Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1896 — NOTES AND COMMENTS. [ARTICLE]

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The MaEborougb-Vanderbilt wedding has caused a vast amount of discussion on 'noth sides of the sea. A London correspondent of a New York paper says that the women of England are much' perturbed over it. and unasking why all the young noblemen are marrying Americans instead of English girls. The explanation is n very prosaic one. It is this: Matty old English families huve become poor of late years. Land has gone down tremendously in value, and very few noblemen can live on the reduced revenues from their estates. The poor young noblemen are therefore forced to marry rich American girls, as there are Very few great heiresses in England, where the eldest son generally Inherits nearly air of the property. England is full of poor girls of noble birth. There are hundreds of peers - daughters who have not income enough to keep them well supplied with gloves and boots. If there were as many heiresses in England as in America there is no doubt that the English noblemen would marry girls of their own nation. There are only two great heiresses in England. One is the daughter of Sir John Bundell Maple, a rich vulgarian, who made a fortune in the. upholstery business and -was knighted. He is enormously wealthy, and has an only daughter who will inherit all his wealth. The other great heiress Is Lady Mary Hamilton, the only daughter of the late duke. She has an income of al>out six hundred thousand dollars a year, but Is as yet very young, being under sixteen. There are. of course, some othtr heiresses, but they are scarce.

Sir Henry Tyler, the well-known English railway expert, writes a letter to the London Times from Panama on the subject of the renewal of work on the Panama Canal. This letter, contrary to the prevailing opinion in E ig land and the United States, and contrary to the preconceived opinions of the writer himself, expresses the belief that a canal on the'plan now proposed, beginning where the Lesseps company left off, can be completed for a sum not exceeding $100,000,000. Not only so, but he believes that the inonev will actually be found by the French Investors, who already have so much of their capital in the work that they cannot afford to let it lapse. Sir Henry found 1.500 men actually at work, and 800 more under contract to begin as soon as they can he brought from Jamaica and other West Indian islands. He was informed that the number wqu.u be increased to 4,000 as soon as the right, kind of laborers could bo found. It is to be hoped that Sir Henry’s conclusions are well founded. The only object of a canal is to piss loaded ships through the Isthmus. The French people, who have already spent $290,000,000, according to the official report of the liquidators, tire willing to spend $100,000,000 more. Ever since August there has been a heavy demand of the United States Treasury for one-cent pieces. The demand, which comes from all parts of the country, is attributed to the growing custom in various retail business houses of marking down prices from round figures to odd figures. The especially heavy calls for pennies within the last few weeks from Chicago and St. Louis is explained by the theory- that cent pieces are wanted for the purchase of the one-cent papers. The Washington Star says that the Treasury Department is doing its best to meet the demand, and for the last two months the mint at Philadelphia has kept three presses constantly In operation for the exclusive coinage of one-cent pieces. The daily output has been 150,000 pieces of the value of $1,500. The Government apparently derives a profit of $1,200 a day on its coinage, its seigniorage being at the rate of nearly 80 per cent, of the face value of the coins. This profit disappears, of course, when the coins are redeemed. It is estimated that there are 780,000,000 one-cent pieces outstanding. With the one exception of the codlin moth, insect pests have ceased to be a menace to the fruit interests of California. This fact was stated at a meeting of the State Association of Horticultural Commissioners held in Sacramento a few days ago, and it is attributed to the entire success of the scheme of fighting insects with parasites that are their natural foes. All the insect pests that one time almost threatened the existence of the fruit industry in the State are rapidly disappearing, with the one exception of the codlin moth. This Insect is very destructive, and so far no effectual remedy has been found. The Horticultural Commission is making very thorough investigation, with the hope of discovering a parasite that will effectually combat the moth, and has good hopes of ultimate sue cess. The Santa Ana grape disease is spreading to Northern California, and for this disease of the vines no remedy has been discovered. A New York genius has just patentan anti-swear buttonhole moisteuer. It is a machine for moistening the button-holes of stiff-starched shirts for the benefit of men’s tempers. The Pathfinder thinks an automatic collar button finder is all that is needed now to make male existence serene. The New York Herald puts “Pa.” after all its dispatches dated at Philadelphia, to show its metropolitan contempt for the quiet trans-.Tersey City. This is like Uncle Sam’s postal authorities, who return “for better direction” letters addressed to Bos'on without the “Mass.,” as if thev didn’t know where it was. The narcotic institute law, so-called, went into effect in New York State recently. This law requires that no fewer than four lessons per week, for ten or more weeks in the year, shall be devoted to the teaching of the nature of alcoholic drinks and other narcotics and their effect upon the human system, in all grades of schools below the second grades of the high school. This bill was passed through the Legislature and approved by Governor Morton Debs says “there never will be another great railroad strike, because public sentiment is overwhelmingly opposed to it; because the interests of the general public are affected seriously by such a strike, and because the decisions of the courts have made It dangerous to get one up.”

The present la* of Kansas provides that convicted murderers shall be confined in State Prison until such ..me as the Governor of the State orders their execution. But since the law went into operation no Governor has been willing to issue sueh an order, and the consequence is that there are now nearly forty convicted murderers in Slate Prison awaiting execution. Five hundred citizens of Edwards County have now petitioned the Governor to order the execution of tv.o convicted murderers—Carl Arnold and William Harvey—but thus far he has. refused to comply with the request. There is much popular dissatisfaction in Kansas with the law. Compressed air as a motive power for street ears is to be tried in Washington. Each motor when fully cliarged will run 25 miles without being recharged. The system has been used for years in JL.ope, where it has proved very economical. Con. gress permits no trolley wires (nor any overhead wires) in the capital city, and the various car lines are being forced to find new methods of propulsion. Some have cable systems, others underground electric. Our State Department receives notice of a royal decree just issued In Korea, establishing a system of public schools in that- country. The purpose as quaintly expressed in the de cree is ‘Children shall be taught in order that the people may be educated; that a general knowledge may be diffused, and that men of ability may tie raised up to fill the various professions.” There are three kinds of schools—government, public and private. The innovation is one of the good results of the opening-up influence of the China-Japan war. The Geological Survey reports the bm.„ing-stone iiiuustry of the country to ...a e produced $37,370,000 last year. Pennsylvania stands first on the list.