Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1889 — OUR DEFENSIVE STRENGTH. [ARTICLE]

OUR DEFENSIVE STRENGTH.

JHtmatikg the sea has always been supposed to mean pipwing the surface, whatever the motor might be. But we qtn now travel under the sea as well as on the surface. Recent experiments have keen made at Toulen with a submarine boat, that proves to be a great success. It runs from nine to ten knots, while the light is good and respiration easy The boat can be moved in any direction, either vertically or horizontally. It will carry five persona. Of course, its purport is warfare, but there is no reason why such a boat can not be applied to purposes more peaceful, especially to aid scientific research. Ths history of names is most interesting and awful, Good Housekeeping tells us a pretty story of the thimble. It was formerly worn on the thumb, and because of its shape was called a thumbbell. Transferred mainly to the index finger, it still retains the name of thumbbell, or thim-ble. But it would not occur to any one to imagine the meaning of thimble, did he not know the history of the custom. The original tbimblea were made only of brass, but not long since the King of Siam presented one to bin Qupen that was made of gold and thickly studded with diamonds, ..arranged to spell her name. It was made in form to imitate a lotus bud.

Ths determ ned gtand taken by a few Sheriffs about the country is worthy of all commendation. It law is worth anything it is good for a man accused of murder. He has aright to a fair hearing. If law’s delays are numerous and vexing, and afford opportunities for breaking down justiee, bangs few attorneys. Mob law is a dangerous pastime, not only to the murderer, but to the public. It creates a lawless spirit that will surely end in more crime. It rarely Occurs that lynching is done by a spotless crowd. As a rule, more or less of the actors deserve hanging themselves. The Sheriffs are right. They should protect Satan himself, if put in their charge Usclx Sam’s Treasury Department has proven, within the past few years, to have been a convenient stepping stone to high financial position in private life. Several Secretaries of the Treasury, Comptrollers of the Currency and Treasurers have been put at the head cf banks and other institutions of that class in recent years, and now Comptroller Trenbolm is to follow the custom by becoming the President of a big surety company. If there is any particular ability in this line possessed by Mr. Trenbolm he Las been very successful in concealing it from the public thus far. However, McCulloch, Knox, Cannon, Manning and Jordau, who have gone from one bureau or other of the Treasury Department .into high position in the outside world, proved themselves to have been, while in the Government service, skillful and successful financiers.

The Regular Army of the Country and the State Organised Mill aa. The statistics of the militia of the country, which Geneial Drum has just reported, in accordance with the law requiring him to do so, have a special value just how, from the disposition to take account of our defensive strength. The organized militia of the States and Territories, consisted, at the latest returns, of 8,397 officers and 98.109 men, making an aggregate, of 106.5 6. This is a gain 5,609 over the aggregate of last year, which was 100,837. Still the increase is not as great as the previous one. which was B,l< 3, the aggregate for 1887 having been 92,734. That in turn had increased from an aggregate of 91,200. The two prominent facta are that a healthy growth is shown, and that since the passage of the act of Congress doubling the annual J ! appropriation of the militia, the gains ” have b-en greater in ratio than before. Our organized militia is now more numerous and more carefully equipped than at any preceding time. As for the unorganized militia, that is equivalent, of course, to the remainder of the available male arms bearing population within the age limits assumed for military service. This is now reckoned at 8,104,028, oeinga gain of 183,260 over last year’s estimates. In some cases the estimates are not received from the States, but are made at the War Department; in some instances they show palpable inaccuracies still it is safe to say that 8.00(»,000 can be counted on as the maximum military force. New York leads as usual with her 13,53 t, a 'orce exceeding -also in ratio of population Pennsy 1 vhhra’s 8,351 ano Ohio’s 5,727. , These three States are well known to be in the vat, of organized militia strength, as their population should make tbe-n. THE SAMOAN QUcoTION. Harold M. Bewail, Consul-General to the Samoan Islands, Thursday, received a notification from the State Department that his resignation would be acceptable on the ground that his views were not in harmony with those of the Adminis tration. Telegrams from Berlin indicate that Prince Bismarck is not inclined to enU-r into farther negotiations with the Ameri can government with regard to Samoa until after the inauguration of Presidem Harrison. Information obtained from the official quartern induces the belie that Lord Salisbury has urged Coum Von Hatzfeldt, the German embassador to permit negotiations between Germany and England to lie over for the samreason, the Premier believing that an entirely different view will be taken ot he Samoan difficulty by the incoming ! American President and his Cabinet. I