Plymouth Tribune, Volume 3, Number 19, Plymouth, Marshall County, 11 February 1904 — Page 1

HF TUT 1BUNE Recorder's OQce VOLUME III PLYMOUTH INDIANA, THURSDAY, PEBBUAKY 11, 1904. NO. 19

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HOHOHBHt CITY SWEPT

BY RED RUIN Loss May Overtop That of the Great Chicago Fire. BUSINESS CENTER IS 111 ASHES Water Has No Effect on the Fury of the Destroying i , Flames. DYI7A2TITE IS ALSO USELESS Fireproof Buildings Cannot Stand Before the Onset, and the FTreFightere Ceaiw Their Efforts in Despair. NwÜ Chicago, Feb. 8. The territory burned by the Chicago fire of Oct. 9, 1871, amounted to 2,100 acres, involvinz n loss of over $100,000.000. If the estimated loss in the Baltimore fire Is correct the total loss there will exceed that of the Chicago fire by at least $10,000,000. Mayor Harrison has telegraphed th? governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore the sympathy of Chicago and offering "to the fullest extent ma terial aid." Xew York. Feb. 8. Shortly after 1 a. m. the fire department here recelved a request from Baltimore for help. Seven engines and crews were dispatched as ' soon as they could be got ready and shipped. Baltimore, Feb. 8. The fire which broke out at a few minutes before 11 A. m. yesterday in the wholesale dry ioods house of John E. IIuTst & Co. has raged with unrestrainel fury continuously, and at midnight it was-etill unchecked, but was steadily eating its consuming way eastward on Baltimore street, after having destroyed alujost all of the large stores and warehouses in the wholesale district around Hopkins place, and all tbe buildings on both sides of L'aitimore street from Howard to HoDiday street, from Charles and Baltimore to Charles and Lexington, and on Fayette street from Charles to Holliday, including a total of about twenty blocks of the most modern and substantial buildings in Baltimore, involving a loss which can not now be estimated, but which is es timated at this writing at from $30, 000,000 to $40,000,000. Oceans of Water Without Effect." From G p. m., when darkness came, tha fire department, although aided by engines from "Washington, Philadelphia, Wilmington and other points. was utterly powerless to make any ef fectire resistance to the consuming element, though for hours as many as 400 streams of water were thrown Into the flames. Indeed, so terrific was the heat from the time the fire started, and eo dense and suffocating the volume of flying sparks and burning cinders, that it was diflicult for the firemen to stand long within fighting distance of the flames. Flehten Resort to Dynamite. At 7 p. m. the situation was so des perate that Chief Horton decided that the only thing left to do was to dyna mite buildings at threatened points, and thus prevent, as far as possible, a further spread of the flames. In pur finance of this plan several buildings on South Charles street, between Ger man and Lombard, were blown up. Subsequently the splendid structure of J. W. Putts & Co., notion dealers, at Charles and Fayette streets, was dyna mited, and then The Daily Record building, Boss' drug store and others. FIRE DEPARTMENT PARALYZED gtop Helpless to Stay the Cyclone of Fiery Des traction. This heroic remedy merely delayed but did not seriously impede the on ward march of the conflagration, and for two hours or more at this writing the fire department has stopped, prac , tically helpless and resourceless in, the face of the roaring furnaces which send their fierce tongues 200 feet into the air. and which fill the heavens first with a pall of black, funereal smoke, and then with livid sheets of sparks and lurid cinders. Following the rapid destruction of the palatial commercial buildings in the wholesale district the cyclone of zzzilzz ie3 burst into IXaltfmcra

Itreet, licking up within a few mlnutoi the seven-tory Mullin's hotel like somt Insatiate monster, and rapidly rollinf

with Irresistible force both eastward and westward, cutting down in Its wrathful wake wholesale and retail houses, manufactories, shops,. Jewelry stores, furniture emporiums and restaurants. " f ; At Charles street the remorseless tide swept on down Baltimore street, but also turned into "Charles street, where it quickly engulfed tbe elevenstory Union Trust building. . Starting eastward on Fayette street, the publishers and other occupants of Th Daily II era HI building at Fayette and St. Paul street and of The Record building opposite were, compelled to vacate by the onrushlng flames, as were the occupants of the Calvert and Equitable structures, two of tbe most massive ofiice buildings in Baltimore. Down Baltimore street a parallel wave of roaring, crackling flames ate its way, consuming everything In its course, speedily reaching The Evening News building,-from which the employes had to hastily flee, though tot until , valuable records had been removed.' Shortly thereafter the Continental Trust company, a fourteenstory' building took fire. A block below The American newspaper building was enveloped in clouds of sparks and burning splinters and the employes were ordered out. FIRE ENTIRELY BEYOND CONTROL Hospitals Emptied of Their Patients - Many Firemen Are Injured. ' Later. The financial district, including the chief banking and brokerage firms on South and German streets, seems to be now doomed and scores of the city's leading financiers and busi ness men are scurrying in and out of their offices heavy, pack ages or placing valuables in convey ances. At 10:40 p. m. the roof of the building occupied by the Associated Press took lire and the employes were compelled to vacate, though they had time to take away with them their telegraph instruments, typewriters and other valuable equipment. At this hour the fire is absolutely be yond control, and all occupants of buildings in the center of the city are rapidly removing their valuables. The city hospital, corner of Calvert and Pleasant streets, is removing to other hospitals as rapidly as possible the twenty-four patients in that Institution.Seventeen injured were brought to this hospital, most of them firemen. They were suffering from burns, scalds and lacerations. Nearly every physician In the city js in the fire dis trict. So far as known at this hour no one has been killed. Detachments of the Fourth and Fifth regiments have been called out and are pa troll inj; the streets in the vicinity cf the fire, guarding property and keeping order. Fortunately thus far the conflagration has not reached the residence portion of the city, but firc3 are breaking out In east Baltimore, and the indications are that the residence streets are doomed to be invaded. The Baltimore r.nd Ohio railroad of fice building has lcen destroyed, and so has the Maryland Institute of Art building. At 11:45 p. m. the tempo rary custom house adjoining the post office caught tire. One hundred and fifty iHjliceinen from Philadelphia arrived here to assist the Baltimore police and military. DESCRIPTION OF THE RUIN Member of the Staff of a Homeless Baltimore Paper Talks. Washington, Feb. S. A member of the staff of the Baltimore Sun, who came over with the force from that paper, which reached Washington last night, said that the fury of the fire was beyond description. "You cannot imagine it; you cannot imagine it, he kept repeating. The scenes of, gigantic destruction he had witnessed seemed to have impressed themselves upon his memory to the obliteration of every other idea. "I have seen big fires In New York and Chicago," he said, "when block after block would fall before the sweep of the flames, but nothing that approached In .terrible fury the catastrophe that fell upon Baltimore today. The flames swept down the streets with the onward rush and fury of al tidal wave. Great billows of fire 200 feet in height would fill the space between the buildings and, sweeping from side to side, would blot out of of existence a skyscraper as though it were a box of matches. "The Union Trust building and the Atlantic Trust building shared this fate. One moment they stood in all the stately beauty of stone and marble; a moment later and they were not. The flames would dash against their sides, beat in th massive walls, leap from windows and roofs and then would come the col'apse. The Union Trust building, one of the handsomest in the country,' seemed to my mind to vanish almost as I looked. The ,city was a mass of whirling, burning, blinding embers. In The Sun ofiice, where we sat at work over our desks, the copy paper would burn as we wrote. In the streets the embers fell in sheets, and rose and fell again, as the swift wind carried them along. Everywhere were drawn and anguished faces, and the marks of desolation." - - The burned district of Baltimore Is the heart of the business section, Including the entire wholesale trade and a great part of the retail trade. In the district were all the Important business and office buildings, 'all' the newspaper offices, two hotels, the Central bulging cf the Baltimore and Ohio rcllrccd, tho city hzl tire court hours,

ihe postofflce' building, the Western Union and Postal telegraph offices, the Bell telephone building, police headquarters. Holliday street theater and several of the Important banks.

