Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, January 23, 1876, Page 4

4 ’ THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY. JANUARY 23, 187—SIXTEEN PAGES : s i 81 freight ': 4 necessarily a thief " tickled their risibilitios | consider it 8o, 2nd hos refased to i < " 3 i ! o il ing for TERMS OF THE TRIBUNE j closm% at Bl@Blécca.s!: nmd! I'Iol;gc for. il:;b{:- officer in the manner provided by the law. | in theTlouse, and, in point of strength, it wass very | covious rale prevails of charging ! to sn alorming extent. Perhaps the crown- | the clerk who madotle evtry, (O e ery. 0gs were quiet an per 8 “’“Pf':'m:‘;d"":l’fgmfi"“L lower, at $7.09@7.25. Cattle wera dull and watty Edition, post.paid. 1 year.... -ev00-:-813.00 | steady, and sheep firm. Oxze hundred dollars fazts of yoaratsame mie. in gold would buy $112.00 in greenbacks at 1.00 3.00 | the close. 650 = S Parts of year st sams rate. At the Moopy and SavEey Christian Con- Caecopy, par et $1.50 | vention held in Philadelphia on the 20th, Tiubof tive, per 0 | Ar. Sankey introduced ew iti Club of twenty, per capy.. 1.15 e Smew. Propostion) namely, that choirs ought to be converted as well as congregations. This is 2 most excel- lent suggestion. The conventional quarrels in church choirs result, as Mr. Savzey well observed, from the presence of a non-Chris- tian element. There is no doubt of it, and there is no doubt of another thing, also, that Aessrs. Moopy and Saxkey will undertako ‘The postage is 15 ceats a year, which we will prepay. 4#pecimen copies sent tree. o prevent delay and mistakes, be wurs and give #or-Oftics address in full, including Stateand County, Eerittzncesmay be made elther by draft, express, Post-Offics order, or in registered letters, at ourriek, TERMS TO CITY SCDSCEIBERS. @ln deliversg. Sunday exceped, 23 ceuts per week. a1ly, delivered, Sunday included, 30 cents per week. ddrees THE TRIBUNE COMPANY, Cozner Madison £nd Dearborn-sta., Chicago, L puny-maiden eJort indeed. Instead of logical debate the most arduous job of their evangelical work when they commence to wrestle with the people in the choir-loft. m——p—— AMUSEMENTS. TO-DAT. McCORMICK HALL—North Clurk street, corner Kinre. Lecture by the Hon. Willism Bross, Sub- ject: “What I Remember of Early Clicago,” GROW'S OPERA HALL, No. 517 Yest Madison stroet. Readings by Maggie Stewart Woodnouss st 3 At a recent meeting of the Democratic Central Committee of this city, Senator Kx- HoE, of Bridgeport, submitted the following propo ition, which was adopted unanimously : Resolred, That we favor tho abolition of township organization {n Cook County, on the ground that it iz useless, expensive, and complicatad, both unjust and oppressive in ita operation; and, Waxnzis, It 15 provided by law thst upon the peti- tion of one-Bfth of the legal voters of any county un- der township organization, to bo ascertained by the vote cast at tho last Preeidentisl election, it shall be the duty of the County Board to submit to the people at the next etection the question of the continuanca of township organization in said county; therefore, Recoived, ‘That immediato steps be taken by this Commuttee to prepare and circu'ato the.necessary pe- tition, 80 that the quesiion may be submitted to the people at the election in April next, This is amove in the right direction. Itis one on which there will be no diversity of public opinion, and, though the Democrats are entitled to tho credit of taking the first step, the Republican party will none the less adopt it, and make it part of their policy. The Republican commitiees should take im- mediate action, whether .jointly with the Democratic Committee or separately, as may be deemed most odvisablé, to have the pe- tition signed in such numbers as will compel the Connty Board to submit to a vote of the people, at the town clections next April, the question of the abolition of township organ- ization, and thus sweep the entire Evaxs and Parurres machinery of taxation and the Town Boards out of existence. This township organization i8 & positive nuisance in 8 larga city. Chicago is, under that organization, divided into thres ‘‘towns,” and each of these towns has a Government, consisting of Town Collector, Assessor, Su- pervisor, Clerk, and *“ Board,” and these offi- cers elect themselves annually, and vote themselves enormous salaries, and levy taxes upon the public to pay their salaries and those of their forty or fifty assistants. All this is a scandalous abuse of a system which, however applicable to small communitics, is entirely out of place in large cities. If this township organization were out of the way then we wonld have one Assessor for the county, and have some rationsl and honest system of assessments adopted in this county. In the meantime, let us go on wita the pre- liminary proceedings necessary to the aboli- tion of township organization. o NEW CHICAGO THEATRE—Clark street, betwoen Laks and Randolph, ** Adrisnns Lacouvreur.” To-xonnow, ACADEMY OF MUSIC—Halsted street, Wadison aud Monroe. “ The Two Orphans.” WOOD'S MUSEUM~Afonros strect, between Dear- born znd State. Afternoon: 'he Quet Family” xnd * Pochabontas,” Evening: “The lidden Hand.” MCVICKER'S THEATRE—Madison strest, betweon Dearborn and State. Eogagement of Miss 3ifmnie Palmer. “Laughing Eses.” HOOLEY'S THEATRE—Rendnlph strest, between Clark2nd LaSslle. The California Minstrela.” ADELPEI THBEATRE—Dearborn street, corner Klanroe, Variety perforinance. between SOCIETY MEETINGS. ppear in uniform. By order GIL W. BALNARD 33°, Com,-in-Clief. JANES A, T, SILD 3. 160, A. F.and A, M.— il ton of the oficers elect day cvening next. st Oriental Lall, No. 1A ie-at. ~The programme will be interspersed with rocal and_imstrucentad wusic, and conclude with dauciug, Perorderof the W. M. E. ST. JOHN, Bec. LANDMARE LODGE, No. 422, A. F.and A M.— Tue wetmbers are hereby notifed to attend = Regulsr Comunication Fridey evening, Jan, 23, 1576. _Dasi- zers of importance will be brought beforotha Lodge, end work on the Tird Degree. By order of the W. AL AIYRON HARKIS, Ses, ATTENTION, SIR ENIGHTS !