fev
Hi -
IK
6
placo tlio year's production of anthracito coal at
57,000,000 tons, of which moro than ono-half Is
still In tho hands of coal operators and their
agents. There Is no contention that one ton of
this supply has hcen mined al a loss to the ope
rators. They do not do business that way. It is
a certainty that tho price at which coal was selling
last Juno was sufficient to cover all cost of pro
duction and leavo a margin of profit to the mine
ownors. Commencing with July 1, however, the
coal combine has added 10 cents a ton on the
first of each month to tho price of anthracito, thus
placing an additional tax to tho consumer of GO
cents on each ton of coal held by the operators on
December 1. This would make a little matter of
somo $18,000,000 of profit on tho basis of 30,000,000
tons of anthracite, tho amount estimated to havo
been In tho hands of tho mine owners and opera
tors on tho first day of tho present month. Al
lowing tho most liberal reductions from tho sum
to cover interest on tho investments, storago
charges, Interest on wages paid during the summer
and other incidental expenses, there will bo a
sufllclcnt sum left to assure tho coal barons a
morry Christmas and a happy New Year. And the
consumer pays tho freight."
CLAIMING to have lo3t his fortune of $80,000
as a result of Thomas VV. Lawson's attacks
on tho Wall street intorests, Frank D. Austin, aged
42 years, made two attempts on January 17, to
throw himself from tho Brooklyn bridge. An Asso
ciated Press dispatch from New York says: "Austin
was prevented from jumping by Captain Devaney
of tho bridgo police, who grappled with him and
after a long struggle, in which ho was helped by
two detectives, placed him under arrest. Captain
Devanoy was warned that tho 'man was to make
an attompt on his llfo by a pawnbroker whose
placo of business Is near tho Now York end of tho
bridge. Ho told tho captain that tho man had
just loft his shop after pawning some jewelry, with
tho remark: 'I guess tho only thing left for me is
to jump off the bridge.' With the two detectives
tho captain found tho man and followed closely
behind as ho rodo out on a trolloy car on the way
across tho bridgo. Tho car had just passed tho
Now York tower when Austin sprang into tho
roadway that separated him from the bridge rail
ing. Tho officers sprang after him and ho was
subdued after a hard struggle. He was put on
anothor car and sat so quiotly that, the offlcers be
lioved ho would make no nore trouble. Suddenly,
howover, ho jumped from the seat and was half
way across tho roadway before tho ofllcers over
took him. Then followed a most violent struggle,
in which three policemen wero hardly a match for
him. Several women in tho car were in tho vergo
of panic when Austin finally was subdued .and led
back to tho car. 'I wanted to ond it all,' ho told
his captore on tho way to the police station. 'I
havo lost $80,000 in Wall street all on account of
that frenzied financier, Thomas W. Lawson.' "
THE record of Mr. Cad Burba, a clerk in tho
general customs olllco at Louisville, Ky., puts
that of tho ordinary economist to shame The
Louisvillo Times says: "The constant use of one
pen point for fourteen yoars, a penknife eighteen
years, an ordinary indelible lead pencil five years
and a key ring nineteen years to tho ordinary per
son sound? incredible, but such is the case with
Cad Burba, a clerk in the general customs office
hero. Mr. Burba, who was in the drug business at
Now Hope lor more than ton years, is now using
constantly a pen point he secured second-hand
while in tho drug business, and since he has bee
at work for Uncle Sam he lias continued to use it
preferring It .o any other. During that time ho
has worn out two penholders, but tho point is still
in tho prime of condition, kept so by the care be
sowed upon it by its owner. A fellow clerk was
discussing the matter of care of pens yesterday
when Mr Burba remarked that any ponor aJticfo
of any kind, would last for years if given the
proper care To prove his claim he drew from s
pocket a knife which he had carried elghteenTears
The blades gave evidence of numerous whetUngs
but not a gap or break could re seen The kniS'
W. had done a fulflLre of vrk
ttneo he nad owned It, and Is good for many yeai
forth " i e?hlU Ung th0 lmif3 Mr- Burba drew
forth a key ring bearing the date of 1885 It if I
souvenir of tho Louisvillo exposit on, was nm
chased as such by Mr. Burba during the fi",
occasion, and has since done constant qprvin.?1
.Burba has a special pocket for Sf A V,c!; Mr
and they may alwas'be foU, d th re He T'
never breaks the point from n .' G says ho-
it it that o srnrz toTt
The Commoner.
that it does not get away; nover leaves the pencil,
key ring or knife lying on his desk, but replaces
thorn in their respective pockets when not In use,
nnd by such inviolate system and care lie always
has them about him."
