Can It Be Solved This Way?

One of the most dillicult qoMtlOBI to solve in tliis day and age of the world is that of convict labor. Tlie State of Michigan has found the contract IJStem very prontabli-, so uiuch so in fact that hl state prisons are payinb institutions. But tliere comes up a cry froin the makers of wagons, and the makers of iuiniture, and the makers of other wares on whici irison convicts are employed that tliey cannot employ hands at $1 $1.50, $2.U0 and so on a day, and go into the market and compete with lirins having prison labor contracta for men at 40 60 and GO cents per day, as the case may be. And in order to reap a proflt off their business these manufacturera forcé the priee PU their hands down to the very lowest notch posslble. As a consequecce it is but natural that the laboring man should cry out igainst the prison contract svstem. But what is to be done? To allow the prisoners in our stutc prisons to remaii in idleness would be not only doing a great wrong, but it would be a bid f r crime. Trainps and vagabonds wouU commit crimes on purpose to be supportad ii, IdleneM, while the vicious would constantlj- plan wl'olcs;ile delivei-'s. IIow eau cii.iloyment uc jivni prisión ers and little or no injustice be done the people ? It muy not be feasiblö or practical, bu here is a plan. It ia wellknown tliat the wagon roiids in Michigan are in a savare and barbarous coiulition. There are scarcely any macadamized roads to be found in the eutire state, and yet Michi gan pnsseascs the mnterial in abundance to mncadamize every higliway within her bouuds, and tlien have plenty left for her neighbors. There are inexhaustible ((Uiirries of stoue in various sections that could ba iililizcd for macadamizing Then why not let the state secure a few of these stone quanies, and instead o contimtiiifi the contract system, let her take the labor ot ber crimináis and utilize it for the benefit of the whole state-in pre paring chipped stone for roadways? Le the counties or towua re-imburse the state by paying for tliis material the ac tual cost. Railroads now run into nearly every county in the state so that all sec tions could besupplied with this prepara atone with little trouble. Let a comiuiinity once get a few miles of this roadway and it will not be long before the b;ilance of the roads will have It if It is possible to be obtained. The present Ugbway tax, paid for turnpiking the mud into the middle of the road one year and scraping it o tl' the next shoiili b expended for this chipped stone. It would be very easy to provide by luw for the sale and use of all the prteoners could make, and every citizen of the state, be he rich or poor would be the gainer. Poor roads lose hundreds of thousands of dollars to trade every year. In the fall and sprinff farmers can't bring their producís to market because of the mud, and of course every business inan Iihs to sulfer therefrom as well as does the farmer. 1-ost-offlce inspectora Pulcipher and Parsell suddenly dropped in on the Postmaster Mouday afternoon and examined the oiHce. The former gentleman informed the editor of the (OURiek tliat Mr. Duffy's report was one of the nicest and most conclse of any of the presidential offices which he had aeen. He found every th ing in flne order and complimented Mr. John Duffy upon his thoroogb knowledge of the duties of the office. They were also hlghly pleased with the building and the elegant outfit of the post-offlce, saying that it was quite au iiiiumir] thing for a place of this hize to have toch a costly one. Tobacco blindness is becoming a common aflliction. At present there are several persons under treatment for it at one Liondon hospital. It first takes the form of color blindnefs, the suQerers who have amoke'l tlijni8elves into this condition being quite unable todistinguish the color of a piece of red clotli held up before them. Sometimes the victlm loe. his eyecight altogethcr. Although smoking is to a large exteut the cause of the inalady, and so gives it ils name, heavy drioklng is also partly resontiible. From difl'ereut parts of the country come retoluMoni adopted by workingnien, condeming the hloodthirsty anarcliists and Uien mithods. The masë of workinguicn are loyal American citi.ene, and to no one is tlie tlauiitiii; of the red tlag more rcpuiiant than to them. - Cleveland Leader. There are men in this city, demócrata at that, who will bet live to one that Congressman Klilmlge will be renoininafed.