A 1! 11>E TO DEATH. Seven People Drowned in the Schuylkill River. A Kowboat Containing Five (ilrlsand Three Boys Is Swept Over a Ham and Only Oneol the l*arty wan Kiiii ued A llropol liFfet to the Korku Helow, Philadepliia, May 31. —A row boat •containing a merry party of eight .young persons was swept over Flat Rock dam in the Schuylkill river, Thursday afternoon, and seven of them —five girls and two boys—were ■drowned. The victims, all of whom were Philadelphians, were: Florence Densmore, aged 17 years. Mazie Kennedy, 16. Maud Kutter, li). Mamie Sullivan, 21. Florence Bond, 21. Roy Ricker, 18. Bertram Osmond, 10. The young man saved was John Moore,* aged 21 years. The party was composed of members of the Elm .Social club, one of the numerous as sociations of this city organized for the promotion of picnics and other social functions. The above named persons, with a number of others, organized a picnic. They embarked in gaily decorated wagons early in ■the morning, and pitched their camp at llose Glen, along the Schuylkill ariver, on the northern outskirts of this city. Following their usual custom the party split up after dinner for a row ■on the river, and these above men tioned decided togo in one boat. This was shortly after 2 o'clock. Boats were accordingly hired and the two parties set forth for an hour's fun on ■the river. Heavy rains during the past week had made the muddy stream quite high, and the current was much swift •r than usual. However, the unfor tunate party immediately struck out for midstream. All the girls were huddled in the stern, one of the boys was rowing and the other was sitting on the bow of the boat. After getting in the mid lie of the river and finding the current too swift for comfort, the boat was rowed toward shore. During this time it was carried slowly down stream. The boy doing the rowing decided togo through the locks, and as he approached the dam he was told by the lock keeper not to ap proach any closer. The warning was not heeded and the young oars man kept on rowing until he found ithat the lock was closed. He attempted to turn the boat, •which was then about 50 feet from the dam and 25 feet from shore, but he turned the wrong way. A mo ment later and the boat was in the swiftly moving current. Realizing then, for the first time, that they -were in danger, the girls began screaming and the oarsman lost con trol of the boat. Swiftly it was car ried toward the brink of the falling waters, and just as it reached the breast of the dam, over which 30 inches of water were passing, the ■ entire eight stood up and the boat went over stern first. The drop of the rock below ia ap proximately 12 feet. The boat struck •the water bottom up, and as it dis appeared the whole party was under it. Nothing more was seen by the few persons who saw the accident for almost a minute, when the boat re appeared with one boy clinging to its keel. Then the other young man was seen to come to the surface and make a frantic effort to reach shore by swimming. The five girls never rose to the surface. The boy who •was swimming and proved to be Os mond, became exhausted and sank ■before he could be rescued. Moore, the other boy who was cling ing to the boat, floated fully a half mile down the river, and his rescuers had an exciting time before they land ed him in another boat. He was greatly exhausted and was slightly injured by the falling of the boat. TEXAS OIL FOR FUEL. A Project to Ship It North and IMace It In Competition with < oal. Pittsburg, May 31. —Pittsburg coal may have a competitor in Texas oil. This was made evident yesterday by the fact that the J. M. Guffey Petro leum Co. is negotiating at Cleveland with one of the largest vessel owners on the lakes for the purchase of two vvhaleback boats by which oil may be delivered at all lake points. The.l. M. Guffey Petroleum Co. now has two pipe lines from its wells at Beaumont, Tex., to Port Arthur, 1(5 miles away, and up Sabine Pass, where there is always sufficient water for the largest steamers. 'I he pipe lines are a six-inch and a ten-inch, and through them 20,000 barrels of oil can be delivered from the wells to a steamer in 24 hours. The wells now flowing are produc ing over 100,000 barrels of oil a day. It is possible to load the tank steam ers at Port Arthur with oil, send them around by the Gulf of Mexico, the At lantic ocean, the St. Lawrence river and the Welland canal into the chain of great lakes, and deliver the oil in less than 30 days. It is estimated that, for fuel pur poses three and one-half barrels of oil are equal to a ton of the best Pitts burg coal. On this basis the oil •could come into competition with Pittsburg coal at ail lake points and •contiguous territory where coal is worth $2.50 a ton. Granted the Nine-Hour l>ay. Hartford. Conn., May 31.