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A WEEK full_of music.
Ile Annual Musical Festival to Be
Opened February 15.
- Be Held at the Theater This Year,
n palmer to Viit Savannah Again
. 'conductor of the Festival-Two
Prominent Singer. Engaged a. So
vlfwithstandm? the unbounded en
* iasm manifested at the close of the
tot musical festival held last yeaE there
""l not lacking many good friends of
I 1C wbo sincerely doubted whether the
® uof music so successfully closed
!, Id be made annual, as proposed by the
w , of the movement. Considering
little that had previously been done
“awaken the general Interest in music
and the difficulty of combintng and weld-
L nto one homogeneous body the scat
hed and inexperienced singers of the
the doubters were not without
weighty reasons for their opinions.
Tbe executive committee, with Col.
Charles Holm stead at its head, is not,
however made up of the kind of men who
° eas iiv turned aside, and the commit
f . labor results in the announcement of
Programme far more interesting and
lahnrate than that oi last year. In fact,
annual musical festival will
linn be an accomplished fact, and this
mav begin to lay claim to a standing
musical cities of the south
Petersburg, Va„ Nashville, Tonn., and
rStte -V C„ and possibly other
southern cities, have distinguished them
feives bv their successful musical
wivals It is doubtful if any city in
thii list has accomplished so much as Sa
vannah in so short a time, and in the face
ol such difficulties.
WHAT MUSIC MEANS.
It is certain that nothing better indi
cates the state of general social and intel
lectual retlnement than a warm and ac
tive interest in music, and it is, there
fore a matter for congratulation that the
musical festival has come to stay. Sa
vannah has a Telfair Art Gallery, a li
brary to be proud of: why should it not
have also a line auditorium devoted to the
most moving of all the arts?
The prospectus of the executive com
mittee is Just out, and it sets forth a
scheme which will greatly interest all in
social and musical circles.
Dr H R. Palmer, who probably made
as many friends in this city last year as
anyone ever did in the short space of one
week has again been secured to lead the
musical hosts on to victory. _ A more
fitting general it would be difficult to
find 'genial, witty, incisive, experienced
-he can be relied upon to do more than
his share, to lead, interest and instruct.
THE GRAND CHORUS
The singers are thoroughly enthused,
and over one hundred have at this time
signified their intention of Joining the
grand chorus which it is expected will
number nearly UOO voices. Nearly all
of the leading soloists of the city have
offered their services and hearty support,
and will, in combination with the great
chorus, show what Savannah can do musi
cally when thoroughly in earnest.
In addition to this array of talent, two
oratorio and concert soloists of note have
been engaged to increase the attractive
ness of the programme. An efficient pro
fessional orchestra has also been engaged.
TO LAST A WEEK.
The festival will cover six days, begin
ning Feb. 15, and will comprise eight re
hearsals, two grand concerts, and one
matinee concert, the last three being
given at the theater Tuesday night, Feb.
20, Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday
night, Feb. 25.
Among the interesting numbers to be
given will be Gounod’s “Unfold ’Ye Por
tals,’’ ‘ Awake Thou That Sleepest,” by
l)r. Stainer; “With Sheathed Swords,’’
from theoratorioof ‘ Damascus.”and the
beautiful cantata for soprano, alto, tenor
and chorus, -Clarice of Eberstein.” At
the matinee two of the numbers will be
given by a children’s chorus of sev
eral hundred voices, which will
serve to show the progress in educating
young singers for future festivals.
Of the soloists under engagement, Mrs.
Marie Antoinette Summers, of Brooklyn,
late soprano of Plymouth church, has a
sympathetic soprano voice of fine quality,
and is regarded as one of the leading
church and oratorio sopranos of the
country. Dr. Thomas Milton Mendsen,
of Chicago, one of the leading tenors of
the northwest, has a voice noted for its
beautiful timbre and great compass. He
isan experienced oratorio singer, and will
add greatly to the attractiveness of the
occasion.
SUBSCRIPTION COURSE TICKETS.
Festival tickets are now on sale at Liv
ingston's and Ludden & Bates’. The
course tickets are $2, which secures a
reserved seat to each concert and tho
privilege of attending all rehearsals,
single tickets to either concert, $1 and to
the matinee, 75 cents. Course ticket sub
scribers will have first choice of reserved
seats.
The outlook for a week of musical en
jo.imint of a high order, is most promis
ing. and leading society ladies have sig
ured their intention of making the night
| oncerts full dress occasions. The warm
w? ,rtol the seneral public can be looked
or to even a greater extent than during
la ’t year's festival.
CAUGHT IN JACKSONVILLE.
An Escaped Convict to Be Brought
Back to Serve His Term.
A convict from the city court named
Berrien, otherwise known as Capt. Black,
!*.. 0 esca Ped from the chain gang about
j ears ago, was captured in Jackson-
T CSterclaiT ky the police of that city,
for > ,5 len was sent U P for twelve months
his w ieny 'u atlt * llad hardly served half
® rai "’hen he got away. Detective
him 1,. W 1 ao down to Jacksonville after
vh.m. S r as he r °turns from Charleston,
crimir i ? oes to-night after another
several ' } , lerriou will probably get
eral months extra for escaping.
