I 'sfjs'ig. 1 18 8 38 3 8. ft S w w ©jj © SANFORD, NORTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17,1890, SUPf. FINGER’S REPORT. iHe Declare* That the Tax (or Public Schools is Insufficient. The biennial , report of S. M. Fin ger, State Superintendent of Public r Instruction, is an admirable docu-; meut. . Maj. Finger, in its very first . paragraph, says: I desire to say, with as much emphasis as possible j^Jmt pur sphoola, \ save in a font , of the cities, are not satisfactory to any class of our citizens. As every where we have in North Carolina people who either want no public schools or if any, only a sort of charity school for the poor. For . such people we have already too much tax for public schools. We have also- many people, and the number is rapidly increasing, who 5 believe in liberal education for all I the people for the people’s' ■ > benefit and for the safety of the State. To such people, many of whom are en tirely dependent upon the _ public schools for the education of their , children, the schools are unsatisfac tory because' of the small amount of money applied and the conse j quent shortness of annual terms and \ want of proper qualifications on the : part of many teachers. It is not my | purpose to underrate t ie good the public schools are doing. '' I wish to bear testimony to the fact that they are doing much good; that there is continued improvement in the teachers and public seutiment, but it is simply idle to expect satisfac - fcory schools with our. .average an nual terms of sixty days, and with an expenditure of money amounting t Secretary Windom’s report upon the operations of the Treasury De partment ih the fiscal year ended June 30,1890,' and remarks npon the financial prospects of the Treas ury, in an interesting document. It is of special interest as making the transition from a long period of big surpluses to a period in which Sec retaries of the Treasury will have difficulty to make ends meet. The new tariff, by putting very high the rates on articles sent us by foreign ers in exchange for our agricultural products, must check 1 imports and diminish the revenue from .custom uuues. a ne removal oi me auty from unrefined sugars and the re duction of the internl tax on to bacco must have a like effect. At | the same time the vastly increased | expenditure for pensions will make fhcreaaed demands upon income. The nature of the ehange we are about to see is illustrated in the fact that Secretary' Windom reports the surplus of the fiscal year ended with last June to have been $105, 344,496, while he estimates the sur plus Ending with June, 1892, at on ly $15,147,790. This is- probably a better showing for 1892 than the situation warrants. Mr. Windom has every reason to wish to take an optimistic view, h:s party being re sponsible for the pinch to which recent legislation is bringing us. It will be observed that he asks Con gress atits present session to appro-, priate but $135,263,085 for pensions in the year ending June 80, 1892, while persons well qualified to form an opinion on the subject are posi tive that the expenditure for pen sions in 1892 cannot be less than $150,000,000. Such an expenditure would extinguish Mr.1 Windom’s estimated surplus of $1&|)00,000 for that year at one whiff. Other ex pensive measures proposed to be passed by the present Congress— such as the Force hill and the sub sidies bills—must tend to convert the small estimated surplus into a deficit This is the legacy, it ap pears. which the Fifty-first Congress is ambitious of- leaving to the Fifty second. Apart from the financial question, Mr. Windom has several ' interesting facts to note. He calls attention to the fact that the silver i law recently passed by the Congress '■ is a failure—silver, after touching $1.21, declined to 97 cents per ounce. | The situation is such, he adds,~ that '■ a continuance of the present low price is to be expected. So far the law has added not over $20,000,000 to the circulating medium. The Secretary is at pains, however, to shbw that there is abundance . of of money risTThe countty. The amount in circulation October 1, 1890, was $1,498,072,709, as against $770,312,000 on Octpber 1, 1870. The circulation per Capita is now about $24, as against $30 then. Moreover, bank cheeks, he-shttwe; are used over ten times as much in payments as gold, silver and paper money all put together—a fact which our friends of, the Alliance wilt Observe with interest. The national bank circulation is rapidly decreasing, though, the" number. of national banks is rapidly increasing, especially in the South and West. Our forelgn commerce has contin ued to increase in volume, England being our best customer. Of. our total exports England took one-half. A.s 74.51 per cent, of our exports in -be fiscal year 1890 were agricul tural products, it is clear that En gland is a country reciprocity with which • our farmers might prefer to reciprocity With South America. Our share in the carrying trade, Mr. Windora shows, is still decreas ing. In 1890 American ships car ried a smaller proportion of onr freight traffic than elver before. ~ More Lattitude for Officers, Statesville landmark. -' ' '• . JtcJipping in thih paper two or three weeks ago i pointed put how liffieult it is thesetimes for a map to commit a murder in the first de cree unless he hah previously taken legal advice on the subject, and the following will; show how nearly impossible it it for a public official to break ipto the penitentiary. The clipping is from the North Carolina Intelligencer and is a digest of a re cent decision of the Supreme Court of North Carolina in the case of State vs. Pritchard—county not stated. 