—Special Conclavo of g0 Cummendery, No. 19, K. T., Monday evening, fur work on ibe B, C. Order, Vimting St Enights courtsonsly invitel Ny oraer of the Em. Cum. . CHAS. J. TROWBEIDGE, Kecorder, CORINTHIAN CHAPTER, No. (3, R. A. 3L—Repn- tar convucation to-morrow (Mondly) evening st 7:39 #'clock. Buriness and work'on Matk Degree. A full stiendance fa desired. §. M. HENDERSON, H. P. ——— The Phicago Tribume, Bundsy Morning, January 23, 1876. At the New York Exchange, on Saturday, greenbacks ruled steady at 883 — The Centennial appropristion was earnestly debated in the House yesterdcy, but there was no action. The decisive vote will not be taken until Tuesday. . The London Tmes seems to have bad luck in its financial editors. . SaxpsoN took bribes, and SarsoN’s successor fiercely abused Benstor Smersax's plan of an international coinage in last Friday’s Times, and was fBatly disowned in Saturday’s editorial page, which praises the scheme. THE PERILOUS CONDITION OF THE CITY. The City of Chicago is no exception to the general rule of late years that Governments in large cities are & standing menace to the peace and protection of the property-rights of the peopls subjected to their authority. Bat Chicago is just now placed in a condition of additional peril not included in thoss ordinarily experienced. Fortunately it is not one on which political parties are divided; it i3 one affecting the whole commaunity. In 1874 there wos an effort made by some citizens to induce the Common Council to submit to & vote of the people the question of adopting the general act of incorporation Imown sas the charter of 1872, and the Com- mon Council declined acting on the petition. The Legislature meeting in January, 1875, & new and more acceptable general charter was enacted, which the Legislature required to bs submitted to a vots of the people on a day named. The request for the submission of the charter of 1872 was then sabandoned. Suddenly some person ““learned in the law” suggested to the Mayor and Council thst, if / the charter of 1872 was ratified, it would; ex. tend the terms of all the.Aldermen, snd o officers elected in 1873 until 1876, and thrs of the Mayor until 1877. Acting on thy, sug- gestion, the charter of 1872 was subymitted, and, after the notorious ballot-box, sbuffing, forged returns, and scandalous fopn of elec- tion, that charter was declared adopteds, and is now the law. Tho readiness and zeal displayed by the Mayor and Council to zitify taat charters which they had previously oppcsed were not. understood for a considerabls t7me, and when, the great body of the peoplef the city had} become reconciled to the funiudalently adopted: charter, because it providad for ths eloction: of an entirely new Cily Government in Apxi, 1876, it was disclosed thet the motive for thes governmental support of the charter was thate under it the Common Coumcil and verious other officers would have th,eir terms oxtend- ed six months, and tha{ t%.e Mayor, elected in 1873 for two y wonld be continued in office until April, 1777, The legality of this claim to hold 9%ce has been brought before the Buprewe, Gourt of the State, has been argued, 073 ig now under consideration by the Cor 1y T .o new charter repesls the old one. It #" solished the existing office of Mayor, and provided for the election of & Mayor under chenged conditions, at a different time of the year, and invested him with new powers. It sbolished the existing Common Council, re- quired 8 new division of the city, and & changed apportionment ~of representation. It provided specific days on which the elec- tion of thess new officers ghould take place ; and directed the speciel election of a Mayor to fill any vacancy. The only Mayor legally holding offics in Chicago must be one holding his office under the only law which creates that office. The new charter provided that, in case of its adoption, the ¢ city officers then in office shall exercise the powers conferred upon like officers in this act, until their sue- cessors shall be elected and qualified,” it be- ing the intention to cover the interregnum between the abolition of theons setof offices and the filling of the newly-created offices by election by tho people. For such election, either for a full tferm or part of & term, the charter contsins ample provisions. It is assumed, however, that these words continued the Mayor, whose of- fice had been abolished, through the first term of Mayor under the new charter. Oar Constitution provides for two modes of fill- ing offices,—first, by appointment, and sec- ond, by election. It specially prohibits the sppointment or election of officers by legisla- ticn. The Legislature lawfully abolished one office and created anotler, and provided that the man st the time holding the abolished offioe should exereise the powers of the new. 1y-czesied office until the peopls elecisd the E. P. Swrra, ex-Rev., ex-contractor, ex- Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and present Pregident of Howard University, has gone to Africa on a missionary tour. He represents the American Missionary Association. The American Board of Foreign Missions will probably at once engage ex-Secretary Deraxo to Christianize Asis, and thus two continentg will be happily saved from the wrath to some. Horaux, of Indiena, lectured his Demo- cratie brethren in the House yesterday, using some very plsin language in referring to the speech of one of his Confederate confreres. TucxEe, of Virginia, who wasted so much of the time in the House the other day in en- desvoring to prove that the States owed no daties to the General Government, was re- minded that the Southern people, sbove all sthers, ought to bs convincod, in view of their failure to set up anindependent Govern- ment, that we are anation, and a very healthy ooe at that. Time was when a railway-slaughter was al- most a daily event. Now it is rarer, and therefore more terrible. England has driven a3 from the bad eminence wa once held in the Iist of such disasters. She furnighes a zomplicated and curious case now. A min- #ral train and a Scotch expross collided. Then » London express dashed into the debris of the two. A terrible storm followed, in the midst of which a special train carrying doc- lors left London. As the wires have broken fHown, it is not yet known whether the fourth krain has been wrecked on the ruins of the ihree. The Supreme Court of the State has ren- dered a decision in the case of the numerous