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6 THE CONSTITUTION. laKuterod at tbo Atlanta imstoffico m second-class TO matter, November 11,187 X Th© Wee kly Constitution 81.25 per annum. Cfluljs of five, SI.OO each; clubs of ten, 81.00 each and a copy to getter-up of club. We wan t you. Sfhc Constitution want, nn agent at every postoftlco in America. Agents outfit free and good terms. If you are not In a club, we wan Von to act as agent at your office. Write us. ATLANTA, GA., DECEMBER 20, 1867. It Is the Only One. In selecting your newspaper for 1888, it ■will be well to remember that The Consti- TUTION is Ist. The only paper that prints twelve pages every week. 2d. The only paper that Bill Arp writes for, and his letters are gems. 3d. The only paper that Dr. Jones writes for (except “The Southern Farm”), and each week's installment of his work is worth a to farmers. 4th. The paper that prints Tal mage's sermons every week. 6th. The only paper that Betsy Hamil ton writes her inimitable letters for. 6th. The only paper that Mrs. King writes the “Women’s Kingdom” and "Chil dren's Corner” for. 7tl The only paper that prints three complete stories every week. Bth. The only paper that gives you 621 pages every year. ©th. The only paper that everybody in the family like- from the grandmother to the baby; and, 10th. The. only paper that will give away SI,OOO in gold to its subscribers on January 1. These are ten good reasons why you ahonld take The Constitution at once! It will be the best friend, the most cheerful visitor, the wisest counsellor you can possi bly have fortlie year IS-ts, Ami, by the way, never forgot that on January 1, we will give away SI,OOO in gold to our new subscribers and renewals. '1 he name of every subscriber and every agent Bending it, that comes in between nowynd January 1, will go into our Christmas box, and the first name drawn out will get SSOO in gold, the next S2OO, ami so on. Get your name in the. box, Ly subscribing to the biggest, best and cheapest paper in the country! No time to lose! A Ileurtles* Fraud. The Influx of- warms of t—iirpK nt Terrain seasons of the year has given more than one Bouthem state not a little trouble. Despite the enforcement of the vagrancy laws, the tramps continue to come in an apparently never-ending procession. A recent article in the St. Louis Globe- Democrat perhaps throws consiJerabli.' !i. ht upon this tramp business. It apjx ats that thousands of tailoring men ar. annually •hipped to points tn the son'll and south west by the various labor bureaus and em ployment agencies having their headquar ters in St. Louis. It is a common thing for an honest jioor man to fall into the hands ®f these sharks. He pays a fee to secure employment, ami is at once sent to a dis tant place w! ere he is promised a job at good wages. When he reaches his destina tion he finds himself penniless and without work. Almost before he realizes the situa tion he is picked up as a vagrant ami per haps sent to the chaingang. Sometimes these deluded laborers are shipped in gangs of a hundred or more to some locality, Not being able to find em ployment they camp in the woods, start for est tires and commit all sorts of depredations Upon the farmers in the vicinity. The evil is increasing every year, and it Will soon be necessary for the states to take hold of the employment agencies and regu late them. If the general government has found it necessary to prevent the importa tion of paupers from abroad, why not take Bteps to prevent the shipment of targe bodies of unemployed and penniless persons from one state to another? What It H ill liny. Our Christmas Pre ants of SSOO in gold will come in mighty convenient to the subscriber that gets it. It will buy a heap of things. It will start the farmer along nicely and will help all along during the year. Every subscriber has just the saxneehanco of jetting it that every other subscriber has. Your chance is as good as any other subset ib< r. Xf you don’t get the SSOO you may get the tax ) or the SIOO, or one of the other prizes. In any event you will get the biggest and cheapest family paper in the world. So sul»- Bcnbe at once anil get your name in certain’ Th ink of what the S3OO will buy, if you get it, ! |uid think of what a comfort The ConutlTV- Tion will be if you don’t get tho SSOO. Itussla and Austria. It may be true that Russia is massing troops on the Austrian frontier. It is quite likely, too, that the Austrian emperor has | field n council of war. Taking it for granted that the cablegrams reporting these war-like movements state nothing but the facts, it by no means fol lows that there will be war. Austria has Germany and Italy at her back. Russia Btands alone. .She cannot ew>ect to form an alliance with republican France. Eng land is watching her in Afghanistan, and is her deadly enemy. This brief outline of tho situation is enough. Possibly the czar ami Bismarck have had some rough words. The czar aants the earth, and Bismarck is wr, -tling irilh an unreliable stomach. That two sm h «m n should snarl at each other j s perfectly natural, but it is highly impossible that tho cz.n has gone off in a huff with the inten tion of worrying the iron chancellor 1 y pitch ing into Austria. The massing of the Kir-.