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THE POSTAL SERVICE. Annual Report of PostmasterGeneral Yilas. Giving ligures, and Making Suggestions for Next Year, According to ttie annual report 01 rusi/master-iJeneral Vilas there has been a marked improvement in the affairs of this department during tho year. The revenues, owing to an extension of tho limits of mailable matter of the fourth class, the profits of the special delivery system an 1 the increased employment of all the facilities offered by tho postal system, an increase due to the continued prosperity of business throughout tho couutry, have steadily inercasod, while the expenditures have not increased in proportion. The net gain of revonues over the preceding year is very nearly $5,000,01)0, while the increaso of expenses has been only $^.000,000, so that the burden of 87,003,000 which fell on the general treasury in 1S8G has been reduced to $4,000,000 for the past fiscal year. In view of this, after expressing the hope that the revenues will not be further crippled bj* legislation, the report says that a surplus may be reasonably anticipated in the coming year. Although appeals for changes in tho rates on mattors of various kinds are anticipated, tho report deprecates any lessening of tho rates at present, but it adds that "tue time is probably not distant when, if the wisest measures of economy be pursued, the rate of chargo upon letters can be properly lowered to one cent an ounce, and some diminishment permitted in tho postages upon merchandise ami other matter," although the rates on all matter are lower in this country than in any other if the distances to which mailable matter is transported be taken into account. The appointment of postmasters during the year receives early attention in the report The total number of commissions issued were 13,071*, of which 0,863 were on account of the expirations of commissions, anl 2.5S4 on removals or suspensions. Among thes3 were 893 that catne within the Presidential class. In this class there are 2,149 Postmasters, and of the entire number 313 appointed under a former Administration remain in office. In discussing the compensation paid to Postmasters, the injustice done to certain Postmasters of tho third class is referred to. Instances are noted where Postmasters of this class, which includes tho offices that transact business running from ?1,!0) to $8,000 a year, are obliged to pay from 1,000 to $1,300 per year of their salaries, besides giving their own attention to the business, although their salaries do not exceed $1,900 a year. Thus, gome postmasters net $000 or $800 a year only wmle transacting over $i,uuu wortn or business. when the postmasters who happen to do over $8,000 worth of business receive $2,003 a year net. The report proposes that an architect and suitable assistants be assigued to the Post Office Department, and that the suiplus revenues of the department be used to erect suitable postoffices in cities where ths Government should own such building The present system of crowding the Post Office "into the basfmenls" of Goverment buildings erected as Post Offices, but devoted chiefly to courts and other business disconnected with the postal service, is said to be extravagant and discreditable generally, and particularly obnoxious to the employes of the Post Offices. It is asserted that new buildings much more suitable than those hitherto built in similar places can be erected for from $>10,000 to $20,000, and even allowing what would be uce led to buy land, fifty cities could be supplied with fine Post Office buildings for $1,000,000. Of the free delivery system the report says that "there should be no hesitation in prodiding every city and town in the United States with this service, whose busi li eta euiu iuiiu UUUUILIUIIS are such f as to make it of an advantage compensatory to its cost The KpeciaJ delivery system has not commanded any increase of importance, but it paid the Government $20,000. The delivery boys earned an average ;of $10.28 for delivering letters within twenty-one minutes, on the average, after they were received. The Government is urged to buy or build its own cars for carrying the inland mails. The figures show that all the cars now used in the scrvice could be replaced new, and maintained for one year, for $1,848,240, although the department paid $1,831,580 for the use of the old and in many cases unsuitable cars that carried the mail last yeaP. This pay for the use of the cars was in addition to the 'regular pay for transporting the mails. One subsidy is recommended, the payment of $3,000 or $4,000 a month for a monthly service between New York and the River Plate. The Argentine Republic offers $100,000 a year for such a service, and there is a frnn<r rtroccnpo frnm Kaw Vnrlr mar^onfo for the establishment of the line. Tne report earnestly recommends the removal of the prohibition against advertising and printing on wrappers of third and fourth class matter, so that they do not extend to communications of the nature of correspondence. ; LATER NEWS. Five men were burned?three of them with probably fata! result?by an explosion ?t natural gas oa a farm near Washington, Penn. Old Stephney Bailey, of Columbia. South Carolina, confessed on his deathbed that he had murdered his three wives. . The Mayor and ten Aldermen of Lincoln, Nebraska, were locked up in jail in Omaha by order of Judge Brewer, of the United Btates Court, because they refused to obey one of his rulings. The National Committee of the Prohibition party met at Chicago and elected Pro lessor samuei jjickib, oi jumuigau, tuuu man, to succeed the late John B. Finch, of Illinois. Postmasters appointed by the President: Robert M. Carpenter, at Audubon, Iowa; Anna E. Ratcliff, Cimarron, Kan.; William R. G. Estes, Skowtaegan, Maine; John H. Larkin, Cohoes, N. Y.; George G. Schwinger, Tonawanda, N. Y.; George Daniel, Sandusky, Ohio; George W.Larne, Colfax,"Washington Territory. A ore at hall for conventions and other public uses is to be built in Washington. The revenue of the Government from all sources during November amountod to about $30,500,000. The disbursements nearly equaled the receipt**. Corka is about to send a Minister to the UniUd States to represent the Corean Government. NEWSY JJLEANINGS. A grand "sheep-shearing" will ba held at Chicago in the spring. A professorship of horticulture has been founded at Cornell University. The official report numbers the sheep in the United States at 45,0 )0,000. The Texas cotton crop will probably be 1,244,000 bales?a little leo3 than last year. Five hundred and two of the students at Ann Arbor University aro sons of farmers. There is to be a great Poultry Show* at Madison Square Garden New Vorlc, December 14 to When the smokestack of thu Allentown (Penn.) Tread Mill is completed it will bo 22 T feet high, the loftiest in the United States. A Vera Cruz paper estimates that the jrtorm of October 15 and 10 caused $10,00!),OX damage on the Gulf coast of Mexico. The injury to cro;s was very great. Mrs. Mart Holcombkr, of Brady Island, Neb., cleaned out a den ot' snakes on her farm last week, killing forty of the reptile*. The only weaapon she us.