Rensselaer Republican, Volume 28, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1896 — Page 2

THE REPUBLICAN. J— ' GEO. E. MARSHALL, Publisher. BinsUAlß. - - - INDIANA.

NEWS IS SUPPRESSED

HAVANA CORRESPONDENTS * V MAKE PROTEST, Tredict Recall and Personal. Disgrace for Weyler—Flood of Counterfeit Coins in the East and West—Morton Stirs Up Congressmen. Wexler Is Warned. The Havana. Cuba, correspondents of Madrid journals are indignant at the refusal of Gen. Weyler's press censor to allow them to cable'the facts, to Madrid, and they say if Gen. Weyler continues his present efforts to conceal the truth from the Deqple of Spain, who’are making so many sacrifices to supply the necessary sinews of war, he is doomed to early recall and personal disgrace. The representatives of the Liberal and the Heraldo of Madrid find themselves compelled, owing to the ridiculously rigid censorship at Havana, to send the bulk Pof their dispatches to Key West for transmission therefrom. The Lucha, in a significant editorial, makes between the lines a most vigorous protest, warning Gen. Weyler that neither politicians, nor generals who would be popular and successful must forget that the flress is,often mightier than the sword and cannot be trampled upon or snubbed with impunityV that the whole world respects it, and that no hand, however despotic or arbitrary, can absolutely control it. Unwritten victories add little luster even to a soldier's glory. T Seed Question Bobs Up Once More. Secretary Morton has again' thrown down the gauntlet to the members of Congress over the seed question. He has incorporated in his report a special communication of how Congressmen dispose, of the seeds which are allotted to them and he has even gone so far as to mention them by name. Most of them'have distributed their seeds around among country newspapers, agricultural societies. Grand Army posts, public officials, and chairmen of local political committees. The members of Congress are niuclT .wrought up over this curious addition to the Secretary's report and they declare that it is-a gross violation of the courtesies between the executive and legislative branches of the government. While many of the members of Congress admit that the seed business is in some cases ridiculous and generally on»y a political maneuver, they say it is not becoming in an executive officer to fill up his report with arguments for or against any law, but* that on the contrary his whole duty is to execute the laws as he finds them, leaving to Congress to assume the responsibility for the enactment of the statutes. Just Like Good" 'Money. The annual report of 11. E. Preston.' the Director of the Mint, states there is no doubt that the silver coins of the United States are now being counterfeited, exactly .similar to the genuine in size, w’eight, and devices. Some of .these coins cannot be distinguished from the genuine even by experts. A dangerous counterfeit silver half dollar has made its appearance in the East and- West, the weight of whfMi is 192 grains, with a fineness of .567%, while the weight of thy genuine is 192.9 grains of the fineness of .900. The profit to the counterfeiter is now about 100 per cent. So far the best known protection against tire counter--—felting of coins has been found to be the lettering placed on the edges, similar to that on the first coinage of the United States or the 5-franc pieces of France. The Director recommends that authority be given the Secretary of the Treasury to have experiments made to determine the best means of preventing the counterfeiting, or at least minimizing the danger

Confirmation of Osgood’s Death. Delegate Palma at New York received a letter, dated Nov. 8, from Gen. Calixto Garcia, confirming the news of the death of Maj. Winchester D.jOsgood, the Cornell student. Special correspondence of the New York Herald gives the following details: Osgood commanded a Cuban battery during the recent siege of the town of Guaimafo. On the second day of the siege, while Maj. Osgood, under heavy fire from the Spaniards, was training one, of his pieces on the forts, a Mauser bullet struck him in the forehead. He uttered the word, '•Well,” and, bending forward on his cannon, hugged it and breathed his last in behalf of Cuban liberty. The news of his death deeply impressed President Cisneros and the commanding officers, all of whom had great regard'for the American officer. Young Osgood was the son of a United States army officer,'who was until recently stationed at St. Louis. Mo. Osgood entered Cornell in the fall, of 1888 and became a star oarsmen, foot-baal player, and all-around athlete.

NEWS NUGGETS.

Portions & Mitchell, dry, goods (Jealers at Midd let own. »n n.. a nneu nc<xl tha t on. March 1 the business there will be closed. No cause is given. This company is a branch of a concern having stores in Norwich. Conn., New York State, Michigan and Illinois. Mr. Bayard, United States ambassador to the court of St. Jnines, has written to the Lbridbn Daily Telegraph under date of Saturday, declining the proffered Christmas gift intended as a compliment to him and in honor of his efforts to bring about an era of good feeling between the United States and Great, Britain. He has asked the propriefors of the newspaper not to proceed to carrj otft their “kind and generous proposition” aloAg the lines planned. Peacock, Dunwoody & Hough, retail, dry goods dealers at Atlanta, Ga. t made an assignment to Willis E. Ragan. Liabilities, $53,000; assets, $71,000. The J. E. Owens Drug .Company of Kansas City, Mo., has' failed as a result of the Missouri National Bank failure. The bank 'holds notes of the firm aggegating $11,250, Armstrong & Brother, Jlio-oldest firm in. Eldorado, Ark., dealers in general supplies, have failed. Liabilities, $00,000; assets, about the same. The stock was ■old to Ritchie & Co. and H. P. Sinead •f Camden. ■.

