National Preparedness Is Being Discussed by Many Congressional CommHlees
HARRISBURG iSSIIi TELEGRAPH
Xo. 311
63 SURVIVORS OF
SUNKEN STEAMER
ARE PICKED UP
Eight Are Reported Drowned
Following Capsizing of
Packet in Ohio River
SCATTERED ALONG RIVER
Passengers and Crew Arc
Found Along Both Shores
by Rescuers
By Associated Press
Parkersburg, W. Va., Jan. 6.
Captain Brady M. Berry, and sixty
two of the passengers and crew of
the steamer Kanawha which sank in
the Ohio river last night arrived here
early to-day on a train sent out to j
pick up the survivors scattered along |
four miles of river front on the West
Virginia cide. Captain S-Jerry said |
that while he saw no one in the water
and did not know that any had been j
lost he felt there had been fatalities. J
"We were moving down stream I
with the flood last night with a crew |
of about 40 men and some 20 pas-1
sengers ou board,' 1 said Captain Berry, j
"Just as we were approaching the I
lower end of a lock wall on the West I
Virginia side, we were struck by a
severe storm and the Kanawha had
struck an iron pier and started to
sink.
Kolloil Over unci Over
"I shouted for the boats. The cries
of the passengers roused the men at
the lock. They put out and came to
our assistance. We managed to get
the people on the hurricane deck and
fis the Kanawha turned on her side
kept them moving toward the top |
while wo were taking them off. The '
Kanawlia continually turned andl
when we finally got the last man
pshorc he was clinging to the bottom i
of tli° boat ns she had turned com-!
pletely over and was drifting down
stream bottom-side up.
"An hour or more elapsed from the j
lime we struck until all were off and I
passengers and crew were constantly I
being landed on the river shore until i
survivors, shivering in the cold, were
t strung out through a distance of four [
miles. When I saw that all were off
T shouted to the crew who had taken
the last load away and they came
' back and got me.
"The twelve women were taken off
first and then the men as we were
able lo move them. Some of the
crew said that a boatload landed on
the Ohio side, but I don't know."
Eight Lives Are Reported
Lost in Packet Sinking
Hy Associated Press
Galliopolis, 0., Jail. 6.—lt was re- I
ported here to-day that eight lives
were lost when the river packet!
Kanawha sank below Parkersburg, i
W. Va., last night. Those drowned!
were said to include Steward Lloyd!
Gee and purser Bert Wolfe, of this
city, a watchman and live passengers 1
including four women and a child, j
the names of whom could not bet
learned here to-day. Government 1
inspectors in this district were plan-j
ning to-day to investigate the dis- i
aster.
I
Women's Feet Bigger,
Hosiery Orders Show
Special to the Telegraph
New ork, Jan. 6.—Discussion of'
•he present export business in hosiery!
brought out the fact that not only are |
the feet of American women larger i
than those of their sisters south of the 1
Panama canal, but that they are i
growing.
While Mo. 9 is still regarded as the |
standard women's size in American '
trade, it is said that calls for »'4s and !
and 10s are growing much more fre- 1
quently than has heretofore been the'
case. On the other hand, the South"
American women are using the bulk I
of the No. 8s in the market and are '
said to be crying for 7%5.
THE WEATHER] 1
For IfnrrlHhurK nnd vicinity! Fnlr
mill much collier to-nlxht, with
lowest teiniicrnttirc ntmut I- di>. i
Krce«[ Friday fnlr, continued !
cold.
For F.antcrn I'Fnuny Ivnnla: Fnlr. I
much colder to-alxht with u cold
travel Friday fairs fresh to Ntronir
north winds.
Itlvrr
The Junlntn and the upper portions
of the North and 'West branches
will full tii-nlght and Frldav. The
lower portion of the North
Branch will rlae to-night nnd be-
Bin to fall I'rldny. The main river
will remain nearly ntatlonnrv or I
rise slightly to-nl K ht and con- i.
tlnue to rise Friday. A stage of m
about M.2 feet la Indicated for i ,
HnrrlshurK Friday morning. Ice
will Increase to-night and Frldar
and the I'ppcr West Ilranch and p
probably other streams will be- ! I
come lee-bound.
