Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1891 — THE NEWS OF THE WEEK. [ARTICLE]

THE NEWS OF THE WEEK.

The uses of whalebone have become so numerous in late years that the supply l- > fallen much short of Cse demand, as evidenced by the fact that in 1880 the price of the raw material was $2 per pound, while in 1890 it was $4.22 per pound. The marked scarcity has compelled consumers to look for substitutes. Hie best and most satisfactory is featherbone, made from the quills chiefly of chickens and geese. 1' eatherbonc is said to be very durable and elastic and is now being used largely by whip manufacturers. The farmers should remember this, for to large poultry raisers it mighty be a souivo of some profit.

The fact that the French Senate ; pigeonholed the measure to remove < the interdiction on American pork does not in the. least discourage the officials of the Agricultural Department. No doubt when the Chambre des Deputies convenes next October this important measure will be one 1 of the first to be discussed. The popular feeling in France is growing stronger in favor of the admission 0; hog products from the Tj nited States. ] and the longer action is delayed the more likely it. is to become a law. Assurances have been received at Washington that the embargo will be raised, and as far as it can be ascertained, there is very little opposition to thc measure in. France. It is thought that action will be taken in ample time by the French Senate to admit the heavy shipments of pork this fall,. - - i

It is at a time of distraction over theological questions that we get news of the logomachy among the philosophers at Chautauqua over the great skirt question. One of the feminine lecturers there is a champion of the divided,skirt, and urges its adoption by the studious young women who listen to her arguments in the temple. Another of the femL nine lecturers there is an adversary of the divided skirt, opposing it on artistic, bygienic,Delsartean ground?, and affirming in her lectures that she herself “finds solid comfort in the old-style skirt.” It is a natty question, truly, and we can only ho-'e that the best skirt will win in the contention at Chautauqua. But the contention has had a queer influence upon the young women there win are studying philosophy, gymnastics, cosmology, costume, and so forth. When they dress for exercise they do not now wear either the divided skirt of which Mrs. Parker is the champion, or the old-style Skirt worn and defended by Mrs. Bishop. Some of them wear a kind of small clothes, while others wear the zouave dress, Turkish trousers and all! Unable to agree with the arguments of either _ of the disputants in skirts, they give up skirts altogether. And herein is to be found a lesson which many people of both sexes may consider with

The Chinese Government has just imposed a tax upon the produc- | tion of native opium. It has long \ been a violation of law to raise opi- j urn in China, but after the war which j England forced upon the weaker na- j tion to compel her to admit the opium of ludia, Chinese farmers here and there began the cultivation of the poppy. The Government winked at thepractice, evidently thvuLing that if Opium was to be forced upon the people they might produce it themselves. Since then the cultivation has increased to an alarming extent. Within twelve years past travelers in. Ssechuen, Yunnan, Shansi, and some other provinces have astonished every bodyby reporting widely' extended poppy fields, When it was thought the Chinese depended almost altogether upon India for their opiumThe cultivation has now assumed such dimensions that the government could not suppress it if it desired. The Pekin authorities therefore propose to raise a large revenue by an opium tax. Tpe world will not be particularly sorry that the growth of opium in China has interfered with the sale of the Indian product in Chinese markets. England went to war to make a market for the opium ol India, but she could hardly force c n sumers at the poiut o.' the bayonet to buy the Indian j -oduct if they prefer the drug of their own raising. ' r Gladstone averages about vI.OOC for every newspaper or inagiwine article that he writes.

Wheat reached !1 at Chicago, on the | Hth* . 'l; [ A case of fully developed leprosy is reported from Oii cajro. j The eondition-of corn declined in all sections of Michigan during duly. Grasshoppers are doing great damage to crops in the vicinity of Findlay. G. An English company has organized n fleet to transport Southern negroes to Africa. /■ ; Three men were killed by the exploding ' of a powder mill at Huntington, W. Va., on the Hth. Seven others were wounded. Mrs. .lames K. Folk, widow of the tetith j President of the United States, died at her home at Nashville, on the 14th, The Tennessee Alliance re-elected President MeCowcll. The Ocala platform, including the sub-treasury scheme, was ini' dorsed. , After©Vor $250,006 has been spent on foundations for the World's Fair buildings, thief Ktirham flnds thaFthey are insufficient and will have to come up. There were five deaths in New York on the lOjJi on account of the heat. The wave extended all over the country, and prostrations are reported from all the large cities, Isaac Newton ’Baker. Col. fngersoll's private secretary.\\ iio was shot in a family quarrel at Croton Laudhig.N.Y..on Ihe Ist. lingers between life and death with four bullet holes in his body. —- The two children of Albert White, ]iv- • ingat Moulton, fa., went out to pick berries and were chased by a pair of wolvesI A ticigliboring funner saved the .children 'bv shooting one of the beasts. ——— — Five" thotisand farmers held'an annual --picnic "atr Pennville, N. J., on the 14th. ! Liquor flowed freely, and the picnic ad- , -jounmd after a freerfor-ail light engaged jin by 300 of the attendants, Several per-' sons were hurt. -----—— ——— —— All harvested crops in Wisconsin have made a heavy yield and the growing- ones give, line promise, more especially in the northwest portion of the State, Where some correspondents state that the general outlook was never better, ■a A mob of 800 citizens organized at Kansas City, Kansas, on the evening of the ! 10th, for the. purpose of lynching the j Mayor and City Council, who proposed | to purchase the electric light plant for 1 $340,000. The .officers adjourned and es* | caped. The Governor of Georgia lias signed the bill to prohibit tin 1 sale of liquor within three 'miles of any church or school, except, in incorporated cities. This means in Georgia, as either churches or schools exist almost every three miles, and where they do not exist cheap struetures will be erected at once.. —— “Hr." Heckman, president of the widely advertised "Institute of European Staff of Physicians," of New York, of which he was also the “staff,” was arrested Tlitirsda}Uty.he instance of the County Medical SoflFff. It had been ascertained that h® was “curing” every ill that flesh is heir to with dough pills and a solution of common salt. The President Monday appointed Richard Cotts Shannon, of New York, minister to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Salvador. This is the new South American mission j created by the last Congress. Mr. Shanj noil was, at one time, secretary of legation !at Hrazil. lie is said to lie a thorough j Spanish scholar, and is regarded, because ; of liis experience, as being well fitted for j the duties of his new position. Minister j Shannon is a native of Maine.

The salvation army of Seattle lias been made the beneficiary of tlie will of J. W. Munson, an eccentric old philanthropist, who died May flat Honolulu, and was buried by the Grand Army post at that place. Munson was a peculiar character. His life was spent in searching for un-thought-of ways to bestow charity. He attended the uieetings of the Salvationists' nearly four years, and what money he gave was bestowed surreptitiously on the subscription plan. He leaves $50,000 to the salvation army of that place The Atlanta Journal on the 10th prints j a sensation in,«'*Allianec circles. J. 0_ ! Wynne, business agent of the Georgia State Alliance Exchange, is over $40,000 1 short ln llis accounts. The. directors apI pointed W. A. Broughton, treasurer of the

exchange, to examine the hooks and the shortage was discovered. Mr. Wynne is under 550.000 bonds. The bondsmen will meet to arrange to pay all shortages. The -exchange claims the shortage is an on 1 and out defalcation. Mr. Wynne makes a statement that the shortage is due to clerical error and a loss of vouchers. ’ Governor Page, of Vermont, lias issued a proclamation for a special session of the legislature to convene Tuesday, Aug. 25. The lirst cause for calling is to take action in regard to direct tax money due the State. Governor Page says there appears to be a strong* public sentiment for calling for further legislation upon the subject of the Columbian exposition, and gives the question prominence in the call. Five thousand dollars was appropriated last fall, but this sum will undoubtedly be handsomely increased by appropriation when the Leglature convenes. It is now brlieved that Governor Page w ill make dhiown his choice of a successor to Senator Edmunds before the extra session meets. Mr. Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of Labor, is making a searching inquiry into the effect of the tariff under the present McKinley law on the prices of every-day articles of wear and consumption. Shortly before the adjournment of the last Congress the Senate committee on finance was | requested to make this inquiry, but as the : committee had no facilities whatever of its own, Mr. Wright was asked and consented to make the investigation. He was given an increased ciertcaT force. he has sent agents into cities all over the country. These men will collect iuformaj tion regarding the prices of 231 stated ar--1 tides which are most generally used by people in the United States of ail classes and conditions. To secure these figures monthly quotations have been obtained from retail dealers in sixty-nine cities and towns, selected all'over the country, in order to obtain a general mean average, For the wholesale prices quotations have been received from six great distributing centers at six widely different geographl- ■ #

cal and commercial points. The inquiry extends from June 1.1891, to Sept.'.!. 1831 for the retail articles.while tlie wholesale quotations will he collected as far hack h i ls4fi. Where it. is possible • extensive in-' qnirtes wilt alsolgs made into the wage paid i n leading industries for a tong period of years. FOREIGN, • A Berlin special of the 12th says: Borj iiu used formerly toexpart immense quanj ties of ladies line (Junto*, etc., to j United States. Since the high tariff was x.aced upon these goods American buyers come here and simply buy the- models. The cloaks are then manufactured after thcs< in America. Only the cheapest grades oi goods are exported in large quantities. The grave situation created by the failure of the crops in Russia is causing the groat4-st apprehension in all circles* The Graslidanin declares that the local administrations will be unable to make provision for the inhabitants of the- distressed,, provinces by drawing upon the surplus oi provinces if speculators are allowed to export coin, or if the artificial in tin pdCCOf, corn is not checked. The paper demands that the government immediate-' ly place a [heavy export on rye. The Financial Messenger declares that it will lx impossible for Russia to export corn this year.