BRITONS VICTORS. A Great Struggle Along the Banks of the Vet River. The Kii£li»h Troop* Win a ol Stubborn linitntrnirutii and the Kurni) Ketreats, Alter Suffer" Ins Considerable LOPM. Warrenton, May 7.—On Saturday Gen. Burton drove from 2,000 to 3,000 Boers from hilly positions at llooidan. They retreated after stiff fighting, leaving- a number of dead on the field. The British casualties were slight. The engagement on Saturday was severe and lasted from 0 in the morn ing until 4 in the afternoon. The British losses were five killed and 25 wounded—mostly Welsh I'usi leers. The British took a hatch of prisoners, including the Swedish am bulance, which they allowed to re turn. The Boers, in their hurried re treat, left 13 dead. Vet River, May 7.—Gen. I'ole-Carew started at daybreak Saturday on a 10-mile march. lie first came Into contact with Boers holding the river at 1 p. m. The British soon had two batteries in action and later they add ed two naval nine-pounders and two siege guns. (ien. Button started early to find the drift on the west. When this was discovered it proved to be strongly held and protected by two guns. The British speedily engaged the Boers, "who enfiladed the dismounted firing 3ine with a Maxim, but (ien. Button pushed forward his own pompom and a Maxim and forced the Boers to leave the river bed. The encounter was terribly hot. Later the whole British force crossed the river. London, May 8. —The Boers are ev erywhere retiring before the British —except on the Natal frontier and at Mafeking—to the inner circle of their defenses. Fifteen thousand British are now operating on the western frontier of the Fret* State. As the deadlock at Warrenton has been broken and the Boers are retreating, there is nothing formidable, except distance, between Warrenton and Mafeking. The most hopeful advices from Mafeking on April 22 were that the garrison would be barely able to hold out for a month. At that time the J'ever was spreading. The Lorenzo Marque/ correspond ent of the Times savs- "Command ant Snyman is so alarmed at the prospect of having his retreat cut off that he has appealed for permission to retire northward from Mafeking to intercept ("oi. Plumer." Smalldeel, May B.—The movement that culminated in the capture of Wiriburg and Smalldeel was part of a great general movement extending from Gen. Hunter on the west to Gen. Bundle on the east. Lord Roberts* admirable strategy resulted in plac ing everywhere five British to one Boer. Out of what appeared the in extricable confusion of divisions and brigades order was quickly evolved .and the Boers were compelled to meet Lord Roberts under unfavorable con ditions. On Saturday the Boers held a real ly strong position, from which, ear lier in the campaign, tbev could only have been forced by hard fighting. Gen. Hamilton's arrival at Winburg, Although not directly outflanking the Boers, made their position extremely uncomfortable. (len. Button's move ment on tin' left was even more suc cessful than at first imagined. Forty Boers were killed. London, May 9.—Four thousand British cavalry watered their horses on Monday tit /and river, 25 miles beyond Snialdeel, where Lord Rob erts continues to date liis dispatches. The scouts who have been searching the country for miles along the •stream found no Roers south of the river. i'he enemy are laagered in unknown force on the north bank. Thus the British advance guard is within 45 miles of Kroonstad. London, May 10.—Gen. Button's mounted infantry brigade, including flic Canadians, with a part of Gen. French's cavalry, crossed the Zand river on Tuesday and began to work its way cautiously along the railway northward, in the track of the retir ing Boers. About 8,000 horsemen were proba bly engaged in this advance. Gen. Button, before he was joined by a part of (ien. French's force, had a sharp fight. This was on Monday, when he reached the river and saw Ihe Boer convoys on the other side and pressed forward, intending to cross and capture them. The Boers, however, opened lire with from eight to ten guns, forded the river above and below, seemingly in thousands, -and sought to envelop the British. Gen. Button fell back several miles, the Boers following until other Brit ish cavalry reinforced Button. Dur ing the night the Boers retreated. London. May 11.—Members of the house of commons were freely betting last evening that Lord Roberts would be in Pretoria in two months. The ministerialists are building confident hopes upon the plans he lias commu nicated to the war office. From 15,000 to 20,000 is the highest estimate of the Boers under the com mand of Gen. Botha, who is said to have 10 guns. (ien. Botha and (ien. De Yet. are reported to have quar reled. Lord Roberts is pressing hard after this force with .'>5,000 men and 140 \*uns, and 20,000 more men are easily available. .Hunt Keep the Old Faith. Chicago, May 7.