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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY DECEMBER 29 1885.—SIXTEEN PAGES
The Constitution.
h*m4 »l the Atlanta PottOfllre as atooad^ua
(Mil matter, November 11,IS!*.
TT,. VI, Cnn.Illation, il.Mper.nnnm.
> Club, of Bve. 11.00 etch; clnbe of ten «.» s**n
»»d t copy to gel ler-up erf Clab. .
(on into a heap of splinters and dnat. There I (hat it would be real economy on the part
is no remedy, but an improved aignal service I of (be general government to supply nil the
may warn people when and where to expect I arms, service uniform., camp equipage and
danger. It is even now possible to predict | music, and to tarnish rations when the vol-
A WORD WITH YOU
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ATLANTA, 0 A„ DECEMBER 29, IMS.
A rArKit up in Dover, N. II., says tbe
south is half dviiiwd. If this is the
why is the editor of the Dover paper hanging
around Ms little ono-liome (own? Why
dosen’t he come couth and civilize every
body ?
CONfiHEsa has passed two bills—one to re
lieve General Jxwton of his political dis
abilities, and the other to provide a pension
for Mrs. Grant of 95,000 a year. Both were
passed In Hie house by unanimous consent
under general parliamentary usage.
Tilr. scenes in Nonticoke, when it was an-
irttinciil that the attempt to rasene the I in
ptttpnrd miners would have to ho abandon
ad, snrpaeeed all deacrlptlon. Thirty men
were Imprisoned In the death chamber be
neath, nnd aliova were hundreds of relatives
anxiously awaiting the progress of the work.
When work was finally stopped, It meant the
death of the unfortnnale miners.
Tiie interview with the liev. Ham Jones,
printed elsewhere, shows that oar Georgia
evangelist did get his anger into oil in even
the flinty soil of Hk Louis, and that Mr.
HmgU bore a worthy part in the work. We
have backed Ham Jones In all his crusades
against aln In dlvera and sundry cities. W
await with anxiety his tussle with Cincin
nati, which begins next week, lie lias wise
ly come home for tbe holidays, Hint he may
brace himself up, and Cincinnati sleeps with
one eye open while she waits for him.
Gkkkuai. Fits; Lee, governor-elect of
Virginia, refuse* to accept a gift. It
proposed to present him with a carriage and
harness,- the articles had been made, nnd
his admirers bad begun to send In money to
pay foMbem, when General Lee heard of
the matter, lie very promptly said that
''under no circumstances would lie accept
ench a present." A fow more men like Gen
eral Lee and President Cleveland will lift
the standard of public service very much
higher than it has been in a quarter of
Christmas Day.
I t la .here 1
The tootio-ootie-too of Innnmeralilo tin
trumpets, the paralysing loom of tho can
non cracker, nnd the not unmusical discord
of the jubilant small boy inode the welkin
ring long before tlie mlata of this memora
ble morning melted away.
This great holiday of tho Christian world
la a blessed day. No man ever grows too
old, too cynical, or too Maw to enjoy it.
We may pretend that the roaring youngsters
who have taken possession of the town are
altogether too noisy, Iral we deceive no one.
Even Into the heart of the hardest worldling
the gentle suggestions and influences of this
day will enter and leave their impress.
The youngsters have the best of it. They
have the best of the day and the best of the
argument. If we cannot duplicate this en
thusiasm and their hilarity, we ran nt least
imitate them, and that man Is happiest who
succeeds In most happily counterfeiting the
light arid glad Joys of youth. Let ns hope
that in some Instances tho rllbrt will not he
Marions—that the rrsnlt will be genuine.
It is so easy to Ibrget, for a time, the cares of
age, the rrsponsihilltiea of business nnd the
troslUes, large and small, that the years
bring.
B(t the day is litre! Let ns make tbe
most of It. Perhaps them is some humble
heart we ran make happier, some humble
resilience into whoso forlorn precincts wc
may be able to carry the spirit of the day,
the suggestions of the season. Well for ns
Mow and hereafter if wo give to some poor
sonl a touch of tho day that 1s dedicated to
the memory of the Babe who lay in the
nunger-tbe Babe pointed ont by the glisten
ing stars anil worshipped by the wise men.
• Touching Tornadoes.
Tornado is not exacUy a word to con
jmo w ilh, lml one has only to pronounce it
in any circle to accnre immediate and rot-
pcctAil attention.
Perhaps lieutenant Finlay, of the aignal
service bureau nt Washington, [has more tor
nado wisdom than any man in Hie country.
He has spent hts life studying every flirt
and twist of tbe ftinnel shaped tenor which,
during recent years, has become so familiar
in many parts of the nnfam. What bo soya
therefore carries weight with it.
Lieutenant Finlay soya it ia a gnat mis
take to suppose Hud cities are In compara
tively less danger ftnmjprnadoea because the
hravierand more durable structures may be
expected to break up Uu ckmd vortex and
scatter Us fnry. ThaWtsUon at Phlladel
phis last August, aniFTho one that struck
Marshfield, Mo., disprove this theory. The
one lost mentioned would have plowed,
through St. l-outa, if it bad rtrurk the city
instead of Hie town. In the opinion of the
lieutenant “the greatest atructuna of atone
and Iron will melt like srax in fire when tbe
vortex ivncbea them. New York, with its
gnat environments nnd millions of people
may svilrr when it least expects It. The
Brtokhn bridge would make a splendid tar
get for a tornado. That vast ftame work ot
Mn l and iron will be torn from ita pillows
and hurled Into the Fast river, if the vortex
ever strikes it."
This is had enough, but onr expert goes
an to ray that we may look far about 160
tornadoes a year. We cannot build anything
strong enough to withstand a whirling veloc
ity of '.‘.CtKI mites an hour. This is the force
•tout the vortex, and it means a ptcslure of
fifteen pounds to the square inch. Kuch a
fen* would tumble the capital at Wwhing-
thesc local disturbance* sixteen boms in ad
vance, and by danger signals warn the peo
ple. As to protection tbe “dog out’’Is the
best thing that has yet been devised. It it
all nonsense to talk about lessening the evil
nnteer soldiery is called out for instruction
by the government. As to tho economy and
wlidomofsncb a policy, we cannot dobetter
than give the distinguished soldier’s words
in Aril. He says: “Whatever objection may
by planting forests or by firing cannon into I be offered to the expenditure required to
an approaching cloud. The vortex, of a tor
nado cannot be destroyed by artificial
means.
If the lieutenantgfves ns any comfort it is
to he found in. hts statement that tornadoes
arc not on the increase, bnt then they ore
perfect such an organisation of tbe national
guard can be met by the [simple statement
of the fiict, proved so often in onr own his
tory, that onr habitual economy in time of
pence has always been far more than coun
terbalance by the consequent unduly heavy
not diminishing. As the country becomes I cost of preparing suddenly for war. When
more thickly settled there is more to ho des- | we have a national guard of sufficient
tioycd, and.eonscquently mortis said about I strength, well-armed and equipped for scr-
thcse visitations than was the case in former | vice, jxwsahly disciplined, accustomed to use
year*. Instead of sweeping over unsettled I their weapons and act together, instructed
pniric3thentormnowstrike*cft{es,townsand I in the rudiments, at least, of field service—
farms. ThereJs nothing to lie done but to I in such a condition, in brief, that a few
trust to the signal service and the “dug | weeks service in the camp and field will
outs,” nnd Providence over all.
convert them into respectable soldiers, we
shall have a force not only quite capable of
crushing ont in its beginning any attempt at
riot or intestine disturbance, bnt also of so
Tho New Pension Ilald.
The republican members of the honse of
representatives have formally resolvsd to I promptly and effidenUy supporting onr lit-
make a repeal of the limitation clause of the | {S’Sni Z,“L. "sw.
petitions bill, and even an extension of the
system, a party measure. The democrats , ... m .
are, in other words, to lie forced to adopt or. | ^ - 7^ u
reject the proposition, under fear of liing \ u™ *?*^™ * l ° CBreCt *
“the soldier vote.”
The politicians and tire pension attorneys
arc at the bottom of them raids. They pro
cured the passage in 1878 of a bill granting
pensions, not from the data of application,
bnt ftom the time the disability
began. The pension .charge jumped from
twenty-seven million a year to about seventy
A Magnanimous Husband.
This is not exactly an Enoch Arden case,
bnt it is none the less interesting.
In 1860 Mr. Henry Lndford, of Troy, N.
Y., for reasons satisfactory to himself, or
possibly nnder tbe pressure of circumstances
over which he had no control, suddenly and
million a year, and there is as yet no sign of I mysteriously disappeared. His sorrowing
decrease. For the tost seven yean the nn- I wife, left witii an infimt son, mourned the
nna! pension burden lias avenged $54,400,- I missing partner of her bosom for msoya long
000, nnd tbe estimated expenditure on this I year. Hhe was quits certain that he had
oeronnl, during tbe present fiscal year, is I been the victim of foul play. Finally, at
$75,000,000. It Is now proposed by republi- I the end of seven yean sho married Mr. ‘John
can demagogues to throw the bridle Off, by I Bmitb, and as time wore on she succeeded
letting any man who may, at any time np- I injalmost forgetting her first husband,
ply, have a pension from the time when, I A few days ago the Junior Lndford acci-
nnder loose rules of evidence, he may bo I dentnllyleamed that his father was olive
able in any way to show that bia disability
began. There is lint one step beyond this,
namely, a pension for all surviving soldien
of the civil war.