-ian tr, •>« ~I ( t] u . Austrian frontier will aimplv r<--.ilt in t). Btreogthening of the Austrian defenses and tlie mar-haling of troops on that side. T1 .• two great powers will make a show of •trengOi, and theu the two armies will re tire to their quarters, and the iv’.uj; , a Will be made tliat .! t’a ■■ p ■ E Were merely d.j „ . .‘J/j j,' In the interest, of ; When t. . . . a7 denies, and make it hot for Lt.gland. All this byplay with Austria amounts to nothing. From time to time there will be rumors of wars. They answer a purpose. They affect the stockmarket, the price of breadstuff's and the quotations of cotton. We must expect, these things, but we need not expect war every time we hear of the marching and countermarching of troops in • Europe. The king of France who marched ten thousand men up the hill, and then marched them down again, has many imita tors, and Ids tactics are very closely followed at the present day. have less than two weeks Z ff- -which to get your name in our. $' Christmas box—closed January 1.. S 2 ’Subscribe or renew at - ♦ Don't Listen to Them, Mr. President. It is | ossiblethat Mr. Vitas and Mr. Dick inson have been persuading President Cleve land that a strong tree-trade bid would cap ture some of the s o hwestern states. Don’t listen to that sort of thing, Mr. President. A bloody shirt, waved by the heaviest and dullest hands, would carry the northwest a whirling a-’.iinst all governmental theories, though written in regular message English and exploited by Mr. Vil.is's eloquence! New Jersey and Conn. Lent are steadfast and safe <!.- mocratic states, if we give them half a chance. To sa' iiii. e them with the hope of catch ing the partisan northwest, is to throw away two plump birds in the. hand fora half-dozen last year’s birds-ncsts in a sage bush! Ifnppy u WhMi- Year for 81.65. Have we ever given you foolish advice? Have we ever deceived you .’ Well, now, take this suggestion! In subscribing for The Constitution send $1.65 which will get you, not only The Con stitution, but the Southern Farm a whole year. The Southern Farm is underthe direction of 11. AV. Grady and is edited by Dr. W. L. Jones. It is the best farmer’s magazine ever printed. “Dr. Jones’s ‘"Thoughts for the Month” and ins “Farm Inquiry Box” are alone worth ten times the subscription price. Think of it! for $1.65 you get The Consti tution and the Southern Farm a whole year. This makes you happy for 1888! Yost will find in every issue of tho Southern Farm some facts ah at farming from Dr. Jones ortho ether editors with ten times what you pay for the whole ye r. Send 81.65 and get these sidend: i p.ipi rs. '1 hen you aro fixed happily for 11-8.8! J if" These already subscribers to The Con stitution can get the Southern Farm for one year fi r 75 cents —sent direct to “Southern Farm.” This offer is open only till January ■ It.—S. niiini d'.i!T"y7~ The January numlierof the Southern Farm will bethetinest agricultural magazine ever printed. That number alone will be worth a year's sub- riptien. Over fifty pages of solid reading matter, written by the best farmers in the south. Every farm subject treated, from carp to cotton. Remember $1.(5 gets both I CoxsTrnThe. and Southern Farm. Seventy five cents if sent before January Ist, gits S. utlii tn Farm one year. Address, The Southern Farm, Atlanta, Ga. « V» here Justice is silent. The acquittal of John Arensdorf, one of i tin- as sins of the R. v. George C. Had dock, al Sioux City, lowa, is a public calamity. Haddock was an active prohibitionist. He sj>oke for prohibition, and hunted down violators of the taw, and took a hand in their punishment. The brewers and the liquor men regarded him as their most dangerous foe. Finally Haddock was as sassinated, and an overwhelming amount of evidence was brought forward to prove that Arensdorf was one of the guilty par ties, and probably tlic most culpable of all. When the case came to trial the prohibi tionists of the state spared no pains to se cure a conviction. They were met, how ever, by a defense so tierce, bitter and un scrupulous, that the jury seemed to be borne down and crushed by it. Arens dorf s law yer boldly attacked the witnesses for the