fGH A-EDfMAI
kJ Aii
CHICAGO.
Developments are mainly favorable in
tiieir gim-ral effect upon the future course
of trade. The government crop report
5rocd us good as looked for , and , witii
< .hf splendid ] ) ro' "pels for greater harvests
than la.st year , . .nero i. . reasonable basis
for 'uh.rndng activity in the loading in-
dustrie * . Money is also easier in tone
find favors legitimate investment in high-
.grade securities and r.iirital for business
needs. Holiday retail trade : ese to ex
tended proportions and this has caused
much reduction of merchandise stocks.
Clearance sales have brought much buy
ing , prices being attractive in sej onnblc
wares , foot ! products and household plen
ishings- .
A very hopeful indication is pre.senied
hj largely increased attendance of visit
ing bu.urs hi wholesale markeJs. and there
is more than the demiul : usual at this
period for fall deliveries of'dry gojd.s ,
footwear , woolens , ilothing and men's fur
nishings. Furniture exhibits are excep
tionally well taken , and the advance book-
iings furnish a gratifying total in the best
-qualities.
JJanl : clearings for five days. $214. IG1-
O10 , compared with $2GS.4H.91 ! : in the
'Cull wed : of 1907 , a decrease of 20.1 per
'Cent.
'Cent.Fa
Fa i In''os reported in the Chicago dis
trict number 25 , against . * > " > last week and
25 a year ago. Tihose with liabilities over
$5,000 number G , against 10 last week and
fl5 in 1907. Dun's Review of Trade.
NEW YORK.
"Midsummer quiet still reigns in gcnerni
trade and industry , but the advance of the
Geas-on and the promise of good average
crops liave accentuated the feeling of con
fidence as to the ultimate ourcome of
future f.ill business. Filling-in orders
"Irom jobber * are numerous but small ,
probably indicating widely broken retail
"
stocks , and retailers 'have ' rather earlier
than u ual put in force reductions as a
oieans of stimulating consumption. At
vthc West preparations are making for
tmyers * excursions , and a more thoroughly
organized effort to stimulate linking is
'looked for thi < 5 fall than ever before. In-
< lu--try is possible a trifle more active fol
lowing last week's holidajs. but shutdowns -
downs for inventory , repairs or to limit
production ihnvc apparently more than
counterbalanced resumptions that have
taken place. Business failures in the
Init vl States for tJie week ending .July 0
number 24(1. ( which compares with 2.(5 (
nt week. ISin the like week of 19 ( 7 ,
14 : ? in 190G. KG ; in 1905 and 203 in 1904.
failures in Canada for the week
. * ; 9. which compares with 25 last
week MiJ 19 in this week last year.
Sradstreet's Report./
T'ucnrn Cattle , common to prirri
o4.0to $ .2r. ; hog = . prime heavy , S4.0C
-o ? G.7o ; sheep , fair to choice , ? . " .OC
S4.-0 ; wheat , No. 2 , 90c to 91 c ;
i.'orn. No. 2 , 7oC to 74c : oats standard ,
, -2c to r.c ; rye. No. 2. 72c to 7. ; hay ,
-hnothy. SS.OO to $12.00 : prairie , $ S.Ofl
* u > $12. . 0 : butter , choice creamery. 19a
ito 22c : eggs , fresh , 17c to 19c ; potatoes ,
oew , per baliel , 90c to $1.10.
Indianapolis Cattle , shipping , ? . ° .0fl
Vto $8.00 : hogs , good to choice heavy ,
t ? ? . "iO to ? H.SO : sheep , common to prime ,
. $3.00 to $4.r > 0 : wheat. No. 2 , S4c tc
Qr c : corn. No. 2 wihite. G9c to 70c ; oats ;
.No. 2 white , olc to 52c.
St. Louis Cattle. ? 4..0 to $8.20 : hogs ,
? 400 to $ rt.7r : sheep. S.1.00 to ? 4..0 ;
client. No. 2 , 92c to 9c : ; corn. No. 2.
Tr c to 77c : oats. No. 2 , . " )3c to "i-lc ; ;
rye , o. 2 , 71c to 7. > c.
Cincinnati Cattle. $4.00 to $ n..10 ;
iiogs 'S1.00 to SG.7. > : sheep. $ . ° , .00 to
Sn.SH : wheat. No. 2. S9r to OOe : corn ,
* No. 2 mixed , 7Gc to 77c ; oats. No. 2
mixed , r.Hc to > $ c : rye. No. 2. S4c to SGc.