-d was a stout club. There aro in the metropolitan district of Lo.idon, twenty two cemeteries, with a total . area of 2,00J acres, and it is estimated that the Imrl so utilized represents a cap.til of ?1,250,000. The largest Swedish Lutheran Church in America is the one just completed at Minneapolis. It will accommodate 5,003 per.soas. Evangelist Moody has been asked to preach at it? opening. THE NEWS SUMMABY, Eastern and Middle States. Complete returns give Cook, Democral candidate for Secretary of State in N< York, a plurality of 16,837. The Hem George Labor vote is G9,773, and the Pi hibition vote 42,051. Francois Radottx, a lieutenant in t army of the First Napoleon, has just died Portland, Me., aged 1/7. The largest Fair held in Now York many years is in progress under t auspices of the combined Masons of t Metropolis, and for the purpose of increasi: the Asylum fund. Five men were injured, one fatally, al fire in Pittsburg, Penn. , j Rev. Col. Anderson* was publicly i stalled as Chapiain-in-Chief of the Gra j Army of the Republic at Norwalk, Com | with appropriate ceremonies. | The Attornoy-General of Pennsylvania li decided that a woman cannot be made a r j tary public in that State. i John* Most, the Anarchist leader, has be | adjudged guilty by a Now York jury of usii j language calculated to causo a riot. He Most has already served a terra of o j year's imprisonment on a similar charge. ???? Bonth and West. Five vessels were wrecked near Chicago a gale. Mrs. Salt, a resident of Lawrence, Kai refused to take food of any kind for fo weeks and then died. The Anarchist Defense Committee of CI I cago have definitely arranged to havo th( five dead associates buried in one plot ground, o,<X)0 square feet, in Waldheim Cei etery. Policeman Hansen*, who was one of t I victims of the bombs at the riot in Chicag I has become insane from his injuries. His 1 had been amputated twice. The local election in Atlanta, Ga., x won by the anti-Prohibitionists, after an e citing canvass. Many women appeared the polls and urged the voters, both whi and black,to vote the ''dry" ticket. The "we j ticket won, however,by about 1,000 majorit I Two years ago the Prohibitionists carried t I city by a majority of 228. Tho Prohibitii I leaders this year were United States Senat j Colquitt and Editor H. W. Grady; the an ; Prohibition leaders were United Stat 1 .Semtor Brown and E. P. Howell, 11 j Grady's partner. A majority of the color* | vote went for the "wet"' ticket. Unusually cold weather has alrea< visited the Northwest. At St. Vincer j Minn., the Ithermometer was 22 degrees t low zero; Bismarck, Dakota, 10 below, ai ! Cheyenne, Wyoming, 10 below. Thk explosion of a boiler in the kitchen * ' the Kirby House, at Milwaukee, killed oi woman and seriously injured a number i others. It is reported that there is no doubt as ' the insanity of ex-United States Senat J ones, of Florida. A iiall at Mineola, Texas, in which cc ored people were holding a dance, collars* I Miuueiuy uunug a viuiciiu ?uiu a i j persons were killed and about twenty i: | lured. Six of tlio injured had arms or lej I broken. j The captain of a steamer which has ju i arrived at New Orleans makes public ; letter which he had received from tfe | owner of an American schooner to the effei j that armed Nicaraguans had boarded an taken forcible possession of his and anoth< American vessel. A boiler of a steam sawmill near Dene son, 111., exploded, and "Ed. Gilky. a prorr nent farmer, was instantly killed, and J< Clark and Sylvester Norman were fatal] wounded. Paul "Wolf, the Herr Most of Chicag has been arrested, charged with makir threats against State's Attorney Grinnel Judge Gary, and all the jurors in the Ai archist trial. C. R. axdC. K. Garrison, nephews of tl late Commodore Garrison, were killed whi. descending a lead mine at Webb City, Mo. Washington. The Inter-State Commerce Commisssoi j ers conduct their business sitting in a row u on a platform, like a row of judges. Total number of post-offices in the Unite i nn -TnnftSf) 1KX7 was 55.157. Value of the gold deposited in the Unit States mints during the past fiscal year wi $83,410,771); of silver, $47,750,918. Postal revenues during the last fiscal yee were $48,118,273; expenditures, $53,133,35! Receipts increased over the previous year 11. percent., and if this ratio continues tl I postal service will be self-sustaining again i j two years. The Postoffice authorities recommend | trial in the great cities of this country of tfc pneumatic tube system now in successfi j operation in London, Berlin and Paris. The President has appointed Stephen ] Mitchell Collector of Customs at Saco, Me. Additional appointments by the Pres dent: James B. Chess, of Indiana, to 1 United States Consul at Durango, Mexici and Allen D. Norman to be Postmaster ? j San Diego, Cal. Foreign, A monster raft is about to be towed by steamer from Halifax, N. S., to New Yorl The raft is 5S5 foet long, sixty-two feet widi and thirty-seven feet deep, and weighs 9,0! tons. Thirteen* more passengers of the Dutc steamer Scholtsn, sunk in a collision in tl English Channel, were saved, increasing tl list of saved to 102 out of a total of 214. Lord Dalhousie and his wife died withi six hours of each other a few days since i Havre. They had just returned from a vis to America, where they were well knowi Lord Dalhousie was Secretary ot State fc Scotland during Gladstone's last administn I tiou. Cholera still prevails in an epidemic fori in Chili. Owing to the non-arrival of expected suj plies many of the men with Stanley's exp dition in Africa have died of