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Lincoln Neb is filled with about
10000 men and women In broad
rimmed wjiite hats and gray sunbon
nets who never go to law take no
share in politics and are entirely op
posed to war They are attending a
great national conference They are
the delegates of the church of the
Dunkards all over the country and
they represent one of the most pictur
esque and remarkable of religious
movements
These Dunkards are inclined to live
together in communities though this
Is less pronounced than formerly They
are cut off from the rest of the world
not only by their peculiar dress but
by many of the religious beliefs and
observances Altogether they now
number more than 100000 members
though there is not much if any
growth in their numbers of recent
years The young people who grow
up in the denomination seem to be
more and more inclined to leave it in
recent years for some faith which will
give them more freedom of thought
and action
Every congregation of the Dunkards
is entirely Independent of the rest and
elects its own deacons ministers and
bishops None of the clergy is paid a
regular salary but if he Is poor the
church members will contribute to his
support When thero are questions
which involve more than one congre
gation district and general confer
ences are held and the Dunkards meet
by the thousands in the open air to
settle them
At every conference as well as at
the love feasts which are held in every
ftfff II 11
inninnn m SIsh 1 Illy
flilKli il WW
u
congregation
twice a year
the first
ceremony is
that of the
washing of
feet All the
men of the
congregation
sit on one
side of the
meeting
house and
all the wo
rn e n on
Dunkard Costumes the other
side Then as the candles are lit the
members on the front benches remove
their shoes and stockings Men and wo
men come in carrying tubs of luke
warm water and a man on the mans
side and a woman on the womans side
then wash the feet one by one shak
ing the right hand of each individual
as the washing is completed and giv
ing the kiss of peace
In the meeting houses the back of
every third bench is so arranged that
it can be turned on a pivot and trans
formed into a table about which the
faithful gather for the sacrament of
the Lords supper The pew back is
covered with a white cloth upon which
are placed large bowls of soup Three
or four people help themselves from
each of these bowls After this the
communion itself is administered and
the services conclude with the singing
of hymns and preaching
In case of sickness among the mem
bers of the church the orthodox mem
bers cling to the ancient ceremonies
of anointing the patient with oil and
praying over him Word of each case
of illness is sent to the elders of the
church and at an appointed time they
appear pour oil upon the head of the
sick man lay their hands upon his
head and offer prayers in his behalf
Baptism is administered in running
water and by threefold immersion
The Dunkards originated in Ger
many out of which country they were
nnf
driven by
p e rseeution
early in
the eight
eenth cen
tury They
came to
P ennsyl
vania on the
invitation of
W i lliam
Penn and in
that state
they throve
and grew
Feet Washing n um e r ous
Until recently Pennsylvania has been
the head center of the Dunkards but
so many of them have emigrated to
the farm lands of the far west that
the center has now shifted
It was from one of the Pennsylvania
communities that sprang an even more
curious and Interesting development
that of the monastic Town of Ephreta
Pa once a manufacturing and com
mercial metropolis now a mere vil
lage
Nearly 200 years ago Conrad Beis
sel of Dunkard parentage was bap
tized into the German Baptist church
He was a man of great study and pious
zeal and he became convinced that the
seventh instead of the first day of the
week should be observed as the Sab
bath day He wrote tracts In support
of this view and urged it so strongly
Uiat to avoid trouble he was finally
compelled to withdraw from member
ship in the society He retired Into
what was then a wilderness and made
his home in an old cave on the bank
Of a river where he lived the life of
a hermit - Gradually some of his
friends and others who were convinced
that he had the right way of thinking
gathered about his cavern and In 1732
a communistic life was entered upon
by those who followed him The men
of the soci
e ty wore
long white
flannel
gowns and
cowls with
s h i r t a
trousers and
vests of the
same mate
rial The wo
men were at
tired in the
same way
with the
except ion Kiss of Peace
that a short petticoat was sub
stituted for the trousers There
were no vows of celibacy tak
en nor required though the
idea was taught by Beissel The great
estate of the old community has prac
tically passed out of the hands of the
few surviving members of the society
and the last of the brothers in white
gowns has long since passed away
The old cloisters where the broth
ers and sisters lived until a few years
ago are now leased to a number of
families and are fast crumbling into
decay Within their walls one will be
struck with the strange fact that all
the doors are extremely small and of
the same size measuring exactly five
feet in height and twenty inches in
width This it is explained by the old
Dunkards who still live about Ephreta
