Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 136, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 December 1904 — Page 7

Woman The Mystery

CHAPTER X.-(Continued.) At the time when Walter and Adams ■were inquiring for him at the St. Charles Hotel, Mr. Rodbert Berinquay was seated in the first floor room of the Hotel de Paris. His pale sane was of a papery ■white, and a nervous twitch distorted his mouth frdm time to time. “1 am afraid,” he said, in his slow, quiet voice, "I was very indiscreet this morning; but you can imagine my surprise when I saw the fellow standing before me —I. who thought him dead years ago. You never reported to me that you knew all about him. That was unwise.” ”1 would have had to make reports that would have filled books if I had wanted to inform you of everything that came undpr my notice,” said Bernard Quayle, who was sitting opposite him. "I don’t think there is much harm done. He has lost nil memory through his accident, and I dare say he has by this time forgotten your question and all concerning it.” ‘'Let us hope so,” retorted Berinquay. “Anything that can mar your success falls so heavily upon me. Do you think you are approaching- the end of your task?” he whispered in hoarse gutturals. “I think our chances are decidedly favorable,” rejoined Quayle. “I have a man downstairs who will settle the business for us, and if ho won’t”-—here his eyes glittered more ferociously—-"I will take it In hand myself.” “Mind,” whispered Berinquay then, “there must be proof, absolute proof of her death. The whole business is in the hands of the Court of Chancery now, and there must be such proof as the eourt will accept before I can obtain possesaion of the property. It is a matter of life and death to me now. I am in thej hands of men who will show me no mercy. It will mean the prison if I cannot find money to pay them, and I would at any time rather die than that. Therefore, name your own price—any sum you like. You shall have it. Only rid mo of my millstone.” At this moment they were interrupted by the entrance of Henri, dressed in a Zouave uniform. ' ‘T finish;” he cried, with an imperious wave of the hand. “I no more scrub floor. I not clean knife. I go soldier, I go fight.” “When yhu are sane again, my if fiend,” said Quayle, quietly, “1 will talk to you: Do you know in whose regiment you are going to fight? Do you know who your colonel is?” “I not care,” rejoined Monsieur Henri, with alacrity. “But I see her. I see Helene. Beautiful. An’ I snail be near her.” “Yes,” retorted Quayle; “you will be near her-—near the woman who sent us both to the galleys; and when your senses' come back to you, you driveling idiot, you will not be so pleased that you are under the heel of r man who has already once given you a taste of his quality, and who will again, if he only dreams who you really are.” “I not “care. I not afraid, an’ if ’e comes ’cross me —I kill ’ini!” “Go downstairs!” hissed Quayle. “It Is a miracle.” he whispered when Henri bad gone down. “All goes swimmingly. If I had asked the scamp to join Adams’ corps, he might have refused. Now that he is already in the battalion, it will b» so easy to let a stray bullet find a billet where it is least expected.”

