Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 13, Number 35, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 3 March 1883 — Page 1
Vol. 13.—No. 35.
THE MAIL
A PAPER FOR THE PEOPLE.
Town Talk.
A NEEDED IMPROVEMENT. During the performance In the Opera House last Monday evening many persons occupied their seats with feelings which detracted much from a keen r~ preeiation of the performance. Many marks were heard as to what would happen to so large an audience in the event of a lire. The building is a fine ene, and an ornament to the city, but in the event of a
firs
has always been considered dan
gerous. A number of disastrous conflagrations of recent date has caused more talk in regard to the matter than formerly, and it is a source of gratification to know that the new owner of the building is not going to lose any time abolishing the evil. The building will soon be furnished on all sides with amplo means for escape from the main floor should the occasion require it. This will leave the two
front
was
entrances free for the
use of the galleries, and would admit of the house being emptied in a very few minutes. Heretofore when danger has been spoken of It has been urged that the entire building, on ordinary occa Klons, can be cleared of the largest audi ence in from eight to ten minutes. This may be very true, but once arouse an excitement and the audience would never get out. The other night an alarm of flre
started in one of the Indianapo
lis opera honses, and although false and soon
quited,
quite a number werejlnjured
in their frantic efforts to escape, while those possessed of sufficient presence of lmlnd to remain In
their
seats afterwards
confessed that the suspense was very trying on their nerves, and that their hearts made vigorous efforts to reach their mouths. In that house, too, the modes of egress aro sufficient to disperse a large audience in three
01
When the tickets for the Langtry went off so rapidly It was feared by the lovers of superior talent that Modjeska would fare badly. But when all the.seats for Modjeska were taken in two days every one was satisfied that Raymond would suffer, ind that 1M minstrels would for once fall to draw, while Goodwin would be almost forgotten. Well, Raymond played to a good house, the minstrels drew a nine hundred dollar house, and Goodwin made money on his engagement. In one week the citizens of this city invested in Opera House tickets about five thousand dollars. It is
U'aaldexperiment.
110
sll
four min
utes. In speaking of the Opera House one cannot but be struck with the thought that Terre Haute is an exceed ,,'lngly If aoor» HHOW TOWN.
wonder
that li rooks & Dickson wish to retain this house, as It pays larger dividends than any other uuder their management. The people are just as willing to pay two dollars a ticket to see a woman whose onlv reputation Is beauty and a suspicious reputation as they are to see the best actress In the world, and as long as end men continue to retail stale jokes they will have audiences to hear them, •vncle Tom's Cabin will liavo hosts of admirers while time last, and such trash as
Alvlu Josllu will furnish Its ownor an abundance of money as there are fools to Hatronlrelt. Modjeska, Booth, Nllsson, Nellson and Sothern are about the only true artists who have made mDuey here. John McCollough never played to a paying house here, and It was only after years of perseverance that Barrett sucrmled in ingratiating himself with the heatei goers.. Salvini lost money by Jplaying here, and he will scarcely repeat -"the It must, however, be
that Terre Haute is improving its tUste in the matter of amusements, and weritorious performances are meeting vith bettersuccess than lu former years.
iithey
THK COURT MT'DDLK.
Another week has dragged its length Jong, and still the new circuit court is without a judge. Those whs considered had floored Mr. Nevitt seem to haw eckoned without their host, as he has .isplavod wonderful vitality for a man f.vho is* down. He must possess some [quality which commends him very •strongly to the Governor, and there seemed a pretty general impression that he would be the coming man. One by one the other candidates withdrew from •lie contest, and last Wednesday the fight had narrowed down between exludge Harvey P. Scott and Mr. Nevitt. Vlie other candidates area unit ou one point—the defeat of Nevitt, and uuited with their friends in a petition for the appointment of Scott. Yesterday a petition signed by nearly a thousand business men, mechanics, etc., in favor of the latter was sent over to the Governor. The friends of Scott claim the nomination for him on the ground that he is an old citiwn, a lawyer of established reputation, and that he has given satisfaction as a judge to all parties. On the other hand the supporters of Mr. Nevitt claim for him that\n several occasions be has stood back for Mr. Scott when he might have stepped into his sbods, and that now he should have a clear track. The!
