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THE VIENNA PROGRESS.
TERMS, One Dollar Per Annum.
IIEW TO THE LINE; LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY.”
JOBS E. HOWELL, Editor and Prop’r.
VOL. XIII. NO. 31.
VIENNA, GA., TUESDAY", FEBRUARY 19, 1895.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
tfew York, Paris and Berlin com*
fcined lack forty-two square miles of
haring as great an area as London.
Among the European countries Ger
many by far outstrips her neighbors
in ths number of electric railways,
both in operation and course of con
struction.
= ■ — ^
As the year 1895 advances, it will, j
*Mn all probability, be found that man-
luring, commercial and agrienl- |
interests will show signs of re-
ng prosperity.
STATE NEWS ITEMS I stituen
CULLED FROM MANY SOURCES
BRIEFLY PARAGRAPHED.
Happenings of General Interest
Georgia Readers.
ladetships to Woolwich and Sand-
st, in England, to St. Cyr, in
ranee, to the Germau, Austrian and
Enterprising citizens of Douglas
have determined that a railroad shall
come to that place in tho the near
future, about ninety days at farther-
est. They have arranged for the com
pletion of tho tram road which con
nects with the Brunswick and West
ern railroad at McDonald’s mill.
* * *
The Waycross experimental tobacco
)
S'
X
■ Russian military academies, are all farm, which was so promising in its
obtained by open competitive examin
ations or by appointments, tempered
by the same.
Night refuges in Paris shelter the
arts. The nine establishments in 1893
were used by 137 actors, forty-three
singers, seventy-one musicians, twelve
pianists, twenty architects, 393 artists
(painters), fourteen authors and eight
een journalists.
Twenty years ago Dr. E. H. Dewey,
of Meadville, Penn., wrote a book
proving that the way to be healthy
was to go without breakfast. The
cult has lived 6inea then, and, accord
ing to the New London (Conn.) Day,
there ere more than one hundred per
sons iu that town who eat no break
fast.
The proportion of women suicides
fo that of men is small; whether be
cause thoir moral courage is less, their
moral courage more or their woes
lighter, it would be interesting to
know. Jt may, however, be safely as’
sumed that tho last named is not the
reason, observes the New Orleans Pic
ayune.
The proposition of some romantic
writers to put their romances to the
test by actually living through the ex
periences described should be dis
couraged, maintains the Chicago Rec
ord. Anyone trying to live the ei?
periences of a romance of the modern
sensational school would come into
contact with the police before he had
lived past the first chapter.
It is treated as a striking innovation
that the weekly edition of the London
Times, heretofore what Harold Fred
erick, in tho New York Times, terms
the driest and most literal of all earth
ly publications, is to begin in its next
number a serial novel by Mrs. M. E,
Francis, called “A Daughter of the
Soil.” With “The Thunderer” dally
ing in fiction, it is felt that almost
anything can happen.
Geneva, tho centra of the Swiss
watoh industry, will hold an inter
national competition in 1896 for tim
ing chronometers. One thousand
dollars will be given in prizes. Com
petitors may send as few as threo or
as many as fifteen chronometers to
tho Geneva Observatory, and tho
prizes will be awarded on tho mean
performance of tho best three time
pieces sent in by each candidate.
One of the tendencies of the ago in
the way of railroad improvement,
noted by the New York Telegram, is the
iuoreasod length of rails. The Penn
sylvania has laid a few miles of sixty-
foot rails, and the Lehigh Valley has
been trying fovty-five-foot rails. Now
the Columbus, Hocking Valley and
Toledo will lay a few miles of the
sixty-foot rails as au experiment. The
utility of the long rail is that it re
quires fewer joints, and, in conse
quence, affords smooth riding.
The growth of scholarships in the
leading universities of this country is
one of the best signs of educational
progress, declares the San Francisoo
Chronicle. A scholarship can only be
obtained by a good student who has
mastered his specialty, but at Cornell
University the system is now tried of
offering eighteen scholarships, each
worth §200 for two years, to freshmen
who pass certain special examinations
in addition to the usual test for ma
triculation. If many of our colleges
spent less money on buildings and
more on scholarships the work done
would be greatly improved in quantity
and quality.
“Dime Novel” Beadle, the man who
became famous as the publisher of
“dime novels” long before cheap liter
ature was so plentiful as it is now,
died at residence in Cooperstown, N.
Y., recently, announces the New Or
leans Picayune. Seeing the immense
profit to be mace on cheap and sensa
tional literature, in 1858 Mr. Beadle
established a printing office for that
purpose in New York, and thns became
the forerunner of the many concerns
which now flood the country with
flashy stories—stories that fill the
small boy’s heart with delight and his
soul with crime. Parents and police
who have been called on to discipline
little boys whose heads have been
turned by the wild adventures of
“Blue Mick, the Bowery Tough,” and
stories of that ilk, hardly regard Mr,
Beadle as a public benefactor, but, on
t£e other hand, one must remember
with abiding gratitude that he inaug
urated the movement that put the best
thoughts—the greatest books—within
the reach of the poorest,
first and second year, has been aban
doned and the industry is regarded by
many as a failure. There is no gain
saying the fact that the plant can be
; successfully grown, however, as the ex-
I periments of two years have proved
that conclusively. The owner of the
I farm leased it to a farmer, who mado
1 a fine crop of corn and hay on it last
year.
