Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 21, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 May 1900 — Page 2

WEEKLY. REPUBLICAN. OEO. E. MARSHALL, Publisher. RENSSELAER, - - INDIANA.

FAILURES FOR APRIL.

IT IS NOT THOUGHT THAT THEY PRESAGE DISASTER. Conditions of Business Show a Reaction ' from Abnormal Excitement and Expansion of Last Yea,r Robbers Compel - Passengers to Jump from Train. R. G. Dun A Co.’s weekly review «f trade says-. "Failure returns for April are especially valuable because they show that there does not exist in the most important branches of business the conditions which threaten disaster. They call attention to one line in which some curtailment had seemed from previous returns to be in progress and had been hastened by extensive strikes in the building trades. The simple fact is that some reaction from the abnormal excitement and expansion and rise of prices last year was necessary to continued prosperity. Its duration may therefore be expected to depend on the promptness with which production and prices adjust themselves t" actual demands. All exports from New York in four weeks have been 3J?.4 per cent, or ever $11,000,000, larger than last year, and with the gain of $15,000,000 in cotton from other ports the months aggregate for merchandise should rise above $100.1)00.000. Imports show-a small gain, bnt will hardly exceed s7o.boo,opo£ Failures .for the week have been 209 in the United States, against 158 last year, and 27 in Canada, against 23 last year. - ’ NEW STYLE IN TRAIN ROBBERY. Northern Pacific Bandits Compel Vie- ’ time to Jump Off Moving Car. After robbing five passengers on a Northern Pacific freight train near North Y akima, Wash.. six h igh way men compel 1ed their victims to jump off the moving train, that they themselves might be secure tvhen the conductor and brakeman returned from, the front end of the train. Compelling the passengers to line up wit li arms uplifted, the robbers went "through them, securing watches, rings and nearly SOOO. The passengers were then made to jump off, the robbers meanwhile shooting them and- pounding them_i>ver the head with -their guns. The passengers walked to Rosa station and wired Sheriff Tucker at Yafcima, who organized a posse and started in pursuit. The. robbers left the train at Umtnnum.

WOMEN SMOTHERED TO DEATH. Singular Accident in St. Louie Costs Two Girls their Lives. Sophia Everson. 27 years old, and her *cousin, Melvina’- Wilson. 28 years old, were smothered to death in bed during a storm, while Perry Everson, an 8-year-old*child. occupying the same bed. slept on uninjured. The Eversons lived in a two-story dilapidated structure at No. 1430 North Eighth street". St. Louis, occupying the'first floor, while Jerry Moore and wife lived upstairs. During the height of the storm the rafters gave way, carrying down the second floor and contents. The mattress of Iho bed upon which the Moores slept fell immediately over the two women on the floor beneath, and they smothered. Contests ou the Diamond. The standing of the clubs in the National League is as follows: W. L. W. L. Philadelphia. 10 4 Chicago 7 8 Cincinnati .. 8 6 St. Louis.... <> 8 Brooklyn ... 8 <1 New Y'ork... 5 8 Pittsburg ... 8 7 Boston 4 9 In the American League the standings are: •' W. L. W. L. Milwaukee.. 11 4 Buffalo 6 6 Indianapolis.. 8 5 Kansas City. 6 10 Chicago .... 9 6 Minneapolis . 6 12 Cleveland ... 7 5 Detroit 4 9 Damage Is Nearly $50,000. 'Hie flood in the Platte river caused by the bursting of the Denver. Colo., Union Water Company's diverting dam on Goose creek, is subsiding. The total loss from the washing out of railroad tracks in Platte canyon, destruction of bridges, flooding of ranches and gardens is estimated at $40,000, and the water company estimates the. damage to its works at $7,500.

