Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1888)
FHE OMAHA DAILY BELd : MONDAY , JANUABY 2 , 1888. . THIS IDATLY BEE , I'CBMSIIED KVKUY MO'UNINO. m.E. One Vrnr tit ) 01 1'orSix Months . > . ; , . fi mi J'orThrrft .Montlm.i. . . . , . , . . S ta 'JJitOmnlia Minilay llnr , mulled tounynj- dn MI , onrrnr . . 2 fn OMAHA OIHCK.NO.HIIMiiiin K.\iiNAM.STiir.i-.r. Nnw VoiiKOmci : . | ( OOMI > > , TIIIIIUNH IIIMMH js . WJISIIISIITO.S OrrtCK. No. M.I Touu TKINTH hlllKl.T. All cotnmntiluitloni ri'lntlne news nnd rdllorli l nmlUT ( .liould I/a nddrofwd to the . KlIITOIt OK TIIK IlKK. iiusi.vi.ss uyrrnits : All IrtinlncsH Ictti'M iitid remittances shotild bo Bildrwfeillo TIIK Hr.B I'iriii.iHliiin COMIUNV , OMAHA. Drnfls , cht-i-kH uml jios'.olllci1 onlrri to be made pit } nblo to the order of the company. llic Bcc Fnlilisliing Company , Propriolors , K. KOSBWATCR , KIIITOII. Till : DAIIiV IIKK. fiworn Slntciiicnt of Circulation. Etnteof NpbrnKkn , I. . . < ri rotmtyof DotiKini. f ( Ho , 11.'Irfdmck , n-cn-tnry of The HOP Itil ) . UMiIni ! roiiipiiny , dutH M > Uiiiiily xvtrnrtliiit the ncttinrclriiilntloiiof the Dully lieu for thu week rndlnjr Dec. :3. : ln > 7. was iis follows. f-'ntimlny Dec. 17 1' . ' ' 'O .siimlny , Dec. 1H I > .tU Moudii ) ' , IW.in ( 1.0-5.8 - Tnrscluv. | ) er. i.11 ll..Ci Wfdm-winyi I > ! . SI 1l.f"5 Thursday. Dor.'iJ ll.S'u Krldnyjiec. Hi H.M-0 Uro. II. Fworn tonnrt Mtbscrlbfd in my prcstiico this SCeh clay of December , A. O. 1 7. ( Si ; A f. . ) Notary'I'libllc Btiitcor Ni'brnxKn , I. . fount y of Donjons. I * ' " ' f.ro. li.T'fiiirk , hclnc flrrt duly Fworn. ( ! - end PHJH tlmt IsK-mtiiryof The line company. Unit the urtunl average foi .luH. 1M > 7,14.M.1 copies ; for Anetivt. 1S.VT , II , . 1(1 ( eiiilos : for { ojitt'tnWr. IH7,14.WIIcopies ; for October , lt7 , Uai3 ; for November , ISn7 , l/VKM / COlllOH. tiro. H.T/SC1IUCK. Sworn to nnd fmljfcrllird In my prestnco this M dny of Uciumbcr , A. I > . IWI. IWI.N. . p. run , . ( SKAI < . ) Nutnrvl'uLlle. PUOF. NOUMAN LoctCYKiihas ovnlvcil a now tlicory of the universe. Mr. Lockyor should promptly run for con gress. The house of representatives would give him the proper scope to expound - pound his ideas in the form of a bill. TllM United States circuit court has just decided Unit the court clerks of San Francisco must disgorge their ill-got- ton gains in connection with illegal Chinese immigration. The rascality of these clerks involved perjury as well as stealing. They ought to have been in dicted. Ricv. W. n. DAVIS , of Detroit , on Christinas day refused a prollorcd ad- Vfince of $500 in his salary and asked that it bo given to the poor. Mr. Davis Is a worthy exception to a general rule. In such cases pastors too often consider that charity begins at home. THBUB are very good reasons why Mr. Cleveland might prefer to have the national democratic convention hold in Now York city , but lu would probably not doom it wise to openly indicate this preference. It is very likely , however , that those nearest to his confidence will not bo permitted to make any mistake in this matter , and therefore wo think the probabilities favor Now York. Meantime , however , Chicago ia not al lowing her claims to slumber , and if slio does not win is pretty sure to como in a good second. As a general thing the poor and laborIng - Ing classes are sufficiently punished when they commit crime. There is an exception to this rule , however , in re gard t postal employes who violate their trust and purloin valuables from the mails. A New York'cotomporary cites a largo number of postal thieves to show tlmt postal thieves are inad equately punished. Leniency in this direction is a mistake. It is imperative that the public should bo secure in committing articles of value to the mnlls , and employes who violate their trust should bo dealt with severely. TUB town of Ashland , Kan. , has been indulging iu some sharp practice against the Santa Fo railroad. The town voted the company ono hundred and forty thousand dollars on condition .that it would build a road to that point and locate the depot within three- quarters of u milo of the center of the place by December 81. The road was constructed and the depot built , but now the town refuses to pay because the depot has bcou found to bo u little more than throo-quartera of a milo away. When the company tried to change it the townspeople demanded the amount of the bonds /or the fight of way. It is not often a town gets the bettor of a railroad corporation. NOHTII and South America will doubt less at some future day bo connected by railroad. Senator Sherman has intro duced a bill which has for its object the encouragement of efforts looking in that direction. The bill authorises and requests the president to invite the governments of Mexico , the Central American states , Columbia , Venezuela , Peru , Ecuador , Brazil , Bolivia , Para guay , Uruaguay and Argentine to send delegates to a convention to bo hold in Washington city. It would bo well for the nation to extend its energies south ward. There is a field for commerce in tlmt direction which has hitherto been almost wholly neglected by the business men of the United States. "Omaha Illustrated TIIK long-expected - tratod , " from the publishing houoo of D. C. Dunbar & Co.wa5placcd on our table Now Year's morning , a It Is artistically on elegant work , and ns a history , is complete and accurate. The great care and liberal expenditure of the publish ers in gottln g out this beautiful ant valuable publication is most creditable to their ontQrpriso , which should bo re warded by the hearty and subjtantia' appreciation of our citizens , as wo an confident it will bo. In faithfully pro Bontlng the more picturesque feature : of Omaha , in giving the "countorfoi presentments" of the mon most active In the past and present in promoting tin progress of the cl\y , and in recording intelligently and authentically the in torcstlug and instructive history of thi western metropolis , "Omaha Illustrated' ' is n work of which the people may b < proud , and which all of thorn who cut Ihould have and preserve. "i Diverting the Rtirplng. The midden fervor filiowii by the high tariff men in the cause of education and .Senator JHnir'H bill would bo remarkable - able if itrerenot perfectly tranppnront. The Pennsylvania coal motroiwllsts whose slaves of the mines tire imported from Hungary and Poland to drive out higher paid Aincriransnnil who form the mass of illiterates in th industrial re gions are unanimous in favor of n-meas- uro to reduce Illiteracy in the south. The Miissachiibotts manufacturers and Con necticut cutlers are equallyenthusiastta in its favor and the Bessemer steel potentates who ullll nay half a million yearly to keep the doom of u single com peting furnace closed find words inade quate to express their pralpe of the bill. The en Uro lobby at Washington has developed tin acquaintance with illiter acy and education which is only equalled by their acquaintance with sour mash and copper distilled rye and Intid to the skies the bill of the Now Ilnmpshiro senator : is in the line of na tional duty and the national conBuiancu. Of courno the milk in thococoanutis the $80.000.000 of which Mr. Blair's bill will take from the treasury. Such a sllco removed from the surplus would leave practically nothing to quarrel over. TaritT reform would be out of the ques tion and revenue reduction would no longer cut any figure us nn issue. The quarreling factions of the democracy could bit down in harmonious idle ness so far ii3 the disputed question of raothoJs of mooting the popular will is concerned. The cry of reduce the surplus would ho mot with the answar that there is no surplus to reduce. Tins is the ocoret of the sup- I > ort which the Blair bill received in the last con-jro , whore it p.iyjod the senate and it is the secret of the strenu ous efforts now being made to carry it through at the present session. That it will pass the senate at an early day is admitted. Whether it can bo de feated in the house is still doubtful. The measure as noted in the Ben , when it was up before for discussion , is wrong in principle and unjust in its projHwcd application. It is a national bonus to the states which have neg lected the education of their people. It takes the money wrung from the taxpayers of the east and wc-bt and distributes It among the southern states where for years educa tion among the poorer classes was made a rritno. It calls upon the western farmer who has cheerfully taxed him self for years to plant a schoolhouse on every hill-top to make up the de ficiencies of sections where the school master was 6O. far "abroad" that ho rarely ramo in sight and was likely to bo lynched if ho did. It would distri bute a few hundreds of dollars to Ne braska where it would"scatter thousands in Mississippi and Alabama. Only less important is the certain effect of Mr. Blair's bill , If passed upon the pressing problem of reduced taxa tion. The treasury surplus is a standing testimony to the criminal neglect of congress to reform the tariff. Nearly every dollar of it rop- .rosonts a dollar of needless taxation u hundred cents extorted from the pco- plo under sanction of pretended govern ment needs. The destruction of the surplus by any method bhort of a genu ine reform of the tariffs is now thooagor ambition of tbo robber kings of pam pered industry. In Mr. Blair's bill they sco a long desired haven of rofugo. An Impotent Petition. The Andrew Jackson league of Chicago a few days ago adopted resolu tions declaring that Mr. Ilaudall has always boon inimical to the true inter ests of the democratic party in its en deavors to inaugurate tarilT reform , and calling upon Mr. Carlisle not to appoint him on the appropriation committee. Although the Pennsylvania congress man was not without defenders in the league , the resolutions were passed with but two dissenting voices. But the sapient individuals who compose this organization ought to have known that their expression of hostility to Randall would bo utterly impo tent. When ho was appointed by the speaker , a member of the com mittee on rules , his reappointmcnt as chairman of the appropriations com mittee was virtually conceded. There can bo no doubt that Mr. Carlisle strug gled hard with the question of what to do with the leader of the democratic protectionists. Very likely ho desired his overthrow as earnestly as anybody. But more courage was required than the speaker possesses , and therefore the chief of the democratic minority , a mere- handful iu congress , will be re tained in the position where in tne last two congresses ho was able to practi cally control the course of legislation. It is not the uniform opinion , however - over , that Mr. Randall will bo found quite so obstinate in the present con- grcsi. There is an impression that ho has not secured the consideration that has boon shown him in the organization of the now house without assurance to the majority of concessions that are regarded as satisfactory. Ho has been reported as saying that a tariff bill would pass the house , and so muoh from him is reasonably regarded as sig nificant. It is fairly reassured tb. t Ivlr. Randall is too slirowd and too selfish a politician , t6 any longer take the whole responsibility of stemming the irrcsisti- b6 ! popular tldo in favor of tariff re vision and reduction. Helicon not want ' to bo road out of his party'and ho may sco that