Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1898 — Page 6

THE REPUBLICAN. '■■ •' :: ...- —.= GEO. E. MARSHALL, Publisher. jfriaff" RENSSELAER, ' - - INDIANA.

FLOODS CAUSE LOSS.

THE NORTHWEST VISITED BY WIDE-SPREAD DISASTER. Damage of $1,000,000 Done to Kailways Traffic Suspended Several Persons Browned Edict Against Cuban Tobacco Has Been Revoked. ■ _____ « Damaged by Floods. Floods have caused damage estimated at $1,000,000 in the Northwest. The Northern Pacific, Canadian Pacific, and Great Northern tracks were washed out and traffic was almost suspended. Several roads sustained severe damages by and landslides. In more thap a dozen western Washington valleys bridges, fences and farm property were swept away. Several persons were drowned in the Upper Cowlitz and Tilton river valleys, but particulars are not yet obtainable. The town of Newaukum was floating and between Chehalis and Centralia the Northern Pacific main line was tw<r feet under water. Fourteen inches of water fell in three days. This, with warm winds, melted the snows on the mountains very rapidly, causing the greatest floods ever known there. War Agitation in Europe. The Ixtndon Daily Graphic asserts “on authority” that, the British squadron was definitely instructed to assemble off Chemulpo to support a strong British expostulation with Corea on the dismissal of McLeavy Brown, British superintendent of Corean customs, who, under the advice of the British eonsul, has twice returned the notice of dismissal served upon him. With regard to Port Arthur the Daily Graphic asserts that there iff every reason to believe the Russians will adhere to their pledge to evacuate at the ertd of the winter, and there is therefore no ground for complaint on the part of England. Neither does the Government regard the occupation of Kiao-Chou as calling for action, because British interests are not threatened. According to the Daily Graphic both the foreign office and the admiralty agreed upon this point. A dispatch to the London Daily Mail from Shanghai says: “A British fleet of eight ships and four torpedo boats has arrived at -Chemulpo, the port of Seoul. It is reported that there are two Japanese cruisers in the Yang-tse-Kiang river. Japan is working night and day preparing for war. It is believed that the British and Japanese fleets are in close touch.” Fire Victims* Bodies Found. While removing the debris from the burned Hotel I»acotah at Grand Forks, N. D., the remains of Mr. and Mrs. A. 0. Howe, who perished in the fire, were discovered. The crumbled bones of Mrs. Howe were lying near those of her husband, which establishes the theory that she lost her life while endeavoring to rescue him. Mr. Howe was a cripple. The bodies were shipped to Michigan for interment.

BREVITIES.

Miss Anna Fowlery of Bordentown, N. J., was burned to death. ' Mayor Harrison of Chicago has refused all permits for boxing exhibitions. Adam Pfeffer jumped from a train nt South Fork, Pa., and was instantly killed. The Phoenix Fire Assurance Company of London withdraws from Kansas after Jan. 1. Prof. Simon Newcomb has been elected president of the American Mathematical Society. Henry Gehner and Joseph Browneller were asphyxiated at the former's home in Findlay, O. At New York, the American-Jcwish Historical Society has re-elected Oscar S. Strauss president. The report that ex-Gov. Shepherd, formerly of Washington, is dangerously ill in Mexico is denied. British troops have captured Osobri, the last important dervish port between Kassala and Khartoum. Gov. Adams of Colorado has appointed Theron Stevens to succeed Judge Gabbert as district judge at Ouray. Jphn Bergmann, formerly a wealthy resident of Chicago, who lost his money in speculation, committed suicide at New York. The main portions of the St. Charley seminary of Sherbrooke, Quebec,-have been destroyed by fire, entailing u loss of $25,000. William Sorden died from the effects of injuries inflicted by Daniel Patchet in a quarrel over a bottle of whisky at Decliff, O. Gov. Wolcott of Massachusetts hns formally deposited the famous Bradford manuscripts in the State librarian's department. Secretary Gage has received notice that Gen. Wcylcr’s edict prohibiting the export of manufactured tobacco from Cuba is to be repealed. It is asserted that, owing to his insomnia, the medical attendants of Prince Bismarck have advised hiai to abstain from •• all work and excitement for some weeks to come. * Actor Rtuttsof the Stults Theater Company ut Mnnti, Utah, was badly burned, and his wife prolHrbly fatally burned, while preparing colonsl fireworks to lie used in their piny. Kenneth Dunoan, formerly n Methodist minister in Chicago and Kan Francisco, has been returned to the insane asylum at Agnews, Cnl. ( from institution he recently escaped. A negro woman was found dying in nn alley at Kansas City, Mo., within u block of the retail center of the city. She hud been literally hacked to pieces. The woman is believed to be Lillie Johnson, a domestic. It is believed that John Sanders, the driver of a transfer wngon, is the woman's assailant. He hns disappeared. . < Dr. Apostoli, a French physician, claims to have solved the secret of preventing the evil effects which usually follow the application of the X ray, by simply connecting the machine with the ground by a metallic circuit. .

