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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION. ATLANTA. GA- TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7 1880
THE WEEKLY MITUTIOH
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r/Mklf OoofUntloB, «1.M p« »■»■*
mnteof five, fLOOeach; otabe of ten MO •“*
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THE PRESIDENT (N HtS WiFE
Scone of our good friends hire taken advantage
of the liberal offer we nude lest week In regent 10
tie new pictures of
PrtsiflcBt Cluflind aid Hi* fflfe.
WeofferedtoeendIhUpicturefree. poraii»ld.to
any one wbo »U1 eend us Three Subscribers at n
•ech, or 11 for the three. Hundred! here taken
edTentage of thn opportunity to eeeore the
Fittiin of tie President and His Wife,
gad the offer la eUU open. Let every one eend In
three dolltntnd get thisbandflome picture, which
lithe Authorised
Ukcaoi oflbe President tad His Wife.
ATLANTA, OA., BKITBMBElt 7
Tlic Conetitutlon and the Earthquake.
Tiik Constitution prints this week the
fullest acconnt of the most stupendous erent
of this generation—the earthquake that
shook » million square mile*—one-third of
the American continent. It ie likely that
the severe shocks ore over sml the danger re
duced lo n minimum. The full story of the
earthquake from first to last will be fonnd in
Tiik Constitution this week with a volume
of unusual pathetic and startling incidents.
We call the attention of oar readers to ous
fact: Whenever nn event ocean that every
body is Interested in Tiik Constitution Is
sure to give yon fuller and earlier and more
graphic reports than any other paper. Men
tion tbie to your friends, and when you scad
on yonr renewal subscription send a club of
now subscribers with it Wo aro poshing
up to 100,000 subscribers, and are going to
get there—earthquake or no earthquake
Help ns! _
The Earthquake and Ita History.
Wo print Ijtls morning an admirable arti
cle from the pen of Mr. W. 1’. ltoed, of
our editorial stair, on earthquakes. It is
• historical, scientific study that covers
the subject.
The statement that within the scanty
limits of recorded history earthquakes have
hilled more then 1.1,000,000 peoplo, strik
ingly suggests the inadequacy of man’s
devices ngalmt nature’s dongerom caprice’.
The story of the Calabria earthquake In
which 100,000 people were killed, and of
the awful wave at Llthon that in els min-
nice licked 00,000 human being! Into death,
will (lighten even those persons who want
through last night without a tremor. The
stflei action of the tidal wave ii one of the
most Interesting si well as one of the most do-
struotlrephaeci of the earthquake. At Lisbon,
for example, tha bed of theoeean.along shore
was stripped of ita waters for the spare of
'fans minute. Tbo hared rocks looked on
the stormy sky. A paralysis had fallen
on the eternal wave*. Then a wall of fitly
feet of water came rushing tram the depths
of the ocean and the city of Lisboa was
no more. The sea, insatiate, has held to
this day mnehof the land it then conquered.
In 17&5 n wave twenty-five feet in height
tnshed seaward ftom Heaton, and In nine
boor* overwhelmed fit. Merlins In the West
Indies, traveling nl the incradlblo speed
of 11,000 fret n second.
The moat interesting—certainly to tta the
aooet pertinent part of Mr. Heed’s artlole—
la that which deals with the North Amerl-
lean earthquake of 1811. It has been held
with great satisfaction that no lktal earth
quake had occurred in America, or even
in tbo temperate sene. Mr. Heed shows
that the town of New Madrid In Missouri
was totally destroyed by a aeries ot earth
quakes which lasted six months—and which
ceased on tba very day of the terrific earth
quake at Caracal In Sooth America. This
latter tact indicate! that the quaking of
the earth is due to oertatn imprisoned vapors
or paw, and ceases only when these have
fonnd vent. These vapors in tba easo of
New Madrid had gathered for some reason
beneath that devoted city, and tor months
brat agalnat the Missouri mnd, and occa
sionally did fores a fissure through whleh
hot steam cams rushing. The tremendous
ootrushtng of internal gases at Caracal
10,000 miles away relieved the pressure at
New Medrid, and peace came finally bnt
too late to the wrecked town.
The cbnncts, in spite of New Madrid's
experience, ire very largely against earth
quakes at inland points, and especially at
high altitude*. Low-lying coasts, flat
islands and the tropical cones have been
the almoet invariable ecenre of volcanic and
other convulsions of the earth. The earth
is and baa been for the post few yean under
going tremendous physical changes—from
which wo have disasters by land and sea.
