Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 40, Number 213, 19 August 1915 — Page 1

RICH Yf M"k 91 Palladium and Bun-TlcrajB RICHMOND. IND- THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 19, 1915. SINGLE COPY, 2 CENTS

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15,000,000 DAMAGE IS DONE TO GALVESTON BY UIOLEfJT HURRICAfJE Thirty-nine Lives Reported Lost -Sea Wall Saves City From Destruction When Waves Roll Inland Business and Residence Houses Suffer Heavily.

COTTON AND SHIP OWNER ARE HEAVY LOSERS BY PERRY YOUNG, I. N. 8. Staff Correspondent. .: GALVESTON, Texas, Aug. 19. (Via Beaumont, Texas) Galveston has survived the most severe storm in her history, with a known loss of thirtynine lives and a property loss of about 115,000,000. The loss, however, is negligible, when compared with the terrible hurricane that blew out of the West Indies and touched with death many towns and cities along the gulf coast from Sabine Pass to Matagorda bay,. : ,, In Galveston the storm roared through the city for more than twentyfour hours, and to the Btrength of the great sea wall Galveston owes its salvation. Had it not been for this bulwark, thousands of lives would have been lost. Not a business house or residence in the city escaped damage, and the property. loss is enormous.

i Lose on Wharves. The principal destruction of prop erty occurred near the wharves. I The cotton piers all suffered, one or Itwo being washed away. Two elevators were seriously dam aged, by the wind. Five ocean-going steamers are aground on Pelican island and the United States army transport McClellan is stuck there also. The principal damage to residence property was on the water front and beach. : ... ' 'Vii.;The dead include four soldiers, one civilian and young boy, all unidentified, " except Ernest Rohel. So far there are na reported cases of destitution and a mass meeting of citizens called together by Mayor Fisher today took steps to take care of cases that develop. Martial Law Declared. At the mass meeting a committee of forty-five citizens was appointed to supervise the city's safety and it was decdied to place the city under martial law, as looting had been reported in scattered localities. The looting was done in most cases by negroes, who were discovered at work when daylight broke on Wednesday. Although the Bea wall stood the test of the storm, the great Gat veston boulevard through a great part of its extent, is washed up. Although all public buildings .and most of the downtown stores were crowded as soon as the storm moderated, persons began returning to their homes. 1,000 In Court House. There were fully one thousand people quartered in the court house, and an equal number was found in many other buildings. The most pathetic sight perhaps, was presented at the city hall ' and police station. Here were gathered hundreds of refugees who had been picked up by police and fire department patrols which worked without rest bringing in men, women and children, who were in danger on the streets, or in the shanties in which they lived. The wind began blowing Monday. The fitful gusts of wind which preceded the steady blow of the storm. was a warning to those who knew the characteristics of the West Indian hurricane. The weather bureau bad sent out ample warning and this precaution In great measure saved many lives. The exodus was too great for the capacity of trains and interurbans, and those who "could not get away settled down to "face the music." Practically all people living' near the water front or beach came up town for safety early Monday afternoon. Gale Increases. The gale steadily increased to a velocity of seventy miles an hour at 4 o'clock Tuesday. Street car service had then been suspended for considerable time. Lights and power were gone and wires and signs began to crash to the streets from every direction. A tropical downpour had augmented the force of the wind from 11 Continued On Page Eight. Weather Forecast 8. Report Partly cloudy north. Rain south portion tonight and Friday. . ' Temperature Noon 70 69 52 Yesterday Maximum Minimum For Rlchmnd The tropical storm which. has been so severe over Texas for the last few days is now central over Oklahoma and. is . moving slowly toward the Great Lakes. It will cause general rains in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois by Friday or Saturday. W. E. MOORE, Weather Forecaster.

BLACKBURN SUIT BRINGS TO LIGHT OPPOSITE SIDES Testimony of Eye-Witness ' and Stories of Car Occupants Differ in Nordsieck's Death. i i , '.-'-'''V Testifying that the automobile driven by Perry Blackburn skidded 75 feet before the driver was able to bring the car to a standstill, Richard Tuecke, an eye witness to the accident on the Liberty pike in which Ernest Nordsieck was killed June 5, was on the stand today in circuit court. Blackburn is charged with involuntary manslaughter. It is expected all the testimony will be in by Friday noon. Miss Bertha Shields, one of the occupants of the car, testified that the automobile was not going over 20 miles an hour and that Nordsieck ran in front of the machine looking toward the ground. She said Blackburn made every effort to prevent the accident and in trying to swerve to the roadside almost threw the occupants from the car. Her testimony concerning the action of several other persons who were on the road at the time, did not conform with the testimony of Teresa Messmer, another eye witness. Miss

