il THE PROGRESSIVE FAljtMEB: MARCH 8, 1892. s AN ADDRESS. Shod, Not Allow Party Zeal to Injure the Organization. Seo.-Treas N. C. F. S. A. f Raleigh, N. C., Feb. 21, 1892. L.R brethren:" What shall the Jpst be"' for the Alliance in 1892? ilvou weigh thi question calmly! vou so, so shall you reap. A few L affo the Alliance was unheard of S?nrth Carolina. Four years ago it n aineu such headway in the State, 0Iily one year old here, that the r Alexander, came near being Wed Governor though he was op Wd nearly solidly by the whole press ltheSta:e. Two years ago, through f campig11 education, it sent four f its members to the United States n(rres3, and two others were elected Medged to the support of our demands. majority of the legislature elected Alliancemen, a United States t Wna'or chosen after he had pledged to Support aeiiuinus auu uuuureus oi bounT offices filled by our household. ever has any organization been edu cated so rapidly ; never has an organi sation gained so many victories. What nthe outcome? Two years ago your I I nlan was introduced into Congress by 3 I Z.t hut it was contemntuoiisl v laid on the shelf. We had no friends in the halls of Congress. To day how i3 it? We find more than half a hun dred Congressmen standing manfully for our rights, most of them of our own Order. They are introducing bills in our behalf and are. battling heroically to have them made into law. For the first time in half a century the work ing people, the masses, have had bills introduced in their behalf, and have had champions in Congress who have dared to face plutocratic power for relief of the people. But will these bills introduced be made into law? It is possible some of them may, but not probable, and why? Because our strength there is yet too wek to cope with the combined rorce3 ot those sent there by moneyed corporations and syndicates to frustrate any laws for the relief of the people. What is to be done? Must we by one unlucky throw of the dice I03 all we have g lined, cause our beloved Order to be rent in twain, and leave no organ ized body to dispute the onward march of tyranny and oppression? Shall wo by our headlong zeal, intemperate haste destroy all hopes of the perpetu ity of a republican form of government, and permit a monarchy to be estab lished over our children? God forbid that we should do this. Yet we find that some true, zealous, but incautious brethren, are urging the Alliance to take a fatal plunge over a dangerous precipice of which they are unaware, and whre nothing' but destruction awaits it. We find that in a few of our Lodges partisan politic vl meetings have been held which the brethren know is positively against the Consti tution of the State Alliance of North Carolina. The Alliance can never be come partisan, because its Constitu tion orders us in accepting members to I -guarAraee them that . their religious or political creeds are not to be questioned. To endorse any party in our Lodge room is partisan, for the Alliance of North Carolina hold3 among its mem bers Democrats, Republicans, Prohibi tionists and the People's party; Let us see what the trouble would be if we let politics into our Order. We will take for example a Sub-Lodge of sixty male members, thirty-two of whom are Democrats, ten Republicans, eight Prohibitionists and the remaining ten were for independent action or the People's party. At a regular meeting, all the members being present, a reso lution was introduced and passed by the thirty-two Democrats that here after this Lodge should endorse the Democratic party, and that all the members should vote the Democratic ticket; what would be the remit? The remaining members would be driven from the Order. It would break up the Lode. Such has been done in ... few instances in this State, xherevpr nartisan politics has been jermitted to make headway in the Alliance organizations in a county, there you will find the weakest Alli ance order. Brethren, as an Allianceman, as vour Secretarv-Treasurer, who has only the good of the Order and the country at heart, and whose fingers rest upon the throbbing pulse of the whole Alliance organization in our State. I send this greeting to you, to J jwarn and beg of you to halt and think uciore iu n lou lute. iue piutwiamy powers through their allies and agents, have well nigh caused many of you to take the fatal plunge over that dark, fathomless abyss. They have driven some of you to believe, through their misrepresentations and persecutions of our Order and its officers, that the only redress is through a partisan political course, and that you should ostracise all other Alliancemen who will not take the same fatal step. Are we such cowards that a few men in North Caro lina who hate the Order and its officers, can force us to such an extremity, force us to abandon what we have already in our grasp, a complete victory for our principles? What matters it to us what the name of the party we affiliate with, so we can save our homes and freedom for ourselves and posterity, even if we differ at the ball it box as to the best method of securing these reforms, which I hope wiil not be the case. We must remain a unit in the Order. Thousands of friends outside of the Orierare with us in feeling and will ote for our principles if we will bury Petty differences and stand solidly to gether. Then we must not let partisan politics divide us. and must show that Ssve will not be driven from our rights by a ringsters and would be bosses, who are trying to control the political parties to which individually many of HMjrnDers belong. rTl"r ea is in the minds of many that ho claims to be a Democrat or ? blican cannot be a good Alli a. Some Alliance Democrats lat no good Allianceman can be I anything but a Democrat; the same j whu some itepuDiicans who think no one but a Republican can be a trood Allianceman. The Alliance teaches no such doctrines as these, but promises u,3 tt our Private political opinions shall be respected. Brethren, shall our principles live and grow untd the whole country shall again "blossom as the rose," or shall they die by a suicidal policy of our own and by that act, doom our posterity to a life of bondage and shame? Shall a brother be permitted to remain in the Alliance and vote for our demands through the Republiean party if he so desires? Shall a brother be permitted to remain in the Alliance and at the same time claim to be a Democrat, though he stands squarely on our de mands? Shall a brother be permitted to remain in the Alliance if he chooses to vote for the demands through the Prohibition or People's party? Yes, surely he must. When he joined the Order, did not you promise him that his political feelings should be re spected? Those who are unfriendly to us and who wish to see the Alliance go down, are calling every man who stands upon the Ooala demands as a Third or People's party man. This is done to irritate you, to worry you, to lash you out of the Alliance, to drive you back to party affiliations under " boss " rule, to break up the Alliance, anything to keep in power. If a man should come to you "hungry, sick and naked" and you take him to your house and feed, nurse and clothe him, and he should afterwards show his ingratitude by claiming your house and your prop erty, will you quietly give it up and say this fellow is a rascal and demands all I have ; that I will leave it to him and go somewhere else will take my wife and children and try to find some other place where this fellow will not trouble me? Is there a man in the Al liance who would aci so cowardly, so foolishly? Let each one of us weigh this matter carefully before taking any step that might set us back from our cherished demands a long time, if not forever. We read in our declaration of pur poses on the first page of the Constitu tion, 22d paragraph, to endorse the motto, "In things essential, unity; and in all things, charity." I regret to see such harsh vindictive letters and resolutions published about some of our brethren in our reform papers. Are you showing any charity in these attacks, my brother? Are you show ing yourself a true Allianceman? Are you exercising "charity towards offen ders?" Are you "granting honesty of purpose and good intentions' to others Article 6, section 3 says: " When any officer or member shall be guilty of conduct unbecoming an Alli anceman, charges and specifications shall be preferred against him (in your lodge, not through newspapers) if it cannot be amicably settled. ' Section 4, article 6 tells you how the trials shall be conducted. Have you pre ferred charges through the proper channels? Have you acted right in making your charges public? Do you not know that you have laid yourselves liable to have charges preferred against you? Brethren, you 'must not let too much zeal lead you astray. Have you followed the scriptural injunction and taken "the beam out of your oxen eyeV For the sake of our wives, children and homes let us get nearer together. Let nothing separate us from our Order. Let us be charitable and fra ternal to each other. If we will onlv stand true to our principles, if we will refuse to listen to the siren voice of the tempter, the political office seeker, who is endeavoring to lure us from Al liance principles if we will make up our minds to vote only for those who stand squarely upon our demands, no matter to what party they belong, no matter whether he belongs to our Order or Dot, we can win another signal vic tory for reform. We can accomplish this if we will by requiring every can didate to state publicly how he stands as to our deinands; and if he answers in the affirmative, send some one with our demands printed on a card which he must sign and on which he should promise not to antagonize but to wprk for them to be made into law. Politi cal clubs will be formed all over the country. Be careful how you join them or you will regret it. Let each one of us determine to exercise his rights as an American citizen by voting for his principles in any party he may choose and let us grant the same privilege to all others. Let there be no ostracism or public denunciation of a brother. The duty of every Allianceman to each other and to the Order is most touchingly and forcibly picture 1 in the verses below. Read them and ponder them, and let each one of us be to each other and to our Order as Ruth was to Naomi, her mother in law: And Ruth paid, entreat me not to leave thee or to return from following thee ; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die and there will I be buried ; the Lord do to me and more, also, if aught but death part thee and me. Fraternally, W. S. Barnes, Sec-Treas. N. C. F. S. A. NORTH CAROLINA AT ST. LOUIS. Our readers will be interested in the &.ddrpfis of our delegates to the St. Louis Conference, found in another column We suggest that all the friends of Reform file this copy of the paper away, as it contains the correct copy of our Platform, and other im portant matter. The Democratic State Convention called for May 18th the Georgia State Convention is called for the same day. It is claimed that D. B. Hill has great strength among the Democratic party officials of both States. We wonder if Hill's fine election hand is in the early calling of these conventions. ZEKE BILKINS. I xi tfif III Mr. Bilkins Gets Hitched to Dr. Caldwell Partisanism Defined. B. "Hello! Mr. Editor." R "Hello! Mr. Bilkins." - B. "Say, hitch me to Dr. Cald well, of the Statesville Landmark and the Charlotte Chronicle." R "All right, go ahead with your rat killing." B." Hello ! Dr. Caldwell." Dr. C " Hello I Mr. Bilkins. What can I do for you?" B. " I want you to tell me what to do in politics." Dr. C. "All Alliancemen should go into the Democratic party." B. "That would be partisan, wouldn't it?" Dr. C. 'Of course it would, 'but every good citizen has a right to be partisan." B. "Wouldn't it be partisan to go into a new party ?" Dr. C, "Well oh that depends. That would be a bad step." B. "Well say, Doctor, you com plain because people applaud Alliance speakers and 4 blow in money on the reform papers.' You never complain when people applaud political speak ers You don't complain when people 4 blow in mon y ' on the political pa pers." Dr. C "That's all right, but the re form papers are getting rich." B. " Can you prove it? Our papers are issued at low prices and none of them make half the money 4 blown in ' on plutocratic sheets that are deceivin the people year after year. The work in' people directly and ir directly sup port these papers, too." Dr. C. "BuC the Alliance leaders have deceived the people." B. "Have they deceived them the same way the politicians have? Betsy says that they have deceived her, for she didn't believe they were half as honest nor half as smart as they have proven thems dves to be. I guess that is how they are deceivin' you politi cians. If you fellows could fool them or buy them they would be right nice men." Dr. C. 4 4 The leaders have not even waited for the Democratic House to pass the Silver bill or do anything." B. 44 Hold up there, Doctor, you are getting off the track. How long has Congress been in session?" Dr. C. 4 'Since the first of Dece mber. " B. 4 4 Let's see, that is exactly thir teen weekp, or three -months and one week. Havn't they had time to pass any bill ; havn't they had time to pass 500 bills?" Dr. C. "But they had to get up a set of rules." B. "I guess they will put in the next three months studyin' them rules, the next three months trying' to find out whether they are good ones or not, the next three changin' them so they will have to be changed agin and the next three discussin' them an' the last six months makin' motions to table the whole business an' go a fishin'." Dr. C. "You are an old crank. You are so stuffed with Alliance heresies that there is no way of convincing you." B. 44 Say, Doctor, don't get mad. I want you to talk with Betsy." . Dr. C. "I have no time to put in talking to women. " Mrs. B. "Hello, Dr. Caldwell. I want you to tell me if some of the Demo cratic papers didn't lie when they said the farmers were solid for Cleveland? (No reply.) Say, Doctor, is it not pos sible that the Democratic papers are mistaken when they say that the Alii ance leaders are deceiving the people. (No reply.) B. Hello! Mr. Editor, Dr. Caldwell has got speechless, I reckin. He won't talk any more, anyhow. Good bye." TAKE YOUR CHOICE. Peffer introduced a bill to loan $100,- 000,000 to farmers in Kansas who could give good security, and by this means save their homes from the money Jews of Europe. Sherman in troduced a bill to give $100,000,000 to a company to build the Nicaragua canal and add to their already great wealth the profits accruing from the enter prise. DEMOCRATIC PAPERS, COPY. DT T? ACT? Capt. S. B. Alexander says of the St. Louis platform : 44 It is one that all true Alliancemen can and will heartily support." STATE NEWS. j rt-a.ni of the State Press Drops of Turpentine - od Grains of Rice from the East Clusters f Grapes and Tobacco Stems from the Jorth Stalks of Corn and Grains of Wheat from the West Peanuts and Cotton Seed from the South At Marion last week Mr. Flemming, the proprietor of the Flemming hous, died of Bright's disease. Oxford Ledger : Our Baptist friends are taking active steps for the erec tion of a handsome nev church this summer. The foundation of the new county court house at Wilmington has been laid as high as the street fevel and the work is progressing nicely. The Concord Standard says there is no doubt there is a decrease of at least one third of the chattel mort gages this year over last year. T. H Vanderford and J. B. Lanier, of Salisbury, have bought a gold mine from Judge McCorkle and others for $10,000. The Herald says they will de velop it. A telegram to the Wilmington Star says it is a settled fact that the Oxford & Coist Line Railroad will without doubt have Rocky Mount as its ter minal point. Kinston Free Press: Mr. D. R. Jackson, of LaGrange, was in Kinston a few days ago. He told U3 that more cotton would be planted around La Grange this year than usual. King's Mountain Neivs: The news comes to us that Wesley Huffstetler killed a negro man in Lincoln county this week. This makes two homicides for old Lincoln in the last fortnight. Greensboro Record: Dr. T. A. Brooks, a distinguished physician of Chatham county, died Saturday at Siler, in the 63d year of his age. He held im portant places of trust during the war and since. Lexington Dispatch : Two juiveniles, of about 13 years, have gotten hold of 20 and a 32 calibre revolver and under cover of darkness ran away from their homes at the cotton mills last Monday night. Creswell & Brother's store in Char lotte was robbed of many jars of brandy preacher, and the safe which contained $1,175 wa9 battered, but the burglar - were unable to effect an entrance to the safe. Goldsboro Argus: A petition is being circulated and is being numer ously signed, praying Gov. Hold to commute the death sentence of Weight man Thompson to imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. Abel Bell, a colored brakeman of the A & N. C. Railroad, whose home is at Wildwood, accidentally fell between two cars of the freight train Thursday and was crushed to death, says the Ne v Berne Journal. The executive committee of the Western North Carolina teachers' as sociation met at Asheville Saturday and decided that the next aianual meet ing of the association should be held at Waynesville, on June 14 17. Durham is going forward steadily. 'Lcn work begins on the new Trinity church, the new hotel, and that already going on Dr. Carr's new office, you will see some moving around in this part of town, says the Durham Sun. Charlotte Neivs : Bishop Lyman will conduct services in St. Peter's Episco- gal church to-morrow morning, and at t. Michael's at night. Bishop Lyman yesterday confirmed a class of ten; at St. Mark's church, in this county. Charlotte Chronicle : There are 200 students at the Biddle Institution the largest number since the school was established. There are now 50 inmates at the poor house. This is ten more than Was cared for last winner. Smithfield Herald: Two convicts to the penitentiary from this county this term of the court. Sam Privett, an old negro preacher, for two years for stealing cotton and Tom Barnes, colored, for two years for stealing meat. Kinston Free Press : Sheriff Sutton showed us a very deceptive counterfeit half dollar the other day. It appears all right to the eye, but does not ring when dropped. Counterfeit silver coins are said to be in pretty general circulation. Raleigh Chronicle: Upon request, Gov. Holt has ordered an exchange of courts between Judges Bryan and Shu ford, whereby the former will hold the Spring terms of Iredell and Dare, and the latter will hold a two weeks Spring term of Nash court. A safe blower broke into a store at Flowery Branch, on the Air Line Rail road, Saturday night, and robbed a safe of $100 in small change. The rob ber was captured yesterday in a neigh boring town. He had drilled a hole in the safe, and shattered the bolts with powder. Marion Free Lance: Mr. J. A. Swan, who lives about three miles from here, has a daughter four years and six moi ths old who is three feet two inches high and t o feet four inches around her waist. Her waist measurement lacks only 10 inches of being her height. New Berne Journal : Owing to the heavy track caused from the rain fast time could not be made. The first was the $300 race in wnich Fray ley's gray horse from Salisbury was the winner. Time 2.40. Skcond race was for a $150 Eurse. It was won by Tom, a bay orse from Durham. Time 2:42. Shelby Aurora : The revenue r iders invaded the precinct of Ben's Knob and arrested John Hoy le on the charge of illicit distilling. He was brought to town on an old charge two years ago when a blockade still was found and destroyed on his land. He was bound over to the Federal Court for trial. Two children of Samuel Smith, of Silver Valley, aged 12 and 14 years, were bitten by a supposed mad dog one day last week and were brought to town Friday to test the powers of Mr. J. N. Oraver's mad-stone. The stone ! fwas applied and stuck to the wound and the patient was declared cured, says the Lexington Dispatch. I Roanoke Beacon: We regret to chronicle the failure of Mr. G. H. Har rison, who made an assignment n Monday for the bene it of his creditor?, with Mr. A. O. Gay lord as trustee. In his assignment the town of Plymouth, of which he ras Treasurer, is made one of the preferred creditors for the sum of $844. Charlotte loses one of its best citizens in the death of Mr. Latta Johnson, who was born May zvta, 1857. lie was a nephew of Col. William John son and a cousin of Mrs. A. B. Adrews, of Raleigh. His estate is valued at $150,000, says the News. He was a Presbyterian. - He was enthusiastic oa fine stock and an ardent agri culturist. Winston Sentinel: It was learned here to day that Mormon Elders are having trouble in Ashe county. They visited one section a few days ago and that night they were visited by an "organized band of citizens who gave the Mormons' notice that they must either leive the section or die. The Mormons, of course, chose the former and skipped. Asheville Citizen : Natt Atkinson & Son, the Asheville real estate dealers, are engaged in hunting specimens of Western North Carolina trees to be sent to the North Carolina forestry building at the World's Fair. Nine specimens are to be sent, each one to be twenty- five feet in length. Some of the specimens are to be gotten on the Vanderbilt estate. Durham Sun: When the Sun went to press yesterday afternoon the case of Charly Stevens, for the murder of Bryant Jones was being investigated. A number of witnesses were examined. From the testimony elicited in was concluded that the killing was done in self defence and the justices discharged Stephens, from the custody of the law. Norwood Vidette: Mrs. Caroline Hearne, grandmother of Mrs. Robert Tyson, of this place, died at the resi dence of Mr. Carl Burns, in Anson county, last Tuesday, aged about 80 years. The wife of John Wad dill, colored, was accidently sho'; with