Newspaper Page Text
ery fight, he usually comes out
ahead.
There is one entire edition of
the Bible which is known as the
“Vinegar Bible,” because the
printer headlined the weli known
chapter in Luke as “The Para
ble of the Vinegar”—meaning
Vineyard, of course.
In McMaster’s “History of the
People of the United States,” the
author desired to refer to our an
cient and heroic friends, the Spar
tan band, who defended the Pass
of Thermopylae the printer
made him say “the Spartan
bard.”
Ernest Penan was to lecture in
Westminster Abbey. London, on
the subject, “The Influence of
Rome on the Formation of Chris
tianity.” The newspapers an
nounced the subject as “The In
fluence of Rum on the Digestion
of Humanity.”
Several years before the Civil
War. a Southern editor had occa
sion to congratulate Genera! Pil
low. who had Inst returned from
Mev’-n, as “a battle-scarred vet
era’-'.”
The printer it, “battle
scared veteran.”
Gen. Pillow, boiling with
wrath, rushed to the editorial
sanctum for explanations and sat
isfaction.
The horrified editor promised
amends in next morning’s paper.
Put the printe 1 * was still on deck,
and next morning he had it “bot
tle-scared veteran.”
Fortunately, nobody was
killed.
•S * *
Editorial Notes.
Jesse James, the notorious rob
ber, lias a son who has just be
come a lawyer.
Heredity, you see. The young
duck 'makes for the water be
cause he can’t help it.
Tn Aubrey’s “History of the
English People,” it is stated, as
a wonderful thing, that the most
rapacious of the Norman kings
wrung from the helpless Eng
lish so great an amount of tri
bute that it amounted to $5,000
per day I
'That’s nothing. Rockefell r
wrings from the American people
a daily tribute of at least ten
times that sum.
'The Railroad King says to the
Steel Trust Magnate:
“You have no competitio
and therefore you turn out a
poor quality of rails. These rai’s
break, and cause thousands cf
deaths on the railways.”
In answer to this, the Stc 1
'Trust says to the Railroad King :
“You are running your road ;
so as to earn dividends upon si ■:
billion dollars of watered stock :
therefore, you buy cheap rail ,
which you know will not stand
the strain. You ought to buy a
better quality’ of rail—then vnu
would not kill your passengers
and employes.”
Where lies the Truth in this
dispute?
WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN.
There is truth on both sides.
It is doubtless true that the Steel
Trust, having a monopoly, abuses
it. * Lack of competition relieves
the mills of the necessity of doing
their best. ' There are no rivals
who will get the business in case
the Trust turns out a sorry prod
uct. Consequently, the Trust
makes rails to sell, and not to
stand the wear and tear of traffic.
On the other hand, it is a no
torious fact that the railroads
have been operated for Dividends
to the neglect of every other con
sideration, and, therefore, cheap
rails have been bought, when a
better grade should have been or
dered.
Brother Tibbles says, in The
Investigator:
“A great many wrecks have
occurred from broken rails, a n d
there is a charge made by rail
road men that the trust does not
furnish rails made according to
specifications. Meantime the
trust is furnishing rails to the
Japanese government at sto per
ton less than it sells them in the
home market, while Japanese sci
entists stand by and see tn it
that every rail is perfect. If anv
imperfection is discovered bv the
Jananese, the rail is rejected a”d
goes into the American supply.
If it were not for the fact- that
all the grafters must stand in to
gether, such a state of things
would be impossible. The rail
roads make no objection to pay
ing sto per ton more for rails
than they are sold to foreigners,
and the tariff grafters make no
objection to the railroad methods
of fleecing the public.”
The National Association of
Manufacturers declared in favor
of Tariff Revision. Thi'; means
that they want cheaper raw ma
terials. The shoe manufacturers
of Massachusetts, for example,
would like to see bides on the
Free List, but as to lower dut’es
on shoes—oh, never!
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From Collier’s Weekly.
THE FIRST PETIT JURY IMPANELED TO TRY JEFFERSON DAVIS, MAY, 1867.
The First Mixed Jury Ever Drawn in the South; Twelve of the Twenty-four Petit Jurors Were Ne
groes. This Fact Aroused a Feeling of Intense Bitterness Throughout the South.
Story of Jefferson Davis" Capture.
(The Macon Telegraph.)
The story of the capture of Jeffer
son Davis has been told many times,
but not always correctly. Formerly,
in fact, the chief feature of the tale
was a deliberate fabrication, the re
sult of a malicious desire to heap
obloquy upon a great, but fallen man.
But in later years the true story has
now been told in the North.
A truthful account appeared in the
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin of
May 10, which printed an interview
with a local resident, Casper Knobel
a former member of the Fourth Michi
gan cavalry. Knobel, then only a lad
IIIIp*
A?
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
of 18, was with the party that cap
tured the president of the Confed
eracy. He is thus quoted:
“I left Macon, Ga., at 8 o’clock on
the morning of May 7, 1865, together
with 419 men and twenty officers of
the Fourth Michigan cavalry, who
were sent out to effect the capture of
Davis. After a lot of hard riding and
no rest we reached Abbeville on the
night of May 9. The next morning
at 1 o’clock we learned from a Con
federate to whom we represented our
selves as a part of the Confederate
army, that a party had camped the
previous evening about a mile and a
half from Abbeville. We knew at
once that it was Jeff Davis. We then
separated in detachments of fourteen
each, the one I was in continuing on
the road we had been traveling.
“We soon found embers of a dying
camp Are. This made us feel sure that
we were near the party. It was then
about 4 o’clock in the morning and
still dark. A thrill went through the
company now as some one had to be
selected to go on in advance. We
knew the camp was guarded, but we
know not just how many soldiers
there were. It seemed almost certain
death to go ahead. At last some one
said, ‘Let the Dutchman go.’ T could
not understand what was said, but,
anyhow, Rinke, the horseshoer of the
company told me.
“Rinke went with me. We rode
along quietly in the darkness until
we saw the tents. A colored man
left in front of the tent, to guard it.
was sound asleep. Rinke and I dis
charged our guns and our waiting
comrades made a dash for the place.
Rinke held my horse while T went
up to the tents. I lifted up the flan
of the first tent as something told me
Jefferson Davis was in there. Sure
enough he was.
“While the men were making the
search Mrs. Davis threw a shaw] over
the shoulders of her husband to pro
tect him from the raw morning air.
From this incident arose the oft-told
tale of Davis’ attempt, to flee from
the tent In woman’s clothes.”
Knobel migM have well added that
the seldom-told truth will not Ukelv
overtake and displace the “oft-told”
H». whom Northern men and women
es the older generation aro concerned.
Tbev recall ton vlvldiv the nlctures
of Jefferson Davis in honn skirts and
tb<-> alleged assertions of high armv
officers that he was thus clothed when
captured. Even so fair-minded a man
as Horace Greeley gave space to the
story tn his “American Conflict.** and
though he did not affirm it nositivelv.
admitting that It was denied, was evi
dently disposed to believe It. for he
remarked that If Davis had succeeded
in escaping and the Confederacy had
rallied and finally secured Independ
ence. the Southern people would have
honored their chief for hfs daring and
resource In employing such a disguise
Neither Mr. Davis nor the nroud and
humiliated noonle whom he represent
ed would have been disposed to as
sent to this.
Tt is well that sufficient Northern
testimony has been brought forward
in recent vears to give the He to a
calnmnv which no one now has a right
to believe and which will still be be
lieved onlv by narrow partisans.
PAGE NINE