FAVORS FREE WOOL. BRYA J HATES PROTECTION AS MUCH AS EVER. Declares He Stand * : n II Stood Six Ycurx , An Uncompromising1 Opponent of any Tariff for the Uonellt of the American Slioop Grower. Last week the wool market report of the Commercial Bulletin contained the following paragraph : "The Salt Lake City correspondent of Hecht , Liebmann & Co. , of this city , writes that Mr. Wm. J. Bryan , in his recent visit to Utah , assured leading dealers and growers in private conver sation that he had changed his minden on wool , and that though he would consent to a reduction of duties , they could rest assured that he never would sign-a free-wool bill. " We desire to repeat the paragraph , and arc perfectly prepared to furnish the names of the persons who were given the assurance that the wool tar iff would not be an issue and that the protectionist who wished to vote for free silver might do so without fear that the beneficent duty would be re moved from wool by Mr. Bryan. Mr. Bryan now makes this publica tion unnecessary , however , by a public pledge , which , of course , recalls all pri vate or personal assurances as to his attitude on wool. In an interview ac cepted as authentic by such free wool authority as the Boston Herald , he is quoted by that paper , among others , of Jan. 14 as follows : "When asked regarding the report that he had changed his views on the matter of free wool importation , and had asserted that , in behalf of western dealers and manufacturers , he would , if elected president , favor a tariff on wool , Mr. Bryan stated most emphati cally that he had mi do no statement whatever to the effect that he had changed his former views on the ques tion. " These are Mr. Uryau's "former views , " as expressed on the"loor of congress , March 1C , 1392 : "I , therefore , Mr. Chairman.denounce as fallacious , as unwor'hy of consider- ation.the only reason that can be given in support of a tariff on wool , as a protective tariff and for protective pur poses. " And on Jan. 13 , 1894 : "It is immaterial in my judgment whether the sheep grower receives any benefit from the'tariff or not. Wheth er he does or does not , whether the wool manufacturer collects a compen satory duty from the consumer of woolen goods and pays it over to the wool grower , or collects and keeps it himself , or doesn't collect it at all , and therefore doesn't need it , I am for free wool. " It is idle for Mr. Bryan's friends in Utah or the other Western states long er to seek the votes of wool growers , as they have been doing , on whispered assurances that the free trade plank- of the Chicago platform is not an is sue. sue.Free Free wool is an issue in 1900. Mr. Bryan has made it so by his own public utterance at Columbia , Miss. , Jan. 15 , 1900. The private whisper in Salt Lake City is overridden by the public declaration again publicly en dorsed : "I am for free wool. " A Bryan victory thus means not only surrender and free silver , but a drop to the old free wool basis of 27 cents a scoured pound for ordinary fine me dium Utah wool. The Western wool grower will do well to ponder this and to cut out Mr. Bryan's interview for reference when the campaign is on next fall. Boston Commercial Bulle tin. A TRULY GREAT CHANGE , Blarkcd Improvement In the Grade of Coffins and Furniture Now Demanded. "Some queer facts regarding improved business conditions are set forth by th-3 Canton (111. ( ) Register in the shape of an interview with a traveling man who represents three factories.one that manufactures coffins , one that makes a specialty of tables , and another that produces a general assortment of fur niture. Said this commercial trav eler : "The factories , though running night and day , are away behind their orders. Three of the largest houses on our cus tom list we have , for the present , quit taking orders from , simply because we can't fill them by the time desired. This being true , it looks as though my services as trade solicitor will have to be dispensed with. " "How do you account for this exces sive demand ? " was asked. "Prosperity ; everybody at work ; good wages ; plenty of money. " "Well , but ain't coffins as much in demand in hard as well as in good times ? " interposed a Democrat. "Yes , and perhaps more so , but in such times those of inferior quality arc the most called for the kind that can be more rapidly thrown together. In such times as we now have the best is required , and it lakes longer to man ufacture them. " "What is your experience with ta bles in good as compared with hard times , or in McKinley as compared' with Cleveland times ? " was asked. "Now , that is something I would sooner talk about than to talk about coffins. I will tell you. The many who use store boxes and loose boards for tables in the Cleveland times are now , that they have plenty of work , good wages and good money , wanting good factory-made tables. And when It comes to furniture In general it is wonderful to note the increased de mand in these McKinley times com pared with the demand in the Cleve land-Wilson tariff era. People who could not afford sideboards , rocking I THE MODERN DAVY CROCKETT. and easy chairs then are now in a po sition to have and enjoy them. I' con fess , as I contemplate the situation , that I am somewhat troubled lest I he laid off until my houses can catch up with their orders. " It will be noticed that in the differ ence between Cleveland's reform tariff times and McKinley protective tariff times the change runs to quality as well as quantity of goods consumed. Coffins must be better than four years ago. Any old sort of burial box would do then ; it had to do ; but it will not do for people who are earning and making more money than ever before , and who are able to afford seemly and proper mortuary accessories. So must the tables be more neat and present able than in the times when a board era a box had to suffice ; and in the mat ter of furniture a demand had sprung up for a style and quality of articles that put to shame the cheap stuff that found a stinted market in the days of the Wilson tariff. All this means more demands upon American labor , more employment , more wages , more money in circulation , more comfort , more hap piness. Truly the change is great. ACHIEVEMENT AND FAILURE. Results of Republican and Democratic Policies Contrasted. We have had three years of McKin ley and Republican domination. Look at the practical results. During the free silver panic pending the election of 1896 every man owning a hundred dollars in currency , who could get into the treasury , got there demanding its substitution in gold , and the Republic an leaders even predicted that McKin ley , if elected , would be compelled to start out with a bond issue. But in stead , confidence being restored even before his inauguration.the gold flowed back into the treasury in a steady stream , just as it came back from its hiding places in Europe to which it had been driven by the phantom of four-bit silver. Before the spring of ' 98 had waned the money supply of the country , resting upon a sound founda tion , in circulation , in the banks and in the treasuries , had reached the high water mark of experience , and before the autumn had waxed every preceding record had been broken. This success was repeated in the unprecedented in crease of our domestic and foreign trade , and for the first time in many years the balance of trade was regis tered at a high figure in favor of this country. Before January , 1899 , more than a million of laborers driven into the streets by the Democracy had been restored to work at top-rate wages. At the beginning of the last named year every furnace was ablaze , every mill was pregnant , and every piece of ma chinery was instinct with life. Yet the record of 1898 , surpassing all others in business achievements so far as to stand out as a conspicuous landmark in history , is dimmed and eclipsed by the achievements of the year just closed. Wherein experiment has proved Democratic policies a miserable failure it has proved Republican policies an unparalleled success. Then where lies the path of patriotism and honor ? Webb City ( Mo. ) Inter-State Com moner. A Fine Fiscal Record. The January record of receipts and expenditures by the treasury depart ment was an excellent one. Omitting consideration of anticipatory payments liquidating the public debt by bond purchases in advance of the maturity of the bonds , the net excess of receipts over expenditures for the month was more than $6,000,000. The record of customs receipts was also an excellent one , showing more than $20,000,000 of receipts from this source. The receipts from internal revenue were about $22- 000,000. It is a matter of surprise to public officials that the expenditures on account of the war department con tinue at such low figures , being less than half what they were during the Spanish war , notwithstanding the maintenance of large armies engaged in active campaigns in the Philippines. A year ago the monthly expenditures exceeded the receipts by about $10,000- 000. As evidence , however , that exist ing tariff laws are not only proving ef ficient as protective measures , but also in bringing increased volumes of rev enue to the treasury , the receipts from customs last month were more than $3,000,000 in excess of those in January last year. WAITING FOR DEFEAT. How the Democrats Hope to Get Rid of Mr. Bryan. The Springfield ( Mass. ) Republican , which is not Republican , but is bitter ly hostile to the Republican adminis tration , says : "The Bryan situation is strictly unique. The less his prospects of elec tion the tighter grows his grip on the nomination. For the iirst time in our political history , a great party sits worshipfully at the feet of a man and does little or nothing to oppose a lead ership which few believe can result in victory. " The foregoing is a fair statement of the situation by a paper which would delight to support any candidate who could make a half hopeful fight upon an anti-expansion platform. But its zeal for Aguinaldo and its relentless hostility to the Republican party do not make the Springfield mugwump oblivious to the facts which are obvi ous to all except the blind followers of Mr. Bryan. There is but one explana tion for the general acquiescence of the Democratic leaders in Mr. Bryan's can didacy. With the issue before the country they have no hopes of success next November. Whatever the plat form may be or whomsoever the can didate may be , President McKinley , who has generally satisfied the coun try and whose administration has been attended by a marvelous prosperity , will be re-elected. This fact sems to be conceded by leading Democrats in most the states. The anti-Bryan men who are prominent Democrats realize this fact , and , realizing it , they see a sure way to get clear of Mr. Bryan , his silver and other heresies. They may make a little show of opposition , but they will acquiesce inMr. . Bryan's nomination. They do not "sit wor shipfully at Mr. Bryan's feet , " as the Massachusetts paper affirms , but they are waiting patiently to see Mr. Bryan rejected as the party dictator by an other defeat. When he is again de feated they believe the Democracy will accept men of brains as leaders. In dianapolis ( Ind. ) Journal. Need of New Adjective ; . One of the needs of today seems to be a new dictionary with a long and varied list of terms applicable to the unprecedented prosperity of the pres ent. The newspapers seem to have quite exhausted their vocabularies.even sometimes in a single issue , in their efforts to tell the story of the great and wonderful prosperity which the enactment of the Dingley Tariff law has brought to the country. The head ings of "Good times in Ohio , " or "Good times in the " " South , or "Good times" somewhere else , in common with all the other brief statements made to describe the industrial condi tions existing throughout the country , are repeated over and over again until the reader would grow tired of seeing them , were it not for what they stand for. In fact , all the words in present ase which are descriptive of prosper ous times are very much over-worked almost as much over-worked as are the mass of American laborers in the present rush of business in the coun try. The International Trust. There is no tariff on automobiles. But there is a so-called automobile "trust" with an authorized capital of $75,000,000. This would suggest that a Protective Tariff is not a sine qua non for trusts. There is another inter esting fact in connection with the automobile "trust. " It is that , accord ing to report , the promoters of the combination purpose to unite all the important British and American auto mobile concerns into one organization. When a trust can be formed in respect to a product on which no tariff is im posed , and when , furthermore , that trust contemplates the uniting of Brit ish and American interests into one company , it ought to be self-evident to all but the wilfully blind that the trust problem is utterly distinct from any question of tarJffs. Unless a woman is pretty in her tears she should do her crying in se cret. THE THOUSAND-DOLLAR BILL A MYSTERY OF THE UNITED STATUS TREASURY A SHORT STORY BY I.EOX.UID OIJTIIAM (00110111310110 ( An hour later Edmond Hackett sa a this desk In the department of the Secretary o the Treasury , counting and recounting a packet of 1,000-dollai bills. They were old and frayed , rag ged and discolored , and belonged to the Issues of long ago. They were only half notes , moreover the lower halves ; and each fragment of paper had two big holes punched In it by a blunt instrument , totally destroying the signatures which had made it money , and at the same time reducing the half-note to the merest remnant. One by one Edmond turned over these morsels of dirty paper , countIng - Ing them most carefully. "Forty-one , forty-two , forty-three forty-four , forty-live , forty-six , forty- seveu , forty-eight , forty-nine ! There are not fifty here ! And yet they've been passed as lifty in the Redemption Office. Humph ! Awkward for one ot those clever ladies. A thousantl-dollai bill missing. Poor Mrs. Lawson. In fallible Mrs. Lawson ! It must be she who's in for this. " Taking up his pen to make out the report , he glanced at the wrapper upon which appeared the number of bills it was supposed to contain and the ini tials of the lady-examiner who in the Redemption Office had counted and made herself responsible for the pack et's accuracy. "What ! " The pen dropped from his fingers. "B. H. Greal Heaven ! " That was the signature of his own wife. CHAPTER III. Now this error would mean more than discredit and a consequent check in Bertha's future promotion. It was a rule that the examiner who overlooked a counterfeit or missing bill should make good the value of it. To make