The bread, well-settled American continent
is undoubtedly the refect part of the earth’s
anrfbee. And Atlanta, set secutely on the
granite backbone of the continent, is as near
the point of minimum danger ai any other
city. AU towns and cities and the habitations
of men are bat ant-hills in the march of
Nature's revolution or oonvolsteoe. Bat,
if not in tha natural order of things, then
rarely, in the mercy of God, our good city
baa been wonderfully opared the appalling
touch of epidemic, earthquake and storm.
M will be weU, if this marked exemption fills
the beetle of her peoplo with gratitude,
with charity, and with the senes of her vest
peartbilitits and the responsibilities they
bring.
The Earthquake Tuesday Night.
A low ramble, re of distent Grander, and
Atlanta trembled to her eery foundations! ■
Tha earthquake, the king of terrors, whs
baa in his time mraptaqaarter if a million
people to instant death, blanched militant
i| cfacHa Tuesday vfobL .
In the local and telegraph colomuthte
morning we present a fall’ acconnt of the
■bock which extended pretty nearly over
the entire conn try.
Nobody was thinking of inch a thing as
an earthquake in Atlanta, bnt after the
first few quakes the situation was realized
and the alarm waa great Many people ret
up late, expecting a repetition of the shock,
and a general feeling oi uneasiness prevailed
all night.
The earthqnake fills on important page in
history. In 526 ha visited Syria and de
stroyed 250,000 people.
In 1756 a great earthquake occurred in
Portugal, destroying a portion of the city
of Lisbon. The usual rambling sound was
followed by a shock that threw down the
principal part of the city. The sea retired,
leaving the bar dry, and in a.minate swept
back with a mighty wave fifty feet high.
Sixty thousand people lost tbelr lives in five
mlnntca. A port of the city was perma
nently engnlled under 600 feet of water.
In 1783 a great earthquake lo Calabria
caused the death of 100,000 persons. The
moet noted earthquake of this century
occurred in 1857 in the kingdom of Naples.
It was very violent and fatal.
Atlanta may well consider herself bleesed
in that there is no fatal work of the earth
quake to be recorded this morning. We
were weU shaken np, but we were worse
■cared than hurt. We have escaped cyclones,
so far, bat we have had our earthquake.
Let us not be prond. Atlanta is a city set
upon a hill—built upon n rock thousands
of feet In thickness. So far os foundation
goes she is solid, but pride goeth before
destruction and a hangbty spirit before a
fall.
ter, the Chinaman !s prond oi his country
and his civilizstion which flourished at a
time when the Christian nations had no ex
istence.
Americans who have gone as missionaries
to China are, as a rale, well fitted for their
task, bnt it is said the same is not tree of
the missionaries from other countries. No
doubt the Chinese have received exaggerated
stories ot atrocities committed in America
against their countrymen. Accounts of
American outrages added to the natural
prejudice against Christians, and coupled
with the “imprudenceof the missionaries,’’
probably aroused the Chinamen of Sechoen
to a high pitch of excitement.
We anxiously await a further statement.
The character of the offense committed by
the missionaries is a matter of deep interest.
What the “imprudence’’ was has not been
even hinted at in the telegrams. The mas
sacre waa still going on at last accounts.
Iilll Arp's letter on the earthquake this
week Is splendid, but bis nest week's letter
Is better. Subscribe In time to set 1*111 Arp's
letter next week. You wilt regret It If you
fell. Get fourof your neighbors to Jolnyou,
end eend 61 ench.
lttuh!
Gloomy Mint 1st it s.
This one word ec us up the typical Amer
ican.
The slangy phrase, "Get there, EH,’’ ex
presses onr dominant characteristic.
It cannot be denied that the American
“gets there,” bnt behind him, every step
of the way, stalks the undertaker. For
that matter it will be said that tho under
taker is a ncce-saiy evil. This is true
enough, bnt ho shadows ns, dogs us os he
dots no other civilized people.
Let ns look into this matter a little. The
Medical and Surgical Reporter’s compara
tive analysis of the mortality statistics of
the United States, France, England and
Itelind will give us food for thought, The
average duration of life in this country is
less than twenty years. Fully one half of
our people die before they have completed
their twentieth year. The heaviest rate is
among the children, forty per cent of whom
die before the age of five. Ont of one hun
dred Americans only twenty-two pass tbo
age ot fitly, and only four cut of one
hundred reach the ago of eighty.
Now, it is not so in England. We lose twelve
per cent of our population between the ogee
of five and twenty, while In England tha
death rate between thoeo agee is only eight
percent. Welose twenty-four peroent of onr
population between the ages of twenty and
fllty. England lose* only twenty-ono per
cent between the ages of twenty and fifty-
five. England, therefore, can show propor
tionately sa many peraons who reach the
age of seventy-five as we can Show attain
log the ago of seventy.
