Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 July 1889 — Page 4

THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL, FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1889.

THE DAILY JOURNAL

ram a v. jttt.v 19. 1889. WASHINGTON' OFFICE 813 Fourteenth St. P. s. Heath, Correspondent NEW YORK OFFICE 204 Tempi Court, Corner Beekman and Nassau streets. Telephone Call. Business Oflce 233 1 Editorial Boomj......243 TEK31S OF SUBSCRIPTION. DAILY. , One rear, without Pub day $12.00 one year, with Hundar 14-? Six months, without finnday 0.00 hlx months, with Randay 7.00 Throe noocthp. without .Sunday 3.00 Three month, with Sunday 3.50 One month, without Sunday 1-00 One month, wltli Sunday L'0 WEEKLY. Ter year. fl.00 lied need Kates to Clubs. Fubucribe with any of our numerous agents, or send subscriptions to the JOURNAL NEWSPAPER COMPANY, iKtlASAPOLLJ, ISD. All communirations intended far ptiblieation in this paper must, in order to rreeive attention, be aecom panted by tht name and address of the writer. T1IE EOJIANArOLIS JOUKXAJ Can be found at the following places: LONDON American Exchange In Europe, 413 Strand. TARIS American Exchange la Paris, 35 Boulevard des Capucinca. NEW YORK Gilsey liouse and Windsor notch PHILADELPHIA A. 17 K em hie, 3735 Lancaster avenue, CHICAGO ralmer House. CINCINNATI J. T. Hawley & Co., 154 Vine street. LOUISVILLE C. T. Detrlng, northwest corner Third and Jefferson streets. T. LOUIS-Unlon News Company, Union Depot and Southern IIoteL WASHINGTON, D. C.-IUggs IIouso and Ehhltt Uou&e. The Sentinel failed to find room yesterday for the report of the Civil-servico Commission on the Milwaukee postollice. There was some very good reading in the document, too. TnE National Educational Association is certainly getting the benefit of all eides of the question when it listens to discussions on the subject of religion in the schools by such able" speakers as Bishop Kcane, of the Catholic Church, and Edwin D. Meade, of Boston. Tho position of each was well maintained, but Mr. Meade had tho "American idea" on the matter, and the sympathy of his hearers was with him. Governor Beaver doesn't seem to be disturbed by th.o vigorous protest from Johnstown concerning tho management of tho relief fund. lie says: "Kicking is healthy, and especially, healthy to a community that has suffered as Johnstown has. Their growl is the best and most healthful sound that has como from tho Conemaugh valley." Tho Governor seems to remember that convalescent invalids are always cross. By tho way, it would havo looked better if the viit'u W v u a aaM v a wv.Aavs hodr elan to do the kiekincr in that case. The Soldiers' Monument Commissioners have managed 60 well in other respects that it is fair to expect they will show the same intelligence and good judgment in preparing for the laying of tho corner stone. The main point is to remember that it will bo an historic event, and to make tho preparations on a scale befitting its interest and importance. The time is short in which to prepare for the event, and tho commissioners will have to utilize it to tho utmost if they come up to tho requirements of tho occasion. Certain free-trado organs are -sufficiently disturbed over tho report that the tariff question is not to bo a leading Democratic issue in tho next campaign to mako an indignant denial. It does not appear, however, that tho denial is by authority of the men who manipulate the party wires. In tho meantime the subject is already a disturbing one in Democratic circles, and tho free-trado and protection factions are so strong in Virginia that it is proposed to omit the formulation of a platform at tho coming State convention. Democratic ingenuity is great, and it is thought if the freetrade bugbear is put out of sight it will do no harm. iDAno is taking steps to secure state hood, and is now preparing a bill of rights which it is proposed to lay before the next Congress. Property qualifications for voting are held unconstitu tional, and the Legislature is to consist of a Senato and IIouso of Representa tives, each county being allowed ono Senator and two Representatives. There is also to bo a provision restricting rail road pooling or discrimination and tho consolidation of parallel railroad lines. These provisions are likely to cause a breach between the agricultural element and tho railroad influence. Idaho was not included in tho omnibus admission Bill passed by tho last Congress. The process of admitting a State to the Union is two-sided, involving complete acquiescence on tho part of tho new State and tho United States. In the caso of those soon to bo admitted their statehood will date from tho Pres ident's proclamation recognizing them as such. All the new States will hold an election for Governor, State officers and members of Congress on the 1st of October, and tho President's proclama tion will bo issued as soon as the returns of tho election aro canvassed and officially declared. This will probably bo within a week or ten days, after the election. Tho last formal act in the process of admission viz., tho proclama tion, will probably occur about tho 15th of October. This will bo a little in advance of the extra session of Congress, and will enablo the members-elect from the new States to sit in that body. "Dr." Harrison, notorious for hi9 corrupt management of Insane Asylum affairs, has struck his level at Michigan City. It might bo inferred from this statement that ho has become an inmate of the penitentiary, but, though he would adorn that institution, such is not the case. He is printing a Democratic paper N which he calls a newspaper, but which, more accurately speaking, is an organ of tho Michigan City saloons and of tho whisky element generally. The latter fact, to bo sure, is implied in the state ment that the sheet is Democratic. Just at present tho redoubtable "Doctor" is waging war upon Mrs. Leeds, the laily who is engaged in a legal fight with tho

saloons to prevent tho sale of liquor to

her husband. Tho leading article in each issue is a column of billingsgate addressed to her and read with great delight no doubt by the bummers and loafers of tho place. To cater to saloons and. to blackguard women is just tho sort of occupation for which this expresident of the State benevolent boards is best fitted. the cojUNQ campaign. The reorganization of the Republican State central committee to-day will be the first step preliminary to reorganization of the party throughout the State and preparation for next year's election. It is time for such action. Although it is too soon for active campaign labor, there is room for quiet and effective work in .various ways. . The Democrats have not been idle since the election. "Without making much noise about it, they havo quietly strengthened their lines, forming local clubs, disseminating free literature, etc. Though defeated last fall, they are at least in as good fighting trim to-day as the Republicans. The latter have rested on their laurels long enough, and must prepare to fight for their retention. With a reorganized committee we should bo able to get things in such shape that wo can start off with a full head of steam early next season. One of the things that can and ought to be done during the interim is to extend the circulation of Republican newspapers. The farmers and masses do most of their newspaper reading during tho winter. That is tho' time when impressions aro made and opinions formed, not during tho heat of a cam paign. Tho best field of labor during the next year is in putting some good Republican weekly paper into tho hands of as many Democratic or doubtful voters as possible. Twenty thousand copies of a good paper so distributed during the next year would mako several thousand votes. This is legitimate electioneering of the most effective kind. Besides, it is honest, and converts made in that way will stick. If the committee can devise any way of carrying out this suggestion they will be doing a most excellent work. TEE EIGHT-HOUR MOVEMENT. The eight-hour movement is growing in dignity and influence, and there aro indications that it possesses staying qualities. Tho strongest social movements are those which spring from natural conditions, which appeal to reason instead of passion, and which, small and circumscribed at first, extend their scope and influence by natural and grad ual growth. It looks very much as if the eight-hour movement might be ono of these. Tho proposed reduction of the hours of labor involves no novel principle or new departure. They have been reduced before. It has not been a great while since the legal day's labor in Great Britain and tho United States was twelve and thirteen hours. The first reduction was to eleven, and this was followed, after long agitation and discussion, to ten. The arguments and conditions that brought about a reduction from twelve to ten hours are now working in favor of a reduction to eight hours, and it remains to bo seen if they will not have a like result. Tho important feature of the agita tion, and ono that all honest and intelli gent men must recognize, is that social conditions and economic laws havo undergone a great change during tho last generation, and are still in a transition state. The laws of production have changed very greatly and are like ly to undergo further change. The in crease of labor-saving machinery and tho progress of applied science have multiplied the productive power of labor to an enormous degree. It has worked a radical chango in the labor world and in tho condition of all labor problems. The world can produce more in eight hours now than it could in ten hours twenty years ago. It can produce more in ten hours than it can consume in tho other fourteen with Sunday thrown in. Is it worth whilo to keep up that rate of production? Tho inventive power can not be restrained and thero is no reason why it should be, but it should be mado to conduco to the comfort and welfaro of mankind rather than to tho mere in crease of . production and wealth. If, with the aid of machinery and science, tho world can produce all it needs in eight hours of daily toil, why should it labor more? It cannot safely bo asserted that the change would materially disturb the industrial world or imperil any interest, since thoexperienco of tho reduction froin twelve to ten hours proves the contrary. On tho other1 hand, tho decided improvement in tho condition of wage-workers that has taken place since the reduction to ten hours, might follow a reduction to eight. These arguments, advanced with great earnestness "by tho