Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 November 1900 — Page 2

WEEKLY REPUBLICAN. OEO. E. MARSHALL, Publtolitr. ' f - ■■ i i • RENSSELAER, INDIANA.

HANGS TO A BRIDGE.

A MUSCULAR HUSBAND SAVES HIS WIFE AND HIMSELF. Holds Woman in Suspension While Long Freight Train' Passes Over Them —Almost a Fatality—End of Coal Strike Improves Business. Mr. and Mrs. White of BLairville, Ta., had a narrow escape from death on the rails. They had been visiting in Homestead. They missed their train and started to walk to Blairville. They had to cross the high and long bridge across the Kisirdnacks river. When half way over the ywere overtaken by a freight train. Mr. White dropped down between the ties and held his wife suspended in the air, fifty feet from the water below, while the long train passed over them. Then, with great difficulty, he lifted her to the bridge again. His coat was caught by the train and was torn, so close was he to the trucks. - NEBRASKA MOB IS OUTWITTED. Attempt to Lynch the Slayer of Rule's Town Marshal Fails. Town Marshal Wake of llulo, Neb., was shot and instantly Killed by a drunken man whom he had placed under arrest, and the lynching of the murderer was averted only by the outwitting of a mob by the authorities, who hurried him secretly away from the town. William Hunt was the man’s name, and when Marshal Wake arrested him for drunkenness he resisted, and, pulling his revolver, shot the officer twice in the breast. He confessed to the crime and a determined mob quickly formed and advanced on the jail where Hunt was confined. The authorities received warning in time and hustled the man off to Falls City, the county seat. SETTLEMENT HELPS BUSINESS. Industrial Situation Is Improved by End of the Coal Troubles. Bradstreet’s says: “Perhaps the most notable feature of the week is found in the industrial situation, which has been distinctly improved by the apparently official and final action taken toward ending the anthracite coal miners’ strike. In view of the fact that most of the miners have obtained increased wages, the effect on business in the producing regions can hardly be otherwise than beneficial, while the trade at large must reap benefits from the return to normal conditions.” Finds W. M. Rice Was Poisoned. Little by little the mystery which has surrounded the death of the aged millionaire, William Marsh Rice of New York, is being penetrated. Prof. Rudolph A. Witthaus positively declared that bichloride of mercury had been discovered in the stomach of the recluse in sufficient quantity to have caused his death.

Floods in England. Violent gales, accompanied by snow and rain, hare swept over parts of England, causing floods. Tlie northern districts of the lowlands were flooded. At Newcastle, Hartlepool, Stockton, South Shields and elsewhere people have been compelled to seek refuge in the upper stories of their houses. Sues Three Cracker Concerns. Attorney General Smyth filed suit in the District Court at Lincoln, Neb., against the Jones, Douglass & Co. Cracker Company of New Jersey and the American Biscuit Manufacturing Company of Illinois, charging them with having combined as a trust in restraint of trade. Indiana Bank Is Robbed. The bank of Seeds Bros, at Bridgeport, Ind., was robbed of over SI,OOO in cash and many notes about 3 o’clock on a recent morning. Although the explosion aroused the citizens at the time, the robbers escaped. Strikers and Troop? Fight. Strikers in the cotton mills at Valley Field, Que., and militia, called out to suppress rioting, clashed with fatal results. Eight soldiers and fifteen strikers were wounded, two soldiers and one striker probably fatally. Kiplins Home Is for Sale. Rudyard Kipling has offered for sale, through a Boston real estate concern, his place at Brattleboro, Vt., the home of his wife’s people, which he built and it •was understood he intended to occupy permanently. Woman Ends Her Life. Mrs. Mabel Hanson, said to be the wife of a prosperous furniture dealer in California, committed suicide in New York by drinking carbolic acid. She and her ifyisband had separated and this is given as the cause of her taking her life.

Find Bonn* Money in Ensft The New York Produce Exchange Bank announced that it has detected a counterfeit of the new $5 silver certificate with the vignette of Red Jacket, the Indian chief. The counterfeit is described as a photographic process print. Bconrge Killing Northwest Indians. Advices from Omenica, B. C., say that scores of Indians are dying of a new scourge, similar to grip. Thirty-fire members of one tribe of 100 died within two weeks. * The scourge afflicts the males only. England Takes Powewion in Pretoria. The Transvaal has been proclaimed a part of the British Empire, the proclama- ■ tion being attended with impressive ceremonies in Pretoria. Plana Big Smelting Plant. The Imperial Gold Mining Company of Pittsburg, Pg., has secured a millsite in Dead wood, 8, D., where will be erected the largest cftatohi cyanide and chlorinating works in the Bl#ck Hills. Work upon the plant will; continence this full and if , ty to bp completed .by .spring-<leor*c.T-ewky ils Killed by » Woman. George Dc*ey, a .'well-known ‘citizen, sTna assnwriuateiJ in the Court liohse Fafk. Pine Bluff; Ark., by an unknown .gad mysterious Woman. After the fatal i ’'itsSln jd.' ,»* • . iiUot wCiiycu* KMFvZJfciL . f a**. ..u ....

FROM THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE EARTH

bums rob The banks. Recent Safe Cracking Jobs Not the Work of Expert Burglars. A Des Moines institution believes it has discovered a solution for the numerous bank robberies that have been taking place ail over the country. It appears that most of the work is being dpne by bums and not by experts. These men choose some small place where the bank has- an old-fashioned safe, and erack it with nitroglycerin. They do not try larger places, for the safes there are too well protected to be injured by this explosive. The fact that the work is being done by hoboes is proven by the fact that when searched large numbers of them have been found to be carrying this explosive. The investigation has been conducted by Pinkerton detectives. Bums have been searched in most of the large cities of middle West and many of them have been found to be carrying nitroglycerin. Besides out of the nineteen convictions of bank robbers that have been secured' with the assistance of this company, seventeen have been bums. It was a mystery for some time where they gained their knowledge of the use of the explosive, but it has been discovered that most of them were employed on the Chicago drainage canal and there learned how to use it with safety. Since then they have become tramps and put their knowledge to use. SAVED BY HIS NIGHTSHIRT. How George D. Meiklejohn Missed a Nebraska Torrent. George D. Meiklejohn, assistant Secretary of War, spoke on a recent evening in a little town in Polk County, Neb., and later took a buggy for Clark’s, fifteen miles northward. He had gone but a third of the distance when a cloudburst covered the whole valley through which he was passing. He and his driver had Only three matches, and two of these were blown out in an instant by the fury of the gale. Meiklejohn had a nightshirt in his small grip that he was carrying with him and a bottle of cosmoline, one of the products of petroleum. He took the nightrobe out of his grip and wound it securely around the butt of the whip. He smeared the petroleum over the muslin and then wftli his remaining match set the hastily improvised torch on fire. The light which flamed up disclosed a torrent of water in front. Fifty feet farther they would have been precipitated into a gulch and swept out to the river. They got into Clark’s six and onehalf hours late.

OPEN SWITCH CAUSES WRECK. Freight Trains on the Lake Erie and Western Collide. Three engines, a number of freight cars wrecked and a section of track torn up are the results of a collision near St. Mary’s, Ohio, on the Lake Erie and Western road, caused by an open switch. The west-bound local freight was in switch when an east-bouDd double-header fast freight train came around a curve and crashed into it. No one was injured, the engine crews leaping. Dead in Each Other’s Arms. Harry Bettis and Daisy Blydenburg, prominent young people, were found dead locked in each other’s arms, seated on a bench in Corry Park, at Corry, Pa. They were lovers, and it is supposed to have been a case of suicide. The girl was shot through the breast and the young man through the head. He still held the revolver in his hand with two chambers empty. Bank Cash Is Gone. It is announced that the First National Bank, Broadway and Wall street, New York, has been robbed to the extent of about $700,000 through the operations of a trusted employe. The officers of the bank charge that Charles L. Alvord, the note teller, is the man who is responsible for the defalcation. Alvord has disappeared. Killed in Football Game. Football has caused the death of another promising young student at Bingham School, Asheville, N. C. Oadet Will Price, aged 17, was injured in a practice game on the college grounds. His spinal column was broken between his shoulders. . Banker and Cash Missing. Robert Neal, president >of the Waggoner National Bank of Vernon, Texas, is missing, and the assets of the bank are impaired to the extent of SIIO,OOO, of which $70,000 was for forged paper. This sum has been made good by the stockholders. Fights with Broken Neck. Walter B. Duryea has made a railway journey of 327 miles with his broken neck in a plaster of paris cast, to be in Brooklyn at the commencement of his legal battle to retain the fortune left him by his father. Duryea’s sisters are contesting the will. To Put $12,000,000 in Furnaces. A company composed almost entirely of Pittsburg capitalists has been organized to engage in blast furnace and steel manufacturing institutions on a gigantic scale. The capital of the new coruoration is $12,000,000. Move Big Plant to America. Seybold & Dickstod of Sheffield, England, the largest manufacturers of crucible steel in Great Britain, are preparing for the removal of their plant to the United States. An option has been taken on a site near Wheeling, W. Va. Bank Forger Lewis Dead. Z. T. Lewis, the former Urbana, Ohio, hanker and noted bond forger, is dead. The .exact amount of his forgeries was never known, but they amounted to more than SIOO.OOO. • Californio (Shows Growth. The population of the State of California £8 announced by the ’census bureau is 1,483,053, as against 1,208,130 in 1890, representing ah increase since AB9Q of 270,923, or 22.9 .per cent.

MARKET QUOTATIONS. Chicago—Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $5.87; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $4.80; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $4.15; wheat, No. 2 red, 73c to 74c; corn, No. 2, 4(Sc to 47e; oats, No. 2,21 c to 22c; rye, No. 2,40 cto 47c; butter, choice creamery, 19c to 22c; eggs, fresh, 15c to 18c; potatoes, 27c to 34c per bushel. Indianapolis—Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $5.00; hogs, choice light, $4.00 to $4.70; sheep,- common to prime. $3.00 to $3.75: wheat, No. 2,72 cto 73c; corn, No. 2 white, 39c to 40c; oats, No. 2 white, 230 to 24e. St. Louis—Cattle, $3.25 to $5.85; hogs, $3.00 to $4.70; sheep, $3.00 to $4.00; wheat, No. 2,71 cto 72c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 35c Jo 36c; oats, No. 2,21 cto 22c: rye. No. 2,51 cto 52c. Cincinnati —Cattle, $3.00 to $5.00; hogs, $3.00 to $4.80; sheep, $3.00 to $3.75; wheat, No. 2,75 cto 70c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 41c to 42c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 22c to 23c; rye, No. 2,56 cto 57c. Detroit—Cattle, $2.50 to $5.35; hogs, $3.00 to $4.90; sheep, $3.00 to $4.00; wheat, No. 2,74 cto 75e; corn, No. 2 yellow, 41c to 42c; oats, No. 2 white, 24c to 25c: rye. 52c to 53c. Toledo—Wheat, No. 2 mixed, 73c to 74c: corn, No. 2 mixed, 39c to 40c; oats. No. 2 mixed, 21c to 22c; rye, No. 2,53 c to 54c; clover seed, prime, SGXX) to $6.25. Milwaukee—Wheat, No. 2 northern, 74e to 75c; corn, No. 3,39 cto 40c; oats, -No. - 2 white, 24c to 25c; rye, No. 1,51 c to 52c: barley, No. 2,57 cto 58c; pork, mess, $13.00 to $14.00. - Buffalo—Cattle, choice shipping steers, $3.00 to $5.70; hogs, fair to prime, $3.00 to $5.00; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $4.25; lambs, common to extra, $4.00 to $5.25. New York —Cattle, $3.25 to $5.60; hogs, $3.00 to $5.35; sheep, $3.00 to $4.30; wheat, No. 2 red, 7tie to 77c; corn, No. 2, 45c to 46c; oats, No. 2 white, 26c to 27c; butter, creamery, 19c to 22c; eggs, western, 19c to 21c. •K----FAIL TO ABOLISH THE PASSES. Western Road 9 Stick to an Old Agreement, but Add a Penalty. All railroad lines west and southwest of the Mississippi river, comprising about 130,000 miles of trackage, have taken action on the pass agreement for the coming year. General Manager Howard Elliott of the Burlington was in the chair. The old agreement was reaffirmed and an additional clause adopted providing a SIOO fine for violation of the agreement. A resolution to abolish free transportation entirely for the coming year was lost, but a committee was appointed to confer with other lines relative to the adoption of such action.

TO REMOVE WRECK OF MAINE. Hull of Battleship Obstructs Naviga-tion-in Havana Harbor. Work will begin soon on removing the wreck of the battleship Maine from Havana harbor, as it is a serious obstruction to navigation. Gen. Wood, on the recommendation of the harbor authorities of Havana, considers the necessity is imperative. The wreck is sinking deeper and deeper into the mud of tho harbor, and the longer the -work is delayed the more difficult it will be of accomplishment. Gen. Wood saw the Secretary of the Navy, and after laying the matter before him in detail secured the Secretary’s consent for the removal of the wreck. Negro Riot in Pennsylvania. A riot occurred in a restaurant at Hyndman, Pa., conducted by Willis Caves, a negro. Adam Shroyer, who was sitting at one of the tables, cheered lustily for Bryan and angered some negroes •who were present. Knives and pistols were drawn and an effort made to kill Shroyer and his young son. A score of shots were fired, but no one was hit. Train Wreck Barely Averted. Section hands saved the regular passenger train on the Bismarck, Washburn and Great Falls road, in North Dakota, from serious wreck. They discovered a pile of ties fastened to the rails at the entrance to a cut, in such a fashion that a disastrous wreck would have been inevitable. Tramps are suspected. Elmer E. Wing Kills Himself. Captain Elmer E. Wing, manager of the Welsbach Lamp Company, committed suicide in San Francisco by inhaling gas. Business troubles caused him to take his life. His wife and daughter reside in Delaware, Ohio. Fined $2 Each for Hissing. At Kansas City Police Judge McAuley fined G. A. Hunt and F. H. Briggerhoff $2 each for hissing at the Standard Theater. They were arrested during the performance. Treaty Approved by Peru. The Peruvian senate has approved tho extradition treaty with the United States, with a slight amendment, fixing S2OO as the minimum limit of the sum allowing extradition. Tornado Hits Texas Town. A tornado struck about half a mile west of Lodi, Texas. One house occupied by colored people was destroyed, six people being killed outright. Unlocked Switch Causes Wreck. An unlocked switch flew open under a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern train in Chicago and caused a wreck in which eight excursionists received injuries Robert Buchanan Paralyzed. Robert Buchanan, the English novelist, has had a cerebral hemorrhage, which was followed by paralysis Of the right side and complete loss of Speech. Eight Hundred Return to Work. The strike of Middlesboro, Ky„ has been declared off. Eight hundred men will return to work. > Killed by Mahsud Raiders. Lieut. Hennessey and forty-ffVe Sikhs were killed in a brush with Mahsud raidert. at Janola, India.

LONG VOYAGE IN AN OPEN BOAT. Capt. Johansen and His 12-Year Old Son Cross the Atlantic. There arrived at Punta Gorda, Fla., the other day a small open boat that had completed one of the most remarkable voyages on record. The occupants of the small craft were Capt. Peter Johansen and his 12-year-old son Peter. They had made the voyage from Gibraltar to Punta Gorda simply for the novel experience. The boat is an open craft, twenty-nine feet long, beam seven feet six inches. They left Gibraltar with 180 gallons of water and provisions for sixty days. They made the trip in exactly fifty-nine days. Capt. Johansen reports that they had a remarkably pleasant voyage. They came by way of the Canaries, the north coast of Santo Domingo, Porto Rico and Cuba, landing only at Boca Grande.. FLYING TEAM WRECKS TRAIN. Passengers Unhurt, bnt Driver and Another Man Killed at Pittsburg. The Pittsburg and Lake Erie flyer tyas partly wrecked in Pittsburg by striking a wagon. The accident resulted in the instant killing of two men and badly injuring another. None of the passengers was hurt. Harry Johnson was driving a heavy wagon and the horses became frightened by the train and ran on the track. Shafer and an unknown man ran to assist Johnson in getting his team off the track and the train struck the Three men, hurling them several hundred feet. One of the horses was literally torn to pieces and it was a piece of his flank becoming wedged between the track and a bridge girder that derailed the rear portion of the train.

PERISHES IN A SHOCK OF CORN. Insane Woman Dies in Flames She Herself Had Started. Standing silent with her hands in the attitude of prayer and making no attempt to shield her face from tlje flames, Mrs. Mary Wilzek, wife of a Berea, 0., farmer, burned herself to death in the center of a shock of corn in one of her husband’s cornfields. She had been regarded as mildly demented, and was supposed to be constantly watched. Slain by a Sentinel. John Soilenson, a young Swede, was shot and killed by one of the sentinels on guard duty at Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook. The Swede was walking along the beach near the fort and was mistaken for a private who had escaped from the fort. The Swede was challenged by the sentinel the second time, but refused to halt and was shof down. Is Heir to English Estate. Reginald Andrews, aged 22, of Cedar Rapids, lowa, received notice that he has been left sole lieir to the estate of a greatuncle in England worth $50,000. Andrews has been robbed by pickpockets in Chicago and assaulted by a maniac, who killed one person and dangerously wounded three others, in the ten mouths he has been in America. Small Town Ie Wipe ! Out. The entire business part of Minneiska, Minn., was burned the other day, including the postoffice, the Farmers* elevator and several loaded cars. The tracks of t'he Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul road were blockaded with debris. The estimated damage is $75,000. There was no loss of life so far as could be learned. Robs a Car of Mail. An unknown desperado robbed the Seattle and International mail car at Inter Bay, Wash., of two pouches of registered mail. The clerk in charge of the car cannot explain the disappearance of the pouches. The amount of the loss is not known.

Fifty-two Horses Burned. The barn of J. B. Cook, on Jackson street, St. Paul, was totally destroyed by fire. There were fifty-two head of horses in the barn at the time of the fire, and the firemen were unable to get any of them out. The loss will be at least $25,000. • Each Die in Rifle Duel. United States Deputy Marshal B. A. Fushon and Tom Taylor, the most notorious moonshiner in Bell County, Ky., were found dying, each filled with bullet holes. They had fought a rifle duel until each dropped in his tracks, mortally wounded. Fifty Killed on a Boat. According to the St. Petersburg corfespondent of the London Daily Express, fifty persons were killed and many others terribly scalded by a boiler explosion on board 1 the steamer Eugenia, running between Tomsk and Barnaul. Stricken In Midst of Prayer. While Rev. Dr. F. V. Bartlett, who has been pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington, Ivy., for twentysix years, was in the midst of prayer in church he suffered a stroke of paralysis, being rendered dumb aud helpless. Disaster at Indian Head. With a shock that mnde the earthquake for miles around, the government magazine at Indian Head, the largest in the world, exploded. Many lives were destroyed. The loss to the government is enormous. Recommend Explanatory Statement.. The Columbus, Ohio, presbytyryjijg decided to recommend to the co;rijp|jfj ee of fifteen appointed by the Pfflttftovy 0 f the United States a ntory statement of eonfewßf ’ .‘ ~r e by Rev. Dr. E. I^l‘^PFolumbus. Decapitates with ?R n 3 !or . At Whitne,. Ga., fjght between Peter Harris and W# JjcCo.v, the latter \vflg decapitated raS6or| th<‘ head being held on Jjjjjulders by but a few shreds of flesh, Fire, c T ‘s depot at Victoria West, .outh A»ne# y k oen decoyed by fire. ZuoaStv'T'? * f - , and amma/bec»lo»t.

TOTAL OF v PUPILS 16,738,362^ Statistics * Given by United State* Commissioner of Education. The annual report of the United States commissioner of education for the fiscal year, ended June 30 last gives the figures for the fiscal year 1898-99 as the latest statistics obtainable. It shows that the grand total of pupils in all schools, elementary, secondary and higher, public and private, for the year ended July 1, 1899, was 10,738,362, of which the number enrolled in the common schools, elementary and secondary was 15,138,715. Twenty and one-half per cent of the entire population was enrolled in the public elementary schools and high schools. There were 35,458 pupils in attendance in all departments of the colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts under the act of Congress approved Aug. 30, 1890, in aid of such institutions. The total income of these institutions, distributed among the various States, amounted to $6,193,016, of which $1,769,716 was derived from acts of Congress, $2,570,427 was appropriated by the several States and territories and the remainder was derived from fees,, invested funds and other miscellaneous sources. Under the supervision of the bureau twenty-five public schools are maintained in Alaska, with a total enrollment of 1,723 pupils. The report reviews the school work in the Philippines, Cuba, Porto Rico and Hawaii. The total attendance in the Manila schools was 5,706 Sept. 30, 1899. against a school population of some 25,000. In Cuba in March, 1900, there were 131 boards of education, 3,099 schools in operation, with 3,500 teachers and 130,000 children enrolled. In 1899 there had been only 200 schools; attendance, 4,000. . The expenditures up to the end of March, 1900, had been $3,500,000, the school fund being taken from the customs receipts, and the estimate for 1900 was $4,000,000. In Porto Rico, for the first term of 1599-1900, the school enrollment was 15.440 8,952 girls; total, 24,392; average daily attendance, 20,103: population of the island, 957,779. In Hawaii the total number of public and private schools is 169, with a total enrollment of 15,490, including a large proportion of foreigners, each nationality having its own teacher.

