Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

* i ?g ! ? an n mi ri m?i agrrm ?i i ?? fjl VOL. XMII. WIXNSBORO, s! C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1887. NO. 26. ^ THE STATE AM* THE FARMERS. 1VKAT T1IK DKiMKIMKNT Oi Ct'T.TUJCK IS An liitiTiicw ? ? Wliat Alwiit t!:? llwcct Atlnvi^ Jy I'po'! His Do;>j;rt?snsi?t. ' (Fr.vrc IV- N.~s a::u Courier.) Columbia, January IS.?Colonel A. P. Butler has been the commissioner of ^ agriculture of South Carolina over .since his department begun its vcrl:, seven ryeais ago. lie is tiiorougbiv acvoteu ro it and, of course, hnows ail its detail? and shares all its aspirations. la view . of the confusion which exists in the pub* lie mind as to the duties, acts and resources of the department, and the criticisms which have been made upon \ its management, the _> cws and Courier Bureau has secured an interview with P Commissioner Butler, enabling him to f summarize the situation i'rom his stand point. The fever of the "Tillman movement" has abated, and the people of the State should be able to consider calmly and justly the valuable work of the deparfcment, and give it th: credit to which -K - V-T 4. ? ,1 X y-.r,-?.l , - -f AO > /?1 > . '.v .-. it JU> eULULUCU. ^(>v.u ??v^jvov p- before the Legislature can meet again, and in the meantime there is plenty of time for discussion and no excuse for I "snap judgments" on any department of | the State Government. I f To the question, "How has the Department of Agriculture been affected by %, the attacks upon it?" Colonel Butler replied: * "In my opinion the department is stronger to-day than at any time s'nee its establishment in 1870. It was evident to the board and .myself some time before the first arti6:es against the department appeared in the newspapers that its work was not fully understood by the people, but we were at a loss to know i what more than had been done could be L done properly to show the important F duties of the department and Low they liad been discharged. We liad submitted annual reports of our work to the LegisI latureat every session, and published W monthly reports dazing the year, besides conducting an extensive correspondence; but we realised that something more was ^ necessary to enlist the enthusiastic sup port of all tli3 farmers in the work. Weil, while we were considering the matter an article appeared which bitterly assailed the management of tbe department, and in such a manner tU-.it it at once attracted the attention of. our < people and turned their eyes upon us. ^ Yen will see that this was exactly what we wanted. It was the opportunity tint: we desired, and you will remember that I handed you a reply to the criticism * within four hours after the News and Courier containing the criticism reached Columbia. Your readers are faniiik'.r with the controversv that followed. On my part I can say thai it was conducted without the least personal bitterness, because in the first place it was exactly what i wanted, and, in the sccond place. I felt that the result would bo a vindicayy' tion of the department and make it HT stronger with the people, as it has done. "Why do you tail*:? that this h;-.s been " the result:" ' 'Wt-ii, jv>u. will zoaveasber that the first criticism appeared during the session in November and December, 1885, and while tho controversy was at its height and bitterness the members of the board were unanimously re-elected and 1 was re-elected commissioner. The con' troversy, therefore, did not lessen the L confidence of the Legislature in the Sb? management of ihe department. At the F same session the economic caucus, as ir was called, appointed a comn.it.tee to in ?.L*?r n.~ W VCStigaie lilt? J. iic WV/M^UUIIr tee submitted a report "which completely refuted all the charges of extravagance, j mismanagement, ac., that had been made. The fight "was continued along in the spring, and among other charges made was that in regard to the inauguration and conduct oi" the phosphate lisiga tion. The Farmers' Convention met and appointed a committee to investigate the matter, and the result -was a thorough ( vindication of the department by ikis body of farmers. Some people, howfe ever, -were not satisfied, and they continued the agitation, greatly to the banes' lit of the department. 'The more they r said, the more the people became interested i-i the work, ana us they bccarue familiar with it, the more anxious they were that it should be iustaiued, You will remember elso that when the agitation began in 1885 a Senator introduced a bill to abolish the department. Before the session was over the bill was killed on the motion of the Senator who introduced it, and he has recently declared in ?> i ' -i i - J me puouc prints urns i>e wou'.u strenuously oppose any reorganization of the department. There is now, so far as I am aware, no man in the State who would advocate the abolition oi the department. Tbe public are familiar with the efforts made at the recent session to reorganize the department and ihe k-iiure of the bill. 1 may bo mistaken as to rthe cause, but I think its failure was Jutto the fact that the Senate was satisfied with the management of the department and believed that the passage of the bill would be considered an endorsement of the charges of inefficiency that had been made against the present board and so refused to pass it.'? "How do you explain the large vote that this bill received in the House?" r "Easily enough. With a few exceptions, all of the old members of ihe House who laid been returned were lawyers. They naturally objected to leading the fight against the bill and none A the new members among the farmers were familiar with got work, and, of course, could not explain it. Por tlii.v reason no objection were made to the measure in ilio House and the bill went ? through, I might say, by default." "Is there any real objection to inj/ creasing the membership of the board oi agriculture?" "Under ordinary circumstances I would say that there was not, but 1 confess that there appears to be very little to be gained by the change, it mignt increase the popularity of the department, and that is, of .course, desirable, but as to real work I am unable to see why hve men, with the interests of the Stite at heart, could not manage this department just as well as ten. IIuw-' ever, this is a matter for tue Legislature to consider, and I do not care to say anything that would appear to be said for the purpose of influencing the members of thai body." "In so ue . "c.ions the Legislature has \ been criticised tor not having 'turned this department over to the farmers.' What have you to say about that"?"' "Unless 1 am very much mistaken it is now managed by the farmers. Governor Iiiehardson, Colonel Duncan and Colonel Lipscomb have been farmers all their lives, 1 believe. Chancellor Johnson is one of the most extensive and successful farmers in the rich Pec Dec sec tion of the State, although he is also an ;i jrwr ?: - . r. -r ? ?. able lawyer, and Mr. Perry is a merchant, :<ut I think is al.