Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1883 — WASHINGTON NOTES. [ARTICLE]

WASHINGTON NOTES.

The Missouri Pacific railway company has issued an order that no employe of that company shall drink intoxicating liquor either on or off duty. This is a long step towards prohibition, in its way, and will be received with more or lees favor, as the case may be. In dictating letters it is a good plan to write out the name of some Stares in full. "Writing as modernized and rendered scientific has caused the abbreviation Ind., to be mistaken for Md„ and vice versa. Cal. and OoL are often confounded by bad writing and this has caused some profanity and disappointment. The initials N. Y. and N. J. and often badly written. Miss, is sometimes mistaken for Minn, or Wis., and letters go astray. It costs but little labor to write out the names of the States in full, and it saves considerable vexation and delay. Pebsons who think of attending the coronation of the Czar in May next are warned not to partake of the pies to be distributed on that occasion. It has come to light that the imperial baker,Philipoff, who has got the Government contract to furnish about a million of meat and sweet pies for treating the Muscovites and others during the coronation holidays, has recently been sued by various parties for putting in his bread and cakes pieces of rope, nails, wooden splints, Cockroaches and like indigestible and offensive ingredients. Philipoff is a fine fellow to furnish forth the coronation feast! The Russian Imperial family is well provided for in the matter $f money. The Czar receives annually about $10,000,000for his household expenses, and as Alexander 111. has an economical streak, he no doubt manages to lay up a little at the end of each year. TheCzaritza receives $400,000 and the means of supporting her court. Every child of the Czar while a minor receives $60,000, and on becoming of age—as twenty—every son and grandson receives $360,000, and their wives $400,000 each. The Grand Duchesses get as a dowry about $700,000 each. All this money is paid from the Treasury. Besides, the Imperial family has the crown estates for its own use. And yet, at last accounts, Alexander was not bappy. Mb. Cobcoban, the benevolent Wash ington banker, has given S6O to help relieve the distress of Prof. Frederick Nicholls Crouch, of Baltimore, who composed the music to “Kathleen Mavourneen.” Prof. Crouch was born in England in 1808. He says, in relation to this song, that the words were sent to him by Mrs. Crawford, who wrote them. He was riding one day on the banks of tjje Tamar in west England, when the melody came to him He was so infatuated with it that he sang the song to large audiences in Plymouth, and within a week it began to spread. His offspring became the child of the world, and he was forgotten as the author. The old* man is now out of employment and too feeble to help himself.

The desperate doings of the Nihilist conspirators in Russia have a parallel in the systematic deviltry of the Black Hand Society in Southern Spain. Cable dispatches have brought the intelligence that nearly 1,500 members of this organ* ization are in custody. Since the Government vigorously undertook the suppression of lawlessness, startling revelations have been made. It appears that about all the swashbucklers and depraved characters in Andalusia belong to the revolutionary society. For two years they have been committing outrages on persons and property, in defiance of the military police, even setting fire to buildings within a short distance of garrisoned towns. The numerous bands of desperadoes are led by brigands, whose chief object is booty. The severest strain in the cart or car riage comes upon the wheels. The felloes especially are exposed to alternate mud and drought, according to the prevailing weather. The paint soon wears off, and the wood absorbs the water from every mud puddle through which the vehicle is driven. In a dry time the wood shrinks and the tare gets loose. The remedy is a new setting of the tire, and a bill from the blacksmith. It is much cheaper to clean up the carriage occasionally and give the wheels a dressing of linseed oil as ho* as it can lie put on. The wood will absorb a good deal of the oil and will swell ths so as to make the tire tight It will prevent the rotting of the wood and wiafca long-lived wheels. When the wheels have soaked up all the oil they will take, pntonfyoc >d coat of paint The land offices of the United States ure doing a land office business, as is indicated by the statistics of .the transac-

tions of'isß2Jfc Tfi i returns wt||t hand are fromthe nortnweet, andhence do Sot include Mie btrinfo doM Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, and other sections to wnich immigration has been large, and where the entries of land have undoubtedly been numerous. The total acreage taken up in Minnesota, Dakota and Montana amounts to 13,100,842 acres, 996,083 acres of which were railroad ■lands. .The offices in Minnesota entered 2,023,653 acres, in Dakota 9,686,446 acres, and in Montana 394,660. It is estimated t>-at the entries added 16,760 people to the agricultural population of Minnesota, 48,260 to that of and 1,460 to that of Montana. The largest land offices in the northwest are at Fargo at Grand Forks. The collections at the former place were $698,492, and at the latter, $697,736.19.

William P. Boss, the present chief of the Cherokee Indians, is a graduate of an Eastern college, remarkable for intelligence and culture, and a fine orator. The tribe occupies a reservation of 4,000,000 acres, bounded on the north and east by Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. The Cherokees of pure and mixed blood number 20,336, about one-half of whom speak the English language, which is the only one taught in the schools. In the entire male population there are but sixteen whose occupation is given in the last census as hunters and fishermen, the great majority being farmers. There are 107 schools supported by the nation, a male and female seminary for advanced scholars, and an orphan asylum. There is a regularly constituted government and an adequate administration of justice. In short the Cherokee nation is not to be distinguished from a frontier State,except in the character of its inhabitants, their relation to the general Government, and their system of holding the land in comUJO3) which affords an interesting example of practical communism. A man who has got fnn in him will be funny under the most distressing circumstances. This was illustrated recently in the case of Mr. Frank Hatton, Assistant Postmaster-General, and editor. He was on a sleeping-car from New York to Washington, and when he got up in the morning at his destination, he found that his pants had been stolen. The passengers were getting off the car, and all sympathized with Hatton, but none of them offered him their pants. He wrapped a red sleeping-car blanket around him, took a feather duster and placed the handle down his back, so the feathers stood up over his head, and stood in the aisle of the car, when every body laughed except the car porter, who turned pale* A friend said, “Well, Frank, what you going to do?” Frank looked at himself in the glass and said, ‘Well, I guess I will take a hack and go up to the Secretary of the Interior and ask to be sent back to my reservation.” The oldest man in the world could not have studied up a funnier answer in a week. In a recent lecture on “the Glory and the Shame of New York, ’ Rev. Howard Crosby, D. D., ranked the Croton aqueduct, the Brooklyn bridge and the elevated railroad among the glorious achievements of America’s great metropolis Among the shames he placed the debt of over $100,000,000, “resulting solely from the plundering of politicians.” Dr. Crosby said: “Tweed was no exceptional case His frvpe was still to be found in office Men were elected as aidermen and county clerks, not because they had the slighte'-t fitness, but because they kept liquor saloons, which were serviceable to the party. Bruisers and gamblers were made directors of the city’s morals. Ely, Cooper Grace and Edson had been unable to effect any reform. They rather yielded to the overwhelming power of organized rowdyism or made a vain and useless opposition to it Our primaries were but mobs where roughs had it all their own way, and the drunkard and the loafer were men of consequence. “The agent that disgraces society is this very rum that destroys political work There are 12,000 drinking saloons in New York—one to every hundred in population, or one to every eighteen drinkers. To enable the saloon-keeper to conduct his business profitably each of the eighteen must pay the. saloon-keeper on an average of $7 a week'”

United States Conul Astwood, at San Domingo, reports to the State Department that, owing to the bar which has formed at the entrance to the harbor, that port is virtually closed to commence. Vessels drawing more than eight feet of water can not enter the harbor without great risk ot stranding. He says unless dredging is resorted to to clear out the mouth of the river the commerce of that progressive district must become paralyzed. Over 20,000 Canadians returned to the Dominion from the United States last year. The Manitoba craze carried them back, and took with them thousands of Americans. Indue time the Americans will be returning to their own native land followed by a stream of Canucks.

u MrioJnnmJlolombo, cap® Jsy the island of Ceylon, report that vicious riots occured lately between the Buddhists and Papists. The Catholics seriously objected to a religious processon of .the Buddhists, in which was carried a crucifix surmounted by a monkey. This latter combination, which Papists held to bean insult to the Catholic religion, brough about -violent contests in the street, which were only stopped by the vigorous efforts of the troops, who dispersed the rioters and restored peace without bloodshed. A number of the participants, however, were roughly handled. It is generally believed that the Pension Bureau is far behind in work, because cases have not been allowed within a reasonable time after filing. Id every case the cause of the delay is the fault of the applicant or his attorney in neglecting or failing to furnish the evidence required by close up is the bureau on all applications filed so far. It is believed that by the Ist of July next every case will have been examined. Col. Dudley, when making application to Congress in December, 1881,for an increase of force, estimated that if the desired increase were granted him he would be able to examine the immense mass of cases then accumulated by December, 1883. The discipline and efficiency of the office,however, will enable the Commissioner to anticipate his promise by nearly six months. The Postoffice Department has agreed upon the design for the new two-cent postage stamp for'first class matter, and the work of printing for distribution and sale will shortly begun. A medallion of Washington in a panel is the most prominent feature, and half-round the top the words" United States postage” are placed. This is a departure from the present system, where the initials “U. 8.” are used. At the lower portion of the stamp are the Words “two cents,” divided by the figure 2. The design is conspicuous for its plainness, and an absence of any decoration not in keeping with the subject. The likeness of Washington has been pronounced perfect by all who have seen it, and it is a copy of the head of the painting in the east end of the President’s house. Quite a number of designs for this stamp were furnished, and the result readied was thought a modification of one at the suggestion of General Hazen. The department has been more particular’ from the fact that this is the stamp of the future.