In France, forty-eight people ont of one
hundred reach the age of fifty, as against
onr twenty-two. Only ten per cent of onr
peoplo reach three score and ten, while
twenty-five per cent of the French survive
that limit.
Take Ireland. We loee half our popula
tion by tbo age of twenty. Tbo Irish only
part with thirty-live per cent. Almcat one-
half of their deaths are persons over lbrty-
five.
We have this large death-rate In eplte of
the fact that we ate the beet fed, best
clothed and beat housed people In tho world.
It may he retd also that as a people wo have
studied the sanitary conditions of existence,
What, then, Is the matter? Hash, end
nothing else. This is why the undertaker
treads on onr heels. It Is s lightning express
schedule from the cradle to tho coffin. But
we cannot slacken onr speed. To “get
there” Is onr main object, and it la the un
dertaker's, also.
An wo not all "getting than” a little too
early?
Charleston and Charlestonians.
How these waim-hcartcd Charlestonians
do love Carolina! From morning until
night bow they thronged this office yes
terday, begging for news from stricken
Charleston.
Wherever Carolina's heart in this greet
city yon were sure to find anxious faces,
quick sympathies, and the inspiring senao
of comradeship. It was with almost the
suggestion of penonal bereavement that
they discussed In lowered voices sml with
down-cast eyes the eltuation in their be
loved city by theses. Admirable as they
have been as citizens In their adopted home
—true in every cense to Atlanta—it waa
easy to see yesterday that one touch of Bor
row made all Carolinians kin, and that
their hearts were still with their historic
and long-suffering home (tom which this
retton or that bad exiled them.
We honor such sentiments and wo love
such citizens. The qnlck heart of Atlanta
goca out to them and the city they glorify
with their deration. When the eltuation
la made clear, onr people will join hands
with them In rendering to Cbarteeton each
help as goes with material aid, and inch
consolation as follows the expression of
beerty and sincere sympathy and comrade
ship.
Slaughtering Christians.
The American pnbUe will await with in
tense interest fbrther details of the atrocities
committed in Scchuen, China, against the
Christians. Bo far details aro meager, but
the dispatches state in a general way that
whole villages have been destroyed, lands
devastated and that foreign consuls barely
escaped with their lives. The trouble is
ciedltcd to the imprudence of the English
and American missionaries.
Americans are interested in answers to two
questions: Has any American citizen been
hilled?end hee any American consul been
treated amiss?
Georgia is interested in the safety of some
of her own citisene wbo are stationed at
BhaagbaJ. From the reports already re
ceived it appears there it no trouble st that
city.
* WUle Americans regard tha Chinamen as
a very inferior sort of creature, and ass
heathen ot u txceedingly benighted chsiso-
The Earthquake Outlook.
We have now spread before oar readers a
complete history of the greatest North
American earthquake ever recorded in his
tory. We have given a summary of the
world’s earthquakes down to the present
time. The scientists ot the age have spoken
through onr columns, giving their theories,
end in some cases their predictions.
I’eople everywhere ore now asking the
question, What Is the outlook? No man
can tell. According to the records, of the
fifty-nine earthquake shocks in the United
States and Canada last year, Canada had
eight, New England fire, the other Atlantic
stales nine, the Pacific slope thirty-four,
snd the Mississippi valley only three. Of
301 earthquakes in this country in the
twelve years ending with 1883, the Atlantic
coast had 147, the Pacific slope 151, and the
Mississippi valley sixty-six.
From these figures it will be seen that the
seaboard states are more liable to this danger
than the interior states. There are different
opinions as to the advantages and disad
vantages of certain physical conformations.
For instance, on the very day when Atlanta
was congratulating herself upon the thick-
nets and solidity ot her granite base, New
Orleans was rejoicing because she is situated
differently. As the Picayune expresses it:
New Orleans, standing In s marsh, one sort of
cushion of mud and inter, Is not liable to the
■hocks felt by cities on solid stratlAcatlous of tho
earth's ciust, but It might he burlsd in tho depths
by sn extraordinary convulsion.
Letting these conflicting opinions go for
whst they are worth, it is weU to bear in
mind tbo fact that each century has two
earthquake periods, one near the middle
and the other near the end. We are now
approaching the end of the century, and if
earthquakes increase in number and vio
lence wo need not be much surprised.
White Slaves.
If Henry George had written nothing else,
his description oi the hopeless poverty of the
men, women and children employed in the
mining districts of Pennsylvania would have
brought 1dm into prominence.
These white slaves, for they are nothing
else, live In miserable hate belonging to tho
companies that employ them, snd from these
rude shelters they are liable to be ejected st
any time. They receive no money, bnt ore
paid In orders on the companies’ stores.
They are kept in debt and are too poor to
move elsewhere.
Year after year then wretched peoplo
struggle on without any prospect of a change
for the better. All have to work, even tho
delicate women and yonng children. Every
where may be eeen the eigne ot abject pov
erty, pltilnl wont and heart-rending suffer
ing.
Occasionally northern papers rain a howl
over the condition of the southern negroes.
The black laborers and form tenants in
every part of the south are immeasurably
freer and happier than the miners and coke
and iron workers in Pennsylvania. In fact,
inch a state of affairs as Mr.'George depic'a
would not be tolerated here. There would
ho either a reform or a revolution.
The Evictions In Ireland.
It Is announced that fresh troops will be
sent to Ireland to eject the wretched ten-
anti who ore in arrears with their land
lords.
Thousands of peasants live in hovels bnilt
of mud and stone and thatched with straw.
The inmates are in rags. It Is with diffi
culty that they con earn os much as two dol
lars and a half by n month's hard work.
They live principally upon potatoes. Cab
bage is ■ luxury snd meat they rarely
see.
Against these half-starved unfortunates,
the welt-disciplined legions ot Britain are to
be hurled. Dragoons, infantry and even
artillery will be employed in this remarka
ble ernsode.
It mutt make the blood of tho true soldier
boll with indignation to be ordered to en
gage in this infamous and inhuman work.
The brutality of such ■ policy most,
sooner or later, bring disgrace and defeat
K tbe administration which U respond-
or it.
Scotched anil Storm Swept.
It Is difficult to estimate the ravages of
the storm and drouth In Texas.
The gnlf cyclone did not destroy the cot
ton crop, as waa at first reported, bnt what
is left will, of coarse, be of inferior quality.
Outside ol the drouth-stricken districts, the
cotton yield will be nbont the same as that
of last year. Tha corn crop will bo about
one-third ot what it was last year.
Tho great drouth region lie* west of the
Austin, Waco and Fort Worth line, and
north of the line of railroad from Austin vis
Ban Antonio to the Uio Grande. In tha
Panhandle counties and the intervening
counties down to and including Tom Green
county, and tho other great western grazing
counties, Crockett, Reeves, l’ccas. Presidio
and El Paso, there was, until quite re
cently great suffering and loss of cattle for
want of rain. Tha area of drouth embraces
more than half of the state.
Appeale for aid are made from the counties
of Childress, Cottle, Hardeman, Wilbarger,
Wichita, Montague, Wise, Jack, Archer,
Baylor, Throckmorton, Jones, liukell,
Shackelford, Stephens, Palo Pinto, Parker,
Hood, Somerville, Bosque, Kratb, Eastland,
Callahan, Taylor, Burnette, Coleman,
Brown, Comanche, Coryell, Hamilton, Lam
paras,-Ban Saha, McCulloch, Concho, Men
ard, Mason, l lano, Rnractt, Blanco, Gilles
pie, Kimball, Bandera, Edwards, Kerr and
Kendall. A traveller through this region
gives the foUowing graphic description of
what he raw:
"When shout fifteen Dlls* from Burnett I mo
leverml families on the roed with ell their worldly
poiiculons, the little they were, loaded in wagons,
moving out of the county. They sold their crops
of every description bid been dried and literally
burned up by the long drouth; that they did not
set one bushel of corn per acre, while the cotton
wculd rot average half abate to ten acres; that
their imall grain did not yield at all, and to avoid
starvation they were making tbslr way to Lee
county, where they had relatives hnd friends to
take care of them. In Llaao the wells were all
going dry In the town, snd there was no water in
ihe creeks st Oxford. Iwts compelled to drive
two miles to water my hones, as Big Sandy river
wax perfectly dry. The people of Fredericksburg,
with few exceptions, ere Impecunious. On the
route pastures are entirely dried up and cattle have
been driven sway for water. Numerous cotton
fields will cot produce one hale to fire seres.
Water tanks, where there ere any, hare lobe
guarded. There Is no water or grass from Menard-
vllle to Paint Bock In the county, and on the rood
I saw shout seventy dead cattle whleh died of
thirst and starvation. Between Concho snd Men-
ardvllle It Is barren, no rain haring fallen In
eighteen months. Grasi has entirely disappeared,
sad the prairies are ns dusty us traveled road.
About Ballinger, In Bunnells county, the county
la In like deplorable condition. I met rain st Cole
man City, but It comes too late to do much good.
