The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-01
Cleveland's Marksmanship.

A mighty hunter is Grover Cleveland,
President-elect of the United States. Ac-
cording to the lone correspondent who 10
permitted to chronicle the doings of the
big man at his Hog.Island retreat. the
mugwump idol killed 126 snipe and four
ducks in q little over an hour, on Tuesday,
and this, despite an injury to his thumb.
that could only rave been inflicted through
ignorance in handling the modern breech-
loader. Bogardus, In the zenith of his
fame. or the Elliott of to-day. never per-
formed such q feat as killing wild birds at
the rate of two per minute And snipe, at
that!-a bird that darts away like q fash,
hurls q defiant ''scaipe" at the gunner. and,
just as the latter is pulling the trigger, makes
q ~semi-gyrstory movement that more often
results In a miss than q kill. What q pity
Mr.. Cleveland didn't take part II the civil
wal himself instead of by proxy. One
hundred such marksmen could have decl-
mated an army of ''rebs" in an hours time.
What Grant, Sherman, Sheridan. Thomas.
Meade and other skillful generals re-
quired years. to accomplish might have
been done IN q day by one hundred Cleve-
lands. There would have been no need of
Monitors and Merrimacs. Billions of dol
lars would have been saved and. above
all, hundreds of thousands of Northern
homes would not rave been desp6iled of
fathers And sons. There would be no PEN
sion list for Democracy to worry over.
True, Mr.. Cleveland might not have at
tanned the presidency by the votes of
the secession States, as he has done. but
- -crca ruo,lA no ursffan IN ipdofihlo Snb
on an imperishable roll of honor. Fame
more enduring than that attained in tickle
politics would nave been his, and when he
passed away q grateful Union would ave
erected monuments to his memory.
But here it is suggested that perhaps Mr..
Cleveland "potted" his snipe-tbat IL, fired
into q flock as it was huddled together on
the beach. Perish the thought! No sportsman
would be guilty of such an act; and is not
MI. Cleveland q sportsmani Besides, the
correspondent, after writing that Mr..
Cleveland brought down f~fty-three at
one shot" sent q request to max it read
"at one spot" Now. the difference be-
tween shot md 'spot'' Is quite marked.
II Mr.. Cleveland had killed ffty-three
snipe at one shot he would be classed as q
~"pot-hunter.n but he might Kill that num-
Der at one spot-from q blind" for in
stance-and pass muster as q sportsman,
though the feat would be regarded with sus-
picion by skeptics. If Mt. Cleveland dis
plays the same skill While shooting at ducks
from his sc0w he will rave no trouble in
obtaining an honorary membership In any
shooting club in the country; and, besides.
~ of7;co-aeekers will have the femar;<v 60
approach him If there is q shotgun within
reaching distance.
w. T. L., Bargarsville: The Shareholder
was not actually gwen three votes for
every FIVE slaves be owned. In framing the
Constitution the question of the basis of
representation in the House came up, and
the delegates representing States in which
there we're few. If any. slaves commended
that they should not be counted in the
population to whom representatives
should be given. for the reason that they
were not citizens. The delegates from the
slaveholding States contendsd for full
representation for the slaves. The result
was q compromise. which read as follows:
Representatives shall be apportioned among
the several states which may be included in this
Union according TO their respective numbers.
which shall be determined by adding 90 the
whole number of free persons, including those
bound 10 service for a term OF years, and exclud-
ing Indians not taxed, three-hfths OF all other
persons.
Such persons were not voted, but three
| ffths of them were counted for representa-
ton in Congress. The effect was that tbs
s~laveholding States got forty or fifty mem