Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-12-03
NOTES AND COMMENTS.

been arrested and bound over by Fed
eral Grand Jury for trial. He had writ
ten to Mr.. Porter to mind his own bust.
ness and not be too inquisitive about
private affairs.
WHILE sitting on the Plaza de Armei
in the City of Mexico, an American
missed valuable field glass from his
coat pocket, and while he was searching
for it three policemen stepped up with a
prisoner and the glass and requested the
owner to accompany them to the court
and testify against, the thief. In less
than fifteen minutes after entering the
court room the thief had been sentenced
to serve term of five years as soldier
in the Mexican army and the glass re-
stored to the owner.
"THE Ten Most Notable Men in New
York. is the title of an essay, the author
of which thinks they are Jay Gould,
Thomas A. Edison, Robert G.. Ingersoll,
De Witt Talmage, Chauncey NJ. Depew,
Grover Cleveland, Richard Croker,
Henry George, and couple Of editors,
all OF whom he sketches in free-and-
easy way.
COLLECTORS of interesting personali-
ties are compiling the neurology of 1891
and note these eminent names: Bancroft,
LOSING and Kinglake, the historians
Parnell, Balmaceda, Boulanger, Brad
laugh, ex-President Grevy, ex.Vice.
President Hamlin, Sir John Macdonald,
Secretary Window and William Henry
Smith in politics; Lowell and Winchell
in general literature; Lawrence Barrett,
Marie Wilt and Emma Abbott on the
stage; Sherman, Won Moltke and Joseph
E. johnson, the soldiers; George Jones,
the editor, and Kalakaua, Karl l. of
Wurtemburg, Prince Jerome Napoleon
and the Ameer of Afghanistan, kings
and the like.
COMPETENT maritime authorities esti-
mate that there are more than So, ,000,-
600 worth of derelict vessels and cargoes
floating about in the Atlantic, and con-
siderable part of the loss falls upon
Maine people. Some of these vessels have
unsuitable cargoes, and unless blown up
or burned by Government cruisers OF
towed into port by wrecking tugs will
long continue to be dangerous obstacles
en- ocean highways. Many wreckine
tugs are now cruising for the derelicts
nearest the Maine coast, and some of the
abandoned craft will probably be towed
in. The least of them would be rich
find for the wreckers.
On July 1, of this year, the founda
tions of the first house of Velasco, Tex.
were laid, and to-day the population o.
the town is 1000. Velasco is at tn,
mouth of the Brazos River, and it,
builders assert that it has the only deep
water harbor in the State. A compan,
has bought up land for twelve mile
along the Brazos River from its mouth
and is trying to boom Velasco at tht
expense of Galveston, which is forty
miles distant to the east, and, as is vel
known, does not enjoy the best of har
Dor facilities.
THE first flag of stars and stripes wa.
made for the United States army by ,
Quakeress named Betsy Ross, in littl,
brick building still standing on Arch
above Second street, Philadelphia. 1t is
proposed by the Pennsylvania Historical
Society to purchase this building from
the present owner, Mrs. Amelia Mund
and exhibit 1t at the Worlds Fair along.
side the home of William Penn. And
if possible the first flag should be flown
from the gable.
ARRANGEMENTS for colonizing the fam.
lies of Scottish crofters on Vancouver
Island are being made rapidly, and con-
summation awaits only the action of the
British Columbian Government, which
has not yet approved of some of the de-
tails of the scheme. A company of
English capitalists hopes to turn the la
Dor of the crofters to their own advan-
tage, for the Scotch peasants are ad-
mirable deep-sea fishers. The company
proposes to supply large territory in the
United States and the Dominion in fish,
and the undertaking is by no means
chimercial, since fish fairly swarm in the
Puget Sound waters. Recently Colonel
Engledue and Major Clarke, of London,
and Alexander Begg, Immigration Com
missioner of British Columbia, were in
Tacoma for the purpose of arranging
with the capitalists of that city to make
it the United States headquarters of the
company. 1t is proposed that refrigera-
steamers shall ply between Tacoma
and the fishing banks, and that the fish
shall be sent on in frozen state to the
markets of the East.
Low freight charges on the great
lakes bave created demand for steamers
with carrying facilities hitherto un-
known. Twenty years ago schooners
whose hold had a capacity of 20, 600
bushels of grain were considered large
enough for the lake traffic. Their own
ers received twenty to twenty-five cents
a bushel for carrying the cargo from
Chicago to Buffalo. Now two cents is
the average charge. The steel steamers
that are now building will have ca.
pacity of 1000 tons. Most of them are
of the whaleLack class. Mr.. McDougall,
the inventor of this type of steamer, will
build half dozen vessels for the iron
ore magnates before navigation opens.
These men control the bulk of the valu-
able lake transportation, and have gone
into the business of acquiring fleets of
whalebacks to escape the charges of the
navigation companies, as they are called.
The cost of these big steamers is from
5000, 600 to $500, 900, but they pay a
handsome interest on the investment, not
being subject to the delays of storms,
which they can face with impunity.
Nevertheless, the lake sailors have
prejudice against the whalebacks, mainly
on account of their ugly and clumsy ap-