ho cannot continue in the course ho has pursued without certainly bringing about that result. The warn ing ho has received has boon pretty vigorous , and undoubtedly very earnest. If ho has boon considering the matter in this way , it is quite possible-thai ho will bo found disposed to give such aid to the major ity of his party in the house as will enable - able it to pass a measure of tariff revision that will meet the exigency nnd trans fer the responsibility for the outcome of such legislation to the republican sen ate. Consideration for the welfare of his party , and the desire to shift the burden of responsibility from his own shoulders , would bo the sufficient mo tives for such n change of courso. It would not bo remarkable if Mr. Randall had grown somewhat tired of occupying bofofo this country the not altogether niliMlr riyfcfrsfeNrhi n a JttMB i \ t tVMmmtomlmN A m diniil creditable position of an obstructionist. The obstacle to a full ac ceptance of this theory is the fact that any change of Mr. Randall from his past attitude would Improve his holu upon his congressional district. When that strip of territory was threat ened with division in the Pennsylvania legislature a year ago it was well under stood that the scheme of dividing it was defeated in the Interest of Mr. Randall. It\\ns fairly supposed that a bargain was then made with the congrnasmnn that assured his continuance in the path ho had boon treading. But Ran dall might bo induced to lay down con gressional honors if something equally congenial and honorable , and moro profitable , \vcro reasonably assured to him. Tt Is in the jxiwor of the administration to give such assurance contingent upon democratic success next November , and if Randall has faith that his party will win , as undoubtedly ho has , with the aid ho nmy give it , it is not an extravagant supposition that an assurance of preferment for some prominent position in the new adminis tration would have an influence upon him. And it is by no moans improbable that Mr. Cleveland would give such as surance. The later course of Mr. Ran dall will bo tv subject of curious .ind interesting study to politicians and to the country. An American Znllvnroln. Among the measures which it is promised will bo introduced very soon after the reassembling of congress is a bill by Mr. Towiihhcml , of Illinois , which provides for an extended policy of commercial union between the United States nnd most other countries and states in this hemisphere. Other meas ures of tv like character will doubtless make their appearance in clue time , but the bill of the Illinois representative is already prepared , being indeed nn amended form of the bill lie introduced in the last congress , and presumably a stronger , safer and moro satisfactory measure than when first brought for ward. There is a much larger interest in this subject of commercial union than over before , and con gress wiil very likely be dis posed to give it moro attention than it has hitherto received , if it can find the time from the consideration of moro irgont matters iu which to do so. When , some seven years ngo , Mr. 31aino sought to make commercial union with the south nnd Central Amor- can states a cardinal policy of the ad ministration of President Garfield , his effort was not favorably received by the country. An impression obtained that Lhoro might bo iv political danger lurk ing sotnowhoro in the scheme , and the now secretary of state encountered n food deal of distrust and misgiving , the effect of which remained and por- liaps exists still. It was a rather bold departure which Mr. Blaine proposed nnd naturally excited apprehension of possible em barrassing alliances. President Arthur could see no virtue in it and it fell into disrognr.l. It may bo that Mr. Blaine wont about the matter in the wrong way , but the objective point of his policy was an American zollveroin , with inci dental political obligations. In a country like this seven years may accomplish a great deal in changing and modifying public opinion. Certain it is that propositions of commercial union do not meet with the extent of objections they encountered a few years ago. There are both democrats and re publicans favorable to the policy. The explanation is readily found in the growing conviction that the rap idly increasing production of the United States must find larger markets and moro of them. In the active contest - test that commerce continually wages wo have taken httlo bettor than n pas sive part , and while it is true that wo have made progress other moro aggres sive nations have advanced much more rapidly. Wo produce everything that is wanted by the countries that are our neighbors , and with which for obvious roabons wo should cultivate business re lations on a general scale , but wo find England , Germany and Franco carrying off nearly the whole of the largo and ex panding trade of these countries and every year increasing their ad vantage over us. The practical question is whether the time is not como for making an earnest and vig orous effort to get a fair bharo of the commerce of these lands. It is inevit able that the longer effort is delayed the the greater will bo the difficulties to overcome. The indications are that this subject maybe given liberal dis cussion at the present session of congress - gross , and there are few that relate to the commercial welfare of the country that are so important. TUB civil service reform humbug still goes bravely on reforming nothing and gratifying only the sentiment of a few impractical theorists. It has failed to accomplish the wide swooping results which it was so confidently predicted that it would secure. It has neither kept competent men in ofllco u.jifior a change of administration nor prevented inCCSipetents from taking their places. In spite of rules and examinations , the official guillotine nt the capital has kept up its merry musio and the changes in departments and bureaus and offices have in most cases been made to the per fect satisfaction of the dis pensers of official patronage. The law was a tub thrown to the mug wump whale and the animal has not ot succeeded .in discovering that it is not the boat bound for the harbor of practical politics. The assault made by the civil service reform movement has been effectually parried by the practical politicians. They have never boon able to understand what the date of Caesar's death had to do with the New York cus tom house , or what influence the height of Cleopatra's ncodlo had on the dis pensing of patronage in the treasury de partment. Other and more conserva tive citizens had no desire to see a per manent official class built up in this country , nnd resented a movement which they know was a sham. As a consequence the effect of the operations of the civil service reform has been to stimulate political hypocrisy and fur nish a few boft berths for the commis sioners , while It has utterly failed to prevent the supposed evils which it was created to wipe but of existence. 1S37 five hundred and forty- one coldwavo signals were displayed. Of these ono hundred and slxtcon were incorrect. The number of storms an nounced was fifteen hundred nnd ton , but only four hundred and seventy-five storms materialized. The ordinary weather forecasts , however , were almost wholly correct. The science of fore telling storms , blizzards and scorchers Is as yet mere guesswork. Tin : British International peace com mission nro hard at work. Their labor consists chiolly In assisting at banquets In this country iviul Canada. They wish to emphasize the fact probably that men nro not BO belligerent on a full stomach. STATK AND TBUUITOUY. Nebraska Jottlngi. Norfolk complains of miserable- tele graph bervico. Wayne improved last year to the ex tent of 8aO,7a5. Ono milo of street railway track has been laid In Norfolk. The new year came in with a whoop bristling with icicles. The Crete Globe proposes to publish a black list of delinquents. Sohuylor'a improvement record for the year amounted to $7U40. ! ) Dunbar's panther is believed to bo a holiday edition of Nebraska City's wild man. * .Toff Davis wields the gavel over the destinies and discussions of n literary bocicty in Valentino. Plaltsmouth is agitating a nubile building. A government appropriation of $50,000 is just her si/.o. The directory of Nebraska City just issued contains 2.1)57 ) names , equivalent to a population of 8,871. Martin Haley , the murderer of John S. Ayrcs in Boone county , has been given a life term in the penitentiary. Pawnee City celebrated the death of the old and the birth of the new year with a blaze of electric lights. The ilant cost $10,000. Fremont pouts because she was not ncluded in the Omaha and Plattsmouth el t , line road , nnd threatens to jump , ho fence when the daisies bloom again. Columbus has gone into court for an irdor to compel the state auditor to reg- stor the 50,000 bridge bonds recently otod to pay for bridging the Loup rivor. Fromontors disposed of 2,500 boxes of oranges , 1,650 boxes of lemons , 4,000bar rels of apples , and 20 barrels of cider , nil smoked 400,000 homo made cigars , ast year. The Nebraska' City Times urges a > ublio meeting to , start a fund for a monument to Mayor Larsli , as a testi mony to his good deeds in public and > rivato lifo. < The Davpy-Wllkinson row for the trcasurership of D.ikpla county is grow ing to such proportions that there is talk of calling out the militia to sup press the bloodthirsty. O'Neill and the1 northwest generally will experience gratifying relief from mail delays after the 18th. Service will " ) ogin on that < tayon , , the Elkhorn short line to and fronvOmaha. Rumors of railroad competition have been circulated around Plattsmouth for several weeks. The belief is gaining trcngth down Lore that the Missouri Pacific will tap the town this year. The old year went up and put in a huge blaze'in Fremont , carrying the opuru house and county building with U. A furious storm raged at the time , forming a wild and wicked death bcono. The Cass County Eagle "ombs the judicial locks of Judge Fields , and inti mates that the county is entitled to no sympathy for electing such a man. "We Imvo got him on our hands and must make it as interesting us possible for him. " Crete parted regretfully with the old year. Among the monuments it loft wore two railroads , waterworks , electric lights , a beautiful Catholic school build ing , a $10,000 M. E. church , bovorul business blocks and numerous hand some residences. o The Albion News pounds" the conceit out of the Sioux City Journal for inti mating that the state press opposed an appropriation for a new poitotiico in Omaha. "Omaha , " exclaims the News , "is the pride of every citizen of the state. It is our metropolis and always will bo. Wo are proud of Omaha and the government appropriation is not in excess of a reasonable economical admin ibtratiou. " oTho gloom surrounding the departure of the year is pierced with the joyful news that an interior editor vindicated the liberties of the profession a few days ago. A swaggering slugger brushed up to the weary chief of the Bertram ! Journal , his teeth rattling to "chaw his heart. " The Journal man gave him his boot , and the momentum of the tender was such that the slugger is rattling and running yet. A sanctimonious old scoundrel , with a face us long and solemn as the ton commandments , was employed by West Pointers to collect