Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 15, 1886, Page 10

R T b THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. A Diconssion of the Recent Outtageons Utteranoss and Actions of the Anarchiste, SOME RESTRICTION NECESSARY . To ngthen the Foundations and Insure the Perpetuation of the Republic—- Ol and New Candida 1. €. Aday “In regard to liberty of specch,” says Jeremy Bentham writing and 1 wonld foot The o mattars on exactly the that in which they Anglo Amorican United States practice thus heartily indorsed consists in perfect freedom of utterance, By the first amendment to the federal constitn tion congress is forbidden to upon this fundamental right of personal liberty, and the policy which finds such expression in the organ law of the eentral government may be accepted as properly portraying the practice in the soveral states, As is well known, the early federalists endeavored to intro duce unusual punishments for the offense of criticising either the policy of the governwent or the conduet of oflicials, and the “sedition law," asit was termed, passed during the administration of John Adams, met with the approval of the court. But the reception of this law by the people emphatically declared that they believed in no sort of censorship, for the indignation which it aroused could not be allayed except by the humiliating defeat of the party that passed it. So far as I am aware, there has been no subsequent attempt on the part of civil authority to control the cxpression of opinion, or to limit the sphere of eriti- cism upon the government or_upon the existing order of society. It istrue that during the lite war certain papers which advocated the cuase of rebellion were suppressed in districts where martial law had not been declared; but such acts were defended as war asures, and procecded from the t may then be said without reserve that the American people have, thus far in their history, acted upon the’ belief that individual freedom, exercised under con- ditions of strict responsibility, is sufficient guarantee for that personal security the enjoyment of which is the best test of just society Have we now, atter a~ hundred years’ experiment, come to & point in our development nation when this policy must be reversed? It seems unnecessary to remark that the occasion for unde taking such an inquiry is the disclosures that have been made in Chieago coneern- ing anarchist organizations, and the perpetration of the crime, altogetier un- usual in the United Stat of using in- famous weapons to strike terror into the minds of a peaceful community. We can no longer treat with amused indifference the threats of those who propose fo establish new heaven upon this old earth by means of indiscriminate murder. How then shall we treat them? The necessity of answering this question brings :li.::liu into review the theory of personal liverty which securcs to _cvery man the right to express his opinions. Was this theory rational when estab lished; and, if so, have new forees of any sort been introduced into our modern life which should lead us to modify the old defense of freedom of speech? Although Bentham's praise of the policy mxoyn-.l in this country is fully mented, it should not be forgotten ~that the principles of personal liberty enjoyed by the Ametican people were “received by them from England herself. The eloguent argument of Milton against public cen- sorship may be said to have determined English thought respecting freedom of utterance, und it is a cutting from this plant of liberty noved to the virgin soil of the new world which has grown nto that freedom which we now enjoy. In Mr, Mill's “‘Essay on Liberty,” which met with hearty approval from American readers, we find the thoughts writ by the old Puritan expanded d reduced to argumentative form; in this essay, there: fore, may we expect to find the most per fect expression of the theory of free speech. The considerations by which Mr. Mill urges t government should interfere as Tittle as possible with public discussion are the following:—1. By interfering to suppress opinions or experiments in liv. ing you may resist truths and_improve ments ina_greater or less degree. 2. Constant discussion is the only” certain means of preserving the freshness of truth in men’s minds and the vitality of its influence upon their conduct and motives. 8. Individuality is one of the most valuable elements of well-being, and you can_ only be sure of muking the most of individuality if you have an atmosphere of freedom, encouraging free development and expansion. 4. Habitual resort to repressive means of influencing conduct tends more than anything clse to discredit and frustrate the better means, such as education, good example, and the hke. The readiness with which wo admit these propositions shows that they form a part of our inheritance of thought; and yet we demur when the principles pro- pounded by Milton, Erskine, Bentham e e in encroach i and Mill are urged to shield the utter- ances of anarchists, whose avowed pur- pose is the destruction of th personal security now guaranteed to every citizen by a carefully developed system of con- sfitutional law. Listen, for example, to the following, which is kaid to come from the pen of a respectable citizen of Toledo, Ohio “The capitalists’ golden bags and the bon d hold ve denied us all rights. They would wake us slaves, Our only hope 15 in earnest, organized action, Burn, kill, and destroy until we fol the autocrats to terms, ‘We have lost hope in Gad, hope in humanity, and hopo in the world at’ large. "Lat every man do bis duty. ‘Thisisa time when the working man will either become a slave or a master. Cloose between the two, and ehooss at once. Let us give no quarter and ask none; only let us stand by eachi other, and each ian at his post. 1f we must die, let us die like men and not slaves,” Would the denial of the right to use such language tend to ‘‘resist truthsy" Docs discussion of this sort preserve the “freshness of truth in men’s minds?” Does it savor of the “‘atmosphere of freedom,” or would its suppression Sfrustrate the influence of good ex- ample®” It seems evident that the argu- ment of Mr. Mill1s addressed to a difler- ent sort of expression from that which is disclosed in the quotation thus easually solected. He refers