Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 132, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1903 — FROM THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE EARTH [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FROM THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE EARTH

MILLIONAIRE IS KILLED. Fate of Young Wentz Believed to Be Hidden in Mountain Caves. .¶ It is now practically certain that Edward Wentz, the young Philadelphia millionaire who has been missing for weeks, was murdered by moonshiners from the Virginia-Kentucky line on top of Black mountain. Notwithstanding the diligent search, in which fully 3,000 men were engaged, the body might still have been undiscovered. The country is a succession of mountain ridges and gulches; with hundreds of caves, some of them many miles long, and deep, abysslike pits. It is well nigh impossible to search such a country thoroughly. The moonshiners had a deep hatred for the Wentzes and for everyone connected with the Virginia Iron and Coal Company, of which young Wentz was general manager. They believe that when John McDaniels, their leader, was shot on Black mountain by a posse sent out by Daniel Wentz, a brother of Edward Wentz, to destroy their stills, he was tortured to death in the company's hospital at Stonega. They were told by men who said they had dug up his body in the company’s cemetery that his throat was cut from ear to ear. The stories of torture grew out of the fact that a physician at the hospital had refused to allow the dying moonshiner's suspicious friends to see him, for fear of hastening his death. Now it is all but certain the moonshiners have paid back the Wentzes. They have shot one of them to death and kept his body. Ordinarily they would have left the body iu the road as evidence of their vengeance. NORTH POLE FOR AMERICA. Peary Tells Englishman He Proposes to Annex Farthest North. .¶ Commander Peary, U. S. N., lectured before the Royal Geographical Society in London. After reviewing his previous attempts to reach the north pole he said he wished to win the pole for America because it was the last great geographical prize the world had to offer, and it was peculiarly an object of American pride and patriotism. America was now negotiating for the isthmus of Panama. The other natural and logical boundary to her destiny was the north pole. He hoped by winning the pole for his country to appropriately crown her four centuries of struggle, heroism and, achievement.

NEW PLACER MINES RICH. Klondike Strikes Rivaled by Discoveries on the Sushitna. .¶ The new placer mines discovered at the headwaters of the Sushitna are as rich as any heretofore discovered in Alaska, according to Albert White of Valdes, who first sent prospecting parties into the country. Out of Discovery claim on Valdes creek 100 ounces was taken in fifteen days by two men. On Aug. 16 four men on the same creek 100 miles from the mouth of the river took $385 in nine hours. The gold is bright yellow in color and is reported to be generally coarse. Chicago Street Car Strike. .¶ The Chicago City Railway tieup started Wednesday on vote of 800 employes. The cars on south and southwest sides were taken to the barns. The employes’ demands, which the company refused to grant, include increased wages, employment only of union men, and pay for medical attendance and time lost. Over 3,000 employes are involved, with daily pay roll of $6,196; 320 miles of track, 1,874 cars, and 400,000 fares are affected. Packing Plant Ablaze. .¶ Fire destroyed the fertilizing building of the Nelson Morris Packing Company’s plant at the National Stockyards in East St. Louis, Ill. The building was 400 feet long and 500 feet wide, one story in height. About 100 men were working in the plant, but it is believed all escaped in safety. The loss is placed at $10,000, divided equally between building and contents.

Bandits Jail a Policeman. .¶ Four burglars overpowered the only policeman of Merrimack, Mass., and after robbing him and locking him in the town jail they blew open the postoffice safe, rillfled it of its contents and fled. In going away the thieves held up one man at the point of a revolver and fired two shots at another man, both bullets going wide of the mark. Young Women Are Missing. .¶ Miss Laura T. Moxley and Miss Annie L. Jones, each 23 years old, governesses employed in Norfolk, Va., have disappeared, and relatives of Miss Jones believes she has been led away under the hypnotic influence of Miss Moxley. Congress in Extra Session, .¶ The Fifty-eighth Congress convened in extraordinary session at noon Monday in accordance with the proclamation of President Roosevelt for the purpose of enacting legislation necessary to make effective the Cuban reciprocity treaty. Five Suffer by Explosion. .¶ With terrific force an explosion of natural gas wrecked the home of Benjamin Hight in Marion, Ind., and terribly injured the five occupants of the house. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. Mail Worth $3,500,000 Burns. .¶ A fire in the mail car of the St. Pe-tersburg-Moscow mail train in Russia is reported to have destroyed valuables estimated at $3,500,000. The postoffice authorities attribute the outbreak to spontaneous combustion. Family Held on Murder Charges. .¶ The prosecutions in the case of Mabel Bechtel, who was recently murdered in Allentown, Pa., were postponed until the next term of Criminal Court. Mrs.

Catherine Bechtel, mother of the murdered girl; Myrtha Bechtel, her sister, and Alois Eckstein, Mabel’s fiance, are held as accessories after the fact, and John and Charles Bechtel, Mabel’s brothers, were committed in default of bail. MISSION GIFTS MAKE RECORD. Methodists Contribute $1,654,225-for Home and Foreign Work. At the opening session of tlic general missionary committee of the Episcopal Church in the First Methodist Church in Omaha, the report of the treasurer of the missionary society, Dr. Homer Eaton of New York, was the principal business. The report was for the year ended Oct. 31 and showed the missionary gifts of the denomination to have surpassed those of dpy former year in the history of the chuVch. Receipts for the year, including special gifts, amount to $1,654,223, passing the million and a half mark for the first time. The increase for the year, aside from special gifts, was $136,974. Disbursements for all purposes were $1,365,485, of which $716,411 went to foreign missions and $475,870 to home missions, DECISION BARS MANY CHINESE. Any Man Working in Hl» Own Establishment Not a Manufacturer. The United States Commissioner in San Francisco haa handed down a decision in the case, of Lin Lung Wong, a Chinese merchant, who acted as foreman in his own fruit packing establishment, to the effect that a Chinese manufacturer who engages in any manual labor about his factory, even for the purpose of inslructfng his .employes, is a laborer under the Cleaning of the exclusion act, and n,s such is not entitled to enter or remain in the country as a merchant. This opinion, if adopted'by the Chinese bureau, will lead to the deportation of a large number of Chinese proprietors of cigar factories, clothing shops, broom factories and other establishments.

8 QUITS DINNER TO DIE. Mysterious Suicide of Young Society Woman in New Jersey. With every npparent reason to enjoy' ■life, and possessing youth, beauty, a happy home, and affluence, Mrs. Edward De Witt Walsh left her guests at table at her country home in Montclair, N. J., and within a few minutes sent a bullet into her heart. She died almost instantly. She had been the life of the dinner party, and those who had listened to her’ merry conversation could scarcely bring themselves to believe that she had willfully ended her life. No motive could even be guessed at. HEAVY LOSS AT ALBIA, lOWA. Fire Destroys a Block of Stores and the Damage Is $300,000. Fire which started in Love’s dry goods store in Albia, lowa destroyed a block of business houses, causing a loss estimated nt $300,000. The fire fighting facilities there consist of only one hose wagon. The flames, fanned by a strong wind, sprend rapidly to other buildjngs. Those destroyed include Strausherger’s dry goods store, Johnson’s drug store, the Albia State Bank, the Huwkeye Lumber Company’s building, two residences, a feed store and several barns. Blow at Award. The date anthracite strike commission received a blow at the hands of Judge Auten the other day. He ruled in favor of the Llewellyn Mining Compjmy in mandamus proceedings against Justice Lloyd, before whom ths Royal Oak miifr ers obtained judgment for back pay. The company appealed, and this decision of Judge Auten indicates that the commission’s findings are not binding on either party. V

IMes a Heroine. Mrs. Mary Werckheiser of Brooklyn, Y., has sacrificed her own life in saving her three young daughters from burning to death. An exploding can of naphtha set fire to the clothing of Mrs. Werckheiser and her G-year-old child. The mother beat out the flames on the child's clothing and drove all three of the girls into the street. She died a few hours later. Glaasmakeri Form Trast. Manufacturers of window glass representing 3,898 pots out of a possible 3,900 pots met in Columbus, Ohio, and completed plans for organizing the Manufacturers’ Window Company, which will control the output of practically all the window glass factories in the United States? The company will be capitalized at $ 1,500,000. Tramp Sraokesi Town Burns. Nearly the entire business portion of Climax, Minn., was destroyed by fire. Four saloons and five store buildings were among those wiped out.' The fire is supposed to have originated from a tramp's pipe. The loss will aggregate $45,000, partially covered by insurance. Family of Flow la Found Slain. A family of five persons—father, mother nrtd three children—were murdered at their home in Marianna, east of Pensacola, Fla., and their bodies were found by the mother of "the murdered wife. The family's name wms-Caffey. Panama War la Off. Colombia's first expedition against the republic of Panama was abandoned the other day. The gunboat Bogota, loaded with soldiers, ran out of Buena Ventura, hended for the isthmus and went back again. ______ Message Urge* Reciprocity. President Roosevelt's message was read in botfi houses of Congress Tuesday. It was brief and urged keeping faith with the Cubaus, who have fulfilled their agreements. v