EASTERN.

James Flannigan and Patrick McNulty of New York drank corrosive sublimate for whisky, with the result that the former is dead and the latter dying. The Overman Wheel Company of oiicopee Falls, Mass., has made an osgiihment. The liabilities are placed at $539,000 and the assets at $1,318,000: '■ The mill operatives at Fall River, Mass., have voted to accept the reduction, as it would not be good business-policy to enter into a strike at the present time, \ At Haverhill, Mass., William polan was stabbed and killed by his brother-in-law. He was ajtftiut 70 years old. Both had been drirking. ’ ■ “Deacon V Stephen V. White, the wellknown stock broker, announces that he has paid every dollar due creditors at the time of his latest failure and has applied for readmission to the New York Stock Exchange. In Trenton, N. J., the manufacturing potters have agreed to restore, until Feb, 1, the 12% per cent, cut made in 1894 in the wages of all their employes. Meanwhile a uniform scale of wages for the entire coruntry will be worked for. Depositors and shareholders of the Chestnut Street Trust and Savings Company at Philadelphia continue to sign agreements, declaring their approval of the plan for the voluntary liquidation of the affairs of the two institutions. With the sanction of District Attorney Olcutt. Judge Newburger dismissed in New York eleven indictments for fraud and misdepieanor against Edward E. Gedney, former president of North River Bank, which failed Nov. 12, 1890. J. Pierpont Morgan and Thomas A. Edison have purchased important water privileges on the Housatonic river at Falls Village, and will erect a number of > the new Edison ore separators. They control valuable ore beds, a canal and other equipment. .

WESTERN.

John Howard of lowa was fatally shot while resisting footpads near Emporia, Kan. The meeting of the American Historical Society at Cleveland promises to be well attended. At Rapid City, S. D., .Judge George Clark attempted to commit suicide. He ran a poeket knife into his throat. He may not live. Dr. J. D. Goddard, under sentence of sixteen years for the murder of F. J. Jackson at Kansas Oy, has been released on $13,500 bail. The Comptroller of the Currency has authorized the Nevada National Bank of San Francisco to begin business, with a capital of $3,000,000. P. D. Armour has notified his local representative at Youngstown, 0., to subscribe SIOO to the Reuben McMillan free library fund of that city. A w_reck took place at the Memphis road’s depot at Liberal, Mo. Local train No. 46 broke in two on the down grade going into town, and the two sections came together in front of the station. Five persons were injured, two seriously. An unusual suicide was that of L. W. Kampel, a Cincinnati tailor, who was found by his daughter dead on his work bench. He had attached a rubber tube to the gas jet and from it inhaled the gas until he was overcome. He was at one time quite wealthy and had divided his property among his children, whose ingratitude weighed on his mind. Mrs. John Van Schaack, who for the last three months has interested New York and Chicago through her suit against her father-in-law, Peter Van Schaack, the Chicago millionaire druggist, on the grounds of alienating her husband’s affections, caused a commotion in St. Louis by declaring that she had been robbed of papers of importance in connection with the litigation. Gen. Roy Stone, acting president of the National League for Good Roads, believes he has found a way to make postal savings banks and good roads promote each other. His plan is that postal savings banks shall be established, and that the Postoffice Department shall invest the deposits in county bonds for the building of good roods. The League of American Wheelmen favors the scheme. As a sequel to the sensational litigation growing out of the shortage of exStnte Treasurer Bartley, of Nebraska, the Attorney General has brought suit to recover $261,884 from the Omaha National Bank. The suit grows out of the fact that the Omaha bank noted as agent in disposing of a State warrant for that amount to the (jhemlcnl National Bank of New York Cr(y, and when the warrant was paid by Bltrt ley he drew a check on funds deposited in the local bank. Indirectly the Chemical National Bank is affect cd.

