Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 May 1899 — Page 2

REPUBLICAN. |||Eo. B. MARSHALL, Publisher. KeNSSELAER, -•INDIANA.

OFFICER SHOT DEAD.

RED OF A DESPERATE OHIO I OUTLAW. Ike Bird Kill* Deputy Sheriff MorriI; Mm and Then Ends His Own Life— I Explosion Kills Two and Demolishes !<i« Powder House. ' Deputy Sheriff Frank Morrison, a very jpular official of Kenton, Ohio, was shot tad near Mount Victory by Ike Bird, a asperate character, who has been under dktment for burglary and larceny since eptember. Morrison, accompanied by (re policemen, went after Bird. Bird had pequently boasted that he would never } taken alive. Upon the officers reachIg the Bird homestead, his mother denied bat he was there, but the deputy sheriff treed his way inside, leaving the other Deers to guard the doors. Walking upairs. he was confronted by a shotgun in ie hands of Bird, who, without one word t warning, pulled the trigger and shot a Irge portion of the officer’s head off. *hen, pointing a pistol at his own head, vt deliberately blew out his brains. jIpOWDER* HOUSE 18 DEMOLISHED. lectnl Explosion in the Pinole (Cal.) Plant Costs Two Lives. The nitroglycerin house of the Califorua powder works at Pinole. Cal., explodd. Foreman Arthur Graves and L. J. Pilkinson were killed and several others rere injured. The building destroyed was artially wrecked by the explosion of a SW days before and the two men killed rere making an examination to determine J»e extent of the repairs necessary to put tin working order. Just what happened » cause the explosion will never be mown. The loss caused by the later disurter will reach $15,000. H TRAMPS IN A FATAL RIOT. hie Will Die as Result of a Shooting Affray at Shelby, Ohio. -Twenty tramps engaged in a drunken Ight near the depot at Shelby, Ohio, the rther vening and two of them were bady shot, one receiving fatal wounds. The >an seriously hurt gave his name as ames O’Brien of 48 Clark street. New York. He was shot near the heart, in the Km and leg. He says he is a laborer and gas once a printer and reporter. The ther man was Laston L. Frady of Inlanapolis, where he says he has a brother i the English Hotel. Frady was shot in be tack. Race for the Pennant. ■ The etanding of the clubs in the Nakmal League race is as follows: W. L. W. L. it. Louis.... 12 sßaltimore .... 9 10 Chicago 14 6New York ... 8 9 ’hiladelphia .13 6 Louisville .... 8 11 irooklyn ....12 BPittsburg .... 7 10 lincinnati .. 9 7 Washlngton .. 4 15 loston 11 9 Cleveland ... 3 14 ■ Following is the standing of the clubs an the Western League: W. L. W. L. Buffalo 6 4 Indianapolis .56 St. Paul .... 6 4 Minneapolis ~ 5 6 Kansas City. 6 5 Milwaukee .. 4 6 gDetroit 6 sColumbus .... 4 6 Big Ohio Plant Burns. 1 Fire swept Russell & Co.’s mammoth ■brasher and engine plant at Massillon, lOhio, destroying property valued at fully ■600,000. The blaze started in the waremouse, and gained steadily on the fireEben. In this structure 300 finished majehines were consumed. The machineshops were saved. Albert Bamberger, a [volunteer fireman, was killed by a fallpig wall. In the same catastrophe ChrisL. Baatz, a workman, was probably [fatally injured. Crowded Pier Sinks. H More than fifty feet of the end of the |Bd iron pier at Coney Island, New York, mras washed away by the waves. Sixty iben were at the end of the pier at the (time. About forty of them were able to ping to the pier wreckage and were respued by the prompt action of the police pud firemen. The remaining twenty were Eift on a bulkhead cut off from land by a Eap in the pier. These were taken off by ■Die United States revenue cutter Scout. «■' Report of Meat Investigators. Bln its report the court of inquiry which investigated the beef charges censures Beneral Miles for not reporting the unfitpess of the rations at the time that the nomplaints reached him. General Eagan scored for buying such imEense quantities of an untried ration. Ehe packers are exonerated, it being ■mown that they furnished the same ■Sods that they put on the general marI Shoots Wife and Himself. ■kt Minneapolis, Bernard Golling at' Hnpted to shoot his wife, from whom he Kgs seeking a divorce. He fired one shot ITber in the street, w r hen Judge Gilfillan, ftho was passing, intervened and struck ftp ipfolling’s arm, causing the second shot jftgO Wild. Golling then ran a short displace and sent a bullet through his own 1 Plow Makers in a Trust. ffilßow manufacturers have virtually Hpmed a trust, the capitalization of which MU be over $65,000,000. The combinaE will take iu all the leading plowHlkers in the country, the most of whom ftp? located within 200 miles of Chicago. i3Jß*rber* Must Have License. Idov. Stephens of Missouri has signed a t II requiring that all barbers working in Bfesouri procure licenses and providing Jfi&af* board of inspection to pass upon I ; Tornado in St. Louis. violent wind and rain storm swept Bough the prominent residence portion Mp, Louis, leaving in its trail fifty unjSpfed houses, thousands of terrified peoHpf»d streets littered with fallen trees Hj|ff?bris of buildings. Several persons ■t Jdightly injured by flying timbers.