—A meet ing of the striking machinists and al lied mechanics employed by the American Bicycle Co. and the Pratt & Whitney Co. was held yesterday to "hear the report of a conference com mittee which had an interview with their employers on Wednesday, and it was voted to accept concessions granted by both companies and to re turn to work on Monday next. It is understood that the companies grant the nine-hour day with ten hours' pay without formal recognition of the union. The shops employ over J.- 400 men. ARE SADLY DISAPPOINTED. Porto ItleaiiN Dislike tlic Verdict (tendered ■>)' tlie Supreme Court In Itr£nrd to Tlielr Itl^ht*. San Juan, Porto Bico, May 29.— The first report of the supreme court's decision in the De Lima case, received here Monday night, which was inter preted asdeclaring the taxation of im ports from Porto Rico to the United States 15 per cent, of the Dingley duties to be unconstitutional, was re ceived here with creat satisfaction. Yesterday, when the full report of the De Lima case was published, there was a general feeling of disappoint ment among Porto Hiean merchants, who had hoped that the court's de cision would give them a year's free trade. The concensus of opinion of the matter seems to be that the Porto ltican legislature should be convened in extra session to declare Porto liieo self-supporting without the col lection of customs on imports be tween Porto Pico and the United States. A general spirit of complaint that all the supreme court's decisions were against Porto Rico is noticeable. When San Juan merchants were questioned on the subject, they mani fested much regret at the outcome, as they had hoped to have refunded all the moneys paid under the 15 per cent, application of the Dingley du ties. It was generally expressed that the court's decision would grant Porto Rico free trade and her citizens full citizenship and constitutional provis ions. When told if the latter priv ileges had been granted, the internal revenue laws of the United States would be applied to the islands and that all the funds and customs there under collected would l>e deposited in the federal treasury, all Porto IJieans questioned in the matter acknowl edged that this would be bad and that the present, status was prefer able. as they did not believe that the island could stand the United States internal revenue. Only a few Porto Rican business men understand the importance of the supreme court's decisions. Those who are bankers predict an immedi ate revival of business now that the status of the country has been decid ed. The manager of an important American bank, who requests that his name be not used, says that he is not in favor of the tariff unless it is abso lutely proved that Porto Kican inter nal revenues suffice for the island's needs. The J. T. Sih-a Banking Co. said: "The whole thing is a fiasco. We would like to be citizens of the Uni ted States, but without the applica tion of United States internal revenue collections. The latter would kill our industries." The Fritz Lund to., the largest ship pers of sugar in Porto Rico, said: "The constitution of the United States applies when against us, but not when in our favor. This has al ways been so since the beginning. If the tariff had been removed at first, Porto Rico would now have double crops. The American system of tax ation cannot be applied here; there should lie some sensible tax on flour and rice, but .sugar should be free. This legislation appears to be for Americans and against Porto Rieans." The people generally are as much disappointed at not being granted American citizenship as they are with the court's decision in regard to the tariff. The members of the cabinet seem to favor free tr«de. The island's yearly budget is $2,000,000. A semi-official estimate gives an income of $500,000 a year from the property tax; $750,000 from excise collections under the Hollander bill and $75,000 from customs collections on Imports and exports to and from countries other than the United States. The property tax will be in force July 1 and assessments will be made on an estimated valuation of $100,000,000. THE SUMMER SHUTDOWN. Twenty Independent (lino* Factories Ceane Operation* I ulil September. Muncie, ind., May 20.