Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 December 1899 — Page 2

UfoKLY republican K dpo R marshall, . übiist.er ;■■-.•■- m»SELAERp^ ; ■ NP .

FOR A WOMAN’S LOVE.

®«)TIVE FOR THE ODESSA, NEB., Hr MURDER CASE Was Infatuated with I.aue'a |d|Swife, and the Double Tragedy Was sR-the Consequence -Prices of Staples at Notch Since 1891. IK-fee wife of Fred Laue has made a conwhich clears up the Odessa, Neb.. Blfeirder mystery. She made the confes■Kja to a brother and uncle of her lius■Mfed and later to the county attorney. Mmris-io the effect that Dinsmore first |KMKmed his wife in the rooms of the upstairs. He then came down i^tafowned her of what he had done SSKd that he was going to finish the job. went into an adjoining room, where I was sleeping, and shot him. Laue killed instantly. Mrs. Dinsmore loisoned, prussic acid being used, it iposed. After shooting Laue Dinsbrought the body of his dead wife into the kitchen and left it where s found by the neighbors w hen they called in. The motive for the crime hfatuation for Mrs. Laue. [GHEST FOR EIGHT YEARS. M of Staples Stronger than at Any Time Since 1891. .dstreet’s. says: “The last month of ear has opened auspiciously, finding *nd industry generally well em1, demand treading close upon and passing.supply, labor troubles avertsome instances by widespread adin wages, of small importance ex||||Spt in one or two cities, and with the ■HKfceral level of values of staples at the Mgßfchest point reached for eight years past. WllKdiday demand has opened well and eolnKctions from retail trades therefore show’ improvement. The strength of Hjeals, notably wheat, this week, is a ||BHjection largely of decreased at Northwest. Wheat, including flour, ■Klpments for the week aggregate 5,133,rcwl bushels, against 3,690,400 bushels |||HK.week. Corn exports for the week BHKregate 3,813,699 bushels, against 4,89K&14 bushels last week.” STEAL HORSES FROM INDIANS. on the Osage Reservation Suf|Hr fer Large Losses of Stock. MK Horse thieves have been at work in the ■■Bfage reservation, not far from Guthrie, Iffijwk., on a wholesale scale and nearly 100 have been stolen, thirty from one ex-Chief Big Heart. Under the States laws horse stealing in lureservations is not a felony and the when convicted can only be a and short jail sentence. Thieves have gUpbvered this and are flocking to the and going into the business, can readily afford to spend a few in jail if thev can steal a number horses or cattle. lIIEmIIRDF-K AT BIG CYCLE RACE. Square Audience Thrown Into ■Hr ■£*-. Panic by a Shooting. HH&n hour after the big bicycle race end- ' d in Madison Square Garden, New York, HlKd during the excitement attending a HE-mile pursuit race, Frederick S. Slater N. J., seated in one of the ■Hper boxes, was shot and mortally Bounded by Willis Rosser, 19 years old, ||gt medical student. The shooting occur■■Hd as the result of a quarrel over p bet. ■ Office Robbed of a Big Sum. office of the Pacific Express Comin Cheyenne, Wyo., was robbed the night of several thousand dollars. |Hwhen Agent O. C. Brownlee entered the MKtt in the morning he found the safe BBpen and the money gone. The express HK&pany officials refuse to state the §lH«mount of nionev taken, but it is reported |B| J Figures on Sugar Cane Crop. HHkrhe entire crop of sugar cane and beet &v Hr 1899-1900 will amount to about 8,000.tons —about the same amount as last ■Bmp— according to carefully prepared stasubmitted to the State Depart by United States Consul Diederich SHfe Magdeburg. Germany. Of this amount HUhe United States uses about one-fourth. HH | Chicago Man Ends His Life. ■HHLr. Howe of Chicago died at the hospital in Los Angeles, Cal., self-inflicted gunshot wounds. He HB>Ot himself with suicidal intent at Santa HBunn on Nov. 15. His family, from whom estranged, live in Chicago. BB| gfc. Holds Taylor Is Elected. ■Mftt Frankfort. Ky., the State board of BKiptions gave out an official finding that ■ft 8. Taylor for Governor and the rest aMjfefhe Republican ticket have been electgyo,l th *' face of returns. ■B Abbot to Head Press Bureau. . llt was announced that Willis J. Abbot, 'known in newspaper circles throughHBfct the United States, has been selected Io take charge of the press bureau of BHil'Deinocratie national committee. Ms WsrU British in Rout. MBiSen. Gatacre’s force was forced to from before Stormburg by the The British troops v ere led into K>f> by false information furnished by Hl Many Miners Killed. igßrgMore than thirty miners were killed of gas in a mine at CarKills Himself for Love. tSSS ’WASqUited love caused George Specs, iff young »nan at Newark, Ohio, to commit LNelson Weeks Escapes Trial. The indictment against Nelson Weeks N- J., charged with hav■Houfaiied the death of Aimee Smith. 22 ' fa Of age, at the Victor Hotel in New March 8, 1897, has been di--3 ? there was no chance of <*n- —•— o* vVliitCf »» arc Auvunci’d*

BURNED AT THE STAKE. Nea--o Tortured to Death—Confessed Murderer of a Woman Killed. At Maysville, Ky., Dick Coleman, the negro murderer of Mrs. Lashbrook, was taken from the officers by a mob of 1,000 men and burned at the stake. The mob. led by the husband of the negro’s victim, dragged the shrieking criminal through the principal streets of the town, bound him to a small tree, set fire to brush and tow about him, and stood guard until be was dead.' All that was possible was done by the sheriff and guard to prevent a lynching, but in the face of such a mob of whites and blacks it was useless to attempt to do anything save deliver him up, which was done. A rope was thrown over the negro’s neck by the mob’s leaders. They carried Coleman to a small hollow near the railroad, where the leaders bound him tightly to a young sapling. Then they heaped a huge pile of brushwood and timber around him and fired the stack. The victim’s eyes rolled horribly. Some one slashed his eyes with a knife. Before the roasting began Coleman was almost dead. The rope had torn and lacerated his neck and bis face was terribly beaten up. WOMAN saved from suicide. Mrs. Ida Washburn About to Drown Herself and Her Two Children. Because her husband, who is a barber, had for years accused her of unfaithfulness and beaten her, Mrs. Ida Washburn of Chicago went to Lincoln Park to drown herself and her two small children. Before leaving her home she wrote the following note and left it for her husband: “Dear Jim—lt is better that we separate for good, since you do not believe in me. lam going to Lincoln Park to end it' all. Good-by.—lda.” D. J. Rood, Lincoln Park policeman, saw the woman kneeling at the water’s edge at the foot of Wisconsin street. The wind was blowing almost a gale and the children crouched against their mother. As the officer approached he saw the woman was weeping. Mrs. Washburn confessed she had come to the lake to die. She Was praying for forgiveness for what she was about to do, she said, as she had grown desperate because of her husband’s ill treatment. The policeman took her and the children to the station. DEVOURED BY CANNIBALS. White Man and Four Boye Killed on Admiralty Islands. Details were brought by the steamer Warrimoo from Australia of the atrocious murder of a white man and subsequent devouring of the body by the treacherous cannibals of the Admiralty islands. A letter dated Maniapea, New Britain, says: “Twelve months ago two young Germans named Metzke and Molte opened a trading station on the small Island of St. Andrew in the Admiralty group, to the north of German New guinea, and in spite of the fact that these natives are a most treacherous and cunning race, appeared to get on very well with them. The two traders decided to buy the island. Molte went to New Britain to arrange the deal, leaving Metzke with ten Solomon Island boys. Upon Molte’s return he found that Metzke had been murdered, together with four of his boys, and the bodies had been cut up, cooked and eaten by the savages.”

Anti-Dam age Contract Void. Judge Klein of the St. Louis Circuit Court in the case of Samuel G. Wilkinson against the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company rendered a decision in which he held that a contract even by an employe and made for a valuable consideration to release a railroad company from damage liability in case of personal injuries is contrary to public policy and cannot be offered as a defense to an action to recover damages for such injuries. Michigan Saw Mills to Close. Michigan lumbermen are making arrangements at Toronto to move their mills and a large part of their plants from Michigan to the Georgian Ray lumber district on Lake Huron. They say the judgment upholding Ontario’s right to prohibit the export of saw logs was so clear they have no hopes of being successful on appeal, and that all their mills in Michigan, being unable to get logs, are about to close. . Train Wrecks a Car. Forty men and women were crushed and bruised or hurled through space in a collision between a Wabash suburban passenger train and a cross-town electric car at Thirty-first and Stewart avenue, Chicago. The car was reduced to splin-' ters and scattered along the road, and the motorman, struck down at his post, was so seriously injured that he died two hours after the accident. Julia Marlowe a Petitioner. A feature of the opening day of the December term of La Moille County Court at Hyde Park, Vt., was the nearing of a suit for divorce brought by the wellknown actress, Julia Marlowe Taber, from her husband, Robert S. Taber. She alleges intolerable severity. New Planet Discovered. The European Union of Astronomers announces, through Harvard College observatory, the discovery of a minor planet of the tenth magnitude by Charlois. The object has a motion of minus 14 minutes in right ascension and 4 minutes north in declination. Evidence of Lake Disaster. The steamer Ramapo reported that while in Lake Erie twenty miles below Long Point, she passed through a quantity of wreckage, including a portion of a cabin. No distinguishing marks could be made out, but it is believed that some vessel must have gone to pieces. Rubber Trusts Consolidating Plants. The Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company, known as the rubber trust, will consolidate the plant at Peoria, 111., with the plant of the India company in Akron, Ohio, tripling the capacity of the latter ylanL Pulled Down by an Engine. A controversy between the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad and Foster & Miller, grain buyers, over an elevator the latter began to erect at Vesta, Minn., resulted in the structure being pulled down by an engine. Actor Emmett Has No Assets. Joseph K. Emmett, the actor, has filed a petition in bankruptcy in New York, with liabilities of $17,070 and no assets, except clothing, which is exempt. The debts were contracted from 1891 to 1896. Deserted and Penniless. Mrs. J. H. Finley was left at the Kirk Hotel, Zanesville, Ohio, without funds. It is claimed she has been deserted by her husband. The couple were married

WILL SUE UNCLE SAM

CHINA AND PORTUGAL UNITE IN A CLAIM. Want $50,000 as Compensation for the Death of Ho Mun at San FranciscoFlood in Washington State Endangers Life and Property. The Chinese and Portuguese Governments, through their San Francisco consuls, will join in a claim against the United States and J. R. Dunn, chief of the Chinese bureau, for $50,000 as compensation for the death of Ho Mun, a native of Portugal and a subject of China. The complaint, which will be tiled at once with Collector of Customs Jackson at San Francisco, recites that Ho Mun died by reason of the negligent treatment of the United States Government, through its agent, J. R. Dunn. It is alleged that he declined to allow Ho Mun to have medical attention, though Collector Jackson had issued an order authorizing a physician to see the patient. Tl|ie case proceeds under the treaty of 1894, based on the convention of 1880. Direct against Dunn will to Collector Jackson and Secretary Gage. Ho Mun was in San Francisco, an applicant for admission, when he was taken sick. BIG FLOOD NEAR TACOMA. Stuck River Valley Under Water and Lives Endangered. Practically the whole of the Stuck river valley, Wash., ‘is one vast sheet of water. The river itself is a raging flood, destroying acres of the most productive land in the State, and threatening some substantial dwellings. It is higher than ever before known since the valley was settled by white men. Several families 'in the vicinity of Sumner have been compelled to move to escape the torrent. The rise in the river since the recent heavy rains has been the greatest and most rapid ever known. Seventeen inches in one hour is recorded at Sumner. The damage throughout the valley as a result of the freshet cannot be estimated. CONFESSES A KANSAS MURDER. Amos Phillipa at Fort Scott Says He Belonged to Gang of Thievea. Amos Phillips, a Bates County farmer, under arrest at Fort Scotty Kan., with “Red” and George Smith, brothers, charged with complicity in the murder of Leopold Edlinger, a farm hand, confessed f the crime and said that all three were members of a gang of professional stock, grain and harness thieves. Public indignation is intense and through fear of a mob Sheriff Wheeler has placed a strong guard about the jail and announced that they will shoot, at whatever cost of life, should an attempt be made to secure the prisoners. % ' Fatal Dinner Party. The body of a murdered man has been found in the shoe shop of Giuseppe Silva in Greenville, Conn. The head had been crushed in by a savage blow. Silva and two of his friends have been missing since Thanksgiving day. The body was identified later as that of Silva’s cousin, Giuseppe De Angelis, 40 years of age, a laborer. He had a good sum of money with him when he went to dine with Silva at Thanksgiving.

Fire Loss in New York. A fire which burned with such fury that in less than an hour it consumed four floors of one building and three of another broke out in the premises occupied by the Pacific Novelty Company in New York, doing damage to the extent of SIOO,OOO. The fire is believed to have resulted from the carelessness of some one smoking in the rooms filled with inflammable celluloid stock. Strangled to Death by Ice. William Harherson, aged 67 years, met death in a peculiar manner at Philadelphia. While walking to his home he became benumbed with cold and fell down a railroad embankment into a small stream which was frozen over. Harherson’s head went through the ice, which formed a collar about his neck and strangled him to death. Rice Mills in a Combine. A rice mill combine or trust is being organized in New Orleans. New York capitalists have secured ninety days’ options on a majority of the rice mills there and w'ill bid for the others. There are thirteen rice mills with a capacity of 11,700 sacks, which it is proposed to get into the combine. Dock Shovelers on a Strike. The shovelers on the Conneaut docks at Ashtabula, Ohio, numbering in all nearly 500, have gone out' on a strike. They ask an advance of 1 cent a ton for loading ore from the docks into cars, and also the removal of certain mechanical loading devices now in use. - * Big Carpet Firms Unite. The Lowell Manufacturing and Bigelow Carpet companies, two of the largest carpet manufacturing concerns in New England, voted to consolidate under the laws of Massachusetts. The capital stock of the new company is $4,030,000. Steel Company Is Organized. The Central Steel Company has been organized by Indianapolis and Pittsburg capitalists, with a capital of $240,000. The new corporation has purchased the Bremier steel plant at Indianapolis and will reopen the works. Cuban Census Is Completed. Gen. Sanger announces that the Cuban census has been completed. He is at present at Matanzas and the news of the end of the work is contained in a cablegram from that place to Secretary Root. His next work is a census of Porto Rico. Accident Kills Millionaire. Charles J. Clarke, a prominent millionaire and philanthropist, died at Pittsburg from concussion of the brain. He was thrown from His road wagon while out driving and never regained consciousness. The deceased was 66 years of age. Jumps Into Niagara Rapids. Evidence accumulates to support the theory that John Webster, busband of Nellie McHenry, the actress, ended bis life in the rapids just above the cataract at Niagara Falls. There is presumptive evidence that he had business troubles. Mrs. C. A. Burling Dead. Mrs. C. A. Burling, mother-in-law of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, died at her home in Rochester, N. Y„ aged 76 years. 1

NEW MONEY ORDER FORM. International Issue to Be Like Lately Introduced Domestic Kind. The Postoffice Department at Washington has given notice of the adoption of a new form of international money order, similar to the one which lately came into use in the domestic orders. The issue of the new forms has been begun to offices which have exhausted their supply of old orders. The coupon and order are printed on blue paper and the advice and receipt on white paper. The white sheet is bound underneath the other, the reproduction being made by means of carbonized paper. Recent experiments have proved these forms to be securer than the old ones. J) BIBLE IN SCHOOLS IS UPHELD. Mandamus Against Nebraska Teacher Denied by the Court. At Beatrice, Neb., the writ of mandamus applied for by Daniel Freeman to compel the discontinuance of the reading of the Bible and singing of sacred songs in the public schools in district No. 21, Gage County, was denied by Judge Letton. The case has excited considerable interest, inasmuch as Freeman was the only man in the district who objected to the use of the Bible and as the State superintendent has recently decided' in favor of the Bible. Freeman says that he will carry the case to the Supreme Court. STONE CUTTERS ARE VICTORS.

Two Years’ Strike in Mount Waldo Quarries Ends in Their Favor. Pierce Brothers, owners of the Mount Waldo quarry at Frankfort, Me., and contractors for the granite of the Chicago postoffice, have granted the demands of their striking cutters. The strike, inaugurated two years ago, has delayed the production of stone. Repeated attempts on the part of the contractors to supplant the strikers with Italians have failed. Six hundred cutters will be put on to catch up with delayed work. Unioh men are elated over the victory. The maximum wage is to be $3.60 for eight hours. decides Against a Trust. In the United States Supreme Court at Washington the Addysr.one pipe case Was decided. This case involved the constitutionality of the combination of pipe manufacturers to manufacture pipe which it was charged was a trust. The decision was handed down by Justice Peckham and was adverse to the combination. Settled Out of Court. The contest of the will of ex-Judge Henry Hilton of New York instituted by his son, Henry G. Hilton, who was cut off with the interest of $25,000, which he was to share with his wife, has been abandoned. Mr. Hilton’s attorneys have effected a settlement on his behalf with the other heirs. Girls Leap from Fire. The lives of 600 girls were imperiled at Reading, Pa., by the burning of Nolde & Horst’s hosiery factory. One body, burned to a crisp, was found in the ruins. Sixty persons were injured, some of them fatally. The property loss will reach $300,000, with $150,000 insurance. Death of Senator Hayward. Senator Hayward died at Nebraska City, Neb. Aug. 15 he was stricken with apoplexy while addressing a Modern Woodmen picnic assembly at Brownsville, Neb., and from that time his strength gave way gradually. Explosion Kills Three Men. The powder works of James S. Miller, near Sumneytown, Pa., were wrecked by an explosion. Three men were killed and several others injured. Burglars Make Good Haul. The private bank at Poplar Grove, 111., was entered by burglars And the safe blown open. The robbers secured $3,000 and made their escape. Fatal Collision in Colorado. Two passenger trains on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad were wrecked by collision near Salida, Colo.

