Evening Star Newspaper, September 27, 1890, Page 9

ae THE EVENING FALSE LEGS AND ARMS Veterans Get Artificial Limbs to Re- place Those They Have Lost. HOW SUBSTIUTES ARE MADE. Most O14 Soldiers Prefer the Money to the Limb—Trouble Occasioned to the Surgeon General's Office by Delay in Appropriations. —_—-._—_ HE OLD SOLDIERS all over the country are mak- ing things red hot just now for the office of the sur- geon general of the army here in Washington. They want their legs and arms, and the goverument has been slow about dealing ‘These artificial members, with which Uncle Sam provides all the maimed vet- erans at stated periods, were appropriated for fn the sundry civil bill, which was delayed for so log in its passage by Congress. In conse- quence of this delay the brave old cripples have been obliged to wait over-timo for the limbs due them, and they have notdone it very eheerfally. Hundreds of lettersa day have been pouring into the surgeon general's office de- manding to know why their claims were not | Satisfied. while Senators and Representatives have had their letter mail largely increased by requests and even threats on the subject. A Srar reporter was informed that the great majority of the veterans accept amoney equiv- alent instead of the legs and armsto which they aro entitled. The law passed by Congress in 1870 declared that every soldier or sailor who had lost a limb or the use of it in the service of this country should be supplied with an artificial one to replace it once every five Fears at the government's expense. Or it was ovided that. if the beneficiary did not wish take the limb, he should be paid its cash value instead. Now, an artificial limb is a yery costly thing, and many an old soldier pre- fers to stump around on a woolen peg and pat his $75 in his pocket. That isthe sum given as “commutation,” so called, for a leg, #50 being the amount paid for an arm, MAIMED VETERANS. It must be remembered that the law covers fot merely limbs lost but also limbs rendered useless, A man whose hand has been disabled by s contraction of the fingers, resulting from disease or injury incidental to service. 18 entitled to an artificialarm. If his toct has been amputated above the ankle is entitled to @ whole artificial leg. Of course there are many more old soldiers who have dis- abled limp: an have lost them, and they necessarily drgw the money. Thus you will find that ont of 15.000 veterans who receive this bounty from the govern- ment every five years only about 800 call for actual arms and legs, the rest ac- cepting cash: instead. Per- haps as many as 800 more Prefer to go withont the Srtificial legs they need. as & measure of economy, using stumps or crutches instead. ‘the one-armed men take their checks néat-paefEns MONEY TO lyevery time. When the law LEGS. was first passed nearly us many arma were called for as legs, bat the cripples soon discov- ered by experiment that, while an artificial leg is @ most useful piece of mechanism and a very fair substitute for the real article. the best false arm is hardly more than a thing for ornamental Purposes. So it came about that there have een a few applications for arms since, 99 legs being made at government expense for every arm. Of course, the old soldiers are most of them Poor and they count upon this payment of €75 or $50 when the time for it comes around. A delay may be a considerable misfortune to them. Hence their anxiety and indignation on the sabject was not altogether unreasonable, Even those who desired reai artificial lim! doubtiess want@g them badly. For, you sce, the average store leg of the best ality lasts about eight years, and those of the veterans who use them are mosily accustomed to make them do for ten years—though they may get somewhat dilapidated and shaky in the joints toward the end—deing thus enabled to draw their $75 every other five years. TRANSPORTATION FoR VETERANS. The government has a list of about forty ar- tificial limb factories in all parts of the United States, from which the veterans may make their own selection, so that any one may have his leg or arm turaed out by any of these es- tablishments that he —— All of the man- Ufacturers on the list are under bonds of 10.000 each to suppiy the old soldiers with Satisfactory goods, It is provided incidentally by the law that the person needing the limb and being provided with a certificate for it shall be given free transportation from his home to any city he desires, where a factory is situated, with sleeping-car accommodations and return. Thus a veteran in New York may desire to be measured for a leg in San Frau- cisco and, if so, is entitled toe trip across the continent and back once in five years in a Pullman palace car, free of expense. He must 5, for his meals en route, however, which he likely to consider an outrage. To the re- cent md Army convention at Boston old soldiers went as deadheads from ali parts of the United States for the purpose of being measured for arms and legs, SOME TIME BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Of course this is the fifth distribution that is being made now of artificial limbs, and the unavoidable delay has brought the whole busi- ness in one tremendous rush upon the office of the surgeon general, who ever since the sun- dry civil bill passed has spent most of his time signing certificates in duplicate. He is doing his best, but the old soldiers seriousiy object to Waiting. Last Monday he reevived a vi calling for the usual $75 from a one veteran in Pennsylvania, It had reached Wa ington the morning before, b intermitted on the Sabb of twenty-fo: y afternoon, how- ever, the check off by post. On Tuesday, the day after. a very choleric letter arrived from the old soldier. Said he: “How Jong is this damned ungrateful government go- ing to make me wait for my moner? I sent in my voucher last week and Ihave not received it yet. It isan outrage. sir! 1t your subordinates were made to do their duty, instead of loatin, the veterans who fouz 4 bled in the « Vice of the country would not have to wait in- definitely for their due. I trast I may get my €@75 some time before Christmas.” MAKING ADMINABLE SCBSTITUTES, Since the war, which necessarily created an @nlarged demand for artificial limbs, there has been vast improvement in their manufacture, Legs are made so admirably now that one can Walk with two artificial ones so well as to ex- hibit very little ity im the gait. Willow oz basswood is the material used. ‘The lumber is most carefully selected and cut into biocks eight inches square and four feet long. Holes &re drilied through these biocks Jengthwise with an auger and they are allowed to season for three yeors. Then they are ready tor use, The block is carved and sand-papered into shape as exac ke a real leg as possible, Next it is hollowed out to the desired thick- after which it is covered with kid and the ‘ed water-proof by a coating of aps sh. The lower part of the limb connected with the upper by an ingenious knee joint, and the whole interior of the leg is filled with mechanism in which a spiral spring plays an important part. Rubber, With « wooden core that is of the ime piece With the lower leg, is the material of the foot. It is vuieanized upon the wood layer after layer and gives a natnral spring to the ‘The arm is made pretty much the same way, but with comps little mechanism, the hand being of ruvber, with a wooden core and fexible wires extending through the fingers, so oe fo latter can be — iu any desired posi- ion for grasping or other purposes, covers the hand always, becauss meee ble to make it look to learn how to walk wi accommodate the motizs of the hve to those of the imitation, aud not the anomie a6 is commonly done. e CAUSES OF AMPUTATION, A veteran is entitled by law to one limb or its equivalent im money for cach amputation suf- fered, so that some old soldiers who have no limbs left that are of any use get four new ones every five years or $250 if they preter. Out of sil legs lost by meu 33 per cent are ainputated ase of war and only 15 per cent on account Of disease, 3i per cent of the cases being dne to raitways, which are thus seen to occasion loss of almost as many as battle, Women, cu- ealeed wees lose 5i peo int. The way mi artificial leg is to means & disposition, according to statistics, to lose their it legs much oftener than their left. Itshould be mentioned that not merely the veterans of the war, but all soldiers and sailors, and civilians as well, who lose a limb or the use of it in the service of the United States are en- titled tothe bounty descrived once in five years, 2 SHREWD BUT UXSCRUPULOUS ATTORNEYS, In 1870, when the law was first passed, shrewd Washington attorneys got lists of all the crip- pled pensioners from the Pension Office and sent circulars to every one of them, saying in each case: “We have ascertained that you are entitled to such-and-such money from the gov- ernment and we will obtain it for you on con- dition that, after you have received it, you will remit to us 10 per cent of the amount.” Blanks were inelosed for the pensioner to fill out with his application and voucher and in- struction was civen that these blanks should be forwarded to the office of the surgeon general here. Of course the office receiving the blanks made out in due form suspected nothing, had the cases investigated according to the law and paid the amounts. Sabsequently the attorneys wrote to the applicants, saying that they sup- posed the moucy had been received by them and requesting payment of the 10 per cent. Of course their cue was to persuade the bene- ficiary that they had exerted themselves per- sonaliy in his behalf and got the cash for him, the fact being that the pensioner had only to write to Washington on his own account and receive his §75 or #50 without ao penny’s cost to himself. By this ingenious method three firms of lawyers in this city cleared $20,000 in percentages within one month, But the surgeon general soon realized what was going on and put a «top to the busi- ness by the simple expedient of adopting a new . Whenever one of the old style ed at the office after this it was sent back to the applicant with one of the new-style blanks, which had a notice at its top informing the pensioner that he required no legal ser- vices to procure his money and had oaly to inform the office directly in order to get his cash at any time. Of course this cut the sharp lawyers’ industry short off, inasmuch as it would have been of no use for them to send out copies of the new-style blanks, tuat exposed their scheme. FORTUNATE CRIPPLES, Of all the crippled veterans in the country the most fortunate are those who are em- ploged at the Capitol in Washington. Several of them are on the employment list of the Senate, which never thinks of dismissing servants who conduct themselves properly. Fourteen more serve as messengers for the House of Representatives, and a law was passed by the Forty-eighth Congress declaring that they shall not be discharged save for cause, which must be reported to and ap- proved by yote of the House. These mes- sengors serve as doorkeepers for committee rooms and for the entrances to the House when it isin session. Their duties are light and they get €1.800 a year each, though they do no work between sessions, soME OF THEM. Of the heroic fourtcen Private % H. Decker isthe most remarkable, inasmuch as he has lost both arms. He lost them at Perryville, Ky., by a premature discharge of artillery, and the accident entitles him to $100 a month pen- sion, At present he tends the doors of the press gallery. Hugh Lewis, a private, lost one arm at the last battle of Bull Run, in August, 1862, Private Joln Stewart lost one of his arms by a musket bullet at Chancellorsville, his other band being considerably damaged, nando Page was compelled to relinquish both legs by the explosion of asheli, James J. McConnell and John R. Whitaker have both lost a leg, the former at Stevensburg, Va., in 1863, and the latter at Richmond, Ky., in 1862. J. W. White abandoned one of his ‘arms at Jonesboro while accompanying Sherman's march to the ses, The missing arm of John Kome was left upon a field of battle in the Mexican war. E. 8. Williams was mustered out of the Army of the Potomac with one leg Jess than he had when he entered it. Gen. W. T. Fitch holds the courtesy rank of brigadier, though one of his legs has been rendered en- tirely useless by a gunshot wound. Col, Wilham Irving ‘was serving in the thirty- eighth Ohio regiment when he had one leg shot off and the other permanently disabled, Capt. John Ryan and Capt. John’ A. ‘Travis J.P. Wilson had ave each lostaleg. Ma his entire lower jaw shot away at Fort Donel- son. He draws €50 every five years as an equivalent for an artificial arm. Any one would rather lose an arm than a jaw. Seven of the men on the maimed soldiers’ roll in the House have been appomted by republicans and seven by democrats. On the Senate side one of the assistant doorkcepers, Capt. Johu G. Merritt, lost the use of his right jeg by a gunshot wound received at the first battle of Buil Run. ‘wo other Senate employes lost each anarm in the late war; they are both doorkeepers at present. The former of the two, J. Bail, lost his arm at Blakely, Ala., in 1865, w J. M. Pipes suffered a similar mis- fortune in the service of a Pen teer regiment. Capt. Merritt, by the way, was awarded a medal of honor by Congress for bravery on the field. THREE SENATORS lack a limb apiece. Butler and Wade Hamp- ton, both of South Carolina, have but two lexs between them to represent the understanding of the delegation from that state. Both wear wooden limbs, though in Butler’s case you would never suspect it. He lost his on the field of battle, while Hampton, who fought ali through the war without receiving a wound, sustained an inglorious amputation on account ofa kick bya mule. Berry of Arkansas lost a leg in fighting for the confederacy at the battle of Corinth. A tew members of the House have to get along without a leg or an arm. Gen. Hender- son of Iowa, Boothman of Ohio and Laws of Nebraska are each minus a leg on the repub- liean side. They, together with Lynn of Min- nesota, who has only one arm left, are entitied to an artificial limb every five years from the a the demecratic side Gen, of Mississippi and Oates of Alabama each lost an arm and Stone of Kentucky a leg; but Uncle Sam does not provide them with any substitutes, soe Three Good From the Philadelphia Times. Corbin was the body servant of an aged planter, Maj. N——, and by some means had found out that old master had. in his will, bequeathed his riding horse to him at his death, Corbin was very anxious for a good horse and was quite as anxious that the old gentleman should ride no other. So he be- came very assiduous as to his master's comfort and ane wetcalarg be fouud any de- Stories. fect in the selecte rger. Massa,” he woul “dat horse you rides gwine break your neck some dese days, Him de wossest horse on dis plintation. I spects to see him tall down wid you ebery time you gits on he back. I vizes you, sa, to hab dat sorrel geldin’ wha’ dey calls Curlneck; dat's de horse for you, ol’ massa. I's sure of dat.” And, us ‘ol’ massa” had great faith in Cor- big and his knowledge of horse flesh, he always STAR: WORTHY OF HIS HIRE. A Congressmaa'’s Heavy Expenses and Light Pay. CONGRESSIONAL MONEY POT. Ought Senators te Pay Their Own Pest age?—Pablic Business at Private Ex= pense—Senator Ingalls’ Emphatic Re- marks—Views of Other Soions, _—— ‘Written for Tax Evexme Stan HEN Franklin Pierce was in the White House an old crony from Rye Beach came down to see him and after dinner said tohim: “Frank, I want ®@ sapgaree.” The Presi- dent was surprised at the abrupt request, but he seized @ bell and rang it, and when the sable servitor responded said: “Sam, get the gentleman the nicest port sangaree you can inake.” “No, no, Frank,” interrupted the guest, “‘you misunderstand, I don't want anything to drink. I want to be appointed to one.” “One what, Bill?” “A sangaree.” “Want to be appointed to a sangaree?” “Now, you've pocketed it!” The President meditates awhile, and then he said “Well, you'll excuse my dullness, Bill, but I have heard of a port sangaree andeven of a Madeira sangaree, but I'll be hanged if I ever heard ofan official sangarce.” At last he found out that a ‘‘sinecure” was the thing that was wanted, and (presumably) gave it to him, ‘The United States Sonator's position is not a “sangaree.” When John A, Logan was running for Vice President he said to me: “Some of us Senators work like slayes and are actually put to our trumps to live, My postage this year has cost me $1,500. It is a disgrace to the country that our salaries are such a beggarly pittance. Salaries have nominally been increased since the war, but our perquisites have been so cut off that my salary isn't much more that half as large as it was when I first camo to Congress. It iy hard sledding for » man who tries to be honest.” The controversy between the House ani Senate today not so much because of eech as because the House a few negatived the Senate's demand for clerks for all the members of the lower House. Nine-tenths of the membors of both Senate and use think that their salaries ought to be in- creased at Jeast one-half, but whenever the question comes up itis defeated. ‘The average statesman stands in awe of the rural voter, WHAT THEY AY, Ihave made something of » canvass of cur- rent opinions on this question this week: “Yes,” said Souator Pettigrew, “I am in favor of increasing the annual pay of each Senator to 210,000, and I will vote for it whenever I get a chance. I am opposed to a restoration of the franking privilege on account of its possible abuses, but favor alump annual sum of 500 or $1,000 for postage.” said Speaker Reed, in roply to a ques- think every memper ought to have o Yet Ishould probably vote against it question came up and my vote would Lecause, yousee,” he continued, thought- ly inepecting’a fly that was crawling up the opposite wall, *I'd rather be here without a clerk than to have my successor here with one.” SENATOR INGALLS’ VIEWS. I cajled upon Senator Ingalls and asked if he thought that the government ought to pay the postage of letters which Senators write on pub- lie business. “The question answers itself,” said the Sen- ator, ‘Shere is no reason why a Senator or Representative should not have the same facilities afforded him for the transaction of public business with his constituents that are extended to every other department of the government. ‘The abolition of franiing was 4n unwise concession toa supposed popular demand, which I do not believe ever existed, The people of the United States are intelligent, ener and reasonable. While it is true that Jefferson, the great leader of democracy,taught his followers that ‘in a popular government wealth, mtclligence and education were ulti- mately no match for numbers,” yet the final verdict of the people is always just. “Undoubtedly to men of ymuil carnings and narrow incomes $5.000 ® year seems like a colossal revenue, and the “impression is sedu- lousiy disseminated that with such resourcea we ought to be able to live like Vanderbilts and Astors, in the enjoyment of opulence be- yond the dreams of avarice.” Replying further to the subject of postage Mr. Ingalls said: “My postage account runs from $500 to @600 a year. Iam allowed #125 per annum for postage, newspapers and sta- tionery. For two or three hours every day I write or dictate letters to stenographers as fast asIcan talk. My correspondence comes from every state in the Union and each detter re- ceives areply. GOVERNMENT CLERKS MORE TRUSTED THAN SEN- ATORS, “What we ought to have is the penalty en- velope that is used by the departments. It would facilitate the transaction of business and not be open to the abuses to which the unre- strained frank is liable. I know of no reason why a clerk or subordinate inthe Pension Oifice should be allowed to inclose a letter to me about a claim of one of my constituents in a free envelope, which, when I transmit to him, Iam compelied to inclose in another envelope and pay 2 cents postage. Every head of de- partment and every chief of division and every writer in all the offices has thousands of these envelopes at his elbow, which he bas a right to use upon goverument business, without restric- tion, while we alone are compelled to pay post- age. In thus discriminating against ourselves we have declared that we are not fit to be trusted and have practically assured the people that unless restrgined by statute we would send our soiled tinen through the mails and defraud the local laundry. I know of no better evi- dence of the mediocrity and cowardice which characterize the public service than the fact that we have made ourselves exceptions to all officers of every class and degree and deliber- ately declared that we only are unworthy of trust and must be manncied to keep us from plunderig the public, It certainly 13 a de- grading attitude.” OTHER SF-XATORS, I asked Senator Dolph what he thought followed bis advice. CHIRP JUSTICE MARSTALE. The great Chief Justice ‘was a manof well known simplicity and gentleness, ‘The follow- ing anecdote is told of him: He noticed that his carriage horses were very | thin, and he was advised by friends that his | coachman sold their provender. Encounter- | ing this individual, he said to him: “John, my horses seem very thin and poor. How is this, John?" “Well, old massa, I can’t splain it; dey gits plenty to eat, I tell you, massa!” “Well, John, and here's Col. Picket’s horses, they seom very fat.” “I gwine try and splain dat to you, massa, Dey's like dey massa and missus. Da’s Col, et, he’s fut, and his wife she fat, too, and so dey horses keeps* fat, ob course, and’ you know, old massa, you’ ’ and serawney, and ol’ misses, she’s po’ and scrawney, too, so in course yo" horses dey's po’ and wcrawney.” ith a “Weil, John, bland smile, *I never heard that idea explained Itmust think over it.” before. And he yielded the ficld to John, DODGING THE QUESTION. The plantation negro was not wanting in sagacity or even humor. A planter having missed a pet fox which he had tamed asked of a negro lad: “Sam, what has become of that fox?” “— dunno guctly, massa, but I speck he done de, “Why do you think he is dead?” i ‘ massa. I cotch dat fox tarrer day wid chicken »m he mouf and | sorter bit him on he bade shingle and I trow him down de hill andIain't been see him sense dat and sol spose be done dade.” —— roe. If She Wouldn’t Breathe It. From the Detroit Free Press, “Mra. Boggs,” said Boggs in a hesitating way, while he and his wife were eating dinner, “if I felt sure that you could keep a thing to Yourself and not’ breathe it to any living per- on—”" “Oh, don't keep me waiting all day, now,” said Mrs. Boggs, What is it?” enicnny" sand’ Boggn Bet abe was tat nad te take anything less than €10, “28 - about it, “I have always favored an increase of salary,” he said, “and either the penalty frank or money enough in some way to pay postage.” “Iam opposed to the frank,” said Senator Pierce. ‘1 have always opposed it editorially and sce no reason to change my mind. And think $5,000 salary is enough. I live within mine, and so do others who choose, It is not ag much as we would like, of course, but per- haps the taxpayers do not havo always as much as they would like.” Gen, Grosvenor said: “I think we could got along without an increase of salary if every member of both houses hud a clerk, I'm in favor of that; with that exception I favor re- trenchment.” I asked Watch-dog Holman of Indiana what he thought of it. MR. HOLMAN HAS ENOUGH. “I don't believe in it,” he said, “The pres- ent salary does very well. My postage is about $150 year. An allowance for stationery (or postage) is made to euch of us of 8125. Besides that the mileage mast amount to 250 apiece on an average. A Congressman can live within his salary if he wants tq. 1 have no committee now, and hence no clerk, but Iam just as well off aswhen I two committees and two clerks, for Seog sewer attended to any of my individual public business, No, we are domg very well. If the salary were made @7,000 it would be a temptutiou to avaricious fellows to buy their way im on account of salary.” SENATOR HARRIS, and then moved to Mexico, had an opinion: “I think a Senator ought to receive $10,000 a yearand & resentative $7,500. The Se Siegen ee probally ett anita nea boueees get half as man; ed gresvional tion. 5 our entire con; de! ‘The con- is @ good deal barder- to travel than it used to be, “When I first came to in 1848 evory member was allowed otat moreover, clerks in the departments wrote the oo of members on all letters they could te ni “I don’t think an allowance in money should be made for pos' ; but I think the frank should be restored, under conditions that would prevent its abuse. It ought to have been done. long ago. After the milenge of members has been reduced three-fourths and the stationery account nine-tenths, it is a shame that we should have to pay postage on the public business.” SENATOR MANDERSON AT WORK. I hunted Gen. Manderson to his committee room (printing) the other day. He was at his desk writing lctters—he always seemed to be writing letters whenever I chanced to find him, and, although it was6 o'clock and dinner time, Mrs. Manderson sat by in a rocking chair, wait. ing for her husband to finish his mail, ‘More stamps,” I remarked, as an introduc- tion, : “Yes, indeed,” exclaimed the lady, ‘it soems as if ull the money went for stamps. I wonder why Congressmen insist on paying all the post- age on letters which they write mainly for the benefit of others?” “The people seemed to have decreed that they shail do it.” said the Senator, driving on 1m reply to his distant correspondent. “What is your postage now, general?” I ventured to ask. “It has been as high as $3a day,” he said, “for long periods at atime. It is not quite so heavy now, I suppose that if people at home knew just how matters are here they would pay our post: But they don’t know. They can't know, ‘They never will know.” And he paused in speech while his pen raced along over the paper, After a little he wok up the vocal thread where he had broken it, “Take the average citizen of ., Ohio. for instance. What sortof an image of a United States Senator hashe in his mind? To him the office a einecure and its holder a Sybarite. His ideal Senator is a man who lives in luxurious idleness—who rises just in time to dress in purplo aud fine linen, eut some uail, terrapin, pate de fois gras and ice cream, rink some champagne and gtt to the Capitol in time for the cpening of the session at noon; whose desk is loaded with flowers sent him by beautiful ladies; wha listens to specches or casually makes a few himself whenever friends in the gallery request it; who strays out fre- quently to get a cigar or a drink; gocs heme early in the afternoon and attends a dinner and ball at the President's in the evening. THE REAL SENATOR is different being. Instead of recklessly spending large sums of money he is compelled to be frugal in order to bring hia outgo within bis income. Instead of lounging on velvet illows with fair women to swing incense under Hidcieee ana veua to ict he oars mood atl day and digs cellars all night. “See Low his day is divided, for instance: If he be at all scholarly in his temperament or is making a considerable study of any question he rises early in the morning at all seasons and works before breakfast. After breakfast he reads his letters and answers them till 10. Perhaps a hundred letters is an average day's budget and he cannot reply to half. Then, three or four times a week, he gocs to a com: mittee meeting tili 12, At this meeting he re- sponds when the chairman reaches him in course aud reports on the bill or claim which was referred to him at the Inst meetin; and ro- ceives another to examine and report on at the next meeting. These are not mere requests: they are packages of papers, more or less pon- derous. In my callow senatorial days, when the first case was assigned to me in the com- mittee on claims I said to the clerk, with the Breatest nonchalance, ‘Yes, that’s ‘all right; send it up to the house and I will look it over this evening. He looked surprised, but when Igot home my wife met me at the door and said, ‘Look here, who on earth has had all this siuff sent here?’ for there were two hg mail bags full, obstructing the hall. [t took me all wy leisure for two months to get at the merits of that claim. “Now lam on six coramittees—one for each day, if they met every week. The military commitice has had 1,000 claim cases before it this session—more than 100 to each member. I must find out what isin every parcel commit- ted to me, so that Ican tell the other Senators allabout it. How do you suppose I get there? Isteal some time from the Senate and I work nights. And remember the cases from all the other committees—the claims, the petitions, the complaints. Tonight I sall write letters, IN SOCIETY. “The society that we have away from home is chiefly at dinners which Scnators give to one another, and they are really in intent and, in fact, business dinuers, That is to say they greatly facilitate the work on hand, for we talk shop. One of these little affairs is given almost every week by some Seuator, and as they are usually confined to one party they are ocea- sions where quarrels are made up, differences composed, politics agreed on and campaigns laid out. “hese dinners generally simple and inexpensive are very valuable ag auxiliaries of the stated sessions on the hill here. Besides the sessions and the dinness and the commit- tees und the cases to examine and the letters to answer Senators in this Congress have in- troduced about 300 bills each on an average and have declined to introduce about twice as many more. Every Senator, moreover, must run to the departments at least three times a week, making of himself at once a pack horse, a beggar and au errand boy to get somebody promoted whom somebody in his state has hoard of, to get a messenger appointed, to get some document sent which somebody’ thinks may have been printed, to obtuin the seeds ef some new sort of carrot or to make a thousand and one inquiries most of which might better have been obtained by letters direct. “Why don’t I resign? Because for these miseries there are spleudid compensations, A mun will undergo a good deal in order to be- long to the greatest deliberative body in the world of mau; to be ‘permitted to strive to fill an office ¥o exalted; to enjoy the mental ac- tivities which come with high responsibility; to be able to do good to a great many people by serving them, 1t1s exhilirating to any man who is note dolt, [receive two thousand pen- sion claims a year and it does me good to ex- amine them and get the deserving ones al- lowed, ‘The conditions of senatorial life could be improved, but it isa noble thing to be al- Jowed to serve as a Senator.” A bill to give members the penalty frank is likely to pass next winter. Cnor¥er. Getting Onto His Curves. From Puek. Amateur photographer (in backeround)— “By Jove! T'mast meta picture of that maznifi- gentepecimen of manhood in action!” (Pre- Pares to catch the lightning twirler in the act Of delivering an inshoot. FACTS ABOUT WEDDING RINGS. They Are of Ancient Origin and Signify Good Faith and Fidelity. OU WANT TO KNOW why the ring is used as a matri- , monial pledge?” said a learned Smithsonian cura- tor to a Stan writer, ‘‘The reason is very well known. It is employed as a token of good faith because the ring was originally and primarily a seal. In ancient Babylon, 4,000 years ago, all documents were at- tested by seals, as they are now, and the merchants very usually wore their seals on their finger rings of gold and other metals. With these signets they impressed their own pri- vateand particular devices upon the agreements and = contracts of all sorts, thus Breas making them good and binding. Documents in those days were not written upon paper, but with a wooden stylus upon moist clay, which was subsequently hardened by baking. “From this source the seal has come down through the more modern civilization of Greece and Rome to the prosent day as a sign of good faith. Itis with that significance that it is laced upon the third finger of the bride's left and to seal the contract between herself aud her newly mado husband, Also it is surmised that the ring ig intended to remind the wife of the fidelity shé owes, Furthermore, the circle is the emblem of eternity. But why, you ask, does the bride choose the third finger of the left hand to wear her ring on? Simpiy because the ancients supposed that a nerve ran directly from that finger to the heart. I need hardiy say that the researches of modern anatomists have shown this to ve an error; but the custom survives. The courtesans of Rome used to wear their rings upon their thumbs because the thumb was sacred to Venus. “Hebrews regard the ring in the ceremony of marriage as of extraordinary importance. It must be ofa certain value, certified to by the ofiiciating rabbi, and it must be absolutely the groom's own property—not obtained by gift or purchased on credit, There ere a number of curious sup2rstitions about wedding rings. If one is broken i nifies to the wife that she is gomeg to lose her husband. 1 reaily think that & majority of women never take off their wed: ding rings, believing thet to do so would oce: ion misfortune, “The most extracrdinary custom re wedlock that I know of prevailed in England about the year 180¢ and before, particularly m Lincolnshire, and was calied marriage en chi- mese. A woman with some means of her own, marrying a mau who was embarrassed finan- cially, would go to the altar with nothing on but her smock, having been previo dressed to that primitive garment by bridesmaids. ‘his was copsidered to signify that the wife brought the husband nothing, and that therefore his creditors could have no hold upon her property for his debts, Some- times a sheet was worn merely for the same purpose. Hence comes the expression, some- umes employed by uncompromising papas in the old day: f you want my daughter, sir, you must take her in her smock.’ This implied that she would have no fortune.” comer casas Fashions for Gentlemen, From the Boston Transcript. Hosiery is seenin various colorings and of divers material. It is considered chic to havi the holes in one’s stockings in places where they are not obvious to the public. In trouserings stripes are principally affected by gentlemen having bow legs. ‘The effect is highly suggestive of the barber's pole and is always sure to attract attention, Umbreilas should be worn up during a down- pour. When it does not rain they may be rolled. They are then quite as useful as the cane in laying out work for the optician, Silver watches are still worn at the end of gold chains and it is therefore not regarded as good form to inquire the time of day of a gen- tleman whose vest front is embellished with a gold chain or its gilt equivalent, ‘Turn-down collars are most affected by gen- tlemen with no neck between their head and shoulders, Gentlemen with uecks constructed in the giraffe style of architecture find a hnen cuff the best substitute for a standing collar, Black handkerchiefs are still au courant. Impecunious gentlemen frequently affect a printing-oftice towel as a substitute. Only a connoisseur is able to distinguish it from the legitimate article, and it has the advantage that it never requires washing. Vests are worn under the coat, It is de rigeur that the right-hand upper pocket should contain three cigars of ¢abbage-leaf flavor. It gives one the air of a bon vivant and at the same time the expense attendant upon dis- covery is reduced to the lowest possible terms. For neckwear a large puff scarf is the most efiicacious in hiding soiled linen from public observation, A hempen tie is a noose style much affected in the less populous districts of the west, but it isconsidered de trop in fash- ionable circles of the east. Lawn or muslin 18 considered more apropos. Gloves should be worn when the hands are in a soiled condition, When the hands are scrupulously clean or are liberally garnished with diamonds the gloves may be carried in the outside breast puckct or ecarricd in the hand. It is necessary that they sboul.l be scen, otherwixe nobody would know that yon had « pair of gloves. A man or a goat withont kids tails to observe the tirst great law of nature. Shoes should be worn with the toes to the frontand the soles underneath, With shoes that have been worn for several months it is optional whether the wearer black them him- or engage the peripatetic artist of the pub- lic streets to do it for him. When the shoes are new itis imperative that the shining shall be done by the artist. If ydu deceive him into believing that the shoes are not new the advan- tage pecuniarily will redound to yourself. The cane should be as large and heavy asthe muscular development of the wearer will per- mit, It shouid be trailed, the ferrule end be- ing kept not nearer than ‘twelve inches to the heel. In this manner it cannot fail to attract the attention ef those whom it trips up. To such as cannot easily acquire this techerche method it is still allowable to carry the cane horizontally poised on the shoulder on a level with the cyes of anybody who is behind. How to Preserve a Piano. From Chambers’ Journal. Pianofortes must be kept dry and free from the least particle of damp, as dampness rusts the sirings and pins, inflates the felt and leather, utterly ruining the action work. For this reason on wet and foggy days the window of the room in which the piano stands must not be left open without the instrument being covered up. Itis not wise to place a cottage pianoforte with its back agamst a wall thet is exposed to the influences of the weather or one having a chimney flue running through it; ucither should it be placed too near the fireside, where it wonld be liable to encounter direct and un- dae heat. To prevent the keys of the instru- ment from becoming yellow it requisite to wipe them with a soft wash leather ewch time after uso and to keep them covered with a piece of white flannel reaching from one end of the keyboard to the other, Extreme degrees of heat and cold are fatal to the cabinet work and polish of apianoforte, When not in service it is rudeut takeep the piano closed, especially uring the summer months, as the moths hav- ing once found access to the inner parts of the instrument, do vast damage, besides ordinary dust clogs and is destructive to the mechanisni. In eases where cloth lining is tacked at the back of cottage pianofortes itis advisable to replace it by wire gauze and any opening at the bottom of the instrument must likewise be covered up. in order to prevent mice from find- ing a comfortable retreat in one of the secluded corners—under the keyboard is their favorite -spot in the piano. In country and farm houses—mice being more frequently found in such rezorts—this is particularly requisite, as these pernicious little creatures build their nests with the feltand cloth torn from the action, Fate. By tho hoof of the wild goat up tossed From the cliff where she Jay in the sun To the tarn whore tho daylight is lost 0 tarn ¥! 7" Bo eho fell from tho light of the sun, 27, 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES. AN EYE FOR AN EYE. “LEAD, KINDLY LIGHT.” A Terrible Story of the Wisconsin Pine- | Cardinal Newman and His Famous ries. ‘Milwaukee Letter to the New York Star. “You see,” said an oldtimer, as he sat ina northern Wisconsin land office a few days ago, “the people up there have law and justice these days, but it was not alwaysso.” He was & pre-emptor of Clark county and well posted. it was away back some fifty or more years ago that many outlaws made their homes in the dense woods up there. And when Henry Hos- kins and his young wife and two children came here to settle and clear up a farm for an honest life the gang soured on him and kept up such a warfare that Hoskins finally retorted against one of the gang. “So one afternoon seven of the gang. Hugh Boden, Jobn Gilfroy, Sam Deakin, Will Beards- ley, Duke Thomas, Syl Worden and his brother , got a surprise party on Hoskins. They bound him to a tree, and in presence of his wife and children laid the Tash on his bare back most unmercifully. The pleadings of the poor wife were in vain, No sound or murmur es- eaped the lips of Hoskins. “Finally, either by ‘accident or design, a blow struck Hoskins’ right tearing the ball from the socket. Hoskins fainted and his wife also feliin aswoon. The scoundrels now felt that they had perhaps gove too iar, so they siunk off, one by one. Upon regaining con- sciousness the suffering wile cut the bonds that held her husband and conveyed him to their cabin and under her care he recovered. But he was not the same man. His ambition was now only for revenge. In a few months his wife died from nervous prostratiou, He sent his children to the home of their grandparents at Dearborn, near Detroit, Mich. Hoskins re- mained on his land. ‘ke gang who perpe- trated the outrage on him were desperate men, but they gave Hoskins a wide berth. “One day Hank Worden—it was Hank whe lied the lush—was found dead im the woods. fhe coroner's jury found # verdict of ‘died from a bullet in the right eye, by parties un- nown,’ Weeks sped .. when the body of Boden was found--killed by a bullet in the righteye. And now a nameless terror seized upon those men. They dare not leave the woods, a8 x bounty was set on their capture. But they never left their shantics except with loaded rifles on their shoulders, The breaking of atwig inthe woods gave them spasms oi fear. Inaweek or two the body of Gilfroy was found—shot in the right eye. “Would not the Nemesis now concede his vengeance atisiied? The state of the re- winder of the gang yas pitiable. And when @ few days later the bodies of Deakin and were found, near the bank of the river, shot in the right the remaining embers of the gung--Syl Worden and Duke Thomas—pale, emaciated, scared and with shattered nerves, sought to escape from the unerring rifle of the man they hud so deeply injured—whose life they had ruined. They douned disguise and set out toward where now stands the city of Neilsville, but which was then an unbroken wilderness, ‘They took turns at watching, but thers was no escaping the Vigilant eye of ‘he who treasures up a wrong.” “The two men stoodonasiight elevation, watching the setting sun, when the report of a rifle broke the stillness of the scene and Syl Worden dropped dead—shot in the right eye. Inatew moments Hoskins stood in front of the solitary remainder of this gang of perse- cutors—Duke ‘thomas, Thomas pleaded for mercy. He held his rifle in his bands, but he was paralyzed with fear and dread, a evening; told of his dead wife, his shattered life, is ruined home. He had swor olemn cath of vengeance lust of the gang lay eye. Hoskins was ne: ¥ that the hermit, aged and gray bearded, and with only one eye—the left—who died in his hat on Hermit Island near Bayfield in 1866 was the same Hoskins, The initiais *H. H.’ were cut into the stock of his rifle, and seven notches with arudcly engraved eye borea ghastly sigmificance and partially solved the mystery of the old hermit’s life.” FOR NORTHERN TRAVELERS. “Lapping” Books No Longer Pays on Southern Railroad Trains. From the Atlanta Journal. “We don’t lap any more books,” said a chip- pernewsboy atthe Central depot last night. “Trath is, we lost so many that way till we just can’t "ford it, I don’t know for certain who tirst started such doings, but some of the boys say it was Billy McAfee on the Richmond and Danville road. Bound for Billy; he's al- ways starting something he don’t know noth- ing about. Old Bully is a leader for all that, The way that scamp can persuade the women into bayimg books is a sin and a shame, Ain't no use in talking; be can just do it; that’s all. I heard some of the boys tell- ing about how Billy's lapping of books worked the first day he fell on to the scheme, People looked wild when they saw the ‘butch’ throwing all sorts of books into their laps without asking a cent for ‘em. "T'was all Biliy could do to hold in when the women would look up and smile and say ‘thankee.’ But they changed their tune when he passed through the car to collect ‘fares’ on ‘em. Everybody was so interested reading the books that they wouldn't stop, and they flung out the little twenty-fives and fifties like shot out of a shovel. Some of the women didn’t have the change, and they was mighty sorry they'd started to read the books, They'd blush, and look like they wanted to borrow the funds, “Lapping worked splendid them times, but she’s clanged now. People are in the habit of getting off with the books, We lost anything that way? No, sirce. Many is the one that’s off with my books, but I made it up on the man, "iwou't do te get left. Talking about reading people, I've always been mighty successful at it. I can tell a preacher or @ lawser ‘every fire.’ Oh, yes, I always have bound books for their sort, I slipped one time, though. It was this way: ‘The company had purchased a lot of cheap books, ‘How to Cure Discasesof the Mind and Body,’ and as they was hard stock we boys was allowed double ‘commish’on’em. I had one left, and was mighty anxious to dispose of her. She way clean and neat, but she just wouldn't ay, coming out of Macon, I espied a little dried-up man, with shaggy hair and k-looking eyes. Ht had the littlest hands y seen, and legs and feet according, I t him down for juntrymen. I made bold je him. ‘Here's the last one 1 have jin stock,’ Isaidto him, ‘Better take it if you need’ anything of the kind,’ I argued; ‘this is the only one in print. Coun- try people don't ‘have to send for a doctor wheu they have this work.’ This little man looked up at me sorter tired, and said mildiy; ‘You little rascal! If you don’t go away from me I'll throw you out that window.’ I turned up my lip at the little old countryman and walked out. When we reached Atlanta the depot was crowded with people, and they kept up such whoopin’ and hollerin’ when the train stopped T poked my head out to see what was the matter. Would you believe it, they had this little countryman by the hands and looked like they'd yo plum crazy about him. Igot sorter uneasy, and I eased up to the conductor and asked him who the countryman was, and he said: “Look heah, boy, dov't you know Gov. Alex. Stephens?” i —— A Boycottad Boarding House. From the Brooklyn Eagie. Iknow of one house that is not troubied by tramps, It is the boarding house of Mra. K., which has been singularly free from these pests ever since oné beautiful spring morning in 1837. On that morning a dilapidated pedestrian applicd to Mrs. K. to: bite to eat,” and that iady feeling the inspiration of the joyous day and the exbilaration of the acquisition of a new boarder, had given him «cup of coffee and some bread and butter. He sipped the coffee, took a nibble of the buttered bread, thanked Mrs. K., and, remarking that there were times when it seemed a profanation of one’s spiritual nature to eat, slowly departed with a posone A nae in higeyes and fa cepeceenne A —— in his steps, pausing long enough by the gate to cut an odd-looking hieroglyphic on the Bark Since that day Mrs. K. has never been both- ered by a tramp. Occasionally one would reach the gate, but on seeing the tree would tura and ursae his ‘image. Poth patrraliy excited curiosity emong the of He Hi i i 48 Li i i f “Hoskins recalled the scene or that dread | Hymna, Eugene Field tn the Chicago News, The hymn tinkerers, as they are called, have taken all sorts of liberties with the late Cardi- nal Newman's famous hymn, known as “Lead, Kindly Light” Of this poem the author has the following to say in his “Apologia”: “I was aching togethome, yet for want of a vessel I was kept at Palermo for three wooks [this was in 1833]. At last I got off in an orange boat bound for Marseilles. Then it was that I wrote the lines, ‘Lead, Kindly Light,’ which have since become well known. We were becalmed & whole week in the straits of Bonifacio. ‘was writing verses the whole time of my Passage. * * © And first, I will say, what- ever comes of saying it (for I leave inference to others). that for vears [ must have hed some- thing of an habitual notion, though it was Jatent and had never led me to distrust my own convictions, that my mind had not found its ultimate rest, and that, in some sense or other, Iwas ona journey. During the same passage across the Mediterranean in which 1 wrote ‘Lead, Kindly Light,’ { also wrote the verses Which are found im the ‘Lyra,’ under the head ot {Bromide nees,’ Deginning ‘When I look ack. ‘The particular hymn in question is of three stanzas only and runs in this wise “Lead, Kindly Light, amid the eucireling gloom, Lead Thou me on; The night is dark and lam far from home= ‘ Lead Thou me on. Keep Thou my feet: 1 do not ask to see she distant scene—one step enough for me, “I was not ever th Sh Tloved to choose Load Thou me on, T loved the garish day, and, spite of feara, Pride ruled my will; nber Bot past yeare “So long Thy Power hath blest me, sure it still vi ” O'er moor and or crag and torrent, till ‘The nieht is gone; And with the morn those angel faces smile, Which [ have loved long since and lost awhile.” ‘One of the first things the tinkerers did was to hitch a fourth stanza to this poem, and this was the stanza “Meantime, along the narrow, rugged path Thyself hast trod, Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faite, Home to my God: To rest forever after earthly strife In the caitu light of everlasting life.” ln many of the hymnals the author's “one step enough for me” has been changed to ‘one step’s enough for me.” “I loved the garish day” has been weakened into “I loved the glare of day,” while for the line “O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent,” the vandals have substitated the commonplace “O'er hill and dale, through stream and torrent,” ‘The audacious liberties taken with the poem vexed Newman to a degree, and several years ago he served notice that his hymn consisted of three bh (quoted above) was dum of another pen, that fi Exe The man who wrote msy fourth stanza is now the bishop of but at that time he was editor of a de- lectable periodical known as the Hymnal Com- panion, Few newspapers bave quoted the hymn correctly, Much discussion has been had over the sup- posed obscurity of come of the expressions in the poem. After he was created cardinal the author pleaded that he ‘was not bound to re- member hit own meaning, whatever it was, at the end of almost tift A friend comes to the reseue and ‘The author of the hymn having now embraced the Tridentine doctrine of ‘purgatorium,’ a state of altogether indefiuite durat:oa—so indefinitely prolonged that masses for the dead are often endowed without any stated period of cessation —has re- signed the hope expresses in the hymn, or at least would not venture to utter it, and, on being unexpectedly asked to explain’ the lines affirming this hope, evades the difficulty.” But Newman did not withdraw or apologize for that poem. Had he lived somewhat earlier he might have been compelled to do both ere the church would have received him. HE WAS TOO WISE. A Know-It-All Nuisance Made the Butt of Ridicule. From the New York Journal, Among Rice's old acquaintances was a leades of the orchestra, one John C. Quite a musical kenius was C., and a great character. He was a perfect know-all. No subject, either artistic, musical or ecientific, could be broached in his presence on which he did not at once present himself as an authority, If @ fast horse was mentioned C, had » father or an uncle who owned one that could distance the animal in question with ease, Should any one ventare to give an account of a remarkable storm,where the hailstones were as large as hens’ eggs, the old leader was down on him with goose eggs at once. On « certain Sunday afternoon John Rice and a party of his friends were sitting on the back porch of his house listening to some of the marvelous experiences of C., when the host, gesting « little tired of these wonders, exclaimed: “-C., you seem to be an authority on most matters; now.I want your solution of a curious fact that is sturing us in the face, Look at that apple tree over the fence” —point- ing to one in the orchard at the back of the house. “You see it has no apples on it and all the rest of the trees are full of fruit; now, how do you account for that?” C, ran his eye over the orchard with a pro- found look, and rising from his seat mounted the fence, let himself down upon the otber side with as scientific an air as the perform- ance would admit of, and going down upon his knees began to cxamine the roots of the bar- ren tree. The company during all this time were watching the proceeding with becomin gravity. C., having cut off apiece of the b: trom the tree, wiped his eyeglasses and exam- ined the specimen with great care. At last he smiled with a placid kind of triumph and ex- claimed: Ah! I thought so.” Again climbing the fence he returned to the group who had been watching him and said: “Now, observe. You see that gray color the edge of the bark?” Theydid. ‘Well, that is called fangi mortem and whenever that deadly sign appears at the root of an apple tree it never bears fruit.” ‘don’t think you are quite right about it,” said Ince, “for that tree was fuli of apples yes- terday, but the owner came this morning and gathered them.” There was ashoutof laughter and C. was dumbfounded, It was a dreadful blow and it had the effect of curtailing the scientific dis- courses of C, for some time. cash Coated Diamonds and Smugglers. From the Jewelers’ Catalogue. We are informed that about six weeks ago @ Jewelgy firm not far from Madison Square, on Broadway, succeeded in getting a number of diamonds past the customs officials in a pecu- liar way. The diamonds numbered between eighty and ninety, and were worth in the vicinity of $12,000, as they were all On the invoice they were French jewels of the new kind, These dis- monds are made of brilliant pieces of glass highly polished and deftly covered with » thin coating of genuine dismond shavings. These stones are so expertly made thet it is almost im- possible to detect the imitation even by the use of a strong microscope. The tell-tale feature of the imitution stone is a roughness around the circular edge at the widest of the stone where the two layers of the coating: join. This is really the only way that the imitation pon bo Sebastes. ae. prem one rubies arealso made same way. It is necessary i detect this