Fires Cause Four Deaths. Four persons were killed in tires in New York City the other night and a fifth was fearfully injured. At a lodging house tire in South street, John Curran, a marine engineer, was burned to death and Fireman Daniel Mullin Was thrown from a ladder, receiving injuries from which he died. Fireman James Fitzpatrick was fatally injured Uy the overturning of a hose truck which he was driving. Exact Status of Porto Hico. Judge Doehren in the I’nited States Circuit Court at St. I’aul remanded Rafael Ortiz, the Porto Rican, hack to Stillwater prison. In his decision Judge Doehren held that hy-the cession of Porto Rico that island became an integral part of the i’nited States and that the Federal constitution thereupon, ex propria vigore. extended over the island and its people. Frost Injures Ohio Fruit Crop. In eastern Ohio ice formed in some localities the other night and killing frosts were general. The damage to fruits and early crops is heavy. The apple and peach crops are practically destroyed. Kansas Dow Unconstitutional. The Kansas railroad law. which is the result of ten years of Populist agitation in Kansas, was declared unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court. One Killed and Two Injured. Passenger train No. 107yuu the Wheeling division of the Baltimore and (Jhio road wits wrecked just cast of.Gastonvilie, Pa. Patrick J. Horan, track -inspector, was killed and two trainmen were badly hurt. None of the passengers was hurt. Smallpox in Butler Colleice. Smallpox has lyoken out at Butler College at Irvington, a suburb of Indianapolis. Five young ladies have the disease. .Twenty-five students and other persons exposed have been placed in quarnntiue.

MRS. NEVKU’S PAPERS FOUND. „ Bon Accused of Poisoning Her Manages to Escape Arrest. Mrs. M. J. Neveu, a Klondike woman who struck it rich, is under treatment for poisoning in Chicago. Her satchel containing diamonds, gold dust and negotiable papers valued at $70,000 was stolen from her room. She was in a stupor at the time the robbery was committed and she declares a drug was administered to her-by her son Thomas, who has eloped with an actress. Young Neveu and his sweetheart were traced by detectives to a hotel at 36 North Clark ’street, but they managed to escape arrest They left the satchel and the detectives recovered all the stolen property save five diamonds valued at $1,200 amL a small quantity of gold dust. Mrs. Neveu has been boarding in Illinois street for four months with her sons, Fred and Thomas. The latter is 17 years old. Late Monday night he induced his mother to drink a cup of tea before going to bed. After drinking it she became sick and drowsy. A stupor overcame her and Thomas is then supposed to have taken the sa'tcheh COURT AIMS'BLOW AT TRUSTS. New York Supreme Justices Forbid Investments for Minors Therein. A blow at trusts, industrials and all kinds of corporations formed to control some specific commodity is made in a decision just handed down by the appellate division of the Supreme Court of New York. This decision forbids executors, administrators and guardians of trust estates to invest those funds in. the stock of a trust or industrial corporation. -It is held by tjie court, that combinations formed to control the market prices are illegal and unauthorized. The decision was reached in the ease of the controversy over the estate of the late Alvah Hall. Portions of the funds were invested in the umbrella trust, which collapsed after an existence of two years. The decision requires that the trustees shall pay over to the estate the sum put into the umbrella trust". • . TOWN SWEPT BY" FLAMES. Gladwin, Mich., Is Almost Wiped Out by Fire. Fire, which started in Shaw & Walker’s billiard hall at Gladwin, Mich., destroyed sixteen buildings and a lot of other property. For a time it was thought the whole town was doomed. Albert Bergau slept in the billiard hall and it is supposed he was burned to death. The body of Thos. Van Wenner, awaiting burial, was burned. Among the property destroyed were the Michigan Central station, Free Methodist Church, city hose house, Brunswick Hotel. Foster & Miller's hardware store, Hugh McClary's agricultural implement store. The total loss is $50,000. STABBED BY GEN. H. G. OTIS. W. R. Ream, a Reporter, Attacked, He Says, with a Bayonet. W. R. Ream, a well-known newspaper man at Los Angeles, Cal., was stabbed by Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, editor of the Times. Artist Chapin of the Times had got into a row in a restaurant and Ream went to the Times office to get" Chapin's version of the affair. Gen. Otis was talking with Chapin. “You have come to see Chapin. You will write him up and lie about him, just as you do everything else,” said Otis, according to Ream. Gen. Otis then stabbed Ream with a bayonet. Gen. Otis gave himself up ami entered a plea of not guilty. Ream was not badly hurt. Mother Killed aud Child -Escaped. Mrs. Alice Thornberg and her little 10-year-old son, Eddie, while walking over the Lake Shore Railway trestle that spans Ottawa river nt Toledo. Ohio, were run down' by the fast limited express from Detroit. The boy threw himself flat on the track between the rails, and the train passed over him without injuring him. His mother apparently tried to do the same, but was struck and hurled into the river below, a distance of 130 feet. When recovered she was dead. Thrown from Bridge by Tramps. Jack Lynch, an employe at Long Cliff, near Logansport, Ind., while returning to the hospital was assaulted and robbed by four tramps on. the Wpbash Railway bridge. The men rifled Lynch's pockets and then threw him into the river below, a distance of thirty-five feet. The water was shallow, or Lynch would have been drowned. Hope to Solve the Mystery. The body of a woman found in a box at the express office in Cambridge Springs. I’a., is traceable by only one clew. The name of a Connecticut firm is on the box. -The corpse had been packed in sawdust .and ice. A stranger left the box at the express office on April 24. The body is that of a woman about 40 years old.

