St. Joseph County Independent, Volume 18, Number 22, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 17 December 1892 — Page 7

WASHINGTON GOSSIP. CONGRESS HAS BEEN SPECIALLY CONVENED TEN TIMES. Hr. Cleveland Gets 1,500 Letters a Day— The First Assistant Postmaster General and His Ax—He Controls 226,000 Places— People Who Want Offices. Extra Sessions. Washington correspondence: Ever since the election the cu sticn of a special sestion of Congress has been the one topic of discussion on the Democratic side of the political fence, to the exclusion almost of probable members of Cleveland’s cabinet. The President-elect himself is, of course, the only man who can tell with certa nty now whether a special session will be convened; that U, if he has made up bis mind on the subject. Everybody knows that opinions differ as to the advisability of calling Congressmen together before the usual time, a year hence, while some in favor of the scheme want the opening postponed until October, 1893. Ent whether an extra session is called or not, and no matter at what particular period of the coming year, the reason for so doing in case of a special convocation w 11 certainly be the revision of existing tariff laws. Undoubtedly the McKinley bill will come in for the first round share of attention. Tn any event the gathering is bound to le attended with more than V the usual d gree of political interest. Mr. Cleveland’s proclamation, if he Issues one, will be the eleventh of such a nature, and Mr. Harrison’S successor at the White House will be the ninth chief executive to avail himself of the privilege of calling Congress to meet at the Capitol before the first Monday of December. A review of the Congressional Record shows that two Presidents—Madison and Hayes—convened special sessions twice each during their administrations, and since the latter’s term none have taken place. Four of the ten on file had as their object some ultimate legislation relating to wars already inaugurated or in immediate prospect, and one, that called by Jefferson, was decided upon to avert any threatened complications arising over the purchase of Louisiana from the French, with Spain frowning upon the deal. The special session fathe ed by John Adams in 1797 probably precluded warfare with France through the active hostile preparations then authoiized against the “tri-color” Republic, but anly two had any bearing upon the financial c.ndition of the country. These were called by Van Buren and ‘Tippecanoe” Harrison, and some of the treasury laws then passed are still recognized methods of handling currency. If Mr. Cleveland listens to the plea of the ultra tariff reformers and proclaims in their direction next spring, the extra session then called will be the third in the history of the United States, which may possibly consider public financial matters per se, providing, of course, the free silver business and Senator Peffer’s new sub-treasury idea are left untouched. Barring the long jump from 1813 to 1837, extra ses-fons have teen regularly convened at intervals of from six to fifteen years, but the last on record ocin 1879. the middle of^Hayes’ administration, ana since men . gresiional law has been "long term, short term and no t pecials, ” so that the list up to date covers a period of eightythree years, from 1797 to 1879. and the filibustering Which made the latter a necessity shows how the political Darwinian theory had worked its evoluion since the statesmen cf three-fourths of a century before legislate 1 upon giving the French a dose of retaliative medicine. A resume of the ten sessions called by Presidents since John Adams’time points out the fact that three were convened by order of Republican party upholders, the one of Lincoln and the twoduring Hayes’ term filling that side of the roster. If Mr. Cleveland puts himself on record for number 11, the session 1 will more than equal in financial interest those called by Van Buren and "Old Tippecanoe,” while presenting a contract to that in Madison’s first term, which had a sort of tariff tinge, because commercial relations with England and France were forbidden altogetb r. Mr. Cleveland’s Mail. From now until his inauguration Mr. Cleveland’s mail, notwithstanding his recently uttered protest, will certainly average at least 1,500 letters daily. That was about the number President Harrison received from immediately after,his election, and it jumped to 2,000 per diem after his arrival at the White House. About nine-tenths of all such •ommunications are from office-seekers. The rest mostly convey advice and suggestions, offer congratulations, and give warnings, friendly