1. On the trial of an officer for ex tortion in taking fees it is necessary to prove that the fees were taken with a corrupt intent, and a charge which withdraws the consideration of that question from ,the jury is er roneous. 2. On the trial of air officer for a corrupt violation of his oath - of of fice, under The Code of North Caro lina, section 1090, by wrongfully taking fees, it is necessary to prove a corrupt intent, and it is' error to withdraw the consideration! of that question from the jury. 8. On the trial of an officer for bribery in taking unlawful fees, it is necessary to prove a corrupt intent. 4, An indictment for extortion which fails to charge that the money was taken ‘‘under color of office" is insufficient. This is carte blanthe to public of ficers. Under, this decision they can stuff their pockets with illegal fees, deny, when brought to trial, that they did so with “corrupt in tent,” and that is the end of the prosecution. -■ — > -—-— ■ 7 At the recent election Republican county officers, excepting - clerk, were elected in Washington county, but the Tarboru Banner says that those elected as sheriff,‘ treasurer and register either presented no bonds or unsatisfactory ones on the first Monday, and the men who had been the Democratic candidates foi these offices were elected to them by the commissioners. The New Berne Journal says thal during' the recent campaign the crj in Craven was that Democrats, must keep off Republicans' bonds. In consequence, the Republican sheriff clerk, treasurer and register-elect failed, last Monday week, to present satisfactory bonds to the count] commissioners and Democrats.- wen appointed to all these offices. The Raleigh correspondent of thi Wimington Messenger is informet the R. A, Daughton, Esq., of Ale ghany, will have the largest follow ing for Speaker of the lower housi of the legislature, . j WORK FOR THE LEGISLATURE. Eatpreta Correspondence, I The State Legislature recently elected will have some very import ant work before it. There pome al ways crises in nearly everything. Occasionally we have a body of law makers who make | wonderful and radical changes, adopt untried and impractical measures. These laws are made by men who are rat|pji and anxious to do aomethingJihikher than nothing. Following this, we are apt to have two or three sessions of conservative workers, whose greatest accomplishments 1 are not to make good laws, but to prevent the passage of bad ones. All that they really do is to repeal some of the obnoxious laws previously en acted. The history of our laws and of governments generally, is a record of laws passed at one session to be repealed aMjb£ following one. ' |t In view of these facts and also that much inconvenience and. evil has to be.endured frequently before such laws can be repealed, the cau tious legislator feels great reluct nce in adopting any laws very greatly effecting, either for good or evil, the prosperity of the country On the other hand, the ambitions , and aspiring patriotic assemblyman, who sees the injustice and inequali ty existing among his constituents; who feels, m his heart, a deep, ad ding sympathy for suffering human ity, and longs for the common brotherhood of the nice—such a man, feeling it his duty to makehia life work_as -ser viceable a8 possible to his fellow men, will count it' rare fortune to meet with the present Legislature and help enact- some long-wished reforms. In addition to the many perplex ing questions of a nature which shall come up for personal adjust ment, as is always the case, this leg islature will be ho doubt, called upon to adjust or equalize the,rate of in terest. This is a question with at least two sides to it and yet many of them will think their legislative work incomplete unless some change be made in rates of interest. The indignation of the people at the last legislature for Rejecting tneir petitions for a railroad commis sion, and the increasing demand for it will come up as additionarevidence that something must be dode about this matter this time or legislators can never expect to meet their con stituents in peace again. These and othe$ such matters as will in all probability come up affect; the ma terial interests of the country. But a questkn which not only af fects the material prosperity of the country in a far greater and far higher sense than any of these, but also tends to elevate and ennoble mankind, to develop into that sphere of useful citizenship and manhood which an all-wise creator has de signed he should attain, is the ques tion of education. all This question vitally affects others and all the more so on ac count of the neglect it has suffered wt the hands of previous legislators. This subject has been handled again and again but I only want to em phasize its growing importance, for as the country grows and other States and other people advance, the importance of attending this to If you educate great mutter in increases, are educated yourself and your children, it is still yoj^r duty and privilege to help educate your neighbors’ for the sake of their so ciety and citizenship. As Edward Bellamy says, vour education at the present is only like an occasional oasis in a vast'dreary desert. We do not spend money enough, we do not spend time enough in order tc procure education. We are too eager to make money as if that was the highest aim for which-we are to live In talk a few days since with s foreigner he referred to the fact that we get prepared for anythin? so quick. For instance he says: “I heard a young man speak of tak ing a three months' course- prepar ing himself to be a druggist. Why in my country he would study nine or eleven years.” - This is only one instance, The ratio will hold for almost all other departments of learning. By all means, legislators, do something to rid your State of its present ignorance and if the pres ent generation does not give you the praise you deserve, rest assured that unborn generations will be monu ments to the work you have dones. The Alliance and the Dollar. Ntno York Bun. 1 President Polk of the Fames1 Alliance thus announces the issue by which that body will live /or die: i “The farmer and laborer must have a chance to get what -money they need upon the security of their real property, a privilege which is denied, them today. The issue from now on is to be a square one be tween American manhood on one side and the great American dol lar on tne other.” President Polk's rhetoric is a lit tle cloudy. 'The issue is not be tween American manhood and the great American dollar, but between the great American Farmers’ Alli ance and the rest of the American people. The laborer may- be left out of consideration. Col. Polk’s organization is called the Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union, and its managera are willing to attract labor associations to the support of its programme, but as long as tbe Alliance remains essentially :an agricultural body, agricultural la borers at least will not get much benfit from it. An increase in tbe wages of agricultural laborers is not one1 of the magic prosperity restor ers which the Alliance demands from the Congress. Between the farmers and the strong and success ful labor organizations is no Special bond of common interest, and the help of Powderly’s decayed order is not likely to be of much use Jto the Alliance. Whatever political unions it may form, the Alliance is at present a body of farmers who want to get from the government “what money they need upon the security of their real property. jn off, tne Alliance tarmers can not expect to enjoy the privilege of Arrowing money from the United States at a nominal rate of interest, and giving their farms as security, unless they give persons in other occupations some equal privilege. It would be a great scheme for the Alliance mortgagee to get a pot of money at one per cent from the Government and lend it at eight or ten to persons standing in need of financial assistance, and unable to obtain it easily and cheaply on ac count of not being farmers. The farmers are worthy and thrifty people, but they cannot be allowed to become a privileged class a sort of landed aristocracy, borrowing money cheap and lending it dear. They do not absolutely own the earth, although they cultivate it. There are several millions of per sons in these United States who are not farmers; and yet are as ready as the horniest handed to borrow mon ey from the Government. They know a pudding when they see it, and they will insist on being helped to some of it. ^ If Brohter Hawbuck is to get from the Government what money he needs, Brothers Butcher, Baker, and Candle-stickmaker must get what money they want from the same benevolent banker on the same term. They can give them stock, the good will of their business, their •kill and industry and shrewdness as security. A laborer with his hands can pledge them, as security for a Government loan. We can’t all have farms, bnt if the Govern* ment is going to run a pawn shop it must take every thing offered as a pledge for its advances. “Ameri can manhood,” as' Mr.' Polk says, must be regarded as sufficient as security as a quartery section. The whole American people must come in on equal terms. Does’ Mr. Polk think that the rest of the American people are going to be content with putting ijheir hands into their pock ets for the benefit of the Alliance and never taking anything for them selves? ' The way to the nationalization of the land' can be found in this scheme to lend money to farmers. The way to national bankruptcy can be found i i its inevitable, corollaries. But what does the Al liance care if it can get the dol lars? '• ‘ How the^Pension Iniquity Grows!— A Baitingifor Commissioner Raum. Extract! from the I'rocrcdlnffs oflhc Jloutc +■ on 4th. ' - At the expiration of the morning hour the House Went: into a com mittee of the whole on the pension appropriation bill. Mr. Morrow ex plained that the bill appropriated for the payment of pensions the sum of $133,173,000. He believed that there would be no deficiency next year, Mr. Sawyer, of Texas, argued that the estimate of the Commissioner of Pensions was totally unreliable and fcbpt the amount of money required to pay pensions would be largely in excess of {;he amount appropriated by the pending bill. He ventured to say that the Fifty-second Con gress will be compelled to meet a de ficiency of not less than $15,000, 000. No man,, however honest, conld fix within ten millions the amount actually to be expended un der this bill. The Commissioner had failed to tell the House what would be expended in 1890; lie lmd made a similar failure iu 1891, and he would make a greater failure in 1892; and the Democratic Congress would hare to pay the penalty. His conclusion, after careful investiga tion of the matter, was that instead of the government expenditures for pensions being confinejd to $133,000 000, they would be nearer $175,000, 000. In conclusion, he gave it 'as his deliberate judgement from a full investigation of the facts and figures, together with the experience of the House as to the workings of the Pension Office, that if the Commis sioner would work faithfully and energetically, issuing certificates as fast as they were prepared for issue, there would inevitably be a deficien cy iu 1892 of not less than $35,000, 000, which the Democratic House would have to meet. Mr. Cooper, of Indiana, renewed his attack of last session npon Pen sion Commissioner Raum. Refer ring to the largo force of employes in the Pension Bureau, and to the vast expenditure of money for pen sions, he said he proposed to show why this force of men should be presided over by a man of high char acter, and why this vast sum of money should be disbursed by a man above criticism and above reproach. It was his purpose to call the at tention of the country to the fact that the present Commissioner oi Pensions was not such a person. Carrying out his purpose he quoted liberally from the testimony given before a special committee, which, near the close of last session, had under investination his (Cooper’s) charges against Raum of favoritism towards one prominent pension claim agent, of borrowing money from an attorney who practiced be fore the bureau, and of floating the stock of a fraudulent corporation among the employes of that bureau He commented sharply upon this testimony and'paid no attention tc the objections of Mr. Cannon and Mr. Sawyer that no report had been made to the House by the investi gating committee and£he testimony was not a proper subject of' discuss ion m the absence of such a re port. A Campaign Incident. Mecklenburg T4mem. In nn" interior county in thii State there were three Democrat! all duly nominated for the Legisla ture. Bach had strong oppositioi and the vote is close in this county between the Democrats and Repub licans. Hence very great cautior was deemed necessary as to what, should be said about the; senator' ship, Alliance, matters, &c., 4c. | When the campaign opened one of the candidates, a lawyer of abili»;\ ty and conservatism, lead off in ; speech saying he did not think it wise to commit himself as to the senatoraliip, but shonld wait and see who atl^ould be ini. the field if and then fry to select the best man. The second candidate, an intelligent - farmer, followed in aboat the same strain. The third candidate was a f little Dutchy merchant and farmer from a remote part of the county and simple-minded and honest ' enough to suppose that speech was expected to express and not conceal a man’s real opinions and purposes. His speech was as as follows: “Gen- , tlemen, I am not afraid nor asham ed to tell you who I am for for Sen ator. I am for oM Zeb Vance. I am not going to call him Colonel Vance, nor Governor Vance, nor Senator Vance, because I am ac- V quainted with him, but just plain Zeb Vance. If l am elected I;'shall vote for hipi first, lait and all the time, and don’t you forget it. . Thank you for your attention.’’ This was his speech and the whole of it all round . lie campaign, while the other two candidates followed, up the non-committal course they ! star1 ed out with. When the vote was counted, the Uttle Vmicc man was elected and tlie other two defeated. POLITICS, &G. The bunk of England' Has dnccd its discount rate from 0 to per cent. , It is stated that it cost Senator Ingalls $3,200 tcfget his Son Bill elected to the Kansas Legislature. The Democratic majority in New York State upon the Congressional vote in the recent election was 88, 000. - - r The Democrats last week, carried Now Haven, Conn., for the first time in four years. The Democrats had general victories in the town elections all through Massachu setts. "» E. H. Ammidown, the President of the National Protestant League, and a big New York dry goods job ber, failed last Saturday fdr a mill It takes all sorts of people to makeup this American world. Iu Detroit the other day, a Hebrew,, an African and an Arab' were , all three arrested on complaint of a - Chinaman. liiSl The Georgia Legislature has in-: augurated a war on bucket shops. : The general tax bill recently passed contains a clause fixing the tax on ' bucket shops and all similar institn tions at $10,000 per year. The will of Daniel B. Fayer weather, the millionaire leather" dealer of New York, gives $10,000 " to the University of Virginia, $2, 000,000 to other colleges and $05, 000 to hospitals in New York. The Democratic majority in Vir ginia at the recent election was even greater than in North Carolina: 64, 672 are the figures. The Democrat- - ie majority wasjS.OOO mere thas the ^ whole Republican vote. . The Democratic majority in Tex- '• as at the recent election was 175, 000, and the Hon. Daniel Webster Flanigan, the Republican candidate for Governor, is doubtless asking himself, “What did we^un for?” Clerk McPherson, of the House of Representatives, has just had printed an official list of members elected to the next House, showing 88 Republicans, 284 Democrats and 8 Farmers’ Alliance, One district (28th New York) is set down as uncertain and one (2nd Rhode Is land) is masked vacant. Delemater & Co., bankers, of ; Meadville, Pa, made an assignment last Friday and' suspended business with liabilities estimated at $200, 00Q. Assets not known. Politic* is supposed to be responsible for the failure. G. W. Delamater was the