Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-06
TIMELY TOPICS.

TIMELY TOPICS.
ACCOUNTS from Aspinwall announce that
the deadly feyers Of the isthmus are carrying
OFF the men engaged on the great canal at
fearful rate. Twenty officers have died thus
far, and victims are counted every day.
WHILE there are comparatively few pro-
fessional smuugglers engaged IN running goods
into America, the practice is steadily on the
insrease among the thousands of people who
annually cross and recross the Atlantic. VI
course, it is smuggling in small way, the du-
table articles being secreted in pockets, satch
els, trunks, ETC., but the amount OF revenue
of which the government is cheated, is Large
sum in the aggregate. It is very difficult to
reach the abuse. AS New York customs
official said the other day, 'unless we make it
a rule to insult every passenger of respectable
appearance, do not see how the practice can
be entirely checked"
A New YORK dealer IN pets divulges the
business fact that many ladies have lately taken
great fancy to alligators. They think the
ugly reptiles perfectly lovely" and particu-
larly enjoy seeing them catch flies. The size
of alligators most in demand for the aquarium
is anywhere from six inches to foot long, and
the reptiles grow very slowly in fresh water.
White rats are also popular pets with the Ia
dies of New York. Mice and spiders scare
them into pretty screaming fits, but rats are
their special admiration. They teach them
little tricks, and share their pillows with them
in the sweet slumbers of the night. And
there is no accounting for tastes.
A WEALTHY Maine man of correct moral
principles has left his money to his grandchil-
dren under such conditions that if they receive
it all they will get some benefit out of it. The
sole stipulation is that the heirs abstain from
strong drink, tobacco, betting and gambling.
The first offense is to cut them off from six
months income from the invested fund. The
second offense deprives them of years in
come. For subsequent offenses the penalty
becomes more severe, amounting in due course
to the total loss of the benefits of the bequest.
The experiment of this kind of suasion is not
often tried, but does not always work well
stances that the appetite of the legatees for
forbidden things is SO consuming as to lead
the poor fellows to risk the loss of their prop
erty in yielding TO the temptation.
THE wealthy and gallant Gov. Tabor, of
Colorado, has been badly taken IN, or else
very cruel story has unwarrantably gained 3
wide circulation. The governor, so the story
goes, made call OF "Miss Stela,'' one of the
atraGtlons OF lie Golden Constellation, dur
ing Z leceut visit of the blonde troupe 10
Denyef. suddenly he was called away on bust
ness. l1e SAID he would come again and finish
his call. mo, you VIII forget all about poor
little me-" pouted Stella; '1eave me pledge"
The governor impulsively pulled off mag
nifcant solitaire diamond ring and put it on
the fair ones finger. 1t was worth $4,000,
and Stella knew then that the governor would
not forget to call. But she did not wait for
him. She got on train and went to Chicago,
and the ring went with her, and the governor
is out of pocket nice little sum for simple
tete-a. tete.
Ex-Gov. HENDRICKs, OF Indiana, has baen
telling a reporter his opinion of some of his
associates in the United States senate. He
thinks that Reverdy johnson was the ablest
lawyer; Charles Sumner the most successful
legislator; McDougal, of California, the readi-
est orator; that Henry S. Lane, of Indiana,
was good orator; Grimes, of Iowa, one of
the purest men in public life; Collamer. of
Vermont, an able debater; Anthony gentle
manly and successful legislator; Buckalew
and Cowan, of Pennsylvania, were able to hold
their own in debate against the best; Garrett
Davis was a forcible but imprudent speaker;
Doolittle fine orator; Fessenden the ablest
senator that Maine produced; John P. Hale
brilliant but not studious; John Sherman
ready; Lyman Trumbull good lawyer and
debater. His old opponent, Oliver P. Morton,
Mr.. Hendricks says, was able, strong, and
earnest, but extreme in his expressions.
The efforts of tine khedive of Egypt to abOl-
ish slavery in accordance with the agreement
with England are meeting with strange OPP
position. Before taking the important step
Tewfx pasha, the khedivo, consulted the
sheik- ul-islam, the spiritual ruler of the Mos
lens. Although fully sharing the views of
the temporal ruler that slavery was an abomi-
nation, the ecclesiastic objected to its whole
sale abolition on the ground that the emanci-
patton of individual slaves was one of the most
meritorious of acts, and that the prophet had
conceded this right to his followers as a
means of atoning for their sins. In other
words, that slavery must be maintained, as
slaves are required as hnman conscience money
to whitewash Mussulman blcksliders, and the
khedive had cot the power to deprive the faith
full of divine privilege. This happened as
recently as July last; Tewfx pasha had to SUBJ
NIT, and to renounce for the present his pro-
ject of immediate emancipation.
EUROPEAN papers of recent date publish an
account OF one of the strangest occurrences in
the annals of modern crime. A monastery
near the forest of Vran-yo-Selo. in Hungary,
inhabited by eight monks believed to be very
wealthy, was attacked by band of brigands,
but an alarm having been given, body of
soldiers came to the rescue. The
brigands endeavored to barricade themselves
in the monastery, and exchanged several shots