—President Mambourg, of the Independent and Co-operative Window Glass Co., rep resenting 20 plants throughout the country not in the American Window filass Co., states positively that all his plants will stop work to-day and that there will be but two or three factories in operation after this date. These are not affiliated with his com pany or any other. lie says they are anxious to stop, but for financial rea sons will be compelled to work 12 or 14 days yet. One plant is in the east and the other two in the west. The factory at Point. Marion, Pa., and the one at, Hartford City, Ind., will close with the others. President Mambourg reports the sale of 1,000,000 boxes of glass to the Pittsburg Plate Glass Co. This is tihe output of next year, representing $3,000,000, and insures the resumption of all factories on September 15 and for full nine months' work, which will be the longest working season for <;ight years past. The Keunlonn at .^lemplilK, Memphis, Tenn., May 2!). —George W. Gordon, of Memphis, yesterday called to order the annual convention of the United Confederate Veterans with a gavel from a tree which shad ed the favorite seat of Jefferson Davis at Beauvior, Miss. The sixth anninil reunion of the United Sons of Con federate Veterans met here in tlie auditorium. National colors were were draped about the hall, while over the stage hung pictures of Stone wall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, X. B. Forrest and other southern leaders. A Fairbanks Huomlet. Chicago, May 2!).—Senator Fair banks, of Indiana, was formally an nounced yesterday as a candidate for" president before the republican na tional convention in 1004. Harry S. New, republican national committee man from Indiana, is authority for the statement that Indiana will stand behind Mr. Fairbanks in his race for the honor. "Senator Fairbanks will be supported by a solid delegation from Indiana," said Mr. New. The whole state will be back of him at the next national convention. He is tlic logical candidate of the party." CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1901. KILLED BY A 31015. A Florida Kegro 13 Burned at the Stake. The Crime Cor Which He SiifTored Punishment was the .Tlurder of a White Woman—A Sickening Adair 011 the Prairie Near llarlow, Fla. Bartow, 11a., May 30. —Fred Ro chelle, a negro, 35 years of age, who at noon Tuesday criminally assaulted and then murdered Mrs. liena Tag gart, a well-known and respectable white woman of this city, was burned at the stake here last evening in the presence of a throng of people. The burning was on the scene of the ne gro's crime, within 100 yards of the principal thoroughfare of this city. The assault and murder was one of the coldest-blooded crimes ever com mitted in Florida. At 10 o'clock Tuesday morning, Mrs. Taggart, who wax born and raised in this place and was a woman of'good family reputa tion, went fishing alone in a small row boat that she kept at the bridge over Piaeo creek. A few minutes before noon, desiring to return home, she rowed her boat to the bridge and made it. fast. A negro was fishing from the bridge at the time. Mrs. Taggart started 7lome and had pro ceeded only a few steps in the swamp toward the open prairie and thence to the street, when she was aj>- proached by Rochelle, who had been hiding in the swamp. He seized her and she broke loose and ran from the swamp into the prairie, where he overtook her. After the assault, while she was prostrate, he held her with his hands and knees and, taking his knife from his pocket, cut her throat from ear to ear, causing instant death. He then walked to the negro who had been fishing on the bridge, and who was thoroughly frightened, and asked him what he should do with the body. He was told to leave it where it was, but, unmindful of this request, he took the bleeding form in his arms and carried it back to the swamp, threw it down and escaped into the interior of the swamp. In a few minutes the crime had been reported and in less than an hour practically the entire city was in arms and a well armed poase was moving in every direction in search of the criminal. In the morning no trace of the ne gro had been secured and the people were becoming more determined to apprehend him, as the chances for his final escape seemed to grow. About noon a courier arrived announcing that the negro hail been captured by two other negroes; two miles south of the city. Posses were immedi ately, on the trail, but the capturers evaded detection and succeeded in getting their prisoner into the city and in turning him over to the sheriff of Polk county. In less than ten minutes after the transfer had been made the streets became congested with people and the crowd, augment ed as it marched, moved on the jail. In spite of the sheriff and a strong guard of extra deputies who made