THE ELM CITY ELEVATOR
VOL. 1.
ELM CITY. N. C., FRD>AY. APRIL 4.1902.
NO. 34
BH.L ARP»S LETTBB.
Atlanta Uoastltution.
Now you yr.uag people, girls and
boys, excuse me for telling you a story
about the old times. Sixty-four years
ago, when I was 12 years old, my father
was the Postmaster in our town and had
make contracts for carrying the mail
to other neighboring towns. He gave
these contracts to needy men and the
pay was generally one dollar a day. One
of these men got sick and my fa‘her
made me take his place and ride the
mail to Roswell all winter. It was 25
miles away and I had to ride there and
back in a day, and he paid me the dol
lar for every trip. It was a bitter winter
and sometime when I got home I had
to be helped off of the horse, for I was
frozen up and helpless. But I was a
tough and hardy boy and always ready
for the next trip. On my first ride the
good old women on my route did not
know me. They used to knit socks
and send them to town by the old men
to sell and carry back some coffee or su
gar or indigo, or copperas, or some lit
tle thing, but they didn’t know me, and
I remember that one old woman came
out to the gate and said: “Areyou the
mail boy?” And I laughed and said:
“Yes, mam, lam not a female boy.”
She smiled and said: “You are mighty
little to carry bundles, but I would like
for you to take a couple of pairs of socks
and bring me back the pay in coffee if
you will. I’ll give you a little bag to
put it in and you can hang it on to the
horn of the saddle.” Of course I did,
for I always like to oblige the women,
and besides my father kept a store and
got the trade. Sometimes I had as
much outside of the mail bag as there
wiis inside. I made fourteen silver dol
lars that winter and felt rich.
But I want to tell you about the mail
business as it was then. There were no
stamps or stamped envelopes—nor any
other kind of envelopes. We wrote on
a long paper called foolscap. It got
that name from the watermark which
was a fool’s cap and bells stamped on
the paper. After writing we could fold
the sheet up to the size of a letter and
slip one fold in the other—thumb paper
fiishion—then seal it with a wafer and
address it. The wafers were round and
thin and were made of flour paste and
when held on the tongue a moment got
soft and sticky. In my young days
the postage was paid at the end of the
line by the one who received the letter.
It was 12^ cents if it did not come or
go outside of the state—18J if from
or to an adjoining state and 25 cents if
still farther off. But if it was to go to
California it had to be prepaid and sent
by Wells and Fargo’s express and cost
a dollar and was a month on the way.
Just think of it. Now it costs only 2
cents and takes only four days. That
overland express almost made us boys
crazy. They published a book called
“Ten Years Among the Mail Bj^”
and it had pictures in it—pictures of
the boys riding the maU on Indian
IX)nies—riding on a run of 10 miles in
an hour, and then he was lifted off of
his poney and put on a fresh one for
another 10 miles. The boys had to
weigh not less then sixty nor over nine
ty pounds and had to make 40 miles a
day—20 east and 20 west. It took
about two hundred boys and four hun
dred ponies to do the work and I want
ed to be one of the boys mighty bad.
Part of the route was beset by hostile In
dians and the express company had to
keep soldiers at these stations to guard
the ponies, and the boys had to keep a
sharp lookout between the stations.
One of the pictures show some Indians
shooting at a boy as he bent over on
the pony’s neck and was flying like
the wind. He had left the track and
taken roundance on them a'pd I
thought that was heroic.
The letters were limited to a single
sheet of paper and a thousand to a bag
and that made about twenty pounds of
mail. Besides the mail there were some
two-pony hacks with two drivers and
guns and these carried gold dust from
the mines to the eastern states and were
limited to two hundred pounds, which
was worth nearly f50,000 and was a
tempting prize to both white and Indian
robbers. But the gold express ran at ir
regular intervals and nobody knew when
it was coming.
But now about postage. Not many
foolish letters were written in those days
It cost too much and made the man
mad. when he had to pay 25 cents or
18| or 12J cents for it. The next
one the writer would send would not be
taken out and would go to Washington
as a dead letter, I reckon you wonder
why the postage was in such curious
amounts. Well, we didn’t have any dec
imal currency then—no dimes or half
dimes. The dollar was divided into
sixteen parts instead of twenty; one part
was called a thrip, which cents.
Thrip is an abbreviation for threepence.
Two parts was called a sevenpence Mid
its value was 12J cents. I don’t be
lieve I have seen a thrip or a sevenpence
in fifty years. The government called
them all in and issued dimes and half
dimes instead.
