Indianapolis Journal, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 January 1891 — Page 5

THE INDIANAPOLIS ' JOURNAL, FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1891.

HOWTMATTIIEYS WAS KILLED

Story of the Butchery of the Kepnblican Postmaster at Carrollton, Miss. - It TTai Prompted by Politics and the Democrats Were Greatlj Slated Over the Deed Strance Conduct of Officials. Chicago. Jan. 1. The Tribune' reliable . correspondent sends the following dispatch from Winona, Miss: A Sioux Indian in all savage cruelty never felt a greater sense of glory in the lifting of a white settler's scalp than William S. McBrirte feels at having killed James P. Matthews, the Republican postmaster at Carrollton, Miss., Christmas day; and no tribe of Indians ever felt niore pride in one of its warriors who had sent a ballet throe gh the heart of a white man then the vast majority of citizens of Carrollton feel in the man -who emptied a double charge of buckshot and the contents of a revolver into the breast of Jamos P. Matthews. It was a political affair. James Prentiss Matthews, who less than six months ago was appointed postmaster at Varrouiou, was auuuv iu cuiot iu uuii -where he boarded at coon Christmas day when William S. McBride, a druggist, stepped to the door of his store and without a word of warning fired two loads of buckshot into Matthews' s breast, killing him instantly. When Matthews fell his layer rushed forward with a revolver and shot him four times as he lay prostrate on the sidewalk. Seeing he had killed his man, McBride returned to his store to receive the congratulations of his friends, while two traveling salesmen carried the dead postmaster into the hotel. The town officers were so exultant to think a Republican postmaster had been removed they did not take the trouble to look the killer up. He was allowed to roam the streets and receive the hearty congratulations of his friends on his heroic act. The trouble began shortly af terMatthews, who was but twenty-one years old, was appointed to the ofiice. He was a Renulican, and the town of the most bitter Democratic, sbotgunpolicy school. There were half a dozen or more hot-headed young Democrats who felt themselves quite as capable of conducting the affairs of the ofiice as youna, Matthews. They wanted the place, and in their disappointment and anger declared that no Republican should hold the office. Things went on rather smoothly for a time, but it was not long before Matthews began to get anonymous let ters of the White Cap order, telling him to step down and out of the office if he valued his life. The letters were signed with the customary skull and cross-bones. At first the postmaster paid no heed to the notes of warning, but at length the young gentlemen of "honah" began to display their personal animosity in such a way that he began to realize they meant business. He tried to overlook matters for awhile To appease McBride he ordered an expensive toilet set of him, intending to make a present of it to one of his friends. When the toilet case was ordered McBride, for reasons best known to himself, circulated a report to the effect that Matthews had ordered it for a certain woman and could not pay for it. Matthews, who at no time showed any .signs of -fear, resented the insult, and . Christmas eve, when McBride called for his mail, Matthews asked him to wait a moment, as he wished to see him. The druggist stepped inside the office and was given a thorough tongue-lashing. There were angry words on both Bides and then a rough-and-tumble light. Several bystanders' rushed forward, and in separating the combatants McBride's head was bumped against the corner of a counter, inflicting a slight scalp wound, which he afterwards said was caused by a revolver in the hands of the postmaster. ' T111S CKISIS KKAC11ED. With the fight the crisis was reached. The Mayor and sheriff waited on Matthews and told him he must not be so turbulent. II said he would like nothing better than peace, bat would not submit to insults without resenting ihein. This the intelligent Mayor and sheriff misconstrued into meaning he meant to kill MoBride. They lost no time in carrying the news to that young gentleman of "honab," and told him to look out or Matthews would kill him. That same night several of the McBride 'crowd got around a negro with a hard name and tried to induce him to assassinate the postmaster, assuring him that he would not be punished for the crime. lie refused and told Matthews that his life was in danger. This, together with several more of the to be on the lookout, and Christmas mornI I 1 A. A. I 1 I X 1 1 lugwuonuo wcut iu iuo uuici lur ureas.fast he carried a Winchester rifle under his arm. MoBride and sereral of his followers also produced weapons of alike nature, and the town began to have a belligerent as- : pect. The colored people, from past experience, "laid low and said nothing.'7 The town was aglow with excitement. The mothers, sisters and sires of the young warriors talked of nothing else. The sheriff and Mayor were called on to disarm the postmaster on the ground that he was a disturber of the peace. He had given a defiant yell, they said, as he walked past McBride s drug store. The 11 ay or and sheriff did as they were told, and Matthews was held iu $100 bond to keep the peace, and his Winchester ritle was taken from him. He was told not to appear on the streets again carrying a weapon. In reply he said be would put away his weapons if the sheriff would disarm the McBride gang. Not long after this Matthews saw a couple of his enemies walk down the street with shotguns on their shoulders, and he lost no time in getting one for himself. At 11:40 o'clock on Christmas morning, ac- , cording to custom, the large, old-fashioued bell which swings beneath the rafters of thelonK front porch of the hotel was rung as a warning to guests that dinner would be served in twenty minutes. Matthews began to prepare for dinner. His coo?;, the assistant postmaster, advised him that there was danger in the air. I feel sure they will attempt my life before night." he replied. "and something tells me I will be killed, but 1 propose to show them that a Republican is noa coward." Then, taking a shotgun under his arm, he walked slowly toward the hotel, which was less than two squares away. The wind was in his face and it was raining. He bowed his head for protection. Ho had reached the south end of the hotel, about thirty feet from the door of McBride's drug store, when that gentleman of "honah." who