EASTERN.

> William Steinway, the New York piano manufacturer, died Monday at his residence. The administration building of the New Jersey State Institution for Feeble-Mind-ed Children at Vineland took lire and was destroyed. Loss, $26,000. No lives Mt, ?. AD the factories under the Control of the Fittaburg Plate Glass Company in the country resumed operations in full Wednesday, after a long idleness. Eaeh factory,employs hundreds of hand* I The National Council of Administration

of the G. A. R., with Commander-in-chief. T. S. Clarkson in the chair, 1 met at Buffalo, N. Y., Monday. It was decided by the committee to have the encampment in Buffalo the last week of August, beginning, Aug. 23. During the ineeting a' telegram was received by Chief of Staff Winans from President-elect McKirfley as follows: ”1 will be pleased to see; Gen. Clarkson and staff in Canton on Wednesday.” ✓

WESTERN.

George E. Frost had his leg broken in a collision on the Pasadena and .Pacific, electric road. Mayor Edward T. Burke, of Rawlins, Wyo., hhs been arrested, charged with passing a bogus cheek. Fire which originated from a lamp explosion, destroyed the works No, 2 of the Variety Iron Companyht Cleveland. The loss will be between $40,000 and $50,0Q0. Burglars entered the National Bank of Belleville, Kan., and blew ‘off the heavy front door of the' vault with dynamite, but failed to get into the money safe. Quite a sum of money and diamonds valued at $350, belonging to private parties, were taken from outside drawers. John Tod, of Cleveland, of the-firm of Tod, Co:, son of ex-Gdv. Tod of Ohio, and recently appointed a member of the state bouse improvement board, dropped dead in the Chittenden Hotel at Columbus - Thursday morning. Death is believed to have been caused by apoplexy. The Missouri National Bank at Kansas City, Mo., closed its doors Monday morning, owing to the heavy withdrawals of one of its principal depositors,, The deposits are $1,500,000, but a statement of the bank's assets and liabilities is not yet obtainable. The bank, was classed one of the.strongest in the Southwest. . The fight Wednesday night between Sharkey and Fitzsimmons at ‘San Francisco, Cal.; was given to the former in the eighth round. Fitzsimmons in this round landed a left hook on the chin and the sailor went down and out. The referee. Wyatt Earp, claimed that while Sharkey was falling Fitzsimmons struck Sharkey in the groin with his knee. Sharkey was carried out unconscious.

Mrs. Mary J. Sweringen, of St. Louis, has won her famous suits against the city and the St. Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern Railway Company. They involved possession of $85,000 worth of real estate on the river front near Dock street. She claimed title on the ground that the property was accretions from the river to land she owned which had been left high and dry by the deposits of years. Four masked robbers, supposed to be headed by ‘.‘Dynamite Dick,” held up Storekeeper Ernest Powell at Ingram, 0. T., and made him deliver S3OO. After .securing the money and while leavipg the store the outlaws were fired on by Powell. The fire was returned and a farmer nantod Ellis, who was in the store, was shot. The robbers are supposed to be the same who held up the postmaster at Floyd Tuesday night and secured $1,264. Tuesday Secretary Carr, of the Chicago health department, set fire to the old smallpox hospital at 26th street and Sacramento avenue.—An hour later the old ruin Was burned to the ground and the possibility of its spreading disease germs Was past. The hospital had not been in use for several months and had been a source of much annoyance to health department officials, and the children residing, in the neighborhood insisted upon making daily visits-to the wreck for the. purpose of-carrying away firewood.

Two hundred people, led by a screaming washerwoman who had just been fobbed of the only dollar she possessed in the world, chased Edward Rogers, a pickpocket. in Wes't Madison street, Chicago, Thursday night and took part in a battle between the thief and the police in a dark illey near by. Finally. after one policeaan lay on the ground badly yonnded by i bullet from the robber's revolver, after •i street car conductor had been shot through the hand, ami after the face of mother policeman had been filled full of Obyder and bis. Clothes pierced with bullets, the crowd, the policemen, and the screaming washerwoman closed in on the thief and the policemen stretched him on the ground with a blow. 1 There were other minor casualties.