NO TRLEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION Western Union and Associated Pre Operators nuntiat New yuarter. Paltimore and Ohio Railway, Camden Station, Baltimore. Feb. 8. .At 2:30 this morning the Western Union telegraph operators that abandoned their burning. building to go to the Baltimore and Ohio, depot office . at Camden station to resumed their work have not as yet been heard from. The corpsof Associated Pressoperators that had twice been burned out during the night also started for the same destination, to resume sending the press dispatches, taking with them their "copy," have failed to appear. It seems probable from this fact that all of the telegraphers have been hemmed la by the fire in such manner that it was impossible for them to reach their destination, thus making It necessary for them to take a round-about course of several miles. It is also possible that they are hemmed In between the fire dis trict and Chesapeake bay. In the lat. ter event they would be compelled to take boats to a point opposite Camden station. This party of operators and other employes, also newspaper men, must have numbered 100 or more. Later. Mr. Adams, an employe of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, says that at 2.50 a. m., the fire is within two blocks of the Camden street sta tion. Adams says he hardly thinks it possible for any of the Western Union people to get through for some time. FIRE DISTRICT A MILE LONG And a guarter of a Mile Wide Loss Beyond Estimate. Baltimore, Feb. 8. The fire con tinues to spread In an easterly direc tion and continues beyond the control of the multitude of firemen. 'Hundreds of residences east of Jones Falls are threatened by the rapidly extending flames. The burned area is over a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide. The loss from the lire will Iks so gigantic that it is beyond estimate at this time. In addition to the direct pecuniary loss will be the immense amount of loss by the necessary inter ruption to building while firms whose places ore destroyed are rr 'king ar rangements to resume business, CONDITION OF SENATOR HANNA No KadlcaJ Change, but III Weakness More Marked and His Tempera tare Higher. Washington, Feb. 8. Senator Hanna passed the day without any radical change in his condition. His extreme weakness was more marked than heretofore and h!s temperature was a little higher. Those attending him, however, insist there is nothing significant in these conditions and that there are no developments on which to change their expressed belief that the outlook is hopeful for the senator's recovery. The bulletin given out immediately after Dr. Ilixey made his call about 0 a. m. follows: "No decided changes 1i Senator Hanna's condition this morning. Temperature, 101.C; pulse, 00." This was a rise of C-10 of a degree, in twenty-four hours and of one and six-tenths since Friday morning, when the first official announcement was made of the presence of tjrphoid. The 4 p. m. bulletin said: "Senator Hanna .is doing well. The heart's action Is good and there are no complications." FIRE RESULTS SUMMARIZED Property loss: Building inspector says the loss in buildings alone will reach $150,000,009. Extent of territory burned ovor, 140 acres, embracing seventy - five squares. Number of persons out of work, 50,000. Duration of fire, twenty-eight hours. Paltimore, Feb. 9. Baltimore Is staggering under a fire loss which no one has the temerity to put into figures. The Important commercial district Is blackened ruins, laid bare by a conflagration which raged without a momentary check from 10:45 a. m. Sunday until late in the afternoon yesterday. At 3 p. m. yesterday the city ofliclals again breathed. It was agreed that the flames were under control. They had raged twenty-eight hours, in spite of almost superhuman efforts put I forth by the best fighting forces which more than half a dozen cities were able to muster. - Residence Section Is Safe. 1 The city is overcast with gloom. The only lights in the burned district are those from the smoldering ruins. The only lights in that section which escaped destruction are from corner gas lamps. The stores are closed in nearly every street. The darkened avenues are full of jostling people talking of one t subject. Apparently there is but on cause for gladness, and that Is that there are none homclecs. The residence section of the city escaped. This phase of the situation relieved the cQcials Jrom any thought other than the saving of property. Finally Stopped at 3 P. XX. . At 7X p. m. yesterday the Associated Press sent out "a bulletin saying the flames would be held in check at the Union docks and prevented from lea pizz Jenes Falls and placing the en-

tire city east of there iii jeopardy. At 3 p. no. that bulletin was confirmed. A score of times flames of Are were found lapping the sides of lumber piles on the east bank of the falls. ' In some Instances the lumber was tossed tnto the falls, and this with similar heroic measures stayed the onsweep of fire. ' , SEYEN SCORE ACRES IN ASHES ' Embracing- Seventy-Five SquaresInsurance Men Fear to Estimate. "Throughout the terrible contest in which firemen and Are Waged for upremacy humanity was handicapped by a gale "which carried burning brands over the heads of the workers and beyond the reach of Aha hundreds of streams of water poured into the raging furnaces. , But for the work of volunteers in seeking out and extinguishing these embers it Is almost certain the burned area would have been tw'ee larger than it is. "About teventy-flve squares, or 140 acres are la acres, extending from Lexington street on the north to Pratt street on the south, from Liberty street on the west to Jones Falls on the east Insurance companies have opened temporary offices in the Lexington hotel, but their representatives decline to estimate the loss. The answer of one Is typical . of all: '"It's too bic. JWe have not figures to describe it. Make it above $100,000,000. That' the best we can do." The same indecision was true In regard to estimates concerning insurance. The city was early placed under martial law, and thus all danger of looting in the doomed district was eliminated. Word is received that General Corbin, of Xew York, Trill be here today to take command of the federal troops. The presence of two regitneuts of malitia as an adjunct to the police, which were augmented by details from Philadelphia and Washington, resulted In the maintenance of the best of order.

DYNAMITE STOPPED THE FIRE Fifty Thousand Men Out ef Work IlulldInf Loss Alone Is 9130,000,000. Dynamite explosions were constant all day. The programme adopted of blowing up buildings in an attempt to stay the progress of the flames was coii'inupd until the fire wasunder control. Then the dynamiters turned their attention to razing tottering walls Which threatened to collapse . The result was almost constant cannonading, and the detonating was heard In all parts of the city. With the fire under control the blackened waste which lies in the wake of the sea of flames presents a view that can be likened best to an ocean of great coke ovens, each shooting out Its thousand tongues of flame. This Is ail that is left of what were once handsome office buildings, j-torage, -wholesale end business houses of all kinds. Business men. prosjK'rous Sunday morning, are poor today. Colonel J. Frank Supplee, a competent authority on factory statistics, estimates that the number of persons thrown out of employment will reach oO.OOO. Inspector of Buildings Preston, after making a careful study of the burned district, placed the building loss alone at $1 ."0,000,000. It Is feared that aid must come from adjacent cities an,d a partial famine will be an added phase of the situation. Restaurants are entirely without food, and tlwugh they say they will be. able to feed their guests it is admitted the variety will be lessened at once. Preparations are being made to rush supplies from New York In order to avert suffering in homes. NO CALL ISSUED FOR HELP Bat Proffers of Assistance Come from Maujr Quarters. 1 So far there has been no call for aid. Proffers of assistance have come from many quarters, from sister cities, from corporations and from private citizens, but, Baltimore at this time cannot say whether or not it will be needed or accepted. The board of managers of the chamber of commerce met at the Hotel Bennert After a brief discussion It was unanimously agreed that owing to the chaotic condition of business it was necessary to ask the governor to declare a legal ten days holiday, and to also ask for an extension of thirty days on all legal papers. At Annapolis a relief bill Is to be offered making an appropriation of $230,000 for the relief of the destitute, to be dealt out by the governor and such commission as he shall name. The legislature has passed the ten days relief bill and It is a law. ' President Roosevelt, at the request of Governor Warfield and Senator Gorman, and with the promise that the state legislature would at once adopt a resolution asking for them, ordered a force of United States troops to Baltimore. The force was under command of General CorDln who, after looking over the situation, reported that the state could do all the police worked needed. - FIRE IN EAST BALTIMORE Pluck and Good Luck Prevent Another ' , Terrible Conflagration. Baltimore, Feb. 9. Good fortune and plucky fire fighting by four of the Baltimore fire companies saved the city from another serious fire yesterday afternoon. A burning brand fell on the roof of the Maine Ice company's plant at Wells and Phllpot streets, across Jones Falls in east Taltimore. The tar roofing of the frame structure became quickly ignited, and in a short time the building was in ruins. So great was the heat from the ice, company fire, that the Sonnebaum Chemical company's plant next door caught.

fire, and was also destroyed. In the cellar of the chemical company was stored many thousands of gallons of gasoline used in .the business. . Four of tbe Baltimore engines were all that could lie spared for this fire, and although the firemen were aware of the presence of the gasoline and were driven back by the fumes of the chemicals they fought gallantly and prevented an explosion. This fire was half a mile from the eastern edge of the big fire, and in the very heart of the lumber districts. Had It gotten away from the firemen and the gasoline exploded East Baltimore might have burned all the way to Canton, the extreme eastern end of the city. NOT A LIFE HAS BEEN LOST

Nor Single Person Dangerously HurtMillions In Safes. Baltimore. Feb. 0. Not a single life has been lost, and not a human being has been even dangerously Injured. The hospital lists consist of minor burns with the exception of Jacob Inglefritz, a fireman from York, Pa. He has a fractured leg and is badly burned. Vhlle there were no casualties to speak of the great army of fire fighters performed many daring feats in their desperate attempt to stay the flames. Many times they were driven out of close and hot places just as walls came toppling down. The last large building to fall a prey to the flames down along Jones Falls, nearly caught five men. They were on the roof when a warning shout went up. They found their way to a tin gutter, where one by one they hung on, stretched out their arms and grasped a telegraph pole which was planted close to the structure. They slid down and had not reached the ground when the roof fell in with a roar. This was only one instance. As the financial district, is Included in the burned territory there is untold wealth hidden In the blistering and warped vaults of banks and safe deposit companies. Experts who have given them as close examination as possible express the belief that tbe contents are safe. As a result of an examination of the new custom house building it is almost certain that the entire structure must be torn down and rebuilt, so great is the injury found to have been done bj' the fire to th? granite and steel walls of the bu;M:::g. It has so far cost $350,000. It is the general aire ir.ent that the service given by the u h'graph companies has probably not been equalled and certainly never surpassed in such an emergency. Congress to Help l'aitimore. Washington, Feb. 9. A bill has been introduced by Representative Emiren, of the relief of sufferers from the Baltimore fire. LASHED FOR TALKING Ills Talk Bein?, It U Alleged, Calculated to Itale Excitement Among the Negroes. . Roanoke, Va., Feb. S. Taylor Fields, a negro who was charged with talking about the assault of Mrs. Shields and her little daughter in a way calculated to Incite the blacks, was taken from his home at Salem by a mob of several hundred men, and with a rope around his neck taken to the main street cf the town, stripped to the waist, bound to a telephone pole. and unmercifully whipped with pieces of electric light wire and sticks. Three negroes, one of them a preacher, have been driven out of Roanoke for their talk about the Shields case. The mayor has, since these occurrences, discharged the militia, which had been held under arms for a week to prevent mob law. SHIFT OF WIND SAVED HIU A. K. Allen, Who Started on a TVagrer to Walk Across the Laie on the Ice. . Muskegon, Mich., Feb. 8. A shift of wind from the east to the west saved A. E. Allen from perishing on a floe in midlake by driving the ice back to shore. Allen started to walk across the lake to Milwaukee on a wager. For forty miles "ho drifted about on a field of ice that had. been detached by the wind. He made a landing six miles north of Muskegon pier and was in an exhausted condition from exposure. " . Quesada Would Like Expedition. Washington, Feb. 9. SenorQüesada, J the Cuban minister, had a talk with Secretary Hay respecting the possibility of early action by the United States senate on the pending Cuban treaties, one the general treaty enunciating the Piatt amendment and the other the Isle of Pines treaty. The situation as to these conventions is becoming. very uncomfortable to both governments. Work of Some Miscreant. - La Crosse, Wis., Feb. 9. An "explosion in the mill of John Scarbahn, of Lewis Valley, partly destroyed the mill and injured two persons. Scanbahn, who was near the machinery was struck by stone and badly bruised. Florian Yeager was severely injured. The only theory to account for the explosion is that some miscreant placed dynamite in the machinery. Fifty Workmen Killed. St Petersburg, Feb. 9. Fifty workmen were killed by the caving in of an embankment on the Warsaw-Vienna railroad. In the course of their work the men dug into an old smelting works which had been buried beneath the Une for thirty years. An explosion followed. Besides', the men, killed many were frightfully burned.

JAPAN OPENS " THE FIGHT IN THE FAß EAST

Her Torpedo Boats Get to Woik at Night with Effect. tMe warships are disabled By the Audacious Tactics of the Mikado's Sailors. JAPS FIEE ON THE FORTS Lirtle Damage Done Port Arthur Harbor Blocked by Disabled . .Warships-Hay Writes an Identical Note. Rome, Feb. 10. Official advices received here from Tokio say that four battalions of Japanese infantry have landed in Korea near Seoul. St. Petersburg, Feb. 10, 1 a. m. The following official bulletin has just been Issued In the form of a telegram from Viceroy Alexieff's chief of staff, dated Feb. 9: "By order of the viceroy I beg to report that this day at about II o'clock in the morning a Japanese squadron consisting of about fifteen battleships and cruisers approached ' VICEROT ALEXEIEFF. Port Arthur , and opened tire. The enemy was received with a cannonade from the shore batteries and the guns of our squadron, which also participated in the engagement. Reports the Russian Losses. "At about midday the - Japanese squadron ceased its fire and left, proceeding south. Our losses in the fleet were two officers wounded, nine men killed and forty-one men wounded. On the shore batteries one man was killed and three were wounded. The battleship Poltava and the cruiser Novik each had a hole knocked in her side below the water line. The forts were slightly damaged. "Major General Flug." JAP CREEPS CP. IN TUE NIGHT His Torpedo Boats Account for Three ol theHuscovlte's Ships. London, Feb. 10. The following dispatch is from Chefoo, dated, Feb. 9: "The steamer Columbia has arrived from Port Arthur. A member of her crew tells this story of the naval battle there. 'The Columbia was lying in the roadstead, surrounded by fourteen Russian battleships and cruisers. At 1150 o'clock Monday night a severe shock was felt on board the Columbia. The Russians 'immediately commenced to operate searchlights, and opened fire towards the sea. The Airing lasted only a short time. 'At 1 o'clock more shocks were felt, and the Russians again 'commenced firfng. "The Japanese did not return the fire. At 2 o'clock two Russian battleships went In and were beached across the entrance of the harbor. They Were soon followed by a Russian cruiser, which also was beached. None of the vessels was damaged above the water line. More shocks from torpedoes were felt during the early morning and then all was quiet. This morning the Russian forts opened fire on the Japanese fleet, which was about three miles distant The Japanese vessels returned the fire, hitting several of .the Russian ships, but doing little damage.' "The Russian fire fell short. The two battleships disabled are the Poltava, and Czarevitch. The disabled armored cruiser Boy lam and the rrounded battleships . block the entrance to the harbor, preventing gun

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boats from going out and battleships and cruisers from going In and getting coal. Besides this Japan has the Russian gunboats Variag and Koretz, caught at Chemulpo. "The Japanese fleet was under the command of vice Admiral Togo. The Columbia steamed away while the battle was in progress, but later saw the Japanese fleet leave. It consisted of sixteen or seventeen vessels."

