rSK&SM' Jpfor- §rogress. T. XL BEXULiEU, Editor.

'WHITS RABTH. Mem.

• < • :

«,

Epitome of the Week. ^« ^"TEHESTINQ N E W S COMPILATION,

' DOMESTIC » A D V I C B S of the 36th say tha t the recent

s torm in t h e Eas t had resu l ted in great ^ loss of l ife. The fishing schooner E d w a r d t* N e w t o n w e n t to pieces on the Massachu-'; * s e t t s coast and fifteen of her c r e w w e r e

drowned. A t var ious points s n o w fe l l to . a considerable depth, ser ious ly in ter fer ing

' w i t h railroad travel . Thirteen coal-barges ' , w e r e sunk in N e w Y o r k bay. but no l ive9 K w e r e los t as far a s known. F i v e seamen

'*- w e r e drowned off N a n t a s k e t B e a c h , Mass . A t Long Branch, N. J., many cot tages

_ w e r e carried out to s e a I n a drunken affray on the 26th at Vian,

Ind. T., four Cherokee Indians w e r e k i l led and another w a s shot through the hand.

\ T w o MEJT w e r e ki l led and three injured i n a col l is ion on the 26th be tween passenger t r a i n s near Husted, Col.; and three oars w e r e burned.

T H E bootblacks of Indianapolis inaugu­rated a s tr ike on t h e 26th to put the price of a shine up to ten cents .

" D O C K " HAGGERTY w a s unloading glycer­ine at Pleasantvi l le , Pa., on the 26th w h e n i t exploded by some means and Hagger ty w a s b l o w n to atom3. Parts of h is two horses were found in neighboring trees , and a piece of the wagon w a s found half a m i l e away . » A T Centervi l le , Pa, , on the 26th thre8 m e n w e r e k i l l ed and one badly injured by a boiler explos ion.

NEA.R Brazil, Ind., oa t h e 26th Tom War­ren and John R. Berry, miners , w e r e k i l led •by fa l l ing slate.

A KBO of powder exploded in George Palmer's s tore at Scrufftown, Pa., on the

- 26th, fata l ly injuring him, k i l l ing a t en -year-o ld daughter and wounding three o t h e r persons, • A C O T T O S mil l w i t h a capac i ty of t en thousand yards a day, and employ ing t w o hundred men, w a s started at Des Moines, la . , on the 26th, and cs it w a s the first in t h e "State the event w a s celebrated by s p e e c h e s and other ceremonies. I R E P O R T S on the 26th from Rochester and A l b a n y , N. Y., and St. John, N. B., say t h a t v e s s e l s had been frozen in and navi­gat ion w a s closed up.

T H E St. Louis . Quincy, Omaha & Sioux •City railroad w a s incorporated on the 26th, w i t h a capital stock of $12,000,000.

TWEJJTZ mi les w e s t of Chattanooga, Tenn. , a deposit of rich lubricat ing oil w a s found on the 26th at a depth of one thousand feet.

T H E store of the Canton (O.) Co opera­t i v e Clothing Company w a s closed on the 26th on execut ions aggregat ing $26,000. The l iabi l i t ies w e r e J 50.000.

T H E corner stone of the n e w court-house a t Evansvi l l e , lnd.%< to cost $500,000. w a s laid on the 27th w i t h masonic ceremonies .

T H E true sour"e of the Miss iss ippi r iver has , i t w a s al leged on the 27th, been d i s ­covered by persons l iv ing at Sauk Center, Minn., w h o say the Father of W a t e r s flow3 from two small creek-fed lakes w h o s e waters are emptied into Lake ^Glazier, recent ly discovered by Captain Willard Glazier.

J O H N W O O D S , aged sixty-five years , and h i s bed-ridden s i s ter M:ry, aged s ixty-one years , were burned to death in Brooklyn, N. Y. , on the 27th by the destruct ion of the ir house by fire.

A STATEMENT prepared at the Pension Bureau in Washington on the 27th showed that of the 15,000 es t imated cases under the

-act of June 7, 1888, a l lowing w i d o w s ar­rears of pension from the date of their husbands' death, 14,502 had been al lowed and settled.

T H E n e w church of the F irs t Congrega­t ional Society at Northampton, Mass., was ruined by fira on the 27th. I t cost 575,000.

A D V I C E S of the 27th say that the s teamer A l l e n t o w n w e n t to pieces in the recent s t o r m on the coas t near Cohassetts , Mass.,' and e ighteen l ives w e r e lost. The losses

•caused by the s torm at At lant i c City, N. J., w e r e greater than had been experienced s i n c e the incorporation of that city.

F R A N K T R A V I S , a bar-tender, committed su i c ide on the 27th at Shelbyi l le , Ind., be­cause he had been discharged for drunk­enness.

j A T Morrelton, Ark., on the 27th City \ Marshal Bent ley w a s accidental ly shot and

ki l led by his brother, Sheriff Bent ley , w h o w a s examin ing a pistol

T H E City Council of Reading, Pa., on t h e 27th passed an ordinance making i t unlawful for contractors to employ any but cit izens of the Uni ted S ta tes on muni­c i p a l work.

