Pike County Democrat, Volume 30, Number 31, Petersburg, Pike County, 8 December 1899 — Page 2

She 3?ihe County jDmottat M. MeC. 8TOOP8, Kdltor and Ft oprletor. PETERSBURG, : INDIANA. Disbursements for bonds at the New York sub-treasury, on the 27th, untler the call of Secretary Gage, were $5o6,531. The total payments io that date .-were $12,619,388.82. N. E. Dawson, a clerk in the office of Gen. Miles, has been dropped from ■the rolls on account of letters he has written to officials of the government flippantly reflecting upon the president. On the 2d the last boat, the Albion, left Cape Nome, from which time until next June, the 2,500 peopie remaining there will be cut off from the balance of the world. Food was plenty, but fuel scarce and dear. Capt; Leary, the naval governor ol the Island of Guam, wants an additional force of marines, the few nsen he has at command now being an insignificant force compared with tli» 8,000 population of the island. Gen. Conou surrendered 800 officers and men with rifles, several American and 70 Spanish prisoners and the garrison at Baj'onbong, province of Nueva Vizcaya, Luzon, on the 1st. to Lieut, Monroe, with 50 men of the Fourth cavalry. Sir Francis Wingate, in a battle with the khalifa’s force near Gedid, in the Soudan, captured 9,000men, women and children. Osman Digna, the principal general of the khalifa, escaped. The khalifa and all his principal emirq were killed.

Thanksgiving day was celebrated b> the American colony in Home.with the usual enthusiasm. There was a lavish display of the^ Stars and Stripes at the embassy, the consulate and the residences of Americans throughout the city. King Humbert received Ambassador Draper in private audience. State Superintendent Jackson of Nebraska decided, on the 27th, that the Bible may be read in the public schools of that state. The matter was laid before him in a case from Gage county, where one family in a district wantej the teacher enjoined from using tht Bible, although all others favored U Owing to the acuteness of the deadlock in Newfoundland politics, an attempt being made to induce #>ir William' Whiteway, the former premier, who recently retired from public affairs, to undertake the formation of a coalition ministry and to carry on the business of the country until the general eleotion. Word comes from the Philippines that the two companies of Macabebe scouts, under Capt. Batson, are doing so wel) that it has been decided to organize a full battalion of these natives. The additional two companies will be very useful- in the present campaign in tracking the fleeing remnants of Aguinaldo’s disorganized army. A number of the most prominent ministers of Cleveland, O., in their Thanksgiving sermons, on the - 30th, upheld the president in his-policy toward the Philippine islanders.Amongst these were Rev. H. C. Hayden, of the First Presbyterian church, Rabbi Gries, of the Wilson Avenue temple, and Bishop Leonard, of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Ohio. Sir Thomas Lipton, speaking at the annual dinnerof the Temple Yacht club in London,on the 30th.en,larged upon the good treatment lie received in America, and said: “I can see no room for discouragement, and unless some one else challenges I shall certainly do so myself very soon. All I can say is that we had a square and fair race and got a fair and square licking.” At a conference of about 25 prominent house republicans, held at th< capitol, in Washington, on the nighl of the 1st, it was decided that the ineligibility of Representative-elect Roberts, of Utah, to occupy a seat in the house of representatives should be investigated and determined, and that pending the decision he should not be permitted to take the oath of office. The severest test to which wireless telegraphy has yet been subjected was made in Chicago, on the 27th, when the current was successfully sent through the walls and closed doors of a suite of seven rooms; and in other cases through the walls of steel vaults and an ordinary telegraph switchhoard in which 30 wires were connected up and about forty dead wires were located.

