ni?
Btoiy of the Oommltteo Meotlng Fnlly
nnd Plainly Sot Forth.
AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE.
Fnlthfnt nnd Tried Mldillc-of-thc-Itond
Follower Turned Down by Fulso nnd
Traitorous Leaders A Strong I'len
for l'resevratlon of the l'npullst l'nrljr
In Iti Original' I'urlly.
Tho True Story of the Proceedings at
tho Populist Commlttco Meotlng.
To tho People's Party nnd Indopcn
tlont Votor8 of tho United States: For
many months it han been evident that
designing persons woro determined to
rule tb Pcoplo's party In tho interests
of tho organized democracy; that tho
chosen leaders and officials of our
party thought moro of tho success of
tho Democratic party than thoy did
of our own, than thoy did of tho wel
fare nnd upbuilding of tho reform
party. Whllo wo hnvo In tho past
been loth to take this vlow of tho mat
tor, recent events havo been such that
thoro Is no longor any doubt of tho
alms of these fnlso lcadors, and that If
tho Pcoplo's party la to live It must bo
taken In control by tho pcoplo of tho
party, nnd tho disloyal leaders turned
out of Its councils,
Wo havo hoped that this matter
could bo postponed to tho meotlng of
n national convention, but the occur
rences of tho past few hours nt this
city, Lincoln, Neb., during tho meeting
of tho national commlttco of our party
havo mado It Itnporatlvo that tho pco
plo dolay no longer, but not beforo
tholr party Is destroyed.
Thoro comes times In all nges nnd
tinder nil conditions when men who
havo been associated togothor can no
longor agree, and In tho national com
mittee of the Pcoplo's party that tlmo
whs reached on February 19, when by
arbitrary nnd unjust ruling certain
populist officials who had been by tho
pcoplo Intrusted with leadership and
control Bought to ropay that trust with
porfldy and political chicanery unheard
of In tho courso nnd management of
icform parties heretofore.
Beforo entering upon 11 detailed
statomont of these outrageous proceed
ings wo consider It well to recount cor
tain matters leading dlroctly up to tho
points at Isbuo.
In December, 1899, sovoral memborn
of tho national committee representing
southern states mot at Memphis,
Tenn., to consldor tho best plnn of pro
cedure to sccuro action by tho national
commlttco. Tho result of tho confer
ence was that a committee consisting
of W. S. Morgan of Arkansas, M. W.
Howard of Alabama nnd J. A. Park or
c.of Kentucky wero appointed to corre
spond with membors of tho national
commlttco and nsk thorn to sign n re
quest upon Senator Uutlor that ho call
a mooting of tho commlttco at Chicago,
'111., on February 12. Jo A. Parker was
selected as secretary of that commlt
tco, nnd sont to all tho membors of tho
commlttco blank forms nddrcssed to
Senator Bailor as chairman of tho na
tion commlttco and embodying tho
proposition to moot nt Ohlcago on
February 12. On Docombor 21, Mr.
Parkor in person prcsontod to Sena
tor Dutlor nt his residence in Wash
ington slxty-nlno of said petitions, em
bracing a majority of tho commlttoo.
Tho senator rofuscd to rocognlzo theso
documents, saying that ho had already
Bent out to tho members of tho com
mlttoo n lottor asking their votes on
tho tlmo nnd placo of holding tho moot
ing. However, this communication did
not roach many of tho membors until
lato In January; samo did not rocoivo
it until nttor tho formal call had boon
iBsuod; whllo many members of tho
commlttco never rocclvcd It at nil, nor
did they rocoivo any notification what
soever or. ino mooting or mo commit
too. And when tho dato and placo of
holding tho mooting of tho commlttoo
wero fixed tho wishes of tho slxty-nlno
membors who had potitlonod Senator
Dutlor wero uttorly Ignored, and on
tho voto of a small majority of tho
commlttco, tho meotlng was called for
Lincoln, Neb., on February 19.