WASHINGTON.

Secretary Alger, who hns l>een ill at Washington for some time, is threatened with pneumonia. * Secretary Sherman denies the report that the United States Ims demanded SB,000,000 from Spain for losses sustained by American traders in Cuba. Commissioner Hermann, of the General Laud Office, hns rejected the claim of Messrs. Healy and Wilson to the town site of Dyen, Alaska, on the ground that the survey of the claim was not regularly made. After a new survey the case will come up again on its merits. Great interest has been aroused in an old subject by the meeting in Washington recently of the ladies of the Washington University Association. These ladies have ofganixed for the purpose of establishing a university such ns Washington wished to see when he lived and such ns ho provided for when he died. In Washington's will a bequest Is left for such nu institution of fifty shares of Po-, toihac stock. These shares, of SS(X» par value, have never been accounted for, and nobody to this day Jtnows frhere they •re or who has possess lon of them. In 1828 the Potomac company turned over its franchises and privileges to the Chesapeake and Ohio Cnnnl Company, but the flnnticiiil affairs of thia company become so badly involved that when it failed the shares of stock wore never ncknowkalged to the general government, na provided for in Washington's will. The bequest, with compound interest to dnte, would amount to more than 14.401,000. Senator Morgan of Alabama, of the Committee on Foreign Relations, said at Washington that it would be impossible for the United States to remain complacent should European nations undertake the dismemberment of China. Senator Morgan said: “If partition involves the abrogation of treaties this country would

be left to make terins again with each European’nation separately tn the territory to which its sovereignty extended. Therefore, unless the powers now ambitious for territorial extension take into account the importance of American commercial relations with China, it will be necessary for the Government to intervene >n self-defense. If the cession is absolute, then American interests must be taken care of through the treaties between America and the countries to which the absolute cessions are made respectively. If the territory is given up merely for a time there will lie a mixed responsibility, and it is a good time for intervention and the exercise of American diplomacy. The .German occupation of a part of China nnd the prospective occupation of other parts by various European nations is an effort to complete a cordon of offense to American commerce from Vladivostok to Marseilles or to Liverpool. That cordon is being stretched to contract the trade of 600,000,000 of people who have direct trade and intercourse with the Pacific ocean. There is a great deal in the Chinese problem that vitally interests Americans and which to demand immediate consideration from the State Department and Congress.”

FOREIGN.

A bomb, made of gas piping and filled with powder, was exploded in the German Theater at Olmutz, Moravia. Little damage was done, but the incident caused great excitement. The ballot taken by the striking English engineers as the outcome of the recent conference between tile representativs of the employers nnd the men has resulted in a rejection of the proposed compromise by 100 to 1, while the trades union’s proposal of fifty-one hours weekly, instead of forty-eight, has been rejected by a majority almost ns large. It is reported that seventeen British war ships are off Chemulpo, Corea, southwest of Seoul, supporting the British consul’s protest, really amounting to an ultimatum against the king’s practically yielding the government of Qorea into the hands of the Russian minister. The protest is especially directed against the dismissal of McLeavy Brown, British adviser to the Corean customs, in favor of the Russian nominee. Japan is said to be supporting Great Britain. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat has a Rome special which says that Pope Leo has issued a sort of expose of his policy toward foreign governments. The holy father was charged with favoring a monarchy to a republic. This he distinctly disclaims. One form of government, he says, is as good as another in the eyes of the church, and Catholics are at liberty to profess what political opinions they like, providing they do not ally themselves to a platform that comprises war upon the church and Christianity, as its principal plank. Moreover, the pope expressly denies ever having sought to influence in any way the political convictions of the faithful and unhesitatingly condemns those prelates and priests, not alone in France, but also in other foreign countries, who make use of their ecclesiastical prestige to sway the electoral suffrages of their flocks. But what the pope does insist on is submission and obedience to the duly constituted government of the day, on the ground that the maintenance of peace, the preservation of the social or public order, and the respect due to the constitutionally enacted laws of the land, are demanded by the Christian faith and by the church. This-ex-plains his attitude toward the Cubans, and why he does not fnvor the insurgents.