Dynamite Outrage in Indiana. The house of Mrs. Katurah Alldredge at Mount Vernon, Ind., was wrecked by a dynamite explosion. Mrs. Alldredge ami her 5-year-old daughter were thrown from their bed. but c neither was hurt. The police are at a loss to understand the motive for the crime. Kills Himself in a Cemetery. Near Howell’s, .Neb., Joseph Slama went to the house of Frank Chady, a neighbor, and shot the latter as he lay in his bed after driving other inmates from the house. Slama then went to the (Catholic cemetery and killed himself. The men had long been enemies. Great Fabric Collapses. An immense truss in the building of the Dimmick Pipe Company, in the course of, erection at North Birmingham. Ala., fell, causing the collapsF'of'the entire framework of‘ the structure with -a terrific crash. Two were killed, two fatally hurt, and nine badly injured. . Industrial HchooV Burned. A fire which started in the industrial school building ou Randall’s Island. New York, caused a panic among the children in the children’s hospital, which stood next to the burning building. The Indus- 1 trial school was burned to the ground. No one was injured. Twanty Killed in Philippines. The American garrison of Catubig, Island of Samar, consisting of thirty men belonging to the Forty-third regiment. has been attacked by rebels. Twenty of the Americans were killed. The remainder were rescued. Many Coins Made in April. The month of April was h record breaker for the making of coins at the Philadelphia mint. The tofnl number of pieces of money made was 9,831,100, the value of which is $12,954,480.

TOWN IS BURNED UP.

GERONDALE, MICH., MEETS A FIERY FATE. Two Hundred Persons 1 Are Homeless and Property Loss Amounts to Many Thousands of Dollars—New York Central Strike-at Buffalo Is Settled. A special train on the Wisconsin, Michigan and Northern road returned from the fire scene, bringing news of the burning of the dense forest north of Geroudale, Mich. The town was burned and UOO people are homeless. A small sawmill, owned by Albert Ge’artts, is in ruins; value $20,000; no insurance. The loss of timber is estimated at $53,000. Lumber camps owned by George Brooks, Davis & Stitt", Joe Turcatte apd Charles Barnard burned. The entire winter’s cut of cedar and pine is lost. BUFFALO STRIKE SETTLED. Other Railways Will Abide by Action of New York Central. Tlie railroad strike at Buffalo is considered practically settled. It is understood that the Nickel Plate has agreed to abide by the action of the New York Central, and it is believed that the Erie, Lackawanna. Lehigh and Western New York and ’Pennsylvania will acquiesce in the arrangement. The concessions made by the New York Central will, it is said, mean SIOO,OOO a year added to the expenses of the road at that end of the State, as compared with what they were prior to March 16.

BIG STRIKE Three Thousand Men Idle on Lines Between St. Louis and Parkersburg. The Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern has a strike on of large proportions. All the section men and extra gangs from St. Louis to Parkersburg, W. Ya., hart* gone out. About three thousand men refused to go to work on a recent morning. They demand $1.50 a day. The section men have been receiving $1.15 and extra men 5d.25. _ Passenger Car Runs Away. On the Gainesville. Jefferson and Southern Railway, at Belmont, Ga., a passenger .coach became detached from the train and ran down the track four miles across . the high trestle over alnu't creek. Beyond the trestle on a sharp curve the ear jumped the track. Several people in the coach received serious injuries. Architectural Ironworkers Out. Cincinnati architectural iron workers have decided to strike because their demands had been acceded to by but one firm, the Stewart Company, whose employes are not" in the union. About 800 men are involved. The demand is tor a ninediour day. with the same wages as is paid for ten hours. Striking Coal Heavers Riot. Four men were wounded, one probably fatally, during a labor riot on an Archer avenue car in Chicago. A dozen shots were fired, every window iu the car was shattered and passengers, fled, panicstricken. The fighting was between coal heavers employed at the E. L. llendstrem & Co. coal docks and seven Woman Sets Fire to a Baby. Mrs. Thomas Cunningham, wife of alandscape gardener living in South Brooklyn. ~N. Y„ went into a trance, and while oblivious of what she did kindled a fire iu the baby carriage, standing beside her kitchen stove, and burned her 3-year-old daughter Mary so seriously that the child died within a few hours. Son and Fortune Missing. The Chicago police are looking for Thomas Neven, a 17-year-old boy, who is alleged to have robbed his widowrd mother, Mrs. M. J. Neven, of gold nuggets, diamonds and valuable papers said to represent $70,000, after attempting to poison her in her apartments at 290 Illinois street, that city. “Peaceful.” Man Kills Two. Robert tend William Chambers, two prominent young men of "Webb, Miss., went to the plantation of T. B. Abbey to search for sonic negroes. They met Abbey,, and in an altercation Abbey shot and killed them both. Abbey has the reputation of a quiet ami peaceful citizen. Deny Blame for Train Wreck. The through passenger train froiii the east on" the Great Northern was thrown from the track in the ..-aids at Great Falls. Mont. Passengers in one car were badly shaken up. but no serious damage was done. Strikers claim that they had nothing to do with it.

Indian Avenges Son’s Death. In a quarrel near Niobrara, Neb., Bird Head, a Ponca Indian, was killed by Harry Laravie, same tribe. Laravie gave hitnsflf: up to Bird, Head’s father, who first shot him dead and then crushed his head with an ax. Christian Ticket Named. 'l'he united Christian party, organized at Rock Island, JU., nominated as its first candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency of the United States Rev. Silas (’. Swallow of Harrisburg, Pa., and .John G. Woolley of Chicago. 1 New York Liquor License Fees. The total receipts for liquor licenses in New York City for the coming year are $4,859,815. This is $6,000 more than was paid last year, and includes the fees for licenses from saloons, hotels, restaurants, drug stores and clubs. Is Agninaldo Dead? There areJiep-isteut rumors that Aguinaldo has been killed by the Igbruttes. There is no proof that he has been alive since Maj. March pursued him into the Benquet mountains. Chance to Scott County. At Frankfort, Ky., Judge Cantrill ordered a change of venue to Scott’County for the trial of Powers, Davis. Yotitscy and others charged with complicity in the Goebel murder. Death of Edward <>. Leech. Edward O. Leech, former director of the miut, who underwent an operation’ for appendicitis in Mount Sinai hospital, New York, on April 12, died in that institution. Death Comes at Murder Trial. Thomas E. Porter, a wealthy farmer, whilf attending a murder trial at Sedalia. Ho., became excited, was seized with heart trouble an’d expired before he could be put to bed.