prosecution as a gang of perjurers. He charged the lawyers for the prosecution with being conspirators. He denounced all prohibitionists as fanatics, and accused them of injuring Sioux City by their meth ods. Then lie turned his attention to the murdered man, and denounced him as “a crazy fanatic,” “an armed, disguised, prowling midnight spy and informer.” For six hours he poured forth such a torrent of vituperation as had never been heard in the court house, lie wound up by saying that "the brutal fanaticism of Haddock had profaned the temple of justice, and the rotten canker of his fanatical spite had threatened the libvrtiesof the people.” Against tliis deluge of fiery speech the mild arguments of the prohibition lawyers seemed tame and common place. The peo ple in the court room bowled and applauded Arensdorf. lawyer, and when at la-t the judge's charge came it seemed like the pat tering ot a few rain drops after a hurricane. In spite of the law and the facts, the agi tated jury returned a verdict of acquittal. The western press and the public opinion of that legion pronounce this verdict a dis grace to Sioux City. It is a lamentable In . di .ition of the tendencies of partisan I strife. In a court of justice the question of | prohibition or anti-prohibition should have j no bearing on the black crime of murder. Perhaps this is the only ease of the kind I that has < ver occurred in this country. All I giod citizens will pravthat it will be the I last. ♦ am 2ft ’You have le-. than two weeks 2ff -which to get your name in our_£" . *j? Christmas box -closed January 1.. Li? Subsetibe or renew at A IH.uhlj '•vsU in. ‘ The Birmingham Age, of Sunday, has a ' shut editorial addie s to Congress ’ that is ; worth censi b ring. < ur contemporary takes i for its text a n'.tle in i lent that has already been reported in oar news columns innie- ly. tho killing of Giora- Kirk iu DeKalb county. A1..., by th- revenn- otlleers. „ti; -th,- parti.-.d us.ifthiskilling,which we need n t it 1 ta; lieie, our cetitcmporary jbv .V:v d. * : tk” n ri! <* it > -ir in xw b< Uy. uho ti.is C H i .m \ > e . what h s character v...* r. d f ten to jx it tit t.. jou hv \v the internal b c*l A . u. it.v i\u ti*a 1..e us ns cttl- IvPS, Ivv to v.kiu iH-t.-.jaat, l-Jt, ad&.tiuif THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION. ATLANTA. GA.. TUESDAY. DECEMBER 20.1887, that the officer of the law was Justifiable tn killing this man, an I we have uq testimony to show that he was not, is it not somew hat hurtfiti to the retie of Justice of every one of you that n system of taxation should 1 ■ upiielJ in this land of liberty that makes such r.n <K-currcn< e as the above possible; and, that, under your democratic adnilnl .tiaticnof thegoveiu rncut? But this Is only one of very many fsimilnr cases where death has resulted either to citizens of the state or to officers of the law. The records of the federal courts ore fill d with incidents of injustice and oppression resulting from the attempt to collect the internal revenue taxes. Ixrt us give you an example. An ex-revenue col lector, several years ugo, bought a few twists of homv-niade tobacco from an old negro man, and at once gave inf irnintlon to ft United States deputy, who arrested tho old man, carried him fifty miles I away to Huntsville and had him lodged in jail, where be remained some weeks, until the sitting of i federal court. The cos - was such a trifle and unjust one that tlic negro was discharged without a trial, w bat an unjust law it was to deprive a laborer of tho right to sell tlic fruits of his own toil? This is, indeed, the gist of the whole matter —its pith and marrow. The Consti tution has frequently called on the honor able body to which the Age appeals to take this subject into consideration. The same honorable body has been appealed to on various occasions by so respectable a com munity as the people of Georgia, through their representatives in the legislature, anil by other states; and quite recently the state of Virginia, through its legislature, has uttered a simitar petition. But to these urgent jietitions, the members of congress have hitherto turned a deaf ear. Gentlemen of congress, you talk about revenue reduction and tariff reform, but here is a system of taxation —and unneces sary taxation at that—which lias wrought murder and bloodshed. Here is a system of unnecessary taxation which has commis sioned an army of spies and informers. Here is a system of taxation which has broken up happy homes; which has caused innocent men to be dragged hundreds of miles from their families, to die in the loathsome jails provided for criminals in our country. Now-, what is to be done about it? Is your name in our Christmas box? It ought