Potroit Cattle , $4.00 to $ r > . . > 0 ; hogs ,
' $4.00 to ? G.0 : sheep. $2.oO to ? 4.00 :
'wlieni. No. 2 , 90c to 92c : corn. No. .1
yellow. TTic to 77c : oafs. No. " white ,
> oc to HGc : rye. No. 2. 7.1c to 7Gc.
Milwaukee Wheat. No. 2 northern ,
' $1.12 to $1.1" : corn. No. . ' 5. 71c to 7."e :
oats , standard. . . * kto . > 4c : rye , No. 1 ,
73c to 74c : barley , No. 2 , G7c to GSc ;
-pork , mess , $1'J.72.
Buffalo Cattle , dioire shipping steers ,
-34.00 to $7.2. ) : hogs , fair to choice , $1.00
-to $ G.90 ; sheep , common to good mixed ,
$4.00 to S."i.30 ; lambs , fair to choice ,
0 to $7.0.
New York Cattle. $4.00 to $7.20 ;
° . .nO to SG.SO : sheep. $3.00 to
. ) ; wheat. No. 2 red. 9Sc to 90c ;
-corn. No. 2 , STc to S2c : oats , natural 1
-white , , " ) Sc to GOc : butter , creamery , 20c
> to 2.5c : eggs , western , l.'c to ISc.
Toledo Wheat. No. 2 mixed , 90c to
* 92c : corn. No. 2 mixed. 7. > c to 7Gc ;
oats. No. 2 mixed. r lc to . 2c ; rytNo. .
2 , 7Gc to 77c ; clover seed. October , $ G.30.
TBADE ATJD INDUSTRY.
Over I.0 loaves of what is alleged Ir.
$ je underweight bread have been confis-
< atod by W. D. Mo-Call , inspector of
bakeries. Minneapolis. It is said that the
wary inspector is on the trail of a num
tier of bakers who are furnishing Uieii
customers with short weight loaves.
The ore movement from the head of
il/ake Superior will reaoh about 22,000.-
i < XK ) tons , according to advices received
by vcsselmen Hiere. This is little over
half of that of 1907.
The annual meeting of the Minnesota
iStoto Pharmaceutical Association was
iheld at Lake Carlos , near Alexandria
This session was novel in that it was an
'outing in a camp , established between
Lakes Carlos and Darling. Tfee sessions
were held in a large tent and smaller
ones were used for sleeping quarters. A
large dining ball furafehed refresh'
rt ments.
BUSE1ESS 02 * TJP
Nation's Trade in Some Cases Sur
passes Normal.
Careful analysis of commercial , in
dustrial and agricultural condition *
made by ivpreseiuatives of the Chicago
Uecord-IIcrald throughout the United
States showed that business activity
in all lines is steadily returning to nor
mal and has in some cases exceeded
it. Crops are unusually large and the
number of unemployed men and of
empty railroad cans show marked de
creases.
One of Uncle Sam's most reliable
business barometers , the Chicago post-
oflice receipts , registered an exception
ally reassuring indication Saturday
that the tide of business throughout
the country has ttilien a sharp upturn.
Statislics on the postal receipts of the
country were compiled in New York
and made public by Postmaster Ed
ward M. Morgan of the eastern me
tropolis. There the business pulse was
shown to be quickening by the fact
that the rer-eipls at the New York of-
n'Vo for June of this year were $21-
9C.1.2S higher than in June , 1907. Fig
ures were forwarded from fifty of the
largest olliccs to Postmaster Morgan ,
and of this number thirty-three made
a showing of increases during the
month of June , 1908 , over the receipts
of June , 1907. The aggregate receipts
of these fifty olliccs reached the large
total of $7,01G,1GO , a gain of $ G1GS3
over the business of the same offices
in June , 1907.
In Chicago fully 10.000 railroad men
have gone back to work in the last six
months. Half of the men the packers
laid off last winter are at work again.
The idle cars in the Chicago district
have been reduced one-half since the
high number reached in May. Illinois
will have a winter wheat crop of 40-
000,000 bushels , which is a little less
than last year. The oats crop will be
125.000,000 bushels , which is 20.000,000
bushels more than last year. The corn
crop condition and acreage suggests a
crop of : )25.00.000 bushels , about the
same as last year.
