Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-01-27
Straps and fatts.

Since the failure OF the racine
railroad refnnding bill to pass, Attor-
ney General Harmon has decided to
foreclose the governments mortgage
on portions of the Union Pacific and
Kansas Pacific railroads. Arrange
ments have been made whereby
syndicate agrees to guarantee that
these roads will bring not less than
$45, ,754, 900 in cash. If there is a
higher bid at the public sale, the gov
ernment will receive the benefit of it.
The arrangement is generally consid-
cred to be much more advantageous
to the government than would have
been the proposed refunding bill.
In Spain it is custom to release
number of political and other priso-
ners annually upon the birthday of
the king. 1t was thought that this
year the Spanish government would
take advantage of this opportunity to
release a number of American priso-
ners now being held in Cuba. Moth
ing of the kind was done, however.
Several unknown and unimportant
prisoners who had been confined in
Moro castle at Havana, were released
conditionally but not single Ameri:-
can was turned loose. Quite num-
Der of Americans who went to Cuba
either to fight or as newspaper cores
pondents, s-e lying in the various
prisons of Havana.
"A strange story comes from Mul-
vane, Kansas, under date of January
%. The story is about Peter Wilson
and his wife, and although there is
nothing improbable in it, it may or
may not be true. When Wilson was
boy six years old, he and his sister
Rachael, two years old, were left pa
rentless and adopted by two families
the boy growing up in Missouri and
the girl in Iowa. They never heard
anything more of each other; but in
the meantime Peter Wilson married a
girl in Sioux City, Iowa. They have
been married 80 years and have just
discovered that they are the two or
phans-brother and sister-who were
separated in childhood. They have
nine children, three of whom are deaf
mutes and two others deformed. He
and his wife are almost crazed with
grief over the painful discovery.
Sir Isaac Pitman, the father of
modern stenography, died at bis home
in London few days ago in the 84th
year of his age. The authors first
treatise on shorthand appeared in
1884, and although there have been
numerous works on the subject since,
all that have proved to be of any val
ue are based principally upon the
ideas of Pitman. And as to whether
Pitman's system has really been i'm
proved upon is q matter of doubt.
Many of the most expert writers of
today scorn to use single sign that is
not authorized by Isaac Pitman's latest
book, issued in 1877. The order of
knighthood was conferred upon Pit
man by the queen in 1894, in recogni-
ton of the great service the stenogra-
pher rendered in giving an improved
system of shorthand to the world.
- President Cleveland got quite
warming up in the house on last Fri
day. He had vetoed bill to establish
a new division of judicial district in
Texas. Congressman Cooper of Tex
as, asked the house to pass the bill
over the presidents veto. The con-
gressman recalled the fact that the
bill had been originally passed by a
good vote after full discussion. AT.
terward he learned that influences had
been brought to bear to induce the
president to veto the bill. He called
several times at the White House to
see the president, but was each time
stopped by Private Secretary Thurber
and refused admission. He thought it
time that the peoples representatives
were allowed to see the president with
out having to get the consent of a
private secretary. He discoursed on
this line at length, and the house final
ly passed the bill over the presidents
veto by considerably more than the
necessary two-thirds majority.
"A Key West special to the Asso-
ciated Press tells of the capture of a
Spanish gunboat on the coast of Cuba
by the insurgents. The Cometa, one
of the most powerful of the smaller
Spanish vessels in Cuban waters, has
been cruising near Cardenas to prevent
the landing of filibustering expedi-
tions. For some time she has been &C.
customed to anchor at night off Sierra
Mona. The place where the gunboat
anchored was favorable for an attack
from shore and the insurgents deter
mined to capture her. Last Thursday
night they opened on the vessel with a
12.pound Hotchkiss gun. The vessel
was struck. several times and badly
damaged. While the crew was in con-
fusion, boats loaded with insurgents
left the shore and the Cometa was
boarded. A desperate hand-to-hand
fight took place on the deck of the
gunboat, the Cubans using the machete
with deadly effect. Finally, after the
Spanish commander and half his men
had been killed, the survivors surren-
dered. The vessel was then burned.
According to the government re-
port of licenses issued last year as
compared to the previous years rec
ord, the liquor traffic of the country is
on the decline. For the II months
ending December 81, 1896, there 1885,
O91 licenses issued, including 204, ,294
to retail liquor dealers 4,64S to whole
sale liquor dealers; 1855 to rectifers
l2.O64 to retail malt dealers, and 1866