Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 December 1883 — WOOL. [ARTICLE]

WOOL.

An Effort to Be Made td Restore the Former Duty. Representative Converse, of Ohio, has introduced in Congress a bill providing for a restoration of the duty on clothing wools, combing wools, carpet and otter''Similar wools, to what they were prior to the- enactment of the present tariff few. Converse had a conference with. Dplhno, President of the National Wool-growers’ Association, at which the latter gave the proposed measure his. indorsement, and Converse said he had no doubt his bill would pass the House by a two-thirGS majority. The wool-growing industry, he.vsald, was closely allied to the agricultural and»farming class interested in the restoration qf the old rates on wool, and this circumstance will give the bin strength before the representatives of the people. His State ws&the chief wool-producing State infthe country, and had suffered most severely from the reduction made in the present tariff law. There were in that State 46,000 wool-growertL and their loss on sales of wool the last annual capping amounted to more than $l,000j)00. The effect of the reduction of .the tariff on wool product has been felt so keenly in Ohio ttaftteth political parties there pledged to work for the restoration of tte did rates. Mrs. Ltdia Sturtevant turn jbrtMlled in Albany at the age bf 98. She leaves h steer living at the age of 94. Her moth|Trreacbed the age of 97, and she had a brothtstebo was killed by accident Whan in his 99th 9«tr.

The Republican. RENSSELAER, INDIANA.' G. E- MARNHAT.T., - - PUBIJSHXB.

Flora Baker, a colored woman of good character, residing at Newport, Rhode Island, has been left a large estate by her former owner, Weed WWoolridge, of Richmond. The merchants of Dallas, Tex., remonstrated with the prosecuting attorney and grand jury against the prosecution of the gamblers, on the ground that it would ruin the business of the town. A Newburgh (N. Y.) man named Schofield has constructed, during his leisure time, a “centennial table,” on which he has worked 3,600 hours. It is composed of 500 pieces, containing 200 different kinds of wood, and is valued at SI,OOO. Professor Huxley said recently at the Landon Hospital Medical College that, in the granting of degrees, the tripartite qualification of medicine, surgery and midwifery should be insisted upon, and that to allow anyone to practice without it, at the present age of the world, was “perfectly monstrous.” It is a curious coincidence in connection with the Alfonso matter that it was on September 29, 1833, that Queen Isabella ascended the throne of Spain. On September 29, 1868, King Alfonso’s mother had to fly and take ref-ugd in France, and it was on September 29th that King Alfonso met the recent insults from the French crowd. Berlin in 1816 had a population of 195,000, Ldndon had one of 958,863, and Paris one of 713,966. Six years later Berlin had 1,250,000, London 4,000,000. and Paris nearly 2,300,000. Berlin, therefore, increased more than sixfold, London about fourfold, and Paris about threefold. The population of Berlin reign of King William has more than doubled. Curtis McGregor, of Caddo Peak, had his arm mutilated by a gun. It was amputated near the shoulder. He was able to sit up and walk about the room, but complained from the first of pain in the amputated hand, and declared there were bugs in it. This continued until the eighth day after amputation, when friends exhumed and examined the amputated arm, which had been buried in a box with a cloth wrapped about it. A large bug was found in the hand as stated by McGregor. y Seated upon the hearse w’ith the driver in a Philadelphia Chinese funeral procession was an official who carried an immense banner, which he now and then waved as a warning to the demons to keep a respectful distance from the coffin. Another man flung abroad strips of paper written over with mystic puzzles, intended to excite the curiosity of the demons, and keep them so busy with picking them up and trying to read them that they would forget what they came for, and let the pale sleeper in the coffin alone. On arriving at the open grave the bearer of the banner waved it vigorously to keep the demons back while the grave was filled. Dreams are coming into play as detectives of lost property. An old Irish lady dreamed that a distant kinsman was in possession of an estate in Pennsylvania which was’ ’righfffilly hers', came over, brought suit and recovered it. So a citizen of Memphis died recently, having two policies of insurance on his life which coaid not be found among his effects. Finally, a friend of the deceased had a dream in which he saw the lost policies, and on waking went to the place indicated and found them. Perhaps, in time, professional dreamers will be appealed to as successfully for the Recovery of lost articles as clairvoyants are now, or as Connecticut detectives for the unraveling of dnmes. - - Some idea of the relative importance of the chief harbors and ports of the United States can be had from this statement of their entries and clearances for the quarter ending June 30» 1883: , ? ' .Entered. Cleared. IX s ' Xjl* ron». Baltimore. 84 26,119 78 17.577 Boston 251 1102.193 224 89,597 New Ortwins 59 19,046 51 15,951 New Y0rk.......... 738 2:46,051 429 225,949 Passamaciuoddy... 40 33,180 63 37,320 Philadelphia. 168 82.828 100 57,458 Puget 50und....... 167 72,190 164 63.273 San Francisco 102 80.449 94 Hl. 616 From this it appears that New York ranks first, Boston second, San Francisco third and Philadelphia fourth, according to the total tonnage, while the position of the last two is reversed if the number of vessels is considered. At present New York gets the liou’s share commerce of the Atlantic. ■ - :. : . Thebe is on exhibition at Virginia City, Nev., a monstrosity of a trout 'caught in Mariette Lake. The trout is exactly 'Sixteen inches In length, and is

perfect ip ’form in all parts except the head. The under jaw projects exactly one inch, by measurement, beyond the upper one, and the tongue about half as far. The upper jaw curves down, lite the beak of a parrot. It has teeth on the sides, but none in front. The head, when viewed from the front, much resembles the head x>f a sea-lion. In front are two indentations that seem to be perfect eyes, while on the sides ol the head are the real eyes, though probably they are sightless, as a sort of film covers them and one is much higher on the head than the other. It is likely that while young the fish met with an accident of some kind; a big trout, perhaps, snapped its uppef jaw, though there is now no sign of such mutilation in the skin which covers the beak-lie jaw. The trout will be properly preserved as a natural curiosity. “ A druggist in Paris, having been convicted of adulterating sulphate of quinine, has been sentenced to a year’s imprisonment at hard labor. In addition he is to pay a fine of a thousand francs, his name and crime are to be published in twelve political and twelve professional papers, and, should he ever re-open his store, to the door thereof is to be affixed a sign : “Sentenced for adulterating sulphate of quinine.” This is severe punishment; far more severe, probably, than would be regarded as just in this country. But the crime was an infamous one. It was stealing from the sick man his only hope of recovery. And the incident is one which druggists, lawmakers, and the public here would do well to take to heart. Complaints are not infrequently heard of various drugs being poor in quality. Physicians are forced to direct that their prescriptions be filled at certain stores, that they may be sure of the strength of the ingredients. Some druggists seem to be running a race to see who can sell quinine pills at the lowest price per dozen, and they advertise each competing reduction with great flourish of trumpets. But when the price goes down, does the quality remain at proof T~ Or would universal and rigid examination of drugs of all kinds show that many dealers deserve to share the Frenchman’s fate ? An interesting address was recently delivered at Chicago before the Association for the Advancement of Women, upon “Mourning Garb.” Dr. Julia Holmes Smith, of Chicago, was the author of the paper, which was well received and applauded. The expression of grief is common to all peoples, she said; the more primitive and barbarous the people, the more barbarous their customs—agony, fasting, wringing the hands, gashing the body, cutting off the ears, knocking out the teeth, etc. But this is always immediately succeeded by frantic joy and a discarding of the symbols of mourning. The Chinese wear white as a mark of hope, for a short time only; the South Sea Islanders, black and white; the Persians, withered leaf color, while blue is an emblem of the sky and consequently of hope, is worn in Syria, Armenta and neighboring countries. The Egyptians wear yellow; Jews and Christians black, “the midnight gloom of sorrow for the loss sustained.” In the opinion of the speaker mourning should not be worn, because if the grief is real the influence on the mourner is bad; children should not be subjected to its influence; it is often an extravagance; and frequently expresses sham sentiment or is merely a concession to fashion. The .wearing oLthe mourning garb has the effect of keeping the attention fixed upon bereavement, and so delaying the healthy reaction which is essential to life’s duties. The ladies present expressed their agreement with the lecturer, pledged themselves not to wear it and to persaude other women to dispense with it. It will greatly depend, however, upon whether they can make itunfashiouahle.- As it Mnot for the interest of the dressmakers and milliners to make it unfashionable, they will have the fashion-makers opposed to them.