Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 April 1884 — Skinderson vs. Skinderson. [ARTICLE]

Skinderson vs. Skinderson.

A man named Chen worth, who lives in the village of Cowboy, Kan., owns a horse which he sends to a store three miles distant for provisions. A note tied to the horse’s mane has a list of the articles wanted. They are strapped in a bag to his back. The animal never stops to nibble grass, but goes the whole distance at a brisk trot. When Charles Dickens was in America for the first time he dined at the house of one of the Harper brothers, the well-known publishers. A little Harper came to the table. Dickens placed him on his knee, and said: ■“You are a very fine boy, indeed; you are the son of the greatest pirate on earth!” * Albbbt JEdward, Prince of Wales, seems to have a large fund of good sense, and in this respect differs from nearly every other Guelph that ever lived. In accommodating himself to the times, and accepting a position on the commission of inquiry into the condition of the poor, he has displayed more than usual tact. His action in this matter will certainly increase his popularity.

Hebe is a true fish story. Last year, at Portland, Me., there were taken and packed 47,400 barrels of mackerel 14,400 barrels of herring, and 7,000 barrels of shad. This gave employment to 2,020 men. There were also caught 122,000 quintals of codfish and 3,000,000 of lobsters, and 1,000,000 pounds of haddock were taken and smoked. The more the reader thinks about how much “1,000,000” is, the more will this look like a fish story. Tbaveling by railway, M. De Lessepa gets into the first compartment at hand, and drops into the first vacant seat he finds. Then he scrutinizes the other passengers sharply. If he can gef up a conversation with' one of them he does so; if not, he folds his arms, goes to sleep, and only wakes up when his destination is reached. At sea, he lies in his berth, fast asleep, all the time,, except when at his meals. Ona □recent voyage from Marseilles to Alexandria, lasting 130 hours, he spent 107 hours in sleep. He has given up ice--water baths, but still takes much horseback exercise.

An interesting ceremony took place fit Birmingham, England, recently, on the occasion of the “home-coming” of a man named Hall after twenty years’ penal servitude for wife murder. Thousands of people, it is stated, met Hall at the railway station and gave Jhim an enthuiastic reception, greeting him with loud cheers until he was driven off in a cab with his relatives. These tokens of sympathy and esteem must have somewhat surprised Hall. Wife murder was, twenty years ago, looked upon as a rather serious offense, even when, as in the ease of Hall, it was committed under circumstances of- extreme provocation.

Philadelphia school-boys are dangerous creatures. One of them, not yet 16 years old, spent a short vacation up in the country lately, and while there so captivated the affections of a farmer’s daughter that she took poison and tried to die when he failed to answer her letters. She said she wanted to go out of life “like Ethel St. Maur in the Broken Vow.” Her father had the poison pumped out and her life saved, and. then he wrote to the youth that he ought to be ashamed of himself, and if he would come up to that neighbourhood again some time he would horsewhip him within an inch of his life. When that second visit occurs the youth will have aged by many moons.

In 1880 the population of Cochin China amounted to about a million and a half. Of these only 1,825 were French, 1,366,139 were Annamites, and 58.500 Chinese. A book lately published in Paris by Messrs. Bouinais <twelve years a Government official in Cochin China} & Paulus gives a very favorable account of the Annamites. They are gentle, docile, and sober by habit, although the rich have a tendency to indulge in opium and brandy. They are very sensible, eminently endowed with the imitative faculty, rapidly familiarize themselves with the habits of civilized life, and are greedy of instruction. The French have established a regular system of communal schools. The authors attribute most of the weak pointe of the Annamites to the brutality with which they have been governed. Their chief defects are a lack of perseverance and of gratitude. France has only had this colony about twenty years. Dr. Savory says in the British Medical Journal that among the chief causes of injury to the health from gambling,’ is the prolonged mental strain which becomes necessary to the maintenance of self-control during ex-

tended periods of intense excitement. He cites the case of a lady who had lately returned from Monte Carlo much broken down in health, and greatly weakened by the severe fits of exhaustion from which she invariably suffered after an hour or two at the gaming table. She said that her ability to continue the game was determined by the extent of her power to sustain an aspect of indifference in the presence of spectators.

Atlanta Constitution: The com-mittee-in charge of the matter has selected for the late Senator Hill’s statue the following inscriptions from his writings : “He who saves his country saves all things and all things saved do bless him; who lets his country die lets all' things die—dies himself, ignobly—and all things do curse him. ” On the reverse side: “The Constitution should know no section, but should know, all the States.” On one side piece: “We are in our father’s house, our brothers are our companions, and we are here to stay, thank God, forever. ” On the other side will bg a brief reoord es the Senator’s public and professional life. The statue is rapidly ap-. proaching completion.

