Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 December 1896 — MERCHANTS IN A RUSH [ARTICLE]

MERCHANTS IN A RUSH

GREAT ACTIVITY IN CHICAGO ' WHOLESALE CIRCLES. Dry Good, Clothing, Hardware and Boots and Shoes in Demand—Clemency at London for Mrs. Castle— West Virginia Town Wiped Out. Trade Awakens. Out-of-town merchants were in Chicago Tuesday to take part in the big meeting of their association, and they kept Secretary C. S. Tomlinson of the National Association of Merchants and Travelers and a representative, from both the Central and the Western Passenger Associations busy taking care of their transportation wants, so that they can devote all their time to finishing up fall buying before the opening of the session at 4:20. Among the wholesale houses the effect of such a large number of out-of-town buyers was plainly visible. In many of the most important branches the forces of salesmen had more than their hands full with the crowds of hurrying purchaser:. This was particularly true of dry g aids, boots and shoes, and the dealers in holiday goods. Clothing merchants als.. enjoyed a better business than they had seen in over a year, and the number of hardware dealers present bore testimony to the fact that Chicago’s popularity as a hardware jobbing center is rapidly increasing. The special rates given by the railroads have proved so profitable to them that liues which do not usually count on much merchandise business out of Chicago show a disposition to make a trial of the matter. INSURANCE IN GERMANY, Wonderful Increase in the Business During the Last Year. A special report to the State Department from United States Consul Monogluin at Chemnitz shows that the German insurance companies have wonderfully increased their business dnr-ng the last year, though how much of this increase is to bo attributed to the fact that certain of the most energetic anil enterprising insurance companies bare been forced to leave the country can oniy be conjectured. Last year the number of persons insured increased 124,725, representing an insurance of $119,000,00'). This is largely attributed to hard work on the part of the companies, although they are favored by the Government in exemption from taxation on premiums to a certain extent, and it has been suggested that the insurance business lias now reached its highest point, am! that danger lurks in the possibility of a prospective decrease in the number of those insured.

FIRE CAUSES HAVOC. Toirn of Bpencer, W. Va., Almost Destroyed by a Conflagration. The town of Spencer, W. Va.. was almost destroyed by fire Sunday night. Thirty-nine stores and houses were burned. The fire started in a room over Simmon & Co.’s general store and swept along the main business street, leaving destruction in its path. The people were terror stricken and thrown into a panic. The fire started at 11:04 o’clock Sunday night and burned until late Monday morning. The total loss is estimated a; S2OO,(KM). The asylum building, being across the creek from Spencer, was out of danger, but the fire could, easily be seen by the inmates, anil the attendants had their hands full in handling the patients. who were greatly frightened and terror stricken. Mrs, Castle Is Free. At London, the Home Secretary signed Monday night an ’order for the release from Wormwood Scrubs prison of Mrs. Castle, the wealthy American woman convicted of shoplifting. Her husband will go with her to America as soon as she is able to travel. The pressure brought to bear upon the Government to secure Mrs. Castle’s release has been of astonishing weight and influence. Both home and foreign offices received scores of messages daily from England and. the United States beseeching immediate action. Popular sympathy in England is entirely in her favor, and there were no criticisms when her release was announced. Pleaded for Her Assailant. William Bean, the negro who beat Mrs. L. C. Clark at Lebanon, Ivy , was captured and put in jail. A mob took him from the Sheriff and carried him before Mrs. Clark, who identified him. She is expected to die, but she pleaded with the crowd to let the law take its course. Negroes as well as whites threaten to lynch Bean if Mrs. Clark dies. f^r* Big Sujjor Crop. v Consul Muth. of Magdeburg, reports to the State Department an abnormal German sugar beet crop, almost equaling the unprecedented yield qf 1894. In Austria and France, as well as other European countries, the crop exceeds that of last year, though in some districts the quality is inferior.

Italy Inundated. Venice is the scene of an inundation such as has not been experience.] for ■eighteen years. Many of the quarters adjacent to the Grand canal have been submerged in consequence of abnormally . high tides. Argentine Is Hard Up. i It is believed that the answer of the Argentine Minister of Finance to the Senate’s inquiry as to the condition of the treasury will show a deficit of SS.000,000 in gold, or $82,000,000 in paper currency. Morris to Ferve Ten Years. George H. Morrison, recently treasurer of Rensselaer County, N. Y... pleaded guilty to two indictments, one charging felony and the other for misappropriating county funds. Morrison was immediately sentenced to Dannemora for ten years and five mouths. Battleship Texas Injured. , The United States battleship Texas. ,while lying at the Cob dock, Brooklyn wavy yard, had a thirteen-inch hole stove in her side, caused by the breaking of her weacock. f ' Kisses Are High in Alabama. . Miss Lizxie Hendricks, a Calhoun County, Ala., girl, was awarded $245 damages from the Southern Railway Company by the Circuit Court here for being kissed by one of the company’s conductors while en route recently from Some to Anniston. Large Gains in Gold Reported. The treasury at Washington Wednesday lost $47,000 in gold coin and $44,700 in jewelers’ bars. The net gain at Sew York, however, was $2,382,300. This leave* the reserve $117,587,898. Large gains in gold are indicated at Boston and other points, j ’ ■

MARKET VERY STRONG. Wheat Advanced Sharply Do to Great Milling Demand. The Liverpool wheat market did not change its price for futures at the opening Friday and was quoted YjA higher for No. 1 northern on the spot. Such an evidence of independent strength, following the display of weakness which the Chicago market gave Thursday, completely turned speculative sentiment in America to the bull side again, and started wheat once more on au upward course. As an additional incentive to resume the advance which was interrupted by the hurry to take profits Thursday, the Minneapolis and Duluth receipts were found to be very small; the number of carloads being 084, compared with 1,110 ears a week ago and 1,235 on the corresponding day of the year before. Besides that Chicago had only 97 carloads, against 394 on the similar_day of last year. Those fresh features of the market surroundings sufficed to start December wheat at 1c per bushel advance and to add another lc per bushel before an hour of the Chicago session had gone by. The opening was irregularly at from 75c to 75>4e. Before 10:30 o’clock it had sold at 70Vfec. A San Francisco message, which reported an additional four cargoes of wheat sold Thursday besides what was previously disposed of for shipment to Australia — the four cargoes amounting to about 350.000 bushels—was another of the bull points in the early news. The milling demand for carloads of wheat in the cash market was shown chiefly in the competition for good to choice samples of No. 3 hard Northern spring. A private cablegram from Liverpool indicated that there was knowledge there of some falling off in the volume of shipments from Russia and the Danubian countries. The St. Louis market was even stronger at the opening than Chicago.

MEANS TO CROSS TROCHA. Maceo Moves Out on the Plains for that Purpose. Advices from Cuba give plainer descriptions of the movements of insurgents than can lie sent by cable from the island. Antonio Maceo has moved to the plains country—that is to say, to the south coast of Pinar del Rio, with the intention of making an attempt to. pass the trocha, protected in the meantime as he hopes by insurgents at the rear of the trocha. He is at present supposed to be at Carojal.'in the direction of tho swamp of Majala. If he does not accept a battle he will be obliged to go further toward Dayanigucts or advance by Pueblo Ntievo, taking the road by Cavajnbos and thus get from La Gloria to La Sierra. It is thought probable that it will be difficult for him to pass by the south coast to the western portion of Pinar del Rio because Gen. Weyler has stationed 2,000 cavalry to prevent that movement near Candelaria. Capt. Gen. Weyler’s columns are fortifying the strategic positions taken from the insurgents in the mountains of Pinar del Uio so as to form a strong base of operations. When once these are finished Gen. Weyler calculates that ho will be able to dispose of 10,000 men in the pursuit of Maceo. and it is the general opinion that lie will be able to give him a decisive blow.

