Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 68, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1899 — SLAVERY AT AN END. [ARTICLE]

SLAVERY AT AN END.

COURT DECLARES AN OLD KENTUCKY LAW VOID. Negroes Cannot Be Sold on the Block for Vagrancy— Grounds on Which Decision Is Based - Cuban Exiles Want to Return Home. The Kentucky law under which so many negroes in the last twenty years have been sold on the block for a term of years in punishment for vagrancy has been at last declared unconstitutional. The attack on its constitutionality was made on a demurrer in the case of Ben Burton, colored, charged with vagrancy at Richmond, Ky. John H. Chandler, his attorney, made the point that the law was unconstitutional because it conflicted with the Constitution of the United States, which prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude except in punishment of crime, and because vagrancy was not a crime but a misdemeanor. He also claimed that it was in violation of the clause of the constitution against the infliction of cruel and unnatural punishment. Judge Scott upheld both clauses, decided the law unconstitutional and dismissed the prisoner.

WILL REPATRIATE THE CUBANS T. Estrada Palma Says There Are Many Exiles Who Wish to Return. Estrada Palma, who until the recent dissolution of the Cuban Assembly was its representative in this country, said the other day that he was now engaged in facilitating the repatriation of the Cubans who had left the island in consequence of the war. Fully 40,000 Cubans, he declared, had emigrated from Cuba and virtually all were anxious to return, while few were able to do so. Most of them had come to this country—to Tampa, Key West and New York; many had gone to Mexico and Santo Domingo. Through the efforts of himself and his associates hundreds had been returned. The bulk of them, however, were still exiled by poverty from Cuba. Trestle and Bridge Broken. Freight train 38 on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad met with a serious accident at Bridge 61, between Greenwood and Sloane’s Valley, Tenn. A car broke down on the trestle and 350 feet of the trestle and bridge were broken down. An unknown tramp was killed and Conductor J. E. Pepper and Brakeman Jennings of Somerset, Ky., were injured. Passengers Shaken Up. A train on the Burlington Railroad was wrecked between Sugar Grove and Big Rock, 111. Several of the cars left the track. The fireman, C. Flock, was killed and two of the trainmen injured, but none of the passengers was seriously hurt All the cars in the train were damaged, but the loss will not exceed $2,000. Shame for the Seventy-first. Gov.' Roosevelt has received and considered the report of the court that investigated charges laid against officers of the Seventy-first regiment of New York City. The court found that Maj. Smith, Capt. Whittle and Maj. Austin were guilty of lack of bravery and courage and of incompetency. Miss Della Clevenger Is Dead. At Missouri City, Mo., Miss Della Clevenger, who was shot by her cousin, Ernest Clevenger, on the night of Dec. 8 last, is dead of her wounds. Ernest Clevenger is in jail at Liberty, having been returned there from Vibbard, Mo., where he was recaptured after having escaped a week before. Lincoln’s Birthplace Fold. The farm on which Abraham Lincoln was born, which lies two miles south of Hodgenville, Ky., and which was owned by A. W. Dennett of New York City, has been sold to David Great, also of New York City. It is now very probable that the farm will be converted into a park.

Torpedo Boat Is The United States torpedo boat Somers, purchased just before the war with Spain, which twice tried to cross the ocean under its own steam and each time returned disabled, has been shipped from London on the steamer Manhattan for New York. John Louie Lay Dead John Louis Lay, formerly a first assistant engineer in the United States navy, and inventor of the Lay torpedo, which was used by Lieut. William B. Gushing to destroy the Confederate gunboat Albemarle in 1864, is dead in New York, hged 68 years. Earthquake Wrecks a Town. The Department of State has been informed by the consul at San Salvador that the city of San Vicente had recently suffered from severe earthquakes. No lives were lost, slight shocks having given ample warning before the severe ones came. Sad Deception for a Lover. Miss Nina Hall of Haven, Kan., on the eve of her marriage to Assistant Engineer Ebby of the battleship Brooklyn, was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun. Her lover did not learn of her death until he arrived for the marriage ceremony. Both Arms Broken. Dr. James G. Field, retired army surgeon, who volunteered to resume his duties when the Spanish war broke out, and served through the war in Cuba, broke both arms below the elbow by a fall while exercising in a gymnasium in Denver. Find a New Land. Members of the Belgian Antarctic expedition are reticent regarding the result of the expedition, bnt it is known that it advanced to 71 degrees 36 minutes latitude south and discovered land previously unknown, which it called Danco. Quay Declared Not Guilty. Matthew Stanley Quay has been declared by a jury to be not guilty of the charge of conspiring to nse for his own unlawful gain and profit the funds of the State of Pennsylvania deposited ip the People’s Bank of Philadelphia. Raise Window Glass Prices The American Glass Company has advanced prices of window glass 10 per cent, to take effect at once. The production will be considerably curtailed, owing to a strike in three Eastern factories. Corpse Found in a WelL Miss Anna Brunot, a wealthy old maid, was foully murdered. Her body has been found in a well on the farm of her late brother, Charles Brunot, five miles north of Pana, 111.