WIFE MAY NOT MEND. Philadelphia Organization Takes Advanced Stand on Domestic Labor. “Does a union man violate the mandates of trade unionism when he allows his wife to mend a rent in his overcoat?” This question caused a heated discussion in the Central Labor Union in Philadelphia, and the decision finally reached was that he does. It also was decided to fine all organizations which do not employ regular union men for all work. The matter was brought up in an argument as to the right of a union man to do the work of a bartender and waiter at an entertainment given by his own organization. For nearly two hours the delegates debated the matter. - President Leps argued that it was all right for 'Union men to perform any necessary work at home, but he was voted down. He said: “Union —men have a perfect right to do gratuitous work of that sort where there is no pay. You can.do the work of other crafts at your home without violating any laws of trade unionism. If I choose to, I can hang paper in my own home, or do any other work. Is a man a ‘scab’ simply because lie allows his wife to mend a tear on his overcoat or suit, instead of taking it to a union tailor?” : MOTORMAN FOILS BANDITS. Rushes Past Highwaymen While Bui- - lets Fly About the Car. Pluck on the part of Motorman John Haffey thwarted the efforts of two bandits to bold up a southbound trolfey car at Ohio and Orleans street, Chicago. The robbers ran out from the sidewalk brandishing revolvers and commanding tbs motorman to stop his car. Instead, Haffey threw the lever wide opeif and ran by them at the peril of his life. The marauders opened fire on the speeding car. The passengers were thrown into d panic. No one was wounded. The robbers escaped.

SIX DIE IN A TRAIN WRECK. Fifteen Cars of Merchandise Burned Near New Hope, Ky. Two heavy freight trains, one of them a double-header, came in collision in a dense fog near New Hope, Ky.,' on the Knoxville division of the Louisville and Nashville road, killing six trainmen and injuring two, one probably fatally. The trains met on a reverse curve at the top of an embankment thirty feet high. The three engines were demolished and nearly every car Of both trains landed at the foot of the hill. Fire soon broke'out and «fteen cars of merchandise and coal were Ifetroyed. SLAIN FOR $330 INSURANCE. Widow of Pennsylvania Miner and Three Other Persons Arrested. Four persons are under arrest at Rice’s Landing, Pa., charged with the murder of Alexander Jones, a miner, whose body was found in a field, the back of his head having been crushed. The accused persons are the widow of the murdered man, Thomas and Elwood Loving and Daniel Jefferson. It is alleged that evidence has developed which leads to the theory that Jones was murdered for $350 insurance on his life. Land Rush Keats All Records. The rush to make entries on the Red Lake lands, which were thrown open for settlement'Tuesday, at Crookston, Minn., brokerall records. The filings numbered 172. Many persons stayed up all night and spent all their savings to reach the land office, only to fall fainting in the long line of waiting people or be disappointed. Miss Gustava B. Anderson, of Elk River, secured the prize, a tract of choice timber land worth $12,000. Pnlls Oat Roy’s Tongue. Because he made faces at her, Miss Hettie Bodine, teacher of the school at West Barre, N. Y., ordered Leonard Standish, a 10-year-old pupil, to put out his tongue. When he complied Miss Bodine grabbed it and gave it a yank, wrenching it loose, inflicting a serious injury. Russian Troops Fight Chinese. sian troops marching toward Shan-Hai-Kwan encountered a -force of imperial Chinese troops and that fighting ensued, the Russians, it is asserted, pretending that thu imperial force was a band of Chinese robbers. Grave Strikje Situation. The situation nt South Webster, Ohio, where the employes of the HarbisonWalker brick works are on strike, is considered grave by the, officers of the company, who luyve appealed to the sheriff for aid. Tlm- plant is stoned nightl’ and shots are fired at the buildings. Rioting Accompanies Strike. Wild rioting marked the first dny of the Chicago street car,strike, cars being wrecked and a score or more of the nonunion men injufed. Sei-Tice on the City Railway Company’s entire system was abandoned temporarily. {Killed by Insane Man. Andrew H. Green, known as the “Father of Greater New York"’ and one of the mfist respected citizens of the metropolis, was shot and killed on his own doorstep by Cornelius M. Williams, an insane man. Authorities Take Drastic Measures. 'Members of a Kentucky colony in Mexico who have taken refuge from the yellow'-feTer scourge Lq the mountains tell of q decision of the authorities of Protera to poison every person as soon as he Is taken ill with the fever. Yellow Fever Is Kpicemic. Twenty-fivo thousand etises of yellow fever are estimated by expert to exist oq Texaa and Mexican border, with death rate at & per cent; 500 cases in Laredo alone.