Morning journal and courier., 1885-05-21
EDITORIAL NOTES.

'fGath" recently saw the Rev. Dr. Burchard in a bookstore buying copy of Spears His tory of Religious Suffering"
 We do not know how useful Professor" Odlum's life was. but his death will be use- ful in discouraging other fools who may be seized with an ambition to rush from a high place into the water.
 A curious lawsuit has been brought by an obstinate citizen of Frankfort on the Main against the municipality. He sues for the recovery of mark 80 pfennigs (about 45 cents), on the ground that the city has not provided him with the proper quantity and quality of water stipulated by contract He seeks to make this test the re- sponsibility of municipal governments. In communication to the French Aca- demy of Sciences M. Duelaux states that the presence of micro organisms in the earth is essential to the germination of seed His experiments were made with plants whose seed grow on the surface as well as those which develop in the ground. The agricul- tural importance of his researches lies in the fact that farmers who understand this prin- ciple will avoid the use on planted soils of any substance inimica1 to the lower forms of organic life.
 A Mexican paper has discovered that sev- eral English capitalists were induced by the promise of enormous profits to supply money to a company that bought land along the line of the proposed Nicaragua canal, and that other English capitalists invested individual 1y, paying large sums for land which they had never seen One investor paid $10,000 for strip of swamp for which no one would now give him $1O. These facts explain, in some degree, the pertinacity with which the Canal treaty was pushed for ratification be- fore the Senate.
 The Mormon elders who have been so suc- cessful in the South do not like to abandon the field. Although the new law in Tennes- see forbidding any person to teach the doe trines of polygamy, or to induce another to embrace po1ygamy or to emigrate for the purpose of practicing the same has been in force only one month, three prose1yting elders have already been arrested for violating it's provisions They boldly declare an inten- ton to test the constitutionality of the act The elders may possibly succeed in showing that the law is unconstitutional, but it would not be very safe for them to continue to preach in Tennessee if they should.
 A book has been written in English about America by a Siamese traveller and published at Bangkok. Moang Thukhada, the author, studied English two years in Philadelphia, married the daughter of Ia gentleman of the trade of keepers of saloons," and returned to his native country. q consider the Ian guage to be the chief charm of all America'' he says. sNow, if I write my book in my own language, my people, having it read will know not all the English language only the American manners; but if my book I write in English they perceive the beauty, the elegance, and all the number-oneness, as the Americans would say, of the language which I did learn, and which they will de- sire to learn, from the lips of natives.
 It seems that there are places where the silently whirling bicycle is unknown. correspondent relates that he recently made bicycle tour in Jutland, and that upon second time passing through small village near Viborg he was told story which for day or two had much exercised the minds of lthe local gossips. On the occasion of his