* * *
! Several of the officers recently elect-
I ed by the populists in Taylor county
have failed to give bond and have re-
i turned their commissions to Governor
j Atkinson. They w-ere C. A. J. Pope,
! sheriff; A. B. Peed, treasurer; J. E.
j Brewer, coroner; B. H. Newsome, sur-
I veyor. Mr. Pope lias held the place
of sheriff for more than twenty years,
under democratic rule, but two years
ago he joined the populists, and has
heretofore had no troub’e to make hie
bond. Alj the above were re-elected
except Mr. Brewer. A new election
will be ordered at an early date.
* * *
The people in Augusta, according
to a correspondent, are taking no in
terest in the matter of the congres
sional election. The lack of interest
is attributed to the belief that the
election will not be held in April, as
Mr. Watson anticipates. The people
are tired of elections, having had so
many of them in the last iwelve
months, and they are not at all anx
ious to stir the campaign just at pres
ent for the reason that it seriously in
terferes with business and interrupts
trade, and there is now only two
months more for the merchants to do
what little business there remains to
be done until next fall.
* * «
The Savannah, Americus and Mont-
| gomery railroad will not be sold at
I public outcry on the 20th inst, as
| previously advertised. Steps were
taken a few days ago which proved
a bomb in the camp of the bond
holders. When the order of sale was
taken two months ago it was thought
that no obstruction to the sale would
be made. But the attorneys for the
Savannah, Americus and Montgomery
have been at work and have prepared
a voluminous bill of exceptions. The
case will, therefore, go to the supreme
court, and until a decision there is
made, the sale will be indefinitely
postponed.
* * *
The third annual convention of the
Southern Association of Wholesale
Druggists assembled in Atlanta a few
days ago. The association is composed
of the leading wholesale druggists of
the southern states and there were
members in attendance from almost
every state in the south. The southern
association is a branch or auxiliary of
the National Association of Wholesale
Druggists, the latter being composed
of four branch associations. They are
the w-estern branch, the southern
branch, the Lake Erie branch and the
Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois branch.
The southern association’s membership
is made up among the wholesale drug
gists of the states south of the Potomac
river, Kentucky, Hlinois and Missouri.
It also includes St. Louis and Cairo
and cities in Texas.
* * *
Y. 31. C. A. Convention.
The annual state convention of the
Young Men’s Christian' Association
will be held in Athens next month. It
will open on the 14th of March and
close on the evening of the 17th. Mr.
Henry Hillyer, the chairman of the
state organization, has issued tho fol
lowing call for the convention :
“To the Christian Aesocations of
Georgia—In sending out this call for
the seventeenth annual state conven
tion of the Young Men’s Christian As
sociations of Georgia, it is with hearts
full of gratitude to God for His many
blessings showing upon our work dur
ing the past year, and the many evi
dences of prosperity which He gives
for the future.
“We invite and urge the Christian
young men of our state to meet with
us at Athene, March 14th to 17th, and
there help us devise plans by which
the young men in onr country dis
tricts, our towns, cities and colleges
may be reached for Christ.
“Will you not unite with us in
prayer that God’s richest blessing may
rest upon the gathering?
“Plan to be with us. We need you.
Your community needs the informa
tion which you will gain there. ’’
* * *
To Collect Income Tax.
Hon. J. E. Mercer, state senator
from the ninth district of Georgia, has
accepted the appointment of deputy
collector of the income tax from col
lector of internal revenue Paul Tram
mell. Senator Mercer has accepted
his commission, and will at once as
sume charge of his duties.
Mr. J. E. McConnell, a lawyer of
Carnesville, has received a similar ap
pointment and will co-operate with
Senator Mercer in the collection of
the income tax.
Senator Mercer will finish out his
term as senator, which not only has
legal precedents to justify him, but
which is at the request of his consti
tuents, who have no desire just now
to enter into the worry of another
election.
The work will be divided as nearly
as possible so that Mr. Mercer could
do the work for the southern part of
the state and Mr. McConnell for the
northern.
Both of these gentlemen are well
qualified for their positions. Senator
Mercer took a prominent part iu the
recent seasioas of the senate aa<l won
name for himself. His con
stituents are expressing their regrets
J that he is to go into the service ol
Uncle Sam.
Returns must be in by the first Mon
day in March. It is not necessary for
the collector to furnish blanks. If
they do not get the blanks they will
have to suffer the usual penalty for
not making the returns.
GENERAL BETHUNE DEAD.
He Was at One Time the Owner and
3Ianager of Blind Tom.
General James Neil Bethune, a dis-
distiuguished Georgian, who was the
owner and for many years the manager
of “Blind Tom,” the famous negro
pianist, died at his son’s residence at
Washington, D. C., Wednesday, aged
ninety years. He was graduated from
the university of Genrgia in 1827,
served as solicitor general of his
county, edited Tho Times and Sen
tinel and The Enquirer at Colum
bus, Ga., and served as a
colonel in the Creek war of 1832. In
recent years his home has been near
Warrenton, Va., and he has been visit
ing his son duringthepast few months.
