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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1886)
THTC OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY * SEPTEMBER 12. 1886.-TWELVE PAGES. THE EXPRESSMEN OF OMAHA , 1 Two Hundred Men Who Are Always on the /THE SOURCE OF THEIR PROFITS. Their Ulirs nml ItatcH-Suiidny Husl- ness Tliclr 1'lnces of Huslnc s . lliclr Patrons Old-Time i x pressmen. [ Written for t/ic Omaha Ruwltty Hc. . ] "Huvo a wagon , sir1 is thu query that will be shot : il any person who ImlU ntul looks around inquiringly upon any prin cipal street corner in thu city. The police force may bu too small to pi-onorly cover thu streets , and disturbing inllucnci swill sometimes clear the street corners of their- usual quota of loafers nml close the shops of I ho banana peddlers , but from early morn till late nt night , In all sea sons and all kinds of weather , the truv- clod thoroughfares are always closely guarded by the man with the wagon * Iho expressman , Till : 5IKX AND TllKIll CHAHACTBIimiCS. There are nboiil 200 expressmen in Omaha , enough to cover the city thor oughly and attend to the wants of the people who are always on the move and whoso necossiticH conslilulo the express man's stock in trade. Different from oilier clashes of workmen , the expressmen have no distinguishing characteristics in common , but form a class whoso means nml methods of doing business vary as much as they do among the merchants of the city. On one corner may bo fre quently found representatives of all the kinds of expressmen the young lad with the big whip , who is the bane of existence to the fat man "who is trying to nap on the next wagon- the old votorail with the sorrowful cast of countenance , who ntnnds at the end of his wagon , with hands thrust ( loop into capacious trouscr pockets , drawing consolation from n cud of the weed ; the small-staturcd Celt who 3d cracking jokes with passers-by ; the portly Teuton , whoso wagon is suspi ciously near the lager beer saloon on the corner ; the colored expressman , who stops whistling or singing only to answer the questions of patrons ; and the ner vous driver , who keeps Ins seat nml con stantly drives from one corner to an other. blocking the streets in turning and making himself a nuisance generally. Let a passer-by ask for a wagon , and the lollers become the most active men in the city. The probable customer is surrounded - rounded am ! the best that the city affords placed at his disposal , and prompt performance- the job in hand guaran teed. When tuo outlit is selected the other drivers resume their wonted posi tions of repose and quietly await the ad vent of the next patron. They work on thosuniciont-for-tho-day-is-tho-evil-there- ot-plan , and know that there is no use in trying to create business. They merely ta'ko eare of the work that is oflered and are content. TliniK ri.ACES OP UUSINESS. The places whore the expressmen make their principal headquarters are at the Union Paoilic depot , at the corner of Fourteenth and Douglas , Fourteenth and Dodge , Thirteenth and llarney , Twelfth and llaruoy , Fifteenth and Douglas , Fourteenth and Farnam , Tenth and Far- nam , and. at several places on Sixteenth street. Tlir. KXrilKSSHA-N'S OUTFIT. There is as mlieh variety in the style of rigs used by the expressmen as there is in the men themselves. They range from the spavined horeo with a chain harness and a wagon fearfully and wonderfully made to the magnificent platform spring wagon , drawn by thoroughbred chargers wearing finely mounted harness. The first named style , however , predominates. A small capital is required to pro'vido an outfit ot this kind , the value.of the average - ago rig , horse , liai ness and wagon , not exceeding $150. Many of the express- iincn , however , have teams and outfits that cost them from $100 to sffiOD. TUB BXritKSSMAN's PAl'ltONS. Alt classes of men contribute more or loss to the expressman's support. The merchant whoso business does not war rant the keeping of a delivery wagon furnishes numerous jobs to the express man1 , and manv of thorn have yearly con tracts for thofr work. The young men who arc coming to the city , and those hero who change the location of their rooms from time to time drop many a quarter that goes to make up the ex pressman's income. Many of the ex pressmen have carryalls , and are kept busy during the summer season attending the wants of picnickers and convoying passengers to and from the ball park and fair grounds. They reap a rich harvest during fair week. A carryall Unit will seat ten persons will make at least live .trips a day to the fair grounds * making nn average of $5 for each round trip , or $25 for the day's work. Some of the ex pressmen have provided themselves with especial facilities for moving household goods , mid lind plenty of worfchi iocom- modating the great army of tenants , who change their places'of residence almost every month. Hut the servant girls form one of the expresman's most profitable class of patrons. Their name is legion , and they all have trunks The "Want" columns of the DAII.V Ben are an indica tion of the servant girl's ' itineracy that provides the expressman's profit. By their continual change of employers the servant girls have become known to most of the expressmen of the city , who are well posted as to the whereabouts of the kitchen mechanics and are frequently able to discount employment bureaus in providing this class of household help. HIS I.ICKNSi : AND WAGES. Each of the COO expressmen of the city pays a license of $10 per year , producing a revenue of $2,000 yearly , wliich , with other licenses , goes into the city school fund. The scale of charges is also lixcd by a city ordinance twenty-five cunts