F O R the first t ime in one hundred and t w e l v e days there w e r e no n e w cases of jrellow fever reported at Jacksonvi l le , Fla., on the 27th. Towns all around were

-raising the quarantine and trains were again running. . J E W E T D A R G E N T O N , proprietor of a 'boarding nous 3 at Amesbury, M iss., shot

<• ^ 'h i s w i f e on the 27th and then ki l led him­self. Jea lousy prompted the act.

fi > I N the tr ial in Chicago on the 27th of Hronek, the Anarchist , informer'Chleboun te s t i f i ed that Hronek confessed to him t h a t h e tried to throw a b ;mb under Presi­d e n t Cleveland's carriage in the procession

, ? * l a s t year and that he t h r e w the Haymarket bomb.

L - I, „ C H A R L E S E. -STANLEY, treasurer of the Cleve land Gas C mpany, w a s on the 27th

^. charged w i t h defalcat ions amount ing to - •' over {20,000.

B A N K E R S at Mi lwaukee on the 27th re-' ' ported counterfe i t five-dollar s i lver certifi­

c a t e s in circulation. They are of the ser ies of 1886, and bear a blurred picture o f Grant, w h i c h i s the principal defect of

X , t h e bill, as ide from t h e paper not hav ing a , , V , v . . s i l k fiber. ; ,

, A BOILER explos ion on the 27th at Ral-4 s ton's saw-mi l l at Adams Corners, Pa.,

kil led three men. • ^ , ., T H E canning house of McGaw Bros., near

- j "Spesutra Island, Md., w a s des troyed by fire on the 27th. Loss , $100,000.

T H E sa le to a N e w Eng land syndicate of thirty-s ix thousand acres of mining land in A l a b a m a w a s announced on the 27th. The price obtained w a s nearly 11,000.003.

f '- „ A L B E R T L. W A L L A C E , of Sandusky, O., > ,-t- ,v • acc identa l ly dropped t w o s t i c k s of clyna-> „•> mite in h i s office on t h e 29th ult . , demol -

1 ' . " . , . i s h i n g the bui ld ing and caus ing h is o w n i'"~^* j , •death.

f '-* - ̂ \ ' " F I F T E E N bus iness houses a t Durant , "'A'V-* Tii*8., w e r e burned on the 29th. ult . rt*%;i . r. THEWoodsdale (Kan.) S ta te Bank sus-?ftn?™"\' l Upended payment on t h e 28th. t , . , " ' -*#f"v,.^V - •A-T Spikerville. Ind., El ias Jacllsdn^'on JU. ,^i% ' , the 29th ult. mortal ly shot Curtis Jel l i son, %$$jt/T*J* >',;?.;* widower , o w i n g to h i s a l leged int imacy fW^fr^"T~-with M r 3 - ' Jackson. H l ^ ^ ^ ^ U D U R I N G the twenty- four hours ended on

f i jy^ i*&*>#the 29th ult. there were 7 n e w case s of ye l -^ d ' 1 . ' " l ' o w f e T W a ' Jacksonvi l le , Fla. , and no s i r&i t !^ . - ideaths from the disease., Total cases to

idate, 4,684: total de ths , 408. > . ; ' V ^ A B O U T three-score Democrat ic cfrftnd

A r m y of t h e Republ ic ve terans m e t in In­dianapolis on t ie 23th and effected an or­ganization to be k n o w n a3 the Democrat ic

.of Indiana. Tnfs organization i s the result of w h a t has been termed the revol t aga ins t the G, A . R.

T H E N e w Y o r k Graphic w a s purchased on the 28th by Henry Stoddard in behalf of a syndicate . I t would be made Repub­lican.

T H E Michigan Supreme Court on the 28th declared unconst i tut ional the newspaper l a w of l ibel enacted in 1885.

E R N E S T W U X S C H , a button manufacturer of Newark , N. J., committed suic ide on t he 28th from despondency over the elope­ment of his w i f e w i t h a son of Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M. P.

B A N D S of Russ ian and Ital ian miners fought on the 28th in the s tree ts of Mount Carmel, Pa., a number on both s ides being stabbed, three fatally.

E A R L Y on t h e morning of the 29th ult . a band of armed men s tormed and broke into t h e ja i l a t Wythev i l l e , Va. , and rescued W a y m a n Sutton, sentenced to be hanged t h e n e x t day for murder.

A T Ozark. Ark., on the 29th u l t John W. Watson, a planter, g a v e h i s s ick w i f e a dose of carbolic acid by mistake , and s h e died after an hour of a g o n y .

rA D R U N K E N riot on the 29th ult. in the negro quarter of Savannah, G-a., caused the k i l l ing of one man and injuries to some other persons, b lack and white .

T H R E E men hi tched a hand-car to a fre ight train on t h e 28th at Tiffin. O. The car w a s w r e c k e d and al l the men w e r e kil led.

GEORGE' COBB, a school t eacher near Nevada, Mo.; outraged and murdered El la Wray, aged twenty -one years , on the 28th, and after bs ing arrested Cobb committed suicide w i t h poison to escape lynching .

A LOCKOUT in N e w Y o r k and N e w Jer­sey brewer i e s took place on the 28th, and no union men w ou ld hereafter be em­ployed.

A L F K E D WII.I>ER, a young man; w a s ar­res ted at Olean, N. Y. , on the 28th for making and pass ing counterfe i t nickels .

A LODGE of Good Templars was formed on the 28th at the Tuscarora Reservat ion near Lockport, N. Y. , w i t h thirty-s ix charter members. This w a s the first t ime that a temperance lodge of t h i s character had been formed among the Indians.

T H E R E were 264 bus iness fai lures in the United S ta tes during the s e v e n days ended on the 30ih ult. , against 253 the previous seven days . The total fa i lures in the Uni ted States s ince January 1 to date is 9,166, against 8,739 in 1887.

I N the Titusvi l le (Pa.) oil d i s tr i c t e ighty-three n e w w e l l s were opened during No­vember.

A L L the coal mines on the Monongahela ( P a ) r iver shut down on the 30th ult. for an indefinite period. The cause w a s be­cause there w a s too much coal in Cincin­nati , Louisvi l le and other r iver markets . Over s ix thousand miners were thrown out of e m p l o y m e n t

D U K I N G the twenty- four hours ended on the 30th ult. there w e r e 5 new cases of y e l ­low fever at Jacksonvi l le . Fla., and no deaths from the disease . Total cases to date, 4,689; total deaths , 408.

T H E McClary Manufacturing Company's bui lding, the largest s tove and tin-work­i n g es tab l i shment in Ontario, w a s com­pletely destroyed by fire on the 30th ult . Loss , $100,000.

J A M E S W O O D (colored) w a s hanged on the 30th ult. at A iken , S. C , for tae mur­der of another negro, and John Henry Myers w a s hanged at Placervi l le , Cal., for the murder of John Lowell , a ranchman, l a s t March.

W H I T E C A P S at Sardinia, O., on the night of the30t:i ult . whipped Mrs. A n n i e J e s t e r and her grown daughter.

A F I R E w a s discovered.on the30 th ult. in No, 3 shaft of the Calumet and Hecla cop­per mine at Calumet, Mich. A l l but e ight of the miners escaped, and these , most ly Cornishmen, perished. Indicat ions point­ed to the fact that the fire w a s of incen­diary origin.

T H E log cut at Minneapolis (Minn.) mil ls for the season ended on the 30th ult. w a s 338,000,000 feet.

THOMAS B. BAKER, of the n e w Baker Theater in Chicago, made an ass ignment on the 30th ult. to W. W. Charles, w i t h li­abil i t ies of $150,000.

T R A I N S arr iv ing in K a n s a s City on the 30th ult. from the w e s t w e r e fifteen hours late, be ing de layed by a severe s torm of s n o w w h i c h extended over the ent ire wes tern and southern portion of Kansas .

T H E annual report on the 30th lilt, of the Inter-State Commerce Commission e s t i ­mated the railroad mi leage of the country on June 30, 1S88, at 152.781 mi les , of w h : c h 2,312 w e r e completed w i t h i n the preceding s ix months .

A N explos ion of dynamite on the 30th ult , on the Kentucky Midland ra i lway near Lexington k i l l ed four men and dan­gerous ly injured severa l others.

A LARGE ve in of coal w a s discovered on the 30th ult. on the farm of John T. Davis , near Chamberlain, D. T.

A T Glasgow, Mo., on t h e 30th ult . Mrs. Em ma Jackson, aged t w e n t y years , at­tempted to w h i p her brother, aged fourteen years , because he refused to bring her a bucket of water . The youth immediate ly procured a gun and shot her dead.

W I L L S C H R I E B E B , aged twenty- two years , te l ler of the r i r s t Nat ional Bank of Co­lumbus, Ind., fled to Canada on the 30th ult. w i th $8,500 of the bank's funds.

W. L. W I L L I A M S , a star route mail car­rier, w a s s h o t . dead from ambush near Moulton, Ala. , on the 30th ult . and the mail-pouch cut open and robbed. Reg i s ­tered packages taken contained about $400.

T H E treasurer of Spink County, D. T., w a s on the 30th ult. said to be short in his accounts to the ex ten t of $100,000. H i s whereabouts w e r e unknown.

mPERSONAL A N D P O L I T I C A L . " ' S E N A T O R . Q U A Y said in W a s h i n g t o n on the 26th tha t the Republicans w ou ld have a majority of n ine in the n e x t House of Representat ives . , He did not bel ievo t h e Governors of States would g i v e certifi­cates of elect ion to any one not ent i t l ed to the same.

T H E official canvass on the 26th of the electoral vo te of Florida g ive s Cleveland 39,561; Harrison, 26,659; Fisk, 403; Cleve­land's plural ity over Harrison, 12,904.

T H E official canvass on the 27th of the vote for Pres ident in Indiana a t the recent e lect ion s h o w s the fo l lowing resul t : Re­publican, 263 361;; Democratic , 261,013; Prohibition, 9,881; Uni ted Labor, 2,694. Republican plurality, 2 348.

T H E official canvass on the 27th of the vote of N e w Jersey g i v e s Cleveland 151,-493, Harrison 144.344 and Fisk 7,904. T h e plurality for Cleveland i s 7,14!fc

TnE official canvass on the 27th of the v o t e for Governor in I l l inois at the recent e lect ion s h o w s that Fifer (Rep:) received 367,860 votes . P a l m e r (Dem.) 355,603, and Hart (Pro.) 18,913. Fi fer 's plural ity, 12,247.

T H E w i f e of General W. T. Sherman died in N e w Y o r k City on the 23th. The cause of her death w a s heart trouble. Mrs. Sherman w a s s ixty-four years of age, and w a s the daughter of Genera l Thomas Ewing, ex-Governor of Ohio.

W I L L I A M G. BOWMAN, of Shawnee town, 111., Surveyor-General of Utah, died a t Sal t Lake City on the 29th ult. , aged s ixty years .

T H E Alabama Leg i s la ture on t h e 28th re­e lected John T. Morgan Uni ted S ta tes Sen­ator for the term beginning in March, 1889.

T H E official returns oh the 28th of I o w a ' s vote for e lec tors were, a s fol lows. Bar*

t ' ^ S ^ & ^ T f i * ^ ' 1 ^ 8 T 7 ? Streeter, 9,105; F i s k , Sy550; total vote, 404180- n * » n s o n ' s plurality, 31,731. '

M A R Y L A N D ' S n e w Congressional delega­tion rece ived the ir certif icates on t h e 28th from the Governor. I t i s made up of t w o Republ icans and four Democrats .

T H E biennia l s e s s ion o f the Vermont Legis lature adjourned sine die on the 28th.

COMPLETE official returns on t h e 28th from every county in Wiscons in s h o w a s fo l lows: For President—Harrison 176 553; Cleveland, 155,282; Fisk, 14,277-Streeter, 8,553. Harrison's plurality SJL-271. For Governor—Hoard, 175,696; Mor­gan, 155,425; Durant , 14,853; Powell ft 100. Hoard's plurality, 90,271. - V / ^

M I S S K A T H E R I N E T. SIMOND'B on'the 28th completed her fiftieth y e a r of service a s teacher in the Frankl in school tit Boston.

W I L L I A M H. F O S T E R , cashier of t h e Asia t i c B a n k of Salem, Mass. , from 1828 to 1884, and probably the o ldest bank official in the country, d ied on t h e 30th ult . aged n inety-one years . . . . , - '

T H E official canvass of the vote of Ore­gon s h o w e d on the 30th u l t the total v o t e to have been 61,918; the vo te lor Harrison 34,293; Cleveland, 26,524; Fisk, 1,677; Streeter, S63; scattering, 61. Harrison's plurality, 6,769.

T H E electoral v o t e of California, official­l y announced on the 30th ult. , w a s : Har-n s o n , 124,809; Cleveland, 117,729; Fisk, 5,761; Curtis , 1,591. Harrison's plurality, 7,080.

T H E official count of the vote of Maine completed on the 30th u l t g ives Harrison, 73,734; Cleveland, 50,482; ?isk, 2,690;. Streeterj 1,345. Harrison, s plurality, 23.-25a : /

F O R E I G N , £'•';'..»- ; ~'J~ . H I G H w i n d s prevai led all along t h e Brit­

i sh coast on t h e 26th, and many sh ips w e r e stranded. The Clyde overflowed ita-banka, and severa l factories a t Pollj>k8haws w e r e inundated.

I T w a s announced on the 27th that n ine fishermen had starved to death at Pom-inish, Ireland, off the Donegal coast, the recent h e a v y w e a t h e r having prevented the ir return to the mainland.

A T Sidney, N. S. W. , a lire on the 26th destroyed the office of the town and Coun­try Journal, enta i l ing a loss of $500,000.

T H E v i l lage of Vaubecourk, France, w a s tota l ly des troyed by fire on t h e 27th and thousands of persons were rendered home­l e s s and absolute ly w i thout shelter.

A LIFE-BOAT w a s upset on . the 27th at Whitby, Eng. , and t w e l v e persons w e r e drowned.

M. H E R T E N S T E I N , Pres ident of Switzer­land, died on the 27th at Berne. j

A BOAT race on the Paramatta1 r iver in Austral ia on the 27th b e t w e e n Hanlan and Beach for £500 a s ide resulted in favor of Beach.

A F I R E on the 27th at Yesbe la de Sagua, Cuba, destroyed forty-two houses and one hundred fami l ies w e r e rendered home­less.

T H E Dominion Parl iament i s announced to m e e t Thursday, January 31.

E L E V E N persons were killed and 175 in­jured by the explosion of a boi ler at Kin­eshma, Central Russia, on the 28th.

A PAKCEL-POST convent ion w a s s igned on the 28th b e t w e e n San Salvador and the United States . I ts terms are s imilar to the convent ion w i t h Mexico. The rate of postage wi l l be s ix teen cents a pound.

T H E Spanish Cabinet on the 29th ult. ap­proved the bi l l grant ing the suffrage to all c i t i zens of twenty- f ive y e a r s of age who hava r e s i l e d t w o y e a r s in their d i s tr ic t s .

A D V I C E S of the 29th ult . report, a heavy mail robbery at Ottawa, O n t , including reg is tered le t ters from the Uni ted States .

W. F. O W E N S , a w e l l k n o w n horse-trainer, died in Toronto, O n t , on* the.29tb u l t , after a t w o days ' i l lness . His name w a s a famil iar one on e v e r y race-course in America .

A T Montreal, Can., on t h e 30th ult. three b o y s w h i l e drunk lay down to s leep in an old shanty , and w h e n found one had been frozen to death w h i l e the others w e r e barely al ive.

A D V I C E S of the 30th u l t say that Aus­tral ia w a s suffering great ly from a pro­tracted drouth, which threatened famine and ruin. Thousands of s h e e p . had per­ished on the ranches . . ' ' .

A F I R E on the 30th ult. destroyed forty-t w o bui ldings at Isabel, Cuba. The loss w a s great, w i t h v e r y l i t t le insurance. The origin of the fire w a s accidental .

, ; LATEST NEWt A BLOoinr and murderous fight took place

in Street's City, Or., on the 2 d between t w o factions of Chinese highbinders. Over fifty sho . s w e r e fired. Four hiarhbinders were shot down and t w o others badly wounded.

•LrrTLEWooD, the EngliBh pedestrian w o n the world's championship in the Interna , tional walk ing match which closed o n the night of the 1s t at Madison Garden a t N e w York. H e made 6 2 3 mi les beating all previous recorda

CHRISTJAN HOLBECK, proprietor of t h e hotel Farmer's Home a t Moorhead, Minn., was robbed on the morning of the 2 d by three masked m e n in t h e office of the h o t e l

A EICH ve in of si lver ore w a s located on the 1st, near Wakefield, Wis., by Capt W. W. Warner, for the Minneapolis and Gogebic Company,^ ;; "

FRANCIS JOSEPH, emperor of Austria ce le ­brated tne- fort ieth anniversary of his a s ­cent to the throne on the 2nd.

Miss BOLETTB E. HAGE. clerk in the reve ­nue collector's office tit Harrisburg, Pa., te a defaulter to the ex tent of $ 6 , 0 0 0 .

LORD SALISBURY l i a speech at E Jinburgh, Scotland, on the 30i<h, advocated the r ight of suffrage . for w o m e n in t h e Engl ish elections. v

WORD was rece ived a t Ft Dodge, l a , o n the 1st, that o n e of the ev ic ted sett lers o n the river land had died from exposura •

A T Granite, M o n t , on the 2nd. a discharg­ed signal m a n in the Bitnetalic mine, s tab-t e d Foreman Banks in the,left,side,makinsf a dangerous wound, j # r A* ,' ***

E T the Panama steamer that arrived a t S in Francisco, Cal.. o n the 2 d from Peru, i t was learned that the Indians in t h e interior of that country had committed m a n y outrages andjure on verge of revolut ion. At La Paa:i a r iot occurred wherein 1 4 0 m e n , wom-.tn and children were ki l led and fifty wounded.

HRONK, the Chicago anarchist w a s con-vie « d on the 1st of conspiracy and sen­tenced to 1 2 years in the penitentiary.

MICHAEL DILLON, a ra lroad employe at D ivenporc, l a , retired oil the n ight of the 3 0 t h and lef t a student's l a m p burning o n a stand beside his bed. During the n ight the lamp was upset upon the bed and w h e n he a w o k s he w a s in flames. He was burn­ed so b; dly t e a s he died on t h e I s u

Two boys aged 5 and 3 years, named Coif .nan l iv ing in Shelby County, Io„ watched their father ki l l hogs on the 30 ih . The elder boy to ld his brother to come into the yard and h e would s h o w him how to I n c h jr. When some distance away t h e eld >r boy stxues. his brother in the head with a Hammer and then taking a l o n g sl i ­ver of glass and stuck h im in h e throat sev­ering his windpipe. The l i t t le f e l low died in a few lours . -fj^-- A

T H E Rock Hill mines ' at Robertdafe^Pa, became flooded o n the l s c soon after the men w e n t to work. T a e m e n 1 5 0 in n u m -Jber were driven to the further' end where they stood in water u p to their china for, 1 0 hours before t h e y were l ibera ted .^S i^v"

' THE I N T & R - S T A T E L A W .

The- CommiMloft Charged wftfe I to Ad* mlufMnUlon Makes I t s Kepbrt — T h e L o a r a n d Short Han i Glauite Must B * Knfortfwd—Evil* of Bate -Cutt lnf f^Com-moot lTpon t h e p r o p o s e d Ba i l w a y Trust* WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.—The report of tne Ic­

ier-State Commerce' Commission, ithieh will be ready for' distribution in a few Says, estimates* the railroad mileage of lihe country on June £0, 1888, at 152,781 miles, of which 2,81-2 were completed within the pre^ Bedinjj six months. The number of cor­porations represented In the mileage is, 1,251. but by reason of leases, e t c , many corporations operate roads owned \>f rther corporations, and the whole num-. ber making reports of oparation was 6f5. Ot! the 107 cases submitted to> the commission 60 nave been decided, 28 withdrawn or settled, itf suspended by request audi $t are still pending* The report says there have been few cases ua-: 3er the long and short-haul clause in the terri* toryeastot the Mississippi and north of the Ohio river.

With some exceptions^ resulting from ocean competition, the rule or the short-haul provis-. ion of the law has been put in force upon the transcontinental roads, where its operations! and effect can be observed under what nov^ appear to be favorable conditions. In the* S uthern and Southwestern States the com-

.mission has bad reason to- think the carriers were moving more slowly ia bringing theic tariffs into conformity with the general stat­utory law than in other sections. An investi­gation has been ordered on December i a

The commission is in possession of no evi­dence showing that the operation of the law has been harmful to the carriers, and is fully convinced that the effect has been beneficial." Railroad business during the year has suffered severe losses, but. these are not traceable to the act to regulate commerce, •

With reference to the rate wars in the North^ west and among the trunk lines during the

'year the report says: "The ware* rates pro­ceeds without possibility of external authority interposing to bring it to an end. The legal right of the carr;ers to reduce their general scale of rates to any extent under the law as it now stands is believed to be unquestionable; they have done so, and whether with any ulti­mate benefit. to themselves is at least very questionable."

The making of unreasonably low rates, the report intimates, is often for atoefe-jobbing purposes, or to compel the purchase of the road by competing lines. Persons, having con­trol of railroads may deliberately make in­sufficient rates in the expectation of profits to be indirectly and' improperly derived therefrom. Every case of rate war may be regarded as one of this character. Present profits are sacrificed on a calculation that by crippling a rival or forcing an agree­ment or compromise on some matter of con­tention the loss will in time be more than made up. In the majority of such cases, the losses exceed the gains.

The statute has not conferred upon the com­mission auy power to order, any increase of rates which it can see are not remunerative. In general, therefore, it may be said that rail­road managers possess the power to- destroy the increases not only of their rivals but of their own stockholders. Good service and unreasonably low rates are antagonistic ideas. The danger of committing the rate-makng power to subordinates whose training and experiences Have not generally fitted them to deal with matters that involve questions of policy is also touched upon.

The report says that the teniieney among railroads seems likely to be in the direction of consolidation as the only means to> prevent rate wars, now that pooling is forbidden, and adds:

"But any thing equivalent to a creation of what is now technically denominated as a trust could hardly be supposed possible, even if the parties were at liberty to form it at pleasure. If the parties could come into harmony on the sub­ject an arrangement of the sort would be so powerful in its control over the business inter­ests of the country, and so susceptible to uses for mischievous purposes, that public policy could not for a moment sanction it, at least un­less by statute it were held in close legal re­straints and under public confroL Like arrange­ments in other lines of business are already sufficiently threatening to the publie in­terest, and the most ardent advocate of the concentration of ra lroad authority can not reasonably expect that any thing of the sort to control the transportation of the country will be provided for by legislation. Lacking concentration of authority,, railroads can do much toward better relations with the public, and do better service by first establishing bet­ter relations among themselves."

While the commission i s not at this time prepared to recommend general legislation toward the establishment and promotion of re­lations between the carriers that shall better subserve the public interest than those which are now common it must, nevertheless, look forward to the possibil ty of something of tbat nature becoming at some time imperat.ve un­less a great mprovement in the existing con­ditions is voluntarily inaugurated.

The report next considers the- subject of the effect of the law upon cities,, showing that the act has in some cases benefited consuming in­terior cities and injuriously affected distribut­ing points formerly favored' in rates. The com­mission believes uniformity in classification as fast as possible without serious mischief is lesirable.

Immigrant transportation is next consid­ered, and the commission recommends a re­ception place larger than Castle Garden, from which those not legitimately connected with immigrant transportation shall be excluded, interior lines should have agents there on equal footing. Payment of com­missions for routing immigrants, and for procuring the shipment of immi­grants from foreign countries, should be declared illegal and made punishable. The commission should have power to. fix immi­grant fares. These objects can not be fully accomplished except by the Federal Govern­ment taking complete control of the whole subject.

The subject of the payment or commissions is treated extensively. The eommiss on be­lieves that the evils of the system esceeds its advantages. The subject is brought to the at­tention of Congress.

The- subject of overcapitalisation is recog­nized as an exceedingly important one, but it is believed that it can only be handled grad­ually and in detail. It has been found impos­sible to satisfactorily obtain immediate infor­mation which shall show the cost of railroad property, franchises and equipments. , Another quest on of construction ought also

to be settled by legislation in order to take away the pretense on which certain through 1-nes are now claimed to be local lines in fact and through lines only in appearance. The commission thinks if a line is in fact a through line by reason of ownership the corporation controlling t ought not to be at liberty to make through rates or to decline to make them at pleasure. The commission favors joint tariffs and through rates, and recommends that the carriers engaged independently in inter-State traffic on the rivers, lakes and other navigable waters of the country be put, In respect to the making, publishing and main­taining of rates, upon, the same footing with inter-State carriers by rail, so that the excuses now made by carr era by rail for great dispar­ities in rates for corresponding transportations as .between points which are and which are not affected by water competition would thereby to a large extent be taken away.

T H E SPONGE T R A 0 C

—- *What time," asked a lady Mth an armful of bundles, "does the next train leave?" " I t leaves on schedule time," responded the affable and ac­commodating ticket agent. And the lady retired to the waiting-room with the remark that she didn't know it left so late.—Norristown Herald.

m m ^

— First Customer — " This coat pinches me in the shoulder, Mr. Cutter." "My dear sir, that is, the style.1 ̂ S e c o n d Customer—"Why did you make this coat so loose in the shoulders, Mr. 6 ? " "That, sir, is the way we're gutting all our coats, now."

a JKrw York Dealer Telia Where a»W HOW Ho Obtains His Goods.

"Tlfe only place in this country where sponges are to be obtained is efl she Florida K e y V said abigNew York lealer. "They are also found among the islands of the West Indies and in the Mediterranean) Sea. They also "abound in« the Greefr and Turkish archi-

oes. The natives d i re for them, ' amd sometimes they .go down in from &Mrty to forty fathom* of water. The iWers live oaly a short, time, and after Bve or six years becomeblimd or deaf— bhait is, if they are not eatea by the nu­merous sharks- that abound in these waiters. They are a lazy/ set of men,, and after they get their vessels well provisioned will!* not work until their 3upply }s exhausted. Th-n tb^y will work until they obtain a good cargo, and then dispose- of it on thie outer islands^ Six to eight men go> en each vessel. They live-on fruit, drink wine and hanker after the society offfeiBales.'*

"Is the sponge «f animal growth?" •'That's the question whichi after an

exhaustive scientific discussion! in this city some years ago, resulted, iai the conclusion that it is* In its original state the sponge resembles the blow-fish In its appearance. When it is first taken from the water it has a pulpy fleshv and it is laid on the shore and covered with rushes until the rays- of the sunburn the flesh off. Then it-is put in shallow water and 'cradled.'""

"What are the different grades of sponges, and whence do they come?"

"Sheep's wool, grass,, velvet and1 reef sponges can be obtained on the Florida sea-coast. Sheep's wool also* comes from Nassau, but it is not as good; as the Florida article. Itf-has large-paces. The grass, velvet, reef and; wire sponges can also be obtained at Nassau. The wire sponge is not; sold for- use. The Mediterranean sponge is known as-the Turkish bath sponge in this- coun­try and as the honeycomb in Europe^ It is brought to this market after under­going the process above-described; and bleached here. The bleaching is^ done by the use of manganate of potash, After this is applied: the sponge is placed in cleansing, acids, washed1, iin salt water, and finally colored to the desired tint by a solution of common washing soda. From Nassau we- also receive the silk, surgeons' large- oupv

eye-cup, toilet and Zamoca sponges."

"What are the finest sponges,,and where to they come from?" '' i

"They are known as cup-sponges* and we get them from the Greek arohi-pelago. The sponges used in hospitals are the small surgeon and abdominal, a n d t h e y a r e r a p i d l y being- d o n e a w a y with, absorption cottonbeing their sub­stitute. The sponge now made for medi­cal use is called a sponge-tent.. I t is made of reef-sponge, and is used for cleaning out wounds and also in-ob­stetrical cases. The sponge is an:arti­cle noae of which goes to waste.. The oiijjpings are used for filling mattresses, atrd are also used by rail engineers for packing journal boxes.""

" I suppose there are no tricks in.the trade?"

" 0 , ye3, there are. The sponge can bo easily doctored. Common grass spcages are frequently bleached au<J put ©n the market as Turkish goods. So neat is the work that evenidruggista can not detect the difference.;."—N.. T. WorM. \ ' -'; ) ' /;

m •'m —̂— '

SONOROUS SANDS;. W n a t tne Scientist)* K n o w About t h e Curl-

<»us P h e n o m e n o n .

At a rocent meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences, Dr. A» Julian &&& Prof. H. C. Bolton gave a-report of the interesting results of theiclong con­tinued researches oni sonorous sands. Tho cause of this remarkable phenome­non, which was fifs'b known: to occur in Arabia, has long been' a mystery. In course of time many other localities in which sonorous sands occur become known, and, in fact,, i t may be found almost every where- on beaches and! in deserts. The authors collected samples from all parts of the- world, and on elose examination,, found that all sonor­ous sands are clean.;: that no> dust or silt is found mixed with, the-sand;: that the diameter of the angular or rounded grains ranges between 0:3and 0.5 of a millimeter; and. that the- material may be siliceous, caleajeous,. or any other, provided its specific gravity ' issot very great. When these-sands are moistened by rain or by the- rising tide; and the moisture* is-evaporatedv a film of con­densed air is- formed oa. the surface of each grain, which acts as an elastic cushion, and enables the sand to vibrate wlien disturbed. In sands mixed with silt or dust, these small particles pre­vent the formation of a continuous air cushion, and therefore such sands are not sonorous. If this theory be corr ect, sonorous sand must- beeome mute by removing the film of air. Experiments of the authors prove that by heating, rubbing and shaking the sand is "killed." All these operations tend to destroy the film of air condensed on the surfaces. On the other hand, sam­ples of sonorous sand were exhibited which had been kept undisturbed for many years. They had retained their sonorousness but, after having been rubbed for some time, became almost mute. The theory advanced by the authors appears very plausible, and will be firmly established when they succeed in making a sonorous sand. Their experiments in this line have eot yet been completed, but promise fair success.— Science. Hs-fet-ss®***

• — • - ' f*«,t«W&%4

1^—Nuts when partly dry are sweeter than when freshly gathered, but they soon get too dry unless care is taken. If mixed with an equal amount of sand in a box and kept in a cool place the j Will tMkt drir • « f««V

Ef-

SCIENCE •' ANJT fUOVSTH Y.