So unfair waa tho location of tho
mooting at this point rcgardod by
many mombers of tho commlttoo that
thoy resolved to stay away, as it was
plainly to bo soon that tho mooting
was placed at Lincoln for tho purposo
of giving tho Bryan faction of tho com
mlttoo control In Its organization. It
must bo romombored that thoro wan a
rulo in tho committee by which
no person could voto but ono
proxy; and that tho holder of
a proxy must bo a recognized popu
list by tho authorities of tho party In
his own state. It was thought by tho
Bryanltcs that In Nobraskn It would
bo ImpoBslblo for tho mld-roudors to
find men to voto tholr proxies, and 11
wns woll known that wo wero unnblo
to bring men from other states, so It
was thought reasonably certain that
by locating tho mooting at Lincoln tho
minority of tho commlttoo would bo
nblo to dictate its actions In tho Inter
est of Bryan and tho domocrutlu party.
But whoa tho men who wero In con
trol of tho party organization reuehod
Lincoln and compared notes, thoy
found that thoy could only command
to a certainty forty-two votos In tho
commltteo; whllo tho mld-roadoru had
fifty-coven, thoy having found in Ne
braska, at tho homo of Win, J. Brynn,
plonty of populUtH who wore opposed
to tho prostitution of tho party to cast
tholr proxies In accordance with tho
will of tho mid-road mombors, Then
it wns that, the plot was laid to con
trol tho commlttoo by unfair moans.
In giving out proxies of mid-road
voters nu agreement wan slguud by all
proxy-holders, showing tho demands
of tho straight popullbtH from tho cam
mltteo, and that tho populists of tho
nation may seo Miut theto la nothing
unreasonable or unjust asked of tho
commlttoo, nothing revolutionary and
unparliamentary proposed or attempt
ed, wo aro pleasod to qiioto tho agree
ment verbatim, to-wlt;
"Tho uudorsignud, by tholr sovoral
signatures, witness tho receipt of tho
proxies montlouod to bo used In tho
wsflioiis of- th national commlttoo of
the People's party la Lincoln, Nob., on
i? nni)
Monday, Fab, 19, 1900, nnd theso prox
ies having bcon sent to Jo A. Parker to
bo gtvon out to such parties ns ho do
siren under direct nnd explicit instruc
tions, we hereby ngrco In voting tho
samo (o ueo them In all cases in ac
cordance with tho following Instruc
tions: "1. To voto for tho holding of a na
tional Peoples party convention in
strict nccordanco with tho so-called
Omaha ngrecment
"(a) Said convention to bo held nt
least thirty days beforo cither tho
democratic or republican conventions.
"(b) Tho basis of representation to
said convention to bo tho highest ac
tual straight populist voto of record,
exclusion of fusion votes, cast for
stato tickets since and Including 1892.
"(c) Nothing to bo aald or dono by
tho commltteo or any member or offi
cer of It In submission or suggestion
of any fusion proposition with either
of tho old parties.
"2. To vote for the placo to hold tho
convention agreed upon by the mid
road members of tho commlttco in nny
caucus or by mutual understanding
before tho cessions of the commltteo.
"3. To voto to carry out tho law of
tho party made at Omaha In 1892 pro
venting office-holders from holding
seats In conventions of tho party.
"4. To voto ngalnflt any resolution
which may bo construed as an en
dorsement of nny candidate for presi
dent or vlco president
"5. To voto ngalnst nny resolution or
motion to unseat any member of this
commlttco on technical points, such ns
ullogcd adherence to Barker and Don
nollcy, on tho ground that such ndhor
enco is disloyalty to tho party or other
wIbo. "0. In event tho commlttco should
disregard tho propositions of tho so
called Omaha agreement or should ar
bitrarily nnd without Just cnuso un
seat members of this committee, the
holders of theso proxlos ngrco to with
draw from tho meeting nnd tnko sepa
rate action along tho lines above Indi
cated." When It wns dlscovorcd by tho fus
lonists that tho mld-roadem had a ma
jority, nnd that tholr votes would bo
voted solidly on those questions, tholr
leaders beenmo panic stricken, nnd
various schemes wero proposed ono of
which was to boldly bur thorn out and
rcfuso thorn admission to tho holl'un
dor nny circumstances. This plan,
howovor, wns nbandoncd, pnd It was
finally decided that Chairman Butler
should make up n temporary roll of tho
commlttco In such a way as to glvo
tho fuslonlsts n majority; that
thoy would then settlo all contests
In favor of tholr chosen tools, nnd turn
out of tho commlttco enough mombors
to glvo thorn nn unquestioned major
ity. Goobollnin, In the days of Its su
premo Iniquity In Kentucky; Quayism
nt tho height of its Infamy in Penn
sylvania, novor know n moro bold nnd
Infamous attompt to disfranchise a
peoplo; but that the peoplo may know
how this schomo was pursued, wo cull
tholr attention to tho proceduro of
thoso political bucciincrs.
Tho commlttco was advertised to
meet at 2 o'clock, but It was lc-to
in tho afternoon when the chairman
called tho mooting to order. Tho sec
retary road what ho purported to ho a
temporary roll of tho commlttco. It
was at onco ovident what tho ochemos
of tho fuslonlsts wore. Tho state of
Arkansas was called, und tho namu of
A. W. Flics was arbitrarily dropped
from tho roll; the namo of M. W. How
ard, In Alabama; tho numo3 of Geo.
W. Wrlckllno of Illinois and N. H. Mot
slngor of Indiana, Frank Burkltt of
Mississippi, John Soltz nnd It. B. Mc
Cammon of Ohio and a scoro of other
mombors of tho commltteo whoso title
to a seat Is unclouded, woro also drop
per from tho tomporary roll; whllo
tho mombors of tho commlttoo legally
elected and recognized by tho party In
Florldn, Indian Territory, Iowa, Maine,
Michigan, Munncsota Missouri nnd
Now Jersey woro Ignored, nnd men
who havo boon ropudtatcd by tho
party in convention assembled in their
Bovernl statos put In tholr places.
As soon us this roll was completed,
Jo A. Parker, on behalf of tho mlddlo-ot-thc-roaders,
nsked tho chair for a
ro-roading of tho delegation from Ar
kansas, which wnu dono. He thon
nsked for what causo nnd by what
authority tho namo of A. W. Files
was dropped from tho rolls of tho com
mittee. Robert Schilling at onco nroso
und asked by what authority Mr. Par
ker came Into tho commlttco meeting,
stating that ho was not a populist.
"It lo to answer those questions that
I will appoint tho following commlt
teo," replied Senator Butler, who,
amid a storm of protests, named no a
commlttco an credentials, Senator W.
V. Allen of Nebraska, Ja3. B. Weaver
of Iowa and J. II. Davis of Toxas. Mr.
Davis did not servo and Harry Tracy
of Texas nnd later Tom Pattorsou of
Colorado was appointed In his placo,
A numbor of delegates wero trying
to got recognition of tho chair to pro
test against tho nppolntmcnt of such
u biased committee, whon tho chair,
without moro ado, declared tho com
mlttco adjourned until eight o'clock.
Notwithstanding emphatic protest
Senator Butler refused to rccognlzo n
domand for a voto on adjournment,
und walked down from tho stand, do
sorting tho chair. As Boon as this wu3
dono, Mr. Parkor of Kentucky moved
that Mr. Doaver of Nebraska tako tho
chulr. Tho motion carried. Alll Reed
of Iowa was olected secretary und an
adjournment was taken, after appoint
ing a commlttco of threo on creden
tials, until 7:30 o'clock. At tho tlmo
tho commlttco received tho report of
tho commlttco on credentials, showing
eighty-seven mombors of tho commlt
too present In person or by proxy, an
other adjournment was taken, subject
to tho call of tho chair.
Tho bolting faction of tho commlt
tco, which hud left tho hall beforo tho
legal adjournment of tho committee,
hold a session nt night nnd represen
tatives of tho regular commlttco met
with them and submitted through
Messrs. Allen, Butler, Edgorton, Trncy
nnd Patterson tho following proposi
tions of harmony between tho fac
tions; "That tho majority would ylold to
tho minority und rccognlzo their or
ganization und sit with thorn, provided
thoy would acccdo to theso proposi
tions: "That the commlttco recognize only
logal proxlos, stamped with revenue
stumps according to law.
"That tho roll of tho meotlng ut
umaua m 1898 be accepted as the roll
of the committee, except whero sub
sequent stato conventions hnvo elect
ed new members; except that cases of
cor.ccst shall go before a contest com
mlttco composed of flvo members two
to bo appointed by tho friends of Sen
ator Butler and two by tho friends of
Jo A. Parker, theso four to agrco upon
a fifth member; nnd that In settling
theso contests no votes aro to bo east
on thoso cases by cither contestants
or contestantccs until all contests are
Bottled."
Theso propositions wero signed by
forty persons, representing over fifty
votes in the committee; but they wero
utterly Ignored, nnd Instead of n con
ciliatory report, the credentials com
mltteo brought In a report rejecting
many proxies, by merely stating
"proxy rejected." No reason for this
rejc.tlon was given, nnd nono would
bo given. The proxies rejected woro
of tho samo form In many instances
as those received; thoy were filled out
legally and bore revenue etamps, while
sixteen proxies accepted by tho com
mltteo were of similar form, and did
not bear revenue ntamps as tho law
requires, but they wero fusion proxies,
and of course, eligible, strictly so.
Tom Patterson of Colorado, then
moved that nil members of the com
mlttco who uttended tho Cincinnati
convention, or who had announced
slnco then that they favored Bntkor
and Donnelly for tho candidates of tho
people's party, ns well ns nil proxy
holders coming under that provision
should be barred from tho meeting.
Mr. Walters of Indiana moved as an
amendment that all persons who In
tho paBt had bolted tho action of popu
list conventions and refused to support
tho nominees should be barred out.
Notwithstanding many of tho person
recognized by tho minority had bolted
tho Brynn nnd Watson ticket, In somo
Instances supporting Brynn nnd Sow
all, and In other instances supporting
McKInley nnd Hobart. nnd although
Bovcral persons recognized by proxy
otherwlso wore afllllatlng with demo
crats, nnd not recognized ns popullutB
by tho pnrty In their Bovernl states,
this amendment wns lost by a voto,,of
49 to 7. The orlglnnl motion thon ciii
rled by nn nlmost unanimous vote, nnd
tho minority of ono national commlt
teo had gono upon record ns belu
willing to Beat confessed bolters, demo
crats and republicans In tholr com
mittee, but refusing to scat populists
whose only fault was tho presumption
on tho part of a few politicians that
thoy might bolt tho action of a conven
tion which had not yet oven been
called.
When this action was carried, tho
representatives of tho regular commlt
teo Who hnil rnmn nn n mlaulmi if
pcaco left the hall, and tho mid-road
members, representing n largo major
ity of the legal votes present at tho
meeting of tho commlttco, met In an
other place and proceeded to reorganize
mo commlttco by electing D. Clom
Denver of Nebrnskn national chairman
and Jo A. Purkor of Kentucky na
tlonnl secretary;, Paul Dixon of Mis
souri, national trcasuror, and Messrs.
Jeromo Kearby of Texas, John C.
Luce of Oregon, W. L. Peek Of
Georgia, L. W. Smith of Malno,. H. B.
Fay of Minnesota nnd Jnmes H. Fer
rlss of Illinois mombors of tho natlon
nl oxecutlve commlttco. A commlttco
of flvo was appointed to lssuo a state
ment to tho press of tho sltuntlon, nnd
tho same commltteo was Instructed to
lssuo a call for a national convention
of the people's party to meet at Cin
cinnati, O., Wcdnesdny, May 9, 1900,
for the purpose of nominating populist
candidates for president nnd vlco
president; and In addition to prepare a
comploto statement of tho enso and ls
suo an address covering 'tho samo to
tho populists of tho United States.
Tho call of this commltteo is tho
only legitimate call which can bo is
Bucd, as tho faction which claims that
It Is tho national commlttoo at Its best
was only nblo to mutter fifty-two
votes, two less than n quorum. Of
thoso sixteen woro proxies without tho
required revenue stamps, and conse
quently Illegal; twelve woro men who
woro rofused a right to sit on tho com
mltteo nt the meeting In Omaha In
1898, au shown by tho report of tilo
credentials commltteo, which is in tho
poBHcsslon of this commltteo, and bear
ing tho signatures and indorsement of
William V. Allen, A. II. Cardin, Jonn
P, Buchanan, C. A. Barlow and El
tweed Pomoroy, and flvo others haVo
boon turned out by regular conven
tions In tholr sovoral states slnco tho
holding of tho meeting at Omaha as
tho party law provides, at regularly
hold states conventions; while eortuin
proxlos wero hold and voted by per
sons who do not and havo not for somo
tlmo past aftlllated with the peoplea
party In tholr own states.