The board of directors of the National Association of Credit Men held a special meeting in Chicago, on the 28th, to raise a fund to prosecute swindlers and dishonest business men of all classes. Most of those present ex-pressed themselves in favor of having all prosecutions carried on in the name of the national body, instead of the branch associations. Several important proposed amendments to the national bankruptcy law were discussed. Senators Galliger and Hansbrough, on behalf of the senate committee on pensions, have been engaged^ in taking testimony under a resolution passed by the senate last session instructing the committee to inquire r into the wisdom of revising the pension laws. Secretary Hitchcock and Assistant Secretary Davis, of the Interior department, and Commissioner of Pensions Evans and Assistant Commissioner Davenport all favor a general revision, of the laws by a nonpartisan commission. . -%■

Compiled from Various Sources, PERSONAL AND GENERAL. John B. Cauldwell,doctor of fine ortr of the United States commission to the Paris exposition, sailed on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, on the 28th, for Paris, to endeavor to secure an increase in the space alloted to the United States at the Grand Palace of Fine Arts. , The first mortgage of the Southwestern division of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad was filed in the office of the recorder of deeds of Sangamon county, Illinois, on the 30th. The mortgage is to secure $45,000,000 thrge-and-a-half per cent, gold bonds, dated January 1, 1899. and was giv^p to the Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co., of New York, and W. H. H, Miller, of Indianapolis, Iud. 4*en; Leonard Wood, commenting upon the report that he might succeed Gen. Sternberg as surgeon-general of the army, said it was without foundation. “My_.relat.fon with the medical department of the army, so far as further duty in the medical corps is concerned,” said Gen. Wood, “is at an end; and whatever duty I may perform in the army in the future will be in the line.” . Rt. Hon. Daniel Tallon, the lord mayor of Dublin, was at the White House, sightseeing, on the 30tli, a*d left for New York, en route for home. After an all-night session of the legislative assembly at Melbourne, Vic toria, the ministry of Sir George Turner was defeated, on the 1st, by 11 votes on a resolution of want of confidence. The funeral of ex-Senatpr Thomas W. Tipton, of Nebraska, took plaee, on the 30th, from his late residence in ■Washington. The interment was in Rock Creek cemetery. Dr. M. M. Latta, aged 80 years, the pioneer and the oldest practitioner in northern Indiana, was found dead in his office chair on the night of the 30th. Mr. A. L. Sonnenshein, who recently escaped from the Filipinos at Abra, bearing credentials from Lieut. Gilmore, says that the lieutenant and his fellow prisoners were drawn up ip line, at San Isidro, to be shot, by order of Gen. Luna, shortly after their capture, but were saved by the interference of Aguinaldo. Two members of the crew of the little gunboat Urdanefca, who recently escaped from the Filipinos, report that the boat made a gallant fight. Cadet Woods was mortally wounded. Mitchell, Drummond, Sloan and Crey were killed, and at last accounts (October 30) Farley, Herbert and Burke were alive and w’ell.

Gen.. Lord Methuen, cn the 30th, sent to Gen . Foresteer-Walker, at Cape Town, urgently demanding reinforcements. A battery of artillery, a detachment of cavalry and two battalions of infantry were immediately forwarded. Such indications as hate reached London respecting the battle of Modder Hirer, fought on the 28th, have increased the anxiety of the public for a full list of the casualties and a detailed account of the action which l^ord Methuen described as “One of the hardest in the annals of the British army.” Gen.* Lawton was at Bambong, on the 30th, and was in telegraphic communication with the insurgents. The commanders of the opposing forces were considering propositions looking to the surrender of the insurgent forces to the Americans. The deer-hunting season just ended resulted in a total of eleven hunters killed and seven wounded in the Michigan and Lake Superior sections of Wisconsin. and Minnesota. Mos t of those shot were mistaken for deer. Few were sshot through their own carelessness. Jacob Schneider celebrated Thanksgiving, at Duluth, Minn., by attacking his wife with a meat ax, and after

chopping her horribly, saturated the house with kerosene and set fire to it. He perished in the flames, but the wife was saved by her daughter. The demand from South Africa for wheat and flour is greater than ever before. Since the season opened six cargoes have been shipped f rom Portland. Ore. Others have been declined on account of lack of tonnage, but it is probable that at least six more cargoes will be shipped this season. The 1899 output of Cripple Creek, Col., will exceed $18,000,000, making a grand total of $68,000,000. This estimate its based on returns for 11 months, the record for the past two months and tile general condition of the mines. For two months past the output has only been limited by the capacity of mills and smelters. After the return of the kaiser to Berlin, on the 30th, a report, o riginating from the lobby of the reich stag, was spread that Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands is to be married to none other than the Crown Prince Frederick William of Germany. , M

