The farmers' union., September 17, 1891, Image 1

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

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

                
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NUMBER 33
VOLUME I.
MEMPHIS, MISSOURI, THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 1891.
PEOPLE ARE IGNORANT
NO LONGER, BUT ARE ORGAN
ISED IN SELF PROTECTION
Against the Mandate Formulated by
Corrupt Corporations and I ndomed by
the "Tramp Factory" at Washington
Are Moil and Know It,
Helen Wilmans, well known as- one
of the ablest writers in the reform
movement, writes a lengthy article in
JVilman's E.rpress, of Douglusville,
Ga., from which the following is
taken :
Twenty years ago I was awakened
to a full comprehension of tho wrong
being perpetrated on the people by
tli9 rulers of our nation, and the tem
per of me rushed to a white heat, and
has never cooled since.
But notice this: I was not more
angry at the rulers who sought to
make slaves of the people than at the
people who were servile enough to
stand it. And it was in those days
that I wrote that fiery article so often
quoted by the reform papers from that
hour to this an article in which I
said that "He who takes a kick de- j
serves it."
But now I know that though the
people took the kicks, they did not
deserve them; because they were not
servile but only ignorant of their own
worth and their own power.
Since that time there lmsbeen going
on a thoroughly systematized course
of education among the masses, and
at last they understand their position
and dignity; and where is the man
who dares to administer a kick to them
now? "Bettei a mill stone was fast
ened to his neck and he be sunk in the
depths of the sea."
Before the people became aroused
by the education of the reform press
they did not know they had any rights
that a rich man or a corporation was
bound to respect. They took the ad
vice of their preachers and ate their
bread usually without butter in It u
viility, believing it was God's will that
they should work hard and have noth
ing, so that their reward in heaven
might be greater.
.So peculiar are the terms of this
gospel scheme, it might as well have
been gotten up by monopolists in
their own favor as by God. It gave
heaven here on earth to the rich; with
a first-class chance of death bed re
pentance and heaven hereafter. To
the poor it gave a most potent hell
here; a hell so throbbingly virulent
as to destroy before death almost every
vestige of soul a man has, with no
bettershow for heaven afterward than
the rich. If these be the mercies of
- Gfld, we had better organize in self
protection against them.
One thing certain, we have organ.-.
ize,d in self protection against the
mandates formulated by corrupt cor-
porations and endorsed by the mam
moth "tramp factory'' at Washington;
and if the political world in its revolu-
tion on its axis does not swing to suit
us better between now and the 22d of
next February, we are going to cut
the hame strings and drop the harness
off the two old parties and turn them
loose on the direct road to Pandemo
nium, where they have been trying to
lead the people for so long a time.
They will get there, but the people
will not. On the very brink of hell
wo have called a halt. Not one step
farther will we bndge in that direction.
Thanks to the reform press ; thanks to
those noble, self'sacrificing editors
who without money, and at times al
most without hope, and against the
wishes and irithont the help of those
for whom they were working have
kicked the lid off the pot of hell broth
brewed for us by the politicians of the
old parties, and exposed its poisonous
contents to the public gaze until the
dullest and deadest man among us has
turned in deep disgust away from it
Thanks, I sav, to those men, for I
know them. I have been with them.
I recall one time on the old Pacific
Greenbacker when we editors, tvpos,
and tho whole fraternity danced- a clog
dance in the printing office because
some patriot sent in two dollars on
subscription, and we knew we would
all have a square meal that day.
It seems that truth must have her
sacrificial offerings. And to the great
truth of "Justice for all and special
privileges for none, men and women
that I know have been offering them
selves, their time, their services, the
services of their children, living on
what would barelv keep soul and body
together, having their printing offices
in dens top open and cold to be con
sidered fit tenements for horses or pigs,
and keeping their families in houses
not much better, and all this that they
might work out their own pure and
holy convictions of right, in order that
the people should be saved from the
crushing wheels of heartless capital
And tnis has leen goihg on for many
years, even while those for whom the
sacrifices were mvle did not know it,
Lulled into the deepest and heaviest
narcotic slumber by the lies of
the old parties and by exhorta-
tions to humility and forbearance by
four-fifths of the preachers hell or
dained for this special purpose, edu
cated in deception and baptized in
cupidity, hypocrisy and venom that
they might share with the despoiler
the wealth they helped to extort from
the laborer, the people were rapidly
falling into tne Bleep that Knows no
waking, and civilization was lapsing
again into the dark ages ; and would
have done so but for the never ending
and thankless work of a thousand ob
scnre reformers whose untiring sense
of justice would not let them rest
nntil the whole nation should become
infused by it.
Every class of society has been
against the reformer. The ruling
classes have been against him through
a mistaken belief that there must be
class privilege, and that the rich could
only subsist at the expense of the poor.
The poor have been against him, be
cause they were overworked and tin
derfed, and kept in conditions where
the lilting power of thought could
scarcely reach them.' The poor have
been against the reformer for no other
reason than because they believed
their bread depended on the rich, and
they dare not jeopardize it by harbor
ing a single idea to tne contrarv.
But day by day and year by year the
destructive and constructive blows of
the spirit of reform .reverberated
through the. world; issuing"" "between
the chinks of log cabins and from the
broken tenement houses of our cities
and rolling in sheets of type stained
and almost blood stained paper from
hand presses, to be folded by half fed
women and children long after the
hours of legitimate toil had passed,
then to be sent forth on a mission of
mighty benevolence compared with
which all the foreign missions of all
the churches from the birth of Christ
to this day pale into insignificance.
A mission whose purpose avasthe
mak ing of men. A mission that spoke
as with the voice of God and said, Let
there be men, and there tons men.
And today thanks to the persist
ent, indefatigable, unconquerable old
reform press the sun rises on a race
of men and sets on a race of men.