INDIANS DYING OF STARVATION. Kiowas and Coinanches Are Reported in Great Need of Food. The Kiowa and Comanche Indians on their reservation in Oklahoma are. in dire neetMft food. These Indians appeal tc the whites in the Eastern States to help then out before all the tribe dies of starvation. Reports from there say several Indians near Mountain View have died and fifty more are on the brink of starvation and will die unless food is sent soon. Merchants on the reservation Have refused the Indians credit and hence the two tribes are. without food. The Kiowa and Comanche reservation, comprising 3,000,000 acres, is soon to be opened to settlement and these Indians will be homeless. WIDOW IS ACCUSED OF MURDER. Mrs. Frost Is Arrested in NebraskaSaid She Poisoned Her Husband. At Y'ork, Neb., Mrs. Margaret Frost, widow of William Frost", who died a few days ago, supposedly of strychnine poisoning, was arrested, charged with the murder of her husband. She is now in the county jail, where she will remain pending the inquiry of the coroner’s jury. She was arrested on what is known as a coroner's warrant. It sets forth that there is evidence tending to show that Mrs. Frost gave her husband poison.

TRAGEDY AT PEORIA. Bertha Hoffman Found Dead—Charles Briggs Is Arrested. The dead body of Bertha Hoffman, aged 19, the daughter of a Peoria cigar manufacturer, was found in the woods i.ear Prospect Heights. There was a bullet" wound in her head, and her right hand clutched a revolver. Charles Briggs has been arrested on suspicion. Briggs told the police that the girl committed suicide while out riding with him the other evening. Fiery Destruction at Beaver Dam Fire broke out in the engine room of the Beaver Dam, Wis., Malleable Iron Works and destroyed the plant, with a loss of over SIOO,OOO. The fire also communicated to the freight depot of the Chicago,' Milwaukee arid St. Paul Railway, which, with five loaded cars and contents, was also destroyed with a loss of SIO,OOO. Use Strategy to Be Wedded. D. Rosenberg, living at the South Side Hotel in St. Louis, and Miss Goldie Borland of Chicago, who has been visiting friends—the re. wo re married quiet 1 y by Rev. H. J. Messing. In order to marry without the knowledge of their parents or friends the young couple pretended to have had a quarrel. Both now explaining matters to their relatives. Killed in a Mine. More than 200 meh -were killed and more than a score of others will be crippled for life as the result of an explosion in tunnel No. 4 of the Pleasant Valley coal mines, located at Winter Quarters. 100 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. ■ _ Big Oil Combine in Wyoming. One of the largest oil combines in the West filed articles of 'lncorporation at Cheyenne, Wyo., under the name of the Superior Oil Company, capital stock $lO,500,000. The syndicate is organized as a consolidation of several companies operating in central Wyoming. Find a Big Zinc Vein in Ohio. At Findlay, Ohio, a vein of zine was found at a depth of 900 feet by workmen drilling for oil. The vein is thirty feet thick. Great excitement prevails. Op-' timists claim the Joplin field will be rivaled. - Rolling Mills Shut Down. The East Side rolling mills at Toledo, *u;hich art* a part of the Republic Iron and Steel Company’s system, have shut down indefinitely, throwing 300 men out of work. Lack of orders is given as the cause of the suspension. Mill and Elevator Burned. At- Marietta, Ohio, the Phoenix flouring mill and grain elevator burned to the ground with all the contents. Loss SIOO,000, insurance $30,000. Claude M. Johnson Resigns. Claude M. Johnson, chief of the bureau of engraving and printing at Washington, has tendered his resignation to Secretary Gage. Grantsburg Swept by Fire. Grantsburg, 111., was almost totally destroyed by fire. Only two business houses, the postoffice aud a saloon were left standing. Death of Munkacsy. A dispatch from Bonn says that Michael Munkacsy, tlie celebrated painter, died in an asylum there.

MARKET QUOTATIONS.

Chicago—Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $5.50; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $5.75; wheat, No. 2 ged, 65c to 66e; corn. No. 2,40 cto 41c; oats, No. 2,22 c to 24c; rye, No. 2,52 cto 54c; butter, choice creamery, 19c to 20c; eggs, fresh, 11c to 12c; new potatoes, Bermuda, $7.00 to $8.50 per barrel. Indianapolis—Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $6.00; hogs, choice light, $3.00 to $5.50; sheep, common to prime, $3.00* to $5.00; wheat, No. 2,70 cto 71c; coin, No. 2 white, 40c to 42c; oats, No. 2 white 27c to 28c. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.25 to $5-75; hogs. $3.00 tq $5.75; sheep, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, No. 2,72 cto 73c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 40c to 42c; oats, No. 2,24 cto 2<jc; rye. No. 2,55 cto 56c. Cincinnati—Cattle, $2.50 to $6.00; hogs. $3.00 to $5.75; sheep, $2.50. to SS.OV; wheat. No. 2. 73c to 75c; corn. No. 2 mixed. 43c to 45c; oats. No. 2 mixed, 25c ito 27c; rye. No. 2,00 cto 62c. I Detroit—Cattle, $2.50 to $6.00: hogs, I $3.00 to $5.j5: sheep. $3.00 to $6.25; wheat. No. 2,71 fto 73c; corn. No. 2 yellow, 40c to 42c; oats, No. 2 white. 28c to 29c; rye. 60c to 62c. Toledo--Wheat, No. 2 mixed. 73c to 71c; corn. No. 2 mixed. 40c to 42c; opts, No. 2 mixed. 42c to 25c; rye, No. 2. 56c to 57c; clover seed, old, $4.70 to $4.80. Milwaukee—Wheat, No. 2 northern. Gsc to 67c; corn. Nb. 3. 40c to 42c: oats. No. 2 white. 26c to 28c; rye, No. 2, 570 to 58c; bailey, No. 2,42 cto 44c; pork, mess. $12.25 ’to $12.75. Buffalo—Cattle, choice shipping steers. $3.00 to $5.75; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $5.50; lambs, common to extra, $4.50 to $7.75. New York—Cattle. $3.25 to $5.75: bogs, $3.00 to $6.00: sheep, $3.00 to $6.25; wheat, No. 2 red, 79c to 80c; corn. No. 2, 46c to 48c; oats, No. 2 white, 29e to 30c; butter, creamery, 16c to 21c; eggs, western, 13c to 14c.

MANY MEN NOW OUT.

THOUSANDS ADDED TO RANKS OF THE STRIKERS. **■ Labor Troubles in Nearly All Parts of the Country Building Trades Employes Especially Conspicuous—More Images and Shorter Hours Demanded. Strikes have recently been inaugurated in all parts of the country, except the extreme" South and-the Pacific slope. As a consequence. 23,600 idle men have been added to the thousands of budding trades’ workers and machinists long idle at Chicago and Cleveland, and to the strikers of New England. New York and other Eastern States, who have been out of work from two to four weeks. It is conservatively estimated that 75,000 union workmen are now on strike in various parts of this country. The latest additions to the list- of strikers are. .as follows: At Philadelphia—3,ooo building .tradesworkmen; for eight hours and 25 per cent increase in wages. At Kansas City—l.ooo hod-carriers, plasterers, tinners and quarrymen; for increase in wages. At Buffalo. N. Y.—3.000 car repairers, 700 shop men. 1.000 freight handlers. 150 Bell telephone linenien,-300 exiuwdtioH-la- ■ borers; for increase of wages. At Duluth, Minn. —700 building trades workers; for .eight hours and increase in wages. At Savannah, Ga.—SOO Imiraiiig trades workers-; for eight hours and increase in wages. At Minneapolis, Minn.—l,loo woodworkers; for the discharge of non-union men. • At Oniaah. Neb, —500 carpenters; for eight hours, increase in wages and exclusive use of union materials. At Cincinnati—Boo architectural iron workers: for nine hours at old pay. At Racine, Wis. -250 carpenters, hodcarriers and masons; for eight hours and increase in wages. At Denver, Colo. —700 carpenters; for eight hours and $3.50 per day. At Pittsburg. I'a.-T.rOL I’.uiTding trades workers; for eight hours and increase in wages. At East St. Louis, Ill.—-1,000 building trades workers: for increased wages. At St. Pa ul7'Minn.- = 5Wr rijnon plumbers; for shorter day and increase -in wages. At Great Falls, Mont.—Freight conductors and brakemen; against the new schedule of wages. At Ludington, Mich.—2oo freight handlers; for increased wages. At Detroit, Mich.—lso coremakers; for increased wages. At Milwaukee, Wis. —100 carriage and wagon carpenters and 200 iron workers; for a new wage scale and against nonunion men. At Memphis, Tenn. —500 iron molders; for high c r wag e-. At Port Huron. Mich. 300 ship builders and machinists; for Tricreased wages. At Springfield. Ohio—2so ironworkers in six shops; for a uniform -scale of wages. At Barberton. Ohio —600 boilermakers and molders; for increased wages. . At Boston—-2,500 brewery employes; to enforce the demands of engineers for eight hours and higher pay. At Constable, smelter employes; for nine hours.

BRANDFORT IS TAKEN

Its Occupation by the British a Most Important Move. News of the occupation of Brandfort was issued by the British war office Friday morning. It is generally considered the most important communication received from the front since the capture of Gen. Cron-je and the relief of Ladysmith. The fact that the position gives the key to one of the main roads to the Drakensberg passes, which possibly may be the means of co-operation with Gen. Buller later on, provides an advance base of supplies, etc., and at the same time menaces the Boers now southeast oi Bloemfontein, is obviously the reason foi the importance attached by all hands tc the intelligence. The Boer army, which was at Brandfort. commanded by Gen. Delarey, is presumably retiring on YVinburg, which will possibly l>e the next immediate objective of the British. Brandfort, thirtylive miles nearer the Transvaal capital, is now Lord Roberts' headquarters. What particularly gratifies the British public is the evidence that the army of Ix>rd Roberts in the Orange Free State has recovered its mobility and is again capable of undertaking the general advance so long retarded. It is hardly expected the Boers will make much of a stand south of Krooustad, and possibly not there, if Lord Roberts succeeds in capturing Winburg, thus interposing between the main federal army and the Boer forces in the neighborhood of Thaba Nchu and Houtnek. In that case the later p'ould be forced to move far to the eastward, in which direction their mobility would probably enable them to reach the Bethlehem and Harrismith line of safety. The only opposition which the British encountered at Brandfort seems to have come from the IrishAmerican command.

Start for Cape Nome.

'Pile steamship Jeanie sailed Monday from Seattle, Wash., for Cupe Nome, Alaska, gold fields with eighty passengers and 400 tons of freight; the first ship of the season. Twenty-five steamships are scheduled to sail for Cape Nome ,in May. with ,5.838 passengers and 25,225 tons of freight already booked, leaving oifly about 2(M) passengers open. The ftotal earnings of the ships in May nt ruling prices will exceed $1,500,000. Charles Smith, it wealthy merchant, Brownsville, Neb., was shot twice the other night by his wife, who afterward shot hersClf. The man may recover. The old home of Chief Justice Marshall, at Richmond, Va., is to be preserved as a memorial by an association incorporated recently by the legislature ol Virginia for that purpose. Michael Cudahy, Chicago. has given $50,000 to the Catholic University of America at Washington. It is believed $1,000,000 will lie raised within a year. The French cruiser Chateau Renault made twenty-five knots on her speed trial Blairsville presbytery of Pennsylvania wants the creed revised.

CONGRESS

On Monday the Senate, by a vote of 29 to 20, refused to consider the pro-Boer resolution introduced by Mr. Pettigrew. Agreed to the conference report on the amendatory Porto Rico resolution. Passed bill appropriating $40,000 to enlarge and improve the public building nt Burlington, lowa. Agreed to the conference report on the bill in behalf of northwestern lumbermen, authorizing the Seere•tary of War to make certain regulations on the management of loose logs on several specified rivers. The House sent to the committee on judiciary the joint resolution for a constitutional amendment to disqualify polygamists for election as Senators or Representatives. By a vote of 144 to 26 passed the Lacey bill to prohibit the transportation by intecrState commerce of game, killed in violation of local laws. Agreed to the conference feport on the Porto Rico amendatory resolution. In committee of the whole' considered the Senate bill for the creation' of a commission to study and- report upon the industrial conditions in 'China and Japan. Struck out the enacting clause by a vote of 58 to 54 after amending it by reducing the number of commissioners from five to three, providing that not more than two of these shall be of the same political party, and that none shall be members of either branch of Congress. Motion to strike out enacting clause was pending in open session when adjournment was -voted. Alaskan civil code bill passed the Senate on Tuesday, amendments being withdrawn. Harris’ resolution passed concerning conservation of the water of tlnArkansas river for the benefit of Colorado and Kansas. Tillman’s resolution concerning tests of Krupp armor at Indian Head was agreed to. Consideration of army appropriation bill, carrying $114.951.590, was resumed. Lodge's amendment forbidding establishment of telegraph or cable lines in Alaska not owned nnd operated wholly by citizens of the United States was adopted. Berry’s amendment giving preference to non-trust bidders on army contracts was defeated. 18 to 29. Stewart’s amendment,."intended to prevent a Cuban epble monopoly,” was rejected. In the House the entire d.-iy was devoted to consideration of the Niebill. The Senate on Wednesday passed bill for the creation of linked memorial parks on the battlefields of Fredericksburg ChancellorsviUe, the Wilderness and Sycttsylvania, in Virginia. Received notice from Mr. Hoar that on Thursday he would cal! up the Clark contest case for consideration. Heard Mr. Mason In support of his proposition to enact legislation to prevent" the adulteration of food. Devoted the rest of the day to debate Off the army appropriation bill, with the treatment of American soldiers iu the Philippines as the chief subject. The House by a vote of 225 to 35 passed bill providing for the construction of a protected but not a fortified Nicaragua canal. On Thursday the Senate adopted the motion of Mr. Hoar to take up the resolution of the committee on elections declaring that Mr. Clark of Montana was not duly elected to the Senate and then postponed consideration of the question for a week.. The army appropriation bill, after a rather spirited debate, was passed without division. The day closed with the’ passage of a number of private pension bills, including bills to pension Mrs. Julia MacV. Henry, widow of the late Gen. Guy V. Henry; Gen. James Longstreet. Mrs. Margaret M. Badger, widow of the late Commodore Badger, and Mrs. Harriet Gridley, widow of the late Captain Gridley of the navy. The House passed the “Nee Home” bill without division. The remainder of the day was devotdd to the sundry civil appropriation bill, the last but one of the great! supply bills. The Senate on Friday passed the army reorganization bill, which practically revolutionizes the present staff arrangements of the army. The bill provides for an increase in several branches of the service. The fortifications appropriation bill, carrying $7,733,628, an increase of $640,140 over the House measure ;was also passer! In the House seventy-three of the 132 pages of the sundry civil appropriation bill were completrsl. Members,pf the naval committee made efforts to cripple the coast and geodetic survey in retaliation for the refusal of the House to place* the survey of waters of our insular pos sessions in the hands of our navy. A message from President McKinley voicing" the bill authorizing the adjustment of settlers on the Navajo Indian reservation was laid before the House. An order was made giving the day following the disposition of the sundry civil bill to the committee on claims. The Senate held no session Saturday. In the House the Senate amendments to the army appropriation bill were disagreed to and the bill was sent to conference. The House resumed the consideration of the sundry civil appropriation bill. There was a protracted contest over several propositions to buy 140 acres ad ditional for the St. Elizabeth insane asylum at $1,500 an acre. Although it was urged that the land was badly needed for additional quarters for the insane, ev cry proposition was defeated. A few minor amendments were adopted. The committee "then rose and the bill was passed. The fortifications appropriation bill was sent to conference.

Odds and Ends.

Charter of New York City will be revised. Many Indians in Arizona are su'd to be on the verge of starvation. War Department still objects to officers taking their wives to Manila. Automobiles valued at $50,000 were shipped to the Hawaiian Islands from Chicago. Kansas has 300 flour mills, with a capacity of about 10,000,(MM) barrels a year. Charles B. Aycock was nominated by the Democrats of North Carolina for Governor. Secretary G;ige. in response to the House resolution of inquiry, reported that the estimated surplus for this fiscal year was $7O,O(M),(M)O and for> next year $82,; 000,000. The old home of Chief Justice Marshall, at Richmond, Va., is to be preserved as a memorial by an association incorpyrated recently by the Legislature ot .Virginia for that purpose.