The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-03-26
A Wonderful Gavel.
PIECES OF WOOD FROM ALL PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY. THE BOSTON COMMON ELM AND
LIBBY PRISON REPRESENTED.


COUNTRY. THE BOSTON COMMON ELM AND
LIBBY PRISON REPRESENTED.
The gayel that will call to order the
National Encampment of the Grand
Army OF the Republic Of the United
States, in June, 1885, at Portland, Me-,
and that will preside over the vast army
OF veterans in deliberatlon, was on the
top shelf OF doctors office in Auburn,
Me-, Saturday, in a strange tumble of
pieces. The postmark of every State and
Territory III the Union were on the labels
pasted upon each piece Of wood, whe
they had come through the mails to DR..
W. 5. Eldridge, of Auburn, who has been
managing the collection and the making
of this gavel. There are all shapes, all
kinds, all sizes of wood. TO manufacture
a gavel from such tumble Of woods,
will require the best skill Of a woodwork
er
The gavel is to be of ordinary size The
head Of it viii be of historic woods, such
as the charter oak, the old Boston com
mon elm, pieces OF prison stockade, a sec
tlon from a tree at Chattanooga with a
rebel bullet embedded in the body. Is not
there something appropriate in such a
mallet head The handle will be made
OF a piece Of Names best wood, wi h a
pine bud at the stem or end of the han
die A box will be made from the other
pieces OF wood, having each piece mark
ed with the name of the State from which
it came. The box will be handsomely
polished and upholstered for the reception
of the gavel.
DIR. Eldridge has secured piece of the
old Boston Common Elm, piece from a
tree on Paramount Park, Philadelphia,
adjoining the Belmont mansion where
Judge Peters, the friend and companion
of Washington resided This tree stood
on the east front of the mansion and was
probably two hundred years old before 1t
was cut down. 1t was a resort for the
family beneath its branches and here
Washington has many times sat with the
family of Judge Peters. 1t was sent by
the Department Commander Of Philadel-
phia who secured it with much difficulty
From the Department Commander of
Tennessee is bullet penetrated piece of
black walnut from the field of Chat
tanooga. There is a piece from the stock
ade at Andersonville, a piece Of pine out
of the house where John Brown was
born, piece of the polished black wal
nut banlster taken by Lieut.. Folsom out
Of the hotel in Alexandria where Col.
Ellsworth was shot for pulling down the
confederate flag. Lieut.. FOLSOM was shot
at Cedar Mount ain. There is piece of
one OF the door posts at Libby Pris-
on, and a sprout grown in the fort at
Fortress Monroe.
Among the collection of woods for the
various States is Usage orange from Hi
nois. mountain mahogany from Utah,
Rhode Island ash, Florida live oak,
grease wood from Nevada, shittun wood,
Texas, Louisiana yellow pine, Missouri
cherry, Wisconsin birds eye, Vermont
maple, New Hampshire birch, Massachu-
setts elm. bois dare from the Gulf Of
Mexico, Kansas black walnut, sugar wood
from Maryland, holly from Delaware, red
cedar from California, and spruce from
South Carolina. West Virginia is the
only State not represented. Many of
the pieces are black walnut and some Of
them are unnamed. An Auburn man
will make the box and gavel and DR..
Encampment
A Lowell man, in the Boston Journal, makes
the following suggestion to temperance work
ers:
l wonder the temperance workers do not d.
rect their efforts to the prosecution of those
who sell adulterated liquors. They could, If
they should fight their battle on this line,
spread CONSERVATION among class of con-
scienceess retailers. In my city | am told that
kind of stuff Is sold to the retailers for 81 % a
gallon. 1t is dreadful stuff = literally liquid
hell-tire. l know of man being made crazy
by single glass of it upon an empty stomach.
1t is that kind Of stuff that is sold to the labor
Ing people to a large extent not only in Lowell
but in every city in Massachusetts and the coun-
try at large. Now, if a war should be made up.
on this poison on the basis of adulteration,
scarcely rum-drinker would oppose it, and
most would favor it. At the same time the
war would break up half of the dram shops in
Massachusetts.
Banged hair is going out of style, and SO are
banged up lungs. by using Jadwin's Tar Syrup.
ONLY 81 cents and S1 a bottle Sold nv all drnu.