appeals from the South Park assessments as made under the several Park laws. The xmount of tax tied up in these appesls is rbout $300,000, for which thers is now & judgment. The validity of the whole assess- ment of about $2,500,000, divided into seven esnual installments, was, however, involved in these appealed cases, and is now confiro- a by the Supreme Court. This docisior 7o wake & certain class of renl-cstate spe cu‘hw in Hyde Park squina like ekir o3 o ‘What they wanted was the be = - aefit of the Parls gystem without paying it. Their Iands used to be worth §1,07 o o7 & . or §1,500 per rere, and no sale, before # ks and boul vards were laid out , - PArEs a3 3 {hatwad dfngiliey v snd improved. After 1o $10,000, to §15 aarked up their property 7 then - 000, and even 20,000 sn hore, BNC LhED ° fused to pay any tax for purchasing. ¢ se Park grounds or improving the e Thia class of honest snd honor- _ “S-# Jdemen must now, step up to the SBEMW s office and settle. ‘> "fha Chicago produce markets were well at- tended on Saturday. Mess pork was active and 5@730 per brl lower, closing st $19.10 cash and $19.45 seller March. Lard was active and 100 per 100 Ds lower, closing at $12.02} cash and $12.20@12.22} for March. Meais were in better demand, at jc decline, elosing ot To for boxed shoulders, 10{e for 8o short ribs, and 10}c for do short clears. Highwines were gquiet and unchanged, st $1.06 per gallon. Flour was dull and un- changed. Whent was active and essier, closing at $1.013 cash and $1.00} for Feb- ruary. Comn wos quiet and essier, closing 8t 4340 cash and 42§c for February. Oats Were in betler demsnd and firmer, closing at P14 cash and 81jo for February. Rye was Psisk, &3 67e. Baxiey was quist and firmar, Beyond this the Legislature conld not go. It could not estend Mr. Corvix's term to 1877, nor could it declara him Mayor of Chicego for the first term under the new charter. ‘Wo do not propose, however, to zrgue tite question from a legal standpoint. We simply wish to call attention to the peril which hangs over the city and is involved in the decision of the Sopreme Court. Wo have s Government, elected in 1873, witich bas exceoded the womst apprehensions of even the most despairing. It is a Govern- ment that has virtnally declared itself perma- nent. Corruption stalks through the Cpuncil Chamber without disguise. The pvice of legislation is marked in plain figures, and the Aldermen ars *‘ runners” intently hunting up trade. Everything is for sale,, from a contract to a franchise. If a mansowe the city money, he can have the sum atated upon paying half the abatoment to the Aldermen. If a manhave a claim’ against fhoe city, he must, to get paid, include fromx $20,000 to $140,000 to divide among the Aldermmen. Ifa contractor ask payment for wark done, he maust pay to have his bill audited. There is not anordinance passed withaat being bought and paid for. Ofices are oreated that they may be sold to the highest bidder, and never, even in the history of New York, was there 8 Government 5o rotten, eriminal, and corrupt as that which hes fastened itself on Chicago, and which expeots to be perpetu- ated in offics by the decision of the Supreme Court. . The decision of this case is of great mo- ment. It is the last hwpe of deliverance on the part of the people. Though there is a constitutional prohibition of any increase of debt, the people have lost all confidence in the City Governmeat, and refuse to pay taxes. From four to six millions of dollars of taxes are unpaid, the public refusing to pay money into the City Treasury. Thesp unpaid tases are represented by outstanding certificates bearing interest. Thongh lagally they are certificates of unpaid taxes, practically they are a mamumoth public debt, torwhich millions are aununlly sdded. Should the Supreme Court affirm the right of AMr. ‘CoLviy to con- tinue Mayor until 1777, then -the quiet revo- lution of non-payment of taxas already prac- ticed by a portion of the peopfe will bocome general. Not a dollar will be. paid until the present rotten, corrapt, and shameless City Government are starved into an abandon- ment of the offices they have used to disgrace and plunder the community. We admit that such a condition of things will be deplorable. Bat there is no other remedy. Al appeals to the Couris are rejected, and, oll legal and moral means of deliverance being exhausted, that of revo- lution is alone left. We repoat that, if this appeal to tho Suopreme Court is denied, then we ore confident that the tax-getherer may close his books, for not another dellar of tax for city purposes will be paid until the official fraud styled a City Government be starved out. The Comptroller aud a few other members of the Government have struggled for honesty, but without avail They are overwhelmed—are sctually held in chains by their official associstes. Clinging to the hope that the people would be per- mitted to elect new officers, they have bravely fought the battls on the sids of the public. Should the Court now adjudge that the City Government is to hold over, then further e fort on their part will be usoless, and they, should resign. Upon the decision by the Supreme Coy rt hangs the issue of the defiruction of the credit, the suspension o/; payments,; the temporary repudiation of the debt, the non- collection of tazes, of t}/13 great metropy.lis,— a fearful calamity, i s true, but th.e only available mesns 1¢7; to the people Yhrough which fo obtair “geliverance from & gang of sordid, ruffianky official robbers. OUR. €)°37ER'S SPREAD-FANILE. It will Ra*romembered that when Baexzr CAULFZ327, went to Washington, previonsly suncinr’ ng that he should take & new Con- stiet¥on with him, Our Castes, not to be 0¥ one by his colleague, took an American @ jlé with him. He was no ordinary eagle, “stooping in his flight to steal chickens ont of barn-yards, or going one eye on the setting sun, but a genuine, proud bird o' freedom, with hend and tail erect, magnificent in pin- ion, and robust in scream, who could look at the sun with both eyes, and had an unmens- urable spresd. Our Caerer took him to ‘Philadelphia, and let him loose at the Cen- tennial banguet ; but somehow the proud ' monarch of the air made a bed start. His scream ended in a squawk, and he