CHAPTER XI. Over a year hail passed, and the cloud of battle lay dark and sullen over the pine woods near Richmond. On the previous day, the 31st of May, 1802, a battle had been fought. The Louisiana battalion had shared the light, which had ended in a temporary retreat of the Union forces. Col. Adams and Walter Glaydes, now a major, were in camp, whiie Helene was in Richmond, only n few miles nway. Toward morning Walter was walking a little way behind the outposts, when he came across Henry Sainton, who had actually sneaked into the Union camp across the ditch and brought back withhim some coffee, which wns already a rare luxury in the Confederate army. He was soundly reprimanded by his superior officer, who told him he would report him to Col. Adams. In return Henri informed Walter that tbs enemy were getting rendy to march on them and take them by surprise. Major Glaydes immediately conveyed this startling information to Col. Adams, who at once called his men into action. It wns not a moment too soon. With a rush and a roar the Union troops swept down upon them. All along the line of the Louisianians the musketry rattled, and the powder smoke wrapped the battalion in its stonegray shroud. Every eye was fixed on the front, where the enemy’s rifles flashed and cracked. Henri was but three or four paces behind Adams, and a little to the latter’s left. “Fire into the bushes! Fire into those bushes!” cried the officers. Henri had just reloaded his musket, and as he raised it a fiendish thought flashed into his mind. Adams was standing with his back to him, waving his eword, and pointing out to a sergeant a apot in the enemy’s line where the tiring seemed to be fiercest. Henri gripped his weapon and looked about him frcnzledly. lie placed the muaket to hie shoulder aud fired, and Adams threw up his arms and fell to the ground. "Zat for Toulon,” hissed Ilenri between his teeth. "Zat for penal servitude. Monsieur Quayle will be pleased." In a little garden in the western outskirts of Richmond, behind a screen of sunflowers, and in the shade of fire or six huge and venerable elms, Helene seas seated opposite a buxom, middleaged negro woman, in whose ebony black face the white teeth gleamed aa brightly as the white eye*. Th# little wait* L 1 was opened and •utstretebod, and th* negro woman held th* rosy tips with her black fingers as If ■h# were handling the most delicate, tha ■tost precious, and the most fragile thing fee tha world. She was telling the girl’s tort one. Am Helen* looked up for a second, aha toll aes the rails of th# fence between Mm etems of the sunflowers, and between

By HENRY HERMAN

the stems of-f'ne sunflowers a face flashed upon her, a man's face, which she knew—Gapt. Denoin’s. On the first impulse of recognition, she was about to rise and ask him aloud to step indoors, but with tW self-same heart-beat, she rememDered that he was a United States officer, and her pulse nearly stood still as it flashed upon her that, at that time, he could be in Richmond only as a spy qr prisoner. A ball seemed to stick in her throat, and she rose slowly and said to the astonished negro woman: “I have heard all I want from you, Sue, and I am so much obliged. You can go back to your work. I’ll call you again when I want you.” She had advanced a step or two and was standing there with white face and flashing eyes. Capt. Denon took off his hat and bowed to her. “May I come in. Miss Iximure?” he whispered; and she simply nodded, hardly knowing what she did. The latch clicked under Gapt. Denon’s band, and he stood before her, and was about to address her; but she, remembering the circumstances of the case, said to him: “I think we had better go within doocs, captain. Follow me.” She led the way to the parlor, bright with its gay chintzes and comfortable with its .homely furniture. Denon had followed, hat in hand, and stood before her like a great overgrown schoolboy, who cannot And words to express his thoughts. The woman was the first to recover her self-possession. “What is the meaning of this?” she said. “Why did you come here?” “I came here because, being in Richmond, I would have died rather than not see you.”

“I am weary of hearing this, Capt. Denon,” she said. “Every man I meet tens nu- that he is in love with me. I wish I could find a man who hated me, so that I might make him love me, just for a change.” *'l am very sorry,” he said, quietly; “I am risking my life for a glimpse of you, and your first words are a reproach.” "You risk your life!” exclaimed Helene, hotly. "Of course, you are in Richmond as a prisoner of war! “Not a prisoner of war,” he answered, with slow diffidence. "Then you con only be in Richmond as a spy. Confess it. Confess it, sir!” “I am not a spy,” was the pained rejoinder. "I came here as the bearer of instructions to the priaeijaal United States agent.’— She turned with an angry hauteur. "Bearer of instructions to a spy, or a spy yourself, is all the same.” “1 should not have accepted the mission,” he said, so slowly and so solemnly that, in spite of her seething anger, the words touched her heart-strings, “I would never have come to Richmond had it not been that I was inspired by the hope that I might see you. For a glimpse of you I have risked my life and my honor. For another glimpse of you I would risk my life and honor twenty times again, even under the dread of offending you.” The noise of horses’ hoofs and of carriage wheels upon the gravelly road attracted their attention, and when Helene flew so the window she saw that a twohorse ambulance had arrived at the garden gate. Walter, who had been sitting with the driver, jumped from the wagon. Helene leaned against the window with her face as white as Denon’s, aud her staring eyes saw the Stretcher men take Adams from the ambulance aud prepare to bring the wounded man into the house. “Poor Daddy!” moaned Helene, staggering back and looking frightenedly at the man who, if he were discovered by a Southern officer, was certain to meet his fate on the gallows. Her glance traveled all around the room in a feverish trouble. Her sympathy for her wounded protector was crushed out of her heart by the dread of the fate In store for the man who, she said to herself with the same breath, w f as nothing to her after all. "It’s all up with me,” gasped Capt. Denon, “and I am not sorry. Since you give me no hope, death is the happiest fate that can befall me.” “No,” she cried on a sudden, “you shall not die. In there! In there! Quick! before they come! That is my room. They w’ill not dare to go in there.” “Your room!” exclaimed Denon. “Yes. Quick! before it is too late! In there!” And she dashed upon him and pushed him through the door, at the very moment when Walter entered the parlor 1 , and, with surprised eyes, saw the door of Helene's room close upon a man.