Dr. Franklin P. Gillespie, of Glenn* Valley, Ini, was sentenced in the United States court at Indianapolis, on the 1st, to three years at bard labor in the Columbus ((>.) penitentiary and lined $100 and costs, for counterfeiting. A petition,signed by 200 ormoreof Dr. Gillespie's neighbors was read, saying that his reputation previous to his arrest had been good. Gillespie also made a pathetic plea for mercy,but the court would not relent. The National Watch Co.,of Elgin,111., surprised its 2,400 employes, on the 1st, by giving notice of a restoration of the wage scale of 1892. The advance was unsolicited. - The steamer Ansehna de la Reinngn. Copt. Thomas, cleared from New Orleans, on the 1st, with 900 mules for the British government, and sailed, on the 2d, for Cape Town. By a cave-in of an excavation for a sewer in Denver, Col., on the 1st, several laborers were buried. The body of George Holtz was taken out an hour later. It was not known how many were in the trench. LATE~NEWS“ ITEMS. * The liberal party committee in Mexico has called a national convention of tho party to assemble in the City of Mexico, February 10, to nominate a candidate for president of the republic. The local committees report general enthusiasm for the candidacy of President Diaz, and political meetings and precessions are being held all over the republic. The conservative part}' has made no sign of putting a candidate h; nomination. A train of 14 refrigerator cars, con taining salt pork intended for the Brit. ish army in South Africa, was wrecked on the Sd^ near Kenilworth, 111., on the Milwaukee division of the Chicago <fe Northwestern railroad. The cars were completely demolished, but it Has believed the greater .part of the jiork could be saved. A serious delay hi shipment, however, resulted. Gen. Wilbur R. Smith, president of the National War Veterans, has written letters to prominent men all over the United States^asking their influence with congress for increased pensions for Mexican veterans, yvho now number only 9,000 and are passing away at the rate of almost one thou

sand per year. The hearing of the suit brought' in San Francisco by the St. Louis jobbers against the Trans-Continental railroad will be resumed before the interstate commerce commission in that city January 15. Rebuttal testimony will be taken in Washington, where the arguments will also be heard. Members of the Women’s Christian Temperance union, clergymen and other church workers of Toledo, O., called a meeting, on the 3d, to be held at one of the local churches to memorialize the common council to pass a curfew ordinance. Nine o’clock was agreed upon as the time limit. ■ Eben S. Stevens posted notices in his woolen mills at Quinnebang, Conn., on the 3d, announcing a general increase of ten per cent, in the wages of Iris employes, the new scale of prices to go into effect the first of the year. The increase will affect 600 people. On the 2d the police of Santiago de Cuba were transferred to the military department. Under command uf Capt. Fierce 150 men in new gray uniforms and wearing felt helmets similar to those worn by the New York police paraded, making a fine appearance.

CURRENT NEWS NOTES. Garland, Tex., will rebuild its fire* swept business section. Col. W. J. Bryan was given an ovation at Waco, Tex., Friday. The court at Hillsboro, 111., will try Ellis Glenn again, this time as a wornun, for forgery. Expert figures show that six leading heavy-weight boxers have a chance to beat Champion Jeffries; but figures may be made to lie. William Hummel was killed and his two companions injured by being thrown from a buggy near Taylorville, 111. The November crop report shows that the weather for the month was very favorable for wheat. There are, however, some complaints of Hessian flv. The Spanish minister of finance has borrowed 100,000,000 pesetas from the Bank of Spain in order to pay some outstanding colonial debts. The four-year-old child of a miner named Upchurch was killed by a cavein of a coal mine five miles northeast of Holden, Mo. v The Kentucky election board will not consider the contests until Monday. In the meantime conferences of leaders on both sides will be held. Att’y-Gen. Crow of Missouri has filed an action of ouster asking that the National Lead Co. of New Jersey be driven out of business in the states The Boers are preparing to make ®; stand at Tugela river. They also have planted big guns at Newcastle and are ready to contest every foot of the British advance. Policeman McDermott and Private Watchman McGlynn, of St. Louis, met while celebrating Thanksgiving day. They arrested each other and are now mourning the loss of their stars. The superior council of the French navy is considering measures necessary for the mobilization of the reserve squadrons for defense in the Mediterranean in case of a sudden attack. Missouri Pacific fireman A. G. Cherry has resigned his position to take possession of a $70,000 estate at Paola, Kas., left him by his father, recently deceased. The British government is so well pleased with the 8,000 Missouri mules it has already purchased that it will buy a second lot, but how many has not yet been determined. K

HOOSIER HAPPENING^ Told in Brief by Dispatches from Various Localities, Danknrila' Meeting;. Wabash, Ind., Dec. 1.—All questions concerning the location of the great annual meeting of the Dunkard church of America next year were dispelled when the church committee signed the agreement with the citizens’ committee at North Manchester for holding the gathering there. By the terms of this contract the meeting is to be held in Harter’s grove, at that place, commencing May 89, 1900. Died of Brlsktl Disease, Sullivan, Ind., Dec. 1.—Capt. Wilbur Van Fossin died at his home in Haddin township of Bright’s disease at the age of 63 years. He was captain of company C, Fifty-ninth Indiana, and organized that company at the outbreak of the civil war. He took an active part in politics, and was the first commander of Frank Neff post, G. A. R., of this city. He was unmarried.

Dynamise at a Weddlag, Richmond, Ind., Dec. 1.—A terrific ex* plosion frightened the residents of this community, causing hundreds of them to run from t heir houses. Window panes were broken and other slight damage done within a radius of 20 miles. It was learned that the explosion was part ol a wedding celebration 11 miles from here, at which ten pounds of dynamite was fired. ^ Sale of a a Paper. Terre Haute, Ind., Dec. 1.—The Evening Tribune has been sold to L. T. Golding, .formerly managing editor of the New York Commercial-Advertiser, and some local republicans who had been trying to buy the Morning Express. Mr. Golding has gone east to buy equipment and to arrange for the publishing of a newspaper of the. first class. First of the Kind. Kokomo, Ind., Dec. 1.—James Courts, a plate glass worker of this city, was arrested by Officer Moon, of El wood, charged with involuntary manslaughter. Courts moved from Ehvood here, and it is alleged neglected to cap the natural gas pipe, putting in a wooden plug instead. This is the first arrest of the kind in the lndiana gas belt. !M«y Die. ' Rensselaer, Ind., Dec. 1.—Full Back McGurin, of tfie Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. football team,.dOf Chicago, was so severely injured: during the game here with the Rensselaer team that his life is despaired of. The young man was unconscious two hours and the physicians give little hope of his recovery. He was kicked in the stomach.

/ Is In Doubt. New Albany, Ind., Dec. 1.—The body of Henry Morgan is lying at his home in this city and the undertaker refuses to bury him, claiming he is not dead. Three physicians called to view the remains and two of them said he was dead, but the other insists he is in a trance.0 The family says Morgan has been in a trance before. Badly Injured. , Muncie, Ind., Dec. 1.—During the game of football in this city between the Peru and Muncie high school elevens Ben Wilkinson, of the visitors, was badly injured internally and had a hip dislocated. Arthur Lockwood, also of Peru, had his neck wrenched, and other players were roughly handled. Muncie won, 45 to 0. ] Trains Collide. Aiiburn. Ind., Dec. 1.—The heavy east bound passenger train on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad collided with a freight near Hicksyille. Engineer Frank Kircheir, of Garrett, was at the throttle. No persons were injured, but the passenger engine and many cars were demolished. ■Will Try to Free Him. Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 1.—National Organizer Christopher Evans, of the United Mine ' Workers, declares that everything within the power of the national order will be done to free Executive John P. Beese, who is now undergoing a three-months’ jail sentence at Fort Scott, Kan. Fire the Jail. - Peru, Ind., Dec. 1.—The county jait here was the;scene of what nearly proved the dehth of three or four men. The men who. were put in for an overobservance of. Thanksgiving set fire to their beds and were almost suffocated before aid came to them. jDlsihlsfictl. Culver. Ind|, Dec.;l.—Capt. J. Q. A. Floyd, of Chicago, has been dismissed from the position qfcjiding master at the military academies; here on account of his arrest ait Louisville recen tly while attempting t<f> elope with Mrs. J. L. Benepe, of Indianapolis. Collesre Association. Indianapolis, Ind„ Dec. 1.—Nearly 50 presidents of Methodist colleges and universities throughout the country are here to attend the meeting of the College Association of the Methodist Episcopal church^ I-—_ Win tbe Championship. Lafayette, Ind., Dec. 1,—Indiana university won the state championship from Purdue by a score of 17 to 5. The game was witnessed by the largest crowd ever seen on Stewart field. Vincennes Won. Vincennes, Ind., Dec. 1.—The Vincennes university football team won the championship of southern Indiana by defeating the Bloomfield team by a score of 17 to 0. Found Dead. Goshen, Ind., Dec. 1.—Dr. M. M. Latta, aged 80 ^ears, a pioneer and the oldest practitioner in northern Indiana, was found dead in his office chair Thursday night.

nil m i« n The British Loss in Gen. Methuen’s Last Battle Was 438 Killed, Wounded and Missing. LOSSES OF THE VARIOUS COyMANDS. Of the Total Seventy-Three Were Killed Outright—The British Digesting Their “Butcher’* Bill”— tiea. Methuen Constructing • Bridge Across the Modder. London, Dec. 3.—As surmised the British dead and wounded at the hardfought buttle of Modder River number r hundreds. Up to 2 p. m. only the bare ; total, 43S, of which number 73 were killed, had been given out. So it is impossible to deduet “from the butcher’s bill” such information regarding the nature of the light as to losses of the different units.

The honiei by Commands. The revised li3t of Modder River casualties, non-commissioned officers and men, is divided as follaws: .Ninth Lancers^—One wounded. Engineers—Two wounded. Artillery—Three killed, 25 wounded. Second Coldstreams—Ten killed, 56 wounded. Third Grenadiers—Nine killed, 38 wounded, four missing. Scots Guards—Ten killed, 37 wounded, one missing. Northumberland Fusileera—Eleven kuled, 31 wounded. First Northumberlands — Three wounded. Second Yorkshire—Nine killed, -*4 wounded. First North” Lancashire — Thre9 killed, 11 wounded. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders —Fifteen killed, 95 wounded, two missing. „ First Coldstreams—Twenty wounded. South African Reserve—One wounded. Medical Corps—One wounded. A X OFFICIAL. DISPATCH. Th* British War Office Hears From Gen. ForestIer-Walker. London, Dec. 3.—The war office has received the following from Gen. Forest ier-Walker: Cape Town, Friday, Dec. 1.—Gen. Gatacre reports no change in the situation. , “Gen. French has made aNreconnaissanee from Naauwpoqrt to Eosmeud. The troops have returned. Gen. Methuen’s flesh wound is slight. He is remaining at Modder River for the reconstruction of the bridge. Am reinforceing him with Highlanders and a cavalry corj>s. Horse artillery, the Canadian regiment, Australian contingents and three battalions of infantry have moved up to the De Aar and Belmont line.” Reports Were Premature. From Gen. Foerestier-Walker’s dispatch it is proved’ that all reports of Gen. Methuen’s advance after the battle of Modder River were premature, though, with the railroad working, he should not be long in constructing a temporary bridge. His enforced delay, doubtless. will bq of considerable service in gitfng his hard-pushed column needful rest and in allowing the arrival of reinforcements, of which he must be sorely in need, after three such flghts, placing hors de combat upwards of 1,000 men out of less than 7.000.

Some Anxiety Relieved. Gen. Forestier-Walker’s announcement that the Canadian marksmen and other reinforcements have been pushed forward to the neighborhood of the Orange river, to protect Gen.Methuen’s line of communication, has relieved much anxiety here, where it was fully expected the Boers would attempt to attack the Vulnerable points of the line ox communication. The Latest From Natal. The latest news from Natal indicates that the bulk of the Ladysmith relief force ha* arrived at Frere, though there is considerable conjecture as to the whereabouts of Gen. Clery, whose movements have not been chronicled recently. It is surniised in some quarters that he may reappear in a totally unexpected quarter, on the flank or rear of Gen. Joubert’s force, which is supposed to be concentrated at Crobelaars Kloof, north of the Tugela ri er. As Gen. Hildyard’s advance guard was in touch with the Boers as long ago as Tuesday last, developments should not be long delayed. Stopped Short of the Trap. Dundonald’s mounted force, November 28, accompanied by four jjuns, went in pursuit of a body of Boers returning to Colenso. They followed the Boers to within two and a halt miles of Colenso, when the Boers replied to the British shells with longrange guns. There were no casualties. Colenso bridge, it is added, was afterwards blown up. p British Transport Ashore. London, Dec. 4.—The war office publishes the following dispatch from. Cape Town, dated yesterday: “The transport Ismore/is ashore on the jocks In St. Helena bay. The troops have been safely landed, but the horses are still on board. H. M. S. Doris and Niobe, with * the transport Columbian, have gone to her assistance. Col. Kokowich reports under date of Thursday, November-SO. that the British Natal police captuV^d the Boer laager west of KLmberty, Xov»?G?«r JfcS,

.-A' THE PENSION Seerctarr Hitchcock Rteoumndatio tract* from HU Sower report. “heock* the buin lift policies, were valueSpanish roll. tlon to 27. 1890, arding :tly detpprove* Isis loner 1890, be tus be indelabor. * isionnt of' in atin oonilng unas may Washington, Dec. 2.—'_ of Secretary of the Interior while summing up the workireaus. is of special interest its statements regarding At the close of the fiscal 901,539 pensioners, a decrease ing the year. The average of all pensions was $132.74. wasfprobably will Increase t.. during the current fiscal year Secretary Hitchcock urges , definitely construe the act of| relating to widows’ pension this he says: **In order to m fine the words ‘means of sup, tfite recommendation of the of pensions that the act of J ao amended that a pension granted to widows whose pendent of the proceeds olj U is not in excess of $250 per report also recommends legion? ity for biennial examinations ers; legislation prohibiting the ‘‘any compensation whatever torneys and agents for any nection with any claim or der the pension laws, excew ■■***$& **»» within certain limits fixed by cbhgrezs beallowed by the commissioner of pensions and paid from the pension money as now provided with respect to ‘claims for pension," and for the delivery free of any part paid letter or packet addressed to pension agencies. SS-wa/- * The. secretary’s report es.„. rigable area of the arid region States at 74.000,000 aeres, ca fortably supporting, under a tlon system 50,000,000 people. ^expenditures both by the fed' governments looking to a we? gation system are urged. | *posed new forest reserves or “those already established are eration. The Dawes commi the time has not yet arriy stallation of a territorial or ment in Indian Territory, ows^ lack of uniform land tenures. Attention is called to the phenomenal increase in railway traffic in the last two years, amounting approximately in increased earnings in 1899 over 1^98 te-$9.-000,000 and the previous year to $23,000,000. the increase being ohly limited by the lack of cars to carry products, ^ggsp' During the fiscalyear ended Jure 30. 1899, the public lands disposed - of aggregated 9,182,413.16 acres ^ the irUnlted of comr irrigasonable ijand state led irri50 proions to considreports » t#t the teste governa inly-tors The total cash receipts during thq^year amounted to $3,070,137.34, an iinyreaS of $792,142.16. ' $792,142.16. a - The total area of public lands is approximately fixed at 1,082,138.221 acres, of which 929,308,068 acres are undisposed of and 152,380,153 acres have been reserved for variomT purposes. ■'—excluding 5,320 Indians in New York and. 62,500 embraced in the five civilized tribes, the Indians number approximately 181,586, as against 180,132 reported last year.

REVIEW OF TRADE. November Somewhat Quletjfer Thao ** the Preceding Month—Price Situatlon Generally Strong. says: ive tmUy and ributive is been the preH makes respond-% weather dlstrib1s. The itly one ase corbf prices, tnaent, howiven an apNew York, Dec. 2.—BradstJ "Warm weather and a hoiidkyvi parted an appearance of irr even dullness to some lines trade, completing a month wi on the whole quieter than ceding month, but one which satisfactory comparison with jp ing period a year ago, when; conditions particularly favo utive business in seasonable ;! price situation generally is 1 of notable strength In view ditions. Farm products, it is $i?a& notably wheat and corn, have been weak and lower on unsatisfactory foreign demand and a bearish influence exercised by increasing supplies of the former grain. Other cereals are stronger, howeyer. Provisions have been lower, largely on increased receipts of hogs, but lard has beensteady on good export demand. Iron and steel are even quieter than ihey- were week ago, and -some Shading more in the nature of readjust ever, than of weakness, have < pearance of irregularity. This feature of the week has been the agreement upon iron ore prices, placing the price, for th«*.eoming season, as was intimated in this dfelumn last week, at nearly double jthat f»id at the opening of the present season. The industrial situation has been 1 rather improved by the practical agreement upon a •sliding scale system in the New England cotton manufacturing districts. Some further advances in wages of railway employes and of glass v/orkers are to be noted, and some strikes of coal miners have been settled.” R. G. Dun & Co.’s weekly review of trade says: “Business continues wonderfully large, prosperous and healthy. As the detailed statement of failures by branches of business cannot be made until next week, it seems well to say that in four weeks failures have been reported amounting to $6,848,590, against $S,110,475 in the 'same weeks of last year, $11,610,195 in 1897 and over $12,000,000 in 1IN5 and also in 1895. the volume of solvent trade represented by exchanges at the principal cleaning houses has been for the month 22.o per cent, greater than last year and 46 per cent, greater than In 1892. In many lines the volume of business has been larger than in October, notwithstanding the extraordinary; flood of buying ever slnc4 the beginning of last March. •. “Failures for the week have been 144 in the United States, against 2S1 last year,and 21 In Canada, against 19 %st year.” instllKas :^es’ PUBLIC I^RESTLESS

Suppression perntlnjs pic In Saspemej ofl War Sew* Is Kxasand Leaves tie PeoLondon, Dec. 2.—Absolute silence has fallen over affairs in South Alma. The war office has not jet received Lord Methuen’s casualty list. The public and the press, hitherto patient, are beginning to murmur at the apparently needless delay .which keepsJttany families^ a state of painful suspense. It is regarded as practically certain that Lord Methuen has been reenforced by half a battalion of the Gordon Higiblanda regiment of cavalry and a haters, tery of artillery, and thatfDe Aar - is being daily reenforced byfetroops to hold the lines of communication1: It Nis supposed that the cental advance has been delayed by^the necessity of getting supplies to Tietermar* itfburg; but not a word emanates fronr any of the various commands. TOWN TOPI Baltimore claims the largest negro, population of any city in the world. An experiment is being tried in Detroit of allowing the firemen one “day off” in five. •- fe. A searchlight has been added to the; equipment of the New York fire department to help the men in dark halb ways and corners. Lexington, Mass., is making preparations for an elaborate celebration it intends to have April i&, 1900, of thn, one hundred and twenty-flijh anniversary of the battle there.