A QUEER RACE. '
* sxonv or a btkaxor PKorLE, |
_
BV WIU.IAM WnSTAl.L.
—
CHAPTKTl I.—FOUL PLAT.
The heat and bunion of the day wore
over, and I had withdrawn to my own
room to write my private letters mid think
over n few matters which required mnro
consideration than I had yet been able to
give them. My nerves were beginning to
recover from the shock they had sustained
by the low of the “Nlobe,” anil the cyclone
at Colon; nevertheless, the outlook was
still dark, the claims arising out of these
two disasters being exceedingly heavy, and
to meet them would tax our resources to
j'
■the utmost. Another big loss and wo
should be "in Queer Btreot.” The com
pel! y would have to suspend payment and
<*• 410 Into liquidation.
The worst of It was that, as touching the
■"Nlobe," I hod rendered myself—in a
■living Bi-iiau-mmosi pcraoimuy renponsi
"blc. A brand-new ship. A1 nt Lloyd's,
■owned by n firm of repute, commanded by
n captain of chnrncter, and bound only to
Havana—n mere Rummer trip—the risk
seemed ns light as well could be. I felt
myself quite justified In granting a voyage
policy of ten thousand pounds on Urn body
of the ship, and covering her cargo for the
same amount (without particular average).
In fact, l thought that I had done au ex
cellent Stroke of business, and when one
of the directors, nn over-cautious old enr
mudgeon. with whom I hnd never boon
•ble to get on, suggested the expediency of
reinsuring to the extent of a third or a
half, I was very much amused, and did not
hesitate to tell him so.
Now the laugh wns on the other side—
, the scolding, rather, for at the last Board
, feting I bad got an awful wigging. AU
i,i'Vdtftvtors—wondrously wise after tho
/yw*nt, os dliWtors are wont to bo—could
*•.ear '^e how imprudently I had noted, and tho
" wy men who hrtd. chaffed old Slocum for
his timidity were how the loudest In blam
ing my rashness.
Even If tho company weathered the
«torm, It was. about even belting that I
should lose my berth.
As for the Colon affair, I was in no way
blameworthy. Nobody can foresee a cy
clone, and both actually and relatively we
hnd been less severely hit than any of our
competitors—quite bard enough, however,
lor our limited capital.
Bat th£ “Nlobe!" So far as I could learn
She had not encountered so much ns a gale
of wind all the way out; yet sprung a leak,
and went down In a calm sea off tho coast
of Cuba; all hands saved, all the cargo lost,
except the master’s chronometer and sex
tant!
“Queer—very queer I If tho owners had
been less honorable, and the captain less
respectable, I should almost have suspect
ed foul play. Vet even honorable people
do strange things; whllo as for the cap
tain, did not some great authority say that
:j{ every man ho* his price? I had reason to
believe, too, that both ship and cargo were
heavily overlusured, and it was being
H whispered on ’Change that Barnes &
;■ Braudynmn would make a deuced good
)•', thing by the loss of the “Niobe.’’ Bat
what could l dot The “Nlobe” wns not
first Ship which hod foundered In fair
•• weather; and to dispute the claim on
Itrounds that might expose me to an action
for slander, mid lay the company under
suspicion of seeking a pretext to evaclo
payment, would be both foolish nnd fatal.
Everything seemed to be In order; Bnrnes
& Brandymau wero an honorable linn,
nnd that day week we must either “pay or
hurst.’’
\
-
Ani'iujr wiuu^um jimiiKisj
A pleasant lookout! and u nice row thorn
would he when I asked the Board to pass
the check! As likely as not old Slocum
would insist on suspending payment at
once: far we bad contingent liabilities in
the shape of unclosed risks which might
<exce»d the whole of our uncalled capital.
I lmd arrived at this point of my mus
f ngs, When there came a knock at the door,
followed By .Slocum, Junior; a cheeky
young rascal Who, on the strength of being
a volunteer and the son of a director, took
liberties and gave himself airs.
“Well?” 1 said, tartly; for he bad bouncod
In without waiting for an Invitation.
“There’s a mnn in the office wants to see
you, and he refuses either to give his name
or state his business; only he says it is very
pressing and part icular—the business, 1
mean, notthe name.’’
“What sort of man is he?”
- “Ssaf arlwjy an Ancient Mariner sort of
•chap.” '
“A skipper?”
“Looks like n'c| A. B., boatswain, cox
swain, or cook, or something of that sort.”
“Oh, I cannot bk. bothered with able
bodied seamen at thfs tints of day. It is
nearly live o’clock, and 1 have all my let
ters to write. He must state his business
*-or stay, he can see me to-morrow morn
ing at ten o’clock.”
“All right, I’ll teU him. But he’s a
stupid-looking old beggar; I don’t think he
will go away.”
In two minutes Slocnm, junior, was back
again; came in this time without even so
much as knocking.
“Tlte Ancient Mnrlner resolutely and
>- not very respectfully refuseseither to state
his business or call to-morrow,” said the
|*V young fellow jauntily. “Does not care so
j . d-d much whether you see him or not,
but it will be to your own loss if you don’t.”
I felt very much disposed to send the An
cient Mariner to the deuce, but curiosity
—^getting the better of dignity, 1 told Slocum
to show him In.
“I thought that would fetch him!” mut
tered the young jackanapes, as he went
out to execute my commission, which he
C did by going to the door and shouting,
“Cotne in!”
The “Ancient Mariner sort of a chap”
came In accordingly. Thongh evidently of
the seafaring profession, there was very
little of the conventional sailor about him.
He had neither hair on his face nor a quid
in his cheek; neither shivered his timbers
• hitched np his trousers. His manner
'’-.. Was quiet and self-possessed, and his voice
low (he had certainly not used the coarse
expression attributed to him by Slocum);
and albeit slightly grizzled, he did not look
touch above forty. <The mnn had, more
over, n genial, good-humored countenance,
the high color of which showed that he
had lately voyaged in low latitudes, and
his clear, wide-ewen bluo eyes bespoke both
honesty and cotfrage.
Slocum, junior.-, lingered about the door
as it he wanted to take part in the conver
sation. fS"
“You.May go. Mr. Slocum,” I said, se
muttering something which I
<fi<t not catch, he went.
“That is right,” said the Ancient Marl
ttcr;>'niy business is very private, and”—
glancing round—'“I hope there’s no possi
bility of anybody listening?”
“None. The door is thick, and flts close,
and my desk is a long way from It. Bs
sldes, nobody could listen without being
\
■in i
f neon by nil tiio clerks In the outer office.
What enu 1 do for you? Won’t you sit
clown?”
"Thank you kindly. [ don't know as
you can do much for me: but may be I can
do something for you. You are Mr. Sidney
Erie, underwriter of the Oriental and Oc
cidental Marine Insurance Company, uro
you not?”
"I am. And you?”
“Thomas IJolsover, able-bodied seaman,
late a quarter-master aboard the ‘Xiobe.’ ”
| “Ah!”
I “You underwrote the ‘Nlobe,’ didn’t you,
for a biggish llgnre?"
“I am sorry to say we did."
“And I am very sorry. Hut this must
not go any further, Mr. Erie. I am only a
common seafaring man, lute a quarter
master aboard the ‘Nlobe,’ and 1 don't
| want to get myself into no trouble.”
I “1 understand, Mr. llolsover; and you
1 may be sure that I sliull do nothing to
' compromise you. What passes here will
| go no further without your permission.”
I "Well, 1 was going to say as I am sorry
I to say tlmt the 'XTobe' did not get fair
limy.
"You mean that she got foul play?” .■?
”1 do.”
"1 feared ns much. But is it, merely a
case of suspicion, or do you know some
thing?"
"I know something. Leastways, if see
ing is knowing, 1 do; Inn 1 cannot say us
anybody told mo anything.”
".Seeing Is better t'lmn hearing in a mat
ter of this sort. Want did you see?”
“Well, wo had a tine run across, made
good weather all tlie way out, and after
touching at St. Thomas’, the course was
Shaped for t.'ulm. Later on it blow three
parts of u gale of wind. Imt nothing at all
to hurt; everything was made snug, and it
was over in n few hours. Well, the morn
ing after, 1 was going below after my spell
nt the wheel In the second night-watch,
when who should I see coming up out of
the hold but the captain, with an auger In
one hand and a lantern in tho other. I
said nothing, of course, and though when
he saw as I'd seen him lie looked a hit flus
tered, and slunk away to Ids cabin, I did
not think much of it—Just then. But
wlion tlie bo’sun told me next day ns we
hnd sprung n lenk, I began to put two and
two together. Because tho ship didn’t
ought to have sprung a leak; she lmd done
nothing to make her spring a leak. But It
was not for mo . )say anything, and I held
my tongue.”