CHAPTER XII. Walter stood for a second or two dumb with pnin and amazement. In the next moment, however, be remembered that he had no right to express surprise or pnin, even if he were racked oy either. Helene was free to show her preference for any man. At the same time it seemed to him as if Helene's act were poisoned by a guilty secrecy, and he felt the sting of it bitterly. "The Colonel is badly hurt,” he said at last, with broken voice. "He was shot through the lung on Sunday. Will you not go to tyin? The doctor says that we have every reason to hope for the best; but the Colonel is very weak, and he asked for yon the moment he approached the house.” Helene cast an anxious glance toward the door of her room, and an unusual pallor spread over her face. She hesitated for a few seconds, and then tripped out of the room. Aa she reached the landing outside she had to lean against the wall for support. "Has Jack seen Denou?” she asked herself, staring Into the gray vacancy. “Wbat will Jack think of me? That poor Denonl Jack will find him, and they will shoot him or bang him.” At that moment Sue's black face gleamed upon her in the light of the upper landing window, and she beckoned to the woman. “Save me. Sue,” she whispered, convulsively, clutching the negress’ arm. "There la a man In my room.” "A man in your room, chile V questioned faithful Sue, hoarsely.

“Yea; get him out of the house with* out being seen. His life and my honor depend upon it.” Helene gasped while she mattered the words. The old servant pressed her mistress’ hand, and darted upstairs without a word. Helene had to grip the banisters while she ascended the stairs. On the first floor she drew a long breath, and said to herself, “ “Well, if there is no way out of it I Cannot help it, but I must try to save him if it Cau be done.” The wounded man was lyipg on a little iron bedstead near the window when Helene entered the room, and the summer light rippling through the muslin curtains shone upon the pale, painstretched face. The once clear gray eyes were dull and nearly glassy. Suffering had angularized every line and every feature, and the barely perceptible smile which gleamed there was t’he only token of recognition. “Gome, my dear," said the weak voice, “sit by she here, and let me hold your ■hand. I am glad, if' I am to die, that I can end my days near you.” “I am so sorry, Daddy Adams,” she said, “but I must be brave. You will get over this.” “I don’t know,” was the hoarse and feeble rejoinder. "I am not so sure about it. The doctor says he thinks I will. He says I must not speak. Well, sit by me here. I do not feel strong enough just now; but I have so much to tell you, and I don’t want to miss a chance, if I am to go out of this world.”

The dusk of the early summer evening had settled to darkness, and Walter was meditating whether he ought to remain in the house or return to camp. The weather was hot, and scarcely a breath of air troubled the summer hush. Waiter was standing in the mellow twilight •in the porch of the house, when he saw Sue and a negro whom he did not know, both of them carrying bundles on their heads, come through the side entrance and walk to the front gate. The negro was a tall fellow, well set up in his limbs, but walking with a slovenly, uneasy gait. He was dressed in old blue jean trousers, and wore over his red flannel shirt an open striped cotton waistcoat with big brass buttons. A big, black felt hat covered his eyes, which were further obscured by the bundle he was carrying. She was chatting and laughing as they were walking along, and they had opened the ga£o and were already outside, when their progress was cut short by the sentry on duty there. “Hey, stop!” cried the man. “Who are you?”

