University of South Carolina Libraries
VOLUME VIII. CAMDEN. 8. 0., I'RllV ' * - ??***? -t The' State Board Issues Rule\*Wr Guidanoe of Boards IN TOWNSHIPS AND COUNTIES. What tlio Minor Hoards, ?ro Expect* ed to |>o, 80 riiat uu Early Division Can be Made. ? , g^. ^ComplroTIeiif General Kpton is hard i*t IT^y^tk ^Ueavoring to get tho pension ^ department thoroughly organize^ with i&out delay , so that tho pensioners o f the State, will not have to wait this yea* lor their money. Inasmuch as th( township aud coi)?iy boards bav< to meet very soon, the State boar( o! pensions has prepared tho follow ing/rules for tho guidauce of thus' boards: The pension boards as organized ii 1807. will meet as required by law 01 ? the third Monday in January at a con vonient place in each township for th purpose of- examining the townshi rolls of their rospectivo towuships, an fqr passiug upon any new application for pensions. All new applications f< f tensions must appear in person befoi ownship boards. Said applicatioi must have the approval of the townsh ? and county boards bofore the Sta board cau approve. Tho townsh boards may drop from the roll of pe 4 uioners tho name or names of any par ? or parties whioh in thoir judgment c not. entitled to a pension under t law, giving thp reasons therefor in wi ing and also eraie the names of th< whom they know to be dead. Tl may add to tbp rolls only aunb.^p h new applip^? ~ ~ names oj J V5 ma* ,u'o applications. 0 ?se already ou tho pension roll Sous preparo uor n,e ?ew applica Ait new npi'iiutiuuuM nui mm fcorrectly liled in each particular, ol ; though approved by township and couuty board*, will be disapproved by tha State board. Tho oouuty boavds arc requested not to forward to the v State board the name# of any ueuaiou--' era disapproved by the towhship or county boards. Complete county and tuw&snip lists as approved for 1897 are herewith sent to tho township boards, from which they are expected to make up the list of those to be continuod ou the roll; the same will be handed to the county board for their approval. Township and couuty boards will no tice that the law provides three classen, ~"A7' "B." and "C." (with five sub divisions of class "C, " as follows:' ? Class A? Those who have lost both hands, or both logs, or both eyes, or whose 'total 'disatfHitiea arising from wounds, are equivalent to the loss of either, and whose income does not exceed $350. This does not include soldiers Who&e disabilities arise from diseases or causes arising since the war. i83 B.? Those who have lost one m or one leg, or whose disabilities fr6m wounds are equivalent to the loss of an aim or a leer, and whose; in-, come tipeB not exceed $250. ? ClasiCL ? (No. 1.) ? Thosesoldiersaud sailors disabled by wounds, but no' sufficient to bo placed in class B. whose income do not Exceed ?250. - -"?I?8-?J.?? (No. $.)?Those who hay? reached the age of '30 yesUs and whose ! s do not **e4ed $1( those a ser * a\'V W. .MH ? ? ta to 3 , and whose incomes do not exceed 9250. ' ClaasC. ? (X o. 4 ) ? Widows above the . age of 60 yc^s7~ whose incomes do uoF exceed $100. *??? ?< Class CW-(Xo. 5.)?' Widows of pen sioners. This class is not mentioned ia the printed acts sent out, but by the act approved 9th December, 1 994. Blanks for 4he reports of fcownship and county boardsin accord with these classes add subdivisions havo been pre ^ pared*nd will be mailed to auditors for distribution among the board*, Class A. P? jreta SO per hjonthor #75, and will be lid this^amount; Class B. #4 per month of $48; and Class IL, .with each of its subdivisions, per month or $80. . After Class A, shall hare been paid/ the balance will be' pro ratedi between B.