THE recent impeachment proceedings against
Judge Swayno of Florida has occasioned a
research of the various impeachment cases in tho
history of this country. Tho Pittsburg Press says:
"Impeachment proceedings against United States
officials havo not been rare, though only two con
victions havo been found. The first impeachment
case tried by the United States senate was that of
William Blount, senator from Tennessee. He was
accused of conspiring with British agents to or
ganize a western force for the seizure of New
Orleans and all the Spanish territory of the south
west. Ho was acquitted on the ground that a
sonator is not a 'civil officer' of the United States.
The first conviction was that of Judge John Pick
ering of the United States district court for New
Hampshire. He was accused of drunkenness, pro
fanity on the bench, and making decisions grossly
contrary to law. Insanity was pleaded in his be
half, but on March 12, 1803, the senate voted him
guilty and the penalty was expulsion from office.
The other successful impeachment was in 18G2,
Judge West H. Humphreys of the United States
district for Tennessee, 1 ad refused to resign after
accepting a confederate judgeship. He was con
victed by a unanimous vote."
THE most famous impeachment case in tho
history of this country was that of President
Andrew Johnson in February, 186. He was ac
cused of high crimes and misdemeanors cited in
eleven articles, and the house voted Impeachment
by a great majority. The trial in the senate
lasted three weeks and conviction failed by onl-y
one vote. Another impeachment famous in its
day was that of Justice uamuel Chase of the United
States supremo court, in 1804. From it sprang a
national scandal. Political feeling in those days
ran to extreme rancor. When the federalists in
1800 felt tneir grip upon power relaxing they
passed a law creating district judgeships and pro
ceeded to fill them with stanch federalists. Presi
dent John Adams, on the day of his retirement, is
said to nivj worked until midnight appointing
judges. President Jefferson, on coming into office,
found all the judgeships filled witn federalists for
life. He sought to have tha law creating them re
pealed, but failed. Then he resorted to impeach
ment. Pickering was impeached. Chase was at
tacked, and many others were marked for slaugh
ter. But an obstacle was encountered in Vice
President Aaron Burr, who, although of the same
party as Jefferson, presided at the Chase trial
'with the impartiality of an angel and the rigor
of a devil.' Political feeling was sifted out of
the evidence and the charges failed. In 1830 Judge
Peck of the United States district court for Mis
souri was tried by the senate on an impeachment
which crarged arbitrary and improper conduct in
punishing for contempt of court an attorney who
had published a criticism of one of Judge Peck's
decisions. A majority Z the senate voted to ac
quit after a brief hearing, ihe It impeachment
previous to the present Swayne case, wa3 that of
William W. Belknap, secretary of war, in 187G
He was accused of accepting money for the ap
pointment and retention of a post-trader in office
After the house had unanimously voted his im-
Steop?eTnt reSignCd and thG procee(iinSS
MRS. HOWARD GOULD recently made an in
teresting pmvhas. in Paris. It is a tinJ
chess table used ,y Marie Antoinette which ho
unlucky queen used in tho Louvre. The Now vi
Press, speaking of the tabl- saW- n Y,Tk
bit of furniture-precisely ' the Soit ?? QUal?J
expect 'the Austrian woman' to use The X
naturally, is that of the Louis. Quinze for I I '
new when Marie Theresa sent it acro t a Was
he daughter, and ai tortUme evervtl wAlpS to
taining to the Fifteenth Louis was ?JWer"
though the throne of France wa StS? n eVen
foundations. For Louis was on nl Hng on its
curving and carving of The L a The
the cabinetmaker's art They garo minVnd,ers of
inlaying of mother-of-pearl and silver ? With
rare delicacy. The top i iho ?able te of i?'80 f
wood, vith alternate squares inlai, ?n ,ne r0Se"
as sbo ,3tea RX rXTuSl
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2
Mrs. Gould declines to say what she paid for th
table, but it is whispered the price ran well inf
the tens of thousands of francs, at any rate."