The Chicago Evening Post says: “An eight-round prize-fight between Eddie Santry and Jimmy Carroll, of Omaha, was ‘pulled off’ in the County Hospital in the small hours of Tuesday morning, and was witnessed by about twenty-five >f the employes -and young doctors, .who ire on duty in the hospital and in the pay if Cook County. There was a purse made up by those present and the occasioii was the closing number on the program for the farewell reception given to Chief Clerk M. R. Mandelbaum, who is to become chief deputy coroner, and who leaves the hospital Monday. From the reception and ball given in Mandelbaum’s honor in Columbia Hall the favored ones who were ‘on.’ retired to the large room in the tower over the'front driveway in the main hospital building and proceeded to business shortly after midnight. The room is on the fourth floor and the ‘ring’ was a square for this" fight, and a brussels carpet, paid for by the taxpayers of the county, was the turf from which the two fighters sprang at each other.”

SOUTHERN.

The much abused game of foot-ball and the dt-ajHy-eigaret- must -go,—That- is the purport of two bills introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives. Rev. M. B. Hill, formerly missionary to China, was stricken with paralysis while delivering a sermon at the Bentonville. Ark., Metholiist Episcopal Chutch South Sunday morning. The churoh was crowded, and when the sermon was about half through the . minister reeled and fell backward into the pulpit chair. Excitement ran high in the congregation. Dr. C. H. Cragile, a particular friend, with others, helped the afflicted minister, who is still alive but slowly dying. A natural gas explosion at Moundsville, W. Ya., Tuesday: night, followed by fire, destroyed the SIO,OOO dwelling of V. A. Weaver. The sensational (feature was the fact that five persons in the house when its, roof was lifted into the air and its four walls were blown all escaped with slight injuries. Mrs. Weaver,/ her-6-mcmth-old baby and 4-year-old sou were thrown from a seeond-story window into the front yard with no harm to the baby. The servant girl, at the back, kitchen door, was blown across a lot, and the plumber, whose carelessness caused the explosion, came off with a few scratches. A rich and extensive discovery of rock phosphate has been made in Tennessee. The deposits underlie four counties ip the vicinity of Nashville—Davidson, William-, son, Rutherford, and Maury. The rock lies in a vein averaging from* three to twelve feet in thickness, and is but ten feet below the surface. The commercial value of the discovery it is impossible to estimate, but the output will be very rich, Mr. Clark, of the firm of Pratt & Clark; chemists, of Atlanta, while in Nashville some four weeks ago on business, passed some pien digging a sewer. He picked op a piece of the soft, crumbling yellow rock. had it analyzed, and found it 82 per cent pure phosphate. George W. Scott, a capitalist of Atlanta, was informed. He. with a "crew of picked laborers, went Jto Rushville. All the property near the location of the sewer

was bought up, the vein fallowed, and farms bought wherever the rock was found. The fertilizing companies of Chicago managed to get a generous tslice. It is said Philip D. Armour has a chemist and representative in the field, who are looking for more land.

WASHINGTON.

■ It is probable that early in the session of Congress one of the niches in the wall of the Senate chamber at Washington made for the reception of busts of,those who have held the office of Vice President will be filled by a. marble bust of John C. Breckinridge. It is thertvork of James ’Voorhees and has just been completed and turned over to of tire capitol. 'The bust is commented upon by those who knew Mr. Breckinridge in life as a thoroughly, accurate production. The President has issued a proclamation suspending after January nest Jjje operations of the act which relieves German vessels entering United States ports from the payment of ttcfnnage dues and other' shipping charges. This action was taken upon proof that American vessels are denied corresponding privileges in German ports. The shipping charges under our laws are based on a sliding scale. The President’s action doubtless will '*Widespread interest’ jn shipping ' circles. The President's lamation will go into effect the morning of Jan. 3, after which date-thtf vessels of .Germany entering our ports must pay shipping charges ranging on' a sliding scale of from 6 to 30 cent's per ton per adtiuna. The comparative statement of the receipts and expenditures of the United States shows that during November, 1895, the total receipts were $25,210,696 and the expenditures $32,26Q,720. The receipts for the five months of the year amount to $131,650,489 and the expenditures to $171,5977335. The deficit for the month of November, therefore, is $8,050..024,. and for the five months $39,946,846, as compared with $15,869,337 for the corresponding five months of last year. The receipts from customs during November amounted to $9,930,385; from internal revenue, $13,104,828. and from miscellaneous sources, $2,175,482. This is a loss in customs, as compared with November. 1895, of $1.524,920. a gain from internal revenue of $64,744 and a gain of $684,379 from miscellaneous sources.

FOREIGN.

Four persons were killed at Nanterre, France, as the result of a boiler explosion in a carbon factory. The damage amounts to SIOO,OOO. The Beaver Line steamer Lake Ontario, Capt. Campbell, from Montreal for “Liverpool. was so delayed by violent gales and head seas that her coal supply became exhausted and she was compelled to put into Queenstown Li Hung Chang is in trouble again, and is said to have contemplated resigning his official position. The Emperor of China has deprived him of a year’s salary because he entered the imperial park and hunting-ground without permission. Fire in Forster Square, Bradford, London, a big triangular block occupied by forty finds, caused damage which exceeds <51,500,000. The fire originated in Johns Holdsworth & Sons’ block, which was, almost gutted. The offices of the Anglo-American and Commercial Cable Companies and about forty firms were burned out. The massacre, of,Senor Cecchi, the Italian consul at Zanzibar, the captain's of the; Italian worships Volturno and Staffetta, and six other Italian officers by the Somalis at Magadoxo oh the coast of Somaliland, East Africa, took place Saturday,,Nov. 28. The party was accompanied by seventy-Askaris, and was jon a trip into the country outside of Magadoxo When the Semalis attacked the Italians.'Jiilled all the whites and also killed -Hrirt'xbt the Askir.as: —— '■ 7. £.■ —— .

IN GENERAL.

Bishop Walker, of North Dakota, has decided to accept the election of the Episcopal diocese council as bishop of Western New Y’ork. Obituary: At Sydney, Australia, Sadie McDonald, the soubrette. —At Philadelphia, Capt. Jam&s Reynolds, a Mexican war veteran, formerly of Mascoutah. 111. —At Hillsboro, 111.. Rev. William T. Cole. —At Ashland, Ohio, Don F. Taylor.—At Terre Haute, Ind., Prof. Heich. valuable pointers for American bicycle makers who desire to introduce their machines into Germany are contained in a report to the State Department by United States Consul Tingley, at Brunswick, Germany. He predicts that the German market will next year grow to very large proportions, and by proper methods American manufacturers can secure a good share of it. They must, however, begin at once to perfect their plans, for the campaign will open veryearly next spring, and the next season will see in Germany as great enthusiasm for the sport as now exists in the United States. The Consul says the German Wheels are heavy, clumsy And of poor material, but because their price is lower than that asked for the.high-grade Amer-, lean wheels and because the latter are persistently misrepresented by the Gerr man merchants the Americans have been' Jtept out of the market.

MARKET REPORTS.

Chicago—Cattie, common to prime, $3,50 ToTsu.'so;-~Fogs.'^sEipping'grades. $3.00 to-$3.75; sheyp, fair to choice, $2.00 to $3.75; wheat, No. 2 red, 79c to 80c; corn. No. 2,.22c to 24c; oats, No. 2,17 c to 19e; rye, No. 2. 41c to 42c; butter, choice creamery, 22c to 23c; eggs, fresh. 22c to 24c; potatoes, per bushel, 20c to 30c; broom corn, common green to fine brush, to 5% per pound. Indianapolis—Cattle, shipping. $3.00 to $5.25; hogs, choice light, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, common to prime, $2.00 to $3.75: wheat, No. 2,91 cto 93c; corn. No. 2 white, 21c to 22c; oats, No. 2 white, 22c to 23c. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.00 to $4.00; hogs, $3.00 to $3.50; Wheat, No. 2. 93c to 95c: corm__Nd. 2 yellow, 21c to 22c; oats. N57~2 white, 19e to 20e; rye, No. 2,36 e to 38c. ’ ’ , Cincinnati—Cattle, $2.50 to $4.75; hogs,' $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $2.50, to $3.75; jwheat, No. 2,94 c to 96c; corn} No. 2 mixed,.22c to 23e; oats. No. 2. mixed, ISc to 20c; rye, No. 2,40 cto 42c. Detroit—Cattle, $2.50 to $5.00; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep. $2.00 to $3..50; wheat. No. 2 red, 94c to 95c; corn. No. -2 yellow, 21c to 24c; oats, No. 2 white, 21c to 22c: rye. 40c to 41c. ■- Toledo—Wheat, No. 2 red, 96c to 97c; corn. No. 2 njixed, 21c. to 23c;‘oats, No. 2 white, 18c to 19c; rye. No. 2,40 cto 42c; clover seed, $5.35 to $5.45. -Milwaukee—Wheat. No. 2 spring, 79c to 81e; corn, No. 3,23 cto 25c; oats. No. 2 white, 20c to 22c; barley, No. 2. 30c to 35c; gye, No. 1,40 cto 42c; pork, mess, $6.50 to $7.00. ’ BuffaloMlattle, $2.50 to $5.00; hogs. $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $2.00 to $3.75; r wheat, No. 2 red, 99c to $1.00; corn, No. 2 yellow, 25c to 27c; oats, No.l 2 white, 23c to 24c. ' . 5 New York—Cattle, $3.00 to $5.25; hogs. $3.00 to $4.50; sheep, $2.00 to $4.00' wheat, No. 2 red, 89c to 90c; corn. No. 2, 28c to 30c; oats, No. 2 white, 22c to 24c; butter, creamery, 15c to 25c; eggs. Western. 20c to 25c.

FEAR A GREAT FLOOD

DANGER AT CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN. z Water Held Back by the -Enormous Ice Gorge Threatens to Inundate the Whole Valley—Fitzsimmons Loses the Fisht on a Foul. Chippewa Falls’ Disaster. A calamity distressing' in its results and in some respects unique is that which has befajjfen the people of Chippewa Falls, Wis.,'Xv6ere an ice gorge forming in the river has damped up the water, causing it to overflow and flood the surrounding territory. The extent qf the disaster and the formidable nature of the elemental forces causing it may be conceived from the fact that within a very short time the river has risen to a height of twenty-four feet. There is danger.of its changing its course and 'flowing into the town. As it is;’ the little place is flooded, buildings on certain streets being submerged to. |he second story. Theiuhabitants are ’getting away apd carrying as much of tljeir property with them as possible. Not only Chippewa Falls, but several adjacent towns, ■’must suffer unless the gorge is broken within a very short time. Immense quantities of dynamite have been exploded!’ with a view to breaking the gorge. It is reported that nearly 9,000 people are homeless, and-the intense cold makes their situation worse. At the time ibis is.'written the watpf is still rising, with little hope of breaking the gorge. The Chippewa River is twen-ty-eight feet above low-water mark. All places of business on Spring, River and Lower Bridge streets are vacated. One rumor tq_ the effect that the river would cut out a passageway for itself through the high banks north of the Wisconsin Central Railroad bridge gave rise to great apprehension. The river’s course is seriously obstructed by the gorge, that has reached' within a short distance of the dam and the turning 4if the course of the stream upon the city seems l so plausible that every one is panic-stricken.

THE ICE GORGE AT CHIPPEWA FALLS.

Scene from the wagon bridge looking toward the Chippewa Falls Lumber Company’s mill.

The river presents a terrible appearance. The ice gorge is forty feet high, and backing water on the city at the rate of a foot- an hour. Poor people are suffering terribly.from the cold. The Wisconsin Central depot and tracks are under water. All business is done over the Northwestern line. . The city is iri eomplete darkness, as gas and electric light service are shut off by the water. The Chicago,Milwaukee and Bt. Paul has suspended its service through the Chippewa Valley, being unable to get a train through the flooded territory’. Logs and limbs of trees are strewn many feet high on the track. On low grades the water rises many feet above the ties, and high enough to extinguish the engine fires. An engine and coach that went out to the low lands below Durand came back

DISTRICT THREATENED BY FLOODS.

with two score of women and children on board who were driven 'from > their homes by the water and were found nearly" dead from exposure and cold. The engineer said he could not finish the trip on account of the rising water. It looks at this writinggis though the entire city will be inundated. A great number of visitors are at the scene of the ice gorge. To realize the great danger it is only necessary to visit the banks of the Chippewa. It is a dou-ble-headed danger that is threatened. What means relief to, Chippewa Falls will luring devastation to Eau Claire, Durand and other points below. The ice jam will likely remain intact, perhaps for months, and only natural causes can break it. The condition of affairs was considered at a, business men’s meeting in Eau Claire, but it was felt that no hbmau agency could relieve the situation.

TREATED LIKE A WILD BEAST.

Insane GfiH of Denver . Chained to the .'WaTUby Her Parental Bound to iron rings anchored in the walls and caged like a wild beast, Grace Solomon, the daughter of a wealthy pawnbroker of Denver, has raved for the past seven months in a condition and under surroundings the most terrible.. Her condition is the result of investigation of spiritualism, it being charged that her mind,was affected by spiritualistic demonstrations. She was taken to the little' room and when she. .became violent was chained to the wall, where her condition became worse and, where the most common wants of human kind were denied her. J. Soiomon, herjfather, is one of the wealthiest men of the West, an old-time pawnbroker, who counts his- cash by hundreds of thousands. The case is the most terrible ever brought to the attention of the penver authorities. Two railway laborers named Carey and Hoftkins attempted to burn their way out of the Mena, Ark., jail and. the fire got beyond their control and burned the building. Both men perished.

