Newspaper Page Text
VOL
J. H. & W, B. SEALS}raorMOTOT■.
ATLANTA, GA„ JUifE 27, 1886,
Terms in Advance}KlSo&A 2 ;^.'
NO. 557
the Ku-Klux-Klan.
—AND—
“l’he Negro ‘Conwention. ,:
BY AMICUS.
It wh just otter the Ute war, when the South
was oppressed, and the country oyer ran with
“scalawags,” “carpet-baggers,” “Intriguers,”
and office-seekers, and a general tidal-wave of
political seam and flltb, swept down from the
overpowering North, that “Negro Conventions”
were introduced into our coantry. I was living
at that time in Southern Alabama, where the
negroswere thick; and, owing to their late
emancipation, were very Impudent, and even
quite saucy to their late masters, and from those
lrom whom they were obliged to expect a future
sustenance. There were also in that southern
land those loyal to the cause for which they had
suffered and endured so much. And in the
midst of the political dregs and corruption which
surrounded them, they had to resort to some
thing for their own protection. So to put a qui
etus to the bowlings, threats and insults of the
freed African, they resorted to the abused but
effective remedy of the “Ku Klux-Kjan.”
The three “R’s rr p!ayea a very important part
in bringing order out of chaos; but before it
came into general use, It was my good fortune
to be secreted near enough to overhear the
proceedings of one of the midnight conventions
of the darkeys. The uegroes were very late
coming in, and I began to think 1 had been mis
informed in regard to the place of bolding the
meeting, when about eleven o’clock at night, I
observed a dim lantern coming toward the build
ing, and heard the murmur of suppressed voices.
Group by group the dusky sons came into the
old dilapidated negro church that had been se
lected as the place of meeting.
Each crowd that eame in were very particular
to close the door behind them, for fear some un
friendly eye of “de white trash” might peep in
among them We (my companion and I) had
gone to the church just after dark and climbed
upon tbn' loft, and by placing some old dusty
planks together, bad contrived to make a very
good place >f concealment, where we could hear
and see all that was likely jo transpire below.
Our patience bad by this time become severely
tried by our long waiting, and, though we were
not at all at ease on our aerial perch, we man
aged now to be very still and quiet. The ne
groes, too, were very quiet below, but we could
hear very distinctly wnat they were saying iu
an undertone. They had the “conwentlon” the
election, Tom Russell and the “forty acres and
tfffe mwst wrangw,'Th ‘tfrareff V
long, gangling, stoop-shouldered white man,
whose most prominent feature was a large ro
man nose just below two weakly Dlue eyes that
seemed to take in the whole situation. This,
' added to a large, bushy shock of unkempt hair,
did not make him very prepossessing. But he
was evidently a man of business, for as soon as
he had placed his grip-sack upon the table, he
called for order by rapping on the table with
bl3 knuckles. The negroes were all as quiet
and attentive in a few moments as bis “lord-
ship” could have desired, and he opened the
m “MyTri$idsfyoii all know the object of this
aeeting as well as I do, and it is not, worth my
jus’ Dominate Mr. Tom Bussell, Mr. Sam Coon
au’ Mr. Pete Pettifogger as members oo de
County Convention.”
“Hold on, my dear friend,” said Tom Russell,
with his red hair more busby than ever, “that
will have to be carried by a move and second
and a vote of two-thtrds of the Convention.”
“ ’Sense me, ’sense me,” said old Bluff,
don’t know mush ’bout de rules of Conven
tions/'
At this juncture “brudder Coon” said:
“I move dat Mr. Tom Russell, an’ de bonable
Caeermun ob dts Convention aa’ me be ’lected
to de County Convention. AU iu favor ob dat
let It be known by ’spouding T’ ”
And everybody said “I” before the red haired
Massachusetts man conld Interpose.
At this juncture of the proceedings the sound
of horses’ feet was Indistinctly beard, and the
members Iookfed wildand restless.
In a minute the “ku ktux” were at the door.
A wUd stampede ensued. Two or three started
up the wall to seek the hiding place which we
held; but we spoke to them when about had
rned loose everything
way up
fell.
and they Just tui
and fell. Many boited for the door; aqd'while
many got away and made their escape;"'quite a
number were hemmed In tbe church nd had to
face the “ku klux.” Among tbe number that
got away was tbe red headed Northern scala
wag. Those that were “cornered” were allowed
to go, with a promise to never hold another Con
vention. But oue thing certain, our country
was never again troubled bv Tom Russell.
■e, or ren-
Yonder a
view approaching in wUdness and grandeur
those where °
“Mountains rear
To heaven their bold and blackened cliffs,! and
bow
Their tall beads to the plain;”
here a landscape of expansive valleys and ¥>
mosaics of fioweftTof every ^ormtuid lifts ami»
while to tell you why we have come together.
’Time is precious, and 1 will not Impose upon
your intelligence to state that the time for the
colored people of the South to act is at baud.
You all know this as well as I do. Success now
is within your grasn; the time has come for you
to turn, in the scuffls, and to occupy the top po
sition awhile yourselves. [Great, loud and long
cheers].
“I have been a strict observer of, and a great
sympathizer lu your oppressed condition for a
longtime [cheering]; but thanks be to that
great Emancipator of slavery, that God that
would not suffer his people to be slaves in this
free land of tne South, I have lived to see the
time when social equality will be forced upon
your oppressors, aou that you will be the most
respected of tbe two, by your friends in the
North
“Now, I say the time has come for you to act,
and act you must, If you do not expect again to
be brought under the lash and negro dog. I, as
your friend and one that loves you. advise you
to stand by your party In all elections, and it
will not be long before yon will be the ruling
power in the coantry; you will flit tbe judges’
seats; you will be tbe legislators of the country;
yes, your names will be connected with the
highest gifts of that grand old Republican party
that has given you your liberty! [Cheers long
and loud and slapping of hands, with cries of
“Hurra for Tom Russell!”].
“And that is not all; tne time Is coming (if you
will act and vote witn your friends), that you
aud your children will be the highest educated
and tne most intelligent race that will ever oc
cupy this country. [Cheers, cheers].
"And this Is not ah; before long our Govern
ment will confiscate all the land and stock of
this rebel berd that fought so desperately to re
tain you as slaves, ana then each of you will re
ceive forty acres and a mule. [Clapping of
hands and hollowing that could have been heard
a half mile!].
“But the ooe thing is, gentlemen, stick to your
{ >artv, and never, under any circumstances, suf-
er these people of the South to enslave you
getting you to vote with their party.
"Hurra for Tom Rus-
QUINCY^JFLORIUA.
A Scene at Sunset.
Editor Sunny South: Votaries of pleasure
iu search of delights wander not always where
nature nas wrought on the grandest scale.
Few travelers seem to have any idea of the
beanty of a small town situated near tbe boun
dary Hue of Florida and Georgia called Quincy.
Surrounded on all sides by imposing hills em
bowered in belts of forest, of “depths and gra
ces,” that embrace every variety of luxuriant
foliage, It reminds one of some tropical bird
resting from flight. As far as tbe eye can reach
in every direc ion are pictnres of enchantment-
scenes that would wreathe a poet’s lyn
der a master-painter’9;hand immortal.
A FISH STORY.
The
Propagation
Fishes.
of Food
How Oar Depleted Waters are Being
Replenished—The Procuring and
Hatching of Eggs-Work of
the Fish Commission.
It is admitted by every one that tbe United
States Government is put to much needless
expense yearly in supporting enteiprises
that are of no praotioal benefit to its oiti-
zans, and the sole purpose of which are to
water to ho removed to other waters when
the egg of the oerp are found to have been
depopitidjon them. How long the Chinese
have done this is not known. Next to the
United States and Canada, Germany is far
m sc vends of any other oonntry in tbe prbp-
B »f fishes. Among the first reeearoh-
f. Baird and his assistants was tbe
? to ascertain the came of the de-
bur marine food-fishes, especially
4 salmon, which a few years ago
a a remarkable diminution. Tne
I methods and apparatus that have
been devised for obtaining and hatching
eggs distributing tbe young fish, during
ears past, take high rank among the
ments of the age. At Bucksport,
after the eggs are taken from the
1 metal tag with a number on it, is
attaohtd To a portion of the first dorsal fin
and uhep the fish is liberated a reoord is
kept of the sex, length, weight and date of
liberation, for tbe purpose of showing its
growth ujt to the time of seoond oaptnre. A
reward isjofftred for tbe return of these tags
with a statement of time of oaptnre, weight
of tbe fish and other information. A female
salmon liberated at this point in November,
1880, whidh weighed 16 pounds after spawn
ing, was joaoght two years later and found
to have grown a foot in length and increas
ed nearly. ®ine pounds in weight.
The process of procuring, handling and
propagating tbe eggs is an interesting one,
and ti wetl worth attention. The work of
collecting the spawn is confined exclusively
to tho vessels of the commission. These go
to tbo various fishing grounds at the time
tbe fish are spawning, and by means of the
latest improved seines and nets, oateh the
kind of fish desired. Those considered
“ripe” only are need, and all others are im
mediately thrown back. The fish are then
handled by men who have much experience
in the business, as this is considered one of
again, by getting you to
[Cheers and hollowing,
“Geutleman, I am from the grand old State of
Massachusetts, and I assure you that the col
ored man ot that State is almost a pet with bis
Northern friends. [Cheers and huzzas for the
Northern friends].
“Tne object of this meeting is, as you all
know, to select delegates to the county conven
tion that meets In about a month, where the
nominees for the different offices of the county
will he selected. , , „
“I snail now turn the meeting over Into your
hands, and shall make a move that our worthy
friend and comrade, Bluff Blossomhead, act as
chairman.” •
At the end of this harangue, the honorable
Tom. Russell took a seat amid deafening cheers,
and old Bluff Blossomhead arose and proceeded
toward the chair.
“I only made a move for yon to act as chair
man.” Interposed Tom Russell, “and now we
will have to nave a second and vote on the mat
ter before you can be seated as chairman of this
meeting. Do I hear a second to my move?”
“Yas, sar,” blurted out Bluff, as De proceeded
to the seat designated as tne chairman’s, “I
seconds dat, sartan an’ sho.”
“All that are in favor of Mr. Bluff Blossom
head acting as Chairman of toe Convention, let
It be known by saylnc ‘I.’ ”
It was the red-beaded man that pnt toe move,
and all the “niggers” said “1.”
At this Mr. Bluff Blossomhead rose and said:
“Brudun an’ frten’s, I’m glad on dis; I’se bin
wantin’ fur a long time to be Cbeermun ob dis
Convention, an’ now dis precious op’tunlty hab
cum. Brudun, you hab all beerd, wid deep dis
tress de remarks ot de dear brudder from de
Norf ’: an’ I, fur one, countenances ebery word
L ati’lAfn. nne an’ all.
fragrant as a breath from Hymettas, and Inter
spersed with vine-skirted rills tnat “leap in
graceful dance from shaded ledge and glen,” and
store their “laughing waters” in crystal lake
and pool; then rich fields of golden grain; or
ange bowers and orchards of luscious, blushing
fruits.
Indeed pages might be written of its natural
advantages. Its people are hospitable, intelli
gent aud of refined elegance; their handsome
residences are hedged about with live oaks in
perpetual verdure, and encompassed in perfect
harmony, by gardens and parterres graced with
every native growth and diversified beautifully
with rare exotics, bat ’tis not ot tbe town that
we have now to do. 1 wish simply to relate an
incident connected with my stay in Quincy early
in the autumn of the past year.