every effort to protect him from mob violence, they secured the prisoner and took up the march to the scene of the crime. He was half dragged, half carried to the bridge, enveloped by a great throng of people of all ages, who were resolute and determined, but qui'-t and orderly. Scream after scream broke from the wretch's quiv ering lips, followed by groans and prayers for mercy. At the bridge the mob turned toward the prairie and then into the swamp and to the scene of the negro's crime. By com mon consent burning was to be the penalty. There were no ropes, no plans for lynching by hanging. The stake was the only suggestion as to the proper expiation of the crime, and without organized effort and yet with apparently unanimous understanding a barrel was in readi ness and was placed by the stake on the very spot where Mrs. Taggart was assaulted and murdered. On this the negro was placed and chained to the He pleaded for mercy, but in the great crowd around him silence was the only re sponse. There were no jeers, swear ing, no disorder. Before the chains around his body hail been made fast, cans of kerosene oil were passed to the front and one of the leaders stepped to the negro and slowly poured it upon him and his clothes until clothes and barrel were well saturated. It was then 6 o'clock. The crowd was growing and business in the city had practically been suspended. When the match was applied the blaze quickly leaped skyward. The burn ing body could be seen only as a dark object in the eivcle of a roaring flame. Then the fire slackened and the writhing body came back in full view, but already the groans had ceased and the only evidence of life was in the contortions of the muscles of the limbs. For 15 minutes the body burned and in a half hour from the minute of the application of the match only the charred bones were left as a reminder of the negro'# crime and his fate. Horse Thief Suicides. St. Joseph, Mo., May 30.— E. 11. Lam berson, who was arrested here Tues day flight after he had stolen a horse and buggy, and who committed sui cide while on the way to the police station, proves to have been a promi nent resident of Wallace, Mo., and also to have been the superintendent of a Methodist Sunday-school. Cannot Hope to Succeed. London, May 3D.—Commenting edi torially on the agitations in Germany and Austria for a combination against American commercial competition, the Times says:"The sole hope for pan-Europe, according to these writ ers, is to imitate Napoleon and intro duce the continental system agafost the United States. it, must be owned that the precedent is rather disheart ening. If the continental system failed in Napoleon's iron grasp, it would hardly succeed in the hands of our old friend, the concert of Eu rope." MEMORIAL DAY IN GOTHAM. A military I'aruilr, Addresses al l.riuil'« Tomb and (h« Dedication oi tbe llnil ol' Fame- New York, May 31.—Although there were threatening' signs of rain throughout tlie early part of yester day the Memorial clay exercises in this city were carried out with more than usual interest. The events of the day's program were the military parade, which was reviewed at Madi son square by Uov. Odell and Mayor Van Wyek, the exercises at Grant's tomb, where Wu Ting Fang made an address, and the dedication of the Hall of Fame at New York university, at which Senator Chauncey M. De pew delivered an oration. The parade included the Old Guard acting as an escort to Gov. Odell, sev eral detachments of United States regulars, a number of military or ganizations, a battalion of United States marines and all the local posts of the (5. A. It. In all there were about 15,000 men in line. A feature of the parade was the tiring of a sa lute by the naval post opposite the statue of Farragut in Madison square. At Grant's tomb, Wu Ting Fang, the Chinese minister, in accordance with instructions given by Li llung Chang some years ago, placed an offering of flowers 011 the stone coffin containing the general's remains. The ceremonies of the dedication of the Hall of Fame were opened with prayer. Senator M. Depew then delivered the oration. Following the oration. Chancellor MacCraeken, of New York university, in an address made formal declara tion of the opening of the hall. The unveiling of the tablets was then begun, as follows: Washington tablet, by the Society of the Cincinnati. Lincoln tablet, by the Military Or der of the Loyal Legion. Webster tablet, by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Franklin tablet, by Colonial Damps. Jefferson tablet, by the Sons of the American Revolution. Clay tablet, by the Daughters of the Revolution. Adams tablet, by the Sons of the Revolution. Grant tablet, by the Grand Army of the Republic. Farragut tablet, by the National Association of NavaJ Veterans. Lee tablet, by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Marshall tablet, by the American Bar association. Kent tablet, by the Bar Association of New York. Story tablet, by the American Academy of I'olitieal and Social Sci ence. Peabody tablet, by representatives of the Peabody educational fund. Cooper tablet. Stuart tablet, by the National Academy of Design. Fulton tablet, by the American So ciety of Civil Engineers. Morse tablet, by the lnstitute l nstitute of Electrical Engineers. Whitney tablet, by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Audubon tablet, by the American Society of Naturalists. Gray tablet, by the Botanical Soci ety of America. Edwards tablet, by John Willis Baer, of the Society of Christian Endeavor. Mann tablet, by the National Edu cational association. Beecher tablet, by the Y. M. C. A. ("banning tablet, by the New Eng land society. Emerson tablet, by the Ne-w Y'ork Normal college. Hawthorne tablet. Irving tablet, by the Wadleigh high school. Longfellow tablet, by the Brooklyn Girls' high school. AN EXPENSIVE PEST. Green Pru Luuno < aimed 81,000,000 Lom lo Farmer* In lOOUand Jlay ICx reed flint Amount This Year. Washington, May 31.—The depart ment of agriculture has issued a re port oij the ravages of the green pea louse, giving warnii%* that this insect, one of the most, important of those which ravaged the crops of the coun try during the past two seasons, will widen its range geographically and increase the amount of destruction. Since its first appearance in May, 1899, at Bridges, Va., its devastation has steadily increased end it has now be come the cause of great loss in the principal pea growing regions of the United States. The estimated loss it caused along the Atlantic coast states in 1S9!) is estimated at $3,000,000, and in 1900 this had reached $4,000,000 by the middle of June. In some farsm in Maryland SO per cent, or more of the crop was destroyed. Vigorous ef forts are making to control its spread and the otlicial bulletin gives a de tailed description of means of fight ing it. memorial Fountain Dedicated. Americus, Ga„ May 31. —A wiemorial fountain over the Providence .spring in the Andersonville prison stockade, was dedicated yesterday in the pres ence of a large crowd. National Commander James At vv<4 "> °f the Na tional Association of Union ex-Pris oners of War, unveiled the tablet, which bears the inscription: "This fountain was erected by the National Association of Union ex- Prisoners of War in memory of the 53,345 Union soldiers who were con fined here as prisoners of war, and of the 13,900 comrades who died and whose remains were buried in the ad joining national cemetery." Beat tbe lleeord with u Fatal Throw. Meriden, (Jonn., May 31. —The an nual athletic meet of the Irish-Amer ican Athletic association, which was held here Thursday, was marred by an accident which it is thought will be fatal. In the hammer throw John Flanagan, the holder of the world's record, threw the 16-pound hammer through a fence surrounding the grounds and the weight struck Henry Dierle on the head, fracturing his skull. Dierle's chances for life are slim. The actual throw to the spot where the man stood was 178 feet 6 inches, beating the old world's record by nine inches. THE CUBAN QUESTION. idoptlon ol' the Flutt Amendment Opens l'|> u Neiv »erlcs ol' Trouble* some Problems. Washington, May 31.—An important conference on Cuban relations took place at the White House Thursday afternoon. There were present with President McKinley, Secretary Root, Senator O. 'll. I'latt, chairman of the senate committee on relations with Cuba, and Senator Spooner, of Wis consin. For more than an hour and a half the situation in Cuba was considered and when the conference broke up no determination had been reached. The president and his advisors must determine whether the Piatt amend ment has been "substantially" adopt ed by the Cuban convention. This is preliminary to the withdrawal of the United States authority and forces from Cuba. If it should be found that the interpretation of the conven tion is not satisfactory to this govern ment, quite a difficult problem arises, as it. seems to be the intention of the Cubans to proceed to form a gov ernment, and that government, must be recognized or rejected by the president, as he has full power to de termine whether the act of congress has been complied with by the con vention. Another problem which has been discussed by those