-;o a large landowner. So that you see the farmers are in :i large Majority on the board. I am the executive oiiieer of the department, th*;ngh not a member of the board, and f.iriainjx i.- the ordy occupation I have c. er follow.:.]. Taken altogether, then, the department is pretty well under the control of fanners. There is another mai-tcr that should not be overlooked in this connection. Colonel Jjunean represents the State Agricultural Society and ionci Lipscomb the State Grange? t)i?i two UrzcKi agricultural organizations in the State?and if the farmers are not satisfied with their management at any time they can easily remove them from the board." "What is the present condition of the debarment?" "i think it is one of the best equipped departments in the United States, and curable of doing a great work fo? our people. Our fertilizer inspectors "will start out in a few daj 3 to collect samples of all the fertilizers olfered for sale in the State, and the laboratory will soon be in full blast turning out the analyses. The laboratory is under the charge of a thoroughly competent chemist, and heis prepared to do the oilicial work of the department, and to make analyses of fertilizers, minerals, ores, marls, waters, Arc.,-for our people, free of charge. We have invited the farmers to seiiu us samples of the fertilizers they buy, and we wiil be glad to have every farmer in the State remember that we want the invitation accepted. '-.Dr. li. W. Jtavenel, the botanist of the department, is one of the most eminent scientists in the South. He will make his department of great benefit to the farmers during the year. "Dr. Benjamin Mclnnes, Jr., the veterinary surgeon of the department, is doing a great deal of good by the examination oi diseased stock in various parts of the State, and prescribing remedies 'or the prevention and abatement of iseases among stock. The increased interest in stock raising and the large umount invested in biooded stock in Soiith Carolina make it of the highest importance that every precaution should be taken against the spread of contagious diseases, and Dr. Mclnnes "will use every elicit to the accomplishment of tais end. "Mr. G raham, who has been detailed ; >y the United States signal service to organize una take charge of the State weather serv ice, under the department, has entered upon his work with enthusiasm, and, as you have already published, lias established about forty stations that now receive the daily weather indications, and in a short while he v.-iii have stations of observation at every countyseat in South Carolina. It is nest necessary for me to speak of the many advantages ts hieh the weather service will give to all classes of our people. Its benefits are recognized and appreciated , "5lr. E. L. Eoehe, the special assistant, continues in charge of the phosphate department, and the splendid services he inis already rendered the State in getting accurate returns of rock mined and securing prompt payment of royalty due t he State is ample guarantee that this important interest will no* be neglected. "We are now making arrangements to enlarge the monthly report, and during the year it v.-iil contain, besides the usual , tv'i jLC^c'.uaxr^ w\j tus \jx vv.v_ uu_|_ 'PumSeutT regul.u contributions from the chemist, the botanist, the veterinarian, the signal service observer, statistical statements and other matters of iuterest to the farmers. We are daiiy distributing hand-books and otner publica tlons to s-U parts of the country and , ding everything that we think will bet- , tcr advertise our resources and advant- , ages. We now have on Hie in the office . eighty-six applications for carp, and it will require 1,700 iish to supply the ap- ( plicants. These will be furnished from . our ponds i? the number there is sufficient, and if not we will obtain them : from the Government ponds at Washington. j "The department will make a a exhibit at the Grange encampment at Spar canburg nest summer, and in every way ' possible encourage the formation of agricultural clubs' and organizations. As ' jroon as practicable after the time prescribed by law has expired the board will establish the two experimental sta- : - - i?- - r ?: -1 - x tions proviaea lor oj me j-itgisjature, , and we expect to have them ia active , operation as far as possible during- tlie . the year, under the charge of a compe- . tout director and employe: . T.;; board trill also faithfully carry out. cu\. provisions of the law in regard to the collection of information regarding agricultural colleges, so'as'^to be prepar ,.d to submit the report regarding them at the nest session of the -Legislature. Our desire is to make the department of the greatest benefit to the farmers, and we are endeavoring to keep them informed and interested in its work, in order to secure their cordial co-operation." Bu MODES OF EXJECl'TIXG CRIMINALS. Due tors ami Lawyers Disci'v .sat l?e Merits of the itupe :m?i the Caillotine. The Society of ?dedicai Jurisprudence i and State Medicine held, its monthly! meeting last week, with Amos G. Hull j us presiding officer. There was an ani- j morii/l ?Ksr.:nn fVio nriAstinn. "TTft'W i Shall the Death Penalty be Inflicted?'' The presiding officer said that lis was not so much, opposed to the present system ui' capital punishment as he was to allowing representatives of the press to b? present and publish the detaUs of the executions in the columns oi the dailv press. He was followed by Dr. Brill, w ho read a reply to the committee appointed by the Legislature to report upon a new system of capital punishment. He ! considered ImL-giug the most barbarous and inhuman method of punishment now in existence. The guillotine, he thought, the best instrument for icdieting the death penalty. His opinion was concurred in by Drs. Quimby and J. C. Peters, who were both opposed to hanging. The other side of the question was then discussed by E. H. Benn and W. K. Kussell, representing the legal pro iOSIV-'il. ii iU i-'i. >> WUJf, iWiJ-LUJUJ .1 OLligeon iii the army, representing tlie medical profession. They believed that when a person deliberately takes the Hie of another do form of punishment is too severe, n-j-i that the present system should no: be changcd. The proceedings were clcsod by Dr. Peters suggesting that the < pfnicn >: each member of the .vckiy be obtained and sent to the Legislature. TLis was favorably considered. The Christmas edition ot the Heppner Oregon) Gazette was last year printed in two colors?black and white?and the occasional lampblack spots were skillfully secured by the devil getting on too much ink and failing to sufficiently agitate his roller. They have a toboggan slide at Bis;xurk, Dakota, where it is said the steel shoi toboggans acquire a velocity of throe miles a minute. r>r.t they are used to blizzarils out that way and can stand a stiff current of air. j'Ko.si'KO'rs i;i:u;nrKN'.Nc;. ! One Writer Who Thij;>;< {hat TIh-it's a (;<?<><! Time Ccuiii'S tor tin* ><mt !?. (iYoci:lie South: ra Cultivator ) It is veil known to the Cultivator readers that the farmers howl and complain of cotton being only worth from seven and a half to eight and seveneighth c^nts: they consider themselves broke and ruined at those prices, when j it is a blessing to them and to the country that it is no higher priced. Fifiy~.!-t -- '""AT' \JUU YUi*i5 \J2J\J about farming and the vicissitudes that attend it. In ov long experience J never saw the time when or.tton sold higher for a series of years, but it ended badly for the farmers, as it encouraged them to increase the area of cotton planting and curtail the area of their provision crops and lead theia into speculations and all manner of extravagances &i;d waste, and when over-production glutted the market and cotton fell in price, it found the fanners in debt, which had to be paid by low-priced cotton. On the contrary, when cotton cold low for a series of years, the farmers regulated their affairs to suit circumstances; it forced them to become more self-sustaining, hence they increased rsvnvf?nr> A'Unc iiwtl mo?fi sit I home, raised their own incut and 'oread, kept out oi' speculations, economized in every department, hence tiiev saved more money at low-priced cotton than they did with high-priced cotton. I have always noticed that debts and accounts were more promptly paid with lowpriced cotton?why V because when cutton was high, speculation and extravagance increased their indebtedness, aad when low-priced were economical and saving, and every dollar they got they applied to their debts. This may seem a strange theory, that low-priced cotton benefits the fanners more than highpriced cotton, but experience has shown it to be the ease, and the reasons are apparent; when speculation sets hi value become* fictitious, and inflation goes on until the bubble explodes and reaction throws all in chaos and dismay and a panic is the result, which brings about general loss and ruin, and riches based on such fictitious and fraudulent values melt into poverty. Let its go back fifty years, when everything was much dearer than it is now---"coffee 2h pounds to the dollar, sugar live and six pounds to the dollar, iron ten cents a pound, axes two dollars and a half each, four-quarter sheeting thirty-seven and a half cents, and calicoes, American, thirty seven and. a half cents, English fifty cents per yard, and cotton selling at eight and ten cents. Going back only to 1870 our factories sold plaids at nineteen cents pe~ yard. Last year, ISiSO, they sold the same plaid for six and one-fourth cents, and the present boom, six and three-fourth cents," and with cotton at present prices the advantages are all in favor of the consumers. Eut let the price of cotton advance to twelve and fifteen cents, everything else would run up higher in price to the proportion to the price of tiotton, and provision crops curtailed in planting and cotton planting increased ;it the expectation of fifteen cents a pound, vould place the farmers in a : worse condition tlian they are to-day. Low values are in favor of the farmers, provided they farmed as they should, by : raising their own food supplies in 1 abundance for man and beast, and cotrtyit at- ma ccart i?tron'J pay tlvm wr-li. , Our whole system of farming is wrong, : hence there is such depression and hard times with the farmers, and the error is in planting two much cotton and two little provisions with most of the farmers to-day; their cotton crops are merely exchanged for their food supplies, and un- < dor such a system where can any profit , come in for the farmer? "Why none, for ; all he makes is consumed in provisions ( to support life; all made above farm , ' - ? ? 1 1J V- ^ -1 fix consumption sucuiu. uc a, cieitr jjiviiu, j find if we farmed in that "way, the low1 price of cotton would cot affect us, and I if high-priced, the greater the profits. I Keep an eye to your cribs and bams and | -moke-houscs, that they arc tilled from your own fields; also keep an eye to y;urlittle truck patches, and to your garden and poultry house, and also to tout dairy, and when that is done, you will never hear of hard times on a farm thus managed; the hard times and giniiouses go together; all cotton and no bread and meat is the trouble; clothing of all kinds is cheap, but when you strike the grocers and provision dealers, there the ruinous expenses come in which make farming unprofitable. Jxo. H. Dhxt. CilTC Spring, Ga. ? ?-JSifc- - ? 17?e Jiiul of a Desperado. Craig Toilivar, the -worst desperado in Kentucky, was found dead in a field in Ilowan county Wednesday. He was the leader of the Toilivar faetioD, which has : kept up a continual -warfare with the ; Martin'faction in the vicinity of ^lorehead for the last two years. Thp trouble began when John Martin murdered Floyd Toilivar at Morehead. Craig Toilivar heard of the murder at his heme, and rode twenty-seven miles in two ; hours, hoping to avenge the crime. ; Margin was taken to Winchester for safe keeping. A few weeks later two men claiming to be guards presented to the jailer a forged order purporting to come irom a Rowan county magistrate, Martin was turned over tu tnem. On the way back to Morehead the train was : boarded by four masked men,, and Martin was taken from the guards and riddled with bullets. Toilivar was arrested, but the crime could not be fastened on him. This started the Toilivar-Martin war, and it has continued ever since. A dozen men have been shot down in cold blood on either side. The State troops have been camped about Morehead. for weeks. Th* Governor and Adiutant General have attempted in vain to restore peace. The killing of Tollivar will probably end the trouble. He was killed by some of Lis enemies. V Horrible Tragedy. From a gentleman who lives in the neighborhood of Cooterborough, we le.irn of a most terrible tragedy which occurred in that section of our" county on Monday last. It seems that Mr. Josiali Gannder, while returning from the residence of a neighbor, was waylaid by Mr. Geo. II Focks, and literally butchered alive. The heart rendering cries of Mr. G. were heard by some colored men who wore on their way home from church, and hastened to his assistance, when the murderer