The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-17
ANOTHER DINGLEY TARIFF.

man named Hadley and press
agent at San Diego, down where Cali
fornia jumps off into Mexico deem it
Of sufficient Importance to have wired
out as news and printed as such, that
his wife, that is, Hadleys, is going
back to Maine to fight Melcher to a
finish in the supreme court of that
state. On it's face there is nothing to
give any inkling of the Importance of
the issue. joined between Melcher and
Mrs. Hadley. Back of it, however, as
Mr. Hadley is back of his waistcoat.
it. is a case of great portent, for it in
wolves nothing more nor less than the
determination of the rate of another
Dingley tariff to be charged against
tickle lasses who agree to enter into the
holy bonds of matrimony and then go
off and marry another fellow 1t will.
if the scrap Mrs. Hadley will have
with Mr.. Melcher in the supreme court
room of the state of Maine should be
awarded to her, transfer all such
promises from the free list, where they
have been from time immemorial, and
transfer them to the dutiable list, with
a stiff ad valorem duty affixed.
The matter and it's economic bearings
will be better understood when it is
known that Mrs. Hadley was, not very
long ago, Miss Dingley, a niece of the
distinguished political economist whose
pivotal dogma is that everybody can
be made rich and prosperous and hap
py by taxing all to the limit a few
young lady absorbed by her propin-
quity to the great economist, it is quite
evident that she imagined that hearts
were on the free list and should remain
there That her uncle is of the same
opinion may be inferred from
the fact that his famous bill does
not make hearts taxable, showing that
he was not aware that the domestic
heart needs protection against the pau
per hearts of Europe and Canada.
However this may be, the young lady
has very positive notions about it, and
may wake her uncle to the neces-
sity of some congressional action.
But to get to the meat of the mat
ter. Mr.. Melcher's wife died. Miss
Dingley saw his VICE. and her suscepti-
BILE heart melted at it. She wrote him
a tender, consolatory note the day of
the funeral She followed it up in a
day Or two with a more tender and
more consolatory one. She condoled
with him on his loneliness, told him his
dear, sweet, tear-stained face" was
always in her thought, and intimated
that she was a little lonely herself
What Melcher answered does not ap-
pear, but matters progressed so rapidly
that Miss Dingley offered to be his
consoler, to which he demurred because
Mrs. Melcher had been under the sod
but three months, and he thought she
would be indignant and remind him
of it hereafter if he married inside the
conventional year. But Miss Dingley
was impetuous and importunate, and
months Before the slow months had
wound themselves off the reel of the
years Hadley appeared on the scene.
1t is not known whether he was a
widower in need of consolation or not
Perhaps he had that soda-biscuit air
of melancholy that Maine people wear,
and looked as if he needed consolation
more than Melcher did. Anyway, the
first thing Melcher knew Miss Dingley
had become Mrs. Hadley.
Then Melcher 'swowed' that she
couldn't fool him that way, "by jocks"
and he forthwith sued Mrs. Hadley for
damages for failing to furnish him
with the stipulated consolation, putting
an ad valorem rate on his laceration
of $4,000. And a Maine jury, after