good a thousand dollars would pretty well ruin the Hacketts and old father Caleb into the bargain. But it was his duty to make his report instantly to the Secretary , and with painful reluct ance he filled up the prescribed but seldom requisitioned form. With slow , dragging steps , he proceeded with it to the Secretary's private room , but halt ed with his hand on the door. Sud denly that frivolous gossip on the ver anda rushed into his memory. Had Wilton Loring had Bertha herself stole the missing bill ? What then ? Should he turn conspirator and cover the fraud ? No , no , his duty was clear. He would not allow himself to hesitate , but knocked at the door and entered. But there was no respite for him and for his wife. The Treasurer himself was closeted with the Secretary. "One moment , Mr. Hackett ! I'm en gaged , " was the sharp peremptory dis missal , and he perforce withdrew post poning the declaration. As he return ed stupefied to his desk a clock struck the hour of his luncheon interval. It was the custom of the family to meet at home for their midday meal. He locked up the report and rushed out of the Treasury. Flying home on a cable car , he found his wife there be fore him. Bertha sat at the table like one in a dream. She did not raise her eyes from the food that stood untouch ed before her. Edmond himself could not swallow a morsel , but furtively watched his wife while the negress who waited on them tarried in the room. The moment they were alone he leant across the table and whispered hoarsely : "You passed a packet today a pack et of Thousands. " The young wife looked up with a start of surprise. The fear that was written in her troubled face gave way to a flash of desperate hope. "It came to you ? " "One bill is missing. " "Thank God you can pass it ! " No word of denial. She caught his recoiling hand across the table. "For my sake for your Bertha's sake you will , you will ! " Edmond Hackett raised his other hand to his damp forehead. "Impossible , child impossible ! You must be saved another way if it be not too late. Find the missing bill among some papers , as if an accident had placed it there. But , whatever you do , put it forward instantly , in stantly ! " "I cannot , Edmond. I haven't the bill. " "You did not steal it ? Oh , forgive me ! Heaven be thanked for that ! It's an oversight , then ? Bad enough , but not beyond repair. Make out your re port at once , and send it in. You are a novice , the delay may be overlooked. " "I cannot do that , Edmond. It'would be to cast suspicion upon the cashier who forwarded the bills to the Treas ury. " "That is his affair. If the packet was short when you counted it " "Edmond , why will you not ignore the shortage ? By a miracle it is in your power to prevent the discovery. " "It is not in my power. " "How not in your power ? The pack et will go from your hands to the com mittee , who do not count it again ; and by them it will be deposited in the macerator , to be ground into pulp. It would never be known that forty-nine instead of fifty bills had been destroy ed. " "Bertha , you forget the other half. I have only a portion of the bills. The upper section of your packet went to the Register's office to be counted there. " Bertha Hackett grew white as death , and hot tears sprang in her eyes. "We are ruined ! " she cried , "unless , unless " Her glance from the win dow perceived Caleb Loring entering the house. "Here Is father ! He will find out who had the count at the Reg ister's. " But the old man knew already. They read It In his face as he confronted them , closing the door. Whatever hope he had cherished on his homeward - ward way that he might find Bertha unconscious of the storm that threat ened was dashed to the ground the moment he perceived her and her hus band's agitation. The memory of that evening on the veranda burned In his mind , and in a fury of rage he de manded , fiercely : "Daughter , what infernal thing Is this you've been doing ? Are you mad ? Have you turned thief ? Is Edmond in it ? Or has Wilton No , no. For God's sake don't tell me it is my son ! " v Then Bertha , to her husband's amazement and dismay , fell down at her father's feet and confessed that she , she had yielded to temptation and stolen the missing bill. She hurriedly stated the miraculous chance that had put Edmond in a position to save her , and inferring from her father's knowl edge of the affair , that the man who had detected the shortage had confided to him his daughter's responsibility with a view of screening her , besought him to accept the friendly overture. "I would permit no man's dishonor for the sake of me or mine , " he declar ed. "For what you have done , you must pay the penalty. Your Impossible combination has actually come to pass. As the counter-check came to your husband in his department , so It has come to me in the Register's. It was I myself who caught the short packet which you had signed for. Bertha clasped her