—The report of the constitutional commission to the Methodist general conference, which will probably be presented this week, will call for the continued mainte nance of the religion of John Wesley. The episcopacy may be abandoned md other constitutional features •hanged, but the articles of religion, the doctrines of the church, are to be retained in their purity. The heretic of the future must leave the church is he has done in the past, but Meth odism wlil not accept any departure from the theology of the fathers. EVERY LINE TIED UP. - ('ara Planned by Mon-tulunUlH Are Attacked by Angry 'loll*. St. Louis, May 9. — In accordance with the decision reached by the St. Louis Transit Co.'s employes early Tuesday morning, a general strike was inaugurated on the entire sys tem at daybreak. No cars were in operation, save a few on the Park avenue division. The first car oil this division left the sheds at 8 o'clock. The strikers at the sheds did not at tempt to prevent tfie crews from tak ing tile cars out. The crews were allowed to run the cars unmolested until 12:45 o'clock, when car No. 5 of the Park avenue division was badly wrecked on Washington avenue by a volley of stones thrown by a crowd of men and boys. 'Wit 1 Suburban line, many of the employes of which had been on a strike for several days, was also tied up after the early morning hours. Cars were run sis far east as Thir teenth street, but when efforts were made to bring them down town crowds of strikers and sympathizers interfered with the crews and in sev eral cases dragged them off the cars. From time to time during the after noon and night attempts were made to operate the cars, but in nearly ev ery case resulted in attacks on the crews by crowds along the streets, practically stopping traffic. At 1:15 o'clock a Park avenue car was considerably damaged at Eigh teenth and Washington avenue. The crew on the car stuck to their posts, although the stones flew thick around them. The company, when it found that the. cars could not be op erated, sent them back to the sheds. Numerous cars were stoned and the men operating them attacked by ■rowils along the streets. The strik ers declare that they have had no active part in these hostile demon strations. Chairman Samuel Lee, of the na tional executive board, the man who is conducting the strike, said that the union was satisfied with the re sults of the strike. "We struck to tie up the system." ■*aid he,"and we have succeeded. The ompany has precipitated this strike. We are ready at any ftine to do our | part towards settling the differences between us and the company." St. Louis, May 10.— The second day of the great street railroad strike was as quiet as the first was riotous. The St. Louis Transit Co. made no effort to run its cars and the St.. Louis iX- Suburban made none until late in the afternoon, when policemen massed along the line and with a de tachment on each car succeeded in jetting a number through. Far from relieving the situation, however, this demonstration had no further effect than to show that by massing their forces on a single line the police could keep that line open. The first tragedy in connection with the strike occurred last night. As a Suburban car, en route to the com pany's sheds in the western part of the city, was passing the Baptist san itarium, a number of men gathered in the grounds of the institution threw rocks at the car. Some one on the car 11 red a shot at the crowd, the bul let finding lodgement in the breast of Frank Lebreeht. The wounded man attempted to enter the sanitarium, but fell dead on reaching the door. One story is that a police officer on the car fir d the shot. Dan Donovan was arrested by the police, charged with firing the fatal bullet. Donovan is employed by the railway company. St. Louis, May 11.—-The feature of Thursday in the great, street railway strike was the conference between Gov. Stephens, the members of the executive committed of the local Street Railway Employes' association and the officers and attorneys of the Transit Co., called for the purpose of ascertaining if some amicable under standing could not be arrived at 1o end hostilities. Tfce conference last ed for several hours, but at its con clusion Gov, Stephens announced that nothing had been accomplished. The strikers' officials announced that they were willing to arbitrate the question of differences provided the proposi tion to do so came from the railway company. The railway officials firm ly refused to entertain any such pro posal, stating that they had nothing to arbitrate. The riotous demonstration on the part of the strikers and their sympa thizers, especially noticeable on the day the strike was inaugurated, were almost entirely missing yesterday. The suburban company operated its system under police protection during the entire day and was patronized lib erally by the public. The Transit Co. ran two cars over one branch of its system, but attempted to carry no passengers. The cars were guarded by police and were seldom molested. Another fatality as a result of the strike was recorded last night. As Flora Siegfried, a young woman, was crossing Washington street carrying an infant in her arms, she was hit on the head with a brick that had been hurled at a passing car on the Sub urban system. Her skull was frac tured and she died shortly after be ing carried to the City hospital. VeMivlu* in ICriiptlon. Rome, May 9.