to be! If not a subscriber, sub scribe at once. It will get in and give you your chance at the SI,OOO in gold. If you are a subscriber anil your time ex pires this month renew at once and your name goes in. If your time don’t expire tliis month, get us a new subscriber and your name and the subscriber’s name goes in. You can easily get up a club. Show your paper and get your friends to subscribe. For every name you send your name goes in once and the name itself goes in. Only ten days left I Congressional Biographies, The compiler of the “Congressional Di rectory” has a little fun as he goes along. He requires the congressmen to furnish their own biographies, and then he prunes them down. S.mie of the sketches sent in by our statesmen would make rich reading, and it is a pity that the compiler of the “Direc tory” feels in duty bound to consign so much of tliis matter to the waste basket. An Arkansas congressman furnished the compiler with enough copy to till a half a dozen printed pages. He related several stories of Lis coon hunting adventures, in troduced a spring poem written by his son, mentioned tl.e names of the two young men who were courting his daughter, “Pink,” an# gave a full description of his wife and children. Another southeir congressman stated that he was afflicted with a skin dis ease, but it had been nearly cured by a famous patent medicine manufactured in Georgia. Os course the compiler had to cut out the allusion to the medicine, as no advertisements are allowed in the “Direc tory.” A Kentucky congressman described his stock farm. Another Kentuckian gave an account of two fights in which he had killed a couple of men. An lowan sent in his biography in verse. One congressman from the west stated that he was separated from his wife, but he claimed that she was entirely to blame, and he begged his brother congressmen not to think hard of him. A’ou will be sorry if you do not get your name in our Christmas box by subcribing, renewing or getting us a new subscriber. Only ten days left. Shall we send you samples to work with? Write us. Some, subscriber will get SSOO in gold as a present. Will it be you? Great Yield* of Cotton and Corn. We print this week the list of awards in the third annual contest for premiums offered by George W. Scott <fc Co. These premiums are for the best five acres in cot ton, the best single acre in cotton, and the best single acre in corn—all to be fertilized witli Gossypium Phospho. The awards show that Mr. Robert G. Ray, of Douglas county, raised 9,688 pounds of cotton on five acres; George W. Truitt, of LaGrange, 8,666; and Mr. J. T. Wyatt, of Jasper county, 6,050. On a single acre, Mr. James W. Mason, of Palmetto, raised ,2,677 pounds; Mr. R. G. Ray, 2,556; Mr. George W. Truitt, 2,087; Mr. J. 11. Wid ner, of Coweta county, 1,775: and Mrs. Smallprice, of Sumter county, lj’>2. Mr. Mason and Mr. Ray took over five bal<% of five hundred pounds each from a single acre. Now, what does this mean? Mr. Ray raised twenty bales of cotton of five hundred pounds each on five acres. Tin average throughout Georgia last year was one bale to three acres, so that the average Georgia farmer occupied sixty acres with a crop to get what Mr. Ray took from live acres. The average farmer had to plow, plant and cultivate sixty acres, while Mr. Ray cultii ated five acres and got the same amount of cotton. He [used fifty-one hun dred pounds of fertilizer on the live acres which cost him seventy dollars. The cot ton yielded him s'.'7o. Not only was he saved the labor of cultivating fifty-five sur plus acres, but those acres were either lying fallow, or wer eput down in grass or ether crops. Mr. Truitt, who tills year took i igiJ.cn bales of five liundr. il pounds each froui five acres, is cultivating lihs land than he cultivated five years azo. He got more cotton from it this year than ever before, and lias three hundred tons of hay for sale besides. These farmers have reduced tlielr cotton acreage from sixty acres to five, and have put the other fifty-tlve acres into other crops. Tliis it seems to us is the secret of hiiccoMful firn inL” ■ These yields arc’ not exceptional. Last year Mr. Sims made 10,857 pounds on five acres; Mr. Kay, W.B6U; Mr. Pyron, 10,71x1; Mr. Truitt, s.s3J. These four cont« stants were iu separate counties. Vu a single acre Mr. Truitt made 2,191; Mr. Hudgins, of DeKalb, 1,898; Mr. Pascal, 1,701; Mr. Thompson, 1,683 pounds. Each of these gentlemen lived in different counties, but tlie same process of cultivation produced the same approximate results. Tlic year before tlie yields for these prizes were about tlie same. Every yield is attested by the closest affidavits and inspection. The yield of corn is equally astonishing. Mr. J. T. Mann, of