The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-08-01
Editorial Notes.

NATIONAL banks have generally
stopped paying interest on deposits,
and for this reason their depositors are
seeking investment which aggregates
millions every week.
THE following named articles have
been submitted to the department re-
Gently, and ruled upon as unmailable,
viz: Cement, confectionery in any
form, eye glasses or spectacles, glass,
jewelry having pins attached, salve,
sewing machine needles, soap, steel
pens, stove polish, sugar, tin dishes,
tooth powder. Postmasters are obliged
to refuse to receive into The mails any
of the above articles; the manner in
which it is wrapped cannot be taken
into consideration.
THE Journal Of Commerce, in a
sprightly article, calls attention to the
rapidity with which Japan has Ameri-
canized her institutions. She has q
funded debt of $4,000, 900, and pays
her interest so promptly that her seven
per cents are worth LOG and 1OS, and
her nine per cents Ill and 113. She
has system of national banks, a large
paper currency, and is about to issue q
new loan of $500, 900 at six per cent.
to be taken from her own people only,
no foreigners being allowed to sub
scribe. Her money is decimal, and
her "yen" is equal to our dollar
She has railroads, telegraphs, light
houses, custom houses, public schools
and post office, all on the American
pattern, and in fact, first set going by
Americans. Her exhibition at Paris is
excellent and quite up to the highest
standard.
SINCE the new law regulating the
salaries of postmasters at the smaller
offices by the amount of stamps can
celed, instead of the amount of stamps
sold, has gone into effect, marked
diminution has been observed at the
post office department in the number
of stamps ordered by postmasters of
this class. 1t is stated at the depart
ment that no exact estimate can be
formed of the amount which will be
saved in salaries of such postmasters
until the reports for the quarter end
ing September 80, 1878, shall have
been received and audited, but that the
indications are that it will amount to
very large sum. Upon the basis of re-
QUESTIONS already received for stamps
for the present quarter, there are
many offices where, under the old law,
the salary has grown nearly to the
presidential standard, that will drop
back to the old figures of twelve dol
lars per annum.
COMMISSIONER WILLIAMSON, of the
Land Office, in speaking of the deci-
sion of Secretary Schurz, said: 81
cannot estimate the amount of land
that will be thrown open to homestead
settlement under the Secretary's de-
cision. There are hundreds of thous-
ands of acres, l am sure. But there is
not one acre in forty of the lands
which have not already been disposed
of by the companies that is worth any
thing for agricultural purposes. Thous-
ands of acres granted the companies
have not even been surveyed. There
is larger area of worthless land now
owned by the companies than all the
lands we have patented to them since
the grants were made. On the line of
the Union Pacific Road as far as the
Black Hills the land grants have been
surveyed. From the Black Hills west
to the California line very little sur
veying has been done. The Kansas
Pacific land-grants have been sur
veyed. There is considerable good
land for agricultural purposes remain
ing unsold on the line of the Kansas
Pacific. There are also some farming
lands in the Union Pacific grants
which may be pre-empted. The eli
mate is preferable and the soil better
adapted to wheat raising in Kansas
than farther north. believe that the
advantages accruing to settlers under
the Secretary's decision will be far less
important than is generally expected.
The area thrown open to pre-emp-
tion is large, but the quantity of good
land upon it remaining unsold is COM
small