THE BALLOT LAW CHANGES

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, July 31, 1891.

The Ballot Law Changes.

   The general election to be held on November 3d of the present year is regarded as the most important election of recent years, not only from the fact of the large number of offices to be filled in the state, county and city, with all the vast patronage appertaining thereto, but because of its probable effect upon the election of presidential electors next year.

   Both Democratic and Republican leaders are uneasy as to the workings of the amended ballot reform law. Last year, prior to election day, the Republicans were very cheerful over the benefit they anticipated from the new law. After the votes had been counted, however, it is a matter of history that they were not cheerful. Clearly the advantage was with the Democracy, a fact largely due to the educational campaign conducted by its leaders.

   The Republicans hope to profit this year by the experience the voters gained at the last election, but as a great majority of those who exercised their right of suffrage last year were unquestionably Democrats, who can be relied upon to vote straight this year, it would appear that in order to reap an additional harvest of votes at the next election the Republicans will have to do the same work this year with the Republican voters as the Democracy did last year with theirs. If this view is correct and it is generally admitted that it is, the advantage under the ballot reform law is clearly with the Democracy, and its leaders can be relied on not to lose any part of such advantage, if persistent work can retain it. Although election day is still three and a half months away the local politicians, warned by last year's experience, are utilizing their spare moments in mastering the intricacies of the amended ballot reform law and find therein much to engage their attention.

   The last Legislature amended the ballot law in twenty-two of its forty-six sections. Many of the changes are radical in their nature, and all election officials, candidates and others who take an active interest in political matters, will do well to carefully study the changes in the law.

   Contrary to the general belief, no change was made by the last Legislature in the time set for filing nomination certificates, although it was not for lack of effort on the part of the officials charged with the execution of the law that the time was not shortened, as the present law does not give them the time necessary to prepare election matter dependent upon the nominations.

   The Democratic, Republican, prohibition and socialist labor organizations, having polled in the state 1 per cent of the total vote cast as required by the act, are entitled to nominate state officers by convention. But as in many assembly districts the prohibitionists and socialist labor people failed to poll the requisite number of votes they will be compelled in those districts to nominate candidates as independents are nominated, by securing the necessary 250 signatures.

   Under the provisions of the law certificates of nomination made by conventions for a state office or an office to be filled by the voters of more than one county, such as a justice of the supreme court, can be filed with the secretary of state as early as September 24th, and must be filed with that official not later than October 9th.

   An important amendment was made to section 16 by abolishing the blank ballot which the original law compelled the officers charged with providing the ballots to furnish to voters.

   Another important amendment reduces the space between the title of the office and the name of the candidate from one-third to one-fourth of an inch. The width of the ballot remains at six inches. Under this provision the ballot to be used at the coming election will be six inches wide and about fifteen inches in length. This amendment corrects the ambiguous wording of the original act regarding the folding of the ballot which gave rise to so much discussion and argument last year. It declares that the ballot shall be "folded crosswise by bringing the bottom of the ballot up to the perforated line and then in the middle lengthwise."

An Opinion About Cider Making.

   An Ohio correspondent, writing in The World, expresses the following opinions about cider making:

   "The sooner you get the cider out of the cheese [mash] the better. The oldtime idea among farmers was that the cheese should stand over night before pressing, but they have learned better. "To the idea conveyed above I desire to express my dissent. As boy and man I have helped to make a great deal of cider in my time, and have had the acquaintance of many farmers in a district producing a great deal of cider, with opportunities for knowing their opinions and practices as to the immediate pressing of the pomace or otherwise. It certainly was the "oldtime idea" to let the newly ground pomace remain in the receiving box for from ten to fifteen hours before pressing out the juice, unless there were special reasons for hurrying, and I have yet to learn that farmers who make cider in this section have changed their opinions on the subject.

   The liquid when first squeezed out of the fruit is simply apple juice, not cider, to which it is shortly afterward changed by exposure to the atmosphere. This change is, in my opinion, best begun by keeping the juice and the pomace together, as before said, for some hours before separating them, and for the reason that while in that condition the juice acquires from the crushed pulp of the fruit a body and flavor superior to that of freshly pressed juice. It is quite generally admitted that cider made from apples ground in small hand mills is inferior to that made in the larger rural horse power mills, and I believe the reason is that in the case of the former the juice is generally pressed out immediately, as fast as the apples are ground. As in the making of many varieties of wine by fermenting the juice and the pomace together for a few days an infusion is derived which serves to give it a desirable special character, so I believe apple juice by a few hours' contact with the pulp of the fruit, while exposed to the atmosphere, will make better cider as a result of the process."

A Valuable Invention.

   Mr. Marvin Main of this town has recently invented and placed upon the market a milk cooler which will prove of great value to dairymen and farmers. It is well known that much cream is lost in warm weather through the fact that the animal heat is retained in the milk so long that the flavor is ruined. How to dispose of the animal heat has long been an unsolved question with dairymen and although many expensive devices have been manufactured for the purpose, very few have proved satisfactory.

