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TIE FREE SCHOOLS. Supt McMahan P.>ints Out De ticlerciis in Syst rm. RECOMMENDATIONS MADE. Some of the N Beds A-e Crying Ones. Shou'd ba Reor giniz 4d en a Scien tific Basis The annual report of the State super intendent of et.cation has been com pleted and is now in the hands of the public printer. The report is full of information about education in South Carolina and it is presented in an at tractive manner. The ex ra.1ts found below from the intrtductory rerion will be found of considerable public in terest: the recommendations made have been given by Mr. MeMthan af ter a careful study of existing condi tions: When we reflect on the complexities of modern life in moral, social and in. dustrial relations, and the problems that are pressing for solution, we real ise that one's opportunities ard obli gations in life are measured only by the equipment and training of the mind and character iaco the State has accepted her proper task of pro viding for the education ot her people she cannot discharge her responsiilih; by anything s .ort of such an Education as the timea cemind. Her ph dge is to -pioide for all the people an education adequate to the demands of life. To redeem this pledge is now rccgniz !d as the prime iuC.ion of a State. The enlightened opinion of today gives to it a broader and deeper meaning than that understood when the pledge was first given. The charity which in the past generations give free school ed ucation to the indigent helpless for their own welfare was a seed which has germinated and grown, until now it is the recognized duty of society as an organic whole to provide a succes sor to itself fit to take up its burden of human progress and rress onward. It is a misnomer to *ay t hat we hav a system of pubbc schools- In the ac tual working of the great ma,. rity of the schools in this State there is no sys-em, no orderly organization. Each county supports it own schools, with practically no help from the State as a whole. Each district has as poor schools as its people will tolerate-and in some districts anything will be tol erated. Each teacher works along in her own way, whatever that may be, almost uninfluenced by theExistence of any other school or school authority. Isolation reigns. This is n -t in-paring or stimulating. If. on the other hand, a teacher were filling htr a-signed place in a system, stee wtuld know what was expected of it r asaii feel her accountability to acc.n,.iit it, and she could look with cot ti a nee fur the aid and encouragement toa. she migiht need. If we had an adequate ge of edu cation from kicier.prten to university, or even such 's s3 stem as our financial resources justify and the bebt thought of the State app~oves under the cir cumstances, it would not be in the province of this report to recommend legislation. IL n well enough alone' is a safe rule where conditions are tol erable, and time and growth will bring the remedy. Uhat g 'sin the law should not be made unnecessarily. Fully recognizing these facts, and content to trust to time for many improvements, I am, nevertheless, convinced that our educational system has certain fatal defects, and that ali efforts at improve ment must fail of substantial results until by the necessary legaslation these defects are removed and the system is put on a sound and safe basis fo~r growth and development. The state superintendent of educa tion might satisfy the public and make life more agreeable to himself if he would confine his energies to the cleri cal and routine duties of his offie. He might make no rec mmer'l-tions but those for which putr ic epit-i >" is f'Illy prepared. But then be would be of lit tle service te the State. if he puts his heart and his conscience into his work-when the system he is dealing with is as defective as in South Care lina-he will flid himself face to face with duties whose importance is be yond computation or expression and whose extent is perhaps beyond th~e power of any one man to comprehend or accomplish. The law prescribes that "it shall he his duty to visit every county in the State as often as practicable for the purpose of inspecting the schools, awarening an interest favorable to the cause of education and ddffusing as widely as possible by public addresses and personal communion with s::hool offoers, teachers and parents a knowl edge of existing defects and of desir able improvements in the government -and instruction of the said schools." (Section 2 ) it further directs that he shall report to the general assembly plans "for the management and im provement of the schools and for the more perfect organization and eff ciency of the Iree public schools." (Section 3 ) Upon him is thus laid the special duty to investigate the way to better schools and to urge its conclu sions upon the minds and consciences of the legislators and the people. He ib charged with leadership in educational improvement and is recreant to his trust of, through indifference or through policy, he does not strenuously seek to lead when he knows what is needed. The law assumes that he is qualified to lead in these matters. However in ferior in personal qualifications, he has by virtue of his position special and peculiar opportunities as well as obliga tions to acquaint himself with condi tions and needs in his State and wi'th the course of educational experience, thought and improvement in other States. Wiien one is thus appointed to make a special investigation of a spe cial subject, and is afforded the facili ties for personal intercourse with ex perts in that department and for study of the literature of the Enu ject, he is expected to speak with more authority than others whose labors and .,tudies and thought have not been thus direct e4 into this particular line. it is p' sible for a physician to be mistaken in his diagnosis of a case and bis prescrip tion of the remedy; but the patient who has employed him will usualiv ac cept his ju'igment. It is, therefore, with a soXin sense of duty to the trust cotaittad to ice that I make recommendations to y.u honorable body telnuhig the 'more perfect organization and ediziency o: the free public schoois." L believe that as legislators of a sovereign State, responsive to the progressive demands 6f the constitutiOU, you wil give earn est thcuzht to :he question of provid ic '-a liberal system of free public jceol," wh'ch, now, we have not. All school authorities are agreed that the one primary essential to an rffi -ient school system is the guaran tee of expert supervision, and they are further agreed that a skilled pro f-ssional superintendent or inspector of schools c.nnot be secured where (1) the salary is inadequat<: ('), the ten ure short or uncertain, or, (3). the choice is by popular election. Oir stat utory law for county superintendents of education combines all three of these defects. Until they are removed 'he duties of inspection and sipervis ion cannot be properly done through out the State, and it would be a waste to provide more school money. I know that many friends of educaton d, not see this. They have not studied the question. But they ought to put som 3 faith in the conclusion reached by all students of the scho)l promlem here and in other countries. Lit the scho)l system provide expe-t supervision and all other wants will be supplied It is the one thing needful, the overshad owing need. Salary.-The average salary paid caunty superintendents of education in South Carolina is $423 75; the usual salary is $300 or $400, This is prepos terous. The office is regarded and made by law insignificant, subsidiary to the incumbent's private business, or a small pension for a g~od citizen. ' Poor pay, poor preach." In my an nual report [ urged an increase of the salary of this cfficer in every county, and discusssed the qualities and work of a capable superintendent, stressing (1), his executive duties as a business and financial manager; (2) his profes sional work as an expert inspector of schools and teacher and trainer of teachers. I shall append to this report some ex'.rac's from what I there said. Tenure of Office.-The same argu ment that holds f r the continuation of a faithful and efficient teacher, graded school superintendent, college professor or presidents, applies to the superintendent of the schools of the county. A change of management ev ery two or four years will retard any systematic work. A new management, however intelligent, req vres some time to become acquainted with and ad jisted to conditions. Meantime there is friction, and friction is waste. Just when a faithful and capable officer be gins to get everything toned up, un der control, ready to be brought to high efficiency, he must abandon the management to one to whom the whole business is entirely new and strange. Possibly he surrenders the work though congenial and inspiring, be cause he cannot afford to give his time for so small a salary. Possibly he is defeated because he 'has served his two terms" or "has had it long enough." It may be that he is defeat ed because he his refused to prostitute, the office to the ends of a politician, and his opponent is a demagogue that plays upon low passions and narrow prejudices, or makes unscrupulous combinations. He may be defeated merely because he is known to b able to make a living without the salary and his opponent is in need of a pen sion, or because his opponent has mcre kin in the county, or he is a j >llir com panion. This is not the way a mill or rail road or other successful bu:,iness is con ducted. Nor is it the method for schools in States where public school education has proved most suecessful Nor is it by this method that our town schools are operated QOly our coun try schools are thus sacrificed. Like wise they are subjected to the fr. quent chai gnig of teachers This is the fatal wcakness in the country schools This is the vital difference between the country schools and the town schools Are our country schools not worthy to be given the same advantageous management that is provide-d for the town schools and the colleges? An educational syi-em is a great business. A business, although con ducted by the State, should be con ducted on business principles. The fact that there is a tendency not to do this but to let small politic3 control, is the cause of the strenuous opposition of so many intelligent citizens to the conduct of any business by govern ment. Improvement has always been effected by aboli-hing the methods of polities The efficiency of the Uaited States scientific bureaus, and of the postal service, has been obtained through an organisation which ex ludes pclitics and guarantees the per mnent employment of competent work ers In the dispensary system of South Carolina the necessity has been ex perienced for the application of the same principles. Shall we do less for our public schools? Popular Election.-The law pre scribes no tualifications for the office of county superintendent. Only in a few counties is there a sentiment which insures that he must have been a teacher. But he may he the poorest white teacher in the county. Ic maby counties it is not expected that he shall be an educated man. In a few he is utterly incompetent. He may be a col lege graduate and yet by temperament beitterly unfit for the work. In Georgetown, where the whites have an agreement to give some offices to the negro majority, the offico of superin tendent of education is selected as one to b: given to the negroes-a fit indi crion of -that county's conception of the assistance the wh'te teachers should receive from a superintendent of education. The colored incumbent is an intelligent man, and has done much to benefi. the teachers of his race in his county. In Bamiberg the super intendent of education is the audi:,or. This is consistent with the idea that he has none but clerical duties. The rule in the Sta'.e is that he shall be no more than a business man; hut he may not e even that. As long as the position is eleotive, it is political and expected to be rotated. If the superintendent does his duty strenuously he will frequently seem to be hastening the rotation process. He ought to settle, by authority where that is the only remedy, the numerous school squabbles that paralyze the ed ucationat interest in many country dis tricts. He ought to put his foot down on the needless multiplication .of schools, which fritters away the in creased school fund and keeps .the.'av erneZ school weak and worthless. He ourbt to see that the districts are ft rud andc the schools located in ac eance with the dircetion of the con -ttto in the best interests of the pcr' ie, whether or not it suits every body at the time. lHe ought to see that evt ry necv school house is built upon the beet plan for the money, and that no trustees shall be imposed upon with wrthless or neeilessly expensive s-hoel supplies, but that they shall be inormed and directed as to the best for their particular circumstanets He ought to see that no certificate of quafication to teach shall be granted or continued to an incompetent teacher, even ugh she be the sister or the the county. He ought to see that each teacher shall make the proper reports and leave a proper record of the wirk accomplihed by each pupil -o that the suec edine teacher may know wha' each pupil has done and enould next begin He should bri g pr ;su-e to btar up >n the teachers to do b tier work, to im prove thtmse!ves. l should discover and muter o2t of service the uneon scientimns teachers, the time servers, who werely "keep scoti for the Money." He should look after every d tail of the school bu~iness of the county and hold a tight rein, though with a kindly heart and a broadly, sympathetic intelligence. Bit, would he be re elected? Wou'd there not be a host to electioneer against him?-those whose petty notions or selfish interests h, with a large view of the educational interests of the county, has crossed or balked? Hardly does he g.t his duties well in hand before the campaign for re-elec-io t is in sight. He is tempted to try to accommodate everbody, to be polite rather than to do his duty and make a few enemies. Policy dictates inaction-do nothing, risk nothing and you may b3 overlooked, and allowed to continue in office. A MYSTERIOUS CASE The Pitiable Condition of a Young Man in Columbia. The Columbia State says there is a young man in one of the best rooms at the Columbia hotel who will probably have to account, as soon as he regains his senses, for the appearance on his person of checks aggregating in value about $4,000. The name is not given in view of the fact that he may have re gistered under an assumed one. The whole story is a peculiar one though the police and others inter-s.ed are keeping their mouths shut about it. Tne young fellow, who is about 3) years of age, and who is said to have oeen ii the employ of Souther Express company at Charlotte, N C, until rec ntly, came here a day or two ago. The hotel people say he had probably $1.000 in cash. What has become of it none know. On Thursday night from heavy drink ing the young man got into a terrible s-ale. He had been trying to commit suicide. Some gentlemen who were in the hotel about 1 o'clock Friday morning saw him go out. They followed him, and acquainted a police officer with the statements they had heard The man was soon in charge of the officer and taken to police headq'aarters. Later on he was carried back to his room at the hotel, owing to his condition. Pre viously a bottle of lau-anum was taken from his pocket. On getting him to his room an offiser was detailed to prevent him from committing sucide. This ofil oer proceeded to put him to bed. Tne man seemed to be uneasy about a grip that was locked, concerning the key of wh'ch he told several tales. When his trousers were being ;ul'ed off three checks that be had stuff -d inide slip ped out. One was f r $2,200 rother for $1 00:) and another tvr $377 All were signed by the president of several Union cotton mills and wtre payable to the order of the Souther railway agent at Uoion, who had endorsed them. Suthern railway offiras were sum moned, along with otners and an in vestigation started About all that cou'd be Itarned as to the re-ut is that these cheeks were turned over to the Sou herm Express comp iny at Un'o to be shipped to Charlot'e, on Decem ber 3 They were addressed to a bank in Charlotte, and, it is said, the record show.s they were delivered. Row they came to be found here is the all im parant q'iestion. The matter is one of mystery and some people are loosing leep over it. It is certainly a csse of many peculiar features. Trhe young man has been able to say nothing since the finding of the cheers, his condition being pitiable Superintendent Sadler of the ex; r:ss company arrived here Friday morning, and he and Route Agent Richards-,n, who reached bec re at 9.30 p m, were in consultation dcing the night A Greater South. "Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, the Carolinas. Virginias, even Texas, are rapidly rising to a position in the in dustrial world rivaling that once oc cupied by Massachusetts and other New England States," says the Philh delphia Manufacturer. This is an hon et confession on th ipart of th-s Mann facturer, which goes on t> say that "the resources of the S 'uth, reaching as they do, untold, almost untellable, millions, make possible a position far beyond the boundaries of our best men's ambitions in the days before our coal, iron and other mines were opened. With all her natural wealth, the South is not safe or secure. What is wanted is being urged upon her by her best business men and by her most thought ful statesmen. The great need now is teachnical, industrial art and commer cial edneation. This is being urged by te leading lights in the editorial sane tums of the South. The building of ilts will be a better paying business by and by if the South is wise enough o anticipate the rivalry and competi Ition that is bund to come It is the old story. Captains of industry, so necessary for success, must come in from the outside. This is irritating to a proud people. Naturally tbey ask if others are able to organize and intro duce higher forms of industrial, induq trial art education, why not the South? The South situated as it is on the Gulf, Atlantic, and not far in its western parts from the Pacific, with its wonderful corn cotton, rice, peanut and potato fields, of their kinds the best in the world, wth coal, iron and lime c~ntiguous to each other, with a water snpply perennial and powerful, with water-ways extend ing far inland in one case, the Missis sippi cutting into the heart not only of this eontinent, but running through one of the richest, if not the richest valley on earth, must make great eforts for the one thing it needs to put it into a position to compete perma nently with not only New England, but with the outside world. What others have done, say elcquent South ern men, the South can do, and the Souh will do. The textile, iron and agricultural interests of the South should see to it that all kinds of schools necessary in the textile and iron lines are added to the cities and towns of the South. With them success, progress and prosperity are certain; without Ithem the South will have to crawl while others move forward erec', with constantly-celerating speed." The abve is sound sense and the gratifying part about it is we Southerners have learned to understand, appreciation and profit by such pleasant lectures. Smashed Mirrors. Mrs. Carrie Nation, presiderat of Bar ber county Kansas WV. C. T. U . enter ed the Carey Hotel barroom toaay and with a stone smashed a $300) j ainting and a mirror valued at $100). Mrs. Na tion broke mirrors in two sakons at Kiowa, some months ago and declar ed there is no law uoder which sl e cau be prosecuted. She was lodged in the county j til this afternoon charged with THE YEAR'S RECORD Great Rush of C p ca l to all K-nds e f Enterprises FATS AND FIGURES GIVEN C tton Oil Mills, Bank;, M inufac tu'ing and O.her C-ncirns Classified O'ficiai State ment is Giv in. S eretary of State Coooper's r2par: of the eeneral assembly, the copy of which will be p'aced in the hands of the printer in a f ;w days, will not only be the boat ever issued from that offi 1e, but will make a remarkable showing for South Carolina's business activity during the past year. The incorpora tion of private companies was placed upon the secretary of State's offi %e in 1888. and during the 12 years about 2 300 charters have been isssued Ic is a remarkable fact that one-third of that number has been i- s led within less than two years. The remarkable showing of new c tpital in cotton mills published several days ago, consequent ly, is not the only evidence of progress and enterrrise which it will show. mne comparative statement of charters granted during 1900, by counties is as follows: Num- Capital ber. Stock. Abbeville ............ 3 $ 85,000 Aiken ....... ...... 5 367,000 Bamberg......... ..1 25 000 Barnwell............. 3 40 000 Baufort............ 3 72 500 Berkeley ........... 1 10,000 Charleston ...........31 2 140 000 Cherokee ..... ....4 222 500 Chester ............ 3 105,500 Chesterfield ..... ..... 5 255 000 Clarendon .... ...... 5 78,000 Darlington ........... 4 292 500 Edgefield ..... ....... 2 1,000 200 Fairfield .............. 2 6,000 Florence .... ......... 2 27 500 Georgetown.......... 5 251,000 Greenville ...........22 862 600 Greenwood .... ..... 6 200 500 Horry...... .......4 18 000 Kershaw.............. 2 202 500 Lancaster............. 3 40,000 SLaurens.. ............ 5 237,0n0 Lexington............ 2 80,000 Marion...............10 223 000 Mar'boro ............. 5 265,500 Newberry ....... .... 7 265,000 Orangeburg ..... ... 5 222 200 Piokens ...........3 330 000 Richland.... .........22 1,476.000 Sumter ............... 4 208 500 Spartanburg ..........16 1,860 500 Union ............... 5 921,000 York... .......... 6 234,000 Total............209 $12 724.000 The above does not include, for 1900 charters granted to churches, railroads, lodges, societies, or eleemosynary oar porations; nor does it take into consid eration those partially formed. The ab ve array of fi ,ures represent ing the birth of a number of corpora tions that will become impnrtant fac tors in the fu are prosperity of the State. Included in the list are the fol; Lowing manufacturir'g corporations (- xeluiive of cotton mills) Five with a capital stock of $202,000 Thie Percival Manufacturing co n pany of Char'eston, $16,000. Carolina Portland Cement company Charleston, $10,000. Carolina Door, Sash and Lumber coempany, Charleston, $20,000 Intere'sangeable Window Display company, Chesterfield, $100,000 Laurens Furniture Manufacturing company, Laurens, $25,000 McC,41 Novelty Works, Marlboro, $15 (009. New1 e-y Handle and Shuttle cm pany, New berry $10,000 Ua'on Hardwood Manufacturing cmn.ipany, Union, $6 000 Three with capital stock of $13,000, as follows: Charleston Iron Works, $5,003 Cherokee Foundry and Machine W< ris, $5 000. ,Conway lion Works, $3,ooo T wo with capital stock of $240,000, as follows: Riverside Paper Box Fas'ory, Charloston, $15.000 Royal Bag and Yarn Manufacturing company, Charleston, $225,000, T wo with capital stock of $30,000 as follows: Spartanburg L'oom Harness company, Spartanburg, $15.000 Andrews Loom, Reed and Harness Works, Spartanburg, $15,000 Willard Manufacturing company, Richland, $10 000. Citizans' Ice company, Charleston $5o000o Southern Harrow company, York $50.00o. Three notable companies e-eated are the Georgia -Carolina Manufacturing, Anderson, the Twin City Po.wer, e,m oany, Edgefbld; and the Catawba Power company, York, with a aggre gate cspital stock of $1,200,ooo Three mining companies have been created as follows: Standard Kaolin company, Aikena, $15. ooo New Cut Mining company, Cherokee, $2 5o0 Palmetto Gold Mining company, Spartanburg, $1,000,000. The cotton seed oil and fertilizer companies chartered are as follows: McCormnick Cotton Oil company, Ab beville, $15 000 Pendleton 0 1 and Fertilizer com pany, Anderson, $20,000 Anderson Fertilis r company, Ander son, $100 000. Fanners 0.1 Mill company, Ander son.. $25 000 Cotton 0,1 company, Bamberg, $25. 000. E iwan Fertilizer company, Charles ton, $125,000. Manning Oil Mill and Illuminating company, Clarendon, $30,000 Farmers' Cotton Oil company, Clar endon, $30 000 Pee Dee 0 1 and Ies company, Dasr lington, $30,000. Farmers' Cotton Seed Oil Mill and Ginnery, Greenville, $15 000. The new telephone and electrical comp anies are ten in number and have an aggregate capital stock of $766,500. They are as follows: Sea Ibland Telephone company and Island Telephone company, Charlestoz, $10,000 and $1 000, respectively. Ash worth Electrical company, Ches ter fi 4ld, $100,000 Georgetown and North Island Tele. phone company, Georgetown, $1,000 Ninety- S z Telephone company, Greenwood, $1 0010. Blenheim & Browuville Telephone company, Marlboro, $500. Consolidated Telephone company of South Carolina, Richland, $100,000 S&u:h Carolina Lnmg Diataance Tele phone company, Richland, $500,000. Glenn Springs Telephone company, Citizens Telephone and Telegraph company, Sp irtanburK, $30.000 Ten building and loin associations with an acgregate cpital stock of $1 355,000; eleven barks with an aggre gate capital stock $415,000 and fi' tcen real es'a:e, savings and invest meet conpanies, ui:h an aggregate capital stock (f $84i,6oo a-e included in the year's re:ord. Colors d College Closed The Colu'ubi" Siate savs Friday afternoon President Thos. E Miller of the Sate Colored college at 0 -ange burg called on Gov. McSxeeney and iresente I the following for the g ver nor's approval. it being given as soon as the governor hai read De Lowman's stat in ;n: Hon Thomas E Miller, President State Colored Culleg . D.ar Sir: 0 sing to the presence of festivo-autumnsl malaria in the teach ing force of the State Colored college and of la grippe among the students and also on ace >unt of the insuffi-iency of tie heating arra- g -ments in Morrell Hill, pr~ducing a mueh more aggra vated form of said ailments, I respect fully r commend through you to the board of trustees that the Christmas vacation be Extended until F. buary 1. 1901 at which time I am cnvineed that the atmospheiii irflienee causing the extensive ind:sp )Siton will have been di-sipated. Sincerely, J. W. Lwiman, M. D. Physician t >the State Colored College. Approved: c. D. K->rtj 'hn, W. 1 L'wman Execu ive Committee. M BI McSweener, Governor and Chairman. There have be'n three deaths during the past month in the college, the first to occur since the inrtitu-ion was open ed The stulent bedy being somewhat panicky, the f.culty being shorthanded and the heating appliances bid, the above action was deemed necessary. Terrific Explosion. One of the most disastrous accidents in the history of railroad building hap pened at Baker camp near Durbin, Po cahontas county, W Va , on the line of the Coal and Iran railroad now build ing out from Elkins. As the result of a dynamite explosion six men are dead and several others are not expected to live. The accident happened at noon Friday while the men were at dinner. Someidynamito hai been placed about the stove to thaw out, and shortly after a terrific explosion wrecked the camp, killed threa men outright and injured eight others, three of whom have since died. The dead mere blown into atoms, legs, arms and hands, and other parts of their bodies being found in differ ent directions from the little building in which they lived among the wild mountains. Physicians hurried from Greenbank and worktd all night with the wounded, some of whom begged the doctors to shoot them instead of helping them to live to b blinded or maimed for life. On account of indi rect connections with the camp it is impossible to secure the complete de tails. A Rare Bird. The most striking Christmas present is said to have been that of Russell E. G ardner, of St Louis, a local manu facturer to his emnploye;. We are told that in winding up the year's business Mr. Gardnr discovered that the pro fits for the twelve months exceeded his ex pectations and needs by $10,000. Mr. Gardner concluded to dovde that amount among those whose industry and application to his business had made it possible for him to realze so well on his investment. He announced to them that he would like to make them a present of the $10,000 on a basis of the time they had oeen in his employ and the worth they were to the concern. There was no murmur of dis sent. Drawing out his cheohbook he gave away the entire $10 000) within 20 minutes, one employe receiving $1.000. Mr. Gardner is 34 years old and has accumulated a fortune of $250,000 in 14 years. Although rich, he scorns great wealth. He says that money mak ing is the easiest thing in the world, and believes that every man at the age of 35 should be able to retire with all the money he will ever need. He does not believe in people chaining them selves to business after they have got enough. Pa's Chips. "Maw, I guess I don't have to cut any kinlin' this winter," ventured lit io Willie. "Guess again, son. "iiell anyway, I heard paw tellia' Mr. Blake tnat he bought $25 worth of chips the other night, ad I thought that ought to last quite a spell. '-Den ver Times. Too Suggestive. First Theatrical Manager-I thought you were going to put on "The Win ter's Tale," and now you are billing "Midsummer Night's Dream." Second Manager-Yes; I didn't like the name of the other piece. It sound ed too much like a frost.--Philadel phia Record. Wireless Telegraphy. In an ascension made recently by Messrs. Vallot and Jean and Louis Le earme it was found that it is possible to communicate by wireless telegraphy between the earth and a freely rising balloon at great distances, without any conductor from the balloon to the ground .-Cosmos. To See Herself. Mrs. Glvem-Isn't Mrs. Loudleigh rather ostentatious about heT charite ble works? Mrs. Roastem - Ostentatious? I should say so. Why, that woman would like to have a pier glass over her mantle of charity.-Baltimnore American. Clearer Vision. She-Before we were married you used to say I was the apple of your eye. He--Maybe I did; but I've had my 0ye peeled since then.-Philadelphia Bulletin. Public spirit. "Mr. Biggleson is quite a philan thropist, isn't he?" "Yes. He always draws up the sub scription papers other people are asked to sign."-Chicago Times-Her ald. Verdi's Nerve. Verdi in erecting a home for super annuated Italian artists of all classes. Although almost 90 years of age. says the Washington Star, he is himself far from being eligible to admissio to such an institution. The secretary of the treasury has re eived from a town~in the south a con eience contribution Cof $100. In']the ourse of his letter the sender says that e defrauded the government out of evenue taxes on tobocco for that amount n 1871-72 73. It is a pity that the con ciences of those people who have eaten us out of ..the subscription to To Improve the Ltaple. The Boston Journal of Con m re- is authrity for the statement that the Unted States d'eparrin.t of akri cuitnre is n iw -oiaga in a -eries of experiments with a view to produaint a specie of hybri . cott:n that will have s staple of a fine- giality and gream'~r length The experiments a-e t"ing carried on at Unarleiton, S C The ofj ot of the tests is to produce a c't tou that will have a staple as 'og a .d firm as Sea Island and one that can be grown in the cotton belt. Test are alao being made with all varieties of Egyp tian cotton. The department is very reticent in regard to the success of the experiments, but it is rumored, with how much truth we cannot say, that the tests are meeting with fair success and should they be as suecessful as is hoped will be the the case, our southern planters will be able to produce a co: ton that will have a staple the equal of any now being grown in Egypt or in any foreign country. From what we have been able to learn, saye the Jour nal of Commerce, we ascertain that the new variety of hybrid c itton will not only have a longer and finer grad3 sta ple than our upland cotton, but that it will also possess several other advanta ges over our present staple. It is re ported that these plants possess much wore vigor than do the present ones. That the bolls have much more cotton in them, and that these boils are muca easier to pick. All of these advanta ges, if correct, should make the cotton the superior of the present Egyptian varieties. The necessity which has led to these experiments is the alleged fact that our uphnd cotton is of such short staple that it cannot be succese ful ly used in making the finest lines of cotton goods The tendency of cotton manufacturing is towards finer grades, and it is stated by the Journal of Commerce that "we have not got a single truly American co tin that aan be used to spin good yarns above 80 s Sea Island cotton can be used for yarns as fine as 400's; and Egyptian can easily be spun to 180's; but when we come to the best grade of what is classed as true American cotton it is hard for the spinner to go over 75's to 80's." The Augusta Chronicle says the desire for finer goods has made the demand for a cotton of finer fibre, and manufactur ers it is claimed, look to Sea Island cotton or to Egyptian cotton to get the staple that is needed. It is in the ef cultural departmen- is now experiment ing. It is very certain that the vast buik of cotton in the world is our American cotton, and it is used not only in this country, but in all c)un tries where cotton manufacturing is known. Can it be possible that it is not suited for the finer grades of cloth? The Terrors of War. The Augusta Chronicle very truly says people who were unable to find words in which adequately to express their o ndemnation of Sher man's burning of (t lumbia and Atlanta, and many houses along his "march to the sea,'' hear with much complaisance of the looting in China, the work of desecration and devastation in the P'hilippines, and the brutality and incendiaiism in South Africa Winston Churchill defends the destruc tion of homes in South Africa, and says "if you have a right to kill a man you certainly have a right to burn his house." War doesn't give the right to murder he'p ess non-combantants. and though savages massacre women and children, it is not regarded as leg imate warefare by enlightened nations. To say that soldiers have the right to burn homes and devastate lands, leav ing women and children, hou seless and beggared, to die of want, is to carry modern war back to the standards of barbarism. Charles Williams, who is a veteran war correspondent of eleven campaigns, and one of the most dis guished military journalists in E agland, writing in a recent number of the Speaker, has this to say: "It has per haps escaped notice how many senior officers begtn to c'me home just as soon as they understood the new policy of "denuding" the country; or burning hemesteads because a sailroad several miles off was broken in the ordinary course of war; of looting farms of all that could be carried and burning or blow: ing up the rest; of leaving women and children on tne bare, cold veldt; of forcing folk against whom somethirg was suspected, but nothing could be proved except the absence of their male adults, to concentrate in the towns where they had no means of subsistence; sending out bands, without an offi r, with orders to burn every home they came across-for all which there is abundant evidence over the signatures of the very men who were so disgusted with the j )bs put on them that they complained to their fathers and moth ers at home. I do not say all the of ficers referred to came iome because they declared they could not stand that sort of work; but there were some. And I say, with some experience of half barbaric warfare, that many a Turkish general in 1877 would have been ashamed to carry on a campaigu as some part of ours has been carried on in S.,uth Africa. Talking Through His Hat Victor Smith-"Tip of the Tongue," in the New York Press-came south on a Christmas visit to bis father, "Bill Arp," at Cartersville, Ga., and sends to his paper, a Republican organ, some Georgia impressions. We give the fol lowing samples: Wherever I go men are discussing the new white man's Republican party in the south. It is the settled belief that all the negroes are to be turned out of offie next March and that their places are to be given to respectable white Re publicans. The whole south is alive with good citizens who will join the Re publican party as soon as the disfran chisement -of the colored brother is completed. This is no idle therory; it is a condition. Gecrgia is a state of a single party, and her legislature is perhaps the rot tenest aggregation of ambitious states men this proud republic could furnish. A member of assembly from Gwinett county is so ashamed of himself and so disgusted with the late session of this body of law breakers (not makere) that he has refused to ascept his hono rarium of $4 a day from the state. Ha declares he has not earned it. This is a proceeding hitherto unheard of in Georgia polities- The strange man's name is Perry. To rescue Georgia from herself and her 80.000 democratic ma jority is the ambition of many demo crats who will join the republican tar ty in the near future. Whenever a cotton mill or a factory of any kind is built in the south the democratic ma jority is reduced. The Augusta Chronicle, from which paper we clip the above says it gives it without comment. None is needed. This Georgia born gentleman sees through a glass darkly. We should like to have a photagraph of "Bill Arp" when he reads some of the son's pro volution of the Pocket. The ancient wore a single pouch at his belt; the modern has-how many pockets in an ordinary costume for outdoors? Let us count them: In the trousers, five; in the waistcoat, six; in the jacket, five; in the overcoat, four, making 20 in all -a full score of little pokes or bags. and arranged so conveniently that they dre scarce noticed. Truly, this is an evolution! How long may it be before we have pockets in our hatbands, where the Irishman carries his pipe, the American soldier his toothbrush. and, internally, the pettifogger his le gal papers, the papers that his prede cessors in England thrust into hi typical "green bag?" How long be fore there may be pockets in oui gloves-for there are. I believe, pat ents covering this invention-and in our shoes? The cane also. with it screw top. cegins to be a useful re ceptacle. Two centuries from now, se the man with a long forsight can clearly see, the main idea underlying the wearing of clothing will have en tirely changed. The chief purpose of garments will not longer be consid ered to protect the body. They will be regarded, first of all, as textile foundations for innumerable pockets. -Tudor Jenks, in Woman's Bome Companiof. Pigeon Service in the French Army. Special attention has recently been paid in France to the use of carrier pigeons by the cavalry. The pigeons are carried in a basket attached. to the rider's shoulders in the same way as a knapsack, says a foreign correspond ent. Each bird is placed in a tube made of wicker and lined with hair. the elas ticity of which deadens the effect of the jolting. One, two or three such tubes can be carried in the basket. The birds are in a numbed condition when first taken out of the tubes, but t.hey speed ly recover unless they are left several days In the tubes, when the numbness ends in death. To prevent this, a light form of folding cage is carried, is which the birds can rest and recover themselves during a halt, and partake of nourishment. Twelve men belong ing to the cavalry are sent every year to attend a course of instruction in the handling and treatment of pigeons at the military pigeon station at Vau girard.-Detroit Free Press. Ocean Winds and the Long Swell. That winds have - been blowing across the North Atlantic is proved by the long swell that lifted the pro peller screw of the St. Paul out of the water and wrecked the machin ery. The "long swell" is caused by the piling up of waves by the winds blowing continuously for days from one direction. A long swell is often formed in the North Atlantic by the different temperatures of the gulf stream and the arctic waters to the north. This is one of the dangers of crossing the ocean in steamers which captains are always on the lookout for. Fogs often accompany these ocean-wide winds and add the danger of collisions to the danger of the long swell.-Little Chronicle. Cultivated Roosters. The village of Brackel, in Belgium, enjoys the fame of having originated one of the most celebrated races of do mestic fowls. The Belgians do not hes itate to assert that the Brackel hens are unequaled for the excellence and number of their eggs, while the roosters have developed, thanks to generations of cultivation and the influence of "crowing tournaments," a power and rhythm of voice equally unrivaled. The breeders have a theory that the musical contests in which the Brackel roosters are trained serve to develop the peculiar qualities of the race. However this may be, it is eer tain that cultivation has differentiated these fowls from all others.-N. Y. World. Reekiese Fishing Methods. "Our fishing methods are absolutely reckless, and we allow the young to be destroyed, not only in thousands, but in millions. It i not only that the Chi nese and Japanese line their seines with mosquito netting, and thus capture every thing that Is not microscopic, but the shores of the bays and lagoons of the island are swarming with ducks, which eat up the small fry of the mullet and even. pursue them into the shallows far distant from the coast line."-Ha waiian Star. Hot Water in Cuba. Hot water is very difficult to obtain in Cuba. Water is heated in small vessels, and a surprisingly meager amount seems to be needed in the day's work. Cuban cooks have ddvel oped the system of washing dishes in cold water to an art, but American servants find it difficult te get accus tomed to this hot water scarcity. N. Y. Sun. Hard. Miss Rosa Dawn-Don't you think those hills are lovely, Mr. Tire? You should see them in the early morning, when the sun is climbing grandly over them in his fiery chariot. Mr. Plumpford Tire (who has just ome over them)-It may be all right in a chariot, but I'd like to see him do it on a bicycle.--N. Y. World. Keeping the Subject Uppermost. "My daughter's young man went home on time last night." "Did you go In and remind him?" "No; but I had our parlor cloclk fixed it so it cuckooed every ten min' utes."-Detroit Free Press. Africa's Largest City. Cairo is the greatest town of Af rica; its inhabitants number 500,000, 25,000 being Europeans. - Chicago Chronicle. Sure to Be Fooled. If you expect a lot of wonderful things to happen you are going to be fooled.-Atchison Globe. An Awful Crime. Mrs. Dave Birdsong, wife of a well known farmer living about six miles from Maeon, Ga., was murdered Wed esday morning at her home. The murderer is supposed to be John Bat ie, a negro laborer. Posses are now earcbing for him. Mr. Birdsong and friend went hunting Wednesday morning and on their return home the body of the woman was found lying partly on her bed with her skull frao ured and stone dead, By the census of this year the State of Nevada, which is entitl d to equal representation in he Senate of the United States ith Pennsylvania or New York, as a population of 42,334, ex lusive of 1,605 Indians. THE Constitution follow the flag said Mr. Bryan in the late ampaign, and ex-President arrison now says the same now hen Mr. Bryan was right hing. If Mr. Harrison is right wo months ago, and Mr. Mc A Carious Ineident. One of London's papers, presum ably well informed as to the mental peculiarities of its readers. gravely re cords that not long ago there lay on the table in a West end club a list of members who had put down their names for an approaching house din ner. A workman on a ladder, who was putting the finishing touches to the decoration of the ceiling. let fall a single minute drop of red paint. This dropped on the first name on the list and obliterated it as if with the stroke of a pen. "Some of the mem bers who observed the incident," con tinues the impressive narrative, "thought it a very bad omen; others, like Hamlet, defied augury. But, curiously enough, the member whose name had thus been struck out was taken ill next day, and died in the club on the night before the dinner was to have taken place." We fail to see in this sequence of events anything that is "curious enough," or even curious at all, but opinions of such matters differ widely, and it is well known that our dear cousins are much more easily interested in the psuedo supernatural than people with shorter histories.-N. Y. Times. Genuine Gratitude. The portly statesman in the black tutaway coat lighted his cigar, leaned against the bar and puffed away con tentedly. Like most New York bar rooms. it was a cosmopolitan place, full of many sorts of people. A lean, hungry-looking individual with grimy hands and the beard of an anarchist approached the portly gentleman cau tiously. "I say. boss, could you not let me have a nickel?" he began, tentatively. "What's the trouble?" asked the other. "Well, you see, the fact is I haven't a cent, and I was out on an awful spree last night-and I want a beer." He got the nickel. He looked at the coin meditatively for a time and then at his benefactor. "Say," he ejaculated at last, "you're a good fellow. I wish I had another nickel so I could treat you." -N. Y. Mail and Express. Carpeted Rivers. The -search for convenient ways of transportation by which the products of the Sudan may reach the - outer world has called attention to a remark able phenomenon of vegetable life on some of the head waters and tribu taries of the Nile. This consists of enormous growths of papyrus and other plants, completely covering the streams and forming carpets of vege tation two or three feet thick, beneath which flows the water. Navigation by small boat is, of course, entirely inter rupted by this obstruction, which is in places supplemented by vines and clinging plants which arch the streams from bank to bank. Heavy floods occa sionally sweep away the accumulations of plants, but they are quickly re formed.-Youth's Companion. Women Convicts in Austria. Austria is the one country in the world which never puts a woman in prison. Instead of giving the female criminal so many months in jail she is sent, no matter how terrible is her record, to one or other of the con vents devoted for the purpose, and there kept during the time for which she is sentenced. The convent is not a mere prison in disguise, for ,its courtyard stands open all day long, the only bar to egress being a nun who acts as portress, just as in other convents.-Buffalo Express. More Remain, of Ancient Man. In some grottoes in Algeria-French explorers have recently discov'ered stone implements mingled with the re mains of extinct animals belonging to Quaternary times. Further explora tions indicate that during the age when the grottoes were inhabited the coast of Algeria had a configuration different from that of to-day. Among the animals associated with the an cient inhabitants of Algeria were the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus and va rious species of ruminants.-Scientileo American. Let Her Wait. Jeames-Did you ring, mem? Madam-Yes. If Mrs. Do Smythe calls, ask her to wait. "I thought you wasn't coming back till late, mem. "Of course I'm not. But Mrs. De Smythe can wait till she gets tired. It'll do her good. She wasn't at home. to me last week, and I'll get even tihat way.-Pick Me Up. Kind of Him. Her mother (sternly)-Mary com plains that you won't help her at all; that you never even hold the baby. Her Husband-That's not so. Why, I held him last night for awhile. "Oh! you did! How long, pray? "Well-er-long enough for Mary to bring up a scuttle of coal."-PhiladeI phia Press. A Long War. For the last 27 years a war has been going on between the Dutch and the people of Acheen, in north Sumatra. Since 1573 up to the present time this war has cost the Netherlands some thing like $100,000,000, and over 100, 000 lives have been lost on the . two sides.-N. Y. Sun. Fresh Inlustration. "It is the unexpected that happens," remarked Collingwood, who, by the way, put forward no claim to origi nality In making the remark. "Quite true," said Goldsborough; "it rained the other day after rain had been predicted."--Detroit Free Press. An Unpardonable Ofrense. "Adeline and I haven't spoken since Last winter." "What was the matter?" "Why, she got a coat for $10 just sxactly like the one I paid $25 for." indianapolis Journal. Remarkable Case. The State says Mr. McElrone,. Columbia's centenarian, if he lives. through next Tuesday will have aehiev ed that which is given to the lot of few men. He will have lived in three een tues. Mr. McE!rone was born in 1798. Thus he has lived in the Eighteentb during all of the Nineteenth. and .houlJ he be alive after Tuesday next will have started out on the Twentie hi cen tury. Many men have lived to <v a a. greater age than this without touching dates in more than two centuries. The case of Mr. McE rone is irdeed a rare A New Jersey soldier now in service in the Philippines writes home that the clirnate out there is "healthful and pleasant-for mosquitoes, snakes and alliga tors." He has not seen a great deal of native society, but he is impressed with the marriage eremony, "especially that clause which gives the wife the privilege of doing as much work Sas he husband deAsnires."