IN GENERAL.

The Lloyd-Booth company is making a pair of shears to weigh 175 tons. The Western College Baseball schedule has been satisfactorily arranged. Nicola Tesla claims to have discovered a plan to use energy generated in the sun. There is talk of extending the scope of the new steel wire trust so as to include the steel billet mills of the country. The United States is reported to be negotiating for a narrow strip of land in northwestern (Greenland for a naval and coaling station. Captain William C. Oldretve has planned to walk across the Atlantic ocean with his seagoing shoes, starting from Boston July 4. Captain William A. Andrews will accompany him in n new fourteenfoot sailboat. The case against the directors of the defunct Union Bank of Newfoundland, charged with conspiracy to defraud, was dismissed because the jury had already acquitted the directors of the Commercial Bank, who Were arraigned on the same charge.

MARKET REPORTS.

Chicago—Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, shipping grades, $3.'M) to $3.75; sheep, fair to choice, $2.00 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2 red, 08c to 00c; corn, No. 2,20 cto 28c; oats, No. 2,22 c to 24e; rye, No. 2,40 cto 48q; butter, choice creamery, 20c to 22c; eggs, fresh, 10c to 21c; new potatoes, 50c to 65e per bushel. Indinnapolirw-Cattlot shipping, $3.00 to $5.25; hogs, choice light, S3.OU to $3.75; sheep, common to choice, $3.00 to $4.50; wheat, No. 2,02 cto 04c; corn. No. 2 white, 27c to 20c; oats, No. 2 white, 24c to 2Gc. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $3.00 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2,09 cto $1.00; corn. No. 2 yellow, 25c to 27c; oats. No. 2 white, 22c to 24c; rye, No. 2,45 cto 47c. Cincinnati—Cattle, $2.50 to $5.25; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep. $2.50 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2,03 cto 05c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 20c to 30c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 24c to 20c; rye, No. 2,40 cto 48c. Detroit—Cattle, $2.50 to $5.25; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $2.50 to $4.25; wheat. No. 2,02 cto 04c; corn. No. 2 yellow, 20c to 30c; onts, No. 2 wldte, 25c to 27c; rye, 40c to 48c. Toledo—Wheat, No. 2 red, 95c to 00c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 27c to 20c; oats, No. 2 white, 22c to 24c; rye. No. 2,40 cto 48c; clover seed, $3.20 to $3.30. Milwaukee—Wheat, No. 2 spring, 88c to 00c; corn, No. 3,27 cto 29c; oats. No. 2 white, 25c to 20c; rye, No. 2,47 cto 40c; barley, No. 2,38 cto 43c; pork, mesa, $7.50 to SB,OO. Buffalo—Cattle, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, No. 2 red, 95c to 07c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 32c to S3c; oats, No. 2 white, 28c to 20c. New York—Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $3.00 to SS.OQ; wheat, No. 2 red, $1.02 to $1.03; corn. No. 2,85 cto 30c; oats. No. 2 white, 28c to 20c; butter, creamery, 15c to 23c; eggs, Western, 20c to 25c.

AMOUNTS TO LITTLE.

THE IMITATION OF PARTICIPATION IN AFFAIRS. , C- '■ ’•*' 4 The Real Work in the Legislature Halls Is Done by Leaders, bnt That Loes Not Put a Stop to Endless Caucusing. About the Cloak Roams. Washington correspondence:

M OST members of Congress think that they know pretty well what would be the best \ - policy to be followed by their’ gEjfl party. In the Senate recognized leadership does not 80 as it does in the House, and there each man , feels that he is entitled to be, and lIKIVa h e i B , consulted nil I concerning the {J ,* course to be fol- *• lowed by his party.

