Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-06


 1 clad, but is completing the Tegetthof, O 7.s9o, tons. Of the smaller maritime powers
 Denmark is building an armored torpedo
 ship, while Holland, Norway and Sweder | have no ironclads on the stocks.
 Postmaster General James order making | it necessary that every arrangement authori
 zing increase in mail service must be comple 1 ted by him personally is calculated to disgus 1 those contractors who have made money by | getting their compensation increased aftel their first bids had been accepted and con | tracts made. A notable instance of this kint of maneuvering is connected with the rout! 1 mentioned in the Pos master Generals re | port for 1879 as having been established te l give mail service between Memphis, Tenn.
 and Arkansas City twice week. In the | next report it appears that the same | route had been extended to Greenyille, Miss, that three instead of two trips were to I be made weekly, and that the compensation
 had been increased from $7, ,OOo to $3O, 900. This might have been all very well if the in creased service had been properly performed. But it seems, upon investigation, that it was never performed at all, there being already established better, faster and more regular route between Memphis and Greenville. Still, for the same service which he per formed in 1879 for $7,OO0, favorite con- tractor in 1880 received $3O, GOO. It is safe to say that nothing of this kind will occur during Mir. James administration if he can prevent it, and he probably can.
 The two Canadians one a prohibitionist and the other i-prohibitionist, sent out by the Toronto Globe to inquire concerning the
 workings of the Maine law, recently visited Portland, and each sent a letter to the Globe giving the results of his observations. The anti-prohibitionist says Mayor senter is spoken of as evidently weak man, disposed to be non committal, and to wink at the i- quor traffic so long public opinion will permit him to do SO; one of those easy going, slippery politicians, who are always anxious to be in the good graces of the ma- jority, and never allow principle to interfere with their prospects of self-advancement." The mayor informed the, Correspondent that the majority of business men of that city were temperate OrlnkoTS, duu aS du luS1duCo stated that in a party of dozen on board vessel nine used stimulants. "A great many had liquor in their own houses which they had sent by express from places beyond the State limits This is permitted by the law. A coarse-featured man with an underjaw like a prize-fghter and a heavy moustache who stood by observed, The majority of the peo- pie don't care damn about the law any way" AS respects prohibition or license the mayor went on to say, ''after hemming and having little, " he thought the traffic would be better regulated under a strict li- cense law than at present. The prohibition correspondent quotes the mayor as believing ''it pretty clear that public opinion was against prohibition in Portland, 1" though not many would admit it. The reason assigned was the election of Democratic sheriff in a Republican section on an anti-prohibition issue. In the drug stores liquors are procar- able on the sly. On all substantial points the two observers agreed. The average of daily arrests for drunkenness is about four in a population of 34 GOO.