Revision of Chicago’s registration gives 402,833 votes. Mr. Bryan made sixteen speeches iD P.linois, ending at Joliet. Bryan made seven speeches in Maryland, ending at Baltimore. Ten men were arrested in New York City for illegal registration. Senator Spooner of Wisconsin has been campaigning in Kentucky. Senator Spooner of Wisconsin made his first speech of the campaign at Watertown. Wis. Legislators in Kentucky failed to agree on commissioner to till vacancy in State Election Board. The National Civil Service Reform League declined to accept Carl Schurz’s resignation ns president. William L. Taylor, Attorney General of Indiana, addressed 1,200 railroad and factory men at Wabash, Ind. Republican campaign managers claim McKinley’s plurality in Illinois will be 75,000 outside of Cook County. C. A. Towne of Minnesota addressed two large meetings at Centralia, 111., in behalf of the Democratic ticket. Congressmen Hopkins and Warner and Judge Bartlett Tripp addressed a large Republican meeting at Clinton, 111. The New York Tribune estimates that $75,000 will be spent on pinks to be worn in the New York sound money parade. Senator Harina has denied a statement that he had offered SIOO,OOO to Charles A. Towne to join the Republican party. Postmaster General Charles Emory Smith was the chief orator at a mass meeting vof Yale students in Ne'-v Haven. John Wanamaker, former Postmaster General, made his first political address in ,two years at a meeting in Philadelphia. Col. Alfred Moore Waddell, candidate to succeed Marion Butler of North Carolina in the United States Senate, has withdrawn from the race. Senator Albert J. Beveridge of Indiana spoke ip the Library Hall at Louisville while Bourke Cockran was delivering a Bryan speech at the Auditorium. Senator William P. Frye of Maine in a Republican meeting at, Camden, N. J., warned Republicans that overconfidence might result in the election of Bryan. Speaker Henderson of the House headed a big Yates parade at Springfield, 111., and afterwards addressed a big meeting in Representative Hall at the Capitol. Mrs. Helen M. Gougar of Indiana, who has been converted to Democracy, returned to Chicago from Nebraska and told Chairman Jones that Bryan would certainly carry the State. Adlai E. Stevenson. Democratic nominee for Vice-President, addressed crowds at Wheeling, Ben wood, MoutytewillS, New Martinsville, Waverly and Parkersburg, W r .V&f George Tlliams of Massachusetts jJeyWred a philippic against lmpeJtt’iflfsm before a large audience at Cov-i-*rton, Ivy. He also..yjgorously attacked Senator Hanna as the representative of the moneyed class. The laws of West Virginia require ti.. Governor to issue o proclamation days before an election. This year Gov. Atkinson overlooked that duty and d a not issue the usual notice until Oct. 4, although he dated It back a month. This irregularity is known to ? ve pbody, and has been generally discussed in the newspapers. The Republicans make light of U, hut the Democrats are coHcctmg evito be used in the electoral college fn'case o President McKinley shall have a narrow margin. They claim that the Governor’s failure to comply with the law will Invalidate the election- -

SKIES WERE AFLAME.