church subscriptions. Ho was rcoommcnded by Rev. A. II. Henry , of Onmhu , and _ was eminently successful in drumming up back dues. When the roll reached $500 , the collec tor decamped with the money. The wrathful church members now threaten to invite Mr. Henry to make good the loss. loss.Hon. Hon. George D. Moiklojohn was treated to a surprise party on Christmas at Fullorton. Frionus tackled his otfice , covered the grime with new paper , rar- petcd tlio lloor , hauled in a set of furni ture and hung pictures on the walls , and Invited George to drop in. After ho had examined his "shingle" thvoo times ho was convinced that he had not boon transported to the national capi tal. Ho is slowly' recovering from the shock. Prof. N. E. Loach , of St. Paul , Howard county , Is justly indignant over an itcTii in the Jottings recently , slnting that ho had been bounced for lunching politics to the children of the schools. The Hem was culled from a , slightly reliable Fre mont contemporary. Prof. Leach states that the reference to him is a "mali cious falsehood. I cannot imagine its source , as I never have anything to say about politics in my school or out of it. I am proud to say 1 am not a politician. I am still in charge of the city schools , and shall remain in charge till Juno 1888. " Iowa Items. Ton counties in Iowa have female su perintendents. Burlington is laying up an ice stock for summer consumption. DDubuquo's artesian well continues to flow at the mto of 3,000 gallons a diry , Sixty-nine soldiers have boon admit ted to the Soldier's homo at Marshall- town. town.West Side saloons are permanently corked for the first time iu thirteen years. The decision on the registry law prom Ises to lead to considerable confusion in politics. The Central Iowa , under Its now man- ngQinont. will leave kts otHces , machine shops and round-house1 at Marshalltown. Flojd county has had sU murderfl iu ttvenly years. Three of the murderers were imprisoned , ono acquitted , ono committed suicide nnd ono was hung. Insurance companies have notlllod tholr agencies in lowa to cancel all pol icies on breweries and on all'wooden structures In which saloons nro kept. Dakota. Aberdeen is to have a now national bank. Capital $160,000. * Nine hundred and twenty-nine thou sand hogs were marketed in Yanktonln 1887. 1887.Dakota's Dakota's bonded indebtedness is Bald to bo $1,000,000. , Assessed valuation , 8167,000.000. A Civss county cow stands six feet high , and though thin iu llesh weighs 1,800 , pounds. The young ladies of Yanklon nro or ganizing a society for the purpose of utilizing the prerogatives of leap year. A two-foot ledge of solid carbonate ore , carrying both gold and silver , was recently unearthed in the Elk mountain district. Yankton county raised in 1887 a mil lion and a half bushels of corn on 30,000 ttorcs of laud. Yankton county contains 800,000 acres of corn land. The farming lands of the territory are now parsing into the hands of actual settlers at the rate of nearly four million acres each year. The government now has at its disposal but { ,311,115 , acres , or about 25 pur cent of the whole area of the territory. It is announced from Bismarck that the governor is aoout to send special messengers to counties which have failed to tile with him the division election re turns , and that when the returns nro secured ho will figure up the results. From this it appears that the official canvass given forth at Bismarck was not the official canvass. Story of nn Opnl King. Bridgeport ( Conn. ) Farmer : "About four weeks ngo a gentleman wnsstop- pnig with us from Mexico. Ho has with him a very handsome ring. In the center of the setting is n largo opal , surrounded by diamonds of a smaller si/o , but making iv beautiful and glisten ing ornament. The ring was hid mothoc's. It was left to him at tier death , and over since it fell to him he has had business troubles nnd general bud luck. Ho was talking about it ono evening to my wife and myself. Wo all laughed , and she in a joking way said : 'Oh , I wouldn't bo afraid of bad luck if I had such a ring as that. ' IIo replied that ho could not think of parting with the opal , as it had been his mother's , but if m.y wife would like to wear it for a short time ho would lend it to her. I don't believe in borrowed plumes , but as lie said that he should bo in Now York for a few weeks attending to some business matters before returning to Mexico , and as he would really like to leave the opal with some one. for safety , it was decided to leave it here in Bridge port. Wo are all triends together and did not think of the ring other than to place it in a bureau drawer. "A few evenings after he had gone wo were invited to play whist. M.y wife had several diamond rings , but thought the big opal would look rather stunning nt a card table , so she were it ; from that moment our cuck changed. In getting out of a carriage she tore her dress. At the whist table she took hardly a trick. Somebody changed hats with mo in the dressing-room , and when we got home wo found two chil- dren'sick ' , and that the third hud fallen down stairs and received quite severe injuries. The next morning ono of the servants loft us. Money matters began to got involved with us. I could not get hold of enough money to meet pressing demands upon me , on account of being disappointed in payments that had been promisod. Ono of our rela tives died. Bills came in embar rassingly fast. Our water pipes got put of order , and all sorts of discouraging and unpleasant things Imvo arisen to annoy us. At last my wife was taken sick , and while lying in bed she said : 'I really believe all this trouble wo have hud in the last four weeks has couio about on account of that opal ring. ' ' . 