-and C. on the b4eie of $4 to " $3. This money will be sent to tha clerks o# coQrt as heretofore as has been (Tided in the appropriations acts each J", and~wrttt be Hent Just as soon as roll for the State can be corrected verified. v . .wnship b&?d? cannot be toocare man h these matters of "income" and jraioal condition, " It is a very poor whose gross income from labor, >tner sources, C r poor lands, if oduce this am does not ex . f any, which Amount gross. sufficient to produce $100 in 1 hie wife's name debars Where soldiers or widows property br giving or __ J children, they are de receiving a pennon. The question, of service tq the State I in ppnnection with the various ftsssaa j ^reserves called into the service of the 1 ' Qf tb*_wAr/ will id much upon the evidence ' pub d to the State board. When real rendered tbe~ peosioh sloald he alio wed. ^Any citizen of " * OTer JaTgr ear?of age, and "r'ini-OTeli-iii- , *#rj or DOWN, DOWN TlfclY GOlS f ? The Pr4L '?sot! Reduction of Takes Kftect. At Fall River, Mass.. on the 8*3, tho new wage soheduls, 11 l-y per cent, be low thaWfthe past throe yoars, went into e fleet in the mil Id of that city. At ^ Kalem, in the plu&t of the Naumkeag i steam cotton mills tho roduotion of 10 per cent, in tho wages went into ellect also. About 1,800 employ 03 are af fected. Operatives in the Aiuoskeag corpora tion, at Mauohester, N. H. , began work on a 10 i)er cent, reduotiou in wagoe. At the Star aud Armory millu tho reduction will not go iuto ettpot un til the HH It. S Noticos of reduction of wbges was eent to the cotton mills of thoGoddard, Kuights, Lippitts and those oporated by the smaller corporations in Rhode Island and have been posted or will bf in a day or two. The operatives will offer no resistance to the redT*o>ion iu this State. The ageute of all the ootton mills ic Lewiston and Auburn, Mo., have re coived directions. to inako a general is duction in wages on aud after the l?th Notices in accordance with those iu st ructions have been posted. 0 There Will Be Some Resistance. }j The weavers of New Bodford, Mass lS mean to make a staud no less deuidf )r than the spinuere, aud tho operativi ro are almost unanimous iu favor of u tii lfl resistance to the proposed reductiou j wages, and at tho aaino time n stril against the fining system. A deput j tion has been appoiuted to go to Ft Niv?r for a ounforenco with tho Fi >"511 t, lU. River for a oomoieuvn River officials. The cemmittoe will c deavor.toBiedtire the pledge of tho F ll0 Rivpr unioua to strike as Boon aB t New Bedford strike begins. It v 1S0 voted also to send out oommunicatic ,pV to all centres of tho textile trade iu * | '>ft> ami UiW'Wl7 ,V!P'A' r I i<orth W"OT.<1PI1 80d .m^J.henju,ilj proposing mo sauio acuou iioiegation of the committee will suggesjl cellar aurt River help. fay could dov t the snake, s No Cut In the S(in in its retre Tho cotton mills in the (J. If. Arnold, cut wages as has beon jells theatric D. A. Tompkins, of Chjiurch and J. the beet authority on thee snake, d< situation has given outjpturo. o eigned statement: j Provided it h 4 'TDto trouble in New ^loroform, abi to a depressed conditionjiece of rope, tl manufacturing interestspllar and bogn States more than to Sov^om the<'door\i tion. eedings.; The | "While tho South fttes, located th tages, so also has Nowpf boxes. They vory material advantagilie attack. A c pie, capital, varied cxi>?ng papor was 1 sive knowledge, much cotton, on wluc is no occasion for frjtiiy of chlorofori between New Englanql'aud, Church < Thero is great noed af*he python. Tb two seotions to co-opoimovo, but with i ment of the condllied tho cornucopi manufacturing iute) nearer and nea sections. "One of the chi Southern mills have iftw^how, and ai;e The rei less trriutey is whetner the Un one wand or Engl shall furnish the goods. In this co land and the South and Will require bothrto extend ou markets will take ' 'An improvem trade can, m my 4 proper reform in ' Our foreigen trad laws fostering Until trade is i other means tber in Southern cott improvements ^vttriSff-TkBipIe operatives and fi - in Southern and i alike." QOLp Ol Charlotte Offlc the Bletal D It would see by the assay o N. 0.. sayfl mining in the has been a pr From tho -South Caro the bullion through this] mous sum bullion - w+n S1.S49, maki U additi the amount and forei $114. tfi <120.7*. Of coun this does of frold of en ear ina, am a saed nor this nt of four Stat the mine; their golf would oe the exact i of gold. that ount in the eral of t ship fore it oertain output Col Alcorn E. Tribal Col (Mi|S,) Ai prayer l*fc?? wb|iown as meeting pd. The sassin / and the faculty If it is pos kill! )lat suddenly tho 6ut ward. The coruu it. Tho smell o uot agreeable to httfhead back an boxos and rubbie tg work to reraov enough had beea acccss to tho pyt again wenl forwa time was in an Church got close itsol f around his to throw him to the folds of tho s; and Church, by c self free. Uudaunted, thi the pltack. The close to the wall, moment was sei Church. Arnold f~T>TorttnB TffptlloTT time administer , again it failed to By a series ol managed to /ret fi was about to es< men in their d< reptilo and;* with into a barrel. Tho battle wat safely coufined. carted to the Regi boa was trausforn Jt required two I ture. None of tl exoept Church, w are visible on his the snake coilgd. During the aft people visited tl showing it to a par ao^ke broke loose disorder in the Rc Everybody ran for was left maater of of the employes w< go in4hd{ editorial snafcg back in its while the manageu a bird's eye view o tho key hole. Wt put back in the bo: returned and resui before, however, i ment was issued. ?11 was thereupon i posing room to ket 'devil" of the esta The python wai the Stanley muaeu is thirteen feet lonj six ponnds. II e . When the story of i t liahfid.it waageutr was an advertising the museum peopl left NofekM metier until yeeter the snake seen ol tiw J E5H II An Escaped 13-Foot Python Cap tured in Columbia, r GOT AWAY FROM A SIDESHOW. The Nuuko Avot(l? Detection for Six Months aud Is Only Caught After a Terrlllo Struggle. Tho Columbia Stato of tho 4th say#: Thtj 13-foot python. which escaped from the Stanley museum July 8rd, while It was exhibiting here, was rooaptured yosterday in the collar of the Loan and fCxoUnnge bunk, where it had sought refuge. * Jg all oamo about through Arthur lrfftder, the negro jauitor of the bank. ' Aivhen Reeder went into the cellar yesterday morning shortly after fl o'clock to replenish the lire in the fur naoa, ho heard a rustling among some boxes of papers. \Thinkiug that the noiso was made by r^ta ho wont on un til he waa brought to "a sudden stand still by coming plump against a bug. ,, Butiko stretched at full length on a pil d of bcxes. jn "For Gawd sake, am din tie devil? 01 ejaculated Heed or, as he began to bac of from close proximity to tho snake, ie lfatloss, breathless and with oyt a starting from their sockets, Heed* ill bounded up the steps and rushed iut ill the bank, where ho began to tell a di n- connected story in which snake ar nil devil were so badly mixod that no oi he could tell which he had eeeu. as '? You haven't gotten over your N< ms Year drunk yet.' freozlnglv remark iho ouo of the bookkeepers.* ,nd This localled tho scattered souses y j JEooder, ? V. 'Ivhhtg V?,o -ftl& el ? W Pft>' giviyg such no *Hy belliVeTWt it dodge on of I*. After * lint* the "?*? Ifcooghtof-tfay dif ttATMSf wb?D for th* Aril lima by Uma m4 Eufcftag* tho bank's force visited confirmed the story, ieo no means for fetali 0 decided to let it re at for tho day. managorof tbeArnold al company, J. \V. W. 'Root, hearing of jcided to attempt its 1 a latter 11, a bottle of sorbont cotton1 and a ley descended iuto tho in a search. Reeder, ay, watched tho pro perty, after a few min es snako lying on a pilo began to preparo for ornucopia of stiff wrap liade and fillod with h was poured a quail i?. With this in his cautiously approaobed ic huge reptile did not inbliuking eyes watch - a ai it was advauced ,rer .to it* hoad. Then ike darted its head for icopia was clapped over >f the chloroform was the boa, for lie jerked (1 ran under a heap of >h. Tho three mou set ?o the matter. When i cleared away to make lion possible, Church >rd. The reptile by this ugly humor, When enoughitbe boacoilod legs with such force as the floor. In the fall nake relaxed slightly in effort, pulled him 9 men again -renewed python was driven and in an opportune zed by the neck by and Root rau_A aopo head and for a second ed chloroforLi, but take effeot. y ! contortions tho boa ?ee from the rope nna cape, when all three isporation seized the an effort, chucked It i over and the snake The barrel was then ister office whero the )d to a box. f lours to malt* the cap be captors were hurt ho says blue marks legs, around which ernoon a number of tie captive. While ty of college girls tho ?ad a wild scene of igister office ensued. ? the door and the boa the situation. Two are finally induced to room* and put the b pit. They did so oent of the paper took f the capture through len the python was c the editorial force ned their writing, not a decree of banish The box, snako and removed to the com ip company with the blishment - - i exhibited here' by m last summer. It j and weighs eighty soaped on July 8. the escape waa pub nil IHE III. Tlio Taxpayers Are Pressing on tho ?^Legislature. MANY OF THE MEMBERS Suld lo bo Already l'lctlgcil to Voto to <Jtve Taxpayers More Tliao--V?r Uoltlnt]. V ' Tho obtiui>iti?fe are that auoh pros 8iuo will bo brought to boar on tin Legivlafure that tho question of ex teuding tho timo for tho payment o tho taxes will bo about ono of tho tire important stops \uken by that body, i member of tho Legislature, who was ii Columbia u' fow days ago, in an iuter vlow with a Hogister representative suia that such a step would bo absi lutely necessary to save the proper! of many a farmer. Ho Raid that alrofttl thoroVas a concerted movomont lool ing to having such a resolution adoptot ntul that ino&t of the members hu already agreed to vote for it. As ?ho\ showing tho neoossity of such actiou 1 statod that in Oreenvillo county he in learned that hardly moro than half t' taxes had beon paid and it wu? ov worse iu otbor counties. Tho Logis! lure, generally, does not take kind to oxtonsion of time, but it look? hh it will havo to do something this yoi Awful Fatc-^Cnreloas Motlirr! At Prosperity, Newberry conn Laura Hpenco left her two' childr aged about f( urj 9 years, locked in house all ;'O(,0a ? fijo fi^M awa ZLe "buF^r '?? Jot m& Jjgf ?' ?.( tilt! Htoudemnjg (,. llOUSO 8too<<;ne,i there. He u0re \ng, but wher^i in lie was cut *.v , He then broko in - efforts to got to the children, but h. oould not tlnd them. J ho Are hn< gained such bond way that no one ooul. cuter tho house. It is supposed tha the ohildren bad suffocated and coul< not mako their whereabouts known The mother of the children was in tin hanit of leaving them locked in tin house while alio went off. 1 wo paitie; have stated that they have > seen th< poor littlo things with their little faco< lit the cot holo in the door when pass tug, and the older called to one of them, a colored man, thinking it >yaB tlu mother, to "come and givo the tmby something to oat, it was hungry. Awful fate -careless mother. lf then is uo law against parents goiug off ami leaving helpless children locked in n building thero ought to be. ? "clj parents should be punished. and that severely. ? The State^ Southern Fertilizer Association. A meeting of representative fertilizer m4u of the South was held in Atlanta on Dec. 22, saya the Manufacturer s Kecerd. The meeting was strictly prt FrrH-. but it is known that a permancut * ""jizatiou was effected, to bo here rhl'"':r known as the Southern Fertilizer Usociatiou. Tho organisation was tho most important overeffocted in Atlanta, and itTs *aid that it will control over 40,000,000 tons of fertilizers. Mr. \>. K. Clark of Columbia, S. C. , was made president of tho association; Mr. A. I>. Adair of Atlanta, vice prexideat, aud M." M. Tuckor secretary and treasurer Aru"ue thoso preseut \Vho joiued tho association from this State ' were: Messrs. O. W. Mclver, Cfeulfifllfiii. ? (T; Bright Williamson, Darlington, C. ; W. A. Clark, Columbia, B. C. ; A. P. Mills, Greenville, 8. C.'? Records of the Hallronds. The State railroaft commission has completed its annual roport and tinned V over to tho State printer. The re ..ort *howH that the railroads of the ?State Lave bud ft better year of it clui ng 1H07 than many have supposed, l'he summary of the annual reports ol ill the roads in the State for the year mding June 30, last, as given in tho ?eport, reads aa follow?, and shows vhat the not income of the roads has jcen: Earning# from all eources $7, 712, WW. 08. Total expenses (mainton knee of ways and structure, main* enanoe of equipment, etc.) 4}8. W ; taxes $820, 520. 45; total j$5, 512, - 88.88. Net income ?8.288.571T72. TSet ucome per mile {2,850' miles) $844.11. l net income of 5.82 per cent, on a aluation of $15,000 per mile of all tho oads in the State. Number of Graded Schools. Twenty year# ago we bad hardly a raded school outaide of Charleston - ow we have 80 iu the State. Then we ?d but a few high sch&ils-now we ave 98. Tnen the length of session, as not half what it is now, nor w-ui te enrollment half as large. Tfc^lf- | rence in the onaiity of the instruction ven is beyond oomputation. ^et the cent inorease of 50 per cent, in the hool fund is juat beginning to maoi st itself. ? ' A New Gold Mine. The Secretary of State baa issued a mmiasion to the Howlend Gold Mm g Company or Aiken county, the ob 0.000, dfyided into share* at $1,000 ctu " y ? ? ? The Water Fewnd to he Pai*- , nrfttrinkiogwolerei tkeWlntkrop \ lle?c? haa been examined by an ex- J ft of w II j f ho Strange Will of an Aged New Yorker and Oflicer of the Church. CHRISTIANITY, SO * CALLED, lie Suj ? , Is Nut the ltelltflon of ChrUt-Ot I'uts an Unknown, Imag inary IJelng In (ho I'luoe of Nuture. One of tho moat remarkable wills o\er tiled in the oftleo of tho aurropnta (of Now York ih that of lioury Moio J house Tabor, oltorcd for probn(e on I ho l(li. In spitoof tbo fact (bat Mr. Tuber w us president and troaBiiror of tbo board of trustees of tbo First i'roaby torian church, in (bo 6 polling olauses of In will bo denounces all volition aa sbaw, and as having its origin iu superstition Ho requested that no porvicos bo hob ovor hia body and (bat bo bo'-froniated Mr. Tabor diod ou Christmas ovo, a tbo ago of 78 yours. Two children, Hid ney Hiobmoud Tuber and Mary Tabor survive the toatator, and to (her ' th entire estate, valued at ovor $1,Oi>0,OOi is given absolutely. Tbo will ia in th baud writing of tbo to8(a(or, uud con t?iiuR tho following: "Believing tin all religions, includiug Christianity, at superstitions; that tbo basic doofrim of the C-hriatiuu religion, tbo fall ( inau, is utterly and absolutely falfl and that its opposite, (ho riso of mr from the lower orderB, is a sciontil fact; that beliefs in (so oalloil) miraol uio hallucinationa of tho brain, at without oxiatenco; that tho chief eha ucterieiic of what ia termed 'the Wo ''of Clod' injustioo, ornblty, untrnt fulueps aud obsccuity; (list (bo < orthodox '.Ihristian teacbiu I aelflshnoi / r hi'0' U'1oji? ? ucrtmoLMouane * mental "? I or rK ; ';? i, uot i ?' thsl it BUlVpIo: ?| Mte-' true morality w '?uv and unboliova ? m TjreauiuglesrVhwT! _ dogmos; that it puts an unknosvu , "probably unknowable) imaginary be ing in the place offnuturo; that it givo a nauio of persenality to ovil? ai equally uuknown an imaginary being that it. Bo?jprkfl upon tho credulity o ita atlheronts as to invite in them a foa of that, most horrihlo of doctrines eternal punishment, (I any, believin; all these) I, in all kindness aud in al eavnostness, leanest that over my re mains there be no religious services o any kind, nature, or description what over. M "I also request that my body b< cremated at Fresh Pond or other ere matorv, aud that my asbos be lef tliere. ' VN Til t? FREEKE IN' FLORIDA. Orange Trees Ouly Temporarily Hurt Strawberries an<l Tobacco Cooked. Tho co)d weather of January 1st aud 2d did considerable temporary damage to vegetables, but none of a permanent character, iu Florida. Orange tree* will iu some ca?es lose "their foilage aud where they were in exposed places iu the northern border of tho orange belt will loso a part of thoir tender growth. Owing to the fact, howover, that the sap was. down, the trees them selves wcro able to resist unscathed even lower tomperature. Reports from the pineapple belt of the coast indicate that tho damage to pinoapples w*?* tnthug. Tho fall cron of tobacco im all parts of the Stato wus _ injufeiL_ hadly. Bloo&ii on strawberries were killed. Early stra'wberries in. tho\ northern section were frozen on the vines and the vineMhenixelves set bafit fully six weeks. J~ The tenderest garden crt>ps in nil see., lions as -far South as /Tampa, where, lacking protection by /forests, streams or lakes, w$re badlj/ injured, but ex posed gardens did notX^eprosent more, than half thy area in trnck^Jc*ow<wb having learned by experion-ce the wis dou oi selonting well protected spots. T II K t'OC It* 8TU3I PR l>. A Salvation Army Thlef|Pw i?eti t s a Schedule of His Cr*ines. A. F. Nevis, a member of the 8alva> tion Army in Redlands, who was ar rested for wholesale thievery, appeared before the Superior Court at San Ber nardino, Cab, with a Bible in one hand and a tabulated statement of his tbofts, committed since 1888. in'the other. Ho pleaded guilty to tho crime charged, and also insisted that punish ment be ad m injured for each theft committed as^^Ltchedule, which ap peared bv tl^^Hft. In that way ouly, no said, he cRI^ilone to a just Ood. Tho defendant presented so novel a case, ? without any attorney to advise "bini, that the court refuted tp pass sentence witbWit further consideration and continued the tiuae for aentence. The Federal Flnauces. Tho monthly statement orthe public debt, issued on the yd, - stows that at the close of business ou Dec. 31,1807, the del^t, less cash in the Treasury, amounted to $009,111,567, a decrease for the month of $10, 1 14,890. This de ft-ease in the debt is due priopilMUlyto TO~TpWS?se in the case, which ia ac aswnited for br the of the Union Pa^Rlo railroad. Ssnksy for ffer 8?!j l?e4, Ira P. San key is again about to a*U TflK VI' AH 1N07. fliuructei l/o J l>.v n To^hl of I rtnU Circa tor limn Any Year SlucO 12) udstrcet's commercial roviow, for tlyo past wjuli, euys: Holiday ?piiot and stock- taking close a your, whioli, w li i lc? nut fully leading the moat suu guino eipeclutiouN, coi tuinly contained much (hut was gratifying nud more thut ih full of promise for tho yoar I fcJUB. FflRffro wiuK ft 8ortoa of years of al tomato panic, ami slow ami oven painful revi val, 18D? presented a largo volume of business dono as a whole at pricos, which, while not altogether Kutisfacto rv, rose Utul in a total of trade larger than iu any piovioua year since 180)i. Tarilf uhangOH restricted domaud bill oucoui aged speculation and heavy im ports iu the lirHt part of is;?; while the eulurgod foreign doiuand for Amor I oun broad st nil's and for somo varitiei of manufactured articles bettered th( condition of the Amoricnn farmer, and therefore, business men, <iuito muteri ally in the latter part of the year Price conditions have not favored th Bouthorn prod u cor of cotton nor th 1 Northern manufacture^ of cotto l uooda. The best reports come from th West, Nortlnvont and the I'acitic coas Prices at the close are us a whole on higher rau^e thau at tho opening, a< vaucos being most numerous iu for products, raw silk and woo), while d oreasos are to be lepoi tod in ruw c?j ton nud cotton goods, nearly all. metal anthracite coal and petroleum. Itu road interests sharo in Iho revival prosperity, with gross and net earnin largor than auy year einco and t year 1808 opens with the business co munity, with the few exceptions not? in a very choerful frame of mind. A heavy falling oft in number ami liabilities of individuals, linns ore poratious failing was shown in \r from 1896 and tho four procoilingytfl A partial return to more or less r> mal conditions is further indicated a drop in tho percentage of assets liabilities and by a reduction in commercial death rato ns com pa with e ery year sinoo; and includ 18M. Tho total number -of failures ported to Bradstreot'iffor the year closed was 18,01111, a doorcase , of 2 failure b and over 18 per cont ftom 1 - ?(v nf jij t)or cou| from lSf y?ur u? p?v ..|t ^.?1 morons bueiuebsr ,, B5* Compared with lHO."', thorn win u .10 in tho number of 'failures shown of about lial f of 1 per cent., while com pared ivith 1-892 tbero was "an im'rcane of 27 per cent. Inabilities of those fail ing constitutor! one of the smalloat totals of recent yearn, amounting to only $l/>0, 10(>, 000, a decrease of 87 por cent, from 1891, but a gain of 47 r>or cont. over 18!)!?, The least favorable nhowing is made by the Kastern HtatrB. which roport increases in number and liabilities over 1890. In Kpite of de pression in cotton pricos, Southern failuros and liabilities aro ftmaller than a year ago, while tlio greatest falling on is reported in tho West aiut the Northwest. The commercial death rate, that is" the porcentago of those iu busiuoas failing in 1897, was 1. 10 as compared wiih 1.40 in 1890 and 1.50 in 1893. Those reliable indices of the business situation, bank eleariugs, point to tho year 1897 as witnessing tho heaviest business, both speculative and com mercial, dona since tho record year, 1892. just preceding tho panic. Tho total clearings at firt cities for tho year, one week estimated, aggregated at least $.13, 820, 000, a sumlarges l>y 12 per cent, than the total of 1890, a year of silver agitation and an exciting presi dential election; 8 per ceut. larger than 1893, the disappointing year whon a boom in iron and kindred products led to false hopes ofJjusincss improvement; 23 pet cent, over the" year 1801, when the depth of depression following the panio may be said to have boon roachod; 5 pet^oent over 1893, the year of wide spread disaster in financial and com mercial oirclen, an<J..pnlv 7 por cent, smaller than tJa^-tofal of "l&Ki-wihen the bpom following tho larger foreitHL.de for (^American breadstutts reached. it#r~ " . rtlon of Canada and New Foundlajiti. fArthe Calendar year 1897, amounted to 1,997, wifh total liabilities of $l3',2IO,<KlO, a falling of 13 per cent, ill numbor per cent, in liabilities from a ago/ tfi'and /other products Business failures for tho ?<y A G OltEAT FALL OK 8NOW. IMttftburg au<l Allegheny "Without Llghli, Street Cars or Telephones. Pittsburg and Allegheny, F*., last week experienced the most disastrous snow storm in ^hu damage to wires, buildings, traction, lilies, etc., iu their history. The loss to tho Bell Telephone Company in tho two cities alono will reach, it is estimated, an aggregate of $83,000. The prostration of tneir wires in Indiana, Jefferson and West More land counties, where the business is practically at a standstill, will run the total up to 8125,000. It will ho Wtteka before pdrfeot eommuuication will he restored. ??C- __ ____ ?/ To Fight the Democracy. The Alabafifc Populist State executive coVnmittee at a meeting a few day a ago, called a State convention to meet on the first Wednesday iu May to nominate a full Btate ticket, including ? candidate for Governor and all State officer*. A committee^wae ^appointed^ to ? tee issued a long address, urging alt Populists to abstain fron pirtidpa^A talks DeaosrsMs idlnsrW " Ing the Democratic alleged frandaleai Dangerous Counterfeits Ever Dis? ' covered Has Mado Appearance. SILVER CERTIFICATES CALLED IN St.* Counterfeit $1U0 1111U Paaa Two Leading lit* ii Ic. a ami Customs House uixl Aro Lteeelved At Sub-Troasury, Washington. ? (Special. ) --One of \h0 moHt daugerous counterfeits ovor covered has made it h appearance. ^r, (.'miner, of tho uub-Troaaury at !Phila? dolphin, has brought to the Heoret seV-^' vice live ^(00 counterfeit ailYor cortitl outoH, head of President Monroe. Thoir general appearance i?*oxcollont tiud af~ terolotu) examination tho oftioials of the treasury catih room wove undecided as' to their genuineness, aud only after the notea had boon Bonked in hot water,, t. wheu tho two piocoK f (/lining the baoift a and tho front of tho note came apart/ I- wore thoy convinced of the fraud. ? On examination of tho Treasury oabh, another of tho Hpuriouti no I on wqh Ikv.mirtit over o- oabh, uuotlier 01 mo wi>uj .v.?. t- discovered. The notoa brought over! ft, by Mr. C'lauior had beon turned into il tho nub-Treasury br two loading bank* of and tho Philadelphia customs house, who received them a3 genuine notes, he Tho amenta of tho secret service wired iu- a description of the notes with iustrue >d, tion to bo on tho lookout for porson# attempting to pa?? them. Inquiries hav?: in also boon Bent to all tho leading cities, ??4'- as to whoihor any of tho notes have ap-' pearod other than in Philadelphia and Washington, and tho bent men in tho 'ffor vice will , ho put on the case. j Following i? a description of thonote to aH furnished by the Keerot sorvices Tho' the no.te ia of the series Af (SU1, ohook letter red ?'!), " face plato 1, Tillman ro#ifttor,J< ing IMor^au treasurer, portrait ..fames Mou^ ro- roe. All numbers so far seen begin just with 1145. Tho moat marked differenced ,000 between this note und tho genuine,1 BUG; however, are found in tho seal and tho M, u numberiug, the former being a nhadu| nu- lighter thun in tho genuine and tho ut h. hitter slightly difteront in formatio '^auij Kspocinlly is this trueof the 0 ac \ lin \w? tJMUl??oro 8 tbo lower loop do/ WUO Tn'm- rj^^ t^avd the er ^ iocs ut Tho ocr cent. i >> ??. . oxtoil'l up AH tlio fi^uro as iu the xuqii^c, Jlguro 4 tho cpaoo botwoon tho v.? uud the oeutre cross lino is narrower r than in tbogonuiuo. Quo of tlio prin cipal points of dilTerouco, however, is that, tho now counterfeit is one-sixteenth of au inch, or less, shorter than tho genuine. ;.ln view pf tho dangerous character -- of tho counterfeit, Secretary (Inge has decided to stop ieauing and cull in ull $100 certificate*, of whifih thoro aro about $20,000,000 outstanding. TUoeo will be exchanged for silver certificates of similar denominations and the plates destroyed. > As soon as new plates caa bo engraved a now aeries will bo issued. Assistant treasurers at all of the sub Treasury cltios will be required to send to the Treasury in Washington all $109 silver certificates in their possession, aud to re^uost all banks, trust eom?' - pAnies and other moniod institutions to do the same. Secretary Gago desired tho statement made that in his judg ment it was unsafe for business men or others to accept silver certificates of this denomination, and in case any wore on hand thoy should be sent to J tho banks for tTftUlintfiSlim to Wash ington. .?> DMfty MAKESA STATKMENTr _ Ho Allege* Tliui His illll Is Improving us a Revenue Producer. Chairman Dingley, of tho House ways and means committeo has furn ished the press with the following statement of the revenuo outlook: "Tho revenue for December shows an increase of inoro than 32, KOODOO ov$r tlaat of November, and $5, 750,000. The official figures for December, excluding f8t,?15,2<M . received during the month on accouurof the Pacific railroad sale ando#900,0<)0 paid ont to qualify the govirnment representative in his bid, _ .. J" ease of the sale of the Kaiisas Pa cific Failroad, makes the receipts J&V- ; 031.404, IBS expenditures $20,105,000, and the surplus 91,72)0, 4 03. The re ceipts for December 1804 were nearly $22, 000,000, for Decern boriblW were $20, 000,00ft The recoipta for December . 1600 were little less. 8ult Against Duke. . At St. . Louis/ 'Mo. , suit has been brought at the instance of K. T. O^ar, superintendent of tho Stato Insurance Dcpartmeht, afc^inst J. B. Duke, the1 millionaire tobacconist, -who has been* in Si Louis during the past week. ttr- ? is alleged that Duke is ? member of an tMQciatipu known as "Trader Fir* ^ LlovdsW^f*tr*Yorkr which- irv alUgeq1 - to aoffiflT afilnBUfahee busnwss in Missouri without being authorised by he superintendent to Jo so. Will Not He an Open City. The New Yo?<k police commissioner# >ad all the' commanding aptains in Greater Now York before? hem a few days ago. In an address, 1 'resident York saUrthere would bene political preference in the detMurtment