Hemingford herald. (Hemingford, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1895-190?, April 22, 1898, Image 2

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    SUPPRESSED CAPITAL NEWS
(In New Time.)
Six months ago, or even three months
tiro, for that matter, congress might
nave favorably entertained a deal for
the pun hose of Cuban Independence by
cuanuitcclng tho payment of any rea
sonable amount which the Insurgents
would have been willing to name as a
Just consideration. Now the thing can
not canity be done, because any propo
oltlon looking to that end will havo
tho taint of corruption. Six months
ago the I'nlted States could have guar
anteed bonds to enable the pntriuts to
buy their freedom, and It would havo
been clean. The matter was broached
to the president that long ago, but tho
president's policy then was to stave off
action, and he did not give It a friendly
hearing. Since then the McKlnley
kitchen cabinet has become Interested
In the scheme, and now It is being
urged and may eventunlly be adopted
as the "administration plan" for lib- .
rating Cuba. I
J. J. McCook, of New York, ono of .
the family of "fighting McCooks," Is the
father of the scheme, and he hns been
bombarding the Whlto House for a long
time in the Interest of the project. Ho
did not make headway until ho en
listed the services of Senntor "Stevo"
Elklns and n Wall street combination
composed of gentlemen who hnd con
tributed largely to the $10,000,000 Hnnna
campaign fund. Since then the schcino
baa been booming and tho president
thinks well of It. He is said to be will
ing to give It the weight of his Indorse
ment. Congress looks with suspicion upon
any money deal that Elklns has a lin
ger in and evinces a desire to ask for a
bill of particulars. It Is not a dlfllcult
matter to get at tho salient features of
this Job. It has Its origin In Paris,
Berlin and London, whore the bulk of
tho $100,000,000 of Cuban war bonds Is
sued by Spnln is held. The nnnnclers
who underwrote these Spanish bonds
have been "stuck" with them, and as
the public would not tnke the ehromos
oft their hands they conceived the Idea
of sawing oft the "pnper" on the United
States. James Gordon Dennett of tho
New York Herald, who lives In Paris
and hobnobs with roynlty In politics
and finance, Is said to have been se
lected to "work" the American press
on a promise of a largo contingent In
terest In the prollts of the deal. Con
firmation of this story is found In tho
fact that the Herald about threo
months ago Jumped out of the Jingo col
umn and has since taken the Spanish
end, so far as it dared, on nil ques
tions that came up, counseling pcaca
and suggesting a commercial solution
of the trouble.
There Is $10 profit on every $100 bond
that the United States can be Induced
to put Its Indorsement on. If congress
should nuthorlze such Indorsement on
$100,000,000 of such bonds the profits
would be $10,000,000. If tho amount
could be Bwelled to $100,000,000 tho
schemers would rake In $100,000,000. No
Klondike ever held out such prospects
as that, There Is a pot of money so
huge as to be almost beyond compre
hension, yet It Is "In sight" for tho
ambitious schemers who are behind tho
deal, and they are making n desperate
and well organized raid on congress to
secure Us npproal.
The Credit Moblller could only put up
a corruption fund of a few paltry mil
lions, yet It controlled congress and
commnnded the services of many of
our leading statesmen. Here Is a
scheme which could easily promise In
contingent fees $50,000,000 or $76,000,000
and still have enough left to buy a
kingdom; in fact, two or three king
doms aB this kind of property goes now.
At the present writing there would bo
Btnnll prospect of securing congression
al approval of this monumental Job.
but there Is no telling what money will
not do, and It Is too early to say that
the bond deal will fall to the ground,
although, as remarked nt the begin
ning of this letter. It has already be
come tainted with corruption, and ihe
brand of either the bribe-taker or the
dupe will bo stamped on every con
gressman who votes aye to the steat.
In Its present temper congress would
oce Spain or the Spanish bondholders
at the bottom of the sea before It would
consent to pay a dollar for what It
proposes to take. Money has been
known, however, to produce some re
markable changes of sentiment at tho
natlonnl capital, and the country mny
have an exhibition of thPt sort In store.
The fellows who nre engineering this
colossal bond dcn will not give up as
long as there Is a chance, liven though
the United States should find It neces
sary to send nn army of occupation
Into Cuba and take the Island, they
would not give up. Under such clrcum
stances they would come weeping to
the front with a plea that having van
quished Spain, It would now bo In order
to do the grand thing and voluntnrlly
offer Spain a couple of hundred million
dollnrs to show that we harbored no
HI feeling. It would be shown that
such a good-will offering would nt once
establish this glorious nation In tho
graces of the whole world and be an
awful nice thing. If this government
escapes being1 skinned by the Spanish
bondholders it will be In great luck.
There Is another side to this Cuban
business. There nre holders of Cuban
bonds prowling nbout "Washington, and
there Is a Cuban bond scheme In pro
gress of Incubation. The detnlls of this
Job and the Identity of the manipulators
are difficult to obtain, but It Is well
known that several million dollars of
the bonds of the so-called Cuban re
public have found lodgment In the
bands of rich and unscrupulous con
gressmen and powerful men on 'Wall
street whose attorneys hold seats In
the sennte and house of representa
tives in Washington. These bonds cost
the holders not more than 10 cents on
the dollar and in the shnke-up over
Cuba the United States Is also expected
to play the part of paymaster or in
dorser in behalf of the patriots.
So, look which way you mny. Uncle
Bam stands to be robbed before he gets
through playing with Cuba The Gem
of the Antilles will be a costly decora
tion for the old gentleman,
A ROTTEN ADMINISTRATION.
Our president Is unquestionably a
man of high personal honesty, and that
he is a patriot of the purest ray serene
Is also admitted, yet he Is unfortunate
fn having about him a number of very
queer characters in whom the public
refuses to place confidence, and of
whom it Is becoming weary The pres
ident is a man of intence loyalty to his
friends, and he Is very grateful to
verybody who contributed to his nom
Inatton and e'ectlon to the presidency.
A whole lot of people are taking advan
tage of this trait In his character to lm.
ose on him, and they are doing their
est to bring him and his administra
tion into disrepute. They betray a lack
f delicacy and a disregard for the pro
prieties which Is shocking. The prest
Cent hates to gives these obtrusive fel
lows offense, and eo he submits to their
Impositions without outward signs of
displeasure. The public is callous to
the disreputable incidents connected
with the payment of political debts, as
lustrated by the distribution of fat
Rices in return for delegates to the St.
Louis convention, but it is opening its
yes to graver offenses In other direc
tion. 1 mean the lending of the administra
tion to the stock Jobbers of Wall street.
That Is something which Iirh become n
notorious scandal nud against which
the people have a right to protest. It la
a species of Infamy of which every ad
ministration from Grant's time down to
the second term of Orover Clevelnnd
has been guiltless, lleuedlct and n se
lect few of Grover's rich chums used
to mnko money on stocks on ndvance
Information nbout administration do
ings but nothing that occurved during
Cleveland's corrupt second term was
ever quite so shameless as the thing
which have lately taken plnce In Wnll
street. And In nil these shady dealings
It must bo said In fairness to the presi
dent that he wns probably In entire lg
nornnce that his admlnlsttutlon wns
being used In the Interest of the stock
Jobbers. There Is nothing to connect
him personally In the remotest degree
with anything of a questionable char
acter In these affairs.
The acute turn to the Cuban ques
tion about the first of the year caught
tho Vanderbllts and the J. I'lerpont
Morgans and nil their great connec
tions, as well hh the Rockefellers and
tho Hnvemeycrs, and In fnct all tho tlch
men of Gotham heavily "long" of
stocks. They had ravished their check
books to elect McKlnley, and they had
faith In the McKlnley boom. So they
loaded up with stocks, and when tho
market began to slump In consequence
of a threatened war they were caught.
Down, clown went prices, and finally
the decline turned Into a panic. A Mace
donian cry for help went up. Mnrcus
Aurellus Hnnnn Hew to New York and
hung around the money quarter of tho
town for several days assuring every
body that he met that all danger of war
was past and that the country need feel
no further nlurm, ns his friend Mc
Klnley was at the helm and would keep
the nation out of difficulties nt any
price. Marcus Aurellus had represent
ed McKlnley when he passed the hat
eighteen months before, and tho New
Yorkers supposed he still spoke by au
thority. Ills false and purposely mis
leading prophecies and statements car
ried weight, especially as they were not
defied from Washington,
Prices started up, and on the boom
whliMi resulted from Hannn's visit thu
millionaire contributors to the McKln
ley campaign fund who hnd been
caught long of stocks on the break
sold out on nn unsuspecting and bun
coed public and stood from under. Tho
conlldenced tens of thousands of small
Investors who got the stockB which Mr.
Hanna's friends sold have been victim
ized to the extent of a great many mil
lion dollars for the market took a tum
ble after the Hnnna coup and the peo
ple who bought have suffered awful
punishment. They hnve never once
seen daylight. They lost money from
the hour they Invested.
The chance remark which was drop
ped by poor old Mr. Long, secretary of
the nnvy, over which so much ndo has
been made and which served the stock
Jobbers a good turn for a day, really
does that gentleman an Injustice. Sec
retary Long wns ns Innocent of uny In
tention to work the stock market as
an angel of light. He knows next to
nouimg noout siocks and is entirely
guileless in that regard. His casual ob-
servntlon got twisted around and was '
uie cause oi mucn sensauonni specula-1 either party Is dissatisfied with the do
tlon In the newspapers far more thnn ' clslon an appeal may be taken to tho
it deserved. In point of fnct. the re
mark was dropped In confidence, nnd
should never have been repeated; and
It never would have been repeated If
some hnngers on, for whose enrs It was
not Intended, had not chanced to over
hear It.
Some day President McKlnley will
wake up to the consciousness that ho j es, punish contempt, and their moral
has paid his campaign obligations often effect has been most wholesome, dls
enough und that he now owes more to : putes having been reduced to a mlnl
the public thnn ho does to the schemers mum; worklngmen are particularly de
who engineered him Into the preslden-' lighted with the system und the coun
cy. His contract with the gold bugs try Is very prosperous In comparison
wua io prevent irce silver legislation uy . with what It was a few years ago at-;
congress during his four years term. trlbuted to the land tax (approaching
It wns for that and that alone they the single tax scheme In the U. S.). It
contributed to the $10,000,000 election ranges from a penny to 3 pence per.
fund. So long as he occupies the Whlto pound with nn extra penny added for
House the men who mnde up that fund i absentees: this has reduced alien own
know that McKlnley will religiously prslilt): Euruneun lnndlurdH Hoon trot
comply with his part ot the agreement, tired of paying heavy taxes and will
That Is as far as he need ever go In ingly sell small parcels at low figures,
recognition of the millionaires as a po- giving nctual settlers an opportunity to
lltlcnl element or as a material In- pay for their homes. In a very few
terest demanding his protection. Any- years large estates will cease to exist,
thing beyond that Will be in the nature' Actual settlers can own land worth
of a gift or weak surrender to usurious
exactions.
CZAR REED IN DANGER.
Speaker Reed is becoming intolerable.
Time was when he was personally pop
ular among his fellow members. That
tinv im innn- sinoo .hihroiI Hn la ,inm. i
Ineering, bullying and unaccommodat- j tn- T.he government rents large tracts
Ing. He takes pleasure In hurting tho f 'and t0 aciual deserving settlers for
feelings of representatives, who should SJ9 years, and lends them $100 worth of
be his equals In the privileges of the ' material for a house, allows a certain
house and who should be free from' 8U1" l'er acre for clearing the land, and
annoyance nnd persecution at the , Provides him three eight-hour days'
hands ot a speaker of their own official! wo,k Per week on ronds or other im
creatlon. If It is as easy to do a mem- provements, to support his family till
i.- ., in ,.. r.o .. r,,,i .,,-., i. i I he can raise a cron: tlio covernment In
variably does the former, except n very '
few members who happtn to stand well ,
..ii. i.i 1 s. .. . -
wiiu nun uuu iu uc iiiipuriuui puna us ..-,.. .. --- - ,-.. ............ .-.....,
the house machinery, for even the Czar ll t0 farmers at G per cent, their lnter
must have a machine to preserve him- est cancelling the debt In .3 years; rates
self In power. If a really strong man of Interest were formerly very high,
tiiimiiii fnmo to Mip frnnt nnii mnko n i The government owns the telegraph.
stand-up light against Speaker Reed
the big czar would be knocked out. PeBS "uamesa in uw euiiuiu; in coun
Such n man could head a successful try districts railways carry school chll
revolt against him In the house as It drcn t0 and from school free, and un
ls now constituted, and then. If the next ' d?r government ownership are begln
congress should be republican, could nng t0 Pay wel1- T1,c Pst bank has
beat him from tho speakership. Czar , become so popular that a limit of $2,500
Reed Is a changed man. From being the amount ono might deposit had
Jovial and companionable he has be- to be placed to protect private banks,
come grumpy and bitter. The humlll-! Women vote in New Zealand, and local
atlng collapse of his presidential as- option requires that the license question
plrations wus too much for him. Very ! b? submitted every three years to the
few even among those who were classed referendum. The government does more
as his personal friends regret the fnti- " iiisuiuhub muii uu iuiaie cuiuuu
ure of his ambition. The disposition i "les combined. There are a few ex
to tyrannize, which Is so strongly peridental government farms for un-
Tvinrlrml In llltrl ns sneaker, wmlld )mV emplOJ'Cd.
thoroughly brutalized him ns a presl-1
dent. Grover Cleveland would be con- rooms apart irom worn rooms ror em
sldered n saint by comparison a model ' ployed and eight hours Is a day for
ot gentleness and good nature. I work. No child under fifteen years Is
The democrats are already looking 'permitted to work In a factory and
forward to the day when they can de-, the la"' applies on the farm. In cities,
mnnd an accounting ot that $50,000,000 stores must be closed Sundays and half
war fund. They see great boomerang a holiday during the week, but the full
properties in this extraordinary appro- week's work must be paid for. All
priation and will Inquire critically as these laws are rigidly enforced,
to where every cent of the money goes. Government works on an enormous
They are already In ecstasies over the scale have been undertaken on the co
dlscoverles which they expect to be operative plan; that is, the contractor
able to make and are gloating over the is eliminated entirely. The government
materiat which a congressional Inves-) deals directly with the men who do the
tlgation will reveal that will be useful . work. And they find It a very easy
In a political campaign. They confl- matter to get along with this contrac
dently anticipate that the accounts will, tor To sum it all up, every one in New
show thut a large part ot the money Zealand Is very much pleased with
will find Its way Into the pockets of ad- the new departure,
ministration favorites. If there should In the United States there Is plenty
be war these foreshadowed revelations of ian(j, ana bankers say there is
will not have much force, but If the pienty of money lying idle for borrow
$50,000,000. with nothing to show for it- erB; any Btate or community can bor
whew. what a time there would be! row money at a very low rate of in-
Congress has passed a law cutting terest for building material, farm im-
teiepnone cnarges in tne uisinci or.
Columbia in two in the middle. This
will be a good thing for the telephone
companies In the end because it will
assure them more than twice the num
ber of subscribers they now have, but
Just at present the stockholders art
making a loud outcry and putting up
the claim that they are the victims of
honest resistance to the machinations
ot blackmailers. Their story Is that
one of the "parliamentary attorneys"
who infest Washington demanded em
ployment from the company at a sal
ary ot $5,000 a year "to look after their
Interest before congress," and upon
being met with refusal he made tho
tin cat that he would cost the concern
a quarter of a million dollars. Where
upon he organized a campaign among
the telephone subscribers, which re
sulted Hi the legls ation mentioned. Tho
attorney or lobbyist accused docs not
deny tho truth of the Btory. in fact, I
he glories In It nud says that he will
be much obliged to the company for
widely circulating "the squfal," as it
will insure him employment for the;
next District corponitlon he tackles,
Tho war furore Ib filling the coffers
of the great companies that munufac- i
fncture guns, shells, urmor plutc, ships
and other materials of wnr, but not-
withstanding the harvest of dollars
there is disappointment in certain fa- '
vorcd qunrleis because the returns are
not greater, The Cramps of Philadel
phia, for Instance, are In a rage be
cause this government Is going abroad
to buy battleships, Instead of giving
contracts to American ship builders. It
makes no difference" to the Cramps that
they could not hnve warships finished
within two years, und that the war
with Spain, If we have one, may be
over in two months. It makes these
voracious contractors, who have
milked the government out of millions,
sore to see good money going out of
the country, and they are getting even
with the world by chnrKinc that the
whole excitement Is artificial und Is the '
result of a shrewd manipulation of
popular sentiment by a combination of
knavish promoters who have a corner .
on the battleship market, having se
cured options on all the desirable craft '
of that description available at this
time. The existence of this corner Is
extiemely doubtful, but If there should
be one the Indignation of the Cramps
Is greatly Intensified by the fact that
they are not In the combination. Any
..lw.t..n..1 ..!.,.. ..f... .1.. .-- I '
iiuiuatiit: luiua uuinm lliu uctinuiy in
which the Cramps do not figure must
necessarily be Iniquitous, In their eyes.
SOCIALISM IN NEW ZEALAND.
No Tramps -No Strlkos Govern
ment Owns tho Monopolies.
The problem of providing for the un
employed In New Zealand is about solv
ed, as they are now very scarce, and
the snme may be said of tramps, tho' ,
six years ago they were as numerous
ns In the United States. The few re-
malnlng nre lncorrlglbles, nnd when
they die oft the tramp will be known
no more in New Zealand. These are
but two of a great many remarkable
changes wrought In this country in a
few years by a socialistic policy, now ,
far advanced, approved by nn enormous '
majority ut tho polls last fall; common '
people of New Zealand uie far In ad-
vance of the same class In the United
States, because the eight-hour system
has been rigorously observed, und It ,
has provided time for reading and
thought. Strikes have been done away
with by substituting boards of concili
ation and arbitration; law makes It
obligatory In all disputes between em
ployers and employes that the subject
of dispute shall be submitted to tho
board of conciliation, composed of 5
men, two chosen by each party and a
supreme Judge is the fifth man. Ifi
board of arbitration, consisting of three
members, one chosen by each party and
the third Is a supreme Judge; their de-
uimuu la uuui uiiu mum uu uuuyeu;
heavy penalties are provided for viola
tions nnd enforced; the defeated party
must puy costs; these boards are prac-
tlcallv courts of law. summon witness.
$2,500 exempt from taxes. Our gradu-
atcd income tax is ns follows. Under
$1,500. exempt; from that up to $5,000,
2Vj per cent; over that amount, 5 per
cent tax; all corporations nnd absentees
pay the full 5 per cent tax; these two
taxes take the plnce of the old property
reimbursed by taxes on Increased value I
ot the land- Tlle government borrows
T!llrnnpntl tunnov nt 3 nor nnnf nnrl Innna '
telephone, railroads and manages ex-1
Manufacturers must provide dining
Piements. etc.. loaning It in small sums
for these necessaries at a higher rate
of interest, the whole being mortgaged
to secure the loan; this Is a better plan
for the government than that ot grants
to railroad companies. The state that
first does this will enter upon a rapid
advance toward greatness. Money de
posited In postal savings banks could
be used In this way. thus turning the
people's savings to the needs of unem
ployed and developing the country. No
poverty need exist In this country ex
cept by our lack of wise management.
The question now Is, shall we sink to
tho Industrial level of Europe? Many
predict we must; that means lower
wages and a lower standard of living;
our "army of unemployed" Is the great
est danger in our country; we havo
to support them, for they must live and
do live, and they reduce wages by com
peting for all employment In Bight;
wiey are unierent rrom the standing ,
nrmles of Europe, In that the latter do '
not COmtieto fnr pmnlnvment nrwl nrnl
patrons of producers through govern
mental purchase of produce for sup
plies; so that if we do not care for our
unemployed, our Industrial classes are
in danger of sinking below those of Eu
rope; this danger can easily be avoided,
and our national wealth greatly In
creased by giving unemployed an op
portunity to build homes for themselves
and make a living from the land; wo
hnve frequently been paternal to large
corporations by grnntlng land, money
and valuable privileges freely; now let
us be pnternal to men seeking employ
ment nnd give them an opportunity to
build homes nnd mnke a living It will
pay much bettor to give them a chance
to become thrifty, home-owning citi
zens, than to make tramps and vaga
bonds of them. p. ALLSOP.
Carlylo's American Friend.
Since the death ot Charles Dutlcr of
New York, some very Interesting facts
concerning his life have come to the
earn of his friends, which show that,
although In his ninety-five years of
active life, for he was active even In
early boyhood, there were experiences
quite as romantic and Interesting which
he kept entirely to himself ns were
some of the other Incidents of which
the public knew.
His correspondence, carried on for
more than seventy years with almost
all if the Influential men of the English-speaking
world, would, If his heirs
were to permit It to be published, fur
nish a volume as attractive as any ro
mance. An examination of his papers
makes it possible to explain a mystery
which gave the literary men of Great
Britain and of the United States cause
for much comment during the life ot
Thomas Carlyle.
Some twenty years ago one of the
most distinguished of American litter
ateurs, having planned for a summer
excursion to Great Britain, was asked
by Mr. Butler if he would not like to
take a letter to Carlyle from him. The
writer, of course, was rejoiced at the
opportunity to meet Carlyle, ulthough
he was surprised to know that Mr.
Butler was on such terms of intimacy
with Carlyle as to Justify him In giv
ing a letter of introduction to a friend.
The morning after this writer urrived
in London he called at Carlyle's house.
Carlyle was not at home and the letter
was left for him. Next day before
breakfast the American was surprised
and delighted to receive word at his
hotel that Mr. Carlyle was below and
desired to Bee him. He went Immedi
ately and spent a pleasant half hour
with Carlyle and nfterward called upon
him and was received very cordially.
He wondered why Carlyle. who had
the reputation of being indifferent to
most visitors and Intolerant of some,
should have taken the trouble to call
upon him so soon and afterward should
be so agreeable when the call was re
turned. He nfterward learned that Carlyle
with most Americans was as cordial
as he was full of a sort of rough geni
ality and sardonic humor of which he
was the master. He said sharp things,
but ho did not say them to the Ameri
cans or of their famous men. He spoke
rather, when speaking caustically, of
American political Institutions
This was a mystery which no Eng
lishman ever was able to fathom, and
It Is not until todny that a possible ex
planation of it has been offered. That
explanation Is this: In Mr. Carlyle's
younger days, when he was desperately
poor, almost pinched with poverty, Just
after he went to London, he unexpect
edly received tokens ot friendship and
admiration which were something moro
than mere words of bympathy. They
were substantial; they were of such a
nature as to relieve his necessities.
Money came to him from an Ameri
can, and that American wns Charles
Butler. Carlyle for that act of kind
ness seems always to have regarded
Americans as In some manner associ
ated with Mr. Butler.
Later In his life, in fnct. not long be
fore his death, some allusion was made
to Mr. I'.utler of that early sympathy
which he had for Carlyle, and he de
clined to speak of the subject, declined
in such a manner ns to lead to the In
ference that ho did not care, at least
while alive, to have It known that it
was his purse which had carried Car
lyle over a time of great desperation.
Didn't Want Another.
The young mnn with the swell suit
nnd gold-headed cane was trying to
flirt with the girl opposite, when the
old man on his left nudged him with
his elbow and hoarsely whispered:
"Young man. pause and relied."
"Are you speaking to me, sir?" de
manded the young man.
"Yes, right to you, but I've got such
a hard cold that I cannot any much.
Let me repeat that you should pause
and reflect."
"What for?"
"You are trying to flirt with that
young gal, sir."
"And is it nny of your business?"
"It Is, sir. Excuse my hoarseness. I
kicked the bedclothes off the other
night and got cold. I want to say to
you, sir, that It is my business, sir. Sup
pose that you succeed In attracting that
gal's attention?"
"Well, what of it?"
"She might be flattered and flirt
back, though I don't think she's very
flirtatious. It might lead to a case ot
love, and love to marriage."
"You'd better attend to your own bus
iness, sir," said the young man.
"That's what I'm a-doln'. sir. 'Souse
me while I blow my nose. Yes sir, I'm
attendln' right to my business."
"Then let mine alone."
"Then you let mine alone! I'm that
gal's father!"
"Oh! you ore'."
"Yes, I am, and I don't want no more
foolln' around. I've got four sons-in-law
Just about your shape, and am sup.
porting the hull gang of them, nnd be
fore you saddle me with a fifth you'd
better pause and reflect. It might be
the last straw, and I'd turn the hull
crowd out to dig for fodder under the
snowbanks." Detroit Free Press.
A certain western cowboy, who was
n stranger to mirrors, and who had
walked Into the cabin ot an ocean
steamer, stopped In front of a large
pier glass, which he took for a door,
and said: "I say, mister, when does
this here boat start?" Getting no reply
from the dumb reflection before him,
he again repeated the question. In
censed at the still silent figure, he broke
out: "Go home; you sassafras colored,
thock-headed bull calt! You don't look
as If you knew much anyhow!"
During tho long engagements of Miss
Ellen Terry, her girl friends take turns
in rending to her every afternoon. Miss
Terry cannot sleep spontaneously, and
has to be hypnotized Into rest by the
voice of some one reading aloud.
FROM THU LAND OF MANY BUQS
A BuBoloelst In tho Argentine Not
a Wheat Country.
Professor Bruner of the State Uni
versity of Nebraska, has Just returned
from Buenos Ayres, where he hns been
Btudylng locust plagues and devising
means to end them. The following facts
concerning Argentine have been elicited
from the Professor since ills return:
ARGENTINE SHORT ON WHEAT.
The Information brought bnck by tho
professor pretty thoroughly disposes ot
the bugaboo of cheap Argentine wheat,
that has served the turn of professional
farmer politicians here during the last
two years. It seems that comparatively
a small part of the country Is devoted
to wheat raising, and that the crop Is
so uncertain that In wheat production
the country can never be n strong com
petitor In the markets ot the world. A
good crop there only means a yield of
ten bushels to the ncre. In the last two
years Aregntlne has been compelled
to Import some wheat, nnd the ship
that carried the professor from New
York to Buenos Ayres lust year had
part of a cargo of wheat that was
being shipped to Argentine. The rav
ages of the grasshoppers is given as tho
cause for the crop failures, but Prof.
Bruner says the drouth Is responsible
for the bad crops.
Common laborers in Argentine nre
paid $1 a day In paper money. The av
erage worth of a paper dollar there is
3G cents In gold. Thus a United States
$5 gold piece will exchange for $13.75
In Argentine greenbacks, and the value
Is constantly fluctuating.! Silver dol
lars down there nre taken only at their
bullion value when they nre circulated
among the people, in the inlnnd towns,
Mexican silver dollars being worth a
trifle more than United States dollars.
The man who can work and earn a $5
gold piece In live days must be a
tradesman and nn expert In his line.
The people are very lazy, however, and
Prof. Bruner thinks the pay they re
ceive is plenty, considering the way
they work.
What would be a good healthy task
for one Nebraska laborer employs tho
united work of Jive or six Argentinians,
and then It is not well done. For in
stance, at the railroad station of a town
of 2,000 Inhabitants In the southern re
public, the station agent has six assist
ants In addition to the day and night
telegraph operators. And In spite of
this large corps of helpers no telegrams
are delivered and no notice is given
of the receipt of one. The man to
whom a telegram is sent Is supposed to
have been notified by letter or other
wise that he might expect a message.
EXTENSIVE TRAIN CREWS.
The railroads of the country are
manned In the same extravugant way,
each car having the brakemnn, the con
ductor havJng a ticket inspector who
goes ahead to see if the tickets are all
right, and there being still another in
spector whose duty it is to watch and
direct the other employes. On the en
gines each fireman has a helper whoso
duty It Is to pass the coal to him. Tho
trains are very slow, twenty miles an
hour being considered a very high rato
of speed. There arc fourteen railroads
there belonging to individuals or cor
porations, while the government owns
several lines. Prof. Bruner was given
passes on all lines but the government
lines, and the companies rendered him
much other service by keeping him in
formed of the flight of the locusts In
different parts of the country. Most ot
the roads are owned by English or oth
er foreign capital, which explains tho
courtesies and services, extended by
them, the native capitalists and labor
ers being too lazy to think of assisting
In any enterprise.
The water in all parts of Argentine is
bad, containing a solution of salt, salt
petre and other disagreeable things.
The only good water that can be ob
tained is from cisterns. The houses,
even among the well-to-do people, are
devoid of stoves and many other ordi
nary comforts. During the tool season
of the year the people shiver about and
put on heavy coats or blankets while
In the house, In nn attempt to keep
warm. The hotels nre also cheerless
and uncomfortable, and an extra charge
is made for every little convenience or
service.
Another disagreeable feature of the
country Is the unreliability of the mall
service. Letters containing anything
of value are seldom allowed to reach
their destination, while the postolllce
clerks make It a pretty general practice
to steal valuable stamps from envel
opes, at the same time destroying the
letters. Many letters written home by
Prof. Bruner failed to reach there, and
as some of them contained valuable ar
ticles, they were undoubtedly stolen.
Buenos Ayres Is the largest city In
South America, having about 750,000 in
habitants. It Is quite a busy commer
cial city, and contains a large foreign
population. While there Prof. Bruner
visited a college which Is one of the
oldest educational institutions in tho
western hemisphere, having been In a
flourishing condition 150 years ago.
During the last century It has suffered
a decline, and now has only about fifty
students.
BRINGS HOME A COLLECTION.
During his stay In Argentine Prof.
Bruner made a large collection of In
sects, birds, animals and other Interest
ing things, having employed an assist
ant to pursue this part of the work. Ho
brings to the University of Nebraska
about 25,000 Insects, 300 birds and a
large number ot reptiles, most ot them
of strange species to this country. He
also brought a number of blankets,
scarfs, lariats, weapons and Imple
ments of a manufacture peculiar to the
southern country. In Paraguay he
secured a collection ot lace handker
chiefs and other fancy articles of such
delicute workmanship as to excite the
wonder and admiration of every one
here at home. One handkerchief cost
him $100 In money of that country, and
is the finest lace article that has been
manufactured there In the last eight
years. It was made by a woman who
worked on it for nine months, and was
Intended to be exhibited nt the Trans
Mlssisslppl exposition, and was obtain
ed by Prof. Bruner only on promise
being given that he would see that it is
exhibited at the big show.
One Important result of the profes
sor's work In Argentine Is that an en
tomological department Is to be created
by the government of the country, Bru
ner having been offered the professor
ship of the new department. He de
clined the offer, however, preferring to
come back to Nebraska, where he has
labored so long and attained so much
distinction In his profession.
He says that the people there feel
very badly toward the United States
on account of the passage of the Ding
ley bill, which put a duty on Argentine
wool. They tnlnk It was a great dam
age to them, In spite ot the fact that
previous to the passage of the bill they
got exactly the same price for wool
shipped to the United States as for that
shipped to Europe and European coun
tries have not adopted the Dlnsley bill,
so that wool can be shipped there on
the old terms.
The people of Argentine are pretty
well posted on the quarrel between
this country and Spain, and as they are
mostly Spanish descendants their sym
pathies are not with the United States.
One of the prominent men, in talking
with Prof. Bruner about the probabIL
ity ot war, said that very likely Ar
gentine would go to the aid of Spain
and that an army of 50,000 from there
might land In the states and cause a
groat deal of trouble. He wanted to
know what the people of the United
States would do In the face of such an
invnding army. The professor answer
ed that In case the people of the stateB
found out that such an army was
tramping around on their soil they
would make complaint to the police
force of the nearest town and have the
Invaders arrested.
Ho Wns In For a Lark.
He came through the passenger car
with a note book and pencil in hand
and nn anxious look on his face, and
Btopplng beside a bald-headed man
who was nodding with drowsiness, he
Eald:
"My dear sir, 1 want to ask you a
question, nnd your unswer will be a
great favor."
"Who are you, sir?" demanded tho
old man, ns he straightened up and
scowled fiercely.
"My name Is Hopewell Abadlah
Hopewell. You remember the big Are
In Boston, Don't you?"
"Suppose 1 do or I don't. I don't
like your way of coming along here
and waking me up."
"I'm sorry if I have disturbed you. I
want to get the date of the big confla
gration In Boston, and 1 was in hopes
you could tell me."
"But why snould 1 remember it?"
indignantly protested the old man.
"Do you think I've nothing to do but
Impress the date of conflagrations on
my mind? I was Just fulling asleep
when you came along and roused me
Up. By what right did you do It?"
"I thought you might remember,"
humbly replied Mr. Hopewell. "I've got
an Idea that It was in 1872, but am
not sure of It. Do you think it was in
1872?"
"Didn't I tell you that I didn't keep
track of conflagrations? I may or may
not have heard of a big fire In Bos
ton. The idea of you coming alonj
here nnd tapping me on the shoulder
nnd asking questions! Why, sir, I be
lieve you meant to insult me!"
"It Is on account of a poor girl I ask
you," said Mr. Hopewell as he heaved
a tremendous sigh "A poor girl
named Mary Jones disappeared the
night the fire broke out and has never
been heard of since. I wns trying to
trace her."
"What do you want to trace her
for?"
"We were engaged to be married,
sir. I left her that night with a kiss
dn her ruby lips, and have never, never
seen her again. If she Is dead I shall
continue to sorrow; If living, I want
to fulfill my promise."
"She's probably dead," said the old
man, with less show of temper.
"She may be, but I've been looklnjr
at that woman two seats ahead, and
she reminds me of Mary. She's got ths
same eyes and nose the same mouth
and hair the same"
"Why, sir why, you scoundrel, that's
my wife!" shouted the baldhead, aa he
tried to spring up and fell back again.
"And was her name Maiy Jones?"
"Never never!"
"And she never mentioned Abadlah
Hopewell to you? Then I must be mis
taken; but it's hard to believe hard
to believe It. Sure she wasn't Mary
Jones before she was married?"
The old man reached his feet, his
eyes bulging out and his face almost
black. He tried to speak, but he could
only point for the other to go on,
"Sorry," said Mr. Hopewell as ho
turned away "very sorry. I think the
big fire In Boston was In 1S72, but no
one on this trains seems to know. If
that's your wife and she wasn't Mary
Jones before she was married, then I'm
mistaken; but I felt almost sure tho
long-missing bride had been found.
Poor Mary! Poor Mary! Well, she
died knowing that I loved her, and I'll
saunter nlong Into the next car and
puisue my quest."
Wanted to Work tho Judge.
A few lawyers were sitting In one of
tho city restaurants a few days ago
eating lunch and discussing different
subjects, when one of them told ths
following story:
This occurred a few years ago In tha
office of a former Justice of the peace.
An attorney, who has since left Sioux
City, had been engaged to defend a
man for the crime ot petty larceny. The
luwyer knew that the cae against his
client was a pretty strong one, and he
decided to beard the lion in his den.
As he entered the room he tuld the
Justice of the case, the name of his
client, and added that he did not think
there wns any evidence to convict. At
the same time lie slipped a $20 gold
piece Into the hand of the Justice and
gave him a knowing wink. Tho court
said nothing, but, pulling open the cash
drawer, slipped the money In. The case
went to trial, and after all the evi
dence had been Introduced there ap
peared to be no question ot the guilt
of the defendant. But his counsel was
confident, thinking the gold piece had
done the work. The court then summed
up the case, and, to the astonishment of
the defendant's counsel, said:
"The court finds the defendant guil
ty as charged in the Information und
lines him $100, of which $20 has been
paid. The defendant will be commit
ted to the county Jail until the remain
der is paid into this court."
Nothing more was said, and the Jus
tice settled back Into his chair, satb -d
that the laws of the state had been up
held and a dishonest attorney had been
left In the lurch. Sioux City Journal.
So long as parsley can be had, a vege
table merchant says, people should not
show the slightest hesitation In eatlns
even the most odorous onion. The mer
chant says that parsley eaten after an
onion will prevent even the slightest
suspicion of onions. "I ate several on
ions nt dinner the other evening," h
said, "and then got a hurry up invita
tion to go out and play cards. My
breath was strong enough to stop a
clock, but I nibbled a little parsley
and five minutes later no one would
have known that I had had onions for
dinner."
"But you must have given him en
couragement, Nell."
"Why. my dear, how foolish! Of
course, I used to take walks with him
almost every afternoon, and often go
to the theater and skating rink with
him, and have him for dinner at the
house, and go to church with him, and
most always danced with him at the
class, but really never gave him any
encouragement."
William Bouler, a deaf mute, aged Zt
years, was married In Atchison by Pro
bate Judge Snyder, to Mrs. M. E. Bry
ant, age 39 years. Bouler had Ions;
cherished a tender regard for Mrs.
Bryant, and once made an unsuccess
ful attempt to take his life on hir ac
count. .
Tasmania has one of the most won
derful tin mines in the world, oal d
the Mount BIschoft mine. The tin ore
produced from this mine up to data
Is 31,000 tons. The whole of the ma
chinery is driven by water.
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