General conditions seem promising in
Wisconsin , where the big manufactur
ing institutions report an increase of
business , actual and in inquiries. J.
I > . Klapp. of Milwaukee , president of
the National Car Service Association ,
says that by Nov. 1 there will be a
car shortage.
With all factories and shops in Oma
ha and its vicinity running full time ,
with assurance of another year of
bountiful crops in Nebraska and sur
rounding states , the industrial outlook
in that city is most promising. In
Kansas wheat destroyers have been
: u-lm . but the yield of corn will be
the heaviest in the State's history.
There is a heavy demand for unskilled
labor.
Secretary George A. Wells , of the
Iowa Grain Dealers' Association , in
annual estimate made public at DCS
Moines , shows crops in Iowa to be
sligktly above normal , with prospects
for the future favorable.
St. Louis reports conditions in the
wholesale and retail mercantile lines
as fast resuming normal and keeping
freight business moving fairly well.
St. Louis reports conditions in the
wholesale and retail mercantile lines
as fast resuming normal and keeping
freight busuiess moving fairly well.
At Indianapolis there are probably
12,000 to 15,000 men still unemployed ,
but conditions are improving. Facto
ries generally are putting more men
to work.
Advices from Detroit say that busi
ness conditions in Michigan , though not
yet normal , are showing a steady im
provement and are much better than
three or four months ago. Bumper i
crops are reported from both grain and
i
fruit regions.
In Onio crops are uniformly good
and prices on farm , products are the
best in years. Every trunk line rail
road entering Cincinnati reports a
steady increase in freight business. I
Investigation made at Pittsburg
showed that a gradual improvement
has set in in all lines in western Penn
sylvania , West Virginia and eastern
Ohio , the district having financial and
commercial relations with that city as
the center. This is evidenced by the
scarcity of men , more especially in the
coke and coal operations. While the
mills are operating from 50 to GO per
cent capacity , more men are being put
to work every day. A sane estimate
of the number of men at work in Alle
gheny County in the mills and fur
naces is placed at 05,000 , while in the
mining and coking districts not a man
need be idle. The railroads have taken
on a spurt within the last thirty days.
At the Baldwin locomotive works in
Philadelphia 1,000 men have been tak
en back in the last three weeks.
Norfolk mill Southern Receivership.
The Federal Court at N6rfolk , Va. , has
placed tlie Norfolk and Southern railway
in tlie hands of receivers upon the appli-
' a'ion of the Trust Company of America ,
tlie raihoad assenting. The road recently
has bought in a number of branch lines
on borrowed capital and could not make
good. A reorganization committee has
been formed.
31 > n Crowding Out Catllc.
One explanation advanced for the con
tinued rise in the price of meats is that
the big rattle ranges of the Southwest
have been rapidly filling up with settlers
in the Ia t two years , with a consequent
Hearing of the pastures for ctiltivation.
The prices for cattle on tlie hoof are
higher than ever. In all the larger cities
the poorer people have begun systematic
boycotts of the butchers who charge the
high prices. Tlie result is that people are
eating less meat and more fruit and veg
etables than heretofore.
PROHIBITION PARTY'S HOMINES.
Eugene W. Chafin , nominee of the Pro
hibition party for the presidency , is a
native of Wisconsin , but is now a resi-j
dent of Illinois and is one of the most :
*
prominent members of Qiis party in that
State , lie is an attorney and has been
a candidate for the Prohibition nomina
tion for Governor of Illinois at tlie com
ing State convention of his party. He
was born in Walworth county , Wisconsin ,
Nov. 1 , 1S52. lie worked on a farm by
the month to defray his expenses while
at the University of Wisconsin , from
which he was graduated in lS7o. lie
sXXr * < ' *
jfj $ ' : ' - \
; . . - .
WliSiiii w & &K r S y n
KUGENI : w. CIIAFIN.
practiced law in Waukeslm , AVis. , for
twenty-five years. lie Avas State presi
dent of the EpwortUi League two terms
and grand chief templar of the State
Good Templars four terms , a candidate
on the Prohibition ticket for Attorney
General of Wisconsin twice and for Gov
ernor in 1S9S. In 1901 he located in
Chicago. lie is Hhe author of "Lives of
the Presidents" and "Lincoln , the Man of
Sorrows. "
CORN CEOP Of SPLENDID SHAPE.
Reports from Three States Show
Improvement of Conditions.