had been watching the postmaster as he came down the street, picked up a doublebarreled shotgun, both barrels loaded with buckshot for the object of his hatred. Without a word of warning, both barrels of the gun were discharged at once, and ten of the buckshot pierced the young postmaster's breast. He fell forward without a groan, rolled over into the gutter on his back and was dead.' McBride then sprang forward and fired four bullets from a revolver into his fallen foe. The deed had been witnessed by a dozen or more of McBride's friends. They gave a yell of delight, and in a moment's time a crowd of. shotgun-policy Democrats were howling around the corpse. Tl.e sheritf and city marshal both heard the shots and shouts, and, surmising what had happened, lont no time in getting to the scene of the battle. No one seemed to notice the body further than to give it a contemptuous kick. All were too busy congratulating McBride, until two traveling salesmen who were at the hotel came out and, with the aid of a negro, carried the body into the hotel. The landlady refused to allow it to be placed in the parlor or office, and the rneu bore it up to the dead man's room on tho second lloor. The sberitl and marshal, in their earnest desire to do what was right according to the law, arrested McBride in due form and rushed him into the Mayor's office across the street. The Mayor, with all the dignity of a man of his position, committed the prisoner to the care of tho eherilf, who shook hands with the prisoner and let him go free. Rescued by Indians. Victoria, B. C. Jan. l. Captain Perry and crew, of the American schoouer Dare, wrecked on Vancouver island Dec. 120. reached here to day, being brought by post Indians in canoes. The Dare left San ( Francisco for Tacoma Dec & The ihlp

broke in two on the rocks, the captain and crew lashed themselves to the centerboard case and drifted ashore in an unconscious condition, where they were kindly cared for by the Indians. At low tide the Indians went aboard the wrecked vessel and secured a couple of gold watches, a chronometer and other articles which the captain gave them for bringing himself and crew to this city.

FROM PULPIT TO STAGE. Popular, Minister of the Universalist Church Takes a Leading Part in a Comic Opera. Amesrury, Macs., Jan. 1. The Rev. A. C. White, the bright and popular pastor of the Universali8t Church, has caused a profound sensation by donning the buskin and impersonating Miles Standisb, in the comic opera Triscilla," composed by Messrs. Henry D. Coolidge and Thomas burette. The opera was presented here last Friday, with a cast drawn from local talent. Wher. it became known that the Rev. Mr. White was to figure as the hero in the play there was a little shyness on the part of the other actors, but after a few rehearsals the feeling wore off. The minister entered into the sport with as much gusto as the younger people, and they quid ly saw that he possessed rare histrionic ability, and when the night for the performance arrived there was a well-tilled house. The audience was divided between horror and admiration. Tho minister's acting was superb and his voice was captivating. He made a capital Miles Standisb, and carried the house by storm by his really meritorious work. He was called hefore the curtian and applauded to the echo. Since that night the gossips of nil denominations have ponnced upon the parson and have hauled him over the coals with spiteful persistency. The Universalists stand by their pastor through thick and thin. Mr. White preached his last sermon as pastor of the church Sunday. He intends spending the winter in Tampa, Fla., where he has an orange grove, and it is hinted that his next venture will be on the stage, rather than in the pulpit. He graduated from the divinity school of Tufts College,' in 1880, and has been here ever since, with the exception of two years spent in Augusta, Me. Mr. White enjoys the distinction of being the youngest survivor of the late war. In 1888 he was talked of for national chaplain of the G. A. R., but failed of election. His war record began in his ninth year, when he went out with the Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteers, as a drummer, Dec. 14, 1S01. His father was a lieutenant in the company, and later on a captain. He became sick after ninemonths of service, and went home for good, but while in the army performed a drummer's duties faithfully. He was born in Ohio, but is a descendant of Deacon John White, one of the first "seven selectmen of Cambridge, Mass. He is also descended, on his grandmother's side, from Mai. Henry Clark, who raised nnd equipped, at his own expense, a regiment of patriotic volunteers for service in the revolutionary war. EXPLORED A WONDERFUL CAVE. The Mummified Remains of Prehistoric 3Ian Discovered in Kentucky. Boston, Mass., Dec. 31. The wonders of Hundred Dome Cave, which lies about six miles east of Mammoth Caye, in Kentucky, are, according to a letter received here today, destined to produce a sensation when they shall have been made known to the world. The letter referred to was written oy Peter Brizendine, of Litchfield, Ky., and it is as follows: ;"In connection with some gentlemen from New York, who are here buying asphaltum lands, I have explored some of the noted caves of this (Ldmondson) county, yesterday I explored. what is known as the Hundred Dome Cave, abont six miles east of Mammoth Cave. In it I found undoubted evidences of a race of human boings of a great antiquity. In niches of the cave I counted over 2,000 mummified skeletons or bodies of what must have been a large and very superior race ot men, evidently dating back beyond our history of Adam and the garden of) Eden many thousands ot years. "The bodies are in an excellent state of preservation and I intend to remove about ten of them at once to Boston, for the benefit of the scientific world. The Hundred Dome Cave is one of the greatest curiosities in the known world. As its name implies it consists of hundreds of domes, in some places over one hundred feet in length. Beautiful pillars of alabaster, and stalagmites, and stalactites add to the embellishment. Then there is a vast subterranean lake fed by a subterranean river of many miles in extent. The lake is filled with eyeless fish and eyeless turtles. I have secured numerous specimens, which I now have in a tank at the house of T. R. McItaatts. the circuit judge ot this district. Litchfield, Ky., is his address. Dr. Woods, the postmaster at Litchfield. Ky., near here, and