Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1897 — Page 2

|> FROLIC AT THE FORD. Mj||taphy was horrible; the sweat—we F called it that— SJWBspoke a common misery when Billy sig- | naled Pat, KWo stubby, grimy fingers uplifting on the - shereat a wink significant distorted Patrick’s eye. 9?hen Billy turned to Cummins, and llar- • vey, and Depew, oFo each in turn displaying the mystic fin- | gers two, land lastly condescended, while the others winked in glee, show the mystic symbol to the least of BL all—to me. ?O ecstasy transcending whate'er the fu- | ture stored, EyWhen Billy bade me join him for a frolic " J gEF-At the ford! Bpjfche hours till noon slunk by as if they R-i knew we wished them past; |lt seemed as though they'd never go — K?’ they did, of course, at last — t’And O, how cool the water was, and O, how sweet the joy F That filled and thrilled the bosom of each K; sweaty little boy, I,When he had hung his trousers on the K • nearest handy bough ? 'And shut his lips and held his nose and - dove to “show y’ how.” ' ,We ducked and splashed and wrestled, we jf floated, raced and tread, K And Billy flopped his feet aloft while I' standing on his head; | Depew had brought up bottom from the E center of the pool, | When Harvey said he reckoned it was R,-.' time to go to school. & "Gee whiz!” soys Billy, first to quit, ; “that's something I forgot; IpAn’ as I live! my breeches are twisted in a knot!” ? Each rushed ashore and scurried to where his garments hung, | Then sudden imprecations arose from every tongue. | .While we had wooed the cooling stream, . some envious sneak had gone E And tied our shirts and trousers so we couldn't get ’em on. "We're late.” says Billy. “Then," says Pat, “just take your time to dress; We’ll fix it so’s to wander in at afternoon E recess. An’ each o’ y’ must gather a bunch o’ H purty flowers An’ give ’em t’ the teacher er she'll keep It y’ after hours.” The teacher worked for slender pay, so far as money went; She prayed and played and pardoned and seemed to be content, But when a boy that loved her contrived to let her know, ■ She looked as if her gratitude was going f to overflow. I guess that she —no matter what. ♦ ♦ ♦ When we six boys marched in. Each one of us a-grinuing from eyebrows down to chin, And stopped in turn before her desk and laid our flowers down, We saw two tears start sudden in the | middle of her frown. i As I, the last and least of all, went by, k with hair askew, She stooped and said: “I love ypu, boys, no matter what you do.” “These flowers,” whispered Harvey, “are not so bad a plan.” “She's solid gold,” said Billy; “she ought < t' been a man!”

A TRIBUTE OF SONG.

. HERE is no place ■ _*. on earth where 37 LSrjSt utter helplessness y comes out so strongly, where the cere- >. monies in human use fall so powerless before the majesty * lie occa_ . sion, as at a funeral. -I It nee( l not be that J'jL'wAi one’s heart shall be V interested. The ob•A sequies of a stran- » ’ ger, conducted with * all the pomp and

I vanity of church and state, with the melancholy rolling drum of the military funeral, or the gorgeousness of the Masonic regalia apron—all are alike inadequate and unavailing. But once in my life have I witnessed a ceremony that was as grand and impressive as the silent, awful occasion that was ever given to the dead. I will tell you of a funeral which lingers in my memory as the grandest, most solemn, and befitting ceremony that was ever given to the dead. It was rumored many years ago that a poor widowed woman, leading a hard life of unending labor, was called to ' part with the one thing dear to her—her only child. Mother and daughter had toiled together for fifteen years, and the only bit of sunshine falling into their dark lives was that shed by their living companionship. But the girl had always been sickly. Under the I heart-broken mother's eyes she had ■ faded and wasted away with consump- || tlon, and at last the day came when the wan face failed to answer with its I ghastly smile the anxious, tear-blinded •yes of the mother. fe The poor young creature was dead. For many months the pair had been Supported by the elder woman's sewing, and It was in the character of employer I had become acquainted with | Mrs. Cramp and her story. By an occasional visit to the awful heights of an East Side tenement where they lived, by a few books and with some comforting words, I had won the love of the dying girl. Her grateful thoughts turned in her last hours to the small numOf friends she possessed, and she KidOUght her mother to notify me of the day of her funeral and ask me to Tbeaummons reached me upon one ? Of the wildest days preceding Christmas. A sleet that was not rain and a rain that was not snow came pelting from all points of the compass. A wind that walled In the chimney and howled

in the street told how trnly dreadful' for outdoor purposes was the weather of the day. I piled the glowing grates; I drew closer the curtains and shut out the gloom of the December afternoon; I turned on the gas and sat down devoutly thankful that I had cut all connection with the witched weather—when an installment of it burst in on me in the shape of Parepa Rosa. She was Euphrosyne Parepa at that time, and the operatic idol of the city. Muffled with tippets, flecked with snow, glow r ing with the short encounter she had had with the elements rushing up the steps from her carriage, she threw herself into an easy chair and proclaimed the horrors of the outer world to be beyond description. And even as we congratulated ourselves on the prospect of a delightful day together there came the summons for me to go to the humble funeral of the poor sewing woman’s daughter. I turned the little tear-blotted note over and groaned.

“This is terrible,” said I; “it's just the one errand that could take me out to-day; but I must go.” And then I told Parepa the circumstances and speculated on the length of time I should be gone, and suggested means of amusement In my absence. “But I shall go with you,” said the great, good-hearted creature. “Your throat, and old Bateman, and your concert to-night!” I pleaded. “If I get another ‘froggy’ note in my voice it won’t matter much; I’m hoarse as a raven now,” she returned. So she rewound her throat with the long, white comforter, pulled on her worsted gloves, and off in the storm we -went together. We climbed flight after flight of narrow, dark stairs to the top floor, where the widow dwelt in a miserable little room not more than a dozen feet square. The canvas-back hearse, peculiar to the $25 funeral, stood in the street below, and the awful cherry-stained box with its ruffle of glazed white muslin stood on uncovered trestles in the center of the room above.

There was the mother, speechless in her grief, before that box—a group of hard-workiug, kindly hearted neighbors sitting about. It was useless to say the poor woman was prepared for the inevitable end—it was cold comfort to speak to her of the daughter’s release from pain and suffering. The bereft creature, in her utter loneliness, was thinking of herself and the awful fate—of the approaching moment when that box and its precious burden would be taken away and leave her wholly alone. So, therefore, with a sympathizing grasp of the poor, worn, bony hand, we sat silently down to “attend the funeral.’’ The undertaker's man, with a screwdriver in his hand, jumped about in the passage to keep warm. The creaky boots of the minister belonging to the $25 funeral were heard on the stairs. There was a catarrhal conversation held outside between them as to the enormity of the weather, and, probably, the bad taste of the deceased in selecting such a bad time to die was discussed. Then the minister came in with a pious sniff and stood revealed, a regular Stiggins as to get-up—a dry, selfsufficient man, icier than the day and .colder than the storm. a He deposited his hat and black gloves and wet umbrella on the poor little bed in the corner; he slapped hls'band vigorously together; he took himself in well-merited fashion by the ears and pulled them into glowing sensation, and after thawing out for a moment plunged into business.

He rattled merrily through some selected sentences from the Bible. He gave us a prayer that sounded like peas in a dried bladder, and he came to amen with a jerk that brought me up like a patent snaffle. He pulled on his old gloves and grabbed his rusty hat, and with his umbrella dripping inky tears over the well-scrubbed floor he offered a set form of condolence to the broken-hearted mother. He told her of her sin in rebelling against the decree of Providence. He assured her that nothing could bring the dead back. He inveighed against the folly of the world in general, and this poor woman in particular; and then he made a horrible blunder, and showeel he didn't know even the sex of the dead, by saying: “He cannot come to you, but you must go to him.’’

This was a settler for Parepa and myuelf. We looked at the departing minister in blank astonishment. The door swung wide, we saw the screw-driver waving in the air as the undertaker's - man held converse with the clergyman. A hush fell on everybody gathered in the little room. Not one word had been uttered of consolation, of solemn import, or befitting the occasion. It was the emptiest, hollowest, most unsatisfactory moment I ever remember.

Then Parepa arose, her cloak falling about her noble figure like mourning drapery. She stood beside that miserable cherry wood box. She looked a moment on the pinched, wasted, ashy face upturned toward her from within ’it. She laid her soft, white hand on the discolored forehead of the dead girl, and she lifted up that matchless voice in the beautiful melody: “Angels ever bright and fair, Take me, oh, take her, to your care.” The screw-driver paused in describing an airy circle; the wet umbrella stood pointing down the stairs; the two men with astonished faces were foremost in a crowd that instantly filled the passage. The noble voice swelled toward heaven, and if ever the choir of paradise paused to listen to earth’s music it was when Parepa sang so gloriously beside that poor dead girl. No queen ever went to her grave accompanied by a grander ceremony. To this day Parepa’s glorious tribute of song rings with solemn melody In my ynemory as the only real, Impressive funeral service I ever heard. \

BATTLE OF BALLOTS

Results of the Elections in Various states. APATHY IS A FEATURE Contest Hottest in Ohio, lowa and New York City. Van Wyck Given 84,000 Plurality in New York City— Bushnell and His State Ticket Associates Claim Victory -• Senator Hanna in a Close Fight -Shaw, in lowa, Is Given About 25,000 Plurality-Democrats Have Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Nebraska—Colorado for Silver.

The elections held in the year immediately following a presidential contest are almost invariably marked by a lack of interest and the chief feature of the contests in the various States Tuesday was the apathy manifested by the electors. There is a falling off in the vote of both parties, and while the Democrats show relative gains when compared with the'phenomenal presidential vote of last year, the stay-at-home vote is made of nearly an equal percentage of both parties. - Though the elections were for the most part for offices of little national importance, the result was awaited with considerable interest. In Ohio, Virginia, lowa, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New York, Nebraska and Massachusetts the fight waged fiercely. Ohio and lowa elected Governors. In Maryland and Ohio a special national interest was involved on account of a United States Senator hav-

ROBERT A. VAN WYCK. Chosen Mayor of Greater New York.

ing to be elected r from each of those States. Great interest attached in Ohio, Maryland and New York. In Ohio, the Democrats endorsed the Chicago platform, and the silver forces contended for the establishment of their doctrine and the election of a Senator. The Republicans made a fight for the present gold standard, for Republican principles and for the eiection of Mark Hanna to the Senate. In Maryland the important fight was over the senatorship. In -New York, where interest centered almost solely in the Greater New York mayoralty fight, the situation was badly mixed. The Democrats were divided into silver and gold factions, Tammanyites and anti-Tam-manyites. The Republicans had to contend with a division of their forces on account of the independent nomination of the Citizens’ Union in New York City, and with a small fragment of the antiPlatt 'Republicans. Then the dramatic death and the funeral of Henry George, the nominee of the Democracy of Thomas Jefferson and author of “Progress and Poverty,” on the eve of the election, an unprecedented event in the political history of the country, if not of the world, and the selection of his son Henry George as his political heir, brought about complications which had never before been encountered in a municipal campaign. In lowa very important local considerations entered into the fight. The Democrats, in addition to making a fight on the other Bryan lines, attacked the record of the Republican-State officers, accusing them of extravagance, etc, and a hard fight was made by both parties. In Nebraska, the Democrats, Populists and silver Republicans were united. In Kentucky it was a struggle between Blackburn and the Car-lisle-Lindsay gold Democrats. In Pennsylvania there was a fight between the Quay and the anti-Quay elements in the Republican ranks. In Virginia the Republicans had no regular ticket, and Democrats will elect a Governor. In Colorado there was a great mix-up among the silver forces.

New York. The State of New York has reversed a. plurality of 268,469 for McKinley to a Democratic majority of 84,000 for A. B. Parker as chief judge of the court of appeals. The [Republicans may also have lost the Assembly, in which IfUt year they had seventy majority. New York City has elected Robert G. Van Wyck, the Tammany candidate, as Mayor by a plurality of 82,000. Seth Low, the Citizens’ Union nominee, finished second in the race, while General Benjamin F. Tracy, Republican, and Henry George, Jeffersonian Democrat, follow in the order named. In the State the Republican landslides of the past two years have been reversed by the changing of something like 240,000 rotes. Gov. Black’s plurality last year was over 200,000. John Palmer, the Republican Secretary of State, w’on the year previous by over 100,000. The indications are that these enormous pluralities have been swept away, and a reverse plurality of between 30,000 and 50,000 is given. The greatest surprises of the returns are the great gains made in the Assembly by the Democrats, many of them being in counties and districts where there was no expectation on the part of .the Democratic managers of winning. Republicans explain these gains by attributing them to the heated municipal campaigns and the trading of votes. Early returns indicated that the Republicans will still control the Assembly by a largely decreased majority. More surprising, perhaps, than the returns on the State and Assembly district tickets were results of the municipal campaigns in the large cities. New York,

Buffalo, Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, Troy and Schenectady elected Democratic Mayors. In Albany the conditions were very similar to those in New York. Two Republican candidates split up the vote of that party and allowed the Democrats to win. The combined Republican vote was 2,000 in excess of the Democratic vote. In New York City, such a rush to the polls has never been known except in presidential years. The registration was abnormal. The total of 567,256 was only

ASA S. BUSHNELL. Republican Claimant of the Ohio Gube natorial Office.

11,452 behind that of 1896. Last year only 6.66 per cent failed to vote for President, and the estimated total vote this year of 528,000 shows that the falling off does not much exceed that of 1896. The vote for Tracy, the Republican mayoralty candidate, was divided by the candidacy of Seth Low upon a Citizens’ union ticket. Low was second and Tracy third in the contest. The George vote was inconsiderable. The death of its leader evidently disintegrated his following, and thousands evident!j’ voted for Tammany candidates. It is claimed that young George lost many votes through the failure of inspectors to affix his paster to mayoralty tickets. The inofficial vote for Mayor follows: Van Wyck, 235,800; Low, 149,873; Tracy, 101,833; George, 20,386; Gjgagon, 521. The vote for Van Wyck fs about 44.25 per cent of the total vote cast, or less than the 45.21 per cent cast for Bryan in 1896 in the same territory. The united vote for Low and Tracy shows 14,127 more than Van Wyck received. The metropolitan district is normally Democratic arid the plurality for Van Wyck is a return to normal conditions in an election not influenced by national issues. Ohio.

In Ohio the official count will be necessary to satisfy the contestants. At the time this is written the more the respective parties figure on their returns the smaller their pluralities seem to become, while their claims increase in opposite directions. The closeness of the vote has caused intense feeling and the usual cry of fraud. When the result was in doubt in 1885 it was discovered that the tally sheets were forged. Tuesday night the Republicans telegraphed to all their county committees to beware of the frauds of 1885. And when the Republicans were claiming the Legislature by only one or two majority on joint ballot the Democrats telegraphed their county committees to beware of all sorts of fraud and to remember that it was a majority of one by which the great crime of 1877 was committed that defeated Tilden. The State headquarters will be kept open until the official counts are made in all of the 88 counties of the State.

Meantime, the managers at both the Democratic and the Republican State headquarters claim the State. The Democrats claim the election of Chapman for Governor, and their State ticket on such a close margin that it will require the official figures to determine the plurality. Chairman McConville claims that the Democrats will have a majority of seven in the Legislature on joint ballot for Senator. He says the Republicans are claiming counties that are doubtful and others that the Democrats have carried by small pluralities. The Republicans claim that Bushnell for Governor and the rest of the Republican State ticket has been elected by a good 8,000 plurality, and that the Republicans will have a majority of two on the joint ballot of the Legislature for Senator. The Republicans coneedeahat they will not have a majority in the State Senate. The Republicans claim 17 of the 3G Senators, with 18 conceded to the Democrats and one doubtful. They claim that

LESLIE M. SHAW. Republican Governor Elect of Iowa.

57 members of the House are theirs, conceding 48 to the Democrats, with four doubtful. lowa. lowa elects L. M. Shaw and the Republican State ticket by about 25,000' plurality. The Republican State committee claims 30,000 or more. The Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. It is figured that the Republican vote in tne State fell off 25 per cent, while the fusion vote is only reduced about 10 per cent. The fusiouists admit their defeat by an adverse plurality of 15,000. McKinley’s plurality last year was 65,552, but it included the votes of many thousand sound money Democrats, who scattered this year. Chairman McMillen, Republican, contends that Shaw’s plurality will reach to more than 30,000. Chairman McMillen’s estimate of vote follows: Republican, 230,000; Democratic, 200,000; Prohibition, 7,000; gold Democratic, 5,000; Populist, 3,000. The Democratic State committee concedes Shaw’s election by 15JMJ0, but in Legislature. Democrats concede 39 Republicans in the Senate, counting newly elected members and

hold-overs. Democrats claim 38 members of the House; Republicans concede these 37. Republicans claim 63 in the House out of 100, and 40 out of 50 in the Senate. South Dakpta. South Dakota polled a light vote. Democrats joined with the Republicans against the Populists. Of the eight Circuit judges, the Republicans elect five. In the second district a Populist majority of 1,000 was overturned, Republicans winning by 500. Later retuns may add to Republican victories. „ Nebraska. Nebraska has gone Democratic. At midnight the fusion State chairman claimed the State by from 20,000 to 25,000 plurality. The Lincoln State Journal (Rep.) at that hour conceded the defeat of the Republican State ticket. The chairman of the Republican State committee made no statement. Massachusetts. Massachusetts re-elects Wolcott, Republican, Governor by 168,000 'votes, against 80,000 for Williams, Democrat, and 17,500 for Everett, gold Democrat. The lower house of the Legislature will stand 200 Republicans to 40 Democrats, while the Senate will stand 33 Republicans to 7'Democrats. Maryland. Maryland returns up to midnight Tuesday leave it a matter of doubt whether the Legislature which will choose a successor to Senator Gorman will be Democratic or Republican. Both parties claim it. Gorman’s friends claim that it is certain he will be returned. Colorado. Colorado has probably been carried by the silver men, although the result is in doubt, owing to the delay in getting returns from outlying districts. Violent storms kept many voters indoors. Women, counted upon to help the silver men, were unable to get to the polls, Kentucky. Kentucky has gone Democratic. The returns up to a late hour indicate that Sam J. Shackleford, the silver Democratic candidate for clerk of the Court of Appeals, has from 5,000 to 7,000 plurality. Louisville has elected a Democratic Mayor by at least 4,000. Virginia. Virginia has elected the Democratic State ticket, headed by J. Hoge Tyler for Governor, by a majority exceeding 50,000. Returns indicate that not a Republican or Populist has been elected to the Legislature. There was a very small vote. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania held its quietest election in many jears. The feature was the ex-

HORACE S. CHAPMAN. Ohio Democrat c Candidate for Governor.

tensive scratching of the name of JiAnes S. Beacon, candidate for State treasurer. Returns indicate a substantial Republican majority.

POSTAL BANKS NEEDED.

Indiana Financier Tells Why They Would Be Popular with the People. At a recent meeting of the Indiana Bankers’ Association at Indianapolis, Mortimer Levering of Lafayette, recognized as one of the best financiers in Indiana, made an address on postal savings banks in which he said: “The government is in a position to manage this thing through its present postoffice system, and will scarcely increase the expenses of that department, while it will enhance the accumulated wealth of the people throughout the whole United States. It was thought that building and loan associations would care for the savings of the mnsses, but people have become suspicious of them. It is well known that lawyers in Indiana are making as much as SIO,OOO a year out of these institutions, and officers are making much money out of them. We all know that trust companies are not organized as eleemosynary institutions. We want a system of savings banks that are for the poor people. What greater pride could a man have than to think himself a depositor of the United States?”

Telegraphic Brevities.

Gaston Bethune, the well-known French artist, is dead. Carl, Gerber, a 4-year-old boy of New York, is dead as a result of eating jimson weed. A young lady in Emporia, Kan., recently stabbed a young man with a hat pin. He was quite “stuck up” by the occurrence. Lady Rachel Charlotte Wyndham-Quin, eldest daughter of the Earl of Dunraven, was married in Limerick to Fitzgerald, the Knight of Glyn. The case of ex-Treasurer Bartley, under a twenty-year sentence for stealing $500,000 from the Nebraska State treasury, will be heard in the Supreme Court Thursday. The jury in the Kansas City case of Dr. Jefferson D. Goddard, for killing Frederick J. Jackson, with whose wife it was alleged Goddard had been extremely friendly, reported for the fifth time that they were unable to agree upon a verdict and were discharged. Chief Moore of the United States weather bureau, in his annual report to Secretary W’ilson, calls for an appropriation of $1,044,050 for the next fiscal year, and says this will admit of the establishment and equipment of new stations in important centers of population. A statement prepared by the bureau of statistics at Washington shows that the number of immigrants arrived in the United States during the first three months of the present fiscal year was 49,296, which is a decrease of nearly 11,500, aa compared with the same period lastyear.

SECRETARY WILSON’S WORK.

A Year’s Operations of the Agricultural Department. Secretary Wilson lias presented his report to the President reviewing the operations of the Department of Agriculture for the past year. The most important recommendation made by him is one that agents for the department should be stationed at each, of ear more important American embassies for the collection- off information of interest to American farmers. Referring to this subject, he says-: “We are endeavoring to get information from foreign countries with which we compete in the markets of the world, regarding crops and prices. We are also faking steps to ascertain what crops aro grown on different thermal lines so that seeds and plants may intelligently be brought to this country to assist in> the diversification of omr crops and add to their variety. ; There is necessity for American agents in every foreign country to which we send representatives, who have had education in the sciences relating to agriculture. The agricultural colleges endowed by Congress are edimeating along these lines.” The Secretary refers to the efforts of the department to extend the foreign markets for our dairy and live stock products, which he thinks can be done by making the foreigners familiar with them. Instead of sending abroad for seeds he says the policy in the future will be “to encourage the introductioin of such seeds as will enable our people to diversify their crops and keep money at home that is now sent abroad to buy what the United States should produce.” Mr. Wilson says the department will continue its pioneer work in the encouragement of the sugar beet and expressea the opinion that the country will within a few years raise all the sugar it requires. He expresses the opinion that nearly all of the $382,000,000 sent abroad last year for sugar, hides, fruits, wines, animals, rice, flax, hemp, cheese, wheat, barley, beans, eggsand silk might have been kept at home. He also thinks the United States should grow their owp chicory, castor beans, lavender, licorice, mustard, opium, etc. With reference to horses the Secretary says: “The American farmer can grow horses as cheaply as he can grow cattle. We have a heavy and profitable export trade in cattle and may have an export trade equally heavy and profitable in horses. The department is gathering facts regarding our horse industry at home and the requirements of purchasers abroad, so that our farmers can learn what foreign buyers demand.” <• The most important work in which the animal industry bureau has been engaged is, he says, that looking to the destruction of the cattle tick, for winch, it is believed, that an agent has been found in a urn product known as paraffin oil, in which infected cattle are dipped. The extension of the meat inspection to abottoirs engaged in interstate business is recommended, as is the continuance of the inspection of export animals in order to maintain the market which has been secured for them in othee countries. The Secretary criticises the present system of crop reporting. He says it is extremely cumbersome. He recommends the employment of a principal statistical agent in each State.

CHICAGO HORSE SHOW.

Society Turns Out in Force on the Opening Night. Ten thousand enthusiastic Chicagoans gave emphatic approval to their first horse show in the beautifully decorated and brilliantly illuminated Coliseum. Society on the opening night filled the boxes and graced the spacious promenade which encircled the right;. It was full an hour

THE CENTAUR OF TO-DAY.

after the opening before the places of honor were filled by many Chicago notables. The best, the handsomest, the fleetest and the most aristocratic members of the family of horses were gathered to receive their admirers during the week. The Coliseum had been decorated elaborately, music added to the attractions of the show, and nearly $50,000 worth of prizes were given to successful competitors.

The Comic Side of The News

After all. the ideal foot-ball colors are black and blue. The health department of Baltimore wants kissing abolished “on the fround that it is a public menace.” Why public? The country hears less of Genejpl Miles since he came home than when he was abroad. Ho was more popular when he was Miles away. A St. Louis newspaper contains an advertisement reading us follows: “Wanted: A woman to cook.” Is this a result of the Luetgert trial? Kansas women are setting the fashion of removing the hat upon entering church. It is an old custom to avoid the hat at church services. And now it appears that some designing rascal has been swindling the Indiana farmers by charging exorbitant prices for kernels from an enr of corn of mammoth size, which has been manufactured by neatly joining together several sections of different cobs. As the swindle already has been perpetrated and the swindler is at large and unknown, nothing remains to be done by the victims except to acknowledge the corn.