Special reports collected from various
po nts in the tri-State territory around
Sioux City , which includes the greatest
corn country in the world , indicate that
corn is from a week to two weeks ahead
of its growth at the corresponding pe
riod Inst year. Incessant rains during
May and June caused alarm among the
farmers of Iowa , Nebraska , and South
Dakota , but the popping weather oi !
last week has brought corn out in great
shape. Even in the low lands of the
Missouri valley which were inundated
by Hoods corn has picked up remarka
bly and the loss will be but slight. Con
ditions are especially promising in
South Dakota ; wheat , oats and other
small grains are doing exceedingly well ,
and in some sections harvesting has be.
S = 5 \ " > - ' . -
- - * fe * " * C- * *
* * ;
- *
' & * & % & ? - CzUL
The See road will not have to fight it
the courts to get into Superior. The
other roads have agreed to abide by the
decision of tlie AViscousin commission.
The headquarters of the Wabash rail
road has been removed from Piltsburg to
Cleveland , and the NOW million-dollar de-
pot and office building in Pittsburg will
be rented.
T3ie federal grand jury at Richmond ,
Va. , has indicted the Chesapeake and Ohio
Railway and its general freight agent ,
togetiher with a Richmond grain dealer ,
on the charge of rebating.
The Burlington road attempted to file
witih the Secretary of State at St. Paul
a mortgage for $800,000,000 covering all
of its property. The Secretary of State
has refused to accept the filing until a
registry fee o $100.000 is paid into the
State treasury. Another thing that will
be required of the road is that it give a
detailed statement of tt * > real estate hold
ings , together witli values. This covers
trackage , terminals and depots This
statement must cover the entire system.
Upon the petition of the National Car
Wheel Company of New York , the Dis
trict Court at Toledo , Ohio , has appoint
ed Vice President Wortrnngton of the
Wheeling and Lake Erie receiver for the
road , which is the fourth Gould property
to go into the hands of a receiver. The
proceeding was a friendly one. The pe
tition says that the road is in debt to
the extent of over . ' ? 23.000,000. This move
is understood , however , to be a prelimi
nary step to the reorganization of the
Gould system.
The Canadian Pacific Railroad Com
pany has undertaken to plant pine trees
along both sides of the track , from Win
nipeg to Vancouver. The company will
plant various kinds of pine trees and ev
ery few j'ears younger trees will be added
to the plantation , which will be some
1,500 miles long. These trees are to be
planted for a double purpose , the younger
ones to keep the track clear of snow and
as they grow up the larger ones will bo
used for bridge timber , telegraph poles ,
etc. , while tihe smaller trees will be util
ized for fence pos-ts and ties.
Chairman Knapp of the interstate com
merce commission has derided the case of
the Rhinelander Paper Company against
the Northern Paoific and Chicago and
Northwestern railway companies. The
complaint challenged tlie reasonableness of
an 8-cent rate on pulp wood from Dnluth ,
Minn. , to Rhinelander , Wis. During the
proceedings fhe S-cent rate on pulp wood
was reduced to 0.95 cents. The commis
sion > ld that the reduced rate on pulp
wood ft not shown to be excessive , and
that , upon ail facts disclosed , tihe rate
fldQjstment ; on paper is not shown to be
unlawful.
Eugene W. Chafin Is Nominated
for President by the Aqua
Pura Part } ' .
WATKIIsFS Iff SEC01TD PLACE.
Shortest Platform in History of Ra
tional Conventions Is Adopted
at Columbus.
Columbus Correspondence :
Eugene W. Chafin , of Chicago , was
nominated for President of the United
States by the Prohibition national con-
vcntion Thursday. For Vice President
the convention named Aarou S. Watf
Kiiis , of Ada , 0. , a professor in the
Ohio Northern University. Both candidates -
didates are gubernatorial candidates of
the Prohibition party in their respective - ! ,
ive States. The shortest platform on
record and one containing lor the first
time t in the history of important ua-
tional t parties in this country a decla
ration in favor of equal suffrage was
framed for the candidates to stand
upon. t
Republican and Democratic candi
date and platforms were , scored alike ,
and evidence held to prove that Lincoln
was a Prohibitionist was presented at
the opening session of the Prohibition
party's national convention. Both Taft
and Bryan were stamped as friends oi
liquor in the address of the temporary
chuirmau , Robert II. Patton of Springfield -
field , 111.
Mr. Patton held the attention of lih
audience throughout his speech and al
times moved his hearers to great enthu
siasm ,
"Take off your coat , " and "Hit him
again ! " cried the delegates , and thesa
shouts were interspersed with "Anicn . "
The speaker took off his coat and then
paid his compliments to the late Heri
man Raster of Illinois , author of the
personal liberty plant of the 1S72 lieI
publican platform , lie read a letter
from Wade II. Ellis , attorney general
of Ohio and author of much of the lie-
publican platform of this year , dechirj
ing that he could find nothing in the
Raster plank "iucousibteut with Repu'j-
hcan doctrine. ' '
"Caught with the goods ! " shouted
some one in the audience.
Passing from the Republican party ,
Mr. Patton spoke of that "very talkative
man from Lincoln , " and said that in
the last sixteen years Mr. Bryan "has
championed everything loose under tlie
sun in the way of a political issue except -
cept the prohibition question. "
The convention was called to order at
10 o'clock in Memorial Hall by Chair .
man Jones. Tlie invocation was offered ! j
by Rev. E. L. Eaton of Illinois , and j i j
after the formal reading of the call for ;
the convention the name of Robert II.
Patton of Springfield , 111. , was an
nounced as temporary chairman.
Following the address of Mr. Patton
the roll of states was called for the an
nouncement of committees. An address
of welcome to the delegates was de
livered by Mayor C. A. Bank of Colum
bus , and a response was made by W.
p. F. Ferguson of Chicago.
Planks in the I'latforsii.
1. Submission by Congress to die sev
eral States of an amendment to the fed
eral constitution prohibiting the manu
facture , sale , importation , exportation or
transportation of alcoholic liquors for
beverage purposes.
2. Immediate prohibition of the liquor
traffic for beverage purposes in the Dis
trict of Columbia , in the territories and in
all places over which the national govern
ment has jurisdiction , the repeal of the
internal revenue tax on alcoholic liquors
and the prohibition of interstate traffic
therein.
1
o. Election of United States Senators '
by direct vote of the people.
4. Equitable graduated income and in
heritance taxes.
5. Establishment of postal savings
hanks and the guaranty of deposits in
banks.
G. Regulation of all corporations doing
an nitrestate business.
7. Creation of a permanent tariff com
mission. j
8. Strict enforcement of law instead of j
the official tolerance and practical license J
of the social evil which prevails in many j
of our cities , with its unspeakable traffic
in girls.
9. Uniform marriage and divorce laws.
10. An equitable and constitutional em
ployers' liability act.
11. Court review of Postofnce Depart
ment decision * .
12. Prohibition of child labor in mines ,
workshops and factories.
lo. Legislation basing suffrage only
upon intelligence and ability to read and
write the Englis-li language.
14. Preservation of the mineral and
forest resources of the country and im
provement of the highways and water
vays.
Shop fur the Illiiul.
Helen Keller has opened at Manches
ter. Mass. , the first of what she expects
will be a chain , of shops for the sale of the
handicraft of blind workers. The display
includes fine products of the loom aad
various liouse furnishings.
Xelsou Downs Onus.
At San Francisco Joe Cans , the negro
who so long had held the lightweight
championship , was beaten in seventeen
rounds by "Battling" Nelson.
I Civil War Stories 8
Sounding Their Only iletrent.
The following article , showing the
/'ipid decrease of the members of the
5rand Army of the Republic , we take
! rom the Minneapolis Journal Sunday
Magazine :
The Grand Army of the Republic is
passing in final review. The total num
ber of survivors is now G20.0CO. This
3gure is obtained as follows : The last
> flicial enrollment , made by the pension
Luthorities at Washington. June GO ,
1007 , was G14.35S. Deducting 2.500 a
nonth , i'or nine intervening months ,
there were 22,000 dwiths. The Old
Buard is dying eft" at the rate of OJ a
Jay ; but the death losses for each
month are often higher. In 190G ,
Grand Army survivors tlkd to tile num
ber & of 29,208 ; and in 1907 the loss was
U,201 ; for the year that closes June 1 ,
190S , the death rate will be unquestiou-
Ibly between 35,000 and 37,000 , if not
higher. For the old soldiers of the Re
public f now have reached the average
age of G3. At that rate , the deaths will
flj
come faster and faster still ; and within
ten years the noble army will be all
but a memory.