"But you kept your weather eye open,' 1
suppose?”
"I tried. Well, she sprung a leak—least
ways, they said she did—and tho leak
gained on us. Tho carpenter, he could do
no good; so the pumps was rigged, and we
pumped and pumped for nigh on a week,
but the more we pumped tho more water
she seemed to mnke, and at last she got so
low down that the captain said thnt having
dono our duty by the ship, wo must now
.look to ourselves. So the boats were got
out, nnd the captain, who was the last to
leave the deck, came into the dingey and
ordered tho others to shove o(T. They were
on the starboard side, wo on the port. He
had hardly given the order when she gave
a list to starboard that nearly bared her
lieel, lay for a moment on her boam-ends,
nnd then went bodily down. As sho heeled
over I saw a sight I shall never forget—
four big boles in her hull, every one of ’em
spouting water.”
"Who was In the dingey besides your
self?”
“The captain, the carpenter, and another
“Did nobody else see the holes?"
“No. All the other boats was lying off
on the starboard side of her.”
"After that you went away?”
"Yes; we were not moro than fifty miles
from the coast of Cuba, and we made laud
before morning.”
"Who do you suppose were the captain's
confederates? I mean who, besides him
self, do you think was concerned In this
vile plot to sink the ship?”
"The carpenter aud the first officer.”
"And the other sailor who was fn the
dingey with you—what has become of
him?”
"Alec Tobin? Where he is just now I
cannot say; bnt he shipped at Cuba aboard
a homeward-bound ship.”
"Well, Mr. Bolsover, I am very much
obliged for this information; it is very im
portant. I said I would keep your secret,
but I think I shall-have to mention the
matter to our directors. The information
would be of no use to me else. However,
that need not trouble you. You Bholl be
protected, whatever comes.”
“That is all I want, sir.” -
“And rewarded. In the meantime, take
this”—offering him a sovereign.
“Not for me, thank you, sir. If I was to
take money for my information it wouldn’t
look right. You have only my word for
this ’ere, and a man shouldn’t take pay for
telling the truth.”
“You are an honest fellow, Bolsover—ns
honest as you look. If you won’t accept
money, I must try to show my gratitude in
some other way. It was very good of you
to come to me. How did you happen to
know my name, might 1 ask?”
“Oh, I have seen you afore, sir. You
may lie remember breakfasting with Cap
tain Peyton aboard the ‘Diana’ one morn
ing when she lay in the IfuskissonDock?”
"I remember it very well.”
ell. I was one of his crew, and heard
him speak of you afterward, and say as
you knew ‘Lloyd’s Register’ oil by heart;
aud I heard Captain Deep, of the ‘Niobe,’
tell the ilrst officer one day as the ship was
insured in the Oriental and Occidental, so
it seemed sort of natural as I should come
to you.”
“I am glad you did. Yes, I know Cap
tain Peyton very well. A man of the right
sort, he is.”
“Aud a first-rate sailor. He knows his
business, he dots. Yon were saying just
now os you would like to do something for
me. Well, I should like nothing better
than to sail with him again; and if yon
would speak to him, he’d may he give me
a berth as bo’sun or quarter-master. 1
know a bo'suu’s duty as well as any man,
sir.”
"I’ll do that with pleasure, Bolsover, as
soon as Captain Peyton comes home: and
that won’t be long, I think. The ‘Diana*
Is sixty days out from Montevideo, and is
pretty sure to be heret by the end of the
month. You had better leave me your ad
dress, and then I can communicate with
yon about that or the other matter.”
I handed him a pen, and he put down his
address in a sprawling but sufficiently
legible hand. As he bent his arm, his
coat-sleeve (which was none of the longest)
run up a little, and bared his wrist, show
ing a strange device in blue ink; it ship in
full sail, above which was Tattooed a name,
“Santa Anna,” and below, adate,l"lT«.”
I should have liked to ask what it all
meant, but os time was going on, and my
letters were still to write, I refrained, little
thinking how much the device portended
nor how strangely the mystery which lay
behind it was destined to affect (my for
tunes. i
Then wn shook hands, and Bolsover went
unity and left me to my thoughts.
CHAfTKIt II,—Mil. UUANDYMAy,
! I was right, then; there had been foul
play. Captain Deep had committed tho
crime of barratry, with the connivance,
and doubtless at the Instance, of the ship'-*
owner's, Messrs, liurnes & llrandyman.
There are a good many respectable people
who would do even worse If they could
make twenty thousand pounds thereby,
this being the amount which Messrs.
Barnes & Rrnndymnu’s treachery was
likely to bring them; for, as I have already
observed, they had insured tho "Niobe”
and her cargo largely elsewhere; and to
give the Arm their due, they did not do
things by halves. They were not the sort
of people to commit a felony und run a ser
ious risk for an old song.
But the question that most concerned
me was my own course of action. What
should I do* It was obvious that l could
not bring a charge of barratry against so
intensely respectalde a Arm ns Barnes &
llrandyman without the most convincing
proofs. Hut the only proof I could adduce
! was Ilolsover's statement, and ns lie was
1 sure to be daily contradicted by the cap
tain, tlie mate, and the carpenter, that
would not avail me much, even though I
should And and produce Alec Tobin, tho
other sailor who had seen the holes iu the
“.N'iidie's” hull.
•Moreover, no insurance company, above
nil a company so weak ami young as ours,
would venture, save on the very strongest
grounds, openly to dispute a claim ami
light so strong a firm as Uarnes & Brandy
mim; for failure would not only, involve
discredit, hut increase the original loss by
the cost of an expensive lawsuit.
All the same, I was determined not to
let these people reap the reward of their
villainy If I could possibly help It, und after
a long cogitation I decided on a plan of
campaign which I proceeded to put into
execution at the next Board meeting.
When the "Niohe” claim canto up for dis
cussion, I quietly observed, to the great
amazement of the directors, that I did not
think Barnes & Bmndymun would insist
on Its payment. Of course I was over
, whelmed by an avalanche of questions, to
; which I answered that for the moment I
must keep my own counsel, but that at the
next meeting they should know everything,
assuring them that In the meantime they
might trust me to neither compromise the
company’s reputation nor Involve it in any
further liability. With this they were
content,probably because they guessed that
i I hud found something out, and were ready
to grasp at any chance, however remote,
of keeping the concern on its legs.
! I am a pretty good draughtsman, and
, when I went home In the evening I drew a
little sketch, which I made as graphic and
as life-like as I could. It represented the
i hold of a ship, a man boring holes with a
| big augur, another man behind him hold
j ing a lantern; and, hovering above both, a
i grinning devil, In his hand a well-filled
bag, on which was Inscribed “£:i0,000.”
I The first man was Captain Deep, the sec
ond Mr. Brnndynuiu, and both, I flatter
myself, were rather striking portraits.
The next morning I called at Barnes &
Brandyman’s ofllce and asked to see Mr.
Braudyman; for though not the head of
the firm, ho was its guiding spirit and pre
siding genius. A pleasant-spoken, portly,
fresh-complexioned, middle-aged gentle
man, It seemed the most natural thing In
the world that, he should wear mutton-chop
whiskers anil a white waistcoat, sport a
big bunch of seals, be an Important man
in the town, and a shining light at the
Kodney Street Chapel (us I understand be
was). _— _
TO BE CONTINUED.
! The Chinese Invented the Compass.
j The Chinese appear to have had a
knowledge of the compass long before
i It was known to Europeans. Accord
ing to the Chinese records their lirst
compass was constructed for use oil
land ns tong ago as ‘2634 1). C. In this
year the Emperor linau Yuan, or, as
some preferred to call him, II# Ang
Ti, had a difficulty with a certain
powerful man named Tchi Yeou. Each
assembled a large army, and they pre
pared to havo it out on tho plains of
Tchou-Lon. The Imncrialists were
getting the better of their enemy, when
I a thick fog made its appearance. This
! prevented the Emperor from getting at
I Tchi Yeou as nicely as he would have
liked to do. The imperial soldiers
frequently dashed into the fog. and in
variably lost their way. and whenever
they succeeded in stumbling upon and
slaughtering any cohort they aftetv
I ward discovered that in the fog they
; had doubled upou their own tracks and
i bail fallen upou a detachment of their
own army.
A chariot which had been construct
ed in such a manner that it was sus
ceptable to tho polar current and
pointed out tho various directions was
now put in use. The invention might
have been tho work of some Brigadier
General, or possibly it might have been
a happy thought of one of the private
soldiers of the imperial army, but the
Emperor took the credit of it. At any
rate, the magnetic eHiriot worked liko
a charm. The imperalists steered
straight into the fog and straight iuto
tlie enemy, whom they handled so
roughly that Tchi Yeou wished that he
had never heard of the plains of Tchou
Lou. Some 2,300 years elapsed before
the Chinese thought of applying this
clever invention to navigation, and it
was at least fourteen centuries later
when Europeans began to use the com
pass.—-V. I. Times.
Pleasures of African Travel,
Mr. Bonny, who followed Mr. Stan
ley. states that some have appeared in
clined to doubt when he has told them
that not only white but black men
have left tho camp in the morning
with a bodily temperature of 103 dur
ing the journey of ten miles. When
they came across a field of Indian corn
they would havo to pick the pods,
throw them on the lire, and heat them
while the fever was raging within
them at that height. "Such,” says
Mr. Bonny, "was more or less our
journey through Africa.”
A Business in Babylon.
A collection of very valuable tablets
from ancient Babylon has been re
ceived in London." One pair, dating
about 2200 B. C., reveals the curious
fact that there were in Babylon at that
time a class of men employed as agents
to obtain children to be adopted by
wealthy citizens who had no family.
These men received a regular com
mission, both from the parents amS
1 from those who adopt the iufant
1
I BAD FOB EDWABD.
I
( HE cannot go back of plain
FIGURES.
The Greatest Tree Trader Confronted by
Stubborn Fact*—Flalu Statement* for
rrotectlon by Leader* of I’ubllo Opin
ion—Ecom mlo AVIilttllug*.
To be able to point with pride to Mr.
! Edward Atkinson has long teen one of
! tlid peculiar joys of the man who is a
j free trader because his father was or
because his party preaches free trade
at least once in four years. If lie can't
explain free trade himself he is quite
sure that Mr. Atkinson's superior eco
nomic wisdom is equal to the job. And
when Mr Edward Atkinson
takes the United States oen
tlie average earnings of the makers of
glass tumblers, edge tools, carriages
and wagons increased 17 to 3.1 per cent.
| in twenty years, while tlis prices of
! those respective products fell off 23 to
80 per cent, in the same time, the ama
teur free trade shooter naturally be
gins to worry lost Mr. Atkinson may
be lending aid and comfort to the pro
tectionist cause. II o will not feel quite
happy unless it can be proved that Mr.
Atkinson’s way of accounting for these
changes has no possible relation to
protective duties.
Probably Mr. Atkinson did not in
tend to give a handle to the advocates
of protection. He attributes the cheap
ness of the product and the better pay
of the producer to labor saving ma
chinery, and asserts that “low prices
and high wages are the necessary con
sequence or result of a low cost of pro
duction.’’ Hut to say this without
seeking the cause of tlie low cost of
production is unphilosopliical. It is
going back only one step instead of
two. It is simply playing with truth
to blow a flourish of trumpets over the
discovery of a cause if we can go
further back to the cause of the cause.
Now, what is the low cost of produc
tion a consequence or result of? It is
itself an effect, not a cause only. Mr.
Atkinson says, “labor saving machin
ery." Very well; go back a little fur
ther. What caused labor saving ma
chinery? A kind of protection, namely,
protection by patent. What is the
principle? The principle is this: That
a producer to whom is assured a larger
market, and who is protected against
the competition of other producers, can
and will produce at so low a cost as to
cheapen the product to the consumer.
The invention of a labor saving ma
chine, by increasing the possible out
put and cheapening its cost, creates a
larger market, for it puts the product
within the reach of more consumers.
The patent privilege protects the in
ventor or his representative against
competition. A protective duty also
does both these things. It gives a
larger market—the home market—to
American producers, and it secures
them against outside competition, in
spite of the fact that the outside com
petitors could produce as cheaply, or
more cheaply. The same causes
produce the same effects. It is the
teaching of our economic history that
they have produced the same effects.
Indeed, protection has both inspired
the invention of labor saving ma
chinery, by creating opportunities and
demands for it, and supplemented its
work after it was invented by doing a
part of that work. If it is unjust to
keep out cheap foreign competition by
protective duties, it is more unjust to
keep out domestic competition by pat
ents. Why does not the free trader
train his popguns ou the “iniquitous,
monopolistic” system of patents?
sus figures to prove
Prices of Living Lowered.
Within the entire history of the coun
try there has been no such great de
cline in prices of the necessaries of life
as has taUen place within the past year.
The workingmen of the country can
look upon this result as one of the ben
efits of the government’s'policy of pro
tection to home markets, home indus
try and home capital, brought about
by the combined action of protective
tariff and reciprocity. The shrinkage
of wholesale values is especially notice
able. !
In 1891 the standard brand or coffee, !
Rio. was 18 1-2 cents per pound, but is !
now 14, a decline of 24.3 per cent. !
Kerosine has dropped from 7 cents to fi.' I
cents per gallon, a decline of 13 per !
cent. Refined sugar shows a falling !
off from 4 1-2 cents by a quarter of one |
cent, a decline of 2.8 per cent, which
proves the general rule. Cotton has
fallen off 10.8 per cent. In manufact
ured commodities there has been simi
lar reduction of prices. Good clothing
is notably cheaper. These figures
show that the laboring man can live
comfortably for less money to-day than
[ when the Mckinley law went into
effect—N. Y. Press.
American and Foreign Labor.
The difference between the Belgian
end the American workman is a radical
one. It sticks out all over, llut be
tween the American and the Belgian
manufacturer no such startling differ
ences exist The former shows no
more outward and visiblo signs of good
fortune than the latter. There is noth
ing to indicate that he is accumulating
wealth more rapidly. The Belgian |
workman comes here; the Belgian j
manufacturer does not The former is ;
not flourishing at home; the latter is. |
If the domestic manufacturers had I
made a surplus profit of two and a half
millions in 18S0 they would have heaped
up fortunes and the fact would be ap
! parent. But unfortunately for them
! most of that money went for wages.
[ The manner in which extra profits
get out of the pockets of manufactur
ers into those of the men is quite sim
ple. Unquestionably the former would
held on to every ceqt if they could.
But the workmen know pretty closely
what the average rate of profits is in a
given industry, and when they so*'
them growing to be considerable, they
proceed to got tlieir share of them.
They believe, like railroad managers,
in charging til the traffic will bear. If
the employer can pay more than ha
does they think he ought to pay more.
So they make a demand for an In
crease, and if it is refused they strike.
If the employers really are maktng
high profits they yield. Why not? It
would lie folly to shut up shop when
moderate gains can be had - after pay.
ing the higher wages. Thus if 50 per
cent were added sudlecly to the gross
profits of the glass manufacturers the
minute the men found It out they
would demand and get a liberal share.
Secretary Tracy’s Great Work.
The Democratic party is to be con
gratulated. In declaring through one
of its leading statesmen. Senator Gor
man of Maryland, for liberal expendi
tures to construct the new navy and
against injudicious economy in this
regard, it comes up to the patriotic
platform on which the Republican
party has so long stood. “The coun
try,” says Mr. Gorman, “should hare
a navy to bo proud of, and I am not
prepared to let the cry of economy
prevent me from voting for a proper
appropriation for it.”
That is sound doctrine. The build
ing of the new navy was begun under
tlio Arthur administration. It wat
continued under Mr. Whitney as Mr.
Cleveland’s Naval Secretary, and Mr,
Tracy is carrying forward the great
policy on lines broader and deeper than
any one of his predecessors conceived
lie has not only brought his own partj
up to a statesmanlike comprehension
of the question, but he has pulled the
Democracy of to-day up with him. lie
is the greatest Secretary of the Navy
we have had. What Mr. Stanton, as
Secretary of War, did in the dark and
troublous days on land, Mr. Tracy is
now accomplishing in the sunshine of
peace.
Reciprocity Has Another Victory.
Ilonduras has just come into recipro
cal trade relation with the United
States through a proclamation issned
by President Harrison. The treaty has
not been signed, but during its prepar
ation a commercial arrangement has
been made by which that Central
American nation will admit as exports
from this country, free of duty, such
articles as coal; petroleum, ma
chinery of every description,
agricultural implements, railroad ma
terials, telegraph and telephone lines,
allelcetrieal appliances, gas lighting
inventions, wagons and carriages,
printed matter and printing materials
of every kind. The Unitea States sent
only $640,000 worth of its products to
Ilonduras and imported from there
$1,160,000 last year. The reciprocity
treaty will probably turn the balance
of trade in our favor and at the same
time benefit Honduras, which has hith
erto been a large customer of Great
Britain.
Cobden lain In Its Last Ditch.
The great McKinley law, which has
saved the American market for Ameri
cans, and the policy of reciprocity,
which is extending so marvelously our
exports, have nearly killed free trade
in England. Lord Salisbury says it
must be abandoned.
This has so alarmed the Cobden club
that it has determined to make a cam
paign for its life. Excluded from the
American market, England begins to
see the fallacy of free trade. It is
“noble,” said the British Premier, but
it is “unbusinesslike.” Anything that
is “unbusinesslike" will not long suit
level-headed England, or America
either.
The Democratic party is the great
Cobden club of the United States. It,
too, is just now making a fight for its
life. Hie two old clubs are doomed.—
New York Recorder.
Causes Apprehension.
Since the passage of the McKinley
law no American legislation has
aroused such apprehenfion in England
as the act granting registration under
the United States flag to the steam
ships the City of Paris and the City of
New York. The British government
sees m the act not only the withdrawal
of two of the fastest steamships afloat
from the British naval reserve, but the
certainty that the strength of the
American navy on a war footing wiU
be increased by at least four vessels—
the two in question and the two others
which the Inman line is preparing to
b>-i> -l in American ship yards. Both
as.u naval and a commercial measure
the registry bill is of high importance
and value to the United States,
Tariff Pictures.
New York Press: During the nine
months immediately preceding the en
forcement of the sugar schedule of the
McKinley bill, that is the nine months
ending March 31, 1891, we imported
335,937,893
pounds of beet sugar. During the
nine months ending March 31, 1893,
we imported onty 291,718,700
pounds of beet sugar. Why this differ
ence? Because of the McKinley bill
bounty on beet sugar, which is develop
ing our own industry and keeping
mppey in the country.
The Tin Plate Industry.
The announcement that the Welsh
tin plate firm of E. Morewood & Co.
has purchased several acres of land in
Elizabcthport, N. J., and has broken
ground for the construction of a tin
plate factory with a capacity of f.,000
boxes per week, is unpleasant news
for free traders. But it shows that the
McKinley tariff is steadily accomplish
ing its purpose of importing industries.
The firm of Morehead & Co. will have
to pay American wages to their em
ployes, and those wages will go to pay
for the necessities of life in the United
States instead of Great Britain.
A Sentence From Harrison.
*r It is no time now to use the apothe
cary’s scales to wesgh the rewards of
the- men who saved the country.—Jar
dtanapoUs, August 1, 1888.
r -r,
THE WRONG RUSTIC.
Harrow Swap* at a Drummer Who Utol
Amusement.
On a recent trip through Ohio a pa
culiar incident occurred, which 1
think will bear telling, remark* a
writer in the New York Kecorder. A
fellow-drummer, who represents a
Chicago house, and myself were ea
route for Cleveland, and at a station
at which our train stopped, among the
idlers and sightseers that were con* K.
gregated about the depot was a tall,
hulking fellow with his trousers in
his boot tops and his hands thrust
deep into his pocketa Just at our
train was ready to start my compan.
ion thrust his head out of the ca* »
window and. addressing the rustic in,
dividual just mentioned, said: •
•How far is it up to the farm?”
"What’s that?" said the rustic.
"I say, what's the name of this
town."
•Oh. this is Chen worth.*’
Just then our train began moving
away from the station, and the drum*
mer. to have some fun with the coun
tryman. yelled at him: “You’re a
fool and you don’t know beans!”
"Who's a fool?" exclaimed Mr.
Rustic.
•You are,” retorted the drummer,
shaking his fist at him, as the train
disappeared from the station, then
closed the window and joined in the
laugh censed by his rencontre. Just
then the train came to a stop and
commenced backing up toward the
depot My drummer friend suddenly
realized that hie rustio acquaintance
might want to renew the
subject lately under discussion, and
amid the roars of laughter from ev
ery man in the ‘Smokes" made a
break for the baggage cafc and none
too soon, for the moment the train
came to a standstill on a siding; to
allow a west-bound train to pass, in
rushed the excited rustio with ’‘blood
in his eye.”
•‘Where is he?" he exclaimed.
“Show mo the feller that says I'm n
fooL ” looking rijflit %nd left in search
of the drummer. “I’ll tear his heart
out and feed it to the dogs."
Just then the west-bornid train ar
rived. and our train commenced to
move forward again, and to avoid be
ing carried away our enraged rustio
was obliged to hastily leave without
the heart of the hiding drummer,
who soon came back into the car.
amid the jeers and jibes of his fellow
travelers. At the next stop our jok
ing drummer completely ignored the
gaping rustics at the station, and dili
gently pursued a Recorder three days v
old which he had found in his grip.
A Disgusted Murslar.
Dr. L. Ch. Boisliniere of St Louis,
received a visit from an enterprising
burglar a few nights ago. He wan
dered at will through the entire resi
dence. but was apparently unable to
find much of value. But when Dr.
Boisliniere the next morning went
into his oifice on the first floor, ha
(ound that the burglar had left a. note
for him written on the slate whera
the physician’s patients leave their
calls. It was a very plain and frank
communication, and concluded with
the following indignant expressions:
‘•.Not a - thing worth lugging?
away! D-all the doctors!"
What Is Known Abont Fish.
Pliny the great naturalist, who
lived about the time of Christ-»reck
oned the whole number of known
species of fish at ninety-four. Lin
naeus, the great Swedish investigator
of the eighteenth century, could class
ify 17R and he is known to have been
the greatest ichthyologist of the ago
in which he lived. The progress
made in that particular branch since
the time of Linnaeus seams all the
the more wonderful, for now, since
the expedition of the Challenger and
others, 1,300 species show up in the
catalogues of the fish specialists!
An 2£lectr!c. Shock.
“Why don't you build your nest on
the top of a telegraph pole?" asked the
blue iay.
••Because it would he too shock
ing'.” laughed the wreD. as he flew
away.—Harper’s Youug People.
FUN AND FOLLY.
Mrs. Snaggs—“Easter is very gen
erally observed nowadays.” Snaggs_
“Yes, even the children celebrate it
eggstensively.”
Rev. Mr. Dryasdust—“And, my hear
ers, Joseph served in the courts of
Pharaoh.” Lawne Tennys (waking
up)—“What’s the score?”
Beaver—“Robinson tells me that his
salary has been reduced.” . Melton—
“For what cause?” Beaver—“He has
just been taken into the firm.”
“Just been studying Burke's Peer
age.” “Well, what did you find out?”
“It struck me that the aristocracy
travels under an awful lot of aliases.”
Teacher—“What is your name, little
boy?” New Kid—Jonah Cicero Tar
box.” Teacher—“What do your play
mates call you?” New Kid—“Pantn”
Cumso—“So Mrs. Bunting is a Daugh
ter of the Revolution, is she?” Mrs.
Cumso—“Yes, why?” Cumso—“To me
she looks old enough to be the mother
of it”
Little girl—“Oh, mamma, you’ll
have to send dat new nurse off. She’s
awful wicked!” Mamma—1 ‘Horrors!
What does she do?” Little Girl—“She
tells us Bible stories on week days.”
“I’ve been taking nerve tonic,” said
Willie Wishjngton, “and it has worked
first rateg^n'^ you know.” “Indeed."
“Yes. I called on Miss Banking lasW
night, and the first thing her L-thkJ*
said to me was: ‘Well, young man, I
like your nerve.’ ”
Mr. Snaggle (snappishly)—“Don’t bo
correcting that boy always Sarah. Let
nature take its course, won’t you?”
Mrs. Snaggle (laying aside the shingle)
—“I’ll do nothing of the sort, Mr. \
Snaggle. I don’t intehd that any tn»
man shall have such a husband as I’ve
foil if I can prevent it.” * '
