Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1857-05-06
Correspondence of the "Raftsman's journal.

exercised by Secretary of State, and have
made the Superintendency OF common schools
a distinct office. Under this law, the Cover
nor nominated Henry G.. Hickok to this office:
and the nomination unanimously confirm
ed on last Tuesday morning. Mr. Hickok was
chief clerk of the school department, under
4. q. Curtin.
Let me tell you more about the extraordi-
nary snow storm of the 10Th and 10th ult. The
greatest depth of snow that / have heard of, is
three feet and half. No trifing affair for the /
Goth of April. This was at Hazleton. 1t was
40 inches at Janesvile, upwards OF three feet
at Beaver Meadows and two feet and half at
Rockporte. In Jefferson county, Kentucky,
il was 10 inches deep.
No doubt your readers have seen repeated
notices of an epidemic that has been raging
among the hogs of the west. This is called
the s.hog cholera.a At Ingraham's distillery,
10 two months, ending 9th October, 1900
hogs died; and at distillery at Pittsburg,
1876 have died since the 18th of October
Mr.. Pate, of the Rising Sun, lost 500. Mr..
Plumer, of Coyington, 500. Messrs. Graf, of
Aurora, 4,5i6. Since the disease made its ap.
pearance, 10, ,4S5 have died at New Richmond
and 5000 in the vicinity of Aurora. The
number of hogs that have died of this disease,
so far as ascertalned, runs as high as 10000,
and would equal, if fat, $685.
Now there are some remarkable similarites
between this epidemic of the four footed ami
nal of the west, and the epidemic of the Ma
tional Hotel at Washington. Can the causes
be the same? l clip the following from the
Pittsburg Evening Chronicle of the 27th:-
ssIt is conclusively shown that that the 'hog
disease which has proved so fatal in the west,
is caused by the animals eating the grain from
which whiskey is made, after it has been used
at the distlleries. A chemist who lately
analysed a barrel of Ohio whiskey, gave his
opinion that there was strychnine enough to
kill thirty men in that one barrel.''
See this, also:
CDR. Hiram Cox, chemical inspector of al
coholic liquors in Cincinnati, states, in ad-
dress to his fellow citizens, that during two
years he has made 2i9 inspections of various
kinds of liquors, and has found more than
niDe-tenths of them limitations, and great
portion of them poisonous concOctions. Of
brandy he does not believe there il gallon
of pure in a hundred gallons, the limitations
havirg corn whiskey for basis, and various
poironous acids for the condiments. OF wines
not a gallon in a thousand, purporting to be
sherry, port, sweet Malaga, &c, is pure, but
they are made of water, sulphuric acid, alum,
| Guinea pepper, horse raddish, &c, and many
of them without single drop of alcoholic
! spirit. DR.. Cox warrants there are not ten gal
Ions of genuine port wine in Cincinnati. In
his inspections of whiskey he has found only
from II to 20 per cent. of alcoholic spirit, when
it should have 45 to so, and some of it con-
tains sulphuric acid enough in quart to eat
| hole through mans stomach"
Va Iypou Mr Tourna1 hat d;S+;IlarS ,,ca
many poisonous and delterious drugs in the
manufacture of whiskey, in order to increase
the quantity to be obtained from their stock of
grain. SO that the familiar name of modern
whiskey is s.Rot Gut" OF those who died of
the epidemic of the National Hotel it was
said, ''their intestines were decayed.'' l make
no comments, draw no conclusions, but deal
simply in facts. There are immense profits in
the liquor traffic.
The New York Liquor Dealers Association
numbers over $500, and has a cash fund of
100000. The Legislature of New York pas
sed at its last session, stringent liquor law,
and this Liquor Association intend to spend
this $500 600, in testing the constitutionality
of this law.
The House have reconsldered, the second
! time, the vote on the bill securing three mil
lions of dollars to the Sunbury and Erie Rail
road. The bill was lost the first time by tie
vote, 45 to 45. The second time by 46 to 40.
| After the reconsideration was carried, the fur
ther consideration of the bill was postponed.
During the discussion of this subject, it was
| painful to hear members accuse each other of
being influenced by pecuniary considerations,
| in their votes for Banks, the sale of the Main
line and the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Bill,
| &c. 1t is not pretended even by the members
! themselves, that money has not great infu-
ence in controlling the votes cast on those
bills in which there is pecunary profit to the
| persons interested in having them passed. In
| deed they charge each other sometimes of
having a particular familiarity with those
members of the Third House, (walking arm in
arm with them to and from the capitol) who
| are the representatives, of-bank schemes, &c.
There was an effort made to-day to take up
the loose log bill, but it failed In order to
take it up, a motion was made to suspend the
orders of the day; this required a two thirds
vote, and was lost, by 40 yeas 10 SO nays. 1t
may be that the enemies of the bill are supe-
rior to its friends in their knowledge of par
liamentary tactics, and will, in the end, defeat
it by the cunning of those legislative rules
designed to facilitate business BoGGs.
- -
U That portion of the public lands in To-
wa upon which the Indians have recently been
committing depredations, numbering the set
tiers and destroying their homes, have been
Withdrawn from the sale on the 18th May.
0ESecret Societies of all kinds are said to