Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 36, Number 138, 27 March 1911 — Page 1

Tho Palladium Mao 7,000 More Circulation Than All the Other Papers In Richmond Combined

t: RICHMOND PAULABIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM. VOL. XXXVI. no. i:w. RICHMOND, IXD., MONDAY EVEXIXG, 3IAIH II ti7. 1911. SINGLE COPY a CENTS.

LOF CALLED BACK City Attorney Finds the City Must Advertise for Bids for Franchises, Necessitating a Change. CITY MAY BENEFIT FROM THIS ACTION Eastern Syndicate Will Probably Offer Competition, Which Should Mean Reduction in Rates. MAYOR IN ANGRY MOOD Says that Secrecy Shown on Water Works Company's Proposition Is Not a Play for Hammond. In an amendment to tin net concerning municipal cor itorat ions, Is the following clause: "Ami provided farther that the department of public works t least twelve months before the exllratlon of any such contract or contracts (contracts for furnishing gas. water, etc., to city or citizens), which re, or may hereafter be In force, hall by publication once each week for two successive weeks in a news jropcr of general circulation in such rlty, give notice that It will receive bids for such supplies. When this clause was found by City Attorney A. M. Gardner, yesterday, In Investigating the water works pro)Hsitlon. an entirely new Ikht was thrown on tho situation. What has been done up to this time . by the board of works was ordered thrown out when the board met this morning. The company then withdrew its pro)Ksal. Will Receive Bids. City KtiKlneer Charles was ordered to draw up plans and specifications for h water works plant In Richmond, defining the Mandard of water, amount of pipe lines and other iMtints. This will be tiled In the engineer's of fice as noon as completed. Then, ne cording to the salute, the contract to furnish water to Richmond will be bid for, by at least two companies, it is thought. Immediately following the announcement of the board that It would recelvo competitive bids, the Kit hinnnd water works company withdrew Its proNsal and will probably submit a new one, calling for lower rates on water supplied both to the rlty and Individual consumers. K. M. Camplleld. representing an eastern syndicate, notified the board of works that his company would submit n bid for the contract, with the Intention. If receiving It. to construct n water works plant here. Board Was Premature. "The hoard was premature In Its pet Ion on the water works case," declared the city attorney, when he read the law referred to above. "No." cried ' Mayor Zimmerman, we won't put it that way, for the board was all right. We were going along the lines we should. The board hadn't done anything yet, nor were we going to Just yet." Hut Attorney Gardner stuck to his opinion, lie declared afterwards to n reporter that there is no reason why the board should not give out now the water porks company's proHsal. lind the board's counter proposition. "It looks to me like there's nothing to It but a fttht between the newspapers and the board," Gardner observed. "There's a good deal of tomfoolery on both sides. The board is rontrary. The mayor has declared ou won't get anything until he gets ready, and I suspect he's right. As far as I am personally concerned, though, you could have all of it." After the board had finished wph the Water Works quccHon, and nnotii(Continued on Page Eight.) THE WEATHER STATE Fair In the South; snow in the north portion tonight. Tuesday fair. LOCAL Cloudy; much colder tonight; Tuesday fair. HIGH SCHOOL OBSERVATORY. HIGH 8CH00L 08SERVAT0RY. Maximum. 53 at 4:00 o'clock A. M. tlday; temperature dropped 6 degrees In 15 minutes accompanied by a thunderstorm and hall; continued to fall Kteadily to 32 degrees at 1 1 : no and is ntlll falling, ltarometer fell steadily since Friday noon but has been rising since 6:00 A. M. Conditions Ideal for rold wave. High pressure Indicates fair weather, but colder; low pressure indicates warm weather, but rain.

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WATER WORKS

Is Not After Minority Leadership

Representative Joseph G. Cannon, of Illinois, for eight years speaker of the house of representatives and known as the "Iron Man'" of American politics, who, it is said, will not seek the leadership of the Republican minority when congress convenes. Two men mentioned for the position are Representatives Weeks of Massachusetts, and Mann of Illinois.

