St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-01-09
Men, Women and Events.

the cause of considerable proposed legi
lation establishing penalty for III
crime Laws have been prepared in M
braska, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wi:
cousin and the two Dakotas. In thre
1t OF these states it is proposed that tn
crime be punishable by death, and intw'
others by Imprisonment for life.
The center Ct population in the Unlte'
5 States has not moved westward will
. such gigantic strides OF late as character
B. lied the tarier days of western immlgra
ton. The census office Saturday an
nounced that the center of immigration
in he United States is now at point II
southern Indiana about seven mile:
southeast of the city of Columbus. lr
the ten years since the last census the
center of population has moved west.
ward about fJurtetn miles and south
ward about three miles.
A pathetic story Of the last hours of an
opera singer comes from Denver. Miss
Belle Fremont OF The Bostonians" who
was taken i'll with pneumonia in that
city during the Christmas week engage
ment tied Friday. Early in the morning
Miss Fremont was out Of her head. At
8 O'Clock she began singing and contin-
ued until daylight She sang "I'II give
you a KISS" from the "Viccroy" and
then sang song from robin Hood"
The window of her apartment was up
and the singing could be heard on the
street. Miss Fremont when off hestage
was known as Belle Bartlett and was
Il niece OF Jessie Bartlett Davis. She was
20 years OF age.
The twentieth century has not yet
dawned upon Russia, and will not until
midnight January 13. The reason is
that the Julian calendar and not the
Gregorian, which is the one used by the
rest OF Europe and America, is the official
basis OF CJmputink time. lnCOnsequence
Russia is thirteen days behind the rest OF
the civilized world. She hopes to catch
up with and even improve upon the
Gregorian calendar within year or two
A commission of astronomers has been
appointed, aud is at work upon new
system of time measurement, which, it is
proposed shall be even more accurate
then the Gregorian.
Edmund Barton, who is to organize
the first federal government OF the Aus
tralian wealth, is a native of
S, dney, fifty one years old, and for
many years has been an able lawyer in
New South Wales. He was conspicuous
among the men who early advocated the
necessity of federation of the Australian
colonies. He has been not unjuStly
styled the father OF the new Common
wealth. In the first federal convention,
which was held in 1897, he was the
senior representative OF New South
Wales, and he was one of the trainers of
the original Commonwealth bill.
A tablet has been placed in one Of the
buildings of Rugby School in England, in
memory of William Webb Ellis, the orr
ginator of Rugby football, OF which the
American game is development.
The inscI ption reads as follows: This
stone commentaries the exploit of Viii
liam Webb Ellis who, with a fine disre-
gard for the rules of football as played in
his time, first took The ball in his arms
and ran with it. Thus originated the dis
tinctive feature OF the Rugby game, A. D.
1928"
Major General James Z. Slaughter,
who died in the city of Mexico on Tues
day OF last week commanded the Con-
federate forces at the last fight of the
war between the states and Bonas San
Jago, Tex, This was after Lees surren-
der. General Slaughter was for two
terms postmaster of Mobile, Alabama,
by republican appointment.
1t is said that Ex.Gov. Pingree liber-
ated more prisoners during his two terms
OF four years as governor OF Michigan
than were ever liberated by the chief ex.
ecutive Of any other state in the union.
Pingrte has opened the doors to about
400 inmates of the Michigan penitent-
aries. About lao of the men he released
from durance vile were pardoned out.
right and restored to the full privileges
| OF citizenship. The Others were paroled
on good behaviour, and so long as they
commit no offtnce their liberty cannot be
interfered with. Pingree justi6es his I'M
usual use of the pardoning power by the
declaration that the courts of Michigan
are corrupt, and that the men he liberia.
ted were unjustly and Illegally convicted.
Ex-Empress Eugene of France.
| The ex-EmDress Eugene is described