Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, December 2, 1877, Page 4

> ¢ A THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY. DECEMBER 2, 1877—SIXTEEN PAGES. — Thye Tribmwe, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. BY MAIL—IN ADVANCE—POSTAGE PREPAID. Datly Edition, one year. 312,00 'orix f.a vear. berno 100 Sundax " Tdlton: Li utle Sheet rday Edition, 1-3veckly, oue yea: Fuisof 8 vear, per month WEEELY EDITI Speetmen coptes sent Tree. Give Post-Gtfce address i foll, tacluding State snd County. Remittances maybe made elther by draft, cxpress, Post-Oftice order, orfa registered letters, atour sk, TERMS TO CITY SCBSCRIBERS. Datly, delivered, Sunday excepted, 25 cents per week. Putly, delivered, Eundsy Included, 30 cents per week. Adéress THE TRIBUME COMPAN Corner Madison and Dearborn-sts Orders for the dellvery of Tie TR Englewood, and Hyde Park left fn the counting-room ‘w1l zocelve protpt aticution. lip: beiouging to (kis Comander 2uis courteously lavited. By or ey Y5 11, SANBORN, CON; . 1. ENIGHTS PLAR- Thestated and -second Annuai mmandery will Le held at Asylu orroe-si.. on Tuceday evcuing nest, Dec. 4. o'clock, prompt. For eiection of officers. pavment of - gues snd tradsaction of other fmportunt buelness. Every member i§ urgently requestad to b present, By orderof the K. C. 1. DUNLOF, AVOL] Recorder. NATIONAL LODGE. 0. The Anutal Comntaunication of ihis Loy at thieir Hall,_corner lalsted and Handol day eveniag, Dec. 4, a1 a'clock, for the el ‘oficers and payment of dues. Al members notilled to fihe W, 31, be present. " By order of the [T+ 35 0p, secretary. Y ST. BERNARD COMM Apuual Conclave Wednesday v e oclock. For the election of officers and Qres. Ordsr of the Temple wil be con S'clock. By order 1. BY 3.0, DICKERSON, I ' CHICAGO Cil. cond- 0. 030, A. F. and A. STONE LODGE. No. T L ion of ‘the Lodge oceurs Wednes: Comriunle day eventng aest. For the clection of otticers und ayment of ducs. Members are nutified 1o attend. Bllors coraia iy tnvited. By o:der of THEO. HARZ, Sex. M. PFLADM, W. M. D LODGE OF PERFEC- Regular Assembiy Woric on the Fourth and VAN RENESELAER G TION, A. A. Scottlsh 1 Thunday evealnz next. Fafih Degrees. By order of, OHN 1 ED GOODALE, Grand sec. De <5 0! N SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1877. s = = = b CHICAGO MARKET SUAMMARY, The Chicazo produc: markets were less acti and most of them were firmer. M 4 Ttc per brl kizher. ot §11.75@11.50 t. snd $11.90G11. for Januany 710c per 160 1b3 higher, at $7.57% Meats were firmer, and 6%¢ for do short ribs. Whiegy was auoted at $1.06 per gallan. Flour was doll. Wheat closed 3¢ higher. at $1.07% for December and $1.05% for January . Corn 12%c for December and 4052 losed 15¢ hizher, at 293¢ at55ic. Barley closed 13¢ higher, at 61%:c cash sad 034c for Junuary. Hozs were steady, at $1.15%4.50 per 100 Cattle were in fair deqaznd, at heep were _qaiet. Fiour Iu store in Cii 65,563 brle. New York, 19,734 br Lard do, 13,004 Moz packed tn this city duri 530 esd. Recuived in Chic brls tioar, 436,671 ba wheat. S 176,135 bu ontu. ba rye.104, 117.411 bive hogs, 12, Expor:s from New York last week: 15,950 bris tlour, 574,930 bu wheat. 763,610 bu corn. Thspected 22 cars borler. Total (483 cars), 188,000 bu. One hnndred aollars in zold would buy $102.8743 1n grecabacks at tha close. greenbacks ranged throngbout the day at Evstis thought perhaps it would be & good tima to siip 1nto the Senate, and made ‘is littta play for a seat. Bat that Coroner’s ingnest, somefimes called the Committee on Privileges and Elections, having failed to find whether ha was dead or alive, his pretensions to either condition were adjourned until the meeting of the regalar session Just at present the curse of the Pittsburg rioter is coming home to roost. A local Judge, not at 2l intimidated by the findings of a bummer Grand Jury, took occasion yes- terday to fix the punishment of certain of the thugs, whom he sent to the Penitentiary for terms varying from one year and ten months and a fine of 5,000 to a fine of $500 &nd & term of six months. In claiming that he represented the Re- publicans of South Carolina when he voted to sest Brriem, Senator ParrensoN (Dem.- Rep.) appears to have been sadly mived. All the Republicans in the Legislature repudiate him. The onlr friend he has—the one who sont him the famous dispatch upon which he baosed himself—is now in jeil awaiting trial. Verily, the day of the transgressor is nearing its sunset. Mr. Jomy Wersh, with his family, sailed from New York yesterday to take clarge of our natiousl affairs in England. A large party assembled at the wharf to bid the travelors godspeed, and, as far ns we can glean from the dispatches, the festiv- ities would have been of the mos delightful charncter but for the funcreal presence of a Philadelphia gentleman named Gzorce ‘WaammveToN Crmps. Mr. Rise-Up-Wirrrsyr Auces, of Ohis, has closed his telescopic fog-horn, and no longer squints towards that august but somewhat complicated institution known among men as the United States Senate. Ho raises his head from between the legs of the gentlemen who are sitting upon him to recommend the name of one Gen. MorGax,— a Snggnstian which will probably have more \weight in favor of the dark horse than of the ntleman recommended. —_— < Telegroms from Licut.-Commander Grees furnish the information that the bodies :fi- camberof officers lost in the wreck of the Huron have been fourd and buried. So far there is no intelligence “that any one has Leen found at the *‘life-saving” station in the immediate vicinity. It is practically use- tess fo hunt for dead men ; and if any search- mgisto be dome it might profitably be de- roted to hunting up the live men who belong ‘o the station. County Commissioner FrrzGerarp, when wked by &8 TRIDUNE reporter if he proposed o ect honestly in the new Board, replied, *XNo, sir; I am a Democrat.” County Com- nissioner Frrzeesarp also intimsted that, as e honest men in the Board managed to get Along without bim on one occesion, perhaps $hey wonld not miss his influence on another. It seems to be necessary to inform County Commissioner Frrzeerarp that the *draw- Ing of party lines,” as he terms it, is merely defining the difference betwéen men of integrity snd men actusted by a disposition to assist the county thieves, and it appears necessary to further inform County Commissioner Frrzcemarp that his position, as he now defines it, is one better calculated to win the plaudits of the Ring than the applause of honest men. If he has learned to respect the latter he will manifest it by a radicnl snd sudden change of his views. 