Palmetto, gathered 1971 bushels of corn from one acre, and Mr. J. J. Millions, of Coweta county, 174 85-100 bushels from one acre; Mr. Truitt, 156 bushels; Mr. Clay, of Paulding, 109 bushels; Mr. J. IL Widner, of Coweta, 106 bushels. Tlie highest yield of corn ever gathered from an acre, we believe, was 210 bushels. Mr. Mann’s yield from a Georgia farm comes within twelve and a half bushels of the highest yield ever made. These things show what can be done on Georgia soil ant! by Georgia farmers. Colonel Scott estimates that there are two or three thousand farmers throughout the south farming on this plan, though from one rea son or another they are discouraged from entering into the contest. He has prizes offered in Alabama and South Carolina. We shall look with interest for the reports from those states, to see whether they sur pass Georgia in the excellence of their farmers and the fertility of their soil. In any event, these reports show that the south is the best section of this country, and that industry and intelligence will produce re sults here on the farm that cannot be equaled elsewhere. It will be seen that the results achieved in Alabama and South Carolina are very much lower than in Georgia, though in Ala bama one farmer conics very near the top with 2,391 pounds of lint cotton to the acre. It was expected that tlie returns from each of the adjoining states would fall below the return of Georgia, for the reason that the system of intensive farming taught by this competition is tried for the second time this year in those states, while it is the fourth year of contest in Georgia. Alabama and South Carolina will come up in next year’s contest, and Georgia will have to look to her laurels. We emphasize the fact that the re turns from either one of the three states, and especially from the three states com bined, show that farming in the south when properly done is a profitable business, and that in fertility our soils when properly treated equal the best soils of the north or west. c An American Borgia* The trial of Mrs. Sarah Robinson, now in progress at Cambridge, Mass., will rank among the most celebrated cases of the pres ent generation. Mrs. Robinson is charged with fatally poi soning at least eight members of her family. Sometime in 1886 Mrs. Robinson’s son Wil liam died. As his life was insured for $2,000, and the circumstances of his death were suspicious, the doctors looked into the matter and camo to the conclusion that the young man had been poisoned. Upon fur ther investigation it was found that within five years eight persons had died in Mrs. Robinson’s liouso of arsenical poisoning. They were: Oliver Sleeper, seventy-two years old, who died August 19, 1881; her husband, Moses Robinson, Jr., forty-five years old, who died July 23, 1882; Emma M. Robinson, a daughter of ten years, who died September 6, 1884; Elizabeth B. Free man, a niece, aged one year, who died April 15, 1885; Prince A. Freeman, aged thirty three, a brother-in-law, who died June 27, 1885; Elizabeth A. Robinson, a daughter of twenty-four years, who died February 22, 1886; Thomas A. Freeman, seven years old, a nephew, who died July 23,1886; and Mrs. Freeman, wife of Prince A. and a sister of Mrs. Robinson, who died while under Mrs. Robinson’s care in South Boston in 1884. In every instance the victims had money, and Mrs. Robinson was the only person who could profit by their death. Tlie prosecu tion, however, will have a hard time in prov ing her guilt, as the evidence is all circum stantial. The poisoner is a middle-aged woman, decidedly good-looking, with keen black eyes and a determined face. She has always been an active church member, and at the time of her arrest was attending a prayer meeting. Her bearing at the opening of the trial was self-possessed and defiant. She has not taken her lawyers into her con fidence, and apparently relies upon the weakness of tlie prosecution rather than upon any testimony of her own. There is little doubt of this woman’s guilt, but she went about her murderous work so cunningly and with such a clear head that she managed to cover up her trail very successfully. Her acquittal, under the circumstances, will not be regarded by her neighbors as a vindication. * When the Virginia legislature instructs its senators and requests its representatives to vote for the repeal of the infamous inter nal revenue taws, it gives voice to the public sentiment. — Only Ten D.ayis Left. We want every subscriber’s name in our Christmas box! Every subscriber can get in if they only try. Ist. Those whose time is out can get in by renewing at once. 2d. Those who are not subscribers can get in by subscribing at once. 3rd. Subscribers whose time is not out can get in by getting a new subscriber. Your name will go in for every subscriber, and the subscriber’s name will go In also. It is the easiest thing to get subscribers for TheCi'xsnri TioN. Mr. C. W. Roach, of Kingston, Texas, writes: 1 mJe in'. c!t >.t you, and in > n hour bud is cl live .ills i J>.is. Fvud j ii;ir ou. ' TLi-re are t< n days left. In an hour you can easily get a club and your name goes in for each subscriber. This hour’s work may give you ss‘ <) or S2OO. It costs you nothing but a little labor. We don’t care who gets the gold. No hu man being can tell who will. .