“You kin see, shoo, sonny,” replied Sue, grinning her broadest. “I’s Sue, I is, Miss Helene’s servant, an’ dis knllered gennelman, dat's Elijah, an’ he’s helpin’ dis chile carry de clothes to de laundry.” Walter’s eyes followed Sue and the negro as they walked along the road, when a sudden thought gripped his mind, and he gasped: “It is Denon. I thought I knew him,” he muttered. “It is Denon, as sure as I am a living man.” Without another word he walked slowly through the little garden and out at the gate. The sentry salute*} respectfully as he passed. Walter walked down the road slowly, keeping Sue and the negro in view all the while. Two streets farther down the pair turned to the left, and Walter followed them. At the corner he increased his pace and at the same time Sue and tho negro walked seemingly as fast as their lege would carry them. That was enough for Walter. He started to run after the pair, and soon caught them. One glance at the negro’s face was sufficient. It was Denon —Denon magnificently disguised, but Denon, and nobody else. “Stop a moment, said Walter to the negress. “I want to speak to this gentleman. Take that bundle. You are quite strong enough to carry them both. When you have done your errand, go back to the house, and tell Miss Helene that I will look after your friend.” The poor woman "stood there in a feverish trepidation, hesitating about what she ought to do, and then went away weeping as if her heart were breaking. “We will not stop here, Capt. Denon,” said Walter. “The neighborhood is dangerous to you. I will be obliged if you will answer my questions as we walk along. Did you come to Richmond at Miss Lemure’s request?” “No,” was the simple rejoinder. “You came unbidden and unasked?” “Unbidden and unasked.” “One more question,” said Walter, “and then I have done. Is Miss Helene in any way engaged to you?” “In nowise engaged.” “Good!” ejaculated Walter. “I will have to ask you to come with me.” (To be continued.)

Emblazoned on His H de.

The last man accepted at the United States recruiting office, Bth and Main streets, before the close of the week's business last night proved an interesting subject for the recruiting officers. He gave the name of Thomas H. Valentine and hailed from Great Yarmouth, England. He is a valet by occupation and is but 21 years old. He gave the name and address of his only friend as Miss Ar-Johnson, St. Paul, Minn. One of the Interesting items registered against Valentine's name on the office records follows: “Scars —Eagle, heart, anchor, cross. Anglo-Boer war exhibit, St. Louis, 1904, tattooed in blue and red on left arm; lion, rose, British flag, tattooed in blue and red on right forearm; woman's head and heart, woman’s head, skull and cross-bones and words, ‘True Love,’ snake and wreath, in blue and red on back of right arm; eagle, snake, Hon and rose, in blue on back, extending to forearms.” —Kansas City Journal.

Reason for It.

“What on earth possessed you to bite Miss Ethel’s beau last evening?” asked the house cat “Well,” replied the bulldog, “I heard her telling him he was nice enough to eat." —Philadelphia Ledger.

Satisfactory in Every Way.

Nell — You seem perfectly satisfied with your, new gown. B«U—Yea; it hat been approved by the man I like beet and condemned by the woman I bate most—Philadelphia Ledger.

Probably more women would marry for lore if they could afford It

RICH YEAR ON FARMS

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. Crop Yield of 1004 Aggregates Nearly ss,ooo,ooo,ooo—Equals World's Output Of. Gold Since Columbus Discovered America—Corn and Cotton Lead. The annual report of the Secretary of Agriculture, James Wilson, for 1904 contains extremely, interesting reading and valuable information relating to the agricultural interests of the country. The following is quoted in part: As great as the financial successes of agriculture were in 1905, hitherto without equal, those of 1904 advanced somewhat beyond them. While some products have fallen behind in value others have more than filled the deficit, and the general result is that the farmers have produced in value much more wealth than they ever did before in one year. Wealth in Corn and Cotton. One conspicuous item that has contributed to this is the corn crop. With a quantity closely approaching 2,500.000,000 bushels, near the record crop of 1902, the high price of this year gives this crop a farm value much greater than it ever had before, far exceeding $1,000,000,000. With this crop the farmers could pay the national debt and the in-