As I have said, it was autumn; scarlet ban
ners of crimson and gold unrolled to the light
from countless forest trees. Gorgeously tinted
blossoms purple, ruby and amber, with here and
there the snowy petals of the orange bloom—in
the full soft haze of Indian summer a painting
wrought out by a master baud of wood and hill
and dell,
“Who can paint like Nature?
Can Imagination boast amid her gay profusion
Hues like these?"
It was the Sabbath—
“The memory of a by-gone Paradise,
The earnest ot a Paradise to come”
that day consecrated above all others; and de
signed to lift the soul “through nature np to na
ture’s God.”
1 had walked out to the Soldier’s Cemetery
with a congenial friend, and strolled beneath
the rich tracery of the sylvan bowers of that
calm holy realm. We had turned our footsteps
homeward; descended one hill and passed the
summit of anothertleading downward through
the town, when we stopped Involuntarily almost
breathless with surprise and delight; for, look
ing down through the leafy forest aisle, that
seemed like Nature’s own Catuedral vast aud
dim, we saw
“A sunset’s crimson glory
Burn as If earth were one great Altar blaze.”
And reflect. Us wealth of brightness until streaks
of glory flushed the distant sky; gilded beams
hung on the points of level grass, kissed nodding
flowers, played upon shrubs’ coronals, touched
tbe trunks of grand old trees and mounted to
where “high in heaven they mingle their mossy
boughs,” and transformed the whole into a per
fect arch-way of golden splendor softened by
tessellations of living beauties.
Aud here let me say I am not at all supersti
tious. I have been educated above, or, rather,
away from all uncanny influences; but la the
extreme distance, near the terminus of the arch
way, we saw a gate, or, rather, a pair of gates
that extended across the entire way, but par
tially open, white and glistening as If carved
from Carrara marble, artistic In their propor
tions and intertwined and draped with vines,
gracefully festooned from the overhanging
boughs and here and there an aperture where
the sunlight shot through Its lumtnous lances.
As we stood In admiring marvel watching the
matchless scene, my friend, whose very soul was
stirred by Its beanty and sublimity, appropri
ating the fitting language of Adelaide Procter,
exclaimed with poetic fervor:
“Sorely, It seems that
"Unseen hands have ope’d the beautiful gates,
and the light that floods the very air
Is bat the shadow, from within, of the great
glory hidden there.’ ”
We wandered on, on and on; but the gates,
notwithstanding we were nearing them, grew
fainter and dimmer till we reached the spot to
find no gates there. The glow of the setting
sun, that had been a brilliantly tinted back
ground lor the gates, still lingered, but that was
all.
These are the simple facts; and dow the ques
tion arises, “What had we seen? Was it an op
tical allusion? Were they not rather gates let
down by angel hands to shut in my mind and
heart forever—the memory of one bright, beau
tiful day to be set like an orient pearl in aU
after life? Who will say?” Eidrah.
Au’ let us, one an’ all,
take de blessed words of dis saint an' trussure
um up an’ receib dese visits from de ’Publican
party of de North as angel visits. [Cheers,
dis great politishun ses.
ce de bles
would
Nice Little Story.
A pleasant little story comes from New
York: Several months ago Annie Sheely,
a yonug Irish lass, waiting at the table of
her master, Mr. Oarroll, in Ireland, was in
sulted by one of the guests who had been
drinking too freely. John Carrol, a son of
the tamily, knooked the insnlter down, and
followed up this hit of gallantry by falling
in love with the pretty Annie. He said he
wonld marry the girl, and bis father turned
him out of the house. He oatne to America
and dug ditohes for a living. This week
Annie arrived at New York, and was scarce
ly ashore before her ditch-digging, disin
herited lover spied her, and taking her be
fore Rev. Father John J. Riordan, married
her on the spot.
SECTION OF HATCHING BOOM.
create _ offices to satisfy hungry politicians.
But this oaarge can certainly not be bronght
against the Fish Commission, for few Gov
ernment institutions exhibit a better record
of good substantial results then this bnreau.