TO SHOOT THIS WEEK.
-he Forest Citys to Tactile a Northern
Team.
The shoot of the Forest City Gun Club
‘gainst the team of northern sports
h n ' v 10 are now sojourning in Florida,
OPn reset for Tuesday morning. It
va! ',',i lve ‘akoe place last Tuesday, but
Park,^ at tbe request of Mr. J.
Mr ij.,_, wl ’° heads the visiting club,
of the has nntifled President Kieffer
be h r, i re , t 1 J Cub that his tam will
M,n 1 tueu*y. It is composed of
ana Coulter* 61 "’ Barnett, Fairhead
RAIL AND CROSSTIES.
*ngc-r t r a/veling freight and pass
ton 1 l he .Southern Pacific rail
‘’bunset Route 0 ” yiU UIE iatore9t of the
iv, ln t!l ® Superior Court.
triM-,. Russell was re-appointed
l er( j. l , rj Public by Judge Falligant yes-
D A \v fnr ,IPW tr ial in the case of J.
"•as , „„? William Stewart, which
which regard to some land, and
ant vis ,‘ S , docld ed iu favor of the det'end
' ' vas _oyerruled.
has re.TifeY'hHaw of,the Mikado of Japan
‘ at Wyrvl*^ e ?“, l i l ' She attended by
jo,lisas, but hue ralLed.
THE WEEK AT POOLER.
A Gay Week Socially in the Little Vil
lage.
Mr. Ned W. Shuman and Mr. W. Hodges
were visiting at the home of J. J. Snider
last week.
. W. W. Tishler visited among his friends
in Pooler last week.
Mr. Hearn visited Pooler last week
soliciting scholars to make up a class to
teach mathematics.
Mr. George Frankies visited friends in
Pooler last week.
Mr. and Mrs. John Manning moved to
Pooler last week. They occupy' one of
the large tenements which they lately
purchased from Mr. B. Kothwell.
Rev. Mr. Mingledorff will preach at the
Methodist church to-day. Rev. U. R
McConnell will be at the Episcopal
church and Rev. R. Q. Way will hold
services at the Presbvterian church.
The Pooler Rifle Club will hold its reg
ular monthly meeting at the home of Mr.
J. J. Snider, Thursday.
Mr. H. Gentry will commence drilling
his artesian well some time next week.
He will also erect a windmill for pump
ing purposes.
Tne people of Pooler are good customers
to the nurserymen this year and Pooler
will have some of the prettiest gardens in
Chatham county next summer.
Mr. C. Patterson gave a sociable at his
home on Collins street Thursday evening.
The Pooler I jpht Infantry had the
largest attendance at its regular weekly
drill that it has had in some time last
Friday evening. The drilling of the com
pany shows great improvement and Capt.
Marshall feels proud of his command.
The drill was witnessed by a large num
ber of lady friends of the company.
Mr. and Mrs. Warkmeister gave a
masquerade at their home Friday evening.
Miss Katie Manning as “The Morning
News,” Mr. Tate Sheftall as ‘ Old
Woman,” and Mr. George Fennell as
“Hieronimus,” were among some of the
best characters represented. All of the
costumes were good and the masquerade
was a great success.
CONVICTS SAVE A COMRADE.
Thrilling Story of the Escape of the
Mare Island Navy-Yard Prisoners.
From the San Francisco Examiner.
Privates Daly, Hall and Cliffy, who
escaped from the naval prison at Mare
Island, last Saturday night, left United
States soil Tuesday morning on the
steamer Walla Walla, bound for Victoria,
B. C. Unless the Walla Walla breaks
down or is driven into some American
port there is no prospect of their being re
taken on this side of the continent.
There, is an element of dash and daring
and loyalty to a comrade in the escape of
the trio that lifts it out of the ordinary
rut of jail-breakng stories.
Saturday afternoon the three prisoners
were employed in patching the roof of the
light tower in preparation for the winter
rains. All their work was on the inside.
There was a little nail-driving to do, and
it was under cover of the noise created by
this that the break was made. All the
preparations had been made some time
ago, but Saturday night offered the first
opportunity for carrying the plans into
effect. Hall and Daly, the original con
spirators, had obtained possession of two
fine saws and a cold chisel, and took Cliffy,
anew prisoner, hut an old shipmate on
the Boston, into their confidence, because
he was the nearest to them in the prison
and was usually detailed to work with
them.
Saturday morning, when sent into the
tower, the three decided that their time
had come, and when they climbed to their
perch on the rafters they carried their
tools with them and also their hammock
lashings. A hammock lashing he
it known, is a twenty-foot length
of thin, stout bedcord, used to confine the
hammock in such a roll as will permit of
its being snugly stored in the nettings in
the bulwarks or transoms.
The marines on guard in the prison
were continually on the move, but it was
quite dark when they were called to the
extreme south end of the prison on some
errand which promised to keep them for
several minutes. All the while they were
within seeing range Hall and Daly had
kept up a vigorous hammering and
swashing oof their brushes, while Cliffy,
who was almost out of sight in the tower,
put in his time sawing through three of
the iron bars calculated to prevent escape
by that route. His saws were well greased,
and the efforts of his pal s covered any sligh t
noise the severing of the bars might make.
It was not a long job, and twenty minutes
before the hour forknoeking off work and
going to cells the trio were out on the
roof.
Here tho hammock lashings were
brought into play to bridge the gap of
thirty feet between the roof and the
ground. It was an awfully slender bridge,
and not one of the trio made the slide
without the sharp cord cutting his
hands to the bone. Whether the
prisoners expected to find a boat or not
they did not stute, but their outside
friends had prepared for the emergency
of there being nothing to ferry them
across the straits to mainland by stowing
three life-preservers away in a nook near
the east end of the Hospital Building.
All three stripped to their un
derclothes, made bundles of
their uniform trousers, shirts,
caps and shoes, which they strapped to
the backs of their heads with belts, and
inside of three minutes from the time
they had reached the ground all three
were fighting their way through the
waves towards Vallejo.
It was too dark lor them to expect
discovery from the island, and they felt
no fear on this score in
striking out from the • shadow
of the hospital wharf. Hall
and Daly made good progress, but poor
Cliffy was choked with the salt water
that splashed in his face. This, added to
his lack of knowledge of swimming, held
him back, and the others generously
stayed with him.
It was well for Cliffy that they did.
When little over half the distance had
been covered his awkward floundering
hurst his preserver, and in an instant it
filled and acted as a weight to drag him
down instead of a support. He was sink
ing when Hall and Daly appreciated his
plight and hurried to his rescue. Each
contributed to holding him up until he was
rid of the cumbering water-tilled bag.
and then there was a brief, earnest
council.
Cliffy gave himself up for lost and so
expressed himself to his comrades.
“Not a bit of it, old man,” said Hall;
“we’ll stay with you as long as there’s
a chance for any of us.”
The waves were running so high that
Hall and Daly could not do any more than
take care of themselves, but they man
aged to put heart enough in bin; to take a
grip of shoulder of each of them, and
thus burdened, the two swimmers
renewed their battle. The tide was
against them, and they were more dead
than alive when their feet felt the grate
ful touch of the soft mud of the shoal
below Starr’s Mills at South Vallejo, a
good mile and a half from their starting
point. . - it
Here Cliffy proved the savior. He
knew that an old, retired man-o’-warsman
had a little farm somewhere between
South Vallejo and Benicia, and he led the
way in search of this ranch. They found
it about inidnivht. and the old salt s cot
tage was a veritable hariorof refuge. He
built a roaring fire, gave them strong, hot
toffee, dried their underclothes and finally
togged them out with all the old clothes
he could find.
They remained under oover until mid
night of Monday, when they were smuggled
aboard the Walia Walla. Fearing a search
of the steamer they descended to the coal
hole where one of them had a friend, and
they posed as firemen and coal-passers
until the turn of the screw informed them
they were away from the dock.
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4. 1894.
FEW PLAYS THIS WEEK.
lie Private Secretary and Hr. Potter
ol Texas lie Attractions. •
Mr. James H. Backet to Make Hia
Bow as the Successor of Gillette—The
Potter of Texas Company to Como
Here Direct from the Grand Opera
House In New York.
Tuesday and Wednesday nights and
Wednesday matinee. The Private Secre
tary.
Thursday night “Mr. Potter of Texas.”
Mr. James H. Hackett will make his
bow to Savannah theater-goers this week
as "The Private Secretary.” He will ap
pear here Tuesday and Wednesday nights
and at a Wednesday matinee as a succes
sor of Gillette.
The “Mr. Potter of Texas” company
will jump directly from its engagement at
the Grand Opera house in New York
city, to Savannah. But three places will
be visited prior to its New Orleans en
gagement; from thence a trip through
the state of Texas will follow. The com
pany will he here Thursday night. The
play is a pleasing story pleasantly told.
It mingles a breath of the exhilarating
breezes of the wide spreading prairies
of the “Lone Star" state with
the perfumed air of the drawing room of
the English aristocracy. It tells a story
of the love and disappointment of Lady
Annerley. a petted daughter of England’s
most exclusive society. It tells the story
of the love and happiness of a true, noble,
outspoken American girl, and of the Hon.
Samson Potter, of Texas, who was
scalped by the Commanches, and his
rough, open hearted, quaint and humorous
ways. It tells of a Scotland Yard detec
tive and his dog. Snapper. Of a ticket
of-leave man unjustly confined in the
penal colonies of Australia; of one high
in society and affairs of government, who
was at one time a bank defaulter, and a
good deal else.
“The New South” was played to a
crowded theater at yesterday’s matinee.
The play is a melodrama pure and simple,
but it is praiseworthy in that it rests its
chances for success upon its inherent in
terest and the strength of its situations,
instead of tanks, shaky canvas • devices
and other tawdry “mechanical effects.”
There is a good deal of character sketch
ing done by the author, but most of it is
strongly reminiscent of Augustus Thomas'
“Alabama.” Original and thoroughly
good are two roles —the "Massachusetts
blue-stocking,” whose visit to the south
is mainly occupied with acquiring
material for magazine articles on the down
trodden colored race, and the negro villain,
a conception unhappily happy in its truth.
The devoted‘old family servant of the
south, as made familiar by many dramas,
once existed. Later years have brought
into sadly frequent notice anew type of
the negro, with all the worst and none of
the best racial instincts developed. Such
as these cause infuriated men in other
sections, as well as this, to resort to mob
law, and in this play, for the first time,
such a one is shown upon the stage. If
for no other reason than this truthful
portrayal of anew type, “The New
South” would be praiseworthy. The
basis of the play is love so strong that be
neath its influence sectional prejudice
passes away, and even supposed crimi
nality and family wrong fail to cloud the
sight of a southern girl. The play is in
teresting up to the last act, and there the
interest drops.
“The old saying, the unexpected always
happens, is especially true in our busi
ness,” said a theatrical manager yester
day to a number of men who had come
out to smoke between the acts at the
matinee. “When Lawrence Hanley was
playing leads in ‘Blue Jeans,’” lie con
tinued, “I remember one city where we
were billed to play the same week. At
almost every one of the performances
that Larry gave from one to two women
fainted, when be was on the board in the
sawmill scene, and to the uninitiated it
looked like instant destruction to the
notor. Of course the intensity
of the scene is lessened, and
the attention of the audience is
distracted when the women are taken
out into the fresh air. Tho people on the
stage cannot, in spite of their endeavors,
to take no notice of such interruptions
help being rattled, and I have known
several of the best actors to forget their
lines.”
There are often times when a scene is
enacted that is not down on the pro
gramme, the manager continued. Mr.
Willard, who made such a hit in “The
Middleman,” studied his part with tho
benefit derived from visiting a pottery
and learning tho ways and manners
of the men working, although
they were unconscious of the fact.
During the strongest act where the fire
in the oven goes nearly out and thedaugh
tcr returns with no fuel, the acting of Mr.
Willard and Miss Marie Burroughs al
most beggars description. The house is in
half darkness, the audience is worked up
to a high pitch, and not a sound is heard
save the voices of the people on the stage.
It was in Cincinnati where a celebrated
pottery is located, and the gallery was
jammed with an unwashed enthusiastic
audience, while in the lower portion of the
house the elite aud beauty of the city had
taken every available seat, and
standing room was at a premium.
Mr. Wiiliard had almost hypnotized his
audience but was completely upset during
the oven scene. He speaks of how his
life’s work was going to be lost and it was
impossible to get any fuel, when pres
ently silver dollars, half dollars and
quarters began falling on the stage. The
potters in the gallery forgot where they
were, and seeing before them one of their
own workmen apparently in want took up
a collection and snowered their silver on
the unfortunate man, shouting at times
“Go buy coal, Mr. Man, we will not see
you suffer.” Tho effect was startling, the
curtain was rung down and the well
dressed audience down stairs joined in
the wild shouts of the half-crazed men in
the gallery.
“The Danger Signal,” a popular play
with railroad men, was presented in an
Ohio town a few nights ago and a local
operator asked as a special favor that he
might send the message over the wire
used in the second act. The permission
was granted, and the manager was sur
prised to hear clicked over the wires a re
questfor “two beers.” Several telegraph
men in the audience replied by using
their lead pencils on the seats.
The many friends of Minnie Dupree
who is pleasantly remembered as one of
the professionals who was associated with
the Ford Dramatic Association in Savan
nah, will be glad to learn that she is rap
idly climbing the ladder of success.
Miss Dupree is now doing excellent
work in Nat Goodwin’s new play “In
Mizzaura” and possesses all the necessary
requisites for a great career.
Didn't Intend a Reflection.
Dr. Brunner requests the Morning
News to state that he did not intend to
reflect upon the management of the
Georgia Infirmary by anything he said of
the institution in his report. The sani
tary condition and the management, he
says, are as good as can be expected with
the present building and tne means for ita
support. It is the need of anew building
and better facilities to which Dr. Brunner
desired to cull attention
The firm of Whittier A Cos., of San
Francisco, has paid Mr. Whittier a bonus
of fZAO 000 to retire from bust nesa. He la a
millionaire and wIU soandou active work.
A MEXICAN MODISTE.
Complications in Having a Dress
Made by Her.
From the St. Louis Republic.
Casa de las Palomas, Pachuca. Mexico.
—I flatter myself that the beginning of
this epistle has quite a Mexican, not to
say Castilian flavor. Whether the gen
ders thereof agree or not, I cannot yet
positively determine, being new, as it
were, to Spanish vocabularies; but. at
any rate, it looks well, and ono has
neither to be a philosopher nor yet a sage
to perceive that looks count for a great
deal on this mundane sphere. I have
given our residence the sobriquet "House
of the Doves,” because my brother and
his wife of eighteen months are so per
fectly satisfied to live together in that
blissful harmony ascribed to their bird
prototypes, and it is well they are, for I
can imagine that an inharmonious life in
Mexico would be a thousand times more
wearing and exasperating than tho same
unhappy condition in the states.
For you see, you are literally impris
oned together down here, and unless one
or the other were accommodating enough
to commit suicide, there would be no re
lief.
1 feel as if it were part and parcel of
the old feudal system, for we live within
a high stone inclosure and nobody comes
"anieh" us without knocking loudly for
admittance at one of the gates. Our
whole life and interests center within
these walls, but it is far better than liv
ing up in the city, which is filthy beyond
description. In this walled inclosure of
ours are included my brother’s office and
warehouse, the adobe dwelling whose
Spanish cognomen I have explained, and
a smaller adobe “casa,” where Jesus
(otherwise Chucha) and Hermania live.
Chucha is our mozo. or head man, and
under him are the peons, or common
workmen, while Antonio is our cook, and
a jewel of a girl. It is all very quaint and
picturesque, out the life of a mining en
gineer and his household in the land of
the tamales is a mixture of luxury and
discomfort that is “trying" at the least.
The isolation would be entirely satisfac
tory to the most ambitious of hermits,
from St. Anthony down, and be entirely
void of even the elements of temptation
to anything but felo de so.
But even a woman in Mexico has to
make a wild break once in awhile and get
outside of the high walls and try the dirty
byways of the town. W v e did this yester
day, when my new sister became devoured
with envy over my newly-made toggery
from the states, and declared that she,too,
would have some clothes that were not an
tediluvian. When “a woman will she will”
—if its dresses—-so she did; and, taking
the man of the house along as interpreter,
we sallied forth accompanied, by an ob
liging American who had lived hero long
enough to discover—Oh, bliss!—a native
dressmaker with guaranteed French ideas
and genuino stamped French patterns.
Your humble servant, of course, played
the role of model in the procession, wear
ing one of her newest and most peculiarly
acceptable St. Louis gowns Our Journey
thither led us through winding ways in
comparison to which the winding cow
paths of Boston sink into insignificance
and, remembered through the haze of
homesick memory, are byways as rec
tangular as the morals of their original
Puritan surveyors. Up the hills and
down the hills of rocky little Pachuca we
climbed, past the Plaza de los Lid rones,
or Place of the Thieves, on beyond the
picturesquely old fountain where tho
equally picturesquely ragged peons stood
with their ollas, or water bowls awaiting
turns, till finally we came to a small door
in a wall bearing the number we sought.
Within, a rocky ascent, paved with
stones, over which a muddy stream of
water was flowing, led us to the inner
doore of an adobe house where we were
to find the frivolities of French dress
making transplanted to the stern and
cactus breeding soil o t a Mexican mining
town.
We were prepared for anything in the
way of dirt and squalor, even in tho
quarters of tho modiste; but mirabile
dictu, here we found cleanliness in a
large, poorly lighted room whose brick
floor was covered with petates, or palms.
It made us think of the early English
abodes, with their rush-strewn pave
ments. The walls of this dressmaking
parlor were whitened and ornamented
with the inevitable picture of tho Virgin,
while the also inevitable shrine, or prio
dieu, occupied one corner. A withered
old Mexican dame, with signs of intelli
gence lighting her face despito tho un
beautifying pockmarks that literally
spaiukled it. interviewed us at once, and
here the trials of the Man of the House,
our interpreter, began. Poor felUnv! He
wrestled with ruffles, he perspired over
biases and gores, he waxed wrath over
breteles and waists, and floundered hope
lessly for a time in the quagmire of over
skirts and sleeves. But. by infinite
patience and painstaking on the part of
la vieja, and occasional reference to my
self as a dressmaker's dummy, the long
agony at last came to an end and we were
permitted to go forth to shop in peace.
It shows what an ancient country Mex
ico is and how the mystical ages of the
Aztecs still shadow its industries, when I
tell you that the dashing young Mexicans
who w-aited upon us assured us that the
cloth we decided upon would last the
senora “a hundred years.”
As if any healthy female In her right
mind would have a dress that would wear
“a hundred years!” But he gave us a
thousand impressive “gracios” at the end
and wound up with an English “good-by,”
given in the most Spanish not to mention
“flirtatious” manner.
After a second visit to the little adobe
house on the hill, where we were turned
over to the hands of the real modiste, we
started to return to our walled in abode
in the suburbs.
But we were mistaken in thinking that
all the preliminaries of getting a dress
made had been gone through with. Not by
a great deal. For we were compelled, un
der stress of being impolite, to linger and
tell the old dame all about the family re
lationships existing iietween our party
and as much general fa mil.vl history as lay
at our tongues’ ends. After this cere
monial of gossip had been completed we
did summon up sufficient mental strength
to refuse refreshments in the shape of
beans and tortillas, and finally, after
numerous adlos all around, we once
again started on our rocky road to La
Casa de las Palomas.
We are now in a state of breathless ex
pectancy over that gown, awaiting with
tremulous fear and hope the result of
French dressmaking as evolved into being
at the hands of a native-born Mexicana.
By tho time this reaches you 1 shall
probably be in a state of mental aberra
tion through suspense or harrowing
fright ; if not you may take it for granted
that the gown is a howling success.
BAT3 INJURE FAIR EXHIBITS.
Swarms of Rodents on the Exposition
Grounds Do Much Damage.
From the Philadelphia Press.
Chicago, Jan. 31.—Vast swarms of rats
have taken possession of the deserted
buildings at the world's fair grounds.
There are whole regiments of rodents,
and so serious has the pest become in
buildings which still contain exhibits that
active measures have been found neces
sary to keep it iu check.
While the fair lasted the rats fed on
the remnants of lunch which was scat
tered all about the grounds. With the
end of the fair and the advent of cold
weather they took to the buildings. Jt
has been found that considerable injury
has been wrought In the Fine Arts build
ing, wtiich is filled with exhibits for the
new museum
Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wlkox does not hesitate
to acknowledge that she has consulted scores
of people "gUted with occult power*. ■■
XO TARIFF OX POTATOES.
Dr. Oemler Denounces the Truck
Growers’ Protective Resolution.
He Asks to # Be Recorded as Dissent
ing From the Resolution Asking
That the Tariff on Potatoes Remain.
His Opinion Made a Part of the
Minutes by Unanimous Consent.
An Attempt to Be Made to Get
Lower Freight Rates on Produce by
Paying the Freight in Advance.
The monthly meeting of the Chatham
County Truck Growers’ Association, held
at the court house yesterday morning,
was characterized by some unusually in
teresting discussions.
At the lust meeting, held the first Satur
day in January, the association adopted a
resolution protesting against the removal
of the tariff of 26 cents per bushel on
Irish potatoes. A copy of this resolution
was sent to Col. Lester at Washington
with the request that he enter the pro
test of the association along with the
other protests that were coming in on the
same line against the removal of that
tax.
The meeting at which the resolutions
were adopted, while not a large one, was
practically unanimous on the subject of
the resolution. The resolution was sent
to Washington and the protest filed. Tho
sequel to the meeting came out at the
meeting yesterday. It was a talk by Dr.
Oemler, in which he charged thoso mem
bers of the association who had voted for
the resolution with being republican in
spirit. He also made the charge that
there was not a quorum present and that
proxies had to be secured before the reso
lution could be passed.
AGAINST PROTECTIONISTS.
When the meeting opened Dr. Oemler
stated that he desired to say something
with regard to this resolution. Ho
wanted to place his dissent on record and
wanted it placed on the minutes. His
statement before the meeting is as fol
lows ;
1 believe I am the oldest, or earliest, truck
farmer in Georgia. For the past thirty-seven
years I have been deeply Interested In the
agriculture of the south, and especially in tho
truck industry in Chatham county. In so far
as lay In my power 1 have promoted tho wel
fare of loth, and 1 was chiefly Instrumental
In organizing our flrst Truck Farmers Asso
ciation with that object in view, becoming its
president. A resolution was adopted by this
society at the December meeting protesting
against the repeal of tho tariff on Irish pota
toes. and Col. Lester was requested to file its
ploa for this protective tariff. It was the
most important act ever performed by this
association: and, yet. while the presenoe of
only seven members is required to form a
quorum, proxies had to be procured to accom
plish its passage.
1 adopt this course in order to place my dis
sent upon record, because:
I believe a protective tariff Is antagonistic
to agricultural prosperity.
I am a democrat and not a ropuhlican, the
question of tariff reform chiefly distinguish
ing the two paettes.
No man could pass that resolution unless
he was, In so far as the chief question is con
cerned. a republican.
If it has any effect at all, it Is unpatriotic
and antagonistic, or Inimical to the policy of
the Democi atlc party, and to the administra
tion. which Is the safeguard to the liberties
of the south we have so ardently longed for.
I believe tho sooner agitation ceases and
tariff reform becomes nu accomplished fact,
tho earlier will confidence be restored and
general prosperity be realized.
I believe that demociatic supremacy is of
more importance to the public of the south
than the success of any local Industry, even
if it were assured by protection
I believe truck farmers will participate In
the benefits of that restoration. The con
sumption of all their produce will be in
creased at higher prices and they will be en
abled to supply all their wants at lower
rates.
If the orange growers of Florida, the potato
and cabbage growers of Georgia South Caro
lina, North Carolina. Virginia. Michigan,
Texas and Alabama, rice planters and cane
sugar producers of Louisiana and tho beet
sugar manufactuiers of tho west relnforco
the republicans In congress. Mr. Cleveland's
administration may be hampered or defeated
and the advent of prosperity delayed and
this seems fore-shadowed by the apprehended
uction of the senators from Louisiana, men
tloned by this to day’s dispatches
WAS PLACED ON TUB MINUTES.
Although not in strict accord with the
by-laws of the association Dr. Oemler’s
dissenting opinion was placed on the
minutes of the meeting, at his request, by
unanimous consent. And at his request
also the secretary was instructed to for
ward a copy of liis views, as presented
above, to Col. Ixistcr. It wilt be for
warded as an individual protest, and the
members all agreed to stick to their origi
nal resolution
The members of the association, how
ever, could not allow the charge made to
go unnoticed, and those who had attended
the meeting at which the resolutions
were adopted all had something to say
with regard to the matter. The substance
of the statement made by those members
who had voted for the resolution was the
same as was told Dr. Oemler when it was
known that he dissented from their views.
They stated one and all that the associ
ation was non-political in its views and
actions, and that such was expressly set
forth in the by-laws. Their action they
all claimed, was a business aation. in and
for tho interests of truck growers in this
section, and the ndoption of the resolu
tion had no political significance what
ever.
With regard to the charge made that
no quorum was present when the meeting
was called to order, and that proxies had
to be secured before the resolution could
be passed, Secretary Exley said last night
that while he could not lie certain, as no
roll is called at the meetings, he believed
there was a full quorum present, and he
said that no proxies whatever had been
secured for that particular meeting, nor
for the purpose of passing the resolution.
THE MEETING A LARGE ONE.
The meeting yesterday was one of the
largest and most enthusiastic that the
truck growers have held in some months.
There were several business men from
different parts of the country at the meet
ing, and its proceedings were quite inter
esting.
Among others present were: Mr. G. H.
Killough, of G. H. Killough & Cos., a com
mission house of New York city, and Mr.
Gavin, representing C. B. Tatem & Cos., of
Baltimore. The matter of transportation,
in which the asso iation is largely inter
ested, was brought up, and these gentlo
men took a part in the discussion.
The fact that produce can be shipped
from Baltimore and New York to Savan
nah and other southern points at lower
rates than it can be shipped from Savan
uah to those same points in the north is a
peculiar one, and one which the truck
growers have been at a loss to understand.
For instance, a barrel of potatoes can be
shipped from Baltimore to Savannah for
26 cents, while from Savannah to Balti
more it losts 43 cents all told.
CAUSE or THE DIFFERENCE.
Application was made to the railroad
companies to learn why this difference in
charge was made when the distance >as
the same. They gave as their reason that
much of the produce shipped from the
south was shipped in a green and un
sound state, and that it was more perish
able than the produce shipped from the
northern cities. They said it often re
mained on the wharves until it was con
demned and bad to be taken out and
dumped overboard. In this way much of
the produce was never sold and they lost
the freight on it. For this reason the
higher charge was made, in order to make
up the difference which was lost through
perishable goods.
A committee was appointed consisting
of Messrs, G. M. liyals, B. S. Wells, C.
E. G. Fell, and Dr. Oemler to see the
transportation companies aud see if they
DRY GOODS.
ECKST KIN’S
Embroideries Went With a Rush Last Week.
Positively the Largest Stock in Savannah.
All of Fine Material and Such Lovely Patterns.
The Ladies Go Wild Over Them. Our Prices Are
the Lowest. You Cannot Match Them in the City.
The Best at sc, at IGc, at 15c.
A Grand New Lot at 25 cts.
Gustave Eckstein & Cos. Continue the Reduction Sale
of Dress Goods. Special This Week, Yard-wide Fine
Wool Henriettas at 19c. Our 40-inch All Wool Dress
Flannels at 35c. Ladies’ All Wool Cloth Suitings, 60
Inches Wide, All Colors, This Week, 75c.
The Few Cloaks Still Left
Will Be Almost Given Away.
Gustave Eckstein & Cos. Are Selling Great Bargains
in Domestics. Full Width Smooth Brown Sheetings,
15c. Extra Quality of Bleached Ten-quarter Sheeting,
Y r ard-wide, Soft Finish, Bleachings, sc. Fast
Color Nice Ginghams, sc. Yard-wide Strong Sea
Island, sc.
Some Genuine Bargains In
Black and Colored Silks.
A Great Line of Linen Handkerchiefs, This Week, 15c.
Ladies’ Fast Black Hose, Regular 60c Goods, Now 35c.
Positively the Best Misses’ Fast Black Hose, at 25c.
A Grand Lot Fancy and Linen Laces, This Week, 10c.
Marseilles Spreads That Were $5, This Week, at $3.
All Winter Goods Will Be
Sold Regardless of Cost.
GUST AVE ECKSTEIN & CO
could not arrange some plan by which the
same rate going north as that coming
south should obtain. For ttie purpose of
doing away with the objection made by
tho railroad companies the association
unanimously agreed to make tho propo
sition that they would pay all their
freight in advance, aud that
they would stand any risk
from Its perishing after ranching its
destination. This would do away with
the objection made by the railroad com
panies and would guarantee them against
thei loss of tho freight. The committee
will seo the representatives of tho rail
roads and find out if some arrangement of
this kind cannot bo made.
OTHER MATTERS ACTED ON.
Among other visitors present were Mr.
Eber Blodgett, of Charleston, nnd Mr. A.
G. Smart, of Midville. They were there
in the interests of the firms to which
they belong, which make barrels and
crates of ali kinds such as are used by
the truck growers.
After discussing the matter of barrels
and crates pro and con, the secretary was
instructed to correspond with different
firms making them and find out what
rates could be obtained on them in large
lots. This will be done for tho benefit of
the association. As Secretary Exley ex
plained, this was not a farmers’ alliance
action, but was intended merely for tho
information and benefltof the association,
and no bid is to be binding on any of its
members.
