Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-09-12

II
Rs1s!yi.g % TIE attitude q The pso.
PIE o. TIE Southern 6eate: O. The peosIon
parging question, IL point b frequent
| u made that they direct al thsir hoe-
lie criticism seainst TIE Uuioe VA
vstsrans and n - doing dwell with
great persisteuce upon two propoet
Tons, via. That although th6 war clos-
"a IN The spring Of 1885, the number OF
pensioners borne upon tbe roll = great
Or than ever befors, and secondly that
they (the southern people) are taxed %
pay pensions 70 Union veterans who I'll
live IN the North, and that therefore the
North has the benefit Of tho money %
paid ont and the South has not. And
an examination Of these proportions
and adjacent facts In the case brings
out some striking fActs. :.
AZ, for instance, Il 10 not true that all
the Union pensioners live outside the
late coufederacy. On the contrary,
some ela, 0o0, 900 b paid 70 pensioners
living In the Southern States, and ~
only about %, 000, 900 Of internal reven-
ne taxes 10 collected In the South, the
sum thus paid 10 equal 70 twice the
amount collected from our Southern
| friends 40 taxes into the national treas
ury. The-amount Of money paid 90 Gus
toma duties IN the South u comparative
~ light; the poor people-thoee who arc
loftiiy referred TO BY tho press and
statesmen Of that issection" 40 the
scommon people" or .smiddle classes
pay almost nothing, since there are
no duties to speak Of on the common
necessaries Of life. The wealthy people
Of the South pay customs duties which
foot up only . trinlng sum on foreign
luxuries.
The people Of the South do not ask
that the rolls upon which arc borne the
names Of Mexican War pensioners shall
be purged. The great majority OF these
pensioners live In the Southern States,
and there are to-day upward OF $4,000
of such names on those rolls, notwith-
standing the fact that the Mexican War
closed about forty-eight years ago, and
Notwithstanding the further fact that
our total force engaged In that war
never exceeded 10000 men. The army
commanded by General Scott comprised
II, 600 men at Its best; that OF General
Taylor never went above $500, while
Harney's was only 1000 strong.
Our Southern friends do not COM
plain because OF the fact that after near
iy half century has elapsed the number
Of Mexican War pensioners exceeds the
total number Of soldiers engaged In that
war, but they profess to see In the fact
that there are nearly 1000, 900 OF Union
War pensioners evidence OF gross dis
honesty, by means Of which "dead beats
and bummers" are borne upon the rolls,
not outstanding the fact that near
" 5000, 600 of men were enlisted In the
Union army, from first to last, during
the War of the Rebellion.
And careful inquiry has brought to
light another fact Of great significance
In this connection. Many Of the lately
seeded states pay pensions In one shape
or another to ex-confederate sold iers
whose health or circumstances make II
necessary that they should have such
relief, and the number Of persons borne
on what may be termed the confederate
pension rolls exceeds, according to con-
federate figures, the total humber OF
soldiers enrolled from first to last 10 the
confederate army.
BITS OF INTERESTING INFORMATION.
Light travels lss,S0O miles In q sec
0nd.
The average life Of coin Is twenty
Ave years.
There are over O,OOo known languages
and dialects.
Fifty million pins are made every day
In London alone.
Statistics show that married men live
longer than bachelors.
Ten men can he arranged to march In
single file 3,62S, 900 ways.
The average duration Of human life Ia
thirty-three years.
Every year 36,792, 900 births occur |;
100, 800 each day and 20 each minute.
One-quarter OF the people born die be-
fore the age Of six; one-half before six
teen.
The number Of lighthouses In the
world has quadrupled during the last
fifty years.
The number Of psupers In London,
England, 10 estimated at from $1,000 to
10000.
Il IL estimated that there are 5000
women In America who possess medical
diplomas.
The total number Of newspapers pub
llshed In the world at present 10 said to
be In excess Of $1,000.
On an average there are 100 boys born
to every 100 girls; but more boys die In
infancy than girls.
A cremated body leaves q residuum Of
only eight ounces; all besides Ia restored
to the gaseous elements.
There are about 90, $50 Sunday Schools
10 the United States; S,0tS, 4G2 scholars
and ], To-, 265 teachers.
The mean annual temperature OF the
earth IL hfty degrees Fahrenheit; the
average rainfall IL thlrty-slx inches.
The total population Of the earth 10
estimated at l,lS3, OOO, 900, Of which
81, G39, 1885 die yearly, 97.7OO daily and
81 every minute.
During heavy gales the waves Of the
Atlantic Ocean are from twenty-four to
thlrty-slx feet high, half above and half
below the mean level Of the sea. This
increases TO forty-fve feet In raging
storm.
The sun gives 100000 times as much
light as the moon; 1000, 000, 900 as much
N the brightest star, and 100000 as
much as all the stars combined. In size
the sun equals 100000 earths, but
owing to It's smaller density It's weight
equals only 800, 900 earths.
The average age ut which men marry
Is AL years; the average age ut which
women marry 10 ass. Married women
live two years longer than single women
although one woman 10 seventy dies In
childbirth. February II the month In
which the greatest number OF births
occur; June In which occur the fewest.
An amendment to the house rules pro-
posed In that body recently provided
that obituary speeches should be dellv-
cred only on Sundays. The house
adopted the amendment, and then took
second thought and rejected II. Proba-
bly, they had the horrible example Of the
worlds fair before their eyes and were
afraid that nobody would attend on