starvation. Thomas Potter, a young American, hi been killed in a duel near Paris with Frenchman, who was wounded in the ankl The roof of the now and incomplete Mi sonic Hall in Ottawa, Ont, was crushed i and the structure completely wrecked by heavy snow fail. A despatch from San Remo, Italy, sa; that the condition of the German Crow [Prince is now considered hopeful. Sixteen girls in a Ru-ssian hoardingscho were burned to death. Twenty-four escap* by jumping from the windows. All the editors of St. Petersburg hm been summoned by the press censor and i structed to adopt a moderate tone regardic Germany. Baron Hirsch, an immensely wealtl Hebrew, has given $10,(?0.00J to found Russian primary schools for the education Jewish children. ?? JACOB SHARP WINS. He is Granted a New Trial by th New York Court of Appeals. The New York Court of Appeals has d cided in favor of tha appeal of Jacob Shai from his conviction for bribery in obtaini: the franchise for a Broadway railroad fro the New York City Board of Aldermen 1S84. By this decision the ox President the Broadway Railroad Company is savi for the present from being transferred fro Ludlow Street Jail to Sing Sing Prise He has been released on bail. The decision of the General Term afliri ing the conviction was reversed by t Court of Appeals, and a new trial orderc Anininn wuQ wintitten hv .Tilt 1 nrfk Dnnfnrf, and was concurred in by all his associate A supplemental opinion was written 1 Judgo i'eekham. There was somewhat of a flutter in t Court ol! Appeals chamber at Albany, wh the decision was announced. Koscoo Con ling, ex-Ju<lge Noah Davis, Attorney-G<? era I O'Brien and other prominent la*vy? put their lxeads together and conversed abo the decision. Tho judgment was reversed on the grou that the lower onr-t erred in admitting tliet idence of Sharp lefore the Senate Investi; ting Committee, and tho testimony of l'< tie, of ex-Alderinan Miller, of the detects concerning the Canadian exiUs, and Phelps. Assistant District Attorney Nicoll, w had charge of the case for the people, thouj that Sharp could bo convicted on a secc trial, without the evidenco which the Coi of Appeal* decides inadmissible. UNITED STATES INT. tic jw Synopsis of Its Operations DurJ ing the Past Fiscal Year. at Interesting Figures Concerning Gold and Silver Coin. ill ho " he I Tho Director of the Mint, In his annual ro? port, says that the value of the gold and sil; a ver received at the mints and assay offices during the year was greater than in any in- previous year sinco 1881. The valuo o? the gold deposited was $G8,223,072. In **' addition there were deposits of the value of $15,193,700, making tin total $83,410,779, las against $49,000,531.(3.3 in 18S0, being an excess 10- of $33,810,244. Ttao valuo of the silver deposited and purchased was ?47,750,1)18. In en addition there were redeposits of silver tig amounting to $462,113, making the total, calrr culatcd at tho coining rate. $48,210,031, no against $37,017,020 in the preceding year, an excess of ?10,302,005. Of the gold deposited $32,973,027 was of domestic production, $22,571,328 of foreign fold hullion. $9,890,552 of foreign cold coin, 510,9S4 of United States gold coin and $2.265,218 of old material. The coinage of tho n fiscal year was as follows: r Description. Pieces. Value. ur Gold 3,724,720 $22,303,279 1 RSIimw 41.931.288 34.360.483 hi" Minor coins. 50,106,509 943, CSC ?ir ______ of Totals 98,122,517 $57,703,41:! ai" In addition to the coinage, gold antl silver bars were manufactured as follows: Gold, he $%8,188,933; silver, $6,481,611. Total $04,o, 670,504. eg The silver bullion purchased during the year for the silver dollar coinage was 29,ra 433,343 standard ounces, of the cost of $25.X9 988,620. The average cost was $0.98.1072 at per fine ounce. The number of sil[te ver dollars made was 33,263,S31. ,j;? There were distributed from the mints durv ing the year 10,901,933 silver dollars, and jjg 10,500,000 were transferred to the Treasury. 3U The number of trade dollars redeemed by or the Treasury under provisions of the act of March 3,1887, was 7.689,030. The trade dollars os redeemed have all been transferred to the r> mints or the Assay Office at New York 2d and melted into bars ready for coinage. The loss by abrasion was 40,215.79 , standard ounces, equivalent to 45,901 trade dollars, an average abrasion of about 2}:' grains apiece. If the trade dollars redeemed are coined into subsidiary silver, the profit, exclusive of operative wastage, will bo $631,574. If coined into standard silver dollars, Df $03,004. 10 The Mint at Philadelphia has been taxed to of its utmost capacity to execute tbo large minor coinago demanded of it in addition to to the mandatory coinage of silver dolor lars. Notwithstanding the larjre uuinber of pieces struck (50,166,509), the .1 aeraanu lor minor cuius is swu iai- uui yond the capacity of the Mint to promptly fill the orders. The total earnings of the mints and assay offices from all sources dur" ing the year amounted to #8,842,819, and tho total expenses and losses of all kinds to $1,437,432. st The value of the gold and silver bars isa sued from the United States Assay Office at 13 New York and the Mint at Philadelphia for use in the industrial arts during the year was d $8,895,710 gold, and $4,471,646 silver. )r The Director estimates the stock of coin and bullion in the United States on July 1, li- 18S7, as follows: ii. Coin. Bullion. V, Gold $509,008,005 $8.5,513,270 ly Silver 342,537,916 10,455,650 Totals $911,545,981 $95,927,920 Tho Director estimates tho stock of gold if and silver coin on Nov. 1, 1887, to have been: B! Gold, $574,927,873; silver dollars, $277,110,157; subsidiary silver, $75,758,186; total coin, $9^/,796,216. Revised estimates of tho production of gold and silver in the world for the calendar years 18S3, 1884, 1885 and 1886 show: Silver, Years. Gold. Coining Value. 1883 $95,392,000 $115,088,000 a- 1884 101,094,000 116,564,000 ip 1885 102,975,000 127,2-57,000 18S6 97,961,000 ISO,383,000 k1 The value of the coinage of the world is as follows: j Yeira. Gold.. Silver. ** 18<4 $99,432,795 $95,8:J2,0S4 13 1SS5 94,728,008 105,105,289 1SS0 92,053,400 124,678,078 \ THE NEW HOUSE. ie u Some Data Respecting the Lower Branch ol" Congress. * Some interesting data in respect to the port litical complexion of the new House have been compiled at tho CapitoL Of the 168 ?. regular Democrats it seems that 104 are old members ro-elected and 64 are now members. a" Out of the 104 old members, 69 have been re^ turned from the South and 35 from tho 3.