7 An investigation into tho crookedness sup- posed to exist in the West Park Board affairs Das been institnted by the Grand Jury, and indictments have boen found against Messrs. GrReENEBATY, RUNTAY, and STANFORD. The bills ara based upon an alleged diver- sion of the funds of ~the Board, of which diversion tho nccused are charged of baving guilty knowledge and of having connived thereat. Some remarka- Dle revelations were made by the witnesses as to the existence of a ring in the Board,—so remarkable, in fact, that perhaps a bonanza might be found in investigating sowe of the witnesses. ¥ A fair and square arraignment of the Re- publicans against the Administration was the feature of the Senate executive session yes- terday. 'The question arose on the confirma- tion of Frrzsnovoys, whose appointment to the Marshalship of Georgia hed been sent in Dby the Executive. It appears that the name of one Hurr, a Democratic geztleman with Republican cont-tails, had been recommend- ed by Senator Goroox, who withdrew his in- fluencs subsequently and turned it over to TFrrzsnnoxs, a Democratic gentleman with no affinities whetever. On thevote the Republican Senators, with the exception of PATTERSON, Covover, aud Staxcey AIATTHEWS, Wwere solidly arrayed ugainst the confirmation, while tho Democrats, nided by these threo Republican votes, carried the appointee through with fiying colors. All of which demonstrates that there are some things more ** upsartin than white men.” e s The sad mews that the busy brain of SayroEL BowLes has been overcome by pa- ralysis, and that his recovery is not to be hoped £ér, brings uesr to its end the record of o great and useiui life. - Mr. Bowres will b missed by a much wider constituency {han the small New England town where he was born, did his work, and now les uncon- scious waiting for the end. In the thirty- flirce years he hns devoted to the Springfield Republican, Ssyver Bowers grew beyond Springfield, and even beyond New England, into a nationnl position, 1le stood among the very first men of his profession, and needed ouly a larger place to be o larger, though not a better, man. e made the Springfield Republican one of the best news- papers in the country, and by for the best newspaper in New England. Noother paper in the Umted States so nearly reached its highest possible development as tho Springtield Republican. The charncter or Mr. Bowirs' mind was ecritical, and at times he seemed almost cel sorious, He had a broad, active brain, and an acquired knowledgo of the details and general scope of his business, and of the men and aflairs of the nation, cqualed only by the very greatest among his journalistic con- temporaries. He interpreted to the public the history of each day with an intelligence, keenness, and virtue that gave him a com- mandiug influcnce on public opinion. When once esked for the secret of his success he said that it was * a nose for news.” In the comparative treatment of news—that which shows its proportions ahd its relations to the past and present—he was unrivaled. His paper was one of the bestresd and best- clipved exchanges that visit newspaper of- fices. TUntil 1872 Mr. BowLes was in the Republican party, though not always with it. In that year ic broke with his for- mer poltical friends and went into the GreeLcy movement. He never rcturned to his former cllegiance, but, having becn independent in p.rty, remsined inde- pendent ont of it. With the exception of a brief interval, Mr. Bowczs hes spent his life in Springfieid. Boston tried to find a place for Lim cud his style of newspeper, but, although several journals were consolidated and placed nuder his charge, the town proved too smell. It has been said that nowspaper men write their names in running water, but the high brain-power, virtue, and success with which Saxuen Bowrrs has done his work will give him un enduring fame. Even if, for such o worker, the timo may come when his name is forgotten, the impross ho Las made will be transmitted beyond his memory in the growth of the people. THE LAST OF THE COUNTY RING. ' The raling passion is strong in doath, and the County Ring, in its cxpiring hours, was true to its habit of plundering the public Treasury for the bencfit of its favorites. Some innocent persons muy have supposed that the retiring members wpuld seek to atone for past iniquity by affecting concern for the public welfure at the last moment, and to ncquire a reputation for honesty by refusing to countenance some of the minor jobs ata time when the opportunities for big stealing were passing away from them forever. Dut the Ring remained true to its satecedents to the very last. Within a woek, SuxToy, the brick contractor, has been al- lowed an enortous Lill ¢f exiras ona con- tract under which ho was already overpaid; ‘WaLLER's contract hes been 80 amended as to make him an allowance of 50 per cent on lus stone at the quamry, and also open locpholes for other invasions in the future; Lizn's outrageous bill of near- 1y 325,000 for one month's pay-roll was ap- proved to enable his elerks to pay off Lizn's assessment for esmpaign purposes; the per dicm of the Commissioners was fixed at the highest possible rate for pay, mileage, and expenses; thanks were mutually voted all around to Ring members aud retainers; and the old Board drew its last breath unrepent- ant of its sins and defiant of public opinion. A fair example of the Ring's efirontery may be found in Voting nearly §25,000 to Lies for one month's expenses, and refusing to vote §1,000 to Recorder Brocxwax for tho extra work entailed in his office to keep up the abstract business. This extra allowanca bad been mado to his predecessor, and the Ring cut it of in his case out of mere spite. BBOOEWAY had refused to allow the Ring to dictate the appointment of his subordinates, and he had to suffer for it. On the other hand, in voting Lren nearly $25,000 for November, the Board allowed him for n single ‘month about one-half of what the County Clerk’s office ought to cost for the entire year. ‘Aen whose pay was nominally 34 were set down for §150 for the month; this would indicate that there are nearly forty working days in the month of November, which the calendar limits to thirty days, Sundays and all. That this exorbitant allowance was intended for Lres's personal benefit was evident from the refusal of the Board to make the several amounts peyable to the several employes eredited with them, for such an order wounld have prevented Lrem from takiug out his assessments for his campaign expenses. Theso scts are hopefully the last of the Ring that has held the taxpayers of Cook County by the throat for the past two or three years. Five membersof the old Board now retirs who always voted in‘the interest of extravagance and jobbery. Five now men take their places, each oneof whom is pledged in the most. solemn . manner to espouso the interests of the taxpayers, and fight relentlessly any and every schemo of the old combination. Of the old members, at least three, and perhaps four, have held ont inducements to believe that the public may depend upon them to co-operate with the new members, and thus provide a per- manent majority ngainst the plunderers. It will not require a very long tune to deter- mine whether or not the public is doomed to disappointment in the new regime. The first evidence of good faith will appear in notable retronchment in the County Clerk’s office, in the genersl county expenses, and in the administration of the various public chari- ties. The new Board should also give its jmmediate attention to tho Court-House building, familiarize itself with the various contracts, ascertain whore savings can be made, how contractors can be restricted totho terms of their contracts, how extras of all kinds can be avoided, and then proceed to such measures as may be necessary to the px;utecfion of the public. There is one step that should be taken without delay, and that is to order the discontinuance of work on the foundation of the county’s half of the pro- posed dome. The aity is not in a position now to agree upon the construction of this dome. 1Itisa purely ornamental project at the best, the ultimate cost whereof ceunot be approximately estimated. A great dome 350 feet high may eesily be made to cost a mill- jon of dollars before it cin be completed. This will represent an annual expenditure of 70,000 in interest for the support of an ornament. The county and city might with equal propriety strike hands in these hard times to borrow an obelisk of the Khedive of Egypt ot an snnual rental of $70,000; the investment would not be more costly, and the ornament would be more novel and at- tractive. But the scheme is especially pre- posterous in view of the fect that only one- balf of the proposed dome will proceed, as the city cannot build 1its half; so work on tho foundation of the dome should bo sus- pended at once by order of the now Board. THE COUNTY CHARITIES. We print o letter this morning from Gen. Jourus WerTE, who was the first President of the Board of Cook County Commissioners, in relation to the manner of obiaining, and the cost of, supplies for the public charities of this county. He writes from an experi- ence of several years, and the new County Board will find that upon this subject they have much to learn, and that it embraces a wido field for reform in expenditures. The present practice is to invite proposals for the supply of all the county institutions, including the County Agent's office, for one year. These contracts embrace coal, flour, ‘bread, groceries, dry goods, clothing, meats, vegetables, hats, boots and shoes, and medi- cines, besides furniture of every description. Io fact, the contracts include everything that may be needed. Tho prices are fixed nt the time of letting the contracts. The county officers make requisitions which the contractor fills, and tho Board allows the bills and orders their payment. In this way the cost of maintaining the in- mates of the Alms-House and Insane Asylum has risen to an average of mearly $5 per week for ench inmate. Even at this enor- mous cost there has been a time when the inmates wers robbed of one-half of the supplies paid for by the public, and cheated in the quality of the other half. It has been suggested that the public interests would be promoted by having what is termed a Gen- eral Purchasing Agent, who shonld purchase everything needed for the county wherever he can purchase on the best terms. Gen. Warre, however, thinks that it is best to ad- here to the contract system, but to provide the machinery for a rigid scrutiny of all requisitions, - snd of the quality and quontity of all goods deliverad. When the County DBoard was first organ- ized, in 1871, it was in the hands of men who really served the public, and all the county institutions were put under tho direction of a Commissioner of Charities, whose administration was not only success- ful, but s0 honest that the annual expendi- tures were largely ent down, and the charity was liberal and appropriste. The advont of another class of men as Commissioners broke up this arrangement, and the office of County Agent is now ranked as more profitable than that of Secretary of the Treasury, while the other county offices are sought after for tho profit they afford with the utmost energy and zeal. : The County Board which will organizo this week will have to grapple with this sub- ject, and they will have to treat it heroically. The presen$ system, which is wasteful, ex- travagant, costly, and dishonest, is designed to make places of profit for friends of mem- bers of the Board, and to enrich the officers at the expense of the public. We have no question that under an honest sdministra- tion the expenditures for the Alms-House, Insnne Asylum, and County Agent's office may be reduced 40 per cent, with an im- provement of the service rendered. The Connty Hospital also falls within the list of loose, irresponsible, and, therefore, wasteful and extravagant, expenditures. This subject of public charity is ono of thé most troublesomo features of govern- ment. The care and support of the insane poor is an object which appeals to every hu- mane heart. No man objects to paying for the prover care and support of these helpless beings ; but it is one of the misfortunes of government that to support the insane poor involves the support of a legion of others, not insane, who consume the Iarger portion of what is exacted in the nemo of charity. .We do not know the exact cost of maintain- ing the Insane Asylum, but when the annual expenditure shows an average cost of $4.50 per week for each inmate the inference may be drawn that persons who are not poor or insane, but dishonest, share liberally in the public charity. The same may be said con- cerning the support of the Alms-House and the County Agent’s office. The difference between poverty and pau- perism is wide and ,very distinct; pov- erty may appeal justly for aid without be- coming pauperism. The administration of relief at the County Agent's office in this city is & powerful encouragement to pauperism, anda great injustice to the suffering, destitute poor, who are mot paupers in any sense. The County Agent's office was intended to aid those temporarily suffering from want, but it has become not merely an aid but an exclusive support of a large class who, with- ont regard to their means, demand the public bevefactions as a matter of right. In the management of this institution there is large room for reform, and the numerous applica- tions for the office of Agent do not indicate that there is to be any change of systom, or that the office is to be less profitable than it has been. In fact, the mere salary of the office forms so small a portion of the induce- ment that the applications would probably Dbe quite as numerous if thero were no salary offered at all. Of all public charities—that is, of all insti- tutions for charitable purposes maintained and supported by taxation—we suppose it safo to assume that, counting salaries and other cost of service, ‘including what is wasted unnecessarily and stolen, the expend- iture is 50 per cent greater than the same or DLotter service could be furnished by private individunls at o handsome profit. It is a serious refleetion upon political intelligence, that Government, when it undertakes to be charitable, pays one dollar for the distribu- tion of each dollar expended forcharity. The commission is an enormous ono. While this is more or less the fact in all cases of public charity administered by Governments, there is no hope that the general rule can be roversed in this country, but thero is an ex- pectation that the new County Board may adopt such reforms in system and in admin- istration as will brenk up the glaring ubuses which have existed, and keep in the Treasury the money now squandered and stolen under the cloak of supporting the public charities. A MORAL MONSTROSITY. Epser A, Woopwanp, one of TWEED'S clerks, who, it will bo remembered, was ar- rested in Chicago and forwarded to New York, is 8 mornl cariosity. He was a small stesler s compared with his principals in the Ring, but as a witness he is the peer of them all. Woopwanp commenced business lifo on 1,500 a year, which was shortly rnised to £2,000. When he was taken into the Ring, however, his salary shot ahead on the gallop. He reccived per annum about £11,000 in selaries and perquisites, besides the stealings, known to the Ringas *per- centages.” He commenced the percentage business upon the order of Mr. TwEED, in 1869, to collect 65 per cont on the face of all bills, of which Tweep pocketed 25 per cent, he himself 2} per cent, and the rest went to other members of the Ring. Ho proved to be such an adept in the business that lus share was raised to b per cent and the general percentage was advanced to 80. In 1859, Woopwamp was worth $30,000. In 1869, when he had becomea Ringster, he was worth £100,000. 'Fwo years' opera- tions of the porcentage swindle enabled him to steal $300,000 from the taxpayers; and when ho rotired, not long after, he could show somewhere in tho vicinity of a cool million. Now, if Woopwarp in two years could steal $800,000, during part of that time receiving 32} per cent and 5 per cent for the remainder, it will not requiro a very long sum in multi- plication to figure up the immense sum that Tweep and the rest of the gang, receiving 80 per cent, must havo stolen, It is of no use, however, to collect cvidence or to pilo up figures to show that Mr. Woopwsnp isa thief or was a thief. He admitsit, and in the admission lies the core of our original statement, that he is a moral curiosity. Thero have been men without a couatry, men with- out brains, men without hearts, men without legs and arms ; but here is & man without the faintest glimmer of moral responsibility, and so ingrained, hide-bound, and doubly- distilled a raseal asto forever settla tho dis- puted question whether the perception of right and wrong is an acquired -or o natural faculty. Among sl other thieves there are gradations of moral responsibility. Thers are big thieves and little thieves, generous thieves and mean thieves, honorable thieves and dishonorable thieves, thioves who draw a line in the moralities according to the old rhyma, that if “ It is asin to steal a pin, it is a grenter fosteala tater.” But Woop- waRD drew no lines, saw no difference be- tween the pin and the potato, was a thief when he was an embryo, has been ono ever since, and when Le goes out of the world the ruling passion will probably induce him to steal out of it. The only difference that he perceives between himself and other men is thet of opportunities, and ho ex- presses himself with a sort of tender regret that others have not had his opportunities, which of itself is sufficient to account for his admiration of 3Mr. TweED; whose opportuni- ties were just twelve times grester than his. It is said that iron may get so cold as to burn, and pain grow so intense as to amount to an cestasy, and upon the same principle here is a man whose raseality was so radical that it struck him as houesty, and, 5o far from contemplating himself ss a thief, he looked upon himself asa paragon of moral worth. A few allusions to his testimony be- fore the Commijttee will show his position. ‘When asked if he thought there was anything wrong in his taking “perceutages” (that is, stealing monoy out of the pockets of tim public), he replied ho did not, for he had fnirly earned it. When asked if he thought it was right for Tweep to take them, le re- plied that he did. He did not, however, think it was right for Sweexy, Harz, ond CoxsvoLuy to take percentages, but in this Do drew no moral line. Ho thought TwiEp ought to have hed the percentages, becauso e had to buy a Legislature, and, thercfora, the taxpayers ought not to grumble if ho re- imbursed himself out of their pockets, When asked if he thought he had acted right in pursuing such a course, he replied: “I think any man in the room would do the same. I don’t know that I ever saw an hon- est politician in my life, and I have met all stripes.” In other words, Mr. WooDpwiRD wes satisfied that ¢ They all do it,” and that every man had his price, and acted upon that belief. 3Mr. Woopwamp even went beyond thus, and declared that any man in Lis position would have done the samo thing, and that, had he the opportunity, he would do it over again. One hardly knows which to admire the most, the dishonesty of this rascal’s frankness, or the frankness of his dishonesty, or both combined. He occupied & height of villainy so Jofty that he was ab- solutely serene, and he stole right and left with the calm conviction that he was per- forming the whole duty of man, and that those who complaired of it were ungratelul snd doing him a personal injury. Ho only pitied people’ becauso he had so much the advantage of them. The arrogance, inso- lence, pretentiousness, and sublime cheek of this man placs him far beyond all other thieves, and characterize him as an artist. Rip Van Winkle compels you to admirs him- self for his single quality of drunkenness, Falstaf makes you admire his swagger and bombast; but here is a thief who occupies so high a plane of ras- celity as almost to make you doubt whether he is mnot the honest man and the honest men are the real thieves. Some philosophers have contended that lunatics are the only really sane people in the world. Woopwirn, in like manner, raises a question whether a man who will T ot steal is not a rascal. As there is a vul- gar prejudice, however, against stealing, and the majority of people recognize this man Woopwirp as o 2§ per cent thief, and Tweep, his master, who holds the same views as WoopwaRD, as & 25 per cent thief, it is & pity that the percentage of honesty in New York is too small to send master end men to the State's Prison, which, according to their theory, ought to be the most honest place in the world. A NEW TRIUMPH FOR SCIENCE. Probably no single experience in this pious City of Chicago has been productive of so much profanity as tho Bridgeport odor. It is a mephitic device that baffles all descrip- tion, penetrates all crevices, defies the cold of winter and revels in the heat of the dog- days, fnstens itself on the nerves of the pro- Doscis to leave an impression that can never ba forgotten, drives children from play, turns peoplo over in their beds, and so far has scoffed at scionce. It has boen the constant and hideous foe of Chicago existence, Tep- rosenting tho concentrated filth of 3,058,444 hogs, 299,020 cattle, and 168,170 sheep an- nually, and infecting every nook and corner of otherwise bhappy households with o total of 77,277,070 pounds of do- composed suimal matter, not including the blood, bones, and scraps, all of which is gen- erated and poured out by 237 tanks that work night and day, Sundays and all, with untiring nctivity, These are th statistics of the well-known Chicago stink as furnished by Health-Commissioner DEWoOLF ; and, if auybody has heretoforo besn surprised that Chicago occasionally smells bad, we presume that individual will no longer find it aston- ishing. Chicago has been deceived a’good many yeans into the bolief that everything possible was being done to counteract this demon of bad odor. Chicago taxpayers have cortainly pnid out considerable sums of money to that end. Even matural laws have been over- come, =&nd ,the river made to run up hill in the fond hope that the offensive matter might thus be car- ried off. Ditches and sloughs have been filled in, canals constructed, chimneys built that soar to the sky, ordinances framed with- out number, Henlth Departments created and sustained at public expense ; but still the flood of stink flows on forever. Various patent appliances have been invented for the work of deodorizing the noxious gases ; some of them -applied the water-cure, others the movement-cure, others the ordeal by fire; some persons fuvored washing the smell, others burning it as gas, but neither water nor fire could purify it entirely. None of the remedies have been more than partially successful, and even these the owners of the rendering establishments have evaded as much as possible. At last Health-Commissioner DeWorr comes to the front and cries * Eurekal” We sincerely hope so. He says that ho has dis- covered an ngency that can grapple with this mephitic monster. He announces that he has tried it on a small scale and on a large seale, and that it has proved practicable, effective, and inexpensive. His invention is, technically speaking, an application of per-nitrate of iron, but it would be as wel- come by any other name. Dr. DrWorr soys it is only necessary to construct a huge bo, about the size of a horse-car, divide it into partitions, fill these partitions with scraps of sheet-iron, which everybody is glad to get rid of, burn brimstone in an adjoining fur- nace, supply it with the necessary oxygen to convert it into sulphuric acid as it passes into the box, and then fire the Dbad- smelling gases into this “combination, whence they emanate as pure as the blooming rose or the beautiful snow, and leave no swell behind them. The ontire apparatus is said to cost only 150, and it can be replenished three times a year at a cost of abont §30. Commissioner DeWoLr says that ostablishments running 118 tanks have already adopted this system, and that he will proceed, if necessary, to compel the others to do likewise. If he has not deceived himself in the exuberance of an inventor, Chicago may look forward to an odorless spring and summer. The people of Chicago will rise up and bless Commissioner DWorr if the result shall prove his discovery to be all that he claims forit. He should have a life-tenure on the office of Health-Commissioner, and be voted a pension after voluntary retirement, if he can dowhathe promisos. Amonumentshduld be reared in some central spot where future gouerations can stop to do honor to his wnemory, for he will Lave conferred upon Chicago 8 boon greater than the combiued douations of all the rich men who have died and who are to die, leaving their wealth to be employed for the public good. It may be the per-nitrate of iron which is to decom- pose, demoralize, and disperso the sulphu- roted bydrogen, the phosphureted hydro- gen, the ammonineal nnd other high-sonnd- ing and bad-smelling gases, but it will be to Dr. DEWoLr that this chemical agent must be credited, and to him will belong the Lon- or of emancipating Chicago from its greatest foe. We hopa mever to bs compelicd to re- cant the eulogy. What part England will play with reference to the war, if it continues long enough to transfor operations to Roumalia, or with ref- erence to peace, if the fall of Plevua should induce tho Sultan to ask for terms, hgs be- come the uppermost question in connection with the immediate future. The interest felt in England is shown in the speeches made by the Premier, by Lord Derpy, and Mr. GLap- sToNE at diuner receptions, where English policy is quite as frequently enunciated as in State papers, and where English opinion is certainly more clearly expressod, and by care- fully-written articles in the leading papers and magazines. A brief reflex of these viows will serve as a basis for speculation. Mr. Disrarrr’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s ban- quet, Nov. 9, so far asit touched upon the policy of England, may be summed up in the few words that * nontrality must cease if Brilish intorests are assailed or menaced,” the same doclaration that was mado last April, when the Russian army crossed the Pruth. The rest of his speech was o maoss of glittering generalitios and gilded cynicisms. His speech last year was universally conceded to be in- discreet. His speech this year will be looked upon, perhaps, as a very pleasant intellectanl amusement, but not as rising to the " dignity Of the occasion. Turkey will not be specially delighted to know that ** its independence is not doubted " while the Russians are thun- dering at her gates, or that England adimires ber valor, when what she wants is not admira- tion, but gold, 2nd guns, and troops. Mr. Disearwr'is very angry with Russia and very complimentary to Tarkey; but as Russia does not core’for his wrath nor Turkey for his compliments, his speech will hardly give gid and comfort in any direction. Even the Baturday Review, which is friendly to the Turk, is disgusted with the speach, and says: « Alone among many competitors, Lord BraconsPrELD has scquired the privilege of tilking nonsense without incurring the im- putation of frivolity.” Lord Depy, on the other hand, was direct snd explicit in one of his recent speeches as to the English policy. He announced ** the aban- donment of T'urkey, except so far as our own interests require that we shall resist her enemies”; and again: * Wo have spoken in as strong terms as diplomatic usage permits of the necessity of not allowing Constantinople to pass into other hands than those that now hold it.- Upon that point I can only refer you to tho language we held at the beginning of the war, from which we do not intend to depart in the slightest de- gree.” This bears diractly upon the question of English policy, and, in connection with it, it is of more than ordinary interest to note that he distinctly affirms that Eogland can- not rely upon Austria for help in ease of intervontion. It is confirmatory of this that the Lord Chief Baron of England, in his speech nt the reception of the new Lord Alayor, intimated there was such a strong allinnce between Anstrin, Germany, and Russia that, if England interfered, she would heve to go in alone. It has usually been reserved for American buncombe to make the Eaglo scream and defy the world, but upon this occasion the Lord Chief Baron made the Lion roar, and defied all the States of Europe banded together,—showirg, perhaps, that the Lord Chief Baron had turried some- what long over the wine and walnuts. Mr. GrapsTONE's utterances, since his return from Ireland, of course do not reflect the policy of the Government, but they are of interest ns reflecting the views of tho radical minority. He openly denounced the Gov- ernment for its refusal to concur with the European Powers in the coercion of Turkey, and, so far from being neutral, declares him- self the implacable enemy of Turkey, and openly regretted the neglect of an oppor- tunity to make war upon her. This, how- ever, is an extreme view, though perhaps no more extreme than Dismaert’s view of Rus- gia.. The London Zimes pursues & €OUrse between these two extremes, and discusses the subject with thoughtfulness and sober- ness, 28 will be seen by the following cxtract: For England the sobering process of oal- anced loss and gain will have a salutary effect. To ue, at least as much as to any nation. the disturb- ance of existing arcangements comes in the guise of a vexation and almost an injury, for as we de- gire no addition to our Empire 80 are we by its ex- tent rondered more eensitive to tne possible dan- ers of new adjustments of power. Yt our com- mon zense will soon discern that tne morbid inge- nuity which delights to forecast evils often leads to remedies which are worse, What is absolutely necessary to our security we must certatnly claim, what is clearly dangerons to us we must certainly reject; but vague possibilities, conjectural fore- shadowings of the fatare, we can well afford to fgnore. If our voice is tobe heard in the councils of Earope it mast utter o doubtfal tones of hupe or fear, but must eound with the clear ring ¢f fixed resolution based npon undoubted necessities. The drift of all the declarations is that England will not interfero unless Russia oc- capies Constantinople or demands territorial aggrandizement that interferes with En- gland’s Eastern interests. = The whole ques- {ion thus turns on her ability to cope Wwith Russia single-handed. Lord Dersx has already shown that no help can be expected from Austrin. Germany is in still closer alli- ance with Russia than Austrin. Italy can- not move between Austrin sud Germany, and France is in no condition to be an active ally with any Power, however her sympa- thies may lie. The fall of Plevna will un- doubtedly bo the signal for an overwhelming Russisn advance upon Constentinople. If they capture the city, no single Power can dislodge them. Can England alone move quick enongh to seize and fortify it? If Austria, Germany, and Russia ere in an al- lisnce to dismember Turkey, of what avail will it be for England to move at all? il Y INTELLECTUAL INSECTS. The highest development of instinet and organism among invertebrate animalsis ex- hibited by tho hymenoptera; and in this class—which inclndes bees, wasps, etc.