came down in a flop before he had risen above the fumes of the Mumm and Roederer. His home had been in the setting sun, and he had been accustomed to wing his flight over * the broad pe-ra-rie and under the ruff of heaven.” He was not used to such o pent-up Utica as Philadelphin. Our Canter took him back to Washington, and in the Centennial debete gave him a magnificent send-off, with a 3j- cent scremm. The noble bird rose into the empyrean with such aspread as not even ‘Dicx Memrick ever conceived was within raquiline posiibilities. The effete monarchies “trembled s they Leard his elarion voice and "tlw swooping rush of Lis wings sweeping from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Buat we will let Our Camrer himself tell how his eagfe spread himself = The common esgle, taking it flight from the ex- trorne imit of eastern civilization, in 1776, would bave ma do 11s flight to the western limit on @ single day, but now the proudest monarch of the ir, dipping bimsels in the Atlantic, and then looking at the setting ®n, ever intent and ssiling onward, takes days and wreeks before hie cools his pinions in the sprays of the grand Pacific, And yet weare told that the people sinll not be taxed at the rate of 3¢ ceuts each for tae exiebration of the country's birthday, at man, woman, or child is there with 4soul so dead that he, she, or it would not ‘invest three cents and a half in such an engle as this? And yet there are people 8o mean, narrow, and parsimonious as to refuse this amall pittance to Our CanTER's eagle, who, «after taling his galt bath in the Atlantie, fixed his eye on the setting sun, and sailed right on, screaming as he sonred and soaring as he sereamed, until he cooled his hot pinions— and, we presume, bathied his fevered brow— in the sprays of “the grand Pacific.” We tegret that Our CamTeR should have left it a little uncertain whether his eagle landed in the Grand Pacific Hotel or the grand Pacific Ocean; bui this is immaterial, after all. - The doubt does not denden his screem nor teke one whit from the mejesty of his spread. Our Caz- TER'S eagle rises above common eaglesasa Bhanghai towers above a bantam. Bat, as we have snid, there are thoss who refuse to contribute the niggardly pittance of 3} cents after witnessing this spreed. The Detroit Post pokes fun at Our Carrer's esgle, The New York World (Democratic) says: “We grieve to remark that one of the londest and emptiest orators was a Democrat—Hazaisoy, of Tlinois.” Ancther Democratic newspaper eays: The arvech of W, Maxerveas was his eulden sffort in favor of the appropriation,—a thing impossible for any of its advocstes to induige in,—r. UARRISON'S specch was, s he bimself binted, of the *‘spread- esgle” order, and the chief points he presented in favor of the passagé of the Lill wero the pura airand Righ mountains of the United States, Al this is particularly unkind coming from Democratic sources, OQur CARTES is & Demo- crat. is the first Democratic eagle that hos been let loose for years. Not to speak of the offiense to the feelings of the noble fowl himself or His eagle was a Democratic fowl. It itself (since Our CarteR is careless of his or its gender), is it not diccourteous to Our Cas- TER himself, who is so Centennial in his feel- ings, so gushing in his nature, so emotional in his temperament, so tender in his heart of hearts, that he rushed into the arms of Bry Hrvs after that patriot had pictured the para- dise of Andersonville, with its trickling rills, umbrageous trees, warbling songsters, and sylvan retreats? We protest against such shabby treatinent. Our CarTer may console himself that Tue Cuicaco TRIBUNE, at least, appreciates spread. If the Trmuxe had the power, it would appoint Our Capres custddian of the American Eagle, with a gratnity for exhibiting him during the Centennial, and with the privilege of daily spreads across the Centennial grounds, at so much per spread. Neither Our CARTER nor his eagle are«3}-cent affeirs. We protest against this Democratic attempt to belittle Our Caxtes and his proud monarch of the air. FreLp doing that he does not come to the res- cne of Canter and his aquiline companion? Is he bewildered nnd overcome by the spec- tacle of the spread? that eagle and his gorgeous What is BarNey CaviL- GERMAN RATLWAYS. TUnder this caption, Mr. JouN MACDONNELL furnishes, in the January number of the Fortnightly Review, a mass of information in- tended to enlighten the English people on asabject of great public interest, viz., the character, progress, and uxtent of Govern- ment ownership and Government supervision of railways in Germany, and the consequences thereof, social and economical. The subject is one, we hardly neod =ny, of equal interest to American renders. The evils of uncon- trolled private management of railways havae been brought into strong light in both coug- tries during the past ten years, and have called out many crude and unsatisfactory remedies. have been mado upon legislative bodiss njad railway officials, the only one apprcaching unanimity has been a demand for informo- tion. A good deal of ‘progress has beén made in getting information as to the cost of constructing and. operating railwmys, and s to the effect of high and low tariffs and discriminating %ariffs, and ss to -competing and non-competing lines. been obtain sults of rafiway traffic and mapsgement on the Contirent of Europe, and it is scarcely creditab¥s to us that we should haye made no seientif ¢ examination of the systems prevail- ing thr.re, X the v.ay to a very rich field for further explo- rati )n, and we trust that some. equally intel- lig 2nt ard candid observer may perform the & ume office for the railways of'France, Bel- ‘yium, Switzerland, aud Italy thet he has Among the various demands that Very little has d, however, concernilng the re- Mr. MacpoNNELL's article points done for those of Germany. The vital point in railwey mansgement was grasped, as we learn from this article, by the King of the Belgians and his Finance Minister, M. RozreR, as early as the year 1834, *Whoever possesses arailway,” said the latter, ** possesses & monopoly, and such a monop- oly ought to be in the hands of the State.” Tkis principle the Belgian Government adopt- ed in the beginning, and has sdhered to, so far as was mDecessary to sccure the practical control of all the lines in the Kingdom. About one-third of tlie lines are owned by the Government ab- solutely, and the control of these gives a commanding influence over the othera. In Germany we find a system beginning in s dif- flerent way, but tending to the same conclu- sion os that of Belgium. The first Prussian rnilways were begun by private companiss under concessions or charters running for thirty-five years. The companies staggered or became ineolvent. Then tho Government granted cash subsidies here and there. Then the Government built some long lines for political and military ends. It bought the interests of individuals id some cases. It sometimes made losns to companies, some- times gifts or bonuses, and sometimes it guaranteed o certain rate of interest on pri- vate capital for a certsin length of time. Such was the hotch-potch when the war with Austrin and the consblidation of the Tmpire took place. The Berlin Government then fell heir to & number of other systems and parts of systems, in which Government | ownership and partnership was mixed up with | tlse obligation of completing certain unfinish- ed lines. It isseen that the Government has ‘become inextricably entangled with railways, not in pursuance of any fixed principle as 1 the caso of Belgium, but through the opera- tion of circumstances. It is shown inci- dentally by Mr. MAcDONNELL that the original | cost of construction of raillways in Prussia under Government management or inter- forence was only $88,050 per mile, while in England it was $176,250 per mile average, or: sbout twice as great in the latter as in the: former. Allowance must be made, however,. for the greater cost of right of way in En- gland, and slso for the expense of *getting” up the bill,” which is slways a heavy charge in England in tho way of lawyers’ fees and witness fees and red tape, while in Prussia it , ig nothing. The German Government now owns and operates the twelve principal lines of railway in the Empire. It owns in part some of the lesser lines. By its control of the chiof lines it exercises a commanding influence upon the secondary ones, But this influence is not used to require the private companies to do business at unremunerative rates. Nor does the Government itself do business at a loss. The average rate of interest earned by the Government lines on the capital jnvested is about 6 per cent, and on the private lines 5} per cent. In England the rate does not exceod 43 percent. In point of safety to passengers, the German statistics show only one person injured to every three millions carried. In England the ratio is one to threo hundred thousand. The operating expenses in Germany, measured by the amount of frejght and passengers carried, are less than in England, although measured by gross re- ceipts they are somewhat greater, owing to the density of populstion and groeter activi. ty of business in the latter couniry, The German railway system is now ina transition state. A bill is under considera- tion in the Parliament for the purchase of all the remaining lines, but the outcome is not clear, Great reforms are predicted by tle advocates of this mensure, such as a uniform rate per mile for passewgers and a uniform rate per ton for freight, throughout the Em. pire, On the Alssow-Lorraine railways the : axvlusively byr boll,—* car-room-tariff ¥ itis | called. But fhe project of Government pur- | dusse of theeremaining lines has msny oppo- nents, not merely among the laiser fuire economists, but smong merchanis, politi- cimas, and railway officials. The views of the Gavernment havo not been decidedly cx- préssed on the subject. The conclusion af 'the whole mattor seems to be that, through hier exceptionally efficient civil-service system, or ** buresuocracy,” ns English 2nd American Tniters commoly term it, Government man- agement of railways in Germany bas been s pronounced success, as far as it has gone, and the question now is, whether it shall go far ther. Mr. MacpoSNELL is not ‘cleer that the seine system would work well in England. Her merely presents the facts he has collected to show that Government management is not, as many people in England think, necessarily bluindering, costly, and inefficient. As re- ga:tds our own country, it is sufficient to say th:at, before the German system of railway i inagement would be possible with us, we. m 15t adopt the German machinery of official se rvice, at least as applied to that department of public affairs. ~ THE DEMCCRATIC CONVERTION. The drift of public opinion—outside of St. Loouis—seems to bo that the coming Confed- er ate Convention will mect in Chicago. One of ‘the leading anti-Republican papers of the ccrntry, the New York Sun, is strongly in favor of this decision of the mooted question. Bheve are many reasons, as we showed the other day, why the ‘‘Garden City” should lie chosen. The Convention will probably Lie ladd after the National Republican Con- ‘vention, which is fixed for the 14th of June. n all probability, the unterrified and vock- j irooted Bourbons will meet on the Fourth of July and cclebrate the mnations Centennial birthday by nominating for the FPresidency somebody who refuses to admit that the United Ktates is a nation. Now, St. Louis, on the Fourth of July, has much the same fiery. climate a3 the region to which Maine, according to the old song, was bent when she voted for Gov. Kext. The Mis- sissippi Valley sizzles and. secthes with heat in the dog-days, No man.ever stays there at such a season who can get'away, and nobody goes there. Holding a convention at such a place and such a time wounld be like holding one on the equator Aug. 1, or in the North. ern Pacific isothermal Leli Jan. 1. There are no political advantages tto be gained which can counterbalance the vest personal discom- fort of the delegates. Mlissouri can be relied upon, in any event, Jor the Corfederate ticket. Illinois, on the other hand, is rightly counted by the Coufederates as very uncer- tain. There can be no doubt that it would be shrewd. politicellly, to hold the Convention here, though it would take a miracle or two to persuade Illizois to go Democratic, pro- vided the right man is nominated at Cincin- nati. Then, as'fsr as climate is concerned, what clime can be healthier and pleasanter than that of; Chicago in July? The charms of ‘this city as a summern resort are well known. Every prosper:t pleases, and only a few men are vile. Gentle byeezes blow: from lake and prairie thronyzh our spacious. iavenues and brosd boulevards, and roses are,constantly expiring in aromatic pain in the necighborhood of Bridgegort, whence they -diffuse themselves through the atmosphere.. Chicago is cool, chesrful, healthful. - Her hotels are ample. Her Expo- sition Bailding is big enoungh to hold the Convention and many thousand spectators. Speaker Krre's composition of the House Comurtittecs shows that the West is bound to be thewdetermining element in the Democratic party. It will almost certainly demand that the parly's grand pow-wow shall be held within its limits, and, if this demand is granted, the Convention ours, WA ‘We have before us the report of a * ban- quet” ard ‘‘ovation "—which is journalistic Englizh for a public dinner—at St. Paul. Tho persons who ate the “fillets” of beef and other dainties on the bill of fare, aud who drank the liquids provided in generous pro- fusion, laughed s great desl. In fact, they seem to have laughed all the time. And the reason thereforwas the series of side-splitting speeches made by a number of prominent persons, among whom wms a member of Con- gress, who has roturned from the Canadian seclusion where the Sengeant-of-Arms of the House was unable to find him, and who is now empowered to make laws for his country while ho is under indictment for a criminal offense ageinst those laws. One of the first toasta was fo ‘the Minnespolis Board of Trade. Alr. S. C, GaLz answered in the fol- lowing way, which is apparently regarded as humorous in the Upper Mississipyi Valley : “I am afraid the friends here will think I am somesort of public oficerknown to thelaw, and | therefore am subjact to the charge «if having stolen something; I feel it necessyry to say that I did once serve as Alderman for one year, but the commitices were mostly made up hefore Itook my seat—and therefore I stolenothing whatever.” Gen. SmrLex wittily said that the ex-Governors of Minresota had noneof them stolen enything, and tiien polite- 1y remarked, amid genoral hilarity.over the funny suggestion, that *‘some of our sister States” had been less fortunate in their Governors. The droll hint that the men especially honored by most of ihe Northwestern States tpere com- mon thicves was received as a .rare jest. So funny, you know. 3Mr. 0. C..Merenux indulged in a few similar wittibisms, He said: ““Unfortunately, I am an oifce-holder, —I am the Mayor of Minneapcflis; but I never stole anything; it is a sad tisought that when a man acknowledges that hecwss Mayor of Minneapolis he must accompany the statement with ths assertion that he did not steal.” This *“sad thought” of the knavish- ness of all preceding Mayors of Minn oapolis did not sadden the company to any percept- ible degree, judged by tho roars of loughter with which it was greeted. Senator Biausey made & momentary diversion, in hisnspeech, to the merry fact that the distin- guished men of Minnesota were .rapidly and vapidly getting drunk. He is an ex- Governor, and he eaid: *The liveliest men in this assembly are the ex-Governors; they will put ol the rest of you under the table if you do not look out.” Speakers and hearers, however, soon came back to dignified jokes on the prevalence of theft among American public men. Mayor Maxrreip, of St. Paul, remarked: “Mayors seem to be looked upon o8 thieves, and any man who would serve gs Mayor of St. Paul for the salary he received must necessarily be a thief.” We presume that Muyor Maxrrerp did not-mean that ho was himself a thiof, but he certainly left that impression on the' mind, provided this report of his speech is correct, and the representative men of Minnesota and the heavy tax-poyers of St. Paul thera asrembled shouted with delight ovor the confesgion, The idsa of (heir Mayor's suaying he waa ing joke of the entertainment was conu\".u?d in the tosst to which the M. C. of the Dis- trict responded. It was as follows : Our Delcaation 1 Congruas—In order that the grest wall which s being coustructed to fencs back the ratera of the AMimisaippl at Minnespolis may be a big dam, the appropriation must be dum big. Tho honorable gentleman’s alleged expe- rience in securing subsidies probably sug- gested tho propriety of his replyimg to such a tonst,~—n tosst so refined in its sentiment and its form. If the House Sergeant-at-Arms Liad ceught the House Postmaster before the latter went to Canada, the American people might perhaps have learned samething about the way subsidies are got. . Now that the fames of winehave died away and there has been time for some sober thought, do these spesches seem quite as funny to their makers and lbearers os thoy did? s tho betrayal of official trust a scemly subject for public mirth ? Have we sunk so 'low that public morals are only a jest? Isit funny that such things ¢an be? Isahigh tone apt to be restored by’merry-maldng over alowone? The whole people of tho United States would have writhzd under what they would have called an infhunous, insulting lic, if Dicxess or Mrs. Tecrrors bad sketched suck a * banquet-ovation” or * ovation- banquet ” in their books on America. When honor is extinct and purity dead, when the idea of mankind and womankind finds no flesh-and-blood exemplars, when the failure of our institutions is confessed, when the last faint efforts to prexont and punish crime have censed,—then, and.not till then, tiis sort of thing may seem, io the depraved, diseased “consciences of thatyday, funny. It-certainly does not seem 50 DOW. AROTHER JURY CQUTRAGE: The County Lozrd at its session last Man- day chose anothpr Grand Jury, ant, consist- ‘ent with its action in the 'past, has inflicted another outragesupon a long-sufiering public. It is one more proof of the fact that there is no honesty in the Board, no regard for the wishes of their constituents, and no motive except to plander, rob, steal, and swindle. The first 1ohin who. presents himself on this Grand Jury is the notorious Ep Parirres, who i8 responsible for the infamous assess- ments ugon personal property of the South Division. There is & well-defined opinion that thigrman is cognizant of frauds, and that he is guilty of criminality in making the asscesments. So well defined and general has this- opinion become thzt the Citi- zens' Oqmmittee lave investigated tho facts, and procared witnesses to pre- sent him ktefore the Grand Jury for indittment, when lo, he turns up 8s a mem- ben of the very Grand Jury that would inves- tigrate bik own case! More than this, he has made his boasts publicly, it is said, that ke “will bedforeman of the jury! The remainder of the juryis not much better. There are few names known to the public except in a doubtful sense. Thers are two doggery- Leepers, two old bummer county employes, four or five other bummers who have no oc- cupation at all, three or four whose names are not in the Directory, and most of the rest are unknowns. The majority of them are pets of the corrupt members of the Board, ard, of course, are put on the jury for a purpose. Such men ss Ep Pamrres and PAT Deraney would not be put on a Grand Jury unless there was a reason for it. And thus we go from bad to worse. Juries are organized for corrupt purposes. They ere packed to carry out tho schemes of cor- rupt Commissioners. They are selected to be bought and sold. Justice is bronght into the market anl wmade an article of traffie. The atmosphere about them is thick with | blackmail, bribery, and corruption. Rogues and rascals are holding carnival. There is little danger of their punishment when juries can be bought and packed. Honest citizens and respectable business men are no longer safe in their personal property or their personal rights, They almost fear to bring & suit, knowing that juries are packed against them ; that the bummers and vagabonds who more or less fill the jury-seats have no sympathy with them; and that their verdicts are merchantgble. Justice is fast be- coming & mockery. ‘What is to be done? It will not do to lie down and submit. If the reputable and hon- est elass of people of Chicago snd Cook County tamely yield without protest they will be speedily overrun and driven out of house and home. The remedy is a plain one, The peopls. have only to rise and vote these scoundrels out of office and £l their places with honest men. If they do their duty next spring, the Ep Paruuirses and Par DELANEYS will be kicked out of their offices, and when their places aro filled by respectable men we may expect once more honest juries and look to ree justice resume its impartial adminis- tration. The people can right themsalves at the ballot-box. If they do not, it will be useless for them to complain if they are rob- bed and plundered of the last cent. SOMETRING ROTTEN IN THE RECORDERS OFFICE. The Recorder’s office of this county has been made the instrumeont of a great fraud, which has already orept into print in the East, and may well be described here, inas- much as we have private information of the truth of tho details given. ‘The crime de- gcrves attention, because it is unique, becauss it was rendered possible only by the careless- ness or complicity of some one in the Re- corder's office, and because it is calcalated, if suocessful, to drive away foreign capital from this market, and 6o to seriously inter- fero with our prosperity. An Eastern oapitaliat, who, telegraphed from Fr'nnco a gift of $3,000 to the wufferers {from the Great Fire, came to this city a short time ago for the purpose of making invest- ments here. Among other loans, he made one of $35,000 to a builder. By the terms of the bargain, this was secured by a first mortgage on a certain piece of land and on ten stores which were being put up on this property. The lender’s sttorneys examined the title by searching the * Grantors Index” 8t the Recorder's office, and found that thers wes apparently no incumbrance. Tho law, by the way, requires that this index shall contain the name of each grantor, the namo of the grantee, date, time of filing, kind of instrument, consideration, book and page of record, and a ““description of the premises.” As the schedule showed 1o lien on the land in question, the contract was signed and the money .advanced. Then came the discovery of the frand. A fewdays before, the builder had given his father-in- law (who is reputed to be very wealthy) & first mortgage on o number of pieces of prop- erty, smong which was the land upon which this loan was negotiated. This instrumont was dunly recorded, but the all-important * Grantor's Index” mentioned it as covering every piece of preperty montioned except the one in question. This tmay have bsen a mere olarical ervor. The lecorder profesces to ! hand, it may heve been part of the piy | Whichever it was, it forwerded thy ? the conspirators most completely. With 4 this significant owmission, not “éntn(;: money could have been obtsineq. Wit it, the $85,000 was promptly paid ovey, A the scoundrelly trick was diseoyepeg father-io-lew expressed surprise, but o, to abandon his first lien for £3000pg The next day he demanded sw,m:ni H is the present state of affeirs. A fylgs | in the Recorder’s books has cost a my, whom Chiezgo is under grateful "m"mfim a large number of thousands of dollary, Iis only remedy is by suit sgaingt g, b Recorder, or by a bill in Gh“‘“‘?“h‘nl i that the mortgage to the builder's fatheriy law be postponed to his on the groyg F fraud. Both these remedies xre Vaxating and expensive. Fraud like this can be checlm:kd'.g-m oniset. The s!xrewdestlcun—agenuhmh‘ device which scems a sure. safeguard. B fore pecying over a cent of money, require the borrower's mortgage b recorded and an abstract showing ¢ record to be snbmitted Then, mnd py till then, the money is paid. The of course, receives a memorandum whigh tocts him from any knavish attempt to iy mortgage on Lis property and then back the money which purports by that strument to bo paid. If such precantimy had been taken in this instance, the frpy could not have been practiced. It js gy pleasant to kmow, howaver, that such a frgng Las so far succeeded here, end has domyyg by means of tl:e carelessness or collusiogg somebody in the Recorder’s office. The Springfiold (Mess.) Republicen ety attention to & fact in conaection with g, I BrecmeR business that may yet maks apy § in Congregational circles, namely, the failyy of the denomination to deal With the ey Tt says: i 5o long a8 churches ars indepandent, they pd o finely in independency; but, when they sssociits iy ‘make up &n ezclesicatical tribunal, their independes 1a decidedly in the way. Nocourt is resdyand wi ing the offender, but & court must Le mada up wg the crime {s committed, and ez post facto Thas cused church or party is not only gizen an equal sty 1D the make-up of tho tribunal, and in the ooustrys ton of the isiue submitted to if, bu: its consent actually necessary to tha cousening af the tribuml all, To expect a procedure of justics under suchen cumstances is to expest that we can.conviet d criminals, when we leave it o them 1o say whette they shiall be triad at all, or, af tried, to Bomivatahal the court. z & This radicel defect is brought inte st} greater prominence when we consider thy independent action of Plymonth Church, Althongh it connot be” disciplined by thy general Congregational polity, it has na difficulty in disciplining its own members, a in the cases of Mrs. MovzroN, Mr. Bowny, and Deacons West and Douxoax—and any one else in fact who may not believe inm cordance with the theory of Mr. Brzcxxs irzocance. SNOW OF BATLROAD TRACKR. There has been little obstruction to tnn this winter in Chicago through heavy falls of ®oow, but in view of the nct very remote o tingency, it mxy be well to direct attention toth supject. The best thoroughfares in the cityoy now occupied by street-railways. The pradtiv of the compsuies 18, wheo snow comes, to b it from the tracks, wich little regard to thesm dition in which they may leave tha partsof i street not used by them. The railway comps nies bave generally atiempted no justification of their action. They assume that the right af occupying a portion of the streot i equivalent to tho 1ight of excluding the publis from tha remainder wheaever an emergency anses. This assumption has been successfclly mes and de vied in the Superior Courtof New York. Tht Judge decided in favor of Wirriax C. Pro, who aslied an injunction to pravent the use of snow-plows and sweepers by the Twenty-third Stroet Railwsy. In allowing the injunction, the Court took occasion to zeview the statutes vary earafolly. The gist of the decision Is contained in the following quotation : This exclusion of the public from their use of 84 8trip of the public strect. as descriled, 16 3 publicsk sance unless taw defurdants bave n right to dowhd Lus resulud in the exclusion. If the acts of thede fendants are lawfu!, the inconven‘ence and damsg sutfered from them by the public or the pluntiff & Dot make the acts wromglal. If the actsof theds fendants are unizwful, damags from them givess csuw ofsction, . . . To sustain the defendants’ claim, the truo coustruction of the statuts mast show thasibs thing granted, viz,, the hea appended tofty 88 & necessary part of it, the right to use thestdpd stroet exclusively as described, or that such useld necessary to the enjoyment or exurcise of soms pover given by law. The grant {a of the franchiseto “ Ly, construct, and opersts ” a railroad through Twentye third street, and the use of the street for that purpee ia o public use. The uso of no more of the strest granted than 1+ necessary for tho operation of therl Way. After the snow by buch cleared from the track its remaining on the street at the sido has o il do with and does not in any way affect the o of the railway, using that term in whatever way fimsy boused. The depowit of the snow on the side has ths same relation to the corporution that a deposis slse whers would have, and no other. The Court held further that tho Compsaf had tho right to push the snow from its track i the side of tho streot ; but, **after thetimebud elapeed which would reasonably be required fof . tho taking away of the snow which had beea pushed from the track, the defendans became responsibie for its being there, snd it becams & public nutesnce.” The decision is fall of intereet and importsncd for stroot-railways and the public everywhars Ita effect will bs, of course, limited fof the present, and, even if it shall be ms tained by the higher court, it will be lisbls to modification by tho terms of indindml chartors. It seems, however, to establish 8 valuableprinciple. The people do not surreadst the streets absolutely to the railway companies but merely sdmit them o a part of the rosdia - v ¥ i- ‘E. i ordor to subserve thes general convenience. Thil purpose is thwarted by any general trespast upon the parts of the street which have bees reserved for the exclusiva use of the peopls. At to the possibility of the railroad companies keop ing their tracks clear withont using tha sides of the atreets, the New York Court scemed to have no doubt. Perhaps ona effect of the docisios will be the invention or mome mesas forthé entize removal of smow from the streets b smaller expenss than the present mathod wi? allow. The Rev. Mr. Tarancg, asiswell knom claims intimate acquaintance with the desigat of the Almighty. In a recent addressatCiv cinnati, be statea that Amarios was not discor ered till 1492, simply * becauss the right hne of men to people this land had not been bors;’ thet, *‘when God ‘had created a stalwart nch and ordained them for the high work of sastlisg this country,and laying tbe foundation of s hish~ er style of civilieation than the world had ever koown, sod they had started out on their em bassy of light, and freedom, axd religion, thes God suddenly dropped the veil from this conti ent, and there aroso bofore the astonished vis ion of the paople the splendors of this Westers World." The Reverend gontleman concluded bi# exposition of Providential purposes byannanaciof that ** Our eountry is under tha protaction of the Almighty; it belonga to Him. Italy for pictarsh France for mannars, Germany for scholarahity Eogland for aristooracy, the United States fof God” The Amencan peoots will certainly foél grateful to Mr. TaLuaas for revealing to 1843 that they are the eapecial subjeots of s Divist protoctorate; and that gratituds will be £3° measurably sohanced when they refiocs thad tb¥ birth of Mr.T.did oot antedate that of CoLod* 503, but was reserved till our own time; e0 ibah instesd of his boundieas knowledgs being ¥ unan ihe atata vaions ot Earows, (v el |