SEPT U 
618 
THE 
CxXtxaxii. 
MAGAZINE REVIEWS. 
L IPriNCOTT’S MAGAZINE for Septem¬ 
ber contains a clear description of “The 
Australian Ballot System,” which has created 
so much discussion in this country, and has 
served as a model for numerous ballot reform 
bills introduced indifferent State legislatures. 
Australia took the lead in reforming abuses 
existing in all the British colonies under the 
old system of viva voce voting. Francis S. 
Dutton, of the South Australia Legislature 
after several years of agitation, introduced a 
bill at t he session of 1857-58, which, after some 
modifications, became a law. The system has 
spread all over Australia, and has extended 
to Europe and America. It has never been 
discarded by any community that has tried 
it. Briefly, its provisions are as fol¬ 
lows: All nominations are received by 
a designated officer at a fixed time be¬ 
fore each election, and the names of 
all candidates are posted and advertised 
at the public cost. The ballots are printed by 
the State or local government, are all alike, 
and contain the names of all candidates to be 
voted for, together with a space for the inser¬ 
tion of other names if the voter desires to be¬ 
stow his franchise on other than the regular 
nominees. Opposite each name is a blank 
square where the voter can indicate his choice 
by making a cross. Specimen ballots on 
colored paper are posted up outside, and cards 
of instruction as to the marking are provided. 
The voting is done inside a room provided 
with small shelves placed in compartments 
formed by wooden or canvas partitions. 
These compartments and the ballot-box are 
within a guard-rail, and at least six feet dis¬ 
tant from it. The voter passes the guard rail, 
receives his ballot, and retires alone to a com¬ 
partment, where he marks his ballot, folds it 
so that the marks cannot be seen, deposits it 
and leaves the inclosure. In the case of 
blind or disabled persons, or of illiterates, an 
election officer, or, better, two of different 
parties may assist the voter to prepare his 
ballot, the ballot being so indorsed. [In the 
case of the latter class, in this coantry of free 
schools and unlimited educational advanta¬ 
ges, any man unable to read and write the 
English language should be deprived of the 
right of suffrage. Placing the ballot in tho 
hands of such persons is one of the greatest 
menaces to a free government. Eds.] There 
are numerous advantages possessed by this 
system over the one to which we are accus¬ 
tomed in this country. The ballot is abso¬ 
lutely secret, and no one can know how the 
elector voted unless he himself chooses to re¬ 
veal it. This strikes at the very foundation 
of the power of the “ machine ” in politics. 
It makes the elector independent of any in¬ 
fluence that might be exercised over him 
by any person or corporation interested 
m the way he may vote. It will be 
likely to do away with bribery, for if a 
voter was paid for his vote, the buyer has 
no means of knowing whether the con¬ 
tract was fulfilled except as he trusts to the 
word of the voter, and this he will very like¬ 
ly hesitate to do. It also impresses upon the 
voter a sense of responsibility by compelling 
him to make a selection of candidates for him¬ 
self when it is just as easy to ;vote for one as 
another. The system also renders it easier 
for an independent candidate to secure an 
equal chance at the polls The government 
pays all election expenses, so that a poor man 
has an equal chance with a wealthy oppo¬ 
nent, Once nominated, a candidate cannot 
be “ traded off ” or “sold out,” and any one 
familiar with American politics, knows how 
much is implied in this. The best proof of 
the efficiency of the system to accomplish 
the desired reforms is found in the fact that 
it has steadily been extended, not only 
throughout Australia and New Zealand, 
but also through Scotland, Ireland and 
Wales, Canada and Belgium, while some 
features of the system have been introduced 
in several other European countries. 
In this country, Louisville, Kentucky, was 
the first to put the system in operation, the 
election last December being held under its 
provisions, and showing a wonderful im¬ 
provement in purity and freedom. Massachu¬ 
setts was the first to adopt the system for the 
whole State, and several other States have 
followed her example. Tne govornors of New 
York and Connecticut have each vetoed 
measures passed by the legislatures. Similar 
bills have been introduced into the legis¬ 
latures of more than half the other 
States. The adoption of this or some 
similar system seems to be only a 
question of time. Edgar Fawcett contributes 
the complete novel, a romance entitled “ So- 
larion.” The fourth and last of the “ Iijcol- 
lections of George W. Childs” is given, and 
deals with “ the treasures ” of his library. It 
is needless to say these are rich and rare. 
Some of his closing words are worthy of being 
remembered. “ The greatest pleasure in life 
is doing good to others. Being gener¬ 
ous grows on one just as being mean does.” 
“ The Log College and early Presbyterian¬ 
ism in Pennsylvania,” gives an interesting 
account ot one of the earliest institutions of 
learning in the colonies. J. B. Lippincott 
Company, Philadelphia. 
S CRIBNER'S MAGAZINE for September 
has the last of the series of 12 railway 
papers by H. G. Prout, editor of the Railroad 
Gazette. Under the heading “ Safety in 
Railroad Travel,” he describes those appli¬ 
ances which tend to make traveling by this 
method the safest of all known, unless it be 
by the primitive one of walking. From the 
statistics given of the number of passengers 
killed and injured in a single year, a person 
may reasonably calculate on riding 51,000,000 
miles before being killed, or 12,000,000 miles 
before being injured. In other words, he 
might travel 30 miles an hour for 194 years 
before being killed. The most important ap¬ 
pliance is the brake. Stephenson’s steam 
driver-brake was patented in 1833, and 
although it never came into gener¬ 
al use, the same principle is applied 
on many engines in use at the present 
day. The automatic air-brake is used all 
over the world, the Westinghouse being 
described as representing the most approved 
type. Different kinds of brakes are illustrated 
and described. Next to brakes in importance 
are signals. These have been used in great 
variety, but within the past few years the 
semaphore signal has become the general 
standard in the United States. The system 
of interlocking switches is very clearly de¬ 
scribed and illustrated. The most important 
signals to the general public are those which 
protect grade crossings, as statistics show 
that there are more deaths here than among 
passengers carried. There are several meth¬ 
ods of guarding these dangerous places, the 
most common being the well-known arm-gate. 
Some space is devoted to heating and lighting 
cars, to couplers, and other devices intended for 
the safety both of the passenger and the em¬ 
ploy £. Some illustrations of wrecks suggest 
that in spite of all precautions, accidents will 
sometimes happen. “ Night Witchery ” by 
W. Hamilton Gibson, tells of the sights, 
sounds and smells of a summer’s night in 
woodland vales, in a witchery of words 
that betrays the alert and enthusiastic 
lover of Nature. Harold Frederic begins a 
serial story entitled “In the Valley.” It 
opens with one of the last raids of the French 
and Indians into the Mohawk Valley. The 
first chapters promise a very interesting 
story. The series of articles on Ashing is con¬ 
cluded by an account of an excursion up the 
Nepigon River, in Canada, a very attractive 
spot for the angler. Lieutenant W. W. Kim¬ 
ball, U. S. N., describes “ The Small Arms of 
European Armies,” and by the aid of nu¬ 
merous illustrations, gives a clear idea of the 
murderous weapons with which the Old 
World soldiery are equipped for the whole¬ 
sale slaughter of their enemies. Andrew 
Lang contributes a eulogy of Alexander 
Dumas. “The Fitting School in American 
Education ” forms the subject for a discussion 
of the different kinds of preparatory schools. 
“ The Master of Ballantrae ” by Robert Louis 
Stevenson, which has been running since No¬ 
vember, will be concluded in the October 
issue. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York. 
O UR readers will remember that in our re¬ 
view of the August St. Nicholas, we 
left Tom, one of the Professor’s party who 
were spending the vacation among the Flori¬ 
da Keys, floundering in the water making an 
unsuccessful attempt to stop the progress of a 
huge shark which they had impaled upon the 
grains. A month is a rather long time to 
leave a boy in such a predicament, but we 
are glad to learn in the September number 
that he was Anally rescued, and the shark 
which proved to be 10>£ feet long was billed. 
The party continued their explorations, dis¬ 
covering all sorts of curious things, and hav¬ 
ing all manner of adventures, in one 
of which Tom had a very exciting 
experience with a curious marine animal 
called a “Portuguese man-o’-war.” “W. 