CONVICT ESCAPES A 8 FREIGHT. | Mail Box Robber Hide* in a Box Leaving Ohio’s Penitentiary. Timothy Hogan, one of the most widely known mail box robbers in the United States, escaped from the Ohio penitentiary •t Columbus by hiding in a box being shipped out the walls as freight. Hogan worked in the cigar shop and while packing a large order for shipment jumped into the box and the lid was nailed down by another convict. Hogan chose this box because the contents were required to weigh 165 pounds, which is his exact weight. The box, therefore, was passed by the inspector. Upon its arrival at the shipping point two clerks turned the box over several times in weighing it, but failed to detect its contents. Ten minutes later one of the clerks noticed a man clad in a pair of trousers and an undershirt, with his cap in his hand, running toward the rear door. The open box told the story. They made an effort to capture him, but he succeeded in making good Shis escape. DULUTH STREET CARS IDLE. jCnion Employes Declare a Strike— Leaders Are Arrested. All street car traffic in Duluth was jbrought practically to a standstill the othier day. The local union declared a strike because of alleged grievances against the K river. A number of the union men had n discharged by the receiver without reason, the men allege. Nine of the union pen were arrested. They were accused jof having cut the street railway wires. They were released, however, as nothing could be proved against them. Judge Ensign issued an injunction against the men restraining them from interfering with the new men or the company’s property and the arerst of a dozen of the strike leaders followed. SLAYS HER MOTHER. Chicago Woman Commits Murder to Avenge Crnel Words. Mrs. Catherine Schultz, aged 59 years, was shot three times and killed by her daughter, Mrs. Augusta Styles, at the doorway of a society lodge room in Chicago in which a number of women were meeting. The murderess was arrested as she stood with an excited group near her mother’s corpse a few minutes later. She was arrested and is now closely watched lest in the agony of remorse she take her own life. Revelations of a closed chapter In Mrs. Styles’ early life made to her 16-year-old daughter by Mrs. Schultz prompted the woman to commit the unnatural deed. , THREE SCHOONERS WRECKED. Stranded on Cape Cod Through Brisk Gale and Foggy Weather. As the result of foggy weather and a brisk northeasterly gale three schooners have stranded on Cape Cod. Their crews escaped. The large three-masted schooner Alice B. Phillips of New Haven went ashore near Race Point. The schooner Robert Byron went on the beach at Crow Hill, and the three-masted schooner Helena, from a Maine port, for the South, with a cargo of fish scraps, struck on Peaked Hill bars. America to Awe Moors. Before the departure of the cruiser Chicago from Ponte Delgado, Acting Secretary Allen sent instructions to Rear Admiral Howison, the flag officer on board, directing him to proceed with the vessel to Tangier, Morocco, These instructions were cabled at the request of the State Department, which is desirous of producing a proper respect for Americans and the American Government among Moorish officials. The United States has a number of small claims against the Moorish Government, the result of the looting of stores owned by Americans and of outrages committed upon Moorish agents of American houses, who, under the terms of the treaty between the two governments, are under American protection. The authorities are confident that the moral effect of the appearance of the Chicago, with a flag officer on board, at Tangier will be excellent, and will hasten the settlement of the claims. Official’s Removal Demanded. As a result of Gen. Torres’ oppressive conduct toward American merchants trading at Bluefields, Nicaragua, this Government has determined to require the Nicaraguan Government to relieve him from duty at that point. It is the understanding of the officials that a demand has already been submitted for the punishment of Gen. Torres and no doubt exists that the Zelaya Government, to show its friendship for the United States, will take proper action. It is proposed by the authorities to keep the Detroit at Bluefields to enforce respect and to provide protection to Americans until the controversy has been settled and there is a restoration of peace and order. It is said by the officials that this can only be accomplished by the withdrawal of Gen. Torres.

Banker la Murdered. Alexander Masterson, a banker, was decoyed into a room in the Burlington apartment house, New York, and shot to death. He was killed by James Neale Plumb, a retired merchant, who had planned the crime and had with him when he fired the fatal shot a long typewritten statement of the events leading up to the murder. The affair was the climax of a feud of long standing between the two men over family affairs and estates. Player Kills an Umpire. Samuel Powell, an umpire in a baseball game, was killed by a player at Lowndesboro, Ala. The game was between the “Blues” and the “Reds,” and in the seventh inning Frank McCoy of the “Blues” hit a long liner and sped around the bases for a home run. The umpire informed him that the hit was a foul. The two men fought and McCoy crushed Powell’s skull with a baseball bat. Bank Building: Damaged. At Duluth, Minn., the roof and seventh floor of the First National Bank building was damaged by fire. The total loss is estimated at $65,000. The heaviest losers were the Duluth Telephone Company, which lost its switchboard, valued at $25,000; Duluth and Iron Range road offices were gutted. The city will be without telephone service for several weeks. Great Trust in Leather. Formal announcement of the organization of the American Hide and Leather Company is made. The company will soon be incorporated wi*h a capital of $70,000,000. Injured at a Ball Game. Four men were injured at the Armory baseball pai •k in Toledo by the collapse of a shed adjoining the grounds. One man, Prank Harmon, was fatally injured.

YERKES ROADS SOLD.

EASTERN SYNDICATE TO CONSOLIDATE THE LINES. Chicago’s Well-Known Street Railway Magnate Will Step Down and OutGigantic Financial Deal-Unknown Schooner Goes Down Off New Jersey. The consolidation of the North and West Side street railroad systems of Chicago and their sale to the Whitney-Elkins-Widener syndicate has been carried out. Upwards of $50,000,000 is involved, and the success of the scheme means the retiring of Charles T. Yerkes as the street car magnate of Chicago. The men who engineered this great scheme to a successful issue are Isaac L. Rice of New York, president of the Electric Storage Battery Company and of the Electric Traction Company of Chicago; Martin Maloney of Philadelphia, silent partner in the big traction firm of Elkins & Widener; Charles E. Yerkes of New York, son of the Chicago street railway magnate; William L. Elkins, Jr., of Philadelphia, son of the traction magnate of that city; Egbert Jamieson, counsel for Charles T. Yerkes, and Levy Mayer, attorney for the Whitney-Elkins-Widener syndicate. It is understood that the price of the stocks in the transfer agreement was 140 for West Chicago and a figure near 300 for North Chicago. SCHOONER SINKS OFF JERSEY. Life-Savers Fail to Find Any Trace of the Vessel’s Crew. Reports from the life-saving stations along the New Jersey coast show that a two-masted schooner sunk about five miles off the Island Beach station. One of her topmasts is gone and the other shows about ten feet above water. A 16-foot yawl painted lead color, with brown gunwales, came ashore at the Forked river station. This boat probably belongs to the sunken .schooner. Life savers who went to the wreck found her to be a one topmast schooner, apparently of about seventy tons. Her sails appeared to have been washed away. There was nothing to indicate her name and the fate of her crew is unknown. ATTEMPT TO RESCUE BANDITS. Four Outlaws Killed by Gnards While Try inn to Liberate Their ChieL At Mayari,, Santiago de Cuba, between Holguin and Sagua de Tanamo, an attempt was made by four outlaws to rescue the bandit chief Miguel Gonzales and five other bandits, who were in the custody of the rural guards. The sentinel who detected the attempt fired, wounding one of the outlaws. The guards rushed to the assistance of the sentry and a sharp fight ensued, all the would-be rescuers being killed. Two of the guards were wounded. The prisoners have since been removed to Baracoa. Might Have Averted Murder. Claims for damages to the amount of $25,000 have been filed against the Western Union Telegraph Company for the non-delivery of a telegram of warning, which, it is claimed, would have averted a murder. The message was sent by Lizzie Small of Richmond, Me., to her sister, Mamie Small, employed in a Gardiner, Me., shoeshop, on the day that Mamie was shot and killed by Bradford Knights. Official’s Large Shortage. An expert examining the books of J. E. Wiseoskie, ex-city treasurer of Argentine, Kan., has reported to the City Council that he is short between $20,000 and $25,000. When Wiseoskie resigned and disappeared recently he left word that he was short SB,OOO and assigned his property, valued at about that amount, to the city. Concede America In Ruler. Aguinaldo’s representatives to the American Philippines commission have formally admitted the sovereignty of the United States over the Philippine archipelago, and it is the confident expectation of the President that the end of the rebellion is close at hand.

Iron Hall Wound Up. Judge McMaster of the Marion County (Ind.) Superior Court has ordered the receiver of the Order of the Iron Hall to pay the final dividends—one-fifth of 1 per cent. The distribution of this dividend will close the receivership, which has existed seven years. To Pay American Claims. The Sultan has authorized the American minister, Oscar S. Straus, to telegraph President McKinley that his majesty has promised to pay the American claim of $20,000 for losses sustained by Americans in Turkey during the Armenian massacres in 1895. For St. Louis Celebration. Gov. Stephens of Missouri has signed a resolution submitting an amendment to the constitution to the vote of the people to allow St. Louis to vote $5,000,000 for bonds for the Louisiana purchase centennial celebration to be held in St. Louis in 1903. No Pinkertons for Missouri. Gov. Stephens of Missouri has signed the bill prohibiting the employment of non-residents as deputy sheriffs, deputy constables or as police officers. The measure is intended to prohibit the importation of Pinkerton detectives into the State. May Call an Extra .-'essiou. So many affairs of great importance await action by the next Congress that it is said the President seriously contemplates calling that body together in extra session as early as October. Well-Known Writer Married. Richard Harding Davis of New York, writer, and Miss Cecil Clark, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Marshall Clark of Chicago, were married at St. Gabriel’s chapel, Marion, Mass. Forest Fit'e In Pennsylvania. A big forest fire has been raging in York County, Pa. Fifty acres of valuable timber belonging to the estate of the late Henry Baumgardner has been destroyed. T ycliat Killed in Asia. Rev. Dr. Samuel H. Kellogg, an American Presbyterian missionary, was killed by falling over a precipice while cycling in the Himalayas a few days ago. Will Count the Indians. The Dawes Indian commission, composed of Thomas B. Needles, A. S. McKennon and Tama Bixby, has gone to take the census of the Choctaw nation. . ■ ■ - ... ■ . .. ..

GREAT LOSS BY PRAIRIE FIRES. Enormous Damage Caused by Flame* in South Dakota. Definite reports regarding losses caused by prairie fires in South Dakota show hundreds of thousands of dollars damage was done by the flames in various parts of the State. In Sanborn County several dozen farmers lost everything. From Jerauld County comes a like story. South of Armour a large number of farmers were burned out. In northern Brule and southern Buffalo counties nearly three townships were burned over. Nearly 3,000 head of live stock was lost. Damage in these two counties will amount to thousands of dollars, and it is reported two men lost their lives. Near Castle Wood Mrs. Erickson was burned to death while trying to save horses. CHINESE INVASION PLANNED. Alleged Plot to Smuggle Oriental* Across the Border. The Federal authorities'of the western district of Texas, embracing all of the Rio Grande border, have received information that a gigantic plot is now under way to smuggle Chinese into this country from Mexico. A few months ago the Mexican Central Railway Company imported about 1,000 Chinese to work on extensions of that line. They were brought direct from China and soon after their arrival a professional American Chinese smuggler got among them and caused many of them to desert their work, and they are making their way toward the Rio Grande frontier in small bands.

Big Loan Association Fails. The Fidelity Building and Savings Union of Indianapolis, the best known association in Indiana, has given notice of voluntary liquidation. Harry LaFalotte and the late Brace Carr were the founders, and there are 6ve series of stock issues for $1,000,000 each. The union operated extensively in Illinois and other States until headed off 1 by adverse legislation. It met with heavy losses in Chicago and still holds much Chicago real estate. James E. Patten is president. He reports that all of the series will pay out with the exception of No. 4, which is iu doubt. This series is involved in Chicago holdings. There are 5,000 stockholders and outstanding loans amounting to $600,000. Vandals in Atlanta Church. The Baptist tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga., was entered by some lawless persons and considerably damaged. The doors were broken in, the new carpets torn up, paint was smeared over the seats and walls and a water tank upset. The act may have been in revenge upon the pastor, who recently denounced lynchings.

Poison Found in a Body. Prof. Witthaus of New York has completed his analysis of the body of H. C. Barnet, and has reported that he found a large quantity of cyanide of mercury in the body. District Attorney Gardiner, at the inquest into the death of Mrs. Adams, repeatedly connected Roland Molineux with the death of Barnet. Pops Leo to Be Arbitrator. The strained relations existing between the republics of Hayti and San Domingo, caused by a dispute over the boundary line between those two countries, is in a fair way of settlement. The whole question, with others involved, is to be referred to the holy see, Pope Leo XIII., at Rome, to adjust. Flames Destroy Frame Buildings. A fire of unknown origin destroyed Charles Bacharach’s clothing store in Philadelphia, and before the flames were subdued about fifteen other buildings, principally small dwellings in the vicinity, were badly damaged. The entire loss is estimated at $150,000. To Lay Cables in Philippines. The United States cable steamer Hooker sailed from New York for Manila, to connect by cable all the principal points in the Philippines. The Hooker was formerly the Panama, one of the first prizes captured in the Spanish war. Pay Visit to a Holy Sbrine. The annual pilgrimage of Roman Catholics to the shrine of Our Lady of Consolation at Carey, Ohio, took place the other day. Flames Damage a Church. St. Philomae Church, in Cincinnati, was damaged about SIO,OOO, principally on vestments and other contents, by fire. Woman Suffrage Bill Dead. The Connecticut House of Representatives defeated the bill providing for woman suffrage, by a vote of 103 to 63. Italian Ministry Out. The Italian ministry has resigned.

MARKET QUOTATOINS.

Chicago—Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $5.25; wheat, No. 2 red, 70c to 71c; corn, No. 2,32 cto 34c; oats, No. 2,26 c to 28c; rye, No. 2,58 cto 60c; butter, choice creamery, 15c to 17c; eggs, fresh, 11c to 12c; potatoes, choice, 32c to 45c per bushel. Indianapolis—Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, choice light, $2.75 to $4.75; sheep, common to choice, $2.50 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2 red, 70c to 72c; corn, No. 2 white, 35c to 36c; oats, No. 2 white, 30c to 32c. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.50 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $3.00 to $5.25; wheat, No. 2,75 cto 77c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 34c to 36c; oats, No. 2,28 cto 29c; rye, No. 2,57 cto 59c. Cincinnati —Cattle, $2.50 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $2.50 to $5.00; wheat, No. 2,71 cto 72c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 36c to 37c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 29c to 30c; rye, No. 2,62 cto 64c. Detroit—Cattle, $2.50 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $2.50 to $4.75: wheat, No. 2,74 cto 76c; corn. No. 2 yellow, 35c to 36c; oats, No. 2 white, 32c to 34c; rye, 61c to 63c. Toledo —Wheat, No. 2 mixed, 74c to 75c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 34c to 35c; oats, No. 2 white, 28c to 30c; rye, No. 2,57 c to 59c; clover seed, new, $3.65 to $3.75. Milwaukee —Wheat, No. 2 spring, 71c to 72c; corn, No. 3,33 cto 34c; oats, No.2 white, 28c to 31c; rye, No. 1,59 cto 61c; barley, No. 2,41 cto 43c; pork, mess, $8.25 to $8.75. Buffalo—Cattle, good shipping steers, $3.00 to $6.25; hogs, common to choice, $3.25 to $4.25; sheep, fair to choice wethers, $3.50 to $5.50; lambs, commou to extra, $4.50 to $6.00. New York —Cattle, $3.25 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.50; sheep, $3.00 to $5.25; wheat. No. 2 red, 83c to 84c; corn. No. 2,41 cto 44c; oats, No. 2 white, 35c to 39c; butter, creamery, 15c to 18c; eggs, West- I era, 13c to 15c.

HIT MILES AND EAGAN

BEEF COUTT MEMBERS FIND CHIEF IN ERROR. ' Declare that He Should Have Made Prompt Report-No Chemicals Used te Preserve Meat lix-Commlsaary Wrong in Buying Untried Ration*. The long-drawn-out inquiries of the military court appointed to investigate the charges made by Gen. Miles in regard to the beef supplied the army during the war with Spain are at an end and the findings have been submitted to the President and approved. In its report the court censures Gen. Miles for not reporting the unfitness of the rations at the time that the complaints reached him. It declares that the refrigerator meat was not chemically treated and holds that the canned beef was good. Gen. Eagan is severely scored for buying such immense quantities of an untried ration. The packers are exonerated, it being shown that they furnished the same goods that they put on the general market. The court recommends that no further action be taken in the matter, while it suggests that several persons have placed themselves liable to prosecution. The report is long and it reviews the conditions under which the army operated, but it finds no excuse for the charges of Gen. Miles. Briefly stated, the report not only finds that Gen. Miles made false allegations against the War Department and the packers, but that he furnished no evidence to show that he had any excuse for believing that these allegations were true. The court finds that there was overwhelming testimony to the fact that the refrigerated beef was not chemically treated, but was preferable in every way to the fresh beef killed in Cuba and Porto Rico; that this beef was not a serious cause of sickness; that the canned roast beef was not furnished under the pretense oj an experiment, and that it was not beef pulp, from which the nutriment had been taken for beef extract. It is admitted that canned roast beef was not intended for a field ration, and that the commissary general committed “a colossal error for which there is no palliation” in making such large purchases of this ration. In answering the questions propounded by the President to the court as to the character of the rations, and who was responsible, the report censures only Gen. Miles for allegations which were untrue, and Gen. Eagan for purchasing 7,000,000 pounds of canned roast beef, considering the use that had been made of it in the regular army. Regarding Eagan, the court finds no ground for any imputation of any other actuating motive than the earnest desire to procure the best possible food for the troops. The court was unable to find any worthy motive for Miles’ mistake in making such allegations or any excuse for his not reporting at once to the President or Secretary of War, if he believed his allegations were true. Throughout the fifty printed pages the report is a tempered scotching of the commanding general, showing him as an officer at the head of the army, who, without excuse, bore false testimony against the Government in its conduct of the war. The concluding paragraph in the summing up is in its mild phraseology, a severe censure upon Gen. Miles. The court says: “It has been developed in the course of the inquiry, as recited in this report, that in some instances certain individuals failed to perform the full measure of duty or to observe the proprieties which dignify high military command, but the court is of opinion that the mere statement in the official report of the facts developed meets the ends of discipline, and that the interests of the service will be best subserved if further proceedings be not taken.”

RUSH INTO UTE RESERVATION.

Opening Does Not Draw a Very Large Crowd. There was considerable excitement at Durango, Colo., over the opening of the Ute reservation to settlers, but the rush into the 600 acres south when they were thrown open did not equal the Cherokee opening. Less than a thousand people started in the mad rush to secure valuable sites. It was thought that nearly 3,000 would make the race, but many were disappointed with the appearance of the land. The start was made promptly at noon, and several hundred people who did not bother with the land office officials made a race'for the choice locations. Only 120 lined up at the land office. No trouble was reported. All night men were seen starting in the direction of the Ute lands, and all forenoon there was a continuous stream of home seekers toward the point where the race commenced.

PERTINENT PERSONAL;

The King of Portugal is a perpetual smoker. Sarah Bernhardt often trims her own bonnets. Rudyard Kipling’s favorite headgear is a golf cap. Maj. Strong says Col. Fred Funston is the bravest man that ever lived. King Oscar of Sweden has just had his life insured. He is 70 years old. Ex-President Casimir-Perier of France said to be contemplating a trip to this country. Kipling has produced fifty-three publications since he began writing eighteen years ago. Count George Apponyi, former leader of the Hungarian Conservatives, has passed his ninetieth birthday. Rear Admiral Schley will succeed Rear Admiral Howell as president of the naval retiring board at Washington. Queen Margherita of Italy speaks German fluently, and generally uses that language when she meets German artists. Lady Lechmere is one of the greatest women hunters. She is now with her husband shooting big game in Somaliland. Bellamy Storer, the new Minister to Spain, is a Harvard man, as are the ambassadors to Great Britain and Russia. Senator Quay is a master of French literature, and finds his chief delight in reading Victor Hugo’s works hi the original. Since Senator Allison became a widower over fifteen years ago his wife’s mother has been the manager of his household.

WASHINGTON GOSSIP

This Government will not permit Nicaragua to carry out its threat to confiscate the property of the Americans who refused to pay doable duty on goods imported. It appears the Americans paid the duty in good faith to the insurrectionists, who were in revolt, and when the revolution was put down a second payment was demanded by the recognized Government, under threat of confiscation. The Americans appealed to the State Department, and they were advised to pay the duty a second time nnder protest, which would give them grounds fo£ claims against the Nicaraguan Government. Whether this was done is not known by the State Department officials, but the business of the Americans has been suspended. They put a seal upon their doors, and hoisted the American flag over their places of business. When the officials demanded the duty, and in the event of a refusal of payment threatened to confiscate the property, the Americans pointed to the flag and told those who wanted to despoil them that they would have to tear down the flag before the threats could be executed. According to the last advices the flag was still flying, and the property was in possession of its rightful owners. The Detroit, with Minister Merry, the American consul, and the Nicaraguan minister of foreign affairs, is now op the scene of the trouble, and from the instructions sent from Washington it is safe to say the Americans will retain their property, and their rights will be respected. There is renewed talk of an extra session in the fall. Nothirig has developed of a definite nature, but members of Congress who have talked with the President say he seems impressed with the magnitude of the work before the next Congress. There must be provided Governments for Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippines; preparations must be made to turn Cuba over to the natives; the preliminary legislation on the Nicaragua Canal must be started; the war revenue act will need curtailment; and a currency plan is necessary to form the basis of the Republican platform for 1900. As a new Speaker will be elected, necessitating a long wait for it is felt an early start will be’necessary to get all the work done by the time the national conventions meet Official objections to married men in the enlisted force of the army have been renewed by the War Department in an order sent out to recruiting officers and regimental and other commanding officers. There always has been a natural objection to this for the reason that the accommodations at military posts do not admit of many families. Another reason is found In the fact that men make better fighters and can be ordered here and there easier when they are free of family responsibilities. There is now better reason than ever before to limit the enlistments to unmarried men with the constant changes being made in stations of troops and the hard work in the field which many of the commands will be called on to perform.

Sixteen members of the present United States Senate have served terms as Governor of their respective States. They are Bate of Tennessee, Berry of Arkansas, Culberson of Texas, Cullom of Illinois, Davis of Minnesota, Foraker of Ohio, Gear of lowa, Hawley of Cinnecticut, McEnery of Louisiana, Nelson of Minnesota, Perkins of California, Proctor of Vermont, Shoup of Idaho, Tillman of South Carolina, Warren of Wyoming and Wetmore of Rhode Island. The office of Senator, by the way, has increased vastly In importance since the time when Dewitt Clinton resigned a senatorship to become Mayor of New York City. The great bull movement which has dominated Wall street for the last five months has been profitable for Uncle Sam. At two cents a share for revenue stamps the Government’s receipts since the first of the year from this source have been at the rate of $90,000 a week. On the present basis Uncle Sam will be richer by $4,500,000 for the year 1899 as a result of the stamps sold in Wall street. Preparations are being made by the Postofflce Department to send a large number of postage stamps to Manila. These stamps will be similar to those used in this country, but the word “Philippines” will be stamped across the face of each, as was done with the stamps for telegTams and checks before the internal revenue stamps were printed. Former Governor Lord of Oregon has* declined the Persian mission. The reason, for declining is that he wished to go toPeru, and cared nothing about Persia.” President McKinley will not have any difficulty in securing some one to fill vacancy in Persia, as there are thousandsof applicants for positions in the diplomatic service. —:- If the regular army of the United States should be increased to 100,000 men, theUnlted States will still have fewer soldiers on a peace footing than any of theseven important nations of Europe. In. time of peace Germany has 591,715 men; Russia, 761,400; France, 561,848; Italy, 208,060; Austria-Hungary, 279,120; GreatBritain, 211,237, and Turkey, 237,400. With the annexation of Porto Rico the United States acquired a town which iselder by fifty-five years than St. Augustine, Fla., which was settled in 1565, and: which all the historians tell us is the oldest town in the United States. The new oldest town is Caparra, Porto Rico, whichwas founded by Ponce de Leon in 1509. Naval officers are forced to keep a close watch on their utterances in public, asCaptain Coghlan has found since his reflections on the Germans at a banquet in New York. He might have profited by the experience of Admiral Kirkland in March, 1895, who criticised missionaries and said one of them was an escaped convict. This led to his recall from the North Atlantic squadrofi by President Cleveland and his assignment to the Mare Island navy yard, where he remained until his death. The change meant a loss of SI,OOO. « year in his pay.