"Che Conservative *
In Mexico de-
MEXIC AN nomina t i o n a 11 y ,
FINANCE. money is the same
as iii the United
States ; that is to say , it is counted in
dollars and cents , the first being called
"pesos , " and the latter "ceutavos. "
This system was established by a law
which took effect iu 1890. Paper money
in circulation in the republic of Mexico
is in notes of the National Bank of Mexico
ice , the state banks , and the notes of
the banks of London , Mexico & South
America , all passing at par. However ,
there are exceptions as to some of the
state banks beyond the limits of the
state where it is issued , but then at only
a slight discount. American national
bank notes and greenbacks are always at
a premium in the republic of Mexico.
Exchange on New York commands a
premium , and exchange on London
commands a bigger premium. One of
our party during a recent sojourn in
Mexico had exchange on London which
brought far greater premium than was
paid for exchange on New York.
The rate on letters from Mexico to the
United States and Canada , is 5 cents
for each half ounce
Postage. or fraction thereof.
To all points in
Mexico the rate is 5 cents ; to all other
countries in the Postal Union , 10 cents.
Registration fee is 10 cents. Rates
on newspapers is 1 cent for each
two ounces or fraction thereof ; other
printed matter 1 cent per ounce and
three-fourths pr fraction thereof to the
United States and Canada , and 2 cents
to European countries. The limit of
weight of printed matter is 4 pounds.
In the larger cities there is a regular
system of delivery by carriers , and a
letter with its proper address will be de
livered promptly.
Many have rushed
VIVISECTION. to the defense of
vivisection , with
out , however , answering the main criti
cism. It is by no means certain but
that where a new theory is to be tested
and where a trial must be made before
a physician or surgeon would dare to
apply the principle in his practice , vivi
section of dumb brutes , humanely con
ducted , is justified ; but in ninety per
cent of cases this is not the object of
the butchery. Animals are tortured by
thousands each year in the colleges ,
simply to demonstrate that the lecturer
is telling the truth which no one has
any reason to doubt. Nerves are sev
ered , eyes removed , joints dislocated ,
brains exposed , spinal cords "tapped"
and lungs pierced , not to establish or to
controvert any new theory , but simply
to show the students that the professor
knows whereof lie speaks , and for the
further doubtful purpose of making the
lectures "attractive and interesting. "
This is not scientific research ; it is
simply illustrating a lecture by the em
ployment of living , suffering animals ,
instead of inanimate drawings and
models.
The facility with
REDUCING which Colonel Bry-
THE LISTS. an reduces the list
of possible candi
dates for the Presidency in the ranks of
the democrats is most admirable. It is
however only fair to state that the edi
torial assassination of Hill and other
prominently named candidates from day
to day is not alphabetically arranged ,
because of personal considerations for
those whose nomenclature is initialed
by the second letter of the alphabet.
The Massachus-
DECLARED etts democrats have
THEMSELVES , cast free silver in
to Boston harbor ,
to weigh down the obnoxious tea
dumped there by their ancestors many
years ago. The same principle of cast
ing off the galling yoke placed upon
them by a dictator applies to this recent
Boston free silver party , as was shown
by those who attended the Boston tea
party , more than a century ago , for
both events were the beginning of the
end of an over-bearing ruler's reign.
Nebraska now
BIRDS. protects birds which
are "attractive in
appearance or cheerful in songs. " From
a sentimental point of view this protec
tion extended to the bird which pleases
the eye or the ear , seems delightful , but
research establishes the fact that there
are useful birds which are worthy of
protection simply because they aid the
agriculturalist and ar boricultur alls tand
casting aside all sentiment , are entitled
to the utmost consideration on account
of the good work they do in destroying
insects. Prof. F. E. L. Beal , B. S. ,
assistant ornithologist of the biological
survey , has examined the stomachs of
3,000 birds and determined their virtue
as promoters of agriculture from the
number of insects contained therein.
Results prove that the birds about the
average orchard are worth as much to
the owner as is the average hired man.
It is interesting to note that many birds
formerly in disrepute , are proven to beef
of the utmost value to mankind. For
instance of the pugnacious "King
Bird , " or "Bee Bird" as he is some
times called on account of his supposed
appetite for honey bees ( which by the
way has been proven to be a base
slander ) Prof. Beal says :
"The insects that constitute the great
bulk of the food of this bird are nox
ious species , largely beetles May
beetles , click beetles ( the larvte of
which are known as wire worms ) , wee
vils , which prey upon fruit and grain ,
and a host of others. Wasps , wild bees ,
and ants are conspicuous elements of
the food. During summer many grass
hoppers and crickets , as well as leaf
hoppers and other bugs , are also eaten.
Among the flies were a number of rob
ber flies insects which prey largely
upon other insects , especially honey
bees , and which have been known to
commit in this way extensive depreda
tions. It is thus evident that the king
bird by destroying these flies actually
does good work for the apiarist. Nine
teen robber flies were found in the
stomachs examined. A few caterpil
lars are eaten , mostly belonging to the
group commonly known as cutworms ,
all the species of which are harmful.
About 10 per cent of the food consists
of small native fruits , comprising some
twenty common species of the roadsides
and thickets , such as dogwood berries ,
elder berries , and wild grapes. The
bird has not been reported as eating
cultivated fruit to an injurious extent ,
and it is very doubtful if this is ever the
case , for cherries and blackberries are
the only ones that might have come
from cultivated places , and they were
found in but few stomachs. "
When Senators
SWEET DREAMS. Mauderson and
Paddock forced
through a bill to admit the machinery
for the Nebraska sugar factories free
of duty , they played upon the patri
otic feeling of the country , more par
ticularly Nebraskausby assuring them
that with the beet sugar factories
once established , and properly pro
tected , this country would shortly
export sugar to the uttermost parts of
the world. The fact is that the sugar
interests never intended to make beet
sugar as a business ; that machinery
was imported not to gather sweetness
from the beet , but to manufacture
protection and bounties for the
sugared interests. Of course the
thought that we were to sweeten the
world's tea , coffee and cakes was a
pleasant one and the farmer's dream
of raising fabulous amounts of beets
and selling them for equally fabulous
sums , while the ships of all nations
came in an unbroken procession to
bear away their granulated burdens
and leave instead a cargo of gold was
with no attempt at facetiousuess
a sweet one , but the cold , hard fact
of the matter is that beet sugar
making was never instituted for any
other purpose than that of arraying
the people upon the side of th'e sugar
coated concerns by leading them to
believe that a little "protection"
would make this country one vast
lump of sweetness with the volcanoes
spouting taffy , and syrup running in
rivulets from the Rook-candy Moun
tains to the granulated plains below.
But' dreams go by contraries , and af
ter years of protection and feeding
upon bounties , we find the beet-sugar
still an "infant" , and a puny one at
that , but it has served its purpose by
leading the farmers of the west to the
polls to favor the "protection" of
sugar which was all that its promoters
meters intended.