In 1855 ho lost a leg by a fall from a
horse. General Bethune leaves six
BOM) CONTRACT.
CARLISLE’S STATE3IENT BE-
FORE THE COJISIITTEE,
In Which the Terms of the Contract
Are Fully Set Forth.
Mr. Wilson, the chairman of the
ways and means commiitee, reported
to the house Wednesday afternoon the
following joint resolution agreed upon
in committee, authorizing the issuance
of a thirty-year 3 per cent, interest
bearing gold bond:
“Resolved, That the secretary of
the treasury be and is hereby author
ized to issu9 and dispose of, at not less
than par in gold coin, bonds of the
United States, with quality, privileges
and exemption of bonds issued under
the act approved July 14, 1870, enti
tled ‘An act authorizing the refunding
of the natural debt,’ to an amount not
exceeding $65,116,275, bearing inter
est at a rate not exceeding 3 per cent,
per sauum, principle and interest
i payable in gold coin of the present
children, among whom are Judge J. D.
Bethune, of Arizona, and Mrs. N. T. N.
Robinson,wife of the assistant solicitor
of the treasury. The remains will be
taken to Columbus, Ga., for interment
beside those of his wife.
CHINESE BOATS SUNK.
Japanese Warships Sink Three Tor
pedo Boats.
The London Times correspondent
in Wei-Hai-Wei telegraphs under date
of February 8 th:
“A severe engagement began at 7
o’clock this morning. Several Japan
ese warships entered the bay from the
eastward, and three Chinese torpedo
boats attempted to escape by the west
ern entrance. The Japanese boats
sank them. The thirteen remaining
Chinese warships have taken up a po
sition at the southeast island. The
main Japanese squadron is still out
sido the harbor. Four Chinese forts
on the southeast island maintain an
incessant fire.”
KNIGHTS OF LABOR CONVENTION
The Seceders 3Iet a Cold Reception at
Columbus.
The miners’ Knights of Labor con
vention began at Colnmbus, O., Mon
day with forty delegates in attendance.
Master Workman Phil H. Penna,
called for the report of the committee
on credentials. There were no con
tests. Tho report of the New Orleans
delegates was then called for. Around
this report all interest centers. The
delegates will advocate the withdrawal
of the miners from the general assem
bly of the Knights of Labor on the
ground of Sovereign and Hayes’s al
leged high-handed action iu excluding
them from that convention.
NIHILIST PROCLAMATIONS
And Threatning Letters Received by
the Czar of Russia.
The Lol:al A nzeiger, a Berlin news
paper, has this dispatch from St. Pe
tersburg: “Since making his declara
tion of absolutism, the czar has re
ceived almost daily nihilist proclama
tions and threatening letters. It is
rumored that a palace official has been
arrested for placing in his majesty’s
study printed pictures of the assassin
ation of Alexander II. One picture is
said to have depicted the assassination
of the present czar in tho manner in
which his grandfather was killed. This
and other similar rumors are circulat
ed widely iu Russia.”
AFTER TWO YEARS OF WAITING
Families of the Ford Theater Victims
Get their 3Ioney.
The committee of the Ford theatre
disaster at Washington have at last
made a favorable report to the senate,
appropriating $115,000 for the relief
of the families of those who were
killed in that accident. The bill pays
to each $5,000, and where there is a
widow with children one-half is to be
paid to the children, share and share
alike. If the deceased was an unmar
ried person the money is to bo paid to
his legal heirs.
COTTON 3IILL 3IEN COMING.
A Party of Ten Start ou a Visit to
tile South.
A party of ten northern cotton man
ufacturers and representatives of other
manufacturing concerns left New York
Tuesday aud will traverse the cotton
belt, examining mill sites, water
power and gathering data. The trip
will take in Norfolk, Va. ; Wilmington,
N. G. ; Charlotte, N. C. ; Atlanta and
New Orleans.
Illinois Steel Company’s Report.
The Illinois Steel Company’s report
for the year ending December 31, 1894,
has been made public. The report shows
total gross profits, $55S,093; interest
on bonds less interest received and
discounts, §527,485; profits, $30,607;
deficit last year, $349,000. The re
port says prices continue to decline.
Competition is intense and the output
was larger than in 1893. The work
ing force was larger.
H. Clay Evans’ Answer.
Hon. H. Clay Evans, republican
claimant to the governorship of Ten
nessee, has filed with the speaker of
the senate his answer to the petition
filed a. few days ago by Mr. Turney,
the present incumbent. The answer
replies to Mr. Turney’s allegations of
fraud in the gubernatorial election
and gives Mr. Evans’ reasons for Li i
claim that te was elected over Ms
Turney.
Worst Storm in Twenty Years.
A special from Oswego, N. Y., says:
The big snow storm which has been
raging for a week past shows no signs
of abatement. For prolonged severity
it is the worst storm experienced in
twenty years. The thermometer has
averaged ten degrees below zero, with
the wind blowing thirty or forty miles
an hour for several days. Railroad
traffic has been abandoned.
Cholera in Constantinople.
The health authorities of Constan
tinople report that between February
5th and 12th sixty-one cases of cholera
occurred iu that city and during the
same period there were twenty-nine
deaths from the disease, which is still
spreading.
standard of weight and fineness; and
bonds to be made payable not more
than thirty years after date.
“Provided, however, that no part of
the proceeds of the sale of snch bonds
nor of the notes redeemed with such
proceeds shall be available for the
payment of the current expenses of the
government.”
The resolution wa3 adopted by a
vote of 8 to 5, those voting in the affirm
ative being Wilson, of West Virginia,
Turner, of Georgia, Cochran, of New
York, Montgomery, of Kentucky, Ste
vens, of Massachusetts, Tarsney, of
Missouri, democrats; Reed, of Maine,
Payne, of New York, republicans. The
negative vote was cast by McMillan,of
Tennessee, Bryan,of Nebraska, Wheel
er, of Alabama, Whitney, of Michigan,
democrats; Hopkins, of Illinois, re
publican. Grosvenor, republican, of
Ohio, who was present did not vote,
inasmuch as he was opposed to the
proposition, but was willing that it
should bo brought before the house.
The report accompanying the reso
lution includes a copy of the presi
dent’s recent message to congress bear
ing upon the subject, aud also a a copy
of the contract mado by the treasury
department with the European syn
dicate for the purchase of tho new
bonds.
The Contract.
Following is the text of the contract
between the treasury aud the syndi
cate :
“This agreement entered into this
8th day of February, 1895, between
the secretary of the treasury of the
United States, of the first part, and
Messrs.August Belmont &, Co., of New
York, on behalf of Messrs. N. M.
Botbsehild <fc Sous, of London, Eng
land, and themselves, and Messrs. J.
P. Morgan & Co., of New York, on
behalf of J. S. Morgan & Co., of Lon
don, and themselves, parties of the
second part, witnesseth:
“Whereas, It is provided by the
statutes of the United States (section
3700) that the secretary of the treas
ury may purchase coin with any of
the bonds or notes of the United States
authorized by law, at such rates and
upon such terms as he may deem most
advantageous to the public interest,
and the secretary of the treasury now
deems that an emergency exists in
which the public interests require
that, as hereinafter provided, coin
shall be purchased with the bonds of
the United States of the description
hereinafter mentioned, authorized to
be issued under the act entitled ‘an
act to provide for the resumption of
specie payments,’ approved January
14, 1875, being bonds of the
United States described in an act
of congress approved January 14,1870,
entitled ‘an act to authorize the re
funding of the national debt;’ now,
therefore, the said parties of the sec
ond part hereby agree to sell and de
liver to the United States 3,500,000
ounces of standard gold coin of the
United States, at the rate of $17,-
80441 per ounce, payable in United
States 4 per cent thirty-year coupon
or registered bonds, said bonds to be
dated February 1, 1895, and payable
at the pleasure of the United States
after thirty years from date, issued
under the act of Gongress of July 14,
1370; January 20, 1871, and January
16, 1875, bearing interest at the rate
of 4 per cent per annnm, payable quar
terly.
“First—Such purchase and sale of
sold coin beine made on the following
conditions: 1. At least one-half of all
coin delivered hereinnnder shall be
obtained in and shipped from Europe,
but the shipments shall not be re
quired to exceed 300,000 ounces per
month, unless the parties of the sec
ond part shall consent thereto. 2.
All deliveries shall be made at any of
the subtreasuries or at any legal de
pository of the United states. 3. All
old ooins delivered shall be received
on the basis of 25 8-10 grains of stand
ard gold per dollar if within the limit
of tolerance. (4.) Bonds delivered
under this contract are to be delivered
free of accrued interest, which is to be
assumed and paid by the parties of the
second part at the time of their deliv
ery to them.
“2. Should the secretary of the
treasury desire to offer or sell any
bonds of the United States on or be
fore October 1, 1895, he shall first
offer the same to the parties of the
second part, but thereafter he shall be
free from every such obligation to tho
parties of the second part.
“3. The secretary of the treasury
hereby reserves the right, within ten
days from the date thereof, in ease he
shall receive authority from congress
therefor, to substitute any bonds of
the United States bearing 3 per cent
interest, of which the principal aud
interest shall be specifically payable in
United States gold com of the present
weight and fineness for the bonds
herein alluded to; such 3 per cent
bonds to be accepted by the parties of
the second part at par, i. e., at $18,-
60465 per ounce of standard gold.
“4. No bonds shall be delivered to
the parties or the second part, or
either of them, except in payment for
ooin from time to time received here
under; whereupon the secretary of the
treasury of the United States shall and
will deliver the bonds as herein pro
vided at such places as shall be desig- j
nated by the parties of the second
part. Any expense of delivery out of
the United States shall be assumed and
paid by the parties of the second part.
“5, In consideration of the pur
chase of such coin, the parties of the
second part, and their associates here
under, assume and will bear all the
expense and inevitable loss of bringing
gold from Europe hereunder; and, as
far as lies in their power, will exert all
financial influence and will make all
legitimate efforts to protect the
treasury of the United States against
the withdrawals of gold pending the
complete performance of this contract.
“In witness whereof, the parties
hereto have set their hands in five
parte, this 8th day of February, 1895.
“J. G. Carlisle,
“Secretary of the Treasury.
“August Belmont & Co.,
“On Behalf of N. M. Rothschilds <fc
Son, London.
“J. P. Mobgan,
“On Behalf of Messrs. J. S. Morgan
& Co.. London, and Themselves.
“Attest: W. E. Curtis.
‘‘Francis Linde Stetson.”
FROM WASHINGTON.
NEWSY ITE3IS PICKED UP
THE NATIONAL CAPITOL.
Sayings and Doings of the Official
Heads of the Government.
The senate has confirmed the nomi
nation of Brigadier General Thomas
Howard Ruger to be major general.
There was a good deal of excitement
in the house Thursday over the situa
tion. The administration was both
attacked and defended for the last
bond contract.
The naval medical board has reject
ed T. A. Jonas, appointed by the
president and confirmed by the senate,
to be an assistant paymaster in the
navy. The candidate, who is a son of
ex-Senator Jonas, of Louisiana, and a
nephew of representative Meyer, of
that state, was rejected on account of
physical infirmity.
The treasury gold reserve stood at
$41,215,181 Tuesday, the lowest point
it is likely to reach for some time, as
the gold of the Belmont-Morgan syn
dicate will now begin to make its ap
pearance in the reserve and swell its
proportions until it again climbs to
the $100,000,000 mark. It is said at
the treasury that more than half of
this gold will come from abroad, and
none of the gold paid in on this side
will be taken from the New York
banks.
For the Free Coinage of Silver.
The senate finance committee was in
session Tuesday morning. By a vote
of 6 to 5 a favorable report on the bill
providing for the unrestricted coinage
of silver, as provided for in the Jones
bill, was authorized. The bill reads:
“That from and after the passago of
this act the secretary of the treasury
is hereby authorized and directed to
receive at any United States mint,
from any citizen of the United States,
silver bullion of standard fineness, and
coin the same into silver dollars of
412i grains each. The seigniorage on
said bullion 6hall belong to the United
States and shall be the difference be
tween the coinage value thereof and
the market price of bullion in New
York on the day the deposit is made,
and all expenditures for coinage done
under the provisions of this act shall be
paid out of said seigniorage, aud thesec-
etary of the treasury shall deliver to
the depositors of such bullion stand
ard silver dollars equal in amount to
the price thereof as aforesaid; and
whenever said coins herein provided
for shall be received into the treasury
certificates may be issued thereon, in
the manner now provided by law.”
Subsequently Mr. Jones reported
the bill to the senate, the title haviDg
been changed so as to make it read:
“A bill for the unrestricted coinage of
silver.” It will be seen that it fixes
the value of silver at the market price
in New York, instead of London, as
originally provided in the Jones bill,
and eliminates that clause which pro
vides that certificates Ehall be of de
nominations less than ten dollars.
Agreement to Take the Bonds.
Unless congress in ten days passes a
law authorizing the issue of gold bonds
bearing 3 per cent interest, running
thirty years, or otherwise relieves the
treasury in the replenishment of the
gold reserve, Secretary Carlisle will,
by direction of the president, sell 4
per cent bonds to the amount of
$62,400,000 for gold. Arrangements
whereby this can be done and $65,-
000,000 in gold be received for the
bonds have been perfected, and the
contingent contract was signed Satur
day. This official memorandum of
the transaction was made public at
the treasury. It is as follows: “The
contract was made with August Bel
mont <fe Co., of New York, on behalf
of Messrs. N. M. Rothschild & Sons,
of London, and J. P. Morgan <fc Co.,
of New York, on behalf of J. S. Mor
gan <fc Co., of London, and themselves,
and provides for the delivery to the
United States of 3,500,000 ounces of
standard gold coin of the United States
to be paid for in United States 4 per
cent bonds.
“A large number of other banks
and financial institutions are inter
ested in the transaction, but their
names are not mentioned in the con
tract itself. The department does not
know in what proportion the various
parties are to furnish the gold coin or
reive the bonds, as this is a matter for
arrangement between themselves.
“By the terms of the contract the
parties are to bear all the expenses of
bringing gold from abroad and they
are, so far as it lies in their power, to
exert their financial influence and make
all legitimate efforts to protect the
treasury against withdrawals of gold
pending the complete performance of
the contract. No bonds are to be de
livered except in payment for gold ac
tually delivered. Iu view of the pos
sible failure of legislation in congress,
negotiations have been pending for
some time at Washington and abroad
and the terms of this contract are the
best that could be procured with a coin
bond. The contract was drawn up by
Attorney General Olnev and secretary
Carlisle, and submitted to J. Lynde
Stetson, eounsef for the bankers. I
LA GASCOGNE SAFE.
THE LONG MISSING STEAMER
REACHES NEW YORK.
Delay Caused by a Broken Piston.
Joy at Her Safe Arrival.
