NEARLY $3,000,000 Loss of Property by a Groat Fire at Montreal. A <'onll i»Kratioll 111 tlie Btialiic** !>!•» trlet tliHt Destroyed a Dozen More* and Uarrliuii.eii uien Budly lluiidtcuppcd In Tlielr Work. Montreal, Jan. 24.—One of the most disastrous tires from which this city has ever suffered began at 8 o'clock last night, and notwithstanding the efforts of the entire lire department the progress of the flames was not checked until I o'clock this morning. By that time it had destroyed prop erty valued at between $2.>00,000 anil $:s,000,000 and was still burning. Included in the property burned is the splendid board of trade building which cost over $500,000, with over 100 tenants, and half a dozen large firms and two scores of smaller con cerns. The narrow streets, antiquated buildings and the inflammable nature of the stocks they contained made a combination which the department was powerless to overcome. The fire practically burned until it came to open space, which gave the fire men an opportunity for effective work. The tire started at 8:05 p. in.in the premises of Saxe & Sons, whole sale clothiers, on the corner of Le moine and St. Peter streets. The streets in the locality were deserted at the time anil the tire apparently had a good headway before the first alarm was sent in. The firemen on arriving found the building, a three story stone structure, a mass of flames. Second and third alarms were sent in, but before reinforcements reached the scene, the flames hail leaped across St. Peter street, which is very narrow, and attacked the five-story stone building occupied by H. A. Nel* son «£.* Sons, fancy goods. Here it spread as rapidly as it had in lh« Saxe building. In almost an instant the building was a roaring furnace. The warehouse of Beard mo re & Co., tanners, adjoining Nelson's lo the south, was next attacked anil from there the flames communicated to the establishment of Silverman, Houlter «£■ Co., wholesale hatters and furriers. Here another inflammable stock added zest to the flames. In the meantime the flames had con tinued down St. Peter street on the side on which it started to the cor ner of St. Paul street, licking up the premises of .7. Bourdeau & Co., hats, caps, etc. St. Peter street for an en tire block was a mass of flames on cither side. In the meantime a great fifrht was being made to save the board of trade building, erected eight year* ago at a cost of $600,000, and adjoin ing the Nelson building on (lie north side. For a long time the efforts of the brigade were successful, a plentiful supply of water keeping the exposed portions cool. Hut the flames had extended along the north side of St. Paul street, going west from Silver man, Boulter <& Co.'s, licking up half a dozen concerns on its way, until it reached the bi<* wholesale fur estab lishment of James Coristine <£- Co. This building extended all the way from St. Paul street to the board of trade building, and the flames ap peared togo through it like a tinder box. When the rear wall of this building was reached it was seen that the board of trade would have to go. Solid sheets of flames sprang out and up and seized hold of the big build ing in .a dozen different places, driv ing the firemen back. By this time every piece of fire fighting apparatus the city possesses was in use. Two water towers, which had failed to keep the blaze from the board of trade bniWing, were shifted around to St. Paul street, but here again they were too late. From the north side of St. Paul street the flames leaped across the street anil destroyed the premises of Thomas Davidson & Co., 11. Levy, drv goods, and half a dozen other smal ler concerns. On Lemoine the extensive whole sale grocery house of Laporte, Mar tin & Co. took fire. After the fire men had abandoned all hope of sav ing the board of trade building, they concentrated their efforts mainly on this building, for the spread of the flames in this district would mean the loss of the entire wholesale dry goods section. The building was saved. t'anc* ( in Detroit. Jackson, Miss.. .lan. 24. — Gov. Lon gino received a telegram last nijfht stating that .1. K. (iibson, the Indiana building contractor, who, it is '.•barged, attempted to bribe the gov ernor several weeks ago to secure for him the state house contract, and who forfeited his .t.VOOO bond Tuesday, had been captured at De troit. Two officers bearing requisi tion papers left last night to bring the prisoner bacK to Mississippi. Will Auk .VlcKluley lo Attend. Louisville, Ky„ Jan. 24.