, 1890-10-05

might say. and with no cost at all is go
ing to issue this book as soon as | have
looked il over carefully and lone some OK.
purgating. Mr.. W~anamaker says he vii
cheerfully put it on his bargain counter ii
| will 20 through it carefully and see that
it is pure.
My esteemed contemporary, the editor
of the Congressional Record. has gone
through it. but in a slightly cursory man
ner. | think, and quite a number Of i'm
pure thoughts have escaped his eagle eye
thoughts which OF course might be per
united 10 a delibemtive body, but not in
the mails. Those who have happened to
be in the postal car on a hot day when an
impure thought was in transit will agree
with the writer that it ought to be stopped,
especially during the crowded seasons,
when the mails are already Overtaxed
with their burden OF lottery business.
Ii / could have my way | would have
appointed by the president a large com
mittee of mind readers. to have general
supervision of the United States, and the
moment any person was detected having
an impure thought the committee should
have power to hit him back Of the ear
with a club and take him before the cadi.
The time Is surely coming when the now
lawless think retort of the great thinking
world will have to become subservient to
the laws of the land. This will be general
at that time. People who have sur
reptitiously thought damn for centuries
will be brought up and exposed. II will
astonish a good many, | think. IL will
create q complete panic. No one but the
digniied and non conmIttal IDIOT will b
safe. But | fear that / am depressing.
The book above referred to embodies
some odd information regarding indebt
edness, aud sheds light at times incident
ally on some points not embodied In the
census regulations and o contemplated
by the act authorizing the taking Of the
census. | will give a few of these re-
Plies bearing on the mortgaged condi-
ton of property and the reasons there
for, carefully eliminating names and resi-
dences.
One man who writes a very poor hand
says. II have mortgaged my place for
5000 TO a neighbor of mine in order to
give my daughter a good schooling and
accomplish her SO as she could do well
She learned to eat pie with a fork and
play The MAiden's Prayer on the piano.
and then married what's called an nro-
naut. He made an ascension last spring,
and they didn't find till Last Fourth of
July when a brother of his'n made an
ascension at the same place, and wien he
come down he discovered my son'In-law
in a tree. He reckoniLed him before he seen
him. he said. The widow and children
are stopping at home now along with me
and mother. | will lift the mortgage a.
soon as | can if you will keep it to yourself
1t galded Ma-th4 a good deal when this
here misalliance was made with the bal
loon Teller, aud if it should all get into
our country paper my life would be an
hell ON earth.
Another man who is somewhat garru
lous says: There Is little membranes
on my place ofsome 81, 900 and interest
from 1879 at 10 per cent. | hope to pay
it as soon as | get my pension and ar
rearr Of same. In fact | would not have
mortgaged but with the hope of raising
the money long AGO by that means. All
are given, | think. with some
thing in view which is expected to wipe
out the Indebtedness. That is where we
get disappointed and left. | think, do not
you2
Now I've got a good deal better claim
for pension than a great many people
that has got their papers through all right
years ago, but when | present my claim
folks seem to be pleased about something
and 90 away, and that's the end of it. II
was a peculiar case, but | do not
see anything so ALFRED mirthful about it
myself.
1T was like this: In the fall Of 90 |
was a kind OF assistant commissary, aud
we had been on a forced march Tor two
days trying to draw the attention of the
enemy from the main column, and sue
eeeding so well that we became very pop
ular with the Southern soldiery. We
sent IN our regrets and then lit out, bat,
land sakes, they just seemed like they
couldn't give us up, and so they didn't
get off our coat tails for forty-eight
hours. L haven't got my breath yet, to
tell you the truth, but that amt to the
point exactly.
Finally the rebel horde, as they we're
called at that time, quit. and after shoot
ing a few of us, enough for a mess, prob
ably. they turned around and went back
TO monkey with the main column. which
had improved the time by securing much
needed rest and change of scene.
The following day we camped near a
deserted still, which had three barrels Of
nice. new. warm whisky in it. We cap
turcd these, and they were placed in
charge Of the commissary. Tho troops
were very much exhausted and begged for
some of this liquor. but it was explained
to them by our colonel that the STUFF was
almost sure death, and besides that there
wasn't more than enough for the officers.
That night the liquor was stored in az
old tobacco barn that stood on a side hill,