and otherwise. “Better wear a shirt of mail,” wrote one timid citizen to the present chief executive four years ago, while another gave aotice of the subscriber’s intention to blow him up with dynamite. As is cus:omary with them at such times, cranks of all kinds in every part of the count) y are now "taking pen in hand” to address ;he President-elect by post. No wonder ae wants to seclude himself from the world until March 4. Whenever a change of administration occurs a sort of fever for office seeking Decomes epidemic among the people. For months after Mr. Cleveland comes n the time of his private secretary will be chiefly occupied with receiving applications for places under the Government, and the ante-room at the White House will be crowded at all hours with Congressmen and others eager to secure plums of patronage. The “very hungry and very thirsty” will swarm upon Washington like grasshoppers upon a green vegetable patch, vnd the “swish” of the decapitating ax yielded by Mr. Clarkson’s successor will be continually heard in the Post Office Department. The First Assistant Postmaster General is conspicuously the man of awe and dread when a change of administration has come about. He disposes as he chooses of nearly all of the 230,C00 offices in the Postoffice Department, which has ten times the patronage of all the other departments of the Government put together. All of these, except about €OO clerks in the classified service and 3,200 Presidential postmasters, he controls, chopping off heads and filling places according to his fancy. He holds in the hollow of his hand 65,000 postoffiees. However, 25,000 of these yield less than SIOO of salary yearly, and the incumbents in most eases will not find the loss of their positisns a great misfortune. Already the Postoffice Department is receiving ecores of letters daily !rom such fourth-

class postmasters, who are anxious to resign. One of them writes: “If I give up my postoffice plant for SI,OOO to a Democrat, will you appoint him and will you guarantee the security of his situation during the coming four years?" While wielding the ax Mr. Clarkson’s successor will make his appointments usually in obedience to the wishes expressed by Congressmen as to the distribut'on of the patronage in their respective districts. With the coming in of the new admin-' istration the swarm of office-seekers will arrive in Washington. All of them w.ll reach here in high confidence of I getting places under the Governm nt, and nine-tenths of them will go away ’ disappointed after eating out their ; hearts with waiting and hope deferred. 1 The great majority of those who do suc- । ceed will be obliged to be content with I positions much lower in the public j service than they had < xpected to sej cure. In numerous instances individuals of some distinction who journeyed here with aspirations for posts of high honor and emolument under one administration or another have been glad to get situations finally as messengers in the departments. History in this matter repeats itself every time that one political party goes out and another comes in. ’Ahose who fail, as their money runs low, drift out of the hotels into the boarding houses, finally falling back on the free lunch route. Last scene of all, which ends this sad, eventful history, is the appeal addressed by the disappointed office-seeker to his Congressman for a loan to pay car fare home. Undoubted!}’ these place hunters are mostly people of some importance where they live. But the fever for holding public office attacks them, and they abandon everything else to try for it. When they get it the glamour of the life holds them so that they are never satisfied to abandon it. Even the Congressmen who fail of re-election are ea jer to get back into employment as clerks in the Legislative halls where once they exercised control over the affairs of the nation. Capital Chat. The Supervising Architect in his annual report recommends a special appropriation of $50,000 for general repairs of the United States Custom Hou r e at Chicago. Secretary Noble has accepted the reconveyance to the United States by the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad Company of 45,000 acres of lan 1 in the Rt d River Valley, in North Dakota, under the act of Aug. 5, 1892, and haiissuel instructions authorizing the railroad company to make indemnity selections therefore of non-mineral unoccupied lands in the States of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Idaho. The Democrats are inclined, it is now said, to let the question of the admission of New Mexico and Arizona go ever to the next Congress. Mr. Caldwell, of