Indianapolis Journal, Volume 48, Number 244, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 September 1898 — Page 4

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THE DAILY JOURNAL THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1898. Washington Office—lso3 Pennsylvania Avenue Telephone Calls. Business Office 238 | Editorial Rooms 86 TKHMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. DAILY BY MAIL. Pally only, one month $ .70 Pally only, three months 2 00 Pally only, one year B.no Daily, ineludlnp Sunday, one year 10.60 fiunday only, one year 2.00 WHEN FURNISHED BY AGENTS. Pally, per week, by carrier....A IS cts Sunday, single copy 5 cts Daily and Sunday, per week, by carrier— 20 cts WEEKLY. Per year SI.OO Reduced Kates to Club*. Subscribe with any of our numerous agents or Send subscriptions to the JOURNAL NEWSPAPER COMPANY, Indianapolis, Ind. Persons sending the Journal through the mails in the United States should put on an eight-jage paper a ONE-f’ENT postage stamp; on a twelve or sixteen-page paper a TWO-CENT postage stamp. Foieign postage is usually double these rates. All communications intended for publication in this paper must, in order to receive attention, be accompanied by the name and address of the writer. THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL. fan be found at the following places: NEW YORK—Astor House. CHICAGO —Falmer House. P. O. News Cos., 217 Dearborn street. Great Northern Hotel and Grtihd Pacific Hotel. CINCINNATI—J R. Hawley & Cos., 154 Vine street. LOUISVILLE—C- T. Deering. northwest corner of Third and Jefferson streets, anti Louisville Book Cos., 256 Fourth avenue. BT. LOUlS—Union News Company, Union Depot. .WASHINGTON, D. C.— Riggs House, Ebbitt House and Willard's Hotel. It should be arranged in advance that our next war shall not be in a tropical country nor in the summer. The Assistant United States treasurer at 6t. Louis has refused to take $250,000 in gold In exchange for currency. Great Scott! If rapidly increasing taxation and expenditure can make a llrst-class city the ruling regime In this city is an overwhelming success. There seems to be a general approval of the suggestion of a military inquiry, not with a view of fastening blame on individuals but to expose the faults of the present system. He need not be a prophet to assert that a reaction will follow the present period of the manufacture and publication of charges of the general neglect of soldiers in the field. The thing is being overdone. The American farmers, having paid off $100,000,000 of mortgages the past two years, are not giving much attention to those whwse business is to declare that the gold standard will work their ruin. General Weyler’s programme sterns to be to pose as an independent branch of the Spanish government—a sort of imperium in lmperio, as it were. If the government were really strong it would take him by the throat and make him stop talking treason. Colonel Studebaker’s regiment was sent to as unfavorable a country as any command of the war. yet it will return to Indiana with a very small sick list. This means that the officers in command of the two camps in Florida where the regiment has been located took proper precautions to ward off disease.

Representative Graff, of the Fourteenth Illinois district, gave out, some time since, that he would not be a candidate for reelection, but when the convention met on Tuesday he was unanimously renominated. This indicates that Republicans of the district prefer a man who has served the district acceptably to taking the chance of a new man. The assault upon the War Department at the present time is mild compared with that made upon Abraham Lincoln after the battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862. Even Harper’s Weekly printed a large picture representing the fathers and mothers of the thousands slaughtered demanding of Abraham Lincoln a reason for ordering the battle and Lincoln answering with a story. The best evidence regarding the alleged neglect of soldiers and condition of camps goes to show that many of the current charges are grossly exaggerated. No doubt there has been much sickness and suffering, as there always Is in every army in time of war, but it has been distorted, exaggerated and magnified for a, purpose. One paper quotes Governor Black, of New York, In support of its charges. Yet in an interview in the Washington Post Governor Black says: * The condition of Camp Alger Is not so bad by a |Mod deal as I had been led to believe. The water is poor and the supply inadequate, but otherwise the troops are getting along reasonably well. The present condition of affairs at Camp Alger, while disagreeable in a way for the men, is in no sense a really intolerable situation. From Camp Alger Governor Black went to Chickamauga Park, and In an authorized interview published In the Journal yesterday-. he said: M.v Impression of the camp of the New York troops at Chickamauga Park is not half as bad as I had expected it would be. The unfavorable condition of the camp and hospitals has, beyond doubt, been very greatly exaggerated by the press. The Detroit Tribune publishes an interview with a private of the Thirty-second Michigan Volunteers, home on leave, who served eight years in the regular army. Replying to complaints and charges of suffering by that regiment, he says: The rations being served out are all right. 1 had charge of a mess at Island lake and I have had charge of messes in the regular army, and I want to say that I never sawbetter beef served to the army than we are getting in Fernandina. ’ It’s Chicago beef, and is even better thnn we got at Island lake. If there is any trouble about getting rations it is not the fault of the army officers or the commissary department, but nf the company quartermasters who are too lazy to hustle and get stuff for their companies or the cooks who are too lazy to put It up in shape. Veterans of the civil war who have visited some of the camps say the soldiers In the civil war suffered far greater hardships than those in the present war have done. We should not exhibit ourselves before the world as a nation of babies or chronic kickers. War is not a picnic. Under a recent order of the War Department containing instructions for the mustering out of volunteers, those who wish to retain possession of the arms and other accouterments furnished by the government, which they have used during the war, can do so. Every person knows how interesting military relica of the civil war have become in recent years, and veterans can testify how highly prized they are as personal souvenirs. There are many humble homes throughout the country, many isolated farmhouses where “the sword that father carried” or the belt he wore or some other accouterment is sacredly preserved as a pa-