RESISTS THE BANK ROBBER. Cashier in Council Bluffs Scares a Desperado Away. A daring attempt to rob the State Savings Bank on Broadway, Council Bluffs, was made the other afternoon. A. J. Brown, the assistant cashier, was shot in the right arm while resisting the demand of the bandit to hold np his hands. Four shots were fired by the desperado at the cashier, but the fusillade soon attracted a large crowd to the scene. The wouldbe robber, whose only disguise was a white handkerchief tied around the lower part of his face, escaped through the back door. The attempt to rob the bank occurred about 2:30 o’clock, when Mr. Brown was alone in the bank, the cashier having stepped out for a few minutes. Instead of complying with a demand to hold up his hands Mr. Brown seized a stool, raised it to protect himself, and commenced to call for help. The bandit then began to shoot. WINDSTORM WORKS DAMAGE. One Person Killed and Several Injured Near San Antonio, Tex. Several Texas towns were visited by a terrific wind and hail storm that followed a heavy rain. At Lytle the building on the “XL” ranch was demolished and a Mexican cowboy killed. At Weimer the home of City Marshal Insall was blown down and Mrs. Insall and her two children injured. The school house at Medina was overturned and the teacher, Miss Minnie Halstead, received internal injuries. Two pupils, Tom Maston and Henry Willard, were seriously injured.

Military Riot at tan Francisco. What came near to being a dangerous riot occurred near the Presidio reservation, San Francisco, Cal., when a large body of white troops from the Presidio burned to the ground a saloon known as the Presidio Club case and resisted arrest by colored troops of the Twentyfourth infantry and the local police. The police fired upon the rioters to intimidate them and several hundred afrests were made. The trouble grew out of injuries inflicted on C. L. King, a soldier in the Twenty-third infantry, the previous night in the saloon. The soldier was so badly beaten that his life was despaired of. Several hundred of his comrades marched on the saloon. The keeper saw them coming and fled. They bombarded the place with stones and then set it on fire. The provost guard, which happened to be drawn from the colored regiment, and a large detachment of local police had much trouble in quelling the rioters. All the offenders were raw recruits. To Increase Coal Prices. Representatives of the anthracite coal trade have established a schedule of prices involving an increase of from 10 to 50 cents a ton on anthracite coal. It is estimated that on the annual production of 40,000,000 tons this will take from the people and place in the pocket of the trust at least $10,000,000. Three Die at a Fire. Three persons were smothered at a fire at the rear of 642 Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. One of them, a woman, was found lying fully clothed across the bed in her room, while the other two, both men, were in their room, one of them in a chair and the other lying upon the floor. Five were rescued. Kills His Wife and Himself. At Pueblo, Colo., Frank Smith, driver of a soda water wagon, shot and killed his wife and himself as an outcome of a divorce suit recently brought by the woman.

Avenged a Sister’s Wrong. Samuel Abbott, a soldier in the First Artillery, summarily avenged a sister’s wrong by killing Thomas Craig at Wise’s Landing. Ky. Abbott gave himself up. Big Tannery Burned. The large tannery and yards of the United States Leather Company at Lincoln, Me., were destroyed by fire, causing a loss estimated at $150,000. Reed a New-Yorker. Thomas B. Reed has become the head of the New York law firm of Simpson, Thacher’& Barnum. He will drop politics entirely. Qnay Again Senator. Gov. Stone of Pennsylvania has appointed Matthew Stanley Quay as Senator to serve until the next session of the Legislature. Extradition Treaty with Mexico. The Mexican Senate has unanimously adopted the new extradition treaty with the United States. Damaged by a Waterspout. A waterspout at Forbes, Mo., washed out a mile of Burlington Railroad track and did other damage.