Jenks's Express” is a very touching 
story of a 10 year-old boy whose father failed 
in business, and who started in the express 
business with the donkey-cart he had been 
given for a plaything, all to “ help father and 
mother.” He did help them very materially, 
but in an entirely different way from what he 
expected. “ My Deer-Hunts in the Adiron- 
dacks” is a story of a boy’s adventures with 
a party of campers in the Adirondack region 
when it was more of a wilderness than now. 
“ The Story of Turk ” is a pathetic tale of a 
noble St. Bernard dog which lost his life in 
protecting and guiding monks in that moun¬ 
tain fastness. “Modern Harbor Defenses” 
are described and illustrated by Lieutenant 
W. R Hamilton. “The Bunny Stories” tell 
of Deacon Bunny’s purchase of a mule, and 
the mishaps which happened to the younger 
bunnies in consequence. “ Helen Keller ” is 
the story of a blind girl and tells of her edu¬ 
cation in the Perkins Institution for the Blind, 
in Boston. There are other interesting short 
stories, letters, etc. The Century Co., New 
York. 
INTERSTATE GRANGE PIC-NIC EXHI¬ 
BITION, WILLIAMS GROVE, PA. 
(RURAL SPECIAL REPORT.) 
A fine site and large attendance ; an assem¬ 
blage of farmers, pure and simple-, a fine 
display of implements; the principal 
speakers. 
The sixteenth annual Interstate Picnic Ex¬ 
hibition opened at Williams Grove, Pa., Mon¬ 
day, August 20th, and continued during the 
week. It was attended by tens of thousands 
of farmers from all parts of the country. 
They came in all sorts of ways—some by 
trains, others in stages and wagons, and hun¬ 
dreds walked for miles to get to the grounds. 
It was a farmers’ pic-mc, and not a gathering 
of people from cities,and towns to see horse¬ 
racing and the like. The grangers came, not 
to speculate, but to talk over matters of in¬ 
terest, and to see, and learn and trade. This 
made it one of tho most satisfactory exhibi¬ 
tions from a business standpoint, ever held in 
this country. Everybody seemed to accom¬ 
plish what he went to the pic-nic to accom¬ 
plish, and came away tired but well pleased. 
Williams Grove is a wonderful place, and 
the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company 
has done well to secure a 15-year lease of the 
grounds. It is a low strip of laud lying be¬ 
tween a creek and a mill-run, and covered 
with primeval forest trees of enormous size. 
It is level, but not marshy or wet, and the 
dense shade made it very cool even during 
the past week. Those who remain over-night 
occupy the tents, which are arranged in a 
semi-circle around the lower part of the 
grounds, and adjoining the creek.and mill- 
run. 
The implements are displayed along aven¬ 
ues laid out among the trees, and the visitor 
may wander along these avenues and not see 
the same thing twice. On every hand we see 
familiar names and faces, and implements 
which are used by almost every farmer in the 
country. On the most prominent corner ap¬ 
peared the name of “Jones of Binghamton.” 
Mr. George Jones was on hand to introduce 
the celebrated scales of the world-renowned 
firm and “ pay the freight. ” The George 
Ertel Company were represented by Mr. 
Turner, who showed the working of their hay 
presses. He made a number of sales. Deder- 
ick’s new steel press was also shown in opera¬ 
tion. The Geiser Manufacturing Company 
had a great number of traction and portable 
engines on the ground. One of their traction 
engines was tested repeatedly by running it 
over a log at least two feet square. A gang 
of plows drawn by one of their engines at¬ 
tracted much attention. It was paraded 
around the grounds led by a band and fol¬ 
lowed by a great crowd of men and boys. 
Messrs. Hench and Dromgold were kept busy 
soiling their new harrow, the chief merit of 
which is a ratchet attachment of the tooth to 
the frame, an arrangement which lengthens 
the life of the tooth for several years. The 
Johnston Harvester Company made a fine dis¬ 
play in their new headquarters. Mr. Hender¬ 
son of the Richardson Manufacturing Com¬ 
pany, was kept busy showing and selling 
the new Worcester Buckeye Mowing- 
machine. Among the dozens of well- 
known exhibitors I noticed the names of 
P. P. Mast Company; Foos Manufac¬ 
turing Company; Waldron and Sprout; 
Keystone Manufacturing Co.; Eureka Mower 
Co.; S. S. Messenger Co.; Vermont 
Farm Machine Co.; A. Blake Co.; 
L’ster Bros., and many others equally well 
known. Among the novelties were the Crane 
Lime-spreader, an “umbrella” tent, a com¬ 
bination hay-tedder and rake; a new and 
cheap brooder and many other labor-saving 
devices and implements. The “Odorless 
Phosphate” was shown by the patentee, Mr. 
