GALENA DAILY GAZETTE
OLD SERIES---VOL. XVI, NO. 165
NEW SERIES---VOL. I, NO. 46
Wednesday morning, April 7, 1864


Page 2 Col. #2

THE MEXICAN MINISTER

"The statement is made in the last news from abroad, that the United States are to send a Minister to the Mexican Court as soon as that court has an existence, and that in consideration thereof, the Emperor of France, and his imperial brother of Mexico, are not to recognize the Confederate States, or receive their Minister. This arrangement is supposed to be made, or acquiesced in by our Secretary of State, as the most advantageous one possible for our Government to effect at present. The great gain it secures is to prevent the recognition of the Confederacy by France, the hope of which has been long relied upon, by rebels at home and abroad, as a sure protection against the ultimate failure of their plans. A positive and final decision of Napoleon that he will not recognize the Confederacy, besides being a most damaging blow from the Sovereign whom they have the longest courted, and on whose assistance they had built their strongest hopes, is also fatal to any well-founded expectation that their recognition will be secured from any other European State or Sovereign. France from her Mexican complications was much more likely to come to the rebel help than any other foreign power. We know that she has even gone so far as to propose recognition to England; and the fact that France now turns away from the Confederacy leaves it no prospect of aid or comfort from any other European power.

The conditions upon which the United States are to accredit a minister to Mexico are stated to be, that the new Empire shall adopt no policy directly and indirectly inimical to the Union. It is further stated that Mr. Preston, former United States Minister to Madrid, and now on a mission from the Confederate Government to Mexico, will not be received by Maximillian. Slidell, after long and almost successful attempts for an interview with the new Mexican Emperor, was finally put to the right about face, with a peremptory refusal. Mr. Dudly Mann, who had also gone to Paris for the same purpose, we are told, learning how Slidell had been treated, found it judicious to hasten back to Brussels, with a flea in his ear. The reasons given for this long delayed, but sharp and short dealing now with the Confederate agents, after so long dallying and coquetry, is said to be the anxiety of Napoleon to get the Mexican question entirely settled, his forces withdrawn, and be in a condition to give his whole attention, and lend all his energies to the control of European affairs; no longer hampered by his engagements with the new Mexican Empire, or disturbed by fear of collision with the United States.

It may not be easy for those who believe in the principles of the Monroe doctrine, and who have had their indignation stirred by this foreign interference in affairs on our own side of the Atlantic, to reconcile themselves at once to the wisdom, or national spirit of so important a step as that Government takes in sending a minister to this new empire. Any recognition for a moment of its claim or its rights, though we may submit to it as a necessity, will be endured with the deepest repugnance. We gladly turn away from a view in which we take so little satisfaction, and wait to learn why such a step is the best thing we can do under the present circumstances, and how it will prove as damaging and fatal to the Confederacy as is claimed for it." --Chi. Trib.


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OUR QUACK DOCTORS AND THEIR PERFORMANCES
[From the National Quarterly Review.]
Number and Nature of the Nostrums

"There are at least five hundred nostrums that are peculiar to this country, although most of them have foreign names. Each of these casts all the others into the shade. There is no ailment, known or unknown, which it cannot cure; the genius who invented it is of course equally distinguished above all the rest of his brethren, and he holds them accordingly in the most sovereign contempt, as ignorant mountebanks who occupy their whole time in fruitless efforts to counterfeit his infallible elixir! If he has no elixir to be sold in boxes or packages, it is all the same; his remedy, or mode of cure, is the only certain and scientific one. All who pretend to have others equally good, or that are good at all, must be rascals and scoundrels, for whom the State Prison would be too comfortable a residence. It is only necessary to put two or three ideas together, and with no more learned logic than common sense, to see from this alone that the quacks are impostors; for the individual that reviles his brethren, as we have shown, is more or less correct in all allegations against the fraternity; he indulges in false statements only when he says that, while everybody else is a pretender, there is no malady however inveterate or malignant, incident to male or female, let its nature or origin be what it may, but is entirely under his control."

QUACK BOOKS

"It is but fair to admit however, that some important improvements have been made in the quack system in the last five or six years---not indeed in the art of healing, but in that of imposing on public credulity. Thus, for example, while the quacks used to confine themselves formerly to their 'posters,' handbills and newspaper advertisements, it is now quite a habit with the fraternity to get up a book that has some reference to the disease which they alone can cure.

The ostensible object of the book is to enlighten a benighted public; its real object is to enable 'the Doctor' to call himself 'Author of,' etc., etc., so that the vulgar and thoughtless will say: 'Why, there he has written a book; surely he couldn't do that if he wasn't a genuine doctor.'