Messrs. J. T. Shuptrine, W. D. Simkins,
C. P. Rossignol and C. R. Med lock were
elected members of the association, and
the time of meeting was tphaqged by a
unanimous vote from the first Saturday
ln each month to the flrst Thursday.
PROPOSALS OP MARRIAGE.
Some Reflections on an Important
Matter—Theories.
From the San Francisco Argonaut.
Are proposals premeditated or not? Do
men make up their minds to marry, or do
they drift into marriage, so to speak?
Does propinquity or opportunity bring
about a greater number of proposals than
does actual intention? This is a problem
that greatly perplexes mothers with mar
riageable daughters, and they are at a
loss to understand why it is that their
daughters’ admirers do not develop into
suitors. The girls are pretty well
dressed, and of ages ranging from
IS to 28, and they experience
no lack of attention from the men of
their different sets, men who ride, dance,
and pla.v tennis with them, and with
whom they are on the best of terms.
Mothers, looking back to their own
girlhood, arc dismayed at the difference
between the past and the present, and
each matron rememoers that she Was
wooed and won within, say, a few weeks
of a first meeting, whereas her daughters
are still unsought after months of con
stant companionship. Is it that in former
days men were impulsive as well as im
pressionable, and that in theae days they
are impressionable but not impulsive? Or
is it that the comradeship that is now es
tablished between young men and girls
robs the situation of every shade of ro
mance, while this footing of frank friend
ship induces girls to assume a sort of
brusque, self-reliant.indepeinlent bearing,
the reverse of sentimental and confiding?
This may account in some measure fox
the position that girls occupy toward
men, but hardly sufficiently so to be the
only cause for the gravity of the situa
tion. Anyhow, it is humiliating to their
powers of attraction to find that, after
months of pleasant social intimacies, the
most valued acquaintances tool off.
From statistics gleaned from confiden
ces and careful .observations, it may bo
laid down that very young men are less
oruue to propose from deliberation than
are older men; youth and fancy going
hand-in-hand as against experience and
hesitation. On the one hand they fall in
love, as the old fashioned phrase goes,
and propose. On the other hand, they
rather drift from liking into affection, but
are not always ready to propose until
some pressure is brought to bear from
without. This is, perhaps, one of the
most delicate operations in social ana
tomy. Sometimes the father operates
upon the heart and feelings of the laggard
in love. This is rather an awkward mo
ment for both, but it generally results in
a satisfactory arrangement of the matter,
and the proposal is duly made. Many
men require tills paternal touch before
taking the final leap. A mother’s Inter
ference is rather resented than not, and
she seldom ventures upon such an extreme
course.
A warm-hearted mutual friend is, per
haps, one of the best auxiliaries a girl can
have. She can say so much for her and
can say it so well, and she can hint at a
preference, which Is (iatteriug to most
men, if not to all. By the satno token a
mutual friend can do untold mischief, and
convert a dawning admiration into a
studied avoidance, in her eagerness to
throw a couple together she rouses in one
of them a fear of being made ridiculous,
most antagonistic to a settlement akin to
a proposal. It is not too much to say that
officious kindness on the part of a tactless
woman mars many a budding inclination,
which, but for her interference, might
have resulted altogether differently.
Men verging toward 40, or even a
little beyond it, often make premeditated
proposals, actuated by various reasons,
considering that if they do not marry at
40, they aro| not ilikely to marry at all.
They wish to settle down and enjoy their
possessions. They are matrimonial
prizes, and much coveted by mothers for
their daughtnrs. Men who have arrived
at this ago must have done one of two
things—either lived a society life, and
numbered all the young beauties among
their acquaintances, or have come fresh
from exile on mine or ranch, ready to pro
pose to the first pleasing girl they happen
to come across. They fall in love at first
sight, and the proposal is made within a
week or so.
Many proposals are the result of cir
cumstances, snd are surprising alike' to
both sides. They were not, nor are, each
other’s ideas, but they drifted together,
nevertheless: these proposals cannot be
called premeditated, they come about
from the force of events, which often
brings together the most unlikely people.
Older men, over 50, make distinctly pre
meditated proposals to women of a cer
tain age, in whom they hope to find a con
genial companionship and women with
money are often found willing to exchange
spinsterhood for wifehood under such
conditions, viz.: suitability of age and po
sition.
As the matter stands, it seems pretty
evident that as many premeditated as
unpremeditated proposals are made-only
that there are so few when all is told. Is
it that the good fellowship that now ex
ists between the sexes acts as a barrier
to any tenderer sentiment, joined to the
extravagance of the age and the self-in
dulgence which is so characteristic of
both men and girls! Or, is it that the
number of marriageable girls offers such
a wide choice to men in general that an
Impression is effaced almost as soon as it
is made?
Temperance women of Norway asked the
public authorities s short time ago to make it
unlawful for women or girls to serve in publlo
houses The request has been granted, and
at present an alehouso keeper cannot employ
any other woman than his own wife.
The Soubrette—What? Maud I-eadenfoot
is making a hit as a dancer? Why. she can't
lift her foot an Inch from the stage.
The Comedian— She doesn't need to; she's
dotus the serpentine dance—Brooklyn Esgl*.
7