Never in the world's history has this
been so before. Never has there been
a time when men knew they were men
with the rights of men, and with the
courage .that dares to claim those
ririits.
They know it now ; and knowing it,
how is it possible they can act other
wise than as this knowledge prompts
them?
They cannot and will not. The old
parties may clothe themselves in shim
mering white robes of angel purity,
and pose before them ns the very in
carnation of all that is good ; but the
people have lost confidence in them.
"Thev are painted sepulchres, full of
rottenness and dead men's bones."
They are harlots who have sold them
selves for gold, and for whoso perfidy
naught remains but that soul-consuming
decay which ends in utter putres
sence and burial from off the face of
the earth.
Nothing remains for us now who
ave awakened to a knowledge of the
situation but to withdraw our supjiort
and countenance from the old parties
and mass our forces for a grand and
united movement .in 1S92. It is non
sense for us to sav "there will iroba-
bhj be a third partv bv that time."
The third party is already here; and
in the'langnage of old Tennessee, he's
"powerf ill survigrous chap too. I
am aware of the fact some of our lead
ers are anxious to keep the young one
out of sight and hearing for the pres
ent, but for mv part I cannot keep the
matter secret, and I do not intend to
try. Moreover I am quite sure that
no one can keep the secret much lon
ger He can outscreech th'e American
agle now ; and he can outbellow tho
English 4ull too. He lies in a cradle
that reaches froin Maine to Florida,
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
He no longer lives on milk ; he drinks
water out of Lake Michigan and eats
his beefstpak in Oklahoma; he uses
the loftiest peak of the ltockv Moun
tains for a toothpick ; he wears No. 17
cowskin brogans, and has to have a
new last made for him everv week.
He is brains at one end and kicks at
the other a very valuable combination
since it gives him the alternative of
working out with his lower extremities
such problems as he cannot solve with
his head.
It is plain to be seen from mv de
scription of this infant that he cannot
be kept in the background much
longer. By .the law of primogeniture
he has come to inherit these United
States. He is the legaTlv begotten
child of .our rulers, the republican and
democratic parties, and they are, to all
purposes, dead, and only awaiting bur
ial. Who shah dispute his right to
reign
But let me say here, that though
this child is the son of the old parties,
he is not in any respect like his par
ents. He stocks back and takes after
his grandfather old Thomas Jefferson.
Indeed, if we can believe the theory of
incarnation, we may assume that the
spirit of the old man has again become
embodied in this hopeful and wonder
ful babv.
To feed this child, to rear him, to
see thai every impediment to his
growth is set aside, is the work we are
now bent on doing. The are assassins
abroad in the land who would murder
him; every city has its King Herod
who has filled the states with murder
ers; and the liars who would defame
him are legion. The old partv press
have millions of money to back their
efforts to -destroy him. Some of their
leading papers pretend to be friendly
to him, and do not attack him openly ;
but the careful reader can feel their
venom between the lines of cautiously
worded editorials, and know that thev
would kill him if thev could. Others
of their number and these are far
more honest and less dangerous than
tne nrst named class make scorpions
of their pens with which to sting him
to madness.
A large nuniner of these papers are
heartilv frightened, and treat him with
becoming decency because thev fear
him. Others have not sense enough
to be afraid, and so they malign him
to their heart s content.
But there is verv little difference be
tween the papers who Jreat him well
through fear and those who abuse him
through foolhardiness. The latter
class have not enough gumption to go
in out ' of the rain, while tho former
class have. That is all. Both these
types of papers are to be lioyeotted by
the fiiends of the growing baby. Let
us strike them from our list of visitors
immediately.
The alliance movement has devel
oped an impregnable chain that holds
every member in its clasp. Based on
ssmpathy for each other a wrongs the
SPIRIT OF LOVE has been begotten
in their assemblies. Horny hands
meet and clasp each other in pressure
as tender and holy as the mother s kiss
on the soft lips of her infant. Absolute
.frankness and honestv prevail among
them ; their entire conduct is marked
by a heretofore unknown or at least
inoperativospirit of justice in their
dealings with all, both outside and in
side their own ranks. Their noblest
characteristics are awakened, and the
purest religion namely, 'the almost
forgotten religion of Jesus shines
through their faces -and expresses it
self in their actions no less than their
words.
What a contrast to the actions and
feelings among the old party members
those who for twenty years and more
have flaunted in their conduct the. ani-
malized maxim of "Every man for him
self, and devil take the hindmost.
When after a retirement of five
years from active participation in the
reform movement I at last connected
myself with the alliance to perceive
the nation's resurrection from the dead,
and to feel the baptismal fire of its
newly awakened hope and determina
tion", I was overwhelmed with the first
sense of universal religion I had ever
encountered. Then it was that I saw
God in the people's movement, and
knew to a certainty that nothing could
prevail against it. " Whats wa it to me
that with here and there a noble ex
ception the professed ministers of re
ligion were opposed to it. We of the
alliance had all become ministers
teachers and preachers of the gospel of
humanity; .and Christ -was in our
midst. And with God for us. who can
be against us?
The first night after I had been re
ceived into the alliance I waked mvself
crying. I had been dreaming over the
whole-souled hand clasping that greet
ed my reception into that body, and a
memory of the fi bre and texture of the
hands that had pressed mine so warm
ly had come to me.
Oh such hands; hard as if cut out
of stone; many of them drawn until
they could only open half way; their
elasticity and every trace of beauty had
long since departed. They were hands
that told how eloquently and pitifully
only a mother's heart can understand
of that whole system of iniquity per
petrated upon them by villainous rul
ers ami endorsed by the most venal
government under the sun. Hands
that when uplifted in prayer speak
more eloquently of defrauded lives than
words can ever do. No wonder that in
in that unresisting condition between
sleeping and waking, when the will is
comparatively inoperative, the thought
of these poor haDds and of all that
their disfigurement meant, should
sweep the sensitive nerves of human
syrrpathy and moisten a pillow with
tears.
And tears, with me, are only for
such moments. Let the thought of
these hands come to me in the positive
condition of wakefulness and I have no
tears to waste. Instead of tears my
ery soul tlirobs with an almost un-
controlablo wrath; and I feel for the
time as if nothing but retributive
engeance could wipe away such
rongs.
And vet, God forbid. I do not
ruly desire vengeance; but only that,
after all these years of bitter injustice
to the poor and of legislation for the
rich, that better times should ccune to
all equally. "That the lawless rich
should learn, that only through the
development of their own innatt
nnver to produce for themselves, can
true wealth come; and that the poor
and crushed men and women of un
ceasing and nnrecompensed toil may
have and enjoy unmolested the fruits
of their own earning. This is justice;
and justice is all I ask.
One point more and I am done.
Who can any longer doubt the sen
timent of the great bulk of the people.
Party ties have surely fallen away from
them. I attend their rallies where
often 3.000 to 5,000 people are assem
bled, ami I observe them closely.
Earnest faces upturned to the speaker
catch and eagerly grasp every hopeful
word ; but it is only when some, allu
sion no matter how indistinct ia
made regarding the THIRD PARTY
that tossed hats and jubilant "whoops
deafen every other sound and force the
orator into temporary silence. -
lhe people are ripe for the third
party flag, and it cannot be flung to
the breeze too soon. To delay Ion-get
is dangerous. After the fruit is ripe
decay sets in.
The third party fruit is now ripe.
The fact must be proclaimed so that
the people may know beyond a doubt
that they have a tangible foundation
under their feet.
With the knowledge of a third party
announced and in working- order, a
panic in the old parties will ensue.
lhiswill be the hrst effect of such a
declaration ; they are already fright
ened ; one more aggressive step on out
part will stampede them. In my
opinion it cannot be taken too soon.
Nothing wins like boldness. lo bold
ness alone is success guaranteed. Con
sider this fact, men of the United
States, and let it have its influence on
vour immediate movements.
x or my part 1 know that success is
ours. 1 know it by the united hearts
of the people. I know it by the pur
ity of motive that moves tnem. And
ast.lv I know it by the grim and
dauntless determination that goes hand
in hand with the deep sense of broth
erly love which so peculiarly infuses
their feelings; a combination hitherto
unknown in any political uprising ol
tho masses unconquerable love and
sympathy for each other and equally
unconquerable determination to win
by the ballot if possible but to win
at all hazards, in spite of the devil and
his cohorts.
One Specimen.
It is the common boast of the tele
graph monopolists that they furnish
telegraph facilities in this ' country
which are better and cheaper than any
other country. No more flagitious
falsehood was ever put on dress parado
in the daily papers in this country,
W e had occasion a few days ago to
send a telegram ten words to Free-
port, oh the Sacramento river, eight
miles this side of bacramento City.
We were compelled to pay 50 cents for
such service. The charge to Sacra
mento is 25 cents two and one-half to
five times as much as it should be.
Tho telegraph mail should be like onr
other mail uniform in cost to the
people and at the lowest possible rate
consistent with meeting the cost to the
government. On this basis, beginning
with ten cents for ten words, the price
will soon come down, under an honest
administration, to one-half tjiat sum.
Chas. E. Buell, of Springfield, Mass.,
a telegraph instrument maker, and one
of the most exyerienced telegraph line
managers in the country, testified Feb
ruary 18, 1885, that it "was his "belief
that the entire property of the West
ern Union telegraph company could
bo shown to be worth not much, if
anything, over $10,000,000." And he
indorsed Sumner's bill, as providing
an ample fund ($25,000,000), for the
construction of a genuine postal tele
graph. Canada had a uniform 25-cent
for ten word messages in 1872; 2t
cents for ten-word messages between
all points. The Western Union coulO
not "stand" that example and sugges
tion, right alongside of their lines it
this country, so our monopolist!
lo light np the Canadian lines. San
Francisco Star.
A Reform Meannre.
As a measure of reform, the sub-
treasury plan is one of the very best
measures - that has been as yet pro
posed. "We don't claim perfection foi
it. Yet we will stick by it, until
something better is proposed. The
organic people intend to do away with
financial corporations called banks
together with their clearing house cer
tificates, and also with storehouse cor
porations called elevators, also with
corporations of common carriers called
railroad companies as private parties.
Why? Because as private partiet
these fellows are more powerful than
the nation. They will reduce us to
slavery. They will abolish the repub
lic, or only keep it as a falsf
face. This nation cannot tolerate an
impermm in imperio i. e., a private
sovereignty within and subversive oi
the national sovereignty of the organic
people. On with the devil dance.
The industrial republic is at hand.
Aberdeen (S. D.) Knights of Labor.
Wage workers never have been and
never will be paid what their labor ii
worth unless they conquer the powen
wot state and compel an equitable distri
bution of the products of labor.
HERE'S A FISH STORY.
A TALE
RELATED BY WISCON
SIN FARMERS.
Tho Great IMrkervl f Twin I.aki-i and
How lie Via- Finally Sliotctiled A
I'lace Where Legends irw Very Large
liotween the Eye - Farmer itiindy and
a Festive l'iekt-rel.
Higgr! if the Season.
The Twin Lakes of Wisconsin lie
eighty miles west of (lib ago. On the
west shore of tin; smaller lake and with
in a stone's throw of a field of d rice
ana wild celery Is a ridge, and upon this
rldgo was the recent home of a camping
party. The snot Is one whore legends
grow large beiwicn the eves, r.very
night, when the moon was painting a
luminous tathway ti.on the lake, farm
ers In hickorv sh.rt and l.ats that had
been drawn to a cak at the rovn
would tramp over the ridge and sit
down by the camp lire and talk about
these legends which not. only relate to
the fish in the. lake I ut to the things
that fly over the lake. One of tho farm
ers' stories, accord i us to a writer in
America,' of the lower lake is associated
with a pickerel. And when it is to d tiy
tho farmers, who hac row finished
their harvesting, they ro'l their eye?
and expectorate with a vehemence that
Is calculated to car. y conviction to the
mind of every listener. The other le
gend relates to a mos ii;to of enormous
size and strength, and an insect of fiend
ish pertinacity when encaged in his
business.
Farmer Rundy carries the iekerol
legend back t: th t me of the war,
when he was a .1 oy in the ho ise just
over the crest of a yellow stubble-field.
TKl.l.lNO A I,':r,KNO.
One winter's n'glit he was spearing fish
through the ice, when of a siidilou hu
heard a snort, and the b'fore he could
lift his sj ear, a pickerel of uormous
size seized him by the foot and tor.' the
loose overshoe away. An Instant late r
the fish darted beneath the ice and was
not seen again until ISd'.1, as the legend
runs, when Farmer Voshurg caught him
and landed him in a boat It was a
strong pull, for th.i fish, even at
that flay, weighed as much as
Farmer Voshurg's eldest child- The
hook was wrenched from the 'heeding
gills, an.l the sturdy fi -herntan was
about to h't the lish in the head with an
uar, when he suddenly atta ked his can
tor and knocked him into the stern
sheets with oiio swish of his tail. When
the farmer rounded to, the pickerel was
out of the boat and cutting water ten
yards away like the blade of a knife
1 1 1 dorsal In, it is now recorded, hoked
like a sa l set before a'spanking breeze
Troubled not only by his misfortune in
losing so great a fish, Farmer Yosburg
TEAIilNCJ OI-K THE llAHNT.SS.
set up a cry of dismay when l;c beheld
that his watch mid chain were gone. It
was an o'd -fashioned chain, for. It en
circled his n-'ck an I fell in two loops in
V) the jocketof his velvet vest. There
was no doubt that this pickerel was the
one Fanner Bundy saw six years before,
for tho overshoe, with it rusty buckle,
was firmly wiapped about the middle of
tl.e ti.'h. This discovery caused much
comntent In farmers1 househo'ds on loth
sides of the lake. Everybody was per-plev-d.
It was tinaliy agreed that the
pickerel had run his long snout through
the opening of the ho, and then
through the loop ma e by the buckles
and flap.
From isr until 1S74 nothing more was
seen of the pickerel. . ow and then
fishermen casting for bass in the wild
celery would revive the story by report
ing the rush of an enormous fish at their
hooks and the scraping of a dorsal tin on
ui' Keel oi inoir ooats. t nco it was
A FIXE FnOT.
told that a pickerel with a head as long
as a sexton's spade and a body which
was fully the length of the rotting posts
of the old bridge, had been seen plung
ing along the surface of the water with
a noise that sounded like tho exhaust of
an engine In a saw mill. One. day in lsst;
Farmer Mader drove his horse and wagon
inio ino iaKe io wash them. He was
scrubbing the spokes df- the wheels pre
paratory to going to 1B annual "trot" at
Richmond, when he heard a mightly
ep:ash. He threw up his hands in
amazement, for before his bulging eyes
was the great fish tearing the harness
off the plunging horse The bridle
snapped. There was a jingle as the bit
was yanked from the jaws of the ani
mal. The check-rein parted and fo'
lowed the glistening buckles and rings
as they shot into the water behind the
black iiu of the fish. Farmer Ma'der
gave the alarm the country round, and
within two hours an expedition was
ormcd to capture this mammoth plck-
erel. But the search, careful and allur
ing as It was, proved of no avail.
The story of tho great fish of the
lower lake was the subject of common
talk for a month or more, and then it
was referred to only- when strangers
asked to have It told to them. There
was something gruesomo about tho
antics of this wonderful pickerel which
was always and vaguely referred to as
"the big lish." It plainly differed from
the rest of tho fish In the lake. Some.
tiik mo IMCKEHEU.
P'-rsons went so far as to say that he
"hollered" on ci rta'n nights, and these
nights it was further claimed, were
when the mi (w was at its full. It was
even sa d that- the great fish was am
phibious: that h came to (-bore from
time to time and w alked about on short.
sciiatty legs, and that when- h wa of
an observing turn of mind lie would
tear himself up in the water and sweep
the country with a pair tf flaming or
phosphorescent eyes. One day in lhHU a
party of Hi ck.ord men, camping "at
Hickory Point, werfl using a hoopskirt
wrapped in mosquito netting In catching
ni niiows In the shaih w channel which
connects the two lakes, when thoy felt a
vicious tug and then their contrivance
darted from their grasp and was not
seen aga'n. Of course, "thri big fish"
was held responsible for this theft, as
also for ttie loss of a leathern band and
a brass bell which had been ruthlessly
torn -from a cow as she was drinking
water from the lake.
During the fall of 1890 fishermen on
the lower lake reported having heard
strange noises in and above the water,
sometimes like the muffed tolling of a
bell and then again like tho upsetting ot
a panful of silverwaro One man. who
was on the lake at night, saiij the noises
he heard sounded like a charivari. Tho
source of all these sounds was a mystery.
Finally Farmer Yosburg. who knows
more about the lake than anybody, made
up his mind to discover the cause of tho
disturbance. One evening when tho air
was still he put out in a boat with a shot
gun Ilis cruise lay along the west
shore, lie had beep out but an hour
when he heard a splash, the clang of a be 1
and the tintinnabulation of other metal
lic substances. He knew he was In tho
wake of "th" big fish," for no other fish
could compare with the monster ahead
of him. Putting all his strength to his
oars Farmer Yosburg made chase. Of
a sudden "the big fish" raise:! again, and
for the s cendtime tho bell rang dis
tinctly and there came the same
nit-tall e jingle. Farmer Yosburg Is
a fine shot lie can shoot the
Iii-ad off chickens at L'OO yards.
When he tired at "lhe big fish" there
was a grunt which was almost human
anil b'ood 1 egan to stain the waters.
"The big fish'' had Leon killed. His
he.id was in shr- ds and his white beliy
wa turned up to the rising moon. Farm
er Yosburg hauled the monster into tho
boat. If he had doubted the Identity cf
the fish, that doubt was dispelled when
he-beheld Farmer Hundy's overshoe still
about the middleof the leviathan. Then,
toe, the (ish was lirmly entang ed In the
hoopskirt net of the Hoekford encamp
ment, while from g lis to tail he was
girdled with the straps of Farmer Matt
er's harness Around the dorsal tin and
belly was the leathern band and brass
bell; but Strang -r than a l to the gaping
farmer was the discovery of his watch
in a sort of pocket in the side of the fish
which, doubtless, was cut with a fpear
years and years ago. The timepieco
was intact. Even the crystal had not
been shattered. The watch had stopped
at 1:0.1. That was th price at which
Farmer Yosburg had so'd his wheat
three days before.
She Is a MUleress.
Freednian's Town, a suburb of
Houston, Texas, lmasts of a female
in i Her. who has repeatedly proved
herself a match for any three men
that have pitted their united strength
against hers, and who successfully
routed Oflieer John Haxter and three
of his assistants, all men of line
physique.
The woman is a negress as black as
night, and of a stature slightly alvn-e
tlit- average, but magnificently built
and extraordinarily active. Her grip
is such that she can easily stop any
piece of machinery in the mill. K-e-cently
she broke a drive chain and
thus saved the life of an oKl farmer
whose long coat tails bad leeme en
tangled in the gearss. She works in
all parts of the mill, and when firing
she frequently breaks coal with her
list, if the hammer Is not near. Ele
vators are of no use in that mill, for
she. carries grain to the top of the
mill faster than any machine-that
has been made. She ran carry four
two-bushel sacks filled with wheat to
the top of the mill and be down st-airs
again before most millers could walk
to the top of the mill. . She just takes
a sack under each arm and one In
earn hand and up she runs, seemingly
wit hout effort.
When the police, attempted to arrest-
her. she not- only was able, to
prevent them from putting the hand
cuffs on her, but taking the oflieer
and his posse, one by one, Hung them
out of the house and closed and locked
the door.
Haxter, in particular, is accounted
"a man of unusual strength, and is of
large build: but he says his muscles
were as a child's when compared with
those of the colored woman. The
woman, whose name is Caroline Jenk
ins, is about 30 years old, and is the
mother of seven children.
She has been seen to pick up a bar
rel of flour and carry it a distance
without appearing to overexert her
self, and when tested was found to lie
able to break with ease a new grass
rope an inch in diameter.
When she runs out of coal she should
utilize her great strength to operate
the mill. American Milkr.
B i Shop Wilberforce once came near
going on Btrike himself, and by a threat
of ko doing he cariied a point. Enter
ing a crowded church in which he was
to preach, one day, he escorted inside
a lady whom he met at the door but
who complained that there was no
room. To his order to the beadle to
find her a seat, that functionary re
plied that it was impossible. There
upon the Bishop declared : "Oh, if you
don't, I won't preach!" A luxurious
empty pew was quickly discovered.
Cakolcb Duran likes to load his
fingers with .rings and to wear hand
some silk linings to his coats. He ex
cels in riding, guitar-playing, and
fencing. He is popular on the boule
vards, and everybody in Paris knows
him, '..-.
WAGE-EARNERS IX LINE
LABOR-DAY OBSERVED FROM
OCEAN TO OCEAN.
C,mintleiHvThousamls of lA'orklngnwn Pa
railc Ituslness Throughout tho Country
tienerally Suspended Features of tho
Celebration Speakers of Froiuliicnco.
Aineric'a'H Slnewfi of Strength.
Among tho few American holidays,
Labor Day has won a prominence de
servedly and di-tinctivcly its own. JCot
only do tho largest cities unite In its
observance but smaller towns- as veil
have caught tho spirit, ana oy common
consent the day is made a time when,
undisturbed by any of the troubles that
may have agitated their wor.'d, the
toilers of tho nation meet in grand re
view, and not only their associates but
their fellow men who stand in the rela
tion of employers are given opportunity
to more thoroughly appreciate that "In
union there is strength. "
The workingmen, by consistent argu
ment and persistent work, have gaincJ,
In nearly every State, legal recognition
of the day; and by the moderation with
which they participate in tho celebra
tion, they have dispelled all those fore
bodings of trouble with which the idea
was first received.
The shrewdness with which questions
of public import are considered; the
masterly system with which they unite
to accomplish chosen aims; the cogency
of reasoning In support of their posi
tions when opposition is encountered;
the justice which generally character
ises their action all have tended to ip
spirc a respect In the minds of employ
ers, legislators and professional men
vastly different from tho Indifference,
patronage and condescension meted
them but con paratively few years ago.
Xow, when l abor Fay arrives, tho
participants march in review before men
learned in letters and. high instate coun
cils and authority; they listen to ad
dresses delivered by orators from Con
gress' halls and America's most famed
pulpits; they present In solid rank
an organization surpassing in strength
that of which no other class is capable.
And the men who witness them, those
who address them, and tho-e who em
ploy them, feel respect, honor and ela
tion that this organized host represents
so much of the wealth, strength and in
telligence of tho nation, and that, un
aided, it has achieved and maintains a
position so creditable to Itself and tho
country.
In Chicago, probably, occurred tho
largest and most imposing demonstra
tion of the, day. len thousand men
marched through the streets to the time
of lively music, their columns gayly
decked with fags and banners. Three
times ten thousand of their fellow-workmen
watched them from tho walks, and
countless thousands of other spectators
Joined tho moving throng. For an hour
and a half the processipn could be seen
from a "given point. The reviewing
stand was occupied by the chief officials
of the city and many men prom'nent in
pub'ic and professional life, many of
whom, after the divisions had dispersed
for their regular picnic outiug, be amo
speakers.
At Milwaukee, Wis , the laboring men
turned oirt-5,i.O) strong. Nearly all the
principal manufacturing establishments
were closed. The procession was one of
the largest seen in Milwaukee for sev
eral years. The carpenters made the
larg' st showing of numbers, having
nearly 1,.100 men in lino.
At Indianapolis, Ind., work In the in
dustrial establishments was suspended,
and stores and offices were closed. A
street arado by labor organizations
with about 4,000 men In lino was the
feature, followed by a picnic, where ad
dresses were delivered by .ludge Howe,
Morris Koss, and" l!ev. F. W. Iiexter.
Tho day was generally observed as a
holiday in the principal manufacturing
centers of the State. Jese Harper, of
Illinois, and J. A. Honscr, of Indiana,
were among the prominent speakers.
The day was generally observed in
Michigan towns. Grand Kapids stopped
her busy work, and sent thousands to
Ottawa Beach At Jackson the labor
unions of Itattlc Creek joined in cele
brating the day and sent a do'egation
several hundred strong. A. K. Cole,
Kobcrt U. Ogg, and KaTph Beaumont
made addresses. At Muskezon not a
wheel turned in any of the mills or
factories, and after a fine parade in the
morning, followed by speeches, a picnic
was heid at Lake Michigan l'ark, con
cluding with a pyroteehnieal display in
the evening. At Detroit, after the
morning parade, a picnic with athletic
games was held in the afternoon. Busi
ness was virtually suspended in the city,
and the day parsed away without a single
disturbing Incident.
At Buffalo, X. V., Governor Hill ar
rived early, accompanied by Gen. Mc
Ewan and Col. Kuppert. He. was met at
the depot by tho Citizens' Kcreptioii
Committee, which included Mayor
Bishop. The Governor reviewed the
parado and afterward delivered an ad
dress at the Labor Day picnic.
In other cities of tho State tho day
was becomingly celebrated. In Xcw
York two parades that of the Federa
tion of Labor and the Central Labor
Union took place. Many women were
in the ranks of marchers. In the after
noon Senator I'effer and others made ad
dresses. At Troy there were a mam
moth parade and picnic in the afternoon.
Lieut. Gov. Jones reviewed the parade
and made a speech At Kochester there
was an entire cessation of business and
parad s and picnics were the order of
the day. At I'tica every manufactory
was closed and nearly all the stores
Tho labor unions paraded and nia !ea
fine display. At Albany all tho labor
unions joined in a joint parado and pic
nic in tho afternoon.
Business in San Francisco was par
tially suspended and 3,5' 0 men were in
the line of parade
Twjntv thousand men raraded in St.
Louis and spent the afternoon and even
big In a picnic at Lindcll Park.
In Canada, Montreal, Ottawa, and
Toronto observed the day as a holiday,
and parades and picnics were general.
Tho parade at Denver, Cola, had 12,
000 men In line, and was reviewed by
the Governor and Mayor. Business was
suspended.
After the parade at Cincinnati the
various unions went to Wo iddale Park,
where Maj. McKinley and John Seitz
made addresses.
At St Paul most of- the business houses
were closed. After the morning parade
the afternoon was devoted to picnics and
games. r
At Cleveland business was suspended
and after the morning parade athletic
contests were hold at Forest City Park
in the afternoon.
At Memphis Tenn., the Farmers Al
liance joined in the parade on horseback,
each man carrying a wisp of hay or a
cotton boll in his hat
At Boston, Portland, Me-,. and Con
cord, IS. H, a heavy storm marred the
day and prevented the parades. The
day was a gencial holiday.
In Kansas City, Mo, the various
unions paraded, but few of the business
houses were closed. A ball at the Ex
position Building wound up the day.
The parado at Minneapo is was the
largest ever held. Mayor Winston and
other speakers addressed tbe unions in
the afternoon at Athletic Park.
.At Pittsburg th .day was not observed
except- by the closing of the courts and
banks,' Demonstrations were made at
Greensburg, Wheeling and surrounding
towns.
Newsy Short Chapter.
TnE Youngstown (Ohio) Bridge Works
burned. Loss, 575,000; Insurance,
?55,MK).
Hakbison MtmHAV. a colored outlaw, was
killed near Archer, l-'la., by Hardy Early, a
negro lad IT years old.
The failure of the late Turkish Min
istry to suppress brigandage is said to
have been the cause of Its downfall.
Jons Ol.MAN, Superintendent of tlie
Ruby mine, near Forest City, was shot and
killed by John St Fieri c. tho night watch
man. Esornn peaches bnvc arrived In Balti
more during tho past live, weeks to supjily
almost four peaches to every inhabitant of
the United States.
John Ostkiim w. Trea urer of In
dianapolis, city and county, retired. He
is succeeded by Victor M. Bacchus, a
fellow Democrat.
Seckktakv I'ltoCTon lias left Washington
on iis t)nr of Western military posts,
acconipanie-1 l y Quart-miast T General
Itatcheller and Lieut. Howard.
A TKiiium.K forest fire is raging in the
Cascade Mountains, near Hot Springs.
It exte-ids a distance of twenty-live
miles fanned by a strong wind
The shaft house and machinery In a
mining shaft near Stockton, t.'tali, belong
ing t Congressman Niedringhaus, of St.
Loui. were burned. " Loss, about $43,000.
Jacob Nokkis re-Iened the professorship
of mathematics in Wabash Colleso. Craw
fonlsvllle, Ind. lie goes to Wyoming to
accept a pcsltion with a university out
there. .
Ciiahi.es Pnvoer, of Mile's City. Mont.,
barely escaped lynching. Lillie Hunkley
had refused his proposal of marriage and
he. slashed her terribly with .a knife. Ho is
arrested.
Chacow (Itusila) authorities are treating
a cabmen's strike In that city by lining the
owner- of the cabs for n.it coming to some
sort of arrangement with tho men, the only
thing Insisted upon by the officials being
that the cabs khall be run, whatever hap
pens. At U;ico Fn-k. Mont., I.ee Odalr, a miner,
and Bryant McDonald, a farmer, became
involved in a pol.tl -a I d s-ussi n. McDon
ald stoope to tie hi shoestring and Odair
grabbed him by the. back of the neck and
began pumtncling him. McDonald fired
four sho-s. killing Ms us-ailant, aid pave
himself up.
After Fifteen Years.
A few miles out of the city of
Hank'ik there is a mineral spring,
and near it a bungalow much fre
quented by the Europeans in the city.
An Englisthman says that one even
ing as he rode up to this hungaiow, a
gentleman was alighting from his
howdah at the entrance.
As soon as he had dismonntcd, his
elephant was moved to one side, and
my drrver, who was seated on the
head of my elephant, ordered it to
advance. The instant he spoke, the
animal which had moved aside to
make room for us flapped his great
ears, and then turned sharply around,
facing my driver.
Suddenly, without the least warn
ing, he stretched out his long trunk
and wrapped it about tire body of my
man. Then, before any one had
time to interfere, he raised him high
in the air and brought him to the
ground with tremendous force! As
the poor fellow struck the earth we
could hear his bones crack, r.irfr the
elephant was not done with him.
The next moment he had placed his
huge foot on the head and chest of
the prostrate driver. When he raised
it again, all semblance of life was
gone from the crushed, mutilated
body.
The gentleman whose elephant had
committed the terrible deed was
greatly distressed. He said that he
had purchased the animal from the
king's pen, that it had always been
exceedingly gentle and well-disposed.
The animal was blind, one eye having
been put out by an attendant fifteen
years previous.
It was my driver, I learned the
next clay, who had put out the ele
phant's eye. He was at the time one
of the guards at the king's stock pen,
and, for some misdemeanor committed
by the animal, had thrown a stone,
which struck the creature full in 'the
eye.
The elephant was so enraged there
after at the sight of him, that, fear
ing his life, the man left the
place. Hut the injured animal had
bided his time, and after lifteen years
of waiting had terribly punished his
enemy.
Quick Wit.
One of Lord Carmarthen's future
constituents once asked the youthful
candidate his opinion upon some ab
struse question of which he knew
nothing. '-Lot him alone!" cried
another, derisively; "don't you see
he's nothing but a baby?" "What
do you think?" reiterated his inquirer,
heedless of the interrupt ion and de
termined to have an answer. "I
think," said Lord Carmarthen, with
ready wit, "that, it is high time for
all babies to be in bed:" and so saying
he gathered up his papers and dis
appeared from the platform. Again
and this last anecdote is so well
known as to have become well-nigh
historical at a crowded meeting just
before his election, he was interrupted
by the question: "Does your mother
know you're out?" "Yes, she does,"
was the. instant retort, "and by
Tuesday night she will know I'm in."
His prophecy proved correct and he
headed the poll by a large majority.
The Queen Eegent of the Nether
lands and her -daughter declined the
offer of a public reception during' their
recent visit to Amsterdam. They re
quested the city officials to use tho
money collected for the reception in
feeding the poor. Consequently more
than 30,000 poverty-stricken creatures
receiyed presents of food and money,
and 35.0(H) school-children were pro
vided with a breakfast. Each child
received, also, a photograph of the
young Queen. .
The eon of Gen. Isidro TJrtecho,
Commander-in-chief of the Xicaragnan
army, is the only foreign cadet at West
Point. He is a young man of 20, tall
and active, with swarthy skin and flash
ing black eyes. He is a nephew of
Minister Guzman, the Nicaraguan rep
resentative at Washington.
Hannibal Hamlin wore to the very
last the full-dress suit of black broad
cloth, with expansive shirt-front, that
formed in ante-bellum days the dis
tinctive attire of public men. It was
the style of suit that Webster and Clay
were always clad in when they ad
dressed the Senate. '
It is stated that in England recently
an incandescent electric light was
burned for 11,561 hours, and on being
removed from the holder the filament
was found to be still whole and sound.
Rtjdtard Kiplino is to visit Robert
Louis Stevenson In Samoa.
! CURRENT COMMENT.
Open or Shut ?
Tho movement to close the World's
Fair at Chicago Sundays is a movement
hostile to the Fair itself.-SeW York
World.
There does not seem to he much oc
casion for difTercuee of opinion. The
debate is all on the side of Sunday clos
ing. St. Paul tyobe.
What the people will indorse is tho1
npplication'of common ;cnseto the ques
tion. Beyond this iv'ith-r custom nor
law can. .go. Xcw York Pres.
By a vote of 50 to 3t tho lady man
agers of tho World's Fair registered
themselves in favor of the F air closing
its doors on Sunday. Milwaukee Xcws.-
The wise coure, and the one that will
In all likelihood be adopted,' is" to admit
the public to the Fair on seven days in
the week with certain restrictions on
Sunday. Indiar apolis Journal.