MARSHAL OYAMA, the fearless soldier in thn
Japanese army, furnishes a beautiful ex
ample of tho truth thai "the bravest are the ten
derest." Recently the marshal said: "My idea of
happiness is to dispose of everything I possess
that belongs to the practice of arm3 and go fn?
into tho country with big boxes of books to read
for the rest of my days; books that tell of happi.
ness and progress, and not of the terrible deeds of
war. And I would rather gather about me my best
old friends and little children. Then, in the sunny
days, all would be happiness."
TAMES' S. METCALF, dramatic editor of "Life"
incurred tho enmity of the theatrical managers'
association because of criticism in his newspaper
An order was issued barring Mr. Metcalfe from a
number of theaters. Mr. Metcalfe purchased a ticket
to one entertainment and sought to enter, but tho
doorkeeper denied him admission, saying that he
was instructed by his employers so to do. Litiga
tion will probably follow. The New York Times
says: "It was a cartoon in Life after the Iroquois
theater fire that started the trouble. Klaw &
Erlanger sued the publication for libel, and when
the suit was lost Mr. Erlanger told Mr. Metcalfe
if he used his name any more he would beat his
face to a pulp. Then followed the action of the
manager's association.
WvLIAM H. LEE, of Schobonier, 111., claims
to be the sole survivor of the Black Hawk
Indian war of 1832. The Des Moines Register and
Leader says: "With the difficulty which Iowa is
experiencing to find traces of its Mexican war sur
vivors, it is hardly probable that any survivor of
the Indian war, fourteen years earlier, will bo
found in this state. Mr. Lee is now in his nine
tieth year. The story of his life shows many hard
ships, but the pioneers on the frontier a half or
three-quarters of a century ago, were inured to
hardships. Mr. Lee was brought west from New
York when he was three years old. The party
made its way oh two rafts and a ilatboat construct
ed of logs. The emigrants took all of their live
stock with them in their passage down the Alle
ghany and Ohio rlvera, landing at Shawneetown,
from there going to Salem, and finally to Vandalia,
at that time only a small village. At this place
Lee grew to young manhood under the hard les
sons of frontier life, assisting his father in his
grain treadmill and in sawing lumber.
THE story of Mr. Lee's participation in the Black
Hawk war and subsequent life is told by a
correspondent in this way: "When the Sac and Fox
or, as it was known, the Black Hawk, war broke
out in 1832, William H. Lee was only sixteen years
old, but he possessed courage equal to the hardy
training ho had received in his Illinois pioneer life.
After the nloso of tlio won hn i i,
lul trips to New Orleans by boat, which in those
days was considered a feat of unusual importance,
each time taking large loads of grain. In 1850
he succumbed to the California gold fever, making
an overland trip to that part of the country. This
tr p was followed by two others. On each of tho
trips large numbers of cattle were taken along
as an investment. The party was attacked by In
dians on the first trip, but was successful In de
feating the red men. On the second journey the
party lost all their livestock. The third trip was
thoroughly successful. Returning to his farm in
Illinois, Mr. Lee has remained there in active
charge until within the last few years, when ho
turned the active management over to other hands.
None of his children are living."
IT IS explained by the writer in the Des Moines
Register that: "Tho Black Hawk war was
closely associated with the early history of Iowa.
It was near Fort Madison that Black Hawk's fol
lowers rendezvoused to take up the war trail and
to cross the Mississippi; it was across tho river
from the very northeastern point of Iowa that
tne (massacre, hardly to be dignified by tho name
or nattle, of Bad Axe occurred and ended the short
lived war. It was to Iowa that Black Hawk and
SS?Wm,8U1TJ,vor8 returned when the war was
S ?hGT,Slack Hawk war figured more prom
ptly in Illinois history than" in that of Iowa,
this st t 'an Important chapter in .the annals of
MUMjgrtaaAi.