Messmer was walking along the road when, according to her statement, the automobile, which was running ' at least 35 miles an hour, almost struck her. Tom Ross, who was riding on a pony several rods from the accident, said that he saw the cloud of dust back of him and turned to the side fearing that he was going to be struck. Mrs. Minnie Smith testified that she was coming out of the Lutheran cemetery at the time and the car was running so fast that she had to run across the road to get out of Its way. George Tuecke testified that the automobile was going at least 50 miles an hour. Witnesses for the defense were called to the stand this afternoon. All six of the occupants of the car testified that it was not going at an excessive speed and that Nordsieck appeared to be confused as he ran directly in front of the car. RUSS ATTACK GERMAN ARMY ABOUT KOVNO PETROGRAD, Aug. 19. The loss of the Kovno forts was admitted at the Hussian war office today, but it was asserted that ' the Main German n forces were still being held in check on the west bank of the Nieman river. From fortifications to the south of Kovno Russian artillery has poured a heavy fire upon the Germans, inflicting heavy losses. Every hour of delay that the Germans meet is, of vast importance to the Russian . army. The German left wing is the only ? source of great danger to the retreating, troops of the grand duke. . . Field Marshal. Von Hindenberg is apparently striving to put his wing across the Nieman and attack the Russians on the Grodno-Brest-Litovsk front on the flank and in the rear.- - -

"GIVE WIFE RING," FRANK'S LAST PLEA

ATLANTA, Ga., Aug. 19. The dying request of Leo M. Frank was that his wedding ring be given to his wife. The ring is now In the possession of O. B. Keeler, a Georgian reporter, who will deliver it to Mrs. Frank at the first opportunity. Mr. Keeler who lives in Marietta was at his home last night. A strange man knocked at the door, handed him a letter and walked away. Keeler tore open the envelope. A plain heavy gold ring dropped out. A type written note, unsigned, read as fol lows: "Frank's dying request was that his wedding ring be given to his wife. See that this request is carried out. "This note will be delivered to you by a man you do not know and who does not know you. Make no efforts to find out his identity. Destroy this note after reading it." . BAVIS IN RAGE REFUSES OFFER BY CAMPFIELO Main Street Business Man Admits He Represents Only Himself in Ornamental Light Proposition. CITY STANDS PAT Approximately $1,100 Divides Property Owner, ajd Offi- : cials Bavls Demands Authorized Representative. , When E. M. Campfleld, who has been endeavoring for several days to reach some satisfactory understanding with Mayor Robbins and members of the board of public works 'in regard to installing an ornamental lighting system on Main street from Four to Eleventh streets, refused to submit his proposal to the board in writing President Bavis in turn informed Campfleld that the board would not place itself on record as to whether it was opposed to or favored the plan outlined yesterday by Campfield. . - . ' . Campfleld then declared that so far as he was concerned he would make no other effort to provide a display lighting system for . the business district of Main street and President Bavls told him he was perfectly satisfied to have him cease his activities along this line. New Movement Dies. As a result of the row between the board president and Campfleld today, the movement to provide Main street with an ornamental lighting system, begun two years - ago, .will . require heroic treatment if it is. to survive. Mayor Robbins and President Bavis emphatically declared today the terms specified by the administration in regard to installing display lighting systems are final and irrevocable. These terms provide that the business men interested must meet the entire expense of purchasing and installing the lamps and standards, the city agreeing to furnish the current without charge and to provide for the maintenance of the lamps. Campfleld informed the board that he would be willing to undertake to secure a petition for an ornamental system in the business , district of Main street if the city would agree to purchase two of the four standards for each intersection, furnish the current without charge and maintain the lamps, the business men to purchase all the other lamps and standards and defray the cost of installing the entire system. It would cost the city only ; about $1,100 more to install the Main street lighting system under the Campfleld plan than under the administration's plan. " 1 President Bavis Inquired of Campfield if there was such a small amount standing between the Main street merchants and the city in reaching a working agreement . why the - merchants did not assume the entire installation cost. He said he thought the terms offered by the city were more than fair. Mayor Robbins remarked' that it would cost the city $4,500 additional a year to illuminate an ornamental system in the retail district. i ,f : ' .' When Campfleld refused to submit a proposition in writing to the board, Bavis, in a huff, asked him who gave him the authority to appear before the board as the spokesman of the Main street business men. -. Campfleld ; stated that ; he, was representing nobody but himself, but that he and four other business men who appeared before the board yesterday were- Interested in ' having . display lighting - for Main street and that if they could obtain a satisfactory proposal from the city they were willing to attempt to secure a petition for such a system. - "The only proposition on which I - Continued On Page -Eight. ; '