to discussion, and to ch exhortation s may properly follow impassioned diseussion; he would not lend the authority of his nawe to the free use of language which bocomes the first step in erime. So far as the expression of opinion is concerned, 1 see mo reason wnly the theory of free discussion is not us fully applicable to the anarchists to- day s to those who dissented from the established order of society at any time in the past; but having made this con- cession, it seems that the full require ments of the doctrine of liberty have boen complied with. The right of self- protection is as essenual a part of the doctrine of liberty as the right of self assertion. It is not the argument in the above quotation whien would ':i\'vlho law of a free peoplo just cause of action against him who wrote it. Discussion rospeeting the nature of property or the equity of modern methods of distribution capnot fail to disclose more clearly and | vrot | to whic THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: SUNDAY settle more firmly what is true language which goos beyond discw and ificites to civil erimes comes to be s offense ry to the erime, and #o | fr \ Tight is concerned may bo | 1 ordct to prevent the erime wde. The reasoning upon which such n conclusion rests is the same ows the law to prohibit he carrying of concealed weapor it one conceival cond fare of terrorism may moral ¢ horty organic law of to vrovide for peacefnl this is not the case in Here the wi v of the land; and, when men endeavor to ter weful community into cowardly iance with their wishes, they act in a manner for which no theory | of liberty makes provision. They place themselves ontside the law by refusing to carry on gitation cording to the law and the law is not to be blamed if 1t accepts the sentence which such men pronounce \gainst themse and_treats them as outlaws. And [ cannot forbear saving in this connection that the laboring men are of all eitizens the most interested in maintaining this distinotion. The <olu tion of the labor problem lies in a further development of certain proprietary rights which shall be to the advantage of tho workmen; but should these new rights be developed, they must rest for thicir enforcenent upon” the same form of legal procedure with which we are now familiar. It would be suicidal for working men _to adopt the mothods of anarchists, forin so doing they would destroy the only means of defending such rights as they may acquire Giving, then, a definite answer question first asked, we may say: Froo discussion is essential to a society that scoks the enjoyment of the liberty and consequently “hnds snpport in sound reason; but the doctrine of free discussion does not contemplate such license to press and speeeh as will endanger the yeace and tranquility of the community, But have any new forces been introdueed into our modern society that eall for moditication of the rale of liberty? 1t is natural that tho factors that make up society should change, and that princi- ples should present themselves o sue ceeding gencrations in- slightly modifi lights,~ Milton did not write for a people of mixed education, nor <IillM|Hlum- temblate a rapid increase of the foreign element. It is a significant fact that “of the anarchists now lying under arrest in Chieago, not one is a native American, It has been assumed that the United States, with her boundless opportunities for industrial development, could easi absorb all immigrants and instruct the in the ways of free institutions, For the most part this expectation has been met, but of late certain Poles, Bohemians, and Hungarians (many of whom, it must bo d, were imported by labor-contract- ors), us well as some Germans who left their country for their country’s good, have proven fo be a hard meal to digest. They congregate in scctions of our crowded cities or work together in mines; thev are slow to learn the English s and easily fall the prey of & men. A soeech which all ns would laugh at rouses them to and because the arm of the nment is not ever visible they are quick to presume that nothing stands between them and lawless intimidation. The invention of dynamite also changes somewhat the argument for freedom of speech. The significance of dynamite as a means of enforcing convictions consists in_ this, that it may be emple 1 with less danger of discovery than a Winchester ritle or a dirk; and the power of destruction which it places in the hands of a single man far exc the just weight of that man’s opinionin ing pubiic sentiment. These arc which lead us to be a littlo more sev in guarding public discussion than might otherwise be necessary. But the most important question remains. Assuming that anarchist opinions, when exprossed in such a anner 1s to incite naturally to crime, ean claim no protection from the doe- trine of liberty, would it be wise for the police authorities to enter upon a policy ion? t which a e | rorize it to_the yot e easons why such a pro- posal cannot meet with hearty approval, The ,racticability of a meusure cannot be fully determined by the immediate re- sults that may be expected from it, but its probable remote effects must likewise be taken into the account. It cannot be denied that public opinion fails to dis tinguish clearly between the ends for which working men are striving, which in themselves are perfectly legitimate, and may be ined in a logitimato manner, and the purposes of those men whose theory of agitation implies the destruction of the law which guards sceurity. And there isgreat danger that & pofiey of public surveill- ance established over the ltter would bhe gradually extended in the former, and so ultimately result in the curtailment of such agitation as lies wholly within _the boundaries of libe Ld This may be remote contingency, but it suggests a thought wortn considering, But, in the second place, there is danger that a policy of repression would Strengthen the hands of the anarchists themselves. It is beeause the poor have a just com- plaint against the existing order of society that men who talk murder and riot are able to gather a tolerant audience; but should the police authorities undertake to suppress the speakers, there is reason to fear that this bare tolerance would warm into genuine svm.mn._r. As .Lord Bacon truly remarks: *“The punishing