'Lat Saturday our friend came up to pass Sunday with us before bis return to Mexico. Wo gave him his opal and told him our troubles. 'Well'said ho , 'I have had great luck in Now York. Ever since I left hero four weeks ago I have been making money. Everything I touched panned out largo profits.1 Then wo all laughed ami said , 'What nonsense ! ' but it certainly was very funny. "On Monday ho , with his opal , bade us good bye at 8 o'clock in the morning. Now watch what lollowod. At 8'M : ) the postman left a letter with a chock in it for $60. At 10 o'clock I was paid $50 in cash , which I no moro expected than I expected to bo shot. Before night wo had a now servant. The children nnd my wife all recovered from their indis position , and our household matters bc'gan to run smoothly. On Tuesday morning at 11 o'clock another $50 in cash was handed to mo unexpectedly , and the same mail brought u check for $ 30 moro. But the climax was reached when the evening mail brought a state ment from a Now York lottery that nn estate had been divided up au < T that my wife's fortion of it was 816,200. , Inclosed was a statement , also a receipt and all the papers to sign before a notary pub lic. She signed the papers , and is going to New York to-day to got the funds. Now , I am not superstitious , but it certainly docs look ns if the opal had something to do with it. Don't you think so ? " The Fresno Doscrt. Chicago Herald : Not long ago Rush Jose took a trip over the San Joaquin plains in Fresuocounty.California. The journey is considered ono of the most fatiguing , if not dangerous , of any that can bo taken In California , on account ot llio scarcity of water and feed. Dur ing the summer the wind sweeps over the plain , laden with heat us if coming direct from a furnace. The ground Is BO hot that it is impossible to walk fai in the mitiS'le of the day without blister ing the feet. For about seventy-five miles in the summer time not n drop of water can bo obtained , and not a spear of dry grass is in sight. It is simply a barren desert of alkali. Rush .lose had occasion to take this trip last summer , and , ns is customary , took with him an ample supply of water for himself nnd team , while half across the desert ho saw a team ahead of him motfonlcss. On reaching it ho found the lioives half dead with heat nnd thirst , and under the wagon were two mon , ono of whom was already nearly unconscious , and would have died before night from thirst and exhaustion. Rush leaped from his wagon , poured some whisky In a cup. diluted it with water , and in a few minutes brought the suf ferer round again into the land of the living. Rush hud never seen the mon before , and did not oven learn their names. One of them was soon on the streets of Hollitora ( few days ago. This section of Fresno county is now worthless - loss ; yet , If a canal can bo brought through it , what is now a desert could txj made a garden , and a journey that now is fraught with danger could bo made with safety and pleasure. THE PANHANDLE REGION , The Dny of Bin Rnnohds Followed by mi Era Of Sinnll Fnrnig. CHANCES IN CATTLE BUSINESS. Inlry I'oosllilllilcR-rrnlt Prospects Itnlli-ondH MakiiiK New Towns- Unsold Ijiind Ibi- Sale to Actual Settlers Only. The cattle Industry In Texas has been uttering from great depression in val- les the past three years , and while this > orlion of the state has not felt its bad iffccls as much us other gra/.ing clis- ricts , yet there have been a good many allures among the ranchmen , and all complain of hard times. Cattle promise o winter well , and the present outlook or business next year is very good , j'rom CCOO head of cattle taken into the Panhandle in 1875 by Charles Good- light , the number has increased until hero nro not less than 1,000,000 head hero now. Mr. Goodnight has the fin est ranch on the continent. It includes ho head waters of Red rlvor , and cott- altiH about : t,000,000 acres Inclosed in .hroo or four pastures and over 100K)0 ( ) mprovcd cattle , 5,000 of which are full- iloods and thoroughbred shorthorn and lereford cattle. This entire property s the outgrowth of an investment of less .him $ 00,000 twelve years ngo. No ban k- ng house in the country is run with more system than this , the Palo Duro aneh , with camps scattered over this nimonso area , including , ns it does , iearly four counties. All is under per- ect supervision , and a full history is iopt of the detailed \\orkingsof the ranch. Mr. Goodnight is a very plain man in iis manner and appearance , and with nit Httlo education. Ho moved from llinois to Texas when a boy , his parents taving moved to Illinois from Virginia ; consequently ho had but slight oppor tunity to secure an education , but was it once initiated into all the craft of 'rentier ' lifo. Before ho was grown ho was guide for the Texas rangers in their campaigns ngninst the Indians in north west Texas , and his great pride was to do well anything ho had to do , Ho en- gagad in driving cattle to Colorado soon ifler the Into war , and ultimately made Colorado his homo , where ho remained intil ho moved into the Panhandle in 876 , the pioneer ranchman of this coun- .ry. . Ho is scrupulously honest in all lis dealings , and has done more to make the Panhandle what it is to-day than my other five mon in the coun- , ry. Ho is. a man largely en- lowed with 'common sense and ets nothing interfere with his business. Us ranch embraces the Palo Duro can- ron , which affords shelter and oxcol- ent pasturage during the winter for icarly all his entire stock of cattle. His lim is to make his men us comfortable is possible , so as to have only good men n his employ. Ho will never employer or allow any man to stay about his