There hu been mucU arid in the newspapers con
cerning the destitution of the people In Coleman,
Bunnells, Callahan, Taylor and other counties,
and every word of It la true, and half ot the suffer
ing bar not been told. The com came up splendid,
but It never gtshlgher than twelve Inches, when
It blasted and died, while nothing at nil can be
seen In the cotton fields.”
One result of all this will be to check the
tide of immigration that has been flowing
into Texas. In the end this will be bene
ficial. Texas has grown too rapidly. Be
tween the cyclone and the drouth she has
bean severely scourged, snd there will be a
general readjustment of population. Cer
tain IocsUtien will bo virtually abandoned,
und other more favored districts will take a
new start. Everything will be straightened
out in time.
A Mania for Swindling.
Borne men ore swindlers because the in
genuity of the thing fascinates them. Ex-
Governor Moses and Ross Raymond are
notable examples. The talents of those men
would have made it on easy matter for them
to earn an honest living, bnt they preferred
crooked methods.
A casein point is that of Colonel Swallow.
The colonel is an old gray-headed mao.
UntU a few weeks ago he wu a convict in the
Tennessee penitentiary. Inquiry into the
authorship of several brilliant magazine ar
ticles developed the Jhct that he wrote them,
and that he had been a confederate officer oi
some distinction. Considerable sympathy
was excited in his behalf, and the governor
pardoned him.
It appears that the clemency ol the gover
nor was misplaced. In lees than two months
fjwollow was arrested in 'Washington charged
with swindling a Fredericksburg, Vo.,
print out of fifty dollars. To a Washington
reporter the colonel said ;
"As toon as the war broke outlwas onooftho
lint who helped to organise tho Mlrsourl state
gusto. Iiervcdln the confederate army in the
Mlsroun Mate guard until tha hettls of Springfield,
snd then Joined thesnnyof Virginia and remained
with It until the end of the war. At the breaking
out of the war I was practicing law In 8t. Louis.
After the war fin eighteen months I represented
the 8L Louis Tlmcs-Joumsl aa its correspondent
In Washington, wbloh position I held until It wu
merged. |n to the BL Louli Be publican. If you con-
I suit Lnivlct's Political Encyclopedia yon will find
that I have there contributed sn article on 'Tbs
Political Watery of the United States,’ to which I
sign my right name, B. U. J. Porter. I hare also
written a hook entitled 'Old Europe In Ita New
Suit,' which has been published by Carlton A Co.
under the name of W. H. Swallow. I contributed
article! to McMillan's magazine of February,
March and April, 1S71, to Scribner's during 1873.
and to the Magazine ol American lllatory ot Judo
lut. X also published In the International Law
Bevlew an article on tho authorship of Junius's
letten In reply lo Alexander II. Stephens, who
rattled the tuthonblp ol tho lettcrr ot Lord Little,
and I brought the authorship hack to where It hod
alwaya been accredited.''
The real name of this remarkable swindler
if said to be R. If. J. Porter. He has many
relntivcs in nonthein Virginia and northern
Maryland, and his downward career hasaur-
prieed and mortified bin family and friends
not n little. He now etonde a good chance
of wearing the atripesfor n few more years.
The Fall Tido Springing Up.
September hss fairly opened, and Tub
Constitution’s winter boom has began.
Subscribers are beginning to pour In at
lively rate, and things are getting lively.
We want to doable lost September. Won't
yon help ns? Yon can do it While yon
read this appeal yon can think of soma new
•nbecriber you ‘can get Doit for ns. We
mnat reach 100,000 this winter. Make an
effort tor ns this week, and let ns hear from
yon at once.
Unknown Great Men.
Recently a poor echool-teacher named
Joseph W. Taylor died at Okolona, Mien
After hia death the leading newspapers of
the southwest reviewed his career.
It appears that Mr. Taylor was one of the
moat gifted crotors of the sout^. Pi
ing tslcnts that would have adorned
the senate, and. yet his life was a failure.
After the wer he was elected to congress
from Alabama, but none of tho eonthern
congressmen at that time were permitted
to take their seats. Subsequently he made
a powerful speech in Montgomery, opening
the campaign which terminated in the over
throw of radicalism in Alabama.
The Mobile Register aajs of this remark
able man:
Mr. Taylor wu never appreciated by the people
of Alabama oi ho oeicrvcd to be. He wu acloiet
man and not a man of affaire. Bold In apoech,
he wu timid in action, ot warm lmpuleeo, he
appeared to he cold and rclfiah. He could not
drew men to him. The ana of popularity ho
could never leant. In the mldat cl tempestuous
patalona he wu apparently sn Iceberg- lie could
not Indulge In crane vltuntrellon. snd henos tho
populace donbted bla rincertty. He could not
surrender btmsclf wholely to hia party, sad hence
his party taunted him with duplicity. It la the
Han that walks alone. It la the eagle that soon
alone. Contclcua itrengih bold greu characters
aloof from the rabble, hot notwilhatandlng tho
lion heart and the eagle eye, the people do not
lovo the man ol roliiude. No matter which is
the shier man, they give their affections to s Hen
dricks rethei then to a Tllden—to a Blaine rather
than to an Edmunds.