hands in thanks giving. "Then , father , you alone know ? " "I and one other. " "One other ? " repeated Bertha , aghast. "Who in your department should know besides yourself ? " "My chief , " replied the old man , with a face of adamant. "You have reported it , knowing that your own child " "Certainly. Fraud or oversight ; yours or your brother's ; it was not for me to consider. I am , first of all , a servant of the State. " They went back to the Treasury , where Edmoud at once delivered his report. Bertha found Mrs. Lawson impa tiently awaiting her. The Treasurer had sent for the Head of the Redemp tion Division to investigate an error in one of the packets which Bertha had made up. Mrs. Lawson was highly in dignant. "I counted the Ranchers' packet my self , ' 'said she. "I am positive there were exactly a hundred bills. " "If one is missing , " began Bertha , but the senior lady interrupted her. "Missing ? No , nothing is missing at all. There is said to have been one too many. " So many miracles had happened that day that poor Bertha tould only gape at her in astonishment. It was an anomaly in arithmetic that one taken from one hundred should leave one hundred and-one. There came anoth er summons to the Treasurer. Another report had come in of an error from Mrs. Lawsou's desk. The old lady was almost in tears but she carried It off with a show of jocosity. "Either there must be some con science money knocking about , or Mrs. Bertha Hackett brings a mascot to the treasury , " said she. "Is this another surplus thousand-dollar bill , sir ? " But this was the shortage which Ed mend and Mr. Loring had reported , and it was happily met by the excess in the other packet. So , beyond an admonition tempered in mercy for the manifest distress of the girl , Bertha got into no trouble. She held stoutly to a theory of the intervention of providence when discussing the matter at home , and her husband swept the pious fancy away. "I reckon Providence don't supply cheating clerks with thousand-dollar bills , " said he. "You divided the pack et of 100 in two of 50 , as you thought. But you counted the first backward , from 100 to 50 inclusive , and that left only forty-nine for the second packet. But why didn't you tell Mrs. Lawson you made one short ? " "Fact is , Edmond , that combination chatter of ours had got into my brain. I thought Wilton had pinched a bill , and I reckoned to do more for my brother than Daddy would do for his little girl. " "Ha ! " observed old Caleb , filling his pipe. 'Duty first , family afterwards , and roguery never at any time , under any circumstances. " ( The end. ) Improved the Opportunity. Peter Foote , long since dead , used to be a police Magistrate in Chicago. Foote was intensely Irish and loved to show it. One day a dudishly attired young fellow calling himself Frederick Edwards , and plainly betokening by his speech that he hadn't been long from the shores of England , was ar raigned before the justice charged with lounging about the parks. When he was arrested he showed fight and had to be dragged into the patrol box. "E 'urted me feelin's badly , your wor ship , " said the prisoner , when in the dock the following morning. ' "E 'it me on the sole of me fute an" "I don't think you've any feelings in your soul , " growled the sympathizer of lowntrodden Ireland. "And , another thing , you must remember you're in America now. In England you object to an Irishman wearing the green. Here we object to Englishmen lying on it ; $1 and costs. " And the justice pinched himself to look unconcerned while the Briton begged the clerk to cut the fine down to a "bob. " Chicago Chronicle. When I came out of the fair House of Youth I heedlessly behind me closed the Now every hour Is bitter with the truth That I can find that portal never more. Louise C. Moulton. oil operator in the The only woman country la Miss Jane Stone , who owns 180 acres in Texas which have produceu cil. Miss Stone superintends the drill ing of her own wells , and has a thor ough knowledge of the way to run an oil plant. _ . , . ABOUT TEXAS. "The Illustrator and CJeneral Narrator" Kent Free. A handsomely illustrated monthly magazine , published by the I. & G. N. R. R. , giving timely descriptions of the matchless resources and opportunities of TEXAS ; the special subject matter of each issue to date being as follows : MARCH , 1S99. Texas ; APRIL , Houston County ; MAY. Montgomery county : JUNE , Cherokee County ; JULY , Leon County ; AUGUST. Anderson County and Palestine : SEPTEMBER , Rusk County ; OCTOBER , Walker County ; NOVEMBER , Bexar County and San Antonlc ; DECEMBER , Brazorla Coun ty. ty.This magazine Is of great Interest to the investor , sportsman , tourist , health-seeker and home-seeker ; and will be sent free to any one paying the postage , which Is 25 cts. for year or 2 cts. for sample copy. Back numbers may be had if desired. Send 7 cts. 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