SECRETARY WILSON.

terest thereon for one year, and still have enough le'ft to pay the expenses of the national government for a large fraction of a year. The cotton crop, including seed, became the second one in value in 1003, and remains so in .1904. It is now too early to state even with approximate accuracy what the farm value of this crop is,‘but indications are that the farm value of lint and seed must reach SOOO,000,000. It now scorns probable that potatoes and barley reached their highest production in 1904; that the oat crop was never so large by 00,000,000 bushels except in 1902, and that more rice was produced than in any previous year by 300,000,000 pounds, so that the present crop of rice has a preliminary estimate of 900,000,000 pounds. The principal crops that are valued annually by the department or by commercial houses have an aggregate farm value this year which at the date of this writing apparently amounts to $3,583,339,009. The same crops in 1903, ns finally estimated, had a farm value of $3,130,099,35)2. and had a census value for 1899 of $2,520,343,478. In these principal crops, therefore, the farmers find an increase in value for 1904 of 14 per cent over 15)03, and of 42 per cent over the census year five years ago. Unthinkable Aggregates. After a laborious and careful estimate of tiie value of the products of the farm during 15)04, made within the census scope, it is safe to place this amount at $4,900,000,000, after excluding the value of farm crops fed to live stock to avoid duplication of values. A .similar estimate made for 1903 gives $4,480,000,000. and the census total for 18515) is $3,742,000,-

CORN OUR GREATEST CROP.

Uast Year Its Direct Value Nearly Totalled $1,000,000,000. On corn the prosperity of the United States depends in a larger measure than it does upon any other single article. The State of llliuofs—the greatest cornproducing State in tlie Union —alone produced during 1902 a great deal more than half ns much corn as the whole of Liu rope —namely. 204,087.431 bushels as compared with 422,520,000 bushels. The total production of South America, Africa and Australasia was not much more than half of that of Illinois. The value of the 1903 crop was estimated by tiie Department of Agriculture at close on a billion dollars, but that was only tiie direct value of the crop when harvested and sold or awaiting sal* in the farmers' hands. It took no account of the many other uses to which corn is put. For example, tiie live stock industry of the United States, which, with all its countless ramifications, is by far the greatest industry of its kind in the world, is very largely dependent <>n the Corn crop. It lias been estimated that over 5,000,009 sheep nml 12,000,000 beef steers are fattened in the great corn belt which lias Springfield, 111., for its center. And then there are chickens, hogs and dairy cows iinr.iine" dde. Illinois’ corn last year ..as worth more then $95,090,000 —about one-tenth the t cos the crop, and about S2O for every man. woman and child in tiie State. lowa came next with a crop worth over $87,090,000. That is more timn the national revenue of either Austria. Hungary. Chinn. Canada. Belgium, or the whole British colonies, excluding Canada. India and Australia. Tho Htate of Illinois gets far more money for its corn crop than the combined revenue of all the Latin-American governments except the four most important ones —Mexieo, Chili. Argeutiuo and Brar.il. Take the sixteen sovereign republics of Hayti, Santo Domingo. Salvador, Costa Itica, Honduras. Guatemala, Nicaragua. Colombia, Vene/.ueln. Ecuador. Peru. Uruguay. Paraguay, Bolivia, Cuba aud Panama, ami you wil! a find that their national revenues do not exceed $70,000,000 annually. Illinois gets $25,000,000 more for her corn crop.

Old papers for sale at this office.

000. Within the limits of ascertainable values the farms of 1904 produced an aggregate wealth with a farm valuation that was 9.65 per cent above the product of 1903, and 31.28 per cent above the figures for the census year 1899. An occupation that has produced such an unthinkable value as one aggregating nearly $5,000,000,000 within a year may be better measured by some comparisons. All />t the gold mines of the entire world have not produced since Co--1 uinbus discovered America a greater value of gold than the farmers of this country have produced in wealth in two years; this year's product is over six times the amount of the capital stock of all national banks; it is twice the sum of our exports and imports for a year; it is three times the gross earnings from the operations of the railways; It is four times the value of ail minerals produced in this country.

AnimaLExporta Increase, Our animal industry is shown only in small part by the figures giving the exports, yet these exports are so large as to be worthy of notice. The animals exported in the fiscal year 1904 were valued at about $48,000,000, which was an increase over the previous year of $13,000,000; the exports of meat and meat products, including oleo oil, oleomargarine and lard compounds, amounted to more than $174,000,000, a decrease of $4.000,000 from the year before. We also sent abroad nearly $0,000,000 worth of dairy products, and of other products, such ns hides and skins, glue, grease and grease scrap, over $5,000,0CK) worth. The exact total of the above items of export, as given in preliminary returns, was $223,023,000, which was an increase over the previous year of m6re than $12,000,000. The department is not nn educational institution in the sense of the word, but it can do and is doing much-ito bring home to the people in nlfwalks of life the importance and value of the farm and its productions. The Bureau of I’lant Industry is making a special effort to encourage the study of plants iu the public schools. Unfortunately our system of elementary education is such as to leave no impression on the child’s mind of the importance, value and usefulness of farm life. Very little effort lias been made to overcame the general belief that there is always a great amount of drudgery chnneeted with the farm, and that the opportunities in this sort of occupation are narrow and limited. When we see th« rapid advances that are being made fn agriculture along all lines and note till need for bright young men in this field, the opportunities offered by the cultivation of the soil seems as great as in any other field. Growth of American Tea.

The department has continued its work in the production of American tea. The more advanced investigations have been conducted, as heretofore, at Summerville, S. ('., in co-operation with Dr. Charles U. Shepard. Dr. Shepard’s tea gardensarc now yielding from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of tea annually. Owing to climatic conditions the crop this year will be light. Dr. Shepard has been devoting special attention to the improvement of factory processes. The work of esta\lishing a plantation in Texas lias been continued. Tea beds were started on two types of soil —a rich sandy loam and a black, waxy soil. The plants on the black, waxy land have failed utterly. There arc now on hand at our Texas station, which is located at Pierce, about 100,000 plants, which will be put into the field this winter, planting about forty acres. Sufficient additional seed will be put out to give another fifty acres next year.

Advance in Forage Crop Work. Alfalfa has attracted more attention on the part of farmers in the eastern half of the United States during tiie past two years than any Other crop. The department has dempnstrated that it can be grown in almost every State in the Union. Varieties have been found which withstand the rigorous wiuters of the Northwestern prairie States. Other varieties have been found which are immune to the alfalfa leaf rust. There is stili much to be learned concerning th* adaptability of alfalfa to various types of soil in tiie Eastern States and much time is being devoted to the solution of this problem. e

FROM FOREIGN LANDS

The French government will probably rehabilitate Dreyfus. The Bishop of Ascoli lias asked the Pope to help make J. I’. Morgan give up tiie stolen cope. San Domingo will pay the $4.505),000 claims of the San Domingo Improvement Company. The Chinese outbreak at Shantung involves about 19.05)0 Chinese, and missionaries are fleeing. The zemstvos throughout Russi. are ii eel a tilling the program announced by Minister Mirsky. Rats give trouble in the Loudon under; omul railway, by eating the rubber iiiHlliatjioii off the wires. The ‘•government at Tangle/ lias stopped shipments from port to port, and a revolution is reported likely. At least fifteen men were killed and forty injured by the collapse of a new building at Santiago, Chili. Italian Catholics think that *if the Pope would permit them to vote, it would help the cause of the Vatican. It is denied that Emperor William is in foul health and that another operation nill lie iierfonned on his throat. England has come to see that the talk of danger of starvation among tiie industrial population has some foundation. Republicans and Socialist* Mill run separate tickets in the Italian elections, thus helping the liberal aud constitutional elements. The Duchess of Manchester created a sensation in England by declining an in- \ itation to limit with the King aud Qncen around Balmoral. Incendiary pamphlets are being circulated in several Russian province* by Jewish bands, asserting that th* ouly remedy lies in a revolution.

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

Secretai-y Wilson's annual report gives some enrious figures in an effort to bring within average comprehension the magnitude and value of the farm products of this nation. The farmers of the United States are now producing yearly commodities worth nearly $5,000,000,000. To most of us such figures really mean little. Our minds cannot grasp what they stand for. Only by comparisons can we get any definite idea of their meaning. The farm products of tiie last two years In the United States exceeded in value the output of all the gold mines of the world since Columbus discovered America. American farm products of the last year were worth lour times the value of air the minerals produced in this:country; three times the gross receipts of all the railways; six times the combined capital of alt onr national banks. With their corn crop alone American farmers could at once pay off the entire national debt, principal and accrued interest, and have nearly enough left to pay national expenses for another year.

The secrets of the Mormon endowment house may be revealed when the hearings In the case of Senator Reed Smoot are resumed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections. The opposition toSenator Smoot will attempt to show that the Mormon people in this ceremony renounce allegiance to the United States. The robes worn will be exhibited, and so far as possible there will be a reproduction of the ceremony itself. During the previous hearings all of the Mormon witnesses, including the apostles, refused to reveal the endowment house secrets, Insisting that they were bound by secret oath, but admitted there had been no change in the oath and ceremony since the foundation of the church. Now the opposition will produce witnesses who were once Mormons, but have renounced the church, three of whom have been through the endowmenthouse ceremony, one as late as 1898.

There Is a determined move among Republican leaders now in Washington to suppress and discourage all talk of tariff revision at this time. Only the most guarded statement* are being made by men known to he In favor of revising some of the tariff schedules. It is believed that the Republican House leaders will take up the question on the quiet soon after Congress convenes, however, and that if a feasible plan for revision can he devised and an agreement reached among themselves as to what is necessary and how it shall be done, President Roosevelt may then be advised and a special session of Congress called to carry out the program.

Second Assistant Postmaster General Sliallenger and his assistants are cleared of any suspicion of wrongdoing in connection with the award of railway mail contracts as a result of the investigation of his office recently completed. No illegal collusion has been found between any government official and the railway managers, but a recommendation may be sent to Congress as a result of this inquiry to effect changes in the method of awarding these contracts. There Is a wellgrounded opinion that the system of competitive bids should be Introduced so far as possible.

An extra session of the Fifty-ninth Congress immediately after tire adjournment of the Fifty-eighth in March is now known to be the wish of the President. lie will not insist upon it. but will make an appeal for it to the leaders in Congress. Aside from the tariff it is said that some special legislation for the Panama Canal strip will be necessary which cannot be considered at the regular short session. On the tariff question it is said the President lias declared that if there is to be any change in the Diugley act it should be made as soon as possible. The case known as the Fayerweather will case was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in favor of the colleges. The case Involves a bequest of about $2,500,000, made to twenty different colleges by the late Daniel G. Fayerweather, a leather merchant of New York, who died in 1890, The will was attacked by Mr. Fayerweather, widow, and two nieces, fraud being charged. An earnest effort will be made at this session of Congress to secure tho enactment of laws for the better protection of the President. Two years ago both the House and the Senate passed bills with this object In view, aud the conferees agreed upon a substitute, which was adopted by the House. The Senate failed, however, to act upon it.

All toUi a session of Congress bring* to Washington anywhere from 3,000 to 5,00(V transients. The 500 Senators and Representatives bring with them several thousand camp followers, who have or hope to have government employment of some kind during the se*slon. There may also be noticed a distinct movement in this direction of representatives of special Interests of many kinds which need watching at the national capital while tha legislators are here.