Jacob Reese. It is somewhat similar to what 
is known in England, as “ basic slag.” It is 
a phosphate made by treating thp steel ore 
with a lime and extracting the phosphates 
from the ore. This forms a combination rich 
in phosphoric acid (21 per cent.) and lime (45 
per cent.) 
The Horticultural Building was filled with 
fruit. Mr. Wm. M. Benninger, the nursery¬ 
man of the State Grange, was on hand and did 
an immense business. Large audiences attend¬ 
ed the meetings in the mammoth auditorium. 
Among the distinguished speakers were the 
Hon. J. H. Brigham, Worthy Master of the 
National Grange; Prof. A. J. De Voe, the 
celebrated meteorologist; Hon. W. A. Arm¬ 
strong, Master of the New York State Grange; 
General James A. Beaver, Governor of the 
State: Wm. M. Benninger, the distinguished 
horticulturist; Dr. Willets, Assistant Secret¬ 
ary of Agriculture; Mortimer Whitehead, 
Lecturer of the National Grange, and many 
others who spoke on subjects relating to the 
Grange and Agriculture. 
PtettUancfluj? gUmtteing. 
Beauty 
Skir^ & Scalp 
F^estof^ed 
by t ^ # 
CUTIClJF^ 
F^/vy^d i^s. 
N othing is known to science at all com- 
parable to the Cuticura Remedies In their 
marvelous properties of cleansing, purifying and 
beautifying the skin, and In curing torturing, disfig¬ 
uring. Itching, scaly and pimply diseases of the skin, 
scalp and blood, with loss of hair. 
Cuticura, the great Skin Cure, and Cuticura Soap, 
an exquisite Skin Beautiller, prepared from it, ex¬ 
ternally, and Cuticura Resolvent, the new Blood 
Purifier, Internally, cure every form of skin and blood 
disease from pimples to scrofula. 
Sold everywhere. Price, Cuticura, 50c.; Resolvent, 
81.; Soap, 25c. Prepared by the Potter Drug and 
Chemical Co., Boston, Mass. 
Send for “ How to Cure Skin Diseases.” 
IW~ Pimples, blackheads, chapped and oily skin 
l&~ prevented by Cuticura Soap. _*j 
Dull Aches, Pains and Weaknesses Instantly 
relieved by the Cuticura Anti-Pain Plaster, 
the only paln-kllllng plaster. 25c. 
LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC CIRCLE. 
Twelfth Annual Course. 
ROMAN HISTORY AND LITERATURE, ART, 
PHYSICS, AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 
150,000 ENROLLED. 
SYSTEMATIC SELF-EDUCATION. 
Address CHAUTAUQUA OFFICE, 
PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY- 
UnUC STUDY. Book beeping, Business Forms, Pen 
nUUIL manshtp. Arithmetic, Sho-thand, etc., tho¬ 
roughly taught by MAIL Circulars free 
BRYANT & STRATTON’S, 415 Main St., Buffalo, N.Y. 
MANAGERESS SSI 
To open a branch office In your locality. Business 
purely mercantile. One that will Inspire you with 
bride, pleasure and profit. Trade established. 
No peddling. J. 10. SHEPARD, Cincinnati, O. 
PORE 
DIBSOXjVBD 
ANIMAL BONE, 
DISSOLVED S. C. PHOSPHATE. 
Also Manufacturers of Complete Fertilizer. 
WM DAVISON & CO., Baltimore, Md, 
Bkeciiam’s Pills cure bilious and nervous ills. 
General Advertising Rates of 
THU RURAL NEW - YORKER. 
' 34 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. 
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Entered at the Post-office at New lark itrij,. fll< V, 
as seeond-olaM mt>> tiui'rta 