In the House leadership counts for everything, and, while every member may feel that he should be consulted, very few of them are. Most of the business of the House is done by a few men, and little or nothing is accomplished without the Speaker’s consent. To a greater or less extent this has been the case under all administrations during many years, much depending on the character of the man in, the chair, but the power of leadership has developed very remarkably during the past few years. Perhaps none before have had the power that is exerted by Speaker Reed. It may be that his power is to have a test before the close of this Congress such as it has never had before, but there is very little in past experience to encourage the hope of successful antagonism of him by members of his own party,

THE COLISEUM AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.

and the antagonism of the rhinority, of course, counts for but little. In spite of the fact of all members of the House feeling that they know a thing or two, astonishingly few ever go to the Speaker to advise with him about party policy or any question of more importance than -the fate of some little local bill in which the member himself is alone interested. There are scarcely mor* than half a dozen with whom the Speaker consults, and very few beyond that number who would venture to advise him about a matter of policy.' There is very little consultation with the great mass of the members who form the Congress. Among: the Members. To make up for this there is much consultation and discussion among members themselves. The House is in a constant caucus or group of caucuses. All phases of politics and policy are constantly bejng discussed. Legislation is suggested'and the suggestions are analyzed and criticised with earnestness and wisdom. Members busy about with the energy of insects whose nature it is to toil and keep in motion. Heads are put together and fists arc brought down uppn palms in earnestness to give emphasis to weighty arguments and matters are mooted and concurred in that might change the whole conrse of government. Yet of all this nothing is ever heard beyond the little circle within which the discussion occurs and where the plans are laid. The policy adopted by the leaders is not changed or sought to be changed, if, indeed, it is known or inquired hpto; nor does any legislation or motion towards leg-

A CLOAK ROOM CAUCUS.

islation follow. Sometime* a group of me moors of the majority side of the House, haring agreed among themselves that they .have struck a pretty good idea, will scatter themselves among the members on the minority side to see bow the idea will be received there. If it meets with favor there will be mutual congratulations and felicitation, and the caucusing will become more active and comprehensive. It will spread over both sides of the House and into the cloak rooms. Perhaps the same Subject will occupy them for a day or two. Majority members will go over to the minority cloak room, and minority members will visit the cloak room of the majority. There will be much mysterious whispering. An i\lr of importance will cjjme over the assembly. Groups will became larger and more commingling. T«enrtrf-s and subleadera will spring to the front and emissaries will worm in and out from aisle to aisle and from one side to the other. After nil has been said and done that could be without actually doing something the matter will quietly subside. The majority and minority negotiations will come to a cFOsc. The conferences will scatter and ttfe caucuses divide up into smaller groups discussing lather subjects or trying to originate other

plans for some other project. Meanwhile rid one has suggested the lately agitated project to the Speaker. The sound of the discussion has not reached his ear. The agitation has riot made a motion on the surface of the legislative mill pond. They have been simply blowing thistledown across the water and calling it commerce. The cloak room caucus has ended in cloak room legislation. 1 _ . Decided by the Leaders. Day after day goes dn this “endless imitation” of participation in affairs, while what is to be done is decided on by the leaders and by them executed. About the only time when these cloakroom caucuses have serious import is when they do not relate to' things of the i immediate present, or directly to legislation. For instance, it is not known whether Speaker Reed will, in the succeeding Congress, be a candidate for Speaker, of that he wilkbe in the House at all. It has been intimated that he might retire from the House at the end of this term. Out of this possibility grows another sort of cloak-room caucus. Men not now exactly leaders are engaged in making friends. The possible candidates for the speakership of the Fifty-sixth Congress are “mixing” and making display of their talents. Who’s to come back, and “how I can be of service” are subjects of discussion. The embryo speakership candidate passes from group to group, and is interested in all that interests his colleagues. This sort of speculative and anticipatory consultation is particularly active on the Democratic side. There, they being in the minority and having little to do with present legislation, mapping out a program for the future and a present policy relating entirely to the future is the only profitable thing to be done. They have to deal with an abstract proposition. They have nothing to manage but themselves. It is a struggle to retain or to gain a leadership for the prospect it may hold out in the future. Consultations are constant and active, confidential, mysterious. Each aspiring statesman is constantly moving among his followers, to hold them in line, to inspire them with confidence and to keep them alert against the devices of the followers of a rival. Half a dozen little caucuses are being held hour in the

cloak room, around the fireplaces in the hall and in the body of the House.

COLISEUM IN RUINS.

Chicago’s Vast Structure Quickly Wiped Out by Fire. At Chicago Friday night, fire destroyed the'Coliseum building, in which the Democratic national convention was held last year. The fire was one of the quickest ever seen in Chicago. Within twenty minutes after its origin, which was caused by the crossing of two electric light wires, the Coliseum was a pile of hot bricks and twisted iron. The building hud been rented for a manufacturers’ exposition and Was tilled from end to end with booths, all of which were destroyed, with their contents. The fire originated in a booth which was used for an exhibition of X rays, the booth being managed by M. J. Morley and Wm. Robertson. The two men werfe examining their Roentgen machine when they were startled by a sizzling noise behind them and upon turning saw a part of their exhibit ablaze. Crossed electric light wires which were over the exhibit are thought to have caused the flames. They at first tried to smother the fire, but before they secured water and cloth the fire had spread throughout the entire booth. About 300 people were in the building at the time of the fire, and at the first alarm there was a rush for safety. Fortunately the aisles were wide and owing to the comparatively small number of people in the building there was little difficulty in reaching the doors. Within ten minutes after the fire began the roof was ablaze and in a very short time after the fire had appeared on the top or the building one of the large arches that spanned the building gave way with a tremendous report, and then another, and another, each one going down with a sound like the report of a cannon. The building fell very quickly, aa after the first arch went down the weight was too great for the arch next to it and all collapsed. It took not over twenty minutes to make a complete ruin of the building. The Coliseum cost - $370,000 and was twice as large ns the Mndison Square Garden building of New York. It had a floor space of seven acres, including the ground and gallery floors; was 770 feet long by 300 wide and contained 2,500,000 pounds of steel, 1,200,000 feet of lumber and 3,000,000 bricks. On August 21, 1805, the first Coliseum then in the course of construction, wns wrecked, entailing a loss of $125,000. The cause of the collapse has uever been known, but it was thoqgbt that the last arch was not placed in position correctly. The total loss on building and contents is said to lie $478,000. Of this amount $370,000 wns the value of the building and $128,000 the estimated cost of the exhibits and material in the exposition in progress in the building. Insurance to the amount of $120,000 wns carried on the Coliseum, but of this amount SIOO,000 will go to the holders of outstanding bonds to pay those obligations in full. The owners of the building will act but $20,000 out of their insurance. Frank M. Genin, 38 years old and a son of John R. Genin, the famous hatter, from whom he inherited SIOO,OOO, and Charles W. Plyer, 58 years old, Insurance manager of the National Wall Paper Company, committed suicide in New York by shooting. The case of the United States against the Joint Traffic Association, involving the applicability of the anti-trust law to the agreement between the great trunk lines between New York and Chicago, has been reassigned for argumert on Feb. 21 by the United States Supreme Court.

TREASURY IS AHEAD.

DECEMBER STATEMENT WILL. SHOW $1,500,000 SURPLUS. Union Pacific Payments Not Included in Figures—Heavy Interest Payr meats May Produce Another Deficit in January. Heavy Gain in Receipts. A Washington correspondent writes: The Government’s revenues have at last overtaken its expenditures. The treasury statement for the complete month of December will show a surplus in current receipts over current payments of about sl,500,000. This is, of coufise, exclusive of the receipts on account of the Union Pacific Railroad. The statement a few days ago showed a surplus of $667,000, receipts for the month having been .$25, 706,000, against expenditures amounting to $25,029,000. Aside from the Union Pacific transaction the deficit for the first six mouths of the current fiscal year, ending with December, will approximate $44,500,000. On account of the heavy interest payments the January statement may show a deficit which will carry the total shortage close to $50,000,000. The proceeds of the sale of the Union Pacific, including the item of $8,551,000, swell the total receipts for the six months to* a little over $200,000,000. The statement for the full month will show total receipts and disbursements for the six months to be about equal in amount. j Her Joke Cost Her Life. It develops that the shootiilg of Katie Dosenbach by Marcus Nassauer at Clayton, near St. Louis, and his own suicide was the result of a practical joke. It is said Nassauer’s friends constantly told him the girl loved him deeply, and she herself entered into the spirit of the fun by telling him she was about to leave for Oregon to be married. Driven to desperation by the thought of losing her, Nassauer called at her home and shot her and then blew out his brains.