Hia political fitilure was ascribed to the
fact that hia mind was judicial. He aaw
both aides of a question. He could not
surrender to party what wu due to man
kind. Therefore hia life, rich in promise,
was peer in fi niton.
The career of such n num seems to -rartain
the poet’s theory of the “village Hump-
dvna" who lived and died withont recogni
tion. Doubtless there are many exception
ally able men who go down to their graves
without achieving anything worthy of note.
Like Mr. Taylor they appear lo he cold
and Mlfisb; and "the people do not lorn
tbo man of solitude.” Unman sympathy
!k » powerful tiling. It to the mainspring
of what we call magnetism, and the man
who moves about among hig fellows, shar-
ng their joys and sorrows, and apparently
taking the liveliest interest in all that con
cerns mankind, will succeed where men of
great intellectual force will fail. The world
loves a great man, bnt it requires him to be
full of hnman nature. Ifhe is icily perfect ‘
bis mske-np people fall away from him and
let him alone. Perhaps with all their great
ness, such men do not understand the phil-
oeopby ot life.
Where Prohibition Is Not Needed.
The New York Star gives a pecatiar, bnt
convincing reason, for disbelieving the stoiy
of Envoy Sedgwick’s spree in the City of
Mexico.
According to the Star, Mexican gentlemen
never get drunk, and it is, therefore, pre
posterous to toy that they participated with
onr envoy in n dtunken bout.
All travelers agree on one point, that no
Mexican gentleman hss ever been seen in
toxicated in pnblic. Such n thing has never
been heard of. There is no prohibition, no
local option in Mexico. Pulque in made
and drank freely, and the winesof the coun
try are of the best Great quantities of
foreign spirits are also consumed.
How is It, then, that drunkenness is un
known in good society? Simply because
the unwritten law of pnblic opinion is in
exorable on this one point. Drunkenness
is regarded with a horror that cannot be un
derstood anywhere else. It is an unpardon
able sin. The Mexican gentleman wbo
seen drunk once, is forever afterwards ostra
cised.
All this aeems strange tons, and in fact
inexplicable. How do the hot-blooded, im
pnlslve Mexicans manege to escape the con
sequences of the Rquor evil ? It la aU due to
one thing—the mighty force of pnbUe opin
ion. Doubtless this strong sentiment against
intemperance bid its origin centuries back
under the Monteznmen, when drunkenness
was punished with death. Civilization has
brought milder laws, but the old feeling
■till survives, and tha descendants ot the
Spanish conquerors have imbibed the rigid
notions of the Aztecs..
Stndents of the temperance problem may
learn something from this if they will. The
great regulator, after all, is pnblie opinion.
When it is agsinat drunkenness men will bo
temperate. When it tolerates drunkenness
men will drink to excess in spite of statutes,
police, epics and informers.
An Epidemic of Suicides.
A New York paper of Thursday prints ■
“collection” of local suicides. There is less
thsn a column and n half of space occupied,
but four deaths and three nearly successful
attempts are reported.
A rich yonng man named Finn loved a
pretty shop girl named Clara Simmons. The
courtship ran through n period of three
yenis, the girl steadily refusing to many
“aboveberstation.” Failing to win the lovely
Clara for a wife, Mr. Finn blew his brains
out with a pistol.
A pretty girl named Rose Hicks took cor
rosive sublimate because she was scolded fur
not practicing on tl>e piano. She died.
George Zlnder shot his brains ont without
giving any reason for his rash act, and John
Longbritz went out for a stroll In his garden
and hnng himself in his summer house.
John Mollen, a vagrant, weary of life,
tried to hang himself. A boy strapped him
self to a horn joist because his father hod
whipped him lor disobedience, and a cigar-
maker jumped into East river with the in
tention ol leaving hli wife and children to
the tender charity of the world.
Seven in one day is a lively record, even
lor New York.
Mr. G. W. Truitt, near UOna|«, Georgia,
raised fifteen lrelee of cotton on llvo acre*
leit year ae meaanred bj a committee, and
took tho SS50 Scott prise. Hie erop thte year
le better than lut, and nest Week's CONS IT-
TUTION will have a fall deecrlptlon of It—a
talk with Mr. £Ti ultt and the exact methoda
of hie planting. This ona artlole will
worth a year’s enbaerlptlon. Don’t rail to
snbectibe In ttma to got It. It wlU appear
next week, aura. Oureorreapondent le Inow
on Mr. Truitt’s farm.