The French line steamer La Gas
cogne, concerning which so much
anxiety has been felt for the past sev
eral days is safe.
The big steamer, eight days over;
due, dropped anchor at the bar at
Quarantine, Staten Island, just before
mid-night Monday night, with all well
on board, and a sigh of relief goes up
from two continents. The delay was
due to a broken piston rod, and to the
terriffic gales which have swept the
north Atlantic for the past week or
more, and brought disaster to many a
stanch craft. Captain Battledon and
officers and crew of La Gascogne
brought the ship and passengers
through the gales and made port with
out help. From the time they left
Havre, on January 26th, until Mon
day, they spoke to no trans-Atlantic
steamer, and saw only a four-masted
schooner, the one which reported at
St. Pierre Miquelon, N. S., as having
seen a large steamer off the banks ap
parently in distress some days ago.
The United Press tug, Fred B. Dal-
zell, with representatives of a number
of New York papers on board, was the
first tug to reach La Gascogne. The
disabled steamer had left Fire island
twenty-five miles astern and was eight
miles to tho eastwast of Sandy Hook
^lightship.
It was 9 :45 o’clobk p. m. The big
liner was limping into port at half
speed with two big red lights, signals
of distress, at the foremast.
Story of the Trip.
The tug lay alongside half an hour
and the following story of the trip was
obtained:
The steamer left Havre January
26th. On the first day out 449 miles
were logged, on the second day 407
miles, on the third, after traveling
380 miles, the piston rod broke and
eighteen hours were spent in making
repairs. When they were completed
the ship steamed at nine miles an
hour, making in all sixty-six miles on
the 29th. On the 30th, 31st and Feb
ruary 1st'215, 215 and 280 miles a day
were made, respectively.
On February 2d the piston rod broke
down again. The break was more se
rious this time. Sea anchors were put
out, and for forty-one hours the ship
was hove to, making repairs. On the
4th the first severe weather was exper
ienced and the ship was blown 150
miles out of her course.
On the 5th, the repairs having been
completed, 103 miles were traveled.
The ship was then clear to the north
ward of the track of trans-Atlantic
steamers, and was, therefore, not seen
by the many steamers which passed
over the regular track.
Struck by a Cyclone.
On the 7th the machinery broke
down for the third time. The heavy
cyclone struck on this day and the
ship hove to with sea anchors out all
day. No headway was made and
owing to the motion of the ship, re
pairs were difficdlt. On the next day
the chief engineer, who had been at
his post day and night, completed the
repairs and the ship proceeded 131
miles.
On the 9th, for the fourth time, the
machinery broke down and only sev
enty-four miles were made.
On the 10th 150 miles were made
and on the 31th, to the great rejoicing
of all on board, Fire Island was
sighted and the ship crept up to her
anchorage off the bar.
The United Press tug was received
with a cheer by the anxious passen
gers. They crowded to the rail,
yelled and clapped their hands with all
the enthusiasm of tho French rae#.
The officers refused to allow any one
on board and wculd not come to the
rail to talk. The passengers were
more obliging.
DEPOSITING THE GOLD.
Thy Syndicate Has Already Sent in
Over Four 3Iillion Dollars.
The official figures of the gold de
posits on account of the Belmont-Mor
gan bond syndicate show that $3,340,-
000 has been deposited and $1,050,000
received after hours on storage,
making a total of $4,390,000. The
depositors are the Chase National
bank, $500,000; Park National, $1,-
000,000; Harvey, Fish &Sons, $1,640,-
000; Morton, Bliss & Co., $450,000;
Heidelbacb, Ickelheimer & Co., $300,-
000; C. E. Gregory, $500,000.
The assay office has weighed $2,890,-
000 coin, which produces nn actual
weight of 155,221.19 ounces, a loss of
115.81 ounces, or $2,154 to the syndi
cate, caused by abrasion of the coin.
At this rate the government will make
about $50,000 on the transaction, as
the coin can be paid out at its face
value, although received from the syn
dicate at its bullion valuation.
The subtreasury has issued certifi
cates for $2,044,000 gold, weighed and
accepted at the assay office at the syn
dicate price of §17.80J per ounce.
These certificates are convertible into
4 per cent, bonds at their face value.
GOV. TURNEY’S DENIAL.
He Charges That the Republicans
Disregarded the Law.
A Nashville special says: Governor
Tc.rney’s attorneys have filed his de
fense to the cross petition of Mr.
Evans. After affirming the truth of
all contained in his original petition,
he charges that Evans has not made
such denial as puts at issue allegations
in the original petition, and that it
must necessarily be taken as true
under the law; that poll-tax receipts
were not required in twenty-six
specified counties. It is charged
that Evans simply claims that the poll
tax law is unconstitutional, and that
when judges allowed a man to vote,
his vote cannot be changed. It is in
sisted that Evans can have no investi
gation where he made no objections.
It is insisted that, where the law was
not enforced, the entire vote must be
cast out. The charges made by Mr.
Evans are denied in detail; and it is
charged that republicans have syste
matically, deliberate and studiously
disregarded the election laws by direc
tion of their accredited leaders.
A DEAD LETTER AUCTION.