M. J. Cunningham, of Cannon & Cunningham, merchants of Litchfield, accompanied mo on my tour of exploration of these ancient caves, and will cheerfully testify to all the facts above mentioned." Forging Telegraph Operator. Cincinnati, Jan. 1. This afternoon a young man was arrested at the Burnett House on a charge of forgery. He presented a check for 100 on the Second National Bank, of Washington, D. C. signed by Qeorge B. Day fc Son and indorsed by C. E. Page, manager of the Western Union telegraph ofiice of this city. He was held until the clerk ascertained that Mr. Page's indorsement was a forgery, and was then arrested. He confessed and said, he was out of money. He gave the name of Feid M. Blake, of Keeue, X: II., and said he was a telegraph operator. Gone with His Type-Writer. Fort Worth, Tex., Jan. L On Deo. 21 Mrs. Stevens, the wife of Charles II. Stevens, of Arlington, secretary for Texas of the National Railroad Agents' Association, received a letter from her husband dated Denver, stating he would assist her in Procuring a divorce. The investigation which followed revealed that before Mr. Stevens departed he bad deeded all his property to his wife, and that Miss Naomi Morgan, his type-writer, did not go home for tho holidays the day after Mr. Stevens's departure, as 6he had signified her intention of doing. Arrival of the New Japanese Minister. San Francisco, Jan. 1. Gozo Tateno, the newly appointed minister from Japan, arrived, with his family, on the steamer City of Peking last night, and will at once proceed to Washington. Chinese advices state that Viceroy Li Hung Chang has been called to Peking and has been made a member of the Council of State, and that his appointment as the Minister of Military Affairs is probable. . . Closed for Repairs. Chicago. Jan. 1. The shops of the Illinois steel-works, exceptlthe blast furnace, were shut down last night, throwing fifteen hundred men out of employment. The ollicers of the company are reticent in regard to the length of time during which the mills will remain closed, but say that some repairs are necessary and it was thought better to close down now than later on. The employe believe that the work will be resumed in March if not sooner. Ran Into a Freight Train. Mason City, la., Jan. 1. A wreck occurred on the Iowa Central three miles north of Oskaloosa last night. A passenger traiu running at tho rate of forty miles an hour crashed into a standing freight train. Kngin eer Wolcott was fatally injured and several passengers seriously hurt. The two engines and the express and passenger cars were demolished. The freight train was twenty minutes on the passenger's time. Killed by an Explosion. Sherbrooke, Que.. Jan. 1. There was a serious explosion at the gas-works hero late last night. The force of the explosion tore out one side of the building and the structure took tiro. Charles Dinsmore, an employe, was found half an hour after the exElosion under a heavy iron door which bad een blown soiiie distance. He died from his injuries five miuutes after being found. Another employe was fatally injured. Watchls HeadQuarters at Marcy's,

GENERAL SPINNER'S CAEEER

A Man of Great Resoqrces Whose Memory Will Be Revered by Working women. ITis Work as Treasurer of the United StatesIncidents Illustrating His Good Judgment in Critical Periods of the War. Special to the Indianapolis JournalWashington, Jan. 1. Nowhere did the death of General Spinner cause as deep regret as here in Washington. None felt more sincere sorrow than the female employes of the Treasury Department, for it was he who was instrumental in their gaining admission to that department for clerical work. This occurred during the war, when the regular clerks were enlisting, and it looked as if there would not be sufficient left to transact the business of the department, when General Spinner suggested to President Lincoln that an opportunity be given women to take the men's places where it was possible. The idea met with considerable opposition, but the General gained his point and the women from that time to the present have formed an important factor in the business departments of the government. General Spinner served -in Congress from 1S45 to lbdl, when he was appointed Treasurer of the United States by President Lincoln, and soon his autograph became, a f rominent feature of the paper money, lis signature will always remain one of the curiosities of chirography. It was the result of years of careful practice, and was completely unlike his usual handwriting, which is very clear and legible. General Spinner, while sheriff of Herkimer connty, conceived the notion of inventing a signature, and, after many attempts and discarded conceptions, he finally adopted the one now so famous. He first began . to use it in 1805, but he brought it to the highest state of perfection when he was Treasurer. Toward tho latter years of his life he gradually abandoned it, for, to bis regret, he found that he could no longer make it as well as in former years. Everything else he wrote was as plain as print, as the old letters in the Treasurer's otfice show. Among his correspondence was a brief reply to a man named Jemmison, who, in 180(5, demanded the redemption of a confederate bank note. General Spinner, in his reply, referred him to the "internal regions, where the concern issuing that note has gone.77 To the very end he kept up a correspondence with many of his former associates and wrote regularly to Assistant Treasurer Whelpley, for the weekly andiconthly financial statements of the treasury and the annual report. His letters show that he kept as close and intelligent watch of those affairs as whon he was at the head of the ofiice during war times and after. It is believed that at the time of his denth.he was engaged on a work on "American Fi nance. HUGH M'CULLOCirS TRIBUTE, The Hon. Hugh McCulloch. in his "Men and Measures of Half a Century' makes this reference to his old-time companion in the treasury: "As I have mentioned the name of General Spinner I must say something more abont him. Ho was appointed United States Treasurer in 1SG1, whon the treasury was in the condition I have described; when the.- business of the ofiice could have been properly performed by a dozen competent clerks. It grew to itspresent magnificent proportious while he was Treasurer. A more trustworthy, conscientious and upright man than brands E. Spinner never held an ofiice under this government, or any other. Until I know him I had not met a mau with more disposition or capacity for hard work than mjv self. Iu General Spinner I found in this respect, as well as in many others, my superior. He worked constantly from nine to ten hours a day, and when business was unusually pressing, his working hours were extended from twelve to fifteen. Ho liked the place, was familiar with its business to the minutest detail, and should have re-' mained in it until he was no longer able to WAV a n4!iia ITS twA okntiM Via t vt . LC ill' AAA uo uuvn inn u aiiiu oiiuuiu uu, IU) scrioeanign in tuo roiiornonor lor meritorious services at a time whon the government was greatly in need of such services as he was able to render and heartily ren-, dend. His resignation was caused by a disagreement between himself and the Seo3 retary about appointments to his bureau. As he was a bonded officer, he thought, and correctly, that he should control tho appointments of clerks for whose acts he was responsible. He did control them when I was Secretary, and he did under Mr. Fersenden and Mr. Chase.'7 He was the enstodian of millions. Armies and navies had to be paid, the Postofiic6 Department, houses of Congress had to be supplied, and every dollar had to pass through the hands ot General Spinner. Congress made him responsible, not only for the faithful performance of his own duties, but of those of every one of the hundreds of clerks in his employ. Heavy bonds were required. The General had no hesitation in providing 'them, but he insisted that as ho was responsible for the honesty of his employes, he should be allowed to select bis force, until Secretary Sherman declined to further grant him that right when he promptly resigned, and was succeeded byTreasurer Gilhilan. General Spinner was unquestionably the man for the place. When clerk atter clerk left the treasury to go to the front with a musket, he conceived the idea and carried it out, after the bitterest opposition and the most heartless ridicule, of appointing women to tneir places. Time has fully justified his belief in the honesty and accuracy of female employes, for to-day the expert counters in the Treasurer's audi the Secretary's offices are all women. In deed, nearly every position requiring especial intelligence and expertness in the handling of bank notes isperfoimed by women. EQUAL TO ANY EMERGENCY. Thero is an interesting incident that occurred during the war which shows Gen. Spinner's depth of resource. Washington was menaced by the army of General. Breckinridge, who had suddenly crossed1 the Potomac and was very near to the outer line of forts which guarded the city on the north almost before the government was aware of his coming. The city was practically defenseless. The forts, such as they were, were badly garrisoned. Indeea, they were without garrisons at all; for all available troops had been sent to McClellan, who was then preparing for his advance on Kichmond. No one knew the defenseless condition of tho city better than did Gen. Breckinridge, and he recognized the efiect it would have on the North if the capital of the Nation, with its treasury, should fall into the hands of the enmy. Tho news of his approach spread rapidly throughout the city, for everyone knew how perfectly defenseless was the capital. General Spinner was fnlpy equal to the emergency. At the critical moment he went quietly toILeroy Tuttle, the Assistaut Treasurer, and laid before him the scheme for saving the moneys in the Treasury's vaults. Messengers wen sent to the1 Postoffice Department, where every available mail-bag was hunted up and sent back to the Treasury. The plan was to pack the money into the lags,- and should Breckenridge take the line of forts a tug was held in readiness on which the treasure-bags were to be loaded and taken down the Po tomac. There was no other way out of the city, for Breckinridge had destroyed the' telegraph and railroads running north. All night long General Spinner and Mr. Tuttle worked until the gray of early dawn, tilling bag after bag with crisp greenbacks and coins, until at last the task was finished. A squadron, of cavalry was at the door of the Treasury, ready to escort the wagons down to the boats, but to bis surprise and gratification, when General Spinner went to the Treasury the next moring, the first person he met was a messenger, notifying him that General Wright with the Sixth Army Corps who had been ordered up from New Orleans to join McClellan by way of Fortress Monroe, had been directed to continue up the Potomac, and meeting Breckenridge, had to that gentleman's surprise and dismay promptly repulsed him. When the clerical force of the Treasury gathered at the desks a few hours later their astonishment can be better imagined than described at the condition of the vaults. A few hours later, however, the greenbacks and coins were again taken from tho mail-bags and replaced in the vaults. Another instance of his readiness to meet an emergency was the formation of the Treasury battalion, by which he organized all the men who had not gone to tho front into a small army, and had taken a musket

into his hands and himself taught them the manual of arms. When Kichmond was captured in April, 1S65, the news of the fall or the federal capital reached Washington about 11 o'clock in tbe m orn ing. It was jnst after a day's work in the Treasurer's ofiice bad fairly begun. Genenil Spinner hastily went to the counter in the cashier's room, and, in a voice fairly tremulous with suppressed excitement, said: "Put that cash into the vaults and get out from here as soon as yon can. I want yon to yell. We have got Richmond!" No order was ever obeyed more quickly or as perfectly, and in the tremendous shouts of excitement that followed General Spinner's voice was heard loud and clear. HIS FONDNESS FOR CUSTOM. To illustrate General Spinner's fondness for custom the one trait which, combined with his energy and foresight, made his administration of the treasury so successful during the trying times of the government a gentleman who called on him in 1SS3, at his home, in Florida, was pleased , to observe that the General apparently recollected every incident of his former visit. He naturally felt proud that so much notice had been taken of him, but his pride was somewhat dampened when the General drew forth from a stack of books in his library a memorandum-book, and there showed him a faithful account of his previous visit, and showed him, too, that similar accounts had been kept of the visits of every other mau. "It has been my custom,'' said the General, in explanation, "to keep a record of everything, and-1 have a whole garret full of note-books in which is recorded every cent that I ever received or paid out since I was a boy, over eighty years ago.77 Probably the most striking event of Gen. Spinner's career in Congress was his vote for General Banks (who, by the way, is at present a member of the House of Representatives), by which he made Banks Speaker ot the Thirty-fourth Congress. General Spinner had been elected by the regular organization of the Democratic party, but, being opposed to slavery, he did not attend the caucus of the Democrats for the nomination of officers of the House. For obvious reasons he did not attend the caucuses of the opposition party for the nomination of General Banks for Speaker. Gen. Spinner still declined to vote for him on account of bis politics, and contented himself with voting for several anti-slavery Democrats, but finally, on the night of tbe 1st of February, just about tho timo when Banks's friends had become discouraged and thought of withdrawing from tho fight, Spinner entered tbe room where the conference' was being held, and, advancing to themiddleof the room, declared that, although a Democrat, he would vote for Banks for Speaker, firt,last and all the time. His evident determination inspired General Banks's friends with new courage. They renewed the fight, and tbe next day Banks was elected Speaker of the Thirty-fourth Congress. Of late years General Spinner had entirely forsaken his home in the North and had retired to the sunny clime of Florida. A friend who visited him there gave the following pleasing account of his new home: "After a quarter of a century of active public labor, and when the snows of age had fallen upon his head. General Spinner made his first visit to tho land of dowers. Attracted by the lovely river, the glowing skies, the genial climate -and the grateful retirement, he determined to drop the winter out of his future years, and accordingly made for himself a home and a garden on the banks of the fair St. Johns. The boat- ' house is the General's loved spot Built out upon a wharf, extending from the fair gardens of his residence and commanding a view of great extent and variety, the 8yl van-shaded city of Jacksonville outspread before him; the blue distances of Mandaran to the far south; the groves and gardens of the east bank of tbe St. Johns just opposite, the Geueral's boat-house is, indeed, beautiful for situation."

THE RANK OF FRANCE. How It Sent Help to England flow Its Cash Is Securely Guarded. Henry Haynie's Paris Letter. Last week, on Thursday and Friday, twenty-five tons of gold in bars and coin were shipped from Paris to Throckmorton street, in London city. This vast amount of precious metal was carted away without any sort of noise being made about it, just as if it bad been ordinary freight packed oil for commercial purposes. It went in Ntwo'lots. With each lot were two men no wore and they were not armed, either. It represented as much as 315,000,000, and it was loaned by the Bank of France to the Bank of England to tide over the crisis which the embarrassment of Baring Bros. threatened. Bnt it took a great many persons to lift 'the bags that held the 75,000,000 francs . worth of gold from out the vaults of the .famous French institution and put them "into the stout carts that carried them to it-be Northern Railway Station. The vaults of the Bank of France are reached only by ' one winding stair-case of heavy cut stones .'joined together by a cement that defies the stoutest pick-ax. Tbrso stone stairs are so narrow that two persons can barely pass - each other, and up this narrow, winding ,way 24,180 odd kilogrammes of metal had to be, lugged in sacks to a court-yard, where It -was boxed securely and then loaded in wagons for delivery at the railway station. There was no special train engaged for its transportation; it took its place in the ordinary freight cars just like merchandise. At Calais it was swung on to the channel boat by great stout cranes, precisely as were the passengers' trunks and the mail-bags. No one on the boat, nor any person on the Chatham and Dover road supposed that so many millions were being carried along at the same time as themselves, all of it intended to help the "Old Lady of Threadneedle Street" out of a peck of trouble. At tbe bottom of the winding staircase of tho Bank of France is a heavy, thick iron door, beyond which four more iron doors, each with three locks, present themselves. One key is in the hands of tho governor of the bank, one is with the chief cashier, tho third is in the possession of a censor. To enter this modern Plutns's den the presence of these three functionaries is necessary. Never was fortress better armed with powerful walls, big locks or redoubtable obstacles, Yet there is not a place that looks more sad or more mournful or which has less of charm about it than these same vaults of the Bank of France. Complicated mechanism prevents the cash den from being opened too readily. If you imprudently touch it a peal of electric bells begins ringing, and there is a door which can only be opened in the presence (of the three serious personages already mentioned. There is also a place where, in stout boxes, are stocks, bonds, precious stones, and nugf ets of gold and silver which the Bank of 'ranee receives, as voluntary deposits, charging therefor one-eighth of I percent, for every six months. Besides these there are no safety-deposit vaults in Paris except a few boxes which Mr. Gorman, president of the Anglo-American Bank, has placed in his largest safe. ' in the Bank of France there are large cases, placed at equal distances against the walls, in which are bags containing gold and silver, - aud the value of each bag is about $2,000. These cases bear labels, some reading 20-franc pieces, others 10-frano pieces, 5-franc pieces and so on. Many cases inclose bars of gold and silver bricks that belong to bankers and exchangehouses. The exterior of these cases is iron, but the inside is wadded with lead, as is the lid also, and the metallic treasury inclosed in these vaults amounts to-day to more than one milliard in gold and almost double that sum of silver. A well-guarded place is the Bank of France, and defended, too, by a company of infantry. There is also a fire company always on duty in the building. Every night bank messengers keep alternate watch, and stay close to tbe vestibule of tbe principal cash den in which confidential clerks stay constantly. From hour to hour these