The people of llie south have never object
ed, and do not object, to a rcnnonahlo pen
sion hill. The fortunes of war entitle every
union soldier, who wrru actually disabled In
the service, to n reasonable pension. But
when the pension list is already greater than
any similar list in the world, when it is
known that thousands and tens of thousands
of fraudulent cases arc homo on the pension
rolls, then it Is tims for the southern repre
sentatives to stop and nok whether the sooth,
in its present condition, is able to stand any
ftirther extension of the burden. Any further
extension would ho beyond all reason, all
jnsUce, all precedent; and when the south
pays one-third of tho enormous bill, recciv.
| and at Cohoea. He lost no time.in hunting
him np. The meeting was very affecting.
Old man Ludford was rejoiced to see his son.
| When told that the woman ho had deserted
a quarter of a century ago was wetland hap-
I py, lie expressed tbe greatest delight. On
porting with tbe yonng man he requested
him to tell his mother that he should do
nothing to dlstarb her, and that while he
I would like to see her ho felt it best to deny
himself that pleasure. He declined to ac
count for his disappearance and abandon
ment of hisfamily.
Tltta Year's Cotton Crop.
The annual review of C. Greene A Co.,
relating to the cotton crop of the United
States, is before the public. Their estimate
rest! upon replica to inqnrlcs sent to every
port of the cotton belt. Eighteen hundred
i. - „ . .. h ■ replica were received, and from them was
JZt compiled these crop estimates:
aside partisan considerations. The south
will contribute this year $25,000,000 to the
pension ftind. The people of oseb southern
average $1,500,000 on account of pensions to
union soldiers. Georgia’s share will really
exceed $3,000,000. This great sum is drawn
from the state by indirect taxation under
the tariff bill. We pay it-when we buy a
coat or a shawl or a plow or a paper of pins
or nearly any other article, cither of luxury
or every-day asc. It is taken from us none
the less because It is taken indirectly at the
custom houses. If it was levied directly, we
would very readily seo liow great a stream
from the south is required to meet the enor
mous pension system that is chiefly the pro
duct of di'iiiiigoglsm. Hhns very much to
do w ilh the poverty of the south. Let tis
....6,429,000
M$9,000
STATES.
North Carolina...A.Sffi.1
South Carolina. ...t,4S6,1
mM
....(.....6,604,Owl utTsaiu* Towns.
.......... 0,(02,000 Memphis .0.ML000
........ A-iis,ouo rtinrfotte s[90koao
Moutaomery .S..W7.000
Average .fWn,00M8t. Louts A400,000
Cincinnati _4,MS,000
rofrrs. [Shreveport 0,17V
Gaiverton .0,600,000 Atlanta _
New Orleans s,7M,00M llotmnn- iytas.000
Mobile. 024,ooo Vicksburg. «,717,000
Savannah s[fi99,00(M —j——*
Charleston 0,910,olo Average ......0,.v,7,000
The compilers do not, however, accept any
of tbesA averages, because they think the
present condition of trade must create a bias
towards minimum estimates, nnd because*
too, some member of the firm recently visi
ted “several important points south.” Tho
hope three extensions arc not promoted by a I reviewers therefore estimate the crop at 8,-
drsiie to keep the south under the harrow | poo,000 hales.
to the latest possible moment.
LOWS HOtlAKOH, in Mn. HumtUt gnat
Jtsiy, ukithbtthu next *e«l. f« tnnliub-
m at a nee" to gtt Ih opening chapters.
'Jhry certainly have a very cool way of
din-reditlng their numerous correspondent*.
"The advantage of recent personal observa
tion" hardly affords ground enough for do
chiring rigblern hundred men to tbe manner
I loti TihiiiiIm mnl Mis Critics. . -
The hoys have done aomo fine writing | Ml of error; for n guess four hundred
slow Mr. Toornhs. It is not smart in these
■lays for nn editor to write anything that is
not tempered with criticism and under-run
ilh n hint of reserved disapproval. Bo nil
llie editors have been analyzing Mr.
Tounlw's character, mixing In casual dissent
with mild approval.
That's all right. They are like small boys,
who, not content lo nilmire a mqjeetic moun
tain Hint, in lire distance, lifts ita head into
the skies, toll lalioriously up Ita sides and
criticise nn ugly shrub they chance to find
lure nnd there. That's all right again. But
when (lie small lsiys are gone and forgotten,
nnd tbe shrub* have fluted into nothlngnes*,
the momitsin will lie standing there with
sunshine resting on it* head.
ABlrong MUtlla.
Frolsihly tbe lost article that General Mc
Clellan prepared for the eyes of the public
wna the one (lint appears hi the January
Harper's, relating to the militia. It la n
thoughtftrl article from a man familiar with
the whole theory and practice of public de-
feme, addressed to a rich and prosperous na
tion in 0 time of profound pence.
He tells us in snhstanre to prepare now
for war. He tells us that a militia by count
of all able-bodied men is a fallacy, and ha
Shows the importance of strengthening in
every possible way the voluntary or state
organizations, which are the real and availa
ble militia of the countvy. lie would have
thousand hales, aside from the truth, Is con
aUlcvcd a very poor estimate in this part of
the country. Bnt onr New York reviewers
•ro very confident however that they “know
it all.” They declare in conclusion they
have no Idea their “careftilly considered e»
tlmste will require Important modification,
if any at all, when the final figure* are
reached;” ami so they complacently take up
the questiou of demand.
Our Christmas Number.
M'e issue this week onr Christinas muulier
of Tug Weekly Constitution. It will
reach roroe of out readers a day late. This
Is due to tbe enormous edition we have had
to print, in order that all tnay lie supplied.
We are on our way to 100,000 subscribers,
and arc climbing fast. If oar readers will
only gire ns a help wo will reach that figure
this spring. Won’t every man, who reads
this ropy of T11K Constitution, determine
that he will send us at least one new sub
scriber? Those of yon who have read The
Constitution, know that we print the big
gest, best and cheapest family paper in
America.
The Year’s Rust ness.
We have before us reports from Chicago
thia unn of the service made so strong that | amt Boston of the business of tbe year, and
in an emergency it would constitute a spirit- I they agree in saying that the situation i*
did reserv e for tbe regular army, and if tbe I much better than It was one year ago. At
emergency were a grant one, it would over- I that time all prices were goingdown, and no
whelm the latter os was the case in the civil I one could see the bottom. During the year
war, taking from the regular army every I there has been a depreciation of value*,?bat
officer it could spare. I prices at present are firm, except in the eaee
The great soldier proceeds to show that I of wheat and some other agricultural pro
ne are b.v no means safe against foreign ware. I ducts, and the price of com is advancing.
Trouble ran come from the fortified and I There is a feeling all around that the torn-
nrar-at-hand naval stations at Halifax, the I ing point or the depredatlo^Jias been paswd,
Bcnundss, Nassau and Jamaica; from Cana- | and that the new year will usher in an ini-
da, Cuba or Mexico; from the Panama
other ship canal; from internal riots or dis
sensions, from socialism, atheism or anarchy.
To meet ail such contingencies General Mc
Clellan thinks the v arious states should com
bine (0 organize and keep in fighting trim a
militia lonxisting of thirty regiments of
heavy artillery, 36,000 men; twenty two
regiments of cavalry, 22.000 men; three
handled and thirty-two battalkmo of infoat-
222,300 men—a total of 290,500 men.
Such a forte, in addition to the regular army,
would render tbe coon try accnre against al
most any possible emergency.
General McClellan then proceeds to shew
proved and improving condition of trade.
There are many things to justify confi
dence. Surplus stocks have been disposed
of, and production has been put on the basis
of a loomed consumption ; and yet there
are many more (brim ice in operation today
Hum there were one year ago. More labor
ers have employment. More goods have been
distributed. Tbe Christmas trade has been
better than it has been since WM. Iron is
advancing, and ftllnres are one-third less
than they were bet Christmas-time. A
1 reeling of steady confidence hen taken tho
place of gloomy apprehensions. We havo,
| in n word, rounded the stake bent among
tbe breakers, and an sailing in calmer and
safer water*.
Tbe large decrease in the value ol exports
is probably only temporary. There are mil
lions across the water to be clothed and fed
from this country, and the cotton and bresd-
stuffs and provisions that they do not buy
tow will doubtless be purchased n Uttle
Inter. Tims far during the fiscal year the
returns show a decrease of thirty-five mlUion
dollars in tire export of the articles we have
named ; but tbe balance of trade Is still in
our favor, and will doubtless remain so.
Were it not for the condition of tho export
trade, we would enter upon the new year
with much confidence and courage. And
the returns of another month moy altogether
remove this source of doubt.
At this stage of the revival men ore
naturally skeptical, but the best judges of
trade are confident that the causes of dis
trust havs been eliminated, and that we
will move steadily on towards a higher de
gree ©(prosperity. The crops of 1885 were
good ; the railroad wars are ended; prices
are at a minimum, and supply and demand
have met and reasonable profits are assured.
Growth and development, and finally, a feel
ing of confidence, seem to be in order now.
Of course there will be reactions, but it is
thought they will lie temporary, and that all
operations ran be safely hosed on returning
prosperity in all branches ol trade.
*A Pickled Millionaire.
For many years it has been believed that
Walter Newberry, the millionaire who be
queathed $2,500,0(10 to found a public library
in Chicago, was quietly resting at the bottom
of the ocean. Itis only within the past few
weeks that his fellow-citizens bare learned
that the body of their benefactor has been
lying for seventeen years in Gracebrad ceme
tery.
The facts of the cose are so peculiar that
they dreerve more than a passing mention.
When Newberry died at sea the captain of
the vessel was about to give him the usual
burial, but a gentleman from New York In.
terfered ami urged the preservation of the
deed man’s body for Us fiunily. The cap
tain still held ont, hot yielded when the
New Yorker offered to purchase a cask of
Medford rum In the cargo for the purpose of
preserving the body. The corpse war put into
the cask of liqnorond the strange item of
freight was unloaded at Havre. The New
York man took charge of it and rebilled it
to Newberry’s former address in Chicago, nt
the same time writing a letter to inform the
family of the shipment.
When the cask arrived at Chicago it was
received by an old friend of the family. It
was pat on a dray and driven oat to tbe
cemetery. Home one suggested a hearse nnd
a clergyman, but the gentleman who was
conducting tlie fttneral had such a delicate
sense of propriety that he rebelled at tbe
idea of lowering a pickled body into the
ground with the nstml formula of “dost to
dost.” Ho a hole was dng and the barrel was
rolled off the dray and into tbe hole, and the
dirt was thrown over It. All the parties con.
cerned felt a little sensitive on the subject,
and held their tongues. When the story
came to light, the other day, the Chicagoans
raised quite a flurry over Ik Just now, in
4t» first Oask nt IU. groUtodt, they fo*l
very kindly towards tbe founder of their
library, and It is not unlikely that a stately
monument will he raised over the cask of
Medford rum and Its contents.
“A Green ChristmM.”
The time honored proverb, “A green
Christmas maketb a fat graveyard” doubt
less occurred to many of onr readers yester
day.
Bnt was it “a green Christmas?” It Is.
true that we had mild, open weather. Tho
day was phcnomlnal, even for this favored
region, hut there was a suggestive crispness
in tlie air. Towards the close of tbe day the
wind was nipping and eager.
It may he that “a fat graveyard” isamong
tlie dismal things reserved for the coming
year, but present indications do not point
that way. We mast not allow a musty old
proverb to cost n shadow over tbe most
pleasant week of tho year. Whether onr
Christum wro “green” or not It was a per
fect day.
Tlie Democrat lo Outlank.
The gifted republican leaden aro begin
ning to weaken. The newspaper organs are
full of bluster and bravado, but the leaders,
the men who understand the situation, are
beginning to adderstand that the democratic
party has come into power to stay. Ex-Gov-
ernor Hole, of New Hampshire, for instance,
doesn’t hesitate to say that his state will
probahly-go democratic at the next election
—though the cx-govcrnor himself is a
straight-laced republican. He believes that
the floating voto will go with the democratic
tide, just as he known that the democrats
will command hereafter a number of honest
and square republican voters in the country
districts who have been imposed on with re
spect to the southern situation. In New
Hampshire, where tho margin between the
parties is very small, tho democrats will
have no trouble in carrying tbe state.
Then there is the state of Michigan, which
is only waiting a reasonably lair opportnnity
to join the democratic procession. The re
publicans have a small and a waning major
ity in that state, and Congressman Mayber
ry, a promising young politician, predicts
that Michigan wUl contribute a United
Btatea senator to the democratic party in
that body. He says ’that such a resalt is
“easily on the card,” and he adds that, in a
state contest, tbe floating vote Is sore to be
with the democrats. Tlie outlook, therefore,
la bright. The goose may honk, or tho
goose may hang, but it is on the democratic
side.
Hi 111 In ibe lllng.
seems that the jobbers who have griev
ances against Sir. Randall and Mr. Holman
insisted that their friends on the Boor of the
house should get rid of these distinguished
democrats; but this was easier said than
done, so the friends of the jobbers went at
the matter in a roundabout way. Instead
of depriving Randall and Hoi nun of their
power by rcfnsiqg to give them a place on
responsible committees, the friends of the
jobbers, constituting an overwhelming ma
jority of the honse, voted to change tbe
rules and scatter the appropriation bills so
as to give rascality and extravagance a
chance.
It will be remembered that party lines
were obliterated in bringing abont this re
sult. A majority of tho republicans, as
well as a majority of the democrats, wen
iaterereted in opening the door* of th« trea
sury, and, in the presence of that solemn
fret, sectionalism and th- bloody shirt were
forgotten.
