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Newspaper
Pittsburgh Dispatch
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Sep 19, 1889
Page
4
Four jurors in the Cronin case were sworn yesterday, showing the slow pace of Chicago’s jury system. Weeks of wrangling and challenges delayed impaneling a full jury, highlighting flaws in method and the need for reform to assure prompt and impartial justice.
A court ruling ends the rule of basing real estate assessments on last sale values. City revision follows, with one assessor suggesting a broad review may lower many assessments. The debate centers on whether only property owners who kicked back against the rule should see reductions.
The article mocks millionaire C. P. Huntington for resisting marriage to his daughter by Prince Hatzfeldt who seeks funds to cover debts. Huntington refuses a $1,000,000 dowry loan and hints at limiting the marriage portion. The prince’s plan to take the newspaper’s debts back fails, illustrating town talk about wealth and suitors.
The idea to appoint Mrs John A Logan to the pension bureau chief role gains nationwide press interest. Critics argue the job requires handling heavy workload and is unsuitable for a woman of her status, and Mrs Logan herself resists serving as Washington bureau chief.
The Cincinnati Commercial Gazette campaigns on affidavits in a Washington suit alleging the Democratic candidate acted as an agent to buy a brewery for a British syndicate. The Republican paper warns of aiming to subjugate American industries to British gold, a pre election charge the Distator notes as key.
An affidavit claims a brewer was offered about 100000 more than value to deed over his property and repay the amount to Campbell. The aim was to sell to English investors at a huge premium, implying plan to profit by paper values in a broader trust scheme.
A New York steamship firm adds three American built vessels to its Cuba and Mexico service, highlighting the need for government support to expand South and Central American trade. The piece contrasts US subsidy reliance with subsidized Spanish liners and urges Congress to decide on aid to American marine interests.
The New York Sun accuses Halford of illness from being offered cigars by office seekers and suggests Wanamaker take the cigars. It condemns attempts to remove the Postmaster General via cigars while praising Wanamaker’s character and defenses against such tactics. Clarkson is mentioned as a conduit.
Washington society resists anti Chinese sentiment by noting the Chinese legation orders its young men to avoid American social meetings. The move, a response to flirtation, suggests diplomatic tensions tied to cultural interactions. The piece also mentions improving New York finances and a hoped for Expo sition support.
A railway policy allows collecting excess fare from passengers who travel without tickets. They must pay the overcharge at the main station upon presenting their ticket later. The practice aims to recover fare and deter ticketless travel.
A court verdict awards $250 against the railroad for enforcing a practice, signaling higher costs and prompting managers to consider dropping it. The piece notes the public grievance of being ejected at that price and includes satirical asides on health, politics, and regional affairs.
A survey of literary figures and social notables includes George Elit’s strict religiousness, Henry James’s transatlantic identity, J. W. Harpy as a military chaplain and writer, Geordr W. Cable’s ostracism in New Orleans, Amelie Rives’s mixed praise and physical description, and reflections on New York writers. Bishop H Pinckney Northnop of Charleston is highlighted as a rare American raised to Catholic purple, while Lady Blanche Morrey’s elopement with Thomas Murphy leads to exile and a fall from aristocratic privilege in America.
In Harrisburg the Soldiers' Orphan Commission decided to withdraw the Northern Home for the Friendless pupils and place them in other leased schools by December 1. The Philadelphia Institution offered to retain soldiers' orphans and take 100 more, but the proposal was rejected. By December 1, all 1 pupils must be housed elsewhere as a clothing contract was awarded to a Philadelphia party.
The country should note that when a Missouri man is offered an office he declines with grace after due deliberation, showing patriotism and gentlemanly restraint rather than greed. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat commentary extols measured response in public service.
The Atlanta Constitution notes New York World support for civil service reform and endorses reform if competent Democrats hold offices, arguing for efficiency and merit over partisanship. The piece urges voters to back qualified candidates aligned with reform objectives.