COAL IN CANADA. Giant Corporation Being Formed to Develop the Field. l our, months ago there was a discovery of coal in Algorua, western Ontario. The Lehigh Valley Railroad dispatched experts to the scene of the discovery with instructions to test the coal thoroughly, and if it was, in their opjnion, of the quality represented to at once buy up the surrounding country and secure an option on the district. But when the Lehigh 1 alley people had made up their minds to buy it they found Canadian capitalists had got in before them and had a claim on the property. The, Lehigh \ alley combine has not. given up hope of securing tile coal unifies. A proposition is now before the syndicate in which the combine offers to pay more than $1,000,000 if the present holders of the options will sell out to them the whole district which the syndicate has now secured. The advisability of accepting the offer is being considered. The syndicate would prefer to start a Canadian company with $1,000,000 capital stock. William AVilson, of Toronto, a representative of tho Canadian syndicate, has gone to New York to meet capitalists there who may offer more for the property than the Leliigh Valley. BLOODY BATTLE IN KENTUCKY. Six Negroes and Two Whites Shot in the Fracas. A bloody battle between negroes anil whites occurred at Winchester, Ivy. A. newsboy selling a Cincinnati paper was set upon by a negro, who tore up his papers. Police Officer Donohoe attempted to arrest the negro, who drew a pistol. Donohoe got a posse, and all the negroes in the suburb opened fire on them. A desperate battle took place in which six negroes were shot, four fatally. Two white men, John T. Jones Sr., the horseman and one of John Morgan’s old raiders, was shot In the hip. and Luck Anderson in the ankle. The negroes retreated outside the town to n field, where 200 of them defied arrest. Gov. Bradley was called ou for troops.

Boats in a Fatal Collision. The steamer Tiber, Captain de Lisle, bound for Sydney, came- into collision with the schooner Maggie, Captain Blunden, bound from Bona Vista Bay for St. John’s With a cargo of fish and lumber, at the entrance to the harbor at - St. John’s, N. F., Friday night. The schooner, carrying a crew of nine men and fourteen passengers, was struck amidships, cut in two pieces and sunk instantly. All aboard were on deck. They were thrown into the water and those saved were only rescued by the help of the floating deck load of lumber. Several were caught under the sails and dragged down with the sinking vessel. Others were unable to keep afloat until the boats arrived, and dropped off the planks. Two men climbed up the steamer's side and were saved by her boats. One woman was also saved, making ten who were rescued. The others, nine men and four women, were drowned. The pecuniary losses of the survivors were heavy. Captain Blunden owned SOO quintals of fish aboard, valued at SB,OOO. Several other men had their summer wages, S4OO apiece, with them, and two men had SI,OOO each, and were coming to St. John's to make purchases. All were more or less closely related. , The accident happened wifhin half a mile of the town. The steamer lay to while she sent a hoat ashore to land the survivors, and then continued her voyage. But In Great Peril by Robbers, Nathan Hunsicker, of Akron, Ohio, was awakened Thursday night by two masked men who attempted to force him to open his safe; Upon his refusal they bound him. and then drilling a hole in the safe, filled it with powder. Placing Ilunsieker against the door, they next threatened to blow the safe up with the proprietor in that position. Hunsicker weakened and opened the safe and the burglars got about S2OO. Threaten a Trust, Chicago has become such a thorn in the Kde of the great wire nail trust that its managers have openly declared they Mould like, to see it blotted off the map.

The miin reason for the trust's antipathy Is that one of the leading jobbing conconcerns persists in openly defying the trust's mandates. This defiance not only threatens to demoralize all of the other jobbing concerns in Chicago, but in other cities as well and actually threatens the existence of the trust itself. The firm in question openly quotes a price of $2.40 a keg on nails, as against $2.80 as the trust price, which other jobbers are forced to maintain. Meanwhile the high prices have tempted a large number of small manufacturers to enter the field and their aggregate production is gradually gaining on the demand. Another source of trouble is the recent actions began against the trust in the Federal courts. In a suit begun in the United States Court at Indinapolis C. Rramkamp, of Cincinnati, asks $300,000 damages, petitions that the trust’s contracts with outsiders be declared illegal and asks that the trust be dissolved. The.damages are asked because the trust stopped delivery of forty naihnaking machines which he had contracted of an Anderson (Ind.) manufacturer and because all other nail machine manufacturers were under contracts not to sell to outsiders.

> SIX SEAMEN PERISH., Schooner AY’ankesha anti Her Drunken Crew Go Down. Under cover of the darkness and in the midst of a fierce storm, six men met their death off Muskegon, Mich., harbor Saturday night from the three-tnast schooner Waukesha. The story of the only survivor lays the blame upon Captain Duncan Corbett. This survivor is Frank Dulach. He does not know the names of any of the other members of the crew, which consisted of the captain, mate, cook and four sailors, a total of seven. After being rescued Dulach was so weak that it was night before an intelligent story could be obtained from him. It was taken in the form of an affidavit before a magistrate. The story which Dulach tells is of a drunken captain and a wild debauch in the midst of a howling storm. Nothing in the history of navigation on the great lakes equals it. Even after the boat was going to pieces and the bloodsoaked form of one of the men had disappeared in tlie waves and the inky blackness of the night, while the survivors were clinging for life to a rude raft, Corbett continued his drinking and finally fell a besotted mnss into the waves. One by one the six of the seven men on the raft, the entire crew of the boat, fell off, until just as day broke Dulach saw the white surf boat of the Muskegon life saving station coming, with Captain Wood at the tiller. He feebly motioned them how to approach him, and was lifted into the boat.

MRS. W. H. VANDERBILT. Widow of the Famous Millionaire Dies of Heart Disease. Airs. Mary Louise Vanderbilt, widow of the late William H. Vanderbilt, died Friday at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Elliott F. Shepard, at Scarboro, in Westchester County, N. \ r . Mrs. Vanderbilt had been visiting at the Shepard residence since the wedding of her granddaughter. Mrs. Vanderbilt was Miss Louise lvissam, daughter of a reformed church minister of Albany. She was married to William H. Vanderbilt in 1841, anil lias for years been noted for her deeds of charity. The .children of the marriage were Cornelius, William Kiss.nii, Frederick W., George W., Margaret Louisa, who became the wife of tho late Elliott F. Shepard; Emily Thorn, wife of William D. Sion no: Florence Adele, wife of 11. MoK. Twombley; and Eliza 0., wife of W. Seward Webb. Negroes Killed by White Cups. While Jeff Jackson, John Adams, William Taylor and Robert Allison, negro laborers, were working at a sugar cane mill near Wild Fork, Monroe County, Alabama, they were fired upon from the darkness by unknown persons. All but Taylor were instantly killed. He will die. It is supposed to have been done by a gang of white saps, who have been engaged in running all negroes out of that section. Tragedy in the Street. At Kansas City, Mo., Arthur L. Snook killed his wife, Arietta. The tragedy occurred at the Belmont Hotel. Snook sat down on the steps and watched his wife die, after which he placed the revolver to his heart and tired two shots. Jealousy was the cause;

Fnilnre of a Dayton House. The Manhattan Clothing aud Shoe Company of Dayton, Ohio, has assigned, with liabilities aggregating SIOO,OOO. This concern is owned by Gus Hanauer. and the difficulty does not affect the branch houses located in cities in the East and West. Cool Girl Filicide. At Jacksonville, Fla., Alias Fanny Viola Finnegan, of Spencer, Mass., shot herself and left instructions that she'was to be buried with the revolver in her hand anil in the dress she wore when she committed suicide. Her instructions were complied with. New Comet Is Seen. A telegram from Lick Observatory to Harvard Observatory announces the discovery of a faint comet by Perrine, an assistant at Lick.