Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1894 — Page 5

SOMEWHAT STRANGE.

ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Queer Facts end Thrilling Adventures Which Show that Truth is Stranger Than Fiction. Electricity played an odd prank in Margate, England, a few days ago when a telephone wire crossed a fire alarm circuit and brought out the engines. The firemen were greatly mystified on reaching the bos from which the alarm was supposed to have come to find the glass door unbroken, and it was some time before tbe mystery was cleared up. The Marquis of Bute, who is well known for his antiquarian tastes, is about to defray the cost of reproducing a sac-simile of the beautiful illuminated manuscript known as the Gospel Book of St. Margaret of Scotland, the Queen of Malcolm Canmore. The manuscript, whose early history is alluded to by Turgot and by Simeon of Durham, dates from before 1098. The biggest book in the world will be the catalogue of the British Museum. It has been in preparation for thirteen years, but now the gigantic task of compilation is nearing completion. Some idea of its size can be guessed from the fact that 1,400,000 distinct titles and entries have been printed in all sorts of languages, and presenting no end of difficulties, even to the . savants and linguists employed on the work.

London Quiver is responsible for this unlikely story: Not long since a shark and a sailor in the Mediterranean Sea re-enacted the part of Jonah and the whale to perfection. The man fell overboard, and instantly disappeared in the mouth of a monster shark. The captain fired a gun at the beast from the deck, and as the shot ploughed through its back, it cast the man out again and he was rescued, perfectly unhurt, but so badly frightened that he was sick for several days.

One of the greatest natural curiosities of Central America is the volcan de Aqua, or water volcano, which is Bituated in Guatemala, about twenty-five miles southwest of the capital. Its apex is 14,450 feet above the level of the sea, and cultivated fields and forest trees extend almost to its summit. It occasionally vents forth torrents of pure, cold water. In 1869 an “eruption” of this kind inundated the northern valley and destroyed a whole village situated on the side of the peak. James Whiteley, of Marine City, Mich., has long enjoyed the not very enviable reputation on the great lakes of being a hoodoo. Many of the vessels on which he has served have met with disaster, and of late it was a difficult thing to get any of the sailors that knew him to sail in a vessel with him. His body was one of two found tied to the rigging of the schooner Cummings by the Milwaukee life-saving crew, when that vessel was driven ashore there a wreck the other day. It is said that the captain of the schooner was warned of Whiteley’s reputation,and when he engaged the sailor at Buffalo not long ago, he was told that he was tempting fate. The lake sailors shake their heads wisely and say that if the captain had listened to reason and not hired Whiteley, his vessel might easily have weathered the storm.

The following is related as illustrative of the hold that the duello has upon the military men in Europe. At Funfkirchen, Hungary, two young officers were good-humoredly boxing in the barrack yard, when two officers of higher rank, who were looking on, asserted that one of them had slapped the other’s face, and that no soldier could honorably endure such an insult. Billitz and Szarvas, the lads, assured the officers that nothing of the kind had taken place, but the officers reported to the colonel, who sent for Szarvas and ordered him to challenge Billitz or otherwise he would never be allowed to pass examination for an officer. The young man called out his comrade to a duel with sabres. In the first round Billitz received a slight wound in the arm and then a serious cut in the neck. Szarvas had two ribs hewn asunder, beside being wounded in the lung. He is now in a precarious condition in the hospital and is doubtful of his life, but his honor has been preserved from the stain that threatened it.

A Buda-Pest manufacturer has informed the police that he possesses a powder with which thieves can be caught. Having for the last few days made the unpleasant discovery that his cash box was plundered day after day, and failing in all his attempts to catch the thief, he applied in his dilemma to Mr. Telek, professor of chemistry at the Franzstadt Commercial Schools, and the latter gave him a powder which he sprinkled over his cash every night before leaving the office. This powder has the peculiar effect of dyeing the skin blue, the color being intensified by washing, while it resists the application of soap. On the very first day the manufacturer noticed ■ a deficiency of eight crowns in the silver cash box. He at once called his employes together and ordered them one by one to steep their hands into a basin full of water, got ready for the purpose. One of the men was very loth to follow the example of his comrades. At last he consented, when, no sooner had he dipped his hands in the bowl, than they turned dark blue I His employer stepped up to him and said: “You are the thief!” and the man at once confessed. When the little fruit ship Delta was lying at anchor about two miles off Cape Gracias, Yucatan, those on board saw a curious object paddling madly toward the vessel. The sailors tied a bucket to a long line and stood by to capture the navigator as soon as he was near enough. When he was landed on deck he was as much a mystery as ever, for nothing could be made of him but a round miserably bedraggled ball of hair which emitted piglike squeals. At last, 1 however, he unrolled- and stuck out a nose of the most incredible length. He waddled along deck showing a broad white stripe along his back, and finally he

wm adjudged by a council of all the mariners on board to be an ant eater. He seemed well contented on board, and in lieu of ants managed to do very well with milk and bread and the insects which are plentiful on shipboard. He became a great pet, and when the ship arrived at New York he was passed through Quarantine as the most important personage aboard. He is 24 feet long and has a tongue which the veracious mariners declare is twice as long as his body.

“What trivial matters will sometimes changea man’s whole career!” remarked Thomas J. Sanders, of C hats worth, N.Y., to a St. Louis GlobeDemocrat man. “I owe my good fortune in life to a banana peeling. Twelve years ago I was in Chicago, about stranded, out of employment, and well-nigh desperate. An old gentleman a step in advance of me slipped on a banana peeling and fell heavily, I rushed to his assistance and partially broke his fall, but he sustained a sprained ankle and was rendered unconscious by his head striking the pavement. I got him some water and a stimulant and when he revived I ordered a carriage and drove with him to his hotel, where I assisted him to his room. He was very grateful and invited me to call next day. I did so, and, to make a long story short, I was taken into his employ* as private secretary. Well, in course of time I became of such use to him that I became a member of his firm. To complete the story'you will expect, me to say that I married his daughter. Well, I did not. He had none. But I married his niece, and I have often blessed the to me fortunate accident of his fall in the streets of Chicago.

Near the Smoky Hill River, in Gove County, Kansas, far out on the western plains of Kansas, stands Castle Rock, which marks a place where General Fremont rested on his memorable journey to the Rockies. During all these years this silent sentinel of nature’s sculpture has been occasionally visited by the geologist, but until Professor W. F. Howard, of the Dighton public schools commenced digging into the earth near this peculiar formation no one realized what was in store for the searcher after nature’s hidden wonders. Professor Howard did not commence his search until recently, and was then induced to pursue it because he had nothing else to do. He discovered in the deep cavernous ravines in the vicinity of Castle Rock many sharks’ jaws and other petrifications. Then a new prospector, in the person of H. M. Sternberg, of Lawrence, put in an appearance, and uncovered the entire form of a petrified elephant, together with numerous parts of lions, camels and other beasts. This discovery has excited a great deal of comment and people for many miles around have visited the spot to look at the wonderful find, which was covered with about three feet of earth. The discovery of tusks of animals led to the investigation by Howard and Sternberg, but now that they have discovered the petrified remains of a full-grown elephant they can do nothing with them. There is no way in which they can remove them except in sections, hence they will probably remain wh*re they are.

Hard to Kill.

An alligator’s tenacity of life is remarkable. I have no doubt that when its brain is pierced by a bullet the animal does not long survive, but it sinks into deep water, where it cannot be seen. I never succeeded in killing and bagging an alligator by a shot in the brain. The structure of the skull provides so much protection to the brain, and the bullet might easily be deflected by the hard bones. It was not my vocation to go about killing alligators, but on one occasion I was witness to the great difficulty of taking the animal’s life. We were on a shooting party near the Pointee indigo factory, on the Ganges, and one day when we returned from our morning’s round in the jungles, after deer and always a possible tiger or a wolf, we found that some fishermen had brought in *an alligator about six feet long, securely bound on a bullock cart. The animal was still alive, but had evidently been severely beaten to make him quiet on the bullock cart, so the order was given to tie a stout rope around its loins and to turn it into a small tank to refresh and recover itself while we were taking our baths and our breakfast.

Breakfast over, the alligator was hauled out of the tank, and was quite lively, so that it had to be fastened to a tree. Then operations for killing it began, but bullets from a small rifle or an ordinary twelvebore gun seemed only to irritate it. A Sontal brought a large spear, one of the lato venabula ferro which they use, and drove it down the alligator's throat into its vitals, and this had more effect, while another man got an axe and chopped away at the neck till the head was separated from the body. The body was then cut open, and the heart was lying on the ground by its side, but still the tail continued to move. But here we withdrew, and the mob of Sontals, who had been eagerly waiting, rushed in with their knives and cut up the body and ate everything eatable, so that in a short time there was nothing left but the skin and bones.— [Longman’s Magazine.

Oldest Inhabited House.

The oldest inhabited house within the limits of the United States is said to be that of Killian Van Rensselaer, which stands opposite Albany, N. Y. It is of old Holland bricks, and the front wall still exhibits enormous loop-holes, through which the first owners formerly shot at Indians and wild beasts. According to a plate set in the wall by the Albany Commemorative Society a few years ago, the building was erected in 1642. The house is still in good repair, after having been In constant use for more than two and a half centuries.—[St. Louis Republic. The death rate largely exceeds the birth rate in France. Among flowers chrysanthemums live the longest after being cut.

CLASS LEGISLATION.

TERM CANNOT APPLY TO THE INCOME TAX. Th« Reimpoeitloa of Thli Tax la a Step Toward Equalising the Bordens Between the Rich and the Poor—General Political Comment. Not a Class Measure. Senator Hill and the other opponents of the income tax never tire of calling it ‘class legislation. ” Inasmuch as this tax is levied upon incomes, not upon men, Qie epithet dees not fit. The in-come-tax-paying class will not be the same for any two years. Some who are fortunate enough to be eligible one year will drop out the next., much to their sorrow. Others who are too poor to be assessed this year, through greater prosperity will be liable next year. The hardship is in not having an income large enough ta tax —not in paying a trifle upon superabundance. The real victims of class legislation ever since the close of the war have been the great mass of poDr people, who are taxed in their poverty upon thrir necessaries. During the war there was created a vast and intricate system of taxation which of necessity took tribute from everybody. The banks were taxed, incomes were taxed, manufacturers were taxed, corporations were taxed, the owners of watches and carriages paid taxes on these luxuries, checks were taxed, while the poor were taxed upon nearly everything that they ate, drank or wore. When the war ended one after another of the taxes on wealth and luxury were repealed, until now only the* taxes on spirits and tobacco—the luxuries of the poor—are est. The revenue duties on tea and coffee were removed, but beyond this no relief was given to the poor. Indeed, the tariff taxes were raised repeatedly and steadily until the McKinley bill exceeded the average of the highest war tariff. The whole burden of national taxation rests upon consumption. And as the amout of neoessaries required to sustain existence is nearly the same for poor and rich, the result is a great inequality of taxation. Men pay not according to their ability to pay, or to the benefits which they* receive from the government, but by an arbitrary process that oppresses the many for the advantage of the few. The reimposition of the income tax is, as Senator Sherman said in 1870, a step towards “equalizing the burdens between the rich and the poor.” It is but a short step. It wrongs none. It will relieve many.

Why People Trade. There is another thing, which Is not so clear to me. How is it that free trade, with loreign nations that pay low prices for labor, can benefit all? How can it but reduce wages to a level with those pauper-labor countries? First—Labor does not cost more in one country than another as long as immigration is free; that i 3, wages may be higher in one place than in another, but they cannot remain so, unless the work turned out is in proportion. If high wages meant high cost of produoconverse would be true—low wages would mean low cost of production; and no wages at all—slavery—would drive out of existence any wagepaying institution. But tle reverse is our experience of the last century. The last relic of that barbaric institution—slavery—was abolished in 1888, because it did not pay—the wage system superseded it. T*he reason is that, where high wages exist, it pays to employ labor-saving machinery. Besides, the better the material condition of the workmen as a claS?, the more industrious and intelligent they are —and intelligence will defeat ignorance, in the competitive race, every time. B.ut even if the cost of production is higher in one country than it is in another it is difficult *to see how free trade can affect wages. If an article is too high-priced to be salable in another country, there is no possibility of trading; no one will buy from a foreigner if the article costs more than would a similar one at home. It is only when both parties can gain that a trade is made; and, in that event, it is impossible to show how either country could lose by Iree trade. To protect high wages by taxing immigration would be more sensible, however unjust and selfish; but to levy taxes upon them is quite as absurd as to try to increa e the sale of an article in the market by raising its price.— S. Byron Welcome, in “From Earth’s Center.” Free Tr.icle Mills. The working man may be glad that there are a few free trade manufacturers in this country who keep their mills running in all kinds of weather and under all kinds of tariff and who do not take advantage of every proposed i eduction of tariff duties to compel their employes to accept lower wages. Nearly all kinds of gla s are manufactured by tariff protected trusts. These trusts have kept about half of their mills clo ed during the past two years and for several months of each year all have been closed. Under the 100 per cent, protection of the McKinley tariff wages have been greatly reduced and many strikes are now on because of threatened reductions. But there is one important exception. The manufacturers of lamp chimneys do not depend upon a tariff for support, have no trust, have not reduced wages, and have given steady employment to labor. The following is from the National Glass Budget of June a:

“At a meeting of the lamp chimney manufacturers and a committee of the workers the wage scale for the next fire was agree 1 to. Few changes were made, there was no lriction of any kind, and the previous sca’e was practically continued. The Western as well as local factories took part in the meeting.” One of. the manufacturers is Mr. Geo. A. Macbeth, of Pittsburg, who is said to be the largest individual glass manufacturer in the world. Mr. Macbeth has for years been shipping thousands of dollars' worth of chimneys to all parts of the wor.d, including Germany, whore are his chief competitors. He says that with free raw materials he could distance all competitors. He neither believes in protection for himself nor for anybody el e. He says “Twenty-live years of tariff demoralization ha< cultivated a socialistic and paternal idea of Government.” It causes manufacturers to bend their “energies to seeing how high prices they could get instead of working put tho problem of cheaper production. ” Such manufacturers and such men will be the salvation of the nation—if it ever gets salvation. It Went on the Free List. The Senators from Maine have had much to say about the sectional character of the Wilson tariff bill while making a sectional cry against its transfer of lumber to the free list In this instance, at least, their sectional charge wholly misses its mark, as they are quite oblivious of the fact that the interest of the in the lumber trado is much greater than that of Maine. They say that the reduction

of dutlos on ramber In the MoKinle/ tariff has not been attended oy any decline is its price; and it is very likely that there will be no great reduction of prioa under the Wilson bill. At any rate, lumber ought to go on the free list As for the wages of lumbermen, they are as high in Nova Scotia ps in Maine. —Philadelphia Record.

Unjust Cutlery Schwluit. The fear of the Senate tariff revisers that they might actually reform the tariff has led them, in some cases, to outdo McKinley. Several such in-’ stances occur in the metal schedule. On some kinds of files the proposed Senate duties are higher than the odious McKinley rates. As usual, these' high rates are hidden behind specific duties. It is. in fact, about as safe to give a child powder, matches, and a hammer to play with as to put specific duties Into the hands of Congressmen who know next to nothing about the industry to be shielded by such duties. While the rates in the cutlery schedule are not usually so high, the duties are even more mixed, and the injustice and temptation to undervaluation fully as great as in the McKinley schedule. A correspondent of Bradstreot’s, in the issue of June 2, says that in the revised Wilson bill “the* worst feature of the McKinley law Is not only revived but apparently reintroduoed In more aggravated form. We apparently no longer have four divisions'with a mixed duty, but six, the duty running up and down the scale—first plain ad valorem, then mixed ad valorem and specific, then plain specific, and finally another rate of ad valorem simply. Such a hybrid was never seen before. It is not only undesirable from any reasonable point of view but it is a greater incentive to undervaluation than the McKinley provisions.” The writer gives a table contrasting the recent cutlery schedules. According to the Senate schedule, a knife which costs 291 cents abroad pays a duty of 25 per cent., while one which costs 31 cents pays a duty of 25 per cent, plus 12 cents, making the total duty 191 cents—equivalent to 63 per cent. A knife which costs $1.49 will pay a duty of 26i per cent., one that costs $1.52 will pay a duty of 49 per oent., one which costs $2.99 will pay a duty of 25 per cent., while one which costs $3.09 will pay a duty of 50 per cent. Chairman Wilson, knowing more of the dangers of specific duties, placed a 45 per cent, ad valorem duty on all knives. This was much too high, but would be preferable to the Senate conglomeration.

Poverty Breeder*. A tariff is a tariff. Imposed by a Congress or a municipal council, it is an insult to the tradinr occupation, an obstacle to progress and an impoverishment of the people. Some State tariffs have been—and are still—teaching a class of particularly quick minds what a tariff does j against the true interests of humanity, i When a drummer finds a legal coni trivancs to keep his house out of a i territory which wants his goods he 1 sees through the millstone of protection. If the United States refused to deal with Europe, if St. Louis refused to deal with New York, if Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas towns refused to deal with St. Louis, if the country stores ref ised to deal with J these towns and if the farmers refused ! to deal with the country stores, we ' would have a perfect protective system j all along the line. And in ten yoars j we would have poverty and squalor all j along the line. ! Under that perfect protective system i the trader would be squoo’/od out. ■ Every man would give up the advant- | ages of discovery and improvement. ; Tneie would not even be a book in ciri culation. What point in that protective system would be worse than any other? If one is justifiable or useful the others are. Every bigoted protective law is a sale of a public right to a sordid special interest and one such sale is as good as another. Sell one right and | there is a check to civilization. Sell ; all and the sordid interests themselves - are destroyed. We then reach the ] barren level of universal grubbing of roots and picking of wild berries. Laws to prevent New York from sollI ing in St. Louis or St. Louis from selling in Nashville are affronts to the i mercantile class. So are laws to prevent trading with Europe. All laws of that kind a"e a reaction toward the dark ages of preiudice and slavery.— St. Louis Republic. Condemned by All. Newspapers of all shades of opinion condemn unsparingly the avowal of Mr. Havemeyer that the sugar trust makes contributions to both Republican and Democratic campaign committees with the. expectation that its in- | toiests will be amply protected. The j Baltimore Sun (Dem.) says that “the ! sooner such combination is shorn of the power to pervert political parties and to degrade American politics the better it will be for the country.” The Philadelphia Telegraph (Rep.) speaks of Mr. Havemeyer’s statement as “brazen.” and adds: “This inquiry has gone far enough to reveal a state of ari airs in Washington, the contemplation of which must disgust every honest citizen, regardless of his political views.” The Pittsburg Chronicle (Rep.) i-ays: “It is now very easy to understand how the trust had the help of both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to fix the sugar schedule to its liking. Senator Quay and Senator Brice might be wide apart on politics, but when the sngar schedule came up they were cheek by jowl.” The Springfield Republican rind.) declared that “the sugar trust was not after fire and police protection in Massachusetts, of course, when it contributed to the Republican campaign fund. It plainly 1 nad in mind possible legislation by the State affecting its interests in some way, and took note of which party controls the Legislature here.”

Canadi'g Protected Cordage C<»m'>in a . “We want high duties in the interests of Canadian labor,” cry the apologists of the protective system in Parliament. But the Glass Combine, the Cordage Combine, and other monopolies sheltered by the Foster tariff have closed factories and thrown hundreds of Canadian workingmen out of employment. for the purpose of dest-dy-ing competition, restricting production, and enabling them to put up prices and r, b the people. That is on 3 way of protecting Canadian labor.— Ottawa (OnL ) Free Press. Can not people be trusted to exchange theit- products when and where it is most to their advantage? Can we always be sure that Congress knows better than the persons immediately interested, with whom it is best for them to trade? —Single Tax Courier. Ip it is well for the farmer and manufacturer to exchange their products when they are l situated on opposite sides of the same road, would it be less so if the road was the boundary between countries?-Single Tax Courier, The Morrill war tariff, which Democrats have been denouncing all these years, is less protective than the Gorman bill, and its substitution for the Gorman bill would be a great gain for reform.—New York World.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

There were a billion and a half : bushelsof corn raised in this country ! last year, over half a million bushels lof oats, and a third of a million bushels of wheat. The greatest engineering feat at present under way in Europe is, perhaps, the improvement of the lower Danube. There has been talk of ; opening up this river to large vessels for three hundred years. The work is now under way, and when It is through Vienna will be a port of entry for large vessels. A metallurgist at Westfield, N.J., who has been experimenting for many years, has discovered a method of making aluminum at twenty-five cents a pound with a profit to the manufacturer. This is about onehalf its present selling price.atid this inventor believes that in time the metal can be produced as cheaply as Bessemer iron. The grape has been a most popular and useful fruit, but it is only recently that all its possibilities have been grasped. They are now making an excellent illuminating oil out of grape seed. For generations cotton seed, now so important an agricultural product, was regarded as a useless substance, and so it has beon with grape seed. The systems of rewards and punishments which seem to be the ruling motives of our lives are in themselves degrading. The man who does a good act prompted only by the incentive of reward would commit a crime for the same purpose. It is only when we have reached a stage of developments where wo forget the punishments that might follow neglect or the reward that is to come through a work performed, and do right because it is right, without fear of the consequences, that we can reach our highest development. Some two years ago the State of Pennsylvania oppointed Eckley B. Coxe a commissioner to see whether some good use might not be made of the slack, coaldust, etc., which goes to waste around the coal mines. After a great many experiments and tests, it is said, Mr. Coxe has made some remarkable discoveries. With the aid of a specially constructed stoker and fan blast, not only can the dirt heretofore thrown away be utilized, but in steam production better results have been obtained from it, and at fifty per cent, less in cost. A number of experts who have examined the test plants say that it will revolutionize the production of steam power.

The increasing number of fires ascribed to electricity demands the exercise of greater care in the use of this method of furnishing light and power. Boston has lmd a number of fires within the past few years directly tracoable to electricity which burned up millions of dollars worth of property. The fire record in Hartford shows the same result and doubtless an investigation of the fires in other cities would prove the destructive part electricity, when not properly handled, has played in fires. The recent burning of Tahnage’s church, in Brooklyn,with much valuable property adjoining was probably caused by the defective insulation of some electric light wires. The great and unfortunate M. do Lesseps in his extreme old ago finds himself a' wery poor man. He married late ifL fife and has a family of thirteen children. It is generally believed that the blunders of the Panama were not criminal on his part. But recalling his past great services to commerce in the construction of the Suez Canal, it is proposed by a majority of the shareholders that during the rest of M. de Lessep's life he shall be given an annuity of 00,000 francs, 01 about $12,000, and that after his death and till his youngest child is of age, 40,000 francs a year shall go to the widow and children. This illustrates that there are cases when great corporations show they are not soulless.

There are some curious statements published in the Japanese Mali, made by a Japanese who has been traveling in China. He thinks the present Chinese Manchurian dynasty is so much hated that it will be overthrown within ten years, which will be followed by a breaking up of the Empire. He says there are twelve hundred foreign missionaries in China. “Among them,’’he declares, “those sent from America are true propagandists of the Gospel; but of those belonging to the Russian and French nationalities, some are really of the military profession. They take no interest in the propagation of their religion, but are busily engaged in geographical studies with special reference to military operations.”

Congressman Amos Cummings recently told a story about a public document which has been printed for over 100 years without the slightest ground why it should be thus preserved. “In 1789,” Mr. Cummings said, “a law was passed requiring the treasurer of the United States to send to congress annually copies of all his accounts settled by the first comptroller of the treasury. He transmitted them without classification, indexing or recapitulation, and this report was printed until 1889— 100 years. The last one cost $6,500. The report for 1889 was printed in 1891 by order of the fifty-first congress. Its preparation took the whole time of two clerks in the treasurer’s office. These reports have been utterly worthless ever since they were issued, in 1789, and have undoubtedly cost the government hundreds of thousands of dollars. When they were first printed they covered not more than three or four pages. They have increased in size until the report of 1889 covered nearly 1,000 printed pages. Not long ago the clerk of one of the committees went to Amzi Smith, superintendent of the senate document room, and asked him for a c6py of these reports. Smith disappeared, and returned after half an hour with the volume, saying: ‘I have been here over thirty years, and you are the first man that ever callod for a copy of this work.’ ” In the laboratory of the Imperial

Board of Health of Germany experiments were made and the results which have been published show, says London Science Siftings, that the seeds of consumption were found in abundance in the dust collected, not only on the floors, but on the walls and seats of carriages. Samples of dust were taken from forty-five compartments of twenty-one different passenger cars and 117 animals were inoculated with them. Part of these died very soon thereafter of various contagious diseases before they had time to develop consumption ; of the rest, killed four to six weeks after inoculation, three had tubercles. These three, however, were inoculated with sleeping carriage dust, taken, not from the floor, but from the walls, cushions and ceilings. Bacteria at the rate of 78,8(H) per square inch were found on the floor of a fourth-class carriage, and 84,400, 27,000, . and 16,600 per square inch on the floors of the third, second, and first-class carriages. Thus, even in the latter, the average passenger, who usually has at least half [a compartment to himself, say 3,000 square inches of floor, has an army of 49,500,000 deadly enemies aiming at his vitals on the floor alone, to say nothing of other millions in front and rear, on both flanks and overhead. It would seem impossible to escape; but a Board of Health is said to have reported measures for removing or reducing the danger which the railroads are considering.

CATCHING COLD.

Various Ways in Whioh It May B« Dona. Cold, says u medical writer in tha Girl’s Own Paper, may take place from damp or cold feet, or from exposure of the head to cold. Cold may also be caused by breathing dust, and a cold is also freely caught from temporary congestion of the lungs, during hard exercise, as in riding a tricycle. We all know the symptoms of a nasty cold, as we call it. These, however vary even in a cold in the head. Briefly speaking, whatever lessons the animal heat of the body, or drives the blood interiorly, may produce a cold Independent of direct irritation to the lining membrane of the lungs, as from breathing dust or Irritant causes. If wo know the various causes of catarrh, or common cold, .we may better avoid the complaint. It cannot bo wrong, therefore, in mentioning a sow In addition to those named above. First—Sleeping in a damp room. Second—Exposing that portion oi the back that lies between the shoulders to cold in bod. Deli Cate young ladles ought to wear a Shetland shawl in bed as a special protection to this vulnerable region. Third—Standing about in evening dross. Fourth—Omitting to wrap up well before coming out from a heated room or assembly at which you have worn evening dress. If you have been warm ut all, the pores are all opoh, and a chill is so easily caught. Fifth—Riding in an open carriage against the wind, a prolific source of cold. Sixth—Getting wet through and not keeping moving until there is a chance of changing. Seventh—Omitting to wear woollen underclothing in winter and spring. Eighth—Remaining too long in the bath, whether cold or tepid. The cold bath is a tonic, but do not forget that a plunge or two is enough. Ninth—Sitting on a damp seat or on wet grass. Tenth—Sitting in the draught. Eleventh—Sitting in a room without a fire. Twelfth—Going to bed in a too cold room. There are many other causes, but I dare say these will serve every use l ful purpose. Some people, especially young and anaemic girls, have a susceptibility to catching cold. This should be changed, and 1 firmly believe can lie, by taking plenty of exercise in the open air and the cool sponge bath every morning. If you have never tried this health giving bath, I think you ought to do so. No occasion to have it quite cold on the first morning. I should permit you just to take the chill off, but reduce the dash of hot water every day until you can take the bath at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. You will then begin to find the bracing effects of the bath, and ns a preventive to cold it stands to reason that if you can bear a dozen large spoonfuls of the coldest water over you, and find it beneficial and pleasureable, a puff or two of cold wind isn’t going to lay you up for a month.

An Indian's Revenge.

Some twenty years ago a Klamath river Indian, at the southern end ol this county, had a difficulty with three other Indians, during which he was killed, and at the same time killed one of the other Indians. Several years later one of the surviving Indians died. The Indian killed by the other three in the trouble above referred to had a boy about one year old at the time. The boy being now twenty-one years old, and knowing from hie mother the circumstances of his father’s death, watched a good opportunity to kill the only surviving murderer of his father. He pretended at all times to be very friendly with the surviving Indian of the difficulty, but a few days ago, whil6 smiling pleasantly before his victim, suddenly pulled a sharp knife from beneath his coat and slashed him across the body, from the effects of which wound the murderer of his father died in a very short time, and the assassin departed to parts unknown.—[Yreka (Cal.), Journal.

According to the last annual report the Salvation Army is now established in forty-two countries. It has 1,997 corps, numbering 6,448 officers, 10,828 local officers, and 8,881 bandsmen. The number oi “soldiers” is not stated, but “General” Booth claims that the army converts to Christianity 200,000 people every year. India exports all the world's supply of opium.

CURE FOR SEASICKNESS.

A Scotch Professor's Remedy fop Msl DeMer. Thousands of people who ore anxJouß for a sea voyage, and cau well afford to make it, are deterred by their fears of what the French call mal de mer, or seasickness. There are people who have crossed tha ocean a dozen times, and who on the last occasion were quite as sick aa they were on the first. Indeed, ws have known of sea captains who have been sailing the ocean for thirty or more years who never left port without undergoing the nauseating feelings that attacked them at the beginning of their first voyage. Like cures for the toothache, neuralgia and other ailments common to humanity, there are countless remedies for seasickness, which may be effective in some cases, but usually fail when they are most needed. A fortune awaits the man who will discover a sure and infallible cure for this harrowing though not dangerous form of illness. Professor Charteris, of Edinburgh, claims to have found the desired remedy. He says that chloroform, judiciously taken, will prevent an attack of seasickness, and this assuredly is one of the cases in which prevention is far better than cure. Professor Charteris claims that even when the sickness has begun chloroform will cut it short and so lessen its terrors. The professor stands high in the medical world and no doubt means well, but we should hesitate to believe the statement were it not backed up by t he testimony of throe or four hundred ship captains and surgeons who have tested it and found that it worked beneficially in every case. Doctor Macdonald, well-known to ocean travelers, says that after many careful trials ho has become a firm convert as to the efficiency of chloroform as a cure for seasickness. Ha says: “Of late it has been ray custom to prescribe a mixture of bromide of potassium and spirit of chloroform, but unfortunately, like many other remedies administered by the mouth, it is exceedingly liable to be rejected by the stomach. Chloroform alone, however, has never been rejected, and has seldom failed in allaying gastric disturbance, and inducing a refreshing sleep from which the patient awakes with a clear head, a fair appetite and remarkable freedom from those symptoms which wore so pain* fully evident prior to the administration of the solution. Its perfect safety renders it an admirable preparation and an ideal sedative.” The usual dose is from a teaspoonful to a tablespoonful every half hour until it brings relief.

CARPENTRY FOR BOYS.

A Broomstlok Table. Very sow boys might think that three broomsticks, a square and triangular piece of board and a few nails, if used in the right places, would produce a table. Saw the sticks from three old brooms of the same size, making the cut close to the broom, obtain a square and a triangular piece of board; the Bquare

one should be twelve inches and the triangular one twelve inches on a side. With a bit the size of the large end of a broomstick, bore three holes in the under side of the top or square board at an angle, so the legs will stand off at the bottom, fasten the sticks in these holos and nail or screw them securely from the top with screws passed through the broomsticks; secure the triangular piece half way between the top and the floor to form a sort of undershelf, and, with a coat of paint the finished table will look like the illustration.

A Caterpillar Procession.

I wonder if you all know about the processional caterpillars at Hyeres, which form such an interesting study to naturalists, and about which a girl friend, who has been wintering on the Riviera, writes to me. It seem* they are most curious, and make great webs for nests, in shape like unto soda water bottles, which hang from the fir trees. At night the caterpillars leave the nests and form a long procession, sometimes as many as 200 together, following so closely that they look like one huge worm. If the leader happens to get detached the others are hopelessly lost, and wander about aimlessly looking for him. My friend tells me that she once saw such a chain, and the leader falling over the wall the others seemed helpless, and after seeking for him finally all tumbled over the. wall too, but joined on again when they found him, continuing their procession as if nothing had occurred to disunite them. In the same letter I l\ear that the Bordigherites allow Monte Carlo to be spoken of only as Mount Charles.—[The Gentlewoman.

Fishing by Electricity.

A very “taking” net has been devised, having a small incandescent lamp in the center. It is a cast net with a thin rubber tube on the outer edge, which is easily inflated from the shore or boat. The fish, attracted by the ligbfe surround it and'the pneumatic tube rising to the surface of the water, the fish are caught easily and without iitfury to the spawn, a most important result when such fish are needed (or breeding purposes.—[Atlanta Conatitotioa-