for the delivery of a trunk or small parcel to nny portion of the city , and this in a measure does away with the strife for business mid forms u tacit agreement among the expressmen upon a divisionof tlui territory and the business thereof. The nature of the business , si/.o of loads nnd length of trips , does away with the ordinance , however , and makes the price n matter of stipulation. To the credit of the uvprcssiuoii , bo it said that tin jt are seldom accused of making exorbitant charges , as Is too often the ease with their brothers , the haekmon. Most of the expressmen do business on their own account , though there are several compa nies that conduct an exclusive express business. Onu < jf * h su operates a line between Omaha ami Council ninth , an other controls the trunk and bagjrage business at thu depots , and u third does an exclusive light parcel delivery busi j ness. The wages of thu expressman also come under thu head of notable variances , Isc.ar the first of the month , when movers ' are numerous , oil plonio days and during fair weeks , the business is a very luera- tivo ono , but it has its dull seasons. For a year's work thouxprcssmaiiwith a. one horse outlit will probably average & 1 to ) } ! ) . &i ) per day , with an increase according to his facilities for doing business. Some of the Omaha uxorcssmen arc in very comfortable circumsumces , though the majority of them only manage to pro vide a comfortable living for tlicmslilvcs nnd families , and have little or nothing Julil aside for a rainy day. J/iko all men who work for an uncertain ami uulixod rate of pay , they regulate their expenses by their income , and arc moru apt to have a surplus on the expense side of thu lodger than the other. They arc a quiet , orderly class , ns n rule , and but little trouble is reported from their relations with cacli other or with their patrons. THE OII-TIMK KXl'llKSSMKN. No business or class of work has tin- ' dergono a more decided change witli Omaha's progress than the express busi ness. There are now in the city about a dozen old-timers , whoso express ex perience runs back into the 'sixties , who could never content themselves to con duct the business under the prescutordor of things. There was no scale of prices in thosu days , and there was prolitin the work. The bulk of the work then con sisted in hauling passengers and their bagiiago to and from the ferry boats. Tlie passenger anil baggage olliees of the eastern roads wen * then located on Ninth street , between Farnam and Douglas streets , opposite the ferry , which was over n mile east of Ninth street. The expiM'ssmon in those days made their headquarters at tlie Tivoli garden nnd divided their time between sippinir juger and robbing tourists in a professional way. Their usual charge for carrying a passenger and his trunk from Ninth street to llio ferry Was § 1 , and it the connection was close and good time had to bo made , the ex pressman had an exasperating habit of stopping on a sandbar about half way to tie ! ferry and making his victim shell out from $2 to $5. This was in an early day when the business men of the town depended almost entirely upon their transient trade for a living. There were no regular customers. The chances wore that a merchant would never see his customer again , and he consequently took advantage , of his one opportunity ami bled his purchaser at a four-price rate. The expressmen therefore were only acting under the rocogni/cd rule of business and their extortions Were unno ticed. Just after the war there was a great rush of soldiers through Omaha on their way east , after having boon dis charged from tlio armies in the west. The most of them had served four or live years and had monov coming to them in sums ranging from ! f500 to $3,000. They had to come to Omaha to draw their pay and were invariablymib.jooled to a well- arranged system of robbery , of which expressmen were tlio agents and the mer chants of the city instigators and part ners. Upon his arrival in the city a sol dier would bo taken in charge by an expressman , who would conduct him to the government headquarters and help him draw his pay , always getting a fee for so doing. Drinks , at tlio soldier's ex pense , would follow , and then a purchas ing tour. The expressmen "stood in" with certain clothing merchants and dealers in the different lines , and drew a per cent upon all sales made to sol diers or other travelers run into the store by them. After a soldier had purchased an outlit , raying four prices for it , lie would bo sent on his way , and tlio ex pressman would go around and collect his commissions fronr his partners , the merchants. Tlio express business was profitable in those days , one man having a record of haviwjr made ? M5 in one day , while $25 to-10 ! was considered but a fair day's work. The old-timers , however , never dreamed but thatthoso palmy days would last always , and most of them who failed to take advantage of their oppor tunities are still in the business , pegging away in a disgruntled manner for fees that would have been considered an in sult in tiio early days. HAHUV HUNTUI : . Talc of the Two Alexanders. New York Sun : The antagonism be tween the prince nnd the czar is not of modern birth or later gnwtli. It dates far back from the tune when they wore both children. They nscd to meet every year at Darmstadt. The Empress Marie of Russia was in the habit of annually revisiting tlie city of her birth to spend a few weeks with nor brothers , Alexander of Hesse and the former'Grand Duke Louis III. They were so much liked by the Czar Alexander II. that , m order to bo near them , ho had fixed his summer residence at tlio castle of Jngenlioim , and never failed to summon near him the