—the ants have the highest rank. A recent num- ‘ber of the Quarterly Journal of Science con- tains an article, evidently prompted by an affectionate study of the subject, in which the habits of these marvelous animals are described. There is no doubt much that is insufficiently established in the various sto- ries of ant-intelligence ; but the facts, which are admitted by all observers and rest upon complete inductions, are enough-to give the subject dignity and importance. In the most ancient book of which we have any Inowledge and the most profound collection of proverbs the world has ever known, the wisest man in the race laid down for the . guidsnce of his fellows the memo- rable maxim: ‘““Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; considor her ways and be wise : which, having no guide, oversaer, or ruler, provideth hor meat in the summer and gath- ereth her food in the harvest.” Again, the same oracle declared : ** There be four things which ara little upon the earth, but they are exceedingly wise.” Among the four were the ants, * which are a people not strong, yot they prepare their ment in the summer.” Fond as the majority of good people are of quoting this advice 2nd flingingit in the faco of idlers, they are seldom inclined to adopt it in practice. They do not go to the ant and study her ways, but suggest vaguo and glittering moralities as suflicient for the or- dinary purposes of life. The writer, _there- fore, who assists the unlearned to get at the secrets of ant-economy confers no slight benefit upon the public, while ‘at the same time he fulfills a pious daty. The ant is remarkable for a brain much more highly developed than that of the neighboring inferior groups ; for specializad functions in regard to sex, in accordance with which the nentrals are strong and vig- orous, and able to perform tho work of each community ; for means of communication among themselves, almost approaching in accurncy and celerity of operation a genuine lunguage; and for a very high order of in- telligence. Crcrroconsidered them possessed of mind, reason, and memory ; and observers like Sir Jomx Lunsock, who maylay claim to a personal acquaintance with ents, confirm this view. Their quickness of perception hes been approved not only by their evident forethought in providing for futurs necessi- ties during seasons of abundence, but by organized effort in the regulation of their miniature communities. In this connection, a marvelous story, elmost incredible in sov.m; of its details, is told by Dr. Linscecuar, who has made n special study of the ngricnltural ant of Western Texes. Ilo says that this species is, with the exception of man, the only one which does not depend for its sus- tenance upon the products of the chase or the spontaneous fraits of the soil : Assoon as a colony of these ants bas become suficiently numerous they clear a tract of ground, some four or dve feet in width, around their city. In this plot all existing plants are eradicated, all stones and rubbish removed, and a peculiar species of grass is sown, the seeds of which resemble very minute grans of rice. The fleld, for s0 we must call it—is carefully tended by the ants, kept frea from weeds, and guarded agaimst marsnding gy, sects. When matnre, the crop is reaped and the seeds aro carried into the nest. If they are fongq to be too damp they are carefully carried out, lajg in the sunshine till safficiently drs. nud they housed again. This formation of a plot of cleare land—or, as Dr. LiNCZCT N0t very happily termy it, o pavement—is a critlcal point in the career of ayoung community. Any older and larzer city which may lic within some 4(ty or sisty pace looks tpon the step us u cuous belli, and at onn: marches its armies to the attack. After a comba, which may be prolonged for dave, Providenca de. clares in favor of the. largest battalions, ard th, leas nUmerons commaity is exterminated. Gzhting literally to the last ant. Where a colony 15 game. Iested It increases rap!dly In popalntion, and un. dertakes to lay out roada: one of these, from twg to three inches in width, bus been traced to & dig. tance of 100 yards (rom the city, Otuer instances of the exhibition of uny. sual intclligenco by ants are Guolva ma same article : 3fr. Bzrr, in his ¢*Natarslist in'Nicaragng» (page 27), eives the following nczoant of the mag ner in which the Zritons, or forazinzaats of Cea. traland Sonth America, deal with what may bg called encincering ditticnlties: ** once saws wilg - column trying to pass along a crambling, mearly perpendicula slope. ‘Thes would have ot very slowly over it, and many of them would hae fall. ¢n, but u number having secured their hgy und reaching to ecach oOther remained sty tionary, and over them the maln columy passed. Another time they were crossing a water. coursealong a small branch, not thicker thang goose-quill. They widened thls branch to thres times its natural width, oy 8 nawmber of ants cling. inz to it and to each other on each side, over which the column passed threa or four deep; whereas, oz cept for this cxpedient, they would have had to pass over in single fle, and. treble the time would have been consumed. ™ Agzain, in Eciton legionis, according to Mr, Bares, wien digging minesto get at snother species of ant whose nests they were attacking, the workers were divided into parties, **oneset ex- cavating aad another set carrying away the graing of earth. VWhen tho statts became rather deep tas mining parties had to climb up the sides each time they