< North, while 33 of the new members are lt from Southern States and 31 from Northern States. Altogether, the Southern States have 102 Democratic Representatives, and the Northern States 06. On the Republican - side of the House there are 94 old members k and 59 new members, making 153 in all. The Northern States send back 89 of the old memvj bers who are re-elected, while but 5 old members have been returned from tho whole of the South. The Southern States, howto ever, return 11 new Republicans, making 10 10 Republican Representatives from the whole 15 South. Tho Northern States bave elected 48 new Republican Representative?, and have n a 'total representation in the House of 137 Re.n publican members. J PROMINENT PEOPLE, Sankey, tha singing evangelist, has gone ^ to Europe. The Queen of Sweden has become insane and is confined at Ulriksdal. a. Buffalo Bill says he is worth ?SOO,O0O, mostly in Western real estate. <xs A thousand dollais an hour is said to be a a low estimate of Jay Gould's income, e. Senator Blackburn, of Kentucky, is said a- to have the most musical voice in Congress, in Dn. Talmage can work best on his feel a and makes most of his sermons while walking the floor. fs Col. J. B. Steinbergkr, Prime Minister n of the Samoan Isl mds under the recently dethroned Kin:* Malietoa, is now living in 01 retirement at Kent, Conn, -d W. W. Corcoran, tho Washington philanthropist, will soon be eighty-nine years of :o ago, but ho says thit he expects to entertain n- more than usual during this winter, ig One of tho most successful surgeons of Philadelphia is Dr. Caroline V. Anderson, iy the daughter of a wealthy nogro coal merin chant. She was graduated from the Medical of Department of tho University of Pennsyl vail iu. Ex-Secretary Robert T. Lincoln, of Chicago, bears no resemblance whatever to his father, his face being rather symmetrical in outline, with round cheeks. Not nearly as tall as the dead President, he is large ami heavily built. 10 Senator Stanford, of California, has about twenty jockeys at his Palo Alto farm, and nearly one hnndrod stable employes. ?* He has recently established a night school for rp their benefit, at which Mrs. Stanford herself tcr frequently gives instruction. rn Marshal Field, tbo Chicago dry-goods f prince, is estimated to be worth nearly $20,0 U K),000. When the war broke out ho was a of clerk with L. Z, Leiter, his present partner, ed iu the dry-goods house of Cooley, Wads worth m & Co. Things looked blue at that time, and ?n. John V. Farwell, the managing partner, offered the young clerks a perctntage of the n- profits in lieu ol* their salaries. At the end he of the year each clerk drew out $50,000 for 1. his share h, ? One of tbo wealthiest, a? well as the most uy miserly, citizens of Omaha is John H. Levy, who is reckoned to be worth n wtrly >i million, he He lives alow, cooks his own moils and 011 I sleeps iu tiio cold loft of a dilapidated barn. ' 1 " ' ? l.Se nrxn.1 -fcv ILT1 i '* " | ite never roiik or im|iiu>unnorv, n- { nearly all iiis wealth is due to the "unearned >rs innrement" arising from the general bo<nu ia u' r.'ftl est:i<". nd An in^ nious fellow is traveling through jv- Pennsylvania selling "a valuable preparation ja- warranted to polish tinware." This valuable ut- preparation i> wood ashos, whirh he beg* res from tho farmers along the road, sift-?, puts of up in neat boxes and sells for a quarter a box. ho A monster inttlesnaue, wnicn measuro-? jht nearly thirteen feet in length and was ai 'nd large around as a man's body, was killed near irt I Tahlequah, I. T., a few days ago. It had I twenty-four rafcBlet DISASTERS ON THE RAIL, Three Men Instantly Killed and Five Injnred. i I Two freight trains on the Wheeling dij vision of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad were in collision near Cochran's Mills, fifteen miles from Pittsburg, about 10:15 o'clock the other morning. Both trains were almost completely demolished and three men wore killed and live others injured. The killed and injtircd are: Harry Bell, fireman, residing at Grafton, West Virginia, killed instantly. William I'eddiman, fireman, of Wheeling, West Virginia, killed instantly. Another man, name unknown, was buried i under the wreck. j Peter Uoff, brakeman on train, had his : right arm and thigh broken; his head was , badly cut and left leg fractured. j Thonris Gates, engineer, Glen wood, had . j his head cut above the ear, and the ear so i badly laceratod that it hung by shreds. One ! ol' his toes was so badly mashed that it had to I bo amputated. Frank Applcbco, engineer, residenco Glenwood: slightly cut about the top of tho head. Thomas L. McCann. fireman, residence Hazlewood; had a scalp wound on the top of his head. There appear to have been no orders issued as to which train was to lay over at Finleyville for the other to pass. The trains were running at a high rate of speed, and as they rounded a curve near Cochran's Mills they 1 came into view too late to be chocked. An ! instant later they came together with a terriI ble crash. Both locomotives were lifted from the rails and thrown to one sido completely ! wrecked. The cars were all derailed and smashed to pieces, and the debris piled up high around the locomotives. The main track was torn up for a considerable distance and blockaded. There was not a moment's warning, and both crews were caught in the wreck. Three of the trainmen were buried from sight and almost instantly killed. The others were hold prisoners in the confused mass, and were extricated with difficulty. Peddiman's body was taken to Wheeling and the injurod were brought to Pittsburg. It is claimed by the company that the accident was ciused by the telegraph operator at Finleyville failingto deliver tne orders. Two freight engines collided on the Shamokin and Lewisburgh branch of the Reading Railroad, near Milton, Penn., the same morning. The accident happened on a bridge crossing the Susquehanna Canal. The concussion was so great that both locomotives were thrown from the bridge into the canal, twenty feet below. Some ton or fifteen cars were also wrocked, some of which were piled up on the engines. The bridge was badly damaged. STONING JTHE POLICE. Citizens of Limerick Prevented lYom