ARE TALKING OF MAYORHABINET Would Be Success if Night Sessions Were Held Regular Office Hours. City officials generally concede that the mayor's cabinet Is a failure, as held by the present administration, lint there are a few city officials who are askiiiK themselves. ' Why let it continue to he a failure?" Mayor Zimmerman haa Mated that he "doesn't think much or u major's cabinet." flood can come of a mayor's cabinet, It ia said. Several sessions of the cabinet have leen hold during the last few months, when the majority of the heads of departments reported "everything In good condition. Nothing doing," then the meeting adjourned. "Hold the cabinet meetings a certain evening each week in the council chamber." says one of the officiate, who has been studying the situation. "Let every one of the department heads be present and give a decent report. Invite the business organizations In to give their views on city affairs." This Is, he claims, the logical way to have a cabinet meeting that will do some pood. At the present time, it is admitted, some of the department heads don't have time to net to the meetings. Kspecially is this true of the crematory and municipal light superintendents, and dairy inspector, who are very busy men. At night, however. It Is claimed, all these difficulties would be overcome. Whether or not the mayor will be asked to change the time for his cabinet meetings cannot be ascertained at present although it is believed a request for nisht sessions will be made. Another objectionable condition at the city hall, according to some of the officials, is the fact that the mayor and president of the board of works have no regular office hours, and often when wanted by persons on city business cannot be found. In Richmond the prevailing custom among mayors has been to be in office only when the board of works meets, or a short time after police court. The president of the board is in the office about the same length of time, according to one official, and there are at least fifteen calls for him during the day, when he is absent. It is saiil that complaint has come in from one or two sources about this matter. It has been suggested that the mayor have regular office hours, also the president of the board should stay in their offices to hear complaints and suggestions of citizens. There has even been talk of an ordinance which would make it compulsory for. at least the president of the board to spend certain hours in office. MUSICAL CLUBS IN BIENNIAL MEETING (Amertcun Xews Service) Philadelphia. Pa.. March 27. Many delegates arrived In Philadelphia today to attend the seventh biennial convention and festival of the National Federation of Musical clubs. A notable feafnre of the four days' session will le the concerts at which prize eomp--sitions in tin recent competition under the auspices of the federation will be rendered. Another Interesting feature will be a symposium oa public school music.

RICHMOND NEEDS GOOD CONSCIENCE

Declares Rev. E. G. Howard in Address Sunday at the Y. M. C. A. Building. In a very interesting address delivered at the men's meeting held at the Y. M. C. A. yesterday afternoon, the Rev. E. G. Howard, pastor of the First English Lutheran church of this city, declared that the greatest need of Richmond w;s trained consciences for all its people. Men who are interested in different kinds of work the Rev. Howard said, will say that the greatest need of the city is improvement and Increased efficiency along lines affecting their work, but in his opinion it is a trained conscience in every individual which will reduce wrong doing to a minimum and raise the moral standard of the community. As an illustration of the difference of opinion as to Richmond's greatest need, the minister said the commercial men of the city believe' traction facilities for the convenience of suburban residents are of paramount imlortanee. while men interested in educational matters are equally positive in their opinion that better educational advantages are the greatest need, despite the fact that the educational status of the city is now above the average. Ministers, also, he said are not unbiased In their opinion and are ever ready to declare the increased efficiency in religious organizations is what Richmond needs most. A trained conscience, however, which will not permit any one to commit a questionable act on the grounds that it is all right for this thing or that, the speaker said, was his version of the greatest need. There is too much of a tendency for men's conscience to yield to various things not altogether right, he said, and a training of conscience to prevent this could not be but of great benefit to the community. ROME EXPOSITION WAS INAUGURATED (American News Service) Rome, March 27. The International exposition, for which preparations have been making for many months was formally inaugurated today by King Victor Emanuel. The event was accompanied by brilliant ceremonies In which representatives of many nations took part. The exposition is one of the leading features of the national celebration in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the kingdom of Italy. ATLANTA VISITED BY LABOR CHIEFS (American News Service) Atlanta. Ga , March 27. President Gompers Secretary Morrison and other prominent officials of the American Federation of Ijibor came to Atlanta to'ay to attend cn anniversary celebration of the Atlanta Federation of Trades and a'so to discuss arrangements for the annual convention of the American Federation of Labor, which ia to be held here next November.

COUNTY JAIL NOT II GOOD PLACE TO

KEEP THE E Sheriff Steen Greatly Aroused Over Action of County Council on Insane Ward Question. HUMANE SOCIETY IS ASKED TO SEE JAIL Sheriff Thinks if People Realized Conditions that a Remedy Would Be Applied Promptly. Ia severe criticism of the Wayne county council in refusing to aporopriate funds of the county for construction of an insane ward ni the

county infirmary, she riff Albert Steen ' rrecto sympathizers fought a runMonday stated that the Wayne county ! ning battle fifty miles west of Del Rio,

humane society could well devof some of its time to investigating conditions at the Jail, as to its facilities for caring for the insane. The charges coming us they do from the custodian of the insane makes them all the more sensational. The sheriff does not hold that the fault lies with his administration, declaring that he is handicapped, having no placo ia which to confine insane inmates, no way to provide them with special treatment and, furthermore, having no knowledge of expert treatment, such as they should receive. To Ask Appropriation. He probably will ask an appropriation for the construction of an addition to the jail, providing for three or four wards. Ho believes that a small number of additional wards will be sufficient to make better provisions for the care of the insane, so long as it is necessary to confine them at the county jail. The county council refused to appropriate money last week and Friday night Andrew Flatley, violently insane, was placed in custody of the sheriff. The sheriff's inability to properly eare for the man was a good example of the necessity of such wards as are proposed. The young man since his incarceration has not only destroyed The onlv padded coll at the jail but has (flooded the institution by turning on faucets and has tried to asphyxiate ' himself and other inmates of the jail j by blowing out lighted gas jets. ! Straight jackets are but playthings for jhis remarkable strength. The sheriff said that members of I'm hiinimin prieietv would instantly ar rest a man, were he to whip his horse or some other dumb animal, but makes no complaint about lack of facil'tiei to properly tare for unfortunate human beings. The sheriff Invites the humane so ciety and others who are interested, to visit the jail, examine into the conditions, and to report their findings to the county commissioners. He believes that once the people really become acquainted with the fitness of the jail , as a custodial place for insane, there i will be no delay in correcting the existing conditions. There are now three insane men at the jail. Young Flatley, whose mind became deranged as a result of grippe, is in the worst condition. When he is not yelling or pounding on the sheet iron flooring and walls, he Is doing something else injurious to himself. Saturday night he blew out the light- , ed gas jets. The escaping gas was de- ' tected in time to prevent asphyxiation of any of the inmates, although a few were made ill. He delights in playing j with water and if given opportunity j will wash himself for hours, declaring ; he is getting white sand out of Els Jbody. The insanity commission, ini eluding Drs. M. F. Johnston, C. S. i Dond and J. E. King made an examina- ! tion Saturday and recommended so ; strongly Flatley's immediate admission to Eastern Indiana hospital that Dr. . S. E. Smith, superintendent of the in- ! stitution, w ill admit him as soon as possible. LOOKING FOR HEIRS Of William Beeson Died in Montana. Who Montana property, to what extent is

not known, is awaiting to be clafmed jng the examinations. On Saturday, by any relative of William Beeson. n the office of County Superintendent j who died at Gilt Edge, Montana, in ; c. O. Williams, there were fifty-three '1909. leaving no direct heirs or will. ! applicants for licenses, while the norj Word has been received by Postmaster mai number heretofore has been up-

E. M. Haas from B. F. Thierkoff. of wards of a hundred. Those taking exthat place, supposedly representing tte 'aminaUons Saturday were trying for

estate, that the decedent left consider - aKta YrrTirt - whinh vfll crn tr roll. tives if any can be found. Probably knowledge that William Beeson came from this section of the country or of the large number of Beeson's living in this vicinity led to the communication being sent to the local postmaster with the request that he give publicity with a view to locating any of the deceased's kin, although that is not stated in the letter. There are many persons of the name of Beeson residing in Wayne county and there is a possibility that some person may be found who can successfully claim the property. .

