self in bed and wreathing her anus
round his neck in a joyful, fond em
brace. "Oh, Tom. how kind and good
and clever you are! I. can never love
or thank you enough."
Ti in Partington gave the' most con
vincing proof that he could have given
of his belief in t he sinceiity of his wife's
repentonce. He handed back to her t he
whole of her money without condition
or reservation, and has never had causa
to regret it. Huston Courier.
An liiliseiHHli: Tree.
A tine old patriarch of a hickory,
standing upon a bare, wind-swept hill
side, was blown down the other day,
ai.d the little nut lovers of the neigh
borhood were loud in their lamenta
tions. For the hoary old tree, with a
trunk five or six fret through, wide
spread branches, and hight of perhaps
150 feet, never failed to raiu down
every antumn upon the children a per
fect deluge of nuts, sound and rich and
sweet. It was amusing, yet pitiful, to
see then: swarm about their prostrate
giant friend and bewail his hard fate,
tlreat pieces of the shaggy bark were
carried away and stored in "play houses"
as shelves and mementoes by the girls,
and the bovs came to petition my father
for bits of the wood to make
handles for their "little hatchets,
axe.-, etc.
Besides their value as nut-beat ing
trees nnd since nut culture is assnm
ing such importance this is great the
hickories ore among the most useful
and valuable trees in the world. The
wood which some of these trees yield
has no superior, if, indeed, has an equal
for certain important purposes. It is
Ihe hickory wood in the hand'? which
has carried the American ax around the
world and has driven, wherever it is
known, all ether axes out of the mar
ket. The same wood has made possible
those light carriages which in turn have
made possible the American trotting
horse, one of the marvels of modern
times. No other tree jVknown the wood
of which is tough enough and strong
enough to st-:v.d the strain imposed
upon tho American trottine sulky, and
without tho modern bulky, and its
heavier forerunner, neither breeding
nor training could have produced that
race of horse which every American
looks upon with patriotic admiration.
Ihe shell-bark lucko.-y is considered
the most valuable species of the genus,
though its nuts are not esteemed sj
highly as tho pecans. The shell-bark is
the tree which people usually have in
mind when thev si eak of a hickory
tree, and tho peculiarity of the bark
which separates into great thick, looso
scales, gives to the tree a distinctive
appearance by which it is easily recog
ni.ed. Virk'x Magazine.
ricariti); (ill snow with Mix F.ngines.
A retired engineer, speaking of snow
storms, told a story about clearing rail
road tracks. The road on which he was
running at the time begins or end-",
as von chose, in Jersey catv. At one
point on the line there is a deep cut,
which always gives trouble when a
heavy snow fall occurs. Just beyond
the cut is a high iron bridge which
spans a very deep gorge. " We were
driving an old-fashioned snow plow
with six of our biggest engines,'" said
the engineer. "It was regular battering-ram
work. We would draw back
and smash into that drift like a war
i cruiser, until it seemed as if our string
j ?f engine must snap m two. But we
J"B uuuc,,:u uwa.v ,UI "Vai ,m Krau
! "a"y opemnir the cut.
'We had smashed
our way almost through the Lug dint
when wa backed np for another drive.
We came at the drift like a streak of
lightning. It seemed as if we threw a
j million tons of ice and snow as high as
' the sky. We did more than that. Wo
cut throngh the whole drift as if it were
! made of rotten cloth, and came out of
it on Uhe jump. Away we went for
that bridge, the six heavy engines
roaring like a tornado. I wa driving
the first one, and when I thought of the
tremendous weight that would hit that
iron span Jike a great cannon-ball my
heat t stood still. There was no stop
ping then, so I threw open the thrott'e
and let her so. We seemed to jump
I from one i-ide of that gorge to the
I other without touchiug tho bridge, and
j slx engineers and hi nremen drew long
i .... .
: 'reans when we lonnu ourselves safety
on the other side,
track." Xew York
tearing along
the
Tribune.
Itn a Little Careful.
"Mr. Johnson," said one Syracuse
man to another, "you are an old sardine
packed in molasses, and I wouldn't give
yon room to die on my Jandl" Mr.
Johnson took the case to court, and has
just bought a $1)00 trotter on the. ver
dict the jury gave him. Alwavs refer to
1 a mila " a gentleman, and offer him
i i a
your whole door-yard for a dying bed.
A pebfcmk dealer, though an idiot,
i bound to le a ma" of scents.
TALKS LIKE AN ALLIANCE MAN.
I'resident Stickney, of the "Maple I.euf,"
I nrliislies More t'uiiipalK'i Thunder fur
the Alliance.
President C. B. Sticknev, of the C,
St. P. K. C. It. It., in his little book
just published on "The Itailway Prob
lem," makes another valuable contribu
tion to alliance campaign literature.
Mr. Stickney does not go quite as far
as Judge Hubbard, but lie is not deal
ing with the general subject of cor
porations. He is, however, emphati
cally in favor of federal control of
rates, and argues at length the neces
sity therefor, both for the good of the
public and the stockholders. The
especial value of the work to the pub
lic, however, is in its presentation of
the vital necessity of the railways to
commerce and convenience, and the
evils of the prevailing system of man
agement. Ho says:
"Kailwav transportation under pres
ent conditions is to the industrial world
what the atmosphere is to the physical
world ; it pervades and is essential to
all industry. As in the physical world
no man or beast, no plant or shrub,
can refuse to breathe the air without
death ensuing, so in the industrial
world no industry nnd no human being
can refuse railway transportation ex
cept under similar penalties. It per
vades every article of commerce, when
one buys food, clothing or fuel he buys
railway transportation. hen he
builds houses or stores or manufactur
ing establishments, churches or school
houses, he buys railway transportation.
When he buys horses and carriages,
jewels or statuary, paintings or books,
theater tickets or lecture tickets, or
indulges in the luxury of doctors and
lawyers, ho pays for railway trans
portation." In his chapter devoted to "Methods
of Itailway Management," the author
scores the monopolies that have been
created for the purchase of farm
products. "The monopoly for the sale
of fuel has been," he savs, "fed bv
most of the citizens of the larger towns
and cities, as at times it has had the
effect to increase the cost of this arti
cle of universal consumption. The
discrimination as between locations
has borne heavily upon all classes in
the towns and villages discriminated
tgainst. The grantees of these monop
olies become rich and gradually so
powerful that instead of acting, as at
first, as the quasi employes of the com
panies receiving rebates as a favor,
they are now the masters of the rail
ways, and by playing one against the
other are enabled practically to dictate
the rates they pay.
MONOPOLIES in iT.T BY REBATES.
The most conspicuous illustration is
the present position of the four great
Chicago firms engaged in slaughtering
and marketing beef. Their present
business was built up by rt-bates paid
by the trunk lines, and each began as
a sort of a protege of one of the rail
ways. Now, with their immense busi
ness by combining and throwing the
bulk of it to one line they have become
the dictators of rates to all the great
railway corporations. These firms
care but little what rates thev pay pro
vided they are less than are granted to
other shippers, so that they may con
tinue to maintain their present practi
cal monopoly.
t ompetition may for a short time
legitimately reduce rntes, but its pro
vince is to produce unjust discrimina
tion. It dues not permit men in the
ordinary walks of life fairly to compete
with ono another. It forces popula
tion, along with manufactories, to the
large cities, instead of allowing the ar
tisan to live in the smaller towns.
where it might be possible for him to
own his own home and with moderate
expenses rear his family in quiet and
amid the virtuesof the country. It com
pels him to live in vicious tenement
houses of the crowded citv. His child
ren have creaky pavements instead of
green helds for a play ground, and
their ears are grated with a coarse pro
fanity and vulgar language instead of
the songs of birds. The air is laden
with tue disgusting odors of the gin
shop, instead of the perfume of clover
blossoms, and instead of the peaccfnl
scenes of nature thev are made familiar
with vulgarity, brutality and crime,
By congesting population it indirectly
causes disease, ignorance and crime:
it destroys independent occupation and
lorces the whole people into classes,
employers and employes, masters and
servants, autocrats and menials akin to
slaves. Why should the people longer
worship ttie monstrosity of discrimina
tion because perchance it has be called
competition, or mourn over its destruc
tion ?
HOW THE MARKETS ARE MILKED.
Now when danger approaches, the
professionals, who have avenues of ad
vanced information, sell early while
the price is high, and not only sell,
but usually sell while short. But it is
notorious that small investors are al
ways 'bulls'' when they should be
bears, and vice versa. As the price
goes down tiiey hold on tin they can
hold no longer and generally at the
lowest price they sell. Who buys?
The only ones who can, the wise ones
who sniffed danger from afar, sold
early, and now have money to buy at
bottom prices. In a general collapse,
what nn opportunity ! In the wreck
of prices a comparatively small amount
of money will buy the control of half a
dozen of the largest systems. A few
men can do it. and on the ruins of the
fortune of hundreds of thousands of
small investors lay the sure foundations
for the cnormons wealth of the future
American billionaires. Fifty years ago
the American millionaires were as yet
unknown and only dreamed of. It was
then the pride of America that her citi
zens were possessed of independent
livelihoods; that it was a land of homes
and of substantial equality; that there
were no privileged classes none very
rich and few very poor. Now it has
been estimated that with a population
of over 65,000,000 people one-half of
all the wealth of the nation is concen
trated in the hands of 40,000 families,
and that three-fourths of it is in the
possession of fewer than 250.000 fam
ilies, while there are seventy-five es-
i tates valued at an average of $35;000,
000 each. One individual is reputed to
j be worth $200,000,000, and the income
of another is estimated at $1,500,000
per month.
Such statements appearing in public
prints over respectable signatures, al
though they may not be strictly accu
rate in detail, necessarily challenge
thoughtful consideration. Whence
and how conid a single man in one
lifetime accumulate $200; 000,000, or
another, poor when a loy. at the age
of 50 have acquired an income of $18,
000,000 per annum ? It is understood
that the first $150,000,000 fortune was
founded upon the ruins of a line of in-
I significant railways, which were bought
for a baga'elle, and being put together
and roannged with consummate genius,
became a great trunk line; and that
the largest mercantile fortunes have
resulted from monopolies ltorn and
nurtured by discrimination on the part
of railways in respect to rates. For
these examples let the 05,000,00;) of
American citizens who together own
one-quartor of the wealth of the nation,
while the remaining three-fourths is
owned by less than 1,000,000 of their
fellow citizens, be assured that with
the destruction of the small invest
ments in railway securities there will
aiqiear the billionaire. Will an army
of paupers follow in his trail? Iomt
lruiune.
AN OBJECT LESSON.
The Annual Ilanquet of the Protective
Tariff League Is Held Without the I'l-en-enre
of Many Oeeply Interested Citizens
The American Protective Tariff
league gave its annual banquet at the
Madison Square garden concert hall,
New York, on Wednesday evening of
last week. Cornelius N. Bliss presided.
On his right was Vice President Mor
ton, and on his left, Hon. William
McKinley. Among the others prese
were Secretary Noble, Senator His
cock, J. P. Dolliver, N. W. Aldrich, J.
B. Krhardt, J. N. Dolph, J. ' S. Clark
son. Mu rat Halstead, It. P. Porter and
E. F. Shepard.
In referring to the occasion the New
York JJorMsavB:
The dinner would have been more
successful but for the unavoidable ab
sence of the very best protected ones.
Among those who wonld have been
very glad to attend and testify to the
benefit of protection, but who really
didn't feel able to come, were:
The 10,000 Pennsvlvania miners,
who have been on a strike since their
wages were cut 10 per cent, j
Iho pottery-workers of i lrenton,
whose wages have been cut 22 per
cent.
The ribbon weavers of Paterson,
whose wages have been cut 15 per
cent.
The spinners of Lowell, whose wages
have been cut .'1 cents per hundred.
The coal miners of Illinois, whose
wages have bee reduced from O'J to 00
cents per ton.
Ihe employes of the Buckeye
Reaper Works, who suffered a reduc
tion of 'M per cent.
The employes of the Otis and Steel
companies of Cleveland, whose wages
have been cut 30 per cent.
The Ilopedale weavers, whose in
come has been reduced 2S cents a yard.
The 2,500 employes of tho Illinois
Steel company, who are on a strike
against a proposed deduction.
The employes of the Crane Iron
company of Catasauqua, whotie wages
have been cut 10 per cent.
The GOO Providence weavers, who
struck against a proposed reduction
six weeks ago, and are still ont.
The Willimantic spoolers, whose
wages have been cnt $1.50 per week.
The furnace-workers of Cleveland,
whose wages have been cut 10 per
The eoal miners of Evansville, Ind.,
who are stdl on a strike. j
The employes of the Jacksonville
(111. ) Underwaro company, who struck
against a reduction.
The Lewiston cotton-workers, who
do not like even a reduction of 3 per
cent.
The hat makers of Melbnrn, Mass.,
whose wages have been cut: 25 per
cent.
The employes of the Saxony Knit
ting company of Little Falls, N. Y.,
whose reduction is 20 per cent.
The steel-workers employed by Mr.
Carnegie, whose loss is 10 per cent.
The Seranton Iron-workers who are
in the same box.
The Steelton, Bethleham and Potts
town iron-workers, who loso respec
tively 7, 10 and 12 per cent.
The silk-workers of Warehouse
Point, Conn., whose wages have been
cut 27 per cent.
The 1,200 brick-workers of Trenton,
who struck against a 20 per cent, re
duction. The engravers and chasers em
ployed by the Midleton Plate-glass
company, whose wages have been cut
U per cent.
The cigarmakers of this city and
Baltimore, still on a strike against a
reduction.
The leather finishers of Solomon's
Newark (N. J.) factory, who revolted
at a 14 per cent, reduction.
The Morocco-workers of Lynn.
Mass., who struck against a 20 per
cent, reduction.
The employes of tho New Haven
Itolling-mill, who are still out on a
strike because of a 10 per cent reduc
tion. It Was All Right Then.
Some of them tell it this way : "Mr.
Cleveland saw proper during his ad
ministration to go on the market and
buy np national securities at a' ruinous
loss to the government in order to re
lieve the distress of speculators in Wall
street. Mr. Harrison adopted the
same policy with elaborations pecul
iarly republican. Upon another occa
sion Mr. Cleveland, in order to prevent
a ruinous shrinkage in the value of
stocks loaned the banks about sixty
millious of dollars without exacting a
farthing of interest. Mr. Harrison
followed suit with about twenty mil
lions." There was nothing "foolish"
or "unconstitutional" alrout that.
liorktlale (Ter.) AHianre.
It Suits the People. ,
There seems to be universal satisfac
tion over the result of the Cincinnati
conference by all friends of political re
form, although a good many old line,
politicians are denouncing the
"scheme" vigorously. This latter
class fears it will be the handwriting
on the wall and their time of service
ended. But the majority of reformers
believe as Ignatms Donnelly says:
"We could not afford to wait longer
before beginning the work of organiza
tion and from every standpoint the
move was one of necessity."-riTi'7-ton
(Mo.) Farmers' Advocate. ;
The widely published old party pa
pers reports of a rupture bet ween tho
northern and senthern alliance is
wholly without a foundation. The
Xa lion at Economist, the national or
gan of the southern alliance, heartily
advocates the plans for the national
campaign of "92 as now discussed by
both sections of the alliance, and we
have no reason to doubt that it voices
the sentiments of its organization.
Gibbon Neb. Reporter:
A Strange Thing.
It seems strange that the partisans
of the two old parties are saying so
much about the new party and kicking
so hard, when they' all unite in saying
that its will be a dismal future. The
truth is that they see the ominous
handwriting on thie wall. They have
had their Belshazzar feast, and next, .
Doon la.) Press, i
AFRICAN SERPENTi
General C'linracferinflci of Venoinons
iteptiien The I'uir.itiiier and it iteadiy I
Venom. !
Siuce the days when tho peace of j
Paradise was destroyed bv a seriicnt j
man has entertained loathiner, mixed
with terror, for reptile. He is ready
to believe any tale, however strange or
horrible, whether it transforms the ser
pent into a dragon or a deadly worm.
A. Mounteney Jepson, who accom
panied Stanley in equitorial Africa, has
bad many adventures with venomous
serpents. Africa, ho says, is not in
fested with ns many venomous serpents
as is India, for while in the latter coun
try the death rate is very large from
poisonous bites, the natives of the former
continent are seldom molested. Of
course there are districts in Africa
where the reptiles are exceedingly com
mon, but that is uot generally the case,
as ir. India. The characteristics of the
venomous serpents are the thick, stub
by tail and the diamond head, and in
Africa some of the-e varieties are capa
ble of extraordinary
exploits, such as 1
spitting poison into people's eyes from
quite a distance; of leaping backward
into the air the length of the body to
bite the person who is at the tail; of
throwing the body sidewise at a victim;
of existing on air for years at a time; in
fact, of a quantity of other extraordinary
things. Take the horned cerastes, for
instance, which is known commonly as
the horned viper. This hideous creat
ure grows to the length of two or three
feet, and is beautifully marked, al
though possessed of a most demoniacal
head. Two horns stat d out above the
eyes of this viner, which, together with
the wicked gleam of the eyes them
selves, give it the look of a devil. It
live", generally, half buried in the sand,
and can leap upon a person passing,
sidowisc, to the extcntof three and four
feet iu fact, twice its own length.
Tiiey a.j ixjsscssed of great vitality,
and there is a case on record of a horned
viper existing two years in a largo gla-s
jar without food.
Ore of the most repulsive of African
snakes is the hideous puff adder, which
never runs away from danger, but on
the contrary pursues its enemy. Tho
name has been bestowed because of tho
habit this reptile has of pulling out itc
body yiheu enraged. Tt grows to a
length of teveral feet and is very large
in girth, especially in the middle. So
powerful is its body that, when lying
along the fround, a puff adder can
throw itelf backward into the air its
full length aud savagely bite the hand
or thigh of a man or beast. Thee puff
adders were a great annoyance during
our journey through Equatoria, lor they
would lie in odd places wailing for us
to pass. Sometimes, as the natives
were cutting the pathway through the
dark fore-t, the pull adders would be
dangling down like hanging creepers.
The stubby tai s would encircle a
bough above, while about two-thirds of
the body swung down like a pendulum,
to and fro. Then, as the unweary na
tive cut away the creepers to make the
tunnel through which onr line was to
creep, the puff adder would bite his
naked arm savagely.
Nu one can realize the cnormons
strength of the boa family until he has
seen a python gracefully throwing his
coil about a tree or gliding swiftly from
ground to tree. A python, in pursuing
its prey, hurls its head like a whip
against the victim, grasping it with the
teeth and casting as swiitly coil after
coil about if, to that the mere weight of j
tho serpent's bodv is crushing in its ef
fect. While I was at Dufile Station, the
Fettlement on the Nile in which Emin
Pasha was residing, I had a curious ad
venture. One day I had been sitting
with Emin in his house, listening to his
tales of Oordon. Emin's little daughter
was looking at the chickens at the low
er end of the compound. Suddenly
we heard frightened Fcreams and in an
other moment saw the child running as
fast as her small legs conid carry her
toward us. Emin is as blind as a bat,
and jumping up hastily I rushed to
ward the little one to see what was the
matter. Fancy my horror to see a huge
puff adder wriggling after her rapidly
in fact.so quickly that in another min
ute he wi.uld have caught up with her.
Like a Hash I blew the serpent's head
to bits with a shot from my revolver
nnd carried the trembling child to the
house. I confess that I shuddered my
self over the hideousness of the situa
tion. The African cobra is known as the
"spitting snake," on account of its pow
er to throw its venom quite a distance
into the eyes of its enemy. It is a lazy
reptile, save when stirred to anger,
when it cannot be equaled for swiftness
and accuracy in spitting or biting its
victim. The spitting is accomplished
by expelling the breath sharply through
the mouth, so that the soapy venom
Hies straight as a pea thrown from a
ipe into the victim's eyes. This cobra
attains the length of six feet, and is
large and powerful. It is doubly form
idable from th?fact that it can swim in
the rivers very swiftly, aud has no fear.
In swimming the cobra moves along
rapidly with its snout and beady eyes
just above the water's surface.
Where They tdfler.
In a town in the far West, a crowd of
cowboys stood around a fenced en
closure, beside the railroad track. In
this enclosure was confined a large bull.
The cowboys were amusing themselves
by annoying in many ways the poor
brute, who was fast becoming furions.
Suddenly, one of their number.lightly
vaulting the fence, landed squarely as
tride of the bull's neck, and grasped
him by the horns. Ihe infuriated ani
mal plunged and snorted, but his rider,
wi ll wonderful agility, quickly leaped
to the ground, and before the bull could
turn aud gore him, sprang over tho
fence again to be greeted by the ap
plause of his comrades.
Their attention was soon diverted,
however, by the arrival of a passenger
train which was just drawing up to the
station across the street, and the cow
ixiys, with characteristic shouts and
laughter, ran across toward the plat
form. Meanwhile, the now maddened bnll
bad succeeded in breaking through the
fence, and with tossing head and lash
ing tail was trotting across the street,
bellowing as he went.
Just then a young man, satchel in
hand, came running down the street to
catch the train, passing on his way some
farmers who were standing some dis
tance trom the bull.
They shouted to the voting man'as he
passed", "Hi, there! Stop! The hull !"
but he kept on, with a wave of the hand
and an "All right! I'll look for him."
The next instant the bnll saw him,
n-nl with lowered horns, ran to head
him ff. Bnt the young man was a fast
He passed inst in front of the
runner.
bull's head, which, the next instant,
brought np with a thud against the side
f the station. It was a very close
aliavc.
JAzed by the shock, the ball stood
IScMldrSSareJ
1 train ftllll find nnQinil llirmirrh llin Klfi-
tram and bad passed through the sta'
t ion, f tar ted to cross the street. When
they turned the corner of the building.
they cancht tho animal's eve. and ouictc
as a flash he charcred them.
A cry of horror went
up from tlio
group of farmers, as the two little girls,
now aware of their d.mger, started to
run hand in hand.
A stalwart young farmer soon ap
peared a short distance behind them.
He took in tho situation at a glance.
By hard running, he overtook the bull
when but a few leet from the children,
quickly grasped with both hand t the
horn nearest him, set his feet firmly,
and with one qnick, strong, downward
and backward jerk, threw tho animal
heavily to the ground.
With the help of the other farmers,
who by this time had reached tho siot,
the bull was feenred and led away
where he conid do no more harm.
Thus, in less time than it has taken
to toll it all, occurred perfect exanioles
of three distinct human qualities, which
in the minus of many people are often
confounded bravado, recklessness and
courage. Youtlt Coinimn ioru
English Mnrrlagn l.avr.
A cac was recently tried and decid
ed in the English Court of Apj crIs
which attracted a great deal of atten
tion, since it had an important bearing
on the lights of an English husband
over his wife.
It appears that a gentleman named
Jackson, soon after marrying, was
obliged to go to New Zealand on press
ing business. He left his newly-married
wife in England. Upon his return,
be found that she had taken up her res
idence with her relatives, and, to his
surprise, she obstinately refused to go
back to him and live with him.
The husband resolved thereupon to
exercise the right, which he supposed to
be hij by the time-honored law of the
land, aud to capture his 'wife and com
pel her to live with him whether the
wonld or not.
With some friends he managed to get
access to her, and forcibly tcized lier
and carried her off to his own house.
There he kept strict guard over her for
several days, using, indeed, no bodily
violence, further tliai to ,take her bonnet
away and throw it into the fire and for
bidding her relatives access to her.
The relatives moved for a writ of ha
beas corpus, which compelled the hus
band to produce his wife in court, in or
der that it might be decided whether
he was lawfully retaining her.
The Divisional Court, before which
the cae w as first tried, aflirmed the
husband's right to hold and keep pos
sesion of his w ife's person.
But an appeal was made to the high
est court, that of Appeals, consisting of
the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the
Rolls, and Lord Justice Fry; and this
highest court reversed the decision of
the lower court, a-i 1 unanimously de
cided that the husband had no such
right; that he had been wrong from
first to last, and that the obdurate wife
must be released and restored to liborty
Iu this country there would probably
be but one opinion as to the justice of
this decision. Bnt in England, from
ancient times, the idea that the husband
has a right to compel his wife to live
with him has been rooted in the public
mind.
Iu recent vears, however, manv laws
have beon passed in England, regarding
the rights oi married women, which
have been in harm onr with modern
thought throughout thecivi ized world.
It is true that the law, which has ex
isted for more than sixty vears, forbid
ding any man to marry the sister of his
di-eased wife, still remains r the
statute book. It has been repeatedly
repealed by the House of Commons;
but the Hon e of Lords, larsely in
fluenced by the bishops, has always re
fused to do away with the restriction.
Whi'e a wife who is deserted by her
husband cannot, in England, as she can
in most of onr State-1, obtain a divorce
from him on that ground, she can com
pel pirn to support her, by paying her
such a weekly sum "as is in accordance
with his means." On the other hand,
it seems by the recent decision that a
husband has no rights whatever over a
wife who deserts.
By a law passed within ten years,
moreover the married Englishwoman's
rights in regard to property have lmen
greatly enlarged. She can now acquire,
hold and beqnath property in her own
name, without any control, or interfer
ence of her husband ; while she is liable
for the debts seperately contracted by
her. She has thus been placed virtu
ally in the same position, as to property,
as a man or as an unmarried woman.
The result of the decision which has
been referred to is likely to lie, that de
sertion by a wife in England will be
added, in the laws of that country, to
the other causes for which a husband
can sue for divorce. Youth's Coin
pan ion.
A Meager Itreaklasr.
A man who had every appearance of
being well ted and in good health sann-
tered into a fashionable tip-town care a
few mornings ago, and, after de'ilier- j
ately divesting himself of hat, coat, and ;
gloves, seated himself in a cozy corner
and began to read a newspaj er. A
polite waiter put a napkin and a glass
of water on the table and waited for an
order. He must have known his cu to
mer, for he waited patiently for nearly
ten minutes. Then the de.ibe ate man '
ordered a cup of hot water. "Have it
boiling hot," said he. The water was
soon brought and the gentleman sipi cd I
it as rapidly as possible. When the cup
was empty he said : "Bring me another ,
one and some celery." The Fecond cup .
of hot water was sipped more leisurely, '
and the eating of the celery occupied
about half an hour's time, the guest
reading his paper meanwhile. Who"!
the check was brought it read: "Two
cups hot water, 50 cents; one portion
celery, 40 cents. It was paid without
a murmer. and after the man had de
parted the waiter comunicated to a cur
ious observer at the next table the fac;
that "a great many gentlemans come
here and breakfast just that way."
Keir York Tribune.
Hot Water for (Sleeplessness.
A most wretched lie-awake of thirty
five years, who thought himself happy
if he conid get twenty minute sleep in
twenty-four hours, said: "I took hot
water, a pint, comfortably hot, one good
hour before each of my three meats, and
one tbe last thing at night, Date rally
unmixed with anything else. Tht very
first night T slept for three hoc rs on
end, turned around and tdept agai i till
morning. I have faithfully and reg
ularly continued the hot water and
have never had one bad sight i ince.
Pain error! nnllv lessenrxl and want thn
' shattered nerves became calm., and
strong, and instead of each night ieing . wind-gust gathered up the mighty struct
on lonir misery. Riwuit in trnarvinff foi uro as though it were a feather, and.
the morning, the are all too sUarV for
the sweet, refreshing sleep I now mji ay.
London Spectator. - ;- - .
A DOWNPOUR IN IOWA
-
WASHES OUT MANV MILES
I TRACK.
OP
Inea culahle Pam-go to rrrprtf B11U.I
lng Whirled Away ami Tre a Pent anil
Itrok' n Like I o-vii -Hundred of Fam
ilies Hr.iivlosft ami in Hanger of Starva
tion Hcirt ending ttorleu tf Kyr-Wit-newes.
Northwestern Iowa lias been visited
by the heaviest rainfall in twenty years.
An eye witness of the recent ftoor!s iu
tho vicinity of Cherokee, states that it
is necessary for ono to see to have tho
least idea of the great amount of dam
age done. "AMi -," ho exclaimed, "It is
simply t rr'hly wnnricrfc.l the way that
immense tody of water swept, tilings be
fore it. Houses w-re hut bubbles on
Its crest. I was at Cherokee when tho
cloud burst r.vn and in less time lhan
it takes to tell it a fend was upon tho
town. Houses were seen to tremble,
swing ha'f aro-ind, and then carried
along by tho torrents. Trees were bi nt
anil broken like reeds aud not a thins
could stop the terrific onward rush of
the water, and all this occurred before
tho people could possibly realize what
had happened. Ths most remarkable
feature of the disaster Is that any of tho
people in the track of the flood escaped
with their lives. As far as I know no
lives were lost at Cherok -e and the im
mediate vicinity."
The storm rendered between 300 and
400 families homeless in and alio.it
C herokee. These are being ca cd for in
the Masonic, (irand Army of the Repub
lic and Knights of Pythias halls at
Cherokee. The Illinois Centtal lost
n.777 feet of roadbed and !iS5 feet of
piling. This does not in' lude the brldijo
taken out over fie Sioux Hivcr. The
amount of damage will reach 5250,000.
As the waters rcc -do the carcasses of
cattearo landed and to-day the stench
from them permeates the air. It is es
timated that hundreds of h ad of stock
have been le st. Two-miles of track of
the main line of the I liuois Central has
been w.ih d out between Cherokee and
Sioux City, and tt will take a week ti
repair the damage. Tho Onawa and
Sioux Fall branches of the same road
aro in a worse way, an I it will
be about ten days before traffic can be
resumed. Both wire onnect'ons are
still broken. The Sioux River is sub
siding, but it is still forty feet deep, and
covers a quarter of a mile of country.
The average depth of the river when in
its channel is about four feet. The
work of clearing away the debris is now
in prorress, and aid is I eing rendered
the unfortunate inhabitants. The town
of Moville is still flooded and not ono -t
tho 200 inhabitants is able, to occupy his
house, and all are camping out. There
is only 250 pounds of bour in the tow n.
The town is almost completely cut o 1
from succor. Hundreds of horses and
other live stock out in the fields in the
valley were fearfully lacerated by the
barbed wires carried down by the swol
len torrent, in which the beasts beco:no
entangled.
The damatre at Cherokee is estimated
at over S(M,0(h. The river fell about
ten feet, but was st:U twenty feet abovo
low water mark. At ordinary stage ol
water tho river is only about 200 feet
wide, while it is tow 1.2(H) fet.
The engineer of the relief train which
was the first to go from Fort Bodge to
Cherokee aft?r the big storm, has return
ed to this city, says a Waterloo special.
It took them eight hours to run from
Anrelia to Cherokee, and many times
thev were compelled to stop on account
of the rain, which came down in torrents.
From Storm Lake to Cherokee the
country resembled one vast lake almost
a? far as the eye could icach in every
direction. Only water was visible, while
debris of destroyed buildings, bodies of
hor.-es and cattle and other farm animals
floated past Cherokee in largo numbers..
Most of them were still strusglini? to
escape, but the rush of the torrents pre
vented their reaching dry land.
Tho fanners along the lino suffered
very much. One farmer living south of
( herokeo stated that over 200 catt e are
missing from his pasture, aud he expects
all are drowned. The merchants In the
small towns have bad their stores under
mined, the basements filled with watr,
and in many instances the water has
come on the tirst floors and damsgod
their goods extensively. At Cherokee
seventy-five to one hundred houses are
d stroyed ani many of them have been
swept away. .The gravel train which
was in the p t at t herokee is buried out
of sight, tlio c.nly portion of it that is
visible being the top of tho smokestack
of the steam shovel.
Superintendent tiileas reports that the
damage to tbe Illinois Central track ai
ready in sight will foot up 5200,000, and
but 1 ttlc is yet known of tho condition
of two branches from Cherokee. The
water fell about ten feet at Cherokee,
aud many O'cupants of houses in the
flooded district were -able to regain en
trance to day. Tho ruin wrought made
many a heart sick. Whcro the houses
were not destroyed their contents are all
covered with thick, black mui, ruining
them. Throe hundred poor people in
Cherokee are being fed and clothed by
the relief committee, and a dispatch
from there says outside aid will have to
be asked.
A. W. Thesher, a mail-clerk on a Mil
waukee and St. Paul train that was
water-bound, at Hornick, thus relates
his experience: "Bet ween Uornlck and
i Hedge's Siding the track is out in many
places, and so great was the force of the
water that the rails were carried far
from the roadbed. I got hungry, as did
all tho passengers. Our rations were
rather slim, and so I made up my mind
to come to Sioux City. I put my letter
mail In a pouch together with my cloth
Inar and started to wade. I waded
through fully a milo and a half of water
between Hornick and Hedge's, and in
many places it was np to my neck. At
Hedge's I caught a construction train
and rode Into Sioux City.
"The low lands are covered with water
as far as you can see. Field after field
is submerged, and all over the flats the
water is from one to four feet deep in
the first floors of houses. The farmers
have moved out to the high ground in
nearly all instances.
"I saw farmers wading In the water np
to their waists pushing rafts, on which
were loaded their families and household
goods, ahead of them to the high land.
KILLED BY A CYCLONE.
Six Men Los Their tle While Work-ins-
on a Coal Breaker, at Natalia, Pa.
The Patterson Coal Company's breaker,
located at Natalie, Pa., was destroyed
by a cyclone and the the following per
sons were killed:
J. N. Blossom, Hawley, Pa,; J. Bent
ley Dodson, Shickshlnny, Pa.; Richard
Roberts, and William Lodge, Luzernc
borough; and two unknown strangers.
Lodge, Roberts, and the two unknown
men were slaters and were engaged in
roofing the breaker at the time of the
accident The other two Jellied were
carpenters and met their while at work
on the thednterior of the breaker.
Shortly after noon the sky In the
north became black, and the darkness
grew in intensity. The men perched on
their high tower gazed on the advan ing
storm, expecting to descend tn time to
avoid the rain, emaaeniy wsrnuiu
whirling it around, aasnea n wrun.
; The men were mangled almost beyond
recognition. - v