Stand by Silver.
The gold bags have not mnch hope ot
winning in their fight against silver, bat
they still continue to predict financial
trouble!.
It may he well to say right here that the
country has been bravely getting over its
financial troubles for some time past. Bat
the demonetisation of silver would bring
upon the masMa inch want, woo and mis
ery as they have never yet known. With
onr rapidly increasing population it will
not do to consider any scheme looking to the
reduction ol the volume of money.
It is to the interest ot tho bondholders,
gold bngs and wealthy people to strike
silver ont of oar circulation. Then they
would quietly tell the itarving poor that
their troubles were due to overproduction.
The anti-silver movement from first to
last has been nothing but a conspiracy of
the few against the many. The great need
of the country is not to have fewer silver
dollars coined, bnt have more currency of
all kinds, gold, rtlver and paper, pat in
circulation. A swelling population with
increasing wants and necessities can sub
mit to no contraction of ita cirenlating me
dium. A judicious inflation la the only
sensible and just policy. The people are
beginning to understand the question and it
is not likely that they will call upon many
ot the gold bnga and their allies to repre
sent them In congress.
Son: hern Crop*.
The reports sa to the condition of cotton
have been rather conflicting, and finctnating
estimates have been made of the probable
yield. With the increased acreage and a
fkvoreble atari, a tremendous crop was ex
pected early in the season, bnt tha irrepar
able damage reanlting from * rainy Jane
changed the outlook.
Tho New Orleans Timet-Democrat's trade
issue contains the Allowing summary of
•outhern crops:
Alsbaaoa ikons a alitbt Increase In scrcste of 3
per cent, end a low in probable yield of :t per cant,
lu corn la In fair condition, showing, nu ffn In-
crossed nersoae of 4 per cents yield about the
seme aa last year. Arkamaa baa a epleodld cotton
crop ahead, and aspect* an Isctsazc of lo per cent
on that of last year, on aa Incraand a< r tan of I
per cenL Ita corn crop la even batter, tha acreaxe
... tiM itiple.
It Its rnffered from bad weather, howevsr, and
wtll fail off M per cant la plaid. Cora, however,
la 10 per eeat better la acreage aadffiK parent la
plaid. Gentle also showa assail dacUaa lathe
probable yield afoouen. aad aa Isrwsas of taper
cent In corn. LostxUaa reports a paateraereact
by )!1 ■« cent, bnt a lore of S par seal In yield Jor
eattco. The corn erop la ttaarally food through-
oc; the itote. except la Defioco end Cateertn. la
HlKlssIppl there Is a smell increase in theoottos
acreage, but a prospective decline of 4 per cent la
yield. Com la net doing ro well, and will mils
barely an average crop. In North Carolina the
cotton lr mnch better, and corn 60 per cent batter.
In Booth Carolina there Us prospective decrexxj
lu both cotton and corn. Tennessee shows both
crops in average fair condition. Texas promises
probably the largest cotton crop ever raised bp
tbetitste, for, with increased acreage, the plant
has done excellentlp, and the erop will, In copse-
queoce, bo very large. The oat crop, rxoept to
rare cam, has been spoor one throughout the
south, and phows a decline of 23% per cent on lut
peer.
In general terms, it may be said that therfr
will be art average cotton crop, while corn
will be gppd, and oats will be the only crop
sustaining heavy 1oases.
Agriculture In Germany.
The reports of the United States consuls'
in Germany, which have just been printed,
contain many intonating Acte. . ' '
Hon. J.'F. Potter, consol at Crafeld, rep
resents that the farmers of Germany are ill
a bad way... Within the last few years,
farming lands have greatly depreciated iq
value—especially is that true ol lands ret
mote from large cities.
The cause of this is said to be the lor?
prices in all the markets of Germany fbt
grain and cattle. That state of affairs te
brought about by the importations from
America, Rnseia and the English East In
dies. In other words the farmers of other
countries have driven the German farmers
to the wsIL
Another trouble is the law for settling np
estates. Heirs can, if they see fit, demand
a partition of land, aud when that is done
the farms are generally too smaU for use,
fall into the hands of speculators, and later
into the hands of ignorant and careless ten
ants. It seems also that the mortgage has-
laid its heavy hand on German agriculture,.
and is sticking “closer than a brother” to
the German farmers.
