Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1893, Page 7

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. ©, SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 30, 1893—EIGHTEEN PAGES. T WINNING ITS WAY.| The Salvation Army and Its Vic- tories. CHURCH DOORS NOW OPENED. The Auxiliary Leagueand the Work It Has Done. THE MEETINGS NEXT WEEE. HEN GEN. BOOTH, the father of the Sal- vation Army, visited Washington in 1886, none of the churches were offered to him for the meetings which he held, so that he was obliged to hold them rather appropriately in the hall of the National Rifles’ armory. In- deed, when an at- i tempt was made by @ friend of his to secure a smaller room for the council of the officers, which General Booth held, he was refused the use of a suitable room by a number of churches to which he applied, Wesley Chapel having the honor to be the first church which re- sponded favorably to his request. This shows how little was known here in Wash- ington only seven years ago of the most remarkable religious movement of the cen- tury. The Salvation Army had at that time conquered its way against the most bitter persecution to recognition if not to popularity in England and had already sent to the four quarters of the globe the heralds of its missionary work, now, with its five thousand officers, the largest of all me. Readers of the fascinating and thrill- Adjutant Isabel Weod. ing life of General Booth’s wife, Catharine, “the mother of the Saivation Army,” by Commissioner Booth-Tucker, wiil remember that by 183 the Salvation ‘Army, growing naturally and almost inevitably as an or- ganization out of the little mission work which Mr. and Mrs. Booth began almost alone among the neglected ten thousands of the East End of London, acquiring grad- ually under the daily pressure of practical necessities its form, its methods, its titles, its uniform, its implements and even its name. had come to occupy a commanding position of influence in all parts of Great Britain. Its primary work of giving the gospel, in simplicity and directness, and under suck forms and in such language as ‘was most suitable, to the millions in Eng- land, Scotland, Wales and Ireland who had Practically turned their backs on the churches, had been carried on with such zeal, such tact and such personal exempll- fication of Christ's teachings that in that Year, 1886, nearly 150,000 persons professed conversion In army meetings in Great Britain. The “rescue work” and “social work” of the army, with the special inst{- tutions necessary. had been firmly estab- lished, and had already received the cordial approval of statesmen and practical men of affairs, as well as of religious leaders as far apart as Cardinal Manning and Canon Farrar. Ge Mrs. Booth. The simple, straightforward, self-sac- rificing efforts of General and Mrs. Booth. their sons ard daughters, all devoted to the work, and their hundreds of helpers drawn from all grades of society and of all de- grees of intelligence, but all animated by the same burning zeal to save the souls and bodies of the men and women about them, had made a profound impression all over Great Britain. Wherever General or Mrs. Booth went great audiences gathered to hear their eloquence, each speaking so Gifferently, yet with the same power of Maj. Brewe: touebing the heart and convincing the head. ‘The army hail, the army drum, {ts substi- tute for the church bell, the army tambouw ime, its substitute for more expensive ‘In- struments, and the army uniform, whic §eld the army story, distinguished its me: Bers from the worid. gave them oppor- tunities for usefulness not otherwise ha: Were familiar all over England a: was What came to be known as the ion Army face.” which was graphically de- scribed as “shining jough there was a bright licht behind it.” In the midst cf selfish and dissatisfied materialism spiritual Ife hed revived in men and women, filled with the love of Christ and His love for men and it had profoundly affected all society. Men and women who did not accept the theolocy of the army nevertheless admired {ts faith. its love and their practical results, and gave freely to the large sums of money to carry on its great undertak- n on the very economical basis up- on which they were orgenized. By 1886 the army was understood in England as well as any organization of that kind could be and the charges brought against it by malicious or ignorant people had been in- Vesticated and exploded. It was not with- Out persecution: it never will be until it Is Mo longer worth persecuting. On the con- trary it had the enmity of those men and women whose wicked work had been inter- fered with by it, and malevolent enemies they were. It was, t&o, the object of envy and jealousy from men and women of a very different class. But it had the sym- thy and support of the best people. in Wie true sense. in Great Britain. ‘Then an Object of Ridicule. But here in Washington and even in New ‘York it was almost unknown seven years ago. Its own literature had very little ctr- ulation, in this country the religious press Qimost ignored it and the secular press generally ridiculed it. At that time its work im England and elsewhere was judged, by the few people who had heard of it at all, by what they saw of its few representatives im this country. As at that time the rescue homes. shelters, ‘houses, slum posts and other benevolent institutions which the Mrs. Ballington Booth. open air meetings on Market Space the year round, regardless of the inclemency of any except the severest weather. But the army officers had come to Washington not for the people in the churches, but ex- pressly for the people outside of the ehurches. So the church people who saw littie of them except as they appeared in the street, knowing practically nothing of them nor of the great organization which they represented, in many cases formed unfavorable opinions. Those who looked more closely and became acquainted with them were won by them. One of the most active church workers, who used to pass their Market Space meetings on his way to and from the old city post office, said re- cently: “I admired them from the first. 