\n agent, blindfolded, puts l.is hand in tl.e box and lakes out a slip with a name written on it. It may be your name. If so, you get S6OO in gold. The man who lias sent in fifty subscribers may miss it. and the one who sends in only his own name may get it. All we can promise is somebody will get it, and everybody will get double the worth of bis money in the biggest, best and cheapest paper. We will have a force of clerks who will faithfully enter every name received up to Saturday night, the 31st. If your name gets in before midnight of the 31st of December it will go in the box and have its equal chance with every other name. Now get to work and let us hear from you. Bare Prejudice in Ohio. In the little town of Oxford, in tho great republican state of Ohio, the people are in quite a stew over the question of the co-edu cation of the races. They have been in this stew for some time, but it is worse now than ever, and there is every reason to believe that the contest will end in a row which will not be very dear to the heart of Editor Murat Halstead and other profes sional wavers of the bloody shirt. We have already given an account of the troubles in Oxford over the attempt of the negroes to send their children to the white schools. The school board of Oxford as signed the colored children back to their own schools. Then followed a suit brought by a negro named Perry Gibson, in the cir cuit court. The court decided that Gib son’s children had a right to attend the white school. Since this decision the pros perous little republican town of Oxford has been, in a manner, torn up. The white people are loud in their expressions of dis gust at the verdict of tlie court, and against every measure looking in any way toward the establishment of a mixed school. Gibson, the colored man, was advised by his attorneys to send his children to the white school at once. The superintendent of the schools declined to receive the negro children. He was advised not to admit them as the case had not been put on rec ord. Meanwhile, the case will be taken to the supreme court. What is to be the result of this controversy in the republican town of Oxford, in the great republican state of Ohio? The white citizens propose to boycott the entire col ored population. A prominent merchant and a member />f the board of education has discharged ail the negroes in his em ploy, and will not give them work of any kind. A systematic boycott is in contem plation, and it is thought that seventy-five per cent of the white population will par ticipate in it, showing that prejudice against the negro race is as broad and as deep as it is in the south. It is to be hoped that when Halstead and John Sherman begin to wave the bloody shirt they will shake it a little for the ben efit of Ohio. e A 18650,C00 Farm and Ils Head. Our staff correspondent this week des cribes “Belle Meade,” the historic breeding farm of General W. 11. Jackson. Besides being the home of “Iroquois,” the only American winner of tlie Englisli Derby, it was the home of “Bonny Scotland,” who sired such horses as Bramble, Luke Black burn, and a swarm of “B—s” that in 1882 put the old stallion at the head of winning sires in America. One of the spring sales of this farm showed higher average price for yearlings than any sale ever Held, except at the Queen’s breeding farm in England. Over forty yearlings sold at Belle Meade for an average of $1,046 [each, and at the Queen’s farm thirty odd sold for $1,112 average. The French government sent out a commission of experts to study the horse breeding farms of the world, and it reported “Belle Meade” the most perfect farm they had visited. Next week we shall print a full sketch of the best Jersey farm in the country—that of Major Campbell Brown, at Spring Hill, Tenn. General Jackson this week says he does not believe in the system of small farms. He sticks to the old plantation idea —Major Brown, on the other hand, does not believe in the old plantation sys tem, and does believe in small farms. His views on this point next week will be very interesting. Our sketches of the big farms of the country will be a special feature of The Constitution next year. Next week the great Jersey farm of Major Campbell Brown. Os Interest to Fx-Coiifederatos. The bill introduced by Senator Gibson to make ex-confederate soldiers eligible to po sitions in the federal army and navy ought to become a law. The civil war ended nearly a quarter of a century ago. Southerners who fought under their flag have been called to some of the most responsible civil positions under the government. They have been considered worthy of places on tlie bench and in the cabinet. They are not barred out from even the highest offices in the gift of the nation. But the absurd and unjust law which prohibits their appointment to po sitions in the army and navy has remained on the statute books unrepealed, year after year. It is time to wipe out this last vestige of sectional and partisan hatred. If an ex confederate is good enough for the civil ser vice of our government he is good enough for its military service, and in tlie event of a foreign war he would prove himself a brave and efficient defender of the nation's honor and security. There is no other way of looking at the matter. —— - - A Happy Convict. Banker Harper, although a convict, is a happy man. No hard tabor for him. Not a bit of it! He has been made the clerk of the secre tary of the Ohio penitentiary. He will have a light and agreeable occupation, and pleasant companionship. He will be spared many things that remind other convicts of their degradation. But Harper has another reason for feeling well satisfied. He now lias more money than he ever had before in his whole busi ness career. Let us see. His loss in the wheat deal was $1,260,000, but the loss of the Fidelity bank was $4,400,000. Where is all tliis money? A good deal of it was doubtless wasted in Harper's high pres sure, fictitious way of doing business, but it is thought that at least two millions have beiii safely concealed. The career of this man shows what a bright, unscrupulous speculator can do in this country. Harper had little or no edu cation, but he had a pleasant address, plenty of self-confidence, and he had the art of convincing people that their fortunes were made if they would trust h in with lheli money. Selling sewing machines on com mission was a small business for such n man. He borrowed money, and then but rowed more, to reimburse hi. creditors. He became a banker, made false entries In Uia books, declared fictitious dividends, and pulled the wool over the eyes of He had been guilty of acts that would have ruined any ordinary man long before ha opened his bank, but he made such golde® promises that people, listened to him, anS not less than seven hundred banks authow! ized him to transact business with theia and for them. f The wreck of the Fidelity was not en4> tirely the result of the disastrous wheat, deal. It was bound to come anyhow, and: so far as the seven hundred banks are coms cerned it is all right. They knew that theW were dealing with an unprincipled sharper-i and each of the little banks, with the little- Shylock at its head, fancied that it was ei& joying special privileges. r But Harper has saved a pile of money) out of the wreck. It is somewhere, and) when he comes out of prison he is going tsi enjoy it. If he serves his ten years he wiUl not be an old man at the expiration of than time. Os course he expects to have thd; time shortened, or to be pardoned. An® the expectation is not extravagant. Sue® a man always has influential friends, andj they will spare no pains to aid him. The millionaire convict’s Christmas may not be’ a merry one, but it will not be altogether wretched. A Word of Importance For You. This issue of The Constitution is sent t<S you as a sample copy at your request or the re-« quest of some friend. We ask you to read it carefully, study it, and if you like it, send us your subscription.! You will find it the biggest, best and cheapest paper in America. Whore can you find any paper that print® so much reading matter as you find in TkS Constitution. Where can you find suc& writers as you find in its columns. Read what its Subscribers say about it. In three years has grown from 8,000 to 128,000, and is now oaf its way to 200,000. No intelligent man can afford to be without; a newspaper next year. It is the great presif! dential year, and we are fighting the battle on democracy. Come with us and help us. Hol® our hands up by subscribing for The Const!