IT WAS TOO HOT.
Boers' Fire Repulsed an At
tack Upon a Fort.
SORTIE FROM MAFEKING.
Britons Could Not Endure tho
Hail of Boers' Bullets.
SEVERAL OFFICERS KILLED.
A Correspondent oft li<• London Tlmi'ii
WIIO U Kni sM'il the Fray A**ert* that
tlir llucru I *ed Ki|iloi)lvr llnllet*,
('milling Frightful Wouiidn.
London, Jan. 0, —The Times pub
lishes the following dispatch from
Mafeking, dated December 20: "At
•dawn to-day Col. I'owell organized an
unsuccessful attack upon a strong po
sition of the enemy at <la me tree, two
miles from Mafeking, from which the
Boers have been maintaining a desul
tory tire for several weeks. The rail
way has recently been reconstructed
between the town and Gamctree,
where the Boers had destroyed it, the
final repairs being made in prepara
tion for the sortie. During the night
the armored train with Maxim and
Hotchkiss guns and troops took up po
sitions for attack from two sides.
"Emplacements were thrown up dur
ing the night, the orders being to at
tack at dawn and the artillery fire to
desist upon prolonged tooting from
the armored train. At daybreak the
gnns opened fire and rapidly drew the
reply of the enemy, our shells burst
ing within effective range. Capt.
Vernon gave the signal to cease firing
and to advance, his squadron leading
off. As our men engaged the position
with their rille fire, it was soon
found that the strength of the fort
was greater than we had supposed.
The enemy concentrated such an ex
ceedingly hot fire that the advance of
Capt. Vernon was almost impossible,
but with remarkable heroism Capts.
Sanford and Vernon, Lieut. I'atton and
iicout Cook, who guided the squad
rons. and a few men reached the
sandbags of the fort within 300 yards
of the fort. Hut nothing living could
exist there, since the ground was
swept by Mauser and Martini bullets.
•'The men who charged through this
zone of fire suffered terribly and in
following their officers to capture the
fort 20 men lost their lives. Capt. San
ford was the first to fall and Capt.
Vernon, already twice wounded, and
Lieut. Pat ton were killed at the foot
of the fort. These two officers, climb
iffg a ditch which surrounded the fort,
thrust their revolvers through the
enemy's loopholes only to be shot
themselves the next minute, Gametree
is surrounded with scrub which con
tained many sharpshooters, and their
accuracy of tire confused the men.
"Being without commanders they
were driven off at one point, but they
endeavored to scale the fort at others.
They found the position of the lioers,
however, almost impregnable. When
we retired under cover of the armored
train so many men had been wounded
that a suspension of hostilities oc
curred. We had almost completely
surrounded the fort, and had it not
been so well protected we would now
be in possession. The fort is circular
in form, with a wide interior and nar
row frontage, between 0 and 7 feet*
high, pierced with triple tiers of loop
noles and surrounded by a ditch.
"1 was permitted to assist in dress
lng tho wounds, a majority of which
appeared to have been caused by ex
plosive bullets, the point of entry be
ing small, but the area of injury cov
ering a wide region. While the wound
ed were being attended numbers of
Boers left their intrenchments and
gathered around. They referred mo
to the field cornet, who denied the
use of explosive bullets, lie admitted
that at one time explosive bullets had
been served out, but he said he was
certain they had all been previously
expended and none could have been
used on this occasion.'"
No decisive operation is reported
from South Africa this morning, the
militaiy activity being confined to
points of subsidiary importance. In
the central theater of operations tho
British apparently have secured no
substantial gains.
The question of contraband seizures
takes the paramount place in the
thoughts of the public, the possibility
that these may lie made a pretext for
continental intervention disturbing
official and private observers. The
government's purpose to enforce tho
right of search has been set forth in
instructions sent yesterday by the ad
miralty to the British naval com
manders in South African waters, giv
ing them warnings to uphold the gov
ernment measures for suppressing the
importation of contraband by way of
Delagoa bay.
A Oaring Da*la for Liberty.
Chicago, Jan. 6.—Thomas Downs,
sentenced from here to the Joliet
penitentiary, escaped from his custo
dian Thursday night by jumping from
a passenger train jfoing at full speed
about ten miles frein Green Castle, Ind.
A HI;; Smoke,
Richmond, Va., Jan. o.—Richmond
last night suffered the severest tire
loss it «as had for years. The fire
broke out in the Merchants and Plant
ers' Tobacco Co. warehouse, in which
was stored 3,(500 hogsheads of tobacco,
and the building and contents were
destroyed. Loss $-100,000; insurance
#350,000.
Kobert* Argue* In If IN Own It.-hair.
Washington, Jan. o.—The Roberts
investigating committee continued its
session yesterday and Mr. Roberts
argued fiis side of the case for almost
live hours.
BUBONIC PLAGUE.
The Olveanc A|>|>rurn at Honolulu and
.Maniln Hi c Deutli* In Ibe Ha
waiian City.
Manila, Jan. 4.—The health officers
have found a native with all the symp
toms of bubonic plague in a house in
the walled city, where two suspicious
deaths have occurred. The patient
has been isolated and every precaution
has been taken to prevent a spread of
the disease.
Washington, Jan. 4.—Surgeon Gen
eral Wyman has no confirmation of
the report that three suspected cases
of bubonic plague have been discov
ered within the walled city of Manila,
but no attempt is made to conceal the
gravity of the situation should the re
port prove true. Still it is said that a
few sporadic cases need not necessarily
result in an epidemic in the islands.
The methods of fighting it are isola
tion, disinfection and sanitation. The
greatest danger is due to its possible
introduction into new localities
through walking cases which defy the
surveillance of the authorities. One
feature of the disease which is gratify
ing in view of the possible outbreak of
an epidemic in the Philippines, is the
fact that it does not attack Europeans
as readily as natives.
Surgeon General Wyman has re
ceived a long report from Surgeon
Carinichael, at Honolulu, bearing on
the condition of affairs there regard
ing the bubonic plague. Under date
of December IX, the report says that
five eases and five deaths from what is
pronounced to lie bubonic plague have
occurred in Honolulu. Dr. Carinichael
says the presence of the disease was
not suspected until the 12th, when a
Chinese patient died.
The duration of illness in two of the
cases was three days and from three to
four in the other cases. Strained prep
arations from juice expressed from the
enlarged glands showed the presence
in large numbers of short bacillus
rounded at both ends and closely re
sembling that of bubonic plague. Cul
tures from the first case showed the
bacillus of bubonic plagufe.
The bodies of the deceased have
been cremated. All the places where
the deaths occurred have been quaran
tined and disinfected. The Hawaiian
board of health surrounded Chinatown
by a sanitary cordon, the district was
divided into sections and a house to
house inspection at once begun. The
state council appropriated 525.000 to
begin the necessary sanitary work.
Communication with the other islands
except under quarantine restrictions
have been prohibited and all vessels
plying between island ports must
undergo a detention period of at least
seven days before proceeding to their
destination.
WAS FILLED WITH GAS.
Coroner'* ln<|ulry Into Hie Itra/nel
.Mine Horror Ilrlui;x4>iil Sen*atlonal
Testimony.
Uniontown, Pa., Jan. 4. —The first
day's inquiry by the coroner's jury
into the Braznel mine horror in which
19 lives were lost, developed some sur
prising testimony and revealed the
fact that there had been gas in explo
sive quantities in the mine at various
times before the explosion. The most
important witness yesterday was
James lladcliffe, the fire boss, whose
duty it was to examine the mine every
morning before the men went to work.
His explanation of how he measured
the amount of gas was a revelation to
mine inspectors present, and they
quickly wanted to know how he could
report only four inches of gas when
the flame of his safety lamp was 12
inches from the roof and they called
that 12 inches of gas instead of four,
making three times the amount he re
ported finding.
It was also shown tliat at various
times he had found several feet of gas
covering a large area in rooms close to
the main passageway, and the in
spectors declared that this was suffi
cient to cause as disastrous an explo
sion as the one now being investi
gated. It was also shown that men
were allowed to work with the mine
in this condition, and the fire boss told
how he had posted the danger signal
in gaseous portions of the mine while
safety lamps were being used, which
sign was changed to a notice prohibit
ing any one from entering that section
of the mine on the day open lamps
were allowed to be used.
PRISON DOORS OPENED.
tien. Wood Order* the Iteleuwc of 41}
Fri*oner* in Santa Clara I'rovlnec.
Havana, Jan. 4. —Gen. Wood issued
an important order yesterday giving
freedom to 40 men in the province of
Santa Clara. Some of them had been
detained without trial and others were
suffering excessive punishment. All
had been released ten months before
by an order issued by Gen. Bates, but
they were immediately rearrested by
orders from division headquarters, on
the ground that a department com
mander did not have the power to par
don. After looking carefully into the
cases, Gen. Wood decided that the
judgment of Gen. Bates regarding
their release was wise and conse
quently an order setting them at lib
erty was promulgated.
Reports from other departments are
daily expected, and it is believed that
before the end of the month a large
number will be released, especially in
the province of Havana. The cases of
those who have been held for a long
time in detention without trial will be
the first to be investigated.
A New Itutcb of tieueralx Named.
Washington, Jan. 4.—The president
yesterday sent tho following nomina
tions to the senate: Brig. Hen. J. C.
Bates to bo major general of volun
teers; Brig. Gen. Lloyd Wheaton, to
be major genera) of volunteers by
brevet. To be brigadier generals: Col.
S. B. M. Voijng, Lieut. Col. Arthur Mac-
Arthur, Lieut. Col. William Ludlow.
IfJan and Wife Asphyxiated.
Austin, l*a., Jan. 4.—Mr. and Mrs.
P. S. Southwell were found dead in
bed yesterday. Th:s house is heated
and lighted by natural gas and it is
believed death was*caused by asphys'
ation.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JANUARY n, 1900
LAWMAKERS' LOTTERY.
Kentueky Demoerat* Secure a Major
ity of Member* on the < ominl ttee*
Wlileli Will Hear Content* tor Slate
Olllee*.
Frankfort, Ky., Jan. s.—The joint
legislative committees which will sit
in the contests for governor and lieu
tenant governor were yesterday
drawn by lot, as provided by law. The
democrats were lucky, as the drawing
gave them ten out of the 11 members
of the committee on the governor's
contest and nine out of 11 on the lieu
tenant governor's contest.
The house members of these two
committees were sworn in last night
and it is probable that the joint com
mittees will organize and begin tak
ing evidence to-day.
In the drawing over the formation
of the legislative contested election
committees the results were somewhat
more evenly divided. In the case of
the two senatorial contests the repub
licans got only one member out of
nine on each committee, but in the
house they got majorities on ten out
of the 18 committees which try con
tests.
The house was occupied until late in
the evening with the drawing of the
legislative committees and there was
nothing noteworthy in the proceed
ings until after the governorship
committees had been announced and
just before the drawing of tho com
mittee on lieutenant governor's con
test. Representative llaswell, leader
of the republican minority, charged
Chief Clerk Kd O. Leigh with manipu
lating the ballots so as to give the
democrats the advantage. Haswell
and Representative Berry, represent
ing the republicans, stood at the
clerk's desk as the names of tho mem
bers were placed in the box, and when
the last name was placed in it, Haswell
walked to his seat and addressed the
house, charging that Leigh had, in
placing the names in the box, system
atically thrown the names of the dem
ocrat members on the right side of the
box and in like manner had thrown
the names of the republicans to the
left.
Ho said he did not know how it hap
pened that the democrats got such a
majority on the governor's contest
committee, drawn a few minutes be
fore, but he did know how the ballots
had been putin the box for the draw
ing now on, and he asked that tho
clerk lie required to at least shake the
box thoroughly, soas to mix the names
as contemplated by law. Speaker
Trimble invited Haswell or any other
republican member to shake tho box,
but they declined to do this, saying
this was the duty of the clerk.
Mr. Berry, republican, asked the
speaker to allow members to inspect
the box in order to verify the charge
made by him and llaswell, mention
ing the alleged manner in which the
names had been placed in the box, but
Mr. Cantrill, democrat, said the
charges made by Haswell and Berry
were serious and that as long as they
had waited until the drawing was
practically complete, he thought they
should be compelled to file them in
tho proper way and not make them
verbally as they were doing. Speaker
Trimble finally ordered the box thor
oughly shaken and this was done, with
the result that six democrat and two
republican names were drawn out.
It is unofficially announced that the
Franklin county grand jury lias found
indictments against John 11. Whallen
and Charles Ryan, who. it is alleged,
attempted to bribe Senator Harrell in
the governorship contest. The indict
ments are based on conspiracy and will
be similar to those returned against
W, G. Hunter, John 11. Wilson, E. T.
Franks and others in tho Hunter
alleged bribery cases growing out of
the Hunter-Blackburn senatorial eon
test in 1 s*.»T. The safety deposit box
which Harrell designated as holding
the money was turned over to the
grand jury. It was found to contain
four SI,OOO bills and five SIOO bills. The
money was sealed up in a plain white
envelope without writing. This in
part corroborates llarrell's story.
ALASKAN TRAGEDIES.
Four Men freeze to llealli During a
liiizy.artl that Swept Over the Wlitle
Pa**.
Seattle. Wash., Jan. . r >. —The steamer
City of Topeka, from Alaskan ports,
brings information of five recent tragic
deaths in the north, four of which
were due to freezing. The bodies of
two men were found frozen on the day
tho Topeka sailed. They died on the
summit of White I'ass, apparently
overcome by a blizzard. In a belt
tied around the body of one man was
found a check on the Alaska Commer
cial Co. for Ss.ooo, dated November 7.
The check was issued in favor of R. C.
Jennings. His residence was not given.
The bodies were discovered by a party
of snow shovelers. The men are be
lieved to have been returning Klon
dikers.
Another mail, I). R. Ritchter, of San
Francisco, was reported frozen in his
cabin near White Pass.
William Somerville, a well-known
Dawsonite, was picked up by a squad
of the northwest mounted police just
below White llorse. lie had been
frozen during the night. Somerville
was superintendent of the British-
American corporation's extensive cop
per mines back of White Horse
Rapids. He left White Horse about
December 20. Andrew Andochwitz, a
ladorer on the \\ bite Pass and Yukon
extension to White Horse, was killed
by a stone from a Wast last week.
A Sii!!iir lieet I'liint.
Chicago, Jan. s.—lt was announced
Thursday at Santa I'e railroad head
quarters that the American B 'etSug.ir
Co. had contracted for the i .ttablisii
ment of a suifar beet plant at Koeky
ford, Col. The plant will be .iext to
the largest in the world, will cost
$1,500,000 and will have an annual ca
pacity of is,ooo tons of refined sugar,
using 10.1,000 tons of beets. Farmers
in the valley adjacent to Rocky ford
have arrange ! to plant 00,000 acres of
beets tile coming season, from which
it is expected a prolit of SIJ an acre
will be derived.
AN EVIDENCE OF PROSPERITY.
Hallway Heeelver*hl|>* Were Fewer
During INUU than for Many Year*
Plat.
Chicago, Jan. s.—The Railway Age
says: The best evidence that the year
1899 was one of general prosperity is
found in the fact that it was a year ali
most without any railway bankrupt
cies. In only two years since ISS7S have
the roads for which receivers were ap
pointed been so few—and in only three
of those years were the mileage and
capital involved so small. Only one
road of importance is found in the list,
the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf,
which defaulted in its obligations be
fore it had time to demonstrate its
earning capacity, and was placed in
the charge of receivers early in the
year.
Of the nine others in the list two are
short logging roads, belonging to pri
vate companies, one is an old narrow
gauge road that has never been profit
able, and is owned by a great railway
company which now proposes to
straighten out its title by foreclosure,
and the others are short local lines,
mostly in the experimental stage. The
totals, covering all these conditions,
represent ten companies, with 1,019
miles of road and a capitalization of a
little over §52,000,000.
The long, dark era of railway bank
ruptcies which culminated in 1893,
when 74 companies, with nearly 30,000
miles of lines were handed over to re
ceivers, has ended and the new year
starts with the railways of the United
States, with very few exceptions, in a
solvent condition.
The record of foreclosure sales also
shows a large decrease in number of
roads and mileage over immediately
preceding years, indicating that the
supply of bankrupt companies is being
steadily reduced. Nevertheless the
foreclosures for the year included 32
roads, with 4,294 miles of line and
§207,000,000 of capital, of which $155,-
was represented by bonds.
While most of these roads are small,
there are several very important prop
erties in the list, including Central
Vermont, Baltimore & Ohio South
western, Wisconsin Central, Wheeling
»fc Lake Erie, Cleveland, Canton &
Southern, Columbus, Hocking Valley
& Toledo and Jacksonville, Tampa &
Key West. These seven roads have
3,300 miles of lino and represented an
apparent investment of over $220,-
000,000.
An appalling proportion of our rail
ways have now gone through the cost
ly experience of foreclosure sale. For
the past 24 years the foreclosure sales
have averaged more than 34 a year, the
largest number in one year being (55
and the smallest 15. In the last six
years 273 roads have been sold, not
counting a number of insolvent com
panies that have been reorganized
without sale.
ALL GERMANY IS AROUSED.
Second Seizure of a Sliip by ICcil i*li—
men Fans the Flame* of Hatred for
Itrltoii* to White Heat.
Berlin, Jan. s.—The German steamer
General lias been detained at Aden and
occupied by British troops, with the
object of searching her cargo, which is
to be discharged. The General is
owned by the German East African
Line, the owners of the Bundesrath,
previously captured by the British
cruiser Magicicnne off Delagoa bay.
The seizure of the steamer General
has considerably aggravated the situa
tion here and the indignation against
Fngland is intensified. The govern
ment is still endeavoring to preserve
correct official relations, but England
will do well to hasten to make the
amende honorable to Germany. Em
peror William is thoroughly aroused
by tho repeated seizures of vessels,
not one of which, lie has been assured,
is guilty of carrying contraband. He
regards the seizures as high-handed
proceedings which England would not
have dared to undertake if the German
navy was more powerful than it is. He
instructed Count Buelow, the foreign
secretary, to demand full reparation
for the outrages.
Significant of the intensity of Ger
many's indignation against England
in this matter is a declaration pul>-
lislied by the German Colonial society,
among whose so, ooo members are a
number of reigning German princes,
which says: "England's recent pro
ceedings against German vessels arc
an outrage. The small respect which
the English people feel for Germany
because of her deficiency in naval
power has taken such deep root that
the commanders of English warships
hasten to commit breaches of interna
tional rights so long as only Germany
is thereby touched.
Oti* to Have (>5,0()0 Soldier*.
Washington, Jan. s.—With the ar
rival at Manila of the transport Grant,
whith left San Francisco on the 21st
ult. with the Forty-eighth volunteer
infantry (colored), Gen. Otis will have
command of about 05,000 men. The
army now in the Philippines aggre
gates 02,500 men, of which 31,000 are
regular troops and 31,500 are volun
teers. With the arrival of the Grant
the entire volunteer strength of 34,00.)
men will be in the Philippines.
Will Flulil the Drainage Canal.
Jefferson City, Mo.. Jan. s.—Attorney
General Crow is preparing to institute
proceedings in the supreme court
of the United States to stop the people
of Chicago from alleged polluting of
the waters of the Mississippi river by
means of the sewage of the Chicago
drainage canal.
Arguing the Itobert* Ca*e.
Washington, Jan. 5. —The Roberts
investigating committee yesterday re
sumed its session for tho purpose of
hearing arguments. Mr. Schroeder,
head of the Gentile delegation here to
oppose Roberts, opened the argument
against Roberts. The afternoon hear
ing was enlivened when Senator Raw
lins. of Utah, was drawn into a discus
sion of polygamy. Mrs. J. Ellen Fos
ter addressed the committee iu behalf
of the great number of women inter
ested iu tho case and who were not
represented before the committee.
T.-.is concluded the day's proceedings.
FRANCIS W. CUSHMAN. "
I«wi|inper Correspondents Have Al
ready Untied lu Calling lllui Ihu
■lumorlil uf Congress.
A new star has appeared In the
house. He shone out suddenly and
brilliantly the other afternoon in the
midst of a dull debate on the currency
bilL lie may prove a fixed star of the
first magnitude or a comet shooting
with brief brilliance athwart the
leaden skies of monotonous talk. Who
may say? Dropping metaphor, wheth
er mixed or straight, it is a fact
worthy of other than congressional
notice that Francis VV. Cushman, of
FRANCIS W. CUSHMAN.
(Congressman at Large from the State of
Washington.)
Washington, made the first hit of the
season by a new member. Cushman
is only 32 years old, yet he has lived
in four states. Born and educated in
lowa, he was a cowboy at 16 in Wyo
ming, a lawyer 111 Nebraska at 21, re
moving to Tacoma, in Washington, at
24. At 31 lie beat James Hamilton
Lewis, the democratic shooting star
af the last congress, on a gold stand
ard platform. Ilence he is a repub
lican of purest ray serene. He came
to Washington heralded as the Abra
ham Lincoln of the Pacific slope. And
'ie looks the part. That is, he looks
as Lincoln probably did at Cushman's
age. lie is tall, lank and as homely
as a rail fence. He is fluent and forci
ble of speech and humorous withal.
Without this latter quality he would
be a dismal failure as a Lincoln re
sembler. Isut he has the saving grace
of humor.
BISHOP HENRY TURNER.
DlntlnH'iilnlied Colored Divine Who
WUM llefnxed n Ucrtli In A Ueor
lil'ia Sileeiilni; Car.
Bishop Henry M. Turner, who was
refused a berth in a sleeping car on
the Georgia Central railroad because
of his color, is one of the most famous
negroes in the United States. He was
born in South Carolina in 1534, av.d
from his earliest childhood showed un
usual talent. Before he was 11 years
old he had, entirely by his own ef
forts, learned to read, and at 15 se
cured employment in a law office at
Abbeville. His emplo3 - ers quickly rec
ognized that the young negro had un
usual powers of intellect and assisted
him in his studies, so that he ac
'
(Colored Divine Who Was Refused a Sleep
ing Car Berth.
quired a good common school educa
tion. His memory was so remarkable
that in the course of a single evening
he could memorize three or four chap
ters of the Bible. He was licensed to
preach when he was 20 years of age,
and soon afterwards studied Latin,
Hebrew and Greek, becoming profi
cient in all. In 18(12 he became pastor
of the largest colored church in Wash
ington, 1). C., and in ISG3 was appoint
ed chaplain in the army by Presi
dent Lincoln, being the first colored
man appointed to such a position. In
ISSO he was elected bishop of the
Methodist, church. Bishop Turner,
who had been given the titles of LL.
1). and I). I), by universities of the
highest standing, is one of the prin
cipal agitators for the return of his
race to Africa. lie thinks their pros
pects in this country are poor.
Where Simp l» Unpopular.
In spite of liritish rule, India is vir
tually a soapless country. Throughout
the villages of Hindustan soap is, in
3eed. regarded as a natural curiosity,
and it is rarely if ever kept in stock by
the native shopkeeper. In the towns
it is now sold to a certain extent, but
how small this is may be gathered from
the fact that the yearly consumption
of soiip in India is about 100.000 hun
dredweight; that is to say, every 2,500
persons use on. an average only 112
pounds of soap among thern; or, in
other words, considerably less than an
ounce is the average consumption of
a person.
Pretty Ancient Ceremony.
One part of the wedding ceremony
among the Babylonians was very sig
nificant. The priest took a thread from
the garment of the bride, and another
from the garment of the bridegroom,
and tied them into a knot, which he
gave to the bride. This is probably th*
origin of the modern saying about ty-
Ir.g the knot in regard to marriage.
1 NEW DREIBDND.
Germany, Russia and Franco
May Join Hands.
ANTI-BRITISH FEELING.
It Grows Steadily in the Kaiser's
Dominions.
HER ANSWER IS DELAYED.
EnKlar.d'ii Itrplf to Germany's lle
quf«t lor ICxplajiallon of (lit- Selznro
of the Hiindenratli lias Not Beta
Given.
Berlin, .Jan. o.—The seizure of the
Bundesrath remains the dominant
topic of the German press. Influential
papers strongly hint at the possibility
of Germany farming an anti-British
coalition with Russia and France. The
anti-Jiritisli feeling is clearly growing.
A series of anti-British demonstrations
in the various cities is being organized
by the Pan-Germanic league.
A prominent official of the German
foreign office, who was interviewed
last evening, said England had not
yet answered Germany's request for
an explanation of the seizure, but that
the reply was expected in the course
of a few days. The foreign office, ac
cording to this official, has not yet con
cluded that England is trying to ride
rough shod over Germany.
The correspondent asked what posi
tion Germany takes regarding En
gland's right to search German ships
on the high seas. The official an
swered that nothing could be divulged
at this stage of the negotiations, but
he pointed out that the Bundesrath
was sailing for a Portuguese port. On
being asked what Germany would do
should it turn out that the Uundes
rath was carrying contraband, he con
veyed the impression that such a dis
covery would seriously damage Ger
many's case.
The correspondent then asked wheth
er Germany had taken steps to be rep
resented at Durban during the investi
gation of the cargo. To this inquiry
an evasive answer was given, but the
official implied that Germany would
undoubtedly take this course if the
British report sheuld be adverse.
Referring to the rumor that the
Swiss commission had decided to
award damages to England in the
Delagoa bay arbitration, the foreign
office official intimated that such a de
cision might not mean that England
would secure Delagoa bay, inasmuch
as France might advance to Portugal
the money to pay the award and thus
England might be shut out, with no
choice but to accept the situatiou,
The Hanover Courier, confirming
earlier reports regarding the shipment
of arms and ammunition from Ger
many, asserts that German rifles have
been sent to Transvaal since the out
break of the war. It says: "We know
from a trustworthy source that 40,000
German rifles of the newest and best
construction have arrived at Pretoria
in good condition."
The Leipsic Neueste Nachrichten
asserts that Ilerr Krupp is making
steel shells for England at Essen. An
other newspaper makes a similar state
ment, alleging that 45,000 shrapnel
shells are in preparation for lyddite
filling.
The Berliner Tageblatt has a dis
patch from l'apenburg, Honover, the
horn-; of Capt. Muhlmann, of the Ger
man bark llans Wagner, of Hamburg,
which was seized by the British at
Delagoa bay on December 31, saying
that the bark had powder and dyna
mite in her cargo.
IVmisy ItujM (', A O. Stock,
Philadelphia, Jan. 6.—The Press
says:"lt was reported in railroad and
financial circles yesterday that the
Pennsylvania railroad has completed
negotiations for a large block of
Chesapeake «V Ohio railroad stock. It
was stated further that other railroad
companies have also secureiLinte rests
in the Chesapeake «fc Ohio. A few
weeks ago it was announced that the
Pennsylvania had investsd several
millions of dollars in the stock of the
B. O. and the purchasing of stock of
the Chesapeake & Ohio is in line with
a plan mapped out by the leading
trunk lines to prevent cutting of
freight rates."
Is a Great SIKCPM.
Pittsburg, Jan. 5. —The world's first
aluminum telephone system is in oper
ation between this city and New Ken
sington, a distance of 18 miles, and is
so much of a success that it is .-laid the
Pennsylvania company, operating lines
west of Pittsburg, has ordered a simi
lar system to be used in connection
with the heavy copper system now in
use.
Anotlu'r Itoom li: llroom I'ricen.
Chicago, Jan. o.—At yesterday's ses
sion of the Broom Manufacturers' as
sociation of the United States and
Canada resolutions were adopted en
dorsing the action of the Union Broom
Corn Supply Co. in advancing the cost
of the raw material. It was decided
to advance all grades of brooms '25
cents a dozen.
Death of Or, Hammond.
Washington, Jan. o.—Dr. William A.
Hammond, ex-surgeon genera" of the
army, died here last night. l!>r. Ham
mond conducted a sanitarium here for
some years, lie had a notable and
somewhat checkered career. He was
on the retired list at the time of his
death.
Ri'llmik Teller Sentenced.
Boston, Jan. 6. —Joel Tyler, late
teller of the National bank of Fitch
burg, was *rn Friday sentenced in the
United States court to serve five years
iu Worcester jail for embczzliug the
(uuds of the bank.
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