Hnl/linm it npmnnslr.itlon. An attempt mado in Limerick, Ireland, on Sunday, to hold a demonstration in honor of Allen, Larkin and O'Brien, hanged at Manchester, was suppressed by the police. The unveiling of a statue to commemorate the hanging of the men was set down as a portion of the programme. Fearing interference with the statue, a guard surrounded it during the night. Mr. McInerney,of New York, who had been chosen to preside at the demonstration, was on the ground and addressed the people. The police then drew their batons and made an onslaught upon the crowd. This was answered by stone throwing. The crowd was dispersed. Subsequently, wherever groups were found assembling, the police charged upon them and seized their (lags. In these encounters a number of people wero hurt. Troops occupied the thoroughfares. The Mayor and other municipal officers were actively engaged in quieting the people. A serious disturbance occurred in Limerick during the evening. The crowd stoned and hooted the police, who tried to clear the streets with batons and bayonets, but met with great resistance. Many civilians and constables were injured. The wounded men were conveyed to the hospital. Tho police acted in a reckless manner. The windows of tho hotels on the streets where the trouble occurred wero filled with onlookers. Many of these persons tauntol the police, who replied by throwing staffs and stones, breaking a larjjo number of windows. Thirty persons had their wounds dressed at tho hospital. Tho nolice used their batons indiscrlmi nately, clubbing men, women and small boys. They even pursued the fleeing people into their houses. The organist of a Catholic church was clubbed on the head while leaving the building. During the disturbance oue shop was completely wrecked and the windows of tho County Club were smashedTHE POSTOFFICES, Annual Report of tho First Assist* ant Postmaster-General. Tho annual report'of First Assistant Postmaster-General Stevenson shows that the number of post offices established during the past fiscal year was 3,013, a decrease of 439 as compared with tho number established the previous year, aild that tho number of offices discontinued was an increase of 380 over the number discontinued during the year ended Juno 30. 183 5. Tho increase in the whole number of Post offices was, therefore, smaller than for tho previous year, having been only 1,54'?, as compared with 2,362 for the year ended June 30, 1880. Thfl whola number of nostofficos in op >ra tiou on June .'JO, 1887, was 55,157. Appointments of Postmasters were made during the year, as follows: On resignations and commissions expired, 6,860; on removals and suspensions, 2,5S4; on deaths of Postmasters, 589; on establishment of newo.1ice>, 3,043; total number of appointments mad 3 during the year, 13,071)?a not decrease of 9,070 as compared with last year. As a result of the annual adjustment of Postmasters' salaries, which took effect July 1, 1887, 22 offices of the third class were reducod to the fourth class, and 2 offices of the tourth class were assigned to the third class, leaving 2,:K0 Presidential offices in operation at the beginning of the present fiscal year, an increase of 92 over the number reported the previous year. The number of money orJer offices in operation June 30, 1887, was 7,745, an increase of 481 over the number reported the previous year. Tho largest increase in any j State during the fiscal year was sixty-four in I Kansas. H I THE LABOR WORLD, The long-continued shoemakers'strike in ! Philadelphia has ended. Thk National Convention of Boot and Shoe Manufacturers has just been held in New j York. j The Baldwin Locomotive Works are niak- ; i ine fifteen locomotive engines a week, and i employs,";00 men. j It is estimated that 30,075,000 yards of silk ! I ribbon, equivalent to about 22,700 miles, have ! | l>wn made in Paterson, N. J., during the past i j year. | Twenty warrants were served in Cohoes, ! N. Y., recently, on persons charged with viI olating the law in respect to employing children in factoriea I Pateiison, N. J., turns out $100,000,000 j worth of finished silk goods annually, and j (Swiss manufacturers and workmen are neing j driven out of the business in consequence. ; The Canadian Federated Labor Committee ! Is making an extended investigatron into the condition of pei-sons employed in Canada in I the agricultural, mining, lumbering and fish ing industries. A convention of tlio bra?s-workers of the United States nt prosont members of the I Knights of Labor is about to be held in Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose of forming a national district I A new rubber shoe manufactory, with amj pie capital and to employ 1,000 hands, is to I oe built in Naugatuek, Conn. New York j capitalists are back of the enterprise, and the i factories to be used will bo ready for occuJ pancy next spring. A State convention of workingmen has Deen called to meet in Staunton, Va., on Jan. 20, 1888. The object of the convention is dejlared to establish a State bureau of labor itatistics, to abolish the convict contract plan, to consider the public school system tvith a view to its greater efficiency and ?ther measures of interest to working people. The woman who threw a pancake into Mrs. Cleveland's lap during the President's visit to St. Louis, and who was fined $50 and costs for the misdemeanor, has boen released on the payment of $15. ' > - j ! WESTERN TRAGEDIES. | Three Persons Killed in an Attempt to Arrest a Thief. I ' White Prisoners Stabbed by Indians in a Montana Jail, ! Deputy Marshal Frank Dalton and J. R. | Cole crossed from Arkansas into the Cherokee Nation the other morning, to arrest a horse thief and whisky peddler named Smith, who, they were told, was at a tent on ! the Alexander place, about a mile and : a half from Fort Smith. Arriving at the I tent, Colo rode upon ono sido, and Dalton on ! the other. Seeing a man at the door of the | tent, Dalton inquired for Smith, who rushed j out, pistol in hand. Dalton said: "Don't i shoot; I want uo trouble." But Smith fired, j shooting him in the left breast, inflicting a 1 mortal wound. Dalton said: "I am killed," and fell from his horse with the hammer of his pistol caught at half cock. Cole shot Smith as he ! turned to re-enter the tent. Then a woman i ran out with a child in her arm?, and a man ! named Dixon followed her. Colo, who ! had dismounted, stepped backward, i but his spur catching in .a tent cord, j ho tripped and felL Dixon then fired at him I before ne could rise, putting a ball through ; his overcoat, and as no rose shot him through : the right breast. Cole tried to shoot him, but the woman caught his Winchester. I Quickly jerking loose, however, he fired, | shooting Dixon in the shoulder. He then baeked to a tree, and a regular ! fight followed, in which the wife of Dixon ; was accidently killod, and two bullets were pat through Cole's coat and the bark was i pooled off the tree behind which he wa? sheltered. Finiing a chance to escape Cole hurried away on foot, his horse 1 having run off during the fight, I and when ho hnd gone a short distance a man | came out of the tent, and approached Dalton, who was badly wounded, and heedless of his piteous appeals for his life, fired two bullets ; into his head, causing instant death. Smith died from his wounds at three o'clock in the , afternoon. Eixon is now in the United I States jail hospital. Lowrey, the man who finished up Dalton, ' is still at large, but will probably bo eapj tured, as all of the marshal's force are I in pursuit and are scouring the country : for him, and every effort will bo made to catch him, as it is becoming too hot for I deputy marshals in tho Indian Territory. Terrible Scene in a Jail. Early the sarao morning three Sioux Ini dians named Finger-Nail, Sitting-in-Front, i and Pete Matthews, confined in the county ! jail at Gleudive, Montana, for horse stealing, made an attack on two white prisoners. Their weapons were table knives, a pair of scissors, and common chairs with which the jail was supplied. After inflicting mortal wounds on one of the white prisoners. Finger-Nail and Sitting-in-Front hanged themselves in their cells with their bunk straps. They were ! assisted by the other Indian, Pete Matthews, who, after they committed the deed, tried to butt his brains out against the wall of the cell, but was secured and ironed by Sheriff Tuttle and several other persons. The two Indians who hanged themselves stabbed themselves all over their bodies before resorting to hanging. Francisco Salamo, an Italian, who was confined on a charge of burglary, was stabbed ill several places, and the county physician did not expect him to live until morning. The other prisoner, L. H. Tuck, was stabbed and pounded over the head with chairs in the hands of the Indians. He reI gained consciousness late in the afternoon,and I only remembered that the Indians attacked ! him with knives, after which he became un| conscious. The doctor says he will recover i with proper care. These Indians tried to starve[themselves to death several months ago, and after that remarked that they would not live to bo tried for horse stealing. The prisoners appeared jolly and contented the Erevious evening when the janitor made is rounds. They were allowed too much liberty, neither on9 of the cells being locked, only the outside door of the cage. They had access to all the cells, ana the Indians waited until they thought the white prisoners were sound asleep. MUSICAL MP DRAMATIC, The new oratoria of "Ruth" has won great miccess in England. Campanini, the celebrated opera singer, is making a tour through the United States. Miss Lillian Olcott will be seen in anew comedy by Snrdou next year. It is said that she is to pay $15,000 for it. Lucca is soon to sing in Vienna. Her voice is said to be as good as over, and her acting has always been the best to bo seen on the i operatic stage. Church music in New York city, a local journal states, employs not far from 2.000 organists and vocalists, whose annual salaries j amount to at least O.ve of the scenes in "The Soggarth," the | now iri?n piay. win do a gien uy mouun^ui/, with real water effects, anil a road down I which the hero rides a horse at full speed. Jclia jaylord, the opera singer, is going to try the dramatic stage next season. Enflish authors have written two new plays for er. She will start in the British provinces. Mr. Sydney Rosenfet.d has completed a j three-act comedy, "A Doubtful Question," I and has arranged with the Lyceum Theatre, j New York, for its production at an early i date. It is said that Gilletto's dramatization of Haggard's "She," shortly to be produced at Niblo's, New York, will eclipso in spectacular effects anything seen of late years on the stage. It is questiono:! if Remenyi, the violinist, is really dead, as was reported some weeks ago. A London paper refers to him as doing well in Southern Africa at a date believe.! to be luter than that announced for his demise. Mr. P. S. Gilmore has shown his appreciation of tho new national anthem, "Our Nation's Flag." recently composed by Mr. Georgo Purdy, leader of tho Boston Mu cum orchestra, by having it arranged for military hands unci adriinor it to his renertoilW THE MARKETS. .NEW YORK. 43 Beef, good to prime 7 8 Calves, common to prime.... 5 @ 8% Sheep 7 (qj 8% | Lambs 8?<f [ Hogs?Live 5 @ 5% Dressed 7 $ 8 Flour?Ex. St.,good to fancy 4 35 @4 i>5 J West, good to choice 3 GO (aj 5 00 Wheat -No. 2 Red 87 <3} 87>? j Rye?State 56 @ 58 Barley?Stato 82 (a} 85 i Corn?Ungraded Mixed? 57j?@ 5SJ^ Oats? White State 3V..$ 33 Mixed Western 3? @ 37 May?Med. to prime 7.i @ 90 Straw?No. 1, Rye 50 <2) 55 Lard?City Steam 7 50 @7 00 Butter?State Creamery.... 26 (aj 28 Dairy 10 @ 26 West. Im. Creamery 18 @ 24 j Factory 14 @ 22 Cheese?State Factory 10 @ 11% Skims 4 @ 8% Western ' )%(!% 11% Eggs?State and Penn ? (g 25 BUFFALO. ? o os /a x (VI I Steers?Western o ^ -* w , Sheep?Good to Choico 4 (X) @ 4 50 Lambs?Western 5 00 (& 5 50 | Hogs?Good to Choice Yorks 5 ~'0 @ 5 30 Flour?Family 4 75 @5 15 Wheat?No. 1 87 J/? 87}.j Corn?No. :i, Mixed 5'j @ 54 Oats?No. ti, Mixed ? (S) 33 Barley?State 70 (? 76 nosTOW. Beef?Good to choice 8 Hogs?Live 0 Northern Dressed.... 7U Pork?Ex. Prime,per bbl...17 00 @17 50 Flour?Spring Wheat pat's.. 4 70 (cy 4 95 Corn?High Mixed. ? (& 56W Outs?Extra White 30 @ Sflv Rye?State 60 @ 65 WATKRTOWN* (MASS.) CATTLE MARKET. Beef- Dressed weight 7 Sheen?Live weight 4j^ Lamb; 4>^ 4% Hogs?Northern ? (g fl j PHILADELPHIA. ? ' K* O Art I Flour?Fonn.exi.ra iaiuiijr.#? ? iu ^ o w Wheat-No. 3, Red 86 @ Slitf Coru?State Yellow ? @ 55 j Oats Mixed 86 @ 38% Ryo?fcitata 53 Batter - Creamery Extra... ? & 30 I Cheese?N. Y. Full Cream.. 12 <& _ 12^ j ~ BUDGET OF FUN. S ? be t HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM hc 8 VARIOUS SOURCES. ?loc aow ing i A Terrible Affliction? The Attack Qaz to be Renewed?Twice Surprised?Crushed A<jain? Took His LeR Off. 7-1 forg Mendicant?"Will you please help the ?ver blind, sir?" " Gentleman?"You can see as well as *ltl* ' I. You're not blind." r Mendicant?"No, sir, but my wife is. a ?P She takes in washin' an' I have to fetch ??rv all the water for her. It's an awful thing P to be blind, sir."?Drake1 e Magazine. 70U ! ' * igsai The Attack to be Renewed. P? \r?r, <( T I^tto but ] JLUUU^ ITlrtU? JL IV/ it jvu i vxaugubd} , sir, devotedly. May I Lope for a bless- *ts 1 ing from you?" .n Old Man?"Have you spoken to my daughter upon the subject?'' lke Young Man?"Yes, and she refused ' me." relta Old Man?"Well, doesn't that settle ** eter; Young Man?"No, sir. You forget S*?D that I am a life insurance agent, and 1 . never take no for an answer."?New York ?n 11 Sun. f?? look ent Twice Surprised. ^out Young Wife (at dinner table, sobbing) ^00a ?"I think you?-you?are just as mean is?as?you can be. I made that?that ipple dumpling as a pleasant surprise for jou, and?and now?you?want me to T1 iring a handsaw to cut it in two with." of o; Young Husband? "Good heavens, The" Maria! Is that a dumpling? I took it and .'or a cocoanut. (With desperate firm- theii less.) I'll eat it now, Maria, if it kills rerm ne."? Chicago Tribune. lefti pose Crushed Again. Pea.r (Midnight.) Poor wife to husband FJ?" ft-liose loud snoring keeps her awake? 1 , 1 'Charlie! Charlie! do stop snoring! Pfar( Turn over on your side!" (Nudges him.) P Husband, only half awake, grunts, tl^ ;urns on his side, and continues to snore. tatjQ Wife has a happy idea. Remembers a forej ine from an article called " How to Pre- man, feut Snoring." Gives her husband a t ^ I lecond nudge, which elicits another , I ?runt. "Oh, Charlie! If you'd keep t^e ( four mouth shut, you'd be all right." Charlie (still semi-conscious)?"So 11 would you! "?Harper's Bazar. proe Took His Leg Off. " Did you hear about Jake Gubbins's eg being taken off!" uati( " JNo, when was that?" ever " This morning, on the railroad." "Jove, that's hard luck. How did it happen?" a*rft "BVhy, you see ho bought a ticket, sliejj ind'boarded the train and the locomotive whistled and away went poor Gubbins's jf gor." . '"Well how? Did he fall off?" JJJp " No. He Bit there in a seat, and when [| ihe train went it had to take his leg off, lidn't it? Of course it took the rest of jj lim off too, you know. He'll be home recej >n the night train probably?I'll take a (jem< iigar for mine."?Banscil'.c Breeze. gcja] in th Ho Understood. been On a Wabash and Cottage Grove grip: tion^ First Person?"I got the worst of it deal, to-day." Chin Second Ditto?"So?" a coi First?''Yes. I went home last night Chin tnd that duck of a wife said to me: the r 'Dearie, the hats this fall are much wayi lower.' I was overcome with joy, and of th told her to go and get one or two if she little liked, because you know how uncertain bodi< the market is." been Sccond Ditto?"Well!" thejp l'irst?"Well, she did; got two. To- simil day I paid the bill. Holy Joseph, but it other was a stunner. More than I ever paid pond before. So I spoke to my wife about it, diet i and her reply was that she meant the few i ityle was lower?not the price. See? he is That wife of mine ought to be a lawyer are t: ?? arlifa* a?? eAmnfViitirp nrVinro V?or | ui nu i/Uiivi \ji aviuwiiuu^ nuv?v uvt > genius could spread itself. j The speaker turned to see the effect of . his narrative upon his friend, but the , I .atter had fallen off his seat about a half ,r | block distant.? C icago Mail. nativ It Could Not Be. Eur9 Wiird He put on his hat, started slowly for , c : the door, hesitated, came back, sighed . : deeply and took the lily while hand in .jj | his own and pressed it to his lips. ' ''Katie," he murmured, "I have waited nn( hong?oh, how long!?for this oppor- " unity. Will you, Katie, will you, * : larling be mine?" [ "Ilenry," she replied, with a look half scj10c oi sorrow and half of determination, "it : -an never be." d fl "Never be! Oh, why have you per- ^ mitted me to hope? Why have you en- 00 ^ eouraged me, only to stamp upon my bleeding heart at last?" "I am sorry, Ilenry; but I can never j^j. be yours. 1 have other objects in view." vcajc | "Other objects?" than "Yes, Henry; I cannot consent to be- n0'w^ long to any man. I intend that you ^ shall be mine.''?Boston Transcript. hospi medii Dull Times West. waiti Eastern Man?"How is business in wjth Prairie City?" befor Western Man?"Everything's dead; Engl; don't know what the country is coming their to." this ' K. M. ? tlW hy, Iheardten new factor- l,( ries were going up there." who W. M.?"Yes, that so." this E. M.?"And a new board of trade inore hail started in opposition to the old one." ku0\v W. M.?"Yes, I believe so." ivorl< E. M.?"And I was told 400 new aimo.< houses were in course of construction." muv W. M.?"Yes, I s'pose that's about the ]u.a"r, number." E. M.?"Hut you say things are dull." ^ W. M.?"IluM's no name for it; dead, absolutely dead. Why, air, I staked out Fr< a suburb, only fifty miles away, into miles ? *? a 1 - aaa ? 1ni nm1 T eonroi twenty-ioot iois at a iut, uu * ain't sold a danged one of 'em."?Tid- loveb Bit*. sacre< on th Ingenuity on Boih Sides. a tern A gentleman about to close his sum- 'onc ! mer house at Nuliant conceived whrt he nioun considered a brilliant idea to insure the f^e * daily personal inspection of every room cents in his villa during the winter by the old then man in whose charge the establishment table' was to be left. Accordingly, lie said to fanjc the old man that he should leave all his *s sev clocks, one in each room, at Nahant.dur- P:1th, ing the winter, and he desired that every 119 a E one shonld be wound up at a regular 81103 ' hour each day. The old man concurred top, ! in the plan with all his heart, and prom- w'th miscd he would not fail. The house was acroa o.i i 0f ;UI 01080(1. 111C UW 111.-1 uniggiiuuguuu VAQf?t | . about his scheme for having every room *ain> guarded against leaks, e!c., during the c?me winter, and cani-e to Bostou. A week or s."a'v'J two afterward this gentleman thought s he would take a run down to Xubaat,and ^icre see how things were going. When he gn*eT arrived there .he foutkl his man. who was l?dge very glad to see him, and told him that seven ho had wound each clock faithfully as he 'a'<e? had directed. On enterinar the house th? water N H B ?f?? I proceeded to the rear drafftnf rooia, H the astonishment of tho owner may H tetter imagined than described when H aw ranged along in a row his thirteea H ks, which the old man had brought H n to save himself the trouble of go- H all over the house every day.?Boston H ettc. m Bub Talks of the Goat. H be gote iz wot botinists wood caH a H it me not?no boy that is suddenly H takin by a gote will be apt to fergei Hj This is a settled fak in my mind, o' wen ma looked at mi trowsere af- M he las' engagement she thort it wuz M en kweschin. The gote gives milke, H idprl vrtu fin n't. mnlrn n. mistake fcn the rong kind ov a gote; in this case dont git any milk but yu do git speratea. Gotcs wares thare hare, pydore weD thare in a peaceful-mood wen thay aint thay wares it bang, an i kin ov bang yu dont fergit in a y nether. Ule gentlemen gotes wares :ers wich is decevin cause thay looks Sunday skool superintended, but if ?ee his tale wink yu want to ajurn i yool think voove sot down on _ai kar that wux in a hurry. Gotca is i. Wen thar hungry fride tombes iz jest as good to them ez ennyg ony ef lhares imymoryam verses t thayl spittem out. Ive been tryin ly something nice bout the way gotes s in the face but I cant an yu musspeckt me tcr say anything meen ; a friend that gives me so many ts in the wurld.? YonJcers Ocuetta. 1 T >,*r Pearl Oysters. ~~ ae business of getting the pearls oat esters is a tolerably disagreeable one. oysters are thrown into large vessels left to die, when the shells open of r own accord. The shells arc then )ve<3, but the oysters themselves are in buckets till they become decomd, when they are well stirred. Thels sink to the bottom, and the reider is poured off. It may be readily red that the odor in the camp of I seekers is more powerful than ?ant. le pearl has its origin intheefforta of jys'ter to protect itself from the irrim caused by the presence of some gn body between the shell and its tie, as the soft skin of tho oyster is nically termed. To mitigate the suf. ig caused by this vexacious intruder, jyster deposits thereon a coating of same material as that of which the" is composed, and when once this ess has begun, it continues, till in; the pearl grows large enough to kill >yster. > the fanciful minds of Oriental )ns no such crude explanation has occurred, and they still attribute to Is much more poetic origin. The *rs, they say, rise by night to theice of the water, and opening their s, receive therein a single drop o? This in time becomes a pearl, and e dew has been pure and clear, the L will be a beautiful one; but if the of dew has been soiled with im;ies, then the pearl will be opaque. nf nn valnn ... nnaus, the " father of naturalists," IH red the honor of knighthood for^H jnstrating the possibility of artily inducing the formation of pearla e pearl-bearing mussel. But, as has H| the case with other European invenof which we have thought a good jfi it has since turned out that John BH aman has been doing th's thing for iplc of thousand years or so. Thi ^Bj cse method is to take the mussel from ivcr, carefully force the shells a little H[ ipart, and insert between themantl? M e oyster and one of the shells a few pellets of clay, tiny pearls or foreign 38 of some kind. When this hat H| done, the oyster is turned over, and ^fij ioor fellow is obliged to submit to* HB ar uncomfortable process on hii hH side. He is then put back into a , where he is kept well and fat by a HB more nourishing than nice. After t nonths, or sometimes a year or two, 89 again taken from his bed, his pearls BWj iken out, and he is eaten. Bfl - A Chines? Hospital. H9 one of the most crowded thorough- ^ of the Chinese quarter of Shanghai ^Bj has stood for forty years a free IH c hospital, mainly supported by the HB pean community. Very strange it* KM s look at first to English visitors HH patients bring their own bedding, EH sting of a bamboo mat and a wadded Bflj Tiio.se wno can move aoouc are nly regular attendants of thoso who BM )t. The house surgeon and dia- MM :ris at. hri>t.:an Chinaman, forthirty ^H connected with the hospital and HE of the first converts of a mission ^H ?1. Yearly about 800 patients pass HH igh the wards, and the proportion of ^H is is small. Last year there were^Hfl six, and in the dispensary more than HH 0 eases were treated. ^H Mil very far distances many of the ^H suffering ercatures come, and aH to their far off homes many a ^H (1 one has carried a blessing greater HH bodily healing; for we believe that HI ere, at home or abroad, could better HH be found than in the Shanghai HH tal of the benefit of combining HM :al and Gospel work. Daily the.^H ng room, seated for 300, is crowded H? men, women and children long HH c the dispensing hour, and daily an isb. mi-sionary, as conversant with ^H language as his own, sets before waiting multitude the word of life. HH :lieve," writes a Christian physician ^H| for some years had the oversight of HB work, "that tlic Chinese undergo suffering for want of medical HB ledge than any other nation in the^^H 1. In an institution like this, it daily under a good physician HI the blind re:cive sight, the d$af^H the lame walk.?London Quiver. H9 Staircase Seven Miles Long. BS jm Nikko the pilgrims go eight up to Lake Chinzenji, where their i mountain, Nautaisan, guards that HI r sheet of water. They bathe in the H9 1 waters, pass under a grand torri e water's edge, say their prayers at pie and climb the mountain to a^H shrine at the top. The path to the^M tain's summit is kept in order by B9 emplc guardians, who charge 20 for every climber, and the climber has his name inscribed on wooden ts in the temple ground?, which is^^J enough for his humble lifetime. It^^H en miles to the summit, aud thc^^H fnstead of winding: and zigzagging nountain path generally docs, pur-HE in air line from the bottom to the^HH ind is simply a seven-mile staircase, HD steps regularly made of sticks laid^H i and bru'.cd in. It is all a matter jgs and knees to get up the moun-HB and altogether a matter of knees to^H down, aud climbers feel weak and^^B r there for days after dcscendingHH even-mile staircase. At C'hinzenji^H^ are long barracks provided by the.^HB nraent, where the pilgrims can^^J for a few coppcrt each night, and;Hfl| il tea-houses built at tho edge of with galleries overhanging the'^H