laid off the next week. The insertion of those two little words has rendered the law utterly useless. It is a real tragedy. A courageous Indiana legislator proposes to fine a baggage-man every time he throws a piece of baggage from the car down to the platform instead of gently transferring it to a truck only a few inches lower than the bot tom of the car. The law-makers of Texas have made a bid for our foreign travel by bravely passing a resolution that the skies of Texas arc bluer than those of Italy. It made no differ ence that perhaps none of them had visited Italy; of course everything about Texas is better than anything anywhere else, even un to the skies. A righteous Tennessee senator would "forbid any person to linger or loiter on any street, alley, road or lane in the vicinity of any young ladies' boarding school. Neither shall any one try to communicate secretly with the inmates of such institution nor loaf, lurk and loiter where the inmates of such institution are likely to be found." The last clause is delicious. Deponent sayeth not whether this " loaf, lurk and loiter " bill was passed, but the wicked Virginia Senate of 1898 defeated Senator McCane's anti-flirting bill by twentyfour to nine. Rhode Island has recently gotten into a peck of trouble on social questions. One of the courts has just passed on an ambig uous law of some fifty years ago, according to which there has not been a legal marriage in that State in half a century. Every child born of parents married in Rhode Island is illegitimate and a bastard. Down in Louisville in the winter of 1898 there was a terrible hubbub which threat ened to change the whole course of politics. Some good people got after the Grand Jury about the open saloons and gambling houses. One of their members fortunately recollect ed a law introduced by a country member, and enacted some time previously, which
prohibited the keeping of red-birds, martins or other wild song-birds in cages, and fined offenders. Of course this had never been en forced, but there it was on the statute books. So they called the Chief of Police, Jacob Haeger, and sternly demanded to know why he had not enforced the red-bird law. Chief Haeger was -new and he thought this meant business. By noon the next day, four hun dred citizens had been ordered to let their red-birds go or pay the fine. The clamor became so great that it threatened to disrupt the political' party who had control of the town. Its enforcement was suspended and of course those who were willing to condone the lack of enforcement of one law could not vigorously demand the enforcement of the law against faro banks, crap games, pool rooms and brothels. In Toledo the church people thought they would catch Mayor Jones in a trap shortly after he was elected the first time. So they introduced in the council in which he had the deciding vote on that question, a reso lution demanding the enforcement of the law for Sunday closing of saloons. He said he should vote for it if it was amended to read the enforcement of the law for Sunday clos ing of all shops or stores mentioned in the law. The proposers could not object to that, though they did not want it, and it passed. For two Sundays not only were the saloons closed as tight as a drum, but also not a street car ran, not a paper was sold, not a milk wagon dared go on its route. The law was enforced impartially and then the common council, moved by the wrath of the people, got together and repealed every Sunday ordinance they had ever passed, and Toledo has a quiet Sunday without them. in 1896 there was a wave of legislative sentiment against tall hats in theatres Bills were introduced in almost every State legis lature and passed in New York, New Jersey, • Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and Colorado. In the latter State there is a fine of $25 and