Had the soldiers of the Civil war not
been mere lads in their teens , the Grand
Army would long ere this perished from
the earth. But the Union was saved
literally by boys boys in their teens ;
End many had not even reached their
teens.
Startling as this statement seems , it
Is indisputably born out by the official
records :
There were 2,778,309 enlistments , as
fallows ( :
At the age of 10 and under 23
At the age of 12 and under 223
At the age of 14 and under 1,323
At \ the age of 16 and under 844S > 1
At the age of 18 and under 1,1-31,438
At the age of 21 and under 2lo9,79S
Twenty-two years of age and over 018,511
Adding the number under 21 and over
22 5 that is , 2,159,798 and 618,511 the
total { enrollment was 2,77Sv309.
But there are some very old men in
the t Grand Army of the Republic ; and
that t is all the more reason why tue
death t losses will be exceedingly nigh in
the t years near at hand. There will
come a time when the last call \will \ be
responded i to each mouth by no less
than t 5,000 of the brave heroes of 'Gl
for I already that figure has been touched
by I one-half and over , and is growing
with \ alarming rapidity.
It requires little argument to support
the j statement just made ; and if the
reader j Is of a mathematical turn of
mind , let him go to the standard
mortuary i tables of the life Insurance
companies and determine i'or himself
what ' is the expectancy of life for" men
of ' the ages sot forth.
Here are startling official figures
pointing ' to the rapid vanishing of the
Grand ( Army :
r Number and age of survivors passed
on ' by Commissioner of Pensions War
ner ' , to June 30 , 1907.
Age. Survivors. Age. Survivors.
Gii i3,3Si si 1,257
03 11,0(55 ( 82 1,129
64 11,282 S3 733
Go 9,4i > 5 S4 036
GO 9,248 S3 430
07 0,811) SO 378
OS 3,201) 87 230
09 3,109 88 12T
70 , . . 8,302 89 . . . : 60
71 * . 3SS1 90 3fi
72 5,112 91 23
73 4,409 92 24
74 : . ' ,901 93 11
73 4L'5 : ; 04 8
70 3,528 95 2
77 2,490 90 5
78 2,099 97 1
79 1.7SO ! 98 5
SO 2,031 108 1
Never in the world's history , before
> ur day , was a nation saved by youths
In their teens. In the stirring years of
Father Abraham , these boys came for
ward by the tens of thousands , In re
sponse to the call to arms.
War expenditures reached $0,000,000-
000.
During the war G7.000 were killed in
battle.
The records also show that 43,012
died of wounds.
Disease claimed 22-1,580.
And 24,772 perished from other
causes.
There were 280,000 wounded in bat-
'tle.
Between all these dread disasters. It
Is -wonder that even a remnant of the
Grand Army of the Republic survives ;
and it should ever be the pride and
pleasure of this American Republic to
remember the debt owed to the boy of
'Gl.
Happily , all soldiers who have sur-
rived "forty years after tlie close of >
the war" ( to quote the language of the ;
law" ) are now entitled to a service
pension.
Veterans in
"The old soldier , when he Is a bachelor -
1e
elor or widower , is running Into grave
danger these.days of financial distress ;
among the feminine portion of humanIty -
iie
Ity , " remarked Treasurer Bigler at the
Bub-treasury to-day. He was speaking
of the recent reforms adopted in paying
pensions to the surviving defenders of
the nation during the somewhat late :
unpleasantness , whereby checks are
sent to the veterans , instead of them
crowding into the pension office once
every three months , thereby creating no
end of trouble and annoyance for the
agent and his assistants.
"It is not generally known among tlio
10v
gentler sex that the United States government
vto
ernment is bound to pay a pension to
the widow of a soldier. Now , a man
need not to have 'been married before
bea
he donned the blue and shouldered a
musket for his country's cause and the
protection of his home. Ke has the
right to marry any time , whether he be
twenty-five or seventy-five , provided al-
ways that he Ims no such responsibility }
as a wife living. [
"One can see , therefore , where the
danger to the old soldier lies. He ought
to have some protection from the wiles
of those who will seek to many him
against his stubborn will. No retreat
will be sacred from the adventurous
maid who s-eeks a husband , or the
widow who desires to have her maritalj
relations renewed , with the prospects }
of a pension for life in the somewhat !
dim and distant future. Let him secure !
for himself such seclusion as he may
desire , he will be found out by the per
sistency women apply when looking for
what they want.
" > I know of certain cases where wom
en have courted aged and infirm men.
whose only source of getting money for ?
a livelihood comes through the pension1
agency solely for the purpose of secur
ing for herself his pension when death ,
which appears near , takes him to thof
grave. This has been so fully demon-j
strated by the figures obtained at thej
War Department that it needs littloj
comment , for , if I am not mistaken ,
there are still about half a dozen wid
ows of pensioners whose husbands
fought in the war of the revolution.
"Under the present laws this thing 1st
likely to go on indefinitely. No one )
knows how many widows the government - !
ment will have to support through this
arrangement. Some , of course , will bo
worthy cases ; the most of them will bet
of this class , perhaps , but it is a no-j
torious fact that some men of ninety ;
have married girls of eighteen and nineteen - ,
teen years. The girls , perhaps , are notj
to blame for this , but those who have |
an eye for the future have seen it , and )
very frequently have urged such unions. !
Now , if this were generally known ;
among the women of the unscrupulous ;
k4nd they would not hesitate to becomo/ /
legally bound to some man , very old ,
who is a pensioner , and who draws anywhere - '
where from $2-1 : to $72 each quarter )
from Uncle Sam's treasure box. I do
not see how the system could be im
proved , but I think that there is some.
way of modifying it. " Philadelphia
Telegraph.
Her First Speech.
It was the first appearance in public
of Ada C. Sweet of Chicago , United
States commissioner of pensions under
President Grant and one of the first
women In the movement for equal po
litical rights for the sexes. When the
civil war broke out she was living
with her parents In the village of
Lombard , now a suburb of Chicago , and
was chosen to present to the boys of
the Lombard company a silk ilag which.
the women of the place had made with
their own fair hands.
The literary woman of the village
had wiitten for the occasion a beauti
ful presentation speech , in which the
soldiers were adjured to "take the fs.ir
flag into which your wives , daughters
and sweethearts have sewed fond hopes
and tearful prayers for your safe re
turn , carry it through the smoke and
shell of battle free from the stain of
dishonor and the rents of defeat and
bear it home victorious at the end of
the war. "
" " Miss Sweet "that
"I thought , says ,
I had learned that piece up and down ,
backward and forward , inside and out ,
but Q.n the great day itself , when the
band ceased playing and an awful
hush fell upon the crowd and every
face was turned expectantly up to
mine , itwas different. I opened my
mouth and paused. The literary lady
creaked forward in her chair and whis
pered loudly , 'Soldiers of Lombard'
"Thatwhisper went through me like
a knife , but left me still speechless. I
sot my teeth , stepped decisively forward
and pushed the flag into the hands
of the nearest soldier. Then I spoke.
Every word of that speech had left me ,
but I knew what it meant.
" 'Soldiers of Lombard , ' I said In a
desperate voice that must have been
heard to the utmost confines of the
crowd , 'here's your flag. Don't get it
dirty ! Don't tear it ! And be sure to
bring It back ! '
"A shout rose from that crowd such
as no orator before or since has ever
evoked from a crowd in those parts.
The first thing I knew I was riding oa
the shoulders of two soldiers , while
the whole company pressed about me ,
with waving hats , and my father was
leaning over toward me from tl& bade
of his big horse and calling me hl3
'own original girl , ' while the tears
rolled down his cheeks with laughter.
"As long as I lived In the village of
Lombard I never dared to meet square
ly the vengeful eyes of the literary lady
who had written that presentation ;
speech. " St. Louis Republic.
An Anecdote of
There was a characteristic incident
in the early life of Colonel Ellsworth ,
the brilliant young lawyer who was one
of the first notable victims of the civil
war. His struggles to gain a foothold
in his profession were attended by
many hardships and humiliating priva
tions. Once , finding the man he was
looking for on a matter of business in
a restaurant he was invited to partake
of the luncheon to which his acquaint
ance was just sitting down. Ellsworth
was ravenously hungry , almost starv
ing , in fact , but he declined courteous
ly , but firmly , asking permission to talk
orer the business that had brought him
thither while the other went on with
fho meal.
The brave young fellow in telling the
story in arfter years confessed that ho
s-uffered positive agony at the sight and
smell of the tempting food.
"I could not in honor accept hospi-
tallty I could not reciprocate , " was hia
simple explanation of his refusal. "I
might starve , .but I could not sponge. "
Marlon Harland's "Complete Et >
quette , "