was intended
to be a con
s t a n t re
minder to
the faithful
as they
stooped and
twisted to
get through
the doors
that the
way which
leadeth to
ir
eternal life Steep and Narrow
is narrow and steep
Almost all of the Dunkards are en
gaged in farming They will suffer
a wrong rather than go to law about
it and are not accustomed to take any
part in politics though more and more
of the young men of the church are
to be found among those who vote
regularly and take an intelligent in
terest in matters of public policy The
old fashioned Dunkards pride them
selves on the peculiarities which sep
arate them from other people and are
accustomed to refer to the members
of their church as Gods peculiar peo
ple But it is the disinclination of
the young people of their church to
cut themselves off from others of their
own age that has proved to be the
greatest weakness of the church It
is said to be barely holding its own at
the present time
A JLiing ILight
Scientists are much interested in a
lamp which has been constructed by
Prof
a el
and
has
Dubois
which
been
alight for
the last few
weeks in his
laborator y
The wonder
ful feature
about it is
that the
light is actu
ally furnish
ed by living
c r e a tures
since it is
produced
from liquid
which is
IK I
3 w
The Dubois Lamp
composed of luminous marine mi
crobes in preparing this liquid or cul
ture Prof Dubois has spent many
months and those who have seen the
light which it furnishes claim that he
has good reason to be satisfied with
his achievement
The lamp consists merely of a metal
lic support to which is attached a
large glass globe with a flat bottom
With the globe are connected two
tubes one above it and another at the
side and these are closed with cotton
but in such a manner as to permit of a
limited circulation of air The base of
the globe is covered with a sheet of
tinfoil which serves as a reflector
When the light becomes dull or un
usual brilliancy is required all that is
necessary is to inject a little air
through the tubes into the luminous
liquid
A lamp of this kind once filled will
furnish light continuously for several
weeks
Schbuabs JVeto Palace Car
Mr Schwab president of the steel
trust has ordered for himself the finest
private car than can be built by the
Pullman Company The walls and
floors will consist largely of onyx the
observation room will be made entirely
of plate glass The cost of the car
would suffice to build at least half
a
dGzen extremely comfortable houses
4 4
Current Topics
Continuous Marrtagb
Mr Herbert E Carle of New York
has the singular fad of marrying his
own wife Several gentlemen have re
cently found themselves in trouble
through their habit of marrying a va
riety of wives and several ladies have
suffered annoyance from the law by
reason of their superfluity of husbands
but Mr and Mrs Carles custom of re
peatedly marrying each other is a nov
elty Probably they have a sound psy
chological reason for their peculiarity
They have probably heard the aspira
tions of married couples for continu
ous honeymoons and have resolved to
RICHARD E CARLE
realize the apparently impossible If
they marry often enough there is no
reason why they should not have a
honeymoon every month
The Contest in South Carolina
The resignation by Senators Tillman
and McLaurin gives a dramatic interest
and intensity to the political contest in
South Carolina The resignation in
each case is to take effect in the mid
dle ofthe approaching September long
before Congress meets The seat of
only one Senator McLaurin was orig
inally involved in the contest Two
seats will be affected by the struggle
which has now begun Tillman has
thrown his own record and personality
directly into the canvass and thus
greatly broadened its scope and added
to its picturesqueness and to its ex
citement It is certain to be by far the
most interesting political contest which
will take place anywhere in the United
States in 1901 It will attract the earn
est attention of the entire country
MaKing a Boat in Ftte Minutes
For a long time past each German
cavalry regiment has been accompan
ied by a wagon containing two folding
boats but as the outfit weighs about
6000 pounds it seldom follows the
troops rapidly Quite lately a novel
boat has been introduced so light that
one horse can easily carry on its back
the entire material for two boats The
frame is formed of from sixteen to
twenty of the lances in use in every
regiment while the cover consists of
watertight sail cloth Six men can put
the boat together in five minutes and
take it apart in two The whole boat
weighs about sixty five pounds
ISCJorlds Coffee Consumption
The total annual consumption of
coffee is United States 802000000
Germany 344000000 France 179
000000 Austria Hungary 92000000
Italy 31000000 Great Britain 29000
000 Russia 18000000 The United
States thus consumes more coffee
than all other countries together The
importations come from different
countries as below Brazil 628000
000 Venezuela 62000000 Colombia
28000000 Mexico 27000000 Costa
Rica 17000000 Guatemala 15000
000
Faith Healers in trouble
Rev John Alexander Dowie the
Chicago faith curist and general over
seer of the
Chr i s t i a n
Cathol i c
Church has
been held to
the grand
jury to an
s wer the
charge of
manslaught
er Mrs Em
ma Lucy
Judd one of