of wits enhances their authority, and a forbiaden writing is thought to be . cer- tain spark of truth that flies up in the faces of them that seek to tread it out.” Laborers as a cluss do not_perceive any more clearly than the public in general the n¢ ary antagonism between their interests and the methods by which they muy be the best served, and the pui- poses and methods of unarchists. But being conscious of bearing unusual burdens, and having perhaps grown morbid under this sense of wrong, they stand ready to join hands with all who cry out that the power of the state is turned against them, In my opinion an industrial revolution must be accom- plished before we may hope for plenty with peace, but the fate of Christiai society depends upon the manner in which it shall be accomplished. No greater misfortune could befall our civil- ization than the union of all the discon- tented classes under anarchist senti- ments; and our safoty against such calumity lies in holding clearly before th minds of men the fact that the law itself proviaes for peaceful revolution, and that a reign of terror is notonly un- necessary but would be disastrous to the establishment of a new order of indus- trial society. The chief objection, there fore, to the adoption of unusual methods in dealing with the comparatively smatl number of anarchists that oxist ‘is, that such methods would tend to obscure the real point at issue in the great contro. versy now engaging public attention It is never wise to sit for able length of time on the 1 would not, however, leave the im- pression that the law should deal iniently with anarchists, as though their opinions were their misfortune, or the casualties which follow their specehes un accident. Whether sane or bereft of reason, when men mix dynamite with the pyrotechnics of their oratory, society has the right to take measures for seif-pro- tection. But this protection, as itap- pears to me, may be the best secured by any consid safoty valve, a rigorous enforcement of the laws now upon our statute books, rather than by the enactment of new laws that shall en- deavor to define & new crime. Nothing would play wmore directly into the han | of these agitators than the establishment of somo method of procedure, or the adoption of apolicy of police super vision, which might give color to the claim that the oflenses committed by their followers are political offenses, Tlie truth is, that anarchist rioters are ordi nary eriminals and should be dealt with ns <uch The theory of criminal procedure is not diflicult to understand. It starts with the assumption that every man who knows the law is free to obey it or not as suits him best, but to this liberty there is ittached full responsibility for all acts which afteet in any way other members of society, That is to say, every man s permitted to do as he pleases on con dition of receiving the approval or cen sure of the law, Tais arrangenent is led by Engiish jurists as the most practicable method of preventing wrongs, for if men can only be brought to act under a Keen sense of personal onsibility it is believed they will en or to keep within their clear legal hits. It thus appears that personal liberty and personal responsibility are the counter forees which liold the " units of our nebulons socicty in their proper spheres. It is, however, by no means casy to apply this theory.” The perfection of its working depends upon the certainty and swiftness with which justice is exceuted, But it 18 not always possible in case of incendiary publications or of speeches followed by riot for the law to lay its hand on the real principal in the ofiense. It is the action of mind on mind that must be traced, and the difficulty of ap. plying the rule of responsibility ariscs from the fact that such action leaves be hind _itself no visible evidence, Still it lies in tho purpose of the law to ove come the difliculty thus suggested, and to that end three Steps are recognized in the perpetration of a_crime; the intent, the plan, and the execution of tha plan For offenses such as we are now consider- ing, the basis of intent is the opinions which anarchists entertain. - But on; d@oes not undertake to question individv opinions; for not only would such ques- tioning be useless’ as leading w no practical measure for granting protection to society, but it would encroach upon that somewhat vaguely defined territory in which & man is bound to recognize no responsibility exeept to himself.” On the other hund, it is impossible for men of ane mind to_escape responsibility for overt acts. But the wrong committed by thoso who propagate tho doctrinos of anarchy lies between these two extremes, It pertains to the crystallization of opinion and to the formation of plans. There are, however, two ways in which the law may make its appearance on this debatable ground between intent and act. If several persons “‘combine to carry into effect a purpose hurtful to some individual, or to particular classes of the community. or to the public at largo,” thay aro individually subjoct to indictmentas members of 4 conspirac Or suppose some offense to be committed in the course of a riot; provided only a jury may be convinced upon reasoniible evidence that the perpetrator of the crime was at the time acting under the intluence. or at the instigation of another man, although the individual who com- mits the deed 1s held to answer for his act, the pincipal in_the offense is not permitted to escape. The indictment in such ease would hold the conspirators or instigators as *‘accessories to the crime prior to the fact,” and the punishment allowed_would vary with the degree ot responsibility, One feels a ural disinclination to recognize that his investigation leuds only to négative results, but in the present in stance it seems necessary to rest satistied with such a conclusion. * I cannot think that the events which have lately oc- curred show that the doctrine of freo speech, which properly understood is the doctrine of responsible speech, exposes society to unnecessary dangers, or that established criminal procedure is’ unable to cope with such dangers as exist. At least there is no modilication of the sys- tem with which we are familiar that does not look toward the adoption of police surveillance as practiced in_continental Europe. To say nothing of its influence on character, it is quite doubtful if Americans would submit to the petty annoyances necessary for rendering police surveillance effective. A much more pertinent suggestian made by ny Bentham. 