triotic memento. Soldiers of the present war may look forward to the time when its military relics will be quite as interesting and valued. Having paid for all the accouterments furnished the soldiers the government can hardly be expected to present them to disbanding volunteers, but it offers them at cost, the price to be charged on the muster-out rolls. The order referred to fixes the cost of a Springfield breechloading rifle at $lO, a saber at $3.60, cartridge belt 75 cents, canteen with strap 43 cents, haversack and strap 72 cents, and so on, including the soldier’s meat can, tin cup. knife, fork and spoon, the last-named article being one cent. The time will come when every honorably discharged soldier will be glad to have some of these articles and be proud to tell his wife and children, maybe Ms grandchildren, “I wore that,” or “1 carried that in the war with Spain.” A NATIONAL DUTY. The platform adopted by the Republican state convention of California a few days ago contained the following: v. The necessities of war and the demands of peace alike call upon the American people to unite the Atlantic to the Pacific by the construction of a canal across the istnmus of Nicaragua. It should be immediately commenced and vigorously prosecuted, so that in the near future the commerce of the world may seek the Pacific slope and the Atlantic coast through a canal constructed and maintained by the United States, with the American flag spreading its protecting folds over its entire length. We pledge our every exertion to secure this resuit, and hope the Pacific coast built war ship, the Oregon, that made so gallant a sail around Cape Horn, may be the first to bring the good news through this great artery of trade. One of the most marked results of the national awakening caused by the recent w-ar is the decided impetus given to the popular demand for the Nicaragua canal. The American people are quick to see the bearing of anew situation and its effect on the national W’elfare. They are equally alive to the demands of patriotism and the protection of commercial interests. Whatever they might have thought six months ago regarding the acquisition of Porto Rico, the annexation of Hawaii or the taking and holding of an island in the Philippines, now that these things are accomplished facts, they recognize that the new situation involves new duties and responsibilities. It is no longer a question of national expansion, for that is already decided in the affirmative; it is a question of maintaining the new standard of national interests and national honor which the. new r policy involves. Among the plain duties of the situation thus recognized is the construction of the Nicaragua canal. Far-sighted men have for many years past discerned the vast importance and coming necessity of the work, but the people at large have been somewhat slow to see it. The recent war. our new acquisitions of territory and the new position of the United States as a world power have opened their eyes. Regarding the situation with the broader outlook and in the clearer light of the new conditions, they see that the protection of our new possessions and coasts from foreign attack, the extension of our domestic and foreign trade, and perhaps the maintenance of the present union of States, require the construction of a ship canal which shall practically annihilate nature’s barrier between the eastern and western coasts of the Republic and complete our control of strategic points necessary to our national growth and safety. It would be difficult to make a clearer or stronger presentation of the Nicaraguan canal question, in the same space, than is done in the resolution above quoted. It is more than a distinct echo of the declaration of the St. Louis convention on the subject, because it is more explicit and has the added force of recent events and acquisitions of territory to support it. The Republicans of other States could not do better than to accept it as a keynote on the subject, for while the whole country is interested in the construction of the Nicaragua canal, no other State is better situated to see its necessity or better qualified to speak of its benefits than California. Thirty-five years ago the country was watching with deep interest the slow progress of the Union Pacific Railroad,which was to bring the Pacific coast States into closer connection with the rest of the Union. The completion of that great work in 1569 was an event of great importance to the Nation, and ha 9 contributed very materially to strengthening the government and unifying the people. In spite of its grasping and illiberal management it has been of inestimable value to the Pacific coast States, and has contributed incalculably to the development of national feeling in the western portion of the Republic. It is fitting that the State which hailed with delight the construction of the Pacific railroad as a means of binding it closer to the Union should be the first to urge the construction of the Nicaraguan canal as a means of strengthening the Union in peace and in war. The declaration of the Republicans of California should be adopted by those of every other State. The policy of national expansion, already adopted, requires it, and the logic of the situation points to the Republican party as the one to carry it out. It is a national duty whose obligation cannot be ignored and whose execution should not be delayed.

PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND THE FLAG. In discussing the Philippines question a few days ago the Journal said: ‘’The hauling down of the American flag may be, according to circumstances, as much a patriotic duty as the raising of it.” On this the Indianapolis News commented: “What a change of view since President Cleveland hauled down the flag in Hawaii.” Whereupon the Washington Post mixes in as follows: When did President Cleveland haul down the flag in Hawaii, or anywhere else? The Journal is quite right in its assertion that it may be as much a patriotic duty to haul down as to raise our national ensign; but its remark does not apply, with any directness. to Mr. Cleveland, for he did not haul down our colors, nor did he order anybody else to do so. There is a distinguished resident of Indianapolis and citizen of the whole United States—a patriot, a statesman, a diplomatist, a man beloved of the people—who ordered the flag to be hauled down in Hawaii, and in so doing, simply discharged his imperative duty as President of this Republic, it was Harrison, not Cleveland, who performed that duty. The News blundered badly enough in assuming that the hauling down of the United States flag in Hawaii was a patriotic duty, but the Post, which is always interesting and generally accurate, blunders still worse in saying that it was done by order of President Harrison. The flag was hauled down by special United States Commissioner James H. Blount, appointed by and acting under the orders of Mr. Cleveland. The revolution in Hawaii occurred and the United States flag was raised there in January, 18f*3; a committee with the treaty of annexation arrived in Washington on Feb. 3; the treaty was signed in that city by representatives of Hawaii and the United Btates on Feb. 14, and sent to the Senate by President Harrison the next day with a message of approval. The committee on foreign relations in the Senate, to whom the treaty was referred, would have reported it

THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1898.

favorably, but Its fate in the Senate was uncertain, and at the close of the session it was still unratified. On the 9th of March, five days after his inauguration. President Cleveland, in a short message, withdrew the treafy from the Senate. A few days later he appointed Mr. Blount as special commissioner to Hawaii, with secret instructions. Mr. Blount sailed from San Francisco on March 20 and soon after his arrival at Honolulu gave orders for the hauling dow'n of the American flag from the headquarters of the provisional government, where it had been flying, with their consent and authority, more than two months. The Hawaiian question is settled by annexation, but the truth of history must be preserved. No feature in either of Mr. Cleveland’s administrations was so un-American as his Hawaiian policy and his ordering the flag to be hauled down where it had been placed by a successful revolution. DISEASE IN THE ARMY DURING THE CIVIL WAR. One would think from the clamor In a certain class of newspapers that disease and death were not known in other wars. That such was not the case the records of Indiana regiments of short terms of service are given, beginning with the Persimmon brigade, which was mustered in August, 1863, for the term of six months: Killed or Died of died of disease or Regiment. wounds, in prison. Total. 115th Indiana 1 69 70 116th Indiana 1 64 65 117th Indiana 95 95 118th Indiana 3 87 90 These regiments saw hard service during the winter, which, in part, accounts for the large mortality—quite 10 per cent, in two regiments. That the mortality is largest, however, when regiments first go into the service, the following statistics of the one hundred days regiments, mustered in May, 1864. show: Regiment. Died of disease. 132nrl Indiana 12 1.33 rd Indiana 17 134th Indiana 32 135th Indiana 28 136th Indiana 7 137th Indiana 17 138th Indiana 8 139th Indiana 11 The one-year regiments show a large mortality. The figures are as follows: Died Killed or died of disease Regiment. of wounds or in prison. 140th Indiana 2 112 142d Indiana 2 72 143d Indiana 1 92 144th Indiana 47 145th Indiana 70 146th Indiana 31 147th Indiana 44 148th Indiana 2 34 149th Indiana 43 150th Indiana 35 151st Indiana 66 46 152d Indiana 49 153d Indiana 3 46 154th Indiana 1 40 155th Indiana 19 156th Indiana 17 Two of the foregoing regiments were mustered in November. 1864. eleven in February, 1865, and three in March or April, 1865. That means that these regiments were in actual service about four months, yet one of the regiments mustered in February, three months before the end of the war, lost nearly 10 per cent, of its men by disease, while one that was mustered in November lost more than 11 per cent, by disease. The heavy losses from disease during the early months of enlistment are emphasized by comparing foregoing with several regiments which were mustered in August, 1861, and re-enlisted during January, February and March, 1864, thus serving more than three years: Died Killed or died of disease Regiment. of wounds, or in prison. 19th Indiana 199 117 26th Indiana 201 113 22d Indiana 153 190 23d Indiana 72 145 24th Indiana S8 207 25th Indiana 88 273 26th Indiana 96 268 27th Indiana 169 133 29th Indiana 60 244 30th Indiana 137 275 31st Indiana 120 258 32d Indiana 171 97 If this list should be extended It would appear that the losses of the three years’ regiments, raised in August and September and serving in the field, were not greater, in several instances, than those of regiments which were in the service but six months and were in no battles. The change in life, the Ignorance regarding camp life and the general recklessness of men new to the service made them the victims of disease. The mortality of regiments gives but a faint idea of the disability of many of those of the civil war, particularly when first entering the service. Many regiments had not men enough on the lists for duty to meet the demands of camp and picket details. When the Army of the Potomac was prepared for the great campaign under Grant in the spring of 1864, 30 per cent, of the men on its rolls were accounted for as “absent” and a year later, when the last campaign against Lee was undertaken, 45 per cent, of the men on the rolls of that army were absent. The larger part of this absence was due to disability due to disease rather than wounds. Taken as a whole, when compared with the losses of the civil