interested in Cu ban affairs relates to what would follow should the new Cuban govern ment be recognized. The Cuban government, it is asserted, will be for some time without the machinery to execute its own laws and putin operation its own edicts. It is held by some lawyers that the moment the Cuban government is recognized the authority of the United States ceases, and there is some question as to who would be responsible for the preservation of law and order, as the new government would have no troops and no police force and would be practically powerless should there be any opposition to its decrees. The question whether United States forces would be warranted in uphold ing the government in executing its orders has been raised; also whether the president of the United States would be authorized to give orders to our troops further than their re call from foreign territory. DECIDE TO REVISE CREED. Important Action la Taken by the Presbyterian (General Assembly. Philadelphia, May 28. —By unani mous vote the Presbyterian general assembly yesterday adopted the re port of the special committee on the revision of the confession of faith. The debate on this important ques tion had extended into the fourth day and to Rev. James D. Moffatt is due the credit of having brought the com missioners to such a harmonious con clusion. When recommendation B was, on Saturday, adopted by a com paratively small majority Mr. Moffatt announced that in view of the diver gency of opinion he would offer an amendment which he hoped would meet with the approval of the entire assembly. When he presented this amendment yesterday it was instant ly adopted by the commissioners and the adoption of the report as a whole followed with but little delay. The report of the special commit tee on judicial commissions was first and was adopted. This report recom mends the establishment of a perma nent judicial commission to which shall be referred all judicial cases which the general assembly does not elect to try before the whole body. There will be no appeal from the de cisions of this commission. New York was selected as the meet ing place for the next general as sembly. Philadelphia, May 29.—The 113 th Presbyterian general assembly was dissolved last night by Moderator Minton, after having been :n session for nearly two weeks, during which time many matters of the utmost im portance to the church were consid ered. HOBSON'S IDEA. He Would Have May HO Observed as Memorial Hay by the South as Well as the North. Detroit, Mich., May 31. —Capt. Rich mond I'. Hobson, famous for sinking the collier Merrimac in Santiago har bor during the Spanish-American war, was the center of attraction yester day to about 2,000 people at the Lake Orion assembly, an inttvr-denomina tional resort about 35 miles from De troit. Ihe event was a Memorial day service and the opening of the assembly. Capt. Hobson made an addreas, which was characterized by eulogies of the soldiers of the civil and Span ish-American wars who gave up their lives in the cause of humanity. Capt. Hobson said: "I wish that the states of the south would all adopt this day for Memo rial day for the Confederate dead and that the custom would begin ami be come general for the south to invite citizens of the north to come south, and for the north to invite citizens of the south to come north, to join together in one spirit in a com mon memorial celebration for the gallant dead of both sides." Two Veterans Suicided. Chicago, May 31.—Two veterans of the civil war chose Memorial day as the time for ending their lives. They were Allen Knapp. found lying in his office with an empty morphine bottle by his side, despondent because of lost fortune: Martin Tiffany, of Mankato, Mich., took carbolic acid in Garfield park; motive unknown. Prefer Slavery to Freedom. London. May 31.—Ninety-eight per cent, of the slaves of Zanzibar and Pemba prefer to remain slaves,accord ing to correspondence issuetl by the foreign office concerning the working of the decrees freeing slaves. Few er slaves applied for freedom in 1900 than in 1899. Most of the slaves know they ore not likely to gain much present f.dvantage, seeing that those who were thrown on their own resources have a ditlicult time to make a living. The masters haT» been kinder since the slave lejisl* tion was enacted MVESJMID. A California Mob Disposes of Five People. SWUNG FROM BRIDGES. Were Charged with a Series of Petty Larcenies. AN EARLY MORNING RAID. A (itn; or About 50 Ite;:ulatorn Went to the Hotel W lirre Their Victim* Were I ndpr Uuurd, Tuuk Tliem to it Hrldjfe unci Suuiiji Tliem Oil*. Bieber, Cal., June I.