1n his “Prmeiples of nai Law” there are mentioned twelve “indirect means of preventing the will to commit offenses,” the most important of them being “to diminish the uncertainty of procedure and punishments.” This s the weakness of criminal pr m the United States. The eflicicney of our penal system, and in consequence the security of all’ law- abiding citizens, depend upon creating in the breast of every mun a kcen senso of personal ressponsibility for cts; and this can only be done in case caci in fraction of the law is followed by sure punishment. 1f, however, justico frequently miscarries, men come to re- gard a criminal court s a sort of lottery in which they may reasonably take their chunc With what reason may we ex- veet that a law against bribery should keep public officials in the course of honesty, when the fact is, that until the present year, the eriminal proceedings of the state of New York never recorded a conviction for bribery But the offense of anarchists, which consists in spreading terror in a peaceful community, is one with which our courts have seldom been called upon to deal. And though the law itself is perfectly clear, it may be doubted if they who commit the offense are fully aware of the dogro of their responsibility, Most: of them come from countries where police surveillance 15 rigorously enforced, and it is not surprising that they fail to un- derstand the Anglo-American doctrine of frecdom or speech, It is the duty of the prosecuting attorney to teach them this doctrine; and this” he can do provided only the court will give him a fair chance to trace such crimes as are perpetrated to the men wh m veality responsible for them. Our system of liberties is not endangered by (i granted to p of speech, but by the prevalent P ¢ of criminal courts which so fre- quently dcfeats justice, and in conse- quence weakens the sense of personal re- sponsibility. I have sometimes thought it might be well to allow indietment against certain criminal lawers as “‘ac. cessories to crime after tne fact.” He Dian't Blame Them. Morchant Traveller: The new baby had proved itsolf the possessor of oxtri- ordinary vocal powers, and had exer- cised them much to Johuny's annoyan One day he said to his mother “‘Ma, little brother cawe from he: didn’t her” “Yes, dear."” Johnny wus silent for some time, and then he went on: SSay, ma." *“What is it, Johnny?" “1'don’t blime the angels for bouncing him, do you?" - What a Wife Should Know, Cleveland Plaindealer: L think that a wife's opinion should always be consuited by her husband on important matters. 'fiflt,' should know all the ins and outs of his business, if he makes or if he loses, thereb, gnuginif her own and houschold «xpvm{ilurv.. this were more the case there would be less disagreements in families and fewer divorces. Let thom begin rigit. A good wife can govern husband in‘almost everything if she has tact and knows bow to'go about it with- out his knowledge. 1 have a husband, and know this is the true secret of our never having a disagreement. The wife should have an allowance cach week or month, and all over and above house ex- penses should be hers in every scuse ot the word, ven, GEN. FREMONT'S - MEMOIRS. The Romance of the Pathfinder in Love, in War, in Politi¢s ahd in Business, A ROBUST HISTORIC FIGURE. A Pathfinder in Extension of Empire as Well as in Politics, Philadelphin ment that Ger engaged upon Times: The announce rral John C. Fremont is his antoblography, w of his frecomplishod wi reminds their countrymen that even this the assistanc noted couple have grown old. General Fremont in his seventy-fourth yea His wife is twelve his junior, al though she was little more than half nis the time of their marriage. Both show the marks of time in whitened hair, but the general is still lithe and wiry as of old, and Mrs. Fremont is a plump and well-preserved matron, almost as viva n girl of fiftesn sae oap- tivated the young soldier-scholar who dared to steal away the daughter of “Old Bullion Colonel Benton is one of the fow robust figures that stand out boldly in American legislative history. From 1820 to 1850 he sat in the Unitod States senate, where he was the peer in argn ment, if not in oratory, of the brilliant leaders of a briliiant era. It grieved tho sturdy westorn statesman sorely that his danghter should run away with and wed young teacher of matl atics and sur veyor, who had only two years before been appointed a second licutenant of topographical engineers, That event oc- curred forty-live years ago, but Jessio Benton Fremont's enthusiasm for her husband has never abated, and now she 18 determined that he shall have a memo- rial of his carcer not less enduring than the ““Thirty Years' View” proved for her father's fame. The work is now passing through the press ana will be ready for oublic in Heptember, when it \\'III ap- in two large octavo volumes. A romantic record it must prove, for whethier engaged in exploration, brought torward us 2 leader in- polities, invested with command in war, or vainly striving to suceeed 1 business. | Eremont’s career was a romantic one that has inter- est alike in its failures and its successes. It often happens, as in General Fre- mont’s case, that it is the romance of a life that lifts'a career ordinary enough in itself out of the regions of commony From the moment that young Fremont stole away old Benton's danghter he was sot apart as a horo by h's admiring coun- trymen. Other me’ might have sought and found an overland route to the Pa: cific, even at the time the far west was still a_mysterions wonderland, without achieving” any marked distinction, but Fremont” almost at the outset of his ex- Jlorations and conquests received from iis countrymen the signiticant title of ““T'he Pathtinder.”” The name was an in- spiration and the events of a long life have justitted it. 5 He has been the path- finder always, but'like most of those who go before he left the fruits of his leader- ship to be gatherdd by others. He led the way to the Pacifie, dver the peuks rnd through the eanygns of the Rocky moun- tains, but while to him was granted the glory of hoing “thé pathfinder,” ol cane in for the more substantial re of the conquest of Califoraia, the discov ery of gold on the upper fork ot the Sae- nento and the founding of new states on the slopes of the Sierras. It is to | mont most of all that we owe the acqui- sition of Californiu. His only reward wus to be made United States senator from the new stata! but, drawing the short term, he sab in that august body about half us many days as his distin- hed father-in-faw had been years in the senate. A more enduring monument of his achievements resulted from his nt of the highest peak ot the Wind River mountains in 1842, which was named in his honor, ;'Frmnunl's peak.” % Active as Fremoat's had been and great us were his scrvices, his nomination for the presidency in 1836, by the newly formed republican party, was something of asurprise. But that homination was in keeping with his destiny. He was to be the pathfinder in pohtics, as he had been in the extension of empire. His however, had made him a fit r the new party, If hispolitical 1 been a brief one, it was be- use of his early opposition to the ex- tension_of v in Culifornia, That opposition hac him his re-clection to the senate and driven him out of poli- tics. Born and educated in a slave-hold- ing state, allicd by family and personal associations to slave-holding iuterests, his hostility to was purely o mat- ter of convieti e was still a com- paratively young man and had all the ardor, impetuosity and independence of youth. His character, s attainments and his principles all united in arousing the enthusiasm of the young republicans, who chose him as their stan, and though he failed of election, his can- didature d the way to the subsequent successes of the new party. History will never overlook the tact thatJohn Churles rremont was “the pathfindec” who led the way to the destruction of slayery years cious as when ¥ Again, in the war for the union, he was the pathfinder who pointed the'way to emancipation. General Fremont was in Paris at the time of the capture of Fort Sumter, but he immediately sailed for home to take part n_the nl.rulggl arriy- ing at Boston June 27, 1861, Having been appomted & major-general by President Lincoln, he was assigned to tlie command of the western department on the 6th of July and arrived at St. Louis on the 25th. In ulittle over s month after assuming his command—to be precise, on the 30th of August—in proclaiming martialilaw in Missouri, he declared oM sluves belonging to rebels’ in_arms free. Indeed, he fol- lowed up his proclamation by actually freeing many of them, among them the slaves of Thomas L, Suead, the author of a recent book entitled “The Fight for Missouri.” The formal deeds of manu- mission that he issued 1n frecing Snead's slaves as historieal documents are not less interesting than the original drafts of President Lincoln's proclamation of emancipation, beeause in the matter of emancipation it will thus be seen that Fremont was again the neer—the pathfinder. Butfhe country was not yet prepared tor the inovitable, and Prosi- dent Lingolu rovaked his decteo. 1 was Imrlmps this proclamation that prevented ieneral Fremont from realizing a great career in the warifor'the union.” Howas too radieal. As'Whittier sings: by errg emont, siinply was to act ho brave mun's part WIthout the statesman's And, l(“l:lt counsebbut of ecommon sense, Tostriko at causo uy well 88 consequence. Besides, Fremont;indicated & purvose to be too vigorous to suit other generals nearer headquarters, With an army of 50,000 men he started forward to sweep the Mississippi valley of rebels. “‘My an,” he wrote tu the govermment, “is ow Orleans straight. I would precipi tate the war forward and end it soon vie- toriously.” It was Dot to be. Detrac- tion’s busy tongue had already bogun to seek his destruction Men who were jealous of the success he might win as a soldier, and men who had been opposed 1o him 1 the political campaign of five years before, became his accusers, They sought and too readily obtained the ear of poor odd General Scott, and without @ood reason Scott removed Fremont from his command, and not only blasted his career, but destroyed his plan of cam- I puign and turaed vack s confident and AUGUS 19, succossful army disappointed and dis heartened to rust in inactivity or rein. force the commands of his military ri- vals, In nis autobiography it is to be expected that General Fremont will tell the whole story of his Missouri campaign The_life story of a pathfinder must be | one of exposure, of hardships and_ toil, and ail these go to make up General Fre mont’s romance. When, as a youngster of twenty-<even, ho was ‘courting Jessic Benton, just blooming into womanhood, he was suddenly hurried away to make a survey of the Des Moines river. Proba bly Colonel Benton had a hand in the order. Fremont obeyed, of course, but the survey was rapidiy executed. It was on his return that the lovers were secret Iy married. ~ With them it was not to he love n a cottage, however, for it was in the summer of 1842 that he explored the Wind River mountains, making a report 1o congress that attracted much n tion. The young wife was delighted and cven the storn father was mollitied. In 1843 Fremont began a still more ambi tions undertaking, explor the Great Salt Lako valley and pushing as far north as Fort Vancouver, near the mouth of the Columbia river. Uh lus attempting to return he encountered snows that threatened the destruction of his entir party. Between him and California lay A range of mountains which, the Indians declared, no man could eross in winter, but he undertook the passage without a guide and reached Sutter’s Fort, on the Sacramento, early in March, 1844, Hav- g returned, after an absence of four n months, he made his reports, and in ring of 1845 started on his third ex pedition. It was on this eccasion that he came in conflict with the Mexiean au thorities, The next year, 1816, he was directed to watch the interests of the United States in California, fears being entertained that the province might be transferred to Great Britain. On the 4th of July of that year he was clected goy ernor of California by the American set- tiers, In the conquest of that province he co-operated with Commodore Stock- ton, and during the conflict of authority between Stockton and General Kearney lie refused to obey Kearney's orders, for which I as tricd by court martial at Washington in 1818, found guilty of mu- tiny, amongother offenses, and sentenced to bosdismssed from the service. Presi dent Polk refused to confivm the yerdiet convieting him of mutiny, and -remitted the penalty as to the rest of the offenses. *tx It was a fatality with General Fremont to be_ triea by hostile courts and con- victed. After the close of the war for the union General Fremont undertook to build the Memphis & El Paso railroad under a ani from the state of Texas, and hlllllt based on the Texas land grant were sold by his agents in Paris. These bonds were represented by the French brokers as anteed by the United States. i s & mistake of his agents, for wiieh Fremont was mno w sible, but rival railroad interests r sented the matte worst light, the sub was investigated by the Pa- citie 1 committee of the senate and considered by that body in the summer of 1870, Fremont’s conrcctions with the transactionsin France were fully justified by the action of the senate. Senutors Sumner, Trumbull, Cameron and Nye took an‘active partin his defense, Pro- ceedings were nevertheless begun in the rench courts during his absence fr France and without any notice to him. In 1878 he was accused of fraud in con- nection with the sale of the bonds in Pans, tried in contumation, beeause of his absence, and sentenced to fine and imprisonment. 5 before, while 1t was his fatality to be convieted, it was his good fortune to eseape punishment, his Presence in France being necessary to e effect to the sentence of the court. It is said General Fremont hopes, with the money derived from the sale of his book, to be able to prosecute his claim ainst the government for the prope known as Bluck Point, which it has oc pied for military purposes since the d of the Argonauis. The gencral has long nly sought to recover this property, but he was more successful with the Mar- iposa estate, a large tract of land which e bought in 1857. His title was con- tested by the state, but finally in 1855 the supreme court of the United States cided in his favor. In spite of the acqui- sition of property in California and his determination o make that state his home, General Fremont never really be- came a Californian. In 1853 he was Paris. In 185 ing in New Yol with his family. In 1860-1 he in Paris, Within thel ast few years was aceustomed to make New York his home in winter and to spend hissummers at Mount Desert. Now, however, he oc cupies a_cosy house 'in Washington, where, with his wife, he is hard at work upon the bography which is to relate the story of a carcer Singularly interesting, unusuaily successful, and yet marked by failure and disappointment. SMITH’'S SALOON. Why a Pittsburg Man Went Out of the Liquor Business. Pittsburg Dispatch: I hear that Smith has sold out his saioon,” said one of u couple of middle-aged mon, who sat sipping their beer and eating u bit of cheese in a Smithficld street saioen last Ay night, “Yes,” responded the other, rather I thought he wis just coining money there."’ Tne other nibbled a cracker abstract- edly for a moment and tnen said: “It’s md‘)’uru(nuny . Smith, you know, lives on Mount Washingto me, where he has an excell ice home and threc as pretly childron’as ever pluyed ont doors. All boys, you now, the oldest not over nine, and all about the same size, Smith is'a pretty respectuble sort of a citizen, never drinks or gambles, and thinks the world of hus family. “Well, he went home one afte last week, and found his wife out shopping or something of that sort. Ho went on through the house into the back d, and there, under an apple tree, weore the httle fellows playmg. They had a beneh and some bottles and tumb- lers and were playing ‘keep saloon.’ | noticed that they were drinking som thing out of puil, and that they acted tipsy. The youngest, who was behind the bar, had a towel tied around his waist, and was setting the drinks up retty free, mith walked over and l ked in the pail, It was beer, and two of the boys were so drunk that they stag. gered. A neighbor's boy, a couple of Years older, luy asleep belind the tree *‘My God, boys, you must not drink that,' he smd, us he lifted the six-ye old from behind the bench. *We’s playin’ #'loon, papa, an’ T was a sellm’ it just like you,’said the little follow. Smith poured out'the beer, car- ried the drunken boy home and then took his own boys 1 ‘and put them to bed, When his wife eame back she found him crying like a child. Ho came back down town that night and sold out his business and says he will never sell or drink another drop of liquor. His wife told mine abeut it, and she broke down er; ng while she told it."" Bihis is 5 true story, but the name was not Smith. noon a e It issald that Maurice Strakosch has dis- covered anothier nightingale. This one, like Mme, Christine Nilssen, 13 a Sw name is Mile. Sigrid Ardoldsen, in her tcns, and i remarkable botl for her beauty and’ a superb sobrano voiee. It now fully thirty years sineo Mr. Strakose discovered the” greatest of all song birds in his voung sister-in-law, Adelina Patti, but long #s is her Teign, and great as has been the flight of time sinee his first marvelous discovery, he 1s still unwearled In the search for greai siugers 1886.-TWELVE PAGES. SHORT ANIMAL STORIES, From the Phoenixville Star: Engineer | Jacob Hoopes and some of the employes | of the P.S. V. R. R, wont to Frazer on | Sunday for a load of stook, and on their return they noticed a large chicken hawk sailing away with a pigeon in its talons. Just then thie engincergave a lond of the whistle of ‘the engine for a road | crossing, which evidently seared the hawk, as it lot loose from its proy and the pigeon sailed away in one direction and the Y awk i another, A stage driver and two tonrists near Yellowstone lake, claim to haye seon un enormous reptile which, while running throngh the "grass, earriod its head ten to fifteen feet above ground I'hey think it must have been at least thirty feet long. A party was organized to pursue the reptile, Col. Wear, super intendent of the park, sand his assistant, Captain Barronette, while near the cave of an extinct geyser in the vieinity of the lnke, hoard a hissing and saw the head of the reptile thrust out some fifteen feet and immediately withdrawn artins are watching for another sight of the monster, Myriads of small frogs were deposited in various parts of California last week during a severe rain storm Two horned toads were recoiyed at the Minneapolis postoflice. They were in a paper box and were on their way to Fair- bault, Minn. As live animals are elassed with unmailable matter, the package was withdrawn from the mails Murphysboro dispatoh to the St Globe-Democrat: The Big Muday river is at a very low stuge now, and fish are confined to deep holes, being unable to pass the shallow places. Either low water or its being the spawning sanson has made the fish sluggish. A few days ago two young sons of Mr. Reynolds were swiniming, when Marshall ‘Reyn. olds, who is about 12 years old and weighs about thirty-five pounds, felt a wrge fish strike him. He juniped on jts back and held on while the fish earried him thirty-five o forty yards. The boys then ealled for assistanee, and the fish was sccured with a gig. It was a catfish weighing fifty-one” pounds, ana was brought to Murphysboro and sold. West Chester Local News: We have neard of hawks eating chickens, but we do not remember having heard hefore of a chicken eating a hawk, The story omes to us in the following shape: Evan Atkins, Wost Brandywino township, found & hawk's nost and brought one of the young hawks home. After exhibiting it to his family and neighbors he killed the bird, which was not yet fledged, and threw 1t out. Shortly afterward he found one of his chickens chocking, and going to its relief was surprised to find that it had been tryingto swallow one log of the hawk. The'thigh and lower part of the limb had passed into the gullct of the chicken, but the sharp claw ‘had cut through the ambitions young rooster's gills. ” He succceded 1 relieving the cliicken and drawing the log of the hawk from its mouth, otherwise the chicken would have soon died. Once relieved it was all right again in a few minutes. Representative Hiscock has a family of cats domestieated under his hotel indow at Washington, and much en- Joys watching the mother drive away tho stray dogs that now and then intrude. Alarge Newfoundland dog belonging to ex-Alderman Love, of Port Huron, Mich,, saw one of its owner’s children full into the water. The dog sprang after it and rescued it from drowning. A young woman of Poistown, tho other day, found a cent of the date of 1881 in the yolk of & hen’s egg that she had broken for cooking purposes. Tl date of the egg was not given A two-foot alligator and two big artifi cial swans are in a fountain bisin in Macon, The other day it was noticed that the alligator was not to be seen and that onc of the swans seemed to be an- chored close to the fountain. Investiga tion showed that some boys had tied the alligator to the swan to see him drag it around the basin, and that the "gator had wound himself up around the fountain and could not come to the surface, and not only that, but had wound the string tightly around his mouth. Wnen releascd he sliowed great pleasure, opening his jaws to their full extent, lashing the water with his tail and dog. Sa while Louis mento Record-Union: Frank Fo ter, son of Captain Albert Foster, of this city, recently came across the nest of a mink at a place above Colusa, where a Lurge was being loaded, and found in it two of Mrs. Mink’s children, queer ing hitle fellows, so young that their eyes were not yet open. They were brought 1o the captain’s residence, and are thriv- ing finely and scem full of play, At fir they were fed with a bottle, but sinc their eyes opencd they help themselves to their milk, and like meat. The captain’s little spaniel, mow quite advanced in years for a eanine, took a great funey to the little strangers from the first, watched over and slept’ with them, and 1s full of fight if a cat attempts to go near them A remarkable Maltese e is to he found in Toronto. While sitting sunning itself the other day, all unconscious of game near by, a large rat that watehing it stealthily from under an cent shed sudde darted out across U DALTOW PASsiZew about six feet from onss’ nose, and throngh a friendly knot- hole in the fence. Ata glance the cat took in the situation. With one bound sho topped tho fence, some five feet high, and with the second she lit upon and cnught Mr. Rodent justns he emerged through the knot-hole on the other side The owner submits that it was the smar! est feat that or any other eat ever accom- plished. While Robbins’ circus was on the way from Manor to Sag Harbor, Long Islund via the Long Islaid railroud, n large ele phant in a car with two cumels attacked the latter, killing them both, “Che keeper, who attempted o quict the elephant, was driven. from the car, narrowly exciping with his lif The noise made by the el phant excited the lions and tigers to such an extent that they attempted to break ont of their cages, and a terrible uproar prevailed for some time, TALK ABOUT TURTLES, A turtlo three feet in lengih was canght at Half-Moon luke, Wisconsin. Dublin (Ga.) Gazette: Master Hugh Moore und u negro boy last Tucsduy morning heard the squalling of a chicken, which seemed (o proceed from the branch just below Stubb’s mill in this town. They procceded to the spot from whence the soand issued, and were surprised to just the head and neck of a half rown chicken protruding from the mud. An examination was made, which pro duced the disclosure that the foot of the chicken was firmly fastened within the jaws of a huge turtle, measuring fifteen inches across the back. A compromise was effected, which gave the chicken to the negro and the turtle to Hugh, which he now has, alive and active as ever. It is suppossed that the chicken had walked across the mud where the turtle had buried himself, and his turtleship took this opportunity of oblaining & dainty meal. A turtlo of the species ,.nrulurly Kknown as “‘rubber turtle’ in southern latitudes, where its home is, was captured off the achusetts coast recently. It was Ive feet low )it was landed other snake, of a dull lead color, in th West Tudies, that does the same way. A snake measur ference was | county, West Virginia, by a nine.year old girl A M were returning DeLand, they came wpon, about snakes in the road in deadly combat They had their teeth buried other’s necks, and wor last agonics of death killed, and_proved to bo a rattler high-Tand moceasin, the fornier the latter seven foet in length, Franklin Repository: In correspondent who asks snako? ner of locomotion after’ it has shape of a hoop? How does e to propel itself forw to be on lovel ground Phil there is no such thing. scientist should attempt to make Frauk soon There dents of natu history. Atlanta Constitution get weary. He is Dr.J. W. B afternoon that measured round and four feet long, 3 The doctor said he eight snakeship, He track across the road that would at the very least seven inches. some time ago. Hagerstown (Md.) Globo: A moun faineer, who was il town selling whortlo risk will be better understood w learned that he has alr teen copperheads and three rattlesnake cents a quurt for his berries, S — Wage Scale of Civilization, Philadelphia Press, either overflow into business or co-operation, $1.00 — Feels pleasant place in the suburbs clear. and monthly magazines. Ha trying to hit the vith good prospects. s his little offi vy, and tr 0’ to college. 1s genoral liked. Comfort. |= 1Is independentand imbued with American ideas. small library, and wants bi ‘Hun. the Takes ting a home of his own, |=- Not afraid to get married, newspaper pretty often. urly w 1i posted and has ono or two books. D) Poor, but honest and hard- |working, and makes a gallant {tight for his fami $1.50- A Dbite and a sup and place to lay the head. lally lots of children. Contractors’ wages No homes. Liv- Miscry and vice. Pauper labor, — Freezing point. Chineso (labor. ‘; | | | | | 5 Glued to Th Great must_have been the delight of the organist of a parish church near Liy- erpool, England, recently, who during the rendering of n particularly happy im- wrovisation, fooked about and boheld the congregation still seated, scemingly awe- struck with astonishment, and great must have been his disappointment when the actual son was discovered to ve really painful one, caleulated to l.nt his listeners in_a conaition of displeasure under any cireumstances. 1t seems that the church had lately nt was erocted over it and a big busi- ness done SNAKE STORIES Suakes that eat poisonous snakes by choico wiways catell them by the nose, 50 they eannot open their mouths. “Then they swallow them, nose and head first, and the reptile never has a ehance to bite. King snakes, the black snakes with white marks, do that way. “There is an- been undergoing repairs. Among other improvements a new coat of paint was pl: on the pews, followed by a coatof varnish, The result was most plonsing to the eye, but unfortunately the varnish had been applied so late in'the week that it had not time to become hard before Sunday, when the congregation flocked totheirseats, Noapparcnt inconvenience was suffered until the clergyman was about to deliver the bencdiciion, when the congregution were horrified to find that they were unable to stand up--they L fact, gled, or rather varnished, to their seats. Their spasmodic efforts 0 were most distressing to witness. did the clergyman exhort them from the pulpit to resignation. They were seized with a kind of panic, all the more frightful because they were for the mo- ment powerless, At last, by what scemed to be a simultaneous and hereulean jork, they managed to tear themselves from their siftings; but at what u sacrifice! The pews were literally covered with Sunday apparel. Shreds of silk calicoes, broadeloth and cassing left as souvenirs of the tenacity of nish used in b tehurch, and the hapless congregation, rushing from the doors, hurried homeward with an ex- wression on their faces s though their Learts were even more seyerely rent than their garme B Dips in the Sea, Philadelphia ‘1imes: French maids at the seaside hotels, as a rule, put on an old skirt, without stockings, and go trooping into the ocean about dusk. The Baltimore besuty plunges bold] in and 15 generally seen head under wator with symmetrical inearnadine hosiery waving high above the waters blue. The New Jersey girl is timid and usn- ally requires a pair of stout arms to hold her. I there is no gallant on hand to toss hor through the breakers, she hugs the rope, The Virginia girls at Old Point and Cape May swim and tumble hke dol- ohins, and love to swim out to the lii Boat ahd clambertog. mio 1t take s long dive, coming up close to shore. The fashionable lhll:uln-l‘rhl:l girl very partieular to have somebody *'nj o in with hor, and is usually 80 éxclusive that she won’t even bathe in the same ocean with any one not of her set. The Boston belle prefers to tuke hor ablutions in private, but her favorite wrinkle at Narragansett is to lie at the edge of the surf, and when it weis her on one side, then roll over and get wet on the other. ‘The nice Presbyterian girls at Spring Lake like to have somebody *‘tloat’’ them, and, held up n{ the bathing-master or somo stout, middle-aged doacon, will lie rigidly on tep of the waves, with their little noses and toes out of the water, fox & quarter of an hour, Owns his freo and Takes several papers shorter hours and talks of go- nto business for himself. — Owns his littie place, but mortgago, Is hay ll\', and sometimes contented, o and librye s to have his lvufn y Has a children to have u good educa- newspaper [regulanly and believes m get- Sends children to school. Buys Gener- ng soven and a half foot in length and nine inches in ciroume ently killed in Monroo Orange City (Fla.) Times: While Juage Bailey ana Captain Frank P. Crain I'hursday evening from two miles north of Orange City, two immenso into each vparently in the sth snakes were and a six and answer to a SWill you in form me 1f thoro is a snake called s hoop If there is such, what is its man- nssumod it man ard, supposing The lelphia Nows' scientifio editor says If the aforosaid lin county people believe that he would o right, however, is no such reptile known to stu- - loy killed a rattlesnake last Wednesday inches He had cight 1 to fight a tle before ho could conquer his < that he saw another 1east o This was s, said that, taking into account the risk ho and othors ran in picking tho berries, he should have $1 perquart. Tho it iy ady Killed eigh- And for this he had trouble to get six — When the daily wage ther- momecter gets up liere 1t must privato