—Mayor Weaver. Postmaster Baker and Hen ry T. Jefferson started for Washing ton last night to carry to the presi dent a message froiji the executive committee of the 28th triennial con clave, Knights Templar, inviting him to attend the }?rand encampment in Louisville, August 27-.' 10. rrrdltom Tla y iiet :j Per Cent. Indianapolis, Jan. 24. —Receiver Clark, of the Chosen Friends, says the total liabilities of which the re ceiver has accurate knowledge at present are $774, *74. In addition to all these claims there are protested checks for large amounts which will brinff the total indebtedness far above SBOO,OOO. To meet this heavy indebtedness the receiver has in his treasury at present $2,000 in cash. Kvery asset upon which the order has a claim will have to be fought bitterly in the courts before it can be realized upon. WEST POINT S HORRORS. They are Described by (lie Wit* neM llifit Appeared He fore fbe Con* g;resf»loiinl Committee. 1 Washington, .lan. 25. — The commit tee which is investigating the hazing of Cadet l!ooz had before it yester day the last witness who will he called onto testify. He was F. 11. Cunningham, a teacher at Hamilton institute. New York City, who for merly was a cadet at West Point, lie was the te.it mate of Cadet Mac A rthur, who was severely hazed, ac cording' to the testimony adduced at West Point, and he also was supposed to have furnished material for an article on hazing which appeared in a New York newspaper. Before be ginning his testimony Mr. Cunning ham stated that it would not be vol untary, but would be given because he was summoned. Mt Cunningham entered the academy ill June, IS9S. He testified that his tentmate was Mac Arthur. lie described the haz ing of Mac Arthur in July, IS9S. lie said he reeled into the tent after be ing hazed and went into convulsions. He was writhing and moaning so that he (Cunningham) covered him with a blanket to prevent his moans from being heard by the officer of the day. Witness said he would distinctly class Mai-Arthur's writhings as con vulsions, not cramps as Mac Arthur had testified. Mac Arthur was urged togo on sick report next day, but refused. lie was hazed because he was a son of (ien. Mac Arthur, al though he had never exhibited undue pride in the relationship. The worst hazers were Barry, Doekery and Du val. Witness said one reason why he left the academy was his feeling that hazing exerted a brutal influ ence. Mac Arthur had said to him that "another night like that would make him feel like resigning." Witness named Cadets Hill. Has kell and Kensel as cadets who suf fered from convulsions and needed medical assistance as a result of haz ing. A cadet officer told witness that a cadet had choken Kenzel to pre vent him uttering cries. Cadet Crown had "qualified on prunes." breaking the record by eating 135. They made hiin sick. One of the academy in structors lectured against hazing and the classes decided against "hazing." etc. As they left the lecture some one shouted "brace" and every one "braced" and that ended the agree ment to stop hazing. Commenting on a statement by (len. Ludlow "that college hazing at West Point hazing were the same, the witness said: "i refute that statement. I went through college before I went to West Point, and i know there is nothing in the colleges like hazing at West Point." He described hazing as torture. He gave a graphic account of the agony suffered in certain forms of hazing, which sent a shudder through the listeners. Men were hung on bars, their feet up, so that when they dropped from exhaustion the knees struck on the wooden floor several feet below. The fainting man was again hoisted up and again repeated ly dropped. Cunningham said the object of "calling out" was to place a trained upper class man against an untrained lower class man. The result was Inevitable. In conducting a fight the purpose was to cut up the face of the lower class man before knock ing him out. An upper class man hail said to the witness that a cer tain light was not correct, as the lower class man's fate was not cut sufficiently. When on guara one time Cunning ham was told by the corporal of the guard "not to see a fight" then about to occur. Cunningham's testimony - produced a deep iinpressjon, and at its conclusion the court \\*• nt into se cret session. The hearings are now closed and the committee will give its attention to the report. CUBAN'S REVENGE. Tliey Burn Cane Field* Owned by a •Muu Wlio Ktluied to A»»l»t Them lu KlShtiu;; Spain. Santiago De Cuba, Jan. 25. —Fifteen hundred acres of sugar cane were burned Wednesday as the result of political friction, on Joseph Rignev 's plantation, near Manzanillo, the richest plantation in this province During the war of the Cuban insur gents against Spain Mr. Rigney re fused to pay tribute to the Cubans. For two years he supported a Span ish garrison, but ultimately the Cu bans destroyed the property with the exception of the mill, valued at sl,- 000,000. This year the plantation was fully equipped to produce sugar to the full capacity of the mill. Mr. Rigney'is loss is about SIOO,OOO, but it will not seriously cripple the business. A considerable quantity of cane from the burned fields is still valuable. Two plantations at (iuantauainu have lost heavily durAg the week from similar fires. Burning cann is a popular method of getting re venge among the Cubans. Wfre They Hurled Alive* Washington. .lan. 25. —Adjt. (leu Corbin has received a cablegram from Gen. Mac Arthur in response to his inquiries as to the case of First Lieut. Rrewer, of the Twenty-seventh volunteer infantry, who was reported to have been buried alive by Fili pinos. (icn. Mac Arthur says that Brewer and Sergeant Schraeder, of his regiment, disappeared September 11 last, and neither has since been heard from. Claims to be Neutral. Washington, Jan. 25. The steam ship Caracas, wh«ch arrived in this country Tuesday from La Guyara, brought official communications from l)r. E. Blanco. They make strong representations as to the strict neu trality which the Venezuelan gov ernment has observed all through the asphalt controversy, which is set forth as being solely an issue be tween the rival companies them selves. and not one involving the gov ernment. Surprise is expressed at the threatening attitude of th,i Uni ted States, CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1901. A FIERCE CRUSADE. Women Wreck Saloons at Wich ita, Kan. 1r«. fSatlon and Three Foliowera I'm Hatchet* In Demullnliin{{ the Fix ture* ol Bar Itooium They are Arrmltd .Tlrn. Na tion llor»e\vhlp|>ed, Wichita, Kan., .lan. 22.- Mrs. Carrit Nation came back to Wichita yester day after her recent incarceration under a smallpox quarantine and the net results of ten minutes' work by her during the afternoon are two wrecked saloons, the pieces of which are being sold for souvenirs. Mrs. Nation was assisted by Mrs. Julia Evans, Mrs. Lucy Wilhoit and Mrs. Lydia Muntz, all of the local W. C. T. C. organization. With hatchets concealed under their cloaks they entered the saloon of James Burns and did not leave a complete piece of glass or a working slot machine in the place. All showcases, both for liquors and cigars, as well as the plate glass windows and doors, were broken into smithereens. Next they ran to John Herrig's saloon and had everything in the front room, including the plate glass windows, broken when he appeared with a revolver, placed it at Mrs. Nation's head and said that he would blow out her brains if she did not desist. She yielded before the point ed revolver and with her companions ran to the Carey hotel bar, where she made her first attack on the saloons of Wichita, three weeks ago. Three policemen met her and she struck at Detective Sutton with a poke*-. He shoved her aside and a youth struck liim in the face. A po liceman struck the youth and knocked him down. The police then overpowered Mrs. Nation and hor friends and took them to the city prison, followed by 2,000 people. Chief of Police Cudbon discharged the prisoners after they reached the jail, and is heartily condemned by the citizens. The women made him a promise not to wreck any more saloons before noon to-day. After leaving the city building Mrs. Nation began a street lecture to the immediate crowd that had surround ed the city building, saying that she expected to begin saloon wrecking again at noon to-day when her truce with the chief of police expires. Shakrng her fist at the crowd she said: "Men of Wichita, this is the right arm of Clod and 1 am destined to wreck every saloon in your city." The women procured a wagon and rode through the streets singing "Nearer, My (iod, to Thee" and other hymns. They halted in front of the saloons they had smashed and held prayer meetings. The damage done by the women is estimated at be tween $1,500 and $2,000. The affair created intense excite ment and thousands of people viewed the wrecks. Mrs. Nation caused a new sensation last night by slapping Sheriff Sim mons on the face, taking hold of his ears and giving birii a rough hand ling generally. Mrs. Nation was at the Union station in the act of buy ing a ticket to a neighboring town when the sheriff pulled at her sleeve, saying: "You are my prisoner, madame." Mrs. Nation turned her face about and, seeing Simmons, gave him a violent slap across the face. She followed this-up by taking hold of his ears with both hands and wringing them viciously. The station was full of women, who began screaming and tremendous ment followed, as the sheriff, who is a very small man. struggled with his powerful antagonist. A policeman came to his rescue and with the aid of some bystanders they succeeded in picking up the woman in thei? arms and placing her in a cab, which was driven to the county jail. Last night Mrs. Wilhoit was arrest ed at her home without making any resistance and locked in jail, where ■she was placed in a cell next to that of Mrs. Nation. When Mrs. Uilhoit was ushered into the steel cage Mrs. Nation cried "Hallelujah" and burst into prayer. Half an hour later Mrs. Kvans was arrested at her home. It is said that a complaint for in sanity will be lodged against Mrs. Nation. Wichita, Kan.. Jan. 23. —Mrs. Carrie Nation and her colleagues in Tues day's saloon smashing crusade were arraigned in the city court yesterday and waived a preliminary hearing. Judge Kirk fixed their bond at SI,OOO each, which was given, and the wo men were released. John Herring, into whose saloon Mrs. Nation and her followers entered by the windows they had smashed, was the complain ant, and the specific charge was ma licious destruction of property. Enterprise. Kan., .lan. 25.—A street fight occurred Thursday between wo men led on one si(Lr- by Mrs. Carrie Nation, the saloon wrecker, and on the other by Mrs. John Schilling, wife of the manager of the saloon wrecked on Wednesday. As a result, of the tight Mrs. Nation, who was horswhipped, swore out warrants against Mrs. Schilling and her hus band, and Mrs. Hittner, charging them with assault, and Mayor Hoff man swore out a warrant against Mrs. Nation, charging her with dis turbing the peace. All were arrest ed, taken before Judge Holt and all but Mrs. Nation released on bond. Mrs. Nation was found not guilty and was released. The other wo men will be tried to-day. deported the t'onntltntlon. Havana, Jan. is...—'The central com mittee of the Cuban constitutional convention reported at Monday's ses sion of the convention the proposed constitution. The document contains some modifications of the original draft. The members of the central committee are not unanimous with reference to several features of the scheme and there is likely to be con siderable discission before final ac ceptance. The proposed constitu tion does not contain any provisions regarding the future relations b»« tween the United States and Cuba. SENATE'S WAH TAX BILL. It Aim* to HffVrt a Totul llfdui'tloi of $.10,000,000. Washington, Jan. 25. —Senator Aid rich, chairman of the senate commit tee on finance, yesterday reported the war revenue reduction bill back to the senate. The committee re ports n complete substitute for the bill as it passed the house. Senator Aldrieh made a statement explaining the changes, which are as follows: Stamp taxes repealed: Promis sory notes, mortgages, bills of lad ing for export, powers of attorney, protest, charter party, telegraphic dispatches, telephone messages, pas sage tickets costing less than S3O, ex press receipts, freight receipts, bonds except bonds of indemnity, leg acies to religious, charitable. liter ary or educational institutions. Special taxes repealed: Commer cial brokers. Taxes reduced: Conveyances, in surance, cankers capital, proprietary medicines, cigars, tobacco and beer. The statement says that the pur pose of the committee has been to repeal such of the taxes imposed by the war revenue act of tsos as are most annoying and burdensome to taxpayers, to retain such as would be kept as a permanent part of ofir revenue system, or at least retained until all war taxes can be repealed, and to reduce all others as fairly as possible by some general plan of re duction. Pursuing this general plan, it has been possible to reduce taxes affected approximately one half. Taking the estimates of the treas ury department as a basis, the redutn tion of revenue effected by* the bill will be nearly $40,000,000. a reduction somewhat less than w«s produced by the bill as if passed the house of rep resentatives. The committee's substitute provis ions in regard to cigars, tobacco, beer, etc., reduce the beer tax to $1.50 per barrel and on snuff and to bacco to nine cents a Dounil. All insurance companies are to Vie required to make annual returns to th" commissioner of internal rev enue; the returns required being such as will enable the commission er to levy and collect from the com panies the taxes required to be paid by them. In case of non-payment of the spe cial taxes levied against insurance companies, it is provided that the delinquent company shall, besides be ing liable for the payment of double the amount, of such special tax, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction sliall pay a fine of not. more than S3OO. The commissioner of internal rev enue is authorized to examine books and accounts of companies he sus pects are making false returns. CLEVELAND GETS IT. <>. A, ft. Notional Council Derides to Hold 'I'IIIM Year's ICiirampinrnt In the Ohio .tlrtropoilw. St. Louis, Jan. 22. —A vote was taken yesterday by the national council and Cleveland was selected as the place in which to hold the next annual (!. A. K. encampment. The vote stood: Cleveland .">, Denver 2, I'ittsburg 1. Denver could not meet all the requirements and Cleveland was selected because satisfactory guarantees of that city's ability to care for the encampment were fur nished to the committee. The dijte set for the encampment is the week beginning September 9. As a result of this action represen tatives of Denver, formerly selected, announced that they intended to take up the matter with various state de partments and would also hold an en campment the second week of Sep tember. The meeting of the council lield Monday was the result of the failure of Denver to satisfy the council at its December meeting of the city's ability to meet the requirements of a 0..e-ccnt per mile railroad rate. Cleve land, I'ittsburg and Denver sent dele gations to yesterday's meeting to plead for the sending of the encamp ment to those cities. The Cleveland delegation offered the written pledge of the chairman of the Central Passenger association of one cent pet- mile to the encamp ment. promised to raise the necessary money to meet the expenses of the encampment, offered free quarters in 100 school houses for the old sol diers; to arrange tjie line of inarch to suit and produced written pledges. The delegation representing I'itts burg pledged a one-cent rate, hotel accommodations, subscriptions and met the other requirements. Denver's applicants for the en campment honors produced letters from Chairman McLeod, of the West ern Passenger association, promising one-cent rate on six railroads. individual members of th* council declared the Denver people were mis taken when they thought they had the promise of the Pennsylvania and New York departments togo to Den ver and were certain that none of the departments would refuse to attend the encampment at Cleveland. A Confession of Weakness. London, Jan. 22. —In a strong edi torial appeal for strengthening the navy of Great Britain and placing it on an adequate war footing, the Times says: "Our fleet should be of sufficient size, force equipment and readiness for war as shall leave no reasonable doubt as to the result of a naval conflict between Great Britain and any other two naval pow ers." Troubles Never Come Singly. London. Jan. 22. —The followinj statement as to the condition o Dowager Km press Frederick, eldes daughter of Queens Victoria, appear: in the Daily Chronicle: "It is witl sincere regret that we announce tha the Kmprcss Frederick's conditioi has become materially worse. Then is a serious development of the dis ease from which she is suffering am her physical pain is intense. A 1 idea of any tourney in pursuit o health has been abandoned and it L improbable that she will ever lean Cronberg," DEPORTED AN EDITOR. (■en. narArlliur Sruda *«i«> Piil>ll»hei of a TlaniiH Nlirel Hack t > Thin Conn* try. Manila, .Jan. 25.—Gen. Mac Arthur lias ordered the deposition to the United States of (ieorge T. Rice, edi tor of the Daily Bulletin, a marine journal. Rice will sail on the Penn sylvania next Monday. The order characterizes him as a "dangerous Incendiary and a menace to the mili-, tary situation. ' Rice's offense was the publication of allegations that Lieut. Command er liraunersreutlier, captain of the port, had charged excessive piloting and moorage fees, a percentage of which he had kept for himself. The report of Col. Mills, who inves tigated the allegations, completely exonerated the captain of the port and indicted the editor and the mer chants who had given him the infor mation and who were misled by figur ing the rates upon the net instead of the gross tonnage, the latter being specified under the Spanish law. Rice was summoned to the oifiee of the governor general's military sec retary and was called upon to prom ise that lie would publish 110 more such articles. He declined to give such a pledge, but insisted that the article was truthful and took up a defiant attitude when threatened with deportation. The deportation order was then issued. Rice's home is in lied Wing, Minn. A BREAK FOR LIBERTY. Inmates of a .Tlexlran Prliou Over power Their (JiiardN, but are Sliol While Trying to Kneapc. Mexico City, Jan. 25.—News has been received from Acapulco of a partly successful attempt made by desperate prisoners confined in Castle San Diego to effect their escape. Re cently the guard was replaced by a detachment of artillerymen under Lieut. Trujillo, anil the prisoners noted that the force had been some what diminished. A few of the bold er spirits suggested that they at tempt to overpower the guards at an hour when all the gates were open and the plot was carried Into effect by a simultaneous rush 011 the sen tinels, who. taken by surprise, were unable to prevent the exit of the prisoners as they poured out Into the streets. A sentinel stationed on the roof of the castle with a repeating rifle killed several of the escaping prison ers and wounded others. Panic spread through theeityas the prison ers fled in every direction, but many of them were captured and several returned voluntarily. A HANDSOME GIFT. Invitation to tli« Prenldent t-» Attend a .lla»onl<- Function In Fngraved on u Solid (iold Plate. Washington, .fan. 25. —Among the callers at the White House yesterday was Capt. (). .1. Humphrey, of San Francisco, who was presented to the president by Senator Perkins. Capt. Humphrey visited the executive man sion as the special envoy of Califor nia comma ndery No. 1, Knights Templar, of San Francisco, to present to President McKinley an invitation from the commandery to meet with it upon its visit to the Pacific coast the coming spring. The card of invitation, which he handed to Sir Knight McKinley per haps rivals in splendor anything of the kind that was ever presented to a president. It is a solid gold plate 3% by o'/i •inches, and about one eighth of an inch in thickness. In the upper right hand corner is an enameled Maltese cross, with the usual insignia of the order, having in the center a fine diamond of about one carat in weight. The "card" is beautifully engraved. White Haw Fears. Chicago, .lan. 25.—Dr. R. A. Whit®, of the Stewart Avenue Universallst church, in a speech before the con gress of religions at the Kullerton Avenue Presbyterian church yester day declared against the subsidizing of great American universities by millionaires. "Institutions which have been so endowed and subsi dized are to lose their power of spreading education, are to become nnrrow and restricted and finally, are to sutler absolutely disintegration"' werti the views Dr. White expressed. He declared that events at various universities had caused a suspicion in the public mind that an autocratic influence had already been thrown over professors and students. The Story of a Itlutluy. Port of Spain, Trinidad. Jan. 25. Advices which have been received here regarding the mutiny of Vene zuelan troops in the Hoyo barracks at Caracas, say that the mutineers numbered 300. The outbreak took place January 14. and the colonel, two officers and four men were killed. The mutineers escaped, with out arms, by different roads and got outside the capital. Half of them were subsequently arrested near Car acas and the others surrendered the next day. There was no political cause for the outbreak. The men had been badly fed. A die Pui-4-hane or Land und Catllr. Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 25. —A Hamburg syndicate has purchased the estate of the late President Cres po, in the Orinoco district. It has an area of 10,000,000 acres and upon it there are 80,000 head of cattle. The syndicate intends to control the meat market of the West Indies and also the packing industry. WeMtern Kallroadern are Sore. ' Chicago, Jan. 25.—As the rsult of the abandonment of Denver and the selection of Cleveland for the next encampment of the (J. A. R. for 1001, western roads have decided to make unusually low rates to Colorado tour ist points next summer and especial ly during the period of the 0. A. R. encampment. Much bitterness has developed among the western roads over the loss by Denver of the Grand Army encampment, which they be lieve to be due in part to the sugges tions of the Central Passenger asso ciation rouds. . THE PHILIPPINES. The Tat't Commission's Re port Is Published. IT SPEAKS OF PROGRESS. Work of Purification Is Slowly but Surely Advancing. MANILA AND ITS SALOONS. Number of ln ln tbe City Ha* <■ re.itly Drrreaned During Paul Year -CbmmlMlou Advocate* I'mwage by of Ibe Spooner Hill. Washington, Jan. 20.—The presi dent yesterday transmitted to the senate a report of the secretary of war enclosing' the report of the Tuft Philippine commission. Jn his mes sage of transmittal the president, says:"l earnestly recommend leg islation under which I he government of the islands may have authority to assist in its peaceful industrial de velopment." The commission gives a gratifying account of the progress made in the pacification of the country and the gradual subsidence of guerrilla war fare. Information received subse quent to the date of the report con firms the favorable anticipations of the commission. On January 2 the commission rein forced the views contained in their report by the following dispatch to the secretary of war: "If you ap prove ask transmission to proper senators and representatives of fol lowing: 'Passage of Spooner bill at present session greatly needed to se cure best results from improving conditions. I'ntil its passage no purely central civil government can be established; no public franchises of any kind can be granted and no substantial investment of private capital in internal improvements pos sible. All are needed as important, steps in complete pacification. Strong peace party organized with defined purpose of securing civil government and relief from inevitable restraints of military rule long before subject can be taken up by new congress.'" The report shows that the islands are estimated to contain about 7:5,- 000.000 acres of land, of which less than 5.000,000 are held in private ownership. The section of the report on the liquor traffic in Manila indicates that the powers of the commission are ample to deal with that subject and the success which they have attained will compare favorably with the re sults in this country. Many false statements have been made regard ing the use of intoxicating liquors in Manila. The fact is that this traffic is more effectively regulated and kept within bounds in Manila, than in any city of similar or great er size in the United States. In November, 1898, the spread of venereal diseases among soldiers led the military authorities, in order to maintain effectiveness of army, to subject known prostitutes to certi fied examination and confinement of diseased in special hospital, expense of which was paid from fund in cus tody of an army officer derived sole ly from fees charged for examina tion of from 50 cents to $2, according to place of examination. This sys tem has greatly reduced the percent age of disability from this cause. Known prostitutes are not permit ted to land. A number have been deported. (ieneral moral condition of city is greatly maligned. Crimes of violence now comparatively few. (■ambling has greatly decreased. Native vino shops in Manila in Au gust. !B'JB. numbered 4.000. Now re duced to 400. American saloons, in cluding hotels and restaurants, re duced from -':J4 in February, 1900, to 88 now. Of these only 4S are li censed to sell spirituous liquors. "Any statement of the conditions prevailing in the islands during th'» last six months which ignores the ef fect of the American election as a controlling element in tlie situation is inadequate. Since the result was announced there has been a great de crease in insurgent activity. In tense interest was felt by the insur gents before the election in the issue, and intense disappointment since, which will certainly effect the col lapse of the insurrection in the near future." One of the longest chapters in the report concerns the friars in the Philippines. The commission gives the history of the expulsion of these friars from their places by the rebels and declares that the burning ques tion agitating the Filipinos is wheth er they shall be permitted to return. Regarding the return of the friars the commission says it would be an assistance to the American cause if the Catholic church were to substi tute American priests, but this is a question of church policy with which the commission has nothing to do. Says the report: "ft is enough to say that the political question will be eliminated if the friars are not sent hack." The brief recommendation of the president in the message sent to the senate asking legislation in the in terest of the Filipinos caused general surprise among senators and occa sioned speculation upon the prob ability of an extra session of con gress immediately after March 4. Sen ators generally say they have had no intimation from the White House that a speeial session of congress may be desirable, but they unite as one man in saying that no Philippine legislation is possible during the re maining five weeks of the present session. The Spooner bill, vesting all power for the government of the Philippine archipelago in the presi dent, is the only Philippine bill. 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers