Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1898 — PANIC IN A CHURCH. [ARTICLE]

PANIC IN A CHURCH.

INSANE MAN ROUTS A MISSOURI CONGREGATION. Me Professes Conversion, but After the Church Kpnrns Him He Comes Buck with a Knife-Fight Between Non-Union Men nnd Strikers. Religious Meeting Broken Up. During the progress of Rev. James Vernon’s sermon at the Christian Church in Independence, Mo., Frank Kester, a hanger-on about saloons, who is known to the police, arose in the rear of tlie audience and announced that he wanted to join the church. “I want to join the & church; lam converted,” yelled the man with glowing red eyes and disheveled hair, in a loud, husky voice. Kester was seized by half a dozen strong hands and escorted to t'he front door. The pastor had not proceeded very far, however, before the man returned and forced his way down the aisle toward the pulpit. “I am going to take charge of this business myself,” aaid Kester, threateningly. "You people don’t like me, and I am going to dean you out.” At this juncture the congregation was on the verge of’a panic aud women began to scream and faint. Several men grappled with the insane man, who immediately drew a large knife and a pistol and prepared to defend himself. Pandemonium reigned, and amid the shrieks of women and children and the threats and curses of Kester, the audience fled from the church, leaving the intruder in the building. The police were summoned and the man was subdued aud takeu to jail. KAYS HE SERVED THE LORD. Cleveland Man Sets Fire and Burns Y. M. C. A. Building. Robert W. Doon warned the Alabama street branch of the Y. M. C. A. at Cleveland to the ground. Roon slept in the building, which was old and unpretentious, but comfortably furnished. He 'bought coal oil and some waste and sent them up with a note signed “A Friend.” as s donation to the Y. M. C. A. He got fid of his bed-fellow, the janitor, by telling him he was ill and restless hud that a bed-fellow would keep him awake. Being thus alone, he got up toward morning, sprinkled the coal oil, distributed the waste and applied a match. The place and its contents were, burned. Roon says he reasoned out that, he would bo serving the cause of God if he did the thing, because then the institution would have lots of insurance money and eoukl build suitable quarters. He says he did his duty and does not care what happens to him. STRIKE RESULTS IN FIGHT. Union and Nonunion Men. Engage In Battle at Cleveland. As the result of an attempt of a party of twenty-two non-union men to enter the works of the American sVire Company at Cleveland, where a strike has been on for come time past, a pitched battle took place between Vhe strikers and the non-union workmeu. Clubs and stones were freely used, and while no one was seriously in- ’ jured a number of men were severely bruised or cut. It is alleged that the trouble was started by a non-union man throwing pepper into the eyes of a striker who was endeavoring to prevent the former from entering the works. The strikers closed in, and for a few minutes there wAk a mass of struggling and lighting men. Upon the appearance of the police, however, the rioters dispersed. Only one arrest was made. The non-union men did not get into t'he works. standing of the Clubs. Following is the standing of the clubs In tlie National Baseball League: \V. L. W. L. Boston .....85 44Philadelphia. t>4 til Baltimore ...81 4ti Pittsburg ... .till titl Cincinnati ..80 53 Louisville ...5(1 74 Cleveland ...73 54 Brooklyn ....48 74 Chicago 72 (50 Washington. 42 SH New Y0rk...70 (SOSt. Louis 34 04 Following is the standing of the clubs in the Western League: W. L. W. L. Kansas City.Bß 51 Columbus ...73 58 Indianapolis. 84 49 Detroit 51 85 Milwaukee ..81 58 Minneapolis. 48 92 Ht. Paul 75) 58St. Joseph... .42 04 Reported Kale of H. and O. Interests. Dispatches from Chicago state that P. D. Armour, Marshall Field and Norman B. Ream have secured control of the B«I----tlimorc nnd Ohio Railroad. Ten million dollars is said to he tlie price paid. They have gained for Chicago and flu l Northwest practically a trunk line from ocean to ocean by way of the Great Northern, and it will In' controlled by Chicago eupital. Alger Ready to Quit. Secretary Alger has placed his resignation in the hands of President McKinley. A report to this effect was confirmed h.v a member of the cabinet, who said: “The resignation was not in writing, but was tendered verbally," Karthquukc Shock in Muine. Two earthquake shocks occurred in Deering, Me. The lirst was felt at 10:45 •M. in., lasting seven seconds, followed after an intcrvul of eleven seconds by a •econd shock, lasting five seconds. Dcuth of Dr. John Hall, The Rev. Dr. John Hall of New York died at Bangor. County Down. Ireland Dr. Hall was on his annual visit to Kurojie. He died at hia sister’s residence, of heart failure. Fatal Quarrel of lown Farmers. Isaac Fitz nnd James McClellan, farmera near Yale, lown, quarreled over a Hue fence. As McClellan mounted his horse to return home, Fitz shot him with a shotgun and killed him instantly. Pit/, was arrested aud spirited away to avoid lynching. Winnie I avis Is Dead. Miss "Winnie” Dnvis, daughter of the late Jefferson Darin, died at the Hotel liockinghum, Nnrragansett Pier, R. 1., from sub-acute gastritis, after an illness of ucnrly two months.