LOSES IT ON A FOUL

Fitzsimmons Fails to Get the Decision Over Sharkey. The fight between Robert Fitzsiinmon? arid Thomas Sharkey in San Francisco proved the most sensational in the

FITZSIMMONS.

was trying to speak, but could not be heard. Then it was learned that Referee Wiley Earp had awarded the fight to Sharkey on a claim of foul. It w t as claimed that Fitzsimmons struck Sharkey ip the groin with his knee as the latter was falling. Fitzsimmons, protested and the crowd hissed and groaned. In the eigth round Fitzsimmons soon had his man going and went at him ferociously. A right-hand swing staggered the sailor and then came ! a left-hand swing, and a left-arm punch under the chin that sent, Sharkey over with a thud. While the marine was falling the referee claims that Fitzsimmons struck him in the groin with his knee, thus committlngafoul. Sharkey was undoubtedly badly-, .hurt. His seconds rushed into the ring arid raised him up, but he fainted away and was borne from the ring unconscious. Hardly any one among the spectators saw the foul, and the decision was received with hisses and groans. ' No event in the history of pugilism on the Pacific coast ever attracted so much public attention. Between 15,000 and 20,00 people ocupied aH the available space in the big Mechanics’ pavilion and watched the contest, which every one regarded as practically deciding the championship of the world. The long, lean

New Zealander, who had had a succession of victories in the United States for the last five or six years, entered the ring with almost every apparent advantage in his favor. He could count upon his experience and .science, his height and reach, and every other quality which enters into the making of the successful prize-fighter. Against him was the sailor lad, tfho was unknown six months ago, but who rose to fame recently when he came perilously near trailing in .the dust the colors of California’s idol, James J. Corbett. . .*.<

BABES DIE IN SMOKE.

Chicago Woman Locks Her Little Ones in the Home and They Smother. In Chicago Mary Bartovich locked her four babes in her hovel while she went to search for coal along the railroad tracks. It took her two hours to find 5 cents' worth. She was delayed longer than she expected, because the lumps were few and far between. The babies grew. restless and, ransacking over the single living room, found a box of matches. They lit a candle which sat with tin dishes on the home-made table. They lit all the candles they could find in the house. The curtains caught fire. The bureau full of clothing burned, All the old coats and rags about the walls were fuel for the terrible tragedy which was being enacted. There was no air for a flame. The wood in the floor and the bare laths in the ceiling caught the spark. All the cracks in the side-walls had been boarded for the winter. The coals smoldered and smoked. The whole inside became a furnace which heeded only a breath of air to stir it until it should ent through the wood and give an alarm to the neighborhood. The mother, knowing the value of coal picked lump by lump in a sack, had provided that no breath of air should get in during her absence. The provision was deadly. The babies raced about the room until all the crude furniture was overturned. They then rushed into the -little box hall and huddled in the corner. ,They each had a rag held tight over the mouth. They were found dead side by side, the rags still coveting the faces as witnesses of the desperate thoughtfulness of the eldest—Joseph—barely in his sixth year. The mother returned home about noon and was almost Grazed at the discovery of her little ones dead.

PERISH IN THE BLIZZARD.

Reports of Suffering and Death from North Dakota. It is a week since a train arrived in Langdon, N. D. The storm was Recessively severe in that section, and the temperature dropped to 30 degrees below zero. Three persons are known to have lost their lives and several others are missing. Mrs. Mikelson was frozen to death in her house and a nian *id his wife succumbed to’ the cold while fleeing from the fire. From Emmons County a pitiful case of suffering and death is reported. A Russian family named Belovitzy used all their firewood in the storm and had torn down and burned n part of the house. This let in the intense cold, and the whole family—father, mother and three children—were found frozen to death. There is a wood and coal famine in that section, the farmers having bought sparingly because of high prices! Mail Agent Burroughs was buried in the drifts three miles west of Devil's Lake. The body of William E. Herron, sheriff of Plymouth County, was found frozen stiff and badly braised by the side of the railroad track near Merrill, lowa. Half a dotfen steamers tare said to be bound tight in the ice along the north shore of Lake Superior, and it will be impossible to release them. A snowstorm of almost unprecedented severity for this season of the year broke upon Atlanta, Ga., Wednesday morning. Snow began falling al 8 o'clock and fell without cessation until 11, when it lay four inches deep, ' .

LAND IS GOING FAST.

SECRETARY FRANCIS* ANNUAL REPORT. ,j Hts Statement Shows thatthe Country Is Being Rapid’ly Settled---Big: Sums for Pensions—Problem of the BondAided Railroads. H ri-1 . s Uncle Sam’s Domain. The annual report of Secretary of the Interior Francis was made public Friday. Itproposes absolution of the vexed problem of the bond-aided roads, deals exhaustively With the.pension administration, reviews the progress of-the Dawes commission negotiations and touches upon various matters of especial significance in the West. The report opens With a discussion of the public domain. It" shows that the total number of acres disposed of up to June Jjl last was 946,000,000, leaving public domain still vacant estimated at over 600,000,000, not including the tlistri. tof Alaska, with an area of over 369,000,(XX) acres. Since the homstead act was passed, on May 20, 1862, there have been 162.891,132 acres entered by homestead settlers, Of' this "almost To3,f)oo,()ooacres will all.be patented when the legal conditions have been made. Of the remainder 42,000.000 acres represent entries cancelled. The tpfa! irnmhpE.' of‘ taltteral-eritries’ up-to-date is 29,820; patents to railways and wagon roads since the first grant was made reach 55,729,751.acre5. There have been 335,691,752 acres disposed of by preemption, cash sales, scrip,’locations, military bounty’ laud warrants, town sites!, desert land, timber culture, timber and stone entries, Indian allotments and donations to settlers.

history of the ring. Sharkey w-a s knocked down with t a left crook on the ja w i n the eighth ro u n d and was carried u n c o n s cious from the ring amid great excitement. Some confusion followed* w h i Qh the crowd did not understands, F i t z s immons

Rapidly Settling the Country. The total grants of lands to the various States aud Territories up to March 12 last, aggregated 181,868,630 acres, in addition to agricultural college scrip for 7,830,000 acres. The total of all lands segregated from the public domain aggegates 946,219,160 acres. The report says: “These figures demonstrate that the country is being settled with great rapidand—that- is-being diminished by great strides. If the rate of disposition of the last thirteen years, which is 25.(100,000 acres a year, is continued for thirteen years to come, there will be little of the public domain outside of Alaska in possession of the government at the expiration of that time.” Discussing forest reservations, the report says no permits to cut-timber on public lands should be granted for any purpose other than to supply the needs of actual settlers in the neighborhood of the forests where timber is to be cut arid should be accompanied by all possible safeguards. Secretary Francis urges upon Congress the necessity for legislation for the reclamation and disposal of lands within the arid regions. Unless the Carey act could be amended so as to give the State power to pledge lands for thejr reclamation. he says, it would be better to place the lands under the direction of the States only so far as may be necessary to secure their reclamation for the benefit of actual settlers.

The total amount paid by the government in pensions and thfe cost of disbursing the same for the last thirty-one years is $2,034,817,769. This lacks only a little over. 8346,712,500 of being eqirril to the high-water mark of the. interest-bearing public debt- The present number of pensioners, which is 970,678, is greater by 4,666 than in 1893, when the maximum annual cost was reached, and is greater than ever before. This is due to the death of old soldiers and the continued payment of allowances to their heirs, while the amount paid is decreased through the death of invalid pensioners leaving no dependents. The pension policy of the department has been to make the pension list a roll of honor rather than to save money ,to the government; the effort has been to defeat the designs of impostors, while recognizing the claims of the needy and deserving. General public sentiment, however, is that the obligation of the government is confined to. those who fought for its maintenance and those dependent upon them. The total number of our pensioners in” foreign - countrics was 3,781 , who were paid 8582,735. Inerease.of from $8 to sl2 a month is recommended for all wholly disabled and destitute Mexican war survivors Treating with the Indiana. Under the head of Indian affairs the Secretary repeats the recommendation of his predecessor for a commission of three, one of whom shall be an army officer, to take the place of the commissioner and assistant commissioner of Indian affairs. With regard to the dispute over the Uncompahgre Indian reservation in. Utah, in which valuable deposits of asphaltum have been discovered, Secretary Francis expressed the opinion that the commission which treats with the Indians for the allotment «>f their lands totally misunderstood the agreement of 1880, by which the Uneompahgres were removed from Colorado. The Indians declined to pay $1.25 an acre for the lands allotted to them because they were led to believe that the purchase money would come out of their trust fund of $1,250,000, which furnishes them $50,000 per annum. . This is not the case. The purchase money would not disturb the tihist. fund, but would eventually come okt of the proceeds of the sale of their Colorado lands. The commission was dissolved last February. Under the head of bond-aided railroads the Secretary says ,he has complied with the joint resolution of June 10, 1896, requiring him to eoittinue the issue of patents to bona fide purchasers of lands sold by bond-aided railroads, but he says he declined to issue patents io all surveyed lands on the application of the Central Pacific. With regard to the Nicaraguan Maritime Canal Company chartered by the government in 1889, thSecretary says a preliminary report of the company submitted to him shows that jio work was done during the present year, j In conclusion the Secretary calls attention to the cramped quarters in the Interior Department, the large sum paid for rent annually—reaching $46,000 last year —and earnestly recommends the' erection of another structure on a block adjacent to- the present building adequate to accommodate all branches pf the department.

Fire in thg coal sheds of the Boston and Maine Railroad at the rear of the State prison at Charlestown, Mass., did .'fSO.iMHJ damage. Rev. J. Morganwell, of the First Baptist Church, died nt Fort Worth, Texas, of apoplexy. He was one of the leading ministers of Texas. The United States gunboat Bennington has finished taking on coal at San Francisco aud will sail for Callao in the wake of the Philadelphia. The canal? of the State of New York were officially closed by order of tho Superintendent of Public Works. Active work on the improvements is to be begun at once. At a meeting of the Royal Society at London medals were Prof. Roentgen for his ray discoveries, and to. Prof. Moissan for his discovery of the isolation of the element flourina.

Sparks from the Wires.

FINANCES OF THE GOVERNMENT.

StatemenA of the Public Debt and Other Fiscal Matters of Interest, The statement of the public debt, issued Tuesday, shows that on Nov/30, the debt, Jej? S * n t^Je treasu ry, amounted to $995, <69,159, an increase for the month of $8,270,203. This increase is accounted for by the corresponding decrease in the amount of cash on hand. The debt is recapitulated as follows: Interest-bearing debt, $847,364,520. Debt on which interest has ceased since maturity, $1,591,620. Debt bearing no interest, $372,170,117. Total, $1,221,126,257. „ This does not include $567,523,923 in certificates and treasury notes outstanding, which are offset by an equal amount of cash In the treasury. The c£sh in the treasury is recapitulated as follows, cents omitted: Gold, $169,527,101. ... Paper, $109,616,155. , Bonds, disbursing officers, balances, etc., $17,137,872. Total, $835,961,529, against which there are demand liabilities amounting to $610,604,481, which leaves a cash balance in the treasury of $225,357,098. The comparative statement of the receipts and expenditures of the United States shows that--during' November, 1896, the total receipts were $25,210,696, c and the expenditures $32,260,720. Tho receipts for the fivWmonths of the fiscal year amount to $131,650,489, and the expenditures $171,597,335. The deficit for the month of November, therefore, is $7,050,024, auditor the five months $39,946,846, as compared with $15,869,337 for the corresponding five months of last year. The receipts from customs during November amounted to $9,930,385; from internal revenue, $13,104,828, and from miscellaneous soruces, $2,175,482. This is a loss in customs, as compared with November, 1895, of $1,524,929; a gain from internal revenue of $64,744, and a gain of $684,379 from iscellaneous sources. . ’ The monthly statement of the Comptroller of # the Currency shows that on Nov. 30 the amount of national bank notes in circulation was $235,312,103, an increase for the month of $414,446, and for the last twelve moot Its of $21,440,907. The amount of circulation based on United States bonds was $216,609,684, an increase for the month of $99*470, and for the last twelve months ■of $26,140,158. The amount of circulation secured by lawfql money was $18,702,410, an increase for the month of .$314,776, and a decrease for the last twelve months of $4,699,351. The amount of United States registered bonds oh deposit to secure circulating notes was $241,272,150, arid to secure public deposits $15,903,000. The statement’ of the director of the mint shows that during the month of November, 1896, the total coinage at the mints of the United States was $7,458,722, of which $5,064,700 was gold, $2,305,022 silver and $89,000 minor coins. The coinage of standard silver dollars during the month Was $1,914,000.

WILD BEASTS GROW BOLD.

They Are Troublesome to the Wisconsin Lumber Camps. The lumber camps in Northern Wisconsin are considerably annoyed this winter by the depredations of wild animals, more particularly the wildcat and the lynx. It has come to be impossible to leave a shoulder of beef outside the cook-shanty over night without its being attacked by the fierce animals which have become so numerous that the woodsmen furnish am-

READY FOR A SHOT.

munition to any man who wants to take a gun and wait for the appearance of the brutes. These is a bounty for the delivery of scalps of the lynx, wildcat and wolf in the State, and it is expected that there will be many claimants for it this winter. The wolves and wildcats are much more numerous than they havd been for years past and have encroached upon the limits’of civilization; Timber wolves ar di frequently seen on the outskirts of South Superior. A settler from Eyman Lake, Gustave Peterson by name, reports that the pests are unusually numerous in. that vicinity. Peterson brought to town with him a big wildcat, which weighed thirty-five pounds, and two lynxes of the “booted” variety, the larger breed. Peterson shot the wild cat about a week ago. One night after he had turned in there was a hurried knock at his door and a much frightened lumber camp hand told him that he ha’d been visiting a neighboring camp, and on the way back had been followed by a couple of wild cats. The man was in considerable fright, but Peterson took down his # rifle and went out.. He saw a glaring pair of eyes and fired, bringing down his game. Tho other animal got away. The next night Peterson shot the lynxes, which were prowling about the clearing. The wild cat was of unusual size. It is very seldom that they will follow man, but it is reported from the more ’remote districts that the lumber jacks will not venture out in the woods after night unarmed.

HORSELESS MAIL WAGONS.

Postoffice Department «Will Expert* ment with Them in New York City. A scheme to use horseless mail wagons in New York City has been proposed, by Second Assistant Postmaster General Neilson. One of the vehicles is in the courseof construction, and the experiment will be tried soon. If the horseless wag-

HORSELESS MAIL WAGON.

ons should prove to be a success mail taken from the street boxes and sorted during the collection from box to box at the end of the trip can be taken direct to postal cars. Thia change would relievo the pressure at the branch stations and the general postoflice,