Ohio, is the author of a bill introduced in the House to reduce postage on first-class mail matter, except postal cards, to 1 cent per half-ounce. Justice Harlan, of the United States Supreme Court, will sail for Europe as one Ox the arbitrators in the Behring Sea seal fisheries dispute, G. M. Lamberton, of Lincoln, Neb., has been selected for appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, to succeed Mr. Nettleton. Mr. Cockrell, of Missouri, wiil undoubtedly auceeod himselt in tho United States Senate. Members of the Interstate Commerce Commission look with seriousness upon the decision of Judge Gresham, which limits and to some extent nullifies the power of the commission. They feel that its natural sequel is an abolition of the entire commission. Speaker Crisp, Representative McMillin, and Representative Catchings, who as members of the rules committee are rather looked to to shape the policy of the House, held a conference of some length in the Speaker’s room for the purpose of considering the plan and scope of an inquiry into the condition of the Trea ury. It is not improbable that a caucus of the Democi atic members of the House will be called upon to consider the proposition embodied in bills now before the House tor the change of the date of the meeting of Congress from the first Monday in December to the first Monday after the 4th day of March of each year. The bill which passed the Senate authorizing the construction of a bridge over the Mississippi River above New Orleans proposes a structure of three unlroken spans, the main span to be at least 1,0 '0 feet long and the height of the superstructure above hi.h water to be fixed by the Secretary of War. Shady Churches. The early meeting-houses of New England were destitute of shade. The trees in the vicinity had been cut down for fear of forest tires, am] curtains and window-blinds were unknown. There was no “dim religious light’ within the church, but in summer “the white and undiluted day,” and in winter an atmosphere so cold fhat^ as Judge Sewell pathetically records in his diary, “the communion bread was frozen pretty hard, and rattled into the plates.” As years passed on, trees were planted to protect the congregation from the garish sunlight. Sometime! the growth was dense, and cast somler sha’ow over the meetinghouse that made it so dark within a# to annoy the minister. Two anecdotes, told in “The Sabbath in Puritan New England,” illustrate how the clergy protested againsl these gloomy meeting houses. A neighboring pastor, preaching in a church thic&ly shaded by a large tree, gave out the text, "Why do the wicked live?” Peering in the dim light at his manuscript, he exclaimed: “I hope they will live lonp enough to cut down this great hemlock tree behind the pulpit window!" Doctor Storrs preached by invitation in a meeting house oversh. owed with trees. His struggles t > read his manuscript temped him to affirm that he would never preach in that house again while it was so ill-lighted and gloomy. A few years later he was Invited tc preach in the same old meetinghouse. He rode up to it on the Sun. day morning, and seeing the treei still standing, rode away leaving the people to sit in darkness, without J sermon. —Youth’s Companion.

: OUR COUNTRY’S CASH. L L CONDITION OF THE UNITED . STATES TREASURY. 1 ' — * Secretary Foster Makes His Annual Report ' j to the President — Possible Effect cf a Repeal of the McKinley Law—Money Now on Hand. Uncle Sam's Finances. 1 The annual report of the Secretary of ‘ /he Treasury shows that the government ■ revenues from all sources during the last fiscal year were $425,868,260, and the tota l expenditures $115,953,806, leaving a surplus of $9,914,453. With the cash balance, the national bank redemption fund and a few small items added, ■ this surplus was $10,750,488, which was applied to the payment of the public debt. As compared with the fiscal year 1891 the receipts for 1892 have fallen off $32,675,972, ti e principal losses being customs receipts, $42,669,241, and in profits on coinage, $5,681,479. On the other hand, there was a ga’n of $8,284,823 in internal revenue receipts, $4,998,690 in postal service and in sales of ' District of Columbia bonds cf $2,412,744. ’ ; In the ordinary expenditures there was a decrease of $10,349,354, which is

accounted for by diminished p a y - ments for discount taxes, refund for excessive customs, deposits, drawbacks, census, qu arte rm aster’s supplies and interest on the public debt, the decrease . in the last item alone be ng $14,169,019. For the present fiscal year the revenues are estimated as fol-

i । SECRETARY FOSTER.

' lows: From customs, $198,000,000; from । internal revenue, $165,000,000; from I miscellaneous sources, $2d,C00,000; from , । postal service, $80,336,350; total estimated revenues, $463,336,3(0. The expenditures for the same period are es- । timated as follows: For the civil estabI lishment, $108,000,<>00; for the military , I establishment, $49,(00,000; torthenaval । establishment, $31,0(0,000; for the In- [ dian service, $9,000,0(0; for pensions, [ $158,000,( 00; for interest on the public । debt, $26,010,000; for postal service, i $80,336,350; total estimated expendi- ; ; ture, $461,336,350; leaving an estimated . surplus for the year of $z,090,000. I The available cash balance in the treasury at tne end of the present fiscal year is stated at $120,992,377. The revenues for the fiscal year of 1894 are esti- . mated at $490,121,365 and the appropriations required $457,261,335, exclu- : sive of the sinking fund, or an estimated surplus of $32,860,030, which, • with the cash balance above g Id rej serve, would make the available balance $53,852,407, and deducting accrued • i or accruing obligations (mail contracts ; and redemptions), would leave the bal- ( 1 ance $47,852,407. । Chargeable against this are unex- . ' pended river and harbor and ordinance appropriations, amounting to $44,- , j 000,('00, and no account is taken of the । ' sinking fund requirements, amounting । ' to $48,600,000, beyond redemptions estii mated at $5,000,000. j Estimates Based on tlie McKinley LawI 'J he estimated receipts, onyo FoWei tary Foster, are based upon condit Bps । prevailing prior to the ate election. Public opinion having decreed a change of policy, particularly in the tariff laws, the altered conditions resulting therefrom render it impossible at the present time to estimate the annual income with any marked degree of accuracy, and it I is impossible to predict the effect that j such proposed radical changes would i have upon the future revenues of the ' government. The secretary further says | that he will not estimate further, but 1 that the inevitable result of thetariff ' reduction agitation will be a falling off ‘ in importations and in revenue, the extent of which no one can measure. He , says, however, that all the facts fully justify the opinion that the large increase of receipts ascribed to the mar- ' velous prosperity of the country under । the present revenue system would, if ' i continued, enable the department dur- ‘ ! ing the coming fiscal year to meet a l : । obligations without the slightest impairI ment of its cash, and thereafter conI tinue to show a material improvement i in its condition. Touching the gold reserve, the report ' says, the Treasury has difficulty with I the limited amount of cash on hand ; above the $100,000,003 redemption fund . j to keep a sufficient stock of gold, and if ' । the shipments continue as large as they ■ have been during the last two years, । the gold in the treasury will be dimin- - i ished below the reserve line. The । maintenance of silver at jar has also , I increased the possible charge upon the gold reserve and therefore the Secre--1 tary suggests that the reserve tor the ' j redemption of Government obligations i should be increase! to the extent of at 1 least 20 percent, of the amount of treas- . ' ury notes issued or to be issued under I j the act of July 14, 1890. In regard to the monetary conference l ’ he says: “This conference is now in I session. As yet little is known as to what its action may be beyond the gen- , eral fact that the subject of the better I use of silver as a money metal is re- > i ceiving its earnest attention.” I! On the subject of public buildings, I the Secretary says that the expendii tures during the year ended Sept. 30 last were $6,741,286, and the outstanding contract liabilities $2,834,408, mak- : ing a total of $9,575,694. j The subject of the World’s Fair is ' briefly dismissed with the statement that ■ satisfactory progress has been made in I the preparation of the department’s ex- ; hibit, In the arrangement of the customs laws and regulations, and upon the Government buildings. 1 i Speaking of the subject of immigra- ! tion, the Secretary is clearly of the 1 opinion that only by a rigid examination, made at the place of departure, can the prohibitive features of the law be executed with any considerable degree of . efficiency. COST OF ENFORCING THE CHI- | NESE ACT. i i . Variously Estimated at from 510,000,000 to 8300,000 or Less. I Representative Geary doos not be- ! lieve the cost of deporting the Chinese ■ of the United States will reach $lO,000,000. The census shows a Chinese population of 107,000, and under the law those who do not register and sit for their photographs must be sent home at Government expense. Upon this basis it is calculated that more I than 100,000 of them will have to be deported as scon as the year

of grace expires cn May 6 next. The cost of sending them back to China is estimated at $lO9 apiece. According to Representative Geary’s reckoning, the cost of deportation need not be more than S2O a head. That is more than it cost those same Chinamen to come to the United Sta’ea, and the California member says they might as well be sent back in the same style in : which they came. Again, he thinks the Chinese reside nts of this country are only waiting to see whether the Gov- ; eminent authorities in earnest. If they find tint the lav, .s to beiigidly ■ enforced, they will nearly all march up and be registered and photographed be- I fore the year of grace expires. A'ready I between 460 and 500 have availed them- ' selves of the j rivilege accorded them I by the law and are i reparing to stay, j “I do not believe there will be 10,000 Chinamen left unregistered on the Cth j of May,” says Mr. Geary. “Even if we ! had to send that many lack at a cost of S2O apiece or SzCO,OOO, it would be getting rid of them very chea] ly. ” Mr. Geary suggests that the United States naval vessels might carry them back to China. This wo Id 1 ssen the cost of deportation to the Government and at the same time give the navy something to do. ROADS FOR FARMERS. The Congress at Indianapolis Attacks the Question with Energy. The second day’s session of the Indiana Road Congress at Indianapolis, was attended by 400 or 5000 delegates. While the congress is divided as to what steps should be taken to secure better roads it is apparent that the outcome will be at least a healthy public sentiment in favor of good r. ads, which will result eventually in some desirable legislation. The farmers who are in a majority in the congress have not had a great deal to say, but whenever they have spoken they have opposed any movement wh ch proposes to increase their taxes or add to their bonded indebtedness. At the opening of the session Rufus Magee of Logansport o^emd a resolu- | tion that the World’s Fair be opened on ' Sunday. j,he resolution was laid on 1 the (able by the congress without discussion. The Illinois Highway Impiovement Association sent a letter of greeting to the congress, and stated that tor twenty years it had been trying to reform the road laws of Illinois, and now began to see daylight. The letter stated that the Governor-elect and a majority of the members of the Legislature were pledge I to roa i reformation. The first paper of the day was by W. P. Carmichael, of Wellingtord. It dealt with “Some Criticisms of Ihe Present System of Road-Making in Indiana." In the discussion of the paper Mr. Brown, of Fayette County, said that there are in the State about forty thousand miles of road. He estimates that the roads could all be put in good condition at a cost of SBOO a mile. This would entail an expense of $2.50 an acre for the land in the State. This cost could be distributed over ten years and would cost the owners of the land 25 cents an acre each year. He thought that th.s expense would not Be burdensome. Mr. Martindale said that the Idea prevailed that Indiana was behind her sister States in the construction of roads. That was a mistake. The supervisor system, ho said, was defective in itself. It had not been executed as it might have boon. It was established “TtT ft r nio wlien it was r.eccssary to go from village to village. The best that <ou d bo done with it was to use it in keeping the next roads passable. He said that if the delegates came here with the intention of "ripping up" the present law they were on a mistaken mission. Iho tiling to do was to amend and better the present laws. Prof. W. B. Johnson, of Franklin Colle in an address, said that the roads ot the Stalo were faulty in the essentia! particulars of good engineering. . Hoads, too, he said, were faulty as to construction of bridges and drainage, which was the most important factor. The natural soil, elay, was strong enough to support any load placed upon it. Along the roads were deep ditthes, but they do not canry water. Drainage under the road is almost wholly unknown. The present super vision of roads, he averred, was faulty. Supervisors were generally intelligent men. but they lacked technical knowledge of road-built ing and maintenance. It was de-irable to have a trained corps of men to build roads and keep them in repair. J. A. Robinson, of Shelby County, a People’s party man, said he had reached the conclusion that any effort to tamper with the present road law would result in the getting of no law at all. He believed with many farmers that entirely too much money was spent inside the court houses on the road questions. He said he believed that any report which looked to the increase of the bonded indebtedness of the farmers would receive a black eye in the Legislature. It seemed to him that there were men who were always ready to put additional burdens on the farmers. The men who had built this nation were the farmers behind the plow. Progress, he said, declared that the people who supported this nation had a right to demand that the general government come out here and assist in miking good roads. Mr. Robinson male a long plea for the farmer. The congress was furnished a statement from the State Auditor in the afternoon showing that the total road tax in Indiana in 1892 was $2,269,675. This sum, it was stated, did not include taxes raised tor free turnpikes or tor bridges. Many of the delegates expressed the opinion that this amount of money, if wisely sp°nt each year, ought to build a great many good roads. Newsy Paragraphs. Senator Gibson, it is now thought, will recover. William Nichols, a Cleve’and mechanic, has inherited $2,9( 0,000 by the death of his gr indmother in England. The story that Senator Hill is to be counselor the Equitable Life at a salary of $25 000 a year is said to be untrue. A revenue cutter has been sent to the Oregon coast to capture the British schooner Cornelius, which is preparing to smuggle sixty Chinamen into the United States. The Italian Consul has demanded an Investigation into the killing of Francisco Caraz.zo, an Italian, by two Cincinnati policemen. The Italian was intoxicated and stabbe 1 Loth officers. The Pev. Dr. J. B. Lowery, of St. Louis, proa hod a sensational sermon, in which he attacked the lives of Emma Abbott, P. S. Gilmore, P. T. Barnum, and Jay Gould, claiming that their influence had been bad.

IS PROUD OF THE NAVY. The Report of Secretary Tracy Says Ra pit Development Has Been Accomplished. Secretary Tracy in his report to th< Fresident starts out with a list of vessels in the navy, and points with prid< to the work accomplished during the present administration. He says: “Cn the 4th of March, 1889, the flee’ of the United States navy, apart froir a few old ships long since obsolete anc i last going to decay, consisted of three modern steel vessels, of an aggregat< । tonnage if 7,853 tons, and mounting > ■ thirteen (--inch and four 8-inch guns, I । the forgings tor which last, as well as ■ the shafting for the vessels, ha I beer ■ ; purchased from abroad, as they coulc j not .be made in this country. Durinpl , this administration the following vessels will have been added to the navy: * -K * . Name of Displace- CommisI vessel. ment. Tons. stoned. Chicago 4,500 April 17, 1881 ' Yorktown 1,700 April •£), 1885 Petrel 8!Ml Dec. 10, 1881 I Charleston 4,040 Dec. 26,1885 Baltimore 4,600 Jan. 7,1891 Cushing 116 April 22. 18X Vesnsius 930 . June 7, 18:tC Philadelphia 4,321 July 28.1890 . San Francisco ...4,083 Nov. 15,189 C | Newark 4,083 Feb. 2, IHsl I o jeord 1,700 Feb. 14. 1891 Bennington 1.7J0 June 20. 1891 Miantonomah 3,9.i0 Oct. 27, 1891 I Bancroft 83t Dec. 20, 1892 ! Machias 1,159 Jan 10, 1893 Monterey 4,1:8 Jan. to, 189 S New York 5,150 Jan. 31. 1893 Detroit 2,000 Jan. 31, 1893 Montgomery 2.000 Feb. 28. 18)3 “This makes a total of nineteen ves-1 seis of the new navy put in commission during this administration, of an aggre- I gate tonnage of 54,833 tons, mounting altogether two 12-inch, six 10-inch, sixte?n 8-inch, and eighty-two 6-inch guns, I all of which, with the exception of five of the earliest, have been manufactured in th's i ountry. Three new steel tugs have also been constructed and put in service during this period. 1 Vessels ( nder Construction. “There are also un ler construction the following vessels, on which rapid progress is being made: i Name of Displace-'Name of Displace- ■ Vessel. ment. Tons Vcsse'. ment. Tons. I Oieron.... le, - ®Ol Amphitrite 3,99< 1 Indiana !>>.•_(»• ■ M< n 1 no, k 3.9 I j M ssachusetts ... ,10,'j 0| l’< rror 3.991 1 Columbia 7.3f>0 Cincinnati a.K: Minneapolis 7,3soißalcigh 3,185 Maine 6,648, Kam 2,182 Texas 6.3oo;Marblehead 2,00 c Puritan 6,(mCastine 1,0.5<i Olvinpia on forpe io Boat N 0.2 120 “Making eighteen vessels in pro’ess ' of cons'ruction and certain to be com- I pleted, should their armor be delivered within the next year, of an aggregate tonnage of 93,407 tons, and monnting altogether twelve 13-inch, six 12-inch, | sixteen 10-inch, thirty 8-inch, thirty; I two 6-inch, thirty-eight t-inch, and thirty-four 4-inch guns, all ot which have been or are to be manufactured in | this country. During this period twenty- I five vessels w.ll have been launched, I thirteen if them, including the three tugs, during the current year, and of all । the new ships the < onstruction of which ; has been begun during the presi nt ad- । ministration only two will remain on I the stocks on the 4th of March next-.” i The Secretary speaks with much satisfneti n of the act to “encourage Amer- , iian ship-building,” under which the City of Faris and City of New York aro a'milted to American registry. The Secretary also renews a recommendation previously made for the building of torpedo louts and submits a table show- • ing a vast increase of such craft in the 1 service of other nations. V e should ' have at least thirty suc’.i boats con- ■ siruetcd in the immediate future. The I aggress ve policy of foreign nations ; continues, an 1 this country, whether it I will or not, will soon be force 1 into a po- ' sit ion where it oinnot disregard measI ures which form a standing menace to ! its prosperity and security. Interesting statistics are given as to the growth of i the movemi nt toward establishin'i naval ' militia, the erea ion of which is chara b rized as one of the most important stops in our recent naval progress. The estimates in the report tor the fiscal year ending June 39, 18!>4, for navy "and marine corps, including those for public works and increased navy, are | y24,471,1'.H, Le ng $2,713,141 less than those tor the last fiscal year. BEEF AND HOG EXPORTS. | Total Values Show a I. true Increase When Compared with List Year. The Chief of the Bureau of Statistics ' reports to the Treasury Department , that the total values of the exports of ' domestic beef and hog products from the United States during the month of ; | Nov unber, 1892, as compared with sim- ' ilar exports during the corresponding I period of the previous year were as foli lows: November, 1892, $10,448,521; ■ November, 1891, $9,040,584. The values of the exports of dairy , ' products were; November, 1892, $646,- I i 529; 1891, $101,384. Seven months I ended Nov. 30, 189?, $7,577,146; 1891, j $7,432,685. The value of the exports of | beef and hog products from New York I during the month of October, 1892, were, i $6,236,921; Boston, $2,907,574; Pliiladel- j | phia, $518,551; Baltimore, $614,714. | For October, 1891: New York, $4,896,- j 681; Boston, $2,543,586; Philadelphia, $252,655; Baltimore. $1,149,835. Tlie Panama Scandal. Smaller things than the Panaria canal scandal have wrecked the French । government ere now. The republic is ■ unusually stable if it withstands tlie i crisis.—Cleveland Leader. If a free and honest newspaper pre-ss I ' is one of the pillars of national liberty and national safety, then it must be ; acknowledged, in view of the Panama । canal developments, that the French republic is far from being in a firm or 1 secure condition.—Boston Journal. | The facts concerning the Panama ; I Canal swindle prove to be more and ’ ; more disgraceful as they develop. It is i now asserted as the truth that the i church was used to facilitate sales of i | stock, and that the clergy received com- : missions for advising th dr followers to | invest. It is alleged that speculation • was most active even in the Vatican. I M. De Lefeseps, who has been held up ' as an innocent old man who did not | know what was going on, does not maintain that character well in the light of recent developments.—New York Advertiser. When we consider ow much rascality has already been uneaithed under tlie most unfavorable conditions, we may be certain that tlie Panama scandal is destined,when thoroughly probed, to make shipwreck of a multitude of official reputations. —New York Sun. The Panama canal frauds prove the necessity the world over for bringing corporate operations within the restrictions of honesty and law. The United States, as the count:y where the peeple’s interests professedly form the purpose and foundation of government, should be the leader and originator in such reforms.—Pittsburg Dispatch.

THE WAY THINGS RUN IN THE GREATEST OF GREAT STATES, INDIANA. Things Wiiich Have Lately Happened Within Its Borders—Some Pleasant and Some Sad Reading. Forthe Care of Federal Buildings. Secretary- Foster has recommended to Congress that appropriations be made as follows for the care of Federal buildings in Indiana during the next fiscal year: Indianapolis—Janitor and other help, $6,320; fuel, light,waters, ice, etc.,56,876. Lafayette—Janitor, $600: fuel, etc., $545. Evansville —Employes, $2,500; fuel, etc., $2,388. Terre Haute—Employes, $1,980; light, etc., $1,980; fuel, etc., $1,353. New Albany—Help, $1,680; fuel, etc., $1,195. Fort Wayne—Employes, $3,990; fuel, etc., $2,018. For improvements of the ground about the Evansville Marine Hospital $2,000 is recommended. Minor State Items. An 800 barrel oil well has teen drilled in near Portland. Kokomo people object to paying the high natura'i-gas rates. • Shelbyville people are again kicking about impure drinking water. i The First Christian Church of Muncie will build an elegant new house of wor- . ship. Gas escaping from a stove nearly asphyxiated the family of Wm. Wareham in Valparaiso. Grave robbers stole the corpse ot Miss , Emma West, an 18-year-old girl who died. I recently at Brazil. ' Rev. Thomas Ross, an aged minister of Anderson, was struck by a train and perhaps fatally injured. ' The extensive window glass works in Muncie are tied up. The employes demand a new scale of wages. O. E. Murry of Losantville, had bis arm nearly severed from his body by a circular saw in the spoke factory. Mrs. Betsey Coons, an old woman near Greenfield, was found dead in a cornfield near her home. Heart disease. I The liquor war is again on in Fairmount. Another saloon has opened and the teetotalars of that good little town are furious. i Rev. J. W. Porter, for the past two ’ years editor and proprietor of the Plainfield Progress, has disposed of the plant to L. C. Cooper. | Spencer is to have bottling works,the j object being to bottle and place on sale, throughout the United States, the min- , oral water of that town. Louts Hartman, aged 22, a son of I Joseph Hartman, near Valparaiso, was j run over and instantly Killed by a train ; on the Illinois Central track at Chicago. Tom Southard, who was overcome by escaping natural gas while sleeping in an undertaking establishment at Crawfordsville, is completely paralyzed in his left arm. Chari.es Bi.ackstone of Martinsville, for years foreman of the Daily Reporter, office, has.quit newspaper work, having bought an interest in a sanitarium at that citv. —, Saloonists have applied tor licenses in the towns of Bainbridge and Cloverdale. The citizens are up in arms and declare that they wiil permit no liquor, shops to exist. Emmet Post, G A. R. of Wabash, has passed resolutions condemning the desecration of soldiers’ graves, and also offers a reward for the arrest and conviction of the vandals. F. R. Moore of Hartford City, in the employ of the Ft. W., C. A L. Railway, was instantly killed at Eaton. Delaware County. He attempted to mount an engine, and fell under the wheels. Frank Hf.nisie of Anderson, aged 20, at Alexandria, met with an accident that will prove fatal. Henisieis a brakeman on the Michigan division of the Big Four, and fell under the wheels while making a running switch. Bert Phillips. Conductor on the Chicago & Indiana Coal Railroad, while loading his revolver, at Brazil, was probably fatally injured by an accidental discharge of the weapon. The ball entered the groin, ranging upward. Frederick Baumgartner, a pioneer resident of LaPorte, died, aged 83. For the past twenty years he was one of the . Trustees of the LaPorte Savings Bank, ■ and was Second Vice-President of that । institution at the time of his death. John Perkins, agent for the Hall Safe Company, had to break open the sale of the late Samuel Goldbach at Jeffersonville, the latter having forgotten to give the combination to his wife before he died. . It contained many valuable papers. | Marion Lawson, the 15-year-old son ! of Nathan Lawson, was killed twelve miles south of Wabash,by the accidental discharge of his gun while out hunting. The entire load entered his groin. He lived several hours after the accident. The Crawfordsville police have re- ' ceived instructions from the Mayor to stiictly enforce the saloon closing law. 1 They raided a saloon after 11 o’clock j and requested the bartender to close up. He said he would, but the policemen peeped through a transom and saw him sell a drink. He was fined $21.60. A national bank has been organized at Elwood, with a capital of $200,000, one-half of which is paid in. Col. A. L. | Conger of Akron, 0., will be President. I A building for its use will be erected. * Other stockholders are R. L. Leeson, i James Oversheimer, Dr. S. W. Edwins, i John P ’al, J. Meyer and J. F. Rodefor. E. J. Hurley, employed by the natI ural gas company as inspector of the ! pipe-line between Hobart and Ainsworth, i is missing. His time-book was found float- ' ing in Deep River, and it is supposed j when crossing the river the ice broke through and he was drowned. His home was in Wellsville, N. Y. He has a sister in Chicago, The river will be dragged when the ice breaks up. A party of tramps have settled down for the winter in an old shanty near Wabash. The knights of the road came from widely different parts of the countiy. The najural-gas company at Fort "Wayne has cut off all the manufactories from using gas until cold weather has passed. This became necessary to give private consumers sufficient gas for heating purposes. The gas company i« now putting down large additional maini from the Montpelier field to the city, which will be completed in January, when it is expected to supply manufacturers again.