. It Is with rcgrot that your commlt
tco haa to chronicle this record of po
litical chicanery. Wo had hoped to weo
harmony prevail hero; but when
this Illegal und nrbltrnry power to de
cide who should sit In tho sessions of
tho national commltteo nnd who should
not wns Invoked to gain temporary
advantage It becarao clear that under
any conditions upon which such nn il
legal committee would lssuo n call lor
a convention, tho samo tactics would
bo purBued there In making up a tem
porary roll of tho convention, and tho
will of any majority, It matters not
how great, thwarted by a tew design
ing politicians. Recognizing this, nnd
feeling that wo aro in tho right, that
wo represent tho sentiments nnd prin
ciples of tho rank and fllo of tho peo
ples party throughout tho United
States, tho majority of your committee
refused to temporizo further with tho
Insignificant minority which presumes
to dictate tho policies of n great
pnrty.
It hns been ovldont for some years
that tho intention of certain persons
plnccd in tho leadership of tho peo
ples party has been to lead tho stal
wart reform voters who make up tho
membership of our party Into tho
camp of tho organized democracy. This
has been accomplished to somo extent
through tho policy of fusion, through
which principle nnd honor uro put
upon tho unction block nnd Bold In ex
chnngo for olllccs nnd position. Your
commlttoo doeB not bollovo It Is tha
will of thoso who have In tho past un
ceasingly fought tho battles of reform
movement shall bo sold to tho corrupt
and Bprvllo politicians- of either of tho
old parties, and theroforo wo call upon
tho pooplcB party of tho several stato3
of tho union to Btipport us In this hon
est effort to save tho party from thoso
who would destroy It. Tho causo is
too great to surrender to spoilsmen-
It Is the Bacrcd causo of human lib
erty. When this causo goes down,
with It goes the hope of liberty for tho
pcoplo of America. Let us never sur
render tho peoples party, but stand by
it nnd uphold it in Its onwnrd cource,
until Anally tho victory shall bo oura.
It was at Cincinnati that tho peoples
party wns born; It wns there that a
fow determined men met In 189S ind
declared that It should not die; now
let us gather tho clans into a mighty
conclave on tho ninth of May nt tho
blrthplaco of our party, and klndlo
anew tho fires of liberty In our ranks
which havo been dimmed by the faith
lessness of our chosen leaders In tho
past; and In this revival of tho peo
ples party lot us ndopt n system of
pnrty government that will make nn
other betrayal Impossible. And in this
effort to mako the peoples party tho
peoples party indeed, ns well ns in
name, wo invito the assistance nnd co
operation of all citizens of this re
public who arc opposed to the pluto
cratic measures of tho two old parties;
who favor tho great principles of hu
man liberty enunciated in tho Omaha
platform, and with direct legislation
our battle-cry, wo will go Into the
campaign of 1900 stronger than ever
beforo as a party, and rid, thnnk God,
of thoso false leaders who havo In tho
past betrayed us for tho fleshpots of
democracy and the crumbs that fall
from tho mnstcrs' tables.
D. CLEM DEAVElt, Chairman.
JO A. PARKER, Secretary.
Tho general proportion of men and
women lu Europe Ib nbout 49 men to Gl
women.
Slrawburrlos.
Frankford has an Interestlng'curlos
Ity In tho form of a strawberry plant
bearing twelve good-sized berries,
which may bo seen In the window of
Mrs. J. M. Fredericks' residence, 4344
Paul Btreet. Tho plant was taken from
tho yard In tho fall nnd plnced In a
flower pot. No great care was taken
of It or attention paid to It until re
cently, when twelve blossoms appsared.
Tho herrlos followed In duo tlmo and
look especially tempting In this wintry
weather, when strawberries aro a de
cided luxury. Philadelphia Record.
IMaylng Curds.
Tho amount of playing cards ud
In tho world Is something won
derful. Tho United States manufac
tures great quantities, and also imports
many far use. Germany possesses
thirty-four playing-card factories,
which last year produced 5,2G0,000
packs. Of this quantity 4,987,000 went
Into circulation, paying n duty of 1,
420,000 marks. No duty Is paid on
thoso exported, of which a largo part
tome to this country.
Bursts Into Moro l'lr.ccs.