supporters of tho movement, are fortified by economic as well as sentimental reasons which com mend them to candid and thoughtful consideration. LET US HEAR FROM THE MUGWUMPS. Tho New York Post, Harper's Weekly and othe r Democratic papers which have boasted so much about tho enforcement of the civil-service law under President Cleveland should give their undivided attention to tho Milwaukee postofiico case for a few moments. It is shown in the reports of 'the .commission that irregularities in tho office came to the attention of the Washington authorities in the spring of J8S8; that the secretary of the commission then existing was rent to make inquiries, and that his re port disclosed such a state of affairs that the chief examiner was sent, in September, to make an exhaustive investigation. This investigation and tho examiner's account showed gross and repeated violations of tho law. Now tho report of Messrs. Lyman, Roosevelt and Thompson, just issued, does not explain why no action was taken on this report, but it is hardly to bo supposed that the commission, after taking so much pains to get at the truth, mado no statement of tho matter to tho President at that time. The board had no authority to remove offender from office, but its duty was

to recommend the removal or punishment of persons whom it found guilty

of disregarding the civil-service law. If it did its duty tho fact is very clear that Mr. Cleveland disregarded tho law and tho evidence and all his pretensions as a reformer by refraining from calling for the resignation of Postmaster Paul." A change of officials in Milwaukee at that time was not desirable. Mr. Paul could be useful to him by pursuing just such tactics as the commission complained of, and, besides, there was no capital to be gained for his party or himself in that direction by playing the role of reformer. He worked the "civilservice racket," as it was contemptuous ly called by his plain-speaking Demo cratic friends, with some success among New York and New England suckers, but in the West he found few persons outside his party gullible enough to be lieve in tho honesty of his professions, and still fewer in that party in sympathy with them. As a consequence, thero was little attempt at an enforcement of the civil-servico law west of Washing ton under his administration. Near the beginning of his term the violations of law by the Indianapolis postmaster were slurred over, and Mr. Jones given prac tically a clear field for tho remainder of his time. The offenses of the Milwaukee official, like those of many others, were ignored simply because Grover Cleve land was a reformer for personal profit only, and enforced the law only in regions where to do so might inure to Lis political benefit As the light is thrown upon tho course of tho late ad ministration, tho trail of hypocrisy over it all becomes visible even to tho most reluctant observer. THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT SYSTEM. The secret-ballot law, or, as it is pop ularly known, tho Australian system, will have its first practical test on a largo scale in Connecticut. Some half-dozen States, Indiana among the number, enacted substantially the same law last winter, but Connecticut will hold the first election under it. The law becomes operative in that State on the 1st of August, and will apply to all Stato, city and town elections thereafter. Town elections will bo held tliroughout the State in October, and will bo regulated by the new law. Its main provisions aro substantially like the Indiana law. Ballots are to be printed and furnished by the State, the names of all the candidates on the same ballot, booths or polling-places to bo secluded, all persons except voters to bo kept at a distance from tho polls, etc. Two features differ from tho Indiana law. In Connecticut every voter must procuro his ballot at least fivo days before the election, and every ballot must bo inclosed and deposited in a sealed envelope bearing tho seal of tho State. A person who fails to obtain his ballot from the legal authorities five days be fore the election will lose his vote, and it cannot be deposited except in a sealed envelope, also furnished by tho authori ties. This looks like carrying the re strictive provisions of an election to an extreme. It is tho Australian system run to seed. Massachusetts will be the next State to test the practical working of the la w, town elections occurring in that Stato about a month after those in Connecticut. In this State tho law will apply to all elections held after the first Monday in June, 1890, and it will behoove thoso who are charged with duties under it to study its provisions carefully in advance of that time. Under auy construction of the law it will largely increase tho expenso of a general election, and local boards and election officers should try and mako the increase as little as possible. Another effect will undoubtedly be to diminish tho aggregate vote at the first election held under it, and this will continue until the people become thoroughly acquainted with tho i pro visions and operation of tho law. Tho whole system is experimental in this country, and experience alone; can demonstrate whether it possesses the merits claimed for it and is adapted to American ideas and methods. i It remains to be seen whether enough capitalists can becomo sufficiently inter ested in Dr. Do Bossuet's steel air-ship scheme to risk $2j0,000 in experiment. At iirst thought it would seem that tho chances for getting that ship built aro small, hut tho Kecly motor comes to mind, and with it the proof that even moneyed men are credulous. It is well that this is so, for tho elaborate and intricate inventions of to-day require fortunes to put them in operation. It is not probable that any of us will ever travel by air-ship, hut thero is a possibility. and how is the matter to be settled until tho ship is built and tested!. Homkr. B. DoEELt, of Remington, Ind., who has won the SijO prize offered by the American Protective Tariff Association for the best essay ou raw materials, is a grad uate of the Stato University. Tho freetrado bias of certain members of the faculty seems not to have influenced Mr. Dobell to the extent of interfering with his reasoning powers. Tile new paper money in China is of tho respective denominations of one. live and ten ticals, and, of course, the more of it a Chinaman gets the more tickled ho is. ABOUT PEOPLE AND THINGS. Professor Bell, of telephone fame, has F built a floating palace for himself, on which he will this week entertain oOO invited iruests. It is said to he a veritable nalace. It is rumored that on his marriage with Princess Louise of ales the Earl of Fife will be made Duke of Inverness. That title was borne by the Oncen a uncle, the Duke of Sussex, and thus has a semi-royal uiguity. The Hag used to drape the casket of Pres ident Lincoln is incased and hangs in the private office of the Secretary of War. General Drum took care of the Hag after the rites had been conducted and took it to Washington. The late Crown Prince Rudolph, thou eh ho had $750,000 a year to spend, besides a couple of palaces maintained for him at .... Ytn nncf Tr rlirwl ; fW C)i in A.L 4J lr. Labonchere says, and repeats that princes must go. It came out that most of the exhibits of Tunis, Algiers and Morocco iu the Paris exhibition were not African products at all. onco thrust out, and with them vanished the major part of the department of the 1. 1 4J1 A A jjaruary oiuun A prize ottered to stenographers for the largest number of words written on a

postal card has been won li' Sj'lvanus

Jones, of Richmond, Va., who wrote upon a card &yG4 words. Mr. Jones is a shorthand writer employed by the Brighthopa Railway Company, of Richmond. Christine Nilsson . may never sing in publio again. . During a- recent illness in Palis she was troubled with deafness and loss of memory, from which she has not yet recovered. The furniture of her house in London has been moved to Paris, where she and her husband will in future make their residence. Mrs. Ann Shaffer, of Findlay, 0..whois seventy years old and in good health and in the possession of all her faculties, is unable to go to sleep atbome unless her husband beats a drum in front of the house. Mr. Shaffer used to practice on a snare drum for

a company or home guards, ana curing tnis period his wife's strange mania was developed. Secretary Blaine was asked by a Bos ton reporter, the other day, whether he in tended to resign. His answer was that he certainly would eo fishinir to-dav if it didn't rain. When tho reporter pressed the question the Secretary rejoined: "Yes, it's a confounded shame the wav the weather prophets have fooled us." That closed the interview. Mrs. Leonora Barry, investigator of the works of women among the Knights of Labor, will sail for Europe, on the City of Rome, on July 24. She will be one of the party of sixty working men and women who will visit the Paris exposition and all tho industrial centers of Europe for the fccripps svndicate, under the direction of Prank R, Burton. Mr. Ruskin was once asked if it would not bo well for the Welsh language to die out and be replaced by the English. "God forbid!" he replied. "The Welsh language is tho language of music There is no genius about the English language. The Scotch havo cot all tho -noetrv. and tho Irish all tho wit; and how tho devil we got Shakspeare, I do not know." General Sherman and party on Satur day ascended the top of Pike's Peak. Whilo the carriage was being loaded a photographer attempted to take a picture oi mm, uui, iuo uenorai turned nis duck with tho remark that photographers were a nuisance. On the top of the peak the General sat on a rock and ate a cheeso sandwich, whilo tho others clustered around him and related reminiscences. Princess Clementine has made a good match for her granddaughter, the daughter of Archduke Joseph. Prince Thurn and Taxis has a yearly rent roll of Sl.OOO,000, and is the nephew of the Empress. bull, the match is regarded as a mesalliance at the Austrian court, and the Emperor warned the young Archduchess of the fact. She replied that sho did not care; she intended to marry tho Prince, anyway. There will be an incursion of English players into New York the coming season. Among them up to date may be mentioned tho Kendalls, Wyndham, Barrett, Terris and the London Gaiety Company in "Faust." The Kendalls and Wyndham carrv their own simnort. Barrett and Terris will bo supported by American com panies, fcalvini appears at rainier s in uctobor in "Othello," "The Gladiator" and fcamsou." The most valuable book in the world is said to be a Hebrew Bible at the Vatican in Rome. In 1512 Pope Julius, then in great financial straits, refused to sell it to a syndicate of rich Venitian Jews for its weicht in cold. The Bible weighs more than 825 pounds, and is never carried by less than three men. 1 he price refused by Pone Julius was therefore about $125,000, anuthat, too. when gold was worth at least thrice w hat it is now worth. Ex-King Milan of Servi a, will reside in Paris for a time. Ho is after tho late Due do Moray's house, on the Champs Elysees. He has an allowance of 90,000 a year from the Servian civil list, but ho is likely to spend 8190.000. lie is deeply in debt, and owes the Emperor of Austria and the Servian treasury larco sums. He also has au unsettled wine seore around tho corner. It is believed in Europe that Rus sia paid him a large sum to abdicate. Details of the Emperor's life aboard the imperial yacht Hohenzollern appear in tho papers. lie comes on deck at 8 o'clock and breakfasts on coffee and eggs and hot and cold meats, finishing with a glass of sherry. He interchanges telegrams with the Empress at every station. After a simple dinner of soup, fish and meat, with licht wines, German champagne and coffee, he A t . 1 1 , , . promenaaes me aecK. smoKing, ana retires at 9 o'clock. He is in splendid health. The finest private collection of pearls in France belongs to Mile. Dosne, sister-in-law of Thiers. It is valued at 1,500,000 francs. Mme. Thiers, her sister, shortly beforo her death, gave to tho stato a pearl necklace worth 100.000 francs. This neck lace is now in the Thiers Museum in the Louvre. The Duchess d'Uzes, who, after Mile. Dosne. has the nnest jewels of all French women, possesses a diamond neck lace valued at 1,200,000 francs. Mme. Henry bay has a necklace of white and black pearls worth 400,000 francs. Fashion writers still gossip concerning Mrs. Cleveland, the latest being in this vein: "MrsCleveland always drosses well, but is not extravagant in her expenditures. Sho is very fond of white, and it suits her admirably. The Recamier style is becoming to her, and one of her favorite toilets is of rich white faille francaiso, with a long train, narrow skirt and short puffed sleeves. It is trimmed with bands of silver embroi dery in a design of thistles. She never wears her corsage very decollete, and this ono is filled in with white tulle, sprinkled with pearls." COMEXT AND OPINION, So lone as force is tolerated in any form in the settlement of disputed questions. either among men or amoug nations, pugilism is by no means the worst preparation that men can receive for what may be the duties of life. Boston Herald. It is easy to persuade the "tariff reformers" and free-traders to get together, but how reconcile the practical politicians to a free-trado campaign? Beforo Mr. Brice undertakesto convert tho country to free trade, he should pet in his work with. the practical politicians of his nartv. Milwaukee Sentinel. Communistic principles may lind a certain ecopo and application within the general frame-work of society, as, for example, in the establishment of a compulsory public school system. But a communism as a foundation as an industrial or social method aUorils no guarantee of permanent success. Washington Post When we grant tho Canadian Pacific railway the right to enter our territory and compete on equal terms for certain portions of our vast internal commerce, we concede it an important and exceptional privilege. It certainly is not warranted in asking special favors, or refusing to bo bound by the common terms and regulations. Boston Journal. The absolute certainty th.it the United States will remain a Republic, and laws maintained on the principle that one man has as many rights as another, form the attraction irresistible by Europeans. For such reasons they come here, and will continue to come, though other countries may oiler equal advautages of soil and climate. Louisville Courier-Journal. The duty of the church is to educate in the spiritual graces. The teachiug of the public schools facilitates tho labor of the teachers of the church; the teachings of the church elevate and embellish tho learning of the schools. But it is essential that tho public schools should remain absolutely free and absolutely untainted by the dogmas of any church. Chicago Inter Ocean. Nothino in onr political history is more disgraceful than the former prostitution of the public service to machine politics by the compulsory bulldozing- assessment of ollice-holders by oftice-holdeis for ofticeholders;and when Congress made it a penal offense it was doing everlastingly right, and doing it because an overwhelming majority of thoughtful citizens insisted that this great wrong should be broken up. New York Press. When men organize in auy part of any State to defy the law and prevent its enforcement it is the plain duty of the State to bring all its power to bear in support of law and in tho enforcement of legal processes. In Arkansas this has not been done. The good people of the Stato have wished for law and order, but have sub-

mittcd to a lawlessness which they might have conquered, and ought to have conquered. Therein lies their condemnation and their shauio. New York World.

THE SCHOOL-BOOK TRUST. A Large Number of Traveling Salesmen to Be Turned Adrift. Nerr York Times. The trend of the times' in the direction of trusts is indicated by a combination recently entered into by the school-book publishing-houses" of the country, having for its object the control of the production of educational works, the doing away with competition in their introduction, tho division of the held of distribution, and the reduction of expense in securing the adoption of standard publications by local school boards. The .agreement, according to tho understanding of the publishers; was to go into effect on July 15, and from that day, accordingly, the school-book trade will be subjected to cast-iron rules and regulations from which thero can bo no digression on the part of the contracting parties. Henceforth the sale and distribution of school-books will be conducted entirely by the producing centers the publishinghouses themselves. The army of local agents and traveling salesmen will be dispensed with, and the salaries of those heretofore useful and indispensable servants and employes will go to swell tho profits of the capitalists wTho constitute tho trust. The combination between the principal school-book houses is not the result of a sudden impulse. For a long time past a school-book syndicate has been in existence, composed of a majority of the chief publishing houses in the country. At the head of the syndicate was tho powerful firm of Van Antwerp, Bragg fc Co., of Cincinnati, with whom were associated Clark, Maynard He Co., of that city, Cowperth waite & Co., Porter & Coates. and E. II. Butler & Co., of Philadelphia, and D. Appleton fc Co., Ivison, Blakeman & Co., of Aew Y'ork city. Opposed to the syndicate from the outset was ths firm of Harper 3t Brothers and the J. B. Lippincott Company and the Christophcr Dewer Company of Philadelphia. Between Van Antwerp, Bragg fc Co. and Harper fc Brothers certain agreements existed which precluded tho parties thereto from seriously conflicting with one another. In anticipation of the termination of this private agreement it is stated that in May last tho Messrs. Harper proposed to the chief syndicate firm that tho established system of traveling salesmen and agents forth sale of school books should be abolished, and from this suggestion there ensued a meeting of all the school-book publishing linns, irrespective of syndicate connections, of which the present combination or trust was the outcome. The immediate effect of the agreement will be the decreasing of the expenses of the firms acceding thereto. Harper &. Brothers are reported as haying refused to subscribe to the combination constract, urging that their word was as good as their bona, and promising solemnly to live up to the provisions of the agreement, with which assurance the other members of the trust expressed themselves as being fully satisfied. By the operation of the agreement every house which is a party thereto will be relieved of the necessity of paying salaries ranging from $1,800 to 83,500 to from fifteen to fifty agents and salesmen which each had in its employ, together with their tiaveliug expenses, which were uncommonly heavy. Whilo all tho 83rndicato houses eold books at the same price, they were compelled to meet the reduction in rates made by their competitors, and this concession, coupled with the enormous expense of maintaining an army of agents and traveling salesmen, resulted in a material contraction of profits. "If the new arrangement will stand," a leading representative of a school-book publishing-house is quoted as saying, "it will bo a big thing. Corruption was responsible for the selection of books inmanv schools. Salesmen and agents had it all their own way. They traveled through the country visiting members of ditlerent school boards, and if they had tho consent of the homo ofiice. could bribe the school board if it could be bribed and gain a profitable customer, even if their books were not the best. The new wvstem will save thousands of dollars to the publishers." A member of the firm of D. Appleton & Co., said that the charge that corruption was responsible for the introduction of school-books was a gratuitous aud wholly unfounded assumption. Iho agreement between the school-book publishing-houses. thif. gentleman coutiuued, was an old story, a "chestnut," as he termed it. For a long time it had been apparent that something muft be done to reduce the expenses of introduction and control tbe distributionand production of school-books. But it was a mistake to assert that a school-book trust had been formed. The publishers had simply combined for mutual protection and in order to restrict ruinous competition. They had, in fact, merely entered into a plain, common-sense business agreement, which had been delayed altogether too long, and that was all there was to it. Tho firms noted as having entered iuto the combination were correctly named, and the facts leading up to, and being the cause of the new order of affairs, were correctly stated. So far as school-books' were concerned, the representative of the Messrs. Appleton added, the publishing-houses hereafter would dispense with the services of traveling salesmen and agents. But this undestanding would not preclude any firm in the combination from sending out travelers to dispose of miscellaneous works published by them. The enforcement of the agreement would have the effect of ending the warfare between tho syndicate and tho several publishing-houses opposed to it, and, while this result would redound directly to the benefit of the publishers, it would also indirectly prove of benefit to the general public, which would bo offered a wider choice of school-hooks at cheaper rates than heretofore. THE AMERICAN AM USE3LENT. Approval of Dr. Cleveland's Base-Ball Sermon Value of the Game. Philadelphia Press. Tho Indianapolis minister who stood up iu his pulpit last Sunday and defended base-ball as a rational, healthful amusement gave only one illustration of tho change that has taken place in publio opinion in respect to this game. In fact, baseball has passed beyond that stage where it needed any defense, whether it be from the bar, the pulpit or the social autocrat. It has made good its claim to be considered the American amusement par excellence, and tho Governor of ono (of the leading States in the Union aptly summed no the secret of its success when he said: "Baseball has, like the average-American, more dash, more enterprise, more vim, more 'git up and git' to it in a minute than anything else of its kind in any other nation on earth ever attained in a lifetime." The reason for this change of public opinion in respect to base-ball is easily accounted for. Tho eager contest among tho clubs in the various leagues and associations for supremacy has compelled a larger and larger mingling of brains with muscle in the conduct of the game. The old daya when the aniiv.al alone ruled on the diamond" have gone by. Mind now governs in the base-ball world as well as in every other tohere. There has been a steady and severe weeding out of the untrustworthy, and a bringing in of men of good morals and intelligence. Tbe result is that the game, instead of being simply an exhibition of brute force and endurance, has come to be an illustration of science as applied to the human machine, and consequently a source from which the intelligent and refined can derive amusement and recreation. Say what we will, there is nothing that excites more admiration than a symmetrically-molded man who has his physical forces well under the control of his mental powers. It is doubtful if this appreciation will ever be eliminated from the human mind. It was a prominent characteristic of all the great nations of the past. The poet Virgil tells how Eneas stopped in his journey from divine Troy to Italy to organize wrestliug. boxing and running contests. The Olympic games were the great feature of the Grecian year, and tho coarser gladiatorial struggles were the delight of the Romans. In modern times no game has taken so national a character as has base-ball, and no better specimens of welldeveloped manhood can be seen anywhere to-day than ou the base-ball arena. Look at tho pitcher, for instance, as ho stands ready to project the ball towards the man at the bat. He is the picture of health and muscular development, and tho attitudes into which ho throws himself give a vivid illustration of how all the vital forces of tho human frame can bo concentrated into ono supremo effort. Nor is he an exhibition of mere muscular force, either. A good pitcher always strives to know the man before him. A "curve" that will "strike out" one batsman may be wholly ineffectual with another one. So, while the pitcher is apparently turning his ball lutltfcly in his

hands whilo he gathers up all his muscular powers, he is really studying the man at the. bat and endeavoring to discover and take advantage of any of his weak points. And not only the pitcher, but tho catcher nnd every man at a base and in the field must have the whole situation in his mind's eye and be ready to recognize a signal and assist promptly at all points and with good judgment. All this encourages alertness of mind, enforces the need of good habits in order to keep in prim physical condition, and demands a discipline almost military in its exactions. That the popularity of tho game is steadily on the increase is shown by the attendance on the games played May CO. On that day there were twenty-four games played by the eighteen clubs composing tho two leading leagues and two associations. The attendance on tho games aggregated 119,404, or an average of about 5,000 at each game. Tho attendance in Brooklyn was. the greatest, where S0.41C people were present. Philadelphia canio next, with an attendance of 23,409, and Boston third, with an attendance of 20,155. The $2,000,000 invested in grounds and other paraphernalia, is another proof of tho interest in tho sport, as money to such an amount would never be risked if a profit were not reasonably assured. On tho whole, baso-ball seems certain to hold its own as the most attractive out-of-door sport for man years to come, , and likoly to grow in popularity tho more mind and morals rule in its conduct.

This Tear's Elections. "Waahinaton Post. Only eleven States elect State officers this year. Kentucky will hold a general election for StateTreasureron Aug. 5. Elections in ten other States will take place on Xov. 5. Onthatdav Iowa will elect Governor and Lieut enant-go vera or, Maryland will elect Comptroller and Attorney-general; Massachusetts will elect Governor and State officers; Mississippi will elect Governor and .State officers; Nebraska will electa Supreme Court judce and two Begents; New Jersey will elect Governor and btato officers; New York will elect State officers, except Governor and Lieutenantgovernor. Ohio will elect Governor and Htato officers; Pennsylvania will elect State Treasurer; Viginia will elect Governor and State officers. The terms of no United States Senators expire next year, so the election of members of the Legislature this year is of interest as bearing on national politics only in cases where members of the Legislature chosen this year hold ofiice for two years. Tho Senato elected in New York State will vote for a United States Senator in 1S91 to succeed the Hon. William M. Evarts. Democrats in a Quandary. Philadelphia Press. The Virginia Democrats are in a heap of trouble about the platform they are about to adopt at tho coming fcJtate convention. It is well known that there is a large protection element in the party. Anv resolution which favored free trade as decidedly . as the St. Louis platform did would be sure to drivo many of these protectionists into the Republican party and make many more indifferent. But, on tho other hand, tho adoption of a protection plank would bo such a glaring inconsistency in tbe year following the Grover Cleveland platform that the leading Virginia Democrats can hardly bring their consciences to consent to it. It has been suggested that the best way out of the difficulty is not to framo any platform, and there is a trong probability that this advice will be followed. Then the Democratic papers will not bo troubled with the defense of a creed and they can spend all their time in the campaign in yelping "Mahone, Mahone, Mahone!" It will bo an edifying spectacle. The President's Privacy. Philadelphia North American. The suggestion of Colonel Wilson, of the District of Columbia, that Congress erect a separate building for tbe executive offices and convert tho White House into a private residence for the President, is a good one, and either that or some similar plan should be adopted. Under tho present arrangement there is no privacy for the President and his f arailv, and he may be said to bo living over his shop like tho humblest tradesmen, with not half the opportunity for retirement that the latter has. There will be enough of the glare of publicity about the President under any arrangement that may be proposed, and he should at leapt have the liberty that every other citi zen has to retire with his lamily liom tho gaze of the public alter business hours. Ibis subject Las been frequently agitated without enect, but now that it will bo officially placed before Congress there is somo hope that something will be done. Polygamy and Democracy. Buffalo Eirr38Some interesting problems in government are being faced by tho Territories which aro framing constitutions. In Idaho the disturbing element is Mornionism. Six year 'ago the non-polygamists gained a great victory in the passage of a test-oath bill, dosigned to prevent polvgamists from voting or sitting on juries. There was a territorial Supremo Court with a Republican Chiefjustice who sustained the law and punished violators of it. Under President Cleveland he was removed, and replaced by a imn who was satisfactory to tho Mormons. Tho change in the administration has revived hope in the friends of law and decency. Some Democrats havo even dared to bolt the alliance between their party and the Mormon Church. Combiningwith the Republicans, they are trying to put tho principle of the test-oath law in the State Constitution, beyond tho reach of future bad courts and Legislatures. More Than Probable. Boston Journal. When a Democratic grand jury in Western Tennessee finds 150 indictments against Democrats for election frauds, it is safe to assume that the last election in Tennessee was characterized by the gravest crimes against the suffrage. Among other offenses covered in these indictments is the stealing of ballot-boxes, the doctoring of registration lists, the voting of convicts, etc. It is probable that these crimes carried Tennessee for Cleveland. m ! Knows What lie Is Talking Abont. Boston Journal. Donn Piatt describes the Democratic party as "the organized ignorance of the country." Mr. Piatt ought to know what he is talking about, for he has been editing a free-trade paper for the last few months and trying to help this "organized ignorance" recapture tho offices. A Presumptuous DUcussion. Washington Post. Was Lincoln religious! is a question recently introduced By people short of material for investigation. Tho way to settle that controversy is to read history and mark well the deeds of tho man. To discuss tho religion of Abraham Lincoln is presumptuous. Bats In ills Garret. Peoria Transcript If any one doubted General Palmer's sanity before he issued his bid for the United States senatorsliip, that doubt is now removed. There is no question but that tho General has a few rats in his garret. A Quite Natural Mistake. Lafayette Courier. An artesian well was developed at Indianapolis yesterday, and the odor was so offensive that tho first thought of thoso present was that the drillers had 6truck the record of tho last Legislature. . Diplomacy at It Iet. Baltimore American. What is diplomacy? asks an anxious iuquirer. Diplomacy, gentle sir, is the miuixner resort proprietor who convinces all his guests that they each havo tho best front rooms in the house. Tmta In Small Tiling. Washington Tost. A "skewer trust," with a consolidated capital of fcW.OOO, is tho latest. Tho next thing in orucr is a toothpick trust. . Straining at a Pun. Baltimore American. Theeicht-hour law is advocated on tho paradoxical ground that tho knights of labor aro spent in days of work. llouml In Guilt, Petroit Tribune. A large bookf ul of morals have already been drawn from tho late prize-right. Bound in guilt. More So than Ever. Baltimore American. Reports from tho seaside indicate that thisyear's bathing suits arc more o thaa ever;