—Details have been received here of the lynching 1 of five men at Lookout, Modoc county, early Friday morning. The lynched were Calvin Hall, 7:2 years of age; his three half-breed sons, Frank, •lames and Martin, aged respectively 26, l'j and 10, and 15. 1). Yantis, aged 27. The men lynched had been sus suspected of petty stealing for some time. Last Saturday they were ar rested for stealing barb wire, pieces of harness and some hay forks. A search warrant was issued and the harness and forks were found in the houses of Hall and Yantis, who were taken into custody and brought to Lookout, where they were being held awaiting examination and trial. Sunday and for several days follow ing other searches were instituted and halters, dishes and table linen, which had been taken from clothes lines were found hidden on the prem ises of the suspected parties. The charge against the elder Hall was petit larceny for stealing the forks. His trial was to occur Friday. The others were held in custody as they were unable to furnish bail in the sum of S3OO. Pending examination they were being held in the Lookout hotel by Constable Carpenter, assist ed by It. Nichols, J. W. Brown and S. Goyette. The two former stood guard till midnight and the two latter took their places after midnight. Friday morning about 2 o'clock, a mob, variously estimated at from 30 to 30 people, suddenly made their appearance at the hotel and, pointing their guns at the two officers oil guard, commanded them to observe silence while they secured the live prisoners, placed ropes around theii* necks and dragged them toward the bridge which crosses Pitt river. They compelled the two guards to accom pany them. FranK Hall made sueli strong resistance that the mol> hanged him —before it got to the main bridge—under a small bridge crossing a deep slough. The others were taken to the main bridge and Calvin Hall, the father, was hanged on the north side and Yantis and the other Hall boys were hanged on the south side of the bridge. A Destructive storm. Dawson, Ga., June 1. —A terrific wind and hail storm visited Dawson yesterday doing much damage. The storm struck the northern portion of the city, completely destroying a large amount of valuable property. The roofs were blown off several fac tories and warehouses, exposing their contents to the weather. The Daw son oil mill plant is partially de stroyed, the refinery being a total wreck. The wind totally destroyed many buildings, including a new church that has just been completed and leaving the Odd Fellows' hall a mass of ruins. A llattle at Vladfoiiteln, London, June I.—On the anniver sary of Lord Roberts* entry into Jo hannesburg the country was startled by the receipt of news of desperate lighting and heavy British losses within 40 miles of the Gold Reef city. The battle at Vladfontein, reported by Lord Kitchener on Friday, is the most serious engagement since Gen. Clements' reverse at Magaliesburg. The garrison of Vladfontein, appar ently largely composed of yeomanry, had 147 men put out of action. The lloers under Gen.. Delarey left 33 dead on the battlefield. Looiitl* Will Not (io Back. Washington, June I.—lt is officially admitted that Minister Loomis will not return to Venezuela. There are two reasons for this decision. In the first place Mr. Loomis suffered in health at his uncongenial post, and in the second place the president is not disposed to expose him again to the merciless attacks he suffered in Venezuela as a result of the execution of the orders of the state department. Mr. Loomis, who is now in Europe seeking to recuperate, will be given another diplomatic post as soon as a suitable place can be found. Voted to Strike. Buffalo, N. Y., June 1. —Interest in the machinists' strike in Buffalo yes terday centered about the answer of the New York Central to its 400 em ployes in that trade at Depew, who demanded a 10 per cent, increase in wages, togo into effect to-day. The Central's reply was handed to the ma chinists last evening, n meeting was called and it was voted to strike. .llacliiiilnt* strike. Chicago, June 1. —Chicago's machin ists' strike began Friday. More than 1,000 men quit in various shops be cause the employers refused to sig-n the agreement for a 12'/ a per cent, in crease in wages and a nine-hour day. An important development in the situation was the inauguration of a. sympathetic strike by the metal workers. UcslsnatloiiH Itejected. Columbia, S. C., June I.—Gov. Me- Sweeney has rejected the resigna tions of Senators Tillman and McLau rin, to give them time to reconsider. 3
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers