Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, June 08, 1889, Image 1

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    " '
Transient Advertisements,
INCLUDING
WANTS, TO LETS, FOR SALES. ETC.-, FOR
TO-MORROW'S ISSUE
Should be handed in at the main advertising
office of The Dispatch. Fifth avenue, np to
midnight.
3'
'FORTY-rOUBTH TEAR
f
I
fOne of the Coroner's
Jurymen Galls the
Destroyed Dam
A GREAT DEATH TRAP.
Rumors of Damage Suits
Before a Verdict is
Rendered.
DENOUNCED BY EXPERTS.
.Two Famous Engineers Make a
Si Thorough Examination of
the Ruins.
JEALOUSY DOES ITS WORK.
A Number of Undertakers
and Policemen Re
turn Home.
THE DEATH ROLL 15,000.
Many of the Volunteers Becoming Dlscour
nged nt the ImmenUyol the Worlt Be
fore Them Poor Sanitary Condition of
tbe Demolished City Cremation the
Only Remedy Remaining Great Work
and Generosity or the Undertakers
About a Olany Workers Leaving as
There Are Arriving Tbe SnrrlTors'
Registry List Very Much Smaller Than
on Previous Days Damage Suits Be-
"ported Already Entered Against the
Reservoir Owners The Coroner's Ver
dict Withheld for the Present.
t
tTBOK X STATF COKEISrOlfDKKT.l
Johnstown, June 7. Three hundred
sni
d eighty feet at the top, 125 feet at the
bottom and 75 feet deep. That is the ae-
cription of the break in the reservoir.
l &. resiaent oi tne neignooraoou hiu u
that when the Pennsylvania anal
Evened the lake they had it perforated at
The Bed Crott Report! for Duty-Mitt
Barton, President.
Clara
II Oil
r . -.. fc-sg.
the bottom by a number of pipes under the
. stone wall, but the present owners closed
the rents so that the fish could not escape.
Twelve feet of "sipsap" on the -water side
was all the stonework. The rest was an
earth bank. "When the waters burst through
,the wall of earth an arch was left over the
hole, but soon crumbled and fell.
The verdict of the Coroner's jury will
not be issued for several days, but when it
appears it is expected to be a severe one.
In tbe interval Coroner Hammer is obtain
ing legal advice from his attorney, A. D.
HcConnell.
Coroner Ehrenfeld, of Armstrong county,
and Coroner Barber, ot Indiana county, are
also holding inquests.
.It is reported a number of damage suits
have already been entered, but this could
not be confirmed. On Monday the County
Commissioners of the immediately inter
ested counties will hold a meeting to call
upon the Governor to convene the Legisla
ture in special session, to grapple with the
difficulty. Commissioner Thompson, of
"Westmoreland, says it is costing that
county $500 a day to build bridges and make
other needed repairs, and he expects the
total cost to be 75,000.
. The papers in 285 cases were made out to
.'day by Coroner Hammer, of Westmore
- land. One of the jurymen said to-day the
dam was the greatest deathtrap he ever saw
in his life. Isbaee.
D0CT0RSDISAGREE.
ANeir York Expert Thinks That an Uonsnnl
Rainfall Was Necessary to Wreak
, Such Destruction as That of
Last Friday The Idea
of One Wan.
TBOM A ETXTT CORKES FONDEST.
Johnstown, June 7. Something
authoritative about the South Pork dam
will be read with interest, especially when
it comes from so eminent an authority as
Engineer Brinkerhoff, of New York. That
gentleman was sent to the scene of the
.disaster on a special mission from the New
. lTAfB KnnfM.-uMj. ..a. . XY7.1 .. Tin... ..f
L?ellftrirA lk 41.- fa J- ilf 4Vhi. Binmt.
: . " W aanVW Ae SWClM3
Bcasurements- of .thc.remnsnts of the dam,
V,
-r
securing a sketch thereof, and iu addition
the -delicate and arduous mission of for
mulating an opinion on the character and
stability of the dam from an expert stand
point. In company with Mr.-Hugh Kennedy,
Superintendent of the Isabella furnace at
Sharpsburg, Mr. Brinkerhoff spent the en
tire day of Thursday at South Fork, and
took accurate measurements of the dam and
bestowed a most careful and
' Exhnustlve Examination
upon the surroundings. The detailed re
sults of his work will be reproduced at
length, with his sketches on the spot, in the
journal of the current issue.
In conversation with Superintendent
Kirtland, of the "West Penn, Mr. Brinker
hoff gave the following as a hasty opinion
of the situation: His measurements showed
Booth A JKnn'l Ucadqtiartert.
the
feet,
The
water
leDgth of -the dam at 900
and the height as 80 feet
opening through which the
hurst he found to be 60 feet" in
dej)th
and 350 feet wide, thus show
ing that exadtlv seven- eighteenths of the
dam was swept away by the waters. He
measured the waste opening, and seemed of
the opinion that it was amply adequate for
the discharge of the amount of water which
would be generated by an average rain
fall. Strongly Built Dam.
As to the material of which the dam was
composed, Engineer Brinkerhoff stated that
he found the stone footing of the dam had
been strongly built, and from the remaining
portion of the dam he seemed
of the opinion that the puddling of
bine and yellow clay was extremely
substantial. From these facts he arrived at
the conclusion that the water would never
have burst through the dam but for the over
flow and consequent disintegration of the
outer face of the structure. The fact that
less than one-third of the dam yielded
to the pressure of the rushing .waters seemed
to his mind another argument in favor of
his deduction that the dam was soundly con
structed, and only gave way under circum
stances beyond the possibility of human
control. "Waxes.
AN INFERIOR DAM,
Engineering Experts Say Such a Structure
Would Dave Been Contrary to the
Practices of Thirty Years
Ago Wherein it
- Wns Weak,
rnr associated msess.3
Johnstown, June 7. Mr- A M. .Well
ington, with F. P. Burt, associate editor
of the Engineering JfetM, of New York, has
just completed an examination of the dam
which cansed the great disaster here. Mr.
"Wellington states that the dam was in
every respect of very inferior construction
and of a kind wholly unwarranted
by goodfengineering practices of 30 years
ago. Both the original and the recon
structed dams were of earth only, with no
heart walljbutonly riprapped on the slopes.
The original dam, however, was made in
ramnietf and watered layers which still show
distinctly in the wrecked dam. The new
end greatly added to its stability, but it was
to all appearance simply dumped in like an
ordinary railroad fill, or if rammed, shows
no evidence of good effect from it.
The New Part Not at All Strong.
Much of the old part ,is standing intact,
while adjacent parts of the new work are
wholly carried off. There was no central
wall of puddle or masonry, either in the
new or old dam. It has been tbe invariable
practice of engineers for 30 or 40 years to
use one or the other, if building high dams
of earth. It is doubtful if there is a single
other dam or reservoir in any other part of
the United States of over 50 feet high which
lacks this central wall. The reconstructed
dam also bears the mark of great ignorance
or carelessness, being made nearly two ieet
lower in the middle than at the ends. It
should rather have crowned in the middle,
which would have concentrated tbe overflow.
Interior of the II. S. Church.
if it should occur, at the ends instead of in
the center. Had the break begun at the
ends the cut of the water would have been
so gradual that
Iilttle or No Barm
might have resulted. Had the dam been
at once cut at the ends when the water be
gan rnnning over the center, the sudden
bieak of the dam would have been at least
greatly diminished, possibly prolonged, so
that little barm would have resulted.
The crest of the old dam had not been
raised in the reconstru6tion of 1881. The
old overflow channel through the rock still
remains, .but owing to the crest in the mid
dle of the dam, only five feet of water in it
instead of seven feet was necessary to run
wr.ter over the crest, and the rock spillway,
narrow at best, had been further contracted
by a close grating to prevent the escape of
fish, capped by a good-sized timber, and In
some slight degree also by a trestle foot
bridge. The. original discharge pipes at
the foot of the dam had been
Permanently Closed
when reconstructed, and this, while a
minor matter compared to the other men
tioned, further reduced the possible rate of
maximum discharge.- The net effect' of all.
w
these differences of condition was that the
dam as it stood was not much .safer against
excessive floods, apart from its inferior con
struction, than the original dam would
have been with a crest -only- Zi to 4 feet
high above the bottom of the rock spillway,
instead oi 7 feet
Ii is impossible to say if the riprapping
of tbe new -part of the dam was as good as
the old or not, since it has not been wholly
carried away. A large amount of the old
riprapping and slope wall still .remains in
tact, and is of excellent quality. It does
not appear that there was any great amount
ol leakage through the dam before it broke.
Destruction came from water flowing over
the top.
A Reflection on the Builders.
Mr. Wellington said that no" engineer of
known and good standing for such work
could possibly have been engaged on it,
since in the particulars mentioned it violated
the most elementary and universally under
stood requirements of good practice. He did
not believe that any other dam of equal
height had ever been constructed in this
country wholly of earth without some kind
of special protection against leakage or
abrasion by water in the center of the dam.
The-estimates of the original dam indicate
that it was made about half earth and half
rock, but if so there was little evidence of it
in the breaking dam. The riprapping was
merely a skin on each face, with more or
less loose epauis mixed with tie earth. The
dam was 72 feet above water, 2 to 1 inside
slope, K to 1 outside slope, 2 feet wide on
top. The rock throughout was about 1 foot
below the surface. The earth was
Pretty Good Material for Snch a Dam
if it was to be built at all, being of a
clayey nature, making good puddle. To'
this the fact of its standing Intact since
1881 must be ascribed, as no engineer of
The Pottoffice That Wat.
standing would have, ever tried. to so con
struct it. The fact that the dam was a re
construction of one after over 20 yean'
abandonment made it especially hard on
the older part of TSje dam to withstand the
pressure of the water.
Wr. "Wellington left for Pittsburg this
evening.
HOMES P0R THE QEPHANS.
One Prospect Hill Family Adopts 17 Home
less Little Ones.
rrEOM X BTXTT COKEESPONbEST.-j
Johnstown, June 7.WiUiam Bam-,
gayest Pittsburg, Is here as'tC represent
tive of the Pittsburg Cbamberof Commerce,
to aid the-ladies of the Philadelphia Chil
dren's Aid Society. He has found already
nearly 100 destitute children to be cared
for During his tour on Prospect Hill he dis
covered one family that had six children of
! w and had adopted six of one
family and eleven of another, which
had been left homeless. Thewaifs average
not more than ten years of age. When Wm.
