Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1885-09-18
GENERAL NOTES.

GENERAL NOTES
A Bull will probably be introduced
in next Congress to take steps for the
preservation OF Washington's head
quarters at Valley Forge, which it is
said, is fast falling into decay. and will
without care soon disappear. Tho
house occupied by Washington as head
quarters still stands, although a
hundred years have passed since that
terrible winter in which Washington
and his suffering army spent months of
untold suffering there. Although some
additions have been made to the build
ing, the original part. which was oceu
pied by General and Mrs. Washington,
mas not been altered. A little wooden
porch projects over the front door.
through which the visitor passes into
narrow corridor, on the right of which
are two rooms That in front is now
used as parlor; that in e rear was
the Generals office A few trophies,
rusty cennon balls and hatchets, and
uncomfortable old chairs and lounge.
are shown. But what chiefly strikes
the visitor is the shameful neglect that
is everywhere apparent. The small
garden in front of the house is over
grown with rank and unseemly weeds.
The rooms themselves are dirty aud i'll
kept. A view from the window in the
back room discloses weeds even taller,
swarms of irrcvcrent h'ckens, slos enly
household utensils, and Il clothes line
on which struggled the last week wash.
No one would suppose That this was
the place once hallowed by the greatest
of Americans. a cry earnest call 5
being made for its preservation, and it
probable that a moderate sum may
be asked of Congress Tor this purpose.
TaE Lansing Republican says very
pertinently: II is claimed that the
state board of pardons has adopted un-
necessary and arbitrary rules by which
the average cost of applying for a par
don will be about 500. This would
shut out about SO out o. every 100 pris-
oners from applying The real object
of the law was To provide means for
carefully examining every application.
but not TO make pardons practically
impossible. There should be common
sense used by tie members of this
board, and only such papers required
in each case n are material in consider
ing the questions raised by the applica-
ton for pardon. That is all that the
law intended, perhaps that is all the
board has ever required, If 1t is, we
and good; il it is not, the sooner they
retrace their steps and back out of err
ror, the better. Certainly no legisla-
tor had any intention of discriminating
against poor prisoners whe / the meas
ure was under consideration.
CHICAGO has already excee ED the
$4,000 proposed for the G. ant monu-
ment, with subscriptions still coming
in. But New York lags behind her pur-
pose. And the newspapers are lauding
the Garden City at the expense of
Gotham. But why should this fund be
buried in useless stone? Why not in
rcrease it and build some sort of struct-
Eat would. while bearing the name
Apored dead, be of prac zeal use
Dour hoe Some kind of depository
70 tie liviny Wright be found that would
Or Institution such man as Gen.
Tar more hono Up of granite. We re-
"r"il' TIC ,fiers' monument which I
-le''.O,.' Nor battle-Hags. Others
are made 10 ho
study spent on thu ''' "o"'' "e,''
something OF not ofS NV "'''''' Jul
practical value. -
A MAN is said 90 haze recently asked /
another how he co,,ldt cure his wife of
A. ,bit of exagg Grafton. "Gct her to
a5out her age! was the brutal re
Spouse. But 1t seems that even this is
not always a cure. An old lady Mt Will .
ton. Connecticut, has passed her l03d
year. She is bright and sensible, except
for singular delusion about her age.
She kept the record straight until she
became l92, when she insisted thst She
was 200 years old, though she admitted
that the last 100 years didn't seem near
ly as long as the first 100 Since her
last birthday she has called herself 800
years old The old lady recently said
TO her grandson: II feel sorry for the
sexton, because if do not die soon he
may have to ring 400 times = How
ever up to the 1913 years the plan may
work.
The supply store of the strikers at
East Saginaw was closed on Aug. 20,
which means that the strike is V rtually
ended. During the me it was in OPP
Grafton large quantity of Provis ons
from all parts of the state and >l,S23
in cash were received These receipt
xyara dio,ributod amono 1pS families