The ordinary shell which was manu
factured thirty years ago only broke
Into from twenty to twenty-five pieces
when It burst. At the present time it
bursts Into 240, while a shrapnel shell,
which only used to scatter thirty-seven
missiles, now scatters 340. A present
day bomb, when charged with peroxy
lcno, breaks into 1,200 pieces, nnd it
la estimated that it would effectively
kill any ono standing within 220 yards
of the explosion.
A S"oar-Legged Crlmlnn),
A mastiff was trained to assist
thieves in Paris. It was in the habit of
bounding against an old gentleman nnd
knocking them over In tho street. A
"lady" und "gentleman" owners of
tho dog would then atep forward to
assist tho unfortunate pedestrian to
rise, end whllo doing so would ease
him of his watch and purse.
Tom of Leaden Heath.
Forty million rounds of small-arms
ammunition, 11,000 rounds of shrapnel,
Lydlto and common shell, 851 boxes of
fuses and forty boxes 6f pistol am
munition wero recently dispatched to
tho scat of war. This Is ono of tho
largest consignments of ammunition
ever sent from Great Britain.
Used a a Clmroh 1,000 Year.
The oldest bulldUg In the world that
has been uninterruptedly used for
church purposes Is St. Martin's catho
dral at Canterbury, England. Tho
building was originally erected for a
church and has been regularly used as
a placo for religious gatherings for
moro than 1,500 years.
O, tllrlf, What n Nolset
Musical Industries In tho United
States report tho largest sales lnct year
ever known in tho business. Over
130,000 plunos wero mado and sold,
going beyond tho previous your, 1892,
by 30,000.
Lots of Ueer In Maine.
Grlndstono (Maine) Cor. Now York;
Sun: Tho outlook for deer hunting
wns never so good as it is this year.
There aro ovor 100,000 deer running
wild in tho Maino woods this fall, or
more than in all tho other New Eng
land and tho middle states combined.
Since tho flics have gono and tho ani
mals havo sought the hills great herds
of CO to 100 deer have come out to
tho clearings, stripping the gardens
nnd fields of every growing thing. Last
week they attacked n stack of oats
owned by P. J. Tracey, of Stacoyvnie,
and leveled It to tho groilnd In two
nights. Thoro wero nbout 300 bushola
of oats In tho stack. Great Held of
turnips and cabbngo havo been eaten
down to tlio ground nnd stacks of
meadow buy that havo, boon waiting
tho tlmo whon tho lumbermen could
haul them to the woods havo been
wiped out as if by flro. It is no exag
geration to Bay tbnt tho avcrago hunt
er who has avcrago luck can Icavo
New York en Monday morning, como
to Maine, gat two deer and return to
his starting point boforo Saturday
night. Ho can do this at an outsldo
cost of and If ho Is an avorago
nan with average tastes he ought to do
it for 70, or less.
EUETS SINCERITY.
TOO MUCH AMUSEMENT IN
THE CHURCHES.
Some of the Things Which a or. Kni
fing of New Hampshire Thinks Aro
Making Americans Irreligious Ulatnea
the Clergymen.
Gov. Rollins of Now Hampshire, who
In n fast day proclamation doplorcd
tho decline of religion In that state,
mado an address before tho Boston
Ministers' Union tho other day. Among
other things he said:
"I am an Episcopalian and feel the
need of Christianity to make our na
tion's future all that we would like to
havo It. Without It wo will go tho way
of Greece and Rome. Decay is sure to
set In If wo tnko tho infidelity of
France as our model, and wo aro
steadily tending to it. I know Chris
tianity Is losing its hold upon tho
American people. It Is so In New
Hampshlro and so In every dub-dlvl-Blon
of tho Union.
"Tho Methodists, Baptists nnd Cath
olics approved of my fast day proc
lamation, whllo tho Congregatlonnl
lsts did not. Episcopalians, wero
prompted by it to undortake a house-to-house
canvass of the Btato to bo sure
of its truthfulness. Ono reason of the
decline In religion is a loosening of ro
llglous faith. You clorgymen aro no
longer tho spiritual guides of tho peo
ple. Tho peoplo now follow tho re
ligion of tho newspapers. The ark
has been overturned, the BIblo account
of tho creation denied, Jonah repu
diated nnd tho nnchor of tho old faith
has been pulled up beforo tho sails
aro sot for tho now. The best blood
of tho country towns of northorn New
England has for generations been go
ing to Boston nnd New York, leaving
In some places only tho weaklings to
do tho work In tho old country home.
Theso less energetic ones have Inter
married, till In ono town I am ac
quainted with In Malno thero Is an Im
becile In almost every family.
"Denominational discord Is another
causo, especially In tho country towns.
Pcoplo carry tholr religious disputes
Into weekday business, and thus weak
en church Influence. From this decline
In religion naturally arises a neglect of
tho Sabbath, tho Introduction of Euro
pean Sunday customs. Tho playing of
golf on Sundny Is ono of our problems
In New Hampshire. Shop3 aro open,
and Sunday theaters will bo tho next
step. You will see them In Boston
within a fow years. Tho increase of
foreign population is a gain rathor
than a loss to tho country towns, for
It brings in now blood.so greatly need
ed, and tho people aro usually strong
Catholics, not Irreligious, and their in
crease is a favorablo clement.
"What Is tho remedy? Such organiza
tions of yours, the meeting of minis
ters of all denominations to discuss re
ligious problems is a good feature, as
Is the work of tho Young Men's Chris
tian Association. But tho keenest and
strongest men In every community now
hold entirely aloof from church work
nnd spend tholr Sundays In physical
rest, and are seldom or novor seen in
church, which Is now principally run
by tho women. The kind of men who
go Into tho ministry Is also a damage
to the causo of religion. Young men
who havo no special call to anything
clso drift into the pulpit, whero they
seok a chance to got an easy living.
Protestant churches havo much to
learn from tho Roman Catholics, who
tako care to select tho brightest young
men for tho priesthood, not allowing
any drones to go to tho theological
somlnary. Thero Is too much atten
tion to amusement in tho church, too
many candy pulls, and too little
straightforward gospel proached. There
are too many endeavorers and too llt
tlo endeavor among tho young people.
Wo must combat materialism, and this
can best be dono by using the straight,
old-fashioned gospel."
The Ileneflts of Early Rising.
It was once laid down by a cele
brated writer and historian that tho
difference between rising at 5 and 7 In
tho morning for the space of forty
years, supposing a man to go to bod
at tho samo hour every night, Is nearly
equivalent to the addition of ten years
to tho life. This consideration should
carry very great weight and bo sufll
clcnt to Induce thoso who have not
hitherto practiced this habit to com
mence to do bo, more especially tho
peoplo who are always complaining
that life Is not long enough for them to
transact all tho work that thoy have
to perform. Thore Is much founda
tion for their complaint If they persist
In wasting bo many valuabU hours of
tho day In bed. Tho advantages and
benefits of early rising canot bo over
estimated; In the early hours of the
morning tho brain Is clearer and moro
ready for work, and after a night's
sleep we should be ready to attack tho
work of tho. day.
llnngors from Lamps.
The lamp Is such a necessary article
In tho homo that It Is strange It should
bo neglected as often us It is. It re
quires but a few minutes' care each
day to keep It In order, yet this short
tlmo Is denied It by many housekeep
ers. An Ill-kept lamp Is a dangerous,
ns well ns unsightly object, and many
t tho explosions of oil lamps, which
appear almost every day In tho news
papers, might bo traced to careless
ness In caring for tho lamps. No wo
man having tho welfare of her family
nt heart will willfully neglect this very
important task. The danger of allow
ing children or -Jven careless grown-up
peoplo to handle lamps cannot be over-estimated.
THE OCEAN GRAVEYARD.
Satle Island's Fight Against the Bea
The Inroads Blade by the Ocean,
"Sablo Island belongs to Nova Sco
tia, la 145 miles from Halifax and 85
miles east of Capt Canso," wltcs Qua
tav Kobbo in Alnslce's for February.
"It is n treeless, Bhrubless waste, seam
ed by wind and wavo and of over
changing aspect A coneshaped hill
near tho east end, onco n mero undu
lation of sand, Is now over a hundred
feet high, and In still growing. Other
hillocks nro gradually being mowed
away by storms. Tho hillocks aro li
able to be undermined so swiftly and
swept out of cxlstenco that they aro
carefully watched from tho various
stations on tho Island, thero being no
certainty how far an inroad of tho sea
will extend after each successful at
tack. Even tho coarse grass of the
Island grows In n different manner
from that of tho mainland. It does
not bear eeed, but shoots up from roots
which run nlong tho sand. During tho
wlntor the sand Is blown ovor tho grass
and buries It sometimes threo or four
feet deep. But tho hardy blades grow
up next season, as It tho Island sands
had protected them from tho colti In
wlntor In order to mako them all tho
stronger. Tho Island Itself Is fighting
for self-preservation. It seems as if it
drew ships into Its fatal embrace as
rallying points for Its loose and shift
ing sand thus to protect Itself by a
bulwark of wrecks against annihila
tion by the sea. Tradition says that
when Sablo Island was discovered by
Cabot, In 1447, It was eighty miles long
and ten miles wide. In 1802, when a
rcscuo station was C3tablshcd there, It
was only forty miles. long. Since then
It has shrunk to but llttlo more than
twenty miles In length, and In width
it Is only a mile at Its widest. Within
twenty-eight years tho western end
lost seven miles. Shoal3 over which
tho ocean now surges are pointed ou:
as former sites of lighthouses. One of
theso was so swiftly undermined by
the sea that It had to- bo abandoned
with the greatest precipitation. Tho
spot whero onco stood tho superinten
dent's houso Is now under two fath
oms of water. Tho island, rapidly di
minishing at Its western end, Is slight
ly gaining at Its eastern. Slowly, like
a ship dragging lta anchor. It Is mov
ing eastward. Will It ever reach tho
edgo of tho shoab, stand tottering on
the brink of tho abyss till It receives
its coup-de-graco and plunge over tho
submarine bank forever Into the
depths? Unfortunately, Its end will
probably be less dramatic. Thero Is
good ground for believing that this
gray sand bar will slowly wear away
until It becomes another submerged
shoal added to au ambuscade already
some sixty miles In length for a lino
of breakers extends sixteen mllc3 from
ono end of tho Island and twenty-eight
miles from tho other."
FOOLINQ JUSTICE
Through a' Knfllr Interpreter In tho
Transvaal Republic
"It Is a law In tho Transvaal," said
Henry Reading of San Francisco, who
has lived In that country, "that, when
blasting, after the shot has been fired
you must mako a preliminary Investi
gation beforo putting tho men back to
work, which means that you must send
In men who tap on the walls, floors,
and coiling, to mako certain that they
are sound, and that there will he no
danger of a cavo-ln. In ono of the
mines with which I was connected, but
which naturally I do not caro to glvo
tho name of, occurred a cave-In In
which a couple of Kaffirs lost tholr
lives. Tho ofilclal In charge promptly
had tho foreman, a Swcdo, arrested for
murder, and while It really wasn't the
poor fellow's fault, it looked pretty
black for him. Few of the niggers
know much English, and It 13 there
fore necessary' to use an interpreter
when talking to them. They are also
very laconic, and seldom Bay moro
than yes or no In answer to a question.
In order to straighten matters we got
hold of the Interpreter and squared
mattors with him, for If the foreman
had been found guilty the mine would
have had to pay a fine of 580 as well.
The day the Inquiry took placo the
first question tho Boer official asked of
our Kaffir was, 'Did you, after the shot
was fired and before going In, carefully
sound with a hammer the walls, cell
ing, etc.?' That question got to tho
nlggors something like this: 'When
you are sleeping In the compound do
you like It when the boss wakes you
up with a whip?' Thero was an em
phut 'No!' Tho next query was, 'So
you wero thoroughly satisfied beforo
going In that evory precaution had
been taken and that all was
safe?' What they really were
asked was, 'Would It ploaso
you to go down to Dutch Jake's
and drink your fill of Cape smoke?'
And the 'Yea' that followed nearly
raised tho roof, and that was the way
that examination passed off, and as
the official knew what yes and no in
Kaffir was, at the close of his Investi
gation, without delay, ho not only re
leased our foreman, but remitted tho
flno on the mine as well." New York
Tribune.
Longevity of Animals.
It Is suld that tho giant tortolso of
the Seychelles Islands Is tho longest
lived animal In tho world. Tho known
ago of ono now living is 150 years, nnd
this dates from the time tho creature
wno full grown. How old It was at tho
time of its capture no ono is ablo to
conjecture. A lino specimen has been
presented to the Zoological Society oi
London. It weighs nbout a quarter ol
a ton and Is an exceedingly lively ant.
mal.