In ruminating about the wonderful
change in our postal laws since I was a
l)oy I am prepared to say that nothing;
that has been discovert or inventeci
has wrought such beneficial results and
so much comfort to the people. What
pleasure at home is more valued than
the reception of letters from kindred
and friends who are far away? Postage
is only one-tenth what it used to be, but
there are twenty times as many letters
written by every person who can write
and there are ten times as many to*write
them. The great northern mail used
to come tc our town once a week and a
single sack in the boot of a stage con'
tained it. Now five times that quan
tity comes twice a day. I used to write
about two letters a week and now I write
twenty-five or thirty and receive more
than I write. For I have quit answer
ing many letters that inclose no stamp.
The number of letters increases' faster
than the postage decreases. When the
postfl^ had to be paid at the end of
the line it was i«etty hard to receive a
disagreeable letter and have to pay for
My father waa a merchant for near
ly fifty years and sold goods on a year’s
time, and sometimes we had to write
danning letters to his customers. He
wrote one to a very slow man and got
no answer, so he wrote another and the
slow man wrote back that he would have
to wait until he made another crop,
and as postage was high and silver was
scarce, he advised a very limited corre
spondence. He wrote another to a be
lated customer at Warsaw and another
and another and then got a reply which
said:
“I have received yoor letters, bat
they were a long time on the way. If
you had sent them round by Atlanta
and Marietta and Boswell I would have
gotten them sooner, for we have two
mails a week by that route, but only
one by the way you send them. Here
after you had better send ihem that way.
Our mail system is very imperfect It
takes six weeks for me to get a letter
from Jack, who is in the Arkansaw.
You remember Jack. But I am always
glad to hear from you.
Yotir friend,
William Waters.
F. S.—As for that account of last
year, which you say has run a long
time—as the boy said to the molasses,
just let her run. W. W.”
I wonder if our young people know
who was our first postmaster gen
eral? He was the postmaster general
before the revolution and was turned
out by King George because he was
suspected of being a rebel and his name
was Benjamin Franklin. When the
Declaration of Independence was passed
he established an independent line and
boycotted the English system and after
wards organized a system of our own.
Sir Boland Hill was &e postmaster gen
eral of England, and in 1734 established
what was called the penny post. Before
that the English merchants hired men
to carry their letters. When the battle
of the Waterloo was fought the Boths-
childs hired private carriers to bring
them the news of the great battle.
England credit and bonds and consols
were then away down to 25 cents on
the dollar, for Napoleon was just run
ning rough shod over kin^oms and
governments. The Bothschilds got the
news of his defeat twenty-four hours
sooner then the bankers of London and
they secretly bought up all the bonds
and stocks and consols they could find,
and when the good news came of the
great victory these bonds and stocks
jumped up to par in a day and the Botns-
child made many millions and this was
the beginning of their gr^ fortune. It
was a mean, dirty trick,' but tl^ey didn’t
care. For nearly a century they have
controlled the finances of the civilized
world and nations could not go to war
without consulting the Bothschilds.
But now they have to take a bock seat,
for Pierpont Moigan and Bockefdler
and a few others can control m(M«
money than they can. But our postage
has not yet gjiA to the lowest notc£.
The people say it must be reduced to 1
cent, and a has been introduced in
congress to that effect and letters will
soon be delivered at almost every man’s
house if he lives on a public highway.
Verily, it passeth comprehension. I
receiv^ a letter and a paper this morn
ing from Australia. They had come
12,000 miles for 6 cents and found me,
although there are half a dozen Carters-
villes in the United States. There ia
no system so perfect as the postal system
and no man can steal from it without
being caught. Bill Abf.
florae*Whipped tke Mayor.
Tofeka, Kan., March 24.—Miss
Blanche ^foise, an alleged protegee of
Mrs. Carrie Nation, horsewhipped May
or Parker in his office at the City Build
ing today.
Three times she slashed the Mayor,
and then he sprang at her, tore the raw
hide out of her hand and pushed her
into the hall. As Miss Boise was thrust
out of the office she exclaimed: “Thank
God, I’ve done it! I’ve horsewhipped
you, and now I’m going to horsewhip
the Governor.”
Before beginning her horsewhipping
Miss Boise gave the Mayor a severe
Bcolding and accused him of being re
sponsible for the fact that the “joints’*
are running openly in Topeka. She
then pulled the horsewhip from the
folds of her dress. Before the Mayor
knew what had happened she struck
him three times across the head and
shoulders.
Miss Boise is about 35 years of age
and is a nurse by profession.
After the horsewhipping Mayor Parker
refused to discuss the affair. The wo
man who whipped him taked freely
She said:
“I was in sympathy with Mrs. Nation
but did not take part in her raids. 1
have came to the conclusion thst the
only'way to make public officers enforce
the temperance laws is to horsewhip
them. I have an organization behind
me and we have it in for Governor
Stanley and Jud^ Hazen. I will wait
and see how this dose acts on Mayor
Parker before I repeat it. I think it is
agoodidan.”
One Hlaa Bays 1,000*000 Stamps
A record-breaking sale of postage
stamps is reported by the Chicago Post
Office. The sale was 1,000,000 stamps,
for which the purchaser gave a check
for $25,000. In one package were
500,000 4rcent stamps and in another
the same number of 1-cent stamps.
This is the largest individual purchase
of stamps in the history of the Chicago
Post Office.
60041 Mews.
Stage Manager—Mr. Heavy, you will
take the part of Alonzo.
Mr. Heavy—have never seen this
play. Do yoa think J. can please the
audience id that part?. i
Stage Manager—Immensely. You
die in the first act.
News and OtMerver.
Complying with the request recently
made by the editor of this pi^r for a
statement concerning the subjects likely
to be conmdered by the executive com
mittee at its meeting in this city on
the 25th, and the reason for calling the
committee at this early day, as well as
his views in r^ard to the [oospectsof the
p^y in the ^Late and nation. Senator
Simmons has favored us with the fol
lowing statement:
“It is believed that a long canvass
this year will not be necessary nor de-
siraUe. Probably the canvass can be
made during the months of Sq[)tember
and October, with a little irr^Iar
speaking during August. • But, on ac
count of the fact that the franchise
amendment goes into effect this year,
and there will have to be an entire new
registration under the amendment, it
will be necessary for the committee to
b^n work some little while before the
r^iilar canvass opens. Besides, if it
sb^ be decided to hold a Senatorial
primary, that would make it necessary
to have a little longer canvass than
otherwise would be required. On ac
count of these things, it will probably
be thought wise to ^ the convention a
little Int earlier this year than would be
necesswy under different circum
stances.
“The reason for calling the commit
tee together as early as the 25th of
March arises from three causes:
First: The fact that on account of
the readjustment of the Congressional,
Judicial and Senatorial Districts, the
party organization in these several dis
tricts has been thoroughly disorganized,
in some districts there is no chairman
of the comnrittee at all and in others
there are two chairmen, and, as the
districts generally embrace new terri
tory, there is frequently no one author
ized to convene the committee, or, in
case of two chairmen in the district,
thoe are two persons of equal authority.
It is necessary, therefore, for the com
mittee to formulate some general plan
of organization to meet these com
plications.
Secondly: It is deemed highly im
portant that there should be some con
sultation with reference to the method
selecting the candidate for the Senator
for the Western district, in view of the
fact that there are many advocates of
the plan of nomination by the State
Convention. Of course, the committee
will not attempt to pass upon any parti
cular plan, but if it develops, when the
committee meets, that there is a lai:^
sentiment in favor of this method, it is
thought it would be proper for the com
mittee to suggest that in view of th‘
sentiment, delegates to the convention
should be select with reference to th e
possibility of the convention making
the nomination to the end that when
the convention meets, it may nominate,
if it sees fit, without taking anybody by
suri»ise. Aa the suggestion of the con
vention inethod would necenarily create
agitationi I think it ought not to be
suggested by the committee unless when
the committee assemble, it shall be
found that there is a decided preference
for this method. Personally I want it
distinctly understood that I jshall not
attempt to influence action in favor of
any method. The suggeston that has
been made in some papers that the or
ganization wished, in some way or
other, to influence or control the nomi
nation for Senator is without founda
tion and is an injustice to the com
mittee.
“The other subject suggested to me
an early meeting of the committee is
that of the payment of poll tax. Un
der the amendent, it is well known that
one who does not pay his poll tax by
the first of May cannot vote in Novem
ber. My information is that our oppo
nents are very active in securing the
payment of poll tax by their prospective
voters, and that in some sections Demo
crats are failing to exercise due dili
gence and activity in this behalf. I do
not know exactly what the committee
can do to stimulate the payment of
these taxes, but it is hoped that some
general plan may be developed that will
lead to greater dilligence on the part
of Democrats in securing payment of
this tax in due time.
“I have been in N«rth Carolina-but
little during the last few months and
am not as well informed as to political
conditions in the State as I otherwise
would have been, i»ut from the best in
formation I have been able to gather at
this distance I believe the party is in
good condition, and if we succeed in
getting the people to pay their poll
taxes so as to qualify themselves to
vote, our majority, both for the general
ticket and the legislative, will be a luge
one. I do not share the apprehension
of some that we may sustain losses in
the West. On the other hand I be
lieve that the losses which we did sustain
in 1900 in the West on account of the
opposition in some parts of that section
to the amendment, will be reclaimed,
because our friends in that section who
had doubts about the effect of the
amendmant will see that those doubts
were unfounded and that they have
been misled and decdved by designing
Bepublican politicians. I see no rea
son, therefore, why we should not gain
this year what'^e lost in 1900 in the
West. I have great hopes that we will
carry every Congressional IHstrict in the
State this year.
“In the nation our prospects of suc
cess are brighter than they have been
for years. There is every evidence of a
widespread disposition among Demo
crats of all factions to reconcile thdr
old differences and get t^&er. The
issue out of which our divinon in tiie
last few years grew will be^minated.
On the other hand, -BepuUicans are in
a war between themselves of widespread
proportions, and which, it does not
now seem, can be oomptomised. Thu
war grows out of the tariff and reci-
IModly. In some sections t^B^b-
licanswant reciprocity, and in others
they don’t want it. In aoa
th^ want redpn^j frith certain
countries and not with others. For in
stance, the -West wants reciprocity with
France, because Ftanoe s^ them very
little and would, bat fhr ooantervailing
discriminatioDS against ni on aeboont
of oar tariff laws, bay lacgdy ol West
ern {Hoducts. liie 9nt £iea not want
redprodty with France beoaoseof com
petition between certain Frrach pro
ducts and their own. The East lo^
favmaUy apon reciproQity with Cuba.
The West, which has become a gre^
beet sugar section ia opposed to it.
Notwithstanding the fact that a num
ber of the great combinations, like the
United States Steel IVnst, are telling its
nroducts abroad to foroignen at from
^ to 35 par cent, lest than they are
selling the same artidte to home con
sumers. These combinations insist
upon the continuance of the Dinghy
protection rates to keep out competition
from abroad. In view of thia object
lesson, clearly demonstrating that these
interests need no protection, and that
after securing protection against for
eign competition through the tariff,
they are stifling home competition
through trurts aim combinations, therd
is a general feding among consumeis,
wheUier Democrats or wpuUicans,
that thu outrage should be stopped. It,
therefore,looks as if in Uw campaign of
this year the conditioBS of 1900 will be
reversed and the Democrats wiU be
united, while the Bepablicans will be
divided upiMi the issue likely to attract
more attention than any othw and
around which the battle of this year
will probaUy be fought. Of course,
there will be other issues, but if we can
succeed in making the question of the
tariff revision and reduction so as to
suit obvious conditions the central issue
there is no reason to my mind why we
should not control the next House of
Bepresentatives, and, with a candidate
for the Presidency in 1904, who can
and who will command the confidence
and suf^rt of all sections and be
ceptable to all elements, in our party,
elect the next President of theUnit^
States.
“I do not myself bdieve in the sug
gestion often heard that we should se
cure for our Presidential candidate a
political nonentity—a man who has no
record. On the contraiy, I believe we
should nominate a positive m»n, a man
known to the coantiy and whose ripcord
inspires confidence.” .
uraalilactoK BooMvelt.
Hew York TUnea.
Ex-Congressman John S. Wise, of
^rginia, now this dty, is a warm
personal friend of the t*resident Boose-
velt. Being in Washinj^n a few days
-»go he visited the WhitdHoc^and was
promptly accorded tan interview. In
the course of the conversation the
Presidetat ia said to have suddenly re
marked:
“Now, John, you are a very observ
ing man, and Imow pretty near what is
going on. Tell me whM tiie people
seem to think of my Administration?”
“Oh, Mr. President," Mr. Wise re
plied, “the opinion seems to be that
you will go down to posterity with
Washington.”
“I am delighted to hear that,” the
, Prendent is said to have answei^ in-
terruptingly aa he grasp^ Mr. Wise’s
hand and shook it heartily. But as he
ased his hold Mr. Wise continued:
'But whether it will be with George
or Booker T., I am not prepared to
say.”
A UtUe C101« Heeia
lUt m ■■ ITa>
A ten-year-old girl of Mr. and Mrs.
George B. Standeriin, of Westbrook’s
townshio, met her death in a very un-
al, as well as a very sad manner, on
Thur^ay, March 16th. The mother
and an dder girl left this one and a
still youni^r one in the house, while
they went off some distance to a turnip
patch, giving the two little ones in
struction to go' a neighbor’s house to
stay till their return. It seems that the
snudlest girl of the two had gotten out
in the yarf while the other fastened up
the house and attempted to get out by
a window, and as she went out the sash
fell, catching the child by the neck,
thus leaving her hanging, where she
was afterwards foand dead, her neck
supposed to have been broken. When
found the younger child was pulling
at her clotiiing, being too young to
realize what hi^ occurred.
A Rortk Garoltna Wa«oMr fleM IJp
la eeorsla. '
Dip Hall Ooanty, Ga., IHqitateb. Stth.
A daring and most unusual kind of
h^d-np occurred near here, 16 miles
north of Chunsville, last night.
A wagoner nam^ Crif^e was haul
ing a toad of merchaiviise for. Newt
Moore, of Hayesville, N. G. He had
camped for the night and was cooking
his suppv when three men, Lem Hul
sey, Jim Staton and George Haynes,^
came up, and drawing their pistols
forced him to prepare a bounteous re
past for them.
6ne of the trio then* held Cri[w>le at
the point of his pistol while the other
two entered the wagon and took oat a
liberal sui^y of tobacco, shoes, etc.
As soon as tiiey left Cripi^e ran to,
a nearby house, and securing the as
sistance of several residents of the
neighborhood, the robbers were soon
captured and the goods restored.
The Bpedal train President Oassatt,
of the Penn^lvania Bailroad, made the
90-mile run on the 24th from New
York to Jersey CSty in 77 minutes.
Because he threw a large plank
directly across the trade in front of a
oar du^g tiie first day of the Norftdk
strike of the street car men, J. W. Jen-
kina, a young man, was tried in the
Coip(xation Court and sentenced to
serve two years at hard labor in the
State Prison.
The largest consignment of eggs that
ever pas^ through Salisbury was
recorded at Spencer last Sunday when
18 can loaded with hen fruit passed
throagh enroute to New York. The
train load of ^gs was valued at $47,000.
There is no record at the numbra of
dozens aboard. Most of the eggs w^
shipped from Tennessee.
Contrary to the Southern conception.
Senator Hanna is so trusted by Uboring
men that he is frequendy called upon
to arbitrate for them—^bdng selected to
represent their side of a controvmy.
Local machinists at Knoxville were hist
week informed that the Senator will
represent them in arlutration with the
Simthem Bailway. The machinists
hope to be allowed to returned to work.
Petrie interested in the tobacco busi
ness say the fight of the Imperial
Tobacco Company and the Universal
Tobacco Company agwnst the American
Tobacco Company will be brought to
Nwth Carolina. The opposing forces
will have buyers on sll die mai^ets of
impcntance the coming season, and the
oompetitiou thus arou^ is expected to
raise prices. One of the best buyers in
the country will rejNresent the foes of
the American Company in Greensboro.
Little Edith, the four-year-old
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William
Nolan an emj^yee of the Charlotte
Cotton Mills, was killed by a street car
in Charlotte Monday evening. The
little giri was playing at a neighbor’s
and on being called home fur suppijr
dashed out without seeing the street
car. The motcmnan had no chance to
stop the car in time and she was on the
center of the track when the car struck
her. Death was instantaneous.
Bejvesentatives of the Greensboro,
Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Buiiing-
ton Fair Associations have arranged the
following schedule of datei for the fairs
next fall: Winston-Salem, October 7-11;
Burlington Octobcr 14-17; Greensboro;
October 21-24. The Charlotte fair will
dther be held from September 30th to
October 4th or after the Greensboro fair.
The date will be determined by the
assodation. The question of uniting
the Greensboro, Winston-Salem and
Buriington fairs this year was discussed,
but it was uot considered advisable to
take the step juet at this time.
LISlitkoaM oa OtaMOHA Shoal.
The Lighthouse Board has reported
against the im^)0sal of Albert F. Ellis,
a Boston engineer, to erect a lighthouse
on the shifting nands of Diamond Shoal,
Cape Hatteras. Ellis offered to. put a
lighthouse on the shoal for $5M,000,
with the proviso that if his attempt re
sulted in failure the Government
to pay him nothing. The Lichthouse
Board rejects his proposal (m the ground
that to accept it would be against the
policy of the board in the matter of
competition for contracts, and for the
further reason that ElUs offered no
guarantee for the maintenance of the
structure for a definite time.
Diamond Shoal vies with Sable
Island in the designation ~of “The
Graveyard of the Atlantic.” The Gov
emment has for years maintained i
lightship on the shoal to mark the
dangerous sands, and in spite of the
stoutest moorings possible the ship has
repeatedly been swept away.
Two attempts have been made to
plant lighthouses on Hie shoal. The
first, some ten years ago, was to put
dowd iron piles to form a skeleton
structure on which to erect'the keeper’s
dwelling and light. After months of
waiting for the waves to become smooth
enough to work, and losing several of
the piles, the attempt was abandoned.
The other effort was made in 1897 and
cost the Govemanent $269,000. A huge
iron cylinder was constructed and
towed to Ca^ HiUteras, it being the
purpose to sink it in the sand, pump
the sand from the interior and fiU ft
with concrete to rendejit stable. While
waiting'for favoraUe weather the (^Un
der was lost in a storm, and since
then the lighthouse board has been
chary of all {oopositiens for a lighthouse
on the shoal.
Des[Hte the adverse report of the
board the North Carolina SenatotB have
not abandoned thdr support of the bill
to pay E31is the sum he asks on the
condition that he succeeds in planting
a lighthouse on the shoal. They have
collected statistics showing the number
of vessels that have been castsshore on
the Diamond Sands for years back and
the loss of life, which they will present
to the Senate Committee on Commerce,
to whom the bill has been referred.
Mr. ElHii will explain- to the commit
tee the details of his plans for the pro
posed structure.
Hlllioa Lettora OoMam
Jb I Iwah de meet bella rlnsiii’.
SIOKio’ iilMtin’—M«r
OfdeUguToCtei
En de Mils is KttSfMKteht
d^aia't no dark kin ew
enrumBiyriAt:
KUneou^MiletBMbe
. ^ . WharyoMwrns MnMBoai
In de ll^t. In «M I
The biennial banquet at the ^rginia
Democratic Assodation, hdd in Wash
ington recentiy there were present
D^ocrats of national prominence and
neariy all of the political leaders and
Democratic membm of Congress from
the Old Dominion.
Colond Henry Watterson urged on
Democrats a ^eral union of forces in
-^position to imperialism in all forms,
e said:
“There is no dn^ of Mood in my
vdns which is not Virginia blood.
Although for purposes of my own, hav
ing a deep des^ beneath them, I
chose this ci^Htal ol the nation for my
lurthplaoe, my earUest visim of par^
"adise—the very dawn of all my concep-
lions of honiv and duty and glory-^
nesUed among yonder hills sctoss the
Potomac, and when I go hence my
ashes sh^ repose apon the bosom of
Kentucky, Virginia’s first-bom and
fairest daughter. There seems, there
fore, some fitness in my sitting among
you. Anyhow, being a Kentockian
and a Democrat, I am glad to be here,
and you will n^ I hope, think me
assuming any consequential airs and
praces if I add that I fed very much at
Mrs. Leary—I am going to return
this bonnet; it’s not becoming, and I
don’t want it.
Mr. Lea^—Didn’t I hear Mrs,
Stringly tw you that yoa loo
charming in it?
Mrs. Leary—^Yes; that’s why I’m
gping to return it.
If womm have beauty they don’t
need sense in order to get hasbaads—
thrt is, certain kinds of husbands.
Washinotov, March 24.—Every
soutnerner in Washington believes he
had important if not valuable letters or
papers in the mass of mail that burned
yesterday in the wreck on the Southern.
In the two car loads dest^ed there
was an unusually heavy roistered msH
all of whidi was more w less valuable.
Inquiry at the postoffice department
developed the fact that there can be no
recovery for the losses ncept where the
registered matter is valued at less
th«i $10. The hiss, therefore, fklls on
Southern congressmen are particulariy
worried. A million or more letters all
frmn the south and southwest, went up
I dreamln’of de
Inde ahadderioCdeBi^;
tin’somjraader, en trieon
’UKht!
We are Democrats. We love our
country. Our hearts beat true to its
institutions. We would rescue the
Government from the hands of those
who are convertii^ it into a govern
ment ot the trusts, fw the trusts and
by the trusts, and restore it to the
hands of those who will have some
regard for the rights of the peofde. The
Bepublican party is a syndicate P*ity-
Arbitrary power is its motm, the
mighty dollar its trademark. If it be
not checked in the gait it is gdng it
will in the end surely Mexicanixe the
Bepublic.
‘Once i^ain in the White House we
have the man on horseback. A^cting
the simplicity of the cowboy, he con-
beneath the sdf-confi^nce and
queer manners of the twonco-buster the
sentiments and ambitions, if not the
talents, of aDinz. To him alittie thing
like treating an admiral of the navy,
wearing the laurd leaves of imperish-
renown, aa if he were a baby in
arms, now to be dandled and now to be
spanked, is merdy an undress affair
begun and ended daring off moments
between breakfast a^ luncheon.
To Lim the reprimanding of the
lieutenant-general of the army, grown
gray in the fighting of the baUle of his
country, becomes an amnwing hcwse
play, meant to rdax his mus^ and
illustrate his high mightiness, while
warning lessor officers of the army to
obey orders and say nothing.
As these things go f»ward, partak
ing somewhat of the character oi feats
to divert and blinds to hoodwink puUic
opinion, a bill of army retMganiiation
i^ {H«pared and urged upon Congress
which, if it becomes a law, will make
the power of the Predd^t absolute and
which it is not too mudi to say ought
to he entitled ‘An act to make the Pr^
ident of the United States a military
dictat(Hr.’ Because the rqirimsnded
lieutenant-general, answering the sum
mons of a committee of Congress—as
duty—expresses an opinion
adverse to this it is (xoposed to re
tire him from the service. Tsken in
ponnection with some other matters of
more ot less nnister suggestitm, these
are menaces of most osninous import
“But turn from the White House to
the Capitol and look at the Bepabli
cans ii\ Congress. The trail the
trademark is over them sU. (Nd High
Tariff dances the can-can in the House,
while dd Ship Subsidy does the regu
lation cakewalk in the Senate.
Everything for the syndicate: nothi^
for the people. And, not content with
thdr arbitrary power in the White
House and th«ir mercenary posm in
Congress, the leaders of this party of
fedfflalism and false pretension would
rip open PftndHra’s box to filch thence
the bhudc, piratical flag of n^|;ro domi-
Uie equally disreputable and
Moody shirt of sectional agitation—and
in order to make sure rfthe next House
they are proposing to Mng toward
another force bill to smite UieSoath, to
blight the NcHih and to convert a land
teeming with tove and peam into a land
reeking with hate and strife. Such is
the banquet to whidi the exit of McKin
ley, the statesman, and the advent (rf
Boosevdt, the rough rider, has invited
us
“I am something of a jingo myself.
I believe in the expanding greatness
and gk»y of my country. I never see
the flag floating above the dome on
yonder Capitd that my heart does oot
throb with the proud, glad thought—
that my ^es do not fill with hsppy
exultant tears—tiiat I, too, am
American dtiaen. Ck>d bless the flag
and God bkss the b(^ that fi^t be
neath it. I wookl carry itinvidate. 1
would keep it apofkss. And with this
in view I want to know what is going
on away out yoander across the multi
tudinous, the mystoioas waves of the
Pacific sea. I want other witnesses than
I refuse to hold my tongue. I mfnso
to ^ content. And if I an toU fay a
whippersniq^r in shoulder strsps
unless I do I am a traitor to my coan
tiy my r^y to him shall be a slim in
the face.
Friends, bcothers, Democrata, ki us
have done with dissension. Let us tom
our bady on the past, our eyes to the
future, calling thet old fight off and the
old sccwes square. He whostanda with
me against Uiese things is my
no matter what he thinlr« or -ever
thought about silvar at gold. He who
would deify me a place by his dde to
fight them must either be very perverse
or very blind. Let us cross no bri^
till we c(Mne to them. But already we
can see far enough ahead to take our
reckoning. There will be but one test
ot a Democrat in 1904: toe the line—toe
the line, saying to arUtrary power and
absolutism, ^ou shalt go no furtiier;
we, too, are in the expannon basiness,
but our expansion is for rdigion of
the Constitution no less than for the
religion of Christ and Him crucified;
our expansion means peace not war;
the honor, not the d^radation, of the
flag;’ and just as si^y as Jeffenoo
fot^ht the battle of New Orleans—to
resist despotism—shall we make a new
Fourth of July and cddnrate annthar
8th of January in resisting this unright
eous scheme to abolish the Constitution
and Mexicanize the Govomment.’*
•OBMtkUC •••••
Cbarlotte Otiserver, SStb.
Th^ mig^t wdl have been a sensa
tion in the House yesterday after Mr.
Biduurdson’a resolution, showing up
the corruption and fraud employed to
secure tne sale of the Danish West In
dies to the United States, and aairfng
for an investigation committee. The
charge it specific that one Christanas, a
Danish subject, has in a secret rqiort to
his government, set forth the fact that
Itenmark has i^omised to tom orer to
him 10-per cent, of the purchase money
to be paid oy the United States for the
islands, which sum will amount to
about $500,000, to be used to pay for
Inibing American Congressmen and
other influential men and in subndiz-
ing the press, in order to bring about
the transfer of the islands and to secure
the ratification of the treaty confirm
ing the sale. The name of Aimer
McKinley, brother of the late Preddent,
is mentioned among those whose influ
ence was sought to be bought.
The House did well not to fdlow Mr.
Gannon in his widi for even a day’s
pos^nement of action but to adopt at
once Mr. Bichardson’s resolution fw an
investigi^g committee. The Demo
cratic minority in the House have done
the oountiy a service in ferreting oat
this fraud, and forcing the administra
tion to an immediate investigation.
Verily, “there is something rotten in
the State of Denmark.”
Hobm for cruy mt
Dr. Carioe F. McDonakl, the New
Yh4c insanity expest, has just leased
the fine house of Frauds WUscm, the
comedian, Beddence Park. New Bo-
dielle, N. J., and will use it for a pri
vate reddence ior himadf and for Mrs.
Ida M. Flagler, the divorced wife of
Henry M; F^er, who is now in Dr.
McDonald’s sanitarium at Pleasantville,
in Westchester county.
Mrs. Flagler has been insane to
several years, during which time she
has been in Dr. McDonald’s care. Her
husband shortiy before his divorce from
her and marriage to Miss Mary Lillian
Kenan, of Noi^ Carolina, lart siting,
settied upon her more than $1,000,000.
Mrs. Flagler’s estate is estimate at
about $3,000,000 and she has an in
come of about $25,000 ja year. It is
said that Dr. Mj)onald receives $1,000
a month for taking care at her.
Capt. HobooM to Leeti
Salisbury will be favored next month
with a lecture by Gspt Bichmond
Pearson Hobson, ^e hero of the sink
ing of the Merrimac and one of Amer
ica’s most popular idols of today.
04>t. Hobson will lecture on “Our
Navy and Our Country” and it is safe
to say that he will have a crowded house.
Ci^ Hobson ii not only a naval hero
but an entertaining, polished qiesker
as well and the lecture and lecture have
been accorded the ^hest imuse by the
most competent critics.
AprU •.
C0LUMBL4, S. C., March 28.—April
9 has been set apart as Preddent’s Day
at the Charleston Expodtion. A fea*
tore of the day will be the jnesentatioii
to Major Jmldns, by bis former chief
ot Bo^h Biders, of a beautiful swwd
from the South Carolinians. A state
committee will have charge of the pre
sentation ceremonies and former Got-
ernor Hugh S. Thompson, now of New
Ymrk, has consented to head the com
mittee and make a speech.
■oaey la Coagrr— ■locttoBa.
Washingtoh, March 26.—B^«esen-
tative Pou, of North Carolina, to-day
introduced a resolution, which is a
paraphrase of the Oumpadur resolu
tion for investigating the diafranchise-
ment of Southern voters, excq>t that it
I»ovides for an inquiry into the pub
lished charges that large sums of
money were collected by the National
and Congresdonal Campaign Commit
tees and used in the elections of 1896,
1898 and 1900 in purchasing votes and
OKrupting the elections.
Oafea o ke Vreo ob Hay SOlk.
Washqigton, Mardr 26.—^May 20th,
1902, is the new date fixed to tmnii^;
over Cuba to its people. This date
should be a memmaUe one in Cuban
history, for it will not »ly marie the
acqnidtlon of full independence, but
will be the Ctaban inauguration day, it
having been determined that President
be inaugurated an the
aill-se^ng pditkaaiis and self-explait- eame day that the control of the-island
ingsoldiets tocome here and teU me.|ceas»