In full season millions of dollars were often turned in one night at Crockford’s celebrated gambling club in London. The net profits of the season were $7-50,000, and yet the weekly expenses averaged $5,000. The fitting up of the house cost nearly $250,000. Crockford’s was ostensibly organized as a club, and the committee elected the members, but any one who had a fortune to lose could easily obtain admission. The Duke of Wellington was an original member, but was never known to enter the hazard-room. For ten years before Crockford’s was started there was very high play at Watier*B (the principal frequenters of which were hopelessly ruined), at Brookes’, and also at White’s, where the late Lord Granville was the great player. He is said to have been nearly a million to the bad at the end of his career, although at one time he*had won $550,000. Lord Granville once lost $115,000 at hazard at a single sitting Of seven hours, and $50,000 at one night’s whist.

Forty-four years ago three men, Mr. Miller, Mr. Dorr, and Mr.'Merritt, went to settle in a Pennsylvania village. Miller built a tavern and sawmill. For forty-four years Miller ran the tavern and sawmill; for forty-four years Dorr boarded in the tavern; for forty-four years Merritt sawed in the mill, the three never missing a day’s work, Miller making a fortune. The sawmill had of late years cost S4OO per year more than it could make. Mr. Miller had deeded his property to his son, and not Img ago this son sold the tavern and mill, against his father’s wishes, who was 75 years old, and whose one great wish it was to die in that tavern where he had so long lived. Mr. Miller took to his bed and died immediately. The next morning his fid friend and champion, Dorr, was found dead with his face in the brook; he was 80 years old, and very strong, mentally and physically. The next night after that the alarm of heard in the village for the first time. The sawmill was in flames, and burned to the ground. It was fired by Merritt, the sawyer, who on the following day paid the purchaser the value of the mill, saying that he had turned the water on the wheel the first time and htyi sawed every log sawed in the mill. Merritt left the village forever. He had never been away before since he first came there.

The other morning a volcanic-looking matron appeared in Judge Lawler’s court and demanded to be informed asto the very earliest moment a divorce could be granted to a cash customer. “Have you a complaint, madam?" said the Judge, soothingly. “I should say I had, Judge,” snapped the applicant. “I’ll just tell yon> what the brute Skinderson—l’m Mrs. Skinderson, more’s the pity—what that brute Skinderson’s been doing. Flesh and blood can’t stand it.” “Did he beat you?” inquired his Honor. “I should like to see him try it,” said Mrs. S., with an indignant sniff. “It’s a heap worse. This morning I was talking with the aggravating thing for over two hoars —just arguing with him, mind you, about a new paper for the parlor—when what do vou suppose he did?” “Tried to shoot himself?" hazarded the Judge. “I just wish the mean brute had. No’, sir; the wretch rang for a district telegraph messenger boy, and when he came Skinderson lay down on the lounge, and says, with one of those cold, tantalizing smiles of his’n, * Martha, I’m worn out now, and I’m going to take a nap. Just wrangle with this boy for an hour or two, apd when I wake up I’ll relieve him. If he gives out meanwhile, just ring up another. ’ ” “I’m afraid you couldn’t get a divorce on that,” said the Court, reflectively. “Couldn’t, eh?” cried the victim of domestic infelicity, in a rage. “All right; I’ll go straight home, and if Skinderson hasn’t woke up yet, I’ll dump some hot ashes on his head; I’ll fix lum yet 1” with which consoling anticipation she sallied out.— San Francisco Post.

High Protective or Revenue Tariff. CNorval,* in Indianapolis Sentinel.] The gross value of manufactured products in the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 were as follows: Gain per cent, in each ten 1850 .. $1,019,109,616 years. 1860 1,885.861,775 85.05 1870 4,232,325,442 124.42 1880 5,369,579,191 “ 26.87 The valuation for 1870, as is well known, was made on an inflated currency, the average premium on gold having been about 20.03, or, as stated in the census tables, about 20 per cent, discount on the paper. Hence to get a correct basis for 1870, to compare with 1860 and 1880, the census tables of 1880 give the following as the correct basis for manufactured products in the years mentioned: Per cent, of *- gain in ten 1860 ' $1,019,109,616 years. 1860 1,885,861,676 85.05 1870 3,385,860,354 , 79.34 1890 5.369,579,191 58.59 Thus it will be clearly seen that our greatest increase in manufacturing took place in the free trade decade from 1850 to 1860, and this fact of itself should convince all workingmen, farmers, and business men that a revenue tariff and not high protection is the true policy for this country. Again, the census tables give the net value of manufactured products or what they were worth after deduoting the cost of the materials consumed. Still deducting 20 per cent, from the inflated values of 1870: Par cent of Net Value. gain In ten years. 1850 $ 488,935,296 1860 864,256,584, 84.13 1870 1,395,118,560 63.31 1880 1,972.755/842 41.49 Again the free trade year of 1860 is in advance.