It is doing a servioe, the substantial benefits
of whioh reach the people direct. The op
erations of the United States Fish Comm a-
sion oommenoed in 1871 in pursuance of a
the President of a commissioner to inveeti-
gate tbe alleged diminution of food-fish
along the sea-coasts of the Atlantic and in
the lakes of the United States. And if tbe
report proved oorreot, to suggest the proper
method for restoring the supply. A small
appropriation was mnde, and during the
summer months of 1871 a station was pur
chased at Wood’s Hall, a village on Cape
Cod, and at this point suitable buildings
were ereoted and a general and preliminary
idea of the oharaofer of the ooast and its
fisheries was secured, and an important
MCDONALD FISHWAY, RAPPAHANNOCK. VA.
foundation lsid for finally carrying oat the
objeots of the researoh. Before the com
mission oonld be of any praotioal nse a tho
rough study had to be made of the habits,
and waters, of all the speoies it was pro
posed to propagate. This took some time
and the public began to think that tbe new
institution was only another useless depart
ment of the Government and wonld Boon
sink into “inuooaons desuetude.” Bat be
fore long resallB began to be shown and
publio interest was once more re-awakened.
Stations were gradually established all over
the country and the work oommenoed in
earnest. Great interest was manifested
abont this time, fifed during the next few
years considerable difficulty was experienc
ed in filling the numerous orders that were
forwarded to the stations.
Tbe first artificial hatching of fish in all
countries exoepting China, was begun by
propagating the brook trout. China was
formerly said by missionaries and travelers
THE “FISEHAWK” SHOWING THE MCDONALD
JABS.
to be far advanced in the art and to have
practiced it for many years, bnt inquiry has
shown that nothing has ever been done in
that ooontry beyond piaoing twigs in the
STRIPPING SHAD.
the most delicate operations of the process.
Take a shad for instance. The operator, af
ter ascertaining if tbe fish is “ripe,” takes
it in his right hand and piaoing the bead
firmly under his elbow, carries his left hand
carefully down either aide of the fish from
gills to tail. The egga drop into a recepta
cle that has been provided and whioh is
abont half filled with water. When enough
eggs are obtained the male fish is then tak
en and the milk pressed from it upon the
eggs, which operation perfects the impreg
nation. The eggs, water and milk are un
disturbed for two or three hoars, and then
they are put into the MoDonald hatching
jars, where they remain for from five to ten
days, when they are batched and plaoed in
the waters for which they are intended. 'Die
length of time elapsing between procuring
the eggs and freeing the fish, of oonrse, va
ries with the species. The shad, nnlike
many of his brethren, is provided with a sac
upon which it subsists for the first nine or
ten days of its life, bnt after that time it
must be pieced in its fninre home or it will
die of starvation. This is the ease with sev-
TAGGING SALMON.
era) varieties, bnt many have to be kept in
ponds for months before they can be trans-
plei ted. One naturally asks after reading
of this prcoeBs why nature is not allowed to
take her course, Bnd tbe eggs allowed to
hatch as they were intended. This may be
satisfactorily answered, by saying that the
male fish, like many a human father, often
neglects its offspring. It was found by ex
periments that daring the spawning season
tbe female wonld swim slowly aboat drop
ping her eggs npon any oonvenient ledge or
rock. The male following her deposited
milk upon the eggs and they were left to
hatch ont at tbe proper time. Bnt it was
also observed that the male fish passed many
of the eggs and the currents also earned
many of them off before be arrived. Thus
millions were lost, besides the great number
devoured by other fish, who it seems con
sidered them a great delicacy. This is the
eanse of the present system, which obviates
many of these troubles. As the apparatus in
nse is improved, it is believed that eventu
ally evefy egg will be hatehed, and even in
its present Btate but seven per cent are lost.
