News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1883-04-12
NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Geological Survey, who had 1t cashed by
the nearest post trader. The latter made
it over to one of his creditors, and it
slowly came East, passing through sew
eral hands and in time reaching New
York City, where it went through the
Clearing House, and whence it was sent
to Nessrs. Riggs and Co, Of Washing
ton. for collection, being drawn upon the
United States Treasurer. When pre-
scented in the cash-rOom for payment the
other day it was discovered that the
check had not been signed by the dis
tributing officer who drew it, but OF all
the persons and banks whose lndorse-
ments covered its back not one had no.
ticed the lack of a signature. At last,
after all its wanderings, the distributing
officer signed the check and Riggs " Co.
received the money.
HE NEW POSTAL NOTES are likely TO
be very popular, particularly those Tor
small amounts, as already 459 out of
every thousand orders are for IS or less.
The limit of single moncy-orders is raised
from $50 to 800, the following scale
being adopted: Not exceeding so, s
cents; $40 to $15. 10 cents; SIS to $50,
Is cents; $50 to $40, 20cents; $40 to $50,
25 cents; $50 to $50, 30 cents; $50 to
$40. 50 cents; $40 to $50, 40 cents; $50
to 800. As cents. The reduction on
sums under SO from present money
order rates is one-fifth. Sums not ex-
ceeding S. will be but 3 cents, or a re-
duction of about two-t thirds the present
rates. The postal notes will be issued
payable TO bearer simply, there being no
expressive letter Of advice attending it,
and they will be good for three months,
after which timeth bearer, if he neglects
to get his money, must send to Wash
ington. The object of this is to prevent
il being used for general circulation.
A 15-YEAR OLD BOY was brought before
a New York police court the other day
charged with stealing $40 from his
mother. The $40 had all been invested
m the purchase o. blunderbuss, four
1evolvers and a scalping knife. "What
was your object III orming yourself in
This way ?" asked the Court. 81 was
going out to the plains to fight the In
dams, " said the boy, mnocently. When
being further questioned, the youngster
said that he had read ''The Boy Detec-
tive. " ''The New Haven Mystery, " ''The
Stewart Body" and ''Scalping the Mo
hawk, and these stories had set him to
thinking that he could make a name
equal to any of his heroes by going to
Texas and fighting Indians. He had a
ticket for Boston and fifteen cents in his
pocket when arrested. A prominent
detective in one of our cities says that
boys are so carried away by the detect
i've stories they read in boys papers that
he received from fifty to sixty letters a
week from boys andyoung men through
out the country who wished to become
detectives. 1t is little wonder that a
number of bogus detective agencies in
the country are reaping a rich harvest
from these unsophistic young men.
The houses in the City of Mexico are
built of massive masonry, with stone
stairways, and roof and floors of brick
and cement The city is virtually fire
proof, it being impossible to set fire to a
Mexican house except by the igniting of
some accumulation OF cOmbustible dry
goods or chemicals. Consequently fires
are not here regarded as among the cur
rent possibilities Of life. An American
resident in the city Of Mexico during the
last three years says that during that
time he has known of only one " con-
siderable frea and on being asked what
he calls - considerable - fire: he replied
that the one he terms so was limited to a
single room in the building and did
damage to the amount of about three
hundred dollars.
\ REFORMED GAMBLER III a lecture on
his profession" and its connections
says that gambling helIs are simply
schools for swindIers and thieves to grad
uate from. But for gambling, one-half
the conyicts in our State prison would
he honest and free men. Gamblers call
all outside their fraternity suckers.
They say: "There is a sucker born every
and New York is the best place
in the world to catch them" Saratoga
is, in summer, the gamblers paradise
one vast gambling hell crowded with
suckers. There are so-called skin gam
blers, but those termed square gamblers
are ten times worse than the skins. The
skin gambler, the Lunco man, and even
the thief. all work for thesquare gamblers,
who skin the skins themselves. In New
York there are at least 10, 600 gamblers,
who each spend two thousand dollars an
nualIy. Add to that their winnings,
over their expenditures, and the rent.
and cost of keeping up their gambling
hells, and a total amount of at least
$40, 900, 600 per annum is shown to be
on gambling III New York
alone. The poor and middling classes
pay this. The wealthy contribute little
comparatively to the support of the
backlog. There are one hundred and
fifty thousand men and boys who gamble
away annually on an average $500 each,
il New York City Nineteen-twentieths
OF the gamblers are Ioafers and villains
capable of committing any crime. And
it is only a question of time how soon
the business man who CANDLES and as
sociates with gamblers becomes
and a thief. Two-thirds Of the
failures and dishonest transactions among
men are caused by gambling
and association with gamblers.
A New York paper says there is a
whirlwind Of noE@2&e III the rustic pa
Oers about the notable funeral of James
Elliott, the prizo-hghter and burglar.
There were not twenty thousand nor
'orty thousand nor fifty thousand beetle
proved short-haired cut Threats, thieves,
md criminals marching in procession at
hat funeral. Oh, no. Nothing of the
Kind Elliott was anotOrious character,
md his funeral was an event of great no.
miety, which took place from densely
inhabited part of the city, on Sunday,
when the multitudes there were idle.
Many thousands OF the people of the To-
ality turned out to take a look of curl
,sity ut the hearsc and the show. The
,reat body Of spectators were neither
uffians nor criminals, but ordinary hard
working citizens, earning their daily |
read by their daily toll, and not nearly