The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1879-09-27
Our Washington Letter.
wAsn1NeroN. D. G., Sept. II, ls

EDITOR CHIEF:
The first number of the Statistical
Abstract Of the United States recent.
ly issued by the Bureau of Statistics
is an exceedingly valuable and inter.
esting document, FROM which we OBJ.
tain many interesting facts. The
value of merchandise exported from
the United States during the yeal
1873 was $694, 1865, ,766, and tho value
Of merchandise Imported into the
United States daring the same yea,
was $437 ,05l ,532, showing an excess
of exports over imports Of $257 ,814,
234. The value of gold and silve,
coin and bullion exports from the
United States in the year 1873 was
$33, ,740, l25 aud the amount imported
for the same period was $29, 1921 ,3l4
Showing an excess of exports over
imports Of $3,915,8l:. The exhibit
given in the Abstract relating to rail
roads in this country is also an i'm
mensely interesting one, ard shows
the wonderful and almost marvellous
progress that has been made in their
construction during the last half cen
tury, and more particularly during
the latter half of that period. In
1880 there were twenty-five miles of
railroad in operation in the United
States; in 1910, there were 2,8l8
miles; in 1850, there were 9O2l
miles; in 1860 there were 3O,635
miles; in 1870 there were 52,9l4
miles, and in 1873 there were 79,2O8
miles.
Gen. B. F. Butler of Massachusetts
will be the most nominated man of
the country this Fall. One conven-
ton has already put him forward for
Governor. Another will do 80 to- day.
Several will do So hereafter. But the
General will probably realize the fact
that nominations are not elections. He
has many friends here, but none of
them expect his election. .
The everlasting Edison has this
week taken out one more patent on
parts of his electric light machinery.
Those here who know this great in
ventor best are sure that he will sue
ceed in his project of furnishing far
better and cheaper light than gas.
He is in correspondence with gentle
men here on the subject, and they
say that he IS simply attempting now
to perfect minor details of his inven-
ton. and that very soon the entire
process will be made public.
The more the subject is considered
the more enormous appear the proba-
ble consequences of the great balance
of foreign trade in our favor. Secre-
tary Sherman thinks that another
year of plentiful harvests here aud Of
scanty haryests abroad would pro-
duce results wholly unprecedented in
the financial and commercial world.
Sooner or later the strong arm of
the government must be interposed
against poiygamy in Utah. In 1869
Congress declared this great iniquity
to be a crime and imposed serious
penalties against it. The Supreme
Court has decided the statute to be
but these Mormon
polygamists set the law at defiance,
and array themselves in rebellion
against the officers who attempt to
enforce obedience to its provisions.
This moral ulcer with its fostering
has too long been allowed
to disgrace our national character. Its
final ext: patton is an unsolved prob
lem Of which Joseph Cook affirms !:
&c for one do not expect to see the
question settled except by the school
or the sword, and the choice lies be-
tween the keen edge of the sword
and the keen edge of the
Christian school," 1t is no credit to
our civilization that we allow men
stepped i'll this great iniquity to sit as
delegates ia the councils of the
nation. Determined effort and back
bone on the part OF the government
would wipe cut this hideous enor-
nifty in twelve months, and pnlygamy
would give place to monogamy, as in
the case of the Oneida community.
The statistics furnished by the
Bureau of Education shows aud illit-
eracy in the South that is awakening
just cause Of alarm among the most
men of the nation. From
the most careful statistics in the
States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Mississippi, North and
South Carolina, it is found that near
ly eighty per cent of the children are
ont of school, growing up i'll ignor-
ance, and if this condition of things
is allowed for ten years illiteracy will
be the normal condition of the entire
voting population. The last census
Al: