Various

“ In England, however, men of fortune and family take more interest in the affairs of the nation than they do with us, and the majority of the members of the House of Commons are wealthy land-owners, baronets, and knights, who have large interests at stake, and young men of good family who have been educated with the express idea of going into Parliament as soon as they were able to find an opening. ”

“ As we have said, yellow fever visits our southern shores every year, though happily not often in an epidemic form. The Government has therefore sent an expert down to the affected districts to discover, if possible, where this disease comes from, and ascertain the best means of preventing it.
Dr. John Guiteras was chosen as the best man to send, and he reports that it is from Cuba that this unwelcome visitor makes its yearly call on us.
The doctor declares that the sanitary conditions in Cuba are dreadful. He says that nothing is done to keep the cities clean or healthy. ”

“ When the strike first began, but seventeen thousand men were involved in it; but finding the masters refuse to listen to the demands of the men, the labor unions have decided to call out the workers in thirty other important industries. This will make about four hundred thousand men in all on strike.
The complaint of the men is that they want a working day of eight hours, and do not want to work overtime unless they are paid extra for it.
The engineer's calling is a very hard one; in some branches the men are forced to work around boilers and furnaces where the heat is stifling. ”

“ It is a very unusual thing for foreign-born women to become naturalized Americans. They rarely do so unless they wish to hold property in this country, for, having no vote or voice in the conduct of the Government, it is not so necessary for them to become citizens of their adopted country. When a woman marries she assumes the nationality of her husband, and can hold any property by right of her marriage, and the fact that all foreign women who marry Americans become Americans by their marriage is another reason why it is rarely necessary for women to take out their naturalization papers. ”

“ Showers have fallen almost daily over the State since the drought was broken, and, in the few days that have passed, the grass that was so terribly burned and parched has sprung up anew, until it looks quite fresh and green again. ”

“ The House of Peers takes its origin from the body of lords and barons who were summoned to the king's councils in olden times. Besides the peers who sit in the House of Lords by right, and who are distinguished as the lords temporal, there are twenty-six other lords who also form a part of this body, and who are known as the lords spiritual. These are the two English archbishops and twenty-four bishops.
The House of Commons is composed entirely of men who are elected by the vote of the people. ”

“ Since vaccination became general, the decrease in the rate of deaths from small-pox has been wonderful, and there has not been one serious epidemic where the practice has been followed.
Yellow fever is a much worse enemy to all people who live in warm climates than small-pox. It is a terrible disease, and often kills its victims in a few hours. ”

“ This is one of the most terrible accidents that can happen to a vessel.
The loading of a cargo is a very important thing, and is a business of itself. The men who direct it must understand just how to distribute the weight evenly in the hold, and how to pack the boxes and bales and barrels so tightly together that they cannot move, because if a cargo should shift it is liable to throw the ship out of her balance, and she is in danger of overturning and sinking. ”

“ When the time for a contract is nearly up, it is often necessary for the men to work overtime to save the master his forfeit.
The men contend that the masters ought to be willing to pay extra for such service. To save them money they are asking the men to toil for them after their full day's work is done, and when they are so tired that it requires an extra effort to do the work. ”

“ Yellow fever breaks out regularly every year in Cuba, and the doctor declares that it would be an excellent thing for us if the Cubans were allowed to purchase their freedom under our protection, as we might then be able to induce them to put their country in a properly healthy condition, and save ourselves the trouble and cost of yellow-fever epidemics. ”

“ The rebels have been so successful that they are not willing to make peace unless they get very good terms, and so they ask that all who have taken part in the revolt shall be given a free pardon, that three million pesetas (a peseta is worth about twenty cents) shall be paid to the insurgent chiefs, that the Philippine Islands shall be represented in the Spanish Cortes, and that half the government offices in the islands shall be held by natives. ”

“ It seems that the young gentleman has good manners even at this early age, for when he was handed to his royal godfather for inspection he never whimpered, but, seeming to realize the honor that was being done to him, behaved with perfect propriety. ”

“ The leaders of the strike think that overtime is unnecessary if the work is properly handled from the beginning, and they are anxious to make the rate so high that masters will not ask it of their men, unless under very unusual circumstances. ”

“ These people must first be reckoned with before any agreement to free Cuba can be made, but it is hinted by people close to the Government that the Queen and Señor Sagasta are considering a plan whereby they can allow Cuba to purchase her freedom without making bad friends with the financiers, or offending the pride of Spain. ”

“ In reply to the petition from the Irish members, the Government stated that there did not seem to be any necessity for summoning a special parliament to deal with the Irish troubles, as, if the worst fears for Ireland were realized, the Government had power to use funds to relieve the people without waiting for the consent of Parliament. ”

“ According to the Church of England, three sponsors are necessary to the christening of a baby. If it is a boy there must be two godfathers and one godmother; if a girl, two godmothers and one godfather. ”

“ They feel that eight hours' labor a day is as much as they should be required to give, and that, if their employers want them to toil longer than their regular hours, they should be willing to pay them liberally for so doing. ”

“ The agents of the great lines running between this country and England, which are nearly all owned by English firms, declared that they were not afraid of the strike hurting them. If their engineers should be called out, they asserted that they could find plenty of men to fill their places. ”

“ The cry of famine is heard from Ireland with more or less regularity every year, and therefore some people are inclined to doubt whether this is a genuine complaint, but from all one hears it would appear to be only too true. ”

“ The men do not like to work overtime. When their day's work is done they want to be able to go home and rest, and they declare that many of the masters force the men to work after hours without reason. ”

“ Miss Cisneros was, however, afraid that the Spanish Government might insist that the United States should send her back to her prison in Cuba, and so she hastened to give up her allegiance to Spain, and shelter herself under the protection of the American Government.
For some time past there has been a terrible epidemic of yellow fever in the South.
An epidemic means a disease that affects a large number of people at the same time and is widely spread. ”

“ The French Canadians of the Province of Quebec are urging the people to demand complete independence from England. They have printed and circulated an appeal to the people to rise and demand their liberty. ”

“ He found that a form of small-pox was prevalent among cows, and that by taking the germs of this disease, which was called cow-pox, and putting them into the blood of human beings, he could produce a mild form of small-pox, which never assumed a dangerous character, and yet prevented the person treated from taking the real deadly small-pox. ”

“ This is all very well from the point of view of the agents seated in their comfortable offices, but very few of us would be willing to trust our lives on the high seas to inexperienced engineers. We do not care to ride on the cars in times of strikes when green hands are put on to keep them running till the trouble is over, and on the cars we can get out any moment we feel afraid. ”

“ The contracts for making and building in large enterprises are nearly always what are called time contracts. This means that the contractor agrees to have the work finished by a certain time, and if he fails to keep his part of the bargain he has to pay a heavy forfeit for each day that he is behind time. ”

“ Of late both sides have shown a disposition to settle the strike, because many of the big contracts for work have had to be given out in foreign countries, owing to the duration and strength of the strike ”

“ Better news, however, comes from Nebraska. Rain has fallen there, and the terrible drought appears to be over. The farmers are using every moment of daylight to plough their fields and get them ready for the fall planting. ”

“ There are no restrictions whatever of birth, education, or religion. Any freeman who is elected can sit in the House. At one time an endeavor was made to exclude a man who had been elected because he refused to take the oath which is administered to all members of Parliament before they can take their seats. This was Charles Bradlaugh. He said he did not believe in an oath, but offered to affirm, or give his word instead. The House of Commons refused to accept this, and Mr. ”