two little Battenberg boys , his nephews. Prince Alexander was so particularly a favorite of the emperor that the jealous rivahy of his own so is was thereby ox- oiled. Thus wore laid the seeds of the enmity which has attracted so much at tontiou. One day at Ju"cnheim the little Battenborg boy , seated on tlio c/.ar's knee and toying with his orders , asked the name ot one particular star. "It is the cross of St. George , " answered his uncle , "a cross you will wear on your breast when you are.a Russian general and have won your tirst victory , " At these words of Ills father's the ezarowitoh turned away , impatiently muttering so as to be hoard : "Of course ail the good things must be for Germans now. " "Aro you not a German yourself ? " asked tlio dauntless little boy. "German blood flows m your veins , imperial high ness. " The czarowilch never quite forgave or wholly forgot the retort of the pampered child .whom in his hearHio considered as an objectionable poor relation ; and there never was then or'thoroaftor much love lost between the cousins. Negro Suite Fairs. N. Y.Freeman , : ( negroorgan ) . One of the most encouraging uigiis of the times is the activity displayed by the colored people of the south to sliow the people of the country the industrial progress wliich they are making. This activity is show' ing itself all along the linn. Arrange- in en Us are now being made to hold indus trial fairs in Arkansas , Mississippi , and North Carolina , and ono is talked of in Florida. The North Carolina industrial associa tion lias become a permanent recognized institution and lias held state fairs for a number of years past. Thu best men in thu state liavu tlio matter in hand , and their past successes arc a guarantee that thu fair which- will be inaugurated at Raleigh , November 8 , to continue five days , will bu all that its. projectors hope for it. The Arkansas association is con trolled by equally good management and the most satisfactory results may be pre dicted. Wo know of n'o enterprise originating with us moroto bo encouraged thai' chose statu fairs. They not only show what the race is doing , but they encourage greater effort on our part , and compul the respectful attention of our white follow clti/.ens , The zeal and'fidelity displayed by the Now York Evening lost in giving promi nence to this activity on the part of the colored people of the south Is not only commendable on the part of that great paper but encouraging to the race at largo , ' May these fairs multiply in the south. They aru a sure index ( if the progress wo are making in that suction , ami ovury evidence of this progress is of incalcula blu value-to ns. Homo StrikingCliiinucs in JoitrnnllMii. A "blanket" sheet in new to bu added to Now York journalism. Thu star , which has been run since its resuscitation by Mr Dorsheimor us a fo'ir-pago paper , modeled after thu Sun. will , on or about the Ifjlh just , , bo.onlarged to an elght- pugo paper. The reduction of tlio pnco of the existing eight-page papers to two cents made n serious inroad into thu popularity of thu ( pur-page two-cunt jourmUs. , of which thu Sun jvae thu chief. Thu enlargement of the Staris a recogni tion of the demand ( hus shown for quan tity as weJJs quality in the newspaper lino. The general stall'of the nowspujtor will not bu increased , it is said , but the local satf ) will bu somewhatenlarged. . In this connection tbti rumor ; s iutoivat ing tlm * the Sun contemplates either a similar enlargement ns soon as it can put in the requisite increase of press facilities , or uUu the reduction of it * price to one cent. BULGARIA AND ALEXANDER , A Sketch of the Oountrj * nnd the Pricco. . THE BULGARIAN QUESTION. Alexander n Isolation of tlio Tjtifo Empress - press nl'finssln , nnd nlso of Queen ' Victoria A Uonmtitlo Bitlgr.ria is a priticipalltyof southeast ern Kurnpc created in 1H78 : by l\i\Jlreaty of Berlin. Article 1 of this treaty pro vided that Hulgana should bu consilituted an autonomous and tributary principalUy uhdcr the .suzerainty of tlio sultan. ' 1'he Bulgarians Wore original/ ! "a raeb re lated to the Tartars and Turks , and are first mentioned in history as inhabitants of the region of tlio Volga-river , Whence they made occasional incursions into the Roman empire. In the seventh "caiitury they crossed the Volga , nMl , "mingling witli the Slavic tribes , occupied the eountry north ami south of the Duuitbc and built up a powerful , state. jLTJioy * wore converted to Christianity-ill the ninth century. The Bulgarian nation at tained great extent and power'and lie | royal court became the centre of a'cer tain degree of culture. It was overcome in 1381) ) by tlie Turks , and at the begin ning of the present ceiitiiry the.Bulga rians wore the "most miserable and'buck- ward of tlio inhabitants of the Turk tali empire About" fifty years' tigo an awakening was begun which has resulted in the revival of a strong national spirit , the organization of popular sohoojs , and tin ? growth of a small but promis ing literature. In 1870 llfty-ono news papers had been started. Bulgaria , as established by tlio Berlin treaty , is bounded on the south by the Balkans , including Yorna on the coast and Sophia on the west , the state to own all the for tresses. It was stipulated that principal ity of Bulgaria should have a Christian government and a national militia ; that the prince should be elected by the people ple and confirmed by the porto and great powers. Tlie first prince was Alexander 1. The first Bulgarian parliament , or assembly of notables , as ills called , mot atTirnova , February ! i3 , 18.VJ. The Bul garians of Eastern Houmelio- and Mace donia had elected deputies , who , hoWever - over , wore admitted as visitors only. The