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Netos and Vietos From All Around OUR CONSTITUTION. (Lanning Coates, of Pennsylvania.) The state of Pennsylvania alone has natural resources in iron, coal and other minerals, in addition to its gas springs and oil wells, its mountains covered with the primeval forest, which, when cleared, offer excellent lands for the pasturing of sheep, to gether with its vast extent of other pastoral and agricultural lands, ex ceeding that of England. There are now forty-five states in the American Union with a population approaching a hundred million souls. An army is perfect when all its several branches are so perfectly ordered that their distinct parts are combined into thorough co-operation so as to make one whole, and the constitution of the United States is so drafted as to com bine each of these forty-five states into an E Pluribus Unum. But the fact that each of these states is a sover eignty within itself is frequently lost sight of, and what has become so com mon for a corporation to go to one state to obtain a charter to construct . a railroad in another should be pro hibited as it takes away, in a large measure, that absolute control of each state over its own internal affairs, se cured to it by the constitution of the United States. By the constitution the United States is compelled to guarantee to each state a Republican form of govern ment, and each state should be imme diately held responsible to the federal government for all irregularities, and each corporation immediately respon sible to the state government for any abuse or violation of its chartered rights that should injure or disturb so ciety. The American historian Motley, in his history of the “Rise and Fall of the Dutch Republic,” says that “a well ordered local government is the only safeguard to our individual freedom.” * THE AVERAGE MAN’S MAIL. The American Magazine for March presents all the facts about the middle or mean American. Every statement is backed by sufficient authority. A man named Raggers and his wife are taken as the average. Here are the facts about their mail: “Os communications from and to the outer world, Raggers and his wife re ceive and send a rather considerable number during the year *if we may take the average of the United States given in the report of the post office department, 1904. They send off 292 letters and 46 postal cards, and receive printed matter (mainly circu lars) to the number of 75, as well as 155 newspapers and 26 government publications and communications, making a total in all of 594. They only receive or send five telegraphic messages a year.” n A NEW USE FOR DETECTIVES. “The ‘shadow’ is one of the most po tent forces in the service of those who deal in millions,” says David Fergu son, in “The ‘Shadow’ in High Fin ance,” in March Everybody’s. “This shadow is no airy, flimsy thing, but a hard-headed, cold-blooded, patient, persistent, silent detective, highly trained in all the tricks of his craft, but especially developed along two or three lines. He is uesd chiefly to watch men and to get information. That sounds simple and commonplace enough, but it defines an occupation that has caused numberless heart breaks, has thwarted vast ambitions, and brought about financial tragedies; while on the other hand it has served to multiply the great hoards of the masters of high finance.” HUMORS OF THE LAW. Law and equity are two things which God has joined together and man has put asunder. When a pris oner in Justice Maule’s court was ask ed whether he had anything to say why sentence should not be pronounc ed upon him, he replied, “I wish God may strike me dead if I stole the ducks.” Maule waited for about a min ute and then said: “Prisoner, as Prov idence has not interfered I must. Three months’ hard labor.” A mayor on taking his seat on the bench for the first time informed the bar that during his year of office he would spare no effort to be neither par tial nor impartial.—Address pf Sir Al bert Rollit in London. THE SLEEP OF HORSES. When the horse sleeps, it is said that one ear is directed forward, why is not known. A writer in the English Mechanic thinks this is to guard against danger, being a survival of its originally wild habits. He says: “Watch a horse asleep through the window of his stable and make a faint noise at the front. That ear will be all attention, and probably the other will fly around sharply to assist. Now let him go to asleep again and make the same noise to the left. The for ward ear will still keep guard, with possibly a lightning flick round, only to resume its former porsition.” * THE DAM BILL PASSED. Senator Frye, of Maine, startled the senate recently. He was on his feet making a report from his committee on commerce on several minor bills. Suddenly raising his voice, Mr. Frye exclaimed: “If I can get immediate consideration for that dam bill I will promise the senate not to report an other dam bill this session.” Amid general laughter, the bill was passed and a dam will be built across certain shoals on the Savannah river. LOW STREET CAR FARES. (Mayor Dunne of Chicago.) Congress has passed a law giving the city of Washington 3 cent fares, Detroit and Cleveland have 3 cent fares and Indianapolis a 4 cent fare with universal transfers. Chicago? If these pending ordinances are passed, Chicago is bound hand and foot to a 5 cent fare for twenty ears. DUTY OF AN ATTORNEY GENERAL (New York Appellate Court.) “He may bring, and it is his duty to bring, an action when he is satisfied that the law has been violated and a person is exercising a public office or a public franchise without authority or legal title to the office or franchise. The question is one submitted to his discretion, and he must exercise that discretion upon the facts as they ap pear to him from time to time when brought to his attention. •t CALIFORNIA’S CAPITAL. Sacramento, Cal.—The assembly has passed a resolution providing for the removal of the capital to Berkeley by a vote of 59 to 19. It has already passed the senate. It will now be voted on by the people. tiife Weekly Jeffersonian. PRIVATE POST CARDS. (By Associated Press.) Washington, March. —An order has been issued by the postmaster general providing new regulations governing the size, form and weight of private post cards entering the mails. Such post cards must be made of an un folded piece of cardboard, not exceed ing three and nine-sixteenths by five and nine-sixteenths inches, nor less than two and three-fourths by four inches. They must in form and in quality and weight of paper be substantially like the government post cards. They may be of any color not interfering with a legible address and postmark. Very thin sheets of paper may be attached to them on condition that they com pletely adhere to the card. Cards bearing particles of glass, metal, mica, sand, tinsel or other similar sub stances will not be accepted for mail ing except when enclosed in envelope. * OLDEST PREACHER DEAD. (By Publishers’ Press) Little Rock, Ark. —The Rev. George Brinsfield, said to be the oldest preach er in the world, died at the home of his son-in-law, Thomas Cankey, near Huron, Izard county, at the age of 108. Mr. Brinsfield was a local Metho dist preacher and a remarkable char acter. He came to Arkansas eighty four years ago from Alabama. He al ways attended the conferences of his church, and at the age of 100 walked to Batesville, a distance of fifty miles, to attend the conference at that place. He was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, May 16, 1799. In 1818 he married Miss Charity Skipper and of the union six children were born. After her death he married again and eight children were born to his second wife. He had fifty grandchildren, eighty-seven great grandchildren and twelve great great grandchildren. * LOOKS LIKE JOHN D. (The Chicago Post.) In securing a jury for the Standard Oil trial in Chicago, persons in the court room noticed a striking resem blance between C. A. Fredrick, one of the veniremen, and John D. Rockefel ler. As the men were leaving the court room Fredrick was stopped and asked to pose for a photograph. “I do not care to have my picture taken especially in this case,” said Fredrick. “I have heard so much of my resemblance to Mr. Rockefeller that it bores me. Everyone who knows me speaks about it.” Attorney Eddy, for the oil company, when he heard of the remark of Fred rick, said: “I wonder if he already is against us? Maybe he had been bothered so much about it that he will be affected by it.” Fredrick said he had no prejudice against the man he resembles. LUMBERMEN AFTER RAILROADS. Washington, March. —A hearing was begun recently before the interstate commerce commission in a proceeding brought by wholesale and manufactur ing lumber associations against practi cally all of the railroads of the United States for an order to compel the rail roads to provide permanent stakes and racking necessary to the use of flat cars for the hauling of lumber. The proceeding is directed against a policy that has been in existence for more than fifty years, under which the lumbermen have been compelled to fur- nish their own racking and pay freight on the weight of such equipment. They are now contending for the adoption of permanent steel stakes. The railroads are setting up the de fense that it has not yet been demon strated that the steel stakes are prac tical, and their counsel announced that they would ask for more time for ex periments. JOE BLACKBURN’S JOB. (The Evening Post.) President Roosevelt has taken care of Blackburn, of Kentucky. When the president needed help in the sen ate in the Brownsville case Mr. Black burn came to the front as an ally. The Kentuckian called at the White House and probably assured Mr. Roosevelt that though a Democrat he was with him heart and soul in the matter of the discharge of the colored troops. Then Mr. Blackburn introduced his resolution which in effect declared that the president did not exceed his authority when he discharged the black battalion.. The retiring senator has been named by Mr. Roosevelt as a member of the Panama canal com mission at SIO,OOO a year. M ETERNAL VIGILANCE. (Macaulay’s History.) “As we cannot, without the risk of evils from which the imagination re coils, employ physical force as a check on misgovernment, it is evidently our wisdom to keep all of the constitution al checks on misgovernment in the highest state of efficiency, to watch with jealously the first beginnings of encroachment, and never to suffer ir regularities, even when harmless in themselves, to pass unchallenged, lest they acquire the force of precedents.” A GOOD CONGRESSMAN. (By Associated Press.) Theodore Otjen, congressman from Milwaukee, has earned a large degree of popularity in Washington by lead ing the Sunday night sacred song serv ice in one of the Washington hotels. A few days ago he was presented with a gold watch and fob by a number of persons who nave enjoyed his work. The presentation speech was made by the wife of Congressman Crumpacker. EXAMINE ALL TEXAS BOOKS. Austin, Tex., March. —Gov. Campbell has signed the bill passed by the legis lature authorizing the attorney gen eral to go into any business interest in Texas and examine its books to as eral to go into any business interest trusts’ interests are connected with its ownership or controlling way. The law becomes effective at once. ACCEPTS CHANCELLORSHIP. Jackson, Miss., March. —Prof. J. B. Aswell, superintendent of the public school of Louisiana, who was recently elected chancellor of the University of Mississippi, has accepted the place, and will begin his term as soon as his successor has been named and has qualified. THIS IS “SOME FARM.” Houston, Texas. —Ten million dol lars, spot cash, is the neat little sum that has been refused by the heirs of the King estate for the great King ranch in southeast Texas, two of whose border lines are the gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande and whose broad area embraces nearly all of three counties and a part of a fourth. 3