St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-11-21
General News.
New President of the Gerry Society.

for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
last week elected Vernon Nj. Davis prcsi-
dent OF the society to succeed Elbridge T.
Gerry. Commodore Gerry's resignation
takes effect on Jan. 1, and Mr.. Davis
term will begin the same day.
Elbridge T. Gerry, founder of this So
cety, has been for the last twenty years
its president. The new preside mt has a
brilliant record as Assistant District At
torney in New York city.
Porto RicO's Schools.
NJ. G. Brumb augh, commissioner of
education for Porto Rico, in a report on
the school system in operation in the ISL
and, says there are in the schools 800
teachers and $4,000 pupils. That is
only beginning; he adds, 100000 child,
rem of school age are without school ia.
clities, and the majority of them would
enroll if they could. The hope OF the isl
and is in the public schools and that the
great illIteracy in Porto Rico must be re-
duced. Thousands of children in this isl
and are halt clothed, half fed and half
housed. At least 80 per cent of all the
people are illiterate and the crying need
is schools to reduce the appalling illit-
eracy. There are no public school build
ings and no public colleges or universities.
The Epi. cOpaI Church on Divorce.
Whether the General Convention OF the
Protestant Episcopal Church will adopt
the three new canons on marriage and
divorce that will be submitted to it in
San Francisco next October is a question
The committee appointed by the General
Convention of 1898 to consider the ques-
ton of divorce and remarriage has deter
mined on its recommendations. The
new canons, as formulated, prohibit
members of the church from uniting in
marriage either the guilty or innocent
party to divorce while the former wife
or husband is alive, unless the marriage
has been annulled for cause existing pre-
vious to the union. Another canon ex-
cludes divorced person from the sacra-
ments OF the Protestant Episcopal church
unless penitent or separated from the
other person to the subsequent marriage,
or when penitent and in immediate dan
ger of death; but the canon is not to
apply to the innocent person in divorce
for adultery. The subject has been dis
cussed at various conventions, and the
necessity OF some definite action led to
the selection of the committee. 1t re-
mains to be seen whether the General
Convention will accept the restrictive
laws suggested.
Crop Eliminates for the Year.
The preliminary estimate OF the aver
age yield per acre of corn in 1900. as pub
ished in the forthcoming monthly report
of the Statistician OF the Department OF
Agriculture, is 25 8 bushels, as COM
pared with an average yield of 25 81
bushels in 1899, of 24.76 bushels in 1898,
and ten year average OF 24.1 bushels.
1t is estimated that "A per cent of the
corn crop OF 1899 was still in the hands
of farmers on November 1, 1900, as COM
pared with 90 per cent of the crop of
1898 in farmers hands on November / .
1899, and 1925 per cent of that of 1897
III hand on November l, 1898. The est
innate of the yield per acre of buckwheat
is Is bushels, against an average yield Of
l6 Sc bushels in 1899, II % bushels in
1898. and ten year average OF 1853
bushels. The average for New York and
Pennsylvania, the two states OF princi.
pal production, is IA bushels. The esti-
mate of the yield Of potatoes is so bush
els, against an average yield of S8 63
bushels in 1899, rs 10 bushels in 1898
and ten year average OF 76 6 bushels
The figure on hay is l % tons, against
an average yield Of 35 tons in 1899,
SIS tons in 1898, and ten year aver.
age of 1.2S tons.
Fought for the Beers.
Six native Americans who served in the
Boer army chiefly as scouts and forty
four Irishmen who were MT mbers OF the
Irish brigade, under Col. John Y. Blake,
formerly OF the Sixth United States
Cavalry, arrived in New York
Thursday evening from Ham
burg aboard the Hamburg American
liner Fuerst Bismark. They are hardy
picturesque lot. All wore SLOUGH hats
and big gray overcoats, and all agree in
declaring that the Beers were better
fighters than the English, man for man.
Some OF them with touch of Celtic
imagination said that one Boer was
really worth about five Englshmen.
The Irishmen had little to add to what
is already known of the retirement OF the
Beers from the cities they held before
the great army OF Lord Roberts got into
the field New York Sun.
Grand Trunk Manager.
1t is ffic,ally announced that 6. B.
Reeve has been appointed general mana
Of ha Do,
panv. Mr.. Reeve was formerly general
traffic manager of the Grand Trunk rail.
way, and is an experienced railroad man.
The appointment was made by Sir
Charles Rivers Wilson. Mr.. Reeve was
born in England and served his railroad
apprentice hip in the office of the Grand
Trunk railway in Montreal. He went
to Chicago and entered the traffic de.
partment Of the Chicago & Grand Trunk
railway, and was Tor many years traffic
manager of that road. Later he went to
Montreal as general traffic manager o.
the Grand Trunk, where he served until
May 1, 1900, when he resigned. Mr.
Reeve retired to his ranch in California
and is living there at the present time.
Five Days on Sinking Ship.
After floating on the ocean IN help
less condition on sinking vessel for five
days, Captain Andersen and his crew o
thirteen men, of the Norwegian barb
Highfyer arrived at Philadelphia Thurs
day, having been rescued by the British
steamer Georgian Prince, Captain Flett
from Hull. During the FIVE days the
crew were at the mercy of the waves they
saw only two vessels. The first one
according to Cantain Andersen. cam,