Secretary Long’s Recommendation. Secretary Long, in his annual report, recommends the building of eighteen new warships for the navy. Promotion for Gen. Wood. The President has nominated Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood to be a major general of volunteers. Boston’s Postmaster Resigns. Col. Henry A. Thomas, postmaster of Boston, has resigned because of ill health. Congress Is Opened. The Fifty-sixth Congress of the United States met and organized on Monday. VAfiKET QUOTATIONS. Chicago—Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $7.50; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $4.50; wheat, No. 2 fed, 65c to 66c; corn. No. 2,29 cto 31c; oats, No? 2,22 c to 23c; rye, No. 2,51 cto 52c; butter, choice creamery, 25c to 27c; eggs, fresh, 20c to 21c; potatoes, choice, 3Qc to 45c per bushel. Indianapolis—Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $6.50; hogs, choice light, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, common to prime, $3.00 to $4.00; wheat, No. 2,64 cto 65c; corn, No. 2 white, 30c to 31c; oats, No. 2 white, 26c to 27c. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.25 to $7.25; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $3.00 to $4.25; wheat, No. 2,70 cto 72c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 29c to 31c; oats, No. 2,23 cto 25c; rye, No. 2,50 cto 52c. Cincinnati —Cattle, $2.50 to s6.sQ;.hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $2.50 to $4.00; wheat, No. 2,69 cto 71c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 31c to 33c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 26c to 28c; rye, No. 2,60 cto 62c. Detroit—Cattle, >52.50 to $6.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $3.00 to $4.25; wheat, No. 2,69 cto 70c; corn, No. 2 yellow,-82c to 34c; oats. No. 2 white, 26c to 27c; rye, 57c to 58c. Toledo—Wheat, No. 2 mixed, 67c to 69c; corn, No. 2 mixed. 30c to 32c; oats. No. 2 mixed, 23c to 25c; rye, No. 2,53 c to 55c; clover seed, $4.70 to $4.80. Milwaukee—Wheat, No. 2 northern, 64c to 66c; corn, No. 3,32 cto 33c; oats, No. 2 white, 24c to 26c; rye. No. 1,54 c to 56c; barley, No. 2,46 cto 47c; pork, mess, $7.75 to $8.25. \ Buffalo—Cattle, good i shipping steers, $3.00 to $6.75; hogs, common to choice, $3.25 to $4,50; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $4.50; lambs, common to extra. $4.50 to $5.75. New York—Cattle. $3.25 to $6.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.75; sheep, $3.00 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2 red, 73c to 75c; corn. No. 2,