Whatever position tho reader may
take upon the question of opening the
World's Fair on Sundav, he must adm t
that the American Sabbath I'niou made
a powerful protest before tho Board of
Managers. Omaha Pec.
Open Fa!r gates would immensely di
minish driikenness disorder, excursions,
crime, and depredations of a various
nature by engaging the attention and
time of tens of thousands in an orderly,
pleasant, and profitable manyier. Troy
Press.
The exhlbitio is bejng conducted un
der the auspices of the government,
which lias invited a'l other nations to
participate therein, and. it wduld bo
anomalous indeed it thc-manacrs should
trample upon the law-i which hedge tho
institution of the Sabbath and fling an
insult into the faces of every Christian
in the land. Pittsburg .ommercial-Ga-ette.
The machinery of the Fair may" bo
stopped on Sunday to prevent the noise
and give iti attendants rest. But' to
close the Exposition on the one day when
hundreds of thousands of people tan
alone visit it won d not only bo an in
justice to them, and a fataKb'ow to the
financial success of the Fa'r, but a fool
ish concession to a superstition which no
longer dominate-! America or any other
civilized country. Xcw York World.
Foreign War C'ouds.
Everybody has been watching so long
for an outbreak f war in Kuropo that it
would now lie abo'it the most surprising
thin that could happen. Philadelphia
Inquirer.
Thero is one good mater'al reason for
keeping the peace a' pre put. Russia has
just ordered a new rifle for her infantry
and would probably lather not fight un
til rearmament is com p c-tcd. San Fran
cisco Bulletin.
Certainly if the Emperor desired war
ho could find a better pretext'in this
(Dardanelles) incident than lyjs served
for many a previous outbreak, and an
occasion which would give him an actl.o
ally in England, whether this latter
rountry desired it or nor. But William
has said he was for i cacc. and evidently
. meant It. Springfield Republican,
j The Dardanelles incident would prob
ably have c aused war had it occurred a
dozen years aio At present, however,
France is on Tussia's side, Turkey Is
partially a''nuie.3een on "account of her
opposition to England on the Egyptian
question, and "England will make no'
t formidable protest uiu'e- pre sent condi
j tions. Slowly, but alroltly and surely,
Russia is forcing her way to lhe south
j ward, and the old Muscovite dream of
j establishing its head uarters at Constan
tino) le may be verified earlier than Cen
tral or Western Europe imagine. '-t
Louis Globe-Democrat.
Short crops will not stan-1 in the way
of war, but may precipitate it. The
French are. eager at all times for a row.
Tho masses in lluss'a ami' Germany
would welcome a campaign to relievo
the monotony of semi-starvation. Aus
tria and Italy have their ' internal tron-.
bles. England has vast interests on the
continent and in As a and Africa. If
there is any big disturbance going on
she will be dragged intc it France and
Russia cannot mu h longer contemplate
the triple alliance of Germany, Austria
and Italy without making an effort to
smash it. and the tirst t ash of gunpow
der will I'glit a lurid blaze throughout
Europe. Atlanta Const itut'on.
Two Great Towns.
Chicago has long ago abandoned her
competition with St Louis and scoins
any lesser rival than New York, whom
she fairly derides since she beat her for
the World s F.pos:tio:i. Xew Orleans
Delta
Chicago was so ji a'ous of Xew York's
Park place horror that it just led down
the cornice of a building on a poor news
hoy, just to show that she, too, has some
house that were l ut no b 'ginning with
the top story. Mimical o is Times.
It is a very cold day when Chicago
gets left. Xo sooner has Xew York an
nounced the intention of putting up a
building twentyeven stories high than
Chicago comes up smMng with plan for
an Odd Fellows' temple thirty-four
stories high. By the way, how hiah is
that Xew York Grant m num -nt to b,-? ,
Pebria Transcript.
Since the c;'iisu the Tribune claims
Chicago has so irainel in population by
annexation and natural increase that It
now has, or will have at the end of the
year, l,2r.o,HiO inhabitant--. Xew York
Is told it nr st annex Brooklyn before
19(H) or . yield the crown to Chicago,
which "w.ll have l,roo,noo of population
be.for-i the century e'o'es. " Th chance
are if Xew York doesn't hurry , hicago
may count in Brooklyn Montgomery
Advcrti.-er. -
Mmoeapolis Says No.
St. raul not the apo t'c, who was
not a matrimon'al- enthus ast, but the
nvighbor of Minneapolis asked Minnie
to marry him. Minnie says "Xo." De
troit Journa1.
ft Paul has proposed, but Minneapolis
has rejected his suit She says she won't
marry the fellow who is so t a lly in debt .
and can't get within live miles of her.
Buffalo Times.
Miss Minneapolis forbids publication
of the banns, that were to make her one
with Mr. St. Paul, and lots out the se
cret that five . mi'es of comparatively
open space lies between them. Louis
ville Jour. al.
Minneapolis prefers to go it alone, and
respectfully declines to nnito in bonds of
municipal wedlock with St Paul. .The
newpai er fight between these two cities
will be fanned into fresh flame for
a while. Buffalo Commercial.
St Paul made a very bad move when
she proposed consolidation with Minne
apolis. The spiteful flour city makes
the suggestion the occasion for mud
slinging at the other twin, and at the
same time booms herself in the most
vainglorious fashion.' t- Kansas City
Times.
Grunts and Squeals.
Thero can be no do lbtthat this decree
will prove a direct b'essing to this coun
try. Burl ngton Hawkeyu.
A hungry man docs not examine his
breakfast with a microscope before, he
tas es it Philadelphia Record.
The great American hog seems to have
at last got the German bars to such a
height that it will have no trouble in
Jumping over. Hurrah for the hogl.
Kansas City Times.