—■ A dispatch from Portiei, at. the north foot of Mount Vesuvius, says: "Loud explosions within Vesuvius continue, accompan ied by frequent but slight shocks that are felt at San Vito and in the direction of Pugliano. Will Ignore I.oclireii'ni 9>eri«3oii. Washington, May 9.—Officials of the war department claim that .fudge Lochren's decision relative to the con stitution and Porto Rico will not re quire any change of policy on their part. Bad Judge Loehren released Ortiz, whose case brought forth the judge's opinion respecting the exten sion of the constitution to Porto Rico, the authorities would have tak en immediate steps to appeal the s. to a superior tribunal. But as it is, the judge's ff.tat.emenf s relative to Porto Rico are regarded by them as uot hiudiruz uaou the administration. CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 1900. HE WAS AMBIDEXTROUS. An Operator llelil Revolver In On# Hami ami Telegraphed with the Other. Six tramps entered the telegraph of fice of the Southern railway at what is known as Alexandria and Fredericks burg- crossing about three miles west of Alexandria, shortly before ten o'clock one night recently, says the Washing ton Post, and threatened to kill the telegraph operator. James Cox. unless he agreed to flag the Chesapeake & Ohio train, which leaves Alexandria southbound at 11 o'clock. This train is a through express, one of the fastest on the road, and the operator refused to comply with the tramps' demands. Two of them had come into the office to make the demand, and when it was refused they set upou Cox and the COL. WINFIELD TAYLOR DURBIN. This gontlem in. who has just been nominated for governor by the republicans of Indiana, is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Lawrenceburg, May 4, IS 17. He served throughout the civil war as a private in an Indiana regiment. After a business career in various places he removed to Anderson, Ind., in IST!' where he engaged in banking and in the development of the natural g.is resource? of that section. He has taken an active interest in politics for some years. Dur ing the late war he was colonel o£ an Indiana volunteer regiment which saw some garrison service in Cuba. other four entered the office to assist in the attack upon the operator. When the tramps sprang upon Cox he drew a revolver and razor from the drawer and held them at bay. At the sight of the weapons all drew back and four of the six tied from the office and disappeared in the darkness. The others tried to follow suit, but Cox cov ered them with his revolver, made them throw up their hands, and forced them into a corner. Covering the hemmed in men with the pistol held in his left hand. Cox used his right to work his key, and telegraphed to the railroad office at Alexandria, describ ing the situation out in the little office, miles away from help. The instant the message was re ceived at Alexandria the police were in formed and an engine was made ready. In a few minutes it started for the A. & F. crossing with trainmaster and of ficers on board. When they arrived at CANADIAN VOLUNTEERS IN SOUTH AFRICA. .= ~ The picture showsi how the Canadian contingent lighting; under Gen. Roberta Brossed the Modder river by the aid of a life line. The brave fellows followed the road from Jacobsdal to Paardeberg, which presented an exaggerated repetition of a spectacle common to many old "Forty-Niners" who followed the overland trail to California in search of gold. All the way between the two points the road was strewn with dead and dying oxen and horses, fallen exhausted by the way. and hordes of vultures flocked to the gruesome feast. The bravery of the Canadians In tliese circumstances was truly cuoiine ndable. the telegraph office they found Opera tor Cox, with both of his captives penned in a corner, still covered with his pistol and thoroughly cowed. The prisoners were placed aboard the en gine and taken to Alexandria and locked uj). The country around the telegraph office was searched by the officers, but no trace of the other tramps could be found. Value uf Violet lOxtrnol. A pint bottle of"the strongest vio let extract" was recently advertised for sale by the customs authorities at lialtimore. It was seized for under valuation. The importers entered it as worth sl3". Investigation dis closed that it was valued at $(545 in Kngland. With duties which are high 011 "necessaries" of this kind added, the upset price i't the advertised sale v\ill be $1,2U0. The product is called "ionoue." INCREASES SALE OP EER. The Demnnd I'pon Knxliiti werie* Una Hern Knlnrgcd by (ue Mouth African War. The depression of spirits which tha war has undoubtedly produced doea not seem to have extended so far us the great brewing districts, says a foreign exchange. At Burton-on-Trent. at any rate, they say that there has been, if nay thing, an increase, raiher than .1 de crease, in the output .since th<* out break of hostilities, as the railway tonnage itself will show. Last year was a tremendous year for brewing. Nothing like it had been known in the history of Burton, and the brewers and the railway com panies were practically at loggerheads