wished to cast out a pellec of earth, but their work was lichtened for them by comrades who sta- tioned themselves at the mouthof the ehaft and relieved them of thelr burdens, carrying the par. ticles, with an appearance of foresight which quite stagwered me, o sufiicient distance from the edga € of the hole to prevent them from rolling in again,” The languege of ants is supposed to be one of signs, or to depend chiefly upon feeling. It is not believed that they emit sounds aydible to our ears. Their principal argans of ‘speech are said to be the antennm, Another suggestion is that their laugusgs and that of all social insects may depend, in part at loast, upon the prodnction and recog. nition of odors. Their sense of smell is. certainly developed in a wonderful degree. “ Collectors of lepidopters are well aware that, if a virgin fomale moth of cer- tain species is inclosed “in a bor, males of the same species will*make their appearance from distances which may be pronounced, relatively speaking, prodig- ious.” Some menns of expressing desires there must be; for it is known that they often form in line of march and move with the promptitude and precision of military columns. They, have sometimes sent out parties in numbers proportioned to the work to be done. Two heaps of larrm being made of unequal size, it was observed that the number of ants sent to the larger heap was double that sent to the smaller, These are but single instances where many might be ndduced. The whole species in intelligence, thrift, and souad economical science surpasses many -races of man; and the study of the swarming life shown in the ant-hill may perhaps serve to teach that modest stillness and humility than ‘which there is nothing more becomes a man. Scientific inquiry having poked its specnlative nose into all the impracticable questions of the day, a subjeet of great importance now pre- sents itself for investigation. This question is, What is the occult connection between notoriety and the leeture-held? No sooner does a man or woman find himself or berself noticed by the press, however favorably or unfavorably, than an immediate onslaught is made upon that most delicate part of the human organism—the pocket. Mr. STANLET, disentangling himself from the embrace of the gorills, flies to Cape Town, Africa, and—lectures. Mr. Tox HE¥- DRICKS, finding that not enough people took an interest in bim to elect him Vice-President, as- sumes from that fact that the country is anxions to hear him—lecture. Mr. THeODORE TILTON baving been aroused by a newspaper publication (furnished by bimself) to a realization of the despoliation of his home, buries his grief in s— lectare. Mr. A.OAREY HALL having permitted himself to become complicated with a lady whose leftcheek is adorned with an excrescence establishes himsélf on the apex of the wart and delivers a—lecture. The Rev. Hewgy WimD BEECHER having demonstrated that s man’s confession of his iniquity 1s not enough to con- vict him, paralyzes his enemies with a—lecture. If Mr. FRANK RANDE, charged with a qullon of two of murders, should escape the ciutches of the law, we may confidently expect a—lecture. Should a fortuitous combination of improvide- tial circumstances prevail on the Soutb Caro- lina Penitentiarv to let go fts hold on Senato? PATTERSON, what guarautee have we that we shull eseape a—lecture! We are fast losinZ sight of the fact that WENDELL PriLLIPs re- ed only half a dozen votes for Gurernor of Massachusetts in that gentleman’s propensity to—lecture. For lecture purposes it is mani- fest that *‘fame lies more in good than evil dceds.” and virtue, not more than raseaiity, succeeds fn the Iycenm of to-day; but the ques= tion is Why! and the suffering public look anxiously to the searcher into abstract truths for an answer. ———— Tramps going about Ing slms on the ground that they seek but cannot find work, do not always tell the truth. For example: Siz uble-bodied tramps, who elent at the palice station i Quincy. Mass., 2 few nights azo. were ollered in the norning by a granite contractora £00d breslfust and then work ‘in the quarty fora month, with the additionn] promise tbat the best two should bave worz ail winter, Butthey all strajghtway bezun to muke excnse. One #aid be had friends in New Pedford, and he was snsiond to pet there: unother was going to Boaton, where he had a job: two hud agreed to work for 8 woman who lived a short distance from the viliage in re- tarn for the supper ¢he had triven them. and g0 o2 with all of them. _They prefecred to_ trawp about the country. begging their food and slceping i3 barns, Jock-ups, ete], to working for & living. ——— The Southern press expressa good deal ofdis gust ot TILDEN'S wild threats and querulons complaints. The Richmond. (Va.) State voices the sentiment which apoears to be pretty gen= erally entertained when it says: Mr. Trpes whould strive to understand us bet- ter. and, if he be in carnest about his declared in- tention ‘of contestinz the Presidential seat. he mizht as well know at once thut he will have 1o svmputhy or aid from this part of the world in openinz a question fraucht with so many elements of discord and bitterness, which has been 30 peaco- fully und satisfactonly seitled, We Mz Tipes will refrain from farcher exhibition of temper, and in futare strive to make his personsl grievances sccondary 10 the general good. kel el The New York /feraid si “Is it possible that Mr. TWDES ‘lays the flattering that be may dis- Haves? With our opinion of Mr. Tipex’s practicsl we caonot credit it; and yet if be flighty man it i3 easy to see how ba might delude hiuiself in the present condition of affuirs at Washington. Ifit should so bap- pen that the Democrats gain control of ‘the Senate, a sanguire, brain-sick man, a *cloud- weaver of phantasmal hopes,’ might imagine great possibilities.” e — - We would affectionately call the attention of the monometallists to whatSecretary RICHARD- SON said in his book on Funded Loans, page 113 ‘“The bonds of ecach of those issues, uB~ like those of any other loan ever issued by the Government, express upon theirface, in aecord ance with the requirements of the law applict- ble to those bonds alone, that the D 3 unction to lis soul’ place and replace Mr. high PTRE ‘“mmwm