The truth is that in nine cases out of ten the quack does not write a line of the book that bears his name; it is completed to order by some penny-a-liner; for worthless as it is, its nominal author could no more have written it than one of our educated regular physicians, who possesses literary taste and ability as well as scientific skill, could have written Paradise lost, or the Divine Commedia. Nevertheless, the book is invaluable; it is recommended to every one, and every one buys it; new editions of it have to be issued about once a month or so, and every new edition affords 'the learned and accomplished author' a new opportunity of praising himself.

His rival, seeing that the bait takes quite well, orders his Secretary to get up a similar work for him, but one entirely superior to that which has called it forth. In the course of a few weeks one rival can dub himself author as well as the other."

EDITORIAL NOTICES

"Independently of the moral, or rather immoral effect of this on that portion of the public who alone patronize the quacks, the book affords opportunities for editorial notices of the profound learning and wonderful success of the author, since in passing judgment on a scientific treatise, destined to shed a flood of light on a benighted and afflicted world, the critic would naturally speak of the extraordinary skill of the author of such a performance.

The same person who manufactured the book writes a eulogy on it; the Doctor pays a suitable price for its insertion as an editorial, and then embodies it in his advertisements, among other similar 'opinions of the press.'"

QUACK LETTERS

"Other enterprising individuals of the same fraternity, write long letters, which they have inserted in the paper as 'communications,' but which they have to pay for as advertisements, heading them 'Letter No. 1, Letter No. 3, Letter No. 10,' etc., etc. These are got up on the same plan as the books; that is, they are compiled from cheap cyclopaedias, medical periodicals, 'Handbooks of Medicine, for the use of families,' etc; and as soon as ten or twelve have been published, the Doctor styles himself 'Author of a Series of Letters on ---,'" etc.

QUACK INSTITUTES

"But there are those whose effrontery does not confine itself even to efforts of this kind. Some of our quacks have lately gone so far as to style their swindling shops Medical Institutes; two or three of them unite and call themselves the faculty of the institute. It is hardly necessary to say that their object is not to get students, but to impress 'the people' with a due sense of their learning; in short, their object is identical with that of their brethren who get up the books; that is they have recourse to those expedients as a cloak for their charlatanism."

THE PRESS AND THE QUACKS

"As to the conductors of the daily journals, we do not hold that they are at all to blame for inserting advertisements of commodities which, however deleterious, are purchased in large quantities. It is not the business, nor the duty of an editor, to test the truthfulness of statements made by advertisers relative to their own commodities. If people are so credulous and silly as to believe that any nostrum or nostrums, or any doctor, will cure all manner of diseases, as if by magic, that is their affair; editors are not oblige to furnish them with brains, or even common sense, for three cents a day."

THE RELIGIOUS PRESS AND THE QUACKS

"But it is entirely different with editors of journals which call themselves 'religious.' The latter are bound by their own professions and promises, not only to put the unwary on the guard against imposition, but to expose whatever is false and deceptive; since falsehood and deception are as antagonistic to religion as morality. It is not the less true, however, we regret to say, that no other class of editors are more ready to recommend quack medicines; and that quacks appreciate them accordingly, we have evidence on all sides."

A QUAKER CITY QUACK

"The genius who shall now claim our attention, does Philadelphia the honor of residing there; although he favors New York, Boston and other cities with weekly visits, so that there need be no deaths in any of our principal cities, if it be not the fault of the inhabitants themselves. One of his latest announcements, extending to about a column of small type, is headed as follows: 'A man almost raised from the dead! ---His certificate certified to by his physician---His certificate certified to by his neighbors---His certificate certified to by his Lodge of I. O. of O. F.'

Now does not this cast into the shade Moliere's Sganarelle, in Lemedecin Malgre Lui, of whom it is said that he cured a woman in an instant, after she had been regarded as dead for six hours, so that she immediately stood up and began to walk about as if nothing had been the matter with her. It is really a melancholy sight to see the miserable persons this charlatan draws around him in this city, once a week, by his impudent and vulgar fabrications. That any person calling himself a man, or having any pretensions to decency or honesty, could permit himself to take their dollars from such people, under pretense of curing them, would seem incredible to us much as we have investigated the subject of quackery and the conduct of its professors, had we not been eyewitnesses to the disgusting scene. The patients present on the occasion in question were exclusively poor, weak-minded, silly old women of the humblest class.---Surely, there is sufficient honesty and philanthropy in the 'Quaker City' to compel this person to stay at home and turn attention to some business for which he is better qualified by nature and education, than he is for the practice of the healing art, if his fellow citizens only knew the amount of injury he inflicts on his dupes."

