Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1895 — THE RIVER CHICAGO. [ARTICLE]

THE RIVER CHICAGO.

Onio, lowaJMassachusetts and a few other States hold important , elections this year. “~*‘As-the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more; but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” St. Louis will establish a great jotton manufacturing industry and reach out after the constantly increasing trade of the New South. Three hundred! thousand persons »nd corporations will be compelled k) report their incomes and pay a lax on the same. Their remarks when making their reports will not t>e reported, to the Government at '‘east, but officials are*expecting to •ear some choice profanity. Chas. T. Yerkes, the Chicago itreetcar magnate, has secured a franchise for a trolly line on Skate street, between Randolph and Lake, »nd on North Side thoroughfares. There is great indignation, although the action of the city council appears •>o have been nearly unanimous in she matter.

' Cotton growers of the South see a sew danger ahead for their favorite product. The "Land of Egypt,” ilways fertile, threatens to build an rrigation dam on ithe Upper Nile, ind this means a large increase in ;he cotton production of that country , which already, with its “fellah” ;heap labor, is an important factor 'or keeping prices at a low figure.— The tomb of the late Mrs. William Waldorf As'or, at Washington Heights, New York, is to be decolated daily for one year with a blancet of fresh lilies of the valley and jther choice flowers at a cost of SIOO ior every day. Mr. Astor has employed a man whose only duty it will be to see that the florist faithfully' .parries out his contract. The floral decorations for Mrs. Astor’s funeral in Trinity church, recently, cost 14,000.

A Paris publishing' house has ssued a miniature bock, entitled, ■‘Little Hop o’ My Thumb,” that is probably the smallest volume extant, ft is smaller than a two-cent postage stamp, yet the storyis pr in teacornplete, and can be read by the aid of a microscope. It is much smaller than the famous “dw.arf” book at* the World’s Fair. It contains eighty pages and four engravings, and is to be the.smallest bock in the world. We note with regret that “Gip,” the most famous rat terrier in the State of Texas has passed to eternal rest, aet. fourteen years. When in his prime “Gip” killed 500 rats in thirty minutes by the watch. He is now at rest at Denison in a rosewood coffin-lined with satin, and is sadly mourned, by his heartbroken owner, Henry Gray. To many this Information will appear frivolous, but the Associated Press thought it of sufficient importance to telegraph all over the country, and we do not assume to be greater than that remarkable news agency. Lovers of good cheese will read with interest and alarm, the report that comes from Wisconsin that 300 factories in that State are making what is called “filled cheese,” which is said to be decidedly injurious as an article of diet. The milk is

"separated,” cottonseed oil is then added to the skimmed milk, and by the application of heat the mixture h made into cheese. “Filled cheese" fe said to produce obstinatedyspeplia in a very short time, and users of that delicious dairy product would jo well to know what they are eating.

There appears to be a vast amount if misinformation floating ’round among the common people. For inIfance. a reader of the Indianapolis News propounds to the editor the following: “Why is the birthday of Jeff Davis celebrated in Wisconsin and Oregon?” As soon as the presiding genius of that able journal recovered from the temporary paralysis that ensued, be wrote. “Because it is not and never was." The remarkable part of this episode is that the idea of such a celebration ihould have obtained sufficient currency to warrant any’ sane person in writing to find out tne “why” of it, is if it was an established custom that did not admit of a doubt as to its real existence. NXtural phenomena on Lake Michigan on the night of January 18 are said Co have alarmed the mariners sailed that inland sea between Grand Haven and Milwaukee. The appearances resembled two sunIhaped disks and the light was equal

to. the brightest noonday. At 2 a. m.. the lights, flashed, there was a terriffic rumbling like the most vio-: lent thunder, and-the-lights .disappeared. Inst an tiy a tremendous wave swept thersurTace of the lake and the phenomenal display was over. These facts are vouched for by the captain of a regular Detroit' & Milwaukee packet plying*between ; Grand Haven and Milwaukee, and ■ were a part of his official record. M, Faure, the new President of ' France, is said to be a tanner by i trade. Shakespeare says “a tamheF : will last you nine years.” It is really I to be hoped for the good of France that the adage will prove true in this case. Even if M. Faure’s administration docs not prove altogether ! satisfactory it will be better for the ■ new Republic to acquire the reputa- [ tion for stabil-itv that such a tenure j of office would give. Gen. Grant was a tanner, and his' reputation as A' : “sticker” was always well sustained. The harsh discipline necessary to tearn/tin'cl follow the trade of a tanner Very naturally develops any latent will that may be in a man, and the wisdom of Shakespeare was probably from actual observation and not a fine spun theory.

London continues to grow at a prodigious rate! Americans pride' themselves on their boom towns that acquire a population Of several thou-sand-people in from six to twelve months. These exhibitions of progress are puerile in comparison with the surging tide of people that are annually added to the world’s metropolis. Recent estimates place this at 105,000. The present population is placed at 5.943.300. It is not ap * casan t thing to con template the results that must surely follow this terrible , congestion of population in the near future. Poverty < and wretchedness already appall humanitarians in every large city, and especially in London. What must the situation in this respect become within twentv years, when at the lowest calculation 2,000,000 more people will have been added to the English Babylon?

A Learned Treatise on Its Very Wonderful Flora and Fauna. Judge. , ' The Chicago river is one of the immortals; it has a personality. Some people claim it is wet. A Hock of ducks plunged into it, and, to their great astonishment, slid across. A man who fell from the Clark street bridge broke his leg on the surface,. He sued the city for damages. The bricks of which Chicago is builtare made of the river cut in sections and baked. There are wild animals in this stream. A restaurantkeeper swears that he can't make a stew of this water; the animals eat the oysters. TheSe animals themselves complain that there is not enough liquid in the river to keep "themi'cleam“~dficago signs tell you *to boil the water, but add, “If it won’t boil, fry it.” The odor of thi,s stream has been admiringly compared to Samson and Sandow; not, however, when either was present. The Chicago people are fond of the odor Con that account; it adds strength to the city. Some say the Chicago river flows up hill. As there is no- hill in - Chicago, this proposition is a poser. The United States Coast Survey detailed an engineer to test this peculiarity., The engineer planted his apparatus in the river, but never saw it again This was his report: “The Chicago river does not flow; it stands still. It has no banks, except the First National and-others. It has no bed like other streams; its bottom is always on top. The merchant marine traverses it on rollerskates. In summer the city is filled with dust. I asked a civilian whence it came. ‘Why,' said he. ‘you must be a stranger in these parts. That dust blows from the Chicago river.”’