Omaha daily bee., 1897-03-22

would not stand for a vindication.
Ilpldrege Progress: Among numerous other
nonDensical measures before the legislature
which should be consigned to the waste
basket by the Sitting committee is a bill pro-
viding for the construction at considerable
cost Of a fire and burglar proof vault In the
state treasurer's office for the safe deposit
of all state funds, the same to be guarded
day and night. In the first place, If out
standing obligations against the state are
redeemed as fast as funds are received with
which TO redeem them, instead of the money
being boarded and deposited in the various
banks designated as state repositories, the
necessity of state repositories will be re-
duced to a minimum; the states credit will
be materially conserved, and there will be
no practical need of an expensive vault and
the maintenance of a guard.
GOSSIP ABOUT NOTED PEOPLE.
The impatient "on-to-Richmond" people
were dissatisfied with the slowness of Gideon
Welles, Lincoln's secretary of the navy. Once,
when Mr.. Welles was i'll with an attack of
malaria, some one remarked in the presence
of one of these critics that the secretary of
the navy was down with a slow fever.
Slow was the Comment you bet it's
slow. That's the only kind of fever old
Welles could ever catch!'
olB Jay pOuIOu, On entering the room OF
Rosslni, found him humping the piano with
all his might, but drawing the most discord-
anti noise from the instrument. What in
the name of all that is good are you play
ing?" asked the Frenchman. 81 am trying
to play that new score of Wagner's," re-
pied the Italian. But the score is upside
down." That true" was the retort: 81
had it the other way up at first, but couldn't
make head or tail of it, so l thought | might
succeed in this way"
Lieutenant Governor Northcott, while pre-
siding in the upper house of the Illinois
Legislature. addresses each senator by name
instead of by county as is customary. He
mas also cut through the old rule of attribut-
ing all his own acts as being those of tina
CHAIR he Is sitting in. Instead of saying.
the chair will hear the senator" he saws,
wait a minute and I will hear YOU or II
think the point OF order is well taken.' In
stead of saying the chair is In doubt" he
says, Il hardly know whether that is 80 or
not"
General Thomas A. Huguenin, who died the
other day in Charleston, S. c., was the last
commander of Fort Sumter. When Governor
Tillman ordered the Charleston troops to
Darlington In the spring of 1894, General
Huguenin consulted with his officers. They
told him their men would not go to Darling
ton to protect a lot of whisky spies who had
got themselves in trouble. The general then,
taking upon his own shoulders the entire
responsibility, sent word that the Fourth
brigade would not go. AS he expected, and
all feared. this caused a complete change In
the brigade, and the name of General
Hugueinin was not on the new muster roll.
The Chicago Times-Herald thinks that Paul
du Chatllu IL likely to be the new minister
to Sweden and Norway, and it adds: ellis
appointment would be a very popular one
with all the Scandinayians in America. 1t
was Du Chaillu's book, The Land of the
Midnight Sun that made Sweden and Nor
way well known to the remainder of the
world. His enthusiastic descriptions of the
beautiful scenery and the simple hospitality
of the people of the rugged peninsula of the
north started the tide of summer travel flow
Ing along the coast of Norway, into the
wonderful fiords and across into Sweden, and
all the Scandinavians have held him in
grateful remembrance"
In a recent lecture Admiral George F..
Belknap thus contrasted Nelson and Farra-
gut: "As sea kings and dauntless fighters,
Nelson and Farragut were the greatest naval
captains of modern times; but Nelson lacked
the moral fiber which rounds out the full
fruited man, which Farragut possessed in
an eminent degree. Look to the cabin of
the Hartford on the night before the battle
of Mobile Bay and note what our great
sailor wrote: My Dearest Wife: | write and
leave this letter for you. / am going into
Mobile in the morning, If God Is my leader,
as | hope He is, and in Him / place my
trust; If He thinks 1t is the proper place for
me to die, | am ready to submit to His will
in that as in all other things. God bless
and preserve you, my darling, and my dear
boy, II anything should happen TO me. Your
devoted and affectionate husband, who never
for one moment forgot his love, duty or
fidelity to you, his devoted and best of wives,
ID. G. F~arragut.'"
The late Judge Asa Packer believed that
a rich man ought to be in debt, because 1t
helped him to maintain his credit. He him
self lived up to this principle, and even
today there is an Indebtedness on the Packer
estate, deliberately contracted by him. One
day, while he was in the Lehigh Valley office,
in conversation with one Of his officials, the
subject of conversation turned upon his large
Indebtedness, and the latter questioned him
as to why he maintained such a large In
debtedness when he could so easily wipe it
out. Taking his cigar out OF his mouth, the
Judge replied that he did II 10 maintain his
credit. Were l." said he, ito wipe out my
indebtedness and at some future time see
an opportunity to make a large sum OF
money and attempt to borrow, everybody
would marvel and say Judge Packer is Dor
rowing money. AS 1t Is; / can borrow al
most any amount and no questions are
asked or comments made"
AIthoush 'eheIdl bedulesaIu dlIo"eu Tue
Use OF his name to a lottery company, he
didn't think much Of lotteries, according TO
a writer in The Chicago Times-Herald. One
day no received a long letter and a dollar
from a man living in Mississippi. who wanted
a ticket that would be certain to win. He
reminded the general that he had faithfully
served the confederacy four years, and that
at times he had fought under him. He
stated. moreover, that when he returned to
his home after the war he didn't have
clothes enough to wad a shotgun, General
Beauregard sent his confederate friend a
ticket, and I'm the same envelope inclosed the
following letter: II trust that you may win
the capital prize. One as poor as you say
you are certainly deserves a different sort
Of luck from the kind that you say you have
been having. But mark my words: If you
stick TO the lottery as faithfully and as long