a pistol some time ago. The ball entered her upper lip, and knocked out several of her teeth. Lincoln Courier : Mr. Sam Lander, the mica man, has for s )me time been working a mica mine in North Brook township, this county. He says the mica is found there in grea j quantities. He had a beautiful sheet in town this week taken from this mine, and the piece would square about eight inches. Mention some minerals not found in Lincoln county. Mr. W. A. Misenheimer, of Cabarrus county, who was running a saw mill, stumbled and fell near the saw. The edge of his shoulder struck the saw while running at full speed, sa s the Standard. It drew him in before he could be rescued by assistants, and tle saw cut its awful course right through his neck, hi3 head rolling down on one side and his body falling on the other. Two men were very seriously hurt at Hub, on the Chadbjurn & Conway Railroad. They were at work in the Hub lumber mill, when some ma chinery broke. G. A. Johnson was struck by a piece of iron weighing one hundred pounds, making a severe contusion- on his chest. The other man was hur i about the head Jonson i at Wilmington for surgical treatment, the Star says. Mr. John Armstrong met with a peculiar accident yesterday. He was standing with one foot crossed over the other, whetting his knife on the heel of his shoe, when the knife slipped, he lost his balance and fell against a post. The knife was run into his foot and an artery severed . The wound bled dread fully but was soon attended to and he will be able to walk in a day or so, says the Charlotte Chronicle. The last raid of thieves made at Rocky Mount Tuesday night has been brought to light by the arrest of one of the men at Wilson, telegram to the Wilmington Star reports. He is a negro and says he is from Wilmington, and is named Albert Chesterfield. He confessed and said Tom Moore induced him to go in with him and share the spoils, as he had gone into several houses and had not been caught. Salisbury Herald : A singular inci dent occurred on the railroad within the city limits yesterday evening. A car loaded with lumber jumped the track at Shober's bridge and ran along on the ties until it reached the bend near Mr. John Verble's home, where it took the track again. The employes did not discover that it had been off until the train stopped and the car was found badly shaken up. . Charlotte Chronicle : The sash, door and blind factory yesterday received an order for a large lot of their goods to be shipped to Florida. Wednes day night sme very discriminating rogues visited the barns of Messrs. Will McLaughlin and Will Lee, of Crab Orchard township. Thev stole Mr. McLaughlin's bridles and some other harness fixtures, and then went over to Mr. Lee's and stole two of his mules. Stanly News : Mr. Edmund Freeman has again recovered his voice. During his dumb spell he says he felt like he could talk if he could stand upon hi head. Acting upon the suggestion by his children, to lay across the bed and place his head on the door, he was en abled to talk so long as he remained in that position. After several repeti tions of this experiment his voice re turned; though it is weak, coarse and somewhat unnatural. Wilson Advance : Mr. David Nolly, Wilson's inventive genius, returned from Washington Monday where he secured a patent on an automatic freight car brake, that is the biggest invention of this kind of this age. Not long since he patented an automatic cable car grip. By means of this simple, yet useful invention, a car can be run across a cross cable without re leasing its grip. There is an offer of $150,000 for this last invention, and all Wilson people sincerely hope Dave will be able to pocket it. THE r LATEST NEWS. Sparks from the Wires Most Important Events Throughout the World for a Week, London, March 2. Forty sealers frozen to death, have been discovered , in Halifax. Bridgeport, Conn., which is essen tially a manufacturing city, has a. population of 48,000. Mr. John Marshall, one of the old -residents of Pittsburg, Pa , died on the -19th inst. in his 67th year. London, Feb. 27. Two hundred thousand miners in the coal mines of England were laid off to-day. The annual production of Bawed lum ber in the United States would load a, train of cars 25,000 miles long. New York, Feb. 27. The census of New York City has been completed. This city has a population of 1,800,000.- Washington, March 2. The House of Representatives to-day voted in favor of the election of Senators by the- people.' New York, March 2. The storm along the coast of New Jersey continues to rage to day and much damage to shipping is feared. Berlin, Feb. 27. Everything is quiet here to-day, but there are grave fears that the socialists will attempt tc work vengeance by the use of dyna mite. Danville, Va., March 1. Informa tion was received here yesterday of the fire at Hills ville, the count seat of Carroll county, which, it is said, de stroyed half the town. Twenty nine acres of glass are to be used in the roofs of the Exhibition buildings at Chicago. The thickness, of the glass is to be uniform viz., three sixteenths of an inch. The Lumbermen's Association, in , session at Washington, adopted resolu tions protesting against the enactment into law of thebill pending in Congress to remove the duty on lumber. Vienna, March 1. Miss L. Risley has died here of influenza. The day after her death news was received of her appointment as the leading con tralto of the Paris Grand Opera, Milwatkee, Wis , March 1. Fire on. Water street last night destroyed L. D. I. Leiser, dry goods; E. Lowers, toy store, and damaged several otker build ings. Loss $100,000. Partly insured.. New York, March 2. Van Tassels -foundry and a couple of furniture houses were burned this morning. Nine families who lived over the f urniture, r stores narrowly escaped wuh their: lives. Judge Thomas Nixon Vandyke, loni: one of the most prominent men of Eas)- Tennessee, died in Rome, Ga , yeitei day at the residence of his son. H trial altairs. Tuscumbia, Ala , March 3 Miss Luhi Meadows, aered 18. while dustiner-!! ture over a mantle yesterday, &aa bC severely burned by her clothinf tS catch-1 teen received here to the eizfect that George J. Gibson, ex secretary of the ' whisky trust, was arrested at-Peoria; under an indictment found against the officers of the trust at Boston. St. Petersburg, March L In order to stimulate the manufacturing of cot ton goods in Russia the government has issued a decree that tae imported duty on raw cotton shall be refunded to exporters, of the manufactured product. ' - It is stated in Londor insurance circles that Mr. Ross, the claim settler of the National Marine Insurance Com pany, has been appointed British arbiter in the dispute between Great Britain and the United States regards ing Bering Sea. Richmond, Va., March 4. Last night' a pa-jsenger train on the James River division of the Chesapeake & Ohio road was wrecked by a huge boulder on the track twelve miles west of Lynchburg. Engineer F. H. Plapp and fireman W C. Mosely, of this cityr were killed. Jacksonville, Fla , . March 3. A fire which broke out at 2 o'clock yes terday in East Jacksonville, destroyed'. five dwelling houses and a public hall. -The occupants of the cottages in some -instances had very narrow ebcapem The total loss is about $10,000. In surance $4,000. ; - A general reduction of about 10 per cent, in the wages of furnace em ployees is being put into effect in' the -Birmingham (Ala.) district. No trouble is apprehended, as the necessity is-v generally recognized among the men.. The furnaces are all in blast and pre parir g to face the low prices. Birmingham, Ala. , March 2. A gen eral reduction of about 10 per cent, in the wages of the furnace employees is. being put in effect in this district. No trouole is apprehended as the necessity is generally recognized among the men. The furnaces are all in blast and ai"e preparing to faca the low prices. The famine in the province of Arveu in Hungary, is becoming more ascS more intense. Many children have died of hunger. Seventy-five cases of death from starvation have been, re ported in two months. The people's food consists of hominy mixed with, tree-bark, or maize mixed with chopped straw. Anniston, Ala., March 3. Zaideev Howard, a young white woman ora Glen Addie street, attempted suicide last night by taking morphine and it was only with most persistent work; that she was resuscitated. The causo of the rash act is not known, thougli it is said to be a disappointment in. & . love affair. . A dispatch from Tripoli states tbnt the opposition to the firman, recently7 issued by the Sultan makheg the nar tives liable to military conscription, was so determined that the firman bar been withdrawn. The alarm is nor subsiding; the business houses are re -opening, and affairs are resuming thei r normal aspect. i s