Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-01-10
Notes on Current Events.

-Rumors of war, in which Germany
is expected to take an active part, are
again heard in London. But on this
side of the water there remains little
faith in the word of the foreign war
rumor committee.
Gov. Buffers message to the Leg
islature of his State, which in Massa-
chusetts is read or spoken to the Leg
islature in joint session, Immediately
after the Inauguration ceremonies, is
the most notable public document of
the day. The General finds fault with
almost every department of the State
Government.
An artist in Siberia, searching for
a long missing brother last July, came
upon hut containing two white men,
one of whom was dead and the other
insane, and from a record found in the
hut, the men are supposed to have been
part of the crew of Chipp's boat from
the ill-fated Jeanette. The insane
man died soon after being discovered.
Concord, n. H, and its vicinity
was shaken by an earthquake lately.
its advent being preceded by a sound
similar to that produced by an ex-
plosion. The people rushed from the
swaying buildings into the streets, the
conclusion in some instances extin-
guished the gas Shocks were also
felt at Manchester, Dover, Contocook,
Pittsfeld, and other towns.
Now that Gambetta of France is
dead, Bismarck of Germany talks of re-
tiring from office. The third great
figure in the politics of Europe, Glad
stone of England, has the infrmities OF
age, and often refers to the retire ment
that he desires to enjoy. With tie dis
appearance of these three giants from
the political stage, the aspect of Euro
pean craftsmanship will be less pictur-
esque than it has been for years past.
Baltimore is indeed a stricken city,
unless the reports are considerably ex-
aggerated. The number of cases of
smallpox is estimated at 200, and the
quarantine hospital is inadequate to the
task of accommodating the patients One
tenement house was found to contain
twenty-five cases. Already a good
many have been buried "darkly, &.
dead of night and unless the city au-
thorities, fate and the weather combine
to prevent, the plague seems bound to
accomplish even greater ravages.
"A Young woman's seminary in the
Illinois town of Knoxville was burned
to the ground few days since, and its
hundred inmates had barely time to es-
cape with their lives Every few
months we hear of the burning of some
large building in which scores of human
beings arc huddled together, and almost
always there is heartrending loss of
life. Sometimes it is an asylum, some
times poorhouse, sometimes factory,
sometimes prison which is thus de-
stroyed. The latest fire will teach a
valuable lesson if parents learn from it
to look carefully into the safety of the
edifices in which their children are to
live while at school. If it is not possi-
BILE in all cases to make such buildings
absolutely proof against fire, it is at
least possible to obtain reasonable Sc
curity for the lives of their inmates.
General Butler-that is to say,
Governor Butler-in his inaugural ad-
dress as Governor of Massachusetts
ventilated a new idea concerning taxa
ton and voting. Massachusetts, has a
polI-tax and a constitutional provision
which disqualifies from voting any citi-
zen who has not paid the State and
county taxes assessed upon him. Gov
ernor Butler proposes to continue the
poll-iax, but to materially change its
operation upon the voting franchise.
AT present no one on whom u tax is
assessed can vote until he has paid it,
Buffers plan is to assess the tax, but
to defer collection until after election.
Then, if the citizen can show that he
has performed his duty by voting, the
poll-tax is to be RENTED. Under the
present plan man has to pay for the
privilege of voting. Under Buffers
plan he would be made to pay for not
having voted In one case he escapes
payment by forfeiting his right to vote.
In the other, he pays fine for not per-
forming bis duty by voting. Ben has
some singular notions, but streak of
sense generally runs through them.