watchmen go a round that embraces courtyard, stables, gardens, lobbies and roof of building. Dial plates are placed at certain distances from each other, and at each round the men have to pull a bell which communicates with the firemen. In additiou they place in a slit, similar to that of a letter-box, a square zinc ticket which slides down to the room of the officer in command of the soldiers. In each room are hand pumps, and everywhere are wooden pails full of water. Hatchets hang on walls, and aqueducts wind along stone pillars like serpents. Twenty-four reservoirs, containing 72,000 litres of water, are on the roof, and they are always ready for any eventuality. In case of riot or invassion by armed men tbe spiral staircase can immediately be filled with clav, sand or earth, and this would protect the vaults from attack for at least twenty-fonr hours. Incase of fire, attack or civil war they can be inundated in a few instants, and If water is lacking they can be infected with mephitic vaporizations which would suffocate anybody.

THE FRENCH SPY SYSTEM

The Careful Espionage Practiced Upon Strangers Visiting the Gay Capital. Fabric of French Society a Vast Network of Spying Every Action of Residents Registered by the Police Department. Paris Letter In Washington Post. The great peculiarity of Paris is this it is at once the most charming city in the world, on the surface, and the most corrupt beneath. To prove that one great capital is wickeder than another is, of course, no easy matter. Anybody who. comes to look into the thing for himself will very quickly discover that in every one of the great cities, London, New York, Madrid or Berlin, so much iniquity exists as apparently could not be overtopped elsewhere. A French wit has put this in rather an amusing way. He says: "Each of the great capitals is called the 'wickedest city in the world It is." Perhaps the best way of ascertaining the comparative degree of immorality in the different modern Babylons is by making some study of their respective spy systems. The only raison d'etre of spies is, naturally, to keep a constant watch on the sin and evil of every kind done from day to day, and especially from night, in the centers of the world's "civilization' The less there is of the devil's work in any big city, tho less there will be for the spies and detectives to do there; and, consequently, tho fewer in number and the less active in their movements will these gentry be. Judged by this standard, there is every reason to conclude that to tho capital of France belongs the prond distinction of being the wickedest city in the world. For in the matter of its police spies in every variety, and of every degree, Paris stands paramount. Neither London, New York nor Berlin can, in this respect, compete with it. The public, even the Parisian public, has little knowledge of the extent and complication of the French spy system. It is a tremendous machine, applying itself to things both great aud small, like the Nasymth hammer, which can be made to flatten out an iron bar or delicately crack a nut. The spy has always played a prominent, though subterranean role, in Paris life. Several centuries ago the Medicis brought the institution with them into France from Italy, and it has ever since flourished in Gallic soil. Louis XV made great use of it. One of his pleasures, and every one knows he was a gentleman who sought pleasures in more ways than one, was to receive the head of his secret police for a couple of hours every morning and to hear from this olbeiaVs lips the complete and detailed account of all the wickedness enacted in Paris the day before. The revolution, too, was a great timo for spies, and Napoleon found reason to keep up the system during the period of bis empire, while somo idea may be gathered from Balzac's novels of the social and political tracking and ehadowing which prevailed in t rance throughout the first half of this century. Napoleon HI improved upon all that bad previously been done in this line to such an extent, indeed, that during his reign a brother would suspect brother, or a wife would even suspect her husband of being in the pay of the secret police. The third republic is no freer that were any previous French regimes from this deep taint of what the French call mou chardise. Never before at any period of France's history has the reign of snydom been so widespread and absolute in Paris as now. Thero has been latterly much discussion in the world's press of the extraordinary degree to which official espionage obtains in Russia, and very interesting details have been forthcoming on the subject. . ESPIONAGE OF STRANGERS. . The instant you arrive at a Paris station you are in tbe midst of spies. You are driven to a hotel in a cab. In half an hour the cabman will furnish the police with any particulars he may have been able to gather concerning your position, destination, business, etc. Arrived at your hotel you become the object of scrutiny as close as it is secret on the part of divers persons who, though attached to the place in the capacity of manager, or cashier, or even porter or "boots, are in reality enrolled soldiers of the great detective array. A special characteristic of theFrench detective system is its faculty of recruiting adherents in all classes of eociety. French spies, for tbe most part, are not simp le spies aud nothing more. They have a trade or occupation of their own, to which they seem wholly and solely devoted, while yet assiduously pursuing sub rosa their spyiug operations. Bnt let us, though not spies ourselves, continue to dog the steps of our unsuspecting stranger in Paris. He has dinner at his hotel, served by a garcon who, as a matter of course, is in the pay of the police, and will subsequently report to them what conversation he overhears during tbe meal. He then sallies forth, primed with a glass or two of fine champagne, for an evening's amnsemeut of the trne Parisian sort First ho repairs to one of the brilliant boulevard play-houses. A few stalls away from him sits a gentlemanlylooking man, with steady observant eyes, who glances now and again at our friend in such a way as to make the latter think, "I wonder whero I have seen that man before?" He never has seep him before, but it doesn't enter his head for a moment to suspect the man of being what ho really is a police spy. ' The play over there is just time for half an hour's stroll under the horse-chestnuts in the Jardin de Paris. Here nine-tenths of the attendants are either spies or scamps, and may, indeed, be both at once, for French police authorities are not very squeamish in choosing their instruments, aud seem, indeed, to have a sort of preference for scoundrels over others. Their theory rnns that the greater villain a mau is the better spy he will make. Moreover, the most efficacious means of keeping a man under spy surveillance is to have him become a spy himself, for spies spy npon each other quite as much as on the rest of mankind. But to return to our foreigner. He finishes up (the evening by turning into the Cafe Americaine for supper, whero he has for next-door neighbor a seductive young woman, with whom he enters into conversation. She has a sweet smile, which displays two rows of glittering teeth, and puts many questions to him concerning France and the French. Naturally enough our visitor imagines this is all done out of that bright, easy Gallic politeness be admires so much, for how is he to know that every word he has said in reply will come to the ear of the police not later than the following afternoon? If our friend be fond of sport he will soon be finding his way to the race-courses near the capital and into the baccarat clubs, with which Paris abounds, and here ho will be hourly in contact with police spies in greater numbers than there are racers on the course or cards in the pack. And so the game goes on in every sphere of Paris life and society. To parody the "Ancient Mariner," it is "spying, spying everywhere, and not a soul to trust." "SHADOWING" CORRESPONDENTS. Not only tho French government, but the entire fabric of French society seems V be based upon espionage as its chief and firmest foundation. One topical detail may go further than any amount of mere assertion to throw light on the workings of the spy system in France. There are, of course, in Paris, as in all other capitals of the world, a number of recognized correspondents of foreign journals. Will it be believed that to the person of each one of these correspondents, no matter what nationality, English. American, Russian or Spanish, or how iusignilicant the journal with which he is connected, a detectivo is specially aud separately attached, with the mission of rendering a full and true account of everything this journalist says and does. That such surveillauce should be put upon the representatives of great political organs is perhaps well enough. One can understand at a piuch why the Times, Standard and New York Herald representatives should be shadowed. But why tho same honor

should be extended to the correspondents of every little sheet that publishes a weekly "letter from Pari" is more than one can understand, and the fact altogether is eminently characteristic of tho comprehensiveness of tho spy system in France. If any one monument or edifice maybe called the heart of Paris it is neither tho legislative palace, cathedral, nor even the exchange. It is the Prefecture de Police. In that large white stone building on the Boulevard de Palais, almost opposite the splendid pile of the law courts, sits a man who holds between his fingers all tbe skeins of the vast web in which tho whole Paris population, resident and transient, is entangled. He is the prefect de police, the nominal head of a scheme orsystem, which, for evil or for good, has been unparalleled in secret power. To his ofiice converge daily minutes of the thousand and one reports constantly drawn up by tho army of "agents' working ceaselessly beneath the smooth glittering surface of Parisian life. It must not, however, be supposed that all those connected with the prefecture de police come often or even come at all within its walls. For obvions reasons the number of the agents who personally report themselves at headquarters is limited. With tbe great majority of his assistants the prelect is not acquainted by sight, hardly by name. It it all done through in telligent intermediaries. "When M. Andrieuz, the brilliant French politician and journalist, some years since was appointed prefect de police, his first step was to immediately hunt up the report concerning himself. He kcewtbat everybody in Paris is made the subject of a dossier, as it is called, and he was eager to know what his own dossier might amount to. His amazement and horror at rinding himself charged in this precious document with every variety .of crime, either committed or contemplated, may be better imagined than described. From that day he became a determined enemy of the wbolo institution of the Paris secret police, and has often since then attacked it in tho columns of leading journals and in tho pages of his recently-published interesting memoirs. Cnrioua Facta About the Jews. Dr. John H. Billings, In North American Review. We cannot yet see the full bearings of many of the results obtained by the tabulation of the data relating to these Jewish families, because the data collected by tho eleventh census relating to personsof Irish, German, French, Italian or Scandinavian descent residing in tho United States have not yet been compiled into corresponding tables and are not available for coranar'son. It is. however, evident that these Jews have a much lower death-rate and decidedly greater longevity than the rest of onr people, and that their marriage and birth-rates are below the average. It also seems probable that they possess a partial immunity from and a special liability to certain forms of disease: that with prolonged residence in the United States their death-rate is increasing, and that their natural increase is somewhat greater in the South than it is in the North. The data are not sufficient in number or in probable accuracy to warrant moro nan the statement that it is rathsr more than an even chance that these last conclusions are correct, but they certainly cvve rie to questions which merit extended and careful investigation. The great majority of the peculiarities in these vital statistics appear to be connected with tho occupations, social relations and mode of life of the people rather than with special race characteristics, and they will therefore tend to disappear so far as the Jews' mode of life becomes assimilated to that of their neighbors. In Europe the Jews have been kept apart from other races, partly by religious and other ties acting from within, and partly by compressive persecution acting from without. In this country both of these causes of segregation, and of consequent hereditary transmission of physiological peculiarities, are becoming weaker, the latter much moro so than the former.

Morgan's Rough Riders. January Century. The well-filled stores and gaudy shop windows of tho Indiana and Ohio towns seemed to stimulate, in men accustomed to impoverished and unpretentious Dixie, tho propensity to appropriate beyond limit or restraint. I had never before seen anything like this disposition to plunder. Our perilous situation only seemed to render the men more reckless. At the same time, anything more ludicrous than the manner in which they indulged their predatory tastes can scarcely be imagined. The weather was intensely warm the hot July sun burped tho earth to powder, and we were breathing superheated dust yet one man rode for three days with seven pairs ot skates slung about his neck; another loaded himself with sleigh-bells. A large chafing-dish, a medium-sized Dutch clock, a green glass decanter, with coblets to match, a bag of horu buttons, a chandelier, and a birdcago containing three canaries, were some of tbe articles I saw borne off and jealously fondled. The officers usually waited a reasonable period, uutil the noveltr had worn oil; and then had this rubbish thrown away. Baby shoes and calico, however, were tbe 6tanle articles of appropriation. A fellow would procure a bolt of calico, carry it carefully for a day or two, then cast it aside and get another. Watcd repairing by experts at Marcy's. Ofr. IVintlotc'B Soothing Syrup" Has been ued over fifty years by mothers for their children while teething, with perfect success. It toothe the child, softens the jrums. allays all pain, cures wind colic, regulates tho howelu, and is the best remedy for diarrhoea, whether arising from teething or other causes, and 1 for ale by diwgists in every part of the world. Be Dure and ask for Mrs. Wiuslow'g 8 oo thing Byrup. Twenty -live cents a bo tile. TIE Any carters Rocerft's knives, forks, spoons and silverware, at Marcy's. Nattrk's balsam for aU complaints of tbe lungs, the throat and the bronchial tutes it Hale's Honey of Horehouud aDl Tar. Coughs nnd co'.ds vanish as if by made under its fcoothinr, healing operation. Sold by all drucciMs. Pike's Toothache Drops cure in 1 minute Great sale of diamonds at Marcy's. 8. L. R. means Simmons Liver Regulator sure. . - Mcsic-doxes repaired at Marcy's. Fi?'E engraving by eiperts at Marcy's. Take, take, take Pinimons Liver Regulator for dyspepsia, constipation and heartburn. Great sale of clocks at Marcy's. HOTEL ENGLISH, Fronting Circle Park and SoldlMV Monument, Inclanapoua. First-clsa rooms, wlthoui board, by ths iiay. vrbrk. or month, at reason at) le rate. Elevator and aU modern Improvement. Keataurants conven. lent to Hotel, wher r a meals ax aerred si i centa and upt-arda Belt Railroad and Stock-Yard. to. STOCKHOLDERS' MEETfXO. Tne annnal meeting of the ttockholdera ot tba Belt Railroad and Ktock-yard Company will be held at the directors room, in the Union Hallway Station. In the city of iDdlanapolis. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. lsSL. between the hours ot 10:30 and 12 o'clock a. m , for tl: purpose of elecMn nine d:rectms to aerve for the ensuing yfsr, and for the transaction of such other ba Alness as may come before the meeting. K. a 24CKE&. Secretary. January 2. 1891. FINANCIAL MONEY TO LOAN 6 TER CENT. JTOHACS MCKAY, Boom 1L Talbott A NeVi Block. LOANS MONEY ON MORTGAGES. SAYLEti. 75 East Market street. FINANCIAL M 0HET05M0 It TO AOE.TAIlSf and dty rruPrty. a K. COFFIN A CO. SIX PERCENT. ON CrTY PROPERTY IN IN. diana, ISAAC IL KIUKsTED. 13 Maxtin&Ua Block. MONEY TO LOAN ON FARMS AT TFIE LOW. et market rate; prtTtlfoa for payment befora due. We alno bur municipal bonds. Til OA. C DAY A CO.. 72 Jt Market street. Indumapolta. ANN O UN C EMKNX LADY'S KUttSE-lIIUIIKST TESTIMONIALS. Ten years' experience. 87 Church street, or Dr. Urennau's clhee. riMIE ANNUAL MEETING OF TITE STOCK. 1 holders cf the Indiana Parer Co. will leheld nt the onVe tf the eompanr Tnestar moriimg.Jtn. 13, IbUl. at 10 O'clock. JAMES It. LILLr! V, fec'y. IOR HENT AFTEH THE FIRST DAT OF ? .ITU. lfc'.U. A store rowa fur rent. GooR'a. tarn. ii.osU tho I'uMic Square tu the city vt Urtenlittiu, India wa. Y1. U. UOODINU.