davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
egiment stationed lust across the frontier

regiment stationed just across the frontier
to dine with them of how the Russian
hosts had grossly insulted their guests dur
ing political discussion /; and OF how the
Russian Colonel had only averted blood
shed, lit is ingenuously intimated that the
Russian officers proposed to ambush and
massacre their late guests, by sending the
Germans home under a strong cavalry
escort. OF course the greatest indignation
was caused throughout Germany
by the publication of this affair,
and it was roundly alleged
that 1t had been deliberately arranged
in order to intensity the already hostile
sentiment between the two nations. In
the midst of the agitation, however, comes
a statement from the German Colonel com
handing the regiment whose name had
been SO freely used, to the effect that there
is not a word of truth in the story that
there has been no such invitation from the
Russians, no such dinner, and consequently
no such insult. 1t remains to be seen
how the enterprising Hamburg paper will
extricate itself. An American journal
would know how to explain the whole
matter in a plausible way, but it is to be
feared that the practice OF journalism "
has been too recently begun in Germany to
expect any adroitness in this direction on
the occasion of so awkward an exposure.
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
TIE pELgcArroN QUESTION

After long debate yesterday the Sen
ate voted by a considerable majority to
send local bill to the San Francisco dele
CATION. The opposition which was offered
to this very reasonable and legitimate pro-
position appears to us to have been in the
nam unjustitied. The reference of local
bills to local delegations has always been
question of parliamentary courtesy, and
while it presumably secures the interests of
the locality concerned, it does not deprive
it of the protection which the entire Senate
can extend in the case OF vicious legisla-
ton. As all bills are printed and furnished
to every member, all can follow the course
of proposed measures, and can at need in
terfere to prevent the passage of objection
able laws. In referring local bills to the
San Francisco delegation the Senate surren-
ders no whit Of its power over them.
1t can recall them at will, and it can
pass them or reject them as it may seem fit.
But the relations of San Francisco to the
rest of the State are in some respects
peculiar. Whatever legislation applies to
cities Of over 100000 inhabitants, for in
stance, must apply to her, and cannot ap-
ply to any other part of California. To
call this special legislation is to betray
ignorance of what special legislation means.
The Constitution expressly prohibits that
kind of legislation in thirty-two enumer-
ated cases, and generally Sin all other
cases where general law can be made
Applicable. There are, however, many
cases in which a general law cannot be
made applicable, and in all Of these
special legislation is unavoidable. 1t
would, for example, be impracticable to
pass a general law for the building of
levees around cities, because there are only
few cities which require levees. In
the same way it would be nonsense to
call law general which applied only to
cities having over 100, 600 inhabitants, be-
cause there is only one city answering that
description in the State. 1t is further de-
srable that the San Francisco delegation
should be made to bear its full burden of
responsibility for whatever bad Legislation
it may propose. To relieve it from that
would be to afford its members an easy
escape from the reproaches of their con-
stituents, and would take from the latter
one effective agency for keeping their rep
resentatives within the line of duty. 1t is
not possible that the San Francisco delega.
ton can secure any more power or influence
by having local bills referred to it, and
altogether it is much better that the exist
ing practice should be respected and main
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
.n unsuapAggsp JOURNAL.

7, tho WEEKLY UNION OF this week the prologue
To Fariso.i's great story is continued. The
,yvvr1v Usiox is Issued in semi weekly
,,r4s Of eight pages each, but il costs the
s,,scriler not one cent more He receives sixteen
T,,,es each week Of choicest selected and original
natter for - per annum, and advantage accrues
10 him which be can gain from no other paper, to
wit. the receipt OF his paper in the middle and al
fbe end Of the week, thus bringing the news to him
fresh and within few hours alter being recorded
,non .be news tablets OF the day. The departments
of the WEEKLY USI0s are very numerous, but not
so much so as to be cumbersome. On the contrary,
they are SO eagerly read that the demand IS for their
enlargement Special labor is put upon each de-
nsrtnent. and every one has the care ana superyi-
sIou and practical Judgment Of journalists OF long
e,perieuce in the best walks OF the profession. 4
anee AZ the list af the chief departments regularly
conducted and prepared for The USIoN will give
some idea Of the value, scope and variety OF the
matter presented. The following is an enumeration
Of the distinctive departments q the journal:
/ Editorial.
. Commercial.
, Telegraphic.
Z. General coast news.
;. Dramatic and operate
6. Art, Education, Science, Music.
:. Agricultural
8 Mechanical Industrial and Mining
- Home Economy, D Decoration and Amusement
10 outdoor Amusement5- Sporting.
Ii. Department of Questions and Answers, Puz-
zles Charades and Enismas
p Reviews Of new publications and current
literature.
- Local Intelligence.
a. Court, Capitol and Legislative Reports
Is. stock, Mining aud Market Quotations.
49, Religious Intelligence.
Il. New York san Francisco, Washing on, Eu-
ropean oregon, Arizona and Home Correspondence.
IS Fashions.
70. State Resources, Progress and Development.
Beside which, and outside Of these departments,
the UNION gives special attention 10 commercial re-
views letters from the counties of the State, notes
Of new discoveries. China, Japan, Mexican, Sand
yr;ch Islands, and South and Central American
news reports Of State officials, Boards and Commits
sjops. sanitary science and medical advance, and
all leading current topics such as irrigation, the
debris question, improvement of navigable rivers
mechanical discovery and progress, fish and forest
culture, mining drainage transportation news and
questions iramie ration, labor and capital, etc.
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
A STATE CoEsTABULARY.

We hope the present Legislature will es.
tablish a State Constabulary. 1t is an
institution which has long been needle |,
and which nothing else can supply the
place Of At present there are many coun-
ties in the State where crime can be COM
mtted with comparative IMMUNITY, be-
cause the county is too poor to pursue and
capture the criminal. 1t is indeed seldom
that Sheriff or his deputies are disposed
to travel far beyond the boundaries of
their own county in pursuit of offenders
against the laws, and one result is that a
great many crimes, and sometimes even
the most atrocious ones, go unpublished.
4 State Constabulary is, therefore, needed
to police the whole State, to be ready at
all times to pursue escaped convicts or
criminals fleeing beyond the bounds OF the
counties where their crime was committed.
Such a force would prove of the very
greatest assistance to the Sherifs. 1t
would be specially available against stage
and would in short time doubt
less put an end to that business altogether.
Placed under the control of the Executive,
and superintendent by soma veteran police or
other officer, it would add greatly to the
security of the pablo, and would certainly
repay its cost in short time The argu.
ments in favor of State Constabulary are
many and powerful, and in so extensive
territory there is much more need for it
than could exist in a more confined area.
Such force has for many years been es-
tablished in Australia and New Zealand,
and it has been found the only means of
the bush-rangers, whose facili-
ties for rapid change of base have put them
entirely beyond the reach of local authori-
ties. The State Constabulary might easily
be made to play an important part in a
scheme of penal reform, moreover, by be-
ng charged with the supervision of dis
charged convicts, and the duty, when
necessary, of protecting and encouraging
and industrious members of that
class. a large force would not be required,
but it would have to be composed of picked
men, and all of them should be familiar
With detective business
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

cal strategy. There ought to be no doubt
as to the manner in which the count will
be made but as a fact there is no knowl-
edge whatever as to what the future has in
store in this regard. An urgent appeal
should therefore be made to Congress to
settle this vital question, and pressure
should be brought to bear upon members
from both sides, to induce them to Danish
partisan bitterness at least long enough to
save their country from the threatened
confusion, and all the ills that confusion
may entail.
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
" TIE TdEoSoaEIST."

we have received the first three num-
bers OF The 7deosophiSt, a very peculiar
periodical published monthly at Bombay,
under the editorship of the Countess Bla-
vatsky. 1t aims at the dissemination of
the truth concerning the great religions of
India, and at the calculation of the al
legged supernatural powers of the ascetics
who, under the name of Yogis, are said to
perform various marvellous feats, of which
deviation is one of the most common.
Tie Theosophist has among its contributors
several learned Pandits and Buddhist
Priests, and not the least singular feature
in the case is the lofty minded liberation
manifested by these sectaries to the repre-
sentatives OF all other creeds. We should
seek in vain for parallel to this spirit
among the religious periodicals of Europe
or America.
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

$ MANHATTANISAIS On another page
appears the first of a series of letters to
the RECORD UyIoN from New York, under
the title Manhattanisms. The letter is
from the pen of Junius Henri Browne, and
viii be followed each week by New York
city notes from She same source. MIR.
Browne is an experienced correspondent,
and has been long connected with journal
ism of the best order. As writer he is
concise, clear, dramatic in narrative, posi-
tive in conclusion aud scholarly in diction.
His literary tastes and culture, bis observ-
ant faculties, his knowledge of men and
public questions, his intimacy with art,
dramatic, scientific, business and literary
circles incident to his journalistic career,
fit him peculiarly for the task for which he
has been commissioned by this paper-the
weekly presentation of matters and events
at the metropolis of the Atlantic, which
win be Of interest to readers upon this
coast
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE IN HAMBURG.

A Hamburg Journal has suddenly vindi-
Gated the claim of the German press to be
regarded as enterprising," by the cool
preparation of an invention which was
calculated to produce serious consequences.
1t printed a highly sensational story of
how a Russian regiment quartercd at Ka-
isch had invited the officers OF German
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
THE INCREASING USE OF OPIUM.

A bill has been introduced to the AS
sembly dealing with the vice of opium
smoking by penal prohibition. Whether
such a law will serve the purpose of break
ing up this practice must be considered
doubtful, since stringent local ordinances
have hitherto been found insufficient to
chack it. 1t is, however, the fact that the
opium habit has for some time been extend.
ing in this State, and that in the principal
cities it has attained really alarming pro-
portions. We have been recently informed
that it has made considerable advances of
late in Sacramento and it is we'll known
that in San Francisco and other towns it is
firmly established. 1t ought to be eener
ally known that this habit is even more
ruinous to health than drinking, and
that when it is practiced by youths of
either sex it is liable to under
mine. the constitution, impair the
digestive organs, and plant the seeds of
lifelong disease and misery. 1t is habit,
too, which is alike insidious in its growth,
and difficult to eradicate. 1t is far more
tyrannous and persistent than any other
craving, if perhaps we except the inherited
tendency to alcoholism. The victim of the
pium-habit becomes theabject slave of the
indulgence. He is incapable, after time,
of doing anything without the accustomed
stimulant, and when abandoned to its en-
ioyment he soon ceases to be responsible
for his actions. As practiced in California
the use of opium, moreover, brings the
victim in contact with the most repulsive
and communicating forms of Chinese filth
and disease. The dens in which opium
is smoked are disgusting in all their
details, while the acquaintance made
there are of the most objec-
tionable kind. Boys and girls
who may think it an evidence of spirit
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

Nor does it seem probable that Congress
will be able to come to any agreement
upon the vital question of the Presidential
count. Party fears and hopes and inter
ests are powerful agents in dissuading
members from urging any measures the
effect of which may be to deprive them at
critical juncture of some tempting oppor-
tunity to advance their own cause. If it
were broadly alleged that neither party
was willing to forego the possibility of
employing improper methods to insxre
success, the imputation would probably be
denied Indignantly. Yet it is clear that
something closely resembling this feeling
must be at the bottom of the indisposition
to settle the question which characterizes
the political leaders on both sides. It GER
tainly cannot be impossible to find way
of making the count fairly and surely,
and it is as certainly the duty of
Congress to discover and apply this method.
But though there has been good deal of
debate on the question, and though many
suggestions have been made, there is no in
dication that any one of these finds favor
in the eyes of either Republicans or DEM
ocrats, and meantime the country is stead.
lily drifting towards complications and
dangers, the extent of which cannot be es-
timated, but the reality of which is ap.
parent to all. The last Presidential dis
pute was warning. 1t carried the coun.
try so near to shipwreck that the escape
was almost miraculous No one believes
that the same feat can be accomplished
second time, and every one sees that the
probability of close election is very
strong. The responsibility which rests upon
Congress is extremely grave. The time for
action is passing away rapidly. In
few months the country will be in the
throes of another Presidential campaign,
and with the Maine case before its eyes it
would be fatuous to expect that it will be
II ore than ordinarily guarded in its politi-
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

The poor man to-day can and does live
more comfortably than the rich man lived
century and half ago. Ore result of
these material advances is that the
masses are enabled to think. Educated
men often lament the stupidity of the
common people, and many affect to
despair of the future because of it. Yet
here again candid comparison with the
past will show that some real gain has
been effected in the course of time, and
that popular intelligence has grown with
the material growth of the people. Free
discussion has done this. For howevercrude
and foolish the thoughts of newly enfran-
chised minds may be, it is i'm
possible but that they should gather
strength and Judgment from constant
friction. The habit of talking freely about
grave questions engenders habit of think
ing. Brain growth comes by exercise of
the cerebral faculties, and so, despite all the
deadening influences of superstition and
tradition, and custom and fashion and
barbarism, the human mind has slowly
worked its way forward, and has gained
higher position than it ever occupied be-
fore 1t is true that this is not saying
much Indeed it is saying less than many
people viii be apt to imagine, for though
the human mind has made some little
progress, it is yet painfully far from the
goal of even the most moderate ambition.
The world, however, is not patient with
its own growth. 1t is continually be-
wailing the sluggishness of civiliza-
ton. But modern science should have
taught it that improvement and growth
of every kind in Nature are slow; so slow
that it is only very recently men have
begun to realize the vast periods of time
consumed in these mutations. Civilization
proceeds more rapidly than natural changes
because, while the methods of Nature are
constant and unvarying, Man possesses the
power to assist his own progress in mani
fold ways by exerting his influence upon
his surroundings, and by employing natural
forces to accomplish his purposes. This is,
however, true chiefly of material civiliza-
ton. The growth of mind is slower, and
in its phases more akin to the processes of
Nature. Ts a certain extent, as we have
shown, this increase of physical comforts
facilitates and encourages intellectual de-
velopment, but in other respects this very
complexity OF modern lie tends to hamper
mental growth, and by fixing all the ener-
gies upon sordid considerations, to blunt
and stunt the intelligence The proof
that this is SO may be found in
the most cursory analysis Of modern
society. With all its pretensions to intel
lectuality, its real claims are almost ab-
surdly inadequate. The culture of a very
small section is made to do duty Tor the
whole community. Fashion prescribes the
solemn iteration of certain Shibboleths
supposed to indicate familiarity and sym
pathy with Science, Literature and Art.
But Fashion itself is emphatically and
product of Barbarism, and in
so far as it is still the controlling influence
in society, that society is wanting in some
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17
BEARINGS OF THE MAINE CASE UPON
THE FUTURE.

The Nation expresses the opinion that
the most important consequences of the
Maine case are likely to be developed in
connection with the next Presidential cleo
ton. OF this there can be no doubt The
failure of Congress to agree upon any plan
for counting the Presidential vote threat
ems the country with dangers the reality
and extent of which the Maine case rem
ders conspicuous. 1t is of course, impos-
sible that another Presidential election
should be settled as the last one was. No
matter what complications may arise, it
must be regarded as certain that no second
Electoral Commission will be proposed or
submitted to. The fact that the Demo.
Gratis will control both branches of Con.
gress puts that method OF settlement out
of the question. There is, howeter, no
scheme proposed up to the present time
which holds out any promise of security,
or which commands the confidence of
either party And whatever sanguine
hopes may have been entertained by
optinist politicians as to the pros
pect of q smooth and peaceable
solution, must melt away before
the evidences afforded in Maine of the in
creasing audacity and unscrupulousness of
faction. 1t has already been freely init
mated that the Garcelon game is one which
two can play at, and this cannot be re-
garded as an idle threat. It is in fact
apparent that an unusually heated party |
struggle, such as the coming Presidential
is sure to be, may so intensity !
partisan passion that both sides will be
prepared to initiate the Maine tactics wher. |
ever possible, and that thus the issue of |
the contest may be anarchy in a number of |
States at once. When once constitutional |
have been abandoned or over !
stepped, it is difficult to avoid further pro-
gress towards disorganization. At such
times the usurpations committed by one
party are availed of to justify still more
daring encroachments by the other. and
there is nothing to check this rivalry in
lawlessness until the ultima ratio requnl |
is reached, and the hostile factions con-
front one another in arms. The most in
sdious evil produced by such cases as thai
OF Maine is the familiarity with uncon-
methods which they engender.
However shocked the intelligent lover of
orderly government may at the outset be
by the contemplation of these cases, it is
impossible that their preparation should
not eventually lead him to regard them as
admissible resorts, at least for his own
party. Maine is to-day shocking ex-
g ample, and the danger is that the pre-
cedent set by her may be followed by other
States when general excitement has still
further deadened the popular reverence for
methods.
Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-17

vital elements of true civilization. Between
the Fashion of London, Paris, New York,
and San Francisco, and the Fashion OF
Ujiji Unyoro, Fiji, Madagascar or any
other stronghold of Savagism, the differ
ence is merely Of degree. Our wealthy
women and girls who spent their lives in
dressing themselves, in deyising new cos
tunes, in worshiping abjeetly at the shrine
of their pagan God, Fashion, are certainly
not engaged in pursuits one whit more IN
tellectual than those which absorb the
faculties of their sisters upon the Blue
Nile or the Amazon. Our energetic men
who toll through all the best years of their
lives in order that they may crafty the
barbarous tastes of their wives and daugh-
tiers in order that they may live in larger
houses, have finer furniture, give more os-
tentatious entertainments, outshine their
neighbors in some way-are not engaged
in more intellectual pursuits than the
primitive Bongo or Dinka citizen follows
when he seeks to surpass his friends by
building up his fantastic eoiifure to unim-
agined nights with ill-savored plaster, or
decks his well-buttered body with an adj
ditional string of plated grass, with the
same end in view.