Ibis was supposed to bo the end[6f tbe
matter? Mr. Randall and Mr. Holrpaq were
defeated and driven to the rear; bat.oonless
they are expelled ftom the house, tB» will
(till have a little power—the power to brake
themselves heard. It seems to us that
while the jobbers rad tho lobbyists were
victorious, their victory is not as important
as it might be. Mr. Randall rad Mr. Hol
man are still on hand, and, on the floor of
tbe house, as parliamentarians and debaters
they ore a dangerous pair to those who de
sire to rob the people or to take advantage
of republican precedents.
In onr opinion, the jobbers are shortsight
ed. Mr. Randall and Hr. Holman will
wsko It warm for them.
The Jog and tho Pistol.
The miserable events of Christinas day
will reconcile many AtlnnUans to prohibition
who voted against it. '
The day of “peace rad good will” was
strangely observed, when one physician had
to treat seven gun shot wounds rad three
fractures. The area of drunkenness was nn
usually ample and much of it was rank.
Ninety and nine cases before the recorder re
versed the meaning of the good old hymn,
and travestied the day. Tho jng was hid
beneath the Christmas tree and made the
festival a fight
When the fighting began the ready pistol
was there. Fisticuffs nnd sticks were the
honorable exceptions. The pistol wss the
rale. It really looked as if every man shot
when he was touched. It was a word and
flash, rad a fall. A yonng boy of twelve
years, who can. hardly be blamed for foiling
in with the examples so profusely set, pulled
out his pistol rail planted 11 bullet in the
cheek of another boy.
The jug and the pistol certainly held tho
fort on Christmas day. Unless both are
speedily and thoroughly reformed our people
will begin to accept Christmas as n day when
windows ore to be eloeed, not to shut in the
peace and joy of home, bnt to shut out the
random missiles of riot; nnd the telephone ‘
to he invoked to forestall the morning paper
with its list of killed and wounded. If the
jug is really to go, let us pour the pistol into
the Jug and send them off together.
A Boy's Delight Is a watch or s rra. We have
both. Our Waterbury watch, with chain and
whistle, costs you onif 12.50. Our tmwch-loadln,
doubtc-b&rrclcd gun costs you only 112. Either
will mtke your boy hippy.
The Constitution and Its Folks.
Tbe coming together of Tits Constitu
tion's family, makes one of the largest con
ventions that has assembled ia Atlanta.
Over three hundred visitors will come to the
city, and meet here over one hundred local
workers, making considerably over four hun
dred persons who will be present at tbe ban
quet tonight.
Every one of these—withont an exception
—ore in some way connected with the mak
ing of The Constitution. There ore pro
prietors, editors, reporters, correspondents,
clerks, pressmen, printers, stereotypem, tele
graph operators, stenographers, proof-readers,
mailing clerks, engineers, collectors, adver
tising agents, traveling men, elevator boys,
job printers, electrotype re, and various other
workers that make up a scroll army of them
selves, and will fill the Immense dining room
of the Kimball house to overflowing.
Behind these men who make tho paper, Is
ra army of over 3,000 agents, who help to
circulate it, and who, wo wish very much,
coaid be with ns today. Thera are tho paper
makers who supply tho $60,000 worth of
white paper wo rise during tbe year; the
type makers who ftunish ns tbo dress that ia
renewed every year, and sundry other per
sons interested in supplying us what wo
need. There is tho large force of advertisers
that have contributed this year over $100,000
to our business, and the ever-increasing host
of subscribers or buyers, who now number,
for both editions, over 60,000 people. All
these make the newspaper of today the ecu
tre of wide-spreading and almost countless
activities. If we could find a room os big as
our inclinations, we would have all these
friends, known and unknown, with us to
day. As it Is, we mutt be content to meet
only those who ore actually engaged in mak
ing Tiie Constitution, and in holding in
grateftil remembrance the thousands scatter
ed all over the south, who are working to
extend the influence ami usefulness of The
Constitution, and those who, by their pat
ronage, make it possible to maintain rad im
prove it.
“Much Ado**—Mrs. Burnett's Orest Story.
We take pleasure in announcing a serial
story by Mrs. Francis liodgtan Burnett, the fa
mous authoress. It is entitled “Mach Ado,'*
and will bigin next week. We advise all who
see this paper to subscribe at once*so os to se
cure [the opening chapters of this splendid
story. It will he fallowed by other serials
from the heal luthois. Our short stories will
be printed ss usual, and tho serials will be extra.
Subscribe at once.
Legislative Lunatics.
The dehato 1 n the French chamber of depu
ties when Brtsson carried through his Ton-
quin credit struck the Parisians os being
very dramatic and very fine. In point of
fitet, it was so childish and so ludicrous that
summary will he regarded by English and
American readere as an exaggerated bur
lesque.
A French reporter, wto wax present, tells
us that when M. Ctemencean was howled
down “he stood on the tribune apparently
calm, bnt with Dashing eyes, rad with tho
bine vein^m his ungloved right hand stand'
log ont like whip-cords.” Wo are assured
that “hla stolidity partially calmed tbe depu
ties,” and be found a chance to speak. He
fervidly denonneed the government for sacri
ficing French honor, when M. Spnller rushed
np the aisle, yelling: “Honor? No! that
a vain word for tbe French nation.” Cle-
mcncrau fiercely retorted: “If your honor
la wounded, it has felt a sting before.” This
was rough on poor Spoiler, but M. Clemen-
ceau proceeded to grin at him like a possum,
finally exploding in his face the contempt
uous monosyllable, “Pah!”
Of course Spoiler was effectually squelched
under this treatment, and the deputies look-
* on In speechless awe. But Clemencean
was not through. He asked if he should
retd the dispatch in which Ferry implored
BUirarck’a aid. loud cries arose from all
parts of the bouse, bnt the speaker, looking
rqnaiely at Ferry, said: “No, I wiU not
ioflict thia shame upon France.”
Tbe local chronicler informs ns that at this
•Urging insult M. Ferry became rabid. He
had pteoJaed Premier Brians that nothing
would fore* him to speak daring the Tbo*
quin debate, but he had not foreseen such a
baiting as Clemencean had given him. Ferry
was standing in the center aisle. He mads
a rush for the tribune, ehoutlng incoherently
and obviously bent on personal violence.
Four or five friends grabbed his arms and
coat-tails. He still straggled to get to the
front, bat he was physically helpless. He
stood in the aisle glaring at Clomsnoeau rad
shouting challenges which were unintelligi
ble in the surrounding confusion. .He was
like Victor Hugo’s “Alan Who Laughs.”
The scene would have been farcical if it had
not been for the terrible Intensity of the
chief actors. 31. Ferry’s attitude was the
very irony of defiance. Clemenceau laughed.
It was a hideous laugh, which shocked every
friend of the follen premier who heard it.
An old Bonlevardier, who was in tbe gallery,
mattered, “Thai is enough for a bullet
through Clemenceau’s long some fine morn
ing.” When Clemenceau hod finished bis
devilish grin he roared at M. Ferry, “I ac
cept your challenge."
While the deputies held ferry down in
his seat Clemenceau read the objectionable
dispatch. Tbe chamber became a pande
monium. Ferry was hustled ont by hia
friends. The deputies stood up howling,
hissing and shaking their fists. Spuller "sat
as if glued to his seat. His face was blood
less, and his eyes bulged out with terror.”
Now, all this terrific, and yet laughable
rumpus, was over a vote of credit for the
winding up of the Tonquin matter. It would
lie impossible to find n parallel scene in any
of the other parliamentary assemblies of the
world. But just such incidents occnr almost
every day in the French chamber of depu
ties.
OUR KNOWLEDGE-BOX.
(In this department we (Its brief and pertinent
•nswen to such questions as our readers may de
sire to ask—provided tbe questions aro of special oc
Kenrnl Interest. Answers may bs delayed for a
Subscriber, Oxford. Ala.: Please site the num«
ber of Trotcstants and Catholics.
rrctcstsnt sutes t §11 together, cover §a tre* of
1*',770,010 square miles with 480,265,013 Inhabitants;
Roman CtTholle states an area of 7,871,178 sqoaro
miles with lot,002,501 Inhabitants; Greek church,
8,778,113 square miles, 90,101,8W Inhabitants. There
arc,of courrCyinanyCatholics lnProtestant>tates,an<!
there are many protestants in Catholic states, but
as to governments the above Is about correct. Tho
total population under Christian goremmentsis
085,459,411. Home churches do not publish their
statistics. The number of Protestant communi
cants In the world is probably between twcnty«dfo
and thirty millions. The Catholics count all adults
and children whom they have baptised, that Istho
population.
Subscriber, Orlando. Fla.: Why tbo
STith of December selected as Christmas day*/
What reason could bo given for choosing ono
day rather than another for the Christmas festival?
The gospels, always meagre in dates, were quito
silent here. They gave no hint of the day or
month of the nativity. Oral tradition, wc may be
sure, was equally reticent. There were, Indeed,
a few scattered suggestions of the date of Christ's
birth floating here and there among the writings
of the fathers, but these were all of late origin,
manifestly unhlstorical, and above all, quite con
tradictory. Clement, of Alexandria, Said tthat*
many Christians regarded the 30th of May as tho
day of nativity, others preferred tho 20th of April,
but ho favored the 19th of November. In the east
ern church tbe 5th or 6tb of January was celebrated
as tbo dato of Christ’s baptism, and the nativity
was joined with this on no better ’ground
than a forced interpretation of Ere-
kial I, 14, as a prophecy of tho
Incarnation. Others agaln,flxed the tlst of March
as tho day of Christ's birth. The earliest mention
or the 25th of December as Chrbunarday Is found
In an ancient catalogue of chnreh flntlral* about
164 A. D. And Itis surprising to see with what
alacrity the dato was received and tho nativity
celebrated throughout Christendom It seems as If
tlie world had been waiting for this festival of di
vine and human childhood, and was ready to wel
come it at once with songs of Joy. IntheyearMO
itwaa already Icelebratcd In Rome l»y vast multi
tudes thronging the churches. Twenty yean later
Antioch had taken It op with great popular en
thusiasm. And In little more than fifty yean flrom
its earliest suggestion, the observance of December
25th as tho day of tlie nativity had become tho *ut-
versal practice of Christians. Bt. Chrysostom, m a
Christmas sermon preached at Antioch, called it
the fundamental feast, or the root from which all
other Christian festivals grow.
Snbecribcr, Ga.: Are the heir* of tbo Mexi
can war veterans entitled to a pension?
No, and the veterans are not entitled to any.
Subscriber, Asheville, N. C.: In there any
government land in Florida?
Yes. You can obtain information by wriUng.to
the government land office at Gainesville, Fla.
Subscriber, Anniston, Ala.: How old is our
postage stamp system?
The postage stamp of the United States is leas than
forty yean old, and, although the third to adopt
the syitem, now leads tlie number issued by al
most four times as many as the next highest stamp-
using country, which is England. ThU latter
country was the first to adopt the stamp In 16401
Itraxll followed close In her footsteps In 1813, and
tho United States in 1817. Tho governments of 211
countries now issue postage stamps. AU these aro
outranked by America, whose annual
output of letter stamps Is ‘4500,000,800.
Of tho 50,000,000,000 letters sent
tinder *tamp through tho malls annually England
is credited with 700,000,000. Japan now malls an
nually 95,000,000 letters, and tho canceled stamp*
on these letters are worth an average of 1 cent each.
Last year there were 26,000 letters posted In England
without Any address on them. In 1,000 of tbMO
gold coins and money were Inclosed. The can
celed postage stamps of many countries are worth
quite as much os unused specimens, and many are
issued solely for collections, the rerenuo being an
Important item. Monaco Is the latent to issue
stamps; bnt Stellaland, with Its fifty houics and
three stores, is probably the most Intlgnlfleant,
cron more so than Heligoland or the Virgin Islands*
Bhopal has the oldest stamp, Nicaragua the finest,
Siberia the largest, Zealand the smallest, Guate
mala the most striking, and Sarawak and Gnat
Britain divide tbe honor of having tho cboapwt
and meanest.
Subscriber, Tbomasvillc, Ga.: Who was tbo
•Craxy Queen of Lebanon f
This reference Is to Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope,
an eccentric English woman who wav bom its
London March 12, 1778. Her father was Cbarlas,
third earl of Stanhope, and her mother waa a
daughter of the great Lord Chatham. When about
-twenty yean old sho entered the family of her
uncle, William Pitt, and for nearly ten yean, oc
until his death, acted as bis private secretary. Pitt
had recommended her to the oaxeef Ibe govern-'
ment, And a pentlon of 81,200 was granted her. AS
this was not sufficient to support her In the luxury
►he desired in London, she decided UP go abroad,
and in 1810 went to Syria, visiting Jenmalcm, Pal
myra and ether cities. The Arabs whOWcro strode*
by her appearance and her display i if wealth,
treated her as a queen, and she vmfi skillftilly
acted tbe part. Pbe established hexSllf In a de
serted convent among the wild scenery of Mount
ls.banon, and there, wearing the area* of an
emir, weapons,^>lpes and all, she ruled a retinue
of Albanian guards and servants with absolute
authority. This old convent, situated on an Isola
ted peak of the Lebanon range, soon became con
verted into a fortius, garrisoned by soldiers, and
offering a refoso tn all the perrecuted and dlvtresa-
s> powerful was the Influence she wielded
or leu dl-eaved, foe
doubt that her mind i
lie kept Id a i
.faich the believed the waa to.
with tbe Me»«iah at bis second coming. Hhe
i nuticedannilofyand secret magfealarta. 1
lag the Utter part of her life she v
debts, snd ►he died with no European qpar her,
surrounded by a crowd of native servanta who
plundered the house aimott before life had left her
body. £be was buried In tbe garden adjoining tho
convent Her death occurred June z>L in Kite
left^apMD^er^c^^T^cmlnouAjuemoira, which were
Thia la Ladles' Week, for Tint CoxsmCTtOir.
Every lady who reads Tax Oowrmmox le ex
pected to induce one new subscriber to take tho
This will give us 50,800 new subscriber*
, make your week the biggest week of tho