•""-Most of the needles «*fld in thf# xmntry are imported from England, «, ind the number consumed annually i» ' fi »bout 5,000,000. ' "Hfe f

—Wool growing isthesfatfc in i m - | | | |* >ortance of the agricultural industries n. the United States, and is surpassed yf mly by corn, hay, wheat cotton and M >ats. 1

—A series of experiments lately -f| nade by a French machinist are sa idv^ <H '•o have proved that steel loses weight 4*1^1 p }y rust twice as rapiilly as cast ironvL'ff •- ' vhen exposed to moist air. ^XJM- ~LV

—According to Prof. Potter asphalt,;* ihe artici« of prominent? commercial --. f ^ importance* of the present* day, was, ased in the building of the tower of:.. Babel and other ancient structures. !-'

-—A new system of lighting called-the "Lucizen?T will be usedl at the-Wyandotte shipyard. It is1 made by 3rude petroleum and air pumped by a-small engine, the flame being: three; feet high.

—The discovery and utilization of/ natural gas have* proved a powerful rtimulus to the manufacture of iron pipes and tubes in- this country;- there are now 2,300 miles of mains in- theT Dnited States for* conveying natural; [jas.

—As, a case ot deafness a result of "•fazing for a few seconds at a powerful srlectric arc has been, reported to>the F r e n c h A c a d e m y of* S c i e n c e s . T h e 3ymptons disappeared1 after about' an hour and a half, but returned om a-repetition of the experiment.

—Dr. Charcot, the great French physician, says that children under sixteen can not have their brains over­worked. No forcing, he asserts, will get out of them more cerebral work than the brain will accomplish jrith-out fatigue. I t is not till after tho age-of sixteen or eighteen that forcing' becomes possible.

—An international congress of nearly five hundred physicians lately in ses­sion in Paris was practically unani­mous that consumption, or tuberculosis,-is contagious and transmissible be* tween man and beast. There was una­nimity also as to the prime necessity" of boiling milk and cooking meat well as a preventive of much of the con* sumption which now afflicts the human-race-

—Investigation has shown that po-» rous terra-cotta bricks and blocks best resist the action of fire, water and frost: Next to these as fire-resisting materials comes concretes and burnt clay work. For buildings intended to be fire-proof, the best materials are iron work, in* cased To. porous terra-cotta, with tile or brick work in roof and floor, and tile construction. The hollow tiles are faced with vitreous tile, slate, or any goods weather-proof coating, or with a single thickness of brick.

—It is not generally known, says th« Mining Review, that important mining operations are carried on in the Arctic Orel'©. Cryolite is carried from Green­land to Philadelphia by the ship-load to be- used in making candles. Exten­sive copper mines have been worked for a long time in Finland. Most of the work of mining has to be done un­der ground, and the workmen in deep mines suffer from heat, consequently it i s a p p a r e n t t h a t m i n e s c a n b e w o r k e d as profitably in these high latitudes-as in oar own country. <£•'.;

—Dr. Dastre, a French physiologist, who has been experimenting with ani­mals to determine the nature of sea­sickness, reports that after they had been subjected to various kinds of mo­tion, corresponding to the rolling and pitching of vessels, he found their in­testines strangely displaced." He con­cludes that a similar disturbance pro­duces seasickness on board-ships. Co­caine is said to be an excellentremedy. Another French physician who.agrees. with Dr. Dastre as to the causes of sea­sickness, claims to have discovered two infallible remedies, one a mixture ot atropine and strychnine, aud.the-othor caffeine. '^i0fiWM

I

M

fSSft&iS CAUSES OFF1TWE..

Some N e w Observations on. the- Subject of Spontaneous Combustion.

In regard to spontaneous, combus­tion, the fires of the year in- Boston have furnished some new observations of considerable importance^. In one case a quantity of f«ather- dtust in a bedding manufactory took fire without apparent reason. Ic was found, how­ever, that a piece of thick glass had been lying on the.feathers,, and the sun's rays, concentrated in- some way by the glass, had set fire to them, al- -^£ l j t ^ though the day was a cold one in the -" * ^ f -month of March. In another case-, a .*A"» -^ number of tarpaulin hats were lying, ' ^ » t . stacked together, in a window. The --"* ^ high temperature, with, perhaps, the % close packing of the hats, caused them to burst into ablaze. Two other fires were caused by putting parafflne paper, -such as candy is wrapped in, into a^ refuse barrel which contained a litjtle '^ " sawdust; and a third, which destroyed £g£ V twenty thousand dollars' worth of|f^ property, was occasioned by putting'*'" greasy paper, which had been used to,>vtv. wrap lunches in, into a wooden r e f u s e ^ f< barrel, which contained some sawdust~Xk*-Ls

and sweepings.—American Architect/^ §?4ifi

,r J

*m

£A Door-Step Dialogue: 5 i H . s -

&

' A wdinan called at a house on Caslf^ avenue, and asked the lady if she could*'' sell her some paints.

_z A "1 am not an artist, and do not use any paints," said the lady. Splli*

"But this is paint for the 'complex­ion," answered the woman.

" I do not paint my face," said the lady, preparing to close the door.

"Well, it would look better if you, did," retorted the other as she turned to ZQ.—Detroit Free Press.