Consul Potter says:
The moot recent measure proposed in the In
terests of fanners, nod which, It is predicted, will -
become a law, is what is termed "tho schnapps” -
or brandy "monopoly." Nearly all large farms
have small brandy distilleries connected with
them. There are also many small farms that aro
In some wap connected with such distilleries, and >
their number would be muoh larger!( they wore
able to compete with the wealthier and atroutor
producer!. There era extensive districts of light,
sandy soil la Germany, especially in East Prussia,
which produce lmmenso quantities of potatoes
that are consumed In the manufacture ot
"schnapps" or brandy. In localities containing
better soil this article la madt ftom grain, fruits,
and grape-skins, the litter producing the boot
quality of brandy. It Is prophesied that tho pro
pel ed “schnapps" monopoly law will bo of ma
terial advantage to tbo owners of large farms who
command mnch capital, but the benefit likely to .
sec rue to owners of small farms, hu not yet been
measured. ,
It seems, from the report of Consul Pot
ter, that the farm laborers do not make any
thing to speak of. An example Is given of a
man whose family consisted of himself,
wife and five children, the children being
under thirteen years of age. The husband
earned in the year $142.80, and the wife, in
harvest time earned $11.90. From the sale
of a pig, milk of a goat and a few vegeta
bles the income was increased to $223.48,'
For food they paid $94.39, for clothing
$39.07, for rent $35.70, and for other things
enough to make tho ont go omonnt to $226,-
13. That left a profit ol $2.35 for the year’s
woik, which, though' small, - was much hot:
ter than coming ont in debt.
In spitoof the bad atate of affairs, how
ever, Mr. Potter says modern methods'
aio coming into use in Germany.
Educated Spiders.
The locust, who comes with his soft sighs
in summer time and his “W” predicting
war, mast now toko a back seat.
From a North Carolina contemporary wo
learn of a breed of educated spidera who are
in the prophecy bnsinees, and wbo acorn the
initial letters. When they have anything
to commnnicate they write it ont, aad they
don’t mis-spell words either.
One spider ran ont a web and then wrote
acroes in bright, silvery letters “WAR.”
Another span a web and began to write.'
He embroidered across his silken home the
word “INDIA.” Next day he prooeoded and
finishod the sentence “INDIAN—A WAR’*
These educated spiders an had looking
citizens, in rise ns largo as a honey bee,
have eight legs, and when disturbed show
anger, shoot ont their tongue* and swing
their cob-web tackle as if they meant to
jump and sting.
The educated spider should be suppressed.'
His literary labor* can do no good. Beside
that the country has too many prophets
already.
Mr. W. A. Hemphill.
Ruselas, the Atlanta correspondent of the
Augusta Evening News, hu the following to say
of one of our leading citizens: "Among our solid
citizens Mr. W. A. Hemphill, of Thk Consti
tution, I believe, stands In ths front rank. Mr.'
Hemphill Is a true southern gentlemen xud a self
made man, superior business qualifications tor
gether with an untiring eoergy hu placed him in
a few years In comfortable circumstances; whllo
his high moral character and umwcrverlog Integ
rity hu won for him the admiration and esteem
of all who are associated with him In butincst)
circles and prlvste intercourse."
Discouraging Literature hi the West.
From the Estelllue, Dak., BelL
A newspaper Interview with General Sher
man recently reports him as saying that he thinks
not enough literary me hu been made of tbo
gteet story of the settlement of the weak The
aesciel le about right. Butihetroubleluihepai!
hu tuually been that when a really good Uteiary
men hu arrived to the weet be hu rofuood to take
a drink with rome netlve end Immediately ceased
klrlng active attention to literature. With the ro-
malm of the test authors going east to metallic
ca.cs ihe general can hardly expect the great story
to he told Just u It should Do.
Bummer Time.
Tha bird! are with us in tha summer time;
They fill the woods and delee—a Jojous throng.
The pticld vales ell echo with their song,
la summer time.
The Cowers are with us to the summer time;
Near sparkltof brooks aad shady lanes they
grow;
Their perfume hardens all tha winds that blow
In summer time.
And friends an with os to the summer time,'
Who wsrmly clasp our bands and kindly smile!
W hlrpe ring a ords of ft lend.hlp all the while,
to summer tuns.
Rm whet a change there comet to winter time)
To ot her cllmee the lards have token wing,
And fin no more iLe woode with carolling.
In winter time.
The trees ere Icefloe In the winter time:
The withered flowers ell liftkmly lie low;
Deep buried 'Death the fall of ley enow
Of winter Ume.
And itimmer frtrudihlpe die to winter Ume;
But If perchance some heart should with no stay
While winter's deads sbeeare toelight of day,,
Jx clrenTUe^Ra., EeplemDeiSA 1