Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-10-11

A Potter DIVORCED FROM PoLIrrcs. The re-
suit Of divorcing the police Of Baltimore from
politics is evident In the remarkable quiet and
preservation Of order that characterized the Balu-
more municipal election Of yesterday. With q
parzan police in authority ii was not long h ncss
worth Peaceable citizens life almost TO attem OF To-
exercise the right Of suffrage there with police
In authority, pledged to abstain from directly or
indirectly interfering w tn the election political
partlIans, and to p-otect all the rights OF every
citizen seeking to vote, Baltimore hes suddenly
become the most peaceable and quiet city in the
Union upon election day What Lesson does
this change teach us of the Federal Metropolis,
wherein, at election times, life aud the gbts Of
the citizen are as unsafe at any time in Balti-
more. We do not doubt that our present police
force, IL realizing that their tenure Of office de-
pended (ss all policemens should) upon their
good behavior, rather than on their services an
political strikers before and on election DAYS,
would hold Washington on such an occasion as
free from the rule Of the Grams" ct al az the
police Of Baltimore yesterday held that city en-
tirely free from the rule Of Plugs," Its lords and
masters under their late police regime.
sIsSrIcASr-Fos,er,t though proclaiming him
self Dougasite, did worst, clearly, in what are
known as the Douglas strongholds Of Pennsylva-
Allegany, Lancaster and Schuylkill, where what
was year or two ago the Democratic party, have
almost entirely gone over to Douglas. In them,
the Republican-Curtn's- gain was the greatest
The fact proves one Of two things Either that,
| as Henry A.Wise so pithily expressed II, Doug
asism is but short cut to litionism,n or that
wherever Mr.. Douglas was able to exert per-
| sonal influence over his followers he succeeded in
| inducing them to play into the hands Of the Re-
publican party In this election. His we'll known
purpose was to defeat the success Of the attempted
| fusion and wherever his cause was in the ascen-
dancy in the party I'm Pennsylvania, there the Re-
publican gains have been largest. 1t can hardly
require such another election result, we fancy to
satisfy all at the South that he is laboring az earn
esty to secure Lincolns election by the people, as
Horace Greeley himself.
THE ALLEGED CHIRIQuI Coal MINE-It may
be recolected that great effort was made during
the last session of Congress to induce the Govern
ment to purchase an alleged coal region that had
been found near Chiriqui, Central America, and
| to have an appropriation made OF several hundred
thousand dollars for this object. We have been
Informed by ompetent geologist that there is no
trace Of coal measures in that region; that no car
bonferous fossils have even been found there and
that the supposed coal mine IL a tertiary deposit
Of Ignite Of less value for fuel than many of the
peat deposits Ia the New England States The
Chiriqui Ignite 10 doubtless about such deposit
| as those In Southern Texas, out Of which specu
| lators came near making immense sums before
due scientific Investigation demonstrated their
utter lack Of any commercial value whatever