lied, leaving ins uiC'-'Oing v!.?;iin ivnii::^ in agonies \ of death. ~i*iicrs Ii;:3 been a long-standing \ feud between the panics, but it was never thought that it wouid culminate in such a bloody maimer. As the parties belong to an old family, wc forbear io make cornmeat. leaving that to the proper authorities. At last accounts, the murderer had not been caught.?JiusliopziUe Enterprise. Some unknown incendiary attempted to fire the house of Mr. Curry, of Laurens villc, on Sunday night. Happily the effort failed, or a large part of the town would have been destroyed, as Mr. Curry's house is of wood, and joining it and in the immediate neighborhood are many of the same material. / s WHERE IT IS COLDEST. "A il i; SOllT or WEATIIE3: THEY HAVE IN SIIiElUA. Eu*utc;i:uit /.e Tells How* People Wlii-rc tlic Theniioinetcr is Eiffl'ty Didoes Jlt'lov.' Zero?Siberian Exiles. Lieutenant W. B. Scheutze of the navy, v,ho was sent to the Lena Delta in Northwestern Siberia to deliv.r to the I ; natives gifts from the government of tlie United States to repay them for tlie aid: thm* rendered him in his search for the missing members of the Jeannette party, says in his report that the town of Vcroyansk, Siberia, is the coldest inhabited spot in the world. The tLcrmemeter stood at SG below zero when he was there, and ho says it seldom goes above 50 below. I asked him the ether day what the people did -who lived at this blissful spot, what they had to eat j and how they liked it. "Why,"' he replied, "fchev think it i> a pretty good sort of climate. 'Home, Sweet Home,' is the song ali the world over, and if the S'croyanskers should come here they would wonder what people did where it is so infernally hot. They would smother in this climate and pine for a stiff norihwesterly Arctic gale. It is wonderful the amount of cold human liesh can endure. The natives of Tierra del Fucgo go stark naked the year round, and in their country it freezes every night. It is much colder in the Lena Delta, yet the people manage to keep comfortable, and more die oi' smallpox and scurvy than from the ITilUCia Ui WJU IJUlUULCt; UU1U* JLUU hear of any one freezing io death, and then it is those only who expose themselves imprudently who die in tliat way. More people are frozen to death in the United States than in Siberia." "Bat hov.* do they manage to keep warm?" "Weil, in the lirst place the Yakuts are an enduring race, and are "born in that climate. Then they dress in furs, and have learned from their ancestors or from their own experience how to keep warm. Their houses are built of logs, smeared over on the outside and inside with manure and mud. In each cabin is a large fireplace, which is used for both heating and cooking. There is seldom more tlnin one room in these cabins, and usually the owners cattle, if he has anv, occupy one end of the room in which he lives, being tied, or prevented from trampling on the babies by a bar. The houses are commonly very comfortable, but are awfully dirty, and smell?there is no word to describe it. Often, until I got used to it, I would rather lie down in the snow outside, with the thermometer 5'J below zero, than sleep in one of these huts. But you've 110 idea what a man can stand when he has to." "Have they windows in their houses?" "Yes; iee windows. They use ice as we use gLiss. A clear piece is selected, about five or six inches thick, mortised in the window opening in blocks two feet, and sometimes as large as four feet square, and with water is made solid. The water is as good as putty. When the window becomes diity they scrape it ou with a knife, ana when it has been scraped thiu. they substitute a new yane." "Doesn't the window ever nieit'r" ?>iess you, 110; it is ireezmgcoia mat far from the lire. If tlie room ever got warm enough to melt the ice the Yakut couldn't live in it, and would have to go out doors to cool off. At night the lire is allowed to go out, as they have to economize in fuel. All they have is driftwood, gathered on the banks of the Lena liiver in the summer time." "How do they sleep? Do they undress when they go to bed?" "Always. They strip to their shirts, which are made of a thick sort of Russian cloth as heavy as our canvas. The men and women wear the same kind of garments, and never Lave more than one at a time. I took up a lot of thick llanuel for them, enough to last the rest of their lives, and it will be a great deal more comfortable than the native stuff, Although they don't like it at first. When they undress they get into bunks built in the side of the house?sometimes a r-or; "! >Itrvffi o-nrl oil in same bunk. Tliey Lave reindeer skins under and over them, and curtains of the sarac hanging before the bunks. The last man or woman to undress hangs all the clothing of the rest outdoors over a pole that is kept for the purpose." ""What is that for'?" 'To freeze the lice. They couldn't live if they didn't do it, and it has become a national custom. The lice get into the fur, and that is the only way to get them out. By hanging their clothes over the pole every night they can keep reasonably free from them, but the fur nils up a^ain the next day." "Do they ever bathe'?" "Never in their lives: tliev haven't any word for bathing in their language, and the impossibility of keeping clean is one of the greatest hardships of Arctic life." ""What do they eat?" ."lieindeer meat, beef?they have eows, queer-looking animals, about half as large as ours, with a hummock on their backs like a camel?iish, bread made of black rye fiour, tea, and an imported food made of chopped beef rolled into balls about the size of a marble, and covered with a dough. These they pound up and make into soup. Then there is a wood that is very nutritious when it is ground up and boiled. Mixed with reindeer meat it makes a gooil soup. They often eat their fish raw. Of eourse they freeze solid as soon as they are tnken out of the water, and the native, particularly if he is on the road, cuts them off in shavings, as thin as our ehipped beef, and eats them raw. They are palatable, and I have lived for days at a time on them, with a cup oi tea made over an alcohol lamp by way of variety. The greatest luxury they have is butter, and they will eat it by the pound as our people eat confectionery. A poor sort of butter is macb from the milk oi the native cow, that looks and tastes more like cheese, and' they prize it above ail other classes of food.* "The amount oi' butter a native will U,. ... ?iz 'i CiVw VVlitJjri iiu VJUU 11, CULLliuueu I Lieutenant Scheutze, is astonishing. A | friend of mi no in Siberia told me of a j man who ate thirty-six ]>ouu":s in on? j day. undtiiL-:; didn't get "all he wanted. j They have a way of pounding up a red j berry and mixing it with butter, which i gives it a beautiful pink tint and im- j proves the flavor. Their drink is the j Kussian Yodka, almost pure alcohol, ! and they will trade their shirts for it. The liquor is scarce and expensive, so they are necessarily a temperate people.1' "How do the political exiles live, and how many are in the country?" " \ great many?several in even* settlement. When an exile is sent into the country the Governor determines where he shall reside, and requires him to report his whereabouts jit frequ?nt inter vals. Tht j live as tiie natives Jo. receive so much a year from the government for their support, and work at their trades i? they have them, and if they haven't get such jobs as they can. In other provinces the exiles work in the mines. At Yeroyansk I saw an exile, who had been a lawyer and judge in Russia, doing carpenter work, and all the tool lie had was an ax. I took up some presents for several exiles, who had been of service to the Jeannette party, but had to obtain the permission of the Governor before I could deliver them. Jn every settlement arc local ' officials, who look after those unfortunate people." "How can a man endure the intense cnld wlitm the wind blows'?" I "It is, of course, necessary to keep J the body protected and as much of the face as possible with furs, and even then it is common to freeze tbe extremities; but if a man knows how to take care of himself he will not suffer.' My face and "h&nds were frozen a number oi times. If I had gone to the fire to warm the skin would have cracked open and given .me much trouble; but by rubbing the f-ozen place with snow, and getting it thawed out by friction and gradu-.il heat. never had any trouble." Perci AliOUT PATENTS. Kow the Ol!ice is 3?un:i;;cii siml Whence Inventions Com?. (From the New York II-:raV.) In the matter of ingenuity the American people lead the world. More applications for patents are received and more .patents granted at the Patent Office in this city than in any other two countries of Europe. Great'Britain comes m-xt ou the list, France third and Germany fourth. It was not until 1836 that the Patent Office was organized as a separate bureau with a commissioner and suitable assistants for the proper discharge of its duties. It is rather a singular fact that during that year only one application for a oatent -was filed. The next ve&r the number increased to 106. The increase lias steadily grown until in iSGG 23,797 applications were filed. The whole number of patents granted since 183(5 is in round numbers, 385,000. The applications for patents are regarded as a good index of the general business prosperity of the country. When tunes- are dull inventors realize that capital is slow to risk the success of their experiments. On the other hand when money is plentiful it is a poor inventor who cannot find some one who is wiliing, at least, to pay ihe legal expenses necessary to the taking out of his patent. It may be said, en passant, if tliis theory of the patent office officials holds good, that the country was never in a more prosperous condition, inasmuch as the number of applications for 188:3 exceeded by : several thousand those of any preceding year. . More patents have been granted to the I , --a- r V 4.K 4-^ 4-1^on H CibiZiUiiS Ui i\C>V JLUliv LiiU.li to ia.ivo^ vx any other State. This is owing probably to her larger pop illation. Upon this hypothesis Pennsylvania kikes the see- ; ond placi, and according to the same ! reasoning Illinois or Ohio should come next, but the truth is that Masschusetts holds the third place, with Illinois fourth < and Ohio fifth. The character of the 1 application usually denotes the locality torn which it proceeds. - Fox example, TLpplicatioiio showiiigthe inventor to be i a man of high scientific education main- < ly come from New York, Massachusetts or Connecticut. Improvenu nts in cotton and sugar machinery are the work almost entirely of Southern inventors. ; The development of inventive genius in the South has been remarkable during the past decade. This is especially so J in Georgia and Texas, the tsvo most < progressive States south of 3Iascn anc J Jixon's line. The applications from the South, as recently as 1872, were only a j fi action of those filed from the North, j About 1875 a change "was noted, and the increase since then has been relatively as great as that of the Northern States. j Q i -<pi * , A BATCH OK ENTEKl'UISES. l'urther Evidence of tlie Xnllux of >"or?.Is- . ern into the .So;ith. St. Louts, January 20.?The Industrial Gazette will to-morrow publish a ; new batch of enterprises in the South and Southwest, and give further evi- \ dence of the influx of Northern capital , into those sections of country. In Arkansas the Deslia Land and Planting . Company, headquarters at Arkansas ; City, and owning 05.000 acres of cotton and lumber land, ave putting up a $101),- : OijO saw mill and engaging over 1,000 J hands in planting. An immense brewery is to be created [: at Little Koek, and copper and gold m 1 good paying quantities have been found 1 near Golden City. A vein fourteen feet 1 tliick of fine coal lias been struck at . Eartleville, Indian Territory., Two fiftyton cliarcoal furnaces are to be erected at j oncc near Nashville, Tenn. ; The boom in Alabama continues. Eir-1 ] miiigkam is to have a large coal storage , house; Sheffield her sixth furnace; De- ( catur four rew fumaces; East Eirmiagham the largest foundry and machine works in the South; Mobile an anti- : friction metal foundry* Florence a one : hundred ton furnace; Elitown a si (JO,- * 000 dam; Gadsden two 10-.'-tun furnaces < and water and gas works, and the new 1 town of Bessemer a $300,000 roiling mill. j.uc m mix ox rsoruieru capital , continues unabated, and the majority of heavy capitalists now developing the resources of Alabama and Tennessee are ' officered and conducted by wv-ii known ; Northern meu. IIow to sw?*?m>. Sweep with a long, stcmiy si;oke. laking 1 c;;rc to forir. a habit of r.tisinir a bnwtn at , the end of the stroke iu suck a way as to ] prevent dust raising. Wat' h some women sweep as ii" they were digging: a small cloud of dust will follow the end of the broom every time it is raised. Bo careful ] to go into ?v^ry corner with the end 01 your corner broom, and to brush all dust from between carpet or matting and skirting ; board, as here is where mollis love to harbor. Sweep from all sides of the room to 1 the centre. This sweeping to -he centre, { instead of the'door. may strike some readers as an innovation; but. if they will consider a moment., they wili sec that there is no reason whatever fur drag$ji".g the dust all over the rorjn. e weeping toward tiu: centre of a 18 feet square room, you onJy sweep tiie dust eight feet each way. instead of carry?::ir it before the brootv. tlic whole 1G feet. quirk siroke* s>f the br-nn !i:e apt t'i scatter i ii-.- >iwes:d!y when the siroke e.'ids with an up.; :-.n? j..r^ 1 U'.ve on en :-*:u *i : tl::. hands of vigorous giris \vho imagine they are getting over the ground much more rapidly by hnrrisd movements than they would if they took greater pains. But hurry is not speed: sonic women are quick and thorough, others slow and thorough, but the orje always hurrying is rarely either (juiok or thorough: she makes work aU the time she is doing it. Berkeley Gazelle: The Alason Cotton Harvester" is to be put on the market in time to gather the next crop. It will co-t between ?350 and $500 doliars, and will gather 4,000 pounds a day. XOTiCS OF Ssil rifKliN i'ltOGK^SS. Lewis IS. .Tones contemplates starting chain works ::t "Wheeling, West Virginia. There is talk of a wire factory being started at Chattanooga, Teen. It is stated that a smoking tobacco lwctory wiii be started at Chase City, Virginia. A company is being formed at Calera, Alabama, it is said, to manufacture wooden ware. A stove foundry is reported to be built I at Decatur, Alabama, soon. At Cnlpc-pev, Ya., a carriage factory is to be erected. A rich gold mine lias been discovered near the Xeuces Canyon, Uvalde county, Texas:. A St. Louis firm arc making arrangements for si pipe foundry at (Jkattanocga, Tcnu. A canning factory is about to be established at Amite, La. A wagon factory is being erected at . Homeland, Fla., by J. D. Crum. A stock company roll soon be orgaH- i ized'ut Jacksonville, Fla., to manufae- i tare moss. ] Near Calera, Ala., slate has been dis- * covered and will soon be developed. A stock company is to be organized at \ Birmingham, Ala., to start a tannery, j At Eureka Springs, Ark., a zinc mine f lias been developed. A saw and planing mill, also a box ( factory, have been erected at Yan Buren, ^ Arkansas. i Negotiations are about being entered 1 into lor erecting vaier worts us ?me ? Bluff, Ark. c. It is probable that a stock company , will be organized at Roanoke, Ya., soon r to est: blisli a basic steel plant. x The Thompson Brick Company, capi- f tal stock ?20,000, has been organized at t Birmingham, Ala. f The Lnray Cave and Hotel Company, a Luray, Ya., contompluie spending about 1 ?50,000 in enlarging their hotel. a A ?100,000 stock company is being ? organized at Birmingham, Ala., to establish a large carriage and wagon factory. The Biloxi Artesian Ice Manufacturing Company, capital stock ?14,000, has f, been organized at JBiioxi, Miss. p Thy Alabama Marble Company, eapi- c tal stock $100,000, lias l>een organized a at Florence, Ala., with \Y. J. Iveroachan s us president. <1 A $100,000 stock company lias been j1 organized at Shelbjville, Term., to im- A prove land at St. Andrew's i5ay, 1'ia. A company is being formed at Fort ^ Worth, Texas, to manufacture iron and wooden bridges, with ?100,000 capital ^ stock. c, There is soon to be constructed in the 1< soft coal regions of southwestern Yir- n giuia several new coke ovens and new p turnaces are to be built. si At Pilot Point, Texas, a stock com- cj pany is about to be formed to erect a *>i seventy-live barrel roller flour mill. " At Gamsville, Pia., a site for a furni- ^ tare and wagon factory has been pur- Tchased and buildings are soon to be ^ erected. ^ The largest manufactory of yellow. 0 pine lumber is in. Lincoln, Miss., and che lumber business in that locality is f( jii the boom. n Last month there were 3,000,000 feet e :>? lumber shipped from Jacksonville, a Florida. 31 ore than half of it went t] ibroad. c The foundry at Calera, Ala., is sup- ^ plying the castings for the alcohol chur- tj :oal plants being erected at Decatur, P :iia., and Goorich, Tenn. a; At Camden, Ala., S. D. Block pro- sj poses to erect a factory for the mtinuI'acsure of cotton rope and woolen yarn, j At Birmingham. .Via., the ?dison c< Lleetric Illuminating Company has been s] ncorporated with a capital stock of ii 575,000. ' f; Capital stock to the amount of $100,- ,(1 JUG has been subscribed to establish an ^ ixe and tool company at Birmingham, ^ K"..\ CI Tlie lily ton Land Company of Birmingham, Ala., Las declared dividends of L35 per cent, oi' its capital during De- * member, and 140 per cent, during 1SS6, imounting to $tic>0,ij00. 'J An extensive porcelain factory is now r. :u operation in Xew Orleans, La., under \; ;lie supervision oi' skilled workmen from -v lie large factories of France. The work is as line as any done abroad. C( A company lias been formed by a h aumber of capitalists oi' New Orleans, C; frith a capital of $00,000, to establish a 0 Eactory for canning iicef. The factory P .vill be located in the parish of St. Bernard, La. c< At Birmingham, Ala., a company was incorporated, with a capital stock of 'n ;250,000, to manufacture bridges, bolts, 0 mts, etc., Works are soon to be built a| ivliieh will give employment to one hurt- a Ired and liitv brails. S( The American I'il.xo Company will tl ioor; bo organised in 2\ow Orleans, with p t capital stock of $230,000. It is con- aj :emplated by this company to establish .S i rope factory and paper mill in coniicc- p :ion with the decorticating machinery. n; During the past month arrangements ivere concluded by capitalists iron', the Q North, with local manufacturers, to erect ^ it Chattanooga. a large drop forging plant, the largest ever erected in the South, the cost ol which v-ili be 8150,000. At SheSleid, Ala., the Sheffield Pipe h md Nail Company Las been organised. c< to erect large works fur the purpose of ' > inakin;- cast and wrought iron piping, tl bolts aui! other articles of iron and steel. '< Ihe capita.! is 8100,000. I b The KorlU Alabama Ileal Estate, v Munuiaor.tiing and improving Company ' will be incorporated in a short time at Athens. Ala., with a capital of .">1,000,000. | * A. stock company will i-Ivj; -,e organized ( ? to establish a cotton mill, with a capital t Oi .t<iuo,ou?>, as weii us a uuujv wxuu. a. capital of irom $50,000 to $100,000. .J An ':;>y.~?ua^ Fallot Box. g, A ivw ballot box has just been adapted ^ ;it ' !;(. t!:<; ncuU e!cc:;i>?:s l? Paris. The hp,X i*; is^'.aVC, ?:it; four waiis '>t ii being of r cla<s. I'i 11 -*. i'c>;<rt it tio<.s not tii'Vcr ; liiuch fr~>:n triads boxf$ used at elec ? lions i:: iv.-w V:In both cases the l] ; can see the ballot pass into the box. Thciliilcre^cc between tho-Now Vork t: ballot box ami i;:at at Paris is that, con- e ncctul wirfi the latter machine. is u roa- s > >- i i ?... ?-i .. CillUC raovcil W\ >\ iIt.-J.-I ii-Ai ;? i'iut opens and clo^-s lav -siit a; the lop of the t box as each vote is deposited, while at the \ same liiae it the votes as they are put in. In this way the number of vot^s east may he known at any time v.u.hii' the r hoars of voiicg, and vrUu the polls are 2 closed t''C register lias recorded the total ~ voic. and may be used to verify the official * count. Such a self-registering ballot box , mny be usefully adopted at our own eiec- *lions. One good result it would certainly c h ive. It would put an end to "pudding tickets." " INTER-STATE COM ME ?CE. A Synopsis of tlie Act of Congress Reflating Railroads. The inter-State commerce bill, as agreed upon bv both bouses of Congress, in its first section applies the provisions of this Act to any common carrier engaged in the transportation of passengers -wholly by railroad or partly by railroad and partly by water when both are used under common control, management or arrangement through more than one State or Territory, or from any place in the United States to an adjacent foreicm country. It defines the t: rm "railroad" to include all bridges and ferries used or operated by any railroad. All charges made for any service rendered in tlie transportation of passengers or property shall be reasonable and just, and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service is prohibited and declared to be unlawful. Section 2 makes it unlawful for any common carrier subject to the, provisions of this Act to charge, demand, collect or receive, directly or indirectly, from any person or persons, greater or less compensation for any service rendered in the transportation of passengers or property than it charges, demands, collets or receives from any other person j1- persons for doing for him or them ike and contemporaneous service in the ;ransportation of the like kind of trainc, mder substantially similar circumstances md conditions. Section 3 makes it unlawful for any jommon carrier, subject to the pro*risions of this Act, to make or give any ledue or unreasonable Dreferenfiff or arl rantage to any particular person, company, firm, corporation or locality, or my particular description of traffic. 2very common carrier subject io the provisions of tliis Act shall, according o tlieir respective powers, afford all easonabie, proper and equal facilities or the interchange of traffic between Loir respective lines, and for receiving, or warding and delivering of passengers .nd property to and from their several ines and those connecting therewith, nd shall not discriminate in their rates ,nd charges between such connecting ines. Sections 4 and 5 (long and short haul nd pooling sections) are as follows: Section 4. That it shall be unlawful or any common carrier, subject to the a-ovisions of this Act, to charge or revive any greater compensation in the ggregate for the transportation of pasmgers or of like kind of property uner substantially similar circumstances nd conditions for a shorter than for a j yager distance over tbe same line in the .me direction, the shorter being inluded within tlie longer distances, but [lis shall not be construed as authorizig any common carrier within the term f this" Act to charge and receive as great ompensation for a shorter as for a :>:;ger distance: Provided, however, that pon application to the commission apointed under the provisions of this Act, iich common carrier may in special r:ses, after investigation by the commision, be authorized to charge less for >nger than for shorter distances for the L-ansportation of passengers or property, ad the commission may, from time to lae, prescribe the extent to which such esignated common carrier may be reeved from the operation of this section ? the AetSectiop That it shall be unlawful 2? any common carrier, subject to the rovisions of this Act, to enter into any outract, agreement or combination with ny other common carrier or carriers for lie pooling of freights of different and ompeting railroads to divide between iem tlie aggregate or net proceeds of ne earnings of such railroads, or any ortion thereof; and in any case of an i greement for pooling of freights as foresaid, each day of its continuance [jail be deemed a separate offence, Section G requires that after ninety ays from the passage of the Act every amnion carrier, subject to its provisoes, iiaJl have printed, and keep for public ispection, schedules showing its rates, ires a ad charges, ar>4 is addition to reuiring the. railroads to give them pubcity at all of the depots on their several nes, it gives authority to the commison, where it is proper and rocessary, > require tliern to give publicity to ! leir rates to other places ueyond the | nes of their several railroads. It also rovides that rates, fares and charges : lall not be raised except after ten days ; r public notice, but that they may be : duced without previous public notice, 'otice, however, shall be simultaneous ith the reduction itself. Section 7 makes it unlawful for any : Dmaoa carrier to enter ifito. any com- ( 'nation ov agreement to prevent the .-.rriage of freights from being continu- : sis from the place of shipment to the ace of destination. Section 8 declares th?t any common trrier iolating the provisions of the St, shall be liable to the person or per>as injured thereby for the full amount i E damages sustained in consequence of such violation, together with reasoni)ie coutiseJ or attorney's fees. The ninth Section provides that per>ns claiming to have been damaged by le the action of common carriers may rocced, for the recovery of iheir dam~eis either in, U'.c Courts oi the United t:\te- or before the commission herein rovided for, but not before both tribuals. n.. i at- -- > ? jluu cecuon uiajies ic a penal [ P.bnce to violate any of tlie provisions j i this Act, and puts the maximum of j ie fine which may be imposed at tlie im oi ?3,000. Section 11 and the following sections ?ntaiu the coPimission features of the ill. They provide for a commission to : insist of five persons, whose term of j iiice shall be for si^ years, except for )c appointments, which are to be jX two, tiiiee, four, live and six years, he "members of this commission are to c appointed by the President, by and ith the advice of the Senate. Their rincipal orHcc uh&ii be in Washington, u; iiioj may hold sessions at other laees than Washington, and a single icmber of the commission may take jstimony a?,ywhere as he may be diEK-ted t> v the" commission. These comlissioners have salaries ci $7,500 each, 'lie commission h?s power to appoint a ecretejy with an annual salary of $3,0?), and has authority to employ and x the compensation of such other emiloyees as ic may rind necessary to tlic iropcr performance of its duties, subject o tbe approval c? the secretary of the aterior. Section. 21 provides that nothinc; confined in this Act sh^U abridge the remdies now existing at common law or by tutute. [ Section 23 appropriates ?100, U00 for i he purposes of this Act, for the fiscal ear ending June 30, 1888. Section 24 provides that the provisions of Sections II and 18 of this Act, elating to tiio appointment and organiation of the commission herein, r-ro ided for, shall take effect immediately, .nd the remaining provisions cf this Let shall take effect sixty days after late. Not a criminal offence?Killing lime. A TALK ABOUT INDIANS. AX INTERVIEW WITH COL. ARTHUR GRABOUSKI. The Indians and their Future?Interesting Facts Concerning their Education and their Progress. (From tlie Augusta Chronicle.) Colonel Arthur Grabouski was in Augusta yesterday and, tlie Clironicle reporter failing to catch him on the wing, ciioYG out to the stately mansion ot Jlrs. James Gardiner. The reporter was ushered into the parlors at the hospitable mansion, but was not allowed to remain there but a few seconds before he was ushered into the sitting room, where Colonel Grabouski was seated before a comfortable fire. The Colonel has a distinguished as well as a classical appearance, and the cordial greeting extended the Chronicle representative, when he informed the Colonel of his mission, immediately stamped him as a man of excellent judgment. He was willing to give the people any information that he might possess that wonld be of interest to them. The reporter therein . * id: "Colonel, ki ar chat you had some trouble in Kansas that charges were - : l :n i ? i.n iiinuu wgaiiiss jou, wiu you Kmmy kju me about it and also something about the Indians?" "The difficulty I-had was simply the objection of the'people of Kansas to an outsider taking charge of what they consider a home institution. In addition thereto there is considerable feeling still existing there in regard to the war. These charges against me were so continual that three or four times the department sent investigation committees all of whom were perfectly satisfied that there was no cruelty, and that everything was managed satisfactorily." "Has the feeling died out?" "It was only amongst a few and has entirely died out. As an evidence of which there was tendered on my leaving ? rru r? vl jau-LL vnaiico Robinson, given by at least one hundred and fifty of the leading citizens, at which banquet I received a handsome souvenir. Whilst greatly interested in the work of educating the Indians the duties were exceedingly onerous, and having an appointment offered in the Department of the Bureau of .Labors ?the distributing of products which wou d make my field of kbor in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana?I accepted it" THE WOKE AilONG THE I>T>IA>"S. "The people would like to know something of your work among the Indians; will you kindly enlighten them?" "jaaskell Institute is one of the United States Indian industrial schools, having during my administration three hundred pupils, one-third of whom were females, ranging in age from 12 to 30 years, residing at the institution provided with everything by the government. The object of the institution is to let indnsfrial frfl.irtfnt* era nor.-} in Viflrirl xc-i+Vi +>101 English language and the fundamental principles of an education. Among the trades taught are blacksmithing, carpentering, shoemaking, farming, tailoring, CiC." "How do they take to education?" "They are intelligent when aroused, and they make remarkable progress in the English language. They make themselves understood and their shop work is of value in a short time." "After being in the institution any length of time do they retain their treacherous nature?" "Their nature is suspicious, not treacherou... After they give confidence and obedience for once it is for good. I do not recollect a single instance in which man or woman went back on a promise given the superintendent." "What do you consider the main lever in the education of the Indians?" "Undoubtedly the effect of Christianity upon the morals and lives of there people. This opinion is shared in both by the President and the Secretary of the Interior." "H ii&t becomes of tnese Indians after finishing tlieix education?" "Some of them return to their people and bocome instructors in what are called agency schools, others become government employes at agencies. The majority. however, form what is known as the new Indian element, they are the freighters and small farmers of the agencies, and are the ones who are now asking a distribution of Indian lands in severalty." 'Have you ever visited the Indian agencies?" <*I have visited a number of them, met the chief men in council and went in a number ot their camps from tent to -? tent." <5TTnur?r><* Vui/vr. immi* +.Tiom T17V1C1+ fo your opinion upon the solution of this troublesome problem?" "I he middle aged Indian, man or m woman, will have to pass to their grave 1 but little improved, as they .seem unsusceptible of improving. The hope of the Indian race lies in those under twenty- 1 live years of age. Instances are not uncommon where oider Indians take steps toward civilization in breaking grounds for. farms, but these are exceptions. Recognizing this the Government directs its attention to the young men and women oi the dilferent tribes, and will undoubtedly solve the question by the gradual extinction of the old Indian and the budding citizenship of the young Indians*" A St. Paul young man was surprised and shocked the other day. He was .*. V V *! . 11 1__. 11 waiting ueuuiu a. wen &nown iaay ot that city whtn a nigged little boy asked for five cents to buy a loaf of bread witli. tjlie gave it to him. Then he ran away, out around the block, and scon met her again undiold the same tale. Then the young man heard her say, "I gave you the other nickel to buy a loaf of bread. I now give you live cents in admiration of your gigantic gall/' The lady moves in "the highest circles of St. Paul society," and that's the reason her remarks surprised the listener. The belled buzzard that has been spoken 02 in the South for years was shot the other day b.- J. C. Corrington, Tunis county, Texas. The bell was well toned, of brass, and about two and a half inchcs across the base. It was hung to the bird by a copper wire, twisted around the neck. There was no chaffing, the skin being protected from an abundance of down. The figures 1870 were scratched en the narrow Hat top of the bell. The moral effect of being well dressed was shown in the answer of a Columbia child who was asked why she wasn't good like another little girl: ' Perhaps I should be if my dress had little pink bows all over it." It is positively stated that Father McGlvnn will go to Rome, though the date of his departure is not yet settled. He is suffering now from nervous prostration, an<S his physician counsels absolute quiet a$ ii*;ce^:iry to his restoration.