Page 2 Col. #4

A QUACK PROFESSOR

"But now let us hear 'the Professor:' 'The want of a sterling medicine to meet the and wills necessities of the suffering portions of humanity, and one entirely free from mineral, and other deleterious particles, was severely felt, till this all powerful medicine was ushered into the world. Holloway's invaluable pills have become the household remedy of all nations.---Their attribute is to prevent as well as cure; they attack the radix or root of the complaint, and this by removing the hidden cause of the disease, reinvigorate and restore the drooping energies of the system, assisting nature in her task of vital and functionary reformation.'

What a combination of modesty, truthfulness, learning, honesty and disinterestedness does this brief paragraph exhibit! What unspeakable gratitude we should feel, although we are made partakers of the inestimable blessings enumerated in the document before us only in common with 'all mankind'."

CONFESSIONS OF AN EX-REBEL

"About noon we rode up to a very good farm house, and in an old outhouse nearby was a man about sixty years of age trying to fix up a thing called a plow. In front of the house was a beautiful field of perhaps, two hundred acres, and not a rail in sight, or a fence of any kind, except a board fence just around the house. We accosted him and he invited us to dismount and go into the house. About the premises were several old negroes and some small children, and quite a number of female darkies. He invited us to dinner, and, of course, we did not object, and it was a good substantial dinner--corn bread and ham, boiled milk and wheat coffee. After dinner we had an hours chat, and his story will cover the ease of hundreds more in this valley. To the question, are you a Union man, his answer was, 'No; I am a rebel, or, rather, I was one. I, of course, being a Southern man, though I must do as the others did, fight for my rights, and you can see how the thing has turned out as well as I can. Just look at my farm of 820 acres of as good land as ever laid out of doors. There are not 1,000 rails left on the place. My niggers are all gone that are worth anything. The gals and children and old men are left on my hands to support. All my horses and mules are gone, and the best wagon. We thought there would be no war. The leading men told us so. Only put on a bold face and secede, and we can have every thing our own way down here just for the asking. Yes, we did have it our own way over the left. First comes the rebel army. They would not steal a thing---not they. So I went into a big speculation and sold them everything I could spare and took their money for pay. Thousands of dollars they paid me---but they might as well have stolen it---for only yesterday I sold $2,000 of their money for $200, and took a man's note for that---that is rather doubtful. Besides, the rebels steal just as much from me as the Union men did, with the exception of Gen. Sherman's corps. They beat any thieves I ever saw, rebel or Union. They found things that I had buried and had forgotten myself where I had hid them. They seemed to be natural thieves-woe be unto those poor Alabamians down at Selma if Sherman is really there. A few such corps as they are would carry the whole Southern Confederacy off in two months time, and steal the shoes off of Jeff. Davis' feet, and he would never find it out until it was too late' We laughed and he went on with his story: 'I have just found out that we have made a great mistake down here in the South on the nigger question, and I might have found it out years ago if I had only though a little. I came into this beautiful valley some thirty years since with only a few hundred dollars, and went to work with my own hands and prospered beyond my expectations---paid for all my land here, built this house and outbuildings, got several thousand dollars ahead, and thought I must buy some niggers, and I tell you the honest truth when I say that since then I never made a cent. The niggers eat up and wasted all my profits.

When the Federals began to come down in this region many of my neighbors ran their niggers away South, and urged me to do the same, but I refused, and told them that if the niggers wanted to go South or North they might go, or if they wanted to stay with me I would do the best I could for them. This nigger question is played out, and we have got to try another kind of civilization down here. We have been cheating ourselves long enough. I have taken the amnesty oath and I intend to stick to it now. Although I am rather old, I think we can fence up a small farm on the old one, (that is, is Sherman don't come this way again,) and make a living anyhow, and leave my children a free inheritance, if ever they get out of the rebel army alive. We cheered him up in his laudable undertaking, but could give him no encouragement that General Sherman's corps would never pass up this valley again. As he had taken the oath he appeared to be exceedingly anxious to know whether the Federals would hold on to this line of the railroad or not. I told his he might rest easy on that subject, that we intended not only to hold this valley, but all the other valleys and railroads between Chattanooga and the Gulf of Mexico." --Letter from East Tennessee

SUGGESTION TO TREE PLANTERS

"Those about to set out young trees, or fruit-bearing or ornamental shrubs, should remember that the great leading object is to obtain a thrifty growth on the start. Reject, therefore, all large trees, for it is nearly impossible to take them up without leaving at least nine-tenths of the roots in the ground, including nearly all the small fibres. Such mutilated trees grow but little for several years, and then slowly recover from the effects of the removal; while a small, thrifty tree, taken up with plenty of roots, starts off at once, grows rapidly, and not only overtakes the larger one, but makes a handsomer and healthier tree and bears larger and better-flavored fruit.

Another point, equally important, but very often neglected, is cutting back young trees, vines, etc., when they are set out. Take a grape vine, or a prairie rose, for instance, and place it in the hands of a novice, and it will be nearly impossible to persuade him to cut off the 'long, handsome, thrifty vine,' five or six feet in length, leaving only a few inches, next the root.---Yet, if this operation is not performed, the plant will remain nearly stationary the first season, while otherwise, it would grow freely, and perhaps double or triple its former size. For the same reason, raspberries, gooseberries, &c., should be cut back freely when transplanted. The heads of young apple and pear trees if shortened back in the same way, may be made to preserve their original form, or any new shape may be given them, without any loss, but a great gain in their growth. Peach trees, possessing a strong productive power, may be cut back most freely of any fruit tree---next apples and pears---then plums, and lastly cherries. The latter may have half of each yearling shoots removed.

But it is of the utmost importance that this cutting back be done before there is any swelling or expanding of the buds, otherwise the growth will be checked by the operation, instead of accelerated.---This is especially the case with cherries and plums, which start more feebly than peaches and grapes. A main reason why cutting-back has failed with some, is doing the work after the buds have swollen or leaves expanded."

Page 3 Col. #2

LOCAL MATTERS Thursday Morning, April 7

SUPERVISORS

"Ashur EDGERTON was elected Supervisor from Hanover and L. P. WOODWORTH from Courtland. Both Union, of course."

"A SWITZER, Esq.a staunch Union man was on Tuesday elected Supervisor by the voters of Menominee. This is a victory which we did not expect, that town having always elected a Democrat. Mr. SWITZER is an able man, and his influence will be felt in the Board of Supervisors."

MARBLE WORKS

"We call attention to Mr. OSTRANDER's advertisement of his marble works on Diagonal street. Mr. O. is doing some fine work, and persons wishing to purchase gravestones will find it for their advantage to call on him before purchasing elsewhere."

GUILFORD ELECTION "The following is the Township ticket elected at Guilford last
Tuesday---all Union:
Supervisor---W. T. GEAR
Town Clerk---O. TAYLOR
Assessor---Francis SPRINGER
Collector---Wm. TRAVARTHAN
OVERSEER OF THE POOR---Michael EHSLER
Com. of Highways---Michael EHSLER
Overseers of Highways---Augustus LAHR, William STEADWORTHY, J. C. FLETCHER, Charles COBLE.

GRAMMAR SCHOOL

"The following is a partial report of the female department of the High Grammar School for the last month. The numbers indicate relative scholarship. Those marked with a star are perfect in deportment:

A Class.---No. 1, Marcia BROWNELL*; 2, Grace ROBERTS*; 3, Lizzie MARFIELD*; 4, Hannah MONTGOMERY*; 5, Millie BARDWELL*; 6, Lepha Nelson; 7, Lena WEIRICH*; 8, Susie WONDERLY; 9, Mary FAUCETTE*.

B Class.---No 1, Mary JONES; 2, Julia BUTCHER, 3, Lousia ADAMS; 4, Maggie CUNNINGHAM; 5, Mary BERMINGHAM; 6, Eva McMASTER; 7, Lilla SILVERBURG; 8, Margaret WISEMAN."

(Communicated)
SOLDIER'S DINNER

"The ladies of Warren 'took the dilapidated linen off the juvenile tree,' on Saturday last, in the way of a magnificent dinner which they gave to the returned Companies of the 15th and 45th Regiments. The tables were spread in Platt's Hall and fairly groaned under the weight of good things that were prepared for the brave boys. The dinner was a gratuitous affair and was enjoyed by upwards of five hundred persons, about eighty of whom were soldiers. After dinner was over, a number of toasts were read in admirable style by Hon. J. D. PLATT, which were responded to very ably by Messrs. MARVIN, GREEN, HUSSEY, PEPOON, and others. A pleasing part of the Programme was the presentation, by two young ladies, of a fine cake, inscribed: 'Shiloh and Vicksburg.' to the members of Companies 'E' of the 15th and 'B' of the 45th. The whole thing passed off very pleasantly and was a great credit to the ladies of Warren." ---Warren, April 4, 1864

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MORNING REPORT
FROM WASHINGTON

Washington, April 5
Special to the Times:

"The rumors so thickly flying about that Gen. Meade is to be removed may as well be set at rest. It is understood that the matter is settled, and that Gen. Meade will be retained in command of the Army of the Potomac."