NEWS NUGGETS.

Princeton is to have a boat crew next year. Broker Henry Michaels ate 100 oysters and won a wager of S3O at New York. The Equitable and East River. Gas Companies at New York have consolidated. The young Countess Castellane (nee Gould) has given birth to a boy, her second son. John J. Stevenson of New York has been elected president of the Geological Society of America. As a result of the Union Pacific reorganization the offices of the company will be removed from Boston to New York. Dr. Wiley Meyer of New York has discovered a new anaesthetic, consisting of chloroform, sulphuric ether and petrolic ether. Mrs. Ethel Mary McCallum has been granted a divorce at Fargo, N. D., from William C. McCallum, formerly of Kimberly, South Africa. President Callaway of the Lake Shore Railroad believes the long-distance telephone is responsible for the decrease in railway passenger earnings. Gertrude Coghlan, the young actress, has decided to apply for a divorce from Reginald Caiheron, to whom she was secretly married two years ago. Alexander R. Shepherd, formerly Governor of the District of Columbia, has been stricken with apoplexy at Batopilas, Mexico, and is dangerously ill. Dr. Thomas W. Evans, the American dentist who died in Paris, left a fortune of $4,000,000. His brother, who is left only SIO,OOO, will contest the will. A special session of the Tennessee Legislature has been called to meet Jan. 7. A successor to the late Senator Isham G. Harris will be elected, and important legislation is pending. Gov. Adams of Colorado hns refused to honor the New York requisition for Editor William H. Griffith of Leadville, indicted for larceny on complaint of Broker Richard J. Bolles. The Atlantic Coast Line will add to its system an important line by securing the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad. The property is paying, it is stated, 5 per cent on a $5,000,000 capitalization. Adlai E. Stevenson, former Vice-Presi-dent of the United States, has accepted the position of Western counsel of the North American Trust Company of New York, with a membership in the board of directors. S. P. Lock, a prominent bnsincss man of Memphis, Tenn., secured a berth in a Pullman sleeper to go to Jasper, Ala. Subsequently the trainmen found his remains on a trestle. The supposition is that Lock walked in his sleep and fell off. A story is current in Wall street of a possible amalgamation of Metropolitan, Manhattan and Third avenue lines. The proposition is said to have the backing of the entire Philadelphia Traction Company, including Elkins, Widener, Yerkes, Dolan and others. Tbe will of Charles Coutoit, filed for probnte at New York, after bequests to relatives and friends, leaves the residue of trie estate, valued nt $1,500,000, to bo divided among the general theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the domestic and foreign missionary society of the Protestant Episcopal Church and a large number of New York, institutions. • The Chicago and Northwestern Railway filed in the register of deeds offi«iat Council Bluffs, lowa, a mortgage for $165,000,000 in favor of the United States Trust Company of New York. It covers all tbe property of the company a*d is given for the purpose of extlngnishing outstanding bonds amounting to $114,• 302,000. Joseph Hopkins, the negrs who murdered two white farmers o Christinas day at Glcndore, n small inland town near Minter City, Mias., wun lynched by a posse nt daylight the other morning oq the James plantation, near Swan Lake. The Denver owners of some of the undeveloped asphaltum beds on the borders of the Uncompagbre Indian reservation are negotiating with the Title Guarantee and ’frust Company of Chicago with a view to securing money to develop the deposits, said to be worth over $1,000,000,000.