The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-02
4 UNIQUE COMMUNICATION


lows Of high and low degree. is the
favored recipient of communications
upon all that numerous assortment of
topics within the range Of which jour
nails find their province. They vary,
from the expostulatory note Of some
dissident, the out-and-out advice Of the
person who, by some mischance, is
pursuing some other and uncongeniaI
vocation than that of editor, for which
he is confident he was designed, to re-
quests for abstruse information, de-
cisions Of wagers, poems, and then on
out into the broad field embracing al
most everything sublunary. But we
must record the receipt of one so en-
t1rely out of the usual, SO unrelated to
Journalism, so unique and SC suggestive
as to warrant special mention. 1t came
in bulky envelope under the impos-
ing frank of "A. r. Kiefer. M, c." An
ticipating its ccptents we submit that
we were justified in supposing that the
colonel had sent us for our information
or edlt1cation some erudite speech, per-
haps his own, on the Wilson tariff bill
or that of some other member on the
national Importance Of an appropria-
tion for the improvement Of Cheese
quakes creek; and the thought flashed
that, possibly, the colonel had sent us
for review the advance sheets Of his
expected revolutionary treatise on "The
Relation Of Percentages to Protec-
tion," with an Introduction by Senator
Hansbrough.
ANY newspaper Wcrker can imagine
the surprise that followed the knitting
OF the envelope and the revelation that
its contents were five subordinate or
ancillary envelopes, labeled respective
ly Cabbage, Beet, Onion, Radish and
| Tomato; containing, not the edibles
known by those names, but their seeds.
No note Of explanation accompanied
this remarkable communication, and
why it was sent to the Globe is a.
mystery whose solution is buttoned I'D
tight under the Prince Albert coat that
embraces and lends dignity to the
rz5anly torn: of Our distinguished reg.ree
ser>eat4vs, Curiosity, hafilea In its
search for E22ttye, tGrneG 90 irusTert3on
| Of the envelopes. Prominently printed
on each was the information that II
was Purchased from L. L. May &
Co, st. Paul, MIMI" and that If came
from the Congressional Seed Distribu-
| tion, 1861" Possibly, these pack
ages had made the journey fran St.
Paul to Washington and back again.
carried Geadhead, a uselessly round
! about way, but suggestive of the Cir
cumlocution Office and tbs awfuIness
Of Government and its mysterious way
Of doing simple things.
But, after all, it is something to be
thus made to actually feel the touch
Of the kind paternA hand Of Govern
ment, even If it bring nothing more
substantial than these packages Of use
less seeds. 1t Is something in the
| dreariness IF life to know, for instance,
| that this little package of seeds forms
| part Of that colossal pile Of 800 tons
| the kicking, protesting Merton was
| forced by congress to buy for the Con
! gressionu Seed Distribution, 1867"
| These are five Of the II, 900, 900 PACKAGE
into which the 300 tons were divided
and form one Of the 450 allot1nents Ear-
celcd out to the reverend senators ana
| irreverent representatives. This little
| bag Of beet seed is one of the 1,040,-
/ 900; this Of radish, one Of the 1,2e0, 600,
and this cabbage enc IF the round
/ 1.000,0 900 packages made UP from the
900 tens and sent cut 20 teach anew
the lesson that governments were in
slituted to support the people and re-
flute the notion still stupidly held ny
some that the reversa is the truth.
The statistical habit Is stirred -