Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 16, 1879, Page 4

4 THE CHICAGO TRIBU B: SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 16, 1879—SIXTEEN PAGES Thye Tribune. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 0STAGE PREPAID. .$12.00 .00 BY MAIL—IN ADVAXNCE- T'wily Edition. one year... Perts o1 8 year, permonth. Sanoay Editwn: Liceriry2nd Retigions Double Shect.. Eaturday Ll v WELKLT Cioe cory. Der year. Cixro1 four. Counts. Remittances may bemade elther by draft, express, Fost-Ofiice order, or in registered letter. at our risk. TERMS TO_ CITY SUBSCRIBERS. Pens, delivered. Sunday exgepted, 25 cents per week. Lafly, delfvered. Sunday fncluded, 30 cents per week. Address THE THIBUNE COMPANY, Corner Madizon and Dearhorn-ts.. Chicago, Il Creers sor the delivery of Tz TRIBUXE at Evanston, Englcwood. and Byde Park jeft in the counting-room w illzeceive Lromytatention. . TRIBUNE BRANCH OFFICES. fer the recelit of subscriptions snd advertiscments as Toilows: NEW TORE—Room 29 Tribune Bullding. £.T.Mc- 4DDES, Manager. T'ARIS. France—No. 16 Rue de la Grange-Bateliere. 3.Manrxe Agent. LONDOYN, Eng.—American Exchange, 448 Strand. Ersrey F. GiLLig, Agent. AN FRANCISCO, Cal,—Palsce Hotel. WASHINGTO: SOCIETY MEETINGS. No. 1319 F street. APOLLO_COMMANDERY, XO. 1. K. T.—Stated conclave Tueedsy evening, Feb. 18 1970, Mem. ersof other communienied bre alwars welcome. By B Emil ommander. iidag e T!?s. TLFFANY, Recorder. CHICAGO.CHAPTER. Xo. 127, . A, 3.—144 Twea- Regutar Convocation Monday evening 17-recond-st 225 Oclock, for work. Vit comy panions cor- ‘gially invited! By order of the M. E. H. SMITIL, Secretars. —— SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1879. ELL The latest advices from Africa state the British loss in the encounter with the Zulus to have been 600 men. Tho force opposed {0 them is stated to have been 15,000, but this estimate is probably no more correct than thoss which RENo's men made of the number of the Indians at the battle of the Roscbud — The serious strike of the hands in the Tiverpool docks, which assumed such alarm- ing proportions and excited so much un- easiness in England, is now believed to be pear sn end, and it is thought that the strikers, after a couple of weeks of voluntary jdleness and self-imposed suffering for them- selves and their families, will accept the terms offered by the employera. e 1 775000 20,00 Tre Cr1cA60 TRIRTSE has established branch offices Enough has been ascertained of the senti- ments of the Bropgerr Committee to meke it reasonably certain that District-Attorney _Non M Ricordo Baxes will soon retire to the sweet solitudes of Lacon,—“the world forgetting, by the world forgot.” The Com- mittee will, it is understood, criticise his management of the affairs of his office with severity in their Teport, and it is believed that the Administration will take prompt action thereon. Ei — ~ The Senate passed yesterday by aa almost unanimous vote the House bill on the Chi- nese subject which limits the number arriv- ing on any one vessel to fifteen. The prin- cipal amendments adopted provide that the bill shall not apply to any vessel driven on the coast by stress of weather, or to China- men who come to this country to get an education, provided they bring with them a certificaté o that effect fromi their own Gov- ernment. It is believed that the House will concur in these smendments. e The Vaticanis showing signs of worldly wisdom, and an appreciation of the virtues of expediency set forth by St. Pavn. The negotiations between it and the German Government have teken s more favorable turn, the Papal authorities having admitted that it is tbe dutyof a priest to obey the 1aws of the country of which Lieis a citizen, so far as civil matters, at least, are concerned. With this concession made,—one to which Prus never would have consented,—the task of reconcilement between the Church and the State becomes easy. A statement telegraphed from Washington {o Tee TREUsE, and appearing in yester- day’s paper, to the effect that private advices had been received there that pleuro-pneu- monia was prevailing at the Chicago Steck- Yards, appears, upon investigation, to have 1o other basis than the fact that, under in- structions of the Treasury Department, an inspection of cattle at the yards had been or- dered. An examination made yesterday by 8 representative of this paper furnished con- vincing proof- that there has not been, end is nof, anywhere within the immediate mneighborhood of this ecity at least, any indicaton of plearo- pneumonia. On this point Mr. SmEnMax, Superintendent of the Stock-Yards, and other gentlemen also as well acquainted with the business as himself are unanimous. Dr. Deruzs, United States Inspector of the Stock-Yards, states that out of 10,000 head of cattle which he has examined lately, he hasnot found a single case of the disease. In order to “make assurance doubly sure,” however, he has, in accordance with the in- structions of Commissioner LeDuc, en- gaged Dr. PrexTicE, of Champaign, IIL, to assist him temporarily in the work of inspection. All the stories which bave been published concerning the disease here are either the expansion and distortion of the humiliation of having their names made public, there is.every incentive for good, honest’ work. The conditions and sur- roundings of the Cincinnati Festival are such thet the composer whose work is selecied will be made famous. The judges are thor- oughly competent for their work, and their decision will be made strictly upon the mer- its of each piece. Now let our composers go to work. Let us know where we stand in musical composition. ——r The withdrawal from the track as a candi ate for Mayor of Ald. Rawreiom, who had attained some prominence as an aspirant for the place, and the peremptory and uncondi- tional declination of Mayor Hears to run for a third term, have neccessarily improved the prospects’ for the nomination of Mr. A. 3L Weicnr. At present the candidacy seems, go far as the Republicans are concerned, to be limited to him and to Ald Gmoper, provided the latter finally decides to run, which seems aunlikely. For some time past appearances have indi- cated that Mr. Weicer would in all probability be the Republican nominee for position of Mayor. If nominated, he will make a lively run. He is a sharp, vigorous, aggressive, enterprising man, who does with all his might whatever he does. Withhim making the race, it will not be an apathetic campaign, as far as he is concerned, and, if elected, we shall have a vigorous, energetic, business administration. He will carry into the Mayoralty the same vim and business ability which he has exhibited in the man- sgement of his own affairs. . Heis & man who has opihions which be ‘is not afraid to express, aud which ke csn state in goo lenguage. el & AN SENATOR WHITE AS A REFORMER. The Legislature of Ilinois is in a fair way to'be enlightened, and to receive this enlightenment from Chicago. The rural ‘members, who have strange acd horrid no- +ions of Chicago, and are prejudiced accord- ingly against this city, may, perhaps, live to bless Chicago for knowledge of political economy as applied to tho business of legis- lation. Whén a rural member of the New York Legislature {aunted the New York City members with the character of the Repre- sentatives chosen by that city, Mixe Warsz retorted that it required more intelligence to avoid being run over by an omuibus on Broadway than was sufficient to meke o first- class rural member of the Legislature. We do not claim for the Chicago Representatives in the Legislature such a general superiority over other members, but we think that there js one delegate from Chicago who, before he concludes his term, may téach his asso- ciates much that they never dreamed of before. It must be - remembered that this city has also & legis.. lature, vulgarly called the Common Council ; that this body has the power, and exercises it, of levying four times as much taxes (and of expending the money) as are levied by the State Legislature. The Com- mon Council of this city generally contains some of the ablest and most intellectual men in the country, and many of them are gen- tlemen of infinite leisure,—that is, they have no known business or occupation, or, if they have any when elected, they abandon it to devote their whole time to the public. There is no pay or compensation attached to the office, yet the members whereof we spesk live, to use a sporting phrase, like *fighting cocks,” and are sble after one; or two terms to retire from all_industrial pursuits for the rempinder of therr days. To.the man who ‘understands his business, going to the Coun- cil is far more profitable than going to the Black Hills. The labor is easy, the refresh- ments continuous, varied, and invigorating, and the honor unequaled. It may be asked, How can aman’ work for nothing, find himself, and grow rich? The Common Council'of Chicago has often been called on to distribute in the way of appro- priations five millions and more of dollars annualy. Assuming the police force to be 500 men, and the solary $1,000 each, it is casy to resolve that the force be reduced to 400, and the salary of each man to $S00. This is a movement in favor of economy to the extent of $180,000 a year. Of course the police force will take immediate notice of this proposition, and they will promptly de- cide whether it is not better to place $15,000 or £20,000 in the hands of a friend, depend- ent on the defent of that measure, than tase the risk of being cut down ‘collectively £180,000. And, even when the police num- bers ornly 400, a proposition to increass the force to 500 will be accepted asa directnotice to 500 ontside persons to deposit from $50 t0 100 each with a friend, dependent on being one of the 100 new appointees. This city has three horse-railway com- panies, and two gas companies, and fifteen or tweuty steam-railway companies, and various manufacturing companies, besides some fifty or more shops for the receipt, purchase, and storage of stolen goods, kept Dby notorious thieves for the convenient dis- position of stolen property by burglars. All these are subject to the legisia- tive restraint of the Common Ceuncil. If they want legislation of the Council to facil- itate their business, they know where to make a”deposit; if a railway wantsto get into town, or to lay a side-track, it can make a deposit; if, however, these corporations are mnot in want of favors, then a senss of public duty will always suggest the introduc- tion of *f unfriendly legislation,” which progresses meeting after meeting until a sach occurrences as the sappointment of Government Inspectors, or deliberate fabri- cations for the purpose of hurting the trade of this city. Tt is well known that America has bounti- fally supplied the Iyric stage with great singers. ADELNA PatTi, ArBani, KErioce, Cazy, Lirra, HAvg, Se6Ury, Gavromp, Vax Zaxpr, and other prominent ertists might be mentioned, who have reflscted credit upon their profession, and made America famous sbroad. It is a little remarkable, however, that while this country has been so prolific in singers, it has not kept pace in composi- tion. We have one or two composers who can lay claim to prominence, and several in the second rank who have yet to win their spurs, and a long list who will never win them. We have produced one or two sym- phonies, one oratorio, and two or three small operas whose merits are mnot vet permanently fixed. What progress, if any, we have made in com- position, however, is now likely to be determined. The prize of $1,000 for the best composition of choral and instru- mental music by musicians of native birth, offered by the Cincicnati Mugical Festival Association, ougbt to set our best composers to work in esrnest. They have until next October for the work, and they have the kmowledge that the successful piece will have ine advantage of being performed by the sufficient deposit is made. . As the riceptacle of stolen goods—the schools for the education and encouragement of ihieves—are never disturbed by legislation, they probably keep a sum on deposit all the time. Ifin what we have said we have suc- ceeded in throwing any light on the subject of scientific municipal legislation, then per- haps the reader will understand how a person who has served in the Common Council so long aad so successfully as to be able to re- tire voluntarily full of honors and with no want unsatisfied can instruct the members of the General Assembly in the att of apply- ing the principles of political economy to legislation. There are those who can remember the old practice, in the days of steamboat traveling, of the colored gentleman ringing a bell and notifying passengers to ** Step up to the Cap- tain’s office.” When a measure is introduced into the Common Council to correct abuses, break up monopolies, and remove extortions, and it is 1aid over to be published, it does not require the ringing of a bell to make known its purpose. The invitation fo visit the Captain’s office is fully under- stood. There are many abuses prac- ticed in the State of Hlinois. Many mo- nopolies, and extortions, and outrages are in fall blast in all parts of the State. There are corporations owning 8,000 miles of railway in Illinois; there are numerous horse-rail- way companies ; gas companies are robbing best ‘talent in the country. As the unsue- cessful competitors will not be subjected to the people right and left ; and even PuLraaN is running his palace-cars all over Illinois and extorting §2 per bed from the weary end exhausted travelers. There are telegraph companies, and telephone companies, and express companies, and various manufactur- ing companies, all engaged in the shocking and anti-Christisn practice of making all the money they can out of their business, without ever remembering that there are 204 patriotic laborers at Springficld who Lave mo income save the Lumble pittance of their per diem! ~If a member of the Common Council of Chicago who has no per diem can bring monopolies to their milk, what might not a member of the Legislature of Iilinois—with the whole State for his field, with fourteen public charities dependent on his vote, and with unlimited jurisdiction—do if intelligent and fully sensible of the obligations due from him to society end to suffering humanity? Sepator Georce WaITE is not likely to disappoint the people of his district. There never were two opinions of his long service in the City Council; there are not apt to be two opinions of his services in the State Senate. No man could perpetrate a fraud, o!tempt o rascelity, practice blackmeil, or do auy other act to which objection might be made, in the Council, without tho Lnowl- edge of Mr. Wrrre. He seemzd to discover public wrongs intuitively. He knew when and how to expose monopoly, and how to propose the remedy. Every evil-doer and extortioner in the city dreaded him, and re- joiced when he left the Council. But, alas for them, he reappears in a higher position, and already, clothed with the authority of the. Senate of Illinois, he has sum- moned the sleeping-car companies of North America to show their hands, to' disgorge . their past plunder, and give bonds to suffering humanity for the future! Nor is the sympathy of our Senator confined to the wrongs of the sleeping traveler; it goos out to the enlightened millions who sit under the gaslight as well as to those yet groping in the dark, and he wants the gas companies to show their hand also, and to satisfy the Senate of Illinois that gas shall hereafter be furnished to.the world free of cost. It is surprising how magical is the force of example! Promptly upod the dis- play of Senator - Warre's coursgeous de- mands on the gas and the Pullman-car companies, there was a bill introduced re- quiring all the banks in Tlinois to hereafter do business under the supervision and direc- tion of n committes of the State Tegis- Inture! Ia due time Senator Waxre will nn- doubtedly grapple with the telegraph com- panies and tke telephone companies. The prices far board at hotels 1 Tlinois really excludes thousands who would put up &t such places if the rate was fixed at §1 per dny, and WnTE is the man to move in the interest of the poor man. AMembers of the Legislature may be some- what surprised at these daring legislative strikes of the Chicago’ Senator ; but when they once thoroughly know the man and understand his purpose it will be a wonder indeed if he hasnot a strong following of legislators equally zealous to bring the monopolists and extortionists to & sense of what is due to the representalives of the sovereign people of the State. Mr. PoLi- arax has begun & correspondence with Sena- tor Wrrre throngh the papers. 3Mr. Ponri- AN evidently does not know the man with whom he has to deal. He cabnot satisfy a public outraged through its Senator by any such cxpedients as that. The Senator, speaking for the country, declares the PoLi- A profits to be enormous; that the charges are too high; and that Purraay must come down. So with the gas companies. So with il other corporations dealing with the pub- lie. They must all come down, or theyshall feel the power of the Siate of Ilinois, exer- cised by the experienced and uot easily abashed Senator from the First District. In the meantime, we congratulate those of our fellow-citizens who elected Mr. WrrTe on the evidence that his elevation and his surround- ings have in no wise changed or wenkened his energies, and that he will inall probabil- ity win for himself a conspicuousness not al- ways atta’ned. He may havefollowers nnd im- itators ; but, as a vigorous and relentless pur- suer of all corporations having money, and as the suthor of more legislative bills calling for satisfactory explanation, be will stand for- ever in the history of the State as the pio- neer, without a peer or a parallel. ‘WASTE OF TIME IN THE SCHOOLS. The law of the State, as decided by the Supreme Court, excludes German, music, and drawing from the studies of the public schools. If school authorities provide for such studies, they do so by sufferance. They cannot enforce them. The adoption of these studies in the public schools of Ghi- cago is strongly opposed, and we think with much force. If thecity had school accom- modations for all the children, then the ob- jection would not have the force it now has. There are in the city 121,474 children of school age. The number of seats in the schools is 41,500. The number of scholars seeking admission in 1879 is estimated at over 60,000. Of the children who enter the schools but a very small percentage complete the course, but all the schooling they get is that which they obtain in the brief time they attend theso schools. Every hour, therefore, that they can attend school is of the utmost importance to them, and every hour lost from practical study is an irrep- arable loss. The average school-life of those who enter the Chicago public schoals is put down at only 410 days in all, and" a large part of this time is in the first two years of the school studies,—the lowest_grades. Of the 41,500 children in all..the schools, 17,500 are in the infant classes,—the first-year grade.. Of this large number the averaga school-life of more than one-half does not exceed 100 days. To children, therefore, whose entire school-life is limited to 100, 200, 400, or 500 days, and who after that leave school forever, every half- houris of the utmost importance, and to take from this limited time, 1n"which they must learn to spell, to read, to write, and get a knowledge of figures, a portion of the day, for German, music, and drawing, is a serious deprivation of that com- mon-school instruction which the ‘law pro- vides. In the onme case the instruction is utterly valueless, while it takes from children time that might be of the mtmost value in the matter of spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic. From a statement made to the Board of Education we learn that omitting instruction in music to those children whose whole school-life;is limited to 100 days would be equivalent to adding a half-month to their instruction in spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic; and that omitting music and drawing from the studies would be equivalent to adding a month each yeer to the common-school studies of 43,000 children. Under these circumstances, the ob- jection to musical and drawing instruction to ‘pupils whose whole school-lite ranges from 100 to 400 daysis of great force; it is an objection to - the wasts of one month each year to each pupil, which ‘month is of the ut- most importance to him in the study of the far moro indispensablo spelling, read- ing, writing, and arithmetio. The waste of one month a year to ezch of 48,000 pupils cannot be justified. It is 8 denial of that instruction which the law provides, and that, too, without furnishing the children avy equivalent. The boy whoso time is lim- jted to a few hundred days in which to lenrn all he can about spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic may as well be turned out of school a month or two months before the expiration of his time as to have him taken away from those studies and putat ‘music and drawing. Certainly thero ought to be some remedy for this waste of time and money, which might be more properly and profitably appliex LYING AS A FINE ART. 3 It is doubtful if that peculiar figure of rhetoric commonly called a lie can be cloimed to bo of modern origin. We believe there havo been few periods of the world's history when it ‘has not been koown ; indeed, its re- corded use goes back as far as Apax and the Garden of Eden. The existence of this artifice thus early in the childhood of the race would seem to indicate that, like the use of metaphor and other rude figures of speech, it is primarily a natural endowment rather than an ncquired trait. The theory receives confirmation in the prevalemce of this propensity among the rude and uncivil- ized races. Missionaries tell us that one of the first characteristics which they observe among savage tribes is that they are fearful Jiars: though it is but just to the heathen to note their claim to a discovery of the same foible, in a more elaborate and refined form, among their more civilized visitors. Bat,while this tendency to exaggeration or obseurity of speech has doubtless ex:sted in a crudg form among most primitive peoples, it is only in recent periods and among highly- civilized societies that it can justly be said to have risen to the rapk of a fine art. Itis an art with so many branches that a volume t.ould bo needed for an elaborate treatise upon them all. We can note only one ab this time, and that is, lying donein the witness-box. Whether or not our age may be entitled to any special pre-eminencs as regards a capacity for lying in general, we think it may be sa%ly claimed to have done more than any other to develop and bring to perfection this particular form of the art. While lying is practiced in & careless, humdrum sort of way in most of the ordinary walks of life, as it very likely always has been, the really great and brilliant efforts in that line are in our time reserved for courts of justice or investi- gation. Had the cynic who said in his heart A1l men are liars” lived till our day ho would have been ablo to powerfully reinforce s somewhat sweeping generalization by attending one of our trials at law, or church investigations, or Congressional inquisitions, or military inquiries. He might then have perhaps added that, while all men are liars, the greatest liars are those who preface their lies by a solemn oath to tell the truth. He would have found that our court-rooms and other places created for the discovery of, truth are the scenes of the most artistic and colossal lying. While the old question, “ What is truth ?” is in an abstract sense one not likely soon to be secttled, and making all allowance for infirmities of memory and other inevitable .elements of disagreement in human testi- mony, it is yet singular that our mothods of discovering the truth as to matters of act- ual occurrence should be so unsatisfactory and discouraging in their results. = When- ever there are several witnesses of an event or a transaction, we might reasonably expect o concurrence in their testimony respecting its leading features. But their statements of the plainest matters of fact are usually hopelessly opposed ; and the hearer ‘who listens to one side thinks he or the wit- nesses must be dreaming when he comes to hear the other. Not all the cunning of lawyers and the judicial power and wisdom of Courts suffice to elicit truthful state- ments of transactions concerning which, if honest, all witnesses should substantially agree. There has not been a famous civil, military, political, or ecclesiastical trial of lateyears that has not caused the public to stand aghast at the avalanche of lies which it let loose upon them. The wonder is not so much that there are lars in a community and in all the various walks of life as that so many of them should get places on the wit- ness-list. It would seem as if there were n grand contest going on at the present time for the championship of lying, acd that the places selected for the contests were the witness- ‘boxes of courts, or committees, or synods, or courts-martial. Certain it is that some of the grandest liars of his- tory have stepped into their dubious fame from these uncomfortable pedestals. The Porrzs Committes are cntitled to the credit or discredit of having brought into notice some of the most prominent competi- tors for the prize. ANDERSON was thought to be not only the great lying hero of that investigation, but *the champion liar of North America”; when along came Nephow ¢PrrTON, Whose statement that he was author- ized to buy Florida or anything else for sale ismet by Tmpex's coming into court and quiefly ¢ confessing unto him that he never knew him,”—and thus becoming, though aged and past the natural period of active strife, a promising contestant with the younger men for the championship. But this must not be awarded hastily. There are other competitors besides the politicians. The art of Iying, 1n which they are indispu- tably proficient, is not unknown to other pro- fessions. E'en ministers, they ha’ been ken'd, 1In holy rapture, A rousing whid at times to vend, An’ pail't wi’ Scriptare. It was remarked by a prominent ‘divine that,in all great ecclesinstical trials each sida thinks the other.side is Iying; and he added, with pleasing candor, that both are usually correct. The Beecmen trial, both in court and council, in which most of the important witnesses were either clergymen or prom- inent church-people, would have been speed- ily and justly settled if all parties had simply told the truth. The amount of moral hardi- hood necessarily displayed on one side or the other is almost unthinkable; yet it was there, all the way through,—and in that case somewhere will yet be found & few of the great monumental liars of the age. The Tarange trial, soon to come off, will doubt- less furnish its quota ; and so will other lesser and greater church-trials yet to come. The EronGerr investigation—in which the witnesses were maily lawyers and Judges—revealed such conflicting tes- timony that it is suspected that in the very profession which makes a busi- ness of detecting and exposing liars will be found a few likely competitors for the lying championship. The medical profession ought not to be barred, for we all know wha improbable things they can -sny of one an- other ; but as long as they persist in con= ducting their investigations of proresswnal sinners with closed doors the public cannot, of course, judge of their proficiency in. the hyperbolic line. Even the modest Literary guild unconscionsly glides into the domain of the incredible. When. accused of thab form of appropriation euphemistically termed a plagiarism, and confronted with. striking co- incidences of phraseology from previous pub- Tication, they demur to the soft impenchment by intimating that they never heard of tother fellow or his book, and thatif any possible resemblance exists it must be owing 1o the sbsorption of an assimilative and re- tentive memory which hardly ever forgets a thing, but sometimes - fails to remember where it got it. Itwould be a queer thing if the **dark horse™ in the race should be one of those quiet “literary fellers”! Bub the field wilt not be left entirely to those of peaceful pursnits. Thé military profession Das already indicated a disposition to take part in the contest. In the late Revo in- quiry éeveral witnesses swore positively that an officer was staggering drunk ” on one occasion, on which several others swore with equal positiveness that they were with him all the time, and ho hadn't * assimilated ™. a drop. That case is evidently entitled to contribute from its cloud of witnesses to our list of competitors. But we do not need to swell the number further. Tn that unique organization known as the ¢t Sazerae Lying Club,” an account of whose transactions was lately published in a piqu- ant volume, the qualifications for member- ship consisted solely in an ability to tell enormous and elaborate ““ no-such-things "— the man who could tell the biggest whopper being entitled to the Presidency of the Club. We do not know whether it is true that by the rules of this Club all witnesses in famous civil, military, or religious cases are entitled to ex-officio membership, without further evidence of fitness ; but, if 50, we think the Club would run but little risk of securing snitable and desirable accessions. It would, however, be compelled to limit this provision strictly to the most distinguished witnesses ; otherwise the Club would be overrun with applicants. Itwould be necessary, of course, to exclude witnesses in our lower courts of law, where the spectacle of liars in the wit- ness-box is too common to possess novelty for lawyers, and yet furnishes an important illustration of our subject. Itis a frequent experience among attorneys that a smarb +witness who lies straight out and all the time is mearly as hard to caich as one who tells tho truth all the fime. The theory that “A lie well stuck to js as good gs the trath,” seems to be an especial favorite in the witness-box. The faint-hearted half-liar is easy to trap; but the shrewd, out-and-out one, who invents one story to cover mp another, is ncarly in- vuloerable. He is bold and successful, for he scruples at nothing, aud conscience never ¢ malses cownrds ” of hiskind. Itfrequently happens that all a Court snd jury can do in the jumbla of conflictng testimony is to make up their minds which sido has proba- bly lied the least, and give it the case. The TIrishman who, when asked ¢ Guilty or not guilty ?” replied, *“How can I tell, your Honor, till T hear the evidence?” did not make the bull that was supposed. Itisnot 50 much doubt as to the law or facts that makes o case uncertain, as it is doubt as to what will be sworn to by the other side. We have in our courts the most elaborate and improved machinery for detecting lies and getting at the trauth, but it is evident that it does not do the work well. Lying in the witness-box has become so much of a fine art that an art equally fine is needed to detect it. Who will proJuce a new invention for the certain deteciion and discomfiture of liars? THE VALUE OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. A communication on the subject of Sun- day-schools, printed in Trg TRIUNE & Week ago, traveled a long way beyond the premises with which the writer started. His quarrel seems to be not so much with the manner in which Sunday-schools are conducted as with the Bible and the Christian religion. Either ‘branch of the subject would be, it scems to us, all that o single writer could profitably discnss at once. It would be wise and log- ical, moreover, for one who attacks Sunday- schools on these grounds to begin with tho larger subject first, and dispose of it before taking up the other. Admitting that the Bible is largely composed of fables and gross impostures, and that the Christian religion is a mistake, the Sunday-school, of course, is o useless institution. Bui there are a good many people still in the world, *Sunday- School Graduats” to the contrary, who are not yet prepared to make these admissions. For their benefit weo wish that this subject had been approached more calmly, and that the serious objections to Sunday-schools, supposing religion to be necessary and de- sirnble, had been clearly stated. 1t is our own impression that mistakes are oceasionally made by Sanday-school teachers, as by other teachers., Children- are some- times cruelly and needlessly frightened. The sternest old Calvinistic doctrines, that wise clergymen have wrepped up in cotton and put tenderly away, are offered to the young by foolish and ignorant teachers. Narrow sectarian dogma is often tought in thesameinjudicions way. Weremember hear- ing of a little girl who came home from Sunday-school weeping because she had been told her Jew playmates would surely go to Hell. The supernatural in the Bible is also too large an element in the *lessons” of a certain class of teachers. But these are only mistakes, after all. They do not affect the theory of the Sundny-school. Though de- plorable mistakes, they do not outweigh the immeuse benefits conferred by wise teachers in good Sunday-schools: 'We should no sooner think of abolishing Sunday-schools ‘because some children have been badly used in them than we would think of abolishing secular schools because brutal corporal pun- ishment is common 'in some, needless branches of instruction are pursuedin others, and the morals of the young are contami- nated in many. . We shall get a clearer idea of the merits of this question if, instead of insisting on occasional injurions effects of Sunday- schools, we estimate the common and per- manent benefits arising from them. In the first place, they disseminate a knowledge of the Bible. Even in the narrow and partisan view of ¢ Sunday-School Graduate ” this is a .highly-desirable end. ~We should not be ekeptical ignorantly, if we are to be skep- tical at all. How many persons of mature years owe all that they know of the Bible to Sunday-school instraction! How many have learned first in the Sunday-school what po- etry and vigorous Saxon prose are contained in that sacred book! And, admitting that there are some passages of che Bible not fit tobe read aloud in mixed company, who shall say that its morality is not, on the whole, finer and higher than that of most ; other books? The man who has not in | boyhood studied his Bible in Sunday-school | is apt to be at 8. disadvantage, merely from a { literary point of view, duriog bis whole life. Another benefit of the Sunday-schools is their practical help and encouragement of the poor. Mission-schools are founded where churches cannot be supported. They flour- i ish in the poorest regions of great cities, in remote frontier settlements, at cross-roads villages, among the depraved and the ig- norant; and they do more to teach thesoe clnsses thrift, Lonesty, and decency than all other agencies combined. Sunday-schools of this kind, it should be remembered, have not departed far from the original plan of tbofe founded by Rosenr Rarmks. They are in effect Ragged Schools. They teach children to read and write, dressthem well sometimes, look them up at home, lift them out of squalor and filth, and ofien procure them honorable employment. We do not see how there oan be any dispute nsto the usefulness of such charities. They nre sn honor to Christianity,—an offset to all that is said of aristocratic and exclusive religion on the avenues, to fashionable church-going and dilettante preaching. These are not all the benefits that arise from Sunday-schools. They break the mo- ‘notony of Sunday for many children, give them agreeable society, amusement and in- struction combined, and & higher ides of their own place in nature than most of them would get at home. But it is not necessary to pursne the subject further. Ifit islooked at in a candid spirit, without any disposition to find fault, it will be admitted that the world would be a great loser if the Sunday- schools were sbolished. DEFEAT OF THE éOSTAL-SA_VINGS' SY8- M, A result of extensivefailures among the pri- vate savingsinstitutiors of the country within the past two years has suggested a closer in- quiry than wes ever made beforeinto the sav- ingssystems in other countries under Govern- ment auspices. The result of these inquiries led up to the introduction of several bills in Congress, all governed by the same principle, and only differing in details, with a view to affording Government security for the small surplus earnings of the laboring classes in the shape of a deposit or loan to the Gov- crnment. It was agreed by all who had given the suhject any study, aud who were actuated by considerations for the mass of the people, that 2 system modeled after the Postal-Savings Banks of England should be provided without delay. Such a system would be a great boon to the laboring classes,—to the day lsborers, mechanics, factory operatives, miners, clerks,—and at the same time it would be an advantage to the Government in affording an unparalleled facility for placing the Government debt entirely among the American people at a rate of interest not exceeding 4 per cert. But the defeat of the Pmrures bill in the House last week by a large majorify proves that the influences adverse to the establishment of such a sys- tem have prevailed, and no postal-savings measure will be passed by the present Con- gress. These adverse influences came from the owners and managers of Eastern savings institutions, and from the corporations and individuals enjoying the use of the accumu- lated capital of the masses. These people were convinced that the deposits would be withdrawn from their private institutions, even though drawing & larger rate of inter- est, in order to seek a Government gusr- antee; and hence, guided entirely by sel- fish motives, they have brought such influ ences to bear upon individual Congressmen’ s to defeat the great popular demand for a Government savings system, and force the laboring classes to intrust their * surplus to the safe-keeping of private banks. The experience which the masses have had with the private savings institutions in Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Pittsburg, and other cities will merely serve to discourage thrift oand economy; the wage and salaried classes will prefer to spend their earnings as they go rather than risk their loss by depositing in concerns whers they have no other guar- antee than private honesty, which has proved to be very frail when exposed to the tempta- tions of the banking business. There is just one hope of partial relief from the present Congress, and that lies in the possible pas- sage of the proposed bill for 10 Govern- ment certificates, drawing 4 per cent interest, and exchanpeable in certain amounts for 4 per cent bonds. Private. surplus earnings would not go into these certificates to any- thing like the same extent they would seek the privilege of postal deposits in any sum ; but the certificate scheme will still afford some protection against the savings-banks swindles. It'remains to beseen whether the Eastern influences will succeed in strangling this measuro as well as the postal-savings ‘proposition. A TRUE BENEFACTOR T0 THE COUNTRY. ‘We hear a great deal of fustian talked over the scrvices rendered to his country by this or that politician, statesman, or soldier. We lionize and eulogizo them. They baskin the sunshine of pnpuhrity._' They are courted and petted. Wherever they go, they are the centre of admiring throngs. Their society is sought for. Their praise is sung by the poets. Honors are heaped upon them, When they die wo give them a gorgeouns funeral, and on their graves we pile up pompous marble memorials. As the years go on, we celebrate their anniversaries with stately processions and festive surroundings. Of the nameless and obscure heroes, how- ever, we hear only by accident. Great services are rendered to the country by those in obscarity, of whom the country only hears Dby accident; but it is rare even that accident is sufficient to rescue them from obscurity and make their names Iknown. So they go down to their graves, and will slumber on until the Great Assizes, when some of the great heroes will appear very small, and these humble and nameless ones will receive their reward. the United States the name of & woman who ““hath done what she could ” for her conn- try. The bitter pangs of poverty compelled ber to tell her story in a modest way, and that story .shows a record of which any womsan might be proud. The simple narra- tive came to the Secretary of War in the form of a petition from Mrs. Errzasers Up- zicuT, of Butler County, Iowa. She sent tgn sons to the War. One of them resigned, six of them were honorably discharged, and three of them were killed. The eleventh son, the Bexzayoy of the flock, was too young to fig\}t 1 the War for the presarvation of the TUnion, but in 1873 enlisted as a private in -the regular army, and in 1878 was discharged by reason of the expiration of his term of sern?e. He immediately re-enlisted, and is now in the service. His mother has reached her 72d year, and isin poverty; thereforeshe prays the Secretary of War that her last and youngest son may be honorably dis- ,charged from the service, in order that An accident has presented to the people of he may be the prop and suppott of her de clining yedrs,—the staff apon which she may lean as she grows feebler and feebler, wearied with the journey so nearly done. To bring sunshine into her humble home, to free her from the pangs of poverly, and to provide her with the comforts and attentions which the nged need, she’ feels she must have the strong arm of the youngest son. The Sce retary of War has granted her petition, and ‘made honorable public mention of her. This is the most he can do. We presume it is all the Government can do. Even if it were not all, it is not probable that Congress could spare time from its consideration of jobs, grabs, subsidies, and Recbel claims to give this obscure and poor old woman any. attention. . The people, however, can do something for her. If there is any sense of patriotism or of gratitude left,—if her great service is held of any account,—she will not be left to want, and her few remaining years will be made comfortable. She is not a beggar, nor does she come before the people asking any favor. The War has been closed nearly fif- teen years, and she has gone on into old ags withont complaint. Now that she is too old to work, and poverty is at her door, she has simply, in a true womanly way, asked the Government to whom she has given her eleven sons that she may have back the youngest, so that he may care for her. She does not ask for a dollar. She makes no complaint. She probably would not have spoken at all had not poverty compelled her. There onght to be thousands of people ready to contribute a small amount so tha she can have a comfortable home, and that her re. maining dayd may be removed from any pos- sibility of suffering that money can avert. We are squandering money in public and private. We are constantly bestowing char- ity upon less worthy parties. She does not ask for anything but her son. All the more should this Spartan mother who gave all she could to her country, and who has given mors than any other womsn did, be substantially rewarded. THE POPE AND THE GERMAN EMPIRE, Some months ago, about the time of the second attempt on the life of the German Emporor, it was announced that there would bean effort to reconcile the differences be- tween the German Empire and the Vatican, on the basis of 8 common hostility t2 Com- mumsm. A dispatch from Rome nowbrings the information that cordial lettershave bzen exchanged between the Pope and ths Ger- ‘man Emperor, which acquiesce in the desira- bility of mutual concessions and a general reconciliation between the State and Church. There is reason to believe that this good an- derstanding will be definitely established; that, on the side of the German Empire, the Farck laws will be materially modified, and that the Pope will accept the civil law in its new shape, and instruct the- Bishops and - clergy to conform to it, and act in harmony with the awil authori- ties. Though Brsiarce is undoubted- ly hostile to the Ultramontanes, he i3 stilll too much of a diplomatist to fight two formidable enemies at one time. Just now the Socinlists threaten the peace and welfars of the Empire, and it has been thought necessary, in order to suppress every vestiga of Socialism, to adopt laws which are equiv- alent to declaring a state of siege through- out the Empire. Bui there are many in. fluential men -in Germany who, without having the slightest sympathy with the Socialists, their aims, or their methods, ars still opposed to the gaglaws which Bis- MARCE approves. It is necessary, therefore, to unite as many elemonts of society, politics, and the Church in support of the new regime as possible; and it is undoubtedly this con- sideration which has led to a willingness on the part of the German Government to modify its policy towards the Roman Church in part, and to seek the aid of the wide- spread and important influencs of the Vati- can in the support of the new Government measures. The present Pope, on the other hand, is not so much disposed as was his predecessor to hold out against the prog- ress of civil government, and is probably inclined to meet Brsyrazck half-way in a rec- onciliation for the mutual benefit of Church and State. It is better for the Vatican thaf its ‘Bishops and priests in Germany should ‘be permitted to exercise a full sacerdotal m- fluence, even at the cost of certain conces- sions to the civil authorities, than to be cons stantly embarrassed and harassed in their at- tempts ot resistance. This new alliance will be to the advantage of both Church and State, in 5o far as it may crush out the spirit of Communism, but it will bea serious injury to the German people if it shall insure the passage and enforcement of laws against lib- erty of speech and action that are more repressive than the necessities of the situa- tion require. There isdanger that Brsvarcx and the Pope may agree that neither the strength of the Government nor the infla- ence of the Church will be lessened by laws of needless severity, and in this they msy both make a serious mistak: BENEFITS OF SUNLIGHT. The unusual severity of the present winter hasled a good many people to turn their thoughts. and bend their energies in the direction of warming their houses who have heretofore left all that to the furnace and servants, There are many precautions that masy be taken, by the selection of a furnsce large enough for the service required of it by providing the chimney with a proper “bonnet” to protect the flues against adverss winds, in the construction of a house, etc.; but all these things require the expenditure of money os well as thought, and there are those people who, with the best of mten- tions, have to take things ns they find them. There is one simple rule, however, which al most everybody can observe without waste of time or expenditura of money, and which will always make the greatest difference in personal comfort during the cold season. This is to cultivate the sunlight to the largest practicable extent. - In all houses with a north front it is the positive duty of families occapying them to transfer their living rooins to the south side of the house during the winter months. The sun rises and sets during the six cold months of the year to the south of east and west, 80 that south rooms are warmed up by rays the sun more or less during the entire dsy- Those who have mever experimented With the differencs will probably be surpnised o learn that there is a difference of from five to twenty-five dagrees in the thermometer between the north and south expnsu!fsy five to ten degrees difference in the morning and afternoon, and from twenty to twen‘y- five degrees in the middle of the day. The glass in windows is a non-conductor of ats mospheric cold, while it is au assistance to. the nctive transmission of the sun’s rays of light and heat. Wherever the sun’s rays cat be enjoyed longest during a winter's day i3 the desirable part of the house for liviog purposes. . Due attention to this fact will contributa .