TOPICS OF THE TIMES.
.A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER.
E8TINQ ITEM8,
Cctamaata and Criticisms Baatd Upoa
Ik Uappanlnge of the DajUUtor.
at akd Naw Molt. j
uirls who eay in least are soonest
married.
ii ii i
Harmony U nil right If It Is harmony
of your lirniiu.
The nearer you cet to greatness the
mailer It appears.
Terhapi Hugo thought Mrs. Langtry
would like blm better tattooed man
plain.
ii
Eating less beef In warm weather Is
dictated from both hygienic aud finan
cial standpoints.
Ifjtyou see It In an unconfirmed ru
.nior7 ilint Iho Japancso won a great
.vlclory It Is probably so.
Tibet does not yet know that It la a
part of the British Empire, but It will
learn the fact soon enough.
And when Edward and William had
finished tbclr spiels on peace the baud
struck, up " Twos but a Dream."
Dowlc boasts of his converts "worth
a million," hut the man he professes
to, follow had not where to lay Ills
head.
King Edward of England made no
descent from his royal dignity when
he, received General Itooth of the Sal
vation Army.
The Igorrotes may be happy In be
ing unaffected by the present high
price of beef, but they must have a
standing feud with the dog catcher.
Sir Thomas Upton Is charged with
using American hogs for the manufac
ture of his "Irish bacon." Just Insists
upon giving his customers better than
they nsk.
Out of Duluth. on the Oreat Lakes,
there Is a four-track lane, two for pas
senger steamers and two for freight
ers. Although the' oceans of the
world have no visible streets or cross
ings or sign-posts. In the eye of the
navigator they are thus very distinctly
marked. No railroad train makes so
direct a line between poluta ns tho
steamship. No locomotive engineer
knows more exactly where he 1h nt
all times than the sea captain. Hail
ing vessels, rcspoualve to winds, tides
and currents, go about more nt ran
dom. Yet there are enormous areas of
the sea where no sail or smoke-tta.-U
Is ever seen. Even on the steamship
lanes of the Pacific ono seldom spies
a vessel In a trip across that ocean,
Nearlng the Suez, however, from either
approach, nnd It will bo the same with
the Isthmian canal. It seems as It tho
ships of the world were out on pnrnd
so plentiful do they suddenly bocoui
naiin ii'
JUT
OPINIONS OF GREAT PAPERS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS
J. Plerpont Morgan Is gradually re
tiring from business, but at the pres
ent speed he shows in his retirement
It will take.Jilm about 307 years to
get clear out.
John D. Itockefellcr's wealth Is esti
mated to aggregate an even bllllou aud
a few odd millions. President Harper
Is understood to be Interested only In
the few odd millions.
A New York man, while eating his
breakfast the other morning, found
a diamond In a boiled egg. Unfortu
nately, however, nobody has been able
to find the hen that laid the egg.
A man who died In Connecticut a
few days ago at the age of 136 boasted
that he had chewed and smoked to
bacco and used intoxicants all his life.
Aa usual lu such cases, the record
hows (hat he bad to depend on the
generosity of other people for what
he consumed.
A-lawyer in a courtroom may call
' a man a liar, scoundrel, Tlllaln or thief
'and no one makes a complaint when
court was adjourned. If a newspaper
prints such reflections on a man'a
character there la a libel suit or a
dead editor. And this Is owing to the
fact that people believe what an edi
tor says; what a lawyer says cuts no
figure.
Drink a glass of water when you get
out of bed In the morning. Never mind
tho slzo of the glass. Let the water be
cold If you will. Some people pro
scribe hot water, but that Isn't neces
sary. You may have washed your
face already and relished the expert
ence. You may have taken a cold
plunge Into the tub and delighted In
the shock nnd Its reaction. The brisk
uso of the tooth brush has left your
mouth clean nnd the breath sweet
Hut you are dirty still. Drink a gla
of cold water and enjoy the sensation
of being clean inside. All that
luxurious In the cold bath cleansing
the outside Is artificial. That which
should prompt tho glass of water after
sleeping Is natural. Aa a test, tell the
0-year-old protestant against his morn
lnc scrub of cold water that he may
escape It by drinking half a pint of tha
fluid. lie will Jump at the opportun
lty. Sleep has drawn upon the water
In the blood, and the Instinct of tb
animal, uudcr natural conditions, Is to
replenish the circulatory system and
distend the blood vessels anew. The
food In the stomach which bad
much to do toward Inducing sleep has
disappeared, leaving a mucous sub
stance In the alimentary canals. Yet
man would wash his face and leave
these half-clogged canals to the duties
of another day. Drink a glass of cold
water In the name of cleanliness.
becomes one of the shortest and east
est of toilet duties. It Is swallowed
In a second and In Are minutes ha
passed from the stomach, taking with
It the clogging secretions of the all
mentary tracts. It has left behind
the stimulus that goes with cold water.
and. by filling the arterial system to
the normal, It puts a spur to the cir
culation that has grown sluggish In
the night. It Is obe of the greatest
awakeners and one of nature's own
stimulants. Drink a glaas of water
before breakfast, another before
luncheon, and another before dinner.
ater Is the best, cheapest and pleas
antest medicine.
PRONE TO SEE QHOST8.
Y'oung men nowadays are inclined to
the opinion that the opportunities for
making fortunes are not aa great aa
they were a half or even a quarter of
a century ago. As a matter of fact,
there Is plenty of evidence that the
avenues to fortunes are as unobstruct
ed now as they ever were. Indeed, the
demand for men who are capable and
reliable Is now greater than ever be
fore, and where there Is such a de
mand there are opportunities for mak
ing fortunes.
There Is a savor of philosophy and a
dash of originality In the venerable
Bishop Huntington's diocesan address,
particularly when In speaking of
amusements he says: "When we see
bow many persons make a labor of
their amusement bow can we help
wondering whether tbey would not
better find amusement In their labor?"
The beloved old churchman has struck
the nail on the head there has struck
It a blow which lights up the darker
recesses of the human mind with the
fire of everlasting truth.
Farmers In Babla, Brazil, seem to
be a long way behind the times. The
state Is the second In population In
the republic, and Its people are de
voted to agriculture. Yet, according
to tho United States consul stationed
In Its capital, cultivators, planters and
barrows are unknown, and there are
few plows. The farms are worked
with a hoe, a spade and a machete,
with now and then a pick. Until the
people down there wake up they will
not send much to Europe In competl
tlon with the products of the farms
on this sldo of the equator. They are
not yet able to raise even enough hay
for the support of their own cattle.
The completion of the new Panama
canal will have some marked effects
upon the gTeat lanes of ocean travel.
Vessels have, to be sure, for years gone
Into Panama and Colon for the
transhipment of their freight across
the isthmus by rail. The effect of the
opening of the new canal may be Ilk
enea to mat or me substitution of a
strong bridge at a convenient place
for .crossing a river for a more or less
uncertain ford. Such a bridge attracts
wagon roads. The canal will draw
toward it the commercial highways of
the hemisphere. Vessels which are
operated by steam can pursue an al
most unvarying line. Their managers
accordingly prescribe courses between
various ports, known aa lanes, over
which, practically all the shipping
moves, In caae'of a breakdown the
vessel la much eoonor "picked up" on
a lane than In less frequented parts
of the sea, Moreover, rocks, derelicts
and other obatructlons may be more
carofully charted and watched on the
highly traveled courses. There la usu
ally Ail east and west lane a few miles
apart to lessen the danger ot collision.
Negro la Superstitious to a Dtsn-
Anccdote to Prove This,
'Negroes are naturally afraid of
ghosts and I suppose it will be a good
long time before they outgrow certain,
primitive Inheritances which made
them firm believers In the existence of
such things," said a writer In the New
Orleans Times-Democrat "The NegTo
will naturally shy around the dead
house and the graveyard. And If there
Is any chance In the world to see a
ghost or to conjure up a ghost story
you may depend on the negro to do It
But there Is somewhat of the real In
the story I have In mind. There was
a certain old 'black mammy' In my
neighborhood and she was thoroughly
devoted to a certain family. She had
known the husband and father of the
house all his life was a servant In
fact. In the borne of his father before,
and after the war. He was good to
her and she could find In him all the
virtues of the old man. He took sick.
She was with blm all during his sick
ness. He died.
"She still remained In the room and
would not leave even during the time
the body was being prepared for the
grave. A sheet bad been pulled over
tho body, and the old woman at the
moment was the only person In the
room. She was keeping a silent watch,
Suddenly the sheet moved, as If the
dead man bad pulled up one of bis
arms in order to shift his position. She
never remained In the room to see
what was going to happen. She rush
ed out of the house and went to the
place next door, where she declared
her young master was not dead, and
that be bad come to life. Of course
It was all quite natural. The move
ment she had observed was merely
the contraction of a muscle, a thing
which frequently happens. But you
could not convince ber of the truth of
the matter. She still looks upon the
whole thing as a manifestation of life
returned. Curiously enough, she could
not be persuaded to enter the house
again after that time, nor would she
attend the funeral of the man to whom
she had been devoted during all of bis
life. Superstltutlon Is a curious thing,
Isn't It?"
COWS THAT WEAR CLASSES.
A SPECTACLED BOVINE.
Cattle with spectacles are to be seen
on the Russian steppes. The steppes
are covered with snow more than six
months of the year. The cows subsist
.on the tufts of grass which grow
above the anow, and the raya of the
sua on the anow are so dazzling as to
cause blindness, To obviate this smoke-
colored spectacles are placed upon the
cattle. These spectacles are a great
success and are worn by 40,000 cattle,
which no longer suffer from the snow
blindness.
What baa become of the old-fashion
ed husband who gave satisfaction If
be were a "good provider)"
yyy
Germany and Tramps.
4EKMANY ha solrcd the tramp problem. It
la announced that she Is reasonably free from
vagrants, and that such as are slinking about
the byways are a relatively harmless lot, who
seldom commit robberies and assaults ot mag
nitude. And the way she has settled the dim
culty Is this: She arrests all tramps and nuts
tnem at work. She makes the work so much harder than
the work of decent men that, after n trial of It the tramps
reform and quit the road. In our own country we have
an army ot the useless and vicious, from which Is anmi
ally recruited a considerable addition to the ranks of the
active criminals.
There Is not so much lu vagrancy Itself which con
duces to crime. Indent some men would be In better
health and morals If they occasionally allowed their legs
to run away with them and carry them Into the country,
where they would renew the physical life that grows
anemic at the bcuch aud the desk. It Is not the free and
open air life that demeans; It Is the effort to live without
work; to get all and give nothing; to shift snd sneak and
steal lu onler to obtain food. Instead of tolling honestly
even for an hour or two a day. Many of tho tramps that
are now Idling along our highways and "hooking" rides
on freight trains could pay for their meals by sawing a
little wood, or weeding a garden patch, but they are ex
tremcly unwilling to do It, although not Infrequently they
work as hard at robbery as other people do at honorable
employment
Tramps carry moral corruption as they do physical
contagion. Although mentally sodden and representative
ot a class that gradually eliminates itself, slues It Is an
easy prey to tho disease that are Invited by meager, un
governed life, with spelts of dissipation and periods of ex
posure and hardship, they exert some Influence over young
people whose minds and habits are still unformed, and
when a boy Is found In their company prison authorities
assure us that It would be better for him It he were dead.
The boys who drift Into the reformatories and gaols of the
land, after a season on the road, arc among the most de
praved that the authorities have to deal with. Our tramp
army. then. Is a missionary company that Is going about
the land preaching and practicing the most detestable of
vices and often Involved in crime. Brooklyn Eagle.
Time to Close the Gates.
ONDON newspapers are gloating over the fact
that the slums of that city are being depleted
by reason of the $0.00 steerage rate, which
enables the riffraff of Europe to come to the
United States. As a result this country Is
threatened with a deluge ot the offscourings
of the world. We are menaced with an over
flow of the scum and dregs of pauperized humanity. The
managers of the transatlantic steamship lines engaged lu
this despicable traffic apparently have no other thought In
tne matter man or tne income it brings. Having lauded a
shipload of the refuse of Europe's population ou our shores
these steamship agents practically say; "Now, you beg
gars, shift for yourselves!"
The situation demands Immediate and energetic action
on the part of the Immigration authorities at our Eastern
ports. There ought to be a thorough sifting and winnow
ing of this horde of newcomers, a majority of whom are
chronic beggars and professional criminals.
The steerage rate war. which has brought the emigrant
fare from Liverpool to New York down to $10, Is the kind
of a rate war which no thoughtful American citizen can
regard with satisfaction. On the contrary It suggests a
deluge ot pauper Immigrants of the most undeslrablo type.
It Is easy to see how, under a possible continuation of
these rates, several of the old world governments can well
afford to pay the passage of countless hordes of their poverty-stricken-,
ignorant and turbulent subjects to America,
making this country a dump for the refuse of continental
Europe. Here Is a subject which should arouse Congress
to speedy action. When a person can travel from the Rou
manian provinces to New York for $15, It Is time to set
tbout putting up the bars In earnest
This country welcomes thrift Intelligence and loyalty to
law and order from whatever land tbey hall. But our
republican Institutions are already taxed to the danger
point In the effort to assimilate the legions ot Illiterate
Immigrants that are coming to our shores from southern
and far eastern Europe. There Is general feeling that
the time has come to Impose greater restrictions upon the
Importation ot this class of persons.
Those who assert that this would be a violation of the
tradition that this country It the asylum for the oppressed
of all races should remember that with nations as with
Individuals, selt-prcsevratlou Is the first law of nature.
Chicago Journal.
T
ill
Passing of tho Country Church."
HE Passing of the County Church" It the title
if an Interesting article In the Outlook by James
E. ltoyle. From this article wo learn, If wo do
not already know It, that the country, upon
which we have been accustomed to look as the
stronghold of organized religion, has lost lit
character as such In recent years. According
to Mr. Boyle, tho decay of the rural church Is duo chiefly
to the tendency to schisms and divisions. Tho congrega
tlous divide and' subdivide over tome new religious fnd
or tome difference lu dogma, and with each division the
amount ot true religion decreases.
"The rural church," says Mr. Boyle, "seems doomed.
Each time It changes name now Baptist, now Now Light,
now Saint It loses lu membership and vitality. Its Are
may be relumed temporarily, but Its ultimate extinction Is
Inevitable. Soon the little church stands by the wayside
forsaken. The doorstep decked with tall weedi, the win
dows broken. Then It becomet a granary or a corn crib
for some thrifty farmer, or It torn down aud carried away.
This process may take years, oven decades, but It It Inevitable."
Mr. Boyle does not think that tho decline of the rural
church Is accompanied by an Increase ot vice and crime
in the rural districts. The country school house Is better
and more Influential than ever. The rural free delivery
mall box Is fast appearing at every front gate, intelli
gence la more widely dltsemlnated than formerly. There It
less Ignorance. The people are no longer Interested by the
kind of preaching that used to appeal to them.
The higher onler of rural Intelligence demands a better
church than the old country church ever was or could be.
In the future Mr. Boyle thinks the church people of the
couutry will belong to strong aud ably conducted churches
lu the towns and villages. Thus the building of good roads,
the Introduction of rural free delivery, the building of
suburban trolley tines and the popularization of the auto
mobile will have a good effect religiously as well as mate
rially, for they will strongly tend to give tho rural com
munities a better religious connection than they ever bad In
the old days of small country churches. Minneapolis
Journal.
SBTvention
Mil
What Kills Men la War.
AN the last Issue of the Army and Navy Journal
some data aro given as to the number of
wounds actually Inflicted by the bayonet and
saber as compared with firearms and artillery.
Of all wounds treated by medical otllceni of
tbo Union armies In the Civil War about four
tenths of 1 per cent, or 022 out of 210.711', were
saber or bayonet wounds. In the Crimean War the English
and French had 2H per cent of such wounds; In the Hchles-
wlg-Holttcln War about 8 per cent, while In the Franco
Prussian War the records show that the Germans received
less than one-third ot 1 per cent.
"A striking commentary this upon the advance of mod
ern military science, showing that with the general sdoo
tlon ot long range firearms the saber and bayonet are
rapidly falling Into disuse, and the time Is coming, If It
lias not already arrived, when thote old and honored
weapons will become obsolete."
But It Is not the bullet or the artillery Are which strikes
down the largest number of men. It Is dlaeate. In the
Civil War one man out of every 0.7 was wounded In action;
one of every as died of his wounds; oue of every -12.7 was
killed In action. Of tho total mortality nmong colored
soldiers 00 per cent was from disease. Of the total mor
tality among the white volunteers, 70 per cent was owing
to disease; among the white regulars, 00 per cent Chi
cago Tribune.
ACCURATE RAILROAD WATCHES.
Companies Itcqulre Kmplojres to Ad-
jnst Their Tliueplecea to Standard.
Absolute accuracy lu timepieces Is
nowhere else so vital a matter as In
the operation of railroad trains. If
watches vary no schedule or time table
Is of any value. Where so many thou
sands of watches are In use It has been
found necessary to adopt some system
whereby perfect uniformity may be
Insured. All watches are examined at
close Intervals and kept In order by a
staff of experts especially engaged for
the purpose. There la no reason why
railroad mans watch should keep
Inaccurate time. It costs blm nothing
to have It regulated and It Is part of
bis duty to see that It Is In order.
The time by which the watches of an
entire railroad force are set Is tele-
graphed from Washington. At a cer
tain time the operator at the railroad
headquarters receives the time, records
It at bis own station and at the same
Instant sends the Information to every
train-order" station along the line. It
Is the duty of the operator at tbo train
order station to set the clock right by
Washington time and from this clock
every employe attached to that station
must sethls watch.
At every station there Is a clock that
records standard time. At the larger
tatlons there Is a clock that records
the correct time to a second. If It
arles from the standard time a notice
Is affixed to the clock stating the ex
act variation. Upon returning from a
trip or before beginning the return trip
fter a run, tbo trainmen must com'
pare their watches with this carefully
regulated clock. If It Is found that the
watch has lost or gained during the
trip the timepiece must be banded In
to the time-keeping department.
Here the railroad man receives an
other watch for temporary use while
bis own Is being regulated, and the ex
pert employed by the company over
hauls the condemned watch and re
turns It later to the owner. With the
watch Is given a certificate showing
that the department has regulated It
and It Is again a good ralltoad time
piece.
Besides the watches of the train
crews, there are atlll tho timepieces of
all the station eniployea, the signal
tower men, the thousands of hands
working along the tracka and In the
shops, to be looked after.
For these a special force of experts
Is employed to travel up and down the
line, stopping at all stations. To the
expert como tho railroad men, watches
lu hand. From constantly visiting the
various points the watch repairer
knows tbo timepiece as well as he
knows the men, and a short examina
tion determines whether or not the
watch Is ticking to proper railroad
time.
Part of the duty ot the repairer Is to
see that the station clocks nnd the
clocks In the signal towers along the
line are ticking according to railroad
time. If they are not doing their duty
be baits In his progress long enough to
mako tbem register time according to
the Washington standard.
The railroad company will not per
mit the employe to carry any watch
bis fancy suggests. He must purchase
a watch that meets with the favor of
the management If a certain watch
comes again and again to the repair
department and proves to be always
behind or ahead of the time It Is con
demned Anally and the railroad man
must provide himself with one to the
liking of the company, or carry a
watch that the company will provide
at his expense.
Wolves Grow In Numbers.
The wolf Is more dreaded of human
ity than any other animal. No doubt
we of to-day Inherit that dread from
ancestors who had occasion to fear the
long-tanged quadruped, for there are
few portions of the world to-day where
the wolf Is really dangerous to man-.
kind.
Dangerous to man's pocket to his
herds and flocks, be Is still to-day In
many portions of the country. A ranch
In Montana or New Mexico may pay
many hundreds of dollars a year for
gray wolf scalps. Such a scalp Is cheap
at $12 or $15 to the rancher, for tho
gray robber would certainly have de
stroyed many times that value In
calves or colts from the range. Yet lu
spite ot all the warfare made upon
them and all the prices put upon their
heads these dreaded, mysterious, ghost
like, terror-inspiring creatures still
hold their own. Outcasts for ages,
hated, persecuted, they still endure,
each for himself and without a friend
on earth, even among his own kind. ,
Last year the State of Minnesota
paid over $0,000 a month In the best of !
the wolf season. One day of the month
of last March the State Auditor puld
$0,158.50 In wolf bounties. The total
for the few months preceding was $30,
518.5a On this basis the current year
will foot up nearly as much a.s tho
two years preceding, which appears to
Indicate that Brother Wolf la holding
bis own, even as a matter of com
merce. In many parts of the Western
cattle range tbo gray wolves are In
creasing rather .than decreasing. Field
and Stream.
DANCE8 A DAY AND A HALF.
Souiull Woman Iufccted with Hcllnlous
Frenzy In KniclUh Town,
A Somali woman has aatotilahod
Bradford holiday-makers by dancing
without a stop for thirty-six hours.
It was no part of ber business thus
to exert herself; she simply entered
with excessive and unexpected heart!
liens Into the spirit of tbo great Whit
suntlde festival.
A number of women of the Somali
tribe are proving a great attraction at
Bradford exhibition, and It was ex
plained to them that Whitsuntide Is a
great religious celebration, correspond
ing In Importance with their Muhar
ruui, also an occasion of rejoicing.
The festival proved infectious, for
one of tho women broke Into what Is
termed "tbo mad dance." Her com
panions unconcernedly became passive
spectators of tbo woman'a frenzied ex
crtlons.
A quick, eccentric and yet at times
rhythmical step was maintained for
the long period stated. Not for one
moment did the dancer pause for re
freshment or rest
She collapsed at the close of the
thirty-sixth hour. After an Interval
she was boused by the other Somali
'women, who, by beating their tam
bourines and by cries of exhortation,
succeeded In encouraging her to an.
other effort.
The second dance, however, did not
last long and the woman again fell
exhausted.
Following this bad attack another of
the natives a man lost his bead and
frantically threatened the holiday,
makers, who were Htartled by lilt wild
conduct He was taken In hand by the
police, however, and eventually calmed
down. London Express.
We would alt raise the devil more
It we could Induce others to do the
work.
How much you expect from tbe pott
man. And how little you get
The Naked Truth.
She was a gushing young thing,
given to springing curious queries on
unsuspecctlng people. He wua a plain,
blunt niun, who hated gush and gush
ers. She suddenly flashed her thought
ful eyes upon blm and said:
"Don't you think poor Adam must
have bad a great deal on his mind
when he wandered alone In tbe Oar
den of Eden J"
Ho callously replied:
"Well, from the accounts I have
rend of tbe party you mention, I
should say that whatever he did have
on tnuBt have been on bis mind. That's
tbe naked truth for you."
Tno Imro Idea was borrlhlo, and alio
was going to faint when she thought
of her new dress and saw him clutch
the pitcher of water. They apeak no
more.
In n test of the sense of time. In
tervals of it quarter ot n minute to a
minute nnd a half were overestimated,
45 per cent by 15 men atudenta and
111 per cent by 15 women.
Mnuy European physicians treat al
coholism by hypnotic suggestion, soma
practitioners claiming ns high nt HO
per cent of curet. The suggestion It
utnnlly repented 15 or SO tlniea within
a yenr.
World-ehnklug enrthqunkea seem to
be must numerous In the years when
tho earth wobbles most. For exam
ple, lu IPOO tho polo shifted 0.32 tec
oud. nnd there were but 17 severe
enrthqunkea, while In 1807 the pole's
movement was 1.07 second, and about
15 great enrthqunkea were felt.
The growing of acid fruits--aucb aa
tomatoes nnd strawberries la among
the menus suggested for lessening the
mosquito evil. It Ims noticed that
when mosquitoes bave access to ncld
fruits their bites nre less poisonous,
nud district ot Itnly teem to have
been freed from mntarla by the culti
vation of tomatoes, the natural food
ot mosquitoes. It la supposed that the
malarial parasite Is destroyed by fruit
acids.
Cnpt. Bnrrett Hamilton says that
the popular Idea that iiylug-Ath bent
their "wings" Is a mlstaae. The wlnga
are not true organs of flight, but rath
er piny tho part of a parnchute or an
aeroplane. The whole motive power la
aupplled by the tall, which acta na a
propeller, nud tha vibration, or quiv
ering, of the wlims In the alr-curreuti,
and their occasional thlft of Inclina
tion, are not phenomena connected
with the propulsion of the flab lu lit
aerial flight
Without swift aud ante elevatora a
modern office building ot 15 or 20 sto
ries would be nearly as useless for
business purpotra aa the Washington
Monument or the Pyramid of Cheops.
Some rapid elevntors give nervous per
sons the Impression that they aro mov
ing with tho velocity of a railway
train, in truth, however, the highest
practicable tpeed for a way elevator
Is said by a writer In the Architectural
Itecord to be 450 feet per minute, and
for an express elevator 000 to 70" feet
per minute. In a very tall building a
greater tpeed la possible than In one of
less height
Unlike the famous blades ot Toledo
aud Damntcut, Japanese tworda are
not flexible or elastic. Tbey are un
equaled for strength and hardness, aud
hold a very keen edge. Japanese steel
la said to excel even Swedish steel In
purity. The manufacture f the swords
Is a very elaborate process. Home cere
monials and superstitions practices are
Intermixed with the scientific opera
tions. The sword-hardener Is regard
ed aa the most Important personage
connected with the manufacture, It Is
his name that la luscrlbed ou the hilt,
and his reputation that enhances the
value of a sword. Those who abaps
tho blade, ahnrpcu and adorn It are of
minor Importance.
' of a woman who ta crazed with alco
hol. I Thar are few humoroua Incidents
In the woman'a want. Home time ago
a woman wat aeutenced to thirty dare
lu Jntl. It happened that at tho aatne
time a man wns bring held at a wit
nets. He waa given quarters In the
Jail with the privilege of talking
around. Ho hecnine acquainted with
the woman nlrendy mentioned.
A warm friendship sprang up be
tween tho two aud they were toou
lolently In love. Whenever the, ins
tron'a back waa turned the man prete
rd hla ault with ardor. Hut the lov
era' Joy waa thort lived, tho matron
Anally awoke to the situation, and
tha lover waa transferred to where
the object of hit affection waa out of
tight. - .
Many of the woman prlsonera make
wild attempts to escape. Hut who
can blame a woman for wanting to
etcape from her Imprisonment. No
matter how drtervlng of punlthiuent.
the alght of a woman In Jail, wbera
murderere, thuga and highwaymen
nro kept, U lneiprettlhly pathetic.
Woman waa never Intended for a prlt
on cell. She feela her degradation
and humiliation more than ahe carta
to tell, and sooner or later, unlet! car
ried away by the fatt pace tin hit
been living, the flndi rest from the
Jeers and taunta of the world lu a
aulclde'a grave. --Chicago Trlbuue.
OUn PRESIDENTIAL-CAM PAIONS.
MATRONS SEE SEAMY SIDE.
When a man carries hla gloves, It la
a greater offense than wearing them.
Their Field It Dark and Oloomj- but
Not Altovt!ir Tlmnkleea.
To those who believe that all wom
en aro good there la no sadder specta
cle than a glimpse Into tbe Interior of
the woman's ward lu the city Jail,
where the police matron holds full
sway and In spite of ber better Judg
ment sympathizes with the poor
wretches under her charge.
The path of tho police matron's life
la atrewn with more tliorni thau
roies. She deals with tbe scum of
society, the dregs of the earth. The
larger part of her time Is spent In
their companionship, truly a dark and
gloomy sphere of labor, and yet not
altogether a thankless task.
Women make queer prltonert. No
matter bow low tbey may be, they
recognize that the matron It but carry
lug out tbo duties of ber position, aud
the comet In for only a little share of
their abute. That la reterved for tbe
arresting officer.
If there It anything In tbe old ssy.
lng that peoplo's ears burn when some
one talks about them, how the police
men's ears must sizzle. All tbe epi
thets and slanderous adjectlvos In tbe
English language would be as tbe soft
anawer which- turnetb away wrath
compared with tbe monstrous abuse
which It heaped upon tbe policeman
by tbete unfortunates. He Is the one
who has brought them to disgrace and
thrust tbem behind prison bars. Noth
ing la too bad to be aald of blm.
When a man la arretted be takea
hla arrest phllotophlcally, and while
not entirely devoid of tbe feeling of
retentment agalnat the arreatlng of
ficer, he usually knowa where tha
blame Ilea and aervea hla aentence In
sullen alienee. But a woman feela
ber dltgraco more keenly, no matter
what ber atatlon In life.
For tbla reaaon a woman In Jail la
possested of a mania to take her own
life. She tries It In a dozen ways.
She will tear her bed clothes Into
strips and bind them around her neck
In a desperate effort to strangle her
self. Again, If deprived of every pot
alhlo meant for self-extermination.
she will deliberately pound her head (
against the hard floor or endeavor to
bat out ber brains on tbe Iron bars
until alio falls bleeding and tense
teas. I
It la tho matron't business to pre
vent a suicide, but sometimes the pris
oner's cunning outwits the matron's
vigilant eye, and s.io will take a dose
of morphine which she has secured In
some unknown way, and which was
not detected while sho was being
searched.
Severul years ago a woman who
was known aa "Big Ella" committed
aulclde by putting a bullet through
her heart. How the got a revolver no
body ever knew. Morphlno poisoning
has occurred several "-nea lu tbe Jail,
but usually It waa discovered lu time
to coim-nct tbe effect of the drug.
A drunken woman Is usually the oc
cupant of a cell In the woman's ward.
Were It not for the sorrow that one
feels for her there would bo some
thing almost amusing In the ravings
How Ther Kurt a Wbnleaonie Kneel
Upon tha llodr Politic.
Our presidential campaigns, It Is
generally considered, occur too fre
ourntlvln regard to the peace ot mind
and business Interests of the commu
nity, and too frequently lu eontldera
tlon of executive convenience aud op
portunity. The excitement and tur
moil of a presidential campalgu are
annoyances; but such annoyances do
not constitute a valid objection tu the
peedy recurrence of the event. The
serious objections to Ibis frequency
are, at already Intimated, based upon
the fact that presidential campaigns,
na now conductul, are a great drain
upon the resource of many; and, more
Important, that they bave a decided
tendency to depress busluets, and thus
temporarily mllltste agalntt the gen
rral welfare; and, furthermore. It Is
realized more and more keenly that a
four-year presidential term Is too brlsC
a period for effective administration,
especially amid the complications of
modern demands upon the chief execu
tive of a nation aa mormons and "Im
perial" aa oura. A President and hla
cabinet need at least six months at tbe
beginning to learn mere details; and
during tbe Istt four months, If tho
chief It uot re-elected, they are com
paratively ineffective.
The consolation for the Inconven
ience of the too-soon recurring presi
dential campaign Is Ita educational
charactor. IC It tbe time of our great
debate, when the principles and prob
lems of our national goverumtut are
multltudlnouily discussed In "the
forum of public opinion." Tbe party
lu power must thtn valorously defend
Ita record, aud give new promise of
useful performance. The party out ot
power mutt thow Just cause for ttt re
turn. Tbe ipokeimeu of each party,
ou the platform and In the press, vie
with one another In devotion to the na
tional welfare; and while certain prin
ciple! ure thartd In common by each
set of advocate!, each side Insists upon
the peculiar doctrines which are sup
posed to distinguish the respective par.
ties.
This general excitation baa a whole
some effect upon the body politic, and.
at proper Intervals, Is highly desirable.
It It a time when the whole nation
, goes to school, lutereat In public at
j fairs It qulckenul; the people's Imag
ination It arouted to a sense of nation
ality, and to a personal responsibility
, with regard to that nationality. Great
' questions, about wbkb there has been
much hazy and Inconsequent thinking,
are made clear In tho crots-Are of crit
icism and tbe light of lucid and earnest
statement Century.
la Wise Ileyond Her Years,
At tbe Republican Htate convention
In Springfield, III., Senator Cullom and
Speaker Cannon tried to get a popular
ruling at to which Is tbe handsomer
man.
"If I bad a face like yours, Joe,"
tald the Sonator, "I'd wear a veil or
build a fence around It."
"And If I looked like you, Shelby."
replied "Uncle" Joe, "I'd walk back
ward all tbe time. Your rear dera
tion Isn't so bad, but the front facade
Is a bad blotch."
"I'll tell you, Joe, we'll leave It to
this little girl, - She doesn't want any
political Job and I guest tho'll be hon
est," auggeated Senator Cullom.
Tbe little girl's mother waa with
her. "Which do you think la the best
looking, Dorothy)" asked the proud
mother.
Tbe child looked at both out of big,
frank eyes and said:
"I don't like to Bay, mamma, which
I like beat I might 'fend Mr. Can.
non," New York Herald.
Andrew Oleeaon'e Eloquence.
For twenty yeara Andrew Cleeson,
contractor and builder, was a mem
ber of the Republican National Com.
mlttee for the District of Columbia.
He controlled the Irish vote, aud Per
ry Carson controlled tbe negro vote;
and they were very successful, politi
cally. Carson, tbo negro, was a natural
orator, but Oleeson, rich and powerful,
could not make a speech. One even
I lng at a political meeting, where on
hundred Irishmen mingled with about
1 two thousand negroes, Perry Carson
did not appear, and the crowd called
on (llcoson for a speech. He hesitated,
shook his head, but Dually arose and
shouted:
"Uod bless th) Irlah, both white and
black."
It was hla first, last nnd only speech;
but It pleated the crowd all right
Beoreoy of Aro,
Miss Oldglrl isems auxloua to con
ceal her age."
"Yea. Blie clalma to bo afraid of
the croup."
"That fellow," aald u brukemau tbla
morning, aa a man of leisure passed,
"had a law ault with work u few
years ago, and won bla case,"
Youth deals In fancy; age, In f,;ts-
i