Evening Star Newspaper, April 30, 1895, Page 11

THE EVENING STAR, TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1895-SIXTEEN PAGES. 11 PROSPERITY AGAIN|T FoR™ 4 NEW sTATEISENDING OUT SEEDS|°U®A’S. 44RD LoT Many Indications of an Increase in Business Activity. DEMAND FOR BANK NOTE CIRCULATION Post Office Receipts as a Barome- ter of Business. CON¥IDENCEIN THETREASURY —— > The revival of business activity and the return of prosperity in the United States are indicated by several developments at the capital during the past few weeks in quite as striking a manner as by the in- crease of prices and the volume of business in the country at large. There are several branches of the public service which af- ford pretty accurate barometers of the con- ition of business, and they have all indi- eated during the last month a pressure growing constantly more favorable. One of these indications ts the rapid increase in national bank note circulativa during March and April. The circulation was in- creased during the panic of 1893 to meet a temporary emergency and the long period of duilness which followed led to a decrease of the circulation in consequence of the ac- cumulation of idle capital in the banks and the disinclination of investors to embark in new enterprises. Not Immediately Responsive. The bank note circulation in the United States, being based upon securities instead of upon the genera. assets of the banks, is not.regarded by economic students as being quickly responsive to business demands, but the fact that it is increasing after a long period of declension, tn spite of the scarcity of bonds and their high price, is an even stronger proof of a reviving de- mand for money than if the circulation was based upon some more flexible securi- ty. The increase in the secured circulation during Mareh was $3,362,321 and the aggre- gate circulation was carried up to $207,- 450,144. The advance during April has been equally marked, and indicates an increase 6f nearly $4,000,000 in the secured circula- tion for the month. The aggregate circu- Tation on May 1 will probably exceed $210,- 000,000, and will be larger than at any time since July, 1889, when the process of re- duction had been steadily going on for five years. The bonds on deposit to secure cir- culation at the close of sessed a face value of $20: pared with $197,116,200 on February 28, and $201,176,700 on March 31. The bond de- posits do not always coincide exactly with the circulation, as they are required to be deposited before the circulation is issued. New National Banks. An even more striking proof of reviving business activity is afforded by the appli- cations for authority to establish new na- tional banks which haye recently been raining upon the controller of the currency. The number of new banks organized, which Fan as high as 307 In 1890, fell to a u.ini- mum during the panic, and many applica- tions for charters made in the spring of 1803 were withdrawn or abandoned. The whole number of banks organized during the year covered by the controller's report, ending October 31, 1894, was only fifty, smaller than in any year since 1879. The banks organized during the six months which have now nearly closed since the last report have numbered fourteen, and the applications now pending and await- ing action number thirty-one. The dis- tribution of the new banks authorized and the applications pending, with the aggre- gate capital by states, is indicated in the following table: ‘Organized. Applications pending. No.banks. Capital. No.banks. Capital. 3" $150,000 8B Pennsylvania. 8 6 New Jersey. = 3 Minnesota 1 1 1 2 = 1 1 = 1 1 2 4 = I 2 1 1 1 - 3 = 1 14 31 Post Office Stumped Ps per. Another indication of the expanding vol- ume of trade is afforded by the issues of stamped paper by the Post Office Depart- ment. The term “stamped paper” ts the technical designation at the department for pcstage stamps, envelcpes and all forms of postage. These issues were larger during the quartér ending March 31 last than for any quarter in the history of the govern- ment, exceeding by about $} in) the largest preceding quarter, which ended March 31, 1893, at the period of greatest err ion before the panic. Mr. Hazen, who s2rved for many years under the re- publican administrations as third istant pestmaster general, and was retained be- ause of the value of his services more than half of Mr. Cleveland’s first term, demonstrated, after the depression of 1884, by an elaborate series of statistics, that the sales of stamped paper fluctuated al- most exactly with the state of business. The falling off In postal receipts does not ccme Immediately upon the outbreak of a crisis, because the great volume of trans- actions between retailers and consumers dces not feel the pinch until after the bank. ers and manufacturers have curtailed their eperatio: The following table, covering the issues of stamped paper for each quar- ter for the past three years indicates that the influence of the crisis of 1895 was first felt in the quarter ending September 30 of that year and continued to be felt until the quarter which has just closed. Quarter 1892. 1593. 1894. ending. 1895. March 31.. 19,134, 02 19,789,610 The Movement of Gold. The restoration of confidence in the treas- ury since the conclusion of the recent bond contract is indicated, in the opinion of the treasury officials, by the falling off in the presentation of government paper money for redemption In gold. It was these re- demptions—which ran as high as $7,156,015 on a single day in Jenuary, and averaged about $2,500,000 for the last twelve days be- fore the announcement of negotiations for the bond issue—which reduced the tre: gold reserve on February U, to $41 and threatened to compel a suspension of gold payments at the New York sub ry. These redemptions dropped to in Webruary, the larger part taking place before the Conclusion of the contract, and dropped during March to $1,2 The figures for the first twenty-four days of April have been only $752,501, and but for one or two special demands for export to South America or Canada would have shown an eyen smaller total. The figures few days recently were $2 on on igures: ur days afford an average of Jess than $24,000 for a secular day, or about 20,00) per year. Meantime the tide of gold shipments, which for a series of years has been steadily outward in Kebruary and March, has turned in the direction of the United States. The difference between the situation a year ago and this spring in rd is indicated by the following ing the net gold movement since Excess of imports. Febru March April .. May . June - July Augnst Septeraber October “sa8tis 24,698,489 4,067,003 4,123,402 Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Michi- gan Peninsula. They Will Be Called Superior When United — Territory About the Size of Kentucky. The next addition to this band of forty- four sisters commonly called the American Union will probably be the state of Su- perior, with a capital at or near Marquette, Says the New York Herald. The territory of which this new common- Wealth is to be formed will consist of the upper peninsula of Michigan and that por- tion of Wisconsin lying north of a line drawn east and west across the state from scme point on Green Bay, probably the mouth of the Menominee river. Same Size as Kentucky. It will be about the same size in area as and somewhat similar to our time honored Kentucky. Superior could apply for state- hood next winter with about 400,000 inhab- itants, and they would be of the kind out of which nations are made, too. They are rugged, hardy, not fearful of hardships, given to industry and frugal ways. Of course, there is reason for all this. Men in the northern portions of these two states have always felt unfairly treated by their brethren in the other sections further south. It would have been all right if the rontier had gone forward as frontiers are wont to go; if the woods had melted from Grand Rapids and Madison in an orderly manner; it the developed country had gone forward by easy and orderly degrees, so that by the time that Calumet, in Michigan, and Ashiand, in Wisconsin, had been reach- ed by civilization, the whole of the rest of those states would have become accustomed to the gradually rising importance of the border. But long before there were brick houses in the towns midway up the states there were sand stone business blocks and as- phalt streets at the distant border. Long before there were good roads at Fortescue and Stevens Point there were boulevards at West Superior. In short, the whole south shore of Lake Superior was a developed country, dotted with hamlets, enriched with towns of from 5,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, and browned with the smoke of splendid industries, be- fore the old settlements could realize it. Northern Clnims Laughed At. The people of the north wanted more than the people of the south would give them. Legislators at Lansing and at Madi- son laughed at the claims of representa- tives from Superior and Sault Ste. Marie. They would make no appropriations for those far away countries. How did they know an empire was growing there? And it made the northern people mad. They have been getting madder and mad- der for years. They know they have tre richest mineral lands in the world; that the ccpper and the iron along the shore of Lake Superior is a tremendously important inter- est, and that its wealth ts practically inex- haustible. They know they are receiving less for the taxes they pay than any other section of either old state. And they are getting very tired of it all. A Despised Wilderness. The state of Michigan, which was orig- inally that portion south of the Straits of Mackinaw and no more, didn’t want the up- per peninsula anyway. From 1831, wlien Michigan made her first application for admission to the Union, until her final rec- ognition as an equal in the band of com- menwealths, Michigan protested against ac- cepting that distant and despised wilder- ness. But Uncle Sam would not let young Michigan in unless she wouwd give up a strip of her rich southern border, where settlements and towns were plenty, to her slightly older sister Ohio. Ohio wanted that five-mile strip in order to secure a lake harbor for Toledo, at the mouth of the Maumee river. Ohio was already a state—had been one, in fact, for thirty years—and she should have been sat- isfled. But she demanded that addition to her northern border, and was strong enough to keep young Michigan waiting until the demand was complied with. The Fight With Ohio.. Michigan was the madder because young Indiana, in 1816, had claimed ..n even wider portion of wolverine land, and had been granted it by the government. And now in 1831, when Ohio went surveying for that new northern line, Governor Ar- nold ordered Brigadier General Brown of the territorial militia to call out the troops and ‘capture the first commissary from Ohio who sticks a stake In the soil of Michigan.” But Congress told Michigan she would have to give up the fiv ile strip to Ohio, as she had previausly given up the eight- miie strip to Indiana, but im return ske might have that northern peninsula. Congress might as well have offered Wel- Hai-Wel. Michigan didn’t know where the northern peninsula was, how large or rich it might be, nor by whom it was peopled. And, although she was, forced very un- graciously to accept it, the people in the Superior region feel that she still regards them as she did in the beginning. Discriminating Against the North. One of the most striking proofs of a leg- islative discrimination against the upper peninsula is in the legal fare for carry- ing passengers. By solemn enactment of law the rate below the straits is three cents a mile,and above the straits, through- out all the upper peninsula, it Is four cents. That difference applies within one state. A new and struggling section is saddled with a pagserger tariff one-third higher than the old and rich portion of the state will pay. 2 Perhaps in no other state in the Union was such a discrimination ever known. Representative Robinson of Houghton county 1s before the present session of the state legislature with a bili to make the rate uniform over all of Michigan, and he, has found arrayed against him al! the old scorn of the southern portion. Wisconsin's legislature passed a law many years ago giving up all of Wiscon- sin north of a line drawn west from the cad of Green Bay, to form a new state ith the upper peninsula, and that law has never been repealed. 200 A Question to President Cleveland. To Editor of The Evening Star: In the matter of forcible occupation of American territory by an English army to enforce the payment of a claim set up by Great Britain for $75,000, and no protest being made by our government, I would beg to query, with due respect to Pr dent Cleveland, whether the same course would be prrsued by him ff the amount claimed were $75,000,000 and a sufficient ex- tent of territory seized to cover the latter demand? MONROE. — Giant Gilbert Dead. “Colonel” James Gilbert, the giant of Rar- num, Forepaugh, and ali the other big shows ¢f the country, is Gead. Gilbert stood 7 feet 6 inches in his steckings and was big in proportion. He was a Mexican, torn in Chihuahua not quite thirty-five rs ago, the only child of parents who ere short even for the smali-sized Mexi- ans. His rapid growta used to be to his parents a source of wonder mingled with dismay, for by the time he was ten years old he’ was too big to wear his father's cast-off clothes, and when he was fifteen- it took twice as much cl to make a suit of clethes for him as it for his father. When he wa3 twenty-one years he had at- iained his full growth, and an agent of Barnum’s circus found him and_ took him to New York, where the show was playing. His success was instantaneous. Dubbed colonel and put into a beautiful uniform | and armed with, a huge sword, he would | stalk through the streets, followed inv: ably by a crowd. ilis services were in de- mand and money me easily. Two years ago, while in Sioux Centre, Minn., he met and married Miss Emma Mossman, who made a good mate for him, as she was nearly seven feet tall. At the close of an engagement in the south with a cireus the colonel and his wife went to New York. On account of hard times the only engagement he could get was as a “Dahomey” giant at a Bowery museum. He blacked himself up and at regular intervals gave his war. ¢ry and whirled his war club about his head as the natives of Dahomey are supposed to do. Kidney treuble was the prime cause of the death, Busy Times Over at the Agricultural Department, EVERYBODY WANTS T0 EXPERIMENT But Little Practical Benefit De- rived From Free Distribution. INTERVIEWS OF INTEREST a “Please find inclosed the paper bags of different seeds sent me last year, which did exceedingly well in this latitude. Please send me some more seed, and oblige.” “That is a specimen of the two or three hundred letters we are receiving every day,” said Mr. M. B. Fagan, chief of the seed division of the Agricultural Depart- ment, tossing the epistle containing the quoted senterce to a Star reporter. “Not one person in a thousand who is furnished with seed by the department eyer returns any intelligent information regarding the results attained from its planting, although every seed bag sent out contains a printed request for such a statement, as plain as words can make it. “What we want to know,” continued Mr. Fagan, “is the character of the soil in which the seeds are planted, the time of planting, the manner of cultivation and the time when the plants reach maturit whether the variety withstood any drouth or wet spell that might happen to occurs and similar information which would let us know the adaptability of the different seeds to the different sections of. the country. But we never get it more than once In a thous. times. Is this a busy season in the department? Yes; exceedingly so. About the middle of December in each year the requests for seeds begin coming in at the rate of about 200 a day. This rate keeps up for a couple of months, when it rapidly increases. Since January 1 we have sent out over 25,000 packages cofitaining several varieties of seed each, and the re- quests are coming in in large numbers every day. They are always complied with when there is any seed of the variety asked for on hand.”’ Just then a gentleman came in who had recelyed a letter from a friend in New Jer- sey asking him to visit the Agricultural Department and get the writer some strip- ed sugar cane seed. “He says he wants to make some exper!- ments with It,” said the visitor. All Want to Make Experiments. “They all do,” responded Mr. Fagan promptly. “It would be almost funny to find any one wanting seed who does not de- sire to make experiments. If they would all carry out thetr intentions the United States would be one vast experimental farm. I'm sorry,” he added, genially, “that we can’t accommodate your friend. We have none of that kind of seed, as sugar raising experiments by the government have veer discontinued “Some people have queer ideas of econ- omy,” said Mr. Fagan when his caller de- parted, after leaving a list of names of persons to whom he desired to have seed sent. “Now, that gentleman in Jersey could have sent over to any seed seller in New York, inclosing ten cents, and gotten striped sugar care seed enough to raise a small plantation by return mail, but he sends here to a friend, who leaves his busi- ress and loses time of value, all to no use. “The department, then, does not get many valuable results from the distribution of si "* suggested the reporter. “I cannot say that it does in the reports it receives. Look at these letters. You see, every one of them speaks in a general way of the results attained from the planted seed. This one says the cabbage did fine. Here's one that recites that the corn was first-class and had to have its suckers pulled three times. This says the radishes ‘did prodigious.” The department, however, is doing valuable work in carrying out Sec- retary Morton's policy of distributing ideas in preference to distributing seed. You might call over and see Mr. Bane, the su- perintendent ot the folding room, and learn something about it.” Superintendent Wiil H. Bane greeted the reporter in his office in the museum bufld- ing, detached from the main structure. Publicntions of Grent Value. “I believe that one farmers’ bulletin such as are periodically issued from this depart- ment now will do more real good to agri- culture in America than the distribution of a thousand packages of seed,” said he, with the emphasis of conviction. ‘Last year Congress devoted $30,000 to the printing and distribution of this class of literature, and this year the amount was increased to $50,000. So popular have they become that we receive every day four or five hundred requests for them from farmers all over the country. Last year over 1,700,000 farm- ers’ bulletins weve sent out by Senators and members of Consress, besides those sent from the department. Of course, they are free to every one, dnd all that is necessary to insure therm being sent regularly is for a person to transmnit his name to the de- partment and request that it be placed on the mailing list. The bulletins are each devoted to some particular subject of inter- est to the agriculturist. “They are plainly and simply written so as to be easily comprehended by any one, and are devoid of the technical phraseology that formerly characterized agricultural publications. There is one bulletin in par- ticular that has saved thousands of dollars to the farmers of the country. You are perhaps aware that hog cholera is very prevalcnt in most sections of the United States, and carries oft porkers innumerable every year. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 24 was devoted to this disease and directions for its treatment, and it contained a formula for the medicine to be used that has been found to be an absolutely specific cure for the dargerous disease. We receive every day thankful letters attesting to its infalli- bility. So, you see, there is one instance of the immense value of the lletins.”* So Facts and Figures. Returning to the seed division, some in- teresting figures were obtained regarding the number of packages of seeds distrib- uted and their cost to the government. ‘The year 1893 was taken, as wll reports for it are in and complete. “You know, the government pays as much for the seeds it distributes as private firms or individuals,” said Mr. Fagan, “be- cause it requires the best, and will have no other. In 189 Bes were sent out through . including 387 va- ai flower, garden and field se¢ in round numbers was about $160,000, making an average cost of about 2 cents a package, exclusive of the cost of transportation through the mails of pearly 3 ons of mail matter. Averaging the packages sent at five to each person’ the recipients would have numbered 1,541,- cov. Now, as I said to you before, each package bore upon its face a request that the result of the trial of the seed contained therein be reported to the department. How many do you think replied?” “Two hundred thousand,” answered the reporter, at a venture. Mr. Fagan laughed heartily. “Well, just 1,488 persons acknowledged the courtes of the government, and their reports were invariably coupled with a request for more seed, ‘so that an intelligent report might be furnished next year.’ "” —_—_.__ A Free Medical Aid. , From the London Daily News. M. Felix Faure has decided that all the state and other domestics at the Elysee and their families are to receive medical assist- ance gratis. The cost is to be paid out of his own purse. All tne ushers and other servants employed there by the state have been nearly thirty years at the Elysee. ‘They have been kept on longer than they might have been, because it would be so difficult to find men so fit for their places. They cannot be dismissed before a certain number of years’ service has given them a right to a pension. Since influenza visited Paris, in 1889, they have often suffered from that illness, and, being old, had often to seek medical assistance. As their sala- ries are not high, they thought this was hard, and so also thinks the president. M. Faure has named Capt. Bouchez to look after them and to be their spokesman. Its Burden of Tit and Its Mortgaged Revenues. a Effect of Spanish | Misrule—Facts: Re- ported by)Cénsul General Williams. Se United States Consul General Ramon O. Williams of Habana, Cuba, has made an instructive report to the State Department on the condition of Cuban finances. He appends a translation of an editorial from the Diario de la Marina of February 15 last. The report and the editorial show that the public debt of Cuba is now about $200,- 000,000—nearly double the amount of the indebtedness at the close of the war six- teen years ago; and this notwithstanding the fact that $120,000,000 to $130,000,000 has been paid during these sixteen years of profound peace. The deficit in the revenues of the island for the last ten years has amounted to $42,694,575, and it is said that the annual deficit threatens to become per- petual. The deficit really aggregates $80,000,000 If the deficit from the year 1878 be included. ‘These figures explain the rapid growth of the public debt, with its increased interest and successive conversions. Customs Revenues Mortgaged. For the payment of such an enormous burden, as well as the interest thereon (which amounts to about $13,000,000, and all goes to Europe), the customs revenues of the island are mortgagéd. The present Spanish law regulating the commercial re- lations of Cuba is such as to. greatly crip- ple the resources of the island, and its re- form is demanded by all classes interested in keeping up Cuban credit. For instance, it is reported