war during similar periods, those of the regiments in camps the past few months have been less than the former. AN OLD CONFLICT. The conflict which is pending between the secretary of war and the major general commanding the armies is an ancient one. It troubled the Lincoln administration until Gram came to the chief command in the spring of 1864. It was more acute than at the present time when Andrew Johnson was and Grant w-as general. General Sherman came in conflict with President Grant's secretaries of war. Ever since, even in peace, the two authorities have clashed. These conflicts are doubtless due to the fact that the duties of each of these officials are not clearly defined by law. It may be difficult to do this; but if the experience of the past is of value it can be recalled that the Union armies were not successful until General Grant was given supreme control. So long as orders were issued from the War Department with a chief of staff in Washington the best results were not attained. Lee's was the long-time successful army of the South because Jefferson Davis did not interfere with his plans as he did with the leaders and their plans in the Confederate armies in the West. On general principles, without the lessons of experience, it stands to reason that a man who hast been in the army all his life and has made a study of the science of war is a better man to plan campaigns and select the officers to direct them than a secretary of war who is a civilian and whose military experience is that of a subordinate thirty-three years ago. A novel kind of co-operation, and one worthy of feminine ingenuity, is being evolved by some working girls’ clubs of London. This Is the clubbing together to buy wearing apparel—not at wholesale, but one garment at a time. The movement started among some factory girls who banded together to buy corsets. Each contributed her share of the money until they made up the price of one corset, which was

at once bought and given to the girl who drew’ the lucky straw. Out of the next w’cekly earnings another corset was bought and disposed of in the same way, and so on until every girl was supplied. The same club is planning to buy cloaks in a like manner. The chief advantage of this kind of coopeiation is. it is claimed, that the members of such a club have no inducement to vie with one another in extravagant display, ar.d each gets a good, useful article in return for her money. War without fighting and looking forward to greater conquests becomes a more dismal and uninteresting thing than “Hamlet” with Hamlet omitted. Such a condition forms a fertile soil for dissensions and grumblings, and no war ever ended without a taste of just such bitterness as is now rampant in military affairs. Those who grow pessimistic over the present condition and regard it as unprecedented are mistaken, and should look into the state of affairs prevailing at the end of every war the world has known. There is not the slightest complaint over the fact that Admiral Dewey is left tcione to take care of the Philippines. He is not the sort to cry “The Wolf” until he has the animal ready for the removal of the pelt. Bl BULLS IN THE AIR. A Success. n “If Wabble wasn't so confounded lazy he cculd liavo made quite a success in life.” “But he has made a success. He has done as much as he over tried to do.” Easily Accounted For. She—Assuming that women do tell more lies than men, I do not see any reason for it. He—The reason is plain enough. Women do more talking. T rouble. Watts—Seems to have been some trouble over at Wiokwire's house. Potts—Well, yes. His wife told him to advertise for a parlor maid, and he goes and puts in the ad. “blonde preferred.” The Cheerful Idiot. “I wonder if that tale of the tortoise and the hare was so?” remarked the garrulous boarder. “Naw," said the Cheerful Idiot. “Just a sort of mock turtle and false hare story.” DR. SHELDON JACKSON BACK Alaska Commissioner's Work Among Government Schools.

SEATTLE, Wash., Aug. 31.—Dr. Sheldon Jackson, United States commissioner for Alaska, has arrived her from St. Michael’s on the steamer Roanoke. Dr. Jackson returned from his annual inspection of the government schools and reindeer stations on the shores of Behring sea. The second week in August was spnt on the coast of Sibera, where he was successful in securing and transporting to Ala.’ka 161 head of domestic reindeer, which were sent to Cape Prince of Wales to replace in pa-t the herd which was taken last winter by the gov-t ernment and driven to Point Barrow for the relief of the ice-imprisoned whalers. The reindeer herds received a gratifying increase in the spring by the birth of a large number of fawns. Dr. Jackson also established the headquarters of the Laplanders a: Unalaktik, where they will be sent to various parts of Alaska where their services may be needed to carry the mail. Many of these Laps have already taken out their first papers looking to naturalization. Dr. H. K. Gambett, of lowa, has been appointed government physician at the reindeer station at Unalaktik. W. F. Dotty, of New’ York, a graduate of Princeton University. has been appointed teacher at St. Lawrence island jin place of C. K. Garnet, who went down with the schooner Jane Grey. Dr. Jackson reports that the steam whaler Blider. onAof the fleet that wintered off Point Barrow’, was at Port Clarence on Aug. 5 taking on a supply of coal and provisions. preparatory’ to returning to the Arctic. The w’haler Rosario was reported to have been crushed in the ice east of Point Barrow last July. The captain of .he Belvidere said that his was only one of the fleet that has got out of the ice up to the time he left, but he believed there were others who would get out all right. Nothing had been heard of the revenue cutter Bear, which had gone to the relief of the whaling fleet, but she was daily expected at Port Clarence. COURTS-MARTIAL SET ASIDE. Sentence* Imposed at Syn on Manila Troops Without Warrant. WASHINGTON, Aug. 31.—The secretary of war, on the recommendation of Judge Advocate General Lieber has declared illegal and set aside the proceedings of a general court-martial convened by Brigadier General Greene, on the steamer China at sea, June 18, 1898. General Greene, who has been ordered home from Manila, was then in command of the second detachment of the Philippine expedition. The men on trial were privates H. J. Lambert, Company M, First Colorado Infantry; H. B. Briggs, Company C, First Colorado Infantry’; Lee Judge, Company G, Eighteenth Infantry; W. D. Shakspeare, Company F, First Colorado Infantry; Robert Dick. Company M, First Colorado Infantry. A general order holds that w’here a post or district command is composed of mixed troops, equivalent to a brigade, the commanding officer of the department or army will designate it in orders as “a separate brigade,” without the authority of the commanders of the pest and the districts having no brigade organization cannot convene general courtmartials. The judge advocate general holds that General Greene’s detachment had not been so designated, but was made up of parts of brigades of the "independent division.” The sentences are therefore set aside. Judge was charged With being asleep on his post, and was sentenced to confinement at hard labor for six months and forfeiture of $lO for eaeh of those months; Shakspeare, same charge and same sentence; Briggs w T as sitting and inattentive at his post, sentence one month hard labor and $lO pay forfeited; Dick was absent without leave from Camp Merritt, and charged w’ith drunkenness and disorderly conduct, sentence hard labor for thirty days and $lO pay per month forfeited sosf v three months. Lambert was charged with being drunk and disorderly at Camp Merritt. General Greene mitigated Judge's and Shakspeare's senteences materially, and all the sentences now are set aside. SCHLEY OFF FOR PORTO RICO. The Commission Sailed Yesterday for San Juan. NEW YORK. Aug. 31.—Admiral W. S. Schley’ and Gen. William Gordon, United States commissioners to settle the conditions for the Spanish evacuation of Porto Rico, sailed for San Juan to-day on board the steamer Seneca. The third member of the commission, Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke, United States army, is at present in Porto Rico. Admiral Schley was accompanied by his staff and William \Y. Gordon, jr., went with his father as aid. Others on board the Seneca were Col. John H. Beaeom. who will relieve Major General Anderson as adjutant general of the Department of Santiago; Capt. W. J. Sewall, son of Senator Sewali, of New Jersey, who was assistant adjutant general on the staff of General Graham and now going to report to General Miles for assignment to duty, fffty postoffice clerks in charge of Maj. James E. Stuart, of Chicago, five army paymasters, about an equal number of army surgeons and fortytwo trained nurses in charge of Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee. Dr. McGee is the only woman contract physician in the employ of the government. Jail Delivery In Ihe City of Pono. LIMA, Peru. Aug. 31, via Galveston. Tex., Aug. 31.—The Cacerist party in the city of Puno, capital of the Peruvian province of that name, have created a disturbance bybribing the guards on duty at the jail and freeing the prisoners. The civil guard and citizens, headed by the prefect, succeeded in crushing the outbreak.

FOR NEW BATTLE SHIPS PROGRAMME FOR FIFTEEN MONSTER WAR VESSELS TO BE RUSHED. AmoiiK the Number Are to Be Three Firat-Clns* Figbtpr* amt Several Immense Cruisers. WASHINGTON. A up. 31,-The naval hoard of experts, .under the specific authority of the secretary, unanimously reaffirms its action in recommending a comprehensive programme involving the speedy construction of fifteen war ships exactly as outlined two weeks ago, and directed the various bureaus of the Navy Department to proceed forthwith with the preparation of the actual plans for the greatest construction project ever undertaken in a single period by the United States. Since the adoption of the programme by the board on Aug. 17 its members have devoted themselves earnestly to the thorough consideration of the lessons gained in the war with Spain, and of the necessity for vast sea power imposed by the possession of distant islands and increased American commerce, and they began on the details yesterday without modifying, in any material particular, the classes of vessels which were determined upon as essential for the navy hereafter. The meeting yesterday demonstrated that the members were more thoroughly than ever convinced that larger ships, with higher speed and much greater coal endurance than any now in the American service were absolutely indispensable, and ought to be begun with as little delay as possible. The general programme, as originally laid down, provided for fifteen vessels, of which six were to he heavily armored line of battle fighting ships, six to be small protected cruisers and three midway between these extremes. The. three battle ships were to exceed 13,000 tons displacement, with a minimum speed with all stores and coal aboard of eighteen and one-half knots; there were to be three firs,-.-class armored cruisers of 12,000 tons, or onethird larger than the New York and the Brooklyn, with twenty-two knots speed and a coal endurance of at least ten thousand tons; three semi-armored and protected second-class cruisers of a highly improved Olympia type and six sixteen-knot protected cruisers of 2,500 tons, slightly superior to the Detroit class, with the remarkable steaming radius of 13,000 knots. The board further determined that all ships should be sheathed with oak and copper, to make them comparatively independent of dry docks. Asa result of the meeting, practically establishing this programme as the adopted policy of the navy for the immediate future, the work of designing the three battle ships will begin at once along the following lines; The displacement is fixed at 13,500 tons, on a draught of 25% feet when the vessel is loaded to the maximum and at that draught a minimum speed of 18*2 knots is to be guaranteed. Coal bunker space for between 1,800 and 2,00 u tons of fuel is to be provided in order that a steaming radius of 10,000 knots at a 10-knot speed may be secured. The armor is to cover the entire vessel in the form of a cuirass. It will be made after the Krupp modification of the Harveyized process, and is to be twelve inches thick amidship, tapering to five inches at the bow and stern. There will be four 12-inch rifles of extra length for smokeless powder, mounted in pairs in two turrets, the latter being of the elliptical-balanced type with sloped fronts. The battle ships as well as all the other vessels will be equipped with water tube boilers and twin quadruple engines. As soon as the plans for these battle ships progress sufficiently the details for the big cruisers will be taken up by the construction officers.

lt is a peculiar coincidence that the plans for these magnificent battle ships are begun simultaneously almost to a day with the opening of bids for three battle ships upon which contractors have been figuring for the last three months. This competition will close at noon on Sept. 1, and it is almost a foregone conclusion that the Cramps, the Scoits and the Newport News Company will each attempt to secure a vessel which is practically the duplicate of similar battle ships now being built by each of thesq firms, although the proposals are expected to develop slight modifications which will give increased speed and endurance over the Alabama, the Illinois and the Wisconsin. These vessels, which were authorized by the last Congress, have given rise to considerable controversy because they possess no radical mprovements over their predecessors. and were of admittedly inferior type to the heavy war ships now building in Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia. They are of 11.500 tons displacement, draw- 23% feet, carry 1,200 tons of coal and have protection to their vitals only in the form of a 16% inch armor belt. The design called for the ordinary 13-inch rifles, and they were not to be rejected by the navy if their speed was above 15 knots, although a penalty of $25,000 a quarter of a knot was imposed for any reduction between 16 knots and 15% knots and at the rate of $50,000 a quarter between 15% knots and 15 knots. Under the circumstances of yesterday's action of the navy experts these slow battle ships will probably be abandoned altogether, unless the ship builders on Thursday take advantage of Secretary ling's appeal for the guarantee of higher speed than was at first contemplated, and the $9,000,000 provided by Congress for the hull and machinery of these vessels may be saved to apply to the comprehensive naval programme, which conservative estimates indicate will involve an outlay approximating $40,000,000. At noon there will be opened in the office of the secretary of the navy the proposals for building three great battle ships authorized by the last naval appropriation bill. The department will permit bidders to submit their own plans or to bid on those of the department, and it is expected that the result will be that some of the bidders will avail of both privileges. One feature of the designs that is likely to give rise to criticism is the provision for a full equipment of tropedo tubes, both above and under water. Thi>-- is directly opposed to the judgment of some of the foreign naval experts who witnessed the battle of July 3 and reported to their home governments that the topedo outfits on battle ships were a source of great danger to the ships and that their presence was of only questionable value. Hig shipment of Projectile*. READING, Pa.. Aug. I.—Peace makes no difference whatever in the busy operations here on shells and projectiles for the army and navy. During the past month the Carpenter Steel Company made the largest shipments of projectiles in the history of the establishment. They consisted of all sizes from four to thirteen inches, and were consigned to various stations designated by the War Department. The shipments are said to have aggregated in value more than $2)00,000. The firm's employes are working dav and night, the same as they have been since the outbreak of the war between Spain and the United States. Willi the Spanish Flag l'p. NEW YORK. Aug. 31—Two steamers flying the Spanish flag sailed from this port to-day. They were former United States prizes. Miguel Jover and the Catalina. The latter was captured by the gunboat Detroit and the Jover was taken by the Helena. The Jackies of the war ships on June 2i thought that they were tn for big prize money, but a few days ago the Washington authorities decided that the steamers should

not have been seized and ordered their release. The Jover and Catalina cleared for Spain yesterday, and, manned by their old crews, went to sea this morning. Monitor* Salt for Home. WASHINGTON. Aug. 31.—The Navy Department has received a cablegram from Pence, Porto Rico, announcing that the Puritan, Aniphitrite, Terror. Hannibal and Montgomery sailed from Ponce this morning. They will go to Newport. R. 1. The main object is to get the crews of the vessels away from the tropical climate to northern waters. The citizens of Newport have been making efforts with the Navy Department to secure u rendezvous for the larger vessels in the navy at Newport. The department could not do this, but agreed to send some of the smaller types. Pontoon* to Raise the Colon. NEW YORK. Aug. 31.—The Merritt and Chapman Derrick and Wrecking Company'.tug Argus arrived from Halifax to-day with two pontoons, procured there, which are to be taken to Santiago to assist in the work of raising the sunken war ships. The Earthquake Thrower at Ronton. BOSTON. Mass., Aug. 31.—The dynamite cruiser Vesuvius arrived here to-day. THE OLIVETTE SUNK. Hospital Ship Mysteriously Goes to the Bottom at Fernamlina. FERNANDINA. Fla.. Aug. 31.—The hospital ship Olivette, which has been lying near the quarantine station, through some mysterious agency sank this morning at 7:30 o’clock. Aboard of her was a hospital corps of thirty-five and a crew of forty-five persons, ali of whom escaped without injury, but in scant attire. The roustabouts sleeping in the lower hold had a narrow escape, being driven from their bunks like so many rats. Fortunately for those aboard there was a schooner near by and some of them took shelter on her. while others sought refuge at the quarantine station. The Olivette went down in about thirty feet of water, her main deck being submerged. No one apparently knows how the calamity cculd have occurred, and as no investigation has yet been made the matter remains a mystery. Vessels in the harbor will probably pump her out if such a thing is possible. The Olivette arrived at Montauk on Aug. 21, with 275 soldiers from Santiago, seventyfive of whom were landed and two hundred taken to Boston, where the Olivette arrived on Aug. 23. From Boston the Olivette sailed for Fernandina for the purpose of transporting sick soldiers to Philadelphia. The Olivette belonged to the Plant line of steamers, and was built at Philadelphia in 1872. She was 123 feet long, 35 feet beam. 11% feet deep, and registered 1,611 gross and 1,105 net tons. Expin nation C alled For. WASHINGTON, Aug. 31.—if is stated at the War Department that the sinking of the Olivette was not the fault of United States officers. The steamship company owning the vessel lias already offered to raise her. An explanation has been asked for from the officer in charge of the Olivette.

MiNERS' RIOT AVERTED. Big Clash Likely Between Strikers and Negroes at Puna, 111. PANA, 111., Aug. 31. More outside reinforcements tor the locked out white miners here have been arriving to-day. By to-night fully 3,000 extra miners are expected to be on the scene. On the other hand the operators say they will have fully 300 more negroes here before the close of the week. Sheriff Coburn has been hourly increasing his forces in anticipation of trouble, bringing deputies from Taylorville, the county seat, sixteen miles distant. A serious encounter has been narrowly averted between the locked out anion miners and the one hundred deputy sheriffs guarding the fifty-four Alabama negroes, who have taken the places of the locked out men at the Springside mines at the edge of the city limits. The clash could not have been prevented had not state and national officials of the United Mine Workers of America interfered by wiring District President Topham to postpone action until after this morning, pending .nvestigation of the condition of the Springside mine, which is alleged to be in danger, being operated without a boss and a registered engineer. At the time the message was received the local miners, reinforced by several hundred miners from Danville, Coffeen, Assumption and other outside mining towns, were in secret session in a large gulch between the Illinois Central Railroad and the Pana Coal Company's reservoir, near the north end of the city, laying plans to march on the deputies and negroes at Springside and forcibly compelling the negroes to leave. The meeting was presided over by a negro miner named Dean, of Danville. It was only by the most persistent pleading and reasoning by President Topham and other leaders that the miners were prevented from marching on the shaft. The meeting was attended by fully 1,000 miners, their only light being that of the moon, and with guards and pickets doing duty to keep out ail save United Mine Workers. it was pointed out that the deputies at the Springside were armed with Springfield rifles and Winchesters. There were only two Winchesters and a few shotguns in the miners’ crowd. All the men, however, were armed with revolvers. ■_ SOCIAL SCIENCE MEETING. falters and Speeches by Well-known Men in Public Life. SARATOGA, N. Y.. Aug. 31.—This was the third day of the annual meeting of the American Social Science Association. At the morning session in the department of finance and social economy an address was delivered by Chairman Sanborn. A report was made by the secretary of the department, Joseph Lee, of Brookline, Mass., wiio was followed by Thomas M. Osborne, of Auburn, in a brief address. Charles A. Gardiner, of New York, read a paper. Daniel Folkmar, of Milwaukee, presented a paper on “Sociology as Based on Anthropology.’’ This was followed by a paper of Mayor Quincy, of Boston, on the subject of “Public Baths and Recreation as Means of Elevating the People." The association sent to the Czar at St. Petersburg the following dispatch: " Jhe American Social Science Association unanimously hails the lofty purpose of your overture tor a better understanding among nations and for better economic conditions for their peoples, and confides in its eventual success. •SIMON E. BALDWIN. President.” The introduction at the evening session was made by Prof. J. W. Jenks, of Cornell University, chairman of the finance department. Then followed the address by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Vanderlipp. MRS. BOTKIN THE WOMAN. Her Handwriting; on the Fatal Box of Poisoned Candy. SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31.—Detectivo McVey, who came here from Delaware to procure the extradition of Mrs. Cordelia Eotkin for the muruer of Mrs. John P. Dunring and her sister, firnde a statement today to the effect that John P. Dunning, husband of one of the victims, had identified the handwriting on the wrapper of the candy box as that of Mrs. Botkin. He also said that Mr. Dunning has identified the anonymous letters sent to Mrs. Dunning as being written by Mrs. Botkin. Chief of Police Lees is determined that Mrs. Botkin shall he tried in the State of Delaware if possible. To-morrow the grand jury will meet, and the attendance of witnesses who will not now give their evidence to the authorities will be compulsory. The indictment. should there be one, will not be a charge of murder, but on a charge of sending poison through the mails Witnesses have been summoned from the interior, and unless they answer all questions put to them they will be sent to jail.