ranch who has ever boon accused of stealing or unlawfully handling cattle , jut is ready at any and all times to as sist the deserving. Next to Mr. Goodnight , W. M. D. Jeo , of Leavonworth , Kun , , stands foro- nest in the work done to build up the ntersts of the Panhandle. For a long time ho was post trader at Fort Elliott , and is now ono of the owners of a large ranch in Oldhtvm county , the now town Cheyenne being located on land that jntil recently was a part of this ranch. Vlr. Leo combines the requirements of a cultivated gentleman , with the zoal- jusness of the frontiersman , and in all iis business affairs has displayed fine ability and progressivenoss. He was mo of the first ranchmen in the west to .mprovo the breed of his cattle , and did much to make it the rule of stockmen to introduce fine blood into their herds. The Capitol syndicate that receive their 1,000,000 acres of land from the state of Texas for building the now Japitol.ut Austin , have stocked their and and now have 125,000 cattle upon these lands. Their ranch adjoins that of Mr. Leo. Nearly one-half of nil the lands in the Panhandle belong to the state school school fund , and all the unsold lands in this fund are now hold for sale to actual settlers only. All lands that are clasped as grazing lands are subject to lease , liut such us are classed us arable are lield for sale to actual settlers only. The settler can purchase ono .section of agricultural land , but must agree that ho will begin living upon the same within ninety days and continue to re side upon it continuously for three years , when ho can make payment of the whole purchase money and obtain patent. The first payment is one- fortieth of the purchase money , and 5 per cent interest must bo paid each year on all unpaid balance , but the principal can run for forty years , pro vided the interest is paid annually. This enables the homo-sookor to obtain a homo at a very small outlay. No sale is made of less than a quarter section , 100 acres. The prices are $2 per acre for all lands not having upon it perma nent water , and $3 per acre for watered sections. The settler can purchase three addi tional sections of C40 acres , provided they are classed as grazing lands. Nearly all these lands are surveyed in alternate sections , the odd sections be ing owned by the railroad or private in dividuals and the oven sections belong to the state school fund. The private and railroad lands are held tit from $2 to $5 per acre , and upon such terms as may bo agreed upon by the parties at interest. There is no risk to run if the settler will combine rtock-raising with his faom operations , as this is ono of the finest stock countries in the world. The railroads that have penetrated this country will afford n ready market for nil dairy products at good prices , and the temperature of the natural springs is sufficiently low as to preclude the necessity of the use of ice in this indus try , and the native grasses will produce Ritporior milk and butter. Several of the largo ranches have made at tholr homo nineties the butter for all tbolr camps. They only make it during the summer months , and pack it for use during the entire year , showing the feasibility of producing it for the mar ket. By feeding during the bad weather of winter there is no reason why the cows could not bo milked during the entire - tire year. There is no doubt that the foothills of the plains and the valleys of all the streams are as well adapted to fruit and grape eulluro as the best lands of Cali fornia. The conditions of soil and cli mate are very similar to those of the great arid countries of southern Europe , and the native grapes are as fine ns many of the best varieties of cqltlvtitcd grapes. All kinds of fruits that have been tried have succeeded without ex ception. If grapes can bo produced in this country as successfully as in Cali fornia , and the lands can bo bought for $2 nnd ? J per afro , this country offers tv much better field for that industry than in California , as lands in that state have become PO high priced as to place it be yond the roach of the man of mod erate means to sccuro a placo. There have been a great mtiuy fruit n growers from California who liavo sold out thorn and ombarlcud In business in this country , and they are verv much pleased with the exchange. 'Hereto fore lack of transportation prevented farmers from undertaking to produce anything that could not bo sold to the ranchmen , but now that thoV have the markets of the world opened to tlrom they are changing and extending the wppe of their operations , and this year will make quite a revolution in all the 'anninc operations of the country. The Immigration of the PanlmmUu will come in two streams ono from the south , via the Fort Worth & Denver mil the other via the Southern Kansas. Where the farmer was unknown horo- loforo , the prospect * are that the couu- iry will 1/c densely populated. The Denver railroad , when completed , will furnish ehenp coal from Colorado , ind the betitelnss of TUMIH pine lumber can bo put within the reach of the far mer of moderate means. The Impression that the largo ranch man was in e.M-lusive posjto.