CURIOSITIES OF UNCLE SAM’S
POSTAL MORGUE.
Sold After Two Years—Contraband
of the Mails—Queen Bees the Only
Live Mail.
^ I f HE annual auction sale of
I j the Dead Letter Office has
1 occurred. It is an annual
G source of amusement to a
certain number of people in Washing
ton. It is even more amnsing than
the sales of dead matter by the ex
press companies or the storage ware
houses in large cities, because the
goods which come under the hammer
from those institutions usually have
some value, while the “dead horse”
from the Postoffioe Department is com
posed very largely of the most trifling
and valueless articles. Still the sale
brings to the department nearly $3000
a year, which helps to pay the ex
penses of the Dead Letter Office.
The articles just sold have been in
the hands of the Dead Letter Office
for two years or more. This is iu ac
cordance with the postal regulations,
whioh require that parcels matter
shall be held so long a time if its
owner cannot be found. It must be
remembered that all diligence is ex
ercised by the postal authorities to
find first the sender and then the ad
dressee of a package, and that it goes
to the auction room only after effort
has been exhausted and after it has
remained unclaimed by the owner for
two years. Under these regulations
it would not seem possible that a great
quantity of matter of any value would
accumulate during a year. Yet of
seven million letters and parcels sent
to the Dead Letter Office during a
year as insufficiently or incorrectly
addressed, only three million reached
their destination after investigation.
Doubtless a great number of these
were in the list of unstamped letters
or parcels.
One of the most remarkable things
about the Dead Letter Office records
is the number of people who send
money by mail in badly addressed en
velopes. The amount thus sent indi
cates that there are enormous sums in
transit in the United States mails
during the year. Last year $38,000
in loose money was found in “dead”
letters which it was necessary to open,
and of this $28,000 was restored to its
owners. More than a million dollars
in drafts, money orders, checks, eto.,
was found in undelivered letters; and
$967,000 this was restored. Postal
notes of the value of $5900 were found;
and $5600 worth of these found their
owners in time.
Letters containing money which
come to the Dead Letter Office and
are not delivered to their owners are
helrl subject to reclamation for three
months. Before the expiration of
that time, inquiries concerning miss
ing remittances are likely to be made,
and perhaps they get to the Postoffice
Department and the owner of the
money on file is thus identified. At
the end of three months the money is
turned over to the Third Assistant
Postmaster-General, and he turns it
into the Treasury. But the sender or
addressee can recover this money at
any time within four years by making
claim and proving property. Letters
containing drafts, money orders
checks and valuable papers are filed
for reclamation. They can be of no
value to Uncle Sam. An unendorsed
draft would not bring much at an auc
tion. All letters containing salable
valuables (and all packages as well)
are held for two years for reclamation.
At the end of that time the articles are
catalogued and sold; but a record of
their selling price is kept, and the
owner by making application within
four years can obtain the amount from
the Postoffiee funds. Postage stamps
in a letter, exceeding two cents in
value, are filed away for reclamation
for a reasonable time and are than de
stroyed. The Postoffiee Department
destroyed last year $676 worth of
stamps found in dead letters. Uncle
Sam has a pretty big revenue alto
gether from the stamps which are de
stroyed in various ways and are never
used to pay postage. He also makes a
pretty fair income from money sent by
mail whioh falls into the hands of the
Postoffiee Department. The amount
turned into the Treasury last year on
this account was $12,000.
The Postoffiee Department destroys
in a year four million letters contain
ing no enclosures, which cannot be re
turned to writers. It destroys also a
great quantity of letters and parcels
containing matter classed bb unmaila
ble. Before the passage of the anti-
lottery law a great many of the letters
opened contained lottery tickets.
Now there are not so many of these,
but there are many hundreds of sealed
envelopes under letter postage which
are found to contain lottery circulars,
and these, of course, are destroyed im
mediately. Green goods circulars are
found in some envelopes, and these, if
they cannot be of value to the police
in tracing the swindlers, are destroyed
also. Then there are animals and
bugs and bottles of liquid and all sorts
of things which come under the postal
regulations are not to be carried in
the mails. There is one living thing
that is mailable, and that i3 a queen
bee. But there are alligators and
snakes and bntterflies and bngs of all
kinds constantly coming and going
through the mails. At the time there
was such a craze for cameleons, thou
sands of these little lizards were
mailed in the South to addresses all
over the United States; and since they
were comparatively harmless, alive or
dead, no great effort was made to stop
the business. But it happens not in
frequently that in the Dead Letter Of
fice an exceedingly lively snake or an
offensively dead animal comes to light.
Anything which is likely to injure the
mail matter with which’it comes in con
tact is contraband of the mail and is
destroyed as soon as discovered, what
ever its value.
But there is an official exception to
the snake rule. The professors at the
Smithsonian often receive reptiles in
packages which come by mail franked
to them. The postal authorities per
mit this, but the clerks are not in
sympathy with the exception to the
rule. It is not at all comfortable to
hear the warning sound of a “rattler”
from a perforated package, none too
strong perhaps, which you are possi
bly pounding with a cancelling stamp.
-What people will put iu the mails
was illustrated at the World’s Fair by
» heavy ax, which came to the Dead
Letter Office one day wrapped in a
simple piece of paper with the address
missing. Its owner was never found.
It was unmailable matter anyway, for
edged tools not cased are forbidden
the mails. Nevertheless, the Dead
Letter sale always includes quantities
of knives. People who want to mail
small articles are utterly ignorant of
the postal regulations or else are will
ing to take chances of evading them.
The Christmas season is always bar*
vest time for the Dead Letter Office.
In the first place there is always the
crop of gifts sent to foreign addresses
which do not comply with the postal
regulations. Aside from printed mat
ter, articles sent as gift3 cannot be
forwarded to some foreign countries
unless the postage is fully prepaid at
the letter rate; and where a parcels
post has been established and special
rates are made for merchandise, it is
necessary to comply with certain reg
ulations concerning prepayment of
postage, observance of customs regu
lations, etc. It is not safe to ship
parcels matter abroad without consult
ing the local postal authorities.
A frequent cause of the non-delivery
of mail matter is the failure of the
sender to wrap it carefully. Nearly
20,000 parcels without wrappers go to
the Dead Letter Office every year.
Many of these, of course, are maga
zines. No attempt is made to find
the owners of these, and they are not
sold. Under the regulations, all mag
azines, pamphlets, illustrated papers,
picture cards, etc., among the “dead”
parcels are sent to Washington hos
pitals, etc.,and 17,000 of these articles
go to them every year.—Boston Tran
script.
SELECT SIFTINGS.
The Rothschilds have an $18,000
clock.
Umbrellas are made of varnished
paper.
The canvas-back duck is the sub
ject of a poem of praise by a Maryland
man.
No parental care ever falls to tho
lot of a single member of the insect
tribe.
Kentucky courts have decided that
gas companies cannot collect rent for
their gas meters.
Bananas are so plentiful in Martin
ique, West Indies, that a big bunch
may be bought for a cent.
It is stated by the attendants at zoo
logical gardens that no ape will sleep
flat on his back, as adult man often
does.
The name Munich is derived from
the fact that the monks owned the
property on which the town now
stands.
The Church of England boasts among
its clergy one Eskimo. The clergy
man in question is Rev. Robert Gib
bons, and his parish is Parrsboro,
Nova Scotia.
Peter Cooper’s engine, the Tom
Thumb, weighed about a ton; the
wheels were two and a half feet in di-
amter, and the smokestack looked like
a big “putty blower.”
A comrade of Edwin Libby Po3t, G.
A. R., of Rockmann, Me., has mad©
with his knife 100,000 toothpicks
within the last three years and sold
them for the benefit of the post.
A preacher named John Smith died
suddenly in the pulpit in the midst of
his sermon at Penshar, England. Ex
actly forty years before to a day an
other preacher, also named John
Smith, died suddenly in tho same
pulpit.
A novel alarm letter box has been
invented. The principle is to let
householders know wheD letters have
been dropped in, their weight releas
ing a catch which allows a short spring
to uncoil and set a vibrating hammer
to ring a bell.
The pigmies of Central Africa are
supposed to be the remains of an an
cient race which once occupied the
whole of tropical Africa and Southern
Asia. They have lost their original
language and history, and only rem
nants of their numbers remain.
Minnie Chew is a woman highway
robber serving a term in the Ohio
Penitentiary at Columbus. By wild
screaming and wilder talking at night
she has made the keepers so angry
that they now keep her chained up in
her cell, with a halter tied in her
mouth to insure silence.
The winter days in Sweden are only
six hours long. In the northern part
of the peninsula the sun doe3 not rise
once for two months. This is made
up for, however, by the sunny sum
mer. In the north the sun does not
set for weeks and weeks, an endless
day. The most glorious sight of all
the northland is the midnight sun.
A Notable Polar Bear.
The large polar bear which for
twenty-three years had lived in the
menagerie of the Zoological Society,
London, died recently after a fort
night’s illness. The bear was pre
sented to the society by B. L. Smith,
who brought it home from au Arctic
voyage in 1871. Frank Bncldand then
described it as “about the size of a
Newfoundland dog, but more short
and stumpy, with a splendid shaggy
coat of long, yellow hair.” In its long
life at the gardens, under the same
careful management by which another
specimen of the same species was kept
for thirty-six years in the menagerie,
it grew to a size rarely equaled, even
by the largest polar bears killed in the
Arctic regions, and its weight was esti
mated at three-quarters of a ton,
though during its illness it- refused
food and became much emaciated.—
Scientific American.
IVhite-Han'Jled Razors.
There are many barbers who will
not own a white-handled razor be
cause of an old superstition that bad
luck goes with it. A razor is to the
barber what the locomotive is to the
engineer, and there are more things
to learn about it than one would sup
pose. For instance, there are razors
that will cut certain qualities of hair
better at certain seasons than at
others. Climate and weather have a
great deal to do with razors. Some
will cut better in cold weather and
some in hot. These are only a few
of the causes that effect razors, and
they and many more all tend to make
the barber who does much work keep
accumulating razors until he has all
sorts to pick from.—Kansas Citj
Jonrn^t