Tne Opera Home, At it It.
Bamsay entered the house two tables were
set with 20 plates. The family, named
Cronin, claims to be able to care for them.
Bev. Father Trautwine, of Johnstown,
whose home was originally in the Twenty
fourth ward, Pittsburg, is also gathering up
homeless children and having them cared
for. Superintendent Sogers, of the Juno
ville school, is here, and says he will be re
sponsible for hair a dozen children.
Simpsox.
THE KOIIBER OP IITES LOST.
Good Judges Say That Fully 15,000 People
" Must Bare Perished.
iraon x btxvt cobbespohdet.
Johkstowk, June 7. The last estimate
of 15,000 lives lost is looked upon by all as
about correct Bodies are still appearing
above the wreckage. Many dead have been
found to-day, which only increases the esti
mate heretofore made of the lost It is
thougbt that a bureau of statistics should
have been established, as many bodies were
carried away for burial before identification.
This, however, was a precautionary measure
taken to avoid, disease. In some of the im
provised morgues the list of dead bas been
very much underestimated.
In one church alone 35 bodies were re
ported to have been cared for, while a reli
able person says he kne it of 500 bodies being
taken there identified and claimed, before
any record could be made. If this is the
case there ia no doubt that the exact num
ber or even a fair estimate will never be
known. Katnz.
CEEMATION THE 0SLT KEHEDI.
It Must be Resorted to la Order to Save
" Precious litres,
ITSOK X BTXTT COKBESPOKDEKT.
Johnstowk, June 7. Sheriff McOand
less is here, taking an active part in affairs,
and is accomplishing much. His opinion,
after a careful view of the vast ruins, is that
fire is the only specific for the early clear
ance of the dangerous debris. He said to
me to-day:
Perhaps the friends and families of the miss
ing will not concur with mo ia this, but public
sentiment" must give way to public 'necessity.
Anyone sizing op this matter correctly can
OElr see the, tuter jolly of -.removing the large
x
Continued on Seventh page."
;.vy,ie-- v,'A,"--t
pBtei
PITTSBURG, SATURDAY,. JUNE, 8, .1889 TWELYE
DILLON ON THESTAlJft
Be Gives Some Sensational Evidence
Against Alex. Sullivan,
HIS TESTIMONY IS CONFIRMED
Bj a Larpe Number of the Other Witnesses
in the Case.
PEOGBESS OF THE CB0NIN INQUEST.
!' Two More Important Arrests Are Hide Bight la the
Open Court Eoom.
The testimony given before the Coroner'
jury in the Cronin case yesterday was of a
decidedly sensational character. Luke
Pillon and others made direct charges
against Alexander Sullivan. Otner wit
nesses told of frequently hearing Dr, Cronin
say that he believed Sullivan would have
him killed. Two more persons were put
under arrest
rSFECTU. TEUCQB-LM TO THE DISPATCH.!
Chicago, June 7. There were many
dramatic scenes and' sensational stories to
day in the official inquiry which Coroner
.Hertz is conducting in the Cronin case. The-
crowd at the door of Judge Shepard's room
was so 'great iu the morning that officers
were called. Like the testimony" taken at
previous sessions, the evidence to-day was
overwhelmingly against Alexander Sulli
van. Nearly every witness had heard Dr.
Cronin declare that the Irish leader was at
the bottom of a plot to' kill him. Amid
sensational scenes Luke Dillon, of Phila
delphia, scored Sullivan in bitter language.
.The spectators became intensely excited
at the recital. Once Sullivan's name was
hissed, and when Dillon denounced him as
being chief conspirator against the life of
Dr. Cronin there was an outburst of ap
plause which the bailiffs quickly suppressed.
Officer Daniel Brown, of Stanton avenue
station, was the first witness- He is the
man who, in 1884, preferred charges of
treason against Dr. Cronin. He did this,
he said, of his own volition. He swore to
the truth of the charges in the camp and
there his dnty ended.
He had based his charges of treason
against Dr. Cronin because the latter had
read a circular issued by an expelled camp.
The attempt of the witness to conceal work
ings of the Clan-na-Gael Society was so ap--parentthatthe
spectators laughed derisively.
ANOTHER SENSATION.
Then Coroner Hertz sprang a sensation.
He said.: "Now, Mr. Brown, I am going to,
ask a question which I asked you before,
and I want you to answer, remembering you
are on your oath. Tell this Jury whether
anyone spoke or wrote to you or suggested
to you about the preferring of those charges
against Dr. Cronin? "
Brown replied slowly, but firmly: "-No
one did." There was more in the maneuver
of 'the Coroner than was apparent at first
sight It was not for the jury to get a good
look at Brown that the Coroner made him
I stand .up. Jn the-, court . room,, with- ,-thejr
eyes fixed on the man as he stood clearly
outlined against the gray .light corning
through the large window, were Frank
Scanlan, Mrs. Conklin, Pat Dinan's hostler
and young Carlson. The officer was sus
pected of having been the man who droye
Dr. Cronin to the slaughter house, on Ash
land avenue.
"Did you ever go to Dinan's livery sta
ble, on the Korthside, and get a-horse and
buggy?" asked the coroner.
"I never did; I don't know where it is."
"What kind of a hat do you wear?"
"Sometimes a stiff hat and sometimes a
soft hat. I have got a soft hat here now."
"Get it and put it on." Brown did so,
and the coroner said: "Now stand up."
Brown stood on the little platform on which
the witness chair is placed. "Face the
jury." There was a dead silence of half a
minute it seemed five which the wit
nesses, who had seen the man who came to -Dr.
Cronin to go to his death, looked at him
from head to foot
SOMEWHAT NEETOUS.
Brown was by this time very nervous, but
he bore the ordeal well. Captain Schuettler
whispered to Chief Hubbard. The coroner
resumed his examination of the witness re
garding the charge of treason. Brown was
greatly confused and at times' showed great
anger. When he left the stand he was placed
under arrest
Luke Dillon was on the stand for an hour
, and a half during the afternoon. He will be
called again.
"Did he ever say anything to you about
being in danger?"
'He did. He told me that he thought
that the personal ambition of Alexander
Sullivan to control Irish and American
politics in this city would probably result
in his death. During the trial of Alexan
der Sullivan, Michael Bpland and Dennis
C. Feely, at Buffalo, on the charge of using
money of the organization without permis
sion of the home organization, Sullivan
protested against Cronin's acting on the
committee which tried him, and used'such
vile language toward Cronin that it was
thonght he would resort to harsher methods.
At one time I thought Cronin had Alex
ander Sullivan on the run. and that Sulli
van would not hurt him."
"Have you since changed your mind?"
"I have. From what I have since learned
I have a reason to' believe that , Alexander
Sullivan is responsible for, it not a princi
pal, in this murder. My reason is that the
language used by Sullivan wonld justify
one in supposing he would use other
methods."
AN EXOITED JURY.
As the witness uttered these words there
was great excitement in the court room.
The jurors' leaned forward with facesstream
ing with perspiration. "I heard Sullivan,"
continued Mr. Dillon, "talk against Dr.
-Cronin in Buffalo, and a man who can use
the language whichhe did, would commit
murder, and Dr. Cronin thought so at the
time. It was at the trial of Snllivan,:Feely
and Boland for misappropriation of funds'
Dr. Cronin was on the jury to try him.
When Sullivan heard that Cronin was be to
on the jury, he broke loose and poured tbe
vilestof abuse on the head of Dr. Cronin."
Mr. Dillon then read a letter of protest
from Mr. Sullivan. The letter is directed
to the Clan-na-Gael, It covers six, or
seven pages of foolscap, and contains the
most vindictive vituperation of Dr. Cronin.
In the letter Sullivan says that Dr. Cronin
was a.personal enemy of his. was' a perjurer
ten times over, was a' scoundrel of the worst
sort, and a man unfit to sit on a jury. Dr.
CpnihhadtMr.,.SullivanJaid,. been tried;
arid'cenvic'teoY ofperiurv.'iaaiiv times .over..
w,w iL.rz ,cnr, iv .--.... . . i
ae was set oniy. au uusy.Emt' a; .witisfl such- r
"-;-;
ject, having sworn allegiance toHer Majesty
the Qttent and therefore a spy.
Bobert Hes was the next witness. He
said: "I am a lawyer, and had an office in
the. same, building, with Dr. Cronin. One
day he jtpld,ae he had .evidence that a con
spiracy was working against him. ,
BITTEE DENTrNCrATION.
He concluded by springing up from'.his
chair and saying: "Alexander 13ullivan is
as black as hades. They will try to ruin my
reputation, and failing in that, they will
seek my life."' 4
Luke Dillon was then recalled! "Do you
know JIcGeehan?" asked Foreman
Critchell.
"Fes, Blr."
"Is he in Chicago now?"
"Yes, sir; I saw him a moment ago."
"A moment ago?" exclaimed Critchell.
"Here in the courtroom?"
"Yes, sir; there he sits, right over there."
Everybody followed the directions of Mr.
Dillon's finger, and to the left of the heater
on tbe north wall sat a, sinewy, swarthy
man, shifting uneasily in his seat. He bad
been brought in a moment before by De
tective Crook. McQeehan was placed under
arrest. The inquiry will be resumed in the
morning.
ELECTRIC QUERENTS.
Ths Medico Legal Congress Discusses
Mcnns of Preventing Accidents An
Argument In Favor of a Penal
Colony In Alnskn.-
reriCIAL TEX.EOIUX TO THE CISPATCIt.l
New Yoek, June 7. The Medico-Legal
Congress in Steinway Hnll listened to-day
to a paper entitled, "A Medico-Legal View
of Electrical Distribution." Harold P.
Brown pictured a 'rosy onjtlook when
electricity shall have been pnt to all the
uses oi which it is capable. It was a fact
that if automatio apparatus ehould shut
down the currents at the instant the
first grounding of the current took
place or reduce the pressure below
the killing point, there would be no
more deaths from this cause. Such ap
paratus had been devised and exhibited,
but while it was easy to make safe the use
of a high tension continuous electric current
for use in incandescent lighting, it was not
possible by any apparatus yet invented to
protect human life against the alternating
current
"Legislative Control of Dangerous Elec
trical Currents" was tbe title of a paper by
Lawyer John Murray Mitchell, of this city,
who said: "It is not in my province to-day
to discuss what currents may be fatal -to'
human life, bnt rather to maintain that such
currents as have been, or may be, proved to
be dangerous,, even where the best insulation
has been employed, should riot be tolerated
in any place where they can cause
death or injury to the individual.
1 1 would divide electrical currents into two
classes, viz: harmless ana deadly. . For all
commercial purposes enrrents of snch low in
tensity can be used thatTho one,not even the
most sickly, could be injured thereby. The
question therefore resolves into this; Shall
we allow a dangerous electrical current to
be used when a safe one can do the same
work?"
Mr. Mitchell read a bill which he said he
proposed to introduce, into the Assembly
absolutely forbidding" the use of currents of
deadly electro-motive force, except for exe
cutions, scientific experiments and .the like.
Dr. H. S. Drayton, of this city, read a
paper entitled: "Shall we have an, Ameri
can Penal Colony. " Dr. Drayton argued
'that criminals are too much coddled and
that their proportionate number is .increas
ing. He suggested transporting them to
Alaska or its outlying islands.
A KEW KIND OP HUISAKOB.
One Now York Landlady Wants a Chinese
Laundry Abnted.
SPECIAL TXLEOBAM TO TBS DI8PATCB.1
New Yoek, June 7. Helen Adele Wess
man asked Judge Andrews to-day for an in
junction to restrain Henry J. MoGnckin
and Hop Wan from maintaining a laundry
at 1239 Third avenue. 'Mr. McGuckin is a
plumber and has been lessee for several
years past of the ground floor and basement
of the building. Lawyer B. L. Sweesey
told the Court that the sub-letting of one
half the store for a,laundry and particularly
a Chinese laundry was in violation of the
lease,and was detrimental to tbe satisfactory
renting of the upper stores. The steam, the
clatter of irons and the patter of wooden
shoes on the floor were drawbacks,and other
tenants complained.
A. J. Westermayer responded that the
only business prohibited in the lease was
the liquor business; that Hop Wah was a
converted Christian; that only one tenant
had complained, and that she was a dress
maker. The noise of flatirons, Mr. Wester
mayer said, was not worse than that pro
duced by sewing machines, especially when
the latter were -run on Sundays. Judge
Andrews gave the lawyers until Monday to
put in further affidavits.
INDEFIfliTELT POSTPONED.
Murderer Kcmmier Will Not be Executed by'
Electricity Just Yet.
rSrXCUL TSLSGBXU TO TBE DISPATCH.
. Buffalo, June 7. Wm. Kemmler's ex
ecution by electricity was to-day postponed
without date by the seryice on District At
torney Quinby of a notice of appeal. Law
yer Cockrao, of New York will soon apply
for a writ of habeas corpus on which to test
the power of the State to hold Kemmler
subject to suffering tbe electric death pen
alty. District Attorney Quinby says that
the appeal will cost the county several
thousand dollars and will, delay the execu
tion several months.
Kemmler has no funds to pay the ex
penses of these proceedings, and people are
curious to learn whether other murderers
better fixed, financially or the electrie light
folks are going to pay the costs.
HARRISON'S CLEMENCY. ,
The President Commutes tbe Sentcnco of
Two Southern Murderers.
Washington, June 7. The President
has commuted to imprisonment for life the
sentence of death imposed in the case of
Henry W. Miller, convicted in Arkansas in
February last of murder, and sentenced to
be hanged, The President says in his in
dorsement that there are circumstances in
this case which makes him unwilling to
confirm the death penalty.
The President has also commuted to im
prisonment for life tbe death, sentence im
posed in the case of George Brashears, con
victed in Arkansas, of murdei.
GIVEN TO THE J0RY.
The Pate of the Alleged TJmberger Assas
sins la Their IIand.
Somesset, June 7. The TJmberger
"murder case was given to the jury this
evening at 7 o'clock, after occupying the
court eight days. Hon.'W. H. Koontz
made the principal argument for the ac
cused. It was a masterly effort
- The closing argument to the jury was
made' by Hon. John Cessna, of Bedford,
and is said to be the most powerful and 'able
argument ever made in a Somerset court
room. nWM AT HOME &ST "&&&
article in to-Btomne'jVDHrATCJl, in tsMoft the.
Jir tat Italian, actor' t AsfiM Ufe it ' deterfbed n a
,i0iy tnteretmg memwr,
mvmb
PAGES.
MILLEK FOR JUSTICE.
He is Practically Certain to Go Upon
the Supreme Bench.
GOFF WILL GO IN THE CABINET.
A Delay Caused hy the West Tirginia Elec
tion Contest. -
PUBLIC PKINTEB PALMER'S POSITION
Is by Ko Means a Bed of Roses, Because ot Office
. Seeking Congressmen.
From all indications Attorney General
Miller will be elevated to the" Supreme
Court It is believed that General Goff, of
West Virginia, will be his successor in the
Cabinet His Gnbernatorial contest must
show signs of settlement first, however.
Public Printer Palmer is being much wor
ried by office seekers, particularly Congress
men who have friends.
fSPIClAL TELIOILOI TO TBS DtSPATCH.1
Washington, June 7. It is decided
almost beyond a donbt that Attorney Gen
eral Miller will be appointed to the Supreme
Bench as the successor of the late Justice
Matthews. This is given upon the au
thority of an Iridianan, a friend .of the
President, whose business it has been for'
some time to quietly take the sense
of the public in regard to the ap
pointment of Mr. Miller. He claims
to have discovered that the elevation of the
Attorney General to the Supreme Bench
would be very acceptable to businessmen
and the legal fraternity.
He arrived here yesterday and gave the
result of his inquiries to the. President,
and was assured that Mr. Miller
would be appointed. The same au
thority assures the correspondent of
The Dispatch that Miller would have
been appointed some time ago had General
Goff, of West Virginia, been in a position
to abandon the contest in his State. Until
that is finally decided no appointment will
be made.
The prospects are, however, that he will
soon have his case so far ofrhis hands as to
be able to take up the portfolio of the At
torney General when Miller lays it down
for the Supreme Bench.
NOT A SrNECUBE.
Frank W. Palmer has not been in office
more than five weeks, but he has already
begun to find that a public office as a public
trust is not a sinecure by any means. Since
the time the civil service law was made to
apply to the other departments the Pnblic
Printing Office has been the dumping
ground for ail the political refuse that comes
to Washington. Every Congressman who
has a friend seeking an office, however in
competent he may be, looks to the Public
Printerto get him a place, and the more in
competent the more likely he is to be taken
to that office.
There are not many pnblic men in town
now, but those who are here have besieged
Mr. Palmer day by day with applications
forplace .for friends and constituents of
.theirs: jh'the day vthat he took charge" of
the office Representative Peters, o'f Kansas,
made his appearance with an application
for office, and since that time Mr. Peters
has visited him more than once. Other
members of. the House and Senate have
called upon him to "help them out, and if he
made all.the. changes that are requested of
him he would turn the Publio Printing
Office upside down once a month.
The Public Printer's position is a very
difficult one to 11, and it is one that is not
very well paid for the -responsibilities that
its possessor assumes. Mr. Palmer draws
only 54,500 a year, less than any member of
the Cabinet and he has more work to do
and more bother than any two of them. If
Mr; Palmer succeeds in passing through the
trials and ordeals of the next four years
without incurring the enmity not only of
tbe Democrats in both houses of Congress,
but or the members of his own party in
public life, he will have done better than
any of his predecessors.
WOEK IN PLENTY.
When Congress is. in session there is an
enormous number ot public documents sent'
down to the Public Printer. They consist
ot reports from committees, reports from the
departments made to the two Houses of
Congress, and other documents. Many of
them are. illustrated, many contain costly
maps. Some of them come to him with the
injunction upon them that they are needed
immediately and thesehe will push forward
to the neglect of other work.
Meantime, one of the departments has
probably sent down some important work
which should be issued in a very short per
iod it it is to be of any avail and several
Senators and members of Congress have
come in with immediate orders for their
speeches, which must be printed by the
Pnblic Printer at their expense, for circula
tion. The Public Printer is urged to hurry
this piece of work and push that one along.
If the Congressman does not get his speeches
he is offended; it the bead of the department
does not get his publioatiou he feels that he
has cause of complaint, and Congress must
not be neglected for Congress makes the ap
propriations which keep the PnblicPrin ting
Office going.
In the midst of all this hurrying word
comes from some one of the contractors who
were to furnish so many tons of white paper
that be is unable to supply it, and that he
stands ready to pay a money forfeit The
Public Printer must go into the public mar
ket and obtain the paper if he can. If he
cannct obtain it he incurs the enmity of all
these people whom it is so necessary he
should make his friends. There is an enor
mous amount of unnecessary printing done
in the Public Printing Office, and all of
this, of course, .interferes with the neces
sary work.
SUBEOUNDED BY SPIES.
It is not generally known that therPublic
Printer is surrounded by spies and black
legs. There is. hardly an ' incumbent of the
office who does not learn soon after he takes
charge of it, that his every action is
watched, with a view to placing him at a
disadvantage. Bidders who fail to get im
portant contracts, and who are watching for
evidence agafnst the more fortunate con
tractors or against the Pnblic Printer in
connection with 'the contract giving, obtain
employment in .some devious way. for per
sons who will report to them whether or not
the Public Printer is requiring contractors
-to deliver material of the required quality.
These are not the only . people, though,
who have .ulterior objects in obtaining em,
ployment for persons in the Publio Printing
Office. Money lenders who are forbidden
entrance to the departments have their rep-,
resentatives there, discounting the salaries
of employes at enormous rates of interest
Another Editor n theldst.
Washington, June 7. James H.
Stone, appelated CeUtetor of Internal Bev-
.enue for the First district of Michigan, is at
present eaiter si u uetroit Tnoune.
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READY TOREBUILD,
The People of the. Stricken City of Seattle
Exhibit True Pluck A Proclamation
'Prom 'the Governor Calling
for Aid Tbe Total Loss
and Insurance.
Poetland, Oee., June 7. Late dis
patches from Seattle state that the loss
from fire yesterday will not fall short of
$10,000,000. It is estimated that the total
insurance will reach all the way from
51,500,000 to $4,000,000. Already
in many places the workmen
have begun to grade and to clean up pre
paratory to rebuild. Many of the mer
chants have secured quarters in the resb
dence portion.of the city, and are open this
morning with the remnants of their stock
from fire.
The people have decided to rebuild the
city with brick and stone. This decision
was reached quickly and almost unani
mously at a meeting held this morning.
All companies of tbe First Regiment are
out guarding the damaged property, and
preventing the pilfering of the merchandise
or home furnishings. The city is quiet and
everybody hopeful. Governor Miles C.
Moore has just issued a proclamation in
which he says:
The city of Seattle Is in ashes. A hurricane
of fire swept over the queenly city, and she is
in ruins. Thousands of her citizens are without
food or shelter. Nothing can subdue the spirit
of her people. She will rise again. In her
aesoiauon .sue is not a supplicate, out uiera
are homeless people to be sheltered, and hun-
cry ones to be
be i
ed. I anneal to the ereat-
hearted Tieonla of our Territory, wl
cently so generously responded to the. cry of
eariea people oi our xemiory, wno as-re ie
opl
distress from Johnstown, to heed this anneal
for aid for their own suffering fellow-citizens.
The record of losses will include every
business man of prominence in town. It is
a dreadful calamity from which few have
escaped. All the citizens made a common
cause with the firemen in the power
less fight It had been predicted by
insurance men time and again that the
city would some time be swept by fire, and
only the wind from the north and north
east, which kept np steady blowing and
drove the flames into the bay,
saved that part of the city north
of Union street This leaves good
wharf room cutside of the burned district,
and sparing the homes of a large number of
the poorer people, who had all their earthly
possessions within the wooden walls ol their
humble huts.
Engines were sent from Portland, Tacoma
and Victoria and reached the scene with all
possible haste, but on arrival could accom
plish very little toward checking the
speed of the flames. Tacoma cititens
sent to Seattle early this morning
large quantities of bread, provisions,
blankets, tents and 100 slaughtered beeves
to' supply the immediate wants of the home
less. . Portland sent several carloads of pro
visions, blankets and tents.
AN0THEB BRUTAL TfiAGEDI.
A Minister's Family Killed and the Honse
Robbed lu His Absence.
Knoxville, Tenn., June 7. Particu
lars of one of the most brutal tragedies in
the history of East Tennessee has just
reached here from an ont of the
way section of Scott county. H. F.
Beynolds, aged 45, and Thomas J. Lloyd,
aged 21, went to the house of Bev. Jacob
Harness, a Baptist minister, believing him
to have a large amount of money concealed
in the house.. They reached the' house
about midnight on Wednesday night
and demanded admission. Bv. Har-J
nesa wafAway from "home, and -hi wife J
and a half-witted sod, aged 16, were sleeping
in the same. room. Mrs. Harness, who was
about SO years of age, went to the door and
told the cut-throats that they must leave.
They broke down the door, rushed in, shoot
ing, the old lady dead in ber tracks, the first
thing. The boy, awakened by the noise,
rushed out at another door. They followed
him out, and, overtaking him, beat him to
death with a garden hoe.
Tney carried him back and threw him in
the doorway, his legs protruding. They
ransacked the house, found 74 and then, to
cover up their horrible crime, applied the
torch. Neighbors next morning found
the charred limbs of the" young man
and that was all. The murderers were ar
rested in a saloon at Jellico last night, and
officers were started to HnntsvUle, the
county seat of Scott, with the prisoners. It
is reported here to-night that" they were
taken from jail at an early hour this morn
ing and lynched. The rumor has not been
confirmed.
ALMOST INCREDIBLE.
A Story Abont tbe Extensive Use of Adams
Express Franks.
Washington, June 7. jA.- curious story
is being turned over with a great deal of
relish by a few gossips, to whom it has pen
etrated in regard to shipments un
der a frank made by Adams Express
Company for the President of the United
States. It is vouched for by one who cer
tainly bas the means of knowing all about
the matter that the President has recently
sent numerous packages to various parts of
the country without paying a cent
of charges on any of them, each
one being stamped with a coupon from
Book of Franks numbered "950." The
same authority slates that each one of the
Cabinet officers has a frank, and that
the system of deadheading express pack
ages extends to every member of Congress
and to many high officials of the Govern
ment The number ot the President's alleged
frank would seem to indicate that there are
in this city at least nearly 1,000 beneficiaries
from the liberality of a great corporation
which- has its franchise from the
Government, and which nets an immense
profit annually from contracts with the
government. When all the relations of the
Express Company and the Government are
considered, the story seems almost incredi
ble, but as has been stated before it comes
from one who has the best means of know
ing what'he is talking about and who does
not speak of the matter as one who is en-
gaged
id in a base fabrication.
THE INDIANS ARE SIGNING.
Nearly Half of the Required Number Hare
GlTcn Their Consent.
Bosebttd AGENCr, S. D., June 7.
The commissioners held another council
with the Indians this afternoon. The Indi
ans are signing at three tables as rapidly as
interpreters can give name and identify
them at this time.
At 6,6'clock to-night 400 have signed, in-eluding-many
prominent chiefs. Ten hun
dred and forty must sign in order to meet
the requirements of the pill.
A Pittsburg Gas Company CbnrTired.
ItrXClAI. rXUORAUTO IIS DISr-ATCB.
Hakbisbubo, June 7. A charter was
issued to-day to the Monpngahela Natural
Gas Company of Pittsburg; capital $1,000,
000. The stockholders ore David B. Oliver,
H.W. Oliver, George F. Oliver, John Phil
lips and Horace Crosby, of Allegheny coun
ty, and E. C. Converse, of New York. The
Bellevernon district is to supply the gas.
Sunday Saloons Id Cincinnati.
Cincinnati June 7. A struck jury in
the case. of J. H. Wetzel, a saloonkeeper
charged with violating the Sunday law,
brought in a verdict ot not guilty to-night.
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BLAIELY HALL ,? ZZ
morrovtt DssPATOH on'noble JmgtUh deiftit
of the furf.urtth aeta remarks on (A JPrinc: of
'Wale and hit family.
- ' ?r .
Traasient jfiyertiseieflls BeceiTEl
At the Branch Offices of TUb
Dispatch.
For to-morrow's Issue up to 9 o'clock T. yc.
For list of branch offlces in the Tariona dis
tricts see THlrtD PAGE.
- .1.
THREE- CENTS
SDia
Promif Energetic
Work f Prevent Dis
ease Spreading.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE
The State Board of Health
Establishes an Office
Here.
THE SURGEON GENERAL
Asked to 'Assist With the Pow
er of the National
Government
TRAVEL EAST IS OPENED.
Communication Established
With New York by a
Roundabout Way.
THE PROGRESS OF RELIEF.
Money Still Pouring In to Treasurer Taomp
son and Goads of All Kinds to the
Various Belief Committees More
Refugee, Well and Injured, Reach tbo
City The Water Reservoirs Not Muck
Contaminated Effect of Stopping; Work
a Big; Contracts Plenty of Laborers'
Iieft, but Few Foremen Chicago Sends
a Delegation to Pittsburg to See How
Things Are Conducted Here.
A large placard, bearing in black letters
the Inscription, "Branch f Office, State
Board of Health," was placed over a desk
in the Chamber of Commerce early yester
day announcing that Br. Benjamin Lee, of
Philadelphia, the executive officer of the
board, had transferred hts headquarters
from Johnstown to -this city. He arrived
in tkecity atll o'clock Thursdaynight and'
immediately resumed operations.
The change was found necessary, as there
are no less than six other districts beside
Johnstown that require sanitaryvneasures,
and better facilities for corresponstcwlth
all of them by telegraph had to be obfasstyd .
There fs GraTo Danger. V
"Whatever yon write, couch it in lan
guage that will not create alarm," said the
doctor to a Dispatch reporter in the after
noon. "We are doing all we can. There
is grave danger of an epidemic, but to
alarm people wonld help the matter along.
We have taken and shall take all measures
possible to prevent such a calamity, and
our sister cities along the rivers may rest
assured that we shall leave nothing undone
that will protect the public health. I tele
graphed the Sheriff of Indiana county to
start a posse of men cleaning the streams,
and just received an answer that he had 500
men scouring the country along the differ
ent streams. Allegheny county's Sheriff is
also on the scene with a large force, as are
also the Sheriffs of Westmoreland and
Cambria.
A Great Baud of Searchers.
In all probably over 3,000 men are search
ing the streams for dead bodies of all kinds
and clearing away debris.
"My orders to the men are to burn every
thing. The carcasses of all 'dead animals
are taken from ths rivers, debris piled on,
them, oil applied and the whole burned.
All dead human bodies are ordered to ba
taken to the nearest railroad station and left
with the proper authorities.
"Last night a conference was held at Johns
town to consider burning all the debris.
There are a few good houses among the dif
ferent piles', but it is better to burn them,
than let the pollution remain. I have lull
power to order the piles burnt, and that was
my advice last night before leaving. I had
the power, bnt wished to work in conjunc
tion with the other authorities. I have not
heard yet whether they set the piles on firo
or not,
The Hirer Patrol.
"Two squads of men are now patroling
each bank of tbe river from Johnstown to
BlairsviUe. Two mofe from Freeport up to
Blalrsville, and two squads will leave for
Freeport to-night to patrol the Kiakimine
tas; In addition to, this two boats bavo
been searching the Allegheny and another
left Pittsburg yesterday.
' "We are doing all we can and, if- ths
people co-operate and guard in" all ways
possible. against the detrimental condition
and pollution of ihe. water, all may go well.
I have repeatedly urged the people).
everywhere on the river to boil the water.
Boil every bit that is used; distil or filter in
addition if you wish, but boil be sure to i
boil and the danger will be gone. The city' ,
authorities should make this caution plain. .
I suppose they have.
"We have been using every means possi
ble to disinfect the district We use mostly
chloride ot mercury and copperas. The
copperas is brought in wagon loads frosi a
vitrsol factoryat woodvme. Several carsy
of disinfectants have been sent from Wash
ington, D. C. It is used in powder and ia
solution by use of sprinklers as seems best.
Use for a Fire Beg4ae.
"I aa bow arranging to sprinkle-the .
flebnswithdlnrectnts;bysld- of aUra
esgiae. j.iw uinareswai win Be a liaia ,
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