'08
Governor shoulu view the matter philosophically, and should make the appointment in the best interests of all parties, including the aspirants. A man of great ability should not be selected, as the bench is not a very good place for exhibitions of brilliancy, and does not pay very well. Better take some man of studious habits, of sufficient age and experience to weigh questions without prejudice, and render decisions according to law and evidence.
TWO CITIES.
A short time since a great fuss was made over the so-called reckless extravagance of the council of this city. The total debt at present is something over $200,000, being the smallest in the state of Indiana. Evansville is about the size of Terre Haute, and is the possessor of a debt amounting to $1,651,000. Of this sum $300,000 bears interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum, and the remainder seven per cent. The Interest account alone amounts to $1,12,25 per annum. The rate of taxation Is not stated, but It cannot be light. Those who are inclined to find fault with home affairs should ponder over these figures, and they will find solid food for thought. A comparison with other cites of the State shows nearly as favorably to Terre Haute In the manner of conducting its affairs. While it Is not absolutely free from debt it can boaat of having a very small one, of being In good condition from any point of view, and having as low a tax levy as any city in the West.
A Woman's Opinions.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS.
Ever since the first agitation of the subject of the social, business arid political rights of women, its advocates have invariably been met with this question, "Who will take care of the babies?" Whatever we undertake, it confronts us like a solid and unyielding wall. If women engage in business, if they hold office, if they lecture, if they write,41 Who will rear the children?" All mankind seems suddenly filled with anxiety in regard to the innocents, lu vain, a large number of married ladles reply, "We have no children in vain, a vast army say, "We have raised
Gilbert
j£&*i
our
children
to maturity all In vain, the thousands of unmarried women offer a blushing remonstrance to this question. It is a good point for the other sex and they do not mean to be beaten out of it. When tr venturesome woman steps out of her sphere, Into theirs, scores and stores of men pereh upon the fence, in a row, so to speak, and all yell in chorus, "Go home and tend your baby," and the beardless youths aud the tough old bachelors make more noise thau all the rest. A married man, with a house full of children, knows quite well that there Is not much danger of his wife having any aspirations outside of the kitchen and nursery. Every new baby mps a bud from her ambition until, at length, she wonders If she ever had any, but yet he feels it his duty to join the crowd on the fence and let them see how he has enforced his precepts.
Whichever way a womau turns she runs against a cradle. It is the "rock" which stands between her and progress. Whether to scale that rock, whether to go around It or to sit helplessly down beside it, that is the question, and behold across the sea,
comes
the solution
of the problem, the Baby Incubator It isa French Invention,as one mlghtsuppose, and consists simply of a glass box, lined and padded and warmed by steam. Here you put your baby, you feed it regularly, and, at the end of six or eight mouths, you take it out and lo it is as fat and rosy and strong as a child two years old, and one person can take a dozen children through this process at the same time. When a young man marries he can get an Incubator, along ith the rest of his household goods, and on its downy cushions he can place the baby, or the twins, (where they will be much safer than with the average nursery maid,) and then his wife will be free to run for office and sit on juries ard loaf around saloons and usurp all those divine rights of|man, which he takes it for granted she is dying to do. NO more loss of sleep, no more sacrifice of time aud health and peace and money and pleasure and comfort and society, all for the blessed baby. Science, which is ever seeking to restrain the forces of nature, has, in this case, tackled a most irrepressible, uncontroleable power, and we cannot believe that science has come out ahead until we have seen the invention thoroughly tested by that most independent and Unmanageable of all creations, the American baby.