DR. GODFREY'S REPORT — 4 t * WORK OF THE HOSPITAL CORPS UNDER FIRE AT SANTIAGO. Followed on the Heel* of the \rniy to San Juan Hill unit El Cuney aud Never Flinched. - WASHINGTON. Aug. 31.—Surgeon General Sternberg to-day made public the following extracts from a report of Lieut. Guy C. M. Godfrey, assistant surgeon, U. S. A., regarding conditions at Santiago: "Santiago de Cuba. July 28—To the surgeon general. U. S. A.. Washington. l>. C.: "Sir—As commanding officer of the hospital corps company of the First Division. Fifth Army Corps, I have the honor to submit the following report; "This company was organized at Tampa, Fla., on June 5, 189S, just two days previous to the departure of the troops of the First Division for the transports at Port Tampa, Fla. On the day of organization the strength of the company was eighteen privates. No noncommissioned officer was assigned to it until June 7, 189S, when acting Hospital Steward McGuire reported for duty. He was at once detailed as first sergeant of the company, which place he has held up to the present date. A cook and an assistant cook, orderlies for the medical officers and a clerk were at once detailed. * * * When the order came to move the men of the company performed the work necessary thereto, and the enthusiasm and esprit tie corps with which they labored added greatly to the celerity and facility with which the task was accomplished. The personnel and supplies of the division hospital, as well as the hospital company, was placed on board the transport Santiago and arrived off the coast of Cuba near Santiago on June 20. The day before landing all of the material was brought up from the hold by the men of the company and stored on the main deck of the ship near the forward starboard deck. This was done by direction of Maj. M. W. Wood, chief surgeon of ins division, and proved a wise and efficient measure. LANDED AT SIBONEY. "We landed on June 25 at Siboney, Cuba, and Ditched camp on the beach. On this day thirteen of the privates of the hospital corps of the Seventy-first New' York Volunteers joined the company. During the night of June 25 acting Hospital Steward McGuire ar.d five of the men worked all night unloading the material for the hospital and storing it upon the beach under canvas. * * * On June 26 the men were given a short drill to perfect organization. Hurried preparations were made for a forward movement, and as absolutely no transportation could be obtained from the quartermaster's department, these preparations consisted principally* in selecting such necessary dressings and drugs as the men could carry on their backs and litters.

"On June 27 the First Division moved forward, and the hospital company followed in rear of the Third Brigade, taking the ridgo road towards Seville. Owing to the possibility of an immediate skirmish or battle, none of the medical officers rode their horses, but made pack mules of them and carried as large a number ot dressings, etc., as they could. The division camped in column of brigades, and the hospital company and division hospital pitched camp near the headquarters of the division commander. On the following morning twenty men and the steward and two medical officers returned to Siboney and brought us four Jitters and as many medical supplies as posible, returning about 2 o’clock p. m. After a soaking rain the company broke camp and was ordered to move forward two miles. This they did, marching over a rocky, yet muddy road, carrying the hospital supplies with them. They pitched their shelter tents on the soaking ground, while the officers, who had no shelter, slept in the open air exposed to dampness and poisoning. On June 29 the company moved forward a quarter of a mile further to a beautiful spot with the Aquadores river on one side and the Siboney road on the other. Here on the 29th the division hospital was established, and here it remained' all through the ierrible carnage that followed. On this day six wagonloads of our supplies were brought up from the beach at Siboney, and tent flies were pitched and everything arranged for the coming battle. On the 30th of June the work of establishing the division hospital continued and more of our supplies were brought from Siboney. * * * "On the morning of July 1 the writer rode in the direction of the firing towards El Caney. and while searching for an ambulance rode to the extreme right and visited the firing line of the Twelfth Infantry. He then returned and reported to Major Wood, who directed an ambulance to be at once sent in that direction. Owing to the very small number of hospital corps men present with the division and as the number of ambulances for the entire army was lim-ited-to three, it was impossible to expect them to convey the total number of wounded from the collecting stations to the first division hospital. It was soon apparent that the entire force of the hospital corps would have to he used to man the hospital, but about noon Acting Hospital Steward McGuire, two litter squads and an ambulance went forward up the San Juan road. SURGEONS UNDER FIRE. "As the Spanish shrapnel was bursting around the battery on El Paso hill, near the road, it was not deemed prudent to take the ambulance beyond that point. Therefore it remained while the two litter squads pushed forward up the San Juan road. One wounded man was fouiiu who was not able to walk about four hundred yards before reaching the furthest grossing of the Aquadores river. He was at once dressed aud conveyed to the rear by a litter squad. The other litter and the steward advanced about four hundred yards further to the east hank of the Aquadores and there found a wounded man who could not walk. At this time the Sixth and the Sixteenth Infantry were immediately in front and wore making thetr advance towards San Juan hill. It call therefore be seen that the hospital litter squad in the rear was under the hottest kind of tire and the bullets were cutting leaves all around, but not one of these men faltered or showed the U'ast sign of teur. * • * At this time the wounded were coming hack in a constant stream, and such as needed stimulation or dressing were attended to by the roadside. Many of them returned alone, others walked supported by the arm of some comrade, while the more seriously wounded were borne on litters of various kinds. A few of those who returned had not received medical attention, but the majority of them were dressed with first aid package* by the regimental surgeons and their hospital corps men. ..t about 1 p. m. Major Valery Havaaru. chief surgeon of the cavalry division, established an ambulance station on the east bank of the Aquadores, near El Paso. At this station many dressings were readjusted and a few patients were dressed for the first time. Stimulants, medicines and dressings constituted the stock at this station. which was about a mile in advance of the First division hospital. No point farther to the front was safe from the enemy's fire. The ambulances were worked •onstantly, and. considering their number, did remarkably well. Late in the afternoon ambulances were taken forward to near the farthest crossing of the Aquadores. hut it was rather dangerous at all times as the enemy kept the San Juan road enfilade* all day long. It was very dangerous on account of Spauish guerillas, who were lo-