When hatohed and ready for shipment tbe
little fish are sent all over the eountry in
oars that were built expressly for handling
them. There are now three of these oars in
the use of the commission for the transpor
tation of the young fish from the various
stations to the streams where it is proposed
to deposit them. The oar is a oomplete
home in itself; fitted with all oonvenienoes
for use of the officer in oharge while en
route. On either side of the oar are the box
es in whioh the fresh cans are pnt, and in
the kitchen is a pump and blower by means
of whioh a circulation of water and air is
sustained for supply to the young fish in the
cans whioh are eonneoted by a system of
pipes and rubber hose, permitting a perfect
circulation through them. Around the osns
are ice boxes, having a total oapaoity of 3,-
000 pounds of ice, and in eaeh iee box is a
galvanized iron tank containing fresh
aerated water for supplying the waste
through tbe circulating system. The pump
is worked by a connection of belts piaoed on
the oar wheels. Altogether the cars are
models of meohanieal and scientific inge
nuity. Eaoh has a oapaoity of eighty oans
containing twenty thousand fish apiece, thns
giving the oar a total oapaoity of 1,600,000
fish. A great improvement has lately been
added by which the eggs oan be plaoed in
jars and hatched en route, thus enabling
their transportation for over three thousand
miles, whioh was done for the first time a
few months ago.
Among its other property the commission
owns three splendid steamers, besides many
smaller craft, used for navigating the in
land waters. The steamers are the “Look
out,” “Fiehhawk,” and “Albatross.” The
latter is used exclusively for scientific pur
poses and is a splendid iron vessel fitted np
with every known apparatus for piscatorial
investigations. It has an improved electrio
light plant and with its aid many important
discoveries have been made of the mysteries
of the deep. The other vessels are need for
eolleoting eggs, and hatching pnrposee, and
have ail modern improvements for thatpor-
pose. Most people imagine that the work
of the commission begins and ends with the
propagation and distribution of fish, and
thi# was the'pnrpose for whioh it was estab
lished. Bar year afiOK.veor its scope has in
creased end uolly taking a band in
faWliP tlosalble to do a good deal f erf the
advancement of soianoe in general, especial
ly by prosecuting researches into the natural
history of aquatic plants, as well as living
creatures, either by tbe commission, itself,
or by soientiBts to whom the facilities of the
i servioe are extended. This part of the work
oan best be judged by the magnifioent and
oomplete collections whioh have been piaoed
in the Smithsonian Institution,. Smaller
oolleotions have also been distributed to
jnnny colleges and academic, of the coun
try with the most gratifying results. There
is nothing whioh so mnoh increases the in
terest in natural history as the opportunity
of examining actual specimens of rare, and
usually, improourable species, instead of de
pending on descriptions and drawings. This
is being more and more appreciated by
teaohers everywhere, and the demands that
are being made on the commission by va
rious institutions oan hardly be filled. Thus
it will be seen that the work of this depart
ment of the Government’s enterprise is not
only valuable to oommeroe, and the fish in
dustries of tbe nation, bnt has also been
jnst as valuable in giving educational ad
vantages on a snbjeot whioh had not before
at*raoted tbe deserved attention from our
schools and colleges. Another matter in
whioh the commission has for some time in
terested itself, is the improvement in pat
terns of fishing oraft of all kinds. There is
annnally a terrible mortality among the
fishing orews of New E - gland, to say noth
ing of the immense loss of valuable proper
ty occasioned by old methods of boat build
ing. The snbjeot was brought to the atten
tion of Congress by the New England Rep
resentatives, and that bony plaoed the mat
ter in the hands of tbe Fish Commission
making an appropriation for tbe purpose of
oonstruoting experimental vessels. Since
the work of the commission in this direc
tion, there has been a perceptible change
for the better in the casualties reported
from that section. Attention has also been
paid to carrying and packing of fiih, and the
introduction of improved methods of cap
ture with satisfactory results.
Though all food-fish adapted to American
waters have received more or less attention
at the hands of the commission, only the
most popular speoies have been cultivated
to ariV considerable extent. Particular at
tention has been paid to German carp, the
white fish of the great lakee, the sand, the
salmon and the various kinds of trout. The
breeding ponds of the oarp are situated at
the foot of the Washington monument, at
the Capitol. About seven thousand appli
cants have been supplied this season, and
over 200,000 minnows, from two to three in-
ohes in length, have been planted in publio
waters. These fish were introduced in Amer
ica by the commission, and are beooming
very popular. The distribution thus far in
the year has reached every congressional
distriot in the United States and mure than
half the counties. More than forty thous
and ponds and lakes have been stooked with
this speoies, in many of whioh they have
bred. Of the white fish more than 160,000,-
000 have been plaoed in the great lakes this
set sod, from twelve to twenty-five million
#eing plaoed in eaoh. Shad hatching is oon-
anoted on a larger scale than that of any
other fish and with better results. The to
tal production this early in the season has
reached 90,000,000, whioh have been dis
tributed, generally in onr Atlantic ooast
streams and tributaries of the Ohio and Mis
sissippi rivers. The shad fisheries of the
Atlantio ooast rivers have been steadily im
proving and the aggregate of the present
year is the largest sinoe that of 1872. As
this speoies must reach the fresh waters of
onr rivers to spawn and sa the present meth
ods of fishing exolnde the fiih in a measure
from the spawning grounds, we wonld nat
urally expect a rapid depreciation in these
fisheries, Buoh as was in faot in progress be
fore the commission attempted to arrest it
by srtifioial propagation and planting. Tb6
steady and substantial increase in the value
of these fisheries mast be attributed to the
fish cnltnral work of the commission. The
cost of production has also been greatly re ,
dnoed by improvements in methods and ap
paratus. At the Fotomao river stations 60
young shad have been produced for every
oent expended. The principal stations of
the commission are situated at Baeksport,
Maine, where Penobeoot salmon are bred;
at Wytheville, Virginia, whioh iq a tront
breeding station; at Baird Station, GaL, also
for tront; at Washington, D. C., where al
most every variety are propagated and
where tbe central station is located, and at
Wood’s Hall, Massachusetts, where the bio
logical station of the commission for the
study of marine life is situated. Here also
the worjk of hatching cod fish and lobsters
is osrried on. Tbe methods of the latter
work have been perfected dnring the pres
ent year, and the magnitude of the fish cnl
tnral work now contemplated there will oon-
stitnte a new departure in tbe work of tbe
commission. Nearly all the States of the
Union now have their Fish Commissions,
whose attention is devoted to replenishing
local waters, all of whom reoeive aid from
the National Commission.
The Vulgar Tobacco Pictures.
Comstock Issues an Edict Against Ci
gar Store Pictures.
Things have come to such a pass in New York
that respectable women and girls eannot pass
by some cigar stores because crowds of men and
half-grown boys hang around them gazing at
pictures in the windows and talk and Jest Iondly
about them. Tbe pictures are photographs of
girls who are alleged to be cigarette makers,
and their drapery and attitudes are libels on all
the honest girls in tbe trade. Tbe men who
make and exhibit the pictures say that although
the girls are represented as sitting at work roll
ing cigarettes, they are not real cigarette ma
kers, but artists’ models, who are hired to make
up like the working girls and then pose as they
are represented in elgar store windows. There
is hardly one of these shops ont of twenty in
this city that has not from one to a dozen of the
objectionable photographs in its windows. The
evil has been growing worse and more glaring
every day for the past four weeks, and no at
tempt has been made to hide the pictnres from
the attention of casual passey by. In fact they
h'AdV#rtlr<>ta nr-. -aiu/'r-sn—s siffliu'kt.-Ayj
,bow-‘
ever, are those of women M bise ball suits, who
are photographed in ths various attitudes of the
professional player. One picture represents a
girl with bat Inhaiid ready to strike; another
snows a girl reaching for a base, and other pic
tures are very objectionable.
The Society for the Suppression of Tice is
J iopularty supposed to riu New York of snen ob-
ectionable stuff. Secretary Anthony Comstock,
ot the Society, was asked by a Star reporter
rhat he was going to <’ “
I hanoed ever; man a espy of
I Code,
the immoral pictnres most be removed from
their wmdows by next week or I will prosecute
hem.” ,
“Why did yon not move in the matter before?”
Mr. Comstock was asked. “The pictures have
been glaringly exhibited for more than a month.”
My attention has just been called to them,”
answered the Secretary, “and I at once began
notifying the cigar shop keepers in whose win
dows they were posted. I visited personally
every place in this cir- —• "—
exhibited, and
must take them
prosecute them.
this act amending section 317 of the Penal <
passed May 28, 1881:
Any person who sells, lends, gives away or
effars to give away, or shows, or has in his pos
session with intent to sell, or give away, or to
show, or advertises, or otherwise offers for loan,
gift, sale or distribution, an obscene or indecent
Dook, magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, story pa
per, writing paper, picture, drawing or photo
graph, or any article or Instrument of indecent
or immoral use, or who designs, copies, draws,
photographs, prints, utters, publishes or other
wise prepares such a book, picture, drawing,
paper or other article, or writes or prints, or
causes to be written or printed, a circular, ad
vertisement or notice ot any kind, or gives in
formation /ally, stating When, where, how, or
of whom, or by wbat means such an indecent or
obscene article or tiling can be purchased or ob
tained
(2) Sells. lends, gives away, or shows or has
in his possession with intent to sea or give
away, or to snow, or advertises, or otherwise of
fers for loan, gilt or distribution to any minor
child, any book, pamphlet, magazine, newspaper
’.her printed paper devoted to the publica
tion or piiLclpaiiy made up of criminal news,
police reports or accounts of criminal deeds, or
pictures and stories of deeds of bloodshed, lust
or crinc 0 -- or
(3.) Exhibits upon any street or highway, or
in au v ot her place within the view, or which may
be within the view of any minor child, any book,
magazine, pamphlet, newspaper, writing paper,
picture, drawing, pnotograpb, or other article
or articles coining within the descriptions of ar
ticles mentioned in the first and second sub-di
visions ot this section, or any of them,
Is goilty of a misdemeanor.”
“Every cigarette dealer said he bad no desire
to violate the law and would take out the pic
tures right away. Only one man objeeted. No,
I wUl not teU yon his name. He Is a foreigner
who keeps a large elgar store and is tolerably
well off. He showed a disposition to dispute my
right to order him to take the pictures out of his
windows. I didn’t happen to have a copy of the
law in my pocket, so I simply repeated my
warning a second One. I teU you 11 ne doesn’t
take them out 1’U know why. I’ll arrest him
and make an example of him.
“All the cigarette manufacturers In New York
State have been notified to cease Issuing the per
nicious pictures.”
“Have you notified Allen & Gtnter, of Rich
mond, Va.?”
“Yes; I have just found out that they have an
advertising brandti in this city, ana 1 have
warned them. I have also sent copies of the
law to all the photographers and lithographers
concerned in tbe preparation of the pictures.
District Attorney Marttne premises to do all he
can to help me, and I have do doubt that the city
will soon be rid of tbe vile photographs.”
Sad Fate of a Wyoming Family.
Cheyenne, Wy., June 11-—A family named
Armstrong, consisting of hnsband, wife, two
sons and a daughter, went np in the Little Moon
tain Valley last fall and settled. They myste
riously disappeared in the last part of May and
not until now has any trace of them boon found.
A party of cowboys passing below tbe location
of the ranch, Tuesday, found the body of Mrs.
Armstrong in a canon. The remains of Mr.
Armstrong and his daughter were found some
distance below, one In a tree top and the other
n hi“h rocks. The boys have not been discov
ered. It is supposed that a sudden flood eaused
by the melting of snow swept away their house
and the inmates, and the positions of the bodies
serve to confirm this belief.