PURDUE EXPERT PROBES MAIN STREET BRIDGE W. K. Hatt Confers With . County Commissioners and City Officials on Condition of Bridge

INSPECTS STRUCTURE Purdue Prof essor Will Speak at Baxter School on Bridge Problem Tonight at 8 O'clock. Prof, W. K. Hatt, head of the civil engineering department of Purdue university, at the instigation of County Engineer ; Mueller and the county commissioners, inspected the Main street bridge this morning, and late this afternoon is in conference with the county commissioners, the board of works, and several members of the county council. A proposition undoubtedly will be made by the county commissioners this afternoon to engage the Purdue expert in making an additional detailed inspection of the bridge. This has come about owing to the criticism, that has been raised through out the county on any hasty action in building a new bridge. They believe that the county, should be given a report from an expert engineer of whom there could be no criticism of a biased opinion. ' ' Has Wide Reputation. Prof. Hatt, as head of the civil engineering department of the state insjitutien, has had wide experience in supervision of bridge building and has often been called , in for. consultation by cities in this and other streets.. He was consulted la the building of r the Washington street bridge.' at Indianapolis, and he ' also -( supervised - the construction of the ' large concrete bridge at lAtayet:"77'''ri' "Although I have not made a minute inspection of the bridge, I am of the opinion that the bridge is beyond repair," said Prof. Hatt this afternoon. "I would have to make a more detailed inspection, however, before I would report this to the county officials. . Bridge Life 8hort. "Judging from my past experience, I do not believe that the life of a bridge like you have here in Richmond can be more than twenty years, when the conditions of traffic have Increased so," " he said. "I do not know about the painting but if the report is true that it has not been painted for twelve ' years, that undoubtedly has had a great effect on the deterioration. From the casual inspection I have made I am of the opinion that the bridge is not heavy enough - for the traffic. It does not appear to be strong enough for the heavy interurbans and other heavy traffic,, such as motor trucks. It was not built for this." He refused to make any detailed statement regarding the conditions of any parts of the bridge. It is understood that the county commissioners, acting upon the sentiment of many persons in the county, will make a proposition to the Purdue expert this afternoon. Although they say they do not doubt the truth of the truth of the report submitted by the county engineer and the ' two other bridge engineers, they believe that the county is entitled to an inspection by an expert that cannot even be accused of being biased in his report. " "In my experience I find that it is unwise to try to repair a bridge when it has become in an absolutely dangerous condition," said Mr. Hatt. "The question whether or not the Main street bridge should be repaired instead of a new one constructed, cannot be determined by the amount of money that it would require. 'Safety first' should be the motto of the county authorities and when a bridge gets to a dangerous point, they are only taking chances in trying to repair it. At the best, the repairs on the Main street bridge could not last more than ten years and a new one would have to be built at that time." - , Prof. W. K. Hatt will speak at a mass meeting to be held at the Baxter school house this evening at 8 o'clock. This is the first mass meeting that will have been held to discuss the bridge problem arising from the condemnation of the Main street bridge. The meeting will be held under the auspices of the Old Trails association. The meeting is open to the public. , " REPORT FATALITIES WASHINGTON. Aug. 19. Deputy Collector Rosenthal - of Galveston today wired the treasury department that only six persons in Galveston proper, were reported, dead. He- said that this did not include persons who were caught on boats in the bay when the storm broke. - -- ;. -- MINISTERS WILL MEET. BUCHAREST. Aug. 19. King Ferdi nand summoned all the ; Roumanian ministers Into 'conference' today.

100 PERSONS LOST IN STORM . ON GULF COAST $20,000 Damage Done by the Wind and Rain at Galveston and in Other Texas Towns.

LOOTERS ARE SHOT Stricken Cities Begin to Recover From Havoc Done to Lines of Communication by Storm.

