Evening Star Newspaper, January 9, 1892, Page 11

THE EVENING STAR: WA‘ ye SHINGTON. D.C. SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 1892-SIXTEEN PAGES. COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN Those Who Will Direct Legislation in the House, HOW THE SYSTEM GREW. Gradual Increase of the Committees and the Duties That Were Imposed Upon Them— ‘The Present List of Chairmen Compares Fa- vorably With That of Former Congresses. Written for The Evening Star. HE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE IS LIKE the man you see at the circus, with the arms and thighs of a Samson, clad in the pink tights of a coryphee, who rides three or four horses at once and drives thirty or forty more. Resides being the presiding officer of the House he is chairman of the important little com- mittee on rules and bas to keep in hand and guide the fifty or sixty other committees which do the work of the House. The circus- man’s performance calls for nerve, strength and skill, but « large part of the feat depends upon his horses, who must look as fiery and able as possible and yet keep their nel to business and cut up no pranks. s with the speaker; his chairmen of com- mittees play a big and important part in the performance that the Speaker seems to be do POWER OF THE CHAIRMEN. ‘The men who get the chairmanships wield large powers. Each in bis line of work con- trois interests that other men just as influen- thal desire to advance. Thus influence ex- ebanges and multiplies itself, and you may also say that a dozen members usually control and un the House to suit themecives. In this the record of the majority party is made the output of legislation 1s determined. ‘There can be no doubt that such a system of legislation was wholly unintended by the founders of the government. Committees there had been almost innumerable in the Conti- nental Congress, but {they were for a special purpose and short lived. Such a thing as s an standing legislative committee was a slow and growth in the Federal Congress. was but oue in the First Con- gress—that on elections. In the First and ‘Third Congresses there were temporary ways and means committees,in the former toarrang nues, in the latter to provide money to In the Third ding committees on claims, vafactures were established. and means was made astand- During all the earlier Con- gresses both Senate and House were in the habit of asking the executive departments to draft bills, furnish reports and do much of the work now done by the committees. Frequent Fesolutions appear on the journal calling for reports from the Secretary of the Treasury on ays and means, to do this, that and the other thing. Jefferson alludes frequently to this Practice and to the informal way that cbair- men of committees for various purposes had of going directly to the President or his secreta- ries to formulate legislation. He also points out that it took a good deal of time for our Senators and Congressmen to realize one im- portant difference Letween the British parlia- ment and Congress, and this was that the former was “a jegisiature, an inquest anda council for the king,” while the latter “was by the Constitution a legislature and an inquest, but not acouncil.”” In other words Congress was distinetly a co-ordinate branch of the gov- ernment. HOW THE SYSTEM HAS GROWS. The convenience of a standing committee undoubtedly suggested the system, and it has grown with the growth of ‘the country and the consequent increase of necessity for legisla- tion. It seems strange that there was no standing committee on judiciary until 1313, jour years after the mecting of the ‘ongress, none on foreign affairs or military and naval affairs until 1922, and that important committee on coinage ed in 18¢4, while that on ap- Propriaiions was not set up until 1865. Of course we know that the work of the present appropriations committee had been done for three-quarters of a century by waysaud means, if rivers and harbors, now 80 tie ing effect onthe commerce of the country, was, until 1883, done by the com- mittee on commerce. Tt is also interesting to observe that down to 1860 the committees were appointed anew every session. For atime they were appointed by ballot of the House; then the Speaker was formally suthorized to appoint them: now he does so without such authorization. The stand- ing committees are authorized by the rules, as wellas the number of members to be ap- pointed on each aud the character of legisla tion to be referred to them. ‘There are always @ number of select committ.es that run along from Congress to Congress, whose existence depends simply upon a resolution and not upon the regular rules. T re created to meet some temporary necessity. Such select com- aittees at this time are those on censua,reform In the Sgxth, way: ing cothu b | be in the civil service, Indian depredation claims, liquor traflic, irrigation, immigration and the world’s fair.’ Some select committees finally become standing committees; others obviously Cisappear when the occasion for them passes ‘The Speaker has the power to put an end toasclect committee by failing to ap- For instance, a select committee on ailot box purchases was allowed to lapse the other lay when Speaker Crisp failed to appoint anybody to it; at the same tme several othe: committees authorized by previous Col were appointed. vey of the various chairmen of the committees at this time, before this ess has settled down to work, is worth while as a means of getting some idea of what the session will bring forth. The Speaker bas disregarded many precedents and struck out uew highways of parliamentry organiza- tion. ‘The men in wuom he has expressed con- fidence are for the most part oid members whose reputation is already made. Neverthe- loss all sorts of speculative processes have so tai to discover in the composition of the comunittees what party policy the Speaker may have sketched in for this Congress to fill out ‘with color and substance. @rN. o'FERRALL. ‘The new chairman of the committee on elec- ne is the dashing O'Ferrall, who comes from the beautiful Pied- mont region of Vir- wink. Gen. O'Ferrall at twenty-tive was in command of ali the confederate cavalry in the Shenandoah valley. is a Virginian by and at fifteen age was ap- Za pointed clerk of court to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father. He studied law after the war aud practices at Harrisonburgh. He contested a feat in the Forty-eighth Congress successfully end thereby gained an experience in the busi- ne=8 of the elections committee that has kept him on it ever since. The elections committee has six contests to decide in this Congress. MR. WILLIAM 3. SPRINGER. ‘The next chairman on the roster is Mr. Wm. NicKendree Springer of wars and means. He is the oldest Min ber, and is no ing’ on his As Speaker Crisp’ for leader of the ma- jority he gains a weight ‘and authority he bas not hithertohad. When you see Mr. Springer you be- Bold a tall, able-bodied +4 citizen of ‘fifty-six, whose large, bearded face is expressive of a kindly, quick- witted and ambitious personality. He bas always been a conspicuous figure on the floor and in the business of the various Copgresses in which he has sat. It was the Springer com- mittee that unearthed the star route frauds. ds was when Springer was chairman of the committee om territories that the states of the west were admitted; it was Bpringer sreadiness in parliamentary tactics tuat led the resistaice to Speaker Reed's rul- ings. Mr. Springer was born on a farm in Sul- livan county, Indiana, was named by his good Methodist father, who was a clergyman, after Bishop McKendree; received a classical educa- tion at the Indiana State University, has beens shrewd lawyer for nearly thirty years, and lives in the home of Abraham Lincoln, the eapital ¢ity of Springfield. Mrs Springer is an accom- ished lady. who has written several novels. ir. Springer has amassed quite a fortune, and Bas a pretty mansion facing on the Capitol grounds. Mr. Springer has never been seen in Public or private denuded of his freshiy sucked bright red boutonniere. It is the of the democratic side of the House. | im their midst. The “Watchdog of the Treasury” isa title that Elihu “Washbarne first and Judge William Steele Holman nowa- days have well earned ge Holman’s “Mr. Speaker, I object," ought to be the most famous remark in Amer- n history. It has been printed oftener in the Record than an other individual speec by anybody. Tosee his tall, spare form rise and his sallow, withered face relax from its im- expression as the Great American Ob- jector shifts his tobacco from one cheek to the other and proceeds in his terse, passionless lit- tle speech to save the taxpayers n hundred thou- sand or 80, is to see one of the memorable sights of public life. Judge Holman is now seventy years old, but appears as vigorous and re- lentlessly business-like as ever. His father was ‘a bosom friend of Henry Clay, and the great commoner helped the senior Holman to pub- lish his first and only novel. This work of fiction bore the romantic title “Errors of Edu- cation.” The objector’s grandfather was a ioneer who was killed by the Indians in the «of Daniel Boone. An abler man at the \d of the appropriations committee it would hard to find. The law firm of the House is the judiciary committee. ‘The best lawyers. in a body composed of bers of the legal profession are selected to werve upon it and the jest of them for its This honor second Con- to David Cuiberson of Brown i the lone star delegation. Judge Culberson is a Georgian, who studied f Justice Chilton of Alabama, ‘went to Texas in 1856, and was elected to the legislature in 1859. He became a colonel in the confederate service and was adjutant general He has been in Congress fourteen more. He is known as the man who esa speech himself, but inspires ‘and blocks out specches innumerable for others. hs legal ability has been recognized by President Harrison in the offer of the c manship of the interstate commerce commit sion, a position that Judge Culberson does not exactly want. Henry Bacon of New Jaw with Chi | school in Columbus. While supporting him- self by teaching he studied Iaw und for four years practiced in Missouri. He was nineteen when Sumter was fired on, but did not enter the army. In the Fiftieth Congress he was chairman of the Pacific railroads committee. Another — chairman who returns to bis old committee headship is Hilary 8. Herbert of Alabama. Col. Herbert has made astrong place for himself in the House asa ready and forcible debater and did a colos- sal share of the work of re-establishing the navy. He is a University of “! Virginia man. and was ~ just getting into prac- MR. HERRERT. tice when the war broke out. He made » good fighter, until he was wounded in the wilderness in ‘64. This is his fifteenth year of service in Congress, Rufus E. Lester, who is chairman of the com- mittee on expenditures in the State Depart- #8 one of the best politicians in the south. ‘He comes from the Sa- vannah district, so long represented by ex-Sen- ator Tom Norwood, He ix a good lawyer and an able man on the floor. He entered Congress two years ago, The committee to which he has been assigned isthe first of the several com- mittees to which the accounts of the various executi are referred at every session. Its dit are not on pus, but at the same time ai quite important. departments + _ The publiclands com- mittee has been an im- portant one every Con- gress since 1861. “Tt has given away whole om- pires end has made Many men of all con- ditions, poor, rich, hon- est, rascally, adventu- rous and plodding, 9 great deal richer than any Aladdin's lamp could possibly have done. Its chairman 7, ¢. M'RAR. must not only be able, but honest. Judge Crisp has appointed to this burdensome and honorable position Thomas man MeKae. He was born and schoole! York, who looks like Shakespeare, is chair- man of the committee on g and cur- rency. This was bis old cominittee in the Fif- tieth Congress. He en- tered Congcess in tho Forty-ninth, was elected to the Fiftieth, but was “interrupted” two yearelater by Moses 77 Stivers of the Middle-@f town Journal Bacon Qq is clear-headed man, a Union College grad- : Gate, and has been prac. BESRY BACON. ticing law since 1866. His resemblance to the Bard of Avon has been a prolific theme for the letter writers ai asource of no little annoy- ance to Mr. Bacon, whose only provocation of wublicity is his invariable white necktie, which |= wears summer and winter. ‘The name of the Biand dollar was borrowed from the chairman of the committee on coin- age, weights and meas- ures. Mr. Bland is a Kentuckian, with a tough veneering of Cal- ifornia experience. He has shoveled into a sluice box many a day and belongs to that great host of gold hunt- ers who sought the shin- ing dust. He practiced Jaw several years in Ne- BLAND. vada and returned to Missonri wien that pocket borough was admitted into the Umon He ifty-aix years old and this is his tenth fe The next chairman- ship belongs to Roger Quenton Mills, Inte can- didate for Speaker, and of fame as the author in the Fiftieth Congress of the Mills bill” Mr. Mills has an important committee and it would be still more important if the next tariff bill should be referred by vote of the House to it. Mr. Mills’ prominence 4 © in tariff reform is a sort R. Q. MILLS. of heritage. As long us Col. Morrison and Mr. Carlisle were in the House Mr. Mills wae in the shadow. Morrison nl mays and means and Carlisle was clecte Speaker over both Morrison and Milla, ils wasborn in Kentucky,and is sixt Longevity service and a consecutive position on ways and means are what put the important chairmanship in the Fiftieth Congress in the hands of Mr. Mills. He is a quizzical looking man, somewhat irascible, but steady-going and hard-working. teen years. Mr. Mills is one of a half dozen 1 in Congress who have never printed their bi raphies in the Congressional Directory. It con sisted of a single line when he first came to Congress in 1S73 a8 a member at urge for the great state of Texans. It has gradually iength- ened until it now makes three lines and three- quarters. The old chairman of rivers and harbors in the Fiftieth Congress is again at the head of this most important com- mittee. Mr. Newton Crain Bianchard is a slender, girlish blonde. He comes from Shreve- port and is @ native of ouisiana, forty-two years old.’ He was edu- cated in his state and commenced the practice aR. BLANCHARD. of Jaw at Shreveport in 1871, and still continues to practice there. Mr. Blanchard may be called major as be was ap aide with that rank. He wields » rood deal of power in the House. ‘The veteran plow holder and gad wielder, Gen. William Henry Hatch, is again in the saddle at the head of the committce on agri- culture. What he is going to do now it would be hard to guess. Having brought the oleomargarine folks to taw, put the Agricultu- ral "Department on « footing with the other departments and ac- OES. WATCH. complished other nu- merous refortns, there doesn't seem to be much left for him to turn his hand to. He is re- garded by his colleagues as one of the able men He is rather “sot” in his wi but yields amiably to fair play. Mr. Hateh is a Kentuckian, fifty-eight years old, by profes- sion a lawyer and this is his seventh Congress. The confederate army claimed hia services during the warand be played an importaut part asa commissioner of exchange under the He bas been in Congress thir- en cartel. He can be called “geuerai,” as he w an assistant adjutant general. Ho owns two magni farms—one in Missouri and another in Llineis—both yielding him a hand- some income. James Henry Blount, who was cb: the committee on post offices and post roads ia the last democratic Congress, has now been put at the head of for- n affairs He is a native Georgian, who has served the Macon district for eighteen years. He is an able debater, a vigilantspec- and studied law in the Washington and Lee University of Virginia under John W. Brockenborough and Randolph Tucker. He ‘was a member of the state legislature of Arkin- sas in 1 He came to Congress to take the seat of James Kimbrongh Jones when the latter was elected to the United States Mr. McRae is one of the most dire ‘apable men on the democratic side of the House. Another able Arkan- san is Samuel W. Peel, chairman of the com: mittee on Indian affairs. Mr. Peel just came to Congress in the forty eighth and is nowon his fifth term. He bas been on theIndian committee from the beginning of his service. He handles the manifold question of Indian legislation and the neceseary propritions judicio ly and to the satisfac- tion of all concerned. He is an Arkansan by MR. PEED. birth, fifty-nine years old. He entered the a private, and was elected major of the third Arkansas infantry. He re- entered the confederate service as a private in 1862 and was ¢lected colonel of the fourth Arkan- Av the close of the war he com- ractice of law. here seems to be little left for the com- mittee on territories to do now that Utah, New Mexico, Arizona’ and Alaska are all that are leit. Yet these vast domain req much new legislati session. Mr. Jo- seph. Edwin Washing- ton is the haie- man of this ¢ tte, ping into the shoes MR. WASmINGToN. Springer wore in the last democratic Mr. W: Tennes- seean, forty y Georgetown Col d law with th first class at V; He does not pra Besides having a place on the committee on Thomas Clen- Catchings of Mississippi, the Speak- ers warmest friend in the Hoase, has the th ds airmanship of committee on railro Yom ¢ ings. as he 18 familiar! a called, is native MR. CATCHINGS. ge in 1561, when but fifteen years old, to enter the confederate army. and served thrdughout tho He was ndmitted to the bar in 160 and has since practiced law at Vicksburg. Me was sent to the state senate in 1875, and resigned in 1877 to be elected attorney gencral, an office he held for eight years. ite is now serving his fourth term in Congress. The new cheirman of mines and mining is a marked man in House. He is the bare headed and long-beard- ed William Henry rison Cowles of Carolina. He comes from the heart of the gold country of North Carolina, and may be able todo his people some good in his new place. He has a testi- monial scar two inches Jong on his cranium, received in front of Petersburg at the close of the war MR. COWLES. ‘This is his fourth Congress, ‘There is no mun in the Foure who has better trading advantages than the chairman of the public buildings and grounds commit- tee, which John Henry Bankhead of Alubama is the new chairman, Mr. Bank- head was born in what is now Lamar county, Alabama, in 1842. He was self educated, and is farmer. He served four years in the con- YM. BANKHEAD. federate army, being wonided three times. He isan old member of the building commit- tee and ie very conservative in his ideas. He will keep the list of the new buildings down and will not let the individual amounts draw too heavily on the civhor box. Prof. Samuel Mat- thews Robertson of Baton Rouge ix chair- man of the Massieslppi |levees committee. He isa fine-locking young man of thirty-nine, who graduated ‘from the Louisiana State Univer- sty in 1874; studied law, was sent to the legislature for four & years, and in 1880 wa elected a member 0 the faculty of the L isiana State Universi ROBERTSON. He filled the chair of natural history and of commandant of cadets, until he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress, to fill. the vacancy caused by the death of his father, Judge Robertson. He has been on the levees com- mittee for four years past. Robertson 1s an tator of all that is going on and has a strong gfip on the run of pub- —-#B- BLOUNT. lie business. Mr. Blount ranks with the con- servative clan of legisiators of which Judj Holman is type. His biograpby in the di- rectory gives no information about him except that he bas been i nine Congresses and is now in his tenth. The little legislature for the army known as the committee on mil- itary affairs is ided over by Joseph H. Outh- waite of Ohio, who is ‘now for the first time a member of this com- mittee. The new chair- man iso food aisotplt- narian, wing been “Sad ee many years, and will Mi. OUTRWAITE. army ' legislation swell to tho front in the business of the Mr. Outbwaite is a native of Cleveland, G2 life as a high school teacher, st Zaneeville, For three years he was principal of e granimar enthusiastic sportsman and one of the best shots in Congress. An important chair- manghip” nowadays, when the National Guard is likely sooner or later to be mobilized and made @ reserve of the regular army, is that iilitin, to which, Judge tow ae Dosusougeed. Mr 4 been r Lane is a self-made Ohioan, who began to JUDGE TAXE. —_ practice law at twenty- three, and at twenty-coven mas elected acireuit ge in Tikin Congress, JA old school democretand South Cagolatan is Dz Ti chairman of the com- taitice “on patents. isa brother of Ben ‘Tillman, of South Con- Judge Hayes is the man who in the con- ional contest of 1887 beat Gov. Kirk- wood, Secretary of the Interior under another tnd very different Hayes, He born in Marshall, Mich.. in 1841; received a com- mon school education; aduated from the law lepartment of the Mich- igan University in 1863; ia a lnwser by profes: SUDGR Raves. sion and was district judge of the seventh judicial district of Iowa from August, 1875, till 1887. One of the best edu- cated men in this Con- gress ix Ashbell Parma- lee Fitch of New York, the chairman of the committeo on private land claims. Afger grad- Rating from several leading schoois of the country he went to the universities of Jena and Berlin and later grad- uated from Columbia| Law School. Mr. Fitch’ has the unique distine- tion of having been elected to the Piftieth a IIR. FITCH. Congress as a republican and to the Fifty-first asa democrat. In the first contest he defeated that excelieut gentleman Gen. Egbert in the second as a democrat be more than doubled the majority he had as a republican, The labor committee is in the hands of John C. Tarsney of the Mis- touri delegation, a brother of Tim. Tars- nev of the Michigan delegation in several recent Congresses. Ho is a good lawyer and ractices in Kanens City. He served through the war ina Michi ment, ns did five of his JOMN c. TansyeY. brothers. At Gettys- burg he was badly wounded and taken prisoner. After the war he attended the public schools in his old home in Michigan un- til he went to the Ann Arbor Law School. This is his second Congress. He is a plain practical man, alive to the needsof the laboring man and likely to accomplish something for him if there chance. Mr. Hemphill, who was chairman of the District of Columbia committee in the Fif- tieth Congress, is agaia at the head of ‘the com- mittee. This is n hard place to fill, and it isa thankless one ueually The Dixtriet committees in Senate and House aro practically a common council for the city of, Washington, and ne city in’ the land has more sharksand achem- ers pulling wires to get fs rofitable legislation. MR. WEMPinTEL. Mr. Hemphill is a South Carolina lawyer. He is full of tactand manages to push legisiation through the House with great dispatch. He makes a decidedly acceptable chairman of the District committee. The chairman of the committee on printing, one of the most impor- tant of all the House mmittecs, ix J. D. : ‘Tennessee yer, who lives in the region that once formed the state of Franklin, He knows little about printing.“but makes a good chairman, He Yquit school at eighteen to go into the war and finished his studying He is avery tall and thin, keen- co! MR. RICHARDSON. afterward, eyed man, who does everything with great earnestness, Amos Cummings has the choice little chair- mittee, which is a joint He © has served during his two terms in Congress on the printing commit- tee and could have bad the chairmanship of that or several other committees if he had desire interestin it AMOS CUMMIN. 4 great popula is probably g weekly letter that goes out of Wash It is something ofa wonder that ny man can write week after week fgom the Hloor of the House, make no enemies and keep in with the throng in the swim. One of Amos’ chief duties in his new place will be to sign orders on the government botanical gardens for flowers for his fellow members. son of Massachu- war governor, uP. Andrew, jr., i chairman of the’ civil service reform commi toe. Us his chair- manship govs to a man whe does not believe in civil service reform,bat in this instance an ex- ception has been made to the usage, Mr. An- drew is a young man and is gifted with aclear JONN F. ANDREW. head and decided convictions, He will make no mistakes, but will support the law in a con- servative and intelligent manner. Another important committee chairmanship is that of the committee on the election of the President and Vice President, which was gi to Judge Chipman of Detroit. Judge C is an able man of affairs. He has varied life of a representative western Tn 1846 he was engage in the Luke Superior region as explorer for the Montreal Mining Company; in 1854 he aided in the payment of the Chippewas of Lake Superior and partici pated in the making of the treaty of Detroit with the Ottawar and Chippewas. In 1860 he ran for Congress on the democratic ticket, but was detented: in 1578he 7UPGE cnrpmax. wan elected judge of the superior court of De- troit, to which position he was re-elected at the end of six years. Judge Chipman was born in Detroit in 1830, when the place was simply an Indian trading post. This is bis thir gross, ‘The eleventh census 1s in the hands of Was! ington Franklin Wileox of Connecticut. He sharp Yankee. law: His committee will ha the decision of the ques- tion whether the census bureau shall be mad permanent or not. Th ives it a special it portance in this Con- gress. = Mr. Wilcox entered Con; with the Fifty-firy ‘Tho ornamental com- mittee on ventilation ‘MB. WILCUS. and sacoustica is headed by a decidedly orna- mental member of the House, W. G. Stahinecker of Yonkers. Mr. Stahlnecker is famous for his good looks, He is a tall, black-haired youn; man, with elegant black side whiskers. Samuel J. Tilden was one of Mr. Stabinecker's con- titnents, as Jay Gould is now. There'is always committee on the alco- holic hquor traffic, for there are cartioads of titions on this sub- ject every session. Ono of the nicest old men in the House gets this chairmanship, Mr. Haynes, a neighbor of ¢x-President Hayes in Ohio. Mr. Haynes is in his second term He was a colonel in the MR. HAYNES. army and has held a geod many good his long political life. He isa rich farmer uad o level-headed citizen, The immigration committee will be pre- sided over by Herman Stump of Maryland. He is the nice, old- fashioned planter, who was born on the manor lace where he now ives, the descendant of 8 long line of well-to-do country gentlemen. No place on earth so much needs good. healthy, bitious and industrious immigrants xe Mary- jand, and if Mr. Stump succeeds in inducing new blood to come into quater’ his state he will have great and good work. The worid’s fair committee bas fallen into the hands of one of Chicago's most alert and enterprising young men, Mr. Allen Cathcart Durborow, jr. He is but thirty-four and is an Indiana University man of the vintage of “77. He has the seat erstwhile occupied by Hon. William E. Mason, the gifted orator and wit. Mr. Durborow began bis business career with Field, Leiter & Co., the dry goods princes of the garden city. Later he has been business manager of the Western Electrician. His prob- lem this winter is to persuade the House and Senate to give the world’s fair the 5,000,000 loan it needs to make it the greatest show on earth, as it is bound to be. Mr. McClellan of In- diana is at the head of the committee on naval expenditures, one uf no little consequence at the present time. Mr. McClellan is a banker and began his public life with the Fifty-first Mr. i isconsion has been pnt at the head of the committee on ex- penditures in the Trens- ury Department, that being the only commi AN. tee chairmanship going to the badger state. Mr. Montgomery of Kentucky, besides going on ways and means, has the chairmanship of the committee on expenditures in the War De partment. Gen. Oates‘of Alabama, hasa comfortable chair- manship—that of the committee on expendi- tures in the Post Office Department, His prom- inence on the floor in a number of spirited con- texts would presuppose his having a place some- what commensurate with his fame, but he is well satistid with a po- sition that involves less than usual drudgery oaTEs. and permits him to give his attention to the general course of legislative action. In the list of so-called auditing committees is the chairmanship that fell to that distingutshed wit and_ renowned statesman, Private John Allen of’ Mississippi. He will load the com- mittee on expenditures in the Department of Justice into the fray and on to victory. ‘The varions gentlenien who are his associates on this valuable committee organization have not yetceased tocongratu- 3. M. ALLEN. inte themselves on their exceeding good luck in getting into such good society, where they are likely to have a good time and drive duil care away aa old age draws near. The committee on post ofices and post roads will have the Hon. John Steele Hen- derson of North Carolina at its head. He is & light-complexioned, youthful man, whose ability carried him on to the judiciary com- mittee in the Fittieth Congress. Mr. Hender- son is a University of North Carolina man, who left his books to fight in 1862, when h wus buteighteen. He has practiced law since the war, been in the legislature and his first Congress was the Forty-mnth. Mr. Henderson was one of three lawyers who codified the laws of North Carolina a few sears ago. These are the chairmen who will aid Speaker Crisp in shaping the work of the Fi ty- second Congress. ‘Their faces, their experi- ences, their achievements, all’ justified from any standpoint, independent of party prefer- ences, the wisdom shown in appointing them. ‘Tney are able men, devoted to their party and loyal to their chiet. Lat a HOW MEN DISPLAY THEIR IGNORANCE wc. An Experience That Fell to the Lot of a Madison Street Druggist. From the Chicago Tribune “Ocensionally I find that the ignorance dis- played by some persons is their most interest- ing characteristic,” a Madison street draggist was overheard to remark. “One of that kind came into the store the other day and asked me to show him an electric belt. Ididso. After Jooking it all over he said: 8 this all of i “Yes, sir,’ I replied. thing?’ “Well,” said he hesitatingly, ‘fact is, I never aaw an electric belt before in my life, but I've seen lots of pictures of ‘em, for you can't pick upa daily paper without seeing a cut of an electric belt, and, too, they usually have a naked man inside of them, but (de, ‘Do you miss some- . sir: 1d the caller, his face reddening with indignation, ‘and af’ you catch up everybody with such an inference that they're that ignorant I wonder your place isn't in ‘the sheriff's hands long ago for lack of you smoke; have «fresh cigar on my abrupt- ness, and please explain what it is you have al- ways seen in the common picture of an electric belt that is lacking in this belt that I bave shown you.’ He lit the iresh cigar, and after taking @ few puffs asa spirit soother he ex- plained: ““Why, in every picture Tever saw of an electric belt it showed sort of needles like stick- ing out in every direction from all around the belt—and I don’t see any needles sticking out from this one you are showing me here.’ “In the language of the street—'I fell dead!’ What my beautifully intelligent visitor sup- posed was 4 representation of needles sticking out from all pointa of the belt was, of course, representation of electricity emanating the from. Iam now circulating a petition praying the city council to double the number of night schools.’ —_——_+e+ —____ APPOINTED KHEDIVE, Abbas Designated for the Office by the Turkish Sultan. The sultan has formally appointed Abbas to be khedive in place of his father. This prompt action on the part of the porte gives much satisfaction to the British element at Constantinople. Abbas has also received the congratulations of President Carnot on his ac- cession to the throne. The sultan has signified his willingness that the existing Egyptian min- istry should continue in authority until the ar- rival of Abbas. . crac te <hr aael The London Dynamite Suspects. The London police have obtained informa- tion to the effoct that Victor Cailes, one of the alleged dynamite bomb conspirators, arrested Thursday night. had been sentenced at Nantes, France, to eighteen months’ imprisonment, by default, for inciting the ulace to murder, fre and_ pillage on May "day. Ho afterward worked on board a Scotch sf z,lgneniter, Eaown to the po- lice as Frederick Charles, is said tobe hier, a fair name for an anarchist, the Te Marked. Slaughter is reported to be a, man of superior education and able to epeak five lan- iced crrund nicolas eateue ees than arrest who to be connected with the ‘Waleall Socialist Club. Deakin, it i opr been @ constant lec- turer soc! and has recently made the midiands the scene ef his erussda.” of bis When ‘the. Walsall Club was raided the seized an enormous quantity of the kind of anarchist literature. QUEER DUEL IN THE WEST INDIES. It Ended in a More Remarkable Manner ‘Than That in Which Xt Began. From the Louievilie Commercial. I was talking with an old West Indian ex- planter, man not long past his three-score years and ten, who left Jamaica somewhere in the fifties, “I vee," said be, “that there is some talk of raising Sir John Macdonald's widow to the peerage. If it should prove true she will be the first native West Indian to come in for such an honor, at least inagreat number of yeara. Indeed, I do mot remember that the thing has ever happened before, although Cowan, the comporer, who received a baron- etcy some time since, was, like Lady Macdon- ald, a native of Jamaica. “Yes,” he continued, “I remember ber father well. ‘Monkey Bernard’ they used to call him, and probably no white man except Charles ‘win himself, the apostle of the monkey an- tral gospel, ever more closely resembled an in the face. “There was a young buck, however, who had & narrow escaps from paying dearly for his laugh at Bernard's unfortunate physiognomy. “John X.—that was not his name, but it will do as well as any other--was walking along Port Ryan stteet, Kingston, one fine morning, | when a crowd of idle negroes attracted his | attention. The center of amusement proved to be w good-sized ape which a Spanish sailor held by & rope fastened around its body. “X. was at once struck by the likeness—so he told me afterward—to Bernard, aud the result was that he then and there handed over two | gold doublons to the sailor and became the | Proprictor of this living caricature. “Bernard was «large planter and a man of some wealth and held a major's commission in the Jamuica militia. The fates so willed it that | there wa: a grand inspection of the militia ap- pointed to be held within afew weeks after this zoological investment of X."s, and the father of mischief prompted him to avail himeelf of the occasion lor an act of the most outrageous deviiment. “He bad the ape fitted with a complete suit of regimentals, as worn by the major in the Jamaica militia, bought alittie tin sword and spent hours in training this brute to walk up- Fight with the diawn sword held in its right and. “The cecret was well kept until the day of the review. Crowds of negroes surrounded the Tace course just outside of Kingston, where the troops were to march past. Presently Bernard's regiment murched on to the ground and wheeled into the line. At the same mo- ment there was « shout from hundreds of lusty | negro throats. ‘Lookoo Monkey Bernard!" and | X.'s ape, brilliant in & riet and white, with its tin sword well shouldered, strutted out toward the ranks. “I supposo that with the exception of Ber- nard hitself there was not a mun on that frourd that was not convulsed with laughter. he military evolutions bad to wait untill the ape had been recaptured by X.'s groom “The duel bad uot gu € out oF fashion | in those days, or atany rate not in Jamaica, Of course, apolog$ wo ald have been ridiculous, so X. had to accept Bernard's challenge. ‘The Weapon, as was usual with us, was the old-fash~ ioued, ‘ringle-barreled dueling pistol. ‘ihe principals had the right of ‘reserving their fire,” tuat is, though they might not fire until the word was given, either of them might take time after the word was given to take aii more deliberately “X. was an accomplished duelist, but I sup- pose he saw the enormity of first Inboriously Insulting an unoffending man aud then sho ing him. Otherwise Jean't account for his missing Bernard as Le did, for (if I remember right) the distance was only twen oe Bernard reserved bis. fite- Then, with bis tol still pointing to the gr®und, ho said to | ., who was quietly awaiting ‘the event: | ‘Young man, I am not going to take your life this time, but I will teach you what I could do | if I felt inclined.” _X. was standing close toa tree on which a Tipe lime fruit hung within a yard of his head. Bernard raised his pistol, and’ with the bullet cut that fruit cleau from the branch it haug o ‘Ifany one ever deserved to bear the motto ‘handsome is as handsome doves’ it was *Mon- key Bernard,’ and I think from and after that | day he and ali his tamily ought to have been proud of his nickus “What became “I forget what fell famous ape,” said my old friend, “but the pistols. they uscd—a pair—have found theit way, 1 believe, dike Bernard's daughter, to Canada.” —_— IN AUSTKIA. | A New Church Closed in Vienna by State Authorities. ‘Vienna Dispatch to the London Tiines. The magistracy of Vienna, at the instance of the public prosecutor, as issued a decree clos- ing the Methodist church in this city and in- hibiting its pastor, the Rev. Friedrich Roesch, from preaching anywhere in the capital. ‘This decision is one that interests all Protestant com- munities, for the magistrates b: their inbibi- | tion on the fact that the Methodists, in one of the articles of their belief, denounce the sacri- fices of masses as ‘blasphemous fables and dan- gerous deceits.” ‘These words are held to con- stitute “an insult ageiust one of the religions recognized by the state"—namely, the Roman Catholic; but it scems to have escaped the attention of the public prosecutor that the incriminated words are derived from the articles of the Church of coed and may be found in the English books of Common Prayer which circulate freely in this country. When in 1743 Jobn and Charles Wesley drew up the articles and statutes of Methodism they adopted twenty-five out gt the twenty-nine articles of the Church of England, and the article on the “one oblation of Christ,” which is numbered 20 in the Methodist statute book, is nothing but article 31 of the Anglican urgy. ‘The argument used against Mr. Roesch might, therefore, be enforced to the inhibition ‘of every Anglican this country, excepting the cl British embassy, who is privil ‘An interesting account of evelopment of Methodism in Austria may be found in an article contributed to the December number of the labret Methodist Magazine by Mr. James Budgett Meakin. The community has been growing in numbers and importance, but until the present year it had no fixed place of wor- ship. ‘This want was supplied last June by Bar- oness von Langenau, who is deeply interested in religious work, and who bought a house in which a permanent Methodist chapel was to be estdblished. This lady also founded a chil- dren's home and a servant girls’ home, both of which institutions have been doing much good. As, however, Baroness yon Langenau was o convert from Lutheranism, her generosities appear to have excited the displeasure of her former coreligionists, and alsu of the “‘colo- nists,” who did not ‘wish to see Methodism added to the number of the recognized churches. ‘The Roman Catholics do not seem to have cared much about what was being done. but the civil authorities are believed to have taken alarm atsome missions for tmen in which Sir Arthur Blackwood, while he was in Vienna on the business of tho postal con; took a warm interest, and when a formal application was at length presented for the recognition of the Methodist church inquiries were made as to the statutes, with the result already men- tion Achurch cannot obtain recognition in Aus- tria unless ite founders guarantee that they aro able to provide fands for its maintenance, and to this ond they must deposit about £1,000 in caution money. There are other conditions, but none of them would have stood in the way of the Austrian Methodists under the liberal tronage youchsafed them by Baroness von Tangenaa. Nor ean it be supposed. that their ‘cause is hopeless because Count Kiclmausege’s decree bas tem; left them without church or pas are only passing through the troubles had to be borne by the Moravians and the old Catholics, who, after f | approach of federal cavalry. The farmer, his MOSBY'S “CLOSE CALL.” How the Guerilia Chieftain Was Once Cap- tured, Shot and Left for Dead. From the New York Herald. “It was one of the closest calls I ever bad, and I was pronounced as good asa dead man by the federal surgeon who made a hasty ex- amination of me after the shooting.” ‘The speaker was the noted southern raider, Col. John S. Mosby, who now resides in San Francisco, but has been spending a few days in the city. Heand Isat together ona settee in the corridor of a Broadway hotel and talked about wartimes. The colonel—he was never a general—pushed back his slouch hat and,/ his gray eyes gazed at the ceiling as if it were map of the war. He forgot that he had ever been a politician and «pent seven years of bis hfe as consul to Hong Kong. His memory went back tweniy-seven yesrs to a period when he was known to the north asa guerilla raider. Thad been talking to him about narrow es- capes and the conversation led to the follow- ing narrative by the colonel: “It was in December, 1864, in Virginia, that T thought I had received a fatal wound. I was captured, but not recognized, 4 left for dead by the fejerals. Ihave seen account some- where of this adventure of mine, but it had no reeembiance to the trath. That verimmilitude of detail was lacking’ to rescue the story from pure fiction. cavomr, “On that evening in December I was eating supper at a farmhouse and not suspecting the wife and daughter were friends of mine and a | son of the family was under my command. I was Tavenowi ungry, and by the aid of a tallow candie—xas and oil were not uved in Virginia | then—I was eating sausages and pone bread Such luxuries as sugar and coffee were no’ the menu. Suddenly the door was opened federai officers entered. The entirely surrounded by a regiment of cavalry Thad on a long gray overcoat, and on lar was the insignia of my rank as raping up I raised both hands and carelessi grasped my collar, hiding the ins rank. They did not kuow who I was, except that I was a confederate. “Llooked down the barrels of several revol- vers and surrendered. Of course I racked my brain to find out some avenue of escape It came in a dangerous way. The soldiers on the outside fired through an open window at me and a ball struck me in the'left side. The firing created contusion, and the oflicers rusbed out | to avoid being shot by their own men. In the | haste of their departure the table was over- | turned and the candle went out, Jeaving the | iran | room in darkness, This was my chanc into au adjoining room, pulled off my cont and tucked it under a bureaa. By that time I was Growing weak from lose of biood, and 1 fell. “The federais cume in and the eurgeon ex- amined me hastily. I distinctly remember | that he said Iwas rhot in the heart, though how he managed te locate the wound there ia I was «tripped of what cloth- | 4 and left in almost a nude condition. ed me my name and I gave a fictitious | The farmer was interrogated, but he did | not tell them my name. As they did not sus- pect that L was Mosby they soon departed. ESCAPED. “Although it rained im torrents and the light- | nivg was incessant I was carried away in an ox Wagon. All the mules and horses in the place had disappeared weeks befure and only a yoke of oxen remained. ‘Two negro boys, the farmer and his daughter drove the wagon aud acted as my escort. Lefore they started J was rolled in several Lankets and made as coufortable as | possible under the circumstances. They con- ed me three miles to my men, and when uurolied me and examined my wound I | spot that Gen. | Job Stuart was, and I thought 1 would die. | The ball went straight through Job Stuart, but | fortunately in my case it ceflected and went | upward. In six weeks I was strong enough to be in the saddle agam. I have been wounded | six times.” Well, colonel,” I asked, “what caused that bullet to zo upward when it entered your sid “Ido not know, unless it was the sausages I had eaten. Arter all I may owe my lile to sausages. I huve the leaa in me yet. When those fellows heard that they had captured me | aud bad permitted me to escape I reckon they | uttered cuss words. From the San Franctsco Examiner. B. Linnemann, an engineer representing the | agricuitaral department of the German goveru- | ment, arrived at San Francisco recentiy after ars’ explorations among the cannibals uinea, Germany owns, or rather bas & protectorate over, about half of theee islands, while England and other countries control the others, Mr. Linnemann, as the representative of the home government, adjudicaied clums and vie- ited the interior of both New Guinea, so called, and New Britain, which are governed English, on exploring expeditions, a surveyed the wilderness of Ne from the seacoast. He bad mang thriliing ex- s among the savages, and d very warily on many ause of the danger that surrounded him, “No European had ever before invaded these said Mr. Linnemann to an £zay reporter. “My feet pressed the earth re from the explorations of the Caucasian race. It was the native home of the savages. Many of them had never been near the const and had scarcely any knowledge of it except by hear- say, Consequently their knowledge was very vague. was interested beyond mensure in their strange custome. They were naked. Not a thread of any kind do these natives wear. Men | and women alike appear as on tho day of their birth. They are large, stalwart savages, | strongly built and with crisp black hair and | eyes. Their skin is scarcely so dark as that of | e Samoans or Hawuiiaus. For, indeed, they are of another race. The Samoans’ and | Hawaiians are Polynesians, but these are | Papuans. y of them are six feet high, but most of them are about 5 feet 8 or 5 fect 10 iaches. “The women are also of good size, well de- veloped and often handsome. The’ women, | however, have no influence over the men. A| white man can buy a woman for enough of the native money to make, say from £2to £5. A very pretty woman can be got for that and | often tor lesa, Oue who is not very pretty can | be got for half that and an ugly one ior a good deal less. “When a man bas bonght a woman she is bis absolutely and if she violates her faith with him she is killed and eaten. They wore very strict about that. They will not kill and eat her at or near or trading posts, for years ago we be- gan inflicting severe punishment upon them for cannibalism, but they wiil lure her away tu the woods and then cut off her head and cook ber up. We never hear of such women again. “It is only for such things that a tribe will so dispose of one of its members, but tribe preys upon tribe, steals men and women away from each other and eat them. ‘The German govern- ment and the New Guinea Company do all pos- t this, but they cannot stop it, ‘The savage accomplishes itin the woods remote from the poste, and about all we know is that the natives are disa) ‘ # tribe will come down to the coast and tell of it, “When I went into the interior, bowover, the thrown out. The dead body bad been cut pieces and the parts were cooked through through. It was a fearful sight, natives etood about, each eating ‘his human fiesh, I thought no livi seen or could see » more horribie thing. Eae2 ap: opened in bis which to bury ugh J. Smith, refused per- girl died with church. Mr. attendant ‘et Grace Sp TS hie daughter in his Jot Father “Smith spplicd fo the mayor for police protection, and besech of thepence. “Be 'Meore en et the best known sporting men in New England. | What Lona tf Supposed to Do for Lovers Sailors and Other People. From the Pittsbare Commercial Gazette, There is trouble on the moon. Leastwise Prof. Ray of Ashland, ¥; s noticed | great commotion the other night fo him it looked as if large bodies of water were lifted up and thrown a thousand miles of #0. Prof. J. L. Ray is connected with Macon Col- lege at Ashland, but is not widely known as ® moon sharp. If it is true that he is the dis coverer of ® commotion on the face of fair Luna—a fact that has been so beid to be dead and cold—he is in great luck The moon i¢ our nearest neighbor and we ought tobe on very intimate terme with i, but for some reason it seoms to be neglected by astronomers, Were it not for the atten- tion given to it by farmers and a few others who are pretty well up in moon lore it might se well be marked off the list of beavenly bodies. Not long since » scientist bobbed up and offered to prove that the moon bad nothing te do with tides. He will have a hard time beat ing that into the heads of seame ome Who have grown up near tidewater. If the moon doesn't raise the tide there must be a fe- markable coincidence in their movementa Farmers used to puta great deal of depend ence in the moon. They planted crops, bault worm fence, put on shingle and clapboard roofs, kilied hogs, hung meat, cut timber, chopped weeds wid traded horses according te its phases. Almost any old-time farmer will tell you e worm fence builtin the light of the round and finally potatocs during simi- 0 to tops and the and watery. This isthe time, | however, to plant, cucumbers, especially whem the sign is im the arma. ‘The southern darky mays the dark of the ‘Moon is the best time for gathering chickens. The carpenter of former times would ne® think of putting 2 shaved-shingle roof on ® building inthe dark of the moon, because the shingles would curl up, puil the nails out and soon leak like a sieve. Neither would be cut timbers for a Louse nor would be paint it until the sign was right. Your grandmother or veteran annt can tell you that when hogs were killed in the wron time of the moon the slices of am would shrivel up more than half and flitch would alll fry away, leaving only small cracklings, Apples or any kind of fruit dried in the wror time of the moon were certain to mold. oF get wormy and cider vineger refuse to become sharp. _ It wasto the moon the farmer looked for indications of the weuther. If the new Jay weil on its back at 6 butifit tipped upto such an extent thate shot pouch wouldnt hang on the lower hora, you might depend upon the water pouring our. ‘The time of changing hada good deal tode with the weather, but there was a lack of Sgreement upon this point, but it was gener ally conceded that « change before noon or be fore midnight indicated fair weather. A circle or balo around the moon wasa sure sign of Fain, and the number of stars visible withia the circle indicated the number of days beiere rain would come. Z The health, growth and devel children a fluenc 8 amign ot dry wes opment ef id animals were supposed to be in- the moon, If the sign was night time of birth they would be weil formed and intellectual, but if it was wrong there was no telling what sort of creatures they would become. Every worthless fellow, ornery dog, rooting hog, fence-jumping cow or kicking horse was believed to been born under au unfavorable phase of the queen of night. Queer people, or those who were of hateful disposition, were children of the dark ot the moon, with the sign below the heart. It is unfortunate for the movnist that care ful records were not kept. To be born in the light of the moon, the signin the head, with amcending node, sured a large brain, exalted intelligence prosresive spirit, If the magn was inthe eurt the individual wou'd be of # generous, jovial, kindly disposition; if in fhe st great eater, with « tender puss very active ut; af in the up brought thinness and laukmess to the individual, while those tat ie duced shingles to curl up, wenther boards to warp and chimneys to lean gave to individuals Knarly dispositions, distorted features and warped morals. it as quite natural that the moon should hare more oF leet influence on love rs. re is t well-known aud oft-repest couplet: se Happy is the bride that the sun shines on, Mappy is the corise tuat 0 rat. Tasks on. It is the moon, however, thnt the maidem looks to for a charm to bring her lover. If she Wishes to sec him she must wait for the new moon, and at firet «ight of itover her right shoulder kneel at her bed room window and repeat thexe lines: New moon, true moon, come tell unto me, jore this tue tenvorrews Whe my troe ‘Then she must crawl into bed quietly, com ose ber mind and wait for bim to appear to t in a dream. While the weather bureau was under the con- trol of the War Department the moon scarcely gota fair show, althougu a volume wos pub- lished containing all the weather signs that could be heard of, including the moon signs. Now that the bureau hos been transferred to the Department of Agriculture it is possible that Uncle Jerry Rusk will see that the moon getea better show. He isa farmer, and a de- scendant from aline of German farmers fa- ‘mous for their moon lore. Any one having one or more sure signs im relation to crops or weather should write them out and address them to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. ‘The prosent muddied and unsensonable weather is said to be due to sun spots, « num- ber of which bave been plainly visible on the face of the sun for two or three weeks. If these create such commotions, when so far from the earth, what is to prevent the moon, which is so near, from xerting appre- ciuble influences? 2 eal the term lunacy was ap- to such cases because of th: en It is true, however, many instances the about once a month. patients have bed spells