>| tieneral Conditions
The storm has moved from the lake
rrglon to the northern New Knt- 1
land coast, followed by the high
pressure aren froin the North
west, which is now central over 1
Illinois attended by a cold wave.
It Is decidedly colder In the Ohio, 1
Middle nnd I'pper Mississippi vnl- 1
leys and the lake region, tem
peratures having fallen 10 to 48 1
degrees In the Inst twenty.four
hours. The lowest temperature i -
reported in the I'nlted states this 1
morning was ail degrees below
zero at Dulutb, Minnesota.
l.lKbt rains have fnllen in the Ohio
Valley and Tennessee and from
the lakes eastward to the Atlan
tic coast.
Temperature; A Aw m.. 32.
Sun: Rises, 7:28 a. in.; sets, 4iR4 1
p. m.
Mooni First quarter, .lanuarT 11.
10:38 p. m.
River Stage! Eight feet above '
low-water mark.
Yesterday's Weather
Highest temperature, ,',7.
l.owest temperature, 3r>.
Menu temperature, ttt. , 1
Normal temperature, 30. ' <
J'
VIENNA IS ASKED
FOR INFORMATION
ON LINER SINKING
Ambassador Presents U. S.
Request Concerning Persia
to Austria
UP TO FOREIGN RELATIONS
All Available Matter in Inter
national Situation Refore
Committee
By Associated Press
Washington, D. C. t Jan. 6. Am
bassador Penfield cabled to-day he
had presented informally to the
Vienna Foreign Office the American
government's request for any infor
: mation on the destruction of the
| British liner Persia and at the time of
j tiling his dispatch had received no
| reply.
American Consul Garrels at Alex- j
jandria reported that the affidavits he
j has gathered from the Persia sur-
I vivors gave no more proofs that a i
I submarine torpedoed the liner, or re- |
j garding its nationality than were con
l tained In his first dispatches.
Ambassador Penfield was instructed
to ask the Austrian government in
formally for any information it
might have on the Persia which would
develop the facts In the case and help
the American government decide how
the liner was destroyed. Consul Gar
rels was instructed to get affidavits :
for the same purpose.
So far the only actual statement i
tending to prove that the ship was
torpedoed came from one of the olli- 1
I cers of the ship. Me said he saw what j
I he thought was the wake of a torpedo.
No submarine was seen at any time. '
Further dispatches from Ani
: bassador Penlield are expected at the
I State Department, probably late to-,
j day and at any event to-morrow, i
I Meanwhile other consular agents !
| along the Mediterranean coast are, \
like Consul Garrels, seeking further i
information.
Before Foreign Committee
I The general international situation, i
including the crisis in the relations j
between the United States and the i
Central Powers over submarine war- j
fare, will be considered at a meet-!
ing to-morrow of the Senate Foreign i
Relations Committee. The meeting 1
has been called by Chairman Stone.
The committee had before it to- j
day a mass of data bearing upon ;
Great Britain's attitude toward neutral !
| shipping and negotiations with Ger- j
; many over submarine warrare. The |
(information was sent by Secretary
i Lansing In response to a Senate reso- j
I lution. All available data on the de- I
I struct ion of the British steamer Per-:
I sia also was said to be before the!
1 committee.
i President Wilson and Secretary!
i Lansing still were without definite in-;
( formation upon which official action j
| in the crisis arising from the Persia;
incident is to be based. Meanwhile, j
I officials are still reserving judgment, j
Two Americans Drown
The Kev. Homer R. Salisbury, of [
I this city, the Seventh Day Adventist I
missionary superintendent for India, |
' who sailed on the liner Persia for 1
[ Marseilles, is given up for lost, in a i
report which the Peninsular and'
j Oriental Line has transmitted to the!
American embassy in London. The l
; report was transmitted to-day to the |
: Senate Department. Dr. Salisbury |
j was born at Battle Creek, Mich., in
j 1870.
: Senators Simmons and Overman, of j
[North Carolina, asked President Wil-i
.son to-day if any fur*her information!
I about the death of Consul McNeely j
! had been received. McNeely was
from North Carolina. The President!
I told them that no new facts had come !
| to the government within the last two!
: days, but that every effort was being ;
made to obtain additional informa
j tion.
Propose to Spend Millions
to Repair U. S. Warships
By Associated Press I
Washington, D. C„ Jan. 6.—Esti- j
mates submitted to Congress to-day
I disclose that the Navy Department j
; proposes to spend $205,000 each in re- I
modeling the submarines Fl, F2 and
F3. sister ships to the F4, which sank I
' in Honolulu harbor last year with the j
loss of all aboard.
An estimate of $1,255,000 for repairs 1
I to the battleships North Dakota and |
| Georgia and estimates totaling j
i $1,360,000 for repairs to other war
ships were included.
Wreck Injuries Fatal
to Passenger Engineer
By Associated Press
Trenton, N. J.. Jan. 6.—William J.
Jordan, of Trenton, etigineer of the
wrecking train who was scalded in
the collision of trains at Lawrence, N.
J„ on the New York division of the
Pennsylvania railroad last night, died
in a hospital here early to-day. The
fireman, A. J. Keenan of Jersey City,
was severely injured but will recover.
A derailed freight car was being
hoisted on to a track when a passen
ger train ran into the engine of the
wrecking train. The tracks were
blocked for several hours and trains
were detoured over the Reading rail
way.
[Trains West and North were two
hours late reaching Harrisburg.]
FAMOUS ACTRESS TAKEN
TO HOSPITAL AS INSANE
New York, Jan. 6.—Mrs. Louis Neth
ersole, better known to the public as
Sadie Martlnot, who retired from a
brilliant career on the stage in 1901,
when she married her manager, the
brother of Olga Nethersole, was taken
yesterday to the psycopathic ward of
Bellevue Hospital, a victim of acute
insanity.
CONDITION CRITICAL
This afternoon the condition of
Clayton H. Backenstoe. th£ attorney,
1 52S North Second street, was reported
critical. Mr. Backenstoe Is suffering
from an attack of ptomaine poisoning. I
HARRISBURG, PA., THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 6, 1916,
| British Cabinet Members Opposed to Conscription
REGINALD M'KEXNA AND WALTER RUNCIMAN
London, Jan. 6.—Although Sir John Simon. Home Secretary of the British
Cabinet has resigned over the conscription issue. Reginald McKenna, Ohancel
. °* *" e Eschequer, and Walter Runclman, president of the Board of Trade,
two of the strongest opponents of the compulsory military measure are still
in tlie cabinet. It was expected that McKenna and Runclman would follow
IGARY PREDICTS
PROSPERITY BUT
ISSUES WARNING
Protective Laws Must Re
Passed; Not Matter of Poli
tics, but Patriotism
/
Steel Corporation
Gives All Unskilled
Men 10 Per Cent. Raise
! By Associated Press
NEW YORK. Jan. 6.—The
United States Steel Corpora
tion to-day decided to Increase
tile uajto c.r virtually all or Its un
skilled employes about ten per cent.
| A .statement issued by the steel
corporation said that the increase
had been decided upon largely on
I account of present prosperous con
(litlons. It'added that in addition
to the new wages for common la
borers. employes in practically all
departments of the corporation will
receive proportionate increases.
Adjustments in the wage rates ol"
, the various mining companies con
i trolled by the corporation are aNo
! under consideration.
'
Special to the Telegraph
I New York, Jan. 6.—One of the mep
j most able to gauge that great barom
eter of business conditions, the iron
jand steel trade—Elbert H. Gary,
;chairman of the United States Steel
j Corporation—said in a statement re
i viewing the condition of that trade:
! "Conditions pertaining to this iiw
! dustry reflect, more or less, those of
| other lines and perhaps are an indica
tion of the general situation. Certain-
I ly, there are evidences'which cannot
| reasonably be questioned of great pros
perity. It is not my purpose to discuss
'the reasons for these satisfactory con
ditions. They exist, and it now seems
; probable that they may continue for
i months to come.
! "Economic conditions in the United
States may and should be good in the
[Continued on Page 6.]
j
PREPAREDNESS OF
CHIEF INTEREST
National Defense Plans Are
Taken Up by Congcssional
Committees
By Associated Press
Washington, D. C„ Jan. 6.—The
question of national preparedness
again to-day occupied the center of
| the stage in congressional committee
activity.
Hearings on the administration's na
tional defense program were begun
to-day before the House military af
fairs committee, with Secretary of War
Garrison as the star witness, and the
House naval affairs committee con
tinued its hearings on the annual na
val appropriation bill.
Secretary Garrison had prepared a
detailed statement of the army's part
of the preparedness plans.
Rear Admiral Stanford, chief of the
navy's bureau of yards and docks, re
sumed his statement as to the need of
additional naval stations when the na
val committee again took up the yards
and docks section of the naval bill.!
It probably will take some time to
reach the all-Important construction
provisions in the measure.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
SECRETARIES TO MEET
By Associated Press
Washington. D. C., Jan. C.—Secre
tary Redlield invited commercial sec
retaries of Chambers of Commerce In
all the larger towns of the United
States to come to Washington Feb
ruary 4 for a two days' meeting. His
aim is to give them a better idea of
work the department is doing to fur
ther American commerce. The con
ference will be informal and only sec
retaries inNplaces of more than 150,000
population will take part.
WILLIAM PENN
WAY BOOSTED
BY JOHNSTOWN
Committee From That City
Will Confer With State
Highway Commissioner
The Johnstown Chamber of Com
merce advised the Harrisburg Cham
ber of Commerce to-day that its Good
Roads Committee yesterday acted
favorably upon the Harrisburg Cham
ber's suggestion to co-operate in the
William Penn Highway Conference,
to be held in Harrisburg in March.
Johnstown people are so keenly in
terested in the proposition that a sub
committee of their's will visit Har
risburg some time in the near future
to confer with State Highway Com
missioner K. J. Cunningham and the
Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce.
Richard Beaston, burgess of
Tyrone writes in part as follows: "I
am very much interested in the pro
posed William Penn Highway and
want to do everything I can, including
the enlistment of friends and ac-
[Coutiniied ou Page 6.]
Jitney Bonds Cost
$200; No Unlicensed
Cars After Jan. 18
While half a dozen or more in
quiries relative to license fees, bonds,
etc., have been made by jitney men,
not a single bond has been presented
to City Solicitor I). S. Seitz for ex
amination as yet. Jitney owners have
until January 18 to comply with the
terms of the new Jitney regulation
ordinance.
From some unexplained source a
rumor got about to-day that the city
after all didn't Intend to require the
filing of a jitney bond. City officials
pre-emptorily pricked that bubble.
"The owners or drivers of jitneys will
.be required to file a ?2,000 bond as
.the ordinance prescribes," It was said
at the city solicitor's office. "This
must be done by not later than
January 18 in order to operate a ve
hicle. After that date unlicensed jit
neys will not be permitted on the
streets."
The jitney bonds it is understood
will cost about S2OO unless collateral
security is posted.
COLD WAVE WILL
BE HERE TONIGHT
Temperature May Fall to 10;
Covers Country East of
Mississippi
There's a cold wave coming!
No more grip, a bit of skating and
everybody feeling fine—that's the
forecast.
The cold wave signal was hoisted
on the top of the Federal building by
Forecaster E. R. Demain this morn
ing. He says that the temperature
may fall to ten degrees to-night, but
that it will more likely be about fif
teen.
Although a definite cold wave, It
will be of short duration and Satur
day will probably see the city again
enjoying the almost Spring-like
weather of the past few days. All
chance for snow is gone. Out in Du
luth. Minn., the temperature is twen
ty-six below zero.
Harrisburger Is
in Trouble Zone Near
Hankow, Chinese City
Peking, Jan. G.—The government is
faking precautions against the invasion
of Hankow by revolutionaries. Han
kow is the seat of the oifly great mod
ern steel plant in China and has the
largest arsenal. About 20.000 picked
troops are located there and little Im
mediate danger is feared.
Dr. ( Newton Dubs, of Harrisburg.
is superintendent of the United Evan
gelical missions in China, with head
quarters above Hankow at Chang-sha
Other Pennsylvania missionaries also
reside near there.
i GERMANS BEING
BATTERED HARD
ON ALL FRONTS
Russian Pressure on Teutonic
Lines From Volhvnia to Bu
kowina Proving Too Much
AGAINS T COMPULSION
Labor Forces Defeat Measure
by Overwhelming Vole; An
other Leader May Quit
Russian pressure on tlie Austrian
lines from Volhynia southward to
Bukowlna continues heavy and official
reports from both sides indicate that
the fighting is of a desperate and san
guinary churacter.
The great labor congress in London,
tliat is to decide upon the position of
[ British labor regarding compulsion,
. defeated by an overwhelming vote to
. day si proposition that the congress
[ should support a measure of compul
sion by forcing single men to attest.
The card vote was 2.121,000 to 541.000.
Notice was served upon the confer
ence. by Arthur Henderson, leader of
the labor party in the House of Com
mons and member of the British cab
inet that he would resign his seat in
the commons and appeal to his con
stituents if the congress decided that
, [Continued on I'age IS.]
Assert Men of Even Higher
Standing Than Congressman
Involved in Bomb Plot
By Associated Press
New York, Jnn. O.—A special fed
eral grand jury was empaneled to-day
■ to continue the investigation into the
activity of German agents in alleged
I plots against American neutrality.
I This grand jury will consider the
evidence disclosed before its prede
s cessor which resulted in the indict
, ment of Congressman Frank Buchanan,
of Illinois, and other officers of Labor's
National Peace Council. Eight indict
ments have already been returned
. charging conspiracy with Franz von
i Rintelen, a German agent, to foment
. strikes in American tnuntion factories,
i Federal officials said to-day that the
evidence showed that the ramifications
• of the alleged plot were far wider than
; had been at first supposed and involves
men of more important standing than
. any yet mentioned.
• The new grand jury will examine
. fully 100 witnesses and is expected to
go not only into the munition strikes
but also that of the numerous explo
sions and bomb outrages which have
occurred both in ships and factories.
District Attorney H. Snowden Marshall
said to-day that he hoped the work of
i the jury would be completed within a
i month, but that this did not mean that
the government investigation would be
. closed in view of the many new angles
which had been discovered.
Cumberland Co. "Samson"
Dies From Old Age at
' Home in Mechanicsburg
Special to the Telegraph
Mechanicsburg, Jan. 6. Samuel
i Myers, aged 85 years, once famous as
, "the strongest man" in Cumberland
county, and one of the strongest in the
i State, died this morning from old age
at his home In West Allen street.
II Mr. Myers was a carpenter by trade
| and in the days of his prime few men
were his equal in strength. Tt is said
. of him that .he could carry one end of
i a heavy girder when it required six
strong men to lift the other end. He
: was a tall, heavy man of powerful
build. His birthplace was Hogestown.
Surviving him are two sons, Newton
and Emory, of Mechanicsburg, and a
daughter, Mrs. Oliver Harland, of Car
lisle. N'o funeral arrangements have
been made.
( Food in Town Snowbound
For Week Running Short
By Associated Press
Grand Junction, Col., Jan. 6.—Gate
way, a mining camp in Southwestern
Mesa county, which has been snow
bound for nearly a week, was further
walled up to-day by a four-inch snow
fall which drifted badly in a forty
mile gale. Food supplies, it is feared
here, are running low in the town.
Cattlemen planned to-day to resume
efforts to break a trail into Gateway
with fifty horses driven In single file.
ROOSEVELT TO SPENT) TWO
MONTHS IN WEST INDIES
By Associated Press
New York, Jan. G.—Announcement
that Colonel Theodore Roosevelt will
start on February 15 on a trip to the
West Indies, from which he will not
return until April J, was made to-day.
He will be accompanied by Mrs. Roose
velt. Colonel Roosevelt will speak In
Philadelphia before the National
Americanlatlon Committee on Jan
uary 20.
THE DAY IN CONGRESS
Senate—Met at noon. Adopted a
resolution asking the War Department
if it is not possible to abolish or con
solidate some army posts. Senator
McCumber asked for investigation of
the charges that an illegal combination
is about to advance prices of binder
twine. Adopted resolution asking
President to designate a Jewish relief
day.
House —Met at noon. Secretary Gar
rison outlined the army increases to
the military committee. Representa
tive Hensley asked for an investigation
;of propaganda for and against pre
paredness. Navy committee continued
hearings on the naval bill.
, DKCI.ARE I PER CENT. DIVIDEND
i Directors of the Mechanics Trust
Company, Third and Market streets,
this morning declared a four per cent/
dividend on the company's stock, pay- I
able on the 15th. Last year a three]
per cent, dividend was declared. |
I '
ERSTWHILE SUSAN
WINS OVER HUGE
H'B'G AUDIENCE
Helen R. Martin's Dramatized
Novel Delights the People
of Her Adopted City
CAPABLE CAST CHARMS
ML
' '■ ■' :
MRS. HELEN R. MARTIN
"Erstwhile Susan," the dramatiza
tion of Mrs. Helen R. Martin's novel
"Barnabetta," which received its pre
miere in New York State last week,
was presented to Harrisburg last night
at the Orpheum by Mrs. Minnie Mad
ern Fiske and a company of marked
strength. "Barnabetta," as everyone
knows, is a novel of life among the
Pennsylvania Dutch. By many it is
considered remarkably true to life, re
[Con tinned oil Page ll] s
TANNER ILL WITH ANTHRAX
Special to the Telegraph
Lancaster, Pa., Jan. 6.—Abraham
Rineer, a tanner. Is confined to the
isolation building of the county hos
pital. a victim of anthrax. He con
tract ?d it while handling hides.
WOMAN DRAGGED Ttf 1
1
%
X
ternal injuries and was dragged f
1
J
3
r
#
president of the Board of Education and leader of the party;
11 on: t
Affairs, and George P. Robert j
Treasury and labor whip in the House of Commons will ,
resign their government positions. As a result of the milt- <
I
SECOND CALL FOR RUSS RESERVES I
o the colc ,
s was received here torday by William R. j '
Tucker, Russian consul for Philadelphia. I
HELD FOR BRUTAL MURDER , '
Harrisburg. —■ Nikolo Kotur this afternoon was held by .
Alderman C. E. Murray, of the Third Ward, on a charge of W
murder. Kotur is charged with killing Joso Mokic, of Steel- J
ton, two weeks ago. m
MONROE DOCTRINE SOURCE OF DANGER J
Washington, Jan. 6.—Representative Kahn, Republican, C
asked Secretary Garrison if the Monroe Doctrine was not I
a constant source of danger to the country, against which /
preparation must be made. "Absolutely," said Secretary C
"We must be prepared to defend it or abandon %
MARINE WOUNDED J
lington, Jan. 6.—Rear Admiral Caperton reported 9'
to-day a minor outbreak among Haitiens in Port Au Prince. [
at 2.30 a. m. yesterday, in which the marine barracks we %
fired on and Corporal Weder was wounded, not seriously. 1
One Haitien was killed and others wounded. g
MARRIAGE LICENSES j
K. anil 1.1/.».1c M. Patrick. Went Hanover. #
William lilicam, Merllon. HIM! Sum liouninn, I
14 PAGES POSTSCRIPT—
HATCHETS WIFE
AND BABE ASLEEP
THEN KILLS SELF
Truck Farmer Insane Becauso
He Was Beaten in Horse
Trade, Runs Amuck
BLOWS OFF OWN HEAD
Tragedy Occurs in Middle of
Night; Child May Die From
His Injuries
By Associated rress
York, Pa.. Jan. 6.—After attacking
his wife and a 3-year-old son with a
hatchet as they slept, inflicting wounds
which in the cose of the child niay
prove fatal, C. C. Richards, 53 years
old, a truck farmer living five miles
east of York, blew off the top of his
head with a shotgun at 2.30 this morn
ing. An older son, Norman, awakened
by the cries of his mother, escaped
from the house.
Richards made a horse trade re
cently in which he claimed he was
beaten. This is said to have preyed
upon his mind and produced a lit of
insanity in which tl.o deed was com
mitted.
Steamer Deserted by
Crew Menace to Ships
By Associated Press
New York, Jan. 6. The disabled
Greek steamer Thessalontki, which
was abandoned at sea by 300 passen
gers and 100 officers and crew, is still
afloat and a menace to navigation, ac
cording to a radio message received
to-day by the Anchor line from its
steamship Perugia. The message said
the Perugia had rescued ninety of tho
crew and all of the mail from tho
Thessaloniki and expected to arrive
here to-morrow night.
The passengers and remainder of
the crew are aboard the Greek steam
er Patris and according to previous
radio message are expected hero
either late tonight or to-morrow morn
ing.
GRIP TAKES AGED WOMAN
Special to the Telegraph
Mcchanicsburg, Pa., Jan. 6.—Grip in
four days caused the death of Mrs.
Chrlstinna Harlacker, aged 80, at tho
home of her daughter, Mrs. Sim Sher
man of this place.