1 only wished that I had the grit and grace to do just what they were doing.” The Doors of Churches Opened. Since Gen. Booth’s visit Washington has gradually become better acquainted with the army, and some of its leading churches have opened their doors to it. Commander Ballington Booth, commander of the Amer- fcan forces, has spoken in the Congrega- tional Church, his wife, Mrs. Maude B. Booth, a lovely English woman, has spoken in the Church of the Covenant, his sister, “La Marechale” Booth-Clibborn, who, with her husband, has charge of the army work in France, has spoken in the New York Avenue Presbyterien Church, and other army office-s have taken part In these and other meetings. Clergymen and church members have seen the army work in En- gland or on the continent or in New York city and have returned full of p-aise of it. Men and women who are not church mem- bers have become interested in the social side of its work abroad or in this country, and have returned to tell of its success. ‘The army literature, especially its monthly magazine, “The Conqueror,” and its weekly newspaper, “The War Cry," both weil edited and well illustrated, the War Cry giving every week a view of the army work by its thousands of officers at hundreds of posts all over the United States and being really one of the best religious weeklies and the only one having 75,00 circulation and containing no secular advertisements, has been more and more read here. The new hymns and tunes of which the army has been so prolific, some of which are very fine, have he!yed to make ft better known. The faithful labors of the officers who have succeeded each other in charge of the Wash- ington corps, captain and Meutenant, two men or two women, as the case may be, staying here for a few months and then go- ing elsewhere according to the army rou- tine, have contributed to establish the rep- utation of the army. ‘The Auxiliary League. And now the Washington branch of the Auxiliary League, an organiztion started im this country about a year ago as a link between the Salvation Army an¢ the church- es and made up of those who sympathize with the army and support it without nec- essarily approving its every method, ts con- Maj. Evans. stantly bringing the army and Washington nearer together. The Auxiliary League has today over sixteen hundred members in the United States and hopes to have two thous- and at least by November, when the army will hold its great annual meeting in Carne- gie Music Hall in New York. The Washing- ton branch was established last winter when Ensign Edith Marshail, the remarkable girl who is at the head of the Auxiliary League, came over from New York and held meet- ings here—that one at the New York Avenue Church being so crowded that late comers had to be turned away. It has now about forty members, representing almost all the evangelical churches. Fut it is not content with having a membership smaller than that of the league in Plainfield, N. J., or Waterbury, Conn., in each of which there are more than a hundred members,and there- fore has invited Ensign Edith Marshall to come over again and address public meet- ings which it will hold at Wesley Chapel on Monday night and the Congregational Chureh on Tuesday night of next week. Ensign Edith Marshall will not only come herself, but will bring with her from the army headquarters some equally interesting speakers and singers, so that the meetings are expected to surpass even those of last winter. The army fs still so vaguely known to many Washingtonians, even among church goers, that the addresses and the songs ai these meetings will have the charm of nov- elty. If Ensign Marshall succeeds in bring. ing one of the “slum sisters,” who actually live in the worst slums of New York, to help thelr wretched denizens, her appear- ance in her slum dress will be as eloquent as anything that may be said or sung. When Gen. Booth returns to this country next year he will find a different welcome in {ygstinston from that whfen he received in ee Written for The Evening Star. Perplexed. ‘When have I met sou, or where have I known you— Puzzled I ask, but can only reall, Vaguely, a vision of tangled red roses Clambering over a crumbling wall— A subtle rem nee, as faint and elusive As aftermath odors that dawn zephyrs chase Along the steen aisles of a whispering cornfield, Where dewdrops are woven through gossamer lace, . Spun by the eager-eyed, agile brown spiders About the gold feet of the sheltering matze. I see the old visions, I hear the old echoes, Of long-time forgotten and year-nidden days. When have I known you? I sce the broad lilies I saw in a meadow one time, and yet why ‘They haunt me today, just because of your pres- ence, And all the wide blue of a midsummer sky Floats out Just above me, I strive but still vainly ‘To find the solution; it flees like a sprite Ere ever I grasp it; I only can listen To something—a song drifting out on the night, A song I once knew, and its words are forsotten, Almost, but its melody ripples and rings As clear as the note of a red-breasted rovin At dawning, whose spirit is light as bis wings. ‘Where was it—when was it? I cannot unravel ‘The mystery; could it have been in a dream Dreamed under a casement where latticed red roses Let in through their mazes a dappled white stream Of midsummer moonlight, and incense was drifting From dew-brimming lilies that slept on the lawn, Ere ever the note of a robin had rifted ‘The mist-deepened silence preceding the dawn? ‘When hare I met you, or where hare I known you, In faraway, year-hidden days of the past— ‘Was it only the chance of au exquisite moment, Too fleeting to grasp and too lovely to last? It bas faded away, far beyond my recalling, But one blissful thought that I cannot forget, ‘Though the time and the place be forever forgotten, Is this—that some time and some place we have met! HATTIE WHITNEY. No. 2857 Arsenal street, St. Louis. _ A Way Ont. From the Boston Transcript. Jiggs—“It you should be intoxicated and should meet your wife in the public street, what would you say?” Jaggs—"Say? Suppose I should tell her she was drunk.” ROBBING UNCLE SAM. Tales of Theft Recalled by the Coch- ran Mint Robbery. SOME PECULATIONS BY EMPLOYES. Trusted Clerks and Others Unable to Withstand Temptation. FEW ARE PROSECUTED. Written for The Evening Star. HE ROBBERY OF the mint in Philadel- phia by a trusted em- ploye recently was in its Inception one of the largest of the rob- berfes from which Uncle Sam has suffer- ed from time to time. But the recovery of all but $80 of the gold taken by Coch- ran rejuces his crime to @ rather ordinary level. To be sure, the government is not robbed of $23,000 every day or even every year. But there have been many robberies aggregating that amount in the Treasury Department, in the Post Office Department and even in the army. No branch of the public service has an absolutely clean record. There have been breaches of trust in every one of the eight departments and in almost all of the bureaus of which they are composed. Even in the consular service, which is filled with men supposed to have been selected as typl- eal Americans by the President of the United States, Uncle Sam's funds have been misused, The ‘Treasury Department furnishes the Greatest field for possible crime. Almost all of the employes of the treasurer's office in the department at Washington handle from tens to hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars every day. And none of these men and women 1s wider bond. The treasurer of the United States gives a bond which ts expecced to secure the government against loss, whether by theft or by error. A little clerical mistake by one of the employes of the office might make the treasurer a very poor ian in a very short time. The amount cf mutilated money alone received by the Treasury De- partment and handled by many clerks in fe course of its progress to redemption is $700,000 a day. Bi i ‘The most famous treasury robe! known as the “Halleck case,” the deta: Which are still remembered in this city. This robbery occurred in June, 1875. The Winslow Robbery. Another famous robbery was the Wins- low robbery, which occurred December 7, 1876. Winslow took a package containing $11,990, chiefly in $100 notes, being sent to the National Bank of Illinois by express in exchange for notes sent in for redemp- tion. The secret service bureau weat to work on this case and got so well on the track of the thief that on the morning of January 7, 1877, a package containing $11,200 of the stolen money was left at the door of the home of the secret service chief. Facts in connection with the return of the money pointed to Winslow, and he was ar- rested. All of the money except $555.8 was recovered. Winslow confessed and got a year and a half. In his confession he said that he had prepared an envelope resem- bling the office envelopes, which le had filled with blank paper and surreptitiously sealed with the office seals, which were not in his possession. At an opportune mo- ment he had substituted this dummy for the package intended for the National Bank of Illinois. A number of robberies, some of them in- volving large amounts, occurred prior to the Halleck case. One of the most pictures jue of these occurred in Gen. Spinner's time. In his annual report for 1869 Gen. Spinner had boasted that, although nis office han- dled billions of dollars every year, no short- age hag occurred during his term. Certain- ly this immunity from loss was not due to the perfection of method in the treasurer's office, for Mr. Spinner’s system was very crude, compared with the check system of today. Almost in answer to Gen. Spinner’s boast, came a robbery that is unique in the history of the Treasury Department. It was customary then, as it is now, to permit visitors to go through the issue di- vision, if they were vouched for by em- ployes of the office. In the early part of June, 1870, two strange men were noticed by some of the employes of the Treasury Department loitering about the corridors, but unfortunately no particular comment was made and no watch was put on them. On the ith of June the wife of a well- known resident of Washington was visit- ing the Treasury Department with some friends. She stopped at the door of the ts- sue room, and Mr. Root, who was in charge of the room, invited her to enter. One of the men who had been loitering about the hali pushed his way into the midst of this lady's party. Mr. Root supposed that he was one of the party. The lady supposed that he was a friend of Mr. Root. The stranger questioned Mr. Root very closely about the methods of the office, working his way over to the table on which lay many packages of notes. A Package of $10 Notes. He managed to get Mr. Root between him and the clerk who had charge of the money. At the same time the other man entered the room, and bending over the messenger of the office so as to obstruct his view of the table on which the inuney lay made particular inquiries by name for @ fictitious clerk of the office. At this mo- ment the first man distracted Mr. Root's attention by telling him that the party of his “friends” was about to leave and that he must join them. When Mr. Root's head was turned the man picked up a package containing 2,00) $10 notes. He might just as well have had $20 notes, as packages cf these notes were on the table. But he did not have time to select. The package which he took was of the size of a $l bill in length and breadth, and was six inches thick. It was teo large to be concealed un- der his coat, and it was remembered after- ward that he had in his hand a large Panama hat, in which doubtless he con- cealed the package. The money was not missed until evening, and then it was sup- posed that it had been mislaid, or that per- haps it was not received from the bureau of engraving and printing. No suspicion of the robbery occurred until the following day—Sunday. Investigation then showed the foct that the money had been stolen. No clue to the thieves could be had at Washington; but the numbers of the notes were sent out. and all banks were warned against receiving them. Some months after- ward a man deposited $7,500 in these notes in a New York bank. He was arrested, and part of the money was recovered. His accomplice fled the country. The records of the Treasury Department do not show that either of these men was punished. The difficulty the gcvernment has had in recovering stolen money and in punish- ing the thieves ts remarkable. The propo- sition not to prosecute Cochran, the Phila- delphia mint robber, Is in line with the policy of the department apparently. There is only one case in acdition to the Winslow case in which there is known to have been punishment for crimes of this kind against the government. This was in the case of Fred. A. Marien, chief of the division of accounts, and Seth Johrson, assistant pay- ing teller. Marden handled the money of the treasury pay roil. He took $12,000 in 1870 and Johnson aided and abetted him by accepting his checks against the treasury (where he had no balar.ce) and counting them in his cash. Jchrson himself took $50,000. The governn-ent recovered $586.03 from Marden and $12,105.80 from Johnson. Each of them got a Year in the peniten- tlary. Like Cochran, Marden and Johnson were regarded as exemplary citizens and were pillars of the Presbyterian Church. In the Redemption Di Another robbery which occurred in 1870 was by C. C. Edwins, a fourth-class clerk in the redemption division. He took nearly $10,000 from packages of money sent in for redemption. Some of this money was re- covered and the entire deficiency was $5,749. Edwins was not prosecuted. More robber- fes have occurred in the redemption division than in the redemption agency. The re- demption agency, which is under Mr, Rogers, has charge of the redemption of national bank notes. It was established in 1874. In the first year of its existence it was run on a somewhat imperfect plan and opportunities for theft were offered which could not be had now. In the winter of 18745 several canceled notes of the de- nomination of $5 were missed in the con- trolier’s office and were quickly traced to he redemption agency. ‘mS young man named Grant, who handled the packages of money before they went to the controller’s office, was arrested one evening. He was searched and the evi- dence of his guilt was found on him. But he scaped prosecution. He stole less than $1. Another employe of the redemption agency, who used government money, was the first teller of the office, a man New Jersey named Wilson. Wilson had been in the employ of a New York bank before he came to Washington and it was thought that his knowledge would be of value in the redemption office. He had been in other bureaus of the Treasury De- ‘tment for nearly twenty years. Not mg after he was put in the redemption agency he abstracted small sums and fals!- fled his books to conceal the theft. By chance Mr. Rogers inspected the books and made a very unusual comparison between two of them within twelve hours after the false entries had been made. Wilson was arrested, but he was never brought to trial. His friends, particularly a Congress- man who was intrested in him, made good $1,000 of the shortage and the employes of the redemption agency made up the other $200, The last theft in the redemption agency occurred about two years ago. A young man employed in the office took $600 from a package. The theft was traced to him very quickly and he was arrested, but in consideration of his youth the court let him off with a fine. All of the money that was lost in Mr. Spinner’s time was charged against the treasurer's bond, but Congress relieved Gen. Spinner of ‘the lability. It is under- stood that Mr. Nebeker has applied for re- Hef from a loss of $1,000 suffered during his administration of the treasurer's office by the loss of a $1,000 note. This note was in a@ package of fifty-one notes of a similar denomination. The package went through the hands of a very inexnert counter and when it reached the controller's office there were only fifty notes. Nothing has ever been heard of the missing note. Mrs. Becker's Methods. ‘Treasurer Hyatt suffered a double loss during his term of office—one by theft and the other perhaps by accident. The first loss was through the act of a clerk in the redemption division named Mrs. Ernestine Becker. She had the handling of large numbers of silver certificates of the denom- ination of $100. Under what is known as the “three-fifths rule,” the government paid face value for a note when three-fifths of it was presented for redemption. Mrs. Becker watched her opportunity, when no other clerks were near her, and from time to time tore off pieces of notes, always leaving three-fifths. With the scraps she pieced out enough of a new note for re- demption and when opportunity occurred substituted this patchwork for a complete note. This had been going on probably for a long time before she was suspected. One night the clerks were put to work on the packages of Mrs. Becker and plain evidence of fraud was obtained. The loss, so far as it could be traced, was about $1,000. How much had been stolen before the investiga- tion was made no one knows. Mrs. Becker was arrested. She mortgaged some prop- erty which she held in Washington and made restitution. She is now out on ball, and it is altogether unlikely that she will be prosecuted. The other loss under Mr. Hyatt was by the disappearance of ten sheets of % notes between the bureau of engraving and printing and the sealing di- vision of the Treasury Department. All notes are sent to the treasury from the bureau of engraving and printing complete except that they lack the red seal. This seal is printed on them at the Treasury Department. The presses in the sealing room have automatic registers. When the lot of $5 notes came to the clerks who check up before the sheets are separated into notes, it was found that ten sheets of the notes were missing. An examination of the register on the printing machine showed that they had disappeared before the presses were reached. The bureau of engraving and printing had a clean re- celpt for the sheets; so the responsibility rested with the clerks of the first office of the sealing division. No trace of the notes has ever been found. One of the most celebrated losses in the history of the Treasury Depaztment. is known as the “Golden Rule” case. The government actually lost nothing; but ap- Darently it lost $1,000,000; and the affair was made very sensational by newspaper publi- cations at the time. On the 18th of May, 1855, the Treasurer of the United States shipped to the assistant treasurer at San Francisco one thousand $1,000 time notes, payable in three years. These notes were ipped on the vessel “Golden Rule.” ‘The “Golden Rule” was wrecked on Roncador Reef and the safe containing the treasury notes was never recovered. A New York newspaper published the statement that the vessel had been wrecked by her captain as part of a conspira- cy to obtain possession of the treasure on © safe which contained the government notes had been found, broken and empty. and that the captain of the “Golden Rule” and the other conspirators had bought a great deal of property and paid for ft with the lost notes. The Treas- ury Department waited six vears before closing the “Golden Rule” matter. In that time, although almost all of the other notes of the ame issue had been presented for re- demption, none of the thousand notes lost on the Roncador Reef had ever appeared. So the Treasurer of the United States en- tered this $1,000,000 on his books among the notes destroyed. Not one of these notes has been presentd since, and there Is no doubt of their complete destruction. ed SNAKES TAKE THE GOLD CURE. Two That Were Good Ratters and Mouxers When They Were Sobe: From the New York Sun. “You know what a bullsnake is, of course; it is about that long, and as big around as this, though they vary in size, as others do.” It was Petite Bigelow talking. He ts the best known newspaper man on the Pacitic coast, and the most picturesque in five con- tinents. It was he who went to the den of the train robbers, Evans and Sontag, in the mountains back of Fresno, and returned with a page interview, which he printed, when all the law officers cf California, aid- ed by Apache trailers, could only get near enough to the robbers to get shot by them. Petie Is rusticating now in New York, be- cause the Fresno grand jury want him as an accessory after the fact because he re- fused to teli the sheriff where be found the robbers. He denies that the robbers al- lowed him to visit them on condition that he would tell some of his famous snake stories, However: “The bullsnake.” continued Pe- tle, “ Is an intelligent reptile, and ordinari- ly a model of industry ant sobriety; but T know two, named Napoleon and ‘Patsy, which fell from grace in a sad manner, ‘They are famous ratters and mousers. Ali bullsnakes are; but these two were especial- ly skilled. Thay were owned by a friend of mine, an orchardist in the Sonoma val- ley, and had a wide reputation for the ce- lerity and thoroughness with which they cleaned out the rats and mice ef any ranch building they were put into. Their owner, my friend, earned quite an inc loaning them out at a day neighbors with vermin-infested barns. ‘Another friend of mine. a yineyarlist in the Napa valley, had an ol] wine cellar where mice and ‘rats were so plentiful it was really discouraging, especially as his | wines are very good and ;leasant to sem- ple, except that—well, mice and rats are not the company one would select for a wine-sampling afternoon. “Well, I told my Napa county friend of the bullsnakes owned by my Sonoma coun- ty friend, and he sent for them The first result distressed me, don't you know. ed me exceedingly.” Those two bulls with a reputation for integrity and strict business principles which extended from Petaluma to Agnews, forgot thelr carly training, neglected the rats «nd mice, and took to wine drinking in a manner teally shocking. “You know in those cellars wines are drawn by hose from one cask to another, which requires many open bungholes. The cellarmen became nervous, for after a bit they never knew when they approached a cask whether the black thing hanging out of the bung was a section of hose ur Patsy or Napoleon.” Petie paused to sip a tittle absinthe and water. He has given up wine drinking. “A curious thing about u drunken snake he resumed, “that instead of moving forward on its belly in a crooked line, It moves backward on its back in a straight Une. But everything came out all right.” indeed.” ‘Oh, yes. I sent the snakes down to Los Gatos, where they took the Keely cure. ‘They ‘are back in my friend's wine cell hard at work and dead sober. They've cleared out every mouse in the cellar ex- cept a few red and green unes 1 noticed the last time I went there. “eee The Exotint. From the Boston Transcript. Figg (speaking of a mutual friend, who is given to egotism)—"“Did you hear’ of the accident that has happened to Brown? He has broken his leg in two places. Fogg—You don’t mean it! It will be an awful pity if he should dic, If he recovers, what a continual source of pleasure it will be to him to talk about.” all No Necenntty. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean, ‘Have the new neighbors called yet?” “No; they live too close, I guess."” ‘How could that make any difference? “They can oversee all of our affairs with- out coming over.” =Ond Gr and Fall Opening AT CRAIG ano HARDING'S Monday & Tuesday, Oct. 2d & 3d DAY AND EVENING. We are more than pleased with the patronage bestowed upon us the past year. Wehave hit upon a novel method of showing our appre- ciation of your patronage by securing a fine lot of Canary and Mocking Birds, which will be given To buyers on [Monday and Tuesday--Opening Days. Purchasers of $10 worth of goods on Monday or Tuesday will be given their choice of » Fine Canary or Mocking Bird. Purchasers of $20 worth of goods will be given their choice of = Canary or Mocking Bird, with Cage. These birds have been secured through Mr. are guarantesd males and good singers. $25 Cuasorr Surres, $18.75. Fine Substantially Built’ Solid Oak Chamber Suites, neatly carved, large French beveled mirror, cast brass trim- med, equal to any suite in the city at $25. Omx $ 18.75 Eace, A Canary or Mocking Bird will go with this sutte. $45 Cuammer Scrres, $35.50. Elegant Red Curley Birch Chamber Suite, large French bevel plate mirror, neatly carved, hand polished, equal to any suite in the city at $50. Oxtx $35.50. ‘A Canary or Mocking Bind and Cage ‘will go with each of these suites. $20 Warrrxe Desxs For $14.50. Ladies’ Elegant Writing Desks, quar- tered-sawed oak, red curley birch and imitation mabogany, French shaped legs, neatly carved drop leaf, finished with rail, Equal to any Writing Desk else where at $20. Oxty $14.50. A Canary or Mocking Bird will go with each one of these desks. Craig & lard Schmid of this city and Orsers $20 Haz Racr, $15. © different styles of Fine Solid Quar- tered-sawed Oak Hall Racks, seat and arm and umbrella pan, four double oxi- ized prongs. Equal to any Hall Rack in the city at $20. Oxtx 815.00. A Canary or Mocking Bird will go with each one of these Hall Racks. $20 Carsa Crosers For $15.00. Fine Quartered-sawed Oak China Clos ets, oak back, glass front and sides, Equal to any Chine Closet sold else- where at $20. Oxtx $15.00. A Canary or Mocking Bird will go with each one of these Closets. Elegant Quartered-sawed Oak Side- oards, entirely new shape face, 22 by 48-in. top, firished with large French Devel plate miiror, cast brass trim- mings. Very elegant and equal to any Sideboard in the city at $35. Osxtzx $28.00. A Canary or Mocking Bird will go with one of these Sideboards. ‘We desire to lay particular stress upon this statement ‘We have ciways had but “‘one price” plainly marked om each article and we heve not*tam ered” with our prices in any respect. ‘We do not stop at gusrantesing our Prices as low as others for we guarentee them “lower.” ‘These values cannot be equaled slsewhers. Ornrzs $10 Currroxrens, $7.50. Haxvsouz Panton Scrres. $46.50 | $80 Sux Brocarmz Panton Scrrss, $61.50. ‘We Wave exactly five different styles ‘with each one of these fis iH ilf e g Ff ° Taian COR. 13TH AND F STS. THE FIRST MESSAGE. Prof. Morse’s Difficulty in Getting Assistance for His Telegraph. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS JEERED AT HIM Fun Made of His Project on the Floor of the House. ITS FINAL TRIUMPH. HE CONGRESSION "al records, although popularly supposed to be compited from the minutes of each meeting of that body, and tu give verbatim repo! of the pro- ceedings of each ses sion, are not records in the true accept- ance of the teri. That is to say, they y are not complete rec- ~~ NET ors of the doings of ust body since the foundation of this government. Probably one of the most striking ilustra- tions of this failure on the part of the records to give true reports of the proceed- Ings of Congress is shown :u the fact that one of the most important measures eyer before the United States Congress, at least one from which it may be said larger re- sults have been reaped, has been expunged therefrom, or rather was sever placed on the record. | ‘The matter referred to is the bill which was introduced in Congress by Representa- | tive Francis O. J. Smith of Maine, April 6, | 1838, asking for an appropriation of 330,000 to be given to Samuel F. 13, Morse for the purpose of testing the practicability of es- tablishing a system of siectr lagnetic telegraphs for the use of the United States governiment. Jecred at by Every One. Old residents, who remember perfectly when Professor Morse came to Washington | for the purpose of obtaining an appropria- | tion from Congress, and set up an instru- | ment in the chambers of the Supreme Court | at the Capitol, state that he was jerred at | by every one, and openly procizimed a | crank by all, including both Senaiors and | Congressmen. The debates and speeches made cn the subject at the time have ai been made way with since, for the reason, | ft is claimed, that it was not considered | wise, in after years, to keep on record any | proceedings that were calculated to expose | the ignorance and shortsizhtedniss of this country’s legislative body. Speeches of the | most ridiculous character were made in | both the Senate and House. One member |in the House moved that a portion of the | appropriation asked for :houid be given to | a lecturer on animal magnetism, to experi- ment on that subject, which inotion was tested and negatived by 4 yote, and a count | py tellers. Another motion was made in the | House that a portion of the appropriation should be devoted to an experiment on a railroad to the moon. Members, one and all, declared the idea uf transmitting a | message over the wires, from one point to | another, as preposterous, and hooted at the \aetofessor Morse, nothing daunted by this reception, secured the conseat of the offi- clals to set up an instrument in the Capitol | and devoted considerable (ime to showing, | and explaining the modus operandi to those | of the Senate and House who would visit | his apartments. By this means ine suc- | ceeded in winning over to his xile quite a | number of the Congressmen, and the mat- | ter was kept before the House throughout two entire sessions without any cegree of | success being obtained. Finally, on Febru- ary 21, 1843, Representative John P. Ken- nedy, ‘one of Professor Morse's converts, submitted a resolution asking that the ap- propriation of $30,000 be sranted Professor ‘This again evoked considerable di: mn. There was now a arse element of curiosity intermixed with the ridicule, and | after hanging fire for two days, a vote was secured on the 284, which resulted in a suc- Gesstul passage of the bill by a vote of & While the vote was being taken Prof. Morse sat in the gallery, his frame trem- bling from intense anxiety and excitement. The only record now to be found of this latter proceeding in the Congressional Globe, Which professed to give verbatim reports of the sessions of Congress, is the following, which appeared February 21, Electro Animal Magnetism. “On motion of Mr. Kennedy of Mary- land the committee took up the bill to authorize @ series of experiments to be made in order to test the merits of Morse’s electro-magnetic telegraph. The bill ap- Propriates $30,0%, to be expended under the direction of the Postmaster General. “On motion of Mr. Kennedy the words ‘Postmaster General’ Were stricken out aud ‘Secretary of the Treasury’ inserted. “Mr. Cave Johnson wished to have a word ‘to say on the bill. As the presert had done much to encourage science he did not wish to see the science of mesmer- ism neglected and overlooked. He there- fore proposed that one-half of the appro- priation be given to Mr. Fisk to enable him to carry on experiments as well as Prof. Morse. “Mr. Houston thought that Millerism should be also included in the benefits of the appropriation. “Mr. Stanley said he should have no ob- Jection to the appropriation for mesmeric experiments, pri Tennessee (Mr. Ject. (A laugh.) “Mr. Cave Johnson said he should have no objection provided the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Stanley) was the oper- ator. (Great laughter.) “Several gentlemen called for the reading of the amendment, and it was read by the clerk, as follows: “ ‘Provided that one-half of the said sum shall be appropriated for trying mesmezic experiments, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury.” “Mr. S, Mason rose to a point of order. He held that the amendment was not bona fide, and that such amendments were cal- culated to injure the character of the House. He appealed to the chair to rule the amendment out of order. “The chairman said it was not for him to Judge of the motive of members in offering amendments, and he could not therefore un- dertake to pronounce the amendment not bona fide. Objections might be raised to it on the grounds that it was not suiliciently analogous in character to the bil? under considezation, but in the opinion of the chair it would require a scientitic analysis to determine how far the magnetism of mesmerism was anaiogous to that to be employed in telegraph. (Laughter.) He therefore ruled the amendment in order. “On taking the vote the amendment was rejected. Yeas, 22; nays not counted. “The bill was then laid aside, to be re- ported. On February 23, 183, the following ap- peared in the Globe: “On motion of Mr. J. P. Kennedy the bill making appropziation to test the value of Morse’s magnetic tele- graph was taken up, and under the opera- tion of the previous question passed. Yeas, 89; nays, 83. ‘Tried to Defeat the Bill. Several members of the House who had opposed the bill united in a determined effort to defeat its passage in the Senate. The amount of business before that body was exceedingly laze, and as the session rapidly drew to a close the chances of its being acted on were rendered more and more doubtful. On the last day of the ses- sion, March 3, 183, a ruling was adopted that each bill should be acted on in its turn as shown in the calendar. At 6 o'clock in the evening Mr. Mozse, who kad sat throughout the entire day in the gallery, left the building, dispirited, and well nigh broken hearted, ‘feeling assured that there was not the slightest chance of his bill be- ing passed that session. The Senate re- mained in session until midnight, and just before that hour the telegzaph bill was reached and passed. President Tyler was ‘on the floor, and attached his signature to the bill, before the midnight hour. As Prof. Morse came down to breakfast the next morning he was met by Miss An- nie G. Ellsworth, daughter of the then commissioner of patents, who was the first to inform him of the realization of his fondest hope. The professor was overcome by the intelligence, so joyful and unex- pected, and to the young lady who had borne ‘the glad tidings he gave the prom- ise that she should indite the first message sent over the line. Prof. Morse then went about perfecting his arrangements for constructing a line between Washington and Baltimore, select- ing these two cities for the reason that he desired to be as near as possible to the seat of fhe Treasury Spence ‘stimate of the ury cer an exact amount which would be required complete the proposed line,the total of which was $25,420. This estimate was proved by Mr. Spencer, and in March of 1843 active operations of begun. Conduits, or lead asa means of conducting the wires, a line of these was laid as far as station on the Baltimore and Ohio road. It was then discovered that this tem was impracticable and a system poles was substituted. ‘The line was completed on the 234 May, 1844, and on the following day Morse was prepared to put to the test great experiment on which his mind been laboring for twelve anxious, years, At the Mount Clare depot in More one terminus of the line had cated, and the other was located in United States Supreme Court chamber. the Washington end Mr. Morse sat at t! instrument, and in Baltimore his assist. ant, Mr. Vail, occupied a like position. Prof. Morse had extended an invitation to his friends to be present at the test, and the chambers were crowded with an interested throng of unbelievers, who had gathered there to witness, what they fully expected would result in a failure. The First Message. To Miss Ellsworth had been given the promise that she should indite the first message, and accordingly she was sent for. Her message, “What hath God wrought; was transmitted to Baltimore, and received correctly by Mr. Vail, who repeated it. The triumph of the inventor was sublime. The effect on the crowd was wonderful. They had gathered there to scoff, and they went away convinced and impressed. Those who had not witnessed the test, however, refused to believe in the inven- tion, claiming that the whole affair was a hoax and a gigantic swindling scheme. Notwithstanding this, the papers, which had so long ‘gnored the invention, teemed with accounts of the wonderful telegraph, and people flocked to the Capitol daily to see the instrument and if possible be con- vinced. Numbers who were unable to gain entrance to the Capitol contented them- selves with standing on the outside and staring at the wires. During the first few days of the telesraph’s existence many amusing incidents occurred in connection with it. Numbers believed that messages were conveyed in the same form as letters through the mails. A pretty little maiden tripped into the Capitol one day and told Mr. Morse that she had just had a quarrel with her lover in Baltimore, and asked that she be instantaneously transmitted to that ity, in order that she might tell him that she still loved him. Trains, she said were too slow for her. She desired to be trans- Ported there in an instant. She was shown the impracticability of such a proceeding and went away highly indignant at not being allowed to go to Baltimore by tele- graph. Men of prominence would come to the Capitol and send silly messages to friends in Baltimore. and when they would tecelve answers thereto they would evince the greatest surprise, and go off gazing at the slip of paper as a child at a new toy. The message sent by Miss Elsworth, the first ever sent over a wire, is now pre- served in the archives of Hartford Museum, Hartford, Conn. Miss Elisworth's native ome. Proffered to the Government. It was a favorite idea with Prof. Morse from the inception of his enterprise that the telegraph should belong to the general government. In pursuance of this inten- tion, on the day that the line was com- pleted he sent a communication to Congress making a formal overture of the telegraph to the government. The sum named as the price for which the Morse Telegrapl Com- pany would dispose of the telegraph to the government was $100.00. To accept this Proposition was considered to be the limit of official blindness, and the offer was de- clined. An appropriation of $8,000 was made for the purpose of supporting the line be- tween Washington and Baltimore, but further than that the government refused to go. The Postmaster General ridiculed the idea as one unworthy the notice of sensible men. In order that the government might be reimbursed for the amount appropriated by {ta toll of 1 cent for every four characters was charged, and then it was that its com- mercial value was illustrated. The mer- chants in both Washington and Battimore began using the Iine for business purposes, | and the success of the enterprise was fairly | established. A quarter of a century after the refusal of the government to accept the offer to control the telegraph a project was started to establish lines of telegraph to be used by the government, as part of its mail post system, or to take possession of the lines already established. The matter was re- ferred to the Postmaster General, Mr. Cres- MT & i pee rEiEE 8 i Fi ct i g, Ft i cH f i a8 Ui Hib Hd i al | i f fl eke i is the number of tall be found in the fashionable the season. It is more particularly the women of the upper improved conditions of t ations have left their feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 mon, and it is not a very um rence to meet a woman of 5 and even six feet. A gentleman well in London society states that when he be- came of age, twenty-two years ago, his sister, a tall and handsome girl, was the tallest girl among the visiting acquaint- ances of the cont. and now she i over. topped by nearly every one of her younger lady acquaintances. With this phystcal progress there has been a corresponding moral one. The youth of what ts called in England “the leisure class” is not now so addicted to the idle habits, the bad lan- guage, the gambling and the unmanly amusements of his forefathers. Exercise has taught him to be cholcer in his dress and more lavish in the use of water. The purer mental tone has insensibly perme- ated more or Jess other grades of society, and the streets of larse English towns are not so thronged as they were with drunken and dirty toughs. The prominence given to all bodily exploits by the sporting and general press has likewise directed public attention to the question of physical edu- cation, and has had an eminently salutary influence. Enai: Prom ‘rath. Mr. Stalate—“Won't you sing something, Miss Mirnie?” Miss Minnie (yawning)—“Why, Mr. Sta- late, don’t you know it is considered um- lucky to sing before breakfast?” i i E 5F 4 i & . it it oe ing the Agony.