assembly adopted a set of rules for its government , made education compul sory and free , and fixed the civil list at 000,000 francs per annum. The assembly consists ot members by nomination , elec tion , and ex-olhcio , but constitutes a har monious whole , no distinction between members being made on account of their appointment , anil the deputies' not only represent the locality from which they come , but also tlm whole population of the Bulgarian principality. Besides the Mohammedans , who con tinued to disturb the peace of the country , and who proved but unwilling subjects of Prince Alexander , the Greeks , who live in. considerable numbers in the largo cities , diil not take kindly to the new order of things. Thousands of the more wi'altjiy and intelligent declared .them selves subjects of the king of Greece , and sconrca passports from tlio consuls of that country. The poorer classes of the Greeks , on tlio contrary , joined , the Mo hammedans , making common cduse with them in disturbing llieorder and peaceful establishment of the now regime. Dis turbances occurred also in Kasgrad , in which Mohammedans attacked Che Bulgarians. They were quelled wltli'IA a low days , and , forry-twoof the insurgents being killed , the rest , after a short resist ance , took to llight , sheltering themselves in the forests of O.sinan-Bo/ar. Other disturbances occurred in various parts of the principality , caused 'chiefly ' by the bands of robbers , and oven baslu-ba/.ouks and fiirloughed soldiers took part in them. The government proclaimed a state of siege and coinpl lined to the Turkish government , which took meas ures to suppress them. Previous "to the meeting of tlio coiigioss at Berlin , the British and HuEsiair''gOv- crnmcnts came to : in agreement respect ing tlie terms of adjustment which they would accept tronijthe congress. This agreement provided that Bulgaria should be divi'led ' into two provinces' : otic north of thu lialkaus to bo endowed with a po litical autonomy under a princes ; the other.south of tlio Balkans , but 'voi to touch tlie JEgean Sea , and to havtia Chris tian governor and a government .similar to that of an English colo'ny. Further , the British government reserved , among other things , the right to demand of thu congress the participation of Europe in tlie administrative organization of 'tjie two Bulgarian provinces , and to discuss the duration and nature of the Russian occupation of Bulgaria. THE WULOAKIAN QUKS1 ION was the first topic considered'by { ho coa- gress , and the lirst to bo settled. The linal decision of it wasnmdo substantially on the basis of the Anglo-llnss'liin agree ment , and.established the new Bulgaria as before mentioned , the territorysontli of the Balkans to bo created into an auto nomous province to bo called Eastern lloumolia , and to begovorneU byrf'Ohrls- tian hospador nominated by ttio sultan and the I'ovyers , who should' bo aided by a local elective parliament , and s'mSported by a local militia , the higher officers of which must bo approved , by the sultan. Thn Turkish government 'von ' full and entire right to occupy and cover the line of frontier separating Bulgaria from Eastern Houmolia , to bo used exclusively for frontier service. Tjio province of Eastern Houmolia ns defined by ttiis treaty lias in area of 18,004 square miles and a population of 751,000. The major ity of the Bulgarians wore anxious to bo incorporated into a state embracing this whole nationality , and strongly opposed to a return to Turkish rule. The discon tent of these people over the provisions of the Berlin treaty aggravated tHe dis orders wiih which the' country was already nfllicted. A petition signed by 60,1)00 ) Bulgarians protested against the division of Bulgaria , and declared that after nine months of Hussiaii occu pation they were opposed to a return to Turkish niisgoveriiment. ' ' J TUB DEPOSED PI11NCI3. Alexander I. , nrineo of Bulgaria1 , is tlio son of Prince Alexander of Battonberg , brother of the late empress of Russia , and was born April 0,18.T7. , His mother , born Countess yon Kauek , was tlio daughter of a former Polish minister of war and was raised to tlio rank btj'irm- ccss on her morganatic marriage with tlie ruler of Ilcsi6 . The prince of Bulga ria is the second son ot this union , his elder brother having entered the English navv. Prince Alexander served during the last Tiirco-Russianwarin the Russian army , acting part of the time as an atta che on the stall'of Prjnce ( Jharlcs of Iton- mania , and also serving in a Uhltiil tcgi- ment. He was present with 1'rinco Charles nt the siege of Plevna aim crossed the Balkans with Gonrko. Span after returning to Germany from the campaign ho was transferred from' ' the dragoons to the life guards. Ho was elected hereditary prince of Bulgaria by tlie assembly ot notables , 'at 'lirnbva. April i 'J , 1870 , and by vote of-ilia grand national assembly , July 18 , 18dl , ho was invested with extraordinary legislative powers. Ho was appointed an honorary knight of the order oi the Bath in June , J87U.Thus Thus Prince Alexander is a distant rel ative of the Russian czar. * Queen Victoria is tlie friend of Prince Alexander , He is the brother of thu hus band of her daughter Beatrice , and also EETS OT7"O > Owing to the rapid increase of the Bun's circulation following the purchase of a wcb-pcrfecting press one year ago , together with the enlargement and improve ment of tlio paper , it was deemed essential by the management to order a second lightning press from the same manufacturers. The order was accordingly given In Marcli last to Potter & Co. to manufacture a duplicate of tlie first press , together with duplicate stereotyping apparatus. The second press was received in Omalm two weeks ago , and is now doing beautiful work , a.s a.glunco at this issue of the Br.u will show. Having two Scott web-perfecting presses , with duplicate stereotyping apparatus , the Bur. is tlie most completely equipped newspaper establishment west of Chicago. Since the tirst press was placed in position one year ago , the BKK building las been remodeled , and the press-room has been made lire-proof. With the exception of the 'Chicago Tribune , there is no other lire-proof press-room west of New York. The plant in our prcss-roum , exclusive of the steam engine , represents over $10,000. Wo are now enabled to print 1,000 four-page papers , or 500 eight-page papers per minute. This is at the rate of 00,000 four-page papers , or 30,000 eight-page papers an hour. This machinery has not boon placed hero for more show. There is plenty of work for it to do. The Weekly Bii : : has an edition of over 1)0.000 ) , and the Daily BKK has two editions a day , the morning edition U-ln printed on one press and the evening edition on the other. Having two presses , wo are fortilied against accident , ami the pressmen can devote in > re timj to koupiux tlio m lohinory in good or.lnr. The first press lias now been runnine one year without a single day's intermission and without a break or accident of any kind. It lias given satisfaction in every respect , and tlio second press is equally as good. Tin ) above cut is a f.iir ropresunt-ition of either of thu UBE'S lightning presses , the invention of Walter Scott , a Scotchman , whoso patent was purchased by K. Hoe & Co. for $100,000. The Scott press is manufactured by the Potter Printing Press company , at Plainlield , N. J. , under a license from R. Hoe & Co. The weight of the pre 9 is about nineteen tons. This mechanical marvel prints , outs , folds and counts 15,000 copies of an eight-page paper , or 30,000 , copies of a four-page paper per hour. It is won. drous in its compactness , , completeness and powor. The roll of paper is spindled at the loft of the press , as shown in tlie cut. This continuous roll of paper is about four miles long. There are two ink fountains , one at the lower left-hand corner and the other at the upper right-hand corner , with two corresponding sets of ink rolls to spread. the ink on the plates. The stoorootypo plates , to print onn side of the paper , are placed on the second cylinder from the left , and are inked by the inking cylinder , the one on the extreme left. The third cylinder carries the paper against the inked plates , and one side of the paper is printed. The paper then passeslup over the big central cylinder , and the other side of the paper is printed by being pressed against the plates attached to tlio small cylinder above and a little to the right of the big cylinder. Another cylinder to the right is an inking cylinder. The three cylinders at the bottom of the press , to the right , and a little wheel , tlio latter not shown in th > above picture , cut the paper and deliver it folded. The upright lovers servo to start and stop the press. The very small cog-wheel , under and a little to the right of tlie largo central cylinder ; is the wheel that drives iho whole press. * _ the brother of her granddaughter , born of thu Princess Alieo , Although the Al- manaeh do Gotha mentions their mother , ilulie , daughter of the late Maurice Compto do Hancl e , and titled Princess E. de Baltenberg , it omits A itnM.vrhio ST.OUV. There once lived in Dresden n certain Count Briihi. He prgani/ed the museum there , employing oji his stall' as eleru , a citizen of rfaxonv named H.incko. This clerk wearied of Im-silen china ami art ami emigrated to Warsaw. There he became - came a journalist , ) Haiicke had a son , tall and hauilsonje. As a journalist , llancke pere gained favor with the Grand Dnke Constantino'the Russian governor of the city , who has been immortalized by Koseiii'-ko. 'This potentate advanced young ilanckc as boldier very r-ipidly , and ho became ji colonel almost as quickly as tlio eldest son of the Prince of Wales recently becnine-o. member of the Middle Temple as a. barrikte'r. Soon afterward he'got - .tho -handle-'tO' his. I name as murttiontid in the ( A1- | manach of "Comtc de. " _ The poor favorite did notlong , enjoy his now honors , for in the insurrection of .the J Poles , in 1830 , he was killed in the streets of Warsaw. Ho left a little daughter , aged 5 years. She was sent in hi/noi ; of j her father's memory by Miegrand dnko to St. Petersburg to bo educated a.s a daugh ter of the state at the imperial cost. Hero the beautiful , and , as ii seems , gified maiden made an nuprcsson upon the heart of Prince Alexander of llos e , brother ot the late empress of Rusiia , and he married hdr. He was obliged , however , in consequence of this marry ing beneath him , to give up his Russian career and return to Germany , In Darm stadt his wife received tlio title of Prin cess of Battenburg , and gave birth to three sons. Some time ago Prince AInvaiider of Bulgaria proposed for the hand of a princess belonging to one of the great reigning families. Although the lady herself was not adverse to the match , her parents scouted tin } idea , tolling tlio suitor he must rise a irood deal higher be fore lie would bo permitted to mate with their daughter. The prince took this re- bull' in good part , merely romarkine : " /cry well , then , since you will not ac cept a mere prince for ' 'a ' son-in-law , I must try to make myself a king. " This was regarded at tlie time as a mere idle vaunt , but PriiicoAlcxander'ssubsequent enterprise gave tlio utterance something of the character of a prophesy. The Iniquity or dm Copper Tariff. St. Paul Pioneer Press : TherearoN many more disastrous chapters in our