The Washington critic., 1886-09-22
TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Representative breckenridge OF
Kentucky" said one of his constituents
10 the Washington correspondent of
the Philadelphia Record the other day,
"will be reelected this fall, but think
that the next term will be his last. w.
G. Owens, who is probably the most
brilliant young man in Kentucky, lives
In that district. Although he is only
32, he has been trying for years to get
to Congress. He gave Joe Blackburn
hard tussel, you remember, the last
time Blackburn was sent to the House.
Blackburn Is the most popular and in.
fiuential man in the district, but he had
great difficulty in beating Owens. After
ward, when Blackburn wanted to beat
old Cerro Gordo Williams for the
United States Senate, he went to
Owens, made peace with him and SO.
cured his support in the Senatorial fight.
Owens has been member of the Leg
islature ever since he was old enough
to sit in 1t, and has great influence in
both Houses. He elected Blackburn
10 the Senate. As Owens is a cold
Dlooded politician, l have no idea that
he did this out of pure generosity.
You will probably find when Owens
contests the nomination in the Lexing-
ton district with Breckenridge that
Blackburn will help Owens, and that
between them they will beat w. G. p.
Owens is tall, strong, handsome man
the finest. looking man Ia the State
like Edwin Booth, only larger and
stronger. He does not drink or dissi
pate In any way, but he is the greatest
poker-player west of the Alleghanies.
He wins $4,000 year out of his col
leagues in the Legislature just as easy
as turning over your hand. He is a
fine lawyer and consummate poll
tician. His income from his practice,
his poker and his salary must be not
less than $4,000 a year. He lives
modestly."
DIR. l.. A. Dibble, former resident
of Michigan, who married cousin of
President Cleveland, has spent much
Of his time this season at Saratoga.
lie Is Travelled man and we'll up in
his profession, but in his opinion,
there is nothing certain in medicine.
He said to Tribune correspondent the
other day: when physician is called
in he gives prescription. but nine
times out of ten he is unable to pre-.
dict what the result of its application
will lie. He does not know what the
effect of the remedy he prescribed will
,e on the constitution of his patient or
on the peculiar condition of his health
and mind. He must 60 1t blind until
he finds out what his remedies will do.
If they work all right, we'll and good.
If not, he must vary them until he
finds something that seems to act
right. Meanwhile the patient dies
or gets well and the doctor gets
the credit in either event. In surgery it
is different. There man can generally
know what he is doing There Is
another thing which causes physician
to operate in the dark, and that is be.
cause of the adulteration of drugs and
the difficulty in procuring the exact
preparation of a prescription. The
adulttration has gone to such point
that in three. fourths of the drug stores
of the country the most simple pre-.
seriptiops arc quite likely to be spoiled
in conn ounding."
&"x
Captain s. b. Lathrop Of Illinois,
who was for number of years in the
Treasury Department, in conversing
the other day with a correspondent of
the New York Tribune at Saratoga
about the old fractional currency, in
formed him how 1t was that General
Spinner happened to hit upon this ex-
pedient for small change. He said: "I
have heard the General talk about 1t.
Everything in the shape of coin van
ished after war had been declared.
You would not find even dime of sill.
yer after the Government began to is
sue greenbacks. If you had dollar
bill with which to go to the market
you had to spend the whole or you
could not pay for your marketing,
There was no small change and you
had to take something to fill out to the
amonnt of your bill. The General was
very fond Of apples and he used to go
out every day and buy a few to eat.
He found that he had to buy dollar s
worth or none, and he got rather dis.
gusted about it. He tried to conceive
of something that would take the place
of small change. He finally thought
Of postage stamps and sent down to
buy two or three dollars worth. Then
he cut up lot of Government paper,
such as is used for printing securities,
in small pieces, on which he
pasted stamps to represent five, ten
ard twenty-five cents. He used these
for day or two and found that they
passed readily for currency, and that
everybody was ready to receive them.
Ifyou will remember they Immediately
got to lutting up postage stamps in en-
velopes in packages of %, 80 and "a
cents, and the people found these en-,
velopes very convenient, except that
occasionally somebody would open one
and find that they were short a stamp
or two and so confidence was soon de
stroyed In that medium Of exchange.
But meanwhile General Spinner had
cen studying over the small change
question and had got his idea of frac-
tional currency. He went before Con
Fress with 1t and very soon law was
passed authorizing such an issue. The
first currency that came out under this
law had fac simle of a postage stamp
on it.. and so II was known as the
postal currency ISSUE"
W.
Says the Cambridge (Mass,) Press,
Mrs, William IL. Leach of Appleton
street has an ancient copy of the New
Testament with peculiar and inter
esting history. 1t was once owned by
Martha Washington, and, shortly be
fore her death, was given by her tC
Thomas Snead, one Of the five Negro
slaves TO whom General Washington