his disciples
Mrs Judd having into
ly succumbed to death regardless of
Dowies alleged healing power H
Worthington Judd a disciple of
Dowie and husband of the vic
tim was also placed under arrest
having appeared at the Criminal Court
building in company with his superior
Both men were taken before Judge
Tuley who admitted them to bail Hen
rika Bratsch and Mary B Sprecker
maternity nurses who were at Mrs
Judds bedside when she died were
also arrested and released under bonds
For Dowie and Judd bonds were fixed
at 10000 each while the women were
released on sureties of 5000 each
fnhfcrif
iS i ftwi
Commoner Comment
Extracts From W J Bryans Paper
The London Speaker is guilty of
lese majestie when it attempts to
speak disparagingly of the right hon
prable Marcus A Hanna The criti
cism shows a lack of gratitude as well
as a disregard for Hannas feelipgs
for did not Mr Hanna speak in glow
ing terms of the English system of
government after his return f rom Eu
rope The Speaker says
There is not much to awaken the
spirit of national vanity alert as it is
in the states about a political system
in which Senator Hanna is one of the
greatest and most powerful figures
Not that Senator Hanna is a wtoked
mn He is simply a kind of myn that
MimmiJw
Mr Wattersons Cartovn
Editor Watterson of the Courier
Journal has devoted so much space to
me that no apology is necessary for
another comment upon his views
Relying- upon his age experience and
more extended observation he has on
several occasions outlined what he re
gards as the proper course for me to
pursue Without questioning his good
intent or his wisdom on subjects in
general I find it is impossible to follow
his advice without abandoning all that
I have been taught to hold sacred In
the first editorial on this subject Mr
Wattersons position was criticised as
an immoral one The editorials with
which he has attempted to support his
position has more and more clearly de
monstrated the weakness of his argu
ment
No advocate of imperialism has
placed his defense upon lower ground
No one who has attempted to defend
the administration has shown more
complete disregard for the principles
and motives that should actuate men
parties and nations He says
In abandoning them the Philip
pines we yield our vantage ground in
the far East which is already become
the center of the strife of the powers
for commercial supremacy We make
what the world and the ages will hold
an ignominious and a short sighted
surrender for we are entering upon a
cycle of pure commercialism whose end
will witness the survival of the fittest
and since when was any spirited people
insensible either to money or empire
Wrong morally wrong says Mr
Bryan Why on that line all effort
which has gain for its object is wrong
Out of line with American traditions
says Mr Bryan Why every import
ant movement from the Louisiana pur
chase to the abolition of slavery might
be so described But right or wrong
facts and as organized body what
shall the democratic party do about
them
This is Mr Wattersons argument
He first assumes that we are entering
upon ajcycle of pure commercialism
Second he assumes that it is impossible
t combat this spirit and third he
argues that assuming his two prophe
cies to be true it is better for the
democratic party to do wrong and
prosper than to do right and suffer
He attempts to disclose what is destiny
and then criticises those who refuse to
accept him as an ordained prophet
All through Mr Wattersons argument
runs the theory that wrong is not
wrong if it is successful and that
right is not right if it fails His argu
ment ignores entirely the fixed moral
principles which should guide the
individual the party and the nation
and he also ignores the fact that re
tribution always follows wrongdoing
He tells me how I can be a Warwick
ifjiqt a king He does me scant honor
when he assumes that I am willing to
purchase either position at the ex
pense of moral or political principles
It is not my present purpose however
to discuss his views for when two men
differ as to a moral question argumen
tation is of little value Morals are
matters of heart rather than head If
argument would keep men from steal
ing or from taking human life there
would be neither larceny nor murder
but when a man really wants to steal
or to kill or to apply the principles to
the present case wants nothing but
immediate victory and cares not for
the necessary but remote consequences
the case is almost hopeless
The object of this editorial is to call
attention to a picture which illustrates
Mr Wattersons views better than his
pen or mine can do Judge the illus
trated paper asked Mr Watterson to
suggest an idea for a cartoon In re
ply he wrote Draw a picture of
baby Jonathan in his cradle asleep
About him are his playthings a toy
kettle drum marked Independence
a toy cannon marked Freedom and
dangling by a string from his clutched
hand a childs balloon marked The
Future Above him hover the spirits
of Washington and Franklin Beyond
in the clouds a vision of domes and
spires spanned by a rainbow of red
white and blue Beneath the words
out of the old song Asleep I Dream
of Love
Draw another picture of a richly
furnished apartment and a party at a
card table England and Germany at
the right and left of Uncle Sam who
with calm self confidence sits in a rock
er Russia France China and Japan
ranged about Some exposed cards
marked Peace Order Religion
Humanity Behind Uncle Sam on the
wall appear portraits of Washington
Jefferson Jackson and Lincoln and
on the floor a great mastiff eager and
alert and ready to spring marked Pop
ular Sovereignty Beneath this por
trait Uncle Sam is made to say Gentle
men I bank this game Under the
first picture write 1801 under the oth
er 1901
It would be difficult to illustrate
more forcibly the change that has tak
en place within the last two years It
J2 hard to conceive of a more scathing
condemnation of the innovation
wrought by the republican administra
tion From the child dreaming of love
to the successful gambler is a transi
tion indeed The remarkable thing
about it all is that men who like Mr
Watterson recognize the change
should attempt to defend it or should
counsel democrats to accept it as final
The question that must occur to every
reader is Is this change necessary
And if not necessary why should it be
cubmitted to as a matter of destiny
Is freedom only a toy common and in
dependence a noisy drum Is there no
other future for baby Jonathan than
the career of a fortunate gambler Is
it not possible to conceive of a repub
lic developing and expanding without
the abandonment of ideals or princi
ples
This doctrine that virtue and mor
ality are good enough for a child but
out of place in a man is a monstrous
one and one unworthy of the great
brain and big heart of the man who
seems to have fallen into the advocacy
of it It is impossible to exaggerate
the demoralizing influence of such a
doctrine it paralyzes all attempts to
instruct or restrain youth When you
say to a young man that a nation when
full grown must throw off restraint
ignore well settled principles and
plunge into the exciting but uncertain
career of a gamester you cannot blame
him if he tells you that the same doc
trine applied to him would lead him to
discard all the good advice given him in
his boyhood
The imperialistic doctrine lays the
axe at the root of the tree and attacks
every vital tenet of our government and
of our religion and we already begin
to see the evil effect of it The em
bezzelment at Havana and the crooked
ness at Manila are only illustrations
of what may be expected under a colon
ial system If this nation adopts the
principle that helpless races can be ex
ploited because we are strong carpet
bag officials will not be slow to adopt
the same principle and appropriate
everything within their reach Mr
Watterson knows something of the
corruption that developed under the
carpet bag reign which followed the
civil war and ought to be able to make
some estimate of the mal feasance and
mis feasance which can be expected
when this nation denies self evident
truths and encourages infidelity to
moral precepts
As an individual can better afford to
retain his character rather than grow
rich by dishonorable means so the
democratic party can better afford to
appeal to the conscience of the people
even though it remains out of power
than to enjoy power at the expense of
its principles What shall it profit a
man if he gain the whole world and
lose his own soul What shall it pro
fit the democratic party if it gain power
and lose the spirit that has made it in
destructible What shall it profit a
nation if its flag floats over every sea
and its garrisons terrify every land if
in the language of Lincoln it loses
the spirit which prizes liberty as the
heritage of all people in all lands ev
erywhere
Lincolns Gettysburg Speech
As the survivors of the Mexican civ
il and other wars prepare for the sol
emn services of Memorial day they will
find both pleasure and profit in re
reading Lincolns Gettysburg speech
To the veteran it is an expression of
lofty patriotism to the student of ora
tory it is a model of brevity beauty
simplicity and strength and to all it is
an inspiration
Fourscore and seven years ago our
fathers brought forth upon this conti
nent a now nation conceived in liberty
and dedicated to th Deposition that
all men are created equal Now we
are engaged in a great civil war test
ing whether that nation or any nation
so conceived and so dedicated can long
endure We are met on a great battle
field of that war We have come to
dedicate a portion of that field as a
final resting place for those who here
gave their lives that that nation might
live It is altogether fitting and pro
per that we should do this But in a
larger sense we cannot dedicate we
cannot consecrate we cannot hallow
this ground The brave men living
and dead who struggled here have
consecrated it far above our power to
add or detract The world will little
note nor long remember what we
say here but it can never forget what
they did here It is for us the living
ratner to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who
fought here have thus far so nobly ad
vanced It is rather for us to be here
dedicated to the great task remaining
before us that from these honored
dead we take increased devotion to
that cause for which they gave the last
full measure of devotion that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain that this nation
under God shall have a new birth of
freedom and that government of the
people by the people and for the peo