A few days ago Director Burchard, of the Mint, received a letter from the manager of a company which manufactures automatic machines for counting coins, protesting against any change in the diameter or the thickness now in use, on the ground that it would render useless several thousand of the machines which have been sold and are in use by the government and by bankers, etc. The letter was based upon the supposition that an order had been made to change the size of the three-cent nickel piece, a supposition which was erroneous. Director Burchard said that he regretted that the company had not called his attention to the subject before the order was issued to change the form of the five-cent nickel piece, the new coin being a trifle larger than the old one. The director, thinks however, that not a very large amount of new five-cent pieces will be called for. Of 126,000,000 five-cent pieces coined, he said, more than 100,000,000 were minted prior to 1873. In 1877 the coinage was suspended,there being at tKrt time about 12,000,000 pieces in the Treasury. This supply became exhausted a little more than a year ago, and then coinage was resumed. Last year about 11,000,000 five-cent pieces were coined,and probably 10,000,000 more will be required before the supply again exceeds the demand. There are some new things told by the Jeannette survivors which will not be brought out by the investigation, if it continues to be carried on with the same scrupulous avoidance of anything that might reflect upon a naval officer which has so far characterized the inquiry. When Ninderman was examined at the previous session he is reported to have left dissatisfied, and said he wanted to talk, but could not get the opportunity. Everything said by a dead man was ruled out, because the man was dead, and everything said by a living man was ruled out because the statement of the person himself would be the best evidence as to the matter. The men consider that the board in its recent report slighted them, and they are incensed that they received no commendation for their search for two years for Chipp’s party and the labor of bringing the dead out of the snowcovered desert of the Lena delta. They say that, furthermore, they expected Mr. Bennett to do something for f the wives and families of their comrades who lost their lives, nothing has been done for any except Mrs. De Long. It appears that the Captain called the hands on deck just as they steamed out of St. Lawrence Bay and read a letter from James Gordon Bennett, in which he

bOtand himself to tiwae dependent upon anyone in the party should they not return. Lee left a wife, Dunbar a daughter, and others relatives dependent upon them solely,and the survivors declare they have not been remembered even with a pittance, while Mrs. De Long was given the interest on $50,000. It is stated by the men that the captain was self-willed and showed no consideration for them, and that in addition to placing Collins under arrest he also degraded Seaman Star, one of the ablest men of the party, for a trifling of-, tense, and for two months he was put off duty and obliged to walk in the rear of the sledge party during the retreat. This was deep humiliation for an able-bodied man, and is pronounced a foolish piece of business when every available force was needed in the extremity to which the party was reduced. Mr. Bartlett says that Mr. Collins said to him one day before they left the last island: “I am afraid this will turn out another Franklin affair. If anything should happen to me, and yon get through, tak£ all the papers you find about me'and send them to the Herald.” Mr. Bartlett says that he and Ninderman found Mr. Collins' body and dug it out of the snow, and searched his person together at the time,taking great care of everything found except a small cross upon his breast which they thought best to leave where it was. Mr. Melville was not present at the time, and made no such remarks as were attributed to him.

It is understood that among the records brought back to the Navy Departmentby the Jeannette survivors is a document written by DeLong preferring serious charges against Lieut. Danenhower. It is said that the offense was considered so grave by the Captain that he wrote out a report of the facts for investigation by the head of the department, and that the paper was not lost but found its way to the files, although it was not brought out in the investigation. Certain of the survivors say that so far as they were concerned nothing would have been mentioned in connection with the matter, but that Danenhower dame home and not only passed as the bero of the expedition, but filled the press witn unwarranted criticisms and detractions of others. It appears, also, that in addition to the arrest of Mr. Collins, about which a report was made by the captain in two letters to the Secretary, that Dr. Newcomb was also placed under arrest, and the seamen Star and See. Things are coming to light .to indicate that either the captain was a very unscrupulous disciplinarian, indeed or he had an exceedingly contumacious crew aboard. It is believed that the matter is at an end so far as the department is concerned. There is some expression of belief that it will be taken up by Congress, but it is not apparent what good can result from it, inasmuch as all is now known of the experience of the party that might add anything to the scienfigc knowledge of the world.