Dead. Loss. Galveston . . ... 14 . . . . . $15,000,000 Houston 3 2,000,000 Texas City .... 32 400,000 Port Arthur ... 4 .... . 200,000 Morgan's Point. . 7 .... . 100,000 Virginia Point.. 14..... 100,000 Seabrook 3 100,000 Sabine ........ 2 ..... 100,000 Sabine Pass ... 0 .... . 100,000 Hitchcock 7 .... . 50,000 Laporte .7 . 50,000 Lynchburg .... 3. . . . . 40,000 Sylvan Beach.. 3..... 25,000 Bayridge 2..... 5,000 Dickinson ..... 1..... Patton '10.... Totals 112. .. . .$18,270,000

HOUSTON. Tex., Aug. 19. With more than one hundred persons dead and with property losses totaling nearly twenty . million dollars, Galveston and many gulf and inland Texas towns and cities today started to rehabilitate with the subsidence of the terrific gale that swept over the lower part of the state for seventy hours. : In - Galveston thirty-nine persons were, either drowned .. or killed : by wreckage, including twenty-five members of the United States dredge San Bernado. . : .Texas City was 'the next chief sufferer, thirty-two lives ' having . been claimed by the storm. Looters are Shot. A report from Galveston was to the effect that looting negroes had been shot by federal troops stationed there to aid the citizens to reconstruct the city, which was attacked not only by wind and water, but by fire. Armour & Co.'s plant was among the buildings lost in the flames. City gas, water and electric plants were shut off while repairs were being made in damaged structures, and at times the people who were fighting to save the city from the ravages of the sea floods were in want of drinking water. ' While no appeal for aid has been sent out, - Mayor Lewis Fisher said that Galveston needs flour, fresh meat and other food stuffs and fresh water. Wreckage of all kinds is to be seen along the canal between Galveston and Houston. Galveston is practically filled with debris, where the water attained a level higher than in the storm of 1901, according to some reports. These were to the effect that the water stood six to eight feet deep in some of the streets. An interned Austrian steamer rescued ninety men. worsen and children at Port Bolivar just before the storm reached its climax. It is. now aground on Redfish reef. SECRECY TO GUARD FUNERAL OF FRANK NEW YORK, August 19. With no demonstration of any kind to mark the event, the body of Leo M. Frank, victim of a Georgia mob, arrived at the Pennsylvania station here today from Atlanta. In an automobile hearse, with an escort of two motorcycle policemen, the plain pine box containing the 'casket was whirled away to a Brooklyn undertaking establishment, while an automobile carried the almost prostrated wife of the slain man to the home of Frank's parents at 152 Underbill avenue, Brooklyn. . Tonight under cover of darkness, the body will be removed to some place which the family has refused to name, where the last rites of the Jewish church will be administered. There was only a small crowd of the curious at the, station at 6 o'clock when the train from Atlanta was due. A detail of policemen . was on hand, but their services were not required. , PUTS MORE GRAVEL ON COUNTRY ROADS -'"'.;V v 1 i " - ' v From 100 to 150 loads of gravel Is being placed on the roads of the coun ty, under the supervision or. . uounty Road Superintendent Jones. Fourteen men jure working on. the roads. An effort is being made by the road superintendent to get practically all the gravel roads in the county, regravelled before winter:

LARGE TRANS-ATLANTIC STEAMER OF WHITE STAB MEETS LUSJTAfJIA'S FATE Carries 435 Persons British Admiralty Says Crew Saved and Passengers Befieved Safe Vessel Used to Carry Heavy Munition Shipments From New York Ship Bound for United States.

1 75 PASSENGERS WERE BOOKED FOR V0YA6E BULLETIN, v BERLIN, Aug. 19. A British cruiser and destroyer were destroyed In an engagement with torpedo boats en Tuesday. The admiralty also announced that naval airships had bombarded London Tuesday. The naval action took place off the coast of Jutland, Denmark.

LIVERPOOL, Aug. 19. The White Star liner. Arable, the largest steamer used In trans-Atlantic traffic after the Lusitania, was sunk by - a submarine. The announcement was made hers this afternoon. It was stated that the crew had been saved. When the Arabic was sunk she was on her way from England to the United States, having sailed yesterday. The announcement made no mention of any loss of life, and the fact . that the crew was savsd was taken to Indicate that no passengers had perished. It Is not known whether there were any Americans aboard the liner. . The gross tonnage was 16301 tons.

