The age-herald., 1899-08-06
He Will Engineer the Eastern Financial End of It WILL BE A BIG SUBSCRIBER And Will Go in New England as
 a Solicitor.
BEER DRINKING ON DECREASE
Americans Last Year Drank Less of This Beverage, But Consumed More Whiskey-Other Gossip
 from Nations Capital

Washington, August 2-(Special )-Ac- cording to good democratic authority here. Oliver H. P. Belmont Is to be the financial agent for the democratic party in the east. He has undertaken the task of raising money in the east for the next presidential campaign for the democratic party. Mr. Belmont is worth several millions and VIII doubtless head the list with the largest subscription which will come from the east.
 There have been some who doubted his sincerity and he proposes to make ms ac- tions speak louder than words. TO those with whom he has talked he is not hopeless of his undertaking. He believes that there are plenty of men in the north and east who will be willing contributors provided their names are kept out of the transac- ton. He recalls the sad fate of William P St. John, who was practically hounded to his death by the abuse and criticism or his fellow bankers The latter was forced to retire from the presidency of the oanK at which he had been at the head and was even cut socially by his old associates In New York for his devotion to MT. Bryan. Mr. Belmont believes that Belmont can weather this storm, and what St. John with a limited fortune could not do, that Belmont, entrenched in his name as he IS and with a wife as resourceful as himself' can accomplish without fear or reproach. Mr Belmont is largely actuated in his work by the same influence which caused MT. St. John to abandon all former convic- tions for the democratic cause. There is thot Mr was caused by the defeat of MT. Bryan The disappointment to him was fatal Mr. Belmont's friends say that he is very much enamored with the personality of the dem- ocratic leader They declare that his am- bition to be leader in the party or even to become a vice-presidential candidate IS sub- ordinate to his singleness of devotion to MT. Bryan: that whether he is placed on the ticket or not will little effect his efforts in behalf of the party in the coming cam paign.
 With Nothing to Fear
 MT. Belmont enters the work mapped out for him with nothing to fear in business way. He long ago withdrew from the banking institution with which his name had been connected for a generation. MT. BolmOnt lnteHuS u 6o ihto NV" N~Ao'~ and solicit subscriptions from the anti-ina- perialists The feeling in New England is so strong in opposition to the present policy that MT. Belmont thinks that for once the New Englander will be willing to pay for his convictions.
 Internal k Revenue Commissioner
 The report of the internal revenue com- missioner shows that last year the Amerl- can people drank less beer than the year previous and more whisky. The report shows that there was nearly million fewer barrels consumed during the last twelve months than the year before, while during the same time the people drank five and a half million gallons more of whisky Commissioner Wilson does not | bring any explanation to bear on this fact in his report, but he says privately that the increase in whisky drinking was evidently due to the exceedingly hard season of last winter, when whisky was taken to warm one up bit and not for intoxicating pur- poses.
 The report shows that the habit Of snun dipping has largely decreased and almost | entirely disappeared There are some | mountainous districts in the south and ] west where snuff is still dipped and in New | England the farming classes are still ad- l dicted to this filthy habit
 While dipping snuff has decreased, the | use of tobacco has greatly increased, and | the report shows that the cigarette fend | has been working overtime. Pipe smoking | has almost doubled in the past five years 1 It has increased in greater proportion than | cigarette smoking A number of internal | revenue agents attribute the increase in | cigarettes to the decline of the bicycle fad | This explanation looks far-fctched. but it | may be that while spinning along the | roads tie youth forgets to smoke.
 Youth of Country Busy
 If all roads led to Rome in the old world, | oil roads at least in this country lead to | Washington in the modern. Washington is l good register of marriages, and travel i north and south and taking the reading of | 1t az matrimonial thermometer, the youth | of the country has been pretty busy this | summer. While city folk and fashionable l people usually take the winter. late fall 1 and early spring. In which to pledge their l troth, the people in the smell towns and ! villages and in the country. for some req. | son or other. prefer midsummer. It may be | that the crops are either gathered or else l sown. Those who arc better acquainted | with country life and the filling of the sol l