A lengthy meditation on Frank Connelly and George Jenks book The Official History of the Johnstown Flood. The reviewer lauds its comprehensive narrative, vivid imagery, and thorough indexing while noting its usefulness for future poets and historians.
A Washington dispatch reports wide belief Merrill of Massachusetts will become Pension Commissioner, with rival candidates dropping back. The push for Tanner to be District Recorder of Deeds is stalling amid strong district opposition to non citizens holding district offices.
A drenched boy named George Keegan, 9, claimed to be son of a scow worker in Williamsburg. He wandered New York streets after his father’s reported death and a harsh family split. A Philadelphia merchant later identified him as George R King Jr and took him home.
At a Broad and Walnut streets house in Lancaster Ohio a cribbage game turned chaotic when a wild rabbit dashed through the room chased by a tom cat and a dog. J Thomas Cat captured the rabbit and carried it away as a trophy of the evening.
Toleno September 18. Mrs J H Cuthbert of Oil City died suddenly of heart disease on her wedding tour two weeks after her marriage to Mr Cuthbert, the former official of the Standard Oil Company.
A bank president who fled Texarkana with 7070,000 of others’ money is praised as exemplary. The piece condemns the welcome by depositors who lost their savings while the thief is described as a virtuous man, underscoring irony in the Washington Post opinion.
The First National Bank of Mount Gilead Ohio, once hit by forgery losses, is authorized by the Controller to resume business with a reduced capital after a 20 percent assessment on the stock.
A Chicago man sent $200 to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Conscience fund. The note hints at satire about a bid to the World's Fair and marks the first known instance of a Chicago resident contributing to the fund.
Washington dispatch notes rising numbers of Congressmen visiting, Spider of West Virginia laments cost of office and campaigns, tariff views split Democrats. Tennessee rep Phelan praises Harrison appointments, argues race policy and education for voters, discusses Southern politics and contested seats.
The will of John Guy Vassar, already announced, will be presented for construction. The estate mainly includes securities and stocks, many from iron, ore, land, loans, and a steamship. Some items are marked as worthless or doubtful, with several names and specifics indicated for final statements.
A naked hairy creature described as a young iguan, seen by several witnesses near the woods six miles south of here, with eye witnesses including Mrs. Kate Knight and Oscar Grant. The sighting is believed linked to a Robinson's show on the river between New Albany and Evansville, suggesting a gorilla escape. A Chicago Times note adds a tale of a lucky find behind a burglar’s mirror, a $15,000 cache hidden by a grandfather.
Pittsburg audiences will see The U. S. Mail a fresh farce at the Bijou with Kate Davis and Frank David in a cast of note. Box office sales start today amid strong demand as the post office scene is highlighted. Marie Waathwerent will present Twelfth Night at the Grand Opera House with praised scenery and costumes. Gracie Emmett performs The Waifs of New York at Harris Theater next week. Tony Pastor leads his own company at Harry Williams Academy.
Report of a Wharton Texas artesian well strike that produced a cold water with an unknown flavor. After drinking, Mr. Chudleigh Mason and his laborers suffered rapid muscle twitching and convulsions causing them to leap and writhe in a frenzy. Reports describe uncontrolled hopping and frenzied display.
The Mason household witnessed a strange episode described by a Philadelphia Times correspondent. Mr Mason felt intense exhilaration and sharpened senses as he laughed at frightened enslaved people dancing involuntarily. Mrs Mason tried to restrain him while clinging to a post. The dancers collapsed from exhaustion and slept heavily for hours, waking with only soreness and neuralgia that soon faded.
A jug of water was sent to Houston for analysis where chemists claim an unknown element, possibly a sixty sixth, gives the water a blue metallic luster and ciderlike taste. Heating releases a strong perfumed gas, and when left to stand the liquid thickens to turpentine like consistency with a greenish hue. Drinking or sharing it causes nausea and severe headaches, with long lasting head symptoms and faint bearing.
Curiosity draws crowds from the county and beyond to a mysterious well known as Devil's Water. Most locals fear approaching it while Uncle Dence defies warnings and drinks daily, claiming renewed youth and energy. The water appears to cause varying effects on nerves muscles and urges to dance among drinkers.