TWO MOKE Sil IPS DEFEATED Probably the Cruisers Korletx and Varl? at Chemulpo. Tokio, Feb. 10. It is reported here that the Japanese fleet engaged and dfeated two Russian warships, whose names have not yet been learned, at Chemulpo. It is said the engagement began at 11a. m. and continued until 3 p. m. The smaller Russian vessel is reported to have been sunk, and the larger one fired- and hopelessly disabled. A part of the crew are reported to have escaped to the shore and to have been captured. The Japanese ships are reported to be slightly damaged. Official confirmation of the report is unobtainable. It was reported that the Russian cruisers Korletz and VarJjg were lying at Chemulpo, and it is possible that they were the vessels reported to have been engaged. UNCLE SAM MAKES A MOVE Seudt an Ident ical Note to the Powers la China's ItehalC Washington, Feb. 10. Secretary Hay Las addressed an identical note to a number of European powers to ascertain if they are willing to join in a notice to Russia and Japan that during hostilities and thereafter the neutrality aud integrity of China must be recognized. Details of the note are not obtainable in advance of the receipt of replies. It is learned, however, that the proposition of the United States also contemplates a restriction of hostilities and the consequent hardships of war to the smallest possible area. It Is understood, relative to the last question, that the proposition took the form' of a note to Russia and one to Japan, suggesting some such limitation. In addition the neutral powers were called on by the United States to address themselves in the same fashion to Russia and Japan, and it Is intimated that these suggestions have been well received. Taris, Feb. 10. United States Ambassador Porter culled at the foreign office and conferred with M. Delcase, the foreign minister. The principles of Secretary Hay's note to the iovcrs are identical to those which have been the features of Trance's Chinese iolioy, but in view of the outbreak of hostilities it is believed hero that M. Delcasse will want to inform himself of the views of the other powers, and especially Russia, on this matter before committing the French government. RUSSIA PRKSENTS II HR VIKWS Lays all the Trouble to Japan fur Wantins Too Mtu lu St. Petersburg. Feb. 10. A long official communication gives the Russian account of the negotiations which led to the rupture. "Iist year." says this foreign office note, "the Tokyo cabinet, under the pretext of establishing the balance of iover and a more settled order of things on the shores of the Pacific, submitted to the imperial government a proposal for a revision of the existing treaties with Korea. Russia consented. Although the exchange of views with the Tokyo cabinent on this subject were of a friendly character, Japanese social circles and the local and foreign pres. attempted in every way to produce a warlike ferment among the Japanese and to drive the government into armed conflict with Russia. "Under the influence thereof the Tokyo cabinet began to formulate greater and greater demands in the negotiations, at the same time taking most extensive measures to make the country ready for war." Russia, the statement says declared herself ready to recognize Japan's privileges, commercial and economic position in Korea, but insisted on these three points: A mutual and conditional guaranty of this principle; an undertaking to use no part of Korea for strategic purioses, as the authorization of such action on the part of any foreign power was directly opposed to the principle of tbe independence of Korea; the preservation of the full freedom of navigation of the Straits of Korea. Then Japan began to Insist on bringing Manchuria Into 4he negotiations, the statement says, and that "such demands on the part of Japan naturally were inadmissible, the question of Russia's position in Manchuria concerning in the first place China, but also all the powers having commercial Interests In China. The Imperial government therefore saw absolutely no reason to include in a special treaty with Japan regarding Korean affairs any provision concerning territory occupied by Russian' troops" and declined so to do. Chicago Fire Costs f 350,000. Chicago, Feb. 10. Fire that started In the factory of the Chicago Table company at -Twenty-first and Allport streets, destroyed that plant, the Iwx factory of J.. J. Wintermeyer and the establishment of the Chicago Picture Backing company. The loss Is estimated at $350.000. One fireman, X. C. Marggraf was fatally hurt. Burglars Wreck a Rank. Chicora, P.. Feb. 10. Burglars wrecked the interior ,of the Millers town Deposit bank in an effort to loot the safe. They got $Ti00 in mutilated currency which was in the outer safe, but is not known whether they cot any mere.

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