because t-.e latter, try hov/ they would, could not supply the trucks in sufficient number to carry th]>uli«t Convention at Sioux Falls* U., Hold* a Two lluyn 1 SCMIOU- Kl» e Hundred Ili-legaten l*rex ent Nome KII IIIIIK Kernel lie tore Adjournment. Sioux Kails, S. I).. May 10. —The people's party convention began busi ness Wednesday in the big tent on 111<■ top of the hill on the western side of the city of Sioux Falls. There huve been larger crowds in attend ance upou national conventions and possibly there have been questions upon which more enthusiasm has been manifested, but there have been few similar events which have been marked 'by more evident sincerity of purpose or more pronounced decorum of behavior, it was evident that the delegates were there for a well un derstood purpose and that whatever that purpose it was to be carried into effect. There were 500 delegates in their seats, and surrounding them there was a fringe of alternates and visit firs numbering 000 to 800. Seats had been provided for a larger number, but the attendance did not appear meager and what was lost in attend ance was made up in enthusiasm. All told it was a well dressed, good mannered and thoroughly well be haved assemblage of people. By no means the least noticeable character istic of the gathering was the pres ence of a number of women. Color ado led the list in the number of wo men delegates, three being present from that state. They were given front seats. Kansas, Idaho and the District of Columbia also sent wo men delegates. Chairman Butler called the conven tion to order and prayer was deliv ered by Bishop O'Gorman. At the conclusion of the prayer Chairman Butler called on Secretary Kdgerton to read the call for the convention, which he did. Senator Butler then introduced Gov. Lee, of South Dakota, who on behalf of his state welcomed the con vention to South Dakota. Chairman Butler responded for the convention. At the conclusion of his address Chairman Butler introduced the tem porary chairman of the convention, L\ M. Bingdale, of Minnesota, who made a speech. Tno committees Were appointed and the convention adjourned until 8 p. m. Hon. Thomas Patterson, of Colora do, was selected for permanent chair man of the convention by the com mittee on permanent organization. The evening session was devoted entirely to singing and music by the Fifty-first lowa regiment band. Sioux Falls, S. I)., May 11. —While yesterday was full of events in the national populist convention, it began rather inauspieiously for the consum mation of its work. There were three sessions. The first of these was bar ren of results except in the way of supplying 1 machinery for the conven tion work and the afternoon session was well under way before the as semblage really got down to business, l'he forenoon session fras given up to ■ffecting a permanent organization, by the election of Hon. T. M. Patter on, of Colorado, as chairman and the (election of other officers. Mr. Bryan's nomination was made by acclamation and wtis accomplished with expedition and tact. There were not to exceed half a dozen speeches in Mr. Brian's behalf. All of these were brief and pointed, while full of praise for the candidate. 'The speak ers were led off by Senator Allen, of Mr. Bryan's own state, and he was followed by (ien. Weaver, of Iowa; px-Congressinan Jerry Simpson, of Kansas; "Cyclone" Davis, of Texas; "Senator Butler, of North Carolina, and one or two others. Then towards the close of the after noon session began the real contest of the convention. This was the fight over the vice presidency, or rather, the tight over the proposition not to make any nomination for vice presi dent, but to refer the entire matter to a committee to be appointed to confer with the democrats and silver republicans in their conventions to be held at Kansas City. Both the propositions to nominate and to refer and also various compromise sugges tions were presented and upon them was based a debate which not only developed a great deal of oratory but came near culminating in fisticuffs. The exciting event of the conven tion was reached when ex-Congress man Kelly, of South Dakota, becom ing excited over a failure to secure recognition, rose in his seat and de nounced the occupant of the chair as a ''bunco steerer." To this Chairman Patterson responded spiritedly. There were cries of "But him out" and a number of delegates gathered about Mr. Kelly. Quiet was, however, soon restored and the convention decided to nominate a candidate for vice pres ident. Howard S, Taylor, of Illinois, was placed in nomination for vice presi dent. together with John Kreidenthal, of Kansas; J. Jl. Davis, of Texas; John .1. Lentz, of Ohio; T. T. Rynder, of Pennsylvania, and Charles K. Towne, of Minnesota. All the candidates except Towne vyithdrew their names and Towne was nominated by acclamation. Then tho convention adjourned sine die. Four »re .TllKnln Galeton, Pa.. May 10.—The property loss resulting from the forest fires at ( orbett and vicinity is about $:i00,()00 Mr. and Mrs. George Loueks, who were reported as burned to death, were found yesterday alive and well They had been rescued with great difficulty and taken to a place of safety. Four other residents of Cor hett are still missing, and it is feared they perished. The body of Samuel George was found by the roadside. Tie had been burned to death white lighting the fire. Tea buildings ivera destroyed in the villai"* 1 NEW CONVERT. Prominent Filipino Proposes a Peace Platform. PROTECTION IS NEEDED, Fnele Sam's (laid,nice Is Essen tial to Filipino Welfare. TO PREVENT CIVIL STRIFE. A Former Iffemberol' Agulnaldo's < ab iuet Claim* that If Guaranteed I'eaeo Willi Honor, tlie Insurgent Leadert IVlll Surrender. Manila, May 12.—Senor Bueneami no, at one time a member of the Fili pino republican cabinet, who was re cently liberated by (jen. Otis, an nounces that he has become recon ciled to American sovereignty and that he will devote his influence to bringing 4 about peace, lie has sent, a proposed peace platform for the na tional Filipino party to the insurgent leaders in Manila and to the insurgent generals, including Aguinaldo, in the field. l'liis platform declares that it is im possible for the Filipinos to exist as a nation without the protection of the United States and that, consequently they must recognize American sover eignty and strive to attain, under a constitution, the utmost liberty pos sible. Continuing, Senor Bueneamino ar gues that the Filipinos are incapable of self-government. He says: "fu our independent government llie most predominant notes were abuses and immoralities, the offspring of ignor ance and the inherited vices of Spain, by which the Filipino regime was ren dered odious to our own people." Therefore, he contends, American control is necessary to prevent civil strife. lie recommends to the na tional Filipino party the adoption of a programme embodying the follow ing features: "First-—Recognition of the sover eignty of the Fnited States, cessation of hostilities and co-operation on the part of the Filipinos in the prosecu tion of bandits who continue depreda tions in the name of independence. "Second—A request for a declara tion by the United States government, guaranteeing to the Filipinos person al liberties and rights under a consti tution. "Third—A Filipino delegation ti» present to the American congress and the public the desires of the Filipi nos respecting political status. "Fourth—The application of a part of the public funds to the mainte nance of hospitals for sick and wounded Filipino soldiers and for the establishment of schools. "Fifth—The transfer of the insur gent funds to the American treasury. "Sixth—The establishment of a permanent system of Filipino repre sentatives to the civil commission. "Seventh —The exclusion of friars from the administration of the par ishes."' Discussing the political outlook with a press correspondent yesterday Senor i'uencamino said: "There are three elements in the Philippines which obstruct the at tainment of peace. The first is the body oi Filipino agitators in Manila who are continually shouting for in dependence and who thus influence the ignorant masses. The second is the friars, who desire a prolongation of hostilities, because in peace be tween the Filipinos and the Ameri cans they foresee the end of their prestige and power and the ultimate loss of their properties. The third element is—(suppressed by the cen sor). " if the civil commission brings lib eral ideas and will approach Aguin aldo and the other leaders still light ing, in a way that will make it possi ble for them to surrender and yet to retain the respect of their country men, then peace in the Philippines will be only a question of a few weeks. "If the civil commission will guar antee protection to the personal and individual rights and liberties of the Filipinos, leaving the determination of our future political status to the United States congress, Aguinaldo will come in, will order a cessation of hostilities and will direct the surren der of arms." I'HUSht a I'air of Hurglarn. Chicago, May 12. —Facing a shower of bullets while chasing supposedly petty thieves for nearly a mile yes terday, (Mirer Frank J. Me.N'amara ef fected an important capture. The men arrested are noted ex-convicts and since their release from prison have been conducting wholesale bur glaries in l>es Moines and South Oma ha, the loot aggregating SIO,OOO in value. They are Jim Demmitt and George Thompson, both colored. They confessed to a series of 12 bur glaries they had committed in lowa between May 3 and 7. They further told the police that there is a third member of their gang here and de tect her, are on his trail. A 4«reut Conflagration. San Francisco, May 12.- Advices from Yokohama give particulars of the big tire at Kukin, a large town on. the western coast of Japan, April IS. The Dames originated in the suburbs of the city and were carried by a heavy wind to several parts of the city at once. The tire raged for six hours before it could be controlled. Sixteen hundred houses, including SO temples and all the principal build ings, were burned. Sixteen persons perished and nearly 100 were injured. The property loss is estimated at about >oo,ooo. There was but small insurance. 3