A correspondent reports a mysterious liquor causing joy, melancholy, hymn like singing, and praying aloud. He recalls blank verse memory, with a chemist from Houston endorsing its potential, sending a hermetically sealed jar to New York for analysis to confirm its unique value.
A list of patents granted on Tuesday September 17 to inventors in Western Pennsylvania Eastern Ohio and West Virginia. The items include machines for metal sheets pine metal products scouring and decoratin railway switches automatic patente changers steam hones glow experiments hay forks tension machines metalworking and several other devices across multiple towns and firms.
The Chicago Herald notes the Cronin case jury selection will be difficult as bailiffs must bring in a dozen men whose limited education prevents them from signing their names, replacing signatures with an X.
A fragmentary lyric speaks of longing and separation. A speaker recalls birds on a tree and seeks comfort in shade while expressing pain from unrequited love and distant days. The verse compares love to an overbearing sun and a blossomless tree.
New York report says Mrs. McGanley searched three days for Barney McGanley found him on a Jersey canal boat penniless and drinking. She struck him then punished him with a spanking and beat him as others joined in. A police officer intervened and she was arrested after a ten minute melee. She faced multiple charges.
A Copenhagen cablegram reports the Norwegian and Danish delegation departure on the steamer Thingvads to participate in the International Marine Conference in Washington next month.
A.M. Clement Acton Criscoln son of the President of the Inman steamship line and assistant manager in Chicago wed Miss Genevieve Spagg Ludiow daughter of Colonel William Lodiow at Grace Church this morning. Inman line craft in port dressed with flags for the celebration and General W T Sherman attended as a guest. In Ohio political notes ex congressman Amos Townsend predicts a large Foraker win and discusses Tanner's removal and Sherman rumors.
Congressman Benton McMillen of Tennessee argues tariff reform will keep the South solid and says the South desires President Houshison to leave 1¢ alone.
Early today a vessel off the Long Island coast near Long Beach was cleared of its cargo as the captain crew and life savers tossed fifteen thousand bunches of bananas and fifteen hundred barrels and boxes of oranges into the sea. By this afternoon hundreds of men and boys waded through surf to salvage the fruit brought ashore.
The Rev. George Washington Williams, noted colored preacher and politician, faced larceny charges in a Brooklyn police court after allegedly pawning carpets entrusted to him by Adelaide Bushnell. He admitted the theft, was held over to the grand jury, and was said to have funded a carpet cleaning business via dubious earnings from religion and politics.
In a crowded hotel room, Chairman Kisner and candidate E A Bigler scramble to keep Pennsylvania's Republican majority under a target as papers litter the floor. They debate hiring Coxe and ponder Wallace, with unclear plans and weary resolve after a string of misfires and cryptic exchanges.
A Toledo Blade collation notes that critics of President Harrison for his honorable grandfather are often those whose own grandfathers lack notable records or whose knowledge of their ancestry is weak.
The idea of practicing targets in education spreads from Chicago to schools nationwide. Proponents see it as early training for future success, claiming it will sharpen focus and discipline among students.
The column notes unusual local happenings from Bradford and surrounding towns. It mentions northeast migrating squirrels near Chau Tauqua Lake, a Beaver Falls fire chief hunting an old coon, a humorous subscription paper in Bradford, a gravity engine blocking a Reading street, a Philadelphia streetcar fare tale with seven children, a Wheeling butter cheese phone gag, and East Liverpool girls sharing love letters from the same suitor.
A scattered OCR page of curiosities notes a 1650 stone mansion on Greenbush farm and various local oddities. It mentions a Norwegian Maine sunflower stock marvel, unusual marriages, and terse local anecdotes from several U.S. towns.
A collage of humorous snippets and clippings from various papers recounts puns, domestic quips, and mock dialogues. The fragmentary items include jokes about a bold faced miss and a dangerous joke, a Kentucky reference, and playful exchanges on church, parenting, and love with brief captions from multiple papers.
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