The Owosso times., 1881-11-04
CURRENT TOPICS.

over the country that five hundred
girls employed as 'strippers" in Loril-
lard's tobacco factory in New York
struck the other day without reference
to wages at all, but because the pro-
prietors saw proper to change their
foreman! In addition TO this two hun
dred other hands were obliged to quit
work on account of this action on the
part of the girls. To be even with them,
hOwever-and a little more than even
the proprietors have decided to
breakup their stripping establishment
In New York and transfer it to Ken
lucky, where the tobacco is raised, and
where over thousand girls at once
applied for the work. The foolish
things in New York as soon as
they heard that they were not
| allowed to control the business ar
rangements of their employers and that
they were liable to be left out in the
cold, were ready enough to "cave," but
they were too late, and are now under
going very deserved punishment.
President Arthur visited the flagship
Franklin, lying before Yorktown, on
Wednesday afternoon, and was saluted
by the different vessels in the harbor
on his departure. The following ap-
propriate and touching order, signed
by the President, was read by Secretary
Blaine: "In recognition of the friend
ly relations subsisting between Great
Britain and the United States, in the
trust and confidence, peace and good
will between the two countries for all
the centuries to come, and especially as
a mark of the profound respect enter
tanned 10y the American people for the
illustrious sovereign and gracious lady
who sits upon the British throne, it is
hereby ordered that at the close of
these ceremonies, commemorative of
the valor and success of our forefath-
ers in their patriotic struggle for indie
pendence, the British flag shall be sa-
luted by the forces Of the army and
navy now at Yorktown. The Secre-
tary of War and the Secretary of the
Navy will give orders accordingly"
The order was fully carried out amid
cheers upon cheers, and will no doubt
be regarded 10y the queen and British
nation as a beautiful courtesy, full of
brotherly love and solid friendship.
The free textbook plan in public
schools has proved successful and pop
ular in several cities and towns in
Massachusetts and Maine. AT Fall
River, The Springfield Union says, the
city supplies not only textbooks but all
the materials used in the schools, and
the schools are free in the widest sense;
free from all cost to the individual pu-
pill. The books, etc., are purchased by
the school superintendent at the lowest
wholesale prices, and are consigned to
the care of the teachers, who are re-
sponsible for their use and safe keep
ing. They in turn hold the pupils re-
sponsible. Successive classes use the
books until they are worn out, and the
loss which so often accrues by changes
and advances and the laying aside of
half-wOrn books at home is entirely
avoided. Thus, the aggregate amount
expended for school books is very much
less than under the old system, aver
aging to each enrolled pupil about 60
cents per year. The plan has brought
to the schools a larger average attend
ance, and even with this increase the
cost per capita OF the Fall River schools
is less than that of almost any other
city in New England. Lowell has just
adopted this free-book plan, and other
towns are considering it.
A curious fact in connection with
the United States Treasury is that
there are now outstanding government
bonds to the amount of some twenty
million dollars OH which interest has
ceased. Money to the full value of
these bonds has to be kept idle in the
Treasury vaults, because it is not
deemed safe to presume that the whole
of them may not be presented, without
notice, for redemption; and when bonds
Of a certain class fall due, money with
which to redeem them is set apart, to
remain there till the bonds are taken
up. 1t is a standing joke at the Trea-
sury that bondholders never read the
newspapers. No matter how often the
lists of bonds on which interest has
ceased are published, their publication
is without apparent effect. A gentle
man took an old seven-thirty bond to
the Treasury recently, and was very
angry when told that the interest on it
had ceased several years ago. lie in
sisted that he should be paid interest
up to date. 1t is believed that some of
the missing bonds were destroyed in
the great Chicago and Boston fires, and
that others are boarded by persons
who are satisfied to lose the interest 80
long as they know that the principal is
secure, while considerable proportion
Of them is supposed to be held by per-
sons who think that the securities are
still drawing interest.
| Mark Twain, in his new book called
"Tramps Abroad" tells how a party
of tourists got wet, and what they did
when they came back to the hotel:
ave stripped and went to bed and sent
our clothes down to be baked; all the
horde of soaked tourists did the same.
The chaos of clothing got mixed in the
kitchen, and there were consequences.
L did not get back the same drawers ]
sent down, when our things came up
at 6:15; l got pair on the new plan.
They were merely par of long, white
ruflled, cuffed sleeves, hitched together
at the top with narrow band, and
they did not come down to my knees.
They were pretty enough, but they
made me feel like two people, and dis
connected at that. The man must have
been an idiot to get himself up like
that to rough it in the Swiss mount
aims. The shirt they brought me was