PRESIDENT CLEVELAND INDIGNANT

President Grover Cleveland.

Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, April 8, 1895.

PRESIDENT INDIGNANT.

Speaks With Warmth of Dr. Lansing's Charges.

SAYS THE STORY IS AN OUTRAGE.

Mr. Cleveland Is Confident, However, That the American People Are Competent to Judge as to the Truth or Falsity of Reports of This Nature.

   WASHINGTON, April 8.—When the report of a speech made in a Methodist conference at Salem, Mass., by Rev. Dr. Lansing, and his subsequent published interview accusing the president of intemperance was shown to Mr. Cleveland, he said with considerable warmth:

   "This is simply an outrage, though it is not the first time a thing of this kind has been attempted. I cannot avoid a feeling of indignation that any man who makes claim to decency, and especially one who assumes the role of a Christian minister, should permit himself to become a disseminator of wholesale lies and calumnies, not less stupid than they are cruel and wicked.

   "I easily recall other occasions when those, more or less entitled to be called ministers of the gospel, have been instrumental in putting into circulation the most scandalous falsehoods concerning my conduct and character.

   "The elements or factors of the most approved outfit for placing a false and barefaced accusation before the public appear to be first, some one with baseness and motive sufficient to invent it; second, a minister with more gullibility and love of notoriety than piety, greedily willing to listen to it and gobble it, and third, a newspaper anxiously willing to publish it.

   "For the sake of the Christian religion, I am thankful that these scandal mongering ministers are few, and on every account I am glad that the American people love fair play and justice, and that in spite of all effort to mislead them, they are apt to form a correct estimate of the character and labors of their public servants."

Democrats' Indignation Aroused.

   NEW YORK, April 8.—The World today says:

   Indignation of the intensest [sic] kind has been excited among Democrats in New York and other cities over the attack made upon President Cleveland at the New England Methodist conference by Rev. I. J. Lansing of Boston, charging the president with drunkenness at a public dinner in New York.

   Many of the leading Democrats and Republicans who attended the three dinners at which Mr. Cleveland was present, between the time of his election in November, 1892, and his inauguration in March 1893, yesterday denounced the story as a lie, and in set terms expressed their opinion of the American citizen who, without the shadow of proof, on a simple hearsay statement, would malign the character of the president of the United States.

   The three dinners referred to were those of the chamber of commerce, given at Delmonico's on Nov. 15, 1892, a dinner at the home of Henry Villard two days later and that given by the Reform club on Dec. 10, 1892.

INCOME TAX DECISION.

Alleged Ruling of the Supreme Court Published In Chicago.

   WASHINGTON, April 8. —The announcement here that a Chicago paper had published the income tax decision created quite a sensation, especially as the supreme court has not handed the decision down and no one seems to know when it will do so.

   At first there was a disposition to discredit the story, but it was soon learned that the correspondent of the Chicago paper had paid $1,000 for proofs of the decision and no one believed he would pay that sum unless the information was genuine.

   The substance of the decision published is that the supreme court in the income tax case has reversed the decision of the lower court, but the income tax law, as a whole, is upheld, only however, by a divided court.

   Two important parts of the law have been decided to be unconstitutional, and they are so serious as to affect materially not only the revenues of the government, but the estimation in which the income tax will be held by the people.

   Under the decision to be handed down by the court it is said all incomes derived from rents are exempted from taxation by the federal government, and all incomes derived from state and municipal bonds are similarly exempted. In other respects the income tax law stands as it was passed last August, but the result of the consultations in the supreme court shows very conclusively, it is said, that the law can easily be picked to pieces, provided suits are brought to contest each particular point as it comes up.

   All efforts to secure from members of the supreme court either authoritative confirmation or denial of the truth of the Chicago publication proved unavailing.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

St. Paul and St. Louis.

   June 5 will witness the departure from New York of the first American built great transatlantic steamer, the St. Louis. She and the St. Paul, her twin sister, are monuments to which Americans may point with pride the world over. A large number of citizens of St. Louis will be passengers over on the first trip of the great steamer named for their city. When the St. Paul starts out, next fall, undoubtedly her passengers will be largely made up of people from the Minnesota city. They and the St. Louisians will go abroad just for the fun of the thing, to show the British how handsome the people are who come from the towns for which we name our great American built ocean steamers. It was originally expected that the St. Paul would be ready to begin her trips in the fall in time to help bring home the summer tourists, but the delay in launching her may make her too late for this.

