Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-04
POLITICAL DRIFT.

| There have been eleven deaths among the
| members of the house of representatives
! since their election two years ago. A much
| larger number attended their own political
| funeral.
| bill before the legislature requires New
York to destroy by fire every six months
all the school books used during the pre-
ceding half year. The measure is warmly
| approved by book publishers.
The anti-cartoon bill passed by the Cali
fornia legislature and approved by the gov
| ernor is the outcome of malicious and
| scandalous picturing of public men. The
senate had shelved the bill, but repubica-
tion of offensive cartoons provoked that
| body into passing it. .
The finest assortment of Jeffersonian
| simplicity is now being stored away for
| future use in the cellar of Dick Croker S
Democratic club 1t consists of $40, 900 worth
of rare wines and WHISTLES warranted to
stimulate the hearts of patriots. Dick says
| there isn't headache in a barrel of it,"
| The law authorizing the granting of fifty
| year franchises to street railways and pro-
hibiting reduction of fares below cents,
which was passed by the Illinois legis-
| lature two years ago, has just been repealed
| by the present legislature. Chicago's oppo-
sition to the law was SO persistent and eff
fective that the corporations were forced to
yield to the demand for repeal.
| Ex-Governor j. Madison Wells of Louis
lana is numbered among the recent dead.
| To the rising generation j. Madison was
/ an unknown, backnumber. Twenty-Five
years ago he was one of the most talked OF
men in the United States. He was presi-
| dent of the famous returning board of Louis
lana which gave the electoral vote of that
| cfn u ID u MA Il
him with spoils democrats denounced him
! in words that would burn a hole in armor
| plate.
| The latest exception to the rule that few
Office holders die and none resign comes from
North Carolina A local judge named Nor
wood has resigned, but it must be said he
did his best to uphold the proverb. Two
years ago the legislature undertook to i'm
! peach Norwood, and the latter agreed to re-
| tire from Office if the proceedings were
dropped. The legislature adjourned and
| the judge promptly repudiated the agree
ment and held on to his Office two years
more. This winter the legislature revived
the impeachment proceedings and served
notice on Norwood that he must be the first
! to deliver the ratifcations of new agree
ment or submit to the indignity of being
ousted. This he has now done. The charge
was drunkenness.
One of the surprising results of the
| February spring elections in Pennsylvania
was the republican gains in Pike county.
In majority of the townships from one TO
three republicans were elected by small
majorities. The vote was the largest in the
history of the country for the spring cleo
tion. Heretofore Pike county has been
known in Pennsylvania as the democratic
| Gibraltar, giving in an ordinary election
more democratic majority than there were
| republican votes cast 1t was of Pike county
that Horace Greeley wrote that the two
chief products, the only two important pro-
duets of Pike county, Pa, were snakes and
democrats, but when Mr.. Greeley ran on the
democratic ticket for president he received
1877 votes in Pike, against 339 for General
Grant, the republican candidate.