The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-12-29
MINOR TOPICS.

THINGS the freetraders never mention: The
steelrail business is dying in America, since
changing the tariff. Sugar and tea are taxed
higher in England than America. Wages are
lower in England than in America, yet bread,
meat and sugar are higher there than here.
THE English are scared because we are send
ing "bran cakes over there, interfering with
their business. They want to sell us everything, |
but don't want to buy anything of us-scold ell
the time necause we sell them a little wheat
We don't want TO sell it, we want to keep it; IL
we had enough manufacturing population to eas
it, We would keep it.
THE ostonians seeing the temperance folks
put forth vast efforts without overcoming much
opposition FOR many years, are continuing their
last years experiment OF cafes. No use, they
say, in working against the laws of trade, which
are the great cosmic laws of nature, the same as
gravitation or evolution. They have begun at
the other end of the subject and have instituted
coffee-houses, where coffee, lunches, smoking,
newspapers, billiards, cards, chess, checkers,
jokes and talk are to be had cheap and plenty.
LET others stem the flood in quest of gain,
And brave for joyless years the gloomy MAN."
Americans have dry land enough to occupy
themselves with. Let the English build a few
more forts about the mouth of the Panama ca
nal, and we will show them something new in
ship-building, perhaps.
ENGLISH papers are sprinkled with fine
sketches of Mary Anderson. The American
| critics have always told her that she was not
theatrical enough, but played like an uniu-
| structed tyro; now the English critics say
she is too theatrical and stacy. The Queen,
with her usual interest in art, is very kind TO
American a~rtistes. Our Nine. Antoinette Ster-
ling has been favored by the Queen. and a short
time since one Nine. Albani and family dined at
Balmoral with Victoria. The Queen leads a
beautiful and cheerful life, Notwithstanding the
sour paragraphs set afoat about her now and
then, probably by her old enemy, George A.
Sala. The Queen is fond of music; the great
Lablache was her old singing-master. She
loves all phases of art, and still paints and
draws. Three years ago she designed q
| charming and original monument for her
dau Alice. She likes amusements, and has
an appreciative, contented mind. She enjoys
books. Her time is all routine, pleasantly d-
~vided-part being occupied by her large circle
of relatives, part by her full correspondence.
She has interesting company; people of very
high rank or near kindred, or else very clever
persons, are her visitors.
THE fact that Anthony Comstook was driven
to arrest people who went to the seaside races
last summer and has this winter arrested a man
for hanging up a picture of Roman baths in a
bath house, shows that ours is a pretty good
world. Anthony is the man who told our social
science association last year that the newspa-
pers ought to be suppressed. He thinks most
books ought to be suppressed. Anthony is prob
ably a good man, but it is strange that he con-
siders himself sin gular. He evidently is not
damaged by reading the ne wspapers. Whence
comes this notion that life ought to be cloaked
upl Is the lamb-like country boy, who comes
to town and gets himself fieeeed, any better
than the town boy who reads the papers and
knows what's going ONT Arc French girls,
who read nothing, any better than
English and American girls who read
everything? "Les petites files! Les petites
files! There are no b ooks for les petites flles!"
says a French writer. We shall look long before
we can find ii really bad book. Goethe said "a
book must be very bad to be worse than life 1T
self" And as to the newspapers; most Of us
have examined them without deteriorating.
Most of us have even gone so far as to pick up
the specimens Of questionable literature thrown
into our front yards, and have tried to get some
interest1u "Tbe Missing Bride, or the Myste-
rlous Sausage, In Three Links" or whatever the
story was. And we have found that this ques'
tionable literature is prepared for the evening
amusement Of poor Woodworking folk, who 90
not feel quite up to instructive reading, and 1t ia
amply nothing, or as near nothing as it can Oe
and exist at all. A good world is this on the
. whole. MARY DEAN'