SMOKELESS POWDER EXPLODED AT INDIAN HEADFire in Shell-Filling House— Heaven* Lighted Up and Report Heard Nineteen Miles Distant—No One Injnred Leas than $30,000. Residents of Alexandria, D. C., were considerably exercised about 10 o’clock the other night by an explosion of powder in one of the filling houses and magazines at the Indian Head proving grounds, twenty-five miles down the Potomac river from Washington and nineteen miles from Alexandria. No one was injured at Indian Headv and the great powder factory, situated two miles from the place where the destroyed structure stood, was not damaged. Admiral O’Neill, chief of ordnance of the Navy Department, had reports from Lieut. Fullenwider, stationed at Indian Head, to the effect that about twentyfive tons of powder was destroyed, but that there were no casualties. It has not as yet beeu determined what caused the explosion, but an official investigation was inaugurated. All the buildings in which powder and completed ammunition are stored are of light construction, the idea being that, „ in event of an explosion, the smallest danger possible may result. Smokeless powder, when not confined closely under pressure, does not, explode, and it was the flame from the ten tons of this which lighted up the heavens so brightly. It developed later that the explosion —the . report of which was heard nineteen miles awaj ,a — occurred in the structure where the brass shells used in the naval smallrcaliber, j-apid-fire guns are filled with powder. It is the belief of Admiral O’Neill and other officers in the ordnance bureau of the Navy Department that the explosion was the result of carelessness on the part of some employe detailed at the brass shell magazine. A lighted cigar, cigarette or match may have been thrown down at a place where a fire was started; this smoldered, in nil probability, and late at night reached the powder. However, this is mere guessing. Another possibility is that some chemical change took place in the powder itself, the consequence being that it was set off. | Altogether th eloss to the government will not exceed $25,000, and it may not reach that amount.

CURRENT COMMENT

There are said to be at least 10,000 members of the Reformed Presbyterian or Covenanter Church in the United States who, while perfectly qualified as citizens, will not vote at the coming election on principle. Their quarrel is not with the candidates nor principles of any party. As a matter of conscience they do not give allegiance to the constitution of the United States, and therefore refuse to vote under its provisions. The position they take is that the fundamental principle upon which the constitution rests —namely, that “we, the people,” are the source of authority—is wrong. According to their belief the law of God as revealed by Christ is the law to which all nations should bow and is the only source of legitimate authority. “It is not through iack of interest that the Covenanters deny themselves the use of the ballot,” said the Rev. Fleming M. Foster, pastor of the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church in New York, “nor is it because of what is or is not in party platforms. But the Covenanter has a contention with the constitution of the nation, and as a matter of conscience is forced to deny himself the right of suffrage under it. We think that the law of Christ should be the law of the land. Everything that Christ’s law forbids have the nation “forbid. Accept Christ as the authority for law.”

One of the first measures to be presented to Congress for its consideration upon its meeting again is an enabling act providing for the admission of Oklahoma as a State. The territory now has a population of about 375,000, with taxable property to the amount of over $75,000,000, while its area is about equal to that of Ohio. When it is considered that Oklahoma was only opened up to settlement In 1889 and 1890 this progress is marvelous. In the story of the building of States none surpasses that of the western territory now knocking for admission to the sisterhood of Columbia. Within the past ten years her people have built 700 churches aud therb are now 150 newspapers published in a territory where ten years ago there was not one. This “beautiful land,” as Oklahoma means in the Indian, is remarkably fertile and instances are on record where a single wheat crop paid for the land and all the improvements upon it. It has also established schools, so that every child has the advantage of a free education. Three great railroads cross its borders, yearly adding to its wealth. Cotton also can be raised in this new land nnd its crop of this staple now brings annually $5,000,000 to the people. Ex-Gov, - Ptllsbury of Minnesota and hig wist! are going to build a home for jx>or girls in St. Paul. The ex-Governor says: “If a girl is thrown out of employment, or for any reason loses her breadearning power, we want her to feel that she is not without a friend. She need never despair so long ns our home stands. There she can find food nnd shelter, be as comfortable, so far as her surroundings are concerned, as she would be anywhere in the world.” Borne Porto Ricans, who have lived in Baltimore more than a year, have sought to become voters, on the ground that they are citizens of the United States. The genernl counsel of the Board of Supervisors of elections, to whom the question was submitted, has delivered an exhaustive opinion, holding that they are American citizens and must be permitted to register and exercise the franchise. Ex-Gov, Pillsbury of Minnesota and his wife are planning a home in St. Paul for poor girls out of work or disabled by 01 health. .