-slon of this country and that farmers and mnall Htoekmon could not obtain iv foothold , is erroneous. It Is true that nmuv of these ranchmen own tmd control large bodies of land , but they own but a small l > nrt of the entire country. The lands that are be , t milled to the farmer and -mall ranchman are not occupied by the largo ranches. Tito day of largo ranches ia nearly over , us it has been shown from experience that it is moro profita ble to have fewer cattle and feed them , 'raiti during the winter than to have larger herds and depend entirely on na tive grasses. The Hummer growth of jrass cures in the fall , and if there is litt litllo rain or snow during the fall and early winter cattle will thrive on It as well us if they were feed grain , us the grass Is very rich in nutriment ; but the rains ami snows wash out the nutriment and render it valueless. This change in the climate In west ern Texas from dry to wet winters has rendered the old style of ranching very hazardous and unprofitable , and the largo pastures tire all for sale to the man with the hoe where tv few yearn ago he was not wanted. The counties on the line of the Kort Worth & Denver railway , oust of the Panhandle , are being filled up very rapidly , and have proven to lie the best wheat lands In the state. Wilbargor , the oldest Rottlod of these counties , has produced two wheat crops tlmt have run from twenty lo fort.y bushels ofheat to the acre. Tno soil and climate is practically the Kame as that of the Pangandlo. and in in fact usually called part of the Pan handle. The towns on the line are all growing , thrifty places. Clarendon has about six hundred people , The old town was three miles from the railroad , but was nil moved over to the present site six mouths since , when the road was com pleted to that point. Cheyenne , that lias just boon estab lished , and is three mluesfroiuTiweosa , will , perhapsnot bo so fortunate us New Clarendon in absorbing ita neighbors , but will doubtless prosper and grow. Tascosii has heretofore had a very fine trade , and if the country improves as it promisesboth towns will have sufficient business to sustain them. Cheyenne will have the advantage in the contest of being on the railroad. Mobeelio , the former capital of the Panhandle , has not yet been able to se cure railroad connection , and is about lifty miles from the nearest station , but bopeH to got the Frisco road when that is extended through the Indian terri tory. Mobcotic has always hud a fine trade and all the early settlements in the Panhandle were made in its vicin ity. Clarendon , on the Fort Worth & Denver , and Canadian City , on the Southern Kansas , have cut into the ter ritory once hold by Mobeetio and will seriously injure it unless it secures bouio kind of railroad connection. There is a great deal of speculation aa to the point of junction between the Denver lines and the Southern Kansas , and many who nro now in the other towns will aim to go to the now place whenever the point of connection Is es tablished. This junction will undoubt edly bo an important distributing point for this entire country. It is the gen eral impression that the "Frisco" will favor a common junction with the other two roads , and if this is done there is no doubt but it will build up a city of con siderable importance. This whole country is on the eve of a great change , and the business development will be such as to make it worth the while of any city to look after it. St. Louis un doubtedly could control the trade if the proper oitort wits made , as it will have the Frisch direct , and as good hold on thoAtchison and Denver lines us any other city. * Jerry Rusk nml llio Presidency. Correspondence New York Sun : L. A. Harper , u prominent attorney of Madison , WIs. , and a partner of Con- gros man La Folotto , is of the opinion that Wisconsin will go into the next re publican national convention with Jerry Rusk , the present governor , as her can didate for president. Mr. Harper , who has boon in the cast attending the na tional convention of republican clubs , and who Is pretty deep in the politics of the state , says that while Goxcrnor Rusk has some enemies among the la bor associations in the state , duo largely to his action last summer in regard to the socialistic outbreak near Milwaukee , ho is very popular with the majority of the people throughout the state and will have the support of the men like Senators Sawyer and Spoonor and the leading republican politicians through out the stato. Mr. Harper says that the opinion in BOHIO quarters that Mr. Vilas will bo the democratic nominee for vice president on the ticket with Mr. Cleveland next year is not generally - ally accepted by Mr. VIlas' friends and neighbors \VKcotiKin. . The Impres sion which exists there is that Mr. Vilas will make as thorough iv canvass for the vice presidency as though ho dcslrod to go on the ticket and if the olllco is ten dered him In the democratic conven tion , dctlino it , with the purpose ol becoming - coming the presidential cniidldnto of the democratic party In 1892. Gli'ls SawliiR Wooil For Ghnrlty. The young people connected with the Baptist church at Cromwell , Conn. , took a novel way of replenishing' the treasury of the church last week. On Thursday evening the young mon gath ered in the parlors of the clinch , where , surrounded by a bevy of their lady friends , they undertook to piece a bod- quilt in the old-fashioned way. The young Indies enjoyed the bungling work of the young mon as they sowed and perspired over the quilt. A largo crowd paid the admission of 10 cents to see the work go on , and cheered the workers in their efforts. On Friday ovouing there was equally as largo a crowd to see the young ladies Haw wood , for this is what they agreed to do if the young men would make a bedqullt. Ton sawhorses were ranged in a row , and ten pretty maidens with their sleeves rolled up grasped the wood saws and entered upon the job of reducing a half-cord of four-foot wood to stove sl'/o. Kach stick was cut throe times , and the young men sang to the pretty women as they sawed and sawed. Slowly but surely the woodpile was ro- uuccd in size until it lay before the spectators who watched the determined efforts of the fair ones. i rv < Ad