AMERICAN TROOPS SHOOT SMUGGLERS ON TEXAS BORDER

Rebel Sympathizers Caught Taking Arms Over River, Open Fire on Soldiers to Their Regret. HUNDRED GUNS AND AMMUNITION TAKEN El Paso Receives Report that Revolution Is Spreading and Rebels Are Meeting Successes. (American News Service El Paso, Tex., March 27. A detach- ' ment of 1'nited States soldiers and inTexas. late last afternoon, according to advices received here today. The civilians were attempting to smuggle arms across the border when they y."ere spied by the United States troops. When commanded to surrender they refused to do so and began firing on the soldiers. The volley was returned and two of the insurrecios' friends were killed. The rest fled abandoning the mutions of war. Three thousand rounds of ammunition and 100 rifles were captured. REVOLT SPREADING. El Paso, Tex., March 27. Encouraged by weakness on the part of the Diaz government and dissatisfaction with the new men named for the cabinet, the revolt in Mexico is spreading rapidly. More activity is manifested now in Coahuila than in Chihuahua. The rebels have taken San Carlos, thirty miles south of Del Rio. with its immense stores. Thirty federals are reported to have been killed in the battle. San Carlos is the headquarters of the immense holdings of Don Iorengo Trevino, one of the richest men in Mexico. At Sanderson four more revolutions were placed in jail this morning having been caught by a detachment of the Third Cavafry under command of Capt. Conrad at Regan Gap, 20 miles southeast of Del Rio, on the banks of the Rio Grande. They were well supplied with provisions, hi'. vim; about 1,200 pounds of flour, a quantity of bacon, crackers, onions, etc, and several guns, although no ammunition was unloaded there. The prisoners are an American, giving his name as General Saunders, and three Mexicans, two of them well known citizens of that section. These men own land near where they were caught. They probably wii; be bailed out by Americans as were 13 other smugglers recently arrested. BLACK HAND CRIMES PUZZLE THE POLICE (American News Service) Chicago, March 27. Two new BlackHand murders which bring the total for fourteen months to thirty-seven, puzzles Chicago police today and although a ecore or more detectives have been assigned to the cases, officers freely admitted that they had no hope of finding the slayers. One of the victims was the baby daughter of Girco Halzano, who died as a result of injuries received in a bomb explosion whic'a wrecked her father's home. The other was Dominic Cici, who was brained with an iron rod in sight of several of his friends. The slayer escaped. Cici had received a score of threatening letters as a result of a feud with a Sicilian saloonkeeper. w:io was said to be a member of the Chicago Mafia. EXAMINATIONS NOW QUITE DIFFICULT Because teachers examinations are now so much more difficult than they were a year or two ago, a few teachers of the county are taking them just for experimental purposes and to test their ability in passing the examination. Since the examinations have been made harder purposely, only teachers requiring licenses in order ' to continue teaching, have been tak- ! either county, state or high school li censes. TOM JOHNSON NOW SINKING RAPIDLY (American News Service) Cleveland. March 27. Tom L. Johnson, former mayor of Cleveland, is t telle v-d by his physicians to he gradually growing worse. He passed a restless night and was unable to see any visitors today. Attendants at his bedside were not hooefal of a rally and it was rumored the former mayor was dying. .

A HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE VICTIMS CLAIMED BY BLAZE

Five Other Employes in New York Building, Burned Saturday Afternoon, at the Point of Death. OVER ONE HUNDRED IDENTIFIED TODAY New York Officials Are Losing No Time, Investigating the Horror to Fix the Blame for It. DOORS KEPT LOCKED! District Attorney Says that He Has Evidence to This Effect Pitiful Scenes at the Morgue. (American -News Service) New York, March 27. With one hundred and forty-five persons dead and five others at death's door, the authorities today were spurred on to establishing the responsibility for the horrible catastrophe of Saturday evening. One hundred and one bodies had been identified up to noon today. The district attorney announced that he had received evidence that the big doors in the fire swept factory were kept locked. On all sides were , heard excuses that inadequate laws freed the public officials from blame and opinions varied as to where the responsibility should be placed. One report today indicated that the fire started from a cigarette thrown in a pile of waste rags on the eighth floor but the foreman declared later that the rules against smoking in the factory were rigidly enforced. The coroner's investigation started today and was open to the public and many witnesses were eager to testify. INTEND TO PROSECUTE. New York, March 27. District Attorney Whitman announced today that he would demand from the grand jury indictments charging manslaugh ter and criminal negligence as a re-' suit of the holocaust in the Triangle Waist company factory fire Saturday afternoon. Evidence has been presented to Mr. Whitman that several doors were locked, thus preventing many of the victims from escaping. Negligence is charged to the bureau of buildings and Rudolph T. Miller, superintendent, will be called upon to explain the lack of protection for the workers. Today the horror of the fire grew each succeeding hour. One hundred and forty-five bodies had been recovered up to 7 o'clock this morning and the search was still going on ceaselessly. Of those recovered ninety had been identified. Probably two score will never be identified, the bodies being charred and battered beyond recognition. Mostly Young Girls. Of the ninety bodies identiied only sixteen were men. The victims whose bodies had been claimed by their families, were mostly young girls, one of them being only 13 years old. Another was a girl of 15 years. Six were 16 years old, twenty-two were 17, thirteen were 18. twelve were 19, and the remainder 20 or over. While thousands were tramping the lanes of death in the morgue at the western foot of 26th street in an attempt to identify the remaining dead, three other investigations in addition to that of District Attorney Whitman were under way. They are being prosecuted by the fire department, the poli.ee department and the coroner's office. Governor Dix at Albany has the holocaust under advisement today and is expected to order a state Investigation with a view of securing the enactment of new laws for the protection of factory workers. Despite a rain storm thousands had gathered outside the morgue when toe doors were opened at 8 o'clock. Many were women carrying babies In their arms and sobbing in hysterical grief. Police reserves and detachments of mounted police were necessary to handle the crowd. Prepare the Bodies. doctors Through the night many worked over the corpses washing and clothing them and turning them over to embalmers, who placed them in glass covered coffins for the inspec- i tion of the identifiers. Scores of guards were stationed through the morgue to prevent an outbreak. While the death march proceeded through the morgue a pall of gloom hung over the east side where nearly all the victims lived. Scores of them were the only support of their families. District Attorney Whitman declared that his evidence would be presented to the April grand jury. STany witnesses were summoned to the criminal courts building early today and questioned by deputy district attornfVK Manlev. Tlrvitwirlr and Tliihin. A j sworn statement w as taken from each.

Many of them were employes or exemployes of the Triangle Waist company. Mr. Whitman asked that no arrests be ordered or recommended by any other department until he could present cases to the grand jury. Two Doors Locked. The examination at the building at Washington Place and Greene street where the fire occurred, has shown so far that panic alone was not responsible for the frightful loss of life.; The fact that the two Iron doors in. the rear of the Waist company's plant . on the 8th and 9th floors were locked, not only prevented exit, but made it impossible to get at tho lire hose ia the hallway. The police reported finding 50 dead bodies piled up against these doors. Chief Croker of the fire department characterized the locked doors as the most shocking sight of inconceivable torture ever brought to his notice. The official statement of Fire Commissioner Waldo which will be used by the district attorney, is an arraignment of those whom Waldo holds responsible for the horror. Mr. Waldo found that the single fire escape leading from the top floors of the building into an air shaft was useless. The stairways were steep and narrow and it could accommodate a small fraction of the 700 employes in the upper floors of the building. The Investigation of the Are commissioner also showed that the flri

hose in the corridor outside the locked doors had not been touched. Witnesses Summoned. Fifty witnesses -were summoned to the office of the fire marshal, John Beers, at 9 o'clock this morning. The subpoenaes were issued indiscriminately to employes of the Triangle Waist company, employes of other concerns in the same building, fire men, policemen and spectators. Isaac Harris of Harris & Blanck, owners of the waist factory, emphatically denitel that the doors were ever locked. The doors opened inward but they were never locked, he said. Even it the shutters on the 7th floor had not been open, passage on the escape was rendered impossible by the intense heat causing others of the iron shutters to buckle outward, in the same manner as occurred at the great Iroquois theater fire in Chicago, blocking the passageway. There were only two etairways in the building, but Joseph J. Asch, the owner, declared that he had never been ordered by the authorities to put In a third stairway. All the authorities who have a hand In the Investigation agree that the laws governing fire protection in office buldings and factories are defective and that" another tragedy of the same kind may occur at any time. RESCII1DJW ORDER Condemning Land of Cemetery Association. The board of works at a meeting this morning, rescinded the declaratory resolution condemning land near the pest house for sanitary purposes. The board had fixed the value at $1,000. The Richmond Cemetery association, owners of the land, filed suit against the city, alleging that the land was worth $18,000 to $20,000 because of the gravel it contained. City Engineer Charles estimated that the gravel pit contains 708,000 cubic yards of gravel. City Attorney Gardner told the board it would cost about $50 per day to the city, for the expenses of the trial as 28 witnesses had been subpoened. He Baid the case would last nearly a week. It was set for Wednesday. The board took under advisement a request of Gaar, Scott and Company that a 48 foot street be opened between Washington avenue and North F street. W. H.' Campbell, representing the company, said the opening of this street would be absolutely necessary to the company for spring work. REPORT IS FILED ON WILEY ESTATE : The estate of the late Cornelius E. Wiley, a prominent resident and former county official who died suddenly March 20, was filed for probate in Charles T. Wiley, the elder son, is named administrator of the esate, and ; has filed bond in the sum of $4,000, double the amount of the estate. The widow and four children will share n the estate. Palladium's Total OaiSy Average Circulation (Except Saturday) Ineltrding Complimentary Lists, for Week Ending March 23, 1911, 6,flf5 Cily Circulation showing net paid, news stands and regular complimentary list does not include sample copies. 598SG