'-'JR1 '!JpW " ' JF15"1 W WT' J1 V?" -v- ip5 f sj sptt7V :na,Kr7,p,' r . yirvfW'W'
The Commoner.
MAEOH 6, 1903.
Bomo equally well-lmown person. Often the strug
feler relapses Into barbarism under the mere
-weight of this odious necessity. Still other young
Indians are burdened with false and ignorant
English translations of the names given them
by their parents, like Dog-That-Jumps-Around or
Hole-in-the-Day (this great Indian's name should
really have been translated Eclipse), or Old-Man-Afraid-of-His-Horses,
and so on. With one bother
and another, tho young Indian's way in civiliza
tion is likely to be seriously obstructed by rea
' son of his name. And even if he Is given a sim
ple and reasonable English name it often hap
pens that a different surname is given to each
one of the children of the same parents a pro
cess which results in confusion in matters of in
heritance and paves the way for much litigation."
THE POSTAL SERVICE OF SWITZERLAND
possesses several unique features. A writer
in tho Washington Times says that tho postoflico
authorities act as 'bankers and express companies
lor the people. For instance, if you live in
Switzerland and a man owes you, say, two dol
lars, all you have to do is to send him a bill for
the amount in a sealed letter with a word or two
to the postofilce on the outside of the envelope,
and, in addition, a two-cent stamp. This stamp
pays the postofilce for its trouble in collecting and
delivering the money to you. The charge is
about 1 per cent of the amount, and for this the
money will be collected in any part of Switzer
land. If payment is refused, howover, the authori
ties will not enforce the collection.
a? a?
THE RAG PICKERS OF PARIS RECENTLY
held a meeting to protest against the con
templated action of the municipal council In pro
viding for rubbish picking through an automobile
system. It Is said that there are G0.000 rag pick
ers in the city of Paris and referring to these
people and their grievance, a writer in the New
York Times says; "Some of the 'chlffonniers' in
question, made famous In the novels of Eugene
Sue, have even amassed large fortunes. M. Paul
mier, who is known as the 'rol des chlffonniers,'
has worked for nearly sixty years and is still
halo and hearty. He has been tho father of a
score of children, seven of whom are living and
following the parental vocation. His integrity is
proved by the fact that he once picked up 62,000
francs in bank notes and immediately handed
them over to the police. He declares that rag
pickers are healthier than any other workmen
and ridicules tho prevailing microbomania. He
considers that the introduction of the motor sys
tem will not only increase pauporlsm, but that it
is a cruel and undeserved affront from the city
of Paris, which has so often benefited by tho
services of humble citizens who have been re
peatedly called upon to aid the authorities in times
of epidemic and civil commotion."
ST &
THE PEOPLE OF MANCHESTER, N. H., ARE
boasting that theirs is a city of homes. In
other words, they assert that in Manchester an
unusually large proportion of the people own
their dwelling houses; and yet the Manchester
Union, while pointing with pride to its city's
claim on this point, admits that there are some
towns that make a much better showing on this
point According to census statistics, there are
only twelve cities in the United States in which
over 45 per cent of the families are owners of tho
houses which they occupy as homes, and these
cities are Akron, 111., Auburn, N. Y., Canton, O.,
Cedar Rapids, la., Jackson, Mich., La Crosse,
Wis., Racine, 111., OshkoBh, Wis., Saginaw, Mich.,
South Bend, Ind., Springfield, 111 , and Youngs
town, O. It is pointed out that nearly all of
these cities are in what is known as the middle
west, and are manufacturing towns. It is ex
plained by the Union that Manchester is not in
this list because of its largo floating population.
A CONNECTICUT FARMER AND HIS TWO
sonB were recently engaged in cleaning away
the dense growth of underbrush and tangled vines
that have taken possession of "Old Put's Hill."
The Philadelphia North American says that dur
ing this work these men discovered three crum
bled steps. Their discovery has aroused the in
terest of students of history everywhere, in New
England, for the belief is that the steps were a
part of the long stairway down which General
Putnam made his famous ride in revolutionary
times. Tradition says it was down this identical
. hill that the indomitable warrier galloped and
historians are quite ready to accept the discov
ery of the farmer and his sons as confirmatory of
the tradition. It was at once suggested that more
Bteps be cut in the rocky hillside so that visitors
to tho place might climb them to tho Putnam
monument from tho road, fifty feet bqlow. This
"suggestion was speedily put into execution and
already five steps havo been completed.
DURING THE YEAR 1902 GIFTS AND BE
quests for charity and educational purposes
in tho United States amounted to $08,346,789. Ac
cording to Appleton's Annual, five-sixths of tho
contribution for educational purposes were mado
by persons yet living while six-sevenths of tho
amount given for foreign missionary work camo
through bequests. These gifts and bequests were
divided as follows: Educational institutions, $20,
127,525; church and Y. M. C. A. work, $7,588,220;
foreign missionary work, $263,500; benevolent so
cieties, $4,364,724; hospitals and asylums, $26,
480,958; museums and art institutes, $0,372,422;
libraries, $2,157,000; Cooper Union, $942,440; New
York historical society, $50,000.
aft
A RESIDENT OF BALTIMORE CLAIMS TO
have in his possession the original military
death warrant of Charles the First of England.
Referring to this document, tho Baltimore Sun
says: "The warrant is written on thin parchment,
upon which a muslin back has been pasted. It
bears the marks of extreme age, and the chir
ography and somo of tho spelling are of tho pe
culiar old English stylo. From papers found with
tho document, it is believed that the parchment
was stolen by an officer and found its way event
ually into the possession of tho Chadwick family
of England. Later it became tho property of tho
Butler family, but was returned to tho Chad
wicks. It came into tho possession of tho present
owner with a number of family papers that have
been handed down through generations."
ac a?
IT IS ADMITTED THAT SOME INACCURACIES
of date appear in tho document referred
to. For instance, it bears tho date of January
24, 1648, and refers to sentence having already
been passed, whereas Charles I. was not sen
tenced until January 27, 1649. He was beheaded
January 30, 1649. The document is as follows:
"At tho high court of justice for tho trying and
intytinge of Charles Steuart, Kinge of England,
January 24, Anno Dom. 1648. Whereas Charles
Steuart, Klngo of England, Is and standeth con
victed, attaynted and condemned of high treason
and other high crimes and sentence uppon Satur
day last was pronounced against him by this
x o Ex. X. be put to death by tho severance of
his head from his body, of which sentence execu
tion yet remaineth to be done. These are, there
fore, to will and require you to see that sentence
be executed in the open streets before Whitehall
upon the morrowe, being the thirtieth this in
stant month off January between the hours of
tenn in the morning and five in tho afternoon of
the same day full effect and for eoo doing this
shall be yr sufficient warrant. And these are to
require all officers and soldiers other tho good
people of this nation of England to be assisting
unto you in this service. Given under hands and
seals." At the bottom tho warrant is directed to
three officers, "or either of them," whose names
are indistinct Fifty-nine signatures follow, being
the names of tho members of the court The first
signature is that of Bradshaw, president of tho
court That of Cromwell Is third, followed by
those of Gill, Ireton, Goff, Whalley and others.
IT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
that the sultan of Achin has yielded to
Dutch sovereignty and that after a thirty years'
war between the Dutch and Achines, peace reigns
in Sumatra. Tho interesting history that makes
this announcement of somo importance is related
by the New York Tribune in this way: "Years
and years ago it was already an old story. Other
wars began and ended, but Achin went right on.
The Russo-Turkish war, the wars in Egypt and
tho Soudan, tho Russian conquest of Central Asia,
the war between China and Japan, the Cuban
revolution and the 'Yanko-Spanko' war, the ted
ious Boer war, our troubles In the Philippines, and
Central and South American revolutions without
number, rose, ran their courses and passed away
into the Ewlgkeit, while the Achin war, which
began before them all, survived them all in per
ennial belligerence. Most of all. however, there
will bo heaity satisfaction at the removal of this
long defunct fly from the pot of otherwise frag
rant ointment of Dutch colonial government. Hol
land has long maintained one of tho largest col
onial empires In the world, and has done so very
successfully. She has, of course, paid little heed
to tho theory of the 'consent of the governed
In her view of tho case, East Indians like Kaf
firs in the Transvaalwere made to be governed.
my-nllly, and Dutchmon wero made to gov
ern them according to their own eweot will. That
principle curiously compounded of despotism and
bonevolenco, has on tho whole worked woll, save
in that ono sneeze-named region of Sumatra. It
has boon a sourco of considerable Netherlandish
mortification that no Dutchman could over point
tho contumelious flngor at Britain In South Afri
ca, or at America in tho Philippines, or at any
other good power struggliug with aJvarIty, with
out suffering the retort, 'Remoraber Achin!' Now
that reproach Is removed."
A MAN WHO IN HIS IMMEDIATE NEIGH
borhood cam 3 lo bo known as a Jingo of
jingoes died recently at New Haven, Conn. Tho
name of this man was William H. Fowler. Ho was
a bachelor arid left an estate estimated to bo
worth $250,000. Ho was always regarded as a
rather conservative mon and it Ib said that ho
was never known to show any particular en
thusiasm concerning anything until the war with
Spain. It seems that Fowler had for years en
tertained a hatred for Spain and Spaniards and he
went to considerable trouble and expense to havo
all the trees on his spacious lawn painted red,
white and blue.
4
THE MANY ACCIDENTS BECAUSE OF THE
use of gasolino for kerosene has prompted
tho Minnesota legislators to undertake to deviso
means for preventing such mistakes. Ono meas
ure Introduced in tho Minnesota legislature pro
vides that kerosene intended for sale in Minnesota
must be colored a deep red by tho use of alkamet
or similar dye stuff. Another bill provides that
gasolino must bo kopt in red painted cans.
A CURIOUS CUSTOM WHICH HAS BEEN IN
existence for nearly two hundred and fifty,
years was observed recently In tho council cham
ber of tho town hall at Guildford, England. Tho
New York Tribune describes this incident In this
way: "In tho prcsenco of the municipal chari
ties trustees two domestic servants threw dlco
for what is known as tho 'maid's money.' Tho
fund was endowed by John How, mayor of Guild
ford In tho reign of Charles II. His will pro
vided that a sum of 12 12s should bo annually
presented to a servant maid who had lived for
two years and upward in ono employment in tho
town, and who throw tho highest number with two
dice. This year tho two applicants were Florence
Ansell, who has beon nine years in her present
place and was successful last year, and Isabella
Law, who has nearly eight years' service to her
credit Ansell throw four and La'w ton, and tho
money was accordingly haiJed to tho latter. An
sell, however, had tho consolation of receiving
13 7s lOd 'apprentice' money, owing to the fact
that there was not a youth forthcoming who could
declare that, after serving seven years with a
freeman, and having taken Up his freedom, he
was not worth, directly or indirectly, 20."
IT WAS INTENDED THAT THE FRESCOING
at tho base of tho dorao of thoNnational
capltol should represent the chief historical events
of America and more particularly those of tho
United States. This frescoing now extends near
ly around this great circle beginning with a plctur0
representing tho discovery of America by Co
lumbus and ending with the 'discovery of gold In
California. Referring to this work the Washing
ton Post says: "A good deal of history Is depicted,
but there yet remains considerable space. The
blank is very unsightly, and nearly every ono
says it ought to be filled. But how? That is tho
question. If you care to listen to tho guides who
may bo showing visitors about tho capltol you
will learn that difficulties have arisen In depict
ing the next great event in the history of tho
country. Naturally tho civil war and the end at
Appomattox would bo the next plcturo, but tho
guide explains that there Is little disposition to
place upon tho wall anything tending to offend
ono section of tho country as an Appomattox pic
ture might, and great difficulty has been found in
picturing an event which should be historically
accurate and alike creditable to both sides in tho
great struggle. It has been suggested that the
war might be passed over, and at ono time it was
seriously proposed to fill tho gap with something
representing the Centennial and the World's fair
commemorating the discovery by ColumbuB. It
went so far as to show President Grant opening
the Contennial and President Cleveland the Chi
cago exposition. But tho suggestion of Cleveland
raised a storm. There was too much 111 feeling
manifested toward him to make the suggestion
feasible, and so the blank space remains, because
no ono can hit upon a design which shall not
cause serious objection."
u
4.
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