BRITISH ARE ROUTED

GENERAL GATACRE MEETS A DECISIVE DEFEAT. Forces. Compelled to Retire After a Hot ArtiUery Duel Near Stormberg— Led Into a Trap by False Information from Boer Sympathizers. Gen. Gatacre, while moving out with 3,000 men and two batteries of artillery from Putter’s kraal in the hope of surprising the Boers at Stormberg, was misled by his guides, and found himself in an untenable position, with the result that he was obliged to retire, with severe losses, upon Molteno. He reports over 630 officers and men missing, in addition to a small list of killed and wounded. A correspondent cables: The wily Boers led the British into a trap by furnishing Gatacre and his spies with false information that the enemy’s camp at Stromberg could be easily taken by Surprise and captured. Gatacre was told that the Boers there numbered only 2,500 and were in a weak ebndition. The General determined to make an early morning march a strong column and strike a rapid blow. The troops chosen were the Second Royal Irish rifles, the Second Northumberland Fusiliers, the King’s Shropshires, the Second Royal Berkshires acting as mounted infantry, and field batteries Nos. 74 and 77. We marched out smartly, but cautiously, from Putterskraal, and got within two miles of Stromberg without the slightest indication of the whereabouts of the Boers. Our forces were proceeding cautiously when suddenly we were met by a hail of bullets coming from behind the low ridges to the front and right flank. The reception was too warm to withstand, and we quickly sought shelter behind a kopje. The other troops did the same. We were pretty well covered from tfie rain of rifle fire, but the big guns threw their shells unpleasantly around us. Our field batteries swung into line and did splendid work, keeping the Boers off while we sought a better position half a mile away. Here we found ground shelter, and the infantry quickly got into position and opened a fire at Jong range, while the mounted infantry were sent out to try and get at the Boers’ right flank. I Up to this time we had suffered but little, but a new danger suddenly appeared. The Boers who ambushed us were in front and on our right flank, but now there came from the north another strong command, all mounted, who menaced our left flank. Gatacre sent the Irish and Northumberland regiments to meet them, and the result was simply disastrous, for Ahey dashed straight into the deadly fire jf a number of machine guns, which the Boers had slyly placed in a concealed position. It was evident we had caught a Tartar and were in a nasty position. The Irishmen and Northumberlands got back as best they could, each with 300 paen gone. There was nothing to do but retire. The Boers numbered at least 3,000. British discipline saved the army. There was no confusion or disorder. Every man was in his place and the retreat was carriedout in perfect order, the column being covered by mounted infantry and artillery, ready to swing into position at any moment. The Boers followed closely, swarming around our flanks, and dragged along two forty-pounders, which they trained on us at every opportunity. Had their gunners been worth their salt they would have inflicted severe damage on us, but' their aim was wild and our casualties were surprisingly few. As we neared the Molteno camp the Boers gave up the pursuit and drew off.

MANY MINERS MEET DEATH.

Terrible Explosion of Coal Damp at Carbonado, Wash. Eighty men went down into tunnel No. 7 of the Carbdn Hill Mining Company at Carbonado, Wash., and five hours later an explosion of coal damp took place. More tfcan thirty of this number are dead. Twenty maimed, burned and blinded survivors were drawn up, more dead than,alive. Those who w’ere not killed outright by the force of the explosion were hemmed in by falling walls, pinned down by splintered timbers and suffocated by the deadly fumes of black damp which immediately filled the mine. The explosion occurred between 10 and 11 o’clock, as near as can be ascertained. The men were gathering at the mouth of the tunnel preparatory for changing for the noon shift. There was an enormous rumbling sound, and then it ceased abruptly. The residents of the village knew the terrible meaning of this and hastened to the mouth of the pit. Great volumes of smoke and black damp were pouring from the mine. In addition to the eighty men in tunnel Jjlo. 7 there were hundreds of others in different levels, and it at once became apparent that they were in imminent peril from the black damp which would penetrate all the shafts. The men on the surface were unable to afford any assistance, but the mine bosses down in the bowels of the earth realized their peril and led all the men they could collect out'through the air shafts. It was nearly two hours before communication was opened up with the tunnel in which the explosion occurred.

General G. del Pilar Killed.

Gen. Gregorio del Pilar, commanding Aguinaldo’s bodyguard, was killed by Maj. Peyton March’s battalion of the Thirty-third infantry in a fight eighteen miles northwest' of Cervantes. According to reports which Gen. Young obtained from escaped Spanish prisoners at Vigan several days ago, Maj. March left the coast, where he was pursuing Again aldo, and encountered Gen. del Pilar on a fortified trail. They fought for four hours, during which time seventy Filipinos were killed or wounded. The American loss was one man killed and six wounded.

Notes of Current Events.

Smallpox is becoming epidemic in Texas, it is said. Gen. Yaguaracutla, Venezuela, has been killed by the rebels. Harry Trumbull, Omaha, Neb., killed a footpad the other night. Bryan helped to dedicate a new public auditorium in Waco, Texas. The skeletons of six Indians were unearthed near Fort Seneca, Ohio. John Stout, Fort Plain. N. Y., stuck a knifo into John McMahon, killing him.

CONGRESS

What will Congress do? is a question to which some thousands of American newspapers have attempted to reply. Nor is interest in it confined to this country or this continent. What the Fifty-sixth Congress at its first session, which might lawfully be extended to the first Monday in December next, but which will, in all probability, end several months before that time, will do must inevitably affect, not merely the material interests of all our people, but their political views and acts. And as no man in any community “liveth to himself,” so no member, and especially no great members of the family of nations can avoid some degree of responsibility toward other members of that family. Recent events have made our country more influential in international affairs; have made other nations more inclined to study our politics and policies, and have charged us with greater responsibilities touching the interests of other countries than woulc| have been deemed possible before the war of 1898 began. These facts account as well for the intense domestic as for the greatly augmented foreign concernment in the doings of the Congress now in session.

The Senate on Wednesday received nearly 800 bills and resolutions. The most important bills were the Finance Committee’s currency reform measure, Mr. Cullom’s Hawaiian* government measure and the Frye substitute for the Hanna-Payne subsidy bill. Mr. Mason introduced a resolution expressing sympathy with the 'Boers and Mr. Rawlins one providing for an investigation into polygamy. Mr. Harris was added to the Committee on Elections, which will consider the Quay, Clark and Scott contests. The House was not in session. The Senate on Thursday received bill from Mr. Chandler to encourage athletics at West Point and Annapolis. Sent to Committee on Contingent Expenses Chandler resolution to investigate right of Senators Clark of Montana and Scott of West Virginia to hold their seats. Received resolution from Mr. Berry declaring in favor of election of Senators by popular vote. Adjourned until Monday, Dec. 11. Before the House met the Republican and Democratic leaders attempted to perfect an agreement for the debate on the financial bill. But the negotiations failed. The Republican leaders then decided to resort to a special rule. Mr. Overstreet (Indiana), who is to have charge of the bill, introduced the formal resolution for a special order upon which the Committee on Rules will act. It provides for the consideration of the bill continuing until a date to be decided upon by the Committee on Rules. Immediately after the reading of the journal the Speaker announced the appointment of the Committee on Rules as follows: The Speaker, Mr. Dalzell of Pennsylvania and Mr. Grosvenor of Ohio, Republicans, and Messrs. Richardson of Tennessee and Bailey of Texas, Democrats. Announcement of the death of Representative Greene of Nebraska w r as followed by adjournment as a token of respect. On Friday the House adopted a special order for the consideration of the currency bill, beginning Monday, Dec. 11, general debate to be allowed until the following Friday, amendments to be offered Saturday and vote to be taken Monday, Dec. 18. Mr. Dalzell presented an amendment to the rules, creating a committee on insular affairs, to consist of seventeen members, to have jurisdiction over all matters, excepting revenues and appropriations, of the islands which came to the United States .through the treaty with Spain in 1899, and to Cuba, and to increase the committees on foreign affairs, merchant marine and fisheries, public lands, military affairs, naval affairs, and District of Columbia from fifteen to seventeen members, and the committee on territories from thirteen to fifteen members. Air. Robertson announced the death of Representative S. ( G. Baird of Louisiana, and after adopting the customary resolutions, at 1:30, as a mark of further respect, the House adjoidnaed until Monday, Dec. 11.

How Quickly We Can Think.

Prof. Richet, in bls lecture on “Nerve Vibrations,” sa(d that the rate of transmission of nerve Impulses could not be more than ten or twelve times a second/ Prof. Richet states that if one tried to think a set of words in succession he could never pass that speed, and could not receive a more rapid succession of sensations on the same orThis period, then, might (fe called the psychological “unit of time.” If the rapidity were greater, sound, electricity and light would, be perceived as independent undulations, not continuous sensations; were it slower. on& would see the motion of the hour hand of a watch and the growth of a tree.

Foolish Fellow.

Mrs. Fadde (faith curist)—How Is your grandfather this morning. Bridget? Bridget—He still has the rheumatics mighty bad, mum. Mrs. Fadde—You mean he thinks he has the rheumatism. There is no such thing as rheumatism. Bridget—¥es, mum. A few days later. - , Mrs. Fadde—And does your grandfather still persist In bls delusion that he has the rheumatism? Bridget—No, mum; the poor man thinks now that he is dead. We buried him yesterday.—London Answers.

Theatrical Snowstorm.

Realistic snowstorms for theaters are produced by a new machine, which has two revolving perforated cylinders to drop flaked and granulated substances respectively, with electric fans under across the stage as it falls.

Good Diamond Test.

One test for distinguishing diamonds from glass and paste Is to touch them with the tongue. The diamond teela