The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-05-28

Maine during this time has been less than
one per cent, and the figures present the
funny conclusions: Either prohibition
instead of preventing, must increase
drinking, or else sobriety, rather than
drunkenness, is productive of crime Ii
is fair subject for Iowa prohibitionists to
guess at.
The Springfield Presbyterian convention
has formally condemned Sunday papers.
Would they have editors, printers and
pressmen risk their chance of eternal sal
vation by working on Sundays, so that the
readers may not be tempted to damn their
souls by perusing paper on the Sabbath? !?
Newspaper men are running too many
chances as it is.
The country is evidently dropping into
a trade condition that is anything but sat
isfactory. Referring to to this fact and to
the wellknown principle that period of
business stagnat on usually follows one of
excessive activity, Bradstreet's holds that
there is nothing in the present situation to
indicate general crash; that a conserva
tive spirit has for some time animated the
trading public, and as a consequence the
violence of the drop will be broken; also
that at some day when the sources of COM
mercial statistics are less imperfect it will
be possible to erect storm signals and call
a halt before reaching the conditions
which oomna1 vioiant reaction. tbaf tho
time will come when the development of
overtrading can be determined by the cur
rent business statistics of the day 1t
viii be happy day when this can be
done, provided men viii learn to profit by
the information. The excessive fuctua-
wage laborers employment would be more
steady and their pay more reliable and
even, But even though the statistics were
known to be accurate the power of con
structing them would not belong to all
alike. The prophets would disagree then
as now regarding the deductions to be
made, and even though all were agreed
that at given time the production was
too great to last, how many would heed
the warning ina way to avoid or prevent
the violent reaction?" 1t is a great temp
tation to all to make hay while the sun
shines, and to make the largest possible
amount of it. The iron men for years
past have known what was coming and
known pretty nearly when the relapse
would come, yet they did little to even up
one year with another. They have prob
ably prepared against a crash, but the
coming reaction will hardly be confined to
lower profits and narrow margins. Idle
mills and factories will leave a host of
laborers to seek new employment, and it
will be hard to make any use of statistics
which will at any time prevent these alter
nations from going to extremes in both
directions, though financial panics may
become less frequent.
At the auction sale of the Valentine
Mott estate in New York last week the
proceeds were 100000, The prices were
selling for from $4,000 to $4,000, which
sold four years ago for $4,000. The King
estate, embracing property on West Seven
ty-second street, brought $45O,000, m any
of the lots selling for three times what
they were worth eight years ago. The
extraordinary difference in the results of
the two sales is taken to illustrate the fact
that the value of real estate goes with the
improvements. These two estates were
equally accessible but one is on the line
of numerous recent improvements and the
other is not.
The influence of gardens of flowers and
foliage is Individually factor in public ed
ucation Where the taste and care for
flowers exist there must be a certain re-
fnement. It is taste like music, improv
able by culture. but which can exist with
out it and is always operative for the ben
eft of character aud manners. The idea
of the flower mission springs from belief
in the silent sermon of a blossom, which
is said sometimes to be effective when
words wonld be but provocation and an
irritant. Flowers represent 4the-illimitabte
hospitality of nature and as the youth of
most of us is associated with country
scenes they bring back the sweet memo
ries of the .olden time. Thus, there is no
idle sentimentality in the theory
that the gift of them to the suffering or
the reckless is sowing of seed that may bios
som in consolidation of repentance. So
also to garland a home with flowers is a
pictorial expression of refined truth; we
do not know but that it is better than to
decorate room walls with paintings fer a
purely personal and private satisfaction.
In city homes flowers should be preserved
because they connect us with the still,
broad country and subject US to its infiu .
ence amid artificial surroundings. Certain
ly gardens should be created and cultiva
ted, for they beautify the yistas and sweet
en- the breath of city streets To the
satrical and unbelieving we will not apollo
size Tor these suggestions, because, true
or not, they fall sweetly into the perfumed
cadence of the May breeze