tariff history tlnui tlnit relating to the copper duties ; there is none that exhibits more directly thu .essential immorality and the certain results of nltro-proteo- tion. There was : i ver , in the first place , the slightest excuse fora duty on copper. Tim solo source of domestic tupply , up to fifteen years ago , was the Lake Superior mines , Tlieso could have been worked to advantage in free competition with the world. But the owners wanted a monopoly , ami when every body else was Having a tariff slice they got theirs. Still , under the original turilf , Chilian ore could bo imported , and there were large smelting works in Boston and Balti more. This did not suit the mine own ers at all ; and so , regardless of the fact that the whole country was asked to pay a tax for their bunult ) , and of the farther fivet that tlio smelpng industry would bo utterly destroyed , as it was , tOj build up the mmiug industry , they uskcd and receivciUn 18G ! ) an increase of duty about equal (9 ( that Irom 5 to ' , ' , ' 5 pur cent. After this copper mining became a close corporation. Tlie companies combined and Bet an arbitrary price upon their product. This every American consumer had topay. ( ) at the same time that these same companies were selling abroad their surplus product at prices lar below the American market. Tlio wages paid were Uioso fixed by thu com petition of the market. The profits of the mining companies wcru among thu largest known. Tyso } enormous protits , together with the iQspovory of other deposits - posits in Montana .and Arizona , caused thu mining businl-ss to be qvurdono The price of the 'mhlal fell heavily. The duty was out down in 1883 from 5 to 4 cents pur pound. But overproduction continued until something had to be done to restore thn magnificent divi dends of the past. What is thu remedy ? Mines are shut down , and hundreds of men will be thrown out of employment until the price has been raised again to the level of the profit that the manufacturer requires. When the market was good , laborers received the ruling wages , not , a penny more , and the tax levied on every user and manu facturer of copper m the country went to swell the fortunes of the minu owner , When the scramble for these prohts over does the business and times become bad , the laborer makes the sacrilicu by being deprived of work and cutoff from wages until thu monopoly created by thu tariff bees fit to resume business. lit the history of this , perhaps thu least excusable of all our tariff iniquities , wo have an illustration of the invariable working of high and useless duties. They begin in extravagant profits for monopo lies and end in industrial po.stration ; but , from bezinning to end , the only indi vidual who cannot possibly gain any benefit whatever and who bears the heaviest share of the loss is tlie working- man. Tliis is tlio system by which capi tal has for nearly a generation "pro tected" huor lor its own priqate emolu ment. MALMAISON. The Dismantled Homo of Napoleon , Where Josephine Iilvod ami Dlud. Edward King in 15o-ton Journal : I went the other day to Malmaison , the old homo of Napoleon and Josephine , ami thu quiet old-fashioned mansion in which Josephine died. [ had not been there since. Iriliat. which time the Imperial gQVernment'liad organised a complete Napoleonic museum in the old place. The library , where Napoleon had worked out his campaigns , the boudoirs , the salons,1 were all titled up with the furni ture which had done duty in the early days of tho'First Empire , nnd one could , almost imagine , while strolling from room to room , that the Little Corporal would'Snddenly appear and in curt tojios inquire-to what the intrusion was duo. The small bedroom in which Napoleon slept on an ordinary camp bedstead was lillcd with his old clothes and cocked hats ; and his favorite books wore thi'ovvn do\ynas if they had just quitted tlio im patient imperial hand , which they some times did in a great hurry , as Napoleon would pitch a uook oven out a traveling carriage if he happened to lind anything which' was not fn' harmony with his own notions. Ouring his Austrian and Russian campaigns ho had a light carriage - riago lilted up wnh a compact library , and it is said that one of the duties of the aide-do-camp who followed this camp Was the rescuing from the mud of the war-worn roads ot the time the books which Napoleon shied into the air when lie disliked them. Malmaison was dread fully citt up during tlie Franco-German war , and to-day there is but little loft of tlio old-fashioned country house. Some of the rooms are so unsafe that visions am requested not to venture on their shaky floors or under their ancient coil- inirs/ Not a book remains in it , and the concierge who shows visitors over the Iduse ) dwells with n kind ot ferocious em phasis upon the mischief which the Prussian headquarters ollicors did during their lone sojourn there. The beautiful park into which Napoleon used to pass from a little drawbridge rigged over a moat directly from his private bedroom is being parceled out and sold to the rich landlords of the neighborhood. The magnificent alloy of sycamores which loads to the chateau is now tiukempl and somewhat desolate , and there is none of thu oldHimu lifu or gayety at i\lalniai = on save when a joyous party of litterateurs or painters penotratu the old domain on their frtprleioiis way to Boiigival for row ing or driving parties. lAVcnt into thu little room in which Josephine breathed her last. It was as du.solatu.and forlorn as that of somu old colonial mansion on the eastern coast of America. Life and thought had gone jxwu . It seemed impossible to btilievo " "tiatintlio.suitu ( , of rooms adjoining were once assembled the most brilliant col lection of. French poets that has been knovvji in the last two centuries. Jose phine had a fine frenzy for calling about tho.co.urt of thu future dictator the liter ary "mon of Franco ; and so wont to her little country seat men like Bornurdin de St , Pierre , Duels , who tortured Shak- Hjieuru on his procriifitean beil ; the elder Leirouvuy , JosophClKinier/i'alnia.Picard , Duval , and Girodut. In the waku of these poets , ill [ of whom were juun of finu nr.inners and curtain distinction in litera ture'always , ' followed a number of pretty women , There wore Horlunse de Beaiiharnuis , who was then a da/.zlipg creuj.uro of 18 , thu Countess Fanny , her sMcr , , and a host of ladies ot rank and fortune who , in the intervals of the clash ing'of swohls and the noise of politics , helped to honor the muses , In these now desolate rooms Arnault declaimed his . fables , , Bouilly read his dramas , and Logouvoy recited his poems when Bonapartu was pounding up and down -Egypt and haranguing his soldiers us to the spectral host which contemplated them from the tops of the pyramids. Josuphinu was working with feminine V.cal and acts to rally about it those spirits which still hesitated. Had it not boon lor her work at Malinuison ho would never have been ablu to undertake tlie 18th of Brumairo or to beeoino I'ir-it Consul. He was sincerely uruteful in those days to Josenhine for all that she hail undertaken in his behalf , ami noth ing pleased him so much as to visit Mai- niitison ami rest there from his ambitious projects. Josephine tried to make u new Trianon at Malmaison ; and in tlie park , which will now soon be lost to Y'U\V ' , she had built all soru of temples of Jove , shepherds' rendezvous a la Wattoan , cottages and labyrinths , where , no doubt , the same intrigues practiced lojig before at Versailles were carried on. Then ! , too , was created a re markable library and a theatre. To-day the little theatre lias disappeared and its site is occupied by a Catholic chapel , which has no beauty or space to rccomv mend it. 1 asked the somewhat frosty guardian of this once imperial domain why the nation did not keep it in repair ? Her answer was somewhat vague- , but the re sponse is easily found. 'Lho nation lias a sovereign dislike for perpetuating souvenirs of tlio Napoleons. Malmaison , which got , its ominous name as far back as the invasion of the Norsemen in the ninth century , when the pirates did so much damage in the noighborjiood that the monks called it mala munsio , was in tlio fourteenth century a.dependency of the abbey of St. Denis. In the sixteenth century it belonged to one of the old councilors of tlie parliament of Paris , and was the handed down through a lonsr succession of wealthy families until Jose phine Boauharnais. just as she wis about to become the wife of Napoleon , bought it for 100,000 francs. It is a curious historical fact that the sum asked for it to-day , nearly 100 years after , is identical with that by Josephine. Much larger sums have been paid for it at different times. It was bought in 1820 by a Swed ish banker , who had been attracted to it by the fact that Napoleon staid there dur ing his tremendous discomfiture after Waterloo , for several hundred thousand francs : and in 1812 the property , mucli reduced in sine , was purchased by Maria Christina for 500,000 , francs. Napoleon HI , was so anxious to got it , and in it to perpetuate the memory of the man whom ho was pleased to call his immediate re-1 lativo , that ho paid , in 1801 , 1,500,000 francs for it. It is believed that the Second Empire spent as much as this largu sum in fitting up Malmaison , trans porting thither all"thu reminiscences of the First Empire. There were no histori cal museums superior to this in Franco. Now the collections are all dispersed , and it is probable that Malmaison will shortly bcromo the home of somu Eng lish , or American , or oilier foreign family , and that thu house will bo com pletely remodeled. Out of the enormous park at least a dozen gardens and rustic retreats are to bo created. There is no monument anywhere in the hamlet to perputiiatu thu memory of Napoleon. Oddly enough , Josephine is most spoken of by all the local guides and the guard ians of the quiet church at Ruuil , in which the divorced empress lies buried , If the visitor did not inquire for Na poleon I. not one of these guardians would intimate that he had ever existed. ABOUT FUNERALS. OliHcqulce Now Superintended l > y n 1'iiHl Director r ew Methods in 1'raotioo. Now York Mail and Express : "That's what 1 call a solid funeral , " observed a Grand street funeral director , as ho stood at his window Thursday afternoon ami watched a passing procession with thu uye of connoisseur , "May I ask what you mean by a 'solid1 funuralf" inquired a Mall and Express reporter who stood clo.su at hand. Thu funeral director smiled with n wholehouled and cxpansivu smile pecul iar to funeral directors. " 1 suppose you never noticed any especial dllforeiicu in funerals-ho sold. "Woll that's , . , thu way with most people. It is remarkablu how much people in general don't ' know about such things , Not one man in a thousand has the remotest idea how n funeral should be put together , beyond thu necessity of a corpse , a hcarsu to carry it , ami somu carriages to follow the hearse. That's actually all the vast ma- jorily of people think is required fora lirnt'ohi'ss funeral. Why , bometinios I think * persons don't cam about being buried at all. " "Probably borne wouldn't if the matter were left entirely in their discretion. But you haven't ( old mu what a Volid funeral' ' 'means. " 'Woll , a solid funeral's a mighty good kind of a funeral to havu. In the first place you must understand that a funeral can be made up with as much artistic skill as a fine piucu of architecture , or it can bo thrown together as carelessly us a cnr/.y quilt. * A solid funeral is one that is madu up with sumo regard to symmetry of construction , like the one that just passed here , Of couruu you didn't taku in the line points , but that was a iuiUT.il any man might bo proud to have. First came the hoiu'Sii , then thu doublu cuiv riagus , then u fuw single 'Vehicles ; the best and most elaborate conveyances at thu heai ) and the mnalluronos in thu fear , o\actly on the same principle that a skill ful mason huihiiii" a pyramid puts ( ho largest blocks at the base ami tapers off in gradual and regular layers to thu smallest. That's onu important fact. Then if you had known anything about well regulated ftineraU you would liuo noticed that nil the vehicles in that funeral wcro the same distance apart. That's another important point. Only a funeral director who knows Ins business thinks of those little things. They are just as much a part of his duties nowadays as preparing the body and furnishing the collln. Every carriage has to be assigned to its place in the line by number beforehand , and the drivers all have to bo instructed to keep the same djstancu between tlio carrirgcs. That provoliUs the procession from bav in' ; a straggling , disconnected look. When there aru bands or delegations , societies or secret orders , they must , o course , be properly located in tlio line , generally proceeding the hoarso. This attention to details is what gives a funeral tlio air of artistic symmetry and solidity without which a funeral is a truly mournful spectacle. Some funerals with plenty of material for a creditable turnout 1 have seen absolutely ruined by lack of proper direction. For a really stylish funeral there should bo at least a do/.on double carriages and eight or ten single carriages , as many moru of each number as can be had the better , es pecially doublu carriages. Some di rectors now insist that all.shall bu double , but most of us haven't got so particular as that yet. A funeral of the kind I tie- scribe , p'roporly conducted , wouldn't look out of place iii Filth avunuu or Murray Hill. No mourner , however fashonable , need bo ashamed of it. "And , speaking about the differences in funerals , let mu tell you a good deal de pends on the nationality of the deceased. There's as much character in funerals as them is in faces. An Irish funeral is just as different from a German luneral as the shamrock is from sauerkraut. A Ger man funeral usually has a tendency to bo solid. It is compact and slow going. An Irish funeral is just the reverse. It mpvos briskly , almost jauntily , compared with tlio German procession. Its sur rounding atmosphere is one of hope rather than of morbid depression. The game spirit which makes the best of mpurnint ; at a waku is noticeable in tlio Irish funeral. Then , too , Irish ftinefnls are not marked bysolidity. The vehicles are generally tossed in , a.s it wore , hap hazard , first come , lirst served , and they will frequently beef of every known htylo and make , from the most elegant landau to the ram shackle express-wagon , with occasionally a man on horseback hero and there in the lino. This , of cour.se , doesn't apply to the funerals under the auspices of the Catholic church or the vaaious Hibern ian societies. Irish funerals of that class are nlwiivn carefully , even elaborately conducted. So , also , are high-grade Gonian funerals1 , in which the best bands are often to bu found. The Germans are particularly fond of the sombre music of the dead marches on such occasions , while Irishmen euro moru for banners and insignia. French funerals are or dinarily Mimll , and the curemouies are performed with as much haste as decency will permit. Italians have little moru patience for the details of death than the French. Their funerals , in this country , at least , ( urn usually insignificant ami commoii-placo. "The typical American funeral ? The American funeral is the hardest of all to classify. Sometimes it in ouu thing , some times another. Thu solid funeral whiuh passed hero a fuw moments ago was an American funeral. Of late yearn tint American funeral has been growing moru and moru symmetrical and artistic. The ndvancu in 'methods and change m customs liavu donu much to improve thn American funeral , and will eventuallv result in well-regulated funerals for all classes. " "What are the advance in muthods and ehaiigu in customs to whiuh you referV" "The advanced methods of handling the dead , and the changu from thu old- fashioned custom of having onu or moro of the immediate relatives supurvisu thu arrangements , sometimes oyen so far as preparing thu body and buying thu cof- iiu Now all that is left to thu lunoral director--in fact , uvorylhing counei'icd with the fuuural , from furnishing thu collin to furnishing the carriage * , and from dressing thu deceased to ordering gCavu duu , i'hiiri , thu family is relieved of all the pauitiilcaicsof preparation and better results aru obtained in uven re spect from leaving all the arrungomi nt.s in thn hands of one person ; provid always that hu is Intelligent ami compe tent. Nor is it enough that hu should bo olfiulent in a strictly unsiiu'ss sense , Hu miisi bu U man of education ami experi ence with human nature us well as vMtli the dead. Such a mail will win n-.smvt and confidunco and liriiii. an uiicoir > eioiis liut jreiiiiiiuisohu : ! ) to Ihu bereaved wh lu furnishingtiium thn most approved t > l\lo of funeral to bu hnd for the money. Die J Ii MuhcAN's Uvur and Kidney Pillet-i aru a remelv an < | spi'ciliu \ r Hi i - UK I fifr , mil I in 'th'-ir. ' aciioji iluiy itru .ijjiv. ii nto tak > , i'i I i , 14 im euro.