that a steamer landed 40,000 bags ef rice at Habana as of peninsular production, and hence free from duty, while as a matter of fact it was produced in the East Indies and paid $1:3,000 in duty to Spain instead of paying to the Cuban treasury. Much of Cuba’s supplies are re- ceived through Spain in that way. Cubans demand that foreign countries be given freer access to their ports and that the tari! be so reformed as to yield the island a larger revenue. As it is they have been obliged to tide over their financial difficulties by repeated loans. The bankruptcy of the Cuban nation is Scarcely more ominous than the condition of the Cuban planters. The Sugar Growers. According to a report made by Mr. Bar- ker, United States consul at Sagua la Granda, the sugar growers of that district, as, in fact, throughout Cuba, are at the very beginning of the grinding season in a most deplorable condition, and bankruptcy appears inevitable to nine-tenths of them. The very low price of sugar, centrifugals— selling today at 17-8 cents per pound (Spanish gold), with indications of a fur- ther decline in prices—renders the situation so discouraging that some mills have ceas- ed to grind. Within the past few days one large planter hag suspended, and others may have to do sq for want of money to operate their mills. Holders sell only the amount compelle@»by their contracts—for money adyanced for preparing the crop. They are anxiously awaiting the effect of the concessions made by Spain to the Unit- ed States products imported into Cuba, and indulge the hope that Cuba sugars will, in some manner, be favored by the United Siates in compensation for the aforesaid concessions. The consul says that without some concessions, or an advance in price, another year will see a state of affairs direful and disastrous, even with the most prosperous of Cuban planters. At this season of the year it has been usual for commereial houses in the United States to have quite a number of repre- sentatives in Cuba soliciting business, but, under existing circumstances, they have in the consul’s Judgment, acted wisely in not now seeking the trade of Cuba; for, owing to the impoverished condition of the peo- ple, they cannot, with safety, incur further obligations. This condition is verified by the almost dally suspension of some well- known firm. Since February the weather has been so disastrous to the growing cane, preventing its being cut in due season, as to materially decrease the yield. Thi de- crease is due to the winter and sprin: cane being hollow and Containing very little saccharine matter. Many “central.” re- port grinding the same amount of cane as last year, the result, in sugar, being 25 per cent less. Many mills will finish their crop by Apri], as they consider it no profit either for them or. their growers to grind the spring cane of 1894. This, the consul says, together with the political agitation exist- ing on the islan@, renders the condition of the sugar planter uncertain and discour- aging. Consul General Williams refers to the telegram recently addressed by the pro- vincial deputation of Matanzas to the dep- uties of that province in “he Spanish cortes urging a suspension of al taxes on Cuban sugar and its free admission into penin- sula markets for one fear, and says it ex- presses the apprehension that the Cuban sugar planters, from the low prices of su- gar consequent upon its overproduction, may not be able to finish their present crop. A Grave Crisis. In commenting on the situation La Lucha says: “The sugar crisis is most grave, and it is much to be feared that not only many planters will not be able to start grinding, but even a good part of those that have commenced may not ¥e able to finish mak- ing their entire crops. Famous ‘centrals’ that at this time of year were accustomed to work night and day to be able to crush within season their supplies of the cane are now working on one-third time, for the manufacturers cannot afford to make thou- sands of bags of sugar solely for storage, nor can they make sugar at the present prices. In consequence of this state of things great anxiety prevails in the rural districts, for scarcity becomes greater day by day, and the hopes placed in the pres- ent state of things are being lost. Nobody pays. Customers do not satisfy their ac- counts at the country stores, nor can the latter meet their obligations with the mer- chants who supply them from the cities. And as all branches of business are linked together, the specter of bankruptcy ap- pears now on the horizon.” What the effect will be of the action of the Spanish cortes in making tariff regula- tions somewhat more favorable to Cuban- American trad and in removing revenue charges and export duties from Cuban su- gar remains to be seen. It is thought that the rebellion in the island will greatly com- plicate matters. ; —_--—_ Victims of Nihilists. From the Chicago Tiees-Herald, George Alexander Jameson, one of the officers injured in the JIaymarket riot, died Sunday at 120 Gurley sireet. On that his- toric night, when the ‘police squad was seattered by the bomb, Jameson received pieces of the shell in "he right arm and left hip. He neyer fi recovered from his wounds, but ¢ontigyved in the service until he retired during the Washburne ad- ministration. Blood poisoning finally re- sulted, affecting the heart, with, at last, fatal resplts. Mr, Jameson had lived in Chicago forty years, and’ was on the police force thirty years, He was sixty-five years old, and leaves 4 widow. and eight grown children. The pplice department sent an escort to the funeral Thursday noon. +0 A Head-On Exhibit. From the New York Tribune. A Chicago man is going to get up a spec- tacle for the coming summer that will be peculiarly Chicagoesque. He expects to lease 100 acres of land in one of the sub- urbs and build a railroad track thereon. He will buy two engines at an estimated cost of $10,000 apiece. Then he will erect an immense grand stand on each side of the | railroad which will accommodate 100,00) people. The engines will be steamed up to their full capacity and started toward each other. The spectacle when they collide, the Chicagoan .caleulates,- will be so thrilling that thousands will want to witness it. FOR INDIGESTION AND NERVOUSNESS Use Horsford’s Acid #hosphate. Dr. W. 0: HOYT, Rome, jy Says: “I have found it both an agreeable ‘and useful remedy in cases of indigestion, and also in nervous IN HOTEL CORRIDORS “Those who believe that first love is the true love andcan never wholly die will be interested to hear about a case that recently came to a happy conclusion up in Pennsyl- vania,” said Walter Craig of Philadelphia at the Riggs House. “Sixty years ago Walter Chapin and Mary Harkness lived on adjoining farms in Luzerne county, and were sweethearts. There had heen close in- timacy between the families, and the pros- pective union of the young people was pleasantly regarded on both sides. Trouble arose between their fathers, however, over the ownership of a narrow plece of land, and a bitter quarrel ensued. The lovers took’ sides, however, much against their will, and young Chapin moved to Ohio, where he prospered and married. Miss Mary married also. A couple of years .ago Chapin’s wife died, and a year afterward Mary was left a widow. Last winter Chapin came back to revisit his old home and inet his sweetheart of sixty years ago. In March they were married in Wilkes- barre, the groom’ being seventy-nine years old and his bride two years younger.” “The man who originated and successful- ly engineered the escape from Libby prison In 1864 was shot and killed in Morgantown, Xy., a couple of weeks ago,” sald D. 5. Herrell of Cincinnati in the Raleigh cafe this morning. “His name was A. J. Ham- flton, and he entered the army early in the war as a member of a Kentucky regiment, of which state he was a native. When he was captured and sent to Libby he was a major. He had been a master house builder before the war and was familiar with con- struction of every sort, and when the many troubles attended with sleeplessness anda fecling of exbaustion.”” schéme to escape was proposed Hamilton’s comrades in confinement laughed at the idea of getting through the heavy walls. He went to work, however, and by himself made the tunnel down through the brick wall in order to reach the cellar, which be- came the base of operations and thus fur- nished the key to what became a success- ful escape. Hamilton’s knowledge made it possible for him to make the hole in the wall without interfering with the brick on the outside, which would have led to de- tection.of the plan. He was a brave, fear- less and gallant man, and his old comrades will generally mourn his tragic death.” “I never knew there were any degrees to @ woman's anger until one night last win- ter,” said Harry Caruth of Kentucky, at the Riggs House last night. “My experi- ence is necessarily brief and limited, but all the women I have ever seen lose equi- librium of temper have lost it all at once and got mad when they started out to get that way all in a minute. One night last winter there was a poker game uptown, participated in by some well-known public men and a young friend of mine. At mid- night my friend excused himself, and a man who had been recently married sig- nified his intention of stopping, too. The others saw the game would be pretty small if two players stopped, so they begged the other man not to go. “ ‘Oh, I must,’ he said. “My wife will be hotter than a hurnet anyhow, and I must get home.” “Well, if th: all that’s bothering you there’s no use in your quitting,’ said an old western Congvessman who was in the game. ‘I’ve been married thirty years, and I can assure you from experience: that by 12 o'clock at night a woman gets as mad as she possibly can get, and a few hours’ extra absence on the part of her husband makes no difference in the world.’ “This was a knock-down argument,” con- cluded Mr. Caruth, “and the other man continued playing until the game broke up. ‘Carl Myers, the balloon maker of Frank- fort, New York, is engaged just now in manufacturing balloons for a novel pur- Pose,” said Edward Taylor of Troy, at the Arlington. “They have been ordered by shipowners in New York and will be placed aboard their vessels for pse in time of shipwreck. The crews will not get in the balloons and sail ashore through air, as 2ome might imagine. The outfit consists of a machine for making hydrogen gas under pressure, so arranged that its flow can be controlled. This gas will be used to inflate a small balloon of sufficient size to carry a line ashore from a threatened ship, by which a heavier cable can be drawn for the passage of the crew or gcods. Nowa- days, when a boat is wrecked and a life- saving station is in the neighborhood a mortar is used by the life savers to shoet a small line over the vessel, by which a big- ger rope is stretched afterward. It takes a good marksman to shoot straight enough to do this, and then in almost every case the wind is blowing inshore and deflects tne Ine. With the proposed balloons no apparatus ts needed on shore, and the same wind that is blowing a vessel on the beach will take the balloon to land. Experiments are to be made in a few weeks and are be- ing awaited with much interest by those engaged in coastwise shipping.’ —_.__. ON TO KEY WEST. Henry M. Flagler Seems to Be Behind the New Road. From the Atlanta Constitution, There is every indication that a railway will be built at an early day from some point on the lower east coast of Florida across the many keys which skirt the main- land to the city of Key West. A survey for such a road was made some years ago and competent engincers pronounced the project a perfectly practi-abie one., The distance would be considerably more than 100 miles and the road would require numerous long trestles and bridges of iron and stone to withstand the storms which frequently sweep over the gateway to the gulf of Mexico. H. M. Flagler of New York is at the head of the present enter- prise, but his agents are not inclined to give out anything very definite about his plans as yet. It is a fact that he has pur- chased one-half of Key Largo, at the foot of Biscayne bay, and the deed for it was turned over to him on February 23. Key Largo is the first important {sland off the mainland at the southern end of Biscayne bay, and is one of a long chain of keys or islands extending southwesterly to Key West. In the county clerk's office at Key West there have been filed within re- cent months deeds for small tracts of land on sixty-three different keys, all in the name of one purchaser, who is believed to be an agent of Flagler’s. In some instances the whole key is bought. These tracts fol- low very closely the line of the old survey for the Key West railroad. It is reported that Mr. Flagler will build an immense hotel on Key Largo and all doubt has been removed from the report that he will build an extensive addition to the Royal Poin- ciana, at Lake Worth, an addition capable of accommodating 50 more guests than have been there during the past season. This is to be completed and furnished be- fore December 1 next. It is announced on unquestioned anthori- ty that H. M. Flagler has accepted the final surv of the civil engineers on the route between West Palm Beach, on Lake Worth, and Miami, on Biscayne bay, a dis- tance of sixty-five miles, and will almost immediately commence the construction of a line of railway to the latter place, build- ing to New river, over helf way, without halt. This road will be a continuation cf the already famous east coast line, the final terminus of which is undoubtedly Key West, but not officially ro announced as yet. — ss METHODIST CHURCH SOUTH. Sem1-Centennial of Its Organisation to Be Celebrated at Louisville, Ky. The semi-centennial of the organization of the Southern Methodist Church will be celebrated in Louisville, Ky., beginning Wednesday evening, May 1, on an elaborate scale. The executive jubilee committee ap- pointed to arrange for a suitable celebra- tion of the semi-centennial of the Southern Church has about completed its labors. In- vitations have been extegded to the various general conference committces to hold their annual meetings, beginning April 28, and nearly all of them have accepted. These committees number among their members 1) of the mest prominent Method: ministers and laymen in the Church South. The bishops of the church will also hold their annual meeting at the same time, and map out their plans of episcopal visita- tion. The board of missions, which is the largest of the connectional boards, will hold its meeting on Friday, May 3. soe George W. Bostwick, national secretary of the National Association Naval Vet- erans of the United States, died at his residence at Philadelphia Sunday. Ps ——S Mertz’s Modern Pharmacy Grand Annual Spring Reduction Sale. Conquering SATURDAY'S AND YESTERDAY’ Pectations. Our low prices conquered the =-=-==The Elements. SELLING was big beyond our most sanguine ex- elements. At no time did it rain hard enough to interfere with the buying. Even the country folks: rode through the drizzling rain to Y take advantage of the lowest prices for Medicines and Toilet Articles that were ever offered in Washington. Those who have ‘ot fall to come in tomorrow, as we cannot 4 so far been prevented from attending should afford to quote these prices again this year: G>During this sale Best Eyeglasses, fitted and guaranteed, 90c. S> Manicure Parlors now opened in annex on first floor, in charge of Mrs. Smith, late of the Palais Royal. Pee, 50c.; 6 tickets for $2.50. You are sure to need something in this list—buy now and save money. Instruments! Graduates in Medicine, ’95. Special attention of graduates of medicine in "95 is directed to the great reductions made for their espe- cial benefit in our Surgical Instrument Department. Annual Spring Reductions Im Medicines and Drugs. 0c. Syrup Figs... See (Excellent laxative.) $1 Hood's Sarsaparilla. $1 Page's Sarsaparilla. (Best blood purifier made.) $1 pint bottles Beef, Wine and Iron.49e. $1 Paine’s Celery Compound. .......Gle. $1 Coca, Celery and Beef Compound.5de. (Brain and nerve tonic.) $1, Dougiaas’ Emulsion of Cod Liver Ol, with the Hypophosphites......59¢. $t bottles Scott's Emulsion..........59¢. Wine of Calisaya and Iron. 590. (An deal spring tonic. Very palatable.) $1 Ferraud’s Wine of Gora. 630. 2%e. Jones’ Root Beer Extract. .....16e. (Makes 5. Hons delicious root beer.) 25c. White's Belladonna and Capsicum Piasters. +-90.; 3 for 25e. $1 Improved Srrup of the Hypophos- Te. Mellin's Food, large size. Ble. 50c. Pheno Thymol, the best’ antiseptle Known, better than Thymoline, Lister- ine, et 39. 25e. Liebiz's Extract Malt, $1.50 dozen. (This malt contains more nutritive Matter than any other.) Te. Warner's Celery Bitters........49¢. (Good stomach tonie and nervine.) $1 Dr. Duteher’s Female Tonic. 590. Be. bot.5 (Excellent remedy for female com- plsints.) Hunyadt Water.......... -I4e. 25e, Easence Jam. Ginger. 2+ -19e. TSc. Finest Olive Oil, pint bottles. .42c. (Our own importation. Absorbent Cotton, per Ib.......++..25e. For House Cleaning. Insect Destroyers! Spring is the time of housecleaning, and you will need lots of insect powder, disinfectants, vermin traps, cte., so We have made ‘some very “TIMELY re- ductions in our Housecleaning rt ment. Get your “ammunition” this week to wage war ageinst the insect, and save money. (New thing—catel ‘every time.) Extra Large Bottles Carbolic Acid. .19e. G. S., the best-disinfectant made. .:123e. Dalniatian Insect Powder, large ‘boxes, Powder Guns...... Gum Camphor, ‘per Tb... 3-1b. cans Moth Camphor. Large boxes Moth Balls Peterman’s Roach Food. duced to 12c., 2le. and 39. Phosphorous Paste “DEAD SURE” for (@estroys them instantly.) Sulphur Candles... Mertz’s Mode uth and F Annual Spring Reductions, in Toilet Articles, &c. ‘50c. Imported Bay Rum, pints.......39¢. Umported from” the” Island’ “of St. in Food. Thomas.) ot Rabatean's ‘For removing skin blemishy 0c. Cooper's Hair Succeste nn (An unegualed preparation for preveut~ ing Juss of hair.) B5c. Florida Water...» oan 00 200s for perfuming the’ boudoir. soe ee ; ming the or.) vater, in plut bottles... 2c. up in France. Boe. White's Ivory Dentiaes..-......39e. (The most eyes dentifrice on je market.| $1 Pot Pourrt , (A lasting Be, Tulle Face Po ee ades—a very superior fi a ralcum Powders:scrs-resses 3 fo 20e. Queen Anne Tooth Powder. + -13¢. (reserves the teeth—hardens the gums.) Roses and | Myri Soc. Rabateau’s odors. Boc. Exti Chewing Gum. 25e. White Ca GSeeps the hair in curl in —not gummy or sticky.) Imported Oil-arcaral’ Chumols Skins, Were 15c. Now Se. 3 Were 25c. Now Iéc. Were 40c. Now 2c. 15e. Almond Meal.. (A specific for roughness or complexion.) $1.25 Pinaud's Extracts. + Be. Vetivert... +s.-..-4 pkgs. for 20c. 4A perfusned root from the orient.) 5c. bottles Queen Anne Lotion.3 for 50c. 25e. Kennedy's Foot Powder. i (For tender feet—removes all odor.) Natural Castile Soap. Boe. Violet Water. : (Containg natural odor of the viol: $i Rene Bau de Violette... - Cream of Cucumber and 20e. Almond Cold Cream. 98c. Toilet Atomizers. ‘Tooth Wash. .i tracts, 1-07., al 3 ot 25c. Sheffick's Tooth Paste. B5e. Witch Hazel, pints Bie. Vaseline, Soda Mint Tablets, 8e. Tooth Brushes. (Warranted not 35e. Nall Brushes. 2c. Cooper's Sham «Removes ail Soc. Lavender Salts. / sth spree onaiees een Anne Cologne, pints. Violet Orris..seee. eevee 3 for Be. Kes. cerine Soap, 1 doz. cal mber and Lettuce Soap, 3 2c. Cleaisine. Bap fre re leans everything.) ‘onntain Syringes, 2-quart. (Congress brand, best Gark's inl, Caress. -the4 10c. Clark's Corn Salve), 50c: bottle Tollet Waters Rabateat‘e Violsite Bisace.-o6e, n'a Viole! 1 Julie Face. Bleach. rasa “le. moves freckles, moth patches. 2c. WhK Brocmna. 7. sree eee hg rn Pharmacy, Sts. N.W. FF : B EF E it 3, a FOO de- 8040 Hypnotism Under proper conditions is all right, bnt we do not believe in applying It to Dusiness methods. People look with wonder and amaze- ment at the power exerted by some over others, and much amusement and interest is created by this mysterious art. One would judge from some advertisements that the iden seems to be to catch the eve and lull the reason to peaceful slumber. These Figures, $5.00, Indicate that it will purchase one of our Leather LUTTE And when you call in and examine it you can easily “dutermine the ‘such a low price. It is our Own Manufacture. Inderd, we are making many grades and sizes of thes> popular cases. A better grade —stcel frame, leather corners, good $5.00, $5.50, $6.00 TOPHAM'S TRUNK AND LEATH MANUFACTORY, 1231 Penna. Ave. N.W. Have the old trunk repaired now—before the rusb. it OOS CP Go Ooo Geese G00! PDP-HELO9 HGS OO- 90-4 OSHS O-920 6-64-64 6000 96 -O0-@: In our Matting steck, just to rake us more popular with you. We know you are about to clean nd if we save you a little on the fixing you will have a warm spot in your memory for us. So we have marked down patterns of our 19. Mattings to i5e., and as many of our 25c. ones to 1c. a yard. Come In and see our stock. Our $16.50 Antique Suite can't be bettered. {W. H. Hoeke, 4 Furniture, Carpets & Draperies, {Cor. Penna. Ave..& 8th St.§ it ¢ 4 00-35-39 09-42 te See A Trip to California Will prove to the most doubting mind that that state crows the finest fyuils in the world, Necdn’t go there to enjpy fls frults. We have the most delicious PEACHES —al- rect from Calf.orala—in extra Leavy sirups NLY 20. CAN. None like them else- ‘here. ‘< W. BURCHELL, 1325 F STREET. } : % wi ap20-14d ——————, Bargains In Long Hair Switches $2.50. Formerly §5.00. $4.50. Formerly $6.50. $6.50. Formerly $10.50. 67 Hair Dressing, Cutting, Shampooing, a S. HELLER’S, 720 7th Street N.W. Concord HARNESS has See te ae rials and the best har- eS Harness, A Happy Result ; Always attends our cleaning operations, The suit looks like Dew. no speck Of diet oF grease remains, carefully ‘and ail ait’ your sults ‘in 15 We charge only Te. {0 one year. ¢. this for $1.00. Let’s do L. this fashion. Postal aud we'll call. for the best quality Mainspring. Crystals, 10c. A. KAHN, Expert Waich Repairer, 5 oe pert teh Repal 935 F ow. Lutz & Bro., 497 Pa. Ave POSEY, wo 1x sr. ap29-10d ‘9 All work warranted for eeruuunea ceamaaamomesasanne PMN a RRR How’s Your Liver? etedin You may think It eee? it isn't—not if you’ ¢¢2% Indigestion, Dyspepsia—Thin Blood— 222% Complexion getting sallow, — You 22 liver is torpid. If you want to have see tt perform its natural fur oeee drink TATE WATE! of TEND eee SEE. Greatest known remedy for eee? all liver troubles. e299 G7Only $4 dozen gal. bottles. hafer’s Mineral WaterD, Pi ae PEYNA. AVE. TEL. 234. Sausncame Gray Hair A thing of the past when Nattans Crystal Dis- covery is used. Guaranteed to restore gray or faded hair to its natural color in 3 to 10 days— sitively not a @y the hair from falling Stops. out, arrests dandruff and makes the nicest dressing Xe roleon. No scdi- for’ the hair one can_ use: ment. No stains. Price, 1 size, 50c. KOLB PHARMACY, SOLE AGENTS, 438 7TIi ST. N.W. Sent, express prepald, to aay rare a ja he country on receipt of price. E-l-e-c=t=r=i=c=i-t = Do you kuow of a more perfect light— * or a surer, safer power? Soon youjll be plannicg for summer comfort. Let the first thing vou do be to discard the gas for incandescent or are lights, and put ia an electric fan. We furnish the elem © tricity. U. S. Electric Lighting Co., £13 14TH ST. N.W. "PHONE 77. ap25-20 Do You Paint? If sou do we want you to know that we have a full stock of Painters’ Sup- plies, Ready-mixed Paints, Floor Stains, Vainish, ete., for either fnside or out- side work. - Quality all right. Prices all right for rou. Geo. F. Muth & Co., - 418 7th St. N.W., Successors to Geo. Ryneal, jr. apd-246 e fering from Ae NL I NRE ee ee eee eee eens ee ee eee eeee f. \