To
descend from the realms of nonsense to the world of iact, isnt it about time that men attended to their own affairs awhile and permitted women to do the same? What can be more absurd than for men to urge women to take care of their babies? Do they not know that every mother feels for her child a love that is far beyond and above anything that a man Is capable of conceiving? She will leave father and mother and husband and cleave onto this child. The dailv toil, the self-denial, the loss
of youth and beauty, the sacrifice of the world's choicest pleasures, the hours of sleepless watching, all these she counts as but a grain of sand upon the shore of the boundless ocean of her love. make her children happy is the object of every mother's life. For their dear sake she would not hesitate to die. She rejoices with them, she suffers with them they have not a thought or an emotion that she does not share and give her sympathy. No father, however kind and affectionate, can comprehend the tenderness of a mother's devotion. It is like the love of God, so rich, so strong so full of charity and mercy and forgiveness. Civilized or savage, this beautiful motherhood is ever the same. 4
Is it necessary, then,to remind women of a duty which has always been sacred above ajl others? Must you keep the wings of the mother-bird clipped lest she forsake the nest If she had all the freedom of the heavens she would never leave her young. The love of a mother for her children is the strongest sentiment on earth, and nothiug can ever drive it from her breast. How foolish for people to argue that if women were enfranchised, if they were permitted to engage in whatever work they chose, they would neglect and disregard their children. In many Instances to make a home and provide for these children is the powerful incentive that sends women forth into the field of labor and, for the sake of these little ones, they will bear burdens aud indignities that they would not suffer an instant for any other cause.
Prof. Huxley says that "maternity always has overweighted and always will overweight woman in the race of life. No superiority of intellect, no faculty of endurance can overcome this one hindrance. It will always prevent her from competing with man on anything like equal terms." Two generations ago, when the average family numbered from twelve to twenty child reu, there was no possible chance for a woman to accomplish any work out&iue of her own household. In the past generation, when the inevitable offspring ranged from five to ten, there
has
"been a faint shadow
of encouragement for those women who had taste and ability for other pursuits besides those of nurse and housekeeper. And when we come down to the present generation and find the majority of families consisting of from two to five children, the conviction is plain that this "overweighted maternity" problem will solve itself.. ..
It is not for any of us to decide what our neighbor is capable of doing. It would be unwarrantable impertinence for women to dictate to men what vocation in life they shall be compelled to pursue. Is It not, then, equally officious for men to designate just what particular work women ohall and shall not do If a woman has Inclination, talent and fitness for some special calling, there is where she belongs and if, through force of circumstance or prejudice,she is compelled to devote her time and energy to uncongenial labor, the result is the same as in the case of a man—a fruitless, discontented, undeveloped life.
There are thousands of women engaged in business now, where formerly, there were not a dozen and yet we do not hear of deserted homes or neglected children. The houses were never so comfortable, the children never so well cared for as at the present day, and the very fact that, with so many burdens, women are willing to accept still greater ones shows a force ?nd ambition we would not have believed them capable of, a half a century ago. A frivolous, fashable lady will be much more liable to neglect her home than an earnest, intelligent woman who thinks and works and acts accordingly to her highest conceptions of life. And there will never come a time in the future, as there has never been a time in the past, when the mother's afiection shall die out of the heart. The voico of a prattling babe is stronger than the applause of the world its cry of distress would call a mother back though she needed but one more step to'reach the summit of fame. Whatever the coming years may hold for woman, what duties, responsibilities and honors, the sweet child-love will ever live, her strength, her safe-guard and her glory. IDA. A. HARPER.
IN a trial at Cincinnati, last week, Prof. Wayne testified that frozen fruit, and especially bananas, would invariably produce severe derangements of the bowels. Freezing produces expansion and the minute vegetable cells are ruptured, and the moment they are thawed ont decomposition sets in, generating an add whose effects on the human system are extremely bad. He emphatically stated that black bananas and those which are soft, can not be eaten by any except those possessing oast iron without the greatest danger.
It is suggested that a very good way to increase the memborship of a church is to pay the pastor a sum sufficient to enable him to socialise bis people. Though few may know just what that means, all ministers will cordially Indorse he sentiment.
££v ,, l^f s'
TERRE HAUTE, IND., SATURDAY EVENING. MARCH 3,1883.
Ouri Ireakfast Table.
The Major leoked around, saying: "Modjeska "Quite ordinary "A perfect Viola "Ought to have been Camille "Awful dry if Sir Toby was left out The Major said despairingly: merely wanted to say Modjeika made a mistake in her audience in "Well, I think so," said Jack, "she thought she was playing to a hundred dollar house instead of fourteen hundred "Will you be still I mean that she wanted an audience familiar with a play that improved on acquaintance. I do not believe half of us—I am polite, for I say half when I don't mean it—understand sucli a character as Viola until it has been pl&yed to us more thau once. I do not think any play of Shakspere's is so good at first sight as at the next. What a slight thing it would be if once reading or hearing left nothing to learn." "So you think that was a fine Viola— that light, Frenchy, always-fluttering kind of a boy 'Don't say Frenchy—no such word there-is the common mistake you expect a foreigner to act like an American, and forget the Continental habits of speech and gesture—like Bernhardt, who was never still like Salvlui, who talked with his bauds like all French or Italians, who, the more gracious and pleasant they are, the more they bend the figure aud wave the hands. I wish I could have heard one say 'What a remarkable interpretation of Shakespere for one who has just learned English, and what facility, in one trained in sucn feverish characters as iu Camille and Frou-Frou, to take up Viola'—bah JJyou think comedy means
farGe,
and humor
means burlesque and mirtb, a horselaugh—go to!" 'Well, Major," said McEwan, "We'll admit the kindness of your judgment of an actor that does not play to his audience. When
we
pay a thousand dollars
or so here for a play, we want what he can do best. Modjeska did not give us her best, and fell below her own staudard. Langtry, now, gave us her best, poor as it was, and escapes criticism. I always think most of the aduiirers of the legitimate drama, aud half the critics are humbugs. For real downright enjoyment a new style play suits us best, aud that is the honest truth!" "Mmp ouoS hearing only helps us to hear again. Now, the Professor here will tell you that oue of his oratorios needs to be heard again and again. Is it so, Professor?" "Yes, indeed! Who can read the theme that runs through a great musical work at a glance, but when you have learned it, aud the music talks to you and repeats its story of joy and sorrow, despair aud hope, or light and dirkness, in sounds that are intelligible because you have studied them. A bar of music is a verse, and a graat musical work an open book." "Whew Is it you or Harris, Monday ight said Jack. "Both: he to talk of the. 'Lobgesang' and I to hear." "What for What good is it "Too long to tell.- Harris could talk at hour on Raphael's Transfiguration. Why shouldn't he talk as long on the Hymn of Praise. I am happy to say that he can get an audience here in Terre Haute for both, and I believe you and I will get more good from the last than the first. We don't have either good or bad pictures before us as often as we do good or bad mi/sic. I hope we will get hold of some of our musical church-goers who think Moody and Sankey hymns the only music fit for organs and choirs—very pretty, to be sure, as far as they go."
Derby said "It might be appropriate just here to introduce the newest evangelical insurance. Bishop Purcell and the Augustinians have failed as bankers—now here is a consecrated insurance scheme, on the fashionable tontine plan. Major, have I your pious attention "Let it alone, John." "No, sir. Here is the motto: 'of the clergy, by the clergy, for the clergyand here is the creed: 'Believing that in fraternities the puerile character of initiatory and ordinary "work" must be admitted as tending in the case of clergymen and church members to corrupt that simplicity which is toward Christ,' therefore it is
MI
your
duty to-join
the Clerical and Christian Insurance Company." "What is wrong about that Any set of men have a right to unite in a cooperative scheme. Who need an insurance more than clergymen
am only laughing at the high moral ground of the prospectus. At the same time I deprecate every new scheme of the kind. Never have been able to tell why a mutual benefit concern is different from the minstrels' story of the engineer on a fart train who had to have his hair held on by another who didnt need such assistance because he was bald. Who pays the insurance of the last man? Ob, there will be a lively collapse of all these concerns one of these day*. Don't
,-Wwtv *kT,. 5 '/iifWti»-: '.
3 «.v" Ci? "J
believe in reliable annuities and certain payments except from plenty of invested capital, nor—" "Oh, you are wrong again, I'll tell you what might be done. Let the churches insure their clergymen—pension them with a policy—" "When their average stay 19 only five years "Why not? A policy with five payments is good for something. Keep it up till they go and then transfer it to the next. Nothing like a life insurance policy, with premiums easily paid, to keep a man in good heart. Nothing can or ought to worry a*man with 'hostages to fortune,' more than a knowledge that each year's pay is entirely spent, without a scrap of green paper to show for it." 'Or' nothing for accidents or floods. By the way, was not that a good concert for rather.an impromptu affair?" inquired Mrs. Welby. "Remarkable, considering the little taste there is for concerts. lam inclined to think concerts are out of date—yet how can we hear our friends otherwise Once upon a time, when opera did not pay in this country, we had to hear great singers in scrappy melanges called 'grand concertor if some one, like Minnie Hauk, fights with every manager, she must sing in concerts but they are gone out with the short story papers, like the Waverly. This isn't saying that we have not singers that are worth hearing anywhere. Don't know but I am a convert to recitatiou, too. Eh, Mrs. Welby?" "You know my pet aversion "Yes, you don't like to hear other women talk. I know you, but if you had heard Miss Hosford, you would have said, 'That is not reading, but acting, and good, tooor of Miss Fisher, 'That is not acting, but reading, and fine, too, with quite a striking resemblance to Nella Brown in tone and cadence and as for Carhart, I suppose you would have said, 'Well, that is good —it takes a man for elocution, for suppressed force and strong effects, without straining or mimicry—" "That's just it. Most of the so-called recitation is only mimicry. Carhart is really a reader."
ABOUT WOMEN.
The boldest faro players in Carson City, Nev., are women. An inordinate love for dress made a Connecticutvtfottian crazy. Connecticut must be a queer State. .7.**
There are a dozen women in this country who have organized theatrical companies and are managing them successfully.
Five young ladies of Denver ride the bicycle "man fashion," clad in black velvet knee-breeches, woolen high stockings, a polo cap, and a sack coat, with low-cut bicycle shoes.
Women are anxiously awaiting the now fashions. They want to know whether the spring bonnet will be built of four straws and one ribbon 01 three straws and four roses.
A woman may have wet feet and know that she is laying in a cold which will certainly be the death of her, but she will bear it unflinchingly rather than
wear
make
a pair of arctics which would
her feet look a little larger than ordinary. Mrs. John Tyler, the ex-President's widow, is iu Washington. She enjoys the distinction of being the only woman who ever entered the WThite House as a bride. She has a young daughter, who was an infant at the time of theex-Pres-ideat's death, in 1862. She is very affable, but she has not forgotten the stately manners that were in fashion forty years ago. She wears her hair just as it is represented in the girlish portrait of her, which was painted when she was a bride.
A Boston woman, the daughter of a once wealthy man, being reduced to the necessity of providing for her ewn wants, resolved to manufacture pickles and preserves for the market. She told her friends, and they promised to become customers. She found no difficulty in selling all that she could make with her
own
hands. The next year she en
larged the business, and the third she expanded it still further,her condiments having by this time acquired reputation in the market. Now she is making net profitof about$10,000 a year.
Kate Middlesworth, of Norwood, O., was noted for beauty and recklessness. The richest young man in the place wished to marry her, but she rejected him because she preferred Pat Heery, a railroad switchman. To her surprise and indignation, Pat was not transported with delight by the distinction, and she made up her mind to kill him and herself. She obtained a revolver, and started for the switch house, intending to shoot him through the window, but in nervously cocking the weapon she accidentally discharged it into her own head.
An Ohio man writes that he wants, for wife, "a intelegent woman good feachures fair complectlon good bight,"
'v
vT T*
r#:rr-
ISJISI
.. -c^^•'j
Thirteenth Year
FANTASIES OF FASH TO X.
High heels are no longer considered fashionable. The minuet is to be revived at fashionable dancing parties.
Terra cotta is the fancy of the moment for gentleman's ulk handkerchiefs worn in the outside pocket. "The Newmarket March," is the latest agony in the way of a fashionable walk. Young ladies using it have to step thir-ty-three inches—the length of the double time step of the soldier.
Among new shades of color are Cordova leather, Russia leather, dqerskin, oak, antique blue (which is a delicate blue tinge with very pale green), a peculiar pink called "heart of the tea-rose," a dark bluish gray called orage, and malatesta, a warm russet brown.
A landlady advertises that she has "a fine, airy, well-furnished bed room for a. gentleman, twelve feet squareanother has "a cheap and desirable suite of rooms for a respectable family in good repair still another has "a hall bed room for a single woman 8x12,"
A large geranium leaf on a spray of sweet verbena floating in the water of the finger bowls, in one of the "last touches" at swell dinners. This recalls the story of the raw Congressman from Wyoming, who at his first Washington dinner party drank the water from his finger bowl, as soon as it was placed before him. Ho had been told that he must eat without questioning all that was set before him. A slice of lemon floated in the water according to the present fashion, and the congressman remarked to his next neighbor, "'Twas pretty weak lemonade, but I eould have stood it if it hadn't been lukewarm."
THINGS THAT DON'T HAPPEN EVERY DAY,
Two young men who went to a revival meeting iu New York and stole the "Rock of Ages," done in worsted, from the church wall, have been sent to the penitentiary for six months. The prosecution might not have been pushed to the bitter eud had not the brethren caught the depraved wretches in the act of trading off the work of art for two glasses of lager.
A Minneapolis lady recenty gave a small dog six grains of morphine, with the the intention of killing the aulmal. The canine went to sleep, and it was supposed had died. Three days later, however, he awoke, and has ever since been as bright and as lively as before.
The bell boys in St. Louis hotels are talking of organizing a union in order to be able to successfully combat the female boarders who ring for them to know the time of day, to tie their shoes, stir their tires and all such trifling things.
A Brooklyn woman has brought suit against her husband for divorce and for $6,000, which he gave her on her wedding day, and which he afterward In-, duced her to intrust to his keeping.
Mr. Grant, of Valley Plain, Marion Co., Ga., has a curiosity in pcalf 4 weeks old, that has no hair, Is of a brown color and very much resembles a young elephant in appearance.
AN ORIGINAL STORY
.WITH A "MORAL."
[The sketch below is the composition of a bright little girl of eight years. It was not "written expressly for The Mail," and the little writer will be surprised to find it here. She must blame the mother for showing the cute composition to an editor.]
THE NEW YEAR'S PARTY. Dear me! cried Bess with a sudden expression over her face as the first drops of rain fell from the sky, I was in hopes that it would snow for as it is New Years day I wanted to have some snow Ice cream for my New Years calls. O! Dear! Dear! Hark!! A tramp—the
the excited reply I am her. On opening the box she found with Amazement a beautiful envitation. She opened it carefully and read
Miss Bessie your company from 7 till 10 at the resadents of your friend Jsssie Pur kin, on S. Sixth St. Ever Your Friend JESSIE.
She felt very delighted her dismay bad left ber. She ran to her mother and told the news and was was surprized to find her mother knew it before-hand and bad a new satin dress for ber and a beautiful pair white kid gloves and a dark green bever, real bever, too. a Poke Bonnet, the dress was of dark green also. When she was ready she looked very sweet. Now behave well said her
party
over the little boy that had danced with ber took her home and when they got home be kisaed her and she went in. In the morning she saw him and said the verce following
Yoa khwed me at th jeate la*t night And mama herd the Kmack And It was very wrong she my* 80 please to take It back. Fortunately at that moment ber mother came out and gave ber a whipping as she had done before.
Moral. It is better not to come hom^ with a boy.