   The St. Louis and St. Paul, though regular steamships of the American line, were built on the plan, so common in England, of being aided by a government mail subsidy. In return for this, if war should break out and the vessels be needed, the government would have the right to take them and use them for the navy. These immense floating palaces, when their full quota of passengers and crew are aboard, will hold 1,770 souls. Their engines are the most powerful of the quadruple expansion type in the world, and it is expected that they will be able to travel on the average considerably over 20 miles an hour. The New York and the Paris, the other steamers of the American line, also receive mail subsidies and are in consequence liable for cruiser duty.

Riches of the Yukon Basin.

   It seems likely that the valley of the Yukon river in Alaska and British Columbia will have a boom in a mild way. The richest gold mines have been thus far found on the British side of the line, but still they are easily accessible to Americans, and many miners from the United States have already flocked thither.

   The climate is not so cold as it is on the eastern side of the continent in the same latitude. Rich pasturage for cattle flourishes, and some vegetables will grow. Besides the gold mines, iron, copper, marble and coal are found in richly paying quantity. There is room there for great and profitable investment of capital. At present the state of society is much the same as existed in California half a century ago. There is little paper money or coin. Every man carries a little buckskin bag of gold dust and a tiny pair of scales. For each purchase he weighs out swiftly and dexterously gold dust enough to pay the bill. Gold is rated at $17 an ounce.

   There are no lawyers, and yet the people are honest. When a man murders or steals, he is lynched. The method seems satisfactory. The country teems with fish and game. Undoubtedly it has a future, and a great one. With swifter and more frequent steamers from Puget sound, the Yukon country can be reached in ten days. Miners will go from Washington to Alaska in spring, dig gold till cold weather, then return to Washington state for the winter.

◘ Still the great work of adapting electricity to the needs of man goes on. It has been found entirely practicable to propel canalboats by electricity, so that the useful if slow old method of transporting freight need not be given up in this fast age. An electric cable has been devised along which the canalboat will slide at a good rate of speed. A motorman sits upon a seat above the operating motor and guides the boat. By the new invention one boat can pass another even when both travel the same way. The expense of each motor under the new system will be no greater than that of a pair of first class mules. When these electrical boats get to running at full speed, there will be worse things than a pleasure trip on a canalboat.

CORTLAND COUNTY NEWS.

Things Seen and Heard in Villages and Hamlets About Us, and Items From All Over the County.

McGrawville.

   Mr. Gaymond of Utica visited at W. J. Benjamin's Thursday.

   Mrs. L. A. Dibble is suffering with the grip.

   Miss Anna Hoffman is spending the week at her home.

   Myron Rowe is reshingling and repairing his home on Main-st. Wesley Chrysler is doing the carpenter work.

   When Mrs. Mary Chaffee reached home Wednesday night, she found her house taken possession of and a dainty supper prepared by five of her lady friends. Genuine surprise was depicted on her countenance as she walked in. It took but a moment for her to recover her usual self-possession, after which all were made welcome and a very pleasant evening was spent.

   Fred A. Parker of Pompey visited his parents in this place Thursday and Friday.

   Misses Mary and Hattie Wade have returned, after several weeks' visit in Rome and Syracuse.

   Mrs. DeZang fell Wednesday night near her home on Academy-st., hurting herself quite seriously.

   Mr. Mott Chaffee is visiting relatives in town.

   Mrs. David Loomis and Mrs. William Moore were called to Utica on Friday on account of the serious illness of their sister, Mrs. Thomas Moore.

   Mr. Gutches of Minnesota, after an absence of twenty-five years, is visiting his sister, Mrs. M. L. Totman.

   After a painful illness of several months, Mrs. Janet Mudge, wife of Seneca Mudge, died at her home in McGrawville Saturday evening, April 6, 1895, aged 61 years. She is survived by an aged father, Mr. Daniel A. Thompson, one son, Mr. Alonso Mudge of Cortland, and one brother, Mr. Purrington Thompson of McGrawville. The funeral will be held at her late home Wednesday at 1 o'clock. Burial at Cortland.

HOMER DEPARTMENT.

Gleanings of News From Our Twin Village.

   Miss Maude McDiarmid of Truxton spent Sunday in town.

