Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-29

to come sooner or later if. some legis-
lation is not enacted. This plan was
recommended by Secretary Gage and
bill has been reported to the house
providing for this feature but there is
little chance Of it being enacted this
session.
Recent statistics show an enormous
increase in the consumption of tobac.
co by the American people. For the
past five calendar years the average in
crease in the number of cigars smoked
has been 573,000,000. During the past
year 6,905, 749, 96S cigars were consuln-
ed in the United States. That means
nearly 100000 cigars for every day
of the 3e5 days Of the year. The ci-
gar bill of the American people last
year was about S346,000, 000.66, more
money than the British government
spent in the eight years war that es-
tablished our independence. Nor does
this consumption of cigars, high as it
is, represent one-third of all the tobac-
co consumed by the Americans. Last
year they burned beside 2,658,176.130
cigarettes and used in addition 315-
719,475 pounds of tobacco in pipes
and snuff boxes. The government
collected on this vast tobacco traffic
in taxes and duties over $70500,000 a
year. An idea of the rapid increase
of tobacco use is shown by the fact
that the population of the country in.
creased not quite 25 per cent between
1890 and 1900, while the consumption
of cigars increased so per cent in the
ten years from 1892 to 1901.
Congressman Lacey received call
at the capitol the other day from Mrs.
Seton-Thompson, wife of the famous
novelist, who is author of wild Ami
mails I have Known" and many other
delightful stories of animals and ma
ture. Mrs. Thompson herself is also
a writer of ability. She was accompa-
MED by Mr.. Davidson and his wife,
the former being a famous portrait
artist of New York city. Mr.. David
son, too,. is an enthusiastic lover of
animals and nature. The party sent
their cards in to Mr.. Lacey during the
session and he met them in the cor
rdor, where they had a most delight
LUZ SlaI. lldll lSNCl lhCl cly VI eliS
party before" said Mr.. Lacey, "but we
were all really old friends from what
we knew of each other" Mr.. Lacey's
work as chairman of the public lands
committee has made him prominent
in movements interesting to these peo-
pie, such as forest reserve, etc. Mr..
Davidson has recently bought a ranch
in Wyoming and has also accepted a
government appointment simply for
the purpose of being in position to
assist in enforcing the game laws in
that country. 1t is natural that a bond
of sympathy should have united this
famous artist, Mrs. Seton-Thompson
and Major Lacey. Mrs. Thompson is
very vivacious, and piled the major
with questions and compliments, seem
ing to heartily enjoy the meeting.
A bandying of the phrase 5000 or
fight" in a debate in the house the
other day over Alaskan topics moved
Congressman Lacey to Renaissance
on the origin of that famous slogan.
This remarkable phrase, which was
the battle cry of a great political
campaign" said Mr.. Lacey, twas writ
ten by the late Enoch w. Eastman,
who afterward became lieutenant gov
ernor of Iowa. General Eastman was
an original character He also wrote
the celebrated motto of Iowa on her
memorial tablet in the Washington
monument, which reads as follows:
Iowa-the affections of her people,
like the rivers of her borders, flow to
an inseparable union Nearly every
old politician in Iowa remembers the
old '50-40 or fight cry. 1t was when
the boundary was being drawn be-
tween Canada and the state of Wash
ington, and '50-40 or fight meant that
some people in the United States
thought that the boundary should be
placed at SO degrees and 40 minutes
or there should be fight. Canada
wanted to place it at some as degrees
aud There is where it was finally put
But '50-40 or fight was easy to say
and made good campaign slogan"