® tution and by getting your neighbors to subj scribe. The price is $1.25 if you take it alone, on one dollar if yon go in a club. If there is n& chib in your neighborhood, you are authorize® to raise one. Get two of your neighbors ta join you and the three of you can get it at on® dollar each. Get four of your neighbors tqj join you, and the five of jou can have it foti $4.60. Now, subscribe at once. Be certain to get) your name in in time for our Christmas boxj which will be opened on January first, an® which has one thousand dollars in gold to ba distributed to our subscribers. Do not fail to) do tliis. It may give you $500.00 in gold. Inj any event you will get the bigggest, best an® cheapest family pape’r in America. Jiead i 8 over carefully and you will find this to be true. Send in your subscriptions at once. Do not delay a day. EDITORIAL POSTSCRIPT. Bismarck stirred up all Europe the other day by having an attack of the colic. Tom Woolfolk will eat his Christmas dinner in Atlanta, this year. Next year - It is a great thing to live in New York. Strawberries for Christmas may be purchased, there at twelve dollars a quart. , Henry George continues to announce that iie will not run for president. This is ii» deed true. By next year George will be fof* gotten. The Philadephia Press says that Mr, Cleveland will be the next democratic plat form. Tliis is reassuring. In that event, the platform will be targe, broad and fat. When Senator Evarts shook hands with two colored republicans in New York the othelf day, there was tremendous apulause in the galleries. It was, indeed, a very unusual sight. An anonymous correspondent send® Henry Labouchere, editor of the London! Truth, 10,000 six-pences every year, for distri* bution among the poor children of the great city. He has no idea who the person is. Ex- Minister Taylor, who lias just return® ed from Ljlicria, is trying to make people be* lieve tliat the blacks in Africa are very much .superior to their brethren in this country. He attributes this to the conversion of theiiegroe® to Mohamedonism. General Joseph E. Johnston says it cost a good deal to correct tho delusion that slavery was necessary to the civilization of the soutlii Sucli a remark as this is calculated to giv© Foraker tho green persimmon grin. DIVIDING OiTrTROFITS. ' And Giving Our Bvaders Some Big Christ* mas Presents. We furnluh our subscribers with 'j lie best family paper in America. The cheapest paper printed—the only 12 pngG weekly. Tlie pajicr that pay more for special features tliaij any other. r Win ii we do tliis our contract with our subscribers cn<ty. ihit in tin* past three years our friends havdt im rcu.srd our circulation tr im 9,000 to 312,000 copied Appreciating this we shall distribute to Hom on* January 1 t some I»ig Christmas presents. Here is al list of them: <»uo preMont of. SSOO tn g<»ld£ One pi vM'Ut of 200 hi K‘d<d One pi eMont of. JOO in One |»n H« nt of. flO | n gold!; <prcNvnt of iUi in gold f Tollii- lOneil MIO each 1<(O iu g«dd> To the o next *5 • u< li. 25 ingoldx Total Presents SI,OOO. You do not pay a cent for this. Von simply pay” for your paper, jm thr usual. We put your name in* our “ChrlstmaM bo)t" and oil January Ist the tird£ name lalo n out th** box bring shaken and thd nr*nt l.llndibl<l.*«! ,*< f JOin gold, the nexts2oo, mid so oil through thr list. Now note this w< 11. Heml in your own snltscripp lion nn«! wr will psis your mime In thr tmx. There* forr every olhi'r name you m*n<l In we will put id your mime again II you mui<l ten silliMcrfbeni your name go'-t In b n linn y. mid j OU liavc just thbb many more ehatiriM. , W» want r\rt y num, woman or child who rcadM thia to go to Work nt Olirr for Tlltt (JUNSTITUTION. li .n'l d. lay a <lay In nurling in mimes. The inoro you get In now thr more you will get in later. CouiJ m«•!»<•<• at nN* i:. You ought to have 100 names ill by January bl i:« niritibri this. Some name will be taken at hnphn/ard Horn thr ChristnuiH l»ox ou January i t, and tbut mini" ■t< MMI In gold, itinay be »/«»»'>>: hi any rvrnt you risk not a vent. You g< ! til. b( ‘I mid < ht i.|.« M |ni|m i piino d. and if yoil get thr t.’Mio or tin - «»r any of tlie other presents it h|that much mnde. Now brijn al un • u«1 In w»ui own name and that of >our frl. nd. in I th. n lu .-iii n regular ran. V ‘ Ihr bo. Will bi llmmuchh •■•lb I .ml shnketv nd the iii‘t muii miv i <’ taken bum the bottom. BIG PAY l-OH YOUR WORK. Itul huv "i. ...; .i i And ► u liki i I li« im Im loif I i <iiii> i y • '(. «• "H> I” • ' <1 In K.ild. *l*i •llm'lH' (li* 111 1 I tll o * 9 To (he IM hi I I! I mi •• *• I M I ll« IH V I lu ll ‘I- ■ I'! r •• Iu (In' oenl -I ••!.; I'l li» •• » Tultil iigmtM* p»« MihiiH« 1 (" -t . 0.1. r..n* |.n| lt I.V ... . t („ !> . G, . ! :.'.ll i.i' ( ~'»< (.!.(! . , J (M|r "Utht II Alli .•-I In "•II • I 1.1 of Inn I ' I I I • I ilOf '"-(‘I I 11 ." 1 ” Br'in. -c c. n>r out H.iiil Iv.'.li ",i.| i.uir.i n l,iy ..-;u beixnuq ■ •" H"X I bill-. I .I|.i I . . I.qi',l ■".( th. mnuvU 'O k<a MtbM (Ihvl. I"i A| t s M OUV. I