   Mr. Linus Paddock of Syracuse spent Sunday with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Paddock, at the Hotel Windsor.

   E. G. Ranney has returned home after spending the winter in Kansas.

   Dr. Chas. Jones of Waterville is soon to open a dental office in the Homer National bank building. Dr. Jones has rented the house next to J. J. Murray's residence on Clinton-st. and will move here with his wife about May 1.

   H. B. Babcock of Lowville, who has been visiting Mr. Rea Shepard, left town for Utica this morning.

   Mr. Hubert Barton of Watertown was the guest of his niece, Mrs. C. H. Stevens, yesterday.

   Chas. Mullen, who has been employed by E. B. Canfleld at the "Brunswick" left town for his home in Syracuse this morning.

   Eugene Van Hoesen of Rochester arrived in town this morning. He has come to attend the wedding of his sister, which will take place on Wednesday afternoon.

   The Homer lodge, F. & A. M. No. 852, will hold their regular meeting in Masonic hall on North Main-st. this evening at 8 o'clock.

   The regular monthly meeting of the board of managers of the Cortland County Home for Aged Women will be held at the institution to-morrow afternoon at 2 o'clock.

   To-morrow evening at 7:30 P. M. Brig. Gen. R E. Holtz, the commanding officer of the New York state division of the Salvation Army, accompanied by Adj. J. C. Smith of Syracuse will conduct a meeting in the Congregational church in this village. This is to be a Salvation Army mass meeting and everybody is requested to be present and join the Homer corps in its celebration.

   Lee Southwick of Vesper was in town this morning.

   The Cortland County House for Aged Women is being repaired. The roof of the middle portion of the [old] building is being raised and four new rooms added to the second story. Wakefield & Taylor are doing the carpenter work.

  

   A meeting of the [Homer] village board of trustees was held last Tuesday evening, April 5, in the office of the clerk, Mr. E. W. Hyatt in the Brockway block. All the members were present and the following items of business were transacted:

   Chief Sticker filed a petition asking for repairs to be made on fire department apparatus. The plea was referred to the engine house committee.

   The bond of the street commissioner was approved and accepted.

   The matter concerning the standpipe was referred to the street committee.

   C. B. Rumsey filed a petition for walks on Fulton-st on the east side from his shop to James-st. The plea was referred to the committee on streets.

   On motion, Adelbert Maynard was granted an exempt fireman's certificate.

   On motion, L. F. Adams was appointed special police for the ensuing year.

   On motion, C. C. Stone was appointed to care for the town clock for the ensuing year at a salary of $25.

   On motion, the street commissioner was instructed to dispose of surplus flag stones at the rate of 5 ft. stones for 14 cents sq. ft., 4 ft. stones for 13 cents sq. ft.

   On motion it was decided that the board should audit no bills for merchandise furnished the corporation unless the same was ordered by some member of the board or the street commissioner.

   On motion, the matter of the amount of plank walk to be constructed during the year 1895 was referred to the street commissioner.

   The clerk was then instructed to notify the Cortland and Homer Traction company that the board would be ready to make a contract for lights for another year at any time.

   The meeting then adjourned.

BREVITIES.

   —All the shoe stores are now open evenings.

   —One drunk paid a fine of three dollars in police court this morning.

   —The Cortland House has been designated by the L. A. W. as the league hotel.

   —Workmen are engaged in repairing a break in the water main which occurred this morning near the Messenger House.

   —Col. A. D. Shaw was present at the morning exercises of the Normal school this morning and being called upon by Dr. Cheney made an eloquent and sensible address to the students. His remarks were highly appreciated.

   —Services at the Methodist Protestant church at the Stevenson block will be omitted to-night, but the meetings will be resumed to-morrow night as usual.There was a large attendance last night, Much interest is manifested and several have expressed a desire to become Christians.

   —Hi Henry's minstrels at the Opera House Saturday night were greeted by a large and appreciative audience. The scenery and costumes were exceptionally fine. The entertainment was good from beginning to end. When this company of artists next visit Cortland, they may be assured of a very hearty welcome.

   —Small as this city is, says the Ithaca Journal, there is hardly one of the principal thoroughfares that fails to echo the tread of belated citizens or messengers every hour between midnight and sunrise. To these the arc lights are valued boons. That is just what Cortland wants—all night lights.