ple shall not perish from the earth
At no time within the past quarter
of a century has there been more neces
ity than there is now for the lovers of
liberty to exert themselves to preserve
a government of the people by the
people and for the people
It is noticeble that all of the repub
lican tariff reformers do their best
work while congress is not in session
a respectable neighborhood would be
shy of putting on its district council in
this country that is to say there is
nothing to distinguish him from an
uncultivated slightly brutal ignor
antly forcible and hard head vulgarian
Self confidence and energy rule him as
they should rule a politician but
knowing all the world of business he
can think of nothing higher No tra
dition makes him bow to men whose
institutions are of more practical value
than the whole of his experience or
teaches him to recognize that the gov
ernment of a nation is a field for qual
ities of sympathy and imagination and
sane idealism
JL l
M b WftgJIS i
ytgE
I RACED WATCH AROUND
GV
Timepiece Stolen In China Is BeeoTered
In Alabama
BIRMINGHAM Ala May 29 A
magnificent gold watch studded with
diamonds and valued at 5000 which
was stolen from an English army
officer at Tien Tsln China was re
covered at Woodlawn Ala by United
States postoffice inspectors It is al
leged that a United States soldier from
Birmingham stationed at Tien Tain
who was a watchman was given the
watch together with the timepiece of
an English lady to repair
The soldier deserted his post and
the watches disappeared with him
The superintendent of mails at Tier
Tsln round that the soldier had sent
a registered package to Woodlawn
Ala before his departure and this
gave the inspector a clew The watch
was recovered and sent to Washington
to be returned to the English officer
The United States officials refuse to
give the name of the soldier or the re
cipient of the watch
RUSSIA APPLIES THE SCREWS
s s
V
Suspends Leading Newspaper for Moder
ate Comment on Strikes
ST PETERSBURG May 29 The
prohibition of the publication of the
Novoe Vremya for a week because of
its editorial articles on the labor trou
bles is creating an immense sensation
as indicating extraordinary nervous
ness on the part of the government
The Novoe Vremya is second only
to the Moscow Viadomotie in con
servatism and Is usually allowed great
er latitude than are the other papers
The editorial in question is mild as
compared with many governmental
publications on the labor situation in
more quiet times It merely said the
operatives were poorly paid for ex
cessively hard work and were begin
ning to be Influenced by western lit
erature and suggested that the govern
ment carry on the work begun for
emancipation and enforce social re
forms
SUITS THE ADMINISTRATION
President and Cabinet Officers Pleased
irlth Courts Decision
SIDNEY Neb May 29 The presi
dent and the cabinet received the offi
cial information here that the supreme
court had decided the insular cases in
accordance with the contentions of the
government
The news came in the shape of a
telegram from Solicitor General John
K Richards It was brief however
and contained no details beyond the
bare announcement that the admin
istration had been sustained
Naturally the president and cabinet
officers were elated over the victory
although they have never doubted that
the decision would be in favor of the
government
The members of the cabinet aboard
the train declined to express their
opinions for publication in advance of
a perusal of the text of the opinion
ALL VOLUNTEERS TO LEAVE
Last of them Will Quit Manilla for Home
Before July
MANILA May 29 It is reasonably
certain that the remaining volunteers
will sail for home before July The
Forty seventh regiment and battalions
of the Forty ninth and Thirty eighth
will sail on the transport Thomas on
May 28
The Ohio sails May 29 with the
Forty second regiment and the Kil
patrick and Logan June 1 with the
Forty third and Forty ninth regi
ments and two battalions of the
Thirty eighth The Grant sails from
Appari June 1 with the Forty eighth
regiment and two battalions of the
Forty ninth
Carrie Want Her Hatchet
TOPEKA May 29 Mrs Carrie Na
tion tried to get a warrant for Chief
of Police Stahl charged with stealing
her hatchet The county attorney re
fused to issue the warrant Mrs Na
tion lost her hatchet to the chief of
police when she was arrested for
smashing a Topeka joint She was in
formed today that she could get back
her hatchet by replevin proceedings
Mr Bryan Comments Briefly
LINCOLN Neb May 29 Mr Bry
ans only comment on the decision in
the insular cases was that it seemed
to uphold the contention of the re
publicans in some respects and that of
the democrats in others He said he
would not commit himself further on
the effect of the opinion until he had
read the full text He had hoped the
constitution would follow the flag
General Sickles Iieads
CLEVELAND O May 29 The
Plain Dealer will say tomorrow
A majority of the Grand Army of
the Republic men of Cleveland seem
to be In favor of the candidacy of
General Sickles of New York for commander-in-chief
No other name has
been mentioned so prominently as his
in all parts of the country and as yet
practically no opposition to his selec
tion has been organized He will
probably be chosen
r