ARABIC GOES TO GRAVE IN FEW MINUTES QTJBENSTOWN, Aug. 19. Rescue steamers sent from here after the Arabic was torpedoed have reported by wireless that they are bringing in 400 passengers and sailors. There were more than. 400 on the Arabic when it sailed: LONDON, Aug. 19 The Arabio was torpedoed and sunk by a' German submarine off Fastnet at 9:15 o'clock this morning. There were Americans among the, passengers on board. White Star officials charged that no warning was given. Just before 6 o'clock it was announced that all members of the crew and passengers were saved, but half an hour later a telegram came from Liverpool saying that it was feared that the. sinking of the liner had been accompanied by loss of life." It was first announced that she carried 130 cabin and 45 steerage passengers as well as . a crew of 260. These figures were revised by ' the London agents to say that the vessel carried -131. passengers in the cabin and 100 in the steerage. -The Arabic went down in eleven minutes after being struck. Dispatches said that fifteen small boats containing passengers and seamen were making for Queenstown. The Arabic lies Just 45 miles west of the grave of the Lusitania. ARABIC PASSENGERS REPORTED RESCUED NEW YORK. Aug. 19. The following dispatch was received at the local White Star line at 2:28 o'clock this afternoon : Liverpool, via London To P. A. Franklin: "Arabic sunk by German submarine at 9:15 this morning off south coast of Ireland. Hopeful all passengers and crew safe, as fifteen boatloads rescued. Will cable full particulars as soon as possible. "WHITE STAR." CLOCK WEIGHT MISSES HEAD OF JOHN MACK John Mack, sexton of St Andrew's Catholic church, had a narrow escape from death, this morning when a weight weighing half a ton, used in the mechanism of he clock on the steeple fell and narrowly missed striking him. Mack was winding the clock at the time of the accident and when . the weight fell it. missed him by a few inches and crashed through the floors into the. basement end through the cement flooring- a foot or more causing damages estimated at $100. '- -...The weight dropped a distance of seventy five feet and the rush of air caused by its decent threw the sexton to the ground and he was severely shaken up. "

She was built In 1903 and since that time has been continuously In the trans-Atlantic service. The Arabic was six hundred feet long and flew the British flag. Advices to shipping agents report that she was sunk off Fastnet and that all members of the crew and passengers were taken off by another vessel. An unconfirmed rumor reaching here this evening said-that the Arabic went down in eleven minutes and that 171 passengers and members of the crew are unaccounted for. The White Star line insists that all passengers on the Arabic were saved.

CARRIED 435 PASSENGERS. ' NEW YORK, Aug. 19. White Star officials announced that 'there . were 435 persons aboard the liner Arabic when she sailed from Liverpool last night. Of these 175 were passengers, 130 being in the first cabin. The remaining were members of the crew. The Arabic carried a record cargo of war supplies on her ast trip. An attempt was made to sink the Arabic last month. - - The day after she arrived it became known that two sticks of dynamite had been found on the liner on July 27. the day before she sailed for New York. The explosive was found in the women's retiring room. She has been active in carrying war supplies. In addition to her freight she usually carried a large passenger list. The crew being warned that the vessel might meet with the same fate as the Lusitania, formed a rifle club and practiced daily. Last March, not long after Germany formally began her submarine warfare, the Arabic sighted a submarine off Cherbourg, but had no difficulty in getting out of the path of danger. The Arabic was captained by William Finch. The Arabic Is the second-big steamship to be sunk, by a submarine while traveling toward the United , States from England. The Iberian of the Leyland line was sent to the bottom on July 30. while on her way from Liverpool to Boston. . OFFICIALS AWAIT NEWS. WASHINGTON. Aug. 19. State department officials received the first newt of the sinking of the liner Arabic by a German submarine, by the International News Service.' They are anxious to learn If Any . Americans were aboard. Officials here pointed out this afternoon that if any Americans were lost It would create the most serious situation yet reached between this government and Germany. The concluding sentence In the government's note of July 21. reads: "Friendship itself prompts the United States to say to the imperial German government that a repetition by commanders of German naval vessels of acts In contravention of those right ' must be regarded by the government of the United States, when they effect American citizens as deliberately unfriendly." , . BRITISH CHECKED AT DARDANELLES LONDON. Aug. 19. British troops have been checked with heavy losses at the Dardanelles. It was officially admitted in a report issued here today. The English commander stated that troops in strong force had been landed on Gallipoli peninsula at Suvla bay and had advanced, but their progress had been brought to a standstill. The Turk ish troops also suffered heavily tn the fighting that followed the. landing Q British reinforcements. -- .,t -