ROCK ISLAND TRAIN KILLS TWO. Party to Wild West Show Rnn Down at a Crossing. A serious and fatal accident occurred npon one of the, main thoroughfares in Wichita, Kan., in which two were killed and two others will die. The south-bound Rock Island passenger collided with a wagon containing fifteen people on their way to the evening performance of the Wild West exhibition of Buffalo Bill. The driver of the wagon was warned, but he refused to £eed and the train struck the wagon squflreiy and threw the occupants of the vehicle forward and ran on. One woman was twisted almost in two at the waist and carried fifty yards. A man had his limbs cut into several pieces and died soon after reaching the hospital. A woman was taken from the pilot of the engine unconscious, but, aside from a few bruises, uninjured. SEALS BEING EXTERMINATED. Pelagic Fishing Must Stop to Save the Supply of Skins. C. Townsend, chief of the division of fisheries, United States fish commission, who has been the official inspector .of the seal herd for several years, and a member of the recent Behring Sea committee, has returned from an inspection tour of the seal fishing fields. His observations from year to year conclusively prove that the herd is rapidly diminishing in numbers, declining from 10 to 15 per cent each season. This is the customary falling off since ocean sealing became general. He says that pelagic sealing is still carried on by schooners owned in British Columbia to the exclusion of American vessels. If this practice does not cease, he says the herds Will soon be exterminated. VESSEL REPORTED LOST. British Bark Should Have Reached Japan Two Months Ago. Private advices have been received in Philadelphia from London to the effect that the British bark David Morgan, Capt. McMillan, has probably been lost,, together with her crew of nineteen men. The Morgan sailed from Philadelphia on March 25 for Nagasaki Japan, with a cargo of oil. She has been out nearly 175 days, while the voyage should under ordinary conditions have been made in from 120 to 130 days. The vessel is owned in Glasgow by A. Weir & Co. She is constructed of steel, is 249 feet long, 38 feet beam and 21 feet deep. xi LOWER POSTAIARATE®. Reduction of Letter Postage Between England and Canada Secured. At a reception extended to Postmaster General Mulock at Toronto, Ont., he said a reduction secured by him in the letter rate between Great Britain and Canada from 5 to 3 cents would involve a loss in postal revenue of $750,000 a year. He proposed, he said, to bring about a reduction in the rate on letters within the dominion of Canada in the near future from 3to 2 cents. This rate will also, it is understood, apply to letters to the United States from Canada. Miners Hopelessly Strnggle On. A party of miners who arrived at Vancouver from Fort Wrangel, Alaska, relate a story confirmatory of previous reports of the suffering of prospectors who jtried to get into the Klondike by the Ashcroft route. The party is composed of iTames and Frank Hazara, W. Rough and William Mullin. Their home is at Dolphin Lake, Manitoba. In an interview mblished in an evening paper Mullin ;uys: “The scenes of distress along the rail are vividly impressed on our minds. IVe passed fully 100 outfits, representing perhaps sixty men, and many of them Were actually starving. The poor fellows had in many cases lost everything—clothing, horses and provisions—and were struggling along in a half-dazed condition, eating gophers'; ground hogs, squirrels— In fact, anything they could get. They are a ragged, hungry and desperate crowd »f men, with small hopes of reaching their destination. Occasionally a fortunate party on the trail gives them provisions, but none of us had much to spare. All along the trnil you could see them lying under the trees and under improvised shelters, trudging helplessly along in the day time, nnd often lying down at night without a bite to eat. It is simply terrible.” Wreck of the Jessie. E. B. Wisliar, who arrived at Seattle from St. Michael’s, Alaska, brings confirmation of the previously published report of the loss of the steamer Jessie at the mouth of the Ivuskowill river in July, with eighteen lives. The uews was brought to St. Michael’s by a trader named Ling, who said that only one Indian survived. The bodies of Capt. Murphy and Hev. Welsh had been washed ashore. The passengers of the Jessie were known as the Columbia Exploration Company, ltev. Welsh had been taken aboard to pilot the party up the Ivuskowill. The Jessie had in tow the barge Minerva, which was washed ashore. Mr. Wishar also brings a report that the schooner Louise .1. Kennedy had been wrecked in Bering Sea. Turks Refuse to Witlidruw. The Turkish Government has sent a circular to the powers, alleging that the British provoked the disorders at Candia, claiming that the present situation is due to the measures adopted by the powers in Crete and protesting against the bombardmeut of Candia. The Porte 'announces its refusal to withdraw the Turkish troops from Crete, in spite of the decision of the admirals that such a step is absolutely necessary. Kx-Judgo Hud* His Life. Former Judge Thomus F. McCormick, who for twenty years presided over the Union County, New Jersey, court of common pleas, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head while in St. V«ry's Roman Catholic cemetery in Elizabeth. Not Goodwin breaks Hia Leg. Nat Goodwin, the uctor, while out riding in the country near Woolwich, England, was thrown from his horse and sustained two bad fractures of the log. He intended to sail for New York the next day, but was unable to do so. Turkey Responsible. The United States, it is announced, hns replied to a recent note of the Turkish Government, declining to accept Turkey’s repudiation of the responsibility for American tosses during the Armenian troubles. » y .■■n.i—i. Ctgnr Makers Locked Out. Four hundred clgarniakers, members of the Ciguruinkers’ International Union, were locked out from the factory of Carl Upmann in New York. The lockout rosultcfhfroiu u dispute over the wage scale.