The increase of capital invested in manufacturing in 1860 over 1850 was 89.38 per cent., 1870 over 1860 was 67.80 per cent, and in 1880 over 1870, 64.66 per cent Hence, it is clear that capital was not afraid to engage in manufacturing in a free trade peried as 1860 is still in advance. The increase of wages paid in 1860 over 1850 was 60.08; in 1870 over 1880 was 63.76; and in 1880 over 1870 it was 52.78 per cent. In this comparison 1860 is a trifle behind on the advance increase in total wages paid, but so little as to cut no figure, but when we compare the cost of living in 1860 with 1870 or 1880 it is clear beyond a doubt, that the mechanics and laborers of 1860 were much better paid, considering the purchasing power of the dollar in 1860. The census show that a large increase in wages from 1860 to 1880 has taken place, and yet the laborin gmen of our country are not as well paid to-day as ’in 1860, when we take in account the vast increase in the price of commodities, rents, and other necessary expenses. In my own city, houses which rented in 1860 for $5 or $6 per month now bring sl(4 and sl2, and these are on old streets where but little change has taken place. Workingmen in those days got board for from $2 to $2.50 per week, including lodging, while railroad men and other irregular boarders got their meals at from twelve and a half to fifteen cents, and at many terminal points lodging thrown in. Let us take the expenses of a railroad brakeman in 1860, counting thirty days a month: Ninety meals at 15 cent5..:.................513.50 Thirty iodgiflge at 121 s cents 3.75 Total expenses $17.25 Wages paid to brakemen in 1860, S3O per month, and aftef deducting his board and lodging we find the brakeman of that period would have $12.75 per month left. Now let us tajte a brakeman of the present. His board costs him 25 cents per meal and lodging 35 cefits per nigjht: Ninety meals at 25 cents $22.50 Thirty lodgings at 25 Ants *, 7.50 Total expenses $30.00 Bailroad merf are now paid by the trip, based upon 100 miles for a local man’s day’s work; the price going up, as course, as the distance is greater. I find the average for through and local brakemen on such a run is $45 for twenty-seven days work in 1883.

Brakemen’s wages >15.00 Board and lodging 30.00 Balance after expenses $15.00 Here we find that the brakeman of 1883 has sls left for clothing and incidentals, as against the same class of men’s $12.75 in 1860. Is there a man in all this land so stupid as not to know that $12.75 in 1860 would buy one-half more that sl6 in 1883, of the general necessaries. Or if the’brakeman had a family and lived at one end of his “run” and was enabled to board and lodge at home half the time, his financial matters would stand thus at the end of each month away from home in 1860: Board half-moath, 45 meals, at 15c $ 6.75 Lodgings half-month, is, at 1254 c 1.88 At home, house rent per month 5.00 Total $13.63 Wages per month . 30.00 Here we find that the brakeman of 1860, after paying his board away from home, and house rent at home, would still have $16.37 for provisions and clothing for self and family, and, when we take into account the prices of the above articles in that year, it is well known that the family of a young man could live comfortably on that amount. Now let us take the same man in 1883: Wages per month H 5.00 Boa d halt-mouth from home: Forty-tive meals at 25c... ..$11.25 Fifteen lodgings at 250 3.75 House rent per month 10 00 $25.00—526.00

■ • $20.00 Here we find that the brakeman of 1883 would have S2O, or just $3.63 left more than the brakeman of 1860 had, for provisions and clothing, and the most ignorant man in this land knows, .f. he has any knowledge of prices in 1860, that $16.37 in that year would buy as much provisions and clothing as S3O will buy in 1880 or 1883. The wages of 186 Q are based upon a daily run pf a hundred miles. Of course if the man did “more running, or doubled the road," he was paid for the extra work at the same proportion, viz., S3O per month. The wages of to-

day are based on a daily run of a hundred miles on freight also, but lam aware that men often draw more pay, but they do more work for it in “doubling the road.” The prices of meals and lodging are based upon actual payments made by this class of men in 1860 and in 1880-3. The house rents are based upon actual payments made in each period, and in the same cities and towns in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The above scales of wages will apply equally to -passenger brakemen and baggage-masters, with slight variations on different lines. We will now take a local freight conductor in 1860: Wages per month $50.00 Meals sway from h0me,45«.®15c... .$ 6.75 Fifteen lodgings, at 12)i0..... x.... 1.88 House rent at home 8.00 Total .• $16.63 16.63 Balance left $38.37 Conductors, getting more salary, lived in better locations or houses, and hence, in 1860, as now. paid higher rent, and we find that the local conductor of that year, after paying board and lodgings' away from home and house rent at home, had $33.37 left to buy provisions and cloth'ing for his family. We will now take the local freight conductor of 1880 and 1883: Wages per month $65.00 Meals from home, 45c.®25c. $11.25 Fifteen lodgings, at 25c. 3.75 House rent at home per month 15.00 Total . $30.00 .00

Balance left $35.00 Here we have a clear proof as to to the manner in which protection protects the workingman.' In revenue tariff 1860, and the year of the lowest tariff in this country, the hard-worked local freight conductor had, after paying his board away from home and house rent at home, $38.37 left to buy provisions and clothing for the month, while the equally hard-worked conductor of 1883 has but $35 left for the same uses; and yet it is a well-known fact that the $33.37 of the 1860 conductor would buy as much in the. way of provisions and clothing as SSO would in 1883. The wagesfof conductors for both periods are based on a run of 100 miles per day, it being well understood that in either period a larger mileage will secure more salary, while the house rents for both periods are based upon actual payments made.