   Mr. Main seems to have solved the problem satisfactorily to all who have tested his device, because it does the work perfectly and is not an expensive machine. Indeed, it is so simple that it is a wonder that some one had not thought of it before. A description of this valuable invention is hardly necessary here, but we advise every farmer who keeps any cows at all to call upon the proprietors, Messrs. Main & Glen of this village, and examine the same.

   Good butter cannot be made from milk that retains the animal heat and it is only good butter that brings a good price. Some of the best and most painstaking dairymen in this vicinity are already using the device with the most satisfactory results.

The 45th Rifle Score.

   Wednesday and Thursday of the present week the annual rifle practice of the 45^th Separate Co., N. G. S. N. Y. [National Guard State of New York], took place at the military range north of this village. The rain interrupted the test on Thursday so much that an effort for a day's grace will be asked to finish the list.

   The summary of the shoot for the first day is:

                                            200  300

                                            yds.  yds.

Captain Dunsmore,             17    18

Lieut. McDowell,                 20   19

Sergt. Corwin,                      18    15

"         Gray,                           22    19

"         Harkness,                  15    18

"        Hodges,                      18      5

Corp. Brening,                    20    10

"         York,                          20    21

Private Brownell,               19    16

McMahon,                          17    18

Franklin,                             19    13

Snyder,                               16    16

Benedict,                            12    12

Reed,                                   15     9

Gosper,                               15    18

Gregg,                                 14    12

Hyde,                                  14     8

Clotten,                              19    13

Munson,                            16    17

Miller, E. J.,                      15     9

Santee,                              20    14

Barnard, R. E.,                 17    14

Barnard, L.,                      14    18

Callahan,                          17     9

Darby,                               19    15

Van Marter,                      14     5

Garden,                             15    17

Winters,                            19    14

Elster,                               20    20

Fish,                                  18    12

McEvoy,                           19    13

Miller, W. F.,                   14     3

Munson,                           17    13

Mills,                                 15     5

Peters,                               18    19

Randall,                            17    20

Risley,                               18    13

Schouton,                         18     5

Q. M., Cleveland,            20     20

   The second day resulted as follows, each man being allowed twenty-five rounds of cartridges at each range throughout:

First Lieut. Dickinson,   20    16

Asst. Surg. Higgins,        15     *

Lieut. Howard,                15     8

Corp. Harmon,                18     9

Private Willson,              16    17

Hyde,                                15     5

Danforth,                         19    12

Head,W. L.,                      15     5

Reed,                                16    15

Shares,                             14    4

Bates,                               18    16

Gregg,                              20    13

Monroe, G. F.,                15    14

Hodges,                           15    17

Our National Flag.

   It is a fact which is possibly not familiar to the public at large that the Congress of the thirteen American Colonies struggling for independence adopted June 14,1777, a military and naval standard which was the first general American banner and the forerunner of the national flag of to-day. That standard differed from the present flag only in the number and the arrangement of the stars in the "union," or square, in the upper left corner. It consisted of thirteen stripes alternately red and white, beginning with red, and a union of dark blue with a circular group of thirteen white stars. The union was a square with a side equal in length to the breadth of the first seven stripes.

   Red and white having been chosen for the colors of the stripes, it was imperative to use blue as the background of the union or corner field. White was then selected in preference to red as the proper color for thirteen stars shining from a blue sky. The stars were arranged in a circle to evidence the strength of the union of the thirteen colonies.

   The flag as constructed in 1787 floated over the Continental armies at Yorktown and was the standard of St. Clair's and Wayne's forces in their conflicts with the red men. Remaining unvaried until 1795, it was then enlarged by the addition of two stripes to commemorate the entry of Vermont and Kentucky as States into the Union, and two new stars were also placed with those in the union. The stars were then arranged in three parallel rows.

   No further variation was made until 1818, when the stripes were again made fifteen in number and five additional stars were distributed in the union to represent five new States. At the same time when these alterations were made by Congress, it was made obligatory by that body that another star should be added on the Fourth of July first ensuing after the admission of a new State.

   The number of States is now forty-four, but until July 4 the flag of the United States of America will contain only forty-three stars. The explanation of the shortage is the fact that the last State, Wyoming, was admitted since the last Fourth of July, the date of its entry being July 11, 1890.

   The disposition of the stars at present is in six parallel horizontal lines. Eight are placed in the highest and seven in each of the five other lines. Wyoming's star will be put in either the second or the sixth line.

FROM EVERYWHERE.

   Ithaca uses 5,000 barrels of beer annually, at a cost of over $150,000 to the consumers. At $14 per barrel, a profit of $70,000 is divided among the beer sellers.

   Uncle Sam possesses 1,000,000 French Canadians.

   Mexico is on the verge of another revolution.

   A Weedsport five-year-old in playing circus last week, fell from his trapeze suspended from a tree and was caught around the neck by the rope in some way. When rescued he was black in the face, but revived after a time.

   There is no denying that hard luck follows some men, no matter how hard they try to escape it. D. Yarrington, a carpenter, lost all of his property and one child by the Johnstown flood. Friends made up a purse for him and he went to Arizona. Here another flood washed away all of his earthly possessions and drowned a second child. He then went to Oklahoma, and there the other day a third flood beggared him and drowned his remaining child.